Arya watched as Jon and Val walked out of the room just as people were getting rowdy enough to try and demand a bedding which they were not going to do. She turned her attention to House Dustin and how they were eyeing the door like they wanted to leave despite the sun already being down and that not being in their best interest. Ryon looked up from his food and flinched when he realized that she was watching him. Arya didn't want to think about House Dustin; she didn't want to think about anything right now, which meant it was time to get out of here. She turned to Sansa and put a hand on her sister's arm.

"Do you have a handle on things here?" she asked.

"I do, why? Are you abandoning me? You know that Bran and Meera won't stay much longer," Sansa said, but she was smiling.

"You're hardly alone. Bella, Yara, and Missandei can scare half of the men here into shitting their breeches without lifting a finger," Arya replied, and Sansa laughed. It was nice to see her sister smiling, and Theon even seemed to be enjoying himself as he spoke to Yara and Bella with what looked like enthusiasm. Gendry was smiling as he sat near his sister and listened to the conversation, but he didn't seem that keen to be part of it. Arya just didn't want to think anymore and wanted some time alone with her husband because tomorrow Bella was going to insist on the three of them spending time together.

"Have a good night," Sansa said with a nod. Arya walked over to Gendry and touched his arm. He looked at her and immediately excused himself. She took his hand and led him up the halls to her room and closed the door behind her. Arya immediately threw her arms around his neck and kissed him within an inch of his life. Gendry slid his tongue into her mouth, and Arya didn't fight when he easily picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on for dear life.

Arya tugged on his coal-black hair, which was long enough now that she could pull a handful of it. Gendry used to wear his hair short, but much like everyone else in the North, he was growing it out because it was warmer. It wasn't as long as Jon's, and he didn't need to pull it up, but Arya liked something that she could get her hands into. Gendry laid her down on their bed and began to kiss along her jawline to her neck. Arya didn't usually like Gendry to leave marks, but right now, she needed people to know that they were still together.

"Do it, please," she whispered. "I want people to see that I am yours, and you are mine." Gendry didn't suck a bruise into her skin; he bit her, and Arya yelped because he hadn't ever done that before. She didn't think anything could make her want him more, but right now, she wanted him more than anything. Gendry pressed a kiss to the bite, and they began to remove their clothes as quickly as possible. Arya barely had her breeches off when Gendry pushed her legs apart and pressed his mouth to her. Arya nearly arched off the bed and had to bite down on a fist to keep from screaming half of Winterfell down. He made her peak against his mouth, and Arya could taste herself on him when Gendry kissed her again.

As he slid into her, Arya found herself marveling at how she never got tired of this man. It didn't matter how many times they lay together; she always wanted him. She remembered hearing women talk about how the longer you were the married, the less sex you would have, but they had been together for a while now, and she still wanted him today as much as she did when they were barely adults. Arya held onto Gendry as they both chased release and thought about what she would do if someone tried to take this away from her, and Gendry wasn't going anywhere. She could see the devotion in his eyes every time they looked at each other. It made her feel secure that he would always love her.

They both peaked, and Arya let Gendry hold her as the sweat cooled on their bodies. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she pressed a kiss over his rapidly beating heart. She thought about how House Dustin was right downstairs, and they tried to take this from her. She thought about the bandits that attacked them when they went to the Iron Isles and how they could have taken him away from her.

"Missandei told me that Dany is worried about Rhaegal," Gendry said. "She wants him to come home to her, and if there were a way to carry him south, I think she would do it."

"I don't really see that working out in any possible way," Arya replied.

"Yeah, me neither, and that's the problem. I don't want her to try and have it backfire, and I'm also worried about the people who are unhappy that we're keeping a dragon in the North. I've heard the smallfolk say that it bothers them. Or I heard it when they didn't think I was fucking kitchen girls and didn't pelt me with rocks," Gendry replied, and Arya tightened her hold on him. She hated House Dustin for the resigned tone in Gendry's words like he thought that this was what he deserved when he didn't. He deserved so much more than this.

