"Regrets"

Judy leaned her tired head against the passenger side glass of the police cruiser. Her eyes were closed, but the evening sun was shining so brightly, she could still feel the light coming through her eyelids. Nick was in the driver's seat, appearing to be of an equal level of exhaustion, the dark tint of his aviator sunglasses hiding his weary eyes. The pair was silent, the only sound being the occasional ba-bum of the cabin as the SUV drove down the freeway.

After a few miles, the tires gave way to a pothole that knocked Judy out of her slumber, resulting an embarrassing snort that came out louder than she had wanted it to.

Nick chuckled, "Well, look who finally decided to wake up."

Judy groaned and leaned up in her seat, her eyes adjusting. "Mm, where are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough, Carrots." Nick replied, a smug look on his face. Judy sighed in slight frustration. As Nick drove the police cruiser out of the city, she turned her gaze outside, watching the lights of downton become dimmer and dimmer in the distance, until the entire district resembled an ensemble of fireflies.

The pair had been working on a drug-trafficking case for the past week, yet somehow, Nick had persuaded Bogo to let them off work early today. Though she wasn't sure how he did it, she was just happy he came out of the Chief's office alive. Apparently, Nick wanted to take her somewhere special, but he refused to tell her where, or why, until they got there.

Typical Wilde, she thought.

In all honesty, she was more than thankful for the small break. Throughout the course of her life, Judy had never come across a friend who took the time to genuinely care about her feelings, or to have the sensitivity to understand what she was going though. One doesn't usually consider the side-effects of being alone until they end up lonely themselves. It seemed so odd to her; 8.4 million citizens in this city and no one seemed to care about anyone else's well-being. As much as it baffled her, it made her that much more grateful to have found the fox who she now called her best friend. The fact made Judy giggle inwardly, a gratifying feeling of rebellion rising in her mind. Who would have thought that two complete opposites, especially natural enemies, would become close in a city that wanted anything but. She loved his audacious and charming personality, though she would never fully admit to it. Nick had become a master at concealing his feelings, and the fact that she had the ability to get past his outer barrier made their relationship even more dear.

But that didn't make Nick appear any less dangerous.

She had long ago accepted the fact that they were natural enemies. He was a fox, and she was a rabbit. Though she knew he would not hurt her, there was something too realistic about the blueberry stain that had been on his neck. The way he had stalked her through the artificial grass; it was like she could still feel the dry blades brushing against her intensity of which he had grasped her neck with his mouth, carefully keeping his sharp canines mere millimeters away from her throat. Though they had only been acting, it had been real enough for her to feel her own blood oozing down her neck.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when the car turned off the pavement and onto a dirt road. The fields of grain turned into a luscious canopy of trees, the mud from the ground kicking up onto the lower parts of the car's fender. Judy couldn't help but roll down the window and feel the cool autumn breeze flow past her fur, while a song of rustling leaves played in the air. The canopy opened up to a small, empty dirt parking lot that sat upon a cliff that faced east. Nick pulled up to a wooden parking block and cut the engine.

"We're here." said Nick, stepping out of the cruiser.

Judy opened the door to find herself standing on the edge of a wide rock cliff that overlooked a stunning view of the rainforest district. They were at such a high elevation that the artificial rain was actually falling below them, while the trees looked like large patches of broccoli. And since the sun was setting on the other side of the planet, the first stars were becoming visible where the black of night mixed with the golden-orange of evening. She heard the crunch of gravel as Nick approached her side. "What do you think?"

Judy let out a breath in awe. "Wow, Nick! This place is so beautiful! How did you know about it?"

His upper lips curved into a small smile. "Hmm, I thought you might like it." Nick double tapped the cruiser's key, opening the rear hatch which revealed a brown picnic basket seated on top of a neatly folded red blanket. "My mother used to take me here when I was a kit. That was before she passed. Now, I usually just come up here to think."

