Nick felt extremely comfortable while lying in his happy place—a place he hadn't been to in decades. Not since before his dad died. Taking in a deep, relaxing breath, he suddenly found himself with a snout full of his honeybun's delectable scent. Taking another deep breath and snuggling tighter into the warmth he was wrapped around, Nick's brain finally registered the fact that he was currently sleeping with Judy. This brought a puzzled expression to his face as he distinctly remembered putting her in her own bed last night before climbing into his own, where he tossed and turned half the night while trying to convince his brain to shut up so he could sleep.

As he remembered why he couldn't sleep, a smug grin found his way onto his face as he turned his nose down until it brushed lightly against the top of Judy's head. His girlfriend and almost-fiancé. He couldn't believe he'd be marrying the cute ball of fluff just as soon as he could get a ring on her finger. But it couldn't be some random ring off the shelf, nothing so plain and generic for his honeybun. It had to be something special to remind her of him, but not obvious to other mammals.

Taking another deep breath of her wonderful, rabbity scent, Nick ran his claws over her back, which elicited a happy hum from his girlfriend as she snuggled deeper into his embrace. With his smile widening, he opened his eyes and looked down at her. She was so cute, curled up in his arms with her face pressed into the cream-colored fur of his chest. He could definitely get used to waking up like this.

Glancing briefly at the clock, his gaze returned to Judy's adorable sleeping face, and then his eyes widened and snapped back to the clock. 8:05. "Car-rots," he hissed, "we're late! We are so late!"

"Hmm?" Judy murmured without moving.

Pulling his arms out from around her, Nick threw the blanket back and sat up, then rolled out of bed. Judy hardly had time to register the change in position and the cool morning air hitting her before Nick scooped her up with a loud 'eep.' Carrying her to the bathroom, he set her down on the toilet seat, saying, "I'll be right back with a plastic bag to wrap your leg, then you need to take a speedy shower so I can jump in."

"Nick, slow down. We showered yesterday morning and it's not like we did a whole lot yesterday to get dirty. I don't think it'll be a big problem."

Nick's eyes widened. "Not a big problem! Carrots, we were making-out like two hormone-crazed teenagers last night! We just spent the last hour sleeping together! I reek of you and you reek of me. If we go to the ZPD smelling the way we do, every predator in the building will know we were up to something. And all those bears and wolves in the Precinct? Yeah, they'll be convinced we spent the whole night in my bed doing a whole lot more than just sleeping."

Judy's ears turned beet red as she thought about how their scents would be read by other mammals. In the last 10,000 years, as mammals evolved into rational, thinking beings and had begun to work and live together in large communities, many mammals had lost their strong sense of smell, mostly prey species, but quite a few predators, too. But canines, felines, and bears (the predominant predators at the ZPD) were an exception to that rule. All three classes retained a very strong sense of smell—which meant a shower was in order to keep their newly acquired relationship a secret. "Right, a shower."

Nick disappeared into her room to grab the extra bags and duct tape he left in there yesterday morning, then reappeared to wrap her bandaged leg. Quickly pulling off her pants, he pulled the bag around her leg as he said, "My scent is a lot stronger, so you'll need to wash twice in order to get it out of your fur after crawling in bed with me this morning." There was a smug grin that accompanied this last remark.

Judy huffed and folded her arms. "I did not crawl in bed with you. I came in to wake you up and you dragged me into bed."

Nick's smug grin widened. "Yes, but I didn't hear you complaining."

Judy just huffed again, unable to refute the claim while Nick finished taping the plastic bag around her injured leg.

"There, all done," Nick said as he stood up. "Jump in the shower and then I'll bring you your clothes and lay them on the counter."

"Okay," Judy murmured, her ears flushing a dark pink again as she thought about Nick coming into the bathroom while she was as naked as a jaybird. Instead of feeling uncomfortable at the idea, she felt her body flush with the stirrings of excitement and she suddenly wondered what it'd be like to shower with the handsome todd—her boyfriend. With her ears flushing lobster red at the sudden idea, she squashed the idea down as quickly as she could and then cursed her crazy sisters for planting the idea in her head all those years ago.

With the door shutting behind Nick, she reminded herself that she was going to be walking into the ZPD in just under 2 hours and meeting her boss, so now wasn't the time to be thinking of Nick in the shower with her. Not that later would be a good time, either. Pulling the rest of her clothes off, Judy hobbled to the shower and turned the water on while trying not to think about her handsome boyfriend and how wonderful it felt last night to run her paws through the thick, soft fur of his chest and belly and feeling his paws. . . Not helping! she scolded herself.

Stepping under the water before it had time to fully heat up, the cool stream did little to dampen the heat growing in her belly. Still cursing her sisters, she grabbed her shampoo and lathered herself up. With Nick's words still echoing in her head about his stronger scent, she took extra time to really work the soap into the fur and down to the skin. A knock at the door sounded a minute later which had all her barely repressed thoughts come rushing back to the forefront of her mind.

