Author's Note: First thing's first... Chapter 7 ("Three-Humped-Camel") has had a subtle edit. Due to the confusion the chapter is consistently bringing when readers reach it in the story, I have gone back and made it a bit clearer to the reader that Judy never cheated on Nick. It's only one line of dialogue, but I thought I'd bring it up regardless.

Second, I am now also posting my stories on AO3. There will be no difference between the two sites for "Birth of Angel", although "Animal Instinct" has been edited down a bit here on FanFiction to better follow ZNN's submission guidelines. (The original version now lives on AO3.)

Third, I feel I owe all of you an explanation for this long gap between updates (despite none of you complaining to me about it)! For starters, I had to take a week and a half off from the story to fight off writer's block (this story is now longer than the original, and I was suffering a bit from creative fatigue). After that, I had some important life stuff to deal with: I worked hard to apply to a 3D Animation school, and I'm pleased to announce I found out yesterday that I got in! It's been a dream of mine which I've been struggling for years to find a way to be able to properly pursue, so I can't tell you how much this meant to me! I appreciate your patience while I dealt with that.

Comments: I'm just going to quickly respond to everyone en-masse this time around because I PM'ed you all anyways (and that way you can get on with the story)! As always, thank you all for the praise. I have fun when I know YOU are having fun, so it creates a pleasant cycle of "fun" all around! I'm not going to comment here on the infamous "comic", but I do want to say this isn't trying to contrast with it (although the comparisons are natural to make due to the subject material). If you're worried about the fates of the heroes, then I'm doing my job! Drama is supposed to be... well... dramatic! And I will confirm: Earlier details are indeed going to be important later on. ;-)

Sincerely,

-Wayward

CHAPTER TEN:

"I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU"

Nick flicked the light switch on as he and Judy entered the apartment, breathing a heavy sigh of relief at having returned to the safety of their home – their little corner of sanity within the madness of the world. He was going to need an extra weekend to recover from the weekend he'd just had. In lieu of that impossibility, the fox reluctantly settled upon the alternative: Booze. It's not like he didn't like alcohol; Nick simply needed to feel like he was in control. Still, Judy had slowly acclimated him to its benefits within the safety of her presence, and he'd finally purchased himself a bottle just in case he ever found himself wanting the mind-loosening liquid for some reason or another.

Now? Now he had a reason. It was a doozy, too.

Nick threw his bag on the floor and discarded their Ramtrak ticket stubs into the trash as he made his way to the kitchen, a rapid thumping sound making him pause and turn back around. There stood Judy, paws on hips, an expectant look in her eyes. She pointedly nodded toward the lazily-tossed bag.

"Yes, dear," mocked the tod as he attempted a recalcitrant roll of his eyes. He immediately lost his nerve, however, walking across the room and picking his bag up off of the floor. He should've known Judy wouldn't stand for any mess, but he still liked to test his limits on occasion. Sadly, such tests often came with consequences; the rabbit tilted her chin up and gave a purposeful cough, holding her own bag out toward him with a smile.

Nicholas Wilde, you are one whipped fox, he shamefully admitted to himself, taking Judy's luggage from her and heading toward the bedroom. His bunny decided to rub it in.

"Gooooood booooy!" she cooed at his back, fully aware of the power she held over the retreating predator.

Nick repressed a laugh and raised a paw to give it a forward flick, mimicking the sound of a cracking whip as he did so. "Wh-psh!"

Judy tittered with amusement, flopping into the sweet, cushy embrace of their couch as the fox disappeared into the bedroom to properly dispose of their belongings. Upon his return, Nick was treated to an adorable sight: A content silver bunny curled up against velvety brown upholstery, her ears draped down the sides of her face and hugged to her chest, her lips curled upward in a smile, purring.

Nick's heart fluttered.

I'm most certainly a whipped fox, he sighed. But I suppose that's a price I'm willing to pay...

