NOTE: I am a writer who supports Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ rights, Trans Rights, and Liberal Feminism. If you don't like any of that, don't read my stories. Thank you.
I think this is one of the best chapters I've written, and I hope you all like it, too. The next few chapters, we'll start moving right along as we start heading to some important story bits.
Disney owns everything, except my original characters, who are petitioning for seperate management.
As stealthy as a 'Fox'
Nick stared across the table, his cautious green eyes slowly moving back and forth between the sheep and the maned wolf.
He was starting to wish he hadn't come downstairs when they called. He was enjoying his attempt to 'not snoop'. In other words, he wasn't opening anything, but, if it was in plain sight. . . Unfortunately, he didn't have long enough to find anything truly interesting, when he heard Chrys' howl from below.
Initially, he wasn't going to respond to him at all, especially without Judy's all-clear. But curiosity got the better of him. It was clear everyone was downstairs if it was a roommate meeting, so he thought he'd be safe to head down. Which, he thought it was just going to be about cleaning, chores, or something normal like that. Roommate things.
That was until he saw the rabbit's face, and he knew something was up. Then, they started talking about Nick and Judy's relationship, how they were hiding it, and Nick knew they were in trouble. Because for once, this sounded like they actually had evidence.
But that didn't mean he was going to just give up. He snorted and shook his head as he leaned back into his chair. "What 'evidence' of our relationship? We get along. We're good friends. We're classmates. Seriously, what is it that you suspect, Sharla? Let's just get it all out and end this."
He crossed his arms, as he glared at the sheep. The sheep, in response, just looked at him with amused eyes and a grin. Internally, he shuddered at the look. "You two are hooking up, for sure. At minimum a 'thing', Nick."
Beside him, Judy shook her head. "Not this again. . . We talked about this, Sharla. Nothing is going on between us, and nothing ever would. I mean, no offence Nick, but you're not my type." She paused, looking over him with a mild expression of disgust.
Judy was a skilled actor, the fox admitted. Nick might have even believed that statement if he didn't have copious examples to choose from. He shrugged, nodding and continuing the façade. "And, I'm really insulted that you think I wouldn't tell you if I was in a relationship, Sharla. We've been friends for a long time, haven't I always told you stuff like that?"
Sharla didn't budge. Or, in fact, change her expression at all. . . Nick was pretty sure that was a really bad sign. "Let's start at the beginning then, Judy. Do you remember, a few months back when we were at that little barbecue?"
Nick's eye twitched, as he watched Sharla lean in towards Judy. Judy, on the other paw, still had a calm face on, her ears turned back. There was an air of anger to the tilt, but judging by how brightly red they were, Nick knew exactly why she pointed them away. And, unfortunately, Nick remembered very clearly what happened that night.
"Yeah, when I left the party early. . . I got drunk and went home. What of it?" Judy asked curiously, acting oblivious.
"Mhm, yeah, I suppose that's true. I remember you peeling off from the party early with a few bottles of beer. So, the whole drunk story fits I suppose." Sharla began, with Judy nodding along. The sheep started to grin and continued the story as she locked her gaze with the rabbit. "And. . . I also remember trying to find you later to get you to come back to the party, and finding you out in the parking lot. . . Full bore, no holds barred, kissing Nick. You were basically trying to eat his face before he pulled away from you."
Shit. He glanced at Judy, amazed that she was keeping a straight face. Nick turned to Sharla, as an idea came to his mind. "Yeah, that did happen, but you're jumping to a conclusion. She was really drunk and depressed, and it was a regrettable mistake on her part. That's why I pulled away. I took her home, she slept it off, alone, and we decided to forget about it. Accidents with alcohol happen, but that doesn't make it a 'thing'." He added a derisive tone to the last word, shaking his head as if the idea alone displeased him.
Chrys let out a laugh. "Is that. . . Really, what you're going with Nick? But, do you have the same kind of excuse for what happened a few months ago? Not long after that party? When I saw Judy leaving your room, late at night, with her underwear in her paws, hmmm?"
The bad feeling from earlier suddenly became worse. How could he have seen her. . . They were always quiet, weren't they? Could he be making this up, to see how Nick would react? Or, could Nick just play it off and tell Chrys he was dreaming or something?
Before either could respond, the sheep spoke up. "He went straight to my room that night and asked me if you two were dating. And. . . We talked a lot about it, um, that night." Sharla's ears suddenly turned red, as she averted her gaze from Judy for a moment. That was. . . Suspicious.
"I talked with Chrys, and we decided to ask you two directly the next day, separately. And then you two gave us some very unconvincing arguments, it was pretty ridiculous. . ." The sheep lifted her eyes, focusing on the rabbit again. "I was pissed that you wouldn't talk to me about this, Judy. Didn't you just say, that you'd tell me everything? I mean, I get if it was sudden, and you were still figuring things out for the first few days. . . But I've always been there for you, right? And it's been longer than a while since then, and you still wouldn't talk to me." Sharla sneered across the table.
Nick couldn't even think of a response to that. And quite frankly, it was becoming quite clear that this wasn't going to go well. He looked at Judy, who appeared frozen in the spot as she stared across the table at the two of them. "You're blowing this all out of proportion, Judy. Some of my underwear got left in the dryer, and he found it in his last wash. He was folding his laundry late at night when he texted me that it was there, so I just headed over to grab it. Is this what all your evidence is going to be, assumptions?" She responded, suddenly adopting a more relaxed pose as she rolled her eyes at the two.
Nick nodded along to what Judy said, as he attempted to relax a bit more. Judy was good at improv; she'd be able to get them out of it, right? And, Nick was always there with another excuse if it was necessary. They'd be able to lie their way through this. Although, at this point, Nick was starting to wonder if it was worth the effort.
Instead of responding, Sharla pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped on the screen. A moment later, she placed it on the table and slid it across. Nick leaned forward and glanced at the image on the tiny screen. It was a poor photo, but he could clearly make out the details of a receipt, from some 'Toy Shop'. He didn't know what that was supposed to mean. . . What 'Toy Shop'?
