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As Gendry pulled up the driveway in front of the beautiful old cabin, he felt his jaw drop. Cabin seemed like entirely the wrong word to describe the structure before him.
The building had a stone foundation with timber panelling around the windows and gables. Several stone chimneys poked up above the roof, numbering the many fireplaces that warmed the living room and five bedrooms. It was hard to tell the size from the front, but Jon had painted a fairly accurate picture of the way the layout disguised its size and made the place feel cozy.
Gendry stepped out of his car, his boots crunching over the light dusting of snow mixing with the gravel, and looked around at the tall pine trees and the ski fields off in the distance. He let out a deep breath, creating a fog in the chilled air. There were worse places to spend a long weekend, that was for sure.
Gendry thought he must have misheard Jon when he’d told him, but no, there were indeed five bedrooms. Plus three bathrooms, a living room and a dining room off the kitchen. He supposed there would need to be that much space to accommodate seven Starks, one Snow, more often than not a Greyjoy, as well as whoever else tagged along on their childhood ski trips.
This weekend the cabin wouldn’t have quite so many residents. It was only going to be Jon and Ygritte, Arya, Sansa and Theon, and Gendry. He’d been glad that Jon had invited him along, though he suspected it had more to do with wanting another pair of eyes watching Theon at all times to make sure he wasn’t getting too handsy with Sansa. Nevermind the fact that they’d been together for well over a year now.
Jon had also made a comment about Gendry being able to keep Arya company, and he couldn’t help but imagine how Jon would react if Gendry were to get handsy with the younger Stark sister. Surely Theon would come to his rescue when Jon inevitably tried to murder him for it.
Gendry shook the ridiculous thought from his head as he walked up the dark timber steps towards the cabin. He used to be so good at pushing those kinds of fantasies about Arya from his mind, but apparently he was out of practice.
“Hello?” he called out as he nudged open the door of the cabin.
“Hi,” a sweet voice called back. He heard footsteps, then Arya stepped out of the kitchen holding a very large bag of marshmallows.
Gods, how long had it been since he’d seen her? Over a year at least, and even then it was only through a grainy video call when she’d been wishing her family a happy Christmas from Braavos. It had been so much longer since he’d spent any real time with her. A person can change a lot in a few years; Gendry certainly felt like he had. He wasn’t sure if Arya was still the same girl he’d known, but seeing her made him feel like he was eighteen again.
“Brought plenty of supplies I see,” he said with a nod towards the bag in her hand.
“Oh, yeah,” she said, laughing. “You remember Sansa’s weird hatred for mini marshmallows in her cocoa? She insisted I bring several bags of the big ones. She’ll fight you for them.” Gendry smiled at the warning.
Arya tossed the marshmallows on the long, warn dining table and moved towards him. She moved as if to hug him, but seemed to hesitate. Gendry dropped his bag and opened his arms to encourage her. As his much larger arms swallowed her in an embrace, he breathed deeply to soak in the scent of her fruity shampoo. She still used the same brand as she did in high school, he noticed.
“I thought some of the others would be here by now,” Gendry said as he reluctantly pulled back from the hug.
“They were coming via Castle Black to pick up Jon and Ygritte. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”
Gendry nodded and looked around the cabin, taking in the folky art on the walls and the crackling fire in the adjacent living room.
“You can put your bag in any room you like,” Arya said. “I’m just making tea if you want some.”
“Lovely, thanks. Milk, no–”
“No sugar. I remember,” she said with a smile.
Gendry told himself not to watch her as she headed back into the kitchen, but his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own. When she was out of sight, he took a deep breath and carried his duffel bag into the first bedroom he could find.
He dropped his bag on the wooden floor and took in the plush white bed linens and the light-coloured stone around the modern electric fireplace, smaller than the one in the living room, but still grand. The tall windows let in the light that reflected off the steadily increasing snowfall. Gendry thought it felt like standing inside a cloud; like he was in a dream. Or maybe a memory.
Gendry and Arya had been close growing up. He’d been close with all the Starks. He’d met Jon first when Gendry’s soccer coach decided he was too good to be playing with his own age group. He was moved up to play on the older team, and despite being a year younger than everyone else, he’d made friends quickly.
He and Jon shared the bond of boys who’d lost their parents too young, though that was where the similarity ended. While Jon had been taken in by his aunt and uncle, and had lived in a huge house with plenty of food and money available for anything he might need, Gendry had been shuffled around to various foster homes before he finally landed with the Seaworths in Winterfell. He soon became friends with Robb and Theon, too, and then all the rest of the Starks who watched every match from the sidelines, cheering madly. He’d been invited back to their house to celebrate their first win, and that was it. He was one of them.
