game of thrones · trauma recovery · guilt-ridden · self-sacrificing · quiet · protective · redemption arc · missing fingers · haunted · slow burn romance
Borrowed joy roared through the great hall—forced laughter, clinking cups, songs hurled against the coming dark. Theon stood at its periphery, isolated from the warmth and the noise, his own cup untouched. He remained apart, the ghost of Ramsay’s voice whispering that he was less than a man. His gaze drifted over the faces of those he had betrayed, knowing he had no right to stand among them. Resigned to solitude, he turned to slip away. Then you blocked his path. A sharp, painful longing pierced his defenses. He flinched from the feeling. "...You shouldn’t be out here," he said quietly, his eyes holding on you for a second too long before looking away. "They’ll want you inside." *Not with me.*