A proper male had to at least make an effort at resistance, though! It was customary! Making eye contact with his bunny as he headed back toward the kitchen, the fox tilted his ears back in a playful scowl, sticking his tongue out at her for childish emphasis. Judy laughed.

"Oh, stop it! I'm not believing it for a second!" Judy's smile grew wider as she pointed at Nick's rear. "Not while you still have that, at least."

Nick twisted his torso to look behind himself. There, high in the air, was his bushy tail. It wagged back and forth, taunting him with its unmistakable happiness. The fox raised two digits of his paw and pointed to his eyes, then pointed to his tail with a challenging glare. "I'm on to you, traitor!"

The eruption of giggles coming from the couch was music to his ears; his rabbit's laughter was a sound he was sure he'd never get tired of! It was nice, this banter. Easy. The lightheartedness was a much-needed change of pace from the drama of the weekend. It reminded him that this was still his life – that he hadn't been transported to some bizarre alternate dimension where everything was always stressful. He still had his job, his home, his bunny, and his unborn child.

...Right. What was that about booze, again?

The process of realization was a funny thing; it had hit him in stages. The first stage had been one of pure emotion: Stuck in unfamiliar surroundings in an impossible situation, the realm of reality had seemed like some distant land to the stunned fox. Stage two had been focused on logic: With Judy sleeping during most of the train ride home, Nick had used the time to ponder about their future and how they might solve the inevitable problems they would face. Now came the third stage: Inviting that logic and that emotion into the familiar confines of his home – his life – coming to terms with the fact that the revelations of the weekend had followed him home and were here to stay. He now found that there was nothing quite like the idea of fatherhood to make one realize they were no longer in full control of their life.

Might as well try to embrace it, he reasoned with himself as he reached for the bottle in the cabinet, his body already filling with subdued anxiety from the fresh impact of reality. If I'm not going to be in control, the least I can do is to try and enjoy it!

Nick took a look at the unopened, squarish bottle in his paw: Bengal's Bark, a small-batch bourbon whiskey with a red wax seal. He still didn't know much about alcohol, but it had looked fancy and it was made by a fox-run distillery; he'd decided it was worth a try. Shrugging his shoulders, Nick plopped a couple ice-cubes into a glass and poured himself his first taste, a spicy scent of wheat and oak filling his nostrils in the process. Upon his first taste he discovered he quite liked the stuff! It was rather mellow for a whiskey – something he was thankful for, having never become accustomed to the "burn" of alcohol due to his previous avoidance of it. He sighed, letting himself savor the treat.

"I'd offer you some," he nodded toward Judy as a guilty afterthought. "But..."

"Pregnant," she finished for him, gesturing at her stomach.

There was that word again – that wonderful, yet somehow-terrifying affirmation of reality! The fox looked at his glass and began taking another sip, trying to forget about it. It wasn't that he suddenly didn't want the child – he was thrilled beyond measure at the idea of being a father – but he needed a taste of normalcy, if only for the evening. Judy, however, was the kind of mammal who needed to tackle things right away. Knowing this, Nick began counting down in his head...

Five... four... three... two...

"Speaking of which..." she began, predictably. Before she could continue, Nick quickly downed the rest of his glass in one impulsive gulp. The bunny's eyes went wide. "Woah! Easy there, Slick! Pace yourself!"

Nick chuckled, slightly embarrassed. He rubbed his scruff as he felt the effects of the bourbon begin to kick in. "Sorry, Carrots."

Judy clearly was unprepared for the indulgent sight before her, the doe sitting up on the couch as he poured himself another small glass, concern wavering in her voice. "Are you... um... You're not getting second thoughts... are you?"

"No!" The word came from his lips loud and clear, without any hesitation, his free paw thrusting out in front of him as if to physically stop the idea. The unbridled reaction was so uncharacteristic of the tod it surprised them both. Nick gave a suspicious glance toward the liquid in his glass and continued, albeit in a much quieter and more restrained fashion. "No. It's just that, um... no. I'm not. No."

