A quite meal [OPEN!]

[Nymphadora Tonks]

He wasn't moving his legs away from her feet, so Tonks promptly leapt on the opportunity. Or rather, shimmied subtly; it was best not to 'leap' when it came to Remus. It'd be more or less like leaping at a skittish animal. Not that he was skittish; he was one of the calmest men she knew. But he was also one of the most self-defeating. Determined not to be happy, he was. Not even a little. Still, even if he'd sat straighter, he didn't move, and thus, Tonks surreptiously tightened her foot's hold on his ankle, shifting the toe of her boot so it looped 'just so' around the heel of the man across from her.

She'd gotten pretty damn good, if she said so herself. A year or so back, and she'd have been incapable of doing such things - especially with someone she was utterly, thoroughly attracted to and very much liked - while still carrying on a normal conversation. But she did, sipping at her mug of butterbeer and promptly snorting into it as he attempted to defend himself so stoutly against her playful accusations. Not that she minded him trying to do that; it was bloody adorable. And it had him smiling again, which was always her aim when she was with him.

"No, forgive me, you're right. It wouldn't be tea that would hold the honour of Remus-Lupin-Fetish. That would chocolate."

Though the rest of her face was hidden, there was no denying the flirtatious sparkle in the young Auror's eyes this time as she peered over her mug, coyly challenging. For a moment, the colour in her eyes seemed to shift and lighten so it was exactly the colour of warm, melted chocolate, but it was subtle enough that one who knew her natural eye colour - the brown she'd been wearing up to that point - might think it was simply a trick of the light, the glimmer in her gaze.

Of course, she promptly took on an offended look when he teased her culinary skills, the mug dropping to the table with a clunk for emphasis. Leaning forward (though with the way she'd been lounging, she'd had to tighten her leg hold on his foot to keep her from slipping backwards), she made a playful swipe that didn't connect at his shoulder, eyes glittering with mock anger and challenge.

"I'll have you know; I've had them long enough to cook with them, Professor! And they're still intact, so there!"

Tonks stuck her tongue out childishly, though anything else she might have done was put aside when she was forced to sit back and let dinner be served - Tom had finally arrived with their meal.

"Looks brilliant, Tom. Thanks," Tonks chirped, as if she hadn't been flirting outrageously a moment ago. When he was gone, she poked at her own shepherd's pie, inhaling deeply the scent of cooked meat underneath the crusting before eyeing Remus's just as playfully as she had before.

"I think yours is bigger than mine. And you could come shopping with me; I don't mind." She grinned a bit, though her eyes did finally take on a slightly more soulful look of concern. "Unless you're too tired, of course."

[Remus Lupin]

It did not go beyond Remus' notice as Dora's foot moved every so slowly and covertly to wrap around his ankle. Part of him thought to move then in case she thought it was the table rather than him, but he didn't, despite the fact that it was kind of clear that this was no accident. It was bad for him to allow such things but what was wrong with feet coming into contact it wasn't too romantic and it wasn't involved. Dora was his friend after all. Why did things have to be so difficult balancing things between being a friend and not being a romantic interest? Dora was better off with someone other than him. Besides she couldn't be interested in him, he was a werewolf, and he was quite a bit older than her. It was wrong and it just couldn't be, but those were thoughts and concerns better saved for a later time. Right now he was having to defend his honor against uncalled for judgement about his having a fetish.

Remus chuckled when Dora conceded that tea wasn't his fetish but rather chocolate. "If I could argue you on that one I would, but I am not blind to my love of chocolate. It's just a matter that it helps, I know there have been studies on the effects chocolate has on people and how it counter acts the effects of a Dementor, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are additional befits that have yet to be studies such as the effect it has with people like me." It was an interesting topic and something Remus would love to study but at the same time found near impossible seeing as he was an outsider to those like him as he tried to live as a human rather than a wolf, and the alternative was not something he wanted to address.

