Birthday romance!

[shimotsuki]

This post is to wish a very, very happy birthday to mrstater (Wednesday) and godricgal (Thursday). You two are both such warm, welcoming, and supportive writers, commenters, and f-listers -- thanks so much for all the friendly words and encouragement over the last few years, not to mention all the work you do for the R/T community.

Among so many other things, you both write lovely romantic stories. And mrstater, in particular, has a history of encouraging me to write, um, steamier stories than I generally do. So in honor of the birthdays, here is...well, I'm not sure I ever got above a soft R rating, but at least it's an attempt at some SSR (Slightly Steamy Romance).

I hope each of you has/had/will have a wonderful birthday, and may you have a wonderful year to come. :)

Restless ( 560 words | Remus/Tonks | R (PG-13?) )

Restless
Remus woke early, when the dawn sky was heavy pewter overhead. Only the edges were beginning to turn rose and gold.

Dora was asleep beside him, curled on one side with her cheek pillowed on her arm. He clenched his teeth and tried to hold as still as he could, but his limbs were restless, and he could only endure for so long before he found himself shifting stiffly from one side to the other.

“Remus?” Dora squinted blearily at him in the soft grey light.

He sighed and reached out a hand to smooth her tousled curls, which had faded to brown overnight. “I’m sorry I woke you. I should get up and let you have a little more sleep.”

Yawning, she pushed herself up on one elbow. “How are you feeling? You’re all twitchy. I thought you would sleep late this morning.”

He closed his eyes and swallowed, fighting embarrassment that he knew was irrational. Dora had seen him right after the transformation several times by now, after all. Still, this was the first time she had ever seen him right before.

In any case, she deserved to know what to expect.

“There are—phases, I suppose,” he said, struggling to fit words to patterns that he generally tried not to think about. “Some of the time today I’ll be exhausted enough to sleep, and I should take advantage of the opportunity whenever I can. But sometimes there’s a sort of nervous energy, and I can’t really rest.”

“Are you in pain?” she asked, softly.

“Not much.” Not yet. “My muscles are a little stiff, but that’s all.”

“Mmm,” she said, with an oddly calculating expression. “I think I know what to do about nervous energy.”

And then, before he had time to work out what she meant, she had slid across the bed to lie on top of him, bracing her weight on her elbows.

He gasped at the press of her legs against his. She leaned down to kiss him, lips and tongue warm and coaxing.

“This all right?” Her fingers tangled in his hair and skimmed along his jaw.

He fought for breath, barely managing not to arch himself against her. “Dora—are you sure you want to do this right now? In just a few hours, this body is going to be a slavering monster.”

Her grin was impish. “Not slavering, thank you very much. You’re on Wolfsbane, aren’t you?” She reached down to undo the first button on his pyjama shirt, and he shuddered at the light brush of her fingers along his collarbone. “Besides,” she whispered, “I very much want to do this right now.” She shifted against him, her eyes darkening.

He gave in, then, to the longing that was threatening to melt him. He pulled her down, very close, and captured her lips with his. Someone moaned; he wasn’t even sure which of them it was. Soon his mind was so full of sound and scent and taste and touch and now that there was no room for the moon at all.

Afterward, he lay heavy and boneless, his breaths long and slow. He felt Dora nestle against him, with her cheek against his shoulder and her arm across his chest, and that was the last thing he knew before his eyes drifted shut and sleep found him again, after all.

. * fin * .

.

Comments

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

I was just about to shut down for the night and tumble into bed when I saw this! Thank you, first of all, for the birthday wishes and your lovely words that made me blush. It's been such a privilege to get to know you, and there's got to be something special about HP and R/T fanfic if it can bring friends together like this. :)

And second of all, R rated drabble from you! This was the perfect read before bed. Such a sweet moment of Remus letting down one more barrier and becoming closer (heh) to Tonks. And this line was lovely: Soon his mind was so full of sound and scent and taste and touch and now that there was no room for the moon at all.

