Disclaimer: No Disney did not track me down for stealing their stuff and imprison me in Chateau d'If. (Anyway I already escaped once from there); it just turns out that those with excessively grinchy attitudes can have severe allergic reactions to cootie shots. Who knew? Anyway, now that I'm better, here's some more Boops for you all as well as a continuation of the cautionary lesson in why drinking too much is a bad idea…

Sooo… someone who request anonymity so the pirate shippers can not track them down suggested a 'walk of shame' boop as an idea a while ago and this chapter has been sitting on my computer for too long. Well actually I really wanted to add on a little more to this chapter but in the end, its been more than a bit too long between postings and all the rest of what I wanted will work out better in the next chapter anyway (plus this was getting too booping long for a single chapter!) Anyway, without further ado, here is all that wonderful awkward embarrassing OMG what did we do?! when the furthest you can scamper away in that walk of shame with your tail between your legs is the length of the cuffs holding you back. (and all kept down, if barely, to that wonderful T rated Highschool level of 'its your fault if your head is in the gutter because i sure as heck didn't say that' hilarity) But hey, sometimes stuff just happens and you just got to panic a little first before you can sit down like reasonable mammals and figure out how to proceed... right?

Chapter 9 – Awkward Mornings

"Ralph, come on we need to hurry!" Nadine shouted, half panicked, as she dragged him out of the kitchen and back toward her bed room, "We need to get dressed and-"

Nadine threw open the door to her bedroom and he ran into her as she came to an abrupt halt.

Then the smell hit him. He hadn't registered before but that was probably because he'd been groggy with a pounding headache. But coming back after leaving the room and having a hot cup of coffee to wake up his nose…

Nadine slammed the door shut, though that only cut down on the wafting cloud of scents from the bedroom. Rather aromatic scents of him and her all mixed together. Scents that reminded him of his dream and Nadine holding him and purring…

"Okay, change of plans." Nadine squeaked, "Shower first, then clothes and the precinct."

"Um… ya… that might be a good idea…" Ralph said blushing slightly and taking a quick sniff of himself, only for his eyes going a bit wide again. He'd noticed in the kitchen that their scents had been rather… strong… he just hadn't picked up on how strong and mixed they were, let alone all the little traces as to their mood until it had just been slammed in his face. Though to be fair, he might have been a bit preoccupied, what with staring at Nadine and being naked and everything.

Okay, think this through Ralph, You and Nadine had just a wee bit too much to drink last night, and she groomed you, which-is-totally-normal-for-cats,-right? Right. And after that um… playful kiss yesterday… maybe your feelings were running a bit high and you um… groomed her back a bit… that could explain the happy kitty smell, right? … Right?

Ralph gulped as he tried to convince himself of that.

"If… if we walk into the precinct smelling like this…" Ralph said hesitantly, "Every mammal there is going to think we spent the night… um…" Ralph glanced at Nadine, the still very much naked Nadine, and blushed hard, "you know…"

"But we didn't!" Nadine squeaked, still staring at the door like it had betrayed her, "Um… did we?" she asked quietly, almost plaintively and glanced at him. Her eyes dropped down and Ralph followed them to his tail he was still holding in front of himself as if trying to protect his modesty… and to the blue ribbon tied to it.

"ah…" Ralph said his ears going back as he looked anywhere but at Nadine's face while a mortified look of embarrassment colored in her white stipes, "I-I… don't know… but um… we might ah, really want to shower before we, um… try dealing with this…" Ralph said and raised his cuffed paw.

"Shower. Yes. Definitely shower." Nadine said nodding her head vigorously before pushing him back down the hallway and ducking into her small bathroom, "We need to be quick or were not going to make it to the precinct in time."

"Okay, um, I should probably go first since my fur is going to take longer to towel off," Ralph said, still not able to look at Nadine as he stepped into the small shower.

"No time for that," Nadine said and stepped in behind him causing him to let out a startled yip.

"Nadine! I, but, do you think this is a good idea?" he asked feeling his face heat up even more while she press against him as she turned, reaching around to close the shower door.

"Look, I now this is a small shower Ralph!" Nadine said, her voice still higher than normal though steadier than his, "Comes with the cheaper rent for a mid-sized mammal apartment instead of large. But we don't have time for two showers, plus where still cuffed! Here, turn around." She said with a grunt, turning him about so that they faced each other and his cuffed arm wasn't crossed awkwardly behind him.

Her back was up against the tiled wall and he was nearly pressed into the shower knobs with only his ribbon clad tail still clutched before him separating the two of them.

"I can't believe I did that." Nadine mumbled under her breath, looking at the ribbon, before sighing and saying, "Here I'll take that off." And before Ralph could do anything but let out another alarmed yip, she'd grabbed his tail and started untying the ribbon.

"It's just a ribbon Ralph," Nadine said, rolling her eyes though he could still hear the embarrassment in her voice even as she tried to force a grin and add humorously, "and I think it looks good on you."

Oh, gods. That sooo isn't helping! Ralph thought as he blushed even while he tried to grin back at her joke. That was a joke, right? She was joking about that, RIGHT?

Ralph was having a hard time trying to hold his grin, and the awkward gulf of embarrassment in the tiny shower seemed to only grow. Hell, he could smell the embarrassment they where so close. Her scent filled the small space mixing with his and this close to her, in such a confined space, despite his best efforts not to, he couldn't help but pick up on her scent clues.

Embarrassment, lots and lots of embarrassment plus some panic and a bit of worry, gods my scent is still all over her! And we still smell like tequila ice-cream and sex and… is… is Nadine getting aroused right now?!

Ralph felt like his mind had just blown out a tire while doing sixty miles an hour and he inadvertently sucked in a large breath that seemed to sear his senses with NADINE and just to make things worse, now his scent filled with awkward arousal and sexual tension was flooding the shower too.

