Arya and Jon's Reunion - Season 8

The Reunion

    Arya was walking across the empty halls of Winterfell, thinking, thinking about her family, back to when everything was simple in her young eyes.
   What if father never left? All it would have taken was one bloody word and the king would have ridden off to find someone else to help him rule the seven kingdoms!
What if her brother never dared start a war with the South?

    No, she can't think of that, not today. Today was the day her brother Jon was to come home, they had received a raven telling them he was arriving soon with the Targaryen Queen's army.

   Jon. Her brother. Oh, how she'd missed him, seven years of pain and hurt, and now she would finally see him again.

    She moved her fingers along the cold damp walls of her home. It's been more than a week since she arrived back in Winterfell, she saw Bran and Sansa again, she loved both dearly, yet, without Jon, it felt like nothing, like all that she'd gone through didn't matter.

   Not long after, she heard the horns being blown.

'He's here' she thought.

She walked quickly to the balcony, overlooking the courtyard. As the gates were being lifted she began worrying, 'What if he doesn't like what I've become?'
'What if he's disappointed in me?'
'What if he wants me to be a Lady like Sansa?!'

    No. This was her brother. He loved her immensely when they were young, he would still love her now. But even with her own reassurance she couldn't help but worry.

As the gates were fully opened she spotted a stunning young woman with ice-white hair and pale skin, her posture radiating confidence and power, 'She must be the Targaryen Queen' Arya thought.  But that thought was quickly forgotten as soon as she looked to the figure riding next to her. Arya froze. She felt a lump in her throat.

   It was him. It was Jon.

   He certainly looked different. He had a beard now, half his hair was pulled up into a bun but it was still as curly and wild as ever. His face looked more mature with little battle scars here and there.
   When he got off his horse she could see that he had grown taller but was still quite short.
   His eyes, however, hadn't changed, they were still sad, still burdened by that brooding look, and yet, they had lost the slight spark they used to have.  But he was still Jon, her Jon, and he was here.

    She wanted to jump on to him with all her strength but she couldn't, she wouldn't, not with all the Lords and Ladies staring at them.
Instead, she stood there, on the balcony, watching as Jon hugged Sansa and reunited with Bran. She watched him get led off into the main hall, but she could clearly see that he was looking for something, or someone to be exact, and she knew exactly who it was.

    She stayed on the balcony, eyes glued to the door leading to the main hall. She was waiting for her chance, whatever that would be.

   After about an hour the doors burst open and all the Lords and Ladies exited the hall, none of them looking too happy.

    Arya knew that was her cue to go. She walked into the hall with sweat practically dripping from her forehead. The usually calm persona she had perfected with the faceless men, slowly chipping away as she fumbled with her hands and readjusted her hair.

   When she entered she saw him leaning on the grand table, he was facing away from her and hadn't yet sensed her presence. Tears began to form in her eyes.

   "Jon", she managed to choke out.

   He spun around, clearly not expecting anyone to come see him.  He stared at her wide-eyed, for quite a while, as if she wasn't real and that he was just imagining her.

    After a few tense moments, Arya couldn't wait any longer. She ran to him as fast as she could and he met her halfway. They crashed into each other, Jon spun her around while she was still in his arms. Arya was crying her eyes out, she hadn't cried in a while, God how weak she must have looked. But she didn't care because she could hear Jon crying as well.

   "I thought you were dead," He huffed out, his voice was muffled as he buried his face further in her neck.

   "Me too," She said, breathing him in.

   Arya didn't let go. She didn't want to. She felt like if she did, he would disappear and she would never see him again.  But when some time passed they separated. He looked at her, tears staining his now red cheeks.

   "Gods you've grown since I last saw you," Jon told her.

   Arya just smiled. She couldn't stop even if she tried to. Jon looked her up and down and stopped at her side, his eyes grew wide and he smiled.

   "You kept it. After all this time you still have it."

   There it was, she saw it now, the spark in his eyes.

   Her hand automatically went and grabbed Needle's pommel.

   "Course I did! How else would I have been able to survive?" She grinned.

   "You learned how to wield it? Who taught you?" Jon asked her.

   "That's a long story", she said, looking down, "We have a lot of catching up to do."

   "Yes we do sister, but we have plenty of time for it," He said before ruffling her hair like he used to do to her when they were children.

   She just grinned at him. He smiled at her. And for once in a long time, they both felt at home.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it and if you didn't, if you have any suggestions on how I can improve I would greatly appreciate it! :D