A/N i was on youtube. watching clips of Oliver and Company because it's not on Netflix (rude) and the writing muse struck me. i'll never forgive Jenny for breaking up the Dodger and Oliver bromance. so cruel. that being said, this turned out waaaay friggin angsty-er then i imagined it being.

The hustle and bustle of the city seemed muted and distant. The noise that was New York City reached his ears slowly – they twitched once or twice but otherwise he didn't react.

He could barely feel the heat of the sun warming his dirty fur. He kept his eyes shut because the light was too bright for him. Or maybe he'd been sleeping. It was hard to remember now.

He was tired.

Exhausted in too many ways to count and truth be told, he simply didn't care much about anything anymore. He wasn't sure how long ago it'd been since he'd hit the streets but supposed in the end that it didn't really matter.

Even if he'd had any type of street smarts to make it on his own, he didn't really want to. He couldn't bring himself to care. Everything was gone.

His happy, peaceful life had been shot to pieces so, so quickly and it was never coming back.

She was never coming back.

It hurt to breathe. To think, even. It was easier not to try….

He could hear the sound of rats scampering along the walls of the alley he'd tucked himself into however long ago. It felt like a lifetime. Time wasn't a concept he followed anymore but he knew that they'd been venturing closer to him recently – they were cautious, naturally. He wasn't dead yet. But their hunger was getting the better of them.

They were nothing if not persistent.

He'd never liked rats – had been more then happy to kill the few that came into the house so long ago. They didn't belong there and they paid for it with their lives. It was almost funny how the roles had changed now….

He smelled the disgusting, mangy rodent in front of him before he heard it but couldn't quite muster up the energy to open his eyes. Instead, he instinctively let his ears fall back and hissed weakly, a low growl in the back of his throat.

The rat backed away quickly. It didn't go very far though. It waited patiently.

And a few minutes later, it was back – this time with others – and he felt the weight of them on his body seconds before he felt several sharp, stabbing pains across his body.

A weak mewl escaped him and he shifted weakly, a pathetic attempt to toss them off. He felt their tiny claws latch onto his fur and felt their teeth rip into him again... and again….

His whines of pain went unnoticed and he breathed laboriously, feeling weak and sick and so, so tired.

He barely registered when the rats froze on top of him, the chittering of their teeth stopping as they recognized a new threat that certainly wasn't him.

If he had strength to react, the deep, angry growl that suddenly reverberated through the alley would have raised his hackles high. Instead, he was merely grateful that the biting pain had stopped for a moment.

"Ours! Ours! Ours!" The rats squeaked angrily, even as they began to beat a hasty retreat, climbing over crates and trash as whatever had frightened them approached quickly.

He felt a brush of air pass by him, heard one rat squeak loudly in pain, and listened as something shook it – hard – before just as quickly dropping it to the floor. The scent of fresh blood filled the air.

"Anyone else?" A low, angry voice asked. The sound of tiny feet scampering quickly to find safety was the only response. "Didn't think so."

He sensed the newcomers attention quickly focus on him and tensed weakly as it approached him slowly.

He waited for teeth to tear into him again and was faintly surprised when nothing of the sort happened. Instead, he felt a nudge as something gently prodded his side.

"Kid?" Another nudge and this time he mewled weakly in response, just wanting it all to stop.

"Oliver?" The voice asked quietly. There was fear in that one word. "Answer me, kid. Get up!" The voice barked at him, nudging him harder this time, demanding his attention.

Oliver. It took him several moments to recognize that that was his name and another to realize what that meant. He felt a pang of something in his heart and suddenly it became important to answer that voice.

He shifted slightly in response, trying to find the strength to open his eyes.

"That's it, come on." He was prodded again by a wet nose. "You can do it, kid."

"D…dodger?" He whispered, blinkering blearily upwards and seeing nothing but a somewhat familiar dark shape standing protectively above him, blocking everything else.

"The one and only." Dodger responded quickly, relief in his voice.

How long had it been since they'd seen each other? A few years? It felt forever ago… on Jenny's birthday. "…huh…" He felt his eyes start to slip shut again, a strange but welcome peace coming over him at the thought that he wasn't completely alone anymore.

They opened just as fast as Dodger prodded his side again, harder this time. "Don't do that, kid. Stay awake!" He snapped, sounding agitated.

"…tired…"

"Tough." Dodger practically snarled. "I'm not just gonna watch you lay down and die – you can sleep when I say you can, you got it?"

Dying was so much easier though. He wanted it – longed for it – anything to escape the empty, pitiful, lonely void that had become his life.

Jenny was gone and once again, in a cruel twist of fate, he was a stray and no one wanted him.

Except… maybe that wasn't true.

"Did you hear me?" Dodger demanded.

