If Gendry was well and truly honest with himself, he did contemplate staying in the village, but that contemplation only lasted a moment or two. He couldn't leave Arya, he knew that, but he also knew that things weren't the same anymore. It had been almost a year, and he still felt like a stranger in his own skin. Ser Gendry Stark didn't even feel like a person he could ever be again, and he didn't know how to be the man that Arya fell in love with. She insisted that she loved him no matter what he had gone through, but that doesn't mean she meant it or that it would last long term. There was still a chance that she wouldn't want to deal with all of this and leave him.
He couldn't go down that rabbit hole, or he'd never come out. Gendry had the meeting with his siblings, and all four of them decided that they were going to leave together. It took a few days to get all of the supplies that the ship needed; apparently, they had traded at the other villages they checked and were fairly well stocked, but it still felt strange the day to leave. He said goodbye to all of the good people that helped care for him and his siblings when they were sick and healing when it could have cost them their lives. They waved him off like this wasn't something rare to find in the world. Weneya was waiting for them on the beach with Arya as they joined them by the rowboats. Arya smiled, squeezed Weneya's hand, and walked away to give them all some privacy.
He and his siblings had always lacked paternal figures, and Weneya seemed to read that in them right away. She was like the grandmother Gendry never got the chance to know, and it broke his heart a little to know that he wasn't going to see her again. Even if they came back to visit someday, Weneya was not long for this world. She took each of their hands, framed their faces, and pressed soft kisses to their foreheads. She whispered something only for each of them, and Gendry stood still as she did the same to him.
"You are a good man, Gendry, and that young woman adores you. Don't let the pain you suffered here ruin a good thing," Weneya said. Gendry nodded and didn't try to say anything because he was fairly sure he would start crying if he did. They gathered their meager possessions and climbed into the rowboats. Gendry noticed that he wasn't the only one looking back, but when Arya took his hand, he squeezed it. This was the right thing to do, even if it hurt like hell right now. He stood on the deck of Asha's ship with his siblings, and they watched the shoreline vanish. Essos and all of the nightmares it brought, was finally behind them, and they were going home.
Gendry enjoyed the time at sea. He liked the work and getting up at the same time every day. He liked the chaos of the water even though it was beautiful to watch. Arya told him about the storm they had to pass through, and he almost wanted to see waves that big. Almost but not enough to wish it on their journey. Arya had so much patience for him that he couldn't believe it. When he said that he couldn't sleep in her cabin because there wasn't enough room for all four of them, Arya shrugged and merely joined their weird little pile like it wasn't a big deal. Gendry wrapped his arms around her and held her close because right now, this is what felt right.
A month into their travels, he sat down with his siblings, and they talked. They all knew they didn't like to be that far away from each other, but there was a way to get around that. The ship was only so big, and as long as everyone stayed from places where they could fall overboard, they could only be so far away from each other. They all agreed to try and give each other a little more space the next day, which is how Gendry found himself sitting out alone on the deck until Arya found him. She glanced around, no doubt looking for his sisters or his brother, and then joined him.
"You managed to be apart from one another; that's good," Arya said.
"The ship is only so big," Gendry replied, and he struggled to put into words exactly what he needed to tell her. He couldn't go to the North yet, but the mere idea of breaking her heart like that made Gendry want to fling himself into the ocean.
"You're not going back to the North when we get back to Westeros," Arya said, and Gendry blinked as he stared at her.
"I'm not?" he asked.
"No, and Edric and your sisters aren't going back to Storm's End either," Arya continued. "I thought about it, and I realized that we still don't know who did this to you. If you emerged, miraculously alive, they might not kidnap you. They could just kill all of you in your beds, so you need to stay somewhere secure and safe. Asha thinks that the Iron Isles are the best place to do that. I will go back to Westeros and figure out who did this to you so you can come home safely. It will take time, though, which means you'll have time to-" She cut herself off like she was having a hard time finding the right word, but Gendry knew the perfect one.
"-to heal." he finished.
"To heal," Arya said as she reached forward and took one of his hands into hers. "And to keep you safe. I already had to deal with losing you once, and it nearly killed me. I don't think I can survive losing you again, not when I could have kept you safe." They sat together in silence for a long time, and Gendry felt some of the pressure in his chest ease a little. It no longer felt like he was being crushed, but he also knew that this feeling might only be temporary. That it could be a matter of time before something else triggers a terrible reaction.
