For a long time Judy and Nick just sat across from each other, nursing their coffees. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, and the red-gold rays that spilled through the window seemed to light up Nick's fur with a rusty heat. He looked down into his cup, like he was thinking about something that'd happened a long time ago.
Judy reached out and laid her paw on his. He gave it a momentary glance, and no more. But still, he didn't flinch. He didn't pull away. Didn't try to break the tension of the moment with a dumb joke and put the conversation behind them. That itself spoke a lot for someone who kept his feelings on such a short leash.
"I... I don't care about that sorta stuff, Nick," Judy said. She'd been aware of the old stereotypes between foxes and rabbits, but she hadn't known that those old fears still lingered quite so strongly. "You know that."
"Yeah, I know, I know..." he said, still not looking up at her. "But you gotta admit people are gonna look at us and wonder what sorta control I've got over you. I mean, fox and bunny right? They'll be thinking 'oh sure they look like they get along in public, but behind closed doors I bet he...'"
Nick trailed off then. He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Nick stop it." Judy's paw tightened on his, "It's different now. Sure some mammals might think it's a little weird at first. And sure, there are some have the wrong idea about foxes, but things are changing. And change has gotta start somewhere."
Without moving his head Nick's eyes flicked to the side, looking out across the coffee shop. Judy blinked and followed his gaze, and noticed a pair of giraffes surreptitiously looking at them and whispering to each other. He pulled his paw away from hers.
Judy didn't think. She didn't need to. Hopping up to stand on her seat she yanked on Nick's tie, pulling him forward over the table. His eyes shot wide open as Judy pressed her mouth to his.
"Mmfph!"
For a while he perched there, tense as a coiled-up spring. The shape of his mouth was so different, so pointed that she could only kiss the tip, right beneath his wet nose. But Judy kept their muzzles locked, and little by little she felt him relaxing into it. He started to nuzzle back, their warm breaths danced across each other's fur. She could taste burnt coffee and the blueberry scone he'd left half finished, and that faint musky scent of fox.
Judy felt so giddy all of a sudden... it felt so naughty and yet so right, that she let out a tiny giggle as she broke off with a soft smeck sound. A bit of warm saliva lingered around her mouth.
"There," she said, smiling. "If they wanna think someone's taking advantage, they might as well think it's me."
Nick's ears were standing straight up, and his tail was fluffed out behind him. But he was smiling now, with that lazy little grin that usually he reserved for when he was screwing with her. It drove her nuts sometimes, but now it was just nice to see him smile again.
"You sure think highly of yourself, Carrots."
"You gotta admit I've got some experience taming foxes."
"I wouldn't go that far," Nick chuckled.
They left the coffee shop paw-in-paw, Nick visibly relaxed now. The giraffes were making a point to look in any direction other than theirs. Good.
People on the street were definitely giving them more glances than they would if she was with another bunny, or if Nick was with another fox, but she knew it wasn't as bad as Nick had feared. They were an odd pairing, that was all, and Judy couldn't deny that at one point Nick was the last person she would've seen herself with. She even caught a goat hiding a smile as he walked past, like he was silently rooting for the two of them.
"Sooooo where to?" Nick asked. "I suppose this is kind-of-sort-of an official date now?"
"I was thinking my place if that's all right. We could order a pizza, watch a movie, and... maybe..." Judy trailed off.
"Huh," said Nick, sounding slightly unsure. "O-okay..."
"Just see how it goes!" Judy chirped.
"Yeah, play it by ear."
"Improvise."
"See what the moment brings us."
Half an hour later, an untouched veggie pizza was going cold on Judy's desk.
They lay snuggled up on Judy's bed, Nick's arms wrapped around her. They'd laid against each other before whenever they watched movies, the way friends would. But now Nick rested his muzzle on her shoulder, drinking in her scent as she laid on him, feeling his chest rising and falling with each breath. Now and again his bushy tail would lift an inch or two, then drop back down onto the sheets with a light thump.
Judy could've snuggled like that forever, but sitting up and straddling Nick's torso, she leaned in and kissed him again.
The first time Nick might've tried to play it off as Judy having drunk too much. The second might've been a prank to show up those two giraffes at the coffee shop. This time though, behind closed doors and with Judy's neighbors still out for the day, Nick had to know that her feelings for him were real.
When she finally pulled away Nick looked concerned.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Did she go too fast?
"Um... how far would you be willing to go? Because, y'know... I'm a little worried about the size difference..."
