[A/N]: This was just a fun little one-shot I wrote to take a break from Something That Finds You. Very fluffy, very casual - hopefully it isn't as scattered as I feel it is. Once again, many thanks to everyone who reads this, and any of my other works! Happy Summer!
Her feet burned against the asphalt of the parking lot as she hurried into work, the ends of her fur practically singeing in the heat. No one had arrived yet, other than the other employees, but the club opened in less than 10 minutes, which was cutting it far too close for Judy. She whipped her keycard out of her tote bag as she entered the lobby of the main building, grateful for the brief welcome of an air conditioner.
While the Sahara Square Aquatic Center wasn't one of Zootopia's busiest pool clubs, this past summer had driven it to be busy enough. After all, when it was so hot outside that waves radiated off the asphalt like a fever dream, mammals tended to head to the nearest source of water. Said source of water also happened to be the source of Judy's income.
In retrospect, she felt pretty stupid for signing up for a job that involved being outside all day, in up to 100°F heat (and that was on the cool side). But she'd needed the cash; college wasn't going to pay for itself, and neither was her too small apartment that was also too much money for such a too cramped space.
The club was nestled on the Zootopian Bay, a gleaming juxtaposition between rugged inner streets and bustling downtown of Sahara Square. There was the outdoor pool with its shimmering blue-green tiled edge, the patio with its sea of faded umbrella tables, the snack shack that was held together with nothing more than some rustic shiplap and countless coats of blue paint, and the beach in all its bright blue, crystal clear glory.
Even though the club was the busiest in the district, that didn't mean it was the nicest, i.e., Judy found herself often on the short end of the stick. She was the lifeguard…and sometimes the pool-cleaner, and patio-sweeper, and lounge-chair-scrubber, and we-ran-out-of-ice-cream-so-you-need-to-run-to-the-store-and-get-some-more-er, and my-kid-threw-up-his-bugga-corn-dog-in-the-pool-can-you-clean-it-up-please-er.
But it was fine. It was money. And money meant Judy could pay for college, which would lead to the police academy, which would lead to the career of her dreams.
The main building housed the front desk, changing rooms, and employee's area, and as of today, the whole thing seemed a million times larger than usual. It felt like it took ages to maneuver through the lobby and into the employee's corridors, but she finally clocked in at exactly 8:54. That gave her exactly 6 minutes to change into her uniform (a navy, one-piece swimsuit, accessorized with a whistle), and hurry to the pool area. She checked her watch. 9:03.
Shoot.
She looked around frantically for her boss, worried that she was done for. After all, Judy Hopps was never late for anything, and yet here she was, completely slacking off! Was she going to get fired? She was going to get fired! This was it!
She planned out her apology in her head, already preparing for how she would beg for forgiveness, plead for her boss to overlook this mistake, that it would never ever happen again…
…Only to catch her boss, a pot-bellied mountain-lion, sitting under a patio umbrella, reading the latest issue of ZooWeekly, and munching on a Bugga Hot Dog he'd swiped from the snack shack — not noticing her at all.
Oh.
"Stress much?" A voice said snidely, cutting through her train of thought.
Judy stiffened. After being subjected to listen to this voice all summer so far, she would have recognized it anywhere. The one, the only, the insufferably cocky and inexplicably smug, Nick Wilde.
"I'm not stressed!" Judy replied, doing her best to look as disinterested as possible when she turned to look at him. Like talking to him didn't send her into a whirlwind of complicated emotions.
Nick stood in that way he always did, wearing the same navy swim trunks he always did, and smirking the way he always did. Judy was 99 percent sure that he'd been born smirking like that. "Please, Fluff, I can see how wound up you are from a mile away," he said, "You're not gonna get busted for being 3 minutes late, ya' know."
"I know!" Judy said quickly. "That's why I'm not stressed."
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Right."
Judy felt her face flush. "Right."
Nick brushed past her as he went to take his post at the lifeguard chair — a rickety, hulking, white wooden seat that stood a few feet off the ground. It was adorned with countless Sharpied names and topped with an umbrella for shade. The club had been so much busier this summer that they'd needed 2 lifeguards this year, which meant Nick and Judy were going to spend a lot of time together this summer. Not that Judy exactly minded, or anything…
…And not that she was ever going to admit that. To anyone. Ever.
"I'll take the chair for the first couple hours, then you can have it when we get busier," Nick said as he climbed up.
Judy snorted. "How chivalrous of you."
Nick winked at her before slipping his sunglasses off his head and over his eyes. "You're welcome."
"So how's your summer job going?" Judy's mother asked over MuzzleTime that evening.
