Noah burst through the supermarket doors, groceries in hand, frustrated, but his heart was still pounding from embarrassment. He walked through the empty streets, past the snow-covered traffic lights, and finally took a shortcut through a quiet alleyway. 

His collar was pulled up high against the cold, his cheeks flushed a light shade of pink from the air. Snow was unusual at this time of year. It was only the beginning of October; normally it would be quite warm and sunny weather. Hopefully, the snow didn't last till Halloween.

He walked through the calm alleyway, a place he always went to when he needed to hide from the eyes of the world. Mainly, he wanted to hide from Daniel. It would take him a bit to recover from that.

Tonight of all nights, he was alone.

The snowflakes drifted down from the sky, settling on the ground and clinging to his long lashes. It made him look ethereal in the dim lighting, even when he was feeling anything but.

He might've found peace in the silence if not for the figure sprawled on the cold pavement, half-buried in snow. Judging from how much snow there actually was, they had been there for a long time. Noah's pulse sped up as he quickened his pace toward the person. 

He dropped to his knees without thinking and pressed his fingers against the stranger's neck. 

There was a pulse. 

It was fainter than he'd like, but it was there. They were alive. A wave of relief washed over him instantly. He wasn't the strongest person alive, but the adrenaline strengthened him. 

With both arms, he hauled the boy upright, pulled his second jacket off, and draped it over him. He leaned back down to grab the groceries and got ready to move.

Home was close. He was sure he'd be able to make it with him. Just two or four blocks. Although it wasn't far, the walk seemed endless while carrying a stranger twice his size. When he finally reached his doorstep, he dug into his pocket and found his keys. Then he swiftly unlocked the door and kicked it open.

He had never been happier to step inside. He half-dragged the boy to the couch and checked again for any wounds he might've missed in the cold. He turned on the lights to see better. The pulse was still weak.

Finally, he suspected that he might have hypothermia. Which was understandable. Considering the man was buried in snow like some kind of sad raccoon.

Noah looked at the unconscious man's features. Not exactly a man... He didn't look much older than Noah. Maybe a year or two at most. He wasn't sure.

 He covered him with a blanket and walked over to the thermostat and adjusted the temperature. 

Noah glanced back at the boy again. He was tempted to stay by his side and hope he woke, but then again he would probably wake up hungry. He himself was planning to eat instant noodles, but he decided to make something from scratch.

Some stew would help him. He checked his pantry for supplies. It was mostly empty, but he was planning to go shopping tomorrow for actual food. He grabbed the leftover supplies and started cooking.

 In the end, he decided to make something from scratch for himself as well. He looked back eventually, studying the stranger. Messy dark hair fell across the boy's forehead. Long, thick lashes reached his cheeks in his sleep. From what he could tell, his skin was tanned, the same way someone would look if they'd spent their life in a beach-like environment.

In contrast to Noah, who was pale from constantly working indoors. Another thing Noah noticed was his height. He was incredibly tall. Like way taller than Noah. Possibly twice his height considering the way he was the same length as the couch. 

This sparked a pang of jealousy in Noah. Yet another human being who was taller than him.

Showoff.

The boy was muscular too. Not the kind of muscles from gym workouts, but muscles from hard work. He looked strong. Like someone who might bench press him. 

Finally, the last thing his eyes landed on was the boy's lips. They were soft. Full lips that looked softer than a baby's bottom. A thought crossed his mind.

I wonder how they would feel against—

Noah cursed himself under his breath, shaking his head. He turned back to his pan.

What the hell is wrong with me? I'm such a pervert for thinking about him like that...

Meanwhile, the boy stirred on the couch. Noah's attention quickly snapped back to him, and he froze.

The boy's eyes fluttered open and heterochromatic eyes met his. The boy looked confused under the dim light.

"Who the fuck are you?"