2.Sunset
He tries to send her away that first evening. She has clearly foreseen that this would happen, and she adamantly refuses to leave."But we are… I mean we are not…" he protests.
"Of course we are not," she replies. "I don't care. And I am sure neither Bill nor Fleur have ever bothered with your… doubts."
That comes out sharper than intended, and his gaze matches her clipped remark. But his voice is very quiet.
"They have different problems, haven't they?"
She laughs, a surprisingly harsh sound in the silent kitchen. "Have you seen Bill's face lately? If I am not very much mistaken, you were both marked by the same teeth."
They are clearing the table, and in her sudden anger and petrified shame at what she's just said Tonks misses the sink. With a loud bang the teapot crashes on the uneven kitchen tiles. Shards explode in every direction and she stands with empty hands, eyes downcast, swearing under her breath. The determined speech she has been planning the whole afternoon remains unsaid, and then he gives a small sound, half sigh, half laughter. There is the short, elegant flick of a wand, and the broken remnants hurriedly collect themselves on a dustpan which empties them neatly into the garbage bin.
"You're right," he whispers, close once more, and she leans her brow against his chest, feeling the softness of the well-worn grey pullover. "If you have no time for doubts, I shouldn't have either." He gives that sound again, and this time it is a sigh. "I'm simply not… not used to this."
Not used to what? To real trust and affection? To the fact that someone should be drawn to him despite the painful change he suffers every time the moon turns to a round silver coin in the night sky? Not used to being loved?
Tonks doesn't speak. She is too busy taking in his scent… dust, ink, paper and something else she is unable to define. This time her arms obey her will when they close around him; he returns her embrace and they stand in a pool of golden sunlight, gently swaying and lost in the sound of each other's breath.