(a/n - so the time is upon us where I write something vaguely coherent and dedicate it to my girl on the platform Gabblar. However I am still reeling from Eurovision's Greatest Hits and Petra why is she so damn gorgeous Mede so I thought that whist procrastinating off assignments with Eurovision I would also set about writing this. And yes, tis that series I do not own called Harry Potter again. I don't own it, but I did spend the other day on an impromptu museum trip with a mate stood in front of a glass tank going 'and the snake will now come OUT and I will be the chosen one! The boy who lives!' Whilst my pal edged slowly away. Tell me I am not the king of fun, eh?)

Save Your Kisses For Me

She tripped glanced at everyone around the table. The familiar faces: Dumbledore, McGonagall next to him. Molly. Arthur. And them some others. One other in particular. He was a sort of raggedy vintage shop assortment of handsome looks and timid smiles. My, he was divine. Helping out with the Order wouldn't be so bad if she got to know him better, she thought.

"Aye, Tonks will tell you." Moody's voice broke her train of thought and she snapped back to attention.

"Erm... Yeah, sorry, what?"

Later, she was coming down the stairs and managed to fall down the bottom half of them and into the umbrella stand at the bottom, causing an almighty crash. She could feel her hair reddening with her face.

"Oh dear," an unfamiliar voice chuckled, sounding a little like what she imagined butterbeer to be like if it had a voice. Smooth, sweet, sugary. She looked up to see the raggedy man from earlier leaning over the bannister and smiling at her comfortingly. She flailed a little more and he came down, helping her back up and brushing the dust off her. She hugged him in thanks, and felt him stiffen under her touch. Looking up at him through her eyelashes, she noticed him looking down at her. He looked so much more attractive up close, and she couldn't help herself when she leaned up and kissed his cheek. After the contact was made, both recoiled quickly, forcing themselves as far apart from one another as possible.

Months later, and aurors were guarding Hogwarts, and Tonks was patrolling the grounds. Suddenly, a figure began to stagger ahead of her, fumbling against the walls of the castle. Wand at the ready, Tonks rushed to them, and realised it was Remus. He looked up at her, his eyes troubled and unfocused. She knew of his condition through the Order, and felt sorry for him. His ailment really only made him more special to her, and she had spent a little more extra time reading about lycanthropy than she would care to admit publicly. She pulled him into the shadows and rubbed his shoulder, as he muttered incoherently. She placed a piece of the chocolate frog she had in her pocket into his mouth and slowly he began to become more coherent.

"Sorry... Not as much potion... As usual. Forest. Thank you. Saviour. Friend." He was becoming tired, and she didn't question it, since she imagined charging around the forbidden forest as a werewolf would take your energy away. She pulled him into a hug, whispering for him to go inside safely. As they parted, he leaned towards her again, and kissed her cheek, much as she had done when they first met. She stood, stunned, as he turned towards the castle, the contact lingering on her skin.

Dumbledore stood with Ludo Bagman.

"Now, you have all been assigned into pairs to safety check the basic areas that will be needed for the tournament. Make sure you do it properly. When the students return, all must be ready!"

Tonks and Lupin made their way towards the lake. They had been paired up by Dumbledore, and were secretly thrilled; they had become good friends over some recent missions, and enjoyed the company of one another. It was a beautiful sunny day in the holidays, and Tonks was glad they had been assigned to safety check the lake. Upon arrival at the water, she turned to her partner.

"So, if you time me, and I will go down and back up just to see how long it should roughly take to swim through this stuff. Dumbledore said something about him dealing with the Merpeople." She dived in. Swimming amongst the waterlife gave her time to think of Remus, and how much he meant to her. They certainly got on well enough now, and she ached for him to love her as she loved him. But he didn't seem to be interested. Or when he did look or act as if he felt what she felt, he stopped and caught himself, and it drove her mad - when would he realise he wasn't flawed, he was flawless? The surface of the water was near again, and she reached the air, her bubblehead charm vanishing. The sun was beating down, and she shook her hair as she came back onto the bank of the lake, peeling her damp clothes from her body. A cough startled her, and she realised that Remus was there, watching her undress in a world of her own. She turned to him, and shrugged.

"Wotcher, Wolfie." She had started to use the name as a term of endearment, in the hope that he would understand that she didn't mind his situation. He stammered a little, explaining how he had recorded the time and all seemed to be in check. She grinned.

"Great. That means we have an afternoon lazing in the sun. Team work makes the dream work and all that, yeah?" She flopped down onto the grass, rolling strands between her fingers and flicking it at him. He took his jacket off and lay it on the ground, and she took the opportunity to admire his form through his short sleeved shirt, since he rarely displayed so much skin. She didn't fail to notice him looking at her either, with the infuriating expression on his face. The one which she didn't know how to interpret. The sun shone, and Tonks decided to be bold. Stretching out, she raised an eyebrow

"Like what you see?" He coughed and spluttered a little as he tried to formulate a response

"YES! I mean no! I mean yes! Well, you're lovely but I mean no but yes!" She sighed, and rolled towards him.

"Leave it off, Wolfie. I've no time for fuss." And she pressed her lips to his, restricting his speech somewhat. And then he started to kiss her back tentatively and she realised that maybe, just maybe, he loved her too. They rolled on the grass together, savouring the moment as the heat intensified, just being with one another until all of a sudden they were surrounded by cold and were apart, flailing to get to the land again, as they had rolled into the lake. Tonks shook herself, and Remus clambered after her, his shirt sticking to his chest. Then they were laughing, as they realised what they had just done, and Remus was happy and Tonks wondered if she had found the solution to the problems they had. The sun went behind a cloud, and Remus seemed to check himself. Picking up his jacket, he headed back towards the castle. She called after him, and he just turned and smiled sadly, and said.

"You'll be the death of me, Nymphadora."

A dimly lit room, with a few lamps casting a hazy glow over the figures gathered there. But everyone was smiling, not least the woman stood in the middle of the room, next to the man who she had been chasing for so long, as they were magically bound together. She loved him, and she knew that he loved her, though he had not been as open about it as her. As they were pronounced man and wife, she looked at him, and he was smiling too. And when they leaned towards each other, they didn't pull away, for they were kissing each other with love and adoration and happiness in a time of war and animosity and sadness. Both knew that this kiss was important, and they didn't want it to end.

Teddy gurgled chirpily and waved his arms, his hair changing colour to match his father's. Tonks turned and smiled at Remus.

"See, he likes you." Remus seemed a little teary as he nodded, and she knew that he still felt insecure and cautious after all that had happened and all that he had done. So she added "And so do I, more than you can imagine." She clambered over to him and pressed herself to him, toppling them both backwards onto the sofa, his arms around her waist and her hands in his hair, their lips sealing them together in the love that they shared.

He kissed her quickly in the corner, telling her how much he loved her. She returned it, before running back into the disarray with him, wand at the ready, before the kiss of death hit them both, ending their life on Earth together. The Wizarding War had lasted three years, and in those years they had fought, they had fled, but they had also found a great affection for one another, and realised that sometimes, all you need to keep you going on a rough day is the knowledge that a wonderful person is saving their kisses for you. The relationship may have only been three years old, but their love would be told for eternities, as a tale of how no matter how unique you are, you will find love.

~finite~

(a/n - the timings have had a little artistic licence used on them, granted, but I still think this is quite a cute little snapshot of their relationship. Sorry, but Ronks is a lovely pairing. So I hope you like it Gabblar - you're awesome! * *)