Weak morning light started to creep through the window. It was enough to rouse Nick who blearily blinked and yawned, bringing a paw up to wipe the grit from the corners of his eyes. He blinked and turned his head; the clock read 6:54 AM.
He looked the other way to see Judy laying there on her back, covers half way down her white furred chest. One arm lay on the bed off to the side, the other up and over her eyes. Her head was turned a bit towards him, muzzle peeking out from under her arm and mouth slightly open. She was making those adorable tiny snores again.
Nick did not feel too bad. He had been on the borderline between tipsy and flat out drunk, but he was parched.
Nick carefully pulled the covers off himself and sat up, looking over his shoulder to make sure he didn't wake Judy. She mumbled something indecipherable, but then rolled onto her side, still asleep.
He stood and stretched, debated on putting on some clothes, but discarded the idea as he arched his back. He quietly padded from the bedroom, going to his small kitchen and pulling down two glasses, one for himself and one for Judy, suspecting she would be worse off than him when she awoke.
He filled a glass to the brim and gulped it down with a satisfied sigh, then filled it again and downed half of that. For Judy, he filled the other glass halfway with ice, then the rest of the way with water.
An idea struck him, and he grinned. He pulled a business card from a local pizza joint out from under a magnet stuck to his refrigerator. He searched around and found a pen laying on the counter. He folded the card in half, so it made a tall A shape, and jotted a note down with a little doodle to go along with it.
He walked back into his bedroom and set the glass and card on the nightstand where Judy was sure to see them. He paused to pick up his jeans and fished his cell phone from the pocket, then pulled the charger from the wall near the nightstand before quietly padding out and gently shutting the door. He had some thinking to do until Judy woke up, assuming she did. He figured he would give her until nine before waking her, they did have a rather big day ahead of them.
As if yesterday had not been insane enough already today was aiming to be even more of a rollercoaster. There was that whole thing last night to start with. He wasn't sure what to do about that. It had been... well, he wasn't sure what it had been. Intense, strange, and ultimately exciting. It had flipped some deeply buried switch in him that he only half understood.
He made his way to the bathroom, setting his phone and charger down on the edge of the sink. He took care of nature's call before brushing his teeth to get the stale taste out of his mouth, thinking all the while.
He had never been in a relationship like this before, but he did know others who were or had been. Now he saw some of their behavior in a new light. All the looks, the little jokes, the occasional visible bite or injury. He never really looked into such things but suspected he had a visit to a website or two in his near future. There had to be plenty of information and advice for predators who found themselves in love with prey.
Nick rinsed his mouth out and sighed. He picked up his phone and charger and walked back down the hall.
On top of all this, he was going to set things right with Honey, then meet his rabbit girlfriend's rabbit parents who had a dubious, at best, view of said daughter dating a fox. He shook his head and entered the door across from his bedroom, needing time to think.
"Hustling was never this hard," he muttered as he closed the door.
Judy woke slowly, coming out of a strange dream. She had been home, in her parent's burrow. The memories started to fade immediately as her mind slowly surfaced to wakefulness. She remembered she had been walking the extensive halls of the warren, searching for the source of distant music playing. The halls never ended, though, and the music never seemed to be any closer.
She opened her eyes, blinking as she looked up at the ceiling. She felt awful. Her mouth felt dry, as if someone had stuffed it full of cotton, and her eyes felt like they had sand in them. She worked her tongue and groaned, eyes closing, and brought a paw up to rub at her forehead.
"Ugh," she mumbled. She swallowed and turned her head, looking for Nick. When she didn't find him next to her, she lifted her head briefly to scan the room. Nick was not there, and the bedroom door was also closed. She let her head flop back down onto the soft pillow. I should just go back to sleep, she thought muzzily as she slid her paw down over her neck and throat, having felt a few small pains when she had lifted her head. The fur of her neck felt stiff and mussed, and as she slid her paw around to the back of her neck she found sore and tender areas. "What?" she huffed quietly, "Ow!" she cried as she found more spots, "What the..." Her fingers felt through the fur on the back of her neck, feeling a couple of small bumps, and the memories came back in a rush.
Judy's eyes opened and slowly grew wider. "Oh..." she said, and her ears began to burn furiously, "Oooh boy."
