Whirlwind
Nicholas; The Greatest Showman; This Is Me (Loathe it)
Rose; Cher; Shoop shoop song (In his kiss)
(AC/DC; Back In Black/ Def Leppard; Pour Some Sugar On Me)
Adam shook his head as Nicholas smirked, looking over the specs he had laid out. "This is a bad idea, Piberius." He almost growled as he frowned.
The silver tod shrugged and chuckled as he looked to the ceiling. "Come on, Adam. How could this be a bad thing? I just want to show her that ….no, I want the world to know I love her."
"That's exactly why it's a bad idea, Piberius. I've told you and I'm sure her family has told you that we don't show off our families. You know how many mammals are going to see you doing this, how many are going to see her?"
"Oh come on. I took a lot of precautions here, Adam. I even invited the council members to come. Only the mammals who work here or have V.I.P. passes will be able to come in anyway."
Adam stood straight from the counter he was leaning into and tilted his head. "You invited the vixens from the council to watch? They accepted the invitation?"
Nicholas nodded as he looked back out the window. "Yeah, I figured maybe if I could get them to come look around and see the place wasn't whatever they think it is it might help. I just want to make her happy. If I can convince them this place isn't causing problems maybe it'll be easier after we get married?"
Adam bit his lip and sighed as he folded his arms over his chest. "You think them watching this is going to help, or them coming here will change their minds?"
Nicholas shrugged as he picked up the layout and grabbed his guitar from beside the table. "It's like you said, it can't hurt to try right? They accepted me into the den, albeit not terribly happy about it."
"And her family is alright with this?" Adam asked as he lowered his brow.
Nicholas chuckled as he opened the door. "Her brothers are helping and her mother's bringing her so it'll be a surprise. Her father helped me get the timing right with the others who'll be playing."
Adam blinked as he looked out the door and shook his head. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Look, after how she managed to blindside me, I just want to do the same thing for her you know? It's a one-time thing, Adam. After we get married we'll be just like all the other foxes."
Adam tipped a brow as he stepped out the door and turned as Nicholas closed it behind them. "You'll never be like all the other foxes, Piberius. You can't change what you're born as."
Nicholas smiled as he swung the guitar strap over his shoulder. "You know what I mean. We'll disappear just like everyone else, stay hidden, all that stuff." Adam gave him an incredulous look as he waved an arm around motioning to the park. "I meant our family, her family will stay hidden."
Adam nodded as Nicholas started walking away. The red fox tipped his head down as a younger hyena pointed off to another area. He looked over catching more than half a dozen older vixens looking around, each of them looking a little angry and apprehensive as they met Cassie and Ross. Adam smirked as they all seemed to be in a controlled, but very heated argument, chucking as he watched the vixens purse their lips and storm to another area, leaving Cassie and Ross standing there talking to each other quietly. He walked to the hyena tipping his head low and keeping his voice quiet as he hid his smile. "I can see why they want to get rid of him now." He looked around catching the sight of many foxes wandering around and snickered as he ticked his eyes back to the hyena. "Manny, how many have you counted coming in here tonight?"
The hyena blinked and shook his head as Adam chuckled. "Don't hurt yourself, boy."
"Sorry Boss. I ain't good with numbers. I think I lost count at sixty."
"That's good enough. I don't think he's making any friends on the council. It doesn't look like they're terribly happy with her parents either. Considering they're going along with this, I can see why."
Manny looked around shaking his head. "Why?"
Adam slapped him on the back chuckling as he pointed to the vixens who were standing together, shaking their heads as one of them seemed to be ranting about something. "I think that's Lilith. Hang on a second."
Manny watched as he approached the vixens and bowed slightly in front of the one who seemed to be leading the conversation. "My Lady." The vixen turned and tipped a brow at him as he smiled. "A friend I presume?"
The vixen squared her shoulders and looked around as she frowned. "You presume wrong and if you're the tod who's helping the silver fox with this park, I see no reason for us to speak at all."
"Azria!" One of the vixens hissed as she snapped her eyes back to her fellow council members. "There's no reason to be rude."
