-Warm Glow-

Nick was having a hard time breathing. Not in a panicked kind of way though. More in a labored sense. The fox tried to take another deep breath in only to find he really had to work for it. He felt like there was some kind of weight on his chest.

Nick's eyes were closed but with the sun high in the sky, it gave off a bright orange to him as the light from the sun shined through his eyelids.

As the fox began to stir he continued to feel a weight on his chest. He couldn't tell if this was part of some day dream or reality. A pair of emerald eyes slowly blinked open as he woke from the mid day nap. As he breathed again he was sure he felt something on his chest. The fox looked down and saw something he would never forget.

Judy was curled up into the smallest of balls as she slept on the fox's chest. Her ears behind her head and her nose twitching made the small doe look absolutely adorable. Nick drew in a breath as he tried to remain as quiet as he could. He didn't want this moment to end. Judy stirred for a moment but soon fell back into her sleep.

"How did we get this lucky?" Nick thought as he slowly reached out and ran a paw down Judy's ears. The bunny shaking slightly before letting out a soft moan.

Nick chuckled as he stared at the sleeping bunny and then remembered where they were. He started to look around, studying his surroundings. Everything was as they had left it. Their clothing laying nearby, warming in the sun. The towels sitting next to Nick's backpack. The fox looked up for a second and noticed their radios were exactly where Judy had left them before they dozed off. Nick worried for a second they may have missed a call. He slowly reached up and checked the radios and noticed they were set to the highest volume. If someone did try calling it would have definitely woken one of them up if not both. Nick placed the radio back on the spot above his head and looked down at Judy.

He froze when he noticed a brilliant purple pair of eyes looking up at him. Her eye lids were drooped to the point they were barely open. The bunny still rousing from her nap. Nick gave her a weak smile as the bunny's nose twitched, the doe starting to get a bead on her surroundings.

"Hey," Nick whispered softly. The bunny's ears twitched before slowly raising from the does back, a tired smile on Judy's lips.

"Hey Nick," She whispered. Judy looked like she was deep in thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Wanna hear something stupid."

"Oh this ought to be good," Nick chuckled.

"I was worried that I had dreamt all of today up," Judy whispered as she slowly uncurled from her ball and stretched her arms.

Nick smiled, "if it was all a dream then I would never want to wake up."

Judy closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh before looking up at Nick once more.

"Gosh that was cheesy," Judy muttered before crawling up and pressing her lips to Nick's. The couple enjoying a kiss in the warm summer sun. She then pulled away and looked into Nick's emerald eyes. "I like cheesy."

"I like you," Nick responded as he gave Judy a kiss on the nose.

Judy giggled as she fell onto the fox's bare chest and began to nuzzle into his fur. The doe fell silent and Nick felt one of the bunny's ears raise as she pressed her head against the fox's chest, listening to his heartbeat. She let out a giggle as she listened.

"Enjoying the beat?" Nick asked softly as he slowly glided a paw down Judy's ear, the doe responding with a pleased noise.

There was a sudden sharp noise from Judy's radio and the doe groaned and looked up. Nick half expecting her to climb off him to retrieve her equipment. The bunny remained though and stared at the device for a moment when no further noise came out of the speaker she sighed and looked back down at Nick. In that moment the fox fell for Judy all over again as he gazed into her eyes. He smiled as he realized how often that seemed to happen today.

"We really should get back to my tower," Judy grumbled as she put a paw on Nick's cheek.

"Buy a fox dinner first geeze," Nick teased.

Judy rolled her eyes but smirked as she gazed down at the fox. Her eyes began to wander and Nick chuckled as the doe looked the fox up and down, not even trying to hide the fact she was looking at certain parts of his body.

"Though we should get back," Judy began as she looked back into Nick's eyes, "Are you in a rush?"

Nick grinned as he put a paw behind Judy's head and pulled her down, "No rush at all."

Their lips met once more and Nick closed his eyes as they proceeded to share a rather heated embrace on the warm rock. Heated was how it started, how it ended was in a way that Nick couldn't help but enjoy. The two panting as their lips parted from time to time. The bunny showing what kind of drive she had. Of course, halfway through their session Nick had a sudden urge and decided to go with his senses. He rolled over so for once Judy was underneath him. The doe's eyes remained closed as she leaned up and kept her lips pressed against Nick's. The fox letting out a soft growl which earned an excited squeak from his partner.

Before things got too out of paw though the couple parted. Both of them not needing to say anything, each of them understanding the limits they should go to. Nick had a somewhat hard time stopping himself but he also wanted to try and slow down a little. The constant nagging feeling that he had just met the bunny was fresh in his mind. They knew so much about one another but when it came to this particular type of physical interaction…for now, they were happy just to be close to one another.

