It Never Ends
The entire restaurant went quiet in shock.
The mammal who had yelled was in a group, but apparently was alone in his protest against Nick and Judy. The Caribou buck was glaring heatedly at the small mammals while a doe tried to get him to calm down.
"Leave them alone Zeke."
"No! I want them to get the fuck outta here! It's bad enough that they're allowed to walk freely but there's no way that they should be able to be around civilized mammals!" He tried to take a step toward them but two other bucks intercepted him and started to corral him away from the two families.
"I think it's time we should go."
"Why are you defending them?! You guys remember what that Bear did to Josiah? All those savages should be put down!"
"Ezekiel!" The doe covers her mouth in shock.
Judy was trying her best to remain calm while Nick has been digging his claws into his thighs in an attempt to restrain himself from attacking the threat to his Mate and their family, it got to the point that his claws punctured his pants and drew a little blood. Stu, Bonnie, Liss, and Ashe are all horrified at what he was saying, and they couldn't stay quiet.
"How dare you!"
"They did not choose to be poisoned."
"None of this is their fault."
"Don't blame the victim's, blame Bellweather."
"They can still go savage and hurt others and how they feel about it or whose fault it is doesn't matter. All that matters is that they are a danger to anyone and everyone around them. I mean just look at him."
He points out Nick specifically, who looks like he is about to rip into the buck. His hackles are raised and his teeth are visible as he starts to growl. The mammals who looked ready to step in to help aren't so sure anymore, afraid to get close and the mammals who were unsure before now fear the terrifying sight of this predator.
Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'Remember to breathe.'
He pulled the bottle of prescriptions out and took one, which was the second one today and everyone watched as he did. The effect was immediate, his tense posture and agitated demeanor melted away completely. His tail and ears went limp, the growling died off, and his eyes glossed over. This is the first time Judy had seen what it does after the second dose. The first is similar but it was nowhere near that strong as what was happening now.
She spoke to him in a quiet voice, a paw on his shoulder and her ears limp "Nick? How do you feel?"
He slowly turned his head to look at her but didn't acknowledge her any further than that. Judy felt a paw on her own shoulder, she turned to see Bonnie who was shaking her head.
"I think we should go."
Judy couldn't find her voice anymore so she just nodded her response. As they were about to leave the Manager came out to see what the ruckus was, which the present employee's explained and caught him up to speed. The Caribou was promptly banned and an apology was given to Nick and Judy with the promise that their meal was on the house. They declined the offer and gave a quick thank you before they left as they were no longer in the mood to be out and about.
Judy had led Nick to the car as it impossible for him to recognize which car was theirs, let alone get to it. The ride to Nick's was quiet, the only time there was a reaction from Nick was when Judy sat down next to him in the back seat and he started to sniff the air and his nose brought him to Judy where he lazily buried it into her scalp and drew long breaths of her scent.
When they arrived Judy brought him to his condo and the others brought up what little they had. When they questioned if she wanted them to stay, she denied and asked if she and Nick could be alone.
"Of course dear. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I don't live too far and I don't have much to do most days."
Nick was still pretty out of it but he was much more aware. She brought him to the couch where she laid him down and put his head in her lap while she scratched his ears. This was the first time she was in his den and it was marred by this ugly experience. She imagined a romantic date: candles, wine, dinner, soft music and slow dancing, then afterwards he would bring her home to claim her. Not her dragging him back because he had to take medicine that was apparently a very strong dissociative to stop himself from going savage again.
"Judy?" Her ears perked but looking at him told her that he was still under the influence of his meds, lucid enough to talk but not for long as it seemed like he was tired and in the verge of falling asleep.
"Yeah?"
"Why do you put up with me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you put up with me? I lied, I hid things from you, I left the morning after we mated in your apartment while you showered, and I hadn't been very considerate of you and how this-" *yawn* "-affected you. After the first time in the hospital, I tried to avoid you because I couldn't todd up and talk to you."
"If you love someone, then you love all of them. Their accomplishments and their mistakes, the good and bad. You forgive the bad because the good outweighs it"
"What good do I have that made you chose a todd over any buck?"
