January 3rd, 2021
The drive back to the city was relatively uneventful.
It was a surprise when the todd had told the doe that she would be driving his truck for a spell. After everything that the duo was bringing back had been packed into the back of the cab, Nick switched the peddle controls to the electronic lever controls on the back of the steering wheel. It was a bit like racing wheel assemblies that she had seen for some video games, wherein the left and right levers were for braking and acceleration instead of normally shifting for manual transmissions.
"I'm still working on saving up the money to purchase the hydraulic pedal assembly." He had explained when Judy asked why it was not setup like the cruiser.
The initial turn out of the driveway was immensely frustrating for Judy even while Nick tried to explain how to use the cruise control adjustments so that a paw did not have to attempt to keep pressure on the accelerator paddle as the wheel was being spun. They had gone so slowly that the truck had lurched to a halt twice – on the county road – before she had managed to straighten it out enough to use the accelerator and then set the dynamic cruise. Having felt the accelerator to be touchy, the doe grinned when they reached the Deerbrooke-Podunk intersection. She slapped the braking paddle sharply: causing truck to jam forward on the shock assembly and pop Nick's head against the headrest.
"Oops." Judy offered innocently.
The doe paid for the maneuver over the next two-hours as the todd lazily needled her over every little bit of her new driving habits even though she was merely holding the wheel with the cruise control on just slightly under the speed limit. Nick even up having her stop over to fuel in Jonesboro County: mentioning that he wanted to see if the Hendricks were in during their noon-time trip. But, the todd was told that they tended to take the afternoon and graveyard shifts. The todd had ended up taking over with the driving and did not tell Judy, until after they had pulled away, about the young buck that was a huge fan of theirs: explaining that it was the real reason for the stop. The doe thought that it was cute despite the fact that she was well and truly over the fanfare that had come with closing the NHC.
"Oh, no. What I meant was that young Josiah has a huge crush on you, Carrots." Nick teased with a grin. Judy ended up boxing the hell out of his arm before blowing him an embarrassed raspberry.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence: listening to nothing more than the sound of the windshield wipers, which were warding off the wet snowflakes, and the engine-spun tires underneath the cab. Nick knew that Judy was still so enamored by seeing all of the new sights from taking the drive out through the east-end of the city. Every now and again, the todd would take a glance over at the happy bunny. Her purple-eyes were lit with wonder while she was leaned against the edge of the doorframe, right up against the glass, as her ears were primly draped down her back from the feeling of contentment.
Red lights were answered accordingly and the closer they got to the Zootopia Sound Causeway, the more often they were stopping in the outlying districts due to the increase of traffic that was heading back into the city. Nick slipped the truck into one of the EZPass toll lanes, to the mechanical sound of the blinker, before crossing through the old tollbooth stations and then reentering the necessary lane to get him into the Big Dunes subdistrict. The click-clack of the blinker had yet to be silenced when his phone started blaring "Hey, Mister Fox" from the cupholder between the duo.
Nick remained cool as his right paw slipped over to pick the offending device up and his head turned to shoot a knowing look at the guilty party. Judy had simply burst out laughing into the window of the truck, trying to smother a huge grin, while they stared at each other through their respective reflections in the glass. It sounded as if she had done it and totally forgotten about doing so by the severity of how she cracked up.
The screen of the phone alerted the todd to the fact that Dave was calling him. The half-annoyed, half-entertained smirk morphed into a frown as he slid his thumbpad across the screen to answer.
"What's up, Dave." Nick answered as soon as the phone was up to his ear while ignoring the fact that the doe was frowning about his illegal use of paw-held electronics while driving.
"Nick…" The wolf said loudly with the sound of his motorcycle in the background. "Where are you at?"
"We're almost over the Causeway. Why?" The todd replied sharply.
"Don't go to your house. Someone let slip where you had been living at the Breezeway, as well as your new place, and they're both swarmed with our least-favorite group of assholes from the local media." The wolf reported.
"Wait! What?!" Nick belted out.
"The media's out here. Like, all of them! Don't come home yet!" The wolf explained again before there was a deeper thrum of the engine. "Aw, fuck. I've gotta get out of here. Call me if you can't organize a place to stay for a bit and stay out of sight, Wilde. Later."
Nick did not need to look over to know that the doe was highly concerned with the situation that they were both presently in. He was too busy glaring at the notification that his friend had terminated the call before the screen went pitch black again. He immediately dropped the phone into his lap and focused on following the offramp down into the Square. The tension in the cab of the truck shot up, but neither of them dared to distract Nick from the plan that he was quietly concocting. The steering wheel spun back and forth, as was required, and there was a silent prayer sent up thanking the goddesses for how tall his truck was. Only the largest of large-framed mammalian vehicle would be able to sit higher than the edge of the windows: not that any of those mammals would be paying attention to the occupants of a nondescript medium-framed pickup truck. Very few knew that the rig was, in fact, Nick Wilde's after all.