Please, please, please don't let Nadine notice. Just stay calm and stop thinking about how good she smells… and looks… and… Focus! Calm, stay Calm and breath! NOT TO DEEP! Shallow breaths! Don't react, my nose is better than hers, she might not notice…

"There," Nadine said triumphantly as the ribbon came free from his tail and she let go of it, his tail dropping back down, "Now lets get- ohhh…" Nadine's voice tailed off in a an embarrassedly surprised way as her paw came up to cover her mouth.

Ralph blinked, dragging his mind away from the smells that seemed to smoother the air in the confined space even as they intensified, and followed her wide eyed captivated gaze down to where his tail had been covering his front, only for his heart to freeze.

She's probably gonna notice that… part of his mind added helpfully.

"I, ah, ah…" Ralph stammered, "um, ah… don't read too much into that!" he tried to shift and cover himself only to realize he was dragging her paw toward him with the cuff and aborted the effort, turning desperately in the small shower, accidently bumping his shoulder into her as he scrambled to get out of her view. Nadine meanwhile, just stared, a blush spreading up and down from her cheeks as the overpowering level of her scent in the shower seemed to spike.

Ralph looked around in a panic, his body reacting on its own to her scent, trying to figure out… something, anything…

Nadine's free paw over her mouth had lowered somewhat and as he turned his head back to try explain (what exactly, he had no idea…) but his nose bumped into Nadine's uncovered one.

Boop

Ralph froze as her eyes went wide.

"I… ah, boop!" He said desperately, trying to playing it off and then for good measure tried apologizing as well, "um… didn't mean too? Sorry? I- um…" Ralph's mind was having trouble thinking past the the fog of scents and smells in the shower; His mind felt fuzzy and light headed like he'd spent too long in a too hot sauna.

Tiger. Female. Nadine. Heat. Pretty. There was some primal part of him that wanted him to stop thinking and simply claim the female in front of him. And that primal base part of him was using the overpowering scents as a club to beat on his rapidly failing thoughts,

WOLF WANTS. TAKE. MATE. CLAIM. MINE!

Ralph shifted again in the small space, trying to break his view of Nadine, trying to do anything to regain his senses, but he couldn't escape her enthralling scent or the sounds of Nadine's next slightly ragged intake of breath or the way she was staring at him her eyes wide and distant and focused on him and his body seemed to be reacting completely without of his control.

Ralph's uncuffed paw banged against the shower knob, and in a moment of clear and desperate thought brought on by the pain, he grabbed it and twisted.

Megan was almost asleep when an ear piercing shriek ripped through the wall.

"EEIYYYYYYY! Ralph! HOT WATER! Turn it to HOT! GAHHHHH!

"OWW! Nadine! Watch the claws! Watch the claws! POINTY BITS!"

"COLD! Move over so I can get to the- EEP! Move your Pointy Bit!

"THAT"S NOT THE SHOWER KNOB!"

"I Noticed! Can you PLEASE turn the water to hot?! IT doesn't like this arctic water either!"

"Stop Shoving, I'm trying- Nadine the cuff, I can't move with you pulling on the cuff like that!"

"RALPH, I'm Freeeeezing!"

"How are you freezing?! You're using me as a shield!

"And your doing a poor job of it! AGHHHH! MOVE!

Megan buried her head under her pillow as the sounds of Nadine and her wolf banging around in her shower echoed through the wall.

"Stupid cat," Megan grumbled, "Doesn't everyone know you let the water get hot before you get in for shower sex." She grumbled a bit more as the banging continued for a minute before there was a loud relieved sigh and was just about to drift off to sleep again when her eyes snapped open.

"Wait, her shower is the same size as mine. How did both of them fit into it?"

"We are never doing that again." Nadine said with a shiver and ducked her head under the hot water streaming from the shower nozzle just a little too low for her to stand under.

"Which part of 'that' do you mean? The water? The showering together? Or the grabby paws?" Ralph asked with a grunt and tapped Nadine as she leaned her weight on him in her effort to get further under the hot water, "Hey, Nadine, a little room? You're suffocating me."

"What?!" Nadine's body went ridged against him, "Oh! No! Sorry! I didn't mean to grab- I was just trying to-" she started sputtering and Ralph let out another muffled grunt into her fur and tapped again. Despite being crammed into the small shower with a tiger practically crawling over him to get under the low shower nozzle, he wasn't necessarily uncomfortable; a little cramped in the tight space with his muzzle crammed under her chin but that wasn't the problem. The fridge water had shocked his body out of his embarrassingly aroused state but the feeling of Nadine's fur, soaked through and sopping wet against his own drench coat was threatening to cause it to reconsider, especially now that shower was filling with steam.

"I- oh! Sorry!" Nadine's back bumped into the shower's wall as she quickly let go of him and tried backing up.

Ralph ran a paw up his face brushing his longer wet fur away from his eyes and couldn't help but snicker lightly at the sight of Nadine, looking like a drowned cat with her dripping whiskers and drenched fur even as her face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and apology.

The contrast to Nadine's usually in control and confident expression was so drastic he let out a short amused laugh that thankfully seemed to wash away the remnants of the lingering awkward embarrassment between them.

Even amid all the chaos of this morning, it gave him the sense that he and her were, despite everything, going to make it through this alright. And with that reassurance he couldn't resist the chance to tweak her whiskers just a bit. Or her nose more precisely.

Smirking, Ralph reached out.

"Bo-"

"Oh no you don't!" Nadine practically screeched, her eyes going wide and her blush flaring as she cut him off. Her paw snatched his wrist, stopping him just a bare inch from her nose and their next few moments where filled with a back and forth struggling.

