Been a while, writing's been slow, but here's chaper 20

I have an account on AO3 now but don't worry i'll still be uploading here

So here you go, enjoy my longest chapter yet

Chapter 20

Lunette was a little shell shocked. Nick and Judy were chatting away on one of the sofas nearby but their voices were just unintelligible buzzing in Lunette's ears. She was sat staring out of the enormous bay windows that looked out over most of Zootopia. Tearing her gaze away from the beautiful view, she looked around Noct's penthouse suite.

Our penthouse suite she thought to herself absentmindedly.

The past month or so had suddenly caught up to the wolf. She had left Los Antleres. She had made better friends than she had ever had before. She was doing a job that actually mattered now.

Her mate was back.

Lunette had never had a lot of money before, her family hadn't when she was growing up, and she had lived quite humbly with Noct while they were together in Los Antleres. Suddenly finding out that Noct now had more money than she could imagine was a bit of a shock. Just her mate's car alone was probably worth more money than she had ever seen back in Los Antleres.

Add onto that the revelation that Noct was some sort of scientific experiment going far beyond the limits of normal mammals and you could understand why Lunette was a little shell shocked.

Nick and Judy had noticed how Lunette was but decided that it was probably best to just give her a little time. To be fair Judy was rather shocked with the whole situation as well. Luckily Nick, once he adapted to the idea of large quantities of money again, recovered very quickly. He already knew all of Noct's secrets, and Broken Clockwork used to work in the world of the rich and powerful so Nick didn't need long to get used to everything again. This in turn helped to calm Judy down, just chatting to Nick like normal did wonders for her nerves.

Judy's ears twitched up and swivelled in the direction of the stairs which immediately made Nick shut his mouth and look over as well. The bunny's excellent hearing had picked up footsteps from down below.

Two sets she thought excitedly.

Lunette was still off in her own world and didn't notice Nick and Judy or where they're attention was focussed. Noct casually climbed back up the stairs into the living room, he glanced around to take the situation in, Nick and Judy were waiting but his mate was looking out the window and hadn't noticed his return. The panther held a finger to his lips as he looked at Nick and Judy before sneaking up behind Lunette silently.

All the tension and confusion that had been building up in Lunette, as her mind ran itself in circles, disappeared when a pair of strong arms wrapped round her from behind. She instantly found herself surrounded in Noct's comforting scent and warmth, more than warmth really, Noct radiated heat like a blast furnace. She closed her eyes and leant back into his embrace as he somehow managed to climb over the back of the sofa without letting go.

There was a genuine smile on Nick's face as he watched this, just a small one but still, he really was nothing but happy that his brother had finally found someone to love.

Well that's half of Broken Clockwork done he thought ruefully if Noct can do it, why can't I?

…

Yeah, I know exactly why…

Oh, I don't see why not Nick almost groaned as that little voice came back I mean, just look to your left

Nick tensed, there was only one thing to his left that the voice could be talking about and that was Judy; he wasn't going to let his own head get that much out of his control and do as the voice said.

Before he could get too stressed out a distraction appeared, or rather, it walked up the stairs after Noct. Asra blinked a little in the evening sunlight, one of the things about living so high up was that sunlight lasted a lot longer than it did on the ground, but the pup's vision very quickly adjusted. Looking around he spotted the two mammals who had saved him back in that park and childish joy lit up his face.

"Mr Wilde!" shouted Asra happily as he ran across the room towards Nick and Judy "Miss Hopps!"

Nick's eyes widened, the fact that Asra was moving was a bit surprising but not as much as the speed at which the jackal moved, Nick barely had time to open his mouth before Asra collided with his chest and knocked the wind out of him.

"You look good Asra" Nick wheezed when he regained the use of his lungs "definitely an improvement"

"Mr Noct saved me" said Asra looking up at Nick and grinning "he has lots of science-y machines downstairs, though I was asleep for most of it"

"Well, whatever he did it seems to have worked" said Nick grinning back, he had full confidence in his brother, never doubted him for a second, but actually seeing Asra moving around looking happy and healthy took a great weight of Nick's mind. Before Asra could let go of Nick there was a grey flash and the jackal found himself pulled sideways.

"I'm so glad you're okay" said Judy hugging Asra tighter.

Despite her smaller size the rabbit had a stronger grip than most mammals, Nick caught Asra's eye as he was squeezed and gave the pup a sympathetic wink. It was a little uncomfortable but Asra didn't want anything else at that moment. It had been a complete horror, now that he took a moment to look back over the past week or so, and Asra returned Judy's hug harder. He was living on the streets, he was kidnapped, he was drugged, he was dying… but on the other hand… he met Mr Wilde and Miss Hopps, they visited him in hospital, he met Mr Noct, he was saved by them all. Asra looked up as he felt something hit his fur, he started to panic a little when he saw that Judy was crying.

