Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that I use in any of these little stories. It'd be nice if I did though.
Authors Note: This is for Alarice Tey's How Many Words Do You Need? Challenge. I picked the numbers 35, 34, 30, 29, 10 and 1. Therefore I'm writing about a passionate kiss, grief, a break up, a lie, affection and love. I also asked for six characters, three male and three female. I was given Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Hannah Abbott, George Weasley, Cedric Diggory and Theodore Nott. A plot bunny has appeared for a passionate kiss, so I'm throwing Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks into the mix too, because of reasons. And because of the one-shot I did the other day about Lupin and Tonks that I want to continue because I have an excuse to write them kissing passionately :3 If you want to know what characters I'm using for what event/feeling, apart from that one, you'll have to read them. The title to the first one-shot is loosely based on a line from a play I studied in secondary school called Philadelphia Here I Come by Brian Friel. For some reason that line came into my head tied to the plot bunny. . . Read, review, enjoy.
1. Careful now, long passionate kisses in lonely places. . .
Remus burst into one of the guest bedrooms, shut the door behind him quietly, and sat on the bed, burying his face in his hands, and muttering expletives over and over. How could he have been such a fool? He had come so close to kissing her before dinner, in fact, he could vividly remember their lips brushing before he jerked away from her, why had he let it get as far as that in the first place? He should have jerked away when he had turned to find her leaning so close to him that their noses brushed and he could count the freckles on her nose. Why had he put his arms around her and leaned in for a kiss instead? He had already convinced himself that nothing could happen, not even if both of them wanted it to, yet it had happened anyway. Why was he such an idiot?
He ignored the sharp rap on the door, hoping whoever it was would go away, instead they barged straight in without waiting for a response, and before he had time to lift his head, Tonks was standing before him, hands on hips and giving him a look that was probably supposed to be intimidating. Instead, Remus found it cute. He kept his face blank as he stood slowly, not moving away from her, but not moving any closer either. He already knew why she was there.
"What just happened?" She snapped, fixing him with a glare that was probably supposed to frighten him. Her hair had turned a bright, blazing red in her anger. He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, and opened his mouth to respond when she cut across him. "We kissed before dinner. Actually, I don't even class that as a kiss, but you've been ignoring me since then. What's going on here? If you're not interested you could have just said so, but I didn't see you pulling away until you realised Sirius was outside." Guilt throbbed in his chest. All of this was true. He should have just pulled away when he saw how close she was. He shouldn't have let his lips brush hers. There were a lot of things he shouldn't have done, and she wasn't going to give him any time to think about it.
"I'm in love with you, you know that, right? You have to know that by now." He lifted his eyes to stare at her, his mouth hanging open. He had been expecting another tirade as he tried to speak again, but her admission erased what he had been about to say. What had he planned to say? He couldn't remember. She was in love with him. She was in love with him. All he could do was stare at her, his mouth hanging open. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to apologise, tell her gently but firmly that nothing could happen between them, and leave to find another unoccupied room. What actually happened shocked him to his very core.
He took a step forward, put one hand on the back of her head, the other around her waist, pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers in one swift motion. Her arms hung by her sides for a few seconds, surprised by the sudden movement, before putting one hand one his shoulder and the other cupping his face. He tangled his fingers in her hair as their lips started to move together, and he marvelled at how soft her lips were. She tasted of chicken with gravy, which had been part of the meal they had just eaten, and he wasted no time deepening the kiss, gently manoeuvring her mouth open with soft, insistent kisses and touching her lips with his tongue hesitantly, waiting for a response before continuing. Her response was immediate and enthusiastic, before long their tongues were moving against each other in a way that made him hum appreciatively into her mouth, holding her tight and letting his hands wander. The one tangled in her hair stayed where it was, keeping their mouths locked together. The other hand ran up her back, and then back down, feeling the ridges of her spine through her tshirt, and came to rest on her lower back, where he traced circles on the bare skin between the hem of her tshirt and the waistband of her baggy jeans with his thumb. She giggled against his lips and squirmed against his touch, breaking the kiss, and she looked up at him through half lidded eyes, both of them breathing hard.
"That tickles," She murmured into his ear, her breath on his ear sent shivers up his spine and he pulled her close again, wanting to kiss her again, but she tilted her head back slightly, and started pushing him backwards, until the backs of his legs hit the bed, and he lost his balance, falling backwards and dragging her with him, since he was unwilling to let her go all of a sudden. They fell back onto the bed together, laughing more than Remus had in a long time, and they moved fully onto the bed so that they could lie together, holding each other close. Tonks grinned at him, and nuzzled his neck. "If I'd known that was how you'd react if I told you the truth, I'd have told you ages ago." She mumbled, and he responded by leaning down to kiss her again, suddenly not caring about the age difference, or the imminent threat of war with the rise of He Who Must Not be Named, or his lycanthropy, or the fear that she'd want things that he couldn't give her. What mattered was right now, the warmth of her in his arms, the feel of her lips against his, that little moan she gave when he deepened the kiss. Nothing else mattered in that moment.