A/N: Cheese and fluff and smut. You have been warned. :D
He looked at the ground and took a step back. It was a pretty high drop from the bedroom window, but he was used to it by now. No one climbs walls like Bran Stark does, and he was pretty proud about it. He remembers helping Arya sneak out sometimes by climbing through his window, which was the easiest to climb out of. Aside from having vines creeping up the walls and protruding fixtures that help hanging onto easier, his room was nearer the wrought iron gates that led them to freedom, at least only for a while.
"You ready?" he said, turning back to look at his younger brother.
Rickon nodded his head, before handing over Bran's backpack. He slid on his own bag, before glancing around Bran's room for anything else they needed to bring with them. "All set."
Bran took a deep breath before climbing out the window, careful not to make any noise and big movements that would alert the guys at the security room. They knew where the cameras were installed, so they had to creep, duck and stealthily make their way across the lawn. They darted in between trees and ducked behind their mother's rose bushes so as to avoid the security cameras when they swung in their direction. Bran led the way as they stumbled through the rest of the way; looking behind his back and found Rickon grinning from ear to ear, making Bran return it with a grin of his own.
It was a dangerous thing they were doing, but they've had their fill of broken promises from parents who were lately too busy to find time for the youngest Starks. Both their parents were still out for a dinner meeting, and both boys couldn't understand why they had to be working even till late at night. This was their only chance to sneak out and take the last flight out to King's Landing.
"She makes me want to be different, better."
Gendry stared at the tv screen. He didn't know why, but lately he didn't mind watching chick flicks like this one. He'd heard Arya and Sansa talk about A Walk To Remember once during the past weeks, and it was only now that he realized why they cried over this movie.
"She makes me want to be different, better."
He repeated the line over and over in his head until the meaning behind it sank within and shook him with its weight. He stared back at the screen and resumed watching. It was a little after midnight but he couldn't sleep. He found himself creeping down the stairs and went straight for the kitchen before heading to the tv room.
"Has the damn apocalypse started? Tell me now because I never got the memo."
Gendry turned around to find Joffrey standing at the doorway with a knowing smirk on his face. He threw a pillow at him although his brother was able to catch it before it hit him in the face. Joffrey made his way over to the end of the couch and plopped down heavily on it.
"Why are you awake at this ungodly hour?" Joffrey asked, eyeing the tv with an amused look. "And A Walk To Remember? What a sappy dickbutt you've become."
"The fact that you know what movie this is makes you a sappy dickbutt first."
"Touche," Joffrey said with a chuckle. "Don't you have class tomorrow?"
"World Lit, but not till 1 pm," Gendry said as he turned the volume down a little. "You?"
"I have a 9 am class, which is why I'm going back to sleep," Joffrey said, getting up from the couch.
Gendry hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Hey, Joff?"
Joffrey paused and turned around. "Yeah?"
Gendry couldn't look at him directly and so he kept on staring at the tv screen. "How do you know if you're really in love? Like, in the truest sense of the word, really in love?"
That gave Joffrey pause. He slowly walked back towards his former spot on the couch and stared at his brother with a puzzled look. "Bro, you've dated more girls than I have. You should know better."
Gendry leaned his head back on the couch and squeezed his eyes shut. "You've said it, bro. I've dated more girls than you did, but…"
"Are you scared?"
"To death."
"It's not funny."
"I'm scared of not being with you."
Gendry pressed the heel of his hand over his eyes. He could still hear the movie drone on in the background. "But it was never like this before."
Joffrey studied his older brother. Gendry seemed very happy with Arya but at the same time, he seems a teeny tiny bit miserable too. It wasn't the bad kind, though. Joffrey thought it was the kind of miserable where Gendry couldn't fully understand yet that despite his declaration of being truly, utterly, hopelessly in love with Arya, he still hasn't realized how he's stuck in this quicksand that's pulling him in deeper and deeper still.
The little Stark wolf has changed his brother and he hasn't fully realized it yet.
