2023 Tropes & Fandoms: Square: 71/Regular - Trope: Confessions
Better Than Carrots
When their shift was over, Nick and Judy often joined Clawhauser...and any of the others who were also freshly off-duty...at their favorite pub near the station. It was a simple way to unwind after the stresses of the day at the job that they loved, but that was still both emotionally and physically demanding for them all – no matter what size or species they were.
Usually a couple of drinks, some friendly conversation, and possibly a bit of off-key karaoke was all that was needed as a restorative, however. Afterwards, they all felt more like themselves again and were able to part on cheerful terms until their next shift together.
However, on this one particular occasion, the force's only rabbit officer had already been extremely tired from an earlier foot chase against a lynx who had obviously spent a little too much time in an illegal catnip den. Therefore, it was some time before she managed to outmaneuver the larger and faster feline with her brains instead of brawn. Not only that, but the carrot cocktails that Judy liked to sip during their after work get togethers must have been made a lot stronger than usual. Consequently, the combination of those two things meant she fell asleep on her partner's shoulder after just one tiny glass of the stuff.
Nick just smiled fondly down at the furry little head and long ears which rested on his sleeve, though, before he announced to the table in general, "I guess that's it for us, then. I'll take her home. You guys have fun."
Then he gently hoisted the rabbit onto his back and waved goodnight to the other officers. The gesture was cheerfully returned before those who were left all dove straight back into their conversation - secure in the knowledge that their smallest colleague was in good hands.
After all, everyone already knew that the fox absolutely adored Judy...and vice versa. In fact, even though the two of them made quite the odd couple, many suspected that it was a "more than friends" kind of relationship...even if the two animals involved had not admitted it to each other...or even to themselves...yet.
Nevertheless, either way it meant that the crafty fox would not let anything happen to their bubbly and optimistic rabbit friend.
...
They were correct.
In fact, Nick was quite content to have the rare opportunity to take care of his usually fiercely independent bunny. He let her know that, too, when she revived just a little bit the moment they stepped out into the cool Zootopian night air.
"Nick?" she murmured with sleepy uncertainty.
"I'm here, Carrots," he reassured her softly as he also secured his hold under her knees so that she would not worry about falling.
After she realized where she was...and with whom...she relaxed again, and laid her head back down on his shoulder with complete trust. That small gesture made Nick feel very proud and happy and he hummed a cheerful, but quiet...so he would not disturb his passenger...tune to himself as he carried Judy towards her apartment building.
In the process, he also kept a vigilant eye out for any possible miscreants who might want to waylay the two of them while one was in such a vulnerable state. After all, it was possible that someone might actually be dumb enough to try and take on a couple of police officers who just happened to also be personal friends of the Big family. At any rate, though, keeping Judy safe was the very least he could do for someone who had done so much for him and who had...in the process...come to mean so much more to him than any other animal, as well!
When she let out a little drunken snore underneath his ear, though, Nick's serious thoughts faded away and he found that he had to hold back a laugh, instead.
My little bunny is a lightweight in more ways than one, he thought affectionately.
That laugh soon turned into a quiet yelp of surprise, though, when Judy...whom he had thought was fast asleep...reached up to gently stroke that same ear.
"I love these," she murmured. "They're so soft and pointy."
The sensation of her gentle touch on such a sensitive body part made Nick stop in his tracks, though, as he tried to control his reaction to the unexpectedly pleasurable feeling. She doesn't know what she's doing, he reminded himself sternly when she finally dropped her paw and started to snore again. She's simply exhausted and has had too much to drink.
That thought was enough to make him pull himself together and continue his progress, but it also had a dampening effect on his formerly cheerful mood. In fact, he felt subdued and a little depressed - even though he did not quite want to admit why that was.
They soon reached The Grand Pangolin Arms, however, where Nick took the stairs up to second floor where Judy lived. As he stopped outside her door, he secured his hold on her with one hand while the other one fished the keys out of his pocket. His good mood returned then and he smiled, as always, when he saw...and selected...the bright orange carrot-shaped one that Judy had commissioned just for him so he could easily tell it apart from the others. Not only was the key adorable...just like her...but the amount of trust involved in her decision to give him emergency access to her home never failed to astound him.
We've got to get you into a bigger and nicer place, though, Carrots, the fox thought to himself and his smile faded again...just like it did on every visit...when he saw her tiny and dingy living space again and clearly heard the antelope couple in the next apartment arguing through the extremely thin walls.
