Chapter Five: Things are Going to Change
As Nick and Judy were walking down the road towards the train station, Judy decided to bring up the awkwardness of their breakfast five minutes prior, "What was with all those animals staring at us? Did we do something wrong?"
"I don't think we did, but why should we worry over something we can't change?" Nick replied as they came up to a crosswalk where he and Judy had to wait.
Judy turned to her side and looked at up Nick before she said, "What did Claire mean they aren't used to what we are?"
The stop lights changed and so did the paw on the crosswalk sign, now it showed a canine like a figure walking meaning they could cross.
As they were, Nick asked, "Well, I've never been in there with someone else, and you're a bunny, and I'm a fox. Just because we are cops and saved the city doesn't mean the public eye is going to treat two animals that aren't normally together as ... well, normal."
"Just imagine if they knew we were mates?" Judy joked as they came up to the stairs that led to the platform where dozens of animals awaited the arrival of the next train.
Nick chuckled to her joke, but quickly came to the thought he feared, he stopped in his tracks and asked, "What if they do?"
Judy stopped a few feet ahead of him before she turned around and replied, "That's not possible, we haven't told anyone."
"Yes, but ... it makes sense as to why they were staring," Nick said with fear that what he thought was true.
Judy looked away from Nick and into the train station before she looked down then back up at Nick while she said, "No, we've been careful, too cautious I might add, there, there is no way what you're thinking is true."
Nick moved closer to Judy grabbing her shoulders as he said with disbelief that Judy was right, "B-But what if it is? I-I mean what if ... oh no i-it can't be ..."
"What?" Judy questioned suddenly confused by Nick's sporadic talk.
"The smell!" He yelled looking Judy right into her eyes with his eyes that were overwhelmed with shocked.
"The what!" Judy asked now even more perplexed by Nick's behavior. "N-Nick what are you doing?" She added while Nick bent over and began to smell her neck.
He backed away and come to the realization as to why they were getting strange looks, "Judy ... we smell."
"W-What? L-Like what?" She asked looking up into Nick's eyes that were filled with a feeling of stupidity.
"Like us! We smell like us," He replied quieting himself after he yelled. Nick bent down and said worried their relationship was going to have no choice put to be public, "Judy we are musty, I-I can't believe I didn't notice it the-the scent is there I-I can't even tell unless I get up close."
"Nick ... what, what you're saying is we can't hide?" Judy asked fearing the same as Nick.
Nick bent back down and said slowly, "Y-Yeah ... everyone we pass will know what we are."
Judy backed away from Nick, and she said her thoughts as they came to mind, "I-I'm not ready for that ... Nick predator-prey relationships are hated by everyone. We ... we could lose our jobs."
Nick moved closer to Judy, and he placed his paws on her shoulders and said trying to reassure her, "Judy ... Carrots everything is going to be okay, we won't lose our jobs."
"Why not!" She yelled at him again moving away from him.
Just as Nick was about to talk the train started to pull in, and all the animals flowed in and out of the train. Judy looked at the train then back Nick.
"I'm not getting on that train," She said with a calmer voice.
"I didn't expect you too now that we know," Nick replied again moving towards Judy. "Let's just walk we might be few minutes late, but that's it," he added extending his paw out to Judy.
Judy wanted do take hold of his paw, but she was already in a frenzy knowing now that She and Nick were mates and they mated there was a smell that told everyone around them that they were; she couldn't believe she had never heard of it. Jud just walked passed Nick, so he dropped his arm and followed her our of the train station.
"Carrots, Judy," Nick said as he caught up to her. "Don't be afraid," He said stopping her by standing in front of her. He bent down and added, "There is no reason to be scared.
"why?" She asked her voice becoming brittle.
Nick placed his paws on Judy's shoulders and said with a subtle smile, "Because all my life I've been living afraid, terrified of what the world saw me as, but when you were able to be my friend that fear became nothing but a thought." Nick looked down then back up as he said lacking a smile, "When you said there was something genitally wrong with Preds back in the missing mammal case I was crushed, but when you came back I knew I was wrong to run away from you to scare you. Judy, I was afraid of losing what we had, and in that fear, I almost lost it." His smile had returned before he said, "If we let our fear of what animals think of us control our relationship then we will lose it ..."
"Nick I- ...," Judy said before he pulled Judy into a kiss causing every animal walking down the street who say them gasp in shock at the what their eyes bestowed upon them.
Nick subtly pulled away from Judy's lips a string of saliva falling connecting their lips before it fell away onto Nick's chest.
He smiled and said slowly and with pure sincerity, "I love you ... I won't let anything destroy us, no one's opinion will tear us apart, no once's beliefs will take you away from me, I won't let my fear take me away from you, I am yours."
Judy stood there in shock at what Nick was saying, she had never heard such things come from his lips. He always hid how he felt even from her sometimes only ever revealing such things in small doses, but today something had changed everything had changed.
