From across the bar

"Draw me? Really?" Nick asked for what must have been the third time as he looked across the forest towards Judy's tower.

"Yep! That way I have something to look at when I am talking to you!" Judy teased.

"That has got to be the cheesiest thing ever!" Nick shot back but smiled none the less. "Do I get a picture of you to look at?"

"How good are you at drawing?"

"So no picture, got it!" Nick said playfully.

Judy giggled before speaking over the frequency once more, "Maybe one day I will send you a picture of me in all my otter glory!"

"Har har, I get it! Not an otter!" Nick grumbled.

"Now I didn't say that!"

She was right. She still hadn't given away any clues to what she looked like. Nick was rather annoyed at this aspect of their relationship. Of course did it really matter?

A sudden idea crossed his mind. He may not be able to guess her species but maybe, just maybe he could get a better picture of what she looked like. Getting small hints here and there could lead him to figuring out exactly who he was talking to.

"I got a proposal for ya," Nick began.

"Nick! We just met! This is all happening so fast! I don't know where I could even find a dress out here!" Judy shot back quickly, a playful tone laced in her sweet sounding voice.

Nick felt his eye twitch at what Judy implied he had just implied.

"So you're saying if I did ask you would say yes?" He asked slyly.

"Oh gosh! It was a joke!" Judy shot back with a laugh.

Nick shook his head and smiled, "Anyways! I am willing to play this little drawing game in exchange for one fact about you!"

"Oh really? Trying to blackmail the boss already?" Judy shot back.

"No, just trying to negotiate some information so I have a better understanding of the mammal I am working for so I may meet any needs she requires later on," Nick said in a professional yet robotic manner.

There was a moment of silence over the radio then Nick's ears were filled with that wonderful laughter of Judy's, "Okay, but only because that last bit was such BS it made me spit out my tea!"

"What kind of tea?" Nick asked as he started to trot down the steps to his tower to retrieve some boards and tools for the window repair.

"Is that the question?" Judy asked playfully.

"NO! Wait that's not it!" Nick shot back. He thought of something to ask quickly. "Fur color?"

"Nope!" Judy responded. Shooting down the first idea that came to Nick's mind. The fox didn't care though, there were other ways.

"Height?"

"Nope," Judy

"Tail type?"

"You asking me about my butt?!" Judy responded jokingly.

"Eye color?!" Nick was starting to run out of ideas as he reached the bottom of the steps.

There was a pause over the radio before Judy responded.

"Purple…" She said softly.

Nick stopped and leaned against the tower as a pair of purple eyes filled his mind. They looked wonderful, even though he had never seen them.

"I like purple..." Nick said softly. "Wouldn't mind looking into them sometime."

Woah Nick! Little bold don't we think? Nick's mind raced as he said the words. He didn't regret saying it though. He was kinda relieved that this sentence was now out in the open.

A second or two passed before he got a response from Judy.

"So…umm...anyways my drawing!" She sounded flustered, but in a good way. This caused Nick to smile as he grabbed some boards and tools. He then turned and trotted back up the stairs.

"So, uhh," Judy was still sounding a little out of it as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I am looking at you from across the bar, what do I see?"

"A bar? Really?" Nick asked as he reached the top of the steps and set his tools down. "Well I guess you see a very inebriated fox!"

"I know that! I mean what do you normally wear?" Judy asked quickly.

"Tuxedoes! All the time!" Nick teased.

"Oh a very formal fox!" Judy chuckled.

"What about your eyes?"

"My eyes? Well some folks tell me I have kind of curious eyes...yeah...thats cheesy let me think," Nick said as he lined one of the board up and then set the walkie down so he could begin to hammer a nail into place.

"No! That's perfect! I like that!" Judy said happily. "What color are they?"

Nick hammered a few nails into place and then picked up the walkie, "What color is your fur?"

"Ugh! No fair! You know my eye color!" Judy shot back.

