It was a cool night out, the sky dark blue and clear. There were no stars, no clouds, and no moon. Just an endless sky for RJ to stare into. He sat up in the tree, staring over the suburban area that seemed to stretch out with no end; over the hedge that separated his new home and the rest of the world; over the different animals that he now considered family.
'Heh, family,' he thought, smiling, 'didn't think I'd have one of those by the end of this week.'
RJ had spent the past couple of hours trying to get to sleep, but to no avail. His only option was to look back over the past week- the heists, the deception, the attempted redemption- and now, here he was. With all that he really needed- not a shed load of food, or the guidance of some self-absorbed bear- but a home, and a family.
"This is getting me nowhere," he told himself in a hushed tone, so as not to wake anybody, "maybe I could sleep better by the log."
He slowly descended the tree, branch by branch, until he reached the floor. The blades of grass tickled his paws as he gently walked towards the log. He hoped that the gentle crinkling of leaves didn't wake anyone. When he got to the log, he sat on it and stared over the water. With no stars or moonlight to shimmer on the surface, it looked bleak, and yet, RJ thought it was… mysterious. Like there was something more to it than just water. Like the water was just a cover for something different.
"Funny. That's a bit like you."
'Wait. Did I say that out loud?' RJ thought, turning around to see Heather, the female possum of the group, looking at him, smiling. "Oh, hey," he said, sheepishly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's fine," she replied, "I was awake anyway. Possums are nocturnal." She rubbed her arm a bit. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Oh, erm, sure." He scooted up and Heather sat herself right next to him. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "So, erm…" He couldn't think what to say. For some reason, he felt nervous.
"Couldn't sleep, huh?" she asked. "It's been a strange week."
"Tell me about it. Had I been told a week ago that I'd have a home and a family, I'd think they were crazy." His smile soon turned to a frown, however. "Listen, I… I'm sorry about ditching you guys."
"RJ, I couldn't care about that anymore. You came back, and you saved us from the sniffer. Me and everyone else, we've all forgiven you. Although, if you don't mind me asking. Why did you go? Was dealing with that bear so important?" He was hurt by this, which made her regret saying that. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. You don't have to answer."
"No, it's fine, really." His voice was a bit hoarse, so he was clearly struggling with this. "You and everyone else have each other, and probably have for a long time, right?" She nodded. "I lost my family quite young, and was alone since, so when you find someone who could be your new family, you try and make it work. I was stupid enough to think that about Vincent, and I followed what he wanted me to do. But, meeting you guys showed me what a family really is. Because, you guys, since you first met me, have shown me something Vincent never did." He looked into her blue eyes with his greyish-blue ones. "You cared about me."
"Of course we do, RJ," she smiled kindly back at him. "You're a great guy, and while what you did wasn't right, I think that you cared about us too." He stared at her, almost observing her, before he gave out a light chuckle. "What?"
"It's, it's nothing, really."
"Aw, c'mon, RJ!" she pleaded. "You can tell me!" He looked at her and he couldn't help but smile at her.
"Well, there's something… about you." She tilted her head, curious. "Everyone else in the group, I think I've figured them out. Hammy and the triplets are the fun, carefree ones, while Penny, Lou and Ozzie are the caring protective ones, and it's pretty clear that Verne is the leader and is looking out for everyone, even if he does play things a bit safe." She laughed at this, a little loudly. "I thought I had Stella figured out until she hooked up with the cat. And then, there's you. It's just-"
He couldn't continue what he was saying, because Heather had wrapped her arms around him and was kissing him. He sat there, eyes wide as she kissed him. When she let go, she looked at his face and saw that he was speechless, almost frozen in shock as he looked at her. She laughed at this.
"You're cute, RJ," she told him.
"Heather!" they heard a voice shout behind them. They turned around and saw it belonged to Ozzie, Heather's father. "What are you doing?" He looked at RJ and scowled. "I'll kill you, RJ!"
