The first nights were completely fine. Sirius was used to having his godson over for sleepovers on the weekends, so when James asked if he could have Harry for a couple of weeks while he and Lily went on the honeymoon they never had the opportunity to have, Sirius saw no problem in saying yes, he was actually excited to spend more time with the kid.
And everything was going fine. Until it wasn’t.
It all started with the afternoon nap after nursery on Tuesday, Harry refused to stay in his room by himself, so Sirius sat down with him until the little boy fell asleep, which would have been fine if it hadn’t taken almost all nap time to do it, and made Harry sleep until evening. Obviously, when it was time to go to bed at night, the boy simply wouldn’t go.
By Friday, after days of trying to fix the sleep schedule with little success, Sirius was so sleep-deprived that when James called to talk to his son, there was no way to hide it.
Was not surprised that instead of hello what he said was “You look like shit mate!”
And Sirius couldn’t even blame him, he saw the way he looked on camera, the greasy hair tied in a not over his head, the dark circles under his eyes, and the t-shirt that should have been washed at the start of the week if he had remembered to do his laundry, wasn’t a good look on him.
He rolled his eyes anyway. “Cheers mate”
“Is Harry being too much trouble?” The worry in his voice made Sirius's expression soften. James never asked for help, so asking Sirius to take care of Harry had been a big deal, and he wasn’t going to screw it up.
“Not at all, he is a delight!” And it was true, for all the messed up sleeping schedule, having Harry around all the time has been one of the most fun and happy Sirius had ever been. “ It’s just his sleep that got a bit messed up, got late one day, and now I’m playing catch up”
Relief was clear on James' face. “ Oh, yeah, that is shit! Have you tried Moony?”
“Moony?” The name was familiar, but Sirius couldn’t pinpoint from where.
“It’s this storytelling podcast for kids, I swear to you, Moony’s voice will put anyone to sleep!” James explained, looking at something behind the camera. “ I got to go, Lily is calling me to dinner, but Harry loves Moony, I’m sure it will help!”
“Okay, I’ll try it! Have fun you two!” They said their goodbyes, and Sirius took advantage of Harry being distracted with his toys and looked for Moony on his phone.
The cover album was a really nice drawing of a moon, and it didn’t have that childish-pastel colors-cute vibe to it, which Sirius found nice. He remembered then, having heard about this podcast from some moms at Harry’s nursery, and by the subscribe numbers on the podcast channel, he knew it was popular. Hopefully, that would mean he had a good night of sleep after all.
…
Things didn’t get to a good start. Dinner had been mayhem - Sirius was not excited to try and clean spaghetti from all his kitchen floor -, and then bath time turned into a screaming session, because apparently Harry wanted to sleep with his face full of bolognese - who knows, maybe he wanted a snack for later? -, and now he refused to sleep in his own bed.
“Okay, we can have a sleepover in my room, but it’s just for today, alright?” He allowed. He had no energy to fight the kid anymore, and one night would do too much damage.
He got under the blankets with Harry, making sure the kid was settled with his own pillow and the owl plush he always slept with, before taking his phone again. “So, your daddy told me about Moony today!”
Harry’s eyes blinked with excitement “Moony! Moony! Moony!” he chanted, making Sirius laugh.
“So let’s be really quiet to listen, alright?” Harry nodded and settled better in bed, while Sirius hit play and allowed the soft tune to take over the room.
“Goodbye sun, see you later flowers! Welcome stars, and hello Moony!”
Sirius didn’t know what he was expecting from a child story time podcast, but it wasn’t the deep, velvet voice that felt like a warm hug, that’s for sure. By his side, Harry sight content, already closing his eyes, and Sirius followed suit.
“ Tonight's story is about a little boy and his best friend rabbit.”
Moony kept going, and Sirius could swear he was awake listening to it, but at some point, Moony’s voice turned into a soft lullaby, following the steady rhythm of the story.
When Sirius blinked awake again, the room was quiet, Harry was deeply asleep by his side, and his phone showed it had been two hours since bedtime. All he wanted was to fall asleep again, but he knew he would regret waking up to cold spaghetti stains all over his kitchen.
Unlocking his phone to see if there was any new notification, he saw the cover for Moony’s podcast and saved it to his library for later. He took one more look at Harry’s angelical sleeping face and smiled, he might have to find this Moony guy and buy him a fruit basket.