Ralph, to a sudden realization of dismay, found himself at a sever disadvantage in the small space as they banged around off the shower walls. And in no more than a few more moments he found himself pinned under Nadine and the still streaming shower nozzle.

"Try to boop me in my house?!" Nadine growled, her voice filled with affronted indignation.

"It was worth a try," Ralph said, still grinning, "And I already got you once after all."

Soaked or not, Nadine's fur seemed to almost puff like a ruffled hen.

"I- You! Boop me will you?! Well, we'll just see who's going to get Booped!" Nadine's growling, wide eyed face snarling into his was replaced by her large paw.

"Boop! HA! Take that Ralph! Boop! Boop!"

"Hey!" Ralph protested trying to move his muzzle away from her paw as it tapped his nose again, "Only one Boop at a time, that's the rules!"

"Boop! No, only one boop at a time counts, I can still boop you all I want, especially in my house," Nadine leered down at him from her spot sitting on his chest as the water ran over them in the cramped shower with a triumphant smile, "Boop."

"Nadine!" Ralph tried to plead and wiggle out from under her but there was no room and Nadine was to heavy. There was a moment where he almost got his arm free, but Nadine shifted, her knee trapping it and her paw tapped his nose again she half snickered, half giggled.

"Oh no you don't! Boop! This is what you get for trying to Boop me in the shower! Boop!"

Ralph shifted desperately as her paw tapped his nose again, and he could feel his face heating from more than just the hot water as he tried to squirm out from under his very naked and rather pretty best friend as she gleefully booped his nose again and again.

There was a banging on the wall of the shower and a tired muffled sounding shout from the other side.

"I now you're enjoying yourself, Nadine, and normally I'd be cheering you on but I really need some sleep," Nadine's friend called over making a grumbling sound before adding sleepily, "…and didn't you say you were late to something?"

Ralph looked up as Nadine stared down at him, her uncuffed paw still on his nose. Her gleefuly expression draining from her face as it got a bit pale.

Nadine swore, hurriedly getting off him and helping him to his feet.

"Damnit, Damnit, Damnit! How did we forget that?! Ralph, I'll finish booping you later, we seriously need to hurry." Nadine scrambled around grabbing a bottle they'd knocked over and squeezed out a generous potion of fur shampoo. She quickly rubbed it into his fur, startling to lather him up before shifting to herself.

Following Nadine's lead, he started scrubbing but immediately ran into a problem as he could only really use one paw, the other still being cuffed to Nadine as she used both.

"This isn't going to work…." Ralph said dubiously after a minute of only partially successful washing and Nadine huffed irritatedly.

"Okay, okay. Your right." Nadine said with an annoyed sigh, seeming to have come to the same conclusion. She turned so that they where facing each other again and paused, blushing slightly, before reaching for more shampoo, "How about I wash you first, then you wash me? That might be faster."

Ralph swallowed, staring at Nadine's soapy striped fur and focused hard, stomping on his tail's reaction to wag at the suggestion. Not trusting himself to speak right at that instant, he just nodded.

...

The next minute or so was a hellish torment for Ralph as Nadine's paws worked and rubbed, moving over his shoulders and down his chest and over his stomach. He tried not to stare at Nadine, tried not to stare at her paws as they moved through his fur, tried not to let his tail wag or any other part of him react and give away how much he was enjoying the feel of her paws against him. Swallowed hard and desperate for something to do, something to distract himself, he snatched the shampoo bottle with his one free paw. Focusing all his thoughts on simply trying to wash as quickly as they could, he squeezed out some of the shampoo on Nadine's shoulders and started working it through her fur.

Focus. Focus! Wash fur and dry so we can get to the precinct! Wow, her fur feels nice even when its soaked… Oh and don't forget the clothes! We definitely need clothes! Though her fur is really pretty…

Ralph watched almost mesmerized as his paw moved through her thick fur, watching the orange and black and white hairs part around his fingers, feeling the softer layer just beneath.

"Hey, I thought you hated cold weather?" Ralph asked as a curious thought bubbled up through his distracted mind, "Your coat has two layers to it too…" He ran his paw through her luscious fur again watching in fascination at the contrast between their colors through the steam filled shower.

Nadine chuffed, then rolled her eyes.

"Just because I could live in colder climates doesn't mean I enjoy colder climates. Anyways Siberian tigers have longer coats like yours," She pointedly ran her paw through his chest ruff where his longer slopping wet fur covered her paw and flicked the fur up at him. Ralph's breath caught for a moment at the contact and he hoped like hell she couldn't feel his increased heart rate.

Focus! Focus! Focus!

Ralph stopped his curious examination of her fur and went back to scrubbing as he scrambled to think up something to say.

"Even still, your fur is pretty thick and much nicer than any wolf's, I can't see how cold weather is a problem for you."

Nadine blushed and it took Ralph a second to think back over what he'd said and mentally slap himself.

"I, ah, well I just didn't grow up in a very cold area," Nadine mumbled, not quite looking at him, "I'm not used to cold weather and I don't really care to acclimatize." That last bit came out a bit rumbly and growlish, shifting into more of a deep purr.

Ralph stopped and blinked as the rumbling purring sound suddenly cut off with a wide eyed meep from Nadine.

"Um…" Ralph started to say, then realized where his free paw scrubbing Nadine's front had drifted down to from her shoulders, "Oh!" he yanked his paw back so fast he banged his elbow against the wall.

Not able to put any real space between them in the confines of the shower, Ralph looked down mumbling an apology, and then also realized just how low Nadine's paws had moved as they'd scrubbed down his front almost to his hips.

Ralph had no idea what the sound he made right then might have been called. It wasn't a meep and it wasn't quite a yip though it was close, just far far more flustered.

