Old friend.
(Judy POV)
As we get on the road, I suddenly begin to feel tired.
Is it the motion of the car? I think to myself.
I decide to close my eyes for a moment, in a futile attempt to catch up on months of sleep.
"You alright back there?" I hear Waterwood ask, snapping me back to a state of alertness.
"Where fine. Why do you ask?" I try to reply calmly, however it did seem like I was trying to hard to stay calm.
I turn my attention to the rear view mirror, just in time to catch him glance at me through it.
"You just seem tired is all." He states in a slightly more gentle tone then I'm used to hearing from him.
"Carrots, you okay?" I hear Nick ask, pulling my gaze to him.
At the moment my eyes meet his, the mask I had been wearing shatters.
"Alright, I admit. I'm a little tired." I feel the car come to a stop as Waterwood responds. "Well, take a nap. We have a ways to go."
In a tone filled with reassurance, however I'm not reassured of anything.
"I'm fine." I say, throwing my face into my paws.
I begin to rub my eyes slightly attempting to remove whatever's weighing down my eyelids.
"Hopps." I hear Waterwood say in a very gentle and nurturing tone. I'm almost stunned to hear it.
"If you're tired, it could hinder your performance. So Please, take a nap, Wilde will wake you when we get there."
I'm more than a little surprised to hear how nurturing his voice was. He must of been a father.
Did he lose them to?
I'm finding it harder to keep my focus on a single topic.
Waterwood is right, I need to be well rested and alert, so a quick nap would do me some good.
"Alright." I reluctantly reply, as I lay my head in Nicks lap, I feel him put his paw on my arm, and I shift myself to become more comfortable.
I'm not worried about what Waterwood will think, he should know by now that Nick and I are very close. Just not how close, I hope.
I can feel myself start to drift, and finally...
(Nick POV)
I feel Judy relax as her breathing shallows. I'm surprised she would risk lying her head in my lap.
I glanced to my bushey tail, lying on the opposite side from Judy.
I think for a moment; maybe I should have put it on the same side as her.
She loves to wrap my tail around her while she naps.
"So she's been having trouble sleeping?" I hear Waterwood ask, bringing my attention to him.
I feel a bit annoyed at him, and a little let myself. I have almost completely forgotten he was there, and part of me wishes that he wasn't.
"What makes you think that?" I ask in a heavy whisper.
I'm not going to admit a thing to this wolf.
"Clawhauser mentioned." Waterwood starts, his voice gleaming with confidence. "In his words; She must be doing better. To a comment I made about you two being early.
I can only extrapolate that she was having trouble sleeping."
I thought hoping that ben didn't let anything slip was a long shot.
I glance down to my sleeping bunny, my paw still on her arm, and quickly come up with a lie.
"She's just been pushing herself a little too hard." I reply, hoping he'll buy my excuse.
"Usually that would be a sufficient enough reason, however Hopps has been pushing herself her entire life.
And I find it hard to believe that after all this time she doesn't know her limits."
Waterwood replies confidently, in what seems to me, to be a almost smug tone.
This of course leading me to believe that this wolf has prepared that sentence.
Is he playing me? I ask myself.
I try to ignore him for a moment, and get my thoughts together.
However I find my mind drift to the night that Clawhauser destroyed my couch.
Judy had been manipulating me ever since she woke screaming that night.
I assume it was because she didn't want to be alone when the nightmare happened again.
I've hustled enough animals to know when I'm being manipulated.
I let her after seeing firstpaw how bad they were. I just wanted to be there for my friend.
My best friend. The friend that changed my life for the better, who I owe more than I can ever repay.
However at the time, I knew I loved her more than just a friend.
I could never tell her that, at least then, or at least not till that night.
That night I had to catch up on paperwork.
After my shift, I decided to go on a walk to think things over. I was surprised to find myself at Judy's apartment.
However deep down I knew it was time.
Before I knew it I was already standing at her door, ready to knock.
I remember just making the decision to turn and walk away, when the door swung open.
Judy was standing there dressed, and clutching a small suitcase under her arm.
We stared at each other for a moment, a moment that seemed like ages.
She yelped my name, as she tossed the suitcase to the ground.
She then leapt into the air throwing her arms around my neck, almost causing me to plummet to the ground as well.
She took no time pulling me into the apartment, asking what I was doing there.