Azria scowled as she bit her cheek. "Technically, he may not be breaking our rules but he's going against everything we stand for. This just proves it. I'm only curious to see how many problems this will cause. We may not be able to get rid of him, but I want to be ready when it starts." She turned quickly and was followed by the other vixens who seemed to tick their attention back to Adam and he kept smiling while they walked away.
Manny stepped beside him shaking his head. "They's rude foxes, Boss."
Adam chuckled as he stuck his paws to his hips and looked around making sure he wasn't in anyone's range of hearing. "I expected nothing less, Manny. They aren't going to advertise why they're here or admit that we've been talking about how to handle the situation. The fact that Piberius seems to be getting under their fur may be why they're tolerating any of this to begin with. Let's just…enjoy the show, shall we?"
"How do ya know they's the right ones? Her name wasn't Lilith." Manny asked as they started walking.
Adam shook his head looking around and motioned to several of the foxes. The hyena watched several of them dip their ears back when the older vixens passed them. "She's not going to use her real name out in public like this. Not when there are this many people who might hear something. I don't necessarily know that. There are always ten on a fox council so it looks like a few decided not to come. Maybe this was too far out of their comfort zone or maybe they didn't want to be seen. I'm assuming they're the council members because of how the other foxes are reacting to them. See the clothes they're wearing? See that? How the other foxes all tip their ears and lower their heads slightly when they walk by?" Manny nodded as he looked around. "That means they're someone important to the foxes here."
"He didn't tell you which ones they were?" Manny asked with a confused expression.
Adam chuckled as he shook his head, "No, he's been pretty tight lipped about anything that's happened in the den here, or with her and her family. The only time he's said anything was when he was really…upset and not sure what to do. I think he's doing it because that's how it's supposed to be. But it's defeating the purpose when he does something like this. It's almost like back pawing them in the face. The vixens on the council can't let anyone know what they're doing either. They can't throw him out because he's not breaking the rules, but at the same time, he's drawing too much attention to the things foxes don't want anyone seeing."
Manny shook his head as Adam stopped and stepped up on a higher platform, motioning to the chair before the hyena took a seat beside him. "What foxes don't want anyone seein?" he asked with a tilted head.
Adam folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair. "That's just how foxes are. No point in drawing attention to ourselves when it causes more problems than it solves. We all know better."
"I don't think you all know better." Manny said as he pointed. Adam smiled as he sat up in the chair, nodding as Nicholas walked out to an open stage.
The silver fox walked to a mic standing out in front of several other mammals who all held instruments and grabbed the stand as the foxes in the crowd all lifted their brows. Adam sat grinning as he ticked his eyes between some irate vixens all dressed in clothes that didn't fit the venue or the younger crowd.
Ross tipped his head down to Cassie, biting his grin as she looked up to him. "I can't believe you agreed to this."
The vixen shook her head, motioning to their daughter who was standing beside them as she looked around. Ross nodded as he stepped out of her line of sight so she couldn't see what he was saying. She had no clue what they were doing and it was meant to stay that way.
The older vixen scrunched her nose laughing as she leaned closer to her mate. "He asked. I couldn't tell him no after he explained it to me, but it did take some convincing and I had a few …conditions."
Ross looked around shaking his head as she smirked. "I can see your conditions. You really think this is going to change their minds about him? Did you tell him what's going to happen after they're married?"
Cassie tipped her head to the side and shrugged. "That's her place. I don't really care if it does change their minds. The only ones allowed in here are the workers and foxes tonight. He wanted to do something special for her before they got married and agreed never to do anything like this again, so I thought it would be alright this once. I didn't tell him anything. If she hasn't told him she'll be the next council leader yet, I'm assuming there's a reason. They seem to like to surprise each other."
Ross chuckled as he shook his head. "I'm beginning to wonder how much influence he's had on you. That might be more than a surprise for him."
