(A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the favorites/follows/for reading/reviewing and still sticking with this story. I hope I'm still keeping this interesting for you guys. Help me out here lol. And yes, expect more Gendry and Arya in the coming chapters. Wink! Wink!)
"I'm not lying! I promise!"
Tommen said, his right hand raised as a sign of truth and a promise. He looked like he was about to cry that Renly had to laugh.
"Okay! Okay! I believe you!" Renly said as he pulled his nephew in a one-armed hug.
They were out for some ice cream and a bit of shopping when Tommen relayed the story about what he saw the other day.
"I didn't see them kissing, though," Tommen added, the disappointment in his tone obvious. "I just saw them holding hands. I've been trying to see if I could catch them kissing, but those two are sneaky."
Sneaky kids! Renly thought, slightly amused.
"I've noticed your brother steal glances at Arya, although I didn't give much thought to it before. But maybe I should have…seems like you beat me to some juicy gossip," Renly said with a chuckle. "Do you work part-time for Gossip Girl?"
His nephew glared at him. "I don't watch girly shows."
"Yes, yes," Renly said, waving a hand in dismissal. "Obviously, I'm the one who watches the girly shows. But despite your reaction, you do know what Gossip Girl is."
"Mom used to watch it."
"Fine, fine, fine," Renly said, his eyes rolling. "I'm shining, shimmering, splendid and all things pink and obviously you're not."
Tommen laughed.
They have just rounded the corner when Renly suddenly had an idea that made him giddy with excitement, much like a school boy. He pulled Tommen inside the first store that they came across. Only when he saw Tommen's embarrassed state did he realize he pulled his 10 year-old nephew inside a Victoria's Secret store. He immediately dragged Tommen back outside and went inside the next store which is, thankfully, a book store called Luwin's.
"Okay, I have an idea," Renly said excitedly, pulling his nephew somewhere in between shelves (but careful to steer clear of the adult fiction section). "We're going to plan the most devious modus operandi of all time. Of. All. Time."
Tommen stared blankly at his excited uncle. Kanye much?
"You're going to love this!" Renly said with a devilish grin.
"Question is, will I get in trouble for it?"
"If you were my son, I'd smack your head right now," Renly scoffed. "But because I love you, my nephew, I'll let that pass. Don't you trust the best uncle in the world?"
"Of course," Tommen replied with a nod.
Renly leaned in to whisper something in Tommen's ear, making the young boy grin with new-found excitement. He nodded when he agreed with his uncle and whispered back when he wanted to make a few changes.
Renly straightened up as soon as he finished, happy that his nephew finally shared in his excitement.
"And that," he said with a hand flourish. "is how you get two hopeless and horny people together."
Robb watched as Ramsay walked through the front door and greeted Gendry with a fist bump. He turned to him next and gave a small wave. Robb waved back in acknowledgement, although his smile was a bit strained. He saw Gendry sneak a glance in his direction and knew that his friend must be feeling the same thing he did.
"Haven't seen you assholes in a long time!" Ramsay exclaimed as he plopped himself on the couch. "And you, Gendry, my man, left my fucking party in a fucking rush I'm thinking you were off to fuck some hooker and you didn't want us to know!" Ramsay added with a laugh.
Gendry winced at his words. "I don't do hookers, you douche. And I had somewhere important to be that night."
"Yeah whatever, man," Ramsay made an L sign with his fingers and placed it on his forehead. "You have to introduce me to your, ahem, lady friends and let me know if their services satisfy your man-whore needs. I might acquire their services one of these days!"
Robb could see Gendry's jaw clench and knew he was fighting back an angry retort. He had to give it to his friend at being able to restrain his anger. If it were Robb, his fist would be planted on Ramsay's face right this very minute. "Come on, bro," he said, trying to dissipate the tension in the air. He could see that Ramsay was just saying everything in jest, but Gendry didn't seem to be amused by it. "Theon's out back."
"Adios, studmuffin!" Ramsay joked one last time, pointing to Gendry before retreating.
"Later, prick," Gendry muttered under his breath before heading off to his room.
Fifteen minutes later, he heard a knock and saw Robb peek inside his room.
"You busy?" he asked.
Gendry was lying on his bed, tossing a basketball in the air and catching it; repeating the motion again and again. "Nope. Just lying here, thinking."
Robb took a seat on the blue bean bag next to the bed and patted Gendry's knee. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Gendry continued to toss the ball in the air. "About Ramsay?"
"Yeah."
Gendry snorted. "Ramsay's a dickhead."
"Tell something I don't know."
"He's a dickheaded junkie."
"I said," Robb stressed. "Tell me something I don't know."
Gendry immediately sat up and raised his brow at Robb. "So you do know that he uses and deals?"
"Not till recently."
