"But I hate your dares! They're always so embarrassing!"

"I think you might be missing the point of the game, fluff."

"Haha. You really do have a knack for finding new and different ways to mortify me."

"It's a gift."

Nick settled down next to Judy. They were lying on the floor in Judy's dorm, surrounded by a pile of crunched up beer cans.

"C'mon Carrots, take a chance," Nick pushed. "No one likes a truther."

"You're so annoying. Fine. Dare."

Nick bolted back into sitting position, pumping his fists in the air. His eyes scanned the room, hunting for the dare to end all dares. Judy repressed a shudder, partly out of fear, but also because he looked really cute when he was scheming. Finally, his eyes settled back on her and his best shit-eating grin crept along his face.

"I dare you..," he whispered, "to touch your nose with your tongue."

Judy blinked.

"Are you ten?"

"Physically? No. Mentally? Up for some debate."

"Whatever happened to your urge to brutally humiliate me?"

"Perhaps it disappeared with my sobriety." He patted in between her ears.

She stuck out her tongue, but it barely made it past her massive two front teeth. Her eyes narrowed and Nick knew he had made a massive mistake. That look meant trouble. She. Would. Not. Be. Stopped.

The next few minutes consisted of grunting noises and honestly, more saliva than necessary. Judy eventually resorted to cursing, which was particularly comic considering her tongue was lapping along her upper lip. But after a time it stopped being funny and became kind of scary.

"It's getting boring now, Carrotsss," Nick moaned.

She mumbled something, but given her tongue was occupied, it was unintelligible. Nick rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, stop it."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-uh."

"Nuh-uh"

"Hopps…"

"NUH-UH."

That was all he could take. He pounced, ignoring her little squeal. He landed on top of her and closed his paws around her wrists. He growled and her tongue slid back into her mouth. They both froze. They became very aware of their positions.

"Of course you couldn't just fight fair," Judy murmured from underneath him.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart."

Despite their cockiness, his words were laboured. Their breathing seemed to have gotten ten times louder. His fur tingled where it made contact with her's. Judy let out a breath.

"Are you really leaving?" she asked in a small voice. Nick sighed. He rolled off her and focused his gaze on the ceiling.

"Yeah, I'm really leaving."

Judy groaned. "Why did we even meet?"

Nick shook his head. It was a good question. They're actual first meeting was, after all, a freak accident. He flew off his skateboard into her picnic. She had been so angry. Nick remembered wondering how someone so small could be so terrifying. His natural sarcasm had done little to help matters.

And then their tottering friendship began. Their pull to one another had been inexplicable. Judy was a bright-eyed, determined creature; ready to grab life by the balls. Nick was far too angry at life to want anything from it. These were qualities that sparked both admiration and frustration in one another-and were ultimately incompatible. The two could not exist together without one of them being quelled.

And now Nick was leaving college and therefore going down a path that went against everything Judy's life was about. Whatever small connection they had been able to keep alive without destroying one another was about to be terminated.

So there they were. Lying side by side; a little bit drunk and a little bit sad. Nick wished he could think of a joke, something to turn them back into giggly idiots so they could forget for one night that they were impossible. But, for once, words eluded him. The silence grew more and more tense by the second.

Judy rolled onto her stomach and looked him in the eye. She looked like she was thinking hard about something. She opened her mouth, then closed it. This set off alarm bells with Nick: Judy wasn't usually one for trepidation.

"What is it, Carrots?" he asked, his voice soft. Her violet eyes focused him.

"This is gonna sound stupid," she warned.

"That's never stopped you before," he said, comfortingly. She forced a giggle and Nick felt his stomach sink. Whatever she had to say must have been serious if she wasn't going to snark back. She started picking lint off the carpet.

"Well, the thing is..," she began. "Well I… see what I'm trying to say…"

"Spit it out, Carrots."

"I think we should have sex."

Nick broke into a coughing fit. He sat up and doubled over, while she patted him on the back, silently cursing the fact that she had ever been born. He finally caught his breath and straightened up. His eyes met hers. He looked like she'd told him she was planning on getting a very intricate vagina tattoo.

"Judy…"

"Don't say anything," she blurted. "I know It sounds weird. But you're gonna be gone soon. I know you've never done it before either, you told me that time you got drunk at Fru Fru's party. And I want to share this with you. Because you're my best friend… and I'm gonna miss you… and… ugh."

