Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11841618.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Game_of_Thrones_(TV), The_Walking_Dead_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Petyr_Baelish/Sansa_Stark
  Character:
      Petyr_Baelish, Sansa_Stark
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_The_Walking_Dead_Fusion, Alternate_Universe_-_Game
      of_Thrones_Fusion, Zombies, Zombie_Apocolypse, Petyr_x_Sansa_-_Freeform,
      creepyship
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-09-18 Chapters: 2/? Words: 9672
****** No Redemption ******
by plaguewind
Summary
     Petyr can't believe what's he's hearing...thirty-nine years in state
     prison? It's too much to grasp. Especially when the girl he loves is
     the one who turns him in. But when chaos breaks loose in the middle
     of his sentencing, everything changes. The life he will have to face
     may be even more frightening than life behind bars.
     (TWD characters will come into the story. I will add characters and
     tags as the story progresses. May even change the rating. Please
     don't eat me alive for this.)
Notes
     Okay, people, I've been wanting to write this for a while. Some of
     you may not be into it and that's okay. Oh and if I messed up any of
     the legal scenes please excuse me, I'm not an expert in the field. If
     you decide to come along for the ride, great...let's roll.
***** Chapter 1 *****
They had not spoken in forever. A few months. At least not conversationally.
There was never a good morning or a goodnight. Never, ever an inquiry as to one
another's well being. The longest sentences said were usually questions of
where they should go next and the answers always as short as possible. Petyr
found it difficult to fall into the ease of their former relationship, no
matter how doe-eyed she would look at him.
 
He passed her a water bottle and she took it, delicately pressing her lips to
the opening. Goose pimples littered his skin as he recalled those same lips
once pressed against his own and he had to almost physically shake the memory
away. "We need to move."
 
"Yeah." Her only reply. She knew they had to get moving. There was no need to
remind her that it would be dark soon, no need to remind her how much more
difficult it became to outmaneuver them with limited visibility.
 
Petyr grabbed her machete off the ground and handed it to her after she'd
stood, and as usual she took it without a word of thanks. It was fine, he
didn't want her gratitude. He carried the back-pack, taking on the extra
weight, and they made their way back to the old gas station they had called
home for the last few weeks. After barring the door for the night they sat on
the pallets they had made from blankets and clothing and picked at the berries
they'd found in the countryside. It wasn't enough to dash the deep hunger that
had taken permanent residence in the pit of Petyr's stomach.
 
"We're going to have to find a new place to stay," he said. As much as he hated
breaking their traditional silence it was a topic that needed to be discussed.
"It's been a week since we ate the last of the chips stored here and there
isn't much to find in this area."
 
When they had found the gas station it had already been ransacked but there had
been enough to keep them going for a little while, provided they rationed it.
But all good things must come to an end and they had reached it. There didn't
seem to be a lot of wildlife in the surrounding area and Petyr was still
getting the hang of hunting living animals, seeing as how he had never had to
kill anything other than a fly his entire life. He was pretty good at throwing
small blades but a moving target proved to be much more difficult than a big,
red bullseye.
 
"Where should we go?" Sansa asked, putting a berry into her mouth but not
looking at him.
"I was thinking south. Start heading towards Georgia. It's already getting a
little chilly here which is probably why we're seeing less and less wildlife.
We go south where it's warmer."
 
She nodded. "Makes sense."
 
Of course it did. Petyr's plans always made sense and there was a time when she
had valued his opinion, craved it, and then used it to her advantage. Then she
had used it against him. He couldn't be too upset, it was his own fault. He had
allowed her blue eyes and red hair to overcome him, to make him let his guard
down.
 
"When do you want-" A sound outside cut off her words, both their heads
snapping in the direction of the barricaded doors.
 
A low thump against the glass outside, scuffling. He hoped it was just an
animal but pressed his forefinger to his lips signaling Sansa to keep quiet
anyway. She nodded, her eyes fixed on the doors, and together they listened.
Petyr dared not try to peek out one of the side windows they had covered with
extra clothes and cardboard. He didn't need to see. He heard the wretched,
strangled moans, the eyrie screeching sounds that only came from them.
 
With his heart pounding against his chest he grabbed his dagger and gun from
the floor, tucking the Glock into the waistband of his pants, and tapped Sansa
on the arm snapping her out of her trance. He motioned her toward the rear of
the store and she followed him, both of them sitting down side by side with
their backs against the wall. The further away from the front door the better
because he knew they could smell them.
 
"How many do you think there are?" Sansa asked in a whisper.
 
"I don't know. Two. No more than three I think."
 
"They've never come here before."
 
She was right. They had blocked off the doors and windows as a precaution but
so far they had not had to worry, only when they ventured close to the city to
look for food would they see a couple of them. "That means one of two things.
Either they followed our scent, which I doubt because we haven't went close to
town lately, or they've wiped out whatever life was left in the city and are
moving on in search of more. I think the latter is the most likely scenario."
 
"If that's true more are coming. More than we can handle. We have to get out of
here." She looked at him then, with those blue eyes, stricken with fear. It
still tugged at him. He still couldn't stand seeing her frightened.
 
"In the morning. We'll leave at first light. We stand a much better chance in
the day than at night. Get some sleep. I'll stay awake."
 
She nodded and scooted over, so she had room to curl up on the floor, and was
asleep within moments. Sometimes he would watch her sleep, listening to her
soft, steady breathing, and pretend they were back in his penthouse in New
York. Back before the world had ended, before his world had ended.
 
 
Seven Months Earlier
 
"Reports are popping up all over New York of strange, zombie-like behavior. One
man claims to have seen a woman bite out the throat of another man."
 
"Not just New York, Dianne. We're getting reports of these zombie sightings
from all over the country-"
 
Petyr muted the 52" inch flat screen that was mounted to the wall of Sansa
Stark's office. "Can you believe this shit? One person comes up with a
ridiculous story and everyone just jumps on the bandwagon."
 
