A/N: The day has come for Nick and Judy to part ways. At the academy, Nick meets someone he didn't quite expect to see.

Thanks to Minion Master 1, Naoko Mint, emotionalsinusoide, Pirxeval, Ghostwolf88, Omnitrix 12, Guest, Wilde306, Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, 22animals, snoopykid, InTheLionsDenOnDA, side-fish, BeecroftA, Combat Engineer, and Tinbuzzard11 for reviewing! And a special thanks to BeecroftA for editing this chapter.

Also, to all reading, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. May you find the strength to make it through the more difficult days, and may you enjoy the warmth of the days that shine bright.

Chapter 13: When We Meet Again

"I don't believe it."

A large set of wooden doors swung open, with a bunny and fox emerging from within. The bunny looked noticeably more incredulous than the fox.

"What's there to not believe?" Nick asked, smirking.

"The whole thing? What kind of courtroom session was that?" Judy exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. The two of them had just stepped out of a side door of the supreme court of Zootopia.

"I thought you knew all about Zootopia court sessions. Don't they teach you that in the academy?"

"They did. They taught us how to testify for a trial, and they mentioned that court sessions tend to be quite eccentric and drawn out. But never quite like this."

"Entertaining, isn't it?" Nick chuckled. "It's better than any courtroom drama they show on TV. In fact, I'm pretty sure the shows get their inspiration from here."

"They played music whenever one of them made an objection!"

"And I must say, it's much better than last year's soundtrack. I liked the prosecutor's theme music the most, personally."

Judy slumped against the railings that overlooked the large garden.

"Don't remind me of him. Why is he even having a problem closing this case? She's obviously guilty!" Judy protested. "And how did the defence even prolong the trial by a whole day when there's so much evidence against her?"

"You're not the judge, Carrots. I don't think Judge Judy has a nice ring to it, anyway. Although I do think that old white wig would suit you perfectly."

"That's beside the point…"

"Well, it still looks like we probably won't need to testify anymore, from what they said. We've already done our part, so let's just leave it to the justice system to take care of her."

"Some justice system that was…" Judy muttered under her breath.

"Well, it is called the kangaroo court for a reason. C'mon, we need to get going if we're gonna catch the train to prison." Nick motioned with his thumb behind his shoulder.

"Would you cut it out with the prison thing? It's just the police academy."

"What's the difference?"

The train ride was a lot shorter than Nick expected it to be. Maybe it was because he was lost in thought. Or maybe it was because he didn't expect the academy to be only an hour's train ride away. Whatever it was, he soon found himself standing in front of a large metal gate, which was swung wide open to let people in. A quick glance around at the various mammals told Nick that he was definitely in the right place. The place had everything he expected: Tearful goodbyes from overbearing parents on the left, gung-ho new recuits rushing in front of him, and moody brooding ones with headphones on the right.

"Wait a second. I thought we were supposed to be late because of our little court session." Nick motioned to the crowd of people scattered around the field. "Why are there still so many people coming in now?"

"Oh, they have multiple waves of entrants. They can't handle so many people coming in at once, so they spread them out throughout the day."

"There are so many mammals who want to become cops?" Nick asked, tossing his big duffel bag over his shoulder.

"It's more like the police academy is understaffed…"

"Ah, that certainly explains the state of the Zootopia police department."

"You're going to be a part of that understaffed department one day, you know. Anyway, that's the field I was talking about. They sometimes do early morning briefings and trainings there." Judy walked across the field, towards a larger building sitting right in the center of the compound. "Like I said before, don't forget to…" Judy stopped short. Nick could hear a buzzing in her pocket. She pulled out her phone, glancing at it for a moment before chuckling.

"Something funny?"

"Oh yeah, today's my siblings' birthday. My family's throwing a big party for them. They're just messing around." Judy passed her phone to Nick. On the screen were a whole bunch of bunnies making poses and weird faces at the camera.

"Who's the birthday bunny?" Nick asked.

"All of them."

"…Yeah, I should really figure these things out by now." Nick rolled his eyes, passing the phone back to her. "With so many siblings, wouldn't you have a birthday almost every month?"

"Almost every week, actually. We pretty much just combine all the birthdays of the month into one big birthday party. They usually look like this. That's Ewan, Reka, Johnny, Ben…Oh! That's my little sister Maggy! She's the one I was telling you about the other day."

"The one that somehow set the kitchen on fire while making cereal?"

