AN: So, the groups are aware of each other, the first arc of the story is down and more is on its way. We'll be having a fun trio of oneshots coming up, as all our characters begin to get more and more involved in each others lives.

I also like to say that an ask the cast thing is open. Ask a cast member a question in the comments, and you'll get an in character reply.

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Target Practice.

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The Tundratown biathlon park may not have been the most stereotypical meet up place for two friends, but sometimes the most unusual places just happen to be the right ones.

In Nick's case, being a ZPD Officer meant he could use the place as a practice range for free as long as no one else had booked the facility. This even extended to bringing along plus ones.

Ash, meanwhile…

Well, he didn't really care 'that much'. It just gave him a cool thing to do with his friend.

"Doing good, Mr," Nick said, before making a spitting sound.

Ash just nodded and hummed back an 'uh-huh' sound. There was a warm smile on his face which Nick felt good about. After all, he quite liked the younger fox. He was a good kit, and deserved to be happy.

So, together, they walked up to the large reindeer behind the entrance booth. "Here for the usual?" he asked, not really looking up from his paper. He flicked it over to a new page as Nick sauntered up to him, smugly leaning up against the counter.

"That and a plus one, Sven."

The large mammal looked up at the pair, before double taking it at the sight of Ash. "Right then," he said, leaning under his desk to bring out two sporting rifles. "Didn't know you had a kit," he said, passing them over. Ash's face twerked up oddly for a second, and he glanced up at the older fox while Nick snorted.

"Hah, I wish," he replied, giving the guns a quick look over, having to focus as a stray bit of wind blew past. He glanced over at Ash, the teen still trying to come to terms with the statement, and placed his arm around him, firmly patting him on the back. "He's just a cool dude I know," he said, the shorter fox finally snapping to attention.

"Right," he said firmly. "Cool dude… Getting colder." He then turned down and did his winter clothing up some more as Nick sorted out the final details. Then, together, they wandered over to the range.

…

"Say, Mr," Nick began, before spitting on the floor. He spoke cautiously, thinking as he did so. "Your relationship with your old man, how is it these days?"

Ash shrugged. "Fantastic."

The older fox couldn't help but feel relieved, remembering the frayed state it was in when they first met. He knew that progress was being made, but 'progress being made' couldn't be a weaselier statement if it was the Duke of Bootleg himself who'd said it. Just as he had done, on the many, many occasions where he and Judy had checked up on him, seeing if he was going clean or getting out of crime.

And now he was stuck in months of community service, which wasn't jail, so progress was (kind of) being made! But still, case in point and all…

"We did a pest control job recently," Ash elaborated.

"I'd argue that I did too," Nick replied, smirking as he did so.

There was a slight snigger from the young fox as he looked up at Nick. "Thanks for that, I guess."

"Well, it is what we do at the ZPD," Nick replied, as they reached the range. Set out in front of them was a long line of small metal target plates, each one ready to be hit and pinged back. The pair of foxes arranged themselves at the firing line, Nick handing Ash's sports rifle over to him. The younger fox immediately pointed it down, gaining a nod from his mentor, before looking at the range.

"Sooo…" he began. "This is part of a biathlon, correct?"

"Correct," Nick agreed, not quite sure where this was going. Regardless, he laid himself down, getting a feel for the weapon as he lined up a shot. He glanced over to Ash, who'd done the same. "You go first."

Concentrating, the kit lined up and fired, the pair watching as a little metal spark sprang out from the white target cover, a whiskers width down from striking home. Ash flinched back, his ears folding down, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. "Just a bit further away, didn't realise it would drop…" he said to himself, before pulling back the bolt and loading a new round in.

Holding his breath, moving his gun up a bit, he fired, and with a solid ding the target flipped back. "Ha…" he chirped, as he took aim and fired again.

Another ding.

Another target hit.

Nick looked on, impressed. "You're good at this."

"Thanks," he replied, taking aim again and hitting true. There was a pause from him. "If Kris tried, he'd be better, but I don't mind."

Nick looked away awkwardly. Part of him wanted to reassure him that it may well not be the case. However, a larger part of him also knew that Kris probably would be better; the silver fox had a truly extraordinary paw-eye coordination, making him a dab paw at everything he did. More to the point, if Nick said otherwise, Ash would know he was lying, which would prompt him to act like any teen would do to a dumb adult repainting the truth, blow it off and get irritated at the lack of trust or respect. At least, now, Ash seemed at peace with the fact. He wasn't hurting.

"So…" Ash carried on. "Are there any Olympic sports that are just the shooting?"

"Pretty sure there's a good few," Nick replied, as Ash set off his final shot. It hit the target right in the centre.

"And anyone who competes there is an athlete – whatever sport it is?" he carried on, an edge of hope sneaking into his voice.

