"Let's take a break, and in break I mean sleep." William said to his father as he got out of the car and stretched his entire body.
Jack yawned, "Yes, sleep does sound like an excellent idea."
The buck realized his hasn't slept in a proper bed for a few days, and the sores around his body proved the toil that it endured so far.
"Can't wait for tomorrow though, I'm sure we're going to have some fun solving the rest of this case, right Dad?" the cat asked his father.
Jack sighed, "I know that you're excited for this mission, but give me a second to breathe."
The buck could definitely feel the age difference between him and his son, even if the buck himself was still relatively young.
"Have you been exercising at all lately?" William questioned noting his father's fatigue.
Jack shook his head, "Afraid not. I guess I just didn't have the time to keep my body in tip top condition."
William chuckled and slapped the buck's back, "If you don't get back to exercising at this rate I'm going to be stronger than you pretty quickly."
"Well yes, right up until now your only responsibilities consisted of maintaining a good standing in academy. You have the free time to exercise whenever you wanted to."
William flexed his developing muscles, "You're right. Too bad its hard for cats to gain muscle, I would've been pretty buff by now if I was like a wolf or a bear or something." he said.
Jack shrugged, "You seem pretty in shape for someone your age and species. It will take years before you'll be like those actors on TV."
William knew that his father was right, even after years of exercise and agent work Jack was hardly more muscular than the average small mammal. But the rabbit compensated with brute force and technique.
"I know, its frustrating though." the cat huffed.
Jack opened the trunk of his car, "Well, that's just how it goes. We don't choose what species we are born into, we just learn how to manage with what we're given. Just remember that every species have its advantages and drawbacks alright?"
William nodded, "I know. I just wish I could continue to bulk up, so bigger guys wouldn't push me around you know?"
His father smirked, "If you continue to train then you'll be able to handle yourself against bigger mammals, I can attest to that fact."
The cat sat down next to the front door, "Just need to keep going huh?"
Jack retrieved his dirty clothing in a bag from the trunk and closed it. He then sat down next to the cat.
"That's the only way to make progress, unless science finds a way to hasten it."
"It's called steroids Dad." William flatly mentioned.
The rabbit nodded his head, "I'm aware, but I mean other, more effective methods."
His son frowned a little, "That'll be the day, seeing a muscled up hamster beating up a rhino for money."
"I have little information into what pharmaceutical companies are creating, but performance enchancing drugs are high priority if I recall."
"That and those pills that help older guys get it up." William added.
Jack laughed, "You're right on that one. I've seen some of the older agents mention that before. Hopefully my body continues to serve me well for years to follow."
"Ew, Dad don't say that." his son objected grimacing.
The father was amused, "Its rather funny that since we're of closer age than most father and sons are, we can talk to each other a little more easily about our issues."
"It is kind of crazy, I mean you were still a kid when I was born. If we were related people would look at us like we're a freak show."
Jack agreed, "Even for rabbits, having children at such a age is rather frowned upon. But by high school they seem to stop caring, they think its natural for some rabbits to start families so early at life."
"What about you? Do other rabbits bother you since you don't have kids at your age?"
"I suppose once in a while, but I have said that I am raising a child and they back off." Jack said as he looked up at the night sky.
"Do want me to have kids?" William asked now interested in what his father wanted.
Jack smiled a little, "In the future? Sometimes I do find myself hoping to see grandchildren, but there's no pressure. It's up to you whether or not you choose to have a family."
William knew that he had a stable, high paying job on the line, so he wasn't worried about work. But if he were to find a mate and have kittens, he wondered if being an agent would interfere with his fatherly duties.
"Dad. Did being an agent ever made you feel worried about me?"
"When you were younger, all the time. But as you grew up I knew that you going to be fine and I focused more on my agent work. But being a father has brought some joy into my life, so I do find myself wishing to come home to see you." Jack said wrapping his arm around his son's shoulder and bringing him in.
William squirmed a little, "Dad! Let go!"