It did not take long before Judy recognized where Nick was steadily driving the duo out towards. She might have only seen the area once before – not even having ever been there on patrol – but, the doe knew the Woody Slopes area and the cul-de-sac that was down Cypress Grove Lane well enough. His paw reached up and hit a button on a clicker, that she had never previously noticed, clipped the visor before easing the truck into the garage and pressing it again to close the large door. Nick had brought them back to his kithood home and had distracted himself with collecting all of his small items so that they could be stowed in a specific pocket on his clothing.
The sound of the catchy bunny-pop tune, a classic from the doe's teen years, sounded throughout the garage. Louder than it previously had in the cab of the truck. The duo had climbed out of the truck and were on their respective sides when he answered the phone. Despite the pressing matters, Judy still found herself smirking a little about getting one over on the todd.
"How's it going, Chief?" The todd said in a suave manner.
"Where are you two at, Wilde?" Bogo's growling tone come out over the speakerphone.
"Not at the residence… We're back in the city, though." Nick explained shortly. "It's probably better that I don't say where we are; considering what I have heard."
The todd stepped around the nose of the truck, with his bag slung over his shoulder, and ended up catching Judy's eye as she stood by; waiting to hear more of the conversation. The way the todd could convey such a calm demeanor was something that still blew her away on occasion. Despite that outward appearance and demeanor, Nick was fighting the dull throb of pain in his leg while trying to balance the uneven weight against the usage of the phone.
"That's for the best. I don't want to see you two tomorrow. Until I get things calmed down, I don't want to see you two just yet. I'll call you when I'm ready." The buffalo ordered. "Understood?"
"Yes, Chief." They both said in unison.
"And, Wilde?"
"Yes, Chief?" The todd said curiously.
"You will not throw a welcome-back party on the front steps of the Precinct. Do you understand?" Bogo growled at the fox.
"Only because you're throwing one for us already?" Nick chided. "There will be cake, right?"
The only response was the clatter of the office's handset before a beep was heard. Bogo knew well enough that Judy was the dutifully responsible one and could remember what they needed to do, per a directive. There was nothing more that he needed to say on the topic and Nick was being his usual self.
"Oh… One of these days, I'm going to make him laugh. Mark my words." The todd chuckled as he stowed his phone again. His paws carefully balanced everything out so that he could use the cane more efficiently.
"You shouldn't antagonize him, Slick." Judy countered, being the voice of reason. "You know all of those reporters were camped out in front of the Precinct before they found out where we lived. If there aren't still some out there now."
Nick passed the set of keys to the doe so that she could open the interior garage door that led inside to the rest of the house. To Judy, he seemed pensive as she held the door open for him to pass through in a sideways slide.
"You know… They're going to ask questions about us living together." Nick mumbled, showing no issue about sounding a little bitter. He had come to hate the media very much, after all.
"And, we will tell them that it's none of their business if we answer them at all. Which we don't have to, Slick." The doe offered kindly.
There was no reply given as he led her through the kitchen and into the dining room. Nick was too busy considering the possibility that the two might need to stay at his mother's house for longer than just a couple of days. The problem was that there was nothing in the house. No food and no basic amenities. They only had whatever was in their bags and laying around in his truck. And, he did not dare go out to a local store, or have Judy do it, for fear of being pinned down by a nosy civilian.
Fortunately, he had an idea.
The todd dropped his bag on the table, not missing the film of dust that literally exploded in a gray plume around the duffel, before leaning his cane against the edge. A quick paw brought his phone to bear, and he opened one of the dining applications to a local restaurant that made deliveries. He punched in several different items, while his other paw materialized his wallet and slipped his credit card out, and he completed the order in a manner that the delivery would be dropped at the door without any form of contact and with a false name added.
Somewhere within the room, Nick could hear the gray doe puttering around. It sounded like she was beginning to clean up some of the tables and chairs so that they could be utilized. His leg became a little shaky in the process of ordering, so Nick turned to his good side and leaned against the table while opening another application up for the larger grocery chain. It was not the first time he had ordered his necessities in such a fashion, but it was a process that was a bit slower than ordering their dinner. The list slowly filled with a modest amount of food and toiletries that he usually bought, and he eventually paused.
"Hey, Fluff?" Nick said aloud, looking over to find Judy with a feather duster in her paw.
He blinked after a moment at how cute she looked: having been so focused on tidying up.
"Yeah?" She replied, catching his eye once her head had turned. A small smile was formed on her lips.
"You want to add anything to this grocery list?" The todd asked quietly. Still a little stunned. "I ordered food already, and the groceries will be delivered later."
Judy crossed the room, with all of the grace that he had seen nearly every other time that the todd had seen her walk around, and carefully laid the duster on the table next to his bag. He wordlessly extended his paw to offer her his larger smartphone and watched as she took it, seamlessly going through the list once before switching the menu so that she could add whatever personal items that she needed or wanted. The todd knew that there would be a couple of snack items added. Clawhauser had slowly corrupted her during her time on the force, Nick recalled with a tiny grin. Judy had a fancy for vanilla these days.