Judy only glanced at the picture and immediately looked away. "We've seen you go to his room many more times than once, so, unless you're intentionally losing underwear, we know you're lying, Judy. But, for more substantial evidence, how about the fact about a week ago I found you cuddling on the couch, asleep, with this little receipt in your grocery bag. . . What's the excuse for the fox toy?"
01 Fox XS he silently mumbled the words, as the sheep finished her sentence. What? The fox couldn't stop reading, as he looked down at the date of purchase. You've got to be kidding me. Nick turned to Judy, surprised. "You bought what? Bef-?" He blurted out, choking on his words as the rabbit turned to him with an angry glare.
He quickly turned back to the two sneering individuals across the table. "I, uh."
Sharla blinked, poorly acting like she had been surprised. "You didn't tell him, Judy? Spicy."
Judy groaned and hit her head on the table. Her ears were bright red, as she shook her head, rubbing her forehead into the surface. "What else have you accumulated." She murmured through the surface.
Nick slunk down into his chair, immediately embarrassed and angry with himself. It wasn't like this conversation was going well for them as it was, but, he really torpedoed their chances now. . . Judy had to be pissed at him now. He wanted to apologize immediately, but he was sure that the best thing he could do now was just shut up.
Sharla seemed to lose her smug grin as she saw her friend's frustration. "Well. . . We kind of recorded, uh, some of the noise you were making last. . . night. . . . . Chrys checked Nick's room in the morning, too, and he wasn't there." A loud sigh emerged from the angry bunny, as Nick winced. "It'd been a week since you'd . . . done anything, so, we got a little excited that it wasn't over, so, we kind of stood near the door and. . . Recorded something. N-not much, though, I promise."
The sheep reached over, grabbed her phone and started tapping. With one final tap, there was a sliding sound, before a grainy pair of voices played. Familiar voices.
"Ahh!"
"I think you'll talk."
"How dare you, Rabbit. Why I."
"Hold on a moment Nick, let me just-"
Judy groaned loudly. "Turn it off!" She murmured through the table. The sheep did, and shrugged a bit, as the rabbit leaned back up, her ears slightly drooped. Nick didn't care about anyone on the other side of the table at this point. He looked at her with a sorry look, hoping that she understood.
Judy looked at him and shook her head before turning her gaze to the two spies. "Well, I guess you've had your fun, haven't you? Yes, we're hooking up. No, it's not serious, it's a 'with benefits' arrangement. I'm sorry for lying to you, Sharla. But I know you understand that I don't want everyone, especially my family, knowing about it. . . . . But, I guess I probably should've told you. . ."
Sharla nodded. "Yeah, I get it. . . And, thanks for being honest. Even if we had to do this to get it. I know I gossiped a lot in high school, but, I'd never tell anyone anything if it meant causing problems with your family. . . And I never would gossip about you. . . Me and Chrys talked about it a lot, and, we're not going to tell anyone that you don't want us to. . . But, as roommates and friends, we're here for both of you . . . And you'd better share the juicy details later, Judy." The sheep winked at her friend, earning a snort from Judy.
Nick sat there and shook his head. They were the smartest in their class, and yet they were absolutely trumped by the deviousness of these two. Maybe that was a sign that keeping secrets wasn't worth the effort in the end. Admittedly, it was a hard secret to keep from housemates. Especially when they were working so closely together to uncover. . . . Wait a minute. . .
"So. . . Chrys. . . All that stuff about you being into Judy was a lie, wasn't it? And asking her out was trying to get me to react?"
Chrys nodded along, eyes happily closed in a pleased expression. "Yep!"
"But, you were being honest about being open to relationships, especially sex, with other species? You made up that stuff about not being interested in Sharla to emphasize your false intent to sleep with Judy since everyone knew that Sharla was interested in you?" The fox inquired further, causing the maned wolf's eyes to open ever so slightly.
"Yeeeeesssss?" Chrys cautiously stated as he tried to analyze the fox's words. But Nick was not going to give him the time to figure it out.
Nick's eyes narrowed. "So, let's get this straight. . . You two have been hanging out a lot. . . . Staying up late together to catch us. . . plotting behind closed doors. . . And?"
Judy looked at Nick, her eyes lighting up as she caught his train of thought. She cleared her throat. "Sharla. . . Chrys went and talked to you in the middle of the night when he saw me leave Nick's room. . . After that you suddenly went from being head over heels with Chrys to not being interested at all when we talked. . . . Even calling him stupid and several other things. . . In what, a matter of a few hours? That seems. . . Interesting, Sharla? And mildly suspicious." As she spoke, the rabbit leaned forward with a devious smile, eyes locked on the sheep.
The sheep's ears started to glow red, the thin fur incapable of hiding it at any angle. The wolf shifted uncomfortably, as his jaw flexed tightly. Nick turned to Judy, with a wide grin. "I think our two spies might have something to tell us. . . You know, now that diplomacy is a thing, hmmm?" Nick mused as he leaned onto the desk with one arm, his paw beneath his chin. He focused his attention on the maned wolf, a link he knew would be the weakest.
"Yes. One personal story for another, I think Nick. What have you two been up to?" The rabbit raised a paw and waved a digit back and forth toward the space between them.
Sharla opened her mouth and stammered. "W-well. I-mean, things just, kinda. . ." Her ears blushed hard, and she looked down and away from the rabbit.
Watching the wolf, his nose twitching, Nick knew just who to talk to first. The loud one was always the easiest one. "Let it out, Chrys."
"Bwha!", the air escaped as his maw opened. And then, it all poured out in one long breath. "I went over to her room that night I saw Judy go by to ask if you two were dating and I think when I knocked all I said was can I come in and she misinterpreted what was going on so she answered the door naked and it was awkward for a second when I asked her what was going on which she then explained her mistake and how she was sorry but I said don't be sorry because I thought she was attractive too so we ended up staying together that night and a lotta nights since then and plotting together to get you two to confess and gathering information and it's become a friends with benefits thing and we've been hiding it because Sharla was upset you wouldn't tell her about your thing so we kept it from you out of revenge and I-"
Thunk, the sheep punched the wolf's ribcage, creating the first pause in a diarrhea stream of words. "SHUTTHEHECKUP. . . ." The sheep hopped explosively from her chair onto Chyrs, climbed the wolf and tried to hold his mouth shut with her two hooves. Then, she turned her gaze back to the now very smug Nick, with Judy shaking her head as she Tsk-tsked the air.
