Over the next couple of days, Ozzy spent the hours lying on the hard mattress and staring at the patterns on the wall.
He didn't know what day it was, nor did he care. The only register of time was when the guards would slide a tray of sloppy gruel under the door at 6 o'clock every morning and evening.
He would hear it scrape across the floor and then twenty minutes later he'd hear it being taken away, and he would be left alone again.
He had refused to eat anything since he'd been brought in. This was partially out of spite and anger towards the guards, thinking that it would somehow hurt them if they saw he wasn't eating.
However, it was mainly due to his sheer lack of desire to even try anymore.
His stomach ached, his head pounded, his eyes stung and his throat burned.
He felt as though there was a shard of glass stuck somewhere in his chest. He would often scratch at himself, trying to find where the discomfort was coming from, but he could never locate it.
The intensity of the pain from his injuries would fluctuate, but it was always there to remind him of what he'd lost.
Sleep was scarce and scattered. Whenever he did manage to drift off, he would wake up in a cold sweat and claw at himself, yelling out for help, tortured by nightmares of Xeno coming to get him, or of Thrax dying over and over again.
Some of the less sympathetic guards would knock on the door and yell at him to shut up. A few of them would try to reassure him and get him to calm down, but Ozzy would just curse them under his breath and turn back round to face the wall.
A few days later, the cell door creaked open, bathing him in a harsh light. He stayed where he was, unmoving, facing away from the officer now stepping into the room.
"Ahem, Osmosis Jones?"
Ozzy grunted in response and turned onto his back.
The officer cleared his throat and approached the bed. "It turns out that, uh… well… we've found Xeno. The real Xeno. We caught him red handed sneaking around in the brain."
Ozzy raised an eyebrow.
"We've apprehended and questioned him. H-he claims to have done the whole thing by himself, with no help from any other viruses."
Ozzy scoffed. Yeah, I could have told you that, if you'd fucking listened.
"We also questioned the germs that we arrested on the same day as you." He swallowed thickly and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "They all admitted that you and that other virus had nothing to do with anything. In fact, they thought that you were working as police informants."
Ozzy grunted and waved his hand in the air dispassionately.
What difference does it make now? Even if they let me go, how can I go back to an empty house?
"After looking at all the evidence, along with your story, we've realised that we may have made a mistake. Please accept our sincerest apologies."
Ozzy snapped his eyes open and sat up quickly, glaring at the officer. His shoulders were shaking with fury and his eyes were burning with hatred.
He wants me to accept his apology?!
He wanted to scream at him, to hurt him, to let all of his sorrow and rage rain down on him. He knew that it wouldn't help his situation and that it wouldn't bring Thrax back, but at least it would give him an outlet for his anger, and give him a break from punishing himself all the time.
The officer stepped forward slightly and held out some papers for him to take. "Both of you are free to go, effective immediately."
Ozzy's eyes opened wide and his breath caught in his throat. Did he say…?
"If you just sign here, you can get your possessions back and leave straight aw-"
"B-both of us?", Ozzy stammered.
"Yeah, you and that virus… Thrax, is it?"
Ozzy slowly rose to his feet, his hands trembling. "He's alive?!" He ran over to the officer and grabbed his collar. "Is he alive?!"
He pulled him down to his level until they were face to face and desperately searched his expression for any signs that he could be lying.
The officer grabbed his wrists and tried to pry him off him. "Y-yeah, he's in the hospital. They took him there after you were driven away"
"What? Why the fuck didn't you tell me?!", Ozzy yelled in his face.
"W-we didn't wanna tell you anything, in case it jeopardised the investigation…"
Ozzy scrunched up his face and felt tears sting his eyes. Pieces of shit.
He inhaled sharply and his tears started to stream down his face. What does it matter anymore? He's ALIVE. He threw his arms over the officer's shoulders and buried his face in the crook of his neck as he started to weep. He's alive. He's ALIVE!
He looked up at him and tried to speak through his sobs, "c-can I… see him… please? Can you t-take me… to him?"
