Chapter 3:
.
AN: So, the final chapter of this Jack-Skye story... And I've done a bit of artwork for it, currently over on the A03 version if you want a look.
.
Jack was shaken. This was not the Skye that had left him a few days ago. She trembled and shook as she scooted along, making her way into the part of the building where she lived. Slamming open a door, slumping down hard onto a sink, she turned on the tap and began nursing it like a kit.
She broke off, coughing and spluttering, before reaching for it again. Her throat pulsed with each gulp, before she broke off, gagging. A second gag, and her stomach turned, clear fluid vomiting up from her mouth and into the sink.
The bunny was speechless, but he held back. Skye… Skye would prefer it that way, wouldn't she?
The vixen leant to the tap and began sipping, slowly but surely. There was a moment or two when she'd pause, holding her stomach and doubling over, but she held it in and, eventually, finished. Her chest rose and fell, in and out as if she'd just finished a run, and she looked at Jack with her wavering kit like eyes. He walked over and, once more, she hugged him. Hugged him and petted him, as she sniffed and began to waver, on the edge of tears.
Jack held her back. She needed it. She deserved it. There was no internal arguing or debate, he just did it.
.
…
"What happened?" he asked quietly, as one of her fingers ran up and down his ear for comfort.
"I was on the trolley," she said, her voice hollow, weak and distant. "I… -I was just doing some checks, and you don't need your legs for that, do you? I… -I was doing it by myself, and I felt my good leg get caught in stuff. Those leads, and… and…"
She trailed off and he clutched her tighter. He'd be rocking her but, due to their size, she was the one rocking him. It had the same effect though. "Don't worry, I'm here."
"I was kicking it to let go, and I felt one of the casters slip into a channel in the floor. I just… -just thought I could wiggle and knock some more, and…"
Jack had to hold his mouth tightly as her claws began pricking his back.
"I remember it slipping. Pain… Then my leg, stuck. I… I tried to get up, but I couldn't put any weight on my bad leg. I tried, I really… -I really did, but it was agony, and my good leg was caught and wouldn't come loose…"
"You're safe now," he said. "You're safe. You're… smelly."
She choked a little, sniffing a bit. "When I had to go, I tried to move around, but…"
Looking down, Jack noticed the staining on her clothes.
"I'm going to need you to do something," she said, breathing in and out.
"What's that?"
"I…" she began, before biting her lip. Jack let go so he could see her fully, her tail wrapping around her body and the tip going into her paws, where it was gripped and tightly fussed with. Her ears folded hard against her head, she took a deep breath in before speaking. "Can you help me shower?"
He nodded. That was just standing around pointing a thing, right? He could do that.
"In the blue cupboard there's a stool and plastic bag," she explained, "We can use that to elevate and shield my cast. You can find it while I… -you know."
Jack nodded, turning around before pausing. "Won't I be seeing you… '-you know', anyway? If I'm helping you shower?"
"Oh, right," she realised, saying it quietly. "Just get the stuff please."
The bunny complied, turning back as she pulled off her shirt, revealing her chest underneath. Like many female mammals, it almost looked muscled, though he knew it was really from her mammaries. She covered the two primary ones at the top with her paws, looking away, before dropping them down to her jeans to undo the buttons. "You'll see it anyway," she noted, "and this." Straining, she began unrolling the jeans and her underwear, Jack unable to help himself from noticing some of the staining. Most of it was along the outside flank of her bad leg, the one she'd been laying on. She struggled to get the jeans past the cast and took a breath in. "Help?" she asked, pathetically. He helped, and off it came, Skye bare in the room in front of him. "Next step, get the shower on and I'll get in. Switch the top dial to the top two red lines."
As he stepped in, jumped up to grab the shower head and then leapt again to turn it on, Skye made her way over. She slipped into the base of the shower, putting her leg up and far out, before pointing to the top of her head. She looked miserable and as the hot water hit her head it only got worse, her fur becoming sodden while her ears drooped down pathetically.
Jack held the head there for a second or two, wondering both her reasons for asking him to do things like this that she could easily do, and why he was doing it. The front of his clothes were already getting wet, despite his best efforts, for a start. Skye just sat there, slumping down more, beginning to sniff and cry, and Jack had enough. "Skye, there's no need to humiliate yourself," he said, lowering the shower head down so it only hit her shoulders.
"You need to shower me," she said, bitterly.
"Listen, I know you," he said. "I am an actor."
She looked up at him as he lowered the shower head to his chest, her ears folding back as she leant in closer.
"You're looking at the shower head and leaning in closer, you want it. Shower yourself."
"No," she said, her head turning away and her voice cracking. "I can't."
"Of course you can and you know…"
"OF COURSE I KNOW IT!" she shouted, sending Jack stumbling back. "Of course I know… Of course…" she continued, as her lips trembled and eyes watered. She looked away, the tears starting, before she doubled over, bawling into her paws. "Of… of… of course I know… I… I… I can do it… I… I… want to… but…"
"Why don't you do it then!?"
