"Contented"
Disclaimer: Do not own Remus or Tonks.
Note: Valentine's Day really was the day after the full moon this year! And I was in such a Valentine mood despite my lack of male…..I wrote this. Sorry that it's posted a little late.
Remus Lupin was in bed on Valentine's Day. And it's wasn't the type of "in bed" you would think of for this holiday, Tonks was out on a mission and he was feeling absolutely horrible. The day before had been the full moon and here he was. He was nursing a headache, two broken ribs and a pretty nasty bruise on his left thigh. He was in hell. Looking back, he thought this was almost as bad as the Valentine's Day when Sirius had fixed him up with a babbling blonde named Cindy, who hadn't even heard of Yeats. Sad.
So here he sat, in the flat he and Tonks shared, in his flannel jammies, all alone. He marveled at the fact that he even had a girl this year. She was away, but she was his. After…(15 years, had it been?)..being alone for so long, he had a woman he could come home to. Tonks was a miracle to him, here she was, a young, beautiful woman who loved him for who he was. After some rough times, they were finally together.
Remus was just drifting off for a little nap when he heard a clang from one of the outer rooms of the small flat. He jumped. He was all alone in here, wasn't he? He lifted off the bedcovers and was beginning to get up and see what was wrong when the doorknob on his door turned. A tuft of pink hair came around the edge of the door and Remus smiled.
"Re-mus…" Tonks said in a small, singsong voice, coming into the room. "Oooh! You're awake!"
"Nymphadora, what are you doing here?" Remus questioned the pink haired girl, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Never mind me! Why are you out of bed?" she bustled over before Remus could protest, pushed him back onto the pillow and pulled the soft blanket over him.
"I'm sorry Dora, but aren't you supposed to be in work?"
"Bugger work!" she exclaimed. When he gave her a look, she elaborated, "Kingsley let me off, he knows it's Valentine's Day and well…" she trailed off and shrugged.
"You shouldn't be skirting your work for me!"
"Oh, shut up." Tonks whispered teasingly. She leans in and kisses Remus lightly on his lips.
"I love you." Remus said.
Tonks stared at him for a moment as though she wanted nothing more than to pounce on him right there. But she knew he wasn't strong enough. So instead, she said, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm all right…"
"No you're not," Tonks said, seeing right through him as always. "Hey! I got you a present!"
She leapt up from the bed and ran into the other room. She soon returned holding a small rectangular package, which she handed to him.
"I wonder what it could be?" Tonks watched as Remus carefully tore the edges of the heart patterned wrapping paper.
Inside was a bar of Honeyduke's finest milk chocolate. Under that was a small, brand new, hardcover book entitled "Poems of W.B. Yeats".
He looked up at her. "Sweetie, I already have this book."
Tonks blushed a tad. "I know, it's just that…the copy you have is all ripped and old and…well, it looked like you needed a new one."
"That was a very thoughtful gift, Dora. Thank you." He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her gently. "I got you something as well, if you would get it…it's just there on the dresser?"
Tonks got up and walked over to the dresser, tripping only once the hem of her robe. She picked up the odd shaped package.
"What the…"
"Open it!"
Tonks grinned at the way Remus was more excited about her opening the gift he's gotten her rather than being excited about his own. She couldn't have been more different from Remus in opening her present, ripping at the paper as though the gift might disappear if she didn't rip fast enough.
Inside was a heart shaped box and a small velvet one. Obviously, the heart shaped one was chocolate, but the smaller one…she slowly lifted the lid and there was a gold ring with a small pink stone on the top. Did this mean…
"Remus?"
Remus saw her expression and quickly said, "Oh, no no, we decided we weren't ready, remember?"
"Yeah, so…"
"This is a promise ring. Even thought neither of us are ready for marriage just yet, someday, when this wretched war is over, I promise I'll still be here, ready to bend on one knee for you."
Tonks' eyes teared up a bit. "Oh, Remus…" She leaned in and kissed him full on the lips, even sliding her tongue in a bit, deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Your welcome…" Remus said, when they broke apart for air. "And thank you again for your gift."
"No problem." Tonks replied breathlessly. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"Same to you, honey." Remus said, kissing her gently on the tip of her nose. Fro the rest of the afternoon, they sat on the bed and talked. Remus loved these kinds of afternoons. Later on, they had a nice 'romantic' dinner in Remus' bed with candles charmed to float above them. And late at night, Tonks fell asleep next to Remus, their breathing synchronized, their heartbeats almost one.
When he thought about it, Remus was so contented with his life for once. Tonks was really a blessing and one day, he was going to marry her and they would have a wonderful life together.
A/N: Hope you liked it! Happy Valentine's Day!