Title: The Battle of Remus and Romulus

Pairing: Lupin/Tonks

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: M

Summary: Lupin was bloody well sure that it would be Romulus who would lose, not Remus this time. RL/NT. Lem/Lang. O/S.

Disclaimer: I own nada…zilch…zero…nil…nought…nothing…bugger-all…sweet FA… (You get the idea.) Everything belongs to JKR – I just borrow her best characters and fiddle with their wands. *Giggles and runs away*

His hand lifted another Firewhiskey to his lips – Sirius grinned at him across the battered, wooden expanse of the kitchen table between them, lining up another.

"You're trying to get me drunk," Lupin accused.

Sirius' grin widened. "I'm not trying anything – you don't have to drink what I give you."

"Of course I do."

Sirius laughed. "All because you don't want to see what my cousin has in store for you."

Lupin stilled his hand as it made its way to his lips. "That's not true."

Sirius simply raised a questioning eyebrow.

Lupin turned away.

It was true – the lovely Nymphadora Tonks had cornered him after that night's Order meeting and asked him to meet her at eleven in the Black's library; there had been a seductive twinkle in her eye...

"What is it that you don't like about her?" Sirius suddenly asked, folding his hands over his chest and leaning back in his rickety wooden chair. "She's fantastic."

"That," Lupin murmured, putting down his drink and running a hand through his hair, "is entirely the point."

Sirius waited.

Lupin sighed and mimicked his friend's position, settling back into his seat. "She's young."

"Yes."

"And pretty."

"Very beautiful, yes."

"And…"

"What?"

"I have nothing to offer someone like that."

Sirius let out a short bark of laughter and immediately sat forward, resting his arms on the table. "You're so ridiculous, Moony. Have you not seen the way she looks at you? It's like you're Merlin himself!"

Lupin shrugged off his comment easily. "I'm far older than her – she's bound to look up to me in some way, what with my being an ex-professor and an Order member from the First Wizarding War."

"You think very highly of yourself," Sirius snorted. "And, anyway, that doesn't explain why sometimes she looks like she wants to nibble every inch of you."

Lupin blocked those thoughts and images that immediately rose up at Sirius' words with tremendous difficulty –why did the little pink-haired witch have to get him in such tremendous knots?

"She does not."

"She does!" Sirius protested, narrowing his eyes at Lupin. "Every time you speak at a meeting, she looks like she wishes she could pull you down onto this very table and have her wicked way with you."

Lupin shivered as a warmth built in his belly. "Sirius, stop."

"No! Not until you see what a total prick you're being! Get up there and shag my cousin!"

Lupin felt his anger rise – it was his choice not to pursue the bewitching Auror, and it would stay his choice; it was far too wrong for them to be involved as he wished they could be.

He stood and immediately made his way towards the kitchen door.

Sirius' face was joyful. "You're actually going? Good for you! I knew you–"

Lupin turned and sent him a narrow-eyed glare – Sirius' smile dropped immediately.

"You're not…" Sirius breathed, his shoulders dropping.

"I'm not," Lupin confirmed as he proceeded to exit the Black house, leaving his best friend alone in kitchen with a bottle of Firewhiskey and his disappointedly-sighing crush alone to stare at the clock on the mantle in the library.

It was several days later that Lupin returned to Grimmauld Place – there had been no missions or meetings, so he had stayed at his deceased parents' old house and wallowed, but that morning he had received an urgently-pecking owl with a letter announcing there was to be an emergency meeting.

He reluctantly Apparated to Sirius' top step and entered quietly, hoping there would be no chance for Tonks or his best friend to corner him – he already felt bad enough that he had left the way he had, he didn't need them to make it worse.

He was already considering apologising to Tonks for standing her up – perhaps she hadn't even wanted to talk to him about them, if there even was a 'them'.

Suddenly, as he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen, a peal of delighted laughter echoed through the house – the laugh belonged to Tonks; Lupin knew that noise well…

He unconsciously smiled at the sound, relishing her joy – she was so beautiful, so colourful, so…so…

He opened the kitchen door.

