Chapter 5 - Insatiable Lounge Monster
It was a dark and stormy night. A fierce wind howled through the streets of Zootopia like a savage lion on the prowl, while sheets of rain covered the city in a wet blanket. The sudden summer storm that had blown in off the coast caught most mammals off guard, forcing them to take shelter where they could, and cancelling their dates and reservations for sweeter, warmer evenings.
Thunder crashed outside the little, one bedroom apartment, causing the lights to flicker and cast sinister shadows around the room. One such crash was preceded by an ominous knock at the door, causing the mammal waiting inside to jump out of his fur. He slowly rose from the couch and headed to his front door.
A streak of lightning cut through the windows followed immediately by another crash of thunder and the knocking at the door became more urgent, as if a furious beast were trying to break it down. In fact it almost sounded like small devils were trying to kick his door in.
The tall, orange fox cautiously unbolted the locks and peeked out his door before it was suddenly flung from his grasp by a powerful kick. Just as suddenly as the door was ripped from his sore paws, another crash from the storm outside caused the lights in the entire complex to flicker and go dark. He was alone, in the dark, with whatever horrible creature now lurked inside his front door.
He could hear the creature breathing next to him. It's labored breath was filled with all the hate and malice of a furious she-bear who's cubs were in danger. The beast's eyes shone in that dark room like two bright jewels hovering before him. And the ravenous snarl that came from it's terrible jaws sent shivers through the todd's bones and left him filled with dread.
"Nick. Will you let me in already? Or are you going to just stand there with that dumb look on your muzzle?"
Slowly, the lights in the complex came back on. First in the hallway outside. Then the lamps in his room flickered and returned to life, revealing the creature that had kicked open his door. Standing in his doorway was an angry and extremely drenched rabbit!
Judy was literally soaked to the skin! She had been caught in the storm wearing her pink plaid shirt and a comfortable pair of faded blue jeans, both of which were sopping wet and left a small puddle on the floor. In her arms was a large, wet bag filled with several white boxes of food from the nearby noodle take-out shop along with two pairs of chopsticks.
"Of course, Carrots. Please, come in." Nick said with a sweeping motion of his arms, leading her into his warm and comfortable abode. He quickly took the bag from her dripping wet arms, and placed it on his tiny kitchen table. "You look miserable, Carrots. What happened?"
"You know exactly what happened, Dumb Fox! And don't give me that stupid, innocent look!" she said, the rage still thick in her voice. "I was on my way over when the storm hit! I was right outside the Speedy Panda store, so I thought I would step in and order us some noodles. I waited for the rain to ease up a bit before trying to make a mad dash here, but got caught in a another downpour about a block away. So, I'm not only late, but also very wet and miserable. I really just want to call this whole thing off, but going home now is going to be even worse." The tears starting to well up in her eyes, replacing their previous rage.
The fox silently listened to her explanation. When she neared the end, he reached out and gave her a warm hug before her tears could make another wet puddle on his floor. "All you bunnies, are sooo emotional." She clung to him for several minutes and cried into his shirt.
With his arms still loosely wrapped around her hips, he looked down into her amethyst eyes to say, "If I was a kind and generous mammal, I would offer a poor, drenched bunny something warm to wear and a cozy couch to sleep on while waiting out this terrible storm…"
"Nick, I couldn't!" she declared, the insides of her ears turning three shades of pink.
"Well, I am certainly not letting you anywhere near my new couch completely soaked like that!"
"Wait, I thought you said you got it at the Goodwill Store?"
"It's still 'new' to me. And, I am not going to let you stay here cold and soaking wet. You will end up getting sick, and it will be all my fault. I am not having a sick bunny on my hands, no ma'am!"
"Fine. Show me what you have then," she said, sticking out her tiny, pink tongue.
"Follow me, Mademoiselle, to the exclusive wardrobe De la Nicholi," he said bowing at the waist with a great amount of flourish, his left arm extended in the direction of his bedroom. Judy proceeded down the short hallway, leaving soggy pawprints behind her and the sounds of soft giggling.
