Hello readers !
First, and as usual, responses to the reviews.
Foxlover91 : I was looking forward to write this bit the moment I decided this would be a long running story. Expect things to move from this moment forward. They gained confidence, true, but will it be enough ? DUN DUN DUN...
gonekrazy3000 : You're taking a leap here. Finnick is not Nick's dad yet :) . Maybe it won't work out. After all Fin and Vi have been blind to eachother's interest for most of their lives. Things could still go sour... Will they, won't they ?
And here is what you are waiting for.
Nick was running down the street, toward his appartment, he was trying to make up some sort of plan, some sort of way he should tell what he felt to Judy. To the bunny he loved. He didn't have a car, but he could ride the train, all he needed now was to now where the doe exactly lived. He took out his phone and dialed a number quickly.
"Hey, Nick" came the jovial voice of Clawhauser. "how are your vacations?" He heard the fox's panting. "Are you running ?"
"Hey, Ben. Good and yes. I need a favor, I need Judy's adress."
"Why ? Don't you already know it ?"
"Her adress at Bunny Burrow !"
"Oh right. Why do you need it ?" The cheetah's voice was like a purr, heavy with undertone. "I'm not supposed to give you that kind of info."
"It's really important and really personnal. Please Ben ? I'll buy you a box of donuts."
"You'll have to tell me what this is all about afterwards. Do you want me to say or text it ?"
"A text would be perfect."
"Okay, you'll receive it in a minute"
"Thanks buddy, bye."
"Bye Nick."
Now to get to the train station.
He arrived at the station as his phone rang with Judy's adress. The next train to Bunny Burrow was in more than two hours.
Shit. Think. You need a car. Who has cars ?
An idea came through his mind, his smiled mischievously and dialed another number.
"Hello, FruFru Big speaking, who is it ?" came a squeaky voice.
"Hey Fru Fru, it's Nick. Could you make me a favor and lend me a car ?"
"Of course Nick, what do you need it for ?"
"I have something important to do, and I really need one as soon as possible."
He heard a muffled discussion, and soon another voice with a heavy accent spoke to him.
"Hello Nicholas" It was mister Big's voice "I heard you needed a car ?"
"Yes, I do. For no more than five days."
"Why do you need a car. Don't try and avoid answering this question."
"It's about Judy."
"Is she in danger ? Should I send bears with it ?"
"No. Not at all. It's just that I have- huh- imporant business to discuss with her."
"Oh. Of course. In that case where should I send it ?"
"Downtown train station please. Could it have a removable flashing light ? And a manual transmission ? Oh, and I may abuse some trafic regulations."
"No problem. It will be here in three minutes. And Nick ?"
"Yeah ?"
"Good luck." He heard a chuckle before the shrew hung up.
...
As the shrew had said, a car driven by a panther came and pulled over near the minute-depot. It was a dark blue Clawdi TT.
Okay, that's a car alright.
As the driver got out Nick recognized Renato Manchas. He was a bit to big for this model and had had to squeeze himself to drive it.
"Hey Nick. How are you doing ?"
"Great, You ?"
"My job is to drive those cars around, what do you think ?" he winked.
The panther gave him the keys.
"The flashing light is in the glove compartment. I've taken the liberty to put some snacks with it."
"You're the best Manchas."
"I try. Have a nice trip."
"Thanks."
Nick climbed in, immediately putting up the flashing light and lighting it on. The siren screamed, he pulled out quickly and launched the car on the city street in a way too high speed to be actually safe. It was stupid, he was probably putting his job at risk by doing this. But he didn't care, it all felt too good.
He was out of the city in less than ten minutes, cars were pulling over before him to let him through. He technically wasn't abusing authority since he didn't use his badge. People simply assumed it was a cop car. He even passed a police car and saw the officers saluting him. They couldn't have recognized the fox, the glass was tinted. Quickly, he was on the highway, at a speed still way too high, but he still didn't care. The engine was roaring under the hood, and it called all his primal insinct to push it more. He felt like a hunter closing in on a prey. His heart was pumping blood, his adrelin was near the highest it could get.
She was facing him, not sure about what to do or what to say. She had a plastic bottle of cheap wine in her hands. The vixen sighed, closing her eyes. She left a few second pass and opened them.
"I- It's been a long time since I did come to see you. Since we did speak. I wanted to say I'm sorry. About everything. About those things I said, about how we always fought in the end. I know I have a short temper, but that's a thing I can't really change about myself." Tears had began rolling down her cheek, ruining the make-up she had quickly put on while she was in the ZUG, but she didn't care.
"Nick came back. And I'm so proud of him, he became someone he thought I could be proud of. We could be proud of. But I always was proud of him and I'm sure you always were too." She fell on her knees.
