Chapter 3
Arya was grateful they didn't run any more bandits as they made their way to the King's Road so they could start north. The truth was that she hoped this was the last of the former gold cloaks, and now that the problem was solved, no one would worry about it anymore. She knew that Daenerys wanted to do something about, but that wasn't the reality Daenerys was living in at the moment. While she was on the Iron Throne and had allies all across Westeros, that didn't mean that she was universally loved. There were lesser houses that still saw her as a foreign invader, and she just didn't have the support to send people out into the Westerlands to deal with it. That's why Arya decided to ride out with Gendry; she knew they could handle it.
They were much further west than she intended to go, but it was also nice to see a part of Westeros she hadn't really explored before. The Westerlands were loyal to the Lannister's, and if there was anywhere they wanted to avoid in the war, it was there. Back then, when she was traveling with Gendry and trying to help people, they mainly stayed in the Reach, sometimes the Stormlands if they felt comfortable going that far south, and the Riverlands. There was more than enough danger to take care of there back then. Things were different now, and she couldn't be happier.
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if things were different?" Arya asked one day a week into their journey west and then north so they could go home.
"Different how?" Gendry asked.
"Different like what if the Red Woman took you or if I decided to take Jaqen up on his offer to train me. Or if you decided to stay with the Brotherhood or if we made it to Riverrun. What would our lives be like?" Arya asked.
"I'd be dead," Gendry said plainly like the idea of dying didn't really bother him that much. Arya turned so she could stare at her husband.
"You don't sound too worried about it," she said.
"You're the reason I survived, Arya. You got me away from that Red Woman, and she would have killed me. Your wolf is the one that saved us that night with the bandits. You made sure Jon accepted me and didn't cut my head off for marrying his little sister. You kept Daenerys from burning me alive for being a threat to the crown. Without you, I'd be dead several times over," Gendry explained. "And the reason it doesn't bother me is that it didn't happen. We got away from Melisandre, and we weren't killed at Riverrun. Cersei or Daenerys or Jon or anyone else didn't cut my head off. It didn't happen, so I don't like to think about it."
"I can't help it," Arya said softly, and she looked down at her hands holding the reigns. She could feel Gendry watching her, and he waited patiently for her to continue. "Sometimes I think about how I could have saved Robb and Talisa and my mother if we'd gone to Riverrun somehow. Or if we'd gone north a lot sooner, I could have saved Rickon. Or if Yoren hadn't stopped me, I could have somehow saved my father. I just keep thinking about what would have happened if we'd never gone south. What would have happened to my family if my father never became Hand of the King, and we stayed in Winterfell."
"You know you're naming another scenario where I die, right?" Gendry said, and Arya blinked but didn't look at her. "Let's assume I managed to get out of the city with the Night's Watch, and that is a big assumption, those men would have turned me in without hesitating, and I'd be a rotting corpse somewhere in the Riverlands."
"You don't know that," Arya said, and she didn't know why she was arguing this. "Jon Arryn could have told my father about you, and he could have had you sent north to Winterfell. You could have come to my home, and you'd be safe."
"Maybe," Gendry said. "But if your father was going to save one of Robert's children, it wouldn't be me; it would be Edric because his mother was a noblewoman and that matters." Gendry sighed, and they rode in silence for what felt like a long time. "I guess I don't understand what you went through, what you're still going through because I can't think of situations like that. I don't have a family I'd like to go back and save." Arya looked up from her hands and moved her horse, so she was walking close enough to Gendry to take his hand into hers.
"You have a family now," she said.
They reached the King's Road and began to work their way north. Arya was glad that they didn't run into any more bandits for now. She didn't feel like fighting anymore; she couldn't remember a time when she got to travel just for the sake of traveling. Arya wanted to see the world, all of Westeros and beyond, but that meant leaving home for a long time, and Arya wasn't sure she could do that yet. The scars of losing her family and being away from Winterfell still felt so fresh, and for some reason, Arya kept thinking if she wasn't there, then someone would try to take it from them again. Arya needed to be there to defend her home.
Gendry didn't seem as worried about all of that, but he didn't feel the same way about Winterfell that she did. For a little while, there Arya wasn't sure he was ever going to be comfortable in her home. She wasn't sure if they were going to be able to live there peacefully. There were still people from lesser houses in the north that didn't like who their princess married. In defense of her sibling's, no one seemed to like who they chose as lovers. They didn't think Meera was worthy of Ned Stark's last trueborn son. They didn't think Theon was worthy of Sansa, and they loathed the fact that Jon still hadn't married. Even though all three of them were nearly killed defending Winterfell, the North, and all of Westeros, it just didn't seem to matter. Arya knew that the sneers about the "bastard knight" still made Gendry wince even if he refused to say anything about it.
