Chapter Text
He felt pleasantly warm, something he wasn’t too often these days. He didn’t even mind the somewhat moldy smell the thin blanket, that provided almost no heat at all, let off. With a contempt sigh he decided that a few more minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt. Then another sigh to his right answered and his right arm moved up and down with the breath.
Gendry slowly opened his eyes. He immediately felt that damned flush coming, creeping up his neck. Aryas’ face was only inches from his. If either of them scooted just a little bit closer, she could’ve kissed him on the forehead. His nose was almost buried in the crook of her neck, his arm draped over her stomach rising with her every breath.
He didn’t know what to do. Was this how Arya had felt waking up the day before? Awkward, nervous and… Well he wasn’t complaining over the warmth she was giving him. But he had a feeling that if he disturbed her even the slightest, she would shoot up like an arrow. Probably ready to slit his throat waking up to finding him holding her again.
While he tried to come up with a plan to get out of this embarrassing situation , Gendry studied her face. She looked younger when asleep, almost like the wild wolf girl he’d met… A thousand years ago, yesterday?
The creases in her forehead all smoothed out, her mouth slightly open and not pressed into thin lines. She definitely didn’t look like a killer., like a faceless man. She looked like his Arry, the little wolf Lady who wanted to be a knight. He felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. It was all his fault that she’d disappeared, nay, been kidnapped. If he hadn’t started a fight about something she wasn’t even aware of, he would have been by her side that night and… And what? He pushed the thought away. He’d already been down that road, it lead to nothing but misery. Still though, what if...
No! He pushed at the intruding 'what if' thoughts more forcefully, replacing them with happier ones. Not that had that many. He mostly thought about surviving, had been for years.
Arya moved a little in her sleep, turning her body towards him, lying on her side. Gendry didn’t dare move. Or breathe for that matter. Her nose now brushed against the little space between his eyebrows. Oh he really, really had to move now. She would kill him. And he didn’t fancy that sinister little blade of hers “sticking him with the pointy end”. So he very slowly drew his arm back over her waist, trying not to notice how slim it was or how muscular she‘d become. Her eyelids fluttered, freezing him in place. But she just let out a heavy breath. Holding his own, Gendry slowly inched his head back and then came to rest as far away from Arya that the bed would allow.
Now he could wake her up, not that he wanted to, she really did look peaceful. But all good things must come to an end.
“Arya?” He called softly, not wanting to startle her (mostly for his own safety).
Her eyes opened, a piercing storm cloud gray. But they softened when she met his gaze. She looked at him for a few seconds before her eyebrows furrowed, as if she was puzzled by something. That he was still here?
“Time to go?” She finally asked and he nodded. “Good, let’s go! We can eat while we ride.”
And with those words she simply crawled over him and out of bed, making him wheeze when one of her hands pressed down on his stomach. She gave him an amused and teasingly patronizing look while sweeping Needle up.
“Wuss”