Arya

It didn't take long for her bike to start running out of gas. Being a lightweight motorcycle, Needle's gas tank wasn't big, and with both her and Gendry now riding it, more gas was getting used up in a shorter amount of time.

Arya didn't want to steal, and judging by Gendry's expression when she told him about her plan, neither did he. But there was simply no other way. It was either steal gas, or die. Well, maybe not die, but having a bike with no gas made it pretty useless.

Gendry was to drive up the bike to the gas station, fill up the tank, and walk inside to pay. At that time Arya would sneak up to the bike, and acting as a thief, she would pretend to steal it. Gendry would casually "notice" from inside the store, yell and curse loudly, and run after her down the road. After a while she would stop the bike, let him on, and the two of them would drive off hoping their acting was believable.

Gas stations started to get scarce the farther north they travelled. Arya's bike was going to stop any minute now when the two of them saw a structure off of the side of the road in the far distance. Not far from the gas station, Arya got off the bike and let Gendry on. She ran after him as he drove off, hiding behind a water tank while he was filling up the tank.

Once Gendry started to make his way inside, she darted towards the bike, and using the keys that Gendry left in there on purpose, she started the ignition. Getting on, and driving off at an excruciatingly slow speed, Arya shot a quick glance towards the gas station. Gendry was already outside, running after her while screaming. She kept on driving for a short while until she rounded a corner and the gas station came out of sight. A few minutes later Gendry came running over. His face was a little flushed, and the front of his shirt was slightly soaked with sweat with a few drops dripping from his hair. He looked down upon her on her bike, his eyes peering into hers, and that's when Arya noticed a loaf of white bread and a 2 litre bottle of soda in two of his hands.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Well, I figured since we're stealing, we might as well steal some food too," be began, now looking away from Arya. "I figured since we're stealing a tank of gas, what's a loaf of bread and a bottle of soda worth?"

His eyes wouldn't find hers; he was clearly ashamed of what he did.

"It's alright. It's just some soda and bread, like you said," she mentioned, smiling at him.

"You know, when all this is over, I plan on paying these people back. I'm going to try to remember the names of these gas stations."

Arya's smile didn't leave her face. He was so good, so kind. The thought of paying these people back hasn't even crossed Arya's mind. Perhaps that's why Gendry was ten times the person she'll ever be.

"We'll come back together," she said before she could stop herself. She could feel Gendry's eyes on her, yet she looked away.

She got on the bike as Gendry threw the bread and the soda into the trunk. He then got on behind her, and the two of them were on the road yet again.

Gendry

They sat near the fire they started to keep them warm. Arya was lucky enough to catch another rabbit. That's two in one day. She continued to surprise him with every passing moment. As the rabbit was now roasting over the fire, Arya and Gendry nibbled on the plain bread.

"We should leave some for tomorrow," he began. "You know, just in case your beginner's luck in hunting runs out."

"Gendry Waters!" she exclaimed giving him a punch on the arm. "Are you doubting my abilities as a hunter?"

He smiled.

"Not at all, m'lady, OW!" she had hit him yet again before he could even finish his sentence. "What? M'lady doesn't like the nick name I have given her?" he asked in a serious voice.

Her arm was in the air, ready to hit him again when he caught her wrist in his hand. He was stronger than her, and as much as Arya tried to pull her arm away from his grasp, she was unsuccessful.

Then all of the sudden her lips were pressed against his, and as her tongue was fighting its way into his mouth, he found himself instinctively dropping his grasp. His hand moved to her waist, and as he started to pull her closer to him, suddenly she broke their link and punched him hard in his chest.

"ARYA!"

She was laughing. Loudly. Like full of life laughter. He couldn't help but scowl, whether it was because of how she tricked him or because he was no longer kissing her, he did not know.

"You men are all the same," she said, a smile still playing upon her lips.

"What do you mean?"

"You all fall for the same tricks," she said quietly as her eyes watched the flame. She was clearly remembering a memory, and Gendry felt a tinge of jealousy rise up inside of him.

"Well," he began, unsure of where this was going. "Have there been a lot of other… men… you know, I mean, have you dated…"

She laughed yet again. What was so funny?

"Are you serious?" she asked, still smiling.

"Umm, well, yes. Have there been a lot of others? I mean, you said we all fell for the same trick. And if you know so much about how we men are, there must've been a lot of men that…."