"You were thinking what I was thinking, huh." She commented, slowly beginning to make a steady circle around the room as she tapped away at the screen.
"Yeah," Nick replied deeply. "I've got enough mammals who can keep an eye out on the house to see when the media leaves. And, there's enough ways out of the Precinct to jump a subway so that we can get back here undetected. I'm thinking we're going to be here for a couple of weeks. I don't want to see the media leave and then get caught by a feint by rushing back in, after all."
"That's a good idea…" Judy replied somewhat absentmindedly.
Nick sighed and looked down at the table. "I'm sorry, Judy." He told her.
He heard the doe's attention tear away from the phone as her head turned towards his direction.
"For what?" She replied questioningly.
"If we were about to get lucky and get cleared from desk duty, I kind of messed that up for us." Nick admitted. If his attack on the hawk had not gone as badly, the Beijars murder case might have been pushed far enough along to see them reassigned to the streets upon their return to Zootopia.
Who knows when the docs are going to clear me… he thought was annoyed.
The thoughts about the issues at paw distracted Nick from noticing that Judy had stepped over next to him and placed her paw on his shoulder. As soon as he looked down, the doe, leaned up on her tiptoes and gently kissed the very tip of his nose with that same smile she had on earlier.
"There's nothing to apologize for. You did what you had to do." She whispered before holding his phone up. "I'm all done. Is all of the information correct?"
Nick let her place the phone in his paw so that he could peruse the delivery address, without giving a name, before selecting his normal payment method and submitting it to the store. They would have time to eat, once the food was delivered, prior to the second delivery's arrival. The ringing of the doorbell would alert them from anywhere within the house, so Nick set his phone on the table and took up the duster himself.
"You can go take a shower if you want. Our dinner will be here in a bit and I will take care of the cleaning." Nick offered politely.
"Are you sure?" She asked with a hint of concern.
"I just have to tidy up the bedrooms and find the fresh sheets. I'll run the old ones through a load after my shower later on." He explained.
A crash of thunder and lightning interrupted their conversation: causing the duo to step over to the window, so that they could peel the curtain back just enough to peer outside. A minute later, the steady thrum of rain began humming on the roof as well as splattering against the front windowpanes due to the bluster of the wind. It was not all that odd to get a thunderstorm in the winter due to the clashes of the normal fronts versus what the Climate Wall did for the northern region. The High- and Low-pressure fronts were simply having a disagreement.
"Looks like we just beat the rain." Judy said in a humored manner.
"It's not going to be fun for the delivery-mammals." He replied before turning away.
"Alrighty then. I'll take a quick shower. Give me a shout if I'm not out by the time the food gets here, please." The doe indicated before skipping off.
"Sure thing, Fluff." Nick said before heading off to take care of his chores.
One thing that the todd had not shown the doe, when they had first come out to collect his father's urn, was the upstairs area. After he heard the closure of the bathroom door, Nick walked over to the storage closet at the back of the main hallway to grab some sheets. Not a single thing had changed in the configuration of the whole house since he had been in it as a teenager. He knew it would not have been changed around much. After filling his arms, he carefully trudged up the stairwell to address the three rooms upstairs. John and Vivian Wilde had expected to live their whole lives in this one house and have only one litter of kits. So, they had bought a house that appropriately met the needs of a couple that was likely to have only three or four kits.
Nick could recall a memory of how his father had told him that they were so surprised to have only had one little kit in their first litter when he was younger. For a little while, the upstairs ended up becoming a different kind of homely.
The todd found himself standing at the top of the landing, staring at the three doors beyond. The one on the left was his mother's arts and crafts room. Down at the end of the hall was his father's office. And, finally, the one on the right side of the hall was a spare bedroom for guests. The second of the bedrooms downstairs had been Nick's room all his life – from the moment that he was brought home from the hospital and his parents had first placed him in his crib. He did not remember how old he had been when his parents began considering having another litter. Nick only remembered that his father had not come home one night a couple of months after those considerations had been discussed.
A pang of sadness ached in his heart before he walked over and passed through the door of the spare bedroom. He dropped the new sheets on the interior chair and quickly began to disassemble the intricately made bed amidst a fit of coughs and sneezes. It was apparent that his mother had not been able to come around much prior to her passing. Once everything was off of the mattress, Nick took the duster from the top of the fresh pile and began wiping down everything around the room so that it would not be disturbed and resettle on the clean bed. Of course, the todd's work on the bed was not as well done as his mother's work had been, but it would do for Judy. After tossing the dirty laundry into the hall, he went over to the closet and pulled out a vacuum to get the dust off of the carpet. The job was done with a quiet curse – or two – about the pesky gray particles that could not be vented through an open window due to the rains outside.
