Chapter 10: Fixed
Written by Panoctu
The lower body of an arctic vixen clad in a stained, blue overall peeked out from beneath a vehicle. Her paw appeared, likely groping about for the wrench that lay just out of reach.
With a hind paw, the male standing next to it nudged the tool closer to the searching extremity.
"Ah, there you are you sneaky little..." came the mumbled reaction from the vulpine.
"I don't think I deserve that kind of description."
The mechanic jerked upon hearing his words.
Quickly darting out from beneath the car on her creeper, Skye shot her unperceived visitor an incredulous look, her fur standing on end in surprise. "Jack!? Oh, believe me, I have some choice words ready for you. Your car has been totalled! Do you kn-"
"I'm sorry."
His sudden apology stopped her furious tirade before she could get started. A look at the striped jackrabbit showed that he was missing his usual dispassionate demeanor. Instead, he gave her a soft, earnest smile.
With a sigh, she deflated and threw the wrench onto a close-by tool cart where it landed with a metallic clatter that reverberated throughout the empty garage. Grabbing a dirty rag, she attempted to swipe the grease from her paws. Jack in the meantime had stepped closer to the vehicle she had worked on.
"Without your alterations to the car, I would have probably gotten 'totalled' instead." he stated in a low, grateful voice. A warm body pressed against him from behind, arms reaching around to embrace him while the only slightly larger predator rested her head on top of his. He felt the skin beneath his fur heat up at the sudden contact.
"I'm glad you are alright," she whispered as her grip tightened a little and caused him to wince. Skye quickly let go of the buck. "Sorry. I assumed you weren't hurt."
"Nothing's broken, but my ribs are still quite a bit bruised." He turned around and took her paws in his, prompting her to focus her averted gaze back on him. The unexpected touch caused her delicate ears to redden. "Without you, it would have been far worse. That's why as a sign of my gratitude and to apologize for... vandalizing your work, I wanted to fix us dinner."
It took Jack quite some effort to sound casual and not let his ears fall back in uncertainty while he waited for the vixen's reply to his offer.
"D-dinner? At your place? You mean you will cook for me?" Her brown eyes shone almost golden as she stared at him. He nodded, trying hard to not visibly swallow around the lump in his throat.
"Jack, is this a... a date?" her last word came out in an almost-yip.
"Yes?" He wasn't sure what to make of her reaction.
A peck to his forehead followed by her laughingly ruffle the same tuft of fur alleviated his worries.
"I'll be there at eight," she shot the buck a toothy grin while hurrying towards the changing room.
Watching her wagging tail vanish around the corner, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. As he bashfully scratched his nose, he picked up the scent of oil. The viscous liquid stuck to his paw. That meant it had also stuck to her paws. And that meant that his headfur was most likely oily as well. And his suit needed a good cleaning.
Worth it, he thought with a grin.
An: And give it up again for Panoctu for this delightful story! SavageSkye is one of my favorite ships behind WildeHopps, and this one is a fluffy one. So go check out his stories on his channels and I hope you are enjoying "The Fluff Files"! :)