Control
Title: Control
Author: rosedemon
Format: Ficlet 865 words
Rating: G
Summary: The thoughts and fears of a person can make a person lose out on something special.
Genre: Fluff. It is Valentine’s Day, for pity’s sake.
She was so close that he could hardly breathe. Tonks was sitting next to him at the kitchen table. There had to be five other seats but she had chosen the one next to his. He could smell her perfume or her soap or maybe it was her. He was not sure. The room seemed to have risen ten degrees in the past ten minutes. Was it her? Was she the reason the room seemed like a sauna or was it just the fact he had too heavy of a sweater on.
Remus Lupin had limited experience with women. There had been a few schoolboy crushes, a flirtation or two. There had been those visits to the house on edge of Hogsmeade over the years where the ladies ask few questions as they take your money. However, for most of his life there had been vast periods of solitude. He had practiced the emotion of loneliness so well that sometimes it no longer hurt.
But this was different. She was not like the others he had known in his life. Too, smart, too loud, clumsy beyond imagination. She did not speak as much as she bubbled her words. Tonks was also sweet when she wanted to and had a feminine manner that beguiled him. She would greet him with a quick smile and a slight blush that would creep across her cheeks. When he walked into a room, he could feel her eyes following him. It made him think she was as interested in him as he was in her.
Slow down, he would tell himself. An old codger like himself could scare away a girl like this. Worse still, she could be disgusted by him. There had to be others, young men who could offer her fun and romance. He wondered what in the world he could possibly offer.
“Would you mind passing the sugar?”
Her question startled him from his thoughts. He smiled and passed the china sugar bowl to her.
She was wearing a sweater today, a blue one with tiny threads of gold woven into it. A deep v-neck accentuated her neck. He had never noticed how long it was and that her head sat perched on it quite daintily. Her clothes could not hide what was underneath, a girlish figure with soft curves. He almost felt ashamed as he glimpsed at a flash of pink, as the strap of her brassiere came into view.
Settle down there old man, he cautioned himself. You are becoming one of those dirty old sods you always laughed at. Remus focused his attention on the wireless that was playing some song in the background. Some unknown group was making a terrible ruckus. Normally he would ask her to turn it down or change the channel but today it helped him concentrate. Did she really like this noise? How could she enjoy the screaming the lead singer was doing? If she wanted screaming, she could just walk down the hallway and listen to her ancestors.
“Would you like a scone?” she asked holding the platter in front of him. “You seem all lost in thought this morning. Anything the matter?”
“Yes, please,” he answered quickly. He controlled his embarrassment at having been caught in his own world. Why did was she able to throw him off guard like this? “No, no. Nothing is wrong. Just a bit quiet today, that is all.”
He took a small scone off the platter and began to butter it. Tonks’ mouth formed a shy smile and she idly stirred her tea.
“Got a question for you,” she said coyly.
“What is it?” he replied just before he bit into the buttered scone.
“Are you ever going to kiss me?”
Remus felt the morsel of scone stick to the back of his throat. He gagged for a second to right himself. Tonks continued talking as if nothing had happened.
“I mean really Remus,” she said twirling her hands to emphasize her point. “The attraction is mutual, I can tell. We spend all our time watching what the other is doing, trying to be where the other is or planning to be there. I can’t see playing this game anymore.”
“Well,” Remus said looking down into his teacup for the proper answer, “I do have quite a shine for you. I just did thought I might be over stepping my bounds by..”
“By what? Holding back? Taking it easy? Not wanting to rush things?”
“I suppose that is what I was thinking.”
“You know nothing good comes easy,” she purred. “And I guarantee you, what I have in store for you is beyond good and not going to be easy. At least, for a period of time I might put some sweat on your brow.” He could feel her knee touching his under the table. A grin had fully formed on her lips and she had leaned in close to his face.
“Really Miss Tonks,” he answered. “That sounds like a challenge. The question is can you back it up?”
“Try me,” she whispered her lips hovering close to his.
“I am going to,” he countered. He would hold back no longer.