"Are you okay Miss Hopps?" he asked worriedly.

Judy laughed, she smiled despite the tears "I'm fine Asra, emotional bunnies and all that" Judy glanced sidelong at her partner, sure enough there was that smirk when he heard that.

"Noct?" asked Lunette a little confused "Why does Asra smell like you?"

Asra squirmed around in Judy's grasp enough to look over and notice that there was someone he didn't know sat next to Noct. Nick tilted his head quizzically before turning to Asra and sniffing, sure enough the pup smelt like Noct, Nick just hadn't noticed it because it was unexpected and the whole penthouse smelt a bit like his brother.

"Nix is right, what's up with that Noct?" he asked curiously.

Noct sighed deeply and pulled Lunette closer into his side. He pondered where to go with all this for a little while before he opened his mouth.

"Asra should be dead" Noct started slowly, the room instantly grew a little gloomier "if you hadn't sedated him when you did, if you hadn't told me about him when you did, if I hadn't visited when I did… any one of these points was enough. And even with everything coming together, with me treating him, it was difficult. The first round of treatment did not take very well" Nick frowned when he heard this, he didn't like where this was heading, Judy hugged Asra tighter as she heard more "I sort of figured it wouldn't, the damage done to Asra's body was extremely severe. The first treatment was to try and stabilise his body as it was but the damage was just too much to cope with. There was only one option left to take… I gave him a dose of the original"

Nick inhaled sharply, his breath whistling through his fangs, his paws clenching as he looked down at Asra sat in Judy's lap.

"What do you mean by 'the original'?" asked Lunette quietly.

"He means he had to give Asra the same serum that was used on himself when he was a child" said Nick grimacing.

"Yes" said Noct sadly "all the Lacerda's dangerous knowledge is still trapped up here" he tapped the side of his head "recreating that horrible stuff is fairly easy for me. As I said, the first treatment was to stabilise but that didn't work. Therefore, all I could do was bolster Asra's body till it could handle the damage done to it. Thankfully he was unconscious for the experience, I can tell you from memory that it is extremely painful"

Noct and Nick shared a look, Nick hadn't spoken out even though he knew and Noct hadn't mentioned that being unconscious didn't stop the pain, they came to an instant, unspoken agreement not to worry the girls any more than needed. Thankfully the fact Asra was unconscious had at least one positive, the boy obviously did not remember what he had gone through.

"Night Howlers on their own simply reactivate parts of the brain and bodily systems that mammals have not used in countless years" said the panther "it only unlocks potential so to speak, it does not change the body. The drug created by the Lacerdas however was designed to unlock that potential and then make it permanent. Each time I was given it my body would be enhanced beyond its current limits and that progress was then carved into my very bones and blood. You can see why it would be painful" Lunette didn't say anything but she tightened her grip on Noct "Anyway, it's far more complicated than I make it out to be, but Asra's body has been strengthened just enough that it can naturally heal itself"

"That's good and all" said Judy "but what about the scent?"

"I was getting to that" sighed Noct "this stuff isn't some temporary savage inducing high, this is a physiological change at the basest of levels. It is incredibly potent in order to leave a permanent effect. Meaning that, unless you've had years to adjust to the stuff, you are left in a pure savage state for a period of time after the treatment"

Everyone quickly glanced at Asra in worry.

"Don't worry" said Noct "It's a one-off thing because of the drug, it's why I wouldn't let any of you follow me downstairs. But this brings us to the scent. The quickest way to bring someone round again is to stimulate their base instincts, exhaust the primitive psyche and the consciousness will return. Given Asra's age I felt it was easiest to appeal to his instincts as a child which culminated in marking him"

"So that was it" said Nick reaching out to scratch Asra behind the ears "and here I thought you were adopting him or something"

"Well, that's the plan" replied Noct casually.

Most of the conversation had completely flown over Asra's head, he knew they were talking about him and, since he couldn't understand it, it was probably about how Mr Noct saved him. The last bit of conversation, however, he completely understood and he froze, as did Nick's paw. In fact everyone in the room, bar Noct, was rather stunned.

"A few reasons for this" said Noct to break the silence "One, I'll need to keep monitoring Asra as he grows up, I still don't know if there will be any complications. Two, Asra, like myself, is now a walking talking example of my family's knowledge. I can handle myself but if someone got their hands on Asra they could learn some dangerous things. Three, I like the kid, I share a closer bond with him now than I ever did with the rest of my family. He's like me, and he's just a pup, I can't just turn my back on him"

Noct leant down and rested his head against Lunette's.

"Sorry I didn't mention this before" he murmured "everything's been rather rushed, forgive me?"