"I don't know how long it's going to take," Gendry said. "And you couldn't come to Storm's End with us because of the treaty. I don't want to be apart from you anymore."
"We'll figure it out," Arya said. "Right now, you need to focus on getting better. All four of you need to focus on getting better because you're all kind of a mess right now." Gendry laughed as Arya pulled him into her arms. They held each other until she coaxed him into lying down with his head in her lap. Gendry closed his eyes and let Arya run her fingers through his hair. He fell asleep and wished for no nightmares.
The trip back to Westeros was not nearly as traumatic as the trip to Essos. Arya wasn't glad to see storm clouds on the horizon, and while the seas were rough, they weren't nearly as bad as the first time. She slept in the same room as Gendry and his siblings every night and tried to be as steady for them as possible. It was hard because Arya felt like she was falling apart. She was the one to tell Gendry that he needed time to heal on the Iron Isles but knowing that she was going to have to leave him again made Arya feel like someone was gutting her. She also knew that they couldn't risk someone trying to kill all four of them again, so they had to stay hidden and safe for now.
It was chaos when they arrived back on the Iron Isles, and Asha was frowning deeply. They had cloaks over the Baratheon's to keep their identities a secret, but Arya didn't like the way people were running around. They made their way up to Pyke Castle, and when the doors to the Great Hall opened, Yara was standing in the room looking like she hadn't slept in a week.
"Asha, you're timing is complete shit," Yara said as she walked over and hugged her cousin. "So, the world is round? You finally proved it?"
"Yeah, I'll have to go talk to the maesters at some point, but I brought back some familiar faces, too," Asha replied. Gendry pulled off the hood of his cloak, and Yara seemed to get paler and paler every time a Baratheon was revealed to be alive.
"This requires an explanation and a lot of wine," Yara said after a beat of silence. They all went up to her solar, and the Baratheon's gave an abridged version of what happened to them. Arya caught Yara up on what she knew as well and how they all ended up here. Yara stared at all of them for a moment.
"You're sure that will is fake? And it was that Connington prick?" Yara asked, and Edric nodded.
"I wouldn't leave Storm's End to him if he were the last House in Westeros," he said.
"Westeros isn't an option for the Iron Isles at the moment," Yara said as she set her jaw. "Someone attacked a village and made it look like the Ironborn did it. They killed every single man, woman, and child. When I made my treaty with Daenerys, it was under the condition that we do not reeve, and she said that has been broken. The problem is I cannot find a single Ironborn ship that could have done this. I don't know who did this, but it wasn't us, but they wanted it to look like us."
"Something isn't right," Arya said carefully. "Which is one of the reasons we want to ask you to let the Baratheon's stay here for a time. We don't know who gave them over to Daario or who had them killed. I don't want to risk their lives until we're sure it's safe."
"Gendry is family," Yara said with a wave of her hand. "Plus, it's always nice to have some pretty things around." Arya watched as all four siblings turned red at the exact same time, and it was really quite endearing. She reached over and took Gendry's hand into hers. "Arya, how do you feel about staying a little longer? We can send a raven to your siblings and let them know you're here so they won't worry. We can even add a code if you want to let them know this group is safe."
"As much as I'd love to tell them I'm alive, I don't want to risk a raven," Gendry said. Yara nodded as she sat back and rubbed her temples like she already had a headache.
"It's late, we should all get some sleep, and we can continue this lovely trip through hell tomorrow," Yara said. Arya stood up and quickly walked over to Yara to stop her from leaving.
"What room of yours has the biggest bed?" Arya whispered, and Yara began to smirk. "No, not for that, Gendry and his siblings. They went through a lot, Yara, and they can't sleep apart anymore. I know most rooms don't have multiple beds, so I thought if the bed was big enough, we could fit all four of them into one." Arya glanced over her shoulder at Gendry, who was watching the room like he wanted to flee, and none of his siblings looked much better. Yara looked at them as well, and she frowned.
"I once rescued two men who were stranded at sea for two moon turns on a tiny boat," Yara said softly. "They had the same look in their eyes, and they never left each other's sides again. I understand, little wolf, I'll make sure it's taken care of, and I will also make sure no one talks about it either." Arya smiled gratefully and walked back to join Gendry at the table. Yara had a few trusted servants bring in some food, and everyone ate like they were never going to eat again. Arya wrote a quick note to her family to let them know that she was safe in Westeros but had to stay on the Iron Isles for a little while. She gave it to the maester and insisted it go out right away. One of the chambermaids offered to escort them to their rooms, and the Baratheon's looked nervous. Arya took Gendry's hand and tried to pull him along.