Jack refused and held him in tight, "What? You object a little affection from your father?"
The cat groaned, "Other people are going to see us."
"They already know us, I doubt they'll particularly care."
The cat admittedly did like the attention he was receiving from Jack but he also didn't want to be seen by anyone he knew that a person his age was still being hugged by his father.
"Can I go now?" William quietly requested.
Jack smiled, "Alright." he lightly licked against the cat's cheek before releasing him from his grip.
William wiped his cheek, "Yuck! Dad!" he said blushing.
"That's just the way my species says I love you, sometimes words aren't enough."
The cat wasn't unfamiliar with that particular gesture, but it wasn't his favorite.
"Just don't do that out here again, please. People will think that we're in that kind of father and son relationship."
His father got up, "No promises, and anyways licking isn't always seen as a questionable thing alright?"
The two went to settle back down to their domestic life, with William running up to his room to undress from his suit that was wearing since this morning and put on only his t-shirt and sweatpants.
"You think it may be too late for some dinner?" Jack yelled to his son.
The cat came down the stairs, "Its...like ten pm. But what kind of food you're thinking of making?"
Jack took a look at the kitchen, "I was thinking something simple, but filling. Maybe some mashed potatoes and some vegetables. Of course a kipper for you." he added mentioning the cat's required meat in the diet.
"Sounds good, but wouldn't it take a while to make?"
The rabbit went to retrieve the ingredients, "I've made this dish plenty of times before, it takes a few minutes, mostly to cook the fish."
The cat stuck around in the kitchen to observe his father make quick work of dinner, "It's cool that you know how to cook. Most dads would burn down the kitchen to make toast." William said.
"Pfft, if a father can't cook how is he to provide for his family? And that goes for you too William, I would suggest learning how to prepare meals before leaving the house." Jack suggested as he added the potato powder into the small pot.
"Would be nice to cook decent food for myself instead of ordering takeout all the time." the cat said as he sat down on the island counter seat.
"And also doing laundry for that matter, cleaning the house too, and grooming yourself more often..." Jack went on.
"I get it! I need to learn how to adult." William admitted.
"How to adult? That sounds utterly idiotic, to adult..." Jack said in disbelief as he pulled out the fish from the refrigerator.
The fish was applied to the hot pan with a special kind of oil that Jack uses for fish, the resulting smell made the cat purr with his tail swinging back and forth anticipating the treat.
Jack couldn't help but be amused by his son's behavior, "Sounds like somebody's hungry."
"Starving, I haven't eaten since breakfast, and it was only a bowl of cereal. That weird pellet kind you like to eat too." William complained.
Jack stirred the mashed potatoes in the pot while the vegetables were boiling in another pot, "It's not meant for cats, I've told you this many times before."
"But there isn't much to eat for breakfast!" the cat shot back.
His father groaned, "If you bother to remind me before I shop at the store I would've pick something out for you."
"Okay I'll do that next time, is the food ready yet?" the cat asked as he peered over the rabbit's shoulder.
"Give it a minute, still needs to be cooked some more. The vegetables and mashed potatoes are ready though, be helpful and collect the plates and utensils please."
The cat did as his father asked and set them on the counter, "Oh boy, can't wait."
Jack was just about done with the fish, he collected one of the plates and set the sizzling meal on the plate, "Here, you can get the rest."
William grinned, "Thanks Dad, smells so good." he said before quickly applying the rest of the meal on his plate and running back to his chair.
Jack grabbed his own plate and sat next to his son who was already chowing down vigorously on his meal.
"Slow down or else you'll choke." Jack chastised his son.
William gulped and licked his lips, "Mm, you cook a mean herring. I bet other rabbits would be so confused to see you cooking meat for his son."
"I remember asking my mum about how to cook these, but she said, 'Me son's trying to cook some meat! I told your father not to be watching those cooking programs!" He recited with her voice, "So I taught myself with a cookbook and several tries."
