Gendry
After his meeting with the Queen, Gendry had headed to the armourer and his two apprentices, who all waited eagerly to find out if they'd finally have the order to fill that was more than mending the swords broken by the wolf princess. He nodded, and they showered him with 'Thank you m'lord's' the armourer informed him that he wouldn't be able to help with the rest of the work given his station but could oversee.
'You're a good lad for a lord, you can work on the repairs at night but only if you want to you understand?' The armourer who'd come to like him had told him in a hushed whisper while the apprentices hurried around them. And then what? Was he to go find Arya and force her to accept him? It felt like too much, too much indeed.
He wished that all those times he'd shrugged off the company of boys his own age to work on his helmet, that he'd stayed and listened. He'd never courted a girl, he'd had tavern wenches, and whores thrust on his lap while serving with the brothers, he'd even fumbled with a few of them. His feet pushed him towards the stables, and onto the horse, Arya had told him he could ride. Saddled and mounted he kicked off out of the eastern gate and past the barracks of troops who remained in Winterfell to defend the queen, Winter Town had grown as a result 'this is how cities are made' he thought ponderously as he pushed his horse harder. But to what end? He drew the reigns and slowed back to a trot 'If I leave I'll never be able to come back.' He said to himself as he guided the beast to a dirt path away from the sprawl of humanity surrounding Winterfell. 'and if I stay then what? Be a Lord' he scoffed at the notion, the noise made his horse start.
Nightfall had indeed taken grip when he managed to lead his horse back to Winterfell his mind no clearer than it had been when he'd left. He guided his mount back to the stables, the boys there asked no questions of him, he was a Lord and therefore completely free to do as he willed. With an empty stomach that still felt like it was full of lead, he plodded to the forge, a small stream of smoke still whirled, but he assumed the pit would be almost extinguished. It took him minutes to restoke it, it would be longer still before it was hot enough to be useful, so he pumped it with bellows forcing his anguish into every violent squeeze.
"Good, I can tell the others you're well." It was her, stood in the doorway of the smithy looking furious.
"What?" he asked dumbly, he knew very well what, but he was going to at least attempt to play ignorant in the face of her rage.
"You've been gone for hours, the stable boys said you took your steed and left! I was worried, Sansa thought you'd run off." He felt a pang of regret, he'd upset the queen and his Arya.
"Does she know I'm back?" he asked, anxiety creeping up his throat.
"Yes, one of the guards saw you trotting up and told her… Jon said you'd just been for a ride and probably lost track of time, is that right?" her voice was higher than normal, she was as anxious as him though he had no idea why. "Were you running away?" she asked her voice small.
"No!" he answered definitively, he started moving towards her propelled solely by the guilt he felt looking at her so defeated.
"You left me before."
"No!" He repeated himself, the pang of guilt had transformed into a full wave "I'll never." He managed to stop his feet halfway across the room, she'd taken a step in too.
"Promise me." She whispered, her delicate eyebrows raised in that earnest way she had about her.
"I promise." He said it with such conviction it felt like an oath.
"Can I stay while you work?" she asked, walking to her bench in the corner without waiting to hear an answer.
"Is it not too late?" he asked, he worried still about the trouble his horse outing had caused.
"I'm an adult, I don't have a Septa to tell me it's bedtime." She said, not looking at him, he noted for the first time the small bundle in her arms. She placed it on her bench before hauling herself up to sit beside it, she looked lovely in her dark cotton dress, it was odd to see her in skirts he wondered briefly why. The whole garment was cinched in by a thick leather belt she wore high on her waist reminding everyone that she was a woman. "You missed dinner," she said indicating the linen wrapped bundle "I brought you food." She held it out, inviting him to come to her. He felt for a moment much like a starving animal being lured into a trap, "some meat and a little bread and some cheese" she smiled encouragingly as he stepped to her. It probably wasn't her fault she smelled so lovely, she was bathed by her handmaid… he'd blame her. But the scent was glorious, like nothing he'd ever encountered in Kings Landing, something entirely new to his nostrils.
"Your face has gone all furrowed, are you alright?" she asked as she placed the care package into his hands.
"I'm fine, thank you." She drove him to the point of distraction, and the worst thing was she had no idea she was doing it, and it made him insane. Wordlessly he reached into the small package and withdrew the block of hardened cheese taking a bite before wishing he had water.
"I have wine." She was reading his mind as well as distorting it, "here" she pointed to a skin hooked to her belt "I was going to go looking for you if you didn't come back soon and I knew I'd need a drink to stop me from punching you." She said by way of explanation as she tossed it to him, his thirst overwhelmed any attempt to consider her words, so he drank swiftly before capping it and throwing it back to her.
He made his way wordlessly to the whetstone a few feet to Arya's left and picked up a dulled sword from the full basket on the counter which sat between them. He pressed his foot on the pedal, and the stone spun as he held the blade to it, and sparks flew, he looked to her, she was watching him and gnawing on her lips.
The queen herself had given him permission, but he needed more than that he needed her full consent a hard thing to get when you can't ask the question. He remained silent, hoping she'd fill the silence with her usual chatter.
"What if bandits had got you?" she asked, her voice back to small, she'd been worried.
"I stayed around the town." He lied, he had no idea where he'd gone he'd just ridden.
"I wouldn't have been there to save you this time." Her tone lightened a small smile tugging at her lips.