"Sharla. How dare you not share your escapades with me. And straight-up lie to me, too. I am so, so hurt. . ." Judy spoke in a falsely haughty voice, as the sheep chuckled nervously. "And intrigued. I suppose we have a lot of deets to share later then, don't we?" Judy continued, as she smiled at her friend. And the wolf she was silencing.
Nick wasn't sure if he wanted to be discussed by Judy and Sharla, but there was probably no way to prevent that. . . Besides, he was pretty sure it would all be good things. Hopefully. . . The sheep cleared her throat, as she hopped back down onto her chair. Chrys looked down at her, with a pathetic and embarrassing chuckle as he shrugged his gargantuan shoulders.
The sheep sat down in a huff. "Fine. . . . We're friends with benefits, like you guys, and, maybe we don't want the whole world to know yet." She muttered.
"See, Sharla? Not so comfortable a situation, is it?" Judy replied, crossing her arms.
"Okay, but, we were only lying to you because you were keeping secrets first!" The sheep responded loudly. Having known her for a few months now, Nick was not surprised the sheep would go for a 'tit for tat' response, although he was amazed that Chrys managed to keep it under wraps this entire time. The maned wolf rarely had an off switch.
Judy shrugged and smiled at her best friend. It seemed like Judy was. . . Okay, with being discovered? At least by these two, anyway. Given the fact they lived together, it would at least take some of the stress off, and hopefully, she felt the same way.
Nick had to give her credit, she was always good at rolling with the punches while giving out a few of her own. "That's true. . . . But, I don't think we deserved the 'inqusition' treatment. . . But at least we don't have to tiptoe around each other anymore, right? Our dorm is now a free-speech zone, no need to lie to each other and be quiet anymore?"
Sharla nodded along, with Chrys chiming in. "Yes!"
Nick nodded before Judy suddenly turned to him. He turned and looked in her eyes, suddenly recognizing a devious glint. . . He'd seen it before. "Well then, screw it, wanna have a shower together?"
He blinked at her. I guess that's open. . "Well. . . I'm not going to say no. . ." He mused as he glanced at their roommates; they seemed too stunned to interrupt. "I'll take any chance I can get." Nick joked, pointing at Judy with a wink.
She scrunched her nose and shook her head with a huff. "C'mon, let's go."
Judy pushed her chair back and began walking towards the shower. Nick got up after them, giving the two surprised mammals at the table a shrug before he hurried up behind her.
And reached down to touch her fluffy tail, causing her to hop slightly in place as she arrived at the door. She looked at him over her shoulder with an amusingly disappointed grin. She reached up, and booped him softly on the nose before she stepped through the doorway.
Nick followed, before pausing and turning back to the two at the table, who was just sitting there whispering to each other and watching him. He shrugged, closed the door, and locked it with a satisfying click.
Back at the table, the two stared at the door in surprise. They had hoped that Nick and Judy would be more honest about what they were doing so that no one needed to hide anything. But they didn't exactly intend the whole 'unveiled honesty'.
Not that Chrys had a problem with it. At least they knew what was going on in the shower now. But, now, since they were occupied. . .
"So. . . " Chrys began in his jolly voice, as he turned to look at his own partner. "There's also the shower upstairs. . ."
Sharla looked up at him with a neutral expression, as a causal grin slowly formed. "Yeah, good idea." She replied, as she scooted out of her chair and started heading for the stairs.
As the lock slid into place, Nick grimaced and turned around to face Judy. "I'm sorry for blowing our cover," He murmered as his eyes moved onto the rabbit.
She was in the middle of pulling her shirt off, looking at him with the only purple eye that wasn't covered. At that second, the singular eye went from surprise, to what Nick could only imagine was part of a much larger scowl
"Don't do that, Nick. You heard their evidence; we weren't going to win that fight even if you didn't. It's not like I could explain everything they had, anyway. . . . . And, it's probably for the best now . . . Are you just going to watch, or, what?" She chastised; the sound slightly muffled as she continued pulling her shirt over her head.
Nick smiled and shook his head lightly as the rabbit continued jerking her shirt up and over her head. Every time he thought he needed to be careful, be apologetic, or felt bad, Judy was always quick to shut down that feeling.
He closed the few steps between them, as she finally got the shirt up and into her paws. He reached out, and carefully clutched the shirt as he gently pulled it from her paws. She let go, as she looked at him with a curious expression, her ears high and focused.
The fox smiled, as he lightly tossed the shirt in a random direction. "So. A fox toy?" He mused and watched as the flush of colour rose to her ears.
"Yeah. . . " She paused, giving a shrug as her ears burned bright red. "Let's not talk about it, okay?" She took a step back and focused on shimmying her pants off.
Nick debated on bringing up the date on the receipt, but, he was a little too caught up in the show to bother. No wonder she didn't want him snooping in her room earlier. . .
With one smooth motion, he pulled his t-shirt off over his head and threw it into the pile of clothes that was building in the corner. As he started working on his pants, the already-naked rabbit slid the shower door open, turned it on and started playing with the temperature. "Hurry up, Nick." She looked back at him with a grin, before slipping into the small cubicle.
Nick grinned back, and as soon as she turned away frantically pulled his pants and underwear down together. He stepped out of them with an enthusiastic hop and strode into the shower.
As he slid the acrylic door closed, he was instantly glad that it was built for larger animals as he realized how little room even they had. There was barely more than a foot between him and Judy, and only a foot from them to the walls.
Speaking of Judy, she was facing away from him, already drenched and taking advantage of what was likely a very small stream to larger mammals. Nick stepped into the stream behind her, and gently placed a single paw on her shoulder.
