I Ain't Your Dog

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There was scratching again. It was distressed. Donovan looked at the clock. Even if he could tell time, it was too fucking early. “Go away.” He groaned and buried his head under the pillow. Apparently, a squeaking wail came along with the finger running down the wooden frame of the door. That got the teenager's attention as he struggled to get out of bed and opened the door. He was tackled and hugged by his brother. He felt tears on his cheeks and the twin sighed at Leolin, wrapping arms around him.
“Don' try to apologize, Leo, kay?” He started to sit up and held onto his only brother, who was now clinging to him. Donovan ran fingers through his brother's hair and stayed on the floor for awhile, then moved out the door. Leolin followed suit. There was a beep on the answering machine. Strange. That never was used before. The teenager walked to it and pressed the blinking red button to hear a beep and his boss, Rosencroft's voice.
“When you wake up, I will have left. I am going to be gone only a day, this time. I want you to watch Leolin like always. Give him a bath...he needs it. I shall see everyone when I return. He had better smell clean.” The message made Leolin gasp and crawl under Rosey's bed. Bath, huh? Great...it still was a mystery as to why he didn't like water. Still, a bath the boss got, was the bath he would have to give. A day wasn't too much time to plan the escape...that's for damn sure. Sighing, he moved towards the bathroom.
“Hey, Leolin! I'll get in with ya, okay?” His brother poked his head out. Those words were like magic. “If ya get hurt by the water, I will too. All right?” Donovan tried to keep it light as he started up the faucet in his bathroom...not the boss's, oh hell no. There could be something like a disease in there. He heard a thumping and shuffle of feet, hands and knees across the floor as his brother poked his head into the bathroom to listen.
“C'mere...it ain't gonna hurt ya.” He tried to repeat himself. This was a fun job, right here. Leolin was slow moving on coming close. He crept along, mewling for his twin about the water sounds. Donovan kept filling the bathtub. “I'm getting in with ya, honest.” Leolin sighed and sat as close as he could, shaking and sucking his thumb.
Donovan just watched and finished making the water just right. He started to pull off his own clothes and climb in. “What'reya waiting for...c'mon.”
Leolin whimpered and crawled closer, wiggling out of his pants. It was an awkward affair, his hands touched the water and tears were rolling down his cheeks. Donovan sighed. “I ain't gonna force ya in...But Elliot wants ya clean.”
“...mn...” He finally gets the picture and crawls in with a hiss and a squeal of fear. Donovan knew he'd be near passing out from a panic attack by the end of this crap.
“It's okay...I'm here. I gottcha.” He pulled his twin close and hugged him, washing him as quick as possible. Leolin was trying to stay calm, he could tell. It wasn't working, his only brother started to tense after a short time of getting clean. Tears were running down his cheeks. “Um..mah mah mah mah mah mah MAH!” He was gasping for air, the sound of his voice getting louder as he sobbed.
Donovan had a hell of a time whispering in his ear it'd be okay while washing his as he nearly bit him to get away. “LEOLIN don't bite me!” He let the boy go, he watched the other launch himself out of the bathtub, whimpering as he huddled in the corner. At least he was clean.
Then it hit him, that was the first time he ever yelled at his brother. Leolin's face was riddled with fear as tears ran and merged with the water running down his face. Donovan felt horrible. He sighed and grabbed a towel for his twin.
“Look I'm sorry, but you can't bite me...” He got the towel around the other and hugged him tight. Leolin nuzzled into his brother and accepted the apology almost instantly and licked his cheek. Donovan just smiled and dried his hair. Finally, his twin was dry...now he could finish off himself and get dressed. Moving into his own bedroom, Donovan looked at the small batch of clothing he had and picked something out to wear. Jeans...that was the easiest. Jeans and a tee. Cotton. He had to love it.