"Judy, I'm coming in with your clothes. Is that fine?"

Taking in a deep breath to calm her suddenly pounding heart, she replied, "Um, yeah, it's fine." As the door opened, she listened to Nick enter the bathroom and a part of her wished he'd jump in with her, while the other part of her brain said it was way too early for that.

"Your clothes are here on the counter. I'm setting this jar of leave-in conditioning cream on the counter, too. You'll want to put some on after you get dried off. It's made to neutralize scent. Although your scent is fine, my scent is much harder to wash out so this will help finish neutralizing my scent after our escapade last night and this morning, and it'll prevent my scent from sticking to your fur when I'm carrying you around."

"Okay," Judy answered as she continued working the shampoo into her fur and really scrubbing it. If they truly wished to keep their relationship a secret, then nothing of their time last night or this morning could remain in her fur.

"I'll see you when you're done."

"Uh-huh." She heard the door close and then she slumped down on the stool she sat upon. Her heart was pounding the whole time Nick was in here. With a heavy sigh, she started on her long legs. Although she'd been wearing pants, she wanted to leave nothing up to chance. Lastly, she moved on the scouring her tail, neck, face, and ears where Nick had focused a lot of his attention last night. Once she was sure she'd gotten everything, she rinsed all the soap off before starting on the second lather, all the time hoping Nick wasn't going to wait until just before her birthday to put that ring on her finger.

….

Nick hurried into his room and threw open his closet. Going through his nicer outfits, he tried to decide which would be best to wear with Judy to the ZPD. Nothing loud. If he was going to sell himself as a potential recruit and worthy officer, then he needed to look the part. He didn't have anything in ZPD blue, but his black slacks would do for his pants, but which dress shirt would sell him as a potential recruit? While rifling through his shirts, he came across a darker medium-blue button up shirt. It wasn't ZPD blue, but it would have to do. Pulling it and the slacks out, he laid them on his bed, then grabbed a black tie to go with them, then pulled a clean pair of briefs from his dresser.

Dropping them on top of his clothes, he hurried from his room. A delectable smell (not Judy's) had been teasing his nose ever since he first carried Judy from his room. With Judy taken care of and his clothes picked out, he now had time to investigate it. Hurrying into the kitchen, he saw a stack of blueberry pancakes sitting next to the stove, along with two clean plates. Finnick sat on one of the high stools at the breakfast bar with an empty plate in front of him and his nose glued to his phone.

"Hey, Finn. Thanks for making breakfast. You're a godsend."

"Yeah, Red, no problem. Least I could do after you and Cottontail treated me to dinner last night." Finn hardly glanced up as he was watching the news, but as Nick grabbed a plate of pancakes and sat down next to him, his eyes popped and he looked up to stare at his friend. "Whoo, Nick, you reek of rabbit. Don't tell me you slept with her last night."

Nick shook his head as he stuffed a huge bite of pancakes in his mouth. "Nop, jus bou n our is morin," he said around a mouthful of food.

"Huh?" Raising an eyebrow, Finn looked his friend over. The mingled smells on his friend weren't the normal 'fox' and 'bunny' smells, but had the added flavor of excitement mingled in.

Nick grabbed one of the glasses Finn had pulled out for him and Judy and hurriedly filled it with almond milk, then guzzled it. Clearing his throat, he quickly explained, "Judy tried to wake me up about an hour ago, but I pulled her into bed with me instead. We both fell back asleep." Shoving another large forkful into his mouth, he focused on eating.

Finn gave Nick another quick look-over, then asked, "Are you sure that's all you did? Because your combined scents say otherwise."

Inhaling his mouthful and then coughing as it tried going down his windpipe, Nick started pounding on his chest as he leaned over the chair. After several moments, he was able to clear his windpipe and take a breath. Rubbing his chest as he took several deep breaths, he didn't immediately meet Finn's gaze as he silently cursed. Of course, Finn would pick up on their scents. He was a fox, after all, and having spent so much time together, Finn could read his scent better than anyone.

After one more deep breath, Nick turned to his much smaller friend. Reaching up to scratch at his ear, he then tugged on it while stating, "We might have been feeling each other's tails last night."

Finn's jaw dropped, and then he slugged Nick's arm, saying, "Are you nuts! Red foxes don't move that fast! Least of all you!"

Nick glared at him while rubbing his arm. Luckily, it wasn't the same arm Judy had been punching him yesterday.

"Oh, come on, Nick! You've barely been back together 36 hours."

Nick merely shrugged. "What can I say? Carrots excites me in all the right ways."

