Warning: Fluff Overload. You have been warned. Nick plays 'It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway' by Brad Paisley that I recommend listening to so you can get the full affect of the song and why Nick picked it.
Just to give a timeline: The story starts Tuesday evening, July 12, 2016. It is now Wednesday evening, July 13, 2016. Judy's birthday is on September 7 and Nick's Academy term will begin November 1st. Now on to the story!
Nick grinned as he stretched his arms out across the back of the couch, then drew his tail from around her back and plopped it in their lap, where Judy immediately snatched it up and buried her face in it. He watched her a moment as she snuggled into his tail and couldn't believe how incredible it felt to feel her small paws running through it, or to feel her nose and cheeks pressed into it.
"Ni-ick! I can't believe how soft and fluffy it is! I assumed it was, but this is way better than anything I could imagine."
Nick chuckled, then asked, "Do I need to be jealous?"
"Hmm, maybe. He is quite the snuggler, you know."
"Is that so?"
"Mm, he is . . . but not quite as good as you. He lacks a strong set of arms."
"Well, that's good to hear." Bringing his muzzle closer to hers, he asked, "Anything else he lacks?"
"There is one thing . . ." Reaching forward to caress Nick's chest, she looked up to meet his expectant gaze, then said, "Your tail is a terrible kisser."
With a light chuckle, Nick replied, "That sounds like a personal problem." At her raised eyebrow, he added, "But if you're willing, I think I can remedy that."
With a giggle, she said, "Is that so?" With one arm still hugging his tail, she touched his muzzle with the other and then leaned forward to meet him. Their kiss was slow and sensual, but they both kept it short. Pulling back, Judy gave him a huge smile then went back to snuggling with his tail.
With a grin, Nick brought his phone out and snapped some pictures, which she smiled for and even posed for a few of them, telling him he had to send her copies. Nick couldn't deny her anything, and to say she looked cute while snuggling his tail and wearing the biggest, happiest smile ever was the understatement of the year. She was positively adorable and the sexiest dang rabbit he'd ever met. And when she turned those liquid pools of amethyst on him, she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.
"You're beautiful, you know that, Judy."
Looking up in surprise, Judy tilted her head as her ears suddenly turned a deeper shade of pink. Glancing sideways while burying her twitching nose in his tail, she asked softly, "Do you really think so?"
Nick flicked his ears towards her and studied her bashful expression for a moment. She was so cute! He couldn't resist snapping another picture and making it his home screen. As she glanced up at hearing the camera click, he slipped his free paw across her cheek and behind her ear. Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he replied, "Judy, you're the most beautiful mammal I've ever seen. I love all of you. Your grey fur, your long ears, that cute, pink twitching nose. You're beautiful and cute and sexy all wrapped up in one."
Judy's nose twitched again at his description of her, and she didn't even call him up for calling her cute. "You think I'm sexy?" She'd been called many things growing up, but sexy was never one of them. Most bucks liked their does with soft curves, not the hard, tight curves she'd developed from hours of running and relentless training.
Nick's eyes widened in surprise. Glancing over her fit body, he finally said, "How can I not! You're perfect."
Judy's ears darkened further as she rubbed her cheek against his tail again. "Most bucks thought I had too much muscle and wasn't soft enough. It didn't help, either, that I was stronger than most of them."
Nick's jaw dropped and then the hungry, predatory glint entered his eyes again. "Well, then it's a good thing I'm not a buck, isn't it?" Slipping his large, ruddy paws down her body, he felt all her curves and even brought a slight gasp of pleasure from her. "Judy, fox todds love their vixens with tight curves and I can't think of anyone with tighter curves than you. And if you find me lagging behind you while we're walking down the street, then you can be sure it's because I couldn't keep my eyes off your hot, lithe body. Gazing at you makes my heart pound and my blood run hot."
Judy's blush deepened to a dark red, but she didn't care. No one had ever spoken to her in such a way or described her as anything more than just plain-Jane. Jude the Prude is what her sisters called her. Her fur was a boring grey, her body was too hard for holding, and she had a personality as prickly as a cactus and as cold as a block of ice (when it came to bucks, anyways). Dating wasn't something the average buck wanted with someone like her, which left only the perverts to chase after her. But here was Nick, claiming he couldn't keep his eyes off her hot, sexy, beautiful body.
Letting go of his tail, she hugged him and tried not to cry—again. "Ni-ick! You're doing it again. You're squeezing my heart with love and now I'm starting to cry again! You've turned me into such a crybaby."
Nick chuckled as he hugged her back. Her cry of, "It's not funny!" just made him chuckle harder as he rubbed his cheek against her head. "Do you want me to play for you, then?"
"I don't know. Are you going to be playing some sappy love song that's going to make me cry some more?"
"No. I was thinking of playing some funny songs. Give us a change of pace and lighten the mood."
Sitting back and meeting his emerald gaze, she wiped her eyes and said, "Okay. Funny sounds really good about now."