The twin walked out to see his brother struggling to get back into his own pants and reached down to help. He soon got a lick on his cheek for doing so. It made the teenager smile as he moved to the kitchen. It was actually after one in the afternoon again. But, he couldn't be bothered by that as he looked for food. There was very little, just lunch meat. Donovan wasn't wanting it today. He looked back at his brother.
“Hey, what'sa pizza pie sound like?”
“....ngh?” He saw Leolin look confused and crawl to him. It made the twin frown.
“Yanno...a pizza pie?” There was still that blank look of confusion. Oh that did, he had to get pizza. Just out of everything that was New York, Leolin had to have a damn slice of a pie. It was too good to pass up. “All right, you stay here, I'm getting a pie.” Maybe two. Who knew.
“I'll be right back, Leolin...just....play with your bear. I'm getting us food.” He ran out the door with his money and the key to the suite. In the elevator, he was as patient as a child at Christmas looking at all the gifts under the tree before he could be told to open them. When it came to the bottom, he practically ran out of the building and down the street to get to a pizzeria. And by the scent coming down the street, he pretty much found one as he darted in. There was a ton of people at tables. Luckily for him, he missed the carryout rush. They were all eating.
He walked up to the counter and laid down the money. “'ey I need one loaded, and one just cheese, please.”
“Give me twenty minutes, what size?”
“Large.” This was going to last a few days. He wanted real food! And this was it. Oh hell that twenty minutes was almost an excruciating wait as it was given to him in boxes. Pies! Hot out of the oven! Fuck yeah! He hurried as fast as he could back up to the room to his twin. He burst through the door.
“Delivery fer a...Leolin Lewis!” Leolin was right there at the door, sniffing the air, intrigued. Those eyebrows were raised, Donovan saw it. He chuckled and moved to put it on the counter. “This is gonna be hot, okay?” Leolin just tilted his head a little and nuzzled Donovan's leg. Then...it came to him.
“Ya gotta stand up in ya want a piece.” That rewarded him with a squeaky protest. “Nuh uh. I mean it. If ya want a slice of pie, ya gotta stand up and get it.”
Leolin sniffed the air once more. Donovan started to think he wouldn't do it. But to his surprise, his twin actually stood up on his own two feet, hand out. “...ah?” It made him swell with pride.
“You fuckin' beggar.” He laughed and gave his twin a slice, who almost dropped it. “No no...hey hold it like this.” Donovan helped Leolin position it and put it towards his mouth. The other started eating.
“MN!”
“He likes, hey Mickey I think I gotta winner.” He laughed and finished his slice. Leolin stood there, eating the slice of pizza. Donovan was so proud of him. “You're doin' good...” He saw his twin's eyes grow wide with the praise. He just smiled and ate more.
“Want another slice?” Leolin blinked.
“Look just nod your head fer yes, or shake it fer no.” Leolin nodded and was rewarded with another slice of cheese pizza. Maybe bribery will undo what was done to him. Donovan knew it was possible. For a little while at least. This day was going to be set aside to making him walk around the room. Not crawl. Walk. It was the first step of getting him OUT of there. How he was going to do that was right in front of him. The pizza.
“All right, Leo. Ya want another slice?” Leolin made a begging whimper. “You've gotta walk to me...on your two feet.” It made a bigger protest.
“...nah...” He started to whimper worse and burble. He sucked on his thumb at that point. Donovan sighed, it was going to be harder than he thought.
“Look, if you're still hungry ya gotta walk to me.” He moved a few steps away, into the living room. “Ya hear me? I won't let ya run into anything, honest. Just....walk to me.” He held onto the pizza box, the lid open to make the scent float to his twin. Leolin slid his foot along the floor. It was his first step. Then his second foot. His steps were slow, but he made it to Donovan.
“Good. You're doin' great.” The teenager's words were of encouragement towards his brother as he started stepping backwards, making the other walk further to get to his pizza.
“NAH!” He sounded mad from taking a few more steps and kept walking towards him, looking mad. Leolin did have a temper like his brother's. That's amazing. Donovan just smiled and stopped, watching a hand reach out for the food and take a bit of the pizza. He glared in his twin's direction. Donovan started to chuckle.