She carried on crying, pausing a little as Jack came over. Letting the shower hit her scalp up close, percolating down through her fur, he gave one of her shoulders a massage. "I… I… Feel like a fucking baby kit… I… I… hate this… I…"
"Then why are you doing this?"
"BECAUSE I HAVE TO!" She screamed out. Jack, having enough, leaped up and turned the shower off, coming in close to hug her. The front of his shirt was soaked, an unpleasant feeling flowing through, but he'd put up with it until the vixen was better. "Jack," she said, trying to take a calming breath. She began breathing in through her mouth and out through her nose, again and again. "Did you… Did you notice those clothes?"
"No."
"They're the same ones I wore when I visited you," she said. "I… I got home, had lunch. I closed the shop, wanting to go low on customers while I was… -well, you know…" She closed her eyes and choked out a sob. "Then I started working on the car, my foot got tangled, and…"
"Oh Skye," he gasped, shivering. That was three days, wasn't it? No food, no water, no wonder she'd gone straight for the tap. She was thirsty, and tired, and filthy and hungry… "I brought nuts."
"What?" she asked.
"I brought nuts," he repeated. "Food nuts, as I thought, mechanic: nuts…"
Her whole body shook as she barked out a laugh, before she then looked up into his eyes. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said, moving in to scratch under her muzzle.
She nodded, before one of her paws came up to hold his. She looked at him, her gaze turning serious. "Three days," she said, before looking down. "No food, no water, no way to get out… -Nobody coming around because the shop was closed and I… and I told everyone I could handle it. My… My parents not checking in as I don't phone them regularly or…" She broke off, sniffing again. "I… I was going to die Jack," she said, her voice cracking. "I was going to die, and it was MY fault because I can't accept help from anyone because I'm a stubborn little…"
"Whatever you're about to say, you're not," he said, sighing as he stepped around to her front. As if on a rail, he went straight into her chest, letting her hold her emotional support bunny as she rocked him back and forth.
"Tch…" she chided. "It's true though… all… -all of it… I had a lot of time to think. I wasn't ready, Jack. I wasn't… Not now, not like this. And I… -I remembered my parents and my sister and my friends and you and… and I begged for a second chance. A second chance where… Where I WOULDN'T make the same mistake again. Where… Where I'd ask for help, and then you came in. You come in and you save me and I'm filthy, and there's a shower, and it's a place to test… To test myself, and to prove I listened. That… That I kept my promise, and…"
She broke into a sob, Jack feeling her tears on his head, even if they were nothing compared to his soaked front.
"But I hated it. I felt like a stupid helpless kit, even though I wanted this. You were right, it was humiliating, and I saw that shower head and I knew… I knew that I could just take it. It was screaming inside me Jack… Screaming too… To just grab it, and not bother you, and be done even quicker and…" She went silent, looking down at the floor, enveloping Jack as she rubbed his back with her paws. "But what kind of mammal am I if I do that?"
"You're shivering."
"I'm cold.
"You need to shower."
"You need to shower me," she said, sighing. Her voice dripped with distaste. "Then dress me, then feed me, then tuck me into bed, stick a dummy in my mouth and read me a bedtime story for all the good it'll do…"
…
"Do you know who you remind me of?" he asked.
"Some mammal in a weird porno you directed?"
Jack harrumphed. "Skye, I'll have you know that any pornographic material I may or may not have directed, be it for 'funsies' or 'I'm young and needed the monies', would be distilled love, care and passion, and designed to move you so much you forgot the original purpose of watching it."
She shook, and he could feel a smile grow on her muzzle. "You didn't say no."
"Technically the answer is no. But to be honest, that's only due to starting the 'eeny' on the guy on the left, not on the right, and messing around with reins, bits and saddles and oh my instead. But that's not the point… -You remind me of Nick Wilde."
"I thought you were trying to cheer me up."
"I am."
"I think that you guys call this part 'jumping the shark'."
"I'm doing more of an Aesop which, as is evident, started with a wham line."
"Hmmm… The more you know."
"Anyway," Jack carried on. "I actually met him when Judy was trying to help him out. He was going through some stuff then. Did he tell you?"
"About still feeling like a hustler?"
"Yes," Jack said, before pausing. "Well actually no. He was trying to get away from that, and he'd convinced himself that he had to. He had to change the way he spoke, the way he acted, the very heart and soul of himself. And he'd been struggling, and got it into his head that he'd been stuck in an act for years. Judy asked me to help hustle him into realising that wasn't the case."
"Uh-hu," she said, pausing. "That… was Nick?"
"Yes, and what we were trying to do was make him realise that he wasn't stuck in an act. That it was all him, and that was okay. From what Judy said, he'd changed a lot, and there was no need to throw out the baby with the bath water…"
…
"The more I hear about him," Skye said, sounding unsure. "The more it seems he's changed. I… -Maybe he went through something like what I did, just now, during the howler plot." She huffed. "And if he did, well he's a better fox than I am. He stuck the landing."
