A/N: About 3 hours and 2,807 words ago, I realized that the page of Katie and Oliver stories was severely lacking my username. Also, I needed to write something that wasn't about music history, Haydn, or my freaking research paper. So I wrote this.
This is for Lizzie and her adorable boyfriend, who sets ridiculously high standards for boys in both my fan fictions and my real life.
He was happily lying on the couch, reading the newest issue of Quidditch Weekly, when it started.
"Ollie?" He felt the couch move as his girlfriend sat down. He paused in his reading, glancing up to see Katie fidgeting with her nails.
"What is it, Kates?"
"Well, remember how last week we were at Alicia's, and she's got that new dog, and I just really had fun playing with it?"
He closed the magazine with a snap. "You want a dog."
"I know how you feel about them, but..." she scooted closer. "They're sooooo cute, Ollie!"
"They're rabid creatures!" Oliver exclaimed, sitting up. "Dogs are not to be trusted!"
Katie huffed. "Not all of them! You just managed to piss that one Jack Russel terrier off. And it didn't even bite you!"
Oliver scowled. "It growled pretty loudly. It's like all dogs hate me or something!"
Katie rolled her eyes. "It's just one dog. You were seven. It's time to get over that, Oliver!"
He crossed his arms firmly. "No. No dogs."
"Not even a little one?"
"Not even a little one!"
She scooted closer, gripping his arm and widening her eyes, a small pout forming in her lips and that small wrinkle he loved so much creasing between her eyebrows. "Ollie... Could we just... look?"
He could feel his resolve weakening as they locked eyes. He could tell she wanted one so, so badly...
"Please?"
He shook himself out of her stare. "No! Besides, we can't even have pets here, Katie. And who would take care of it during Quidditch season? We're both in Puddlemere practices all day, and we use what little time we have outside of practice to sleep. Off season it wouldn't be as much of an issue, but-"
"Ollie, the dog could stay with Alicia if we're at an away match! And we do have two hour breaks between morning and night practices. We could just Apparate home to let it out. And if we get a small dog, it could just cuddle with us when we nap, or sleep at our feet at night..."
Oliver pushed himself off the couch and started pacing. "Why would we want a dog at our feet when we sleep? That just makes it harder to... do stuff. And a dog would just get in the way. You'd have to feed it and walk it, plus playing with it, all the dog toys that will end up in our house... It would just be a mess! Can't we get a cat instead?"
Katie's smile dropped. "I hate cats."
"Well, I hate dogs!"
"Fine!" she snapped, standing up abruptly. "If you don't want a dog, we won't get a dog!" She snatched up her purse from the table and headed for the door.
"Where are you going? Katie? Katie!"
The door was banging behind her before he could even register the fact that she'd walked out.
He dropped his head in his hands. "Shit," he mumbled, then dragged on his coat and Apparated to find help.
"Katie, why do you want a dog this much?" Angie asked as she set a mug of tea down in front of her friend. Alicia was sitting on the other side of the blonde, and they both stared at their friend in concern.
"Well, I... I thought a dog would be good... training," she mumbled, quickly sipping the tea to occupy her mouth. She grimaced in pain when it burned her lips.
"Training?"
Katie sighed. "Promise not to laugh at me?"
Her friends nodded emphatically, each grabbing a hand an squeezing.
"We're here for you, Katie," Alicia said kindly.
"Yea, and we promise not to laugh. Unless it's utterly ridiculous. Then, maybe," Angie said with a grin.
"Ange!" Alicia exclaimed, elbowing their friend in the ribs.
"Sorry, sorry! I've been dating George too long, some of his Weasley-ness was bound to rub off! Anyways, go on, Katie," she said, smoothing her smile into a supportive look.
"I- Well, I- I just thought that having a dog might be good training for having kids!" Katie burst out.
"Oh my god, you're pregnant aren't you! Wood knocked you up!" Alicia gasped.
"You're starting the Wood-Bell Quidditch team this early?" Angie asked at the same time.
"No! No, I'm not pregnant. I'm only 23. I do want to wait a few more years for that. But, well, Oliver and I have been dating for two years now, and I've just... I started thinking about it. What it would be like to have a child with him? Would it have his brown curly hair or my blonde, straight locks. Would it's eyes be blue or hazel? Boy or girl? How long will I be able to keep him or her off a broom? With all the guys I've dated, even the ones I really thought I loved, I never... I never got to this point."
She looked up at her two friends, startled to see tears glistening in their eyes. "Guys, what's wrong? I'm just being stupid, I know that."