"I think..." she blushed. She knew her limits, but saying it out loud left her flustered. "Maybe... not all the way just yet..."
She'd definitely have to buy that fox-shaped toy she'd found online. For practice.
"And uh, I don't wanna scare you or anything but, when it comes to foxes..."
"I know about knots, Nick."
"Oh. Well that covers all the bullet points, I guess."
Judy giggled, and undid Nick's tie.
Judy's sense of smell wasn't as good as a fox's, but she loved his scent. Musky and earthy, masculine in a way she'd never known. It was so deeply vulpine. So much like Nick himself. She wanted to wrap herself in it.
Nick was so gentle in the way he held her, almost shy in his touches. Judy trusted him though. She trusted him with her life. And with each touch, each kiss, each little inch of cloth that slid away further to reveal bare fur, she was getting Nick to trust himself.
Don't worry, Nick. You can't hurt me... she was trying to tell him.
Soon paws that were hesitant and trembling felt along Judy's slim frame. A mouth that was almost frightened to peel back and reveal pointed fangs nipped gently along her shoulder. Judy let out a pleased chirp when he licked her along the nape of her neck. Nick's movements were getting smoother, he was growing more sure of himself, and gradually he began to treat her like she was his vixen.
It wasn't just the size difference between them. Everything about Nick's body had a different shape, even a different texture. His ears were short little wedges, his muzzle so pointed, his tail so poofy and long, his fur more wiry compared to her fluff. They spent as much time exploring the differences between them as they did trying to please one another. Yet all of the intrigue was just spice added to the sweetness.
Two hours later the two of them lay together in bed, with Judy little-spooned into a little ball. Their clothes lay in rumpled heaps on the floor next to the scattered wads of damp tissues. Nick had one arm wrapped around Judy's middle, and his paw clasped in hers. Their fingers were still faintly sticky.
"Whew..." Nick panted. His muzzle was planted right between her ears. "I've heard the locker room talk about bunnies, but it's still a bit of a surprise."
"And what locker room talk is that?"
"A gentletod doesn't tell."
Judy had to stifle a laugh. "You're so totally not a gentletod. You are amazing though."
"Oh I know, Carrots. I know that very well." Judy could feel Nick smiling, until he went still all of a sudden. "This... wasn't your first time, was it?"
"No. You don't have to worry about corrupting an innocent little bunny," said Judy. Though that was a bit of a half-truth. In reality she'd only ever gotten to third base a few times back in Bunnyburrow, and once she graduated high school she was too focused on becoming a police officer to date anyone, much less enjoy a proper rutting. Plus she was terrified of what'd happen if the pills failed or the condom broke... she'd have to give up on her dreams.
With Nick though there were no such worries, and plenty of benefits. For one she was really enjoying the wrap-around effect he had on her, being so much bigger. For another, it was kind of thrilling being with someone who had fangs and claws. There was just a taste of danger when they scraped along her fur or nipped gently at her skin. It'd set her heart racing so fast that Nick at one point had stopped, worried that she was going to have a coronary, until she calmed him down and told her it was a perfectly normal heart rate for bunnies.
A small shiver ran through Nick's body.
"Are you okay?" Judy asked, turning around. Those big green eyes didn't have the usual mischief in them.
"I'm fine, Carrots," Nick murmured, then planted a kiss on her forehead. His kisses were so different... he could give her sweet little pecks like this one, or he could wrap her mouth around hers, almost as if he wanted to devour her. Yet he was so gentle, so considerate... she never thought Nick would treat her so delicately.
Judy knew she would like do it completely for the first time with Nick. She might've grown up on a farm, but she wasn't so old fashioned to think that saving yourself for "the one" was that big of a deal. Still, Nick being her first for real was such a nice, happy thought. She'd just need to prepare herself a little.
Oh gosh, was she going full-on predo?
Once you go fox, there's no putting it back in the box. But then again... was that a problem? She couldn't imagine being with anyone other than Nick at the moment.
"We should clean ourselves up," Judy murmured, though frankly that was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to just lie here forever, cuddled by her fox and with the warm scent of their lovemaking bathing her senses.
"We really should," Nick yawned.
"I've got Musk Mask," said Judy. It was mostly for predators, to neutralize the smell after the act. It wouldn't do to just walk around in broad daylight advertising your recent romp in the sheets to any animal with a decent nose.
Nick shifted around her and squeezed her tight. "You've been waiting for this for a while haven't you?"
