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The second time he dials the wrong number and slams the receiver against the cradle, Theon almost decides that it’s not worth it. Never mind the first two times when he couldn’t even put the coins into the slot and they fell down on the cabin’s pavement. The thing is - he knows it’s not worth it. Considering what happened, he’s most probably right - who’d even talk to him for a minute before closing the call in his face. Still - his left hand is hurting like hell, which is why he’s being a complete failure even just at making a phone call from a damned cabin, and he wishes it was the only place that hurt like hell, and he doesn’t even know how long it’s been but he’s really at the end of his rope here.
Never mind that while Ramsay’s not going to be home until tomorrow, in theory, he’d already be in deep shit if he finds out that he came to the phone booth in the first place.
Well, fine. He counts what money he has again - it can’t be good for more than five minutes of conversation and he doesn’t have more on him.
He really hopes that this isn’t Saturday, because if it is Robb’s not going to be home and he can’t talk to any of his siblings right now. If only he had a clue of what day it even is.
He breathes in, pushes the coins through the slot again, grabs the receiver with his left even if bending his fingers hurts like hell - but he has tried dialing with it and it’s just not a good idea -, breathes in again, dials in the Starks’ landline and as he sees the first 10p disappear from the money counter he hopes that Robb picks up the damned phone.
Someone picks up after three rings.
“Hello?”
Thank fuck it’s Robb.
“Uh, Robb?” He croaks, realizing that his voice gives out exactly how he’s feeling, and he can hear Robb gasp on the other side of the call.
“Theon? Oh, thank - for fuck’s sake, where are you?”
For a moment he doesn’t know what to say.
And Robb obviously notices it.
“Listen, I don’t care what the hell went down, but no one’s seen you for five months, where the hell have you been? Actually no, don’t tell me, I don’t need to know, just - I was worried out of my mind, damn it, just say something.”
For a moment he’s too overwhelmed to even answer (who even would care other than me? Because if you think that your precious best friend doesn’t have anything better to do in his spare time when you’re not there I think you’re wrong) but then he sees the counter going down another 10p.
“I don’t know,” he blurts out. He doesn’t. “I don’t, he never said, I haven’t been out in weeks, I just - I’m sorry, I shouldn’t -”
“Hey, hey, don’t, it’s fine, whatever it is we’re going to figure that out. Just - you’re in a phone cabin, right? Can you give me the number so I can call you back?”
Theon looks frantically around the booth and sees it on the wall next to the phone's cradle. He recites it to Robb without even thinking and another 10p disappear from the screen.
“All right. All right, just hang up, I’m calling in a moment.”
Theon does, his fingers shaking, thinking he’s not going to call back, he can’t be wanting to call back, and a few seconds later the phone rings. He’s so quick in grabbing the handle he almost forgets his fingers hurt, and meanwhile his money falls back on the ground again.
“Hey,” Robb says, “at least now there’s all the time we need. Okay, so, you don’t know where you are, but - can you describe me the place?”
Theon swallows down, looks out of the cabin’s glass. “Uh. It’s - it’s a residential area. I think. I mean, there’s a few shops, but I’m at some intersection, and I walked a bit to find the cabin. There’s a sign on the other side but I can’t read it and I don’t think I can go out -”
“Don’t. Okay, you said there are shops. What shops?”
“There’s - a drugstore? But it’s closed. And a pub. Wait - the name’s - the kneeling man. I think.”
“Good, that should be enough. Jon, can you look up a place named the kneeling man? Right. Right, thanks. Hey, he’s searching right now, unless there’s four places named like that I’ll have an address in a few and I’m getting there. Just stay where you are?”
“Couldn’t go anywhere else,” he sobs as he leans down against the cabin’s wall, wishing he could just fall down sitting, but it’s too small for that. “I’m - I fucked up, didn’t I.”
“Theon, I have absolutely no bloody clue of what you might have fucked up. Everything I know is that one day your father calls me saying that I’m a disgrace to humanity and I ruined what good was left in you or something like that, and then I try to call you and I can’t find you anywhere. I called your sister who said she wasn’t in town and inquired, and then told me that your father wouldn’t tell her what happened but as far as he was concerned he didn’t want to see you anymore and she’s been trying to find you since then too. Just - what happened?”
… so they didn’t know. And now he can’t go and tell Robb I told my father I was in love with you without meaning it and he lost it and shit happened and I spent half a year with -
“Can I tell you later?” He just says instead, because he’s really not sure he can do that over the phone.
“Sure, you can also not tell me as long - hey, wait a moment - you have the address? Damn, thank you, you’re a lifesaver.”
Theon can hear Jon mumbling something in the background.
“Hey, he found out. It’s - it’s going to take me some thirty minutes to get there. I’m coming. Just - whatever it was, it can’t have been that bad. As far as I’m concerned. Right - I’ll be there as soon as I can. And I’m really glad you called, okay?”
“… Thank you,” he blurts, and then Robb closes the call and he slumps further against the wall, moving downwards - well, he actually can sit, proved that he keeps his legs very uncomfortably bent. Then he closes his eyes and he doesn’t know how he falls asleep, but he ends up jerking awake when someone opens the door of the phone booth and for a moment he’s terrified because who knows if it’s him -
But it’s just Robb looking so relieved he could burst with it.
He also starts looking worried a moment later, and he would considering the state of his face, but -
“You know,” he says, kneeling down outside the cabin, “while I was getting here I was thinking I’d get you to pay whatever they fine me for having broken speed limit more than once, but all things considered I think I’ll pass.”
Theon doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry or both, considering that Robb looks like someone who hasn’t slept properly for a long time, and maybe he should stand up, but instead he ends up falling against Robb’s frame, and when he feels arms encircle his waist with a certain hesitation that is entirely the contrary of what he’s had for the last few months, he decides that maybe they don’t have to leave just now.
