Before the Storm
"So… You hunting Bunnies now?" Felicity raised her eyebrow.
Nick sighs "Do you have anything against it?"
He pushes her chair towards the mini van. He picks her up and places her in the passenger seat and folds the wheelchair and places it in the trunk.
Ashe is in the drivers' seat, so that leaves him with the back.
"If I think what is happening, is happening." She pins him with her glare "It better not be."
"No, it's not a hustle, trick, or scam."
Ashe decides now is a good time to speak up "If it's not a trick, how'd you get her to date you?"
"Is it so hard to believe that she likes me?"
"Naw, your too ugly for a Bunny."
"I'll let you know that I'm the epitome of good looks and charm." Nick raises his chin and gestures to himself over dramatically, which draws a giggle from his mother.
"So give me the details." The older vixen turned around to face her son. If her tail worked it would be wagging.
"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"
She smiles all too sweetly "Nope."
He sighs, if he keeps doing that he's going to get light headed. "So I met Judy little over four months ago, and at first we didn't get along…"
Nick didn't tell her everything. And she knew it. But it seemed like she wasn't going to get him to spill.
"So when are you going to introduce us?"
"We only started dating two days ago. I don't think that is long enough to warrant introducing her to you."
"It's never too early!"
"We'll see."
They get to a diner. Nick recognizes this diner as the one that was one that he used to go to often as a kit. He hasn't been here in so long.
Time flies by as they eat and catch up on what has been going on while Nick was savage. After leaving the diner, they spend all day and most of the evening together. He gets dropped off at home and watches as they leave. He walks into the building and unlocks the door.
After amassing a small fortune from his time on the streets, he bought himself a nice unit in a condominium located in Deerbrooke, one of the nicer districts in Zootopia. Most of the money he makes goes into paying his Moms' rent and buying and maintaining specialized equipment for her home. But he made plenty and he wanted a place where he didn't need to maintain it as much as a full blown house but still somewhere he couldn't be kicked out.
He had enough to live comfortably without working another day in his life if he only worried about himself. He continued to hustle in order to have enough for a rainy day and he needed to dip into savings. Insurance didn't cover everything after all.
His condo had the living room and two bedrooms, one of which was mostly just storage. The living room and kitchen were in the same space but it was big enough to fit most medium sized mammals so it was plenty big for him. There was no dining table as there was a island in the kitchen that he used instead.
Going through his fridge, he grabs some juice pours himself a glass. Looking around, he never noticed how empty it was.
He always spent his time outside and only came back to sleep or when he was sick. Going to the couch, he opens his laptop, he decided to check what was trending. He may not be on it all the time, but he still likes to know what's going on.
He was surprised to see his and Judys' picture at the ZPD. It was of them kissing. It was an article about Judy and it questions what her opinions of predators actually were. She first calls predators savages and then is seen in an intimate moment with a Fox of all mammals.
The same Fox that went savage and dragged her off to do who knows what with her. There were many discussions on them and this is what it means to have a high profile figure in an interspecies relationship. Some praise them for there bravery and inspiration for all mammals, others call them unnatural.
Some of the arguments get really heated. Nick can only worry about how this will affect Judy.
Nick wasn't in love with Judy, he didn't know her well enough to say that. But he definitely imprinted on her, and that was much more concerning. When a fox imprints, it doesn't matter what he thinks or what he want, his body will never be interested in anyone else.
And eventually it'll change him. In what way is different for everyone depending on the individual and the circumstances that led to the imprinting. Nick knew it must of happened while working on the missing mammals case. He knew that he saw her more and more differently as he spent more time with his Bunny. After their little spat at the press conference, he was unbelievably hurt.
Maybe the saying 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' has more merit than its given. The second part is definitely true though 'But it sure makes the rest of you lonely.'
However he imprinted, it doesn't matter because there is no changing it now. He can only thank Robin Hood that Judy liked him back. Because it would've been really bad if she didn't.
As much as he hates to admit it, Foxes were fragile. They feel intensely and hurt intensely. They become depressed too easily and when angry, they become extremely vindictive. The prejudice that most Foxes face hurt much more because of it.
A chiming from his pocket interrupts the silence. He's getting carried away in his thoughts again.
'You free right now?'
Nick responds '4 u? Nvr."
His phone rings.
He hangs up, but it calls back. He hangs up.
But calls back again, and again, and again until he finally answers the phone "What do you want?"
"…"
" I'm actually kinda busy tomorrow, do you think it can wait indefinitely?"
"…"
Nick isn't happy about that "Now wait a minute-"
"…"
"I'm busy, and there's no way that I'm going to cancel my plans, especially not for you."
"…"
"I'm sorry but no."
"…"
"Don't you dare." The caller hangs up.
"FUCK!" He throws the glass against the wall and it shatters in a splash of color. Thankfully, the other side of the wall is his room and not the neighbors.
Maybe he should have some liquor for things like this.
...
Judy woke up from a wonderful dream. One that involved her, her Fox, and things that made her grow a dopey grin and a cause a blush to burn in the soft inside of her ears. Maybe she shouldn't have continued her research on Foxes right before bed.
While she was in the "hospital", her parents had gotten her a new lease at the Grand Pangolin. They tried to get her to move to a different place, but she wanted that place because of its proximity to the station. They at least got her to move rooms to a nicer one, one that was closer to the top floor, and one that was usually more expensive. But the landlady kept the rent the same. Said it was good business to have a celebrity living there.