“Hey...I just wanted to see if you could. It's cool. Ya get as much as you want...kay?” Leolin calmed down almost in an instant. He ate his slice of pie. They both knew it was good.
It didn't take long for half the cheese was gone and half the fully loaded monstrosity of a pie. Donovan laid back on the couch with an old fashion Coke and drank, watching Leolin hug his teddy bear. It was so innocent. It was that that made him think of saving his brother. Though, when he looked away and outside to the balcony, he heard something uttered from his twin.
“...on?”
“'On'? What's on, Leolin?” His twin didn't look pleased for just a moment and bit his lip and hugged his teddy a little closer. What was he trying to say?
“...o-on?”
“What's that mean?”
“D....duh....on...” The sound of the letter 'd' sounded forced. When he strung the word together, Donovan gasped. Did he just call him Don? It made him grin as he scooted closer to him and whisper.
“Yeah I'm here.”
“Mn...” Leolin nuzzled into his neck buried his face in the cranny of the shoulder meeting it. Donovan hugged him close.
“We'll get outta this, I'll get ya out of this. We need tah.” Leolin moved away and tilted his head.
“...nah?” His eyebrows furrowed like he didn't understand. Donovan blinked.
“Don'tcha want to leave?” Oh that did it, his twin gasped and scooted back to the other side of the couch like he had been thrown. He shook his head 'no'.
“No? Why no? Ya don't wanna come with me? We gotta get out of this...” Leolin didn't want to hear it, he started to cry. Donovan's mouth fell open. Why didn't he want to leave this place? It didn't make sense. “Leolin, he don't treat you right! You're a human, not some...sex pet!”
Leolin wasn't listening, he plugged his thumb in his mouth and crawled out of the room, into the bedroom and there was a feeble attempt to shut the door. Donovan soon followed to force it open.
“He's gotta family, he shouldn't have you too! Just because he's rich don't mean he should treat you like that!” Leolin was hiding under the bed, sobbing. All that Don could figure was that he struck a nerve, an unkind, cruel nerve. The truth. Was his brother delusional or something?
“Leo...hey...look, just come with me when I say, all right? I'll make it better. It don't hafta be like this.” Leolin just sobbed and burbled. It was slow, but he crawled out and his face was flooded with tears.
“...ove.”
“'ove'? Love? You love him?” Oh hell, what was this? “D-Does he say he loves you? Nod or shake.” Of course, there was a shake. “Then how do you know?”
“..o-ove...” He hugged his knees and his lips trembled. This just got complicated. His twin loved the guy that beat him into submission...fucking lovely.
“Are you sure?” There was a shake of his head. So he wasn't sure if he loved the guy. “Look, Leolin, he's got a wife...he's gotta little girl...I-I don't know if he loves you.” It crushed Leolin to hear that. It broke his heart and he wailed like a small kitten. Oh yeah, Donovan felt like shit. He watched his brother sob. Everything that the boy had gone through must've been too much....now this.
“See? See? This is why I want ya to come with me....can you do that?” There was a slow nod. It had only been a few days, there was a level of uncertainty on both teen's minds. “I wanna be with you, you're my only family, Leolin, please?” Was he really fucking begging? This shouldn't even be happening. His brother was fucked in the head, totally. That's all there was to it, and he had to fix it. He had to get his twin away from this. He was waiting for an answer, anything!
“Ngh...” Leolin slowly nodded and latched himself onto Donovan, it was a violent jerk and a hug full of need right then. He sniffled as his brother ran a hand down his spine.
“All right....we'll get outta here, somehow...” He whispered into Leolin's ear, rocking him back and forth. It was a major break through and a major plan had to be set.

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Author's Note:

All right, I think Leolin went a little too emotional in this. But, here's the next installment. I hope everyone likes it, please keep rating and reviewing. I'll keep writing when I can.

I'm going to work on other storylines in my head, and I'll keep writing this one to finish. It's pretty much set in my noggin what will happen. But please, tell me how you feel, what you think. I am always interested in opinions and if I find I can give a response to them, I shall here.

~Aeronaut