So…in the throes of someone else.

Sirius sat at the end of the table, next to Dumbledore, and next to Sirius sat Moody, and next to Moody sat Tonks…and next to Tonks sat a handsome, dark-haired boy with bright blue eyes who was telling her some kind of joke that made her eyes sparkle prettily.

Snape, on the other side of Dumbledore and sat next to Kingsley, suddenly sneered, "The werewolf's arrived. I suggest we begin headmaster. My time is limited."

Albus Dumbledore nodded to the black-haired wizard and gestured for Lupin to sit in the last available chair between the Weasleys and Emmeline Vance.

Lupin sat…and his eyes never left the newcomer.

He was quite young, about the same age as Tonks he supposed, with slightly tanned skin and dark chocolate curls – his clothes were dark and Muggle, expensive-looking but modern, and Lupin found himself thinking that he looked like the type of man that Tonks should instantly be attracted to.

What little he knew of Tonks' 'type,' he could deduce that the boy was it.

A sickening feeling unfurled in his stomach.

"Remus," Albus murmured softly, breaking Lupin from his thoughts. "I see you've noticed our newest member. We were not supposed to be taking any more recruits into the innermost circle, due to our already-high number, but Romulus here has already proved to be extremely useful in duelling and keeping up constant correspondence with our allies overseas."

"Romulus Lazenby," the boy grinned, holding his hand out for Lupin to shake – his voice has heavily accented; American…

Lupin gave him a forced smile as he quickly shook his hand. "Pleasure."

"So your name's Remus?" He drawled.

Lupin nodded. "Strange coincidence, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

Lupin stared at the boy, and he stared right back – did he not know of Remus and Romulus, the Muggle myth? A part of him could understand him not knowing – not everyone did – but a tiny, tiny part of him sneered and felt joy that the boy was less educated than he…

Where had that come from?

Tonks suddenly stepped in. "It's an ancient Muggle myth from Italy about two boys and the creation of Rome."

Lupin's heart warmed and his stomach pleasantly fizzed knowing that Tonks understood – she was so brilliant, so bright, so…

"Oh," Lazenby grinned. "I'm not on the…uh, up-and-up with Muggles really. Never found the point. They're so far behind."

Lupin hid his astonishment – Muggles were extremely advanced, especially for non-magical beings; did the boy not see that?

Snape suddenly cut in. "As thrilling as this is, may we please continue the meeting?"

Albus nodded once more, and began his report on the Ministry.

Lupin paid attention, listening to Dumbledore talk of new Ministry security measures and how there would now be new dangers present when the Order members went on missions, but he couldn't help his eyes being drawn to the two people across from him – Lazenby seemed to look over Tonks in an almost predatory fashion…

The sudden scraping of chairs released Lupin from his thoughts – the meeting was over, and everyone was leaving…except for Moody, Sirius, Tonks and the newest member, who stayed firmly in their seats.

Lupin didn't move – suddenly, he didn't feel like rushing out anymore.

Sirius' dark grey eyes caught his across the kitchen table, and a single feeling resonated between them – understanding.

Neither of them liked Romulus Lazenby.

There they sat – Moody, Sirius, Tonks, Lazenby, and Lupin – each of them with their drink of choice in their hands, all around the end of the kitchen table near the roaring fire.

Lupin took a sip of his Firewhiskey, appreciating the warmth it instilled in him and not the haziness that began to tug at the back of his mind – he wanted to stay focused, stay sober…so he could watch.

Tonks grinned as Lazenby leant over to whisper something in her ear – Lupin's grip tightened on his glass as he watched the boy's breath softly disturb a lock of Tonks' bright pink hair.

That sickening feeling that had been eating at him was crawling its way through his body like poison.

Sirius suddenly tapped Lupin's arm as the others began a conversation on Ministry matters. "Stop looking at them – it won't help."

"One night," Lupin muttered to his best friend, glaring over the lip of his glass at the boy and not truly processing what he had just said.