"What's going on!" Verne asked as he walked over to Ozzie, followed by Stella, Hammy, Penny and Lou. "Ozzie, people are trying to sleep, what's the matter?"
"I have just seen Heather and RJ kissing on the log!" he fumed, pointing at the two of them.
"WHAT!?" they all shouted, except Hammy, who was just staring happily.
"Yay!" Hammy cheered, prompting the others to stare at him. "What?"
"You, young lady, have some explaining to do! Verne, would you mind speaking to RJ before I KILL him?"
"Sure, Ozzie."
"Dad, I-"
"Now, Heather!" He stormed off, Heather sighing in an annoyed manner straight after.
"Home girl, you better go see what he has to say," Stella told her, putting one paw to her hip, "if he's this mad, you know he's serious."
"Ugh. You're right." She got off the log and started to walk away, but turned around. "See you later, RJ."
She winked at RJ, before going in the direction her father had gone. Once she was out of sight, RJ was stood still, staring in the direction she had gone. His jaw was hanging and he hadn't blinked in at least a minute.
"Okay, RJ, what were you thinking?" Verne asked, waving his arms.
"If you're just toying with my home girl, I swear I will spray you so bad, that stench will be in your fur for months!"
"Now, hang on a minute there, Stella," Penny interjected, "let's not be too hasty. We should at least let him explain."
"Penny's right," Lou told them, "there's probably a good reason for… this."
"You're right," Verne sighed, "we should hear him out. You two can go back, check on your kids. We'll handle it."
"Alrighty then. Goodnight, everyone."
"Goodnight!"
Once they were gone, Verne tried again. "RJ, what happened? Why were you and Heather kissing?"
"I… I don't, I…"
"If she can make him speechless, at least some good came out of it," Stella laughed.
"Stella, please! Just describe what happened."
"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd sit on the log, look at the water. Heather must have heard me, so she sat with me for a little bit. We talked, and then all of a sudden, THAT happened."
"So, she kissed you?" Stella asked, somewhat surprised. "You know she's sixteen, right? And you're, what, thirty?"
"Hey, I'm only nineteen."
"Yeah, and my butt can fart cotton candy!" He didn't reply. "Wait, seriously?" He nodded. "Dude, you look a lot older."
"Getting off topic," Verne interrupted. "RJ, be honest with me here. Do you like Heather?"
"Be honest, I hadn't really thought about it before, with what happened." He sat there for a moment, mulling it over. "To be honest, I… I think I do. She's fun to be around, she's caring, she's funny."
"Well, you better not be lying," Stella warned him, "or you'll have me to deal with!" She raised her tail for emphasis.
"RJ likes Heather! RJ likes Heather!" Hammy chanted happily, RJ blushing from the embarrassment.
"Shut up, Hammy!"
"Look, it's getting late. We'd better get some sleep." Verne began to head back, as did Stella and Hammy. "Goodnight, RJ."
"Goodnight."
RJ sat there for a little longer, before he returned to his tree. Meanwhile, Ozzie was still scolding Heather.
"I mean, after everything he has done," Ozzie told her, "you do something so stupid-"
"Excuse me, but I can make my own decisions!" she spat in retaliation.
"You are sixteen, Heather, sixteen! And how old is he? Thirty, thirty-five?"
"He's not that old, dad!"
"How can you tell? Heather, I am only trying to look out for you. You're not ready for something like that."
"I can look out for myself, and if I would like to go out with RJ, or anyone for that matter, I will not depend on your say so."
"I will be speaking to RJ tomorrow. Now go to bed, it's late."
"Fine. Goodnight."
She lied down in what was her bed and went to sleep. Ozzie sighed, before lying down in his bed.
"I'm sorry, Heather," he whispered, "I just don't want anything to happen to you. You're all I have, so I need to know that you are with someone who will do whatever it takes to be with you, and if RJ happens to be that guy, then so be it. As long as he makes you happy. Goodnight."
He went to sleep, not knowing that Heather had heard what he said.
"Thanks, dad," she whispered back, smiling as she went back to sleep.