FIC: He Always Comes Back (prompt 20)
Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply.
Title: He Always Comes Back
Pairing: Remus/Tonks
Rating: PG, most likely
Prompt: #20 - genre: romance
Format and Word Count: Ficlet; I don't know, I'm making this up as I go.
Summary: After the Death Eaters invasion of Bill and Fleur's wedding, Remus has made his decision. There's only the matter of Tonks. TWO Tonkses, as a matter of fact...
Author's Notes: Dammit, I wanted to write smut for this prompt, but I've been wanting to write this fic for a while now, and I thought it fits the prompt. I hope it does.
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He Always Comes Back
a Remus/Tonks fic
by MARCIANA (lady_tavington)
Remus knew, just somehow knew but hoped otherwise anyway, that he wouldn't get away clean with this, with what he had decided to do last night. Hoped, but knew it wasn't going to happen. He had prepared himself for some sort of confrontation, definitely, had answers rehearsed in his head, answers he had hoped were foolproof. But as he stood there, by the door, faced with a very displeased Ted Tonks, he realized with a pang that he wasn't prepared for this kind of confrontation.
"...Leaving her again, what d'you think you're playing at?" Ted was saying now, "Don't think we don't know, Remus, she came to us crying some time last year because of you, said you weren't even writing to her--"
"I couldn't," Remus tried to reason, but Ted plowed on.
"--And now you're leaving her again, in the wee early hours of the morning, hoping she wouldn't mind waking up without a husband and the father of her child--"
"I have to, Ted, you don't understand--"
"Have to?! Have to?! What husband has to leave his wife like this?!"
"I'm really sorry, Ted, truly I am, but she'll be fine--"
"No, she ruddy well will not!" Ted shouted, "Have you any idea the grief you've caused our daughter over the past year?! She was listless, and crying all the time...You'd have thought she was a completely different person...Why she still married you--"
"She loves me," Remus answered, but he winced soon as the words left his lips. Smooth, Lupin, you were trying to convince yourself to LEAVE, remember?
"I can see that!" Ted replied hotly, "Question is, do you love her back? Because with the way you always seem to be leaving her, I could never tell!"
"It's nothing like that!" Remus said, truly frustrated now, "In fact, it's precisely because of that that I have to go. I...I can't stay...Tell Dora I'm truly sorry--"
"And why the bloody hell should I?!"Ted said, and he had opened his mouth to say something else when a new, softer voice cut across him.
"Father, stop it," Dora demanded, "You heard him."
Remus's breath hitched as he caught sight of Dora, her hair still in its natural black state, her green eyes awake but sad. She didn't look angry, and Remus found himself wishing she did; It would make having to leave abruptly like this so much easier.
"Well," Ted said with a glare for Remus, "Tell her yourself." And with that, he walked away.
A few seconds' silence passed between husband and wife, and Remus knew he had to say something. Anything.
"Dora, I--" he started, but Dora shook her head.
"Don't," she said gently, "It's all right. I don't...I don't need an explanation. Rather, I don't think I want one." She approached him slowly, her slippered feet making no noise on the floor.
"I have to go," were the first words that came to him as she looked up at him, her green eyes suprisingly tear-free.
"I know you do," she told him simply, "I don't know what the hell for, nor do I want to know, but...I know you do. I get it now. I really do. It's just...It's just who you are. I saw it in your eyes, after we left the Burrow yesterday. I'm not daft, Remus. I know you heard what the Death Eaters were asking me, what they were taunting me with. I know you heard what Dawlish said about you and me."
"They were right," Remus answered, "All of them. You and I, we can't...we shouldn't have..."
"You've been saying that for months," Dora laughed sadly, "And yet, here you stand, with a wedding ring on your left hand that you etched my name into. Here you stand, the husband of a pregnant woman who is deathly in love with you."
This brought a smile to Remus' lips. She was doing it again. She was reminding him again why he didn't object further when Moody put out marriage as a sure way to keep her protected.
"I'm not going to stop you," Dora continued, "If you want to go, if you have to go, I won't stop you. Quite frankly, I'm sick of trying to stop you. Besides, I think I know what this is all about, and I can't say it's an entirely bad idea. It's just who you are. No matter what anyone says, no matter how anyone makes you feel, you'll always feel you're a danger to the ones you love."
"It's not about that--" Remus interrupted, but Dora shook her head.
"You can't lie to me, Remus," she said softly, "You can say it's about helping Harry, and yes, it IS about helping Harry with whatever it is he's trying to do, but you can't tell me there isn't more to it."
