Gendry knew that it was a bad idea to do anything with Arya, but he liked her god damn it. The last few couple of weeks, getting to know her had been so fun, and he loved how comfortable around him she had gotten in such a short period of time.

After she left his apartment, he thought about all the ways this could go wrong but at the same time he could really see himself falling for her. He could already tell he would do just about anything for her.

She texted him a few hours later, it was enough time for him to realize he wasn't going to stop whatever was developing between them, not if she wanted him too.

Want to go to the cinema? She asked

Sure, will be ready in 10min. Meet me at the car. He replied

See you in a minute.

Gendry arrived at the garage first, and stood near the car until Arya arrived.

He heard her coming towards him before he saw her.

"Hey there," she said as she slid up in front of him, dragging her hands over his chest.

He put a hand on top of hers on his chest and the other on her waist. "Hey, we really shouldn't do this in public until we tell your parents."

She took a step back, "You're right." She said, reluctantly, "let's go see that movie." She held his hand with her finger tips for a second before letting go.

"Did anyone realize you snuck out of the party last night?" he asked

"Nope, I'm a ninja like that." She replied grinning, "But I did run into mum this morning and she said I've got to have dinner with the family tonight."

"Good, I was worried you'd get in trouble"

She smiled, "like I said, total ninja here."

They spent an easy afternoon at the mall cinema watching the latest blockbuster. In the cinema they held hands under the cover of the theatre's darkness and whispered lame jokes about the movie.

Back at the house, Gendry walked Arya into the house, Arya told him "Stay over? We can watch Grimm again."

"I probably shouldn't" he said.

"Come on, it will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around," he chuckled.

"I've told you a hundred times, I'm more than capable of handling myself. I bet I could take you in a fight." She said, grinning dangerously.

"I'm sure you could, I've read your file, I know you know a bunch of different martial arts."

"That's right. I know you have my back, but I've got yours as well." She said sincerely, looking into his eyes intensely.

It made Gendry's heart squeeze; how could she so totally have this control over him in such a short period of time.

"Okay." He said finally.

They sat around watching Grimm for a few hours. Around 6pm, Arya's dad came by the room and Gendry immediately stood up. He had been sitting on the couch with Arya, but there had been a respectable distance between them.

"Good evening, glad to see you're getting along" his boss, Arya's father, said.

"Hi Dad," Arya said rolling her eyes at his statement.

"Hello sir," Gendry added.

"We're going to have dinner soon Arya, and your mum says to get ready." Mr. Stark stated.

"Sure" Arya replied, "Will be there soon."

"Gendry," Mr. Stark said, "Why don't you stay for dinner?"

Gendry glanced at Arya for a second, unsure of what to do in this situation, she had a slight look of panic on her face for a brief second before she said "Yes, Gendry, you should totally stay for dinner"

Gendry hesitated, "I don't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition, come have dinner with us" Mr. Stark said govially.

"Alright" Gendry agreed finally.

"Okay then, I'll see you kids in a few minutes."

After Gendry made sure Arya's father was gone, he sat next to her on the couch, "You sure this is okay?"

She glanced at the doorway then clasped his hand, drawing small circles with her thumb on his hand. "Yes, it's just my little brothers and my parents and dinner is usually pretty chill at our house." She said, seeming confident, "Come on, I've got to pass by my room before we head to the dining room."

Gendry followed her to her room, where she changed her clothes and they headed together towards dinner with her parents. Gendry was beyond nervous, he wanted to make a good impression, but at the same time he was terrified they would find out that he was making out with Arya in secret.