~20 minutes before
Nick has never felt this good in his whole life. He was currently inside his own den, deep within a forest. His forest. He was naked as a natural fox would be and he was curled up into a big orange fluffy ball of peaceful rest.
Suddenly he heard a high-pitched howl. It came from the outside and seemed pretty close to his den. He didn't know what, but something in him wanted, no, insisted him to check out the source of the howl.
He quickly walked outside and looked around. There was nothing and nobody just him, his den and a lot of trees that surrounded his den. He was about to return, when he heard a loud creak from behind. He looked up and saw a tree falling towards him with rapid speed. He let out a panicked yelp, and closed his eyes waiting for his fate to come.
Suddenly a big, mix of grey and black furry body pushed him away, therefore saving him from guaranteed death. He yelped in surprise and landed on his back with a loud thud. After the tree has fallen to the ground, the dust cloud it created disappeared and his backache eased a bit he opened his eyes, and found himself without a single wound or injury. Upon realizing that he was in fact still alive and kicking, joy fulfilled him quickly. He wanted to meet his saviour, thank it with all his heart and show it his gratitude for saving his life.
However, when he glanced at the corpse of a tree, once the symbol of life, and almost the cause of his death, he spotted something black and grey sticking out from under it. It was the same mammal, who saved his life, and now it was lying on the ground motionless and presumably stuck under the tree. He was a timber wolf, and only half of his body was visible, the other half disappeared under the dead tree.
Dread and sorrow quickly overcame his heart, and sprinted to the unconscious wolf. He was oddly familiar to him, but he had no idea when had he met this wolf. He sniffed his body. His scent was a mix of natural wolf musk, sweet honey and velvety moisture. It was intoxicating and he took a big sniff before putting his head to his chest to check his heart.
It was still beating! He was still alive!
With his newfound determination and concentration, he mustered all the strength his fox body could produce and moved the tree away, thus freeing the wolf. The wolf's lover body was filled with scars and bruises. Nick wasted no time and did the only thing he could think of: started to lick his wounds clean from the blood droplets and the dirt. After he was done cleaning the wolf's wounds, he nuzzled in his chest. His scent was still there. It was soothing and intoxicating. He curled up beside the wolf's chest and with pleading whines he stroke his muzzle along his chest pleadingly.
It seemed to work, because the wolf started to stir. He let out several painful whines and whimpers. Nick became so happy seeing that his saviour was still okay and started to lick his face showing his happiness. The wolf opened his eyes and when he saw the fox, his tail started wagging, and a smile spread through his face now knowing that the fox survived and was indeed okay. He nuzzled the fox back showing his gratitude for helping him and tried to get up. He seemed to underestimate his wounds, since when he put pressure on his legs, he started to tremble and trip. He was close to face planting the ground, but Nick quickly came to his rescue and supported his weight. The fox upon seeing his warm smile when he glanced at him, thought his heart would explode of joy and love. This wolf saved him and he will do everything in his power to help him recover.
Nick decided that he will take the injured wolf to his den. He started to carry the wolf towards it, hoping the wolf would accept being taken care of in the fox's den. The wolf saw where they headed and instead of nervousness and hesitation, he gave an encouraging smile and started to slowly limp towards the opening of the den. Throughout the whole journey the wolf was constantly stealing licks and nuzzles, and the fox couldn't feel any happier if the goofy and dreamy smile on his face was anything to go by.
Upon entering and making sure the wolf was comfortable, he quickly rushed over and dragged a corpse of a brown rabbit towards the wolf. The wolf's heart melted upon seeing the fox offer his prey to him. Before he bit into this food he looked at the fox, who retreated to watch the wolf eat. The wolf whined pleadingly, urging the fox to join him. Nick hesitated first, but he was not about to question his hero's requests so he joined in the feast.
After finishing their meal, both the wolf and the fox became very tired. They curled up together and started nuzzling and nipping each other to show the other their gratitude and love. Soon both of them were dozing off. Nick knew he found his hero, his life-mate, the mammal he wants to live his life with regardless of it being a male. This was his last thought when he fell asleep.
Nick was woken up by the sound of a door opening and the salivating smell of Judy's cooking. But there was one smell that he would never forget and it was still present. It was the same smell he became so fond of in his dream: Sweet honey, Velvety moisture and male wolf musk. Still being half-asleep, he got totally lost in the scent. He wanted to smell this every day as much as he could. He wanted that wolf back. He saved his life, and he was not finished helping him heal.
Nick opened his eyes, and searched for the wolf. He was not here!
Where is he?! Where am I?!
