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CLASSIFIED: DO NOT READ
THE CONSPIRACY
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Operations Clock: +3 hours
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Disclaimer: How'd the grinch get loose?! Oh God he's headed for the Fluff arsenal!
Quick get to the Bio-Hazard Suits!
"MUHAHAHAHAHA"
Chapter 8 – A Burning Fuse
"Where'd they go? Where'd they go?!" Ralph asked frantically.
"RIGHT!, Take a RIGHT!" Nadine shouted, then held on as she was thrown sideways as the cruiser pulled a tight turn.
"There, THERE! In front of the delivery truck!" she said with relief.
"Are all cab drivers nuts?!" Ralph growled out, weaving a bit in the light traffic to get closer.
"In my experience?" Nadine said, finally taking a full breath, "Yes, Yes they are. And really good at just staying on the far side of doing something we can arrest them for." She added checking the radar again which was showing the cab going right at the edge of what they would pull someone over for. The driver hadn't broken any laws but he'd come so close in the last couple minutes that he'd stripped the paint off them.
"Get ready, he's probably going to take-" Nadine started to as the cab braked and slewed around a turn casing the cars near him to honk.
Ralph cursed, working to cut back across the traffic and barely managed to make the exit for the stadium only to come to a tire screeching halt a few moments later as the smaller cab pulled a turn underneath a parked elephant sized 18 wheeler that was blocking the small side road the cab had taken a short cut down.
"Damnit! Ralph, they're going to be get to the Pier before we catch up," Nadine said quickly unbuckling and throwing open the side door, "Park and catch up to me at the main gates." She shot out of the cruiser dropping to all fours and sprinting under the parked trailer and down the side walk.
"Okay, that had to be illegal," Nick whispered, his heart feeling like it was jammed in his throat where it had jumped out of fear as the cab swerved under the trailer.
He felt a small paw squeeze his, which caused his already out of place heart to flip a few times, as Judy responded in a tone that betrayed her fright, "Code 4052, section…, " she gulped as the car swerved again, " t-two. Small mammal's vehicle exception to rule 332 regarding improperly parked vehicles blocking normal routes of t-traffic."
Nick gave her a 'are you serious' look before glancing back forward with a look of terror as the view out of the windshield slewed again. Though, giving it a moments thought, he failed to see how watching their oncoming doom would do much good.
"Did you memorize the entire Zootopia legal codes list?!" Nick asked, as he watched what seemed to be an approaching crash as his view of a parked car in front of them grew to encompass the entire front window.
Judy meeped seeing it, right before the cab signaled and shifted lanes missing it by mere inches, and then squeaked out a, "Yes"
Nick thinking of how stupid of a question that was considering her work ethic, would have face palmed, but one paw was holding onto the door and the other was holding onto Judy's and he wasn't about to let go of his death grip on either.
"Well-they've-really-pulled-everything-out-this-year,its-probably-because-of-the-concert-I-mean-who-doesn't-like-gazzel?" the squirrel cab drive continued in his unbroken chattering monolog gesturing out at the stadium they were passing before pulling a sharp turn and coming to an abrupt halt while not even seeming to pay attention to the road, " -you-two-love-birds-enjoy-yourselves, 'll-be-10.50-please,cash-or-credit?"
Nick shakily handed over some money not even having clearly heard how much the fare was and nearly dragged Judy out of that death trap on wheels, not wanting her near it, let alone in it for more than a moment longer than they had to be. He hadn't even finished closing the door when the cab shot off, causing Nick to yelp and pull Judy to him.
"We are Never doing that again." Nick said, only realizing that he'd all but wrapped Judy up in a hug when she nodded and the back of her head bumped his against his chest. His ears flattened and he quickly let go, but had to make an extra effort of will to get his tail to unwrap from around her.
"Um, sorry about that," he mumbled, looking away trying not to think how nice it was to feel her against him, "Tickets, um right, where are the ticket booths?" Nick said looking around before spotting the booth, grateful for the distraction.
Judy bumped his hip, her face still a little flushed from the cab ride of doom and took his paw in one of her own. She folded back her ears with the other and putting on a cheery face, though he could see she was still breathing a little fast.
"Well, now that that's over, you ready for some fun?" she asked with a smile that did not help his still racing heart. He had to take in a deep breath before he was sure he had his voice under firm control and wouldn't squeak as he gave her his best smile in return.
"Definitely, Fluff. Lead on"
Megan was just about to leave, heading out for a real party night with some of her friends from the fire station when she heard the knocking again.
Knock, knock, knock.
She stuck her head out the door only to see a beaver and a zebra who was carrying a camera with ZNN on it, standing in front of Nadine's door.
"I don't think she's here." the beaver said over to the zebra who shrugged in response.
"Want to try the next address, we need to get something and the door isn't talking."
"Can I help you?" Megan said curious as to why there were newsies here.
"Oh, hello." The beaver said turning to her and using a more professional sounding voice said, "Tod Irontail, ZNN, you wouldn't happen to know if Miss Fangmeyer is here would you."
"More like Mrs. now" Megan giggled smugly, thinking of how flustered Nadine had been this morning. Flustered or not, that tiger sure had moved fast, she wouldn't be surprised if they'd openly marked each other by the end of the day considering that Nadine had already put a claim on him, "She's out with her new mate right now, what do you all want with her?" she finished refocusing on the beaver.
"See Tod, she's gone. Let's get going before the other teams beat us to the story." The Zebra said turning.
The beaver gave him a nod and turned back to Megan, "Thank you Miss. Sorry for disturbing your day, we were just hoping to ask her some questions about her coworkers," he gave her a pleasant wave and started to follow after the zebra when he stopped and turned back, looking slightly curious and asked, "Did you say she was newly mated? Our information said that she was single."
Megan couldn't hold back a laugh and pulled out her phone pulling up a very recent picture.
"Oh she was, still technically is, but…" she gave the beaver who was now just staring open jawed at the picture, a wink, "A little birdy told me that she's already made her choice."
The beaver, still staring at the picture, looked like his mind had just kicked into top gear and had the pedal all the way down to the floor.
"Tod? You coming?" the zebra asked turning back around from the elevators.
That snapped the beaver out of his reverie, and his head popped up as he blurted out, "I thought that cats and dogs hated each other?"
Megan stiffened a little indignant, "felines and canids, please."
The beaver flushed slightly at his faux pas, quickly apology. Megan only gave a slight nod in return. Those stereotypical terms always rubber her and pretty much every other feline or canid the wrong way when another species used them. She guessed it was probably just like how Nadine had explained to her that bunnies hated to be called cute.
The beaver recollected himself and continued, asking her intently, "But they're actual together? I mean, it's just so… unorthodox, especially since they're… well… a feline and a canid."
Megan rolled her eyes as the reporter trailed off, "Oh it's 'unorthodox', but I'm not too surprised. Those two always did seem to get along well as partners at the ZPD, almost too well; it sure would explain a lot."
"There both ZPD officers?" The beaver interrupted sounding like he'd just struck gold.
Megan looked at him, wondering why he found that so interesting, "Sure, Nadine's been working with Wolford for years, why does that matter?"
The beaver turned and waved the Zebra over excitedly. "Mark! Didn't Jim say he was going over to an officer Wolford's residence?"
"Sure, did. Got a text from him and Larry, apparently they're being held up by the pack alpha who thought that they were snooping around their neighborhood," he let out a snicker, "Wolves, glad we don't have to deal with that, come on let's go. We've got a bit of a head start right now."
