WingedKatt here. Just an FYI: Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins is still playing on Finnick's phone, then it switches to Embers by Owl City, and then Courageous by Casting Crowns. Enjoy the story.


(Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins is still playing.)

Finnick could only stare at Judy. How could a rabbit in her twenties have never been on suppressants, and yet still never had a boyfriend? Or given away her first kiss before Nick? Rubbing his paws over his face, he looked over to question Cottontail, but then her phone chimed to let her know she had a notification.

Sitting up from where she was still slumped back in her chair, Judy fished out her phone and looked at it. With her face brightening, she exclaimed, "Oh, it's my sister, Janette!" Opening the text, she read through it and immediately sent a reply. Glancing at Finn, she said brightly, "She wants me to call her when I get the chance."

Finn's ears flicked back, then quickly righted themselves as he didn't want to show his disappointment. "So, you going to call her now?"

Judy glanced over and said, "Of course, not." With a shake of her head, she added, "That would be rude to you."

As she glanced back at her phone for a minute, Finnick's mouth dropped open again, then he snapped it shut with an audible click of his sharp teeth, which made Cottontail give him a funny look. Shaking his head, he rubbed his paws over his face. He really shouldn't be surprised at this point that bunny cop wasn't going to ignore him or brush him to the side like so many others did. To Nick's bunny girlfriend, he was no more a waste of space than Nick himself. And now if he could just get that idea through his thick skull, then maybe he wouldn't be shocked all the time when Cottontail treated him like a real mammal.

Dropping his paws and meeting bunny cop's curious gaze, he asked, "You've seriously never been on suppressants?"

Judy shook her head. "At first my parents thought I was a late bloomer when I didn't get my first heat when the rest of my sisters did, but when I turned 17 and still hadn't gone through my first heat, they started taking me to different doctors trying to figure out what was wrong with me."

"So what was the problem?" Finn asked curiously. The way she acted (and smelled) around Nick, he couldn't see that anything was wrong with her. Well, she was dating a fox, so she had to be at least a little insane, but nothing appeared to be wrong with her hormones.

Shaking her head again, Judy said, "They said I was missing an emotional component and that nothing was actually wrong with me. Turns out I was going in heat, but they were so mild that I didn't notice. My heats just made me a bit restless, so I just threw myself into training or went for an extended run. When I was in college, I took up repelling." With a huge grin on her face, she added, "Now that's exciting. My favorite is finding a rock face I can climb down Aussie style."

Finn's jaw dropped once again and he just stared at her for several heartbeats. Shutting his mouth and shaking his head, he muttered, "Why am I even surprised?" After all the crazy stuff she did while dragging Nick all over Zootopia, nothing about her should surprise him.

A cheeky grin spread across Judy's face as she remembered asking a similar question to Nick just yesterday, though it seemed weeks ago already. With a light chuckle, she answered the same way Nick had. "I don't know? Why are you?"

Finn stared for a moment, then snickered and shook his head. "You sound just like Nick now."

Judy laughed, too. "That's what Henry said!"

Shaking his head again while still chuckling, Finn replied, "You two really are made for each other."

Judy simply beamed at him. I can't agree more, she thought.

…...

As Nick drove into the Central Station parking garage, he had to drive around a bit to find a place to park on the second level. But once he did, he was out of the truck in a flash, had it locked, and was weaving his way through the parked cars, eager to get back to his honeybun. Stepping through the door of the garage, he hurried down the large walkway. As he neared the café he left Judy at, he saw that Finnick now sat in his spot next to his girlfriend, but Thing 1 and Thing 2 were nowhere to be found. He also heard Finn's music playing, which told him that whatever they were talking about, it was private. And knowing Judy, he could guess the topic she'd asked Finn about.

Striding over to his girlfriend and best bud, he saw that Judy was beaming at whatever Finnick had said, while Finn was shaking his head with this "you're nuts" look on his face.

Slipping into the chair on the other side of Judy, he asked, "What did I miss?" Glancing at the wad of napkins, he added, "And what's with the used napkins?" Smelling the faint trace of Judy's tears and watching her ears drop behind her head, Nick's ears flicked back and his gaze shot to Finnick as his paws curled into fists. "You made my girlfriend cry!" With the music playing (Embers by Owl City), he didn't have to worry about someone over-hearing him.