"What?"

Lupin turned to Sirius, his eyes slightly wider as he realised his previous words. "Nothing."

Sirius' look was firm.

Lupin sighed and moved in closer. "One night…and she already has someone else."

Sirius glared as he leaned in to murmur, "Well, she would have you if you weren't such a bloody coward, Moony. You are such an arsehole."

Lupin said nothing and just stared off at the fire.

Sirius lifted his glass of Firewhiskey to mask his mouth as he leant in and whispered, "She doesn't like him like she likes you."

Lupin gazed back in confusion.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "She's not interested – she's being polite. He's the one all over her like a rash."

Sirius nodded towards them – Lupin looked and found Lazenby's arm carelessly slung over the back on Tonks' chair; she seemed to be oblivious.

But that's all he could see – oblivious… That didn't mean she did or didn't want the American's attentions, and Lupin, as he had so adequately proved before, wasn't Tonks-literate.

But he knew that if he stayed there any longer the venomous snake inside him was going to eat him alive.

He stood, quickly, downing the last of his drink and dropping the glass on the table. "Good evening, everyone."

With that, he was gone.

It was three weeks later that Lupin found himself back at Grimmauld Place – his missions had been solo, no Order meetings had been conducted, his contact had been minimal and by owl, and he had passed through the full moon relatively unscathed by drugging and shackling himself in his parents' old basement.

But he had received an owl from Sirius that night, and had done as the note had asked and Apparated straight to Number Twelve.

When Lupin walked through the door, he found the house was abnormally quiet.

"Sirius?" He called out softly, careful not to awaken Mrs Black's portrait.

"Up here, Moony," a voice called back from the first landing.

Lupin climbed the stairs and found the door to the library was open – he entered, shutting the door behind him, and found Sirius sat in one of the frayed wingback chairs with a tumbler of amber in his hand.

Lupin took up the chair opposite him in front of the low fire. "What did you need to see me about, Padfoot?"

Sirius' eyes were dark and stormy. "Tonks."

Lupin swallowed instinctively, panic rising within him. "What about her? Has something happened? Why did no one tell me sooner?"

"Shut up," Sirius growled, and Lupin sat back in shock from the venom in his voice.

"What… Tell me what's happened," he furiously demanded.

Sirius smiled at him as he swallowed the last of his drink and the smile was not pleasant – his best friend leaned forwards slightly, as if to confide something.

"I know you've just had a full moon, and I know that your brain is…jarred or something when it comes to Tonks…"

Lupin swallowed.

"But you have royally buggered up, mate."

"Tell me," he breathed fiercely, thinking the worst – why wouldn't he just tell him?

Sirius smiled again, darkly and without any trace of joy or humour. "She's going out with him."

Lupin's stomach dropped, and he barely managed a soft, "What?"

"Tonks! I overheard them downstairs one night! She bloody accepted to go on a date with that prick Lazenby!" Sirius roared, leaping up from his chair and pacing before Lupin furiously. "They're out there right now, having the time of their bleeding lives, while I have to stand here and tell you that you fucked up! You. Fucked. Up."

Lupin shook his head dazedly. "What she does with her time–"

Sirius' withering stare could have peeled paint. "Don't give me that dung, Moony – just don't. None of that 'it's her life' business – she's your bloody girl and you're letting her get away."

The snake, that had never disappeared from Lupin's body only lain dormant, suddenly struck with a vengeance and Lupin held in a gasp from the pain of thinking of Nymphadora Tonks enjoying the company of another man.

Three weeks before it had been a possibility, Tonks wanting to get to know and be with Lazenby, but now it was real and it was happening as he just sat there and tried not to shake with the feelings coursing through him – the rage, the agony, the…jealousy.

He could finally name that snake coiled inside him and greedily eyeing his heart with glistening fangs.

