For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Sirius managed to completely knock Remus off his feet. Worst of all, it only took a matter of saying a few words, Remus' eyes darting back at him, surprised. Remus had with great intent avoided using the word<span style="font-style: italic">date</span>, not knowing if anything they had ever agreed to ever qualified as a date; Remus hadn't dared consider yesterday as a<span style="font-style: italic">date</span>but even the possibility that Sirius had, brought a flustered little smile to Remus' lips.<br/>Unable to sustain eye contact, Remus eyes dipped, allowing for James to be the one to fill the space.<br/>It was clear that they had heard different things in Sirius' voice, James clearly only understanding the joked intent. Remus, on the contrary, feared he might blush.<br/>"Whose feeling are you trying to hurt?" Remus challenged as he tipped his head to look at James, the way his voice cracked making it sound like a chuckle. It hadn't been.<br/>He desperately needed to shift the focus of the conversation away from what Sirius and Remus were expected to do in James' absence; Remus had a good idea that there were several different perceptions at play.<br/>"I didn't know we were playing favourites."