Here is my secret santa present for @tarthister for the @asoiafrarepairs! They asked for Jon/Sam, so here you go! Can be read as romantic or platonic. I hope you enjoy and merry Christmas!
Jon firmly believed that he was not being even slightly dramatic when he said finals were going to kill him. He left at 7:45 every morning and didn’t get back to his dorm until 10:00 at night. He’s pretty sure the only way he keeps time anymore is from Robb’s daily “please kill me” text that that comes as soon as he leaves his library job at 4:30.
His roommate Sam is usually either asleep or at the library when he gets back at night, but today he’s awake and staring a little blankly down at his phone.
He looks up, startled, and fumbles a bit, struggling to regain his composure. “Jon! I’m-I’m fine, really, don’t worry about me-”
Sam sighed and wiped at his face. “It’s just- it’s my dad. He was telling me how he hopes school has helped straighten me out and that I won’t be coming home an embarrassment to him.”
Jon sat next to him and put a hand on his arm. He’d only had the misfortune of meeting Randyll Tarly once, on move-in day, but it had put a bad taste in his mouth. Sam could certainly learn to stand up for himself, but he was no coward and he was smarter than Jon could ever hope to be, even if he stayed in school for the rest of his life.
Resolved, he said, “You should come home with me for break.”
Sam looked over at him, confused. “I couldn’t ask that of you. Your family doesn’t even know me.”
“We have an open door. They’ll understand.”
Sam looked down at his phone once more and then back at Jon. “I don’t suppose my dad will be disappointed to hear that.”
Jon patted his back. “Glad it’s settled. Get some sleep, yeah? We have to survive finals first.”
They did, in fact, survive finals and since Jon and Sam’s school was on the way home from Robb’s, he picked them up. They had to pile in the backseat since Theon was already occupying shotgun, but it was fine.
“We’re no stranger to stowaways,” Robb joked upon meeting Sam, causing Theon to smack his arm. Robb just grinned and pinched him.
After that, the drive was fairly uneventful and soon they had arrived at the Stark home. They were greeted by Grey Wind and Ghost running out to meet their respective keepers.
Jon let Ghost push him over and laughed at the big dog licking his face. When he got his bearings back, he found Sam looking somewhat wary about the giant dogs. “They won’t hurt you,” he said, “We found the litter when Robb and I were about eleven. Aunt Cat almost had a fit when she saw six of them, but she caved pretty quickly.”
They went inside and after catching up with his family a bit, they headed downstairs to Jon’s room to sleep, only for Jon to remember he only had the one bed. The guest rooms were soon to be occupied by other visitors.
“I can sleep on the floor,” Sam offered quickly, but Jon waved the suggestion away.
“You’re the guest. I’ll be fine.” When Sam still looked awkward, Jon siad, “Or we could share, if it would make you feel better.”
Sam looked hesitant, but eventually nodded. “If it’s alright with you.”
They crawled in and managed to get settled. Jon had always thought his bed at home felt too big and too cold.
Sam turned away. “Goodnight, Jon.”