"Yeah, she's the unlucky one. you can still see the bandages on her arm and leg. Aww, and the whole family signed them!"

"I'll never understand bunny culture." Nick shook his head.

"That's bunny birthdays for you. Now, what was I saying?"

"It was about the academy, so nothing important, probably…"

"Well, if it isn't Officer Hopps!"

The loud, booming voice that cut through the courtyard sent a shiver down Nick's spine. Judy herself seemed to stiffen, her ears pointing skyward. She turned around, with Nick following suit a moment later. A large polar bear was making a beeline across the courtyard, straight towards them.

"Instructor Friedkin?" Judy blinked.

"Fancy seeing you all the way down here! Are you feeling nostalgic already?" the polar bear guffawed. Nick winced; he hated attention, and right now, the overly loud bear was turning heads from all around the courtyard.

"Carrots, who's the stereo speaker?" Nick whispered.

"Major Friedkin. She's the one in charge of training here at the academy. The one I was telling you about before." Judy whispered back, taking a step forward.

"The one who failed you for being flushed down a toilet?"

"Shh."

With a loud thump, Friedkin slammed her heavy foot down on the ground. Nick could've sworn he felt his body leaving the ground for a moment.

"Nice to see you too, Major Friedkin. How has everything been here at the academy?" Judy asked.

"Pretty much the same. New recruits, same story. I don't think we'll ever get a story like yours in a long time. Your name is still on the board, by the way." Friedkin chuckled.

"Board?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"It's the board of accomplishments." Judy replied, looking a little embarrassed. "They have the records of the top performing cadets across the years, mostly for things like time taken to clear obstacle courses and such."

"And Officer Hopps here happens to be on the board for not just one, but three of them." Friedkin added, sounding pleased. She then turned her attention to Nick. "And who's this?"

"Nicholas Wilde. A pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Nick extended his hand. Major Friedkin grasped it, and for a second Nick thought his hand would break. He grinned through the pain as the polar bear seemed to eye him from top to bottom, before glancing over at Nick's luggage.

Those bags…don't tell me he's the one. The first fox applicant to the academy?"

"That's him." Judy nodded, beaming proudly. "He was supposed to be here with the morning batch, but Chief Bogo asked us to settle some stuff before coming."

"Bogo, huh? Haven't seen that bull in a while. I heard some things about the fox from him, though." Friedkin pointed at Nick, before crossing her arms.

"Were they good things or bad things?" Nick smirked. Friedkin didn't seem to hear his response, or maybe she didn't care.

"I know Officer Hopps recommended you for this program, but whether you earn your badge or not is up to me. And I don't plan on giving you any special treatment. Got it?" Friedkin narrowed her eyes at Nick.

"Duly noted, ma'am." Nick replied back, as coolly as he could manage. The polar didn't seem impressed.

"Anyway, Hopps. I heard about what happened with Mayor Bellwether…" she turned her attention away from him. Nick wasn't complaining; he preferred if he could get through the next six months as quietly as possible, without any fanfare.

Hmm?

Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. There was a group of mammals walking along a path a short distance away. It looked like a tour group, except that there was a cheetah in a police officer uniform who was leading the rest of the mammals, and the majority of them looked bored out of their minds.

"…And this is the main field where most morning briefings will take place. It is shared by Blocks One and Two. Blocks Three and Four will assemble by the other field out at the back. Do not get mixed up, understood?" the officer said. The crowd nodded, with a few mumblings of "Yes sir" here and there.

"That must be the campus tour." Nick mused to himself. "Glad I get to skip that…wait a second."

For a moment, Nick thought he saw something. But when he blinked, it was gone. It looked like…no, it couldn't have been. He squinted his eyes and looked closer. With the group as tightly packed as they were, it was pretty hard to single out an individual. Something was nagging at Nick.

He glanced back over at Judy. She was still talking to the loud polar bear.

"Hey Carrots, give me a moment. I'll be right back." Nick didn't wait for her to reply, jogging over to the group. It took him about twenty seconds to get there, but when he did, he managed to slip in without anyone noticing. He scanned through the assortment of mammals. Most of the people in the group were large mammals like tigers and lions, with the occasional elephant here and there. He shuffled in and out of the group, looking around while also trying to avoid being stepped on. Still nothing.

