Title: Moments to Live By
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Remus/Tonks
Prompts: Ashwinder, Muggle candy shop, Day of rememberance
Summary: A curious find in the attic of the Lupin home brings back some wonderful memories.
“Marty! Get out of that bloody attic before some unmentionable creature attacks you.” Nymphadora Lupin yelled up the stairs of her small home.
“Keep your knickers on!” Tumbling slighting down the stairs, a black haired witch with glowing amber eyes came into view.
“What on earth are you doing up there?” Marty had taken to going through her and Remus’ old things and was driving her batty. She couldn’t even remember most of the things up there anyhow and it almost made her nervous.
“Mum… can I ask you something?” Tonks looked up from the book on household spells she was reading and stared at her daughter. The summer really had given her a glorious tan, so much like her father.
“Course love.” Marty twitched nervously in front of her and looked between tears and anger.
“Did you ever cheat on Dad?” Merlin.
“No. Of course not!” She tried not to be too harsh with her voice but she couldn’t help it. “Whatever did you find that made you think that?”
A small bit of parchment was sticking out of her daughters pocket and Marty reached and gave it to her, the blush on her cheeks mounting, her eyes down cast. Reading the parchment quickly Tonks laughed.
“Oh Marty, this is from your father.”
“But it’s signed Richard.” Marty pointed out rather accusatorily. Tonks merrily raised her eyebrow in what she hoped was a stern fashion, but she was no McGonagall.
“I’m perfectly aware of what name is signed at the bottom.” She patted the seat next to her on the settee. Mary walked quickly, being 14, the love of stories had not faded; especially for those of involving Remus and their romance.
“Well, it started with a small muggle sweet shop…”
The Muggle chocolate shop was her first mission and it still astounded her that it had resulted in such a vivid memory.
*
She passed quickly into the shop and tried to blend in with the avid muggle shoppers, looking for some sweet or tantalizing chocolate.
Chocolate; it’s funny how just three months ago, chocolate was simply a delightful candy and now it was part of a permanent pair in her mind. When she entered the Order, the first person she met was Remus Lupin. She could remember every detail of their meeting and how his gorgeous eyes seem to tell her everything she needed to know. He offered her tea and chocolate and even then she wondered in the briefest of blushes, what the combination would taste like on his lips.
Tonks glanced lightly at her watch, 1:50. She still hadn’t seen the informant; he was supposedly an employee with the name tag Richard and meeting her at 2. Imploring herself not to worry she busied her hands with sorting through the different flavors of chocolate bars. Between considering the mint or dark chocolate a hand brushed against her shoulder.
“May I assist you with anything Mam’?” Tonks abruptly looked up to find not only a sales assistant but the eyes of Remus Lupin. Stifling her surprise, Tonks smiled sweetly, but her concentration seemed to be slightly skewed by the intoxicating scent of tea and parchment.
“I was wondering the price difference between the two of these?” She handed the chocolate to him. Why hadn’t anyone told her he would be the informant and why was he so bloody attractive in those deep blue aprons?
“Certainly, wait one moment.” ‘Richard’ winked and disappeared back out into the front half of the shop.
This was most definitely a surprise.
She would have thought Arthur would have told her who she was meeting if it were Remus… unless of course Molly had a hand in it. She was torn between a chuckle and a grimace at the thought of Molly discovering her… fascination when ‘Richard’ reappeared.
“This mint is a pound more.” He handed the dark to her first then pressed the mint chocolate into her palm firmly. She nodded slowly, trying to get across the message of understanding as she smiled and turned away, instantly missing the slight nibble on his lip as he walked away from her. A piece of paper was stuck to her hand, which he must have given her when she got the chocolates back.
Alley. Stairs. Ashwinder. Now.