She was right, of course, but Remus found he just could not find the voice to confirm it.
"Listen to me very carefully, Remus," Dora said, looking him straight in the eye, "Because I want you to understand very clearly. I love you. I will always love you, and I will always need you. I love you for who you are, and everything that you can be. You're my hero, no matter what anyone else says. I trust you, and I have faith in you. You understand?"
She was giving him her permission to leave. She understood. She knew.
"Of course I do," he said, and he took her in his arms and embraced her firmly, her face buried in his chest, silently thanking her for not putting up an argument.
"Just...come home to me safe," she told him, "And in one piece. Whole, preferably."
"Where will I find you?" he asked her. She looked up at him with a soft smile.
"Remus, d'you love me?" she asked him.
"You know I do," Remus answered, but Dora shrugged.
"I want to hear you say it," she said.
Remus smiled at her. "I love you, Nymphadora," he told her.
"Then you'll always know where to find me," she replied.
"Our home--" Remus had begun to say. Dora shushed him with two fingers to his lips.
"No," she said, "Not there. Here." She placed a hand on his chest, just above his heart, and smiled tearfully up at him. "You'll know it in here. You'll always find me here. Just as I'll always know where to find you."
Remus could no longer find words to reply to her with. He kissed her instead, kissed his wife lovingly, reassuringly, gratefully. She understood him, every flaw, every idiosyncracy, and she loved him for it all anyway. And for that, he couldn't help loving her.
She was smiling when the kiss broke. "Now, go," she said, "We're wasting precious time."
He nodded at her simply, then kissed her forehead again. Finally, he walked out the door, took one last look at the loving smile on his wife's face, and Disapparated.
~+~+~+~+~
Tonks stood there in the doorway, staring quietly at the spot from which her husband had just disappeared. A tear rolled down her cheek, but just the one.
"You let him go?" came her father's voice as he joined her by the door, "You just...you just let him go off like that on an adventure he might not come back from?"
Tonks shrugged.
"He'll be back," she said, not taking her eyes away from the horizon, "He always comes back. You'll see."
The sun began to rise, and the sky turned orange as Tonks turned to go back inside the house, a hand unconsciously splayed on her belly.
~ END. ~
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Title: He Always Comes Back
Pairing: Remus/Tonks
Rating: PG, most likely
Prompt: #20 - genre: romance
Format and Word Count: Ficlet; I don't know, I'm making this up as I go.
Summary: After the Death Eaters invasion of Bill and Fleur's wedding, Remus has made his decision. There's only the matter of Tonks. TWO Tonkses, as a matter of fact...
Author's Notes: Dammit, I wanted to write smut for this prompt, but I've been wanting to write this fic for a while now, and I thought it fits the prompt. I hope it does.
=========================================================
He Always Comes Back
a Remus/Tonks fic
by MARCIANA (lady_tavington)
Remus knew, just somehow knew but hoped otherwise anyway, that he wouldn't get away clean with this, with what he had decided to do last night. Hoped, but knew it wasn't going to happen. He had prepared himself for some sort of confrontation, definitely, had answers rehearsed in his head, answers he had hoped were foolproof. But as he stood there, by the door, faced with a very displeased Ted Tonks, he realized with a pang that he wasn't prepared for this kind of confrontation.
"...Leaving her again, what d'you think you're playing at?" Ted was saying now, "Don't think we don't know, Remus, she came to us crying some time last year because of you, said you weren't even writing to her--"
"I couldn't," Remus tried to reason, but Ted plowed on.
"--And now you're leaving her again, in the wee early hours of the morning, hoping she wouldn't mind waking up without a husband and the father of her child--"
"I have to, Ted, you don't understand--"
"Have to?! Have to?! What husband has to leave his wife like this?!"
"I'm really sorry, Ted, truly I am, but she'll be fine--"
"No, she ruddy well will not!" Ted shouted, "Have you any idea the grief you've caused our daughter over the past year?! She was listless, and crying all the time...You'd have thought she was a completely different person...Why she still married you--"
"She loves me," Remus answered, but he winced soon as the words left his lips. Smooth, Lupin, you were trying to convince yourself to LEAVE, remember?
"I can see that!" Ted replied hotly, "Question is, do you love her back? Because with the way you always seem to be leaving her, I could never tell!"
