Aaron has never slept so peacefully and comfortably before, some would call this the best sleep of his life. He actually had no dream that night, but he was an optimist, and he actually welcomed these dreamless nights since he thought that no dreams are better than nightmares. As Aaron was slowly waking up, he felt his blanket covering himself with a pleasurable warmth. He never thought that he could love his blanket even more, but its behaviour today just made Aaron think the world of it. His warm, comfy, orange blanket that started to stir suddenly.
Wait, since when does my blanket stir on its own? And since when is it orange?
Aaron slowly opened his eyes, and was pretty shocked of what he saw. There was Nick in the same bed, sleeping peacefully with an arm around the wolf's body and their legs folded together. He seemed like he was having a good dream if the goofy smile on his lips are anything to go by. At first Aaron wanted to move away, but this something inside told him to stay. He realized, that this thing was right again, and he actually didn't want to leave, he was enjoying this new sensation.
Well that's strange... I actually feel like I belong here... And this whole thing doesn't make me uncomfortable, more so, it makes me relaxed.
He turned to his back, arms folded behind his head an looked up at the ceiling. He then started to think about where these strange feelings could possibly come from.
I admit, yesterday, Bushy tail was a great support when I relived the events of my childhood. Could these feelings be because he was so compassionate and helpful? No, that makes absolutely no sense… Then maybe, because I know he shares the same history with the Junior Ranger Scouts, so I feel safe next to him knowing that he knows my pain? Nah, although it makes ME want him to be safe. Then maybe…..I am really I feel something towards him?
That last thought took him a bit aback, since it kind of made sense.
But I am not... I can't be, can I? I just met him yesterday, and I am not attracted to him... am I?
Aaron looked at the Vulpine lying next to him and started to take in his look. When he first saw Nick, he didn't pay much attention to his appearance. After the Police training and now actually looking at him, he has to say that he looks rather handsome in a way. Nick's lithe body hides his muscles greatly, but if someone actually pays attention to the details, they could detect some muscle and even a 6-pack hidden under his fur. It was actually not a bad sight if Aaron was honest.
Got to give it to him, he looks somewhat handsome and maybe a bit…alluring?... But that could only mean, that I'm….I'm… Ah Goddamnit.
Aaron was torn. He didn't know how to handle, or even welcome this newfound attraction. Should he do something with it or hide it in the deepest part of his mind and lock it up as his super secret fetish?
No, I saw others try doing the last one, and it did not end well….. So that could only mean thing… that after 33 years of living, I finally discover I'm gay? Eh, pretty late Aaron, but better late than never I guess… This whole situation sounds even more ridiculous than Francine doing a backflip. I mean come on, she is an elephant, how could she even jump to begin with?
That got him to smile. Now, that he finally found the answer to his strange behaviour as of yesterday he was wondering about his next step.
What could a mammal do, who, after 33 years, just realized he was 'playing for the other field', and his source of attraction was peacefully sleeping next to him, and he didn't know whether it liked him back. I don't know if I liked Nick in that way, although that would be the most logical explanation for Nick's and my behaviour. Gosh that's weird.
This whole thing just made Aaron very uncertain about himself. This new discovery did answer some of his questions, such as why does he care about his appearance that much or why he was never so enthusiastic to find a she-wolf to date, but now he has to think of what would change in his life, because that will certainly overwrite some of his decisions.
That's when he noticed that his usually happily wagging tail was not even moving. In fact, it was wrapped around Nick's lean body tightly, and was massaging his back. He looked at his appendage wide mouth agape.
Okay, now THAT is a bit too much.
He of course knew what this sign of his body meant, and was pretty freaked out now. This gesture of his body meant the following and more: Possessiveness, territory, Love. The last one was the real source of his uncertainty.
Am I really in love... But I just met him yesterday, for Fenrir's sake!
He did not know what to think of anything now. First, this something inside makes him act strangely, and then in a matter of seconds, persuades him that it was the right move. Then comes this... it was a bit too much for the poor wolf to take.
Okay... Probably, maybe it's just a crush. Let's handle it like a crush. First things first: does my crush like me back?
He started to think about ways to find out whether Nick is at least slightly attracted to him or not. Although he was a very clever wolf, cleverer than most wolves his age, romance was an unknown field for him. Now that he thinks about it, he never fell in love before, nor did he have a crush on anyone. He didn't even feel any attraction to anybody for that matter, so he had to get some kind of advice from somebody else.
My family is a no-go. If they discover I'm gay, they would disown me faster than Clawhauser could eat a donut. The Precinct is out of the picture aswell, the guys will tease and mock me or worse 'till the end of time if they discover it. Then who's left?
Then the realization hit him.
Judy! She always hangs out with him, if someone has any information and would definitely not look at me differently after knowing it, then it must be her.
