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"Honestly I didn't expect to like sharing my home, but now I don't think I could sleep without Patty curled up next to me," Remus chuckled softly. He was sat outside a cafe, chatting with Dorcas in the sunshine about the husky that he'd brought into his life.
As he had never owned anything larger than a rat, jumping to a husky had seemed a bit insane. He'd arranged a dog trainer before he committed to the adoption and the initial growing pains had been a bit horrible and left him floundering and feeling like the worst dog owner in history. They were over the hump, though, and Remus had reached the point of not being able to imagine life without him.
"Remmy!" he glanced over to see his mother. One side effect of living in a small town was that it was common to run into people who knew him, which didn't bother him one bit. He gave her a hug and she greeted Dorcas pleasantly, "And I'm just now hearing about this Patty! Tell us all about her!"
"I didn't want to tell anyone until I was sure - it's a big commitment. And Patty's a 'him', actually, he's a boy," Remus corrected easily.
His mother made an odd face then smiled, "Oh, that's… as long as he makes you happy, that's what matters."
"Yeah, I didn't expect it to, but he's great - really intelligent as well. Keeps me on my toes and makes me get out of the house," he said
"Well that is something," she said, patting his shoulder, "I'm afraid I have to be off, now," she added, kissing his cheek before rushing off.
—
He was not sure how he ended up here. It had all rather gotten out of hand, really.
In hindsight he could see how his mother had thought he was talking about a human male boyfriend. Dorcas had teased him about calling a dog Patrick but, well, the dog had come with the name and he hadn't wanted to change that. It should have been a fun, easy mistake to clear up.
Except he hadn't realized it had been a mistake until nearly six months later.
He should have known when his mum stopped nattering on about him meeting a lovely girl or trying to arrange blind dates, but he was so relieved that he didn't question it. Due to his isolated childhood and health difficulties, Remus had been a decidedly late bloomer in terms of realizing he was gay and still hadn't figured out how to tell his parents.
If only he'd realized he had inadvertently come out already.
The whole misunderstanding only came to light after his cousin's engagement. His mother had sat him down and explained that he was invited and the whole family very much wanted him to bring his boyfriend, Patrick.
Which is how he found out that his entire extended family and his mother's church all believed he had been living with a man and hadn't felt comfortable enough to introduce him - and it had really been long enough so they were now formally inviting him. In fact, Hope had been quite adamant that they both come over to hers for dinner that Sunday.
The support had been so overwhelmingly wonderful he simply didn't have the heart to explain the truth.
And now Remus Lupin found himself in need of both a fake boyfriend and a dog sitter for his cousin's wedding.
He was brooding on this problem at the botanical gardens. There was a rather nice, slightly secluded area just past the rose bushes that he liked letting Patty run free in. Most of the people in the area had smaller dogs and their owners got skittish about the large, wolf-like husky so he found it easier to be there.
Another dog owner had the same thought and it wasn't uncommon for Patty to end up playing with Snuffles - a massive, enthusiastic black wolfhound. Snuffles was owned by a man who was new to the area, the subject of a good bit of gossip among church ladies like Hope who were too old to have any shame when it came to discussing the backsides of younger men.
Remus has not figured out the man's name because Snuffles, unfortunately, never said it and Remus had not reached the "can competently talk to attractive men" part of the coming out process.
So it was a testament to just how much his thoughts were spiralling that he watched the larger black dog greeting his friend without registering that it would mean he was here. At least, not until someone sat down next to him with, "You look like you are having a day , mate."
Mortification would sink in later. Right then he just groaned and buried his face in his hands, "God, I don't even know what's going on anymore."
The stranger gave a sympathetic smile and quirked an eyebrow as invitation to continue. He leaned back against the back of the park bench easily, one arm draped along it. If Remus sat back, he'd make contact with it, but his current dilemma was too much to register such things.
"I don't know how this happened. Mum has met my dog - but thanks to his name, she's gotten it into her head that I'm living with a boyfriend I haven't brought round!" he said, gesticulating at the husky who was happily chasing after Snuffles.
"Gotta admit, Patrick for a dog…" the stranger chuckled, brushing a lock of glistening, black hair behind his ear, which had several star earrings dangling from it.
"It was his name before I adopted him," Remus pouted, crossing his arms, "he likes it."
"Alright, but, it's not like anyone's going to think Snuffles is the name of my secret boyfriend."
"Lord, it gets worse," Remus continued, waving away the stranger's last point, "I hadn't come out yet. That is how mum found out I like men. And now my entire extended family knows and are adamant I bring my non existent boyfriend to my cousin's wedding."
The stranger let out a loud, bark-like laugh that he didn't even bother trying to cover up. In fact, it continued, loud, boisterous laughs continuing until his shoulders were shaking and his eyes were watering. Remus watched in disbelief, initially feeling embarrassed then insulted before finally getting over himself and just appreciating the sight of unbridled joy on the handsome face.
It was also a good opportunity to look at the tattoos. For the first few months that Remus had taken Patty to the botanical gardens, slowly getting more comfortable with letting him play off leash, the stranger had always worn a well loved leather jacket that looked buttery soft. The last week or two, the weather had gotten warm enough that the man was out in short sleeves that displayed an impressive array of tattoos. Remus had dedicated himself to spotting and memorizing them without acting like a total creeper. It had been slow going, and if the man was going to be so rude as to openly laugh at him like this, Remus was going to take advantage and use his eyes to trace the constellations on the man's bicep, sparkling out from nebula like clouds inked into his skin.
"Sorry, sorry," the man said finally, wheezing slightly and waving his hand, "Fuck - I haven't laughed like that in -" he shook his head, wiping his face on his tshirt, pulling it up to give a brief flash of even more tattoos as well as a trail of hair that directed Remus’s attention downward and threatened to short circuit his brain, "You can just explain the misunderstanding, right? Maybe convince them to let Patty there be your plus one instead."
Remus looked back over at the dogs, tussling now with playful growls, blushing as he realized the man had noticed Patty's name and nickname and maybe that meant he was noticing Remus as much as Remus had been noticing him.
As he continued watching the canines he let out a relieved sigh, glad that Snuffle's owner didn't mind the sight of his husky's teeth around the black dog's neck as they played. "I should, I know, I just - ugh, they're being so supportive, and I don't know, it feels like it'll fuck things up to admit it wasn't true. Would it be so insane to find a guy willing to be my fake boyfriend?"
"Well," the man sucked in a breath and looked away, "Can't say I know anything about how to navigate supportive family," he sighed heavily, "I can imagine not wanting to do anything to lose that."
"I'm sorry," Remus said softly, suddenly feeling very foolish that he had gotten so worked up over this.
"Tch, it's fine, I've been away from them for years," the stranger insisted with a wave of his hand, although his face was a bit grim for a moment. They both watched the dogs, already best friends, for a time.
Patty pounced on Snuffles, knocking them both sprawling, and the two men both laughed, knocking their knees together. At the contact, Remus gave a shy smile and the stranger's face lit up to see it.
"You know," he purred, smirking, "Maybe the solution to your problem isn't a fake boyfriend - but finding a real one to take."
"Oh yeah?" Remus asked, his heart pounding in his chest as he prayed he was coming off as smooth, "That something you might be interested in?"
"I just might be," he said, dropping his voice and not subtly brushing his gaze over Remus’s lips. He reached his hand out, "Sirius Black."
"Remus Lupin," he replied, taking the man's hand and not even bothering with a handshake, instead running his fingers over his tattooed knuckles and wrist. Sirius’s inhaled sharply at the unexpected touch. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
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