SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ PAST A STORM OF SWORDS.
This is my first fic ever ok so please excuse any mistakes.
Gendry/Arya one shot, based years after the war.
Arya remembered the War of the Five Kings like it was yesterday. She remembered how the common-folk would speak of her brother, the valiant Young Wolf and how his end was as bloody as the state of Westeros. It was true. Westeros had bled fatally. With the arrival of Daenerys Targaryen and her beloved three dragons, fire rained on most of the castles and inns and brothels. Even King's Landing was burned almost to a crisp. Even the Mother of Dragons struggled to control such beasts.
The war had ended sooner than Arya thought it would. Renly was murdered by some demon – according to the smallfolk – that was created by Stannis Baratheon and some red priestess from a foreign land. Arya's dear brother Robb was brutally butchered by House Frey and House Lannister at what is known as the Red Wedding. Plenty of songs have been sung about that. Joffrey was poisoned at his own wedding, Arya had heard. The sailors had many tales to tell and this was by far the sweetest to the she-wolf's ears. Nobody knew what happened to Cersei and Jaime after the war. Some say that Jaime had killed his twin sister and shortly after killed himself, and others say that they had fled to another country to be together. Arya didn't care about them anyway. Daenerys Targaryen died a stupid death. She came breathing fire but never expected the North to be so unwelcoming. She apparently died of starvation and the bitter cold did not ease her death. Maybe if she hadn't burnt everything to a crisp, she'd have some food. Arya had heard no other tales, but all she knew was that Stannis Baratheon was King of Westeros and the red witch was his Queen.
There was only one thing Arya longed to hear and one thing only. She wanted to know about the outlaws. She wanted to know if they had survived the war and most importantly, where she could find them. It had been seven years since she had been taken from them by Sandor Clegane. Now, as a fully grown woman, she could see that he wasn't as bad as people made out. He'd dead though.
She had worked a lot of things out at her age. She realised the odd similarities between Robert Baratheon and Gendry Waters, the bastard boy she had been taken from. He was undoubtedly Robert's son. It also explained why the gold cloaks were searching for him and why he never knew who his father was.
He was all Arya thought about. She wanted to see his blue eyes again. She wanted to ruffle his black hair and call him 'stupid' like she always had. She wanted to apologise for leaving him. She wanted to shout at him for joining the brotherhood and leaving her. She just wanted to hear his name again. Gendry Waters. She liked his name.
She didn't realise today was the day.
In Braavos, the docks were always busy. Sailors would sing their songs of the Great War of Westeros whilst people like Arya would unload their supplies. The job was boring but it paid her well and it was the only way she'd ever hear of Gendry. The captain of Sweet Stormborn was some Targaryen fanatic from the looks of it. He was declaring his love for Daenerys and even started crying for her. He even claimed he had bedded the girl and taken her maidenhead.
"That's a lie," Arya corrected, smirking slightly, "she was wed to Khal Drogo, if I remember rightly, do you not have other songs to sing?"
The man was taken aback by the girl's ferocity. She was a wolf, through and through.
"Songs of what exactly? What songs could be greater than those of Daenerys Stormborn?"
"The brotherhood. The outlaws, what of them?" Arya unloaded the last of the crates and accepted the golden coin graciously.
"Ah, the outlaws, why they're on that boat over there, well what's left of them, the Wailing Weirwood" he laughed with his hand on his belly, "runts they are, the lot of them! My sweet Daenerys should have burnt them all at the stake!"
Arya was off before he could finish his dismal story. Her heart was pounding. Gendry must have survived the war. He was a bull – a stupid bull, yes, but he was her bull – he must be alive. The Wailing Weirwood was docked nearer to the Southern port and was bustling with the sound of men and boys. Arya found herself darting forward, pushing them all aside and weaving in and out of crates of what smelt like fish.
She was aboard the boat. She climbed up slightly and scanned the crowd. So many survived, Gendry must be one of them. There was only one way for her to find him in this crowd. Everybody seemed to have dark hair so she wouldn't be able to spot him.
"Everyone!" she shouted desperately. Nobody heard over the many conversations in the crowds. The stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle that seemed to catch their attention. Some of the outlaws whistled back and made japes about her appearance. Even after all these years, she wore boy's clothes.
"I'm looking for Gendry," she panted. Her heart was in her mouth and she felt like she was going to throw up right there and then. "He's a bastard boy with a bull-"
"A bull headed helm, blue eyes and a dazzling figure," a tall, muscular man emerged from the crowd. Arya almost fell off the boat in shock. I've found him, I've found him! She came face to face with the man she had been searching for all these years. His eyes were brighter than ever, his hair was longer than before but his face was exactly the same. Her bull, her stupid, stupid bull. "Now then, oak tree," he chuckled under his breath as he took her in his arms.