…
Moony’s magic worked perfectly for the next night. Having Harry in bed at a reasonable time meant Sirius could clean the house before the start of another beautiful and chaotic day, which would make him wake up feeling a lot better about everything. He even managed to do some more of his own work, doing some research for his next novel, and maybe, just maybe, drafting what could turn out to be a children's book one day.
He had no idea how James and Lily managed to have careers that included real working hours, while still having to take care of Harry. Even with the kid going to the nursery for half a day, there wasn’t enough time to get almost anything done. But Sirius knew he would miss this. Even if the Potters were his family, he realized that he really wanted a messy child and a cute husband to call his own.
But that would be a plan for later when he didn’t have his best friend's small child trying to destroy his apartment because nursery had been canceled due to a stomach bug going around, and rain had made most outdoor distractions impossible.
Hoping to not make things worse, he got Harry all cozy in his warmest jumper, put on his little rain jacket and wellies, and decided they would spend the morning at the local library. Sirius knew they did a morning story time for kids every day, sometimes with special guests, but usually with the local librarian, and they also had toys and funny books that Harry loved, so hopefully that would keep him entertained.
The walk was a bit chaotic, as expected, Harry demanded to walk by himself making Sirius’ clothes damper than he would like, but it was just a few blocks, so he decided it was best to just let things be. His black leather jacket helped protect his undershirt, and his hair was already in a bun so it was just his jeans that got the worse of it.
Thankfully, they arrived at the building before the rain got worse, t just to find out there were a lot more people there than Sirius was expecting for a Wednesday morning.
He got down to help take off Harry’s raincoat so he would get all the library soaked as well “Okay kiddo, I need you to pay attention to me, okay?” he asked searching for the little boy’s green eyes, making sure he had all of his attention for a few seconds. “There are a lot of people here, so I need you to use your inside voice, and I need you to make sure you can always see me, alright?”
“Yes Pads!” Harry nodded enthusiastically, which made Sirius smile. He was an electric child, but Harry was also the best kid in the world. “ Let’s see books!”
“Yeah, let’s see books!” He held Harry’s hand and got pulled into the children's section direction.
Harry ran away to the kid play area as soon as possible, but Sirius was still intrigued by how many people were there. His first thought was that the library might have some new exposition, but at a second glance, it looked like all the adults were there with kids.
He looked around wondering if he should ask someone if they knew what was going on before anything weird happened, but as usual, there were mostly moms, and Sirius tried his best to stay away from them. He had a history of other kid’s mom’s flirting with him, and not always being subtle about how handsome they thought he was going to look naked in their bed. He knew he couldn’t generalize, but being a single man with a kid was still a rare thing, which made him an easy target.
But apparently luck was on his side, and he found another guy in the mix, holding a paper cup that looked like it had something hot inside, looking around probably searching for the whereabouts of his own kid.
Sirius walked towards him keeping his eyes on Harry for the most part.“ Hey mate, sorry to bother you, but do you know what’s going on?”
“Oh, I think people might be here for the story time!” The man’s voice was somehow familiar, but Sirius's attention was fully on Harry, who decided to start running around with another kid, so he didn’t give it a second thought.
“Didn’t know it was that famous!” he shouldn’t be surprised though, the local library always had interesting cultural programs.“Glad we can make it!”
“Which one is yours?” It was a common question, and Sirius couldn’t help but be a bit proud to point out Harry, who was now helping the kid that was chasing him before to get up.
“The one with messy brown hair and glasses, he is my godson” He explained, and finally looked at the man, ready to ask the same question, but being immediately in shock.
The man was tall, that was the first thing Sirius noticed, really tall, but it wasn’t only that, the thing was that everything about him was big. Big hands, big shoulders, a big nose, big brown eyes, full lips, and big curls falling into his face. It shouldn’t be attractive, and it probably wasn't by social standards, but it took Sirius' breath away. Somehow, all the big features just fit, and when the man’s eyes met Sirius, and his lips turned into a smile in his direction, not only was he fit, but he was simply gorgeous.
“Actually…” But the mand couldn’t finish, a dark-skinned woman approached them and scooped him over, talking about something that Sirius couldn’t understand. The man smiled politely, turning around to follow her, leaving Sirius alone again.
He needed to sit.
It was like he had been close to the sun and now without its gravity, he couldn’t really stand still. Thankfully, he timed his panic well, as the library staff started to ask kids to get ready for story time, giving him a reason to make himself cozy at one of the colorful pillows on the floor with Harry on his lap.