She knew that the title was going to follow Gendry and Jon for the rest of their lives, and, for some, it wouldn't matter what they did, their blood would always be dirty. The Crossroads Inn appeared in the distance, and Arya smiled to herself. She always loved an excuse to stop in the inn so she could see Hot Pie, and he was always glad to see them. He was one of the only people still alive that knew Arya and Gendry when they were young and starving together. Hot Pie was with them before Arya knew she was in love with Gendry. It still amazed her that this amazing man saw beyond all of her faults and loved her completely.
"So what shape bread is he going to make this time?" Gendry asked.
"He said he was going to make stags now that he knows you're technically a Baratheon even though your name is Stark," Arya said.
"I supposed I can't exactly stop him, but I would much rather he make wolves," Gendry replied. She loved how confident he sounded in the fact that he was a wolf now. The inn came into view, and they tied up their horses. When they walked in, the inn smelled like good food, and Hot Pie immediately grinned when he saw them.
"Arry! Gendry! I'm so glad to see you both," Hot Pie said as he walked over to them. He hugged Gendry tightly, and Arya accepted his hug as well. Hot Pie always seemed so happy to see them. "I take it you're heading back to Winterhell?"
"Winterfell," Arya corrected though she wasn't sure why she bothered at this point. She was wondering if Hot Pie called it that just to annoy her; she wouldn't put it past him. "And yes, we're on our way back to the North."
"All of your siblings are gone," Hot Pie said to Gendry when he realized that no one else was coming in the inn behind them. "I heard there were some Baratheon's in Storm's End, were those your siblings?"
"Yes," Gendry said. "I had Queen Daenerys legitimize them, and then they bullied us into going to Storm's End for a little while." The truth was Mya, Edric, and Bella had to hardly ask at all, and Gendry folded immediately. He was soft for his siblings, and they all knew it.
"That's amazing," Hot Pie said. "Come on, come on, have a seat, let's catch up some more. You know I love it when you two come to visit me."
"You could see us all the time if you came north with us," Arya said as she sat down at a table with Gendry and Hot Pie. "You know you'll always have a place in our household."
"I'm sure your family has plenty of people that know how to cook for them," Hot Pie said, waving her off. "So tell me about the Queen and going to Storm's End. I want to hear everything."
It turned out that everything was quite a bit to catch up on. Hot Pie wanted to know what King's Landing was like without the Lannister's ruining everything. He wanted to know what the Riverlands were like when you could travel through them and not worry about someone trying to cut your throat. He wanted to know about their lives in such an earnest way that it almost took Arya by surprise. She was so used to the people in various courts asking about her life but never really being interested in it. Hot Pie genuinely wanted to know what their lives were like and if they were okay. It made her heart feel warm.
He brought them a large dinner and refused to charge them for staying in the inn even though both Arya and Gendry tried to give him money. The owner, Marsha, and Hot Pie all said that they brought in business all the time when people found out that friends of Princess Arya Stark and Ser Gendry Waters worked here. Arya planned on hiding some coin in the room so they couldn't turn it away after they left.
Hot Poe got a little drunk as they all shared some ale, and Arya couldn't remember the last time she laughed as much as she did. She didn't let herself get drunk very often because Arya didn't like to have her guard down. Even when they were safe in Winterfell, Arya still found it hard to relax despite the war being over even now. Everyone else seemed to be moving on, but Arya couldn't remember a time in her life when she wasn't fighting whether it was for her life or her future as a small child.
She sat back in the chair by the fire and listened to Hot Pie and Gendry talk about KIng's Landing as children and how close they came to meeting each other before getting sent to the Wall. It was a time that Gendry didn't like to talk about because it was painful, but there was something about laughing about the bowl of brown with someone else that must have made it easier because it was the most she had ever heard him talk about his childhood.
"I think we should get some sleep," as they finished their latest mugs of ale though Arya had long since lost count how many they had drunk.
"I need to be up early to make the bread, and if I'm hungover, I'm useless," Hot Pie said as he grinned at them. "You two get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning. I'll make you some special bread."
"You don't need to do that-" Gendry said, but Hot Pie waved him off and walked away without letting him finish his sentence. "I mean, I knew he wasn't going to listen, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it." Arya giggles, something she rarely did and pushed herself to her feet. She wobbled a little and leaned on her husband as they stumbled up to their room.
"I feel like I'm sneaking off to have an illicit affair," Arya said as she nearly fell into her room.
"Oh, is that what you want?" Gendry asked from behind her, and before Arya could say a word, Gendry spun her around and pinned her to the now-closed door. "M'lady," Gendry said as he pressed his body against hers. "This isn't the place for a good noblewoman such as yourself."
"Oh good ser," Arya said when she realized what was going on. This was something new that the two of them hadn't ever tried before, and Arya was more than open to it. "I'm a good woman, just trying to save myself for my lord husband. I'm so lost, and now I'm here."
"I have my low born hands all over you," Gendry said as he leaned forward and began to lay hot kisses along her jaw and eventually down her neck. "What will everyone think if they see a bruise on your perfect skin?" He whispered, and Arya was about to come up with some sort of response when Gendry bit her. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin, but between the ale and being a little caught up in this fantasy, she didn't see it coming. Arya moaned and arched her hips against him.