"Have I been?" Judy smirked. "Yes. Yes I have."
.
.
When the post-coital sobriety first hit, Nick found that panic had crept in when the lust had receded. Did they move too fast, he wondered? When should he leave? Most of the time when he got a vixen to take him home they'd do the dirty, clean up, and cuddle for about half an hour before he felt obligated to make a graceful exit. If he hadn't passed out drunk in her bed, that is.
But most of those had been casual trysts, with his bedmates wanting a quick romp in the sheets rather than his charming company. Besides, Judy was Judy, and she liked her cuddles.
The fact that this was serious made him nervous, and he started to wonder if he'd done the right thing. He'd never been so close to someone before, never had a friend like Judy. Doing what they just did was such a risk, and all the what-ifs running through his head were driving him crazy.
But then she sighed, and she seemed so happy and content that Nick started to think it was all going to be okay. She should know the depths of his neuroses by now. Or at least, she should suspect enough to be able to handle his issues.
They took it nice and slow over the next couple days, easing into the transition from being close friends to something more. There was a little fumbling along the way of course, though it was as much due to their age gap as it was due to their species. At this point in their lives they just operated on totally different rhythms. Nick was slower, more planned about these sorts of things. Judy was more impulsive and energetic. Being able to meet in the middle when it came to hanging out (Nick still wasn't comfortable with calling it "dating" just yet) was their first challenge.
And then Nick noticed the little touches that they began to share, and which he would start to return. At first Nick had thought it was just her weird bunny habits rubbing off on him, but they felt so natural that it was almost like he was a smitten teenager again.
By the time Thursday rolled around the mammals around them could pick up the vibe immediately. Nick had gotten more sideways glances than he ever had from just being a fox in a decent establishment. When Judy noticed she would make a point of pulling him even closer, as if to say "Deal with it." Nick for his part tried not to let it bother him. He'd been putting up with this crap for his whole life after all.
"Think you'd be willing to try fish?" Nick asked, smiling over his menu.
"I've tried bugs before, but fish is maybe a little step too far." Judy's eyes scanned the menu. Alexei's Diner didn't offer many herbivore options. Borscht, seaweed salad, and a side of fries were all Judy could really hope for. But granted, the borscht was really good.
"How about shrimp? They're like the bugs of the sea."
Judy winced. "That doesn't make them sound much better. And they're whole aren't they? I mean, with bug loaf at least the bugs are kinda hidden."
"Well it's not like they've got spindly little legs or anything," Nick leaned on the table and smirked. "Besides, after getting to know the taste of fox, seafood should be easy."
Judy blushed, and gripped his muzzle. "Niiiick!" she hissed.
Nick chuckled and pushed her paw aside. She wasn't shy about being seen on a date with a fox. It was the sex talk that really got to her. Guess that was the country girl in her.
"All right, all right. I guess I'll have the fish and chips, side of popcorn shrimp. We can split the chips."
"Bowl of borscht for me I guess," Judy said with a shrug.
"Hey order for me will ya? I'm gonna use the restroom," Nick said, standing up from the table. Judy smiled, and laid a paw on his arm as he left. That warm little brush of her fur was really nice... he wasn't quite used to returning the gesture, but he was definitely starting to like it.
Alexei's catered mostly to the polar bears here in Tundratown, but a separate restroom had been built for smaller mammals. It was just a single toilet and sink, so Nick locked the door behind him and unzipped. The extra-large blueberry smoothie he'd had earlier was gonna be going through him for the rest of the night.
Nick was halfway finished when he heard a soft rattling at the door.
"Hey! Occupado!" Nick called out.
The doorknob turned.
"Whoa whoa someone's in here!" he said quickly, shaking and bouncing in an attempt to finish more quickly.
Another fox slipped in then, and Nick's protests died in his throat.
Slim and graceful, she closed the door behind her and locked it again all casual-like, as if Nick wasn't just standing right there holding his cock. She wore a beige turtleneck sweater and gray pants, oddly demure for someone who'd just picked the lock to an occupied restroom and snuck in. Her ears were laid back, and her eyes were half-lidded so that she looked as if she might've been sleepwalking, or perhaps simply bored.
"Charlie?!" exclaimed Nick. He scrambled to tuck himself back in and zip up, a little too quickly.
Eep.
Doubled over and gripping the tip of his penis through his slacks, Nick let out a string of curses as Charlie leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.