He let his paw slide across her wet fur, to lightly play with her little tuft of a tail. Her ears went red again, and she lightly punched her paw onto his chest. He chuckled softy. "So, I was thinking a little bit of reciprocal washing. It's a little more fun to wash together, in my opinion. You know that expression, 'you shampoo my back, I shampoo yo-oh-urs'?" He stuttered a bit, as he felt Judy's other paw grasp his tail. "Sneaky rabbit."
"You literally just suggested tit for tat, Nick, so fair's fair. . . And I have to say, it certainly sounds like a fun way to spend some time. . . But whose back is first?" She mused as she pulled lightly on his tail, running the entire length through her paw. Normally, he thought his tail was nice, but now it was soaked and just looked ridiculously bunched up. But she didn't seem to care very much, as he smiled down at her.
"Well, if I'm honest, I was such a good, cooperative tod last night. I let myself be pawcuffed, I didn't cry, and I didn't whine-"
"No, but you made other noises," Judy interjected, as she playfully poked his chest.
He frowned and shook his head. "That was a different kind of noise. But back to the matter at paw, I was a good boy, Dontcha think?"
She nodded. "Yes, you were." The rabbit stepped back, his paw unhappily ceding its grip. She eyed him up for a second and tapped her chin comically. "I suppose that's fair." The rabbit turned and grabbed the clearly labelled 'fox shampoo' bottle, and the loofah sitting on a nearby ledge.
Nick instinctively stepped back, and out of the stream as she approached him. She poured a liberal amount of shampoo on the loofah. Enough that Nick hurt a little, thinking about how much would be wasted. But, he wasn't going to say anything about that, he had more important things to bring up.
"So. . . speaking of last night. . . I just wanted to apologize for falling asleep so quickly. I, uh, was tired from the gym that day, it was really weirdly exhausting with the pawcuffs, and it was pretty late by the time you texted me."
Judy started scrubbing in the middle of his chest, causing him to flinch slightly at the touch. "You're also old."
Nick's mouth fell open, as he looked at the insolent rabbit. "That's mean, I'm not old. I was just tired." That actually upset Nick. Did she really think he was old?
She seemed to read his mind, as she gave him a gentle pat on the butt as she continued scrubbing his torso with her other paw. "I'm just joking Nick. It's fine, I was tired, too. And sore. And, I was a little too. . . I think 'euphoric' is a good word for it? To have much to say then."
Nick's ear twitched at the word, knowing exactly what she meant by that. The compliment caused a light smile that he couldn't hold back. "Well. . . Now, I think we can probably talk about what went well. . . And, you know, anything I could have done better?"
Judy snorted. "You were chained to the bed, what else do you honestly think you could've done? And does the word euphoric mean something different where you're from?" She continued, as she knelt and began scrubbing his legs.
"Okay, fair. . ." He murmured, not wanting to push the issue again. Nick knew he tended to go overboard with the whole 'making sure' thing. But he'd heard enough horror stories when males didn't care at all.
"But. . . to answer your question. . ." She paused the cleaning and looked him in the eye. "I enjoyed myself, a lot. Overall I thought it went well for both of us. . . ?" The rabbit let the question hang, with a serious look on her face.
"I think there's a lot of obvious examples that I enjoyed it. . . I'm pretty sure I already answered this question in the morning? " Nick replied, as she continued washing the other leg with a snort.
"I did, too, see how annoying it is?. . . It's nice that you take the extra steps to make sure I'm alright but come on. Honestly, I seriously only have the one complaint." She muttered under her breath, a teasing tone appearing.
He furrowed his brows, as the rabbit finished soaping up his front and lower half. "What?"
She shrugged, as she stood back and added a little more soap to the loofah. "Well, as exciting as pawcuffs are, it can be exhausting when you have to do all the work yourself -My glutes are killing me- So that's my complaint, we'll try next time without the cuffs. Now, turn around." The rabbit ended on the command, as she spun her paw in a representative gesture.
Nick obeyed and turned around. The rabbit started cleaning his tail, slowing making her way up to his back. "Okay, we can probably arrange that. I'll talk to my manager." He replied, as a mischievous grin formed.
"Oh, didn't you hear? They paid me to take your contract, I'm your manager now." She responded as she scrubbed between his shoulder blades. "Turn around and bend over so I can get your face."
Nick shook his head and swivelled around to face the snarky rabbit. "You're my manager now, huh? Well, did they happen to tell you I am a very demanding client?" He spoke, amused at the thought as he knelt so that the rabbit could reach his head. He was going to have to kneel to wash her anyway.
She began carefully scrubbing his ears and forehead, causing him to instinctively close his eyes. "Yes, they did. It's why they paid me to take you off their paws. . . A demanding client, with some very specific needs."
He smiled, as she scrubbed down his muzzle. She protected his nose with her other paw, as she finished by scrubbing underneath his chin. And then, she gave his nose a soft pat, and he heard her take a step back into the shower. "Alright, time for a rinse, foxy."
Nick chuckled, stood up and walked forward blindly into the shower. He scrubbed himself thoroughly, taking care to get most of the shampoo out. By the time he opened his eyes, the rabbit was smiling up at him with a grin, the loofah and a different type of shampoo in her paws.
Judging by the large rabbit picture, it was something specific, unsurprisingly. She stepped back out of the stream, and Nick stepped forward to follow her.
With their minimal size difference, Nick could probably do most of Judy from his normal height. But, what would be the point in switching positions in the middle of it? He knelt onto his back legs, sitting comfortably on his back haunches as he scooted a little closer to her. Perfect eye level.
They were both smiling, mischievously, as he poured a little shampoo onto the loofah. "Any special requests?" He asked, as he began to gently scrub her shoulder, and across her chest with one paw, the other resting gently at her waist.
"Nah, you seem somewhat capable. And if not, I'll just hire a replacement next time." She muttered, holding her arms out as he began scrubbing them. He snorted, shaking his head.
"Good luck with that. I'm the only one willing to put up with you, empress. Everyone else ran away." He grinned, as he finished up on her arms, and began to move down to her legs.