"Yeah, but that was in exchange for this whole drawing thing! Gotta give me something to work with here!"

"What about your smile?" Judy said, skipping over the eye color for now. Nick could tell though that this was going to be killing her later though.

"Smile? Who says I smile?"

"Please, you are talking to me! You must be smiling 24/7 at this point!" Judy said confidently.

Nick shook his head and began to laugh. He took a glance over at Judy's tower, "Well I guess you are right about that."

"Because I am awesome!" Judy said happily. "So smile! What do you got?"

"I am a fox so I guess a sly or smug smile is what most mammals would say!" Nick responded before putting another board right underneath the one he had just secured.

"What would you say though?" Judy asked curiously.

Nick froze as he held the board in place. The way she asked that. She didn't care what other mammals said about him. She wanted to know what he thought of himself. What the meaning behind his own smile meant to him. Normally Nick dealt with a lot of biases in the city. People not wanting to trust him or accusing him of just smiling.

Judy however wanted to know what his smile meant to him. It caused a moment of deep thought.

Nick finished with the next board and then returned to the walkie talkie, "I guess confident?"

"Sounds confident!" Judy teased.

"Just never been asked a question like that before..."

"Well you are working with me, these kind of questions are common!"

"Common?" Nick asked suddenly without keying up the radio.

Now it was the fox's turn to be a little jealous. Was this how she always talked? To the other firewatchers? Was her bubby attitude not reserved just for him? Nick felt a jealousy start to boil inside of him. His attitude suddenly changing.

"So how many other firewatchers have you drawn?" He asked coldly.

There was a pause on the radio before Judy responded, "You wanna repeat that? Maybe a little less attitude?"

Nick shook his head, he had let his emotions get the best of him. Now he was going to pay the price.

"Just wondering since this is common is all..." He couldn't hide is disappointment.

"So are you gonna read into every little word I say now?" Judy asked, her own tone sounding slightly hostile. "Because if you want I can answer your previous question and it's gonna make you feel like such an ass!"

"How many?" Nick asked.

"How many?! Really Nick?"

There was a while minute before Judy broke the silence. "None Nick! Happy? You want to know the truth? I don't talk to the other firewatchers like I do you!"

Nick winced as he tried to key up the radio and apologize. Judy however had tied up the frequency.

"You are the first one I even know the species of! You are the first one I have ever talked to so much I have to keep my radio plugged in because I run through batteries! You're the first one…you know what...I need a minute...call if it's an emergency!" Her voice was full of anger. Nick hated it.

Nick keyed the mic for a moment then released it. Remaining silent.

"Just like that you messed it up…smooth Nick..." The fox muttered to himself as he returned to repairing the window.

It didn't take much longer to finish his work. What with the radio being silent he could focus at his task. Nick hated it. He wished it would have taken him all day to do this if it meant speaking to Judy. His supervisor had remained silent though and Nick found himself staring over at the Thourfare tower.

An hour had finally gone by before the radio came back to life. Nick was sitting in his desk chair, scanning the horizon. His eyes darting back to Judy's tower every minute or so. When the fox heard the small static of his radio before a transmission he nearly leapt from his seat.

"Nick you there?" Judy asked softly. The angry tone he had heard earlier was gone.

"I am here…and I am sorry..." Nick said softly.

"I am too, I kinda lost my cool there. It just hurt a little…don't apologize for that by the way. I hate it when mammals say sorry more than once. You have said it so it's done!" Judy said with a hint of regret.

"I shouldn't have acted like that," Nick admitted, "It was stupid."

"Yeah it was," Judy agreed, "was kinda cute though..."

Nick chuckled and felt his world brighten slightly. "How was that cute?"

"No reason," Judy teased.

"Oh come on!"

"Nope! So back to my picture!"

"You're no fun!"

"Correction I am super fun!"

"Yes you are..." Nick agreed happily.

"Eeeeeee!" Judy squeaked over the radio.

