"The average human is about twenty percent furry. Far as we're concerned, that's a little low. So, if you feel a bit UWU in this next chapter, that's normal. We're gonna hit you with some good furry fanfiction, and see if we can't get you up to sixty or seventy percent." -Furry Johnson. Black Lives Matter, BIPOC Lives Matter, LGBTQIA2+ Rights and Lives Matter.

The Justice Model. This one is fairly simple, it punishes people based solely upon the crime they committed, and not the potential crimes they may commit in the future. Its intention is to make all punishment equal so that no matter the person they receive the 'equivalent' punishment for the crime that they committed. The good news is, it does advocate alternative sanctions, short sentences, and the concept of full legal guilt. However. . . The idea of treating everyone the same creates some problems.

Thank you BrutusDeagon for the inspiration for a part of this chapter, it was really fun to write that out. Now, Judy continues to 'patiently' wait, while Nick is dealing with a few confidence issues still. . . This chapter should be a fun one for everyone, hopefully.

Disney owns it. You know. It. The it. The thing it.

Reason

The caracal stared across the room at the fox, seated nearby. The tired look on her face said it all, rolling her eyes. She sighed, reached up and delicately plucked her glasses off, gently rubbing a lens with the corner of her shirt. The therapist shook her head and replaced the glasses on her muzzle.

"Mr. Wilde. . . You do understand that I am a certified mental health therapist, on retainer with the ZPD, correct?" Caroline Lamentsky muttered, glared at the fox seated opposite of her in the small little office.

The Therapist's Office, in the ZPD precinct, to be exact. Nick nodded, cautiously. "Yes?" He replied, confused as to why she was this upset.

Her eyes narrowed. "As in, I am not here to be your relationship guru, or whatever with this mysterious mammal that you've got a crush on. I am not here for relationship advice. You do understand that don't you? That I'm supposed to help with stressors related to your workplace environment and tasks? Like, if you got into a physical altercation or an active shooting or something?" She chastised him, glaring heavily. He knew that. But, technically, this did count as a 'job' stressor, considering it was Judy. The therapist didn't know about that little 'detail', though.

As a benefit to being an officer, Nick was allowed one 'free' visit a month with the therapist the ZPD had hired. Judy always encouraged him to use the resources available to him at the ZPD, so he often found himself in this room at least once every month. Judy always came in for a check-up once a month, claiming it was always good to get any issues you had off your chest with someone.

Which is what he was trying to do here by talking about Judy, and he was unsure why the caracal was reacting this way. It wasn't the first time they'd brought up the topic, and she'd never reacted like this before. . . Why did she have a problem now? "Yeah, but this is what we do every time we have an appointment. We always talk about. . . My. . . personal issues."

Caroline snorted, scribbling a note down on the pad in front of her. "No, I do my best to get you to open up and talk about your work-related stress. You always end up diverting the subject as quickly as possible, lamenting about your 'unrequited' feelings." She muttered as Nick narrowed his eyes. That was. . . condescending to his issues, to be honest.

"Hey, you've never complained about it before, what's the big deal this time? And I'm sorry, isn't this my thirty minutes, can't I decide what to talk about? Why didn't you ever stop me from talking about it before?" He clapped back, as the caracal sat there completely unaffected by his words.

For a moment, she stared back, before giving a slight nod. "I'll admit, I'm a fan of hearing gossip -confidentially-, but mainly I had hoped that letting you go through this diversion a few times might lead you to open up more to me. Maybe get you to talk more about what's going in inside you, not just your waning heart." She replied curtly.

It was Nick's turn to snort, as his head bobbed back in disbelief. "Well, maybe if you actually helped with my problem, maybe I would be willing to open up to you more." That was a lie. Nick wasn't a fan of opening up to anyone, therapist, or no. It's why he usually diverted the subject, as fast as he could. And admittedly, he was very willing to abuse the 'confidentiality' to try and talk about. . . Judy. Any help was helpful, right?

But the reply seemed to interest the caracal, as she slowly nodded. "Alright, I'll bite. I'll play the game, give you some advice if possible, and we'll see if we can't solve your 'issues'. Off the record, of course. I'm not qualified as a 'relationship guru', after all. What's on your mind with 'her' lately?" She asked, crossing her arms as she stared back at the fox.

Nick, hunched and resting his elbows on his legs, looked back with light surprise. He didn't really. . . expect this. Most of the time she just listened to him talk about it for a while. . . Was she truly going to help? "Uh. . . Well. . . I'm just, still trying to figure out what I should do about how I feel about her. Or if I should do nothing, and just forget it."

A loud sigh escaped the caracal, shaking her head. "So, same shit, different day then. Well, has he anything new happened on that front as of late?" The cat asked as she placed her paws together on her lap.

That was a good question. . . Had anything new really happened with Judy, as of late? Well, there was that hug last week, and the whole pointed 'you're my best friend' part. . . And the touching that happened, but the touching wasn't anything new really. . . Still. "Last week, she apologized to me, for something she did wrong a long time ago. She hugged me really tightly, but then told me that I was her best friend." He murmured, depressingly. If the fox was smart, he imagined he'd have dropped this crush by now. Especially after that.

"Well, congratulations are in order then, I guess." She responded, nodding to Nick with a light smile. Was she. . . Mocking him? Nick frowned at her, shaking his head.

"What do you mean, congratulations? I'm just her friend, that's not really something to be happy about." He replied angrily, right before his brain clocked what an ass of a statement he'd just made. He didn't. . . Hate the fact they were friends, did he? No, that wasn't it. . . That wasn't how he meant it.

"Did she actually say you're 'just' my friend, or are you putting words in her mouth? Because if not, then I don't see what you're so worked up about. . . Being her close friend doesn't mean she immediately isn't interested in you, y'know?" Caroline retorted, bluntly, causing Nicks ears to twitch up. That. . . No. . . She hadn't said 'just friends', had she?