The cat was already halfway down with the kipper, "You seem to go through a lot of trouble just to make up the species difference between us."
Jack had tried to accommodate whatever William's species would teach their young, but most of the time the rabbit would raise his son as he felt fit, resulting in once in a while William acting more like a bunny than a cat.
"Well I remembered back at my hometown a couple of years ago you tried one at that fish and chips stand and you were in love with it. So I decided to learn how to make them. Too bad I can't try them otherwise I'll be rather occupied with the bathroom." He chuckled.
"Did you at least take a single bite?"
Jack stared at the fish, "Well, one bite shouldn't be a huge bother..." he used his fork to cut himself a small piece.
The buck sniffed it and to him it didn't smell off, so he took the bite, and munched on it as best as he could on it, "Hmm, well..." he swallowed the fish, "It's edible, compared with the other meat I've tried, it's fine."
William smiled, "Rabbits may not have a taste for fish, but I sure do. Can't get enough of it, maybe I should take up fishing and make my own dishes."
Jack had no interest in fishing, he felt it was utterly boring sitting around in a dinky boat trying to provide food when he could pop over to the supermarket and buy some.
"Perhaps, don't ask me for advice though, I'm not the fishing type."
"What kind of type are you then?" the cat asked after swallowing a chunk of the fish.
The rabbit thought on it for a while, "Well, I suppose I'm more of the I'm occupied with my job type of person, so not much time to visit relatives or friends. I do once in a while partake in office parties with coworkers, I do enjoy knitting sometimes to help relax myself."
The cat shuddered remembering the Christmas sweater that his father made for him years ago, "That sweater you made for me was so itchy, which didn't make sense because I'm covered in fur already."
"Be grateful I made it for you in the first place. Some children don't even have heating in their homes, including me for a while." Jack said munching on the vegetables.
"Does it feel weird? To be well off now compared to when you were a kid?"
The buck set his fork down and closed his eyes, "I suppose, but I don't let that kind of thing bother me much, I still have some decent childhood memories despite the fairly difficult upbringing."
The cat had knew as long as since they were together that his father grew up in poverty, but despite the stories that Jack told him, William could never truly grasp the destitute feeling that came with the bottom rung of society.
"I never said this but I should. Dad, thanks for keeping me out of trouble like that." The cat told him with gratefulness.
Jack nodded, "Of course, I'm your father, it's my job."
William finished the last of the kipper, "That was great, thanks Dad."
"You're welcome, be ready for tomorrow, and remember to clean the dishes." Jack said as he left the kitchen.
"What? But, ugh..." the cat groaned.
Jack walked into his bedroom's bathroom to prepare for the night, he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and began to brush his teeth, then he phone rang.
The rabbit sighed and rinsed out the toothpaste before answering, "Hello?"
"Jack? It's me, Judy!" she answered through the phone.
"Ah Judy, nice to hear you, you needed me for something?" he asked as he put the phone down and set it to speakerphone.
"We found some interesting stuff about the Westwood Pathfinders, at this house it seemed the people living there are part of the group."
Jack's ears sprung up in curiosity, "Oh?"
"We found a spreadsheet about their finances, and this tigress was talking on the phone to someone about owning money to Hunter."
The buck grinned, "Excellent, if we can find a way to collect more information from them perhaps we could start narrowing down where this organization's networks are, and should lead us to Hunter himself."
"That's what Nick and I was thinking but we had an argument about how to do this. He said we should sneak back into the house when they aren't here and search the inside, while I suggest we do a raid on the place, and get everything valuable to our investigation."
Jack frowned, "A raid would draw way too much attention to everyone connected to the organization, and sneaking into the house again sounds like it would potentially go wrong."
"But we have to find out more stuff into the group, what do you think we should do?"
"We need to get an inside source from the group, they can provide any reliable information we need."
"..." There was no response from the doe.
"Is something the matter?" Jack asked a little confused.
"I...I might know someone who'll fit our need." she nervously replied.
Judy finished her phone conversation and hanged up.
