After the blizzard, the driveway needed salting, and he was on his was down the basement stairs, when the door bell began to ring insistently.
He turned around and started heading back up the stairs, closing the basement door after himself and heading towards the front the door. Whomever it was, was still ringing.
"Alright! Alright, i hear you. Enough of that now!" he called when he was close enough to be heard through the door.
Robb Stark was the last person he expected to see when he opened the door.
He was thinner than last he'd seen him, his features haggard. He had the beginnings of a beard.
"Robb." he said, unable to contain the surprise in his voice. He gave the surrounding area a quick glance before pulling the boy in and closing the door.
"Petyr." the boy said with relief.
Petyr walked into the parlor, leaving Robb to follow. "What are you doing here?" he sat, offering the boy a seat. "I heard of the great tragedy that's befallen your family. I'm so sorry. It's terrible news... your parents... and your brother and sister. Is there any news of them?"
Robb shook his head, taking the seat across from him. "That is the reason I am here. I need your help?"
"My help?" Petyr said, suddenly alert.
"What happened to my family, what they're accusing my father of..."
"There has been eye witness acounts..."
"Bull shit. All of it. All lies!" Robb yelled.
Petyr nodded. Of course it was. It didn't take a wise man to figure it out. "That doesn't mean anything to authorities when all evidence, whether real or not, points to your father."
"This goes beyong framing my father." Robb said with a ferocity he had never seen in the boy.
"What do you mean?" Petyr asked.
"This isn't just about Robert's murder gone wrong. In fact . . . it has nothing to do with Robert."
Petyr leaned closer to the boy. "Then what is it about?" he asked him slowly.
Robb swallowed hard. As if consdering whether or not to say it.
Petyr knew it had nothing to do with trust. He knew he had the boy's trust. His long friendship with Catelyn had won him the trust of all the Starks. All except Ned.
Though he'd never told him so himself, there had never really been a need to. Petyr could see the way any words exchanged between him and Ned had always been delivered with caution on Ned's part.
Petyr had taken advantage of this distrust to get under Ned's skin, by trying all within his power to gain Catelyn and the children's love and trust with gifts and visits and invitations to events he hosted.
This all, however, had ended a few years back when he had, under the influence of wine, kissed Catelyn at one of his parties.
He still kept that bottle of wine. A souvenir of that night.
"Robb?" he said when the boy wouldn't speak. "What is this about then?"
The boy raised his blue eyes, meeting his fiercely. "An extermination."
Petyr felt an involuntary chill crawl down his arms at the word. "An extermination?"
Robb nodded stifly. "Of my family. The Starks, and everyone involved with them. It's
not about Robert at all. It's no coincidence that Robert's family is fine, while both my parents are dead. . ."
"But..."
"Arya and Rickon. Missing. One of father's closest friends and colleagues, Yoren. Dead. Two officers from father's unit, missing, a third found dead, in a dumpster, next to a pub who's owner was also found dead. Twice has someone attempted on Bran's life."
"Robert's brother Renly was found dead last night in his flat after a neighbor called about gun shots." Petyr offered, but the boy shook his head.
"I know, but Renly and Robert weren't close, and Renly just happens to be room mates with one of father's missing officers."
"Yes." Petyr nodded. "I heard something like that on the news. It's a small world after all." he let out bitterly.
"It is. So please, Petyr, tell me I'm not going crazy. Tell me that I'm making some sense."
Petyr looked into Robb's eyes, and saw how much he needed to hear him say those words.
And he had every right to hear them, for he was right about everything. He was a smart young man, and his theories made too much sense.
"You're not crazy Robb." he said, and saw the wave of relief take over Robb.
"So. You'll help me?"
Petyr took the boy's hands in his, giving them a reassuring squeeze before releasing them. "I will make some calls. I know people. I'll find out as much as I can about all of this, and we'll figure out how to use that information to our benifit. Are you checked into a hotel. Where can I reach you?"
"Uh, no. I haven't checked in anywhere." Robb said sheepishly.
"Then you'll stay here." Petyr rose from his seat.
Robb smiled weakly, standing aswell. "Thank you. For everthing. I knew I could trust you."
Petyr could've laughed at that. "Now that's something you shouldn't do."
Robb's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you would do well to not trust anyone. Not after what you've just told me. It's the wise thing to do. Have you eaten breakfast?" he patted the boys back, leading him down the hall towards the kitchen. "I could fix you something."