"So did you," Jack said. "You want to change your ways, don't you?"
He felt her nod her head and he let go, stepping back. Seeing her as she was, she looked extra pathetic, a half-drowned half-starved embarrassment to vulpine kind. Jack just wanted to see her right. "Don't throw out the baby with the bath water."
Taking a deep breath in, Skye nodded. "Okay then… If you turn it on and bag up my leg, I'll shower myself."
Jack nodded. "I could get new clothes."
"That… I didn't think about that," she said, blushing a little. "I'm sorry, I haven't been having a good day."
"Well, let's turn that around then," Jack said, as he walked in and jumped up, the shower turning back on. Grabbing the bag, he put it over her cast as she worked herself over with the shower head, a massive grin on her face. He left her like that as he walked into her room and picked out a set of clothes for her. As he returned, though, something occurred to him.
He was doing all of this…
It wasn't something to do with acting.
It wasn't something he technically had to do…
Was this what Haida was talking about? Duty… Sacrifice not feeling like a chore? He didn't know. Maybe it was just because there was no one else to look after her…?
Well, there were her parents, but…
…
Jack was at a loss; he couldn't think of a reason for them not to do it. To call them and absolve himself of this. Yet no urge grew within him to do just that. One phone call and he could take the easy way out, and nobody would be harmed…
Yet…
He shook his head, knocking on the door before coming in the shower room. Skye had finished off, and he brought over her crutches and helped her up as she went into her fur dryer. She could operate it with one paw and was soon done, quickly dressing herself after. "Now," she said, unsure of herself. "I guess I lie down, relax, and let you take care of me."
"You lead the way," he said, as she went into the back room. She only had a little lounge, a window with blinds at the back, two old sofa's against the wall and a decent TV in the corner. There were decorations here and there though, pictures of friends and family. Settling down on one of the sofa's, she pulled a blanket over her and snuggled up into herself, tail over muzzle.
Jack looked at her, thinking. "How about those nuts?"
As if to answer, her stomach rumbled. "Yes please," she said. "Eating a few of them to start off with might help my stomach adjust. I don't want to throw up."
Jack nodded, and walked out back to get them, thinking as he did so. She was safe, she was okay, he could leave and be fine with it. The old Jack wouldn't even debate about it. Yet here he was, wanting to stay. Why… Why?
He paused as he passed the pit where she'd been trapped and sat down, his feet hanging over the edge. She'd thought she would die in there, didn't she? Alone, thirsty and hungry, regretting the very thing that had defined her…
Yet he, the deus ex machina, had come in to give her a second chance. She'd gone into the pit, been sullied, yet chosen to be reborn. Her character had developed, a shaky development that she herself was trying to work on, yet it was still something big. Something great.
Were this a work of fiction, he'd stick on so that the audience wouldn't see him as a dick. Yet if he walked out now, there wasn't anyone who'd see him like that. This was real life though…
Skye was trying to change, and had hoisted the responsibility of helping her onto him, without his consent. Haida would say it was his duty… But based on what they were, it wasn't.
What would Judy think… Or what would Nick think…
He didn't know, but he realised something. Both cops had changed. Both had faced the worst part of themselves, reflected in a mirror, and vowed to alter it. They had gone through the same thing, figuratively at least, as she had. It may have been messy in cases, but they all wished to move on.
So, should he too?
.
…
His eyes lingered on Skye's cart, and he closed his eyes and breathed in. Doing more than the minimum you had to do, outside of acting at least. He could give it a go, couldn't he?
So, he stood up and marched on, grabbing the bags of nuts and heading back to Skye. He'd give it a try.
"They smell good," she said, as he past them over. "I'll take the mild ones for now, try and get my stomach ready for the spicy ones. And bigger stuff. I'm still thirsty, so a jug of water would be great."
Jack nodded and thought. Bigger stuff… A bigger meal… Old Jack would call take out. It was easy, convenient, cheap… What would putting more effort be like? Well, he guessed, it would be making something yourself. Showing you cared. Maybe something she liked.
"I can get you something else, if you want," he said. "-Cook it up. What's your favourite dish?"
Slipping a nut into her mouth, chewing and swallowing, Skye thought for a second or two. "I don't know. But, if you weren't here and I was making something…" She trailed off in thought, before her eyes widened. "I know! Pumpkin and hominy soup," she said, her eyes lighting up. "When I was little and sick, my mother would cook it and spoon feed it to me. It always made me feel better."
"Right," Jack said, nodding. "Pumpkin and hominy soup, do you have the recipe?"
"If you give me your phone, I can find it for you," she said, promptly receiving his phone and beginning to tap away. "You know," she mused softly. "She'd even spoon feed me when I was ten and eleven, stuck in bed and shivering… I still loved it then, it didn't make me feel like a kit at all. Funny how things…" She trailed off, handing the phone back over. "I've got cans of hominy in the cupboards next to the sink, and some pumpkin in the fridge. There's a blender on the counter, and a pot drying too."