Nick's body betraying just how happy he was actually getting. When the two stood up Judy's eyes glanced downward and her face suddenly turned a bright red.

"What?" Nick asked at first before realizing what had happened. The fox turning away as the doe burst out laughing.

"Wow Nick," Judy whispered as she strolled over to their things.

"Sorry Judy, it's just-"

"I mean wow," Judy repeated, cutting the fox off.

"Well, I mean...it just kind of..."

The fox trailed off as the doe looked back over her shoulders, her eyes instantly going south. The fur on her cheeks turned a rosy color as she bit her lips.

"Wow…" Judy whispered one last time before picking up a towel.

Nick was at first somewhat mortified but after seeing Judy's reaction he suddenly felt rather confident.

"Well I guess that's one way to show you are interested," Nick thought as he tried to control his body. The fox tried thinking of different things that may calm himself down only to take a glance at Judy's nude figure which caused him to just have to start all over again.

Judy grabbed her clothing and began to get dressed once more. She glanced back at Nick and chuckled before tossing home some of his clothing.

"Get dressed firewatcher," She instructed. "We got smoke to look for."

"Technically you have smoke to look for," Nick shot back, "I am on a day off and my tower is currently covered."

"Yeah covered with a bunny and painted dog," Judy teased which caused Nick to put a paw to his face and drag down.

"Don't remind me..." Nick grumbled as he tried to not think about what may or may not be going on in his tower at that moment.

"Remind you of what?" Judy asked as she put her shirt on and began to button up, both of the mammal's fur was already dry thanks to the midday nap in the warm sun. Neither of them needed to towel off. "Remind you that right now my best friend is probably on your bed as she is-"

"La la la," Nick said as he put his paws to his ears. "Not listening!"

Judy chuckled as she studied the tod. The predator smiled at her as he reached down and slowly put his pants back on. The doe bit her lower lip as she watched. The fox taking notice and laughed.

"Um, eyes up here," Nick teased.

"I know what I wanna look at," Judy said with a wink.

The fox and bunny shared a laugh as they both got dressed.

A few minutes later they were all squared away and ready to return to Judy's tower. For once Nick didn't feel saddened to leave a spot. He thought he would feel slightly down knowing they were off to a tower. The fact that it was just tower and the bunny was going to be there with him made it all better.

Nick took one last look at Bunny Falls and smiled. He turned to look at Judy but was surprised to see the tips of her ears right in front of him. He looked down in time to see the bunny wrap her arms around his waist and squeeze him tightly. He watched her as she closed her eyes tightly and nuzzled her cheeks against his chest, the bunny's ears falling behind her back.

"Nick I'm just…" Judy began to whisper.

"Me too carrots," Nick said as he wrapped an arm around the doe as he stroked her ears with the other. "Me too..."

The walk back to the tower from Bunny Falls was actually somewhat fun. Nick imagined this was what it would have been like if Judy and he had met in high school at some kind of summer camp. They felt refreshed from their bath in the pond, they felt warm from the sun, and they felt happy from one another's company.

Judy would occasionally point out landmarks on the way to her tower. Though they weren't very far Judy had tons of things to point out to the fox. There were several smooth rocks under a tree she said had tons of odd bugs underneath. A large stump perfect for sitting on and munching on a carrot. A large tree with low branches that was excellent for climbing.

Judy explained it was actually on this path that she and Trisha would walk about when the ranger was in the region. The bunny examining the kind of bond she had with the brown pinecone wielding ranger.

"She and I talk about a lot of things actually," Judy explained. "Sometimes we just wander the woods for hours."

"Aren't you supposed to be in your tower?" Nick asked playfully as he squeezed the does paw.

"This is mainly in the off season," Judy explained. "Of course she was here just a week ago and we managed to take a trip to my water fall and relax."

Nick made a scoffing noise, "I should have known…you take all the mammals there!" The fox teased but was curious to see the doe's response.

Judy, however, caught on and just smirked. "She's a better kisser."

Nick felt the color drain from his face as his jaw fell open, "wait... what?"

Judy suddenly jumped in front of the fox and pointed right at him, "Gotcha! Oh gosh, Nick is it always this easy?"

Nick rolled his eyes and looked up at the trees. How did he fall for that one?

The fox had a sudden evil look on his face as he looked down at the doe.

"You got me Carrots," He began before lunging forward and wrapping the bunny up in a hug as he lifted her off the ground, "but now I got you"

"I like this," Judy whispered as she nuzzled "I like this a lo-"

Just froze as she felt one of Nick's paws glide up her side and begin to wiggle.

