It is now near the end of October. It has been almost a year since the incident, Oz has set his goal to fulfilling Gil's wish: for himself to be happy.

Vincent invited the two for a halloween party and they are going to attend. He's gonna go and enjoy the shit out of it, with Gil, with Echo, with Alice and everyone else.

But first they need costumes, since that was the only requirement Vincent made they both take it very seriously, they don't want to be on his bad side after all.

Now they are trying to figure out what they should wear.

"Hmm.. How about a vampire?" Gil suggests.

"That's such a cliché, we have to be better than that, we need something more original."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Eeh… well we don't have to pick a monster. Maybe an animal?"

Oz already has something in mind, now he just needs to convince Gil to wear it.

"Like a bat?" Gilbert suggests.

"No! That'll just be mistaken for a vampire."

"I see your point… but an animal sounds like a good idea. What else could we do? A monkey? A cat? OOH! Yes! A cat! That would fit you perfectly!"

"Why would a cat fit me?"

"an angry black cat actually."

Oz growls at him.

"See?"

"That's more like a dog, idiot!"

Gil laughs, "So you don't want to be cat? I'm sure Echo would like it.."

Oz is silent for a few seconds, thinking about that possibility.

"Fine, a cat is fine… under one condition."

"Hmm?"

"You have to dress like a black bunny."

"Why a black bunny?" he asks as he smirks, having noticed how easily Oz gave in after that comment.

"'Cuz I said so."

"I guess that'd be ok.."

"But where are we gonna get these costumes from?"

"We can just order them online, the party is over two weeks."

"That's cool. Can we do it now?"

"Sure."

They go to the computer in Gil's room and look at some costumes on Amazon.

"How about this one?" Gil asks.

"No, the ears are too short, they have to be long."

"Hmmm… This one then?"

Oz is intrigued, "Can you make it larger?"

Gil clicks on the image.

"It's perfect!" Oz exclaims. The ear hanging down from the middle. The paws practically missing, just a few threads imitating the space between the fingers.

"Really? It looks a bit beaten-down."

"It's perfect." Oz says seriously as he glares at him.

"E-eeh, ok then, this one it is."

Gil ads the costume to the shopping cart.

"For you… ah, this looks nice," Gil clicks on the image, "It's a Cheshire cat costume."

"Cheshire? What's that?"

It's a cat that guarded the lost memories of a young girl. She did not want those memories because they brought her pain, so she scattered them into various pieces. The cheshire cat took care of a fragment of it."

"Interesting… what happened to him?"

"In the end the girl regained all her memories and the cat didn't need to guard them anymore."

Oz finds this story really interesting.

"How did she regain her memories?"

"She simply looked for them, she got some help of course."

"Why would she want them back if they were so bad?"

"Well without memories she just felt an emptiness inside. She thought that no matter how bad it was, she didn't want to go through life not knowing who exactly she is."

"Who exactly I am, huh?"

Oz wonders of all those memories of his father are relevant to his current situation with Gil. He doesn't feel any kind of emptiness in particular, and he clearly knows who exactly he is: Oz Nightray, son of Gilbert Nightray.

He does find it weird that Gil is only 20 and he is 13 and wonders how such weird adoption came to be, but he doesn't really care that much about it to ask. What he'd like to know is what Gil actually considers himself to be towards Oz. Like a brother? Or a father? Now that he's thinking about it he becomes curious.

Would Gil like it if he called him 'dad'? Or would he think it'd be weird?

There's no other way to figure it out but to ask.

"Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"What am I to you?"

Gil stops scrolling. "what?"

"How are we… related?"

Gil opens his mouth to answer but shuts it again, not really sure anymore what to say.

After thinking for a few seconds he says: "I guess you'd be my little brother, that'd make most sense, but why ask now all of a sudden?"

"I was just wondering…"

In a week's time the costumes arrive.

They decide to put them on to test if they fit or not.

Oz thinks they look perfect. Gil agrees but also believes that his costume is very inconvenient; he can't really hold anything with the paws he has, there isn't even a separate hole for his thumb, it's just like a sac pulled over his hand. He looks like a poorly made stuffed animal. Though he has to admit that the ears look nice, and he likes how black it is.

"How do I look?" Oz walks through the door, wearing his cat costume.

"Cute." Gil says teasingly.

"Great." Oz smiles and stands in front of the mirror. "I wonder if Echo would like it."

Gil is disappointed that he didn't get an embarrassed reaction from that.

He just stares at him, partly frustrated by it.

"whaat?" Oz doesn't understand why Gil is staring at him.

"You wanna impress Echo?" Gil gives it another shot.

"Well yeah."

Since when is this brat so cool-headed? Gil sighs, which gets Oz anxious

"What is it? Is there something wrong with that?"

"Nonono, it's great, forget I said anything."

"Alright then… what should I do with my hair? Can I have it dyed black? It's a black cat after all.."

"I guess we could.."

"Yay! Should I pull it back? Or make it spiky?.."

"Either is fine."

"But which one's better?"

"You're worrying too much, I'm sure Echo will like it either way."

"But what would she like most?"

Gil sighs again, "It doesn't really matter right now, we can decide what looks better on you the day we go to the party."

"you're right.."

"Do you want to do anything later today?"