The memories were fuzzy but clear enough. Oh Judy, what did you do, she asked herself as memories of Nick biting her neck, then later holding her by the scruff as he...
"Oh sweet cheese and crackers," she said under her breath, "Jude, what have you started..."
It wasn't that she had not enjoyed it, because she had… Oh boy did I ever, she thought, and that was part of the problem. Part of her was horribly ashamed, and another part of her was thrilled at the same time. She groaned and pushed the thoughts aside.
Okay! she shouted silently at herself, enough! enough! Time to get up, I'll think about this later.
She fingered the small scabbed over bumps on the back of her neck. Really going to have to make sure Mom and Dad don't notice, I do not want to have to explain why I have bite marks.
She puffed her cheeks out in a long breath, turning her head and squinting at the clock on the nightstand. 8:32 AM it read and next to it was a tall glass of ice water, condensation beading and running down its side. There was a small folded square of paper propped up next to the glass that read:
You'll probably need this.
Drawn below the message was a cartoonish head of a rabbit with Xs for the eyes and a protruding tongue.
She gave a little snort of laughter and immediately regretted it as she discovered she also had a headache. It wasn't too bad, but with all the minor aches and little pains she almost felt as if she were coming down with something.
She pushed the covers down and slowly sat up, grimacing as her muscles once again protested. It was nothing like yesterday morning, though, she had expected it to be much worse. She scooted around and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for the glass. Nick had been right about that, she was desperately thirsty and downed almost the entire thing in one long drink.
She sat there for long moments, hunched over and clutching the glass in both paws. She drank the rest of the water down and crunched one of the ice cubes, making a quiet mmmm sound. Better, she thought.
She set the glass back down and slid off the bed to stand, arching her back with a grunt. She turned left and right in slow stretches. She moved her paws up and down her sides and over her well-defined belly, probing gently. Sore, but she would live. She did a few more stretches, lifting first one leg, then the other and sighed.
One of Judy's ears cocked at a noise that she had heard since she woke, but was only now registering. It was the music from her dream, but she could not quite figure out what it was. It was quiet and tinny but also familiar. It stopped, then started up a few seconds later. She padded to the door, pausing to debate putting a shirt on, but decided against it. High on her list of priorities was a hot shower in the very near future, and so what if Nick saw her naked now? That was something that had most certainly become moot in these short couple of days.
She opened the door, and the music grew a bit louder, coming from behind the door across from the bedroom. She padded over and listened, realizing that it must be Nick on a guitar. She raised a paw and opened the door slowly, the sound becoming appreciatively louder, but still tinny and unamplified.
The room was about the same size as Nick's bedroom but lacking a window. It seemed larger than it was due to the lack of any real furniture outside of a small stool. The walls were covered in some kind of dense padding, and along the far wall were several instrument stands. Two held different types of guitars, an acoustic in one and a hollow-body in the other. The third stand was empty, and the fourth held a gleaming saxophone. There was a mess of cords and cables on the floor, some snaking to a few electronic devices with pedals on them and others leading to a relatively small sized amplifier, on top of which lay Nick's phone, charging cable leading to a nearby power strip. Another cable led from the phone to a jack on the face of the amp.
Nick was standing in the middle of the room, still naked, facing away from her. He had a guitar slung around his shoulders and a cable led from that to the amplifier, and another cable came back from the amp to the headphones Nick had on over his ears.
Judy half stepped into the room and leaned against the doorframe, watching and listening with interest.
Nick's head was bobbing in time with the music he was listening to. Now that she could hear the tune better, Judy realized it was Crazy Something Normal, and she smiled. She had thought the Wicked Game might be 'their' song, but now she felt this one suited them better.
Nick was strumming along, putting his own twist on the song and quietly singing. "When they ask what did you invent, tell them how to see the world through a limo tint!"
Judy mmmed and slowly moved up behind Nick and lightly put her paws on his sides. His reaction was immediate.
"Whaaargh!" Nick yelled and jumped, dropping the guitar as his arms flew up.
Judy hopped back, startled, then started to giggle uncontrollably. Nick spun around, guitar swinging on the strap wildly, eyes wide and ears standing straight up. She had expected some reaction but nothing quite so... dramatic. She put a paw over her muzzle and leaned over, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Ha ha ha, laugh it up, fluff ball," Nick said, glaring at her as he pulled the headphones off.
