A/N - Can't believe we're up to chapter 70! Officially longer than novel length, steadily pacing toward 1,000,000 words. If you're totally into the story and want to read a bit ahead, we're up to chapter 75 at The Rook.
Pinned to the ground, feeling overwhelmingly happy, Remus Lupin nearly forgot that his life had been cursed from nearly his first memory. Suddenly, the bitter waves crashed into him again.
"Oh." His countenance fell. "Uh, perhaps it's a bit late to tell you this, Tonks. But, er, I'm afraid I've never..."
Her playful smirk was met by mischievous eyes. "Yes?"
"It's just, you know, what with the whole werewolf thing and being sort of ostracized by the wizarding community, I've, er..."
She was fighting laughter now. "You've never what, Remus?"
"I've, you see, I've never really been with anyone."
Her playful eyes shifted slowly down his body. "Nonsense, my dear, you've been with me plenty of times. And you've been with your friends lots - I've seen you at the tavern on occasion. Plus, you've been with Harry all summer."
He rolled his eyes. "Tonks, you know what I mean. I've never, actually, you know, had sex. Or really even dated. I kissed a girl, once, actually." He lit up at this last revelation.
"Oh yes?" She was torn between surprise and jealousy. "And when was this?"
He features lit into a coy smile. "About three minutes ago?"
She laughed full at this. "I suppose, then, my dear, innocent Lupin, that we'll need to give you a sort of... education."
His eyes were tracing her shape as she spoke. "An education, you say?"
She leaned back, stretching full again, and his eyes drank her in. "Indeed. Of course, we can't begin just yet."
Suddenly his brow furrowed. "We can't?"
"No, indeed. First coffee, then work, then dinner, and then perhaps I'll make you wait six weeks, as you've done to me."
"Now that isn't fair, Tonks." He protested playfully. "I was just-"
She laughed, leaned over again, pressed into him, and kissed him slowly. "I may yet be merciful. Who knows?"
She stood. "Before I leave, I'm telling Harry that you've ruined his garden."
"Now hang on!"
Lupin untangled his limbs from the shrubery, stood, brushed off the soil and leaves, and followed her to the kitchen. He was blissfully happy.
Tonks departed for work a few moments later, and Harry and Lupin were left to thier own devices. The dining table was overflowing with platters of pastries, fresh fruits, croissants and cheeses. They chipped away at the spread slowly, hardly a word exchanged.
After he finished his tea, Harry looked up from his book.
"Tonks seemed chipper. Did I see you two on a walk this morning?"
"Yes, we spent a few moments together in the garden."
Harry adjusted his glasses, squinting out the nearby window.
"I see. Not a fan of that particular shrub, are you?"
Remus grimmaced. "Right. Sorry about that, it's just-"
"It's just about time, Lupin. You've been stiff-arming Tonks for months now."
He laughed, and Harry laughed with him. "You know, Harry, I think you're right. Shouldn't be a problem in the future."
Harry smiled playfully. "Good for you. And, er, good for the garden."
Remus spent the morning in the library, while Harry spent the morning in the potions lab. It was nearly noon when Lupin looked up from the cloth bound hardcover that had occupied attention, distinctly aware of the silence.
"Harry?"
There was no answer. He stood, dogeared the page he'd been reading, and cleared the distance between the library and the lab. All was quiet. He'd just begun to panic when he noticed a black tabby cat roaming the garden just outside the south window.
"Ah."
He shook his head, and found his way back to the extraordinarily comfortable wingback near the northeast corner of the library.
At precisely four, the sharp crack of apparition rung through the home. A moment later, Tonks turned the corner into the library, scanning the room for signs of life. As soon as her eyes caught the shape of Remus Lupin, gently snoring in a large wingback in the northeast corner of the room, cloth-bound hardcover fallen haphazardly against his chest.
She bit her lip in sheer mischief, and tip-toed toward him. He didn't stir, and within thirty seconds she stood before him squarely, her face inches from his.
