Finnick heard Nick coming towards the barn, and as soon as his red-furred friend came into view, he glanced over from the toolbox he was digging through and asked, "So what does bunny taste like?"

Nick scowled. "Finn, we were not sucking face."

"Bull!"

Folding his arms, Nick stared off into the garage. "Okay, if you hadn't opened your big mouth while we were up on the deck, then yes, we would have been 'sucking face' as you so eloquently put it." With a slight chuckle, he glanced over at his friend. "You have impeccable timing, by the way."

Finnick snorted. Then studied his friend's more calm and wistful expression. "You really haven't kissed her yet? Even as pawsy as you say you two are?"

Nick's ears flattened a moment as he opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again and leaned against the front of the van. With arms still folded, he looked off into the distance. Telling Finn about his and Judy's first kiss wasn't really something he wanted to do. It was too sweet, too . . . tender . . . to share with anyone.

Finnick watched his friend struggle to express himself and it gave him pause. Nick always had something to say—some slick answer or snarky comeback—so to see his friend completely silent told him two things. One, something happened between him and bunny cop when they went inside (he was sure a kiss was somehow involved). And two, that whatever happened was extremely personal and got past his emotional defenses—his heart had been deeply touched in some way.

"Okay, okay, I won't push you. I can see bunny cop got to you again." He paused a moment, then added, "And that's a positive thing, right?" Nick hated anyone getting to him—hence his thick emotional walls—but Finn was getting the impression that his red friend liked it when the bunny cop got to him.

Nick glanced over, ears pricked forward, and with a wide, bright smile spreading across his face, he replied, "Very positive."

"Okay. I said I wouldn't pry, but are you sure she's going to stick around?" Finnick raised his paw to forestall Nick's cutting retort. "I know she really likes you. It's obvious she wants you. But she is a rabbit, and they're not exactly known for long-term, committed relationships. I know you, Red, and if you get any deeper in with her, and then she left you, she'll leave you an emotional wreck from which you will never recover from."

With ears flat against his head at the idea of Judy leaving him, Nick pushed it down and focused on what just happened in her room. Taking a deep breath, he replied, "I already told you she's ruined me, but I'm not worried. Judy isn't your typical bunny—I mean, she's a cop and living with a fox! You can't get much less typical than that. And the whole promiscuous dating stereotype—it's just that, a stereotype and a false one at that."

Finnick looked skeptical. They'd both met several rabbits here in the city who had some very loose standards when it came to dating. Friends with benefits was a common thing for many of the unmarried rabbits raised in the city.

Nick shook his head. "I know how they are here in Zootopia, but back in Bunnyburrow where the majority of rabbits live, they have higher standards. Judy says most rabbits go on suppressants as teenagers to control they're high sex drive and although they casually date multiple rabbits at the same time, they don't actually start the whole 'multiplying' thing until they're engaged or married. So once they find Mister or Missus Right, they're fully committed and remain faithful."

Finnick still looked skeptical, and Nick continued. "You want to know how atypical Carrots is? The bunny up there in my house?" He waved his paw in the direction of the house. "In her whole life she's been on one date in high school, and she sent her date to the hospital with a broken nose when she found out he'd made a bet with his friends that he could steal her first kiss during the dance. Double the money if he got 'lucky' that night." Running his paws through his fur, he whispered, "She just gave me her first kiss, Finn. Me, a fox. She saved her first kiss for me. You can't tell me she's planning on leaving after waiting that long."

Finnick's open mouth formed a perfect 'O' as he stared at Nick. He couldn't believe a rabbit in her twenties wouldn't have been on multiple dates and several boyfriends. And yet Nick was being serious. "She really give you her first kiss? The bunny cop?"

Nick nodded but didn't say anything. His emotions were too close to the surface and, as Finn had already pointed out, he was in way too deep. And he didn't have the heart to pull himself out. Judy had stolen his heart and he was powerless against her.

