Dawn was preluded by first snow. It had steadily covered the city during the night, drinking in colour and sound alike. Nick stepped into the inch of cold with a soft smile. He would never get tired of that fresh crunch under his pads, that newfound muffled silence of a crisp world. It was still dark out. He took in the changed surroundings, breathing deeply. The air was rich with promise of more snow. On mornings like this, the air seemed more clean somehow.
He set out with a cool nose and a clear mind. Up ahead, first light kissed the city skyline.
He waited in the dim lit hallway, slouching against the wall against her door. Fresh snow was melting on his shoulders, darkening his uniform in small blots. He wouldn't have to wait long. His bunny had her morning routine down to a science. He stood up straight as the locks began to turn.
"Morning. Tea?"
She froze in the doorway, momentarily startled. He held out the offered cup, silently counting the heartbeats until she took it. She sniffed it gingerly, studying him while taking a small sip.
"Thanks."
He simply nodded, waiting for whatever was to come. No running, that was the promise he had made to himself. He nervously took a sip from his own coffee. No running, and no lying. She deserved that much. He tried not to cringe as she started to speak.
"Ready to make the world a better place?"
He blinked, startled. Not part of any scenarios he had envisioned.
"I..." He smiled hesitantly. "Sure am, partner."
She grinned, her usual enthusiastic self, and locked the door. "Good."
They walked in silence through a white world, her sipping hot tea, him stealing the occasional glance. She seemed utterly relaxed, regarding the reformed city with a soft smile on her face. Silence wasn't uncommon between them. Under usual circumstances, it was even comforting. Right now, it was positively stifling. He gave a nervous cough.
"So, about Saturday..."
"Don't."
He stopped walking, his ears cocked in puzzlement.
"Don't what?"
She kept going without looking back. "Don't apologize."
He shut his mouth with an audible click. This was not going as planned. He regarded her as the distance between them grew. Were they… ignoring this? That wasn't her style at all. He started to follow, subtly catching her scent on the morning breeze. Rabbit at ease. More snow coming in. A hint of mint tea mingled with determination.
She's up to something.
She looked over her shoulder without breaking stride. "You coming or what?"
The day passed uneventful enough. They drew patrol duty, and decided to leave the car, trudging through the winter city on slowly numbing paws. Nick cited a few shop owners who had neglected to shovel their part of the sidewalk, ignoring their grumbles as he made them start on it before they moved on. Judy was not amused when she had to write a familiar rat another ticket. It took them a while to find his car under the growing layer of snow, and ended up impounding it.
Lunch brought on another attempt at an apology, only to be shot down once more. He didn't try again. She lunged straight into all the usual kinds of conversation, and he did his best to keep up. He even managed to throw in some banter, eventually. Their server was a pretty vixen, about his age. She had these tiny tufts on the tips of her ears, with a cream pale shine to her pelt that betrayed an arctic heritage. He remembered flirting with her once, in what seemed like another lifetime. She was giving Nick interested glances whenever she came over to their table. Nick ignored it. So did Judy.
Afternoon found them filing paperwork, warm inside their shared office. Nick looked over at Judy's desk a couple of times, but she never even met his eyes, completely focused on her paperwork. He fidgeted in his chair. It wasn't unusual behaviour per se, but that was just it. After Saturday, wasn't she supposed to be at least a little bit uncomfortable? Everything today had been so utterly... normal.
He stared gloomily at his monitor. He'd walk her home after work. Insist on apologising. Move on from there. If she refused to listen, well, that hallway didn't look too uncomfortable, did it?
After another half hour or so, his distracted mind finally finished up the last of his citations. He flexed his shoulders with a groan and logged off, turning to put the last files away. He started when he spotted Judy looking at him over her already cleared desk.
"Took you long enough." She teased.
He shrugged. "Bit slow today. You didn't have to wait."
She smiled cheerfully. "Actually, I did. I kinda need your help with a case." She had taken out the carrot pen, he noticed, tapping it thoughtfully on a notepad. "Bit of a side project, really. But I appear to be stuck."
His eyes were following the steady taps of the pen on paper, suddenly wary.
"What kind of case?"
"Off the books." Tap. Tap. "Personal."
Warier and warier. Why was she smiling?
"Since when do you work on personal stuff at work?"
"You done for today?"
"Yes?"
"Then we're off the clock, right?"
He swivelled his ears in puzzlement. He had no idea where she was going with this, but his con sense was tingling like mad.
She seemed to accept his silence as cooperation. "So the thing is, it's kind of an open and shut kind of deal, I mean I've got the guy dead to rights... I got the scene, I got the eye witness..." She looked up from her notepad with a pensive frown. "Thing is, I'm missing motive."
He put the last file away and closed his laptop. "Well, if you have him dead to rights, why not bring him in for-" Comprehension dawned. Oh.
Her smile grew to a sickly sweet grin. Oh no.
"You want to finish that sentence for me, partner?"