That was a good point. . . "Did anything more happen that you want to add, or should we just run over what you've told me for the past few months?" She asked, seemingly unamused by the fox's conduct so far.

Well. . . There was the other thing that happened late last week. While on night duty, they were called to an incident in a bar involving a weasel. He had apparently made several mammals very uncomfortable and was starting to pick fights with a few others when they tried to forcibly remove them.

To their surprise when they arrived, it was none other than Duke Weaselton, who was not happy to see them at all. However, Nick and Judy still tried to talk him into leaving the business quietly, and without causing a fuss.

That didn't go well, of course. Nick and Judy did their best to remove him and succeeded in the end after a hard struggle. Weasels were horrible to try and control, they flopped everywhere and twisted in ungodly directions.

However, it was what happened with Judy afterwards that was interesting, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Despite their success in restraining him, Nick ended up pulling a few muscles in his neck and upper back, from all the flipping and twisting he did to try and contain the weasel.

After work, it was still bothering him very badly. So, the rabbit conned him into laying down on the couch and letting her try and work the knots out of his back and neck. By 'conned', she asked, and he obeyed. . . He was weak. He hadn't been sure about it, but he could never say no to the rabbit when she pressed so hard to help him.

Which was probably why he listened to her when she told him to take off his shirt, too. What had followed was about an hour of bliss as she worked her paws over his muscles gently. At some point, Nick thought she might've been walking on him, but his face was way too buried into the cushion to check when he felt that delightful pressure on the sprained muscles. She was. . . Really good at it, he had to admit. Unfortunately, his face wasn't the only thing pressed into the cushions, and by the time they were done he decided not to roll over for a while.

He claimed that he wanted to just lay there and relax in bliss, and the rabbit seemed to buy it as she sat down carefully on his back, teasing the fox as she turned the TV on so they could watch something together.

She asked him if he enjoyed it, to which he emphatically thanked her for the help. As if his wagging tail hadn't been evidence enough. His neck felt better, as well as the muscles in his back. Let alone the pure bliss she'd gotten from it.

And then. . . She told him that she expected him to do the same, and give her a massage if she ended up sore one day. . .

Now, Nick was probably looking too far into that comment, it was just friendly reciprocity after all. But the way she said it. . . And the idea of laying his paws on her both excited and scared him. . . Did that mean she'd take her shirt off, too?

The caracal chuckled, the fox jerking his head as he was pulled back into reality. She was grinning back at him, as her brows raised slightly. "Well?"

Nick shook his head. "Nothing I can think of, right now. . ." He lied, as he tucked that thought away. That thought was for. . . Sometime later. Plus, he didn't want to run the risk of revealing who the 'her' was to the therapist. If she knew they lived together, it wouldn't take too much to find out that it was his partner.

While Nick knew that she had confidentiality laws, he also knew that she worked for the police force. And, technically, if she thought there was something that could endanger 'policing values', she could contact his superior about it. That superior was Judy. . . Or worse, higher than that. And the effects of that could be. . . very, very bad. He kind of skimmed the guidelines back in school, he didn't remember a lot of it.

He did his best to avoid talking about anything that might reveal who he was talking about. He didn't tell the therapist they lived together, where she worked, or how much they saw each other daily. Nor did she know what species that she was, beyond the fact that she was a prey mammal. . . That part was at least essential to the discussion.

The therapist sighed, as she glanced down towards the base of his chair for a moment. "Well, I'll just pretend that means nothing then. . ." She murmured, as Nick looked down and immediately regretted thinking about the massage. Spirits, he was so. . . pent up. He looked back up and frowned at the therapist.

Listen, the idea of rubbing Judy with his paws was something, alright? However, before Nick could respond in defence, the therapist decided to gloss right over her call out, as she glanced at her watch. "We've only got ten minutes left, so how about we just get straight to it. What's stopping you from just asking her out on a date, hmm?" She asked point-blank, as Nick felt his heart sink. That. . . was a loaded question.

"Because. . ." He murmured, shaking his head softly. "I don't want to lose her." That was the shortest answer, right?

The therapist nodded slowly. "If she rejected you, would you be willing to stay as her friend?"

A dumb question, as Nick shook his head. "Yes, of course, I would. But I don't know how she'd react to being asked. . . I mean, she is a rab-, uh, a prey mammal." He muttered as he stared down at the table. It was the biggest problem, wasn't it? How weird would it be, as a rabbit, to have a fox pining after you. . . Their species were literally enemies historically. Not that the rabbit cared about that history, nor the fox obviously. The only 'eating' he wanted to do was-

He was in the middle of a therapy session, what the hell. His brain needed to calm its shit.

"So what? Listen, I don't think you are giving. . . Whoever she is. . . enough credit. If you are willing to date a different species, why aren't you willing to consider the fact that she could be just as willing as you? And the same goes for if you get rejected. If you're somehow capable of still being friends with her afterwards, why do you assume she can't do the same? You're her close friend, so she's willing to put up with you, a lot. And quite frankly, she'd probably be flattered to know she's started attracting other species." The therapist responded, as she set her notebook down and leaned forward, palms towards him in a curious shrug.

"That's. . . Assuming a lot." He responded as the therapist cackled at him as she rolled her eyes. Nick narrowed his eyes, confused why she wouldn't take his concerns seriously. He couldn't just assume that everything was going to be okay, he wasn't a fool.

"And so are you, Mr. Wilde. In fact, you're the one that's started this 'assumption' problem. Listen, you wanted my advice, didn't you?" Caroline spoke sternly, the fox nodding along slowly. "Well then, answer this question: Is there any legitimate reason that you can't just ask her out on a coffee date?"