Frowning at the piece of paper she slipped it into her jean pocket, set the mint chocolate bar down and scurried to the counter. ‘Richard’ was no where to be seen as an older gentleman rang up her chocolate bar. She smiled and tried her best to act casual as she wound around the building to the dimly lit alley. Tonks spotted a rusty stair case above the loading entrance to the store and casually began to climb. But she could feel her heart beat increasing tenfold. Was something wrong? What was so urgent? What could be happening that Remus would deter from the plan?
Tonks reached the door and touched the handle, silently chanting ashwinder over in her head. The door clicked open and slipped inside. She turned around to find a small flat before her. A brown couch sat in front of particularly warm looking fire and leather ottoman. The shades were drawn tight and the living area led into a small kitchen, just a bar with a single stool. A doorway next to the bare kitchen seemed to be a bedroom because she could make out a bed and a pair of shoes on the floor.
“Nymphadora.” She turned quickly, wand raised towards the door.
“What happened when we first met?” She said, her wand still pointed at his chest. Remus just smiled politely.
“Are you referring to the incident were you clobbered me with a falling troll leg or when you threw tea all over my trousers?”
Of course he would say something cheeky. Constant vigilance her ass.
“No, I was referring to when you touched my arse reaching for the falling tea kettle.”
The ends of his mouth turned up in a smirk that would bring any hot blooded woman to their knees and he paired it with a casual gesture to the couch. Prat.
“Tea.” The blue apron still wrapped around his thin waist and cute bum, he walked towards the kitchen. She tried to relax into the couch but she never could with him in the room, not fully. It had to be that look he gave her, the look that says he’s clearly imagining something inappropriate and he’s lighting you on fire from the inside-out; more than that though, he knows it. The look that says everything naughty you’d picture from Sirius in a Professor Lupin sort of way.
In short, it’s the look that makes her cream her jeans.
“So, why are we here?” Her hand shook as she picked up her cup from the tray, letting the scalding Earl Gray burn down her throat.
“The drop off wasn’t made and I was sent in to save you from look terribly suspicious.” He winked and took his own cup from the tray.
“Ah, why the apartment?” He was running his finger over the bottom of the tea cup and she couldn’t help imagining what they would feel like running over her skin.
“Because it’s conveniently mine.” She couldn’t help sputtering the tea she was holding in her mouth all down her chin as she tried to gasp with a mouth full of hot tea.
“S’your house?”
“Yes, I have worked out a bit of a deal with the owner of the shop downstairs.” She raised her eyebrows, trying to look interested in the conversation but all she could truly think about was the fact that she was sitting on Remus Lupin’s couch.
“In return for his work for the Order, Dumbledore pays for this flat that houses me and was until earlier this summer headquarters. In addition I also am paid to follow his teenage daughter at night when she goes out, in case any Death Eater gets notice of his involvement.”
Trying desperately to find something intelligent to say, she failed and only uttered a small “oh” before going back to gulping down scolding tea. The small twinkle in his eye did nothing for her nervous.
“It’s nothing really but a place to make tea and sleep.” He leaned back against the couch and smiled kindly at her. But those eyes revealed much more than ‘kindness’ to her. She felt a hot rush move through her body and pool at the apex of her thighs. Merlin, did he have any idea what he did to her?
“Nymphadora, are you alright?” The question would have been valid at this moment, except for Remus leaning terribly close to her at that moment, his breath fluttering against her ear and his tone of pure… well if she was being honest she would say wanton slut but for the sake of her soaking knickers, she’d go with husky.
Then he leaned back quickly, took a sip of tea and watched her. His eyes flickered from her mouth to her eyes and Tonks was seriously considering running. It was too much to entertain the thought that he had any sort of real feelings for her but the way he was acting… like he knew exactly what he did to her and wanted to fully expand on that theory.
What did he taste like, under his t-shirt? What did he smell like, when he wasn’t wearing words?
“You morphed.” Shit. She felt the blush on her cheeks and her body warmed considerably, if that was even possible, and she wondered how much he knew about Metapmorphs.
