Work Text:
“Robb, don’t wander too far, love!” his mother shouted from the park bench where she was rocking his baby sister in her pram.
Robb had been excited when Sansa was born. At least at first. But it turned out babies were boring and four-year-old Robb had not really understood that poking her was not going to make her do anything but cry.
And that definitely wasn’t fun.
Still, mother liked to go for walks with baby Sansa and that meant that Robb got to go to the park too.
Usually the park was busier on a Saturday morning but he had heard mother say to his father that there was going to be rain later. Robb didn’t mind the rain but his mother never let him play in it.
There was one other boy though, sitting on the high ridge of the climbing frame, where the rope ladder connected to the curling slide. It was too high for Robb to go on but that didn’t stop him from toddling over to grasp the poles and look up at the boy with a grin.
The other kid frowned down at him. Robb glanced back at his mother who was watching him between cooing at his sister.
“Will you swing with me?” Robb asked the boy.
The boy jerked, his wide eyes staring down at Robb and his lips parting in shock. Robb blinked up at him in confusion until the boy cleared his throat.
“I love to swing,” the boy said.
There was a sudden rush of warmth running through him and for a second all he could see was the boy sitting there, surrounded by light. And then it was over, they were back in the dullness of Scotland in March.
“I’m Theon,” the boy stated, swinging his legs over on to the platform and shuffling to the slide.
“Robb.”
He moved back as Theon slid down towards him, jumping up gracefully as soon as his feet hit the ground. He grinned at Robb as he approached him. He nudged his shoulder before taking off towards the swings.
“Come on then! Let’s get swinging!” Theon called out over his shoulder.
Robb felt the adrenaline course through him, their laughter mingling in the air as he gave chase. He was so eager that he tripped, his hands coming out to break his fall. Automatically, he felt his lip tremble at the sting in his palms and he pushed himself back up, running towards his mother who had stood to catch him in her arms. She pulled his hand towards her, reaching into her bag to get the wipes and clean the skin.
He was so preoccupied, he hadn’t noticed that Theon was standing by the swings, cradling his own hand as though it was hurting too.
And when his mother pressed a kiss to his palm, Robb sniffed, wiping his eyes harshly as he felt the pain start to fade. Catelyn smiled warmly at him, ruffling his hair affectionately.
“You’re alright sweetheart,” she assured him, nodding her head in Theon’s direction. “Your friend is waiting for you.”
Robb grinned as Theon waved him back over and this time he was a bit more careful of where he was running as he made his way back to him. Theon held onto the chains, gesturing them towards Robb, who bit his lip shyly.
"I can't do it myself," he said. "I'm too little!"
"Alright," Theon replied with a shrug. Before Robb knew what was happening, Theon had lifted him up and put him on the seat. Robb giggled as Theon ruffled his hair. Robb always liked it when people played with his hair. "Hold on to the chains."
Robb did as he was told, his fingers curling around the metal tightly. He giggled as Theon started to push him, the swing rocked back and forth slowly.
"I won't fall will I?" Robb asked as he swung higher, suddenly afraid.
"I'll catch you," Theon promised.
***
Robb grunted sleepily as he felt the weight lift from the bed, telling him that Theon was up. He cracked an eye open, smiling as his boyfriend’s naked form came into view as Theon headed towards the kitchen.
He hadn’t known it at the time, being too young to understand the full complexity of soulmates but that day at the park when he was four and Theon was nine was the day they had been destined to meet.
He had heard those words “I love to swing” in his head before but while his parents had talked about soulmates and the nursery had mentioned them too, he hadn’t really understood the importance of them.
But now he knew that they were the first words that Theon would say to him, a sign from the universe that this was his soulmate. Theon had known instantly, being older than Robb and fully aware of what happened when those words were uttered, the shift of light around them, the feeling as though only he and his soulmate existed for that brief second of time.
Theon had told him about how when Robb had fallen that day, he had felt the sting in his own palm just as he had felt the love in Catelyn’s kiss to the wound as though she had kissed him better too.
It was unusual for people to find their soulmates so young but not totally unheard of. His sister Arya had found her soulmate when she was eight. He remembered his ten-year-old sister Sansa being upset about it all. And although she was much more mature and supportive now with Arya, he felt a sadness for her. His sweet, romantic sister was still waiting for her soulmate.
He snuggled deeper into his pillow, stifling a yawn. He loved these lazy Sunday mornings where they could spend the whole day naked and in bed, with Theon making breakfast and Robb making dinner for them to eat in bed.
“Ah!” Robb yelped, right as Theon’s voice declared the same. Robb scowled at the door, reaching down to cradle his foot as the pain throbbed through him. “What the fuck Theon?”
“I banged my foot on the table leg!”
“Yeah, I gathered!” Robb snapped, hissing at the pain.
Eventually, it died down and Robb huffed as he flopped back into the pillows and glared at the ceiling. So much for an extra five minutes of sleep he thought moodily.
“Although lets be honest,” Theon commented as he came back through with their coffee, handing Robb his mug. “That table is used to one of us banging the other into it usually.”
“And to think it will see so many others too,” Robb added, grinning at Theon over the rim of his cup. “You know, considering how much we like to swing and all.”