"So we need to figure out a way to get Rhaegal home that won't entail him accidentally burning down half of the Riverlands or catching the boat that is trying to get him home on fire, and he drowns," Arya said. She turned so she could look at Gendry and he had that look he sometimes got when he was thinking very hard about something. "You have an idea?"

"Maybe," Gendry replied. "I'll need some help and find someone who would be willing to work with me, but maybe. I don't want to tell Dany, though, because it probably isn't going to work." Arya kissed his jaw and settled back into his arms.

"It'll work," she said softly. They laid together for a little longer until she couldn't ignore what was between her legs anymore and used a chamber pot. There was a small bucket of water and a rag that she used to wipe the worst of the mess from her body and tossed the rag to Gendry. She touched the scars on her body and thought about the women that would be praying for a babe after lying with their husband like she just did. Arya stopped thinking about a babe being in her future a long time ago, but sometimes it nagged in the back of her mind, and she couldn't quite let it go. Gendry was watching her silently, and he thankfully didn't ask what she was thinking about when she climbed into bed. She didn't want to talk about it with him because it was just another reminder of what he was giving up to be with her. Arya closed her eyes, wrapped in Gendry's arms, and fell asleep.

Most of the Lesser Houses left bright and early in the morning, and most of them looked hungover. Gendry noticed how much of the Dornish Red that Ellaria sent up for the wedding was gone and shook his head. The Free Folk were lingering, and Tormund drew him into a tight hug as soon as he saw him. Missandei was practically leaning against Bella, who looked a little green while Yara was smirking at both of them and looking right as rain. He shouldn't have been surprised that a Greyjoy could drink most of Westeros under the table.

He couldn't take his eyes off of the mark on Arya's neck, and she was displaying it proudly like she wanted all of Winterfell to know that they had sex last night. Maybe she did because it meant that people would think there weren't any problems in their marriage from the Tisa incident. Gendry was doing his best to deal with all of that, but he needed someone who knew how to work leather to do this plan for Daenerys, and he couldn't think of a single craftsman in the North that would want to work with him.

Sansa, Theon, Bran, and Meera were clearly sleeping in, but Jon and Val walked in. They were an interesting pair; it was clear that they had bonded more in the recent weeks leading up to the wedding, and he knew that they were friends. Now they were friends who had sex occasionally, and Gendry wondered what that could develop into. Arya was deadlier with a dagger now than she ever had been before, and now even Sansa looked like she could hold her own in a battle. He had watched them all training before, and it was nice to see. Gendry walked over and put a hand on Bella's shoulder.

"How are you feeling, big sister?" he asked maybe a little too loudly, and he watched as half the people in the Great Hall winced.

"I hate you," she whispered as she looked up at him. She was glaring for a moment, but Bella wasn't someone who stayed mad at him very long. The glare faded, and she smiled at him. "I don't, but I do want to spend some time with you before I go back. Mya and Edric wanted to come so badly, but we just couldn't get away. Edric almost left anyway, but Davos insisted that staying was the best."

"You couldn't ask for a better man," Missandei said, and Gendry had to agree with them. Yara was watching Arya and somehow smirking even more than she was a moment ago.

"I thought she was the wolf who did the claiming," Yara said, and she wiggled her eyebrows. Gendry rolled his eyes and went to fetch some water for Bella and Missandei. He knew that Missandei would be leaving today, but Bella was planning on staying a little longer. Gendry was looking forward to seeing his big sister even if he did wish all four of them could be together.

Bella and Missandei looked like they were about to give him whatever he wanted for the water, which made Gendry smile. Missandei didn't stay much longer than that, but Bella looped her arm in his and said that she wanted to spend time with him. Gendry managed to get Arya's attention enough that she followed, and the three of them spent the day together. It was nice, and Gendry remembered how lovely it was to have siblings around. He was also very amused by Bella's expression when she found out about what House Dustin did.

