Chapter Text
Chapter 11
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Robb asks Theon, before punching him in the jaw yet again. “She’s my sister, my little sister. She’s Princess of the North.”
“I know,” Theon says. He holds his arms up in surrender and thankfully Robb ceases punching. “I know, Robb. I love her.”
“You love her? You LOVE her? Gods, how long has this been going on?”
Theon hesitates, knowing the truth won’t exactly please Robb. “Since we got to Riverrun.”
“So the entire time you’ve been in Winterfell, you’ve been sneaking under my nose? I call you brother and in turn you fuck my sister? Is that it?”
“I haven’t fucked her,” Theon tells him, hating how dirty the word sounds. “I love her. I plan to marry her.”
“Good luck with that.” Robb scoffs.
Theon takes a deep breath. “You said I could have anything. Any reward for saving Sansa and warning you of my father. That’s what I want. I want Sansa.”
“You can’t have her.” Robb tells him. He’s still angry, but there’s a bit of sadness in his voice too.
I guess he had been hoping it wasn’t love , Theon thinks. Robb motions for Theon to leave, and he does. He opens the door to find Sansa on the other side.
“Your face,” She exclaims, reaching up and gingerly touching a fresh purple mark on his swollen cheek.
“I’m fine, really–”
“Sansa leave him, we need to talk.” Robb tells her.
Theon walks past her and Sansa steps inside. He smiles at her reassuringly, but she can see right through it. Bracing herself, she stands across from Robb.
“Are you alright?” He asks, worry in his brow.
“Yes I’m alright. But Theon isn’t. Did you see what you did to his face?”
“So it’s true then?” Robb sighs. “He really does love you?”
“Yes.”
“And you love him?”
“More than anything.” she tells him without hesitation.
“He’s going to hurt you,” Robb tells her, causing Sansa to make a face. “I don’t mean that to be rude. I love Theon like a brother, of course, I never planned on him actually being a real brother…” Robb freezes, and Sansa looks at Robb questioningly.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” Robb tells her. “I was only saying that I can see he cares for you, and that–”
“Robb. What do you mean?”
Robb takes a deep breath. And then two more for good measure. “He asked to marry you. He asked for my permission.”
“He did?” Sansa can’t help but smile.
“You’re not going to marry hi–”
“Why not?” Sansa nearly yells. “That’s not your decision.”
“Let me finish.” Robb sighs, exasperated. “You can’t marry him until after the war. I still have to marry a Frey girl. The deal was that I would when the war is done. How would it look if I let my sister marry a man who offers no political advantage when I won’t marry a girl who’s father aided me in the war?”
“He let you cross a bridge,” Sansa argues. “That’s not exactly a lot of aid.”
“It is in the eyes of Walder Frey.”
“I guess, but–”
“I love you, Sansa. You’re my favorite sister, you’ve always known that.” He smiles sadly, and she knows they’re both thinking of Arya now. “I want you to be happy. If Theon makes you happy, then, well, I guess I’ll get used to it. But we have to think strategically. You can’t get married before I do. It won’t look right.”
“Okay,” Sansa says, hearing him say this, she realizes he actually does have a point. “Thank you, Robby. I love you too. You’re my favorite brother too.”
Robb pulls her into a hug, and she melts into him. She forgot how much she truly missed her big brother.
“I’m sorry you have to marry a Frey.” Sansa tells him, still in his embrace. “You agreed to that for Father and me and now it doesn’t even matter. And now you’re even letting me marry for love, while you don’t get to. You’re a good brother, Robb. An honorable man, just like Father. Better than Father even.”
Robb hugs her tighter. “Thank you, Sans. That means a lot.”
“And who knows, maybe the Frey girl will be a love match.”
“Maybe,” Robb agrees. But Sansa can tell he’s only agreeing to please her.
She pulls out of his embrace, wanting to look him in the eye for her next question. “Do you really think he’ll hurt me?”
Robb pauses, thinking over what he’ll say before answering. “No, the more I think about it, the more I realize how much he cares for you. I don’t think he’ll hurt you. I think he’d hurt himself before he’ll ever hurt you.”
“You owe him an apology.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll apologize to him later, I need to go check on Rickon first.”
Sansa nods understandingly, remembering her baby brother’s tears from earlier. “You find Rickon, I’ll find Theon, and in an hour we switch?” Sansa asks.
“Sounds like a plan.”