Judy shifted from where she sat at her small desk, wrinkling her nose slightly. Her too-small apartment seemed to permanently reek of chlorine these days, no matter how hard she tried to scrub the scent off her fur and wash it off her sheets. She currently had a candle burning off to the side of her desk, something called "downy meadows." It reminded her of Bunnyburrow. "It's fine," she said slowly, "It's a job. I mean, it's just for the summer, so…"
"Maybe you could become a professional lifeguard!" Her father piped up from somewhere off camera. "That'd be a heckuva lot safer than being a police officer."
"Oh, yes!" Her mother agreed. "Your cousin Earl works as a lifeguard, you know, down at the swimming center in Deerbrooke. He gets to teach all the kits swimming and everything! You could work with him!"
"Mom," Judy said carefully, evenly, "I'm going to be a cop."
Her parents sighed. They'd had this conversation at least once a week, with Judy's suggested careers ranging from a maid, carrot farmer, librarian, carrot farmer, receptionist, carrot farmer, preacher's wife, carrot farmer, teacher, and how about, just maybe a carrot farmer? Judy honestly didn't know why they kept trying, her reply was always the same.
"I thought you guys supported me," Judy continued, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
"We do!" Her mother answered quickly, "Right, Stu?"
"Right!" Mr. Hopps agreed, finally squeezing into frame beside his wife. "You know we do, Jude. But we just want you to be safe, is all."
"Mom. Dad. Trust me, I can handle it. I've been living here in the city for almost 2 years now, all on my own!" Judy reassured them. "And besides, my job as a lifeguard is way more dangerous than being an officer. I'm pretty sure I'm fighting off heat stroke on a daily basis."
The last part was meant to be a joke, but her parents didn't seem to catch on, due to the alarmed shock on their faces and worried looks they exchanged.
"I'm kidding!" Judy quickly amended. "You guys don't have to worry about me so much."
Her parents looked relieved again. "You know we can't help it, hun" her mother replied, giving her a soft smile. "Now you get some rest — it's so late! You should be in bed!"
Judy glanced at the clock on her desk. 8:30. "Uh…right!" She said, holding back an adolescent-sounding whine that she was an adult now, and at 21 years old she wasn't going to be told what time to go to bed, thank you very much. "I love you guys!"
"We love ya' too, Jude!" Her father beamed, leaning too close to the MuzzleTime camera, as he always did.
"Buh-bye!" Her mother trilled, and with that, ended the call.
Judy slumped back in her chair as she set her phone down, exhaustion slowly starting to set in. Today had been slightly difficult, to say the least. Whether it'd be the hot sun, the long hours, a kit screaming over dropping his ice cream in the pool, Judy having to go into the pool and clean up the ice cream, or the mother of the kit yelling at Judy for the entire thing (like it was her fault that her kit had been trying to throw his ice cream at seagulls), it hadn't been a fun day.
It didn't help that Nick had hardly spoken a word to her all day long. Not that she cared about that. It was just an observation.
The bunny took a deep sigh. She took in the scent of downy meadows, the bustling and hustling murmur of the Zootopian streets outside, and the cool feeling of her wooden desk under her paws. Tomorrow was a new day.
Fingers crossed that it wouldn't be worse.
"Can you put on a shirt, please?!" Judy huffed, hoping she didn't sound as flustered as she felt.
"Nope," replied Nick, who was currently sitting mere centimeters away from her. It was 102°F in Sahara Square today, which meant that instead of taking turns sitting in the lifeguard chair like they usually did, the fox and rabbit were both nestled under the small shade of the umbrella attached to the chair. It was Nick's idea, not hers. They were seated side-by-side, legs practically touching, watching the pool club members splash around in the water below. Nick had brought a small, battery-powered fan that he'd attached to the back of the chair, and the faint cool breeze tickled the back of Judy's neck. "It's hot out, Fluff."
"I know that," Judy grumbled, forcing her eyes to stay where they were supposed to be, at the swimmers, and not the creamy, admittedly soft-looking fur of Nick's chest. "But it's still a part of your uniform."
"Calm yourself, Carrots — I still got my swim trunks on, much to your dismay, I'm sure."
Judy felt waves of heat radiate off her body, and it wasn't due to the sun. "W-what are you talking about?"
Nick simply smirked, gaze hidden behind his sunglasses. "If you like the t-shirt so much, why don't you wear it?" He replied instead, grabbing the wadded up white-and-navy shirt from the back of the chair and plopping it into her lap. "Merry Christmas."
"I don't want your sweaty shirt!" Judy exclaimed, tossing it back at him. "That's disgusting!"
