Some time had passed since the night Remus referred to in his mind simply as "the incident." To his immense relief, though Tonks had stayed the night several times since then, no further incidents had occurred. He knew he should tell her at some point, but frankly, the thought of having that conversation terrified him for a million and one reasons and he decided to just keep pushing it aside until it became a problem again in favor of simply enjoying her company and their increasingly close friendship.

Indeed, his guilt and shame over "the incident" were not Remus' only problem when it came to Tonks. Sirius' increasingly frequent hints and allusions to the fact that the Auror may be harboring a crush on the Order's resident werewolf were extremely irritating at first; Remus brushed them off and changed the subject whenever Sirius tried to bring it up, as he was sure that there was no way in hell he could actually be the object of her affections. But once he started to pay closer attention, he wondered if Sirius' words held some truth. She had started to stay over more frequently; he'd thought she came over mostly for Sirius, but even on the days when Sirius was holed up in the attic with Buckbeak, she'd stay in the kitchen or the library with him long into the night, challenging him to a game of chess or simply talking with him for hours on end in front of the fire. And this was in addition to all of their missions together; more often than not, they were paired together as partners for the vast majority of their Order duties, and she would beam at him whenever their names were read out together from the roster by Moody at the meetings.

Then there was that time when they'd been sitting in the drawing room - just the two of them, again, alone somehow - sharing tea and some of Molly's scones. He'd nearly jumped out of his skin when she suddenly reached a hand up to his face, her thumb brushing his lips. "Jam," she'd said simply, smiling at him as she brushed the offending condiment from the corner of his mouth - and though she was smiling, there was something else in her eyes as she looked at him, her hand lingering just a little too long on the side of his face before she brought her thumb to her own lips and licked off the jam, boldly holding his gaze the entire time. Of course, this was far too much for him to handle, and he was fairly sure he'd mucked that all up when he'd suddenly ducked his head, cheeks blazing, with some mumbled joke about 'wolfing down his food' and table manners.

And then, of course, there was the fact that Sirius had straight out told him that Tonks had approached him on how best to let Remus know she was interested, but he never quite fully trusted anything Sirius said on the topic at this point, so he'd decided to simply ignore this development. He had to admit he was a tad bit insulted when Sirius had called him the "absolute stupidest smart man" he knew after one of these conversations, but still; better to be safe than sorry.

And so, his dilemma. He felt as if he'd spent hours at this point trying to figure out what he should do; should he ask her to dinner? Should he just tell her he fancied her, and let her take the lead from there? He felt maybe this was his best course of action; though a part of his brain was fairly certain she fancied him back, the other, louder part told him that there was no way she was seriously interested in a 35-year-old werewolf. Yet, the possibility that she could be, no matter how far-fetched, was appealing; and he managed to drown out this more bitter, discouraging part of his brain whenever she stumbled into headquarters, particularly whenever she was wearing a tshirt that bared her midriff. Lately, as the weather cooled, she'd been wearing jumpers that bared her midriff; he didn't quite understand it, as he'd always thought jumpers were meant to keep you warm, and so didn't it rather defeat the purpose if the jumper left several inches of your stomach bare to the air? Yet he couldn't really find it in him to mind. Especially when she was sat across the table from him at Order meetings and decided to stretch, arms all the way in the air and her jumper riding dangerously high to reveal a generous expanse of her toned stomach. If he didn't know any better he'd say she'd started doing that on purpose.

Thankfully, the past few days had been full of impending holiday cheer, ridiculously offensive Christmas decorations courtesy of Sirius, and an endless parade of Weasleys marching through the house, so he'd had a welcome distraction from his endless self-imposed torment. Until today, that is.

"Wotcher, Remus!"

Remus looked up from the book he was reading in front of the fire in the study when he heard the door open. Tonks stumbled into the room, throwing her bag to the side and quickly shrugging off her Auror robes to join it on the ground. He swallowed hard; he thought she looked lovely no matter what she was wearing, but he had to admit that the tight green plaid skirt she was sporting - which clashed horribly with her pink hair - was particularly fetching.

"Hi, Tonks. You look - er - " She grinned at him, and he felt a familiar heat rising in his cheeks. "You look really nice."

"Thanks, Remus, you don't look so bad yourself. Why are you up here? Where is everyone?"

His brows knit together in confusion as he slowly marked his place in his book. "What do you mean, where is everyone? It's only Sirius and I here right now, I'm afraid. You did miss Molly, but she took the children to visit Arthur, and then I think they were going to do some Christmas shopping."