"Good! Neither am I!" Judy smiled and relaxed, although tentatively. Her eyes scanned the fox head to toe, squinting as she appeared to search for the source of his unease. Her mouth scrunched in dissatisfaction when she came up empty-pawed. "Okay, now that that's settled... I think we need to talk about this weekend."

Knew it, Nick heftily exhaled. Knew it, knew it, knew it!

Judy tilted her head in confusion and disappointment; there's no way she hadn't heard his sigh. "...Nick?"

"Sorry. It's just, um..." Nick swirled his glass, making the ice clink. "Can this wait until tomorrow? Please? I promise you nothing is wrong..."

Nick found himself fascinated by his beverage, unable to look up at his bunny due to a feeling of weakness. It didn't feel right to ask her to wait – not when she was the one with a life inside of her! He suddenly felt very selfish...

"Of course." Judy placed a paw on Nick's wrist, having walked over to him when he'd been too distracted by his thoughts. She slowly grabbed the glass out of his paw and gently placed it on the counter, then pulled him into a short, tender kiss. She placed her paws on his chest and smiled. "I'm eager to talk, but I'm not going to push it right now. We're tired. So let's go to bed, okay? I can wait until morning."

The fox's ears relaxed backward, a smile coming to his lips as he brought a paw up to pet her cheek. She's too understanding. Just one more thing I love about her.

"Thanks, Carrots. I owe you one."

"Mmmm..." Leaning into his paw, Judy resumed purring. "You owe me more than that, Red..."

Nick snickered. "Duly noted."

The sudden urge to cuddle was almost unbearable – to hold her close and feel her with as much of his body as he could. It was not lust (he was too tired for that at the moment), but the feeling was just as deeply-rooted in his instincts. He needed her against him, to smell her, to scent her...

Okay, that's enough of that, he inwardly groaned, barely keeping himself from following through with the urge to embrace her and mark her, the alcohol in his system only making things more difficult. Time for bed, before you make a mess of things.

Pulling away from Judy had been tough, but knowing they'd soon be sharing a bed had helped the fox negotiate with his instincts. The two quickly ate light bedtime snacks and brushed their teeth, their exhaustion becoming ever more apparent in their bodies. The weekend had been long, stressful, and exciting. Rest would be all too welcome. Their nighttime routine complete, Judy and Nick stripped their clothes and eagerly slipped into the comfort of the sheets. Their contented sighs came in unison.

What a crazy life you live, Nicholas Wilde.

Nick felt a familiar warmth snuggle up against him and then roll over, the bunny in his bed pressing her back against his chest to assume their usual sleeping position. Somewhere in his mind he knew that the close proximity should be avoided – that it'd be too difficult for him to resist the compulsions brought about by his season – but his tiredness and his drink-addled state weakened his resolve. He caved. The fox readily spooned his rabbit, his throat instinctively rumbling with the thick reverberations of a vulpine purr as he wrapped himself tightly around her. Judy lightly hummed with contentment.

Mine, came a deeply primal voice within Nick's head. Mine. This is mine!

He has a point, replied another voice, his willpower weakening further as his thoughts turned against him. She's already yours, Nick. You bred her. She's carrying your young.

My rabbit! The first voice barked, emboldened. My female! My mate! This is mine!

No, finally admonished his weary voice of reason, fashionably late. Not yet. And if any of you want a snowflake's chance in hell with her, then you need to shut up and go to sleep!

Having properly told himself off, Nick tried his best to relax. He focused on the subtle whine of the vents, the dull thrum of the rain outside of the apartment, the cool, humid air entering his lungs with each leisurely breath... air which smelled heavily of the female clutched tightly in his arms. Her scent was intoxicating: Grassy and almost cloyingly flowery, yet also containing just the right amount of earthy bitterness to give the fragrance a clean finish. It always left the fox craving more, yearning to nuzzle his snout into her fur and breath her in fully. It was positively addicting! There was just one maddening imperfection with it at the moment...