"And why didn't you run away? Just too stupid?" She retorted, causing his head to lift as he matched her gaze with a grin.
He shrugged, as he gingerly lifted her hind paw and scrubbed the underside, turning his gaze back to his work. "Pretty stupid. They all told me to run, as fast as I could. Every one of them. So, I did, and I ran straight into your arms. . . It's not my fault they didn't give me a direction."
He finished one hind paw, and started on the other leg, smiling like an idiot. He could really come up with some drivel, couldn't he? "And, Nick? Do you regret it?"
He chuckled, as he finished off the second hind paw. He paused and looked at the rabbit's face again. She was grinning at him, her eyes shining with that same mischief that got him into all this trouble.
"I could've run faster." He murmured, as he reached both paws behind her, grinning widely. He began scrubbing her rump, causing the rabbit to frown as his other paw played with her tail, as the fox put on a poor imitation of an innocent face.
"Back to your favourite part of me, huh? I imagine you're going to make sure it's squeaky clean, won't you?" She mused, crossing her arms in front of her. Nick frowned, eyebrows descending as he paused his ministrations for a moment.
"That's not my favourite part of you." Nick shook his head defiantly, as he continued scrubbing up her back.
She huffed. "I'd say the evidence is against you. . . But fine, what is your favourite part of me, huh?"
He pulled away as he finished her back, making an exaggerated once-over glance of the rabbit before he focused on her legs. He pointed down at her hind paws, touching one of her toes with one claw. "Here."
Her head cocked back, confused. "My toes?"
"-To here." He continued, raising the same digit across her entire body until he reached the very tip of her left ear. The fox grinned at her, as he watched the pink glow appear again in her ears.
She scoffed at him, poking his chest with one defiant digit. "Har-har. . . Be serious, what's your favourite part? No judgement, I'm just curious."
Nick leaned a bit back, as he once again looked her over again. It wasn't a topic he seriously thought about. It was usually whatever happened to be in his paws, on the end of his muzzle, or, other things. But, what was his favourite part, overall?
He mulled it over for a moment, causing the rabbit to shake her head once, before striking a theoretically seductive pose. Theoretically only because it seemed so ridiculous. He smiled and reached over her head to lightly grasp her ear.
"Well, honestly, I guess I'd say your ears. They're like. . ." He shook his head slightly, trying to find the words as he delicately rubbed the ear between his digits. "Windows to how you feel, I guess. And, they're so c-. . . . ." He saw her eyebrow twitch, and he winced. "Not that word. . But you get what I mean. They're entrancing, how they can say so much and be beautiful at the same time."
He shrugged, letting go of the ear and gazing into the rabbit's eyes. She seemed a little surprised, and. . . something else. "After that, I guess, probably your eyes. And then your tail, and every other part of you. I don't know, there are so many things about you that are just. . . special."
Judy's response was a soft 'oh', as she stared into the fox's eyes. Somewhat intimidatingly, if Nick was honest. "So, what's your favourite part of me? What fox bit does it for you, Empress Judy?" He smiled at her. Nick was pretty sure he could guess the answer.
A grin started to form on her face. She stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "Everything, of course."
That wasn't how the game was played, and Nick frowned at her. He was about to protest when the rabbit leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. When the surprise wore off, he felt like the air had been stolen from his lungs as she leaned into him. Her paws rested on his chest for a moment, before they both griped his fur tightly and pulled him back towards her.
Instinctively, his paws found her waist, and pulled her closer, as he reciprocated the kiss. The feeling was too good to resist, even if he could manage to think of a reason against it. His mind was trying to think of something before. . . but the thought was lost as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. She responded in kind, and Nick felt the entire world melt away around them.
As the warm water cascaded over his head, and down their bodies, the only thing he would acknowledge was the heat coming from her lips and her mouth. The only noises that could be heard by either were the soft gasps for air and the soft moans that escaped between the two of them.
Everything else, it may as well have disappeared from the earth. They were alone in the world, in that shower, for all that Nick could care. Her paws maintained their grip on his chest fur, making it clear he wasn't going anywhere, as he held the rabbit close.
He didn't want to anyway, as he held her tightly. As far as he was concerned, this was-
SQUEEEE-THUNK, BANG-THUD-CRASH. "SHIT, OW-!" A familiar voice cried out from above. In a painful moment, the two pulled away from each other, and looked up towards the origin of the crashing and yelling.
"OW, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Another familiar timbre called out, as Nick slowly caught on to what had happened. He looked at Judy, an awkward smile on his face as he began chuckling.
"GET OFFFA MA TAIL-OOOO!" Chrys cried out in a howl, as more banging was heard in the bathroom above them.
"SORRY!" Sharla responded at the top of her lungs.
Nick couldn't help it, his chest heaving as he started laughing. Judy joined him, stepping back a few feet from the close embrace as they both did their best to keep from falling over.
They laughed for a good minute, as grumbling and heavy pawsteps were heard above them. When Nick could manage to only chuckle at the imagery, he smiled at his shower partner. "See? Slippy-slippy, no fun."
Judy nodded. "I think that's a good example, yes. . . " She wiped tears from her eyes, shaking her head. She looked down at her body, still spottily covered in bits of shampoo.
Nick nodded and picked up the loofah from the shower floor. "Here, I'll finish lathering. We should probably hop out soon and make sure they're both still alive. . . And, y'know, 'intact'. Might've been some dangerous sheering forces there."
Judy laughed and shook her head. "I suppose that's the roommately thing to do. . . And make absolute fun of them, right?"
Nick lathered up her neck, going gently over her head and ears. "'Course we are! What kind of roommates would we be if we didn't'? There, you can wash it all off now." He threw the loofah back on the shelf, stood up and stepped back out of the water to give her some room.
She stepped into the water and rubbed the soap out of her fur. Nick debated on asking if she needed 'help', but she finished and turned the shower off before he could decide.
They both stood in the shower for a minute, to let most of the water drip out of their fur, before Nick slid open the door, and stepped out onto the bathmat. He reached across into the towel shelf and grabbed two fresh towels.