Now it was her turn to look confused. "But the Christmas party is...not tonight, is it?" She closed her eyes, throwing her head back in frustration. "Right. Did someone mention that at the last meeting and I wasn't paying attention?"

He tried to stifle a laugh. "It was mentioned at the last meeting that we were moving it, and I believe that Kingsley said he would remind you to change your calendar as well."

"Well, he didn't, the git. And you -" she said suddenly, pointing an accusing finger in his direction as she made her way over to the sofa, plopping down beside him. "Why didn't you remind me?"

"I believe I did, Nymphadora," he replied teasingly. "When we were on duty the other night, if I recall correctly, I did mention that it had been -"

"Alright, alright, whatever." She blew her fringe out of her face, rolling her eyes skyward. "You're right, I'm a mess. It's tomorrow, isn't it?"

"It is, indeed." He tried not to think too hard about the fact that he could smell her perfume now; vanilla with lavender. It made him want to sit even closer to her, but he didn't dare.

"Right. Well, I s'pose it's good I did this with the party and not a meeting, else Mad-Eye would have killed me and then the Order'd be one member down."

"If Alastor had his way, there wouldn't even be a Christmas party for you to miss."

Tonks snorted. "Right, because god forbid we take more than two minutes to stop thinking about war and death and just have a bit of bloody fun for once. I swear, someone needs to explain the meaning of the word 'morale' to that man." She stretched her legs out in front of her, toeing off her combat boots. Remus tried extremely hard not to think about how nice her legs looked in her tights. Pull it together, you old fool. "Are you in the mood for a drink, Remus? I happen to know that there's a rather large stockpile of booze downstairs, and I don't want my festive outfit to go to waste, you know." She was grinning in him again, and he felt suddenly as if his collar was too tight.

"Erm - yes, that would be nice. Sirius is upstairs with Buckbeak, I believe, if you'd like me to get him as well -?"

She waved a hand. "Nah, he'll come down when he's ready. We've got all night. Unless - sorry, I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" She suddenly looked almost self-conscious as she eyed the book that was in his hand.

He set it down on the table, smiling at her. "You're never interrupting anything, Tonks."

"I'm not so sure about that, you're just far too nice." She was smiling back at him again, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "Anyway, I had a day at work, and I've got off tomorrow, so I'm ready to get absolutely plastered. D'you suppose it's alright if I stay the night again?" He felt his stomach drop. "Nearly splinched myself apparating home last Thursday after Sirius convinced me to have that 'one last whiskey' that I somehow magically could never reach the bottom on. Should've known better than to let him fix a drink for me, he definitely charmed my glass to constantly refill."

"A classic mistake," Remus reassured her rather hoarsely.

"Anyway, I know it's a bit of a full house right now, but it's just easier if I crash here like I usually do when I'm drinking with you two weirdos."

He swallowed. "Oh - yes, but I - we might have to find you a new room."

"What? Why?"

"Er -" he cleared his throat nervously. "There were - I think I heard some doxies in the one you usually sleep in. The room next to mine, I mean. Last night."

She shrugged. "Well, I'll handle those before I go to sleep then. Better to nip it in the bud than to let it become a whole other infestation, don't you think?"

He felt himself start to panic. "Well, that's not the only - er - that room may not be open, actually. I mean, with all the people staying in the house for the holidays, that is."

She frowned at him. "Molly told me that all the kids are staying on the third floor, and that she was specifically leaving that room open for me because I could 'do with more naps.'" She rolled her eyes fondly as she spoke of the Weasley matriarch's overbearing motherly tendencies. "She told me so because I'd asked if she needed me to clear some of the clothes and things I've left in the wardrobe in that room."

"Right. Erm...okay." He nodded. She was still peering at him suspiciously.

"Remus, what's wrong with you? Why is it suddenly a huge issue that I sleep there? I mean, if my snoring is too loud and you can hear me from your room, just say the word and I'll cast a silencing charm," she joked.

"Silencing charms don't work in your room," he blurted.

"What? How do you know that?" She looked confused for a second, then suddenly her eyes widened and she clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh."

"Erm..." He tried to avoid her gaze as her face flushed scarlet, certain that his matched hers in hue.

She lowered her hands slightly. "Oh. Merlin. So you mean to tell me...you can...hear me in my room?"

He squirmed. "I mean, it's not as if I can hear everything, but, er. Yes. I hear...erm...enough."

"Okay. So that...so that night I ran into you when you were coming out of the shower, you..." she winced. "Oh, no."