"You're terrible, you know that?" Lunette just gently shook her head with a small smile on her face "but that's one of the reasons I love you"

"So I'm forgiven?"

"Yes, yes" sighed Lunette looking over at Nick, Judy and Asra "If we don't do it I get the feeling Judy won't let go of him"

Noct waved a paw at Asra to come over, the surprise had loosened Judy's grip and the jackal managed to wriggle free. Asra ran over but then remembered that there was a stranger next to Mr Noct and slowed down cautiously. Noct noticed this and chuckled.

"This is my mate, Lunette" said Noct turning his head to kiss the wolf on the cheek.

"But you're not a wolf" said Asra tilting his head as he came to a stop in front of Noct.

"Doesn't matter, still my mate"

"It's nice to meet you properly Asra" said Lunette gently.

"Properly?" Asra tilted his head the other way, everyone present couldn't help thinking he was quite adorable.

"I work with Nick and Judy, I was there when they found you but I stayed behind to meet with the ambulance when it arrived" explained Lunette "you were already sedated by the time I saw you"

Lunette extricated herself from Noct's embrace and sat forwards on the sofa. Asra fidgeted a little under the wolf's rather intense gaze as she inspected him. As a child of the streets Asra normally didn't care too much about his appearance, if it fit and kept him the right temperature then he would wear it, and there was not much access to things like showers. Yet now, as Lunette looked him up and down, Asra couldn't help feeling that his clothes were rather tatty. Lunette's eyes softened as she watched Asra fidget nervously, she licked a thumb and reached out to clean a smudge on the side of his muzzle. Asra flinched a little before he realised what she was doing, then he just felt a bit embarrassed.

"He's filthy" Lunette said glaring down at Noct as she stood up.

"I did the best I could given that I couldn't move him during his treatment" protested Noct as he raised an eyebrow.

"Come on then" said Lunette firmly as she took Asra by the paw and started to drag him upstairs "let's get you cleaned up before we sort everything else out"

Noct watched them with a dopey smile on his face till they disappeared from view, shortly afterwards Judy and Noct's sensitive hearing picked up the gentle sound of flowing water.

"I love that mammal like you would not believe" said Noct with a happy sigh.

Noct still didn't know how he, with the life he had lived, deserved someone like Lunette. He glanced over at Nick and Judy, who were still rather shocked at everything, and grinned. Since he'd come this far, what was another bombshell?

"I'm going to ask her to marry me"

Noct's grin grew about three times larger as he watched Nick and Judy's faces. Judy had had too many happy surprises today, she actually wasn't sure how to react and just sort of sat there with wide eyes and a small smile. Noct noticed that Nick had looked at Judy fearfully whilst reaching for his ears but calmed down when he saw she was quiet. Then he just relaxed and looked back at Noct with that smirk of his. Noct knew his brother far too well though, as Nick was aware, and he could see what the fox was really trying to convey.

"I knew you two were pretty serious" said Nick "wasn't expecting this so soon though"

"Well you say that" said Noct scratching his head and glancing away momentarily "I, uh, I already had everything planned out back in Los Antleres, whoever it was that leaked the info about my presence had the worst timing. I swear if I ever find out who it was…"

"Have you asked her yet?" was the first thing Judy said after coming out of her minor stupor.

"Of course not, JJ" said Noct shaking his head "we've been back together for just a few days, I need to find the right time"

Nick and Judy nodded in agreement though their heads slowly jerked to a halt as Noct looked over at them intently. Savage emerald orbs stared as Noct emitted a pressure that Nick and Judy hadn't felt since Koslov was last trying to intimidate them.

"This also means that you two are sworn to secrecy about all this" growled Noct quietly "if Lunette catches on I will blame you two and I will make your lives a living hell of embarrassment till the end of your careers"

Nick and Judy could tell how serious Noct was, and Nick knew that his brother was certainly capable of going through with that threat, it would seem that this was Noct's line in the sand for hustles, tricks and teases. Thankfully Noct's eyes returned to normal within a few moments and the menacing aura disappeared along with it.

"Don't worry about that" said Nick leaning back on the sofa "I get how important she is to you. And you can rely on Carrots, she'll probably be trying to help you plan the whole thing. She won't spoil it, just so she can see the look on Lunette's face"

"That's true" grinned Judy evilly "and believe me, given the amount of sisters I have and how family focussed most rabbits are, I have plenty of experience in this field"

There was quiet for a moment before Judy let out a little giggle.

"I can't wait to see when Fru finds out" she laughed.

Noct winced, something not unnoticed by the two police officers sat opposite him.

"What was that?" asked Nick tilting his head.

"I… I haven't actually managed to see Fru yet" admitted Noct "She wasn't around when I went to see Mr. Big again"

"Oh well this just keeps getting better" said Nick with an enormous smirk.

