A/N: Omg, I could've made this so much longer. I so hate myself for starting it so late when I have a deadline. Please enjoy and review! :)
Romance Awareness Challenge: Wolfstar - Single Parent! AU - Timer on the wrist Soulmate! au
Soulmate AU: you are born with a timer on your wrist counting down the to the time you meet your soulmate
Word Count: 2,092
Disclaimer: Nope. Never Have, Never Will.
First Impressions Aren't Always Right
When Remus invited his best friend over to his house to await his timer, he didn't expect her first words to be, "You need to get laid."
He gasped, turning over to look hurriedly toward his son, Teddy. The toddler continued happily humming and coloring his book.
"He doesn't even understand what I'm saying," Lily said, nonchalantly, grinning at his reaction. "You know what? Take the night off. I'll babysit Teddy tonight. You are not going to meet your soulmate like this. Go change."
Remus frowned, looking down at his outfit. He was wearing simple black slacks and a blue cardigan with a white collared shirt underneath. His timer, which was the entire reason he had called Lily over, was counting down the moment he'd meet his soulmate. In fact, it said there was only half an hour left until he did.
"I look fine. If I'm going to meet my soulmate, I don't want to fool them by looking like someone I'm not." Remus sighed. "Besides, do I have to go out?"
Lily shook her head, making a disapproving sound under her breath. She walked over to where Teddy lay on the floor in front of the coffee table. "Do you want to stay with Aunt Lily today?" Lily asked, reaching out to tickle Teddy's side.
Teddy giggled, arms flailing out in happiness. "Yes! I like Auntie!"
Lily smirked triumphantly at Remus. "Go on, Rem. Take a chance. You aren't going to meet your soulmate right here. There's no way. So go to the nearest place you like and wait."
Remus smiled, he could never stay annoyed with Lily. "Fine. I'm going, but I'll be right back. I'm going to go get some takeout food and then we'll watch movies."
"You're no fun," Lily teased, settling in beside Teddy. Remus grabbed the house keys and wallet and stuffed them into his pocket. He bent down and kissed Teddy on the forehead. He smiled nervously at Lily and they briefly hugged, easing his worries.
"Be a good boy, Teddy. I'll be back soon," Remus said, waving goodbye at Teddy and Lily. He walked out of his apartment and closed the door. His timer now read twenty minutes.
It took Remus about ten minutes to walk all the way to the Chinese restaurant and order food. He nervously waited for his food, wondering if he'd meet his soulmate buying food. He had Teddy to worry about, too. He needed to find a suitable partner that would loved Teddy just as much as they would love him or just as much as Remus loved Teddy.
To his surprise, his order only took five minutes to make. He paid and was out the door in less than a minute. Where on earth was he going to meet his soulmate? Remus continued walking down the street in the direction of his apartment. He wrinkled his nose when he was about to walk by the closest bar to his apartment, the smell of beer strong and heavy even from his spot five feet away.
Remus glanced at his timer and froze a second when it began counting down. The small beeping sounds gradually getting louder.
Ten
Remus walked slowly, eyes focused on his timer.
Nine
Surely, there must be a mistake. There wasn't anyone around he didn't already make eye contact with. Remus looked around again but still saw the casual couple outside the bar and the man sweeping the street on the other side of where he stood.
Five
Remus was directly in front of the bar now and he could see the absolute madness in there. The lights were flashing red, blue, green, and white in a rapid fashion where there were bodies upon bodies dancing on the dance floor.
Three
Three things happened in rapid succession. First: the bar door was thrown open and a body came tumbling out. Second, Remus quickly outstretched his arms to stabilize the person resulting in Remus practically cradling the person. Third, the person looked up and straight into Remus' eyes as their timers beeped together in perfect harmony.
Remus' eyes widened as he took the man before him. He was only a couple inches shorter than Remus with shoulder length, wavy, black hair, and the most striking gray eyes he'd ever seen. Not to mention how long his eyelashes were and how well they framed his eyes. Remus' eyes flickered over to the other's man lips where he had them in a sly smile.
And that's when Remus noticed his lip piercing.
In fact, his soulmate had several piercings. He had a lip piercing, a small nose piercing and one on the tip of his eyebrow. Remus could just make out the ear piercings through the man's hair. It's also what caused him to notice the other's outfit. Decked out in a black leather jacket, black jeans, and gray collared shirt, he looked extremely attractive.
His stomach fell. He did not look like a good partner to raise Teddy with. The man opened his mouth (oh, god, was that a tongue piercing?) and laughed.
It sounded heavenly. "I guess it was a good idea to go out tonight," the man said, smiling from ear to ear. "I'm Sirius."
Remus couldn't help but smile back. He blamed it on the fact that they were soulmates. "I'm Remus Lupin."
Remus wanted to bang his head against the wall when he saw those dimples. It wasn't fair. This man looked amazing. How did the universe give him this gorgeous piece of work? But there was no way Sirius would ever properly look after Teddy. Remus typically wasn't one to judge a person by how they looked, but he wanted the best for his son.
"Do you want to come inside and talk over a drink?" Sirius sounded so hopeful, not acting one bit disappointed in getting Remus. Sirius even looked toward the ground shyly before giving him a flashing grin, a pink tinge on his creamy skin.
That's why it hurt more when he let go of Sirius' upper arm and took a step back. He flashed an apologetic smile. "Uh, no, thank you. I have to go. Good luck with . . .everything!"