"Okay," Jack said, preparing himself. This would be his first-time cooking in… -he couldn't remember when, but he'd try. He pulled himself up tall and proud. "Skye, I am here to serve your needs, recreate your childhood bliss, and nurse you back to help."
"Thanks," she said. "-Though I still can't stand the idea of being spoon fed. You can pass on that one."
Jack nodded and off he went, checking the recipe. It seemed simply enough. Cut, boil and drain the pumpkin, before putting it in the blender. Add the stock, some cream and a mix of spices, then blend and add the hominy. All easy-peasy and a good place to start, he mused, until he got into the kitchen.
For Skye, the counters were a bit tall but not insurmountable.
For him, they were insurmountable.
"Right then," he said, his eyes about level with the countertop. "How do I…" Looking around, he spotted a small step ladder, likely used by Skye to lift herself further up. Bringing it around, his vision and reach greatly improved, and he leant forwards to grab a jug and fill it with water. He then took it and a glass back to Skye before returning. Grabbing one of the pans, he filled it with water from the tap and…
It was heavy now.
His arms strained as he tried to lift it out from under the tap, just about managing to do so. Pulling it across and closer it became far easier to handle, and he slipped it onto one of the hobs before turning it on. Next step, the pumpkin. Over to the fridge, he found some in the crisper drawer. It was about three-quarters of a green one, and he lifted the heavy thing out, his arms beginning to ache as he took it up the ladder and slipped it onto the counter top.
"-Jack!?"
"Yes Skye?"
"Just to let you know, we always used a can of coconut milk instead of cream. It's with the hominy."
Keeping it in mind, he moved on. He brought out a set of scales, and found out that there was three times as much pumpkin as needed, so he grabbed a knife and began cutting. It was hard. The knife was just a bit too big for him, and he had to push and shove to cut through the tough flesh, finally doing so. He groaned though as he realised he'd now have to chop it all up, though…
-It was only the skin that was tough, which he had to remove anyway. Grabbing a nearby peeler, he set to work, finding out just how tough the skin was. He needed to yank back the peeler, and more often than not he only pulled off a small chunk of the skin, the top layer at that. There was a less tough layer beneath that also needed to be removed.
"Right Jack," he told himself. "They can do it, you can do it."
And so he did, bit by bit, and slowly but surely hating it more and more. He was hot, the water boiling away right next to him making him uncomfortable. His arms ached, his brain was complaining, he was getting sticky stuff in his paw, which normally wouldn't irritate him but was. The worst part was his left paw. He had to use it to hold the cutting part of the peeler, otherwise it would just pivot around with each pull of his right paw. But now, after being cut into so much, it was feeling raw. The final insult to injury was that he was only halfway done too.
This was stupid.
He could find a restaurant that could likely make a better soup and get them to order in. It would likely be quicker too. Wouldn't Skye want that? She was hungry, after all. Starved for three days, her only relief so far coming from a bunch of peanuts.
"I'll tell her," he grunted, slipping down and walking back in. She'd probably prefer it, while it was a silly thing on his behalf. Succumbing to peer pressure, sure and simple. Anyhow…
He trailed off as he turned into the lounge, spotting Skye on the phone. Holding it up to her ears, she was speaking into it, her eyes glistening with tears. "I… I know," she said. "It had been a while, and I'll stay there a good time to compensate." There was a pause, then a laugh. "Normally I'd say stuff about how I don't need it, or that I'm not your little kit any more… -Okay, maybe I am. I have been a bit silly recently. I mean, part of me is still saying those things, but you want to care for me, you get to care for me… BWAHAHAHA…. -Sure you can sign it. Dad can too. Speaking of which…"
Jack looked on, before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. With one swift turn, he marched back to the kitchen. She was serious about putting things right, so he could be serious about something. Just one thing, other than his acting.
Just one thing.
Those words tasted bitter in his mouth as he worked on the pumpkin, finally peeling it all. Cutting it up afterwards was easier, even if it still took a few yanks down for the larger cuts. Climbing onto the counter to peer in, he saw that there was still enough water in there to cook the pumpkin, which he threw in. Hard part over. Grabbing and opening the cans, he put the coconut milk in the blender, alongside the required spices, while rinsing the hominy. Now for the stock, he guessed he'd use one of those cube things. Finding one, he chucked it in, before adding the lid and blending it up. A quick check on the pumpkin, using a slotted ladle to bring some out and a fork to test it, and he guessed it was done. He drained and rinsed it, adding it to the blender, sticking the lid on and letting it rip. That done, checking the temperature, he poured in the hominy and had a taste…
"This is the culinary equivalent of a Buster Moon production," he said, disappointed at the rank mediocrity of it. So much for the effort, it wasn't as if there was something he'd missed, was there?
Out of curiosity, he checked the recipe again, pausing as he saw a note about seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, along with some other spices that could be added. Finding the two main ones, plus some paprika in a jar, he started adding them in and tasting, smiling as it turned out quite okay. Finally, grabbing a bowl and pouring it in, he began taking it out to Skye.