"Nicholas Wilde," she said flatly. "I would've contacted you earlier, but you presented very few opportunities to speak to you with discretion."
"Y-yeah, I appreciate that," Nick hissed. He really needed some ice or something. "How are Al and the old crew?"
"As well as can be expected. I suppose congratulations are in order for your new, institutionally respectable social standing," she blew out a puff of smoke. "A pity that the vicissitudes of life are not as generous to other foxes."
Was... was she trying to guilt-trip him? Before he became a cop Charlie was always a welcome sight, even if she had a certain disregard for personal boundaries. Not that Nick minded too much... she helped keep him on his toes. Plus the proposals she used to come to him with were always profitable.
"Look, I'm sorry to hear about... whatever it is you're going through, but I'm out of the game now," Nick said. The pain was finally beginning to recede, and he hobbled over to the sink to wash his paws. He gave his face a couple splashes for good measure. "And as I'm sure you know because you've apparently been stalking me- good job on slipping past my notice by the way- I'm in the middle of a date. So if you're planning some kind of hustle I wish you the best, but it's probably better if you leave me out of it."
Charlie was next to the paper towel dispenser, and she yanked one out and handed it to him without prompting. "I'm afraid I have no other options. None that I can think of among my old partners and contacts at least."
"I may be out of uniform but I've still got my badge on me, you old greasepaw," Nick said as he dried his muzzle. "Look, it was nice seeing you, and I appreciate the fact that you chose not to create an awkward encounter between me and my date, but I really gotta go."
"You really haven't heard, have you?"
Nick had one paw on the doorknob when he looked back at her. Ever since he and Judy laid things out on Tuesday he'd been too wrapped up to keep up to date on current events.
Charlie pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and scrolled through it a moment, then passed it over to him. The browser was open to a video from Hooves News. Nick played it.
"In the wake of the Lone Digger massacre, Jared Shepsfield, a ram living in the Downtown District of the city, was attacked last night by a fox," said the reporter, showing one of those nice, middle-class neighborhoods that looked to be on the right side of the tracks in the area. "Shepsfield says he was simply doing his civic duty when he noticed a suspicious mammal skulking in the neighborhood. According to him, the fox was moving down the street in an 'extremely unusual and aggressive manner.' Shepsfield suspected he was under the influence of drugs."
The ram appeared on screen then, wearing a gauze patch over one eye. "Well, with all these stories about preds hopped up on Blue I was worried about the safety of the community, so I was just keeping an eye out for anyone who didn't belong. And there he was out in the middle of the night, hiding his face, lookin' like he was on something. Seemed dangerous."
"Shepsfield would be proven correct in that assessment. When the ram confronted the suspect, now identified as one Thomas Daywood, the fox attacked him and fled," the reporter continued. A photo of a young fox came up then, probably from his Muzzlebook profile. He was wearing a burgundy hoodie and looking at the camera with a stoic, almost angry look on his face. Teenage males always hated smiling. Thought it made them look cooler. Here though, it made him look like just another delinquent predator.
"Despite being injured Shepsfield pursued, and when Daywood pulled his paws out of his pockets Shepsfield claims he saw the young fox holding a weapon."
"The fox just kept dipping his paws in and out of his pockets," the ram was on screen again. "I didn't know what was going on. It looked like he had a knife, maybe even a gun. It was terrifying."
"So Shepsfield did what his instincts told him to do: he rammed the suspect in the chest. Police are treating the case as an act of self-defense."
He paused the video then, unable to stomach any more. "What really happened?" Nick said through clenched teeth. He knew damn well that this was only half the story. It always was when it came to young preds, especially if they were of the vulpine variety.
"Tommy Daywood was fourteen years old," said Charlie. Her squinty eyes and smooth tone revealed little emotion, "His mother says he was simply heading out to Flock Street to meet a friend for a homework assignment. His friend, one Jeremy Woolston, confirmed that he'd been expecting Tommy that night. There were no weapons on his person when the Downtown police came onto the scene eight minutes later. The ambulance took twenty-three minutes in total to arrive. In the interim he was cuffed and muzzled while unconscious and bleeding internally, left facedown on the sidewalk while the officers interviewed Mr. Shepsfield. Pigs."
Charlie mashed out the stub of her cigarette against the tiled wall, and tossed it into the garbage. "To clarify, the officers were indeed of the porcine persuasion. Which made them particularly unsympathetic to the fox they left dying on the concrete. These details came out a day later on ZNN, but unfortunately corrections have only so much power against first impressions."
