Companion

Written for Amaretto’s Fluff Challenge ( www. amasour. com/ fluff. Html (just remove the spaces)).

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"Lick my feet! Oh, you are the sweetest, smartest puppy ever! Good boy."

Greg suppressed as snicker as he watched the puppy he'd just gotten from the pound lick Sam's feet. "Hey, dog breath, it's not a command if he's already doing it."

"Stop it. You're insulting Vlad the Impaler." The puppy yipped happily, which only made Greg groan that much more.

"He is not Vlad the Impaler. When you get your own puppy, then you can name it. This one's mine," he told his next-door neighbor. Who, come to think of it, was a lot like a stray puppy himself. Sometimes, Greg kind of wondered why the guy had his own place since he seemed to be constantly over at Greg's watching movies on his television, falling asleep on his couch, and eating all his food.

Come to think of it, the dog had been Sam's idea, too.

"C'mere Killer!" Sam pulled the tiny poodle-pomeranian mix up and hugged him against his chest. "Who's the vicious snarling beast of death?" he cooed.

Not the puppy, as far as Greg could tell, given the way that the little guy squirmed and was licking every part of Sam he could reach. It was hard to tell who was more thrilled by their mutual meeting, the puppy or Sam. Neither could quite contain their excitement.

Brown eyes bright with happiness, body wiggling in a combination of nervous energy and restlessness, covert glances to make sure that he was the center of Greg's attention. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about Sam peeing on the carpet. "Yeah," Greg managed dryly as he plucked the puppy from Sam's arms, "I think I can see the blood lust in his eyes."

"See, now, I told you that this was a great idea." For some reason, Sam was convinced that Greg wasn't sold on the idea of a dog. Which was ridiculous, because Greg didn't do anything without having thought it through first. "He'll be a great guard dog. You'll never have to worry about burglars."

Yeah, because that was a huge worry in an apartment building that had locks on the entry doors and where he lived tucked in an all but hidden corner of the fifth floor. Sam was more likely to be robbed then him. Particularly since Sam had a rather nasty habit of forgetting to lock his door. Not that Greg was personally invested in Sam's apartment security, but since the guy relied on him as a human alarm clock, Greg would have been blind not to notice. "I'm not naming him Killer." He put the puppy on the floor, and the little traitor made a beeline for Sam.

"He's such a sweet widdle Cujo." Only Sam would baby talk to puppies. Shaking his head, Greg headed into the kitchenette and pulled two cokes out of the fridge. Rolling his eyes as Sam made the most disgusting coochie-coo sounds at the dog, Greg came back into the living room to see Sam sprawled out on his back, puppy wriggling in ecstatic glee on his chest. "Hey Greg, can I have a," Greg plopped the coke down in Sam's open palm, "coke? Thanks."

"You know, if you like dogs so much, you might want to get one of your own." He pointed out with false calm, as he popped open his can. Because as annoying as it was to wake up on Sunday mornings only to realize that Sam had drunk the last of the milk and put the empty carton back in the fridge, he actually kind of liked the fact that Sam had been there to drink it in the first place.

"Nah, I can barely clean up after myself. There's no way I'd be able to take care of a dog. Isn't that right, Hellhound?" The hellhound in question licked Sam's nose in response.

Would that it were that simple. Or that easy.

"You're plenty capable of taking care of a dog. I mean, nice try and all, but I've seen you putting my dishes in the dishwasher. And while I about died of shock, one day when I got out of the bathroom, I discovered that my carpet had been mysteriously vacuumed in the half hour it took me to shower. You'll understand that it was easier for me to assume that you did it instead of Bigfoot." Greg flopped on the floor on his stomach and propped his chin up with his hand. "Besides all that, I think you're more in need of companionship than me." Reaching over, he scratched the pup behind his ears and grinned as the puppy thumped a leg against Sam's chest.

"That is a vicious, vicious lie. You are way lonelier than me. You need a dog. Lucifer here is your one-way ticket to learning how to be social. God knows you need it. Your idea of getting out is walking half a block to the video store and back."

"Doofus, you dragged me to that horrible action movie just last week," Greg couldn't help reminding, hiding a grin in his palm.