"You know, I think the only question you should be asking yourself is, Am I happy? Do I make her happy? And that's not even in the materialistic sense, you hear me? It's more of making each other happy; enjoying life as it comes to you one day at a time. Of course giving and receiving material things will make you happy. Sex will make you happy. But at the end of the day, it's not the things you gave or received nor is it the mind-blowing sex. It's all a question of Was I able to make this person happy? If you don't have that together, you won't be able to get through the difficult times. Was I able to make her smile through her tears, make her laugh through the sobs? Was I able to change her rants into fits of laughter? Because if the only thing you want to do is to be with this person and make this person feel all these, that's how you truly know."
Gendry turned away from the tv and stared at Joffrey. They've had their moments, but they were okay as brothers. And for the first time in his 19 years, he's looking at his younger brother in a new light.
"Dickwad has brains, ladies and gentlemen."
Joffrey rolled his eyes and stood again. "Yes, ruin the moment, I beg of you."
Gendry watched as Joffrey walked away, smiling a little as he realized everything he said was true that suddenly, everything clicked.
"Hey, Joff?"
"Yeah?"
Gendry flashed him a huge grin. "Thanks, little bro."
It was 8 am when Bran and Rickon took a cab on their way to the address written on the piece of paper that Rickon had been clutching in his hand for the last thirty minutes. They took the last flight the night before and slept at the airport lounge until it was at least a decent enough hour to leave.
"Maybe we should call Arya and warn her first that we're on our way to see her," Rickon said as he stared at the passing scenery. King's Landing was definitely different from the cold of Winterfell and the gloomy Storm's End. He would have enjoyed the scenery more if only his tummy wasn't twisting into knots and the lump in his throat went away.
"I know," Bran replied, as equally absorbed with the scenery as his brother is. "Just give me time to think of how we're going to do this."
"Well, we're here, aren't we? We're getting hell from both King's Landing and Storm's End, right?" Rickon said, knowing full well that they will get hell from both their parents and their siblings.
"I know," Bran said. "I don't really care if they scold my ears off. But right now, I just wanted to get away from there for a while."
"Me too," Rickon replied. "Dad's…changed," he added sadly.
They watched as the cab finally pulled up in front of the biggest houses in the street and possibly even in the whole vicinity. It was bigger than their house back in Winterfell, and their house was already considered the biggest.
"This is it. The famous Baratheon residence," the driver said as he turned to look at the boys. "Is this where you wanted to go?"
The boys nodded at the same time as Bran handed him the fare. "Thank you."
The driver eyed them warily before shaking his head. "Young ones like you shouldn't be traveling on your own. Your parents in there?" he asked, nodding his head towards the house.
"Our sister," Rickon responded. "Thank you, sir," he said in farewell as he opened the door and stepped out, Bran following close behind.
When the cab sped off towards the end of the street, the brothers looked at each other, their eyes both showing more of the fear and less of the excitement now that they've reached their destination.
"Okay," Bran said, sitting on the sidewalk right across the house. "I'm turning my phone on now but only just to call Arya. I don't want Mom or Dad calling right now because I know they're going to start a search party for us as soon as they realize we're not home."
"Do you want me to call Robb or Jon?" Rickon asked, ready to turn his own phone on.
"No! We can only handle one battle at a time, and Arya's going to be tough, but Robb and Jon will be tougher."
Bran punched in Arya's number on speed dial and waited for a few minutes until she picked up.
"Seven hells."
The guys and Arya looked up as Gendry walked into the kitchen with a shocked look on his face. The guys burst out laughing, while Arya glared at him.
"Good morning to you too," Arya muttered, as she cracked two more eggs and adding them into a bowl. Gendry stared as she started beating eggs, grating cheese and slicing ham and bacon. "Are you going to just stand there while I make breakfast?"
Gendry stared at her stupidly.
Arya rolled her eyes. "I'm not trying to kill anyone, as Theon so very lovingly puts it. I'm cooking breakfast for everyone. Now what do you want-coffee or juice?"