—
The days seem to pass fairly quickly. Robb still acts weird around Theon. One moment he’ll be taking his anger and frustration out on him in the training yard, and then next he’s genuinely seeking his council over one matter or another.
Sansa has started taking archery lessons from Theon with Rickon each morning. He spends an hour or two with them after training with Robb, and Sansa enjoys that they actually get to be close to one another in public. They still have to keep their relationship so that no rumors spread.
Most days, she wakes, gets herself ready, then Rickon. The two of them eat breakfast together before checking on and grooming Max and Anders, her and Theon’s horses. Then they go and learn archery, before Rickon retires to the rest of his lessons and Sansa retires to her sewing.
Normally, Sansa would be able to see Theon in the afternoons, but Robb has been keeping him especially busy. When Sansa questioned Robb about this, he claimed to have no malicious intent, and Sansa is inclined to believe him. She’s sure that his overly protective brotherly instincts are a part of it, but she also knows Robb has a lot on his plate and that Theon is able to aid him and offer him advice.
So Sansa doesn’t get to see Theon again most days until dinner. And at dinner, they have to act like nothing more than friendly, and not ‘too friendly’ as Robb likes to remind her, so really she doesn’t get to see Theon at dinner, because she doesn’t get to truly be with him.
After dinner, Sansa readies Rickon for bed, while Robb and Theon tend to the remaining matters of the day. She plays with him, then has him take a bath, and reads to him or tells him stories. Robb and Theon come to say goodnight to Rickon, and afterward, Robb always walks Sansa to her room and wishes her goodnight. Sansa is sure that Robb knows Theon sneaks into her room not much later after he leaves, but figures as long as Robb doesn’t bring it up she won’t either. She appreciates this show of trust in her, and in Theon too, and loves her brother all the more for it.
At night, when they’re finally alone, Sansa tells Theon all about her day as they ready for the night, and makes him tell her all about hers too. He then kisses her until she’s dizzy, and they go to sleep.
On this particular night, Sansa is sitting in front of her vanity and pulling out her braids, as she tells Theon about her and Rickon’s encounter with the horses earlier that day.
“Rickon loves Anders so, says he wants his horse to look just like him. I told Robby we’ll have to get him a horse for his nameday.” Sansa smiles sweetly.
Theon looks to her from where he sits in a chair, removing his boots. “That’s a good idea,” Theon agrees. “Tomorrow the two of you should try and go for a ride. I’m sure he’d like that.”
“He would,” Sansa agrees. “And I’ve missed riding Max. It will be fun for both of us.”
“That it will.”
Finishing with her hair, Sansa gets up and goes and sits in Theon’s lap, facing him. “And how was your day?” She asks, as she begins to pull his tunic up and over his head.
“It was fine. Better now,” He replies. His arms circle her waist and he pulls her closer to him. He trails kisses down her neck and Sansa instinctively arches her back to him. His lips wander down to her collarbone, and linger there for a minute, before moving down to her chest, just above her breasts. He attempts to tug her dress down, but it’s tight-fitting with all her laces still tied. Sansa guides Theon’s hands up to her laces, and he begins to pull them loose.
When he finally gets the last ribbon undone, he pulls her dress off her shoulders and down to just above her waist. He pulls back to look at her, and a deep blush fills her cheeks. He’s never seen this much of her, and Sansa waits for herself to feel afraid. Memories of Joffrey having me stripped in court should be flooding my brain , she thinks, but she finds herself distracted by the way Theon is looking at her. It’s a peculiar look, one she’s never seen on him or any man, full of an odd hunger, as well as a deep admiration she can feel matches her own desire.
Theon finally looks back up into her eyes. He smiles when he sees her blush. “You’re beautiful,” he tells her. His smile widening as her blush goes from scarlet to crimson.
Feeling embarrassed, Sansa looks down to her lap. But Theon’s hand on her chin gently pulls her gaze back to his.
“The most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” He assures her.
Not knowing what to say, Sansa smiles sheepishly and brings her hands to his under shirt. She attempts to undo his buttons but finds she can’t keep her fingers steady enough to do so. Embarrassment clouds her face again and Theon chuckles.
“Allow me,” He says. He makes quick work of the buttons and pulls his shirt off. Sansa can’t help herself from marveling at him. She’s seen him shirtless countless times before, both in the training yard and in her chambers. Yet every time she sees him, she still finds herself overwhelmed by how handsome he is, how strong. Every inch of his muscular body is chiseled to perfection. And yet, he remains gentle with her, never pushing her too far or asking too much of her. Sansa told him days ago that she will remain a maiden until marriage, and thought, given Theon’s past, he might protest. But instead he was completely understanding.