He knew that his bunny deserved so much better. He had to tightly clamp down on the thought which naturally followed that one, though. After all, he could not seem to help but to then secretly wish that he could share a new place with her – especially since he realized that even at their current salary levels they could probably afford something pretty nice together.
Together...
All those crazy thoughts and hopes associated with his bunny and that word...ones that he usually kept buried deep down...refused to be quashed this time, though. In fact, they even rose closer to the surface when Nick gently knelt down to place Judy on her small bed, remove her shoes, and tuck her in underneath the quilt that her mother back in Bunnyburrow had made for her. Therefore, before he moved away, he even gave into the temptation to place a soft kiss on her furry forehead - especially when he saw how...(Dare he even think it?)...cute...the little sloshed bunny looked at that moment.
Before he could turn to stand, however, Judy surprised him once again as she reached up and stroked her paw gently along his snout. Even though she was very close to his sharp predator teeth, her trust in him was implicit enough that she never even opened her eyes as she made the contact. All he could think about then was how nice it felt when she touched him with such familiarity like that...just as she had done to his ears out on the street...and how he wished it would continue.
The moment was over too soon, though, and her paw dropped back down to her side.
"Thanks, Nick," she murmured sleepily as she then rolled over to face the wall. As she automatically pulled her cover up higher underneath her chin, she also added quite seriously, "You do know I love you, right?"
The fox just knelt there in shock at the sound of those particular words...even though she had said them to him before. However, he would never quite admit to himself before then that he had desperately wanted to hear that phrase in a tone that was not her usual lighthearted and joking one. This time it had been different, though, because she had sounded as if she truly meant it...and in the way that he actually wanted her to mean it. Therefore, almost in spite of himself, because he knew full well that she might not remember any of their interaction in the morning, he let his guard down for once and heard himself echo the sentiment anyway.
"I love you, too, Carrots," he whispered.
The moment the confession left him, he felt free – almost as if a burden...one that he did not even know he had been carrying...had been lifted from him. He did not have much time to enjoy the feeling, however, because other voices soon broke into the moment as the two antelopes in the neighboring apartment commented through the wall in a moment of rare agreement.
"Woohoo! It's about time, you two!" one exclaimed.
"Yeah! You guys have been doing the mating dance forever!" the other one agreed. "And you're not even birds!"
Nick just ignored them both, however, since he only cared about what his bunny thought. Therefore, he automatically checked on her to see if she had heard...and possibly been disturbed...by what they had said. He need not have worried, though. Her back was still to him and she seemed to be fast asleep again...despite all of the extra noise.
Nevertheless, he thought that he could still discern a small smile on her face, anyway. Perhaps that meant she had somehow heard him through her dreams...and that she had liked the idea, as well.
With that intriguing thought, Nick suddenly found that he could not bear to leave her alone that night, and so he decided to stay put...at least until the bunny woke up in the morning.
Therefore, since Judy lived in only one small room...and he tried hard not to look at the bed that was completely off-limits at the current time for many reasons...he glanced over at the loveseat instead. He quickly realized, however, that even though he had often sat on it before, it would be impossible for him to even recline on the rabbit-sized piece of furniture...must less lie down on it. As such, he decided to simply take a cushion off of it to use as a pillow, instead. He then also grabbed the spare blanket that he knew Judy kept in the closet because she had pulled it out during their last friendly movie night and sat beside him underneath it as they munched popcorn and laughed at a silly comedy on the TV...with the occasional commentary from the guys next door, of course.
That had been a nice night, though.
Nick spared a moment to fondly remember the warm comfortable feeling of having the happy bunny cuddled up so close to him while his arm had touched her shoulders as it rested behind her on the back of the tiny loveseat.
All of a sudden, he remembered what he was doing, however, and shook his head as he forced himself to come back to the present. He then took the items he had gathered and settled down, still fully dressed, in a makeshift bed on the floor beside her to wait until morning.
After everything that had happened that evening, he simply knew that he had to be there whenever his bunny woke up the next day. Now that the feelings that he had been keeping bottled up had finally been awakened in him, he had to know the truth...the sober truth...of how she really felt about the situation and...more importantly...how she felt about him.
If she just wanted things to continue the way they always had been, with the two of them as work partners and best friends, then Nick knew that he would do it. After all, he wanted for her to be a part of his life no matter what. Judy was that important to him. It that was the case, he would just have to compartmentalize any other feelings that he had for her until they...hopefully...faded away with time.
However, if she decided that she was ready for more, and was willing to brave everything that a fox/rabbit couple would probably have to endure in order to be together with him in that way, then he knew that he would not hesitate. He would jump right into it with all four paws, if necessary, and do anything and everything in his power with his experience as both a cop and a con man...as well as a fox in love...to make it work.
