*I was busy with celebrations so I could update just today...Enjoy!* 

PART #1

"Hey! You can't sleep here"

Cho Kyuhyun had closed his eyes. He was exhausted and couldn't physically stay awake any longer. Sleep came quickly, the sleep of the desperate man, despite the furious aching pain in his lower back. He had been in pain for the last week.

Ironically the ice and frigid temperatures, were freezing his extremities, helped ease the aching. Behind his eyes he saw a room decorated for Christmas. A tree stood tall in the far corner with sparkling fairy lights.

"You can't sleep here"

Presents were scattered all over.

"Hey, you can't sleep here"

Outside the window it was snowing, not a blizzard, but soft fat flakes, which fell in a mesmerizing dance to the floor.

"Hey…"

Kyuhyun bent down, picking up the first present, looking back at his mom. She was smiling and happy to see her son so excited.

"Hey!"

Someone was speaking to him from outside the room, but he couldn't see who. That didn't matter, because if he concentrated hard, he could focus on the gifts. It was a happy family Christmas.

"You can't sleep here"

The voice from outside the room was suddenly right in his ear. Abruptly, his eyes snapped wide open and, after a second, focused on the person of the words.

Kyuhyun actually saw very little beyond the sudden blur of a navy blue uniform, and then focused on the speaker's eyes. He couldn´t see at all because of the streetlight, and there were small puffs of white hanging in the air, created by the man's breath.

! Somehow someone had seen him and reported him, or the cop had spotted him. He was being moved on again. He pulled at the thin jacket that covered him and tried to focus on the man in front of him. Kyuhyun had so hoped to avoid the law, cautiously optimistic that the churchyard might be a place of sanctuary on Christmas Eve.

"Sorry" - he said quickly, trying to stand up as fast as he could manage, which wasn't entirely that fast considering the aching cold that seemed to split his bones in two. He cursed as his blanket fell from his numb hands and landed in the snow at his feet. That was the only warmth he had, and now the damn thing was going to be wet.

Still, there was no time to worry about that, the cop wanted him to move on. He leaned down to pick it up, only to see the ground spinning up to his face at an alarming speed. Strong arms stopped him from face-planting in the snow, but he avoided them quickly. The man might be a cop, but no one touched him. Kyuhyun knew what men could want from the child he still was. He wasn't stupid.

"How old are you?" - the cop asked, looking concerned and very much in authority.

"Eighteen" - Kyuhyun lied quickly. He took a step back until his thighs hit the back of the bench he had been resting on.

 The cop stepped with him and realized he was just a few inches shorter than the cop, but the man was frowning.

 "How old are you really?" - the cop persisted, his expression calm, his voice low and curious.

Kyuhyun bit his lower lip, the shivering inside him starting to manifest in shakes he knew even the cop would see. Carefully Kyuhyun lifted the damp and cold blanket, trying to create a barrier between himself and the police officer with the intense gaze.

"Seventeen - Kyuhyun finally said - But I'll be eighteen in a few days."

"Choi Siwon" - the cop said softly, holding his hand out as if he wanted to shake Kyuhyun's.

 Kyuhyun was confused, waiting for the cuffs. Uncertain, he dug his hands deeper in the wet blanket he was holding. The cop, this Choi Siwon, didn't move his hand, just held it firm and steady. Finally Kyuhyun his cold hand out, the texture of the officer's leather gloves soft and strange beneath his touch.

"Kyuhyun" - he introduced himself softly, remembering not to mention his surname. The cop just nodded and pulled his hand away.

"So, Kyuhyun, what's happened to you? Why are you lying on the bench at the Church of St. Myong on Christmas Eve?"

The officer wasn't shouting; he was asking quietly, but Kyuhyun immediately started to go on the defensive.

 "I…" - Kyuhyun stopped, thinking of the stories he had used to persuade people to leave him alone.

I don't have a home.

Maybe… maybe he should tell him the truth?

"I can't be at home right now" - Kyuhyun said finally, wincing as the cop's gloved hand traced the bruises over his left eye and down his jaw line.

"Who did this to you, Kyuhyun? Did this happen here in this town?"

The officer's words were soft, insistent and not very cop-like. Zach shied away instantly from the gentle touch. He seemed friendly enough, but what if it was just another act? Cautiously, and trying not reveal his intentions, he looked to his left and then to his right. If he was going to run, he needed a head start and being held or cornered would take that head start away.

"I fell" - he said firmly, the same line he had used for most of his life.

"Uh huh"

The officer didn't push for any more information, just nodded at the simple statement and took a step back and away. He spoke directly into his radio.

"I'm heading home now. It was nothing to worry about at the church."

"You can't sleep here. I'll find you a room for tonight, and we'll deal with the rest in the morning."

 Kyuhyun's eyes widened. He wasn't going anywhere with any stranger, not unless he was under arrest. This cop was going to find him a room? Probably some out of the way no-tell motel. . No way this was going to happen.  

"No. Thank you, but, no, I have to… go to the station for the train." - He said and tried not to let hopelessness into his voice. He clearly had some sort of purpose for being on the bench in the snow on Christmas Eve and the cop should respect that. It was a free country.

 "Okay, Kyuhyun - the cop sighed - We can do this one of two ways. It's late, and it is the night before Christmas. I really want to go home to be with my family and you are kind of making this all very difficult. Now you can come with me, get a decent meal, a shower and maybe some warmer clothes and then you can sleep for the night in a warm bed. This can be all your own choice, or I can make it official and arrest you, then force you to go."