Finn's ears flattened out to the side as he returned Nick's glare. "No, I didn't make your girlfriend cry." Pointing a small, clawed finger at the red todd across from him, he stated, "You made your girlfriend cry." Throwing his paws up, he exclaimed, "And you weren't even here!"

Nick's ears flattened against his head and he glanced at Judy. With a bright smile, she said, "Don't' worry, they were happy tears."

Nick studied Judy's beaming smile, then slumped back in his chair. Rubbing his face, he then turned to Finnick and said, "Sorry, Finn, this is all new to me and I'm finding myself a bit . . . irrational."

"I'd say irrational!" With his ears pointing forward once again, he jabbed a clawed finger at Nick and said, "You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, and that includes hurting your girlfriend."

Nick rubbed his face again, then rested his paws on the table, saying, "I really am sorry."

"Yeah, you better be sorry," Finn muttered as he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and stared down into the busy train station.

Judy reached over and placed a small paw over Nick's much larger one, and he smiled gratefully. But seeing a mother moose and her two young calves walking towards them after stepping out of a clothing store down the walkway behind Judy, followed closely by a large family of slender meerkats who soon over took the moose family in their haste to get where they were going, Nick gave a slight motion towards the crowd and then pulled back. Relaxing into his chair, Nick drummed his claws on the table with one paw and rested the other paw on his leg.

Judy frowned briefly as Nick pulled away from her. She shouldn't have to hide her affection for the red todd, especially something as innocent as a comforting paw. Of course, if they were at home, or even in the jeep, she could give him more than just a comforting paw. As her thoughts turned to how she could comfort him once they were alone, she lost track of her surroundings.

Breaking Judy and Nick out of their pensive thoughts, Finnick said, "I've come to really enjoy Cottontail's company. For prey, she's one of the better ones." Pausing a moment, he then added, "In fact, she's more fun than most predators I know."

Judy's ears turned a slight shade darker at the unexpected compliment, even as Nick turned to the small fox across from him and grinned. "I couldn't agree more."

Finnick nodded even as Judy gave him a grateful smile. Perking up while remembering Nick's girlfriend when he first arrived, Finn sat up straighter and rested one arm on the beveled glass tabletop, then jabbed his thumb toward the bunny beside him while speaking to Nick. "Do you know what she was doing when I arrived?" At Nick's head shake, Finn continued, "She was threatening to slug Thing 1's arm hard enough to feel broken if he didn't stop badmouthing you." With a wide grin, he added, "It was be-eautiful."

Nick's tail began wagging slightly as he turned towards his stunning girlfriend. "Really?" he asked with perked up ears.

"Of course," she said with a scowl. "There's no way I could sit still while he talked trash about you. Since he wasn't listening to what my mouth was saying, I figured I'd let my fists do the talking." With a wide grin and a shrug, she added, "It shut him right up."

Nick's tail was wagging harder now, and he clenched his fists to keep from hugging her. He knew Judy would support and protect him, but hearing how his girlfriend stood up for him even when he wasn't around . . . After years of being put down by both prey and predator, it warmed his heart immensely and made him love his incredible honeybun all that much more. "Ahh! If we weren't in public, I'd kiss you!"

Judy's grin split her whole face and she leaned over the table to say, "Well, if you hand the truck keys over to my dumb brother, we can leave here and then you can kiss me."

Nick's muzzle shifted into a happy, dopy grin as he stared into Judy's shimmering, amethyst gaze—until a straw hit him square in the face. Shaking his head, he turned to face his friend

"Mask, Red," Finn hissed at him. "Before some idiot takes pictures of you mooning over your bunny and posts them all over social media." Nick frowned and his ears splayed back. "We're just getting over all the stupid protests and we don't need to start a riot because society doesn't think a fox should be chasing after a bunny."

Judy had mixed feelings about Finn's comment. She knew he was right, and it galled her that they had to hide how they felt—but on the other paw, the thought of Nick actually chasing her, of catching her—that excited her on a whole new level. Being chased by her hot fox while running through the forests and rocks surrounding his cabin, then thinking about what would happen after he caught her . . . Her ears turned several shades darker as she thought, Being eaten by a fox never sounded so good.

Turning her gaze back to Nick, she pressed her tongue to her top lip as her anger at society warred with her desire to be with Nick.

