Skipping breakfast the next morning, Arya found her way to the training room instead, hoping to find it empty. She paused in the doorway at the sound of laughter.
Willow Heddle had only managed to get prettier in the last two years. Her hair was longer, her muscles more defined. Willow had been hired several months before the disaster of King's Landing as a Jaeger tech. Arya had spent countless hours making fun of Gendry when it became clear Willow wanted him. He had been uncomfortable with her obvious flirting and Arya had loved nothing more than laughing at his discomfort.
Apparently, he had gotten over it, because he had Willow pushed up against the far wall of the room, his head bent toward her neck, whatever he was doing causing her to release small breathy little giggles. She let out a moan when Gendry's hand moved from her waist to her ass.
Annoyed, Arya turned to leave them to their privacy, not seeing the figure standing behind her, causing her to crash fully in to Hot Pie, whom she hadn't heard approach.
"Sorry," Hot Pie yelped, grabbing her arms to steady her. "I was looking for you."
She took a humiliating moment to glance behind her, Gendry and Willow were separated, both blushing from having been discovered.
"What do you want?" Arya asked, a little more harshly than she intended.
"I," Hot Pie stumbled, clearly flustered by her sudden anger, he looked over his should at Gendry with a wordless plea for help. "Jon wanted me to find you, so we can test you in the simulator with some of the other pilots."
"But I thought-" Arya trailed off, turning to make eye contact with Gendry. She had assumed Jon meant to pair her with Gendry; thinking Gendry's apology the night before had included his denial of their compatibility.
Gendry stared back at her, Willow's eyes darting between the two of them.
"Oh," Hot Pie said, drawing her attention back. "Well Gendry and Jon thought there might be a better fit with someone else."
She turned back to Gendry, this actions behind the scenes making it clear. He still didn't want to be her co-pilot. Suddenly the anger in her was even worse, threatening to spill over.
"I'll come when I'm done practicing," she gritted out, hoping a hard work out would allow her to release some of the anger.
Hot Pie looked like he might object, but didn't say anything, instead turning around and leaving in a huff. Willow followed him out the door, giving Arya a look of triumph over her shoulder as she passed.
Arya turned then, Gendry remained in the same spot, his arms now crossed over his chest. She ignored him.
Arya grabbed a training stick from the wall, moving toward the middle of the mat. She tried to remember all the moves her instructor had taught her so long ago. The moves felt clunky, two years out of practice had taken its toll.
She didn't see Gendry move behind her until her stick came down only to be stopped by his. They said nothing, falling in to their old practice routine. Gendry worked her hard, hitting her with a flick of the stick every time she was too slow, too clumsy.
Before long people started filling up the room, lining the edge of the mat to watch them fight. She wasn't sure how long they had been at it before she finally got the upper hand, sweeping Gendry off his feet, onto his back with a surprise attack. She stood over him, offering him a hand up, when he grabbed his discarded stick, using the same move on her. She was too slow to dodge it, ending up flat on her back as well.
The room erupted in applause.
Gendry was smiling as he stood, but Arya could only scowl. People she had known over the years came forward then, to congratulate her on her return to the program. It took her ten minutes to get through the crowd and out of the room. Gendry was already in the mess hall when she got there.
"You're rusty," he said, as she took a seat opposite him. "But we can fix that."
She only grunted into her cereal. He didn't attempt conversation after that, letting her eat in silence.
As she stood up from the table his hand shot out, closing around her wrist, pulling her to sit back down again. When he didn't say anything right away, Arya broke.
"You don't want to be my co-pilot," she ground out. "I don't care."
When she moved to stand again, his hand didn't stop her. But he looked up at her, towering over him and he just shook his head. Not feeling like attempting to interpret it, she stormed out of the room.
That afternoon Arya stood patiently as Sam, Willow and some new techs whose names she didn't know secured her into the Jaeger simulator. The simulator allowed potential co-pilots to enter the Drift, without running the risk of activating a fully functioning Jaeger. Jon had explained that he had three candidates for her to chose from, her co-pilot would be whomever she Drifted with best.
Beside her, Mya Stone was being connected with the simulator. Arya had always gotten along well with Gendry's half sister and she hoped their test was successful.
It wasn't, ending five minutes after they began, both girls too stubborn to give up control and meld. There weren't enough common memories to hold them. Sam had cheerfully declared it to be the worst test he had ever seen. While neither of them had chased the rabbit, it had left both of them with headaches.
Next up was Jeyne Pool. Jeyne had always been Sansa's friend, which meant that Arya had spent a lot of time with her. She could see Jon's logic in thinking that they might be compatible, but ten minutes into their simulation it became clear that their common memories were mainly of Sansa, neither of them able to function around them. There were tears in Jeyne's eyes as she was released from the simulator.
The last candidate was Aegon Targaryen, he gave her wink and smile as he walked by to be strapped in. Being Jon's half brother meant that she had known Aegon most of her life, but they hadn't spent much time together. Once when she was twenty, he had made a pass at her, mumbling something about how his father may have been onto something. She had pushed him away with a laugh.
Arya was surprised Jon was letting him try out, having always indicated to her that he thought Aegon too arrogant to be a good pilot.
The neural handshake began and Arya felt some hope. Their joint memories were few, but enough for both of them to hold onto. Arya initiated the first part of the test and Aegon was quick to follow her lead, until he didn't like the direction she was going. He grabbed at her mind, pulling her toward the test on a different path. Reluctantly Arya agreed, but he took more control after that, almost pushing her out of the equation completely. Arya fought back and in doing so made him angry, causing him to release memories he hadn't intended to show her.
Him, angry at his father. Him, angry at Lyanna Stark. Him, angry at Jon for existing. Him, angry at his mother for dying. Him, angry at his adopted father Jon Connington for not letting him into the Jaeger program until he was eighteen. Him, angry at Jon's success. Him, angry at Gendry's success. Him, angry at being attracted to Arya. Him, angry at Arya's rejection. Him, angrily watching Arya and Gendry spar in perfect sync.
The memories swirled so fast that it made her nauseous, causing her to scream for Sam to end the simulation. The world came into focus, she screamed again for them to get her out of the suit. They all worked on her, ignoring Aegon in his. She collapsed on the floor, vomiting, her legs unable to hold her without the support of the armor.
There were hands on her, soothing down her back, turning her over, picking her up. She looked up, expecting Jon. She hadn't even been aware Gendry had been watching the simulation tests.
"Gendry," she thought she heard Willow say, as he carried her from the room. But her head felt like it was going to split open, so she couldn't be sure.
He took her to her room, depositing her on the bed as gently as he could. Jon came shortly after, handing her pain pills and a glass of water.
"What did he do?" Gendry asked, his voice tight with anger. Apparently his dislike of the Targaryen hadn't changed in the last two years.
She shook her head, not wanting to go in the details, finally saying, "He's too angry. Or maybe I am. Maybe I'm not compatible to Drift with anyone."
"Nonsense," Jon said. "We just haven't found the right person yet."
"There isn't anything wrong with you," Gendry said.
"Don't worry," Jon said, sounding defeated. "I'll find you someone."
Jon left then, leaving the two of them alone. Gendry sank down to sit at the edge of the bed, next to her hip. He grabbed the empty glass from her hand, placing it on the bedside table before moving to clasp her hand between both of his.
"I'll be your co-pilot," he finally said, looking up from their hands to her face.
"You told Old Mormont that we weren't compatible," Arya said, unable to hold the hurt from her voice.
"I lied."
"Why?"
He sighed at the question, returning his gaze to their hands.
"And you call me stupid," he whispered, giving her hand a squeeze and leaving with out another word.