Ch. 14: He was Lonely, She was Cold
Judy was soaked to the bone from the short walk from Nick's car to the apartment building. Both she and the fox left puddles in their wake as they made it upstairs, the sound of rumbling thunder the only noise besides their chattering teeth.
Judy knew something was up with Nick since this morning, he had felt off. He had felt off yesterday as well but she took that as a side affect from the trauma of Manchas' attack. But Nick looked to have recovered from that fairly quickly.
"What are you doing?" Nick turned to look at her when she didn't pass the threshold.
"I don't want to leave any puddles," she admitted, already drops of water where dripping onto the building's hallway.
"It's fine," he assured her, "I'm buzzed I'll be able to handle it."
Judy stepped in, the fox's apartment was exactly how she imagined, incredibly clean and high class. She walked over the white carpet of the living room, still cringing guiltily as her damp feet squelched beneath her.
"You're gonna catch a cold," Nick mused, his eyes thoughtful.
"Where do you keep your towels?"
"Follow me," he led her into a small hallway where he opened a bathroom door; Judy spotted fleecy towels on a wall rack. "Wait a moment."
Judy watched him run out of the room; the fox was back a few seconds later with one of his white button ups. "You can wear this."
"Oh that's not necessary," Judy replied, finding the thought of wearing his clothes weird.
"We need to put your uniform in the dryer," Nick pointed out, offering her the shirt, "It's fine, just take it."
If her teeth still weren't chattering and she didn't want to desperately get out of her uniform she would've put up more of a fight, instead she just took his shirt with a silent thank you.
When Nick had closed the door behind her she placed his button up on the sink and quickly shed herself of the sopping uniform. The towel was soft to the touch as she tried to dry herself as quickly as possible. And then she was sliding Nick's shirt on and her skin felt electric where the cloth touched, and even though it was clearly a freshly clean shirt it still carried the fox's scent.
Feeling awkward and her heart picking up its pace she quickly walked out of the bathroom, uniform in hand as she tried to find the laundry room. It was adjoined to the kitchen and Nick was already there, wearing dry pajama pants as he put his soaked suit into the dryer.
"Ah, that was quick," he commented when he saw her standing behind him.
Judy handed him her uniform, her ears felt hot seeing the fox without a shirt, which was ridiculous since she had already massaged his chest just last night.
Don't think about that, she told herself, turning abruptly and walking back into the living room. And don't think about how he probably stripped right here in the living room.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked with a slight edge of amusement when he returned to the living room to see Judy sitting on the carpet instead of the couch.
"This is a very comfy carpet," the bunny pointed out, leaning back on her paws. "Plus I don't trust myself around snow white leather couches, they make me uneasy."
"Heh," he shook his head, "Of course they do." He sat down on the floor next to her, copying her pose.
Judy found her attention draw to his bandages that thankfully didn't look too damp, Nick took note and smirked at her, "My eyes are up here, Fluff."
"Ha!" her chuckle came out a little hysterical and she cleared her throat, "I was just wondering how your stitches feel?"
"Better," he stated simply.
"That's good," Judy trailed off into awkward silence, "Hey, can we check out what's on TV?" Nick's TV was a large and impressive thing, the black screen spotless.
"I'd rather not," he said just as Judy moved to find the remote.
"Oh…okay," she sat back down and clasped her fingers together.
"I just…" Nick's expression had turned apathetic which Judy now knew meant something was bothering him. "I don't need to hear how everyone's becoming scared of predators."
"Oh, Nick," Judy had been so caught up with trying to solve this case and how the Wolf and Jack played a part and how her heart kept skipping beats that she hadn't even considered how the media would react to Donovan Fleece's death and Manchas going savage.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" he demanded softly. "There's ton of prey out there looking to prove predators are dangerous."
Judy's heart clenched, "I'm sorry…I got so caught up in everything I never really thought about how this was affecting you."
"Its fine," he tried to reassure but didn't fool her for a second.
"It's not fine," Judy scooted closer, "You're my friend, and I need to know when you're bothered."