"Did you know Fru Fru well?" asked Judy curiously before turning to Nick "and what about you? She didn't make much of a fuss over you when we were about to get Iced by Mr. Big"

"We knew her pretty well" said Noct as this time it was Nick's turn to wince "being the only youngsters under Mr. Big's wing, we were the only ones relatively close to Fru's age, so we saw her often enough"

"She wasn't very happy when Noct disappeared" said Nick "I expect her father told her about what happened to the Lacerdas as well. I… I didn't pay much attention to other people around that time, I was in quite a dark patch and you know my relationship with Mr. Big… deteriorated. To be honest, nearly getting Iced on her wedding day was the first time I'd seen her again in nearly a decade" Nick paused to smirk self-depreciatingly "She probably didn't recognise me, not that surprising for Mr. Big to be Icing a fox, we're sly bastards you know"

Judy swatted at Nick's arm in annoyance, she didn't like it when he put down foxes in general because she could tell that he was actually just talking about himself.

"Anyway" said Noct as he stood up "just remember to keep your mouths shut"

Nick mimed zipping up his muzzle which made Judy giggle slightly but she nodded at Noct as well.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Noct didn't say anything and just disappeared into the wardrobe room. He resurfaced very quickly now holding some clothing that seemed far too small for him. This, combined with the fact that he then headed for the stairs, made it fairly obvious that they were for Asra.

"You've been planning this whole thing for a while huh?" Nick shouted after him.

"Pretty much from the moment you told me the details" came the reply before Noct vanished into the bedroom.

Nick shook his head, everything that had happened was very Noct-ish, and he was very happy with that. There had been a distinct lack of Noct-ish occurrences in his life for the last ten years.

Thwap

Nick looked down at the cushion Judy had just slapped down onto his lap. He turned to look at his partner bemusedly in time to see her flop face first onto said cushion. There was a muffled screaming coming from the cushion as Judy's feet thumped against the sofa repeatedly. Nick gave a small snort and just waited for her to calm down, the screaming sounded happy enough, or so he thought, it was rather muffled.

After about a minute Judy sat back up like nothing had ever happened. Although Nick noticed, with a smirk, that she seemed to be avoiding his eyes.

"Feeling better?" he asked while checking the claws on his right paw.

"Yes" said Judy curtly "I'm more impressed with how Lunette is dealing with everything"

"Well they lived together in Los Antleres" said Nick "I expect she's pretty used to the sort of things that go on around Noct"

Judy's ears rotated towards the stairs and Nick automatically turned to face them, he had long grown to trust his partner's hearing. Sure enough, a few moments later, there was the rapid thump of footsteps and Asra appeared taking the steps three at a time.

"How do I look?" he asked as he bounced up and down in front of Nick and Judy.

Asra was clean and mostly dry now, his fur was sticking up in a few places but that just added to the cuteness, and seemed very happy with his new clothes. They were some kind of designer t-shirt and shorts, stylish but casual, it seemed Noct had at least some fashion sense.

Unlike someone's choice in shirts Judy thought to herself with a grin.

"You're looking slick" grinned Nick "and I know what I'm talking about when it comes to slick"

"It suits you Asra" said Judy shaking her head at her partner in minor despair.

"I told him that but he didn't believe me" said Noct as he came back downstairs with his arm round Lunette "insisted on getting your opinion"

Noct and Lunette sat back down again and Asra was left glancing between the two pairs of mammals wondering where to sit. In the end he couldn't decide and curled up on a small beanbag that was nearby.

"So what exactly have you got planned?" asked Lunette "I know you Noctis Lacerda, you wouldn't have suddenly jumped this on us without fully preparing beforehand"

"Of course" chuckled Noct as he looked over at Asra "from now on Asra will live here, just not here specifically, I hadn't been thinking about other residents when I designed this apartment. However, I own most of the tower and there is in fact one flat that is connected to the bottom floor of the penthouse. So that is yours now Asra, I'll take you down to see it soon, I'm assuming you are okay with this?"

Asra just nodded his head frantically as his tail wagged.

"The next part is up to you Asra, I will put myself forwards as your guardian and I'm perfectly willing to adopt you if that is what you want as well"

Asra just kept nodding though he couldn't stop the tears welling up in his eyes. A family was something the boy had never experienced, from his earliest memories he lived on the streets and fended for himself, sure he had some friends but it wasn't the same. Whenever Asra saw other families around the city he would always feel like he was missing out on something. Right at this second the pup almost wanted to thank the people who had kidnapped him, without them he wouldn't have met Nick, Judy, Noct and Lunette.

"Asra probably doesn't have any identification" said Lunette frowning slightly "won't that make things trickier?"

