"You are up early," Remus blinks when he notices Draco downstairs at one pm next afternoon, "Are you okay?"
Draco forced himself to get out of bed early. "I was wondering if you needed any help."
"Dear God," Remus knows that Draco was warm yesterday but he thought that was because of Harry's rough treatment of him. "You are sick!" He presses a hand against Draco's forehead. "Go back upstairs." He orders, "Do not get out of bed for any reason." The boy must be delirious to offer to help with housework of all things. Draco Malfoy doesn't do housework, according to what Sirius told Remus. Harry had warned Remus to not let the blond near fire because he is a natural arsonist.
"I am not sick." Draco insists, "I want to help you with breakfast."
"Breakfast was seven hours ago," Remus informs Draco, physically blocking him from the stove. "Why don't you go upstairs. I will make you lunch."
"I want to help." Draco tries not to sound like he is having a tantrum. He does.
"Son," Remus tries to be as kind as possible considering what the boy has been through this past month. "Sirius built this house for us with his hands. I don't want it burned down."
"I don't start fires anymore." Draco promises, "Not on purpose, anyway." Hey if mother was being particularly annoying on certain days, Draco had to create distractions. Also, the firefighters tended to handsome alpha males who pose for calendars Draco was quite fond of. Now that he has Harry, he won't be needing those calendars anymore. He has all the eye candy he could need.
"I am not going to think about what that means," Remus grabs Draco's shoulders and pushes him toward the stairs. "Go to bed, and think about what you just said."
"I can clean." Draco tries to fight Remus but he is weak, and his body is recovering from the mark.
"Okay," Remus calls Draco's bluff. "Please, clean." He gestures to the modest space that they share.
Draco looks around, wondering how one cleans. "Huh," He says mulishly. "It looks pretty clean already."
"How astute." Remus is impressed that Draco noticed the freshly clean house. The boy is kind of self-absorbed. Not that it is a bad thing. Considering how selfless Harry is, it makes sense that his soul mate happens to be a self-centered boy. Remus hopes that Draco's attitude rubs off on Harry, who needs to learn how to enjoy life to the fullest.
"Okay," Draco sighs and lets Remus force him upstairs. "So I am not the perfect little housewife."
"Who is?" Remus himself was quite bad at homemaking when he was young. He was forced to grow up fast because he had a small child to care for. Draco can be spoiled because he doesn't have a baby to care for, yet. "Did you take a pregnancy test?" He asks, noticing that Draco's pretty face has a pained expression at the question. "Is it positive?" He knows that young people don't care to be parents. He wanted to wait, but the second baby Harry was placed in his arms, his life was complete. He would go back in time and do it all over again. Well if he could go back in time, he would save James and Lily so that they could care for their baby, and then Sirius and Remus could try and have their baby when ready later in life.
"Negative." Draco knows he has no right to feel bad, but he was kind of looking forward to starting a family with Harry. The thought of carrying Harry's child makes him crave sex even more than he usually does. Harry's seed growing inside him would mean the ultimate possession, that Draco belongs to his alpha completely.
Their children would be gorgeous. Draco can envision a small boy, with big green eyes and his father's untamable dark hair. He can also picture a small, cute baby girl with blond hair, and green eyes. Draco hopes their babies have Harry's eyes. They are a keepsake of his mother, and Draco feels close to her because of the necklace he is always wearing and feels her spirit watching over him protectively, just as her son does physically.
No court can separate him from Harry if Draco is pregnant with, or raising his alpha's child. Not even his parents' shark lawyers could convince any judge that a parent must ever be separated from their children.
"Oh," Remus is surprised to see how hurt Draco is. "Sorry."
Draco shrugs and curls up in a fetal position.
"Look," Remus doesn't know Draco, just that he is a beautiful spoiled boy from Sirius' family, who was abused by his parents. "You are young. There is lots of time for children."
"I know." Draco consciously understands what Remus is saying, but he instinctively wants a baby now. It would fill the emptiness in his life.
Remus wonders how he is supposed to fix this. "Look," He places a blanket over Draco's slight frame. "It will happen, okay? It's not easy for omega males to get pregnant so be patient." Remus himself remembers feeling incredibly jealous when Lily got pregnant within a month of being married and he didn't despite being married years before her and James. Over time, he understands that it is a blessing that Sirius and he haven't had another baby after Harry. It means they can devote their entire energy to the precious gift their best friends had entrusted them with.