He retreated out of the group from the side, with a few of the mammals casting a sideways glance at him. A few of them were patting their pockets while giving him a dirty look. As if Nicholas Wilde would stoop so low as pickpocketing. He ignored their stares and scanned the rest of the field.

There was a small commotion close to the gate. Nick squinted his eyes. For a brief moment, he caught a glimpse of a short figure squeezing through the crowd, much to their displeasure. Instantly his legs kicked into high gear. Dropping his bags on the ground, Nick sprinted towards the gate, catching some odd stares from some of the mammals walking towards the main hall. The shadowy figure was flitting in and out of his vision as he weaved through the crowd, but it looked like they were headed towards a dead end.

The moment he turned the corner, Nick skidded to a stop. Other than a couple of trash cans, there was no one there.

"What in the…" Nick mumbled. He looked around for a little bit, but it was clear that there was no one around. He scratched his head. It was definitely a dead end. There were no other places to hide other than…

Nick yanked open the lid of the nearest trash can.

Nothing.

He moved to the next one, and then the next. The only thing inside them was trash. Wrinkling his nose at the smell, he quickly slammed the lids back on, shaking his hands afterwards.

I could've sworn someone was watching me from that group. And it looked like it was a—

"Hey Nick, you okay?" Judy's voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see the bunny jogging up to him, with his bags in tow. Her leg seemed to be healing nicely from the way she was running.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You just dropped your bags and ran off. Is everything okay?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Oh no, it's nothing. I thought I saw someone. Guess I saw wrong."

"Even if there was someone, I don't think they'd be hanging around a bunch of trash cans. But anyway, knowing you, you might just know some of the people here. The guy who knows 'everyone' surely must know the people here."

"You know, Carrots. When I said that, I was referring to the people in Zootopia with real jobs. Not wannabe police cops."

"Well now you get to spend a few months getting to know them, Mr Wannabe Police Cop." Judy grinned, handing him his bags. He took them, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, half of them don't even look like they want to be here. So I think we could get along just fine." Nick chuckled. "So how was your talk with Major Noise Pollution?"

"Oh yeah, sorry to keep you waiting. She just wanted to know more about the Nighthowler case, since she was…I mean, everyone was affected by it."

Predator, huh? I wonder what she told Carrots.

"And Nick? For your sake, please try not to say things that'll make her mad. Or any of your superiors, for that matter." Judy looked up at him with surprisingly pleading eyes.

"Heh, I'm quite sure the bear is perpetually mad. At least towards me, anyway."

"She's just like that. But like I told you, they do this to instill discipline in the cadets. And they hate it when cadets talk back to them. I just don't want to…I mean, I don't want you to get yourself or the other cadets in trouble. You have to work in teams, so if you get into trouble, they'll get it too. And I don't want you to be…"

Like you, huh? You must have had it rough here. Nick thought to himself. Also, she's sticking her head out for me on this one. To Bogo, to the Commissioner, and who knows how many others…

"Yeah yeah, don't worry about it. I'll try to tell my mouth to keep it in check. Whether that actually works is a different story." He winked. She seemed somewhat relieved, which was good to see.

"Alright, alright. C'mon, you're already late. You'd better get going." She paused. "…I guess this is goodbye."

"Aww, don't be so sad, Carrots." Nick bent down to her level. "It's only for six months. Soon you'll have your favourite fox back in your squeezy little apartment."

"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that." Judy rolled her eyes.

"Well, I did get you something for you. To fill the empty mattress while I'm gone."

"Huh?"

Nick bent down and unzipped his haversack, reaching in and pulling out a stuffed rabbit. Judy blinked.

"Nick, this is…"

"A replacement for that bunny you lost when you were little. What was his name again? Floofy?"

"Floofiest." Judy replied. "Aww, Nick, this is really sweet of you. How'd you even get a stuffed bunny of this kind? They're a super old brand." Judy pulled the stuffed bunny to her chest, giving it a light squeeze.

"I have people I know." Nick shrugged.

"I should have guessed…" Judy laughed.

"And look, he even comes with an honorary ZPD sticker." Nick flipped the bunny over in her hands.

"Oh wow…it's even the same sticker as…" she trailed off for a moment. "…You should have gotten me a stuffed fox to match. It would have been fitting."

"You just want an excuse to snuggle fox tail, don't you? Well, you'll just have to wait till I get back. If I'm on my best behaviour, the prison warden might let me out early."

"Oh yes, I'll definitely miss that biting sarcasm of yours." Judy rolled her eyes. "How will I ever live without it?"

