Gendry and Devan stood atop the tower of Storm's End looking down towards the sapphire-colored water that surrounded the island of Tarth. They saw the Dornish ships attacking the enemy ships. They were soon victorious. In a rain of canon calls and fire, the Iron fleet went down. Coloring the waters black and orange before turning back to blue.

"So I did the right thing. At least concerning my duties to protect Tarth," Gendry said. "I just hope I didn't give up too much to the Queen of Dorne."

"We'll deal with that another day, Lord Baratheon," Devan replied. "Just like we dealt with this."

"I just hope that day doesn't come."

But that day would come. On the worst possible day. On a day when Gendry would definitely not want to fight any battles. On the day when his first child was born.

"So I guess the people from the island are going home again now?" Devan asked.

Devan looked concerned and Gendry knew why. Devan was never discrete about his emotions, or about anything really. It was obvious that Devan was very fond of Lady Brynda of Tarth. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her since he arrived back from Tarth.

"They will need to rebuild and reinforce on the island," Gendry replied. "So I think it's safer if they stay here a while longer."

"Good," Devan replied with a look of relief on his face. "I mean, I wouldn't want them to go back before it's safe."

"I figured that would please you since it means Lady Brynda will be here for a while longer."

Devan looked over at Gendry in surprise.

"Oh, so you know?"

"I mean... if it was supposed to be a secret you're not exactly hiding it very well. You're practically following her around everywhere."

Devan sighed and looked guilty. Then he slumped down against the outer wall of the tower, sitting down with his back against it. Looking a lot like the little kid he almost still was.

"Gendry, can I talk to you about something?" he said with a serious look on his face. Devan almost never looked serious.

"Since you're calling me Gendry, I assume this is not an official matter," Gendry replied and sat down next to Devan. He patted Devan's knee as he sat down.

"No, I need to talk to you as my friend and brother," Devan replied while fiddling with the buttons on his jacket. Whatever he needed to talk about seemed to make him nervous.

"Then I will reply as the same."

Devan looked over at Gendry with a nervous smile on his face. Then he confessed.

"I... laid with her last night. Lady Brynda."

"Dev...I guess I should be happy for you as that means she must like you too. But you need to be careful. If her family finds out what you two have been up to you might never get to see her again. "

"That's what my mother would say too... She's very concerned about me siring bastards."

"I guess I should be offended about that, seeing as I am one. But most bastards aren't as lucky as me. Your mother is right to be concerned. How the hell did you and Brynda manage to sneak past Marya into your bedroom anyway? She's been on you two as a hawk."

"We weren't in my bedroom."

"So where were you hiding from your mother then?"

"In your bedroom... My mother would never dare to go in there, you're the lord of the castle."

Gendry gave Devan a light slap on the arm. Devan didn't care much about social boundaries but this was a bit much even for him. Apparently Brynda and he fit great together though as she didn't seem to have cared either.

"Really, Dev? My bedroom? I need to start locking my damn door..."

"Your door doesn't have a lock."

Why didn't that door have a lock? A lord's bedroom really should have a lock. Had Tyrek had it removed from the door for some reason? Because surely his uncle Renly would have had a lock on the door, considering the rumors going around about who he liked to lay with.

"Well, I really need to get a lock then... so you and Lady Brynda laid with each other on my bed?"

"Not on the bed, on the couch."

This revelation earned Devan another slap on the arm.

"Dammit, Dev! I liked that couch. And where was I while all of this was happening?"

"You were asleep."

When you thought this story couldn't get worse... Gendry must have been fast asleep as he had no recollection of any of this. Devan, who always was a very boisterous person, had apparently for once managed to be quiet. In a situation where most people weren't quiet at all.

Gendry slapped Devan on the arm again, this time a bit harder. He deserved it.

"What the fuck Dev! I was actually in my room?"

"I figured you wouldn't mind. You brought Lady Reed to our tent when I was asleep."

"Well I didn't lay with her, and I don't remember you being asleep during that anyway."

"You wanted to lay with her though."

"I did. But I can control myself... unlike you apparently."

"It was my first time..."

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or appalled that you chose to lose your virginity on my couch while I was asleep right next to you..."

Gendry was mostly appalled. But not really surprised. Devan had astoundingly little understanding of personal boundaries.

"It just kinda happened. I never know what to say when I'm with her and then she just kisses me and I don't know what happens after that..."

"So you've finally found someone who can shut you up then? I guess that's a good thing."

"I've never met anyone like her. She doesn't put up with any of my crap."

"Lord Penrose doesn't either, but you don't try to lay with him..."

"I'm serious, Gendry. When I'm with her it's different. She takes me seriously, even when I'm a moron. I think I want to marry her. But I'm just the son of a knight and she's a lady."

"There's always something standing in your way... that's my experience at least."

"You're a lord, what could stand in your way?"

"Do you really forget that easily, Dev? Have you forgotten who I am and where I come from? I was just a bastard blacksmith in love with a lady not long ago. A lady I couldn't have."

"This was before Lady Reed?"

"Yes, this was before I met Meera. Another lady."

"And what happened?"

"I was made a lord... and the first thing I did was to propose to her. And she said no. Being a lord wasn't the answer. She didn't love me more than freedom. And I didn't love her more than duty and family. So we walked different paths. We weren't meant to be, I realize that now. We would never make each other happy."

"I think me and Brynda would make each other happy. Although I don't know if she feels the same."

"Any girl would be lucky to have you Dev, even though you are a moron at times. And obviously she likes you well enough to agree to let you take her on the couch of my bedroom. So I think she might want you."