Of course chocolate wasn't the only thing they had been talking about but her cooking skills as well, and Remus couldn't help the smile that played on his lips as she tried to swipe at him, failing to notice how her foot tightened around his. "Color me impressed!" he remarked with a smile his eyes crinkling a bit in the process. "Though that still doesn't dictate if it was edible or not." He loved to tease Dora, domestic she was not but that added to her charm, she wasn't like every other woman, not that Remus was looking mind. He couldn't be looking, but still Dora was something unique, something special.

Then Tom brought the food and it smelled heavenly. Remus smiled and said a quiet thank you to Tom before the man left. Remus picked up his fork and was ready to tuck in when Dora spoke again mentioning that his looked bigger. "Don't tell me you are jealous," quipped Remus a playful smile sitting on his lips fork poised over his pie. "And I should be alright for a bit of shopping. I know I probably look terrible but I'm better than I appear." This was both true and false, Remus was feeling alright and knew that sleep would probably avoid him if he went to lay down, but at the same time he could sense that he was tired, it was made all the more clear to him when he was faced with the warm meal, but he supposed that once he ate he would be feeling better and catch a second wind, besides he didn't want to pass up a bit of time with good company such as Dora even if in some aspects it was like playing with fire.

[Nymphadora Tonks]

Tonks didn't consider herself a romantic at heart. Not really. One might even call her cynical for her age. They're were very few things that could genuinely butter her up or soften her usual brazen resolve, and she certainly wasn't the type to get giggly or find something heartmeltingly adorable. Let alone heartmeltingly adorable and hilariously funny all in one. No, they were usually quite seperate, which was not unsurprising, considering her sense of humour.

But even though she'd been teasing him about it, flirting even, they're was something undeniably sweet even as it was amusing about Remus when he got into...well...Professor Lupin mode, for lack of a better description. His tone of voice took on a distinct change (that perhaps only she noticed, but who cared) and he'd sit straighter, and even if he adopted a serious expression, his eyes would brighten up with a thoughtful, almost eager interest that Tonks could only describe as schoolboyish.

And this over chocolate. Chocolate. It couldn't be anything but bloody adorable, and she just about wanted to grab his coat lapels from across the table and--

Okaaaay, down girl. You're going to give yourself a conniption.

Tonks managed to impress even herself with her show of discipline then, both at resisting the urge to do such a thing and her actually not doing something to hide her embarrassment - such as a bawdy, overly loud laugh or something undoubtably clumsy and painful - at such a pattern of thoughts. But no, she did quite admirably (maybe even attractively, the rather naughty, magenta-haired part of her mind whispered playfully), simply shaking her head slightly and smiling warmly before sticking a spoonful of hot pie in her mouth.

Though of course, he wouldn't let the matter of her cooking rest, and her noise of appreciation at the delicious potato and mince quickly turned to one of indignation; she widened dark eyes that glittered with that very emotion (and maybe, just maybe, a little amusement) and likely would have dropped her jaw in that manner people did if she'd wanted to end up giving Remus a very unattractive view of her half-eaten dinner. Then again, maybe she should do just that; he'd deserve it, the smartassy git.

"Well, smartass, you'll just have to come over one day and find out for yourself, won't you?"

Was that too forward? She couldn't help but wonder if it was; she didn't think it was, considering friends asked friends over all the time. But you never knew...bah. Who cared. He could take it as he liked - leave him in the open about it and let him muse him over it, if he liked. Which he very likely could; she knew Remus Lupin rather well, she liked to think, and she knew he was never not thinking about something, turning it over and over in his head. It was another of those things both adorably enduring and frustratingly hilarious about him. But still, Tonks let it be, pushing on with the rest of their conversation even as she stuck another warm, utterly yummy - Tom really was not given the credit he was due for a good counter meal - bit of pie into her mouth.

