Title: Sensitivity
Author: cinderalex (with some help from my Best Friend Becky on the storyboard end)
Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership of anything you recognize. The plot, however is mine.
Chapter Title: Spying and Tea Time
Chapter Summary: Sirius talks with Lupin over tea. Lupin talks with Tonks over tea. Tonks talks with Molly over tea.
Dedication: This chapter (especially this first bit)is dedicated to Best Friend Becky for introducing me to the beautiful world of the Sirius/Remus ship.

Really Important Author's Notes:

We need to clear something up right away. Remus is not gay in this story, not with Sirius, not with anyone. Tonks simply assumes he is, like oh so many fans. I tried to make that clear in the last chapter, but apparently I failed.

This story is going to be fourteen chapters, including the prologue, and have follow-up oneshot. I will post faithfully, once a week on Friday. That said, this next chapter might not be posted for two weeks (but under no circumstances more than two weeks) as I am going out of town. We'll see.

I am looking for a good beta, preferably one with AIM. Please e-mail me if you are interested. Both my AIM screen name and my e-mail address are in my profile. Again, I'm going out of town so I probably wont get back to you for several days.

Take for example this:

if to the colour of midnight
to a more than darkness(which
is myself and Paris and all
things)the bright
rain
occurs deeply, beautifully

and i(being at a window
in this midnight)
for no reason feel
deeply completely conscious of the rain or rather
Somebody who uses roofs and streets skillfully to make a
possible and beautiful sound:

if a(perhaps)clock strikes, in the alive
coolness, very faintly and
finally through altogether delicate gestures of rain

a colour comes, which is morning, O do not wonder that

(just at the edge of day)i surely
make a millionth poem which will not wholly
miss you; or if I certainly create, lady,
one of the thousand selves who are your smile
-e.e. cummings

Early August 1995

Kitchen of Number 12 Grimmuald Place

Remus sipped his tea thoughtfully, regarding Sirius as the latter took a swig of firewhiskey directly from the bottle, flinching slightly as it went down.

"Want some?" he asked, offering the bottle to Remus. Sometimes, they could pretend that they were young, without the threat of Voldemort looming, that Peter and James were close-by, that they were still 'the Marauders,' daring boys with the world at their feet.

Remus shook his head.

"Good job with that clock today! I was getting tired of it's bolts poking holes in my trousers. So was Ron, I think." Sirius said, chuckling.

"Harry told me as much." Harry had confided to him, while helping him repair the clock, that Ron continued to forget where the clock was placed consequently walking past it so often he only had one pair of trousers without holes left to wear.

"He's so much like James."

"And so different." Lupin added. He was worried about Sirius and his attitude toward Harry. Whatever he told his friend, he thought Molly might be right. Sirius did try to pretend Harry was James, and that pretending did both men a disservice.

The two stared at each other for a long time, Lupin's hand still, on his teacup. "I'm glad to have you back." And it was true.

"Hell, Moony, if you keep it up I'll start crying." Sirius' words were disparaging but Lupin knew, as only a best friend could, that he had appreciated the comment and felt the same.

"Cue the violins." Lupin said dryly.

"Right. Well, I think I'll head off to bed," Sirius inclined his head toward the door to the stairs.

"I'll just finish my tea and be right up."

The Extendable Ear slipped from Tonks' hand and hit the floor with a dull thud. Exiting the room, Sirius almost ran into her.

"Tonks! I didn't hear you come in. I was just about to go to bed."

Tonks gawked at him, mortified at being caught attempting to overhear their conversation. Molly had greeted her at the door a few minutes before when she had returned to Headquarters after being on duty most of the evening eager for company. The older woman had sent her into the kitchen, telling her Lupin and Black were sharing a nightcap. Desperately anxious to confirm their relationship, she had jumped at the chance to listen in on their conversation. Though she had seen much of the two men at the headquarters over the last month, they had neither said nor done anything to make her more or less certain that they were lovers. Until tonight. Their dialogue had made it quite clear that there was something intimate between them.

"D-don't let me stop you from getting your beauty sleep," she stammered, hoping he wouldn't notice the piece of flesh-colored string at her feet.

