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There was a small dinner in Winterfell to celebrate Theon's name day.
Not a celebration worthy of Balon Greyjoy's heir , Theon thought with a certain level of bitterness, but it was better than nothing, Lord Stark had ordered food that he liked and everyone congratulated him, even Jon (although Theon was sure that the bastard had been pressured by his father or Robb to do so). He received a new shield from Lord Stark and a fur cloak from Lady Stark to warm him in the winter that according to the house's words was coming soon.
He had stored these gifts in his room and was getting ready for bed when he heard a knock on the door. Theon's first instinct was to ignore it and pretend he was already asleep, but that night he decided to let it go and said:
"Who is it?" Theon asked.
"Me." Robb's voice said from the other side of the door.
"Come in."
Robb opened the door. In his hands he had a small package.
“To what do I owe this visit, Lord Stark?”
“You know Lord Stark is my father.”
“Okay, to what do I owe this visit, future Lord Stark?”
“Um... I bought you a present, but you’ll probably think it’s stupid.”
“There’s only one way to find out. Give it to me.”
Robb hesitated for a moment.
“Just don’t be an asshole, okay? I know it’s stupid.”
“When was I ever an asshole?”
“Uh, at every possible opportunity?”
Theon laughed.
And Robb placed the package in his hands. Theon opened it and found a seashell inside.
It wasn’t the biggest seashell Theon had ever seen, but it was close.
“The last time Jon and I went to the market there was this man selling things he brought from the coast, he had this seashell, he said that if you close your eyes it almost feels like you’re on the beach, listening to the waves crashing on the sand. I thought it would remind you of home.”
Testing the theory, Theon closed his eyes and brought the seashell close to his ear. And it wasn’t the same, there was no heat or smell of salt. But the sound was very similar to what he remembered.
“Did you like it?” Robb asked.
Theon opened his eyes and smiled.
“It would have been better if you had bought me a night with Ros, but it’s not a bad gift.”
“Your night with Ros will be for next year.”
“Well, I’ll hold you to it.”
Robb laughed, and his cheeks were a little flushed. Under normal circumstances Theon would have taken advantage of this to tease him a little, tell him how much he looked like Sansa when he was embarrassed.
But he thought better of it and simply said:
“Thank you for the gift. I liked. Good night Robb.”
“Good night Theon.”
For a second it seemed like Robb was going to say something else, but then he just nodded and closed the door, leaving Theon alone in the room.
Theon blew out the candles and lay down with the shell in his hands. And for the first time in many years he fell asleep listening to the sound of the sea, seeing in his mind the boy he had long ago been running across the sand, but now in his mind Robb was there running with him.