"Okay," Draco shivers despite the warm blanket covering him. "Thanks."
"You are welcome." Remus means it too. "You can talk to me if you want to." At Draco's lack of a response, he adds, "It is extremely difficult to raise children." He hopes to make the boy feel better. "Exhausting. Late nights, long days, and don't forget the constant fear you live with." Harry is like a piece of his heart walking around, and Remus lives worrying that his child will get hurt. "It's an insane amount of work, especially when your husband is working full time." Remus was lucky because Sirius quit his job to be with them both.
"Harry said we could give it to you." Draco barely has enough strength to lift his head.
"Of course he did," Remus sighs. "Young man, if you have a child you will be solely responsible for it." He says it sternly enough, but judging from Draco's bland expression, the boy doesn't believe it. Remus doesn't even believe it himself. There is still a lot of mothering left in him and with Harry working, he doesn't think Draco should be left to care for a baby by himself.
"Is it okay if I sleep now?" Draco asks, his tone lifeless.
"Not until you've had lunch." Remus is proper worried about the boy now. Draco's face is pale, he radiates disappointment and sadness, and his eyes are glassy.
"Not hungry," Draco mumbles, nuzzling the pillow with Harry's scent on it.
"Too bad," Remus says, "I will be back here with lunch and you are to finish all of it." At Draco's disinterested stare, he adds, "Draco. You don't need to do housework, but I expect you to take care of yourself and be healthy." He frowns when he realizes that Draco is already asleep half asleep, his beautiful blue-grey eyes drooping shut.
"Life is in colour now." Harry says with wonder, "It used to be so grey and depressing before." He tells Sirius who nods, understanding. He went through the same thing when he mated with Remus. "I feel complete."
"We need to talk about Draco." Remus doesn't bother lowering his voice because, at this point, he knows that the boy wakes late in the evening.
"Is he okay?" Harry immediately removes his coat, still in his scrubs. "I can get Neville here in half an hour. Does he still have a fever?"
"His fever has gone down," Remus reassures Harry, who has switched into physician mode in the blink of an eye. "It's his mental health I am worried about. I think he is depressed."
"With his parents, I would be worried if he wasn't depressed." Sirius scoffs.
"He…" Harry has noticed some things during their week together but is hesitant to bring them up.
"It's beyond normal omega issues." Remus feels sorry for the boy. He is as beautiful as he is broken. He wouldn't let any alpha near him in this condition, but considering this is Harry, Mr. Sensitive, Draco is safe physically. However considering Harry doesn't know what an omega goes through, let alone an abused one, he could inadvertently make Draco's issues worse if not careful. "He is devastated he is not pregnant."
Harry knows. He remembers the heartbroken look on his mate's face when he reported what the blood test concluded. Draco isn't with child. It wasn't for lack of trying. Omega males are much harder to impregnate than any other gender. That doesn't mean Harry is going to give up. If anything, he will try much harder to ensure his blond pancake gets knocked up. Harry needs help.
"It's not a bad thing to want a baby." Sirius himself was destroyed after James and Lily died, but getting baby Harry kept him alive through the grief. His only regret is not having more kids, but considering they are quite on in years, they don't need the hassle of caring for another baby. If anything, Harry with his calm, adoring temperament was a breeze to care for. He was so soft-spoken as a young lad and has grown into a responsible adult. Sirius doesn't know what he would have done with a younger version of himself with Remus' defiant attitude mixed in. Especially now, when they are both in their forties.
"Babies are precious and I would kill to have another one of you," Remus assures Harry. "But I think he wants one because he feels insecure in this relationship."
"What?" Harry looks perplexed, "Why?" Has he done something to make Draco think Harry isn't sincere about their relationship? "Have I done something wrong?"
"He won't open up to me." Draco is wary of other omegas, and considering his mother is a psychotic monster, Remus doesn't blame the boy. "Sirius, can you please talk to him?"
"Me?" Sirius doesn't even like talking to Remus or Harry. He is a very quiet person. He is grateful that Remus can read his mind, and Harry is an astute person who can read his expressions and grunts. God help Sirius if he had to talk too much regularly. He needs his solitude, not just physically with silence, but mentally as well.