Nick, on the other paw, grabbed his ears and pulled them down and growled softly in irritation. "Dating shouldn't be this difficult!"

Finn shrugged. "And it wouldn't be if you were both pred or both prey, but since you two are not only crossing species line, but the whole food chain—it'll take some time for society to get used to the idea . . . if they ever do."

"Well," Judy spoke up, "someone has to start the change. And if me and Nick can change, then I'm sure others probably will to. There might even be some out there in hiding—we just have to find them. If enough pred-prey couples come out at the same time, then society will have to wake up and take notice." Finn's phone switched to Courageous by Casting Crowns as Judy waited for their response.

Nick and Finn glanced at each other in thought, but at first neither knew how to respond. Nick initially wanted to deny it, but after a moment's thought he realized she was right. Taking a deep breath, he added, "You're right. And things have changed to some degree since I was younger. Although the prejudice is still bad, at the hospital, Kimberly didn't bat an eye about me being there with you, or how close we were. She actually seemed happy for us. And she worked really well with that leopard doctor, so I guess there is some hope for the future."

Judy beamed happily at him while Finn sat back and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

With a heavy sigh, Nick turned to Judy and asked, "So where is your specist brother so I can shove the keys in his face. I need to get you home so you can put your leg up. It's been down too long today."

Judy nodded, but her leg was the last thing on her mind as she thought of getting home. She still had to make it up to Nick for the pain he relived while talking to Bogo earlier. And he did promise her another kiss. With a warm smile, she motioned in the direction she'd sent her brother and his friend—Thing 1 and Thing 2. Chuckling she said, "They're over by the lemonade stand."

Nick made a face as he stood up. "Never drink there. The lemonade they serve is only about 10 percent juice and the rest is just sugar and fillers." With a shake of his head, Nick added, "And mammals call us crooks."

Finn snorted. "Ain't that the truth," he muttered, then watched Nick make his way towards the lemonade stand as he disappeared into the crowd. While thinking over his conversation with Cottontail, he sat up straighter and said, "I got to talk to Nick real quick, and then I'm taking off." With a nod he added, "So I guess this is goodbye for now." With a grin, he grabbed his phone and said, "It's been a blast and we'll have to do this again."

Judy smiled while saying, "Thanks, Finn. I had a great time, too. Be safe."

Finn nodded, then climbed down, but before he could take more than a few steps, Judy suddenly called to him.

"Oh, wait, Finnick." As the small, desert fox turned back to her with cocked ears, Judy said, "Give me your number and email. I want to email you all the information I gathered on being a P.I. and how to get a license, then you can make an informed decision about whether you want to go into it or not. I'll send you a text so you'll have my number and then you can call or text if you have any questions."

Finn stood there with his mouth open at the bunny cop's proposal. She really was serious about having him as an outside consultant on her cases. Snapping his mouth shut, he studied her a moment, then glanced over to where Nick disappeared. Meeting her gaze again, he said, "I'll tell Nick to give it to you once you get home."

Judy nodded and let Finn go this time. She idly wondered what he had to talk to Nick about, but then focused on the information she needed to send him on being a P.I. and a bounty hunter. She really hoped he'd accept. Having him help her and Nick out on cases would make everything that much more interesting. And having an extra set of large ears and a good sniffer couldn't hurt, either.

…...

As Nick neared the lemonade stand, he saw Thing 1 sitting at a small table with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. His ears were twitching slightly as he kept track of the sounds and movements of those around him, while Thing 2, on the other paw, was sitting across from him and clearly wasn't paying attention as he stirred his straw around in his drink. Coming from Bunnyburrow, the buck was probably used to fresh-squeezed lemonade, so the fake stuff they sold here should be just as disgusting to him as it was to Nick. He was actually surprised Thing 2 had nearly finished his.

Slowing down slightly, Nick decided to have one last laugh at their expense. Softening his footsteps so he made no noise, he waltzed up behind Judy's brother and dangled the keys over his face. They both jumped (and Thing 2 nearly knocked his drink over while looking like he had a heart attack), which made Nick grin smugly before saying, "Here's your keys. The truck is at C4 in the parking garage over there." He jerked his head in the direction of the truck and parking garage. "Judy's at the table if you want to say goodbye."