She was curled up and sleeping under the blanket, tail over her nose and fluttering slightly with each breath. She looked so much better though, her face far less gaunt. Both the nuts and the water were gone.
Lightly tapping her, he saw her eyes flutter, her nose twitch and sniff, and she slowly uncurled herself. "That smells…" she said, gently taking it in her paws and having a taste. She flinched back, moaning as it hit her tongue, before swallowing it down and turning to Jack. "Thanks," she said, her voice cracking up a little.
Jack smiled back. She liked it, she liked it a lot! He'd done something and it worked. He felt good. "It wasn't much."
"It was something," she said, taking another spoonful. "Something I didn't expect from you."
Jack gave a nervous laugh. "Well, you and everyone else is trying to move on… I thought I'd try to be less lazy, and more like a boyfriend. That's sort of what I am, isn't it?"
"Did Haida rub off on you?"
"Him and a few others, including you."
She nodded. "Haida sounds like a great guy," she said, taking a few more spoonful's. "If I'd… If I ended up dying, in there…" She trailed off as she said it, putting the soup down. "The poor guy would beat himself up about it. He's perfect for Retsuko."
"They're a good match."
"Like us."
"Are we though?" Jack asked, a bit sceptically. He sighed. "Haida was chewing himself off over all these things, while I ignored it all. I only came here after getting nagged and nagged. When cooking that soup, I gave up at one point and was going to call takeout. I… -I'm not really good boyfriend material, and… I'm trying… I feel like I want to try and do more now. It felt good going above and beyond, helping you with that soup. But it's just baby steps."
Skye smiled. "You do know that I got up at one point, I was hearing you struggle with the cutting or peeling, and I had the urge to save you the effort and do it myself?"
"No," he whispered.
She nodded and looked away. "Before all this, I think the two of us were good for each other. We both gave what the other wanted. We've changed now, but I think we still do that."
Jack's eyes widened, and he nodded his head. "You need to accept more help and let go, I need to take on more stuff myself." He smiled. "I think you're right."
"Yeah," she agreed, taking another spoonful of food, savouring it. "And I need my emotional support bunny. These last few days were quite emotional."
"I can imagine," Jack replied, as he walked forwards and into her lap. She unbuttoned her shirt, pulling him close so she could feel the heat from his body, before rubbing and petting with one paw, the other feeding herself. It didn't take long for her to finish it all, and they laid down with each other. Jack slipped his shirt off, so it was fur against fur, and they embraced cuddled and talked.
.
.
.
"Let's have a slothfieldian conversation."
"What's that?"
"It's a talk about nothing."
"But we're talking about something. We're talking about a slothfieldian conversation."
"Ah, Skye, but if we were in a piece of fiction, then it wouldn't have any point in relation to the plot. In the grand scheme of things, it's a conversation about nothing."
"But it's still telling everyone what a slothfieldian conversation is."
"Skye," Jack said, aloofly. "Maybe 'about nothing' is in a metaphoric sense?"
"I'm a mechanic. Metaphor things are dumb. It should be called a conversation about random stuff instead."
.
.
…
"A potato tank!?"
"Yup, I got an old golf caddie and converted it over the summer, adding 'armour' and a potato cannon. My Dad gave guidance and notes, but he encouraged me to do most of it myself."
"Maybe that's where you got it from," Jack suggested. He'd been laying on her chest, ears laying on her fur and hearing the engine-like beat of her heart, but he looked up to see her reaction.
"Probably, though if that's the case, why doesn't Sweetie have it?"
"Sweetie?"
"My sister, or rather our nickname for her; her birth parents gave her a truly terrible name," she replied, gesturing up to one of the nearby pictures. Jack saw Siwili standing next to a swift fox todd, two younger vixens in front of them. One was evidently Skye, while the other was a red fox vixen with very pointed features. She looked very prim and proper, especially with her sharp rectangular glasses.
"Adopted, I see."
"Grey and swift foxes can't breed," she said, quietly. "But that worked out for the pair of us nicely." She paused, as she looked down. "I'll be staying with my parents while my leg heals… But feel free to visit."
"Maybe when I'm at a higher boyfriend standard," he said, pausing. If this was going serious, he'd have to mammal up quite a bit to do that. Despite the glowing embers of a drive that had been lit in him, the road ahead felt long and daunting. "We can still date."
"With Haida and Retsuko. Maybe Nick and Judy too."
"I could try planning it."
"Just not something like those Inter meetups," she said, moving down to brush his head fur a little with her claws. "Not my kind of thing."
"I'm not being lazy anymore," Jack replied. "I'd try something more creative…"
.
.
Bringing his phone out so both could see the lyrics, Jack began singing, his voice hitting a dark and cunning baritone. "Val Jean, at last! We see each other plain. Monsieur Le Mayor, you'll wear a different chain."
"Before you say another word Jack -Jav-vert… Javer! Before you chain me up like a slave again…"
.
.
…
"How about we say the worst thing we ever did?" She pondered.