However I replied with. "What about you, where were you going Carrots?" Gesturing to the suitcase still lying
in front of the door, where she had tossed it.
She stumbled and tripped over her words trying to find some kind of response, but finally let out a sigh, as if defeated.
She admitted that she was going to my apartment, and that she needed me.
My heart that had been racing, suddenly seemed to freeze at her words.
At the time I didn't even realize that she took my paw with hers.
We looked deep into each other's eyes, and I knew what she was going to say.
I couldn't believe that was happening.
I can remember her beautiful amethyst eyes, they were so wide, and seemed to shimmer in the light.
Her nose was twitching like crazy, as she stumbled with her words. "N-Nick, I-I think... I-I think I'm... in L-Love with you."
She tried to turn away, like she was embarrassed with herself, but I tightened my grip on her paw, refusing to let it slip from grasp.
I was able to coax her eyes back to mine. I placed my paw on her cheek, before I pressed my lips to hers as gently as I could.
I'll always remember that night, our confession to each other, and our first kiss.
The first of many.
"Nicholas?" I hear Waterwood ask, pulling me out of my head and back to reality.
His voice invoking more anger out of me than it had before.
In an instant, I run through everything that he said, both today and yesterday.
Every glance, every tone, every little detail.
He's trying to manipulate me, and I'll have none of it. So I decide to demand.
"What are you getting at, wolf?"
I see him glance at me through the mirror with a slight smirk. "Just trying to see if I can help, and in order to do that, I need to know what's going on."
I can hear legitimate concern in his voice, behind a sense of enjoyment.
I believe he's having fun with this, and whether he wants to help or not, Judy and I don't trust him.
So for now I'll just play along, however I want to see what he knows.
So I put on my old mask, before asking. "What do you think it is?"
"Well, from what I've gathered so far, It's a few things.
The first thing is; she's obviously not getting a lot of sleep, whether it was from fear, nightmares, or sheer restlessness."
I glance up to the rearview mirror once more, and see the Wolf's mixed eyes staring back at me.
"And seeing your slight reaction to the word nightmares, I assume that's it."
The wolf states confidently returning his focus to the road.
The only thing I can think is; fuck this wolf!
"The second thing is." He starts again. "I've noticed she seems to be on high alert all the time."
The Wolf peers at me through the rearview mirror again, his mix colored eyes gleaming with a sense of smugness, before continuing.
"Perhaps she is worried about letting a certain secret slip?"
I close my eyes, exhaling through my nose as I tilt my head down.
"You know." I say quietly, as I open my eyes just in time to see Judy's nose twitch.
How am I going to explain this to her? How did he find out? These, just a few of the questions racing through my head.
"Well of course I know, I'd be rather embarrassed if I didn't pick up on it immediately." He continues, the same sense of smugness and enjoyment flooding his voice.
I role my eyes before replying. "Immediately. So you've known the whole time. How?"
"Yesterday." Waterwood starts. "When you shook my paw. At the moment your eyes met hers, I felt your heart leap, and both your eyes, and hers dilated slightly."
God dammit. Is all I can think now. However I guess since my mouth isn't always honest, some other part of my face has to be.
"Why haven't you reported us yet?" I ask calmly, looking to the back of his head this time, trying to avoid his eyes.
"If you worked at the FBI I would, but you don't, so I don't." Waterwood replies, in a bit of a friendly tone, the sense of smugness nowhere to be found.
"And you expect me to believe that your not reporting us out of the kindness of your heart?"
He lets out a little huff from his nose before he replies. "Your mistrust is understandable, however not necessary. I have no interest in causing problems for the two of you."
"Now back to the stress Hopps is under." He says, pushing my attention down to Judy.
"No." I start. "If she was stressed she'd tell me." I then begin to think to myself. You'd tell me right, Carrots? What am I thinking, of course she would.
"She may not know." Waterwood says pulling my attention back to him.
"Believe me, I can understand the reason why you keep the relationship secret. It's not really looked upon fondly by other animals.
Plus it's against regulation for two officers to be partners and romantically involved."
I then begin to question why everything looks slightly green, then I notice the sound of rain pounding the roof and windows of the SUV.
I guess I was so deep in thought I didn't realize that we've arrived in the Rainforest district.
"We're going to be there soon. Do you want to let her sleep?" Waterwood asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I turn to Waterwood's reflection in the rearview mirror, just as his eyes look from me to the road.
