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Brienne stepped out of her heels before opening the front door quietly, shoes in hand. It was after 10 pm so she fully expected her daughter to be asleep by now; her husband was probably stretched out with his case files in the living room, the baby monitor placed on the coffee table. Even before their office had been turned into a nursery, Jaime had preferred to work in the living room - he claimed it had more space to spread out all his notes. Brienne suspected it also had something to do with her liking to work in silence, while Jaime often read certain passages out loud. He knew it irked her, even if she rarely said a word.
“Someone forgot about the liquidated damages in their contract draft. What a fucking moron!” Jaime’s soft voice was followed by a giggle then some babbling. “Yes, Jo, I agree. It’s a good thing you are reading it over.”
Brienne left her heels and her coat in the entrance hall before joining her family.
“Are you reading her your paperwork again? And teaching her how to swear?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, entering the room. Jo squirmed in Jaime’s lap but he held her securely so she wouldn’t fall.
Ever since Joanna had been born, Jaime held her as often as he could. He would rock her in his arms until she stopped fussing; he would raise her up to show her flowers, trees and any knick knack her grabby hands could reach; he would fall asleep with her on his chest and her tiny fist curled around a handful of his shirt, a blanket wrapped around both of them. One night, when they had been already in bed, Brienne had asked about it. He had told her how he had never believed he could have this - the most amazing wife and the most wonderful daughter; how sometimes he had woken in the middle of the night, thinking it was just a dream, only to hear her breathe next to him. How holding Jo and feeling her warmth against his chest assured him that she was real and she was his . That they were a family.
“And look who’s here! It’s mommy!” Jaime completely ignored her comment and tilted his head for a hello kiss, before handing the baby to Brienne. “We missed you, so we thought we could entertain ourselves with this contract. Whoever wrote it had no fucking idea what they were doing.”
The lights in the room were dim so only when she was up close could Brienne tell the girl was tired, all the squirming and giggling aside. “I missed you, too.” She leaned in to kiss Joanna’s head and the baby grabbed a fistful of her hair in return.
“No, Jo. We’re not doing that.” Jaime stood up to untangle her tiny fist from his wife’s curls. “Let me get her to sleep.”
Brienne was about to protest but his raised eyebrow effectively silenced her. “It’s your night off, Brie. I’ll put her in her crib and make sure she’s asleep while you enjoy the rest of your evening. I know you love Sansa and Margaery but I also know those two can tire you out.”
Brienne handed him Jo back with a grateful smile. “Thank you.” She kissed her head once again before plopping backwards on the couch. “I may be getting too old for this. The noisy bars are beginning to irritate me after a few hours.” Her hands went to the hem of her pants to untuck her shirt, then slid under the fabric to unfasten her bra. She leaned back with a happy sigh, the lace no longer cutting into her sides. “I’m sinking into those cushions. Come and save me if I fall asleep.”
Her husband chuckled quietly in reply. “I promise to be your knight in shining armour and save your old back from sleeping on the couch. Although, you know it is a very comfy piece of furniture.” It had been a witness of countless naps, when either of them was trying to get some shut-eye whenever they could in-between Jo crying herself through another colic; it had also been there when they were too lazy to move to bed after having sex outside of bedroom.
“Thank you,” she replied then closed her eyes. Jaime’s steps echoed down the hallway until the door to the nursery shut with a soft click. Brienne wanted to rearrange herself so she could stretch her legs on the couch, but she also knew that she would surely fall asleep were that happen, so she only tilted her head to block most of the light. The spot Jaime had occupied moments ago was still warm and smelled faintly of his cologne and Brienne breathed it in, smiling at the familiar scent. It mixed with the patchouli candles they kept on the coffee table, and she let out another happy sigh after exhaling. She could stay there forever, warm and surrounded by wonderful scents. Jaime could join her, his weight on her always a welcomed addition. Maybe another night on the couch wasn’t such a bad idea?
But she should take off her makeup and change into something more comfortable - at least fully discard the bra that now shifted under her shirt and uncovered one of her breasts. With a heavy heart she opened her eyes and counted to three, then stood up and made her way to the ensuite bathroom, taking her bra off along the way.
Her pyjama was already waiting for her on the edge of the tub, neatly folded. When she had been younger Brienne had preferred old t-shirts and cotton bottoms to sleep in, but with age she had grown to appreciate silk with a lace trim. At least Jaime’s preference hadn’t changed, he ‘preferred her’, no matter what she wore. It would never stop amazing her to see how his eyes traveled up and down her body, whether she was wearing fancy lingerie or a knitted sweater with holes in it. He seemed to see something in her that no one else seemed to see, herself included.