Nick opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out as he thought about asking her. . . It was Judy, she wouldn't be angry at him for asking her out. . . Sure, she might say no, but. . . Maybe she'd say yes? While he pondered, the therapist continued. "It's low committal, and it tests the waters to see if she's interested. I'm not saying ask her to marry you or confess that you dream of her at night or whatever. Just say 'hey, I like you a lot, would you like to get some coffee someday' or something."

Yeah. . . Caroline was starting to make sense. But, at the same time. . . He sighed. "Listen, you can either do nothing and continue to talk to me about it every month. Or, you can make that step, and ask her out. In the former, you're never going to know what's possible or not, and you'll have to live with that. In the latter, you've got a fair shot. And at the very least, maybe you'll get some more confidence. It's not the dark ages anymore, interspecies dating is normal. . . Why not try?"

He knew the whole point of a therapist was having them talk things through with you, work on your problems, and help get you to move on. But for some reason, the idea of stepping past his insecurity on this seemed scarier than living in it forever. And. . . There was the other glaring reason. . . He wasn't just a fox; he was Nicholas Wilde. . . He shook his head. "She's not going to want to be with me. . . She deserves better." He mumbled the insecurity aloud, as his heart sunk further down into his stomach.

The therapist looked at him cautiously, as he gazed at the ground. "Is that really you talking, Mr. Wilde. . . Or your ex-girlfriend?" She spoke gently, as Nick's head flicked back up to stare into her eyes. "The one we talked about before, briefly? . . . The one who abused you?" Nick knew he'd regret mentioning her, so many sessions ago.

He held her gaze, eyes filled with anguish as he remembered Veronica, the arctic fox. . . The monster. She'd never been physically abusive to Nick, but. . . Mentally, she abused him every day, and every week. He shuddered, remembering the way she'd talk to him, and about him to her friends. The times she made him feel insecure and ripped him down with insults.

She would cheat on him and then tell him that it was all his fault. He wasn't doing good enough. He needed to change. And he would believe her. He would believe her when she'd tell him he was a worthless boyfriend, and a worthless fox, because she knew how to manipulate his anxieties to get whatever she wanted.

They were together for a few years, a while back, and. . . He'd never really dated again after that. The caracal saw what was happening and nodded silently. "Your ex does not determine your worth, you do. And whoever this 'her' is that you like, has already deemed you to be worth a whole lot more than your ex ever did. . . Whose opinion matters more to you, your ex, or your friend?" She continued, as Nick sat there in silence.

Each word hit hard, but they were getting through. They all made sense. . . It was still hard. However, her last question was very simple, as he gave a curt nod. "My friend's opinion matters more. . ." Judy's opinion would always matter the most to him. . . Heh, the therapist was better at this than he thought. . .

The therapist nodded. ". . . Do you want to talk about your ex some more? It might help to get some things out, now that we're talking about it. . . It might help you, to work through your feelings there." She continued, softly. They'd maybe talked about it for half a session before, but Nick had quickly shifted even that discussion over to his problems with Judy. . . Which, looking at it now, seemed like mostly self-made problems, not real ones.

"Yeah. . . mayb-" He started before the smartwatch on the therapist's arm began to buzz. Her other paw flew over, immediately muting the alarm as she picked up her notepad. "Ah. . . Time's up?" Nick murmured, as the caracal rapidly shook her head, glancing at her watch again.

"I, uh, have about 10 minutes until my next client shows up, it's fine. I want to explore this with you more if you have time." She murmured, slightly stressed, as she held a pen to the notepad eagerly.

Heh, she really wanted to get into Nick's head, didn't she? But, as Nick looked up at the clock in the corner, he shook his head softly. As good as it would be to talk about it, he had someone else to meet. Judy was waiting in the gym, and he didn't want to miss the sight of the rabbit in sweatpants.

Of all the benefits that the ZPD officers got, the access to the free gym was one of Nick's favourite. Not because he liked working out, he hated that shit. But he certainly liked watching Judy exercise. . . And he didn't want her to tire herself out before he got there. "I. . . have to go, unfortunately. I've got somewhere I need to be. Another appointment" He spoke carefully, as he turned back to the unimpressed caracal. He shrugged, with a nervous grin. "Sorry. . . We can talk about it more next month, maybe?" It might be good to talk about Veronica. . .

She sighed, as she rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. . . But I'm putting a pin in that, you hear me? We are starting the next session with that. . . And feel free to schedule me again this month, too. I can clear an extra session with the benefits division." She added as Nick rose from the seat.

Admittedly, he got some joy from ruining the therapist's hopes with that. . . But the main reason was he couldn't miss Judy in the gym. They had the whole 'fundraiser' thing tomorrow, so they weren't going to go too long. But still, Judy in the gym wasn't something to miss. It was going to be one of those days, for sure.

"Thanks for the talk, though. . . You made some good points." He murmured, nodding as he thought about the way Judy cared about him. . . If there was one thing Judy did very well, it was making him feel like he was worth something. . . He needed to lean into her support more.

"Regarding your 'friend'. . . If you catch yourself assuming things again, or doubting yourself, I have a suggestion. . . Start asking yourself if you have a reason to feel that way. If you have a reason not to talk to her about it and all that stuff. . . All your doing is finding out if she's interested or not, you're not trying to marry her. Hopefully." She added as Nick nodded, as she rose from her seat and walked over to her desk. She didn't sound terribly impressed.

Nick walked to the door and shook his head. "I'll remember that, but. . . I. . . Don't know how soon I'm going to do it yet, it might not be the right time. . . You might be right, maybe I'd better work through my ex's stuff first, hmm?" He responded with a shrug. She nodded, as she sat down at her desk.

