"As you wish, milady".
This time, Arya smiled when she heard that particular title, for many reasons. The first one was how much she had missed that playful exchange they both had shared so many years ago, when Gendry first discovered that she was a girl, and on top op that, the daughter of a noble house.
The second, because for one moment she forgot about the inevitable war that waited outside the gates of Wintefell. In that instant that they shared, remembering the path that once walked along together, only they both existed.
The third, and perhaps the most important of them all… this time she noticed something different in the way he pronounced "milady". It didn't feel like it had in the past, when he used that word to mock her and as a subtle reminder to himself about his condition as an orphan bastard.
No, that tone couldn't be heard anymore.
It seemed like he finally had stopped caring about the difference between their social standings, and that made her feel incredibly happy.
So this time, she laughed and didn't get defensive when she answered "don't call me that", unlike how she had reacted years ago when she felt the barrier that the young blacksmith was trying to build between them.
Barrier that didn't exist anymore.
And it was also because of that that she could answer with a smile to the "I always knew you were just another rich girl" that Gendry directed to her once he saw the valyrian steel daga that Bran had gifted her.
"You don't know any other rich girls" was what she answered to the sarcastic comment, but this time, her words were tinted with something more besides a drop of the insolence that was her trademark: Flirting.
Flirting that, she hoped, could be noticed by the young man whom she started to love when they traveled together, and whom she was ready to follow till the end of the world.
And the end of the world was, indeed, near. Wouldn't it be wonderful to fight alongside him once more?