"No," Alicia said, waving her wand and summoning a tissue. "You really love him. You want to marry him. Have you two... talked about it?"
Katie shrugged. "I mean, we've made a few jokes here and there about marriage, but it's always been things like 'Let's never play Celestina Warbeck at our wedding' type of stuff. Not serious talk about it."
Angelina leaned back in her chair, eyeing her friend with a shrewd gaze. "You need to talk to him soon, sweetie. Because Oliver, as much as I love him, is about the thickest, least observant man you could ever hope to obtain. And if you don't spell it out for him sometimes, you might never get what you want."
Katie nodded at this, thoughtful.
"Now," Alicia added, a twinkle in her eyes. "Have you ever thought that the cutest name for a little boy would be Sean?"
"Percy!" Oliver shouted, pounding on his best mate's door. "Perce, open up!" He raised to knock again, but the door was yanked open before he could, and a sleepy looking red-head emerged.
"Merlin, Wood, what is it? Has something happened?"
"Of a sort," Oliver said, pushing past Percy and making his way inside. His best friend only closed the door behind him with a yawn, following Oliver into the kitchen.
"You know it's almost... 2 in the morning?! Oliver, what the hell?"
"I did something stupid and Katie walked out angry, and I've been wandering around the neighborhood looking for her and trying to figure out if I should go to our friends to find her or not, and now it's 2 am and I just need to do something," he said in a rush, and Percy shook his head.
"Let me put the kettle on. You look like you need a cup of tea. Sit," Percy commanded, and Oliver sat with a sigh, dropping his head into his hands.
"So, what's the problem here?" Percy began as they waited for the water to boil. He'd Accio'd his horned rim glasses and a shirt before joining Oliver at the table, and now he crossed his arms, observing his friend carefully.
"Katie wants a dog."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "So? Lots of girls want dogs. Lots of guys want dogs as well. Dogs are cute animals."
"Perce. I'm terrified of dogs."
His friend scoffed. "You were seven and all that terrier did was chase you around the yard a bit. Maybe you were scared for a while, but remember that golden retriever in the muggle park where Audrey took us? You were getting pretty comfortable with it in the few hours we were there, and I think you'd be able to get over your fear of dogs pretty quickly if a cute small one lived with you. You, Oliver Wood, are a softie. Despite all your Quidditch brusqueness, you could never bear to see any animal hurt. If you weren't so Quaffle obsessed, I swear you would've followed Charlie into the field of Magical Creatures. Why would a dog be any different?"
"Well, what if it gets sick? I've never had to take care of anything!"
"You take care of Katie pretty well," Percy shot back, but Oliver shook his head.
"I love Katie, with all my heart, but she's fiercely independent. It's why I love her. She doesn't need me to be emotionally understanding and cater to her every whim. She doesn't need me to give her pep talks and tell her she doesn't look fat in that dress every day. She knows I'm shit at all that emotion stuff, and she's okay with it. But, this dog would be dependent on me, dependent on us. What if I can't handle it?"
"What are you boys talking about?" came a sleepy voice, and they turned to see Audrey standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes and glancing around. "I woke up and you weren't there, and then I heard voices. Hi, Oliver," she said, walking to the stove and turning the kettle off. She poured herself a cup of tea and then sat down at the table. "So, what's he doing here so late?"
"I-"
"Oliver," Percy interjected with a smirk, "has come running here because he's terrified of being a father."
"What? Katie's pregnant?"
"No! NO no no no no!" Oliver said quickly, his eyes going wide with fear. "Katie's not pregnant, and she won't be for a long, long time."
Percy just shrugged, as if to say see my point?
"Oliver, what is going on?" Audrey said, and he sighed.
"Katie wants a dog! And I guess I'm scared of having this living animal depend on me for so much. What if I forget to feed it? Or take it for a walk?" he moaned, running a hand through his hair and messing it up further. "I'm not used to having something depend on me that much!"
Audrey sighed and sipped her tea. "Look, Oliver. You're 26 years old. You make a ridiculously high salary playing Quidditch for a stellar team, you live comfortably and save the rest of the money responsibly, you have a steady girlfriend who also makes a high salary playing Quidditch, and you've proven yourself responsible in multiple ways. Any dog would be lucky to have you as it's owner. And," she said, staring straight at him with fierce sincerity, "Any child would be lucky to have you as a father. I know that day is not in the near future, at least not yet, but it will be. You can't let yourself miss out on that opportunity just because you're scared."