Lupin could see Tonks now, sat in some romantic and expensive restaurant which he could never have taken her with his lack of money, laughing and smiling at Lazenby with candlelight around them making her skin glow so beautifully…

He could see her accepting his offer of a drink back at his place, and he could see that twinkle of seduction – the one that had only been for him before – sparkle in her eye as Lazenby led her outside to Apparate away…

He could see her pulling Lazenby through his own door with seductive grace, her eyes smouldering as she eyed his lips and pressed her body close to his in invitation…

He could see her body, bare and beneath Lazenby's, arching and writhing as she let her plump pink lips part to release an earth-shattering moan of pure pleasure while the boy thrust into–

Everything inside him exploded with rage.

Lupin leapt from the chair and grasped Sirius by the collar of his shirt. "Where did they go?"

His voice was rough – full of pure, unrestrained fury.

Sirius' eyes widened as Lupin's breathing became harsh panting. "Maybe you should–"

Lupin growled, and the sound was only remotely human. "Where did they go, Sirius?"

"Gallagher's."

Lupin stood in an alley across from Naomi Gallagher's restaurant – it was exactly the place he had pictured; expensive, romantic, and completely out of his league.

Through the windows he could see diners eating by candlelight, and he could just imagine the soft music that was surrounding Tonks in there as she lovingly gazed across at a man who wasn't him.

He huddled further into his cloak, ignoring the cold wind biting at him – he hated himself for not seeing clearly earlier, for not going to Tonks and laying himself prostrate at her feet while begging her to take him and to love him as he loved her.

Sirius had been right – he was a prick.

Suddenly the door to Gallagher's opened and he stood up straighter in recognition.

Lupin squinted at the two figures – one was definitely Lazenby, with his arms around a woman at his side…but the woman was blonde.

'I hate turning blonde – it makes my brown eyes look huge, and then I have to change my eyes… In short, Remus, turning blonde means a lot of unnecessary work on my part, and I'll never do it again…'

As Tonks' words rang in his mind, the two people came closer and stepped under a streetlight.

The woman was definitely not Tonks.

Of course, Tonks was a Metamorphmagus so she could be anyone she wanted…but there were the words that Tonks had uttered to him on that mission and something about the way that the woman moved in her short black dress, clinging to Lazenby's arm that was decidedly un-Tonks-like.

Tonks didn't like being blonde, and she also didn't totter about on high heels – she was more practical, and she walked like she had somewhere to be…

Lupin suddenly knew where she would be, and immediately Apparated to Tonks' flat.

He had only visited once, after a mission the two of them had been assigned to, seeing her home safely, but he remembered which flat was hers in the large grey block she lived in – he stood in front of her door, number thirty, and immediately lifted a finger to press against the small buzzer beside the door.

As he reached, a wand shot out of nowhere and pressed against his throat.

It was dark, no light was shed in the walkway outside Tonks' door, and he couldn't see the owner of the wand…but they suddenly spoke.

"What were the last words I spoke to you?"

Tonks, his heart sighed wistfully.

His entire being buzzed with electricity knowing she was so near, yet his heart sunk a little at the thought of bringing up the last time they had spoken – the night he stood her up.

"Wotcher. Eleven. Library. Don't be late."

There was a resigned huff. "Well, it is you then, Remus. Had to be sure, of course – never thought I'd see you willingly on my doorstep."

The wand was lowered and Tonks stepped out from the darkest of the shadows – Lupin's heart clenched at how surprised she was to see him and to hear those words from her; she doubted him so much.

And he had given her so much reason to.

Never again, he thought.

Tonks didn't move to open the door to her flat.

"May I come in?" He asked politely, in a hushed voice.

Tonks' eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Wow. Really?"

Oh, Tonks… What have I done to you?

"Yes. Really," he murmured, taking in the way her dark eyes held a sudden sparkle and her dark purple hair brightened a fraction.

The door opened with a wave of her wand and she silently ushered him inside – Lupin's eyes found a flat that was so very Tonks.