He blinked slowly and looked up at his old friend again, breathing heavily. He wondered briefly where Dodger had even come from. "…y-yeah… I, I heard you…."

"Good." Dodger responded shortly, glancing up at the sky and at the dingy alley around them. "Can you walk?"

It took him a minute to register the question and then for the first time in what felt like a long time, he gave moving his best shot. Pain flared up all over his body and with unwelcome clarity, he realized how sore and achy he really was.

His limbs trembled as he tried to get them underneath him. The effort exhausted him and he laid back down, panting and tired.

"Can't." He said regretfully, meaning it because this was Dodger and he never liked disappointing him. His eyes slipped closed again without his permission.

Dodger didn't respond but a minute later, his warm, comforting weight pressed against him a moment later as he laid down. Dodger's long, warm tongue began running the length of his exhausted body, the pressure soothing and gentle.

The sensation of slowly being cleaned was a luxury he hadn't expected to experience ever again. He had taken great pride in his appearance before his life had been turned upside down and afterwards, he hadn't cared that much. His fur was matted and dirty and he was probably more brown then orange nowadays. He might even have fleas. Jenny's mom would have been horrified, he thought to himself.

Dodger was fixing it though. Calmly, patiently, kindly cleaning him up and erasing the evidence of the reality of the last couple of months and it felt so, so good. It took him a few minutes of comforting bliss to realize he was purring, a rusty, gravelly purr that he hadn't used in a long time.

He squinted, pulling back into Dodger's side slightly when his tongue started licking his face. Dog breath was disgusting, hot and smelly, and however much he liked Dodger, his wasn't the exception. He wanted him to stay though, so he said nothing and continued to purr low in his throat.

It was much easier then talking.

Dodger seemed to understand.

He didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he was being woken up again sometime later. His eyes blinked open and it was darker then it had been earlier. It took them a few seconds to adjust and when they did, he saw that he was still in the alley.

"Hey, kid?"

Dodger spoke quietly, his voice low and comforting.

He felt himself purr quietly in response.

"I'm going to get you out of here, alright?" Dodger continued, shifting slightly. "Not that I don't like the accommodations but uh… New York has got better ones and I'd rather not spend the night in the rain."

Rain wasn't fun and if it rained, he'd get all wet and dirty again. It reminded him vaguely of when he'd been a kitten and he'd almost drowned in a thunderstorm.

No, he really didn't like rain.

"I… can't walk." He said softly, regretfully, turning his head to look up at Dodger. "It hurts."

Dodger had always been confident – proud and untouchable. But even smart as he was, he was still kind and had taken Oliver under his wing and protected him. They'd become family – brothers – all those years ago.

The feeling was still there.

Dodger still looked good – he even still had his red bandana, a little more tattered with age, but still the same one. He seemed more worn out though - sad and worried and a little thinner then before.

"I know." He said simply. "You're bigger then you used to be but you obviously haven't been eating much so I think I can still carry you. I got a place only a few blocks from here."

Oliver paused, trying to remember where they were but coming up with nothing. He'd wandered for a long time, without direction or meaning. "F-fagan's?"

Dodger looked away for a moment. "No – he's gone. So are the others."

"…oh."

He wished he could say more – offer some kind of comfort but he simply didn't have the energy. That his old gang could be gone had never occurred to him – he assumed that they'd simply always be there. A constant, somehow.

Untouchable.

Like Jenny had been until she wasn't.

The realization that Dodger had experienced loss as well, hurt. A lot. He wished he had known… maybe he could have been there to help. That's what friends were supposed to do. He wondered when it happened and how and what his friend had done when no one was left and Oliver should have known somehow – because Dodger had known about him, right? He was here now, had found him and Oliver hadn't done the same and

His thoughts were interrupted when Dodger stood up. He felt the cool air where Dodger's body had kept him warm and shivered at the chill that came over him.

"Hey - don't worry about it, alright?" Dodger said softly, gentle understanding in his eyes as he lowered his head and licked his face again. "You just worry about you, right now. That's what important." He said, moving around to stand over him.

"Let's get you out of here."

Dodger's teeth gripped the scruff of his neck firmly, lifting him gently, and then they off, leaving the dingy alley behind them.

He was still tired – they both were, it seemed.

But they weren't alone, anymore. He didn't know what Dodger had been up to the past few years, didn't know how he'd come to find him or what was going to happen in the future… but they had decided to be family years ago.

And family stuck together. They looked out for each other. Helped each other.

Dodger had saved him before.

Maybe they could save each other now.

Maybe they'd be okay.

"Deep affliction has only made them stronger; it ought, I think, for it should refine our nature." -Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

A/N angsty, right? at least it had a bit of a hopeful ending though! the boys will be okay if they have each other.

please leave a review! they make me happy! :)

DragonflyonBreak