Gendry realizes something about Arya has been changing right under his nose. Showverse prior to meeting up with the Brotherhood.

They'd been walking through the woods since sun-up and were fighting exhaustion at this point. They all had trouble sleeping at night, thanks to the wolves' constant howling, and they were half-starved and dehydrated. They kept moving because they reckoned traveling and dying was preferable to sitting still and dying; at least their chances of dying slowly by starvation, dehydration, or mauling by wild animal were smaller than quick deaths by Lannister steel if they kept moving north.

Gendry was ahead of the others, with Arya following and Hot Pie behind her, wheezing as their trek took them slightly uphill. Gendry and Arya reached the top of the hill together and waited for Hot Pie to catch up.

"Do you hear that?" Arya asked, gaze flitting around the trees, hand edging toward Needle.

"I can't hear a damn thing over his breathing," Gendry said grudgingly, throwing Hot Pie a withering look. As he turned his head back to scout the forest, he caught a glimpse of something moving through the trees, a soft clacking sound preceding it.

"Get back," Gendry hissed, pulling Arya's arm until she was behind him, shielding her by throwing an arm across her chest, holding her in place. A large tree was hiding them from view, and Gendry peeked around the trunk to watch a wagon wheel by. It was pulled by a single horse and driven by only one man. His wagon was loaded down with wine barrels. Probably headed for King's Landing, Gendry surmised.

As the wagon rattled on down the dirt path and out of sight, Gendry turned back to his companions. Hot Pie had thrown himself to the ground and covered his head with his hands when Gendry had demanded they hide. He was slowly lifting himself up, his shirt front covered in leaves and dirt. Arya pushed Gendry's arm away. He felt himself flush, heat rising in his neck, as he realized he'd been touching her chest.

They stopped to rest afterwards. They'd found a small creek where they drank until their bellies ached, and Arya insisted she be allowed to bathe. Gendry and Hot Pie rested on a fallen log while Arya squatted at the water's edge, stripped off her tunic and shirt, and rubbed water under her armpits and into her hair.

"I don't know why she has to stop to bathe," Hot Pie mumbled. "She's just going to get filthy and smelly all over again."

Gendry gave him a good shove in the arm. "She's a lady, you idiot. It's not like you don't need a bath, too. You smell like shit," he laughed.

Hot Pie waddled off to piss, grumbling as he went, and Gendry took the opportunity to glance over his shoulder at the girl. Her back was to him, but he could see the soft swell of a budding breast under her raised arm. Her waist was not as stick-straight and narrow as it had been when they first left King's Landing; he could see the smallest curve beginning to form under her ribs. He thought back to earlier, his arm resting across her chest, the softness against his forearm. She may have looked like a boy when they first met, but if they were still traveling with Yoren, she wouldn't have been able to keep up the charade for much longer. Her slow changes could be easily hidden beneath her leather jerkin, but she couldn't hide it forever.

Hot Pie stumbled back into the little clearing, slipping on dry leaves as he came. Gendry jerked his attention back to his much more male companion, face flushing once more. It wouldn't do for him to get caught staring at Arya while she was only half-dressed. Not only was she a high-born lady, but he was fairly sure she'd run him through with Needle if she knew.