"Like you could." He smirked. When he continued to observe her she forced a saucy grin. "The pink hair is nice. Leave it that way." With that, he turned to go up the stairs.

"Thanks! Goodnight!" she called at his retreating back.

"Quietly, Tonks, the children are asleep." Lupin murmured from his seat at the table. Tonks entered the kitchen and sat down across from him.

"Like hell they are. The twins are probably planning their next invention. Hermione and Ginny are probably chatting about boys, quite possible Harry and Ron." She raised an eyebrow at Remus questioning if he too had picked up the teenage romance erupting around them. He only laughed. "And Harry and Ron are probably talking quidditch or playing exploding snap."

"I haven't heard any explosions and I don't smell anything foul so I'd bet the four boys are asleep. However, you may be right about the girls. They do get quite chatty and giggly, especially with you around." Tonks got the feeling he was making another crack at her age. He very often grouped her with Ginny and Hermione as opposed to with the members of the Order.

The truth was she did enjoy spending time with the younger girls, but when they talked of things such as love and death, Tonks felt very old in comparison. However, spending time with Molly, made her feel extremely naive.

As she watched Lupin watch her across the table, she found herself hoping that perhaps this man was the friend she craved, the friend who could meet her where she was at.

"Nymphadora." He spoke her name softly, coaxingly, in a way that made it sound elegant and sensuous.

"Tonks," she corrected reflexively, trying to sound irritated. "How many times do I have to tell you? Please don't call me that. I don't like the way it sounds." Except when you say it, she added silently, praying he would never find out.

He was observing her with concentration, and she felt skittish. She drummed her fingers on the table. Her nervous movements must have amused him because he smiled. Her stomach flipped over and she smiled back.

Sighing, he took another sip of his tea, then set it down quickly, and rose. "How rude of me. Would you like some tea?"

"Certainly." She felt a need to draw out the evening, long enough at least for her to truthfully be able to call Lupin a friend. He busied himself readying her tea, his movements smooth and unhurried.

"Cream or sugar?"

"Neither, thanks."

"Really? I didn't think you were much of a tea drinker to start with."

Taking the tea he handed her, she murmured, "I'm not really, my mum put me off it when I was small."

"She didn't let you have tea?" he asked incredulously.

Tonks laughed, spilling tea down her front. As Lupin muttered a cleaning spell she explained, "No, quite the opposite. She was always throwing me tea parties. And taking me to real ones."

"It doesn't take a genius to realize you weren't at all interested in sitting around in a pretty dress and sipping tea when you could have been off hexing gnomes and getting unbelievably dirty."

"My mother wasn't a dumb woman. She let me be run wild... most of the time, but she was hopeful that I might one day become the angel she thought she deserved."At his chuckle of disbelief, she sipped her tea as daintily as she could muster, and said in a defiantly sweet tone, "I could become that girl yet."

"Oh please don't," said Lupin quickly.

"And why not?"

"Then you'd have to change your hair."

A hand flew to her pink spikes self-consciously. "You like the color, then?" She hated herself for saying it, but she was hungry for his approval.

He nodded. "It's an alert. When I see that bright pink color, I know to put myself on the lookout for a disaster." He laughed, softening his words, and she joined, but couldn't help feeling as if he'd slapped her.

He felt terrible the moment it was out of his mouth. He was only joking, but the stung look on her face told him she had wanted a serious answer. "The color matches you. You're both boisterously alive."

She blushed deeply, but didn't look away from him. "I'll take that as a compliment." His eyes fell on her lips. Several shades lighter than her hair, they matched her pinkened cheeks. She smelled of chocolate, just as she had on the first day he'd met her and every day since. Before he had a chance to imagine what her lips could do to him, she spoke again, rising, his teacup in her hand.

"More tea?"

"Alright. With two spoonfuls of sugar." He liked tea and her company, so he supposed he could stay up a bit later despite the fact that he was covering the next night shift at the Ministry.

Pouring steaming tea into his cup, she raised an eyebrow. "Sugar?" The way she said it made him feel like his manhood was in question rather than his tea preferences.

"You would be surprised what just the right amount of sweet can do to tea," he explained, trying to sound elucidative rather than defensive. "Perhaps if you tried it, you might find yourself liking tea after all."