With a nod, he slipped his fingers under her rump and pulled her close. Standing up, he walked over to the piano and sat on the bench. "Do you want to stay in my lap again or sit beside me?"
Judy thought a moment, then said, "I'll sit beside you. That way I can watch you play."
With another nod, Nick picked her up and sat her down beside him before dropping his tail in her lap. A slight thrill ran down his spine as her small paws began stroking the thick fur before digging into it. With a deep breath that did little to calm his racing heart, he said, "Okay, the first song I have is one I just thought was funny when I was younger, but now I can relate to the song in ways I never thought possible just two days ago."
Judy tilted her head and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Because if you rejected me and started dating anyone else, I'd probably turn into this guy. And then you'd need to get a restraining order put on me just so I'd leave you alone."
"Huh?"
"Just listen and you'll understand."
As Nick began playing (It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway by Brad Paisley), Judy started swaying with the beat, but after he began singing, she started laughing.
Oh, lighten up. Where's your sense of humor? They're just tiny little rumors that I started 'cause I'm looking out for you. Oh, settle down. I'm just a little jealous and I'm sure those other fellas never once believed the lies I told were true. Like the time I…
It was a love song in a backwards, funny sort of way—though if it actually happened to her, she knew that funny would be the last thing she'd be feeling. Anyway, the song was about a guy who, feeling jealous of the girl he loved, told outrageous lies to all the mammals the girl was dating in order to chase them away. And the chorus always ended with, "I was doing you a favor 'cause it never would've worked out anyway."
"Seriously, Nick? You'd tell the mammals I was dating that I have seven little kits, that I hide my wedding ring, and that I spent a year in jail? Do you honestly think anyone would believe such outrageous lies?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders. "I admit, if it happened to me, I'd need to get real creative with my lies in order to make them believable—but, hey, I wasn't a con-artist for nothing. Believable lies was my life." With a grin, he nudged her shoulder and said, "Thanks for rescuing me from that life, by the way. I was really tired of the constant lying but didn't know how to change or what else to do."
Judy flashed him a brilliant smile, then rubbed her face in his tail. "Anytime, Slick. Whenever you need me, I'll be there for you." With a giggle, she added, "And you won't even need to lie to keep me."
Nick nodded, then after a moment's thought, said, "I won't need to lie to keep you, but I think I still might come up with some believable lies to tell all the worthless bucks why you refuse to date them." As confusion clouded Judy's beautiful eyes, Nick explained, "Finnick wasn't joking about the violence some mammals might want to heap on us—me specifically—once they find out we're together. And with me going to the Academy in a few months, it'll be better for me if all of Zootopia doesn't know about us until after I graduate and have my badge in paw."
Judy's ears drooped and she was quiet for a long moment before saying, "Are you worried you'll get hazed or something at the Academy if the other cadets know you're dating a bunny?"
Nick raised an eyebrow and asked, "I was under the impression that I had to marry you before your next birthday—or have you changed your mind already?" With a teasing smile, Nick waited for his words to sink in.
"Oh, that's right! We'll be married by the time you start training." Lifting a paw, she started nibbling on one of her blunt claws. "How am I going to survive with you being gone for six months?" Looking up, she added, "I didn't even think about that." With a determination entering her firm gaze, she jabbed Nick in the chest and said, "You better propose to me sooner rather than later because I'm going to want to get as much time in with you as possible before you have to ship out."
Nick sucked in a breath as he felt himself get excited at the images her words conveyed. He then wondered how he was going to survive being away from her for so long. Hauling her up to his room tonight, ring or no ring, was starting to sound real appealing right now.
Taking in another deep breath, and trying to distract himself, he brought his mind back to the question at hand. "Yeah, that's an excellent point and I'll get right on that. But in the meantime, let's get back to your original question about the hazing. Yes, I think it's a real possibility. There will be a lot of mammals that'll hate the idea that a fox is trying to become a cop. Even without knowing about us, they'll try to verbally bully me into quitting. And when that doesn't work, they'll try to make my time at the Academy as miserable as possible—all in order to make me quit."
Judy's ears drooped even further at the picture he painted. It wasn't a happy one. As tough as she had it as a rabbit, with the other mammals expecting her to fail and just waiting for her to quit, she now realized Nick would have it so much harder. Did she really have the right to ask him to go through all that—just so she could have him as her partner?
"Now," Nick continued, unaware of Judy's dismal thoughts, "if said mammals were to find out I was in a relationship with a rabbit—the only bunny officer of the ZPD, no less—then that misery they're heaping on me will very likely turn physical."
Judy sucked in a breath and held it for a moment, then hugged him hard around the side and exclaimed, "Is it really worth it for you to go through all that!? Just for me? Having you as a PI with Finnick is sounding really good right now."