"I promise I wasn't listening," he said hastily. "I mean, yes, I heard enough to know that - to know that perhaps you had - well, it seemed like the type of thing you would cast a privacy charm for, and considering I could hear you, I knew that - well, that's why I went to take a shower." Her eyes widened further, and he felt his panic rise. "No! Not like that!" he added desperately. "I wasn't - I wasn't doing anything, umm, in the shower. I mean, I was washing myself, but that's - that's it. Just normal shower - er - things. Soap and such." Jesus christ. "And I really did have a sore back, I wasn't lying when I told you that. I just - I just wanted to give you your privacy, is all." While he wasn't sure he had ever anticipated this conversation going quite well whenever he got around to it, he had to admit that this was really going particularly terribly. So much for asking her to dinner, he thought bitterly. Now she would certainly think he was nothing but a weird pervert - he wouldn't be surprised if she asked Moody to change all of their assignments together. Very suave, Lupin. Everyone knows the best way to get the witch you fancy to return your feelings is to let her know that you've heard her masturbate and follow that up with a reassurance that you use soap in the shower.

She was still staring at him, slowly lowering her hands from her face. Though her cheeks were still pink, something unexpected happened. She smiled. "You're rather adorable when you're all flustered."

"I - oh." His bemusement must have shown on his face, because she laughed now as she shifted closer to him on the sofa. He swallowed, finally managing to make eye contact with her, and all he could think about was how dark her eyelashes looked. She'd done some sort of nice smudgy thing with her makeup that made her eyes look even more alluring than usual, and he had to quickly look away again.

"Seeing as I don't think I can possibly experience any further embarrassment in this particular moment, I guess now's as good a time as any to come out with it and say that I'm very attracted to you, you know." She brought one of her hands to rest gently on his knee, and he thought his heart had just about stopped. "I think you've likely figured that out on your own by now, but I thought maybe you needed to hear it said out loud. That's what Sirius thinks, anyway. I told him I've been dropping hints, but he said you wouldn't know a hint about this sort of thing if it bit you in the arse."

"Oh," he repeated stupidly.

She was sitting very close to him now, and he felt all coherent thought flee his brain when she reached out, gently cupping his cheek with a soft hand. She was looking at him intently.

"I'm going to kiss you now."

And then she did. Her lips were soft and warm. He was so stunned that he barely reacted before she pulled back, looking panicked. "Fuck, sorry if that was - er -"

He suddenly came to his senses, his brain finally catching up to what was happening as he also became aware of the acute loss of her lips on his. "No, wait - I'm sorry," he replied quickly. "I'm just - er - right." She arched an eyebrow at him. "I - let's try that again, shall we?" He barely gave her a chance to respond before leaning forward and taking her face in his hands to press his lips back against hers. She sighed against his mouth, and then he felt her lips part slightly, inviting him to deepen the kiss. She tangled her fingers in his hair, their tongues sliding together as her lips moved hungrily against his. He still couldn't quite believe that not ten minutes earlier, he was trying to decide whether or not he could work up the courage to even ask her to dinner, and now she was snogging him senseless on the sofa.

"I've been wanting to do this for ages, you know," she mumbled against his mouth. Another mind-blowing tidbit - a beautiful witch fantasizing about kissing him for ages?

"Tonks - I - so you're not mad I - I heard you -"

She pulled away slightly; her lips were pink and slightly swollen, and Remus couldn't help but look at her mouth as she smiled even though he knew he really should be looking at her eyes instead. "I'm not mad, of course not. I mean, it's a bit embarrassing, isn't it? But..." she shrugged. "Do you want to know what I was thinking about?"

He felt his mouth suddenly go dry. "What?"

She gave him a devilish grin. "This." Suddenly, she was pulling on the front of his jumper as she lay back on the sofa, and he found himself on top of her, looking down into her face as he propped himself up on his elbows. She pulled his face down towards hers, kissing him again, more fiercely this time. He couldn't help but groan quietly when she suddenly hooked a leg around his waist and he found his hips pressed against hers. Suddenly, embarrassingly, he realized he was hard, and in their current position there was no way she wouldn't notice.

"Oh, god, sorry -" He made to shift his weight off of her.

"Wait," she said huskily, "why do you think I wanted you on top of me? Are you comfortable with this?" He noticed that if anything, her leg around his waist tightened, and he had to close his eyes for a moment as the friction between them went straight to his groin. "Only if you're comfortable with this," she repeated, more gently this time. He managed to open his eyes, and as he looked down at her, he still couldn't quite believe the way she was looking at him, as if he were the only thing that existed in this room with her right now. She smiled slightly. "You look a bit gobsmacked, are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I just -" he let out a small laugh of disbelief. "You're so - you're so great, and I'm just...I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you'd want to -"

"Stop thinking so hard, you're going to hurt yourself. There's nothing to wrap your mind around, you're quite fanciable," she replied matter-of-factly. "Now kiss me." And with a small grin, he obliged.

