Morning Surprise

On all fours, Nick stalked his prey, a shapely gray rabbit, female by the hip shape and size. She was unaware of his presence, his careful paw steps impeccable, flawlessly silent. She was unconcerned, her ears flat down her back, engaging in a touch of grooming, fluffing her head fur while she soaked some heat from an arrant ray of sunshine through the dense forest canopy. The sun glinted ever so slightly off her purple eyes. The delightful and soothing tones from a small stream running nearby relaxed her to the point of negligence. 'Lucky me.' Nick thought, behind a toothy grin at his fortuitous find. 'I bet she'll be a delicious ball of fluff.' He inched closer and closer, the stream masking even the slightest noise he might have made. His undivided attention was on her, and her body. He found himself growing hungry, but in an unconventional way. He mentally shrugged, stalking ever-closer to the unsuspecting prey. She'd stopped moving all together, enjoying the warmth and appeared content.

*SNAP*

'Shit' was all Nick could think before she bolted, and the chase was on. All he had were fleeting glimpses of gray fur twisting and evading. Instinct pushed them both, the need to survive heavy on both mammals. He was faster and they both knew it, so she veered left and right around the forest floor, running through bushes and around trees to lose the predator. He'd lost track of how many turns and dodges she had made before a fatal misstep brought her to a crashing halt under a large tree. Hardly winded, he jumped on top of the bunny, but instead of fear, he could smell something different. Something familiar, but tantalizingly out of reach. She was shivering, but it wasn't cold, nor could he smell the knot of fear erupting in her belly that should have been there. It was like...anticipation. He got closer with his muzzle, the start of a snarl halted under his breath when she nuzzled into him, rubbing her head under his chin. Unfazed, he found that he'd expected this reaction. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly and deeply.

'Oh, God, that smell.' He breathed in what felt like the very essence of everything, from the clouds in the sky to the mountains on high, to the flowers blooming in the fields, down to the rolling motion of the sea itself, from whence life originally sprang. The earthy scent of a rabbit, so close and pungent he could almost taste it. His bunny. She was all that mattered for a moment, just being in her proximity. Contentment filled him as he cuddled closer, under the forest canopy. His eyes were still closed when something flicked him lightly on the nose...

Nick woke up to a pair of gray ears tickling his nose. His sleepy mind took a solid thirty seconds to register exactly what they were and what it meant. Soft gray bunny ears... in his bed...while he slept… He was in the middle of a yawn and stretch when his brain caught up to the reality of his situation. "Holy cripes, Carrots!" He pulled away from her sleeping body, scooting away with a look of abject horror on his muzzle, pulling the blanket up to his chin. His eyes looked ready to fall out of his skull.

She stirred, yawning herself before looking back, her eyes barely open. "Hmmmm?" was her only mumbled reply.

The memory of the evening before came flooding back to Nick quickly, his eyes still a bit wide in his face, though his breathing had slowed down considerably. It didn't help that he had been having a fantastic dream involving a little predator/prey chase with his favorite ball of fluff, and discovering her in his arms was a bit much to process upon first waking. He closed his eyes and gave his head a little shake to clear it while Judy stretched her gray clad limbs.

"Did you say something Nick?" Judy asked tiredly as she snuggled back into her blanket, finding a warm and comfortable place to rest her slender body, not even looking over her shoulder at the target of her query.

When he glanced at her, all he saw was her head poking out of the top of her blanket, her ears running delicately behind her back, the perfect image of content and peaceful. 'Maybe she didn't hear you, ya dumb fox. Good thing, because that definitely came out wrong.' He released his breath quietly, hopeful and oblivious. He couldn't detect how awake she was, or the tension in her shoulders. He didn't know she'd heard everything he said and his surprised tone mixed with terror hurt her to the quick. "No, nothing. Just had a strange dream." He half lied lamely, adding a half hearted laugh, the tension still in his voice even after swallowing a handful of times. He reached his phone, wondering what had disturbed his slumber. The digital time stamp reading 5:47. Over twenty minutes later than his normal waking time. Checking quickly, he noted the alarm had been disengaged. Odd, since he didn't remember doing so…

"Hm, what time is it, Nick?" Judy asked, a yawn present in her voice. 'God Nick, come back to bed and warm me back up…'

"Almost ten to six. Kinda nice to sleep in." 'Even if you scared me half to death. But god damn having that awesome ass parked right next to…'

"Yeah it is(Yawn). Hm…" Judy twitched her body with a stretch, finding a more comfortable position, hoping to entice Nick to lay with her, even for a few more minutes. She found the comfort from his warm body next to her thrilling and calming at the same time.

