Remus Lupin tried very hard to suppress his feelings. A strange fear ran through him. He feared he was falling in love.

He couldn't do that to her, Remus couldn't condemn a woman this angelic and beautiful to his outcast life.

But he wanted to be the one that she kissed goodnight, and held in her arms.

Remus couldn't damn her to his life; a life that was chosen for him by his drunken father's mistakes.

He finally fell into a tormented sleep…

-flashback-

A little boy, around age five or six, not yet old enough to do magic, awoke from his sleep one night to the sound of howling. His brown hair hung straight down over his eyes as he tiptoed past his father's room. He had decided to not tell him that he was scared. Instead the boy would go investigate. The ground was cold, it was late December and they were expecting a snowstorm. The boy heard the bushes rustle across the street.

"Hello? Who's there?" He tried to sound brave. He turned around, sweating and breathing hard. He had never liked the dark…

Suddenly, what was once silhouettes of trees turned into silhouettes of large men with snouts. The boy's pulse went up. He turned to run only to slam into another of the dog-people. The boy was trapped on the ground looking up at the moon, thinking he was going to die. The men closed in and then there was pain. All pain emanating from one point.

He woke up the next morning, the cold morning breeze brought the first flakes of winter, as young Remus Lupin laid in his blood.

He tried to stand, but his left leg gave out. He cried out in pain and started to sob for his father.

Wishing he were dead.

His father finally woke up to get him.

Just as everything was going black.

-end flashback-

Remus Lupin woke up crying in his bed; a grown man, still haunted by one memory that ruined his life.

There was a knock at the door… at 4 in the morning.

He went to it and looked through the peep hole.

Tonks stood there.

He wretched it open and saw her there, clothing rain soaked, her light pink bangs plastered to her forehead, her mascara running ever so slightly.

"Tonks?" he asked, unsure as to why she was there soaking wet and… bleeding?

She fell to her knees and clutched her side.

"Tonks!?"

"Remus, help me… please… no hospital… help… Remus…" She removed her hands from her side to show blood on her hands. She looked up at him from the floor and then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

"Oh, God no. Tonks? Dora!? Please Dora, don't leave me. Don't die here. Everyone else died on me, you are my only friend, you can't leave me." He reached down to her as she started to regain a little consciousness. She tripped on the carpet, but he held her against his chest. Remus laid Tonks down on the bed and whispered, imendia. The bleeding stopped and her breathing evened out. She was asleep. He couldn't help but marvel at her sleeping form. Even after a battle, rain soaked and bloody, she was still beautiful. When Remus finally fell asleep on the couch, he dreamt of her. She was being tortured… she was dying. And then he woke up. He heard a scream and ran to his bedroom, where Nymphadora Tonks was sitting up straight in bed. She seemed to calm down a little bit when she spotted Remus Lupin in the doorway in place of some death eater bent on destroying her. And then she started to cry.

Remus went quickly to her side and sat down on the bed.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here, I won't hurt you. I'm not going to leave you."

Her sharp eyes met his and she asked him,

"Do you mean that? You won't leave me?"

"As long as you don't leave me. You had me awfully scared there. I didn't think you were going to make it." He replied.

"You know, I never thanked you for helping me. I wasn't sure I'd even make it to your door. You saved my life. How can I ever repay you?" She smiled at him.

"Well, you could be my slave for life," She looked shocked, his voice lowered to a whisper. "Or, you could just…"

his voice trailed as he leaned in slowly and pressed his lips to hers. Her arms made their way up his chest and around his neck. Remus let his hands trail down the length of her body, until they reached her scar. She cringed, but then kissed him more fervently than before. He laughed under her lips and pushed her backwards onto the bed. Kissing her was bliss. They broke apart, and he looked at her, laughed as her hair turned more colors than a chameleon. Leaned down to kiss her some more. He was filled with life, and he realized that she was now part of him.

"Life debt repaid" He whispered against her lips. And she smiled.