"Fair enough. But consider telling her sooner than later, at least that you like her. I'm sure she'd appreciate it. . . Call me tomorrow and we can make your next appointment then, okay?" She muttered as the fox opened the door.

"Yep. See ya next time, doc." He gave a light wave, as he stepped through the entryway and closed it behind him. He could hear her mumble something about not being a doctor through the door, as Nick smiled. It would probably be good to talk more about Veronica. . . She'd been living rent-free in the back of his mind for way too long now.

But that was for another time. He began to walk quickly in the direction of the locker room, as he smiled. He wondered what she decided to wear today. . . Yoga pants? Shorts? it didn't matter. She'd still be a sexy bunny, no matter what she wore. Or didn't. Ah, no, he didn't need to encourage himself right now. . . He was picking some shorts with a strong elastic today.

The caracal lifted her personal notebook again and began to scribble her final notes of the appointment down. They had managed to get some good work done today before the fox again attempted to switch the direction of the discussion.

And, there was some progress at the end. . . However, she ended the little notebook with the same damn line she'd written so many times before.

Still very horny for rabbit partner.

She sighed, shaking her head as she closed the notebook. Trying to hide something like that from a therapist was foolish, it was written across his face every time. Even before he let the fact, she was a 'rabbit' slip today. . .

Sure, there was the consideration that they were still in an FTO situation. But it wasn't her business to get involved in that stuff. She was a therapist, and she took her oath to confidentiality more seriously than her work contract. Besides. . . A relationship might be against the rules, but there wasn't anything in the papers about just 'telling' someone that you were attracted to them.

As far as she was concerned, her client's business was theirs, and theirs alone. But, speaking of clients. . . Who was coming in next? She leaned over, and looked at the laminated planner on her desk, and quickly found the list for today.

And then, she read that name. . . "You've got to be kidding me." She muttered, rolling her eyes as she leaned back into her chair.
"Fangmeyer, great. Two officers who want to screw their partners in one day. . . What are the bloody odds. . ." She exclaimed, annoyed. Admittedly, the tiger was much, much worse than the fox. Everybody out here was so damn horny. . . And so was the caracal, for fricks sake.

. . . What was Officer Hyaenida, off in Precinct Three up to today. . . Hopefully not much. She reached over for her cellphone and clicked into her messages. He ought to be raring for another after-hours 'therapy' appointment by now, right?

If not, there was always Officer Lionel of Precinct Five.

Morally, she was not allowed to date any of her clients at Precinct One. That was fair, and she understood that completely. But, the other precincts. . . They were fair game, they weren't her clients. She liked uniforms, she didn't care who or what was wearing them. Or not wearing, she was flexible like that.

There were several astounding benefits to the ZPD Precinct One gym, over any other in the city. For one, it was free. There wasn't a single thing they had to pay for, not locker rentals (since they already had the locker rooms), equipment rentals, nothing. And, because it was run by the ZPD, they had a lot of equipment.

Some of it may have been a little older, but they had almost everything that the big gyms had. It was also hardly busy, most of the time. Like today. . . Being a Saturday, most officers who weren't on the street were out enjoying their day off instead of exercising.

They could come in whenever they wanted to, the gym was open 24/7 to accommodate the various shifts they had. If you happened to live in an area closer to a different precinct, you could easily go there instead on your days off. Just a simple check of your badge number and you were good to go.

They also had protein powder and stuff available to buy, should you need some after working out. There were small one-use packets in a vending machine, and there were also big tubs that you could buy during the weekdays when they had someone working the little sales desk. Not everything could be free, of course.

In the end, there was very little justification to go to a different gym, just on the face of the situation. And, of course, there was the other, more important plus, as the fox finally walked through the door in his little 'workout' shorts and a sleeveless tee. It was a lot easier to convince Nick to go to a gym if he never had to pay for it. And having that sexy fox here? A definite perk for the rabbit.

There was something about watching the fox workout that was just so damn hot to Judy. And she wasn't ashamed to admit (to herself) that she didn't mind taking full advantage of watching him when they worked out together.

It's why she liked being his gym buddy. . . the whole job was encouraging your partner by cheering them on, supporting your partner as a spotter, and staring at them as they went through their reps and sets. When you were. . . well, attracted to them, in a lot of ways, it made the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

The only appointment Nick was able to make with the therapist happened to be on their day off, so Judy proposed the idea of coming along, and going to the gym while she waited for him to finish up. They often went to the gym at least once during their days off anyway, so it was a win-win to go now right before their shift started tomorrow.

Just because they had to go to a fundraiser tomorrow, didn't mean they couldn't also have a good workout. Although, they were not going to go full bore today. . . The idea of having sore legs while wandering around a fundraiser for hours was horrifying.

She pulled one headphone out and walked towards the fox. He'd moved off to the nearby fountain and started filling his water bottle. As the water began to slowly fill, he glanced over at the rabbit with a wide grin. "Hey, Nick." She spoke up, as she hopped up to his side.

He went with nice polyester shorts today. She liked those shorts.

"Hello, Fluff. . . . Hope you haven't tired yourself out already." He murmured, as he screwed the lid back onto the bottle. Ha. As if.

Judy shook her head, as she bopped his side softly with her water bottle. "Of course not, slick. I've still got lots of stamina left. . . Probably more than you." She responded, lying to his face. Yes, she did have a lot of stamina left. But that was mostly because she was lazy as hell, waiting for him to arrive. . .

It was an empty gym, so. . . She mostly just ended up doing a few little things, a stretch here and a stretch there. A bit of free weights and looking at her phone most of the time. You know how it went when you looked at your phone in the gym. You start changing songs, looking up random stuff. . . It was so easy to waste time when you knew there was no one there to judge you. And, when you were technically only waiting for someone anyway. . .