Jon, Robb and Theon had been the type of big brothers who didn’t mind their outgoing, adventurous younger sister tagging along when they went hiking in the woods behind their Winterfell estate, or skating on the frozen pond just outside of town. Gendry soon realised that being friends with the boys meant spending a lot of time with Arya, too. Not that he minded. Arya was funny and curious, and he looked forward to seeing her as much as the others.
When Arya decided to try out for the girls’ soccer team the next year, she shooed off her brothers and insisted that Gendry was the far better player, and she only wanted to learn from the best. They’d all agreed that she had a point, so Gendry started practicing drills with her most afternoons, and soon she was running rings around the rest of her family.
When she’d been selected for the team, Gendry kept training with her, helping her improve until she was easily the best player on her team. Their weekend practice sessions were usually followed by watching a match on TV or going out for a bite to eat, and while he’d always enjoyed hanging out with Jon and the guys, he felt a much closer connection to Arya as they spent more time together. They just seemed to fit. It was so easy being around her, listening to her talk about school, her friends, her most recent fight with Sansa. She became the best friend he’d ever had.
If he was being honest with himself, he’d always felt a little bit more than friendship towards Arya, but he’d gotten very good at pushing those feelings aside. It was too messy, and he didn’t want to jeopardise his relationships. Not with her family, and certainly not with Arya herself. He couldn’t risk it; the Starks meant too much to him to lose them if it didn’t work out.
When Gendry graduated and Arya still had two years left in school, it became hard to maintain their friendship. He’d moved to the city for university and hadn’t stayed in touch as much as he should have. Eventually they exchanged no more than a birthday message, and apart from what he heard from Jon, Gendry knew very little about what Arya had been doing. He knew she’d done well in school, and had been admitted to an excellent university in Braavos. He was happy when he heard she’d moved home a few months ago, but still, he hadn’t reached out.
Now, as Gendry worked on building up his work schedule and Arya was settling in back at home, he hoped they might be able to revive the friendship that had meant so much to him.
He walked back out to the dining table where Arya was setting down two mugs. She’d opened a packet of chocolate covered cookies, too, and she already had one held between her teeth.
“Itsh ettig hebbier,” she mumbled around a chocolatey mouthful.
“What was that?” Gendry asked with a chuckle as he sat down opposite her.
Arya swallowed and tried again. “It’s getting heavier. The snow.” She nodded her head to the window.
They both turned to look out as a violent gust of wind assaulted the trees outside, stirring up a flurry of leaves and falling snowflakes. The ground was now covered in snow, not a speck of dirt remaining visible.
Gendry wondered if it was more than a coincidence that the weather outside matched perfectly to how he was feeling inside. He was stirred up at seeing Arya again, and there was a layer of crisp, white politeness covering them, obscuring any sign of how close they once were.
He sat in silence, looking outside, looking anywhere but at her. It would be easier when the others arrived, but for now it was just Gendry, Arya, and the memories of who they used to be.
—————————
The weather had picked up suddenly, and Arya was glad to be inside. She was even more glad to have a moment to take Gendry in while he was distracted by the bluster outside the cabin.
He’d always been gorgeous. She might not have been a girly-girl like Sansa, but she wasn’t blind. She’d been young when she first saw him playing soccer with her brothers, but her eyes had followed him around the field, unable to look away. He was the one that taught her what attraction meant, though it had been a while before she’d been able to connect the word to the feeling.
But he’d become her friend, first and foremost, not to mention he was also close with the rest of her family. He even got on with Sansa, which hadn’t thrilled Arya at first, but he became so woven into their lives that eventually any idea of being more just settled into the background. She’d just accepted the butterflies that took up residence in her stomach whenever she was around him. Her feelings were inconvenient, but not insurmountable.
She took in the familiarity of his broad shoulders, his tall frame, and his blue eyes that were somehow both sharp and sweet. They’d affected her back then; how could they not? And he’d only gotten better with time. He carried more muscle now, and his jaw was covered in a faded stubble that made her spine tingle. He’d been a good-looking boy, but now he was an incredibly attractive man.
But it was never the unresolved crush that had stung her the most; it was losing her friend. Maybe if they’d had a big fight or if he’d done something awful it wouldn’t have been so bad. At least then she could have spun all her feelings into rage. But it was nothing like that. They’d simply lost touch, and grown apart.
Gendry being older than her had never really seemed like a big deal, but when he left school, he left her behind. She’d occasionally see him when he came home from Kings Landing for the weekend, and they’d caught up at Jon’s 21st birthday party. But then Gendry’s visits home became less frequent, and messages weren’t exchanged as often. And when Arya was accepted to Braavos University, the distance became physical, too.
Now, she was back in Winterfell, and from what Jon had said, it sounded like Gendry was, too. When Sansa had told her that Gendry was coming away with them, Arya’s reaction was surprising. She’d managed to send back a message that it would be nice to see him again, but when she put her phone down, she’d sunk off her bed to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wasn’t sure if she cried because she was happy or nervous, but either way, she was overwhelmed at the thought of seeing him again. And not just briefly, but for a whole weekend, living under the same roof.
