"Nope, the battery's completely dead; nothing I can do," Nick affirmed, slamming the hood down on the small truck.
"Perfect," Judy said in annoyance. She was on her phone and sitting behind the driver's seat. "Stuck right in between Bunnyburrow and Zootopia. Roadside assistance is at least thirty minutes out." She hung up her phone and pocketed it. Nick got back in the vehicle. The two both already had their windows rolled down; the old clunker of a Hopps family truck didn't have air conditioning anyway.
"So tell me why you're just returning your dad's truck now?" Nick wondered.
"I dunno," Judy shrugged. "He said I could keep it until I didn't need it anymore. He has nearly a fleet of them; he said he'd barely miss this one. I never really found the time to return it. But, I figured it'd be best to give him back what's his, lest bad karma fall upon me."
"Seems a bit too late for that, fluff," Nick chuckled. "Any reason why you wanted to drag me along?"
"Plenty!" Judy smiled. "You're great for conversation, fun to be around, it's amazing to watch my siblings toss themselves onto you like a bunny tidal wave, and you're going to keep me company while we're stuck here on the side of the road."
"Just wish we made this trip in fall or winter; it's so hot," Nick grumbled in discomfort.
"I know, I know," Judy grumbled. "I wonder why this bucket of bolts hasn't broken down sooner. I must have driven it to Zootopia on sheer willpower alone."
"Well, I do know how strong your will can be," Nick grinned, then turned his head to look out the window. Judy's ear perked as she heard a huffing sound.
"Are you... panting?" Judy had a bemused half-smile.
"I don't want to hear anything about it," Nick replied. "Panting is one of the least dignified things we canids do, up there with wagging our tails and blatantly sniffing new people."
"I was just curious; wasn't going to tease you," Judy giggled.
"I'm going to regret asking this, but... would you mind if I unbuttoned my shirt?" Nick was still panting, still faced away from her.
Judy was silent for almost ten seconds, her eyes wide. Then, in a tiny voice, she said: "No, not at all." Judy kept her head looking straight forward out the windshield, but her eyes were locked to her right, staring at the fox unbuttoning his shirt. Her nose started twitching, mostly out of curiosity, and out of fear of being caught looking. When it was apparent Nick wasn't going to turn his head back, Judy turned her head towards him, staring openly. She tried to keep her breaths soft as he revealed more and more of his creamy chest and tummy fur, bordered by the hints of his rich orange-red fur peeking out from the opened shirt.
After a small piece of forever, Nick was finished, and let loose a sigh. "That's a bit better."
Judy felt a sort of burning excitement she'd never really felt before. Her nose still twitched up and down as she observed him. She tried to rationalize that there was really nothing remarkable about him; he was just long and lean and had interesting colors, but for some reason her brain gobbled up the details hungrily until she felt almost light-headed. "It is... uh, pretty hot in here." Judy let herself smile at the double meaning of her words.
Nick finally turned his head, mostly out of boredom, and his left eye caught Judy, who was still staring. He stopped mid-pant and closed his mouth. "Carrots, uh, are you ogling me?"
"I'm doing that, yes," Judy confirmed, nodding. "I can't quite look away. I don't know what it is!" She was getting an idea, though. Bits of fur he didn't let anyone else see, shared with her. It felt very galvanizing.
"Uhh," Nick chuckled. "I can close my shirt back up if you want."
"Great," Judy looked at him in defeat, "now, I can say 'no, don't' like some sort of lust-addled moron, or 'yes, please do', and hurt your feelings."
"Gotcha now," Nick half-lid his eyes. "What's it gonna be, fluff?"
"How about... take your shirt the rest of the way off?" Judy tilted her head. Nick's eyes went wide.
"Okay, was not expecting that," Nick confirmed. He did as she asked, flinging the garment down where his feet were resting.
"Oh my gosh I did not expect you to actually do it," Judy said in a rapid and shrill voice. She bit down on her knuckles, hard. "Ow." She yanked her hand away from her mouth and flicked it back and forth.
Nick reclined back in his chair with a smug expression, closing his eyes.
"Yuh-you're enjoying this!" Judy accused.
"Only as much as you are, Carrots," Nick shot back, moving his shoulders up and down a bit to try to find the optimal comfort zone.
"Then, you're enjoying it... kind of a lot," Judy finally wrenched her eyes away.
"Gonna draw the line at you wanting to touch the fur though," Nick said confidently. "It's kind of wet and gross at the moment."
"Yeah, that'll be fine," Judy said lightly. A minute or two passed. "You know... uh, I have always wondered what it would be like to... um... kiss a fox, though."
Nick looked at her with a droll expression. "Really. You've always wondered that. Always."
