Judy Hopps, the esteemed valedictorian of her senior class at Bunnyburrow High, the straight-A streak keeper since her kindergarten days, the bunny that found purpose in her every achievement no matter how small, nearly bombed her first college exam.

It was clear then, why she felt so absolutely pathetic for all the pain-staking effort she put into studying (albeit it being last minute in a feverishly caffeinated all-nighter). Despite her irresponsible predicament she defied the odds by managing to score above average, but that alone was not satisfactory enough for the over-achiever.

Before attending ZU she always did above average, making this 'technically' passing grade a stinging personal failure.

With her head down and ears flat against her back, the bunny slowly trotted towards the lobby exit, eyes burning as she clutched her exam booklet against her chest. Even the lively whirlwind of students passing the halls accompanied by the buzz of their cheerful voices couldn't bring her out of her wallowing trance.

A gangly giraffe, the same mammal that happened to spot Judy for a cup of Snarlbucks coffee some weeks ago, saw her in the hall and chirped a giddy 'hello' after recognizing the rabbit. If at her typical level of cheeriness she would have definitely greeted the giraffe with a genuine grin before carrying on to her next class in a near-skipping stride.

But in her current state she could barely bring herself to acknowledge it, nonetheless respond, being too absorbed by the news of her mediocre grade to socially engage at all.

It seemed, just briefly, that no one could break her pity-spell.

Until someone's voice in particular seemed to do the trick.

"So, uh."

Judy froze at the sound of that familiar voice, her head snapping upwards and her breath hitching slightly.

Nick approached her with his paws fidgeting in his pockets."…How'd you do?"

The two stood there in front of the lecture hall, her back to him as she tried to quickly wrestle back feelings of not just personal disappointment, but surprise as well— for whatever reason Nick had finally decided to acknowledge her existence again.

Although his sudden confrontation was a strangely pleasant occurrence, his timing wasn't exactly great.

"Oh, uhm." Somehow the bunny found the willpower to swallow the emotions down like a sour batch of Hopps-made cough syrups, and slowly turned to acknowledge the fox standing behind her. Violet eyes belonging to the doe widened as they met the vulpine pair staring back.

Even Nick himself, being a stranger to the rabbit still, could recognize the overwhelming sadness the bunny tried to conceal with a stubbornly neutral expression; it was an expression that was easily betrayed by her tensely pressed lips and erratically twitching nose. If he was honest, he noted an unfamiliar gleam in her eyes that made him frown. "You doing alright?"

His question made Judy realize that her attempt to seem natural must have looked obviously forced. In an instant she blinked away the tears that welled in her eyes, forced her ears upright, and raised her chin high with all the might that she could muster. "I…" She glanced aside. "I'm fine. And as for the test… I really don't want to talk about it."

Nick's ears drooped as he watched her turn away and walk ahead until she broke outside of the Wolfhartt building, her ears and shoulders visibly sinking in the space between the doors before they shut closed.

For just two seconds Nick silently deliberated until he swore beneath his breath and followed after her again.

Once outside he was abruptly met by a buffalo who unintentionally knocked into him, an impact that caused the fox to stumble slightly backwards and wince. The burly mammal glanced aside with a distasteful look and grunted in a low voice. "Watch it ya punk!"

Then the larger mammal recognized just who he bumped into, and immediately gasped before rampantly apologizing.

"I'm sorry bro, I didn't see you there! I'm new here so, cut me some slack, yeah…?"

As Nick minded his shoulder with a mindless rub, he quickly spotted the bunny through the crowd of hurrying students. His eyes honed in on her figure as it marched swiftly towards a wooden bench on the lawn just ahead. "Heh. Don't worry about it, tough guy."

With pursed lips the fox excused himself through the aisle of striding mammals, being the only one countering their flow with a perpendicular strut. Swiftly he dodged his way to the other side of the path and approached the bench where Judy perched.

Then he sat down beside her, causing the rabbit to glance up at him questionably.

"Look. If you want to ask me for my Criminal Justice score just so you could tease me about it, you should know I'm not exactly in the mood to joke around," she muttered, her sharp words out of reasonable distrust that still lingered for the fox. In contrast however her body language relaxed, her hold on the booklet loosening.

"Tease you? Nope, rest assured." Nick sat forward, elbows on his knees. "That's not my intention here at all."

She arched a brow. "Really?"

He turned to look at her and nodded. "Really."