Dimly, as they kissed again, Remus had the thought that he should make sure the door was locked; it wouldn't do to have Sirius interrupt (he'd never hear the end of it), or one of the Weasleys coming back from the shops only to walk in on their former professor laying on top of a fellow Order member. Kissing Tonks, however, was somehow commanding all of his attention, especially once she started doing something rather spectacular with her tongue on his bottom lip.

He shifted so that he could run one hand gently up her side; she gave a small shiver, and so he did it again, this time allowing his fingers to brush the soft swell of her breast underneath her tight black knit top. She moaned into his mouth, arching up against him; he still couldn't quite believe that she was so affected by his touch. "Please touch me," she breathed against his lips. "I want you so badly, Remus." He started to gently kiss his way down her neck, marveling at the noises she was making and the way she tugged on his hair when he ran his hand down her side again, this time skimming his hand softly over the curve of her hip to her thigh.

He pulled back slightly. "I must admit this is not the reaction I'd have expected to my earlier revelation," he replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Mmm. Doesn't seem like you're too unhappy with it, though."

"Oh, I never said I was unhappy with it. Quite the opposite, in fact, considering the fact that I've been agonizing for weeks over how best to ask you to dinner." She gave a small hum of delight that sent warmth straight to his stomach. "It's just that I am surprised that not only did I not even work up the courage to do that properly, but I've properly embarrassed you, and you still want to kiss me. That's all."

The sound of her laugh made his stomach flip. "Well, I do. And I want to do more than kiss you, you know." She suddenly gave him a rather devilish grin, biting her lip as one of her hands slowly slid between them until she reached his belt buckle. "Is this okay?"

"Oh - yes," he managed. His eyes fluttered closed as she undid his belt buck and zipper, and he bit back a gasp as she slipped her hand into his boxers and wrapped it around his cock.

"I really was thinking of you, by the way," she purred into his ear, nipping gently at his earlobe as she gave him a few strokes. "When you heard me. I was imagining this. Do you think of me when you do this?"

He could barely form a coherent word with her hand still around his cock. "Y - yes," he gasped. She pressed her mouth to his again in another hot, open-mouthed kiss that only lasted for a few far-too-short seconds before she pulled back again.

"Do silencing charms work on your room?"

He stared at her for a second, then in an instant they were both standing, him buttoning back up his fly, her straightening out her skirt. He had never gone up a set of stairs so fast in his life.

As soon as Remus had shut and locked the door to his room, Tonks launched herself at him again, kissing him fervently. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She couldn't remember the last time she was so painfully and instantaneously aroused from a first kiss; she figured it had something to do with the fact that she'd finally worked it out that there were some feelings involved in what she'd foolishly thought were simply sexual fantasies at first. After she'd first become aware of her attraction to Remus, she'd become slightly baffled as time had worn on and the attraction had only gotten stronger. It's not that he wasn't attractive; he was, he just wasn't her usual type. She'd never in her wildest dreams thought she'd have such vivid, aching sexual fantasies about someone who wore sweater vests with as alarming frequency as he did. He was attractive in a rather unassuming way, but the more she'd gotten to know him, the closer they'd become, the more gorgeous she thought he was. And so she'd had the realization fairly soon after that night that she indeed had a crush, because Remus was all around a rather lovely person, and she had started to suspect shortly after that perhaps her feelings were reciprocated - but now, she supposed, she was spared any further deliberation on what to do about this, as none of the blatant hints she'd been dropping that she was interested in him had gotten her anywhere, but apparently all it took was her wearing her favorite skirt and mixing up party dates.

And it was about time. If anything, as soon as Tonks had become aware of the fact that she fancied him, she couldn't stop thinking about him like this. It was getting to be quite distracting, the amount of time she spent fantasizing about him rather embarrassing. They could be partaking in something as innocuous as playing a game of chess together in the drawing room, but if her eyes wandered to the desk in the corner, suddenly she'd be thinking about him bending her over the desk, nudging her legs apart and pulling her hair while fucking her from behind. Another night, as she and Remus had been having drinks with Sirius in the library, he'd stretched his legs out in front of him on the couch, and she'd noticed how really lanky he was. Then all she could think about was dropping to her knees between his long legs and sucking him off. When it came to oral sex, she'd generally always preferred going down on women; it was softer, and had somehow always felt slightly more intimate to her. But once the thought popped into her mind of sucking Remus' cock, of feeling his hands gently tangled in her hair, of looking up into his eyes and watching his face as he came in her mouth, it was nearly all she could think about whenever she saw him.

