It was mornings as peaceful as the following one, that Arya desperately needed in her life. Being a Sunday, Gendry had her promise the night before that she would spend the morning with him, for once not worrying about her studies. It had irked her at first, but now she was glad he had insisted.
There would be no alarm sounding today. She woke up to the soft rhythmic stroke of Gendry’s fingers on her bare back, as she lie on her stomach on the bed. She didn’t open her eyes, relishing in the soothing sensation. Every few minutes, he would take his hand away from her skin briefly, as she could hear the flutter of pages before he would resume his caresses. It was so peaceful, the light morning breeze filtering through the open window, the birds chirping in the distance, the peace of being with him.
When she was with Gendry, Arya could let her walls down. She could just be, without worrying of being vulnerable, without worrying of what he would think of her, because he saw her for what she was.
Sighing contentedly, she rolled on her back, facing Gendry and fluttering her eyes open. His hand moved softly on her breast instead, a smile on his face. “Good morning,” he murmured. He shut the book he was reading, setting it on the nightstand before he bent over her, placing a loving kiss on her lips.
NO FEATHERBED a.k.a the collection of my favorite gendrya fanfiction as of June 2020
Hello, fellow gendrya shippers! Please celebrate my birthday with me by reading one (or two, or twenty) of the fics below. All of them are absolutely beautifully-written, heart-warming breaking, in-character depiction of Arya and Gendry and I hope they will bring you as much joy as they did to me. Huge shout out to all the fic writers mentioned - I cannot be thankful enough for your contributions to this fandom. Also, if you have your own favorites/recommendiations, PLEASE leave them in the comments! The more great fics the better.
CANON UNIVERSE
Arya of the Thousand Days by DrHolland/// the official, canon ending of asoiaf, period. Also the greatest unfinished fic known to the humanity
The White and the Grey by crossingwinter // aka the smut we all deserve, kingsguad!gendry au
The Tourney of The Dawn by apolla// again, D&D can go fuck themselves. Great post-canon
all secrets sleep in winter clothes by wintersun // featuring nymeria as the best matchmaker north of the neck
No Featherbed For Me by vixleonard // epic fic, but they do marry other people, just a heads up
If the summer of our lives could just come again by TheDameintheRaininMaine // time travel fix-it, gendrya is NOT a main focus, but whenever they appear it’s absolutely adorable
The Return of the Wolf by Kittenshift17 // faceless woman!arya, one of the best gendrya fights i have ever read
Warrior, Maiden, Smith and its companion drabble by madaboutasoiaf // ned takes gendry with him to winterfell
Stranger by shinelikemillions AND you made a slow disaster out of me by i-revel-in-chaos // two version of the same beautifully heartbreaking ANGST
Like Wenda by Furious_Winter // outlaws au
Count Your Blessings, She’s Coming For You by akingdomofunicorns// reunion fic
Rain by therearenousernameleft// arranged marriage au
Bound by NRGburst // your name/ kimi no na wa au, lovely as HECK
Born in Fever by elephant_eyelash// wonderfully angsty. Arya and Gendry survive the winter in the North
for my wild by vixleonard// forge baby propaganda still going strong
A Dream of You by acornsandravens// the ‘dramatic love confession as she’s about to marry somone else’ fic you’ve been looking for
Dig by acornsandravens // pretend marriage smut, honestly, what more you can ask for
meet me in the afterglow by vixleonard// Arya grows up at the Crossroads Inn with Gendry and BwB. Just do yourself a favor and read this fic
The Tilt by acornsandravens// literally EVERYONE IS ALIVE AND HAPPY AU
i'll follow you (even by accident) by scrubclub// post-canon, time travel fic
At Storm's End a.k.a. the Uncleverse series by joinedunderprotest // gendrya growing family at Storm’s End
River children series by Space_Samurai // Arya marries Elmar Frey
Beyond The End by crossingwinter// Arya and Gendry go beyond the Wall to bring Bran home
Winter Storm by Kittenshift17 // arranged marriage au/Gendry is trueborn au
Winter Heat by Kittenshift17// as abover but in Winterfell
Encounters by jeeno2// AWESOME baseborn!Arya, prince!Gendry au
sword and smith by honey_wheeler// incredibly lovely first time fic
AU-s
i feel my pulse quickening (when your name lights up the screen) by JustATinyTurtle // a phone swap fic
manor/estate series by scrubclub// uptown girl au basically
Did it hurt? by scrubclub // superheroes/superpowers au
The Dating Game by scrubclub // matchmaking au, college au
re: weapons (and you) by scrubclub // historian!gendry and archeologist!arya
You’ve Got That Medicine I Need (Fame, Liquor, Love, Give It To Me Slowly) by akingdomofunicorns // band au
we can pretend that they don't know our name by scrubclub // forbidden romance au
Spoken in Haste by joinedunderprotest // regency era au
love, war, and a few things in between by scrubclub // absolutely delightful idiots to lovers hogwarts au
hope will put the colors in the sky by monroeslittle // forbidden romance au
took the long road by lightninginabottle0613 // the most beautiful roadtrip au you’ll ever read (+ the best sequel ever)
let me help by lightninginabottle0613 // friends to parents to lovers. HONESTLY.
