'I can't give you all the answers at once, Remus! And you know that's not the way relationships work. No one can do that at the beginning of anything, just, like, lay it all out, and solve all the problems and first predict all of them. I can tell you a few things though.' She looked at him flirtatiously and then, kneeling down next to his chair, without breaking eye contact, she extended her fingers, caressing his cheek, drawing closer. He felt at once shy and emboldened to break his shyness. 'Yes. Tell me. Please.' 'I like you, Remus. I like you a lot.' 'I…I…thank you. I…I…I like you a lot more than a lot. I shouldn't be saying that.' 'I like you saying that, though. I love how honest you are.' 'Thank you.' 'And how ridiculously polite.' 'Indeed. Thank — ' Remus rolled his eyes at the trap. Tonks stroked his cheek again and Remus felt once again reduced to speechlessness. 'Hey…Remus…' 'Mmmm hmmm?' 'I want you.' 'How?' 'I want your friendship.' 'Yes. You have that for as long as you want it.' Tonks smiled slowly, and extended her reach into his hair, running her fingers gently through his graying strands. 'But I also want your body. I want to get to know you better. Would you like that?' 'Oh…yes…Yes I would like that…but…' Remus pulled back a little.

'But what?' 'Nothing.' Tonks laughed softly. 'Nothing? Oh my. You are truly adorable. You look like a little boy. You act like a little girl. It's beautiful.' 'Beautiful?!' Remus scoffed at himself. 'Spare me, Tonks. It's embarrassing. I have nothing to offer you. As you yourself just said, I am a child when it comes to these matters.' 'I didn't mean that you are a child.' 'Fine. A total naif though.' 'I simply do not believe that, Lupin. Listen. If I believed that, I myself would be the true naif. But I'm not.' Tonks sank down lazily and expansively into the couch opposite him, stretching her arms out wide as if to indicate the entire world. 'I'm a woman of the world, and full of guile and whiles and all that jazz.' 'Indeed. I am sure.' 'So don't try to kid me. You've got experience.' 'I do, yes. But probably not as much as you. And not of the same kind.' 'No. Everyone has different experiences. Everyone learns different things. That's ok.'

Remus sighed. 'I guess one of my worries — one of my many worries — is that you think I am someone you want but you are wrong. I am sure you date men with more vibrant personalities and better social skills.' Tonks yawned. 'Uh what? Oh, right. Sorry, Remus, I find it kind of boring to chat about what, in theory, I'm supposed to want. I want you. I told you that. I see you. I've taken note. I like what I see. I like what I've been jotting down in my notepad.'

'You really have a notepad?' 'I keep one on every potential…suspect. Constant vigilance, you know.' Remus groaned.

'So getting back to the topic at hand.' Tonks leaned forward, and Remus looked down and to the side, to avoid looking at her cleavage. 'I want you. In the biblical sense. How do you feel about that?' Remus looked up, looked down, then looked Tonks in the eyes. They were dancing, but her cheeks were flushed. She was a beautiful and typically Tonks kind of combination of excitement, confidence, and secret hesitance.

'That makes me feel wonderful. And so grateful. That is so…generous,' he exhaled. Tonks did not, as usual, hide any bit of her pleasure. 'Oh that's so lovely, Remus, YOU are so lovely…Ok. Well, would you like to kiss me?' 'No!' Tonks looked dismayed and she pulled back slightly. 'No?! Oh. But you just said —' 'I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I meant to say…Look. Nymphadora. This is what's so embarrassing…' He trailed off, and Tonks looked at him, expectantly. Her softness returned. She started to intuit what might be holding him back, and her heart went out to him. 'Hey…hey…take your time, ok? I don't want to pressure you. I am just starting a conversation. It doesn't have to go anywhere now. Or ever, if you don't want it to.'

Remus looked up at her, happy. This woman was truly something. He'd never felt so…comfortable with any woman before. He felt she gave him time and understanding, two gifts he felt were sorely and long lacking in his four decades of life. He wanted so desperately to give to her in return. To kiss her, to make love to her, and yet —

'Thank you, Nymphadora. That means…It means a lot to me. I…my reluctance has nothing to do with a lack of, um, desire on my part. It's just that…You see, I know you know…men are supposed to be, when it comes to women, the…you know, the…' 'The manly ones?' Tonks interjected, trying to be helpful. 'Well, uh, yes. Like that. The active ones, I suppose. The ones who go out and they take charge and—' 'Oh, so you're a sub.' 'A what?' 'A sub. It's cool. We're still compatible thus far. Wink wink.' 'Oh, no, I'm sorry I am not, that's not what I meant, quite—' 'It's ok, Remus. I will mentally dismiss the whips and chains right now.' 'Uh…how considerate of you.'

Tonks pulled a serious face. 'I didn't mean to distract you. Please continue.' 'No, it's fine…though you're reminding me of how boring I am.' 'Oh I seriously doubt that.' 'But why? Why do you doubt that?' 'I'll tell you later, Remus. Just continue telling me how you're not a manly man. I'm enjoying it.' 'Ok…yeah. I'm not…I mean I'm shy. I don't dance. I read. A lot. I spend a lot of time reading. I am not much of a provider. I am not wealthy. In fact, I am impoverished. I can give you nothing. I…I…not to mention I am a werewolf, but that is a hefty topic all by itself…'

'Ok, well. Let's deal with one concern at a time shall we?' 'Yes.' 'So first off, you're afraid that you are not manly enough for me.' 'Yes.' 'But I want you and find you plenty sexy. I like your style of masculinity. So where's the problem?' 'I'm just not young and…I'm sure I don't add up to…your fantasies of me…let alone your actual experiences with men.' 'None of that alarms or bothers me, Remus.' 'Oh.' Silence fell between them once again.