Kyuhyun heard every word, looked around desperately, at the small church, the graveyard, the bench, at the snow, and back at the really young-looking cop in front of him.

 He was so screwed.

The ice beneath his feet brought him insistent pain. The strength in his legs was failing. He had run for so many days. Why was it that his body was choosing now to give up?

"So - the cop continued - I don´t have all night. I really don't want to spend my Christmas Eve standing over your frozen body and explaining your death to the medical examiner. So your choice is?"

He didn't have a choice. He knew it, and the cop knew it. He straightened as best he could, the pain in his lower back burning back to its usual level.

"Okay" - Kyuhyun said quietly. After all this was a cop. How could it be wrong to want to be warm for just one night?

They walked in silence for little more than ten minutes on the cold empty streets, past a town square and a clock built into the wall of a small library. It told him the time was eleven-thirty.

Then the cop led Kyuhyun towards a house at the end of a row of similar houses. Kyuhyun could see the tree standing in the window with Christmas lights welcoming them.

Officer Choi opened a door and got in, gesturing for Kyuhyun to follow. The boy hesitated. He could feel the warmth inside but this man was a stranger after all.

"Siwon?"

The voice was soft, and a woman appeared from somewhere inside, stopping at the cop's side. She was tall and neat and wore a concerned looked on her face. She reminded him of his own mom.

"What's wrong?"  - she asked.

"We have a guest for Christmas, Mom" - he replied softly, pulling the boy inside the house and closing the door.

 A momentary twist of fear made his stomach ache. He hadn't been shut inside by doors for a week and being there felt like a prison.

The cop, Siwon, guided him into a side room where he could see a fire in the grate, the tree near the window, and presents lay at the foot of it.

Kyuhyun got his first real look at the man who had pulled him in from the churchyard. He was a slight bit taller than Kyuhyun, solid and muscled with dark hair and big eyes. He was handsome. His uniform looked good on him, fitted him close and neat.

 "This is Kyuhyun. He needs some clothes and somewhere to sleep tonight" - Siwon's voice was deep and certain. He didn't make excuses for bringing a stranger to his momma's house, and in return, she didn't seem all that angry.

"Hello, Kyuhyun - He winced at the soft words from the cop's mom - Go and clean up and I'll warm up some soup. Siwon, show Kyuhyun the bathroom, get him some towels, and maybe some of your sweatpants, dear."

She smiled at him but Kyuhyun was disorientated, exhausted, and in pain.

The next hour was a daze of heat and water in the shower, the door locked against anyone who might attempt to push their way in. He hadn't used a toothbrush in a week, and the new toothpaste and brush cleaned up his teeth as he stared into the small mirror over the sink.

Kyuhyun finally felt sanitary for the first time in at least seven days. The last time he had managed to clean himself up was two days ago in the bus station waiting room.

He stared at himself dispassionately in the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. His body always was too skinny, as he grew tall so quickly. At least his brown hair was clean and combed back away from his face. His brown eyes were tired and bloodshot, with purpling bruises along the edge of them. He looked pathetic. He felt pathetic.

The cop had left him sweats that were too big for his long thin frame, but they were warm, dry, and felt soft on his clean skin. He put on a t-shirt, then a sweatshirt, and finally looked back again at the mirror in the bathroom, tears clouding his eyes.

For the first time in days, Kyuhyun was really seeing himself in something other than a shop window. He knew he had lost a lot of weight but he looked better than usual.

He knew he had to go and face the cop and the cop's mom. Cautiously he opened the bathroom door, some small part of him expecting the cop to be standing outside waiting with cuffs. He wasn't there, but it didn't make Kyuhyun feel any less nervous.

 He headed to the hall, following the voices in the kitchen. Apparently they had been talking about him, because when he walked into the room, the silence was immediate and somewhat uncomfortable.

The cop was sitting at the table, a mug in his hands, looking impossibly young for a cop in the bright light of the kitchen. His mom stood at the stove stirring something in a pan. Her eyes warmed as she looked over at him, her lips curving in a smile.

 "Chicken soup okay with you, honey?" - she asked him gently.

"Yes, ma'am - he blurted quickly - I would like some soup"

She poured what smelled like heaven into a bowl, telling Kyuhyun to sit and then proceeding to watch him like a hawk as he ate. He didn´t care that she watched him or that the cop hadn't moved from his seat and still looked at him. In fact they were probably both sitting and judging him for how he looked and where the cop had found him.

"Siwon, dear, are you off shift now?"

"Until tomorrow."

"Go change out of your uniform. There are still some of your clothes upstairs from last weekend. Maybe you can give me and the young here time to talk."

Kyuhyun lifted his head at this, bread halfway to his mouth. The talk. . He was screwed.

"Back in ten" - Siwon said clear and firm, and Kyuhyun watched as the broad-shouldered man left the kitchen.

"So, Kyuhyun, I'm guessing you aren't here by choice?" - She started innocently and watched him carefully.

He felt uncomfortable and nervous all of a sudden. He didn't deserve this, and he didn't know quite how to handle it.

 "No, ma'am" - he finally said, biting his bread. He didn´t feel like revealing much of his life.

"Siwon tells me you're nearly eighteen, but that he knows nothing except your first name"

 Damn. His surname, she wanted to know his surname. He guessed it didn't matter much now, as there was no way he was going home. There were only two more days until he turned eighteen. It was too late for the cop's mom to track down his family.

"Cho Kyuhyun, ma'am - he finally offered - I'm eighteen on the twenty-seventh of December"

 She nodded thoughtfully.

 "Can you tell me w