Remus’ hadn’t been counting the bills, and yet the sheer volume of cash stuffed into his pocket eventually managed to tip a balance. The cigarette had burned down to the filter, and Remus turned to butt it into the ashtray on the bar, an entertained smile on his lips.<br/>Regular enough to recognize the shift in the conversation, the man Remus was with straightened his posture, ready to leave yet never shifting away from the bar. His hand did, however, slip to Remus’ hip.<br/>Ever careful to toe the line between displaying too much physical affection in public, Remus barely returned the touch, his hand dropping from the man’s elbow to his forearm, a barely-there tug.<br/>The man happily complied.<br/>As they stepped away from the bar, they almost entirely broke any point of contact, Remus quick and apt to shy away from anything resembling an embrace. The man’s hand lingered at his hip, a fleeting touch that failed to maintain proper contact as they walked.<br/>Remus’ attention was undeniably on the man, eyes constantly finding him. There was still a bright smile on his features, comfortable in his company, and it was only when the man pushed the bar door open around Remus’ shoulders, that Remus allowed himself to slot into a proximity resembling an embrace. In doing that, he turned into the man’s open arms, changing to angle in which he viewed the bar.<br/>He felt his heart fall through the floor, his expression faltering, mortified beyond comprehension.<br/>Across the room, at the opposite end of the bar sat Sirius Black, unmistakably even across the distance. Remus felt like he had been smited from above, like he had just tossed away his entire academic career within seconds.<br/>He felt glued to the ground, and before he got enough senses to speak to Black about it, the man had swept him outside with an arm around his waist.