WingedKatt here with a simple warning: Tension and Fluff ahead. Enjoy.


As the door closed behind Nick, Judy took a deep breath, then flopped back on the bed. Rolling over (and this time being mindful of her injured leg), Judy buried her face in her pillow and groaned loudly. "Nick, you are killing me!" Rubbing her forehead into the pillow for a minute, she tried to calm her racing heart. It didn't work. Rolling back over, she put an arm over her eyes even as she raised her other paw to touch her lips. The kiss she stole from him was passionate enough, but the ones he stole from her—Ay caramba, momma help me. If Nick had pushed for more instead of asking her, she knew without a shadow of a doubt she would have caved without a shred of resistance. She still surprised herself with her answer. His kisses had left her bones feeling like Jell-O and all her muscles little more than limp noodles.

Touching her tongue briefly, she could still feel his hot, strong vulpine tongue in her mouth and completely dominating her much smaller lagomorph one. It left her blood feeling hot just thinking about it. Grabbing her ears and pulling them over her face, she groaned again as she tried to push the thoughts down that were now dominating her mind. "Stop it, Judy. It's too early to be thinking of Nick like that." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Do not ruin this. He's the best thing that has, or ever will, happen to you. He's already made enough compromises letting you set the pace, so give him a break. He needs time, so give it to him." Taking a deep breath, she finished her pep talk with, "Patience. You've waited this long, you can wait a few more weeks."

But she didn't want to wait a few more weeks. Just the thought of having to wait even 2 weeks, let alone more, had her whimpering. She thought waiting to get accepted into the ZPA was painful, but nothing compared to the thought of having to wait so long (at this point, 2 weeks suddenly felt like an eternity) to experience all her fox had to offer.

Grabbing her pillow, she buried her face in it again and groaned. Pounding her head against the soft, fluffy fabric repeatedly, she said, "Irene, Nicole, I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. It's your fault I'm suffering right now. You planted these ideas in my head and now I can't get rid of them. And when I get home, I'm going to ring your scrawny necks, skin you alive, and turn you into bunny pretzels." Burying her face in the pillow again, she moaned, "If not for you, I wouldn't know what I was missing and this would be easy. But no, you just couldn't keep your big mouths shut, could you?"

"I'm going out to the jeep to bring in your box. I'll be back up in a minute," she heard Nick holler through the door.

"Okay," she mumbled and felt glad of the distraction. She was supposed to be getting changed, not moaning about all the things she shouldn't be thinking about but was.

After setting her phone on the dresser, she quickly pulled off her clothes and dug out her workout shirt and shorts (she finally remembered she had them) and quickly dressed. Then she situated herself at the head of the bed and waited for Nick. As an afterthought, she grabbed her phone and set it beside her. Nick had so many pictures of her, it was about time she took some of him. And then her mind wandered back down the path of forbidden ideas as she thought of Nick being here in her room.

So, when her foxy boyfriend knocked on the door several minutes later to ask if she was ready, it startled her. "Uh, yeah, you can come in." As Nick walked into the room Judy had a hard time looking at anything but his bare, fluffy chest, but as her gaze traveled up to meet his own burning emeralds, she saw the appreciation in his bright green eyes as they roved over her toned body that the workout clothes showed off beautifully.

"I am so glad I bought that outfit, but you're not allowed to wear it while running the streets of Zootopia."

"What! Why?"

With a sly grin, Nick replied, "Because otherwise I'll have to run behind you with a stick to beat off all the bucks who will be chasing you."

Judy stared for a moment, then started laughing. Shaking her head as she watched Nick set his shirt and a water bottle on the dresser, she then took a second bottle from him and popped it open for a long swig. With a grin still on her face, she recapped it and said, "You forget, most bucks don't think I have soft enough curves to make me worth chasing."

Nick shook his head as a slightly predatory gaze entered his eyes. Resting a paw on the headboard just above and to the left of her head, he leaned over and said, "Maybe out in the country, but you're in the city now. Or have you forgotten about bucko from last night?"

Judy's ears immediately dropped, as did her smile, while the confrontation from last night replayed in her mind. Nor did she forget the task Nick had charged Willie with. Meeting his predatory gaze, she asked softly, "What did you mean last night when you were talking to Willie?"