The floors were carpeted thickly in dark red and Lupin could see that the walls were white beneath the numerous posters and photographs, moving and unmoving, as he moved into what seemed to be the main living area. There was a fireplace to the right, in front of which was a large red settee, and immediately ahead was a small open-plan kitchen. To the left was an open door, and beyond he could see the mess that was her bedroom…

He couldn't help but smile.

"What?" came a soft voice to his right.

He turned to see Tonks shaking off her cloak to reveal fuzzy blue pyjamas.

Lupin sighed happily, "Merlin, Tonks."

She looked up. "Wha–?"

Before she could finish, he had gripped her hips tightly and slanted his mouth over hers.

Warmth rushed through his body, tingles rocketed up his spine, and he could only think that this was heaven – her body against his, her lips against his…all his.

She gave a vague noise of surprise, making him tighten his grip on her hips and press his mouth harder against hers in a searing kiss that left him shell-shocked.

And then…her hands came up.

Lupin moaned as they crawled up his chest, pushing off his cloak, before delving their way into his hair – Tonks squirmed closer, her mouth parting deliciously against his.

Lupin took his chance and swiped his tongue across her bottom lip, before gently but insistently pressing his tongue into her mouth – Tonks gasped, and he immediately pulled back.

She doesn't want this… Oh–

She stared up at him with glazed eyes for less than a second…before pouncing – she jumped, her legs wrapping themselves around Lupin's waist and her arms going around his neck.

He grunted and grasped her tightly as she fused their mouths once more – her tongue duelled his, urging him to give her more…and he was oh, so willing to.

"Dora," he gasped against her mouth as they parted for breath, using the name for her that he had only ever used in his mind before.

Her flushed face met his, her lips red from his kisses. "What is this, Remus?"

Her sweet, hot breath washed over him, and he was lost.

"I want you. I need you," he breathed, peppering her face with kisses as he held her against him whilst she clung on tightly.

"No tricks? You won't stop…won't say no?" She gasped as he nibbled her neck.

"Never. Never again. Be mine," he pleaded.

The sound that came from her throat set him on fire – her bit at her neck harder, scraping his blunt teeth across her tender pale skin, in an effort to hear it once more…for the sound to be his and his alone…

"Please, Remus."

Her pleading undid him, and though he wanted her on a soft bed whilst he slowly and tenderly saw that every inch of her was pleasured beyond belief…he knew he could not go slowly this first time.

The settee called.

Lupin strode to it, before kneeling in front of it and urging Tonks up on the soft wide cushions – she went reluctantly, untangling her limbs, obviously unwilling for her to be apart from him any longer than necessary.

He smiled. "I know."

With that, he reached for her pyjamas – within seconds they lay scattered to the wayside.

And she was bare before him.

He took her in, every splendid inch of her – her now-bright pink hair, her slender body with its soft curves, her tip-tilted and perfectly rounded breasts, and her long, long legs…

He gently but insistently parted her knees with his hands – she opened up to him slowly, and his breath caught in his throat when he finally saw her pink curl-covered sweet haven.

And, by Merlin–

"You're so wet," Lupin groaned roughly, his arousal pulsing against the buttons of his trousers.

"Remus…" She panted, and at the sound of his name he dove forwards between her thighs.

Tonks cried out, her hands flying to his buried head and digging into his hair – her hips bucked against his mouth as his tongue sought out her tender bundle of nerves between her wet folds.

He found it…and his tongue lashed out – Tonks thrashed as Lupin gripped her hips, tasting her thick and fragrant sweetness as he tugged and pleasantly tortured her nub.

Her hands urged him on, and on, and on, until…

"Remus! Yes!"

She shook and shuddered as his eager tongue roved over every inch of her hot, wet sex – she came down from her high slowly, and once her gaze finally settled on his he lifted his mouth from her.

She sighed, reaching for the fastenings to his clothes, "Again. More. I need you."

The same need resonated within him.

"Lie back, Dora. Let me show you how much you mean to me, how sorry I am I took this long…"

His clothes were gone in a matter of moments, his wand falling soundlessly to the floor after them along side Tonks'.