And now, she was in his dimly lit bedroom, being kissed more desperately by him than anyone she'd been kissed by in a very long time. She was relieved that he'd seen to have more than overcome his initial slight hesitation; she didn't want to push him further than he was comfortable with, but she wanted him to truly realize how into him she actually was, and she was also fairly certain she'd die of frustration if they didn't actually shag tonight after the way he'd been kissing her and touching her on the couch in the study.

She suddenly felt her backside hit a hard surface, and realized that Remus had backed her up against the desk. She didn't think it possible to become even more aroused than she already was, but she felt the heat between her legs intensify as he slowly sank to his knees in front of her, placing his hands on her legs and gently running them up her thighs. "May I?" he asked. "Oh, wait - we should cast that silencing charm," he added rather sheepishly.

"We should, because I've been told by a certain resident of this house that I can be a bit loud," she replied, winking at him as he flushed. He fumbled in his pocket for his wand, casting the charm quickly before shoving his wand back in his pocket.

"Can I -"

"Yes, yes, please do," she said quickly, gripping onto the desk for balance as he pulled down the tights she was wearing under her skirt and nearly kneeing him in the face in the process. It was a wonder this man still wanted to sleep with her, the Order's walking disaster in residence, but it didn't seem as if he minded in the slightest as he began to press soft, wet kisses up the inside of her right thigh. She leaned against the edge of the desk as he slowly pushed her skirt up, shuffling forward on his knees until his face was nearly between her thighs. She returned his gaze eagerly as he looked up at her once more. His fingers brushed the center of her knickers, and she let out an embarrassingly breathy moan, her eyes fluttering shut.

"You're so wet already," he breathed.

"I told you I've wanted you for awhile," she replied. She felt his fingers gently hook into the waistband of her knickers, and then he was tugging them down her legs.

"Very nice," he murmured, taking a moment to smile up at her as he set aside the black lacy garment. She blushed, and was momentarily taken aback by the thought that even though his face was quite literally between her thighs right now, she was too embarrassed to tell him that yes, she had purposefully worn nice undergarments in the hopes of - what? This happening? Sure, she'd been hoping this would happen for a couple of months now, but she was still rather shocked that they were actually here.

Her embarrassment fled as quickly as it had appeared, however, when Remus suddenly pressed gently on one of her legs, hooking it over his shoulder as he leaned in, his lips grazing the inside of her thigh.

"Is this okay? Can I -"

"Yes, Remus," she replied. "Please." His mouth was so close that she could feel his breath, warm on her center, and then suddenly - "Oh, fuck."

The feeling of his face between her thighs, tongue circling her clit, was even better than she had imagined. Her back arched, and her right hand immediately flew to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his greying hair to hold his face there. "Oh fuck, yes. Keep doing that." He groaned against her, and the vibrations made her toes clench.

She reached her other hand back to steady herself on the desk, her hips thrusting forward as he continued to work her over with his tongue. He reached one hand up to her hip, holding her down, the other hand remaining on her other knee, pushing her legs even wider apart to gain better access. She had a brief moment of gratitude for that silencing charm now, and prayed that it would hold in his room, as she was barely aware of how loudly she was moaning now.

Her breath hitched in her throat as his tongue began to firmly stroke her clit. "I'm close," she managed to choke out, a growing warmth pooling in her belly. He picked up the pace with his tongue, but stopped immediately when she suddenly pushed on his head. He pulled back, wiping at his mouth and looking up at her in concern.

"I'm sorry -"

"Don't apologize," she said throatily. "I want you to fuck me. I want to come while you're inside me."

He groaned again, and she slid off the desk, reaching down to pull him back to his feet. She quickly tugged his jumper over his head, then set to hastily unbuttoning his shirt while he tried to work out the zip on the back of her skirt. His hands suddenly abandoned her skirt, reaching to grasp hers before she could undo the last buttons on his shirt.

"Tonks, I - I'm not - I'm not quite -"

"Hey, it's okay," she said gently. "You're not quite what?"

"I don't know, perhaps not quite what you'd like to see when you take someone's shirt off," he muttered, suddenly avoiding her eyes. She felt her heart drop slightly as his shoulders tensed in that way she'd noticed they always did when he was self-conscious about something.

