Gendry

"I would like to know what the fuck is going on," Gendry had demanded after the Lannister man had driven away.

"And I would like you to stop asking so many fucking questions," Yoren had snarled back. "I told you a million times: the less you know, the better."

Well that was great, because he didn't know anything. He didn't know why he was on that bus. He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing on that bus. He didn't know why the Lannisters, of all people, wanted him (funnily enough, he wasn't sure how much he really wanted to know that one). He didn't know who the girl was, or how they were connected, or why he should be looking out for her. What he did know, however, was that Yoren was a cunt. A cunt that had gotten him into a load of trouble.

He should have never, ever taken this job. He should have never taken any job to begin with. If he hadn't been so stupid, so reckless, he would be sitting comfortably at home, working on some beautiful car, maybe even dabbling in metal works from time to time, as he liked to do. He would be safe, maybe not fully happy, but safe, and he would know what was what, and what was going on. There wouldn't be so many damn questions and there wouldn't be Lannisters out searching for him. There wouldn't be that mysterious girl either.

Gendry had decided straight out that they needed to talk. Chances were, if Yoren was going to clam up, she might not. Maybe she had the answers he so desperately craved. She at least knew who she was. He hoped. The fact that Cersei Lannister was looking for him made Gendry question who he was. What could Cersei Lannister possibly want from him?

They might have needed to talk, but it was obvious that wasn't going to happen either. Yoren, as if reading his mind, had kept her close to him, ordering her to sit in the seat directly behind him as he drove and effectively making it impossible for Gendry to talk to her. He had thought he might catch her when they stopped... But they didn't stop.

After the Lannister was out of sight, Yoren had put his gun back in his pants and turned around to face the crowd.

"All right you lot!" He had roared. "EVERYONE! BACK IN THE BUS! NOW!"

With that, he grabbed the girl by the scruff of her shirt and she had been by him ever since. Two days now, and no stopping. Well... They had stopped to use the restroom and for a quick snack, but even then it was so fast Gendry could hardly catch his breath, and then they were being shoved back on the bus again, and the girl was dragged along by Yoren, and Gendry still hadn't had a chance to talk to her.

He was beginning to think that he'd never get the chance, because it looked like Yoren was never going to stop, when finally, finally, Yoren pulled the bus into an empty and overgrown lot near an abandoned warehouse.

"All right," he had said, yawning. "I think it's time for a rest, don't you? We'll stay here the night, and then we'll get back on the road bright and early in the morning."

Exhausted, they all trooped off the bus, utterly spent. The sun was fading over the flat expanse of land, and Gendry sighed as a breeze rippled across the world and collided with him, ruffling his hair and washing away the constrained feeling he always got when being inside too long. With the breeze came a lonely feeling and something else... A certain dread almost, but he had no idea why he would feel any dread. Maybe it was the encounter with the Lannister crony. If the girl hadn't pulled him into the bushes...

"Hurry up!" Yoren barked, and Gendry realized that he was the only one waiting, staring off into the horizon while the other men were trying to open the huge wooden doors. Sighing, he hiked his bag over his shoulder and went to help them.

The warehouse, when they finally got the doors open, looked like it had been abandoned for some time. Ivy had grown up the metal walls, and grass was cracking through the cement of the floor. There was something eerie about the place, and when the wind blew, it howled and whined, whistling through the building and upsetting little clouds of dust.

Gendry made his bed in a far secluded corner and then, in need of some time alone, he went out to take a piss.

As he relieved himself, he tried to think of a way he could get the girl alone so that he could talk to her. She must know something, she must. But how to get her alone? How when Yoren watched over her like some great over grown vulture?

"What do the Lannisters want with you?"

Gendry let out a roar of surprise and nearly sent piss flying everywhere. He nearly whipped around too, and then realized that that would be a bad idea, and instead settled for turning the other way and quickly zipping up.

"Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to sneak up on people?" He grumbled. "Jesus, you nearly made me-"

"Piss your pants?" She supplied, and when he turned to face her, it looked like she was trying not to laugh.

"I suppose you think you're clever," he snapped, annoyed at having been scared by a scrawny little girl.

"I know I'm clever," she corrected him, crossing her arms over her chest. "And you're stupid. I asked you a question. What do the Lannisters want with you?"

Gendry glared at her. She really was very annoying. Now that her hood was off, he could see that her hair had been cut, a botched job because it stuck up in the back and flopped forward in the front, nearly blocking out her large gray eyes. Eyes that were expecting an answer.

"I could ask you the same question," Gendry said. "You thought they were after you, why?"

This displeased her.

"I wanted an answer, not another question," she said in a threatening voice. "Now answer me."

Gendry sighed.

"Fine," he said. "I will. The answer is I don't know."

"Liar," she said at once and he chuckled, in spite of himself. She scowled.

"I'm not lying," Gendry said honestly. "I've never had anything to do with the Lannisters. I try to stay out of the whole mob scene."

"Liar."

This one surprised him. Gendry blinked, and he saw a quick flash of terror dart across her face. 'How does she know that? How does she know I'm lying?' Gendry stared at her, searching. There was something he was missing here, he knew. Something familiar...

"How do you know that?" He demanded. She bit her lip, suddenly uncomfortable. "You thought they were after you at first. Why?"

She took a step back.

"I dunno," she said with a shrug, a very bad lie. "I knew they were from the mob, I thought maybe they'd hurt me."

"Oh is that so?" Gendry said sarcastically. "Brilliant logic."

"It's not like you're being honest either!" She shot back defensively.

"Actually I am being honest," Gendry corrected her. "You're just choosing not to believe me."

"You know what? Whatever," she snapped. "I didn't even come out here to talk to you anyway."

"Oh really? What are you here for then? To seduce me?" Gendry asked sardonically, crossing his own arms over his chest. Her eyes widened.

"I am NOT trying to seduce you!" She shouted at once. "Besides, I'm a young boy-"

"No you're not," Gendry said, grinning. He was enjoying the look of frantic terror on her usually controlled face. "My mother warned me against cougars, but she never warned me against your type. What kind of jungle cat do they call young girls who go after older men? Pumas?"

"I am not a girl!" The girl shouted.

"All right," Gendry said, trying not to laugh. "Go on and take your cock out. Take a piss."

"I don't need to take a piss," she said at once. "I could if I wanted to!"

"I'm sure you could," Gendry said very sincerely. "But it wouldn't be a cock you'd be pissing out of."

She looked furious. At him and with herself.

"Come on," Gendry said, "the game's up. I know, you know. Just admit it."

"If you tell anyone I'll take my knife-"

"And blah blah blah," Gendry snapped, waving her off. "Who are you? You're not Arry the orphan boy, so who are you?"

"I'm not telling you," the girl said flatly.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust you, that's why!"

It was a good point, but if Gendry admitted that... Well then she would have won, wouldn't she? Somehow he didn't like the idea of her winning.

"Look," he said, gentler this time. "I'm not some sort of pervert, all right? Yoren hired me."

"Yoren hired you?" She asked, her face jumping into a frown.

"To protect you," Gendry explained. Her frown turned into a scowl.

"I don't need protecting!" She cried at once. "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself!"

Gendry looked her up and down. She was tiny, scrawny, skinny little thing and a terrible liar. She had the knife, but that was about it. Well... No... She had attacked Hot Pie with unexpected strength and fury, but what about a Lannister thug? Gendry had a hard time believing she'd be able to take down a man whose arm was the size of her head.

"Right," he said, trying not to smirk.

There was a pause, and then she took a deep breath.

"No one can know," she said.

"They won't," Gendry vowed. "Not from me I swear."

She chewed her lip and looked down at her scruffy shoes. Blue high tops.

"My name's not Arry..." she said slowly. "It's... Arya... Arya Stark."