Arya had been trying to get a handle on her emotions the whole way to the cabin. She’d been hoping it might be an easier reunion if the others were already there, but now she was glad they’d been alone. It had been better than she expected. Almost like old times.
Almost.
Arya’s loud ringtone shocked her out of her thoughts, and Gendry turned quickly to look at her as she answered.
“Arya, thank goodness I got through to you!” Sansa said in a high voice. “Are you alright? Has Gendry made it there yet?”
“Yeah, Gendry and I are here. Where are you guys?”
“We’re at Castle Black.”
“What? Why? When are you getting here?” Arya asked, confused.
“Honey, we’re not. A massive storm is moving in across the whole of the Frostfangs. Luckily we heard about it before we set off or we would have been caught in the middle of it. I gather it hasn’t reached you yet?”
“No. The snow is falling heavier now, but it doesn’t seem that bad,” Arya said as she glanced out the window.
“It’s gonna be bad. The reports are calling it an ‘extreme weather event’. You remember where all the emergency supplies are, right?”
“Sansa, I don’t think–”
“I’m serious, Arya. Do you remember what Dad taught us? Be safe and be sensible.”
“Yeah, I remember,” she said. She recalled their father taking them on hikes and teaching them outdoor survival skills on previous ski trips. Arya had always just thought of it as a fun game to play in the snow, but Sansa had taken it all very seriously. Not much of it would apply when they were safe in the cabin, but Ned’s number one rule was always clear: be safe and be sensible.
“Good. And make sure you take care of Gendry, okay? The cold isn’t in his blood like it is for a Stark. You should see Theon right now. Iron-born my arse,” she muttered. “He’s being ridiculous. Be glad he’s not the one you’re stuck with up there.”
Arya could hear Ygritte chuckling in the background, and she was sure Sansa was rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. “We’ll be fine, Sans.” She tried to instill as much certainty into her voice as she could, both for Sansa, and to make sure Gendry didn’t pick up on any nerves. And for her own sake as well, she realised, though that might have been for a different reason. “Love you.”
“That didn’t sound good,” Gendry said. Arya could tell he was trying for humour, but she heard the underlying concern.
“Apparently there’s a massive snowstorm headed our way. Some kind of extreme weather event? The others are stuck at Castle Black, so it looks like we’re on our own until it passes.”
“Oh. Uh… okay. How worried should I be?”
“No need to be worried. We’ve got food and plenty of bottled water, and Dad always keeps a stock of emergency supplies. We even have board games if we get really desperate. We’ll be fine,” she reiterated.
Gendry nodded, seeming reassured, and moved into the living room. The sky was turning dark with the approaching storm, and there was a stronger chill in the air. But Arya watched Gendry crouch down to stoke the fire, the orange glow dancing over his strong features, and she felt warm all over.
They were going to be alone here for a while, and though that thought might have scared Arya before, now she felt determined. She would use this unexpected proximity to clear the air with Gendry and find a way for them to be friends again. They might not get back to exactly how they used to be, but they could certainly be a lot closer than they were now. It seemed like fate demanded she make the most of this opportunity, or at the very least, the weather demanded it.
———
A few hours later, Gendry had excused himself to take a shower, and Arya took the opportunity to settle in front of the fire to start a new book she’d been wanting to read. She reminded herself that this weekend was supposed to be relaxing. Even if things hadn’t worked out the way everyone expected, she could still make the most of it. At least, she’d been trying to, until the power cut out. The lights flickered back on a moment later, but it wasn’t a good sign. Arya had wondered whether they would make it through the snowstorm without losing power, and it seemed she had her answer. She decided she’d better find some flashlights before they had a total blackout.
She was pretty sure she remembered her father kept some long-life-battery flashlights in a closet near the master bedroom. Arya rounded the corner into the hallway and found herself colliding with a firm, wet, rock-hard chest. When she steadied herself and stood back, she saw that Gendry was wearing nothing but a towel knotted precariously around his hips. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and her ability to think clearly seemed to vanish.
“Sorry,” he said, “I was in the shower when the lights cut out and being in a pitch-black bathroom kinda freaks me out.”
“Uhh… yeah. Yep. The power flickered off. But it’s back now,” Arya said, stating the obvious. Mentally shaking her head, she tried again. “You should plug your phone in to charge. There’s a decent chance the power will cut out altogether and it’d be good to have both our phones on full battery.”
“Good thinking.”
