Note: Homeless!AU, Muggle!AU.

Off the Beaten Path

Remus frowned at the dark-haired man huddled under the bridge. Seven days in a row he'd driven by and seen him there, and he was starting to worry. The air was growing cold as fall turned to winter, and the man didn't seem to be wearing a particularly warm jacket.

Remus mulled over his options a moment longer, then made the decision to pull over just past the bridge and walk back towards the man.

"Hello," he offered nervously. The man stared at him with steel-grey eyes. He looked as though he might have been very handsome once, but now he was all hollow cheeks and scraggly hair. A grimy crimson pencil case lay at his feet, and Remus wondered what it was for. "I, er—" Remus shoved his hands into his pockets, "—I've seen you out here a few times, and I thought maybe I'd buy you a hot meal? It's getting cold, so..."

He trailed off, feeling extremely foolish. The man probably didn't even want his help anyway. But Remus was a teacher, and helping people was in his blood.

"A hot meal?" the man repeated. "Been a while since I had one of those."

"Yeah?" Remus sat down beside him. "If I may, erm, how did you end up out here?" He hoped that whatever the reason, it didn't have anything to do with drugs or alcohol. That would be a lot harder to help with.

"My parents kicked me out," was the dispassionate reply. "They hated that I wouldn't follow their rules. Said that I was an embarrassment to the family."

"I'm sorry," Remus said quietly.

"Yeah, well, they were shitty people anyway," the man huffed. His gaze flicked over to Remus, and there was curiosity in it. "What's your name?"

"Me? Oh, I'm—I'm Remus," he stuttered.

"I'm Sirius," the man said, holding out a thin, bony hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Remus shook the cold, brittle hand, and felt a twinge of pity at the circumstances that had led to the man squatting beneath the bridge.

"So what's a bloke like you doing out here, offering meals to bums?" Sirius asked, carding a hand through his long dark locks.

"I was heading home—"

"From?" Sirius prompted.

"Work. I'm a schoolteacher," Remus replied.

"Ah, that explains the..." Sirius waved a hand towards Remus' cardigan and woolen trousers. "You look like a teacher, that's for sure."

"I... don't know whether I should be insulted by that or not," Remus frowned. So far, this conversation was not going at all the way he had thought it might.

"Sorry," Sirius chuckled. "My 'people skills' are rusty, I reckon."

Remus could feel his cheeks warming up. "No, I didn't mean to make you feel—It's okay. You didn't say anything wrong." He cleared his throat. "About that meal..."

"Right." Sirius grabbed the pencil case and stood up. "My wallet," he explained at Remus' questioning look. He wobbled slightly before surveying the damp, overgrown area beneath the bridge the way a king might survey his kingdom—with a sort of pride. "Whoa. Been a while since I've eaten, I reckon."

Remus' gaze softened. "You can lean on me, if you want."

Sirius gave him a sideways look. "You don't mind?"

Remus shook his head. "Everyone needs a little help sometimes."

That was a platitude he often used with his students, but he thought that it applied well in this situation, too.

He held his breath in anticipation as Sirius flung an arm around his shoulder. It felt odd to be so close to another adult after spending most of his days in the presence of children, but he found that he didn't mind it. Perhaps he could arrange to have Sirius move into his flat, just to keep an eye on him and make sure that he was properly fed...

"Oi, Remus, mate, are we going? No offense, but...I am hungry." Sirius' voice cut into his thoughts, and he blinked several times to clear them away.

"Right, yes, of course," he said, taking slow, careful steps so that Sirius could keep up. "My car is this way."

WC: 690