@ The Advance Guard
They'd been half out of their chairs when the moment was interupted. Emme froze when she heard his voice, calling out to Hes. She tried to ignore that he'd called the other woman's name instead of her own, and instead steeled herself for the encounter. At least she hadn't cringed, merely frozen in surprise at his sudden appearance. He didn't need any visual clues as to just how painful it was to be around him when she didn't have her guard up. Sucking in a breath, she looked up.
Remus was standing in the doorway, looking just as awkward as she felt. At least that was some comfort, and when he eventually said her name she let the breath go. "Fine, considering..." Emme answered a moment later with a slight non-commital shrug of her shoulders. He looked like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, embarassed and apologetic, and she wondered how long he'd been standing outside the door. Not that they'd revealed anything he didn't already know, although she didn't know how Hes would react given she'd been the one who was initially upset.
At his offering of tea, Emme started, murmuring a quick, "Oh," before shaking her head and turning to look at Hestia. Tea actually sounded great, but she felt the sudden urge to just...flee. She wanted to stay and make sure Hes was alright, but she couldn't deal with this just now. All of the things they'd just discussed, all of the old, painful feelings she'd never fully resolved, had arisen and suddenly seeing Remus was just too much.
Memories of being together, of times curled up together drinking tea. They way he'd offer one, insisting on a "cuppa", the way he'd put a cooling charm on her cup without ever being prompted because he just knew she didn't like it too hot. Even one of their first outings in the kitchens had been to sit and drink tea, and she felt a blush rise as she forced herself to avoid Remus' gaze. She was acting childish, blushing and acting ridiculous over tea. It was tea for Chrissakes. She had at least one cup every day. She didn't go blushing over it those days, but suddenly just the thought made her feel tense. He didn't need to know she was remembering the times that had been, the times that would never be again.
So instead Emme did what she'd been doing since she'd started seeing Remus again on a regular basis. She attempted and failed to ignore the history between them and instead focused on anyone but him. In this case, the person who did need her. Hestia.