Work Text:
Catelyn Stark bit her lips to hide her smile as she watched her oldest son and his fiancé gather around the kitchen table. They had flown in earlier that day and upon entering the kitchen, their eyes landed on the gingerbread house kit and all thoughts about putting their bags up in Robb’s old room and settling in had been swiftly forgotten.
Now the two nearly twenty-five-year-olds were seated at the kitchen table, unloading the gingerbread box kit and all the candies, frostings, icings, cookies, and sweets they could find. Robb had already ripped his tie off and Theon had rolled the sleeves of his button-down shirt, both men clearly ready to abandon their adultness for a little taste of childhood reminiscing.
“Wait-” Robb grabbed his fiancé’s wrist, Theon instantly sliding his hand to intertwine his fingers with Robb’s “-we should wait for Jon. It’s only fair.”
Theon sighed, letting go of the tube of icing and nodding. “It’s only fair if Snow is here.”
“Tradition.” Robb squeezed Theon’s hand.
Theon rolled his eyes but muttered, “Tradition,” before the two of them went back to setting out their tools for their gingerbread house.
Catelyn remembered back to nearly fifteen years ago, as three boys sat around the same kitchen table, hands covered in frosting and sticky syrup. She had known it would be a mess to clean up, but for once the three seven-year-old boys weren’t fighting, specifically her nephew and her son's best friend.
"We should totally add a moat!" Theon exclaimed, shoving forth the chocolate syrup bottle, eyes shining brightly with enthusiasm.
"A moat would be so cool!" Jon nodded his head rapidly in response.
"Sharks!" Robb yelped, holding up the half eaten bag of gummy sharks. "It's not a moat without sharks."
Robb and Jon both turned their heads to Theon for approval. Catelyn remembered Robb telling her that Theon had the absolute authority on all things associated with water: “My best friend Theon has seven books on fish and oceans, mom. He even has a whole shark book!”
Theon matched the other two boys' smirks. "It's not a moat without sharks," Theon repeated with approval.
Catelyn watched as Jon built the moat using leftover gingerbread and snickerdoodle cookies as Theon poured the chocolate syrup inside, only some of it getting on the already sticky table. Once the boys were satisfied with the depth of the moat and the construction of its channel, Robb added three sharks: one for each of them.
"My shark is going to be called Blade Fin," Jon determined, reveling in the awe of his cousin. “He is the toughest shark ever.”
"Fang slicer," Rob grinned. “Fang Slicer is the bravest shark.”
"Deep Sea Killer," Theon boasted. “My shark is the king of sharks. Eat it, Stark.”
Each boy quickly went to arguing why their shark was better. Hand gestures and vague diagrams were used.
As they defended their positions of the best gummy shark, Catelyn surveyed the gingerbread house she sent the boys to making an hour ago. It was less of a house now and more of a lopsided castle. The boys completely disregarded the template of the house and created their own crooked palace that looked moments away from crumbling down. She could already see repairs made in thick icing. The structure probably wouldn't even make it to lunchtime but Catelyn had never seen Jon smile as brightly as he did and had never seen Theon grin as genuine. Only Robb remained in his usual state of jolly and cheer. It was nice to see the boys all cooperating and having fun together for once.
"Now we have to make us," Robb decided, grabbing the bag of marshmallows and pretzels.
"I'm going to be a knight," Jon declared, plucking an Oreo from the tray. "This will be my shield-" he grabbed a toothpick "-and this will be my sword." Jon quickly began to assemble before sighing quietly to himself about needing a horse to be a proper knight.
"Well, I get to be the king!" Robb announced as he crowned his marshmallow figure with a red lifesaver hard candy.
Theon frowned. "I wanted to be king."
"Well, you can't." Jon crossed his arms. "Robb is king, see?" He pointed to the lifesaver crown as ultimate proof.
Catelyn watched as Theon sucked in a harsh breath and knew an argument was coming on but…
"We can both be king!" Robb jumped in, holding out a blue lifesaver for Theon's marshmallow figure. "We'll be co-kings. Best friend kings!"
"There can't be two kings," Jon complained. He was looking at his knight with a mixture of uncertainty and regret.
"Yes, there can," Theon exclaimed, all ready to argue. "I can decide because I'm king."
Robb and Theon high-fived but Jon still didn’t look convinced. “But castles only have one king.”
“Not our castle,” Robb smirked. “Do you want to be king with us?”
Jon looked at his knight figure wearily before shaking his head. “No, someone needs to protect you two dweeb kings.”
Theon burst out laughing while Robb’s eyes flashed in a challenge. “You think my marshmallow king can’t take your knight?”
“Are we starting a war?” Theon leaned over the table, his shirt dipping into the sticky frosting but he didn’t care. “Are we taking Snow down?”
“Yup!” Robb matched Theon’s evil smirk. “You and me. Now and always, right?”
“Heck yeah!” Theon shouted, grabbing his marshmallow figure to put next to Robb’s on top of their castle.
Catelyn’s walk down memory lane was interrupted by the incoming presence of the front door opening and her nephew stepping through. Snowflakes sprinkled and shone against his dark hair as Jon unwound the scarf from his neck and approached Catelyn.
“It’s good to see you, Mrs. Stark,” Jon inclined his head politely. Jon’s eyes glanced toward the kitchen where he could see Robb and Theon whispering to each other with the dismantled gingerbread house kit before them.
“Go,” Catelyn nodded her head toward her son and his fiancé. “We’ll all catch up later.”
Jon gave her a half smile, one they didn’t often share, as he ducked into the kitchen. Upon Theon and Robb seeing him, they broke out in twin grins.
“Jon, good to see you. Want to pick up the old family tradition?”
“Snow, ready to get your marshmallow ass handed to you?”
“Good to see you too, Robb, and in your dreams, Greyjoy.”
“It won’t be Greyjoy for long!”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Oh shut it, Snow.”
Catelyn let the smile fully form on her lips as she left the three men to their own devices. While the language had grown and their relationships matured and developed, the three seven-year-old boys who had once made gingerbread castles were not all that different to her boys that had just come home for the holidays.