Author's Note: This one was a request...enjoy :)
He stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Instantly he took note of the way the sunlight made her red hair appear even lovelier than it normally looked to him.
It was no mystery how she felt. She had made her feelings perfectly clear on several occasions. First in a subtle way and then she took a more blatant, demanding approach. She could read him in a way that no one else could. Without even expressing his deepest fears and insecurities he knew that she could sense exactly what they were; and though she did not make light of them or make him feel as though they were foolish to harbor, she did carefully convey why she felt they were trivial.
"The boy cannot be trusted with this information. At the first mention of the horcruxes you all know damn well he will formulate a plan with those blasted friends of his and run head long into trouble, likely getting them all killed!"
"With all due respect Severus I disagree," she said.
He turned his head, thankful that he was now able to look directly at her without anyone in the room giving a second thought to his actions.
"Of course you do," Severus sneered.
She ignored his remark and instead chose to concentrate on the positive. "I feel as though Sirius has done an amazing job with Harry. Unless I am mistaken and there is an incident I am not aware of, it's been quite some time since he ran head long into trouble as you put it and I think he's more than mature enough to handle this information."
She looked him directly in the eye, giving him a small wink that he was sure no one else in the room noticed. Using every ounce of self- control he had, he forced himself not to blush as a result of it.
They had spoken the previous evening. She had shown up unexpectedly at his house and practically begged him to reconsider, to see things from her point of view.
It had been three weeks since he had admitted to sharing the same feelings that she had been experiencing.
He asked her to give him twenty four hours to think things through…to make a decision. Yet here they were in the final hour and he was still at a complete loss as to what to do. He knew the meeting would end at any moment and that afterwards there would be no escaping the inevitable conversation.
He knew what Sirius would say, which was exactly why he had not asked his opinion.
Sirius was an excellent friend and in many ways a savior, but he wasn't always delicate in approaching certain subjects and Remus hardly needed the facts thrown in his face.
Yes his condition held him back from doing many things. It was the reason he had never stepped up to take care of Harry when James and Lily had died. It was the reason he had left his teaching position at Hogwarts. It was the reason he was so careful as to who he allowed close to him. It was also the reason he couldn't picture himself in a relationship; and certainly not a relationship that could very easily turn to love, marriage, and children.
He already cared for her deeply, far too deeply to believe for even a moment that things wouldn't escalate quickly if given the chance. When it came to her it was very simply a case of all or nothing.
He could easily hurt her without even meaning to. He could easily ruin everything with one careless mistake. He could easily pass his horrible condition on to a child, and even if he didn't, how could he possibly assume the role of a proper father with such a condition?
"You're being unreasonable," she said in response to something Arthur had said.
Remus nodded in reply, though he wasn't quite sure what he was agreeing with. He would have agreed with whatever she felt was right, it did not matter to him.
The meeting ended moments later and as the other trickled out of the room and to their respective homes, Remus found himself lingering behind, both hoping to talk with her and being terrified of doing so at the same time.
Finally, with only Sirius left in the room, she approached him.
"I'd love if you would escort me home."
Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Sirius give him an encouraging grin and nod.
Moments later, he was stepping through the fireplace and into her small parlor.
So many thoughts were racing through his mind. He felt his palms sweating as if he were still a young schoolboy about to receive his first kiss.
He cleared his throat, unsure of where exactly to start.
"I want to apologize to you," she said as she leaned back against the wall. "I shouldn't have put pressure on you to make a decision. It wasn't fair of me." She paused for a moment and Remus was sure he saw a tear clinging to the rim of her eye. "I intend to back off now so you no longer need to worry about that. I'm letting you off the hook."
"I don't want you to," he admitted. The words escaped his mouth before he had a chance to stop them.
She looked up at him with hope in her eyes.
"I don't want to be let off any hook."
"But you're scared…worried. I can see it in your eyes," she whispered.
"Terrified," he admitted with a nod. "But I think that's to be expected…normal even. I've done a lot of thinking about this and I think you may be the one and if I turn my back on that I am more foolish then I ever thought possible."
She blushed as she smiled a small smile. "You're sure about this?"
"I'm surer about this than I have been about anything in my life."
Her smile grew as she looked down at her feet feeling almost bashful at his words.
"May I kiss you Nymphadora?"
"Don't call me that," she muttered.
She was usually beyond annoyed at anyone who dared to call her by her given name but she couldn't help but think that it rolled off his tongue in a way that made it sound nicer to her than it ever had.
"I think it's a lovely name," he whispered as he leaned in and allowed his lips to meet hers for the first time.