The rabbit eyed him for a moment but the edge of his maw did not curl like she expected, causing the harshness in her voice to lessen to skepticism. "Then what?" A sniffle escaped her before she could help it, an embarrassing sound that made her bite her lower lip.

He paused before answering her immediately. "Well, I was going to make casual chit-chat, try to catch up. But you look upset, so for now I guess I'll just say…" His eyes traveled to the exam she held before he continued. "…you shouldn't let a silly test get you down like that."

His words were spoken with no hint of sarcasm in them. It made the rabbit blink in disbelief.

Nick tore his eyes from her direction and stared off to the thinning crowd of students rushing along the campus paths. "I mean yeah, maybe you flunked. Use that to make you try harder next time, find a better way to study and ace the second time around. Just don't beat yourself up."

Judy exhaled at his surprisingly reassuring words, a fraction of the tension in her body now softening. "I appreciate the advice, but it isn't that simple," she murmured, quickly turning her face away to wipe a sole tear that managed to escape her left eye with a finger.

The fox hummed inquisitively. "Why's that?"

"Because..." Judy began with a quiet sigh, rolling the booklet and tucking it into her bag with a lackluster motion. "When you're used to being at the top of your class, you uh, y'know, start to get touchy about these sort of things." Her eyes fell to her lap as she mumbled somewhat mindlessly. "Everyone at home is rooting for you, expects you to keep up the good work. Heck- even you expect to keep it up. But if you don't?" Judy smiled bitterly. "You basically start to feel… well…"

"Judged? Worthless? Dumb?" Nick interjected easily without missing a beat.

Judy looked up at him and nodded hesitantly, her ears suddenly tall. "Actually… yeah. How'd you kn-"

"Listen Carrots. You're putting way too much weight on academics." The fox sat upright and crossed an ankle over his knee, his fingers interlaced as they supported the back of his head with his elbows skyward. "While yeah, thinking like that makes acing an exam probably feel like you're on cloud nine. But the moment those grades plummet?" He scoffed softly. "I bet it feels like the world's gonna end."

Judy gave a bittersweet laugh. "Ugh. It does."

"And what kind of way to get through college is that, anyway? I mean, measuring your self-worth over how well you answer a bunch of questions on paper? That's no way to live." Nick spoke smoothly as he shrugged, his eyes trailing over the divide in front of them where cobblestone met grass. "Wanna know the best way to prove to yourself that you're a success?" His question made the doe nod with a reserved eagerness, and so the fox replied. "The answer's simple. Just try your damned best, and don't obsess on being perfect." His tail curled neatly beside him as he continued. "It's probably easier said than done. But hey, I thought you needed to hear it."

As she listened to his surprisingly wise words, Judy felt tears pool in her eyes until she quietly dabbed them away with the end of her turtle-neck sweater.

His words did alleviate her self-afflicted shame by several degrees. And instead of invalidating her feelings, they assured her that maybe she was just being a little too hard on herself.

Judy couldn't stand when her tears dampened the fur on her cheeks. If she let those tears freely fall, those resulting matted hairs were enough for others to know that she obviously cried. "Thanks, Slick... I really did need to hear that."

Nick smiled, glancing away from the nearly empty campus paths to peer down at the rabbit sitting beside him. Before he could acknowledge her quiet mumble of gratitude, he stopped himself short after catching a glimpse of her crying into her turtle-neck.

There were a few seconds of silence between them despite a few hushed sniffles from the bunny. His tail strangely twitched in her direction but he restrained from moving it, his form becoming rigid as he let her have a moment to gather herself. His shoulders relaxed once he watched her take a deep breath and dry her eyes.

As the sun appeared from behind the clouds and beamed onto the two natural enemies sitting on the campus bench, Nick noticed the healing patch of skin on her neck that subtly revealed itself when she tugged the neck of her sweater.

The sight of the vulnerable bunny hiding her wounds with a turtle-neck in the heat of summer, just as she painfully hid her emotions from the public eye, made the fox realize just how much strength she possessed to always seem so upbeat.

It was a charade that was impossible to keep up forever, so he didn't blame her one bit for the sudden emotional release.

Judy, on the other-paw, was just grateful that the fox didn't use her moment of vulnerability to poke fun at her. "Sorry about that. Gosh, I got carried away there. Hah." She shook her head. "Back to reality, Judy."

"Hey. If it makes you feel any better, I'll willingly admit that I'm totally an ugly crier. Unlike yourself." Nick teased half-heartedly. "Count that as a blessing."

Judy huffed amusingly at the thought. "Huh. So does that mean the king of ZU has a soft side after all?"