"Nick, everyone is watching," She said as she looked at Nick then the animals around them and then back at Nick.
"Let them," He replied stilling smiling at her before he hugged her.
"Nick ... Nick!" Judy yelled pushing away from Nick. "We can't stay here," She added before she grabbed his paw and pulled him in her direction.
The two lovers rushed to the ZPD it taking nearly twenty minutes longer than the train would have. Nick opened the door, and he let Judy in first before he followed her in.
They were walking by Clawhauser's desk when he sniffed them noticing something off, it took him only a few seconds to realize what it was before he screamed out, "Oh m' goodness!"
"Ben I swear to god!" Nick yelled out pointing at the fat cheetah.
"You two! ...," He said before stopping himself. "You two are a thing You're mates," He whispered still overwhelmed with joy and excitement.
"Ben, please don't go telling anyone, we want to tell the chief ourselves before he finds out on the morning news. there was bound to be someone who took a picture of us ... well ... kissing ...," Judy admitted practically begging him not to tell anyone.
Ben squealed trying tom hold back his excitement before he said, "I-I ... I'll try not to say anything."
"No! Clawhauser you won't tell anyone, you won't try to not say anything you will not say anything, understood," Nick demanded with an order in his eyes while he stared down the cheetah despite being so below his eye line.
"Y-Yes I-I won't say anything," Ben replied knowing that he better keep his mouth shut for his own sake.
Nick started to walk away from the desk, and he said to Judy suddenly cheerful and not so order like, "Come on let's go say hi to our wonderful chief of police!"
Judy followed him glancing back at clawhauser seeing him immediately pull out his phone probably to check the online news to see if there were photos of the two kissing out or not.
Nick and Judy walked up the stairs leading to the main hall of the second floor of the precinct, they walked down it until they came to a large door that said chief Bogo on the clouded glass in black ink.
"Here we go are you ready?" Nick asked looking down at Judy who clearly wasn't ready for anything her ears all the way down as she looked down at the floor. "Come on Carrots we can do this," He added placing his paw on her shoulder causing her to look up at him.
Nick knocked on the door and awaited the loud, "Come in!" From the chief.
Once he did Nick opened the door and said as he and Judy walked in, "Uh ... Sup Chief."
"You too ... Are late!" the large buffalo yelled as he turned around from the bookshelf behind his desk. "A half an hour is a lot even for you Wilde!" He screamed pointing at Nick looking down upon him Nick still keeping his smile. "And Hopps you're never late! Do I have to-," He added stopping himself midsentence.
"There is something we need to discuss with you Sir," Nick said calmly lacking any sort of humor not ready to make a joke or find a way to avoid the conversation they needed to have.
"Yes, there is ... sit," He demanded, pointing to the large chair that he and Judy would have to share.
All three of them took their seats, Nick and Judy, sitting on the same while the chief sat on his behind the desk.
Nick straightened himself and said point blank as calmly and collectedly as he could, "Sir, me and Judy have been ... we have been seeing each other in a, uh ... in an intimate manner for some time now and now that we have gotten to a certain level with ur relationship we felt it was time to tell you."
"You didn't have a choice, I can smell the musk and intertwined scent of you two from the other end of the room. everyone you go passed can smell it, I guess that explains why you're so late." He replied not angry which surprised them both.
"You're ... you're not mad?" Judy asked.
Bogo sighed and said, "No and yes. I'm angry that two of my best officers have been hiding your intimate relationship from me, I'm upset that the only reason you're telling me now is that you have no choice seeing as the whole world is going to know the moment you walk by someone with connections. I'm not mad, however, that you are telling me, I'm glad actually, I'm not mad that you two are a pred/prey couple. Quite frankly I don't care whether or not someone wants to be with a predator or prey, and I'm happy you're both happy, but now we have to deal with all this."
"W-What do you mean?" Nick asked, worried of what he meant.
Bogo stood up and said sarcastically, "Well since you never read the book that basically explains all the rules you need to follow I'll have to explain this to you. He walked up to his bookshelf and pulled out the ZPD lawbook and placed it on the desk before he sat back down and said, "It isn't stated that you can't be in a relationship with or partner. However, it is stated and ruled that there are boundaries set in place and that there are precautions taken to avoid any sort of uh ... problem."
"We don't care what the public thinks of us," Judy spoke up trying to prove to Bogo that she was serious.
"That's not what I mean," He replied. "I meant in the workplace. Alright, now you two better listen up because there are a lot of things we need to go over and you better follow all of this down to the T or one of you could get transferred or worse."
Sorry it took so long to get this out, I've been really sick for the past week and a half, and I've missed a week a school because of that, so I have been catching up on my school work. I promise to bring you more as soon as I can.
anyway I hope you enjoyed, please leave me a review of what you think or a review telling me about a spelling mistake or something worse that my eyes missed.
until next time