“And, umm…” Arya’s concentration was tested as a drop of water tracked its way down Gendry’s glistening torso. She snapped her head back up to meet his face, determined to stick to the matter at hand. It was difficult to focus on rebuilding their friendship when his body made her think such non-friendly thoughts, but she wouldn’t let her composure break. She’d just have to put up a confident front like she usually did when something threw her off balance. “The bedrooms have electric fireplaces which won’t work if the power goes out. We’d be better off keeping the fire going in the living room and both sleeping out there. Will you help me move a mattress out?”
“Oh, sure.” Gendry started to move towards one of the empty bedrooms.
“You wanna maybe put on some clothes first?” she asked with a teasing smile. Gendry looked down at his half-naked, towel-clad body, then back at Arya.
“Nah, I figure this is great for moving an awkward mattress around. Can’t possibly go wrong.” His self-deprecating smile made Arya laugh out loud. He stepped into the bedroom he’d claimed earlier and shut the door, but when she heard the sound of his towel dropping to the floor, her laughter died in her throat. She hurried down the hall to find the flashlights, putting as much space between her and a naked Gendry as she could.
———
As they were finishing cleaning up after dinner, the power cut out again, and this time it stayed out. Gendry called out from the dining room and Arya told him to stay put so he didn’t hurt himself, Sansa’s words about looking out for him echoing in her mind. She made her way out to him, relying on years of childhood memories to prevent her from bumping into anything. Gendry must have taken a step towards her, because suddenly she ran into him, her outstretched hand making contact with a very high point on his thigh. (Truthfully, it wasn’t his thigh, but if Arya let herself think about the part of him she’d actually touched, she would almost certainly combust.)
Taking his hand in hers, she guided him safely back to the living room, lit by the firelight. She gave him a flashlight to keep handy, and smiled at the fact that it would have been most useful to have kept one with them before the power went out.
Without any electronic means of entertainment, or enough light to read, Arya and Gendry decided the best course of action was drinking, talking, and snacking. They sat in front of the fire, toasting Sansa’s marshmallows, perched on the end of the mattress they’d managed to drag out to the living room. Wrestling it back into the bedroom would be another challenge entirely.
“How are you finding it, being back at home?” Gendry asked her.
Arya thought for a moment about how to describe it. “It’s… familiar, but at the same time it’s not like it was. I’ve grown up a lot, living in Braavos. I love having family close again, but I guess I’m just ready for the next part of my life to start. Once I find a job I might think about finding my own place somewhere nearby.”
“Do you know what kind of job you want?”
“I studied travel and tourism marketing, and I got a great part-time job at the Braavos tourism marketing board during my final year, so I’d like to put that experience to good use. I might even try to find a job that lets me travel around. It’d be nice to have Winterfell as my base, but I think I’d also like to keep exploring some more, you know?”
“I do, actually,” Gendry replied with a warm smile. “I’ve never been much of an adventurer, not like you anyway, but my work has ended up taking me all over Westeros. Just short trips, so I’m never away too long, but I enjoy seeing new places more than I thought I would.”
“What are you doing for work? Jon said you were still doing the metalworking stuff a while back but he didn’t give much detail.”
“Yeah. Somehow I’ve managed to turn a hobby into an actual job. I only took the class as an elective to break up all my business classes, but it turns out I’m pretty good at blacksmithing.” Arya could hear the pride in his voice. Gendry had always been humble, but she was pleased to see him owning his talents. “I’ve been getting a few commissions for metal artworks—big pieces for corporate offices, that sort of thing. But most of my work comes from making and selling replica swords and weapons at medieval faires.”
“You’re kidding,” Arya said.
“I know it sounds dorky, but they’re actually pretty popular, and towns all over the country host faires year-round, so it’s steady work.”
“No, no, they’re cool. It’s just a coincidence. I did a project on medieval faires.” Gendry’s brows raised at this. “I looked at them from a tourism perspective, as a model for small town tourism with a dedicated annual market and a strong potential for repeat business. I went to one in Braavos and had the best time. I can’t believe you get to work at them!”
“You should see the big ones in Kings Landing, Arya. I can just picture you there, teaching kids to fight with swords. All your years of fencing lessons could actually come in handy,” he said teasingly.
“Hey! I was bloody good at fencing.”
“I remember, you just always wanted to have a go with a real sword.”
“Could you make me a real one?”
“Gladly.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to come check out one of these faires. See you in action.”
“I’d like that.”
Gendry leaned over to top up her wine glass, and they continued talking for hours, swapping stories from the past few years and hearing about what each other’s families were up to. The conversation flowed easily, but with every funny anecdote or challenging time discussed, Arya felt a pang of loss. She had missed out on so much of his life, and he had missed out on hers. There had been so many times where she could have just picked up the phone and called him, or sent him a picture when something reminded her of him. Instead, she had pressed on with her life, filling it with as many adventures as she could, never letting herself stay still for long. She felt like they had so much lost time to make up for.
“Sansa said I should make sure you’re okay during this whole storm situation, but so far you don’t seem too worried,” Arya said, stabbing another raw marshmallow with a kebab skewer.