Nick's tail dropped to the floor and his expression went blank, then a heavy sigh left him. Pushing off the wall, he turned and dropped heavily onto the bed. Sitting on the edge, he sighed again, then rubbed his face. Looking over to meet Judy's troubled amethysts with his own troubled emeralds, he said, "The fact you have to ask leaves me torn." At her raised eyebrow, he explained, "It shows your innocence." Seeing her expression cloud over in irritation, he raised a finger to forestall her comment. "On the one paw, your innocence is sweet and cute"—Judy's ear twitched at the irritating c-word, but she kept quiet as she knew Nick wasn't teasing her . . . this time.—"and I wish you could always keep it, to never lose your wonder and the way you always look on the bright side of things." Reaching over, he cupped her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "It's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."

Judy's expression softened as her ears perked up again. With a small smile, she asked, "And on the other paw?"

Nick took a deep breath. "On the other paw . . . it's scary how naïve you still are." Moving his thumb over her lips to stop her retort, he continued, "I know you've experienced some of the dark underbelly of the city, but there's still a lot Bunnyburrow just can't prepare you for." At her glare, he stated, "Bunnyburrow has a low crime rate, doesn't it?"

Judy sighed as she realized where he was going with his question. "Yes."

Nick nodded and asked, "And what are the crime statistics for rape out there in the sticks?"

Judy's ears dropped again as she replied, "Maybe one or two a decade."

"Really!? That low?"

Judy nodded, saying, "Well, when every doe has about 50 brothers who would track down the offender and beat him to a bloody pulp and possibly plow him into one of the fields—it makes would-be rapists think twice."

Nick's jaw dropped in horror. "Yeah. Yeah, that would deter a lot of crime." With a gulp, he said, "So . . . so you have fifty brothers?" When he decided to date Judy, he hardly gave a thought to her siblings. He knew bunnies had large families, but fifty brothers seemed like a ridiculous amount . . . didn't it?

And even when he was teasing Henry this afternoon, it never occurred to him that there might be fifty more of him just waiting to skin him alive the moment he stepped foot in Bunnyburrow and they found out he was not only putting his large paws all over their sister's hot body while thinking indecent thoughts about her, but that he had already tasted her and had every intention of devouring her in the very near future. He'd led Henry to believe nothing had or was happening between them, and that nothing ever would. But what happens when they find out there was? Judy's grin did nothing to reassure him.

"I have 138 brothers and 177 sisters," Judy said proudly while lightly slugging Nick's arm. "I told you rabbits are good at multiplying." What should have been a joke to get Nick laughing had the opposite effect. Instead of humor, it was fear she saw in Nick's shocked emerald gaze. With her ears drooping, Judy asked softly, "Nick? Nick, what's wrong?"

Nick licked his lips nervously and whispered, "Judy, what happens when your specist brothers find out I'm putting my paws all over you? That the ideas Henry had about us aren't that far from the truth, and that it won't be long before they are true?"

Judy bit her lip as she considered Nick's fears. They seemed a little ridiculous, but she knew he was being serious. Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Nick, I won't lie and say some of my brothers aren't specist jerks, but they're not going to hurt you." She reached over and put a paw on his arm, but he shook it off—just like back in the gondola three months ago. Her heartrate went up as she suddenly found herself on verge of panicking. Realizing he was using her given name did nothing to calm her fears.

Nick gave a bitter laugh. "Where have I heard that one before?" Judy frowned, but Nick didn't give her a chance to respond. Shaking his head, he continued, "Judy, you just told me what happens to those who hurt someone's sister in Bunnyburrow, and now you tell me you have 138 brothers, many of who are specist pricks just like Henry, and yet you tell me not to worry?" Running a paw through his head fur, he exclaimed, "Judy, I'm a fox! Do you really think it'll matter to your bigoted brothers that everything we're doing is consensual? Or that they won't try to 'protect you' from the 'evil fox' who must have 'tricked you' into 'liking him'?"

Judy remained silent as she met Nick's bitter gaze. As much as she'd like to deny it, she knew he was right. There were several of her brothers who wouldn't hesitate to take a cheap-shot at Nick when no one else was around—or gang up on him when they caught him away from the burrow.