"You'll manage, Carrots. See you in a couple of months."

Nick waved farewell, slinging his haversack over his shoulder. As he turned to leave, he paused. He turned back to her once more.

"And thanks for believing in me. I won't let you down."

The way Judy smiled back at him and gave him a thumbs up was almost enough to send a warm tingling through his chest. He didn't even know why he'd said that. Well, maybe he did know. It was a far too familiar situation, and a far too familiar feeling. In the back of his head, a little voice was reminding him who those words were supposed to be for. He turned back and continued trudging down the cobbled path towards the briefing hall, shoving the thought to the back of his head.

As he stepped up to the mahogany doors, he stopped, taking one last look behind him. He could see a lot of things that he'd built up over the last couple of decades. Going through these doors meant that he was leaving them all behind.

Nick stepped through the doorway.

"…and this is a copy of the training program. Everyone raise it up."

Nick yawned, raising the booklet in the air.

"Okay, next is three sets of PT kits. You should have gotten one in your size…"

So much for skipping the boring parts.

As expected of what was essentially boot camp, everything was processed in the most inefficient way possible. It was so inefficient, Flash would probably have completed a marathon in the time that it was taking to settle Nick's new belongings. He'd hoped that he'd be able to avoid doing stuff like this with the crowd, but when he stepped into the main building, they told him that his name was just pushed to the next batch of incoming cadets, so he had to go through every single 'essential' activity with them. Which included equipment and kit issuing.

Oh joy.

After what seemed like forever, the officer in front of the stage finally gave the order for everyone to pack up their things and head to the next stage of processing. Nick dropped his open duffel bag on the ground, before unceremoniously sweeping all his issued items off the table in one go.

"Good thing Carrots isn't here to see this." He chuckled to himself, taking a moment to cram the items in before zipping his bag back up and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Nicholas Wilde?" a voice behind him said, making Nick's ears perk up. He turned his head, to see a porcupine holding a clipboard making his way towards him from the back of the room.

"That's me."

"You're in the first wave, right? You won't be following this group for the next part. You'll be going straight to your bunk to unpack before the rest of the orientation. Next timing is 4pm."

"Finally! Some good news." Nick threw his hands into the air. "Does the bunk come with room service?" he quipped.

The porcupine didn't respond, giving Nick a look he knew all too well before turning and walking out the door.

"Well, hopefully my roommates will be tolerable." He shrugged to himself. He hauled his stuff behind him out of the hall while everyone else took their time to pack their stuff back into their bags.

The walk from the briefing hall to the bunks took about five minutes at a leisurely pace. A large clock above the cookhouse indicated it was just past three in the afternoon. He had less than an hour to unpack. More than enough time, with the way he was planning to do it. A grin crossed his face as he imagined how Judy would have reacted to his 'efficiency'. Another small part of him wondered what it would have been like if he'd gone to the police academy with Judy. It would have been interesting, to say the least. He'd probably have spent most of his time laughing at her.

Another group of cadets passed by him, being herded by an officer in charge. Nick slipped by them, heading straight for the bunks. According to Judy, there were a few buildings that served as bunks for the cadets. According to the paper that the porcupine left him, Nick was supposed to be in Block D, Level 2, bunk 1, bed 8. He crossed over a running track and what appeared to be an obstacle course on the left, which was currently not in use. On the far right, there appeared to be a desert-like area, with sand dunes all over. That was probably the environmental training ground that Judy mentioned before.

He turned his eyes back to the front and looked up at the building in front of him. As he approached, he could already see several mammals moving along the corridors. The bunks faced the open courtyard and running track.

Probably so it's easier for them to monitor us…Nick thought to himself. He was starting to get an idea of how things were probably going to work here.

The first floor didn't have many people roaming around. There were several doors there. A pair of blue unformed officers could be seen through one of the windows, talking with each other while referring to a whiteboard plastered with papers. The door next to the window read "Drill Instructor's Office". Nick headed towards the stairs, keeping away from that particular door. Two flights of stairs later, he found himself walking along the corridor on the second floor. Oddly, the closest bunk to the stairs was bunk 5, and bunk 1 was all the way at the end of the corridor. He groaned, lugging his stuff behind him. As he passed each bunk, he glanced through the front doors. Various mammals—all larger than him—were busy doing an assortment of things. Most were finishing up their unpacking, while others were chatting and getting to know each other. A few were already lying on their bunk beds, dozing off. Nick could definitely appreciate that.

