A Saint-Like Claus

"Ooh, a toy store! Come on Remus, let's go inside. They always have the best decorations!" She exclaimed, all but dragging Remus into the small store.

The two of them had been in Muggle London all day, doing Christmas shopping and just enjoying the atmosphere and each other's company. He always felt more at ease when they were among Muggles, since none of them knew who he was so they weren't afraid of him.

The store was filled with children of all ages, some of them were trying out the newest toys that they probably hoped to find under the tree on Christmas Day. There was also a big placate stating that Santa Claus and his elf would be there to meet them at 3 o'clock. It was already five to three and the children had already formed a line in front of the chair reserved for Santa Claus.

"What are we going to do? The kids are going to be disappointed and that will make their parents angry! And we just don't have enough time to find a replacement," whispered an exasperated male voice close to Remus and Tonks. They both turned their heads to see who was talking and spotted two young store clerks.

"No idea. It does seem that we'll just have to cancel the whole thing and try to find someone reliable for next Saturday," answered his colleague, a young woman.

"Oh Remus, we have to help," whispered Tonks, squeezing Remus's arm.

"How?" He asked, although he knew the answer and wasn't too pleased by the idea.

"You'll be Santa and I'll be your elf. Come on, it'll be fun. It's just for an hour or two anyway."

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, Tonks."

"Of course it is! You'll make a great Santa!"

So she dragged him over to the clerks.

"Excuse me, we couldn't help hearing what you were talking about and we'd really like to help," said Tonks, smiling at them kindly.

"Really? That would be marvelous," Said the woman, looking over Remus and Tonks from head to toe, most likely to figure out if they could be trusted. Remus couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. What if the woman thought he looked too shaggy to be able to be trusted around children? To his surprise, the woman smiled and showed them the backroom where they were given their costumes.

"I can't wait to see you dressed as Santa," giggled Tonks, eyeing his costume.

"Glad to know that even the thought makes you laugh," he replied, fighting the urge to smile.

She kept on laughing.

"Ohhhh, I think this outfit's a bit too small for me," she snorted. He turned to look at her and couldn't honestly say he minded the sight very much. The skirt was entirely too short to be worn around children and the top was way too tight. The problem would be easily fixed, of course; she would simply morph her body a little. Still, he couldn't resist pulling her into his arms for just a second or two. Or perhaps ten.

"Would you like one of these for Christmas?" He teased, leaning close to her ear and giving it a quick nibble.

"Mmmm, I think it would be considered a present for you, rather than for me," she teased back, leaning her face against his neck, sucking lightly on the tender skin there.

He sighed in mock defeat.

"Oh well, a man has to try. And at least I'll have this memory of you in my head to keep me warm on cold winter nights like tonight."

His hands had made their way onto her bum and were now kneading it gently.

"So you'll be satisfied with just the tiny sneak peek?" While she spoke, she untucked his shirt from his pants and began caressing his stomach.

"I'm easily pleased, especially by you."

"Good to know. I guess you won't mind then if I just go home tonight after we're done with this."

"If you decided to do that, I would try everything possible to get you to change your mind. I can be quite convincing, you know."

"Really? Maybe you should start right now, I'm feeling a bit like going home all by myself after this-" she wasn't able to finish as he'd already claimed her mouth with his. They started backing into the wall but instead hit a box full of huge, brown teddy bears and fell on top of the bears.

"Are you ready?" Asked a muffled female voice outside the door.

"We'll be right there!" Yelled Tonks, quickly morphing her body-shape to fit the elf costume.

Remus's jumper and shirt had already been removed by his impatient girlfriend in their earlier frenzy, which made getting into his Santa costume a bit faster. He was about to tie the white sash around his waist when Tonks stopped him.

"You don't have a pot belly! Santa has to have a pot belly. Here, take this," she urged, thrusting a lumpy bundle into his arms. Apparently she'd stuffed her normal clothes inside her winter coat.

"Uh, are you sure this will look real?" He asked, staring at his makeshift pot-belly in doubt.

"We'll make it look real. Put it inside the jacket and I'll deal with the rest."

He stuffed the lumpy bundle inside the red jacket and let her tie the sash. She pushed and prodded at the belly with a concentrated look on her face and he had to stifle a laugh. Tonks had to be the only person he knew who would take this issue this seriously. Not that he minded, to the contrary, he thought it was one of the most attractive things about her, how she could set her mind on anything she wanted, whether it was catching a dark wizard or making him look like a real Santa Claus.

"There," she finally said, admiring her work. He looked down at himself and had to admit that the belly looked rather convincing.

"You did a good job," he smiled at her.

"Now, give me one last kiss before you put the beard on," she demanded, reaching to pull his face towards hers.

"Do you have something against men with beards?" He asked against her lips.

"Nope, but I'd rather suck on your lip rather than some fake facial hair," she responded after finishing their kiss.

He pulled the beard on and finished the look by placing the red-and-white cap on his head, making sure it covered any signs that his beard was fake.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After a half-hour Remus began to wonder what he had got himself into. The line of children seemed endless and he was practically boiling in his Santa costume not to mention that the fake beard was incredibly itchy. Dora didn't seem to be suffering as much as he was and he felt his own discomfort ease a little when she looked at him adoringly and smiled. There weren't many things in the world that he wouldn't do to make her happy, to be honest, at that moment he couldn't think of a single one. If making her happy included nearly having a heatstroke, then so be it, he could deal with it. So he kept on smiling at the enthusiastic children and welcomed the next one into his lap.

The little boy seemed to be around five years old, but the look on his face was that of a much older boy's. There was no excitement on meeting 'Santa', he seemed merely bored.

"So, son, what would you like from Santa this Christmas?" He asked.