Turning around, the rabbit was busy shaking off a bit more water in the shower, before she stepped gingerly out. She held a paw out, expectantly.
Nick smiled. "Now, I could give you a towel, or. . . " He paused, as Judy narrowed her eyes. She knew what he was going to say, didn't she. ". . . I could always lick you dry? Old-fashioned way?" He proposed with a sheepish grin, holding the towel out toward her.
She grabbed the towel and started drying herself. Nick frowned and shook his head. "Tempting offer, but, I think this'll probably be quicker. Sorry, foxy."
Nick shrugged, as he began drying as well. "Fair enough. Don't want me going overboard in the morning, anyway; I'd never make it to noon."
Judy didn't respond, as she dried her head carefully. He shrugged and continued drying himself vigorously. He'd need to hurry, or Judy would be finished long before he would.
They dried themselves in silence for a few minutes, both trying to get the annoying water out of their fur. After a long while, Nick was finally just doing another pass of his tail, as it had caught a fair amount of water.
"This thing is so annoying. I mean-" SNAP. "Ow!" He hopped forward, as pain radiated on his rump. He turned around, to see the field wielding her towel with a grin. "You're mean, rabbit."
She gasped and put on an insulted expression. "Excuse me, Sir Fox? I am nothing if not a- Put that down!" The rabbit started before Nick started wringing his own towel up with a devious grin.
The rabbit held hers ahead of her, adopting a defensive posture. But, there was nowhere for the little rabbit to run, as he tensed his towel up. "My lady rabbit, whatever do you mean? Tit for tat, right?"
He faked a lunge, causing the rabbit to back up into the sink corner. "I didn't mean it like, eeek!" She shouted as he pounced at her, wielding his towel triumphantly.
She flinched and looked away, holding her towel hopelessly in front of her. He lifted the towel up high and slid the towel behind her. Smirking, he pulled gently, dragging the rabbit against his chest. She opened her eyes and looked at him, her arms and towel keeping her only 4 inches away.
As she looked up at him, he leaned his head down and planted a soft kiss at the base of her ear. Just one, and only one, before he tenderly licked the inside of the same ear. When he pulled away, she looked a little confused. "Tit for tat, Judy. A kiss, for a kiss. . . I'll get you for the towel later."
He threw his towel into the hamper by the door and started putting his clothes on. Judy shook her head with a smile. She walked up to the pile of clothes, and Nick began passing hers over. "I don't wanna know what you're thinking, do I?"
He shrugged and slipped his shirt on. "You'll find out one way or another."
"It better be fun." She responded as she put on her pants.
"It will be." He said with a grin, as he watched her wiggle into her shirt.
He had no idea what he was talking about.
Chrys was fine. Both his butt and his ego, were a little bruised. Sharla was only majorly embarrassed, luckily. Naturally, they both took advantage of that and made fun of the two's attempted escapade for most of the day.
By the time that they got out of the shower, the veggie breakfast that Chrys had cooked was cold. But, Judy liked it cold, and she was never going to pass up food that she didn't need to make. Nick also grabbed some and popped it in the microwave.
After breakfast, they headed off to the gym at noon. She was still a little sore, but she had a feeling that was something she was just going to have to accept for the day.
And, quite frankly, the other option was staying at home and hearing Chrys complain about his pain every few minutes, with Sharla always apologizing whenever he made a sound. . . Judy almost wondered what caused their fall, with how much fault Sharla was taking. And, after they arrived at the gym, Judy wondered what they might have been up to in that house alone. . .
Judy hoped that doing some stretching, and a little exercise, would help with the soreness from last night. Only, the moment they arrived, she started to realize that was probably a pipe dream. When she attempted to do some leg exercises, she got a painful reminder that her glutes were still angry with her.
But, she toughed it out and did a few upper body exercises for the day. Nick did the same, and Judy had the feeling that he was more interested in following her around the gym than exercising today.
Not that she couldn't be accused of doing the same before. . . But hey, she made sure he got a show this time while she was stretching.
Afterward, they headed back, playfully teasing each other as they walked. In retrospect, it might have been smarter to have the shower after gym, but Judy wasn't going to waste the water for a second one. Let alone, given the first, who knew what would happen a second time.
When they arrived home, Sharla was busy with some homework on the kitchen table while Chrys was playing videogames in the living room. And, unsurprisingly to Judy, Sharla asked for the rabbit's 'help' with the homework, while Chrys came out to ask if Nick wanted to play some games with him.
Judy knew what the intent was and given by the look she shared with the fox, he did too. Nick shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He responded and walked away with Chrys. He paused before he rounded the corner and waved to the two females. "Have fun chatting about me." He winked and disappeared around the corner.
Sharla smiled widely and patted the chair beside her. Judy rolled her eyes with a smile and sat down beside her friend, and soon-to-be interrogator.
The sheep wasted no time, as she twisted in her chair to face the rabbit. "So. . . tell me how it started?" She asked excitedly.
Judy snorted. "With all your 'spying', I'm surprised you don't already know?" The rabbit teased, as the black sheep's nose scrunched up in disdain.
"C'mon, Judy, play nice." The sheep whined.
Judy shook her head. "Fine. Well. . . it kind of started the night you saw me kiss him, you know, at the party?" The sheep nodded along. "I was drunk then, so nothing happened as Nick said. . . But then, a few days later I wasn't drunk, and I. . . Well, I did it again, and. . . a few other things, when I went to his room one night." The rabbit spoke, the last sentence coming out as practically a murmur as her ears began to glow red.
She decided against mentioning the issue with her pills, and all of that. It made things too complicated to explain, and it really didn't change what happened in the end anyway. Sharla was beaming, her paws up in excitement. "So, you really did the first move?!" She asked.
Judy nodded. "Yes. But, it's my turn for a question, Sharla." The rabbit responded with a grin, causing the sheep to frown. "So, how did it start for you two, exactly? I got his speal, but I wanna hear it from your perspective this time." Judy spoke with an amused tone, remembering what the maned wolf had said earlier.