She doesn't smell like ME.

Judy's scent no longer held the heavy, musky spice added by his mark; the two of them had stopped scenting each other after having discovered their mutual misunderstanding, and by the end of the weekend Nick's previous mark had been washed away. His logical side knew it was for the best – knew that she shouldn't wear his mark until she was sure she was ready – but his logical side had also just imbibed a healthy portion of bourbon! Logic threatened to give way to instinct. It would be so easy... She was right there, curled against him, his chin resting on her head. All he had to do was rub his mark on her. One swift, intimate motion and her scent would be right again. Her scent would be his.

Ugh... I said "no", dammit!

Nick tensed his entire body in a last-ditch effort to resist his urges, finally letting go of Judy and rolling away from her with a frustrated sigh. The sheets behind him rustled in response. Soon after, he heard a soft click and his closed eyelids became bathed in light. Nick yawned and opened his eyes, discovering one vexed bunny sitting up and staring at him with droopy ears, the lamp on the nightstand behind her serving as the source of illumination.

"Okay, I lied," she said with a huff as she coaxed the fox to sit up with her. "I can't wait. We need to talk about this, Nick."

Nick had wanted to wait until morning – wait until he'd had some proper rest before bringing up anything important – but he couldn't blame her for her insistence given the struggle he'd just gone through. He sighed, reluctantly resting his head against the wall. "...Fair enough, Fluff. What do you want to talk about?"

The tension in Judy's body visibly ebbed as her ears raised, clearly reassured, but then her eyes flitted with a timid sadness as she took a breath to begin. She looked confused. "Okay, well, um... What about just now? Why are you pulling away from me? Do you... not want to touch me anymore?"

"No, Judy. That's not the problem. Trust me." Nick tilted his head up to look at the ceiling, ashamed of his predicament. "I want to – oh, do I ever! But... I don't know how to restrain myself. I've never been close to anyone during my season before. It's not like I knew I was into cute little bunnies, let alone- OW!" – Nick rubbed his shoulder where he'd just been boxed. – "Hey! I'm baring my soul here, Fluff!"

Judy crossed her arms across her chest. "Well then, maybe you should remind your soul that the 'c-word' is still off limits!"

Nick gave an indignant grumble, but thought better than to argue. He continued. "As I was saying, before I was so violently interrupted... I've always been a bit, uh, frustrated during my seasons, but it's not like I've had any real prospects around. But now..."

How am I going to put this...?

Judy rolled a paw in the air to urge him to continue. "Now... what?"

"I had to stop myself, Judy," he began answering bluntly, taking advantage of the tongue-loosening aspects of the alcohol to be more honest and detailed than he'd normally be. "I want to claim you so bad it hurts! I had to separate myself! I was this close to holding you down and marking every inch of you with my scent – and I do mean every inch, Fluff – and if I weren't so tired, that wouldn't have been the only way I would've claimed you, either. Ohhhh, no. I would've made you mine."

Nick watched as Judy swallowed, the insides of her ears flushing red as her breathing increased. There was a delicious change in her scent – a change he knew well. He smirked.

The nose knows, Wilde, he mentally took note. You'll have to remember that and save it for the future!

"Anyways..." he continued, drawing the word out as his bunny began to recover from her thoughts. "We'll be okay on that. I'll just pick up some Season Suppressants when we go out to get your vitamins tomorrow. Our healthcare is pretty good with the ZPD, so I think they'll even be covered. This is only for tonight. I promise."

He'd never needed Season Suppressants before, and the tod now found himself very thankful for that fact. The pills needed to be customized for each species of animal; as such, they weren't particularly inexpensive. Many attempts had been made in the legislature to subsidize Suppressants, but as of yet nothing substantial had been passed. The cost of the drugs (as well as the availability of them) often meant that the less-fortunate mammals would forgo them, leading to increased rates of crime, assault, and domestic violence, as well as higher birth rates in families that couldn't always afford more children.