"Trust me," she said. Gendry looked over his shoulder, and they all shrugged and followed the young woman through the castle and to the room. When Arya walked into the room, she thought that she hadn't ever seen a bigger bed in her life. It was almost twice the size of her featherbed in Winterfell, and this was good. This was big enough for all of them to fit fairly comfortably. She didn't need a lot of space; she planned on being in Gendry's arms.
"Arya, what is this?" Gendry asked, and he sounded a little breathless.
"I spoke to Yara, and I made sure we got the room with the biggest bed. Now the four of you don't have to be apart," Arya explained. Gendry stared at her with a look that she couldn't quite place, and she was about to ask if the room was all right or if she misread the situation or if he was okay when Gendry pulled her into a passionate kiss. It didn't last long, it never lasted long enough for Arya, but he pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers.
"Thank you," Gendry whispered. When he broke away from her, Arya found herself getting pulled into tight hugs by all of the Baratheon's, and she laughed. She felt lighter, and knowing that she made things a little easier for them was worth so much.
For the next two weeks, Arya spent time with Gendry and his siblings. They all shared a bed still, but they were working on being away from each other for short periods of time. Edric's arm was still healing, but he could lift small objects with his hand. They let Gendry into a forge, and he crafted a proper metal foot for Edric. He came out of the forge covered in sweat, soot, burns, and grinning like this was the greatest thing ever. He took Arya into his arms and twirled her around as he said he was so glad that he didn't forget his training. They broke their fast in the room on the fourteenth day, and Yara called them to her solar. She was frowning deeply as she looked at the map on the wall, but she turned to them when they all joined her. Yara gestured for them to sit down, and she didn't look like she knew what to say.
"It doesn't make sense," Mya said, and everyone turned to look at her. She sat up a little straighter and looked them all in the eye. "We were targeted, we can all agree on that, but they didn't just take Bella, Edric, and myself. They took Gendry as well. There is only one way to make sure that he would be in Storm's End with the rest of us."
"Do you mean the trial?" Arya asked, and Mya nodded.
"House Connington was one of the accusers," Edric said, and Arya could hear how angry he sounded.
"Only one of them, though," Bella pointed out. "If it was just one house, Daenerys might not have had the trial, but it was multiple houses from not just the Stormlands but the Crownlands, the Vale, and the Riverlands. Our father stole some of Connington's lands; I can understand why he would hold a grudge against us, but what do those other houses have to gain by making it look like we're dead?"
"We should look at all of the accusing houses," Gendry said. "Let's write them down." It took a little while for all of them to remember the four main houses that seemed to be pushing for a trial; Houses Connington, Velayron, Redfort, and Braken.
"So look at these and tell me if anyone stands out besides Connington," Arya said. The four Baratheon's looked over the list, and Mya reached down to point to House Redfort.
"I lost my maidenhead to a knight from House Redfort. He promised to marry me until his parents found a different match," she said. "I thought I loved him, but that was a long time ago. I haven't thought about it since." Arya frowned as she looked over the list and tried to come up with something that could connect these houses to the Baratheon's, but the link to the Redfort was weak at best. It didn't seem like a good motive for murder to her, and even revenge didn't make any sense. Why would a married man be upset that the woman he scorned was gone? There was no connection to the other two houses. They all thought for a long time until Yara declared that she had a headache and wanted to do anything else.
Gendry took her hand into his as they walked out of the room and smiled softly to herself. It was such a small thing that meant so much to her. She wasn't really paying attention to where they were going, and before she knew it, they were in their room. Arya blinked and realized that not only were they in their room, but they were alone. She looked at Gendry to see if he realized what had happened.
"Gendry, what is this? Are we alone?" Arya asked.
"They're close, two chambers over, but I asked for some time alone with you. I wanted to have some alone time with you," Gendry said. Arya blinked and then nearly jumped into Gendry's arms. It still felt so natural to kiss him, and it was like everything else in the world seemed to vanish around them. However, he wasn't as strong as he used to be, and he could only hold her in his arms for so long. Gendry gently set her back down on her feet but stayed close. "I want to be with you," he whispered.
