Leonard Astersin. My best friend for nearly twenty years and still going, a fucking rich freak overly blessed by god, with the worst personality I have ever witnessed in my all my years of living. He burst into my room, slammed open the doors with a large thud, and entered as if he owned the place. I winced.
"Would it kill you to knock?" I asked, crossing my arms. He didn't answer, dropping the figure in his arms onto the bed. Oh, yeah, did I mention the unconscious guy he was holding in a princess carry? I eyed the figure- fluffy hair the color of wheat, long eyelashes, slender build, wait…
"Don't tell me." I covered my face with one hand, sighing in exasperation. "That's him, isn't it? The guy you said you were pursuing. El, or whatever."
"You have a license, right? Just perform a basic check up on him," Leonard, or Leon, as I like to call him since the former's too long, said in a deep, gruff voice. His tone was cool and collected, but I could tell he was tense.
"I'm eighteen," I answered, raising an eyebrow. "And I only got my medical license last year. Why not ask my uncle?"
"Just get on with it!" Leon snapped, and I rolled my eyes.
There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but as much as I wanted to ask why the fuck he was bringing his lover here, why it had to be me, and why the guy was unconscious, I knew that if Leon didn't feel like answering a question he could put it off forever, and even an idiot could tell his tone wasn't cooperative at the moment. So I sighed again and did what I was asked.
El had a nametag on his person, and was wearing a waiter's uniform, almost as if he had been in the middle of work when he was brought here suddenly. He was almost painfully thin, I thought to myself. Most likely malnourished, and from a young age. His growth may have been affected- his height was around five feet six, two or three inches less than the interstellar average for boys our age.
There was a blue and purple bruise next to his collarbone, and faded marks on his neck. His wrists were tied together with chains, but as I've said before, I've learned not to question things. I searched around for the correct device, it was in the leftmost drawer, and started to loosen his collar and undo the buttons to bring it closer to his chest.
"Don't touch him," Leon growled, tightly grabbing my wrist.
You know that feeling when you suddenly want to punch your best friend in the face?
"You're the one who told me to check up on him." I clicked my tongue in annoyance. "How am I supposed to do that if you won't even let me touch him?"
"Do it without undoing his clothes, then."
My dear fellow junior doctors, have any of you ever done a medical checkup on your best friend's lover, one that happens to be unconscious, in full uniform, and tied up, without being allowed to lay your hands on him? I mean, I could, and I did, but don't blame me if the kid suffers from unnoticed bruises or a swollen hip later. Did I mention the chains?
I pricked his finger with a small needle and fed the info into my computer while Leon watched me like a hawk, ready to swoop in if I made contact with his precious El for too long.
"I'll send you balm for his bruises." I said, "I use the same stuff after workouts, so Uncle shouldn't notice. The guy's malnourished and weak, but otherwise the scanner doesn't detect anything wrong with him. The blood test, though, that's another matter."
I scowled at Leon. "A milligram or so of zolpidem tartrate with added anamyzlepn soltsmize compounds to make the effects pronounced and immediate. In other words, he was drugged around six hours ago."
Leon looked away and didn't reply, which only confirmed my suspicions.
"You kidnapped him. You shitty fucker."
Did that fool even understand the potential consequences of what he did? I wasn't quite sure- he was acting too calm and detached to know. I wanted to sling him over my shoulder and throw him all the way outside this planet's solar system if I could. If only I didn't know his powerful family would screw me over even if I succeeded.
Kidnapping and drugging someone was a crime. It wasn't something 'on the fence of the law', so to speak. If word got out, Leon's spotless reputation would be in tatters, and even if it didn't, someone could always use this information against him. Worse still was the fact that this was related to Leon's romantic partner- I wouldn't be surprised if this matter affected Leon becoming head of his family.
The Astersin family was huge. They were basically royalty in the interstellar world- fuck, even royalty had it worse compared to them. They owned thousands of planets, had tons of resources, including non-materialistic resources or those for military use. They were that one family you just shouldn't cross no matter what the fuck you do. And Leon losing the right to becoming head of such a family, as you could probably imagine, was going to fuck up not just him, but everyone involved with him as well. Including me.
I glanced at Elliot, feeling utterly confused and tired out. I admit it, the dude was cute. But in the end he was just another normal boy, just like the trillions of other normal boys in the interstellar. He wasn't an enchanting beauty with otherworldly charm, more like the sweet boy next door, and through all the bragging Leon had done, I could tell even his personality and background were normal.
So how did this boring piece of meat manage to attract a member of one of the most powerful families in the world? To the point of making him kidnap him?