No matter how much nicer and bigger, they still didn't have a shower in unit. Although she now has a kitchenette and a half bath. She gathers her little 'bathroom bag' as she calls it, a small bag that has toiletries, a small waterproof speaker, and enough space to carry a change of clothes, and heads to the communal bathroom. She finds that showering in the morning is like a cup of coffee.
Not that she would know, as Bunnies can't drink or eat anything with a large amount of caffeine. Their hearts beat really fast as it is, any faster and it could cause problems.
She practically skips to the shower. She had plans to spend the day with Nick, her boyfriend.
She never dated many bucks, and none longer than a year. Certainly none that made her feel the way Nick did.
She sets up her things in the stall and connected the speaker. What can she say? Music just sets the pace for whatever she's doing. She decided to listen something happy and upbeat, so she chooses Lucky Day by Hunter Hunted.
A ping through her speaker text from Nick 'txt me wen ur up.' Ugh his spelling is atrocious. She decided to wait before answering.
She wants to be at her best today so she takes her time getting ready. She finishes and heads back, replying to Nick on the way.
*ping*
'Cewl, c u in a few.' Wait what?
She rushes back and hurried to get ready. So much for her plan.
A knock at the door interrupts her as she is just about to finish brushing her fur. "Hey Carrots, could you open up?"
"Why are here this early?" She says as she opens the door.
"Breakfast." He smiles as he holds up a takeaway bag.
"Aww, thank you Nick." She moves aside to let him in. "How'd you know where I live?" He hands the food to her with a yawn. He needs to get used to waking up this early.
"I asked your Mom when they visited you the day before we were released."
She looks at what he got her, it was a giant parfait. She pulls her attention away as Nick starts to speak.
"So I had a couple of things planned, but I wanted to show you around the city. You said that you never got the chance and I think that you could use that knowledge."
Judy smiles wide "That sounds like a lot of fun!"
"I was thinking that since your going to spend most of your time in downtown that we can start here."
"Sounds great, I can't wait."
"Well you have to, breakfast first." She gives a mock pout.
Nick eats his own breakfast, but his attention is on Judy. The way she closes her eyes when she takes a bite of the fruit, the way her ears that stand tall quivers when trying the cold yogurt. The way her tail shakes when crunching down on granola and fruit. He finishes without actually tasting it, he honestly forgot what it was.
Judy feels his eyes on her. When she checks, she sees him with a small smile, half lidded eyes, his muzzle resting on his paw, and a lazy swish of his tail. She blushes, but is giddy that he looks at her like that.
He's studying her, learning everything about her, committing everything to memory, and that makes her feel special.
When she finishes, he gets up and heads to the door "Time's wastin, and we have a lot of ground to cover today."
Before reaching the door Judy stops him with a hug "Thank you for breakfast." She presses her muzzle to his chest
Is she? She is! Judy is marking him and his shirt.
A growl rips through his chest and out of his mouth. His eyes turn predatory and would've been familiar if Judy was paying attention, but she was focusing on something else. Nick was pressing her against the wall "Nick wha-" he covers her mouth with his. His instinct overrides his brain and he doesn't fight it, instead he embraces it. He moves to mark her, to drench her in his scent. Mine.
Judy didn't expect this to happen but she is loving this. He laps at her neck, she whimpers and tilts her head to grant him better access. His paws moves to the back of her neck and the small of her back to press her against him as he reattached himself to her lips. She is going to remember this tidbit for later.
She is dizzy when he stops. He pulls away, but not before nipping the base of her ear. That causes her to let out a small moan, which causes him to dive back in and to take his time.
A chain reaction. One he must stop if they're going to get anything done. When he pulls away Judy lets out a whimpering plea and he has to fight himself to not dive in for thirds.
"Geez Carrots." He has to catch his breath.
"I take it that you liked that, huh?"
He just nods and hopes that she didn't notice the tent in his jeans. But it's unlikely seeing as it's nearly chest level for her.
She was expecting it to be bigger than a bucks, but.. it's kinda scary how different canines are to lagomorphs.
Can something be scary in a good way?
Nick nose twitches
He began to walk to the door "Seriously we need to start going if we want to get to what I planned."
She grabs her wrist, there is heat behind her eyes "Why don't we stay a bit?" She starts to rub her paw through his clothed stomach.
"Sorry, but no." He pulls away and tries to adjust himself so that it isn't as noticeable.
Her ears fixate on him, her brow pinches, and a frown grows. "Why not?" His adverts his eyes.
He mumbles and she can't hear him. He wasn't actually saying anything. She waits and stares.
"Foxes Mate, they don't rut."
What? Her head tilts to show her confusion.
"Make outs and teasing is different than sex. As it is, we moved our relationship faster than most Foxes are comfortable with, I'm fine with that. However to Foxes, Mating is kinda important. Extremely so. So please don't push it too far." That was entirely true
"But you-" she doesn't get to continue.
"Primitive Foxes didn't live as long as we do now, so courting periods kinda stayed proportional." That was entirely false. He can't tell her that he had imprinted on her yet otherwise it may cause her to do or say something that she wouldn't otherwise and he didn't want anything to be forced. He wants their relationship to grow organically
There was something off. But Judy would respect what he wants.
When they exit the apartment, they move to his car. It's a simple black sedan, he opens the passenger door for Judy when he freezes.
"Hi Nick. So this is why you can't see us?"
Nicks' hackles rise and he growls. "Kris. Agnes. What are you doing here?"
