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With half-lidded eyes, Ryan stared at the brick wall in front of him. He curled into his ratty hoodie, trying to get comfortable. Or as comfortable as he can get lying in a cardboard-box-and-stray-sheet-fort in a back alley of Austin, Texas. Watching the sky turn darker by the minute, Ryan tried to ignore the deep rumbling of his stomach.
He hadn't eaten today, or the day before. Even after a year on the streets, pride and shame sometimes kept him from begging for food. He couldn't help it. If you ever saw the looks people could give. . . you would feel too ashamed to beg.
A year ago, if someone had told Ryan that he would be homeless, he would've laughed in their face.
But when you get robbed, every single penny stolen, shit happens. His boyfriend at the time proceeded to walk out on him. Apparently he was only dating Ryan for his money. The bank, the same one that had lost his money, soon came to take his home. With only the clothes in his back and a small rucksack of essentials and personal treasures, he took to the streets of Austin.
Why didn't he go to his parents, you ask? Well his highly Christian, highly southern parents didn't even claim him anymore. Why would they? He was gay. A faggot. A sin. An abomination.
So here he sat, stomach protesting and head heavy with sleep when Ryan saw him.
Passing by the mouth of the alley, a total of twenty steps at most, was an Adonis. Tall, lanky, and golden brown hair that seemed purposely teased to stick up in every direction. As opposed to his own filthy appearance, he was nothing. Simple scum of the earth. Sure he was tall, and he had broad shoulders, but was about it. His hair was shaggy, greasy, and unkempt. He was sure he reeked, but he couldn't really tell anymore. Ryan hadn't bathed in quite awhile, and it was obvious.
In the moments it took to process all of this information, Ryan's stomach let loose the loudest growl he'd ever heard. And apparently loud enough for the Greek God passing by to stop in confusion.
Peeking through a small home in the side of his box, than watched the man take a few small steps into the alley. Oh no. This beautiful man can't see him like this. Ryan huddled deeper into his home, praying for his stomach to quiet down. And for the man to stop being so curious.
But alas, neither of those things are going to come true. Ryan heard the man's footsteps come to a stop right outside
"Hello?" The man spoke and dear sweet Jesus that accent. His stomach must've replied for him because suddenly the flap of his door was pushed aside. Cloudy blue eyes met shining green ones, and Ryan thought he was going to die of embarrassment.
*-*-*-*
Gavin's heart broke at the sight of the man before him. Dark blue eyes, cheeks caked in dirt, and baggy clothes. He set his box of leftovers down to the side, and shifted from squatting to kneeling. The man looked honest-to-God scared, and Gavin instantly wanted to remedy that.
"My name's Gavin, what's yours?" He asked gently, and watched as the stranger's eyes roamed his body, scrutinizing him. After a minute of near silence, the only noise being the man's stomach, Gavin was going to ask again when he heard a deep, scratchy voice.
"Ryan." The stranger - no Ryan, spoke, clearing his throat immediately after. He reached down to a half empty water bottle and took a small sip. Small enough that Gavin couldn't tell if the water level even dropped.
Gavin smiled a little bit. Now he had a name to work with.
"So Ryan," the name rolled off his lips pleasantly, causing said man to shiver lightly. Gavin blanched a little, not quite sure what to say. What can you say to a homeless man without being awkward or rude? Luckily, or unluckily, Ryan's stomach gave a low roar, making the man bite his lip and curl in on himself.
"Are you hungry?" Gavin could've smacked himself. Of course he was hungry, he was bloody homeless! Ryan just gave a tiny nod, almost scared to answer. He noticed Ryan's nose twitch, and how his eyes flickered down to Gavin's side and back up to his face every couple of seconds.
Then Gavin remembered his box of food.
"Oh I've been a right prick. Here, would you like this, Ryan?" Gavin offered the styrofoam box to the man and his heart shattered at Ryan's hesitant look.
Ryan was worrying his lip between his teeth rather aggressively, seeming to weigh the pros and cons of the situation.
Gavin could only watch the man go through the mental debate before there was another noise of hunger.
"Y-you're sure I can have it?" Ryan stuttered quietly, looking at Gavin with what he'd describe as puppy dog eyes. Gavin simply nodded, placing the food in Ryan's hut. He took it, gratefully popping the lid. He gazed at the food with hungry eyes.
"My friend treated me to dinner, but we filled up on bread and the appetizer." Gavin replied to his still cautious look. Curiosity sated, Ryan dug in. It was only a burger and steak fries, but Ryan acted as though it were a three course lobster entrée. Well, to him, it may as well have been.
Gavin stayed by Ryan's side while he ate, coaxing small bits of information from the man between bites of food. He learned that Ryan was thirty-four (after learning the date), his last name was Haywood, and he was from Georgia.
About halfway through eating, Ryan paused to sip at his water some more, and a thought seemed to cross his mind.
"Why. . . why did you do this, Gavin?" Ryan tilted his head at him. His eyes glazed with that guarded look again, and Gavin nearly panicked. He'd been making progress! Realizing that Ryan was still waiting for an answer, Gavin simply gave him a bright smile.
"I did it because no one deserves to go hungry. Especially when there's something I can do about it." He watched Ryan's face relax again, reassured that the Brit was being genuinely kind to him.
So in turn, Gavin shared about himself as Ryan ate. Describing how he came from Oxfordshire years ago to work on a web series. How he was utterly obsessed with slow motion cinematography. How he loved the job he had now and wouldn't trade it for the world.
Ryan seemed to perk up at the mention of video games. The two of them sat there for awhile, just talking about games, Ryan's food finished long ago. Gavin found out that Ryan was a theater major in college, and he worked with computers for a living before the. . . incident, as they'd been referring to it as. That was when the idea had started blooming in his mind. But he'd have to speak to Geoff in length before any of it could be put into action.
Gavin was pulled from his thoughts as Ryan yawned, eyes drooping slightly.
"I should let you get to sleep, Ryan. I've kept you up past your bedtime." The Brit laughed lightly, moving to get up. Ryan's hand shot out to grip his wrist, keeping him from leaving.
"I'll see you again, right Gavin?" Ryan asked, his blue eyes filled with fear. Gavin smiled softly in reply.
"Of course, lovely Ryan. I'll come see you soon. And I'll bring you some more food." Gavin grinned, reassuring the man with his gentle words. Ryan's lips twitched into a small smile of his own, letting Gavin go. When he was freed, he stood up to stretch his legs.
Ryan looked up at him from his box with gratitude. So much, that his words radiated the emotion.
"Thank you, Gavin. . . for everything." He spoke quietly, clasping his hands together.
"It was my pleasure. Cheers, Ryan." Gavin waved as he walked away. As soon as he turned the corner, he whipped out his phone. His thumbs flew across the screen, alerting Geoff to the long talk they were going to have when he got back to the house.