Nick laughed, the same delighted laugh he always gave when he teased her, something he apparently loved doing. It was the same laugh he'd laughed when he'd stolen her keycard and wouldn't give it back until she admitted that he was "the best, handsomest, charming-est fox ever," or that time when he'd given her a pawsicle, only to tell her (after she'd eaten it) that he may or may not have licked it before giving it to her. "Sure you don't."
"I don't!"
"Well, I'm not putting it on, so…."
"Fine then!" Judy huffed, crossing her arms. "Do whatever you want."
"Well, I want to keep my shirt off."
"Fine!"
"Great."
The two were silent for a moment, their argument (which hadn't even felt like a real argument — Judy wasn't really mad at him, just uncomfortable with how much she wasn't mad at him) apparently over. Finally, Nick broke the silence with a sly quip, "You know…I feel a lot cooler now. Not wearing a shirt really works. You should try it."
"Can I see your whistle?" She asked lightly, turning to him and holding out her paw.
Nick's brow furrowed but he shrugged. He pulled the lanyard off his head and handed it to her. "Sure, though I think putting something else on kinda defeats the whole idea of you wearing le—"
Judy chucked his whistle into the pool.
It hit the water with a soft 'plink' and disappeared beneath the waves.
"You sly bunny," Nick sat in awe, still slack-jawed. "I guess I should have seen that coming," he sighed, climbing down the chair to retrieve his whistle.
"You probably should have, Slick," Judy teased.
"And I guess I deserved that," he continued, hopping onto the pavement and wincing as the hot concrete hit his paws.
"You definitely did."
"I got you lunch," Nick said suddenly, tossing a foil-wrapped package towards her, "From the snack shack."
Judy was sitting in the lifeguard's chair when she looked down just in time to catch the unidentified flying object. "What's this?" She asked, looking down at Nick.
"I gotcha lunch, Carrots," Nick said, smirking cockily up at her, sunglasses on. As usual. "You're welcome."
Judy unwrapped the foil-covered sandwich and took a whiff. Her nose wrinkled. "Ugh, no thanks."
"You don't like fish?" Nick asked casually, catching the fish fillet sandwich she tossed back down to him.
"I'm not a bear," Judy joked.
"That," Nick replied, pointing a paw at her, "Is incredibly racist."
Judy inwardly bristled as she felt herself laugh indignantly. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"
"That's why you love me," Nick shrugged, taking a bite of her discarded sandwich.
"I do not!" Judy gawked, hating how squeaky her voice sounded. Ugh.
"Uh huh. Sure." Nick says through a mouthful of fish. Gross. "No sense of denying your feelings, Fluff. They'll just keep bottling up inside of you until you explode all over the tennis courts over there."
"Oh really?" Judy countered, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, really. It's simple science."
"So you're a psychologist now?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a detective," Nick mused, balling up the foil wrapper in his paw, "That's the plan, at least. And if I'm going to be a cop, I gotta have good insight, and all that. Which, thankfully, is one of my many natural-born talents."
"A detective?" Judy gawked, "As in…a cop? But…I mean…it's just…you're…"
"I'm a fox?" Nick answered sarcastically, "Geez, Fluff, again with the casual racism. We really gotta work on that."
"It's not that!" Judy replied quickly. "It's…" I never knew we had anything in common? I didn't think that a sarcastic, suave, cocky fox would be interested in being a police officer? I just hate that this makes you more intriguing to me? "Just surprising, is all. And not because you're a fox."
"Well, I'd like to think I'm full of surprises," Nick replied, pulling down his sunglasses to give her a wink.
Judy had a hard time speaking after that.
Summer dragged on, and with it, Judy's patience wavered. The heat grew hotter, the screeches and beaches louder, and the days longer. There was only so much a bunny could take
This is why she was so irritable on the day when a trio of vixens sauntered into the club, tittering into their paws and whispering to each other like a group of school kits.
At least, that's what she told herself.
The intense heat was definitely responsible for Judy feeling that churning feeling in her stomach when the vixens had all approached Nick, giggling so hard their designer sunglasses had nearly fallen off their muzzles. The fact that she'd been sitting in this chair for hours was the reason she seethed when Nick actually started talking to them. He'd been patrolling the pool area, keeping a close eye out while Judy stayed in the chair, and now he seemed completely enamored with these silly girls doting on his every word.
It was incredibly infuriating.
And not because she liked him, or anything. She didn't. She was just already mad, on account of the hotness and loudness, and because Nick wasn't doing his job. Someone could drown right in front of him and he wouldn't even notice, not with all those vixens crowding around him and pestering him and batting their lashes at him.
It was for the safety of the other pool guests that Judy just had to go over there. She was just doing her job, really. Honestly!
She climbed down from the chair and stormed over to the group, trying to look as intimidating as possible (a feat that wasn't easily achieved, considering that she was only two and a half feet tall, and by most mammals standards, 'adorable').
