Ayden Zhang ✘ Amaimon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
misgives) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
savetheearth2013-04-25 12:08 am
misgives) wrote in savetheearth2013-04-25 12:08 am
desperate times
WHO: Kotetsu and Ayden
WHAT: It was only really a matter of time before Ayden got himself in trouble with the law.
WHEN: Evening of the 16th.
WHERE: Around and about the Dead District.
It's been days since Ayden had anything in his stomach he could call a meal. He's so hungry that he can't think of anything else. His head spins and his hands shake. It's been a long time since he's had such a bad run of luck that it's left him this hungry. He got into a fight just yesterday when he last had his hands on any food, and, well. The cut on his lip and the tender bruises on his ribs stand testament for who won that bout.
He hates stealing. It's not really a moral thing. As someone who's got absolutely nothing, who's never had anything, he doesn't really think that much of taking a little bit from people who have better. He tries not to steal from people who are kind to him, but the people who'd spit on him sooner than make eye contact-- Them, he doesn't care so much about.
No, he hates stealing because it's almost a sure way of getting himself into trouble.
Because he could end up in jail or worse.
But right now he's so hungry that he'd do anything, give anything to make it stop.
...
Reminds him of being at home again, actually.
He rubs his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He's not crying. Not really. His eyes are dry, at least. But he feels a little sick right now, a little bit overwhelmed by everything and he just--
He'll feel better once he eats.
There's this one gas station on the corner he's looking at now. If he just runs in, maybe he can grab a sandwich or two from the stand by the door and get out before anyone can grab him. He doesn't feel like he could run too far in the state he's in, but he has to try.
And so he takes off, not letting himself stop to think about what he's doing or what he might be getting himself into.
"Hey, stop! Stop! Thief! Get back here, you little-"
Ayden doesn't stick around to hear the rest. Hugging the sandwich and handful of candy bars he snagged to his chest, he bolts out of the gas station and around the corner as fast as he can.
WHAT: It was only really a matter of time before Ayden got himself in trouble with the law.
WHEN: Evening of the 16th.
WHERE: Around and about the Dead District.
It's been days since Ayden had anything in his stomach he could call a meal. He's so hungry that he can't think of anything else. His head spins and his hands shake. It's been a long time since he's had such a bad run of luck that it's left him this hungry. He got into a fight just yesterday when he last had his hands on any food, and, well. The cut on his lip and the tender bruises on his ribs stand testament for who won that bout.
He hates stealing. It's not really a moral thing. As someone who's got absolutely nothing, who's never had anything, he doesn't really think that much of taking a little bit from people who have better. He tries not to steal from people who are kind to him, but the people who'd spit on him sooner than make eye contact-- Them, he doesn't care so much about.
No, he hates stealing because it's almost a sure way of getting himself into trouble.
Because he could end up in jail or worse.
But right now he's so hungry that he'd do anything, give anything to make it stop.
...
Reminds him of being at home again, actually.
He rubs his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He's not crying. Not really. His eyes are dry, at least. But he feels a little sick right now, a little bit overwhelmed by everything and he just--
He'll feel better once he eats.
There's this one gas station on the corner he's looking at now. If he just runs in, maybe he can grab a sandwich or two from the stand by the door and get out before anyone can grab him. He doesn't feel like he could run too far in the state he's in, but he has to try.
And so he takes off, not letting himself stop to think about what he's doing or what he might be getting himself into.
"Hey, stop! Stop! Thief! Get back here, you little-"
Ayden doesn't stick around to hear the rest. Hugging the sandwich and handful of candy bars he snagged to his chest, he bolts out of the gas station and around the corner as fast as he can.
/belatedly...slides in here...
There's been so much to process in such a short time, and Kotetsu doesn't know where to begin to start. Everything is so uncertain now, even more than it's always been to some extent. He feels as if he's jumping ship from the only life he's ever known for the sake of something he doesn't understand--only knowing that he can't let what happened to Paul Ben, to Jack Sears stand. It wasn't justice, and maybe for all his years on the force it was naive to think that way, but it was the only way Kotetsu could stand to look at himself in the mirror knowing what he does now. He has to help make this right, somehow.
Kotetsu is so absorbed in his thoughts he doesn't even hear the kid coming until the sudden collision, and even as he stumbles back slightly, it takes him a few seconds to register what happened before he bends down to offer the kid a hand up.
"Be a little more careful, huh?"
It doesn't occur to him straightaway that this boy might be homeless, or that that food that just went scattering across the ground was stolen. But that should change as soon as the shopkeep catches up with them.
for shame :|
On days like this, he's not really sure why he bothers.
"Don't think I don't know your face, you son of a bitch! You've stolen from my store for the last time!"
The shopkeeper's boot catches Ayden in the side. His eyes are watering from the pain, but he doesn't cry out. He just has to get up. He has to keep running.
shame is for the weak /yolos into the sun
Kotetsu, for the most part, is not an angry man. There was a troubled time when he was, but he's grown and changed a lot in the two and a half decades since, and usually he's content to just go with the flow, to accept things as they come and let them roll off his back.