The fox shrugged coolly. "Funny you call me that, but that name's kind of died out," he replied, sharp teeth in full display as he grinned. "Your nickname, however… is still very much alive and kicking. And I'm kind of jealous."

"Oh, pshh, you mean 'almighty Judy Hopps'? Or 'Hornstein bunny'? Those silly things?" She nearly snorted.

Nick rocked his head side to side in a contemplative way, never taking his eyes off of her. "Silly? Eh, it kinda is if we're being honest here. But false? No, not one bit." Judy watched him almost with uncertainty, unsure if he was being utterly sarcastic or genuine, although she regarded his words with a small smile. "So that makes me wonder, is a little test all it takes to get the almighty Carrots down?"

As he asked the question, Judy rolled her eyes in amusement, looking down at the grass beneath her dangling feet. "Well…"

"Let me help you out there. Get your confidence back up." He winked. "The answer's fuck no."

That was it. She broke out into a geeky smile.

Maybe it was silly to take a test score to heart, especially a passing test score that was above average.

Nicholas Wilde was absolutely right.

It takes a lot more…

to get the almighty Judy Hopps down.

She met his eyes eventually and confidently nodded, that brilliant smile he knew well and even detested once overcoming her muzzle. "Y'know what? Yeah- you're right… it's just a silly test. And it was just my first one. So… what's the big deal, right? I'll just double down for when the next test comes around somehow! Knock it right out of the park!" She sat tall as she gave the air a delighted swing with her fist.

"Ha, that's the spirit!" He laughed.

"Yeah!" Judy cheered, clasping her paws together on her lap. "By the way I… really appreciate you coming to talk to me, Nick." She never imagined the day she'd thank him for a pep talk, of all things. Why did the fox act like he was a concerned friend after a week of avoidance? It was weird. A good kind of weird.

"It's no problem-o, Carrots. I'm glad I did." He returned her smile and slouched back, elbows hanging off the back of the bench.

They two suddenly flinched when the campus' clock tower sounded, chiming three times slowly as its echo filled the campus grounds. Judy glanced a bit frantically at her cell phone to note the time.

9:00 am.

"Are you not going to class?" His question made her cross her arms thoughtfully.

"Psych 101? Not today, no. I'm not one to skip class but… I really just need some time to decompress." She fiddled with one of the straps of her book bag as she spoke. "What about you, don't you have class?"

Nick shrugged. "Nah. I mean, yeah. But I wasn't planning on going." That wasn't necessarily true, he knew. He still had that Creative Writing paper that had to be handed in as a hard-copy, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to turn in half of the assignment late.

"Also, if you were wondering," Judy began, fumbling with an ear draped over her shoulder. "I didn't actually flunk the test. I just got a mediocre score, so… I guess took it kiiinda hard?"

"Kinda?" Nick nearly choked on a blurted laugh. "God damn. I'd hate to be the teacher that handed you an F." He snickered. "C'mon Carrots, you passed. So none of that mediocre-shmediocre stuff. C's get degrees, amirite?"

Judy rolled her eyes in amusement, also relaxing her back against the bench. "Truuue. But… A's and B's succeed."

Nick chuckled. "That's debatable."

It seemed like things were going much more smoothly than he could've imagined.

Maybe Nick didn't have much to worry so much about on how Judy would receive him after that ordeal at the Alpha party- it really felt as if their rough start was truly behind them.

But that didn't mean it shouldn't be addressed.

Although keeping things between them casually friendly would've been ideal, there were definitely some things he desperately needed to get off of his chest. And now, with them skipping class together, it was his opportunity to do so.

Nick made a long, almost exaggerated exhale. "You're probably wondering why I'm talking to you in the first place." Judy crossed her legs and looked over the fox curiously, seeing the restrained discomfort in his features.

"Honestly, I was," she confirmed. Why did he stop her? And why did he avoid her for a whole week's time like she was the plague? "I'll admit, you coming to speak to me was kind of random."

"Well, it was because I wanted… to apologize." The final word alone made the edges of his lips curl downward. But he had to say it.

Judy's eyes widened slightly. "W-what?"

"I'm saying sorry for, uh, y'know…" Nick rubbed the space of fur between his ears, his green eyes darting to some distant tree standing in the middle of one of the lawns. "…licking you. At the frat party. Among other terrible stuff done by, uh, yours truly."