After everything was put away, he hauled the tangled mess of sheets and the heavy comforter down to the laundry room, putting the sheets in first before shutting the door on the washer. A thought crossed his mind about dusting out the other two upstairs rooms, but it went ignored. He was not ready to begin sifting through all of his parent's belongings just to collect some of the things that were specifically mentioned by his mother in the will. Not that he could do it this time around. The will – and all of the finer details penned within it – was in the other house, anyway.
So, the todd slowly made his way, with the duster, through the laundry, the kitchen, out into the living room, and hit every nook and cranny while periodically changing out the disposable cleaning pads. The duster was put away and Nick made his way back upstairs again to collect the vacuum for the carpet in the downstairs area. The main hall and the kitchen were a merged, upside-down L-shape that was completed with wood. The living room, kitchen, and the bedrooms were covered in a dull white carpet. Nick quickly did the whole thing while keeping an ear cocked-off towards the door: noticing that Judy was apparently enjoying her shower considering that the door was still closed. He could not recall if she had brought her bag in with her for a change of clothes, though.
After placing the vacuum at the base of the stairs, Nick remembered that he needed to plug the refrigerator in so that there would be a cold place to put the groceries when they arrived. It was at that point that the todd heard the sound of the doorbell and he headed off to collect the dinner. As surely as he opened the door, the unknown cheetah was jogging off towards their delivery car and the todd's order was sitting all nice-and-neat on the porch. The plastic handles on the bags were grasped before he swung back inside, gingerly kicking the door shut after his tail had cleared the threshold, and the todd took everything into the kitchen for preparation.
"Dinner's here, Carrots!" He shouted into the hallway.
"I'll be right out!" She replied happily.
Nick smiled a bit as he took two plates out of the cupboard and found a dishtowel so that he could wash the plates clean before drying them off. Two sets of silverware went next. And, shortly after he began unloading the bags, a damp little bunny skipped in through the hallway entrance to suss out what exactly it was that was for dinner. All of the good food, that he had been eating at the Hopps home, was going to be sorely missed as they dug into a local family pizzeria option. It did not look as if the doe minded, though.
She looks as ravenous as ever, the todd thought, with a smothered chuckle, while Judy was attempting to quickly dry her ears and headfur with a towel.
He had purchased two pizzas and a few sides of different pastas, as well as some cheese-sticks. There was more than enough food for a couple of days had he not wanted to do the shopping at that time.
"You know, there's still time to use the fur-dryer in there." Nick commented with the reminder, taking a moment to plug the fridge in before the task slipped his mind.
"Later. I'm hungry." She chirped with a quick hop. Nick felt her lips catch the side of his cheek before the doe landed and stole the plate that he had been handling. "Thank you for dinner, Slick."
"You're welcome." He replied quietly, busying his focus on the other plate with a smile.
Once his eager partner was done getting what she wanted, Nick took a portion before replacing the plastic covers on everything. When he turned around, he found Judy eagerly waiting for him to let her know where they were eating.
"Go put a movie on, if you want." The todd urged her on. "I'll be there in a second."
"We haven't had a movie night in a while, have we?" Judy nodded with a thoughtful gaze before stepping out into the living room.
A sigh of nervousness was exhaled as the todd leaned his back against the counter. Once he was centered again, Nick reached back and pulled down a drinking glass from a nearby cupboard to fill it with water before extracting a small bottle of ibuprofen. Oddly enough, it was not just the tenderness in his thigh that was giving him issue. It was also the tightness in his chest from how hard his heart was hammering on his sore ribs. For as slick as Nick had always been, he could not begin to explain how unwound he became while being around Judy since the Christmas Eve dance. He felt like what one of his mother's old yarn rolls looked like when the tension was suddenly released. The poor todd's paws were shaking slightly from how overwhelming those feelings were.
Nick popped three of the two-hundred milligram pills in his mouth and swallowed them down quickly. The medication bottle was left on the counter with the glass. He had heard the television start up a moment prior, so he pushed forth with collecting two of their favorite sodas from the counter, as well as his plate, so he could make his way out to join Judy. He was surprised to find that the doe was sitting at the dining table when he rounded the corner. The TV had been shut off and she was quietly waiting for him.
"Was there nothing on, Fluff?" He asked.
The doe's tender smile was a little sad, but not for that reason. "Someone called the service provider, Slick. Maybe your mother did before she moved…" Judy explained.
But, it was possible that they had learned that the vixen had passed.
"Oh…" Nick said quietly. He set his plate down and took a seat at the table to think for a moment. "I can get that fixed with a call. All of the hardware is still here."
The rain was pounding away, entirely ignored in the background, as Nick grasped the edge of the table with both of his paws to stand up again. The movements were stayed when the todd felt Judy's paw come to rest over his right: the energy that he had gathered disappeared like smoke.
"Don't worry about that," Judy said as she looked into his eyes. "As long as I'm spending my time with you, I don't care what we do."