He quickly followed her to the back room where he turned on a lamp next to the bed and opened the closet doors. His closet contained a few shirts and two pairs of pants along with a crisp, clean ZPD uniform. He was a simple mammal, and didn't need a large variety of clothing.
When he turned around from showing off his simple wardrobe, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the gorgeous sight before him. Judy either didn't realize he was still there or had not bothered to wait for him to leave before she chose to disrobe. Her pink shirt was fully unbuttoned to expose the lacy bra covering her ample bosom as it quickly slid down her smooth grey shoulders.
The shock he felt at seeing his best friend and partner in such a state of undress, left his mind numb and his body unable to move, while he watched her continue. And she was far from finished, standing there in the dim lamp light next to his meager closet.
Next she loosened the button on her jeans and slowly slid the zipper down revealing the bright orange panties beneath. Turning around she began to wiggle her hips back and forth seductively trying to slip out of her now shrunken wet jeans. Nick could only drool and stare at her tight bunny rump and the soft poofy cottontail that she teasingly wagged at him.
Then the shapley rabbit, clothed only in her alluring small clothes, turned to her best friend holding up a pair of dripping wet garments. "Can you be so kind and hang these up in the washroom to dry?"
He only stared at her blankly, his mind having gone somewhere far away!
"Nick!" she exclaimed and shoved the wet cloths into his arms.
"Wha…" The cold, wet feeling woke him from his daze.
"Hang those up so they can dry, please," she requested, as she turned back around completely ignoring the fox. Wagging her soft tail the rabbit began to thumb through the fox's meager wardrobe for something clean and dry to wear.
"Sure thing, I will get right on that."
Finally coming to his senses, and his body free of it's temporary paralysis, he left the room carrying her wet, discarded cloths. In the bathroom, he decided that it would be best to hang her still dripping shirt and jeans in the shower, where they could dry without making a mess all over the floor.
Stepping into the hall, he turned to look at the bedroom door and was once again filled with unfamiliar emotions. The only thought on his mind was to rush in there and hold the little bunny in his arms, but he slowly turned and walked back to the living room.
The central room of Nick's apartment was spacious for such a small room. There was a single light-blue couch with a soft, plush cover and a couple of round throw pillows. A single lamp stood at one end of the couch, and hanging on the opposite wall was a medium sized flat screen television. The room itself was tidy, like it had been cleaned only moments before.
Nick walked over to the television and picked up a small, black box containing a single video disk, which he promptly popped into the player. "She is going to love this," he said quietly to himself.
Once the video was set in the player and the main menu shown on the screen. He went to his open kitchen and grabbed the soggy bag of food off the small dining table. He proceeded to remove the little, white boxes from the bag and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch before Judy could return.
"Nick, how do I look?" said the bunny wearing one of his green shirts. It was so long it came down past her knees. "Do you like it?" she asked while spinning around causing the hem to lift and revealed her bare, graceful legs.
His mind once again drifted back into the bedroom where he imagined his eyes following each of her soft, grey curves. He had almost stopped breathing at the sight of her.
"Nick!" she cried with frustration when he didn't reply. "What has gotten into you?"
Lost in his own day dream, he stayed silent for several moments longer.
"I get it. If you don't like it, just say so!" she exclaimed fiercely, the rage slowly returning to her eyes as she turned to leave the room.
"Wait. Carrots." his voice cracked slightly as he stood up and tried to reach for her. "Please, do that turn again."
"What?" she asked, now very puzzled at the fox's strange behavior.
"I… I liked the way you made it twirl." he said bashfully.
"Oh, so you do like it?" she asked, with a slight giggle as she swished his long shirt around her knees.
"It's not bad, Fluff." He said trying to hide blush rising in his cheeks, then gestured to the array of boxes spread out before him. "I have dinner all set up, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would come join me. Plus, I'm dying to get this movie started."
"Yes!" hollered the exuberant rabbit as she turned and bounded across the room and sat on the far end of the couch opposite of Nick. "I have been waiting all week to find out what this secret movie is that you've picked."
"That's why it's a secret, Dumb Bunny."
"Sly Fox!" she punched him in the shoulder and picked up her pair of chopsticks. "But now, it's movie time so you can tell me what this big secret is!"
