[TGB] Till Death Do Us Part (And It Did)

They waded through fields of wildflowers.

Sometimes their voices would boom across the open land, laughter echoing until every bird had flown and each mouse had taken refuge in their burrows. Sometimes their voices were calm as they talked about their days, discussing the world, their families, the rumbles in their stomachs that reminded them to hunt while they strolled. And sometimes they spoke in whispers about their fears, their hopes and dreams, the little secrets that are best shared between two friends.

Morton had been content. He loved Ozz in ways that were not platonic, but the fear that kept him from admitting it still pushed at his gut and kept him locked in silence. It was the one secret he could not share with Ozz, because the friendship they had was too precious to risk damaging.

And so he had been blind. Blind and unsuspecting.

It happened in the flower fields, on a dew soaked morning when the sun cast a gentle glow on everything it touched. Ozz looked into Morton's eyes and smiled.

"We've been friends for... For a very long time now it seems. We've got a lot of history..."

"Oh yes, it feels like my whole life. Lots of good history."

"A very good history."

Morton returned the smile cheerfully, and Ozz continued with a purr. 

"I'm bringing it up just wondering... Have you ever talked to Pangur about love? And how he says there are so many different types- and how you have to figure it out? Like... Figure out the type of love you feel for someone?"

He looked away slightly, and Morton was still.

"Because I wanted to talk about love with you."

So they talked. 

"Morton, We have been friends for what feels like almost centuries. I’ve never… Never had such a close friend as you. I’ve had a lot of friends of course, like Sanibel, Rookson, Pangur… I could keep listing, but-- What I’m trying to say is that you mean the absolute world to me! We do everything together. I never even thought anyone would want to do so much with me.”

He laughed quietly while Morton looked on in awe, his eyes growing rounder with every word Ozz spoke. 

“We pick flowers, go on walks, even sleep in the same nest. I just want you to know, I like you a lot and that I value our friendship, but… I want you to know…”

Ozz paused, shuffling his paws quietly. He turned and his eyes met Morton's, giving him a gentle look.

“I want you to know that I like you… I like you way more than a friend. I- I want to be with you. I want to be… Boyfriends, or maybe even mates one day. You make me so happy, and I think you’re really amazing and kind. You’re thoughtful and you have this… this sweet finesse about you.” Ozz chuckled softly, “Like the way you watch where you step and how your eyes look when you smile. How strong you are and how great of a big brother you are! I want to be together. I want to be with you forever, but not just as friends.”

His voice shook a little as he spoke, nervous about how Morton would respond to such a sudden question. Ozz hoped that from their trips to the fields Morton feel the same way, but he could never be one-hundred percent certain about these things.

“So what do you think? Am I boyfriend material maybe?”

Morton had been silent, but suddenly his whiskers began to twitch and he broke into a grin.

"Ozz, do you mean it? Yes, yes of course! I could never dream of- there's no one I want to spend my life with more than you."

He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Ozz's, laughing as tears began to stream down his face. Months of agonizing over what he felt for his friend had all been turned to dust in an instant, blown away on a warm summer breeze. They had both felt it, and now it was gone. Requited.

"Ozz, I've never known anyone like you. You're wonderful and kind and smart and I'm so lucky to have even met you. I'm so happy... Thank you."

And then Ozz was gone, so quickly that Morton could barely catch his breath. 

He could still see that smile in his mind, hear the voice that told him so much, cared for him so entirely. Maybe if he could just wake up, he'd find that it wasn't real, that Ozz was still right there, laughing with his face turned towards the wind. 

But he knew that he never would. 

It had been so sudden. The warmth that helped him sleep at night had suddenly grown cold, and before Morton could roll over and complain he felt a jolt in his heart and he knew. His desperate pleas, whispered at first and then growing into a panicked stream of words "please, please wake up. Don't go, you can't go yet. I love you, please don't go". 
The passage of time felt lost. Morton couldn't remember when Sanibel appeared, only that there were tears in her eyes when she asked him what happened. "I don't know." There was nothing he could think of to explain what had happened to Ozz. He'd been fine. There had been no signs that anything was wrong. Ozz just never woke up, and that was that. 

He had been so loved. Sanibel did her best to stay composed, but Morton could see the pain in her eyes. You loved him too. He leaned forward and buried his head in her fur for a moment, shaking and in shock. She did not push him away, and for just that moment's comfort he could never thank her enough.

It would be a while before the grief subsided, and in its place a scar would always remain. But the impact Ozz had made would never be gone. Not even death could take that from those who knew him. So when Morton thought of Ozz, he would always smile.