Instead of following, the beaver pulled out his phone and started typing in a number, seeming even more excited. Megan cocked her head now a bit curious herself about what all this commotion was about.
"Jim, hey this is Tod, are you still at-" he stopped as the phone erupted with noise.
"Now don't you go ignoring me young man. This is a private community. The gate guard told you that he wasn't here so why did you sneak in?" a not very happy matronly voice seemed to blast out of the speaker.
"Ma'am, we apologized already, we thought he was just trying to keep us out, we just wanted to ask Mr. Ralph Wolford a few questions about the ZPD." a different voice nearly pleaded just as another spoke up,
"Mom, not everyone that sneaks in is trying to invade our territory for some nefarious scheme. I don't think they're lying. Why don't we just have them leave a message for Ralph since he's out on his d-… out on an errand today and let them go on their way?"
The first matronly voice broke back in, "Shush Bill, I don't believe them, and I'll be talking to you next. I went to all the trouble of setting up a date for Ralph tonight, he's too old for all this lone wolf teenage rebellion stuff. It's past time for him to grow up and find a mate. I don't know where he went scampering off to, but he's not going to skip out on this date… again. You two were talking all last night, thick as thieves, and as soon as I'm through with these two you're going to tell me exactly what all that was about. Now," there was some noise that sounded like the phone being picked up, and the voice came through more clearly, "Who is this? And if this is a solicitor or-"
"Ma'am," the beaver broke in, "This Tod Irontail, Reporter for ZNN, sorry if there was any confusion but we are just going around to interview local ZPD officers for a story."
"This isn't another gossip rag article with crazy stories about city wolf packs is it?" the voice said sounding rather dubious, "You all and your tabloids spouting nonsense just because we're different have been nothing but trouble for us."
"No, ma'am, nothing like that we were just doing a small article about couples in the ZPD for Valentines day-"
There was a laugh, "Then you're barking up the wrong tree, my son hasn't been on a date I haven't forced on him in years."
"Well, ma'am," the beaver stopped and then, seeming to want confirmation first, asked, "I presume you're Officer Wolford's mother?"
"You'd presume right." came a clipped response.
"Well we wanted to ask about his coworkers Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wilde and their relationship, but now that you've mentioned your son, I'd like to ask you some questions about him and his new mate."
The was a second or two of complete silence, before a muffled, 'Oh, shit,' and scrambling sounds followed by a door slamming shut to the shout of, "BILL! You get back here! What does he mean NEW MATE?!"
"ah-oh," Megan said, try not to sound too giddy, though she was having a hard time as this sounded like something out of a tv drama, "Ralph might have forgotten to mention some stuff to Nadine."
"Nadine? Who is this Nadine? My son hasn't mentioned any wolf named Nadine. You, who was that speaking and what do you know about my son?!"
Megan's smile disappeared. Watching drama was one thing, she didn't want to actually get in the middle of this drama.
"That was Miss. Fangmeyer's neighbor, she was just showing us some photos of how nice of a couple her neighbor and your son made."
"Fangmeyer?! Nadine Fangmeyer?! His partner at the ZPD, his partner the Tigress?! How long have they been going out? When did this start? I Can't Believe he's been hiding this from me!" there was a very menacing sounding growl.
"Um, you know I… ah, gotta go… lots to do tonight," Megan said backing up, before turning and making her escape with a quick, "See ya! Good luck with the story!"
Judy had been through quite a few crazy car rides and chases but she was used to being the one behind the wheel, so that, she reasoned, was why heart was still beating so fast.
She couldn't help but wish that Nick would have held her just a bit longer after that heart pounding cab ride though. She knew he'd only done it in the adrenalin rush of escaping that car given how quickly he had let go, but it had felt wonderful to have him hold her, wrapped up like she was something precious to him.
That though, she chastised herself, had been a little undeserved bliss for her.
Judy focused her thoughts and determined back on the present and on making sure that Nick would have as good of a day as she could possibly make for him. Not even the bored-out-of-his-mind employee behind the ticket booth would dampen her spirit. What did manage to bring it crashing down thought was the stickers he handed to her.
The larger sticker read 'Somebunny loves you' and the other, a slightly smaller one read, 'Foxy Lady'.
She could feel her ears stand bolt upright in alarm as she nearly choked.
"We can't wear these!" she cried out, though the pig behind the booth looked utterly unconcerned.
"You don't have to go to the festival or concert either,"
"But, but!" Judy tired, but he continued right over her protest.
"You choose what to put on them when you called to confirm the reservations. Next!" he waved them away.
Judy just stared, her mouth moving up and down but with no sound coming out. She could feel tears welling up. All she had wanted was to have a day with her partner, her friend, to let go and relax for a bit, to get Nick's mind off the trouble between him and his carrot be damned girlfriend, this… this was going to be like a punch to that wound, this was going to hurt him.
First there had been the coffe house fiasco and now this?! Judy could feel all her emotions boiling over and she was on the verge of breaking down and crying when she felt a paw on her shoulder and was pulled to Nick's side.
"Come on Carrots, whatever it is it can't be that bad." Nick said softly rubbing her shoulder as she sniffled and felt herself moving along with Nick away from the booth. She hated when she got like this; she'd thought she'd gotten a handle on her emotional outburst and the waterworks she'd inherited from her dad years ago, but something about today had them roiling out of control just like her heart after that cab ride. She tried not to, but she couldn't help turning into Nick's side and gripping his shirt as she tried to stop her tears and emotions which seemed to be rioting.
Judy barely noticed when they sat down on a bench, but she sure noticed when Nick's other arm wrapped around her holding her in a tight hug. Before she realized it, both her arms were wrapped around his large chest and her short muzzle was buried in his ruff as she continued to sniffle.
Judy could feel his heart beat, strong and fast and calming, but his paws rubbing softly on her back made her want to cry more because she wanted him to be able to hold her like this all the time.
"S-Sorry, N-Nick." She sniffed, letting herself just imagine for the moment that he was hers and letting his strong musky scent wash over her, calm her.
"Oh you bunnies, always with the tears, your dad was just like this seeing you speak at my graduation. I guess it's true and all bunnies are just overly emotional."
Judy tried to refute that, but hiccupped.
She felt more than saw Nick's smile at that, and he whispered to her, "You know I like it more when you're happy, but you are pretty cute when you're like this."
That got and angry hiccup and a thump of her paw, but then another hug, since he'd effectively stopped her tears, just like he'd probably planned to.
Dumb lovable sly fox.
Nick responded to the hug for a moment but then he moved back and gave an embarrassed cough.
"Well, let's see what upset you so much," and before Judy could protest he'd deftly snatched the stickers out of her paw to look at them.
"Nick, no!"
He tried not to show any reaction, but she was leaning right up against him reching for the stickers and felt it, felt his body go ridged for a second, heard his heart rate spike. It might not have shown but she knew that somewhere deep inside the sight of those stickers had hurt.
"Well, I do think you'd make quite the vixen, if a do say so myself, Judy," Nick said, trying to brush it off as a joke, just like he always did.
"Nick, I'm so sorry, Clawhauser grilled me yesterday about the passes, I didn't think he'd call and… and do that!"