Gendry blinked. Then he gasped.

"Stark... Oh my god you're... You're... Christ!" He gasped, raking his fingers through his hair. "Your Dad... Your Dad... He was killed, wasn't he? I mean they never said... There's been no body but... But..."

She didn't look at him.

"They killed him," she said softly, staring off at the setting sun and chewing her lip, more violently now.

"Lannisters?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yes."

"Why?" Gendry demanded.

"I... I don't know," she said haltingly, as though it pained her to even talk. "He went out the day before... And then he came back, and they said Robert had died in a drunk driving accident, and... Something happened, besides Robert's death. Something to do with where he went that day."

"I know where he went that day," Gendry said, a realization snapping in his head. She looked up, shocked. "He went to see me."

"You met my Dad?" There was something so heartbreakingly hopeful in the way she asked the question that Gendry felt a sharp pain in his chest for her. He gave her a genuine smile, the first real smile he'd smiled in a long time.

"Yeah," he said softly, "I did. He was a great guy. Really nice."

She smiled, a big, warm smile, and then she seemed to catch herself, and the smile slid off her face in quivers. She blinked rapidly, taking a shuttering breath and turned away again, her expression twisted and torn.

"What did he want?" Gone was the hope, replaced by a hollow woodenness.

"I dunno," Gendry said honestly. "He wanted to ask me questions, I guess."

"What kind of questions?"

"He asked about Jon Arryn, you know, the guy who was Robert's right hand man before your Dad?" Gendry told her.

"I know who Jon Arryn was!" She snapped like a little child. How old was she anyway? Gendry looked her up and down again, but with all the bulky clothing it was hard to tell. Her face was young but her eyes were old.

"My bad, touchy," Gendry said, putting his hands up as if to surrender. She scowled further.

"What would either of them want with you?" She asked rudely.

"Beats me," Gendry said with a shrug. "But I wished they had left me alone. Now I'm stuck with you, and there are Lannister's breathing down my neck-"

"You are not stuck with me," Arya cut across him quickly. "Yoren's taking me back to Winterfell and there's no way in hell you're staying with me."

"Fine by me," Gendry snapped back. "I never wanted to go there anyway."

They glared at each other.

And then it hit Gendry. She was Arya Stark. Her father had been Ned Stark, and her brother was Robb Stark. The same Robb Stark who was kicking the ass of Lannister thugs up North. The one who had killed more men than Gendry could spit at. A man of the mob. She was a daughter of the mob too.

"Oh my god," Gendry gasped. "You're... You're a Stark..."

"Wow," Arya said, "you're just catching that now? You're stupider than you look."

"You're Dad... You're brother..." Suddenly visions of Robb Stark crashing through the doors of the warehouse with a gigantic machine gun screaming, "YOU MENTIONED COCKS IN FRONT OF MY SISTER?" were parading through his mind. "All that about cocks... I shouldn't have said..."

"Don't be an idiot," Arya snapped, rolling her eyes. "As if I haven't heard the word 'cock' before."

"And I've been pissing in front of you and everything!" He cried, horrified.

"Nothing I haven't seen before."

Gendry's eyes popped open in shock.

"How old are you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She didn't look nearly old enough for that.

"Sixteen," she snapped defensively. "Seventeen in three days."

"But you look so little," Gendry sputtered.

This seemed to piss her off a great deal.

"Well I'm not," she said venomously, "and you better keep pissing in front of me or people will notice."

"I should be calling you Ms. Stark-"

"Don't be a fucking idiot," Arya cut across him, looking disgusted.

"Or maybe your majesty?" Gendry offered cynically. "Or princess. Princess sounds better."

"I'm not a fucking princess!"

"Then a lady?" Gendry said, testing it out and liking the taste. "I could call you milady."

"DO NOT CALL ME MILADY!" Arya roared.

"As milady commands," Gendry said, pretending to bow. She slammed her fists in his chest and sent him to the ground with a loud thump.