Nick and Noct shared a glance across the room before they both started to chuckle. They stopped quickly as the two females started to glare at them.

"Money solves everything, Nix" said Nick "I'd have thought you'd know that from Los Antleres"

"And I'm fairly sure there I can find someone involved in the legal process who owes Broken Clockwork a few favours" said Noct "Money is of no consequence, I can fund anything Asra needs or wants to do. How's your education?"

Asra stopped nodding abruptly and looked down in embarrassment.

"That's fine" said Noct kindly "I figured as much, for now I will take care of teaching Asra the basics he'll need"

"Will that be okay?" asked Judy a little concerned.

"My memory is near perfect, JJ" explained Noct "and along with that my brain functions extremely fast, I learn things very, very quickly and do not forget them. I can handle teaching Asra believe me. His treatment has been far shorter than what I experienced however but it will have a similar effect on him. He will learn rapidly and remember things easily, even though he is already 13 and only knows what he needed to survive, he will effortlessly catch up with his peers and then surpass them. He can apply himself to whatever catches his fancy and he will succeed. Of course, I can cover any tuition that may be required if that is the direction he ends up going in"

Lunette nodded in agreement, it was just like her mate to have all this planned out, and he certainly seemed to have covered everything important. Asra had wiped his tears, trying studiously to avoid getting his new clothes damp, and looked up at Noct.

"Does that mean that I'm Asra Lacerda now?" he asked curiously.

Noct froze.

Everyone in the room could see the sudden tension, especially Lunette who was leaning against her mate, she could feel Noct trembling slightly. Asra's ears dropped a little and his tail grew still but this was mainly in confusion, Noct didn't seem angry or anything, he just had a very faraway look on his face.

Well now Noct thought to himself I must say I never thought I'd ever spread the family name. Not with my biology anyway. Is it worth it? Maybe I should change my name, get rid of the family for ever… Noct knew that he never would though, despite everything he was a Lacerda, always would be Still… I am Noctis Lacerda, the only Lacerda, right now I am the Lacerdas. It's my family now so…

"If you're happy with that, then yes" said Noct smiling gently as he came back to his senses.

Asra grinned and curled up tighter on his beanbag, he buried his face in his tail and he could be heard quietly repeating his new name over and over to himself. Judy could feel her heart melting as she watched the pup, she was so happy that things were working out for Asra, she turned her head to say something to her partner. Judy didn't actually say anything though when she saw the expression on Nick's face.

It was happy? Judy thought so at least. He was staring off into space and he seemed rather distant. All in all, it was as if Nick had reached some sort of enlightenment or received some divine knowledge. Judy reached out and waved her hand in front of his face a few times with no reaction. Seeing this she reached out and poke him rather firmly in the side, between his third and fourth rib, a spot she had learnt he was particularly sensitive about.

Nick gave a small yelp drawing everyone's attention to himself. He looked down at Judy a little disapprovingly while rubbing his side to which Judy just raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with you Slick?" She asked.

Nick stopped rubbing his side and the biggest smirk Lunette had ever seen appeared on his face. She had thought the grin he had when Noct had given the fox directions earlier was big but it was nothing compared to this.

"I was just thinking" said Nick slowly "all this makes me Uncle Nick now, doesn't it?"

Noct looked over at his brother blankly, this quickly broke into a grin, and then the panther started to laugh. Asra's head popped up from under his tail, he looked over at Nick as everyone watched him, and his head tilted quizzically to the side. Nick saw this and tilted his own head just as quizzically, Judy had to slap a paw over her mouth to stop herself snorting in laughter, you could be forgiven if you thought the two of them were actually related.

"Uncle Nick?" said Asra.

The words were quite quiet but they hit the fox like a freight train. Nick's habit of holding the world at arm's length was not something he developed out of choice. It was necessity, the only way the fox could cope with society's view on his species, and had long become ingrained in his personality. If no one ever got close to him then no one could ever hurt him again. And, given his past, Nick had never expected to find a mate and start a family. That wasn't to say that Nick didn't want those things, he had just come to the conclusion that it was never going to happen to him.

And yet all of a sudden, thanks entirely to that tingle down his spine, there was a pup looking up at him with those innocent brown eyes who called him Uncle. Right at that point, though he already knew he cared about Asra, Nick came to terms with the fact that, probably due to seeing himself in the boy, Asra had slipped inside his defences.

It was all Nick could do to keep a straight face and smile back at Asra. He felt a paw touch his side again, gently this time, and he calmed down a little. Trust Judy to see straight through him but he was glad that she knew exactly how to support him.

At this point Asra smiled before turning his head to look at the bunny.

"Aunty Judy?" he said very innocently.

Everyone froze this time. To start with, Noct and Lunette just watched how Nick and Judy would react.