Sharla slumped a bit in her chair. "Well, that was the gist of it. . ." She began, and Judy scowled at her. The sheep seemed to pick up on her disdain, and she continued. "Well, when he came to the door, he specifically said, 'I need to talk to you about something personal'. I. . . Well, I was tired, but, I got so excited at the opportunity, that I attempted to find my sexiest underwear I could."
Judy snorted, trying to hold in the laughter. The sheep looked at her, upset. "Hey, I thought it was my only chance. But then, while I was trying to find it, he said he'd come back tomorrow, so I just ran to the door and opened it. . . before I realized that I wasn't wearing anything. . . . And then, yeah, you basically know what happened from there."
The rabbit shrugged. "Maybe I don't. Enlighten me."
Sharla frowned at her, shaking her head. "Well, I apologized when I realized and covered myself with my blanket. He said. . . those things he said earlier, but then started asking about if I knew if you were dating Nick, or if something was going on between you two. I told him what I already suspected, and already saw. . . We started talking about how there was nothing for you two to be ashamed about, and that we needed to make that clear. . . And about how interspecies relationships were okay, and we both were open to them. . . And. . . Yeah."
Judy nodded, figuring she could guess how things went from that point. "Sounds like quite a fun story."
Sharla let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, it was very. . . exciting. . . So, my turn. How's Nick?"
Judy's ears blushed, hoping the fox was occupied in the other room. Judging by the loud videogame noises, he hopefully wouldn't be able to hear anything. He already knew this was the conversation happening, he didn't need to have his ego inflated. "It's been a lot of fun. I honestly don't know what else to say. Although, we didn't really do. . . everything. . . Until last night. And that's. . . slow going, so to speak."
Sharla's eyes narrowed. "Just last night? But, you've been doing this for, what, months?" The black sheep asked, surprised.
Judy looked away, embarrassed. "We were taking it slow. It's why I bought the thing." Judy murmured before the sheep let out a snort.
"No wonder the recording was a little weird. . . And you didn't tell him about the toy, huh?" The sheep added.
Judy glared at Sharla's amused face. "In the original agreement, we weren't going to going that far. . . We both just wanted something fun, but didn't want to go the whole way. But I got curious after a while, okay? What about you, hmm? How's Chrys?"
Sharla shrugged with a smile. "He's great. As you said, it's hard to say negative things about it. And, we went 'the whole nine yards'. . . on night one. . ." The sheep began but suddenly became slightly embarrassed as Judy's mouth dropped.
"You mean, literally the night he came to talk to you?"
The sheep nodded.
"You're a really naughty sheep, aren't you?"
The embarrassment deepened, as she responded in a slightly distressed voice. "Hey, that's not fair. . . I saw my shot and I took it."
Judy nodded a bit, remembering how head-over-heels she'd been since they met. Considering the radical left turn that Sharla took the one day, dropping him like a stone, it made a lot more sense now. It was easy to dismiss a feeling that was already being reciprocated, and in this case, acted on.
"Speaking of taking shots. . ." The fox's voice filled the kitchen, the two females swivelling their head to spot the fox sticking his head around the corner, grinning. "Chrys says he needs his partner if he wants to survive this next round. Any chance you want to help him out?" Nick asked, smiling deviously.
How long has he been there? Judy wondered. Knowing him, probably the last four minutes or something ridiculous like that.
"That's not what I said! I said to ask if they wanna play 'couples' battles!" Chrys shouted from the other room. Judy snorted.
"Sure, why not?" Judy responded, standing up from the table. "I imagine we can continue our chat later. . . or by text?" She asked Sharla, who nodded with a grin. Judy missed being able to talk to her best friend about everything. And, this whole thing with Nick. . . It would have been nice to have her to talk to.
"We're coming!" The sheep shouted back, bounding up out of the chair. It had been a while since they just sat together and gamed for a bit, and Judy didn't have any important homework to do. Sharla hurried around the corner. Judy followed at a slower rate, smiling at the fox who was waiting at the corner.
He was smiling deviously, as she walked up to him. "This is going to be fun." The fox mused as she turned the corner into the living room. She felt the fox lightly touch her tail, unsurprising to her at this point. She twitched it, surely amusing the fox as she looked at her roommates.
She snorted. Apparently, Sharla had decided to drop all pretexts and was sitting on Chrys' lap. Chrys was smiling happily, as he passed the black sheep a controller. Nick squeezed past her and took a seat on the couch.
He patted his lap, clearly indicating that he would like her to follow suit. She put a paw to her chin, pretending to think on it for a moment. It didn't matter anyway, right?
Without a word, she sat down on his lap and shifted until she was comfortable. He passed her a controller, and she tilted her head back to look at the fox. "What're we playing?"
"Canine on Duty again. I was thinking, first, a few team deathmatch's against each other. . . And then maybe, guy against girls?" Chrys asked innocently.
Nick grinned. "We can even make a few wagers. . ."
Judy shook her head, as she played with the controller for a moment. The two didn't know what they were getting into with those wagers, did they? "If that's the case, then the rewards better be worth it." She smiled. They hadn't played much since the early part of the year, but Judy was confident that she'd be able to beat any contender that tried. . .
"You're a cheater," Judy growled, entering her room in a bit of a huff. They played for a long time, testing out their skills before they decided it was time to compete. That alone took several hours, and in the end, It had been a tight contest. By the finishing round, only Nick and Judy were left alive for their teams of Pred versus Prey. Judy had been successfully trouncing him and was almost going to win. But then, the bloody fox started to lick her ears.
That was extremely distracting, and he quickly finished her character off. Even thinking about it made her twitch again. She tried elbowing him to make him stop, but it didn't help at all. He just kept doing it, and she watched as all her lives went away.
Speaking of the fox, Nick followed her into the room, smiling widely. "I didn't cheat. There were no rules against interference." It was the same excuse he'd given when Chrys cooked them dinner and all the time that they ate. And it still wasn't good enough when they broke away, and went upstairs to study.