"Okay, so maybe only in the past year or two," Judy's voice had a resignation to it; her hands closed around the steering while as her eyes squinted shut.
"If only there was a way to satisfy your curiosity!" Nick said in a loud voice. "Hm, first we'd need to find a fox that wanted to kiss you."
"Nick, you're going to tease me about this?" Judy tilted her head, her voice low. "You're really going to tease me about this?"
"I just can't stop myself, Carrots," Nick admitted in a guilty, amused voice. "I have a somewhat frisky and very curious bunny on my hands, and what am I going to do with her? I just got to push all of her buttons until she's forced into action, don't I?" Nick leaned in a bit. Judy's nose was set off again, and her heart accelerated.
"You don't get to be so smug about this," Judy challenged. "I can avoid kissing you for another uh... jeez has it really only been like eight minutes?"
"You're going to kiss me at any moment now," Nick shook his head.
"I am and you're infuriating!" Judy shouted, leaning forward for a quick smooch on the lips. Nick returned the tiny kiss, to her surprise. She backed away, and this time she was the one panting.
"Well?" Nick tilted his head.
"I mean, I'm not sure," Judy said blankly. "I uh, I really don't know."
"Okay then," Nick turned his head. "I'm available for further research, should the need arise."
He was teasing her so badly, but she couldn't resist. Judy didn't know if the teasing just set her off more. She got out of her seat and moved closer to Nick. She tapped him gently on the shoulder. When he turned his head, she placed both paws on his cheeks and leaned in for a deeper kiss. Nick was actually surprised, but shut his eyes and returned it, gently placing both of his hands on her sides.
After the kiss, Nick was smirking smugly, but his look grew into alarm when Judy was staring at him with bewilderment. He hadn't expected that, either. Judy brought up a paw to her face, though she didn't touch her lips with it. Silently, she crawled back over to her seat, and opened her door and got out of the truck.
"Judy?" Nick crawled out of the car after her. She was standing with her back against the truck and her arms folded, staring down at the ground. "Ouch, was I that bad...?"
"I'm... I'm a freak," Judy said in an uncertain voice. "A deviant."
"What?" Nick shrugged. "Naw, come on."
"When I kissed you like that, it was like... so many switches inside myself were flipped," Judy said distantly. "A hunger for more awoke. It was... really powerful."
"Wow, was I that good?" Nick chuckled, leaning his side onto the truck.
"I wonder if there's something wrong with me," Judy sighed. "First, I want to be a police officer. I did it, but that's never been done before! Bunnies don't do that! Now, uh... apparently I'm really into foxes. And, just so happen to have a charming fox best friend."
"Let me drop the charm, smoulder, and teasing for just a minute, Judy," Nick said seriously. Judy looked at him, only dimly aware that he rarely ever used her first name. "I liked it, too. And I'm attracted to you, too. Does it make me weird? Yeah, probably. But heck if I care. Those... those looks you give me sometimes. Those looks filled with pride. The looks filled with admiration, or even desire, like just now. Do you know how... gratifying that is? Do you know how many vixens have looked at me like that?"
"A lot?" Judy wondered, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well," Nick considered. "Okay, maybe I have gotten a few looks of desire before." The two chuckled. "But never of the former two. You've seen who I truly am. I haven't let anyone else... in... like that. And you're attracted to me, too? I have to say, it's a bit of a rush."
"Nick..." Judy had a big, happy smile.
"So I gotta keep teasing you, okay?" Nick chuckled, poking her on the shoulder. "It's the only way I can rationalize such a cheerful, attractive bunny being so hungry for your average everyday fox."
"You're anything but average, Nick," Judy smiled warmly, and went to hug him tightly. Nick winced, but hugged back a bit. It didn't last too long before Judy backed away, rubbing her face, where it had ended up in his chest. "Blech, okay, you are a bit wet and eugh..."
"Sorry, Carrots," Nick chuckled. "If I'm honest, I was really hoping 'hot sweaty fox' didn't do it for you too much."
"I think I can just settle for 'hot fox'," Judy smiled. Nick flinched as he saw a vehicle on the horizon.
"Agh! It looks like roadside assistance is here, and I still don't have my shirt on...!"
"Oh, just pretend you're from Bunnyburrow," Judy chuckled, giving him a playful shove. "Dumb bunny hicks there are always going around with no shirt on."
"Ma'am, I do take offense to that," Nick said in a burrow drawl, trying to get back in the car before the assistance noticed him. "I ain't no dumb bunny."
"No, you're a stupid fox," Judy laughed, then added in a tiny whisper: "Who's really handsome..."
"Heard that last bit!" Nick grinned, throwing his shirt back on.