"Yes, well, I can only do so much. I am just your neighbor after all. A dog will get you out and about. Seeing places that are actually green. They do exist, you know, along with those mythical 'tree' thingies."

"Smart ass."

"You hear that, Beast? We win!" Sam touched noses with the pup and then set it gently on the floor. "Face it, Greg. I'm just too devious for you. Admit defeat!"

"Okay," Greg agreed easily, and he could clearly see that it had taken Sam by surprise, given the way the guy was gaping. Perfect opening really, and Greg tried not to overanalyze it as he bent over, quickly brushing his lips against Sam's.

"Wha?" Sam's eyes were as round as saucers. "Why did you? Why? The whole-why?" Sam jerked up abruptly and Greg belatedly realized that he'd underestimated Sam's restless erratic bounces in energy-particularly nervous energy-as Sam's forehead connected with his.

"Do you want me to spell it out? Because I can. I just thought it was obvious. And by the way, ow," Greg muttered as he sat up rubbing his head.

"Ah man, I didn't mean to do that," Sam grabbed Greg's face, sounding much more like his old self as he made a hocking noise and then spit on Greg's face.

"Have I ever mentioned how disgusting that particular habit of yours is?" Greg cocked an eyebrow as Sam rubbed his spit into the bump Greg was pretty sure was forming on his forehead.

"No, but does it look like I care?" Sam stared intently at the bump while Greg tried to calm down his thumping heart a bit. He'd given Sam an out should the guy want to take it. Truth was, they were simply neighbors. It had been a bit presumptuous of him to assume that there could be more. "You kissed me," Sam finally said, looking into Greg's eyes as he kept his hands on Greg's cheeks.

"Nothing gets by you, does it."

"I," Sam paused before leaning in until their noses touched, "I liked it," he confessed guiltily. Greg couldn't help giving the guy a lopsided smile.

"I didn't do it because I wanted you to hate it."

"Um, can we do it again?"

Greg grabbed the sides of Sam's face in return, both so that he could touch Sam and so that Sam wouldn't have the opportunity to knock him senseless again. He tunneled his fingers back into Sam's tangled curly hair as he sealed his lips over Sam's.

Sam, who never seemed to hesitate at anything, hesitated at this, seeming to be uncertain at where to put his hands. Grinning into his neighbor's mouth, Greg gently pulled them both backwards until his back hit up against the couch and Sam was twisted sideways in between his legs. Sam's arms wrapped around Greg's chest. When Greg finally broke the kiss, Sam looked dazed, and Greg could feel the blush he was sure was staining his cheeks.

"Your lease is coming up soon, isn't it?" Greg tried to ask casually.

Sam looked up at him, incredulous. "We just kissed. Kissed! And you want to know about my stupid lease? That's all you can say? You just sucked my brains out through my mouth, and you want to talk about leases?!"

"Well, you said something the other day about it being up next month. And I figured it would be easier for you to take care of your dog if you lived in the same apartment that it did."

"My dog?"

Greg laughed. "You did name it."

"Wait, are you asking me to move in with you?" Sam grabbed his face again, squishing Greg's mouth into a fish face in his enthusiasm.

"Yes." The word came out somewhat garbled. "You practically live here anyway."

"If I live with you, do we get to kiss? Ooh! Do we get to do more? Cause, you know, I sleep on a single mattress on the floor, and you have a spacious king size bed. And since it is a one bedroom apartment and since your bed is about the only thing that fits in the bedroom, it would just make more sense if we shared, you know? Can I bring my display of Japanese action figures with me?"

"If they appear in random parts of the apartment holding notes like 'the end is near' and 'garbage stinks', they're history. If I see them in the midst of repelling from the ceiling fans, they're out the window. If you strategically place them on the towel rods and the soap dishes so that they can watch me shower, I'm burning them. And by the way, Beast is peeing on your jacket."

"Ah man, Beast, no! Not the suede! Pee away from the suede!" Matt couldn't help but laugh as he buried his face in Sam's springy hair.

Who needed a dog when he could have this kind of companionship?