It wasn't the snow that bothered him.

It was falling in a soft flurry today, adding to the white layer already hiding the pavement. The sky was dark and deep black, too cloudy even for the starts to come out. The air smelled of cold and not much else, leaving no room at all for even a hope of spring.

Nick turned his collar up against the winter cold, and smiled. No, it wasn't the snow, or anything else. On a day like this, nothing could bother him, nothing at all.

"Do we have everything?" His partner checked her pockets as she walked out of the precinct behind him, taking two hops to join him.

"Carrots, relax. The only thing you need tonight, is this." He placed one paw on his chest, shooting her an easy smile.

She remained unconvinced, checking her bag with a frown. "How can you be so calm at this?"

He shrugged, still smiling. "My partner's got my back, right?"

She looked up from her rummaging with a surprised smile. "Of course I do, Nick."

"Well then. Shall we, Miss Hopps?"

He started walking and she fell in next to him, force of habit moulding their steps into a steady copper gait. They travelled in comfortable silence for a while, their crunchy footsteps noisy in the snow. They were not the only animals out tonight, not by far. They passed quite a few groups as they travelled through the city, most alight with quiet laughter and excitement, some with kits bouncing ahead through the snow. Once, they passed a young couple walking hand in hand, him fiery red against the snow, her almost invisible alongside her partner. Nick had to work not to grin at them. Instead, he politely tipped his hat. The young reynard barely spared them a glance, but the vixen looked back at the pair with apparent realization. Surely Nick was imagining her surprised smile.

A single star managed to shine through the heavy cover. His bunny was looking up at it in pensive thought, the light reflecting in the purple of her eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?"

His bunny started out of her reverie. "Sure?"

He mulled the words over in his head, finally deciding to just go straight. "What did you take out of my room?"

She suddenly flushed, drooping her ears in an attempt to hide it. He casually lifted a paw to trail over them, feeling her shiver under the touch.

"You know, I'd rather not say. It's a bit… embarrassing."

He dropped his paw back to his side, walking on in silence for a while.

"It was a book, wasn't it?"

He kept a careful neutral face as she started, all kinds of flustered. He was absolutely never going to tell her just how cute she looked when she did that.

"So, did you learn anything from it?" She actually hid her nose behind her paws at that. His grin widened from ear to ear, enjoying this immensely.

"If you already know what I… borrowed, do I really need to say it?"

"Absolutely not, Madam." He made a show of placing a paw over his heart. "Your secret is safe with me." He allowed a smirk to break the façade. "And who knows, you might still learn a thing or two."

She frowned up at him, and he couldn't help but note that even when she was mad she was still utterly kissable, especially when she was mad. She suddenly shook her head with a relaxed smile. "Don't think so. From this point on, I think I rather learn on the job."

It was his turn for his ears to flush.

They turned a corner to find a family of rabbits rapidly approaching, swarming the couple with impossible numbers. Nick casually placed a paw on Judy's shoulder and stopped, waiting patiently for them all to pass. Some of the older bunnies halted their conversations when they spotted the odd pair, but the little ones bounced around and between them without a second thought, laughing and playing, already high on the magic that was to come.

They relapsed into their walk in silence, both content to let the city do the talking for a while. All in all, it was quite a long walk, but he didn't mind. He knew the way, the weather was crisp and clean, and the company was pretty darn good. Besides, tradition and all. He took a deep breath, inhaling the cold of the season, a few lost snowflakes melting on his nose. Who would have thought he would actually come to like it?

When they finally arrived, he halted at the door in a relaxed stance, his bunny trying the same, but with an obvious edge of nerves. He looked her over with an easy smile.

"You ready?"

She took a deep breath, pulling the parcel out of her bag. "Ready as I'll ever be."

He rang the doorbell, and she quirked an eyebrow. "Not using your key?"

"Not this time." Nick linked his arm with hers, pulling her close. "It's a fox thing." He kissed her between her ears, short and sweet, straightening back up as the locks began to turn.

His smile could have warmed the world.

The golden light enveloped them both as the door opened wide. Judy held up the present with a shy smile.

"Hi Misses Wilde. Merry Christmas."

THE END


Author's notes.

And there you go. After years and years of reading only, I finally went and wrote a fanfic of my own :D Hooray for me! It was meant as a practive run for other things, but damn if I didn't enjoy myself with it.
Once again, thank you all so much for all the kind reviews! There were days that I honestly did not feel like writing, or was stuck on an impossible curve, and those little emails popping up really helped in giving me a little push at those times. I honestly did not expect to get the response that I did.

I went back through the comments to see if I left any questions unanswered, so here goes in random order. If you got any questions besides these, shoot me a message, as this story will no longer update :) I am however, working on a short sequel. Got some ideas about the sort of things that could happen following this one.

Chill Pills
The way I see them, they're hormone blockers. Basically they curb desire, and allow you a clear head. It's not too different from blockers that exist in real life, I got the idea when talking to a nurse friend one day. They eventually stop working because your body builds up immunity, so I adopted that into the story. It made sense to me, both in how it would work in an animal world and how it helped me with the story.
The way I see it, Nick took them up until they stopped working, and after that, he simply made a point of avoiding those kinds of contacts where it would interfere with his daily life. Until Judy came along, and ruined everything, naturally. He already knew he loved her at that point, but in my mind, I think if he hadn't gone into rut, he probably would have stayed silent and patient until she worked out her own feelings. (Kind of like the story 'Tip Toes'. I adore 'Tip Toes'. Go read it, it's amazing.)

'Sorry Judy, you're not that lucky'.
It's not that Nick is saying it out of low self esteem, rather he thinks Judy is looking for an explanation to his actions and is trying to give him an out. He wants to be honest, so he doesn't take it. Does that make sense?

Judy knows how to handle a fox?
Well yeah, you know how she is. She's a little researcher. And she stole a certain book ;) Which doesn't mean most still isn't trial and error, just like in real life. Not everybody is wired the same way. But hey, that's half the fun!

Vixen in the diner
She's just some girl Nick used to flirt with when he and Judy went there for lunch. So Judy took him there to see his reaction to her while he was in season. If what happened at his place was just because she was the only female around at the time, surely Nick would react to a pretty and interested Vixen, right?

Smut?
Here's where things get silly. When I started this story, I had this idea about working up to actual unsensored smut, which would be quite fitting in a story about Nick's season. And then the story progressed and ran away from me. It took another turn, and in the end I found it didn't really need it anymore. For those who are dissapointed, keep an eye out for the follow up.

I think that was all of them. Once again, thanks for reading :)