She was standing with her back to him, facing the floor-to-ceiling glass
windows that provided a wonderful view of the city from the top floor of Stark
Enterprises. The light coming in shone off her red locks, making them almost
look aflame, and Petyr often found himself staring at her when she wasn't
looking.
 
He stood and walked across the room, stopping at her back, and gently placed
his hands on her shoulders, his nose nuzzling into her hair. "Sansa?"
 
"Not now, Petyr," she said, shrugging him away and moving to take her seat at
her desk.
 
Something wasn't quite right. They weren't a couple, they had never even had
sex, but normally he was allowed caresses, kisses. But on this particular
morning she seemed rather distracted, distant even. He understood. She was
quite busy having recently acquired SE, and becoming Chief Executive Officer at
the ripe age of eighteen, but he had expected a little more...attention?
Especially seeing as he had played a very big role in helping her to aquire
what was rightfully hers anyway.
 
"Is everything alright, Sweetling?" he asked, moving to take the chair across
from her.
 
"Everything is fine. I just have a lot of work to do." She glanced at her
watch. It was probably the third time she had done so in the last ten minutes.
 
Her assistant, Jeyne, buzzed in on the intercom before Petyr had a chance to
say anything else. "Ms. Stark, your eleven o'clock has arrived."
 
"Send them in."
 
"Well, I guess I'll be going," Petyr said, standing. "Leave you to it."
 
"You're not going anywhere, Baelish. Sit."
 
Baelish? They were on a last name basis now? "Sansa, what's going on?"
 
The door to her office swung open without a knock and three men in uniform
walked in. Police uniforms. They split and two of them stood to his left, one
to his right. "Petyr Baelish?" the one to his right asked.
 
"In the flesh. What's this all about?" Petyr looked to Sansa, her eyes glaring
back at him like ice and a shiver ran down his spine.
 
"I'm Officer Randall and you are under arrest." He pulled a pair of handcuffs
from his belt. "Please hold out your wrists."
 
Petyr threw his hands up. "Whoa...back up. What am I being arrested for?
Sansa...what the fuck is going on?"
 
"You're being charged with procuring the facilitation of prostitutes,
conspiracy to commit murder, and murder. You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and..."
 
The officer's words fell on deaf ears as the other two came around Petyr and
pulled his arms behind his back to cuff him. He didn't fight them or argue, he
couldn't. All he could do was stare at the look on Sansa's face and feel his
heart break as the corner of her mouth turned up in a truly wicked smile. She
had set this up. He now knew what betrayal truly felt like and it almost made
him throw up as the officer finished reading him his Miranda rights.
 
"Why?" he managed to get out, searching her face for something other than the
cold hate he now seen shining back in her eyes.
 
"You know why. I don't need you anymore."
 
The officers lead Petyr out of her office and he could not look back.
 
 
Two Months Earlier
 
"Court is now in session. All rise for the honorable Judge Royce."
 
Petyr straightened his jacket and tie as he got to his feet. The jury would
announce the verdict and he damn sure hoped that all of the money he had pumped
into his lawyer, Varys, had done some good. Sansa had recorded him admitting to
his crimes, private moments that he had thought were to be kept between the two
of them. She had copied documents from his personal computer and how he now
hated himself for trusting her so easily, especially when he knew better. The
evidence was strong and he didn't expect to get off clear but perhaps a reduced
sentence. Varys could be a very convincing man.
 
"You may be seated," Judge Royce said.
 
As Petyr took his seat he glanced to the benches behind him and he seen her,
three rows back. It had been weeks since he had last gotten a glimpse of her
and then she had been on the witness stand, spilling their most intimate
details for everyone to hear. Making him sound like a creep and a pervert. It
was a damn good thing they hadn't been more physical or he imagined she would
have added sex with a minor to his list of charges, seeing as she had only
turned eighteen two months before she had taken over Stark Enterprises.
 
Still...she was still the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She looked
tired, almost sad. There wasn't a trace of the victory and satisfaction that
had been plastered across her face the morning he had been carted off in
handcuffs. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was alright, old habits dying
hard and all, and he waited to see if she would look in his direction, if their
eyes would make contact. Unfortunately Varys tapped him on the arm, turning his
attention back to the front of the coutroom.
 
“Would the foreman of the jury please step forward,” the judge ordered and an
older, portly man wearing a brown suit got to his feet and stepped to the front
of his peers. “Please state your name for the record.”
 
“My name is Francis Kertzwielder.”
 
“And has the jury reached it’s verdict, Mr. Kertzwielder?”
 
“We have.”
 
Petyr took a deep breath, holding it in. Francis Kertzwielder held his future
on a small piece of paper in his hands. He couldn’t wait to hear but wanted to
stop time as well. Only a few seconds passed before the foreman unfolded the
sheet of paper and prepared to read it aloud but to Petyr it felt like hours.
 
“Please read the verdict, Mr. Kertzwielder.”
 
“Yes, your honor." Francis cleared his throat. “For the charge of procuring the
facilitation of prostitutes, we find the defendant guilty. For the charge of
conspiracy to commit murder, we find the defendant guilty. And for the charge
of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant...guilty.”
 
Petyr let out the breath he’d been holding in a huff. He had known what was
coming and yet somehow he still couldn’t believe it. Chatter erupted from the
rows of people behind him and the judge had to smack his gavel on the bench to
quiet everyone down.
 
“Mr. Varys, Mr. Baelish...we will reconvene two days from today at eleven a.m.
for sentencing. Court is adjourned.”
 
