Almost manically, instantly, Remus makes himself busy. Order Missions. Patrol. Cleaning. Cooking. Every spot of the house is scurgified, save his room. And Kreacher is kicked a few times too.

After that, he starts hunting down Death Eaters.

He starts listening to eighteen-year-old boys in dark alleys scream, "Mister, I didn't want to! But he- he might kill me!" And Remus doesn't care and Remus doesn't mind; he could make this child— who doesn't know pain— writhe and writhe and shriek for bearing the mark (Bellatrix has a mark; Bellatrix killed Sirius) and he wants to kill the boy and rip open the his chest and make him understand, and Remus wouldn't really, he doesn't mean to actually do it, but...

"CRUCIO!"

"PROTEGO!"

Both spells surprise him. His, so full of malice. And hers- hers!- full of indignation.

"Tonks," he says.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" She screams, striding down the alley. Her voice is angry, disappointed, and hysterical.

"They killed him."

"Yes! Merlin, I know. Sirius is dead and I'm so, so completely sorry. If I'd been better, if I'd stopped her, it might not have happened, and I wish I could fix it! But this- THIS is not fixing anything!"

"He's a Death Eater," Lupin replies, "Isn't that the point? Stopping Death Eaters?"

"No! You know as well as I do that that is not the point of the Order. Torturing some teenager does nothing for our cause, Remus! It just means that we're no better than THEM. Now," she says, lowering her tone, "I understand that this is—"

"You do not understand," Remus yells. He meant to say it calmly. "Who have you lost? You're a kid. How could you possibly understand any of this?"

She glares at him. "I lost a cousin, Remus—"

"It's not the same," He snaps.

"Yes, I understa—"

"It's really not."

"I know that! Alright, Remus, your life sucks! You're miserable, and I really am sorry. But hell, Remus, I'm trying! You know why I followed you here tonight? To make sure you were okay. I've been following you on all your little runs, as you traipse around town, terrorizing anyone who you think looks remotely suspicious. That girl the other day? SHE WAS TWELVE. She had dark hair, sure, but that doesn't mean she's a Black! Get over yourself. We've all lost someone. It's not just you, you know! Have you so much as acknowledged me in weeks? No. I'm feeling stronger, thanks. What about Harry, who lost a Godfather? He's dealing just fine too! Merlin, Remus, I-I will wait here for forever, but just..." She wipes her eyes furiously. "Just, please come back to us. We need you, and not like this. I- I need you."

He stares at her, wishing he could run to her and protect her from the monster standing in his shoes, wearing his robes, hurting.

"We're not going to work out, Tonks."

She practically barks. "You-you're breaking up with me?" It seems absurd that something so trivial, considering the scope of tragedy pervading the world, can tear her apart from the inside in seconds.

"The less I mean to you, the better. And the less you mean to me, the better too." His voice is calmer now. He's lost Sirius, he's lost James, and he's not going to let her destroy him too. He wants to stop caring. Caring is a weakness.

"Coward," she says. "You coward!" she screams, because everything is falling apart— there's no rebuilding it now— and all she can think is she has to scream it all down. "This has nothing to do with me! You- you're just afraid. The less you care about someone, the better? Did you really just say that? That's what HE believes. The less you care, Remus John Lupin, the less HUMAN you are! You bloody werewolf!

One look at his face confirms her suspicions; he'll never forgive her now. It's over. She's ended it.

But at least she ended it.

We're not going to work out, eh, Remus? No, I don't think we will.

Then he's striding away, and she can't scream, because she is sobbing so hard, but that's fine. There is nothing left to say.

The Death Eater boy has run off, but no one cares anymore.

Hehe. Umm...this was SUPPOSED to be a drabble, but then it became an 800 word beast.

Wow. I don't even know how I feel about this one. Hopefully it wasn't overly depressing or absolutely out of character or anything. I was trying to find a way to break them up (again) that didn't go: "you're too good for me, Tonks. I'm poor and old and blahh!" Because I don't want to overuse Lupin's one excuse.

If you actually read the entire thing, a review would be appreciated! I'm really of curious what you guys thought, even if it's totally hateful and is going to make me curl up in a ball and cry.

Also! Thanks to last chapter's beautiful reviewers: F3rn, loveislouder94, BreadWinner, Sapphire Leo, and Birds on the Sunset!

kk.

-Vi