"Where are they? I want to look into that man's eyes and figure out every dark secret he has ever had," she said, and it was kind of impressive how Bella, in her pretty dress and damn near perfect black curls, looked more like a wolf than a stag at that moment. It reminded Gendry of the look that Sansa got when she was about to remind people that she fed her ex-husband to his own dogs.

"We'll take care of it. Don't worry," Arya said, which was a surprising thing to hear. As far as Gendry knew, there weren't any plans to do anything about House Dustin because they really couldn't. Arya looked just as bloodthirsty as Bella did, and he opened his mouth to tell them that it wasn't worth it when they both turned and glared at him like they knew what he was about to say. Gendry held up his hands in surrender and didn't say a word.

They were on their way to dinner, and Gendry was telling Bella about his ideas for Rhaegal, and she seemed thrilled that he was working on something like that.

"The problem is I think I need someone who specializes in leather making, and that isn't something I know well," Gendry said. He thought he could come up with something that could hold a replacement piece of the wing in place, but he didn't have the skills to make the thick leather that could be used to replicate Rhaegal's wing. Val looked up when they walked in and blinked at him.

"Did you say you need someone who specializes in leather making?" she asked.

"Yes, he thinks he might have figured out a way to get Rhaegal back to Queen Daenerys," Bella said despite Gendry glaring at her and wanting her to keep her mouth shut. The last thing he needed was rumors getting back to Daenerys when he wasn't sure if this was going to work at all. Val looked at him and appeared to just be waiting for him to confirm what Bella said, and she already had that stare that made him nervous that literally, every single Stark woman he knew had mastered. She was clearly going to fit right in with this family.

"I have a very vague idea, but yes, I would need someone who knows how to make leather but very specific kinds of leather. As you know, I'm not the most popular man in the North right now, so I don't know many craftsmen who would want to work on a project like this with me," Gendry said because that was the truth of the matter. He knew that everyone hated him right now, and he didn't stand a chance of convincing someone to try and help him on what could be a fool's errand.

"One of the men from the clans of the Free Folk specialized in making the leather that we would wear, which is much thicker than anything you wear here south of the Wall. Is that the kind of leather you're looking for?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is," Gendry said a little stunned, and Val nodded.

"I'll send for him. He's a bit mad, which I assume will be helpful since this project of yours includes spending a lot of time around a dragon," she said.

"This would be a good move politically as well," Arya said, and everyone looked at her. "It would put a direct connection to the Free Folk and something done for the crown in the South. It would make Daenerys look at the Free Folk with even more respect, and the respect of Daenerys could go a long way to gaining the respect of the North." Arya had a very good point, and Val nodded like she agreed.

"I'll ask Corwin to come and see you as soon as he can. It would be good for all of us if we managed to get the dragon back to Queen Daenerys, and I wouldn't mind gaining her favor before I even meet her," Val said.

"Spoken like a Queen already," Bella said, and Val blushed a little. Gendry was a bit too busy being distracted by the fact that this mad plan of his to figure out how to get a dragon flying again was going to work. Val and Bella were talking, and he felt Arya reach over and take his hand. She pulled him a few steps away from them and squeezed.

"The North isn't overly fond of Rhaegal. Maybe they'll look at you more kindly if they know you're the reason he was able to go home," Arya said softly.

"Maybe, but that wouldn't change how they looked at Theon," Gendry said, and he shrugged. "I made the weapons that defeated the Army of the Dead. If that wasn't enough to gain the favor of the North, I'm not sure anything ever will." Arya frowned deeply, and Gendry kissed the top of her head. "It'll be fine; eventually, I promise." She didn't look like she believed him at all.