He looked around and recognized Judy's room. He has been here before for sleepovers or when his house was under disinsection. In every other scenario, he would use this chance and search around for stuff in her room, that he could tease her with later, but now it was not the case. He was now desperate to have the comfort of the wolf who saved his life from that tree. He wanted it back more than anything now. Sadness came over him and a tear rolled down his cheek. He then curled up in the bed sobbing. The scent was stronger next to him but the source was missing. He now knew that it was all a dream and started to cry that his hero is gone. Forever.
Why?! Why did I have to wake up?
Tears were flowing down his face. His confident, sly and smug mask that annoyed everyone and hid his feelings perfectly was now completely gone. He felt like a young pup again. He wanted that sweet wolf back.
Wait, the scent is still here outside the dream. Maybe he is nearby?
He got out of the bed and exited the room while still sobbing. His shirt was damp and his fur was disheveled. When he got to the corridor he heard voices coming from the kitchen.
''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." Said Judy from the kitchen. That got a small smile on his face knowing that it was in fact true, his other friends always questioned him about the origin of prey food in his fridge.
He was about to reach for the kitchen door handle when he heard an other voice.
''Huh, pretty smart." said the voice.
Who is it? It sounds pretty familiar, but i can't remember it.
After some silence the voice spoke again.
''Say, Judy, ermmm, Have you noticed me and maybe Nick behaving strangely yesterday?" asked the voice.
Then it dawned on him. It was Wolford. Aaron Wolford, their colleague from the Precinct. He then remembered what happened yesterday: Wolfie's breakdown, telling him about those teens Judy and Nick arrested, hearing Wolford's childhood stories, which even now caused his hackles to rise in anger. Coming to Judy's apartment, started that boring rom-com. At remembering that he was in the very same bed as Wolfie and he even managed to fell asleep next to him he started to blush.
Shaking off some very strange and inappropriate pictures that started to come into his mind more and more frequently nowadays, he refocused on the conversation.
''Yeah, you guys were pretty affectionate. More affectionate than two friends would be. Why do you ask?" said Judy.
Affectionate? Oh, yeah, those. Why did I hug him that much to begin with? I… I don't remember why. I just kind of did. I will have to pay more attention to myself when next time I have an other urge to cuddle with somebody.
''Well, now you see, after i woke up in Nick's arms, I had a kind of internal debate about myself, and I think I might be….you know…" said Aaron nervously. That got Nick's attention.
''I woke up in Nick's arms" What's that supposed to mean? Did I really just cuddle with him while asleep? OH for the love of….Gaaah Judy will never let me down. And what does he mean by having an internal debate about himself?
''That you are gay? Yeah, had a pretty good guess yesterday…"
Nick put both hands on his mouth stopping the coughing that was about to burst from him.
Wolfie is….gay? That….That changes everything! The hugs, the soothing and the other very unlike me stuff that I still don't know why I did….he could have gotten the wrong message! Oh god, I can already see his face when I break his heart, when I tell him I don't swing that way…. Poor Wolfie…
''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?" heard Aaron say.
What does he mean by „my behaviour"? I acted a bit strange but i wasn't that questionable, was I? And there is nothing extraordinary with being extra helpful for a friend in need. Although I did just start considering him as a friend just yesterday, but that's just shows my gratitude towards my friends…..right?
''You wanna know whether Nick is gay too and if he shown any signs of attraction towards you, right? Well, before yesterday, I had thought he was straight as an arrow-"
What does she mean by „thought" she doesn't question my sexuality right?
'' 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. And then there was the grooming which I'm pretty sure was a subconscious action." Informed Judy.
At this point Nick decided to hear out what she has to say, since he started to doubt himself.
''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.
Well that was the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Wolfie is a dumb-dumb timber wolf, but not that dumb, he must be checking on something or maybe clarifying it now.
''Pfft, yeah, sure. You really didn't notice what your tails did every time your were near each other, did you?" mocked Judy.
W-what OUR tails did? What does she….
Then he remembered. He remembered why he felt so good hugging Wolfie. The wolf's tail was constantly wrapped around Nick's torso and hips, tightening the hug and protecting Nick from any harm and it felt soooo good and safe. In the middle of calming the wolf down, Nick never even noticed not only that, but it seems his own tail circling the wolf's body. Him, Nicholas Piberious Wilde, Ex-con man, probably the smartest Police officer ever be, managed to miss this huge sign off fondness at least 3 times. 3 FRIGGIN' TIMES!
OK... I-I'm speechless... But it all makes sense! But why? Why now? Why couldn't these signs come out when I was a teenager or something? Okay Nick, you are a hustler, keep your cool and think about it.
