Gendry

It took Gendry a long time to fall asleep that night. It was so peaceful being away from the civilization. He laid in his sleeping bag listening to the sounds of the forest. There were sounds of leaves rustling in the ground, the hooting of the owls, and the occasional howling heard in the distance. The howling definitely came from a direwolf. Gendry didn't think direwolves lived this far south from the Wall. Perhaps he was wrong. Gendry made a mental note for himself to ask Arry about direwolves. After all, she was from the North, perhaps she even had some direwolf as pets. Gendry smiled to himself at the thought of Arry's tiny frame next to a direwolf.

Gendry reflected back on his past two days as well as on how he felt about this girl he just met. She was very self-opinionated, almost as stubborn as he was, a tiny hint of annoying, and always spoke her mind. Gendry thought back to when she told him that he was attractive. And then made him sleep next to her on the mattress. No girl he ever met has had this effect on him. She was driving him mad in the most desirable way possible. Gendry then remembered how her face lit up when she talked about her family – she could hardly stop smiling. Gendry wished that she was always smiling; she had the most beautiful smile.

Gendry heard the raindrops starting to fall as the light that came from the fire became dimmer. He turned to his side and saw Arry's chest gently rise and fall. She was sleeping. He smiled, feeling something in his chest that he couldn't quite identify. Gendry's eyelids then grew heavy and sleep finally washed over him.


Gendry woke up the next morning with a ray of sunshine shining upon the side of his face. Squinting while his eyes adjusted to the light, Gendry became aware of his position. Arry was snuggled up to his left side, with one of her arms stretched out across his chest. His left arm was placed under her head, hugging her back and upper body. Gendry wasn't sure how the two of them ended up in this position. When he went to sleep he made sure that he was as far on his side of the mattress as the space would allow him. Gendry then remembered being cold during the night. She was probably cold as well, and somehow their two bodies found each other, seeking heat. Suddenly Gendry became very glad for the two sleeping bags separating the two of them, if not completely then at least partially.

Gendry began to feel Arry move in her sleep and decided to pretend to be asleep. It would be much worse if she woke up to him being awake, knowingly holding her in such an embrace. Her arm stretched out further across his chest, gripping the side of his right arm, and then Gendry felt her body separate from his. Arry quickly got up and stood up in the middle of the tent. This was Gendry's cue to 'wake up'.

Sitting up while rubbing his eyes, Gendry heard Arry mumble a "morning."

"Morning," he said back. "Did you sleep well last night?" he continued as he noticed an apparent blush spreading across Arry's face.

"Surprisingly, yes," she answered. "And you?"

"Yes, me too. Surprisingly," he said, not being able to keep the grin off of his face. He noticed her face blush even more.

"Okay, well I'm ummm, I have to pee. So yes, see you in a bit," she said before darting out of the tent.

He made her uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if it was his stupid grin or the fact that she was embarrassed because of their sleeping arrangements. She was the one who insisted that he sleep next to her on the mattress. Gendry concluded that Arry will probably blame herself for the awkwardness between them. He didn't like that. He contemplated bringing it up with her, but decided against it.


Arya

They were on the road again, but things were a lot more awkward today than they were yesterday. Arya wondered if he was aware of how they slept during the night. She wasn't sure how she ended up curled up next to him; Gods know what she does in her sleep! That morning Arya woke up snuggled up against his side, hugging his chest. For a brief moment Arya let her arm stretch out a little bit farther, and moved deeper into his warm embrace. Almost momentarily she snapped back into reality and got up. Shortly after Gendry woke up and asked her how she slept in a very suggestive tone. Then she knew that her face was blushing, and apparently so did Gendry because she saw him grinning at her. Ugh, that stupid grin! Arya couldn't shake off the feeling of having Gendry's warm body pressed up against hers. Somehow his arm fit perfectly around her frame. She felt comfortable being in his embrace. Thinking back to it caused Arya's stomach to flip and feel warm at the same time. How was he doing this to her?

Trying to stop thinking about Gendry, Arya decided to look out the window. As Arya saw the scenery change she realized that they must've been leaving the Crownlands, and on their way into the Riverlands. Her mother's family lived in the Riverlands, a thought that comforted Arya.

A couple of more hours passed of them driving in silence before Arya decided to tackle the elephant in the room – ahem, car – and bring up what happened during the night with Gendry.

"Gendry," she began.

"Mhm," he said keeping his eyes on the road.

"Do you remember, umm…" she wasn't sure how to bring it up. She really should have thought this through. "Do you remember, you know, like, snuggling up to me during the night?"

"Um, no!" he said. "But I think I remember you snuggling up to me!"

SHIT! Did she?

"I wouldn't!" she protested.

"And neither would I!" he screamed. "Well, not knowingly anyway," he continued, his voice a lot calmer.

"Okay, well, all I know is that I woke up sleeping right up against you!" she said, looking to the opposite side from where Gendry was, crossing her arms.

He stayed quiet for a few moments before he spoke again. "Don't worry, it won't happen again. I'll sleep on the ground tonight."

Arya immediately looked back at him.

"Gendry, that's not what I meant!"

"Except that it is," he said in a sad voice while his face was in a bit of a scowl. "If I were you I wouldn't want some dirty mechanic sleeping right next to m'lady high!"

"STOP IT GENDRY!" she screamed at him. "Stop putting words into my mouth, and thinking that you know how the world spins!"

"I do know how the world spins!" he snapped back at her.

"Well, CLEARLY NOT!" she continued to scream. Why was he being so difficult? "You are doing something for me that I will never be able to repay you back for. You are taking me home! Do you really think I care if you sleep next to me? Heck, I wouldn't care if you walked around naked! That stuff doesn't bother me, Gendry! I wish you could see that!"

She was the angry one now. That stupid, bull-headed boy was driving her mad.

"Fine," he said, his voice calm. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? For sleeping next to me, or being a pain in the ass? Because those are two different things, Gendry!"

"Arry," he said shaking his head. "Let it go, please."

A/N: Another filler chapter, but I really wanted to incorporate the snuggling scene into the story, as well as their small fight! Plot progression happening in the next chapter.