Nick did crawl back under his blanket, but pushed his back to hers instead of his torso. He flicked through his phone apps, looking for something to distract him from the unmasked scent of a dangerously close gray bunny. He wasn't sure what to do with what had happened last night. So they slept together, in a platonic way. For comfort. It wasn't a big deal. It didn't help that his brain continued replaying the scene from his dream where she'd rubbed her head under his chin, and how much he had enjoyed it. Platonic or not, everyone needs a little affection in their life. After a few minutes, she pushed closer, seeking the warmth of his foxy backside, shifted until she was more comfortable, and dozed off again. Nick could feel his heart pounding in his throat. No, no big deal at all.

Lies.

Unsure of her intentions, if there even were any, Nick decided to do the most basic male thing he could think of. Ignore the problem. He wasn't sure what else he could do. To explore the possibility was too much to process this early in the morning. Especially after his slightly provocative dream.

A rabbit ear shoot up to the sound of the apartment door shutting, though it was closed softly. Waiting for her partner to react, Judy realized he hadn't heard it. "Nick, someone is either in here or just left!" she whispered harshly. "It might be a thief! Go see if they are still here!" She burrowed herself deeper into the covers, hiding her entire body while Nick looked at her antics comically.

"Carrots, we are in probably the most secure location in the city. Besides, nothing in here is ours, so it's not like we can be robbed." He turned to sit in a reclined position, his back to the headboard, watching her try to get as small as she could be in his bed. 'Oh, that's rich! She's embarrassed someone might catch her in my bed! With a devilish grin, "Or are you worried someone might come in here and catch you squirming in my bed so early in the

morning? Hm?"

She stopped dead at the thought. "Well, not exactly embarrassed." Came her muffled, deadpan reply.

Realizing she was trying to figure out how to explain close to the same thing he felt, his need to use humor to defuse an awkward moment kicked in with a devious little plan. He sat up in mock surprise and stated much louder than before, "Oh hey Justin! Man you are quiet for a badger! And I have got to tell you, these beds are mighty comfortable! Especially mine! Wouldn't you say, Fluff?" He reached over to the Judy pile under the covers, and patted it warmly.

The 'EEEK' couldn't be contained, the covers shot straight up as Judy threw them off and flushed deeply. "It's not what it looks like, let me explain!" came out before her ears had cleared the blanket top. Looking to the door in abject horror, she realized there was no one there at about the same time Nick started snickering.

"You've got quick reflexes, Carrots. But you are still a dumb bunny." Nick continued his chortle, not noticing the embarrassed flush turn into a dangerous rage. Too late, he opened his eyes to receive an angry bunny paw to the fox gut.

"You bastard!" Judy hissed between clenched teeth, waylaying Nick for a solid ten seconds, leaving him with little option but to block and protest his treatment at "Just a little fun...Ooof!" The impromptu boxing match ended with Judy standing over Nick's legs with her shoulders slumped and paws at her side while the last bit of fear and anger retreated from her mind. After a deep sigh, her left paw ran behind her back to clench her right arm in a disarming pose of indecision, her ears drooping behind her small back. Nick opened his eyes after the onslaught to a disheartened sight. She was looking down, but just enough to not be looking him in the eye.

"You hurt me when you tease me like that, Nick." She whispered as his ears flattened against his head in shame. "Why do you do that?" She had genuine curiosity in her voice. As well as a thick dose of pain.

No answer was easy or forthcoming. With a sigh, he reached out and unexpectedly grabbed her, pulling her body to his for a reassuring hug. She was rigid from surprise and anger for a few seconds, but the warmth and openness quickly wore those away. The fox paw running down her ears and upper back helped keep her potential protest at bay as well. They sat in a warm, silent embrace for a moment, Judy accepting the silent apology after a content sigh.

"Nick?" Judy asked quietly. He had found a spot at the base of her ear that sent a rippling shiver through her spine.

"Hm? What is it Fluff?" Nick felt the shiver, and continued his methodical work, not stopping till her left foot twitched.

"If we don't get ready to go, Justin or George WILL come looking for us." She said, somewhat breathlessly. She pulled away from Nick's arms, and hopped off the bed. When she made it to the door, she stopped, and glanced back in. "Nick?"

Her glance back brought the vision of Nick leaning against the backboard, covered to the waist in his blanket she had been next to all night. "Yeah Carrots?" His voice was lazy, a representation of his relaxed position. She had his undivided attention.

"What are we?" she asked quietly.