Work Text:
Sansa sat at the table by the window in her room, wishing she could work on her embroidery and running her fingers overher broken sewing box. She had stumbled into the table and knocked the box to the floor one day when Meryn Trant struck her for not being ready when he had arrived to escort her to dinner with the King. The hinges were broken and it no longer closed correctly. But the broken box was the least of her problems. She had long run out of thread, and her sewing scissors were dull. Most of her needles had been misplaced and her thimble was gone, most likely stolen by one of her ever changing chamber maids. She missed the quiet days she used to spend back home in Winterfell quietly working her stitches with Septa Mordane and Jeyne Poole. She even missed Arya with all her complaints and sloppy stitches.
Suddenly her chamber door swung open and Margaery Tyrell rushed into the room. "Sansa darling. Look at what the Hound just gave me for Sevenmas!" she exclaimed. In her arms was a small wiggling fluffy white dog.
Sansa furrowed her brow and tried to process what she had just heard. The Hound had gotten Margaery a Sevenmas gift? It seemed so unlike him. But there was the man himself, following the future queen into the room with a smirk on his face.
"Isn't it the sweetest thing you ever saw!" Margaery gushed as Sansa stood up to greet her friend. The dog seemed to be trying to escape from her clutches and was currently making the most horrid yapping sound. Margaery just cooed at the creature, pressing kisses to its head. "And look Sansa, he even has a little basket that I can carry him around in, so I can keep him close to me always. I think I will call him Rose or Daisy since he is the sweetest smelling little puppy I have ever laid my eyes on. Would you like to pet him?" she said holding it out toward her.
Sansa reached over to pet the dog, but yanked her fingers back just in time as the dog growled angrily and tried to bite her. Margaery just giggled and continued to snuggle the beast. "He just loves his mama best, don't you sweet heart." she said between kisses.
"The King will be expecting you My Lady." The Hound said interrupting her.
"Yes of course. Sansa, you must come to Sevenmas dinner with me. I insist. I had the cook prepare lemon cakes for dessert just for you." Margaery said taking her hand.
The last thing she wanted to do was to spend Sevenmas with Joffrey but she knew better than to say no. So she faked a smile and followed Margaery from the room. She glanced behind her to look at The Hound, but he seemed to be lingering behind in her rooms. She tried to ignore the constant obnoxious noise the dog was making as they walked through the halls toward the dinner hall.
Her thoughts were racing. She could not understand why Sandor Clegane would get Margaery a gift. He did not seem like the type of man who would give gifts, and she had never seen him take an interest in Margaery before. Did he fancy her? Was he trying to get back into the Kings good graces by charming his betrothed? Neither scenario seemed like something he would do. She chanced a second look behind her and saw that he had caught up and was now walking dutifully behind them. He raised his eyebrows at her when he saw her staring at him so she quickly turned away.
Sevenmas dinner with the Lannisters was a nightmare. Joffrey's smile seemed as fake as her own, as he kept glaring at The Hound, and sneering at the yapping dog in Margaery's arms when she wasn't looking. Margaery of course was oblivious to everyone around her as she fed the tiny squirming dog bites of capons and wild boar from her plate. Tomman sat at the other end of the table trying to unsuccessfully hide a tiny terrified kitten inside his doublet, and Cersei was drinking heavily and glaring daggers at Margaery. When her decanter was empty, she abruptly stood up and unceremoniously left the table, dragging a reluctant Tomman with her.
Sansa found she had little appetite. She had tried a few sips of her soup but when the dog started drinking noisily from Margaery's dish, it spoiled her taste for it. She broke off a few bites of bread and thought about taking the last lemon cake but Margaery suddenly plucked it from the plate and offered it to the dog as well. Finally Margaery set the dog down to the floor where it ran wildly around the room before finally hiking its leg on statue in the corner and proceeded to piss everywhere. As Margaery continued to fuss over the dog, and Joffrey continued to sneer, she saw it as her best opportunity to escape and asked to be excused. Joffrey waved her away with barely a glance so she hurried from the room, eager to leave the terrible dinner behind.
She was surprised when she noticed that The Hound had followed her. As she walked through the halls she became more and more agitated as her thoughts returned to the annoying dog and the mystery as to why the Hound would have gifted it. The whole situation seemed so out of character for him. She kept glancing to her side, sneaking looks at him as he walked beside her, but he kept his face emotionless as always. The more they walked the more frustrated she got. Try as she might she could not understand why he would suddenly show such an interest in Margaery Tyrell. Finally when they were almost to her rooms he reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Come on now girl, What's wrong." he barked.