"I'm still not sure why you want us to stop marking each other, then," responded Judy, a hint of longing making itself evident in her tone. "I know now that marking is usually more serious for foxes, but couldn't you look at it the way I do? It seems like a pretty easy solution to me, if resisting is so hard for you. I mean, I want to mark you, Nick! I want the world to know I have dibs on you! Can't that be enough?"

Nick sighed, reaching over to his rabbit to gently rub her paw. "It is enough, Carrots. And I don't want to rush you. But it's hard enough not smelling myself on you, or you on me; it would be even harder for me to smell our marks and know they don't really mean what I want them to. You wouldn't wear a wedding ring and start calling yourself my wife, would you?"

"No, but... but that's different, right?" Nick could feel Judy clench her paw underneath his, suddenly anxious. "My parents didn't do a good job of explaining it, but they told me it's different..."

"Relax, Fluff." Nick moved to stroking her forearm, giving a reassuring chuckle. "No, being mates doesn't mean being spouses. At least, not for us foxes. It is similar, though. But now that I think of it, I guess it's actually pretty difficult to explain, huh? It used to be that most foxes wouldn't have sex until they were mates, but over the years the line has relaxed considerably. It's blurrier. Hmmm..." – He scratched his chin. – "Here's a question for you: What would you say is the difference between getting engaged and getting married? Ignoring religious stuff, that is."

"That's easy!" Judy gave a pleased grin. "You're making a commitment to each other, but getting married is final! It's forever. It's a bigger deal."

"Right. But when you get engaged you're not sitting there expecting to change your mind, either," he countered. "You're agreeing to a future together. You might as well already be married."

Judy frowned. "I guess..."

Seeing that his rabbit was following his logic, the fox continued. "And marriage isn't forever. Not these days, at least. Mammals get divorced all the time! So what's the real difference between the two, then? You're committing to each other either way. Deep down you know there is a difference, but how would you explain it to somebody who didn't understand it?"

"I, uh..." Judy's eye's widened. "...Wow. Okay. I see what you mean!"

Nick nodded and sighed, a forlorn smile gracing his lips. "...Exactly."

There was an awkward, painful moment of silence as the rabbit before him took a few seconds to fully comprehend what it was he was trying to tell her, and then realization crashed down upon her whole body. She took a sharp breath, bringing her paws up to cover her mouth in surprise as her eyes became large and watery, her ears suddenly hugging her back. "Cheese and crackers... Nick! I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry! I can't believe I did that to you! I-"

"Ssshh." Nick took a digit of his paw and pressed it against her lips to quiet her. "It's okay, Judy. I've already said that it's okay. Yes, it hurts. But it's my fault as much as it is yours, okay? If I can finally leap into something without thinking things through, then I suppose I can let you be the one to take your time for a change. And when you're ready? I'll... I'll be waiting for you, Judy."

Because you're worth waiting for, he mentally added for his own benefit. Because I can't deny what I've already decided: You're my mate. You just haven't caught up with me, yet...

"You dumb fox..." Judy sniffed as she brought the back of her wrist up to wipe her eyes, instantly sentimental from the moment they were having. "Look at what you do to me..."

"Oh, that's nothing compared to what you do to m-MNF!" The tod had been planning to end his sentence with the word "me", but instead found himself forcefully pulled into a passionate kiss. Small paws tugged his ears, his rabbit's tongue tracing his fangs as his own tongue fought to taste her. Nick grabbed her shoulders and held her in place, deepening the kiss with a groan of pleasure. This taste was his to enjoy, her breath was his to feel across his lips...

Nick gently pushed Judy back, separating their mouths with an audible wetness. His breath was heavy and controlled – a very conscious effort at controlling the warmth and need that was surging through his body with a fresh urgency; he was very near claiming her like he'd said he would. Nick tilted his chin to his chest and began to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

"Like I was saying," he chuckled wryly. "You're killing me, Carrots!"

But damn it all if it's not a good way to go...