"It's important that you know that I love you. And I always will. But now I need to move on. I now that's what you want me to do, that where you are, you are cheering for me, that you want me to be happy." She wiped her eyes, but tears were still pouring. "You'd make a snarky remark too, I don't know which but you would."
She looked at the plaque 'John Lycus Wilde, a loving father and husband'. The dirt had been reworked, probably so that weed and flowers would grow again. The people who tended to the cemetery were diligent.
"You were right all along you know ? Even if I would have never admitted it when you were still alive. I was too proud for my own good. And too much of a coward to try and change. How much time have I wasted because of this ? Well I'm done, you can have the last laugh now. You really were right all along."
She opened the bottle and gulped a quarter of it. "I'd have bought something better but I don't have a corkscrew on me."
She emptied the rest of the botte on the tomb. "Here is to you, John Lycus Wilde."
...
She caught a few people staring at her in the ZUG, but a few irritated glances made them return to their own business. She took out her make-up kit and tried to arrange the disaster that was now her face. She did what she could and got out at Hill street, in the northern part of Downtown. She made her way into the street, steeling herself before arriving to her destination.
It looked like a different place during the day, more clean than she thought. The van was still here, its doors were open and a shirt-less cigarette-smoking fennec was putting soaked cothes on a drying rack installed near his vehicle. She approached him but Finnick didn't face her. She was certain he had recognized her from the corner of his eye.
"Fin ?"
"Wot, Vi ? Came to shout at me again ?"
Okay. Deep breathe. Don't lose it yet, he has a right to be pissed.
"Face me, Finnick."
He sighed and flicked down his smoke between his hinder paw, stepping on it to put it out. He then turned to face her, crossing his arm looking with a half annoyed, half expectant expression.
"Wot ?"
Deep breathe, you can do it.
"I- Came to apologize. I'm sorry about how I acted."
"Wot ?" The fennec tone had now hints of surprise.
"I was confused and sad, and... you gave me that money like everything was normal, and it pissed me off."
His look was now balancing between surprise and confusion.
"What I wanted that day was to say that, yeah I missed Nick, but I- I missed you too."
"Huh ?" He couldn't even articulate, his face was blank from surprise, his eyes slowly opening wide.
She leaned toward him, their snout were almost touching.
She tilted her head slightly and went ahead, giving him a hesitant kiss. "I'm telling you that I love you Finnick." she kissed him again, more deeply this time, and he returned it. He tasted like tobacco, cheap vodka and bad coffee. She tasted like breakfast, hopes and dreams. They stayed like that, his right hand caressing her cheek, for a few second before breaking it up.
"I love you too Vivienne." She was blushing and he was too.
Oh for fuck's sake, I'm not a high-school girl anymore !
The realisation of what just happenned slowly made its way into both their brain.
"Shit."
"Fuck."
"I just kissed my best-friend's mom."
"I just kissed my son's best-friend."
They nervously laughed.
What should I do ? What do I do ?
He was looking for something to say that would break the slowly growing awkward silence. He looked around took a few steps and hopped in the back of the van.
"So, um. Wanna do that again ?"
"Oh, fuck yes."
He had climbed there so she wouldn't have to lean that much. Their lips met again, more pasionnately this time. He was caressing her cheek again and their bodies were pressed against eachother. She tried to move into a more comfortable position but she stumbled and they slumped into the van, still kissing. She felt his left hand in her back pressing her against him and she wanted nothing more than to abandon herself to his embrace. Her right hand was against his chest and she could feel his muscles moving under his fur. He was more muscular than he seemed. Each of their movements pressed them more against eachother, their breath had synchronized.
But they slowly separated looking fondly at eachother.
"We- we should stop. Maybe."
"Yeah. It'd feel wrong to do a homerun before a proper date."
"You're quite the charmer Fin."
"Doin' mah best Vi."
He helped her up, she arranged back her dissheveled fur.
"So, um. Wot are ya doin' this evening ?"
"I think I'm going on a date with a charming fennec fox."
"Nice. I'll pick you up at your building around eight. It ain't gonna be too fancy, so maybe don't overdress."
"You know I don't have any fancy clothes."
"Doesn't seem that way to me when you wear them."
She felt herself blushing again. She turned around trying to hide her embarassment.
"I'll see you tonight then."
"Yeah, tonight, have a nice day Vi."
"Have a nice day Fin."
He had left the highway some kilometers ago but that hadn't made him slow down. The country roads around those parts were well maintained and as long as he wasn't driving way too recklessly, there were few risk to go off road. He saw a sign, Bunny Burrows was less than two kilometters away, and in the forty seconds it took him to actually get to the town's outskirt, the realisation slowly had dawned on him. He had come at Judy's hometown with no plans, no change of clothes, with the goal of declaring to her. He had broken most roads and cops regulations to come here, and when she would learn about it, she would be very pissed. But he also realised he didn't care.