"I know," --she had indeed seen him worse off, though the slightly softer edge to her tone was more fond than troubled with reminiscence -- "I just wanted to make sure. Some of us do worry about you, ya know."

Especially me.

Swallowing, Tonks blinked, shaking her head slightly and grinning with more of her usual distinct mischief again. "You're lucky I don't need any new clothes; I could have you consigned to an evening of sitting uncomfortably in clothing stores and accessory stands, forcing you to wait while I tried on shirt after shirt of the same make but a different colour and deal with an overtly friendly assistant witch. Imagine that."

Or, you know, I could force you to sit in the middle of a sexy lingerie shop, too. Now *that* would be definitely interesting.

[Remus Lupin]

Professor Lupin mode as Dora so liked to call it was something that was un-realized by Remus. He didn't know that he so easily lapsed into a professorish nature as he talked about facts and information he learned and was then sharing with another. It was a natural subconscious thing. Really he didn't even think of those moments of being professorish but rather just talking, because to him and in his mind he acted and sounded different in a classroom. If his tone changed in that instant of just talking about the scientific befits of chocolate then his tone and mannerisms were in a whole other class when faced with a classroom of students teaching a lesson. That wasn't to say he went stodgy when he taught he had fun teaching and in some cases his passion for learning was infectious it was just a matter that he was different when truly teaching particularly a classroom.

Yet, the whole teaching process and what he was like was a different story for a different time. At present, his eyes had drifted to Dora's perfect lips as they closed around a spoon full of food. It was a simple act, but something about the way she did it with a light shake of her head in response to his words derailed him and all of his thoughts save for ones that shouldn't even be there in the first place. They were wrong, he was too old. Why did such simple things about Dora send some of his senses in a tizzy? Merlin help him if this kept up, it was going to be a long night. Remus couldn't imagine what things would have been like if they were closer to a new or worse a full moon. That was the last thing Remus needed dealing with Dora and what she does to him when particular aspects of his life were kicked into overdrive and he wasn't meaning his desire for red meat either. And that was when she told him he would need to come over to her house and try her cooking.

At those words there was a sudden rock in the pit of his stomach was that an invite of a particular nature, one that he knew better than to accept? He wanted to ask but at the same time thought better of it and shoved a bite of food in his mouth to delay a response for a moment at least. "That confident are you?" he asked with a teasing smile after swallowing his food getting himself back into control and thinking that just maybe he skirted around the issue of going over to her house for the time being. Again it wasn't an issue of seeing or spending time with Dora in general it was more a matter of well, romantic interest that seemed to be lying right there under the surface and could never be brought to light. It was a fire that should never be played with.

Then Dora explained her question about his strength telling that she and the others did grow concerned from time to time. A small smile graced his face, "I know." there was a softness in his voice that spoke more than words could expressing how much he appreciated and was touched by the concern. It was something though more common now than when he was younger floored him. Why would anyone care about a werewolf and yet there Dora was along with a few others whom he would term close friends expressing care and concern for him, a werewolf. "I appreciate it." he did finally try though the words fell flat in comparison to the tone of voice when she first spoke in regards to Dora's concern.

Then Dora threatened clothes shopping and Remus chuckled again before taking another bite of food. "Wow, I didn't know you were one of those types." he joked lightly taking a bite. Dora didn't seem to him as the type to spend hours debating over a top and finding not only the perfect fit but the perfect color. Besides going clothes shopping with a woman as a man generally indicated that their relationship was significantly closer than what it was. It was one thing to stop with a casual female friend to pick up an accessory or so but to go store to store waiting hours upon hours as she tried on clothes was a different story. It was a mark of commitment and a relationship that just wasn't there for the two of them, at least shouldn't be there considering what he was.