Nick took the large of the two stickers, looked at it for a second before peeling it and sticking it on his shirt in the same spot that he'd worn the Junior Detectives sticker all the way back during the Missing Mammals case. He looked at her and smiled, or tried to smile, she could see the cracks in it, a bare shadow of pain that he was keeping locked away.
He reached out and ruffled the fur on her head.
"Don't worry about it Carrots, Benji's probably just heard too, in fact, I've heard that a certain bunny knows she loves me." he finished just like he always teased.
She thumped him with her paw again, then sighed and let her head fall against his chest.
"Nick! You know I do." She sighed again before continuing, "But what about others when they see that?" she could feel him shift ever so slightly at that but he responded with his flippant hustler persona that was his fallback.
"So what?"
"Nick, they'll assume that… that we're together!"
Another subtle but uncomfortable shift from him and this time when he responded his voice had lost some of its cheer.
"I… I guess you wouldn't want that. Sorry fluff, I wasn't thinking. I just don't want to see you sad."
"Nick! I don't care about what others think! You're my friend. What I'm worried about is what your girlfriend will think if this gets back to her! I don't want to ruin that for you!" Judy said and closed her eyes feeling tears from anger and sadness welling up at the thought of that stupid vixen.
Nick had gone entirely still and Judy, realizing how inappropriately close she was to him, scooted off his lap to sit next to him.
Nick turned his head and gave her an odd look she couldn't interpret and then asked, "Um… girlfriend?"
"Yes, your girlfriend." Judy said a bit sharply, trying to not to burst into tears again or fly off into a rage at the thought of that stupid fox stealing vixen. She knew that those reactions were overboard and unjustified, but for some reason she simply couldn't understand she was having an impossible time trying to keep her emotions bottled up right now.
"Carrots, I don't have a girlfriend." Nick said still seeming completely lost.
Judy rubbered her eyes tiredly wishing she didn't have to deal with this. "Nick, everyone at the precinct knows you have a girlfriend, you don't need to keep it secret."
With her paws over her eyes she didn't notice till it was too late and couldn't avoid his finger that flicked her nose.
"You need to check you gossip sources Fluff, because I don't have a girlfriend."
"Nick, I'm not dumb, I know that it's mating season for you. I've seen how you've been acting," he went rigid again at that, his heart rate skyrocketing and she poked him in the chest, "See! Just like that. I know there's some vixen you're in love with. Don't try to deny it!"
Nick's face had gone blank, completely unreadable blank, even to her. He just looked at her utterly expressionless like that for she didn't know how long before he facepalmed, muttering, "Dumb bunny."
"Am not! Dumb Fox!" She whacked him in the arm, maybe a little harder than she normally did.
"Ow! Careful there Fluff! Geeze, you're gonna break me one day if you keep that up." he rubbed at the spot theatrically but sighed when she didn't let up with her narrowed look.
"Fine, Carrots. Your right, or partly right at least. There's a lady, a very Foxy lady that I'm in love with." He looked so wistful for a moment saying that but then his ears drooped and his shoulders sagged, before he continued dejectedly, "But she's not my girlfriend."
Now it was Judy's turn to feel confused, and she blurted out, "But why not?!"
Nick shook his head sadly, "Besides that she's too good for me?" Judy gave an incredulous snort at that and he stopped and looked at her seeming to examine her face as if trying to see if she understood, but ended up sighing again.
"She is too good for me, but more importantly she's not interested in me like I am in her." he finished all his normal spirit seeming to go out of him.
Judy looked at him, looked at the glimpse behind his mask at the hurt that he kept hidden from everyone else. As much as she hated to do it, she couldn't let that stand. She didn't want to, she wanted to take him for herself, but she could see how much this girl meant to him and she couldn't bear to see him like this. She reached out and put her paw on his arm, and he flinched almost as if he was scared.
"Nick, you can't give up. If you really love her then you have to keep trying. I want…" she had to take in a deep breath and hold back the tears, "I want to see you happy Nick, I want to meet this girl once you win her over and… and… be there at your wedding, m-maybe I can be your best mammal, give a speech and toast." Judy felt like something was being torn apart inside as she spoke, but this was Nick. He was her best friend, the most important mammal in the world to her. She'd suffer anything to see him happy, even suffer through watching as he went off to marry someone else. She'd bare it because she loved him.
Nick though just gave her a sad smile that broke her heart.
"Thanks, Judy. But it's not enough. I can't change what I am," he gestured at himself, "I'm just a red fox, she'd never be interested in me."
She's not interested because he's a red fox? Is she a different type, maybe an arctic fox? Wait, there was that ZBI agent we worked with a while back, one he joked with the entire time.
Judy could feel her paws clench with rage,
Her?! Is that who he's in love with? And she doesn't want him because he's a RED fox?!
"If she doesn't want you just because you're a red fox, then she's the Stupidest, DUMBEST, mammal that ever lived!" Judy ground out venomously.
Nick gave a sad short laugh at that, "Don't say that to her face, she might just clobber you if you do."
"I'd like to see her try!" Judy spat, crossing her arms, "I'd pound her into the ground."
When today is over I'm going to track down that fox, what was her name, Sky or something? She and I are going to have a little talk about not breaking my foxes heart!
Nick gave her another short laugh, this one a little less sad, and then gave her a hug, not a huge hug, but one that let her know that just being there, by being his friend, that it helped.
"Nick," she hugged him back and forced the next words out despite how they hurt, "If you love her, don't give up."
He gave her one more squeeze and then sat up breaking the hug. She could see a small smile on his face, small but real.
"Okay, Fluff. But we're supposed to be having fun today. Just you and me." he took the other sticker, peeled it and reaching around, slapped it on her back. "There now we can go and you won't have to worry about seeing it." she punched him again, his smile growing a little too smug, but it wasn't a hard punch and she could feel her own lips curve up just a bit in a smile.
"Fine," she slid off the bench and grabbed his tie yanking him of the bench too, "Today is just for us, We're not going to think about dumb vixens, We're going to go and have a blast, the time of our lives! You'll have so much fun you won't have to think about her all day!" she finished grandly, leading him on and into the park.
She was so focused on keeping her ears up and forward, keeping her expression as cheerful and happy as she possibly could she missed hearing Nick's barely mumble, "Won't work, I'll always be thinking of my bunny."
Nick reclaimed his tie and strode up next to her his paws casually in his pocket and bumped her hip.
"Okay, Fluff. I'll take you up on that, I want a day I'll remember forever, the time of my life." He smirked down at her his sly smile and swagger back in full, "And If it doesn't hold up to that standards then you'll just have to try again."
"Is that a challenge?" Judy responded feeling a bit of giddy excitement as they fell back into their normal banter that she enjoyed so much.
"Is that a challenge?" Nick repeated contemplatively, "Yes. Yes, it is." he grinned, "so Fluff what do you want to do first."
"You know, I've never been on a real rollercoaster," Judy said looking around at some of the wooden and steel rides that towered over different segments of the pier, "Closest thing we had in bunny burrow was the tractor hay rides."
Nick straightened up, puffing out his chest and ruff, "Well, we can't have that now! How can you call yourself a Zootopian without ever having ridden a real rollercoaster?!" He took her paw, sending a tingle down her arm and up her ears as he led her in the direction of the nearest rollercoaster, a large wooden contraption, still gesturing theatrically, "Just won't do! Won't do I say! Come my dear we must remedy this immediately!"