Bella, Yara, and the rest of the guests left a few days later, and things in the North felt like they were beginning to settle. The weeks went by, and Val said that she would be calling Corwin in to help Gendry with his new project soon but that he was in the middle of something else and couldn't come right away. Val clearly didn't want to order anything, which was good. Arya didn't think Gendry would react well to the idea of someone spending time with him because they were ordered to. Meera's belly got bigger and bigger, and before long, she was standing on the sidelines during their dagger lessons because it was too hard to move. It was getting closer and closer to the day the babe would come, and Arya was uneasy. She kept thinking about the bandits that attacked them when they went to the Iron Isles. Arya didn't trust that they would just leave people alone, and there were reports of bandit attacks near the border.

Jon sent out guards to try and capture them, but they didn't have any luck. Someone told Jon that they were last seen heading south. Arya wanted to tell Jon these men needed to be taken care of, but there was a problem between two of the Lesser Houses that needed to be taken care of first. That meant Jon and Val both left Winterfell with Sansa in charge, and Arya knew that the bandits were going to keep making a run for it. That didn't sit well with her, and she told Gendry that one night.

"We could take care of it," she said. "It's what we do and are good at it. Let's just go take care of them and then Jon and Sansa won't have to worry about anything happening. We need to focus on the new babe and not on these bandits."

"Sansa won't let us go," Gendry said, and Arya smirked. "I know that look, and that look usually doesn't end well for me." He paused and thought about it for a moment. "Or it ends really well depending on the day." Arya poked him in the ribs, which made Gendry jump.

"We'll say we need some time away. She'll understand," Arya said, and just like that, they were packing their bags to spend a few days out in the wilderness. Sansa looked like she didn't approve of this, but she also said there wasn't much she could do about it either. She sighed and let them go. Nymeria wasn't leaving Meera's side at the moment, and Ghost was with Jon and Val, so they didn't have a direwolf with them.

Arya had to go and talk to people alone because the smallfolk acted differently the second they saw Gendry. She hated it, but she also didn't know what she could possibly do about it either. The people kept telling her that the bandits kept heading south, and before long, Arya realized that they had crossed the border into the Riverlands. She wasn't surprised considering how easy it would be for people to hide out in the Riverlands, but tracking people through them is what she and Gendry specialized in. It wasn't hard to find the group, and Arya grinned. These were the men that nearly took Theon and Sansa away from her, and that wasn't something she could let slide. They had hurt people in the North, and they had passed at least one merchant caravan that the bandits had taken. Arya planned on going back to bury the bodies of the merchant and his wife.

Gendry nodded to her, and they both moved to surround the group. The men had thinned from the recent attacks, and now there were only six of them left. Arya counted down the same way she used to when they would attack the Lannister's. They didn't have the cover of night today, Sansa would want them home soon, so they had to do this now. Arya snapped a stick, and one of the bandits came out into the woods. It was easy to put a crossbow bolt through his throat, and he died silently. Gendry did the same from the other side of the group, and then there were four left. They were panicking now, and there wasn't time to wait for them to calm down. Arya sent out the bird call that signaled that they were going in, and Gendry replied with his own call.

Arya loved the thrill of battle and getting rid of men like this, men who preyed on innocent people and slaughtered anyone that got in their way; they were the ones she hated the most. She didn't enjoy taking lives, but it did soothe something in her soul that craved for justice. She remembered what Sandor told her about the difference between revenge and justice; these men had tried to take her family, but they had also hurt the people of the North and the Riverlands. It was justice to stop them before they could hurt anyone else. However, that didn't mean it wasn't a little bit of revenge too, and when she opened a bloody smile across the neck of the last bandit, Arya knew that she would sleep a bit better.

Gendry looked at her, blood dripping from his hammer, and he looked like some warrior god that she read about in books. It got her blood pumping, and she almost wanted to spend the night with him. However, they needed to get back to Winterfell, or they might miss the birth. Arya was sure that no one would forgive them if that were the case. She walked with Gendry back to their horses and gear; they would have to ride hard if they wanted time to bury the merchant and his wife and make it back to Winterfell in time.

Behind them, hidden in the trees, was one last bandit. He watched them walk away and then raced off in the opposite direction.