“Petyr, I am terribly sorry. I did the best I could in the face of such
compelling evidence.” Varys was talking but Petyr was hardly listening. He was
staring at the girl in the black dress, three rows back. The girl who had just
flipped his life upside down and the sight of her sent a punch to the pit of
his stomach, the ache of betrayal too overwhelming for him to truly grasp. Her
eyes met his for a fleeting moment and then she practically ran out of the
courtroom.
 
Two days later they were back before the judge and she was there. Of course she
would come to hear the sentencing. He had only seen her because she was already
seated when he had walked into the courtroom and once he had walked passed her,
he refused to look back. The last forty-eight hours had began turning his hurt
into anger and he really had no desire to look upon the face of deception.
 
Everyone rose to their feet as Judge Royce took the stand and Petyr felt his
heart begin to pick up it’s pace, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.
Everyone took their seats and he found himself nervously thrumming his fingers
on the table, his knee anxiously shaking underneath. As they went through the
formalities and introductions his mind kept replaying memories of himself and
Sansa like an old film, from the moment they first met to the last time he had
kissed her. He recalled how her cheeks had turned a deep crimson, almost
matching her hair. How after, her eyes darted nervously around the room as
though it were the first time, her top two teeth clamping down on her bottom
lip, an adorable habit.
 
“Mr. Baelish?”
 
Petyr snapped out of it, jumping to his feet. “Yes, your honor?”
 
“We’ll proceed with the sentencing now.”
 
“Yes, your honor.” He clenched his fists at his sides, nails almost digging
into skin.
 
“For the crime of procuring the facilitation of prostitutes, you are sentenced
to four years in state prison.” Tingles. His hands were tingling. “For the
crime of conspiracy to commit murder, you are sentenced to 15 years in state
prison.” Numb. His limbs were going numb. “For the crime of murder in the first
degree...you are sentenced to twenty years in state prison.”
 
Lightheaded...sick. “Oooh shit,” he let out in a breath. Thirty-nine years. He
would be eighty-four years old upon release, if he lived that long. He didn’t
know what, if anything, else was said, his head was spinning, his knees felt
weak and yet, how could he be surprised? Bad men met bad ends and he was a very
bad man.
 
A Uniform walked up to him, handcuffs in hand. That’s when it happened. A shot
rang out, eliciting screams from everyone in the courtroom. It had come from
outside the doors, in the hallway but it sounded as though it were very close,
people had ducked down in their seats. For a moment there was nothing else and
the judge tried to regain order of the room but soon another shot followed and
more screams from outside.
 
Petyr went to move but the Uniform tried to stop him. “You’re not cuffing me
yet,” Petyr objected. “If there’s an active shooter out there how the fuck can
I defend myself in handcuffs?” The officer looked at him dumbly, not sure how
to react.
 
“Everyone please...let’s try and remain calm,” the judge shouted over everyone
but no one would listen and everyone started moving towards the doors. Fucking
idiots, moving towards the danger.
 
Suddenly the double doors to the room burst open and an officer staggered in,
red stains bright on his previously crisp white uniform. “Everyone’s gotta get
out,” he shouted. “No-”
 
It jumped on him from behind, and it had to be an “it” because it definitely
wasn’t human. It may have been once but yellowed skin and protruding veins
suggested otherwise. It looked dead but it wasn't. And the sound It made.
Screeching...horrible...strangled. The officer crumpled to the floor from the
weight of It and It continued to feast on his flesh.
 
Chaos erupted everywhere. People were practically stomping on one another in an
attempt to get to the exit, and when a few of them did, Petyr heard cries of
“Oh fuck, there’s more...there’s more of them!” The officer that was going to
cuff him took off and left him standing there beside Varys and Petyr knew that
if they had just left a convicted murderer standing there, something was
terribly fucking wrong.
 
Everything was unbelievable and he almost couldn’t move, his eyes stuck
watching the It eating the officer in the threshold. It must have had enough
because it stopped, It’s head tilting up in his direction. Yes, It had
definitely been human once but It wasn’t anymore. Suddenly the thing locked
eyes with Petyr, opened It’s mouth, letting out a squealing noise, and darted
towards him.
 
For a moment he was stricken with fear and It just about reached him, It’s
fingers just scraping his forearm before he tore away. Run. Run and don’t look
back. Petyr was pretty quick, even at his age, his body thin and lean, could
zip around almost anything and he took off, not looking back. The hallway was a
tangle of bodies but he maneuvered through them easily, ignoring the cries and
the screams, the gun shots, jumping over the ones on the floor. He burst
through the front doors of the courthouse and almost immediately came to a
halt.
 
The chaos was not restricted to the building, it was everywhere. The streets
were full of the same scene he had just witnessed inside, more people running
and screaming, more of those things. It was fight or flight and he had never
been much of a fighter. He took off again, needing to get away as fast as
possible. He thought he heard his name being called from behind him but he
couldn’t look back. His car was parked about two blocks away in a parking
garage, which was too far, there was no guarantee he would make it. Any car
would do. Darting into the street he began running to every car parked in
sight, trying the doors mostly to find them locked. In a desperate attempt he
tried flagging down fellow citizens driving down the road but no one would stop
and it was looking more and more likely that he would have to flee on foot.
 
As luck would have it he noticed a running vehicle on the opposite side of the
street but didn’t see anyone inside and when he approached, the driver’s side
door was open. Fuck it. Did it matter who’s car it was or where they were? They
were likely dead or in the process of dying anyway, the blood on the steering
wheel a tell-tale sign. Petyr hopped in the seat and closed the door, quickly
throwing the car into reverse so he could pull out. That’s when he heard it,
his name again. He looked across the street to see Sansa running towards the
car barefoot, obviously having abandoned her high heels.
 
“Petyr, wait!”
 
