A/N: Alright, I've always wanted to write a romantic oneshot that included a piano (Which I apparently have the hardest time typing and it always comes out paino). I decided to one day and I got caught up in writing it. Then I decided I needed a song to go in there somewhere, but I wanted original lyrics. So, off to my old files from when I used to write songs. After dusting off the old file cabinet and laughing at my horrendus songs, I found this one that I liked. Ergo, the lyrics that you will read (or skim over) are mine. They're alright. I have better, but these seemed to fit Tonks best. So here you go!
Disclaimer: I own nothing (well, besides my lyrics)... especially not Harry Potter!
Happy Reading!
Pianos and Rose Petals
The rain was thundering down like bullets as Nymphadora Tonks pushed open the door and stuck her head inside the flat. She glanced around anxiously, ignoring the exasperated voice coming from behind her.
"I honestly don't care if your flat is messy, Tonks," Remus Lupin said in his slightly hoarse voice, "You know, they say a cluttered room is a sign of a genius."
"That's a cluttered desk," Tonks retorted, "And I care… well, kind of. Oh, never mind, I really don't care."
Tonks opened the door and a soaking wet Remus stepped into the flat. The flat was a decent size and very nice, with pictures of family members grinning and waving from all directions. Tonks took off her jacket and cast it onto the floor, shaking her wet head and sending water from her pink hair. As Tonks kicked off her boots, Remus followed suit, only he hung his worn traveling cloak gingerly on a peg and moved his boots off to the side. He straightened up and looked around. They stood in the living room area, and several doors branched off to various parts of the flat. The walls to the living room were a deep sensual crimson. His eyes followed the room in a counterclockwise fashion until they fell on the corner of the room. Turned sideways against the wall was a black grand piano, with a few roses sitting on top of it. Tonks followed Remus' gaze.
"You play?"
Tonks laughed out loud and dried her hair with a flick of her wand.
"I did, kind of," She said, "Before I got a job. Mum used to make me play all the time and insisted that she teach me."
Tonks glanced at Remus, who was trying to suppress a warm smile.
"I'm not much good, though," She added, seeing the look on his face.
"Play something," Remus said in an amused tone, and looked down upon her doubtful stare "Come on, I wanna hear you play."
Tonks laughed and skipped over to the piano. Remus followed a few paces behind her, chuckling to himself. Tonks sat down daintily and placed her fingertips lightly on the keys, as if she was some sort of gentlewoman. She ran through a quick D Major scale to warm up.
"So," She said, "What do you want to hear?"
Remus shrugged, crossed his arms, and leaned against the side of the piano.
"It doesn't matter," He said gently, "Anything."
"Alright," Tonks said, "Let's see… okay, here we go."
She struck a tune that Remus had never heard before. It was interesting, pretty, and just a little bit sad. Tonks hit a wrong key and cursed under her breath, then recomposed herself and began to move her lips with the music, as if words belonged with the words.
"What are you saying?"
"The song has words, but I don't sing in public," Tonks said in a sing-song voice that matched with the music she was playing.
Remus motioned around him and grinned.
"You call this public? Go ahead, I won't laugh."
Tonks put her hands flat on the piano so that she made a loud, obnoxious noise. She looked up at the man standing before her and raised her eyebrows.
"You asked for it, Remus."
"Mhmm," Remus replied good-naturedly.
Tonks took a deep breath and began to sing.
"You are the air,
I need to breathe,
The perfect drug,
Why can't you see?
You are the thorn,
Stuck in my side,
You are the keeper,
Of all my life.
You are the pain,
That lies to me,
You make me fall,
Down to my knees."
Truth be told, Tonks really wasn't much of a singer; her voice cracked as she tried to hit the high note, and she winced. Remus couldn't help but smile.
"You are the tears,
That I have cried,
You are the fears,
That make me shy.
You are the one,
That's killing me,
You've made me blind,
I cannot see.
With you I seem to feel,
The blood, the basis of our lives,
That tight string around my throat,
That I could have sworn you tied.
I'm choking on the air,
I don't know what to say,
You have truly made me mute,
And I love it this way.
All of those things,
Though evil, they may seem,
But as you walk about me,
I'm living in a dream…"
There was something appealing to Remus in Tonks' mediocre voice, and he wasn't exactly sure what it was. He watched as her fingers glided across the keys, creating harmony and rhythm. When the song ended, Tonks looked up at him expectantly.
