Secret Smiles in the Snow

Jon held the door open for his friend and Sam bustled inside, rubbing his hands together.

“I’ll never get used to winter,” Sam grumbled as they headed to the front of the line in the dining hall. Younger and inferior men of the Night’s Watch shuffled out of their way and didn’t complain as the two highly respected men grabbed a plate and headed along the line of stewards. Jon caught Sina’s eye as she plopped a scoop of mashed potatoes onto his plate and his lips curled upwards into a soft smile. He couldn’t help it. Ever since she had told him to find a small positive thing in his day, Jon had been smiling much easier and more often.

“Good evening, m’Lord Commander,” Sina said in her best impression of a male’s deeper voice. She then put an extra large scoop onto Sam’s plate. “Maester.” Though she was doing her best to keep her lips straight, both of the men caught the sparkle in her eye. Upon spending a decent amount of time together to keep Sina’s identity a secret, they had conversed and formed somewhat of a friendship. Once the men had shifted further down the line and were out of earshot, Sam leaned in closer to Jon.

“You have to stop smiling at Si. You’re getting some strange looks. No doubt they’ll soon start thinking that you’re fucking the kitchen hand,” Sam said lowly. Jon glared at him before grabbing a mug of warmed water and then heading over to an isolated table in the corner of the hall.

“Well, they used to think that we had a romance, remember?” he said and Sam chuckled. Simply because they were friends and Jon stood up for him when Sam was a coward, rumours had started.

“So, have you come up with a plan yet?” Sam asked as he plopped himself across the table from Jon and dug into the potatoes.

“A plan?” Jon repeated, looking up from the hunk of tough meat on his plate that he was trying to cut.

“Yeah. Si can’t stay here forever, remember? This is only temporary,” Sam reminded him with a half-full mouth, keeping his voice low so they couldn’t be overheard.

“Oh…” Jon muttered as he glanced back over at Sina serving hungry men their meals. “I don’t know, Sam. She’s a nice girl; I can’t just throw her out into the cold and expect her to survive.”

“So send her south when we search for recruits. Drop her off somewhere in a decent town so she can start over,” Sam suggested but Jon immediately shook his head.

“I think the reason she came so far north is because she’s running from something that’s south,” he countered. Sam just rolled his eyes.

“We all have to stop running at some point.”

“You sooner than others,” Jon joked, then laughed at the disgruntled face Sam made.

“I know that she’s nice. I understand why you would be hesitant. But you are breaking a lot of rules by having her here. Realistically, she doesn’t benefit us, or the Night’s Watch in any way,” Sam argued, just wanting what was best for Jon.

“She does.”

“How?”

“She makes me smile,” Jon said quietly and Sam dramatically dropped his fork.

“That’s even worse!” he hissed. “Do you realise how dangerous that is? You have an oath!”

“I don’t want to marry her,” Jon retorted.

“If you want to have sex, you know that there’s a whore house not far south where other brothers go-”

“You know that I don’t fuck whores,” Jon interrupted and Sam grinned a little as he remembered Jon’s story of the perfect whore Ros.

“Only Wildlings, is it?” Sam teased and Jon shook his head at the remark.

“Look, I like her company. I don’t see why I can’t enjoy one small thing in this miserable place when monsters are lurking on the other side of the Wall,” he explained. Sam sighed and leaned forwards, staring at his friend with concern.

“Don’t do something foolish,” was all that Sam said, hoping that it would be enough to keep Jon’s head level.