Fatherhood

Cornered off at a table in a small, nondescript Knockturn Alley pub, the two men stared awkwardly at one another over their pints. Attempting to find something to talk about now that his reason for inviting Malfoy here was fulfilled, Theodore curled his fingers around his glass and blurted, "Daphne doesn't trust me with Russel."

A beat of silence followed.

"She doesn't trust you with the baby?" Malfoy asked finally, bemusement clear in his tone.

Downing another gulp of his beer, Theodore nodded. "Maybe it's better that way," he said. "You remember my father, don't you? He had no sense for children. That's saying something too, since he became a widower only hours after I was born." Tipping back a little in his chair, he continued, "If he couldn't figure it out when made to hit the ground running, what hope do I have? After all, I'm just like him, as so many like to tell me."

"Your father was perpetually sloshed, Nott."

He glared at his soon-to-be brother-in-law. "What are you trying to say, Malfoy?" he demanded

"You have a nasty habit of your own there, but you aren't pissed all the time," the other replied, but, then, he seemed to reconsider what he'd said. "Unless you've gotten worse since our schooldays?"

"As uppity as always, aren't you?" Theodore grumbled with a fierce sneer.

The blond put up his hands. "It's been twelve years," Malfoy reminded him. "I'm just surprised Daphne took this long to find herself with a baby. What, with the way she got around."

Theodore narrowed his eyes. "That's my fiancée you're talking about," he growled at Malfoy.

Putting down his pint, the blond gave a derisive scoff. "Oh, please, if she hadn't been in the family way you two would never have got together."

"Yes, we would have!" Theodore argued stupidly.

Malfoy only had to raise an eyebrow in response. After all, both knew he was lying. If Daphne hadn't decided to tell him their tryst lead to her becoming pregnant, he'd have never gotten down on his knee for her. Theodore had never wanted a wife, or children, for that matter. But here he was, already a father of a bouncing baby boy and in another week, he was going to have a wife.

Hopefully, fatherhood and holy matrimony wouldn't be the hell his nightmares always made it out to be.

Sighing, Theodore buried his face in his hands and said, "What am I going to do? The ankle-biter probably hates me already."

"Russel isn't even a month old, I'm sure that's not true. If you give it another sixteen years, though…"

Peaking around his hand, he sent the blond a glare. "That's not helping," he grit.

Malfoy's face brightened with amusement. "I was only teasing," he replied. "Look, I was leery when Scorpius was born too, but all you have to do is try. They'll see you're doing your best and love you just for that."

Theodore made a face. His soon-to-be brother-in-law always became a sentimental sod when talking about his pansy of a son. Where Draco's little wuss got his sensitive sensibilities from was anyone's guess, but Theodore would bet a million galleons that it was only going to get worse as he got older. Heck, by the time Scorpius went to Hogwarts he'd a perfect candidate for Hufflepuff!

Oh, the shame. Theodore was sure Lucius Malfoy would roll in his grave when it happened.

"You sound like a bloody woman," Theodore grunted as he called for another drink.

Rolling his eyes, Malfoy gave a quiet laugh. "Merlin, why did I hate you in school?"

"I didn't worship your arse like Crabbe and Goyle," Theodore answered without missing a beat.

This brought out more laughter and after another moment, Malfoy stood up and gave Theodore's back an amicable pat. "That's right. Hey, Theodore? Thanks for asking me to be your best man."

"It's not like I had anyone else to ask," he quipped.

Chuckling some more, Malfoy waved goodbye. "You didn't have to," he said. "And don't forget, all you have to do is try with Russel."

"Yeah, I got it," Theodore replied as he waved goodbye to his future brother-in-law.

Continuing to sit at the table they'd shared, Theodore stared at his pint for a long time. He wrapped his fingers around it, ready to take another swig, but found he couldn't will himself to. Cursing himself, Theodore got up. Paying for his and Draco's drinks, he left.

-v-v-v-

In the darkness of the silver and cream room, Theodore approached his destination swiftly. Stopping in front of the bassinet settled in the middle of the bedroom, he placed his hands on the rim and leaned over to peer down at the baby. Gazing at his son's sleeping form, Theodore reached down to pet Russel's brown curls. Taking in their softness, he absently began to toy with them as he continued to memorize the pink, slumbering countenance.

"You just might hate me someday," he told his son. "But… I think I love you."

Bending down, he pressed a kiss to his brow. "I guess we'll have to see if that'll be enough like Draco said, huh lad?" he whispered before stepping back and leaving the little nursery.

Just a quick little one-shot I wrote while I was working on new chapters for The Kidnapping of Lucius Malfoy and A Carol for the Fearless.

Thanks for reading and please review!