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Arya Stark was an extrovert, everyone said and they were not wrong, that being said. She was not against a few days of solitude here and there, for a mental break from society. Three weeks was too long to go without having any kind of physical contact with another human being. She was used to interacting with at least her coworkers everyday but since everyone was now working from home remotely, she didn’t even get that. All deliveries were now being done contactless, as to further promote social distancing, and not being able to physically speak to another human being without the aid of technology was starting to get to her. The only time she left her little townhouse was when she needed to take Nymeria, her Alaskan Malamute, out for a walk, but even those had been restricted to only be 10 minutes and you could not leave your neighborhood. As far as she could tell, none of her neighbors had any dogs, because she never saw them when she was out with Nymeria. The weather was still too cold for her to comfortably sit out on her patio but she longed for the ability to do so. She had taken up to doing game nights with her friends on the weekend using Zoom but it really was not the same.
She sighed for what felt like the sixth time in a minute and looked at Nymeria who was sleeping peacefully in front of the small electric fireplace. She shook her head, “This is what I get for being perpetually single Nym.”
The large dog lifted her head to look at her briefly before putting it back down and going to sleep.
She shook her head and was about to let out another sigh when she heard the beeping of a large truck going into reverse. She pushed herself off the couch and looked out the front window, a moving truck was pulled into the driveway of the unit across from her. The former owners of that unit had moved out three months earlier when it became too small for the growing family. She had almost started to believe that it would remain vacant. She grabbed a little stool she used to reach the things off of top shelves and sat on it to observe her new neighbor. She was bored and the television had long since stopped to entertain her.
First thing she noticed was how large the man that hopped out of the driver’s side of the truck was. From where he hit on the garage door, she assumed he had to have at least 8 inches on her, and his shoulders were broad in a way that indicated he did a lot of work with his arms. He also had well defined muscles in his arms, which were on full display in the t-shirt he was wearing. His dark hair was cut short but she had a feeling it would be soft from the easy way it moved in the wind.
Another man got out of the passenger seat, he was of similar physical appearance to the driver, but nearly as built. She assumed they were brothers. She wondered if they were both moving in or only one. The passenger, as she was now going to refer to him as, said something to the driver and he shook his head before moving to go to the front door. She watched as he unlocked it and disappeared into the house. A few moments later the garage door opened to reveal an empty space and the man again. He was actually very attractive; she thought the longer she looked at him. She watched as they unloaded the truck, a couch, chair, dining table, some bookcases, and finally a bed, a single bed. One of them was going to be living there alone, she hoped it was the driver.
That thought startled her as she realized that she was now fantasizing about the man moving in across the way. She could even remember the last time she had done that with a person she could potentially actually have. Usually all her fantasies were reserved for celebrities, the unattainable. She had never even really been in a relationship, the closest she had come was a girl in high school but Arya had never been able to feel whatever it was that would push toward taking it further. They hadn’t even done more than some heavy kissing and a little groping. She had made out with people at parties during college, but she never took it further with anyone.
She looked back out the window and noticed they seemed to have finished while she was lost to her thoughts. The passenger was back in his seat and the driver was locking up, since he had door duty, she assumed that meant it was his place. The thought warmed her, maybe she could make a new friend while in quarantine.
When she took Nymeria out later that night, she noticed that the moving truck had been replaced with a regular truck. The bed was full of planks of wood and she frowned, wondering what he could be needing it for. Nymeria pulled on the leash, eager to get to her walk, and Arya knew it was once again not going to be long enough for the energetic dog, but she had already gotten one citation from the local security officer about being outside her property too long. She really had issues with that prick sometimes, he was a dog hater, she was sure of it. There was nothing against dogs in the community guidelines, so he would just have to deal with it.
She was still thinking about Officer Annoying, when she felt Nymeria suddenly give a tug and an excited bark. She looked over in the direction Nymeria wanted to go and noticed her new neighbor, walking a pitbull. She smiled, he liked dogs, that was just going to make her fantasize about him even more.
His dog seemed to have noticed Nymeria as well and was excitedly pulling his owner towards them. She kept a firm grip on the leash as the two dogs yelped while their owners kept them a safe distance apart.
He spoke first, “Hi, I’m Gendry, this is Tank.”
She smiled back at him, “I’m Arya, this is Nymeria.”
“Pleasure to meet you both.” He said and Arya felt her heartbeat increase as he smiled at her and she noticed just how blue his eyes were.
“You too.” She looked down, “Think it is okay to let them get closer?”
He nodded, “Dogs are immune right. We should let them have a little social time.”
She loosened the leash, just as he did, and the dogs met in the middle, sniffing each other with interest. She looked away from the animals when it was clear they would get along and looked back at Gendry, “I saw you moving in, I live directly across from you.”
He seemed nervous and rubbed at the back of his neck with the hand that wasn’t holding the leash, “Yeah, moved here from downtown. I was tired of all the people and the judgement.”
“Judgement?”
He nodded down to Tank and she understood, people had such a prejudiced view of pitbulls. The dog seemed to notice her attention and walked u p to her, his mouth open and tail wagging. She placed her hand down for him to sniff and he instantly started bumping it, the sign of wanting pets. She happily obliged and she noticed that Nymeria was seeking the same sort of attention from Gendry.
She was about to ask him more about himself when a shout distracted her. She turned and let out a frustrated groan.
Gendry frowned at him, “Isn’t that the guard from the gate house?”
“It is. Officer stick up his ass.” Arya muttered.
“I thought it was Steve.” Gendry said.
“You’ll see what I mean when he gets over here.” She told him.
“Miss Stark. Mr Baratheon. There is a strict no contact policy currently in place and you know that you are only allowed ten minutes for the walks.” The control officer said as he walked up to them, staying about 10 feet away.
“Officer Steve, we are standing six feet apart, as per the rules, and dogs cannot get the virus. What is the harm in them having some social time?” Arya asked, her voice clearly showing her annoyance with the man before them, “Don’t you have something better to do with your time than watch your little cameras and then harass the residents of this community about enjoying time outside?”
“I was given strict directions from the homeowner’s association board to monitor and ensure that the residents were following the guidelines. Have issues with it, take it up with them.” He responded before turning to Gendry, “Mr Baratheon, I know this is your first day with us, but I suggest you carefully go over the quarantine guidelines and follow them.” His eyes turned to Arya, “Repeat offenses will result in fines.” He then stood up straighter, “Both of you have been out past the ten minutes. Please return to your homes.”
“Right away, officer .” She said and tugged on Nymeria’s leash. Gendry fell into step beside her, or at least as close as 6 feet away could be.
“He is kind of a dick and I should know.” Gendry jokes.
She smiled, “Yeah, he started about a month before the quarantine orders came down from the government and he has made him power hungry. Officer Carl was much better but he retired.”
They reached the street between their two units and paused. They looked at each other for a moment before Gendry said, “It was nice meeting you Arya, maybe we will run into each other again for the next potty break.”
She smiled, “Never know what might happen.”
They went their separate ways and back into their own houses. Nymeria went straight to her water bowl while Arya kicked off her shoes, hung up her light jacket, and dropped onto the couch. She stared up at the ceiling until she felt Nymeria placed her head on her stomach. She smiled down at her dog, “What do you think girl, want to see them again?”
Nymeria let out a little whine and her tail wagged.
Arya smiled, “Yeah, me too.”