Judy couldn't help it, doubling over and laughing even harder. "Ow, " she said between fits of giggling, putting a paw to her forehead as it throbbed, but she couldn't stop herself.
Nick put his paws on his hips and watched her, an eyebrow arching, "Very funny," he said dryly.
Judy nodded and slowly stood back up, paw wiping at her eyes, "That was priceless Nick," she said as her giggling ebbed.
"About gave me a heart attack," Nick grumbled.
Judy sniffed and smiled at him, "Sorry," she said, "I didn't think I would scare you like that." She broke down into another little fit of giggling but quickly calmed. "Oh... oh, that was too funny," she said, catching her breath.
Nick harrumphed. He reached up to grab the strap around his shoulder and started to lift it but Judy raised a paw to stop him.
"No, I want to hear you play it, " she said, wiping a few last tears from her eyes. This seemed to mollify Nick and he let the guitar settle back into place.
"Well," Nick said, "Okay, but I don't think you deserve to hear such a wonderous thing after that little stunt."
Judy stuck her tongue out at him. "Humor me," she said.
Nick gave her a little smile and leaned over to pluck the headphone cable from the jack on the amp and let it drop. He took hold of the guitar and positioned his fingers, beginning to pick out the intro to Crazy Something Normal.
Judy's ears lifted as Nick started to play, the amplifier now outputting the sound through its speakers at a low volume. Nick improvised the non-guitar part of the song's intro, then slid into the strumming at the right point. She watched with rapt attention as the fingers of one of Nick's paws picked and strummed while the other slid along the neck.
Nick gave her a sly smile, "I told you it would get your clothes off," he said, and Judy gave an amused little snort as she smiled at him. He began to improvise more, the song was not complicated with only a handful of chords, but there was always a way to spin things differently.
Judy raised her eyebrows. "Okay," she said, "I am officially impressed."
Nick smiled, "I am a fox of many talents," he said and winked at her as he stopped playing and the last notes slowly faded.
"How did you learn it so quickly?" Judy asked as she stepped forward.
"I just listened to it," Nick said and lifted the strap of the guitar up and over his head.
Judy blinked. "Really?" she asked with a bit of wonder, "Nick, that's amazing!"
Nick smiled and unplugged the cord to the amp from the guitar and moved to set the instrument back on its stand. "Thanks, Fluff," he said.
Judy met Nick as he turned back towards her and slid her paws around his sides, "You keep surprising me, mister fox," she said and placed a kiss on the lower half of his fuzzy chest.
Nick smiled down at her. "Gotta keep you guessing, Carrots," he said and wrapped his arms around her, "Can't have you getting bored and leaving me for some young buck."
Judy snorted with derision. "That is NOT going to happen," she said with confidence and turned her head up to him. She raised up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.
Nick mmmed and kissed her back but as they broke it he whispered, "You have serious morning breath."
Judy huffed and the insides of her ears flushed. "Such a charmer," she said.
Nick smiled smooched Judy on the top of her head. "How you feeling, Fluff?" he asked.
Judy sucked in a breath and sighed, one paw coming up to rub the side of her head. "Like someone who drank too much, I expect," she said.
Nick chuckled, "It will do that to you," he said.
Judy rubbed her cheek against him, "Thanks for the water by the way." she said.
Nick rubbed his paws along her upper back. "Thought you might need that," he said.
"I did," she said and leaned into him.
"Um, how's your neck?" he asked tentatively, paws working up and down.
Judy grunted quietly, not something she wanted to discuss right now. She reached up and felt the back of her neck, finding two tender lumps.
"Fine," she sighed, "Sore..."
Nick's ears fell. "Sorry, I-" he started to say but Judy cut him off.
"I know, Nick," she said in a tired voice, "You've said that a million times already. It's okay."
"Do, um, you want to talk about it?" he asked.
Judy pressed her cheek against his chest again.
"No," she said, "I mean... yes, just not right now. I just... I need to think. Can it wait until later?"
Nick gave her a squeeze. "As you wish," he said and he let Judy go as she pulled back.
"I'm going to go take a shower," she said, "I guess we're going to Honey's, then off to the station?"
Nick nodded. "Sounds about right."
Judy closed the door to the bathroom then padded over to the toilet to attend to the morning business.