"Ahem!" She cleared her throat as she planted her paws on her hips.
"Hiya, Fluff!" Nick said lightly, turning his attention to the bunny, "What's shaking?"
"Don't you think you should be getting back to work?" Judy said, trying her best not to seethe as much as she wanted to. "We're busy."
"Give yourself some credit, Cottontail," Nick glanced around. "I think you were doing a great job on your own."
"Someone could drown!" Judy huffed. "What if I wasn't looking?"
"Then maybe you should be looking," Nick smirked.
"Nicky," one of the vixens, a white-furred, slinky little thing, whined, "We were talking." She put a lot of emphasis on talking, the same way Judy's sisters often begged her mother after church services, "But Mom, 10 minutes ago you said we were leaving."
Both Nick and Judy disregarded this. "I'm not going to do all the work while you sit back and slack off!" The bunny griped.
"Because you miss me?"
"No!"
"Nickyyyyyy."
"You totally miss me, Fluff. It's adorable."
"I don't miss you! I just need you," Judy said through gritted teeth.
Nick wolf-whistled. "Well, well, well, Hopps, I knew you had the hots for me, but I didn't expect you to just blurt it out. And you say I'm the one full of surprises."
"I meant I need your help!" Judy snapped. "Now c'mon!" She lunged a paw forward and grabbed whatever of Nick she could reach (his arm), and pulled him back towards the lifeguard station.
"Fine," Nick gave in, giving off a long, languid sigh. "I couldn't bear to leave a bunny unsatisfied."
"But Nicky!" The white vixen whined louder, stomping her foot and exchanging worried glances with her friends.
"Uh, we can talk later, maybe," Nick said offhand, still in the midst of being dragged back to the lifeguard's chair.
Judy pulled him up so he was seated beside her, then proceeded to return her focus to the pool. She could help but watch as the vixens sulked away, not before throwing Judy several dirty glares.
"You're so jealous," Nick said suddenly, interrupting her brooding.
"Can you stop that?!" Judy asked, flinching slightly.
"Stop what?"
Reading my mind. "Sneaking up on me!"
"I'm sitting right here. I hardly call that sneaking up on you," Nick snickered.
Judy couldn't think of a coherent retort, so she chose to say nothing. She was tired and hot and grumpy and a little more than embarrassed. Overall, she felt more deflated than the old beach balls in the supply shack.
Nick didn't say much more after that. She saw him give her a look out of the corner of his eye, though with his sunglasses on, she had no clue what kind of look it was.
Not that she cared.
At least…not that much.
Closing time was always a special time of day. The club members were long since gone, leaving behind some forgotten ice cream sandwich wrappers and the thick scent of furtan lotion. The loud hiss of cicadas was replaced with the soft hum of crickets, accompanied with the gentle surf of the Zootopian Bay. The sky was pink and violet, and the air was cool.
Judy definitely wasn't a nocturnal animal, but after working this job, she definitely saw the appeal.
She was cleaning the pool after hours, the same day as the whole vixens incident, when she caught sight of Nick leaving. He had a bag slung over his shoulder, an earbud hanging out of one ear, and in a rare change of pace, his sunglasses on top of his head. He was headed to the lobby when Judy called out to him.
"Nick!"
His ear twitched before he turned to look at her, eyebrow raised. "What?"
Judy stood there, holding her pool net as she stood at the water's edge, instantly feeling incredibly stupid. What was she going to say to him? "I just…I wanted to say…uh…"
Nick eyed her.
"I'm sorry!" Judy blurted out quickly. "For today, I mean. I was acting weird. I shouldn't have pulled you around like that."
Nick shrugged. "Whatever. I shouldn't have been slacking off."
Judy just looked down at her feet. She'd always been such a confident bunny, never afraid of anything or willing to let anyone stop her. But with Nick…her limbs felt like jelly and her tongue was in knots.
"Besides, you're pretty cute when you're jealous," Nick continued. Judy looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of one of his trademark winks.
"I am not!" She protested, "…Cute or jealous."
Nick simply gave a casual wave and continued to saunter out, full of more cocky swagger than ever. "Goodnight, Fluff! Try not to miss me too much!"
"Not likely!" Judy shouted back, but he was already inside the lobby and after he left Judy realized her retort only made it sound like she was likely to miss him.
"You dumb bunny," she groaned to herself, leaning on the handle of her pool net.
Which could have made for a peaceful moment, that is if the rickety piece of plastic hadn't given way under her weight, and caused her to tumble face-first into the pool.
The perfect ending to a perfect day.
"I got you lunch," Nick said, tossing her a sandwich.