Judy was worth it!
Hopefully, then the two of them could have nights like tonight...and movie night...and more...on every night!
Nick was finally able to admit that was what he really wanted...and that he had done so for quite some time. He wanted the right to always be with the incredibly sweet, but tough, little mammal next to him...and on equal terms with her as a real couple...no matter what their species.
However, he also knew that it was up to his bunny to ultimately decide what their relationship would be.
As a result, even though he was used to playing it cool, he really felt the opposite of calm on the current occasion. In fact, he still did not know if he was more excited or terrified...or a mixture of both...at the thought of her response to it all...if she even remembered any of it in the first place.
Somehow, though, even in the midst of both his hopes and worries about what Judy would or would not say and do on the following morning, the fox was still eventually able to fall asleep on the floor next to his bunny's bed.
...
When Nick awoke the next morning, he recognized, in a drowsy sort of way, that a soft warm weight was draped across his torso where none had been before. It took him a few moments to fully comprehend the reason behind the change, but when he yawned, a long furry ear tickled his cheek. His eyes shot wide open then at the sudden realization that at some point his bunny had apparently left her own bed in order to actually join him on the floor, instead!
His drowsiness fell away in an instant then and he pulled back slightly in order to get a better look at her and try to judge her state of mind. However, she made that impossible when she just wiggled closer back to him again. Unable to quite believe his luck that she was there in the first place...and, even more incredible, that she did not seem to want to leave...Nick decided to go ahead and take a chance as he daringly wrapped both of his furry red arms around her. That move brought her even closer to his chest...and his heart. The muscle in question then threatened to beat hard enough to burst right out of his body as he waited with bated breath for her reaction to his move...now that he had finally made it.
Consequently, he was thrilled when she did not protest, at all. In fact, she simply sighed in pleasure at the comfort of their new position and burrowed even closer into his warmth.
They laid there like that for an indeterminate amount of time in uncharacteristic silence...and just enjoyed the feeling of being in each other's arms...until Nick finally gathered enough of his usual courage to speak. After all, he had to be sure.
"Carrots?" He used his nickname for her tentatively.
"Yes?" she responded faintly as she burrowed slightly further into his side.
"What does this mean?" he asked as he tightened his arms around her even more as he marveled at how good it felt to actually have her there – even though he was still worried that she would be horrified enough when she realized what she had done in her drunken state that she would get disgusted and leave.
Judy did none of those things, however. In fact, she just paused for a moment before she spoke, even though she kept her nose down and half buried in the fox's shirt. If Nick had been able to see her face at that moment, he would have realized that the hint of red on her furry cheeks showed that she did not really feel as calm and collected as her normal hard-won confidence would have led him to believe, otherwise. As it was, her unusually quiet tone was a major hint that she was still trying to process everything that was happening between them, as well.
She still answered him truthfully, however. "It means, Silly Fox, that even though I was tired and had too much to drink last night, I still meant everything I said...and I remember everything you said and did, too," was her reply. "As well as the unsolicited opinions of those nosy Oryx-Antlersons!" The last statement was followed by a little giggle.
Even though her voice was slightly muffled from her position, Nick still heard every one of those precious words with crystal clarity as to their meaning. He also felt the vibrations from her laughter and the tightening of her arms around him at the same time. Consequently, his body somehow both instantly relaxed and tensed from the joy and relief he felt at the knowledge that she actually felt the same way that he did!
In fact, he was so happy that he found he could do nothing else but smile as they continued to lie there and hold each other. However, his natural cocky and verbose tendencies soon returned in full force – especially when he heard the audible rumble of his bunny's belly.
"Well, since that is all settled now," he ventured with more of his usual confidence, "why don't I whip up some of her favorite carrot pancakes for my new leporine girlfriend's breakfast?"
Judy's head finally shot up at the unexpected term of affection and she studied him for a long moment before she decided that he was not just mocking her, but that he really meant it.
That was when she smiled sweetly at him and further melted the fox's heart.
"Maybe later," she replied. "After all, neither my vulpine boyfriend nor I are on duty or on call today, so I'd rather stay here just a bit longer. After all, this," she paused as she laid her head back down on his chest and snuggled further into his arms and even closer to his body, "is so much better than carrots!"
Nick found that he just could not argue with that. Therefore, he simply gave in to the impulse to lean down and place a tender kiss on the ear that was closest to him before they happily settled in for a long morning of cuddles.
After all, it was their first day as an official couple and they wanted to make the most of it!