"So, what did he say?" Nick asked as they both were sitting on the couch in his apartment watching tv.
"He said that we need someone inside of the group."
Nick shrugged, "I don't know anyone, predator supremacists are a crowd I definitely do not want to associate with."
The doe nervously chuckled, "Yeah, about that..."
"What? Why are you acting like that?" he questioned.
Judy fumbled with her paws, "I was just thinking, maybe you can be the plant." she quietly asked.
Nick gasped and instantly became angry towards the rabbit, "You lost your rocker fluff? You think I'm still some kind of criminal that can just waltz into any crime den like I belong there? I'm not doing it, end of story." he said with animosity.
"But we need to find out more about them! And there's no other way, I can't just walk up to them and pretend that they'll be cooperative with a rabbit police officer!"
The fox paused the movie, "Listen Judy, I'm not doing it, I've already done some questionable things in the past, but I'm not going to entertain the idea of joining such a terrible group of people!"
"Please Nick, we need to do this, I can't see any other way to do it." she pleaded.
The fox frowned and looked away, "Carrots, what would you say if you found out I was secretly part of this group huh? You would be fine with it?" he questioned.
Judy smiled a little, "If you were really part of the group, I wouldn't probably have solved the Nighthowler case, and you wouldn't be a cop."
"But what would you say? Answer that!" the fox demanded looking back at her still frowning.
"I don't know, I wouldn't say anything, I would be so confused honestly. Maybe I would disapprove a lot, but I don't know word for word what I would say."
Nick bared his teeth, "If I were a predator supremacist I would tell you to take a hike back to that sad place you called home, that you had no right to be a cop. I would tell you that you're just an uppity piece of meat that is trying to push herself into a predator's world. I would show you what really happens when a puny prey dares to talk up to a predator." he growled.
His statement left the doe speechless, and slightly trembling. It brought flashbacks to after the press conference, and with it all the overwhelming fear.
"N-Nick..." she said still shaken up.
"I'll go undercover at that damn Pathfinder group, but don't forget, I will hate every second of being in there. It goes against my own morals." the fox said before grabbing the remote.
Judy sniffed a little, "I'm sorry to push you like that, I just was trying to help Jack in any way we can, but I guess I've gone a little too far in trying to reach our goals."
The fox didn't like when the doe was upset, he sighed and shuffled closer to her, "I guess I got a little too snappy for my own good too." he said wrapping his tail around her.
Judy calmed down as the fox returned to being soft and embraced his tail by laying her paw on it, "Wow, your tail fur is so soft." she said mesmerized by the lush, thick fur.
Nick smirked, "It's that shampoo fluff, makes any fox's fur soft and smooth as butter."
The rabbit felt the tail shuffled around, "Having a long tail looks so nice, my tail is just a ball of fur." she said pointing it out while as moved around a little.
The fox smiled as he shifted his gaze from the tail to her hips, "Yes, but I'll say its a wonderful little bun."
Judy noticed his eyes weren't meeting hers, "Hey!"
Nick shook his head, "Sorry fluff, guess I'm more tired than I thought." he said a little embarrassed.
The doe chuckled, "I know its not you being tired, maybe I should've switched to something more comfy." she teased.
The fox's imagination went in different directions from her phrase, "Yeah? Like what fluff?" he suggested as his tail got more excited.
"Like...pajamas!" she exclaimed before laughing.
Nick continued to smile, but inside he was sorely disappointed by her answer, "Oh, that sounds comfortable I guess."
The rabbit stroked the fox's tail, "We could always share them though."
He stiffened, "What do you mean?"
Judy rested her head on his shoulder, "Just joking around."
The rabbit typically slept on the couch if she decided to hang around for the night, but the thought of sharing the bed with the fox seemed a little intimate for her.
"I'm tired, think its time to go to bed." Judy said rubbing her eyes.
"You know I have only one bed right?" he reminded her.
"We'll share."
Nick's eyes popped open, "O-Okay then."