Well done, and thank you so much!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm so glad you enjoyed this! And it was lucky for me you found it before your birthday was over, given how close I cut it, lol.

there's got to be something special about HP and R/T fanfic

I think that is very true. :)

[sspring92.livejournal.com]

I always feel a bit guilty enjoying other people's birthday presents (but not too guilty!) Just the right amount of steaminess! Always love pre and post transformation stories, don't know why, but i do!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Naw, if people really wanted birthday fic to be for the birthday people only, they would just send them by PM, don't you think? ;)

Always love pre and post transformation stories, don't know why, but i do!

Oh, me too! I think for me it's partly because it sets up such an interesting contrast between how calm and controlled Remus would like to appear, and what he is actually able to manage under strain, heh.

[sspring92.livejournal.com]

I think It's that whole Hurt/Comfort Genre too. Appeals to the nurturing instinct in females! I really haven't read a lot of pre and post fics. a few scenes in epic fics, but none really centering on it.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I think It's that whole Hurt/Comfort Genre too.

Good point!

There's going to be a little pre- and post-moon in the next chapter of "All Will Be In Order," heh. Which I need to get moving on!

[katyhasclogs.livejournal.com]

I did a double take when I saw the rating for this. ;) You're a braver woman than I am, I have to say, and it's paid off because this is lovely.

It's really nice to see Tonks showing she doesn't care, as well as saying it, and all in all I think this is a very sweet moment between the two of them.

Particularly liked the pewter image. :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

I did a double take when I saw the rating for this. ;)

Hee! Actually, in restropect, I may have oversold this a little; I'm not sure it really deserves higher than PG-13.

all in all I think this is a very sweet moment between the two of them

I'm so glad you thought so; I really like steamy scenes to have a large dose of emotional closeness, too.

And thanks for the comment on the pewter bit...I was hoping that wasn't too overdone, but I kind of liked the image.

[katyscarlett76.livejournal.com]

Ooh I like it :)

Just the right amount of steam. That Tonks is a crafty girl and I like the way she thinks ;)

Very good, you need to write some more now!

I love how generous people are with their birthday presents allowing us all to share the goodness :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks -- I'm so glad you enjoyed it. This is about as much steam as I can handle. ;)

And thanks for the encouragement! I really do need to try to finish a longer fic piece; it's been all drabbles lately, and not even all HP.

[godricgal.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm sorry I'm only just getting to comment now. Firstly, thank you for the birthday wishes, and secondly thank you for writing such a lovely fic! You are very good at writing this sort of thing, you know, I think you shall just have to do it more often! It's such a sweet moment between them, and an important one too, I think - for Remus to realise how much that side of him doesn't matter. Thank you again. This was a lovely birthday treat! :D

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Oh, but surely you had more fun things to do on your birthday than to hang out online! ;)

I'm so glad you thought this was sweet (and important to the relationship) as well as steamy...thank you for the kind comments.

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

I am very much in favour of you writing lots more SSR: you hit exactly the right note between understanding, passion and R/T taking another important emotional step along the way. I like the parallel between Tonks relaxed and natural when she sleeps, with her brown curls, and this with Remus becoming something else they both accept as the norm - and perhaps to be anticipated as not so much of a bad thing in future! ;)

Lovely read. :)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely comments, especially the reassurance that understanding, passion, and emotion all weigh in here, since that was the hope.

I love to imagine Remus slowly coming to understand, at more than an abstract level, just how much Tonks really does love and accept him. This is one of many sweet moments I like to think they had during DH. (And afterward, naturally! ;P )

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Oh this is lovely!

And this: struggling to fit words to patterns that he generally tried not to think about. rings especially true.

Good that Tonks is there to bring some relief to nervous energy. ;) And that she is unfazed by a decidedly non-passion-inducing description of the man she just jumped. Slavering monster indeed. But not yet, Remus!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you!

Remus is really trying here -- it's only been a couple of weeks since he ran off to join Harry -- but some things are still hard for him. It is definitely a good thing for all involved that Tonks knows what to do. ;)

[carnivalgirl.livejournal.com]

Very glad this was unlocked! I can see why it was rec'd, it is very sexy in an understated way. I love how relaxed Tonks is, it just shows how much she cares about him, and then how naturally he goes along with what she's doing.

A really nice read!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you thought this was sexy, hee, since I don't try that kind of thing very often... And it was fun to try to capture a moment between these two as Remus lets himself really start trusting Tonks.