Chapter 4. A Socially-Distanced Date

Exactly as the clock struck seven, Remus heard a knock on the door to his flat. He took a deep breath, running his hands down his blue sweater to straighten it. Then he grabbed his mask from the counter, putting it on (over his mouth and nose: there was no point in only wearing it halfway) and opening the door.

Tonks was, perhaps for the first time in her life, on time, her hair black and tied up into a high ponytail. She was wearing her color-changing mask again, a long-sleeved tie-dye shirt, and a pair of black jeans. He couldn't tell because of the mask, but he was pretty sure that she was smiling.

"Hi," she said brightly.

"Hello," he said. "You look lovely."

"Thanks," she replied shyly. "You too. So, where do you want to go?"

"There's this little park down the street," he explained. "Muggle. I was thinking we could go there."

"Sure! That sounds great." She was definitely smiling now. "Erm, I guess we get to be a bio bubble now? Since we're, well, going to be… going out?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. "So what does that mean?"

"It means we're allowed to touch and interchange aerosols and stuff," she explained. "But we still have to wear our masks since we don't want to get infected by other people."

"Yeah, of course. So we can touch, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay." Hesitantly, he reached for her hand, and she took it, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Let's go, then."

They started walking down the steps from his flat and towards the end of the road, hand in hand. It was slightly chilly, but since he was wearing a sweater, and she a long-sleeved shirt, it was barely noticeable. He liked the feeling of her hand in his; it was soft and small, whereas his was rough and large, but he liked the feeling of hers enveloped inside his. It made him feel warm.

"You know," she told him, "we had to do a test in the Auror Office about honesty and integrity. It was online. Every single person cheated by looking at the online handbook during the test."

Remus snorted. "Really?"

"Yep. Honestly. Online work is so much fun. I can put on a meeting from the Ministry and a meeting from the Order, turn off my camera for both, and go around and do my stuff. I'm so much more efficient. And I don't have to wear those robes. The Auror robes are okay-looking, but I get so sweaty when I wear them. I mean, so many layers! And the hems are too long, and Srimgeour says that I can't cut them or fold them. Isn't that ridiculous? Apparently all Aurors have to wear the exact same size uniform, and most of the Aurors are guys, which means I have to wear their uniform. Sucks, right?"

"They really make you do that?" he asked. "Aren't there other women in the Auror Office?"

"A few, but none of them say anything." She shrugged. "Neither do I. Anyway, I like your sweater!"

"You do?" He looked down at his sweater. Blue, worn, boring.

"Yeah. It's very you-like. And it looks nice on you." She smiled at him.

"Oh. Thanks." They rounded a corner, still holding hands. He could smell her perfume as her hair brushed his face. It smelled like rosemary and apples. What an interesting combination.

"So, what about you?" she asked him.

"What?"

"I bored you to death about the Auror Office, and our robes, of all things. You tell me something. I'll shut up and listen."

"You didn't bore me," Remus said earnestly. "You never bore me. I like listening to what you have to say."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Really?"

"Of course."

"I feel like I talk too much," she said sadly. "And then people get annoyed with me."

"Well, they shouldn't. I love listening to you. And your voice is really sweet."

"Thanks." She gave his hand a squeeze, and he wrapped his hand tighter around hers. "That's a nice thing to say. I don't think anyone's said my voice sounds nice before."

"Well, it does," he told her sincerely. "It's a very pretty voice, as far as voices go."

She laughed, and that was even prettier.

They walked on, chatting and rounding the park, which was beautiful against the striking sunset. Finally, as it was getting darker, they both made the decision that they should start to head back, so they started heading back in the direction of Remus's flat. Once they were outside his apartment building, he turned to look at her, realizing that he had completely forgotten about this. Every date was supposed to end with a kiss goodnight, right? At least, if it went well?

Now his head was spinning. Was he supposed to kiss her? Or was he supposed to ask her if she wanted him to kiss her? And how should he kiss her, and how long? And should he take his mask off? Or should he kiss her with his mask on?

"What?" she asked. "Is there something on my face?"

He shook his head, staring at her. What now, Remus? What now?

"Oh. Okay."

There was silence for a moment.

"I had a great time with you today, Remus. It was a lot of fun."

"Me too," he managed to croak out.

"Yeah. Erm, you okay? You look… worried."

"I'm just wondering if people kiss with their masks on or not," he let out in one breath, watching her closely to see her reaction.

"Oh." Her eyes widened. "Oh. Er, yeah, I would say so. It's a pandemic, right?"

"Yeah. Okay."

Darn it, Remus, just do it!

So he leaned down to place a short kiss on her lips through both masks. It felt weird, obviously, since the masks were in the way, but he found comfort in knowing that she was on the other side, even if he couldn't feel her directly.

"Well," she said, her eyes very wide. "That was interesting. I've never done that before."

"Neither have I," he responded, managing a small smile. "But it was okay, I guess."

"Yeah?" Her eyes were twinkling now, as she said, "Well, if you come and drop me home, you can have another one."

Then she leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Without the masks."

Well, that was definitely a tempting offer.

And so he took it, and he decided the next morning that it was the best choice he had made.

A/N: Drop a review if you liked it! Thanks so much to acn45, toread, darija305, HeadIntheCloudsForever, and ChaosInSun for your lovely reviews! :)