For god's sake, he was a thirty-year-old man, he shouldn’t be so impressed by another guy, especially one who was probably married with a kid.
“Pads, pads, shiiiii” Harry said, copying the girl in front of the room asking for silence, and Sirius smiled at him. Right, focused on the kid, that would be better than having a gay crisis.
“Shiiii” He copied back, making Harry giggle.
“Welcome, welcome everyone! We are so happy that you are all here, because today, as you know, we have a very special guest!” The library girl said and then pointed to someone who was walking toward the front of the room.
Sirius supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that it was the man he had been talking to, sometimes life just likes to be funny. “Let’s give a round of applause for Moony!”
“MOONY!!” Harry screamed, and Sirius had to control himself to not do the same. He blinked in confusion, trying to piece the information together, until somehow, in the middle of very enthusiastic claps from all around, Moony’s eyes found him, and he shared a shy smile.
Oh, this was definitely a gay crisis now.
“Hello everyone! It’s so nice to see you all! Thank you for coming!” And sure, now that he knew, Sirius recognized the smooth voice that he grew accustomed to falling asleep to. “ I was hoping to tell you all a story today?”
Another round of applause followed and Moony sat down on the chair that was there for him. Now that he could take a proper look, Sirius realized that even though the man looked like he could be a basketball player, he also looked extremely soft. He was wearing what looked like the coziest knitted sweater, in a cream color that made the freckles under his eyes pop a bit. He took off his shoes to sit crosslegged on the chair, and his socks had little dancing pineapples on them, which Sirius couldn’t help but think was endearing. All in all, Moony was just like his voice, warm like a hug, and impossible to not be in love with.
Not that Sirius was in love, that would be ridiculous, he didn’t even know the guy and he wasn’t a teenager anymore to fall in love with just the idea of someone.
He tried to focus on the story and on Harry’s reactions, because the kid never looked so focused on anything before, and it was completely adorable. Moony’s voice was even softer live and now that Sirius had a bit of a chat with the guy, he knew that even if his voice was normally deep, this was a tone used specially for the storytelling.
The hour went by so fast, that when the story ended Sirius felt like a spell had been broken. It was like for that few minutes they were all just attracted by Moony’s orbit.
Another member of the library staff got up, looking just as enchanted as the rest of them, and asked for silence again. “Mr. Moony was kind enough to agree to some time meeting the kids, so let’s make a line and we’ll provide some paper for autographs!”
There was a bit of chaos after that, and Harry, who was a bit sleepy, and probably a bit hungry, started crying over Sirius' shoulder.
He knew that Harry would have loved to meet Moony and that James would be really upset that he didn’t get any pictures, and, okay, if he was being honest, he also wanted a new chance to talk to the man, but Harry’s needs had to come first, and that meant food, and then a nap, so with just a last look to see Moony hugging the first kid in line, Sirius got Harry on his lap and left the library.
…
They stopped at a coffee shop just around the corner, and after a sandwich and some orange juice, Harry’s mood was dramatically better. James and Lily called to check in and were greeted with a very in-depth tale from their two-year-old about the story they had heard from Moony. Not that it made a lot of sense, Sirius could see that his friends weren't understanding a thing, but they would say “uhh”, “really?” and “what else?” time from time to Harry’s excitement.
When the story was over, and Harry got distracted with his cookie again, Sirius explained the nursery situation, and they talked a bit about the plans for when they got back before they hung up.
Sirius started to clean up their table, knowing that if they didn’t get home soon, Harry would probably have another meltdown due to his lack of sleep.
He cleaned Harry’s hand and face as best he could, but somehow there cookie even at his messy hair. And even if Sirius was a bit disappointed by not getting a last chance to meet Moony, he couldn’t really be sad when he had the cutest kid to take care of. “ We had a lot of fun today, right Haz?” He asked going down to close the buttons from the boy’s coat, at least it has stopped raining.”Too bad we didn’t get to meet Moony after, but who knows, maybe another day, hun?”
The sound of someone cleaning their throat caught his attention, and Sirius got up.
“Oh, sorry, we were just leaving if you want the table…” His voice was cut short when he realized who was the one standing behind him.
“MOONY!” Harry screamed, also recognizing the man, and promptly getting Moony’s attention.
“Hello there little guy! I came to buy some lunch and saw you guys here!” He was looking at Harry mostly, but making sure to look at Sirius too.”I reckon we didn’t get a chance to meet before, so I thought of coming to say hi!” Sirius was still surprised, but then Moony was looking just at him, and butterflies decided to have a dance break in his stomach. “ I hope you don’t mind?”