"Are you calling me a whore?" she asked trying to sound offended.

"NO!"

"Then what are you asking Gendry?"

"If there have been others…" he said slowly, careful with choosing his words.

"No," she stated simply.

"NO?" he exclaimed, sitting up.

"No. And why do you sound so surprised?" she asked shaking her head.

"It's just…" he stopped speaking to think over what he was about to tell her. "It's just, you're so different from other girls, Arya. You're funny, brave, self-opinionated, but not to a point where it's annoying, adventurous, kind, you clearly care about your family a lot, and well… you're so beautiful… sometimes when I look at you I have to remind myself to breathe!"

She looked at him, her expression unreadable.

"Thank you?" she said as she bit her lower lip.

Thank you? That's all she had to say back?

"You're welcome," he said, smiling.

Some time passed of them sitting in silence. But not the kind of silence that felt awkward. Somehow things never felt awkward with Arya. It just simply felt comfortable. Keeping busy replaying their conversation in his head, Gendry didn't even notice when Arya's hand brushed up against his back to where his gun was still tucked in his pants.

"Gendry, why do you still have this gun?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Well, it's mine," he said defensively.

"It is?"

"Yes," he said hoping for an end to their conversation. When she continued looking at him clearly waiting for an answer, he continued. "I… I've had it for many years. It's more for protection really. I first got it when I was a teenager when…" he stopped. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to know the full story.

She must've sensed his uncertainty because she was suddenly by his side, holding his large hand in two of her own. Gendry looked at her, and she nodded as a cue for him to continue.

"You know, I never told you the full story of how my mother died. It all started when I must've been thirteen, or fourteen. My mom was dating this one guy, and he turned out to be in a gang, and well, he always threatened her that if she would leave him, his gang would get to her. Well, one night I heard the two of them fighting, and the next morning my mother had bruises all along her neck and on her face. I tried convincing her to go to the police, but she just shook it off as if it was nothing, saying that her boyfriend was drunk. That's when I went out and bought the gun from a friend of a friend. It obviously had to be done under the table, since I was still underage and wasn't legally allowed to own one.

Anyway, I kept the gun hidden in my room as a way to threaten the man if he ever tried anything else again. He never did, not to my knowledge anyway, but then one night the police found him dead in some alley. The autopsy showed that he died from some sort of poison. His gang buddies were convinced it was my mother who poisoned him. But I know for a fact that it wasn't. She loved him, even though he had all these flaws. She'd never do something like that to another human being, even if she hated them. The police had no proof that she did it, so they let it slide, but his gang buddies never did. One night one of them showed up to our apartment shouting threats. My mother told me to stay in my room, but I just couldn't, you know. The guy pulled a knife out, and he was going to stab her, and well, I still had my gun and…" he stopped as he felt her grip around his hand tighten. "I shot him, Arya. He didn't collapse and die right away though. He was strong. He was still able to stab my mother, multiple times. She died before he did. All I remember is the pure look of fear and concern written across her face. Even as she was dying, she was still worrying about me, I guess. She was scared for my safety. I just wished she lived long enough to see me well."

He dared to look over at her for the first time since he started telling her the story. Tears were streaming down her face. She then went in and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, burying her head in his chest. He let her cry, Gods knew he wanted to cry in that moment just as much as she did, but one of them had to be strong.

A few minutes after, she separated herself from his touch, wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, and asked, "and what happened after?"

"Well, afterwards the police and the paramedics showed up. They were too late to save either one of them, and they took me into the station. I told them my side of the story, a couple of our neighbours came into the station as well, and told the police what they heard. Well, since it was self-defence and since I was a minor I got off with doing community service for a few months. Oh, and counselling of course. And then Tobho took me in, remember, I told you about that?"

She nodded. He could tell that she was trying not to cry again.

"Hey, Arya," he said, his hand cupping her face. "It's all right. It wasn't your fault."

"Except that it was, Gendry. It's because of me that you had to shoot that Frey jackass, because of me. And now you have to live knowing that you've killed two people for the rest of your life."

She was crying again.

"It's a small price to pay for the safety of the people you love," he said not even realizing what he had said.

A/N: This has been one of my favourite chapters to write so far. It's also the longest that I've written. We find out a lot about Gendry's past, and there's still fluff and playful exchanges between Gendry and Arya. Anyway, hope ya'll enjoyed it as much as I have.