Tonks' flat had never felt so warm and inviting.
When she'd first moved out on her own, she had been terribly homesick. Even at Hogwarts, there had always been people around, so when she finished school, she hadn't been used to being completely alone. She'd thrown herself into Auror training to distract herself from the emptiness of her new home, but she had yet to grow used to it.
After Remus had left, it had been even worse, but that was all forgotten when they were curled up on the sofa together. It had been several days since the funeral, and there was a lingering melancholy hanging over them. Tonks suspected it wouldn't be entirely gone until the end of the war, when so many people stopped dying.
But despite the gloom that had engulfed their lives, Tonks was happy. There were moments where she felt like she shouldn't be, but then, Remus would touch her again, and the guilt would subside.
"What if we got married?" she asked him suddenly as they sat on the sofa together in her dimly lit flat.
Remus stilled beside her, and Tonks bit her lip, refraining from tacking on a rushed explanation that would only serve to muddle the question. She hadn't been thinking of asking. It had been purely spontaneous, and now she had spooked him when he'd only seen reason a week earlier.
"Married?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"Yes." Tonks gave his hand a squeeze, hoping to pass on reassurance. "I know it's sudden." She laughed. "Very sudden. I didn't mean to suggest it. It's just…"
She turned to look at him. At least he was still a solid presence beside her. There was fear in his eyes, and his lips were turned down in a frown. But he was there. She held his hand tightly and took a deep breath.
"The past year, I've spent a lot of time at the Burrow. One of the things Molly would talk about was the last war. She told me that she knew a lot of people who got married because it was one thing to hold onto when everything felt hopeless. I guess her stories got to me more than I realised."
Remus sighed and nodded. He stared down at their hands as he spoke. "I remember that too. When James proposed to Lily, he told me that holding onto their happiness together was one way of fighting You-Know-Who. I always admired that."
Tonks' heart raced. She wished that she could have met someone who had affected Remus' life that much. At the same time, she realised that he hadn't actually answered her question.
"I know it's not very romantic to ask you when we're just sitting on the sofa," she said, glancing around at the sparsely decorated flat. She hadn't even bothered to move from the same spot she'd been lounging in for over an hour.
Remus laughed, and Tonks' heart soared. "I don't need any grand gestures, Dora. I'm just amazed that you want me."
It was Tonks' turn to laugh. She cupped Remus' face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "I do. So much."
His eyes fluttered shut briefly. "And you really want to marry me?"
"Yes." She felt it in her entire being as she said it. There was a spark in Remus' eyes like he finally believed her too.
He took a deep breath. "I'm tired of being afraid," he admitted. "Let's do it. Let's get married."
Tonks laughed with joy. She closed the distance between them, but in her excitement, she misjudged the distance. Their noses banged together painfully, and Remus was thrown off balance, falling back against the sofa in a way that made him groan.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Tonks cried, trying to help him right himself but only making it worse for several seconds until they were both sitting upright again.
"It's okay," Remus said, a fond smile on his lips.
This time, he closed the gap between them far more gracefully.
They kissed for several blissful minutes until Tonks had a sudden realisation.
Pulling away, she asked, "When should we do it?"
Remus' brow knitted together until he pieced together what she meant. "Well, if you want a big ceremony, we'll need time to plan it."
Tonks tilted her head to the side. "Do iyou/i want a big ceremony?"
Remus took his time to consider it. "I want to marry you," he said. "That's it. I'll do it whatever way you want. The ceremony isn't the important part to me."
"Me either," Tonks said with a smile. She pressed another quick kiss to his lips. "Let's do it as soon as possible. We can find a chapel, someone to marry us, and just do it."
Remus laughed at her enthusiasm. "Yes," he said. "Let's do that."