"She'll wake up the second I mov-"
I stop talking when I feel Judy's paw gently grip my pants, and I look back down to her.
Her breathing is shallow, so she's still sleeping.
I become so focused on how to tell Judy about Waterwood knowing
about us, I haven't been paying attention to where this wolf was taking us.
So when we finally come to a stop, I am surprised to find us at a popular tourist place.
"Wow, the warehouse sure looks like a crowd of animals enjoying a view." I state sarcastically.
Waterwood turns the car off, then leans over the center console, causing him to struggle when he speaks.
"This is an excellent location to scout the warehouse." He says opening the glove compartment.
I can't see what he's grabbing, but from the sound of it, hes wrestling around in there for something specific.
"It's down by the harbor a Half a kilometer from here." He says with his tone flooded with excitement and enthusiasm.
"I'll go set up." He says slamming the glove compartment closed, and darting out of the SUV before disappearing into the crowd.
I've never seen anyone enjoy this so much.
I then look back down to Judy, before letting out a quick sigh.
"Carrots." I say under my breath.
(Judy POV)
I wake to a familiar voice. "Come on Carrots. Wake up!" I hear Nick say gently, his warm breath washing over my cheek, just before I feel the touch of his lips.
My eyes pop open as I jump into a sitting position yelping. "Nick!" I see Waterwood isn't in the car, and I start to relax.
I focus on Nick, and I recognize the look of despair on his face. "What is it Nick?"
"Well Carrots, i've got good news and bad news."
I turn in the seat to face him while crossing my arms. "What's wrong?"
"I was talking to Waterwood and... He knows about us." I throw my face into my paws.
"Oh sweet cheese and crackers Nick. What happened?" I yelp in a panicked voice, as the realization that the thing I have been fearing the most has happened.
I feel him place his paw on my shoulder, as he continues. "I didn't tell him, he knew from the moment he met us."
I feel like I want to punch that stupid Wolf. "He's going to report us isn't he?" I ask, the panic in my voice becoming more apparent.
The fear of Nick not being my partner anymore is almost unbearable.
"Oh but that's the good news, he's not." Nick's states reassuringly. I look up into his eyes, as he takes my paws in his.
His paws seem to wash away my fear the moment they touch mine.
"That's good at least." I say gently, with fear beginning to creep back into my voice ever so slowly.
This fear however, I can control. So I push it down, and begin to ask Nick. "How did he know?"
"Yesterday." Nick starts. "When we were shaking paws, I glance that you, and our pupils dilated." I start to look more intensely at his eyes, but I can't tell if there dilated.
I'm still looking into his eyes when a knock at the window behind me causes me to jump into Nick's arms.
"Hurry up." I hear a muffled voice say.
"Give us a minute." Nick responds in a very annoyed tone. I turn my head just in time to see Waterwood walk off.
I turn back to Nick, as I realize my arms are around his neck, and I'm completely in his lap. I carefully get off of him, as Nick starts.
"Carrots, there's more." I'm now standing up on the seat beside him. "You've been getting tired a lot lately." He continues.
"I know, I'm just exhausted from the nightmares."
"Carrots." Nick states in a tone similar to the one he had this morning, calm and soothing.
"You're always on alert, like you're afraid every animal we meet is going to report us to Bogo."
I feel a bit annoyed at Nick's over exaggeration, however I see his point, and where he's going with this.
The look in his eyes tells me he's worried. I take my paws out of his and put them on his cheeks. I lean in and give him a peck on the lips.
"I'll be fine Nick." I state with a voice full of energy. "Now come on we have work to do."
I then go to open the door, however I find myself frozen. I can feel one of my primitive urges swelling up from inside.
This can't be happening, not now! However it is continuing to grow, and with it the desire to turn around and embrace Nick more intensely.
A desire I reluctantly given to. In a blur I zip around grabbing either side of Nick's coat and pull him to me.
I force my lips to his, and after a moment I can feel our tongues meet. I enjoy every moment of this, but I need to pull myself away now.
I finally wrestle myself away, to find Nick stunned at what just happened, his tongue still sticking from his mouth.
I let out a little giggle at Nick's blep, before apologizing. "Sorry Nick, I-"
Nick puts his index finger on my lips, before saying. "I know Carrots." And stepping past me opening the door.
