No copyright infringement is intended
This story will be an alternating POV between Tonks and Lupin, starting after the hospital ward scene in HBP. Spoilers for HBP.
A Chance at Happiness by Fairygirlie
As I walk into Tonks' kitchen, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Unbelievable, completely unbelievable! I see my reflection in the glass of her kitchen window and notice that I have a smile plastered to my face. Things in my life are, for the first time in years, actually pretty good. Well, not everything in my life is great and nothing ever will be, but here I am serving breakfast in bed to the woman I love.
The woman I love. That sounds so foreign, so unusual, but at the same time so right. The woman I love is sitting in bed waiting for me to refill her coffee cup. The woman I love is thinking about me right now. I still can't believe how this makes me feel; so young and alive, almost as if the past ten years have been erased from my life. I look at my reflection again and take in the small wrinkles around my eyes and the gray streaks in my ragged-looking hair. Well, she isn't drawn to me for my looks, that's for sure.
Appearances are important. Being a Metamorphmagus, Tonks is acutely aware of this fact. She doesn't keep her emotions bottled up. When she's upset, she shows it. I'm willing to bet she changed her hair to some bright, unnatural shade the second I left the room. I also feel the need to show the world what I'm experiencing right how. Some grand gesture to show Tonks that all this is real; something heartfelt and true. Something, dare I think it, normal. Whatever normal is.
I take the coffee cups and walk into the bedroom where I'm greeted with a bubblegum pink-haired vision. As I hand her the cup, I can't help but run my fingers through her hair. Tonks giggled.
"Hey, now that you've got me, you can't keep your hands to yourself," she said with a laugh.
"That's right," I say as I sit down next to her in bed.
"Well, I don't mind, as long as you don't suddenly change your mind," she says as she leans over to set her head on my shoulder as I take her free hand in mine.
I turn to gaze into her jade green eyes. "Nymphadora," I began, "I spent so much time running away from my real feelings. I wasted so many months that could've been spent this way," I motioned to the way we were positioned. "I don't plan on changing my mind anytime soon, especially now that I know how wonderful this could be…how we could be." I lowered my voice to a whisper, "this shouldn't come as a shock to you, but I have problems getting close to people."
"No!" she whispered back in mock shock.
"I've lost so many people in the past due to death or betrayal or fear of what I am. I had a difficult time believing you could have feelings toward me, feelings more than that of a friend or work associate," I said.
"We've always been more than that, Remus" she said, head on my shoulder again.
"It's taken me a long time to realize that your feelings could be real. I'm sorry I wasted all that time, but I had to know for sure. I've never been this close to a woman before, anyone for that matter. I've always had a sense of isolation regarding relationships. All my friends were dating, getting married and having children; I was busy closing myself off to the rest of the world. Feeling sorry for myself. Telling myself I'd be better off alone. Telling myself it's better for everyone else involved. The only person who would be in pain would be me," I said.
Tonks responding simply by wrapping her arms around my waist.
"But those times are gone, finished," I continued as I gathered her closer to me, "and here we are."
"Here we are," she whispered softly.
I looked into her eyes again. "It seems like we're doing everything out of order. I want to do something normal, ordinary even by Muggle standards." I bent down to kiss and nibble her earlobe and was rewarded with a low moan in her throat. Confidence surging through my veins, I slowly kissed my way down her neck toward her collarbone and shoulder, stopping every so often to nip at her pale, sensitive skin with my teeth. I continued by kissing and licking a trail to the hollow of her neck, stopping long enough to breathe out "will you go on a date with me tonight?"
Tonks dissolved into a fit of laughter. "How could I possibly say no?" she asked and answered my question by pulling me up for a wild, passionate kiss. I don't know how long we spent in each other's arms kissing, tongues dueling, hands and arms memorizing each other's personal landscape, but I had to be the one to break away first.
"Tonks," I panted breathlessly, "I think we need to stop. For now," I added slyly. I'm due back at Hogwarts to patrol this afternoon. How does 6:00 for our date sound?"
"6:00 sounds great. You can pick me up here," she said as she gave me a quick peck on the lips.
"Wonderful." She made a motion to get out of bed. "No, you stay here, get some more rest." I lifted her hand to my lips. "Until later."
"Please be careful," she said softly.
Before I left her bedroom, I said with all the love in my heart "nothing in the world could keep me away from you," and I Disapparated from her hallway, realizing as I left that I left my cloak behind. I didn't really mind, I thought as I headed to Hogwarts, I've got something besides itchy wool to keep me warm today.
A/N: Please read and review. Even though this fic seems a bit sappy (okay, very sappy) there is a generous helping of angst on the horizon.