He backed up and out of the space and threw the car into drive. Why should he
wait? Why should he save her when she hadn’t given a damn about letting him rot
in prison for the rest of his life? She made it to the passengers side door
before he had let off the brake and hit the gas, pulling on the handle, trying
to open it, but it was locked and the window was up. Desperately she beat on
the glass with the palms of her hands, tears streaming down her face. “Petyr,
please...don’t leave me.”
 
It was likely only seconds that passed but it felt like minutes as he debated
whether or not to let her in, while civilians screamed and ran around them,
fighting and dying. Fuck. He reached across the car and opened the door. “Get
in.” As soon as she was inside he floored the gas pedal.
“What the fuck are those things, Petyr?” He glanced over at her to see her
shaking, her face red and streaked with tears.
“I don’t know.” He pressed the power button the radio and the car filled with
the overwhelming sound of an emergency broadcasting signal, deafening him for a
moment and he slammed on the break instinctively, jerking he and Sansa forward.
“Shit, sorry.” He turned the volume down and started moving the car forward
again.
”We interrupt this program to bring you a message from the emergency
broadcasting system. Please wait for further instruction.”
Outside the car windows people were running everywhere and the further they
moved down the street the more of those things they seen, grabbing and clawing
at anyone they would reach, and if they managed to snag someone they would bite
into them immediately. It was terrifying to watch but Petyr found himself
unable to look away, utterly fascinated.
“They look like corpses,” Sansa said and she was right, they did, covered in
blood and open wounds with graying skin and sunken eyes. “Are they?”
The mayors voice began on the radio and Petyr shushed Sansa. ”Ladies and
gentlemen, a state of emergency has been declared throughout New York and we
are getting reports from across the country that the situation is no different
than our own. It is believed that an unknown virus has infected many civilians
and it appears to be spreading very quickly...through biting or any
contamination of blood. I am urging all citizens to remain in their homes. If
you are not in your home, find a safe location and lock yourself inside. If you
are in a highly populated area it is strongly urged that you segregate
yourselves from as many people as possible. Above all try to remain calm. If
you see any one of the infected it is strongly advised that you do not go near
them...”
Sansa reached over and turned the radio down. “Do you have your phone? Mine was
in my purse and I lost it. I need to call my family.”
“Yeah, sure.” He dug in his pocket and handed it to her, trying to keep his
eyes on the road so he didn’t hit anyone. She took it from him and started
punching in numbers immediately.
“Arya? Arya can you hear me?….Where are you?….I’m with Petyr, I’m safe for now.
Can you get to the school and get Bran and Rickon?...Fuck. Alright, stay where
you are for now. I’m going to call Jon.”
Petyr waited while she dialed another number but the second one did not pick
up. “I’m sure he’s okay,” Petyr offered, though he wasn’t sure at all. “Is Arya
okay?”
“For now. She said the schools are on lock down. They won’t let anyone in or
out. I have to go back Petyr. Let’s go back to my apartment.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“What? Why not? The Mayor said to stay in your homes and lock the doors. I need
to go back and wait for when I can get to my little brothers.”
“Sansa...I’m sorry. I’m not going back. I’m driving out into the middle of
nowhere. There are nine million people in this city. Nine million. If they all
become infected and we are holed up in my apartment we’ll never get out.”
“I can’t just leave them.”
“You can call them and check on them. Keep my phone with you, it’s not like I
have any family to call. That’s the only choice you’ve got. Or I can let you
out right here and you can get back on your own.”
Her eyes widened in fear. “You wouldn’t.”
He didn’t respond but she said no more. And he drove.
 
 
It was the same everywhere, no matter how far they went. Radio stations used
the word “zombie” and “apocalypse”, words they had only ever heard in movies
and fiction. If someone got bit by one, they would become one. They had called
it a virus but who the fuck really knew? They said the military had moved into
New York City but lost control. It was a massive epidemic. Soon the radio
stopped broadcasting. Then Petyr’s phone stopped working and Sansa had a break
down. He attempted to calm her but in the end gave her no choice but to keep
moving. The first few days were the most chaotic. Every place they stopped was
a mass of bodies scrambling to get to food or water, raiding every store in
sight. They had to make sure they stayed close together so they didn’t get
trampled. Sansa, having been in a dress when the outbreak happened, needed
clothing more suitable to their new life. They had passed a Wal-Mart on their
way out of town but it was too overrun to even attempt going inside, so she
wasn’t able to procure anything until they reached the suburbs and raided a few
abandoned houses. They picked up guns and knives along the way, anything that
could be used as a weapon. They slept in the car at night with the doors
locked. Petyr would sleep up front and let Sansa have the backseat. The next
morning they would move again. Those were the first days.
 
Everything looked the same but completely different. They could walk down a
neighborhood street and see a car or two in a driveway; tiny houses with bikes
lying abandoned in the front yards. But if they went inside, they would find
each and every house was empty. A refrigerator door left open, a pot of food
left on the stove, dresser drawers emptied and hanging. Everywhere life had
stopped in the middle of every day tasks. It was surreal and neither of them
could wrap their minds around it.
 
By the second week living people were rarely seen. They would find an empty
house or business to stay in for a few days and then keep moving. The ones
closest to the city were already raided and the things, the zombies, were
everywhere, which is why they had started moving further out into the state.
The lower the population, the less people to be infected.
 
After the first month electricity was out all over. Gas stations needed
electricity for pumps so finding gas was almost impossible aside from finding
abandoned vehicles. A few days after the electric was out, water stopped
flowing from faucets without the power to run the pumps. Petyr and Sansa spent
their days covered in sweat and filth, searching for food and water and praying
they didn’t run into one of them. Life was a lot different than it had been
from their penthouses and fancy restaurants in New York City, that was certain.
That was the only thing that was certain anymore.
 