Nick shook his head, "I'm your friend, Carrots. Not your kit."
Judy frowned, Nick's defenses were back up again and here she thought they had been making progress. "You at least know I'm not scared of you right?" she indicated to a window where rain still kept the world wet and gray. "I know it's not the predators' fault."
"You're helping with the case," Nick pointed out, "Of course you know."
Judy let out an aggravated sigh, "Nick-"
"And just because you know predators aren't reverting back to the Stone Age doesn't mean you wouldn't be scared if I went for your throat," his voice rose slightly, anger and bitterness sparking in his eyes. He bared his teeth in a cynical smile, "You'd be scared if I just got too close with these fangs."
The rabbit furrowed her brow, "Stop acting like that, you know I wouldn't."
Nick just gave her a look of snarky disbelief and Judy felt herself starting to burn with anger, "I wouldn't!" She couldn't stand the thought that Nick honestly believed she was frightened of him after all he did for her.
Her yell hadn't fazed him, "Not even if my fangs were on your neck?"
That was an odd question but Judy didn't hesitate to shake her head, "Not even then."
The fox looked to be assessing her, maybe he did want to believe her but life had made him shed away from hope, and they both still had alcohol keeping them from thinking perfectly straight.
Nick suddenly leaned forward, his muzzle tilted toward her, "Wouldn't even shiver?"
"I wouldn't," she repeated firmly, keeping her back straight and her head high, even exposing the snowy white fur of her neck.
Nick's emerald eyes moved to her throat, "Wanna have a wager then?"
Judy blinked, "What kind of wager?"
"If you shiver, if I smell your fear scent you have to admit that I was right."
Her brow furrowed, "That's it?"
"You are the most smug rabbit in existence," he pointed out, "I wanna put you down a notch. It will be highly satisfying."
"Alright," Judy agreed, "And when I win this wager I want you to drop your 'nothing gets to me' attitude."
Nick narrowed his eyes at her, "You know things get to me, no matter how hard I try to not show it."
"Exactly, you try to hide it; you keep putting up that stupid barricade as if I'm going to stab you."
Nick let out a soft sigh, "Fine. You won't win anyway."
Before Judy could so much as blink he pushed her down onto her back, leering over her with his teeth bared.
"You didn't have to pin me down!" she snapped.
He smirked, "Its part of the immersion. But if you want to go ahead and forfeit."
She only glared silently at him before pulling her head back and giving him complete access to her neck. There was a silent moment when all she could hear was the rain outside, and then she finally felt Nick's teeth on her neck.
It was a foreign feeling, and of course it didn't hurt, his fangs gently pressing against her jugular. It was only a few seconds later when something happened, his fangs brushed against a nerve and a bolt of something hot and heady sparked through her veins, to the tips of her ears to the bottom of her toes.
And Judy couldn't hold back a moan.
Nick nearly jumped across the room, pulling back and crawling back a few steps. His expression was shocked and scared and his chest was heaving. Judy's ears blushed furiously, her skin on fire with both mortification and the after shocks of what had just happened.
"Did you…" Nick looked to have forgotten how to function.
"I didn't do it on purpose!" she insisted, heart hammering.
Nick just stared at her as if she wasn't the mammal he had thought she was. Judy felt her shoulders sink, her now stinging eyes looking to the floor. "I just…"
She just let her emotions wander until they were out of her reach, didn't check herself when her heart pounded too fast and her ears flushed red, didn't look away when Nick made eye contact, let herself imagine him becoming a constant not only in her life but her children's as well.
She fell before she even knew there was a cliff.
Wallowing in her mental agony Judy didn't realize Nick had crawled back to her side until they were nose to nose. She sucked in a surprised breath but didn't break eye contact. She took note of how his green eyes glittered when he was thinking, his russet and cream fur that she knew was as soft as it looked. And she wondered, falling off that cliff, how much it would hurt when she hit the bottom.
"Nick, I-" Judy tried to find her words. "I just…"
"It wasn't just me," he broke in, his eyes now on her paws before her.