Author: rosedemon
Format: Ficlet 865 words
Rating: G
Summary: The thoughts and fears of a person can make a person lose out on something special.
Genre: Fluff. It is Valentine’s Day, for pity’s sake.
She was so close that he could hardly breathe. Tonks was sitting next to him at the kitchen table. There had to be five other seats but she had chosen the one next to his. He could smell her perfume or her soap or maybe it was her. He was not sure. The room seemed to have risen ten degrees in the past ten minutes. Was it her? Was she the reason the room seemed like a sauna or was it just the fact he had too heavy of a sweater on.
Remus Lupin had limited experience with women. There had been a few schoolboy crushes, a flirtation or two. There had been those visits to the house on edge of Hogsmeade over the years where the ladies ask few questions as they take your money. However, for most of his life there had been vast periods of solitude. He had practiced the emotion of loneliness so well that sometimes it no longer hurt.
But this was different. She was not like the others he had known in his life. Too, smart, too loud, clumsy beyond imagination. She did not speak as much as she bubbled her words. Tonks was also sweet when she wanted to and had a feminine manner that beguiled him. She would greet him with a quick smile and a slight blush that would creep across her cheeks. When he walked into a room, he could feel her eyes following him. It made him think she was as interested in him as he was in her.
Slow down, he would tell himself. An old codger like himself could scare away a girl like this. Worse still, she could be disgusted by him. There had to be others, young men who could offer her fun and romance. He wondered what in the world he could possibly offer.
“Would you mind passing the sugar?”
Her question startled him from his thoughts. He smiled and passed the china sugar bowl to her.
She was wearing a sweater today, a blue one with tiny threads of gold woven into it. A deep v-neck accentuated her neck. He had never noticed how long it was and that her head sat perched on it quite daintily. Her clothes could not hide what was underneath, a girlish figure with soft curves. He almost felt ashamed as he glimpsed at a flash of pink, as the strap of her brassiere came into view.
Settle down there old man, he cautioned himself. You are becoming one of those dirty old sods you always laughed at. Remus focused his attention on the wireless that was playing some song in the background. Some unknown group was making a terrible ruckus. Normally he would ask her to turn it down or change the channel but today it helped him concentrate. Did she really like this noise? How could she enjoy the screaming the lead singer was doing? If she wanted screaming, she could just walk down the hallway and listen to her ancestors.
“Would you like a scone?” she asked holding the platter in front of him. “You seem all lost in thought this morning. Anything the matter?”
“Yes, please,” he answered quickly. He controlled his embarrassment at having been caught in his own world. Why did was she able to throw him off guard like this? “No, no. Nothing is wrong. Just a bit quiet today, that is all.”
He took a small scone off the platter and began to butter it. Tonks’ mouth formed a shy smile and she idly stirred her tea.
“Got a question for you,” she said coyly.
“What is it?” he replied just before he bit into the buttered scone.
“Are you ever going to kiss me?”
Remus felt the morsel of scone stick to the back of his throat. He gagged for a second to right himself. Tonks continued talking as if nothing had happened.
“I mean really Remus,” she said twirling her hands to emphasize her point. “The attraction is mutual, I can tell. We spend all our time watching what the other is doing, trying to be where the other is or planning to be there. I can’t see playing this game anymore.”
“Well,” Remus said looking down into his teacup for the proper answer, “I do have quite a shine for you. I just did thought I might be over stepping my bounds by..”
“By what? Holding back? Taking it easy? Not wanting to rush things?”
“I suppose that is what I was thinking.”
“You know nothing good comes easy,” she purred. “And I guarantee you, what I have in store for you is beyond good and not going to be easy. At least, for a period of time I might put some sweat on your brow.” He could feel her knee touching his under the table. A grin had fully formed on her lips and she had leaned in close to his face.
“Really Miss Tonks,” he answered. “That sounds like a challenge. The question is can you back it up?”
“Try me,” she whispered her lips hovering close to his.
“I am going to,” he countered. He would hold back no longer.