"Uhh...I'm not hungry, thank you. I would really appreciate a bath though."
Petyr smiled. "Of course. I'll show you to your room. Everything you need will be in the guest bathroom." he called over his shoulder as they began to climb the stairs.
As soon as he heard the water running in the bathroom, he climbed down stairs and went into his office, pulling out his phone book, turning to the L.
He hadn't realized he had been staring at Cersei Lannister's number that long, until he heard the footsteps descending on the stairs, and he slapped the book closed.
He would come back later, he told himself.
xxxxxxxxxx
Gendry shivered on the sidewalk in front of the gas station he had come to earlier that morning to buy the three candles for Arya.
He could feel the cold of the cement soak through his jeans, numbing his ass. Next to him, Sandor stood, looking out into nothing, his face stoic.
The burnt side of his face was facing Gendry, and it made him idly wonder about the story Arya had mention the night before, when she had been ready to burn him.
With the burden of figuring out whether to trust Sandor or not off his chest, Gendry's thoughts had quickly found their way back to that kiss.
Anger rippled through him every time he remembered.
Looking back, he really had no idea what had been going through his head when he had decided to kiss her.
With so much death, and them running for their lives, he should have known that whould have really been the last thing on her mind. Hell, it should have been the last thing in his.
But... the way she had been staring at him. Her eyes...
He rubbed his hands over his face and exhaled. He decided to stand, feeling his back side begin to tingle numbly as he did.
When he looked up, Sandor was staring at him.
Arya stepped out of the small store, making her way over to them. Gendry and Sandor met her half way.
"They said there is no bus that comes through here, and that they have no taxi system in either this town, or the next one." she said, pulling out a tube of antibiotic cream from a small plastic bag and giving it to Gendry. "For your cut." she said.
He took it with a small grateful smile. "So, that couple... they pretty much left us in the middle of fucking nowhere."
Arya nodded. "They said we could hitch a ride with a local, or..."
"Steal a car." Sandor offered besides them.
Both Arya and Gendry turned to him.
Sandor had been following them in a car he'd stolen. He'd parked it outside of the hotel the night before, but the battery had died overnight.
"they gave me this address." Arya said, ignoring Sandor. "The man in there said this guy goes to Madrid every other week." she said pointing to the small slip of paper in her hand. "If we're lucky, this week is a "go" week, or they said we could pay him, and he might not mind driving us there. They said he lives that way, near the motorway."
Gendry nodded, turning in the direction she was pointing. "Let's go then."
Sandor reached over and took the slip of paper from Arya's hands, looking over the messy hand.
"It's in Spanish." Arya said to him.
He smiled at her. "It's just an address." he told her dryly, taking the lead, leaving Arya and Gendry to follow.
"So... we trust him now." Gendry whispered to her as he began to uncap the tube of antibiotic.
"No. I just, believe him now." she whispered back.
"Yea, I could tell by the, you know, the way he was out of is binds when I woke up."
Next to him, Arya sighed.
"You could have woken me up. He might have hurt you. What were you thinking?" he whispered as he began to smooth a bit of the cream over his swollen brow.
"I wasn't thinking anything. I just happened. You fell asleep, and I was going through his wallet, and I found a picture. . . . It was a picture of my sister, Gendry. And I just knew. Everything he had said. I just knew it was true. I asked him about it, then I was cutting him free. There was no real time to wake you. It had nothing to do with not needing you to make the decision though."
As soon as she said it, Gendry knew that was exactly what had been bothering him. Yes, he had been worried about her safety, but what bothered him was also that she had made the decision on her own. Without him.
The realization bothered him.
Knowing she somehow had figured it out... bothered him more.
"Gendry?" Arya said, in a completely different tone, and Gendry felt a bit of panic crawl through him.
"We, we need to talk." she said, and he didn't turn to face her.
Ahead of them, a small house could be seen amongst the snow, and Gendry hoped this was the place they were looking for.
He knew what this was about.
It was about that kiss.
And as much as they really did need to talk about it, this wasn't really the place, or the time.
"About that kiss..."
"Is that it?" Gendry yelled over to Sandor.
"Yes." the large man called back, and Gendry put his hand over Arya's shoulder for a brief second before walking ahead of her, passing Sandor, and stepping under the porch of the small red house, stomping the snow off his boots before knocking.
