One of the many first mornings by his side (Felix/Oswald)
Summary: Oswald wakes up early due to external circumstances and contemplates Felix's morning beauty.
Note: This short story is part of an alternate timeline I created based on Inky Mystery. For more information:
A timeline from one AU to another AU
Spanish version of this story
Oswald, like everyone else, isn't good at many things, and he has flaws he needs to work on to improve. For example, his lack of patience and bad attitude (one attitude almost cost him dearly during his youth).
He is someone who is aware that he is imperfect.
But he believes he's wonderfully imperfect, accepting the logic Felix once told him: that every being is wonderful in its imperfection, even if it's incomprehensible.
But there's one thing no one can deny him: he's handsome.
However, one of his many flaws (and one that earned him a few scoldings from Tens and Mickey) is that he's not a morning person. And that's something he's had to deal with ever since he decided to leave the circus. Now he no longer has Mickey or Donald to wake him up, and his children's daily routine is now entirely his responsibility. The other members of the circus are no longer there to help him, and it would be unfair to shift all that burden onto Felix or his children. The employees have already told him it's not a problem. But he has to do it anyway. Oswald has to be responsible for his decisions and their consequences; this is a step toward the future.
As it happens, he woke up early, and now he doesn't know which deity or cosmic being to thank for this opportunity he was given the moment he opened his eyes. He has the best image he could wish for and an unparalleled moment.
The one and only Felix the Cat.
Now being... well, Oswald doesn't know for sure.
The cat is fast asleep beside him, so peaceful, his presence warm, his body face down. Oswald notices that the cat has stolen the entire sheet for himself; now he knows where some of the cold that woke him came from. This shameless cat let him suffer while he, for his part, is comfortably curled up like a burrito in the sheets as if they were armor against the cold, only his head peeking out. With the cold seeping into the bedroom, he understands why Felix had insisted the night before, before going to bed, that he light the fireplace in the room.
Perhaps he's still sleepy, but Felix seems to have bigger ears, maybe partly because he can only see his head sticking out from under the blanket.
The adventurer is drooling on the pillow and can hear a low snore mixed with a purr that tugs at his heartstrings.
Oswald is in a drowsy internal conflict. He wants to kiss him, but at the same time, he doesn't want to wake him.
Felix looks sexy, funny, and adorable.
He looks so silly cute like that; relaxed, tousled, in that pose where he's hugging the pillow he uses to rest his head, drooling, those whiskers twitching every few seconds.
He loves him so much it hurts.
May the Cosmos bless Felix's parents for bringing him into the world.
This image makes Oswald greedy. He wants to keep waking up like this, to enjoy the pleasures of sleeping next to this cat.
Because no one can sleep next to Felix and say that the beautiful view is not a luxury.
A few rays of sunlight peeking through the curtain of one of the windows are enough to make him realize that Felix will wake up soon. And that he stayed longer than he should have.
The rabbit gets up, resolving that it's a waste to try to sleep any longer, and would even be a failure since Oswald is sleeping next to a diligent fellow with a morning routine. He gets up carefully and goes to the bathroom in the room.
His bedroom doesn't have a bathroom, but as far as he knows, almost all the bedrooms in the house don't.
That's another of the wonderful things he's enjoying today thanks to his hasty decision last night.
While showering, Oswald remembers how he ended up sleeping next to the cat.
Last night they were debating which book Felix was going to lend him to read to the bunnies tomorrow night before they went to bed.
It was... curious (not to say strange)... the cat's choice.
He had chosen "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander, the first book in the "Chronicles of Prydain" series. The adventurer decided to acquire the complete saga after reading an excerpt from one of the books and being captivated, and he happily achieved his goal. Oswald read the first book and had to admit it was very good; in fact, he would like to read the other books in the saga, but he didn't consider the content suitable for his children. Oswald knew what he had and had arguments to justify his decision.
Felix had argued that it was a good book that could suit most children's tastes, but he agreed that if Oswald decided not to accept it, so be it.
It was during this back-and-forth between them about the cat's books that much of the time passed, until midnight arrived. And then Felix made the proposal.
"Hey, Os. Why don't you stay the night?"
The rabbit was speechless; he couldn't think of anything that would allow him to give a clever response to that proposition. He stood there, speechless, staring at Felix.