Cassie giggled and they clapped their paws to their ears as the feedback from the mic whined when Nicholas cleared his throat. "Hello?" he tapped the mic several times and flipped his ears back as a crowd of foxes all groaned and cupped their ears. "Oh, sorry about that. Anyway, you all know who I am. I own this park and have been trying to convince everyone we're all the same, that we all deserve to be treated equally and express ourselves through whatever it is that makes us unique and happy, including our instincts." Several of the younger foxes in the crowd bounced their heads in approval as he pulled the mic from the stand and started walking back and forth across the stage. "Not to get into a long spiel, but we should also celebrate all the things that set us apart as species too. There are a lot of things about foxes that aren't…. openly known."
Adam sat up grinning from ear to ear as he watched the older vixens all staring at the silver fox with downed brows and gaping mouths. "Not to worry, I have no intention of laying that all out in the open, but," he said as he lifted a finger and smirked. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't still celebrate it, and I've had someone who recently came into my life that's made me see things a little differently, even myself. So, this first song is about…that, and me accepting…me, because of her. With most of you being foxes it's pretty obvious why a few of us have a hard time out here, and I tend to stick out like a sore thumb. But instead of hating that, she makes me think, I should just be happy being me because, damn does that girl ever own who she is….This will be a one-time thing and is a wedding gift for the vixen I love….."
The foxes in the crowd looked around at each other and shrugged as Nicholas put the mic back in the stand and took a guitar from Rose's Brother. Ross tipped his head curiously as Vel stepped back snickering. He caught Thorn and Fayre laughing as their brother took a stand beside them, not far from the others who were positioned around the stage. Several predators were standing around the area, one with another guitar, another with a set of drums and a few scattered around other places as they flicked lights or adjusted speakers and instruments they were handling. Nicholas ticked his head to the jackal who held another guitar, and closed his eyes as a loud riff slammed out with a thumping beat from the drums behind him… Ross and Cassie tipped their eyes to Rose as she gawked, and started walking blindly to the stage… the vixen could feel the thick beat coursing through her feet as she stuck both arms over the stage. The silver fox smirked as her brothers rushed out in front of him and pulled her onto the higher floor. She stood there slack jawed as Nicholas pointed a finger at her and started singing as her brothers folded over laughing…
"Been gone too long and I'm glad to be back. Yeah she let me loose, out of the noose….." Rose's eyes went wide as he acted like he was pulling a rope around his neck and stepped closer as the foxes in the crowd all let their heads and jaws drop…..
It was no secret what the world thought about silver foxes, or albinos for that matter, and he'd changed the words just enough that the original lyrics stuck out and fit him to a T, it also incorporated several things about their species that no one who wasn't a fox would understand if they didn't know about their culture and religious beliefs regarding a certain fox god and his parents...
"She's got me high, I got nine lives, cat's eyes, abusing everyone of em and running Wild. Yes I'm back in Black!"
Rose turned blinking as her feet caught a thundering vibration and looked out seeing the foxes in the crowd screaming as fists shot into the air. She blinked as the crowd roared their approval. Adam sat back laughing as he watched the reactions from the vixens who were all threatening to boil over as they seethed. "Manny, I may not have to do anything. He's digging his own grave." He watched the silver fox glance at him and nodded as he smiled and stuck a thumb in the air.
Manny raised both brows as the older red fox leaned back in his chair laughing. "Boss? I thought you said it was a bad idea?"
Adam nodded as he watched the young silver fox keep singing. "Oh, it is, and he's making one hell of a wave doing it too. It'll work right into everything we've been planning if he doesn't get himself killed first….."
Rose stood frozen as he ended the song and blinked as he stepped closer, grinning as he looked around the crowd that was still cheering. "There's only one more song I'm going to sing, and it's just for her. I know we don't do this, but I want everyone to know exactly what she does to me." He stepped back tipping his head at her and she cupped her paws in front of herself, nervously watching as her brothers brought several long mirrors out to the stage and positioned them around him before hauling a free-standing door closer to the front of the stage. Nicholas smirked as she shook her head, looking around. Her brothers all had buckets of something and her eye twitched as he smiled wider. She raised a finger, swallowing and looking at her parents, raising a brow as her mother smirked.
