Despite the fear that Tonks had felt the night of the fight in the hallway, the weeks after had become something of a second honeymoon phase. She had been so sure at the time that she was witnessing their destruction, that her decision to aid Sirius in a night out coupled with Sirius' malicious words would destroy the fragile harmony of their relationship. But in the end it had only seemed to make them stronger.

Whatever had happened that night, between her and Sirius and between all three of them, had left Sirius feeling more secure. And with that security came a tenderness she had never expected. While he still loved to tease and taunt them both and he would never quite own up to the pleasure he felt in caring for them, his behavior had changed dramatically. Tonks would even call it down right, romantic at times.

Sirius Black had taken to holding hands, cuddling and even giving sweet chaste kisses just because. Tonks could hardly believe it, but Remus seemed to barely notice it. She wondered if this is how they had been before she had entered the relationship. Perhaps it was only now, after their first fight, that she had truly become an equal third partner.

Whatever it was, Tonks had decided to leave well enough alone. No reason to overthink such a good thing. Instead she intended to enjoy it as long as it lasted.

It was a few weeks before the three of them had a whole day and night in all together. They had made good use of the time enjoying each other's company. They hadn't even made it out of bed until the sun was starting to set. Finally hunger had driven them downstairs to the kitchen but after a quick meal they had returned to the bedroom to relax.

Remus and Sirius were both reading, sitting next to each other, propped up against the headboard. The book Remus was reading looked incredibly old and heavy. Sirius was perusing a recent copy of the Quibbler. Tonks had been reading too, some muggle comic books her dad had recommended, but she had begun to lose interest after awhile and found herself watching the two of them instead. She was laying across the foot of the bed, Sirius' feet resting on top of hers.

She was beginning to get a bit bored but didn't want to ruin their cozy moment. She stretched and let her eyes wander around the room. It was a bit of a mess as they had all elected to forgo their clothing today, having tossed it on the floor last night, retrieving it only long enough to eat a meal before discarding it again. It had been sexy at first but now she thought it just felt intimate. She was surprised to find that she liked that feeling just as much.

Remus' desk was a mess as well. Several other large old tomes were stacked haphazardly on one side and sheets of loose parchment containing his research notes covered the other. He was only messy when it came to research, she mused. He got so excited about what he was discovering that he forgot to be organized. She found it adorable.

Tonks scrutinized the dresser too, piled high with Sirius' unfolded clothes, until her eyes finally fell on the wardrobe and particularly a box that was set atop it. She hadn't noticed it before but she supposed that was because as much time as she had spent in the room, she had usually been too distracted to look at the top contents of the wardrobe.

Her curiosity and boredom got the best of her. "Hey Remus?"

"Hmm?" he asked from behind his book.

"What's in that box?"

Both Remus and Sirius looked up from their reading to look where she was pointing.

Remus frowned. "Oh, well that's actually yours Sirius." Sirius gave him a questioning look and Remus set his book down. "It's a box of your things. I've had it since- since before. It's just the things I couldn't bare to throw out." He looked away from them both. "I meant to give it to you that night you came to finally talk to me, but well we er- got distracted and I forgot about it. I've had it for so long. Just taking it from place to place…"

Sirius gave the box a look that Tonks couldn't quite decipher. She turned to contemplate it as well, before springing to her feet to collect it from atop the wardrobe. With box in hand, she climbed back onto the bed to face her lovers.

"Well let's take a peek," she said, laying it down in front of them. It was only then she noticed how uncomfortable they both looked. Stupid, she thought. Of course neither of them would be particularly excited to rummage through a box of memories. That part of their lives had ended in tragedy and the preceding years had not much improved. "Err if you want," she added lamely.

Remus gave her a weak, sad smile and Sirius tentatively reached for the box. He pushed the cardboard flaps aside gingerly, pulling out a stack of pictures. "There's James," he said in a whisper. "And Lily."

He held up a photo to show Tonks. A lanky but handsome man with dark, unruly hair and a pretty redheaded woman smiled up from the photo. They were holding hands and waving. Tonks was amazed at the likeness between Harry and his father, the only difference besides age and his famous scar, were the eyes. As Tonks had heard before, Harry has his mother's eyes.

She reached out to touch the photo, looking up at Sirius and Remus. "They are beautiful."

"They were," Remus replied softly.

Sirius set the photos aside and next pulled out a thick stack of parchment. He looked at them with a mixture of joy and mourning. Tonks thought she could see just the briefest glint of a tear in the corner of his eye. "These are from Lily," he said. "I should let Harry read these."

Remus nodded, putting a hand on Sirius' shoulder.