For a split second, the man that opened the door had looked exactly like Tom, but then this man was a few inches taller, and a few years younger.
The man agreed to drive them to Madrid, and Gendry paid him, and they were on their way.
The drive was shorter than he had expected, and they made it there a few minutes after 10.
He dropped them off at the train station, where Sandor went inside to check the times and prices.
Gendry was both relieved and concerned Arya wasn't trying to bring up the kiss again as they waited for Sandor outside of the station.
Gendry looked around, trying to avoid meeting Arya's eyes.
A man, standing a about 20 meters away from them was staring at them.
As soon as he caught sight of Gendry staring back, he turned around and walked away.
Gendry was about to ask Arya if she'd seen it, but Sandor was already walking their way.
"There's no train to Paris. We have to get the overnight from Barcelona." he told them.
So we need to go to Barcelona." Arya turned to Gendry. "How much cash do we have left?"
"Very little." he told her. "Certainly not enough to buy tickets to Barcelona, and again for Paris."
"Car rental? It's just a six hour drive." Arya said.
"Well, yes, but then what?"
Sandor stepped besides Gendry. "Then we won't need to take a train. We can drive to Paris."
"No way." Gendry shook his head. "Train's safer."
"Safer how?" Sandor's nostrils flared. "Safer from me, you mean. Is that it?"
Gendry clenched his jaw to keep calm.
"Speak up, boy!" Sandor spat out.
"Yes! Safer from you. To be honest, I don't really trust you. Once we're on the road, what's to keep you from..."
Sandor laughed. "I haven't tried anything, yet, have I?!"
"YET!" Gendry yelled. "Yet! If I recall correctly, I wasn't part of your agreement with that girl, only Arya was."
Sandor nodded stiffly. "You're right. I could just take the girl and leave. Do things my way."
"No fucking way." Gendry said, stepping up to Sandor.
"Oi!" Arya yelled next to them, puling them, each by an arm. "So much for not wanting to attract attention." she said sarcastically, and Gendry noticed people around the station were beginning to stare. He exhaled to calm himself, taking a step back from the large man in front of him.
"We should get the car. It our best bet." Arya said, touching Gendry's arm, giving it a small squeeze.
Gendry felt like he'd lost this one. Arya had already made up her mind.
"Alright." he said after a long moment. There was no point in arguing. "We get a car."
xxxxxxxxxx
After a quick breakfast, they went to Sixt, where Sandor got them a car, telling Gendry he'd take the first shift driving.
There was still tension between them, but what surprised Arya the most was how Sandor was reacting to all of this.
She had already seen Gendry with other men calling the shots when they'd gotten captured by Tom and the rest, and although Joffrey had always bossed Sandor around, it had always been clear how little Sandor actually thought of the small, blonde boy.
This was different. Gendry was not Joffrey, and Sandor wasn't working.
They were more on the same level, and Sandor could easily beat Gendry and take her, like Gendry had pointed out earlier.
But he didn't.
Gendry sat in the front with Sandor, leaving the back seat all for Arya.
Neither one of them spoke a word to each other during the drive.
Occasionally Arya would remark on something outside, but they didn't say anything in return.
Gendry would glance back at her through the mirror in the visor, but when she'd catch him, he'd look away.
He was still avoiding eye contact. Ever since she brought up the kiss.
Arya felt tears of anger burn at the back of her eyes every time she remembered it. She wished it had never happened. This was exactly the last thing she needed right now... And now, with Sandor tied at their hip...
That's one thing she both hated and at the same time felt grateful for.
Sandor's presence made it difficult for them to discuss things. That frustrated her, and at the same time, it took a bit of that pressure off, through she had to admit she missed talking freely with Gendry, even if he had made things awkward with the kiss.
Well I'm not bringing it up again.
She had tried once already, and he practically brushed it aside, patting her on the back, like a silly little girl.
No. If he wanted to discuss it, he would have to bring it up himself.
The hours seems to drag at first, but after they'd crossed the border, over to France, they seemed to pass by faster.
For the most part, the road was quite clear, through all around, there was nothing but white above in the sky and below on the land.
Once they experienced a white out, and Sandor had to pull over until it cleared.
"So much for a window." he muttered quietly, more to himself.