He shook his head mutely. She slid out of the chair with fluid grace, padding over to his desk with slow deliberation. His eyes flickered to the door for just a moment. It was ridiculous, it really was. She was a rabbit, and yet his hind brain was nipping at him to run.
She stopped in front of his desk, flipping the notepad to a new page, standing to attention. "Nicholas P. Wilde, you are under arrest."
"For what?" He scoffed, an uneasy feeling coiled around his stomach. Hurting your feelings?
"Fellow Bunny Evasion."
That damn grin of hers. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hit her or kiss her.
He straightened up, crossing his arms defensively. "Last I checked, that's not illegal."
She was undeterred. "True, but it does seem way out of character, so how about you answer just a few of my questions, and we'll go from there." She held the pen up to the paper, as if she was honestly expecting his cooperation.
His muzzle curled up, unamused. "This isn't an interrogation."
"Yes it is."
He was looking at her as if seeing her for the first time. "This is just a game to you, isn't it?"
She met the ice in his glare unwavering. "You tell me."
The silence stretched out between them. Outside, the snow had started to fall in earnest, blocking out the view.
Nick sighed, closing his eyes for a second to collect himself, before fixing her with a stern look. "Fine. Ask your questions. But!" He put one paw up, halting her triumphant expression. "Here's the deal." He kept his paw up, rapidly tapping three digits. "Three questions." He extended one digit. "One for one."
"Deal." She hadn't even hesitated.
He sat back with a grim smile. "Ladies first."
"Why aren't you taking Chill Pills?"
He winced as if she'd slapped him. Clever bunny. Straight to the core.
"Can't. They stopped working years ago."
Confusion flickered. "Wait. They stop working?"
He shrugged almost carelessly. "Happens to all of us eventually. Your body builds up immunity after a decade or so." He took a perverse satisfaction in the way her eyes darted to her desk in momentary panic. He knew all about the little bottle in the bottom drawer, all topped up and ready for the end of winter. He met her eyes with a sly grin as they darted back. "Best enjoy your peace and quiet while it lasts, Fluff. You'll outgrow them eventually."
She looked positively horrified.
"So!" He clapped his paws together. "My turn." His ears dipped halfway in, some of his confidence returning. Maybe he could tip it, get her on the defense.
He leaned over his desk, glowering down at her, his voice low and clipped. "I asked you to go. Took me three times. Why didn't you listen?"
She could not look less impressed. "Because I was worried about my best friend, who has been pushing me away since the first leaves started to fall, and I was hoping to finally get some answers on that." He frowned, but she raised her paw as he opened his mouth. "Ah-ah, my turn again."
She tapped the carrot pen on her notepad, clearly processing. "So you're saying you've been off the pill. Decade or so since… what is it for foxes, sixteen? So you've been off it for years." Was that admiration he noted there? "Yet that pretty vixen in the coffee shop wasn't interesting to you. Didn't even raise your heartbeat. Or was she too far off for it to have effect?" She hurriedly raised a paw. "No wait, that isn't my question. Our waitress at lunch was more than close enough, clearly interested too. Still single, and I know you like her, and you didn't even look at her."
His mouth fell open slightly, and he had to work to close it again. She picked the place for lunch, didn't she? She set him up! She was leaning over the desk now, with that special iron look she usually reserved for those unlucky souls on the other side of her interrogation table.
"You attracted to rabbits, Nick?"
He had to swallow to get his dry tongue to work again. Don't lie. "Not normally."
The iron betrayed nothing. "I see." She suddenly leaned back, giving him some space to breathe. "Your turn."
"Are you?" He bit back. It was stupid and petty, a waste of a perfectly good question. He blamed the anger in the pit of his stomach, rising to the bait of this stupid game.
She shrugged carelessly. "Depends on the rabbit."
He scoffed. Stupid questions deserved stupid answers, he supposed.
"Last one, Hopps." He leaned back in his chair which rolled back slightly, closing his eyes in mock boredom. "Better make it a good one."
A soft thrum that he felt more than heard told him she had hopped onto his desk. He tensed as her scent filled his head. She smelled of determination and snow, of everything Judy, and she was too close. He opened his mouth slightly to avoid breathing through his nose. He carefully opened his eyes, and pressed himself into his chair at the closeness of her. She was sitting on his desk, studying his face. He could feel one of her feet brushing his leg.
"Get this over with so I can go home, Carrots." It was supposed to sound annoyed. He knew he wasn't fooling anyone.
"Is this…" His ears picked up the waver in her certainty. He dared a shallow breath to taste her scent. What was that new hint? Embarrassment?
She re-found her determination. "This… attraction. Is it just a seasonal thing?"
He let out an oddly choked chuckle. "No. Sorry Carrots. You're not that lucky."
He was expecting her to panic. Punch him, maybe. Instead, she frowned, and yanked his tie with sudden force.
"Nicholas P. Wilde." She was inches away, her voice a low and angry whisper. "Did I not explicitly forbid you to apologize?"
