A/N: This is my first Game of Thrones Fanfic so please be gentle with me. It's a Gendry and Arya one with some potential Sansa with another character but undecided. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 Shortlived

"Is it always like this?" She asked.

Arya spoke into the silent, bitterly cold air. Gendry laid beside her, his brow laden with sweat and he panted as he tried to catch his breath. They're lovemaking had ended several moments ago and this was the first words either of them had spoken.

"I don't know ." He said with a brazen look on his face. "None of the other women I laid with were virgins."

Arya didn't dare look him as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Gendry suddenly felt a sense of worry over her silence as he gently places a hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't hurt you did I?" Arya shook her head in response.

Their lovemaking had caused her very little pain. It had the opposite effect in fact. The experience had been one of the most satisfying and pleasurable moments of her life. During her travels, she had overhears many of women from the Brothels talk of the pain that came with the first time of lying with a man. They had described the rupture of the hymen like a flood of red blood escaping the body and the pain like taking a punch to the gut. None of this had happened to Arya. Arya had suspected that hers had broken some time ago unbeknownst to her

With the meaning of her words still unclear, Gendry continued to push her for answers.

"Arya. What did you mean?"

Arya continued to ignore him as she rose and pretended to look for her clothes. Suddenly she was forced to face him as he clutched her face in his hands and she had no choice but to make eye contact with him.

"Look at me! He demanded.

Arya's grey eyes found themselves face to face with Gendry's blue ones. Her whole body felt as if it would sink into the ground from one look of those eyes.

"Now what did you mean when you said is it always like this?"

"I meant is it always so glorious. That triumphant feeling of pleasure. The comfort of being in someone's arms and the calm that passes after it's over."

Gendry released his hold on her face, pondering for a moment fr the best way to answer this question.

"I don't know Arya." He confessed. "Because I've never felt those things except with you!"

Arya's face scrunched up with confusion.

"But Gendry you were with three other women?"

"I know." He told her placing a hand gently over her face. "But they were whores and strangers. With you it's different. You're familiar. I know you."

Arya smiled at him sweetly. His words caused a wave of affection to wash over her. It was a feeling she was unused to. Brushing aside her thoughts she lunged towards Gendry. She has a strong desire for his body once more. Their lips crashed against each other hungrily and he gently pushed her back down onto the floor.

Gendry stood before Arya as she continued to use the bow and arrow, taken aback by her casual and cruel demeanor. He had just put his true feelings out there, declared his love for her and proposed a married life together. Yet all she had to say was "that's not me" and now she was back to flinging her bow and arrow. With nothing left to say and the struggled to hold back his tears becoming too much, Gendry swiftly left the crypts and left her alone. Once he was gone Arya threw her bow to the side in frustration. Grasping hold of her chest the tears she allowed to escape fell from her eyes. This wonderful man had offered her what many women could only dream of and she had refused profusely. Arya loved him of that she was certain. But she was halted by revenge. All she had lived by for the past eight years was her instincts of survival. Moving from one place to the next never calling anywhere home. The only thing that hed kept her from crumbling was her list and the knowledge that she would kill those on it. What Gendry asked for was a wife, a lady, a partner to help rule his land. Arya was none of those things and stability was not her way of life. It was best she refused him now and hurt him in the short term. Had she accepted, in the end, she would of have hurt him more when she failed to be the woman he wanted. The only thing she wished she had done was to tell him how much she loved him. But what good could come from that? Persevering through her tears, Arya retrieved her bow from the floor and continued to practice her shooting.

The air was crisp and the fear of the battle still lingered in the City of Winterfell. Gendry noticed this as he paced the forge for what would be his final visit. Following his legitimisation from the Queen, Gendry was no longer Gendry Waters 'The Blacksmith', he was Gendry Baratheon 'Lord of Storms End'. Storms End awaited his arrival and the people were ready to meet their new Lord. Gendry had spent years longing for a free and comfortable life After years of wandering the lands with no sense of belonging it felt amazing to be given a namesake and a home. However, returning to Winterfell and falling in love with Arya Stark had changed things severely. He wanted to honor his commitments to the Queen but the honor to his heart caused a dilemma. Alas, Arya had rejected his proposal. Refused his offer of a home and proved his love was unrequited. Perhaps he could find her and try to convince her? As this thought occurred to him, Gendry overheard a couple of men talking in the forge.

"Did you hear the news?" The first man asked the other. "Lady Arya Stark is gone."

"Disappeared. Where to?" The second man asked the other.

"No one knows. She up and left in the night and horse tracks were found outside the castle."

But Gendry knew where she had gone. That list still held two important names, Cersei Lannister and The Mountain both of which were very much still alive and in Kings Landing. A worry ran through his mind that he would never see the women he loved ever again. But the information made something very clear. Her journey to Kings Landing proved that all that mattered to Arya was vengeance and she obviously didn't love him. With this in mind, Gendry took one last look around the forge before heading to his horse and his new life.

A/N: I know it's short but future Chapters will be longer this is just setting the scene. Hope you enjoyed it :p Please read and review and I will continue to keep posting as quickly as I can!