You and Me

You and Me

by ObsidianEmbrace

Story Notes: This goes along with my novel, A Life More Ordinary, though it can stand alone.

~SB~

"He'll be fine," Sirius said for perhaps the fifth time, holding his arms out again but Lily wasn't quite ready to give in.

"He's just so little... James, maybe we should--"

"He'll be fine," James echoed Sirius' words firmly, coming over to scoop Harry gently from his wife's arms. "He'll probably sleep the whole while anyway. And Sirius can hold him just as well as we can."

"But what if--"

"Sirius has fed him loads of times. And though it's not his favourite," James said with smirk for his friend, "he can even change a nappy. Can't you, Padfoot?"

"Better than you."

James chuckled. "You're welcome to it, mate."

Sirius accepted the quiet bundle from James, smiling encouragingly at Lily who was nibbling nervously on her lip. Sirius tucked his godson close to his chest. "We'll have fun," he said, quietly so he wouldn't wake the kid.

Lily adjusted her shawl absently as James settled it on her shoulders. "Remus is home... if you need help?"

"He won't need help," James said. He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Stop fussing now... it's only dinner."

"Oh..." But Lily nodded determinedly. She stood on her toes and quickly kissed Sirius' cheek. "Be careful with him."

"I'll treat him just as I would my own godson," he said with a teasing smile.

She smiled and brushed her fingertips over Harry's shock of dark hair. She stepped back, reluctant still. James curled an arm round her shoulders and with gentle resolve to rival Lily's he steered her toward the door.

"Thanks Padfoot," he said just before they slipped out the door.

As soon as the door clicked behind them, Harry yawned and Sirius grinned down into the brilliant green eyes that were so like Lily's. "Good timing, kid."

Harry gazed up at him, his lips puckering and then spreading into a wide yawn.

"None of that, Harry," Sirius said with a soft chuckle, "or I'll be asleep too and your mum will never let me sit with you again."

Harry gazed back solemnly, blinking several times as he brought a bunched fist to his mouth. Sirius brushed his forefinger along the soft skin on the back of the chubby hand.

"Hungry, are we?"

For answer, his godson continued to suck on his fingers.

"Think I can make a bottle," Sirius said as he turned toward the kitchen. "Done it before, haven't we?" He bent and kissed Harry's forehead, grinning as the downy hair tickled his own temple. "Even if your dad was right there with us."

--

It was an hour later, with Harry fed, burped and changed that Sirius wondered if maybe Lily had been right and he was pants at this godfather thing. Absolute pants. Why else was Harry still crying?

He glanced at the clock as he continued to sway back and forth, with Harry safe in the crook of his arm--twenty minutes and there was no end in sight.

Harry's face was bright red, scrunched in misery; fat tears rolling down his cheeks. And Sirius was fairly certain his heart was going to break into a million tiny pieces if he couldn't figure out how to make it all better.

Not to mention his eardrums.

"Come on, love," he crooned. "What's the matter?"

But of course Harry couldn't tell him--not even a clue. Just that heartbreaking squall.

Sirius glanced toward the fireplace, a quick, calculating moment of desperation as he considered interrupting Remus--on his final edit of his first accepted novel. And even though Sirius knew that Remus would come instantly, he sighed and quickly disregarded the thought. He could do this.

"Your mum thinks I'm a bit of a dolt when it comes to babies," he said in a soft voice as he shifted Harry in his arms. Harry bawled his agreement. "Now, you don't want her to come home and find that she was right, do you?"

Apparently, his godson did.

"Oy, you little bugger," he said with a fond smile, "your dad will tease me mercilessly." Sirius shifted again. The blanket drifted to the floor as Sirius lifted Harry into the air so that his godson's scarlet face was only centimeters from his own.

The silence was instantaneous.

Harry's little arms and legs flailed, flinging out reflexively with the loss of the cocoon which Sirius had kept him in all night.

"Oh ho," Sirius said, grinning now as he watched the startled expression on his godson's face with delight. "Like that, do you?"

Harry's green eyes were wide as he took in the new perspective. Making certain not to wobble him too much, Sirius lifted him again, laughing at the second round of surprise. He pulled him close and blew a slobbery raspberry on the warm cheek, winning himself a smile.

"That's more like it," he said cheerfully. Nudging Harry's shirt up a little with his nose, he blew another kiss against the round belly. The smile lit up Harry's face this time, making the green eyes sparkle. Sirius bounced a little on his toes. "Should have just told me you were tired of being wrapped up," he admonished, shaking his head. Harry cooed and Sirius nodded. "You're right... my fault for thinking you were a sausage."

He sat on the sofa, arranging Harry on the cushion in front of him, tickling the bit of tummy peeking out. Sirius kept a hand on either side of Harry as he waved his arms quite happily. "Don't want you to fall."

Harry gurgled in agreement. Sirius smiled and pressed another kiss to his forehead, chuckling as Harry smacked his cheek soundly. "Quite an arm you've got there, kid." He grasped the little fist, waving it back and forth, his eyes wide as he exaggerated another shot to his cheek. Harry smiled. "Yep," Sirius said quietly, "we'll be just fine, you and me."

--

"There now," James said as he and Lily stepped onto the stoop, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Lily's anxiety had slowly dissipated as the evening went on, finally relaxing enough to eat her dessert. She smiled up at him. "Not entirely unpleasant."

James kissed her, grinning into her lips as she wound her arms around his neck and pressed him back against the door. "Maybe we should ask Sirius to watch Harry for another hour..."

Lily laughed; she planted her hands on his chest and pushed away. "I'm not asking Sirius to watch Harry while we have sex upstairs."

"Who said anything about being upstairs?" James murmured in her ear as he pulled her close again. He kissed her deeply this time. She nuzzled his neck after a few minutes, while James pressed his face to her hair, inhaling her flowery scent. "We'd better go," he said finally, regretfully. She kissed his neck.

"Harry sleeps through the night now," she reminded him, and feeling buoyed by that--and Lily's unspoken promise--he opened the door and led the way inside. He chuckled at the sight that greeted them.

Sirius was asleep in one of the chairs, with Harry against his shoulder--fast asleep as well.

"Wore him out," James whispered as they stepped closer.

"Just resting my eyes," Sirius mumbled, cracking an eye. James smirked.

"You fell asleep."

Sirius yawned. "Didn't..." But his sleep-soaked words betrayed him. "Have fun?" he asked through another yawn.

"We did," Lily answered as she readjusted the blanket so that it covered Harry's shoulder. "He wasn't any trouble, was he?" she asked anxiously.

Sirius' lips lifted into a drowsy smile. "Kid's an angel."

Lily's tense shoulders drooped in relief. "I'd better put him into his cot."

"I'll do it," Sirius said, his eyes coming fully open. "It'll jostle him less." He stood up slowly, keeping a hand on Harry's back. His godson's eyes fluttered but his breaths stayed deep and even all the way up the stairs, only stirring a little when Sirius set him down gently in his cot.

"Go back to sleep... there we are..." Sirius hummed softly; some tune with words he couldn't remember. But it did the trick; Harry's eyes drifted closed, his fist finding its way back to his mouth somehow. Sirius grazed a thumb over one of his cheeks, smiling. "Night..."

Lily and James were standing near the door, arm in arm. Both of them smiling at him.

"Thanks for sitting with him," Lily said.

"We had fun," Sirius told her as they stepped into the corridor, James closing the door quietly behind.

He punched Sirius' arm lightly. "Want to do it again next Saturday?"

Sirius smiled. "I'll be here."