First, Brienne opened the drawer and took out a hair tie to create a bun. She didn’t understand the fascination with ‘messy buns’ - all her buns were messy, she didn’t even have to try. It was a perk of having unruly, frizzy hair.
After she made sure no stray curls would get in her way, Brienne started to clean her face. Developing a skincare routine has been a gradual process - and even in her thirties Brienne couldn’t state that hers was perfect. She had done a little bit of research while at college, when she had first had started to care for her face, but the sheer amount of information - and opinions - had almost overwhelmed her. It was only after she had become friends with Margaery and Sansa that her routine started to have some shape to it. The girls, testing countless new cosmetics each month, always picked the products for Brienne, or sent her things to try out. Without them she would probably still be using the same soap she had used at the age of twelve. They knew what her skin needed and what Brienne needed - which was to not have to spend 30 minutes in the bathroom each morning and evening on taking care of her face alone.
Once her face was clean, she moved to her teeth. She would still have to apply a few more products to her face - fortunately not too many - before being able to rest.
She was almost done when Jaime entered the bathroom.
“Jo went out like a light when I started to sing to her. I think she was just waiting for you to be home.” He picked up her pyjama and took its place on the tub. “Or my singing skills are that bad and she preferred being unconscious to listening to me.”
Brienne snorted and turned around to look at her husband. He still had his reading glasses on; the thin, round ones that made him look like a college professor. It added warmth to his image, even if Brienne prefered to look at his eyes without any barrier separating them. The frames might be thin, but they still concealed some of his crow’s feet - which might be the one feature of aging that Brienne enjoyed on her husband the most.
She walked up to him and took off his glasses, then ran her thumb over the lines she loved so much. Jaime closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, exhaling happily against her palm. His warm breath tickled her skin. “I will never not be bewildered by how my wife finds beauty in the most unusual things.” He commented, opening his eyes to look up at her.
“It’s a privilege to see you grow old beside me. To see time pass and still have you by my side, even if sometimes it’s hard to believe you chose me in the first place,” she replied, quietly.
Jaime only had to wrap his stump around her middle and pull her towards him to be able to bury his face in her stomach. In return, Brienne tangled her free hand in his hair and held him close. They stayed like that, breathing quietly, for what felt like hours, before he planted a single kiss against the fabric of her blouse and let her go.
“I think those are yours.” Jaime handed the silky pyjamas back to his wife, then cleared his throat. She took them from him and waited patiently for him to leave the bathroom. “What?” he asked, looking up at her with a boyish smirk. “There’s nothing I haven’t already seen.”
“Get out, you smug bastard,” Brienne couldn’t help but laugh as Jaime winked at her, but stood up without her having to drag him up. “Get changed so we can finally sleep.”
“Did you mean - get undressed so we can finally…” he didn’t get to finish because Brienne covered his mouth with her hand then guided him backwards and out of the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” she promised before closing the door.
Just as Brienne had said, not a minute had passed before she joined Jaime under the covers.
“Hi,” he whispered then rolled onto his side to face her.
“Hello,” she whispered back and reached for his stump to caress the skin of his wrist. Jaime had used to wear a prosthetic that chafed his skin, but a few years back he had decided to ditch it and not wear anything at all - he used to feel ashamed by having lost a hand but now he proudly proved everyone and anyone that being crippled didn’t turn him into someone useless. Yes, life was definitely harder but he was still the same old Jaime - the same Lannister Lion who was both feared and loved in court.
“Did you have fun tonight?” his breath ghosted against her lips as he asked that.
“I did. But I could have a little bit more,” Brienne replied then closed the gap between them, kissing Jaime softly. On autopilot, his left hand traveled down her back to stop at her hip, so his thumb could brush against the sliver of skin revealed by her top. It never failed to make her shiver.
This time, though, another urge became much stronger. Brienne broke the kiss just in time to cover her mouth and yawn loudly. Jaime buried his face in her shoulder, his shoulders shaking with mirth.
“So sorry,” she apologised, blushing furiously. “The night out may have worn me down.”
Jaime kissed her skin then drew back to look at her face. “Let’s go to sleep. My pride would never survive you falling asleep on my cock.” Despite still feeling embarrassed, Brienne snorted at his words.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said and snuggled closer to him. “So your pride stays intact.”
“Maybe tomorrow.” He tucked the covers over them then wrapped her in his arms.