Ozzy hurriedly put on his clothes and slipped his engagement ring over his finger. He attempted to tie the hypothalamus chain around his wrist with a shaking hand, but eventually gave up and stuffed it into his pocket.
It still hadn't sunk in. Thrax was alive.
Those words were ricocheting around his head, but they hadn't really registered yet.
The emotion they brought, however, was overwhelming. He found himself agreeing to whatever the cops asked of him, and signing any piece of paper they thrust in his face. Anything to get to that hospital as fast as possible.
Suddenly, he was broken out of his cloudy state by a soft voice coming from one of the jail cells.
"Hey, lad, are they lettin' ya out?"
Ozzy grinned when he recognised that it was the voice of the germ that had helped him. "Yeah, these pricks decided to use their heads for once and they realised that they'd made a huge fuckin' mistake", he said loudly, staring the cops in the face.
He ran over to the jail cell and smiled at the germ. "I never really got a chance to thank you before… you really saved my cytoplasm back there."
The germ smiled warmly at him. "No worries, lad. So where are you off to now?"
"To go see my fiancé!" Ozzy said excitedly. He hesitated, before rummaging around in his trouser pocket and grabbing his wallet. He turned to face the cops and yelled out, "hey, how much is this guy's bail?"
"It's set at ten grand."
Ozzy grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes as he turned to face the germ. "Jeez, man, what did you do?"
"Bank robbery…", he replied quietly. "Listen, lad, I'm awful grateful that ya wanna help me out, but ya really don't have to, ya barely know me, and it's a lot of money."
"Don't you worry about it. After this I'm gonna sue this police department for everythin' it's worth. When I do, I'll come find you and we'll get you a nice house. Sound good?"
Ozzy paid the bail for the three germs that had helped him and told them that they were invited round to his house as soon as Thrax was better. He gave them all a hug, before leaping down the stairs and sprinting over to the hospital as quickly as his little legs would carry him.
He burst through the door of the hospital and practically jumped onto the front desk. "I-is there a patient here called Thrax? Where is he? Can I see him?"
"Yes, sir, he's in room 708, but visiting hou-"
"Sevenzeroeightokaythat'sgreatthankyouverymuch", he yelled at lightning speed as he darted down the hall, swivelling his head to look at all the door numbers.
705... 706... 707... 708! He skidded to a halt when he finally reached the right door. He stared at it for a moment and gulped. The police officers hadn't told him anything about Thrax's state or how serious his injuries were. Ozzy hoped he would at least be conscious, but at the same time he was simply content with the fact that he was alive. He slowly turned the handle and peeked into the room, holding his breath.
There was Thrax. Asleep, bruised, battered, covered in bandages, but alive. The wounds on his face were deep and would probably leave a big scar, and his shoulder was fucked up beyond belief, but he was alive.
Ozzy ran round to the other side of the bed and covered his mouth with his hands. He stared at him for a few seconds, trying to come to terms with the fact that the love of his life wasn't dead after being allowed to believe that he'd lost him for a week straight.
He knew he should probably let him rest, but he couldn't stop himself from gently stroking his hair. He smiled to himself upon feeling how soft it was. Man, even after nearly dying he makes sure to keep his hair silky smooth. Egotistical bastard.
Thrax grumbled something under his breath and swatted Ozzy's hand away. "What are you doin'? Get the fuck off me", he mumbled.
Ozzy felt his heart swell in his chest and let a big grin spread across his face. "I'm tryna help you, you stupid, ugly virus", he said in a low voice.
Thrax smirked and slowly opened his eyes to look at Ozzy. "Why don't you just hurry up and coagulate already, you stupid piece of shit?"
"Eat shit and die, you viral motherfucker", Ozzy said, before he leaned over and kissed Thrax on the forehead. Thrax put his hand behind his head and pulled him down into a heated kiss.
Ozzy felt like his chest was about to explode with all the emotions running through him. Within the space of half an hour, he'd gone from the deepest pits of depression and despair to the happiest he'd ever been.
Thrax was alive. All the suffering he'd gone through in the last week didn't matter anymore.