Henry grabbed the keys as he turned around and hissed, "Watch it, fox."

Nick raised his paws and said, "Hey, it's not my fault if you weren't paying attention." He had to hold back his laughter at the buck's black scowl. It was obvious he had been paying attention and yet Nick still got the drop on him.

Henry ground his teeth to keep from telling him off. Judy's threat was still fresh in his mind and he had no wish to drive the 3 ½ hours home with an arm bruised enough to feel broken. Looking over to Billy, whose nose was still twitching fearfully and his breathing fast and shallow, Henry jerked his head in the direction they'd come from earlier. Brushing past the smug pelt, Henry didn't go far before seeing the smaller, sand-colored pelt hurrying towards him.

Finnick paused upon seeing the two bucks, but then gave them a toothy grin. Scurrying past them, he met up with Nick, who cocked his head in question. Ignoring the bucks behind him, who shrugged and continued on their way, Finn grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him to a secluded part of the station. Glancing around to make sure they were alone, he motioned for Nick (who was very confused at the moment) to bend down, then whispered, "You and Cottontail have more in common than I thought."

Nick flicked his ear. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know why she was crying?"

Nick shook his head as he was very curious as to why.

"She started sniffling while thinking you was too good for her."

Nick raised his paw, pointer finger up, and said, "Wait. I'm too good for . . . Judy? She thinks she's not . . . good enough . . . for me?"

"Right!" Finn exclaimed. "She's a rabbit, prey, and she doesn't feel like she's good enough for you, a fox. What prey thinks a fox is too good for them! It's nuts!" He shook his head with his large ears swinging side to side. "She's nuts!"

Nick's jaw went slack as his ears partially splayed back. "Judy doesn't think she's good enough for me?" he repeated while pointing to himself. His honeybun was a very confident rabbit, who was a driven and capable cop, and who had a bad tendency to jump in headfirst, so what would make her feel like she wasn't worthy of him. If anything, he didn't feel worthy of her.

"It's insane, right!" Finn threw his paws up in the air as he still had a hard time believing how the rabbit felt.

Feeling just as shocked as Finn, Nick asked, "What did you tell her?"

"I explained how she's already helped you and that she just needed to be herself. And that's when she really started crying and needed all those napkins!"

Nick wasn't sure how to respond. Cocking his head a moment, he asked, "She started crying . . . after . . . you told her to be herself?"

Finn nodded several times. "Said her whole life everyone's tried to make her someone she's not, and when she refused, they started talking behind her back, calling her crazy and dumb. Moving to the city didn't change nothing. A lot of mammals talked behind her back both at the academy and at the ZPD." Jabbing his short, sharp claw at Nick's stomach, Finnick added, "No one cared about her until you came along. And hearing that you just needed her to be herself had her crying 'happy tears' as she called them." He made air quotes around the "happy tears".

Nick's ears drooped at hearing how Judy had been talked at in the same fashion he'd been. And then remembering how she'd gotten all bashful last night as he'd called her beautiful and sexy . . . He raised his paws and ran them down his muzzle. It was obvious that compliments of this kind were severely lacking in her life. Something he'd need to rectify. Taking a deep breath, he looked down to meet Finn's concerned gaze. "Okay, thanks for telling me."

Finn nodded, knowing Nick would know best how to treat and help his bunny.

"I need to get back to Judy. The doctor said to keep her leg elevated and we haven't done that at all today."

Finn nodded again, but then grabbed Nick's arm, saying, "Something else I need to tell you." As Nick tilted his head in question, Finnick said, "You better not wait too long to put that ring on her finger."

Nick's jaw dropped, and he figured he wore the same expression he did when Judy kissed Mr. Big's cheeks back when they were almost iced. Shaking the stupor away, he shook his paws out in front of him and exclaimed, "Wait! What!? You're the one complaining we're moving too fast."

"Yeah, well, that was before I found out Cottontail has never been on suppressants, and you'll drive her to them if you take too long putting that ring on her finger."

Nick's jaw dropped again. "What do you mean she's never been on suppressants!?" Nick couldn't forget her excited smell that had been driving him crazy for the last 24 hours.

"Just what I said. She claimed that until she met you,"—Finn jabbed Nick in the belly again—"she'd never met anyone worth getting hot and bothered over. If you wait too long, she'll probably end up jumping you. Especially since your teeth dump a bucket-load of hormones into her system that makes her crazy with desire."

