Remus apparated in the hallway outside Moira's apartment. It was only then that he realized he had rushed out of the house wearing a very unMuggle cloak and clutching his wand in his shaking hand. Anyone could see him out here.
He reached out to knock on the door, wondering all the time what he would say, how he would act. Gods, did she even want to see him?
Perhaps it is for the best.
Albus knew. He had seen into her heart. He should not be here.
He heard the lock click and the door squeak. Two eyes peeked out at him through the narrow crack in the door.
Two brown eyes.
"Can I help you?"
It was not Moira. She was too short and too blonde- and most definitely not Moira. How was this possible? Moira was supposed to answer the door so he could plead his case and tell her all the things he had wanted to tell her for years, but this- this was not Moira.
A huff and the door slammed shut. The bolt slid into place.
By Merlin, was this how it would end? With him standing alone in the hallway like some maudlin character of a sappy novel?
No, it most certainly would not. He knocked again and the door, again, opened slightly.
"What do you want?"
"Moira," he answered, unaware that his haggard appearance and shabby clothing gave him the wild look of a dangerous man. The gap in the door narrowed.
"I'm sorry-"
Remus' hand shot out, holding the door against the pressure the woman exerted to shut it.
"Please, I must find her."
"Let go of the door!" she demanded. "I'll call the police!"
He shoved harder, glimpsing the familiar Irish picture on the wall. Moira's picture. It was still Moira's apartment. He pushed his shoulder against the door, gaining leverage to send the woman staggering. Remus was in the apartment in an instant, his amber eyes taking in the large boxes sitting half filled around the room.
"This is Moira O'Shaughnessy's apartment. I demand to know where she is."
"You've got the wrong apartment, buddy. There is no Moira O'Shaughnessy here," the woman answered from the floor, her hand scrambling for the small cell phone on the table.
"Lupin, then," he growled. "Moira Lupin. Where is she?"
"I'm right here, Remus." He whirled to the left to find Moira standing in the hallway that led to the bedroom. She stepped forward and helped the blonde woman up from the floor. "Did you come all this way to assault my friends?" she asked coolly.
"No. You know I would never-"
"Then why are you here?" she interrupted. Her voice was cold and even. Her words, measured. She looked fiercely at him. Suddenly, he too wondered why he was there.
"I need to talk to you," he answered, matching his own tone to hers.
Moira regarded him silently for a moment, betraying nothing in her eyes.
"Sara, there's a box in the bedroom I was packing. Will you finish it for me?" Her eyes did not leave Remus as she spoke.
"Moira, I'm not going to leave you in here with this madman!"
"I'll be fine. Please? I must get this place packed up."
Sara frowned and bent to pick up her phone, then looked pointedly at Remus.
"If you touch her, I'll have the police here in no time," she warned before backing down the hallway. When she had disappeared, a palpable silence settled.
"Are you going somewhere?" Remus asked at last.
"I'm moving."
"You're running away again."
"No. This time I have a place to run to."
"Don't play your word games with me, Moira. In the end, it all means the same. You're leaving. It's the same as it was before, isn't it? The going gets tough, so Moira gets going."
"Truer words were never spoken by such a hypocrite." She stepped around him, staying close to the walls so as not to come too near him. "All this time you've been at home, and you refused to see me even once. "You spoke with Albus and Sirius, and, hell, even Severus. And I had to hear how you were doing secondhand. All I wanted was a minute- even thirty seconds! That's all the time I needed."
"For what?" he baited.
"For what? To tell you I was sorry! I put a-" she lowered her voice, aware there was another in the apartment. "I put a damn sword through you. I needed to see that you were all right- with my own eyes!"
"I didn't want to see you."
"No shit?"
"I couldn't. Not after the way I treated you."
"Oh, but you could see everyone else? How convenient for your ego!"
"I didn't try to kill everyone else personally! I remember what happened that night you came to see me. You think I don't feel guilt for that? I do! Every bloody day I hate myself more!"
"You self-loathing bastard," she spat. "You stand here in my apartment that you forced your way into and tell me that you put me through hell all that time so you could continue to hate yourself?"
"Would you rather I hated you? Because you nearly killed me?"
"What? You want revenge? I'm sure I have a knife around here somewhere." She motioned toward the boxes already packed. "Sorry, I'm not sure I have a comparable sword."
"That's not why I'm here!" he yelled, wrapping his fingers around her arms.
"Then why are you here?" she countered, pulling free.
"Because I thought-"
"Thought what?"
Remus stared at her, dazed for a moment at what he so deeply needed to say to her. Her hands were balled into fists. Her face was flushed as she watched him, waiting for an answer. He lowered his eyes to the floor.
"Because since the first time I met you, I've been in love with you," he answered in a small voice. "And I couldn't bear the thought of going another fourteen years with never telling you, wondering if I'd missed my chance once again." He couldn't bear to look up at her, to see her glare at him with those angry gems of eyes. Even when silence settled over the room, and even Sara could not be heard in the back bedroom, he did not raise his eyes. "I'm sorry."
He moved slowly toward the door, ready to escape rather than hear her scathing answer.
"Why-?"
"I didn't mean to lay this on you like this. I thought-"
"Remus." Her hands were touching his, pulling him back toward her. Her long finger hooked under his chin, lifting it so he could not avoid looking at her.
"No. I wanted to know- why you haven't kissed me yet?" Her eyes were shining. Her voice, a whisper, was trembling.
His eyes widened at her words, and for a moment, only a moment, he wondered if all this was true- if it was really happening. Before his mind could argue with his senses, he reached out and gently caressed her cheek with his finger. It was warm and smooth and exactly what he had imagined so many times, but for the tear slowly making its way to her jaw. Moira reached up and laid her hand over his as his thumb gently touched her lips, lingering just long enough for his lips to replace it. Her hands reached up, pulling him closer to her so their bodies were in contact.
No words were spoken as the kiss broke. They simply clung to each other, rejoicing in finally having found each other, after having only known each other for so many years.
"Don't go," he whispered into her red hair. "Come back to Britain. Come back to Hogwarts, but don't leave me again. Don't ever leave me again."
The warmth, the comfort left as she pulled away and looked up at him, locking his gaze.
"Remus, I'm not leaving Hogwarts. I only came back to clean out this place and resign from the university." She touched his wet cheek. "I'm not leaving. I promise, I'm not leaving. I love you."
He grinned broadly, unable to restrain himself.
"I love you, Moira."
FIN