Three Kisses
Title: Three Kisses
For: r_becca
Rating: 14+
Pairing: Bill/Tonks, pre-HBP/DH
Summary: They shared three kisses during their lives -- this is the story of each of those kisses.
Author's Note: Many thanks to my beta and to those of you who brainstormed and held my hand during the creation of this fic. :D


They had shared three kisses together. Their first kiss had been when he was seventeen and she just fourteen. It had been a soft kiss, an accidental kiss. She had managed to knock over an entire stack of books, and he had gone to teasingly scold her. A frustrated, embarrassed tear had coursed down her cheek though, and Bill Weasley leaned over to kiss that lone tear. Nymphadora Tonks had never been kissed before, and she had gazed up at him in wonder. Head Boy, brilliant and popular, had kissed her cheek. She did what any reasonable girl would have done. She turned and ran, tripping over a chair and ending up sprawled on the floor (she was sure every other girl that Bill Weasley had ever kissed would've avoiding the tripping part). She laid on the floor waiting for his laughter, but it didn't come. Instead, he offered her a hand and glared at those who did laugh.

"Thank you," she said quietly as he helped her up.

"That's what Head Boys are for," he said with a grin (the grin that she imagined had melted quite a few hearts, because when Bill Weasley grinned at you, his eyes twinkled and all his attention was on you).

For some reason the following words came out of her mouth (much to her horror). "My Head Boy." She swung her head around in both directions to see if someone else had spoken those words, because surely she had NOT.

"Your Head Boy," he agreed with a grin, handing her book bag to her.

Her eyes wide with disbelief, she took the bag and scurried off without another word, her hair turning bright red as she fled, the library door smashing into her face once as she tried to make her escape. He watched her go with a curious smile, not quite sure what he had missed, but knowing he had definitely missed something (or quite possibly the library door had it out for Nymphadora Tonks).


~*~

The second kiss came three years later, in a pub in London. It was a drunken kiss, wet and sloppy, but of the three kisses, Tonks later decided, it was the one that said the most about her friendship with Bill. The timing and the place were never quite right for them.

"You're only seventeen," Bill had declared as he ordered their third round of shots. "I shouldn't be corrupting you so."

Tonks had a laughed heartily at that. "I think I'm the one corrupting you, Billy boy. My Head Boy, always."

He passed her the shot of firewhiskey. "You're so pissed, Tonks. You're going to be crying tomorrow."

She lifted the whiskey as a challenge to him. "You're going to be the one crying because you didn't make your move on me!"

His eyebrow quirked up and she wondered if she had gone too far, but he was right, she was far too pissed to know where 'too far' might be. She drained the shot glass and waited for him to do the same to his.

Bill watched her closely, knowing she was drunk, knowing she probably wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow, but tempted all the same. Not this way, he warned himself. And if we did, how would I go back to Egypt in two days? He slammed back his shot and before his brain could catch up with his body, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers. As kisses go, it wasn't one of his better attempts, but at that moment, oh, at that moment, it was perfect -- warm, inviting and teasing. Their lips met with enthusiasm. His tongue had just slid into her mouth, craving a taste of her, when his brain caught up with his body and he pulled away. They looked at each other blankly for a moment before she fell against him, laughing hard into his chest (his firm, inviting chest, she couldn't help but notice).

"My parents are going to hex you when you bring me home this way," she said into his chest, her hand clutching at the tail of his un-tucked shirt, tears from laughing streaming down her cheeks.

"I'll sober you up first, Tonks," he said.

She lifted her head and looked up at him. "That's my Head Boy."

"Always," he answered with out hesitation.

He went back to Egypt and she went on to Auror training and they never spoke of the drunken kiss again.