"Whaddya think?"
Remus slid next to her on the bench and plucked one of the roses from the top of the piano. He looked at the rose with interest and twirled the green stem in his fingers, carefully avoiding the thorns.
"I think," he said with a slight smile on his lips, "that it was pretty good."
Tonks laughed and punched Remus lightly in the arm. He stared down at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I'd like to see you do better," she said scoffed mockingly.
"I don't play. Piano, at least."
"What do you play?"
Remus shrugged and replied, "I used to dabble with the alto sax, mostly, but not often and I'm lousy, anyway."
Tonks picked up one of the roses and plucked one of the petals off. Then another. She let them fall onto the keys and watched with interest as they fluttered down in small eddies. Remus watched her as she did this, wondering whether she noticed that she was destroying her flowers. He put his fingers on the keys and hit them at random, causing a hideous noise that made Tonks come back into realization. She laughed at his pathetic attempts and reached out.
"Here," she said, and touched his hand, causing him to jump slightly, "This goes here, and here. See? Now you've got A here and E here."
Tonks put the, now bare, stem of the rose between her teeth and put Remus' other hand in the right place. She guided him with her hands on his, until her had played something relatively simple. When the song ended and Remus went to pull away, Tonks kept her hands firmly pressed on his. He raised his eyebrows at her and she spat the stem onto the floor.
"Is this some kind of piano lesson?" Remus asked teasingly, "Trap the student?"
Tonks grinned.
"How come you like the saxophone?"
"It's soothing and sensual," Remus replied, making another halfhearted, vain attempt at getting his hands back.
"Sensual?"
"Yes."
"Did you know that a synonym for sensual is 'physical', and that it rhymes with 'sexual'?" Tonks said jokingly.
Tonks scooted closer to Remus and he scooted away to the edge of the bench, but she held his hands down with surprising strength.
"Er, well yes, I suppose, I mean –"
Tonks suddenly leaned up and kissed him hard on the mouth. Remus tensed and jumped slightly, then slid off the bench and landed on the floor, sending rose petals everywhere. He jumped up and she laughed. Tonks stood up, slid over the bench on her knees, and plucked a rose petal out of Remus' hair.
"Taking this a little quickly?" Remus said in a semi-joking, semi-serious tone, but Tonks could only laugh.
"We've been together for weeks, Remus," Tonks said lightly, wrapping her arms around his neck when he stood up, "What? Have you never been kissed before?"
A blush crept up his neck and Tonks covered her mouth, shocked.
"Oh my god," She whispered in mortification, blushing, "You haven't?"
"Well, have I ever seemed like a relationship kind of man to you?" Remus said with his brows raised.
"Well, no…"
As Tonks stared up at Remus, he felt as if some creature had suddenly roared to life in his chest. And without warning, he kissed her. Tonks looked shocked, but a smile broke out on her face when she saw his timid expression. She ran her fingertips lightly up the back of his neck and into his graying hair, marveling at how young he seemed just now, and so alive…
Tonks hopped down from the bench and pushed it away with her foot, never taking her eyes away from Remus'. She took the front of his robes in her hands and forced him gently back against the piano. He fell slightly and hit a bunch of keys, causing a violent sound. Both laughed, and then she kissed him again. They broke apart slowly, both breathing heavily and both with their eyes closed.
"Wow," he murmured, not opening his eyes, "I'm tempted to try that again."
o0o0o
Remus pushed open the door to the Burrow a few hours later and stepped inside. Harry sat in an armchair, reading Quidditch Through the Ages. As Remus strolled into the kitchen, looking slightly bemused, Harry could have sworn he heard Remus mutter, "That damn chest creature."
o0o0o
"So, Remus, how was your day?" Molly asked as the pair of them sat at the kitchen table, "Did you do anything… interesting?"
Remus sighed and rose to his feet.
"Oh, not really," Remus replied conversationally, draining the last of his teacup, "Went over to Nymphadora's flat, actually."
"Oh?"
Molly raised her eyebrows.
"Yes. We played a little piano, talked about the usual. Nothing much."
"Mhmm…" Molly replied skeptically with a slight smile on her face as Remus walked out of the room; he had a rose petal stuck to the back of his robes.
o0o0o
FIN
A/N: And there you have it.