"So Elliot's alright?" Leon shrugged off my words, reaching for the healing balm. He probably noticed my internal anguish, but didn't care. I wanted to smack him on the cheek.
"Yes, he's alright, but I'm more surprised he hasn't woken up already. He's only inhaled a tiny amount of the drug, and soltsmize typically reduces the length of time the drug would be effective. The only reason he's still asleep is because this guy-" I prodded him, ignoring Leon's glare, "hasn't been sleeping properly. I mean, look at those dark circles."
Leon frowned, concerned by my words. I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Elliot mumbled and tossed over. As I prodded him with my index finger, his eyes fluttered open, and blinked slowly.
"Oh, you're awake." I smiled at him as non-threateningly as possible, but I'm not quite sure how well I did- I didn't smile often, and was often told I had a cold demeanor so it may not have come across very well. "I'm a doctor, with a proper license, Dr. Leisgnide. Leonard brought you here after you fainted. Are you okay?"
Okay, I was technically not allowed to practice yet, but I liked how my name sounded like that. Dr. Leisgnide. Does anything sound cooler than that?
"Leon…ard…" The boy repeated, likely experiencing nausea. He glanced behind him, frightened, and sure enough, Leon stood there, eyes stern but sweet, and very concerned.
"Yes, Leonard Astersin." I said, pushing up my glasses on the bridge of my nose. "You are… Elliot Whiteman, correct?"
Elliot nodded, looking grateful. Don't be. I used your name and DNA to check on your medical records and private history only seconds ago, before that, if it wasn't for your name tag I wouldn't even know your name.
Of course, I didn't say this, instead prattling on, "Would you care to tell me your diet? Your age, height and weight? Any previous diseases or illnesses, or aches and pains that bother you? I've taken the liberty to search up on your medical records, but it looks like you don't have any."
Elliot shrank in his bed, and Leon glared at me as if I'd just murdered his uncle. Sadly, I was used to his glare, and it had never been effective on me.
"I'm fine." Elliot said softly, in a small voice. "No pains."
"Are you sure?" I asked, filling a pretty glass cup with earl grey to help ease his nerves. I had just been in the middle of making tea when Leon burst into my door- lucky coincidence, really.
"And I've never been to a hospital before, so, um, no records." He straightened up, "I want to leave."
"El, please, no," Leon wasted no time sticking to his sweetheart's side, his voice pleading. This was a very rare side of him that almost never came out. I was surprised he was using it with Elliot- I wrinkled my nose.
"I want to leave." Elliot repeated. "I… I'm going home." His voice was trembling, but it was determined. He reached out a hand to take a cup of tea, to help with his parched throat.
"Try this biscuit too, they taste good together." I invited, handing him one along with the tea, "It's my favorite kind- oops."
I was never the clumsy sort, but accidents happen sometimes, and you drop a cup or two. I set the spilled cup on my desk and used a tissue to dab at the new brown spot on my coat. Meanwhile, a cleaning robot whirred away, and the rest of the spilled tea disappeared into nothing.
Elliot didn't care much about the tea, and he stuffed the biscuit into his mouth and ate it in seconds. He swallowed.
"Do I need to pay?" Elliot asked.
"Don't worry about any fees, Rowan's an old friend. I'll handle all of it." Leon shook his head.
I sat there and watched the two bicker with interest, sipping on my own cup of hot tea that wasn't very hot anymore. I couldn't tell what was so special about this Elliot. I've had robots more interesting than him when I was little. I was more concerned with how peculiar Leon was acting with him.
It was a little unfair, I thought sullenly. He didn't act this way with me, the little bitch. In fact, he ignored almost everything I said all the time.
At least the two were finally leaving, I thought, sinking back into my swivel chair. Which reminds me, I need to get more of these. Swivel chairs are amazing.
In the meantime, the conversation was getting more and more intense. They were acting like I wasn't even there, which was nice- getting involved in the drama would doubtlessly tire me out, and I understood none of it anyway. Leon glared at me on occasion, and if wanting me to do something- but what exactly can I do? I wasn't the one who decided to kidnap some poor random kid from a nearby planet, I snickered.
Ultimately it went to the point where Leon made a remark about Elliot's family. I whistled- low blow! Elliot exploded.
"Don't follow me!" Elliot yelled. "You creep!" He slammed shut the door, weaker than Leon, maybe, but he had more strength left in him than I thought if he could do that. Leon followed after him like an anxious mother hen.
Poor door. I checked the hinges and was relieved to see that no damage had come to my room. I could only hope the rest of the house would be safe.