A/N: So this is pretty much just me legitimising how I can ship Remus/Sirius AND Remus/Tonks, plus I wanted a Remus/Tonks moment before they went off to battle and died so this is what came of it.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is the reason this exists. I own nothing.
Lightning Struck the Moon
"I'll help you with the dishes Andromeda." Remus Lupin, who's eyes scarcely left his wife and son whenever he was with them these days, looked away from them to smile at his mother-in-law as she began to clear the dinner table.
"Thank you Remus," she said as he got to his feet and began to help her. When they both had a stack of plates hovering in front of them, Remus glanced once more at Tonks, who'd pulled the giggling Teddy into her lap, before following Andromeda into the kitchen.
They washed up in silence for a few moments; Remus seemed focused on a particularly dirty dish, before he spoke the words that had been on his mind for weeks.
"You'll take care of them wont you?" His voice was quiet, but Andromeda didn't miss a word, she'd been expecting this.
"Of course I will, Remus, but I won't need to. You'll be there for them." Hers, too, was quiet, but there was much more conviction in her statement. Remus shook his head.
"I don't know if I will be, Andromeda. I don't know if I'll make it out of this one." He glanced away from the sponge he was charming to look over at her. She wouldn't look at him.
"Don't talk like that Remus. You will. You have to."
"But what if I don't?" He was desperate. Teddy and Tonks were the last things he had to live for, he had to know that they'd be safe. "Promise me. Please?"
Andromeda finally looked at him and there was an ancient sadness in her eyes, showing her age far more than her body did.
"You know I will, Remus. You know I always will." And then Remus had taken two steps towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She returned the embrace and unspoken thank yous transferred between them. Thank yous for Tonks, for Teddy, and for Sirius …
They shared a smile when they parted—the kind of smile that hoped everything would be all right—before turning back to the dishes.
"Come say goodnight to Daddy and Grandma." Tonks carried a yawning Teddy into the kitchen. Remus looked at them and his heart swelled with the mixture of unconditional love and uncontrollable sadness that struck him every time he saw them. The words that had kept him up at night for, what seemed like, forever floated through his mind again. I just want the world to be safe for them.
Tonks was staring back at him as though she wanted to tell him something. Remus hadn't noticed, but Andromeda had.
"I'll take Teddy to bed if you'd like Dora, we're almost done with the dishes anyway."
"Thank you," Tonks said, handing her son to her mother. "Goodnight sweetheart," she whispered, kissing his forehead.
"Goodnight son, sweet dreams," Remus said quietly, kissing the same spot Tonks had. They both watched as Andromeda carried him out of the kitchen, and then there was silence.
"I'm scared Remus." Remus had been staring at the kitchen door, but his eyes immediately found his wife at the sound of her voice. She was watching him, more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. She was scared? His beautiful, fearless Tonks was scared? He closed the distance between them and pulled her close.
"It's okay. It's going to be okay," he murmured as convincingly as he could.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Remus pulled his head back just enough to look at her.
"What on earth do you have to be sorry about?" he asked.
"I—" But she hesitated and Remus frowned.
"What is it?"
"I … I'm sorry I'm not Sirius."
Remus froze. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"You loved him. I've known for a long time now. But I guess I've just been content knowing that you settled for me."
But Remus was shaking his head. "No, no, no. I'm sorry if I ever made you think that you were second choice to Sirius. Because you're not, you've never been. You're so much more than that."
"You did love him though?" she asked, glancing up from the floor. Remus hesitated.
"Yes I did. And he loved me. I never thought anyone could ever love me as much as Sirius did. At Hogwarts, our relationship was … well, it was more than I could have ever imagined. I was the happiest I'd ever been when I was with him. But it ended too soon, and it was never quite the same when he got out of Azkaban. And then he died and I thought that was the end. That there was nothing left for me. But I was wrong, because there you were." There were tears in both of their eyes, but Tonks managed a watery smile.
"There I was," she echoed. "You were broken, and I so wanted to fix you."
"And you did," he said, returning her smile. "Oh how you did. I never thought anyone could love me as much as you do. You and Teddy, you're the reason I'm still fighting. You're—" But Remus never finished telling his wife what she was. She'd kissed him, hard. And he was returning it with everything he had.
"You're a remarkable man, Remus Lupin," she said when they broke apart.
"I love you Nymphadora Tonks." And he lent down to kiss her again …
"Dora! Remus!" Andromeda's call came from the living room and Remus shared a panicked look with his wife before they hurried out of the kitchen.
"What is it?" But Andromeda was staring at the radio. There was a voice coming out of it and it took Remus a moment to comprehend what it was saying.
"… I repeat; lightning has struck …"
Harry. Harry Potter was at Hogwarts.
"Stay here," Remus said quickly, turning to his wife. "Stay here and look after Teddy."
"No way," Tonks said quickly. "Remus, we've talked about this, you're going to need all the wands you can get. I'm coming."
"We might never come back."
"I don't care, I'll be with you."
They started at each other for a long moment. Then, with one parting glance at Andromeda, they grasped hands and disapparated.
Andromeda stared at the empty air that had just been occupied by her only daughter and son-in-law. She spared one moment of intense panic, then hurried to her grandson.
A/N: Reviews make me happy and motivate me to write more :)