They had found the gas station in Virginia about halfway through the second
month. Not that it was any different from any other gas station they had come
across but they were tired and they needed to rest. Petyr wanted to be a lot
farther away from New York but when they had to stop and spend hours upon hours
looking for gas, food, and water, it took significantly more time to cover
ground. Sometimes they would see another human being, actually alive, but more
often than not they looked dangerous and panicked so they would avoid them and
keep going. Petyr would rather not take his chances. So it was just him and
Sansa.
 
They never spoke about what happened before, what was the point? It didn’t
matter anymore and yet it must have because it kept them somewhat estranged.
Even as they lay inches away from one another on the cold concrete floor of the
gas station, there were miles and miles between them.
Petyr's eyes opened just as the first rays of sunlight began to penetrate the
cracks and crevices of the covered glass. As usual his back was stiff and
aching but he was alive, there was that. He sat up and leaned over Sansa who
was still sleeping in the fetal position beside him. When she looked like this
it reminded him that she was only eighteen years old and in her sleep all of
her youthful innocence was captured.
"Sansa...Sansa." He was trying to wake her without touching her but it clearly
wasn't going to work and he didn't want to be too loud, just in case.
Carefully, he brought his hand up and ran his fingers down her bare arm. Jesus.
Even without having showered in days she still had the softest skin. "Sansa,
it's time to wake up. We need to get moving."
"Mmm...Petyr."
He knew it wasn't a moan, just one of those soft sounds people make when they
first wake up, but it still set off a little spark in the pit of his stomach,
causing him to jerk his hand away from her. "We gotta get going."
She sat up, wiping at her eyes. "Are they still out there?"
"I don't think so. I haven't heard anything. But we'll be careful going out.
Come on, let's take anything left that we can use." They took a pack of band-
aids, string, tape- anything they could find a use for. Petyr had found a knife
sharpener, some Neosporin ointment, a few Advil. He made sure they took the
most important things they could carry, just in case they wouldn’t be able to
make a trip back. Fortunately when they opened the doors there was nothing in
sight and were able to put their things in the car and go back for extra
clothing and blankets.
Hitting the road was always dangerous. Aside from being worried they would run
into the infected they also had to worry about finding gas or the car breaking
down, which was very bad indeed because Petyr was not mechanically inclined in
the slightest. He could drive the hell out of a fancy sports car but fixing
them was a different story. They had little choice, any amount of ground they
covered in a moving vehicle was better than doing it all on foot.
Petyr avoided the interstate. In the first few days he had learned it was a bad
idea. When the outbreak had initially occurred everyone had tried to evacuate
town, making the main highways a clusterfuck of cars and accidents. There were
spots where semi trucks had overturned, cars had piled up, all left abandoned,
and there was no way around. It was a good place to go check for gas but for
traveling he stuck to the back roads. He had found a map at one of their stops
and he thanked the heavens that he was from an older generation and actually
knew how to read one and not rely on GPS.
A week passed before they ran into real trouble finding fuel. They had passed
into South Carolina and Petyr noticed the further into the south and the
further away from big cities he steered, the less and less vehicles they found
with gas in them. But he dared not go into a city. Finally he decided to try
the freeway where they might find something and as luck would have it they did.
Only having been on the interstate a few miles they ran into a pileup.
He pulled the car to a stop and put it in park. “Let’s be careful and quiet.
I’d rather not have to kill anything.” They both got out, taking only their
weapons, other than the gas can they had found and a water hose Petyr had cut
to siphon gas.
“Should we split?” Sansa asked him. “We can check the cars a lot faster that
way.”
“No. Stay with me.” The last thing he needed was them getting separated and him
having to go after her if something happened.
The good thing about the pileups was that most of the vehicles had been left
with the keys in them so all they had to do was turn the ignition to see if
they had a full tank. Unless of course it had already been searched and the
keys taken or discarded. In those cases he had to stick the hose in and see if
he could pull any fuel. There were several they tried and the tank was empty
but they had to keep checking, it was the only option.
Only about fifteen minutes had passed while they had been searching but the hot
southern sun was beating down on their necks and Petyr’s brow was dripping with
sweat. There was only one bottle of water left in the car and he knew they
needed to save it but the heat was making him weary. He looked over at his
companion and she looked just as he felt, her face scrunched in the sunlight,
her skin glistening with perspiration. She wiped at her forehead and looked at
him and he quickly averted his gaze.
He approached a blue Honda from the rear, hoping like hell it would have
something in the tank, and when he reached the driver’s side door he jumped
back. Someone was in the driver’s seat. His right hand instinctively darted out
towards Sansa, covering her abdomen and pushing her slightly behind him, while
his left hand went for the blade at his belt.
“Is It alive?” she asked, grabbing his arm, keeping it around her.
“Well, I guess we’ll find out. We’re running out of options.”
Quickly, he pulled the door handle and swung it open, ready to fight, but the
body in the car did not move. The stench hit both of them in the face and he
heard Sansa gag behind him. Carefully he moved in closer. The head of the body
stayed still, back against the headrest of the car seat. It’s skin had turned a
pale grey, the eyes open, staring into nothing. Petyr dipped his head into the
car and seen a gun lying on the passenger’s seat and upon further inspection
noticed the gaping whole in the head of the body. Whoever it was had killed
themselves.
“He’s dead,” he told Sansa as he reached to turn the keys in the ignition. Not
only did the car start right up but it had a full tank of gas. The poor soul
had likely filled up just before. “It’s full.”
“Thank God.”
Petyr ignored her religious sentiment and picked up the gas can and hose from
the ground, moving to the rear of the car. He opened the fuel cap and put one
end of the hose in and the other end he put to his mouth, sucking as hard as he
