Hi my lovelies! Here's chapter two for you! Hope you like it!
Chapter 2
Arya sighed and discreetly checked her watch. Fifteen minutes left… She was in the middle of the slow burn until her last meeting of the day finished. Most of them were with construction companies which the architectural company she worked for cooperated with. Arya had already given her presentations and was now mostly just pretending to listen to her boss talking about shit she already knew because she helped him organize it.
Later today it was the big day…well, the smaller bigger day. Not the wedding, obviously! That date wasn't decided yet, it had only been about a week since she and Gendry got engaged. They were, however, today telling Arya's family. Since her immediate family was quite big, Arya and Gendry felt it was probably best to just round them up and tell them all at once. Gendry's mom wasn't alive and Uncle Robert had died before Gendry had a chance to meet him.
It was Sunday so she wasn't even supposed to work, yet she was called in for emergency meetings as she and Gendry was having breakfast. Of course, being the gentleman that he was, Gendry said that it was fine and that he would take care of the cleaning that needed to be done before her family got there. Though Arya couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty.
"That wraps it up" her boss finally said. "Thank you all for coming in despite your day off." Arya smiled as she packed her stuff in her bag. She was so ready to be out of there. "Arya, could a man speak to you for a moment?" Her boss had this weird habit of referring to himself in third person, a habit he most likely picked up in Braavos where he was originally from.
"Of course, Mr H'ghar" Arya answered, trying not to sound slightly disappointed that she couldn't leave just yet.
"A man just wanted to say congratulations." He smiled knowingly at her.
"Excuse me?" Jaqen H'ghar's eyes flashed to her left hand, and then she understood. "Oh… Thank you." Arya still hadn't gotten used to people staring at her hand disbelievingly, squealing, yanking her hand to get a closer look at the ring glimmering on her finger and telling her congratulations out of the blue.
"When's the wedding?" Arya and her boss had always had a good working relationship. They were comfortable talking about their personal lives yet still managed to keep a level of professionalism.
"Oh, that's not planned yet" Arya said quickly. "I've barely gotten used to being engaged, I think I'm staying engaged for a while before moving on to married."
"Yes, that does sound like you." Mr H'ghar cleared his throat and checked the time. "Have a good afternoon."
"You as well. I will see you tomorrow."
Jaqen H'ghar grabbed his belongings and walked away as Arya fished her phone from her pocket and started walking back to her office. Gendry answered on the third ring.
"Hi, M'Lady how's it going?" There was a playful tone in his somehow rushed voice. Arya could hear the sound of a vacuum in the background.
"Everything's fine, my last meeting ended now so I'm on my way home. Is there anything I should pick up on the way?"
"I haven't checked the fridge yet, but give me five minutes to finish this and I'll check. I was thinking about a chicken casserole for when your family comes over, easy and quite quick to prepare."
"Sounds good. Send me a grocery list."
"I will. See you soon!"
"Bye."
Arya grabbed her jacket from the coat hanger in her office, made sure her computer was logged off and her blueprints were safely locked away in the cabinet. Then she closed the door behind her before walking to the elevator. In the elevator she bumped into one of the few people she didn't get along with at the House of Black and White – architectural industries. She wasn't even sure what her name was, but the woman looked like a waif, so Arya just referred to her as The Waif.
The Waif glanced at Arya's left hand and did a bad job of holding back a snort. Arya had no idea what she had done to piss the woman off. They had barely even spoken to each other. Maybe the Waif was always cranky…
As soon as the elevator made its characteristic bell sound and the doors swung open, Arya rushed out of there, not wanting to spend more time than she had to with the woman. Her car was parked in the end of the huge parking lot belonging to the building. The House of B&W's main office resided in Braavos, but Arya didn't want to live so far away from her family. Thankfully, there was an office in White Harbor, right outside of Winterfell. Gendry had grown up in King's Landing but there was really nothing for him there, so he took the first teaching job he was offered when applying, which just so happened to be in White Harbor.
Speaking of the devil, Arya checked her phone and saw that Gendry had sent her a grocery list containing all of three items. Garlic, cheese and rice. She chuckled slightly and threw her bag the back seat before sitting in the driver's seat and leaving the parking lot. The drive to the nearest supermarket only took about ten minutes. With a quickness that surprised even herself, Arya bought the three items. She texted Gendry that she was on her way home.
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Arya sighed again and checked the casserole for what was probably the tenth time, even though she knew perfectly that it wasn't ready. Somehow it felt like the stupid dish was counting down the minutes until her family arrived.
"Nervous, M'Lady?" Gendry smirked from behind her.
"Tell me why I shouldn't be" Arya retorted.
Gendry walked up behind her and removed her Arya's hair from her shoulder. He reassuringly kissed the junction between her shoulder and neck. "Because you have nothing to be nervous about. Everything's going to be fine and they're all going to be happy, okay?"
"Yeah…" Arya answered. "You're right…" The bell rung. "Shit!"
"Let the show begin" Gendry laughed and took Arya's hand as they walked to open the door.