She put her head in her paws as she sat there, rubbing her face. "No more greasy food and alcohol," she whispered to herself. Her belly was not particularly happy with her given the kind of food she ate yesterday, and the rest of her body seemed to be in rebellion, if a minor one. Her head hurt, she was tired and sore, not counting the tender spots on her neck.
She sat there for a few more minutes, unable to help thinking about that whole neck biting thing and putting a name to it. She groaned and pushed the thoughts out of her head. Later, she thought. She knew she was avoiding it, but the excuse of being hungover rang true enough to quiet her mind.
Finishing up she hopped off the toilet, poking the button to flush it and turned to the bathtub.
"Ugh," she huffed. The idea of a shower seemed like a lot of work right now, but she shuffled over and grabbed the now dry clothes she had lain on the side of the tub yesterday and set them on top of the toilet lid. She climbed into the tub with a grunt of effort and pulled the transparent curtain closed, then looked up. The shower head was one of those rain style contraptions that hung far out from the wall. She stepped out of the way, turned the water on, adjusted the controls, and waited a bit until the water warmed. She fiddled more to get it where she wanted, then pulled the little plunger that routed the water to the overhead shower.
She stepped into the downpour of hot water and sighed in relief, turning her face up into the spray.
She thought about just sitting in the shower until the hot water ran out but, as tempting as the thought was, she didn't linger; the relaxing hot water lent itself too well to the introspection she was trying not to get drawn into. Instead, she concentrated on soaping herself up using the big pump bottle of shampoo that was nestled into one little alcove then used the conditioner set into another small recess.
After rinsing off, she shook what water she could from herself and, feeling her body was up to the small task, lithely hopped out of the tub after sliding the curtain aside. She grabbed Nick's towel then stepped up to the body blower and turned it on and tried to keep her mind focused on the day ahead during the laborious process of getting dry.
Depending on how long they took at Honey's they might be able to catch the ten o'clock train, putting them in Bunnyburrow around twelve thirty. She would have to coach Nick some on what to expect from her parents. She had a lot of brothers and sisters, many of them quite a bit older than herself, and it would not be the first romantic interest she had seen her parents put the metaphorical screws to. She had the sudden thought that, out of who knows how many boyfriends and girlfriends her siblings had brought home over the years, Nick would be the first non-rabbit and most certainly the first fox.
She gave herself one last slow turn in the blower before she turned it off and hung the towel up to dry. Her suitcase was on the floor next to the tub, and she retrieved her little toiletries case from it. The trash can was where she had left it last night before going out, and she jumped onto it without much trouble. She turned and tried to see the little bite marks on the back of her neck. She could make one out from the side, a small patch of raised fur. Not too noticeable... perhaps if she wore a shirt with a collar she could turn it up to cover it...
She sighed. She hopped down off the trash can, putting her toiletry case away, and picked up the suitcase before leaving the bathroom.
Nick watched Judy walk into the bathroom and debated sneaking in to see if she would let him climb in with her but discarded the idea as a small pang of guilt surfaced in him. Judy still seemed out of sorts about what had happened, and he felt it would not be a wise move on his part. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head with a paw, and walked into the bedroom to busy himself.
He took the time to change the sheets on his bed. As he pulled the old sheets off and tugged on fresh ones he thought about what he was going to say to Honey. He couldn't help it, he was nervous, but there was no question he was going to do it today. The apology was long overdue, and he was looking forward to it, to the reconciliation with someone he did care for deeply. He kept playing the possible exchange over and over again in his mind, but there were only so many ways one could swallow his pride and say that you were sorry.
After changing the sheets, the dirty ones tossed in the basket next to his dresser, he got dressed. He put on the same jeans from last night, they had only been worn for a handful of hours. He would have used the same t-shirt too but found that there was a light smear of Judy's eyeshadow that left a slight impression of her closed eyes, from when she had pressed her head against him on the dance floor last night. He chuckled and tossed the shirt on top of the dirty sheets. He pulled out a dark blue V-neck t-shirt and put that on instead.
He cocked an ear as he heard the body dryer start up in the bathroom and thought of what else to do while he waited.
"Ah!" he said to himself and pulled a travel bag out of the closet and spent a few minutes packing away a few changes of clothes.