"You are his cousin," Harry always feels comfortable talking to his godfather. "And you always help me."
"You are a boy I raised from scratch," Sirius reminds his son, "And we are both alphas. How am I supposed to help Draco with anything?" The bratty blond is an omega, and he is very rude. Being a very rude man himself, Sirius doesn't care to speak to someone blood-related to him.
"You are the only person in this house besides Draco, who understands what Black traditions are." Remus reminds his husband. "You get what Narcissa did to him."
"I don't," Sirius admits. He knows that omegas are slaves everywhere, but the Blacks take it to a new level. "I ran away as soon as I could." The day he turned eighteen, he jumped the Black Manor fence and escaped. It was years before his parents gave up trying to bring him home. He was an aggressive young alpha not afraid of killing or being killed.
Draco is a fragile omega princess, who needs help and protection. Narcissa and Lucius will do everything to bring him back and exchange him for whatever power and societal domination scheme they have in mind. Sirius suspects they are planning on selling him to a deranged, sex-hungry alpha and get political favours out of it. He would bet his entire fortune on it.
"So we let that innocent boy upstairs suffer in silence?" Remus asks, outraged at the thought of Draco's misery. "Harry, either make him happy or leave him alone." He says to his son threateningly, "I am going to make sure neither one of you ever has sex again." He promises, making sure Harry and Sirius understand he means it. "I am not putting out," He tells Sirius who looks ready to cry, "And you are not going anywhere near that princess," He gestures to Draco, who shuffles inside, looking slightly better.
"What princess?" Draco asks after he demands coffee.
"It's seven in the evening," Sirius informs Draco as Remus starts the coffee maker.
"If he wants coffee," Remus warns Sirius, "He is going to get coffee."
"Exactly," Far be it for Harry to disagree with Remus' rules. He is in charge of this household. The new pecking order is Remus, Draco, and then the alphas. Their needs are last. Not that Harry minds. As far as he is concerned, he finally has a perfect life. He has his parents and his fantasy career. Growing up, he always wanted a brother. Draco isn't quite a brother, more like a sexy best friend. Sexy in ways Ron could never, ever be.
Harry still wishes Sirius and Remus would give him a baby brother, but he isn't about to voice that thought. He doesn't want to put pressure on the couple which has always wanted to give Harry everything in life. He wants them to have another baby if and when they are good and ready.
"Here you go, doll face." Remus places a cup of coffee strong enough to kill a man in front of the younger omega, who nods in thanks. "Anything else."
"This is good for now." Draco's voice is raspy from disuse. He did sleep thirteen hours today and is kind of feeling well-rested. He is extremely disappointed that he is not pregnant, but he will get over it, for now. He hopes Harry gives him a baby soon.
"Mail call," Sirius says when Remus starts making dinner. "For you," He hands Draco a package full of clothes.
"Oh thank god." Draco immediately chugs his coffee and stands up, "Let me try these on."
"I am sure everything will look good on you," Remus reassures the beautiful, leggy blond with the perfect body and face. "You are flawless." He wants to make the young man feel good about himself. Draco has self-esteem issues because of depression and all the years of abuse.
"You are starting to scare me," Draco admits to Remus, "Please say something rude to me."
"Why would I do that?" Remus asks, a little confused. "Are people always rude to you?"
Draco doesn't know how to explain that most omegas are terrible to each other. "Uh-huh."
"Well, that's over," Remus promises. "No one will ever be mean to you ever again."
"I am going to go before my head explodes." Draco wants to believe that Remus is this great of a person, but his inner voice, the battered, abused submissive inside him, keeps telling him that the omega in charge of this house is trying to get him to lay his guard down, so that when the time comes, he can cruelly exploit and humiliate Draco.
"Is that why he's so defensive?" Remus asks the alphas as Sirius hands Harry his mail and then starts going through his. "Because he doesn't trust other omegas?"
"He trusts no one." Harry knows that Draco is starting to open up to him, but his defense mechanism is too powerful. He has learned not to let anyone in because he is too afraid of being hurt due to awful past experiences.