Oliver hid his face in his tea for a moment. "But... what do I do about Katie? I overreacted and now she's mad at me..."
"Oliver. Go home. Take a walk around the block for a bit to clear your head and get your thoughts in order. And then march inside that flat you share with Katie and talk to her," Percy demanded, whisking away all the tea cups to the sink with his wand. "Now, please get out of my house so I can go back to sleep with my beautiful girlfriend," he said dryly.
Oliver smiled sheepishly. "Right. Uh, sorry to bother you guys so late. Thanks for the advice. See you around Percy, Audrey," he nodded, then walked quickly to the door and let himself out into the night.
"You know, sometimes I really wonder how he ever got Katie in the first place. He's so oblivious, how did he figure out that she liked him. And after that, how did he even figure out that he liked her?" Audrey asked as the couple headed back to bed.
"Trust me," Percy said, amused annoyance coating his voice, "He didn't figure out she liked him until after she asked him out."
He'd Apparated a few blocks from home so that he could do as his friends suggested and clear his head. The cool night are was chilly against the skin uncovered by his coat, but a quick warming spell did the trick. Now comfortable, he stopped to stare up at the stars, hoping to find the answers to his solutions within their bright light.
"Yip! Yip!" he heard behind him, and he turned, startled. There, in the middle of the sidewalk, sat a small, dirty, white and brown spotted animal.
"What are you, little guy?" he muttered aloud, stepping a bit closer. The little animal bounded closer, into the light of the nearest street lamp, and soon Oliver could see it was a young Jack Russel terrier.
"Oh, bugger off, you. You're kind have caused too many problems already," he grumbled, turning back around.
But the little dog had other ideas. It pranced around Oliver's feet, looking up at him with bright eyes and quirked ears.
"Go away!" he commanded sharply, and broke into a jog in the hopes of outrunning the dog.
That only seemed to encourage it, though, and the dog bounded happily down the street, yipping as it went.
Finally, Oliver stopped and whirled around, ready to yell at the dog until it was more scared of him than he had ever been scared of it. He opened his mouth, filled his lungs, and got ready to bellow, but then stopped.
The little dog was wagging it's tail. It jumped against his leg, scratching and whining, and somehow, Oliver just knew it wanted him to pick it up. Somehow, he found himself doing just that.
"Who are you, little guy? Who do you belong to?" The dog licked his face, as if to say you! you! I belong to you!
He checked the knotted fur around the dog's neck, looking for a collar yet finding none. The dog squirmed to get more comfortable in his arms, and he grinned as it curled into his chest. It couldn't be more than a year old, and it had a chocolate brown spot over one eye, which added to it's scruffy look.
"Maybe, well, maybe you aren't so bad after all," he whispered to the dog, then turned to head back home.
He knew how to fix this now.
Dawn was almost breaking by the time he slipped quietly through their front door and tiptoed into their small living room. To his surprise, the light was on, and there was his wonderful Katie curled on the couch, still dressed in her clothes from the day before and clutching her wand in her hand. He reckoned she'd fallen asleep waiting for him.
He set the dog down and told it to stay. Miraculously, the dog stayed put for a few seconds, wagging it's tail and staring up at him. He patted it on the head and walked over to Katie.
She looked so peaceful, he thought as he draped a blanket over her. He noticed that worried crease was still just slightly there, as if even sleep couldn't reassure her that Oliver would be back.
"Ollie?" she mumbled, her eyes opening.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Where have you been? I was worried! After our fight..." she trailed off, her eyes searching his for any clue as to where they stood.
"Oh, Katie..." he sighed, letting his forehead drop onto hers. "I'm sorry. I overreacted and I just got so freaked out that I went out to clear my head after you'd gone. And, well, I picked up a few lessons along the way," he said, grinning.
She grinned back, leaning in to hug him. As soon as she did, though, the dog ran over, barking and jumping up against them, as if it wanted in on the hug as well.
"What? Who's this?" Katie exclaimed, staring between the dog and Oliver in awe. "Ollie-You got a dog?!"
Oliver grinned. "Well... He sort of followed me home. And I realized that maybe dogs were cuter than I originally thought."
Katie smiled at him, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh, Oliver, I love you so, so much," she whispered.
He smiled right back at her. "I love you, too, Kates."
The sun shone through their front window brightly that day, illuminating a happy picture: The happy couple, cuddled together on their couch, with a dirty little puppy snoozing away at their feet.