“I’m not. You told me we’d be fine, so I believe you,” Gendry answered.
“Just like that?”
“If I were here with anyone else, I’d be worried. But you’re the most resourceful, determined person I know. Nothing can stop you, Arya. Not even an extreme weather event.” The last part came out in a mumble as he stuffed a hot, gooey marshmallow into his mouth.
“I missed you,” Arya said after a moment. The bottle-and-a-half of spiced wine they’d drunk made her feel brave. Brave enough, at least.
“School kind of sucked after you graduated,” she continued before he could respond. She saw the realisation cross his face that this wasn’t just something she was feeling now that they were together again. “My best friend wasn’t there every day. And you know how much the kids in my year group drove me crazy.” Arya rolled her eyes, and a consoling smile ghosted on Gendry’s lips.
“But what sucked the most was that we couldn’t even manage to stay in touch,” she said. “Not properly. You weren’t just gone from school, you were gone completely.”
Gendry let her words sink in, thinking them over before he spoke. “I can guess how you must have felt. I remember how much it sucked for me when Jon graduated, but I still had you there. It must have been harder for you than it was for me.” He shifted so that he was facing her fully, meeting her eyes with his. “And I missed you, too, Arya. So much. But, I guess I just kept myself busy with college and tried to ignore how guilty I felt for letting the time slip by. I’m sorry. I should have done better.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Arya said. They sat in silence for a moment. “Let’s not let it happen again, yeah?”
“Yeah.” They clinked their wine glasses and each took a deep mouthful.
Arya tried to focus on the fact that they’d finally faced the heaviness that hung between them, rather than wondering whether they could have had this simple conversation years ago. Maybe she wouldn’t have missed out on having Gendry in her life for so long. She hoped that wasn’t true. But at least now they could start over. Even if nothing else had worked out, at least this trip had given her that chance.
“You want to eat all of Sansa’s marshmallows until we feel sick?” she asked him.
“Obviously,” he nodded.
When the second bottle of wine was empty, and the only marshmallows left were the burnt ones they’d discarded, Arya and Gendry tucked themselves under the pile of blankets on the mattress. They kept whispering and laughing like they had a thousand times before, until eventually they drifted off to sleep. Arya thought she felt Gendry reach out and knot his fingers with hers in the night, but it was probably just a dream.
—————————
Gendry had always been an early riser. He woke to an eerie white light pouring in the large windows of the living room, a clear sign that the snow was still falling heavily, though the silence indicated that the worst of the winds had died down.
Arya was still asleep, half hanging off the mattress, facing away from him. Her T-shirt had slipped down over her shoulder, and the blankets were pooled around her hips. He’d always been amazed at her inability to feel bothered by the cold. His eyes traced over her, from her neck, grazed by her shoulder-length hair, down over the curve of her waist.
After they talked last night, Gendry felt like everything had shifted, just slightly. They’d acknowledged that it had hurt them both to let their friendship fade away, but it seemed like now a fog that had hung over them since they arrived at the cabin had lifted, and they could see each other more clearly. In some ways, despite how familiar Arya was to him, Gendry felt like he was looking at a brand new person.
Suddenly, she stirred and rolled over, her face only inches from his. She mumbled something but didn’t wake. Her breathing settled again, and Gendry watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. He just wanted to keep watching her, to take her in without worrying that she’d catch him looking, though the longer he stared the more he felt like a creep. But he couldn’t look away.
Eventually, his eyelids grew heavy and he dozed back off to sleep, his mind swimming in thoughts of her.
———
It was several hours later when they finally dragged themselves out of bed. The power was still out, so they had to make do with a breakfast of dry cereal since the milk Arya had brought had been unrefrigerated for too long.
“Well, this sucks,” she said, looking out the window with a glum face. “I was looking forward to being out in the snow. I was gonna build a snowman with Sansa like we did when we were kids, and slide down the hill out back with Jon and Theon. We can’t even use the hot tub! I bought a new bikini and everything!”
Gendry worked very hard to disguise the thoughts that swelled in him at the mention of Arya in a bikini.
“Were you planning to spend the whole weekend out in the snow?” he asked when he could trust his voice not to crack.
“No, but you know I don’t cope well with boredom.”
“I know, but luckily you’ve got me to amuse you. And I think I remember you mentioning board games. Fancy some Monopoly?”
“Really, Gendry? Monopoly? We’ve just become proper friends again and you want to risk it all?”
Gendry could have sworn his heart fluttered at her confirmation that they were friends again. “You’re right. I’m not prepared to throw away what we have just to crush you with crippling rent prices,” he teased.
“It’s cute that you think you could crush me,” she grinned. “How about Clue? A nice little murder mystery never hurt anyone.”
“You cheat at Clue.”
“How do I cheat at Clue?” Arya asked, indignant.
