Hello OTH world! It's krp101 again, and I've decided to take a little break from 'Bolt'. It's not that I don't like to write for them, because I absolutely love it; however, I've had this idea for a new OTH fanfic for months, and because I've been working on 'Bolt' so often, I never tried this one. Some of you will like it; some of you won't. It's just a story of two lonely furry animals trying to find love, but the lovers themselves have been completely switched from 'Family and Feelings'. Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: THIS STORY IS NOT RELATED TO 'OTH: FAMILY AND FEELINGS'.

A/N: I do not own Over the Hedge or any of its characters. All characters are the property of DreamWorks and its subsidiaries.

Paradise

"AHH!"

"Hammy, hold still! You're fur is covered in thorns." Ozzie said trying to hold the jumpy squirrel down. He'd fallen into a cactus bush after running across the street with his little paws full of Girl Scout cookies and cupcakes, and tripping over the curb and into a neighbor's front yard cactus. His head wasn't too bad, but the rest of the body was another story. No one was willing to touch the tail, because of the numerous small thorns that were too hard to see. There had to have been thousands in total, and at the moment, Ozzie didn't know just how much more he could take.

"Phew! Alright RJ, your turn." Ozzie said walking back to a small log.

"Crap! Alright, I'm comin!'" RJ said getting up off the log for his share of trying to de-needle their friend. Along with RJ and Ozzie, Tiger was also helping out as he sat on the ground for his go-around. About 20 seconds after he started pulling the pricks out of Hammy's back, Lou and Penny waltzed into the circle and saw what had happened.

"Oooh! That looks painful!" Lou said aloud.

"IT IS!" Hammy said bringing his head up and down to say it.

"You could just let us do it." Penny offered. RJ stopped right where was and turned his head to the porcupine couple.

"Huh?" RJ asked blatantly.

"We can do it, can't we hun?" Penny asked

"Absolutely! All we need is the lint roller." Lou answered

"It's…. back at the log." RJ said still in shock.

"I'll go get it." Ozzie offered and started running back to the log.

"What are you going to do?" Tiger asked

"We just roll the thing up and down his tail, and pull THAT sheet off. Then we have his tail to grab onto when we do every other part." Penny explained

"JUST DO IT QUICK!" Hammy screamed, obviously still trying not to move.

"We may still need an extra hand just to hold him so he doesn't jump." Lou explained

"I got it!" Ozzie said as he came running back with the lint roller. Soon after, RJ reached underneath and grabbed Hammy's hind legs to keep him from running or jumping, while Ozzie took the front legs. The tail didn't take that long at all. It was 4 quick rolls back and forth and DONE; however, the rest was gonna be an issue.

"Okay, GO!" Penny said as Lou started rolling from the back to the arms to the sides. Ozzie was doing his best to avoid getting hit from the lint roller as he dodged each swipe. RJ seemed to be fairly safe from the action going on above the struggling squirrel.

"HEY! Easy with the sticky thingy!" Hammy hollered

"Sorry, honey; but, we need to go fast so we can't get all the thorns." Penny said in as calm of a tone as possible. As she continued to sweep across Hammy's sides, she eventually moved to the stomach, where on the first slide, the lint roller gripped RJ's nose. Ozzie watched as his friend was trying to pull away, only making him laugh out loud.

"Yeah! Laugh it out, possum! Don't come crawlin' to me the next time you need revived." RJ joked as he finally pulled free. As the roller continued along Hammy's stomach, RJ tried his best to stay clear. Unfortunately, on another swipe through, his forehead was in the direct path of it. With a solid grip, RJ was thrown forwards and along Hammy's stomach, straight for Ozzie, who was too slow to move out of the way. As the two met, so did their lips. And as quickly as it started, RJ was pulled back in an instant and released from the roller. As Penny continued, completely oblivious of what just happened below, RJ and Ozzie just looked at each other, not saying anything.

"Okay! He's all good." Penny said with a smile on her face.

"Great! Can I go now?" Hammy asked as he looked down at Ozzie, who was still holding his forearms.

"Hello…. Unleash the squirrel!" Hammy said coming face to face with the possum.

"Huh?... Oh, sorry buddy!" Ozzie said letting go of his arms as RJ let go of his legs.

"Yay! I'm free!" Hammy said running straight past everyone else to God knows where.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Ozzie asked

"Well, when the kids ever get into the nacho spray cheese, trying to clean them is a pain. So, we used to stick them on a sappy tree and let the sticky sap pull it away. Then, we let the lake water rinse off the sap." Lou explained.

"Well, it worked! It may not have been safe, but it still worked." RJ stated. Lou and Penny went back to the lounge area to carry on with the rest of their day, only leaving RJ and Ozzie alone in the awkward situation of silence.

"So… Um, you wanna go watch TV?" RJ offered, trying to think of something else.

"Yeah, yeah, sure… that sounds good." Ozzie said sheepishly. The two friends walked away side by side, trying to avoid the one topic that neither of them could deny.

(That Same Night)

Almost all of the gang was ready to hit the hay. The porcupines were already in bed, along with Hammy and Verne. Stella was still watching TV, and Heather was listening to music. But it was Ozzie and RJ who knew sleep wouldn't come easy. Ozzie decided to take a walk, and try to process what happened between him and RJ today. As he walked past the big tree, Heather stopped him briefly.

