A young, if somewhat greying man sat at the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place. He looked rather pale and peaky—the full moon had just been the previous night—but thanks to regular doses of Wolfsbane, the man could generally go about his business without a problem. Early that morning he had left Sirius' room and fetched the paper. Currently, he was reading about muggle affairs—some sort of fuss about a thing called 'Yahoo.' Remus didn't quite understand it, but he always tried to stay on top of muggle affairs. The werewolf was reading something on stock prices when he heard the door open and Sirius' mother's portrait:
"Half-blood! TRAITOR! To call you a Black—"
"Oh hush, you hag," he heard a woman spit, closing the curtain over the shrew of a woman. Remus chuckled and folded his paper. A bubble-gum haired witch poked her head from around the corner linking to the kitchen to the hall. She smiled, and Remus couldn't help but think she looked like someone off of a punk rock tour.
"Wotcher! I'm Tonks," she began, walking over to the table and sitting down alongside Remus, stocking out her hand. "Nice to meet you—you look horrid," she added, studying the sickly-looking man. Remus smiled.
"Ah, you must be Sirius' cousin. Remus Lupin, at your service," he said, taking her hand and giving it a rather weak shake. "And believe me, I've looked worse," he added darkly. Tonks chuckled.
"Rough assignment?" She asked seriously. Remus let out a single dry laugh.
"Yeah," He began, "Something like that…" he said, drifting off. "I—"
"Nymphadora!" Sirius cheered, heading down the stairs. He looked a bit worse for wear since his 'time off' as he called it, but slowly Sirius Black was regaining his former self. It had taken a good amount of time, to be sure. Remus had figured that his old friend's grief and emotions had been horribly bottled up, his reactions to them stunted and twisted over time. Remus had twelve years on the outside to cope with the loss of his friends; Sirius hadn't gotten that, and he was mentally stuck somewhere all those years ago, having to play catch up. Still, he was getting better, and Remus couldn't help but smile as he continued addressing the bright-haired Auror in the room.
"Oh, my sweet—"
"Don't," the woman snarled, "Call me Nymphadora." Her head turned a bright red and Remus' eyebrows rose.
"Oh, my silly little cousin," the Animagus laughed. "You truly haven't changed. I see you've met Moony here?" He asked, coming to get some coffee in the kitchen. Tonks tilted her head in confusion.
"A childhood nickname," Remus explained, shooting Sirius a glare. His friend rolled his eyes.
"Right, of course. Remus, coffee?" Sirius asked. Remus shook his head.
"Not quite in the mood this morning, Sirius," he said quietly. His friend nodded in understanding, face falling slightly.
"Ah…I thought it was a good morning. You crawled out of bed—"
"You two sleep in the same bed?" Tonks asked incredulously. Remus turned a bit pink and Sirius laughed so hard he nearly spilled his coffee.
"Er…sometimes. Depends on how peaky I am," he explained. Sirius rolled his eyes. He clearly had something he wanted to add, but Remus shot him a look all but daring him to go there. Tonks noticed this look but said nothing; she assumed it wasn't her place, but there was at least one thing the two men weren't telling her. Sirius then glanced back at Remus and curled his lips into a smile laughing.
"Oi, Remus. You didn't tell her?"
"It doesn't come up organically—"
"—because you're actually trying to impress her!" Sirius exclaimed. "Oh, Moony this is adorable—you've got a crush."
"Have not," the werewolf pouted, turning very red. "And besides, I've known your cousin all of five minutes, I do not have a—"
"Oh, yes you do—"
"—no, I don't—"
"What am I missing here!" Tonks exclaimed, clearly frustrated. Her own hair had turned a bright shade of red. Sirius grinned, and Remus gave him a rather tired look.
"Sirius, don't—"
"Moony's got a furry little problem," he said. Remus rolled his eyes and groaned a bit, which Tonks found funny as she started giggling. It looked bizarre to see a respectable, professorial-looking man teased by an old school chum.
"You're minimizing it—"
"You've got a cat?" Tonks asked. Sirius shook his head and Remus' eyes twinkled.
"Close—I believe most would call it a rabbit," Remus explained softly. Sirius laughed.
"Mr. Testy! Yes, Remus' badly-behaved rabbit, has had it…over 30 years now, right?" The Animagus asked. Remus chuckled and nodded.
"Oh yes—will be 31 in August—"
"Rabbits don't live that long," Tonks seethed. Remus looked mock-offended. Sirius' eyes widened.