"They would be so disappointed in me," Arya whispered as she slipped her hands beneath Gendry's shirt and touched bare skin. Gendry let his hands trail down her slides and began to untie her breaches. Instead of pushing them off or pulling her toward the bed, he slipped his hand into her smallclothes and touched her.
"What would they say if they could feel how wet you are for a low born man like myself?" Gendry asked as he slipped a finger inside of her. Arya let her head fall back against the door hard enough that it almost sobered her up a bit but not nearly enough.
"I don't care what they think," Arya said as she slipped her fingers into Gendry's hair and pulled him up, so they were eye to eye. "I don't care what anyone thinks; I just want you." He didn't fight when she pulled him into a sloppy kiss and moaned when she tasted the ale on his tongue. She wanted to move to the bed, but Arya was also reasonably sure that they would both fall over if they tried to do that. Arya was also reasonably sure that it wouldn't end well if she let Gendry fuck her against the door. It seemed like the kind of thing Hot Pie might be against.
Arya began to walk him back as they both began to pull their cloaks off and only broke their kiss to toss their shirts aside. Despite how drunk they both were, neither of them fell as they kicked off their boots and pants. Arya fell into the bed and relished having Gendry on top of her. He was kissing her like it was the last thing he was ever going to do, and when he touched her again, Arya nearly saw stars.
"I want to get my mouth on you," he whispered, and the edge to his voice was gone. They weren't playing any roles anymore; they were just themselves. Arya nodded, and Gendry kissed his way down her body until he settled between her legs. Between his skilled hands and his incredibly talented tongue, Arya peaked in what felt like mere seconds. Arya tried to pull Gendry up so she could kiss him, but he sucked a bruise onto her inner thigh and slipped his fingers into her again. Arya was sensitive, and she nearly screamed when his tongue touched her again.
She was babbling, Arya knew she was, and Arya also realized that she wasn't quiet either. It wasn't precisely behavior fitting a Princess of the North, but Hot Pie knew what he was getting into when he got them this drunk. Arya sank her fingers into Gendry's black hair and pulled as he made her peak again. He looked far too pleased with himself as he moved up to her.
"Oh shut up," Arya said and yanked him into a kiss. Gendry chuckled against her lips and let Arya push him back on the bed. She didn't waste any time as she sank down on him and moaned much louder than she intended to. It was the ale, it was fine, and Arya didn't care right now. Gendry was holding onto her hips hard enough that there were probably going to be bruises and she loved it. She loved the feeling of him inside of her, she loved how connected them were at this moment, and Arya never wanted it to end.
Gendry was a generous lover in bed, and he seemed determined to make sure she remembered this night despite all of the ale. As Arya approached her peak for the third time, Gendry suddenly sat up and changed the angle. He wrapped one arm around her to keep her in place and touched her with the other. Arya threw her head as she peak but pulled Gendry's mouth to hers as he fell over the edge. She bit down on his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, and it was amazing. It was all so amazing.
They didn't so much lie back down as they collapsed onto the bed. They needed to move and clean up, but the room was pleasantly spinning, and Arya didn't want to leave his arms. Arya pressed her forehead to Gendry's as they exchanged some soft kisses as the sweat cooled on their skin. They needed the leave on the early side in the morning so they could continue to make their way north but, right now, they could relax. Arya could lie with the man she loved after spending a fantastic night in his bed, and she didn't need to think.
Arya wasn't that surprised when the owners of the inn and Hot Pie avoided both of their eyes when they came down for breakfast. Arya knew there was a bruise visible on her neck, Gendry had poked while smirking to himself, and his lower lip was still a little swollen. She didn't mean to be as loud as she was, but the ale didn't help. Hot Pie laid out two little loves of direwolf shaped bread and sat down across from them as they ate.
"You know, I don't want to say I doubted that you two were married. I knew you were, but I guess I never put two and two together," he said. Hot Pie's cheeks were a little red, and he looked profoundly uncomfortable.
"Sorry about that," Gendry said, and he didn't sound sorry at all. "I blame you for giving us all of that ale."
"My fault?" Hot Pie said loudly, and Marsha was watching them carefully. "I mean, I just had some drinks with my friends, I didn't think-"
"We married for love, Hot Pie," Arya said as she finished her loaf of direworlf bread. "What exactly did you think married couples in love got up to when they went to bed together?" Hot Pie stared at the two of them, and Arya tried to maintain a straight face, but she eventually broke down and laughed. Gendry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
They didn't stay much longer after that, and Marsha did eventually look them in the eye as they were getting ready to leave. Arya had a feeling there were going to be some interesting rumors following the two of them the next time they went south provided Hot Pie, and Marsha said anything. It wouldn't be the first time, but the idea of how scandalized Sansa might be made Arya smile to herself. She promised Hot Pie that they would stop by the next time they went south, and Gendry whispered in her ear that he left some coin underneath the pillow of their bed. They would be long gone by the time Marsha or Hot Pie found it. They followed the king's road north as they continued home.
