Of Wishes and Puppies

A/n: This is my first ever Bare fic. It was written as an answer to a prompt given to me by my friend Maddie. The prompt was: Peter dragging Jason shoppping for?... be creative. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bare, A Pop Opera; it belongs to Jon Hartmere Jr. and Damon Intrabartlo.

Peter reached out his hand, and gently slipped it around his lover's. Jason quickly pulled away, looking around. "Peter," he said. "Someone may be watching!"

"Oh, who cares, Jason? No one we know is here. I just want you to hold me." Peter slipped his hand around Jason's again, then pulled him in close for a kiss. Jason hesitated for a second before kissing back. They clung to each other for a moment, and Peter could feel Jason's heartbeat, in complete sync with his own. Finally, they broke apart. Jason regarded his roommate with a grin on his face.

"Alright, Peter. Let's go eat lunch." Jason began walking toward the smell of French fries. "After all, that's what we came to the mall for in the first place."

But something else had caught Peter's eye. He grabbed Jason's hand and sped off towards the brightly colored store.

"Peter! Come on, I'm hungry!" Jason sighed as Peter finally slowed to a stop. Then he looked around.

Cages lined the walls, each with a puppy inside. Peter had dropped to his knees, and was reaching between the metal links on the fence keeping the cage closed, gently petting a puppy's head. "Aw, Jason… isn't she beautiful?"

"Yeah, Peter, she really is," Jason said, tapping his foot impatiently, not even looking at the puppy. An employee, a girl with her hair up in pigtails, approached them.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" she asked in a pleasant voice.

"No, thanks," Jason quickly replied. "Just browsing." The woman nodded a little, a smile on her face, and then left.

"Jason," Peter said, the hurt obvious in his voice. "Why'd you say that?"

"What? We're just browsing."

"But… but…" Peter trailed off. "She could be ours," he finally said, scratching behind the puppy's ears.

"Oh, yeah? Where would we keep her?"

"I dunno… I just… after we graduate, we could keep her. She could live with my mom until then."

"Peter, we can't have a dog. Come on, there's two whole years until we graduate! A dog… we couldn't keep her. A dog means we'd have to buy dog food. A dog means getting up at six in the morning just to walk her. A dog means-"

"Commitment," Peter said bitterly.

"Yeah. I mean, who's to say she'll be the same in two years? Who's to say she won't change? Who's to say we won't change?"

"One thing won't change. I'll still love you. I'll still love your touch, love your kisses…"

"Peter, do you really know that?"

"Do you?" Peter snapped back. "I thought you said you loved me."

"I do," Jason said. "But, Peter, you're thinking too far ahead. You're always thinking to far ahead."

Peter stood up, anger etched on his face. "Fine," he said shortly. Then he turned on his heel and strode away.

"Peter…." Jason said after him, sighing. His roommate didn't even look back. He glanced at the puppy, who stared back at him mournfully. "What?" he asked it. "What am I supposed to do?"

He sighed again, then headed out into the mall. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

Peter sat by one of the fountains, watching the water flow over the many coins people threw into it. He wished Jason were there, sitting next to him, with the puppy between them, snuggled up close. He wished they could hold hands in the hallways of St. Cecilia's, wished they could kiss in front of everyone, wished he didn't have to be so afraid.

Watching the coins glint in the dull light of the mall, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny penny. He fiddled with it, thinking hard on his wish. Wish for the puppy? For acceptance? For the courage to tell his mother his deepest secret? Finally, he decided.

"I wish for my true love to appear right by me," he whispered to himself, then tossed the coin high into the air. It shimmered in the light for a split-second, then fell into the water with a plunk.

The moment it hit, Peter regretted making the wish. What a waste of money, what a cliché thing to wish for. Penny wishes hadn't given Peter the toys he wanted, or his father back. How stupid of him, how foolish. He was about to reach into the water and grab it again when a voice came in his ear.

"Wow… that's a pretty magical penny," it said. Peter recognized the voice at once, and whirled around to find Jason standing behind him. His heart leapt to his throat, and he smiled broadly. For once, his wish had worked!

But that happy moment died as Peter remembered their argument. The bouncy butterflies in his stomach and the smile on his face faded away. "Hi, Jason," he said almost coldly.

Jason seemed disappointed by Peter's reaction. "Peter…" he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Finally he looked back up at Peter, his eyes locking with his roommate's. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" he raised a plastic shopping bad he had been carrying.

Peter accepted it cautiously. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's a gift," Jason said, grinning. "Usually, you give them for a holiday, but I thought… what the hell, right?"

Peter looked at him for a moment before reaching into the bag and pulling out…

He gasped. It was a beautiful stuffed animal, a dog! It looked just like the puppy at the pet store. "Jason!" he cried, suddenly close to tears. "It's beautiful!"

"You're welcome." Jason smiled. "I couldn't exactly get the real one… didn't have enough money." He slipped his hand into Peter's. "Am I forgiven?" he asked.

"Definitely," Peter replied. He leaned in and kissed Jason. They held onto each other, lost in the kiss. Finally, Jason pulled away gently.

"Hey, we should get going. Baseball game's gonna be on in five minutes."

"Baseball game? What game?"

"Oh, Peter…" Jason laughed before locking lips with his lover again.

Fin

A/n: Did you like it? I hope so. Please review and tell me what you think!