She adjusted the little towel on her shoulder, fidgeting nervously. "Shall we start with some warm-up stretches?" Judy asked, as Nick took a quick drink of water, and nodded in response. "I already did mine earlier. . . but, a little extra stretching can't hurt." She lied, not personally willing to consider her 'half*ass' stretching a real effort. But what the fox didn't know, couldn't hurt him.

"Sure. . . You lead, I'll follow." He responded quickly, as they both walked out to the open padded area in the centre of the gym. She snorted, shaking her head as the fox once again noped out of leading the stretches. He always wanted her to lead the poses, which she agreed with after he tried once or twice. He couldn't remember a proper stretch plan to save his life.

The few times he'd tried, he'd remember like 3 poses, before forgetting everything and needing her to take over. What a useless fox. . .

She set her water bottle down a little way away from her, as she started lifting her paws up in a light stretch. When she turned around, the fox had already begun to copy her as he watched her with a slight smirk. He was always so smug when he got his way, wasn't he?

Stupid fox. . . "Try to keep up this time and pay attention." She murmured, as she turned and looked in the mirror on the nearby wall. The mirrors were great helped her correct her own form, as well as advising Nick of his own. He stayed to her left, a little further behind as he followed her into a stretch.

She saw his wide grin in the mirror as he bent down, his eyes watching her with interest. "Yes, ma'am." He murmured, as Judy rolled her eyes. The dumb fox was so terrible at running an exercise plan. . . All she wanted was to watch him from behind when he bent over for once, was that so hard to get? Well. . . She'd get to gawk at him when they truly stared working out. . . And hey, at least there was the mirror in front of them now, right?

"Are you sure, Nick?" She asked as she finished wiping down the squat machine. Judy knew that a lot of mammals in gyms didn't wipe their equipment after using it, but that was stupid and rude. Everyone knew that your paw pads got sweaty, it wasn't that hard to clean up after yourself. Just the thought alone was disgusting.

Nick shrugged, as he finished taking a swig of water. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go too hard, Carrots. I just figured since I'm here, and you're here, I might do a set of bench press. Assuming, you're willing to spot for me?" He asked, grinning down to the rabbit.

First off, obviously, she was going to say yes. It was one of her favourite things to spot the fox for, watching him lay there and pump the weight up and down. . . If only he was willing to do it with his shirt off, it'd be even better. . . But she couldn't ask for that obviously. Secondly. . . She looked around the gym, before glancing back up at him with a frown. "What other option do you have, Nick? Of course." She responded, giving him a soft punch on the shoulder.

He laughed, as they made their way over to the bench. Nick might want another exercise, but Judy was finished. They'd only been there for about an hour, but at that point, Judy was satisfied with what she'd done and didn't want to strain herself further. She didn't need to deal with sore muscles tonight, nor did she want to pull something just two days before they went back on the day shift.

But if he insisted on doing a few reps on the bench press. . . Judy wasn't going to complain. Although, she still didn't get why he'd bother to today. It wasn't like they couldn't go to the gym another time, or even just do some chest exercise at home, like push-ups. She was starting to get hungry. . .

"Hey, I'm not forcing you to, Fluff. But, if you decide you want to do a set, I'll always spot for you." He replied calmly, as he put some light weights onto the bar. The fox laid down quickly and squirmed under as he adjusted his position a few times. Judy certainly didn't want to do a set. She was all for the bench press (although she preferred the squat machine personally), but not today. She didn't need sore pecs. "I'll just do a quick set, then we can go get lunch if you want."

At the mention of food, the stomach growled and betrayed her. Shaking her head, she stepped up to stand behind his head as she placed her paws underneath the bar. She was just not going to acknowledge that gurgle, and hope he wouldn't either. . . "Sounds good. . . Shal try out that little place on 3rd Ave?"

The fox lifted the bar up, and let it descend carefully as Judy followed the motion carefully. "Hrf. . . Yeah, if you want to." He squeezed out, as he pushed up and let his breath out. She could still smell their breakfast, but luckily, he seemed to take her advice about that cologne at least. The rabbit could survive smelling food, that putrid cologne did the fox zero favours.

He reached the peak and descended again as the rabbit matched the motion with her hands and body. "Good. Maybe you'll continue your adventurous streak, try something other than a cricket burger?" She teased, as the fox lifted the bar again.

"Hey. . . huh. . I've been trying new things lately. . . give me some credit." He murmured, as the bar reached the top for a second time. She nodded, with a soft grunt of agreement. That was true. The way he fell for that little shop's falafel wrap was unbelievable. And a foot in the door to getting him to try more things. . .

If only she could get him to try her, hmmm? She snorted, shaking her head at the thought. Just a few more months and she could try and act on those dirty thoughts. If he felt the same way, of course. . . She had a lot of doubts about that possibility. Just because they were good friends, it didn't mean that Nick would be interested in going further than that. But it also didn't mean he wasn't.

"Doing good, Nick." She changed the subject, offering encouragement as he lowered the bar again. As it went down, the rabbit suddenly noticed that the fox's shirt had ridden up a bit, exposing his soft cream underside by quite a few inches. It probably slipped up when he slid under the bar and had to shuffle around to get comfortable. And now, the physical exhaustion was just making it worse.

She watched, barely seeing the small muscles beneath the fur clenching as he pushed the bar upwards again. Judy wasn't sure if you were supposed to be flexing your ab muscles with this exercise. . .But, she wasn't about to complain. "Keep pushing, you've got this." The rabbit murmured, as she leaned a little forward to get a slightly better view. It wasn't quite the shirtless Nick that she wanted. . . But she'd take it.

She could barely believe that he'd agreed to remove his shirt for the massage, awhile ago. . . It wasn't necessary for the massage at all, but he didn't offer a single bit of protest when she asked. That was just a win in Judy's book, and she took advantage of it completely.

