Game of Thrones: Crossroads

Chapter 33 of my Game of Thrones story, enjoy.

Reviews

Wolfgirl2013: Thanks :)
Marina Ka-Fai: Thanks, glad you enjoyed both chapters; yeah, she is, and I know, it is pretty sad.
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks; glad you enjoyed it :)
Veridissima: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it; yeah, it was pretty hard on him and I know, it's good that she still offers support, despite their 'problems'.

Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin.

Chapter 33

Gendry sat tense as he drove north; he was fairly certain that this was Arya's long overdue revenge for the blackmail. They had been dating for a month now and it was only now she informed him that her family wished to formally meet him as her boyfriend and she had 'helpfully arranged' for him to come around and see them this afternoon. It was Friday and she had informed him at the end of school, just before getting in her mother's car. He could still see the almost smug grin on her face as she made her announcement. He had barely enough time to get home and get changed before having to drive up north. He could almost swear she planned it; still he knew that such a meeting was unavoidable; all he could do was delay it.

'Not that there would be much point in that.' He thought wryly to himself. 'Might as well get it over with here and now…It can't be that bad surely, I hope.'

Despite trying to convince himself he was terrified; how could he not be. Truly he had met the Starks before, but now he was meeting them as Arya's boyfriend for the first time; that would change their view on him undoubtedly. Finally he reached Winterfell manor and parked his car. He took a deep breath, prepared himself and got out of the car. He walked up to the front door and knocked on the door.

He felt tenser as he waited for the door to open. When it finally did so he smiled politely.

"Hello Mrs. Stark."

She smiled although he could see the wariness in her eyes. "Good afternoon Gendry, come in, we've been expecting you."

He nodded and followed her into the house. She closed the door and they walked through to the living room. He fought not to gulp nervously as they entered the living room and he spotted the rest of the family were waiting. Almost as soon as he entered, Eddard Stark stood up and approached him. That wasn't the only thing that perturbed Gendry; he could see that her older brother and cousin were also here. He could see the looks on their faces and knew they would regard him with suspicion. Right now however, it was his girlfriend's father he had to talk to.

"Good to see you Gendry." Ned greeted him as they shook hands. "I'm glad you could make it."

Gendry nodded and smiled politely back. "Thank you Mr. Stark."

He smiled and greeted the others; as he expected, just like Arya's parents, Robb and Jon greeted him with guarded suspicion. Sansa was the most distant; merely saying hello with forced politeness. Gendry had heard from Arya about how Sansa had protested against the relationship, believing Arya was 'stifling her potential' and kept trying to convince Arya to end the relationship, to which Arya kept refusing, partially due to the blackmail. Gendry wasn't sure how she'd react if he told her he had deleted her recorded confession and had no means to blackmail her now.

He put the matter out of his mind however as he greeted Bran and Rickon. He noticed that their reactions to him hadn't changed at least. Bran was as polite and friendly as ever and Rickon was friendly enough, Gendry knew that Shireen had finally talked the rest of the group into accepting him back, although they felt Arya needed to explain herself before she would be welcomed back. Gendry swore he would find out the truth and convince Arya to reveal the whole truth; he wished she would tell him what was going on, it was one of the few things they still argued about. Gendry took a seat once the greetings were done; he could feel all their eyes on him. He looked around cautiously; noting Eddard, Catelyn, Robb and Jon's suspicion and Sansa's hostility remained; he also noted Arya's absence.

He cautiously cleared his throat and then asked. "Um, where's Arya?"

Catelyn smiled and replied. "She's upstairs; she'll be down soon."

Gendry nodded, then, as he suspected, Eddard spoke up.

"We want to talk to you first though." He explained. "We want to know, just what your intentions are to Arya and how exactly you got together."

Gendry felt the tension returning. 'Great, hard questions first huh, okay, just relax.'

He therefore told them most of the truth. He revealed the truth of his feelings for Arya and his wish to love her and how deeply he cared and respected her. Although he tactfully left out the part about the blackmail.

There was silence for a while, then finally, the Stark family smiled; with the exception of Sansa, who still looked dubious, although no longer hostile.

"Well, I guess we can accept that." Robb stated, grinning. "You take care of her now, got it."

Gendry nodded as Jon added. "If you don't; we'll make sure you never forget it."

This prompted a laugh from Gendry who nodded in agreement. Eddard and Catelyn couldn't help but smile along with the boys. It was then Arya entered the room. She stopped momentarily as she noticed the atmosphere in the room was more relaxed than she thought it would be.

'I don't believe it, he's somehow managed to calm everything down and relax everyone, what the hell did he tell them?' Arya wondered; more impressed than annoyed in truth.

She walked over to Gendry and sat down next to him. Keeping up appearances she leaned against him, her head against his arm.

She noticed his smile and smiled herself as she considered. 'If it wasn't for the blackmail or the fact I needed to help Sansa…I could actually enjoy this; he's…he's definitely the kind of guy I could love.'

She focused herself quickly as the family conversation continued. Eventually Gendry joined the family for dinner and Arya noticed that he had indeed somehow won most of the family's trust.

Finally, once dinner was finished, Arya pondered what she could say when suddenly her mother spoke up.

"So, what do you two have planned for the evening?"

Arya bit her lip; she never had any plans she had to admit. "Um, well."

It was then Gendry spoke up. "I was thinking maybe Arya could come over to my home, hang out with me and my siblings, if that's okay, I mean, unless…"

Eddard shook his head.

"No; there's no trouble at all; it sound like a good idea." He paused and then, awkwardly added. "I heard what happened last time; hopefully there won't be any drama this time?"

Gendry cringed but nodded; Arya sighed but, seeing most of her family also agreeing; she accepted and prepared to leave with Gendry. She didn't really mind, after all, without Robert making any more visits, hopefully there would be no more problems there.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.