maybe it's intuition by lightninginabottle0613 // dog-walking au, do i even need to say more?
The Stripper AU No One Asked For by crossingwinter // the title speaks for itself. EXCELLENT smut and way deeper than you may think
Six Feet Beneath the Moon by Dalzo // hogwarts au
arya, please by scrubclub // ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE falling in love in a record store au
Tell Me by Persuade_me // friends to lovers smut, god bless, honestly
Obligations by Persuade_me// modern royality arranged marriage au
to love with a rough abandon by Debate // the fairytale/red riding hood au that will make you SCREAM
the overstay by fictionsofthemind // the quarantine fic we all wanted/needed/deserved
what am I supposed to do? series by chasingforeverandaday // the robin hood au
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by acornsandravens// Hero and Leander au, Arya and Gendry meet on Braavos
oh, brother by scrubclub // blind date au
The Last Time by yanak324// THE BEST, THE MOST REALISTIC AND WELL-WRITTEN FRIENDS TO LOVERS TO STRANGERS TO LOVERS YOU’LL EVER READ
the trouble with secrets by yanak324// adorable bffs to lovers au
you undid me like a fairy tale by yanak324// god bless, we stan ned dayne in this house
love on the brain series by yanak324// a collection of modern au drabbles
Fall by crossingwinter// god, i love this story so much. It’s so good and so important and just... go read it pls
Dream Until Your Dreams Come True by crossingwinter// soulmates au/university au
different types of friends by Debate// Hot Pie being the Oblivious Pie
A Bad Oak Tree by crossingwinter// coffee shop au
autumn again by crossingwinter// the most in-character discussion of marriage ever
David and Goliath by honey_wheeler// size differences ;)
Gendry has been hiding in plain sight for three years. Smithing. Biding his time. Alone. Someone is about to find him and set him on a new path to familiar faces *or* Gendry finds out Arya is alive and they start a new journey together.
Sliding to the door on her socks Arya just barely managed to grab the doorknob before Rickon did. He groaned and she stuck her tongue out at him before opening the door just wide enough for her to slip outside, keeping a tight grip on the knob so that Rickon couldn’t swing it open behind her.
“Hey!” she said brightly, turning to smile at Gendry before she caught sight of what he was wearing and her face and her stomach dropped in horror. “I thought you wanted my family to like you.”
Gendry frowned at her before he looked down at himself. Clean jean (no oil stains he’d triple checked this morning), red plaid flannel shirt, clean work boots. He couldn’t see anything out of place so he didn’t understand why Arya was staring at him like he’d shown up looking like he had just been the star of Carrie.
“Take off that shirt.” she hissed, before looking over her shoulder to make sure they were well hidden from sight by the windows on either side of the door. She knew Rickon had to be peeking out at them and he had surely seen the offensiveness of Gendry’s outfit but Rickon’s silence was the easiest to buy of their siblings.
“Why?” Gendry asked in confusion, running his hand down the front of the garment in question. It wasn’t that wrinkled, he’d hung it in the bathroom while he showered and most of the wrinkles had fallen away.
“If Robb sees you...” Arya trailed off into silence, the thought to terrible too give a voice to. She let go of the doorknob to all but throw herself at Gendry, her fingers going for the buttons on his shirt even as Gendry rose his hands and backed away to try to fend her off.
“Arya what the Seven Hells are you doing?” Gendry asked in confusion, darting glances at the door certain it was going to open at any moment and her very important father was going to ask why his daughter was undressing her much older boyfriend on his front porch.
“You’re wearing red!” Arya snapped, succeeding in getting the top button undone. She breathed a sigh of relief to see the collar of Gendry’s white t-shirt beneath the horrible red shirt.
“So?” Gendry asked in confusion as he stepped backwards onto the stairs and had to grab the railing to prevent himself from falling onto his ass. Arya used his distraction to attack his buttons again. “I thought your family were wolves not bulls.”
