Chapter Text
Gendry
Jon had called him just before he was getting into his car and begged him to pick up Arya from school in his stead. He had a very bad excuse at that, too. Something about a girl, he hadn’t bothered to listen too closely. Apparently she was a very hot ginger and Jon couldn’t pick up his little sister because of her. It wasn’t too far away and they were all meeting at the Stark’s house later that evening anyway, so he didn’t have a problem and if he was being completely honest with himself… At least it wasn’t Sansa he was picking up. The girl spoke non-stop, twenty-four hours a day.
He had sent a message to Arya as soon as Jon had hung up and got to the school a bit early so he parked outside and waited, watching the teenagers gawk at his car. Not that he minded, seeing as he had spent quite some time and money on it. Turning up his stereo he stretched back and kept his eyes on the big doors of the school.
When the kids started pouring out, he managed to spot Arya fast even though she was small. He didn’t see her in her uniform often, since she put boy’s clothes on as soon as she was out of school and he decided she looked cute, walking with one hand holding her bag and the other holding a paper. He was willing to bet it was a detention note or a warning of some kind. Then Gendry noticed her face as she stared at two girls who were shouting and gesticulating rudely towards her. Gendry frowned and stepped out of his car, leaning on it and trying to catch some of the things the girls were saying. “Horseface!” was one of the things he managed to catch and he had to look at Arya again. She didn’t show any sign of hurt. Rather, she stomped on towards him with a furious look on her face as if she pondered on the different ways to mortally hurt the girls.
“Hey.” He said.
“Hi.” She responded curtly.
“Who are those girls?”
She didn’t glance back to see which girls he meant.
“Stupid sluts.”
Gendry laughed and looked at them, seeing the interested glances they threw at him and suddenly he had a very, very dumb idea. Indicating Arya to come closer, he sneaked one arm around her waist and with his free hand he got her chin, making her face him and planting a kiss right on her lips. It was a short kiss, a simple greeting, but it got the girls attention nonetheless.
Luckily, Arya didn’t punch him or slap him and Gendry let go of her. Instead she stood frozen and with a blush spreading from her nose to her ears. Without commenting on the kiss, he told her to get moving and got in the car. It wasn’t that bad, right? He did it to help her out; maybe the mean girls would back off if they saw she had a boyfriend with a car and all… He kept rolling it around in his head and then he had to say something.
“If we could keep what happened just now between us it’d be great. I don’t want your brothers after me.”
“I have no idea what you’re on about.” Arya answered, still red as a tomato.
And that was the end of it. They spoke a bit about Jon and the note she held in her hand which turned out to be, unsurprisingly, a note to Catelyn and Ned. He drove her home then went by his own house for a bit before turning up again at the Stark house. Judging from everyone’s usual attitude, Arya had kept her word and not said anything. Gendry was aware he’d be in need of a new neck if any of the Starks found out he had kissed her and they wouldn’t wait for explanations either. The evening ended well, though, and he and his family left the Starks after a very joyful evening.
* * *
Gendry
One week later he was with the Starks again. Bran and Robb had invited him and Jon over for a game night and Arya sat together with Rickon watching the older ones play and Sansa had better stuff to do, according to her. He didn’t talk much with Arya, what with Jon going on and on about the ginger girl he had met and his college fraternity.
When Jon finally took a break to get the girl, Ygrette, on the phone and Robb went to call for pizzas, only Bran, Gendry, Rickon and Arya were left. And Rickon was mostly dozing off on his corner for the sofa.
“Arya, how’s school? Any trouble lately?” He asked in a humored tone.
She shook her head, knowing exactly what he meant by that and gave him a smile meant only for him. A thank you, although she’d never say it.
* * *
3 years later...
Gendry
It had been a long time since he last had visited the Starks. For a while, he had gone off too to try and find something to do with his life before returning to the city where he’d spent his whole life. He’d found he wasn’t too interested in becoming anything big and his dad had never had any plans on making him part of the company anyway, so why would he care? In less than two weeks he had landed a job as a mechanic and even gotten back his old apartment. Now he had been invited over to the Starks, where Robb still lived at home and worked side by side with his dad. Jon was visiting too, although he’d chosen another kind of path completely. Still, Ned supported his son on his choice to become part of the law.
The last time he had seen Arya was before he’d left. More than two years ago. She looked sad, he had thought when she said farewell and watched him go. Sad and almost betrayed and she had still been very childish, even though she was going on to fifteen. She had been very cute, even with her short hair wild and oily and her baggy jeans ripped and dirty.
When she strode in, he almost dropped his jaw to the floor. She had let her hair grow, but kept it tightly tied in a pony-tail. The strands of hair ended around her mid-back, thick brown waves that stirred from the wind coming through the door. She was wearing a black tank-top and sweatpants, clearly just home from a run with Nymeria who entered through the door and ran to get water. It took only a few seconds for Arya to look from the smiling Robb to Gendry. Her gray eyes grew big with surprise and a big smile spread on her face. Standing up he walked over and gave her a hug, noticing that she had grown a bit taller since the last time. They spoke a bit, but his concentration wandered from her words to her lips and her skin shining from the sweat of the run.
“…Need to go get a shower. See you around.”
“Ah, yeah.” He said lamely finally hearing her words again.
Glancing at him she raised an eyebrow then smiled and disappeared.
* * *
Arya
She couldn’t believe it. He was back! Two and a half years ago she had seen him go and almost hated him for it. Gendry had always been like one of her brothers, looking out for her and joking with her… Then suddenly he was leaving the city, out of completely nowhere. Yes, she had been pissed. Especially since she had sort of seen him in a new light after that kiss. The day after, she had appeared at school and noticed that the girls had grown much nicer to her. Wanting to get close and finding out about the mysterious guy who gave her a kiss. It had felt good to finally be the one to shut them out and not the other way around.
As soon as she got into her room she picked up her cell and messaged Mycah before she got into the shower.
“Guess who just popped up outta nowhere, after being gone 4-ever?”
Then checking her cell when she got out she saw the much expected answer:
“Guuurl. Go get sum bootie. #yolo #gendryishotasfuck”
She smiled to herself before getting to work at drying her hair. Looking at it for a long while, she decided to let it hang loose and even added a bit of mascara. Now she looked at least like a teen. Not like before, when he left. Then she still looked like a boy, even. Since then she had finally filled out a bit, even managing to get a good pair of C’s which won over Sansa’s B’s. It wasn’t a big victory, but one which irritated her sister anyway and that made it worth the boasting. Finally settling for a pair of good-old baggy jeans and a very tight top, she made her way downstairs to make her brothers company. Everyone was all about asking Gendry questions but before dinnertime they managed to find other things to do and finally she was alone with him.
“How you been doing? Have you had adventures?” She said, exaggerating the mysteriousness in her voice and making him laugh.
“Nah, mostly I’ve been… Doing stuff. Nothing cool.”
“Stupid, you should’ve gone crazy. That’s what I would’ve done!”
“It’s not a good idea to insult someone bigger than you.”
“Bite me.”
He actually grabbed her arm and literally bit her so she shrieked and pulled back, making him fall over her and start tickling her which made her shriek louder. Then suddenly they were very close to one another and he froze. Arya bit her lip playfully and slid her hand up his tight which made him shrink back. Just when he opened his mouth to say something reproaching, judging from his look, and they heard Catelyn yell from the kitchen:
"Dinner’s ready!"
"Dinner’s ready!" Arya said mimicking her mothers voice and pushed him away to stand up and walked away.