could to pull the liquid up. The first attempt made him gag, it always did.
“Why don’t we just move our things to this car. It looks newer than the one
we’ve got anyway.”
“Newer doesn’t mean better Sansa. The one we have has served us well and I’d
rather not take my chances.” He took another deep breath, readying himself for
the task at hand when he noticed Sansa’s body go stiff.
“Petyr...” She was looking in the opposite direction in which they’d come.”
“What?” He stood up from his crouched position by the Honda to see what she was
looking at. His heart skipped a beat. The infected. One. Two. Three. Holy shit,
there’s a herd.
“What do we do?”
“We have to leave. Now.”
There was no time to siphon the fuel, at least not enough to get what they
needed. There was no time to go back to their car and get their things, by then
the herd would be surrounding the Honda. They were close enough that he could
already hear their ragged breaths.
“Get in the car, Sansa.”
“Our stuff-”
“Get in the car!”
Petyr flung the back door open and chugged the can and hose onto the back seat.
Then he went to the driver’s seat and grabbed the corpse, it’s stiff body not
wanting to bend or move. He struggled until Sansa came from the passenger’s
side and pushed against it and the combined force almost knocked him over as he
heaved it out of the vehicle. “Uggh….fuck.” He discarded the body and climbed
into the driver’s seat quickly, starting the car, and then backing up to turn
around. Sansa turned in her seat to look back.
“We have nothing now,” she whispered. “What are we going to do Petyr? We have
nothing, that was everything.”
“We’ll find more.”
“What if we can’t?”
He couldn’t answer her question. All he could do was drive.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
“I don't know about you but I need a bath. Actually I do know about you and
you're beginning to smell pretty ripe.”
Petyr glanced from the road to his passenger. Sansa was in a somewhat better
mood since they had come across a bit of food and water. Not nearly enough but
it would keep their energy levels from completely plummeting. He wasn't sure
how he felt about stopping but she was right, a bath was long overdue. The old
him would not have tolerated being so filthy, luckily the new him didn't have
much time to dwell on it. “See if you see a lake or river on that map.”
She took her feet off the dashboard and rummaged in the glove department until
she’d found it. They were able to find maps at stores fairly easily. Apparently
people had thought their phones and GPS weren't going to go out when everything
else did. Idiots.
“Um...I see some sort of body of water on here.”
“How far is it?”
“I don't know...how can I tell?”
“Google it.”
“Alright smartass, let me just pull out my iPad.”
Petyr almost smiled. It had been awhile since he had smiled making it a rather
strange feeling. And joking around with Sansa was an altogether foreign feeling
in itself. It had been so long. “There should be a legend near one of the
corners. A map for the map, if you will.”
“Okay...according to this little line thingy, that I measured with my pinky,
it's about…ten miles from here. Right after we pass through this town. South.”
He nodded. “Okay. We'll stop.”
Within ten minutes the town came into view. It looked pretty small so Petyr
decided to go ahead and drive through. It ended up mostly consisting of one
main street with little mom-and-pop restaurants and stores lining the sides. It
was desolate, not a soul in sight. It reminded him of all of the apocalyptic
films he had seen, where quaint little towns had been left abandoned, and a
chill ran through his body.
“We need to stop here and search some of these places,” he said. “There could
be something left, this doesn't look like it was a highly populated area.”
“Can we check back after we get clean? Please?” She looked at him then with
those sky-filled eyes and he found he couldn't say no. Besides, it didn't look
like she was doing it on purpose to get what she wanted. Clearly she really
just wanted to be clean and he couldn't blame her, he longed to wipe off the
caked-on filth himself.
When they found the lake, Petyr pulled the car to a stop on the bank by a small
wooden dock, and for a moment he just stared at the water. The sun was just
beginning to set in the west, casting golden rays over the rippling water that
reflected back in different hues of orange and red. He wondered if he sat and
stared at it long enough, it would convince him that everything was just as it
was before the world had ended.
“So...how are we going to do this?” Sansa asked, snapping his attention back to
the moment.
“Do what?”
“Bathe. I mean, we can't exactly do it together.” Her cheeks were already
beginning to blush. It was something he had always found adorable, how her
porcelain skin could not hide a thing.
“Why not?”
“Petyr…”
They had never seen one another naked, their relationship never quite going
that far. In fact their relationship had never exactly been defined. Petyr
would kiss her on the lips and she would kiss back. On occasion his mouth would
travel down to her neck while his hands gently caressed the soft skin of her
shoulders. He had believed she was enjoying it, her soft sighs and quick
breaths giving life to that belief. Perhaps he had been wrong.
“Well, we need to be quick, so the best thing is for us both to go at the same
time. I'll cover my eyes while you go in first.” The corner of her mouth
twitched in agitation. “It's really not that big a deal, Sansa. You don't have
anything I haven't seen before.” That wasn't entirely true. He had seen many
women naked but he doubted any of them would hold a candle to her.
“But-”
“The world has literally ended and you're worrying about being naked?” He shook
his head, opening his door. “Let's go.”
He went to the trunk and grabbed a sheet and blanket they had picked up. They
would have to serve as towels. Sansa got out of the passenger’s side and came
around to him. “You’ll close your eyes?” she asked, her voice sounding small
and unsure.
“Yes,” he said, handing her the blanket, already feeling less irritated.
Sometimes he forgot that despite looking like a grown woman, she was still only
an eighteen-year-old girl when it came to her insecurities.
She held out a small bottle of shampoo, a travel size. “I found it the last
time we stopped.”
“You use it first. I'll use what's left.”
As promised he stayed on the bank with his eyes closed while she undressed and
got into the water, only opening them when she gave the call that it was safe.
He went ahead and undressed and didn't really care if she looked but she
didn't. She kept her back to him.
The water felt cool and refreshing as soon as he stepped in. He immediately
went under, lavishing in the feeling of it covering his whole body and not just
the occasional splash on his face.
“Fuck, that's nice,” he said after resurfacing and he heard Sansa giggle. He
