She's so much like the sea he thinks it's a shame she didn't come from a family that lived near one.
Captivating and terrifying.
Yes, she was so much like the ocean, he thought as he watched her pace through his room at the inn. He could barely make sense of what she was saying, she was speaking so quickly and moving in such fluid motions.
He chuckled lightly and placed a hand on her arm.
"Slow down."
She looks at his hand like she's never seen one before. He realizes that this is the first time he's actually touched her since he found her again. He withdraws his hand from her arm and she's stopped pacing, only to stare at him for a moment before turning to face the window and sucking in fresh sea air like she's never breathed it before. Her voice is small when she speaks.
"Jaqen is coming back tomorrow."
A little flash of anger rolls in his blood. He'd forgotten about Jaqen. He watches her for a hint on how he's suppose to react to this news? Was she trying to tell him something or just making a statement? What if she and Jaqen... Do Faceless Men take women to their beds? He didn't know. Her face was blank so he prompted her.
"And?"
She sighed and turned to him.
"You can't stay here forever, Gendry. You'll have to go back to Westeros eventually, sooner rather than later I'd say."
Was she telling him to leave? He couldn't read anything from her: Her eyes lifeless and her face blank. Her dress swished around her in the breeze from the window and he wished he could close it because he can't concentrate when she was standing there. Her hair moved with the wind and he was struck again by how much she compliments the waves, the wind of the sea. Or, rather- how it complimented her.
Is she telling me to leave? Will she stay? Questions he hadn't thought of bloomed in his mind. He'd only just found her again, could he leave her again? Again, he prompted her, seeking more of her thoughts as he leaned against the frame of his bed.
"And?"
She sighed and moved toward the fireplace, staring at the small fire he kept lit. He silently thanked the gods- all of them, whichever were real- that she'd moved from the window so that he could think properly.
"I think it's time I went home."
He blinked.
That was unexpected. He'd seen her face of longing when he'd explained that Bran and Rickon were alive and well, rebuilding Winterfell. And Sansa was in the Vale, safe as she could be at the moment. A look of relief, shock, and surprised had flitted across her features though they didn't touch her eyes. But then longing had overcome all of them and for a moment his mouth and throat had gone dry at the sight. But he still wasn't sure that she would give up her freedom here to return to Winterfell. This surprised him.
"Are you sure?" He asked her.
She shook her head and looked at him, her face framed by the sun of the sky and the flames of the fire. "I'm not sure of anything anymore."
What about that business with Jaqen, his mind wondered.
"And Jaqen- will he not miss you?"
Her head moved quickly toward him, a question on her face and tight smile on her lips.
"Why would he miss me?"
Gendry shrugged.
"Sounded like you two were close."
She turned toward him, facing him with a hand on her hip and one on the mantel of the fireplace.
"And if we were?" Both hands on her hips now, defiance mingled with brazen curiosity.
Gendry thought he'd rather stab his eyes out with arrow than discuss Jaqen with Arya right now, when she was standing in his room with one of those damn dresses on and face as playful as he'd yet seen since getting her back.
He bit his tongue hard.
"No, I just don't... Don't want you to leave if you have something here to keep you." He said as nonchalantly as possible. Arya laughed.
The sounded lilted it's way over to him, swept over him like a breeze. He hasn't heard her laugh in years- literally: years. In fact, he wasn't sure he could remember her laughing. She relaxed, her shoulders rolling back and hands falling to her side, shaking her head slightly.
"Stupid. Jaqen and I aren't anything. He's a friend, my only friend here actually. But nothing more. He doesn't keep me here."
Something similar to relief washed over him.