"I had no idea either. Not until Raff and Polli came up to me and asked if I wanted to get in on their little business. Which is a moronic thing to do, you know. You can't just walk up to people and ask them if they want to deal drugs, friend or not."
Robb had to laugh at that.
"Have you tried talking to Theon about it?" Gendry asked.
"I don't know how to ask him," Robb explained. "I rarely see him nowadays. And when I do, it's always about how Ramsay and his friends are the fucking best mates he's ever had."
"You know what I think? I don't think Theon knows anything about Ramsay's extracurricular activities. For now, I think your cousin's clean."
"Ditto. But if someone doesn't tell him soon, he might end up a dickheaded junkie too."
"Does Jon know?" Gendry asked, to which Robb nodded in answer.
Gendry stood and tossed the ball to his friend. "Well, we've got some serious conference due soon. We might as well plan."
"Well, why don't you ask her out?" Arya asked Bran during their video chat that afternoon.
Bran shrugged. "I don't know if she likes me back."
"Well, you wouldn't know unless you ask her out, squirt."
"I can't! Mom will freak out!" Bran exclaimed, horrified at the idea of asking a girl out for the first time.
Arya raised a brow. "Mom will freak out or you will freak out?"
"Shut up."
Arya laughed, raising both hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay! How's Rickon, by the way?"
"Hang on," Bran said.
He disappeared from the screen for a while, coming back a short while later with a grinning Rickon beside him.
"Rickon!" Arya shouted playfully, bringing her face closer to the camera.
"You're weird," Rickon said, his face scrunched up in disgust.
"I know!" Arya shot back, earning a laugh from both her brothers.
"How's Nymeria, Grey Wind and Ghost?" asked Rickon.
"Good! They've taken a liking to the brothers."
Bran and Rickon snickered, nudging their elbows against each other, as if they were in on a secret.
"What the hell?" Arya said.
Bran shook his head. "Sorry! We just remembered something!"
She swears she heard Rickon whisper Gendry Baratheon to Bran before snickering again. She chose to ignore that and went on. "I swear they're getting bigger everyday! I can't make Nymeria sit on my lap anymore, she's stubbornly growing!"
The sibling talked a bit more about the pets, their parents, Sansa's prospective boyfriend, and going back to school after summer vacation.
A while later, Tommen knocked on her door to ask if he could take Nymeria out to play. Arya grinned and signaled Tommen to come closer.
"Guys, this is Tommen," Arya said, putting an arm around Tommen's shoulders. "These idiots here are my younger brothers, Bran and Rickon!"
Bran looked embarrassed. "Uh, sorry about Arya. She has a mouth that needs to be scrubbed clean with a bar of soap. Hi, Tommen!"
Tommen gave a shy smile. "Hi Bran and Rickon."
Arya watched and listened from the side as the 3 younger ones started to be at ease with each other. After breaking the ice with stories about the wolves, Robb, Jon and Arya, they went on to talking about the latest video game releases. She was happy to know that her brothers found Tommen as funny and interesting as Arya found him to be. She let them talk, sprouting a comment or two when necessary, but just letting them get to know each other.
Twenty minutes later, her phone's message alert tone sounded. She took a look at the sender's name and her heart leapt to her throat.
Gendry: Do you mind if I take the little wolf for a walk? She needs some physical activity.
She smiled before hitting a reply.
Arya: Nymeria's in Jon's room. Just tell Jon you asked me if you could take Nymeria for a walk.
It took a few minutes before he sent a reply.
Gendry: I wasn't talking about your pet.
Arya was confused for a moment before she realized he said little wolf.
Oh. Be still my heart.
Arya: Nice one, stupid.
Another minute before he texted back.
Gendry: So? You up for that walk?
Arya thought about some other physical activities she'd rather do with him, but of course she had to bite her thumb to keep her from texting that.
Arya: I'll be down in 10 minutes.
Another text came in mere seconds later.
Gendry: Make it 3. We need to talk. :)
She said goodbye to her brothers and Tommen, with the promise of calling them again soon. The boys were having fun talking that they only waved to Arya and went back to comparing video game cheats and tricks. Arya was too happy to be offended.
Little wolf.
I wasn't talking about your pet.
We need to talk. :)
Good God. If Gendry Baratheon keeps saying insanely cute things to her, she'd die. And with the way things are going, it's going to be a long, slow and painful death.
"Favorite movie?" Gendry asked. "Okay, please don't tell me it's The Notebook."
Arya laughed. "I have lots of favorites! But don't worry, The Notebook is not one of them!"
Gendry laughed.
Holy hell. Such a beautiful sound.
They watched as Nymeria trotted before them, happily moving around in circles and taking advantage of the free space. They headed straight to Red Keep Park right in the middle of the city. Summer in King's Landing is always the best. And for Arya, it was a welcome change from the cold weather she was used to back in Winterfell. She felt sad for leaving Winterfell, but if summer would always be this bright and sunny and beautiful, leaving winter would be well worth it.