"-What do you mean, worst thing?"
"Like, crimes and stuff."
"Are you going to tell me you have ammunition for that A-A gun?"
She sniggered. "Don't be crazy. No, the worst thing I ever did was prank call an entire tribe."
Jack smiled, he knew the perfect act and response for this. "Hmmmm… Kinky."
"I was only eight though, so it was more me calling them stinky heads."
"Did they deserve it?"
"Totally. They broke my mother's heart."
Jack paused, looking up at Skye and around. Pumpkin and hominy soup, the dreamcatchers here and there, a little statue up in the corner to ward off The Thunderbird. Given Siwili's name, and how she embraced it more… "What did they do to her?"
"They were her tribe," she said, sadly. "She loved the culture, but when she met my dad, she loved him more…"
"They threw her out?"
"Looking back, I guess that they thought she was throwing out all the connections anyway. Leaving a struggling tribe for a mammal of a different species, a soldier in the army of the nation that they view as the oppressor… But they were still stinky heads."
"Cool. I'm continually committing benefits fraud."
After briefly being subjected to her best earthquake impression, Skye managed to stop coughing and shaking so much to ask Jack what the hell he meant by that.
"You know I said that I'm a tehuantepec jackrabbit?"
She nodded her head. "Wait, so you're not, but you're claiming the benefits for an endangered species!?" she asked, a hint of shock and anger in her voice.
Jack gulped. "Well I actually am one, kind of."
Skye blinked. "What do you mean, kind of?"
"I mean kind of. Half and half…"
Her eyes widened. "You're a hybrid…"
"My mother was a tehuantepec jackrabbit. She put it on my birth certificate, and legally I am one," he said, before sighing. "But it became clear that I was different from my family. More stripes, much greyer fur. When I was a kit, my 'father' treated me like I didn't exist. When I confronted him, he said that I reminded him of her betrayal, and that if I wanted a father figure I should ask her to find it… -She slept around, a lot, so I still don't know what my other half is."
"So, I guess that you never informed the government."
"No," he said, shrugging. "Legally, I'm only forced to do that if I have a DNA test or medical confirmation that I'm only half endangered. They actually can't charge me for failing to check that I was given the right species at birth."
"So, you're staying safe, then," she said, "playing the system. Why not come clean?"
He sighed. "Endangered species protection is harsh. I only get half the benefit if I'm a hybrid, it's to try and encourage the species to stay within their numbers. I… -Being in my line of works, things can be good one year, lean the next. But a tight year forces you to drop out, and then it's over. I've had a good few of those years in the past, they'll happen in the future. The full payments are what lets me get through it all."
"So, integrity or your passion?" she noted, as he nodded. Closing her eyes, she thought about it. "Given that you not getting the full stuff does seem unfair to me, I'll forgive you," she said. "But if your secret is confirmed, you throw it in, okay?"
"Okay," he said, nodding his head.
"Promise?"
"I always planned to do that. Promise."
Nodding her head, Skye pulled him in closer, giving a good few strokes. "My hero hybrid. You should get extra."
"Shame I don't. The only plus side of being a hybrid is that they will fund any hybrid fertility programs, as long as it's isolating and producing more of the rare kind. However, I don't even know if I'm fertile or not."
"You want any kits?"
He snorted. "I wouldn't know where to start. My baby is acting. I probably wouldn't give a real baby anywhere near enough time. What about you?"
"Sometimes I feel like I have a baby shaped hole in me. But I think I've found a hare sized peg."
.
.
…
"I'm thinking of babies again."
"Baby steps, Skye."
"It's more the friend's baby shower. She already has a son, but he's fourteen, so she's having a new one." Pausing, Skye looked down. "Want to come?"
Jack thought about it, before nodding. "Why not?" It was something extra. He had no connection to them. No one would hate him if he quit and didn't spend the effort. So why not try?
"You have changed," she said, softly.
"Some things happened."
"It was the same with her, the friend," Skye said, closing her eyes and thinking. "She learnt about her first pregnancy, and then that a fellow graduate in the rangers was picked up and taken off by an eagle. Sweetie was in his squad…. She tried to find him, all they got was an eye. Nothing else at all. So, Felicity left, dragging her fellow-ranger husband with her."
"Was your sister okay?"
"Shaken, yes, but she managed," Skye admitted. "She actually joined the rangers on advice from my Dad. Get some experience and acclimation before she committed to the army proper. She was far more into data and organising you see, but the army needs to supply every soldier with rations and equipment, every day… They needed mammals like her, and she's more of a mammal's mammal than I am. Good at organising others, which is how she rose up. She even goes by her old family name, no matter how dumb it is, to avoid accusations of nepotism."
"Going to meet her when you're with your family?"
"She's still out in Korea," she said sadly. "Will be for a while."
.
.
"Skye, have you watched the Clawshank Redemption yet?"
"No."
"Right then!" Jack announced, slipping off her and over to the TV. "Education time."
"Wait, -I didn't know it was a documentary."