He started to sort things out in his mind.
Okay Wilde. How does a good hustler find an answer to a question he doesn't know the answer to. Hell, I don't even know what question I should be searching the answer for. Let's see….Do I swing the other way? Yes, that should be the one, Now how do I answer that.
He started to think about all the times he went on a date. All his dates failed, because it was either out of a bet/dare, he was set up by Finnick or an other ''Good-hearted'' friend of his, or just got bored and wanted to see if there is anyone interested. But he never even gotten to the second date. Every Vixen was so goddamn nosy about his life or worse, didn't even try to get to know him better. None of them attracted him anyway, no matter how much scolding he had to take from Finnick for dumping „Those big rumped sex beasts". They weren't that special to Nick. He never understood why were the others literally drooling when a Vixen came into the bar with breasts as big as Finnick's head.
Well, my love life is pretty bad, and i never was a horny type. Au contraire, I was always restrained and calm. Emotions were dangerous in the hustling game. The least you showed, the more you won. But it still isn't normal not to feel any attraction to the opposing sex unless I-
Then when he realized what he was about to say he became wide-eyed. He was terrified. He was terrified because if it were true than everything would make sense. Everything since he was born would make total sense. His lack of attraction towards Vixens or any female for that matter, why every hustle, that contained charming a female always worked. His dream last night.
His dream. That wonderful dream when he fell in love with that wolf. A Male Wolf.
And Ding-Ding Wilde, welcome to the game of ''Self-Discovery", where after every 33 years you discover something crucial about that would answer a lot of question of your previous 33 years. In today's episode-
''Oh well, you know, if you don't ask him on a date, I will!" he suddenly heard Judy's voice.
WAIT WHAT?
He felt his legs starting to work on their own. He immediatelly opened the door with force that the hinges might have just gave up and the handle definitely penetrated the wall. He rushed and froze when the first thing he saw was Aaron sitting in a chair 3 times smaller than him with an empty plate in front of him.
But that wasn't the reason why he froze. When he met Aaron's wide-eyed gaze, he almost choked when he recognized his face. After tonight he would recognize that face everywhere. The face, that once was smiling at him gratefully, now was looking at him with surprise and worry.
''WHAT?!" was the only thing that could escape his mouth.
It's Aaron. Aaron is the wolf. He is the wolf. The wolf is here. He did not leave me. He is here. HE IS HERE
If someone asked Nick, let's say 2 days from now, about what happened after that. He would shrug his shoulders and tell that someone that even he has no idea. Emotions, such as happiness, relief, sorrow, hurt, longing, desire, lust, love and so on, came over him, he was too busy trying to restrain all of them, he forgot to restrain his body.
When Aaron saw the state Nick was in, felt his heart shred in two. Seeing him in this miserable state, eyes and his Pawaiian shirt damp, fur bristled, eyes full with desperateness, uncertainty and longing, he had a very VERY strong urge to rush over to the fox hug him tightly, nuzzle him, find whatever made his fox this sad, eliminate that something/somebody until not even its dust remained and never let the fox go. After that he knew that wasn't just a simple crush, that wasn't something someone would shyly call ''like-like him", that was love. The fact that after literally 1 day from hearing someone talk to the fox with such words and in such a way that made him having instant murderous thoughts, he already admitted himself that he was that gone, was amusing and a bit scary. Aaron didn't know if he liked things going this unusually fast, but at the moment, he had a very sad and very depressed fox damping his shirt too, so he will think about his relationship with Nick later. He was too busy curling around the fox and letting him use his shirt as his personal tissue while giving the vulpine all the comfort a wolf got provide.
In the mean time, Judy was silently witnessing everything. When the fox came in, she quickly turned red, thinking that he definitely heard the last line. But the Fox did not even acknowledge the bunny, When he saw the wolf he froze. Judy saw more emotions rush through Nick's face than she thought he possessed and it would have amused him if it weren't for the fact that the fox looked like sh*t. Before she could think about what could have happened to his best friend, said best friend slammed into Wolford and started openly crying. His best pal, Nick Wilde, the last mammal she would imagine openly show any other emotion other than wittiness, smugness and self-confidence, was crying to Aaron's shirt, who wrapped around the fox so possessively, even guns couldn't hurt the fox. She would have joined the group hug, but when she stepped closer, she saw Aaron's body stiffen, his hackles rising, and a very low, only-bunnies-can-hear-it kind of low growl in his chest surfacing. She immediately retreated knowing that Aaron wasn't in the mood. He had his…..What do you call Nick to Wolford now? Friend-but-soon-to-be-more to defend? There wasn't really a name on it, it didn't matter, she had no choice, but to patiently wait for the canines to calm down.