Finn gaped at him a moment longer, than shook his head and ran his paws over his face. Looking at the time, he exclaimed, "No way! Is it really after 8!? I meant to call you when I was done with the pancakes." Nick just shrugged his shoulders as he began stuffing his mouth again, and Finnick explained, "Sorry, I got caught up in the news. They finally came out with a statement about Bellwether's arrest."

Nick nodded his head, then stuck his paw out for the phone so he could see what they were saying. Finnick handed it over, and then asked, "I was wondering if you were going to have Cottontail hobble into the ZPD on her crutches, or if you were going to wheel her in in your wheelchair."

Nick froze, then glanced over. "Eelch'r?"

"Yeah. Did you forget that Honey bought you one while you were recovering from that beatin' she saved you from?"

Nick had to think a minute, but after swallowing his mouthful, he said, "Oh, yeah, she did, didn't she? I used it like twice . . . I think. I really hated it, so I mostly stayed in my bed until I was strong enough to use crutches." Picking up his glass and taking a sip while trying to think where the wheelchair was, he finally shook his head. "Taking her in the wheelchair would be best, but I honestly have no clue where Honey put it."

Finn shook his head while grinning. "I saw where she hid it," he said while smacking his friend's back. "That's how I know she bought you one." Climbing down from his stool, he added, "You eat while I dig it out."

"Thanks, Finn," he said as he shoveled the last of his pancakes in his mouth. Judy should be about done by now, so he needed to get her plate ready. Standing up, he walked around the counter and piled several more pancakes onto his plate, then smothered them in syrup. Considering their make-out session last night, he didn't think Judy would be bothered by sharing his plate. With a smug grin while remembering their time last night, he set the plate down in his spot and refilled his glass with almond milk, then hurried back upstairs.

He reached the top of the stairs just as Judy opened the door to yell for him. "Oh," she said in surprise at seeing Nick reach the top of the stairs. She blinked and her nose twitched as Nick stepped up to the door and looked her over, his eyes lingering on her shapely, bare legs. With a slight blush, she said, "I can't get my pants on."

"Yes, I see that," Nick murmured. Tearing his eyes away from her legs, a smug grin spread across his face as he followed Judy back inside the bathroom.

Downstairs, Finnick had just pried the wheelchair from the very back of the hall closet when he heard Nick run up the stairs. Maneuvering the folded-up wheelchair out into the hall, he heard the bathroom door open and a muffled response that had his large ears twitching, especially when he heard Nick's clear reply. "No way," Finn muttered under his breath. Leaning the chair up against the wall, he ran down the hall and rounded the stairwell just in time to see Nick's bushy tail disappear behind the bathroom door.

Moving back around the wall, Finnick leaned against it and ran his paws down his face. "Oh, Red, are you in trouble. You're a red fox, not an impulsive bunny. You're supposed to take relationships slow, to ease into them, not . . . jump in blind!"

Dropping his paws, Finn stared at the ceiling. Nick always planned things out, sometimes taking months to plan the perfect hustle or following a mark to get as much information as he could before going in for the kill (figuratively speaking—Nick wasn't a killer). But since bunny cop hopped into his life, his carefully laid plans were tossed out the window. To Finnick, it looked like Nick was just winging it. That he was just following along with whatever Cottontail wanted without any thought or regard to the consequences or the future. And that was a recipe for disaster for any red todd worth his salt.

With a shake of his head, he shuffled back to the wheelchair, then wheeled it into the kitchen so he could wipe the dust off with a soapy rag. Nick came down a few minutes later carrying bunny cop, and after sitting her down at the breakfast bar, he disappeared back upstairs to take his own shower.

Finnick finished cleaning off the wheelchair, then moved it into the living room. Returning to the kitchen, he walked around the breakfast bar and climbed up next to bunny cop. For a moment, he watched her shovel food into her mouth, and then he said, "You don't have to rush. Red will take a while in the shower. He has a thicker coat than yours and trying to dry his bushy tail and comb it into submission always takes extra time."

Judy slowed down her chewing as she realized why Nick was so worried about time this morning. With a nod, she murmured, "Thanks."

Finn just nodded back, then sat in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, as both were lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Finn asked, "Are serious about Nick?" He turned to look at Cottontail while he waited for her answer.

Judy looked up, surprised, then stated firmly, "I'm completely serious about Nick."

Finnick shook his head, saying, "I know you like him and want to be with him, but how deep do your feelings run?"

Judy met Finn's firm gaze with a determined one of her own. "Nick's the only one for me. I'll never want anyone but him."

"That's good to know, but . . ." Finnick paused as he tried to find the right words. "Life's not going to treat either of you very well if you pursue this relationship. There will be a lot of mammals wanting to break you up, to drive a wedge between the two of you. So I want to know how committed you are to Nick. How important is he to you?"

