"C'mon, can I touch it, please? No one's around..." Judy pleaded plaintively, crawling towards Nick.
"Nope," Nick responded from a sitting position, and swished his tail out of the way as the bunny pounced. She checked her paws, but no tail had been captured.
"Aw, why not?" Judy persisted. "A pleasantly chilly day at the park and you won't let me hug that nice long tail? Please?" Judy placed her paws together in supplication.
"Fine, fine, if only because I'd like this picnic to have less whining," Nick swished his tail back over towards Judy, and she gasped in victory.
"Yes..." Judy grinned, petting and hugging the tail. "Victory is mine! Mm, come here, you..." Judy lifted and hugged the tail fully, snuggling against it with a clearly pleased grin on her face. She closed her eyes and let loose a blissful sigh. It felt rather nice to Nick, too, but he'd never vocalize that.
Nick smoothly and silently set his lunch down, slipped his phone out of his pocket, and took a picture of the bunny, posed perfectly for such a surreptitious shot. He managed to frame the photo, capture it, and replace his phone in his pocket without her noticing. He gave a huff of amusement at his own little victory.
"What? You jealous?" Judy opened her eyes, petting the white tip of his tail. "Jealous that your tail gets more attention from me than you?"
"News flash, darlin', my tail is me. Part of me, at least," Nick shook his head. "Not just some fuzzy worm stuck to my rear."
"Shouldn't you like me cuddling up to it more then?" Judy asked coquettishly, curling the tail around her neck as if it was a muffler. "Or do you dislike bunny attention after all?"
"Well, let's just say it kind of hurts the mental image of the tough-bun bunny police officer when she's playing with my tail like a kit with a new toy," Nick explained wryly.
"Wow, you're no fun at all," Judy gave him a pitying smile.
"No fun, am I?" Nick frowned a little, but then started to smile slowly. "Well, I think you've had about enough, missy."
"Yeep!" Judy flinched as Nick slid his tail across her neck and flicked it away from her again. "Aw, c'mon Nick, we have off all day and there's not a mammal around."
"I think it's my turn to get to touch your tail," Nick grinned slyly.
"Uh... that's not going to happen," Judy smirked, her eyes half-closing.
"Why not? You're always after mine; fair's fair, right?" Nick had a tiny smile, folding his arms.
"Our tails aren't exactly equal, if you haven't noticed," Judy gestured with her palm up towards him. "Yours is super long and mine's... well, it's very close to my tush. I don't want mammals to think you're groping me in public; you're liable to be smacked in the face by an animal with a much stronger arm than a bunny's."
"Well, like you said, we're alone right now, so... what's the big deal?" Nick pursued.
"I dunno," Judy bit her lip, her eyes looking away shiftily and her ears drooping. "I've seen firsthand how you get around fluffy things. You talk about me turning into a kit? I don't want you slavering all over me, you goofball."
"Very well then," Nick closed his eyes, his voice airy. "I didn't want to have to do this, but... prepare to be hustled, miss."
"Excuse me?" Judy's ears shot back up and felt immediately hot. Nick reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone.
"I've uncovered some incriminating evidence of you," Nick showed her the picture he had just taken, but kept the phone well away from Judy. Judy took in a shrill gasp.
"Nicholas!" She shouted, her pupils tiny.
"Criminally adorable behavior," Nick's brow furrowed and he spoke as if shocked. "What would Chief Bogo think if he saw such wanton frivolity?"
"Nick, you wouldn't dare!" Judy got up to go steal the phone from Nick, but he guarded it close to his chest.
"Or, to think... what if Benjamin got his eyes on this...?" Nick gave her a little leer.
"Aagh! That's even worse!" Judy pounded her fists on Nick's arms, but he did not relent. "Nick, please, don't do that..."
"Let me touch your tail, and this picture goes away," Nick stipulated. "And not just any touch. At least as long as I let you touch mine."
"Wow," Judy twisted her mouth. "Is that what we're going to do? Okay, fine." Judy laid down on the picnic blanket on her front and folded her arms. "Touch my tail. If only to prove that we're both equals. But! If I feel your hands on my bum, it's game over."
"You think you're in a position to bargain?" Nick put his phone away and got on all fours, prowling around behind her.
"There's no fun playing a game you can't lose," Judy sneered back at him. "And make sure you keep any stupid faces back there where I can't see them."
Nick gave a soft chuckle in his own victory, and slowly reached out to touch her tail. Finally. He had waited so long for this moment, and as he touched the soft, cottony fluff, his eyes grew wider and wider. It was just as soft as he'd imagined it would be. He was really trying hard to avoid making soft squeals and other sounds of pure adoration. Judy propped up her cheek on her paw, sighing in resignation.
"Don't enjoy yourself too much back there," Judy accused suddenly.
"I'm being a perfect gentlefox," Nick insisted, carefully petting the tail.
"Tch, liar," Judy shook her head, and her ears twitched. "I can hear your breathing changing every time you go to touch me. It's been catching on both the inhale and the exhale. You're excited."
"Sheez, Carrots!" Nick froze mid-pet. "Do they use bunnies as lie-detectors in Bunnyburrow?"
"We bunnies do have several skills," Judy said proudly. Nick pet her once more.
"You know," Nick considered furtively, "the view back here isn't bad either." Judy rolled over and looked at him wryly, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Okay buster, tail time's up," Judy smirked.
"But I didn't touch the butt..." Nick whined, his shoulders dropping. "All right, a deal's a deal." Nick took his phone out and navigated to the picture, preparing to delete it. He hesitated. "...Fluff, it's... it's really kind of a nice picture of you. You do look really happy."
"Nick, I'm not going to let you keep something like that to blackmail me every time you want something!" Judy stamped her foot and it tapped rapidly a few times.
"I just-," Nick started, looking a bit melancholy. "Ack!" Judy started rapidly swiping her paws at him, trying to get the phone. He stood up, and held it out of her reach, smiling smugly at her.
"Really?" Judy half-lid her eyes, slowly stood up, and in the next second she sprang up, plucked the phone from Nick's grasp, and delivered a light double-kick to his chest. Both of them simultaneously landed on their haunches.
"Guh!" Nick was surprised at how high she could jump with no warning. He was impressed at how gently Judy managed to accomplish her goal. He barely felt a thing. Judy tapped several times on his phone, then threw it back to him.
"There," Judy declared. "That'll teach you to renege on your promises."
"Aw," Nick sighed through his teeth, looking at where the photo used to be with a mild mourning look.
"But," Judy held a paw up, holding her own phone up and wiggling it back and forth. "If you're a good little foxy, I might let you look at it every now and again..." Judy showed Nick the photo, which she had copied over to her phone before deleting it. Nick's countenance immediately lifted and he gasped in delight. Judy's eyes widened as she saw his tail wag a little. "Woah, down boy!"
"Oh jeez, usually I can stop it from doing that," Nick laughed nervously, brushing a hand through his head fur. He willed his tail to stop wagging. "Whew! Thank goodness for sly bunnies."
"And, for dumb foxes," Judy half lid her eyes, showing her teeth in a grin.