“That’s the point!” Arya hissed as Gendry regained his footing and started rebuttoning the three buttons she had gotten undone in his distraction. “The Direwolves play the Lions today and you are wearing the wrong color.”
A startled laugh bubbled out of Gendry at that. He loved rugby as much as anybody but the only team he was truly wild for was the small minor league team that recruited solely from Flea Bottom. The majors weren’t as interesting to him so he didn’t really follow them. Sure, he watched the games if they were on at the bar but he never understood how obsessed some people could get.
“What does that really matter Arya?” Gendry asked, finally managing to catch her hands in his to stop her frantic pawing at his chest. With him standing on the steps they were eye level for once and he could see the pure horror in her eyes. He rose his eyebrows at her before shrugging. It was just a shirt. He could meet her family in a t-shirt if it stopped her from looking like that. “If it means that much I’ll take it off.”
Arya watched gratefully as Gendry dropped her hands and reached for the buttons of his apparently very poor decision shirt when the front door flung open.
“See!” Rickon cried defensively and Arya closed her eyes and cursed. How easy he turned on them all.
“Arya what the fu-” Robb began angrily and Arya met Gendry’s suddenly terrified eyes with a sigh as the sudden shouting from the door became indecipherable as her siblings all tried to yell over each other.
“Everybody shut up!” she yelled, whirling around to glare at them all and reaching behind her to grip Gendry’s hand tightly. He stepped up onto the porch beside her and got a barbaric surge of satisfaction that everyone had to crane their necks up to glare at him as he did so.
“There’s something you should know.” Arya took a deep breath and Gendry shot her a panicked look from the corner of his eye. They’d agreed not to break this news until after dinner. She squeezed his hand reassuringly before saying calmly, “Gendry is a Lions fan.”
Gendry rose his eyebrows at her in confusion and she met his eyes with a shrug while her family fell to pieces in front of her, shouting about betrayal and how they would never forgive her and how they couldn’t believe she had worse taste in men than Sansa. Compared to the fuss they kicked up about Gendry’s apparent rugby team alliance telling them about the baby went quite smoothly.
Arya’s family wasn’t very quick to accept Gendry into the fold and he had a feeling it didn’t have very much to do with him impregnating Arya out of wedlock and then not marrying her even after she had the baby. He’d offered but she said she didn’t need a ring to know he loved her. No, Gendry was pretty sure their coldness to him had more to do with him supposedly being a Lions fan.
Gendry said he could just start wearing Direwolves colors and tell her family he’d had a change of alliance but Arya insisted that would be worse, they would think he was lying to appease them or worse that his loyalty was so easily shifted. They came up with a plan that slowly he would start making comments on the Direwolves playing, complaining about the Lions defense strategies at family dinners. Slowly plant the seeds of dissent so when he started rooting for the Direwolves her family would feel vindicated but not like they were being pandered too.
It would have worked too if they hadn’t let their daughter pick out her outfit for her third birthday party. Gendry had been standing by the grill with Robb having an actual decent conversation about the Direwolves game the night before when Nim ran up to them and did a twirl so they could see the way her puffy dressed billowed out around her. Gendry swallowed hard and silently cursed himself for not throwing it out when Mya sent it to her for Christmas. He should have known it would cause him nothing but trouble.
“Like my dress Daddy?” Nim asked sweetly, holding the puffy red tulle of the skirt out with one hand and running her hand affectionately over the printed lion across the front.
Gendry swallowed dryly before nodding once. “Very pretty.”
She smiled at him before running to show her grandma the dress and Gendry downed the rest of his beer before he dared to meet Robb’s eyes.
Robb glowered at him before speaking through clenched teeth. “You’re raising my niece to be a Lions fan?”
Robb didn’t speak to Gendry for eight months after that.
One of my biggest issues with season 8 is that it was so rushed that many scenes of important character dialogue and reflection had to be cut. Therefore I’ve complied a list of canon-compliant cut-scenes or outright fix-its for various episodes. The scenes we deserved to see but were robbed of.