He kept kissing him, not pulling away until his lungs were screaming at him for air. He pressed his forehead against Thrax's and inhaled sharply. "I-I thought I'd lost you. They dragged me away to a jail cell and let me think that you were dead."
He moved back slightly to look at him, smiling weakly. "I can't even put into words how fuckin' happy I am right now!"
Thrax looked up at him and furrowed his brow. He noticed how Ozzy had dark circles under his eyes, big bruises all over his face and neck and deep scratches on his arms and hands.
Fuck… he looks like he's been dragged through hell and back.
"Did they treat you okay, baby? No one hurt you, did they?" he asked, already knowing the answer. He knew how the police would have treated a suspected accomplice to a viral attack and how the other prisoners would treat an immunity cell.
Ozzy shook his head, not wanting to upset him. "Nah, you kiddin'? You know me, man! I flashed 'em my pearly white smile and shot 'em a cute glance and managed to swing a private suite with a double bed, room service and everythin'. Only the best for Osmosis Jones." He grinned from ear to ear, pointing his thumbs towards himself.
Thrax laughed quietly and closed his eyes. He's so bad at lying.
"Thank you for being here with me, baby." He took his hand in his own and squeezed it. "I'm so happy they let you come see me."
"Me too, I'm not leaving your side until you-" The door creaked open and they both snapped their heads around to glare at whoever had interrupted them.
A nurse knocked on the doorframe and cleared her throat. "Visiting hours are over, you'll have to leave, sir."
Ozzy squeezed Thrax's hand and glowered at the nurse. "You what? I only just got here! You mean he has to be alone all night?"
"I'm afraid so. Only family members can stay after visiting hours."
"You fuckin' what?! We are family!"
Thrax grabbed his chin and made him look at him. "It's fine, Ozzy. You go home and rest, I'll be okay."
Ozzy huffed and swatted Thrax's hand away. "But I won't!" He paused for a moment before looking up at the nurse again. "So, lemme get this straight… if me and him were married, I could stay with him all night?"
She furrowed her brow and cocked her head. "Well, that would make you his family, so yes, I suppose."
"Right… well in that case…", Ozzy rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills. "Listen, there has to be a priest in this hospital somewhere. Go find one and bring them here."
"Sir… I…"
He held the bills out and looked up at her with pleading eyes. "I'll make it worth your while"
She hesitated, before grabbing the money and hurrying out. Ozzy looked back down at Thrax and grinned from ear to ear. I'll wait until he's better to tell him that we're now completely broke…
"Oz, are you sure you wanna go through with this?"
"Of course! How can you even ask that?" He took his hand in his and frowned. "I thought I'd lost you before, and I didn't know how I would be able to go on without you. I didn't even wanna live anymore"
"Oh, baby, I'm sorry…"
Ozzy smiled and tightened his grip around his hand. "But by some crazy miracle, I have you again. There's no doubt in my mind that I wanna be with you forever. Besides, we were gonna get married eventually, right? Why wait?"
"But look at me, I look like shit right now…", Thrax mumbled, gesturing to himself.
Ozzy grinned and pinched his cheek. "So what else is new?"
Thrax shot him a dirty look and tried to stop a smile from creeping over his face. "You are such a prick. Remind me why I'm agreeing to marry you?"
"Because I'm exquisite" , he said, framing his chin with his hands and fluttering his eyelashes.
Thrax smiled softly and stroked his cheek as he relaxed back into the pillow. "I love you so much, baby." Ozzy brushed a lock of hair out of Thrax's face and whispered it back.
Just then, the nurse shoved the door open, pushing an old red blood cell in a wheelchair. He was wearing a hospital gown, had a puzzled expression on his face and looked like he could keel over any second.
"Here you go, this guy says he's an ordained minister, will that do?"
Ozzy and Thrax stared at him for a moment, before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess."
The nurse brought two other cells in to act as witnesses, promising them that Ozzy would give them some money for their troubles. Ozzy rolled his eyes and turned to face Thrax.
Thrax sighed and squeezed Ozzy's hand, saying quietly, "y'know, this isn't exactly how I imagined our wedding… I had a whole big thing planned out for us."
