I adore tango and Remus and Tonks are my favorite couple! I just had to write this stupid one-shot, I hope you like it Please R&R!
It was a few days before Christmas. Arthur Weasley was still in St. Mungo's and Molly was staying with him. Remus, Tonks, Bill and the twins were at Grimmauld Place. So were Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Sirius really appreciated the company, which made him more cheerful day by day. Remus always longed for those evenings with Harry and the kids, those evenings with Sirius and Tonks. He wasn't exactly the humorous one, but he loved laughing secretly with their jokes, while he pretended to study his old dusty books. He also loved admiring her unique shiny hair of a different color every time, the way she laughed sounding like a teenage girl, her clothing combinations, of unmatching colors and patterns, the way she always looked at him with her perfect lavender eyes whenever it was his turn to speak.
That night, Harry and Ron were playing the fourth game of chess, Hermione was changing Ginny's hairstyle and the twins were discussing with Bill freely an issue they wouldn't possibly discuss with the presence of their mother. Remus was lost in Muggle literature again. He always admired the classic authors. Sirius was fretting over the wireless radio. Tonks was singing along her favorite Weird Sisters' song, which turned out to be full with screaming and well… just drums.
"You know, I'm really modern and young-minded when it comes to music, but this is nothing more than pure, annoying noise."
Remus couldn't agree more, but he didn't really mind. He hid a smile. At that moment, the fading sound of the magical guitar informed them that the song had come to an end.
"See! It's your fault!" she crossed her arms.
"Thank Merlin it's over!" cried Sirius. "I hope the next one won't be one of the songs which my dear cousin prefers!"
"You are not in a position to judge Tonks' taste in music, Sirius, due to the fact that your favorite song is sung by untalented Veelas with lusty voices."
That made Bill turn his head. "Thank you, Remus!" smiled Tonks.
"No, you see, I do like this song!" protested Sirius.
Hermione sighed at the sound of a magical melody she heard for the first time. Although, she did recognize the tempo. "Tango!"
"Hey, Remus knows how to dance tango, don't you, Moony?"
"Padfoot…"
They all looked surprised. "Bloody hell!" said Ron.
"Oh yes, he does! And he used to be very good at all the Hogwarts balls. Even though he rarely was brave enough to ask a girl."
"Will you dance to us, Remus?" asked a curious Ginny.
"Definitely not." He tried to hide his burning face behind his book.
"Oh, come on, Moony!"
"I think I said no!"
"It'd be fun to see our ex-professor dancing!"
"Exactly, not just fun, but ridiculous!" He reminded himself to seriously lecture Sirius later about the situation he had gotten him into.
"Just show us, Remus!"
"Can you imagine me dancing alone? What an amusing sight I will be! My lycanthropy issues haven't affected my sanity." Yet.
"Of course!" said Bill. "It takes two to tango!"
"And we have three charming ladies in the room!" said George.
"Too bad mum isn't here, she would love it!" smiled Fred innocently.
What were they talking about? Would he dance with his ex-students? Ginny and Hermione were underaged, and Ron was looking at Hermione with red ears and a… wait a minute… possessive expression?
"Just dance with Nymphadora, Moony!" said Sirius.
She was that astonished that she didn't protest at the sound of her first name.
His heart stopped for an instant.
Of course.
Dance with Nymphadora.
He would never allow himself to show her the feeling he had lately discovered, he would never destroy her whole life by offering her his love. He was too old for her, too poor, too dangerous.
But the simple and irreplaceable joy of one and only dance, that he could offer to himself. He'd never get what he really needed, so he could at least hold her for the duration of one wizard Tango song.
Couldn't he?
He got up and offered the stunned witch his hand. He ignored all the astonished looks. He wouldn't do that to entertain Sirius and the twins, or to show Ginny and Hermione the steps. It was one rare time he was being completely selfish.
Her cheeks were flushed, her hair black and wavy. She was wearing a bright pink top and a flowy black skirt. Excluding the combat boots, it was an outfit perfect for tango. "But Remus…" she muttered. "I'm a complete klutz and I… don't even know the steps!"
"It's alright, I think I can show them to you, if I do remember them, of course. When I step forward you step back, when I go to the left you go to the right. Just follow me."
He placed his one hand on her delicate waist and with the other he gently folded her own heated one. "Remus…" she whispered again. She looked totally lost, he could feel the tense of her body.
"Don't worry," he reassured her in a calm voice. "Don't look at the others. The basic steps are simple." He made a step forward and waited for her to understand by his torso she should move backwards. "Just follow me. Slow, slow, slow, fast-fast-slow."
She was indeed clumsy when dancing, as she was when walking. He was expecting that, but it was perfect. She stepped on his feet a few times, she lost her steps, she almost fell over but he caught her. The head of their bodies, the first drops of sweat, the look in her eyes, their feet which were flirting. In normal tango his feet should hunt and lead hers, he should be the master, the predator, but in this dance they were equals, as her own would lose their way and stubbornly take the lead. She was breathing quickly and he could feel the movement of her chest, gently brushing on his own. The grip of her clammy hand was tight. She depended her movements on his.
Slow, slow, slow, fast-fast-slow.
At some part she closed her eyes and parted her lips. He understood. He had always been a quite person, but when it came to tango, which he had learnt by his mother when he was little… he would lose control.
This dance was intoxicating.
The staccato movements of their heads, hips, and feet combined with the caressing and nostalgic notes of the magical bandoneon coming from the wireless made his heart beat faster. But her bended leg slowly pressing on the back of his knee, well, that almost made it explode.
That song was so different from all the muggle ones his parents used to dance.
She bented her head toward him. Her lips were wet, a little bit of pink, a little bit of coral, a little bit of nude, all at the same time.
They softly brushed on his own.
…
"Moony! Moony, are you awake? Have you heard a single word we said?"
He looked around the room and held his breath as he noticed Tonks' embarassed smile. "I doubt I would ever dance! I'm such a klutz!"
"Don't worry, Tonks, even if you wanted to, Remus would never dance in front all of us, would you, Moony?"
Those lips of her… at least he had the right to imagine them. Or hadn't he? That thought filled him with guilt. "No." he muttered. "Of course I wouldn't."