Ralph slowed down to a walk as he approached the entrance to The Pier and pulled out his phone. It had taken him a few minutes to park the cruiser and he was worried that despite Nadine's efforts they might have lost Hopps and Wilde. In a place as crowded as the Pier and with all the excitement and food and everything else it would be incredibly difficult to track them down by scent, and even if he tried it would be like sticking a neon sign over his head proclaiming what he was doing. Not the sort of thing he could do if they were going to keep their cover intact.
He put the phone up to his ear and heard the line connect, "Nadine, I'm almost there, you still have them in sight?"
"Yep, we got lucky." Her voice came back, and even through the phone, just hearing her made him want to wag his tail. He didn't know exactly when he'd fallen in love with Nadine because it had snuck up on him, taking one small piece of his heart at a time until it was all hers. He probably should have recognized it earlier, considering how his interest in the wolves his mother was always trying to set him up with had gone from a casually flirtatious, 'let's have some fun, but not get into a serious relationship' to completely uninterested. It was when his younger brother Bill had jokingly said that he was slipping as the packs lone wolf heartbreaker that he'd started to suspect what had happened… well that and certain dreams always about a particular tigress that had started to become more frequent and far more intimate might have also clued him in.
For a long while after that realization he'd been confused and worried. He'd never imagined in his life that he would fall in love with a mammal that wasn't a wolf, and especially not a feline. He'd been surprised at the academy when he'd been forced to work with Nadine, a tiger, but had actually gotten along well with her. He'd imagined that they would have always been constantly bickering or taking digs at each other. It was one of those stereotypes that persisted and that everyone believed to some degree because there was a grain of truth to it. Felines and canids didn't get along all that well, it was like they were two different sports teams with an old deep rivalry (which was an apt metaphor considering the rivalry between the Prowlers and the Pack, the all feline and all canid soccer teams)
For the last year though, Ralph had found himself not worrying about the fact that he was in love with his partner, a tiger, but worrying about how his family, his pack, would take the news, and far far more importantly how he was going to try and win Nadine's heart over. He'd been making plans (lots of plans since he'd thrown most of them out after reviewing them) about how he was going to subtly ask Nadine out on a date this spring when he didn't have to deal with the urges of mating season; he'd ask her out to something casual, something that they might go to as friends, and slowly gauge her response, slowly try to win her over with one small date at a time. His biggest fear had been that if he just blurted out how he felt, she'd reject him out of hand for the sheer preposterousness of it. Not that his plans had done him much good yesterday in the viewing room.
He'd thought he'd screwed everything up, thought she was about to crush his small fledgling hopes, and then he'd smelled it. Nadine's scent was different than a wolf's, she was a tiger after all; it was less musky, more with a sharp tang, something of danger, of fresh autumn air and a hint of wild jungle. He'd found that he'd become addicted to her scent and all the nuances and slight changes that came with her moods, the shift in its flavor when it became as buoyant and warm as her laugh when she was happy or when it smelled more like a hint of summer fields when she was in one of those patently languidly lazy moods only felines where capable of.
He'd smelled a shift in her scent he hadn't been sure of, something he'd only caught the faintest trace of here or there before from her, like during their graduation ceremony from the academy when they'd gone out celebrating. This time though, it hadn't been faint, it hadn't been subtle, and this time he recognized what it had been.
The realization that she was attracted to him had hit him like a sledge hammer. He'd thrown caution to the wind and actually asked her out, asked her what he'd wanted to for so long, what he'd been so afraid to ask before. And while she might have run at that question, she hadn't said no and the spike in her scent, had been like a blazing trail for him to follow. He'd felt like howling out his joy yesterday, had barely managed to stop himself from doing exactly that and proclaiming to the entire precinct that 'She Likes Me!'. Chasing a tiger might not be the smartest thing to do but he'd chased anyway. He hadn't cared if she turned the tables on him, hell she had this morning and he'd loved every second of it. After realizing that she liked him, liked him not as a friend but as potentially something more, he would have chase after her to the ends of the world. The only thing that would have stopped him was if she asked him to. And despite running, despite her silence and refusal to admit anything, she never once said she didn't like him, or that she didn't want to be with him.
That revelation had destroyed all the barriers he'd used to keep his feelings for her bottled up. He loved her, wanted to be with her for the rest of his life and while she hadn't openly said so back yet, her actions, her scent, her kisses told him all he needed to know. It had been so much like a dream coming true that he'd lost it a little this morning; he'd gone into her living room filled with not just her normal scent, not just her arousal, but a sweeter flavor that told of sexual release. And his shirt had been there, covered in that scent of hers.
It was probably a good thing she'd locked him in her room because he'd been completely lost to his desires, he would have continued kissing her, would have made love to her, would have marked her and claimed her as his, his mate, right there and then. In that state, it hadn't matter to him whether he'd asked her, whether she'd had time to think about it or even to agree. He wanted her, needed her, and he'd been lost to his primal side that screamed to claim her before someone else did.
Now with his wits back in control, or mostly back at least; he found that while he couldn't simply keep his feelings bottled up anymore, he at least wasn't (too) worried that he was going to jump Nadine and mark her like he'd done to her bed. He could wait until she felt ready to tell him how she felt too.
"Ralph, you still there?"
Nadine's voice broke him out of his reverie, "Yep, sorry about that, where are you at?"
"To the left of the gates, I've got eyes on Hopps and Wilde. They've been sitting on a bench inside since I caught up."
Ralph looked around and spotted his mate, well not his mate yet but he couldn't help thinking about her that way; instincts were hard to fight against. He changed directions and headed over to her putting his phone away.
Nadine spotted him approaching a few moments later and gave him a wave.
"They're on the fourth bench down across the road inside, see them?" she asked once he was close enough that they could speak normally and not be overheard. Ralph took a cautious glance spotting them and then turned back to Nadine, not wanting to draw attention by staring.
"I see them." he answered, and couldn't help taking a long breath. After her sprint, Nadine's scent was more noticeable through the heavy amount of deodorizer she'd put on. It was intoxicating as always with a hint of excitement, though the deodorizer shrouded much of it. There was also a hint of something else underneath it, something like artificial flowers, maybe a perfume, though why Nadine, who never wore perfume, (not that she needed it with how wonderful she scent was) would put on some only to bury it under deodorizer he didn't know.
Ralph focused once again back on the present as they had a job to do and because even if they were officially mates it was still rude to sniff someone in public.
"Okay, we ready to go in and have a fun exciting day at the festival and not look like we're here to tail a little bunny and fox?" Ralph joked, giving Nadine a smile.
"Already picked up our passes from the ticket booth," Nadine said holding one out for him and then gave him a hard look, "And how did you set that up anyway?" she asked.
Ralph couldn't help the grin that slid across his face. He'd really just gotten lucky but he still felt a bit of undue pride at his accomplishment, "My younger brother has some friends that work here. I asked him for a favor and he set it up for us."
Nadine raised an eyebrow at that crossing her arms, before saying, "And did you go telling your brother about us?"
Ralph tried not to let his smile go out of control at her tacit admission that they were a couple, but he was pretty sure his tail's wagging gave him away as he replied diplomatically, "Well… I may have told him about this beautiful girl that I'm in," he stopped rethinking his word choice given her current edict on what he wanted to say, "-girl that I like, and that I'm dating, *ehem* going to be dating." He quickly corrected.
He looked back at her still neutral express and quaked his head, before asking, "Why'd you ask?"
Nadine gave out a huff like she wanted to be mad but couldn't and held out two heart shaped stickers.