She stopped, twirled around, and stuck her digit in his face. "That's just a regular rule! Game etiquette! So, no, I'm not giving you a hind paw massage, you're giving me one for cheating." She responded, as she walked past him, and slammed the door shut.
Admittedly, it was a tame wager they made, but, that was out of Judy and Sharla's dismissal of some of the more risqué ideas that the boys had come up with. Besides, half of the stuff the males were wagering was already on the table, anyway. Between rounds, she and Sharla talked through text message, and both decided to pick something the males may not have done willingly. Of course, given Nick's reaction to the suggestion, Judy may have been wrong about that.
Nick shrugged. "Hey, I'm fine with that, I don't mind the idea of giving you a hind paw massage. I'm just saying, I did technically win." He shrugged.
Judy locked the door and pulled her shirt up over her head. "Technicalities and reality are two different things, Nick. And the reality is, you're an ass."
"No, I'm a fox. F-o-x. Fox." He joked, turning around to see the rabbit stripping off her clothes. "What are you doing?"
She paused after pulling her pants off, brows furrowed at the fox. "Well, I don't want anything getting in the way of my 'hind paw massage', do I? And, at this point, we're probably not going anywhere else tonight. Might as well be naked." The rabbit spoke, as she grabbed her phone and threw it on the bed before throwing the rest of her clothes into the hamper "Honestly, I often study naked anyway."
Nick stared back at her for a moment, not responding as he watched her. Then, with a nod, he started pulling his own shirt off. "That's an. . . enticing image. So, are you studying first, or, are we doing the 'hind paw massage'?" He asked, his paws doing air quotes around the hind paw massage. before he started pulling off his own pants and underwear.
Judy grabbed her law textbook off the desk and hopped up onto the bed. "I'm sure I'll be able to multitask just fine. . I'm sure your paws are still up to the task?" She responded, sitting down in her bed and propping a pillow up for comfort. She stretched her hind paws out to the fox, wiggling her toes with a sultry grin.
The fox smiled, nodding as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Always, Carrots" She opened her textbook, as he softly held one of her hind paws and started rubbing the furred pads gently.
Instinctively, she stretched her paws out, as he began kneading the surface gently. "I take it you like it?" The fox asked with a grin. Judy wondered how many people he'd done this to before. . .
She nodded as she tried to read some passages out of the textbook. But the more and more he played with her hind paws, the less and less she wanted to read. It was getting late, and there wasn't much point in studying the material you already knew. But still, she didn't want to just watch him massage her hind paws, as fun as that sounded.
So, she picked up her phone and began scrolling through social media, just to pass the time. For a few minutes, that managed to work, and she found some pretty funny police memes. She showed them to Nick occasionally, as he slowly worked on both of her hind paws.
Judy wasn't a fool and noticed how every few cycles, Nick would slowly work up her paw, and up her leg. But at the same time, it was what she wanted to happen, wasn't it? She wondered who was really getting a massage between Chrys and Sharla. . . and if the massage lasted more than four seconds before someone jumped the other.
Judy had more willpower than that, though. He'd have to work his way up to something fun. . . Which in the end, only made it that much more rewarding, right?
Bzzzz-bzzzzz
Judy's phone went off in her paw, a banner showing a message from her mother. Judy groaned. The last person she wanted to deal with at this point. "What's up?" The fox asked, and the rabbit shook her head.
"It's just my mother." She clicked on the message.
Mom: Hey, can you talk to Rhett? He isn't responding to my messages.
Judy rolled her eyes at the obvious lie. Her mother just wanted her to go talk to Rhett and his friends again. She'd worked so hard to get Rhett to leave her alone, why would she want to ruin that now? "Apparently Rhett 'isn't talking to her', although I'm pretty sure she just wants me to talk to him so he can introduce me to another male again." She responded as she typed a reply.
J: I'll try if I have time between studying.
No, I won't. She mused to herself, as she hit send. She set the phone aside again, intent on ignoring whatever messages came after. It wasn't important, obviously.
"So, where's this fox toy?" Nick asked, grinning up at her as he began to round her ankles. She frowned down at him, shaking her head.
"Why do you wanna know?" She responded, frowning at the fox. Why did she have a feeling he wasn't going to let it go until he saw it?
He shrugged, as he continued massaging her legs. "Just curious, y'know?" The fox acted innocently, but Judy wasn't a fool.
But, thinking on his words from earlier, she had an opportunity here. . . "Sure, it's over there, underneath the desk in a box. Go get it." She asked as she slid her textbook off the bed, pulling her legs out of his paws.
He looked at her, somewhat surprised. . . And suspicious. Of course, he should be; he was a smart fox. "Okay. . ." He muttered, as he got up from the bed, and walked over to the desk. He tilted, looking under the chair.
Judy shuffled herself to the edge of the bed, right behind the fox. "I don't see it." He said, shaking his head. Of course, that was because it wasn't there.
Judy turned her head a bit, smiling at the fox as she hopped off the bed and stood behind him. "It's under the shelf part, tucked way under." She lied, grinning.
Nick looked at her warily, before bending further down to look under the entire desk. This was Judy's chance. . . "Nah, I still don't s-"
She leaned down and bit him square on the ass. The fox let out a loud yip, and hopped forward into the desk with a thunk.
He looked at her, shocked, with his mouth agape. She comically licked her lips, as she backed away up to the bed. "Mmm, the fox does taste good. . ." She joked as the fox's ears fell flat on his head, and he started shaking his head. She sat back on the bed and scooted away from him with a grin.
"That's it. I'm actually eating a rabbit now." He said, hopping onto the bed on all fours and slinking across the short surface until his head hung above hers.
"Are you really going to eat the whole rabbit? It's just tit for tat, Nick?" She spoke softly, lifting her head to lightly boop his nose with her own before she relaxed her head onto the pillow.
He smiled, and gave her left ear a playful nip, causing her to shiver in anticipation.
"I don't know, we'll see. 'The Rabbit' will get what she's earned." He murmured, as he began to softly kiss her ear, starting a trail of them as he started moving down across her face and neck.
Judy smiled, as he gave her neck a light nip. "She'd better."