After loosely falling back into his seat, the duo floated back into the comfortable silence, like they had enjoyed during the second leg of the journey back to the city, while they consumed their dinners. The quietness within the room was only interrupted by little tings and scraps of the forks against the plates. It was mostly filled with periodic gazes that were shared in an unguarded manner. Neither the rabbit, nor the fox, were embarrassed about being caught in the act now. Their visual assessments conveyed a strong romantic interest for each other, but the focus was on making sure that their partner was in good spirits and enjoying the food before them.
It would have been called staring in a few of the instances, but neither of the duo conveyed any visual displeasure for being admired. While Judy felt her ears slowly beginning to heat up, from the attention, Nick's unseen tail was swaying back and forth with a moderate speed. It was only after Judy finished all of her serving that the silence ceased.
"Would you like more?" He asked politely, leaving his seat to collect their dishes.
Judy shook her head quickly. "I'm stuffed. Thank you, though." She replied.
"Well, then, you get comfy. I'll take care of these and put the leftovers up for now." Nick told the doe.
"You really need to get off your leg, Nick." Judy reminded him gently.
"Dishes, groceries, shower, and then I'll rest." He ran through the mental list of things that needed to be done before he could even get to that point. "Be right back."
The pretty little doe huffed just as Nick turned to take care of the chores. The sound brought another smirk to the todd's muzzle while he moved off towards the kitchen. Thinking nothing of it, Nick filled the sink with the hot water and dish-soap. It had taken a few moments for his paw-pads to get used to heat even though he forced himself to work the washcloth over the utensils. And, just as he was about to finish with the first plate – elbows deep in water and suds – the doorbell rang.
"I've got it!" Judy called out to him from the living room.
Nick knew that she would be careful about revealing who was residing within the house, but there was still a lingering concern of the two of them being recognized and outed to the local media outlets. The holiday vacations had been amazing, but he knew that they both eagerly desired to get back to work. Of course, money was not an issue for him now. But, the thing that was nagging at the back of his mind was why the Chief did not want them to come in until he specifically called them. Yeah, he wanted to get back to work, but he wasn't going to complain about the additional time off. Especially when his body was practically begging him to rest as it was.
With everything dried, Nick worked on cleaning off his fur after pulling the plug on the sink's drain. The sound of plastic bags steadily grew louder from the hall and he turned around to find Judy hauling in as many bags as she apparently could stand carrying at one time. She even had two of the bags handles wrangled between her teeth.
"Did you grab enough of them?" The todd chuckled.
"Isn't that what you would have done to minimize the number of trips taken?" She responded as soon as she set everything down.
"Whatever you say, Jude the Dude." Nick chuckled at the truth in the statement about male's logic.
"Go ahead and take a bath, smartie fox. I'll put all of this away for us." Judy told him firmly, ignoring his snipe. "Make sure to soak your leg."
"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill." The todd chuckled and slipped out of the kitchen.
Once Judy heard that he was well and truly busied in the bathroom, the doe began sorting out all of the things that need to be put away from the shopping order. There was nothing in the fridge or cupboards to take reference from and, if she was going to do all the work, she was definitely going to organize things like it would have been in the warren. The duo had not gone shopping all that often since moving in together, so they had kind of pushed a dedicated system to the wayside. Of course, this was only a moderate stocking of the Wilde residence. Only the essentials had been purchased so that they wouldn't have to order-out so often. Just enough so that another order would not have to be placed for nearly a week if they weren't called it before Friday.
Just like the todd was, Judy was also curious as of to why their return was being delayed. They both knew the precinct like the backs of their paws and could easily slip in-and-out of the building. If they had to or were allowed to use the cruiser, they would be able to use the parking garage: which was locked down to outside personnel at all times. Of course, Nick would choose the most ostentatious way enter the building right off the bat. He knew enough mammals within TUSK that he could probably get a helicopter ride.
Thank Serendipity there isn't a skylight, she giggled quietly to herself.
However, the real fuzzy and itchy thoughts that plagued Judy's mind was about how the partners were alone in such a domestic setting: whether it be at his kithood home or back at their rental later on down the road.
I wonder what he is going to do with this place, though.
That concern rushed it and away. It technically was not her business what Nick was going to do with the house. It simply did not make any sense to own it and still pay rent even if he was closer to the precinct…
No. It was the heat that controlled the doe's thoughts. Judy had been fortunate between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Her heat had dissipated with all of the work and the emotions that followed. But, it had come back with a ferocity before Christmas and the fire had been fanned into an inferno by that evening; only dying down for short periods with all of the stress that had snaked its way into the trip. And, now, they were absolutely, unequivocally alone. It was entirely unclear on where Nick's mind was, as far as the situation that they were now in went. If Nick had been holding his considerations back, it was probably the best example of a well-kept secret that he had ever withheld from her – even though the season was in full-swing for the todd, as well.