I feel my cheeks and ears begin to burn, at the realization that Nick knows where that came from.
I guess he would have to, in the past few months we were rarely apart. I mean, when would I have had the time.
We hop out and make her way through the crowd.
It isn't difficult to spot a snowy white wolf wearing a high-end suit in this crowd.
Everyone is a wash of colors. Each animal with its own unique fur color and patterns, plus their wildly different clothing
It's pretty easy to spot the only one that's white and gray.
As we get closer I can see that he's looking through a spotter scope in the direction of the harbor.
We walk up to him and his ear swivels in our direction.
"Sorry for the impatience, we've got some commotion down there." He says as he slides a small black duffel bag towards us with his hind paw.
I lean down and pull out two spotter scopes. I stand back up, and give one to Nick.
"Oh shit." Waterwood says under his breath.
"What is it?" Nick and I ask, as we put the scopes up to our eyes and peer through them in the direction Waterwood is looking.
It takes me a second to zero it in, but when I do the warehouse comes into focus.
It's newer than the one we visited yesterday, so it's not as overgrown, and this ones near the water.
I scanned the perimeter of the warehouse, and see a group of animals standing in the middle of a yard. There are two timberwolves, three tigers, a rhino and an arctic wolf.
"The arctic wolf" Waterwood says pushing my attention to the only white animal down there.
"His name is Michael Coldten. He's someone I really hope isn't tied up in this." I zoom in to get a better look at the White Wolf.
"He doesn't seem too dangerous." I say watching the wolf tilt his head, giving off a large sense of confidence.
"Appearances can be deceiving. Look at the rhino." Waterwood says.
I move the scope slightly to get a better look at the rhino. He looks terrified, at the Wolf that is slightly smaller in stature than the other wolves standing by his side.
I slowly zoom out to get a better look at the entire group. One of the Timberwolves steps forward, and furiously points his finger at the Arctic Wolf.
To which the white wolf just smiles in response, and starts talking. I can't make out what he's saying, but he's calm.
He takes a step towards the timberwolf, who appears to step back in fear, swooping his ears back and says something. Michael then looks up to the rhino, and only says a few words.
The rhino takes a few steps back as Michael turns his attention back to the timberwolf.
Michael then darts in front of him grabbing his collar with both paws, and lifts him off the ground, as he begins to speak again.
"Holy crap." I hear Nick say.
"Yeah, now you see my concern." Waterwood responds. "He doesn't look like it but, he'd be able to take down that rhino no problem."
Michael drops the Wolf to the ground, and he hastily crawls backwards. He flips over and pushes himself to his hind Paw, before turning to face Michael once more.
The other animals walk away heading towards the cars at the far right end of the warehouse. Michael waves playfully and says something else to the timberwolf.
Michael then turns and walks in the opposite direction away from the other animals, and gose behind some crates
The timberwolf then turns and runs to the other animals.
"They're scared of him." I say with a obviously worried tone.
"With good reason. Just standing in front of him is terrifying." I pull the scope away from my eye and look up at Waterwood, who is now just staring off into the distance.
I'm surprised to see him scared. He then turns around, and start scanning the crowd.
"What are you looking for?" I ask pulling his attention to me.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He says almost snapping, as he starts walking in the direction of the crowd, which he disappears into.
"He's terrified of that wolf." I hear Nick say from behind me. I turn to him, and meet his eyes with mine.
The remnants of that primitive urge I had a few moments ago, is turning my thoughts to my relationship with Nick.
"Yeah, that's got me worried too." I reply, trying to put my focus back on my duties.
I turn my gaze from Nick to the other animals here at the Lookout, however at seeing that most of them are couples, I quickly regret this course of action.
I turn back to Nick, and step around him to lean on the railing meant for animals of mine and Nick's height.
"What's wrong Carrots?" Nick says as he leans on the railing next to me.
"It's beautiful." I respond calmly.
Nick turns his head forward to look out at the massive trees hanging over the buildings at their base, and the houses built inside of them.
And the way the bay opens the jungle to reveal the hills and mountains in the far distance.
"We've never been on a real date." I say to Nick quietly, as I trace the winding hills with my eyes. "I want to hold your paw without worrying about who's looking."
I can feel my eyes start to water as I continue. "I want to wrap my arms around you, and kiss you without worrying whose glaring at us." I feel Nick put his paw on my back.