"I- um, I ah," Nadine started to say sounding just about as awkwardly embarrassed as he felt before swallowing audibly and hurrying on in one fast sentence, "w-why don't you turn around and I'll get your back and you can finish up down…" there was a sudden embarrassed pause like a bump in the road, "… down there and then we can swap and you can get my back while I… finish washing my front."

"I-ahh-" Ralph said a bit too flustered to put sounds together into words, as even through the water pouring from the faucet and the steam filling the shower he caught Nadine's scent again. Something to his south started stirring on its own accord and Ralph spun quickly, his voice going high.

"That's a great idea!" he squeaked and started furiously scrubbing. Which was a mistake.

Ralph wanted to groan and whack his head against the wall, but refrained as he would have smacked his head right into the low shower nozzle. Instead he reached up and grabbed the nozzle, angling it against his front to rinse off some of the suds and made sure none of the water was spraying past him to were Nadine was tentatively starting to scrub at his back before cracking the shower knob back over as far as it would go to the cold end.

He shivered slightly as the water turned icy, though the feeling of Nadine's paws running against his shoulder blades might have had something to do with it too.

The fridge water started soaking his fur and Ralph let out a sigh of relief. He was not a fan of cold weather either though he didn't find it as horrifying as Nadine, but right then he'd never been quite so relieved to feel the icy touch of cold water seeping through his coat.

He let the cold stream continue for a long half minute before turning it back to hot and concentrating back on what they where supposed to be doing.

Neither he nor Nadine spoke for most of the rest of the shower as they quickly scrubbed. Though there was one moment where Ralph barely managed to cut off a surprised yelp when Nadine started on his tail. He had to work hard to control his breathing and not groan in pleasure as he forced his tail to stay still and limp while Nadine's paws worked through his fur. To his distracted mind it seemed like her paws were moving at a tortuously slow pace as they stoked down his tail, and he was sure he only imagined Nadine mumble about how much thinker and fluffier than a tiger's it was.

Then another awkward moment of shuffling as they reoriented themselves in the small shower so he could wash her back and Nadine could get under the shower nozzle. It took them three tries before they succeeded since the first time they got tangled up from the cuffs, then bumping and mumbling apologies untangled and tried again while both looked anywhere but at the other.

Their awkward game of blind mammals merry-go-round and keep away complete, the shower proceeded faster. Well, until Ralph got to Nadine's tail.

...

With Nadine looking forward and away from him as he scrubbing her back and the constant stream of water and mist keeping their scents mostly suppressed, Ralph finally started to relax from his state of near terminal flustered embarrassment.

And without that embarrassment hanging over him, Ralph was actually starting to enjoy himself. (Enjoying himself far too much if he was honest, as he worked his paws through Nadine's fur and over her toned muscles underneath it.) But he wasn't being honest with himself. He'd managed to get his mind into an almost meditative trance focused solely on accomplishing his immediate goal and all the stray extraneous thoughts about how wonderful her fur felt, and how spectacular the view of Nadine's back was, and the patterning of her fur lower down that he'd never seen before and totally wasn't memorizing, or for that matter, how shapely her rear was, because he was absolutely not ogling her butt… no, his eye's were not stuck on her butt. How could they be when he was looking at her back and legs and tail too?

All those thoughts along with the faint whiffs of her scent he was occasionally catching amid the steam from the shower were still there bouncing around his mind, but Ralph was able to keep them to the periphery of his focus as he worked.

Scrub. Rinse. Scrub down to the next strip. Ohh… this ones pretty with the way it splits in the middle with that smaller stripe. Scrub. It almost looks like two back to back hearts on their sides. Scrub. *snicker* Nadine's got the cutest little tramp stamp stripe right above her tail. Rinse. Scrub down to…

Ralph moved down, a faint sense of pride in his focus and no little relief that his concentration on the task at hand was preventing any more embarrassing reactions from his body.

Ralph's paw had moved down her back and had just started scrubbing from the base of her tail and down along its length when Nadine seemed to suddenly convulse before letting out the loudest most un-Nadine like girlish squealing he had ever heard and her tail twitched violently almost escaping his paw as it started snapping back and forth.

" *Squeal!* Ralph! Ah! That TICKLES!" Nadine barely managed to gasp before squealing again and trying to twist/jump away from him. In the confines of the small shower, it didn't work to well and she only managed to bump her head against the ceiling before collapsing on the stunned wolf in a wriggling squirming mass.

"Let go! *Squeal* *gasp* *Laugh* RALPH! *gasp* Stop tickling me or I swear I'll- *Squeal* "

There was another banging on the wall and Nadine's neighbor shouted over in a sleepy voice, "What kind of shower sex are you having Nadine? Because I'm pretty sure its not supposed to tickle; I think you're doing something wrong…"

"MEGAN! *SQUEAL!* Nadine convulsed again twisting, and pulling Ralph along by the cuff into a twisted tangled ball in the cramped shower before her frantically writhing tail finally snapped its way free of his paw. She gave one more gasping laugh and then collapsed, going limp.

It took Ralph a few moments before he managed to break out of his shock and say anything.

"Wow…" he looked over, seeing Nadine's two roundish ears with the white splotches on their backs poked out from under his armpit where her head had somehow gotten jammed, "I didn't know you where ticklish."

Nadine gasped in a few more lungful's of air before growling back at him, "I'm not! And if you tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE, I will cuff you to the shower head and no one will ever see or hear from you again!"

There was another sleepy shout from the other side of the wall.