Her father shook his head covering his eyes. "You agreed to him letting them …"
Cassie laughed as Ross blinked at her a few times. "I wasn't there when he helped her. I was when that happened. It was really funny." She giggled as he chuckled.
Nicholas stepped behind the door and pulled the mic closer as he looked at the crowd and bounced his brow a few times. He opened the door as Rose tipped her head curiously and raised a paw as he stepped back. "Step inside, walk this way. You and me babe…hey hey." The vixen blinked as he tilted his head waiting, and smirked as she walked through the freestanding door, following him as a drum pulsed through her feet again.
The silver fox bounced as he stepped back to a set of freestanding mirrors and slipped behind one as he kept his head poked out where she could see his lips moving. "Little miss innocent can I be your mate? Listen, red light, yellow light green light go, crazy little vixen in a one tod show." Rose lifted her brows and narrowed her eyes as he slipped behind the mirrors, poking his head out at each side as he moved, so she could see what he was singing. "Mirror queen, mannequin, rhythm of love. Sweet dream saccharine, loosen up…"
Rose narrowed her eyes as he vanished behind a mirror and stepped closer before she shoved one over. The silver fox stood there smirking as the frame stayed up when the mirror crashed to the floor, a plastic sheen that rattle but didn't break. She blinked as he smiled wider, her eyes narrowing when she caught her brothers laughing behind him. He had planned it and they stared at each other through the frame before she walked through it. He shot forward as she stepped through the frame and curled an arm under her, twirling her away from the fake glass as he kept singing. He set her down again, close to the freestanding door and poked his head from the open side of it as she shook her head grinning at him. "You got to squeeze a little tease a little please a little more." He sang as he stuck both paws together like he was praying and puckered his lips like he was blowing her a kiss. The silver fox laughed as she curled her lip in the warning of a silent growl. He was teasing her about the things that happened while they were dating and she wasn't sure she cared for the other foxes knowing what was going on. She looked off the stage blinking, and her face fell as the crowd of foxes were all going nuts. This was probably the first time a fox had ever had the nerve to do something like this and they were eating it up.
When she looked back at him, he was smirking as her brothers all tossed different colored water balloons in the air. The vixen's eyes widened as he dipped his head in a sneaky smile. Her brothers were all laughing as she shook her head and started backing away, her paws flying into furious motion he couldn't understand as she tried to find some solid cover. The buckets they'd been carrying were filled with water balloons and she already had a good idea what was in them with him singing about something sticky and sweet as her cheek ticked uncomfortably. She missed her silver fox sticking the mic behind his back and her brother covering it with a plastic bag as she searched for shelter. She was going to kill all of them if they ruined her clothes again. Her head snapped up as Nicholas shot in front of her poking his chest out as her brothers all smiled manically.
The vixen looked up at him as he looked back over his shoulder at her and mouthed. 'I would have taken the hit for you the first time if I'd known what they were doing.' The vixen blinked when Nicholas cringed several times and he lifted his arms grinning as she stuck her head under his arm, looking at where her brothers had all thrown a balloon at him. He smirked as he looked down at her chuckling as she shook her head at the honey dripping down the front of his shirt. The silver fox shrugged as he smiled and she bit her lip as she moved from behind him. The tod jumped as another balloon flew through the air and Rose giggled as his ears tipped back. He was chuckling as she stepped out from behind him and narrowed her eyes.
Ross shook his head as the foxes around him and Cassie laughed. "You know this might be pointless if she kills them before they get married."
"Wait for it, honey." She giggled as he tipped a brow.
Ross looked back to the stage and let his mouth hang as he caught one of the other mammals sneaking around the mirrors. "Did you just call me…. honey?" The vixen smirked as he looked around and his eyes grew as his lip curled up….looking up and turning a circle with a flat face as his eyes trained above them. "I should have known there was another reason you agreed to this! You helped him plan this, everybody is going to be pissed and you can't…." he looked around and finally noticed what all the other foxes were wearing and gulped. "Oh. This was your idea…"
"Yep," she laughed as he shook his head. "I may be older, but it's like he said, those old Fuddy duddies need to loosen up and have some fun."
