Seven Months Later…
"Everyone, the bride and groom are here!" Duke declared. The room erupted with applause and cheers as Mel and Buddy walked in. Mel waved to the crowd excitedly while Buddy blushed bashfully. The newlyweds smiled at each other before sharing a loving kiss as the cheers and applause grew in volume. All of the guests were happy for the two dogs, even if they weren't too happy themselves.
Creeping into the room unnoticed, Ozone looked around. For the past seven months, he had been preparing himself for this moment. Now it was here. He felt so nervous inside. The hairless cat, with Nitro's guidance, trained hard every single day. As of today, he had been completely sober since he had last seen any of the pets. A lot had changed since then.
Max and Gidget had become the proud parents of a litter of three. Mel and Buddy had gotten engaged and today was their wedding day. Snowball and newcomer Daisy were now officially dating. Pops was still trying to win Chloe's heart while Duke, Sweetpea, Norman and Leonard started a band. By the looks of things, life was working out okay for them.
It was now time to see if everything would work out okay for Ozone.
Staying away from where most of the crowd was, Ozone crept along the edges, scanning the room. There were so many animals here, far more than there had been at Max and Gidget's wedding. It was basically another infamous search for a needle in a haystack. Sitting down by the snack table, Ozone sighed heavily. Watching while everyone else either talked, danced or wandered off into a closet in the case of Mel and Buddy, he stared off into space. He was about to get up and leave when he saw something. No, someone.
Tiberius.
Ozone barely even recognized the old hawk. Sure, Tiberius had always seemed sad or tired before. But now he just looked depressed. It was obvious that he didn't want to be here with the huge crowd. The red tailed hawk was just standing off to the side, hiding in the shadows. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Ozone padded over there. Sitting down next to the hawk, he spoke softly, "Hey."
"Hi…" Tiberius mumbled quietly. He didn't need to turn his head to know that Ozone was sitting next to him. The hawk just kept watching everyone else as they had fun. They all looked so happy and yet here he was, feeling miserable. Sighing, he closed his eyes as he murmured, "Long time no see."
"Yeah, I've been… I've been getting help…" Ozone replied, his voice cracking slightly. Clearing his throat, the hairless cat added, "I've now been sober since… since we last met."
"Really? Seven months?"
"Yeah…"
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Clara would be proud of you."
"Yeah. Funny thing is though… I didn't do this for her. I did this for you."
Dead silence joined the pair. The two animals were looking in different directions. Tiberius was watching the dance floor while Ozone was staring at his tail. The feline wanted to say more but he didn't know what to say. He quietly looked over at the hawk next to him. That's when he saw the faded scar on his right shoulder. The spot where his claws had torn into him. Ozone quickly looked away as he mumbled, "Look, about what happened-"
"It's in the past. Can we not bring it up when there are other people here trying to enjoy their lives?" Tiberius asked. It almost sounded like the hawk was about to tear up. Looking up at him, Ozone replied back in a soft voice, "We can't just shove something like that under the rug Tiberius. I know you don't want to think about it and you try every single day to forget it. But I just can't forget. We had a thing going and I ruined it. I will never forgive myself for what I did to you."
"Please stop."
"No, I can't. You and I are meant for each other. I will never stop loving you, even on my dying breath. Just give me another chance and I will prove to you that I'm not like what I was before. I have given up those ways because all I want is you. Tiberius, I want you."
Neither one said a word. The two just stared at each other in silence. Realizing that this whole thing was probably all for nothing, Ozone reached up and whispered, "I love you." The hairless cat turned and was about to walk away when he heard Tiberius speak in a hushed voice, "I love you too."
Turning back around slowly, Ozone gazed up at Tiberius. The warm brown eyes that haunted him in his sleep were filled with love and want. His heart pounding in his chest, he went up to the hawk and was about to kiss him when he was stopped. "No," Tiberius whispered, glancing around. Ozone sighed quietly in defeat, hanging his head. His spirits were lifted back up though when his lover continued, "Not here."
The two quickly left the party.