"I'm pretty sure I will every time you come back to take a shower… oh and Nadine? You also might want to go back over the basics before you try anything kinky like tying up your wolf in their…" there was a muffled sounding snicker and a barely audible, "because with a wolf and all, you might be the one getting 'tied up' in the shower…"

"MEGAN!" Nadine roared into Ralph's armpit, her ears and their cute white spots snapping back flat against her skull as she squirmed around and finally managed to extract her head from under his arm. Head free, it whipped around to apparently try melting two holes through the wall with her glare as Nadine growled, "I am NOT tying up Ralph in my shower! There is no and will be no, tying of any kind it the shower! Period! Stop imagining things!"

There was no response though and Nadine seemed to simmer as she let out a low menacing growl, either irritated at the lack of a response or the walls unwillingness to instantly vaporize in front of her glare.

"I- um…" Ralph said trying not to blush before he blurted out in a confused tone, "didn't you just threaten to cuff me up in here?"

Nadine's head snapped back around and he felt like he might vaporize under that glare.

"I don't have to cuff you up in the bathroom to silence you Ralph!" she growled.

"Ya wolf! She can cuff you to her bed instead…" Came one more sleepy call through the wall and Nadine's growl turned into a groan as her head slumped and thumped into his chest.

Apparently not satisfied, Nadine thumped his chest a few more times with her head before muttering, "This is all your fault Ralph. I told you yesterday. I told you. We're never going to hear the end of this from her. This is all your fault because you tried blackmailing me for that boop. We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for that!"

Ralph mauled that over as the shower continued to rain down on them.

"I'm pretty sure the tequila might be partially to blame too…"

Nadine groaned and thumped his chest with her head again.

Finally, she let out a defeated sigh and then arduously started untangling herself and getting up.

"Come on Ralph, we can figure out how to deal with Megan latter. Let's finish rinsing off, it's got to be… be... what time is it?" Nadine stopped and asked before turning and banging her fist on the wall.

"MEGAN! What Time Is It?"

The was muffled groans, but Nadine grinned evilly and kept banging.

"Serves her right…" Nadine muttered before there was an annoyed shout back.

"Stop banging on the wall Nadine! You've got your wolf there with you, go bang him instead!"

Nadine whiskers twinged in a way Ralph recognized as a precursor to Nadine reaching her breaking point and she banged on the wall harder, "Take a look at your alarm clock and tell me the time or I'll just take your advice, right here up against the wall! Think you can get to sleep with that?!" She shouted back angrily.

"Wait. What?!" Ralph yipped, and stared at Nadine wide eyed as she glared back at the wall, this time with an annoyed and stubbornly determined set to her jaw, one he also knew all too well.

"Um, Nadine, You're just bluffing right?" Ralph started to stammer, though Nadine's attention still seemed firmly drawn to the wall as she banged on it a few more times, "I mean not that I wouldn't want to or um, I mean we just showered and ah- there's the whole pack courtship rules! I haven't even taken you to dinner or-"

"Gahh! Fine Nadine!" came a peeved feline shout, "Its almost eleven forty now will you please stop?! I promise I won't make any more comments about you and your wolf until I wake up if you do."

"Eleven forty?!" Nadine shouted in alarm, scrambling haphazardly to her feet before hauling Ralph to his. "Come on Ralph, we are out of time!" She said and quickly manhandled him under the showers spray to rinse off the remaining soap.

"Nadine I-" he was cut off as he caught a mouth full of water, "Nadine-mffft!" Ralph was cut off again as Nadine practically pinning him to the wall as she ducked down a bit to get her head under the nozzle too and hurriedly rinsed. Ralph tried again to say something but was distracted by the feeling of Nadine practically flush against him as the water poured down, and then before he knew what was happening the water was off and he was being pulled out of the shower.

"wha-" a towel dropped over his head and Nadine started frantically drying his ears and head and muzzle.

"It takes nearly ten minutes to get to the precinct, but if we get lucky with the lights we can shave a few minutes off of that and the traffic should be light. We're going to have to run in but we just might make it." Nadine was talking at a mile a minute.

Ralph reached up and took the towel with his free hand, pulling it down only for Nadine to grab the now soaked towel and hand him a dry one before grabbing one for herself.

"Geeze, your fur holds water like a sponge! Hurry up and we've got to move."

Ralph opened his mouth to say something as Nadine' started hurriedly drying herself, then not sure what to say, closed his open mouth.

She had to be joking with her friend, He thought to himself staring at Nadine, I mean that was just girl talk… right? Or maybe that's just more normal for felines to joke about? I mean it's not like she'd have actually wanted too… his mind flashed back to waking up this morning in bed with Nadine, to all the scents lingering around them and the room.

Ralph brought the towel up to finish drying his face and hide the heat that was suffusing it. He wasn't sure if he was more disappointed or relieved that he couldn't remember exactly what had happened. Sure wolves, especially young wolves fooled around here and there but their where limits to what allowances that would buy with the pack. If they'd gone all the way and tied the knot so to speak… but they hadn't, had they? Ralph swallowed before trying to reassure himself.

I'm pretty sure, tequila or knot, I would have known if that happened, Nadine almost certainly would…

Ralph peeked past the towel he held with one paw, past his other still cuffed to Nadine as she used both paws to hurriedly dry.

Last night was such a mistake… Ralph thought worriedly even as he blushed. If word gets around before I can figure out how to actually ask Nadine out…

Ralph bit his lip, thinking hard. He had no idea about how tigers courted, hell he had no idea how felines in general courted for that matter. Well, nothing more than some crude jokes that sometimes got passed around among wolves about 'those cats', but he was quite sure that as a very bad place to go to for advice.

Ralph's thoughts were cut off as Nadine tossed away the towel she was using, apparently done and grabbed the last dry towel of the wall rack and turned back to him with a huff.

"Seriously, how on earth do you deal with fur like that every day?" she asked as she started working on him again with the towel, sending his fur tufting in all directions.