"Fish?" Judy asked hesitantly.
"Nope," he replied, climbing up to sit beside her.
Judy took off the foil wrapper to find a bug-burga before her, cicada-y glory and all. Shoot. "Oh, wow!" she said, trying to sound as upbeat as possible, "That's…um…really nice, Nick, but…I…"
"Lemme guess," Nick said dryly, "You don't eat bug-meat."
"Sorry," Judy winced, handing the sandwich back to him.
"I got a chicken sandwich here if you'd like that," Nick offered, holding out his lunch to her, "I took a bite out of it, but you and I both know that you wouldn't mind swapping spit with me."
Judy chose to ignore the latter sentiment. "I don't really eat chicken, either," she admitted.
"Jesus, Carrots," Nick groaned, flopping back against the chair, "What do you eat?"
"I'm a vegetarian!" Judy answered defensively, "I eat greens."
"Like grass?"
"No! Lettuce! And spinach! And nuts! Sometimes hay."
"That sounds terrible."
"It's not. You know, you could use a couple extra veggies in your diet," she joked, leaning in to pat him on the stomach.
"Are you calling me fat, Fluff?" Nick gasped, feigning great indignation. "How dare you."
"I'm not!" Judy giggled. "Everyone should eat healthily, is all."
"And you should get a little meat on your bones, is all," Nick countered, and with that, moved in to tickle her sides with quickly wiggling paws.
"S-stop!" Judy squealed, squirming and twisting in her seat. "You d-dumb f-fox!"
Nick only laughed, getting her on her stomach, her arms, her thighs — Judy had never known herself to be this ticklish before.
It wasn't until the shrill cut of a whistle that Nick finally stopped. The fox and bunny parted to look up at their boss, who was looking a whole lot less amused than they were.
"You two!" He barked, snapping his fingers at them, "Eyes on the pool!"
Judy pulled away immediately, snapping up straight in her chair like she'd been yanked up by an invisible string. She couldn't believe she'd been caught slacking off! What if she got fired? Would it go on her permanent record? She would have to put it on all her future job applications! Everyone would know! No one would ever hire her again! She would never become an officer and would have to slum around the streets of Zootopia for the rest of her life! She could see herself now, poor, homeless, jobless…
"Carrots," Nick said, cutting through her thoughts, "Stop worrying."
"I'm not!" Judy insisted, though even to her own ears, the lie was obvious.
In response, Nick only wrapped his arm around her back, keeping his eyes on the pool at all times, and gently rubbed her arm a few times before pulling away again.
So in short, Judy instantly knew what it felt like to be a melted popsicle.
The subway was an interesting experience, to say the least. They were filled with their fair share of oddballs, that was for sure (Judy would never forget her unfortunate bump-in with the naked Cow Boy), but for the most part, it was a relaxing end to Judy's day. She could sit back in her seat, relax, and listen to Gazelle on her small iPawd. Plus, it was air conditioned!
On this ride home, she couldn't help but think back to Nick. Nick's arm around her, Nick's creamy fur, Nick's laugh, Nick's smile, Nick's thigh brushing up against her.
The annoying charming fox was in her mind while Gazelle was in her ear singing a sultry love song. It was one that used to always make Judy roll her eyes at how cheesy it was, but now it made her heart flutter and soar. The whole thing was so pathetic, really, and yet…
She felt so happy inside.
She found herself thinking about him, and wondering if he was thinking about her. She wanted to know more about him, to be closer to him.
Not because she liked him, or anything. She was just curious.
Curious enough to look him up on Instagram, and just browse through a couple…
(hundred)
…posts.
It was mostly selfies, almost all of them with that classic smirk of his. There were other things too, like a lot of food pictures from restaurants, showing off fancy-looking dishes Judy had never even heard of before. There were photos of him at school (it looked like he went to Zootopia UNI, same as her), with friends (a couple with a vixen, but those were all from over a year ago, so they still couldn't be an item, right?).
She scrolled far back enough to find a selfie from a year back, in which he was holding up a Criminal Justice textbook with a goofy grin on his face.
[Finally picked out a major: say hello to the future Officer Wilde]
The caption was finished off with a sunglasses emoji, followed by a police car one.
Dumb fox.
He looked so happy, with that dumb smile of his, which made Judy smile even bigger. Maybe they'd have some classes together this fall! Would that be weird? Should she say anything? No, probably not. She couldn't even begin to imagine how that conversation would go down. Hey Nick, so I was just Insta-stalking you the other night, and — no, no real reason, I was just…bored. Yeah! Really bored. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that just in case you weren't sick of hanging out with me all summer long, we're going to be spending all fall together too!
Judy frowned and shook her head. If Nick had any idea that she had been looking him up online, she would be completely mortified. He'd never let it go.