Okay, maybe not for good. For she was still a Northerner through and through. Starks will always belong to Winterfell, but right now, there's no place she'd like to be other than King's Landing.
Hmm. I wonder why, she smiled at the thought.
They sat on the grass in a nice, shady spot below an Oak tree. They let Nymeria roam the premises since they need not worry about her getting lost. She always finds her way back to them. The wolf caught the attention of quite a few people; her beautiful gray and white fur was soft to the touch but at the same time, her size was a bit frightening.
Gendry pulled out a Chuckit! Ultra Ball from his pocket and threw it for Nymeria to catch. She ran after it, catching it faster than any other dog Gendry's seen. But then again, Nymeria was not just any dog. He had to keep reminding himself that she's part wolf. He repeated the same thing quite a few times – throwing the ball further and further out – and Nymeria catching it every single time.
"Okay," Arya said after a stretch of silence. "Iced tea or lemonade?"
"Lemonade."
"Chocolate or vanilla ice cream?"
"Caramel."
Arya laughed. "That's not part of the choices!"
"Chocolate is overrated and vanilla is too plain."
Arya rolled her eyes. "Snob."
"My turn!" Gendry said, rubbing his palms together. "Pizza or pasta?"
"I hate you! Don't make me choose!" Arya groaned in protest.
"Which one do you like better?"
Arya's face scrunched up in deep thought. "Pasta?"
Gendry nodded. "Pink or peach?"
"Green."
"Ha!" Gendry exclaimed. "That's not part of the choices either!"
"Sansa loves pink," Arya wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Pink bed, pink curtains, pink walls…Pink! Pink! Pink! I'm puking pink glitters at the thought of more pink."
"You're the most ungirly girl I know," he chuckled.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Arya said with a grin.
Gendry laughed again.
Oh god, stop.
Just then, a few acorns fell from the oak tree above them, making Arya jump up in surprise. Gendry laughed some more as he watched her throw the few acorns that were strewn around her.
"Well, shit," she said. "Should we move? I look like a stupid oak tree with all these acorns."
Gendry smiled gently. "Nice, though. A nice oak tree."
Arya rolled her eyes. "Seven hells, that's the most stupid thing I've ever heard."
"My turn," Gendry said softly. "A kiss on the cheek or on the forehead?"
Gulp.
Arya blinked a few times. "Wha—what?"
Gendry moved closer, his head tilted towards hers. She could almost feel his breath on her cheek, and Arya swears she's close to fainting.
"Would you rather get kissed on the cheek or on the forehead?"
"Well…" Arya said, her breath now coming in short bursts. "I'm not your grandmother, so I don't think a kiss on the forehead would work."
"So cheek, then?" Gendry asked.
Oh my fucking god! He was moving even closer, his face turned towards her. Arya reminded herself to breathe, but found the task to be extremely difficult.
"Yes…" she whispered.
Gendry pulled her closer now, his hand on the back of her head and threading through her hair.
"You don't want a kiss on the forehead, but I don't want the cheek either," he said, his voice turning into a whisper.
Jesus Christ on a bike. Help me.
"I'd rather kiss your mouth."
And Gendry Baratheon did just that. When his lips connected with hers, it was like a jolt of electricity that shot straight from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. She felt tingly and lightheaded and terrified and ecstatic all at the same time, she would have fainted had Gendry not threaded his fingers through her hair.
His lips were soft and sweet and demanding, and when his tongue found hers, it worked its magic. Teasing and tempting and pulling her in that Arya couldn't help but yield to the sensations he was making her feel. When she opened her mouth wider, she heard Gendry groan and pull her in a bit more.
Arya pulled his tongue back in and sucked, earning another groan from Gendry. His other hand holding her hip tightened, almost grasping, and she swears she'd sport a bruise there later. But his kisses were making her dizzy with want and crazy with need that she didn't really care if she gets black and blue all over. What matters was Gendry and his kisses and how she wants this to last for days.
She felt a cold, wet thing nuzzle her leg and realized that Nymeria was giving her a small nudge with her nose. Arya gave Gendry one last deep kiss before slightly pulling away, noticing that he looked as disoriented as she was. She reached out to move the hair away from his eyes – eyes that turned dark and fully dilated – and flashed him a shy smile. Gendry's breathing started to slow, and Arya finally realized that she was actually sitting on his lap. She quickly got off him and avoided his eyes in embarrassment.
"I see we've captured an audience here," he said, his voice husky from arousal.
Arya timidly looked up and noticed a few people staring in their direction. Gendry took pity on her and helped pull her to her feet.
"Let's go," he said, threading his fingers with hers yet again. "I'd rather do this somewhere without an audience."