"You need to get a fur dryer," Ralph mumbled and then with a embarrassed sigh stopped her, "I'm not going to get dry with just that one towel. Here, hold this for a second," he said giving her the towel in his paw before stepping back into the shower and closing the door till the cuff chain stopped it.

"Don't laugh, okay?" Ralph said glancing back through the glass door to Nadine who looked rather confused and then shook his whole body sending water flying everywhere.

After a few good shakes he stopped and stepped out of the shower.

Nadine bit her lip, but despite here apparent effort not to she still let out a muffled giggled. Ralph's cheeks burning as he snatched the towel back and stated drying off his now less water logged and far more fluffed fur.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Nadine said and giggled, "It's just… I mean, Ralph… you- you just Floofed!" Nadine said and giggled again.

"Ughhh, Nadine please never say that again, it's completely emasculating." Ralph groaned as he tried to smooth down his fur and finish toweling off so he didn't look like he'd just been tossed around a dryer.

"But Ralph! With your fur fluffed, You... you just look so…" Nadine snickered, "-Cute." And he groaned again.

"Nadine, Cuffs, Remember!" Ralph said lifting up his arm and shaking the metal bracelet.

"Oh, right, Right!" Nadine said with one last giggle and then took the last towel and started helping him dry off too.

…

"Well, you might be stuck being damp for a little while," Nadine said to him, looking glumly at the last of her towels, now too wet to do anymore help, before tossing it on the counter with the others. She sighed but then surprised Ralph when she leaned in close and sniffed at his chest.

"um, Nadine?" Ralph asked his voice threatening to crack as it went high again at her sudden move. You just didn't go around sniffing other mammals like that, well not among wolves at least, what with their noses... It was just extremely personnel.

Nadine ignored him still sniffing close enough to his fur to cause it to flutter. She stopped after another few moments and stood back up with a half frown.

"Well, the shower got most of it. Guess that'll have to do, let's get moving." she said before taking his paw and hurriedly pulling him out of the bathroom like a very determined tiger on a mission.

"Most of what?" Ralph asked stupidly as he was dragged along, his thoughts not quite keeping up with her before she pulled him back into her room and the smell slapped him in the face again, "oh… right. That." He said and despite his best efforts, blushed.

Then blushed more as Nadine started pulling clothes out of her dresser and putting them on. With everything else that had been happening he'd almost forgotten that they were in nothing but their fur. Her clothes though, put that point into stark contrast and he could feel his embarrassment rising again.

"Um… Nadine?" Ralph asked looking around the room and unconsciously covering himself with his tail again, "Where did my duffle and clothes go?"

Nadine stopped mid hop as she was yanking on a pair of jeans and looked around the room, which was conspicuously devoid of any stray clothing articles, feline or canine, tossed about.

"I ah… think I saw your shirt in the living room…" Nadine said before looking at him, only for her cheeks to redden as her gaze dropped to his conspicuously held tail. She looked away and grabbed a shirt from a drawer before half running, half hopping out the door, as she finished tugging on the pants, "Lets check to see if you left your duffel there too."

Okay, we can do this, we can do this. Just have to get out the door in the next couple of minutes… Nadine kept repeating to herself as she finished buttoning her jeans while beelining for the living room, Don't think about anything else or we're not getting these cuffs off today, and I'm going to end up sleeping with Ralph again. Okay bad choice of words. End up in bed with him. No that's just as bad, spending the night tied together… Gahh! I'm going to kill Megan for putting those ideas in my head! Come on Girl, keep you mind on the goal! She glanced back at Ralph behind her then hurriedly looked forward again. Wolf. Cuffed to Wolf. Need to get to the precinct to get uncuffed from wolf… and do it without alerting everyone that I spent the night… snuggling, yes lets go with snuggling. Snuggling is safe. Nothing wrong with snuggling with my best friend… whose also a handsome I-should-get-some-clothes-on-him-damned-soon Wolf. Oh gods... I might need to call up Judy and talk to her about this whole developing feelings for someone outside your genus... Nadine shook her head to clear it, Okay, I can do that later. First, get to the precinct, and do it without alerting everyone that I spent the night 'snuggling' with Ralph! Already showered off the evidence of any extra-snuggling activities (most of it anyway), put on fresh non-Ralph smelling clothes, check. Now just need fresh non-tiger smelling clothes for Ralph… oh gods, what did we do to my living room?!

Nadine stopped and lost a few precious seconds gapping at the full disaster scene before her.

"Wow, and I thought we did a number at my house," Ralph said sounding almost impressed at what looked like and explosion of furniture, food and drink containers and random articles of clothing, "Oh hey, my boxers!" Ralph said suddenly and rushed past Nadine, pulling her behind him now, which she refused to admit to herself was more than slightly distracting as he had his tail wrapped protectively around his front, leaving his back side wide open for viewing. A very nice backside, part of her noted, especially with how his still damp fur, now smoothed down, outlined every muscle as it moved.

Ralph pulled his boxers out from under some couch pillows only to stare at rips through it. Very suspicious larger than wolf claw-like-rips Nadine noted with a rising panic.

She snatched the boxers out of Ralph's paw as if hoping that he'd forget about them now that he couldn't see them.

"I aah, don't think you want to wear those, ah.. oh hey! There's your duffle!" Nadine nearly shouted with relived enthusiasm and ducking under the ceiling fan with a shirt hanging off of it, headed over to the bag stuffed under the coffee table. A table she noted that was haphazardly shoved into a corner of the room where one of her floor lamps was supposed to be. The lamp in question was now in the middle of the room as if they'd been using it as a mic stand and she momentarily wondered what had happened to the lamp shade.

She extracted the bag and handed it to Ralph. "Get dressed, I'll deal with…" she looked at the ripped up boxers in her paw and then quickly hid them behind her back. "Umm… I'll ah… replace those?" she said trying to smile apologetically.