Feeling sheepish, she tapped her screen to back out of Nick's profile…
…but not before her finger accidentally tapped Nick's post, causing a giant, blaring red heart to flutter across the screen.
She. Liked. The. Post.
The post that he'd posted over a YEAR ago. A whole YEAR.
Judy dropped her phone like it was made of burning coals, causing it to clutter to the subway floor. Other riders looked at her with disdain, clearly perturbed to be interrupted by even the slightest of sounds, so Judy bent forward and picked it up again, cheeks hot. Thank heavens for her phone case.
Breathe, just breathe!
It wasn't the complete, total end of the world. Maybe it wouldn't even send Nick a notification that she liked it — apps could glitch sometimes. He had so many posts, maybe her like would disappear amongst the countless other likes he got on all her posts.
Judy groaned and pounded her head against the seat in front of her. "Dumb, dumb, dumb bunny!"
Work tomorrow was going to be loads of fun.
"Lunchtime, Carrots," Nick called out.
Judy took her eyes off the pool to give him an exasperated look. "Nick! I can get my own lunch!"
"No you can't. You gotta watch the pool. Do I really need to explain your job to you?" Nick hopped into the seat next to her and handed her yet another foil-wrapped package, though this one was noticeably more oblong in shape.
Judy eyed him warily. "Nick…"
"Just open it, Fluff."
Judy sighed and unwrapped her lunch — expecting to find yet another bug-burga, or maybe some kind of chicken, or fish, or some other unappealing meat…
…Only to find green. A lot of green.
Judy glanced up at him. "What's this?"
"Food."
"What kind of food?"
"A wrap," Nick answered, taking a bite into his own bug-burga. "Lettuce, spinach, dandelions, carrot shavings — basically, someone's backyard in a tortilla."
Judy took a bite, eyes falling closed in sheer pleasure. "This is amazing," she gushed, taking several more bites, "Oh! And is that watercress dressing?"
"Sure? I dunno, the bunny working there said it was the 'rabbit specialty,' or whatever."
"Well, it tastes incredible!" Judy paused. "Wait, where did you get this? We don't have anything like this at the snack shack."
"I may or may not have used my lunch break to make a snack run," Nick answered, not looking directly at her. "And before you have an aneurism, yes, I did get permission from Boss Potbelly to leave. The place is right up the street."
Judy couldn't help but blush. Nick had used his break — the one break they got per day — to get specialty food just for her. That had to mean something, right? He cared!
Not that she cared.
She took another bite of her wrap. Pure deliciousness.
Oh, who was she kidding? She cared! She definitely cared and admitting it made her heart burst like it was made of rainbows and hearts and watercress dressing (the image sounded better in her head then it did in concept). She liked him and she wanted him to like her too, and maybe, just maybe, he did!
The thought made her grin like an idiot, and while her insides were flying, exploding, tumbling, all she could say was…
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, Judes."
Judy munched away at her wrap, completely content. The sun was shining, the pool was lively, the beach was bright and bursting with energy, and —
"And, uh, by the way," Nick added casually, "Thanks for liking that Instagram post from last year. It's truly touching."
Judy choked on her wrap.
Tension: it had never been a more tangible thing than it was now. While it lacked in the drooping and mostly forgotten nets on the club's tennis courts, it hung thick in the muggy summer air, as well as between the bunny and fox. Judy could feel it every time she and Nick sat side-by-side in their chair, this thick, electrifying connection between thighs would touch and the fan would tickle her neck and she felt this constant pressure — expanding, pressing, growing.
It was sweltering.
She felt it when a couple of bucks came into the pool one day and started calling out to Judy. Their cat-calls were juvenile, and Judy easily ignored them, but it caused Nick to tense, stiffen. He'd drummed his fingers against the slide of the chair, crossed his legs, uncrossed them. Clenched his paws, unclenched them. Took his sunglasses off, put them back on.
Finally, after the bucks had shouted from the pool just exactly what they'd like to do to her in said pool (something involving their 'pool noodles,' really, pool noodles), Nick had stormed over to them and yelled at them so forcefully and so scarily that their boss actually looked up from his copy of ZooWeekly to reprimand him.
"Nick, stop yelling at the guests," he said tiredly, then promptly returned to the scathing article on Catty Perry.
After the bucks had left (in a huge hurry, no doubt), Judy had blinked at Nick in shock. "Nick!" she exclaimed as he climbed into their chair, "You shouldn't have done that! They were just dumb jerks!"
Nick gave a dry laugh. "Doesn't mean they have any right to talk to you like that."
He had a point. Besides, seeing him rush to her defense like that…she couldn't lie and say that she didn't like it.