While her mind was running circles on itself, everything food related was properly put away with the exception of a couple of snacks that each of them had chosen for themselves. Judy had organized other things by the type of utility. Toiletries would be deposited after Nick was done in the bathroom. A bag of kitchen cleaner products was put away under the sink. Then, Judy took a different bag, filled with laundry items, and put those away in the cupboard next to the washer and dryer. She had not heard any actively running water while passing through the hallway, so when the doe noticed that the washer was ready to go, she started it up for the todd. One less thing for Nick to have to worry himself with – or make excuses to do instead of resting on the couch or in bed.
Due to her mind running the show, Judy had not heard Nick exit the bathroom and ended up finding themselves staring at each other with the entryway to the kitchen between them. The todd had stopped with a towel adorably draped over his head and ears while carrying his dirty clothes. The doe had stopped, looking like she was trying to keep herself distracted with the numerical sequence of Pi. However, it seemed she was misremembering how it went and she was visually perturbed, no less. And, now, they were just staring at one another.
The todd was glad that he had decided to put on a clean pair of jeans and a slightly larger-than-usual t-shirt. It was winter, after all. It was a little odd to feel like the silence was an opportunity that he could have used to crack-wise about her waiting around for him. But, he did not. The todd did, however, politely ignore the slowly changing scent that was filling the hallway.
Nick smiled softly. "I forgot to mention that I made up the guestroom for you. In case you wanted to put your stuff somewhere other than the living room." He said, offering them both a polite out.
The tell that gave his knowledge away to Judy was the flick of his pupils as they bounced from her lips and back to her eyes.
"Where's the guestroom?" She asked shyly.
"Upstairs. First door on the right." He answered before pulling the towel into the rest of his balled-up clothing. "I'm going to see if I can scare up an HDMI cord so we can watch something."
"That sounds like a nice plan. I'll grab my stuff and meet you back down here." Judy responded.
Nick had to get to the laundry room and Judy gave them both the berth that they seemingly needed by ducking into the kitchen. The todd might have been caught off guard, but the doe was no dumb bunny… it could have gone either way regarding who might have cornered whom. The nervousness was what was reigning in both of their desires. On her way through the kitchen, Judy grabbed the last shopping bag from the counter before fast-walking herself into the living room to collect her bag where it had been left near the sectional sofa. There was a decent bit of giddy excitement that had her rushing down the hallway and up the stairs even as there was an unconcealed snort of amusement that rolled out of the laundry room as she passed it by.
It had taken a little longer than what was probably necessary to compose themselves again, but eventually Nick heard Judy breezily enter the living room through the kitchen. If she noticed that he had essentially came up with a half-baked task, the doe did not say a word. He had not needed to go searching around for the new-age digital audio / visual / data connector cable because there was one that went from the television to the cable company's multi-tuner set-top box. He just had to remove the latter end and plug it into his laptop. That was it.
The doe had sat down on the sofa and watched as the todd carefully backed his laptop up to the coffee table, unwinding the cable as he went, before sitting down next to her. Judy smiled widely and offered Nick a can of his favorite soda and a stupidly large bag of fruit gummy worms that he loved to consume. Of course, when she noticed that he had not added anything to the list for himself – along the lines of snacks – she made sure to fix that while knowing that he would not go back through and recheck the list. The size of the bag made him pause what he was doing and laugh: taking just enough time to slice an end open with a claw.
"Thanks, Fluff. I never knew they made a month's supply of these critical rations." Nick joked before tossing one of the confections into his muzzle. "So, what would you like to watch?"
"You and I both know that we're just going to contemplate what's going on until we get too tired to stand this couch." She told him. There was a bit of seriousness and a bit of humor in her voice as she opened her bag of vanilla chocolate-drizzled carrot candies. "Put something on that we've seen a million times."
"At least give me a genre to work with." The todd grinned teasingly.
"Adventure or fantasy, then." Judy directed, pointing over to the Pawflix account.
"Comedy it is, then!" Nick laughed and made a quick selection.
She did not even get a chance to see what he had chosen as he dropped back against the opposite armrest with his hindpaws laying across the edge of the sofa. There was nothing to complain about with the ignoring of her choices. Judy made herself busy with crawling across the piece of furniture over to the perfect opening that the todd had left on his right side. She would be able to lay her head on his chest while having pressure from the backrest at the same time. He even brought his laid-over hindlegs more to the center of the cushions which would pin her body in a little more against the backrest. The coffee table was pulled in closer so that he could grab their drinks as needed while his bag of candy was set on the floor. He didn't mind that the doe put hers on his stomach.
Judy did surprise the todd when she snaked her free right paw under his shirt; laying it to rest across his pectorals after having hiked the shirt up enough to expose some of his stomach fur. She started giggling, which made him roil with a chuckle, upon hearing the opening scene theme music for Rush Hour. Heavy or concerning conversations were always best done while half-assedly watching a comedic action film. The sound was just loud enough to tamp down the sounds of most of the rain and thunder outside and the hallway was lit up by the fading sun coming through the windowpanes of the back door, as well as through the kitchen windows. The storm was staying to the north and west and, probably, offering an amazing view the sunset, if they had cared to go witness it.