Finnick's large ears flattened back against his head at Nick's silent admission. They were both silent for several minutes, then Finnick asked quietly, "And when she learns about your past? What then? She's a cop and you worked for the biggest mob boss in Tundratown for six years. Do you think she can really overlook that?"

Nick was silent a moment longer, then muttered, "I don't know, Finn, I really don't know. She knows I had dealings with Big in the past, but not that I actually worked for him."

"And when she finds out?"

Nick shook his head. He really couldn't say how Judy would react. He hoped she wouldn't hold it against him, and it's not like she wasn't willing to break the law herself (blackmail and breaking and entering were illegal) or go to the mob boss herself. "She had him threaten to ice Weaselton if he didn't tell us what he knew. And she's now good friends with Fru-Fru, so she can't be too upset about me for working for the mob boss. Plus, that was years ago and it's not like I killed anyone while I was working for him."

Finnick nodded and hoped Nick was right. He'd never forgive bunny cop if she destroyed his friend.

….

Judy had skimmed through her hundreds of text messages from her siblings and a few of her closest cousins, then sent group texts to answer those with the same questions. Some questions she ignored as they were too personal, stupid, or crude. Those sent from the small group of her boy-crazy sisters weren't even read, but immediately deleted.

She was just finishing up with the last of the messages when she saw one that didn't come from anyone blood-related to her. With a wide grin, she immediately punched in the number on MuzzleTime.

"Judy!" a high, shrill voice exclaimed. "You're safe! How are you? We saw the news last night. Was that you at the museum? What happened after daddy helped you get that clue from Weaselton? Do you have a place to stay? Please tell me you're not staying in some seedy motel. I hope you know you have an open invitation to stay here for a few days if you need to. And what about Nick? Since he was with you yesterday, I take it you were able to talk through your differences. Are you two good now? You know I won't forgive him if he keeps hurting you."

Judy giggled, unable to get a word in edgewise as her friend rattled off her questions with hardly a breath in between sentences. "Hi, Fru-Fru. I'm fine and yes that was me in the museum last night. I was injured, but it would have been a lot worse if Nick hadn't stuck with me and risked his own life to keep me safe. Together, we were able to get a confession from the mastermind behind the savage mammal attacks, so hopefully that whole mess will be resolved soon."

"I'm so relieved. I was worried sick last night after hearing the news, and then you weren't answering the phone. I feared the worst. I would've called Nick, but we don't have his current phone number."

"Sorry. My phone was dead, and then I fell asleep while charging it."

"Well, I guess I can understand that. And it's about time that boy did something right. Where are you anyway? That doesn't look like a motel room."

"Oh no. Nick wouldn't let me stay at a motel. He took me home with him."

"Nick took you home with him? Nick Wilde took a girl home? We are talking about the same Nick, aren't we?" the little shrew asked skeptically. She was sure Tundratown would thaw before she saw Nicky bring a girl home.

Judy giggled again. "Yes, Fru-Fru, we're talking about the same Nick. He said he wouldn't be happy if I stayed anywhere else. He's been the best and he's thought of everything I would need while I heal up."

The little arctic shrew gave the grey rabbit a weird look as she tried to reconcile the Nick she knew with the one Judy was describing. Although he would help others out at times, especially those treated as second-class citizens because of their species, Nick never brought anyone home with him. The only mammal Nick let get close to him was the little fennec fox, Finnick. He was more open when he was still working for daddy, but not by much. He was a fox who knew everyone, but not many knew him. She'd heard he'd gotten worse, more aloof and selfish, after Honey died and daddy terminated his employment.

With a heavy sigh, she finally said, "Okay, if you say so. But are you really fine staying with him? He doesn't aggravate you? I know how annoying he can be."

Chuckling, Judy grinned, saying, "Oh, believe me, I know exactly how annoying he can be. And when we first met, I couldn't stand him. But once we were able to see past each other's stereotypes, we just. . . clicked. And now I can't imagine staying with anyone else. And I certainly don't want to go back to living alone—not after staying all day with him. And his househave you seen his house? It's huge and . . . and . . . perfect! It has one and a half baths, a workout room, a library, a huge kitchen, and a spacious dining room. Fru-Fru, Nick has a deck!"