Ralph, wearing a confused embarrassed expression, one ear cocked to the side, raised a paw as if to speak then stopped and lowered it before finally just nodding. Nadine sighed as he pulled out his clothes she'd stuffed in the duffel last night, and once she was sure he wasn't watching, discretely tossed his ruined boxers over onto the couch were he wouldn't see them.

Out of sight, out of mind, at least until I can get him out of my apartment and clean up.

She turned back just in time to see Ralph struggling to pull on his clean boxers with only his uncuffed paw, and to her mortification was once again struck with the urge to giggle uncontrollably like some schoolgirl at the sight.

But despite her efforts not to, she must have made some sound though because Ralph paused momentarily to look at her and the insides of his ears started darkening with a heavy blush.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with hearts on boxers!" He said defensively, the blush now appearing on his cheeks too.

Nadine tried, tried really hard not to, but another half manic giggle slipped through.

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with them!" she squeaked, only to giggle in that oh so embarrassing way again, and quickly slapped her free paw over her muzzle.

Okay and now would be a good time to drop dead, like right now, before I permanently ruin my reputation with Ralph by- another giggle slipped out.

And… too late.

On the only good side, if there was a good side, from this current disaster ontop of all the rest from this morning; Her mortifyingly embarrassing girlish giggle had Ralph pulling his clothes on at lightning speed.

In fact he was pulling his clothes on so fast he tried to nearly jump into his shirt, only to get himself stuck when he couldn't get his cuffed paw through the shirt sleeve. Ralph flailed for a few seconds and only managed to get himself more tangled up in his shirt half pulled over his head.

This, unfortunately, didn't help with Nadine's problem as another giggle… or three… escaped.

She hated the way she sounded when she giggled but the more she tried to stop the harder it was. And Ralph wasn't helping what with the ridiculous way his ear's where poking out of the shirt in an alarmed posture and turning redder with each giggle.

"It's not funny!" Ralph yelped in a truly embarrassed voice still struggling with the shirt then lost his balance and fell.

Nadine managed to catch him before he brought her down by with the cuff aswell, and helped steady her temporarily blinded partner.

"Um… could I get some help?" Ralph asked in the most plaintive voice she'd ever heard from him as the inside of his ears burned a bright red.

"Hold- Hold still for a second," Nadine replied, this time with only a trace of the embarrassing giggle, before looking at the shirt caught over his head and cuffed arm. She gave it a tug on one spot and then another, and Ralph's head popped out like a jack in the box.

The absurdity of it had Nadine's giggle coming back even despite all her attempts to get them moving out the door.

Then again if we're already probably going to be late, might as well take this golden opportunity.

Ralph, head free of the shirt, blinked, then blinked again as her finger tapped his nose.

"Boop!" Nadine snicker/giggled.

Ralph just stood there stunned for a second before giving her a look that screamed, 'Really?!'

Nadine bit her lip to stop herself from giggling again and glanced away from Ralph's scandalized face to his shirt which was on except where it bunched up over his arm. It was quite apparent that there was going to be no way to get his arm through it with his paw still cuffed to hers.

"well, this is going to be a problem." Ralph said his voice ever so slightly peevish, though whether that was from her booping him again or the shirt, she wasn't sure.

Probably both she decided and then considered the shirt she'd grabbed from her room and the same problem she was going to have putting it on. Luckily, or unluckily for her depending on how she thought of it, the loose comfortable blouse she'd grabbed was a halter top.

Nadine sighed. She'd liked this shirt, but they really didn't have time for her to be picky about what she was going to wear, and trying not to think about it she used her claws to cut the neck strap. Not able to pull the garment over her head she stepped into it and pulled it up before quickly tying the cut strap back together behind her neck.

"Wow, that was a neat trick." Ralph commented, seeming slightly stunned as he raised both eyebrows, "You, ah… like, haven't ever had to do this before have you?" he finished waving his cuffed paw under his bunched up shirt

"What?!" Nadine said a bit startled and then blushed as she took his meaning, "No! you dunderhead! You're the first mammal I've ever had to get dressed while cuffed to!"

This time Ralph snickered and her blush deepened, so she did something she'd see a few other she-wolves in Ralph's pack do when they got miffed and reached out and flicked his ear.

Ralph's snickering cut off with a startled yip before he gapped at her with a look of uncomprehending disbelief.

Something about the sheer goofiness of his expression, what with one cuffed arm still sticking out from under his shirt, had a satisfied happy little smile forming on her face. She chuffed, trying to control the reaction and looked back at his shirt in hopes of hiding how the corners of her mouth kept quirking upward.

She examined it for a second before saying, "I really hope this shirt isn't one of your favorites too."

"Why?" Ralph asked, still sounding utterly bewildered that she'd ear flicked him.

Nadine reached out and took his shirt, extending a claw, "Well, because I don't think you'll be wearing it again after today." And in one quick careful motion she cut the shirt down the side, from the sleeve all the way to the hem. The bunched up fabric over his arm fell down, and Nadine took a moment to examine her handiwork as Ralph squawked.

"That was a limited-edition T shirt from the movie premier, Nadine! How am I supposed to replace that?!"

Nadine nodded, satisfied. The shirt now looked like a cross between a t-shirt and a poncho with the side cut open and flapping but it would do for now. She couldn't drag Ralph into the precinct shirt less and cuffed. Not that she didn't mind him shirtless. No. Not at all really... In fact she rather liked being able to look at Ralph's chest and fluffy ruff… It would just be hard to explain to Bogo why he was in the precinct shirtless, what with him still cuffed…

The cuffs

They were running out of time to deal with the cuffs. Probably had run out of time already.