Sirius nods as he throws out the flyers. Even in the middle of the damn woods where their house is, the fucking flyers always find their way in their mail. "I know that feeling." Sirius never trusted anyone either, but then he met a handsome young alpha named James, and two gorgeous omegas named Remus and Lily. By the time little Harry came along, Sirius had forgotten how to be a wild animal, choosing to be a domesticated and content indoors dog instead.
"Well too bad," Remus says after he places their dinner for tonight into the oven to cook. "He has to trust us because we trust each other in this family."
"Fuck," Harry says as he reads the contents of the letter.
"Language," Remus scolds but Harry keeps staring at the letter, unblinkingly.
"Fuck," Sirius notes after he grabs the letter and gets a look at it.
"What?" Remus grabs the letter next, a legal notice, asking Harry to appear in court and surrender Draco back to his parents. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"What am I going to do?" Harry asks his parents, panicking, forgetting that Draco can sense what he is feeling.
"We are going to get a lawyer," Sirius promises, "First thing tomorrow. And they can't take Draco from you. The marriage is consummated."
Realization dawns on Remus. No wonder Draco was so devastated earlier this afternoon. No court would dare take a pregnant omega from his or her alpha. A childless omega on the other hand is a different story altogether.
"What's wrong?" Draco reappears, having sensed Harry's fear and panic. He is wearing one of his new outfits, having shopped online, but ran downstairs because Harry's mood shifted from being completely contented to scared in a matter of seconds. Nothing much scares alphas, so Draco is worried to sense that from his calm, even-tempered surgeon of a husband.
"Hey," Remus grabs Draco's shoulders and gets him to sit down, "Your parents are suing Harry for custody."
Draco's expression becomes stricken with terror. "Oh," He suddenly feels nauseated.
"I am not going to let him take you," Harry pulls Draco into his lap, not caring that his parents are here. "I swear to god, Draco I will take you and disappear. They will never have you." He holds Draco tightly. "You are mine."
Sirius understands where Harry is coming from. If anyone sent him a legal notice trying to take Remus he would be so furious he would kill everyone in the country before he let it happen. On the other hand, he knows Narcissa and Lucius quite well. They are both insane. They will stop at nothing to take Draco back. He gets Draco's fear and empathizes with the shivering omega.
"Um," Draco declines Remus' offer of cake and a hug. "I am going back to bed now." He says, as Harry releases him and starts following him upstairs.
"Listen," Sirius blocks the pair before they disappear for the night and wallow in misery because they are both quite good at that. "I am not going to let anything happen. I don't care if I have to kill your parents and go to prison for it."
"You are too soft for prison honey," Remus jokes, "I will go for you." He grabs Draco's forearm gently, frowning when the young omega flinches violently, "No one is going to hurt you, okay?"
"I appreciate that," Draco says lifelessly, any joy over his new clothes gone.
"You are marked," Remus reminds Draco as he taps his neck. "They can't take you away from your alpha."
Sirius wishes he could reiterate what Draco said, but he has seen his family pull some unbelievable things which go beyond the confines of the law.
"We will go to bed now," Harry gives his parents a grateful look, and helps his omega walk upstairs, making sure Draco's steps don't falter because his knees are wobbly. "See you at breakfast."
"Hold on," Sirius grabs his son's arm, "Downstairs." He gestures to the stairs at the opposite end of the room.
"You are banishing us to the basement?" Harry keeps his arm around Draco, keeping him steady and upright.
"You both have…" Sirius takes a big breath, "Needs. And we can't stop you both from doing whatever it is you do."
"Make love?" Harry cuddles Draco close to his side. "We were so quiet last night. We didn't make any sounds."
"I can still smell you." Sirius has excellent senses, he could smell Harry and Draco from across the damn woods, but it doesn't help when his kid's bedroom is down the hall, and he is doing inappropriate things to Sirius' cousin. It will help when there is an entire floor between him and the boys.
"Oh," Harry says sheepishly, "Sorry. We will try to be better." He helps Draco as he crosses the living room. "I love you."
"I love you, good night," Remus says and after the kids are gone, turns to his husband. "I can't believe I am going to say this, but we really should think about killing your cousin. Prison time be damned."
"And leave those two idiots alone?" Sirius tsks.
"They will die without us," Remus agrees, as he lets Sirius lead him upstairs.