Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! How cool would it be if I did, though?
Author Note: Post-Hogwarts cuteness! (I hope). Please review! Pretty please!
Warning: Sirius/Remus slash. If you don't like it, don't read it! Simple as that.
"Remmyyyy," whined a tall boy with black hair, face contorted into a pout as he gazed at his companion, an equally tall boy with light brown hair and a multitude of scars.
"What, Sirius?" the second boy countered, looking at his friend in exasperation.
"It's just...what are we doing here?" Sirius Black asked as he looked around the store in which the two boys were standing.
"Well Padfoot, seeing as I'm going to be living alone now that we're out of Hogwarts, I thought I would get a companion." Remus Lupin answered, surveying the dogs and accompanying equipment filling the store. He walked over to an area where several puppies were tumbling around, arguing over a rubber toy.
"But why a dog?" Sirius pouted again, tagging along behind Remus unhappily.
"Because...er...dogs are friendly and loyal and easy to take care of. Right? You should know better than anyone," Remus said, concealing his blush and hastily thought up answer by holding a little brown and white spotted puppy up to his face to look at it. Sirius peered over Remus's shoulder at the puppy, wrinkling his nose skeptically, and the puppy whined and squirmed in Remus's hands.
"But Remmy, I really don't see why you need to get a dog of all pets. It's-"
"Her name is Jasmine. She's rather quiet and shy, but she'll warm up to you eventually. See? She already likes you!" The storekeeper had come up to Remus and he held the brown puppy, and laughed as she licked his hand affectionately. "Would you like to adopt her?" the man asked.
"Well thank you, but I'm just looking around right now," Remus answered evenly, smiling at the man even as Sirius shot him a glare.
"As I was saying," Sirius said emphatically once the storekeeper had walked away to help another customer, "It's a slap in the face to get a dog when you already have me. And no one does that to Sirius Black!"
"Whatever you say, Padfoot." Remus put the puppy down, smiling inwardly at Sirius's statement. He picked up another puppy milling around in the area, a little black one who had moments before been chewing on a toy. "Look at this one, Padfoot, he looks just like you! Here, hold him." Remus insisted, passing the puppy to Sirius's hands. Sirius solemnly stared at the puppy, which stared back just as solemnly until the silence was broken by the little dog chewing on Sirius's hand instead of his toy.
"Ugh!" Sirius said, putting the puppy down again and staring at Remus, who was attempting to hide his laughter at the situation, with his arms crossed. "I honestly don't know why you need one of these. Aren't you satisfied with one dog in your life?" Sirius frowned, feeling rather insecure and self-conscious.
"Oh Sirius. Of course you silly, silly Marauder, of course I'm satisfied. I just thought I would get a puppy to remind me of you while you're off being important and I'm alone in my flat. You know I don't have a job quite yet, and I'll miss my Padfoot during the day!" Remus announced boldly, face tinged pink as he ruffled Sirius's hair.
"Well you don't have to buy one right in front of me," Sirius huffed, "Do it later, I want to go get ice cream now." Sirius, suspecting that his statement might not be well received by his friend, leaned over to press his lips against Remus's for a few long moments, effectively convincing Remus to abandon his search for a new puppy for the moment as he melted into Sirius's embrace.
"Alright Sirius, let's go get you some ice cream, you ridiculous dog." Remus smiled at Sirius and the two walked out of the door without a glance back, much to Sirius's content.
A few days later, Remus was alone in his new flat, cup of tea in his hand and list of wanted ads for jobs on the table in front of him. He scanned the sheet of paper with a worried expression, knowing that he would not be able to afford his flat much longer if he didn't get a job. He was just about to give up for the day when he heard a quiet but distinguishable barking from the vicinity of his front door. He walked over to the door with his wand at the ready, convinced that Sirius was about to play some elaborate prank on him. However, he didn't see anything as he looked through the peephole, so he cautiously opened the door to see-
"Yip! Yip!" The black puppy he had seen at the pet store was sitting outside his door, holding a roll of parchment in his mouth. Remus bent down and brought the puppy into his flat, setting it down on the couch and freeing the roll of parchment from its mouth. As he took the parchment from the puppy's mouth, he noticed the collar; red with a gold tag bearing the name 'Orion'. Remus cocked his head in thought, wondering if this did have something to do with Sirius after all, and then unrolled the paper.
Moony,
So my dearest werewolf, I thought I would get you this little puppy to keep you company like you said...only there's more to it. I want you to move in with me Moony, I know that you can't really stay in that flat for very long, and I already have one that I can stay in indefinitely. Don't look at me like that, I know you don't like to accept "charity" as you call it, but you stay over half the time anyways so you might as well live here full time. And little Orion here can keep you company during the day, and I can help you more easily during the full moon, and it'll be wicked. So, what do you think?
Padders
Remus collapsed onto the couch, petting Orion absentmindedly as he thought about Sirius's offer. On one hand, Sirius was offering him a secure place to live with the person he loved most in the world; but on the other hand he would feel guilty for relying on his boyfriend so heavily, not to mention the fact that it was a big step in their relationship. As he was weighing the pros and the cons, he heard his lock click and the front door flew open, admitting a large blur of black. Next thing he knew, Remus was pinned on the couch by a shaggy black dog, which was wholeheartedly licking his face.
"SIRIUS!" Remus laughed, trying to shove the animagus off his body. The dog whined for a moment, desisted licking Remus's face, and then transformed into the teen with dark hair. He remained seated on top of Remus, and ventured forth a question.
"So? Will you move in with me?" Sirius asked timidly, holding his breath in anticipation of the answer.
"Oh Padfoot...of course. How could I say no to something so- mmmpphhh" Remus's acceptance was cut off by a passionate kiss from Sirius, which left both boys breathless. As they paused for a moment, Sirius running his hands through Remus's hair, the puppy Orion barked happily, drawing them both back to the present.
"You know, I might not mind you having another dog after all," Sirius quipped, bending down to capture Remus's lips in another kiss.