The small shrew raised an eyebrow. "So you're staying with Nick because you like his house? If all you're looking for is a better place to live, I could rent you a spacious apartment at a decent price."

Judy's ears immediately dropped. "Fru-Fru, I'm honored you'd be willing to rent me a great apartment, but I'm not staying here just because I like the place. I want to stay here because Nick is here."

Fru-Fru studied her friend for several quick heartbeats. She knew Judy had been upset about losing Nick's friendship, so she had offered to send her daddy's polar bears after him so Judy could talk out her feelings and at least have some closure, even if Nick was being too dumb to see what a great friend he'd lost (not that Judy ever took her up on her offer). But hearing Judy talk about Nick now, it sounded like they'd more than mended their broken friendship, as if . . .

"Okay, Judy, sweetie, if that's what you want, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were falling for the slick todd."

Judy's ears immediately turned red and dropped down to either side of her head, as she was leaning her head back against the pillow. "Something like that," she murmured under her breath.

Fru-Fru's eyes widened. "Are you serious, Judy? You're actually falling for Nick Wilde!" At Judy's sheepish, embarrassed nod, the little shrew's shock turned to sorrow. "Oh, Judy, dear, you'll get your heart broken if you chase after that todd."

Judy's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Why? Is it because he's a fox and I'm a bunny?"

"That's not it at all. Although I've never heard of a pred/prey couple before, if you really like the mammal, then species shouldn't matter."

"Then . . . why?"

"Because it's Nick. He's not really the settling-down type. He'd rather run away than commit to a serious relationship."

Judy opened her mouth to refute the arctic shrew, but then paused. Nick had already told her he hadn't dated, but she was suddenly curious about Fru-Fru's experience with her fox and wondered how he normally acted around females. "What do you mean?" she asked instead.

"Well, I'm not sure he's told you yet, but Nicky worked for daddy for about six years and in all that time, he never once went on a date that wasn't work-related."

Judy's ears immediately stood up and cocked forward. "Nick went on dates for work!?"

"It was strictly for information gathering."

Judy leaned forward a little with excitement. "Kinda like undercover work?"

Fru-Fru blinked, then smiled. "Exactly like undercover work. Foxes are very good at sneaking around and blending in, and daddy employed several, though Nicky was the only red fox. The rest were arctic or silver foxes."

Judy nodded, then asked hesitantly, "So, these dates . . . nothing . . . happened during them, right?"

The little shrew immediately knew what her friend was talking about and couldn't let her worry over nothing. "No, nothing ever happened. Nicky was always the perfect gentlemammal, much to several vixens' ire. Foxes are naturally very good at what they do, but Nick was the best and had caught the eyes of several vixens. They were all excited the first time they were ordered to go on these business dates with Nick, but they all came back disappointed."

At Judy's raised eyebrow, Fru-Fru explained, "Nick was very good at playing the perfect date, sitting close and leaning in to touch shoulders. Touching their arms or whispering in their ears, but the vixens all complained that Nick barely touched them, that his touches were very light. Him touching them was simply an illusion for the sake of the act, but nothing more. And when the evening was over, he'd walk them back to their rooms or their house and leave them at the door, without so much as a goodnight kiss. There was even a bet going on, on who would be the first to kiss Nicky. To my knowledge, no one ever won the bet."

Judy was quiet for a while as she considered this glimpse into Nick's past. While thinking about how he treated the vixens who were chasing him, she then compared them to how, other than the time she touched his arm on the sky tram (his moving away made more sense now), Nick had never been wishy-washy with his touches to her. They had all been gentle, but firm. Thinking about the squeezes he'd given her and then the way he'd flipped them onto the deck, along with all his heated, hungry predatory gazes, had her ears heating up again. And then the tender kiss they'd shared.