Nick's ears immediately flamed red as the memory of Judy in his arms last night flashed through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he tried desperately to dampen his own desire the memory evoked. Focusing back on the small fox in front of him, his blush spread at seeing the knowing look in his friend's eyes as his small nose twitched slightly at the scent Nick was now giving off.

Grabbing his ears and pulling on them, he exclaimed, "It was her ears, okay. I ran my teeth up her ears and after smelling her response I told her I wouldn't bite her again until I put a ring on her finger."

Finn snorted. "Uh-huh, right. Is this the same as you two claiming to take things slow?"

"That . . . I mean . . ."

"Nick, it hasn't even been 48 hours and you're already dating and running your teeth and claws through her fur!"

"Well, I can't help it!" Nick whined. "She makes it so easy to do! And it's not just how pawsy and snuggly she is." Releasing his ears, he pointed to Finnick with both paws and said, "She trusts me, Finn." He tapped his chest with his paws. "And she hasn't once judged me. Even after I told her I worked for Mr. Big, she still didn't judge me. She didn't even ask what I did for him! All she knows is that I went on business dates to gather information." At Finn's stunned expression, Nick quickly asked, "Unless you told her more of what I did for him?"

Finnick shook his head. "Not much more. Just told her why you started working for him and about your reputation for getting things done, along with a bit about your court cases."

Nick's ears perked up. "You told her about Anya and the scholarship program?"

With a nod, Finn said, "Ya. You got a letter from her today." With a smirk, Finn added, "A fat letter."

Nick's ears flattened. "Um, yeah, I might have neglected to reply to her last lett—ers."

Finn chuckled for a moment, but then asked, "You actually told Judy about your business dates? With all those vixens?"

Nick folded his arms and muttered, "No, Fru-Fru did." Finn's eyes widened, but then Nick added, "I'm just lucky Fru-Fru explained that I didn't do anything with them."

Finn rubbed his paws over his face as he realized just how much trust bunny cop was placing in his sly friend. "She knows you went on business dates for the mob with a bunch of different vixens, and she still wants you to put your paws and teeth all over her?"

Nick's ears perked up. "That's what I'm talking about. Judy doesn't judge me, and she trusts me enough to wait for me to tell her more." Running a paw down his muzzle, he continued, "She's not a patient bunny, and yet she'll be patient for me. And even when I told her about Nakita and that I never killed anyone or dealt in drugs, she didn't even question it. She took it as fact and trusted that I wasn't lying to her." Shaking his head, he restated, "She knows I worked for the mob and yet she still believes in me enough to take what I tell her at face value." Throwing his paws up in the air, he exclaimed, "Who does that!? Who does that for a fox!?"

Gaping at his larger friend, Finnick finally started to see why Nick wasn't holding back with Cottontail. He knew she'd touched Nick emotionally and was healing much of the hurt and abuse he'd suffered, and that her trust impacted him greatly, but this level of trust and faith very few people found or experienced in their whole lifetime—especially when it comes to foxes, whom society claims are all born thieves and liars. And bunny cop had only spent six days with Nick!

With a deep breath, Finnick slowly let it out. "Fine, I'll stop questioning how fast you're moving. But seriously, you better talk to Cottontail about her suppressants and when she might need them. Oh, and get this, since her heats have been so mild, she took up repelling in college to deal with the antsy feelings they caused."

Nick's ears perked up and his tail wagged. "Seriously?" Several date ideas popped into his head while imagining the two of them repelling some of the rock faces in the more mountainous areas of both the Meadowlands and the Rainforest District. The Canyonlands also had some really good rock climbing and repelling cliffs.

Finnick nodded while grinning back. "Go see your bunny before she starts feeling lonely."

Nick grinned, then waved goodbye and scurried down the crowded walkway and disappeared from sight.

With a wide, toothy grin, Finn slowly made his way after his friend before veering off towards the parking garage at the back of the station.


WingedKatt again. So what did you think? Next chapter will see Nick and Judy on their way home, with Nick singing again and Judy opening up more about her life and bunny culture, along with a glimpse at what the future might hold.

Chapter 43: When Exactly? will post December 21. As always, I'd love to hear any thoughts or comments you might have. Have a great weekend.