"Because, were supposed to wear these at the festival and your brother apparently choose what to put on them."
Ralph took a closer look at the stickers and saw that one read 'Your Puuuurfect' and the other read 'Howl at THIS full moon'.
"Oh, I'd totally howl for you." Ralph said before his brain caught up with his mouth and he shut it with an audible snap. He took a look at Nadine who was both blushing and looking a bit peeved.
"Um…" Ralph backtracked sensing danger, "I'll, ah… I'll have a talk with my brother later." He said, giving Nadine what he hoped was a winning smile.
Luckily for him, he caught sight of Hopps moving off of the bench, and gestured in their direction. "Opps, we'd better hurry or we're gonna lose them!" he snatched the first sticker out of her paw to put on his shirt, "We better put these on if we're supposed to wear them." He gave her another smile just for good measure before heading toward the gates.
Nadine's sighed, and grumbling, started peeling the sticker and followed him toward the gates.
"Come on, come on, just pick up." mumbled Bill Wolford staring at his phone. His older brother was probably going to be pissed at him but he at least deserved a warning.
The phone clicked and the voice mail message started playing
'This is Ralph, sorry I can't-'
Shit, well I hope he checks his voicemail soon.
'-please leave me a message after the tone. *Beep*'
"Ralph, watch out, Mom's on the war path!" Bill started a bit frantically before getting control of his voice, "She found out about you dating your tiger and then went over to her apartment to confront you two about hiding it and ended up talking, well arguing, with the landlady over there. She knows all about your 'morning'," he couldn't hold back a small snicker and smile at that though, "oh and I must say nice! I can't believe you and her are already going at it! Kudos to you! I know you said you were serious, but man do you work fast! That and there's some," he paused momentarily, "okay, a lot, of rumors going around that you two have already claimed each other. So, um… congratulations on your new mate, but um… Mom's not, well… happy," he looked around like she might track him down just by his utterance of her name and gave a cough and quickly muttered, "pissed as hell *cough* about you two eloping and she… um… well she also found out about your plans to move out of the neighborhood and she thinks you're trying to leave the pack!"
He didn't realize he'd started pacing and couldn't help but add a worried, "You're not right?" before pulling his courage together and getting to the real point of this call, "Oh… and… she might have cornered me and gotten me to tell her about that little favor I did for you setting up your date today, so um… have fun and watch out for mom! She grabbed dad and they might be headed your way! Cya!" He ended the call and looked at the phone wondering if he should call again or just leave him with the message.
"Well, I tried…" he mused, before shrugging and turning around to head toward his bedroom in the house he and Ralph had been splitting rent on, "Anyway, there's a cute arctic wolf that's gonna need a valentines date tonight since Ralph obviously isn't going to be going out with her, and I need to get ready."
Nadine tried not to think as she walked with Ralph.
They were holding paws, because Ralph had pointed out that it would be 'suspicious' and would compromise their cover if they didn't, which she conceded made sense. The problem wasn't that she didn't like it, but that she liked it a little too much. She'd realized that she'd started to subtly walk closer and closer to Ralph, almost rubbing up against him when his tail started going into overdrive. Thank Rajah though, she caught herself and stopped before she'd actually started doing something like purring. That, especially with that stupid sticker he was wearing, would have been mortifyingly embarrassing.
Not that hers was any better. In fact it was far, far worse because there hadn't been any good place to put it. Ralph had been trying not to stare but she kept catching his glances over to her and inevitable to her chest. He'd already gotten a free look this morning, he didn't need to keep looking.
His phone went off in the middle of one of those glances and he flushed as it startled him and he realized she'd caught him staring. She might have berated him, but he looked so cute blushing like that, that she simply couldn't, so she decided she give him a pass… just this once.
Instead, she asked, "You going to answer that?" and then looked up to make sure that their targets were still in sight ahead of them.
Ralph pulled the phone out and looked at it before silencing the call and putting it away, which was unusual for him.
He seemed to sense her curiosity because he smiled at her again, which did not help her self-control, and replied, "Might not be the best time for me to talk to my brother, he'd probably ask how our date is going."
"You told him this was a date?!" Nadine nearly yelped.
"Well, I couldn't tell him it was an undercover, off the books operation, now could I?" Ralph returned with a grin, "Don't worry, I've got something special planned for our real first date tomorrow."
"You'd better," muttered Nadine, before pointing out the line that Hopps and Wilde had gotten into and heading for it. She looked back over at a slightly nervous looking Ralph and couldn't help but tease him a bit
"So Ralph how do you feel about rollercoasters?"
…
"Nadine?" Ralph's now very concerned voice said from beside her as they sat in one of the mid-sized cars as it clattered up the incline of the wooden rollercoaster, "Did I ever mention that I'm not a fan of heights? Like really really not a fan of heights?"
She reached over and patted his thigh smirking a bit, "Oh you're not saying you're scared now are you?" she teased him happily; there wasn't much that got to Ralph but it seems she might have just found a weakness.
"NO!" he replied quickly, though he grabbed her paw and didn't let go, "I Am NOT Scared of- Oh my gods how high up are we?!" Ralphs hold on her paw became a death grip as he made the mistake of looking over the side
It might not be one of the new steel rollercoaster at the Pier but this one was one of the original classics and had remained through the years because for what it lacked in the new fancy steel coasters twist and turns, it made up for that with its sheer size.
Nadine leaned over still grinning and whispered just loud enough to be heard over the clatter of the ride, "Shhh, Hopps and Wilde are only a few cars ahead in the smaller mammals car, don't want them to hear us now," she gestured forward where they could see Hopps, who was nearly bouncing with excitement as she chatted with Wilde who looked just as calm as he normally did, "Plus if an itsy bitsy bunny can handle this so can we."
"She's not a normal bunny!" Ralph hissed back leaning as far away from the side of the car as possible and right up against Nadine. "She's a total adrenaline junkie! We both saw the video of her car chase a month ago, the one that nearly scared Francine to death! She was grinning like a maniac!"
Nadine shifted in her seat and let her tail slip around behind Ralph so that it lay curled around his back with the tip sitting on his lap. He scooted a bit closer seeming to calm slightly.
"How does this not bother you at all?" Ralph asked glancing over at the side again, only to whip his head back. They were reaching the peak of the ride and the view was quite nice.
"Most felines like to perch, most of us like that feeling you get sitting somewhere out of the way or high up as you watch everything, guess this just feels natural." Nadine replied as they crested the top of the ride. Her enjoyment of the view though, came to an abrupt end when her stomach seemed to jump up about a foot from where it should have been in a way that was anything but natural.
"That Was AWESOME!" Judy squealed, bouncing and fist pumping the air as she and Nick left the ride.
"Enjoyed that, did you?" Nick asked still looking as calm as a cucumber though his lips were curled up in the corners giving away the smile he was trying to hide.
"YES!" She bounced up and kissed his cheek, then blushed furiously as she realized what she'd done.
"Sorry! Sorry, I just got a little excited there," she said looking away embarrassedly and missing how Nick's paw went up to the spot she kissed. "It's just that that was so much fun and I wouldn't be here if you hadn't agreed to come with me… so, um thanks." She finished a bit awkwardly.
Nick passed her, then turned around, his arms behind his back as he walked backwards while leaning down so his head was level with hers. He gave her his full hustler grin and said, "Don't go thanking me yet Fluff, that was just one ride, and one of the older ones at that. Want to go try one of the newer steel rollercoasters?" His grin got wider, "Then maybe you can give me a real kiss as thank you."
