Nymphadora Tonks loved being woken up this way.

A smile crept onto her face as she felt the tender lips of Remus Lupin, covering her neck gently with kisses. His touch, light and gentle with one hand on her hip and one in her hair, sent a thrill of love and deeper, warmer things tumbling down her spine. The morning air was cool and damp, the smell of spring wafting on the breeze that floated gently through the inn window. Without opening her eyes, afraid to break the magic of the moment, she slid her own hand back to cover his, linking their fingers. The soft metal click of their rings hitting one another made her smile widen, and she hummed appreciatively as he continued his gentle ministrations on her left earlobe.

"Good morning, Mr. Lupin," she murmured sleepily.

She felt a lazy smile come over his face. "Good morning, Mrs. Lupin."

Her smile broke into the full-fledged grin of a loopy-in-love newlywed. The wedding and extraordinary first night together as husband and wife came back to her in a flood of bright, happy memories. The look on Lupin's face as she walked down the aisle, concentrating on not screwing up this walk, stuck in her mind and her heart. She remembered the sheen of tears in her father's eyes as he looked down at her right before giving her away. She remembered the gentle pressure of Remus' warm hand as the wizard tied the cord around their wrists, binding them together for life. She could still feel his kiss, slow and reverent and tasting of the chocolate he had no doubt consumed right before the ceremony, on her lips, sealing the pact they had made in front of family and friends. And she most certainly recalled his kiss later that night, more urgent but still as loving, as they came together for the first time a man and wife.

Mrs. Lupin. Oh, how she had dreamed of hearing those words come from his mouth. How she had fought for them, tooth and nail -- against his own doubts and fears, against the world that did not understand the love of a metamorph and a werewolf. And in the end, she had gotten exactly what she wanted.

She flipped to her other side, coming face to face with the lightly scarred face and blue eyes hidden partially by fringe she had come to love and need so dearly. "I don't know what to do," she started conversationally, even as they grinned goofily at one another and his kisses moved to the hollow of her neck. "Remus, really! I can't think when you do that! I don't know what to do about the last name thing."

She felt him stiffen very slightly, and worked quickly to reassure. "No, love, I know I want to be Mrs. Lupin." She smiled at him, still enjoying the sound of it in her mouth, in the air between them. "I just – well, Tonks is my surname –"

"Beautiful and observant," Remus cut in wryly. She rolled her eyes.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor. No, I know that, obviously, but what will people call me? Can't be Lupin. Tonks would be kind of weird, since technically it's not my name anymore…and there will be no Nymphadora," she added emphatically, cutting off Remus' statement before it left the sly gleam in his eyes. Sighing, she flopped onto her back. "This could be a problem."

Remus leaned up on one elbow, his eyebrow arched as he looked down at her. "My dear, not that I don't understand your dilemma, but is this really the time you'd like to hash this out?" The wicked gleam returned as he slid his hand down her stomach. "There are many other things I'd rather be doing right now."

She caught his hand before it could go any further, her breath hitching in at his touch. "No sir, you can't distract me that way." Remus looked at her dubiously. "Alright, so you could, but I won't let you."

Realizing that Tonks would not be put off, Remus sighed resignedly and lay back against the headboard, his arms crossed behind his head as he regarded her from under his fringe. "Well, since we are obviously not going to enjoy any of the more…pleasurable aspects of this honeymoon until we figure out a solution, I suppose we should get to it."

Tonks screwed up her face in thought. "Well, I want to be Mrs. Lupin. No doubt about that. But it will get really confusing if we're both being called Lupin. That wouldn't do."

"Indeed, no." Tonks ignored the sarcasm in his voice as she continued her vocal train of thought. "I suppose I could just be Tonks to everyone still. Maybe it'd be kind of like another middle name!"

Remus was finding it very difficult to concentrate on the decidedly one-sided discussion. He found her so incredibly sexy, lying there in nothing but one of his t-shirts, her face scrunched in thought as if she was solving the answer to quantum theory. He found his hand wandering back towards her, snaking it around her waist as she frowned in concentration. He flipped her quickly onto her side, so that they were once again facing one another on the bed. "Love," he said softly, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "While I find this problem of yours to be highly fascinating, I was hoping to engage in some more – stimulating activities?"

