Theon

Kids grew too fast. Theon could scarcely believe Robb's third name day was already approaching. It seemed like only yesterday both he and Sansa had rocked him to sleep every night. Now a days, their son much preferred bedtime stories.

"C'mon little lord. It's bedtime." Even as Robb protested, he scooped him up with ease .

"But the stars just came out, papa!"

"The stars have been out for quite some time." He couldn't hold back a smile as Robb's head came to rest on his shoulder in an attempt to mask a yawn. It only took a few steps from the window, to the bed. Thickly knit blankets, lined with various furs made cold nights like these tolerable. Theon placed his son down on the mattress, and pulled away the blankets before tucking him in. Amongst the pillows lay various comforting toys. Each hand stitched by Sansa. To the left, a wolf lay in wait for cuddles, while a Kraken's tentacles flopped every which way on a nearby pillow. His eyes scanned the books that sat on a nearby shelf, as he debated which to read tonight.

"Papa?"

Theon turned his attention back to his son, who's eyes held a tired curiousness.

"Robb?"

"How did you meet Mama?"

The question took him by surprise. Robb usually couldn't wait to hear tails of dragons, noble knights, deep sea adventures, or wolf packs running through forests. A strange question indeed. Theon tilted his head, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"We lived together in Wintefell." Theon smiled. He could still picture the castle perfectly. From the gates, to the kennels. Not all memories of Winterfell were pleasant, but he tried not to dwell on the bad anymore. He had a family to look after. He didn't have time to dwell on the bad. Not when he had so many more pleasant memories that had been formed over the years. The good years, outweighed the bad, and as difficult it had been, the bad years had brought him and Sansa together. He couldn't imagine a better family.

"Can we go to Winterfell, Papa?"

"No," Theon frowned, but ruffled Robb's hair. "I'm afraid it doesn't exist anymore."

"Why not?"

"It's too far away now." Not a complete lie. In it's own way, Winterfell was dead. Unreachable. Burned to the ground during the war, but he wasn't about to tell that story to him. Not yet, anyway,

"Tell about it… Please?" Robb had learned quite a few words, but would often commit certain words. Still, Theon understood what he meant.

"It was a very large castle. If the stories are true, it existed for thousands of years before Mama or I even met. It had this very large wall surrounding it's gates. It was almost always very cold. The clouds always looked like a storm was coming in, only instead of rain, snow would fall softly to the ground and crunch under your feet. It smelled sort of like an ice box, and wet moss."

Robb wrinkled his nose at the description, but still snuggled up next to the dire wolf. His eyelids growing heaver by the minute.

"You got used to it. It wasn't so bad. I'm sure Mama had to get used to the smell of the sea when she first arrived here."

"Where was your favorite place?"

Favorite place? Did he have one? It took a moment or two for the memories to resurface. A far younger version of himself had loved shooting arrows. It was the one thing he could manage to beat Robb Stark in. A friendly competition between friends. Theon was a decent enough swordsman, but Robb and Jon faired at it far better than he had.

"Well, Winterfell was so big. It's hard to choose. I don't think it was a place really. More so who I was with. My favorite place was wherever your uncle Robb was, but I felt the most at home whenever I had a bow in my hand."

"Mama said you and Uncle Robb best friends. I want brother to have a best friend."

Theon's eyebrows raised slightly. Robb was certainly full of surprises tonight.

"Mama and I will have to talk about that." But Robb had already drifted off before he could hear the response. Theon pressed a kiss to his forehead, and blew out the candle on the nightstand.

"Good night, little man" he whispered as he shut the door behind him.

He and Sansa certainly had quite a bit to discuss.

He found her in the bedroom, sitting in bed with an embroidery hoop in her hand. It was no wonder her stitches were always so perfect. She always seemed to be sticking something. Wether it be repairing a hole in some fishing net, repairing sails, or sewing clothes that Robb grew out of too quickly for her liking. Sansa always liked her little projects. They kept her busy.

"Has Robb gone to bed," She asked, eyes not looking up from her work."

"He just drifted off to sleep a few minutes ago."

Sansa smiled up at him, and clipped a string with a small, sharp blade, before setting it aside, and pulling up the blankets on his side of the bed.

"You look like something is on your mind. Are you trying to come up with a new ending to one of Robb's stories?"

"Hm? Oh, oh no. Robb was asking me about Winterfell." He shut the door behind him, and crossed the room to lay beside his wife.

"Winterfell…. That's odd. Where do you think he got that from?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, darling." Theon shrugged, and kissed her cheek as she rested her head on his chest. Both his arms wrapped around her, as her lips found his.

"He's growing up so fast," She whispered. "I wish he'd slow down. Before we know it, he'll be all grown up. It seems like just yesterday he was just a baby. Now he's actually walking around, and talking."

"I know. I can't believe it. This must have been how our parents felt. Watching us grow up…"

Sansa pulled the blankets up farther, and snuggled up closer. He sighed, knowing that talk of her parents had probably upset her.

"I'm sorry," A gloved hand rubbed her back in small, circular motions. The ones that comforted her the best.

She gazed up at him for a moment, before turning to carefully remove the gloves.

"You're fine, Theon." Sansa pulled off his gloves carefully, kissed what remained of his fingers before she placed them on the nightstand, and interlocked their fingers together before she kissed him again.

Most nights were like this. They barely had moments to themselves until the sun went down, and so they learned to make up for the lack of time spent together during the day, with Robb's sleep schedule.

He returned the kiss, and smiled as she kissed him again. Their marriage may not have been traditional, but it was happy. That's all that mattered.

She giggled quietly as his free hand came to rest on her back again.

"I love you, Theon."

She said his name often. For whatever reason he liked it. Maybe in some way, it kept him grounded, and ensured Reek would never reappear in front of their son. He'd never forgive himself if he forced Robb to see him like that.

"I love you too, Sansa."

Sansa squeezed their interlocked fingers gently, and shut her eyes as Theon attempted to work a knot out of her back.

"You know," he hummed. "Robb said he wanted a brother."

It had been nearly three years since they had adopted Robb. Perhaps it was time to adopt another?