wiped the water from his eyes, pushing wet strands of hair off his forehead,
and looked at her. She was standing, the water just covering her bottom, but
she still had her back to him. She was rubbing the soapy water over her body
and when she dipped her hand between her legs, to wash her lower parts, a jolt
of arousal shot through his cock. He couldn't help but look, he'd never seen so
much of her before. Her hair, wet, looked a darker red, falling down her back.
Her porcelain skin was glistening in the setting sun. So beautiful. Almost
beautiful enough to make him forget.
She turned and looked over her shoulder and caught him staring at her but she
didn't scold him. “You want the soap now?”
“Yeah, sure.” He moved through the water until he was at her back and she stuck
her hand out behind her and handed it to him.
He took it, hesitating there for a moment. She already smelled good and his
eyes lingered at the curve where her back met the top of her buttocks. He
assured himself that it wasn't his fault, he was merely a man after all and it
had been so, so long. Even Petyr Baelish couldn't control the biology of his
body.
“Petyr…” Sansa said, breaking him from his trance. “You're staring.” She didn't
sound upset, more embarrassed than anything.
“Sorry, I just kind of zoned out for a minute.” He moved away from her, turning
away, so he wouldn't have to see her as he scrubbed his own parts. The last
thing he needed was being stuck hiding in the water because he had a hard-on.
They finished up quickly, having maybe an hour of daylight left, and he wanted
to search through some of the shops in town before night. There was a
flashlight in the car but they would need more batteries for it soon and used
it only when they had to.
Petyr got out of the water first and wrapped the sheet around his waist. Sansa
made him close his eyes again while she came ashore. Each of them put their
clothes back on on opposite sides of the Honda and got back in.
“Now we just need clean clothes,” Sansa said as Petyr started the engine.
“Well, hopefully we'll find some in town.”
In a few minutes they were parked in front of a thrift store and each got out,
taking their weapons with them. Petyr lead the way and they moved towards the
door carefully and quietly, always alert and looking around. It was eerily
silent. When they approached the door they found that the glass had been
shattered, so they stepped right through, careful not to knick any of their
limbs on the jagged shards sticking out. The store was fairly small, obviously
having been privately owned and not part of a major chain like a Goodwill, but
there was still quite a bit of clothing left hanging on the racks.
Petyr began walking the building. There was no need to say why, she knew why,
surely, and just as surely she followed behind him. They had to be certain the
coast was clear. There could never be any quick movement, slow and steady, no
need to draw attention.
“Alright, I think we're okay,” Petyr said after they had come full circle back
to the entrance. “Let's be quick though. I saw a hardware store and a pharmacy
I’d like to check too before we head out.”
They split up, her heading in the direction of the women's clothing and him,
towards the men's. When he came across a grey Grateful Dead t-shirt, he
immediately peeled his dirty one off and slipped it over his head. Then he
looked for a pair of jeans or pants and when he finally found a pair that
weren't way too big or too small, he changed into them right in the middle of
the isle, discarding his boxers as well. Sansa wasn't paying attention anyway,
she was too busy rifling through clothes for herself.
He found a tan cargo jacket that he slipped on, it wasn't cold yet but winter
was coming, and a few more shirts he tossed around his shoulders. It was when
he was looking at a pair of boots that he heard her scream. His heart pounded
in his ears like drums as he quickly weaved through the racks of clothing to
get to her. Get to her. Get to her!
He found her on the ground by one of those circular racks and Petyr seen the
dead hands wrapped around her ankles, she was kicking and screaming. Without
hesitation he pulled his blade from his jeans and tore through the clothing
where the grey, decaying arms were sticking out. He furiously stabbed It in the
head and while It stopped moving almost at once, he kept stabbing over and
over.
Warm hands grabbed his shoulders and he stopped. “Petyr...it's dead.”
His breathing was heavy as he turned to face her. “You okay?”
“Yeah, it startled me. I dropped my knife.” He looked to the object on the
floor, just out of reach of her arm’s length.
“Did you find anything you can use?” His heart was still racing, his breathing
laboured, as he stood up, taking her hands and helping her to her feet. Their
chests touched for a second and instinctively he almost wrapped his arms around
her but something stopped him, instead he let his arms fall to his sides and
stepped back.
“Not quite, you?”
“Yeah.” He bent over, picking up the shirts he’d grabbed and tossed them back
around his neck. “Hurry up, so we can get out of here.”
Sansa moved more quickly, finding something clean to change into right away. He
stayed with her but kept his back to her as she changed and once she had found
a few other things to wear, they moved on to the next shop.The hardware store
was all but wiped out. They picked up a pair of needle-nose pliers, some duct
tape, and a few batteries laying out of packaging. Next stop was the pharmacy
where they acquired a bottle of penicillin, some muscle relaxers, a few gauze
pads, medical tape, and an ace bandage. Not too bad considering some of the
other pharmacies they had come across along their way.
“Maybe we should sleep in here tonight,” Sansa said, after they had gathered
almost more than what they could carry. “It’d be kind of nice to stretch out,
even if it is in a hard floor.”
Petyr looked over her shoulders and out the windows to the darkening sky. They
probably had ten minutes of daylight left, maybe. He was getting pretty tired
of sleeping all scrunched up in the front seat of the Honda too, it wasn't
exactly a roomy vehicle. “Yeah okay, let me go get a few blankets out the car.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Her blue eyes met his own. An honest offer of
help.
Sometimes he found it hard to look in those eyes. For as much as it would hurt
they were still so beautiful. “No, I got it. Wait here.”
He went in and out quickly, locking the doors behind him as he reentered. They
decided to sleep behind the pharmacy counter so no one or no thing would see
them in full view if it got in. Petyr rolled up the jacket he'd taken and used
it as a pillow and Sansa did the same with a sweater, laying at his side.
“Do you think we'll be okay here for the night?” she whispered in the dark.
“I think so,” he answered but it came out half yawn. He really was quite tired.
“Goodnight, Sansa.”
“Goodnight, Petyr.”
 