Right now? All trace of that easygoing nature is out the window, and the look of pure rage in his eyes is the closest he will ever get to true hatred.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
It comes out as a near-snarl, expression contorting into one of disgust.
"Assault is a higher crime than theft, you know. I could arrest you right now if I wanted." He'd even be warranted in doing it, but Kotetsu's never been a big fan of throwing around his authority unnecessarily either. Instead, he unceremoniously dumps the shopkeep onto the ground. Taking a brief look around at the apparently stolen items, he digs a twenty out of his wallet and shoves it at the man as if disposing of a particularly foul piece of garbage.
"That should cover it. Now get lost."
no come back
Ayden, meanwhile, also heard the word 'arrest' and was presently too petrified to even try to run. He could only curl up a little against the pavement, staring up at Kotetsu in wide-eyed terror. He couldn't quite follow everything that had just happened, and he was certain that he was in trouble this time. He wondered if this would get back to Father, if he'd manage to cause Father problems even after being thrown away. He whimpered quietly at that thought, cradling his sore side.
"I-- I'm sorry--" he mumbled out, swallowing hard as he jerkily looked away from Kotetsu as though afraid to be seen himself now that he was drawing attention to his sorry form. "Please don't arrest me. I-- I won't do it again."
Except he would, and he knew he would. And he was sure that Kotetsu knew it too. People could always see into him when he did wrong. Father always could.
NOPE--....okay.
It squeezes at his chest a bit, because no one should ever have to wear that kind of expression, least of all someone so young.
"Shhh, it's okay."
Though Ayden's not looking at him, he gets down onto his knees to close the height gap, not even caring about getting his pants dirty. Quietly, he gathers the fallen food from the ground and gently pushed it in the teen's direction.
"I'm not gonna arrest you."
Honestly, he's a little worried about the way the kid is holding his side, too, but he can't do anything about that until he can convince him that he means him no harm.
no subject
After another moment of hesitation, hunger wins out so Ayden picks up the sandwich out of the pile and tears it open. He casts Kotetsu a single, guilty look before biting into it, just wanting the hunger pains to stop. He's so hungry that even eating makes him feel sick, but he's been out here long enough to know he has to make himself or it'll get a lot worse feeling.
Once he's swallowed his first bite, Ayden shrinks back a little further, more out of guilt than fear. He doesn't ever know what to do with kindness, except to feel bad and unworthy.
"Th..thanks, um. Mister."
no subject
He frowns a bit at that guilty look cast his way, but he at least does Ayden the courtesy of averting his gaze while the boy eats. That might make it easier on him, or so he hopes.
Even so, he can't get the continuous stream of uncomfortable thoughts to stop streaming through his head.
A sandwich isn't enough. Is he going to have to steal the next time he's hungry, too? How often does he get beaten up like this? Where are his parents? Does he even have parents? ...
There's a part of him that wonders if it'd be possible to get the kid into the foster care system, even if it'd only be a year or two at best before he was out on his own again, but...
--ugh, he's getting ahead of himself. The more practical, first. Let him finish eating, ask if his family is around, maybe get him cleaned up at Strider's clinic if he's amenable to it.
Without really thinking about it, he reaches out to ruffle the boy's hair once he's finished eating.
"What's your name, kid?"
no subject
Oh.
It's the nice police officer man, who probably wouldn't hit him. At least not until he does something bad, which-- Which he hasn't done lately? Or at least since Kotetsu has been here. And Kotetsu did just tell him that it's okay for him to eat.
...
But Father would tell him something was okay sometimes too, then change his mind and punish Ayden for not knowing better.
His heart is pounding in his chest, face flushing with guilt and shame both. The man asked him a question. He should answer. Kotetsu's been good to him so he should answer.
"Ayden."
He doesn't use his last name anymore even though he loves it because it's his mother's. Father told him never to use it on the streets because then someone like Kotetsu might be able to look him up and get Father in trouble. Ayden shouldn't get Father in trouble, because he owes Father everything.
He misses Father's hands.
"S..sorry. I, um. ...I'm sorry."
no subject
He chews on the inside of his cheek, trying to figure out how to fix this when the boy responds, and he looks up, offering a thin smile.
....It too fades, though, when Ayden starts apologizing. Kotetsu frowns, caught between frustration that the boy is so afraid of him and concern for him. Softly, he shushes again, raising his hands as if to show he means no harm with them.
"Don't be. It's okay. I'm sorry, I--I should've thought first."
He lowers his hands back into his lap and tries desperately to dig up a proper smile again, one that he hopes will be convincing.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, Ayden, alright? I promise."
no subject
He shudders at the memory, drawing in a few deep breaths as he tries to force himself to be good and not jerk away again if Kotetsu wants to touch him. Even if he was going to be hit, that's no reason to pull away. He stole just now, after all. He would deserve it.
"It-- It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I know I did something bad."
no subject
His hands remain in his lap, and he makes no further moves toward the boy, shaking his head.
"It's okay. The food's been paid for. You don't have to worry about that, alright?"
A pause. A breath.
"And I do need to apologize, because I freaked you out, and I didn't mean to."