Remus sat in the kitchen at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, his head in his hands, not really reading the book that was open in front of him.

Dora.

What on Earth was going on?

He supposed she wasn't thinking much about it--a kiss, that was all. One kiss. One sweet, unexpected, incredible, brilliant kiss.

With Dora, not to put too fine a point on that.

"Filthy old man," he muttered to himself. "Mid-life crisis. Cradle robber."

He tried to think of other terms, but they weren't coming to mind. He was sure that he'd hear all possible variations on the theme if he started to make it a regular habit to kiss Dora Tonks.

But she had tasted so sweet. And her hands in his hair. And--

"Stop," he said aloud. "Just stop."

He got up to get something to eat--anything, really--and vaguely heard Buckbeak moving around upstairs. Mrs. Black's portrait was muttering darkly in the hall, as it frequently did when it thought it was alone.

Dora almost certainly wouldn't be thinking about it this much. She was a beautiful girl--woman--well, girl-woman, he supposed--and she probably didn't lack for suitors, though Remus had never heard her mention any of them. She'd looked a bit surprised when they'd parted (her lips still slightly parted, puffy from being kissed, her eyes slightly glazed, her hand resting on his shoulder, her... OH, STOP IT!), but surely nothing more. He would have to stop this. He didn't want things to be awkward for her. So he'd said nothing before he left.

Better nothing than the wrong thing. No need to throw away two decades for what she probably considered a moment's whim.

And a ridiculous one, really. He was thirty-eight; she was twenty-three. He'd been her Latin tutor, for heaven's sake, and had sat with her while her parents were out. It was inappropriate in the first place for him to think about how smooth the skin on her neck had been, or how warm the palms of her hands were, or what her hair smelled like, or...

He took a sharp breath. Inappropriate.

She was barely older than his students.

He turned.

She was standing beside the table, an eyebrow raised inquisitively. He hadn't even heard her come in.

"Something wrong?" she asked, her voice a bit cool.

"Hmmm? Oh, no. I didn't hear you come in."

"Auntie cursed at me for nearly five minutes."

"Oh. Was it you she was talking to?"

"Yes. Some people do that. I know it's a bit radical."

Remus sighed. "Look, Dora, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"I wish I didn't need to ask what you were apologizing for."

"For kissing you."

"That's what I was afraid of," she said and turned, heading for the door. She stopped before she got there. "Blast, Remus, why are you sorry about that? Why aren't you sorry about just wandering off afterward without saying so much as 'Nice day, Dora'?"

"Well, I--"

"What's going on here, Remus?"

He waited to see if she would actually let him answer the question, then sat down at the table. "I kissed you," he said, not sure what else to say.

"I noticed."

"You're young. And I'm... not."

She sat down across from him, letting out her breath explosively. "Dammit, Remus, if this is about the age business..."

"It is. Dora, you... you're young," he said again. "You have so many things to see and do. So many people. I'm not young anymore. I'm not..." He looked away. "I'm not looking to kiss a girl and then kiss another one next week. I'm looking for... more. And I know you're not, and I don't want you to be trapped in this because you care for me."

She was quiet for a long time, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're right," she said. "Maybe you do want more than I do. I want something very small. Hardly anything really."

"Whatever you'd like."

"As long as I can remember, it's something I've wanted."

"What?"

"I want..." She bit her lip. "I want to come from work at night, and find you here. And I want to tell you what I've been doing all day, and I want you to tell me what you've been doing. I want to have dinner together, and I want to stand in the doorway and listen to you reading fairy stories to our children. And then I want to go to bed with you, and make love to you, and fall asleep in your arms. And then I want to wake up in the morning, kiss you, and head off to work, then come home and do it all again.

"Like I said, nothing big."

Remus just blinked at her, not at all sure what to say.

"Oh, bugger," she said, getting up. "I'm making quite the fuss over one kiss, aren't I? From kiss to fairy stories in one afternoon. I'm sorry. I've gone and spoiled it, haven't I?"

"No."

"I have, I know. I've made you uncomfortable."

"No." He stood and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her around. "No, Dora. I... I never wanted anything as much as the life you just described."

"Then what's standing in the way?"