2 hours.
It took both Nick and Aaron 2 hours to finally regain their sanity.
It would have made Judy furious, but she had no right and emotion to be furious now. Let's just say, seeing his best friend in this state did a number on the bunny aswell. Emotional Bunnies as a particular fox would say.
When the big ball of red-orange-grey-black fluff finally opened with a still sobbing but okay looking Nick and an other sobbing but looking very worried Aaron, they let out a quiet chuckle. How did they managed to return to their joking state was a mystery to Judy.
Power of Love I guess.
After some silence Nick noticed the worried but questioning gazes looking right at him, and he realized that he might need to provide an explanation to his sudden very Un-Nickish behaviour for the nth time in 24 hours.
''Erm… heheh…Well I-I-I…" tried to explain Nick while nervously shifting next to the wolf still holding into Aaron's tight. Upon seeing his struggling, Judy decided that he would spare the Emotional Dumb Fox.
''Aaron, I think we should give him some time, and when he is ready to talk about it, he will, right Nick?" Said Judy shooting an expectant but nonetheless sympathyc glare at her partner. Aaron could only with a nod and Nick visible became less tense and embarrassed, knowing that his execution day will be postponed for some time.
''Thanks guys, really, I'm not in the mood to tell dumb fairy tails about dumb foxes." Chuckled Nick. Judy joined his snickering but they soon realized that not everyone was feeling so happy. Upon glancing at Aaron, his hopefully-probably-soon-to-be-more-than-just-a-friend, Nick saw a thoughtful and almost nervous face. He was wondering what is going inside his wolf's head. Calling him ''His wolf" sent a wave of warmth through the fox.
As nice as it feels, I have to get used to it.
''What's up Aaron?" Broke the silence Judy with a concerned expression on her face. That broke him out of the train of thoughts.
''W-what? OH nothing, I was just thinking about that Nick still hasn't eaten anything today and it's what, 15:00 already?" pointed out Aaron. Although none the bunny nor the fox bought his lame excuse, and did not hesitate to shoot the wolf a very unamused glare, which made the wolf audibly gulp, but they did agree, and the sudden grumble of Nick's stomach just gave an affirmative to the statement.
''Well lucky for you, my emotional dumb fox, while you and your wolf partner here were currently playing 'Let's be hypocrites when calling Bunnies emotional', I silently served the food. And don't worry, it's not cold, in the first 1 and a half hours of your emotional coexistance, Aaron was always ready to pounce at me whenever i tried to come near in a 5 feet radius, so I did not really have a chance to serve the food, so it should be relatively fresh. Bon Apetitte." Scowled playfully Judy with an overdrammatic bow. She wasn't mad at Aaron, she knew that animals do get pretty protective when their significant other is in any kind of danger, and she also knew that Canines were like the champions in that. Still, seeing both of them visibly blush was worth the guilt she almost felt when she said that.
''Sorry, Judy, I don't know what came over me…" answered Aaron with heavy guilt in his voice. Judy knew that it was Instincts controlling him, and it is pretty darn hard to restrain them, especially when you face against it for the first time. She would know, she is a bunny. Bunnies do focus more on multiplying, but Judy couldn't have any of that while getting ready to become part of the ZPD, so she had to learn how to restrain instincts, but she still slips every now and then.
''Don't worry, just promise me, you will get the reason behind his emotional outburst, for teasing purposes of course." Said Judy with a sly face while wiggling his eyebrows. It did help her ego when the Wolf finally showed other emotion than worry, and mirrored the sly grin with a puff of his chest. Plus she also heard Nick groaning and that was a pretty good bonus too.
''Oh don't worry, I will, maybe I can get some secrets out of him while he is still emotional and carefree." Answered Aaron while rubbing his hands together.
''Y'Know, I'm right here guys, no need to be soooo subtle about it." Cut in Nick while rolling his eyes. His reply was chuckling from his companions, that even he couldn't resist the urge to join.
After Nick ate his food, Judy excused herself. She said she needed to meet up with her parents that were arriving to the city today after hearing that she got some day offs. That left the fox and the wolf wandering around the city, not knowing what to do with their sudden free time. They couldn't meet each other's gaze for some reason unknown to them. After a mile or so, Wolford was the first to break the silence.
''Soo, Bushy tail, can I ask you something?" asked subtly and nervously Wolford. Nick suddenly tensed.
''S-sure?" replied Nick. He couldn't believe how easy it was for the wolf to make the usually sly a smooth silver tongued devil into a puddle of nervousness.
