Work Text:
“Scorp,” Draco’s soft voice fills the dark room. He approaches Scorpius’s crib, where the infant is kicking his little legs and fussing. He hasn’t started wailing yet, but Draco motherly instincts alerted him of a disturbance before Scorpius could even start. “What’s wrong?”
Draco picks Scorpius up, cradling him close to his breasts. He continues fussing, his tiny fists beating against Draco’s chest. “Shh, Scorpius, don’t wake Papa. He needs to rest.”
Scorpius doesn’t seem to care, though. Instead of settling like Draco had hoped, he uses his tiny, four week old lungs to produce the loudest cry he can muster.
“No, Scorpius, no crying.” Draco pats Scorpius’s tiny back, pressing a light kiss to his temple. Draco starts checking all the basic things the pediatrician told him to do when Scorpius starts crying.
Diaper? Clean and dry.
Hungry? Not rooting, no mouthing at Draco’s chest.
Tired? He was just asleep!
Gas? His tummy is soft, so Draco doesn’t think that’s why.
Discomfort? Scorpius is wearing his favorite onesie. He loves his little dinosaur onesie.
Draco can’t think of why his son is screaming and crying so much. He continues to pat Scorpius’s back, swaying him back and forth gently. A dull ache spreads through his hips, still hurting from giving birth.
The swaying and patting don’t do anything, though. Draco really hopes that Scorpius isn’t getting colic like James did. The few weeks that James had colic when he was an infant were some of the worst weeks in Draco’s life.
“Shh,” Draco coos, “you’re okay, baby. Mama’s here, Mama will make it better.”
Except Draco doesn’t know if he can make it better. He doesn’t even know why Scorpius is crying in the first place. How is he supposed to solve an invisible problem?
After what feels like hours, but what is really maybe fifteen minutes, of Scorpius’s painful cries and Draco’s hips aching, a voice rough with sleep interrupts Scorpius’s rhythm of cries. “Dray.” Harry places a hand on Draco’s aching lower back. “What’s wrong?”
The calmness in Harry’s voice makes Draco want to cry. The past few weeks have left Draco’s nerves completely frayed and his emotions all over the place. The shift from one child to two has been quite the adjustment. That, combined with fluctuating hormones that come during postpartum, has made even tiny inconveniences feel like the world is ending.
When Draco didn’t have enough flour to make James pancakes, he cried for ten minutes.
When Harry took Scorpius from Draco and told Draco to go take a shower, that he can handle the kids, Draco was so overcome with happiness that he cried for the entirety of his twenty minute shower.
Draco feels like he’s losing his mind with all the emotions he’s been feeling.
“I dunno,” Draco whispers, closing his eyes and leaning into Harry’s warmth. “He’s just crying. I’m sorry.”
“What’re you sorry for?” Harry moves to wrap an arm around Draco’s waist and hold him closer.
Draco feels a lump form in his throat. He tries to apologize for waking Harry up—Harry works long days so Draco can stay home and raise their children, he deserves at least one night of uninterrupted sleep. He can’t get a single word out, though, instead he just lets out a sob.
Instantly, Harry turns Draco around, cupping Draco’s cheeks in his large, warm hands. “Draco, my love, what’s wrong?” Harry tries to come up with all the reasons Draco could have suddenly started sobbing, but there are many. Just about everything has made Draco cry recently. “Are you crying because you’re tired? I can help you with that, we can fix this. No tears needed.”
Draco just shakes his head.
“Are you hungry?” Harry asks. “I’ll make you something to eat. Do you want some pasta? We have some leftovers from last night.”
Draco shakes his head again, opening his mouth to try and voice just how sorry he is for waking Harry. To him, it doesn’t matter that Harry doesn’t seem upset at being woken up, he just feels so guilty.
“Draco,” Harry’s voice is desperate, “tell me what’s wrong, please, I can make it better.”
Draco takes a deep, deep breath, barely composing himself. “I’m sorry for waking you up,” he manages to say.
Harry furrows his eyebrows together. “What? Dray, you haven’t done anything wrong. Babies cry, it’s just what happens.”
Draco doesn’t look convinced, though. “B-but you work so..” Draco takes a deep, shaky breath. “So hard to provide. I just want you to get good sleep.”