"Sorry, I've already got something planned with some friends."

After Elliot and Leo stopped bothering Oz he became much more sociable. He has gotten to know his classmates better and goes over to Echo's and other friends houses more often. Though he still comes home exhausted every time and on some occasions earlier than Gil expected. It appears you can't take the introvert out of him. Gil is a little bit relieved by this. Oz's friends are hogging him all for themselves lately!

Oz notices Gil's annoyed expression.

"What's wrong Gil?"

"Nothing…"

"You should get a girlfriend." he hits the nail straight on its head.

"I'm gonna change back." Oz quickly escapes, as a precaution for what Gil might do to him.

"Little brat…" Gil grumbles.

A week later they are in front of Vincent`s home. The gate was open so they just walked through. Vincent is standing in front of the door to his home, letting other guests in.

Oz is getting excited to see his friends again, or rather, to see Echo again.

Vincent greets them once they reach the door.

"Welcome Gilbert, Oz!"

They greet him back.

"So what are you dressed as? Hmmm… You look like a bunny," he points at Gil, "and you're a cat. And both of you black as ever of course." he laughs.

"And you are… "

"A vampire." Oz finishes. They both look disappointed. They expected something better, especially from Vincent.

"Nonono! I'm a vampire wolf! See these ears?" he bends his head down and holds an ear to showcase it.

"I see…" Gil remarks disinterested.

"Anyway, where can I find Echo? And the others."

Vincent smiles at him. He bends through his back to get on the same level as Oz.

"I've noticed you've been hanging around with Echo a lot lately."

Oz wonders where this is going.

"I swear to god, if you even to dare touch my anger little sister I will rip your balls off."

Oz takes a step back.

"YA HEAR ME?"

"Y-YES SIR!"

"AND YOU HAVE TO TREAT HER LIKE A LADY! NO! A PRINCES!"

"OF COURSE! YES!"

"NOW GO DOWN THE HALL, TURN LEFT, LAST DOOR TO YOUR RIGHT AND MAKE SURE SHE HAS FUN TONIGHT!"

"YES SIR!"

"AND NO 'BOYS' KIND OF FUN."

"YES! OF COURSE NOT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GO!"

Oz quickly walks past him and follows the directions he told him.

"Aren't you being a bit too harsh?" Gil asks

"Are you complaining?"

"Nope, you got some alcohol here? Or some single girls would be nice too…"

"Pretty girls in skinny outfits, plenty of 'em, and enough alcohol for an army."

"I didn't ask for that but ok."

"Oh, you don't like that stuff?"

"I'm not a pervert like you."

"Ouch. Well they're here anyway! Let's go meet some of 'em!" Vincent pushes Gil inside and drags him to the living room.

Over at the room with Echo are several other kids as well. Most of them he knows, some of them he doesn't. They are all playing little big planet on the Playstation again.

Echo is dressed like a bee. With yellow fluffy balls hanging over her head, and she's wearing shorts.

Shorts, Oz repeats in his mind.

"How does it look?" Echo takes a step back and slowly turns around once, allowing Oz to see every part of it clearly, but his attention is focussed a little lower.

"You look great!" Oz exclaims after she turns back around to face him.

"Yay! Bzzz. You look great yourself! I like those ears." she takes a step closer again. "You dyed your hair black?"

"Yeah, well, Gil did it for me, do you like it?"

"I love it!"

"yuss!" Oz wants to squeal, happy that she likes it.

"Wanna play some boardgames?"

"sure!"

Later that night they play little big planet together again, sitting on the couch.

Oz holds Echo's hand. They slowly close their heads together, then they rub their cheeks against each others with wide smiles on their faces.

"Hey what are you two doing?! Go stand on that button! I can't get past this ravine!"

Oz and Echo walk on, leaving the other kid's sackboy to die.

Oz and Echo burst into laughter.

\-=_=moo=_=-/

There you have it people! This story is now finished! I really hoped you enjoyed it!

I had such a fun time writing this! Though I'll admit it's a bit short, I believe I did quite well for my first fanfiction! hehe.
I've already improved quite a bit (no smug intended) since I began with this fanfiction so I think I might rewrite it and add some more chapters later on.
But right now my original book (Oizys on quotev) takes top priority. It's funny how it's already thrice the length of this fanfiction.

Enough about me! let's get back to the story!
I had been pondering for a while on how to end this story and after reconsideration I still think the current one is the best.
I was thinking of giving it a ''happy ever after'' ending but that wouldn't make sense with everything Oz went through as a child. It's more realistic for there to be some remaining negative consequences for all the abuse he went through, hence he still believes in having a specific ''job'' in life. Gil gave him a new job after he lost his previous one, but who knows if Oz's current job will last?
He also still strongly believes in the seperation between his mind and body, thinking of his body as a being on its own, but now he will actually listen to its demands a little.
His memory still is a mess, only remembering necessities for his job.

Of course things aren't going to be perfect, and definitely not so fast. It's sad but it's true.

If you enjoyed it, didn't, or have anything else to say/ask, please do so! You can also PM me if you like!
Seriously, say something! please! ;-;

I don't know what you think of it, so how am I supposed to edit it and make it more appealing to you? I would really appreciate some pointers, since so many people drop out after only chapter 1. ;-;