And now, she was going to take advantage of his mischievous shirt. But, as the bar came back up, it once again got in the way of her view, right when he really started huffing and puffing. Her brows narrowed, somehow angry at the bar for existing. If she was going to have to wait a few months to get more than that, she wanted to get as much as she could now.

Judy leaned even further forward, just enough to see past the bar to the flexing abs muscles. Sure, it wasn't like they were 'huge', or anything. But, imagining seeing them flex while he did things to h- "J-Ju-!" The fox squeaked out barely, his grip failing as the bar began to fall. She immediately seized the bar and pulled up in the hope of stabilizing it.

However. . . By that time, she'd leaned too far forward, and gotten herself way far out of balance. She tried desperately to correct it, in vain as she felt herself tilt downward from the weight. Instead of pulling the bar up, she pulled herself down and over the bar as it fell quickly. She felt her waist catch on the end of the bench, and Nick's head as the speed drug her body down onto the fox with a soft thud. He let out a yelp, as her face came crashing down onto his lower body in the most awkward way she could imagine.

Damn. . . She let her staring distract her. She squeezed her fingers out from under the bar, placing her paws on his thighs as she lifted her head off his. . . oh, no.

She stared down at his. . . Well, his whole groin area, as she felt the blush immediately flush into her ears. Did she just. . . Smack her face into his. . . Oh, sweet cheese and crackers. "I-I'm so sorry, Nick. I-" She began to stutter, as she pushed her torso up with her paws in surprise.

"C-carrots, please. . . get off." The fox interrupted; his voice heavily mumbled as his chest vibrated against her body. That. . . didn't sound happy. . . . Was he muffled in anger or pain? She turned her head around worrying about what she might see. He wasn't mad, was he?
But. . . instead of seeing the fox's face (angry or otherwise). . . All she saw was his two ears, sticking prominently up between her splayed leg-

Oh, crap. "Fluff?" He spoke again, as she felt his muzzle moving underneath her. Oh spirits, was she really pressing that right into his- oh no. She moved her paws, accidentally pressing on his groin as she rolled herself off the fox with a loud thud. She heard the fox groan when she shoved hard against him, immediately regretting not being more careful with her paw placement.

The fox tilted the bar to the side, pushing it up and off his chest. He slipped out from underneath it, letting it down onto the pad gently as he panted heavily.

His eyes were bulging, his tongue lolling out as he panted and held his chest. Judy winced, as she hopped back up and moved over to him carefully. "S-sorry, Nick, I lost my footing." She half-lied, as her ears fell in embarrassment, she looked away, shaking her head. She had lost her footing, but. . . "And, I'm sorry for landing on you. A-and if I hurt you."

"Its. . . Okay." He muttered out between pants, trying to catch his breath "I-, uh, I lost my grip there for a second. . . It's my fault." He murmured, as one paw lifted to rub the slightly disturbed fur on his muzzle and forehead. Oof. . . That must've been really. . . awkward for him.

The other paw remained on his lightly shuddering chest. The chest it all came down on. She stepped forward, arms out in a desire to help. Did he get badly hurt? That was a lot of weight to come crashing down on him. . . "Should I call an ambulance? Is your chest okay?" Judy asked nervously, as she hovered a hand above his, which he immediately brushed away as he shook his head.

"No, I'm good. . . . Just. . . A whole lotta shit happened at once, y'know? . . . . The bar fell and hit me; everything went dark. . . . an then a bu-huny was in my face. . . I'm okay." He panted; his voice slightly trembling as he nodded. He was making jokes. That was good. . . But didn't change the fact she felt bad. . . Especially for hurting his. . .

She shook her head, feeling quite ashamed for her foolishness. It was literally only his belly, why did she care so damn much about seeing it. Sure, she wanted to rub her face in that fur, but still.

The rabbit shut her eyes, as she groaned. "I'm. . . still sorry, Nick, for everything. I should've been paying more attention to how I was standing. And, I'm sorry if I. . . hurt you, in any way." She murmured, preferring not to elaborate. . . He knew what she meant, right?

The fox stretched his arms out slightly, trying ". . . Well, if you pay for lunch, I'll consider it all forgiven, okay?" The fox suggested, offering her a light smile. He didn't seem angry. . . But then, why would he be, she reminded herself. He knew it was a mistake. Judy would never intentionally hurt him.

"Deal. . . . I'll make it up to you, I promise." She murmured, as the fox chuckled and rose from the bench. He didn't seem to stumble or wince when he did. . . That was good, right?

But the fox didn't seem to notice her concerns. He walked over and removed some of the weights from the bar as he began the dutiful task of cleaning up. "Oh? Do I hear falafel wrap, hmm?" He asked, earning a soft laughed softly in response. . . Well, he seemed to be fine, at least.

"Yeah. . . Sure." She replied. He could get a falafel wrap then. . . But that wasn't how she would truly make it up to him. . . In a few months, she'd really pay him back for that.

. . . Hopefully.

The next day

Nick stood off to the side of the large ZPD lobby near one of the used dinner tables that formed a ring around the 'dance floor'. He held his champagne glass gingerly, as he resisted the urge to lean on the table. If he was going to look the part of a professional in this gaudy, gold-braided nightmare, he might as well act it, too. Unfortunately, that meant no leaning. He had to be posh, for the guests, right?

It had only been a few hours, but the fox was tired of these rich snobs.

When they arrived, Bogo seemed pleasantly surprised to see them there. Strange, given the fact that he ordered them to show up. . . But buffalo butt was always a strange mammal to Nick. Since they arrived early, the buffalo immediately put them to work helping set up the event. They helped set up the chairs at all the tables, and with the approximate 200 guests showing up, that was a lot of chairs.