“I don’t know, I’ve never met anyone who cheats at Clue, but I’ve also never met anyone who could correctly guess the murderer on their third turn. It’s the only plausible explanation Jon and I could come up with.”
Arya rolled her eyes at him. “Fine, no Clue. But we have to come up with something to do or I’ll go mad.”
By lunchtime, they had concocted a game in which the characters from Clue competed to pull off a series of art forgery cons (which looked a lot like old Pictionary drawings), in order to buy up all the property on the Monopoly board.
After a particularly heated round—the winner of which was impossible to determine due to the lack of consistent rules—they decided to take a break.
“Thank goodness you don’t have Twister,” Gendry said as they made PB&J sandwiches. “I hate to think how we would have incorporated that.”
“We used to have it at the house, but Mum got rid of it after Robb had a party and a game of strip Twister got out of hand.”
“Oh, gods. I don’t want to know.”
“You really don’t,” Arya said, laughing.
———
They spent the rest of the day surviving on the snacks Arya had brought—“Thank goodness Theon asked me to bring such enormous quantities of chips and salsa”—and inventing various games to keep themselves occupied—“I bet I can get this M&M into your mouth from all the way over here”.
Gendry perused Ned’s books and found an old historical novel that featured some illustrations of swords he was interested in recreating for the faires, and Arya read a few more chapters of her book until she fell asleep on the couch. Gendry took the opportunity to see how many of the little green Monopoly houses he could balance on her face before she woke up. He was about to place number twelve when his hand brushed her nose, causing her to sneeze. The look on her face when she found herself surrounded by little plastic houses was priceless.
Any doubts as to whether Arya was still the same person he’d known had been put to rest. She was; of course she was. But she was so much more now, too. She had grown into herself, and she no longer had the burden of trying to fit into a mould that wasn’t made for her. She was free to explore the things she loved and to let her curiosity lead her, just as it always had when she was a girl. She was wonderful and wild and free. It was impossible not to feel her magnetic pull.
The whole day had reminded Gendry of how close they used to be and all the fun they had together. He could sense that things weren’t quite how they were before, but he didn’t think that was a bad thing. It would take some time to get to know each other again as adults. They had both changed, and maybe they had to treat this as a new friendship, rather than an old one. He hoped that, in time, the last traces of awkwardness would fade away, and they’d be left with something great.
And as long as he could keep his feelings in check, he would be content with her friendship. He had to be.
———
It was early evening when the power came back on in the cabin. Arya and Gendry had been so content in the quiet solitude that the sudden availability of electricity came as a surprise to them both. The timing was good—it meant they could have something hot for dinner. A person could only survive on snack food for so long.
As Gendry stirred through the canned soup heating on the stove, Arya came up to stand beside him. He wondered what was on her mind as she chewed her bottom lip between her teeth. When she didn’t say anything, he tried to fill the silence.
“I guess we don’t have to worry about conserving the battery on our phones anymore,” he said.
“Hm.”
“Not that I’ve missed it,” he clarified, “but we should probably let your sister know that we’re alright.”
“Yeah,” was Arya’s only response.
She remained quiet through dinner, and so did Gendry, not wanting to intrude on whatever it was that Arya was working through.
“I texted Sansa to tell her we’re okay,” she said as they cleared their plates.
“Oh, how are they doing?”
“Fine. They didn’t lose power.”
“That’s good.” He wasn’t sure how long he should leave it before asking her what was going on. “Arya?” he tried.
She didn’t respond right away, but Gendry knew she would when she was ready. He finished cleaning up, then turned back to her, waiting patiently.
Eventually she said, “I told her we were fine, but that we’re gonna try not to waste our phone batteries in case the power goes out again.”
When she didn’t elaborate further, Gendry nodded. “Yeah, that’s smart.”
She finally met his eye, and he could see her uncertainty there. He wished he knew how to reassure her, but she wasn’t giving him much to go on.
“I just…” she started.
“Yeah?”
“Can we just…”
“Arya, seriously. You need to finish a sentence here,” he said with a laugh.
She gave him a tight smile, then spoke in a rush. “I just want to pretend for a bit longer.” She took a deep breath, as if she’d just made a grand confession and suddenly felt lighter. Gendry, on the other hand, only felt more confused.
“Pretend… what?”
“I want to pretend that the power’s still out, and that we can’t use our phones, and that the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I like the little bubble we’ve been in and I want to stay in it for a bit longer.”
“Oh,” Gendry said, relieved. Was that what she’d been thinking about? Gendry wasn’t in any hurry to get back to the real world, and while he was glad that the worst of the storm seemed to be over, he was more than happy to keep spending time with Arya in their own little world. They had only just reconnected, and he still felt like they had a lot of time to make up for.
