This is my first chapter fic and updates may be slow. Title is inclined to change also because I can't decide if I like it yet.

All characters belong to JK Rowling, bless her soul. A review would be nice, ta very much.

The silence of the morning was broken by the soft clicking of wheels being dragged over tiles and the sound of muffled sobs emanating from a room down the hall.

Remus drew in a shaky breath as he left his suitcase by the kitchen table and made his way to the sink for a glass of water. He spent as much time as possible running the water, filling the glass and sipping the drink; he felt as though he had been physically drained of all energy and just wanted to crawl back into bed.

As it was, he had a flight to catch in less than forty minutes and was in no way inclined to miss it and have to go through yet another farewell.

He rinsed the glass, dried it and returned it to the top shelf of the cupboard. He could now hear footsteps coming softly down the hall and hastily shut the cupboard door, his movements jerky as he tried to quickly reach his suitcase.

A pair of sock clad feet came into view as he bent to grasp the handle. Slowly he followed the leg attached, desperately taking in every inch of skin he could see until his eyes reached her neck and his gaze fell upon Tonks' blotchy face.

He had spent the past month working her up to this moment and it had all come crashing down around him when the time finally came to say goodbye. Today she'd spent a good hour ignoring him, another arguing with him and then she had resorted to stubbornly pulling his clothes out of his suitcase and tossing them out of the window.

Remus had been annoyed at her actions but couldn't find it in him to get very angry, because when he'd returned from retrieving his possessions from the sidewalk she had been sprawled on the floor, sobbing into her hands.

It had frightened him to see Tonks cry like that because he'd never seen her cry before, not even when they had watched Titanic together and she had declared it the 'single most horrible, gut-wrenching movie ever'. He couldn't understand then, why something as trivial as himself had reduced her to a teary, blubbery mess.

Needless to say, it had been a horrible afternoon and was only bound to get worse. Staring across at Tonks now, he noticed the way her lip trembled despite her raised chin and hated every inch of himself for causing her this pain.

'I suppose you have a flight to catch,' she said finally, breaking the dreary silence that had fallen over them.

Remus nodded, his words caught behind the lump in his throat. He tugged his suitcase along behind him and towards the front door, casting a look back over his shoulder.

Tonks stood glaring at him, fresh tears on her cheeks and her hands clenched by her sides. In one last feeble attempt she relaxed her fists and held one pale hand out to him. 'Please, Remus,' she choked, her voice soft and broken. 'Please, please, let's work something out. I – I can go to Russia with you. Just please, please don't leave me like this.'

Remus slowly shook his head. Half of the reason he was leaving had lain within his decision to take up a teaching position at Durmstrang Academy, which Dumbledore had graciously offered him a few months back. Durmstrang would be the ideal job if it had not been for one small factor; that it was located deep within Russia, and that would mean leaving everything behind for a year, or maybe more if the job turned out well.

Tonks had decided it would be just fine for her to also move with Remus to Russia, an idea that Remus greatly disapproved of. Tonks had a job of her own after all and he did not expect her to up everything just to follow him on what she took to referring to as 'a modern day Peter Pan type adventure.'

The other reason he was leaving had to do with just that reference; Tonks was younger than him, and he was simply too poor to support her. For so long she had been mainly supplying for the two of them, and he was sick of dragging her down with him. He had told her this mere days ago, in an attempt to make her see reason.

'I don't care' she had replied and grabbed his coat, roughly shaking him. 'I. Don't. Fucking. Care.'

'Tonks, I am not about to ask you to quit your job and relocate to the other side of the world. And before you say anything, I do not think a long distance relationship will work,' Remus had said to her. 'I am too old for you and too poor. Do not be stupid and think that moving with me will fix anything, because it won't. The sooner you get over me the better.'

Remus was still rather ashamed of that particular argument, because after telling her to get over him he had kissed her so fiercely that his lips still felt as though they were burnt. She had accepted the kiss and pleaded for more, which he had given her despite his best interests. That particularly painful memory of waking up beside her and realising the previous night had been a momentary weakness on his behalf was all that was keeping him from running back to her side.

She is strong, he reminded himself. She will get over you.

'You can't come to Russia with me, Tonks,' he said softly, opening the door. 'Please get over me, and please don't try to contact me.'

He watched as Tonks let her head fall to her chest, as she let her body fall to the floor rather gracefully. It hit Remus hard to realise that he could not catch her, that he was no longer permitted to catch her like he had done so many times before.

Though he felt it was the worse way to leave her, so defeated and upset, he stepped out into the icy London afternoon, pulling his suitcase along behind him, and very carefully shut the door.