She shifted uncomfortably on the settee under his amused gaze. He was years, maybe a decade older than her; he shouldn’t make her feel like this. But he does and it’s something she can do anything about. She was careless to the point of fancying the pants off of him and she knew if she didn’t get out of the apartment now, she might do something stupid.
Like admit anything.
“Well, I really must be off.” She sat her cup down and stood, avoiding his eyes by gathering her coat. The blur of movement probably meant he was getting up bet she was too focused on walking to the door with out falling to care. Tonks could faintly hear his footsteps following her as she reached the door.
“Thanks for the tea.” He had loafers on, how English of him.
“Nymphadora…” She didn’t even wince because it sounded too bloody lovely with his voice, in his small perfect flat, turning her hair pink. “I apologize for making you uncomfortable.”
She felt wide-eyed as she looked up from his feet to see him, Remus Lupin; with his hands crammed in the pockets of his brown trousers, blushing and looking sheepish and sorry.
Good Godric.
She’s really trying to speak, to say he makes her uncomfortable in the most brilliant way and that all she’s truly wanted to do in these last passing months was to pin him to his order meeting chair (the one directly in front of the fire, not that she knew) and snog him senseless just after she told him that she just might be a tad bit in love with him but it was hardly anything to be too terribly pressing at the moment.
Instead, she just stared; watching him shift back and forth from one loafer clad foot to another.
“It’s just, well you’re… you are so- so damn bright.” He finished lamely.
Tonks couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at his stammering.
“You just waltzed into my life, a life I thought I was content with and you blinded me with neon green hair that first night you came to the house…” He remembered her hair- honestly could it get any better? “But you were so young, hell you still are! How was I supposed to-“He pushed his hair back, looking straight into her eyes.
Oh my.
This look was made of something unlike then his normal wet knickers and obscene butterflies. This was something completely different that kept stirring in her limbs and toes until she felt like she was humming.
“How was I supposed to act? I’m old and poor, not to mention a raging beast once a month and you are so beautiful, full of life… and you make me feel that way, like there is something more than war. How was I supposed to ignore that? I’m sorry, I truly am. I hope that you’ll forgive me for ever thinking that my feelings were remotely returned and intruding on you in every possible way.”
Feelings? He had feelings for her?
His eyes had darted away from her again. She longed to have them back, longed to be able to say something to make him realize.
So she kissed him. It wasn’t movie like, but it was them. Her hands grasping his face too hard, lips pressed crushingly hard against his mouth and noses bending to accommodate each others intrusion. Tonks kissed him for what felt like minutes until she felt her neck cramping form the tension and she released him reluctantly because she desperately wanted him to know; could he feel her speaking?
His eyes were unbelieving and she couldn’t help but smile up at him. A big goofy grin that made her feel like she truly was apart of the Black family. And then a moment sat still between them, so perfect and filled with caged energy, so them- trying to figure out what this meant and how months of fire, of some unexplainable, unattended fire had burned far to long… had erupted into something purely of it’s own.
“Did you know Ashwinder eggs make love potion?” She said, smiling up at him. It was a day to remember, that in that moment they became something more powerful than any magical creature.
*
“So you see Marty, after that day with your father, we fell in love.” Tonks smiled fondly at her daughter who seemed to be trying to figure out what that had anything to do with her note.
“The note you have, was the note Remus gave me to meet him for our last date as just boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“He broke up with you!?” Marty’s face was scandalized.
“No darling.” Tonks took her daughter in her arms. “He proposed to me.”
She sat with her daughter for moments, before bustling her up to help with dinner. Marty disappeared to wash her hands and Tonks stood to make her way to the kitchen. Sliding into her pocket was a small piece of parchment with tiny, neat but loopy scrawl.iHisHIs
Nymphadora-sdfsdfsfwetf
We are like ashwinders, you know.
We’ve truly burned far too long to miss out on our chance to escape and make something beautiful happen.
See you at eight.
-Richard
Postscript- Are you aware that ashwinder eggs are used to make love potions? I did not, but then again- I’m absolute rubbish at anything that isn’t you. And even then….”