“Of course we can stay in the bubble,” he said. “But can we please use the light in the bathroom? A flashlight is barely better than nothing, and I wasn’t kidding, using the bathroom in the dark really freaks me out.”
Arya laughed loudly and nodded. “Of course. I don’t mean that we can’t use power, only that…” She shook her head, as if to say ‘nevermind’. “I was planning on taking a shower and I don’t think a flashlight will cut it.”
“Good,” he said, and he pulled her into a hug without even thinking twice. It was easy, and comfortable, and Gendry thought he wouldn’t mind if they stayed in this bubble forever.
———
After dinner they happily read and talked and sipped tea in front of the fire. They were sitting on their shared mattress, watching the dancing flames, when Arya pulled her shirt sleeves down over her hands as a shiver rolled down her back.
“I thought the storm was passing, but it feels even colder tonight,” she said, scooting closer to him.
Gendry’s arm went around her seemingly of its own accord, and she curled into him, bringing her knees up to her chest. She settled against his body and took in a deep, contented breath. It wasn’t like Arya to feel the cold, and Gendry hoped it wasn’t because she was getting sick. A tiny part of him wondered if she had simply wanted to be closer to him, but he tried to not to think too hard about it as he held her.
His fingers brushed up and down over her arm until he realised she was falling asleep. He pulled his arm back and gently lay her down. When her eyes flickered open, searching for him, he lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her, and pulled the blankets over them both.
Everything he’d been telling himself, every silent warning since he’d laid eyes on Arya again, was screaming at him that this was dangerous. One wrong move and they’d lose not only this newfound closeness, but any trace of friendship that remained. If this bridge burned, there was no way to rebuild it. And yet he realised he’d walk into the flames if he could hold her for a bit longer. Even if it was just for tonight.
—————————
Arya woke from a feverish dream, although the moment she opened her eyes, it slipped from her mind, unwilling to be recalled. She felt hot all over, and thought it must have been a really good dream, until she realised that the heat had a source, and he was cuddled up behind her with his arms pinning her in place. Gendry’s breathing was slow and steady, and the soft tickle of his breath on her neck made her feel both peaceful and electric.
She’d tried so hard, really she had. She’d been trying to resist doing something monumentally stupid yesterday. Every smile, every laugh, every quietly content moment between them had sent a jolt to her heart, but she’d ignored every flutter and pound, all day, determined to focus on learning to be his friend again. But by the time they were sitting by the fire, her resolve had run out. Her strength had wavered and she gave in to a foolish temptation.
Now, in the morning light, she had to face herself: She hadn’t been cold last night. She’d just needed him to hold her, needed to be touching him. Shrouded in snow and darkness, she wanted his warmth.
They’d had a perfect day, a perfect weekend. Arya didn’t want it to end. She wanted as much time as she could get to make sure this delicate thing between them wouldn’t break apart as soon as they left the cabin.
She knew, too, that a part of her wanted to stay here because she hoped, no matter how unlikely it was, that if they just had enough time away from the rest of the world, maybe they could grow into something more. But they were running out of time. She knew she had to be brave.
One sign from him and she’d let herself go. She’d give in to everything she’d felt this weekend, and long before. As badly as she’d wanted to have him as a friend again, she knew she’d give it all up if she thought she could have more. But she wouldn’t throw it all away for nothing; she’d only act if there was hope. She wasn’t stupid enough to lose him for no good reason. Not again.
Gendry stirred, and Arya could feel him slowly becoming aware of their position. She held her breath, waiting to see what he would do. She expected him to rear back when he realised, and she warned herself not to be disappointed.
He surprised her. Gendry stayed right where he was, pulling her closer, even. He settled his chin back into the crook of her neck and let out a quiet yawn. A wave of relief washed over her.
Arya looked over her shoulder at Gendry and smiled. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” He shifted then, moving backwards slightly and rolling Arya over so she was on her back. He bent his arm up under his head and looked at her, his other arm still resting on her hip, drawing little circles on her skin. She wasn’t even sure if he realised he was doing it.
“Looks like the storm has passed,” he said, glancing out the window. Sure enough, the early morning sun was twinkling in through the frosty windows, and Arya had been so wrapped up in the feeling of Gendry that she hadn’t even noticed.
“I can see why your family likes coming here,” he said, looking back at her. His eyes locked on hers. “There’s something magical about it.”
“We didn’t even get to enjoy all the magic!” she said, unable to keep the whine from her voice. She felt a sudden urge to promise Gendry that she’d bring him back another time so they could see it properly.
“There was plenty of magic.”
Arya was about to make a smart retort, but when his eyes remained on her, when they glanced down to her lips, when he leaned in, just a fraction…
The spark she’d tried so hard to ignore was fanned into a wildfire, burning her up. This was it. This moment was everything. She leaned forward, her eyes fluttering closed.
Then, like a thunderous explosion, a knock sounded at the door.