"If I really want something for Christmas, I need to tell my parents, not you. I know they buy the presents and that Santa and elves aren't real," replied the blond boy, staring at Remus directly in the eye.

"What makes you say that?"

"My brother James told me. He's ten, he knows these things. Besides, how could Santa even deliver presents for ieveryone/i in just one day?"

"I suppose you wouldn't believe me if I told you that Santa uses magic to get to everyone before the morning of Christmas Day?"

The boy shook his head.

"You don't believe in magic?" Asked Tonks, leaning slightly into Remus's shoulder and looking at the boy with an utterly shocked expression on her pretty face.

"Nope."

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Jimmy."

"Well, Jimmy, I can tell you that there really is such a thing as magic. And to prove that I'm not lying, I'll show you."

Remus nearly fell off the chair. She was going to do magic right here, in front of all these muggles? He tried to reach Tonks's eyes but she was too busy making sure the none adults were looking in their direction to notice. When she seemed certain that nobody would notice, she turned her back to the crowd and leaned closer to him and Jimmy. When she opened her fist in front of the boy, she was holding a handful of blue flames.

Jimmy let out a surprised shriek and Remus had to grab the boy's arm to stop him from falling onto the floor.

Tonks was sporting the most elvish grin possible. If he didn't know better, he'd swear she really was one of Santa's helpers.

"Do you believe now?" She asked.

Jimmy nodded, his mouth still wide open. Then he turned to Remus.

"I'd like a new kite, and skates and a puppy and a bike, please," he listed.

"I will have to see if you've been a good boy this year, Jimmy, but perhaps you will get at least some of the things that you mentioned."

"Do I still have to send you a letter or do you really remember everyone's wishes without any lists?"

"A letter wouldn't hurt, but I am rather sure that my elf here will remember what you wish for if I won't. I'm afraid my memory isn't big enough for everyone's wishes."

"Good. I'm really sorry I didn't believe in you. I'll tell James that he's wrong."

Remus nodded at him and patted his shoulder.

"You do that, Jimmy."

"See you next year!" Exclaimed Jimmy, getting off Remus's lap and running back into the crowd where his parents were already waiting for him.

Tonks's eyes were set upon the boy and his parents as well. Before he called out to the next child in line, this time a little girl, he reached for Tonks's arm and pulled her close.

"That was quite risky," he whispered, lifting his eyebrows at her slightly.

"I know, but I was careful. Hope you're not too upset with me now."

"I noticed that you were careful, and I'm not upset. Actually, I think that was exactly what that boy needed to believe again."

"5-year-olds aren't supposed to have lost all their faith in magic."

He nodded.

"Couldn't agree more."

She beamed at him and couldn't resist placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Why does the elf get to kiss Santa?" Asked the girl on the front of the line, crossing her arms on her chest. She had chocolate brown curls and bright blue eyes that were now glaring at Remus and Tonks.

"I just wanted to thank him for something," replied Tonks.

"Well, I want to kiss Santa, too."

"I think we have a problem in our hands," murmured Tonks to Remus, sounding slightly amused.

"Errr, we can see about that later, why don't you come here now and tell me what you want for Christmas," suggested Remus, hoping the girl would forget about kissing him.

The girl strode to Remus and he lifted her onto his lap.

"I drew you a picture," she said, holding up a piece of paper.

"Really? That's awfully nice of you. I like presents, let me see what you've got there..." Remus took the paper from the girl and looked at it. He wasn't entirely sure what the big, curly green mess with a few smaller red blobs was supposed to be, but he knew he had to say something.

"Wow, this is very nice indeed. Thank you."

"Now I can kiss you," said the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a mistletoe!"

"Oh well, I guess you can kiss me then. You are a very sneaky young lady."

The girl merely grinned at him before sloppily kissing his cheek.

"I want a kitty for Christmas. And maybe a little sister."

"Little sisters take a lot of time to arrange, I'm afraid,bso I can't promise you that, at least not for this Christmas."

"You're Santa, you can do anything," she answered, hopping down onto the floor and running off to see her family.

"Hmmm... I can take that, it might come in handy later" said Tonks, taking the drawing from Remus.

He could hardly wait to find out how she would use it, but there were still children anxious to meet Santa.

After listening to children's Christmas wishes and Santa theories for another three hours the store finally closed and they were able to go back into the backroom and change out of their costumes.

"Wasn't it great, Remus?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yes, it was. Much more fun than I originally thought it would be."

"You're a great Santa. Maybe we can do this again next year," she suggested. His heart lept in his chest, she was thinking they could still be together next year. He liked- no- loved the idea, loved iher/i, but he still had doubts about the sensibility of this relationship.

"I would like that," he replied, capturing her lips with his gently. To his surprise, she pulled away quickly. He was about to ask her what was wrong, when she dug something out from her pocket and presented him with the drawing he'd received from the little girl.

"I'm going to keep this with me all the time at least until New Year's Eve. That way I can get you to kiss me anytime."

He chuckled.

"I see that the girl who drew this wasn't the only sneaky young lady present."

"I have no idea how I didn't figure this out earlier, I mean, the idea's just brilliant!"

"You don't need a drawing of a mistletoe to get me to kiss you, Dora."

"I know, but I think I'll still keep it, just in case."

oooooooooooooooooooooo

As his Dora was sound asleep in his arms that night, he decided to practice. He hadn't told her he loved her yet, but he was absolutely certain that he did and wanted her to know that as well. Some days he thought it would be selfish to confess his love for her, to keep her for himself, while she deserved so much better than what he could ever give her, but he'd promised her he'd give them a chance, so he'd decided to voice his feelings. She wouldn't hear him, but at least he'd get the words out, and perhaps the next day he could repeat them, when she woke up.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, and smiled as he saw her lips curve into a small smile as she slept.