Three months into the relationship:
Remus awoke gently to a tickling sensation moving its way up his toned chest. "Mmm, what are you doing?" He mumbled.
The bubble gum pink haired witch stilled her hand that was wandering over his bare chest. "Oh thank …God," Tonks caught herself, "You're awake; I was getting bored!" The Metamorphmagus was lying on her stomach with the duvet draped over her back, staring at her boyfriend of three months as he lay on his back with the duvet covering his lower half.
"You could have watched some TV," the scarred werewolf suggested as he looked at the clock on the bedside cabinet.
"You're much more entertaining to watch," she teased.
"What do you want to do today, on your very rare day off?" Remus enquired as he wrapped his arm around her as she turned over and snuggled into him.
"We could just stay here?" Tonks mumbled as she cuddled closer to the lycanthrope.
"In your apartment or bed?" He chuckled.
"Bed," she murmured as she buried her head into his side in sleepiness.
"How about you stay here and I go out and get us some breakfast?" Remus went to get out of bed.
"No, stay." She pleaded as she clasped his hand to keep him near, to keep her human hot water bottle. 'Better than a warming charm any day.'
"We can't stay here all day."
"Why not?" As she finished her whine her stomach let out an almighty growl.
Remus gave a knowing, lazy smile and replied; "food, Dora?"
"Pancakes? No, waffles! Hang on; French toast!"
"All of the above?"
She shook her head, bright pink locks falling all over the place. "Surprise me"
"Okay. You stay there then." Remus kissed atop her head.
"Wait!"
"Yes Dora?"
"Let's just make some coffee or hot chocolate," she suggested. "That way we can come back to bed sooner."
"I'll be right back then." He repeated his action from earlier.
Remus quickly slipped on his boxers and made his way to the kitchen after making a detour to his jacket that was hanging at the front door to retrieve his wand. This way he could make the hot beverages quicker and join Dora back in bed sooner.
The happy werewolf had just poured the magically boiled water into two mugs when he heard, thanks to her klutzy nature, his girlfriend approach the kitchen. Quick thinking meant that Remus managed to open the nearest draw in the small room and throw his wand into it, concealing it from her view. A pair of delicate arms wrapped themselves around him from behind. Tonks ducked as he swung his arm around her as she moved to his side, never letting go of him.
"Hot chocolate?" She asked looking at the two mugs in front of them.
"Mocha," he answered smugly.
She rolled her eyes good naturedly. It was then that Remus took note of her outfit; tight vest top and bright blue shorts that left little to the imagination.
The couple made their way back to bed with their hot drinks; Remus insisted that he carry both to prevent her from coming to further harm should she, well; 'do a Tonks'.
They sat in bed for around half an hour sipping and chatting.
"Should we get you some food now?" Remus suggested at he placed both now empty mugs on the bedside cabinet.
"But that would mean having to get up," the bubble gum pink haired young woman whined.
"And you don't like that idea? How about we move to the sofa?" Remus tried again.
"With a duvet?" She practically announced.
"Or a blanket?" He suggested once he imagined the small sofa swamped by the king size duvet.
Her beaming face answered him.
They chose that getting at least more dressed than they already were was a good idea.
With Remus sat on the edge of the bed slipping on his jeans, Tonks slipped out of bed to use the en suite; knowing she'd be cold in vest top and shorts she grabbed the first item of clothing she could and slipped it on.
The werewolf now stood in the middle of his girlfriend's bedroom trying to locate his white, cotton shirt that she had thrown off him the night before.
"Hello, Nymphadora! It's me," a voice emanated from behind the pushed too bedroom door.
'Oh Merlin!' Remus began frantically searching for the missing item of clothing.
"Nymphadora, are you home? I thought you had today off," the voice called again only this time louder.
The shirt was still missing. Remus was stood in his jeans, in the middle of a young woman's bedroom and her mother was about to walk in.
"Nymphadora?" The door was pushed open.
