You're taking a jog in the park when some guy tries to attack you. Zach comes to your rescue and ends up asking you out.

Some violence, but nothing major. And some minor swearing.

........................

You're taking your daily jog in the park. It's such a beautiful day out and you breathe deeply, breathing in the fresh air.

You slow down a little and notice this guy that you could have sworn you've seen around here before. You wonder if maybe he's.... homeless.

He's never bothered you, which is quite all right by you. But you wonder if he is homeless, when was the last time he had a hot meal.

You're wondering if it would be rude to offer to buy him a hot meal or if he might get offended by that.

You're busy pondering all of this when suddenly, out of the blue, a man grabs you, knocking you to the ground.

You start to scream and fight against him, but he pins you down, holding your arms above your head. He grins nastily at you and you start to quake with fear.

Oh god. What is this guy gonna do you? He smacks you a few times, causing your vision to blur.

Then... that homeless guy is behind you, grabbing the asshole off of you and tosses him to the ground, swinging his fist right into the guy's face.

The guy struggles to his feet and swings at the homeless guy, but misses him by inches. The homeless guy swings again and the guy who attacked you, his face is bleeding.

He lunges for the homeless guy, smashing his head against a tree. You jump up and spot a large branch close by and rush over and swing, smacking the guy who attacked you over the head.

He cries out in pain and you swing again and again and again. Finally, the guy hightails it out of there, bloody and beaten. Asshole.

You toss the branch away and hurry over to the homeless guy, who's kneeling on the ground, a hand to his head, which is bleeding.

You unscrew the lid on your water bottle and gently splash some of the water on the guy's wound. He winces slightly.

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize." He raises his gaze to yours and you notice his beautiful warm brown eyes and your face gets hot.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah." You give him a wry smile and he smiles back.

"I'm glad. Asshole. I honestly can't believe the audacity of some people." The guy looks really disgusted.

"I... know." Suddenly, what could have happened, hits you. Hard. You fall back and start to cry.

The guy looks uncomfortable for a moment before gently wrapping his arms around you and holding you.

"You're okay. But if you feel like crying, go right ahead. You have every right to."

You just cry and hold on to this stranger, who's comforting you. At last, you pull away and wipe your tears away.

"Sorry," you mumble, feeling embarrassed.

"Don't be. Something awful almost happened to you. You have every right to react the way you did."

The guy moves to stand up and helps you to your feet.

"Thank you...?"

"Zach. Zach Wellison. And you're welcome."

"Thanks, Zach. I'm Y/N." You pause, unsure if you should add what you'd been thinking earlier about him.

"Could I treat you to a hot meal, Zach?"

You notice that Zach looks kinda of...angry for a moment, but it passes quickly.

"Uh, thanks. That'd be nice, actually. But I think I want to get my head checked out first."

"Right."

...................

After Zach is taken care of, you two walk over to a little cafe and you tell Zach to order anything he wants and not to worry about the price.

He gets that angry look on his handsome face again and you know he's struggling with his pride.

"I'm sorry if this offends you," you say softly. Zach reaches over to gently touch your wrist and you gaze into those beautiful brown eyes once again.

"It's... I'm not used to it," he admits. "But it's people like you that make me want to keep going."

You smile and so does Zach.

"I hope we can see each other again? Unless you'd be ashamed to date a homeless guy?"

"No way!" You exclaim. "And if you need a couch to crash on, I have one."

"You'd invite some guy that you don't know to come and crash on your couch?"

"Hey, you saved my life," you say, touching his hand. "I don't think you would have done that if you were a bad person."

Zach gently brushes his fingers over your wrist and goosebumps break out all over.

"I'm... not. But I've seen and done some bad shit in my life."

You suddenly squeeze his hand and he looks into your eyes and you give him a big smile.

"Who the hell hasn't screwed up in life? Who the hell hasn't done some bad shit? Nobody's perfect, Zach."

He nods, but you notice that he looks uncomfortable again. You want to.. hold him and try to make him feel better.

"I'd like to ask you something."

"Ask me anything."

"Can I take you out on proper date once I get my shit together?" You grin and gently squeeze his hand one last time before releasing it.

"I'd absolutely love that."

Zach grins, too and it warms from the inside out.

"It's a date."

.....................

A few weeks later, Zach calls you and asks you out on a date. You readily accept, anxious to see him again after so long.

You meet at the cafe where you first took Zach and wow! He looks so different! All cleaned up and even more handsome.

You can't help yourself and end up giving him a big hug. He laughs and hugs you back.

"You're looking good!" You exclaim happily as you take your seats.

"Thanks. I got a good job, as a building manager and it's working out really great so far. And the best part? I have an actual place to live."

"Zach, that's fantastic!" You give his hand a gentle squeeze. Zach looks really proud of himself and you're proud of him.

"Can we keep seeing each other?" You blurt out. Zach looks surprised.

"You'd really want that?"

"Definitely."

"Cool. Then yeah."

.....................

You have a fabulous time on your date with Zach and afterwards, he even gives you a gentle kiss!

"Thanks, Zach. I had the best time."

"I'm really happy I saved your life," he jokes. "Not only was I a hero, but I got myself a girlfriend."

You give him a gentle kiss.

"You sure did!"