"Nothing." she said.
"Liar. A dog can smell a lie remember."
She stood there and stared at him. Finally she took a deep breath. "I guess I just don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why you would get Margaery a gift. And such a personal gift such as a pet. I was under the impression you did not particularly care for the Tyrells."
He barked out a laugh. "Seven Hells girl, thats what all the huffing and puffing was about. I thought I had done something to gravely offend you." She tried to pull her arm away from him but he held on tight, pulling her closer. "Never thought you the type to be jealous. Did you want an annoying little lap dog too."
"You just don't seem like the type of man who gives gifts." she said angrily.
"Isn't that what true knights do? Give their lady love a gift to win their favor?" he snarled at her.
"Is that what you are doing? Are you trying to win her favor?" she snapped back.
He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "The dog was a gift from Joffrey." he said. "He got her the dog, and planned on giving it to her tonight after dinner as a surprise. Only it wouldn't stop barking, and kept biting his ankles as he walked by it. So finally he gave the damn thing to me and told me to take it outside and kill it."
She gasped and covered her mouth in shock.
"I figured it would be hilarious if I just gave her the dog anyway. So I walked straight to her chambers and presented her with it." he continued.
"But Margaery thinks the dog was a gift from you." she whispered. "Joffrey will be so mad that you disobeyed him and then lied about it."
"I told him I ran into her in the hall and she saw me with the dog, and that she misunderstood who the gift was from." He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't give a shit how mad he gets."
"He will probably kill the dog the first chance he gets. I could see how much he hated it at dinner tonight." she said suddenly worried.
"Don't worry your pretty head about that dog, Little Bird. We had a little talk, and Margaery plans to let her cousin Megga take the dog after a few days. She is a smart girl, and she is not blind to Joffs cruelty. She knows perfectly well what he intended to do and I have a feeling that is the reason for her little show at dinner tonight."
"Oh, I see." she said, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She pulled away from him and this time he released her. She quickly opened the door to her room. "Thank you for escorting me to my chambers. Merry Sevenmas." she whispered and she hurried inside.
As she shut the door behind her she leaned up against it and took a few deep breaths. She felt so relieved now that she knew the reason for Sandor giving Margaery the gift. She felt ashamed that she had gotten so jealous at the mere thought of him showing interest in another woman. She shook her head at her foolishness and walked across the room to sit back at her small table. Before she could sit down she was shocked to see her sewing box was gone, and in place of it sat a large hand carved wooden box. She gazed in wonder down at the top, and traced her fingertips along the beautiful detailed design. It was a gorgeous scene of a weirwood tree with a lone wolf laying beneath it. She carefully lifted the lid. What she saw inside took her breath away. Skeins of thread in every color imaginable filled the box. She lifted them out by the handfuls and brushed the soft strings against her cheek as she smiled. She pulled out a tiny pair of golden scissors, a silken pin cushion full of gleaming silver needles and a beautiful shining mother of pearl thimble. She giggled as she looked at the sewing set, feeling happier than she had felt in ages. As she continued to examine the box wondering where it could have come from, she noticed a small inscription engraved on the inside of the lid almost completely hidden from sight.
Little Bird
She dropped the skeins of thread and rushed from her room. She picked up her skirts and ran down the halls as fast as she could searching. Finally she turned the corner and saw him. She was out of breath by the time she caught up to him. He stopped walking, clearly alarmed by her sudden reappearance and grabbed her by the arms, steadying her.
"The Box... I just saw... When did you?" she panted her words as she struggled to catch her breath.
"I put it there while Margaery distracted you with the dog." he said.
"I love it. Its the most perfect gift ever. How did you know?"
"I have come to your rooms to escort you enough times to notice that you are always sitting there looking at that broken box."
"It is too nice of a gift, what if someone asks where it came from?" she said worried.
"Lady Margaery has already agreed to say the gift was from her, in exchange for me saving the life of the dog." he said.
She laughed and threw her arms around him, lifting herself up on her tiptoes as she kissed him on the cheek and then on the lips. He froze in surprise but after a moment he awkwardly wrapped his arms gently around her and kissed her back.
"Merry Sevenmas Sandor." she whispered as she pulled away to smile at him.
"Merry Sevenmas Little Bird." he said as he leaned down to kiss her again.