"So... so he..." Nick covered his mouth and handed the phone back. Something ached in his chest. He could all too easily see his teenage self in the same position, lying on the sidewalk with the cuffs behind his back, the muzzle over his face. Given no chance to prove his innocence...
"Is he gonna cry?" they laughed behind him as he scrambled out the doors, terrified.
He could see himself then, bleeding out into the streets, eyes going milky...
"Tommy is in critical condition. The doctors are unsure as to whether he'll pull through. Even if he survives however, with the way things are playing out, he'll likely be charged with criminal trespass or attempted burglary."
"I'm not sure how you expect me to help," Nick said, clutching his chest. His heart was racing. He could feel the pulse in his temples. It was wrong... it was... "I can look into the officers who arrived on the scene, see if I can dig up any dirt on 'em. But-"
"Our target is Shepsfield," Charlie said sternly. "The officers can wait."
"Wh- do you expect me to go vigilante?!" Nick hissed. As furious as he was the idea was laughable. Though about as laughable as the idea of him becoming a cop had once been. "What's in this for you anyway?"
"Isn't it enough to want to see the scales balanced?" said Charlie. She was looking at him now, and Nick could almost see a hint of her baby-blue pupils. "If you must know however, the matter is a personal one for me. And it's a personal matter for you as well."
"What? Because he's another fox?"
"Because of his mother. Do you remember the diner we used to go to? The one on Fangston Lane? Perhaps you recall the waitress."
"Ruby Marris..." Nick whispered. The memories were dim and bittersweet, something he'd tried his best to forget. He'd been so young then, a couple years out of high school, cocky and brash as he could be. He'd flirted with her for weeks, late at night when the diner was nearly empty. She'd come by with her earnest smile and pot of coffee, bringing him his waffles and fried oysters.
He still wasn't sure how he convinced her, but for a few happy months he and Ruby shared milkshakes, went to the movies, even had dinner at her place where she made the most amazing pancakes with jam. Then there'd been those precious nights in each other's arms, muzzles locked, her body warm and tight around him, her claws digging into his back as she panted against his cheek.
Her breath always smelled of cinnamon.
"She..." Nick gulped, staring off into the distance as long-buried memories resurfaced. "She wanted an honest life."
He couldn't give it to her. Not then. Not when he'd lost hope of ever being anything more than what other mammals saw him as.
"Creatures like us tend to slip between the cracks of this city," said Charlie, tapping the box of cigarettes in her paw as if pondering whether she wanted another. "Even Ruby and her son, who tried to walk the straight and narrow for years."
"Ruby..." Nick murmured. God even thinking about her name hurt, after all this time. "It's... it's been so long. We don't know each other anymore."
"Look at him, Nick. Look at him closely," said Charlie, handing over her phone again. This time it displayed a photo of Tommy, in a candid shot of him rolling on the floor with one of his friends, a young antelope. He was laughing, his bright green eyes wide and innocent.
His bright green eyes.
Nick stared at the photo for a long time. If he was hurting before he'd suddenly gone hard and cold and brittle inside.
"You... you... mean..."
Charlie took the phone from Nick's paws then. "Like I said, you have a personal stake in the matter."
Slinking over to the window she opened it to the alley outside. Fresh snow was drifting down onto the cobblestones. "I will be in touch, Nick. Expect a package in your mailbox. Do not attempt to contact me electronically... it would be best if we left no digital footprints connecting us."
"Yeah... sure..." Nick murmured.
She looked back at him one more time. "Your new lover... Judy Hopps? The rabbit."
"What about her?" Oh, that's right. He was having dinner with a rabbit.
"She seems... kind."
"She is. And so much more," Nick murmured.
Charlie nodded before she slipped out.
"I hope she makes you happy."
For a few minutes more Nick stared at his reflection in the mirror. His ears drooped, his eyes seemed tired and sad. The last few days had been so wonderful, like a dream. But now he was just so tired while frustration and fury simmered beneath the emotional fatigue. He felt like he'd just come down from some high, and was strung out because of it.
For another ten seconds he let himself feel it... feel it all... and then as he always did he packed his feelings into a little box and turned the key.
Nick took a breath then, straightened up and adjusted his tie, willing the smile back onto his face. He consciously perked up his ears. He gave his reflection the ol' bedroom eyes. Yeah, that was it. There's the Nick Wilde we all know and love.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Charlie," he said, still smiling at his reflection. "But I'm never happy."
