It had been a long day. And it had become far too cramped in Grimmauld Place. Remus Lupin, resident werewolf, needed a break. He needed to breath fresh air, and to get away from a certain pink-haired witch who had been occupying far too many of his thoughts as of late. It was becoming a distraction, and one that he didn't want. He let out a sigh. He was thinking of her again. He was hoping a walk would clear his head. She had been there when he left, and he knew that he had left things unresolved. He was denying her feelings for him, and his for her. It was for her own good that he escaped the house, before she could try again to change his mind.
He knew that a relationship was out of the question. He was a werewolf. A monster. Well, a monster once every twenty-eight days. His thoughts again strayed to the witch who was currently occupying all of his free time. He couldn't help but be amused by her constant hair changing, smiling at the thought of her currently pink hair. It was what she usually settled for, and he was happy to note that it was quickly becoming his favorite color. Pink. He was infatuated with the way she laughed, and tried to come up with ways to make sure it happened as often as possible when he was around her. He had even taken to calling her by her first name, just to watch her eyes light up in annoyance, because even that made his steps lighter and his outlook brighter. And she certainly wasn't helping matters any. Stopping by at all hours, before work for breakfast, not that either of them could cook, usually settling on a breakfast of toast. She stopped by after work, too. They spent many late nights talking, him sharing things he hadn't shared in over a decade. She was far to easy to talk to.
He realized he had walked much farther then he had intended. All of this brooding was certainly turning out to be good exercise. He spied a muggle park on the next block, and decided to sit for a bit and rest before the walk back. As he drew closer, he heard music coming from some sort of portable radio.
He sat on a nearby bench and listened. It was certainly no Celestina Warbeck, that was for sure. It sounded more like something Tonk's would like... not that he was thinking about her, of course. Just noticing details. Yes sir, for he was a details man, if nothing else.
Suddenly, a new song captured his attention immediately. He thought at first that it must have been some joke. Some ridiculously well-conceived joke. He paused, letting the words wash over him.
Pink it´s my new obsession
Pink it´s not even a question
Pink on the lips of your lover, ´cause
Pink is the love you discover
Whoever would have written a song like this? It was absurd... and yet he could relate. As of recently, his fancy of the color pink had bordered on obsession. And it certainly wasn't the color that he could attribute his new found affection to, but the witch who wore it. He strained to hear the words more closely.
Pink as the bing on your cherry
Pink ´cause you are so very
Pink it´s the color of passion
Cause today it just goes with the fashion
Hmm. It seemed the whole song was about the color pink. How interesting. And how annoying. He had come to escape his thoughts, and they seemed to have followed him to this park, of all places. In his minds eye, he saw Tonks, pink hair and all, and he smiled. He realized that he did that a lot when it came to her. Smiled, laughed, things he hadn't felt like doing in quite a long time. His desperation to keep his feelings towards Tonks friendly were obviously failing miserably, and his attempt to escape them proved no more successful.
Pink it was love at first sight, yea
Pink when I turn out the light, and
Pink gets me high as a kite
And I think everything is going to be all right
No matter what we do tonight
He was humming along now, learning the melody to the song quickly. It was rather repetitive. It was the lyrics that he couldn't help analyzing. The song made everything seem so simple. If only he knew for sure that everything really was going to be alright. But already there were so many strikes against him. The age gap was really inconsequential compared to everything else, but it was there. Then there was his lycanthropy. No way around that. Every month, he changed. Sure it was only for a night, but was it really worth the risk to put someone that he cared about in danger just by being with them? No. It wasn't fair, and he couldn't let someone, especially someone as vibrant and lovely as Tonks, waste themselves on him. The lycanthropy also made it impossible to hold down a job. He was a poor, old, werewolf with nothing to offer any girl.
"Tonks knows all of this, and she's still interested." He heard the voice whisper that in his head. She knew about his condition, his unemployment, and, of course, his age. He was the same age as her cousin, after all. But she was still pursuing him. But he couldn't let anything happen between them. He knew that it would only end badly, and he was unwilling to put her through any pain because of him. But knowing and doing are two separate things.
And that dratted song kept playing...
You could be my flamingo
´Coz pink is the new kinda lingo
Pink like a deco umbrella
It´s kink - but you don´t ever tell her
Pink it was love at first sight
Pink when I turn out the light
Pink gets me high as a kite
And I think everything is going to be all right
No matter what we do tonight
"Stop. Listening. I will now stop listening. Not one more word. Stupid muggle song, who writes a song about the color pink? Or any color for Merlin's sake?" he mumbled to himself. This just wasn't fair.
I want to be your lover
"Oh shit."
I wanna wrap you in rubber
As pink as the sheets that we lay on
Pink is my favorite crayon, yeah
Pink it was love at first sight
Pink when I turn out the light
Pink it´s like red but not quite
And I think everything is going to be all right
No matter what we do tonight
He heard the song taper off, and realized he was shaking his foot to the beat. So much for not listening. He also realized that he was smiling. A song about pink. Strange, the things muggles would write songs about.
He sat for a while, and thought. He realized from his little walk that he couldn't make his feelings go away. They followed him, whether there was a song or not. She was in his head, and in his heart. He knew it was time he accepted that. Damn the consequences. They both had the right to be happy.
He got off the bench and began the long trek home. He couldn't wait to get back and tell Tonks about the song. And maybe ask her for a drink on her next night off. Because running from his feelings was obviously not working. He might as well accept his good fortune and take advantage of all the time they had.
And he wondered where he could find a copy of that song...