"You piss off, all right?" She demanded before spinning on her heel and storming off, fists clenched.

"That wasn't very lady-like!" Gendry called after her.

She stuck her middle finger in the air.

Oh yes, she was definitely a lady. A proper little princess indeed. Gendry couldn't help but laugh as he clamored to her feet. She might be small and annoying and a pain in the ass, but he sort of liked her all the same. It was rare to meet a girl that wasn't about to take shit from anyone. It was rare to meet anyone like that, really.

Flicking away the bit of gravel that had stuck to his palms, Gendry followed Arya back inside. Yoren was handing out sandwiches for dinner, and most of the people had congregated in the middle to sleep together for body heat. He couldn't help but grin when he saw that Arya was eating her sandwich next to his stuff.

He sat next to her.

"If you call me milady, or talk at all, I'll kick you in the balls," she said through a mouthful of sandwich. Gendry shrugged. He wasn't in the mood for talking anyway.

Darkness fell, and it was cold in the warehouse. Gendry pulled a few of his jackets out of his duffle bag and gave one to Arya, who took it without so much as a nod or a thank you. The wind howled eerily and Gendry shivered, despite the fact that he was bathed in jackets from chin to foot.

His body was exhausted and cold and uncomfortable, but for some reason Gendry didn't feel tired. Even as snores started to join in with the wind's eerie whistling, he could not bring himself to fall asleep. There was this feeling... An unsettling feeling. He couldn't help but think that something bad was about to happen.

Gendry felt something heavy rest against his shoulder and he turned to see that Arya's head had fallen on him as she had drifted off to sleep. He made a mental note to tease her about it later. He would definitely be mentioning the cougar thing again. For now, however, he laid his head against hers and closed his eyes and tried to let sleep come.

When he awoke again, she was gone.

It was pitch black in the warehouse and cold. So very cold.

Something was about to happen. He could feel it. Without thinking, Gendry held his breath...

BANG!

The sound of the shot exploded in the warehouse and Gendry leapt to his feet in a panic. Frantic shouts echoed from his companions, confusion cluttering around as everyone began to wake.

BANG!

Suddenly Arya was there, yanking him to his feet.

"Get up!" She was shouting. "GET UP!"

"What's going on?" Gendry demanded, still a bit dazed. "What the fuck's going on?"

"They've come for you."

BANG!

Gendry felt his mouth go dry as ash. His heart began to pound in his ears and he felt his stomach twist, adrenaline rushing under his skin. Or was that fear?

"Do you have a gun?" Arya shouted.

"Yes," Gendry said, reaching into his pants and pulling it out. She looked at it and nodded, as if giving him her stamp of approval.

"Good," she said, biting her lip. "You're going to need it."

BANG!

They both jumped and looked towards the door.

"How much time have we got before they break through that door?" Gendry asked Arya as she pulled out her knife.

"None."

BANG!

The doors crashed open and freezing cold air rushed in, crackling across Gendry's face and chilling him to the bone. There was a moments pause...

Then they opened fire.

There was a surge of shadows, and all of a sudden, the Night's Watch was fighting back. Gendry and Arya as well. Arya racing forward first, screaming, and then Gendry following close behind her, his gun clenched firmly in his hand.

He used the butt of it to slam against the head of a Lannister thug and then reeled back and punched him in the face. He barely dodged a bullet before he was attacked by another man. This one grabbed him around the throat from behind, and his arm was like steel, crushing Gendry's throat...

The man coughed and Gendry felt something wet and warm spray over the side of his face before he felt the man's arm loosen its hold and he gasped for air, slamming his elbow into the man's stomach and then turning around, only to see the man keeling over, blood dripping from his mouth.

Then he fell, and behind him stood Arya, blood on her knife, and before Gendry could even think, she was turning around and setting herself on another man, blocking his blows and then slitting his throat with almost a practiced skill... And to think he had doubted whether she could handle herself.

"GENDRY!"