"Do you think the storm will pick up again earlier that they expected?" Arya asked him, leaning forward on her seat, so her head came between Sandor and Gendry.
"If the wind continues." Sandor said.
Arya prayed it wouldn't.
They stopped for gasoline soon after that, and they all got off the car to stretch and use the toilet.
The crisp air outside felt nice after the long hours of car heater.
Arya was the first out of the toilet, and she waited for Gendry and Sandor by the car.
Sandor was the next one out.
"Where are we?" Gendry asked as he walked towards them.
"Right outside Bordeaux. We should stop and eat there." Sandor told him.
"I'm not hungry." Arya lied.
She really wanted to keep on moving.
"Well I am." Sandor said, placing the nozzle back in the pump.
"We really should eat." Gendry told Arya as he opened the back door for her, but Arya knew he really mostly meant, she should eat.
She rolled her eyes, surprisingly bringing a small smile from him.
As soon as she stepped inside the car, her stomach began to grumble.
They pulled out of the station, and drove a little less than a kilometer before Arya noticed the unsteadiness of the car.
"What is that?" she asked, sliding to the window and looking out.
"Fuck!" Sandor said, pulling over to the curb.
"Flat tire." Gendry said, stepping out as soon as the car had stopped.
Sandor turned the car off and stepped out aswell.
Immediately they began to argue.
"I knew we should have taken a train." Gendry said.
"Oh, shut the fuck up, will ya."
Arya opened the door, stepping out. "Don't we have a spare." she said.
"Yes, but what if it happens again. When we're in the middle of nowhere. What if the weather worsens. If we'd taken the train..."
"We'll we didn't, did we, so there's nothing we can do now is there. Except continue on." Sandor cut him off.
"We can stay here the night, in Bordeaux. It's safer than risking the road. It's already begun to snow."
Gendry was right, she hadn't noticed it until just now that he'd mentioned it. Their heads and shoulders were white with snow flakes.
"With what money? That's the reason we got the car." Arya pointed out.
"Same money we we're going to fill the car with gasoline with, and eat with." Gendry replied harshly. "We'll need to steal some."
"I insist we risk it." Sandor said.
"You can risk it. We're staying here." Gendry said, and Arya felt a bit annoyed that Gendry was making these decisions for her.
"Could you two stop fighting for a moment. You're giving me a headache." she snapped at them. "This isn't about figuring out who's the alpha male here. Have you forgotten there's still people after you?" she asked Gendry.
"I need to go home and find my brothers and my sister. Rickon's still missing. We still have to find that will."
"Yes, and we won't be able to do any of that if we crash, or worse." Gendry said.
Arya bit her lip, looking out at the snowy fields around them.
He was right.
She nodded.
Besides them, Sandor let out an exasperated sigh, walking back to the car.
They made it to Bordeaux easily.
Gendry checked them into a cheap hotel, while Sandor changed the tire outside of the hotel. Arya offered to help him, but he ignored her.
She'd done it several times before on her own truck. Robb had taught her.
By the time the tire was changed, Gendry was next to them, and he gave Sandor the extra key card.
"We can leave first thing tomorrow." he told him, and Arya thought this was the closest thing to them making peace that she would see.
They found a small restaurant nearby called Au Bonheur du Palais, which smelled great and worked with their budget.
The meal was hot, and Arya wolfed it down, not caring about the mess she was making.
Sandor and Gendry seemed to enjoy theirs as well.
"So, how are we doing this then?" Gendry asked after they'd been eating in silence a while.
"We have guns..." Sandor began, but Arya widened her eyes in disbelief.
"You're not hurting anyone." she whispered to him, pressing her finger over the stray sesame seeds in her plate, before bringing it up to her mouth.
He clenched his jaw.
"If we do this, it has to be someone we know can afford it." Gendry said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Like that suit?" Sandor asked, signaling across the room with his eyes.
Gendry and Arya both turned at the same time spotting the man.
He was a suited man sitting alone reading a book. There was an i pad and some car keys on the table next to his bowl.
"Yes." Gendry said besides her. "But we'll need to be careful."
"Just leave him to me." Sandor said.
"No offense, but with a face like yours, it won't be hard for the police to find and identify you." Gendry said.
"Well at least if they arrest me, they won't have the wanted bastard son of Robert Baratheon, now will they." Sandor snapped back, his words like steel.
"And if they arrest you, you won't be able to keep your promise to Sansa." Gendry said mockingly.
