Summary: In which Robb and Sansa ruin everyone's party and Gendry says he has a surprise for Arya
SHOOK!
"Don't say anything."
"I just have to ask-"
"No, you don't."
"-be honest. Were you even trying to hit the target?"
Gendry turned around to see Arya looking at him, biting her lip to keep from laughing as he glared at her in false annoyance. So far, their archery lesson had been nothing short of a disaster. No matter how hard he tried, Gendry just couldn't seem to hit the bloody target. His arrows either went diving into the ground or sailing merrily over it, shooting off across the field of grass and into the garden.
"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Gendry demanded. Arya didn't even have the good grace to look ashamed.
"Of course I am," she said, striding forward. "Now pick up another arrow and try again."
"I can't help it if the bloody thing's defective," Gendry grumbled, waving the bow at her as if to illustrate its ineffectiveness.
"The bow's not defective, you are," Arya teased, mocking him as she picked up another arrow and offered it to him. He took it with a scowl that wasn't really a scowl, but he had to at least pretend to be put out. He couldn't just let her win so easily.
"Now try again."
"As my lady comma-OWW! STOP HITTING ME!"
"Stop calling me milady and I'll stop hitting you," Arya said, smirking as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Now you sound like Hot Pie," Gendry said, setting the arrow in place. "Blackmailing me."
"That's hardly blackmail," Arya said as Gendry pulled the string back. "If I really wanted to blackmail you, I'd use something far more incriminating."
"Like what?" Gendry asked distractedly, aiming.
"Well, I have seen your porn collection."
SHOOK!
The arrow sailed over the target as Gendry whipped around, nearly tripping and falling flat on his face. Arya snorted with laughter, not phased in the least.
"Will you stop bringing that up in casual conversations?" He demanded, sure his face was the color of a ripe tomato.
"What? And miss out on the look on your face?" Arya asked, laughing. "It really never gets old, you know."
"I'll have you know that I have thrown out most of that," Gendry snapped as Arya continued to laugh at him.
"Most, but not all?" she said, catching him.
"You know what, can we just focus on the archery lesson?" Gendry asked grumpily as Arya chuckled.
"You mean the fact that you can't hit the target?"
"I thought that the perk of being your boyfriend was that you would insult me less frequently," Gendry said as she gave him another arrow.
"If you wanted a nice girlfriend you should have gone out with Sansa," Arya pointed out as Gendry put the arrow in place and then pulled his arm up and back. "Stop! Don't release the arrow yet!"
"Why?"
"Just let me explain what you're doing wrong, all right?" Arya snapped. "Stay still."
"Fine," Gendry relented, arm still pulled back as Arya came up to him looking over his form and biting her lip, and Gendry could almost hear the cogs going off in her head.
"First of all, you want to make sure your elbow's not too high," she said, gently pulling his elbow down slightly. "And then, make your hand that's holding the string like a claw, while still gripping the arrow."
Hands still lingering on his arm, Gendry felt her fingers smoothing out his, molding his fingers against the string. Suddenly, it was becoming very hard to focus on archery.
"Tilt the bow," Arya said softly, her fingers still on his, her brow furrowed in concentration, totally oblivious to the fact that Gendry was completely lost to all of this. She didn't even notice his heart jump when she placed her other hand over his fingers on the bow, tilting it to the angle that she wanted.
"Take a deep breath," she said. "Focus on your target."
Gendry blinked, trying to remember that he was supposed to be listening to what she was saying, but yet again his mind was wondering, following his eyes as he watched her face, so pulled in concentration and determination. So focused.
As if sensing his stare, she looked up and blinked in surprise. Eyes locked, he felt her fingers lift from his and then she placed them lightly on his chest, leaning forward slightly on her feet towards him.
Somewhere, in the wise caverns of his mind, there was a voice telling Gendry that he should probably turn his eyes away from Arya and shoot the arrow. He should probably do that right now, because as it was, it looked like they were very close to kissing, and that was far from a good idea. They were at Winterfell for gods sake! Someone might see them!
Arya didn't seem to be thinking about that either, and if she was, she was ignoring the warning sounds in her head, because she was leaning closer and closer, her eyes drifting down from his eyes to his lips-
"Ahhh! Archery!"
Gendry nearly had a heart attack and Arya looked like she had almost screamed as Robb swaggered onto the lawn, grinning merrily, totally oblivious to the fact that he had nearly caught them in a very awkward situation.
