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Remus was having a bad day. Bad might even be an understatement. Horrible, dreadful, the absolute fucking worst SHIT DAY IN THE HISTORY OF FUCKING DAYS! Okay that last one might have been an exaggeration. There wasn’t even a particular reason for it to be a bad day, he was just really exhausted. Either way, he just wanted the day to be over. But for now, he had to walk Moony. He called the husky and put her on a leash before putting on his shoes. Then he stepped outside and inhaled the fresh air. Well, as fresh as it gets in a city.
“Come on, Moony. Let’s get this over with.”
Apparently Moony was a little more excited for her walk than Remus was. She joyously tested the leash’s strength and Remus’ patience. Who was so not up to dealing with her childish business today. Therefore, he tried his best to avoid any trouble. He consciously chose the streets he knew weren’t usually walked by other dog owners. They may not be very pretty, but Remus wouldn’t have been able to appreciate the beauty anyways. It went well for a while. A rather short while.
“Oh no.”
Another dog was straying around in the alley they had just rounded into. Moony started barking and pulling on the leash with all her weight.
“Moony, sit!” It was no use. He knew it. It had been a terrible idea to get an untrained dog from the animal shelter.
The shaggy black dog approached her curiously. Suddenly Moony got quiet. Instead of barking she was now sniffing the other dog’s butt… you know, like dogs do.
“Padfoot? Padfoot! There you are! Jesus Christ, you gave me a heart attack!”
The black dog, Padfoot apparently, barked in return. If it were a human, it would probably be smirking shamelessly. Remus looked up to see which dog owner would be stupid enough to let their dog off leash in the city. He did not expect his brain to be frozen like that. He couldn’t form a single comprehensive thought. Smirking up at him with the same mirth their dog had shown a second earlier, was the most gorgeous person Remus had ever seen in his life. Beautiful wavy black hair, just past their shoulders, the most piercing and clear grey eyes enhanced by skilledly applied eyeliner. The sharp jawline made Remus weak in the knees and the punk rock outfit looked terribly hot on them.
“Hey there. Sorry about Padfoot. He’s usually really well behaved, I did not expect him to run off like that.”
“I- um- yeah, it’s fine.”
They stared at each other awkwardly. Fuck. Come on, Remus! Snap out of it!
He glanced at the two dog’s that were now happily playing with each other.
“I mean, looks like they’re getting along just fine, right?”
“Yeah. Is yours a girl? Padfoot’s a real player, all the ladies are falling for him.”
“Uh, yeah. Moony's a girl. That explains a lot. Unnecessarily heteronormative, don’t you think?”
Yes, that counts as flirting. Shut up.
The gorgeous punk threw their head back and laughed a full honest laugh that made Remus’ heart flutter. He felt like a fucking teenager.
“Well, I’m not straight so I think my dog gets a pass.”
“Good point. Same.”
There was a short silence in which Remus carded his fingers through his unwashed hair. Of course he had to come across a beautiful stranger today.
“I’m Sirius, by the way. No, not like the adjective, like the star.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Remus. He/him. What are your pronouns?”
Sirius’ eyebrows jumped up towards his hairline.
“He/him as well. Thanks for asking, not many do.”
“Well, in case it didn’t become clear yet, I’m not a fan of hetero- or cisnormativity. Also, how do we call ourselves the furthest evolved kind but still we are the only kind that is homophobic? How are all other species more progressive and accepting than we are? Feels kinda fucked up to me.” Stop rambling, you idiot! What even are you talking about? Get your shit together!
“Wow, getting very deep here! But you’re right, it’s absolutely ridiculous. I mean, gay penguins, right?”
“Exactly!”
Sirius grinned up at Remus widely. “I think I have to marry you.”
Remus almost choked. There was no way to hide his bright red blush.
“Oh my god, James was right. I still fucking suck at flirting.”
“Is James your… partner?”
“Partner in crime? Yes. Romantically? No. He’s dating my sibling, that would be just weird. He’s my best friend. I’m single. And flirting with you. Badly.”
Remus face was entirely flushed by now and he cursed himself for not being outside more. A tan maybe would have been useful now. He cleared his throat and gazed at the two dogs at their feet.
“Cool.”
An expression of concern appeared on Sirius’ face. “Should I stop?”
“What?”
“Flirting with you. Am I making you uncomfortable?”
Remus almost died right there and then. Sirius was too perfect. He couldn’t possibly be real. Remus was probably just dreaming.
“Uh- no, it’s fine. It’s cool.” Sirius smiled and Remus died again. “So how did you come up with Padfoot’s name?”
“That’s a long story. I’ll tell you if you tell me about Moony first.”
Remus grinned. He loved telling that story.
“Alright. So, my son, Teddy, always confuses huskies with wolves. So when we got her, he thought she was a wolf and therefore named her Moony. Up to today, none of us had the heart to correct him and the name really grew on us.”
When Remus looked up to see Sirius reaction, he found a face he couldn’t really read.
“You have a son?”
“Yeah. He’s five now and he’s pretty much my whole life.” Remus smiled hopefully. It’s been a long time since he dated someone and he really wanted this to work. But Teddy came first. Always.
Sirius looked like he was holding back a question he desperately wanted to know the answer to. The one thing everyone wants to know when you tell them you have a child. He spared Sirius from having to ask.
“I’m not married. I’m single. His other parent and I broke up even before he was born. We’re still good friends though and we’re raising him together. Neither of us wanted to give up custody.”
The weird look on Sirius face switched to one of apology.
“I’m sorry. That’s very private, I shouldn’t have… yeah.”
“It’s fine.”
“Still, can I make it up to you?”
Sirius made large puppy eyes and Remus died the third time that day. He shut off all the overly concerned voices in his head for a second and just did what he wanted to do.
“You could take me on a date.”
A face splitting smile was his reward. “I’d love to.”
“But nothing boring, alright? It has to be creative or it doesn’t count!”
“How about I take you to the zoo.”
“…elaborate please?”
“You know, we could try to find some gay penguins.”
Remus laughed and Sirius grinned at him.
“Yeah, I’d love that.”