Nick rolled his eyes, he could guess where this was going. "Pretty much," he said, as he saw Ash give an excited fist pump. The fox cop then lined up his shots, hitting all of them, before they moved on to a more difficult range, with smaller targets that were further away.

Nick pinned all of them bar one, which was a silly mistake on his part.

Ash overcompensated the first, undercompensated the second, but had worked it out by the third.

"Your dad taught you well."

"Just a little, I needed to defend myself against a goose."

Nick scoffed a little. "They might hiss like snakes, but are geese…?" He trailed off as Ash gave him a certain look, and then gave him the basics of his little mission.

…

"Well, she didn't stomach that well…"

Ash gave a little laugh, before rolling his eyes. "Good one."

"Thanks," Nick replied, smiling. "So, your dad thinks you can be a ranger now. Feeling fantastic?"

Ash opened his mouth to speak, only to trail off. Nick looked on concerned, his ears folding back, and he laid out his paw next to the teen, ready and waiting.

He looked at it and sighed. "I should," he muttered, looking down. "But… I could be that, or I could be a cop, or I could draw comics. I'm learning sign language which I enjoy, but I love music. I… -I don't know what I want to be. -Except an athlete, but that's more of an on the side thing…" He looked up at Nick, his eyes wide and trembling slightly, his ears folded against his skull, and his tail down against the ground, a slight little hitch in his voice as he spoke. "What am I supposed to be?"

Nick looked over at him and felt his heart twinge, and was unable to stop himself just walking over and giving him a hug. Ash twerked uncomfortably, looked around awkwardly, before relaxing just a little. This was okayish.

Letting go, Nick placed his paw on Ash's shoulder. "Now I could do a cliché 'You are Ash Fox' speech which is supposed to be inspirational in the movies, but we all know is a steaming pile of bull cuss in real life," he began, Ash nodding in agreement. "Or I could make you feel a little better by saying that most kids your age feel just like that, it's a part of growing up."

"Were you like that?" He asked, a hint of scepticism in his voice.

Nick laughed. "Oh, I was far worse. I thought everything sucked and nothing mattered." He trailed off and then sighed. "Took a special bunny to wake me up to the truth."

"You really like her," Ash said.

"Well…."

Ash closed his eyes and gave a few quick, exploratory sniffs before speaking again. "I can smell her on you."

Nick's eyes widened. "Well I….! Uhhh… Ummm…" Breaking it off with a few coughs, Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, raising a lecturing finger as he did so. "Do I like her. Yes, yes I do. -Do I more than like her? Yes, yes I do."

"You two are a couple," he said plainly.

"Well," Nick began. "Are we…"

"You are," he said, before smiling. "I guess that's nice." He then paused though, his mouth twitching slightly. "Can't really see myself with anything other than a fox though."

"Well," Nick began, trying to think something up before shrugging. "Bunnies," he said smugly.

"I guess you think she's cute," Ash noted, turning back to his gun. He might as well take a few more shots.

"Well, don't call a bunny that, it annoys them," Nick said. "But, just between us foxes, she is exceptionally cute. But it's not just that. It's not just the fact that she put me on a new path of life. She's like this crazy ball of happy determined energy, going on and on and on, trying to make everything better, and she helps cancel out this dark cynical side in me. I guess I also help calm her down, and give her the one-oh-one about how things are in reality when she needs them, so it's a two-way street there." He paused, giving a long sigh, before just staring into the distance. "She makes me want to be a better mammal, she inspires me to go on, she bounces on forwards as a bundle of fluffy optimism, and I want to follow that."

"You mean you want her to lead you?" Ash asked, looking up. He hadn't managed to fire any shots.

"Lead me," he said, "…and tolerate my corny jokes and fantastic dress sense," he continued, giving him a wink.

"I think your clothing is original," the younger fox said.

"Thanks for the compliment, kitto; you have taste," Nick replied, shooting him a finger salute. "We just have tons of fun together, and when she wears herself out after a day of doing good, I get to look after her."

"Isn't that a chore?" Ash asked, confused.

"I…" Nick began, pausing slightly as he tried to find the words. "For her, it's not. It makes me feel good."

"Is it a really good good feeling?"

"I suppose it is," Nick replied. "You'll feel it when your little brother…"

"-Or sister."

"Or sister is born," he said.

…

"Excited?"

Ash shrugged. "I am," he said. "Mum's about a third of the way through now, she's getting a bump. I've also moved out of my room, into the top room. My old room was just above theirs, so they want it as a nursery."

"Ah, the first sacrifice of many," Nick said, gently elbowing Ash.

"Well, the tree further up has grown a lot since the top room was carved out. We were able to make it a lot bigger, so no problem. It also has that new room smell now."

"Well enjoy that while it lasts."

"Right," Ash said, as he looked down a bit. "I helped out with that, it felt good. I also helped with unpacking and cleaning some of the old nursery supplies, and redecorating the room." He paused. "It felt good."