Ozzy shook his head and leaned in closer. "It's just a piece of paper at the end of the day. If this allows me to stay here with you tonight, then I don't give a shit about the flowers, the cakes, the expensive suits… that's all bullshit. We can have that whenever we like."
The nurse coughed, making them both look up at her. "We haven't got much time here, y'know. The minister is due to go into surgery in ten minutes."
Ozzy nodded and waved him over. "C'mon man, you heard the lady. Chop chop!"
Thrax laughed at that and whispered, "you're absolutely shameless, Jones."
The minister slowly stood to his feet with help from the nurse and tottered over to the bed. He cleared his throat and looked behind his shoulder at all the confused faces, before turning back round to face Thrax and Ozzy.
"Ahem, dearly beloved. We are gathered here to join together this cell and this…?"
"Vaccine", Ozzy interjected, winking at Thrax.
"Right… and what are your names?"
"Osmosis Jones and Thrax Roja."
"Okay, Osmosis Jones, do you take this 'vaccine' to be your husband, to love, to honour, to comfort, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"
Ozzy nodded quickly and grinned. "Hell yeah!"
The minister frowned at him, until Ozzy quietly said, "I do…"
"And do you, Thrax Roja, take this cell to be your husband, to love, to honour, to comfort, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?"
Thrax put his arm around Ozzy's neck and yanked him down until they were face to face. "Hell yeah I do."
The minister grumbled something under his breath, but continued, desperate to get out of there as fast as possible. "Okay, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss each other"
Thrax pulled Ozzy into a passionate kiss and they both started moaning softly. Ozzy climbed onto the bed and straddled his waist, running his hands down his chest and parting his lips to let his tongue in.
Everyone else shuffled about awkwardly, edging towards the door. "Can I go now?", the minister asked, darting his eyes around, not knowing where to look.
The nurse nodded quickly and hurried everyone out of the room. "Yeah, as a nurse you expect to see a lot of disgusting things at work, but a cell dry humping an overgrown vaccine isn't one of them. Let's get out of here."
She slammed the door shut, leaving Ozzy and Thrax alone. Ozzy broke away and started kissing all over his neck, only stopping to whisper, "God… I've missed you… so much."
Thrax shut his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "Me too, mister Roja."
Ozzy lifted his head up and frowned. "Hey, there ain't no way I'm becoming a Roja, you've gotta be Thrax Jones from now on!"
"Oh, come on, that sounds shit, Ozzy Roja is way cooler, like a rock star."
"Well, maybe we can do rock, paper, scissors to settle it", Ozzy said, before he leant back to sit in between Thrax's legs. He pushed the bed sheets onto the floor, eased Thrax's boxers down over his hips and shot him a cheeky grin, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Thrax rolled his eyes and smirked. "For fuck's sake, you just can't help yourself, can ya? Did you make it your new year's resolution to have sex in literally every public place available, Jones?"
"Hey, it's your fault, you got me into this shit. You should never have fucked me in that alleyway. It set something off in me."
"Yeah, but we're in a hospital !"
Ozzy shrugged his shoulders. "And?"
Thrax laughed and lay his head down on the pillow, sighing contentedly. "You've become so brazen, I don't know how I put up with you… but I guess I'm stuck with you now, aren't I?"
Ozzy leaned over him and grinned as he pinned his wrists on either side of his head. "Yep, and I'm stuck with you."
A/N: Okay, first I wanna say a huge THANK YOU to whoever made it to the end! This is my first ever stab at writing a serious fic and it's been a big learning curve.
It took two months to complete and I'm so happy with how it came out!
I watched the film three months ago for the first time and couldn't get all of these ideas to stop swirling around in my mind, so I started typing them out and it quickly got away from me ahaha.
I decided to write this mainly because I was desperate for some Thrax/Ozzy content that was sweet and a bit silly. I wanted to show everyone that they can be in a cute and loving relationship.
I hope you enjoyed reading this fic. I certainly enjoyed writing it.
Thank you so much for reading ❤️