A/N: Another double upload tonight, as it's Wintertime and Jon's chapter was so short. Thanks to those who have reviewed.

Arya

Lady Daphne Dewitt was not as annoying as she'd first thought though she did still vex Arya with her silly notions and frilly giggles. It had therefore shocked the princess to learn that the girl of ten and four had served with her father on the field as a battle nurse when she'd helped the North and The Queen take Kings Landing. The Lannisters had killed her older brother, which had resulted in her fierce loyalty to the Dragon Queen and all who helped her. Daphne was wilder than Arya had expected and enjoyed riding with her and Rickon as well as joining in the hunt. Gendry didn't ride or hunt with them, it had been days since he'd fallen over and she'd barely seen him since.

"He's shy" Daphne had cooed as Coralline helped her into the Dothraki riding pants Queen Daenerys had gifted her. They were almost indecent given how tight they were, Arya loved them, she pulled the decorative shoulder plate and leather strap over her small white blouse, she looked battle ready.

"I'm going to talk to him" she stated finally as she allowed Coralline to braid her hair loosely.

"Good!" Her handmaid and Daphne said in unison, patting her on the shoulder.

"The queen leaves tomorrow, and as I am to stay here, I really should go and say my goodbyes," Daphne said as a way of excuse before leaving the Princess and her maid.

"she's a nice girl." Cora said in a non-committal voice.

"she is but she can't sword fight, and she doesn't know any dirty jokes, so you're still my favourite." Arya smiled happily at her handmaid who was so much more than that.

"good." Coralline said as she completed the braid and tied it off "Now go talk to that Idiot mute boy."

Arya marched determinedly at first, but as she drew closer to the forge, she suddenly felt anxious 'play the part' she told herself over and over again 'play the part of someone who knows what they are doing' she breathed as she pushed open the wooden door quietly. He stood shirtless and alone, she had expected this, Gendry was only permitted to work in forge out of hours. The armourer wasn't comfortable giving orders to a lord. She watched for a second as his filthy muscles flexed in the glow of the searing forge, he plunged the blade he was working on into the flames before drawing it back and slamming his hammer once, twice, three times. She cleared her throat, and he turned, dropping the hammer to the ground before cursing under his breath.

"Sorry Milady." He said as he rested the sword on the anvil and crouched to pick up his hammer, it took him longer than expected to stand again, their eyes met, and he remained silent.

"Gendry, why won't you talk to me?" she asked, tact and womanly wiles be damned. She was Arya Stark and as much as it made her tummy flip to bat her eyes at him, she couldn't live in this eternal silence any longer.

"I…" he started but his brow furrowed and he stopped.

"What?" she stomped her small booted foot into the ground, and he noticed her legs, those riding breeches only he'd apparently never seen breeches that looked like a layer of skin before, 'indecent' she thought again, and it thrilled her. "Spit it out, you bull-headed idiot boy who's ignored me for weeks!" she shot, and this seemed to wound him.

"I wasn't ignoring you my Grace."

"Stop calling me that Gendry, I'm Arya or Arry or whatever you want but not Milady or Grace. And you were ignoring me, and I found it vexing." She stomped again and watched as he forced his eyes away from her legs.

"I wasn't ignoring, I just didn't know what to say, and Lyle said If I was worried about saying something out of turn or wrong I just shouldn't speak." He kicked at an invisible rock and looked at his feet again.

"Lyle is a child Gendry! You took the advice of a little boy which was to just not speak?" she chided but fought to hide her smile.

"I… I just don't know what to say to you." He sounded sad she thought, or annoyed… she couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry I'm putting you under such great strain m'lord." Her feelings were hurt, he had nothing to say to her, and that hurt her deeply, which vexed her more "I'll endeavour to give you space." She nodded curtly and made to leave the forge but was shocked when she found his hulking mass blocking her.

"I didn't mean it like that Mi… Arya… this is what I mean, I've barely said a word to you, and already I'm upsetting you. I don't want to upset you." He sounded so serious, so burdened by the idea of hurting her that it made her heart thud.

"We were friends Gendry, we used to sleep on the same mat side by side!" she exclaimed "for a little while all we had was each other remember?" his face turned more solemn still as his eyes failed to meet hers.

"and then I abandoned you, didn't I?" he sounded so little yet so angry, her heart thudded uncomfortably again.

