Content warning: references to bullying and suicide.
Nick breathed Judy in, his nose pressed to her scalp. His paws traced the curves and lines and planes of her body, her fur sliding through his fingers, as it moulded closely to his.
"His name was Jules."
Judy shifted slightly, one of her paws brushing his neck.
"Jules Riverson. He was a mink. Sleek and graceful and..."
Nick's paws fell still, one spread across her neck, fingers brushing the back of her head and the tops of her shoulder blades, the other curved around her left hip, digits trailing onto her rear and thigh.
"Beautiful. He was beautiful. Loose, flowing clothes, pretty face, soft smile, softer voice. He always wore a small silver brooch shaped like a lily leaf. I'd never seen anyone like him."
Judy faintly nuzzled his collar bone.
"He joined my middle school class mid-term. Right from his first day, he was a pariah. Ostracized, belittled, sneered at...bullied. He kept on smiling, but...I knew he was hurting. I could see it in his eyes."
Judy rubbed the small of his back.
"I wanted to talk to him, but...I could never work up the courage. Too scared of being hurt, myself. I survived by being invisible, just a scruffy little fox boy not worth anyone's time, and if I had spoken to him..."
Nick's jaw tightened, his eyes closing.
"Then came the day his brooch was stolen. The worst of the bullies, a vicious red panda, ripped it from his chest and walked off with it. Jules spent the whole day searching for it, more and more distressed, before finally breaking down completely and running from the school."
Nick held Judy a little closer.
"As I was leaving that day, I found it. Saw a sparkle of light on top of a bank of lockers, and there it was. I decided then and there to return it to him, finally talk to him, so...so I headed to his home."
A quiver stole in to his body. Judy squeezed him.
"There was a police car outside. Turns out that, five minutes before I got there, he'd..."
He squeezed Judy. Hard. His teeth clenched.
"He'd used one of his mother's climbing ropes to hang himself from a beam in their garage."
It took two minutes for the shaking to ease.
"It's stayed with me ever since. Haunted me, almost. So, when I saw Cody at the concert...I had to tell him. Tell him what I never got to tell Jules. Then, when I learned about Cody's mother, I felt I had to protect him, keep him safe. I still do. I don't want him ending up like Jules."
Judy lifted her head, touching her nose against his. "I hope you aren't blaming yourself for what happened to him."
Nick shook his slightly. "No. No, I didn't know, nobody did, so there's nothing I could have done." His eyes stared right into Judy's. "But there is now, and I don't mean the investigation, or even looking after him as he recovers. I mean...I want to adopt Cody. Be the family he deserves, the safe place he needs. And I don't want to do it alone."
Judy cradled his cheek, kissed him tenderly on the lips. "You won't."
Nick kissed her back, and pressed his forehead to hers, a dampness in the corners of his eyes. "Thank you."