"Arya giving you a lesson Gendry?" He asked, smiling at them both. Arya looked grouchy.
"I was, until you interrupted us," she snapped. Gendry could only thank every god in existence that his back had been turned, so that Robb could not have seen what they were just about to do. "Aren't you supposed to be at a birthing class or something?"
"No," Robb said. "Jeyne's out with her friends, so I thought I'd swing by, see what you were up to, and it's archery! Gendry, if you wanted a good teacher, you should have asked me. I used to do competitions you know."
Gendry shot a glance at Arya, who looked red in the face.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" She asked, obviously grumpy at being thwarted. Gendry couldn't help but share her sentiment. They hadn't had a good snog in days, and he was certainly missing it.
"No," Robb said, frowning. "I thought I'd spend the day with you lot. I could help you with Gendry's archery lesson."
Arya looked like she was trying very hard not to strangle Robb.
"It's too bad," she said evenly, "we were just going to leave."
"We were?" Gendry asked stupidly before he could stop himself. Arya stomped on his foot, hard. "I mean, oh, right, yeah, we are!"
Arya gave him a look as if to say congratulations, you're utterly worthless.
"Oh really?" Robb said, looking disappointed. "Where?"
But before Arya could answer, there was the sound of the glass door opening, and then Sansa stepped out of the house and onto the green.
"What are you all up to?" She asked, walking towards them as well.
"Archery, apparently," Robb said, "but Arya was just telling me that they're leaving."
"Leaving?" Sansa said, frowning. "No! You should stay! Robb's come all this way, and Jon's coming down as well! We could have a picnic, here on the green, just like old times! What do you say, Arya?"
Arya looked like she was about to say no, but Gendry cut across her.
"Yes of course we'll stay, if you're going to all this trouble," he said hastily, and he could almost hear Arya screaming at him in her head. "It sounds like fun, doesn't it Arya?"
"Yes," she said through gritted teeth. "Loads of fun."
"Great! It's settled!" Sansa said, grinning at them all. "I'll go make sandwiches! Arya, could you get the chips?"
"Fine," Arya said grumpily.
"I could help carry drinks," Gendry offered, trying to avoid the absolutely murderous looks Arya was giving him.
"That'd be lovely," Sansa said, and though she smiled, it didn't quite reach her eyes, reminding Gendry of Arya's suspicions that Sansa suspected them.
"I'll go get the blankets," Robb offered, and they all trooped back inside, Gendry and Arya gathering up the bows and arrows.
"We need to talk," Arya hissed under her breath as they did so, and Gendry looked up to see that Sansa had stopped to wait for them.
"Okay," he agreed with a shrug, and then punched her in the arm, as though they had been joking around.
"I have to go visit the loo," he said when they got inside. "Is that upstairs or down?"
"Both," Robb said, "but it can get a bit confusing. Arya, just go show him."
"Sure," Arya said, "come on."
She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him down the hallway and to the bathroom, leaving him to scramble behind her before she threw him in, and then, before Sansa could catch them, darted in as well and slammed the door, locking it.
"Trying to seduce me?" Gendry teased, but she would have none of it.
"What did you do that for?" she hissed. "We were supposed to be making a clean getaway!"
"I thought you said Sansa was suspicious of us," Gendry said.
"She is!"
"Then isn't it good that we're staying? That way she'll see that we have nothing to hide!" Gendry reasoned in a hushed tone.
"But we do have something to hide!"
"Exactly! If we had run off, it would have looked suspicious!" Gendry hissed. Arya still looked annoyed.
"No it wouldn't have!" She snapped. "Now we're probably going to get caught and-"
Her angry rant was cut off by the fact that Gendry had leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, pushing him off at once. Not deterred in the least, Gendry slinked his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Stop it!"
"Oh shut up," he said kissing her neck. "This was the reason you were upset, wasn't it? Because Robb interrupted us?"
Arya gave an annoyed little huff, but he could already tell that she was giving up her protest.
"Well if you're going to do that, don't fool around and kiss me properly," she snapped.
"As milady commands," Gendry said, leaning in and capturing her lips very quickly before she could assault him again. Arya, it would seem, was not about to let a chance at kissing, when they had so very few, slip by just because he teased her. Oh no, in fact, he felt her hands running themselves through his hair, her lips moving with his as she effortlessly slid her tongue in his mouth, leaving him breathless-
"ARYA? Arya, where are you?"
"Oh for fucks sake," Arya groaned, breaking the embrace and uncoiling herself from Gendry. "I'm going to kill her."