Considering the bet they placed on Nick, she realized that was another bit of shared history they both had—others placing bets on their first kiss. And yet she and Nick had both saved their first for each other. It filled her heart and belly with warm fuzzies again. Reaching up, she almost touched her lips but then remembered she was still on MuzzleTime with Fru-Fru. Meeting her friend's patient gaze, Judy pointed out, "Okay, so he's been aloof, but what do you mean he'd rather run from commitment?"

"Well, daddy only employed about a dozen vixens, but there were two that were persistent about gaining Nicky's attention and affection, and it soon turned to a heated rivalry. It got so bad that it was disrupting work since Nick would occasionally disappear in order to avoid them. And Nick was very good at not being found when he didn't want to be—which meant his work had to be postponed. Not good, let me tell you."

Judy nodded as she remembered how hard it was to find him after the press conference, then felt peeved while thinking about how badly the vixens were harassing Nick—her fox.

At Judy's silence, Fru-Fru continued. "I finally had to step in and tell them to lay off Nick, that he wasn't interested and never would be. He was there for work, not chasing their tails. They didn't like being told that. I don't think they'd ever met a male who refused them. Finally having someone point out the obvious sent them into a spiteful rage and daddy ordered them to leave or be iced." Seeing Judy's shock, she added, "They left, but said that Nicky would regret snubbing them."

"And did he?" Judy asked softly as she remembered the pain he tried to hide. If the vixens were simply a nuisance, then it would have been irritation she'd seen in his eyes—not pain.

"I don't know. He left daddy's employment less than a year later, so you'll have to ask him if they did anything to him."

Judy nodded, but before she could say anything more, her stomach rumbled. Her cheeks turned a shade red under her fur and a paw shot over her stomach.

Fru-Fru giggled and said, "I'll let you go so you can eat, but we need to get together and have lunch sometime. We have so much catching up to do."

"Are you free tomorrow about 11? I'm meeting with Chief Bogo at 10 and a sibling at the Savannah Central Station at noon, but if you want to grab lunch after my meeting with Bogo, we can. I won't be able to walk anywhere, but we can definitely sit, eat, and talk."

"Ooh, that sounds perfect. Do you have a place in mind?"

"I'm still not familiar with Zootopia, so I'm not sure. I know they have a lot of food stalls and cafés by the train station, which will be best for me so I'm not late meeting my sibling."

"That'll be fine. I'll ask around for a good place that can accommodate us both and text it to you later. Does that sound good?"

"That's perfect. Thanks."

With a bright smile, Fru-Fru waved to Judy and said, "Goodbye."

Judy waved back, but then said, "Oh, one last thing." As Fru-Fru's finger hovered over the end call button, Judy said confidently, "You don't have to worry about Nick breaking my heart." With a radiant smile, she explained, "He's already given me his."

Fru-Fru's tiny jaw dropped and she sputtered, "Wait—what!? What do you mean?"

"Goodbye, Fru-Fru. Have a great evening."

"Wait, Judy! You can't drop a bombshell like that and leave me hanging. We must talk about this."

"Bye," Judy said again, "I'll talk to you tomorrow over lunch."

"Wait! Judy!"

With a mischievous grin, Judy hit the end call button and the line went dead. With a giggle she wondered if Nick was already rubbing off on her as that was something he'd do. Feeling much more confident in her relationship with Nick, Judy glanced down at her leg. Nick should have been in 10 minutes ago to wrap it and she wondered what he was up to. She could just call him, but decided to surprise him by walking out on the deck.

With another giggle, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed the crutches. Carefully sliding off the bed and landing on her good foot, she hobbled over to the balcony door and maneuvered it open. Stepping outside, she took a deep breath of fresh air and then turned towards the deck. Now, to see what my fox is up to.

….

WingedKatt here. So now Judy knows some of Nick's missing past and is more sure of her relationship with him. What did you think of their shared history? And what is Nick planning for dinner that night?

Chapter 20: Bring Me to Life, will post on Saturday. In it we'll get to glimpse more of Finnick's mind, Nick will make Judy cry again, Judy will surprise Finnick, and we'll get to meet a new face. So there's lots to look forward to in the next chapter.

As always, if you have any thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear from them. Have a good week.