Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. You can tell I'm not her because #transrights

Warnings: NA

There Are Worse Things I Could Do

I could stay home every night

Wait around for Mr. Right

Take cold showers everyday

And throw my life away

On a dream that won't come true

-There Are Worse Things I Could Do, Grease

"Not only have I not had the coffee required for this discussion yet but I don't care," she said—and not for the first time. She continued lacing her boots as she did because frankly there wasn't enough time in a day to stop what one was doing to have this argument with Remus Lupin.

"What if you do one day?" Remus asked. "What if one day you wake up next to a sick and old man…"

"Well, you told me you were sick and old yesterday and I didn't seem to mind seeing your face first thing in the morning," Tonks scoffed. "I woke up in a rather superb mood, actually, until you started up with this nonsense of yours again. Honestly, how many times do you have to say that it's the last time before you realize that I'll keep coming back?"

"I'm being serious," Remus said.

"And what do you take me for?" Tonks asked. "Do you think I'm taking this lightly, Remus? Do you think that I'm throwing myself at you with the intention of walking away?"

With that said she went back to lacing up her boots. She'd been running late for work all week, mostly since she'd been waking up next to this lunatic and having the same conversation every morning all week.

Remus wrapped his arms around himself which only made him look like he was swimming in his sweater even more adorably.

"Just because you disagree now doesn't mean you always will," he said quietly. "I just… I worry about the day where you'll start agreeing."

"Well then maybe you should stop pissing me off," Tonks said. She pulled her jumper on over her Weird Sisters t-shirt and pulled her hair out from the collar. "Though you haven't even done that quite badly enough, yet. I'll see you tonight."

"Dora," Remus sighed.

"No, I don't want to hear it," she said, getting up and grabbing the bag she'd left by the door last night, ruffling through it to make sure she had all her things. Her Auror badge, lip gloss, wand, the files she'd been supposed to read… there was a protein bar in there too. Hmm. If that became breakfast, maybe she wouldn't be as disastrously late as she thought.

"You can't run away every morning and not let me talk," Remus said.

"Did I ever tell you about that time I fucked a literal Death Eater?" Tonks asked.

"You—what?"

"Yeah, Alec Mulciber," Tonks said. "Went to school with him, never talked much. I was left unsupervised and ran into him at a bar one night after we graduated and he was smart, fit, just as intoxicated as I was. Things happened—good things, at the time, but lo and behold, he's a literal Death Eater now. So when you start going on about your one million flaws and I say that I don't want to hear your morning-after crap, it's because nothing you can say about yourself is bad enough to compete with the fact that I have fucked a literal Death Eater."

Remus looked stunned before he burst out laughing. Tonks grinned along with him and then realized she'd left bracelets on the nightstand, so she went to put those on.

"That's the bar?" Remus asked.

"It's one of many bars," Tonks said. "You're a good man, Remus Lupin. I could do a lot worse than you."

Remus blushed and she couldn't help but smile. She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You're kind," she said. "You're gentle. You're soft. You always taste like tea. You listen and you don't judge. You're bloody brilliant. You say things quietly so they sound even funnier. You're brave. You're fighting to make the world a better place. That is what I want in a partner. That trumps all the unkind things you have to say about yourself and that is why I will be seeing you again tonight. Alright?"

Remus hesitated where he stood and she saw him processing her words.

She cupped his cheek with one hand and tilted his face so that she could make eye contact with him.

"Alright?" she asked.

"Alright," he said. "I'll see you tonight."

She smiled, eased up on her toes, and kissed his lips.

"I'll see you tonight," she said. After all, there were worse things she could do.

Like being late for work again.

WC: 768