Disclaimer: Don't own anyone here. Even though the first two chapters were continuous, starting with this chapter and until the end, this story will be just moments in Remus and Tonks' life together, vignettes, if you will.
"But I cannot forget
Refuse to regret
Somewhere I met you
Take my breath away
Make every day
Worth all of the pain that I've
Gone through…"
Maroon 5: The Sun
Chapter 3: proposal
Remus likes to watch her as she washes the dishes or prepares two cups of tea in the morning. He has loved sharing a flat with her; it's a wonderful feeling to wake up every morning right next to the one you love with all your being. He's never had that before now and it's taken some getting used to.
In the beginning, he'd cringe at the jewelry in the bathroom, the bras on the floor of the bedroom, the little things. Now that was what he looked forward to every day. He loved walking in to the bathroom to take a leak, but then getting the privilege of browsing through Tonks' new collection of baubles on the sink. It was like an adventure, just walking through the apartment.
Sharing a flat with a girl was nothing like it had been sharing a flat with the marauders. He would find unpleasant surprises back then, such as Sirius' dirty undergarments and James'…. well, James left some interesting things lying around the house after Lily had spent the night. But now it was all these lovely little Tonks things, like seeing a new part of her each time he entered a room.
This was one of the many reasons he'd decided to ask her to marry him. He'd thought it out till it could not be thought of anymore and he was positive he'd come to the correct conclusion. She was all he'd ever wanted, a companion, a best friend, and he wanted her to be his wife. It was hard because he knew the outcome would be so wonderful, but the actual process was positively terrifying. He was simply scared of having to get down on his knee and actually say the words. Sirius had been right all those years, he was a wimp.
He'd thought of all sorts of different techniques of getting her to find the ring. Cook a dinner for her and hide it in her salad, take her to a fancy restaurant and hide it in her salad, have a quiet evening at home an when she gets up to go to the bathroom, put it on her seat. Well, needless to say, he was coming up with pretty lame ideas. This was one of those times when he wished James and Sirius were still around, they were bound to know some smooth, suave way of asking her.
But then, the idea came to him. Recently, they had taken to going out dancing on the weekends. As a couple, they had these things they got into for a month or two and then abandoned. First it was boat rides, the cheap ones on the Thames River, they had loved it! Then it was tennis matches, of all things. This was Tonks' idea and Remus didn't take to it until later on when they were about to move on to the next thing. Next came plays at the local middle school. Tonks thought it was adorable, and God knew they couldn't afford real plays so this was good enough.
And now it was dancing, ballroom dancing. There was a nice little place where they could eat for cheap and then dance for free. They played nice, smooth swing, which Remus adored and it had gradually grown on Tonks. It really was great fun. So his idea was, they would have a nice romantic dinner at a real restaurant and then walk over to their dancing spot. Just before it was time to leave for home, during the very last dance, he would casually slip the box into Tonks' hand and ask her. It seemed foolproof and he didn't think even James would have thought of something like that.
But, of course, fate has a way of playing with you, and Remus knew it. He booked the reservations two weeks in advance to make sure, he checked that there was open dancing on the night he had in mind. It all checked out so he thought he was all set.
He had not counted on catching a cold.
He woke up early that fateful morning feeling like utter crap. He had a sore throat, a runny nose, achy muscles and, he was pretty sure, a fever. He lay in bed for a half an hour, looking at Tonks, thinking about what to do. He was so very tired still and soon, he fell back asleep.
When he woke up again, he smelled food and Tonks had a Weird Sisters CD playing. He sat up and felt his head throb. When he lay back down, he heard someone turn the knob of his door.
Tonks peeked in. "Remus! You're sick, go back to sleep!"
"No, no, I can't, we're going dancing tonight."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Tonks said, letting out a musical chuckle. "You'd step all over my feet and practically kill yourself, you're burning up!" she illustrated her last point by placing a small hand on his brow and wincing.
"No, honestly Tonks, I am perfectly fine, I don't know what you're talking about."
Tonks just stared at him reproachfully.
"All right," Remus' shoulders slumped in defeat. "I have a slight cold." Tonks smirked. "But, we can, and will, still go dancing."
"What is so special about going dancing tonight?"
"Oh, nothing special about tonight in particular, it's just tradition now."
Tonks just looked at him as though she thought his fever was more severe than even she had noticed. Then she smiled and shrugged. "If you say so honey." She ruffled his hair and went back to whatever she was cooking.
Remus stared at himself in the mirror. His nose was red, his eyes were droopy and his skin was pale. He sighed and continued to tie his tie. When he was finished, he popped a few aspirin into his mouth, following them with a glass of water.
"I must be crazy…" he muttered under his breath, as he sat on the toilet lid to pull on his socks.
When he exited the bathroom, Tonks was sitting on the bed waiting for him. She wasn't dressed yet. Remus put a hand over his eyes and groaned.
"Honey, why in Merlin's name are you not dressed yet?"
"I was thinking maybe you might come out of the bathroom and have changed your mind." She said, quietly.
"No, I have not changed my mind." Remus said, suppressing a shudder as chills ran up his spine. "We are going dancing, a silly little thing like a cold is not going to deter us from our evening of fun."
"If you say so…" Tonks said, and walked into the bathroom to change.
Remus sat down to rest.
"Do you want to do side-along apparation with me?" Tonks asked, picking up her purse.
"No, I do not. I'm not a weakling, I'm perfectly capable of apparating by myself."
Tonks sighed. Remus was such a stubborn old fool sometimes.
Remus apparated first and Tonks followed. When Tonks arrived at "Dance 'n' Dine", she saw Remus seated on a bench near the front door with his head in his hands. She rushed over to him.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, just got a little dizzy, that's all." he stood up and took her arm.
"Are you sure?" Remus looked down and saw the concerned look on Tonks' face.
He sighed, "Yes, I'm sure, let's go."
An hour later, they were in a taxi on their way home. They had danced one dance and Remus had become so pale, that Tonks put her foot down and insisted they go home. So here they were, Remus with his head leaning on Tonks' shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He muttered.
"Sorry for what?"
Remus sat up and looked at Tonks. "For ruining our night out. It's all my fault!"
"Don't be ridiculous! What was so important about tonight anyway that you had to jeopardize your health for?"
"Well, I was going to do this," Remus reached in his pocket and took out the small velvet box that contained an engagement ring. Now was as good a time as any, at least the box wouldn't be in anyone's salad.
"Nymphadora, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Tonks was speechless. She was so speechless that she didn't even reprimand Remus for using her first name that she hated so much. She stared from the ring to Remus, from Remus to the ring and then let out a squeal that made the cab driver swerve out of his lane.
"Of course I will, you silly wolf!" she flung her arms around Remus' neck and kissed him.
Remus hugged her back and just grinned. He had finally found the woman for him. He finally knew where he belonged, in Tonks' arms. And he knew that up in heaven, Prongs and Padfoot were grinning like idiots.
A/N: Sorry it took so long! Major writer's block! Review, please!