Nick had joked about his 'chest pain' during it, hoping to make Judy laugh while they hauled 200 chairs all over. Unfortunately, though, the rabbit didn't take it as a joke, and started apologizing again. . . He swore, if she said she'd make it up to him one more time, he was going to lose his mind. It wasn't that big of a deal, seriously.

It was Nick's intention to spend the entire time hanging out with Judy and avoiding the rich mammals as much as they could. Any that came and bothered them would at least have to deal with them as partners, and he knew Judy would take the lead on any of those conversations. That way, Nick could just silently stand beside her and pretend he didn't exist. That is if the rich snobs cared about the 'special guests'. Which, unfortunately, he found out they cared a 'lot'. . .

To them, Nick and Judy were quite the 'curiosities' to talk to and discuss. Judy, a 'farm bunny', who came out here and solved a great case. She fought against mammals' expectations of her and made something special out of her life when she solved the Nighthowler case. It was clear on all their faces that they loved the rabbit a lot. Unfortunately, most of the mammals who wanted to talk to the rabbit weren't very interested in talking to the fox, and it wasn't long until they were separated. Meanwhile, the fox had his own crowd, whose objective seemed to pull him around the event as far away from Judy as possible.

However, Nick, on the other hand, was a slightly 'different' curiosity to them. He was a fox, who rose above his 'lot in life'. An oddity, someone who 'proved' that not all foxes were the same kind of fox. That foxes 'could' be good. They certainly liked chatting 'to' him, about his history and his journey, the hardships that he had to face.

The untrustworthy image of foxes never changed, he guessed. Even the ones who did talk to him seemed slightly standoffish while they talked, and all of them eventually moved on to more interesting prospects. Meanwhile, he could see the crowd around the bunny steadily grow as the night went on. . . All mammals were drawn to her, weren't they?

He wasn't jealous of Judy. In fact, he'd rather be left more alone than the weird 'curiosity' these folks had towards him. But he had to admit, he would rather get more time with the rabbit tonight than he was getting. . . That was the whole reason he agreed to come.

But that was expecting far too much, he supposed. He'd debated joining the group of mammals around her, and maybe wading his way in until he could be beside her again. That seemed like a lot of work and effort. Besides, he did get her all to himself at home. . . He really shouldn't be greedy about it. This was her time to shine, after all.

And Nick could probably use some time apart from her, to think about things. After the short dinner event (which, of course, they were pulled to different tables for), Nick did his best to slip away from the group of mammals, as the majority made their way over to the silent auction set up in the bullpen. That cleared out a fair amount of the lobby, as most mammals made their way over to make some last-minute bids before they announced the winners.

There was a giant wine bottle in there. Nick had no idea who in their right mind would buy that, but then he wasn't exactly a 'posh' kind of mammal anyway. And, no one seemed to notice as the fox slipped out of the crowd and made his way into the much less crowded lobby.

He picked one of the tables near the dance floor to stand by since now the tables were basically abandoned by the guests. A few workers came by and started to clean them up, but for now, he was more than safe there, staring out across the dance floor.

There were a surprising number of couples out there, still dancing to the classical jazz music played on the speakers. Nick was right about that, unsurprisingly. As he told the rabbit when it came to fundraisers they always went 'high brow' for music. They clearly didn't care too much about the auction, which he couldn't blame them for. None of those items interested him, either. And, luckily enough, they equally didn't care about the fox, sipping his champagne off to the side of the floor.

He was there, and he was clearly was visible. Bogo couldn't get mad at him for not being interacted with, right? After all, the real 'star' had been nearly carried off into the bullpen after dinner. . .

But this was his time to think about what happened yesterday, in a little more serious of a manner. Not the whole accident in the gym, mind you. That was. . . an exciting moment, to say the least. It was his fault the bar dropped, not hers. He, admittedly, had been somewhat gawking up at the rabbit, the entire time. He wasn't even sure what rep he was on when it fell. Since the rabbit was distracted watching his lifts, he knew she'd never catch him looking at the adorable rabbit standing next to his head.

It was why he liked bench press, after all.

Unfortunately, he was so distracted, that when she accidentally leaned into his head with her hips, he kind of freaked out a bit. At first, he thought she'd caught him, and was about to get mad at him or something.

So, his paw slipped, and he dropped it. Then. . . Everything else happened there, in the worst way possible. Her groin was in his face, and. . . her face was in his. . . It was like the start of a corny adult film or something, except way more stressful and realistically responded to. Luckily, she got off quickly.

But no, what was really occupying his thoughts was what happened before the gym, when he was there with the therapist. And what she'd said about Judy. The caracal had a pretty good point, as much as he regretted admitting it. He was being a pretty big ass to Judy, assuming how she might react to his feelings before she knew they existed. It certainly did him no favours in the 'confidence' section by assuming she'd say no, especially since Nick had no idea what her personal feelings about dating another species.

She certainly didn't seem to mind any of the other interspecies couples they interacted with on the street, and out in public. If she thought it was such a horrible thing, wouldn't she have said something about it by now? Heck, for all Nick knew, she might've been in her fair share of interspecies relationships. She had been a college student, after all, and it was not the dark ages.

And. . . Maybe he was quick to assume she would only want to be friends. Sure, maybe she'd never seen him in that light before, but that doesn't mean that she wouldn't consider it. She may never have thought about it before. He certainly never did anything to indicate that he was interested in her, besides a few harmless flirts she never picked up on. She probably didn't even notice he was flirting with her, with how she never responded.

He nodded to himself, distractingly. Yeah, the caracal was right. He just needed to list the reasons, and it would be better. . . Nick had no reason to think that she wasn't okay with an interspecies relationship. No reason to assume that she'd only want to be friends with him. No reason to assume that she'd stop being friends with him if he told her. And no reason to assume that she'd say no.

Therefore, he had no reason not to ask Judith Laverne Hopps out on a date. . . . Right?

