Yelling. And solemn vows

A/N: Just wanted to take a moment to say that due to my schedule this week, I will aim for shorter chapters in order to increase my update speed. So, please keep that in mind while I add more piezes to the story's puzzle in the coming days.

Happy reading! :D

Jon had to **** himself to resist the urge to laugh as the Tully bitch gave him a venomous look. He kept smirking all the same, however.

"Arya sent me a letter," He said, replying to her question before the veins on her forehead got any more visible. "She wanted me to be here for her 18th nameday. And I accepted her invitation since I decided it was finally time for a visit."

"You are not welcomed here," Catelyn growled. "Leave at once."

The Champion of Meraxes narrowed his eyes, feeling the anger he usually prefers to redirect into productive projects simmering at her words. But he calmed himself down quickly enough to give her an even but firm look.

"You seem to be forgetting who has the final say in this castle, my Lady," He remarked. "Is there anything else you might be forgetting? Like, I don't know, your bloody gratitude?"

Catelyn seemed determined to surpass the intensity of his own glare. "Gratitude?! You tried to corrupt my eldest daughter, you SWINE! You are lucky I didn't have you gelded and sent to the Wall!"

Jon's eye twitched slightly and resisted the temptation to lunge at her and claim her as his on the spot, just so he could see her look of horror as the realization dawned in. But before he could respond, Sansa took a step forward and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he saw her stare at her mother with raw fury.

"He. Saved. My. Life!" She practically howled, and Lady responded to her bondmate's growing anger with a snarl of her own. "Without him acting when he did, I would have been dead or at least ****, and probably turned into the salt wife of a savage Ironborn! So yes, you should have shown him some bloody gratitude and instead, you practically kicked him out of Winterfell!"

Lady Catelyn looked at her redheaded daughter as if she had suddenly grown a third eye. "But San..." Her voice trailed off, suddenly startled into silence by the emotional depths of her passionate gaze.

The wyvern rider should know. He was captivated by it as well at that very moment.

"I am only going to say this once, mother, so pay attention," Sansa announced, her tone covered by an air of finality. "If I find out that you have plotted to expel Jon from Winterfell again, then I swear before the Old Gods and the New that you are NOT going to be invited to my royal wedding," She declared, and Jon was delighted by Lady Catelyn's expression shifting into absolute shock. "More importantly, I will make it known far and wide that it was my decision to leave you out of it. And I will be sure to give the brother who saved me a place of honor in your stead."

Even his other siblings looked surprised at Sansa's vow, while Arya looked at her with newfound appreciation, it seemed.

"You can't be serious!" Her mother railed, her face encompased by outrage.

Sansa stared right back at her furious mother with absolutely no change in her determined expression.

"I am a Stark, mother. We are always serious when it comes to oaths," She proclaimed, her tone unyielding. "Test my resolve at your own peril."

His father was clearly uncomfortable at intensity of the verbal duel between his wife and his eldest daughter but even he had to crack a smile at that, looking most proud of Sansa.

And he definitely understood. For in that moment, Jon realized that he had never loved his sister more.

And so, his knowing smirk from before melted from his lips by the time she turned around, her deep blue eyes striking his heart like a lightning bolt in the middle of the sea.

"Thank you," Was all he could say at that moment, his voice soft and grateful.

Sansa's features grew softer then, her earlier fury lessened as they locked their gazes together.

"I am just sorry it took so long for me to actually say it," She said, her eyes tearing up slightly. "You are pack, Jon, in every way. And I should have made that clear years ago."

Jon took a deep breath, feeling the wave of affection towards her growing.

"Well, better late than never," He offered, his smile merry.

Sansa broke into a fit of giggles, and Robb joined her with a chuckle of his own before glancing at a grinning Bran.

Then, Sansa glanced back at her visibly scandalized mother. But before she could open her mouth again to shout in outrage, his sister walked up to Jon and very slowly and deliberately wrapped him up in a tight embrace; her radiant red mane caressing his cheeks.

Catelyn's jaw practically dropped to the floor at that, looking from his angle as if she was on the verge of foaming at the mouth. But while such a satisfying sight was indeed a thing of beauty to him, it paled compared to the feeling of his cherished Sansa accepting him as pack.

And it made the smell of her scent all the sweeter...

John sighed in contentment as he hugged her back. It was good to be back.

A/N: Next chapter will have more burns now that the stage was set here but until then, I hope you likes and if so, please review :D