Tonks lay back slowly, her skin glowing brightly with satiation and her eyes sparkling with still-unfulfilled desire – Lupin followed her, his body now as bare as hers.

The fire's warmth washed over their naked bodies, and Lupin sighed as Tonks parted her legs for him once more – his hips nestled against hers, his solid length brushing her quivering heat, and he couldn't help but kiss her once more, so softly the kiss barely even existed.

"Be mine," he murmured once more, aching for her to say something more before he filled her.

"You don't need to ask," she breathed, and pulled his hips to hers completely.

Lupin gasped as she took him in, her velvet walls caressing him so beautifully – he gave a thrust automatically as all the sensations of being within her washed over him, and then it was Tonks' turn to gasp.

His name fell from her lips, and he couldn't help but reciprocate…before his hips pulled back and thrust forward once more.

Tonks cried out, throwing her head back as he continued, and Remus panted against her slender swan-like neck – his hands roved her body, before finally stilling on her left breast and right thigh.

He hitched her leg higher, over his hip, and he threw his head back in pure pleasure as he hit come spot deep within Tonks that made him see stars.

He looked back down at her to see her gazing up at him.

"More, Remus. More," she panted, pulling him down to her for a breath-stealing and toe-curling kiss that robbed him of all his sanity.

His thrusts became merciless, his fingers turned desperate in their teasing of her breast and skin, and he couldn't not watch with eager fascination and loving awe as Tonks fell apart once more beneath him.

"Yes," he urged breathlessly, his forehead pressed to hers as he looked into her dark eyes. "Come with me, Dora. Fall over the edge."

And she did.

She arched, her mouth falling open in silent pleasure, as her walls shook with spasms around his rock-solid length – it took only a moment to feel her ultimate pleasure, before Lupin felt his own drawn out by hers.

He cried out wordlessly, feeling himself swell and twitch within Tonks' tight heat – he spilled himself within her, panting and clinging to her as colours flashed before his eyes in rapid succession.

And then the heat that had flashed over his skin receded, and he was left shakily holding himself over Tonks as she breathed heavily beneath him.

His arms shook more violently in his effort to keep his weight off of her – Lupin saw Tonks smile, before she caught him off-guard and tugged him down fully on top of her.

"I can handle it," Tonks murmured lazily against the top of Lupin's head as he laid his head between her breasts. "I'm a big girl."

Lupin laughed breathlessly, his arms winding around her waist. "You're so wonderful."

She sighed, "Took you a while. What made you see?"

Lupin shook off the remnants of his earlier rage and jealousy, unwilling to let them ruin the utter peace he was feeling with her right then.

"Bloody Lazenby," he muttered against her skin.

"Romulus? Why?"

And she sounded genuinely stumped.

Lupin turned to look up at Tonks, resting his chin on her sternum as she gently pushed his hair out of his eyes and off of his sweaty forehead.

"You like him. He likes you. He asked you out."

Tonks stared at him blankly for a moment…before throwing her head back and laughing loudly – Lupin just stared in utter bemusement, waiting for her to calm down.

When her body stopped shaking, she looked back at him. "You thought…"

He raised an eyebrow as she trailed off. "He asked you out tonight."

Tonks nodded. "True. He did, but I couldn't go. I just…couldn't. Wasn't over you, you see – great big prat. But…you thought I liked him?"

Lupin frowned and nodded. "He seemed…nice – maybe your type."

"Well, unless he's older than he looks with a hidden bookish streak and is actually a werewolf…then he's not my type at all. Not to mention he's a total arsehole anyway."

Lupin stared up at her…before breaking out into a full-blown grin. "I'm your type?"

"The one and only," she murmured, smiling softly and pulling him up towards her for a soft, sweet kiss.

Lupin smiled against her lips. "You're mine."

"You're mine?" She replied teasingly, with a cocked eyebrow.

"You don't need to ask," he quoted her, and fell into the sweet peace she offered once more.

Author's note: