Hello everyone! This fic is set sometime after Dumbledore's funeral. Say after two-three days. Remus and Tonks aren't married yet in this fic. This fic was supposed to have two chapters but since second chapter was getting too long, I might divide into a third one. Enjoy this part for time being (at least I hope you enjoy!)

I do not own Harry Potter.

Remus brushed his fingers against the orange colored Lantana in Molly's beautiful back garden. People who were on the light side and were fighting the raging war, would really appreciate the beauty of it; they would find peace in all the colors and mesmerizing seemed as if colorful and nice smelling things or more importantly, person, calmed him.

He walked past the lavender Asters and pink Appleblossom yarrows and realised that there wasn't a single color here in these flowers that he hasn't seen her hairs in. All these colors reminded him of her- orange, lavendar, green... Pink.

Everything reminded him of her. That is probably what happens when you are in love. It had been happening with him for more than one year. Every little thing made his mind flash back to her. When once he had been on order business, meeting people, trying to recruit them, he had met vast variety of individuals. One of them had been a werewolf, a bit older and more ragged than him; when he had asked him his name he had replied 'It's Supreme Marble'. Though he had effectively disguised his chortling into coughing, his first thought had been, 'and Nymphadora thinks her name is obnoxious'.

At first he hadn't thought much of it, if anything, thinking about her used to bring a smile on his face, but as time passed, every time his thoughts went to her (and it was an awfully lot), it would be maddening and saddening... Because she had become this thing in his life that he wanted the most, and yet she was unattainable. And even later in time when he had thought of her it was no more an image of colorful cheerful Tonks, but a morose and depressed Tonks, which had cut him deeper into heart than anything.

But now things were far more different; everything wasn't perfect and he would often feel these pangs of doubts that he was dragging her along him, but he was happy in a way that he never had been. Now thinking of her not just brought a smile on his face, but it lightened his heart too.

He heard a faint thumping and turned around to see Alastor Moody walking towards him but not really looking him in the eye. Order meeting had adjourned few minutes before and Remus had came here. Alastor had been discussing curse breaking with Bill, and by discussing he meant it was rather an one-sided conversation. Tonks had left immediately as she had to report urgently at Ministry, but not before she gave him a secret smile and a brush against his hand.

"Some of these are not even found here." he said when he reached to him, pointing towards the various flowers with his one eye fixed on them and other one rotating around, scanning the area.

Remus raised his one eyebrow. "You know about flowers too?"

"Of course I do." he replied almost indignantly. "There are some nasty, dark magical flowers, and I am talking about only flowers, not plants. Touch them once and you will never be the same again." he finished darkly.

Of course there were. Everything was possible in magical world. Though in Herbology, the subject didn't touch the darker aspects of forticulture. But then again, Alastor wasn't here to talk to him about anthology. Something was bothering the old Auror. Something not work related, something which had left him uncomfortable; it was all written in his body language.

"You wished to say something to me...?" he probed.

Moody fidgeted, which was an odd scene, then seemingly steeling himself he replied in a tone which one would use while talking about muggle missiles taking off to Mars.

"I heard about you and Tonks."

Remus immediately inwardly cringed. Moody was the last person he wished to talk about his love life. He only looked good while talking about dangers and murders. He looked skeptically at him wondering what to reply. But Moody wasn't looking for him to reply, he wasn't even looking at him, may be that was what had made him able to talk about this bizarre subject, well bizarre for Alastor.

"What I want to say is, if you don't feel for her, you don't need to pretend; don't need to pretend just because she can be happy. I understand you are a good friend and care for her but no need to pretend because when the truth will come out, it will hurt her more than ever." he finished gruffly and said words like 'feel' 'care' 'hurt' with such a sour face as if he couldn't himself believe he was talking about this.

Remus was really puzzled and beyond shocked. He gaped at him. Whatever gave him the impression that he was pretending to just make Tonks happy and that he didn't really love her? He had expected some 'don't hurt her' speech but this was exact opposite. Beyond his comprehension.

"What are you talking about?!" he almost exclaimed and did nothing to hide his shock.

"I am talking about you obviously!" he barked. "You were running away whole year from her, giving excuses and she was running after you, and then you suddenly realize that you want to be with her! What else am I to understand?"

"I don't know whatever gave you the impression that I don't reciprocate her feelings, because I do. I was just trying to protect her life from burdening." he replied a little frantically; he couldn't believe that not only he was having this conversation with Moody of all people but that he also wanted him to understand that he wasn't faking it. Is that what everyone thought about him and Tonks...?

"What?" he looked genuinely shocked and a little upset that he wasted few minutes of his life talking about 'feelings and love' when he could have utilised that time to bombard people with surprise curses.

"Well... Anyway then! That's what it looked like to a third person. How was I to know? My eye can see through things not through people's mind. She's the closest thing I have got to a daughter and to me it looked like as if you just relented because you got fed up."

"Yes but-" Remus started saying but Moody was already walking away muttering to himself.

Remus sighed in part annoyance and part amusement. Wait until Tonks hears this, she's going to have a fit, he thought. He started walking towards Burrow when a voice saying his name halted him in his tracks.

"...Lupin?"

His first thought was that someone was calling him, but when he peered round the building, he saw Ron, Ginny, Fred & George working in the garden, probably assigned by Molly to feed chickens and tend to the garden gnomes. It was Ron's voice that he had heard.

"What?" Ginny looked up after throwing one gnome in far off distance.

"Do you think this Tonks and Lupin matter is one sided?" he replied without actually looking up.

Merlin what was up today with people? Have they got nothing better than to talk and think about his love life? And why were they all of the same opinion, it was now really starting him to worry. He was effectively hidden behind the shadows and it was a bit disconcerting to himself that he was eavesdropping on a bunch of teenagers. No not teenagers, he reminded himself, three of them were of age now, they were sensible enough to understand many things.

"One sided as in only from one side that is only from Tonks's side?" George replied or at least the one wearing the hoodie with name 'George' written on it replied.

"Yeah, I wondered it too in the beginning." the other twin replied.

"Of course it's not one sided!" Ginny retorted. "Do you think Mum would have been trying to hook them up if it was one sided? Surely, she would have seen Lupin feeling equally for her."

"Yeah and wasn't Mum the one who was trying to fix Tonks and Bill together, when none of them were interested?" George replied sarcastically.

Even Remus had heard about Molly trying to get Tonks together with the eldest Weasley. Really what had possessed her do to so? They are like siblings! But then again he would find flaw in every matchmaking where Tonks's name was taken with some other man, other than himself.

"Oh come on! But she curbed it didn't she? She realized that Tonks really didn't want it. And besides do you take Tonks as the type of the girl to pursue someone who doesn't reciprocate her feelings? She is not some desperate, whiny type of girl."

"You are right about that one." Fred agreed and other brothers too nodded their head in agreement.

"But still..." Ron started doubtfully. "Even if he feels the same way, do you think he, you know, loves her as much as she loves him? Because like if he were like really really really into her, how he could have ignored her for a year? Besides he never showed any signs; with Tonks we could guess something was wrong with her. Even Harry, he thought that Tonks had been in love with Sirius!"

Everyone present sobered a bit on the mention of their late Ginny snorted softly.

"Trust Harry to think most bizarre things! He was her cousin." she emphasized.

"Yes but not that close relative, after all all the pure blood people are related to each other some how. I am sure Harry's father would have been distinctly related to Weasleys, in that way even you might be related to Harry, little sister." Fred piped up and in return he received a typical Weasley-women glare from his sister.

"Let's not stray from topic Fred." George said cheekily. "Ron here says Lupin didn't demonstrate his feelings; it's not like Ron did the same with one Miss Granger..."

Despite, George's mention, Remus felt they indeed have strayed away from their intial topic and he slowly walked away from the scene, lost in his own thoughts.

For past one year, without knowing he had been giving impression to people and not just any people but their friends that he was totally uninterested in relationship with Tonks and it was her who was pursuing him relentlessly, he had unknowingly reduced her reputation in other's eyes.

Who wouldn't love a public declaration of love? He loved it; he had fantasized in his youth about some woman loving him so deeply that she was willing to shout it out to the world. Tonks had exactly done that, she had never been ashamed of her feelings, had never hid it from the world. On the other hand, she also knew he couldn't make them public, even if he would love to stand in the middle of Diagon Alley and scream that she is the love of his life; for a werewolf it was simply not a possibility. But still, he could be at least precise and clear in front of their friends, where he could be whatever he wanted to.

Though they all knew Tonks enough to not to take her as some over clingy girl, he now realized he had been sending some mixed signals with his silence.

By the time he walked up to Arthur's shed he bumped into none other than Arthur himself.

"Oh hello Remus. We thought you already left." he asked with a warm smile while opening the door of shed with his wand. Though Arthur was about 10 years older than him, he was sensible, understanding man and they often were at the same page. Even if he would have loved to have a chat with James or Sirius at the moment, he knew it was impossible. So he decided to talk to Arthur.