"Hey, Nick." The familiar voice spoke right beside him, causing the fox to jump as he flinched away from the sound. Wide-eyed, he stared at the grinning bunny who'd somehow managed to get right up next to him without him hearing her. It was as if his thoughts summoned her, or something. . . Damn, usually he paid more attention than that.

She chuckled, as she shook her head at him. "You scare so easily, Nick. . . What were you thinking about so intently?" She asked innocently, as Nick's mind raced to find an excuse.

"I was just thinking about. . . Well, how much this fundraiser is going to make, in the end. I saw the things in the silent auction, and they didn't look that impressive to me." He lied, as he lifted his champagne glass to take a sip.

Only to realize that, in his fright, he'd managed to spill it all over the floor. . . Shit. "Damn." His ears flitted back, as he shook his head. Luckily, Nick had a pawkerchief in his pocket, as he bent down and wiped up the small mess. Thank the spirits he drank most of it.

She was chuckling softly, as he rose back up and stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket. He placed the empty glass on the table, somewhat sad that he'd wasted that champagne. It was good stuff. "The big thing here is the dinner prices. They're like a thousand dollars a plate. About two hundred mammals showed up today, so, that adds up quickly. The items in the silent auction will probably only add up to another fifty grand, or something like that. But you never know with those auctions. Sometimes rich mammals pay ridiculous prices for things."

Ah, that was a fair point. Everyone thought it was the silent auction making the money when it was the entrance fee that really added up. Of course, Nick could never justify spending a thousand dollars for dinner. The food was good, but not that good.

And, maybe he was partial to his own cooking, honestly. "Yeah. . . Must be nice, hmm?" He murmured, glancing down at the rabbit beside him.

She smiled and shook her head. "I wouldn't trade my life for anything. . . I'm very happy, right where I am." She replied cheerily. That was unsurprising to the fox. The chipper rabbit never valued money, one of the things that had confused the fox once. But it made sense. He had money from his scams, but that had never made him happy. . .

Instead, the rabbit beside him made him happy. She didn't need to encourage him to be a better fox, he wanted to do it because she inspired him. And she was always right there to support him on that journey, to the point that they were standing right here, together.

"That's not a regulation tie, you know. You could get strangled by that." She teased, as they both looked out into the lobby-turned-ballroom. Yeah, Nick had chosen to wear a real tie. The crappy clip ones never looked right.

. . . Was this the right time? To ask her? "I don't expect to be in a fight tonight, so I think I'll be just fine Fluff." He responded, glancing down to the rabbit. She was still looking out into the room, her arms crossed as her footpaw slowly tapped to the music.

"True. You're probably safe tonight. Probably. . . I could write you up a warning for being out of uniform, y'know?" She mocked, as his heart began to beat faster. Would there ever be a better chance than this? They were alone, no one was paying attention. Or would it be an awkward drive home if it didn't go well?

Did he really want to risk it all, though. . .? He was happy just being her friend, right? Maybe it was better for him to just accept that it would never change. . . He could love her just as a friend and bury his other feelings like he always did.

. . . Never let her see that she got to him, right?

No, he couldn't do that, giving a slight shake of his head as he tried to push that darkness away. Looking down at the rabbit, staring across the dance floor, he steeled himself against that depression. He needed to go through the reasons again as she told him. There was no reason to think she wouldn't be his friend afterward, no reason to think that she would say no, no reason to-

"Well. We're here, standing in front of a dance floor, just chatting. Do you. . . Maybe want to dance, a bit?" She asked calmly, as the fox's brain froze.

"What?" He asked, confused. Was she. . . Asking him to. . .? Like, date dance? Or just, dance, nothing serious dance? No, it had to just be a regular, means nothing dance, right? Was that an assumption, or a logical conclusion?

She snorted at the fox, tilting her head to the side. "You know, dance? Two mammals can just dance, you know. We are partners, Nick."

Well. . . That didn't really answer his question, but that at least put it in context. Dancing as partners. "No, just surprised. . . That you want to dance with me, I mean." He muttered, as the rabbit stepped a little way away, and turned around with an offered paw pointed to him.

"Why not? I don't exactly have a lot of other pleasing options here. . . Other than some rich snobby hare that asked me to dance about eight times. . ." The rabbit responded with a shrug, as Nick nodded slowly.

Ah, that made sense. A weird suitor situation. Nick let out an amused huff, as he grinned. "Oh? So, the reason you want to dance with a fox, is just to say your dance card's full, hmm? Well, as your professional partner, who had annoying suitors before, that's something I can get behind." The fox was absolutely down for discouraging other suiters. . .

"Hah! . . . Maybe I just want you to prove that know how to dance, hmm? You claimed to be good at 'traditional' dances, and I want you to put your hind paws where your mouth is. And, since this fundraiser's trying to market us as the 'Saviours of Zootopia', It'd look 'professional' if we dance together, wouldn't it? Couple that with pissing off some baby rich douche, shouldn't that be enough, hmm? Since you so badly need reasons for things." She replied as the fox snorted loudly. 'reasons'. She had no idea, did she?

He stepped forward and gently took the rabbits paw as her smile brightened ever so slightly. "Alright, rabbit. . ." He murmured, as he carefully placed his paw on her upper back (to be on the safe side, y'know), and began to slowly move to the soft classical jazz that was playing. Meanwhile, his brain was doing its best to remember the few things he could about dancing. . . It'd been a long time since he learned it from his mother.

However, he needed to make a point here. "But. . ." He began, as the rabbit looked up at him with a curious expression. He leaned in towards the black tip of her ear, as they slowly danced together on the outskirts of the floor.

"As if I would need a reason to dance with you." He teased, his tail swaying happily behind him.

She laughed and shook her head. "Shut up, and dance with me."