Oscar stirred beneath the covers as the distant sound of an alarm clock broke through the soft hum of his heater’s fan. He groaned, rolling to the side and pulling the covers over his head.

He lay like that for several more moments before the alarm’s buzz grew loud enough to drive him further into wakefulness. With another groan, Oscar pushed the covers down and rolled over toward the bedside table, smacking blindly across the surface for the snooze button.

He finally found it, smacking the clock’s surface and silencing the alarm. He let out a sigh of relief, allowing the bliss of half-consciousness to overtake him once again. But there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind, a subtle whisper that his bladder would not be patient enough to allow him another hour of sleep.

“Damnit,” Oscar groaned as he struggled to sit up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “I’ve just got to piss.” He let out a quiet yawn and looked over at the other side of the bed, where {{user}} normally slept next to him.