Remus waved once before speed walking away. His heart and body felt heavier with every step. He missed the way Sirius' face looked crestfallen and how he hunched his shoulders into himself.
By the time he made it home, he was panting slightly, having made the five minute walk into two. He leaned against the door for a couple of seconds, taking time to compose himself before going in.
"Daddy!" Teddy cried, standing up from Lily's lap and rushing to hug him. Remus smiled fondly, picking Teddy up and hugging him.
"I missed you," he said. He looked over at Lily who stared back with blatant concern. Her eyes seemed to question him. "It's complicated," he sighed, shaking his head.
"Are you okay?" she asked, standing and taking a seat on the couch instead of the floor. She patted the spot next to her. "Come and sit."
Remus swallowed, placing Teddy on the couch and the food on the table. "I'll tell you later," he said, passing her a cartoon of food. He ruffled Teddy's hair. "Well, what did you talk about with Aunt Lily?"
Teddy grinned, snuggling into Remus. "About Mr Black! He is great and kind."
Lily smirked. "Yes, about his new daycare teacher. Mr Black apparently is his new favorite teacher. He replaced Mr Pettigrew who left the place."
Remus raised a brow. "Oh, yeah, Peter mentioned he was leaving. What about Mr Potter? Wasn't he your favorite?" he asked.
Teddy shook his head. "No! Mr Black is nice and cool. I like his hair more than Mr Potter."
Remus was impressed with the man who managed to slip his way into Teddy's heart. James Potter, one of his preschool teachers, was an amazing man to work with children. He knew exactly how to deal with all of their tantrums and tears. This Mr Black had to be the same.
"Have you met him?" he asked Lily, who was currently taking Teddy to preschool. "Is he good?"
Lily nodded, "Oh, definitely. He's James' best friend, you know. I've seen him interact with the kids and he's a natural. Really cares for them."
"Well, that's good." Remus sighed in relief. He grabbed the remote and began navigating Netflix. "Alright, who wants to watch Moana?"
"Teddy, stay still," Remus scolded lightly, as his son squirmed around when Remus was trying his shoes. "You don't want to fall."
Teddy sighed loudly, staying still long enough to tie his shoes. As soon as Remus said done, Teddy ran to get his backpack.
"Hurry!" he cried, tugging the bag on. "I want to play with my friends already."
Remus smiled, grabbing his car keys and work bag. "Okay, hold your horses. I'm going."
Lily had been the one taking Teddy to school recently because of a project he had to work on in the company. He was there early mornings and late night. But thankfully it was done and he could spend more time with his son, which of course, included taking him to school.
He was really tired, his soulmate haunting his dreams, but this was for the best.
Hogwarts, the head starter school, only had preschool and kindergarten. Teddy was in one of the three preschool classes. The drive was only twenty minutes. He pulled up in the parking area and shut off the engine. He unstrapped Teddy from the booster seat and opened the door. Teddy immediately got off and waited anxiously by the car door.
"Excited?" he asked.
"Yes! Mr Black says that if you get to school on time and be good, he'll give us some of his yummy cookies in snack time!" Teddy grinned. "I want a cookie."
Remus laughed, curious to find out more about Mr Black. "Well, let's go."
As they approached the entrance of his classroom he could see the figure of someone's back. He had originally thought it was a female because of the hair tied up into a ponytail, but looking more closely, it was definitely the body structure of a man. The man had black jeans and was wearing a long sleeved red shirt. This must be Mr Black.
Remus watched as Mrs Longbottom laughed and left her son, Frank. Mrs Longbottom had a very strong character. It was odd to see her blushing like a schoolgirl. He was even amused when Teddy pouted and ran over to grab Mr Black's other hand with a loud cry of "Mine."
"Teddy, that's not nice," Remus called out. He was about to apologize to Mr Black and Frank when the teacher turned around.
Remus froze when he stared into the too familiar face of Sirius.
"Remus?" Sirius asked confused. Remus nodded. He noticed that all of Sirius' piercings were gone, save for the two red studs in his ears. He had been right about those last night. "Is . . . Teddy your son?'
"Yeah, he is," Remus replied, heart clenching at the all too obvious puffiness under Sirius' eyes. "Is he a good student?"
"He's great," Sirius responded, a small but cold smile gracing his face. It was so different than the one Remus saw last night. It pained him to think he caused this. "Er, send my regards to your wife."
Remus frowned, "My wife?"
Sirius nodded, looking over Remus' shoulder, like he couldn't even stand to look at him. "Mmhm, the pretty redhead."
"Lily isn't my wife." Remus snorted, as if that would ever happen. "She's my best friend. It's just Teddy and I."
"Oh," Sirius replied, finally meeting Remus' eyes. "I see. That must've been tough. You did a good job."
It was official. Remus was the absolute worst. He hadn't even given Sirius a chance.
"Would you like to have coffee with me?" he blurted out, aware of the tremble in his voice. "I know I was an …" He glanced at Teddy "Stupid. I was so stupid. But please give me a chance to make it up to you."
Sirius' jaw dropped. "I'd love to, you jerk," Sirius said, glaring at him but the smile on his face said otherwise.
Remus sighed in relief and smiled.
He was determined to make this right, to make Sirius feel wanted and needed because that's exactly what Remus felt. He was too quick to judge and he almost let something wonderful slip from his fingers.
Remus wouldn't make that mistake again.