''Would you like to y'know….go to a date now or something…If that's okay to you that is!" added defensively Wolford. He did not want to mess his chances up but that didn't mean he couldn't be nervous. He was still getting used the whole idea for swinging in the other way, and he still didn't think about the consequences which he even now, before thinking about them, dreaded. Nick was in the same boat, and he didn't even try to show it.
''I mean….I don't know….I would, don't get me wrong, I would totally go and try what's it like to use my charms on males, and maybe try to sweep you off your feet. Plus it does help that i do feel something for you." Answered Nick while trying to ease the tension.
''Buuuuuut?" blurted out Wolford. His usual optimism told him that Nick still didn't decline it, so here's hopin', but it did not help his nervousness.
''But it's all pretty new to me. I mean think about it. If I didn't just overhear your conversation with Carrots in the kitchen, i would be still blind to myself. You would be daydreaming about me, while i would question myself everyday until someone literally doesn't throw the obvious at my face. I need-, I mean, we need time to think about how this will change our life, for the worse or for the better, y'know what I'm talking about?" reasoned Nick with a voice that did not betray that he was not happy with saying that.
''I do know how you feel and I understand. I just thought, y'know it seems that our subconcious has already decided to bond us together and for my part i do feel attracted to you in some way and have decently enough feelings to confidently say the 'L' word already, but it would be too fast for me and possibly us." Agreed Aaron. He looked at Nick and save him thinking about something while rubbing his chin and looking at the sky while still holding up the pace.
''What's in that foxy head of your, Bushy tail?" asked Aaron curiously. Every time that face shows up, Nick is planning something big.
''Oh well, I was thinking about, since we are in the same boat in this, and we both want to feel ready for the next step soon, how about we help each other to accelerate the process. How does that sound Wolfie?" proposed Nick. Aaron suddenly became very interested.
''What do you mean by 'helping each other out'?"
''Well you know, let us discover this side of our, talk about our concerns and what could possibly change now, what should we do, what could await for us in the future….ya catch my breath?" mumbled Nick.
Since they possessed some very good noses, they could both sniff out the uncertainty and the fear in each other's (intoxicatingly good) smell, and both knew what the other was thinking which did help easing the tension.
''That actually sounds reasonable. What should we do first?" Asked Aaron.
''Well, We could start on asking Judy about it, she has already accepted us and even supports us. She has 275 siblings and some must be gay or at least bi, so she must know some things about it, right?" explained Nick. Suddenly Aaron stopped in his tracks look at the Vulpin incredulously.
''275?" blurted out Aaron. He never thought of having kits, so he doesn't know how much he wants, but A) not 275 that's for sure and B) How does one raise that many children?
I mean how do they give each and every one of them enough attention? And do they have any free time?
But the Vulpine seemed to read his mind.
''To answer the questions tat you are currently asking yourself I will quote Carrots everytime I ask it *ahem* Don't underestimate my mother and mom and pa has a separated room from my siblings, so whatever they do is a secret from us" said Nick trying to mimick Judy's voice. That got a snort out of the wolf, who decided he would ask the question later from Judy herself, and see If her answer is that automated.
''Sooo, To Judy?" asked Aaron completely dismissing the topic.
''To Judy." Aswered Nick and started to head back towards Judy's apartment with Aaron very close to him.
So this is gonna be the first author's notes. Don't expect a lot, I will do these rarely, when I have to address some stuff, and occasionally thank you guys for the support. Like this time.
So Let's Begin.
First of all, I want to thank all of you guys for support me. I'm a new writer, and this is actually my fanfiction ever, and it feels good to know that some people like what I write, although I know that it is the biggest abomination ever made.
Reviews are very encouraged, I want to know what I could do better, and what am I excellat (ego feed me plox)
Next some warnings:
-As a non-native english speaker, there will be some (who am I kidding, a lot of)cases, where my vocabulary will be rather poor, and some words will be misswriten. (Like Precinct. I mean Come on, Precint sounds better, who thought it would be a good idea to add that additional c?) That doesn't mean, that I won't try my hardest to be as pure as possible, but forgive me if I reek of being from overboards.
-Typos: My reasoning is that I write really fast, sometimes faster than my brain, and there could be mistakes because of that (like when I make suraound from surround) So sometimes words could be repeated, or some words (hopefully not crucial ones) could be missed.
My aforementioned concerns and warnings does not mean i don't reread at least 5 times what i write and make sure there would be no mistakes, but I'm very far from perfect.
On a Lighter note again, thank you guys for bearing with me and supporting me, and because you were good little readers, I did an unusually longer chapter just for you.
Cya~