"Cousin! Don't you say that about Mr. Testy—he already doesn't think he's got as much time as the rest of us. Just because he's a bit hairy—"
"—and mutilates himself and others—"
"—not so much anymore," Sirius snapped. "So you stop that—"
"Nasty temper on that thing," Remus warned. "Especially around this time of the month, so I'd tread carefully—"
"Oh, bullocks," Sirius scoffed. "Mr. Testy doesn't have a real temper, he just gets…"
"Testy?" Tonks suggested. "Really, it's in the name," she insisted. Then, the Metamorphmagus paused. "You seem awfully…protective over Mr. Testy, Sirius," she began. Remus snorted, and Sirius shrugged.
"He took a liking to the thing when he was about eleven and never looked back. Most people don't care for Mr. Testy, but Padfoot here was different," Remus smiled, looking up at his friend. "Lots of discrimination against…rabbits. Sirius always liked to insist that Mr. Testy was a normal little creature."
"He is," Sirius said softly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Now, would Mr. Testy like something to eat?" Sirius asked. Tonks' eyes lit up.
"He's here? Oh, Merlin I love rabbits—" Sirius chuckled and Remus rolled his eyes. Tonks' face fell. "Oh…"
"Mr. Testy would not like anything to eat," Remus told Sirius. "He's rather sick to his stomach and would prefer a few mint leaves to nibble on." The werewolf turned to Tonks. "I'm Mr. Testy, and I'm afraid I'm not a rabbit."
"You're sick," she said softly. "You're pale, queasy—can you even get out of that chair?" Remus shook his head. He had been sitting there for a reason. "Remus, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Sirius spat. Though of course he had initiated the conversation, he wouldn't stand for anyone belittling Remus. "Nothing is wrong with him." Remus sighed.
"Hardly nothing. Sirius here was right—I was trying to impress you. Truth is," he sighed, "I'm a werewolf."
Tonks burst out laughing. Remus' eyes widened and Sirius furrowed his brows.
"You've got to be joking—I've seen Greyback, I know what a werewolf looks like and you are certainly not that. Excellent joke, Remus," she said, shaking her head. Remus shrugged.
"Alright, well, then I guess I'm not a werewolf." Remus grinned. "Oh boy, my father will be thrilled—"
"Well this calls for a celebration, Moony! It seems young Tonks has found the cure for lycanthropy."
Tonks froze. Moony…her jaw dropped.
"Oh, Merlin, Remus—I'm so sorry. Moony—your nickname." Tonks whacked herself on the top of her head. "It's just, you don't…"
"Look particularly vicious?' Remus asked. "No, I'm afraid I don't."
"Then prove it!" Tonks exclaimed. Remus looked at her darkly.
"Don't," he replied curtly. As lovely as he found the young witch's apparent disregard of rational fear for him, there was a line Remus was unwilling to cross without quite a bit of pushing. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come on, Moony—you're hardly going to do something dangerous when you can't even move." he joked. "Besides, we have to get some salve on your most recent scrapes. Unbutton your shit," Sirius commanded, reaching into the cabinet to get the dittany-based medicine.
"Sirius—"
"Do it," the floppy-haired man hissed. "You're hurting, I can tell."
Remus sighed, and began to unbutton his shirt. White gauze covered his entire chest, and he began to slowly peel it back to reveal to Tonks some bleeding, oozing scrapes clearly caused by claws and sharp teeth. Sirius cursed, and Tonks' jaw dropped before she realized what she had done and slammed her mouth shut once more.
"You should've showed me earlier, this is worse than it's been on months…your potion is working, right?" Sirius asked. Remus rolled his eyes.
"No," he drawled sarcastically. "It's broken and I bit you in your sleep. Enjoy yourself. Of course, it bloody works, I was just…nervous, and you were sleeping…" he admitted, glancing quickly at Tonks. Sirius opened his mouth to form a small 'oh.' Word has spread that an Auror would be joining their ranks and visiting in the morning, and Remus was worried Tonks wouldn't accept him. Despite their best efforts to sneak away furtive glances, Sirius and Remus were being quite obvious. Tonks caught on.
"Are you thick?" Tonks asked Remus. "You think I—you think I mind? You're clearly important to Sirius, and I'm more scared of Mad-Eye than I am of you right now," she pointed out. "You're hurt," she said a bit painfully.
"I'm always hurt," Remus said matter-of-factly, causing Sirius to whack him on the head. "Ow! See?' he muttered weakly.
"We're not throwing you a pity party, Moony," Sirius said, chastising his friend. "Not when you're trying so hard to impress my cousin—"
"Oi!" Remus yelped, turning red. Tonks merely smiled.
"You managed to deal with this man for decades—I'm already impressed."