The Stag and The Frog - (GendryxMeera GOT fanfic) Part 1: Alone

43: I can be your family

A storm was raging. Rain was pouring. Wind was blowing. Thunder was roaring. Lightning was flashing.

The Stormlands were certainly living up their name that night. And yet the storm was not what would be remembered. Not by Lord Gendry Baratheon and Lady Meera Reed.

Because this was the night when they would see each other again. This was the night when an important question was asked. This was the night when forever started.

***

Gendry sat in the forge of his castle. Unable to sleep in his too big bed. Lost in his own thoughts. Thoughts of the troubles brewing in the kingdom. Thoughts of the wars and struggles that were to come. Because they would come, he was certain of it. The king would make sure of it. But the familiar surroundings of the forge calmed him.

And he thought of Meera. He missed her. He longed for her. There was an empty void inside of him where she should be.

He wanted to see her again, but he also dreaded it. Because next time would be the last. Then he would have to let her go. Forever.

And he didn't want to. He never wanted to let go. He wanted to be with her. Forever.

***

Meera rode on the King's Road leading to Storm's End. His castle. The tower of the castle could be seen in the distance.

She had been traveling since the day before, all through the night and now into the next day. She was exhausted. She was hungry. She was soaked by the rain. But none of that mattered because she was almost there. With him.

She would see him again. She would hold him. She would kiss him. She would be with him. Forever.

***

The sound outside of the drawbridge being lowered was almost drenched by the pouring rain, but Gendry still heard it. And he went outside to see what was going on.

And there she suddenly stood. Meera.

Here clothes drenched from the rain. Her hair plastered to her face. Her lips blue from the cold. The most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

"Gendry!" she called out.

"Meera!" he responded.

Suddenly she was in his arms. Where she belonged. Where she fit so perfectly. Where she should always be.

***

Meera buried her face in Gendry's chest. His arms were tight around her and he leaned down to kiss her wet hair.

Around them, the rain was still pouring. The thunder was roaring. The lightning was flashing. But it didn't matter. Only they mattered.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I need your help," she said.

"Of course, I will help you," he said. "You know I will."

She looked up at his beautiful blue eyes. Those eyes that made her feel like she mattered. It felt so familiar, so safe, so right. She knew when looking at him that what she had decided to do was right. She would step into the storm because she knew it would embrace her, take care of her, love her.

"Let's get you out of the rain," he said.

He took her hand and led her into the forge. He looked so comfortable in there. She had only known him as Lord Gendry Baratheon but she saw now the man he used to be. When he was Gendry the bastard blacksmith. She wanted to know that man. She wanted to know his struggles. She wanted to know where he came from.