"It's not. I'll just put it on and play, okay?
"Okay."
.
.
.
…
"Wait, hang on… No-no-no-no-no-no-yes!"
…
…
Sniff… Snifff "Poor Brooks…"
.
.
"He's like teenage Nick but somehow more annoying."
.
.
"Oh my god… This is his chance…"
.
.
"WHAT! SCREW YOU!"
.
.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
.
.
"Oh god, I can't look, I can't look…. "
…
"What do you mean he's gone!?"
.
.
"YES!"
…
"YES!YES!YES!"
.
.
"THAT'S KARMA!"
.
.
Sniff… Sniff… "That's Karma… That, that…" Unable to find the words, Skye just clapped. "Thanks Jack, I… -We should do this more often."
"My dear Skye," he said, in a very hammy posh accent. "It would be my humble honour and privilege to sacrifice my time and energy in the noble of pursuit of updating your film repertoire."
.
.
.
"I'm hungry," she said.
"I can warm up the last bowl of soup."
"Hmmm. I think I'm ready for something meatier." She said, pondering as she watched the next film, Zoofella's. "I… -Oooh, this is where they do the long walk through the kitchen?"
"Enjoying the wonders of reverse cultural osmosis are we?"
"I guess, -what about ostrich ribs?"
"If you want," he said, smiling as the mobster and his date carried on through the kitchen.
"I know a great place. Adam's ribs. It's tastegasmic."
"Seriously?"
"Yup."
"With every order?"
Skye nodded, before her ears raised. "Every time, Jack. Every time…"
Jack looked at her, at the screen, then back again, amazed. "You…"
"Did you proud, film bun?"
"-Yes."
"Are you going to kiss my like no other boy did before?" she whispered softly.
"I should have seen that coming," he said with a wink, leaning in to give her a peck on her nose. Still on her chest, he couldn't help but feel her heart beat faster and, far below, her tail wag a bit. Looking up, he saw her lean in and give his own nose a quick peck, before her tongue came out and gave the fur between his eyes a single deep groom. It was a strange feeling, but a good one. A very good one. "How much of that could you do before the food gets here?" he asked, smiling. His grin widened as he felt her heart beat and tail wag even faster.
.
.
"You should try some," she said, moaning as she picked a bone clean.
"It's not good for me," the currently very well-groomed and very happy about it hare replied.
"Come on."
"Skye," he said, going all aloof. "While I do indeed want to take on more stuff outside of acting, medical problems are not one of them."
"A little bit won't harm you," she said. "There are some hares that eat lots of meat. The Efrafans, I think… My sisters' old partner, the one who died, was one. Her current second in command is too. She writes home about the crazy 'Inle-Roo' she bosses around."
.
.
"Oh-my-god-Skye-these-are-incredible-what-have-I-been-missing-my-entire-life-is-a-lie…"
.
.
"I have a crazy idea," Jack pondered. "Something 'extra' I can do."
"Which is?"
"How much effort would it be to arrange a delivery of these ribs to your sister?"
"You plan to ship ostrich ribs, which are often cooked in the local style there anyway, to Korea, at great expense?"
"Yes."
"Let me repeat that. You plan to ship ostrich ribs, which are often cooked in the local style there anyway, to Korea at great expense?"
"They are Adam's ribs."
…
"Jack, there is literally no argument against that. Be my guest."
.
.
.
"And done! Ordered, sent on their way, all paid for and… What's with that face."
"It's the face when I remember why I like to do things myself."
"Why… What have I done wrong?"
"You forgot the coleslaw! And he literally just told you not to use the phone, lady! He's now going to be arrested. He's now going to be arrested. He now… -See, told you!"
.
.
.
The mini film fest ending, Skye yawned. She'd had it rough, she was tired, but she was happy. She snuggled against Jack, holding him tight. "Thanks," she said.
"It was nothing."
"You saved my life," she said, smiling as she looked at him, a little tongue preen coming out and touching one of his ears. "So, unless you're a secret agent or something, I don't think it is."
"Skye," he noted proudly, sitting up above her. "I happened to be walking past and merely supplied my aid. My real achievement was making you that soup!"
"I'd say that's a close second," she whispered, raising up her paw and stroking the back of his head. "I never asked that of you… I'd never ask you when we started dating... But you chose to do it anyway. Thanks."
"Well, it really wasn't much," he said, thinking about it truthfully. He had a long way to catch up with other mammals. "But we can keep seeing each other, and keep helping each other, and keep hugging each other."
Skye chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds good."
Jack nodded, before an idea came into his head. After all, Skye was trying to accept more helping paws, and let others do things she could do. He was trying to do more than his passions. This sort of was a passion, but what the hell?
He leant in and down and his lips touched Skye's. Seeing what he was doing, she held onto the back of his head, her other paw clutching beneath his rump and tail, and she held onto him as she kissed back. The little dance was brief and simple, yet time seemed to slow as they touched and caressed each other, their love flowing back and forth with thrusts of their tongues, her long and roughly combed one coiling and snaking around his own as it wrapped it in its love. Claws dug in, fur rubbed, teeth playfully nipped and eyes were closed but the world felt bright and good, and then they let go, gazing into each other's beautiful eyes.