Five…four…three…two…

He came to a stop in front of bunk one. He was about to take a step in, but something made him stop in his tracks. He stared into the room, all the way to the end. As a tiger bent down to grab something from his cupboard, he moved enough out of view that Nick could now see a pair of long ears sticking out from the cupboard at the very end. He did a double take, leaning his head forward and blinking a few times. The figure was still there. A small grin grew across his face as the little fox in his head did a victory pump. He knew he wasn't imagining it!

There was a bunny here.

And he had a pretty good hunch that this was the bunny who was trying to avoid him earlier.

He dropped his duffel bag on the ground outside the bunk and slipped into the room as inconspicuously as he could. No one in the room seemed to pay him any mind yet. Yet another reason to thank his years of hustling practice. The room had eight bunk beds, four on each side of the room. Three ceiling fans hung in the middle of the room, with a few more wall fans mounted on each side. There were only four mammals in the room at the moment though, with one of them being the bunny.

Nick closed in, getting the faint whiff of bunny in his nose. He was definitely real. His fur was a light brown colour, with white fur starting from around his mouth and running down his chest. The bunny was wearing a grey and white checkered shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He was currently pulling clothes out of his small bag to fit in his locker. His locker had the number '7' pasted on the top right-hand corner. On the other side of the bed was an empty locker with the number '8' on it.

Many different scenarios were flashing through Nick's mind. Would he say anything? Announce his presence early? Or see how the bunny would react to seeing him all of a sudden? He leaned against the other side of the bunk bed. The bunny's ears perked up. They were a slightly darker shade of brown, although not by much. He also had slightly dark ear tips, which reached about a quarter of the way down his ears.

The bunny reached into his locker and pulled out a phone, tapping it a few times. He smiled for a bit, then turned in Nick's direction, eyes still on the phone. The bunny glanced up for a second when he turned, and for a moment, his eyes met Nick's. It took a second, but when it finally clicked in his head, he froze in his tracks.

"Hi." Nick casually waved.

"Haaaaaagggh—!" the bunny stumbled away, pressing his back against the wall. His phone fell from his hands onto the bed, bouncing a couple of times before coming to a stop just in front of Nick. There was fear in his green eyes. Nick could see it. But strangely, the fear didn't seem to be directed at him. The mysterious rabbit's eyes were darting back and forth around the room, as if he were looking for someone else.

"You okay there, buddy?" Nick asked. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you with my stunningly foxy looks." He grinned.

"Oh no, that's alright." The bunny replied. After looking around a bit more, he cleared his throat. He seemed to be relieved all of a sudden. "Umm, can I help you with anything?"

"Nothing much in particular. I just never thought I'd see a bunny here of all places. What's your name?"

"It's…ah…Jack. Jack…Cabbage. And I didn't think I'd see a fox here myself," the bunny replied, seeming to find his voice now. "Are you a visitor or something?"

Jack Cabbage? Sure, that doesn't sound suspicious at all. Not one bit. Nick resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It still wasn't nearly conclusive enough though.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm not a civilian anymore. I'm just a lowly recruit. Like you, I'm assuming."

"Oh yeah, I'm a new…wait, you? You're a recruit?" he seemed awfully shocked. "But you're…"

"A fox?" Nick offered, a little too quickly.

"N-No! That's not what I meant! I meant…old." The bunny raised his hands defensively. "Aren't you a little old to be a recruit?"

"We've all got our stories." Nick shrugged. "What about you? You must have a story too. Are you from Bunnyburrow?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Do you know Judy Hopps?"

"Of course! I mean, who doesn't know Judy Hopps? She's practically a legend all throughout the Tri-burrows." The bunny's eyes seemed to light up when he spoke of her.

"Oh, that means you must know me as well. I was on TV with her when she solved the Nighthowler case." Nick pointed to himself with a thumb.

"Oh, really?" the bunny cocked his head slightly. "Huh, maybe you do look a little familiar…sorry, we don't watch much TV down in the burrows."

The phone on the bed buzzed a few times in quick succession. Nick glanced down at it, suddenly feeling a rush through his body.

"Do you know her personally?" Nick pressed, looking back up. He kept a close eye on Jack's face.

"Oh no, there are millions of bunnies out there. I've never met the Hopps family, no. Why do you ask?"

