Chapter 5

Looking at the outside of the large home that Ozzy, Fizz, and Oliver lived in late at night, it would seem peaceful and cozy to the inhabitants inside.

But that wasn't the case.

Oliver sat up in bed with a silent gasp as he looked around his room, his eyes wide as he had woken up from a horrible nightmare. Becoming more scared now, he got out of bed and ran down the hall to where Ozzy and Fizz's room was.

Ozzy had told the boy that he could go into any room with a door as long as the door was unlocked. If it was locked, that meant not to go in. That same rule applied to the master bedroom door, though Ozzy and Fizz made sure it wasn't locked when they went to sleep as they wanted to be there in case Oliver needed them. Fizz actually was the one to suggest it and Ozzy agreed, not wanting the boy to ever feel like he wasn't welcome. The larger being even made sure to wear pajama bottoms to bed in case Oliver did enter the room late at night.

Oliver now tried the door handle and found it unlocked. He rushed into the room and quickly climbed up on the bed, quickly crawling over to Fizz and grabbing his shoulders that were covered by the blanket.

Fizz let out a startled yell at the sudden grab and shot up from his spot on Ozzy's chest, the covers falling back to reveal he was wearing his usual large sleep shirt and a jester hat that matched. Thankfully, the low light in the room helped his eyes adjust and he turned to see Oliver was beside him, looking at him with teary eyes and reaching for him.

The jester at once scooped the kid up into a hug, letting the kid cling to him. Ozzy sleepily woke up when he realized Fizz wasn't where he normally slept. "Froggie?" The larger being asked sleepily.

"It's Oliver," the smaller being said.

That woke the larger being up quickly and he sat up, seeing the boy clinging to the jester. "What happened?" He asked worriedly.

Before Fizz could reply, Oliver leaned back from the hug and began shakily signing.

"Papa?" He asked. "You okay?"

Fizz was stunned that the boy called him that and it took him a moment to reply. "I'm okay," he signed. "What happened, Noodle? What scared you?"

Oliver took a deep breath and began signing again. "I dreamed Mammon had taken you away from here and he was laughing, even though I couldn't hear it. I could just see his face twist so meanly and he said something that made you look afraid and you reached for me, signing me to hang on and that you'd be okay, but...Mammon broke your arms off." He paused and got teary eyed again. "I tried to run over to fight him off, but I couldn't move and then he just kept laughing. I woke up then and got scared that you were hurt."

"Oh, Noodle," Fizz signed, picking him up and holding him, letting the boy cling to him.

Ozzy gently rubbed Oliver's back, concerned at seeing his charge so upset, but then again, he didn't blame him. That was a horrid nightmare. He then gently squeezed Oliver's shoulder, making the boy look at him.

"I've got something for you, Noodle," he said before getting up and getting a box nearby, bringing it back to the bed and opening the box, pulling out the device he had been working on to help Oliver hear them. He gestured for Oliver to lean towards him and the boy did so, allowing the larger being to fit the new device over the boy's head and where his ears were, turning them on and smiling.

"There we go," he said, seeing the boy's head jerk up in surprise and his jaw dropped. "I take it from that expression that you can hear me."

"His new hearing device?" Fizz asked.

"Same," Ozzy said. "I was going to give it to him in the morning, but I think he really needs to hear his papa's voice of reassurance right now."

The jester smiled at him and looked down at the boy. "Noodle, it's okay," he said soothingly. "Ozzy and I are here. Mammon's not here."

The boy began to settle down while looking at Fizz, reaching up to his head where the new device was and he grinned. "I take it you like them?" Ozzy asked.

"Yes, thank you, Dad," the boy said, stunning Ozzy.

Fizz smiled and looked at the boy. "So...that wasn't a slip of the hand that you called me 'Papa' a moment ago?" He asked.

Oliver shook his head before signing again. "My teacher called you my papa and Ozzy my dad the other day," he said. "The more I thought about it, the more it just made sense. Plus...you are my papa and my dad, right?"

Ozzy smiled. "If that's what you want us to be and to call us, then yes," he said.

"That goes double for me," Fizz said, a proud smile on his face and he hugged his son. "Which means I can now brag that you're my son, though I think most everyone knew since I've called you Noodle in front of others a few times."

"Does this mean that maybe I can try talking?" Oliver said.

"Of course," Ozzy said. "We can help you with that, but I don't want you to forget how to sign. It's a good skill to have."

"The big guy's right," Fizz said. "We can use sign language when helping you to speak."

"That way, in case the noise becomes too much for you, you can turn off your hearing device and use sign language to talk," Ozzy said.

"Okay," Oliver signed before rubbing his eyes.

"And that means that someone is feeling sleepy again," Fizz said, chuckling. "Let's get you back to bed, Noodle."

But the kid shook his head and began signing. "Can I stay here? Please?" He asked.

Ozzy smiled. "I don't mind, Fizz," he said to the jester. "Besides, we can keep the nightmares away from him."

Fizz chuckled. "Okay," he said as all three of them snuggled under the covers, Oliver sleeping in between the two beings. "If anything comes through that door, they'll deal with me and Ozzy."

"We won't let anyone hurt you, little one," Ozzy promised, gently ruffling the boy's hair.

Oliver smiled before gesturing to his new device and the larger being smiled. "You can sleep with them on," he said. "I did my best to make them comfortable for you to wear all the time, but you can remove them if you want."

The boy nodded and settled down, falling asleep practically in minutes. Fizz smiled and made sure the boy was tucked in securely. "Can't believe he called me Papa," he said.

"And called me Dad," Ozzy said. "I'm curious why his teacher called us those titles when I didn't put either of us down as those. I just put us as guardians since I didn't want Oliver to feel like he had to call us by anything other than our names."

"Guess she's just used to calling the kids' parents either 'Mom' or 'Dad' when speaking to them that she just did it automatically," the jester said. "I don't mind though."

"I don't mind either," the larger being said before they both settled down and Fizz fell asleep too. Ozzy gazed around the room and saw all was peaceful before he fell back asleep himself, holding his favorite jester and his son protectively in his arms.

Just had to do this one. :)

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GoldGuardian2418