"No!" the doe pleaded. "No no…ah…bahaha…stop! Now bahahahaha!" the bunny burst out laughing as the fox began his attack.

"Who is the better kisser?" Nick asked in a playful growl.

"Ahahahahah you! You are!" Judy let out between fits of laughter. "Nick please!"

Nick chuckled and felt he had gotten what he needed from the doe. He began to let her down but felt Judy tense up slightly and give off a whine. The fox rolled his eyes as he looked down at the doe who cuddled into him.

"I am not carrying you around the whole mountain," Nick said in a serious tone.

"Oh come on! I'm out of breath thanks to a certain fox" Judy teased. "I may not make it!"

"Oh geeze don't even start," Nick laughed as he continued down the path. Judy wasn't very heavy to the fox so it wasn't too hard for him to carry her. It was slightly awkward at first. "Ok but, you gotta adjust," The fox said as he reached down and scooped up Judy's legs with one arm while another went to her back.

The doe suddenly went silent as she was carried bridal style through the woods. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Nick's neck and stared up at him. The fox took notice of this and gazed down at her with a questioning look.

The doe slowly leaned up towards the fox. Nick chuckled as he prepared for another kiss, only to feel one of Judy's small paws reach up and poke his nose. The fox gave Judy a confused look as she began to giggle.

"Did you just?" Nick began to ask.

"Trisha always brags about booping Deltas nose!" Judy exclaimed. "Always wondered what it was like."

"Bunnies…" Nick said softly as he shook his head and continued to carry Judy down the path.

"Hey now you are the one who fell in love with one," Judy teased. The two fell silent suddenly as the words lingered in the air. Judy realizing what exactly she had just said and how awkward things may have just become.

"Do I love you?" Nick asked out loud which caused the bunny to let her ears droop. Before the bunny could speak up though Nick simply smiled. "Yes, yes I do."

It was the first time the words had been spoken face to face. Sure the word had come up before and it had been joked about. To say it to the bunny who was now held in his arms though felt wonderful to the fox. Now though the ball was in Judy's court.

The bunny reached up slowly as she kept her arms around the fox's neck.

"I love you too Nick," She whispered softly. Nick could feel the doe shivering with excitement as she spoke the words. The way her voice quivered made the fox know she meant it. Nick had a bit of a skip in his step now and the walk back to the tower felt more like a dream than a trek.

By the time they reached Judy's tower the sun had begun to move to a lower section of the sky. Nick realized that their nap by the water may have taken them a little longer than he had anticipated. He was slightly worried that this could get both of them in trouble but Judy's demeanor told him everything was alright. Once inside the tower the bunny hopped from the fox's arms and skipped over to her radio equipment and checked a few things.

The fox set his backpack on the floor near the door and took a moment to stretch his arms. Having carried the bunny for a majority of their little hike back had caused his arms to grow slightly tired. Even though Judy was fairly light Nick wasn't use to carrying someone.

That's when it hit him. He wasn't really used to a lot of this. Being in a relationship like the one he found himself was something completely new to him. This, of course, was not a bad thing though, the relationship that is. The bad thing was now he started to think about it all. Was he good enough for Judy? Did he deserve a wonderful mammal like this? Could she deal being with another species, especially a fox? What about her family? What about everyone else?

The thoughts began to swirl in the fox's mind and he grew somewhat concerned about it all. He had nothing against interspecies relationships. He had known of several back in Zootopia. There were even relationships like that all the way out here. Trisha and Delta were a prey pred relationship and both of them seemed extremely happy about it. Of course, Nick had a feeling that Trisha was always that happy.

If they could make it work then Judy and Nick should be just fine right? Right?

Suddenly doubt began to make its way into the fox's mind. What if he hurt Judy? What if he did something stupid? What if…?

The questions stopped as Nick looked over at the bunny who was currently on the radio. She was listening in to a conversation with a small smile as she leaned back in her chair. The bunny kicked at the edge of the table gently and caused the chair to balance on two of its legs as she put her large feet on the desk that held all the equipment.

While Nick had been lost in his thoughts the bunny had returned to her duties. She checked in with a few other towers as she reached over with one of her large feet and clicked a few switches on the large radio.

To Nick, she looked so very beautiful. She carried a natural look about her that caused all the thoughts in his mind to stop. The world just didn't seem to matter outside of this tower right now.