Arya rolled her eyes, and washed the food she had in her mouth down with some of her drink, rising from the table and walking towards the man in the suit.
She walked right by the man's table, brushing her hips against a corner of his i pad, which knocked the keys to the floor on the other side.
"I'm sorry." she told the man with a smile, picking up the keys before he reached for them and pressing the alarm button.
Right outside the restaurant, a gray Mercedes' alarm began to shriek.
She began to press buttons in mock panic, until the man reached for his keys, turning the alarm off with a press of a button.
"Sorry." she repeated, and he gave her an irritated smile before she turned away and walked back to her table.
Gendry and Sandor looked confused, but there was a smile playing at the corners of Gendry's lips.
"Now we know his car." she whispered as she sat on her chair. "Sandor uses his knife to mess up the guy's tires, and Gendry, you can hang around the car, and when he's looking over his tires, sweep in for his wallet."
Gendry opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"This might work." Sandor said, "but I don't see why we're complicating it so much."
"To make sure you don't hurt anyone." she said, and besides her Gendry nodded.
They finished their meal quickly, and by the time they left, the man was still sitting at the table.
Arya stood near by, incase anything went wrong. Gendry leaned against the wall of the restaurant, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one with Sandor's lighter.
Arya's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Gendry smoking.
Sandor was about to walk by and stab his knife into the tires, which was now proving to be a far more difficult job than she had imagined, since the area was busier than one would expect on a winter day.
Arya kept her eyes on the people around, rather than Sandor, and when he pretended to drop something near the tire and bent over to pick it up, no one noticed him slide his knife into one tire, then the other.
Now it was all on Gendry.
The man took a little less than a half hour to finally come out, and by then the car was leaning forward, the two front tires clearly flat.
"Merde!" he yelled as soon as he saw his tires.
Gendry dropped his second cigarette on the floor, twisting his boot over it and walking up to the man. "Wow. Cold fucked up your tires good." he said loudly, leaning next to the man and inspecting the tires. He turned to face the man and said something Arya couldn't hear, but it made the man lean into the tires and take a closer look where Gendry pointed.
Arya noticed the quick slip of the hand inside the coat pocket, and then the wallet. Firmly grasped in Gendry's hand.
The man didn't seem to feel a thing, and Arya smiled in relief.
They'd made it!
Gendry rose, beginning to walk away, but then the man caught him by the arm, and began to yell at him while checking his pockets.
Arya was about to run to him, when she felt an arm around hers.
"What are you..." she yelled and saw it was Sandor.
"Run." he told her as he pulled her.
"Stop, we need to help him!"
"He can take care of himself!"
Arya tugged hard, freeing herself for a brief moment, but when she turned, Gendry was already running in the opposite direction, away from Sandor and her.
"Come on!" Sandor growled besides her, and this time, she followed.
They crossed the street, and ran down until they came to a main street with some traffic. Arya could still hear the screaming man.
"Where are we going?!" Arya yelled after Sandor.
"Hotel!" he said before running across the street, gaining them some honks.
Gendry will run to the hotel too.
The street they were running down came to another main street, and they could see the hotel from there.
They were no longer running, but by the time they reached their room she was still short of breath.
Walking in, the room was empty.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"Not here yet." Sandor told her, closing the door behind himself.
So they waited. They waited minute, after minute, after minute, until Arya couldn't wait anymore.
"I'm going out to look for him." she said, walking to the door.
Sandro reached it before her, blocking her way. "No you're not. He can take care of himself."
"I don't care, it's been too long." she said, trying to push the man aside. It was pointless. "Move!" she yelled.
"If he's safe, he'll be here, if he's not, there's nothing you or I can do about it!"
"I said move!" she yelled, beginning to feel the panic creep into her. There was no way she was leaving Gendry out there on his own.
He grabbed the front of her jacket, pulling her to him.
"I'm not letting you leave." Sandor rasped out hotly, just an inch away from her face, before pushing her hard against one of the beds and crossing to his coat.
Arya rolled to her side, then quickly off the bed, making her way to the door. "I'd like to see you try and stop me." she said with out turning to face him, but when she heard a gun cock, she froze.
"You're not leaving Arya."
She spun slowly, feeling her insides sink like sand. Sandor had his gun pointed straight at her.