With his new mission, he pried himself away from Nick. It felt surprisingly bad losing the comfort of his touch, but now wasn't the time to weep over it. He was heading out of the room when a delicious smell hit him. It smelt like fried crickets with mashed potatoes, his favourite food. His mouth started salivating and he followed the heavenly smell. He stepped into a modest kitchen, with the bunny at the stove with a frying pan in her hand. The kitchen was pretty small compared to the wolf, but to the bunny, it looked okay. It had a fridge next to the door, at the opposing wall were the countertops with a stove in the middle of it. Above the countertops were the cabinets filled with what Aaron thought to be china and glass cups. There was a dining table in the middle of the room. After looking through the kitchen, his gaze landed on the apron wearing bunny.
''What's this heavenly smell, if you don't me asking?" inquired Aaron while walking over to the dining table and sitting down.
''Good morning to you too. Well, i thought I would surprise you guys with a nice little breakfast, but since you lazy bones managed to sleep 'till noon, this breakfast will be your lunch aswell. Oh and don't worry, I've already ate breakfast AND lunch while you guys were snoring." answered Judy with an accusing but playful glare. It felt nice to be complimented by the wolf.
''Har-Har... and could you tell how did I and Nick end up in the same bed?" asked Aaron. Her reply was a giggle, and that's when he remembered: Judy was the one, who persuaded them to watch that movie on the bed, while she was sitting in a chair.
He scolded himself for underestimating the rabbit.
''You sly rabbit, you." Said Aaron with a smile.
''It's called a hustle, sweetheart." Retorted Judy with her and Nick's legendary quote that nearly every ZPD officer heard at least once. Aaron's smile just got wider, knowing that the rabbit just played him and Nick. Then another question got stuck in his head.
''By the way, why do you have Crickets stored in your flat? No offense, but it doesn't make sense to me that a prey would have predator food in her fridge, unless you went down to shop for us?" Asked Aaron with great curiosity.
''Oh, no-no, don't worry. Nick and I visit each other's flat regularly, mainly for movie nights and sleepovers, and over time we both learnt to store some food for the other for these occasions." Informed Judy.
''Huh, pretty smart." Said Aaron. After that, a comfortable silence filled the kitchen that was only broken by Judy's cooking sounds. Aaron was debating if it were a good time to begin finding out more about Nick.
''Say, Judy, ermmm, Have you noticed me and maybe Nick behaving strangely yesterday?" asked subtly Aaron. For that Judy actually turned around and met his gaze.
''Yeah, now that you mention it, you guys were pretty affectionate. More affectionate than two friends would be. Why do you ask?" answered Judy. She had a pretty good idea what this conversation will be about, and she will not be letting Aaron run away and hide it after what he told her about his past.
''Well, now you see, after waking up in Nick's arms, I had a kind of internal debate about myself, and I think I might be….you know…" trailed off Aaron nervously. Although he knew that Judy would understand and even support him, it was still pretty hard to come clean after literally realizing it yourself just minutes ago. Thankfully, Judy answered him.
''That you are gay? Yeah, had a pretty good guess yesterday. Don't worry, I won't judge, you know how I am, I like diversity and i think anyone can be anything, and i think it's actually pretty brave of you that you could accept yourself, even though it took you 3 decades, but what matters is that you did it, right?" told Judy with a warm smile. After it, she served Aaron his fried crickets and mashed potatoes. She hoped it would ease his nervousness.
Upon his first bite, he lost himself in the flavours. He will definitely ask for more later. It did wonders in calming Aaron down, with the food, and now knowing that he could openly ask question without fearing of any kind judgement.
''Thanks, it's still pretty new to me, but i know better than to deny it. But my real question would be your opinion on Nick's behaviour. I mean, i did notice that he was pretty helpful when i broke down at the Precinct and in the diner, but did he maybe have other tells?" inquired Aaron. A small blush started to form in his face knowing that he was as subtle as an atom bomb about his intentions. His fears were confirmed quickly.
''You wanna know whether Nick is gay too and if he shown any signs of attraction towards you, right?
Aaron nodded
''Well, before yesterday, I had thought he was straight as an arrow. I thought he had countless of girlfriends before and what not. I always imagined him as a 'bad boy' with a black leather jacket and posters about rock bands on his walls at home when he was a teenager, you know what I mean?" joked Judy, which was replied with a nervous snicker and a nod from the wolf.
''I started to question stuff when we were in the diner and you told us about your childhood and almost broke down, but Nick came to your rescue, and started soothing you. You have to know about Nick, that he isn't really affectionate, being a fox and what not, and even for a fox he very rarely established any kind of physical contact with other mammals, and I only saw him hugging someone once since I've known him. The fact that you could share 3 hugs with him, and 2 of them were initiated by him is really extraordinary, so feel very lucky. Then, there was the lullaby singing in the ZPD. I don't know if you could hear how good he was, while you were in your shocked state of mind, but Nick has a great voice, but he doesn't like singing. I have to bribe him with blueberries from my family's farm in order to hear his angelic voice once. Then, there was the grooming which I'm pretty sure was a subconscious action." Said Judy. Aaron was listening to every bit of info, and started to get hopeful.