[Nymphadora Tonks]

They weren't exactly the most eloquent words of encouragement one might want to hear. They'd risk sounding polite, even, to the unknowing or the ignorant. But she knew better. For whatever reasons she could never quite comprehend, Remus struggled to believe that people genuinely cared for him, or liked things about him. She also knew that when it came to Remus, actions and inflections were a lot more accurate than mere words, and thus, she took the softened warmth in his tone for it's full value and quietly basked in that, offering him a soft half-smile between bites before the spoonful of shepherd's pie occupied her mouth again. Letting him know, even a little, that even if she didn't understand it all the time, or always agree, she still got it then, at least.

And that was thing when it came to Remus. Once you got to know him at least somewhat well, took the effort to do so, you couldn't help but want to figure things out about him. Or maybe that was just her wanting to do that, and Tonks did her best not think on that too much lest the evil part of her mind accuse her of being stalkerish. Which she stubbornly maintained not to be; it wasn't stalkerish to genuinely care. Which she did. Far too much, really, she'd begun to acknowledge, thoroughly ignoring the hideous little alarm bells borne from instinct in her head - the ones who'd made her promise to never get deeply involved again, to not walk and run like hell after Evan that mere year and a half ago.

For the moment, though, Tonks firmly pushed such thoughts to the very back of her mind; she'd be damned if she was going to let them ruin what was an all too rare occurence, or rarer than it should have been. Simply spending time with a friend, a good, dear friend. Just sharing a meal. Chatting about everything (because that had always been far too easy to do with Remus), and enjoying the warmth of it that had nothing to do with hooking one's feet around the other friend's ankle.

Thus, she took his comment for the bait it was, doing her damnest to maintain a serious face but ultimately failing at the chuckle, her features melting into a playful pout in response for catching her out on her little white lie.

"I suppose everything I've ever worn around you probably speaks for itself whether I try to lie or not, doesn't it?" Tonks crinkled her nose with comical delicacy; it was well-known that she grew bored quickly with the mundane and disliked the concept of being part of the general crowd, and though she didn't consider herself personally a menace - rebellious yes, but not a menace - her quirky nature reflected almost exactly in the clothes she wore. None of which would ever be the same style in different colours. It would be a different colour and a different style, thanks very much.

Still, it didn't stop her being cheeky, and she did so, crinkling her nose at him with mock reluctance. Despite the fact that this too was technically a lie, considering Tonks enjoyed reading as much - though probably not more - as the man in front of her did.

"I suppose if you won't let me trawl a clothing store, it'll have to be a book store, then. Get you a thoroughly boring book to go with the gigantic mug of doom."

[Remus Lupin]

It wasn't just a matter that Remus found it hard to understand the concept that someone could actually care for him, it defied all logic. Society said that these people upon discovering what he was should live in fear of him and keep him at minimum an arm's length away. He knew it too. He knew not only should they keep away but she should keep away from them, particularly if he claimed to care for them. But that was why he tried to make them understand, have them know what danger he posed but none realized just how dangerous the wolf in him was. Most people believed that he was in control and that he would never harm them but they didn't know the struggle how even in his waking hours in human form the wolf liked to rampage and want to get out and it was a constant struggle. He really should create the distance between himself and those he cared abotu if he truly cared for them, but then again he was an inherently selfish man struggling to give up what he wanted for the sake of others. Damn him and his inability to do what was best for those he cared about. (Of course it didn't help that those he cared about didn't understand and fought him every step of the way. It was why he kept moons to himself (mostly) and didn't allow anything to get much closer than friendship.

But his mind didn't stay with his dark thoughts as Dora was speaking once more about her sense of style. "Indeed your sense of style does belie the concept of being the type to spend hours on end shopping for that perfect article of clothing." He gave a whimsical smile. He had always admired Dora's style she was unique and her own person with how she dressed, she didn't seem to care if it wasn't it, just that it suited her and was comfortable. It was amazing how that quirky style and attitude looked amazing on her, and it was here that Remus stopped his thoughts before they could trail any further already recognizing how dangerous it was to even start to think how attractive Dora was. It was no good he reminded himself as he looked down into his food to quietly distract himself from his thoughts.