Nick chuckled as he slipped his arm around her and hugged her back. "And let some dum-dum wolf stare at your tail all day? I don't think so." As Judy opened her mouth to protest, he explained, "We'll just have to train extra hard before the Academy starts so I don't fall behind while trying to avoid their abuse. If you have your old Academy manuals, I can memorize them before I leave, and you can quiz me to make sure I understand it all. That way I won't be caught off guard while studying."
Judy nodded, but didn't look very reassured. Continuing on, Nick said, "I'll also get back into my physical training, and once your leg heals, we can start sparring. While working for Mr. Big I was quite the fighter. I always tried to talk my way out of trouble, but that didn't always work. And after my brush with death when I was twelve, I trained hard to ensure I was never put in that position again." Pausing in thought, Nick then muttered, "I haven't sparred since I left his employment, and only had to fight like three times in the last 5 years, so I'm a bit rusty." Focusing his gaze back on Judy, his expression brightened as he said, "You'll have to whip me back into shape."
Judy still felt bad about asking Nick to go through so much for her, but she couldn't deny how much it meant to her—not only that he was willing to go through the abuse for her, but that he'd be the one to watch her back when they were out on patrol or working a case. Slowly breathing out, she nodded, then her smile returned. "I can do that." Leaning in close, she jabbed her blunt claw into his chest and said, "So no complaining, Slick. I won't go easy on you just because we're dating—or married."
This last was said with such a blinding smile that Nick felt his heart skip a beat. She was so cute, and yet so beautiful at the same time, that it took his breath away. "If it's something I get to do with you, then I'll never complain."
Judy beamed at him, but before she could respond, Nick continued with a huge grin on his face, "And once I graduate, we'll have a huge bunny wedding in Bunnyburrow. We'll invite all your family and friends, and you can wear a white dress and have all your bride's maids. We'll have several flower girls and a ring bearer. There'll be a huge wedding cake with both blueberry and carrot layers and little plastic models of us at the top. You said Gideon was the best baker in the tri-burrows, right? Maybe we can get him to bake the cake."
Judy listened to Nick talking, then exclaimed, "Yes! Yes! Yes! I can actually see it. With you, I can picture it all happening." At Nick's confusion, Judy explained, "I've been to hundreds of weddings—and I mean hundreds. I always saw my siblings, cousins, or friends up there at the altar, all giddy and nervous at the same time, and I was always happy for them, but I could never picture myself up there. I could never picture a buck I would want to stand up there with, so I could never see myself actually getting married. My unmarried sisters would always go on about what it would be like when they finally got married, but I could never join in their conversations. It made me feel really lonely at times."
With her smile returning, she continued. "But now I can picture it. I can see it all laid out—with you standing beside me as my groom. For the first time I can actually picture myself a bride." With a giddy laugh, she said, "I can hardly wait for you to graduate. It's going to be so exciting."
Nick chuckled as he returned her radiant smile, then pointed out, "You're overlooking all the fun and excitement we're going to have between now and then—not to mention surviving the separation while I'm training."
"Ooh, that's right." Nearly vibrating with excitement (it was a good thing she wasn't standing or she would've reinjured her leg thumbing her foot), she demanded, "I meant it when I said not to make me wait. I want that ring on my finger and then I want to experience a fox wedding." Leaning close and pressing her pink nose against his black one, she asked, "So where are we going for our 3-day getaway?"
Nick couldn't stop himself from pressing his lips against hers, then deepening it. He loved her taste, her feel, and the idea of being married to her. Getting her an engagement ring will take top priority—the sooner he got it, the better. Pulling back from the kiss and pressing his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I have a cabin literally in the middle of nowhere. You have to drive several hours, then leave the vehicle and hike the rest of the way. It's nearly a week's hike if you have all good weather."
Judy's jaw dropped. "A week! And we're supposed to be gone for only three days!?"
Nick chuckled, but kept his forehead pressed against hers. "That's how long it takes if you're on foot. But we won't be hiking—we'll be flying."
Judy drew back from Nick, her jaw hanging open, then exclaimed, "What!?"
WingedKatt here. Judy can finally picture herself a bride! Go Nick! And just to recap: Rabbits have a short 'get to know you' period, have a short courtship (the time they're actually dating), and then a long engagement since planning a wedding with so many bunnies attending takes time to plan. Foxes, on the other hand, take 4-5 months or more of casually hanging out before deciding to date, and then their courtship is really LONG followed by a really SHORT engagement. The wedding usually takes place the day of the engagement. Check out ch15 to get the full details. Nick and Judy are basically taking the 'short' part of both their cultural dating practices.
Chapter 26: Homework for the Week, will post on Saturday. Nick will reveal another one of his toys, Judy will reveal a bit more about her past, will have an epiphany about what it means to be dating Nick, and then Nick will assign Judy homework for the week. We'll also see a familiar face that will reveal the fate of Nick's 2 missing family members. So stay tuned.
As always, I'd love to hear any thoughts or comments you have. Enjoy your week.