** Last Updated 6/1/19 **
7x06
A Long Time, Indeed by The_RedQueen_Supremacy
The Million And One Ways Arya Could (Should) Have Been Mentioned by SecondFromTheRight
7x07
By Your Side by sanctuary_for_all
My Lady by sanctuary_for_all
The Blacksmith's Assassin by Caenea
Winter Is Here by faithisbrokenn
Winter's Song by GaboBlue1004
8x01
This is my wish by crazychipmunk
A Portentous Reunion? by LME
arrival by Val_Creative
8x02
And Have Only Memories On Which To Depend by bethgreenesgf
looking up for heaven (waiting to be buried) by akingdomofunicorns
hold me in this wild, wild world by akingdomofunicorns
Today by SecondFromTheRight
The Wolf and the Stag by AGirlHas_NoOne
a steady place to lay down my defenses (loving you had consequences) by mariposaroja
You Belong to Me by therearenousernameleft
what little time we have left by aryasreys
8x03
The Power in a Name by Youmightdietrying
the aches that linger afterwards by madeofstarsandfanfics
Beneath The Weirwood by SecondFromTheRight
In The Dark by SecondFromTheRight
So Be With Me by Slytherin_Princess_Nysa
These Cold Stones Keep Our Stories by Fireway
This isn't Goodbye by crtkelly_writes
8x04
Somewhere Between, The Truth Lies by thotiana
Let the Good Things Last by Milaley
Before the Weirwood by ariannenymerosmartell (somethingmoo)
She Loved Him And He Loved Her by SecondFromTheRight
You'd Be My Lady by Opal_Butterfly
The World is Yours and Mine by stagaawolf
Your Equal by AmberStripez
If you're not with me by cassiemortmain
No Parting Glances by balios_and_xanthos
Not a fighter by sadplant
8x05
Make Our Own Way by Journalist298
hellscape by julesmpm
the fury by nymja
Somewhere I Have Never Traveled by thesunflowermachine
A Crown Of Golden Leaves by maize_onice
tremble by julesmpm
A Change of Heart by elbell3618
hallowed, but hesitated by PleaseDontGetMeRescued
And Indeed There Will Be Time by FrostedGemstones22
what happened in winterfell by imnotalady
Life or Death by alovelikeher
8x05 - Arya Leaves King’s Landing and Heads to Storm’s End
Choosing by HeavenlyDisaster
Lord and Lady of Storm's End by klarolinedrabbles
Fated Reunions by ronny_of_yore
And Arya Stark Chose to Live by Purple_Slippers_18
A Compromise by tabbytabbytabby
never leave well enough alone by charleybradburies
hellscape by julesmpm
The Beginning Of Hope by itsinthestars
The Many-Faced God Answers None by irishwoodkern
winters fall, storms end by ADaftMyriad
8x06 - The Dragon Pit Scene
Instinct. Habit. by SecondFromTheRight
Be With Me, Forest Love by capricopia3
Ends The Same Way by SecondFromTheRight
Honor by MeltedFlames
the way she shows me i'm hers, and she is mine by aliensroutthere
She Chose Life by WordsDontMeanShit
Make Our Own Way by Journalist298
8x06 - Goodbye Scene
Sailing Away by tabbytabbytabby
The Long Way Around by SecondFromTheRight
The Bad Kind by trufaxx
Dockside Romance by ronny_of_yore
by my side (you'll never be) by laultimastark
Treats You Kind by freelancejouster
i can't arrest the sun (but i am trying) by yanak324
Stupid Bull by pollyweaster
time and tide (will set her free) by purplemechanics
That's not me by StrangelyInnocent
all of our aching by olivemartini
Holding On and Letting Go by Swan
if i could do it all again (i know i'd go back to you) by miladys
the sun was shining on the sea by woodswanderer
With Me by LynyrdLionheart
8x06 - Gendry’s on the Ship
anywhere she goes by charleybradburies
Sun Chaser by wildechilde17
Sneaking by MissIves
Starlight by benofie
Sea Sick by thestarkbitchtumblr
when you move, i move by natalia17
when I'm with you by sunflowerjohnny
Love is the Ocean with You by crossingwinter
Sail the Western Waters by VarjoRuusu
To The End of The Earth by Crumpets
Post Season 8 - Reunion
Somewhere in the Middle by sneetchstar
been waiting for you by stilinskitrash
The Longer the Waiting by CravingHoneydukes
Time to face the Bull by RoziCanuti
Home of Our Making by missmissa85
Hello, my love. by catbug45
Westward to More by rowetheboat
going home by ellcxm6
Redemption by LME
The long way Round by Syrse
Are You Nobody Too? by whowhatsitwhich
i'd catch you if you fall by hollyhobbit101
How To Be Us by Violet_Eyes_and_Candlelight
To Temper Steel by NRGburst
Birds of a feather, wolves who run together by wmthackeray
The East Winds Whispered Your Name by Fireway
a cry at the final breath that is drawn by actualbluesargent
No Walls by HeavenlyDisaster
how can anybody have you and lose you (and not lose their minds, too)? by lavenderflower
letters he cannot read by youheldyourbreath
when everything is made to be broken (i just want you to know who i am) by rosemargaerys