"What?"
Nick took in a deep breath, taking in her flustered scent, her arousal, and he stood up to walk away.
"Wait," Judy grabbed his arm and the fox bristled. "What did you mean?"
"Nothing," he looked to be fumbling for words. "You're not…I'm not…" He took in another breath and actually cringed from her scent, from her. "I-I think I have some laundry to finish."
Judy didn't release his arm, "You can't just walk away like that." She had to manage her words around the heart that had risen up to her throat.
"I don't need to stay in here," his voice sounded dry, cracked, he refused to look at her. "I'll end up doing something…something…"
"Nick."
She won the battle when he looked down at her and they could see it in each other's eyes: an affection that had grown through banter and danger, and familiarity that had existed almost instantly as if the universe had known they would be a perfect match-they just had to find each other, but now there was a wanting, a lust that had both crept upon them so quietly before pouncing without a warning.
Nick's ears folded and he made a sound not dissimilar to a whimper as he dropped to his knees before Judy-and pulled her lips against his own.
Just like the rest of them was no real way to describe the way Nick Wilde tasted, it was foreign and exotic and Judy couldn't get over how it felt as his tongue pulled her in, unwittingly trapping her. Judy wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing against his torso, electricity coursing through her.
Nick's paws trailed down her back, his nails lightly digging into her skin before reaching her thighs and running his paws over her.
His paw slipped between her thighs and she moaned against his lips as he stroked her. Nick trailed his lips from her mouth to her neck and she shuddered.
"Wait," he breathed when Judy began to unbutton her shirt.
Her heart flipped with panic. He didn't want to stop, did he?
"Not here," he pulled his groping paws away, only to pick her up into his arms. "Let's go to my room."
A few moments later and Judy was placed on Nick's feather soft bed, the fox undoing her shirt for her. Her breath fluttered when she lay bared before the fox and a part of her wished she could read his thoughts.
Nick laid himself over her, his weight a reassuring pressure as he nipped and licked her throat, taking in her gaps and moans.
"Nick, I need…" she ran her legs against his hips.
He nodded frantically and pulled his pants off, Judy found herself looking away. It was a silly notion but as they weren't mates she didn't believe she should look at all of him.
He nuzzled her burning ears as his fingers found her core; she tensed around him as he helped her to listen. She felt his claws lightly trace her soft flesh and it nearly sent her over the edge.
When he pulled his fingers away Judy wanted to whimper in protest but then she felt something else push against her, sliding into her and Judy grabbed his arms, on the edge of pleasure and pain.
"Oh, God," Nick hissed atop her, his teeth gritted. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, her muzzle pressed against his neck as she got used to the tightness she had never felt before. She could feel Nick's heart hammering against her chest.
He finally bucked his hips against her and she let out a sound of pleasure, euphoria shooting up her nerves as it set her center into a blaze.
Nick continued to move against her, murmuring nothings into her ear, the words were mostly unintelligible but Judy could make out a few-'amazing'… 'beautiful'… words she couldn't see him saying beyond closed doors and she wondered if he even knew what he was saying.
The pace was increased as they moved against each other in a desperate, frantic manner. And as Judy started to feel her pleasure build up Nick suddenly started to pull away, "I'm going to-"
But Judy grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back to her lips. She tried to put all her emotions into the kiss, her gratitude and growing affection, the fact that he had permanently left a mark on her soul.
And then they both fell over the edge. Judy pulled away from Nick's lips to cry out as she felt him expand. The fox buried his face into her chest, groaning in pleasure as he arched over her.
"I'm sorry," he breathed when they started to come down from the euphoric high. "I wanted to pull out before I knotted."
"No," Judy shook her head, "Its okay, I…" I wanted to feel this close to you.
Nick lifted his muzzle to look at Judy with a lazy yet satisfied expression, his green eyes glowing in the dimly lit room.
Judy ran her fingers over his muzzle and ears, and she wondered how she had lived her life without Nicholas Piberius Wilde.