"I will always want you," Arya replied. They both began to undress each other as fast as humanly possible. Arya just wanted bare skin beneath her hands, and she couldn't wait to touch him again. The problem was they could hardly stop kissing each other for more than a minute, so it became very difficult to get naked. They both stumbled over to the obscenely large bed and laughed as she pulled him down on top of her. He was kissing along her neck when Arya realized something. "Gendry, we aren't the only ones who sleep in this bed."
"A chambermaid is going to come up and change the sheets," Gendry said as he sucked a bruise into the skin of her neck. Arya felt her entire body lighting up, and it almost reminded her of the first time they ever laid together. It felt just as new and intense as it did all of those years ago, and Arya loved it. Gendry kissed his way down her body, and Arya was unprepared when he put his mouth on her. She arched her back and realized that there were apparently some skills that a person could go a year without doing and never forget. Gendry still knew exactly where to touch her and where to put his mouth to make her see stars. It had been far too long since she had done this, and it took Gendry almost no time at all to get Arya to her peak. She clenched the sheets in her hands and cried out.
"I've missed that sound," Gendry said as he kissed her thigh and sucked another bruise into her skin. He sounded so much like the Gendry; she used to know that Arya had to close her eyes. There was a chance that he could slide back, something could happen to make him the frightened man that she found on the shores of Essos, but right now, it felt like old times, and she couldn't let her fears for the future ruin her present.
"Come up here," Arya insisted, and she pulled him up to kiss the breath from his lungs. She nibbled on his lower lip, and Gendry gasped against her mouth. He slowly pushed inside of her, and it really was like the first time all over again. She was still sensitive from her first peak, and that just made everything even more intense. The only time she looked away from Gendry's beautiful eyes was when they were kissing. Arya dug her nails into his skin as she felt another peak approaching, and she could feel that Gendry was close too. She couldn't remember if they had ever peaked at the same time before, and even if they had, Arya knew it wasn't this intense. They both cried out at almost the exact same time and held onto each other like a lifeline.
Gendry all but collapsed on the bed next to her as they both tried to catch their breath. Arya didn't remember ever being this winded after sex with her husband before.
"If this is how good it is when we don't have sex for a year, maybe we should skip out on it more often," Arya said without thinking. She was about to apologize when Gendry buried his face in her neck and started to laugh. The moment broke, and Arya reached up to run her hands through his hair. Gendry pulled back just enough that they were nose to nose and smiled softly at her. Arya leaned forward and pressed soft kisses down the scar on his face until she got to his lips. When they broke away, Gendry pressed their foreheads together.
"Thank you," he said softly.
"I assure you it was no hardship," Arya quipped, and Gendry smiled again. She would say anything to see him smile more.
"No, not the sex, though that was fantastic," Gendry said. He reached forward and placed a hand over her heart. "Thank you for your patience. You've been absolutely perfect in dealing with all of this bullshit that I'm dealing with. You've been sharing a bed with three other people, and you haven't said a word about it. You knew that I needed time before I was even able to say the words myself, and you are willing to wait for me. You are a remarkable woman, Arya Stark, and I'm so fortunate to have found you."
Gendry wasn't one for long romantic speeches, he usually let his deeds speak for him, but Arya could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. She was doing her best to be patient, but there were times that it did hurt, and the idea of going back to the North without him made a knot form in her stomach. However, Arya knew that telling Gendry all of this would just make him feel guilty that he wasn't well enough to come home with her yet. She needed Westeros to be safe for him first and foremost, but she also needed Gendry to come home when he was ready because if it was too soon, it could set him back.
"I promise that I'm trying my best," Arya said, which wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either. Gendry didn't seem to catch on that she had more to say, and they laid in bed for a little while longer until Gendry started to get restless. They cleaned themselves up, got dressed, and walked down to meet the other Baratheon's nearby. The looks on their faces were enough to make both of them laugh, and Arya clenched Gendry's hand a little tighter.
Arya knew it was almost time to go home, Asha was readying the ship so they could leave in two days, but she wasn't ready. She wasn't ever going to be ready to leave Gendry behind again but knowing that she was leaving him in a safe place did ease some of her anxiety about the whole thing. She was packing some of her things when a servant rushed in and said that Yara needed to see her right away. Arya walked up to Yara's solar and handed her a scroll with the seal of House Stark. She was eager to read the words from her family but what was written on the raven made Arya's heart sink.
"What is it?" Yara asked. "You look a little sick around the edges, little wolf."
"My cousin Robin is dead," Arya replied.