Judy never allowed her eyes to leave him as he made the nervous apology, completely baffled at the sight of a dark flush filling his ears. Although it was certainly a bit of a touchy subject for them both, she was surprised he had even brought it up, considering he wanted them both to pretend it never even happened.

"I just feel wrong about it. I know I haven't been the…" He closed his eyes. What was the word? "…the friendliest to you. Ahem." He inhaled and exhaled sharply. "All in all, the kiss I gave you was completely uncalled for. The way I treated you since you've been here has been completely uncalled for." He finally opened his eyes to see her watching him and gave a small, slightly pained laugh. "So for all the trouble I gave you, I want you to know that I'm really sorry about it all. It probably wouldn't be so far-fetched to think you still hate me. And frankly, I wouldn't blame you if you did."

Judy's legs started to swing a little, her fingers intertwined on her lap as she took a long moment to consider the apology. "Hate is a… strong word." She offered a little smile that made his drooping ears stand a little higher.

"That's great to hear-"

"But," the bunny smirked. "That doesn't mean I outright forgive you."

"…yet?" Nick offered an apologetic smile.

"Hmm. While yes, you've undeniably been a downright jerk since the day I crossed paths with you, and you've somehow managed to pester me worse than all of my little siblings combined," Judy tutted as she listed with her fingers, "You also have this other side to you. A side that's willing to protect a mammal, give them a post-test pep talk, and rightfully apologize."

He gave an admittedly handsome, hopeful grin.

Judy smirked. "So I'm willing to give you a chance, frat fox. Just one."

Nick pumped his fist in a quiet cheer. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that, fluff."

"And as for the kiss," Judy continued, timidly wringing the end of her sleeve. "I'll admit that I… uh, may have consented it." According to the unannounced stomach cramps that plagued her all of a sudden, she probably should've spared herself the sheer embarrassment of acknowledging that she indeed returned the lick. The only thing that could remedy the resulting awkwardness was belting a loud nervous laugh that only made the fox smirk to himself. "Haha! So don't worry about it! It's all behind us now, just like that hideous exam."

He chuckled. "Amen to that." His sight was filled with a bunny who looked very pleased by the apology judging by the genuine grin plastered on her muzzle. So far, operation-apologize turning out to be a shocking success. "So… that means we're good now?"

She nodded warmly. "Yep. We're good."

Had the temporary truce yielded…

"Then…" The red fox slowly retracted a paw he hid in a jacket pocket.

to good will?

"…you won't kill me for giving this back to you, right?" He took out his wallet, a flimsy faux leather thing with worn edges, and pulled out a slightly worn hundred dollar bill.

or bad blood?

.o0o.

Judy looked at the bill with confusion, tilting her head as her eyes darted between the predator wielding the money and the money itself. "What's this?"

"It's… yours." Nick held his breath, avoiding her eyes. "The fake was, ah, actually only worth a hundred."

She took the donation hesitantly as he muttered, a small gasp fluttering from her lips as the realization of what he had done finally sunk in.

Of course she was appalled.

Money-thieving was a blatant crime and wasn't exactly a typical offense committed in the Burrows. A one-time, immature slip into his old pocket-picking habits because of his unchecked transgressions was definitely seen as some inexcusable wrongdoing based on the look in her eyes. "You stole my money?"

He cringed at the tone of her voice, giving a weak smile. "Babysat it, technically."

She scowled as she stuffed the bill back into her own wallet.

"You… look incredibly pissed," he commented, making her flash him a sardonic look.

"Ooh, no." Judy looked at him incredulously, her tone biting. "I'm not pissed. I'm livid."

He shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, his tail finding his lap. "I don't blame you. In fact, I'd be too. Although I'm tempted to say it's called a hustle sweetheart, I'd like to refrain from becoming quite literally a dead fox." His comical attempt to get her to loosen up clearly failed, causing the apologetic smile he forced to fall.

Despite the fact he had the decency to apologize and return it, it was the very fact that he had stolen it in the first place that made her upset. Just when she thought she had made some surprising progress on trusting him, this knowledge made that progress falter yet again.

"How can I, or anyone, give you the benefit of the doubt after knowing you did this?" Judy asked the question in the midst of her frustration, her paws motioning as she spoke. "While yeah, I really appreciated your apology today, and like I said I was willing to give you a chance…" She glanced aside, her brows knit together as she spoke the next string of words. "But now… how can I trust you?"