“No, of course not!” He was quick to add. “ Harry was a bit overwhelmed after the story, so I thought it was best to have some food before we had to deal with a meltdown.”
Sirius saw some worry leave Moony’s eyes and felt himself relax too.
“You are really lucky to have such a good godfather!” Moony said to Harry again, making his smile even bigger.
“My pads!!” He explained, and Sirius laughed.
“ Pads?” Moony repeated amused.
“ It’s a nickname, short for Padfoot, something his parents called me since high school, but my name is Sirius” He explained, and then Moony turned his whole body in Sirius's direction, and great, when have the butterflies learned hip hop?
“ I’m Remus…Nice to meet you Sirius” And oh, Remus was such a better name than Moony. “I’m not usually this bold, but I would hate myself if I didn’t even try”
And then Sirius realized that there was a piece of paper being offered to him. His first thought was that it was an autograph, but a better look told him that, actually, it was a phone number.
“ Oh my god!” Sirius had been offered phone numbers before, he knew he was an attractive guy, but usually he wasn’t this starstruck with the other person, and caught so off guard. The surprise must have looked like something else because Remus's face fell.
“Sorry, this is stupid, I’m so sorry to bother you, I'll just go…” He looked clearly embarrassed and was making the move to retreat his offer when Sirius' brain finally caught up with what was happening.
“No! No! Please don’t! I just…I was just caught by surprise, you are…Like, you and I just got a bit starstruck, I guess” He explained, reaching for the hand again, and yeah, Remus's hand was so much bigger than his, and so warm, Sirius wanted to hold it forever. “I mean, I have been sleeping with you for almost a week now, and…”
Okay, maybe his brain hasn’t caught up at all, actually.
“Oh my god, I don’t mean that in a creepy way!” It was his turn to be embarrassed, but Remus was smiling, and not trying to run away anymore, so at least that was a win. “ I just…Yeah, I would love your number, and would love to take you out sometime”
He managed to finish saying without exploding, even though he felt like he might at any second.
Remus's smile made Sirius melt inside a bit “ I would like that too”
“Me too!” Harry added, clearly not wanting to be excluded, making both of them laugh.
“Their parents are back this weekend, so maybe after that?” Maybe he was being a bit desperate, but Remus looked pleased, so he wouldn’t overthink this.
“ If you promise not to get tired of my voice until there?” There was a bit more confidence in his voice and god, Sirius might love his voice even more like that.
“Impossible” He managed to give a flirty smile that made Remus blush and yeah, he liked that way better.
…
Sirius didn’t want to leave, but Harry had a nappy needing to change, and Remus had to meet his producer, the same dark-skinned girl from earlier, who was waiting with a sandwich for him at the door with an amused expression.
He felt like walking in space - or on the moon if he wanted to embrace all these embarrassing feelings -, all afternoon, and then Harry had been so tired that he fell asleep even without Moony’s bednight story. Sirius shouldn’t be disappointed at that, but he was kind of hopping the excuse to hear Moony, no, Remus's - voice again, and doing it just to himself sounded creepy.
So, feeling more up to his game now that a few hours had passed, he took his phone, searched the number he had added that afternoon as soon as they got home, and started to text.
Sirius:
“It’s weird for me to play your podcast even if my godson is already asleep?”
He stared at the phone anxiously, but the reply came right after.
Remus:
“It’s this about the story or my voice?”
Sirius:
“It’s too creepy to say it’s about your voice?”
Remus:
“Maybe…But then it would give me a reason to call you?”
Sirius:
“Yeah…I would like that”.
A minute later, his phone was vibrating.
“Hello?” The deep voice brought an immediate smile to Sirius’ face.
“Good night Moony” He said and Remus laughed.
…
One year later.
“Hey, tell me a story,” Sirius asked, getting cozy in bed, beside his boyfriend.
“You know that I tell stories for a living, right? I will start to charge you” Remus replied, his hand carelessly going through Sirius's hair.
“I’ll pay it in kisses,” he replied without opening his eyes, just smiling into Remus' chest.
“I guess kisses will do” Sirius felt soft lips on his head, and then Remus moved around getting more comfortable. “ Once upon a time…”
And then Sirius fell asleep with his favorite sounds around him, Remus' voice and heartbeat right next to him.