Title: Standing Still
Pairing: Rahyuk
Related Chapter: 48, 55, 64, 76, 84, 91, 100, 113, 123, 137, 152, 157, 160, 168, 180, 198
Word Count: 898

Ravi watched as the rain poured, thunder rumbling through the air and lightning lighting up the night dark gray sky. It was a miserable day, that much was for sure. It seemed like everyone who came into the small café was in horrible moods, too. Ravi had lost track of how many people had been extra snappy with him and the day was only half over.

“Hey,” his co-worker and friend, Hongbin, said, “look out there.”

Ravi followed Hongbin’s gaze to find a young man standing just outside the shop. The boy just stood there, like he was frozen. The two watched for several moment, waiting for the boy to do something other than just stand there.

“Someone should do something,” Hongbin finally said, “I mean, we can’t just leave him out there.” he paused, “what if he’s planning to kill himself? We really shouldn’t leave him be if that’s what he’s thinking.”

“I’ll go get him,” Ravi sighed, a bit reluctant to do anything in case the boy snapped at him.

Ravi exited the café and was soon soaked to the bone thanks to the heavy rain. He approached the boy and tapped on his shoulder. The boy blinked before slowly turning to face Ravi. The first thing that Ravi noticed about the boy was his eyes. They looked…….empty. he wondered if maybe Hongbin’s suicide theory was right.

“Yes?” the boy finally said, voice just as empty as his eyes.

“You shouldn’t stand out here in the rain,” Ravi said, “you’ll catch cold.”

“Oh,” the boy nodded, “ok.” the pair fell silent, the boy just looking at Ravi like he was waiting for him to leave and Ravi waiting for the boy to go someplace out of the rain.

“Come on,” Ravi sighed when he realized the boy wasn’t going to move on his own, “I’ll pay for a coffee or something. my shift is over anyway.”

Ravi took the boy’s hand and lead him into the café. The boy looked down at their joined hands, a look of curiosity on his face. It was like he didn’t understand what Ravi was doing, like he had never seen it before in his life.

Once inside, Ravi ordered the boy a hot chocolate and sat him down at one of the tables by the café’s fireplace. He gave the boy one last, hard look as if ordering him to stay with his eyes alone before ducking into the backroom to change into his normal cloths. He dropped his uniform on the ground, the material hitting the floor with a wet slapping sound, and frowned at just how wet it had gotten in such a short amount of time. he couldn’t help but wonder how wet and cold the boy had to be since he’d been outside longer.

“He’s still there,” Hongbin said when Ravi came out, “he hasn’t moved. Not even to take a sip of his drink. I really think something’s wrong with him.”

“Same,” Ravi nodded, “his eyes looked……empty. Like there was nothing there.”

“What do you want to do?” Hongbin questioned.

“I’m going to find out his name,” Ravi decided after a moment, “and then I’m going to take him home.”

As Ravi made his way over to the boy, he took note of several things other than the boy’s eyes. For starts, the boy’s clothing looked old. Like, cheep second hand store kind of old. His hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed or cut in ages, too. Finally, the boy had a backpack at his feet, stuffed so full it looked like the boy might have stuffed his whole life inside of it.

“You don’t have to help me,” the boy said when Ravi sat down across from him.

“I know,” Ravi nodded, frowning slightly at hoe the boy sounded so…upset with everything, “I wanted to.”

“No one wants to help people like me,” the boy scoffed.

On one hand, Ravi was relieved to be getting some kind of emotion out of the boy. However that emotion was anger and sadness. The kind that can only be found in people who are going through a lot of bad things.

“What’s your name?” Ravi asked.

“Hyuk,” the boy replied.

“And where do you live?” Ravi had a feeling he knew the answer, but he didn’t want to say it.

“Nowhere,” the boy locked eyes with Ravi, silently challenging him, “still want to help me out?”

“Yes,” Ravi nodded, “I still want to help.” He took a bit of satisfaction in seeing Hyuk’s surprised eyes.

“You can’t,” Hyuk finally said, glaring at the table, “not unless you can crap out apartments.”

“I can’t crap out places to live,” Ravi shrugged, “but my roommate just moved out and I have an empty room.”

A part of Ravi wondered why he’d offer something like that to a kid he found on a street corner in the rain. What of the kid was a killer or a thief or something like that? but Ravi knew – he just knew – that the kid in front of him needed help. He knew that if someone didn’t help Hyuk soon, he’d be on another street corner soon, standing there perfectly still as he waited for a bus.

“Fine,” Hyuk finally said, looking a bit unsure even as he tried to hide behind a mask of indifference, “if you’re offering, I’ll take it.”

A/N: this…….doesn’t really fit the theme, does it? I like it, but *hands head* I need to stick to the theme more, don’t it?