"Coffee," he answered before taking a seat opposite Jon. "What's with her?" he whispered, leaning in closer to Jon who in turn snickered.
"I can hear you, stupid."
"I assume you haven't slept at all?" Joffrey said, taking a spoonful of omelette and calling out to Arya with a full mouth. "Mmmfff mfffmm mff!"
Gendry snatched a piece of toast on Theon's plate and said, "My pig of a brother says the food's really good."
"How the fuck did you even understand what he said?" Theon said with a laugh.
"Trust me," Gendry replied nonchalantly. "If he thinks the food tastes crap, he'd spit it out not a second longer after stuffing his mouth with it. This," he said, pointing to his brother's stuffed face. "Means the food is good."
Joffrey nodded, giving a two-thumbs up sign, his mouth still filled with food.
"Rude," Arya said as she placed a plate of newly-cooked omelette in front of Gendry, along with a mug of coffee. "Eat," she said to Gendry as she kissed the top of his head. "You look like hell."
"I try my best," Gendry teased, his arm going around her waist to keep her beside him. He tilted his head up and met her lips for a kiss.
"How domestic," Jon said with a small smile, although it came across as a slight cringe.
Arya laughed because she knows her brothers try hard to be comfortable with their small public displays of affection, but it was hardest for Jon because they were always the closest among their siblings.
The light banter was interrupted by the ring of Arya's phone which was on top of the kitchen counter. She stared at the caller ID and saw that it was Bran.
"Hey, Bran! What's up?"
Arya had one hand on her phone as she went about clearing things from the countertop and stove and onto the sink.
"WHAT?!"
The glass in her hand slipped, making her mutter a string of curses. "WHAT HAPPENED?"
The guys were suddenly on alert now, as they watched Arya converse with Bran on the phone.
"Is there a problem, Arya?" Robb's big brother instinct started kicking.
"Okay, just give me a minute," Arya said to Bran before looking over to her brothers. "Houston, we have a problem."
"What's going on?" Jon asked.
The guys were already standing and on alert. Arya held a finger up to them and said, "Stay here! I'll be back. But I'll meet you in my room because we have something to sort out. And don't do anything or call anyone yet, okay?" she warned them, before turning around and walking out of the kitchen.
They were all waiting in Arya's room when she returned ten minutes later, a worried and nervous expression evident on her face.
"What's wrong, Arya?" Jon asked again.
Arya held her both her hands up and said, "Okay,this is going to freak you out." She turned and headed out the door, only to return a few seconds later, a nervous Bran and Rickon in tow.
"What the fuck are you both doing here?" Robb cried out as he rushed over to his youngest brothers.
"It's a long story…" Bran started, backing a few steps away from Robb and hiding a little behind Arya's back.
"You better start from the beginning, Brandon," Jon said, his expression turning into one of anger.
The younger boys spent the next 15 minutes relaying the story of why they ran away and how they did it. The rest of the Starks couldn't believe that both boys just hopped into a plane and flew over to King's Landing.
"Who paid for your plane tickets?" Robb asked. "Aren't minors not allowed to travel alone unless with parental authorization?"
"We paid for the fare. We have money, you know," Rickon replied this time. "And remember Dad's former secretary? Apparently, he now holds a position for Westeros Airlines, so we only had to say Dad sent us to King's Landing to visit you guys."
Jon muttered a string of curses before going on. "I assume Mom and Dad hasn't realized you're both gone yet, since we haven't received a call or anything."
"We turned off our phones, and we're sort of hoping you won't call them yet," Bran said with pleading eyes.
"We have to tell them, Bran," Theon piped in. "We have to let them know that you're both here and safe. No matter how angry you both are at them, they're still your parents and they will worry about you."
As if on cue, Robb's phone suddenly gave a shrill ring, startling everyone in the room. He took one look at the caller ID and said, "It's Dad."
"Don't tell him yet! Please!" both boys pleaded.
Robb exhaled deeply. "I have to, boys. But we'll convince them to let you stay for a few days until you both realize that running away isn't the solution to anything."
