Blog

Greater Than Friendship

As always, LittleBadWolf was available on short notice to take on this commission, back in November of 2023. I had been laying the groundwork to solidify Morty and Edmund as a romantic pair for years prior to this, and with Edmund taking a mental and emotional beating in Night of Revelation, there was no better opportunity for it.

He needed support, and got so much more.

---

“You wanted to see me, Professor?”

Morty stepped into the office, long white ears twitching with nervous energy. An eerie silence permeated the office, walls lined with shelves of books. At a glance, the young rabbitkin, dressed simply in a white ruffled shirt and great cape, noticed the mystery novel he had just returned a few days passed had already been placed back on the shelf.

But that was a momentary distraction from the figure who sat at the desk in the middle of the room. In his signature white undershirt, covered by a blue vest marked with the academy seal, Professor Rabrandt Cyanis, the grey wolfkin commonly known as the Great Detective Enigma, was looking towards the young lapine, but not at him.

“Ah, Mortimer. Yes, please have a seat.”

Before he could think better of it, the rabbitkin lay down on the reclining chair in the corner of the office, sinking into it in an attempt to get comfortable with what the two of them were about to discuss. As much as he hated talking about his boyfriend behind his back, there was no getting around it.

“This is about Ed, isn’t it?”, said the young hare.

Placing his elbows on his desk, resting his muzzle on his held hands, the detective closed his golden eyes, inhaling deeply, then letting out his breath before he responded.

“It is.”

Broaching the topic broke through Mortimer’s nerves like a river finally breaching a poorly constructed dam, washing the debris away with the currents. At last, he found himself able to relax.

“He never wants to talk about it, no matter how much I ask him. But, that tigerkin you threw into Corrections. Is he?”

“He is.”

Though the wolfkin barely moved at all while responding, he could see the student’s ears swerve to listen closer, interested in the topic.

“Then you found him?”

“We did.”

As the youthful lapine processed what he heard, his nose began to subconsciously twitch.

“Shouldn’t he be happy about that then? I’ve never seen him so dejected before.”

Another labored sigh escaped the mind mage’s mouth before he began to lean back in his chair, taking his arms off the desk.

“If you want me to say why, then you need to promise that this conversation never leaves this room. I don’t want people spreading rumors about my protege.”

Finding his confidence, Mortimer’s features contorted into a scowl, ears raised indignantly high.

“He’s my boyfriend, professor. I don’t want that either.”

“Then you promise?”

“Yes, sir!”

A soft smile began to worm its way onto Enigma’s face, as he thought to himself that the two lovers were likely to go far together.

“Alright. You’re correct. The tigerkin we apprehended was indeed Edmund’s father. However, we found out that among the reasons he left Edmund, one of them was that he both didn’t want to be a father nor did he think himself capable of raising children.”

If Mortimer’s jaw could dislodge itself, it would have likely dropped straight to the floor. After the silence had a moment to take hold, the mind mage continued.

“Further, we learned that the alchemist he joined forces with created a potion that makes its user unnaturally strong, filling out their frame with hardened muscle.”

The silence once again propagated as the white hare took in what Enigma was saying, only this time he had a response.

“But wait. Edmund spends an hour or two every day, five days a week in the training hall. He earned his strength by putting the time in. It’s one of the things he’s most proud of.”

“And no matter how earnestly and sincerely he believed that, it wasn’t true. Getting over his illness through sheer effort alone was impossible. We have the potion to thank for the Edmund we know today, as he so rudely discovered on our trip to Oplentis.”

Looking at his conversation partner, the mentalist could swear that the young rabbitkin’s ears dropped lower than his gaze, contemplating how his partner felt.

“Oh, Ed. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Forgive him for his uncharistic silence. His sense of self has been crushed in just a few days. That’s why I asked you here.” Sitting up, Mortimer began to lean forward, ears perked. “As his teacher, I have been neglectful. I’ve spent so much time at the Corrections Facility helping with our new arrivals that I haven’t given my own apprentice the attention he needs to work through his own problems.”

“What can I do, Professor?”

Deliberately, the wolfkin rose to his feet, walking up to him before kneeling down to just below his level. As their eyes met, he spoke.

“I’ve seen the way you both support each other. Edmund’s told me how good you are to him. I want you to keep doing that. I want you to keep trying, to remind Edmund that he has people who support him. He’s a good kid and a smart one. When he’s ready, promise me that you’ll be there for him since I can’t be.”