"Carrots." He starts. "Don't worry about what they think. You have me, isn't that all that matters?"
I turn my head to him, as he wipes my cheek with his thumb. "My beautiful bunny."
I look deep into his eyes before I respond. "I'm sorry, I'm just scared."
"I'm scared too." Nick says, as he takes his paw off of my back, and sits it in front of me, with his palm up.
"But when I look at you." He continues. "I know there's nothing to be afraid of."
I exhale through my nose, and put my Paw in his.
And suddenly, it is as if we are the only two animals there. only to be broken by. "Sorry for stepping away, I had to report-... Oh, am I interrupting something."
The voices of the crowd returns as we turn around.
Agent Waterwood is standing a few meters from us holding his phone in his right paw, and a cardboard cup tray in the other, with three paper cups in it.
Waterwood puts his phone in his side pocket, as he steps towards us offering out the cups in the tray.
"Yeah just a bit." Nick responds with a bit of hostility in his voice.
"It's only 10:30" Waterwood starts. "And there's not much else to do till 12."
We take two of the cups from the tray, and waterwood walks over to a bench to sit.
He crosses his legs, as he takes the last cup out of the tray. He then drops the tray in the trash next to the bench, as he gets comfortable, and begins to stare out at the view.
"We need to come up with a plan." He says, as we walk over and hop up onto the bench.
"It looks like they don't have a lot of security during the day." Waterwood continues. "So it would be best to obtain a warrant as soon as possible, so we can storm the place during the day."
Waterwood goes to take a sip from his cup, but pauses with it to his lips, and I can see his paw begin to tremble.
"You won't need a warrant, if you're let in." We hear a calm, and almost seductive voice say coming from behind us.
Suddenly a wave of fear washes over me like a tsunami, and I see the fur on the back of Nick's neck stand up.|
Waterwood's eyes widen as another arctic wolf steps from around the bench, and stops in front of us. "Hello again Volin. I haven't seen you since you tried to shoot me last year."
Waterwood takes the cup from his mouth, and looks up to meet the other wolves gaze. Whom I recognize from his high-end suit. I saw it only a moment ago through the scope.
"Michael." Waterwood states. I see Nick tense up, as the weight of his breath gets heavier with every exhale.
"Let in?" Waterwood tries to ask calmly, but the fear in his voice is very apparent.
"I know you saw the little scuffle I had with those fine gentlemammals. I was demanding that they remove their filth for my warehouse."
I'm staring into that wolf's bright toxic lime green eyes, as I realize my paw is on my gun, and there's a scratching at the back of my mind.
Waterwood is right, I don't know what it is about this wolf, but being in front of him is terrifying.
I can see that Nick is having a hard time staying still, and I see that his Paw is also on his gun.
The muscles that pull his lips up are twitching, looking as if he is struggling to hold back a growl.
I've never seen Nick like this, and I don't know why I'm so terrified.
I've never felt fear like this before.
I then decide to push against the scratching sensation at the back of my mind, before demanding.
"What do you want Michael!?" I ask it a strong demanding tone, pushing the fear out of my body.
"Impressive." I hear Michael say.
"I'll make it simple. I want the weapons gone, and I don't care who takes them." He then holds out his right paw, to reveal keys pinched in his fingers, as well as a strange bracelet on his arm.
It looks to be rather old, with a long crystal running up the inside of his arm. Waterwood then holds open his paw, and Michael drops the keys into his palm.
"This is the last time I rent out one of my warehouses without further inquiry." Michael says smugly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got places to be, and animals to yell at."
He begins to turn himself but pauses. "Oh, and one more thing. Their motto is; the less attention the better. So there are no guards."
He walks back around the bench, and disappears into the crowd. Nick relaxes, and begins to pant. Something I've only seen twice.
I feel a weight lift, and I start to relax as well, as I begin to ask. "So are we going to the warehouse now?" Nick quickly hops off the bench, and disappears into the crowd without saying a word.
Waterwood who is examining the key, turns his attention to me to respond. "Yeah, we don't need a warrant if we have a key, and explicit information that there are illegal goods in the premises."
We push our way through the crowd, and get back to the SUV, where Nick is waiting for us. Nick and I climb into the back, and sit next to each other again.
Waterwood pulls himself into the driver seat, and starts the SUV. We then drive away from the lookout, heading to the warehouse.
End part #6