"Thanks for that," she gasped, kissing him on the forehead before leaning in to give his head a good tongue groom, one that quickly moved up to the front of one of his ears. In between his shaking, twitching, moaning, foot-kicking and chittering, he snuggled further into her, hugging her tight until they called it a day. He booped her on the nose, they hugged each other, their paws lingering in each other's for a noticeably long time before finally slipping off, and they parted for the night. He called a Zuber, placed everything into her dishwasher, before saying goodbye.
The drive back was quiet as he thought to himself.
It had been a very funny day, but he felt that he was on the cusp of something. He'd always been an actor. It was his heart, his soul, his very being. Everything had been focussed towards that, all other things ignored. Yet he felt them opening up on him. It felt daunting, for sure, but he didn't think he could step back now.
He felt like something had changed in him. Part of him still wanted to relax and be lazy, and, after seeing both Nick and Skye, he knew that there was nothing wrong with that. No need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. But there were important things out there, things that he held responsibilities towards. Ones that he'd try to meet. It would need a lot of work, effort, and perseverance to see it through, but he'd do it. Starting with some baby steps and working his way up, he'd try his damn best.
Arriving back at the theatre, he yawned as he walked to his office. He could sleep in there tonight. Opening the door, he stepped in, only to pause.
…
For all the times he'd walked into here and defended it, or dismissed others concerns, he now asked himself how he could do that. The floor couldn't be seen, the smell of rotting food was in the air, papers and books and old clothes were scattered about. He…
"This is a big step," he said. "Maybe get some practice first?"
After all, he was still weak at this whole thing. If keeping this room clean was like rolling a boulder up a hill, at least he should know that he could move said boulder to begin with. He could just leave it be, maybe put it in as a low priority.
Sure…
Of course he could…
.
.
…
Dammit," he said, grabbing a bin bag and moving over to a stinking plastic cup, the bottom half filled with mold. He tossed it in and looked around, his ears drooping at the sight of the task at paw. He'd likely only scratch the surface, even after spending hours on it and making his whole body ache from the effort. Most of him was screaming at him to give it up, to leave it, but… "I hate this," he groaned, beginning to pick up more rubbish. "This is going to suck."
.
.
.
.
AN: And there we go. Actually one of the latest additions to the series 1 plan, this came in after I finalised Jack's 'lazy' personality. I wanted the Zootopia four to be unique, with nuanced characterisations that played against each other well. Skye originally had her own arc in season 1, with Jack's big arc starting in season 2. After working out their personalities though, I realised that there were very easy season 1 arcs that could be given to them. Skye needed to learn to accept the help of others. Jack needed to decide to get some motivation going. The obvious choice was to have Skye go into a situation where she needed Jack's help and going from there.
The poor girl went through a lot here, so I hope the second half of gooey SavageSkye fluff was enough to put a smile on your face.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
4077 Military Area Surveillance Headquarters.
Ihyeon-Yi. South Korea.
About Lunch time.
.
.
Far away from Zootopia, a massive black hare entered a mess tent. Dressed in the traditional battle kilt of his people (which, as repeated ad nauseum, was not part of some long ongoing plot to earn a section 8 discharge), and with a family sickle sword on his belt, the Efrafan sniffed around before approaching his fellow soldiers. They were selected from a wide variety of different units, species and nationalities, just like he'd been, and they were all looking on, wide eyed, as plates of food were being laid out. He passed the friendly base priest, Father Mulcaty, who was talking with a massive horse by the name of B J Buttercup, before approaching his commander. "Lieutenant," he said, giving her a short sharp salute. "Are these the famed delicacies of your homeland?"
His vulpine superior smirked a little, her tail going up into her paws for a little fidget. "I'm afraid our benefactor forgot the coleslaw, Raibert," she said. "But these are the very 'Adam's Ribs' that I've talked about."
Sergeant Jacob Emmanuel Raibert looked at the meaty feast and salivated, something that no longer drew concerned looks from his fellow herbivores given his well-known taste for meat. "It will be a true honour then, to sample this delicacy of your people, Vixen-Ra." He leant in to take a bite, only to be cut off as another mammal burst into the tent. He was a panicked fennec fox, his giant ears the source of his nickname.
Buttercup spoke up. "What's up, Radar?"
"DPRK tunnel party approaching the surface two miles east," he said. "We need to get going!"
There was a collection of groans as the assembled mammals put down their plates and raced out. Raibert looked blankly at it all. "But it's Adam's Rib's!" he groaned, before he scowled. He grabbed his gun and, cursing a variety of Efrafan expletives, charged out.
.
.
.
AN: And thanks for Ubernoner for letting me cameo his OC, Jacob Raibert, here. If you haven't read 'Son's of Efrafa' yet, read 'Sons of Efrafa'.