Jon was the first to arrive. Ygritte was supposed to come with but she couldn't get out of work. When Arya and Gendry first met Jon played the part of the extremely overprotective brother but soon he and Gendry bonded and now they almost ganged up on Arya as she and Rickon ganged up on all their siblings. Next came Arya's parents.
"So, Arya" her mom started, trying to be subtle but obviously probing. "Why did you two decide to throw an all family gathering?"
"Family, duty, honor, mom. Remember?" Arya answered, sarcastically reciting the motto of her mother's family. "Family first."
Soon after came Bran, Rickon and Sansa and lastly came Robb and Jeyne, which was good because the food was ready. During dinner Sansa blabbed on and on about some fashion runway thing she had attended for work. Sansa worked as senior editor for the fashion department on one of Westeros' tabloids. She often went to runway shows, interviewed famous designers and wore the latest from every Westerosi designer at benefits and finer gatherings. It also didn't hurt that one of her best friends, Margaery Tyrell, was a well known fashion designer. Sansa always got the scoop first hand on Margaery's latest collections.
Later Arya's dad and Robb went into detail on the family company's latest endeavor. They talked about statistics and budget whilst Arya gave Gendry a meaningful look and he nodded in approval. It was time…
Arya cleared her throat and the room quieted. "Can I just interject real quick?" she said, although it wasn't really a question. Ned nodded with a smile. "Good. Okay, uhm… As mom so obviously probed about earlier…" Catelyn quirked and eyebrow in her daughter's direction. "…there was a special reason behind why we dragged you all here today." Sansa's eyes were big as saucers. Surely she suspected what Arya was about to tell them all. Arya took a deep breath. It was probably best just to say it and let the cat out of the bag. "Gendry and I are getting married."
A loud squeal filled the room. As Arya and Gendry had speculated, Sansa was the first to react. She flew up from her chair as if someone had set her rear on fire and ran around the table before grabbing Arya's face not so gently with her hands. "Arya Lyanna Stark! Tell me you aren't joking!" Sansa screamed.
"I'll tell you whatever you want, just lower your pitch" Arya complained. "Your screeching is making my eardrums burst." Sansa only did the opposite, she squealed even higher and embraced her sister in a bone crushing hug.
"My little sister's getting married!" Arya wasn't sure if Sansa was laughing or crying, or both. "I knew you were one to keep!" Sansa added in Gendry's direction.
Meanwhile, pretty much everyone else had risen from the table as well. Robb and Jeyne had each given Gendry a hug and 'congratulations' each. Ned and Catelyn hugged each other first and foremost, probably just celebrating that their wild wolf of a daughter was even tying the knot in the first place.
"Oh my sweet little girl" Ned said, something wet in the corners of his eyes. He released Arya from her sister's vice grip.
"We're so happy!" Catelyn finished for her husband when he couldn't find the words.
"I never thought this day would come" Arya heard Bran whisper to Rickon across the table. She rolled her eyes when Rickon answered;
"As long as they're serving food after the ceremony, I'm cool…"
Jon was the only one still sitting down. He was staring blankly at his sister and her fiancé with his mouth so wide open Arya was sure she could fit a whole spaceship in there. She walked away from the group of people surrounding her and Gendry, with Gendry trailing after her.
"Jon?" she said carefully.
"You're getting married?" Jon asked hoarsely, sounding as if he hadn't really grasped the concept.
"Yes, Jon, I'm getting married" Arya answered, smiling. "We're getting married. Me and Gendry." When Jon didn't answer, she added: "Are you okay?"
Jon turned towards Gendry. "I'm not sure whether to punch you for stealing my sister away from me or to hug you because I know you'll make an amazing brother in law."
Gendry laughed. "Well if you're going to punch me, please do it now so it has time to heal before the ceremony."
Jon was quiet for a moment. Then he rose from his seat and gently pulled Arya to him in a brotherly embrace. Arya always felt so safe in his arms. Jon was warm and he smelled like home, like Winterfell and something that was so undoubtedly him. It was a smell she always associated with calmness and safety. He pressed a kiss to her temple and then let her go before turning to Gendry. "I'll go with hugging" Jon said and gave Gendry one of those man-hugs.
The rest of the night progressed smoothly. As expected, Rickon started asking about food and the menu they had planned for the wedding. Of course they hadn't planned anything yet. They were still getting used to the feeling of being engaged.
By 10 pm, the entire Stark family had left and Gendry was just about to start clearing the dishes from the counter when Arya quietly showed up behind him. She gently stroked her way across his back and Gendry's movements stopped instantly. "We can do this tomorrow" she whispered. Her hand moved on from his back to his arm and Gendry put the plate he'd been holding down.
Arya couldn't count the times they'd had sex, but what amazed her was that she still felt the anticipation every single time. Gendry turned around in Arya's half embrace and without a word picked her up by her by the thighs. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Oh, you sexy creature" Gendry murmured in his deep, raspy, voice. He put her down on their dining room table which happened to be empty. Arya smirked. She had always had a thing for table sex and Gendry knew that perfectly well. Arya leaned down on the table, knowing that she'd be properly taken care of.
Hope you liked it! Let me know your thoughts! I didn't go all the way with Jaqen's speech patterns because I wanted to keep him grounded, he still refers to himself in third person but others by their name.
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