"You have every right not to trust me." Nick spoke low, his claws curling tufts of red fur on his tail. "Look. I won't paint this picture prettier than it is. So I'll be honest. I was—correction, am a huge asshole that gets easily offended when someone out-hustles me. Which you did, and really well. Taking your money—"

"Stealing." Judy amended, her nose crinkled.

"Stealing your money was just some… dumb, spur of the moment way to counter how you swindled me into a deal. It was just that— dumb, and wrong. And maybe it's hard to believe this but I sincerely regret doing that to you. I don't steal money." Not anymore, he refrained to say. Nick finally sighed, looking up to catch a glimpse from the ticked off rabbit. "I am as sorry about it as I am an idiot."

Judy mused over his words. "Why didn't you give it back to me sooner?"

"I really did want to give it to you earlier than this. I just… kept missing out on every chance I got. And then that thing happened at the frat party, and I didn't know how to face you. It took me a whole week just to work up the damn courage to talk to you." He grumbled the confession into a paw.

Judy thought for a moment before making to stand from the bench. "As much as I want to trust you, Nick, it's just hard to decipher you. Separate the good intentions from the bad. Figure out if you're… the good mammal I think you might be." She stuffed her wallet and phone into her bag as she paused for a moment. "It's like… it's like there's two of you. But they're stuck in one fox, and I only really want to be friends with one of them." She shook her head as she lifted the bag atop of the bench seat. "Although I'm glad you returned the cash, I'm just… not sure."

Nick listened to her intently, aware of the way she struggled to form the words to gently let him know that, no, forgiveness wasn't automatically guaranteed to every mammal who crossed the line and blurted an apology.

For some reason perhaps born out of both affection and guilt, he was willing to cross that line again just to get to the other side. Her good side.

"I understand. You're right." Nick watched her zipper her bag with a frown, his tail limp over his lap. "But what if… what if I could make it up to you somehow? Even if it was in the smallest way?"

His offer took a moment to register in her mind, a mildly curious look reflecting in her features underneath the fury that still made her stomach sink with disappointment. "Nick, I don't think another party invite is going to make it easier to trust you. And no, I don't want pity money, in case that was what you were thinking."

For a moment Judy faced away from him to loop her arms through her book bag straps. Once the sturdy bag hung from both of her shoulders, she turned to him and continued to talk. "Maybe it's best we…"

Once she turned to face him fully, he revealed the recklessly pleated exam booklet from his jacket pocket. As he undid the folds and revealed the front, her eyes widened.

There was a 98 scribbled in red ink on the top left corner of his test.

Judy was suddenly speechless.

Her eyes blinked several times before looking over at the fox that held the graded booklet, checking to see if he wore that annoying shit-eating grin he most definitely wore on every occasion he could. But no such grin curled over his muzzle.

To any sane mammal that was mildly aware of the fox's class attendance and overall reputation, it just didn't make any sense that he could get such a high mark. Every time she had seen him outside of class, he was goofing off with his frat or inebriated at a party, and if the rumors about him were true he was probably throat-deep in his pseudo-romantic conquests every other time.

"But…" Judy nearly stuttered. "How?"

"I'm just... decent at studying." He admitted in a hushed volume. "Aaaand I kind of have a thing for reading." The fox admitted, taking a stand from the bench."This… stays between us."

"Sweet cheese and crackers." She blurted before standing directly over him to take a personal look at the test in his paws, which he kindly allowed her to inspect closely.

It seemed to the bunny that Nick indeed had the capacity to care for class, nonetheless get a higher score than her, even though that capacity was hidden. It was a revelation that needed a moment to process.

"I mean- wow." She breathlessly laughed in her disbelief. "When I spoke to Dr. Castor after class today, she told me the high score was a 98. That must mean… you got the highest grade out of the entire class." Judy began to tap her foot as she rambled on. "The thing is you've barely made it to class this semester so far and we're only three weeks in. So it just doesn't… it doesn't add up. Did you...?"

"Cheat?" He finished her logical question, no malice in his voice as he rolled the booklet, and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Look Carrots, don't take this to heart, but… if I did cheat, which I certainly didn't," Nick emphasized, "I wouldn't show my fake-test to someone that'd probably threaten to rat me out the first chance they'd get to strike some sort of deal. It's something you kind of have a history of doing. No offense."

"Oh."

Although his words didn't intend to wound her, he certainly had a point, one that made her feel a bit shameful. In her own mind, Judy felt like her history of threatening to rat on him wasn't at all as cruel as his shenanigans, but that hardly excused her own actions.