"Come now, there isn't anything wrong with visiting a book store! That's a place of much more interest than a dress shop. Books open up a whole new world, and I don't read anything boring!" Remus found himself gesturing a bit emphatically with his fork for a moment before he brought it back down a little embarrassed by the sudden and unexpected passion he exuded defending his beloved books. Really there wasn't a need and he knew it as he could remember Dora reading a fair bit in the past.

[Nymphadora Tonks]

It was tempting to get indignant at him for the clothing comment. Taken wrong, it could easily be construed as an insult to her dress and appearance not that she put too much thought to it most days - colourful and smelling clean usually did the trick for Tonks - and even though she was far from insulted, it was...still...so tempting. Getting narky, just to watch poor Remus get into a fluster. Tempting to what was no doubt the cheeky shitstirrer Sirius had spend a great deal of his precious time cultivating in his little cousin, no doubt to the dismay - and likely wrath - of her mother, Andromeda.

And she certainly got away with a great deal more than Remus let most people get away with. Including Sirius. And...perhaps that was why, sometimes, she was loathe to torment or tease him. Especially now, when he'd just seen a full moon through and was obviously tired. Not to mention very hungry, if the way he was attacking the meaty shepherd's pie between conversational rejoinders was anything to go by. Thus, Dora kept her peace and kept her mouth shut, though there was no disguising the warmth in her dark eyes, the lopsided little smile that was part mischief, part affection, creeping to settle lopsidedly up one side of her heart-shaped face.

Especially when he began to talk of books. Or rather, mini-tirade on them, hand-waving included. Now that was adorable, and this time, Tonks couldn't quite stifle the laugh bubbling her throat, nearly choking on her food and just avoiding it by reaching for her butterbeer. Nor could she resist the urge to tease him now. Never could resist teasing for long, that Dora Tonks, not that she ever really tried.

"Oh yes, textbooks are dead interesting. Brilliant projectiles too, did you know that?"

[Remus Lupin]

When Remus had spoken about Dora’s sense of style he had not thought of how his words could be taken as an insult and if Dora had played it his words being such he would have been mortified at the very least and would have found himself believe her being affronted and back pedal and apologize profusely as he wasn’t meaning that Dora dressed poorly, she was simply meaning that if it looked nice and was suiting to her style and wants that was it there wasn’t a matter of asking if the article of clothing was more than perfect and then trying on seven different shades to find that perfect shade. Dora knew was the type who knew what she wanted and didn’t have to play around before making a decision at least that was the impression that Remus always seemed to get from the woman that was sitting across from him and that was what he liked so much about her.

After his moment of embarrassment about getting a bit overly emphatic about books he applied his fork to his food and even took a moment to take a bite of food, before a small smile played on his lips as Dora mentioned the uses of text books. A good deal of rather interesting memories pertaining to text books did play in his mind. Not only were the good projectiles they were rather useful weapons of mass destruction in a school setting, not to mention great for propping things up and excellent for spell practice. Those particular books suffered greatly at the hands of marauders which is surprising considering Remus deep love of books. Still it was what it was, and really some of them were old and outdated and textbooks seemed to be a class of their own.

"Well, there are those" he answered a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "But those aren't the books I read so much. Certainly I enjoy a good non-fiction as I do a fiction but that is not quite the same as textbooks". The slight smile turned into sly grin on his face as he spoke, memories of the past when it came to text books playing in his mind once more. "I'm quite well aware of the versatile uses of a poorly written book." He held impish look that speaks well of why he was indeed a marauder. ”But tonight isn’t a night for poorly written books. When it comes to a good mug of tea a good book typically needs to accompany it.” He gave a nod of his head before attacking his pie once more, not quite realizing his gusto for the food that was before him. Even shortly after the moon it was surprising the kind of eating habits he held because of the wolf.