At Grimmauld kitchen

"Oh, you two are pathetic.", Sirius grumbled.

"What did you say, Sirius?", Remus asked casually, finally giving actual attention to his friend; traces of smiles still on his face. Tonks was so amusing!

"Oh, please.", Sirius stood up. "That's ridiculous.", he led towards the stairs to leave the kitchen. "Pathetic is the word."

"I'm sorry, Sirius, I got distracted. What were you -"

"Distracted? Oh, tell me about it!", irony soaked his mouth.

"Sirius, why the bloody hell haven't you eaten Molly's cake yet?", Tonks had a really big bite of it. "Fuck! It's so good!", she said attempting to ease off the sudden tension.

"I don't want cake.", Sirius blurted out irritated.

Silence filled the place.

"Fine", Sirius muttered like a child who doesn't like losing. He, then, swung his look from Tonks to Remus repetitious times whilst he tried to apologize for his behavior: "I didn't want to be rude", he was wrinkling his nose, "I drank a little bit, you see".

"Okay, mate. No problem." – Tonks uttered emphatically.

"Yeah, none offense taken." – Remus tried to do the same.

Sirius closed his eyes trying to tame his nerves. Remus and Tonks reminded him of another privation, perhaps the worst of them: love, romance.

"Still, you two", he swung his index finger from Remus to Tonks, " - acting like this all the time! It's annoying."

"What do you mean?", Remus asked defensively before he could stop himself. His tummy felt cold. Sirius knew. Was it so obvious that he fancied Tonks? Had the others noticed as well? Did they all know they had kissed?

"What do I mean?", Sirius repeated Remus's question mockingly. "What do I -", he looked at the ceiling somewhat bored and tired. "You two constantly pretending you don't want to fuck each other! That's what I mean, you bastards..."

Tonks had steady eyes on Sirius. He had just did it, and she quite didn't know what to feel about it. Few weeks ago, when Remus and her were spying on Lucius Malfoy during a nighttime mission, she finally made her feelings clear to Remus. He acted as though he had not understood what she meant, but she managed to kiss him that night, and he kissed her back. However, with a "I'm sorry" out of breath and genuinely shocked, he eventually left and started avoiding her at all costs. The conversation they had just before Sirius' interruption was one of the very few moments they cherished together after that day. Part of Tonks felt that Remus might be still needing some time to sink in what had happened that night, and that Sirius pressuring him was no good; the other half of her, on the other hand, felt like they did need to talk about their feelings once and for all. Sirius had really put her in a very delicate situation.

"You know what? I'm gonna feed Buckbeak.", said Sirius, who, then, climbed the stairs, leaving completely the kitchen.

Remus gulped down his almost empty glass of wine, placed the object back on the table and started at it as though absent-minded, but actually waiting for Tonks' upcoming remark. He just knew she would manifest her opinion on the matter Sirius had brought to table.

Taking a side over her mixed up feelings, Tonks sipped the tea accompanying her slice of cake, and then turned her eyes to Remus, stating frankly, "I do agree with Sirius".

Remus met her eyes quickly. He was putting lot of effort not to show how uncomfortable he was at that moment, but failing hard at it.

"Sirius is right, Remus.", she insisted on the matter.

"He is not, Tonks.", Remus disagreed sounding as serene as he could.

"Why?", she asked, trying to sound as calm as Remus, slightly sure of what he would come up with. She had steady eyes on him.

"Why?", he repeated wrinkling his nose and refusing to look at the witch's eyes. She knows why, he thought, starting to lose control over his emotions.

"You think you're not suitable for me, I think you're good enough." Tonks blurted out.

"I will never be good enough for anyone, Tonks."

"Says who?" anger was draining pretty hard the witch's veins. Tonks hated how Remus perceived himself.

"Everyone in right mind" he answered with a fake smile.

"You mean Death Eaters and other prejudicial people?", Tonks was now fighting hard to keep her tone casual and quiet. "Pretty sure they are the ones in right mind?

"I'm quite tired, Tonks. I'd better -", Remus was preparing to get up from the table.

"Remus." her tone was firm now. "There is no point in postponing this."

He let go a deep sigh, stuffing himself again on the chair.

"We've fallen in love for each other, there is nothing wrong about that", Tonks stated.

"Only if I was not a beast and fairly older than you", he replied bitterly, staring at his folded hands on the table.

"I wish you could see yourself through my eyes", she blurted out. That automatically led Remus to turn his head to her. They kept on looking at each other for quite some time. Merlin, Remus thought, she really fancies me. "I think we are better off as friends, Tonks" he managed to say looking away before something else could happen.

"It's funny, isn't it? The way you kissed me back didn't seem to say so."

He gulped, freaking out inside. His brain seemed to be working a thousand times harder to spill out any word in reply. "I am indeed attracted to you," he came up with, feeling a freezing sensation in his tummy, "and I feel so very honored that you could ever want to kiss me, but it is no good, Tonks. You don't deserve that."

"Don't you get it? I don't mind," she said as lightly as she could manage. "I don't mind if you're a werewolf, Remus. Really."

"But you should," he replied with a fake smile.

"You may transform and lose your mind four days per month - and it must be really painful to live up with all that, Remus - but that is not everything about you, you know."

"It doesn't matter, Tonks, people don't think like that," he said weary.

"I think like that," Remus's heart was a racing car at that moment. Tonks seemed to have now full power over it. "Sirius, the Weasleys, Dumbledore -," she carried on, "Mad-Eye, Kingsley… We all see who you truly are," she paused, and then cupped her hands on his cheeks. "You're such an amazing, caring man, who has such a fascinating sense of humor - let me tell you, you make me laugh so hard," she beamed, whereas Remus, swimming in her eyes and in every sound of her words was utterly awestruck "and I fancy you a lot."

He didn't quite know how it all had happened, but when he started thinking again, he realized they had been both standing, kissing each other meaning every second of it. The kiss felt so genuinely good, her tongue tailing his in perfect synch, their bodies pressed on one another. He could feel again how his very moves impacted her, how he could let her out of breath and willing for even more than just a kiss, and how the same happened the other way around. It was pure bliss. But then, a painful and desperate feeling of crashing dirty sucked the whole bit of happiness and fulfillment going on there, and he broke off.

"Oooh, I'm so terribly sorry," he pronounced, staggering backwards. "I should've – I should have never done that again."

Tonks was still recomposing herself from the kiss.

"I'm so very sorry," he repeated.

"There is nothing to be sorry about, it felt great!"

"Tonks, we can't be together," his mouth went dry.

"Remus. Please. Stop it."

"No, Tonks, this is serious. We can never be together. I could never do such thing to you."

"Remus, you're being ridiculous here," she stated, walking towards him.

"I'm not. I'll go to bed, and you stay here," he said shaking in despair, "I promise this will never happen again,"

"I want it to happen again! We both want it!" impatience filled Tonks's very being.

"I'm so very sorry" he insisted immersed in guilt.

"Remus," Tonks ran after him ascending the kitchen stairs.

"Please don't follow me," he pleaded in desperation.

"Remus…"