"He's the most important thing in my life."

Finnick nodded, then asked, "More important than your job?"

"Huh? Nick's going through the academy so he can be my partner."

"That's what you both want, and I hope they let you, but is it even possible for you to be partners when you're in a relationship? Don't they have rules against that?"

Judy's ears dropped as she realized Finn was right. Would they let her and Nick be partners if they were dating, or more to the point, married? There were fraternization rules, but she wasn't sure how strictly they were enforced. Would Bogo make an exception for them? Could he? Bringing a paw up, Judy began nibbling on her blunt thumb claw while worrying about how their relationship might mess up their ability to be partners. She really couldn't see herself partnering with anyone else, not in the long term, anyway.

Finnick watched Judy stew for a minute, then came back to his original question. "That's not really what I meant to ask, though it is something you two need to think about." Judy looked up and Finnick continued, "I was asking if, hypothetically speaking, you had to choose between your career and Nick—which would you choose?"

"Nick, of course. I told you, nothing is more important to me." It wasn't even a question. If not for Nick, she wouldn't even have her job, and would most likely be dead. And in the short time she'd known him, he'd become everything to her.

Finnick nodded, feeling a little surprised that she didn't even need to think about choosing Nick over her career. Thinking of the other important thing in her life, he asked, "Even more important than your family? I know family is important to bunnies, so if it came to it, could or would you choose Nick over your family?"

This question did take a little bit of thought, but not much. Her family was extremely important to her, but so was Nick, and he was her family now, too. And with him, she hoped to start her own family . . . at some point in the future. This idea gave her something else to think about, but later. Meeting Finnick's firm gaze, she answered, "Although I'd hate to have to choose—and I'm really glad my parents are willing to give us a chance—but if I had to choose, then yes, I would choose Nick. He's my family now, too, and I won't abandon him."

Finnick nodded and breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know because that todd up there," and he pointed at the ceiling, in the general direction of the bathroom, "will literally go through hell for you. He won't even think twice. He'll bleed to keep you. He'll bleed to protect you. And as long as he can continue holding you in his arms, he'll never regret any pain he has to go through. You are his world now."

Judy's ears drooped as she considered the pain Nick might have to go through for her—to be with her. The conversation they had at the piano last night came back to her, about the possible hazing he might experience at the Academy. And then for him to go through all that and then find out they couldn't even be partners because they were married—that would be too cruel. Maybe she should push for Nick to be a P.I. after all. That would be better than him suffering for her.

Finnick watched Judy's troubled expression for a minute, and then said, "And don't think you'll be doing him any favors by walking out in order to save him from the pain."

Judy immediately perked up and turned to stare at the small fox. "That's not what I was thinking!"

"Good, because no amount of pain the world throws at him will come even close to the torture you'll put him through if you leave him. You might as well put a gun to his head and blow his brains out or take a knife and carve his heart out, because that won't hurt half as much as you walking out on him."

Judy's ears drooped again. "I'm not going to leave him, Finnick. Nick is everything to me now and I won't be able to survive if I couldn't be with him anymore. The last three months taught me that. I was utterly miserable without him. You asked why I wasn't eating before. It's simple, I couldn't. Knowing how much I hurt Nick, and missing him so badly it physically hurt, I'd lost all desire for food. If my family wasn't around to watch me eat, then I didn't. After going through that, cutting Nick out of my life is no longer an option for me. I have him back and I'm going to do everything in my power to keep him."

Finnick's eyes widened as he listened to Cottontail's little speech, then muttered, "Well, that's good to know, I guess."

Judy nodded, then went on, "If the world won't let us be together, then I'm even willing to drag Nick off to his cabin in the middle of nowhere and live the rest of our lives as hermits. As long as I have Nick with me, then I could leave everything else behind. I'll miss it, and I'd hate the fact that I had to choose, but I wouldn't regret giving it all up for Nick."

Finnick started to nod, then exclaimed, "How do you know about Nick's cabin?" The red todd never told anyone about it. Honey had taken him and Nick out to the cabin numerous times when they were younger, but other than him, Nick had only ever told his mom and sister about it—not another soul.

Judy cocked her head slightly and said, "It's where he's taking me for our wedding retreat." Judy's expression brightened (and completely missed Finnick's shocked gaze) as she said, "Oh, I can't wait to see Nick's gyrocopter. He's going to give me a tour of Zootopia by air for one of our dates."

Finnick took in a deep breath, then practically shouted, "You're engaged!"


WingedKatt here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. In the next chapter, Finn has a few more questions for Judy and then some advice for her and Nick. Judy will remind Nick of something they forgot earlier, and then Finnick will have a little parting gift for our favorite duo.

Chapter 29: A Word of Advice, will post on Wednesday. As always, if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions I'd love to hear them. Have a great weekend.