marvin and whizzer are so happy together!!

Whizzer and Marvin!

The world felt colder to Marvin now, sharper in its cruelty. It wasn't like when he and Whizzer fought, storming away from each other in a flurry of words and emotions, only to come back together again. This was permanent. This was something he couldn't undo, couldn't fix. Whizzer was gone, and that realisation weighed on Marvin like a boulder pressing down on his chest.

It had been weeks since the funeral, but Marvin hadn't gone back to his normal life. He didn't know what 'normal' even meant anymore. Every time he walked into his apartment, he expected to see Whizzer lounging on the couch, flipping through fashion magazines or complaining about the latest movie. But instead, the apartment was empty, its silence unbearable.

Marvin stood in the kitchen, staring blankly at the cup of coffee in his hand. It had gone cold, much like everything else in his life. He hadn't been sleeping well, and every dream that came felt like a memory replaying in slow-motion — Whizzer laughing, the feel of his touch, his biting humour. Then he'd wake up, reaching out instinctively to the other side of the bed, only to find it cold and empty.

Every morning started the same: a sigh, a pause, a reminder of absence. He thought about reaching out to his ex wife, Trina. She'd been through this kind of loss before, and though their relationship was rocky at first, he wondered if she could help him make any sense of it all. But, she had her own life, her own family to worry about. Their son, Jason, was growing up, and Marvin didn't want to be the weight dragging them down. Still, Jason had been asking questions. He had been there through it all — the sickness, the slow unraveling of Whizzers life, everything.

It wasn't just Jason, though. His friends noticed the change in him too. Charlotte, his old friend and Whizzer's doctor, had called him several times, leaving messages that went unreturned. She wanted to check in, make sure he was okay. But how could Marvin explain to anyone the depth of the hole that had opened inside of him?

One evening, when the silence in his apartment became too much, he grabbed his coat and stepped out into the cold, damp streets of New York City. He walked the streets aimlessly, feeling disconnected from the world around him. People were living their lives, laughing and smiling, unaware of the emptiness that had swallowed his. He found himself wandering towards the park where he and Whizzer used to walk together, sometimes in easy silence, other times arguing about trivial things that didn't matter.

He sat down on a bench, his breath visible in the chill of the night. As he sat there, he could almost hear Whizzer's voice in his head, mocking him for being so dramatic, for brooding like a character in one of those old, tragic novels Whizzer used to laugh at.

"You're such a martyr." Whizzer would say with that half-smile, half-smirk. "Always carrying the weight of the world like it's yours to bear."

But it wasn't just the weight of the world, Marvin thought. It was the weight of his world. What was he supposed to do now? Who was he supposed to be without Whizzer?

A soft rustling behind him snapped him from his thoughts. He turned to see a man, a stranger, walking his dog nearby. The man gave Marvin a polite nod, and Marvin nodded back, the moment insignificant but grounding in its normalcy.

For a long time, Marvin sat there, staring at the space around him. He thought about how life moves on, even when it feels like time should stop. But it doesn't. The world keeps spinning, people keep going, even when you feel like you're standing still, frozen in your own grief.

Finally, Marvin stood up. He wasn't ready to move on. He wasn't sure if he ever would be. But he knew he couldn't stay in this place forever, trapped in the shadows of memories that would never fade. Whizzer was gone, but Marvin wasn't. He still had Jason. He still had his friends, however distant they felt. And somewhere, buried deep under the grief, Marvin knew he still had the capacity to love, to care, to live.

One step at a time, he thought. He turned towards home, not because he was ready, but because he had to try. Because that's what Whizzer would have wanted. Not for Marvin to be stuck in the past, but to keep moving forward. As he walked away from the park, Marvin felt the ghost of Whizzer beside him. He could almost hear that familiar voice, teasing him, reminding him not to take everything so seriously. And for the first time in weeks, Marvin smiled — a small, fragile smile, but a smile nonetheless.