"I've already seen you shirtless, Remus, remember? And you were probably too embarrassed to notice, but I was indeed checking you out that time I ran into you once you'd gotten out of the shower." She reached up to turn his face towards her, and he finally met her eyes. "I want you to feel comfortable, okay? But I am very attracted to you, if that wasn't already clear. I also..." She reached for the hem of her own shirt, pulling it over her head. She was pleased to see Remus' eyes widen slightly as he took in the sight of her purple lace bra, and he swallowed as she reached behind her back to unclasp it. "...I'd like to feel your skin on mine." She shrugged her bra off, letting it fall to the floor as she leaned up to kiss him again, softer this time. He lifted a hand to gently cup one of her breasts, skimming his thumb over her nipple as she made a noise of encouragement. She arched into his touch before gently breaking off the kiss, reaching down to the last buttons of his shirt. "Is this alright?" He nodded now, and she undid the last two buttons before running her hands back up his body to push his shirt off his shoulders. She immediately kissed him again, and he let out a small sigh as she slid her arms around his neck, pressing her entire body against his.

She pushed him back until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, kissing her way down his throat, down his chest, across his scars; she gently pressed on his shoulders until he was sitting on the bed, sinking to her knees between his legs once she reached the tantalizing trail of hair that started at his navel and disappeared somewhere below his trousers. She reached up to undo his belt buckle.

He suddenly realized what she meant to do. "Oh, Tonks, you don't have to -"

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. Is this okay?" she asked. He nodded, lifting his hips enough for her to slide his trousers down to his ankles. She smiled up at him as she ran a hand over his erection; she could feel how hard he was even through his boxers, and she felt a small shiver of pleasure at the way his eyes fluttered closed and he inhaled sharply when she touched him. She leaned forward, mirroring his movements between her own thighs earlier, and gently skimmed her lips over his covered erection. His hips jerked slightly, and she looked up to see that his eyes had flown open again. She slowly reached up to hook her fingers underneath the elastic of his boxers, holding his gaze the entire time so that she'd know if he needed to stop. But he simply nodded, his eyes dark with desire as he lifted his hips slightly again so that she could tug his boxers down his leg.

"Tonks," he started again, his voice slightly hoarse, "you don't have to - oh." He broke off as she trailed her tongue down the length of his cock.

"I don't do anything I don't have to, Remus. I only do what I want," she replied; then, looking up and holding his gaze the entire time, she took him into her mouth.

The noise he made when she did so was perhaps the sexiest thing she'd ever heard; she started to enthusiastically suck him off, but stopped nearly as soon as she'd begun when she felt him start to pull back.

"Wait, Tonks -"

"Shit, sorry, was that okay?" she said. "What's wrong?"

"It was more than okay," he reassured her. "It's just -" she could tell that he was blushing now. "It's - er - I should be honest and let you know that it's been awhile for me, since the last time I...erm...since the last time I did this. So I'd rather like to make it count, if you know what I mean."

"If that means you fucking me right now, I'm all for it," she replied. He gave a small laugh, and she could see some of the tension leave his shoulders. "Plus -" she continued as he reached down to gently pull her to her feet, "if all else fails, you can continue what you were doing before, because that was bloody fantastic."

He pulled gently on her hands now, and she lay back on the bed, against his pillows; everything smelled like him, that clean, crisp smell of his soap, and she couldn't help but inhale deeply as he stretched out alongside her, cupping her cheek to kiss her again. He kissed her deeply, and the feeling of his tongue in her mouth, the way he'd slipped one of his hands over her hip to cup her ass, the hardness of his cock pressing against her thigh was all nearly too much. "You're so fucking sexy, you know," she said when he finally pulled away to dollop soft, wet kisses down her throat. He let out what sounded like a small laugh of disbelief against her collarbone, and she was about to chastise him when he continued to kiss his way down her chest, taking one of her nipples in his mouth. She arched up against him, tangling her hand in his hair and holding his head there as he flicked her nipple with his tongue. "Fuck," she hissed. "Fuck - please, Remus, I need you inside me."

"Mmm," he hummed against her skin. She could feel him smiling. "Impatient."

"Yes, very impatient," she huffed. "Now hurry up and -"

He cupped his hand between her legs, muttering the contraceptive charm. She couldn't help but grin as she arched her hips slightly to push against his hand. "Very smooth, Lupin. Wandless charm?"

He looked sheepish. "I'll admit I don't - er - it's not a charm I use often, by any means, but -"

"Stop, it's sexy," she replied. He flashed her a grin now, and she was struck again by how lovely he looked when he smiled. She didn't have much time to dwell on this, however, because he suddenly shifted his hips forward slightly, and she felt him brush against her entrance, reminding her of how desperately aroused she was.