Neither mammal said anything until at least forty-minutes had passed and that light had disappeared. They had left the kitchen light on and it was the only thing, aside from the television itself, that was keeping the room tentatively visible for the doe.
"Can you think of anything?" Judy finally asked.
"About why Bogo said not to come in? No." Nick grumbled quietly. "I've just got about five-hundred different ways to sneak into the precinct."
She grinned. "I knew you would."
"You wanna? Tomorrow, I mean." He inquired.
"And, give up this undetermined extension of our time-off?" Judy asked as her paw began to knead the fur on the fox's chest.
"Ohhh-ho… How I have corrupted you." Nick said while his left paw searched around for some more treats.
"Are you bragging or complaining?" She whispered conspiratorially.
He chuckled a bit more at that. "Remains to be seen…"
A few moments were taken for Nick to pass around their drinks after being prompted by Judy that she wanted some of hers. Her paw was immediately draped back over his torso with a happy chirr. The todd did adjust his position to take some tension off of his neck before they could both settle in, though.
"It's probably got something to do with the media. At least, in my mind, that's the soundest explanation." His voice finally wound back up into the low, growly tone. "Every officer in the department does that career roadmap survey. You know the one. What most don't know is that Bogo reads all of them."
"How do you know that for sure?" Judy rolled her head up and back to look at the todd.
"If you call me up to your office, but think you have the time to take a leak before I arrive, it's your fault that I end up sneaking around." Nick's teeth glittered with as wide as he ended up smiling.
Absolutely unrepentant as ever, she thought before shaking her head.
"Anyway," He continued between gummies. "I figured Bogo would play us fast and loose considering the fact that we're still the only two small mammals within P-One. So, I outlined enough to emphasize that I want to at least make detective while taking as much training as I can – to pad the resume and all. I mentioned that I wanted to stay in the field, but things could always change. Of course, making detective and doing undercover work is a long way off for me, but the spotlight doesn't help one be discreet."
The statement that things could change was always a possibility. The doe hadn't thought about any further ahead than to the next promotion, at most. She was a corporal and, if nothing radically changed, she would see sergeant in two- to three-years. And, Nick was not all that far off making corporal if his actions in Bunnyburrow didn't warrant it outright – though, she did not know if promotions were passed out on a meritorious basis. The doe had always described wanting to be a law enforcement officer as going out to make the world a better place. Riding a desk after being promoted past lieutenant did not seem like something that would accomplish that task and it would only take ten-years barring any disciplinary actions and assuming that the positions above her opened in proper time. Nick had sworn up-and-down that she could make Chief of Police. Her desire to be in law enforcement had never been advertised as anything other than a career endeavor, after all. However, it had not been Nick's dream. It had been a spur of the moment decision for the todd. Thus, it was not unreasonable to say that Nick was feeling his way through the decision day-by-day.
And, things could change. Making sergeant was a long way out by itself. It's why she never really thought past the next rank in the structure. Even going so far to rarely think about the future past the next week at all. She could already feel being in a relationship turning the game-plan on its head, though.
"Have you been thinking about something other than being in the field, Nick?" She decided to ask.
"Oh… No. Nothing like that," He responded, wiggling a gummy in front of her nose. He knew her well. "It's just that either of us could wake up one morning and say: 'screw it, I'm going to apply for SWAT or the motor-pool to be a mechanic.' It could hit either of us tomorrow just as easily as a decade from now; after chasing Weaselton down the street for bootlegging the twentieth Fast & Furious title. It might be a different niche you want to pursue or even a different department on a lateral."
Judy could not resist. "Do you think he'll have a matching cane by then?" She asked.
Nick started laughing so hard that the bouncing of his chest kept the doe from being able to clearly see the television and it did not help that she was laughing, as well. The doe had to catch her bag of candy before it fell off the todd and onto the floor.
"I have taught you entirely too much, Judith Laverne." Nick admitted as his right arm pulled her into a tight hug, squishing her further into his side, as his digits began tickling her stomach. "You'd make an adorable gun bunny, though." He was referring to what all of the officers called the armorers.
The todd, of course, had no problem holding onto the doe's squirming body as she began to release a squeaky, high-pitched fit of laughter. Judy was fighting between retaliating to no avail and trying to push his paw away from her poor abdomen. Nick's fur was entirely too thick for him to feel much of anything. He was fazed by none of her antics, but kindly halted the tickling spree so that they could get comfortable.
It was only after Judy caught her breath that she considered his explanation again.
"You're right, though. And, that's before taking into consideration line-of-duty injuries, departmental layoffs due to budget cuts, MII being repealed, any other politics, and…" The words had almost left her muzzle before her brain caught up. It made her ears flush with blood.
"…And?" Nick prompted.
"Private, personal matters." She whispered.
Now, entirely in her own head, Judy failed to notice that her index digit was drawing slow circles in the todd's fur under his shirt.