"It's nothing like that!" Remus said, truly frustrated now, "In fact, it's precisely because of that that I have to go. I...I can't stay...Tell Dora I'm truly sorry--"
"And why the bloody hell should I?!"Ted said, and he had opened his mouth to say something else when a new, softer voice cut across him.
"Father, stop it," Dora demanded, "You heard him."
Remus's breath hitched as he caught sight of Dora, her hair still in its natural black state, her green eyes awake but sad. She didn't look angry, and Remus found himself wishing she did; It would make having to leave abruptly like this so much easier.
"Well," Ted said with a glare for Remus, "Tell her yourself." And with that, he walked away.
A few seconds' silence passed between husband and wife, and Remus knew he had to say something. Anything.
"Dora, I--" he started, but Dora shook her head.
"Don't," she said gently, "It's all right. I don't...I don't need an explanation. Rather, I don't think I want one." She approached him slowly, her slippered feet making no noise on the floor.
"I have to go," were the first words that came to him as she looked up at him, her green eyes suprisingly tear-free.
"I know you do," she told him simply, "I don't know what the hell for, nor do I want to know, but...I know you do. I get it now. I really do. It's just...It's just who you are. I saw it in your eyes, after we left the Burrow yesterday. I'm not daft, Remus. I know you heard what the Death Eaters were asking me, what they were taunting me with. I know you heard what Dawlish said about you and me."
"They were right," Remus answered, "All of them. You and I, we can't...we shouldn't have..."
"You've been saying that for months," Dora laughed sadly, "And yet, here you stand, with a wedding ring on your left hand that you etched my name into. Here you stand, the husband of a pregnant woman who is deathly in love with you."
This brought a smile to Remus' lips. She was doing it again. She was reminding him again why he didn't object further when Moody put out marriage as a sure way to keep her protected.
"I'm not going to stop you," Dora continued, "If you want to go, if you have to go, I won't stop you. Quite frankly, I'm sick of trying to stop you. Besides, I think I know what this is all about, and I can't say it's an entirely bad idea. It's just who you are. No matter what anyone says, no matter how anyone makes you feel, you'll always feel you're a danger to the ones you love."
"It's not about that--" Remus interrupted, but Dora shook her head.
"You can't lie to me, Remus," she said softly, "You can say it's about helping Harry, and yes, it IS about helping Harry with whatever it is he's trying to do, but you can't tell me there isn't more to it."
She was right, of course, but Remus found he just could not find the voice to confirm it.
"Listen to me very carefully, Remus," Dora said, looking him straight in the eye, "Because I want you to understand very clearly. I love you. I will always love you, and I will always need you. I love you for who you are, and everything that you can be. You're my hero, no matter what anyone else says. I trust you, and I have faith in you. You understand?"
She was giving him her permission to leave. She understood. She knew.
"Of course I do," he said, and he took her in his arms and embraced her firmly, her face buried in his chest, silently thanking her for not putting up an argument.
"Just...come home to me safe," she told him, "And in one piece. Whole, preferably."
"Where will I find you?" he asked her. She looked up at him with a soft smile.
"Remus, d'you love me?" she asked him.
"You know I do," Remus answered, but Dora shrugged.
"I want to hear you say it," she said.
Remus smiled at her. "I love you, Nymphadora," he told her.
"Then you'll always know where to find me," she replied.
"Our home--" Remus had begun to say. Dora shushed him with two fingers to his lips.
"No," she said, "Not there. Here." She placed a hand on his chest, just above his heart, and smiled tearfully up at him. "You'll know it in here. You'll always find me here. Just as I'll always know where to find you."
Remus could no longer find words to reply to her with. He kissed her instead, kissed his wife lovingly, reassuringly, gratefully. She understood him, every flaw, every idiosyncracy, and she loved him for it all anyway. And for that, he couldn't help loving her.
She was smiling when the kiss broke. "Now, go," she said, "We're wasting precious time."
He nodded at her simply, then kissed her forehead again. Finally, he walked out the door, took one last look at the loving smile on his wife's face, and Disapparated.
~+~+~+~+~
Tonks stood there in the doorway, staring quietly at the spot from which her husband had just disappeared. A tear rolled down her cheek, but just the one.
"You let him go?" came her father's voice as he joined her by the door, "You just...you just let him go off like that on an adventure he might not come back from?"
Tonks shrugged.
"He'll be back," she said, not taking her eyes away from the horizon, "He always comes back. You'll see."
The sun began to rise, and the sky turned orange as Tonks turned to go back inside the house, a hand unconsciously splayed on her belly.
~ END. ~
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