There was something about his face. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Was it his nose? His mouth and the way it formed that impish grin? Or maybe it was the pair of now closed blue eyes that seemed to be able to read her every thought.
Whatever it was, it kept her staring.
Arya was thankful for the early sun that just barely shone through the trees. The light scattered, giving off orange and green hues as it came down through the leaves in the canopy above. She smiled as the warm, growing light washed over the camp and her chilled body. Morning was always a welcomed guest after a cold night such as the one before.
Yet another reason Arya enjoyed mornings lay on the cold, muddied ground next to her. Gendry was lying, curled less than a foot away from her. The two had huddled closer during the night as usual to leech body heat off of one another. Despite their proximity being closer than it ever was during waking hours, it wasn't enough to keep the chills from running down Arya's spine, keeping her awake through most of the night. However, despite her restless night, Arya still managed to wake up at dawn. It was her favorite time of day.
The peaceful sound of birds chirping as a light breeze blew through the branches gave Arya a feeling of serenity she could only compare to the look on Gendry's face as he slept. Maybe that was why she enjoyed watching him sleep so much. None of the worry or dejection that riddled his typical face showed while he was asleep. He lay motionless aside from a twitch or two at his mouth, almost turning into a smirk. Arya wondered what he was dreaming about. Perhaps the mother he had lost or the father he never knew.
Whatever it was he was dreaming, it gave him a look of peace and happiness that Arya envied. She had not felt such a peace since King's Landing and doubted she ever would after what she had seen. Though if she had to see someone content besides herself, she was glad it was him. Arya knew he had been through a lot, too.
It made her happy to see him happy.
She knew that the second he awoke, he would be back to his usual self, using jokes and sarcasm to hide his fears. If she hadn't known him better, she would have believed him to be fearless. She had believed to be fearless when they first met and perhaps he believed it too, but it wasn't like that anymore. Both of them knew it but neither said anything. They feared for their lives every minute.
This was the reason that Arya had trained herself to wake at dawn. It was always Gendry's turn to take watch last during the night and without fail, every night he fell asleep just before dawn, before he could wake her for her watch. And every morning, for some unknown reason, she would lie next to him, watching his face shift in his sleep. When he finally awoke, she would quickly snap her eyes shut before he caught them outlining his face and this morning was no different.
With a grumble, Gendry rolled onto his back, his hands reaching at his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before he quickly sat up, realizing he had mistakenly fallen asleep during his turn at watch once again. Quickly he would lean over Arya, inspecting her for any injuries she may have acquired due to his negligence. But every morning she was fine and every morning she heard him sigh in relief. She had to stop herself from smiling as she felt his hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. Little did he know, she had already been awake for hours.
dontcallitacomeback
