InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Why am I always Lois Lane?"

tough_tonks (tough_tonks) wrote in strugglewithin,
@ 2008-11-03 19:09:00

Entry tags:

*complete, august 1997, npc, nymphadora lupin, remus lupin

RP: A Quiet Shock...
Date: 3 August 1997, Evening
Characters: Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Lupin
Location: Tonks' (and Remus') Flat, Just off Diagon Alley
Status: Private, Unless you want to knock on the door!
Summary: Tonks finally breaks the news to Remus about their unexpected bundle of joy.
Completion: Complete

Coming home was rarely difficult for Tonks, at least not since they had been married but a scant month before. Despite her flat being tiny, there was a warmth with Remus' presence that it hadn't ever held before. It truly felt like a home and not simply a place of residence near to her work. And she did live near to London, just down a little side alley off of Diagon and above a shop that sold magical time pieces and the like. Her apartment consisted of a single, small living area and an even small bedroom beyond. The living area held two shabby couches and a plush chair, all of different textiles, surrounding a fire place and an old, knicked coffee table. The floors were hardwood and worn, but covered with comfortable rugs of all different colours and shapes. Everything looked hand-me-down from her furniture, to her curtains and even to her dishware, but it was all immensely comfortable, well loved and practical. In short, it was Tonks.

She loved her flat. She loved her husband. She loved coming home, but just not tonight. There was really no denying her suspicions any longer and, a quick trip to Mungo's on her lunch hour confirmed, she was pregnant. She wasn't just sick with some mid summer cold or stomach bug, but hormones and the preparation for entirely too many unexpected changes. If the world wasn't too quickly tumbling towards war, if just today she hadn't heard from her boss' lips the shift in powers at the Ministry, if they had possibly just been married a month or so longer, the entire matter might be considered a blessing. But all those factors built upon each other to make the news possibly mote frightening than happy. She didn't even know how to tell him.

And that fear, that dread, is what made her hesitate outside her own door. She walked home instead of apparating tonight. She stopped at the Cauldron for a mug of tea. She listened to the various rumors and heated whispers about the resignation/removal/disappearance/killing of Rufus Scrimgeour. The account of the matter changed depending on who was speaking about it and to whom they were speaking. It wasn't necessarily her job or assignment, but Tonks couldn't help but keep an ear open for all the heated information. And it did delay her homecoming, but she could only delay so long.

Now, almost a full two hours late from her usual time to return home from work, Tonks finally worked up the courage to push open her front door and walk up the stairs to their tiny flat. She slipped the key in the lock, focused her mind and a quiet word on dropping the few protective wards she had in place, and slipped into the living room. "...Remus? Are you home?" It wasn't her usual greeting either. Not a friendly 'wotcher', or a kiss, or the usual immediate removal and tossing away of her Auror's robes to some random arm of a chair in the room. She was quiet tonight. Pensive.

(Post a new comment)

sw_npc_1
2008-11-03 08:46 pm UTC (link)

Remus was up and out of his seat in seconds, his fingers flexing and curling around his wand as someone rattled at the door. Very few people would be able to get past Dora's wards, and those who did would hardly bother to use the key, but he was not about to approach the door unarmed. Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry, where his wife worked, and she was late. Two hours late. Remus doubted that the minutes could have ticked by any more slowly.

He'd been half inclined to send a message to her through his Patronus, and had strongly considered sending one to Arthur, as well, but they were both at the Ministry. He owned no owl. He had no way of knowing whether or not she was safe, or if she'd been stalled with work, and no amount of tea, or whiskey, or both (which was the current case) could soothe his nerves.

She was all he had--all he had. Surely she realized it?

Dragging one hand down the length of his face, he stood behind the door and watched it open. Dora's figure slipped through the door, the soft light reflecting off of her hair, and when she called out to him, he stepped away from the wall. It was her. She'd decided on that color in the morning, though it was fading in and out rather strangely. No other person could imitate that.

"Where have you been?" he asked, unable keep the frustration and worry out of his voice. He stepped forward and grabbed her, almost desperately. "Dora, I thought something had happened!"

(Reply to this) (Thread)

tough_tonks
2008-11-03 09:02 pm UTC (link)

As she whispered to him this morning, her hair was a deep auburn red. It was their code, so he knew it was her coming in the door and not someone impersonating her. These were paranoid times and, both active with the Order, few knew it better than Remus and Tonks. Her hair slipped back towards her natural brown before her mind forced her energy to reassert and her hair to keep the red she told him she'd have. Still, the fading betrayed her current exhaustion. It had been a horribly long day. Long even that, perhaps selfishly, she hadn't even dreamt of the state he'd be in with her being late from work. Late nights were something she suspected they'd have to become used to.

The sudden grasp against her form shocked her, woke her up a bit more as she, in turn, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight, tired hug. He was warm from the fire and the comfort of indoors, he smelled familiar and musky. Shaggy as ever and so entirely the man she loved, Nymphadora closed her eyes quietly and said nothing a few moments, just savouring the thing she had been dreading -- coming home.

She finally pulled back, after a few moments of her smooth cheek resting against the scruff of his own. She didn't entirely let go, but she loosened herself enough from his arms so she could look up to his eyes. There was earnest apology and a touch of guilt in her tired gaze. "Remus, I... I'm sorry. I had to stay a bit after work. Then... I stopped at the Cauldron. I had to hear... hear what people were saying. There is too much happening. People are speaking freely now, but it won't last long. I had to get what information I could. I... I should have sent an owl. I'm sorry." Her apology was genuine even if the mistake was no doubt a symptom of her youth. One of the biggest differences between them, though they'd manage to over come it. She still acted her age at times, difficult as it could be.