A/N: Sorry for the delay! I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach the story's time frame (early 20th century or maybe the latter half of the decade?) but I figured it needed an update regardless, so sorry the chapters a little short. If anyone has some opinions feel free to share! Also thanks to everyone for the follows, favorites, and reviews! Means a lot :)

P.S. – Even though I was waiting for the Red Wedding all season, I was not ready to actually see it apparently. In my depressed state I decided to write a little Gendrya oneshot called Pool House to try and lift my spirits.

It had been a few days since her return. He'd only caught glimpses of her from a far, laughing with Robb and Jon who returned to welcome her home, scowling at Sansa as they sat on the back porch with their mother, but the best was when she was out with Bran and Rickon. He was trimming the hedges along the side of the plantation home near the gates and saw them playing out by the barn. It was as if Arya never went off to some stuffy school. She followed them around eagerly, with a genuine smile for her younger brothers. They ran about playing what he could only assume was cowboys and Indians due to Rickon's war cries and the mud Arya streaked under her eyes. How her mother would love that.

The following day, Gendry was trudging up to the house. He knew he was going to talk to Arya soon, but he had no idea how to address that situation, so for the time being he decided to snag a snack off his friend Hot Pie who helped in the kitchen. No one really knew Hot Pie's real name, but no one seemed to care to, least of all Hot Pie. He loved the attention he got from his baking. Gendry remembered when Hot Pie first cooked for the Starks, baking his famous hot pies, which won Eddard Stark over himself, and then cementing his place in the kitchens of the Starks by making lemon cakes. That may have been the only time he saw Sansa loose self-control. And by losing self-control he meant eating only 3 lemon cakes, but that was a stretch for the then tiny girl.

Gendry walked up the porch to the window, leaning in and looking about.

"Hey! Hot Pie whatcha got in here I'm starving."

"You just don't walk up and place an order ya know." The fat boy chuckled and placed a plate with two biscuits with some country ham left from breakfast on the ledge with a tall glass of sweet tea.. "You're gonna need that for those. How's the stable going?" Gendry had been charged with rebuilding the interior of the ancient stable. It was just getting run down and not getting as much attention as the Stark children were growing up.

"Not terrible, but yesterday Shaggy Dog must've gotten loose and spooked the horses. One of them kicked the wooden panels I just put up in its stall. Poor thing took thirty minutes to calm down." Hot Pie disappeared for a moment then Gendry heard the slap of the screen door as it closed. He had his own plate of biscuits with jam and sat down next to Gendry on the stairs of the back porch. He caught Gendry eyeing his plate.

"I gotta eat too ya know. This is mine so take your greedy eyes of it. I've seen how much you can put away, you'd give me a run for my money. Too bad you can't keep a body like this." He patted his protruding stomach and Gendry laughed. He loved how sure of himself his friend was.

"You talk to Arya yet? I heard her mention your name to Jon this morning." Gendry's eyebrows shot straight up. He gulped down the last bite of his biscuit and took a long sip of his sweet tea. "Im gonna take that look you got off in the distance as a no. In my opinion I say just walk up to her. Everyone knows about what happened between you and her mom by now. It's been four years and she's back. She might've lightened up a bit." Gendry just sat there, unsure of it all. From what Lady Catelyn said it didn't sound like she would take kindly to Gendry just walking back in to Arya's life.

"Well I think it's worth a shot," Hot Pie encouraged. Gendry was glad he had someone so optimistic around him. He also didn't mind the fact Hot Pie talked so much. Gendry wasn't one for lengthy talks himself but he didn't mind listening. With that he stood up and gave Hot Pie a smack on the back and handed him his plate.

"Thanks again for the food, but a gate in the stable is calling my name. I'll see ya around soon enough." Hot Pie smiled then heaved himself off the stairs, lumbering back towards the kitchen. Gendry shoved his hands in his pockets and he was off to the stables.

About an hour later he stood up and stretched his back. Not bad, he thought to himself. The rusty old gate had been replaced and he just finished screwing in the hinges when he heard the whinny of a horse. He turned towards the paddock and there stood Arya in her riding clothes. She held the reins of the horse in one hand and her helmet in the other, her hair blown wild from the wind and her cheeks flushed. However, her steel greys showed no warmth, they rarely did. Gendry knew more of what she felt by the crinkle of the eyes around her face and her eyebrows than those mysterious grey irises. She blinked then walked forward.