And then she did it, she did something that made all the worry in the fox's mind just disappear. Judy turned her head slightly and gave Nick a confident grin and then winked at him as if to tell him everything in the world was alright. It was. Well besides the massive fire currently raging in the southern regions of the forest but that didn't really seem to matter.

Judy took a moment to eye Nick up and down and then gave him a hesitant look.

"You okay Nick?" She asked playfully. "I'm sorry I just needed to do a check in with the other towers," she explained why she had so eagerly gone back to her desk instead of just standing with Nick.

The fox was speechless and simply nodded as he stared at the doe who began to blush.

"Stop," she giggled as she tried to look away.

Nick just smirked and shook his head as he continued to just take Judy in.

"You weirdo," Judy teased as she tried to look away from Nick only to chance a glance back in his direction. Unlike the doe, Nick didn't try and hide the fact he was looking right at her. He didn't see much of a point to keep it hidden. She was beautiful, she was kind, and she was…his. So why not enjoy the view.

Soon however simply watching wasn't exactly enough for the fox who trotted over to the desk. Judy took notice and let her chair fall back onto its four legs and put her feet back on the ground. Or at least try to, even with such a small chair her legs dangled in the air.

Nick leaned down and gently wrapped his arms around Judy's shoulders as he placed his head between her ears which parted to make room for the fox. He could tell Judy was looking upwards but he simply closed his eyes and he rubbed his chin against the top of her head. The doe let out a soft purring noise as she tried to speak into her radio.

"Thorofare can you repeat that?" Came a voice over the radio which caused Judy to blush. She had been speaking to another tower while letting out the pleased noises. It must have carried over the airways to another firewatcher nearby.

"Sorry Chimney Rock," Judy blurted out, sounding a little flustered. "I was just saying…umm…I was…just..." Judy had a sudden hard time speaking as a certain fox began to gently rub her shoulders as he stood up. It was at first just going to be a simple rub but Nick smirked at Judy's reaction and decided to stay and see what trouble he could cause. As he squeezed the doe's shoulders she let her mouth fall open and began to breathe rather heavily

"Thorofare you ok?" The voice over the radio came back. "Must be getting some interference again."

"Yeah…yeah, I am here," Judy mumbled as she let her head fall back. She released the mic button for a moment so she wouldn't transmit. "Keep going, Nick…"She whispered softly. The words were like some kind of sweet treat to the fox who eagerly continued rubbing the bunny's shoulders. The doe let out a soft purr before activating the radio equipment again. "Just checking in is all…I'll…chat with you later..." Judy's words sounded labored and it was obvious why.

The other firewatcher on the frequency acknowledged Judy and then signed off, leaving the bunny and fox couple in silence. It was a comfortable silence though as Nick rubbed the doe's shoulders.

"Mmmm….soo maybe I will just have to get a new firewatcher for Two forks..." Judy whispered softly.

"You getting tired of me already?" Nick asked playfully.

"The opposite actually," The bunny let out in a gasp as Nick found one of her favorite spots, "I don't intend on letting you leave."

Nick chuckled as he leaned down and gently planted a kiss on the bunny's cheek.

The rest of the day went along the same theme. The two lovers acted more like freshman in high school experiencing a first love. They wanted to constantly be near one another. This was odd to Nick at first who had grown up being somewhat of a loner. With Judy though things were different. Being around the bunny who had done so much for him just made him act differently.

Judy seemed to thoroughly enjoy the extra attention as well. Constantly reaching out and running a paw through some russet fur or just lying in bed with the fox and listening to the steady sound of breathing.

Of course, it wasn't all cuddling and kissing. Judy still had her job to do and would occasionally drag herself away from Nick so she could take a little time scanning the horizon or checking in with other towers.

When it came to eating Nick sat back and munched on some food he had brought from his tower. He opened a small can of pressed beetles that had been mushed into a paste. Though it was better cooked the fox didn't mind simply enjoying the meal from the can as is. Judy however gagged at the sight which caused a wicked grin to cross the fox's face.

A few seconds later the couple was running around the tower as Nick chased after the bunny with an open can of beetles. Judy shouting at the fox about getting him fired if he didn't stop. It almost ended in disaster for the doe when Nick doubled back around the map in the center of the room and caught Judy off guard.

Judy, however, escaped when she simply leaped over the fox who ducked. The two caught their breathes in between fits of laughter as they looked at one another across the tower. Only after Nick was done with his food did Judy dare approach him again. Of course, when she did get hungry and made some steamed carrots it was her turn to try and rub her food in Nick's face. The carrots though didn't have the same effect and the fox simply sat there as Judy prodded the fox's check with the warm vegetable.

"How is it you have that food anyways?" Nick asked as Judy sat on her bed and munched happily at the carrot. "Isn't it perishable?"