Tonks felt her breath leave her body as his hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, finding her breast with his rather cold fingers. "Blimey Remus!" she squealed, jerking with shock and pure, unadulterated lust. "Did you go and stick your hands in the icebox?"

"I can think if some ways to warm them up," he said, grinning suggestively at her. All thoughts of her name, along with any others that had managed to resurface after the night before, slithered back into the recesses of her brain as she arched in pleasure under his touch. He leaned down to kiss her again, this time full on the lips, and she responded eagerly to the taste of him.

Much later, as they lay wrapped around one another, her head nestled on his chest, Tonks returned to the dilemma of her name. "I think," she announced, "that I shall hyphenate."

"I'm sorry?" asked Remus, bewildered out of his post-coital glow.

"My name," she said, a touch of annoyance in her voice. "Merlin, Remus, it wasn't that long ago we talked about this."

"Of course," he replied absently, running his fingers absently through her spiky pink hair.

"Anyways," she continued, enjoying the feeling of his voice rumbling in his chest under her ear. "I think I will hyphenate. Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin. That way, I can still have your name, and people won't feel totally weird sticking with the Tonks." She smiled, pleased with her decision. "I think that's a rather happy compromise, don't you, Remus?"

"Hm," replied Remus, nuzzling his face in her hair. "You smell so good."

Tonks whipped her head off his chest, nearly breaking Remus' nose. "Did you even hear a word I said, Remus John Lupin?"

Remus fingered his nose carefully, realizing how close it had come to being permanently detached from his body. "Yes, yes dear. Hyphen. Both names. I got it."

Tonks gave a rather remarkable imitation of a two year old, her lower lip protruding just enough from her mouth that Remus had the sudden urge to take it between his teeth. "Come on, Remus. This really matters to me."

Remus sobered immediately, reaching a hand up to caress her cheek. "Of course I care, love," he said, smiling at her reassuringly. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to minimize your feelings on this. It's just that it doesn't matter to me what everyone else calls you, as long as I can still call you mine."

Tonks' eyes grew misty, and she caught his hand in her own. "Oh, Remus," she said softly, planting a kiss on his palm. "You certainly know how to take the fight right out of me."

Remus gathered her in his arms again, kissing the top of her head. "I sincerely hope I never manage to accomplish that," he murmured into her hair. His face spread into a grin. "After all, what fun would that be?"

Tonks growled and smacked him lightly on his chest, and the two ended up wrestling one another across the bed, limbs flying and hysterical laughter ringing through the room. Finally, he managed to pin her underneath him, tickling her senseless as she attempted to claw her way out of his surprisingly strong grip. She gasped for breath, laughing so hard she felt her stomach muscles protest, feeling giddy over the sound of his gentle laughter floating above her.

He leaned his head down towards her, his breath tickling her ear. "Give up," he whispered, nipping playfully at her earlobe.

"Never," she gasped, turning her head so their lips met one another. As the kiss deepened, she felt his grip go slack, moving from her arms to her waist, and the next thing she knew they were sitting up, his back pressed against the headboard and her legs straddling his waist. She arched her brow in surprise and amusement.

"Ready to go again already?" she asked, a mischievous grin on her face as she shifted strategically over him.

He groaned, leaning his head back. "Apparently you bring out the best in me, love."

Tonks laughed, leaning forward to kiss him. "What to do you want me to call you?" she whispered, grinning at him impishly.

Remus laughed wholeheartedly, bringing his hands up to frame her face, flushed and shining with happiness. Remus felt his heart swell with love for this beautiful, sexy woman beaming slyly at him, and he counted his lucky stars that she had fought for him with as much passion as when she made love to him. She had never given up, and he was profoundly grateful. Remus smiled gently up at her and ran his thumb up her cheekbone. "You can call me yours."

They joined together, names forgotten, as they became each others'.