Judy clenched her eyes shut and waited for his laughter, for his sardonic remarks. She was close enough to feel his warm breath gusting onto her face. She started to count.

One breath

Two breaths

Three-

Nick smashed his lips down on hers. She barely kept herself from leaping across the room. All his prior hesitation was gone. He had a gentle precision to his kiss that was almost smug. She couldn't help but think that it was a movie kiss. She entangled her paw with the fur on the back of his neck. He let out a contented sigh.

They broke, but kept their faces inches away from each other. Their breathing was heavy. They stared at each other, wide-eyed, wondering how on earth this happened.

"Say something" Judy wrasped.

"I thought you told me not to say anything" he muttered. She gave him a shove and he responded by pressing his forehead against her's.

"I've wanted this for a really long time," he whispered.

"Me too," Judy murmured back.

Nick smiled. He scooped her up so her face was buried in his chest. She luxuriated in how soft he was.

"Wait, really? Are you sure?" Judy queried.

Nick snorted and without warning, tackled her again. His paws wound back around her wrists and his pelvis pressed firmly in between her legs, pinning her in place.

"Leave it to you to ruin the mood, Carrots."

She let out a gasp. Before she could say anything he was kissing her again. This kiss was different, though: It had a certain urgency to it. His mouth moved against hers, hungrily. Their tongues were entangled and every now and then his teeth would graze her. It felt like an age old dance. She was his prey, he was her predator: one could not could not exist without the other. She gripped his fur tight.

He pulled away and she yelped in protest. He laughed and placed his paws on either side of her face.

"How about we move this to the bed?" he proposed. She giggled. She had forgotten beds and moving existed.

They hopped up, still a bit wobbly from the drink, and stumbled back onto the bed. They landed in a sort of limby heap and kissed clumsily. He was so soft against her: she felt like she was fading into him. She felt his hardness begin to press against her stomach. All of a sudden she was very aware that the only time she had ever seen a naked male animal was when she was twelve and her big sister had dared her to watch a porno. It hadn't been a pleasant experience.

Nick shifted off her abruptly and pulled off his shirt. More out of an awkward sense of gratitude than anything, Judy followed suit. They both looked at one another's chests, then back up to each other's faces.

"I'm really nervous," Judy admitted. Nick released a breath and smiled.

"So am I," he said, caressing the side of her ear. "It's not too late to back out now, Hopps."

Judy snorted.

"Me? Back out? Never."

Nick laughed and kissed her. A caring sort of kiss.

"It's not too late for you either, though. You know that right?" she muttered against his mouth.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked, now kissing along her jawline. She found herself gripping his fur again as he kissed further down her body, pausing around her breasts, but eventually making his way down to her waistband. He looked up at her from between her legs with that cocky smirk on his face. He yanked her jeans off and she squealed.

He laughed and, almost mockingly, rubbed his pointer finger over her panties. It elicited a gasp from Judy and Nick's eyes lit up, like a child who just figured out how to work his new toy. He ran his finger over her again, this time applying more pressure. She moaned. He was doing well.

She pulled him back up to her and kissed him. Her hand glided down to his belt and began to unbuckle it.

"I want to do it now," she whispered.

"Someone's hasty," he whispered back. She smiled and shifted both his pants and underwear down. He finished the job, then stripped her of her panties. They took a second to regard each other.

"How did this happen?" Nick asked no one in particular.

"I don't know."

Before she kissed him again, he noticed she had tears in her eyes.

"Now," she whispered.

And he was inside her. They both gasped out for air. Nick wondered if he was hurting her. Judy was relieved that it didn't hurt as much as she'd imagined. She kissed his neck to tell him it was alright to move. He slowly began to move his hips. As his movements gradually built up in speed, Judy felt all she wanted was for him to find his way deeper. It was a kind of desperation wholly unfamiliar to her. And then it was all over.

She thought he looked innocent when he came. So different than the smartass she knew. He had managed to knot, so he was more or less stuck on top of her, his forehead pressed to hers. Sweat dampened their fur and their breathing was raspy and uneven. Judy couldn't help but start to cry. This was their grand finale, she thought. And even as he held her and told her everything would be alright, he couldn't change that fact.

And so, she kissed him and silently bid him farewell.

Thank you so much to ADeadMissionary for beta-ing. And thank you for reading this! If you could take the time to review this I would be very grateful. Let me know where you would like the story to go from here. And if you have feedback please don't hold back. I need it! Happy reading!