“Oh, Draco, that’s so sweet.” Harry smiles softly, wiping Draco’s tears with his thumb. “I appreciate that you’re worrying about me, but that’s not necessary. If I wanted more sleep, I would’ve stayed in bed and went back to sleep. So no more tears, okay? I’m not mad or upset. Now, let’s get Scorpius settled, okay?”
Draco suppresses his next sob and nods, his lower lip trembling. “He isn’t hungry, his diaper is clean, and he’s comfortable. I don’t think he’s gassy. I don’t know why he’s crying so much.”
Harry nods, taking in the information. He tries to recall what soothed James when he was fussy. Usually, James just wanted his Mama and everything was better, but obviously, Scorpius doesn’t just want his Mama.
“Let’s go into the kitchen,” Harry suggests, beginning to lead Draco into the dimly lit kitchen. “Maybe a change of scenery will help? James always liked going new places.”
‘New places’ was just a rotation of nursery, kitchen, living room, Draco and Harry’s bedroom, then back to the nursery. Occasionally, when James was really fussy, the front porch would also be utilized.
But to a newborn baby, those places must feel like a whole new world.
Draco and Harry make their way into the kitchen. Harry turns on the lights above their sink. Neither of them want to wake their oldest child, who is the lightest sleeper on planet Earth. One child awake and fussy is enough.
“Give him to me,” Harry says quietly. “Maybe he needs his Papa.”
Draco hesitates for a second, giving Scorpius just enough time to release one more ear-piercing wail from his tiny body, before handing him over to Harry. When James was an infant, Draco spent so long being his source of comfort that it feels unnatural to not be what his baby needs.
Harry cradles Scorpius against his shoulder, one hand under his bum and the other resting on his back. Scorpius’s warm, blond peach-fuzz dusted head rests on Harry’s broad shoulder.
“Hi, baby,” Harry whispers, subconsciously swaying back and forth. The sight makes Draco smile, absolutely gone for his husband. Draco loves seeing the way fatherhood has shaped Harry down to his core. He’s noticed that whenever Harry is handed a moderately baby sized object, he sways. When they went to visit Pansy for her birthday, Harry picked up her cat and held it against his shoulder just like a baby. He stood there, swaying, not even realizing he’s doing it.
“Mama’s been so stressed,” Harry whispers to Scorpius. “How about you settle down, hm? Give us a break.”
Like magic, Scorpius begins to settle.
Slowly, his wails decreased in volume. His tiny, red face relaxes, his limbs no longer flailing. Draco feels his shoulders relax.
Harry lets out a quiet, overdramatic gasp, a wide smile spreading across his face. “Good, good! Shh, just keep settling down, go to sleep.”
Draco sighs, letting Harry handle Scorpius. He doesn’t say anything, too scared to disturb the fragile peace. He lets Harry slowly rock Scorpius to sleep.
Within ten minutes of entering the kitchen, Scopius is dead asleep.
“He just needed his Papa.” Harry smiles, pressing a soft kiss to Scorpius’s soft head.
Draco slides down onto the floor next to Harry. His hips are aching. Even though Scorpius was a little baby, only five pounds four ounces, Draco was in labor for 22 hours. He was warned his hips will hurt more than after James’s birth due to the length, but Draco didn’t realize just how much they would hurt.
“You need to go to bed, Dray,” Harry murmurs, never faltering in his swaying rhythm. “You’ve been up for a while, and I can tell you’re in pain.”
“No,” Draco protests. “I don’t want to stick you with Scorpius if he starts crying again.”
Harry makes a face. “First off, you will never ‘stick me’ with my own child. He has two parents for a reason. Second, I will not let you be in pain. Go lay down. At least on the couch, if not the bed.”
Draco opens his mouth to argue, but Harry is having none of it. “Sweetheart, Scorpius has been crying for a while. He’s completely tired out. In a few minutes, I’m going to lay him down in his crib and go back to bed. You are not going to be missing anything.”
Hesitantly, Draco stands up on shaky legs, wincing. He stares at Harry. Harry gives him a look, then nods toward the bedroom door. “Go, I’ll be there in a few moments.”
With a scowl, Draco starts off toward the bedroom.