Judy nodded happily and swallowed the bite currently in her mouth. "Trisha drops off some stuff for me sometimes."

"What?" Nick asked, "No fair! Delta doesn't do that for me!"

"Probably too busy covering your tower," Judy pointed out with a wink.

Nick rolled his eyes. Judy did have a point.

"Probably too busy banging in my tower…" Nick grumbled which caused Judy to snort as she tried to sip at some water.

The day went far quicker than Nick had anticipated. In fairness, he did spend half of it asleep by a water fall. It had also taken him a while to get to Judy's tower in the first place.

Sadly though the day was coming to an end. It seemed that time just wanted to fly right by today.

Of course, it wasn't all bad. It meant they got to watch the sunset together.

Nick and Judy stood outside of the tower as they leaned against the railing and looked out at the sea of trees. The forest looked somewhat different to Nick now. Not just because he was at a different tower mind you. No, it was because who he was looking at it with.

Whenever the fox sat in his own tower and watched the sun disappear behind the mountains it had this somewhat lonely feeling to it. The day coming to a close and there he was, alone, in a tower, in the middle of nowhere.

Now though things were different. He was standing next to a mammal who cared about him and enjoying a breathtaking view, the sunset was pretty nice as well.

The two sat in silence as they watched the sun sink behind the horizon, casting the forest in a warm orange glow.

Judy scooted closer to Nick who had gotten lost in the view. She leaned against his arm and gently nuzzled into him. The fox smiled as he looked down at the bunny who smiled up at him.

Miles away there was a city full of mammals going about their lives. Zootopia was probably hosting concerts, shows, events, and tons of other little things that had mammals mingling with one another.

None of them really existed anymore in Nick's mind. The only mammal that mattered to him was smiling up at him.

The fox leaned down as the doe stood on her toes. Their lips met once more, sharing a kiss as the dusk turned to night. When they finally pulled from the kiss a sea of stars in the sky looked down on them. Nick didn't really take notice of them though. He was too busy getting lost in Judy's eyes.

"Come on," Judy said softly as she grabbed Nick's paw and led him inside, "Time for bed, we gotta be up early tomorrow."

"What?" Nick asked with a chuckle, "Early? Why?"

Judy laughed as she led the fox inside her tower. "Well unlike a certain someone I don't have anyone watching my tower and have to be up early to protect the forest."

"Good point," Nick agreed which got an odd look from Judy. "I have already saved the forest like 3 times. You are super behind."

This earned a slug in the arm from the bunny who actually showed off some strength, the fox having to rub his arm from the hit.

The two froze when the door to their tower closed, their eyes on the bed before them.

"I can just umm," Nick began, not sure why this was so awkward. "I can just sleep on the floor I guess."

"Nick really?" Judy asked as she undid her shirt. "We slept naked on a rock. I think the bed is just fine."

"You sure?" Nick asked, sounding slightly hesitant.

The hesitancy vanished however as Judy stripped away her shirt and gave the fox a sultry look from over her shoulder.

"I mean if you really don't want to cuddle up tonight."

Judy laughed as Nick practically tore his clothing off and dived into the bed. The doe joining him after she stopped laughing so hard.

The bunny joined her fox under the sheets and Nick watched as Judy burrowed into his side only to stretch out and wrap her arms around the fox. Nick smirked as he held the doe close and used his tail to encircle the bunny, keeping her as close to him as he could.

The irony wasn't lost on Nick who decided to just not think about it too much but this had to be one of the oddest relationships out there.

Here he was curled up with a bunny who he had fallen for over the radio waves. All thanks to some job posting he had found online. If he hadn't had taken this chance he would have never of found Judy. He would have never have gotten to know her. And he would have never found himself falling asleep with her wrapped up in his arms.

Hey there Firewatchers!

Wow, just wow it has been forever since I have had a chance to write for this story, I have really missed it.

First off let me apologize for the extremely long wait in between these chapters. I was focused on finishing up my other story and then some crazy stuff started to happen in the real world. Well We Just Call Them Nighthowlers is now done so I can focus on having fun again!

I just want to thank you all for sticking around for so long as I worked on this new chapter and got the rest of my work organized. You all are super awesome and I love bragging to folks about how I have such awesome fans.

Did you all like the chapter? I just tried to put a small amount of fluff in there and then the darn cap fell off and fluff just poured in and then I tried to cancel it out with Fluff remover but turned out it was a can of fluff strengthener...they really shouldn't have the cans look so similar!

I hope to have more chapters ready soon!

Pinecone!

-Blue