"He.. could be in trouble." she said stiffly, trying to control the rage beginning to boil inside of her.
"He was not part of the deal I made with your sister. You were."
"And so, you won't shoot me." Arya told him, turning for the door again.
She heard the gun drop on the dresser, and the heavy steps of Sandor as he reached for her and lifted her off the floor.
"Let go!" she screamed, and began punch, and kick, but then her voice became muffled when Sandor pushed her face down on the bed, holding her hands against her sides as he began to wrap the covers tightly around her.
"Oh, I'm going to kill you!" she breathed out, trying to wiggled herself free, but he had tucked in the ends of the covers in itself.
He began to laugh at the sight of her. "I've made myself an Arya burrito."
"Go to hell!" she yelled, feeling tears of frustration begin to well in her eyes.
Gendry could be in trouble.
"You be quiet now, or I'll gag you." he told her, falling back on the other bed and taking the remote off the night table between the beds, turning the television on.
Arya fought with the covers, but after no success, she began moving from side to side, gaining momentum, until she managed to make herself roll off the bed.
She could hear Sandor jump off the bed, but the fall had loosened the covers, so when he picked her up, her arms and legs were free.
He slammed her against the bed, but she began to hit him with her hands, distracting him from her legs.
She still couldn't move them, since her knees were still inside the bundle, but the more Sandor wrestled with her, the more she could kick them free.
"Fucking hell. Stop moving!" he spat out as her knees came free.
In one move, she kicked between his legs, aiming for his groin, but instead hitting the inside of his leg.
It must have still hurt him, for he fell to the floor.
Arya quickly began to unroll herself free, kicking him in the stomach twice before walking towards the door.
"I'm going to find Gendry." she said, reaching for the door knob.
But she jumped back instead, as the door slammed open, and Gendry dropped his jacket on the floor and storm straight into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
"Gendry?" she called, walking to the bathroom door and knocking. "Gendry, are you alright?"
There was no answer.
Just the sink water running.
"Gendry!" she began to beat at the door with the pad of her hand. "Gendry... can you at least answer me."
Still nothing.
She waited a while longer, before she turned to Sandor, who had sat himself on one of the beds, and was rubbing at the inside of his leg. "Something's not right." she said to him.
"I told you he was fine." he snapped bitterly at her.
She ignored him and began to look through his jacket pockets, until she found his knife, switching it open.
"He's probably taking a shit." Sandor warned her.
Arya glared back at him as she walked back to the bathroom door, and tried using the knife as a key, but the blade was too wide, so she slid it inside the crack between the door and the frame, pushing it in with her hip. Once inside, she only had to wiggle it a few times, before the door opened.
Gendry was leaning over the sink, violently rubbing water into his arms and hands, which were covered in blood. His face pale, and covered in a sheen of sweat.
His shirt and jeans were full of blood as well.
"You're hurt!" she yelled, stepping into the bathroom. "What happened?"
He was still not answering, and the water was beginning to clean the skin, showing no wounds.
"Gendry?" she said softly.
Nothing.
"Gendry!" she yelled, pulling him by the arm.
He turned to her, shoving her back so her back slammed into the wall.
Arya gasped out, grabbing the edge of the door to keep herself from falling. She stared at Gendry wide-eyed, a mixture of fear and anger twisting inside of her.
Gendry blinked back a couple of times, shaking his head lightly. His face instantly filling with realization of what he'd just done, and regret.
That didn't stop Arya from pushing herself off the wall and punching him in the face before slamming her hands on his chest.
He fell back, sitting on the toilet.
Arya was breathing hard through her nostrils, trying to calm herself. Her knuckles felt raw.
"I'm sorry." Gendry stuttered out, resting his elbows on his knees, keeping gaze on the floor.
He sounded so miserable.
Arya closed her eyes, swallowing down the fuzziness cause by the adrenaline.
She opened her eyes and reached for the faucet to turn it off.
"What happened?" she whispered calmly, as she kneeled in front of Gendry and carefully took his face in her hands.
He parted his lips, but didn't say anything. His eyes still set on the floor.
"Gendry. Look at me." she whispered.
And he did.
His eyes were dull and they almost looked lost. "We're being followed." he managed.
"By the police?" Arya asked in alarm.
She felt him shake his head lightly in her hands. "It's someone else. I noticed him outside the train station. After I ran from the man from the cafe, he followed me..." Gendry trailed off, dropping his gaze once more. "He had a knife... he attacked me." his eyes met hers again. "I... I had to... had to kill him."