"Still okay?" he asked, looking down at her with the slightly dazed expression he'd been wearing since she'd first kissed him on the couch. She nodded, and then he slowly pushed inside of her. They both moaned at the sensation; after giving her a moment to adjust, he started to move slowly, but stopped nearly as suddenly as he had begun as her name tumbled from his lips.

"Ah - sorry, I know you don't like being called that, it's just -"

"You can call me Dora," she replied breathlessly before the thought was even fully formed in her head. She wasn't quite sure why she'd said it; she'd never let any of her past partners call her Dora, especially in bed. But when he repeated it back to her, his voice gravelly with desire, the intimacy of having him call her that was somehow more erotic than she could have imagined it would be, and she moaned as he began to move his hips again.

"You feel so good," she breathed. "Fuck - yes, harder -"

He propped himself up slightly on his elbows to comply with her request, panting slightly as he picked up the pace of his thrusting. She took advantage of the slight space between them to bring her hand down to where they were joined, using her fingers to rub at herself. Remus dropped his face to her shoulder, his breathing becoming more and more ragged as he continued to fuck her. She started to whisper filthy encouragement into his ear, barely aware of what she was even saying.

She felt the tension between them grow as she felt herself approach the brink of her orgasm yet again; she focused on the feeling of his body on top of hers, of his cock inside her, of the way he grunted quietly when she dug the nails of her other hand into his shoulder; and then she was coming, moaning loudly and arching up against him as she felt her muscles clamp around him. He slowed inside her, mouthing at her neck as her breathing started to return to normal.

She placed a gentle hand on his chest and pushed him back; he pulled out of her immediately, starting to stumble over another apology, but she shushed him as she tipped him onto his back. "I want to watch you when you come," she explained, reaching back to take him into her hand and lowering herself back down onto his cock, relishing in the moan he let out as she did.

She'd been told that she was loud during sex; none of her partners had ever seemed to mind. He was a bit quieter, as she'd expected, but she didn't mind either. Quite the opposite, in fact. It gave her an opportunity to see and feel and focus on exactly what her reactions, movements, and words did to him. It was arousing in a subtly intense way. The way his eyes closed and his breathing became slightly uneven again as she started to rock her hips, the way he gasped her name quietly when she pressed her hands against his chest and picked up her pace. His hands tightened on her waist, his breath hitching now as she could tell he was getting close.

"You just gave me the best orgasm I've had in ages, Remus, now I want you to come inside me, yeah? You feel so fucking good, I loved coming with you inside me. I want to watch you come," she panted. His fingers were digging into the skin of her hips almost painfully now, his eyes closed as she continued to fuck him.

"Fuck, Dora, I'm close - I'm going to -" he gasped and his hips jerked as he thrust up into her; she watched him eagerly as his head fell back and he let out a guttural moan as he came.

She leaned forward to lay against his chest, feeling his heartbeat slow as he softened inside her; after several long moments, she finally rolled off of him. His eyes remained closed as his breathing slowed, but he opened them as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

"That - that was..." he trailed off, looking at her as if his next words would be entirely dependent on her reaction, which she supposed they would be.

"That was something I'd quite like to do again very soon," she replied, giving him a smile. "I really do like you a lot, Remus."

He grinned in relief. "Me, too." He rolled over so that he was on his side, his fingers hovering near her thigh. "May I?"

"What?"

"I always clean up my messes," he replied seriously. She bit back a small groan; he said it so innocently that she was sure he didn't know the effect he had on her. She really did feel like a hormonal teenager around him sometimes.

"Don't say things like that, or I'll be ready to go again already," she replied. He arched an eyebrow.

"I was merely offering to clean up my - erm - well -"

"Yeah, and it's somehow dead sexy when you say it like that, don't ask me why," she said exasperatedly. He let out a small laugh, still looking slightly bemused as he muttered a freshening charm and then settled back into the pillows. Tonks laid against his side, tangling her legs with his as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Mmm. This is nice," she said drowsily as he traced feather-light circles on her shoulder with a single lazy finger.

"Tonks?"

"Yeah?"

"I seem to have gotten the order of how these things are supposed to go a bit mixed up, but...well - would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?" She fought the urge to roll her eyes at the note of trepidation that had crept back into his voice.

"I just got done saying I'd love to shag you again as soon as possible," she replied, smiling. "Of course I would, Remus." She stifled a yawn now, the warmth of the room and the circles he was still tracing on her back quickly making her drowsy. "First order of business, however, I need a nap now."

"That's quite a good idea."

"I've been known to have them, on occasion," she mumbled into his chest, focusing on listening to his breathing deepen and quickly drifting off into a comfortable slumber.

