rarepair_shorts | WISHLISTS: I'm Gonna Love You Too (Bill/Tonks)

Author:

ragdoll
Recipient:

csichick_2
Title: I'm Gonna Love You Too
Pairing: Bill Weasley/Nymphadora Tonks
Request: Bill/Tonks, and "any sort of fluff would be awesome".
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1650
Summary: When Tonks had seen Bill at her first Order meeting, she'd reverted into a ridiculous schoolgirl. Even after all those years, Bill Weasley still had the ability to make her legs shake and her heart pound like a bass drum. Damn him.

Author's Notes:

csichick_2, you wished for any sort of fluff, and I hope this is what you were looking for. I apologise for the lateness in posting it for you. I had planned on doing it as soon as I saw your request, but real life and an uncooperative muse got in the way of my good intentions. Enjoy!

Thanks to my dearest

tjs_whatnot and

leigh_adams for the very quick betas. Title courtesy of Buddy Holly and/or Blondie.

"Would you like to go for a drink?" Bill asked Tonks, his voice soft and low in her ear. On the other side of the table, the debate over surveillance tactics raged loudly between Kingsley, Sirius and Moody. "Once this ordeal is all over, I mean."

"What?" Tonks turned to look at him, attempting to keep her face impassive, and her own voice just as quiet as his. She could only hope the shock of his invitation was not registering in her expression.

"I said 'do you want to go for a drink?' After a meeting like this, I think I need to get a bit legless. Reckoned you might too."

"Are you winding me up?" All Tonks could think was that Fred and George had put him up to this, the cheeky bastards. No doubt Charlie had told them of her long-standing crush on their older brother, and they'd decided to take the mickey. If so, they were in very big trouble.

Bill stared at her, looking slightly wounded. "Why ever would you think that? I'm just asking you out for a friendly drink. Not—well, I don't know what you suspect I am up to."

She raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Haven't you got a girlfriend? That French girl?"

His cheeks flushed at the question. "No," he replied. "I've gone out with her a few times, but she's not my girlfriend. Besides, what's that got to do with going out for a drink with a mate?"

"Oh." Tonks tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Of course he only wanted to go out as friends. "I dunno, really. Just thought..."

"That I might be chatting you up?" Bill seemed amused by her reaction. It took all of her resolve not to slap the smug smile off of his face. "What if I was?"

"Well, are you?"

Bill had been behaving oddly lately, making certain to greet her whenever she was able to show up at an Order meeting, always sitting next to her, and making a point to talk to her as much as he could. Still, Tonks knew it had to be wishful thinking on her part. She'd fancied him like mad since she was a second year, and he'd never noticed in all the time they'd been at school together. Of course, not because he...well, he was Bill fucking Weasley, and he didn't go out with girls like her.

"Might be," Bill said with a nonchalant shrug. "Depends on whether the attention was welcome, I suppose."

Tonks was so taken aback by the statement that she had to look away, well aware that her face had to be as pink as the strawberry ice cream Molly had served for afters.

If only Bill knew how much she'd welcome his attention—she'd been hoping for this since she was twelve—, and had never really got over him. When she'd seen him at her first Order meeting, she'd reverted into a ridiculous schoolgirl. Even after all those years, Bill Weasley still had the ability to make her legs shake and her heart pound like a bass drum. To her annoyance, she'd barely managed to get a 'hello' out, then had tripped over her own two feet, and wound up sprawled on the carpet like an idiot.

Thankfully, he hadn't laughed at her, but she'd been mortified.

Bill had always been handsome, but he was older now, more mature, and infinitely cooler. His hair was longer, and the dragon fang earring dangling from his earlobe was a constant source of distraction for Tonks.

Damn him.

She'd been painfully aware of how grubby she must have looked that night; faded jeans, a comfortable but worn t-shirt, and her hair its usual spiky mess after a long day at work. Of course, she hadn't expected much from the Order meeting, but since then she'd made a concerted effort to at least look clean and neat before arriving. She'd told herself it was just because it was the polite thing to do, that it had nothing whatsoever to do with Bill's presence, but down deep, she knew that was a lie.

She positively hated him for reducing her to a ridiculous girly girl.

His voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"It's not, is it?" Bill said, his expression crestfallen.

"What isn't?"

"My attention. Appreciated," he answered. "By you, I mean."

"I never said that," Tonks protested. Was it possible he was actually disappointed?

"You looked like you were a million miles away," Bill observed. "Look, if you don't want to go out, a simple 'no thanks' will be all right. I'm a big boy, Tonks— I don't need you to let me down easy."