He looked around, one paw tap tapping his leg with nervous energy and finally decided to just sit on the bed and wait. A paw automatically felt his pocket, looking for the distraction device that was his phone, then remembered it was still sitting on the amp in the other room. He trotted over and fetched it and its charger, putting the latter in the bag when he returned to the bedroom.
He sat back on the bed and looked down at the phone. He sighed. Mostly charged. No missed messages... no missed calls... not that he got many of either these days, except ones from Judy.
Another thought struck him as he heard the dryer finally cut off and he put in a call for a Zuber cab to pick them up in fifteen minutes. That should give them plenty of time. As he finished placing the order, he heard the bathroom door open.
Judy padded back into the bedroom carrying her suitcase, naked, and spied Nick sitting on the bed. She trotted in front of him and smiled as Nick eyed her small but muscular body. She loved that look he gave her. She stopped in front of the dresser and turned to it, setting her suitcase down. She flicked her puffy tail just to give Nick something else to ogle.
Nick ahmed, that small tail most certainly catching his attention. "I just ordered a Zuber to come get us in fifteen minutes," he said.
"Okay," Judy said as she pulled her clothes from the night before from the dresser, holding up the white t-shirt to make sure it was still presentable and, when finding it was, tugged it over her head.
Nick didn't answer, instead he forced his eyes away from Judy and looked down at the floor, his mind again turning to the impending meeting.
Judy settled the t-shirt then bent over to open her suitcase and get a fresh pair of panties. She turned to Nick as she pulled them on and saw Nick's pensive, distracted gaze.
"You okay?" she asked and grabbed her shorts. She thought of her stupid phone and pulled it out of a pocket. Only ten percent power. It'll last until the train, she thought, remembering that the trains had power outlets for commuters to use.
"Hmmm?" Nick asked, lifting his head up, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
"You're a terrible liar, Nicholas Wilde," Judy said dryly as she buttoned her shorts then turned to pick up the overshirt, starting to shrug it on.
Nick gave her an offended look. "Lies and slander!" he said, "I'll sue!"
Judy gave a snort of laughter. She walked over to Nick and put a paw on one knee.
"Seriously, you okay?" she asked and Nick nodded.
"Yup," he said and sighed, "Just never easy to face the music and say you're sorry."
Judy smiled and raised up onto her toes to give the end of Nick's muzzle a little kiss. "It'll be fine," she said.
Nick smiled at the kiss and ducked his head down to chase it with a one of his own that lingered a bit longer, drawing a pleased nmmm from Judy. "It will as long as I have you there," he said as he broke the kiss.
Judy smiled. "I got your back," she said and gave him one more quick little smooch on the nose before turning away, going to fetch her suitcase and set it down next to Nick's travel bag.
Nick watched Judy idly as she started to move some sets of clothes, along with her little travel case, into his travel bag. He raised an eyebrow.
Judy caught the look as she stood back up.
"What?" she asked, "I'm not going to lug the case all the way for just a night."
Nick chuckled and shook his head. "I didn't say anything!" he said and slipped off the bed. "Anything else?" he said, looking around.
"Humm... you got the phone chargers," she said. Her ears perked, "OH! You should bring that acoustic guitar of yours."
Nick raised his eyebrows. "I guess, " he said, "Why? Something to impress the folks with?"
Judy nodded, a calculating look on her face. "Mmmhmm," she hummed. "Dad plays the banjo," she said, "So I think that would be a good bridge. Just be warned you'll get the 'how I met Bonnie' story."
Nick snorted a little laugh. "As you wish," he said and got up, padding over to the other room, Judy following.
Judy narrowed her eyes as she followed, leaning against the door frame while Nick went to pull a soft case out of a closet. "You know that's the second time you've said that... I know what movie that one's from."
Nick grinned as he slid the guitar into the case and zipped it up. "What, can't I be your Westley?" he asked then gave a toothy grin, "Or should I be the Dread Pirate Wolfberts?"
Judy's ears heated and she ahemed then pushed off the doorframe, turning around to walk back into the bedroom without answering.
Nick chuckled as he followed. "Anything else we need?" he asked.
Judy looked around and thought. "Don't think so... we're only going to be gone a night, at most," she said then picked up the choker from the nightstand and reached around to put it on, "I think that's it."