Calm down Judy thought to herself just because he called you Aunty and Nick Uncle does not in any way tie the two of you together. Look at Asra, he clearly isn't thinking anything like that.

Judy glanced across at the fox sat next to her to find that he was glancing back at her already. Their eyes met and the fur on the backs of their necks bristled. Judy hurriedly pulled the paw touching Nick's side back like she'd been shocked. Asra watched curiously as Nick and Judy's heads snapped apart to look in opposite directions.

Judy just happened to look across the room to where Noct and Lunette were sitting. The two of them had a terrifying twinkle in their eyes and they were murmuring to each other with grins on their faces as they watched her.

Oh god Judy thought in horror as she looked at Asra, Noct and Lunette Even if Asra didn't know what he was saying, it's like an entire family of Clawhausers!

Suddenly realising that she hadn't said anything yet, Judy calmed herself enough to look back at Asra with a gentle smile on her face.

"That's me" she said brightly.

Asra looked between his new Aunt and Uncle and his tail started to wag again. Nick had resorted to checking his phone to hide his embarrassment and distract himself. It was only after scrolling through several pages on Furbook that he noticed what the time was.

"We need to start moving Carrots" said Nick looking across at his partner, Judy jumped slightly before checking the time herself.

"He's right" said Judy climbing to her feet "We still need to go to work tomorrow"

Asra's face fell and both Nick and Judy couldn't help but sigh.

"Don't worry Scruff, we'll visit again soon" said Nick with a grin.

"Asra" said Lunette while patting the sofa next to her.

Asra perked up at Nick's promise and then ran over to Noct and Lunette and hopped up on the sofa next to the wolf. Asra had certainly warmed up to Lunette and happily settled himself down beside her. Noct stood up as well, he planned to walk Nick and Judy out and make sure that they got a taxi.

Nick and Judy made their goodbyes to Lunette, though they would see her again just the next morning, and Asra once more. Noct led the way out of the apartment and Lunette just about heard Nick asking Judy 'how her parents would react to her being Aunty Judy now' as they followed. The last thing Lunette heard was Judy reply "Dumb Fox, do you know how many of my siblings already have kids? I was always Aunty Judy".

It was quiet with just Asra and Lunette left in the room. It was now like the calm after a storm, a lot had happened to Asra over the last week, let alone just today. He may be in his early teens but, living on the streets with no one to rely on, parts of him were more mature than his peers while other parts were far more childish. Add on to this the fact that his instincts were now enhanced and Asra still didn't know how to cope with this entirely, and the whole situation was starting to bear down on the child.

Lunette looked down in concern when she noticed Asra start to tremble, his paws clenched. Just like Judy, Lunette had graduated police academy aged 24, and right now she was 29 years old. 5 years working the beat in Los Antleres had given her a lot of experience as a cop. Which is why she very quickly worked out what was wrong with Asra.

Lunette reached over and gently picked Asra up, feeling him tense as she did so, and sat him down in her lap. Not for the first time Lunette noticed how small Asra was, they definitely needed to sort out his diet.

"Noct really does like to drop things on us doesn't he" said Lunette quietly "although this is the first time on this sort of scale. I know that you are a bit uncomfortable right now, this is all new to me as well, but you don't need to worry. If Noct says that he will look after you then he will and I'll be here to help and so will Nick and Judy"

Asra calmed down as he listened to Lunette's voice but he realised that she had slightly misunderstood him.

"I'm not uncomfortable Miss Lunette" said Asra cheering up a bit "It was just that a lot has happened, I'm very thankful to you and Mr Noct and Uncle Nick and Aunty Judy"

Lunette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was fairly obvious to all that Asra was adorable, his small size and naivety towards things he hadn't experienced before living on the streets struck a chord in everyone's hearts. But at that moment, as Lunette held him in her arms, it went further than that. Lunette suddenly found that she just wanted to protect the little jackal.

Well this is unexpected thought Lunette as the feeling only seemed to get stronger I guess these are maternal instincts…

"Asra, you…" Lunette hesitated, this wasn't something she had ever thought that she would be saying "you can just call me mum"

Asra jolted slightly and tucked his head into his chest.

"M-Mum" he whispered barely loud enough for Lunette to hear.

But hear she did and Lunette could barely keep her tail from wagging, even though she was sat down, as a warm feeling ran through her at Asra's words. She held him a bit closer and there was quiet for a while once more.

After a few more minutes and Noct still hadn't reappeared, Lunette had a sudden idea and leant down to whisper into Asra's ear. The jackal blinked a few times as he listened before a shy little smile appeared on his face.

