This story was adapted from one of my stories written as Dreamweaver705. In that story, the romance occurred between a man and a younger woman. Here the story is of two men finding each other when most they need someone. All participants are over 18.
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It was barely half-past-five and as the sun went down the mercury was falling even faster. The media had been reporting on it all day. The temperature was expected to hit a record low tonight even for this northern clime, possibly as low as forty-five degrees below zero. Everyone was warned to stay off the streets and there was a scramble to help the homeless to shelter.
This was in my thoughts as I walked home from work and I watched everyone rushing to wherever they needed to go, do whatever they needed to do and get inside for the night. People were plugging in their cars, chimneys were puffing away and it was reassuring to think that I would be home soon too. But with that reassurance came a little guilt. There were a lot of people without homes out there. I always wondered what they did at times like this. I had helped out a little and in very small ways. I mean, what's it worth to lead a freezing man to a heated bank machine enclosure to get warm? Nothing to me, everything to him, I guess.
As I walked out of the downtown core toward my residential street, I passed by a large department store's loading dock, and by chance I happened to hear a muffled whimper through my hood and the whipping wind. I stopped, looked around and there huddled down against a garbage dumpster near the loading dock doors was a girl and she was crying.
No, it was not a girl! It was a very feminine boy.
He was young, perhaps twenty. And pretty in that way that boys sometimes are. I'd seen him before. He seemed to live on the streets, or at least he had for the past few months. This was the first time I'd ever seen him alone though. Not only alone now, but cold and miserable too. And my heart went out to him.
I just stood there. He noticed me looking at him and he looked back, trying to dry his eyes and not doing very well.
I started to turn away, thinking I should leave and was immediately ashamed that such should be my first instinct at a time like that. I turned back and held out a hand to the youth.
He was wary at first, but perhaps thinking he'd die in this cold, he took a chance on me. I pulled him to his feet gently and walked him to a nearby cafΓ©. The place was nearly empty and I gestured to him to take a seat, and keeping my feet, asked what he would like to drink.
"Hot chocolate," he said gratefully. "Please," he added.
"Hot chocolate it is," I said. I went to the counter, got myself a coffee as well and returned to the table with our drinks. "Are you hungry?"
He was. I got him a sandwich and a salad. He devoured it in moments, washing it down with the hot drink. He had barely looked at me before he finished his meal, but now that he was done, he favoured me with a dazzling smile of gratitude and thanked me.
"You're welcome," I said.
Now that he had made eye contact, he seemed unwilling to let go of it. "Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You helped me. Do you have any idea how many people never turn to look, never slow down, just don't care?"
I thought about it. I answered as honestly as I could. "I don't know. I've walked by lots of people lots of times, including you. I guess I always thought it would just turn out alright. But tonight, getting as cold as it's getting... well, I guess I couldn't leave it to chance. You looked so defeated..."
He nodded.
"By the way," I said, "I'm Brent."
"I'm Tim."
We talked a little while. It turned out he had been living on the streets with another boy, and even though it had been hard, they were doing okay, finding places to sleep, making just enough panhandling to get a meal a day. Tim had left home to be with him when his parents disapproved of them being together. A lot of hard things were said and he didn't feel like he could ever go back there. Tim didn't say what had happened to the other boy, but it was obvious he wasn't around anymore. When he talked about him, you could hear the sadness and the anger. He had sacrificed his family for him and he had abandoned him. He was alone now.
I started to say something and hesitated. Then I decided just to say it. "Look, where are you going to stay tonight? I mean, if you want, you can come back to my place, have a shower, wash your clothes, sleep in a warm place." I could hear how it sounded. A man in his thirties inviting a much younger man back to his place for the night. I was sure he assumed I had ulterior motives, but I honestly acted out of concern. "A bed of your own, I mean. I, um, I don't want you to get the wrong idea... I'm not gay or anything and I'm not trying to..." I stammered on and on. "Look, I just want to help. If you want, you can come back to my place. I won't touch you."
He listened patiently. I am sure he'd had lots of offers of help at a price before. On the street, I suppose everything has its price. I sincerely was not suggesting that he had to pay me in favours. Perhaps my sincerity came across.
"You seem like a nice guy," Tim said, a little warily. "Don't you have a family?"
"Yes," I said. "I was married. Divorced now. I have two kids, a girl and a boy, both younger than you. They live with their mom. I get them every second weekend."
In the end, he must have decided I was okay. We went back to my place and I showed him around the apartment. "Bathroom, kitchen-help yourself to anything you want there-living room-I'll crash there tonight-and over there is the bedroom, where you can sleep."
Tim tried not to look obviously relieved that I had not turned into Mister Hyde as soon as I got him into the apartment. Frankly, it had occurred to me to wonder if I could trust him. After all, he was living a desperate life. He might rob me blind. He seemed clear enough, but I didn't know if he was into drugs; he might be looking to raid my medicine cabinets. I dismissed the concern. If I was honest with my-self, I had to admit that since the divorce I had damn little in my possession of any real value and there were no drugs in my house, prescription or otherwise. He could take pretty much anything and I would likely never care.
He took off the thin coat he'd been wearing, left his ragged shoes at the door and sat down nervously on the couch. I turned on the TV for him, and tossed him the remote. "Go ahead."
He enjoyed that. I guess it had been awhile since he watched any television. I made him a cup of tea and he thanked me. The TV had turned out to be a good icebreaker. He was getting more relaxed and comfortable by the moment.