"Okay," Nick said and moved over to shut and lock the window. "We still have some time before the cab shows up," he said, "Want to wait outside?"
Judy shrugged as she adjusted the choker. "Why not," she said.
Nick slung the soft case over a shoulder, picked up the travel bag, then snagged his aviators off the dresser and flicked them open to perch them on his muzzle.
As they made their way through the living room Judy made a noise and scooped up her iPawd and earbuds, the device still sitting in the dock on top of the stereo system. She wrapped the cord of the earbuds around the iPawd and pocketed them as she followed Nick out the door.
"Why don't you just use your phone like a civilized rabbit?" Nick asked as he locked the door.
"Because," Judy said slowly as if explaining to a child, "running with the phone is a pain in the butt."
"You just have tiny paws," Nick said.
"Oh shut up," Judy said and rolled her eyes.
"You know you love me," Nick said with a grin.
"Yes," Judy said with a smile, "Powers that be know why, but I do love you, you irritating fox."
Nick made a pleased mmm sound. "Nicholas P. Wilde, irritating fox extraordinaire, at your service, Madam!"
Judy snorted as they exited the building.
No cab was yet in evidence so they decided to sit and wait on the steps. It looked to be a beautiful day out, the early morning sky clear and a deep cerulean blue.
They sat in silence for a minute. Nick's expression changed, and his gaze went distant as he started to play through scenarios in his mind again.
Judy noticed Nick's expression and scooted up to press herself against his side, drawing his attention down to her.
"Um," she said tentatively, "what exactly... happened with Honey?"
Nick turned his head forward again and took a breath.
"Well," he said and brought a paw up to rub under his muzzle, "short version is that I was a jerk."
Judy watched Nick. "You know, you have a tell," she said.
Nick blinked and looked back down at her. "What?" he asked.
Judy inclined her head. "A tell. Like they taught you in the academy. Whenever you're nervous or pensive, you rub your muzzle or the back of your head."
Nick looked thoughtful. "Huh," he said, "I never noticed that."
"Anyway," Judy said, "I didn't mean to sidetrack you. I believe you said you were being you?"
Nick blinked then rolled his eyes. "Ha ha," he said, "You're a real card, Carrots."
Judy smiled up at him but didn't say anything, wanting Nick to continue.
Nick gathered his thoughts.
"So," he began, "Long-ish story shorter... after Mom died, I kind of sank into a depression. Started hitting the bottle pretty hard." He shifted uncomfortably. There were actually few memories from the months right after his mother's death, most of them lost to the booze. "Honey kind of helped pull me out of that. Even got me a job as a cook at Jimmy's for a while."
Judy raised her eyebrows. "You... you had a real job?" she said in a skeptical tone.
"Don't sound so shocked," Nick snorted, looking down at her, "and it was only for a few weeks as I got myself together."
Judy nodded but reached out and took his larger paw in hers, Nick giving her a little squeeze in return.
"Pretty soon I was back to my usual ways," he continued, "I never really dealt with Mom's death. I just felt too guilty, so I ignored it. Just put that mask on and went on my way. Honey tried to help as best she could, but I was stubborn." Nick took a deep breath, paw squeezing Judy's again and she squeezed back. "This is where the jerk part comes in..." he said, "about six years ago Jimmy retired, and Honey bought the diner from him. I found out after that Honey had done it not only with her own money but money Mom had bequeathed her in her will. Seems that they had both been saving up money over the years and planned to own the diner jointly. I didn't even know Mom had a will."
Nick squinted his eyes and looked up, "I want to say Honey tried to tell me after the funeral, but I was pretty drunk... I think. I didn't even help clear out and pack up the apartment. By the time I dried out it was all said and done, and I never cared enough to ask."
Judy didn't quite understand but thought she might. "And you thought that money should have gone to you?" she asked.
Nick shook his head and reached up to wipe at his eyes under the mirrored lenses, "No, it wasn't really that. The money itself didn't matter. Honey asked me to partner up with her, she wanted to give me half ownership, but I threw it back in her face." Nick shook his head, "It was stupid. I thought it was a waste. Made me mad that Mom had seemed to only be getting by for too long. I knew why then."
Nick looked down at Judy again. "Remember that argument I said I had with Mom a few weeks before she died?" he asked.