"Ok, fine." He walked over to the TV and picked up the movie case to read the cover with a flourish. "For tonight's entertainment may, I present to you the tale of the junior reporter Natalie Green, who is sent to a sleepy little village to investigate reports of savage mammal attacks. She will soon discover, to her own peril, why all the villagers hid in the cellars and lock their doors when the moon comes out!" Bowing he puts the cover back down and returns to his seat.
"Very nice," the bunny said clapping her hands at his performance, "but what is the name of this wonderful sounding film?"
"Um, it's name." the fox stutters for a second. "It's, called ah, um. Has… Hazzen… Hasfen Volts, or something like that, it's a foreign film."
"Don't you mean Hassenvoles?" she asked, trying to hold back the snicker as he clearly butchered the pronunciation. "It means rabbit wolf silly. It's about a cursed rabbit who turns into a ravenous monster under the light of the full moon. My older siblings told me about it when I was little, when they would try to scare me, but I have never seen it myself. I have always wanted to though, this was a really great choice!"
"That reminds me, Carrots, you have never told me much about your family."
"There isn't that much to tell," the rabbit shrugged and opened her first box of noodles.
"Aww, come on, Fluff. I do know you came from a big family. With all those bunnies running around, there has to be tons of good stories to tell." he said pleadingly. Putting all of his foxy charms into a single look, he turned to her and said, "Judy, you're my best friend, and yet I know almost nothing about your past."
"Fine." she said, shoving fried vegetables and long strands of noodle into her mouth, hoping that poor eating manners would distract him from this line of questioning. Unfortunately, he just stared softly into her eyes, letting her finish the mouthful of stir-fry.
"So what was it like growing up in Bunny Burrow? I heard there are a lot of wide open spaces and all that fresh air…"
Judy scoffed loudly, nearly choking on her next bite. After taking a long sip of water, she finally spoke. "I grew up in a somewhat small burrow with over three hundred other rabbits. It's one of the oldest buildings on our farm, built by my great grandfather and his brothers, I think."
Nick just gave her a puzzled look but let her continue.
"Oh there were other more modern burrows on the property but Dad insisted we stay in his grand father's house. 'It's a Hopps tradition,' he would always say." She opened the second box in front of her filled with mini egg rolls and decided to share the first one with the fox. "Suffice it to to say, I grew up without a lot of what you would call 'privacy.'"
Chewing on the proffered egg roll, he stared into the space above her head trying to imagine what a house would feel like filled to the ceiling with adorable, fluffy rabbits. He shook his head to try and clear the terrifying thought. "I'm not sure I could understand that at all, Carrots. I was an only child with a single mom. We had a tiny apartment on the east side of town, but it was more than enough space for the two of us."
"And I am so used to having at least a dozen other mammals around wherever I go, it has been a little tough trying to adjust to this city life. It is such a big place, with so many different mammals, but they all live in their own little worlds, like they are afraid to even talk to one another. Sometimes I really miss all my littermates. It's especially hard at night." She let out a loud sigh and slowly nibbled on the last of her egg rolls.
After a long silence, her ears perked up and she looked up at the television hanging on the wall. "Can we start this movie already?"
"Of course, Carrots," he said picking up the remote, "But one last question first."
The glare she directed at him could have scorched the rest of his fur black.
"I am just curious, what's wrong with night here in the city? I think they are quite lovely, most of the time."
She sighed again, trying to decide how much honesty she could handle in one evening. It was only a moment before she popped the last bite of egg roll into her tiny mouth, realizing that her best friend deserved to know at least one of her dark secrets. Her voice was very soft, and it was barely audible due to the raging storm outside, "I have never really been alone before in my life."
"What?" Nick exclaimed, as his eyes grew ten sizes from the shock.
"Even at the academy there were always other mammals around, and we all slept in that one big room full of bunks. Plus, they kept us too tired and busy to worry about anything else. But now, in my tiny little apartment, when it's quiet, and the two neighbors have finally shut up, I find myself missing home and the rest of my litter. I've even been having dreams about them recently."
Nick's sly smirk returned to his face. "Awww, is the poor bunny getting homesick?" he said with a warm chuckle.