"I can look after myself." He grunted, not actually offended just glad that he could have these moments that felt so familiar.
"mmm." She said thoughtfully "Maybe, you could have taken them all by some miraculous fluke," she said, her eye's darted at him playfully.
That word, that same word she'd used to describe her 'first proper kiss' that word had plagued his brain since, like a worm burrowing its way down and now here she was tugging at it gleefully. He was staring at her; he knew he was, but his brain was failing him. Words, Wit, anything gushed through his spine and away from his mouth 'say something' his mind screamed "It wasn't a fluke." he said it 'NOT THAT!' his mind screamed in response, he tried to pretend he hadn't, hoping she'd just gloss past it.
"What wasn't?" she asked, but her grin told him she knew, he realised his whetstone hadn't moved in a while and pumped the pedal furiously giving him a second to think. He was officially supposed to be courting her, was he not? Foreign as the concept was, he could afford to indulge in seeing if this was more than teasing, could he not? He tried to answer these questions, on one side he was a base born mongrel who didn't deserve her and on the other Gendry was a Lord, and she looked at him in that way that he imagined ladies only reserved for their lovers but then on the other side he could be completely wrong.
"You know what." He opted not to retreat nor to advance but to hold, to see where she led him.
"Oh, you're talking about the silly kiss." She said it so lightly, so dismissively that it stung him, it actually hurt but he looked to her briefly again and saw her grin. She was playing with him the way her wolf played with food. He looked to his whetstone again, it was a lost cause he couldn't concentrate on not losing his fingers while she grinned at him so. Or perhaps she always smiled at him like that, but the knowledge that he was at least allowed to want her made it different.
"At the time, I had thought it 'proper,' but given how very extraordinary the events leading up to it were, I don't believe we can take it at face value… so fluke" her grin was gone, she was deadpanning which almost elicited a smile from him as he picked at the bread and busied his mouth on chewing it. He wanted to change the subject, 'say something!' his panicked brain screamed again.
"Why are you wearing a dress?" he asked, through a bready mouth 'NOT THAT!'.
"We were hosting a Lord from a keep a day's ride away, he stopped to sup. He's old, and Sansa said he'd be uncomfortable with the outline of my bum being visible." She shrugged "so dress." Gendry choked on his bread, she held her wineskin out again "more wine?" she asked sweetly. He snatched the skin once again and drank deeply, he worried briefly what strength of wine she'd brought knowing her it would be the strongest.
"do you prefer me in a dress milord?" she asked batting her eyelids dramatically, as she'd seen Sansa do in her younger days. He grinned stupidly, she was clowning, and he could tell by the silly expression on her face, but he answered anyway. He had agreed upon leading where she followed, and she had asked the question.
"I prefer you in anything my grace." He knew it wasn't the most eloquent of phrases, but he hoped it conveyed something to her.
"Oh." His response caught her off guard.
"Wine?" he asked, mocking her earlier tone and handing her back the skin she took it with a sly smile.
"The bull-headed boy grows bolder." She said with intrigue in her voice, shuffling forward on the bench to take a better look at him. "Oh, sorry bull-headed man, you've been very clear on that" even he chuckled at this. She was something else, something utterly different from the world around her. If she accepted him, if she married him, he'd be married to his best friend, his only friend. That prospect and sudden hope bolstered him.
"Arya…" he started but stopped. What should he say, words were his problem what he needed was action.
"Gendry?" she asked in response, there was something serious in the air.
Emboldened by her look, by the fact he hadn't run, which was almost a declaration in and of itself, he stepped to her perch on his work bench and slammed his massive hands either side of her making her start with a grin. "it wasn't a fluke." He grumbled, pushing his face a little closer to hers.
"Prove it." She whispered back just as she'd done in the forest "Mind you there's no guard to save…" her smart words were pushed back into her mouth by his lips on hers. The wine, he thought briefly, it must be the wine. He kissed her gently, careful not to hurt her but that changed when he felt her arms snake around his neck as she pulled herself closer to him, without thinking he swept one massive arm around her body and stood straight, pulling her up with him. Their lips never broke, but she let out a delighted squeal as he held her to him her toes grazing his lower knee. Her mouth demanded more, and she squirmed against him, her teeth found his lower lip and tugged gently demanding entrance he resisted at first, and she strengthened her bite ever so slightly. She moaned when he ran his free hand down the length of her side, he pulled his mouth from hers and noted with delight that she looked furious at him, he planted one more deep kiss on her lips before placing her back on the ground. She wobbled slightly, so he steadied her with a hand to the shoulder.
"told you." He said resolutely. "not a fluke." She blushed which was a rarity and chewed on her lip.
"not a fluke." She said her voice shaking a little. "I should be, I should get to bed." She said walking fleetingly in a circle before heading to the door, he smiled at her, he felt triumphant, all too often it has he who was left confused and breathless now it appeared to be the wolf girls turn. Or so he'd been allowed to think for a brief minute.
"I wish I'd been wearing my breeches." She said casually as she turned to look at him from the doorway.
"Why's that?" he asked, knowing full well he'd regret it. Arya had that look in her eye that said 'danger.'
"Well I could have got a better grip on you, and then you wouldn't have been able to put me down." She grinned before fleeing back to the keep, Gendry was left to feel breathless and confused.