Judy nodded, remembering quite well the story Nick told her. She also noticed he seemed much more at ease talking about these things now.
"Well," Nick said, "That was about money. I was suspicious then. I knew she made decent money waiting with the kind of tips you get at Jimmy's but at some point she became much more, what's the word?" He snapped his fingers a couple of times, "Austere."
Nick's eyes went distant as he tried to recall, "I guessed that was the time she started saving money for the plan to buy the diner." Nick shook his head, "Anyway, point is that it ticked me off. Mom deliberately lived like a pauper to buy that stupid diner."
Nick looked down at Judy and raised his eyebrows. "You think I'm insufferable now," he said seriously, "You should have met the twenty-year-old me. Hoo boy."
"I didn't say you were insufferable, I said you were incorrigible," Judy said, keeping her head forward.
Nick looked puzzled. "Wait, what?" he blinked and had to actually recall the memory himself, "Okay, fine, the twenty-year-old me was insufferable then."
Judy nodded. "Duly noted," she said, trying to sound serious and not smile, enjoying these little banters with Nick more and more.
Nick looked at Judy curiously, "Do you remember everything?" he said and Judy furrowed her brow, not a question she had been expecting.
"Um," she said,"Pretty much, yeah, why?"
Nick peered at her even harder, this was something he had been suspicious about for a while now, "Do… do you have a photographic memory?"
Judy blinked, that was another question out of left field. "Uh, no, Nick. I do not have a photographic memory," she said in a slightly exasperated tone, "I'm not going to tell you where I was on this date when I was 5 or anything. I just have a good memory."
Nick hmmed as if he didn't quite believe her, then sucked in a breath.
"Anyway!" he said, "The argument was over me trying to give her something out of my savings so she could stop living like she was destitute. Boy, the ear chewing she gave me." Nick chuckled sadly, "She thought it was mob money. She never believed me when I told her I was doing my own thing because of some of those unsavory types I mentioned before."
Nick waved his free paw in the air and shook his head. "I'm getting off track," he said.
"It's okay," Judy said with a smile, "I like hearing your life story." It was true, too. She had found out more about Nick in the past three days than the entire last nine months.
Nick snorted. "You make it sound so exciting..." he said.
Judy smiled a little. "It is, kind of," she said, scanning up and down the street herself. "Nothing ever happens in Bunnyburrow, Nick." She gave a little huff of laughter, "The most exciting thing that happens there is the Carrot Days Festival. Listening to you makes me realize what a boring life I've led."
Nick made feh noise. "I'll trade you, and I haven't had an exciting life," he said, "I would say I've had an interesting life…"
Judy squeezed Nick's paw. "You were saying? About the money?" she asked, wanting to hear the rest of the story.
"Uh," Nick said and got back on track. "It just made me mad that all that time Mom was living like that it was because she was putting away everything she could… for something I saw as a waste. I didn't want her to toil away running some grubby little diner. My dreams were bigger."
"Wow," Judy said in a teasing tone, "You really were insufferable!"
"Thanks for the support, Carrots," Nick said and leaned against her, giving her a little shove.
"You know you love me," Judy said and Nick aimed an arched eyebrow and sidelong look down at her.
"Hmm, do I?" he said, as if in thought for a moment then smiled, "Yes, yes I do."
They both laughed at the little joke. Both recalled that strange tense moment in the squad car the other day, seeing it in a new light.
"So," Nick said, "suffice to say I said some things I shouldn't have and walked away. Didn't take long to realize I was wrong, but between being stubborn, and, well, everything else, I could never drum up the courage to go apologize. I always figured I would one day... it was just never 'that day'. I was just a coward."
"Well," Judy said softly, "Seems you found that courage after all?"
Nick looked down at her and smiled, "I had a little help there," he said.
Judy smiled back and leaned her head against his arm, feeling warm. "Glad I could," she said, and Nick tilted his head and rested it atop hers.
"You know," he said, musing, "I had a thought yesterday that you were a lifeline thrown to me when I didn't even know I was drowning."
Judy lifted her head, Nick raising his as well, and they looked at each other.
"What?" Judy asked, not sure she understood.
Nick shrugged. "Up until I met you I was just kind of… on autopilot, about the best way to put it," he said and looked down at Judy with an arched eyebrow.
