Arya

Arya really wanted to high-five herself for making Gendry's face turn crimson red. It was just too easy. Hearing him speak like one of those highborn lords whom she despised so much, was way too funny. She enjoyed the back-and-forth bickering that the two of them shared. It was just like the bickering that she always enjoyed back home with Brandon and Rickon. Except with Gendry it was different. He always pushed it one step further, challenging Arya.

Finishing the canned tuna spread out over stale bread that Gendry prepared for them, Arya went to sit by the fire. She was watching the flames flicker, jumping off of one another with occasional small pieces of burning tree bark flying up into the air and landing onto the ground. She could watch the fire for hours. Arya wished that it was warm enough for them to sleep outside, but summer was nearly over with nights getting longer and colder.

"Arry," he said, making her snap out of her reverie and look at him. His face looked so handsome in the evening light, the light from the fire lighting it up in the most perfect way possible. Arya smiled at him, continuing to study his face, and then realized that he was expecting an answer.

"Umm, yeah?" she asked, looking back at the fire feeling her face fill with blood from getting caught staring at him.

"Tell me about them."

"About who?" asked Arya, looking at him.

"Your family," he answered.

Arya smiled to herself. "They're wonderful. You know what my father looks like. I mean, you saw him on tv. He looks kind of like me, actually. He is the bravest and kindest man I've ever met. My mother has the most beautiful auburn hair, so does Sansa, my sister. If you were to look at a picture of my mother at Sansa's age, who is almost nineteen by the way, Sansa is a spitting image of her, if not even more beautiful. They are both the epitome of what a lady should be, unlike me," she said, chuckling.

"You're a lady as well," he said, his face serious. Arya knew he was being genuine. She felt her face blush once again.

"Thank you, but clearly not," she said holding up a strand of her hair.

"Don't let looks define you, Arry," he said. "It's what inside that matters."

All of the sudden Arya felt tightness in her chest, and reminded herself to breathe.

"Thank you, Gendry," she said before continuing telling him about her family. "Robb, is the eldest, he is twenty-two, just like you. He is to inherit Winterfell, our estate, one day. Then there's Jon. You won't hear me say this to any of my other siblings, but he is my favourite. Although I suppose they all know it by now. He is also twenty-two, just like Robb. He has had a hard life, being a bastard and all, yet he stays strong and humble. He's joined the Night's Watch about a year ago. It's hard being away from him."

Arya saw Gendry nod to himself. He probably knew about Jon, her father's bastard. Everybody in Westeros knew. The head of a powerful family bringing home a bastard, that was one of the biggest scandals in all of Westeros. Back in the day that is.

"Then there's Brandon, we all call him Bran, and Rickon, the youngest of us Starks. The two of them seem to get along pretty well, apart from their age difference. I don't know if you know, but Bran had an accident almost a year ago, now. He lost use of both of his legs. I actually haven't seen him since he woke up from his coma which he was in following the accident. That was when father, Sansa and I moved to King's Landing. Bran was supposed to come with us, but I guess the accident prevented him from it. In a way I'm glad he never did. He wouldn't like it much."

"I'm sorry," he said, keeping his eyes on the fire.

"What for?"

"For you being away from them, they all sound like a wonderful lot," he proceeded.

"They are," said Arya, smiling for an umpteenth time that night. "What about you, Gendry? I know you said your mother passed, but what about the rest of your family?"

"Don't have one," said Gendry, his face upset. "Well, not really. I never had a dad, or any brothers or sisters. After my mother died, I was fifteen then, Tobho Mott," he continued, "you know, the owner of the gas station and the car shop, he took me in. Him and his family, they fed me, gave me a roof to sleep under, and he gave me a job at the shop. So I guess I do have a family, just not one to which I am bound by blood."

Arya was glad she asked him.

"That note you were writing before we left you apartment," she said, keeping her gaze steady on the ground, "was that for Tobho? Or a girlfriend, perhaps?"

OH GODS! Now, how come her mouth had no filter for what she said?

She could hear Gendry chuckling.

"No, it was for Tobho. No girl will want to date me, trust me Arry," he said.

"Why?" she looked up, surprised. "You're nice enough, and attractive."

CRAP! Seriously, she should not be allowed to communicate with anyone past dusk. He mind was clearly not working properly. Perhaps she was drunk on good company, or had a heat stroke from the fire. Was it possible to get a heat stroke from a fire? She hoped that Gendry was polite enough to ignore her comment. He wasn't.

"Umm," he began, looking up at her, his eyes rising in surprise. "Thank you, I guess."

He got up, made his way to the stack of firewood and threw a couple of logs in the fire.

"You know, you may not think so yourself, but you are beautiful," he looked at her straight in her eyes as he continued to throw more logs into the fire. "Plus, remember what I told you, it's what's on the inside that matters," he added before retreating into the tent.

Gendry

Gendry wasn't sure why he told Arry the things he did. He hoped that his attraction towards her wasn't obvious, but heck! He just told her she was beautiful. If that wasn't going to give it away, he didn't know what would. She did start it though. She called him attractive. Gendry couldn't help but feel flattered, and a little bit giddy. He went into the tent to prevent her from seeing him smile to himself like a thirteen-year-old girl. He replayed their conversation over and over in his head as he was inflating the mattress, that Arry was going to sleep on, with a manual air pump. He was nearly done when Arry came in, unravelled one of the sleeping bags laying it on the ground next to the mattress, and got inside.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Going to sleep, stupid!" she said.

"I inflated the mattress for you, will you please move your sleeping bag onto it?" he asked. "I don't want you catching a cold sleeping on the cold ground."

"Well, what about you?"

"I'll sleep on the ground. Unfortunately I only had one air mattress back at my place, so the ground will have to do."

"No Gendry!"

"Don't worry," he began, "I've slept in worse conditions." It was true.

"But, Gendry!"

"Arry."

"Gendry!" she was getting frustrated with him, he could tell. "Look, fine, I'll sleep on your stupid mattress. But only if you do as well! It's big enough for both of us."

She was right. They could both sleep on it comfortably.

"Absolutely not. I will not," he said in a stern voice.

"Yes, you will!" she began. "I'll make you!"

"Excuse me?"

"I said I'll make you!" she said again as she unravelled the second sleeping bag laying it onto one side of the mattress before moving her own onto the other side. She then pushed him onto the mattress and proceeded to climb into one of the sleeping bags.

"And you thought you were the only bossy one around here, didn't you?" she said before her eyes closed.

A/N: So Arya and Gendry are camping! I really love camping myself and I wanted to incorporate it into the story, so here it is. Look forward to next chapter going up tomorrow to see how Gendry will fare with sleeping right next to Arya. In the mean time, please review!