Another stack of parchment laid beneath the first. Sirius took a moment to read the top of the stack to discern what they were. "Ah these are from you Remus," he said.

Remus seemed to turn red. "From the summer of 6th year?" he asked.

"Yup, the very same," Sirius replied. "You wrote me a lot that summer."

"Yes I recall," Remus replied, failing to hide his blush. "But those aren't that important. You can read those later," he said.

Tonks looked from Remus to Sirius and back again. "Oh now I need to know! What so embarrassing about those letters?"

Sirius looked questioningly at the stack of letters. "I don't remember anything embarrassing about them."

"Yes exactly," Remus replied in a rush. "Quite boring, mundane stuff about the weather and what you and James had planned for the summer. Nothing important."

Sirius gave him a mischievous smile. "Seems like maybe I missed something. I should really reread these." He winked at Tonks. "How about right now?"

Remus groaned and crossed his arms. "Fine, whatever. There isn't anything bad, they are just… sappy."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Sappy?"

"Yes, sappy. You completely failed to notice it but I liked you quite a lot back then. And maybe I was even trying to be a little obvious."

Tonks smiled but kept her mouth shut. She found this interaction fascinating. A small window into their earlier lives, before the war and the trauma.

"Were you?" Sirius asked. "Now I really need to read this!" He selected a letter at random and began to read aloud. "Dear Sirius, I envy James that he gets to spend the summer with you. I'm feeling quite alone without you. I hope that maybe you can find some time for me, maybe before the summer is through. I think about you each time I see the moon begin to rise and whenever I see a dog. Truly I do miss you…" Sirius looked up at Remus. "Wow, well now I see it," he commented, setting the letter down with the rest.

Tonks burst out laughing, "How did you miss that Sirius? I mean he was practically throwing himself at you."

Remus was now the color of a very ripe tomato. "I was getting a bit desperate," he mumbled.

Tonks laughed even harder but then moved close to Remus and kissed his cheek in an attempt to take the sting out of it. "Well Sirius must have been pretty thick back then."

"I was distracted," Sirius replied, waving his hand.

Tonks caught her breath and regained her composure before addressing them both, "Well at least you figured it out this time around." She placed a hand over each of their own.

Sirius ran his free hand through his hair and Remus squeezed Tonks hand gently. Though both men seemed unsure of how to respond in the moment, Tonks appreciated being included in this discovery. She felt that she was now, in a small way, a part of the larger narrative of their relationship. There were years they had together that she would never know but here in this moment she was a part of the whole.

Sirius returned his attention to the contents of the box, shuffling around parchments and other small reminders of his youth. A golden snitch, a gryffindor house flag with the signatures of his former quidditch teammates, a small carved black dog, a framed photo that appeared to be from the wedding of James and Lily Potter and another of Sirius holding baby Harry. At the bottom of the box were two identical hand mirrors. "I forgot about these," Sirius said, pulling the pair of mirrors out of the box.

"What are they?" Tonks asked, leaning forward.

"Here," Sirius replied handing it to her.

Tonks gazed into the mirror but only saw her reflection. Sirius raised the other mirror in front of his face and said her name. Suddenly his face appeared in her mirror in place of her own. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Oh I have heard of these! They are very rare though!"

"Perks of being a Black," said both Sirius and his reflection. "James and I use to use these all the time. It was how we coordinated some of our best pranks."

"You should give one to Harry," Remus said. "Since he can't write you for now."

"Oh great idea, Remus!" Tonks cheered, handing the mirror back to Sirius.

"Yes. This will be a great work around. That hag won't be able to do anything about these. But I'm not even able to ask Harry if he wants to visit for his Christmas break. Molly is going to have him at the Burrow and she said she would bring him here if he wants," he paused, glaring down at the mirrors before tucking them back into the box. "It's just fucking frustrating I can't even ask him myself."

Both Tonks and Remus moved to comfort him. Sirius remained silent but didn't move away. "It won't be like this forever,' Tonks whispered. "Someday Fudge and the Ministry are going to know Dumbledore has been right all along and then you are going to be really free Sirius!"

Remus didn't say anything but gently pressed his lips to Sirius' brow.

"I hope you are right," Sirius replied with a wan smile.

AN: Hi Readers! I have been hit by the flu and some other complicated health issues that have left me less time and energy for writing. Usually this isn't a problem because I write several chapters ahead of my posting schedule to keep my posting on time. However I have now caught up to myself. I have started the next chapter but it's not finished yet. I'll do my best to try to get it to you on my regular 2 week posting schedule but fair warning I might have a small hiatus. But not to worry! I do plan to finish this story! Thanks for reading folx!