Judy arched a more skeptical eyebrow back at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I was just doing what you found me doing," Nick said, "same thing I've been doing for twenty years. Exciting, it was not." Nick looked sidelong at Judy with that sly smile, "Then along comes this rabbit meter maid…"
Judy smiled and rubbed the paw she was holding with her free one.
"That's a bit of a two-way road," she said, "I never really thought in longer terms than being in the force." She cocked her head, "What plans did you have?" she asked curiously.
Nick chuckled. "You'll laugh," he said.
"Probably," Judy said and patted his paw, "But tell me anyway."
"Well," Nick said, "You remember when you came to find me at the bridge?"
Judy nodded, remembering the wheedling she had to employ to get Finnick to reveal Nick's likely locations.
"I planned to buy that land and all those abandoned buildings. I wanted to open up an amusement park," Nick said and raised a paw in a revealing gesture, "Nick Wilde's Wild Times!" He watched Judy sidelong for her reaction.
Judy's brow furrowed as she took in the idea. "You know," she said finally, "I can totally see you doing that."
Nick raised his eyebrows, "Really?" he asked, and Judy nodded her head slowly.
"I don't know why but I can see you running an amusement park," she said. "It fits, somehow. But that's pretty ambitious. Dare I ask how you planned to get the money for it?"
Nick grinned, "That old industrial park has been abandoned for years," he said, "Owners are asking way too much for it on purpose. They're hoping other development will eventually revitalize the area. I figured I could get it if I offered them a reasonable price in cash then use what was left over to finance and drum up venture capital."
Judy raised her eyebrows. "How much is a 'reasonable price'?" she asked.
Nick shrugged. "About one point five million."
Judy's jaw dropped. "And how close were you do doing this?"
Nick paused, this was becoming somewhat dangerous territory. He had always kept his finances closely guarded and had never told anyone about how much he had been saving up over the years. It was Judy though, and again he found himself unwilling, or unable, to keep things from her. In for a pinch, he thought.
He looked up, thinking for second then said, "Probably ten years give or take. Assuming the land remains unsold, but it's been that way for twenty years already."
Judy quickly did the math in her head and looked up at Nick, dumbfounded, "Nick... that… that's a lot of money!"
Nick gave her a sidelong wink, "Relatively speaking."
"But you said you couldn't afford all that stuff in your apartment anymore?" Judy said.
"Well," Nick said with a chuckle, "It's true! I can't afford much on a police salary. I didn't say anything about anything else. Carrots, you don't save money by spending it. The trick is to get yourself something nice now and then so you don't feel deprived, and keep your paws off the rest."
Judy looked at him with a blank expression for several long moments then said, "Nick, I'm pretty sure that saying goes 'You have to spend money to make money.'"
Nick snorted. "Yeah, sure, as long as it's the kind you don't keep any paperwork on."
Judy raised an eyebrow at him, "And buying all that and everything else isn't going to raise any questions as to where you got all the money?"
Nick pursed his lips and looked sheepish, "Well, that, uhh, whole thing with that rug kind of caused issues with that part of the plan."
"Rug?" Judy said then her mouth formed an O and held up a paw, "Okay, nope, stop, don't want to know." Judy shook her head at Nick, thinking about that whole skunk butt rug foolishness and now wondering what else Nick had been up to with the dangerous little shrew.
Nick sighed and winced at the look Judy gave him, "I know, I know... " he said, squirming a bit. His sly little plan with the rug had not been his best idea.
Judy then gave Nick an appraising look. "You really have been making two hundred dollars a day since you were twelve..." she said, a statement and not a question.
"That was on a slow day," Nick said, looking pleased with himself.
Judy did some more math in her head and looked back up at him.
"You already have more than enough to buy the land, don't you?" she said with a little bit of awe.
Nick nodded slowly. "I do."
Judy was stunned. "Nick, why? Why did you bother with becoming a police officer at all? You... you could just do what you planned... with that much money you could just retire now!"
Nick didn't answer for a moment, looking down the road at an approaching car. He turned his head back to Judy and smiled at her, looking into her eyes.
"I thought I told you already. I found something better to dream about," he said.
Judy's mouth opened, but words got caught in her throat. Her eyes teared up, and she had to look away.
"Cab's here," Nick said.