Petyr woke on his side, his arms wrapped around the sleeping form of Sansa.
Apparently at some point in the night she had curled into him, her warm cheek
pressed to his chest, and his arms had instinctively encircled her. For a
moment he just lay there, his hand still at the small of her back, afraid to
move and yearning to do so at the same time. Such a strange feeling it was to
both love and hate someone equally. When she was sleeping it was always easy to
forget.
He was about to tilt his head down, perhaps place a kiss upon her brow, when
his body went rigid and completely stilled. Voices. There was someone inside
the store with them. Sansa was just waking up in his arms but before she said
anything or moved too quickly, he pressed his finger to her lips and shook his
head. Her eyes widened, suddenly very alert, and he could see the moment it
registered with her that they were not alone.
”Condoms? You got a girlfriend?”
“I don't know about? Me? No. No.”
“Then you’re a pretty confident guy.”
“No, no, no. I wasn't-”
“Something wrong with me?”
“No. I would never have sex- Ugh...I'm lost.”
“I’ll have sex with you.”
“Really? Why?”
“You're asking questions?”
It was a male and a female, they sounded young, maybe around Sansa's age, maybe
a little younger. Petyr didn't follow much of the rest but he understood the
sounds that soon followed. Shelves being knocked down, moaning, groaning...the
slap of skin. He couldn't stop his cock getting hard in his jeans and Sansa was
pressed so close to him. His finger was still pressed to her lips and when he
looked at her he noticed her cheeks had turned a deep shade of red.
“What should we do?” she whispered against his finger.
“Let them finish.”
It didn't take long. Petyr heard the scuffle of clothes being put back on and
he wondered if letting their presence be known while they were in such a state
would be best, so whoever they were may not have time to grab weapons and react
harshly. They were going to find them there anyway.
He pulled away from Sansa and motioned for her to stand up. She kept behind him
as he moved around the counter and a shelf and into view of the other couple.
It was a Korean boy and a white girl with shoulder length dark hair and Petyr
had been right, they couldn't have been too much older than Sansa, early
twenties probably.
They both jumped at the sight of Petyr and Sansa and started scrambling.
“Hold on, hold on,” Petyr said, his hands in the air. “We mean you no harm. We
were just sleeping here for the night.”
“You’ve been here this whole time?” the boy asked, his cheeks reddening. “You
heard all that?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Well, we were just gettin’ a few things.” The girl offered, her accent heavily
southern. “We’ll be on our way.”
Petyr noted how clean they looked, considering, and he had a feeling they
weren't nomads like himself and Sansa. “Where are you on your way too?” he
asked.
The two looked to one another and back to Petyr. The guy answered. “Somewhere
safe.”
“Somewhere safe? You got room for two more?” It was worth a shot.
“Um...well...we probably shouldn't.”
“Y’all don't have anywhere to go?” the girl asked.
“We have a vehicle. We just keep moving.”
“Oh. I'm sorry...I just-we don't really know you.”
“Fair enough.” He understood and couldn't really be angry. If he were in their
position he likely would have said the same. “Come on Sansa, let's go.”
The two of them grabbed their bags and blankets, the things they had picked up
the day before, and said goodbye with a mere nod of a head. When they emerged
from the front door of the pharmacy he seen two horses tied to lamp post.
Wherever the strangers had come from couldn't be too far away, tough it didn't
much matter.
They threw their things in the car and hopped in, Petyr in the driver's seat,
as usual. He put the key in the ignition and turned, his heart sinking when it
cranked but didn't quite start.
“Fuck.” He knew they should have kept the other car. In hindsight maybe they
could have just hid until the herd had passed them by but it was too late now.
He kept trying.
“What do you thinks wrong with it?” Sansa asked.
“Do I look like a fucking mechanic?”
She jumped at the sharpness in his words. “Sorry...I-I was just asking.”
“Fuck!” he slammed his palm against the steering wheel, letting out his
frustration, not only for the car not starting but for talking to her the way
he had.
Petyr watched as the young couple came out of the pharmacy and began untying
their horses. Uselessly he kept turning the keys to the Honda but to no avail.
It just wouldn't fucking start.
The other couple came up to the driver's side window. “Having problems?” the
girl asked.
“You could say that.”
“And y'all really don't have nowhere to go?”
Petyr shook his head. “Nomads. Just driving around.”
The girl looked to the guy. “We can't just leave 'em here.”
“You're dad might not like it.”
“He’ll understand. It's the right thing to do.”
Petyr felt a spark of hope. “Wait, are you saying you're going to take a us
with you?”
“Yeah. Grab only what you can carry on your backs and let's go.”
“Are you sure we should go with them?” Sansa asked, as the other two walked
back to finish untying their horses.
“No but they clearly have some sort of safe house. And they look clean, did you
notice that? Which means they probably have a water source.”
“You're right.”
“Damn right, I'm right. Come on, let's take what we can carry.”
After they had filled their bags with a few articles of clothing and anything
else that would fit in their backpacks, they went over to their new friends who
were already mounted on the horses.
“I'm Maggie, this is Glenn.”
“I'm Petyr, this is Sansa.”
“Nice to meet ya. Petyr hop in back of me, Sansa ride with Glenn.”
Petyr and Sansa climbed on the back of the horses and they were off;
destination unknown.
Chapter End Notes
     Not the most exciting chapter but I just want to get the ball rolling
     and get them in with TWD cast. Also as I've said on Tumblr many
     times, I have been struggling with my PxS fic since one half my ship
     killed the other half. I'm still trying though. Every time I look at
     her I just think "You killed my baby!". Trying to push through though
     because I do so love writing about Petyr.
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