"Ah, yes… That is true." The todd's tone turned wise as watched a happy smile spread on his lips. "Speaking of… I've been meaning to tell you that it's starting to get serious with this little vixen that I know."
"A vixen, huh? Did your long-lost wisdom finally catch up with your advancing age?" Judy teased, causing Nick to release a soft bark of laughter. "What's she like?"
"So, don't judge me," The todd said while trying to return to a professional demeanor. "She's this cute, little rabbit doe that I've had my eye on for a while now. And, that's neither a joke nor a slight against bunny-kind. The Goddesses wired this one with a heart-of-gold. She's funny, and caring, and sweet, and ditzy. The polar opposite of yours truly, mind you. Even down to being from a faraway land by comparison. And, praise Serendipity for those eyes that she has."
The longer the suave fox spoke, the more excited he seemed to become. It certainly was not doing anything to help with her embarrassment.
"Sounds pretty serious, Slick." Judy offered politely.
He could have looked over at her, but the todd did not need to. That's how sure he was of the effect the words would have on her.
"Oh, I'd drop everything, throw on an apron, and I'd make sure dinner was ready every night for her if she asked me to. Tonight, no less." Nick replied.
He had not used a firm or overly serious tone and that, in and of itself, made it sound all the more serious and heartfelt: completely distracting Judy from what could have been either an adorable or hilarious mental image.
"You're not getting out of work, Nicholas. No matter how sweet you go on me." The doe finally deflected while leaning up to kiss the todd on the side of the muzzle. "Though, I appreciate all of the compliments."
Nick turned his head a bit to the right and caught her square on the lips in return. "It's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." He promised.
The duo quieted down for a bit so that they could watch a bit more of the film and gather their thoughts. While she was twirling little tufts of his fur, Nick's right paw had become enamored with brushing the heat out of her shoulder-draped ears. Time marched the film forward, but there was something that continued to distract her as the credits were fast approaching.
"Are you still on board with shooting for detective with me, Nick?" Judy wondered softly.
"Absolutely." He answered. "And, if that changes or something comes up, I promise I'll let you know immediately."
"I promise to do the same." The doe told him.
Choosing to ignore the last few minutes of the movie, Nick turned his head and scooted so that he could sit up a little higher. He had not wanted his snout to be intrusively close to the doe's own muzzle as he considered her.
"That was your plan for yourself in the beginning, Judy. Are you still on board with it?" He asked curiously.
"Right now, yes. But, it's like you said. We could wake up one day and find that everything's different." She replied, admitting that he was right.
"We'll take it one day at a time, then." He said, smiling caringly. "You look like you're ready for bed, though."
It was not terribly late, but there was something to be said for getting some serious rest after having played with the kits as much as they had in the final days leading up to their return to the city. Judy nodded her reply and let Nick handle placing the bags of candies on the coffee table while she carefully slid off and over the top of the todd so as not to put any pressure on his ribcage. Once they were both standing upright, the duo drained the final dregs of their carbonated sodas, while Nick shut everything off, and before they made their way into the kitchen. He made a final sweep of the area and deposited the cans into the garbage.
Before there could even be a passing notion of him taking the couch – because he would not sleep in his old room or his parents' bedroom – Judy had snuck her way over to his side and slipped her dainty paw into his own just as he had extinguished the kitchen light.
"That was quite the comfy looking bed that you setup for us." Judy said shyly.
"I wanted to make sure that you stayed nice and warm. I don't plan on using the heater all that often because I'm never not adequately heated right now." He explained.
What Judy had realized, something that Nick had not, was how his tail had curled around the back of her legs after she had taken his paw.
"I have no doubt that I'll stay nice and warm. Do you plan on joining us, though?" The doe smiled innocently while giving the furry appendage a few brushes.
"I'll take that as an invitation." He nodded.
Nick too the lead and helped Judy traverse the stairs and onto the dark landing above. He had left the lamp on the bedside table on so that the blind bunny did not go bumping into things once she decided to call it a night. Without all of the lights on or their presence, there was a slight chill to the second story that he could feel on the insides of his ears and the end of his nose. This time, Nick could feel his flickering tail pick up a little speed from the excitement of the thought that she would definitely want to cuddle close and stay warm. He did not notice that the gray bunny had went around to the opposite side of the bed until he threw back the covers and found her leaping over the edge to land upright on the mattress without her pants.
Never one to usually ever wearing any more than a shirt and boxers, Nick found himself feeling a little self-conscious while Judy patiently watched and waited.
She was not satisfied just with that but, she waited to speak until the todd had crawled into the bed.
Nick felt her paws run up his sides and hook the hem of his shirt. "The shirt, too. We don't need that." She requested.
As soon as it was whisked away and the lamp was extinguished, Nick made sure to gather Judy up against his torso, so that he was spooning her, and pulled the covers up to her shoulders.
"Good night, Slick."
His snout tucked down to kiss the back of her head. "Sweet dreams, Carrots."