As the silence stretched out, Nick waved a paw through the air and continued, saying, "Am I supposed to just lay down and take a beating because they're your siblings? Because they're rabbits and I'm the big bad fox?" Jumping off the bed, Nick started pacing in front of the bed as he considered the nightmare his future now held. "But if I stand and defend myself and wind up hurting several of them, what then?" Stopping in front of Judy, he turned to face her and demanded, "Am I supposed to go quietly to jail on trumped-up assault charges!?" With a shake of his head as his ears splayed back, Nick raised his paws and gripped his arms while whispering, "I can't do it, Judy. I just can't."

Judy felt her world drop out from under her. Was this the deal breaker for Nick? Her huge, specist family? And she couldn't deny the reality of his fears, no matter how much she wished it otherwise. "Nick, I—"

Nick cut her off, saying, "I can't lay there and let someone beat me, Judy—not again." With his gaze dropping to the floor as he gripped his arms tighter, a shiver ran down his spine and he whined softly, "Never again."

Judy's heart broke for the wonderful todd beside her as she recalled the details of his beating when he was 12. There was no way she'd be okay with even one of her siblings hurting her boyfriend, especially not when he'd suffered so much already. Reaching over, she touched his arm again, but he once again shook it off.

Turning to her with panicked eyes, he continued, "And jail time?" He shook his head again. "Do know what they do to foxes in jail? How rough the guards get with them?" Running a paw through his head fur, Nick met Judy's shocked gaze with panicked eyes and continued his questioning. "What the other inmates do to them when the guards aren't looking? When they choose not to look?" Nick shook his head again. "Other than having to listen to some abusive language from the guards or occasionally being smacked around, those sitting in a ZPD cell don't have to worry too much. But those sent up to penitentiary and are incarcerated for any length of time . . ." A cold shiver ran down Nick's spine. "Ask Finnick what happened to his dad when he was thrown in jail after being framed for embezzlement at the company he worked at."

Judy wrung her paws as she listened to Nick speak. The picture he painted was so very different from anything she had ever considered before. When he had called her naïve 3 months ago, she hated it, but the press conference showed her how right he'd been. But she learned from her mistake and grew as a mammal, so hearing him call her innocent (which was just another word for naïve) just a few minutes ago galled her to no end. But now she was starting see how right he was—again. And for once, she wished he wasn't. She truly was living in a bubble (still), and he was popping that bubble (again) and forcing her to take a better look what was happening in the shadows around her. Shadows she refused to look at before meeting her wonderful fox who'd been forced to live in those shadows for far too long.

Running his claws down the back of his neck, Nick ignored Judy's obvious distress as he continued, saying, "Whatever they did to him in jail—used him as a chew rag if he talked back, a kickball when he didn't run and fetch fast enough, or some other sick things I don't even want to imagine—he wasn't the same todd when he came out. The happy, loving dad Finn knew was gone." Nick tugged on his ear and, with a slight whine to his voice, he said, "All foxes have it bad in prison, but with Finn's dad being a tiny fennec fox, he got it so much worse than what us larger foxes would face, and it drove him to drugs and alcohol—the two worst things that a fox can get into. They destroy our biological ties to our families and the instinctive drive we have to protect them. It's . . ." Nick shook his head again, saying, "Finn has 3 older siblings he hasn't seen since he was 9 and they were teens. They skipped out to avoid all the abuse. Finn thought about leaving several times, but worried about his mom. His dad eventually beat her to death, which is when Finn was forced into foster care."

They sat in silence for several heartbeats, with Nick lost in the past and Judy's heart breaking for the two todds who were quickly becoming important fixtures in her life. Although she hadn't known Finnick that long, after spending time with him the last 24 hours and hearing more about his and Nick's life, it felt like she'd known him for years. And just like Nick, she knew she could trust him with her life.

Gathering his thoughts, Nick turned to Judy and met her beautiful, amethyst gaze that was now pooling with tears, and said, "I can't go to jail, Judy, not simply for defending myself. If it was something I actually did, I could deal with it—but not because your family couldn't accept me and thought it would be great fun to beat up their sister's foxy boyfriend."

Judy's voice quavered as she whispered, "Nick." She reached out for him again but missed as he moved away from her and backed up towards the balcony door.

"I need some air," he muttered morosely as he spun around and faced his escape.

