Disclaimer: I do not own these two wonderful human beings.
He didn't know where she was; she'd retreated into the shadows of the hospital wing, and had them run off. No, he took that back. He didn't know exactly where she was. But he had a vague idea.
He found her in the Forbidden Forest, sitting at the base of a tree, staring at the ground. She looked up as he approached. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, but I'm doing this for your own good, really. I don't want to hurt you."
"Hasn't stopped you before, has it?" she asked bitterly.
That comment stung, it really did. "I'm sorry, Tonks, I really am, but I told you. I'm too old, too poor, too danger—"
She stood and walked to him, a fire in her ice-blue eyes. "Remus John Lupin, listen to me. Enough excuses. Open your eyes, Remus. I. Don't. Care. I don't care that you're a werewolf, I don't care how much money you have, I don't care how old you are, I don't care that I'd be a social outcast. I'm willing to sacrifice friends and family and the guarantee of a safe life because I love you, Remus."
She was sobbing at this point.
Then the truth of it hit him hard in the face, and he mentally cursed himself for not realizing it—or acknowledging it—any earlier.
He might not deserve happiness, but Tonks certainly did, and he'd been denying her that for almost two years, now.
"Tonks, listen, I..."
"I you don't love me, just say it. I can handle it. Sure, it would hurt, but not as much as I've felt in the past year and a half."
God, had he really hurt her that much?
He paused, took a deep breath, and began to speak. "You told me that before, and I said I wouldn't. It's not that I won't, it's that I can't." He took a step forward and took both her hands in his. "I can't because I love you, I really do. I just hope, that after all this time, you'll still have me."
She flung her arms around his neck—completely unexpectedly—and kissed him hard, and he responded eagerly, pulling her even closer. She pulled back and grinned at him.
"That answer your question?"
