The meeting was about to start. They were all sitting at the table, except from one person. She was gone on a mission on her own, and Remus was starting to get worried.
"She's never late. Never…" he thought; he could only remember of one occasion when she was going to be late and she had sent an owl, so they wouldn't worry. "If anything happened…" What was wrong with him? It wasn't the first time someone came late after a mission and he had never been this upset. She was a capable witch, in fact more than some of the members of the Order. "Don't be stupid… This is…"
Tonks had just apparated in the hallway, hitting the umbrella stand in her way and waking up all the portraits, as usual. She got into the kitchen with her hands up with an apologetic gaze.
"Sorry for getting late, there were more Death Eaters than I expected, but I managed to get rid of all of them. The Ministry is taking them to Azkaban, now. Oh! And sorry for the mess… I… well, you know me…"
Remus bowed his head, smiling. "How am I supposed not to like… Stop it!" She took a seat right next to him, as she always did.
"Wotcher!" she smiled.
"Good evening. Are you alright? Does it hurt?" he had noticed she was feeling her right knee, "I've seen you hit that knee quite a few times in the last two days."
"Don't worry, really, I'm fine. My leg has seen worse."
She was smiling that smile he liked to think she only kept for him. When she put a hand on his arm reassuringly he felt a sudden shiver and smiled too.
Lupin opened his mouth to say something to her, but then he felt Sirius's gaze fixed on his back. "We're in the middle of a meeting; she's already been late… We shouldn't be whispering like this! What's wrong with me today?" The truth is, he could guess what was going on with him, but he was afraid of guessing it right. He shook his head and turned to look to Arthur, who was speaking at the moment, while he tried to ignore her smile and her hand as it left his arm.
The meeting ended quite early that day, so a few people decided to stay for dinner. Remus was discussing with Arthur and Sirius a couple of details of the Order's organization for the following months. Then, he caught a glimpse of Tonks and kept staring at her. She was in the kitchen with Molly; she wasn't a great cook, in fact, she was quite a danger to be around in the kitchen, but she still tried to help. Before he could even realize, he was smiling.
"Remus? You were saying?"
"Mmm… Oh, yes. The thing is I'm not completely sure that part of the plan will work, but it's our only chance, so we have to give it try. Anyway, Sirius, remember you're out of that mission" seeing his friend's attempt to speak he said "No buts."
During dinner, they took their usual seats, so Remus and Tonks were sitting again next to each other. As always, Molly tried to feed Lupin as if he had never eaten in his entire life and as he knew it was pointless, he didn't complaint. But if he was to be honest, even only with himself, he had to admit there was only one thing he was paying attention to at the moment. He would look at her every once in a while; her bubble pink hair, her eyes, the way she smiled at Sirius's jokes… "She's so beauti… Stop it!" And then he got a glimpse of her looking at him. "You're just imagining things; you know that would never happen… Don't get your hopes up."
After Molly checked Remus had eaten enough (three full dishes of mashed potatoes and stew, almost twice what he would have eaten under other circumstances), she and Arthur left, followed by Sirius who went to check on Buckbeak, leaving Remus and Tonks alone in the kitchen.
"Fancy some tea?" he would always ask her that question after the meetings.
"Yes, sure" it was the perfect excuse to spend more time together, "With…"
"Milk and two sugars, I know", he had his back to her, but she could still notice a smile in his voice.
Tonks blushed a little. "Of course he knows." He always remembered small details like that. "Maybe that's why I like him so…" She bit her lip and shook her head "Don't be stupid, Dora. He would never feel anything like that for you…"
Remus sat back beside her and reached her the cup.
"Thanks" it was perfect, just the way she liked it, "You're not having any?"
"No, I couldn't, after all I've eaten" he said pointing at his belly and they both chuckled.
Between sips, she took a chance to look at his face. He was so relaxed now, smiling widely – she loved seeing him like this. But today, there was something different, in his eyes; she could feel he was tired, more than usual, which is saying something. And still, there he was, as nice as ever.
"Remus, you look really tired", she couldn't see him like that, he needed to rest, "I can finish this on my own, you don't have to stay."
His eyes widened. "See, you old fool, she doesn't want your company…" He didn't know what to answer, neither did he know how badly she wanted him to stay; but she was really concerned for him.
"I mean, after all the missions you've been into and the meetings during these past weeks, and the full moon is just in a few days; you must be really exhausted.
He really didn't expect this, she seemed really worried. "And she mentioned the full moon as something… normal."
"You don't have to worry, I'm alright."
"I already know the answer will be no, but if you need any help, anything, you can count on me."
Remus took her hand that was resting softly on his arm. She was always so kind…
"I can manage, I'm an old wolf, you know?" he smiled, "But, if something happens, I will consider your offer. Thank you."
They stayed quiet for a while – they could hear Kreacher wandering around the house and Sirius's snores, which made them laugh. It felt so good just to be there sitting together, but then Tonks remembered something.
"Oh, Merlin! Tomorrow morning I'm working with Kingsley and he's to pick me up early. I should be leaving."
"Ohhh, of course, you should take some rest too…" he seemed a little… disappointed?
"Goodnight, Remus" they were up now.
"Goodnight, Tonks" and while he was saying so, she leaned forward to him. Her hand was on the side of his face and her lips on his cheek, right on one of his scars and he closed his eyes. It was only a couple of seconds, and maybe he just imagined it, but it felt as if she wanted to linger there for a while longer – something he wouldn't have minded in the least. She then disapparated, leaving Remus standing alone in the kitchen, smiling like a young boy.