She felt tension like this in other moments, like when those vixens had returned. They'd sauntered in together, swimsuits too small and giggles too shrill, waving at Nick excitedly. Judy felt the tense feelings bubble up within her, causing her to stiffen in her seat and her stomach to tighten.
But instead of going over to talk to them, Nick had simply given a polite wave and stayed right next to Judy.
Was he just doing his job? Or was there something more? Judy still wasn't sure, and she hadn't had the nerve to ask.
She was just happy he'd stayed.
Moments strung themselves out across days, intertwining in time and becoming one fluid stream of consciousness. In the heat of summer, Judy often found herself forgetting what day it was, and time itself seemed to slow and crackle in the sun.
Moments, tension…
There was that time when Judy was eating a popsicle and Nick had been looking a little too long, a little too intently…
When Judy wished him goodbye at the end of the night, and moved in for a hug, instead of the usual, distant wave…
When Nick had walked her to the subway station, on that night there was a rare thunderstorm…
They'd gotten caught in the storm before they'd made it to the station, and Nick had given her his hoodie to protect her from the rain. The wind and rain and thunder had picked up and crashed down in a roaring display, and Judy could still remember how hard she laughed when a stray palm leaf had billowed off a tree and smacked him in the face. Her laughter had nearly been swallowed up by the storm, but he'd still heard and he'd still nudged her in that playful, innocent way. When they finally made it to the station, she'd moved to take off the hoodie, but he'd stopped her.
"Keep it," he'd said lightly, then, after she'd given him a startled look, "I mean, it'll probably still be raining by the time you get home."
So she'd kept it. The hoodie was still in her apartment, folded neatly on her nightstand, and she wasn't eager to return it.
There were all the times he'd wrapped his arm around the back of the chair, casually, not quite touching her, but near all the same, and played with the ends of her ears…
Or when he'd started following her on Instagram, liked a post from almost two years ago, an embarrassingly endearing one of her leaving Bunnyburrow to move to the city — she was all teary-eyed, arm-in-arm with her parents, and wearing a sweater that said, This Bunny Loves Carrots!, (knitted by her mother)…
Judy knew this was all cumulating to something. The tension crackled and sparked between them, one without a name or clear meaning, and within time, she knew it would come bursting to the surface, crashing hard and fast over them like a breaking wave in the bay.
August was right around the corner, threatening the bubble of summer bliss. The heat grew so intense that even the cicadas grew weary. The tar that'd been hastily slapped over potholes bubbled in the parking lot. Pawsicles began to melt the second they left the cooler of the snack shack. In heat this intense, even the guests had lulled. Preferring to stay in the comfort of their air-conditioned homes, the number of attendants began to dwindle.
In the past, Judy's boss ordering her to stay late and clean the pool would have been immensely irritating, but today she welcomed it.
The second her boss left, she hopped right into the pool, net in paw. Getting to stand in the water with her pool net and simply soak it all in was heavenly after such a long, boring shift.
Eventually, she got so entranced with swimming around that she actually forgot she was supposed to be cleaning. Her pool net floated off towards the deep end as Judy floated on her back, eyes closed, listening to the soothing roll of the beach juxtaposed with the soft rumble of Sahara Square's nightlife.
Yup. This is was heaven was like.
"So, Carrots, are you like, dead?"
Judy jumped up, startled by the sudden interruption. She was only in the shallow end, so she was free to stand up and investigate. She looked around wildly before catching sight of Nick, who was currently watching her from the edge of the pool. He still had his club swim trunks and t-shirt on, though his sunglasses were noticeably absent.
"No!" She blushed, glancing around the empty club. "What are you still doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"I was, well, I was supposed to be cleaning the pool. I mean, I am cleaning it. I was just…"
"Messing around?" Nick finished. Something about the way he said it made Judy's heart skip a beat — his voice dropped a note and his eyes fixed on her.
"Y-yeah," she replied. Ugh, she hoped her voice didn't come out as squeaky as it sounded just then.
"Mind if I join you?"
Before Judy could reply, the fox jumped right in, shirt and all. She gasped as the water splashed over her, getting in her eyes and blinding her.
"Nick!" She sputtered, wiping at her eyes frantically.
When she'd finally gotten the water out of her eyes, he was gone. Judy's brow furrowed in confusion. One minute he'd been right in front of her, then seconds later he'd completely disappeared.
"What the—?"
"Boo."
The voice was in her ear, right behind her, and she whirled around frantically to see a dumb, laughing fox.
"Y-you should have seen the look on your face!" He cackled, absolutely in stitches.
"That wasn't funny!" Judy huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "How were you so quiet?"