A cold shiver ran down Judy's spine as she realized Nick was distancing himself from her. She was supposed to be making him feel better, not opening old wounds or giving him nightmares. Seeing him turn to leave, Judy scrambled across the bed (since she was on her paws and knees her injury wasn't too jostled, making it easy to ignore the slight throbbing) and grabbed Nick's tail, then jerked him back onto the bed (his yip of pain was ignored). Crawling over him to straddle his stomach, Judy ignored his wide-eyed look of pain and surprise. Digging her fingers into his chest fur, she gripped it tightly as she leaned over his face until their noses were just a few centimeters apart.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "You listen here, Nicholas P. Wilde, I am not going to sit back and let some of my specist family members hurt you. If they try anything, then you better defend yourself, because if not and they end up hurting you, the paramedics will have to sort them out by the time I get through with them. There might even be a shortage at the hospital on stitches and plaster casts with how much they'll need to fix everyone's split lips, broken bones, and torn ears. And after recovering in the hospital for several weeks, I'll be waiting with a cruiser to take them all to jail on aggravated assault charges. No one messes with my boyfriend and gets away with it. I don't care who it is or where they're from. I will arrest them, and they will serve time—Not. You."

Nick's expression brightened a bit and his tail gave the smallest wag. "You'd do that for me? You would actually arrest your own siblings if they tried to hurt me?"

"You better believe it, Slick. My siblings, my cousins—Anyone in Bunnyburrow who tries to hurt you will wind up with at least a night in jail."

Nick's expression brightened further, and his tail began to wag as he brought his paws up and slipped them around her waist, then up her sides.

Judy ignored the shiver of pleasure his touch brought and felt grateful she was able to avoid disaster. She hated the thought of Nick shutting her out, of dealing with his pain and suffering alone. She was here now, and she wanted him to rely on her, to trust her with his fears and worries.

Sitting up, she released her death grip on his chest fur, then began lightly running her fingers through the thick, fluffy fur. With a troubled look, she asked quietly, "Do you really believe I'd let them hurt you and do nothing about it?"

Nick's ears dropped behind his head and he scrambled to explain, "No! It's not . . . that's not what I was thinking." Running his paws over her cheeks and then back over her ears in an attempt to calm her, he said, "I'm sorry. It's just the way I've been brought up. Here in the city, when there's a pack of preds or a herd of prey attacking a fox, and the fox stands up and defends himself—it's always the fox who gets charged with assault. It doesn't matter who accuses him or the absurdity of him picking a fight with the thugs—the cops, the jury, the judge—they all believe whatever lies are spewed against the fox." With a tired shrug, he added, "When Honey was still alive, I didn't worry too much about being accused of stuff I didn't do, but after she died and the mess with Big. . ." He shook his head, "These last five years I went back to getting the short end of the stick. If all they're going to see is a shifty, untrustworthy fox, why be anything else, right?"

Judy's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she leaned back down and said, "But I am a cop and I will believe you, Nick, never doubt that." Caressing his cheeks, she whispered, "I love you, Nick, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. We're in this together, remember? You want me to rely you, so please rely on me." Leaning down, she softly pressed her lips to Nick's. The kiss was short but full of love and acceptance. After a moment, Judy raised her face to briefly look at the handsome todd who would soon be her mate and husband. Leaning down again, she kissed him softly once more.

Nick returned the soft kisses, then slid one paw up her back and the other behind her head as he kissed her again. And again. With each kiss getting a little longer and a little deeper. Besides Honey, no one had done for him what Judy was willing to do for him. Not only was she willing to fight her siblings on his behalf, but she was willing to throw their specist butts in jail if they harmed him. That was something he never expected, not when he was a fox. Judy's love, determination, and protection warmed him in ways he couldn't explain. And he was more than willing to give her anything and everything she wanted to show just how much he appreciated her.

Judy lost herself in his kisses, so it was a complete surprise when she found herself flat on her back with Nick looming over her. The surprise didn't last long, though, as he dropped his muzzle to kiss her again. Which quickly flowed into another kiss. And another. Just like back on the stairs. And she couldn't be happier. Running her paws down his chest, she began rubbing and scratching his belly which brought a happy whine and tail wag from her fox.