"You're beginning to remind me of my mother, using my first name, and now trying to convince me to like tea. Remember, Remus, my mother's old." He wondered briefly if she was trying to remind him of his age, but realized she herself had probably forgotten when she continued. "And I know you aren't ready to be old yet."

"Not yet," he conceded. They sat in a companionable silence, sipping tea for some time.

Suddenly Tonks began to fumble through her robes, muttering, "I know I put one in here... somewhere..."

"Is there something you need?" he asked, puzzled by her search.

"Aha," she exclaimed pulling out something slightly crumpled and shiny from her pocket, "Chocolate!" She pulled back the wrapping to reveal a slightly smooshed chocolate bar and offered him a piece. "I always try to carry some with me. You never know when you'll need it."

Remus carefully broke a large chunk off the end of the a bar, thanking her before eating it. He loved chocolate and closed his eyes, savoring its richness on his tongue. He, too, often carried it on his person.

Reopening his eyes, he watched as she broke a piece off for herself and began to nibble on it. When she had finished, she held out her hands scowling. "I'm such a mess. Teach me to not eat melting chocolate without holding on by the wrapping." She began to lick the chocolate off her fingertips. He wondered if she knew how tempting of a picture she made, her pink tongue darting out lap the chocolate from her skin. When she finished she rubbed her fingers together testing their stickiness. He assumed, from her furrowed brow, that she found them lacking

"You could wash them."

She laughed as though the thought had not occurred to her. "That's too easy." She continued to contemplate her outstretched hands with disgust.

Across the table, Remus pulled out his wand and murmured, "Scourgify!"

Tonks flexed her fingers, checking his work, then held them out for him to inspect. "Very nice, even cleaned the dirt from underneath my nails, see?"

He took her hands into his own carefully observing the newly spotless fingernails. Her palms weren't soft, the pads were probably more callused than his own, but the backs of her hands were smooth and feminine. He smiled up at her, his thumbs absentmindedly tracing the protruding veins below her knuckles.

"How is being an Auror these days?"

"I work in the Ministry, so what do you think?"

"That you could use a break," he replied dryly.

She chuckled in obvious agreement, and he realized he was still holding her hands. It was comforting just to touch another person and Remus found himself reluctant to release her, let alone leave the room and go to bed. He had a long day ahead of him, and knew it was time.

Untangling their fingers, he rose. "I should be off to sleep."

"Yes," she agreed quickly, her newly freed hands flying immediately to her teacup.

Molly didn't even have to strain her ears; she could hear their conversation perfectly. Grudgingly she admitted to herself that her twins were geniuses, albeit trouble-making geniuses. Unable to sleep, she had come downstairs for some warm milk. Also, she thought it probable that Tonks had missed dinner, and would perhaps appreciate Molly whipping her up something. Upon approaching the cracked door, she'd heard voices and scooted closer to catch the words, tripping on what appeared at first to be flesh-colored string. Closer inspection revealed the offending object to be one of Fred and George's Extendable Ears.

She'd always denied having donated any of her children's trouble-making genes, but only superficially. Curiosity, as well as affectionate concern for those she loved, often got the better of her cautionary instincts leaving her to scramble out of many tight situations. It had always been that way. And so, without even a prick of conscience, she picked up the Extendable Ears and put them to use eavesdropping on Remus and Tonks' late night chat. Before now, she hadn't been aware they were so... friendly.

"It was nice talking with you. I enjoyed the chocolate." She heard the scrape of a chair and assumed Remus was rising.

Humor rang in Tonks voice when she replied, "I could tell."

"I'm exhausted."

"Yes, you must have told Sirius you were going to bed over an hour ago."

"Indeed."

Another scraping chair, this one much louder and clumsy sounding. Tonks must have risen as well.

"You haven't finished your tea." She sounded pleading.

"If I had, I wouldn't ever be able to get to sleep."

Tonks giggled.

"Well, goodnight Nymphadora." His words suddenly sounded awkward and formal, quite a change considering his surprisingly relaxed tone from only seconds before.

"Sleep well, Remus." Tonks spoke so softly Molly had to strain her ears for the first time. She sounded wistful.