''Could be a pack thing. We Canines usual lived in packs, even foxes sometimes formed one there and there, and species within the class never mattered in a pack, although everyone prefered their own, especially wolves." said Aaron. He didn't really want this to be a pack thing of Nick to be true, but he had to clear all doubts in order to plan his next move.
''Pfft, yeah, sure. You really didn't notice what your tails did every time your were near each other, did you?" mocked Judy in a sarcastical note.
Aaron thought back to all the times him and Nick were near each other. He never really paid much attention to what his tail was doing, most of the time he was fighting against breaking down or actually breaking down. After today's morning, he had a pretty good guess, but he didn't know about Nick's tail.
''No, I've never paid much attention to it, most of the time it moves on its own. Why, what did they do?" asked Aaron. He hoped that playing the stupid would get the whole truth from Judy.
''Well, let's just say that your hugs were really tight ones because your third legs helped it to be more huggy hugs!" giggled Judy in a childish tone.
After not hearing any response from Aaron she looked up at him, and saw him blushing furiously, tugging his shirt collar and looking around in the kitchen nervously, seemingly avoiding Judy's gaze. She wondered what was it that she said, that got this reaction from the wolf. Then the realization hit her and immediatelly changed to crimson red.
''Oh….OH NO! I don't mean..,I didn't….I wasn't….Ah, Sweet Cheese and Crackers I was talking about your tails! Your tails were wrapping around the other's torso every time you got close together." Tried to explain Judy while still blushing. She could not believe she just said that, she was glad that Nick wasn't near with her Carrot pen….actually, scratch that, she was glad that Nick was not near at all, or he would never let her down after hearing it.
''R-really?" mumbled Aaron. He did not expect to hear such a sentence today, or even in his life, but was glad that Judy didn't mean it literally, otherwise he would have to go to the doctors for a check-up of his reflexes, especially in his lover regions.
''Yeah, and I know that it means possessiveness. Canines only do this gesture to their significant other or if they feel something for the mammal who they wrapped their tails around whether these feelings are known to the owner of the tail or in your cases, being in total darkness. Nick told me a lot about Canines. You can't imagine how big of a lightweight he is. After 5 glasses of beer he was telling you everything for a gulp of your beer, and if you bought him one glass, he was your slave for the night. So, I now all about Canine customs, traditions, what your body tells are, so I could read you like an open book and yada yada." Said Judy with a wink and a mischievous smile.
First Aaron thought that it was actually pretty useful that she knew all about his species, so he doesn't have to teach him his ways. Then when she said ''Canine customs'', one particular bodypart of his popped in his mind, and started blushing again.
''W-what do you m-mean?" Asked nervously Aaron. The way Judy was looking at him suggested that she was aware of this part of him and more.
In the mean time Judy was having fun messing with the wolf. She didn't even tell him her executing line, but the wolf was already turning back to red. She has never seen a red wolf, but now, thanks to Aaron, she has a good guess how one would look like.
Oh well, If i started something, i finish it.
''Well, let's just say, that when he told me about a pretty interesting part of your body, I definitely did KNOT see that coming" and then she burst out laughing.
The wolf became so shocked, his fork fall out of his rigid paw and landed on his plate with a loud *clank*. Aaron sat there frozen, wide-eyed, mouth agape and he thought if he were to blush even more, he would definitely start producing visible steam. He wasn't prude, he knew some things about sex, but he has never actually done it. All canines mated for life, and society harshly punished those, who broke this rule. And hearing about his most unique body part (next to his A-class nose), he wasn't sure what he should do. Should he laugh with Judy and make a funny comment or wait for her laughter to end and then change topics?
He decided on the latter, and after Judy calmed down, he quickly came back to the original topic.
''So you think I should try something with him and hope he says yes?" asked Aaron, still a bit flustered. After hearing the wolf's nervous but nonetheless serious note, she replied honestly.
''I think you should ask him out on a date." Said Judy honestly.
''What? You think so?" asked Aaron. The idea actually did not sound as bad as it should have, but first, the fox has to say yes.
''Of course! And if he says no, you can tell me, and I will scold his foxy butt on being a coward and hiding his feelings. I have a lot of stuff I can threaten him with withdrawing or cutting off, if that's the required means to get into his thick skull." exclaimed proudly Judy.
''I don't know about that…." mumbled Aaron. Although Judy's reassurance gave him some confidence, something within him still was unsure about it. While he was having yet another internal debate, he missed the mischievous glimpse in the rabbit's eyes.
''Oh well, you know, if you don't ask him on a date, I will!" exclaimed confidently the rabbit.
Before Aaron could show his protest they heard the door open, and Nick was there with wide eyes with ruffled fur around them. He looked like he was crying.
''WHAT?!''