"Yes well, are you free?" Remus inquired.

"Oh of course, come on in." Arthur beckoned him in the shed,which was possibly half the reason of Molly Weasley's often high blood pressure. It had a personal touch of someone spending their leisure time here. There sat a yellow rubber duck in a corner, with a plug set, several posters and diagrams of engines, etc. But what drew his attention was dismantled motorcycle which appeared to be of-

"It was Sirius's." Arthur's voice interrupted softly. "Hagrid gave me, I am trying to mend it, it will be damn useful once its workable."

Remus stared at the remainants of the bike which Sirius had bought with pride. It's first ride had been with James and Sirius; he still remembered there ruffled hairs and wide grins after they have landed on earth.

He steered his eyes away from it and gave Arthur a reassuring smile.

"Do you wanted to talk about something?" he asked while seating himself on a desk and pointing him towards an empty chair.

He sat and looked here and there for inspiration. Suddenly opening up to him seemed a bad idea. Last time he had a heart to heart chat was probably seventeen years ago. He just wasn't used to it.

"Is it about your new lady friend?" Arthur probed suggestively with a knowing smile to which Remus mumbled 'more like lady love' which caused Arthur to chuckle.

"Go on Remus, you can talk to me about anything."

He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He fixed his eyes on the yellow duck which now seemed to be staring at him incredulously.

"When- How did you noticed... you know that I and Tonks- more like I... hadathingforher?" he said the last words really fast but Arthur still understood.

"I didn't of course!" He said cheerfully as if he has said nothing out of ordinary. At his puzzled look, he clarified, "Obviously it was Molly who notified me."

Ah, obviously... Molly had somehow became the stage manager of his love story in the past year and he didn't know whether to be grateful or to be irritated. Why wasn't anyone else perceptive enough, apart from Molly and Tonks, to acknowledge his feelings?

"You mean to say, you never really noticed...?"

"Oh I did noticed. What I meant was that it was Molly who informed me first, back then when Sirius was still there, she told me and even after that I didn't really pay much attention-who was I to poke my nose in other people's life? But, well, after Sirius, I noticed change in not just Tonks but in you as well. Clearly your change in attitude could have been due to Sirius, and I guess partly it was, but something about you screamed 'unattainable love'." his voice grew somber by the end. "Believe me or not, but I have been there in your place, even if for a shorter duration. I guess every person in love, once thought that their love might remain incomplete."

"So, you never felt that with me and Tonks, it was one sided?"

"Of course not Remus, Tonks is not that type of a girl, had you not had any feelings for her, she would have moved on, but since you had feelings for her and yet you were trying to get yourself killed without even willing to tell her the truth that you love her- that was what really bothered her. We, Molly and I, believe her change was majorly due to worry over you, and not your rejection, though it must have been depressing too."

"I wasn't rejecting her." Remus mumbled, looking to the ground. Arthur in few words had managed to hit the bottom of the problem. The problem was not that he never reciprocated her feelings, he did and that too deeply, and that was what complicated things.

"I know you weren't Remus, it was more like you were rejecting your own happiness. You were trying to protect her, but sometimes the best way to protect your loved ones is to be with them."

His heart felt considerably lighter, even though no really concrete conclusion or solution had came from this conversation, but he suppose that he wasn't really looking for a conclusion, more like just a person to hear him out and tell his opinion.

"Thank you Arthur!" he stood with more zeal than before and shook his hand whole heartedly.

When he stepped out of the shed, fresh air brought along with it fresh resolve. How had Tonks gone on fighting for their love without even any concrete proof that he indeed loved her, love her? He had never said, he had never showed. How on her sheer faith she had kept going on? He had never expressed but somehow she had known, and he was glad for that because if she hadn't then today he won't be experiencing the blissful happiness. But wasn't he taking it for granted? Taking her for granted? Always assuming that she would know for sure? On that day, on Astronomy tower, the killing curse that missed him by mere inches, if that would have hit him, he never ever would have got the chance to even tell her what he felt about her. True, what he had ever wanted was her happiness and his own peace too, he had always acted according to that, but now was the time to actually prove it to her.

It was the time to prove her that how she was right in her faith in their love. Sure a simple 'I love you' would do and he knew she would be more than happy enough but he wanted to, like, really prove it to her, so that never even an ounce of doubt may occur in her heart.

It was the time to show her.

But how?

Hello! Thanks for reading, part two will be up soon. I know Tonks wasn't present in this chapter but she would be there in next one. This one was more like a prologue. Please review, favorite or follow the story, your feedback is greatly loved. Thank you. :)