Drabble Two: In the Face of Marriage
From the drabble meme, here is drabble Two, In the Face of Marriage for gilpin25, who requested Remus, Bill and/or Fleur, with the prompt 'face'. It's 776 words and teeters on the edge of G/PG.
In the Face of Marriage
'I'll spoil the wedding photos, with this face of mine,' I said when he asked me, asked me to stand beside him at the wedding. He laughed and said that it didn't matter, they weren't exactly hiring Witch Weekly's Photographer of the Year, even if they were the kind of couple who worried about such things as perfect wedding photos, and besides, he, Lupin, would ruin them well enough on his own, so how about it?
If anyone had asked me, which they didn't, I'd have said that Lupin was approaching this wedding in an almost business like fashion -- not in terms of organising it to the hilt, planning each second as a bride's mother might, but as a shady deal to be signed and sealed in a back alley manner; there was no joy in his demeanour, or at least, if there was, it wasn't something he showed in public. He was guarded at every turn, almost dictatorial in his manner with Tonks: I'll marry you, but on my terms -- or so it seemed to me.
She seemed oblivious to it all, happy to be a bride in waiting, at the brink of marrying the man of her dreams.
I was never sure why he asked me -- lycanthrope affected Order members together, perhaps? -- but I'm glad he did, because I'm not sure anyone else, certainly not my father, would have called him out on it all, risked tipping his resolve back in favour of reverting to disaffected werewolf, determined to suffer the long days in rightful solitude, as I did.
I can't claim that I changed him, but after I'd told him that terms and conditions are no way to lead a girl into marriage, especially one who would follow him to the ends of the earth and beyond, and he spoke softly, with assurance -- heartfelt and sincere; in his eyes was a light that betrayed his true feelings, and in his words a very real fear.
I don't think I realised how much I needed to see that from him until after the fact. My resolve to marry Fleur never wavered after the night at Hogwarts, only grew stronger, but watching Lupin struggle with his decision, doubt himself again, had begun to make me question myself. Unlike Lupin, I'd never considered the effect on Fleur, only that I knew I could not bear to part with her. If Lupin had walked away again, if he had not willingly and happily married, or taken flight once more, claiming it to be an act that preserves Tonks' chances of a proper life, I believe I might have been forced by guilt to reconsider.
The wedding took place on a sunny but breezy August day; with naught but myself as witness and the minister to preside, Remus Lupin married Nymphadora Tonks, and joy was present in equal measure on both their faces, hope weaved an impenetrable shield around them.
It wasn't until today, though, that I trusted it completely, when Lupin stumbled, in unconcealed and raw joy, through the doors of the home I share with woman who is my hope and my life, to bring the news of the birth of his son. He is brimming with pride, drunk on the new life he has so recently welcomed into the world, and I have to admit, it's a beacon on this otherwise ghastly night that buffets our house with wind and rain.
After everyone has said their cheery goodbyes and bade Lupin to pass on their messages of congratulations to Tonks, I walk with him to the door.
"Something I've wanted to ask you, Remus -- why did you ask me to stand with you on your wedding day?"
"You always seem ready to face anything life throws at you; you don't let circumstance or fate sway you from what you've always known to be right," he replies.
"Meaning that you always knew it was right that you and Tonks were together, you just needed reminding?"
"Something like that, yes," he says, opening the door and stepping out into the night.
"Thank you, Bill. Keep everyone safe."
With a step and a turn, he's gone, and I shut the door firmly and hope I've not just closed the door on our very last meeting. I long to take my wife upstairs, to hold her close and stroke her hair, which is so very soft, and perhaps make love... but I've a house full of guests and a duty to fulfil, so I put those thoughts on hold and head off to have a chat with a Chosen One about a goblin.
The End
Drabble one, Bedtime, can be found here. It's 750 odd words long and rated PG, features Remus, Teddy and Tonks, and is pure fluff.
In the Face of Marriage
'I'll spoil the wedding photos, with this face of mine,' I said when he asked me, asked me to stand beside him at the wedding. He laughed and said that it didn't matter, they weren't exactly hiring Witch Weekly's Photographer of the Year, even if they were the kind of couple who worried about such things as perfect wedding photos, and besides, he, Lupin, would ruin them well enough on his own, so how about it?
If anyone had asked me, which they didn't, I'd have said that Lupin was approaching this wedding in an almost business like fashion -- not in terms of organising it to the hilt, planning each second as a bride's mother might, but as a shady deal to be signed and sealed in a back alley manner; there was no joy in his demeanour, or at least, if there was, it wasn't something he showed in public. He was guarded at every turn, almost dictatorial in his manner with Tonks: I'll marry you, but on my terms -- or so it seemed to me.
She seemed oblivious to it all, happy to be a bride in waiting, at the brink of marrying the man of her dreams.
I was never sure why he asked me -- lycanthrope affected Order members together, perhaps? -- but I'm glad he did, because I'm not sure anyone else, certainly not my father, would have called him out on it all, risked tipping his resolve back in favour of reverting to disaffected werewolf, determined to suffer the long days in rightful solitude, as I did.
I can't claim that I changed him, but after I'd told him that terms and conditions are no way to lead a girl into marriage, especially one who would follow him to the ends of the earth and beyond, and he spoke softly, with assurance -- heartfelt and sincere; in his eyes was a light that betrayed his true feelings, and in his words a very real fear.
I don't think I realised how much I needed to see that from him until after the fact. My resolve to marry Fleur never wavered after the night at Hogwarts, only grew stronger, but watching Lupin struggle with his decision, doubt himself again, had begun to make me question myself. Unlike Lupin, I'd never considered the effect on Fleur, only that I knew I could not bear to part with her. If Lupin had walked away again, if he had not willingly and happily married, or taken flight once more, claiming it to be an act that preserves Tonks' chances of a proper life, I believe I might have been forced by guilt to reconsider.
The wedding took place on a sunny but breezy August day; with naught but myself as witness and the minister to preside, Remus Lupin married Nymphadora Tonks, and joy was present in equal measure on both their faces, hope weaved an impenetrable shield around them.
It wasn't until today, though, that I trusted it completely, when Lupin stumbled, in unconcealed and raw joy, through the doors of the home I share with woman who is my hope and my life, to bring the news of the birth of his son. He is brimming with pride, drunk on the new life he has so recently welcomed into the world, and I have to admit, it's a beacon on this otherwise ghastly night that buffets our house with wind and rain.
After everyone has said their cheery goodbyes and bade Lupin to pass on their messages of congratulations to Tonks, I walk with him to the door.
"Something I've wanted to ask you, Remus -- why did you ask me to stand with you on your wedding day?"
"You always seem ready to face anything life throws at you; you don't let circumstance or fate sway you from what you've always known to be right," he replies.
"Meaning that you always knew it was right that you and Tonks were together, you just needed reminding?"
"Something like that, yes," he says, opening the door and stepping out into the night.
"Thank you, Bill. Keep everyone safe."
With a step and a turn, he's gone, and I shut the door firmly and hope I've not just closed the door on our very last meeting. I long to take my wife upstairs, to hold her close and stroke her hair, which is so very soft, and perhaps make love... but I've a house full of guests and a duty to fulfil, so I put those thoughts on hold and head off to have a chat with a Chosen One about a goblin.
The End
Drabble one, Bedtime, can be found here. It's 750 odd words long and rated PG, features Remus, Teddy and Tonks, and is pure fluff.