The woman that stood in the doorway had long, light brown hair and darks eyes that matched her daughters, was tall and pale skinned.
It was at this point that as Remus was about to open his mouth to speak, that Tonks emerged from the en suite… wearing his missing shirt.
"Wotcher mum," Tonks greeted her mother as she made her way over to the chest of draws to collect some comfortable clothes.
Remus didn't know where to look and it seemed that neither did Andromeda.
"I'll be in the lounge," Andromeda informed as she stepped backwards out of the room in embarrassment.
Once her mother had disappeared, Tonks looked over her shoulder to Remus, who was still stood still shirtless in the middle of the room. The bubble gum pink haired witch tossed a pair of socks at him.
Remus blinked as the offending item collided with his chest. Catching the socks and moving his eyes away from the now closed door, he heard Tonks give out a hearty laugh.
"Well that's never happened before!" She blurted out as she moved over to her startled boyfriend. Standing behind him on tip-toes, she wrapped her arms around him and ran her hands over his scarred chest. "Don't worry," she whispered into his ear.
"That wasn't exactly how I envisioned meeting your mother," Remus all but choked out.
"It could have been worse; you could have been having your way with me." She chuckled as his face turned crimson.
"We shouldn't keep your mother waiting."
"What, are you afraid she'd get the wrong idea if we took our time?" Tonks all but purred into his ear from her position behind him.
"You are going to be the death of me."
"That wouldn't be a good thing now, would it? You wouldn't get to meet my mum properly," she teased as she stepped away from him and moved back over to the chest of draws.
"Dora?" He called again with a lazy smirk
She looked to him.
"Could I possibly have my shirt back?"
Tonks gave a slight frown before looking down at her current attire. Without another thought she slipped off the loose fitting shirt, strolled across the room and handed him his item of clothing.
He felt his mouth dry as he watched her saunter back over to where she had laid out jeans and a bright coloured t-shirt. This woman was really going to be the death of him.
Soon the pair was ready to exit the bedroom. Remus could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 'Stop it! It's just her mother. Just her mother… who practically found you in bed with her only daughter!'
"Mum, I'd like you to properly meet Remus Lupin," she finished by dragging the werewolf forwards by their joined hands. "Remus this is my mum, Andromeda."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Tonks."
"Likewise Mr Lupin," she nodded as she shook his scarred hand.
"Enough with the formalities; you just saw him with his shirt off!" Tonks groaned as she plonked herself down on the sofa next to her mother after leaving her nervous boyfriend in the middle of the room.
Remus' face grew hot as he adverted his eyes to the floor.
Clearing his throat; "can I get you anything to drink Mrs Tonks?"
"No thank you and please call me Andromeda," The older Tonks insisted.
"Dora can I get you anything?"
"Mmm, chocolate cake?"
"Not something more appropriate since you haven't eaten this morning?"
"Fine," she huffed though secretly she revelled in the fact that he cared so much about her. "But make is yummy,"
"As you wish."
Remus disappeared to the kitchen after leaving the Tonks' with a departing nod.
"What do you think of him? Like really think?" Tonks almost pounced on her mother.
"He is very caring." This was true and Andromeda did admire the quality.
"Nice body too, don't you think?" Tonks giggled and teased her mother.
The older Tonks' composure just about held together, though Tonks swore that she saw a hint of a smile appear across her mother's face, "that was an unfortunate situation to find ourselves in."
"I'll say! You should have seen Remus after you left; you could have knocked him over with a feather!"
"Do you really think it is fair to tease him?" There it was; the crack in her composure. A small smile crossed Andromeda's face. "How would you feel if you were stood there scarcely dressed in front of a stranger?"
Tonks just smiled, "I would probably be doing what he is, hiding in the kitchen," Tonks beamed at her boyfriend's actions.
Andromeda shared a smile of her own.