"Nick!" Judy said feeling her cheeks heat up at his teasing and tried to swat her overly smug fox but he danced a few steps backwards out of her reach grinning even more.
She held her breath for a second, indignantly but that only caused Nick to let out a laugh. A real laugh, not a polite laugh or a casual laugh at some joke but a real laugh from deep down, the kind of laugh that she'd only heard him give a few times on rare occasions when he was truly happy. It was a sound that she loved hearing.
She let out her breath in a long sigh but couldn't hold back a smile.
"Fine, lead on Slick. Show me a real rollercoaster then."
Nick made an exaggerated bow before turning back around to walk next to her, one arm going around her shoulder and the other gesturing in front as he said, "As my lady commands! This way, if you please."
She let out a giggle and couldn't help leaning into to him. "Do you always have to be so dramatic Nick? Everything in life isn't a joke or a hustle."
He gave her a look that clearly showed he disagreed. "Does that even deserve an answer?"
"Does that even deserve an answer?"
"Well then, what's your hustle this time?" she asked nudging him playfully.
Nick reached up and scratched his chin in a thoughtful manner before speaking, "Well, if you won't tell anyone… see this sly fox was going to hustle a thank you kiss out of an innocent cute little bunny."
"Nick! I've told you not to call me cute!" Judy scolded him her ears heating up.
"Oh, you thought I was talking about you?" Nick said casually, his grin growing to the point it should have broken his face as he looked her up and down, "Hummm, now that I'm looking at you I guess cute might describe you too."
He was off and running through the crowd, before her punch could connect, laughing the entire time as Judy gave chase with an outraged cry of "NICK!"
"Ralph, don't you even think of it!" Nadine hissed grabbing him, all but dragging him away from the picture counter after the rollercoaster that showed images of all the seats during the ride, and more specifically away from the screen that showed a wide-eyed tigress in the middle of a scream with her fur standing on end. A tiger who was also clutching at the wolf seated next to her, who judging by the idiotic grin visible on the little bit of his face that wasn't being crushed into the breast of the tigress, seemed to be enjoying the ride far more than the tiger was.
"Hopps and Wilde are headed out already, come on." She huffed
"Best rollercoaster ride ever," Ralph said still grinning as he followed, "Don't you think?"
She turned and leveled a finger at him, growling, "Don't you say anything about that!"
"Aww," he mimicked her voice from earlier, "you're not saying you were scared, now are you?"
"Bite me," she growled back.
Ralph grinned and nipped her finger.
Nadine let out a startled, almost strangled and utterly embarrassing 'Eep!" and stared at Ralph her heart pounding away and her breath coming a little short.
Ralph took step closer, and Nadine tried saying something but her mouth didn't seem to be responding, not that it would have done any good because he stood up on his toes and stole a kiss while she was too stunned to stop him.
Withdrawing a few inches, he looked at her face and whatever he saw made him grin in a very pleased manner. He gave the corner of her jaw a quick nip that sent tingles and shivers through her and made her breath even more ragged, before saying coyly into her ear, "Hopps and Wilde are getting away, we better hurry."
Nadine found herself being led along by a tail wagging happy Ralph, his paw holding hers and only one thought managed to make it into her mind.
I am in sooo much trouble.
"Picture A113 please" Judy said handing over some money.
"Seriously Carrots?" Nick said, and glared at the picture, which showed him, cheeks and tongue flapping like some teenage wolf sticking his head out a car window. "Fine if you want to play it that way, I'll just have to get some blackmail of my own," he turned to the elephant behind the counter, "I'll take picture A115 please."
"Really Nick?" Judy said looking at him with an amused expression, "And what are you going to do with that?"
Nick handed over some cash and took the picture in return before waving it in front of Judy, tauntingly.
"Oh, I don't know…" he started off casually but with a growing smirk, "you know? There might be someone that would love to see this picture of you with your cheeks flushed and ears flapping back like streamers. I even think I know what he will say, probably something like this," he shifted to a high pitched comical voice, "OOOOOOHHHHH M GOOOODNESSSSSSS! She's Soooooo CUTE!"
"Well two can play at that game!" Judy said flustered as Nick dodged her retaliatory strike, he was getting too good at that. She turned back to the counter slapping some more money down on it.
"The Deluxe package deal for seat 21 please." She said and grinned back at Nick evilly. Picture A113 hadn't been the only good picture of him. In fact, she'd been looking for an excuse to buy that package anyway. There was one picture at the beginning of the ride where Nick had been leaning over to tease her and the camera had caught him just right. He had a small beautiful smile on his muzzle and the angle and lighting had made him with his thick russet fur look like the most handsome mammal she'd ever seen. And maybe… if she let her imagination wander, the picture made it look like they were more than just friends.
Nick sniffed and then slapped some more money down next to hers, saying, "The Deluxe package deal for seat 20!" and then returning her evil look, "Don't forget Carrots I have your sister's number from when we went to visit your family."
"You wouldn't!" Judy said aghast.
Nick leaned over to her, his nose close to hers and whispered, "Wouldn't I?"
"If you send those to Jessica, I'll… I'll…" She didn't know what she would do, she was nose to nose with Nick her paw jabbing him in his chest with each word,
"I'll…" poke,
Nick was so close, his heavy musk seeming to surround her, clogging her brain as her heart seemed to race out of control, she tapped his chest again, ineffectually, "I'll…"
His grin grew almost predatory, which only caused a heated flush to ripple through her, "You'll what Judy?" he asked almost growling in a way that was perversely happy and made another her body shiver with another hot flush. All she could see now was his eyes, his gloriously emerald green eyes that were like windows into who he was, the real fox behind the mask, her fox; windows she was falling into.
"I'll…" she was breathing hard, lost in his eyes, her body seeming to react on its own.
I'll kiss him
Her view of those eyes was broken as an envelope appeared, blocking them.
"Here you two go, enjoy your day."
The spell from Nick's eyes broken, Judy looked up to see the trunk of the elephant holding the envelopes with their pictures between them.
Judy gave her head a small shake to clear it before reaching up to take the envelopes with a muttered thanks.
What was I thinking?! I almost kissed him! I can't kiss Nick! What kind of friend would I be if I did that?! He's in love with that stupid ZBI agent.
She needed something else to focus on and right Carrot Freaking now.
Judy grabbed Nick's paw and pointed at the nearest rollercoaster.
"Come on Nick! Let's try that one next!" she said trying to focus all her excitement on the ride, though all she seemed able to think about was the fox she was dragging along behind her. A fox that was still making her heart race, a fox that was causing her to feel far too hot for this time of year, a fox that she was afraid if she looked back at right then she'd kiss.
"Are they going to go on every damned rollercoaster here?" Nadine tried not to whine as they headed off following Hopps and Wilde, her whiskers drooping. They'd been tailing them for what seemed like an eternity now as they dashed from one ride to the next, like kits on a sugar high.
"I hope not," Ralph said from next to her, not sounding very enthusiastic either, "I don't like the steel ones, the seat restraints on those ones are too restrictive."
Nadine nodded, though it wasn't that the seat restraints were tight that bothered her, it was that she couldn't hold more than Ralph's paw on those rides. At this point she didn't care how it looked, being able to hold onto Ralph made the whole terrifying experience of those gut-wrenching falls and turns bearable.