She watched him breathe for a while, somehow comforted by the existence of him — the in and out, again and again of him. She couldn't help but nurture the playful instinct in her, to leverage this perfect moment for a memorable laugh. But she was here now, and he was there, and she couldn't help but be overcome by affection. Remus Lupin, this silly, perfect man, was hers.
She drew nearer, until her breath met his. She watched his eyes dart here and there beneath his eyelids, and wondered what he must be dreaming of. She touched him, gently and carefully, her fingers tracing his arm, his shoulder. Her lips, her cheek drew ever nearer, until her lips hovered just above his ear.
"I love you, Remus Lupin. I've loved you since I was just a girl, and I've loved you every moment since. And you are mine, you perfect man. You are mine, and I'll never leave your side."
She whispered the words, slowly articulating the syllables. The shift from an empty, perfectly still room, to the whispers that traced the edges of his dream, stirred him just then, and he began to wake.
Tonks didn't move. As he stirred, she smiled broadly and whispered, "Hello, love."
He stirred suddenly, blinking into awareness against the tide of incoherence. A moment later, his wide eyes shifted from confused distance to frantically scan his immediate surroundings. A calm settled upon him as he traced the lean figure hovering above him.
"Oh hello, Tonks." He smiled warmly. "Pardon me, I must have dozed off."
She hadn't shifted, and as he turned to her there was less than an inch between them.
A few seconds passed. She didn't respond, merely smirked playfully.
"Harry, I'm afraid, is in the wind. I noted the hasty departure of a black tabby cat around noon."
Her right brow lifted mischievously and she bit her lip. "Whatever shall we do, my dear?"
He shifted uncomfortably in the broad wingback. "You know, Tonks, I was just reconsidering the path of our supply lines, and-"
She nodded, stood, and pulled off the cropped tee that had been haunting his memories since dawn.
"Ah." A panic washed over him, and he glanced nervously about the room, refusing to allow his eyes to settle upon the perfectly plump breasts hardly concealed by thin cotton. "I see. I was thinking, Tonks, that perhaps we might discuss-"
She unbuttoned her denim, snaking out of them with a bit of a tug and a brilliant glide of her hips. She was wearing a matching pair of cotton hipsters, the swell of her bottom accented brilliantly.
"It's just that, you know, I'm not sure that just now, right here, is the best-"
She grinned, nodding in understanding, as she wrapped her thighs around his waist and sat squarely upon him. Her chin inches from her lips, her breasts casually grazing his chest as she shifted her weight.
"Do you know, Remus Lupin, that I have no interest in chastity on the day you've sworn your life to me?"
His disheveled panic overcome, he settled into a distraught defeat. "I, er, I understand, of course. Tonks, it's just that-"
"Remus, I like you."
He smiled despite himself.
"The feeling is mutual, dear."
She lit up at this signal of affection. "Dear? Hm... I like it when you call me dear."
"Tonks, I really don't know how." It came out rushed, like a heavy admission of guilt, ripped off like a bandaid. "To do this, I mean."
She smiled warmly, kissed his forehead softly. "You perfect man."
He stumbled at this. "You're not bothered?"
She laughed. "Remus Lupin, I've crushed on you since I was twelve years old."
He lightened at this, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. "So you aren't troubled by my…" he hesitated. "…inexperience?"
She drew nearer flirtatiously. "I think it's absolutely adorable."
He shook his head, astounded. "Tonks, I really don't know what you see in me."
She was nearer now, and he could feel her breath on his lips. "Let me show you."
She kissed him, slowly, her lips carefully pressing against his. In time, she drew her attention to the corner of his mouth, her lips lightly teasing in soft, patient rhythm.
She could hear him breathing now, hitched and hurried, as her lips strayed to his jaw, his ear, with soft, patient, unhurried kisses.
"Tonks?" He managed through hitched breath.
"Yes, baby?"
"Would you mind if we experienced it all slowly?" He paused for a moment. "I want to treasure this memory. As I treasure you, Tonks."