--
So, thing is: Robb had not protested when Theon told him he didn’t want to press charges. He would have, but he’s not going to pressure him into anything, and so he hadn’t tried to convince him to do differently.
Still, he thinks as he opens the door of his apartment and finds himself facing Ramsay Bolton, he might get a restraining order on the guy as far as he is concerned, because - really? After everything, he actually shows up on his doorstep? Good thing that Robb’s dad has quit being in business with the creep’s father, though the fact that Theon’s hasn’t doesn’t help.
“What do you want,” Robb deadpans, making sure that it’s clear he’s not moving from his spot in front of the door.
“I think we both know that, don’t we?”
“I can imagine that, but the answer’s no.”
“I don’t know, I think you should ask our common friend. You might be surprised.”
“Our common friend might not have full use of three of his fingers again and if you think I’m letting you anywhere near him you can forget that.”
At that, Bolton drops the fake smile he had been sporting until now and his face goes completely blank - as if it’s going to make Robb change his mind.
“I just wanted to clear things up between us,” Bolton keeps on.
“And I’m just saying that if you try to get in I’m punching you in the face first and calling the police later, and I’d like to see you try and justify yourself.”
“Oh come on, says the one who’d have refused to kill a mosquito in elementary school. Stark, you’re not going to punch anyone and we both know that.”
“Robb, what -” comes from the hallway, and shit, Robb sees Bolton’s eyes get a certain glint, and -
He curls his fingers up in a fist and does exactly what he said he’d have done - good thing he brought Jon to boxing practice sometimes when Robb was fourteen and Jon was twelve and his parents couldn’t get out of work early enough. He did pay attention to the basics.
And then Bolton lets out a surprised shout as blood starts pouring out of his nose.
“Fuck, you broke it, you -”
“I told you I was going to do that. Now, either you get the fuck off my doorstep or you don’t, but I’m calling the cops regardless. Got it?”
Bolton sends Robb a look that probably was meant to scare him, but considering that he’s cradling his nose with his left hand and that Robb definitely broke something there he doesn’t look anywhere near menacing.
“Good thinking,” Robb says as he turns his back on the door. “And don’t bother coming back.”
He slams the door closed and puts on the chain - just in case.
Then he turns towards Theon, who’s standing still like a salt statue on the door that leads into the hallway.
“He - he was here,” he says, his voice sounding not steady at all.
“Yes, and he’s going straight to the ER.”
“To - where?”
“I broke his nose. Seemed appropriate.” He’s about to bring up the part where he should really call the cops, but considering that Theon looks like he’s about to faint, maybe he’ll do that later.
“He just - he just showed up, shit, I might be sick -”
Robb just grabs him by the arm and walks towards the bathroom, and just in the nick of time - he keeps a hand on Theon’s back while he throws up and thinks to himself I’m going to do a lot more than breaking that piece of shit’s nose if we ever cross paths again. When a minute or so has passed and Theon is just breathing in, he reaches up to flush the toilet.
“Do you want me to get you something to drink?”
“No, it’s fine, I just -”
Robb can see that his shoulders are shaking and that he’s obviously trying to stop himself from doing something. And he thinks he knows, considering that Theon hasn’t really shed a tear about this since he called him two weeks ago.
“You know,” he says, moving so that he’s leaning back against the wall, “it’s not - you can cry about it. It’s okay if you do. Sure as hell I’m not going to be the one judging you for it.”
“It’s fine, I’ll be -”
“You don’t have to be fine, that’s the thing.”
He doesn’t know how long it is between then and Theon’s shoulders crumpling down in defeat as his head falls down on Robb’s collarbone, but he had been waiting for it, hadn’t he, and so he reaches forward, runs his fingers through hair damp with cold sweat as Theon fists his shirt with his good hand.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, this isn’t -” Theon starts, but he can’t even finish the sentence before another sob breaks it off.
“Told you, nothing to be sorry about. If you want to blame anyone other than him, blame your asshole of a father. By the way, he really is going to need the ER.”
“Wouldn’t want to be the poor bastard on shift,” Theon mutters after a bit - he leans back a bit, taking in a few deep breaths, and Robb can’t help snorting at that.
“Well, if you can make shitty jokes about it seems to me like the universe is back on its natural course. And I think we’d be better off doing this on the couch with a few blankets and after you get a glass of water, but if you prefer the bathroom floor I can be flexible.”
It’s not good enough of an attempt to make the situation less depressing if you ask Robb, but Theon does smile a tiny bit at that. “Guess you have a point. But I don’t think I can even stand up.”
“You want me to carry you?”
“Hell no, but I could do with the water glass. And the couch. In another ten minutes.”
Robb doesn’t add to that. He goes to the kitchen instead, gets the glass of water and sits back down again. Theon drinks it and then his head falls down on Robb’s shoulder again - Robb just presses back against him and starts running his fingers through his hair all over again.
“You know, if you want to go sit somewhere comfortable -”
“I’m perfectly fine here,” Robb cuts him short. “I could still carry you, though. Just say it.”
“You would, wouldn’t you?”
“Why, do you want me to show you?”
So maybe it’s a good thing that no one’s there to see it, because he actually does manage to put his hands under Theon’s knees without waiting for an answer, and it ends up with Theon clinging to his neck and shouting seriously at him, never mind that he doesn’t weight as much as he should, but Robb figures they’ll deal with that later.
“Don’t you dare telling anyone,” Theon tells him a moment later while Robb makes his way to the living room.
Robb didn’t have it in his plans anyway, but considering that Theon’s obviously trying not to laugh out loud against his shoulder, he thinks it’s working the way he was hoping it would.
He can always worry about Bolton tomorrow, not that if he shows up he won’t break his nose twice.
End.