Author's Notes: This will be series of drabbles using the Soulmates Tattoo AU created by kenezbian that is going around on tumblr using characters from ASIOAF/GOT. Some will be set in a modern AU, others won't be. Pairings and characters will vary and more will be added as the drabbles are written. This one is focused on Gendry and Arya.

Disclaimer: Ha, like I own anything. I don't even own this idea.

it sure left its mark on us
part one

Gendry had been dreading this day since he first learned about the tale. He remembered watching his mother wash their clothes, wash other people's clothes, clean their houses, take out their trash – but what he remembered most were all the stories that she would tell him. People waking up on their eighteenth birthday with tattoos of their soulmate's first words to them – it was a thing of beauty or so his mother told him. She had no ink on her body to speak of. All she had was him.

"I don't need anyone else," she would tell him as she washed his hair or put him to bed if he ever inquisitively brought it up. "I have you, Gendry. You're all the love I need."

When she thought he wasn't looking though, he saw how worn down she looked, how downcast and dim her eyes were and the reds of her eyes, her red and calloused hands, and thinning and graying hair. He always told her that he loved her, but it wasn't what she needed or truly wanted, he knew.

She died when he was seven. Of cancer, he was told, but he knew better. She died of a broken, lonely heart.

So when Gendry woke up on his eighteenth birthday in the shoddy apartment he'd been renting since he was sixteen, he didn't want to look at himself. Somehow or another, he was able to shower, wash up, and put on his clothes without so much as glancing at his body. He went to the garage and avoided everyone's glances and telling looks. Working on cars took his mind off of everything and made him feel better. He could almost pretend that it was just another normal day and he may or may not have a soulmate. He didn't care. It didn't matter.

That was until his half sister Mya popped into the shop on his break. He was just doodling on a notepad and eating a ham and cheese sandwich when she burst into the room and said, "Okay, what's it say?"

Gendry jumped and gripped his pen so tightly that it broke in half and ink exploded all over him. "What the hell, Mya? You can't just come in here! Tobho–"

"Won't even know I'm here." Mya smiled all predatory-like. "Now show me."

"No," he told her firmly.

"C'mon, show me."

But Gendry shook his head. "No, Mya, I mean – I didn't even look."

"Show– What? You didn't even look?" Mya was not one to be shocked, but she genuinely looked and sounded incredulous. Her blue eyes widened and her eyebrows arched. Gendry gave her an abashed look and started to wave his hand in the air when Mya was suddenly on him, pulling on his shirt. "Let me see!"

"Mya, stop it, Mya!" Gendry fought with her, but she was relentless. He may have been bigger than her, but she was quicker, shoving up his sleeves and pulling his shirt up. He struggled, but she somehow managed to pull his shirt up so far that it was over his face and he couldn't see, his shouts awkwardly muffled by the clothing.

Finally, she let out a triumphant shout and stopped her assault. "Found it!"

Gendry felt a ridiculous wave of relief wash over him. He hadn't even realized how tense he'd been. He froze on the spot, closing his eyes from underneath his shirt and taking in a deep breath. "What does it say?"

Mya pulled his shirt down just enough so that he could look at her. There was an amused grin on her face. "It says, 'Watch where you're going, you stupid head,'" she told him, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

"Um…" Gendry scratched the back of his head. He slowly pulled his shirt back down. Mya stood up straight, her hands on her hips, looking at him smugly. Her tattoo was on her back, but the words had yet to be said. That didn't matter though. Just having the words gave her the peace. Now he understood why she felt the way she did. He wouldn't be alone, not like his mother, not like hers. "Right then."

"Sounds like your soulmate is a spitfire," Mya said as she started out the door. "Better watch out – or, I guess, not watch out."

Gendry threw a wad of paper at her, but she just laughed and shut the door, the wad bouncing off the door harmlessly. His sister could be a pain in the ass, but he loved her and knew that she meant well.

He went back to work and finished out the day. A few of the guys whistled at him as he was leaving, letting him know that Mya had let slip that he had the telltale tattoo, but he ignored them as he ran over to the gas station. All he wanted was a coke before he headed home and crashed for the night. It was pouring out, which was going to make riding his bike back home problematic, but he'd ridden in worse.

Right as he ran inside, he bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going, stupid head!"

Gendry blinked, staggering backwards. "I, uh…" He was still standing in the rain when he focused and spotted a girl standing before him. She was small, much smaller than him and even Mya. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a messy hair bun and she was wearing clothes that hung on her loosely. The one thing that stuck out to him was how young she looked. "Sorry, I just–"

"What's your problem?" the girl asked. "You're not slow, are you? You're just…standing there in the rain."

"I'm not… I'm not slow." Gendry stepped inside and shook some of the water out of his hair. "You just caught me off guard." He chewed on the inside, twirling it around in his head, but he knew that if he didn't say anything now, he would spend who knows how long agonizing over it. He held out his hand. "I'm Gendry, Gendry Waters."

The girl looked at him suspiciously for a second and then shook his hand, answering, "Arya Stark."

This time, Gendry nearly started choking. A Stark? She was a Stark? They were rich as hell and he was nowhere on their level. He ran his fingers through his hair. "What are you doing in this part of the area?"

"Look; just because I'm a Stark doesn't mean–"

Gendry threw his hands up in the air. "I didn't mean anything by that. I just– Well, it is a shady part of town. I've lived in this area my whole life and I figured I might as well not own a car after it got broken into once a week."

"You're a mechanic that doesn't own a car?"

"Yeah, I–" Gendry furrowed his brows. "Wait; how did you know I was a mechanic?"

Arya rolled her eyes. "The uniform kind of gives it away."

"Oh, right." Yeah, maybe he was a bit slow after the day's work. He stepped past her, heading in the direction of the cokes, feeling a little woozy and lost. What do you say when you've met the person that's destined to be your soulmate? "Well, I guess I'll, uh, see you around or something."

"Yeah, sure." Arya started to walk out the door.

Gendry spun around. "Wait – how old are you?"

Arya gave him a disgruntled look. "What kind of weird question is that? You're not one of those guys into young girls, are you?"

"What?" Gendry burned bright red and began to sputter. "I – no, I just – no–"

She just shook her head at him. Gendry had never been a great liar. He had a bad habit of blurting out the truth when it came to himself. When it came to other people's secrets, he'd keep those secrets to his grave. When it came to his own, well, he just never had any secrets to keep.

"I'm sixteen," she finally said.

And then it all clicked for him – why she hadn't reacted with shock or glee or anything. She was sixteen. She hadn't hit the age mark. She didn't have her tattoo yet. He'd never really thought about what it was like for people that met their soulmates before they were eighteen, but now he knew. Gods, the words tattooed on her were going to be, "I, uh, sorry, I just," and that was humiliating.

"You're a weird one, Gendry Waters," Arya said, a little smile on her face. "You know, my sister's car needs some repairing and I was planning on taking it to the shop we always go to, but maybe I'll come visit you."

"That'd be…" Gendry felt like his heart was pounding in his chest, the tattoo on his ribs burning. "Yeah, my boss would kill for some good business."

"I'll see you around." Arya waved once at him and then walked out the door but not out of his life.

The next two years were going to be weird and grueling and drive him up a wall, but it'd be worth it in the end. Maybe. Hopefully. Gods, Arya Stark was going to be the death of him, most like.