'Tell ya what. You may, of course, decline. But. If you'd like, I will kiss you just now. And you can tell me how it feels.' Tonks's hair began to morph into a gorgeous rosegold color, curling around her face in soft tendrils as she spoke. The effect was mesmerizing.

'I'm sorry, Nymphadora,' Remus whispered, and Tonks leaned in closer. 'Stop apologizing, Remus. Seriously. Everything is alright.' Remus felt warm again. More relaxing. 'It is?' 'Of course! You're not taking an exam are you?' 'I should hope not.' 'Me too. Now tell me what your other reservation is.' 'It's…even just a kiss would mean more to me than you can understand, Nymphadora. I don't believe it would mean the same thing, I mean, the kiss, between us.'

The young witch laughed heartily, placing a tender hand on the werewolf's shoulder. 'That is true! But Remus! When does anything mean the exact same thing to anyone? Never! I think it mostly matters for us that we both mean, ya know, like roughly the same thing when we kiss each other? Then we diminish the risk of misunderstanding.' 'But the risk will still be there.' 'Yup. Can't get rid of it.' 'And that's where I'm a disappointment, Nymphadora. Any man with any, um…' 'masculinity aka rapist tendencies? Is that what you're talking about, Remus? Cause I kind of like your lack of tendencies to just grab me and treat me like an object, ok?! Did you ever stop to think that's one of the things I love about you, that you treat women like people, not objects?!' Tonks was flushed and enraged, as if she had some specific men opposite Remus in mind, but also as if she was just fed up in general.

'I'm sorry, I'm not angry at you.I am just saying…fuck traditional masculinity. It can bloody well bugger off. Huh.' 'So you're saying…you don't think I'm less desirable because I…I think so much before kissing you?' 'I love that you think. I love it. I love that you're sensitive. I do wish you'd practice being less anxious though.' 'I feel less anxious. Right now, I mean. With you. You are…' Tonks smiled. 'Yes.' 'Yes.'

'So, again I interrupted you. I really suck at that. But you were saying that you're not into sexual assault. I like that. I approve. Go on…' 'Well, I'm sure most men are not into sexual assault—' 'You'd be surprised,' Tonks deadpanned. 'Ok, well…I guess then I'd like to know why you want to kiss me, or…what it would mean for you.' 'Come here first?' 'Um, there?' 'Yes,' Tonks gestured to the well worn space on the couch next to her. 'Right here.' 'Ok.'

Remus gingerly placed himself between Tonks and the armrest of the couch. 'I'm here…' 'Good…As I keep telling you, Remus, I don't think, to be completely honest, that anyone can avoid risk when it comes to this shite. Ya know? I can't promise exactly what will follow. But I can be honest and open about my hopes and intentions…' Remus swallowed again, and felt the peak of anxiety rushing back. 'Yes?' 'I hope to feel pleasure when we kiss, which I'm pretty sure I will. To say the least. I want to express to you the way I feel in a physical way, but that doesn't mean I only feel physical towards you, ok?' 'That makes sense.' Remus's breath was getting short, but now not so much due to anxiety. 'I want to kiss you because I want to show you how I feel. Then I want to date you. I want to get to know you better. And if I continue to feel good about you and with you, I eventually, with your willing participation, I would like to officially shag you.' Remus laughed. 'Does that satisfy you, Professor?'

'Actually…I really appreciate all of that. Thank you for being so straightforward.' 'You are most certainly welcome. But now I want your side.' 'My take?' 'On the very same question. What would it mean for you to kiss me?' 'It's embarrassing, Nymphadora. I think my feelings and hopes at this point are rather much more intense than yours.' 'That's ok. The hope is to even it out, achieve balance, right, in any relationship? I mean though, like…it can't be equal all the time at every step…just as long as in the long run, things balance out and they're usually on the level…' 'Yes, still…It's embarrassing to me. But I'll be honest. I actually feel comfortable being honest with you. You're…kind…and upfront…I…I'm, I'm in love with you. I don't know you well enough to love you. But I am certainly smitten. I think you're beautiful inside and out, and all the way through. That's…I can't…' 'Go on, Remus. Unless you want to stop there?' 'I can't remember when last I've spoken so much. Emotions are difficult for me.' 'You're doing well.' 'Am I?' 'I'd say so.' 'Thanks.' More silence. This time Tonks looked away.

And this time Remus reached out. As Tonks's face was still turned he gently brought her face back to look into his. He was surprised to find tears in her eyes. 'What?' he barely whispered. 'Oh, Remus…What you said…it means so much to me…' 'Oh.' He tenderly brought her closer to him and kissed the two tears, one from each eye, running down her cheek. She laughed out loud. 'Oh, Merlin, look who's playing to gender stereotype now.' 'It's ok…' 'Naw, it's not,' she herself said, whispering. 'You're not just one thing, Nymphadora. You're many things. You're not reducible. I don't pick out one of your traits or moments and say that's you and only that is the real you…You're…you're…you're real. You're beautifully complicated. I like that…And…and…I'd like to kiss you. Soon, if you don't mind.' 'Let me check my calendar, then…' Tonks pretended to reach for her purse, and Remus laughed, looking awkward but happy. Tonks just looked back, flirtatious and a little daring.