It was another few minutes and there was still no sign of Noct and Lunette started to frown. She was just about to get up and go look for her mate when the door opened. Noct walked back inside and the reason for his lateness could be seen behind him. The normally empty corridor before the elevator was now full of all the cardboard boxes that contained Lunette's belongings. The frown disappeared from Lunette's face and, shortly afterwards when she glanced at Asra, was replaced by a cheeky grin. Noct saw the expression on his mate's face and his steps faltered slightly.

"W-" Asra struggled to find his voice as Noct focussed his attention on the jackal, Lunette stroked the top of Asra's head encouragingly "Welcome home dad"

Noct slowly stumbled to a halt as he took in the sight of Asra sat in Lunette's lap. His face was blank, even Nick would struggle to read his brother at this moment, so no one knew about the storm of emotions wracking Noct. Noct felt something on his cheeks and raised a paw to find that his eyes had welled with tears. He blinked a few times before he disappeared into the kitchen without saying anything.

Asra was scared and looked up at Lunette, she noticed his worry and stroked the top of his head again while telling him everything was fine. Lunette reached out and picked up the remote from where Noct had left it. She darkened one of the windows and turned on the TV. Placing Asra beside her Lunette passed him the remote and told him to sit still for a while. Leaving the jackal to flick through the many channels, Lunette went into the kitchen to find her mate.

As she expected Noct had started to cook, one of his greatest weapons while he had been courting her was his home cooked meals, Lunette had always been impressed with his skill in the kitchen. When she thought about it now, cooking was probably another of the skills forcibly taught to him by his family. Lunette shook her head slightly as she walked up behind Noct and wrapped her arms round his waist.

"Don't blame Asra" she said as Noct paused his work cutting up an onion "I told him to say that"

Noct put down his knife and turned around in Lunette's embrace so he could face her. As always he was struck by her beauty, every time he saw his mate she took his breath away, just like the first time he saw her. He hesitated slightly, this was a secret only Nick knew about, and while he had always planned to tell Lunette, this situation had come out of nowhere.

"It's no one's fault, you wouldn't have known" he said gently raising a paw to trace the side of Lunette's face "I can't have children, Bruma"

Noct smiled sadly as he watched her, Lunette's eyes widened, her mouth opened and her left ear flopped slightly, all signs that showed her shock.

"Yet another of the side effects from my 'upbringing', one that emphasises what my family wanted from me, a weapon has no need for the ability to start a family of its own"

"Why did you never tell me?" asked Lunette as she gripped the back of his shirt.

"I had actually been struggling with how to do that back in Los Antleres, without bringing my past into it" said Noct touching his nose to Lunette's "and it was never the right moment to talk about it. I've long since come to terms with it, I just never thought I'd hear someone call me dad. Asra's words just… got to me a little"

Lunette let go of Noct's shirt and reached up to cup his face as she pressed her lips to his. She was trying to convey all the thoughts and feelings she was having but just couldn't seem to put into suitable words. Noct closed his eyes and revelled in the love, concern, and support as he kissed her back.

"I don't deserve you" he said simply as they broke apart.

"Oh shush" said Lunette as she batted him on the chest and stepped away "go back to your cooking"

Noct gave a salute and turned back to his half-chopped onion. Lunette stayed and leant against the wall off to one side. She had always enjoyed watching Noct cook, his graceful motions and perfect timings seemed to turn the act into a work of art. Delicious smells began to fill the room, from what Lunette could gather Noct was cooking some sort of omelette, even out in the living room Asra started to sniff the air hungrily.

It was the little moments like this that Lunette had missed the most when Noct vanished from Los Antleres. She would never get bored watching her mate and Lunette just waited happily as he cooked. The sounds from the living room stopped and a few seconds later Asra entered the kitchen curiously following his nose.

"Asra, could you help Bruma set the table?" asked Noct without turning from his work.

With a few directions from Noct, Asra enthusiastically moved three plates from one of the cupboards to the table in the middle of the room while Lunette dealt with the cutlery. The omelettes were nearly done so Lunette and Asra sat at the table and did not have to wait long. The meal was a simple one, cheese and onion omelettes with a bowl of mixed salad as a side, the thing that surprised Lunette was the quantity. There were four omelettes, folded over, and each one was a meal by itself. Lunette took one but her confusion only grew when Noct only served himself half.

"This is probably a good time to talk about food" said Noct as he pushed the remaining omelettes towards Asra "or rather, our metabolisms. While taking Suppressors my metabolism slows down, I eat less" Noct gestured at his portion "and my body temperature rises. If I were to stop taking the Suppressors and return to my savage form then this basically flips. My body would process energy very quickly and my body temperature drops ridiculously to save as much of that energy as possible"

Lunette nodded along slowly as Noct spoke when she was distracted by the chewing sounds from next to her. Looking away from her mate her mouth dropped slightly as she saw that Asra had already finished off one of the omelettes and was moving onto his second.

