Aaron (hospital AU)

[mooningremus]

Remus woke up laying in a bed in the emergency room. "Where... am I?" he asked, his voice a croak.

"Ah, welcome back," said a woman standing by his bed. She was wearing a nurse's uniform. "You're in the hospital. A helpful bystander found you passed out on the sidewalk. You don't have any ID on you. What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin." He rubbed his head, and realized he was connected to an IV.

"It's saline," the nurse said. "You're severely dehydrated. Malnourished too from the looks of it though we're waiting for more bloodwork. Any medical conditions we should know about?"

"I'm HIV positive," Remus said with a sigh. "I... I'm so sorry about all this trouble. I'm fine, I probably just... haven't been taking care of myself..." Or more accurately, couldn't afford food.

"Well you should feel better once you're hydrated, and I'll send a doctor in to do a workup," the nurse said. "Rest."

Remus nodded, feeling like a complete idiot. Or maybe burden to society. Or something. And a few hours later he had a diagnosis of nothing worse than what the nurse had said. Though at least confirmation that his HIV status hadn't transformed into something worse. Sometimes he had trouble with food when the shelters were full, but he went to the HIV clinic to get his meds.

The nurse also kindly brought him some fresh clothes. He did feel better as he prepared to leave.

Comments

[quitollis]

Aaron smiled, despite himself. "You're very kind, but... I can't. Not any more. It's...er... easier when I don't think about it too much."

A beat. "Thank you, though. For... this, I suppose."

[mooningremus]

“Don’t thank me, you might be better off if I hadn’t interrupted,” Remus said gently. “And I understand if you’d rather be alone now but if you’d like company or want to talk it’s not like I have plans.”

[quitollis]

I miss having you around, Aaron thought, but didn't say. "Well, I do enjoy your company very much."

[mooningremus]

“Well that’s very good because I’m not sure how else I might repay you for everything you did to help me.”

[quitollis]

Aaron smiled, truly happy to have helped. "Are you comfortable now? As well as you might be, of course."

[mooningremus]

He’d been considerably more comfortable on Aaron’s couch but he wasn’t going to say that. “It is nice knowing I always have a bed and a meal,” said Remus. “I’ve started looking for a new job.”

[quitollis]

"Oh, good. How is it going?" Aaron asked, glad for the change of subject.

[mooningremus]

“No luck yet,” said Remus. “But I’m hopeful. Actually… there’s a job at an LGBT youth center. It doesn’t pay much at all but I can’t imagine anything I’d rather do.” Except teach. “I’m trying not to get my hopes up. I’m going there Monday.”

[quitollis]

"That sounds great," Aaron said, supportive. "They'd be fools not to hire you. You have experience and a really...calming and trusting presence."

[mooningremus]

"Oh, that's very kind," said Remus, smiling. "I hope so. This feels like the one job where I can tell them the truth about my old job and why I was fired, and they won't hold it against me."

[quitollis]

"Perhaps you will find the support you need there as well," Aaron agreed with a nod.

[mooningremus]

"I would just like to get back to my life," Remus said. "It feels as if it's been on hold. And it might not be the life I thought it would be, but... but I just want to feel like a whole person again. Who can stand on my own."

[quitollis]

"Don't abandon the hope you might get back into teaching," Aaron said, gently. "I think you make a great teacher and I'm sure you'll find your way there again."

[mooningremus]

"Perhaps," said Remus. He paused a beat and then said, "I'd been toying with the idea of going back to school. Graduate studies in literature, perhaps to become a professor. But that seems even more out of reach now."

[quitollis]

"Why out of reach?" Aaron asked.

[mooningremus]

"Well... fired from a teaching job doesn't look any better in a university application than it does in a job application, and besides... I need to dig myself out of a horrid financial hole. I need to work."

[quitollis]

"If you get that job, it will certainly open doors. And you got fired for very dubious reasons. You may find some leniency."

[mooningremus]

"One step at a time then, I think," Remus said.

Then, after a moment - "Ah, where are we walking to?"

[quitollis]

"Oh... my flat? Is that inappropriate?" Aaron suddenly realized.

[mooningremus]

Inappropriate. Remus wondered why he chose that word.

"No, that's fine," Remus assured him quickly. "It's nice to be a guest there." And not a charity case.

[quitollis]

Aaron's mind was a bit of a jumble, so he couldn't say why he said it or even what he meant by it. Probably because he'd been in the mind-set to have sex and everything during that time seemed inappropriate. "And I like having you around."

[mooningremus]

"I'd also like to offer you an ear," Remus said gently. "If you want to talk. I imagine there isn't really anyone you can talk to about this."

[quitollis]

There was one, in fact, but Aaron found it difficult to talk to Alcuin. He knew the young man didn't want him to feel guilty about anything, but it was hard to overcome the idea that he'd paid him for sex.

"I don't know if there's much more to say..." Aaron deflected. "Or at least... I don't know what to say, or how to say it." That was more truthful.

[mooningremus]

"I understand," Remus said gently. "You also don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Aaron's flat was just ahead, so he added, "Why don't we open a bottle of wine. We can also just talk about rubbish."

[quitollis]

"I'd like that," Aaron said. He did want to talk, he found, except he truly didn't know what to say.