Though the impulse to timidly break eye contact was there, Morty did everything in his power to resist it.

“I don’t know if I can, Professor. But I’ll try. For Ed!”

“That’s all I can ask. Don’t discount yourself. You’re better at this than you think you are, Mortimer. Now, that’s all I have to discuss, and I’ve already taken up enough of your time. You’re free to go.”

With a vigorous nod, the young student lept off his seat and bolted out of the room with renewed pep. Standing up from his kneeling position, Enigma could only smile as he closed his office door.

---

By the time Mortimer had made it home from his appointment with the Great Detective, Edmund had already settled in. In contrast to the muscular tigerkin’s usually limited wardrobe, the feline’s normally exposed upper body was completely covered in a tight-fitting sweater he usually reserved for the colder months. Normally, the sight of a fully clothed student reading on the couch wouldn’t raise any alarm bells, but Morty had lived with Edmund for more than long enough to notice what was wrong with this picture.

“You aren’t doing any push-ups, Ed?”

“Nah. It’s hard to keep my place while my head’s bobbing up and down.”

Sitting next to his boyfriend on the couch, Mortimer continued to prod at the obvious oddity.

“That’s never stopped you before.”

“I just don’t feel like trainin’ right now, Morty. It doesn’t feel right.”

Though he was squirming in his seat, the young rabbitkin knew that he had to keep going.

“Because of your dad?”

Before he could fully process what was just said, the book Edmund was reading audibly snapped shut in his hands with a loud thud. He could hear the pounding of his own heart as his body curled inward, elbows making contact with his knees as he covered his folded ears with his hands.

“Fuck, man! How much did he tell you!?”

The white hare could practically feel the anguish coming off the tigerkin he cared about more than anyone in the world. Though the big cat reflexively jumped when Morty’s hand made contact with his back, Mortimer held it there, gently rubbing in an effort to soothe.

“He’s worried about you, Ed. So am I. This isn’t like you.”

A sardonic chuckle escaped Edmund’s lips as he uttered his response.

“I don’t even know what it means to be ‘like me’ right now.” When Mortimer opened his mouth to speak, his ears began to droop. As hard as he tried, the words would not come. Edmund continued, “I don’t know what parts of me are me, and which are the fucking potion I took as a kid. Is ‘Edmund’ smart or strong, or is that part of the big muscle freak I was turned into?”

“Ed…” The young hare choked the name out as his ears grew moist, still gently rubbing his partner’s back.

“And that just makes me question everything else about my life. Like, would you even be into me if I didn’t look like this? Would we’ve ever gotten together, man?”

At any other time, his bunny ears would have shot up, face contorted into a scowl at the accusation, but not now. Instead, Mortimer could feel the relief wash over him, for he at last knew what he could say to alleviate the pain.

“Don’t you remember the day we met? The Trailblazer session?”

“Yeah.” It was merely a start, but it was enough for Edmund, still moping, to move his hands away from his ears.

“You were scary. We all thought you were a big bully coming to pick on the nerds.”

“But ya brought me in anyway.” Both of them could feel the tension easing itself out of Edmund’s shoulders.

“I did, not because you were a big meathead, but because you needed a friend. And even if you weren’t a big guy, I’d still bring you in, Edmund.”

Almost despite himself, the blonde-haired, orange tigerkin started smiling. Turning to his partner with a wry grin, his pectoral muscles visibly bounced beneath his tight sweater.

“But ya like the muscles too, don’t ya?”

The insides of Moritmer’s fuzzy white ears began to glow crimson as he fidgetted in his seat.

“Oh c’mon. No fair!”

Curling his massive arm around the decidedly smaller rabbitkin, Edmund wrapped him into a warm embrace.

“Thanks, man.”

Looking up through his thick glasses, the hare returned his partner’s affection, beaming wide enough to show his teeth.

“Of course. I don’t honestly get all of it, Ed. But I do know that it doesn’t matter what was done to you and what was always there. You’re you, all of you. And I wouldn’t change any of it.”

“You aren’t lying.” It wasn’t a question.

“To you? Never.”

Hearts thumping out of each other chests, strong enough for Edmund to hear, they both stared directly into each others’ eyes, hazel meeting emerald through the thick lens. Testing the waters, Edmund brought his muzzle closer, and closer, and closer, his partner unflinching…

…until they made contact.