"Asra just finished his treatment which left him in a savage state, currently his metabolism is not only fast but his body is seeking extra fuel to heal itself" explained Noct picking away at his own food.

Lunette almost forgot to eat herself as she watched two and a half omelettes and assorted salad rapidly disappear into the little jackal's maw. Asra's eyes were a little blank, like he wasn't entirely aware, as he licked his lips. He yawned as his head began to nod, Noct reached across the table and pulled Asra's plate out of the way as the pup slumped down where it just was. Lunette was a little worried but Noct wasn't acting like anything was wrong and Asra had started to snore gently.

"Don't worry" said Noct standing up "While he seems better, Asra's body still needs a lot of rest, to be honest I'm impressed he lasted this long. Now that he's eaten I expect he'll sleep for quite a while"

"But you're sure he's okay?" asked Lunette finishing up the last bits of her own meal.

"Yes" Noct walked round the table and picked up Asra "I'll give him a Suppressor tomorrow to get things under control, we just need to let his body recover by itself now. Come on I'll give you the rest of the tour"

Ignoring the washing up for now, Noct led the way back into the living room, once more he swiped a wrist over the bannisters and the stairs down revealed themselves. He descended slowly and Lunette followed curiously.

"That room is the laboratory" said Noct as he paused to hold the door open for Lunette to look in briefly "this one is the infirmary… training room… engineering bay… resource storage… torture chamber…"

Lunette's head span round in time to see Noct grinning at her, she sighed and shook her head.

"Okay that one is actually a meditation room, tasteful rock garden and everything" Lunette opened the door and couldn't help gasping in admiration, the room was full of swirling gravel and gentle fountains with a platform in the centre covered in cushions "though for some more active mammals I guess that could be torture"

Lunette thought back to how bad waiting for Weaselton had gotten to Judy, the wolf couldn't help agreeing with her mate's last statement. Noct didn't show her all the rooms, he said some of them were just empty, and soon they reached the end of the corridor. It was a blank wall save for some sort of screen off to one side. Noct once again waved a wrist over it and the wall right ahead of them slid open.

They stepped through into another apartment, far smaller than the penthouse suite, but just as luxurious. Lunette admired the open kitchenette/lounge as Noct headed directly for a door which Lunette assumed was the bedroom. By the time she caught up Noct had already put Asra on the bed and tucked him in. Noct looked down at Asra's sleeping face, the pup seemed to be sleeping better than he ever did during any of the treatment. Lunette joined Noct at his side, she also gazed at the little jackal.

I always thought we'd adopt at some point she thought to herself, she loved Noct more than anything, as he did her, she had never even considered not spending the rest of her life with him I just didn't expect it so soon after finding him again she smiled and put an arm around Noct which he matched Zootopia huh, life sure is crazy.

Noct's eyes flicked open and he sat up in bed with enough force to throw the covers off himself. He didn't even need to check the clock to know that two hours had passed since he had drifted off to sleep holding Lunette in his arms. His senses were running wild and he focussed on the silence to calm himself down.

Well, almost silence.

"What's wrong honey?" asked Lunette a little sleepily as she rolled over.

"I finished sleeping, that's all" said Noct still sitting up in bed, he didn't look at her.

"Do you always wake up like that?" asked Lunette after a moment.

Noct just sighed, his mate reached out and gently pulled him back onto the bed till he was lying down again, he still wasn't looking at her though.

"When I do sleep my dreams are controlled by the primitive part of my subconscious" explained Noct "I dream of living like a savage, I dream of being the killer my family wanted… depending on the instinct some dreams can be more vivid than others, in which case I wake up rather… agitated"

Lunette didn't say anything but she reached out to gently run a paw through Noct's fur. Her paw trailed down across Noct's chest as the big cat purred softly. Lunette paused, however, when her arm touched something hot and very, very hard.

"I think I know what you were dreaming about" Lunette said with half lidded eyes, her paw wrapping around him.

Noct twitched and then there was a deep rumble that filled the room sending shivers through Lunette. Her mate twisted till he was leaning over her as he gently but firmly pressed her down.

"I just told you that my instincts were agitated" growled Noct almost struggling with his words.

Noct's eyes were slit-like and stared down at Lunette with a fierce longing, once again Lunette found that she wasn't scared of his eyes, in fact a heat was starting to run through the wolf under Noct's gaze.

"And what are they telling you to do?" asked Lunette breathily.

Noct's response was another growl before his lips pressed against hers with a passion that Lunette was eager to return. Conscious thoughts began to take the back seat as something more primal took over their escalating actions.

Noct would not be getting anymore sleep that night and, from the sounds of it, neither would Lunette.