Arya swallowed hard, watching the wretchedness take over Gendry's features.
"Gendry." she breathed out, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against his. "You had no choice. He attacked you. You had to defend yourself. You did nothing wrong." she told him.
And even though everything she was saying was true, she felt her words were stupid, inappropriate, and of very little help.
Her mind trailed off to the man she had shot in the alley near Gendry's apartment.
The man was about to hurt Gendry. She had no choice.
And yet, as she came close to the dead body on the floor, and stared at the pool of blood slowly growing around the man's body, she felt a small, empty, ice like hole in her chest.
She had done that. She had taken that life.
And along with him, a tiny bit of Arya had died too.
She didn't know how long she knelt there, slowly brushing her thumbs over Gendry's stubbly cheeks, their foreheads resting together as his hands rested on her sides.
But when she finally rose off the floor, she could see some of the color had returned to Gendry's face.
She pulled back the shower curtain and turned the shower handle all the way to hot.
"Thank you Arya." he said behind her.
She shook her head with a smile. "What are friends for."
"I'm sorry I pushed you." he whispered.
"I'm sorry I punched you." she told him with a smile, which he returned, bringing her relief.
"Well..."
"Uh, yea. I'll leave now." she said, walking out into the bedroom.
"We're being followed." she said to Sandor as soon as the door closed behind her.
"I heard." he grumbled sleepily from the bed.
He didn't seem the least bit worried. "Gendry... he took care of the man who was following us, but there may be more." she said, as she sat on the edge of the other bed and began unlacing her boots.
"Don't doubt there is more. Don't doubt they're Cersei's men." he mumbled, with a tiny hint of irritation, turning on his side, giving Arya his back.
She changed into her pajamas, with only the light from the television lighting the room, and slipped into bed, deciding to wait for Gendry to come out of the shower. But the minutes passed and the water was still running, and her lids began to grow heavy, until she could bare it no longer, and she fell asleep.
xxxxxxxxxx
The wallet had slid out of the man's pocket easily enough.
It had been Gendry's sudden movement that had put the man on alert, his hand dropping to his pocket, finding his wallet missing.
Before Gendry could walk away, the man had a hold on his arm and was already calling for help.
It hadn't been hard to twist free of the man's hold, and then he was running.
Away from the man and away from Arya.
If they did catch him, he wanted her nowhere near, knowing she'd try something stupid.
He'd made it all the way to the hotel, where he'd hid by an alley. If anyone had followed him the last place he wanted to lead them to was their room.
After minutes of nothing, he decided it was safe to head to the room ... then he heard the voice from behind.
"Turn around slowly. Hands in the air."
Gendry cursed himself mentally, raising his hand, yet making a note of where his gun was.
When he turned to face the man, he flung himself at Gendry with a large bowie knife.
Gendry caught the wrist of the hand holding the knife, and the struggle began.
The man pushed Gendry back against the wall, bringing the blade close to his face.
Gendry tightened his grasp on the man's wrist, seeing the gleaming steel inch closer and closer to him.
He grunted out loudly, pushing the man by the wrist with enough for to make him nearly fall.
He was about to reach for his gun, but the man began slashing at the air in front of him, walking up to Gendry, giving him no choice but to back out.
Gendry caught the man's arm, twisting it until the hold he had on the knife loosened, and Gendry could take it from him.
What happened next was still blurred in Gendry's memory. Even as he stood under the hot shower water, washing the blood away, going over everything that happened, this remained a blur.
The man had knocked Gendry on the floor, straddling him.
Gendry was surprised at the strength he had, for such a small man.
Twisting the hand he held the knife in, he pointed it straight at Gendry's chest, and Gendry felt himself use all the strength in him to keep his own hand from leading the knife straight into his heart.
He let out another yell, and used the last he had in him to twist the knife in the opposite direction.
The knife slid into the man's chest then.
Gendry wasn't sure if the man fell into the knife, or if he pushed the knife in himself.
The man's eyes grey an eerie black, and he began to cough up blood all over Gendry's chest and arms.
Gendry pushed the man's flailing off him, and sat up, besides him.
"Who are you?" he asked out in a shuddery breath. "Who sent you?"
But the man was already gone.