Nick couldn't believe how good her paws felt rubbing his stomach. Although he imagined his tummy rub to be more relaxing and far less passionate—he wasn't complaining. Far from it. Judy's love and devotion were incredible and something he feared to never experience just 3 days ago. Which left him feeling quite generous right now. Breaking off their latest kiss, Nick kissed her chin, then trailed kisses along her jawbone. Whispering against her fur, he asked, "You want to feel my teeth again, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, please," she said in a breathless moan.

Her mouth-watering scent and needy moans called to him just as the Sirens of mythology called to the mariners of old—and with the same destructive result.

With one paw resting on the bed beside her head and supporting his weight, Nick slipped the other under her shirt and began running his claws through her short, silky belly fur, even as he grinned and nipped the tender point where her jaw met her neck, then he licked it before nipping it again. The loud moan and spike in her scent had Nick's heart pounding even as his body responded in kind. And as her scent slowly clouded his mind, with her taste in his mouth and her fur under his paw, he felt his instinctive need to hold back and go slow slowly being smothered beneath his quickly rising hormone levels—and for once, he couldn't care less. Not when he considered everything Judy was willing to do for him.

Judy, on the other paw, was completely lost in the sensations Nick was creating in her. While listening to her sisters' loud debates about all their romantic exploits (and hating them immensely for interrupting her studies with their vulgar talk) she never could have imagined just how incredible being touched could feel. And with Nick's large paws and sharp claws caressing her belly and feeling truly criminal in their ability to stimulate such a reaction from her, and then his sinfully talented tongue and teeth—Judy was sure she had died and gone to heaven. There was no way anything could feel this wonderfully good if she was still alive.

As Nick's nips got bigger with his sharp front teeth grazing her skin, Judy tilted her head back and arched her back towards Nick which fully exposed her throat to him. His deep growl of appreciation sent a thrill through her body and she suddenly felt hyper-aware of everything that was Nick. It left her breathless, especially as his wandering paw kept moving further up her belly (to her great delight).

Losing himself in Judy's responses to his touches, Nick grazed her fur and skin again, then grinned wickedly as he opened his jaws and lightly clamped them around her neck.

Judy gasped to finally feel his teeth around her neck once again, and then he tightened his grip which pushed his sharp canines slightly into her skin. He was gentle enough that it didn't break the skin or cause her any pain, but the response it brought out in her was astronomical. With a long, breathy moan of pleasure, Judy felt her abdominal muscles clench tightly in anticipation of whatever Nick had in store for her, even as she threaded her fingers through the fur of his chest and rubbed her thighs together.

She was feeling hot, and tingling, and tight all at the same time. She'd never felt this way before, so she wasn't exactly sure what it was—all she knew was that Nick had the cure.

With full faith and trust in her vulpine boyfriend, Judy tilted her head back a fraction more even as she felt him release her throat to lick where his teeth had pressed against her skin and she started to relax slightly. And then his teeth were around her throat again and he pressed down harder. Judy's eyes widened in surprise and unexpected pleasure, and then her eyes slammed shut as her body tensed with a need she'd never experienced before. And then another sensation made itself known that had absolutely nothing to do with pleasure or excitement.

As pain emanated from the same region the pleasure and need had come from only moments before, Judy whined in sudden agony and drew her legs up around her middle even as she dropped her paws to her abdomen.

Not understanding what was happening, Nick quickly released her neck and drew back from her as he asked in fear, "Judy! Did I hurt you? I didn't—"

Judy shook her head and whined, "I need to pee. I really, really need to pee." As another wave of pain hit her, she moaned, "Ooh, I shouldn't have had that last bit of water."

Nick stared at her a moment, then started laughing.

Slugging him in the chest, she whined, "It's not fun—neeee!"

Nick suddenly sat up and scooped her up into his arms before making a mad dash to the bathroom.


WingedKatt again. Nick now knows how many siblings Judy has and nearly had a heart attack. So what will happen with our intrepid heroes next? In the next chapter Nick and Judy will finish the conversation Judy started with her question at the beginning of this chapter. It, too, will take a dark turn when Nick voices some of his concerns. Concerns that Judy desperately hopes Nick is simply overthinking.

Chapter 46: Pure Evil, will post on Saturday, January 11th. Enjoy the weekend and I'll see you in a week. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know.