Remus was unknowingly humming one of the Weird Sisters songs that he had heard Tonks singing in the shower the other morning, while he meandered around the small kitchen in search of acceptable food. It was when the lycanthrope was rummaging through a utensil draw that he came across his hidden wand from earlier and slipped it into his jeans pocket and covered it with his shirt.
Moments later a less embarrassed Remus emerged from the kitchen with a plate.
"Here you are Dora; toast." He presented her the plate and took a seat in the armchair next to her.
"What has it got on it?"
"The only item of food in your apartment that should accompany toast; Marmite."
Tonks found it hard to hide her face of disgust.
"That's not the same jar I gave to you when you first moved in, is it?" Andromeda asked with a slight disapproving look.
Remus already knew the answer. He had rummaged through the cupboards in the hope of finding something and found an un-opened, just in date jar of Marmite at the back.
"Of course not! I ate that yonks ago," Tonks lied through her teeth. The bubble gum pink haired witch gingerly took a small bite; almost nibble of the toast. Andromeda and Remus looked on. Remus noted that Andromeda seemed to be taking far too much enjoyment in her daughters squirming. "Mmm, Remus would you like some?" She practically smushed the toast into her boyfriend's unsuspecting face.
"No thank you. You know me; I'd rather have chocolate spread." He could have sworn that he heard her mutter 'so would I'.
"Nymphadora, Remus how would you like to join me and Ted for dinner sometime next week?"
"Oh, Um…" Remus cleared his throat and looked to the bubble gum pink haired woman to his right, who had just placed the un-eaten food onto the coffee table.
"Mum, wouldn't you rather wait and recover from the shock of seeing my godly boyfriends chiselled chest?" The young woman attempted to joke her way out of having to visit her parents with her recently established boyfriend.
Andromeda refrained from rolling her eyes. "Nymphadora I assure you I am no stranger to a healthy male physic; your father hasn't always been big bellied."
Now it was Tonks' turn to actually roll her eyes at her mother's use of her first name.
Remus knew it sounded strange but he had never been referred to as 'healthy', he has always been that man with lycanthropy or a dark creature, never a man, let alone healthy. He took comfort in Andromeda's innocence, just for a second.
"I'm actually busy that day," Tonks blurted out in another attempt to decline her mother's invitation.
From Andromeda's face Tonks know she'd been caught. "Don't be silly Nymphadora; I haven't suggested a date yet."
'Bugger!' Tonks huffed in thought. "Remus is pretty busy that week with book reviews; so we have to decline."
Remus was having an internal battle with himself; should he put off the inevitable or bite the bullet and dive in head first? The werewolf chose to ignore his girlfriend's pleading eyes; "I can move some things around, it's no trouble."
"Brilliant, I shall call Nymphadora and we can sort out a time and date later. Now I don't want to intrude on your morning any more than I have done, so I will bid you good day and see both of you very soon." Andromeda stood.
A baffled Tonks followed Remus' lead as he mirrored the older woman's actions and accompanied her to the door.
"It was a pleasure meeting you Remus," Andromeda assured as she turned from opening the apartment door.
"Likewise Andromeda."
"Goodbye Nymphadora; I'll talk to you soon." And with that the elder Tonks departed the apartment.
Once Remus had pushed the door closed Tonks thwacked the scarred man in the chest.
"Ow!" he stated as a reflex with a slight chuckle whilst clasping her hands and stilling them. "What was that for?"
"I was trying to get us out of having to go and there you are accepting the invitation!" Tonks stressed exasperatedly.
Remus gave a lazy smirk and released her now calm fists. "Would you rather put it off for another month or two? Why not get it over with now?"
"Why ever get it over with? I am an expert avoider when I want to be! I could have saved you from the pain you are going to have to endure!" Tonks now rested her palms on his chest.
Remus cupped her pale cheek in his calloused hand; "I assure you Dora; I can handle anything you or your family throw at me."
A small smile spread across her face as an image of her father throwing a hex at Remus; him being a muggle and all made the scene extra comical.