"No you're not," Gendry said, "she's your sister."
"Whatever," Arya snarled.
"Arya? Arya?"
"Shit! She's coming!" And in a flash Arya was out of the bathroom and shutting the door silently behind her.
"Where were you?" Sansa's voice demanded from down the hall.
"Will you stop freaking out? I was just showing Gendry to the bathroom. I told him two doors down and he ended up in the game room," Arya lied effortlessly, and then they were both gone.
Gendry sighed, running a hand through the back of his hair and tried very hard not to think about the kiss they had just shared. It would just lead to discomfort and frustration, and he already had quite enough of that already. Whether it was unwise or not, he really did agree with Arya. When it was all said and done, he would much rather spend time snogging in the backseat of her car.
Oooooooooooooo
"Do you remember the time that you and Jon put that water balloon in Joffrey's pants?"
"Yes," Jon said, grinning as he took a bite of sandwich.
"That was brilliant. I remember, I was trying so hard not to laugh-"
"No you weren't, you were furious," Arya cut across Sansa as they all sat on the green, eating their picnic. Jon had just arrived, choosing to sit right in between Arya and Gendry, and they were all enjoying their sandwiches, reminiscing about old times.
"I only looked furious," Sansa said, pouting.
"Don't pretend that there wasn't a time you weren't absolutely mad about Joffrey," Arya said, reaching into the bag of chips. "Because we all know there was."
"She has a point," Jon said. "Remember when there was that time that you doodled 'Mrs. Joffrey Baratheon' all over your notes?"
"And her papers for school."
"And even the calendar, I think that one time-"
"All right, shut up all of you," Sansa snapped, frowning as Arya, Robb, Jon and Gendry all laughed.
"I still can't believe you and Gendry beat that little shit up," Robb sighed, lying back to survey the clouds.
"Ahh yes," Arya said, feeling her cheeks flare with heat to think about it. It wasn't so much the beating... As what came after it. "It was... Err..."
"It was hilarious," Gendry cut in quickly. "Arya was brilliant. You should have seen her kick him."
Robb and Sansa laughed. Jon just picked moodily at his sandwich. Though Jon had protested otherwise, Arya still had the nagging suspicion that he had not quite forgiven Gendry yet. It was her fault, of course, for even telling Jon in the first place. It had been a bloody stupid thing to do.
"I'm sorry I missed out," Sansa said, taking a swig of soda.
"Aren't we all?" Robb said, and then they all laughed again.
Arya sighed. Usually, she would have enjoyed this a lot more. And it wasn't that she wasn't enjoying it at all, because she was. She loved spending time with her family, especially like this, with her brothers, laughing and enjoying themselves. Even Sansa, despite being so suspicious, was being enjoyable. As the picnic wore on, she seemed less and less inclined to make sure Arya and Gendry were up to no good.
But despite all the fun she really was having, she couldn't help but think back to her interrupted kisses with Gendry, and how, navigating around her family, fencing practice, and his work, it had been unexpectedly difficult to find time to do things like kiss. It wasn't that they didn't hang out a lot, because they did, but that's all they seemed to be doing.
She knew that she had wanted to wait, after their failed encounter, and so had he, but... But it seemed to bloody difficult sometimes. Whenever he stopped her, Arya felt a sense of heightening annoyance and frustration. They had said they would wait, but for what? And for how long, exactly?
"Arya? Arya? I asked you a question," Sansa said, snapping Arya out of her mental reverie.
"What?" She blinked. "Oh, sorry, I spaced out."
"I was just asking you about Hot Pie," Sansa said. "You never seem to talk about him anymore."
"Why? Are you interested?" Arya said sarcastically. "I could give him your number."
Gendry snorted with laughter as he took a sip of soda, spraying a very unamused Jon in the face.
"No," Sansa snapped over Gendry's feverish apologies and Robb's hysterical laughter. "I was just wondering. How'd bowling go?"
Arya flashed Gendry a look.
"Not well," she said. "The little shit forgot his wallet and made Gendry pay for his lunch."
"And his round at the arcade," Gendry added, wiping Jon's face. "You know, I think he got there early on purpose."
"I wouldn't put it past him," Arya sighed darkly, taking another chip.