Judy's heart sank. He had never told her that his mother had died. With everything he had gone through as a child, it's no wonder he ended up conning. He had no support. No care. No love. She couldn't help but wonder if he considered her his support system, but she decided not to ask.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's fine, Judy. Really. She was never a big part of my life anyway."

Well. That sure made her feel better.

Nick pulled the basket and blanket out the trunk, and began spreading them out along the ground. He had thought of everything. There was a vast array of vegetables and fruits, (including blueberries, Nick's favorite) as well as a new bottle of sparkling carrot juice.

Judy's cheeks reddened, her hands clasping in front of her waist.

"Nick, you did all this… for me? Why?"

His eyes glanced up from the spread towards her, holding a certain level of sensitivity that she couldn't identify, nor had she seen before. She watched him as he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and let out the same air with frustration. He adjusted his body so that he now sat indian-style on the blanket. He patted the space across from him.

"Can you come here, please?"

Without speaking, Judy obediently followed his gesturing and joined him on the blanket. Though it was still covered by cloth, she had never experienced the solid ground being so cozy.

Well, maybe it wasn't the ground that was cozy.

His claws pulled her paws into his, and she watched him closely as he spoke to the earth.

"This is my apology to you, Judy."

Her face twisted into a confused expression. "Apology? What do you mean? You never did-"

"Shhhh." He stopped her, putting a single claw to her lips. Nick's gaze moved upwards until it met Judy's. For the first time, she was able to see the details of his irises, including the golden speckles that seemed to dance around the edges of his pupils. They glimmered with a twinge of guilt in the orange light. His mouth opened, pausing with hesitance before he continued.

"I… I'm sorry, so sorry, for not believing in you."

Judy didn't move as she processed the statement in her head, over and over again, deconstructing words and syllables until the sentence didn't even sound English anymore. Nick gazed at her intently, watching her facial movement and waiting for a response. After a few more seconds of silence, Nick hesitantly began to elaborate.

"The first day we met? All those things I said about you and becoming police officer?"

And then it hit her. Hard. Nick was still holding on to all of the things he had said to her a year ago, along with the guilt that came with it. How come he had never told her until now? She felt her arms drop as his paws let go of hers, and his posture curved back in a rather droopy fashion. He was looking at the ground now, his elbows resting in his lap.

"I don't know what was wrong with me, Judy. It's like I never realized that you had feelings. Ever since I've gotten back from the Police Academy, I've truly been able to understand how much you've had to work for your goals, because I was in your shoes. I'm sorry, Carrots. It was disrespectful of me to just throw a stereotype around like that. Will you forgive me? I should have never-"

This time Judy was the one to interrupt. "Nick, there's no apology needed."

Only his eyes moved, glancing up. "What?"

"How long have you been stabbing yourself with guilt?" she asked.

And he just looked at her.

Judy leaned in closer, so that their knees were now touching. "From my perspective, I viewed what you said as just another obstacle. Nick, as a rabbit wanting to become a cop, I've dealt with obstacles my entire life. I mean, look at my parents! They're still warming up to the idea of supporting my career decisions."

Smiling slightly, she her paw out, cupping it under his muzzle and tilting his head back to she could look into his eyes. His eyes looked afraid. Like a child's.

"You barely even knew me then, Nick. And I, you. You've had a difficult past, and I understand that. Sometimes bad things can change your perspective, but-"

"-But I'm different now." His eyes crinkled where the crimson fur started, and the corners of his mouth curved, but only slightly. Judy smiled, her buckteeth showing.

"That's right."

They stared at each other for a moment before Judy leaned up and wrapped her arms around his torso. She felt Nick do the same as he cradled her head with his neck, inhaling sharply.

"Thank you, Carrots. For everything."

The paws tightened around her, the heat of his body making for a nice contrast to the chilly, now darkened environment around them.

"You're welcome."

After a moment, Nick pulled his head back and glanced down at Judy, who's eyes were closed.

"Hey."

"What?"

"You know, there's one thing I don't regret saying to you."

"And what would that be, Mr. Pawpsicle?"

"You really were a cute metermaid."