Remus paid the cover and slipped into the back of the crowded muggle bar. The noises and smells assaulted him at once – the voices of people commenting on the band or ordering their drinks, a variety of perfumes and colognes, and the music roaring above it all, the drums and the main singer's voice seemingly competing for dominance, yet somehow working together at the same time.
He squeezed through the mass of people, nodding politely and saying 'excuse me' when appropriate, until he found a small, empty space in one corner. He stood there, finally able to see the band, and tried to ignore the ache deep in his chest at the sight of the bright pink hair bopping up and down at center stage.
Tonks. His Tonks.
Well, not anymore, he thought bitterly to himself.
The current song ended and the place erupted with applause and yelling. Tonks was laughing as she slid the microphone back into its stand. She looked around the crowd, her eyes suddenly stopping in his direction. Her smile changed. She turned and said something to the rest of the band, then faced forward once more.
"Thank you all so much!" she said, her hands fidgeting and adjusting the microphone. She waited for the people to somewhat quiet down before she continued. "We've got a new song we'd like to share with you all tonight." She paused for another wave of vocalized excitement to pass. "I wrote the lyrics myself about a…a difficult situation I've gone through lately and…well, about someone who means a whole awful lot to me. He can be a bit of a git sometimes," she laughed, and others joined her, "but then again, so can I. So this one's for him."
She nodded to the drummer who started with the beat. It was definitely slower than the previous song, but still just as rock and roll. Remus watched and listened, forgetting to breathe. Tonks began to sing.
"He was a living tapestry of near-misses and fights
His skin was always scarred and broken when he stepped into the light
He said that he was ugly, but to me, he was a beautiful sight
He thought our love was wrong, yet nothing ever felt so right…"
Remus swallowed, all the other sounds fading into the background as he focused on Tonk's words. He had feared he would feel exposed or betrayed, but instead, he felt strangely safe. The song told their story: it was a mosaic of all their pain and frustration, but also of all their loving feelings for one another. It was a declaration. An apology. Poetry. And Tonks knew exactly how Remus felt about poetry.
But it was also a question.
He didn't wait for the song to end to answer. Instead, he once again began to worm his way through the crowd, this time heading for the stage at the very front. For her.
She watched as Remus made it to the edge of the stage and sang the last lines to him while looking directly in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but she couldn't hear him over the applause that had once again filled the room. She held a hand down to him and helped pull him onto the stage. People pointed and chattered excitedly, but neither of them took any notice.
"Tonks, I am so sorry -" he tried to begin, but he was immediately cut off by her throwing herself into his arms.
"Me, too," she said into his neck, the two squeezing one another as if their very lives depended on it.
She pulled back to smile at him, then quickly closed the remaining space between their lips with a passionate kiss. Everyone in the room – her bandmates, the crowd, even the bartenders – went absolutely nuts.
They couldn't know it then, but the band would soon make it big and eventually play some of the most popular performance venues in the world. But Tonks would always swear that this gig at the small, muggle bar was still her very favorite.
680 words
For Room of Requirement Rockstar AU
For Quidditch Pitch "He was a living tapestry of near-misses and fights"
For Drabble Club 'Microphone'