"-What, are you going to come with me to the next premier and get me a new shirt?! Because you can't simply buy-"

"Fine," Nadine cut him off, only having half listened as her thoughts refocused on their primary goal of the morning, "I'll get you a replacement, now come on we need to go." She said looking around the room frantically before thankfully spotting her keys and phone tossed over by the tv remote and his on the floor.

"Really?" Ralph asked seeming stunned again as she grabbed the items and then pulled Ralph toward the apartment door.

"Yes, Yes, I'll get you another shirt Ralph. Promise." she said distractedly, unlodging the chair from under the apartments door handle and muttered, blushing slightly, "I need to get you some replacement boxers anyway…" as she pulled him out of the apartment and slammed the door closed behind them.

Hurrying toward the stairs as she checked the time on her phone.

11:49

Nadine cursed and started moving faster.

Clawhauser looked at the clock and sighed in disappointment. He was sure that they were going to make it in. What could have happened? Not even Fangmeyer should have been able to break those cuffs. Heck, Bogo hadn't been able to when they were testing the new equipment and if he couldn't, no one could.

"Well, I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning." He said a bit disappointedly and reached for another donut.

"Okay Clawhauser," Nick piped up from where he was sitting on top of a stack of files on the chair next to him. The fox turned from his halfheartedly help sifting through some of the departments never ending paperwork and looked directly at the cheetah, "I appreciate you saving us from punishment parking duty and all by convincing the chief you needed some help with all of this," he waved his paw at the pile of old record files that they'd been reviewing, and then muttered quickly, "Though I'm not sure if this is all that much better…"

"And whose fault is it, that we got on the Chief's bad side, Nick?" Judy asked from inside one of the Bogo sized record boxes where she was organizing the mess of old files with her usually efficiency, "Hummm?"

"Still worth it," Nick mumbled and coughed in an attempt to covering up his words as Judy snorted.

"Anyway," Nick said grinning as he turned back to Clawhauser, "What's really going on?"

"Why what do you mean? I just needed some help, that's all!" Clawhauser said holding his donut in both paws and trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Right… sorting through these files has been on the backburner for months because it wasn't important for any current cases, but suddenly it just has to be done, and you just have to have help with it, and aren't Judy and Nick stuck on punishment detail today anyway?" Nick gave him a too perceptive look and Clawhauser even saw Judy's ears pop up out of the top of the carboard box and swivel to listen in, "You, my big friend," Nick patted his arm jovially and snagged one of his donuts, munching on it as he continued, "always knows what's going on before anyone else. There's a reason you run the precincts betting pool and always have the best gossip. Soooo… what's the scoop this time? And why did you want us here?"

Clawhauser blushed slightly and stuffed the donut in his mouth to cover it up.

"I've got. no idea. what your. talking about." He said between munches and determinedly did not look at Nick, "I'm certainly not digging for gossip. Or planning on stating another betting pool. And I certainly wouldn't have arranged for someone with a good nose to be here with me this morning! I just needed a little help sorting all this!" Clawhauser protested with hurt dignity as he waved at the files.

"uh-huh. Is that as your job as the front desk mammal or as the precincts head gossip?" Nick asked clearly not convinced.

Clawhasuer was saved from answering as the front doors were thrown open and Wolford and Fangmeyer came sprinting in, fur looking a bit ruffled and damp like they'd recently come through a rainstorm.

"Better hurry," Clawhauser said as Nadine skidded to a stop in front of his desk, Ralph skidding and bumping into her back. He pointed over his shoulder down one of the hallways.

"Jacobs said he's not waiting a minute past noon, so you've got like thirty seconds to get there before he locks up."

"Right, come on Ralph!" Fangmeyer said turning and sprinting down the corridor, Wolford barely managing to keep up with her, his half ruined shirt flapping as he ran.

"Wait. I thought they had the day off?" Nick said a bit confused, "Were they on mission in the rainforest district or something- wait are they cuffed?"

"Shhh!" Clawhauser shushed before quickly grabbing Nicks head, turning it in the direction the two officers had just ran and in a more commanding if whispered voice said, "Quickly, what do you smell?"

Nick sniffed a few times and frowned, "not too much, good bit of fur shampoo, Head & Stripes I think… that shampoo brand with the slogan, gets your fur licken' clean in no time!, and some hints of… tequila I think? Huh. Besides that they mostly smell like they usually do, scents are a bit excited… good bit of adrenaline…" he trailed off closing his eyes and sniffing again, "and… some pheromones?" Nick opened his eyes and looked back over at Clawhauser still seeming confused.

"Were they working some sort of undercover vice case in the rainforest district or something?"

"Now you know I could say even if they were." Clawhauser said grinning broadly as he pulled out a ledger book and started scribbling.

"Wait!" Judy said, pulling herself up to the edge of the box and looking at Nick intently, "They both smelled of Head & Stripes?"

Nick thought for a second then nodded.

"Didn't smell any other fur shampoos or conditioners, why?"

Judy turned to Clawhauser, who looked ready to squeal with excitement, "Benji, double my bet that Ralph wins The Boop Wager, oh and put me down for twenty that Nadine asks him out before the end of it too."

Boop Count

Ralph: 6

Nadine: 5

A/N

Thanks to Anheledir for the suggestion of 'Head & Stripes' name and slogan for Fangmeyer's Shampoo!

Credit to MinscLovesBoo for the ear flick *snicker* though if you don't already know about that you'll have to wait a bit for some more posts of this story!

Now, I got to go and finish some other over due chapters, so I'm gonna start running before any of you finish reading this and start coming after me asking about when the next chapter is gonna be. To which I'll answer here as I continue to run and get a nice lead, that I'm not entirely sure, but as soon as I finish two other major projects which are actually coming to a close quite soon, that there should certainly be more regular updates to this story!