"I mean come on," Ralph continued a bit exasperatedly, "They've started making faces at each other on the rides just for the cameras!? It's like the ride doesn't faze them at all!"
Nadine was about to respond but then she saw where they were Wilde and Hopps were headed.
"Ralph." She barely managed to squeak out, her ears pinning back and her tail wrapping protectively around herself, "Please, please, tell me they're not going to that one. Please."
Ralph looked forward at the steel monstrosity and gulped. He looked back over at Nadine and then sidled up to her, wrapping an arm around her, though she wasn't sure if that was to comfort her or himself.
"We… we *gulp* we can handle it, Nadine. We've been through worse," he tried to reassure her, but she heard his muttered 'I think'. Ralph seemed to muster his courage though and managed to gave her a smile even if it looked rather brittle.
"Just think about it like a… a car chase! Yes, exactly, just like any of the car chases we've been through together."
Nadine could feel her fur standing on end as she looked up… and up at the coaster track where a car that roared along it twisting around in spirals and pulling the most ridiculous turns that a must have been thought up by a truly sadistic mind.
"Ralph, when we're in a car chase you're driving. I trust you, I don't trust that… that death ride!"
Ralph just held her tighter staring as well, his ears folding back to as he watched the car rip along the track in a blur.
"We'll make it." He said his voice sounding a little shaky, "We've got to keep an eye on those two, and if they can do it so can we."
Nadine swallowed and gave a small nod, and they started moving forward again.
"Think you can handle this one?" Nick teased as the line moved forward, "You looked ready to jump out of your seat in the photo on that last ride." He waved said photo in front of her and had to jerk his paw back as Judy tried snatching it from him.
"That was only because you started tickling me with your tail!" she huffed, after failing to grab it, "That's not fair! My tail isn't that long."
"And my ears aren't as long as yours either," Nick said back, which got Judy to grin.
"I don't know what you are talking about." She said haughtily though she couldn't stop grinning.
"Sure, Fluff, your ears just happen to keep booping my nose."
"That ride turned a lot, it's not my fault." She said still in that haughty voice and Nick couldn't hold back a laugh any longer. He reached over and ruffled the fur on her head again and when she squawked he lowered his arm to her shoulder and pulled her over to his side. Between two foxes that would have been something far too intimate for 'just friends' but Nick could justify it to himself because she wasn't a fox, and Judy had told him that bunnies were gregarious and liked to cuddle with friends, just like she was leaning into him know. They did it often enough anyway, sitting on a couch snuggled together under a blanket while watching movies. It was just normal for her and she didn't need to know how much he treasured those moments or her contact. She certainly didn't need to know what it meant for a fox to let someone touch their tail either. The feeling it gave him when she held his tail like a shield as they watched cheesy horror movies was one of his most secret guilty pleasures. And she certainly did not need to know that he dreaming of her doing that… and other things.
It might not be appropriate but Nick simply couldn't bring himself to give up those moments. Every moment he'd spent here today had been wonderful. He didn't think he'd ever had more fun and these small moments close to Judy made him happier than he could ever remember being.
It might be a cruel irony of life that Judy wanted him to pursue the mammal he'd fallen in love with, had offered him her support and wanted to be there to see him happily married with some other presumed girl when all he wanted was her.
He gave a sigh, breathing in her scent, she'd put on a light perfume today, something her sister had probably sent for her to try again. Her normal scent was better than any perfume, but this one wasn't bad, behind the artificial smell of flowers was something else, something intriguing that mixed with Judy's normal natural scent but was different, sweeter, even more intoxicating. It combined with the scent of his bunny and had been making his heart beat wildly and his winter urges surge ever since they'd left the coffee shop.
He took another breath, savoring the way she smelled.
Judy had always been right in the past, maybe, just maybe she would be right again about not giving up hope for the love of his life. It was a stupid hope, it was never ever going to happen, and it might break him when that hope inevitably was crushed, but that hope was just too tempting not to hold onto deep down in his heart.
It would be stupid to just blurt out that he loved her, but maybe he could try showing her, continue being there for her, continue loving her from afar, and maybe just maybe, one day she might start to feel something back, something more than just the platonic love between friends. It might just be a pipe dream, but it was his dream. His bunny.
Judy giggled a bit and poked him.
"You've never done that before. I didn't know foxes purred." Judy said, and Nick realized he'd started unconsciously rumbling. He stopped immediately and tried to prevent his face from spontaneously combusting. He snapped his ears down so Judy wouldn't see the insides and thanked Karma once again that she couldn't see his blush through his fur. That, was not something a fox should ever do with a friend no matter how close they were.
"Ahh, don't stop." Judy said still leaning against him, "I liked it."
Nick looked down at her, his beautiful bunny, and had to fight, fight hard, not to do something stupid like kiss her. She looked so happy and her scent seemed to have grown stronger, sweeter, mixing with that new perfume to muddle his mind. If only he could always keep her this close. If only she could be his.
"Next! Come on you holding up the line!"
Nick nearly jumped in the air, the voice startled him so much. He looked up and the now empty line in front of him and blinked before finally letting go of Judy's shoulder and moving forward.
A breath, a second breath, and he'd recollected himself and forced a smile onto his face. He turned back to Judy.
"Come on Fluff, you said you weren't scared. Time to prove it."
Judy blinked, before her competitive streak came back in full force. "Oh, we're going to see just who's the scared one, Slick." She grinned and marched forward confidently.
"Woah, hold up there, little bunny," the bull running the ride said, "I'm sorry but this rides new, and they haven't gotten the cars for the smallest mammals approved yet." He pointed to a cutout sign next to the line, "Sorry miss, but you have to be that tall to ride until they do."
Nick looked over to see that the sign he was pointing to had a mark a half foot above Judy's head.
"Ooh jeeze. Damnit, I'm Sorry Judy," Nick said a little dismayed, "I should have checked that, come on we can go find something else to do." He wanted today to be perfect for her, and getting kicked off a ride due to her size was sure to rankle.
Judy though grabbed his paw and stopped him.
"Hold up there Slick," she went over to the sign, gave it one look and turned around in front of it to face the ride attendant. Her arms crossed and her ears snapped up, and with a smug grin that would have done any hustler proud said, "What about now?"
The bull opened his mouth, then closed it. He scratched his chin seeming to think and mumbled, "fur doesn't count but they never said ears don't."
He shrugged and waved them forward.
"First car, make sure your friend straps in tight." The bull said to Nick as they passed, while Judy strolled next to him with a little excited bounce in her step.
Nick took the bulls warning to heart and made sure that the safety belts under the bar restraints were as secure as he could make them; Judy finally had to tell him to stop fussing, before he'd leave it alone.
"Nick! I'm going to be fine. Now get your butt in that seat and buckle yourself in. I'll be madder than a kicked beehive if you get hurt because you were too worried about me to take care of yourself."
Nick gave her a grin and then flicked one of her ears before buckling himself in.
He laughed at the expression she gave him and said, "See those long ears are more useful than a long tail."
She huffed and then reached over to flick the tip of his tail in turn.
Nick swished it away in the nick of time, then with an even larger grin on his face swished it back so that its tip flicked right against her nose, and laughed at how her nose started twitching. He probably should have laughed a little less though because Judy snatched his tail and held it captive in her lap.