"Hey Dad. Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm still wide awake. So I'm gonna go walk for a little bit and try to ware myself out." Ozzie answered.

"Okay. See you later." Heather said

"Goodnight, honey." Ozzie finished as he walked into the woods to clear his mind. It didn't take him log at all before he started talking to himself.

"What happened today? I mean; I know what was going on. But when the roller… when he flew forward… when we just stared at each other. What DID happen today? Ugh!" Ozzie said feeling defeated. He sat down on a close stump and just sat there; not saying anything, just thinking. He didn't feel upset or angry, but he WAS confused.

"I'm not like that, and I know it. But there's just something about RJ that…" Ozzie went blank.

"Ugh. Who could be in love out in the middle of nowhere?" a light voice said not far from where Ozzie was sitting. The possum turned around swiftly to see who was behind him, but saw no one. He looked in every other direction, and listened even closer. He'd heard the voice again, and looked behind himself once more. He could see a faint light coming closer to him. As he continued to look at the light, it finally appeared. It was a firefly.

"Phew! This was a flight." the firefly said sarcastically. He soon flew over to Ozzie and sat right in front of him on a low tree branch.

"What's up, possum?" The firefly asked.

"Um… not much?" Ozzie answered, not really knowing what to say.

"Sweet! Well, my records indicate that you're falling for someone." He said openly. Ozzie's eyes widened a little as he just casually stared around the forest, trying to deter the bug from caring.

"Me? No, no, no, not me. I'm not in love with anyone." Ozzie said

"I don't believe you, and neither do my papers."

"Okay, who ARE you?" Ozzie asked still wondering where the bug came from.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm bein' rude. The name's Bubbles!" The little bug said extending his 'too-small-to-shake' hand. (Picture a southern accent Black man like Chris Rock's voice.)

"Bubbles?" Ozzie asked

"And proud of it!... I'm the love bug, dawg!" Bubbles said putting his hand back down.

"And you think I'm in love?" Ozzie said trying to joke around with Bubbles.

"Man, I don't think; I know! Dude, I've been doin' this for 9 years. Trust me; I know what to look for. And right now, I know you feelin' somethin' with this raccoon. So tell me what she looks like. Is she hot?" Bubbles asked with a cheesy smile on his face. Ozzie just looked away for a few seconds trying not laugh uncontrollably before answering.

"I'm sorry Bubbles, but there's only one raccoon that lives around here, and that's RJ."

"Yep! That's the name I got. So RJ must be short for something beautiful. Let me guess: It's somethin' like Rhonda James, or Rebecca Joy." Bubbles guessed with the same smile. Ozzie was too shocked to answer that one. The only thing he could think to say was…

"Actually, I don't know his initials."

"Awww! Man, that's alright. You figure it out one way or…." Bubbles froze in mid-sentence.

"Wait a minute! I'm sorry, but did you just say 'his'?" Bubbles asked

"RJ is a guy!" Ozzie stated in the little bug's face.

"You fallin' for another dude?" Bubbles asked in shocked.

"I'm not falling for anyone. And I'm not falling for RJ."

"Well, what I know is that you two kissed earlier today." Bubbles said

"Yeah, but… it wasn't intentional. He was basically thrown at me at the wrong angle, and our faces were just there."

"But you felt somethin'" Bubbles said again.

"How would you know?" Ozzie asked

"Because, otherwise I wouldn't be here!" Bubbles answered with a raised tone of voice. It certainly made Ozzie shut his mouth, and think a whole lot more about the situation in front of him. Everything Ozzie had been trying his best to avoid was being told to his face. But he still wasn't convinced that it could happen like that; something that Bubbles figured out quickly.

"I did NOT just fly 1400 miles to hear someone I KNOW is in love completely ignore what I just told him. I've dealt with dis' same situation countless times, and I know how badly you want it to be gone. Most o' the time, I don't judge; but DAWG! If you gonna sit on this lonely little stump, then that's all you're ever gonna be… Lonely." Bubbles said. It was a moment of mild clarity for the marsupial. It made him want the world to stop so he could just start the day over and plan it out differently. Unfortunately, he couldn't run from it. It had to be dealt with eventually, and he was already dreading the process.

"I don't wanna with this anymore right now. You already told me enough about my day." Ozzie said to Bubbles.

"No prob, dawg! I'll be back eventually." Bubbles said as he started flying off.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Ozzie asked from about 15 feet away.

"I got other hearts that need me too. There's a couple in Toledo with some 'Friendzone' issues that need resolved." Bubbles shouted before taking off at a quickened pace, with Ozzie watching him the entire time. Soon after his new bug friend left, the possum turned his head around and started walking again. It was time for him to rest his thoughts, put his feelings aside, and just sleep.

"I have all the time in the world to figure this out. But I know one thing's for sure: I can't love RJ like that. We're both guys, there's like a 15-year age difference, and I'm not gay. It's settled!" Ozzie said with pride as he walked back to the tree. Tomorrow was a new day.

**End of Chapter**

Well, it's a start! Along with Heather, I'd always thought that Ozzie and RJ had a chance to be together as well. But I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Send in all of the reviews, comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism you have crammed inside your minds. Lay out the mat! I'm ready to hear it all! See you guys shortly with Chapter 2!

Dasvidanya!