"Come on," Gendry said, taking a hold of Arya's hand as he led the boys out of the room. "Let's get you some breakfast. Let your brothers talk to your parents and let them know you're welcome to stay here," he said, but mostly for Robb and Jon's benefit. He ushered them out of the room and led them down and into the kitchen.
"How was your first couple of days at uni?" Gendry asked that night, as he and Arya lay in bed after she snuck in his room a little before midnight.
"Okay," Arya said softly. Her fingers were tracing patterns on his chest, sneaking her hand under his shirt so she could feel the hard planes of his stomach and chest.
Gendry looked down at her and watched as her eyes were close to drifting shut, seemingly hypnotized by her own fingers as they traced invisible patterns on his skin. "Just okay?"
Arya sighed. "I'm sort of enjoying it…for now, at least. But at least I've made a few friends here and there, plus Edric's in most of my classes so things aren't as bad as I thought they would be."
Arya felt his muscles tense at the mention of Edric's name. "Gendry," she started, her tone a little exasperated. "Why are you still jealous of Edric?"
"Am not."
"Are too! This right here," she said touching the skin between his brows. "They get all scrunched up and you get this scowly face on you." Her hands crept underneath his shirt again and resumed tracing patterns on his chest. "Edric Dayne is an old friend and nothing more. You, on the other hand, mean everything to me."
Gendry felt his breath hitch in his throat. This is what gets his stomach tied up in knots. Arya and her little declarations of love has his head reeling and every single day, he feels he's being sucked in deeper into this vortex he calls emotions.
"I love you, Gendry. Do you doubt that still?"
"I don't," he whispered as his hand crawled to the back of her head and gently pushed her towards him. He met her lips halfway, taking her lips with his own in a kiss that was somehow not like the others they've shared before.
Everything about them tonight was filled with gentleness. Their kisses were slow and languorous; as if they had all the time in the world to explore each other. Their lips fit perfectly together; moist and soft and plump and so inviting. When their mouths opened hungrily against each other and tongues swept across lips and teeth before finally curling against each other, it was like testing their limits as to how far they could go with just this battle of lips and tongue. And still, somehow, everything felt unhurried, which made the feeling more exhilarating.
A deep groan rumbled from within Gendry's chest as he slowly took of her shirt, smiling as he realized that Arya wasn't wearing a bra. With a flip, he was on top of her and in control of everything. His hands crawled lazily up her breasts; kneading them softly before bringing his mouth down to gently suck on them. She cried out softly, bringing both of her hands to his hand and entangled her fingers within his hair. Her back arched as his tongue laved on each breast; kissing them softly after before backing away.
He let her take the rest of their clothes off, but when she tried to reach for him, he held both her hands above her head and kissed his way down her neck.
"You're not supposed to do anything tonight. I'll show you how you make me feel."
And Gendry did just that. He gave and gave and let Arya take everything he's giving. With every stroke and caress, with every push and pull, he gave it all to Arya and he let her know how much he needed this not just for himself but more for her. When he felt the first stirring of his orgasm, he made sure she was there with him before he gave into it, as if he waited until the right moment to stand atop the highest cliff before diving into the deep, ravenous depths of the ocean. Arya's cry was soft, but he felt her come hard, just like he was feeling at the moment. He felt her squeeze the life out of him, temporarily blinding him as he growled his fulfillment.
When it was over and he had a proper look at her face, he noticed the tears in her eyes as they fell down her cheeks.
"Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?" he asked, his face basked with worry.
She buried her face into his neck and sobbed. "No! I don't know why I'm crying."
Gendry kissed the top of her head and grinned. "Was it that good?"
"Yes, you idiot."
"I love you, Arya. God, I love you so much," he said without preamble. He didn't feel the need to add more to that because the words explained everything he wanted to say.
Arya cried harder this time, and Gendry had to kiss her again until she stopped.
"I love you," came her reply.
And sometime that night, as they lay together, Gendry dreamt of a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes and a little boy with the same hair and grey eyes.