"Okay, okay Fluff! You caught me, I'll stop." Nick said still chuckling but Judy just sniffed, turning her still twitching nose up in the air indignantly.
"Oh no! I'm not letting your tail go, not after what you did on the last ride. It's staying right her until we're done." And she patted it with one paw while the other kept a firm but gentle grip on it, and Nick had to work to not visibly show the pleasurable shiver that ran up his tail and through his body.
The safety bars lowered down over them and the attendant did a quick check before the car lurched forward on the track, Nick not caring if he was smiling like a fool while his tail was still trapped in Judy's lap.
Nadine leaned against Ralph who was leaning just as much back into her for support, as they tried to keep each other from toppling over.
"She's a monster," mumbled Nadine, as she watched the bunny literally skip away next to Wilde as they left the photo booth after the ride.
"Oh thank Balto, she isn't heading back to do that one again." Ralph muttered next to her, "I think I might hurl if we had to do that again."
Nadine despite her shocky state, or probably because of it, giggled, "Don't you go ralphing on me."
Her wolf groaned, "Nadine that was horrible, that was worse than Nick's jokes."
He looked forward again and gave a slight sigh of relief, "Come on let's sit down on that bench for a minute. They got distracted by that booth over there."
Nadine nearly moaned in pleasure as they sat, since the bench didn't move or flip or twist, or try to otherwise violently rearrange her internal organs. Ralph was leaning back looking relieved, and Nadine, not being able to muster enough energy to care about how it might look leaned over (more fell really) until she was laying sideways on the bench her head in Ralph's lap.
There was the sensation of what may have been a kiss before she felt a paw on her head that started to rub and scratch lightly behind her ears. Nadine just closed her eyes and let the comfortable sensation wash over her while she let her sense of balance try to recover.
Ralph's paws she thought, as she couldn't help but let out a low purr, were almost as amazing as his tail, though his tail was far fluffier. She could get used to this though, she thought as Ralph's light scratching hit the perfect spot to the side of her ear and she felt like she might both arch and melt at the same moment.
Yes, she could certainly get used to this.
Bogo was eating ice cream with Bess, or maybe being feed ice cream would have been more accurate since she'd only seen fit to get one spoon and was taking great pleasure in teasing him with each bite, when his phone beeped.
He frowned in irritation but checked it anyway. It could be something important.
And as it turned out it was, it was a priority message from his operations team.
Claws: Boss we've got trouble. Both the mouse teams watching them say that they're being tailed. Don't know why, but they say that the same tiger and wolf just happen to have gone on every ride they have. What do we do?
Who would be tailing them, and why?
It's not like there could be a second conspiracy out there surrounding them.
This is Wilde and Hopps, there could always be another conspiracy out there they've stumbled into, his brain reminded him, and he grunted in irritation.
It would be just like them to stumble on something while out on a date they couldn't even recognize as a date. Who knew what mess they'd blindly walked into this time. It could be anything, maybe a money launder operation, maybe a crime syndicate, hell whatever it was it probably was something that would cause the city to go into a uproar… again.
"Dear, what's that? Oh, Benjamin's worried that your little hustle to get your favorite officer team together might be in trouble?"
Bogo covered his face with his hoof letting out another groan.
"Is it possible to keep anything secret from you?" he said dismally.
Don't ask stupid questions, his mind chided himself to late.
Bess patted his cheek, "Of course it is sweetie, why how could I possibly know something like how you've been secretly practicing Gazelle's stage dancer's routine?"
Do not blush, Do Not Blush
Bess leaned forward with a twinkling smile, "You're blushing again, dear."
Bogo just groaned.
"I'll tell you what, you give me my own private dance show tonight once we get home and nobody, like say… one very enthusiastic cheetah will ever hear about that."
Bogo looked up to see his wife's grinning face.
"Are you blackmailing me?"
She kissed his cheek, "Is it working?"
Bogo sighed in defeat, and looking around to make sure nobody was paying attention to them gave her a small quick kiss in return.
"Fine, Bess, only for you."
She squealed in excitement and gave him a kiss that was bound to draw attention though, by the end of it Bogo didn't cared… much.
"Okay!" she said excitedly, "Let's get going then, I think it's about time we intervened in this little drama!"
She hauled Bogo to his feet, and headed back toward the main thoroughfare.
"Bess! Hold up," Bogo said shaking his head, "We can't get directly involved. They'd recognize me in half a second and then they'll know something is up."
"Well of course." She let out a laugh, "That's why we're going to go get our disguises first!" she said pointing across the street toward a booth for face paints and another with gaudy hats and clothes, the ridiculous stuff you'd only see at Halloween or at a theme park.
Bogo let out another groan as he was hauled in their direction.
Nick was still giddily happy as they walked down the street from the rollercoaster. He didn't remember much of the ride because he'd been enjoying the feeling of Judy holding his tail in her lap too much. He might regret it later when she used the pictures of him grinning stupidly through the entire ride against him but at the moment he couldn't care.
Totally worth it.
He followed after his skipping bunny, and his eyes tracked her small perky tail as she bounced along. She probably didn't even realize it but the way she moved with that bounce in her step, so full of energy and optimism, made her tail twitch ever so slightly with each rise. It wasn't just cute, it was just about the single most sexy thing he thought he'd ever seen in his life. What he would give to-
Nick realized that he was quite literally on the verge of drooling and shut his mouth with a snap. Then he oh so casually made a discreet adjustment to his pants, so that he wouldn't be walking around with a tent. He might be a master hustler but he did not want to even think about having to try reasoning away that to Judy.
He finished just in time, because a call from one of the booths caught Judy's attention and she turned back to him excitedly.
"G-g-get your fortune. Glimpse the future. Madam Pearl…"
"Nick! Do you want to try that?" she asked bouncing up to him with a beaming smile so bright that just looking at her forced Nick to make another discrete adjustment to prevent dying from embarrassment.
Maybe letting her hold your tail for the entire ride wasn't the smartest idea. Part of him thought as he hid the embarrassing discomfort.
"I know it's silly nonsenses," Judy said with a faint blush as she twisted her ear in a nervous tick that made her look adorable, "but it might be fun. What do you think?" she smiled at him again.
Nope, still worth it. Anything's worth being with her.
He smiled back, "Sure Carrots, but you should be careful about calling it nonsense. You never know when it might be true."
Judy laughed and taking his paw led him over to the stand.
"You're just saying that because you probably think it's a good hustle." Judy teased.
Nick grinned back at her, "We'll we hustlers have to stick together, don't you know?"
"Ex-hustler, you're a cop now. Slick," Judy beamed at him in a way that made his ruff puff.
"yes, yes I am. Somebunny," he couldn't help grinning and looking down at the sticker on his chest, his ruff still puffed in pride, "out hustled me and turned me into a cop."
"You made it through the academy yourself, Nick. You turned yourself into a cop." Judy said smiling and turning around, twining her arm around his, "Now let's go see what's next in our future." She said enthusiastically.
I might have turned myself into a cop, Carrots. But I didn't do it for me. Nick thought and smiled as he let his bunny lead him forward again. He knew he'd follow her anywhere she led after all.
A/N
…
Operations Clock: +4.5 hours
…
MuHAHAHAHA
YOUR ALL DOOMED
*Snicker*
...
Now what does this say? 'Fluff Weaponry, Do not mix with alcohol' Humm...
Now where does the Navy and the Pirates store their beer and grog?
#ithoughtidbreakhim #DCP