Gendry whipped around to see Yoren slam his fist in a man's face.

"GET OUT! GO! GO BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

He disappeared in the thick of the fight. More gunshots. It sounded like someone had gotten out a a machine gun.

He needed to find Arya, and quickly.

"Arya!" He shouted, pushing people out of his way frantically. "ARYA-ARGH!"

Someone slammed their fist into his head and Gendry went crashing down, flipping around and catching the man as he went for his throat. They struggled together as the man's hands clawed for his skin, trying to close themselves over his throat...

Gendry brought his knee up and smashed it into the man's groin. He screamed, and Gendry grabbed his gun, slamming it into the side of the man's head and then throwing his body off him. He leapt to his feet.

"ARYA!"

There was a shriek. A girl's shriek.

Arya was battling a man twice her size, whipping around to block his blows and deliver a few of her own. The man would have had her by then and crushed her skull if she wasn't so quick, darting just out of his reach, and then coming back to attack him. But she wasn't quick enough. He grabbed her arm and whirled her around, his large hands closing in over her face, crushing at her skull as she screamed...

Gendry rushed up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" He asked before he punched the man in the face just as Arya bit down on his fingers, drawing blood.

"Shoot him!" She shouted, but Gendry couldn't. He couldn't kill a man again. The gun was in his hand but...

The man snapped back up and tackled him, crashing to the ground. Gendry's head collided with the cement painfully and he roared in pain, his vision swimming. The man's fingers were like iron against his throat.

But then he was gone, and Gendry felt more warm liquid spreading against his chest...

"You idiot," a voice said, helping him to his feet as his head swam. "You should have shot him! Why didn't you just shoot him?"

"Arya..." He gasped, grabbing hold of her and then taking her face in his hands, only her face wouldn't stop shifting and swimming. "Arya we need to go... We need to get out of here..."

"No!" She shouted. "I can't leave them!"

"You're going to die!" Gendry shouted, his head starting to clear. "If we stay here a moment longer, you're going to die-"

"I can't let them get away!" She bellowed back, and tears were starting to run down her face. "I can't let them! I CAN'T!"

"I won't let you die!" Gendry roared. "It's my job to keep you safe-"

"Fuck your job!" Arya shouted, trying to wriggle away. "Let go of me! Let me go!"

The sound of a machine gun crackled and banged, and there were shouts and screams, and people around them fell like flies...

"You're going to die!" Gendry shouted again, shaking her. "How brave can you be when you're dead? Hmmm?"

She didn't answer him, but there was an unforgiving look of rage in her eyes and she wriggled and wrenched against him, screaming in frustration.

"LET ME GO!" She snarled through clenched teeth. "Let go-NO! NOOOO!"

She screamed and thrashed as Gendry shoved his gun in his pants and hoisted her up over his shoulder, her legs and arms flailing in mad protest. Not giving her a moment to wriggle away, he turned and dashed for the door.

"NOOOO!" She shrieked. "NO YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T LET THEM WIN YOU CAN'T!"

But he ignored her. Instead he raced forward, through the blood and the screaming and the mayhem, racing for the door. When he burst through it, he didn't stop. He ran until his lungs were raw and he could not run anymore, and then he finally set her down.

"YOU IDIOT!" She roared, hitting him. "HOW DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU?"

"We've got to go," Gendry said. "We can't stay here. Yoren asked me-"

"YOREN'S PROBABLY DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" She screeched. "You could have stayed and fought! You could have saved him! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!"

Tears ran down her face in torrents as she hit him again and again and again until she stumbled back, exhausted, dried blood on her trembling hands.

"We need to go," Gendry said, grabbing her wrist.

"No!" Arya snapped. "I'm not going anywhere!"

Gendry was about to argue, but then there was a crunch of gravel, and his heart dropped.

"I'd listen to your girlfriend," a deep voice said from the darkness, and a huge monstrous shadow stepped towards them. "You're not going anywhere."