"Oi! I never said that!" she exclaimed, a little too loudly.

Suddenly, all conversation stopped, and every set of eyes in the room turned toward the pair of them.

Tonks felt her cheeks burning, and she immediately wished she could Apparate away from the Burrow's kitchen and to somewhere very far away.

"Are you all right, Nymphadora?" asked Molly, her voice tinged with concern.

"What? Yes. Right as rain," Tonks mumbled. "I'm sorry to interrupt—"

"It's completely my fault, Mum," Bill interjected. He put his hand on top of Tonks' and patted it lightly. "I started a silly argument about the Cannons versus the Harpies with her when we ought to have been paying attention to the matters at hand."

Alastor Moody turned his gaze onto Bill, his magical eye spinning madly, as if he were trying to ascertain the truth from the younger man. Molly's glare was even worse, causing Bill to flinch ever so slightly.

In response, Bill flashed them his most charming smile. "I'm so sorry. Please continue...?"

With a snort, Sirius launched back into another diatribe about the Ministry's security systems. Tonks had never been more grateful for her cousin in her life.

"You didn't have to do that," she hissed, sliding her chair slightly closer to Bill's. She could feel his knee pressing against her own.

He shrugged, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile. "Yeah, I did."

"Suppose this means I have to say 'yes' now?" Tonks felt her stomach start to flutter. "Right, just one drink, then. I have to work tomorrow."

Bill's smile grew wider, and he gave her hand a squeeze.

*

Somehow, the one drink had turned into two, then three, then four. In spite of Tonks' initial trepidation, the evening had turned out to be just fine, if not downright pleasant. Slightly inebriated, Tonks sat with her back to the wall, keeping an eye out for any trouble. She was, after all, Moody's protégé and his lessons about constant vigilance hadn't gone completely unheeded.

Bill leant forward, resting his chin on his hand as his eyes met hers. "Has anyone ever told you how amazing your eyes are? They're like the Great Lake -- a bloke could drown in them."

"Blimey," she replied. "Do you use that sort of rubbish on all the girls, then?"

"No. Just the ones with the really pretty eyes," he conceded. "You've got a cute nose, too." Reaching over, Bill gave her nose a quick tap. "Although I can't think of a clever metaphor for it."

She laughed, hoping he didn't think she minded too terribly. "What's next? Some cheesy line about my lips?"

"There's quite a lot I could say about your mouth." To Tonks' surprise, Bill blushed. "However, I don't really want to get slapped, so I'll keep that to myself. At least for the time being."

"Oh? Come on, you can't get coy on me now, Weasley."

Bill screwed his face up in thought before saying, "Well, your lips do look rather kissable if you must know."

"Well, erm, so do yours now that I think about it," she mused. Bill couldn't have a clue about how long she'd dreamed about kissing him...

"Oh, do they?" Bill took her hand in hers, his thumb brushing slightly over the tops of her knuckles. Tonks felt a shiver running up her spine.

"Yeah. Quite kissable lips, you've got."

"For once we're in agreement, then."

"Are you calling me disagreeable?"

"Hardly. I think you're brilliant." He laughed. "And adorable."

"Well, go on then. Give us a kiss." She shifted closer to him, praying that he wouldn't think she was being too bold or too pushy.

Instead, he looked pleased."Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Bill leaned in and kissed her softly, his lips warm and firm against her own. Without thinking, Tonks buried her fingers in his hair, drawing him in for a prolonged kiss. She heard Bill chuckle lightly, his arm snaking around her waist, as he responded in kind.

Finally he broke off, his breathing heavy. "Mmmm. Maybe we ought to go somewhere more private to continue this," he rasped. "Not certain I want to give everyone in the pub an intimate show."

"Intimate?" she echoed. "Just how intimate are we talking here, Weasley?"

"Dunno," Bill replied. "I was going to leave that up to you, Nymphadora." Hearing him use her first name made Tonks' toes curl.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," Tonks replied automatically, then smiled. "Although if you're very, very nice, perhaps I'll let you call me 'Dora' like my family does."

"And how nice do I have to be for that privilege?" He waggled his eyebrows at her, then kissed her quickly.

"Not sure yet. We'll just have to see." It was her turn to smirk.

"I can be extremely nice. My mother raised me properly."

"Pity, that. I was hoping for someone a bit more improper."

"I can be that too." Bill was already on his feet, tossing a few coins onto the table before offering her his hand.

"Here's to being improper and intimate," Tonks murmured as she rose from her seat. It was certainly turning into a most interesting, and unexpected evening.