Nick felt a sudden urge to ask Judy what had just happened between them over the radio. Had they just had a fight? Over some accusations? His mind began to go into over drive as he processed what had happened.

Friends didn't normally fight like that, at least not in his experience. Even best friends didn't go around throwing such jealousy about. No something was up between them. Maybe it was the lack of other mammals around. Maybe they were just both lonely and emotions were weird.

Or maybe it was something else. Maybe it was feelings. The kind that two mammals shared when they wanted to da…

No, take it slow Nick. She is still somewhat of a stranger. Don't let mammals in that easily. Or else you will get hurt. Like last time.

"So I have a confident fox in a tuxedo looking at me with curious eyes and a confident smile!" Judy began to say. Nick noticed a rather excited tone starting to rise up over the radio, "One last thing, besides all that, what's the first thing I would notice about you?"

Something deep inside him begged the fox to take a chance. Be brave, take a gamble, and just throw something out there! If not for her then for him!

"The first thing you would notice is the fact I was staring at such beautiful purple eyes the whole night," Nick said. Listening to his heart instead of his brain. His brain however agreed that this was amazing! Stupid! But still amazing.

"Nick…" Judy whispered softly. He could tell she had been taken off guard by this.

"Too much?" Nick asked as cool and calm as he could.

"No...Just right," Judy said with a giggle.

There was a few moments of pleasant silence before Judy collected herself.

"So, confident smile, curious eyes, dressed real nice. How would you approach me?" She asked softly.

"Is this part of the picture?"

"Mmmm, no, this is just for me," Judy said softly.

"Just for you huh?" Nick said as he stood up and walked over to the window closest to Judy's tower. He couldn't explain it but it brought comfort to him being a little closer to her. Even if it was just a few feet. "Well after watching you for a while I would assume to know your drink. Would wait for that last little bit in your glass to vanish and then make my move."

"Yeah?" Judy asked, her breathing growing a little heavy.

"So what is a cute otter like you doing in a place like this?" Nick asked playfully over the radio. Taking on the role of a confident bar fox.

"What if I wasn't an otter?" Judy asked softly. "What if I was something else?"

"As long as you're you," Nick said in a rather over friendly tone.

There was a whole minute of silence before Judy responded, "I have to go off the radio for a little bit..." She said nervously.

Nick panicked. He must have gone too far. What was he thinking?

"Judy I am sorry, that was over the line! I shouldn't have said that!" Nick blurted out.

"No! Nick don't think that! Don't ever think that!" Judy shot back, "I just need a little while...to...just…"

The sweet voice trailed off.

"I gotcha," Nick said, still a little confused but happy that he hadn't blown it. What it was would still be a mystery.

"Nick?" Judy said softly.

"Yeah Judy?"

"Thanks for picking me up in a bar like that…It's never happened before..."Judy said nervously, "I mean, thanks for playing around about it! I am gonna shut up now!"

"One thing before you go!" Nick shot back, nervous the conversation would be cut short.

"Yeah?"

"So after all that," Nick began, "Would I have gotten your number?"

The silence was maddening as Nick waited for a response.

"Yes."

Nick felt his heart swell suddenly.

"I'll talk to ya later Nick," Judy said quickly.

"Looking forward to it Judy," With that the fox walked back to his desk and looked out the windows. Performing his job as he scanned the horizon for smoke trails. His bright green eyes though constantly looked over his shoulder at the other tower. A smile glued to his face.

"That didn't seem so common..." He muttered.

Meanwhile across the forest in a tower sitting on a small rock formation Judy put her radio down. Her bright purple eyes looking out in the distance at Nick's tower. A worried expression on her face. "What am I doing?" She whispered softly as she brought her knees to her chest and curled up on her chair.

"Nick…please don't be mad at me..." She whispered to herself as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

A piece of paper sat on her desk. A sketch of a fox filled the page. Two words were written atop the page in beautiful handwriting: My Nick.