They both jumped back, Gendry’s eyes widening as his brain caught up with what was happening. Arya could only squeeze her eyes shut, willing the knock to have been in her mind so the two of them could return to where they’d been only a second ago. But when she opened her eyes, a sad, bitter look had taken over Gendry’s face.
“I’ll get it,” he mumbled, dragging himself out of their embrace, and their bed, and their white, marshmallowy bubble.
—————————
With his hand on the doorknob, Gendry took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that this was for the best. He’d woken up and found himself in the middle of a dream. It was better that reality come knocking before he let it carry him away. He opened the door and found that reality had chosen to take the form of a park ranger.
“Morning!” said the man, looking far too cheerful. “Just wanted to let you folks know that the weather is looking fine for the rest of the day and we should have the roads cleared in a few hours.”
Gendry rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to clear his head. The ranger thought he was telling Gendry good news, and to most people it would have been. But most people hadn’t just spent the best weekend of their lives with Arya Stark.
“Everyone made it through okay?” the man pressed on when Gendry gave no response. “No one here needs any help?”
“We’re both fine, thanks. Cheers for letting us know.”
“Alrighty then. You take care now.”
The weekend was over, the storm had passed, and once the roads were cleared there would be nothing keeping them at the cabin any longer.
But this was for the best, he told himself again. It was foolish to start something here that they couldn’t finish once they got back to the real world. If he was lucky, they’d find a way to pretend it never happened, and they could carry on with the friendship they’d been working so hard to mend.
When Gendry walked back into the living room, Arya was dressed and tidying the room. She seemed to be acting normally, which was a good sign. He approached her cautiously, not wanting to do any more damage than had already been done, but she came closer to him as he spoke.
“That was a ranger. They’ll have the roads clear in a few hour—”
Arya cut him off with a sudden kiss. Gendry responded instinctively, too surprised to do anything else. When she felt him react, Arya quickly deepened the kiss, her tongue dancing its way between his lips.
His arms wrapped around her small frame, pulling her as close to him as possible. His head spun, his stomach flipped, and he never wanted this to end. But after a moment, it did. Arya eased back, her forehead resting on his for a moment.
“Was that… okay?” she whispered, sounding unsure of how to interpret Gendry’s stunned silence.
“It was until you stopped,” he breathed as he lunged forward, meeting her lips again. He felt her smile against his mouth.
Eventually, painfully, he pulled back, searching her eyes for the answers to all the questions flooding his brain. All he could see in her eyes was a beautiful, vulnerable joy.
“I want this, Arya. Gods, I want this. I just…” He had to ask. He had to know what he was risking before he could let himself fall into her for good. “What about your family? I feel like they’re practically my family too, and I don’t want to lose them. I don’t want to lose any of you. What if… what if we do this, cross this line, and it doesn’t work out between us? I don’t think I could take it, Arya. Not now that I have you back in my life.”
She gave him the sweetest, most loving smile he’d ever seen. “I don’t have the answer for that. No one does. You just have to decide whether it’s worth it to you.”
Yes, he thought. You’re so worth it.
“And, as for my family, Gendry they love you. It’s not like it was with Theon, who was somewhat… notorious before he fell in love with Sansa. They like you and they trust you.” He smiled at this. Maybe Jon wouldn’t be so set on killing him for wanting to be with Arya.
“I know this might be a risk,” she said. “And I don’t want to lose you either. You’re my best friend, Gendry. Even when you weren’t in my life, there was no one else who could fill the space you left. It’d kill me to lose you again. But I just don’t feel like we can keep going the way we have. I want so much more.” Her voice broke.
“Gods, me too,” he said, surging forwards and capturing her lips with his.
After a minute and a lifetime, Arya broke away from the kiss with a breathy, disbelieving laugh. He held her, smiling into her hair, breathing her in. Slowly, she pulled him backwards, and he followed her, peppering her neck with kisses. When he realised she was leading him back to their temporary bed, he paused.
“Arya, is this… are you sure you want to do… that so soon?” He hadn’t waited for her this long to screw it up now.
“It’s not really soon though, is it?” she said. “This has been a long time coming, Gendry. I’ve waited for years, and I’ve waited all weekend. Don’t make me wait any more,” she said, her voice wavering slightly.
He moved closer to her, carefully. His fingers ghosted along the exposed skin where her sweater met her soft pants. He felt goosebumps rise along her waist, though he couldn’t be sure if it was from the cold in the air or from the heat of his touch.
He brought his lips to hers, brushing softly against her mouth before moving more greedily, hungry to taste her.
“This opens up so many possibilities,” Gendry mused.
“Like what?” Arya asked, sounding slightly confused.
“Well, I’m thinking we need to try strip Twister, for sure.”
Her answering giggle echoed through the cabin as they found the piece of themselves that had been missing for so long.