~*~

The third kiss came during the war. It was a kiss that promised things that the previous kisses had only hinted at. By that time, they were close friends, working together in the Order. It was not long after the Tri-Wizard tournament had ended. Bill had been sent on a mission to get the goblins in Eastern Europe to cooperate with the Order and exchange information about possible Death Eater activity. Tonks was along in case things turned nasty (and with goblins, that was entirely possible. That's not to mention the possibility of Death Eater activities. That is how they came to be tromping through the snow toward a crypt in northern Russia.

"I can't believe those blimey goblins actually asked you to do work for them -- just for the chance to talk to them!" Tonks grumbled, her hair long and blue, skimming her waist in (a futile) attempt to hold off the chill.

Bill shrugged, his feet crunching merrily into the snow. "That's a goblin for you," he said, not all that disturbed, because he had expected they'd make him work before even speaking to him. All in all, it had gone better than he expected.

She looked over at him and smiled beneath her scarf. He was so self-possessed; cool under pressure, and an honestly nice man. Why, she thought to herself, don't I love him? Why do I love a man who refuses to even discuss the possibility of a date? Not that Bill loved her, either. They were mates. They went drinking together, goofed off; there was nothing more to it than that. He dated, she knew that, but he had never been serious about anyone that she knew about. "Well, entertain me, Weasley!" she demanded. "Any new girlfriends?"

He chuckled. "You must be bored if you want to hear about my dates. None recently, might be someone on the horizon though. Someone very special, I believe. As soon as I get the courage to ask her out. Do you want me to make up a sordid tale of sex and betrayal?"

"Yes, please. If you can throw in some light bondage and shagging against a wall, that'd be lovely, darling. I'm freezing, that'll at least warm me up a bit."

Bill stopped as they reached the ruins of a mausoleum. "Bondage?" he asked, his tone amused as he pulled out his wand and moved it in careful, precise movements over a stone door. Symbols glowed on the door, some in red, some in gold. He scratched his chin considering the runes. "I never thought of you as the bondage type, Tonksy."

She leaned against the wall, watching him work. "I doubt you've ever considered my sexual preferences at all, Weasley," she said, joking, but there was an undercurrent to it.

Bill rearranged the symbols with his wand, unwinding the curse, step by step. "That is one of those comments that women make that there is no right response to. No matter what I say, you'll find a way to be offended," he answered, stopping his work for a moment to look at her. When there was no immediate response from her but a subtle shift in her hair colour to a darker blue, he continued on, "I've seen how you look at him."

Every response that had played through her head disappeared at that last sentence. She didn't turn away, looking into Bill Weasley's perfect blue eyes, wondering why love was such a very strange thing that it didn't strike where it seemed logical. Not that Bill Weasley would be any more attainable than Remus Lupin, but at this moment - there he was, looking at her as if it might be a possibility. It was all the encouragement she needed. She took a step toward him and shifted onto her toes, her lips brushed against his, lightly before her hand went to the nape of his neck, tangling in his long hair, bringing him closer. The kiss intensified, their mouths melding together as their tongues moved to a dance they both knew they'd never finish. When they parted, Tonks fell back on her heels, a satisfied, happy smile on her face. "I just wanted to know," she explained, "what it would've been like to have been yours."

He grinned, amazed at how despite the intimate kiss, things felt less awkward now. "Your heart belongs to another. My heart hears the call of another. We both need to follow those paths."

Tonks chuckled, reaching over and slapping his chest. "That was deep, Billy boy. You honestly are too bloody -" the word 'perfect' never made it out of her mouth as she the sound of an icicle dropping behind her caused her to shift to her left, her hand reaching out to steady herself landed smack in the middle of the half-broken curse. A shock went through her body and sent her flying backwards. She landed on her backside in a drift of snow.

She wasn't seriously hurt, but her eyes opened slowly. Bill was standing over her, worried look on his face. "I'm fine," she answered.

"Did I forget to mention the rules of cursebreaking safety to you?" he asked, extending his hand to her.

"My Head Boy," she said with a warm smile.

"Always," he agreed.

The End