A man with dark messy hair is walking down the sidewalk to the same bar as always when he sees a young boy who looks to be in his early twenties, being beaten by a few guys in an alleyway. The boy is on the ground on his side, his back against the wall, while both of the older men kick him hard in the ribs. Both of the men laugh cruelly, grinning and smiling as they beat the boy to a pulp.
The man with the dark messy hair raises an eyebrow, his hands in his pockets while he watches the scene for a moment. The two men turn around.
"Who's there? What do you want, queer? You wanna get your ass kicked too- oof!"
He's quickly cut off as the dark-haired man kicks him square in the groin. The other man swings at him, but the dark-haired man ducks under the punch and hooks the guy under the jaw, knocking him out and onto his ass.
"You piece of shi-!"
One of the men yells out but is quickly cut off by the dark-haired man kicking him and the other man hard in the ribs and faces repeatedly. The dark-haired man grins and smiles widely, his sharp toothy smile would give anyone chills. He laughs with sadistic pleasure. Both men are now unconscious, and their faces are covered in blood.
The dark-haired man sighs slightly as he scratches his chin. He turns to the boy who had been being beaten. He casually walks over to him and leans over his body, not out of care, but out of curiosity of whether or not he is conscious.
He looks over the boy with hazel, slightly curly hair, wearing a dark blue hoodie with grey sweatpants, his clothes now dirty and bloodied, the boys' face and hair are coated in blood. His face swollen and gashed, lying there unconscious.
The dark-haired man sighs, looking over the unconscious boy for a moment before he pokes his torso with his boot.
"Hey, you alive bub?"
The boys' eyes slowly open, one of them anyway. The other eye too swollen to do so. He groans softly. The man decides to put the boy in a sitting position against the wall, looking at him with an unsympathetic look. He waits a moment for the boy to fully wake up, before he grabs him by the chin and tilts his head up.
"What's your name?"
He asks him, out of pure curiosity. His eyes have a certain edge to them that could turn someone's blood cold. The boy stays silent for a moment. Staring forward, his one open eye is dim and bruised.
"....Theo...."
His voice is quiet and extremely weak. Blood is pouring down his nose and pricking the corners of his mouth. He looks small and frail. The man grins.
"Name's Rufus."
He yawns slightly as he scratches one of his armpits.
"You're lucky I came along, Theo." He moves closer to him now. "You would have been dead if I hadn't shown up and saved yer sorry ass."
Theo looks up at Rufus with half lidded, bruised eyes.
".......why?...."
His voice is quiet, barely audible. His breathing comes out labored and weezed. Blood dripping down his chin. Rufus raises an eyebrow.
"Huh? You askin why I saved you?" He shrugs. "Because I felt like it. I saw you getting yer ass beat and thought it would be fun to fuck some guys up."
He says, as if that's the most normal thing in the world. Theo just looks at him. Not responding. He coughs and weezes slightly. His ribs are most likely broken.
..This guy's boring. Maybe I should just leave him here. Shit, Isaac's gonna be pissed at me.
Rufus thinks for a moment, still kneeled down in front of Theo, looking back at the two men he just knocked out cold.
"....please don't....hurt me...."
His voice is weak and quiet. His breathing sounds painful.
Rufus' eyes widen slightly, Theo's words striking a chord in him. The words repeating in his head, his hand still on Theo's chin to hold his head up. He stares down at him, his eyes softening a little.
"Why would I hurt you? I just saved you, moron." He says, although this time his voice is much more subdued. Rufus looks down at the kid for another moment before deciding to actually help him, acting against his better judgment. He stands up and holds out a hand to the kid.
"C'mon, let's get you to a hospital."
Theo looks at Rufus' hand for a moment.
He slowly holds out his own shaky, bloody hand and takes the man's hand in his. Rufus grips the kid's shaky hand tightly and helps him to his feet. Theo suddenly starts to fall forward as his eyes struggle not to close. Rufus quickly catches the boy and instinctively wraps both of his arms around him, cradling Theo and pulling him against his chest.
"Easy... easy, I got you.."
Theo's body is light and limp, letting out quiet weezed breaths. Rufus slowly realizes that he's basically hugging the boy. He hasn't felt the warmth of another person in so long. He doesn't even remember the last time he genuinely hugged someone. He holds the kid silently, comforting him in a moment of genuine humanity.
Why the hell am I holding this kid?..Why the hell am I helping him?
Rufus keeps Theo in his arms, staring at him for a moment. He realizes how much power he has in this moment over the kid. The only one there to save his life. It's almost intoxicating. Like he's saving a puppy on its last legs.
Rufus slowly starts walking out of the alleyway while holding Theo close to his side. He can feel just how skinny the boy is. The alleyway is left covered in blood, and the bodies of the two men Rufus beat up. Theo groans slightly as he lets out more weezed breaths, his eyes barely open. The boy's legs shaking slightly. Rufus sighs, becoming annoyed that he's even helping this kid.
A few minutes pass, and Rufus walks into the hospital while holding up Theo's battered body. Rufus carefully brings him to the front desk where a nurse greets them.
"Hello-"
Her eyes widen as she looks at the two. Rufus looks at her and grins.
"This guy got his ass kicked."