With his unimpressive student record and Alpha Preda jacket at her disposal in the past, she leveraged the fox for access to exclusive parties and hang outs, jeopardizing his standing with both the university and his fraternity.

Judy didn't think of those vengeful actions as her quite literally using him. But it did very much seem that way.

Suddenly, her previous tactics to bargain and blackmail him for the sake of publicity seemed quite pointless, immature, and extreme.

"Well, when you put it that way," she laughed awkwardly, rubbing her arm with a fidgety paw. "I guess you have a point. I've been treating you like a jerk too, huh?" Judy tore her gaze from her feet to meet his emerald eyes. "I think I owe you an apology too, for, y'know… being a blackmailing, vengeance-seeking, publicity-obsessed opportunist. It's… not exactly a good look."

Nick's eyes widened slightly at her unexpected admission. "You don't have to apologize Carrots, really. While yeah, it's not exactly 'a good look' like you've put it, I basically deserved it right? So no hard feelings from me."

Judy shook her head in her persistence. "It's the right thing to do, Nick. So, here it goes…" Her expression was modest as she inhaled deeply and continued. "I, Judy Hopps, am completely and sincerely sorry for taking advantage of you, Nick Wilde, and I won't do it again. So don't feel obliged to invite me to anymore exclusive parties."

The rabbit politely beamed up at him, her words making him feel humored and oddly fuzzy inside.

"I feel like you're reading me a wedding vow," he teased, his humor being a decent buffer for how tense the air had felt just minutes ago. "But thanks, fluff. It means a lot."

Judy responded with a small huff, one that relented into a small smile. "Since it's obvious we've both been a couple of jerks from the start, I'll definitely consider what you were trying to suggest earlier."

"Oh yeah, that. Me trying to make it up to you. Okay… hear me out." Nick offered a coy grin as he proposed something that, to him, was the very least he could do. "So maybe you can't trust me as a friend, that's pretty understandable. But maybe you can trust me as… your personal study guide?"

"My personal study guide?" Judy repeated the words curiously, slightly confused at what he was getting at. "You mean, be my tutor?"

He shrugged. "Basically. Sounds nerdier when you say it that way, though."

"Hmm." She stroked her chin thoughtfully as she paced the spot in front of him. "I'll admit that I'd like to know just how you got that score. If I'm getting what you're saying, we won't necessarily have to be anything more than study partners, so… maybe I'm willing to entertain this suggestion of yours."

"Sweet." At this point his tail was basically sweeping the grass next to his feet with subdued excitement. "We'll be study partners, keep this whole tutoring thing on the down-low, and there won't be any hard feelings between us here on out… how's that sound?"

Judy hummed in thought, tapping her cheek with a fluffed finger. "That depends. Can you for sure help me ace my next test? I can't waste time on a method that can't promise results." Her tone was playful, even edging on devious, and it made him chuckle.

"Ace the test? Please. How about I help get you an A in the course instead?" He smirked, albeit a bit cockily, as he assured her of the possibility. The suggestion alone made her expression brighten up and her small tuft of a tail dance enthusiastically behind her.

"I think… I like the sound of that," Judy nearly chirped, suddenly enchanted by the thought of his proposition. "Grudge-less, civil study partners, huh?" Not friends, not enemies. Just some vague in-between that would hopefully earn a fox a bunny's trust, and a bunny a high course grade, if all went according to plan.

"That would make us officially even then." He stood from the bench, now taller than the rabbit that previously stood at eye-level while he sat.

"Our final deal." Judy nodded, extending a small grey paw ahead of her as an offer to shake on the terms of their secret agreement. It was an awfully formal thing to do, an awfully Jack-Savage-thing to do, but it was the perfect gesture to demonstrated that this new relationship would be strictly professional.

"Hah, let's hope it's the last one." Nick took a hold of her offer with his free paw and gave it a firm shake. "So…" He raised an inquisitive brow as they awkwardly released paws. "Wanna put the rest of this skipped class period to good use?"


A/N:

And goodwill prevails! I really enjoyed writing positivity and words of support between them, instead of their usual back-and-forth tongue lashing. This chap is a bit of a roller coaster ride of emotional progress between the main characters, but hopefully the scales have been evened out. I'll admit it was difficult to do with the topics at hand, but I wanted them to have realistic approaches to how apologies are accepted and dealt with. A "We-aren't-exactly-friends-but-I'll-be-your-study-pupil" sort of deal seemed to be a decent way for the two to continue interacting in a non-hostile way. And who knows where that'll take them?

Thanks for the read!