Nick nodded. "Did it feel good as you were making it for your new little sister?"

"Or brother," Ash said. "...and yes. I sort of imagined him or her being warm and safe, and happy…"

"Well, that's a bit like one of the types of love I feel for my bunny," Nick said. "Not the only type of love you can feel, but a type I quite like."

"Oh good," Ash replied, relaxing as he did so. Nick's head cocked slightly, catching on, as the younger fox carried on. "It was just that you, talking about how you loved Judy, it made me think about how I loved... How I loved Agnes, before she left me for Kris. I mean, the way you described love, it's like this super thing, this crazy unstoppable force, and you feel it all around you and you'd go to the ends of the earth for whoever you were addicted to. But thinking back, I wasn't addicted to her. I never got hooked on her. Why didn't I love her like that!? Did I even love her? We called ourselves girlfriend and boyfriend, and we hung out, but… -Why didn't I feel like that!? But there's different types of love, right? So maybe my love isn't broken. I mean I think it is quite a bit, as I… -but maybe I was feeling a different type of love back then, right?"

…

"What did you feel when you hung out with her?" Nick asked, as he scooted over and put a paw on Ash's own.

"Well, she was my girlfriend and I was her boyfriend. We had to look after each other, and go out together; that's what you do when you're in a relationship."

Nick nodded. "Did you enjoy doing that?"

There was a pregnant pause in the air, before Ash nodded ever so slightly.

"Did you find yourself thinking of her while alone, wanting to be with her?"

"I guess," he said quietly. "I think…"

"How many other vixens are in your school?"

"At least three red fox vixens, I think two others of a different species, butI'm not interested in them," he said. "And Agnes is the only one about my age."

Nick nodded. "Maybe you only loved her a little bit," he said. "Not the right vixen for you, but you worked with what you'd got. Now, I can proudly attest to the intense meh-ness of that approach."

A little smile grew on Ash's muzzle. "That's helpful," he said, before looking away. "Maybe I'll see if your kind of love is the right for me," he said, pondering out loud. "Maybe my thing to do in life is to help others."

"Well," Nick said, smirking. "I can think of many worse things to do in life. Just take your time, kitto, you'll find the right track eventually."

"I'd prefer less eventually to more eventually."

Nick nodded, and the pair turned back to the rifle range. A few more shots were taken, some more advice given, but eventually the two called it a day. Signing a little, Nick gestured 'keep it classy, Mr…', before he made a spitting noise.

Ash nodded, signing back 'I will. I also have a surprise for you when I get back'.

Nick was curious about that, but was happy to wait and head home. Parting from each other, they headed home, a day well spent.

…

Nick, returning home, settled down in his apartment. Judy, his brand new beautiful bunny girlfriend, would be coming around soon. He rolled that lovely little sentence around in his head, savouring it. They'd been going out for a few meals and sorts, and been enjoying it, but today was a chill out at home day, nice and easy. He also noted how easy it had been to explain himself to Ash. No sense of holding back or apprehension, it seemed like getting his confession out to Carrots had burst the dam on that.

Things were good.

…

A little beep rung out and he picked up his phone. Was Judy running late, or…

It was an email from Ash and, opening it up, he read the message. 'I think this fits your relationship with Judy quite well.'

Below that was a link and, pressing it, Nick smiled as a song started off. A dance of light guitar notes and the occasional deep base one rang out, carrying on for a few seconds before cutting off. Returning, strumming in a tune that pulled in and out like the waves lapping on a beach, the soft lyrics began. "I'm looking for a hard headed woman… One who'll take me for myself…"

Nick smirked. "You always know the right song, Mr…" he said, before making a spitting noise.

"And if I find my hard headed woman, I won't need, nobody else… -No! Nooo, nooooooo…"

Smiling as he listened, Nick paused as he heard the door behind him open. Judy stepped in, just as the next verse began.

"I'm looking for a hard headed woman… One who'll make me do my best."

Nick should have been embarrassed. He was, a little. But he could totally roll with this. He stood up and walked over to her, smiling as he went.

"And if I find my hard headed woman. I know the rest of my life will be blessed. Yes! Yes… yeeeesssss…"

Judy smiled a little and as he held his paws she took them, her tail wiggling a bit. Looking up into his eyes, seeing them cast down with their warm green glow… He'd always been handsome and recently he'd become her boyfriend, but now he felt like her handsome boyfriend, and she liked it. She liked it. She liked it a lot.

"I know a lot of fancy dancers…"

They moved together, sweeping across the room.

"People who can glide you on a floor…"

Nick swept her along, the thrill sending a tingle down to the tip of her tail, before they paused, looking at each other before settling on the sofa, snuggled up to each other.

"They move so smooth, but have no answers. When you ask them, -What you come here for? I don't know. -Why?"

The music played on, but the bunny and fox had their answers. They were snuggled up next to them, and stayed like that the whole sweet night.