Shifting Tides by elbell3618
the time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things by woodswanderer
what the sea gives (it can take away) by NaomiGnome
The sea that calls you home by cassiopiea
we have begun to heal by olivemartini
At Storm's End by 5hines_writes
our hearts buried deep by Val_Creative
Surprises come in all shapes and sizes by Koolnitchbitch
Come Back to Me and Say My Land Is Best by Draco_sollicitus
The Pack Survives by freyjaschariot
Exhale by elleisforlovee
Home by questioningconstellations
West of Westeros by MadamPuddifoot
A Featherbed Fit For Me by ASwornStark
Love Can Kill by PrincessAmericaChavez
Winters End by mssarahx
A Soft Epilogue by BeStillMySlashyHeart
And it's been a while (but I still feel the same) by sanstarcks
Lady's Bane by benofie
Vindication by MeltedFlames
What lies in Westeros by helgaslifehacks
Like Rations and Taxes (and Forks) by joinedunderprotest
Hello, Love by Slytherin_Princess_Nysa
lady of my heart. by AlwaysInSonder
Post Season 8 - Future Fic: Established Relationship
i hope you like this!! prompt: gendry follows arya after she leaves winterfell
“I could hear you cursing half a league away,” Arya says, not turning around to look at her follower. “If you intend to follow me to King’s Landing, you better learn how to ride a horse.”
Gendry struggles to reach her, but is able to keep her pace with his horse when he finally does. “I’m better than I used to be,” he argues.
“That doesn’t mean you’re any good at it.” Gendry shrugs beside her. “How did you know how to find me?”
“I just did,” he admits. “I know you and I remember your list from when we were children. Cersei was always on it. And she’s still alive.”
“You should return,” Arya says and Gendry looks to her face, but she is as stoic as usual. Her face gives nothing away, but the waver in her voice was hard to miss when he had spent the last week memorizing her.
“Why?”
“There’s no place for you with me.”
“You’re wrong,” Gendry sighs. He knows now that he should have waited to propose to her. He never fared well after he drank, but he finally had something that he could have offered to Arya.
Arya doesn’t speak for a long time, and Gendry lets her. She hadn’t sent him away directly yet, and he intended to stay with her until she did.
“I intend to kill the Queen.”
“I know.”
“I don’t intend to live.” Her voice doesn’t waver, doesn’t give any clue that she’s scared, and Gendry wants to sob for her. She had never been scared of anything, even when it seemed she was half her current size, and now she didn’t even fear death itself. She had told him that before the battle, but he had hoped she was only bluffing. The dragonglass she stabbed in the Night King’s belly had proved his hope wrong. Arya wasn’t afraid. She would die for her family.
“I know,” he chokes out.
“Then why are you still here?” She snaps, finally turning to look at him. Her eyes flame with something for a moment, but she shuts it off before he can study her. It wasn’t anger, but it was something else.
“I wanted to keep you company,” he says. “Nobody should travel to their death alone.”
“What do you expect to do?”
Gendry shrugs. “Whatever you need me to do. I can help. I can keep watch while you sleep, and I can settle the horses while you hunt. I can build a fire.”
Arya gives him the smallest of smiles. “Will you keep me warm at night?” She raises her eyebrow and heat floods Gendry’s cheeks. He had thought about keeping her warm again since before his botched proposal, but never with the thought that he would get the chance to do it again.
“If you would like me to,” he swallows thickly.
Arya nods and turns to look ahead of her horse again.
“What else?” She asks.
“I could tend to your wounds.” Her head had not yet healed, and neither had the bruising around her neck. He couldn’t do anything for the marks, though. Arya stays silent. She might have been thinking of the new wounds she could obtain on her hunt for Cersei Lannister’s blood. He didn’t want her to think about that. “And look pretty,” he quips. He had seen the way she eyed him as he worked before the battle and thinks that it wouldn’t be so bad for her to look at him like that again.
“You would tend my wounds and keep me warm and look pretty?” Gendry nods. A small smiles pulls at her lips as she muses, “I suppose that would make you my lady, then.” She turns to look at him again and grins.
“I suppose it would,” Gendry grins back. He would take anything Arya was willing to give. He just wanted to be by her side through it all.
