Work Text:
…
“You don’t get to do this, Robb,” Jeyne Westerling-Greyjoy said into the phone, speaking harshly and angrily, but her voice still quiet because she didn’t want anyone – one person in particular – to overhear her. “You don’t get to promise him that you’re definitely coming this year and then not show up.” She paused, listening to whatever her ex-husband was saying on the other end. “You’re a son of a bitch,” she then snapped at him.
Leaving the rest of the family outside – all of the grandparents and the uncles and aunts, Sansa stepped into the kitchen from the backyard just in time to hear her sister-in-law (no matter how many years Jeyne had been divorced from her brother, Sansa would always look to Jeyne as that) curse into her phone, her anger radiating from across the room where Jeyne paced back and forth in front of the stove.
Theon was sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, his and Jeyne’s infant daughter – Mary – in his arms, feeding her a bottle while watching and listening to his wife. He looked to Sansa when she came in and both exchanged the smallest smile, but then Theon was back on Jeyne, his smile gone, replaced with a frown, and Sansa frowned, too. Jeyne was never the sort to lose her temper – or even really raise her voice – unless Robb Stark was involved; though he seemed rarely involved in things.
When Robb filed for divorce from his high school sweetheart, the Stark family had done their best to not take sides. But, admittedly, that became harder as it became apparent that Robb had no intention of taking care of his, now, ex-wife and their son.
Ned Stark stepped in and made sure that Robb paid what was owed in child and spousal support. And it was no secret to anyone that Robb’s second wife, Daenerys did not care for Jeyne and Jack – to put it mildly – and unfortunately, Robb tended to listen to her more than to himself.
The remaining Stark siblings were all in agreement. They loved their older brother, but they didn’t like him.
“You promised him, Robb!” Jeyne then exclaimed as quietly as she could. “And what about your notebooks? You promised him you would give them to him when he was ten! He knows you promised him!” Another moment’s pause. “I don’t give a fuck what she says about it! Jack is your son!”
Deciding she had heard far more than enough, Sansa bent down and kissed Mary – still sucking from her bottle – on the head and then kissed Theon on the cheek before leaving the kitchen, heading off to find her nephew, who had disappeared to somewhere. Her husband and son were both gone as well and Sansa could safely assume that they had all disappeared to the same place.
Sure enough, she found them all in the front living room.
Jack had spent the beginning of his party there, kneeling on the couch and looking out the front window for a car that just wasn’t going to come, and then, after all of the kids had left, it seemed like Jack had gone back there to keep waiting for his dad. The now twelve-year-old was far from stupid though and knew that Robb wouldn’t be coming. (He was more than used to his dad not showing up, but Sansa wasn’t going to think about that because it still broke her heart too much and she couldn’t imagine how much it hurt Jack).
Except now, his Uncle Jon and his seven-year-old cousin, Eric, had joined him, keeping him company.
Grenn and his wife, Beth, had been invited to the party – because even with the Direwolves being broken up, Grenn was still part of the family and had known Jack since he was a baby – but they had been unable to come. Beth’s father had been admitted to the hospital and Grenn wasn’t leaving his wife’s side. He had sent Jack a birthday present though – a replica of Jason Voorhees’ hockey mask from the Friday the 13th franchise.
“Of course,” Jeyne had rolled her eyes when Jack showed him, but laughed at her son’s excitement over it.
Jack had put it on the instant he opened the package and still had it on, it now pushed to the top of his head so his face was exposed as he looked to Jon.
“And then what happened?” Jack asked, smiling for one of the few times that day, as he looked to his uncle, who was clearly in the middle of telling both him and Eric a story.
Jon was smiling a little. “What do you think happened?”
“Did you pee?” Eric asked excitedly.
“A pack of balloons and having just drank a gallon of Gatorade? Of course we peed,” Jon smiled widely at them both and both boys laughed, delighted with this story. “And your Grandma Catelyn was furious. I don’t think she’s ever been that mad before. Or since.”
“Who did you throw them at?” Jack asked.
“Well, since it was your dad’s birthday, he got to choose. And even if it wasn’t his birthday, he still would have made the choice,” Jon said and that made Jack smile. “But with these particular pee-filled balloons, there were only two people who got them. Your Aunt Sansa and your Aunt Arya.”
“Mom?” Eric gasped at that, his eyes wide and clearly both horrified and wanting to laugh at the same time.
“Why are you telling them that story?” Sansa spoke up then, stepping fully into the living room.
Jon smiled as soon as he saw her despite the frown on her own face. “Jack wanted to hear about stories from his dad’s birthdays.”
“And you tell them that story?” Sansa narrowed her eyes at him, but Jon just kept smiling.
Sansa gave her husband a look as she came to join him on the couch though she also felt her lips twitching in a smile because despite the disgusting nature of the story, the boys seemed to be enjoying it greatly.
“I still can’t even stand to see water balloons,” Sansa told Jack and Eric. “I see them, I hightail it out of there.”
That made both boys begin to laugh.
“You really threw pee at her?” Jack asked Jon, still laughing.
“Of course I did. That’s how boys show the girls that they like them,” Jon grinned.
“Stop,” Sansa said, a laugh bubbling in her throat despite desperately trying to stop it from coming out. “Don’t tell them such things. Boys, you do not throw pee-filled balloons at girls if you like them. That’s the last thing you should ever do to anyone and we all know that Jon and Robb are horrible influences. It’s a miracle I ever married him after he did that to me.”
The boys just laughed more and Jon’s wide smile was still across his face as he took hold of Sansa’s hand, giving it a squeeze. And despite hating the story her husband had chosen to tell their nephew and son that day, it did sound good to hear Jack laugh. It was his birthday today. He should be doing nothing, but laughing.
“Jack?”
They all turned their heads to see Jeyne now in the entryway of the living room, holding her cell phone. She gave her son the smallest smile and without telling him who, she held out the phone for him to take. Jack looked at it for a moment and then lifted his eyes to his mom. They all knew he would never cry in front of all of them, but his eyes were noticeably wetter and looking to her son, Jeyne’s eyes began to grow wet, too.
Finally, after another moment or so, Jack pulled himself from the couch and took the phone. He took a deep breath and brought it to his ear. “Hi, dad,” he said as he left the room, heading towards another room in the house so he might have some privacy.
Eric looked at Aunt Jeyne before looking to his parents – none of the adults looking happy anymore. Sansa looked like she was about to cry and despite the tears in her eyes, Jeyne looked furious; as did Jon, he clenching his jaw together so tightly, Eric could see his face twitch.
“Should we throw pee balloons at Uncle Robb?” Eric wondered.
Jeyne looked confused, having no idea what he was talking about, but Sansa tugged him into her arms and kissed him on the head as Jon nodded.
“Definitely,” he agreed.
…