Remus exited the room gracefully and Molly lodged herself against the wall, hoping he wouldn't notice. He brushed past without glancing at her, but as he began his ascent up the stairs she heard him say, "Goodnight Molly." She started, taken aback by his cool acceptance of her presence at the door.

When Molly entered the kitchen, she found Tonks standing still, leaning on her chair, and staring at the two teacups resting on the table with such determination she thought perhaps the young witch was willing them to clean themselves.

"Have a nice tea?" she inquired, though she already knew the answer. Tonks jumped wildly, knocking over the chair in front her and causing such a racket Molly expected the whole house to be awake and in the kitchen within seconds to investigate.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Tonks asked, righting the chair and slipping into it. "I thought you went to sleep right after I came in."

Molly walked over to the counter and pulled out the milk, putting it back quickly and deciding she'd rather have tea. "I couldn't fall asleep. Are you hungry?"She looked over her shoulder at Tonks questioningly.

"Mmmm... no."

Molly caught sight of a shiny wrapping on the table. "Don't tell me all you've had for dinner was a chocolate bar."

"Chocolate bars are delicious and filling." said Tonks defensively, though Molly thought, because of the way she sat straighter in her chair and glance hopefully at the cupboards, that Tonks might actually be hungry for something more substantial.

Saving the young woman's pride, she said, "Well, I'm going to heat up a bit of soup and I insist you have some.

Minutes later, with a cup of tea in front of her, Molly sat across from Tonks. Deciding to test the waters, she said, "Remus is a kind man."

Tonks nodded, but did not reply, instead spooning more steaming soup into her mouth.

She tried again. "I'm glad you've made friends with him."

"Me too." Tonks blushed tellingly as she returned to her soup.

Perhaps there was something between them. Anxious to dig deeper, Molly stated, "He's very lonely."

Dropping her spoon, Tonks said quickly, "He's got Sirius, hasn't he?"

Molly shook her head. "That man is too wrapped up in his own immature drama to take care of Remus' needs. Lupin deserves someone who'll pay attention to him because they care and not because they want something in return."

Tonks did not reply, but stared at the bottom of her soup bowl, clearly deep in thought.

"You could be that person." Molly proposed hopefully. Maybe she was pushing a bit much, but she'd found that many people needed a shove in the right direction before they found happiness.

When Tonks continued to remain uncharacteristically silent, Molly said suggestively, "He's still quite handsome."

Finally, she got a rise out of the younger woman. "Molly, I realize that, believe me, but I'm just not his type."

Author's Note: That chapter, like this entire story, was full of pointless fluff. So umm.. I hope you like that junk. The next chapter will be better. I promise. Reviews motivate me to write good stuff. Without reviews, the words just stick inside me. So please review, if only to save me from writers block.

Reviewer Responses:

Alli-Baby- Thanks. The rest of this fic will lead up to that final scene which is the prologue.

bri007- I was worried the last line of that chapter didn't zing as much as I intended, so thank you for the compliment. It reassured me.

emmilou87- Your review was great. I'm really glad you think Remus is gorgeous... his character, in this story, is dedicated to my Little Sister Lauren because he's her favorite.

Roseylynn- I hope I have made it clearer in this chapter that Remus is interested in women, or in a particular woman and not in Sirius Black. Thanks for the review, I needed that kind of feedback.

okami kaze- All I have to say to you is: you drew me a kitty cat in your review. I'm naming it Ann and keeping it always.

Siriusly Sirius Lily Black- Goodness gracious, I'm blushing.

tomato-can- Thank you so much for reviewing both chapters:)

angledust-893- You've already read the end of this story (the prologue). So, no, Tonks and Remus do not end up together in my story. You'll have to go read HBP if you want that story. But I can promise that they will be together in the last chapter I post as well as in the follow-up one-shot(which takes place years later).

DeD kAkE- Messy love triangles are the best. Like, for example, my favorite, Harry, Hermione, Ron... or even better Harry, Ron, Draco... or perhaps Fred, Harry, George... Ginny, Hermione, Harry... oh the possibilities...

homeric- I am glad you enjoy Sirius' involvement. It only gets better.

FLUFF MASTER- There's hugging in the next chapter, I promise.

Valkyrie228- I'm very proud. Thank you.