After that, it sort of went downhill. Jon really hadn't appreciated being showered by Gendry's spittle, and it hadn't boded well with the fact that he was still less than pleased with Gendry for kissing Arya. And then Robb had gotten a panicked phone call from Jeyne, who was convinced that something was wrong with the baby (though, in reality, Robb had called them all later and told them that it had just been gas). After Robb had run out in all haste and distress, even Sansa had to admit that the party was over, and finally (finally), Arya and Gendry were allowed to slip away under the pretense that Arya had to give Gendry a ride home.
"I hope Jon's okay," Gendry said as they drove back to his flat.
"Oh he'll be fine," Arya said, waving him off. "He's just put out that you dampened his hairdo."
"Haha-Hey! What are you doing?"
"Pulling over."
"Yes I can see that, what-"
"Get in the back."
"Oh. Right."
She didn't have to tell him twice. Arya had never seen Gendry move so quickly. She had barely opened the door before he was dragging her inside and kissing her.
"I've missed this," he said through their kissing.
"Shut up and take off your shirt," Arya said. "If you talk it only makes me feel stupid."
"Fine by me," Gendry said, shrugging, and then he pulled off his dark grey t-shirt effortlessly.
"Much better," Arya said, kissing him again and pulling him close, crushing his skin against her and trailing her fingers down his upper back.
"What was that about not talking?" Gendry asked and she rolled her eyes.
"Shut up," she snapped, running her hands through his hair as he leaned his head down, trailing kisses on her jaw bone and neck, his fingers spanning across her ribcage, his thumbs rubbing the undersides of her breasts.
"I don't think this is fair," he said, his breath ticking her neck, "that you're wearing so much clothing and I'm not."
"Are you trying to tell me to take my shirt off?" Arya said, and he laughed.
"What do you think?"
"I think you talk to much," she said, pulling backwards and then pulling her shirt over her head.
"And I'm pretty sure you never had bras like that before," Gendry said, nodding towards the lacy thing she had on. "Do you have those in large supply or were you planning on seducing me today?"
"The latter," Arya said, not phased in the least. "Now shut up. And DON'T say 'as my lady commands'!"
"Yes milday."
"I am going to throttle you... After I kiss you," Arya snarled as he pulled him closer, kissing him hard on the mouth.
"Mhmmm," Gendry said through their kisses, pushing her gently backwards, so that he hovered over her, dipping his head to meet hers as she wrapped her legs around his, sliding her tongue in his mouth again.
It was probably not such a bad thing that they had been kept from doing this for a substantial amount of time, Arya thought to herself as Gendry groaned into her mouth, one of his fingers trailing over her breast, dipping under her bra and gently stroking the tender flesh there, because they were certainly making up for lost time. If anything, this was better than their last few encounters.
Without even thinking about it, Arya slid her hands down Gendry's chest and to his pants, unbuttoning them and then pushing them downwards, trailing her hands back up and along the line of his underwear. She could feel him, and his urgency, and his want, and felt it too, her kisses becoming more and more urgent, her body pushing against his touch, wanting more.
"Arya-"
"Shut up."
"No Arya-"
She sighed as he pulled up, looking almost as disappointed as she felt. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, he was putting on his shirt.
"Again?" She said, not even bothered by how childish she sounded.
"I was thinking," Gendry said, ignoring her completely, "that Saturday is exactly one month since we went on our first date."
"So?" Arya said, sitting up as well and reluctantly grabbing her shirt.
"You are the most unromantic person I've ever met," Gendry snapped, wriggling back into his pants. "I was going to suggest we do something special-"
"Like what?" She asked, frowning.
"It's a surprise," he said.
"A surprise?" she repeated, eyebrows raised and looking dubious.
"Well if you don't want to-"
"I don't like surprises," Arya said, cutting across him.
"I know," Gendry said, grinning wickedly. "That's why I thought I'd make it one."
"I hate you," she said, rolling her eyes and hitting him.
"So is that a yes to my surprise?" He asked, nudging her. She rolled her eyes again.
"Fine," she said. "But if it's something stupid, like, I dunno, going to a movie-"
"Come on, have a little faith in me," Gendry said, looking insulted. "I'm not an idiot."
"Well, now I know that's not true."
"If I was an idiot, you wouldn't be dating me," Gendry pointed out very validly. Arya sighed. It was true... More or less.
"So..." she said. "This surprise..."
"Will be fun," Gendry said, grinning again. "I promise."
Well? Was it worth the wait?
I was listening to my iPod, and I can't help but feel like the song 'Candles' by Daughter fits them perfectly. Actually, basically every song by Daughter fits them perfectly. I have problems