"I hope so."

"If you really love her you shouldn't let anything stop you. You are the son of a knight, it's not unheard of knights marrying into nobility. You certainly have a better shot than I had as a bastard blacksmith. Talk to your mother, Dev. Marya might be able to help you. Because if I know her right there is nothing in this world she can't accomplish. Especially for her sons."

Devan looked appalled at the thought of talking to his mother about his love life.

"My mother?"

"Yes, your mother. Just don't tell her what you did on my couch..."

They sat there quietly for a little while. Pondering life and love.

"You know you can't wait for her forever?" Devan suddenly said.

"Who? What you mean?"

"Lady Reed. I know that's why you keep shutting down all talk of marriage proposals. You can't let her go."

"I guess I'm not being very discrete either... As I said, there's always something standing in your way. Even when you're a lord. I can't ask her to give up her lands or her name. And I can't give up mine. But I can't let her go either..."

"You're that taken with her?"

Gendry nodded.

"She's just... everything. She makes me feel like I can do anything. Nothing else matters when I'm with her."

"And she feels the same?"

"I believe she does. When I look into her eyes I see it. When I touch her I feel it. Something that I can't describe. Something only we can experience. There's like a fire is starting inside me every time I'm close to her."

"You wish you could marry her?"

"Of course I do. I would get down on my knee in front of her without hesitation if I could. I would do anything to be able to do that. Except for the one thing I would have to do. But I will still wait for her. Because she promised me we would see each other again. And I believed her. I can't let go until we have."

"So you will wait for her?"

"I won't wait forever. But I will wait until I see her again."

Devan put his hand on Gendry's shoulder. Being with the person you loved never seemed to be easy in this world. Regardless of if you were a lord, a bastard, or the son of a knight.

***

"Mother, can I talk to you?"

Marya Seaworth stood in the pantry of the kitchen doing inventory when her son Devan approached her. He looked very guilty, so she figured he needed to confess something dumb that he had done. Devan always did dumb stuff.

"What have you done now, son?" she said. "I probably need to sit down for this."

She sat down on the stairs to the pantry and patted on the stair next to her for her son to sit down.

"I haven't done anything," Devan said as they sat down. "I mean I have, but I shouldn't tell you about it..."

Marya was a smart woman, and her husband wasn't stupid either. So how had this boy turned out so dumb? Devan actually seemed dumber than usual today though, probably because his head was clouded by that girl from Tarth. At least his brother Stannis seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, and he had not shown any interest in girls yet.

"If there's something you shouldn't tell me, Devan, you probably shouldn't tell me about it... " she said and sighed ."And I don't think I want to know what it is. I don't want to hear about you bedding Lady Brynda  in some hidden corner of the castle."

"Not, it wasn't in a corner. It was in Lord Baratheon's bedroom."

Mary slapped Devan lightly in the back of the head.

"Why are you telling me this son? And why did you do it in the first place? No, please don't tell me. I don't want to hear about your urges."

Devan had a sad look on his face as his mother berated him.

"I want to marry her, mother. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, at least you're trying to be honorable... You should have thought about that before your urges took hold of you."

"But she's a lady and I'm just the son of a knight. I wouldn't be good enough for her. Her family would never let me."

"That's true. Although it's not unheard of for children of landed knights to marry into nobility."

"So what can I do?"

"You shouldn't do anything. You especially shouldn't bed her again. Keep your hands, and other body parts, away from that girl. I mean it, son. If she becomes with child her family won't respect you. They might marry her off to someone else to salvage her honor and you would never see her or your child again. I don't want that for you."

"I won't. I promise, mother."

"Good. Then I will do something. I will write to your father. He knows Brynda's cousin Brienne, maybe she can talk to Lord Selwyn on your behalf. To vouch for our family."

"I would have to wait though, I can't wait that long!"

"What do you know about waiting, son? I waited for ten years to marry your father. They said I would die an old maid, that I would never have children because I waited too long. We were just young poor kids in King's Landing when we met. Then he left to find fortune elsewhere. He became a smuggler and was gone for many years. But I waited for him, and when he came back he was a knight with a castle waiting for us. I still wait for him most of the time though... he goes away but he always comes back. But if I could wait for him you can wait for a bit too, Devan."

"I guess I can... I do really want to be with her."

"I can tell that you do, son. Maybe your father will earn himself a lordship one day. He's an advisor to the king after all. And you're his oldest son, you would be his heir."

"But I'm not really his oldest son, mother. And you know I would give anything not to be... I would do anything to have Mathos back."

Suddenly Devan looked very serious and sad. And when Devan looked serious, which he rarely did, he looked so much like his brother. Marya had to take a deep breath to stop the tears from welling up at the thought of the son who she had lost. The son who would always be the oldest.

She put her arm around her Devan's shoulder and pulled him towards her.

"I know that, Dev, " she said. "I know."

She stroked his hair lightly as she embraced him. Taking the opportunity to make it look less like a bird's nest.

"Are you hungry, son?" Marya asked as she released her grip on his shoulder. "I think there might be some meat stew leftover from earlier."

Devan's face lit up at the mention of food.

"I'm starving as always!"

Marya handed her son a bowl of stew and watched him devour it quickly. Devan still looked so much like a child sometimes, and yet he was apparently old enough to get married. Somehow that reality hadn't hit Marya until now. Although he would have to wait.

Devan would have to wait, and Gendry would have to wait. Because love was never easy in this world. Love was never fair. But love was always worth waiting for. And one of them wouldn't have to wait much longer.