"That's it!" the rabbit cried and leapt across the couch to punch the giggling fox in the shoulder. "You're going to get it now, Fox!" She punched him hard in the chest, "That's for making fun of me. And this is for calling me 'cute', and for leaving me soaked in front of your door, and for making me wear one of your tacky shirts, and for laughing at me in said shirt." The plushly furred punches continued to rain down on the fox's body mercilessly as the thunder's intensity also increased outside.
Even though most of her punches hurt, he kept giggling at the cute, fluffy ball of fury on top of him. He eventually had to grab one of the throw pillows, in an attempt to block the vicious strikes, but after her paws struck nothing but fluffy pillow she ran to the other end of the couch to collect her own weapons of plushness.
"Oh, it is on now, Slick!" she cried and began to flail him on the head as he failed to block any of her swift strikes.
For the next hour the small apartment was filled with the sounds of laughter, yelling and the occasional crash of thunder. The pillow fight eventually came to an end when the out of breath rabbit accidentally rolled off the couch and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
Nick giggled and looked down at her, "What did you go and do that for?"
Her only reply was to laugh even harder, tears streaming down her face. She tried to wipe them away with one of the pillows but nearly choked herself in the process.
"Here, Carrots, let me help you up," the fox said, reaching out a darkly furred paw to the sputtering bunny sprawled on the floor in front of his couch.
With the giggle fit slowly subsiding, she grabbed his paw and let him lift her up to a standing position. However, as she was getting back on her toes, their muzzles briefly collided in a soft and silent nuzzle. She slowly looked up to find his eyes staring back at her, and she was once again lost in those emerald pools, oblivious to everything else around her.
The lamp beside the couch flickered, once again leaving them in the dark for a few moments. When the light finally returned, Nick turned and coughed, "How about that movie?"
"I'll get the popcorn!" said the bunny quickly running to the kitchen in embarrassment.
The movie was an old classic, black and white film from the days when color television was still uncommon. It portrayed a young doe on her first big mission as a reporter to investigate rumors of savage attacks on the mammals on the outskirts of nearly unknown forest village. At first, the village was very charming and the villagers welcomed her warmly.
She found the village tailor to be most helpful as well as quite charming for a young buck. He showed her around the village and even introduced her to the villagers who had been savagely attacked. A few weeks passed, and with his help she was able to get enough details to write her story, but she couldn't return to the city until she got a photo of this so called beast. She also found herself oddly attracted to the nice tailor and kept coming up with excuses to get to know him better.
When she thought things between her and the buck were starting to get serious, they had a big fight in the village square. He told her it was time for her to leave and that she should go back to the big city where it was safe, and he stormed off leaving her alone.
It was then that she noticed all of the other villagers had vanished. Their houses were all locked and boarded shut. The sun had only just set, leaving the village partially lit, but the moon had risen early casting its pale, eerie light across the land. Looking up at the huge bright sphere in the sky, she heard a lone howl in the distance. "It's the beast," she thought.
Before she could head in the direction of the howl, someone grabbed her arm and hauled her back. It was the innkeeper trying to plead with her to come back inside where it was safe, but she didn't listen and ran out into the dark woods with her camera held close.
Back in the apartment Nick sat on one end of his couch and rested his head in his left paw. His eyes were droopy as he tried very hard to stay awake during the slow start of the movie.
At the other end of the couch, the rabbit sat glued to the screen with her ears perked at attention. She sighed loudly whenever the young tailor helped out the reporter with her investigation, and nearly cried when they finally broke up after their big fight in the square. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Judy turned to look at the fox for a second and thought, "Nice movie choice, Slick."
Sitting on the couch between the two best friends was a large bucket full of popcorn that they would slowly grab a piece from as the film progressed.
On the flat screen in front of them, the reporter was was lost in the dark woods with only the bright moon to guide her, oblivious to the savage beast that was tracking her. Everything slowly became very quiet, in the apartment and on the screen. Judy shoved a big handful of popcorn into her mouth and Nick's eyes were wide with anticipation.
Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream came from the TV as the terrible, fanged beast lunged out of the trees directly at the unsuspecting doe. At the very same time, thunder crashed fiercely through the apartment causing the windows to rattle and the lamp fell over. The room was cloaked in darkness, and fear hung thick in the air like a pair of old, black velvet curtains.
Moments later, a flash of pale lightning cut through the windows, briefly lighting the small room. In that dim light, the image of a single, large form could be seen sitting on the couch. The fox, whose fur appeared grey in the pale light from the windows, remained sitting on the left end of the couch with his eyes as big as dinner plates. And in his lap sat the small, terrified form of an adorable bunny clutching a rather large bucket of popcorn with her ears standing straight up in front of the todd's face.
When the TV flickered back to life and the movie continued to play, the rabbit grabbed another handful of popcorn and lifted it carefully to shove between the fox's waiting fangs. She also snatched little bites of popcorn from his paws before they passed her nose. Both mammal's eyes were so intently glued to the action on the screen that neither was aware of anything else going on around them, thus the lamp remained where it lay, on its side on the floor.
Unaware of the cute scene on the couch, the movie continued unabated. The beast, who looked a lot like a rabbit wearing a cheap halloween costume leapt at the reporter with his fangs ready to rip open her throat. At the last minute the innkeeper jumped at the beast saving the doe from a vicious mauling. His last words were for her to run, so she did, she ran as fast as should could back to the inn and locked the door.
Inside the inn the innkeeper's wife was waiting frantically for her husband to return, but the reporter only gave her a sad look and shook her head, before the older doe turned and left the room crying.
The next day the rest of the villagers gathered around the fallen innkeeper's body. As several bucks took great care to carry the body to the cemetery, the village mayor sternly told the reporter that it was no longer safe for her and she should leave immediately. She was inclined to agree with the mayor this time, and so began to pack her things, but before she left, she went to say goodbye to the young tailor that she now realized she had fallen for.
When she arrived at his cottage she found that he wasn't there, and upon further investigation saw that his bed had not been slept in either. She went to ask the mayor but he had not seen the tailor either. So she started asking around the village, but everyone just gave her sad looks as they turned away.
Eventually she found her way back to the scene of the attack. When she arrived she was surprised to find a set of rabbit tracks leading away from the scene, so she followed them. The tracks lead deeper into the dark woods but she was determined to find out where they went.
It was almost dark when the tracks finally lead into a small cave. Inside she found the young tailor lying on the floor, bruised, beaten and covered in dried blood. When she tried to help him and lead him back to the village, he only scowled at her, and told her that it wasn't safe, that she had to leave.
But she stood there and confessed her feelings for him claiming that she would never leave him, she would stay and they would get married and have a hundred kits and grow old together. As she poured her heart out to him she never once noticed his fur was getting longer and his teeth became sharper.
When the buck yelled at her to leave again, it only came out as a snarl. The moon had risen, and she was crouched in a cave watching the buck she loved as he turned into a horrible werebeast.
Neither the fox nor the rabbit sitting on the couch ever saw how the movie ended as they had both fallen asleep. Nick was the first to doze off. His eyes were fully closed around the time the villagers met at the scene of the attack. And Judy started to drift off when the reporter was packing her luggage to leave, but was fully out when the reporter found the cave in the woods.
In the wee hours of the morning, Judy rolled over to cuddle fiercely with the warm, fuzzy pillow. She buried her muzzle deep in the soft, orange fluff, let out a long, pleasant sigh, and slipped back into the land of dreams…
[A/N] Thank you to everyone who has been reading and following this story. It has been a lot more work than I ever anticipated, and I think I can understand how hard it can be to put so much of yourself on paper. For me it all started with a bunch of random ideas with Nick and Judy going on various dates. At first I was jotting everything down in a little notebook, no I don't have a carrot pen, but my wife eventually convinced me to consolidate everything into cohesive story and post in on here for everyone to read. The first idea I put down in that note book was of a fox and a bunny watching a scary movie and eating popcorn, and when the thunder crashed outside the bunny suddenly jumped into the fox's lap. And as of a few days ago that's all there was to this chapter, just a few sentences in my old notebook. So it has been pretty rough trying to flush out this chapter over the last couple of days, and I sincerely appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read it. :D