Ross looked up and let his face fall as the foxes in the crowd started hopping around laughing. The vixens from the council were still growling as they watched Nicholas standing in front of the white furred vixen after he turned around. The jackal that had been behind the mirrors shot forward and Rose blinked as he shoved an umbrella in the silver tods paw before running back to her brothers, who were all blinking in confusion as Nicholas opened it and sang a few more lines after he opened the umbrella over her. "I'm hot, sticky sweet, from my head to my feet- Pour some sugar on me, pour some sugar on me, in the name of love. Sugar me!"
Rose blanched as she looked out to the crowd and saw Adam sitting under a large umbrella she'd assumed was always there. The vixen cupped her paws over her muzzle as the canvas above the crowd fell into sections that were knocked away by the balloons that had been weighing them down. They dropped like dead weight, busting open and splattering honey all over anyone who was within the walls that had been recently set up just for this event. She gaped at the foxes in the crowd who were laughing and shoving each other around in the sticky substance that had them all slipping like they were in some kind of water park. Rose's jaw hit the floor as she watched the vixens from the council freeze, all their fur standing on end before their faces curled up in rage at the sticky goo that had splashed over all their fur and clothing. Rose was the only one not covered in it as she sucked her lips back into her mouth and was jostling as she tried not to laugh. Nicholas stood in front of her holding the umbrella over her, smiling as he kept his head dipped at an angle where the honey was dripping from his head. "Still not as sweet as you are." He said as he bounced his brow.
She giggled as she shook her head and raised her brows as he stepped out of her way, letting her see the jackal who'd grabbed all her brothers and held them in place as they were drenched by a hail of the balloons that fell. Fayre, Vel and Thorne all stood blinking as the jackal stepped away laughing. They stood there in shock as Nicholas tipped his head at them. "I told you I'd get you back for that." Rose lost it as she folded over laughing when she saw the look of absolute shock on their faces. Her brothers curled their lips and glanced at each other before reaching into the buckets and tossing a few balloons in the air as they narrowed their eyes on her and Nicholas.
"HEY, JOHN?" Fayre asked as he stepped forward with a balloon in paw. "You got a thing for cartoons right?" Nicholas narrowed his eyes as he nodded. "Why did the bunny cross the road?"
Nicholas curled his lip as he ticked his eyes between her brothers, stepping in front of her to keep her from getting hit. "What bunny?" he asked as he shook his head.
"Anybunny, let's say that cartoon bunny that has a bug that always chases him around since you seem to like him so much."
"Ugh?" he sighed as he kept the umbrella lifted.
Fayre laughed as he tossed the balloon again and caught it nodding. "The same reason anybunny would run when they cross the street. To keep from getting hit!" He threw the balloon and let his face fall as Nicholas stood there unmoving.
The silver fox chuckled as he looked down at the shirt that had a new edition of fresh honey on it. "I'm not sure I've seen a cartoon where that rabbit really has a girl. But I'm sure he'd probably take a hit for her too." The silver fox lifted a brow as Rose stepped in front of him and shook his head as Vel and Thorne lifted the balloons they were still holding. He tried to move her out of the way and froze as she jolted when the baloons hit her back. He looked down at her with a worried brow as she smiled and bit her lip.
The silver fox glanced to the side as she pointed, and sighed when he saw the mirrors she'd been watching him talking through. "She's not a bunny, but I guess she'll take a hit for me." When she turned again facing her brothers, they all tipped their heads to the side as she grinned and let her paws fly into motion again.
Thorn scowled as he shook his head and Vel picked up another balloon. "It's no fun if she is letting us do it!"
Nicholas looked back and forth between them as Fayre laughed and grabbed a balloon. "She said she'd take a hit for you too, and guess what…. we still have a dozen balloons left!"
Nicholas' face fell as he heard the splat that hit her chest and he cringed as she turned smiling. "But…your clothes."
