Chapter Nine
Remus Lupin was awakened to the not quite so quiet humming of Weird Sisters hits. Tonks was flitting around the room, readying for the day her hair restored to its pink glory. Soft morning light gently graced the room from a crack under the curtains. It had all appearance of being a dream.
In the next minute, Remus remembered the previous day's events; traveling through time, meeting Harry and Ginny in the future, meeting Teddy. That explained the scene before him. He felt greedy for wishing for something more.
Though he knew he should rise and ready to face the day himself, Remus found himself perfectly content to lie and watch the beautiful woman singing wizard rock. Tonks seemed unaware of his eyes on her. She stopped in front of the mirror and tilted her head to examine her features. After a pause she screwed up her face in a somewhat pained expression. Her hair quivered slightly and burst into a flaming red. She smiled at her reflection, glad her powers seemed to have returned in full.
Turning away from the mirror she collided with a chair sending herself to the floor with a thud. Groaning, not so much at the pain but at her inability to keep her balance, Tonks raised herself to her feet. She walked towards her bed and kicked the chair that had tripped.
At a soft chuckle behind her, she turned. Remus was still lying in the extra bed Harry had conjured, but she could tell he'd not just awoken. So he'd seen that incident with the chair. Wonderful. Still, she couldn't help but smile at him.
When she had woke this morning, Tonks had forgotten where she was. It had been the dark of early morning and the room was new and strange. But then she had seen his sleeping form in the bed across the room, snoring softly and sleeping soundly. And it had seemed right to have him here. Memories had come back, but she had treasured that first feeling of rightness.
Remus laughed again at her embarrassment. He found her clumsiness adorable. Funny how easily those thoughts were surfacing now. Now that he felt safe caring. Safe in his love for her. He wished waking to her were a daily occurrence before realizing someday in the not too distant future, or past depending on when you looked at it, that dream would come true at least for while.
"About time you got up, Sleeping Beauty," Tonks teased. She went to the window and pulled back the curtains to release the dawn into the room. There wasn't much light, telling Remus it was still early yet.
"What time is it, Nymphadora? I hardly think I've slept in."
A smile played against her lips. "Oh, I don't know. It's seven, and I'd bet galleons that Harry's kids have been up for at least an hour." Christmas morning was a big deal to every kid.
Tonks, herself, looked as excited as he imagined the Potter children were. He grinned at her and eased out of the bed. "We wouldn't want to keep them waiting."
Tonks snorted. "I don't think they waited. I could hear their shrieks from up here." She looked sideways at him. "I'm surprised you slept through it."
Remus shrugged. "I lived with your cousin for over seven years, first at school and then in a flat in London. It's a survival skill. I've learned to sleep through anything." With a lopsided grin, he added," In fact, I believe I've been accused of sleeping like a wolf."
She rolled her eyes at his pun. It sounded like one Sirius would have made. "Come on. I want to see everybody." She grabbed his hand and pulled him the remaining distance to his feet. Then she wheeled around and headed towards the wardrobe. Tonks flung open the doors and collected some clothing from his side. She tossed them at him and he deftly caught them before they smacked him in the face.
Remus watched her with amusement. His smile had taken control of his face and he realized he was standing in the middle of the room grinning like a maniac. Honestly, he couldn't care less. He laughed aloud at her antics, and receiving a pointed look, made his way to the bath.
Tonks shook her head at his retreating back. Everything felt so natural, so perfect. They had fallen easily into the old banter they had lost after Sirius' death. It was the same was it had been then, yet different. She wan't sure how to describe it. Under the playful joking was a genuine and deep caring. More mature than it had been then in its early stages. Is this what it would feel like to be married to Remus John Lupin? Tonks couldn't wait to find out.
She heard the sound of water running, and plopped down on his bed. Tonks amused herself with changing her hair. She shifted from the red inferno she was sporting to a soft lavender. She tilted her head to see herself in the mirror of to the left. Deciding purple wasn't her color today, she tried on festive red and green stripes. Then she switched the green to gold and modeled the House colors of her husband and son. This last color scheme gave her inspiration and glancing behind her for Remus, she closed her eyes and changed it to teal.
Having showered and dressed, Remus reentered the bedroom to find Dora sitting cross legged on his bed with her hair a bright turquoise. She had emulated exactly the preferred color of their son. A son who was now downstairs celebrating Christmas with the Potters. Suddenly Remus, too, couldn't wait to join the celebration.
He crept up silently beside her. Remus sunk onto the bed next to Tonks. Her eyes were shut tight and he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "I prefer pink on you."
Tonks let out a long breath, her eyes still closed. Thinking hard, she slowly brought her hair full circle and returned it to pink. She turned her head to face him and opened her eyes. Remus' chocolate eyes met hers and her lips parted in a silent 'o'.
They were inches apart and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Tonks froze in anticipation and hope. Then the instant passed, and he rose tiredly to his feet, avoiding her eyes.
Remus shook his head in disbelief. For a moment he had thought he was going to kiss her. It had seemed the very best choice, but the reflexes he had cultivated in past months for times like this had turned against him full force. Since he had married Dora, he supposed it would be alright to kiss her. She certainly didn't look opposed. But he couldn't do that to her. Or himself. Not yet.
He felt angry at himself for letting the moment pass without acting on his feelings. Remus was thrilled to be married to Dora, but it was proving hard for him to tell her. He had said no for so long; he didn't know if he could say yes.
Turning back to face Tonks, Remus offered a hand to help her up. It was his version of an apology, and she accepted without a second thought. He had wanted to kiss her. Tonks could see that now, but something, probably himself, had stopped Remus from actually doing it. He needed more time with the idea of the two of them, and she would give him the time he needed. Eventually, he would come around, either in this time or in their own.