"You know, I was hoping to get an explanation from you sooner, but seeing how you're trapped here with me now I guess this will have to work. Spill it Waters it's been a long time coming." She was taking the saddle off, immersed in her work and not sparing Gendry a second glance. He just stood there trying to process things.

She wasn't fuming, which is one of the reactions he'd always expected when he imagined there reunion. Also she wasn't ignoring him, which to him was the other option. She was now grooming her horse, seemingly emotionless. He was nervous, so incredibly nervous. He began to mumble something just for noise but soon stopped. He literally had no idea what to say to her, no idea how to convey all the emotions he'd felt in the past four years.

"Alright well you're as talkative as ever. Look if it makes it you feel any better I know the general idea of what my charming mother said to you, and I know it must've scared the piss out of you, she scared me too at times, but I was hoping for at least a little bit of fight out of you. I thought we were pretty close, you and me."

"Arya, I'm so sorry. Believe me I am, I've thought a million times about this but your mother said it's what's best for you and I'd hate to cross her and if I could go back and change things I would and –"

She cut him off, standing on her tip toes to get a better look at him over the horse, "I was furious at first Gendry. I couldn't believe my best friend – my only friend apart from my brothers, would so easily abandon me because of my mother's threats, but then after a month or so Jon had told me what mother had said. He was on the other side of the tent when you had your… conversation. I know you would've lost your job if you…" She grew quiet and looked up at him from the other side of the horse. Her lids were heavy and she appeared to be concentrating very hard on brushing the horse all of the sudden. "Gendry I'm sorry she treated you that way, you must know she honestly means well for me, she is my mother. I think she just finds it a lot harder because you remind her of, well Jon. And we all know how that goes."

Gendry was a bastard, and so was Jon. Jon however, was a bastard of the honorable Eddard Stark. The surrounding counties began whispering furiously about the boy when he was brought back to Winterfell plantation, but out of respect for the Starks, or so he assumed, the gossip died quickly. Gendry on the other hand never knew his father, but no one cared about a poor bastard boy and his poor mother. Over the years it had come to hurt him less hearing people say the word bastard, but it always made him twitch at the word when people said it. No one ever said the word bastard kindly.

"Arya… I'm sorry I still should've tried." He hung his head and began wringing his hands. This wasn't as bad as he'd imagined but it still didn't help ease the knot of guilt in his stomach from all these years. "I've been meaning to come talk to you but… I didn't know how."

"Really Gendry? All those years we spent together and you got nervous to come talk to me? Still stupid as ever it seems." She smiled, a real one. "Stop looking so lost, I forgive you ok? Just don't abandon me anymore," She joked him as she moved to the other side of the horse.

"I'll never abandon you again m'lady." He grinned and bowed with a flourish. Next thing he knew he was in a pile of hay on his ass and a loud thump. The horse snorted, as if he were rubbing it in. "Good to have you back Arya.."

"Ahh yes, I forgot how much fun it was beating you up. I'd have figured you'd have hardened up these past years but I guess I was wrong. But hey I have to go back to the house and feed Nymeria before she starts going after that porch cat again, Bran's taken a liking to that mangy thing. But we should meet by docks like old times after dinner. I haven't gotten to watch the sunset there in ages." She began walk out of the stall when Gendry stopped her.

"Your mom said I shouldn't be friends with you even after you came back…" He looked down again, not able to meet her stare, but then, she surprised him. She laughed.

"Gendry she couldn't stop me if she tried and if you're worried about your job, she wouldn't dare do it with me here, she knows I'd raise hell and high water if she so much as mentioned it. Plus you know me and my father have always been close. He wouldn't be able to look me in the eye and tell me he fired you, and you know as well as I that if he can't look you in the eye and tell you what he did, he wouldn't do it is the first place." With smirk on her face she turned to leave but Gendry moved forward as if to hug her. She moved towards him, but then he awkwardly shoved out his hand for a handshake. She looked at him with a comical and confused face but shook it anyways.

"Gods you're a strange one. Glad you haven't gone and changed on me Gendry." She picked a piece of hay from his mess of black hair then strode off.

Glad you haven't either, he thought. He smiled to himself as he picked up his tools. He looked up and watched her walk away, then dropped what he was holding on his toe and he jumped. She had changed. He couldn't believe he didn't notice it earlier but those riding pants were showing off a whole new set of curves that never existed before on little Arya Stark. Not all changes are bad. He shook his head and began making his way down the path to the water and his house.