Gendry leaned his forehead against the shower tile, feeling the hot water slide down his back.
He closed his eyes.
You could have handles that differently. You didn't have to kill him. Because you dod kill him, Gendry. He didn't fall into the knife. You slid it into him.
Gendry reached for the shower handle, turning the water off.
He drapped his wet shirt and jeans over the shower curtain pole, hoping they would have enough time to dry.
He had rubbed at them hard, but they still clung to stain of blood.
The lights were off when he walked out of the bathroom, and he quietly made his way to their bag, changing in the dark.
Looking over to Arya's sleeping figure, he almost didn't want to slip into bed next to her.
He'd be driving tomorrow though, and he knew he needed a proper rest.
He lifted the covers carefully, sliding in slowly.
One of Arya's hands reached over to him, taking his.
Before he knew what she was doing, she pressed her lips to the back of his hand, giving it a soft kiss.
At that moment, Gendry forgot all about the man, or Sandor sleeping on the other bed behind him, or the Baratheons, and the Lannisters, and running away.
At that moment, it was just him, and Arya, and the soft, lingering kiss she's pressed on his hand.
He was surprised to find sleep so easily after everything. He attributed it to the fact that Arya held his hand the rest of the night. And when he woke, he almost forgot where he was. His thoughts went straight to Arya.
He opened his eyes, expecting to see her face, only to see nothing more than an empty pillow.
He sat up on the bed, turning to the bed next to his.
It was empty.
"Arya?" he called, kicking the covers off himself. "Sandor."
He jumped off the bed, walking straight to the window, and pulling the drapes back.
The sun wasn't out yet, but he could tell it was about to dawn.
"Fuck" he breathed out, walking to his boots and slipping his feet in, not bothering with the laces.
He ran out of the room and down the corridor, heading out the doors into the parking lot. Their rental car was gone.
"Fuck!" he yelled, combing his fingers through his hair.
This couldn't be happening. This wasn't true.
His chest began to heave as he looked around, hoping to spot something anything, but realizing there was nothing to spot.
He clasped his hand over his mouth, walking a few steps to one side, before stopping and walking on the opposite direction.
How could he have allowed this? How could he not have heard anything.
The thought of Arya trying to call for him, and failing twisted like acid inside him.
Gendry sniffed, wiping at the tears in his eyes, turning back towards the hotel, running back to the room.
He went into the rest room, pulling his jeans off the pole. They were still damp, but he still slid into them.
He pulled at the shirt, bundling it up with his pajama bottoms as he headed out of the bathroom and towards their bag.
The door opened behind him, and Sandor walked in holding a cup holder with three coffees.
Gendry walked up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his coat. "Where the hell where you!" he shook him, making the coffees fall from his hands.
"Get the fuck off me!" Sandor yelled, shoving Gendry back. "I went to get coffee."
"Where is she?" Gendry asked, looking to the door.
"I left her here with you. Asleep."
Gendry turned to the bed. "She's gone."
AN
Have I told you how much I love you all!
Well I do. You guys are so great! You're the reason I'm still writing this story :)
Thank you all for your reviews, you have no idea how much they help me continue to write.
Thanks to all those guest reviewers I can't personally thank. Cristina G, I'd love to check out your tumblr, just send me the link.
Some of you said in reviews that you gobbled up my story within hours, and hearing that just fills me with so many feelings.
Thank you all, again.
This chapter was pretty exhausting. School started again, and work has been stressfull, and on top of that, Gendry and Sandor are an exhausting mix.
*sigh*
I've introduced, yet another character, and I know some of you may have wanted to hear about Brienne and Jaime in this chapter after the note we left them on last time, but I won't be bringing them back for another chapter :( and I apologize for that.
I have a few things to add.
Firstly, I've made a third trailer for this fic, and by far, it is my favorite of the three i've made.
please check it out and leave me a comment, or send me a message, tell me what you think :)
also, there was a scene in this chapter that was inspired by a girl's drawing I saw on tumblr. it was the bathroom scene, when Arya is comforting Gendry.
the drawing itself has nothing to do with the scene it inspired. FIrstly the drawing isn't modern and what's going on in the drawing had nothing to do with what happens in the scene, other than Arya comforting Gendry, but i did put the link of it in my profile, it really is an amazing drawing. All her work is and I encourage you to check out her work.
As always, please review, tell me your thoughts!