"That's called predator instincts, Fluff," Nick said with a wink, voice low, "Back in the day, that's how we foxes used to hunt cute little bunnies like yourself."
"Right," Judy said with a snort. She was shocked that her voice came out so nonchalant, considering her heart was currently picking up to beat at dangerous speeds.
Nick simply smiled at her before swimming off to the deeper end of the pool, then circling back. "So, this feels amazing."
"It really does," Judy agreed. She tried to relax again, but when Nick was swimming so close to her, that was basically out of the question.
"Race ya' to the deep end!" Nick called out, swimming away from her again. His arms and legs kicked up quickly, sending a flurry of water in her direction.
"No fair!" Judy gasped, coughing from the water that subsequently went up her nose. "You got a head start!"
"Slowpoke!" Nick called back.
Judy's face set with determination as she charged after him, swimming as fast as she could. Within seconds, she met his pace and passed him.
"Bye!" She giggled over her shoulder, before charging ahead to the end of the pool. Nick shouted something in reply, but she couldn't hear it above the sounds of hurried splashing and her own laughter.
She slapped a paw against the wall of the deep end, stopping to catch her breath. When she looked back, Nick was still trailing behind, an impressed grin on his face. "Okay, h-how the h-hell are you so fast?" He panted, gripping the pool edge with one paw as he came to a stop.
"That's called predator instincts, Slick," Judy replied haughtily, "Back in the day, that's how we bunnies outran big foxes like yourself."
Nick laughed and shook his head, still out of breath from swimming so fast. "Touché, Cottontail."
Judy just beamed at him, feeling quite proud of herself, to say the least. "Dumb fox."
"Fast bunny."
Their eyes met and Judy looked away quickly, flitting up to the sky above. Dusk was moving in, causing the sky to turn a deep, velvet purple accented with tiny diamond stars. She could hear the crickets beginning to hum, their cadence a familiar tune that reminded her of summer nights in Bunnyburrow, summer nights here, with Nick…
"I don't want summer to end," she said suddenly, the words coming forth before she'd even completed the thought in her head.
"Me neither," Nick murmured, and when Judy looked down from the stars, she saw that he'd gotten close.
Really close.
His muzzle was less than a foot away from hers, and his eyes, piercing and emerald and jelly-leg-inducing, were locked onto hers.
She gulped. Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, this was it, wasn't it?
Tension, palpable, tangible, electrifying.
"Can you stop that?" Judy mumbled, voice suddenly sounding hoarse.
"Stop what?" Nick asked. He moved closer.
Making me want to kiss you. Judy's heart tightened in her chest her eyes locked view with his muzzle. As clichéd as it sounded, time really did feel like it stood still — suspended with the way Nick was looking at her, moving closer to her, moving a paw up to cup her cheek. The sounds of the water and the bay and the crickets and the city all faded away, leaving the muted murmur of their legs kicking under the water, her nervous, wary breaths.
Her paw, still gripping the edge of the pool, locked down tightly.
Judy searched her mind for a response, something like, 'annoying me,' or 'being insufferable,' or even 'driving me up the freaking wall.' But nothing came. She tore her gaze up and away from his mouth, and looking into those emerald green eyes again, she realized she'd never wanted anything more intensely.
And so…
…She took the plunge.
"Making me like you," she whispered, and with that, she leaped into his embrace. He caught her quickly, nearly careening back into the water, but when his arm wrapped around her waist, she'd never felt more safe and secure. Their muzzles met roughly and a little messily, the taste of sweet pawsicles contrasting with the salty taste of sweat and bitter tinge of chlorinated water. In the traditional sense of the word, it wasn't perfect. And yet, Judy wouldn't have traded this feeling for the world.
They parted after what felt like only minutes, or maybe years. Judy's head was spinning and she still didn't have a good grasp on the whole time thing. Nick was smiling at her, though he winced slightly as the arm that wasn't around her, but instead gripping to the edge of the pool, gave way. The two parted and dunked under the water, resurfacing with a shared laugh.
"Maybe if you ate more grass, you would know how to hold up a bunny properly," Judy giggled, brushing her ears down flat as she sputtered up some water.
"Look Carrots, now matter how much I like you, I'm never gonna eat grass for ya'," Nick said simply, wrapping his arms around her waist as they swam in place together.
"Not even a dandelion?"
"Hell no."
"Spinach leaf?"
"I'll just stick to my Carrots, thanks," Nick said, his voice a low rumble as he pulled her against his chest, "…If you'll let me."
"Always," Judy murmured. She pushed her muzzle forward and buried her face into his damp chest, taking in every scent, sound, and feel of this completely perfect moment. Chlorine and musky violets, crickets and rushing waves, fur — thick and wet.
Pure bliss.