Happy birthday!

[shimotsuki]

gilpin25, you have been an inspiration from the time I first joined the Remus/Tonks community on LiveJournal. There’s your writing, with its powerful blend of humor and poignancy, always set off by believable human feelings that make your characters come alive. Then there are your kind words of encouragement about both writing and life that you dispense so cheerfully and generously. All of this is garnished with some of the most amusing travelogues it has been my pleasure to read!

So here are best wishes for a happy birthday and a wonderful year to come. I look forward to hearing more about your original writing projects, seeing more photos of Rosie sleeping in the sunshine, and finding out how long before Craig gets himself voted off the show on Strictly... And, more generally, continuing our various conversations, even if sporadically. :)

In honor of the day, I come bearing fic. This one is...a little different, heh. But the idea grabbed me a couple of months ago -- I think you’ll be able to guess when ;) -- and I had to give it a try.

Encounter (535 words | G | post-DH AU)
Tonks is enjoying a seaside stroll with Remus when something interesting happens.

Encounter
October 25, 2009

A sudden gust of wind sent Tonks stumbling straight into Remus.

“Oof,” he teased, tightening his arm around her briefly before settling her back on her feet. “This is why we aren’t walking at the edge of the cliff.”

“You’ll get no arguments from me about that.” Tonks pulled her tam down a little more firmly on her head and grinned at her husband.

They resumed their stroll, along—but not too near—the edge of a cliff on the Devon coast. Remus’s hidden cove was somewhere just below them. Tonks knew that the peaceful spot had once been a treasured place of solace for him, a refuge for times when loneliness or poverty had become too much to bear. Today, though, the cove had needed to be nothing more than a romantic, secluded picnic spot. And now they had even ventured out onto the public cliff path for a spot of exercise, as an antidote to the magnificent lunch that Mum had packed for them.

They rounded a corner and came upon another couple, hiking along the path in the opposite direction. The man looked cosy in a Quiksilver pullover, and the woman was wrapped in a warm green cardigan against the stiff ocean breeze. They’d obviously just been sharing a joke, as both of them were laughing.

Tonks thought the two of them had very nice smiles, and she found herself smiling back. “Wotcher.”

The woman seemed to take in Tonks’s wind-jumbled pink curls, and then she looked at Remus. Her eyes widened slightly, but her smile was still friendly. “Hello!”

“It’s a lovely day,” said Remus. “I’m surprised there aren’t more of us out here to enjoy it.”

“We’ve booked a holiday near this spot for next summer, actually,” said the man. “But it’s someone’s birthday today—” he grinned at his companion—“and as it’s a Sunday, we thought we’d come out and have a look round now as well.”

“Happy birthday!” said Remus.

“Thank you,” the woman replied. If anything, her smile grew.

“We’re out on a date today,” said Tonks merrily. “Our son went away to school for the first time this year.” She almost thought she saw the woman mouth of course, but she must have been imagining things. “But we’ve both been busy at work ever since, so this was our first real chance to make a day of it.”

“Very nice,” said the man. “Well, do enjoy your walk.”

“You too,” said Tonks. “And happy birthday!”

With more nods and smiles all around, they passed each other and went their separate ways along the cliff path.

“Those two seemed familiar, somehow,” came the man’s voice, drifting back on the wind. “Have we met them before?”

“Erm,” they heard the woman say. “Not...exactly.”

Tonks raised her eyebrows at Remus, and he stared back, looking equally puzzled.

“I’m quite sure we haven’t met them before,” he murmured. “But they seemed like nice people. Maybe we’ll see them around here again sometime.”

Tonks strolled on, enjoying the sounds of the seabirds and the surf in the warm October sunshine. Especially when her husband slipped his hand into hers to give it a squeeze—and then didn’t let go.

. * fin * .

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