our heart burns broken at the ends.

[carnivora]

WHO? theon greyjoy (ironsalt) & robb stark (carnivora).
WHAT? in the end, the sea spits theon greyjoy back out.

[ in the end, the sea spits theon greyjoy back out.

robb doesn't hear from him for ages, and for weeks he's left wondering whether he even made it to pyke, to the iron islands, or whether his ship is crushed to pieces along some rocky shore or rotting at the bottom of the ocean floor. torturous dreams of theon's face haunt him nearly every night, though some nights are worse than others and robb wakes in a cold sweat, his heart in his throat as a heavy sense of foreboding washes over him.

despite his worries, the war rages on.

with his men at his back, robb rides to the westerlands and smashes through lannister forces near lannisport, then marches further north to sack and hold ashemark. he's onto the crag next, suffering an injury that leaves him temporarily bedridden and at the mercy of a soft, doe-eyed girl with a tempting mouth and a soothing voice.

i am promised to another, he thinks when she wipes his brow with a cool, damp rag, and as he thinks it, he thinks not of a nameless frey girl but of theon greyjoy slipping his hand into his and squeezing.

( he is only a boy. )

robb returns to riverrun exhausted and older, to where he's greeted by his mother who takes him into his arms and runs her fingers through his curls as he presses his face to her breast. once catelyn has seen him fed, she tells him of renly's refusal — and of his death — and of theon's return to the riverlands. he'll only speak with you, she says.

if she says anything else, robb doesn't hear her. he excuses himself from his mother's side and walks until he's out of her sight, then rushes through the castle to theon's room, grey wind padding behind him to snuff curiously at robb's heels.

he's dizzy and breathless by the time he bursts into theon's chambers, red curls in disarray under his heavy crown, and though moments before he had had every intention of gripping him tight and kissing him hard, when he sees him now he hesitates, quiet and uncertain. ]

— Theon. [ gods, he has so much to be concerned with, but all he can think is, please let nothing have changed.

please still want me the way i want you. ]

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[carnivora]

[ robb has his mother's eyes and his mother's hair, but he is his father's son and he has his father's foolish disposition. his foolishness leaves him blind to theon's desperation, to the words he can't say written in the tense roll of his shoulders or the clenched line of his jaw. again, like before, like always, there is too much between them, a sea that's deep and jagged, smoky waters that cannot be crossed.

and again, like before, like always, robb will wade into the water until the waves break every foolish fucking bone in his body.

but, gods, how could words or warnings matter when they're together like this, when the tight press of their bodies leaves robb breathless and wanting. his crude crown is discarded, carelessly tossed to the stone floors, and if robb notices, he says nothing, his mouth kept busy by theon's tongue and teeth.

theon is quick with his cloak, but robb is quicker with theon's leathers, clawing fabric from his body like he's starved for him. his mouth finds his neck, and then the narrow line of his collar, teeth dragging down his sternum as his fingers count and feel each rib, pushing between the spaces in his chest like they're his to take and hold. his hands and mouth are bold and quick, rushed by inexperience; robb doesn't know any better, doesn't understand that theon will still be there if he slows down and kisses him how he's always wanted to kiss him — sweetly, deeply.

sweetness has no place here, maybe, in this cold room in riverrun, in the middle of this wretched war. robb wants to map theon's body with bruises and hard kisses and learn him in a newer, better way, until the war is gone and they are as they always were, laughing in winterfell with no talk of crowns or kings or betrayal.

sweetness has no place here. or anywhere.

( and again, like before, like always always always — )

robb squeezes his eyes shut and pushes his face into theon's shoulder with a soft sound, his arms winding around his naked middle as he slots a thigh between his legs and rubs against him. ]