Just The Way You Are: A Ronks Story

Ham Sandwich

Tonks had been mainly avoiding Remus since they had made up. It made her feel uncomfortable, knowing that she'd have to live with the knowledge she'd kicked the man she loved.  So, she thought it best to avoid Remus, and give him a break from her. "He doesn't want to talk to me," she told herself one morning as she sat on the back porch. "He doesn't want to."

Tonks only eased her conscience by reminding herself that Remus still loved her, and all was forgiven. Remus had forgiven Tonks, but Tonks hadn't forgiven herself. Sad.

Meanwhile, Remus simply didn't understand why Tonks was ignoring him. Had he done something wrong? Forgotten a date? The reasons seemed endless. What took his mind off the mystery of Tonks, was Halloween. Sirius was playing Halloween tricks and treats-- minus the treats.

"Sirius, why don't you give people the 'treat' part of trick-or-treat?" suggested Remus.

"Because the trick part is more fun! Duh!" Sirius rolled his eyes. "Also, where am I going to get treats?"

"I'll buy them for you, just stop tricking everyone!"

"Ha! You just don't want any more Silly String on your sweater vests!" scoffed Sirius.

"Well... yes. But I also care about others!"

"Riiight," smirked Sirius. "But fine, I'll give others treats if you guy them."

"Deal," said Remus. He was immersed in Moby Dick  again. He wondered why Tonks had given it back. He had already forgotten what he got if he won the bet, and it didn't seem like Tonks to give up so easily. Maybe it was out of guilt. Maybe it wasn't. It was hard to tell.

Tonks herself suddenly ran down the stairs. Completely ignoring Remus, she raced up to Sirius. "Sirius!"

"Yes?"

"Did you spill slime all over my folder?" asked Tonks.

"No," said Sirius instantly. 

"Ha, ha. Tell the truth." Tonks's hands flew to her hips.

Remus coughed, wanting to make his presence known. "Uh, guys? I'm still here."

"Oh... Hi." Tonks greeted him anxiously.

"Did you forget about me?" asked Remus, raising his eyebrows.

"No... I just... haven't seen you in a while, so..." Tonks trailed off.

"And whose fault is that?"

Tonks looked around absently before she answered. "Mine," said Tonks in a small voice. "It's all my fault." She looked unhappy.

"What do you mean?" asked Remus.

Sirius was trying to sneak away unnoticed, but accidentally knocked over the coffee table, which fell with a loud crash. He ran the rest of the way out of the room.

"Nothing, nothing," said Tonks. She picked at her sleeve, very interested with a loose thread. She pulled on it, but it held firm.

"Tell me what's bothering you," said Remus gently.

"No," said Tonks. She looked at her nonexistent watch. "Oh, wow, look at the time, I've got to go!" Tonks headed for the door, but Remus caught her sleeve as she went past.

"Look, just forget about whatever's bothering you, or I'm going to force it out of you," said Remus.

"Fine, fine. Bye!" Tonks zoomed out the door, closing it before she realized how big of a mistake she'd made. "I don't have anywhere to go," she muttered, sitting down on the top step of the front porch. "Why did I tell him I had to go? It looks like it's going to rain!"

Ominous gray clouds had gathered in the sky, and a few raindrops were falling. Tonks sighed and zipped up her sweater, pulling the hood over her head. She sat there for a few minutes, before Remus found her. She wasn't very wet, since she'd been shielded by the roof over the porch, but she was cold.

"Want to talk?" asked Remus.

"Not really. That might make it worse." Tonks glumly rested her chin in her hands.

"Well, how long do you plan to sit out here?"

"Until I get eaten by the mountain lions around Grimmauld Place."

"Well, can I sit with you, I mean, not until you get eaten, but until you change your mind?"

"Sure."

Remus plopped down on the step beside Tonks, who leaned against him. "Do you want to come inside now?" asked Remus. Tonks shook her head. Remus drummed his fingers against his thigh. "How about now?"

"No! I told you, I'm not coming inside until mountain lions eat me!"

"How nice." Remus rolled his eyes. "Look, you need to forgive yourself. Please? For me?"

"I can't." Tears pricked at the corners of Tonks's eyes. "You don't understand how hard it is for me. I feel awful!"

"I get it, but I'm not mad, so you shouldn't be either." Remus hugged Tonks. "I love you, and that isn't going to change. How about now?"

"Well... okay." Tonks got up. Remus, groaning about his joints, stood up too. Tonks gave a shaky laugh.

"When you get older, your legs will complain too!" Remus opened the door, and stood back for Tonks to go in.

Tonks shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Let's play Sorry."

"No, I hate that game."

"I love you even when you lose."

"How nice."

Tonks set up the Sorry board on top of the coffee table, (turned right-side-up again.) "Ready to lose?"

"Not really." Remus sighed and sat across from Tonks, who yelped, "I call yellow!"

After five games of sorry, five of which Remus lost, dinner was ready. (Pizza.) Mrs. Weasley had declared that she was, "sick and tired of cooking, and for once could they make their own food, for heaven's sake, what were they going to do when she was gone back to her own house?" Sirius, the hero, had ordered seven large pizzas for a pizza party, plus gummy bears, ice cream, brownies, and jelly beans.

There was even a bowl of doggy ice cream for Sneakers.

"Wuf!" she barked, her muzzle covered in strawberry. "Wuf!"

"Aw, she's saying thank you for thinking of her! Isn't it cute?" Tonks looked adoringly at the little dog.

"Um, yeah," said Sirius. "It's kind of creepy, the way she's staring at me." He backed away from Sneakers, who ran after him.

"She loves you!" cheered Tonks.

"Aw, cute!" Sirius patted Sneakers on the head. Sneakers barked, ran over to a pizza box, and nosed the lid. When she couldn't get it open, she dragged it to Sirius for help. He obligingly gave her a piece of sausage pizza.

"Good doggy," said Sirius.

"Wuf!"

Author's note: I really want pizza now :)

"Do you have anything healthy?" asked Remus, eyeing the dessert.

"Of course I do!" Sirius sounded offended. He reached into a while trash bag, and pulled out five bags of chips, all different kinds. "Care for some cheetos?"

"I'm going to order some salad," sighed Remus.

Sneakers barked happily.

"She wants some too," observed Tonks.

"Uh, sure, is it safe for dogs to eat salad?" asked Remus.

"I suppose, if they eat grass," shrugged Tonks.

Remus turned to the phone. "One salad, please, no ranch, and a ham sandwich."