In the present, Oswald is meticulously rubbing shampoo into his fur, as if that could somehow erase the embarrassment he now feels for his foolish reaction.
But at that moment, Felix smiled and began combing his own tail, with an attitude as relaxed as if he were solving the newspaper's crossword puzzle (which he's much better at than Oswald).
"It's late, and we're already something, aren't we?… um, so… I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea." Felix unconsciously gave him that powerful look, the one that makes him unable to resist the risk this represents, like every affectionate suggestion the cat has made since they started this relationship. "You can leave early in the morning, before the children wake up."
When he came to his senses, he almost refused the unexpected proposition. It was possible that they were not caught by the children, but by the employees. However, Oswald couldn't say anything to refuse when it was obvious that Felix was trying to hide his enthusiasm.
Those bright eyes and that mischievous smile. A radiant aura.
And who was Oswald to deny Felix something so simple?
"Really?" Felix looked at him in surprise.
"Don't think about it too much or I'll leave, Feels," Oswald joked awkwardly with a smile, watching the cat's reaction.
At that moment, Felix's happiness could have lit up the entire block.
Then they turned off the lights and settled into bed. They both acted awkwardly because of how strange it felt; it was the first time they'd shared a bed together. Felix's courage and excitement had diminished; now he was nervous about moving and taking up space, and Oswald was trying to calm him down and get him to come closer to him. The light that filtered through the windows helped them to see each other comfortably, and Oswald was grateful for that, as he could see Felix's dilated pupils and flushed cheeks. But after a while of strange silence, they began to talk in whispers. It was during their conversation that Felix asked if he could hug him, and he agreed. This intimate closeness made Oswald feel strange, but it was good. Feeling as natural as the adventurer, he snuggled against his body, and after a few seconds of continuing to talk, he fell asleep.
Using Oswald's shoulder to rest his head. As if that were his favorite place.
Yes. Oswald ended up sleeping late, and in true ninja style, he'll have to get out of there and back to his room without getting caught.
After getting out of the shower, he finds the magic bag on top of the toilet tank, and from inside it emerges a velvet tongue with some clothes that the rabbit thinks are his. Oswald is pretty sure he didn't hear the door open, but he consciously decides to ignore that detail, so he thanks it and gets dressed.
When Oswald returns to the bedroom, with the magic bag following him like a happy puppy, he sees a strange morning wonder.
The burrito on the bed is no longer a burrito; now it's a tangled mess of blankets while a cat lies on its back staring at the ceiling. There's no drool either, but it's still so sensually disheveled.
Just Felix being unconsciously sexy.
The cat twitches one of its ears in his direction and turns to look at him, its eyelids drooping with sleepiness.
Felix first looks at him with confusion, but then his eyes sparkle with playful joy and his beautiful smile blossoms.
"Good morning, baby." The adventurer extends a hand in her direction and moves his fingers in a beckoning gesture.
He doesn't know if it's the excitement of the beginning of this still-undefined relationship, but Oswald loves and respects him as much as Felix himself has shown him. Now he knows and understands what love means to the cat, glimpsing a profound understanding of wanting something beyond the basics. Felix truly loves like few others.
And he wants to follow their example.
Oswald feels as if the risk he dares to take this morning doesn't matter.
"In the near future, this will be just one of many mornings by your side," Oswald thinks before sitting up in bed and leaning down to gently kiss the kitten, aware of how painful and wonderful it is to love him and be loved by him, but having to accept a reality he understood late; death is what gives meaning to life, since moments do not repeat themselves and beauty changes, giving a deeper meaning to the fact of existing, understanding that we must enjoy life since we have a limited life alongside those who love us.
Lloyd Alexander's "Book of Three" is a real-life book that was published in 1964.
There is a small reference to "I Love You So Much It Hurts" a classic country song, which was written and recorded by Floyd Tillman in 1948.
In this future Inky Mystery timeline, Felix the Cat is a Scorpio with an ENTP personality, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is a Virgo with an ESTP personality, which I think fits both of them.
Something I should point out is that although Felix and Oswald have these zodiac signs, they don't define them. This is a real-life logic that I have personal evidence to back up.
Personally, I feel this ended up being unnecessarily long, although I think if I had extended it a bit more, it could have had a better ending. But I hope it wasn't too bad. If someone enjoyed it, then I'm satisfied.
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