He had arrived at bit after noon. He slowed down where zoogle maps told him to turn. It was a dirt road leading up a hill, with an arrow sign displaying "Hopps residence".
Must be here.
He drived up the hill and when he arrived on the other side, there was a large barn.
No it wasnt a barn. It looked more like a hangar. With windows and dependencies. It was the Hopp's residence. He knew the doe had a large family but until now, he hadn't realize how much it was true.
He pulled over in front of the house, in a place where he thought his car wouldn't be a nuisance. The fox looked around and thought that for a house this big with as much rabbits, it was really calm. Then he saw them. Dozens of rabbit ears, connected to rabbit heads, peering with curiosity through the windows at the vulpine. He put on his most casual and non-threatening mask and waved at them. Some of them disappeared and he saw the large doors openning. An unsure rabbit slowly approaching him. Behind him, several little heads were looking at him, hidden behind the doors.
"Um hello ? Are you lost ?"
"Depends. Am I at the Hopps' residence ?"
"Yes. And you are ?"
"Oh, where are my manners, the name's Nicholas Wilde. Nick for short."
"You're Nick ? Oh it's so nice to meet you, I'm Terry. Judy's uncle. She told us a lot about you but she didn't tell us you would come."
Nick saw the rabbit glance several time at the sport car, he probably hadn't seen such a fine model this close.
"I didn't know it myself-" He looked at his phone "four hours ago. An urgent matter, really. Do you know where she is ?"
"At the festival of course. I was about to go there myself to help, you can follow me."
The rabbit glanced again at the car, but went to an old machine that seemed she had had better days.
"Or you can ride with me and show me the directions."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."
"You wouldn't be, really. Hop in." Nick's pun went undetected, the rabbit was too excited to step in the car.
The fox started the car, making a u-turn, skidding on purpose on the dirt rode, grinning at the gleeful squeele Judy's uncle couldn't help but let out.
"So which direction mister Hopps ?"
"Ho, it'ts Springer, I'm from Bonnie's side. To the right when you get out of the dirt road and then to the left at the roundabout. Then you only have to follow the siieeeeek."
Nick had skidded again when leaving the dirt-road. Driving like this was fun, but even more when he could frighten a passenger. Despite this, he decided to be more prudent, not wanting to risk anyone's life when he would get to the heart of the town.
"So why have you come here looking for Judy ?"
"Oh, it's quite important sir. I don't think I have the right to tell you."
"I understand. Police business."
Nick nodded.
...
They were nearing the festival. There were lots of pedestrian and Nick had slowed to a walking pace, looking for a parking space. People were looking at the sport car, having rarely seen some like it, and asking themsleves what it was doing here.
Screw this, if I'm going to do something reckless and stupid, I should be doing it to the end.
He took out the flashing light he had put down on the highway, and stuck it back up on the roof.
"Terry, it seems we have the priority."
He switched it on, the siren screamed. People quickly let them pass, Nick flashed his badge throught the window and the country cops even opened the barriers that kept the vehicles to get into the street. He stopped the car right in front of the Hopps' booth.
...
When she had heard the siren, Judy had immediately shot her head up, her hand reaching for a radio that wasn't here. She had looked around, in the direction of the loud approaching noise. When she saw the car stop before the booth, a lot of possible scenarios and possibilites played into her head. Did the ZPD sent for her ? Why didn't they call her ? Was it urgent ? Had something happened to Nick ? The window rolled down and she saw her friend's serious face looking at her. It was nice to see him, but the circumstances didn't seem to call for warm greetings.
"Judy, it's urgent, I need you to come with me right now."
She didn't even think twice, leaping over the counter, sliding on the hood of the car.
"Mom, Dad, gotta go, bye ! I'll call later !"
Terry had gotten out of the car and let her take his place.
"Hi Judy."
"Hi Terry."
"Thanks for the lift Nick."
"My pleasure Terry."
The does parents were frozen in place, when the car had disappered, they looked at eachother's and shrugged. It wasn't the first time their daughter had suprised them.
He let the engine roar, so that the people would get out of his way quicker.
"What do you think this is about ?" Bonnie asked to Stu.
"I don't know honey but it must have been pretty important and urgent for a car to come pick our daughter up here."
"Yeah, and his fox friend was here. He came all this way to get her, that's dedication to the job."
Everything is looking up, no ? Finnick got a date with his lady, which is good. But maybe Nick's gone too far this time. Here's hoping it won't come back to bite him in the ass...