A sharp intake of breath caught her, and she exhaled slowly. "God, Remus. You're the sexiest man alive."
A moment later, she slowed, returning again to his lips, and for a long time they merely kissed, sustained and simple, eyes wide open.
She was captured by his affection, inarticulate and humble, captivated entirely by her every movement, her every word.
In time, she parted her lips, allowed her tongue to softly, gently trace the fullness of his lips. He opened to her and they settled into a rhythmic dance, their tongues pressing here, flitting there, exploring and withdrawing. She couldn't help but smile at his unpracticed energy, and she delighted in his diligent attention.
He shifted his affections to her jaw, her neck, without prompting; shivers ran through her spine. He stayed there, dragging his lips, tracing her soft skin with his tongue, nipping here and there. She couldn't help but press into him, her center driving again and again in intimate rhythm. Heavy breath, soft groans escaped her, and his efforts stirred at every signal of enthusiasm.
As she shifted and pressed against him, she suddenly felt him press against her, hard beneath her center. "Remus?"
He paused, leaned his forehead into hers. "Yes, my love?"
She bit her lip. "Yep. That's the one. Call me that, always."
He laughed. "Of course, my love."
She shifted a bit, settling her center squarely on his. "I can feel your dick, darling, and it's driving me mad." She pressed her chest full against him, her lips just touching his ear. "Don't stop, love. Don't stop kissing me."
His attention returned to her neck, quickly finding her clavicle and tracing it to her shoulder. All the time, his hands were tracing her form, her sides and shoulders, playing with her bra straps. He ran his fingers through her hair, and she melted into him at the sensation. A few moments later, his fingers strayed to the clasp between her shoulder blades.
He was kissing her shoulder as he attempted, nearly six times, to uncover the secrets of that clasp. Between shivers and gasps, she laughed full. "Here, darling, let me show you."
She stood, and time stopped as Remus Lupin was overcome by the vision before him. She blushed a bit, uncharacteristically, because she'd never felt so bare before someone who so much mattered. She bit her lip, turned around, and glanced awkwardly over her shoulder.
"You see," Tonks reached her arms behind her back, her fingers easily finding the clasp. "it's like this, you put your thumb here, and your finger here, and-"
The clasp released as if by magic, and with a confident sweep she was altogether topless. She turned, and Lupin was paralyzed altogether by the sight of her perfect, plump breasts, her dusky rose nipples, standing erect. She shifted, cutely uncomfortable under his gaze.
He was fascinated by her, altogether enchanted in her slopes and textures. He'd seen breasts before, of course, the Marauders having become infamous for contraband; but as she stood bare before him he was utterly captivated. He found himself drawn to her, salivating at the notion of exploring the textures of her nipples with his tongue. For a moment, he couldn't speak.
"Do you..." She hesitated, for perhaps the first time bashful. "Do you like them? I mean… I can change them, if you like."
A distressed expression flooded his features. "No!" He gathered himself. "No, Tonks. Forgive me. You are absolutely stunning; any alteration would be tragic."
Her expression relaxed just then, and her lips parted. She slowly exhaled, and the tip of her tongue flirted with her lips in an expression of unchecked arousal. She lifted her right hand to her chest, lightly grabbing her right breast, her nipple peeking between her fingers. "Are you attracted to me, Remus?"
He might have believed, just at that moment, that he'd been enchanted by a powerful potion. "Can't you tell, my love? You are a dream. A perfect, impossible dream."
He was reaching for her, and she was biting her lip and holding her breast in her hand, toying lightly with her nipple between her fingers, when the front door shut and Harry turned the corner.
"Guys, you won't believe-" He looked up from the parchment he was holding. "God!" He threw his hands over his glasses as Tonks with wide eyes covered her breasts with her hands and spontaneously prompted waist-length curls to cover her naked torso. "I'm so sorry!" He shouted, clearly traumatized. "I'm leaving. I'm leaving now." He was walking backwards with his hands over his glasses. "Er, go about your business."