Remus awoke suddenly to a knock on the door. Sitting up and reaching for his wand groggily, he groaned once he managed to read the time on his watch.

"What time is it?" Tonks asked sleepily.

"Nearly half-past eight."

"Bollocks, we've slept through dinner. Well, you have; they don't know I'm here." She didn't seem too worried; to the contrary, she wriggled back up against him, pulling the covers up again. "That's okay, I like being right here anyway."

Remus' smile immediately dropped from his face as he heard a knock on the door again. "I was hoping I'd imagined that," he muttered. "Just a moment!"

"It's only me, Moony."

Remus leapt out of bed, scrambling for his clothes. Tonks half-heartedly glanced on the ground next to her side of the bed and, finding none of her own, lazily slid back down between the covers, pulling them up to her chin. "I'll hide under here, the bed's not too visible from the door, yeah?" she whispered.

"Yes, that's fine," he whispered back. He finally managed to pull his trousers and jumper back on, and made his way to the door. When he opened it, Sirius was standing out on the landing, holding a tray heaping with food.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

Remus groaned. "What do you want?"

"Well fuck you, too. Molly was concerned when you didn't come down for dinner, so I told her you weren't feeling well, and now she's sent me up here with enough food to feed the Queen's army, let alone one malnourished werewolf. You're now also certain to get first dibs on the food at the party tomorrow, too, so you're welcome." He held the tray out to Remus. "And I daresay there's enough for two here, so you'll be all set."

Remus cleared his throat. "Er - yes, that's more than plenty for - erm - just me, I'll bring any extra downstairs -"

"No need, I'm sure Tonks will finish it off."

"Oh - er - Tonks is here?" Remus tried to ask as casually as possible, struggling to keep his face neutral as Sirius smirked.

"You're a horrible liar, Moony. Anyway, thought I'd bring these up as well -"

Once Remus had taken the tray from him, he bent down to pick something up from the ground beside him; Remus' stomach dropped when he saw it was Tonks' Auror robes, bag, and combat boots.

"Looks like Tonks left them in the drawing room before she disappeared to...well, no one knows quite where she is, do they?" Sirius said lightly. "Anyway, it wouldn't do for one of the Weasleys to stumble upon them and wonder where Tonks has gone off to. Thought I'd bring them up here so whenever you two are finished, she can -"

"I don't - I don't know what you're talking about, I haven't seen Tonks since Tuesday," Remus stammered. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Right. Anyway, you're welcome. You two owe me an explanation, a drink, and at least an hour's worth of your company downstairs once everyone else has gone to sleep. But I'd say you have a few hours left to continue enjoying yourselves."

"I don't - Padfoot, don't be ridiculous -"

"And Moony?"

"What?"

"I think that pattern would look absolutely fetching on you, but the skirt may be a little short."

"Pardon?"

Sirius nodded at something behind him, and Remus turned to realize in horror that Tonks' plaid skirt was draped over his desk chair, clearly visible from the door. "The color's nice, green's always suited you. But I just think you might want to size up a bit for those long legs of yours. See you later, mate." And with a wink and a grin, Sirius was gone again. Remus stood dumbly in the doorway for a moment, holding the tray of food, before turning to set it on the desk and closing the door with a sigh.

As soon as the door was closed, Tonks let out a loud peal of laughter. "So much for being subtle."

"Sirius really has an uncanny knack for figuring out these things straightaway," Remus muttered. But he couldn't really find it in himself to mind as he turned back to see Tonks laying in his bed, her pink hair tousled from sex and sleep. She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling.

"I'm okay with him knowing, saves me from having to come up with a variety of excuses for whenever I want to drag you up here for a shag."

"Indeed, that is a fair point. Plus, don't worry; most of his teasing will be directed towards me, anyhow." He lifted a lid off one of the tureens Sirius had brought up on the tray. "Molly really did send up enough food to feed a hippogriff, I'm not entirely convinced this tray wasn't meant for Buckbeak instead. Are you hungry at all?"

"I could be; though I could use help working up my appetite again?" Remus looked back at Tonks, still laying naked in his bed, grinning at him with that mischievous look in her dark eyes; and he suddenly had the rather unsettling yet not wholly unpleasant feeling that he had just jumped into the deep end of something big, something which he had not entirely wrapped his head around yet, something much more than just sex.

Merlin, I'm fucked.

A/N There we have it! Sorry it took me ages to finish this, I might go back and clean it up / edit it again at some point but on the other hand this is a pwp bit, and it was fun to write so I hope you enjoy reading regardless!