He watched her paws and smiled as he figured out what she was saying… "I can…get…more clothes. I can't get….another…you?" The vixen shrugged as she bit her lip and grabbed the collar of his shirt pulling him down to her level. The fox was rumbling and she blinked as his ears shot up. She turned her head the direction his attention had gone and dipped her chin as the vixens from the council stood in front of the stage. All of them had curled lips as they held their sticky clothes away from themselves and snarled at him.
"Is this how you intend on things being from now on?!" Azria barked as she let her teeth flash.
The silver fox dipped his head as he took a deep breath. "No Ma'am. As I said, this is a one-time thing and won't happen again."
The vixen looked around shaking her head as the foxes around them all watched her with anticipation. "A one-time thing as in you won't be doing this kind of thing on a regular basis?"
Nicholas shook his head. "I agreed I wouldn't be out in the open any longer if I could do this. I have another who's going to act as a representative of the park after we're married so the family will stay hidden."
Azria and the other vixens narrowed their eyes on the two foxes. The vixen glanced at Cassie before she let her eyes fall to the ground. "You won't be the one they all see as the owner when they come to the park?" she asked and he shook his head as she narrowed her eyes. "Exactly who is it that they'll think is running the place?"
Nicholas looked behind them and they turned, seeing Adam stand as he lifted his head. The older vixen curled her lip as she sighed. "Still a fox. The world will still see a fox running this place!"
Adam stepped out from under the umbrella and curled his lip as he looked around. "Not one of your foxes. My Lady. I could care less what you do in the den or what you think of me. I'm not part of the den here and never will be. I can assure you I won't be causing you problems. Most of the mammals who have come here already see me as such because I run the gates."
Azria bit back a snarl as she clenched her fists and nodded. "Because you're not part of the den and he is, it's acceptable enough."
As she turned to leave Nicholas stepped forward. "Ma'am?" She turned with angry brows as he pointed up. "If you'd stay a few moments longer you won't leave with that all over you."
The vixen looked up seeing an elaborate connection of sprinklers hanging above them and sighed as she dropped her head and folded her arms over her chest. She watched Cassie giggling as she covered her mouth. Ross looked away as the other vixens glared at them. "Only for that reason, will we stay any longer."
Adam retook his seat as Manny looked around. "They really don't like him, do they?"
"I would imagine not, Manny. I don't think they're too fond of her parents for supporting this either. But it'll serve enough of a purpose I suppose. He's just fueling the fires."
Nicholas smiled as he tipped his head to Azria. "Yes Ma'am." He turned back to Rose as she slid closer and smiled as she bit her lip again. She grabbed his collar biting her lip and he rolled his eyes as her brothers snickered, just before they hurled the rest of the balloons they had at them as she dropped her head, letting the honey drip over her brow onto his chest. The silver fox tipped one brow up as the music started again, only this time it was a recording from the original band that spread through the little amphitheater. He stuck her paw on his throat grinning. "Your mother picked this one. Think it fits?" Rose giggled as he was singing so low only her paws would catch it. "Is it in my arms? In my face? My warm embrace?" She threw her head back laughing as he bounced his brows.
"In nine months, you will be my mate, Rose." The sprinklers came on and the foxes in the crowd were jumping around as the silver fox and albino vixen on the stage pressed their heads together. He licked her cheek and smacked his lips nodding. "Very sweet." Her cheeks lit up as he snickered.
They were rumbling as the water sprayed over them and he pulled her tighter as they were lost in each other while the crowd of foxes started chanting with the music. "KISS HER! KISS HER!"
Nicholas smiled wider as several cat calls rounded through the air and chuckled as he caught Azria slap a paw over her eyes, shaking her head when their tails wound around each other. The vixen was pulling his collar as he chuckled and closed her eyes as his lips pressed to hers. Another round of fevered screams shot through the area and everyone laughed as he pulled away from the vixen, smiling as she swayed lightly. He didn't give her the chance to open her eyes as he pressed his lips to hers again and fought not to laugh as she whined…..
Notes; Anyone who read this would understand why Nicholas is so determined to get Nick away from the things he's doing when he's younger. Nick is very much like his father even though they don't get along. I still hate this and certain parts of the next chapter though-