"I ran away too…" she stated soothingly.

"I couldn't have come with you, though, you know that? If you'd reached your family we couldn't have stayed friends" he wasn't accepting her forgiveness, he'd rehearsed his reasoning.

"yet here we are, in the heart of my family… with me trying to be your friend and you ignoring me." She stated before giving him a prod with a sheathed sword she'd picked up from the work bench.

"I told you I wasn't ignoring you." His tone was slightly less morose, but he still looked uncomfortable and sullen.

"Then pray do tell me Lord Baratheon why you have refused to talk to me let alone make eye contact with me? Except for the time my Queens dressed me up like a doll and paraded me through the yard and you gawked like I had two heads." she placed one hand on hip and pointed the still sheathed sword at him menacingly.

"I didn't gawk…" he stopped himself again swallowing hard.

"Spit it out Gendry!" she prodded him once more, this seemed to annoy him dragging him away from whatever inner turmoil was at work in his stupid bull head.

"It's different now…" he stammered by way of explanation, but Arya was unsatisfied she prodded him another time on his naked torso, and he flinched and let out an angry yell.

"How so?" she asked, and he growled at her. "remember, I'm a massive pain in your arse Gendry! That was our way wasn't it" she prodded again.

"Stop it, Arya." He barked

She prodded "not until you explain to me why you've been ignoring me, it's been horrible… I spend all this time missing you and then I finally see you again, and everything seems fine and then suddenly you shut me out like I'm a ghost" she prodded "I. Want. To. Know. Why" each word punctuated by a small yet firm prod of the sheathed sword.

"You're not a little girl and I'm not a boy" he stated as if this explained everything.

"yes I'm aware of the notion of the passing of time, you're hardly an old man and I'm not even twenty. What, are you too old to be my friend?" he looked at her like she was dense.

"Arya I don't know how I'm supposed to behave around you."

"Like you always have you, idiot." She prodded him, but this time he grabbed the sheath and pushed the blade down, she still had a grip on it but he'd stepped forward closing the space between them ensuring there was no room for her to raise it again and continue with her prodding.

"That's not possible." He cleared his throat crossly.

"why?" she whined, if he liked her like they all said he did why didn't he want to spend time with her.

"Because it would be… improper for me to wrestle you or throw you about like I used to." She smiled in spite of herself at the memories of him pinning her to the ground and tickling her before climbing off her all red faced and bashful or when he'd just randomly grab her and throw her into a haystack always careful not to play too rough.

"I wouldn't mind." She grinned, she wondered if these were her womanly wiles kicking in or if she just wanted to be thrown in a stack again.

"Arya you're a woman."

"I am currently aware of my gender, but thank you." She smiled and took a further step towards him, she wasn't sure what she planned to do… perhaps attempt to wrestle him and cajole some sort of fond memory, therefore forcing him to befriend her again or maybe she just wanted to stand closer to him. He still refused to meet her eye, and she sighed.

"Well if being in my presence makes you this uncomfortable I shall encourage my sister to find you a keep far from my horrifying effect. Clearly, you don't want anything to do with me." She knew she was dramatic but when she took extreme measures it usually forced him into some sort of action.

"wait." He held her by the arm

"are you going to explain yourself?" she asked looking up at him forcing him to meet her gaze.

"Fine." He said, and to her shock he grabbed her by the hips and lifted her onto a bench, sitting her there he took a step back and grabbed his shirt from the opposite bench.

"You've got me all dirty." She said but didn't sound at all annoyed as she watched him pulling it on but not buttoning it, it was already filthy, but he seemed hesitant to dirty it more by buttoning, he looked at his hands and sighed. "come here." She murmured, and for the first time, he did as she bid stepping close to her closed knees.

Without moving from her seat, she leaned forward and did the buttons on his shirt "now you're decent, explain."

"I am base-born."

"You're a Lord" she countered.

"I wasn't a few weeks ago, a few weeks ago I was barely a ser." He continued "I never stopped thinking about you, but I knew no matter what we could never be… friends because I am base born and you are a Lady… a Princess."

"But now we can," she said helpfully "but for clarity, I would still want to be your friend…Gendry you're the only person who has every really liked me… not out of family obligation but just because. I wouldn't trade that because you're not a Lord." This seemed to stop him in his tracks, he hadn't expected this at all.