"I didn't have to pretend around you. Everyone thinks that because I'm a Rabbit that I'm weak and timid or that because I'm a doe that all I want is to have a bunch of litters until I'm too old. You treated me like an individual with unique desires and respected me more than anyone. Even my own family expected me to give up and live like they do."
"You're too strong to conform to anyone else's expectations." That comment made a warmth grow in her chest.
"You're the only one who ever called me strong."
Nick turned his head and his nose almost touched her stomach.
"You smell good."
"Huh?" That is quite a change in subject and it caught her off guard.
"You smell good."
"What do I smell like?"
"I don't know."
"Can you describe it?"
Not hearing a response, she looks down at him and saw that his eyes were closed and see his chest rising and falling in even breaths so she knew that he fell asleep. What did he smell on her? Well whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Looking down at her sleeping mate, she decided that he had the right idea, sleep sounded wonderful and she really needed to get her schedule back to normal which she had been working on since she was told that they would be going home. Unwilling to disturb Nick from his sleep, she stayed in her current spot and relaxed until sleep took her.
...
"Ya boss, we got him."
"Good, bring him here. I need to have a chat with him."
"What about the vixen?"
"Kill her, no loose ends that we need to worry about."
They take all the valuables and all that they left behind was a yellow shoe.
...
Judy woke up tucked into a comfy bed with warm blankets and the smell of coffee permeating the air. Nick's musk was saturated in the fabric and it brought a smile to her face knowing that he must've moved her to the bed sometime during the night. Last night, she only got to see the living room and the kitchen but even then she didn't pay to much attention to the decor. But now that she had a good night's rest and the light of the morning, she could see the state of the room with a fresh eye.
Coffee colored paint for the walls compliments white accents and ebony furniture. The room was clean and organized, completely different than how she thought Nick's room would be like. Leaving the bedroom and going into the living room she saw the color-scheme continued throughout the entire residence. The only thing that was out of place was a large stain on the wall which hasn't been cleaned or couldn't be.
"Mornin' Carrots."
"Good morning, Nick."
"There's breakfast." He gestures to the coffee pot and microwave where a bowl of oatmeal was. She can see bananas, blueberries, and when she took a bite she can taste cinnamon too "I don't have much that you would like so I had to keep it pretty basic."
"Thank you, this is perfect."
He watched her eat with a small smile.
"You excited to go back to work?"
"Absolutely. It felt like I spent more time in a hospital than I spent as an Officer."
"Now you can go back to being Officer Toot-toot."
"That reminds me, You're still enrolling in the Police Academy? This semester is starting in three months so if you want to, you have to submit an application before all the open spots are taken."
"Well first I have to check if they would even let me join. I would think that our condition would count as a disability so they may not let me."
"They didn't fire me so I would think that they would have no problem with you."
"But you were already an Officer and you're unionized so they probably couldn't fire you if they wanted to. It probably helps that you don't have a video of you going savage and attacking another mammal."
"That was clearly self defense."
"That didn't stop that Deer yesterday."
"One: he was a Caribou, and two: he was clearly in the minority. There were plenty of mammals standing up for you."
"That doesn't mean that they would be comfortable with me becoming a cop."
"Have more faith in others. Sometimes they might surprise you."
She finished her food but before she can get up Nick had already grabbed it and took it to the sink and began to wash it.
"I could've done that."
"Your a guest in my den, so I will do it. Besides, it's time for you to head to work."
"It is? IT IS!" Nick smiles as he watched Judy zoom around, looking through her stuff for her uniform and rushing to get ready.
He didn't smile because of Judy being late (that's just mean), but because this is just so domestic.
This is so domestic and he wants it all. Waking up next his Mate, seeing her with bed fur and in her pajamas first thing in the morning, the small talk, the mundane conversations, the important discussions. He wants to be the one to fuss over her when she gets sick and be the one that cheers her up when she has a bad day, he wants her to worry about him. He wants what his Mom and Dad had, and what Bonnie and Stu have now.
It surprised him to see just how fast Judy finished getting ready and he wonders is that it's a Bunny thing (just being fast and impatient) or a Judy thing. But he supposed that he spent enough time getting ready for the both of them.
"Cya Nick, gotta go!"
"Wait a second." He marked her along her neck and gave her a quick kiss "Go make the world a better place."
"It won't be long until you will too, just you wait."