But now, looking at him, and seeing him look at her, Sansa was beginning to question her own willpower as well as his.
Theon leans forward and takes one of her breasts in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue while his hand takes hold of her other breast. Sansa squirms beneath his grasp, struggling to keep quiet. She lets out a moan that encourages Theon further, and Sansa grips at his curls, trying to steady herself and calm her emotions.
Her breathing grows rapid and when he goes to pull away, she holds his head in place, not wanting him to stop. He chuckles against her, and it sends chills to her very core.
“Theon?” She asks.
“Yes, Princess?” He answers dutifully. He brings his lips back to hers and kisses her sweetly.
“I…I haven’t changed my mind.” She tells him between kisses.
“I know,” He tells her, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. “I’m only kissing you.”
“But…” Sansa falters, unsure if she really wants to ask her next question. “Don’t you want to?”
At this, Theon pulls back slightly, and looks her in the eye, a serious expression beginning to overtake his face. “More than anything,” he tells her honestly. “But you’re not ready for that, and it’s better that we wait anyway. We can’t risk you getting with child when we have no wedding date in the near future. I fear Robb may geld me if that happens.”
“But there’s some stuff…we could do…that wouldn’t…result in a child, right?” Sansa asks shyly.
Theon smirks at her, bringing his hands to cup her rosy cheeks. “Certainly.” He tells her. “There’s plenty we could do. But we don’t have to do anything, so long as you don’t want to.”
“I–I want to,” Sansa whispers. She meets his gaze so he knows she’s serious.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Sansa tells him. She surprises herself with just how sure she sounds. She feels certain, but didn’t think her voice would convey that.
Theon grins, and then scoops her up in his arms. He carries her over to her bed, and sits her down on the edge.
“Lie back,” Theon tells her, and Sansa obeys. He spreads her legs apart and pulls her closer to him, before kneeling in front of her. “If at any point, you want me to stop, just say so and I will,” he promises. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Sansa says. She wonders what he’s about to do to her, if it will hurt like they say it does when a husband takes his wife’s maidenhood.
Theon stands and leans over her, pressing a kiss to her lips, before returning to his place crouched down in front of her. Slowly, he pulls her skirt up above her legs until it’s bunched up and resting at her waist. Next, he goes to remove her smallclothes, happy to find that they’re already soaked through.
All the while, Sansa watches as he does this. She should be embarrassed to be this exposed in front of him. After all, the only part of her that remains covered currently is her waist, but she finds that she doesn’t mind at all so long as he keeps looking at her with that look in his eyes. The same one from earlier.
Theon snuck one finger inside of her, making her gasp, and moan, and spasm all at once. She covers her mouth with her hands as Theon looks up at her, grinning like a cat. He slowly pulls the finger out halfway, before pushing it back deeper, all the way to his knuckle.
Sansa continues to moan, her hips jerking this way and that, as he brings a second finger inside her, and then another. Pulling them in and out and twisting them to a perfect rhythm. He uses his other hand to massage her pearl and Sansa finds her noises hard to contain, letting out a near scream. She covers her mouth again.
“Shhh,” Theon admonishes, even though he’s smiling at her, his eyes filled with desire.
Sansa nods. Or at least she means to, she’s not sure if she actually does. Theon takes up his rhythm again, this time moving faster than before, and it isn’t long before Sansa feels herself coming undone.
When she’s finished, Theon slowly removes his fingers, now coated shiny and wet. He licks them clean, causing Sansa to blush yet again, and then leans over her, capturing her lips with his.
“Was that alright for you?” He asks.
“More than,” Sansa tells him. She feels his smile against her lips and she smiles too. “Perhaps we can do it again tomorrow?” Sansa asks, a little too hopefully.
Theon chuckles, then nods. “I’d like that,” He tells her.
He stands up, and then helps Sansa stand up as well. He walks over and grabs her nightgown. Sansa lets her dress fall to the floor and steps out of it, before letting Theon pull her nightgown over her head.
She pulls back the covers and then crawls into bed, Theon right behind her. He wraps one arm around her, her back to his chest, and he kisses her hair sweetly.
“Goodnight, Princess.” He whispers in her ear.
“Goodnight, future husband,” she replies giddily.
They both fall asleep smiling.