"when I asked Sansa to look for you I didn't know you were Robert's Son." She stopped, her eyes widened as she realised what she said.

"you sent for me? Why?" It was Arya's turn to clam up, she looked for an escape but realised his large body so close to her knees he had her pinned in place. "why?"

"You were my friend, and I wanted to know if you were well." She lied. "so there… but none of this explains why you won't talk to me" she attempted to switch the focus back to him.

"I worry, that I'll say the wrong thing and you'll send me back or hate me like you did when I went with the brotherhood and…" he took a very steadying breath and focused his eyes directly on hers "Arya, your grace… you haven't just grown into a woman you've grown into a very pretty one, far prettier than I could have imagined and… I don't know how I should act, I don't know what's appropriate." He rubbed his face, leaving a black stain on his cheek which made her smile.

"You imagined what I looked like?" she smiled teasingly and nudged his knee with her toe, she caught sight of a brief grin before it vanished from his face again. "I imagined what you'd look like too, I thought you'd have gotten fatter" she smiled again, perhaps she could tease a natural response out of him. "I believe that you've actually turned out rather handsome." She continued with candour, terrified he'd go back to ignoring her at any second and relishing in this contact with him, however trivial. His eyes widened for a second "what? You're allowed to say I'm pretty but I'm not authorized to say you're handsome?" she nudged him with her foot again, that ghost of a grin popped up and lasted a little longer before vanishing.

She realised the best way to show he could speak freely to her was by demonstration, and so endeavoured to tell him things that perhaps a more cautious Arya wouldn't have.

"In Braavos I would wake up with nightmares. When I would close my eyes again, I'd pretend that you were beside me and that you'd throw your arm over and pull me closer when you thought I was sleeping like you used to. Remember?" she asked catching his eye, he nodded a blush creeping up his face again "You made me feel very safe, thank you." She let her foot linger a little longer on his leg. The only advice the queens had given her which seemed to be working was 'follow your instinct' everything she'd done up until now including their contact had been instinctual.

"Were you safe where you went?" he asked, still not looking at her but leaning into her a little closer.

She resolved to be honest with him, to a point "I was trained as an assassin so probably not" his eyes widened "I've killed people." She said, her voice trembled, she didn't want him to know she was dark and poisonous but she wanted him to know all of her.

"So have I" he responded nudging her knee with the back of his hand.

"did you like my dress?" she quickly changed tact now that they at least had some form of a conversation.

"Which one?" he asked staring at her knee and his hand which was an inch away from it.

"The one that knocked you off your feet and flat on your arse." She guffawed.

"it was pretty." His voice was quieter, but she persevered.

"you didn't think I looked ridiculous?" his eyes shot up at this, "I think I looked a bit preposterous, is that why you gawked?" she was doing that thing again where she looked at him through fluttering lashes and she had no idea why.

"I didn't gawk." He responded again.

"You did Gendry, your mouth was open and everything." She was back to teasing him, she leaned into him a little, a small but adamant part of her brain encouraging her to move closer to him.

"you looked…" he started.

"If you say pretty again I'll kick you." She joshed.

"perfect" he finished.

Well, she hadn't expected that, though she didn't exactly know what it was she expected, it hadn't been that "oh" was all she could manage, he looked away again and made to step back.

"You've not said anything wrong Gendry" she grabbed his shirt sleeve to stop him moving away. "I was just teasing… like before. Remember?" she sighed and worried he'd never be the same with her.

"your Grace."

"I don't know how else to show you I am not Your Grace I am your Friend!" she exhaled with exasperation then allowed her instinct to take charge again, she grabbed his soot-covered hand and raised it to her own face smearing black on her cheek like his.

"Arya, you said yourself… I'm filthy." He protested attempting to pull his hand away.

"I don't care." She pushed his hand onto her neck getting soot all over her collar and then her nose, he laughed he actually laughed. "come do something fun with me." She said with a playful grin, with her face dirtied like it had been when they were children he already seemed more at ease.

"like what?" he asked a smile dancing on his lips.

"come climb the first tower and look at the stars with me." She leapt from the table still holding his hand and dragged him with her.

"Arya…" he looked to protest but words failed him, and for the first time it made her glad, he followed willingly.