"Because it seems kind of odd that you'd have a picture of her family on your phone if you've never met her before." Nick held the bunny's phone up. Incoming messages and pictures were still flashing across the screen. "Birthday party today, isn't it? Oh look, there's Ewan, Reka, Johnny, Ben…"

With every name, Jack's eyes grew wider and wider with what could only be described as horrified realisation. Nick grinned inwardly. The bunny didn't need to say any more. His expressions were telling him everything he needed to know. He had a sneaking suspicion, but he couldn't be sure without one last push.

"I…that's just on Furbook! It's just a coincidence." The flustered bunny finally blurted out.

"Oh really? Then I guess you won't mind if I call Judy on your phone, do you? I mean, her number is right here and all…"

"Wait!" the bunny lunged at him, grabbing his arms with a force that surprised even Nick. "J-just wait a moment!"

And there it is.

Nick lowered his arm slowly. The brown-furred rabbit eased his grip in response, before letting go and slumping onto the bed, defeated. Nick handed the phone back to him wordlessly. The bunny took it, sighing.

"Yeah…you got me. I'm from the same family as Judy. She's my older sister." He admitted, ears drooping. The look filled Nick with a sense of accomplishment that people would probably have given him weird looks for.

"I thought that was the case. You really should have thought of a better name than 'Jack Cabbage' if you wanted to hide yourself." Nick chuckled. "Also, you really need to learn how to lie better. Your poker face was terrible."

"Yeah…it wasn't a really good attempt, I know." the bunny looked at the ground. "My name's Robbie. Robbie Hopps."

"Well, nice to meet you, Robbie. I'm Nick."

"Nicholas Wilde…I know who you are. I think most of the family knows who you are by now. Mom and Pops have been talking about you all the time ever since they came back from visiting Judy," Robbie said, placing both of his hands on the edge of the bed.

"So was that you I was chasing earlier?"

Robbie nodded. "I almost got a heart attack when I saw you with Judy. I immediately took off when I saw you looking at me. I never expected you to be there…or her, for that matter."

"You run fast, though. I'm quite sure I had you cornered. How did you get away?"

"I climbed up the water pipe and went through the window on the second floor. Luckily there was no one there. I heard Judy approaching as I was leaving."

Nick nodded, impressed. "Not bad, kid. You've got talent."

"Uh…thanks?"

"So about that other thing…why are you avoiding Judy anyway? Does she have a grudge against you or something?"

"No, of course not!" Robbie retorted. "It's just that…I don't want anyone to know that I'm here. No one in my family knows that I'm here. Not mom, pops, or anyone else."

Robbie bit his lip, falling silent for a moment. "Look, I know we just met and all, but…could you not tell anyone about me? I wasn't planning on telling anyone until I made it…or didn't."

The smirk slowly disappeared from Nick's face. For some reason, he felt a little tug at the back of his head when he heard Robbie's words. Was it déjà vu? He was definitely curious about this bunny now, and his reasons for being here.

"Yeah sure."

Robbie looked up, blinking in surprise.

"Wait…really? That's it?"

Nick shrugged, walking back outside to grab his bags before coming back in and dropping them on the ground.

"Yup. Don't worry about it. No one's going to know you're here. You don't need to tell me about it either if you don't want to."

But I will admit, I am rather curious about it all…

"Ah…thanks. Look, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but…why are you agreeing to help me?"

Nick paused.

"…Because I can appreciate the idea of keeping things from family. For any number of reasons."

The quizzical look on Robbie's face was pretty much what Nick expected. For a while again, there was only silence between the two. It was started to reach awkward levels again, which made him uncomfortable. Nick hated awkward silences.

"Well, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other, whether or not that includes our reasons for being here." Nick finally said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It means I'll be sleeping in the bed above yours." Nick bent down, unzipping his bag and opening the empty cupboard next to him. "Say, speaking of that, you wouldn't mind switching beds with me, would you? I'm more comfortable closer to the ground. And I also tend to roll off the bed sometimes, so I'd definitely prefer not to fall off from up there."

"O-of course! You can have the bottom bed, I don't mind." Robbie replied, looking like a person who'd just dodged a bullet and got hit by one at the same time. "You're my bunkmate? For the next six months?"

"Aww, don't make it sound so bad. I promise I won't eat you in your sleep. No guarantees on when you're awake though." Nick grinned.

If nothing else, at least the next few months were going to be a little less boring than he expected.