The Conspiracy

by Zanrok

Winter is one of Zootopia's most interesting seasons. It's the time of year when many mammals choose their mate, it's a season with love in the air… except that some are too blind to see it. And others are fed up with those oblivious idiots and are determined to do something about it… at any cost.

12. Chapter 12 - On the Way to the Concert

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CLASSIFIED: DO NOT READ

THE CONSPIRACY

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Operations Clock: +6.25 hours

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Disclaimer:

Muhahahahahahaha!

"Um, sir why is the grinch laughing?"

"Because he's an evil little bugger, that's way. Don't listen to him petty officer, we caught him and have him tied up and hanging over the kerfluffle pit, ehem, I mean fist deck. All he can do is be annoying us now. I told you that the plan would work."

"Yes, sir... but the boat is listing badly to port now and half the crew is in sick bay with 'Mere flesh wounds' and the others are mostly in a comatose state of Fuffly Kerfluffle induced 'Daaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

*Officer of the watch snaps fingers in front of petty officer*

*Cackles of laughter from tied up grinch*

"awwwwwww- oh, ah, sorry sir. Even wearing protective gear and a welding mask, they still got to me a bit."

"Back to the topic at hand petty officer, you searched him right?"

"Oh yes sir. Got the Fluffthrower and the other experimental weapons off of him."

"Other experimental weapons? What other experimental weapons?!"

"Ohhh... just some radioactive hazard level fluff for a 'dirty' fluff bomb, a fluff-saber, and a couple pounds of fluff-4 explosives."

*Officer of the watch facepalms*

"Did you find the deactivation code for the Fluff nuke?"

"Ummm... well, sir... the only thing he had on him that might be that was this..."

*Hangs sheet of paper over*

"Chapter reference bingo cheat sheet? What the hell is this? We need the damn deactivation codes and quick! We're running out of time!"

*Cackles of laughter*

'It took you all too long to get me! This last chapter was tough but its finally here! Muhahahaha! Suck it losers!

"Shut up you!"

Muhahahahah-mmmmm

*Officer of watch finishes ducktaping grinch's mouth shut and hoists him back over the deck overrun by the kerfluffle*

"Ummm... *gulp* sir, what did he mean by that?"

"He's just trying to get to you, don't listen to him"

Beep... ... Beep... ... Beep... ... Beep... ... Beep... ...

"Um sir, *gulp* the nuke wasn't making that beeping sound before..."

"Probably nothing, now just find those deactivation codes."

Beep... ... Beep... ... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep.. Beep. Beeeeeeep...

*Ducktape muffled Snicker*

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Chapter 12 – On the way to the Concert

( Operations Clock: 2 days prior )

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Finnick cursed as some idiot knocked on the rear door of his van. He'd finished with his pawpsicle hustle for the day and had just found a good spot to park so he could relax in his mobile apartment hot rod (or so he thought of it). Though Nick's damned goody twopaws bunny cop had pointed out when he was filling out his taxes that it was still technically just a van and not a mobile trailer home, even if he used it that way, and more importantly that allowed him to avoid the trailer home tax.

Finnick shook his head, muttering to himself.

"And how the fuck did I let that bunny cop hustle me into actually doing taxes again?"

It was Wilde's fault. That's how, Finnick told himself. He was happy enough that his friend had managed to get off the streets and actually do something with his life, happy that he'd found a mate even if the two ditzes were two damned dense to see that they'd fallen so hard for each other that they were as good as married already. Deep down where he'd never let anyone know, he was happy about how things had turned out, but why by Karma had that godsdamned overeager bunny decided to try and reform him as well?! He was too old and set in his ways to try and change his life now.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With another curse, Finnick put his just opened beer down on top of the ice chest and shut off his portable tv before going to grab his trusty baseball bat by the back door of the van.

"Godsdamned meddling 'have to make everyone in the city better' bunny," Finnick growled, "Godsdamned taxes, Godsdamned paperwork. Hustling didn't have any godsdamned fucking paperwork!"

Not that he wasn't still a hustler, because he was damnit. It said so right on the company license that damned bunny had made him go get, 'Pawpsicle Hustle LLC'.

Stupid dumb bunny, stupider dumb lovesick fox, Finnick though malevolently, If those two would just get on with it and rut each other, then maybe she wouldn't have so much spare time and energy to corner me after our poker night and try to make me go legit.

Not that having their hustle turned into a legalized hustle (It's still a godsdamned Hustle, Fin adamantly told himself) didn't have its perks. Buying the ingredients for the Pawpsicle directly from the Hopps family for one thing had helped a lot. He'd gleefully burned that karma-be-damned cursed elephant suit Nick had made; He couldn't describe how great it felt to know he'd never have to wear it again to get the supplies for the hustle, plus now he could make more than one flavor too, and blueberry was so much better than cherry.

In fact, he'd been making more money even without hustling the ingredients and having to pay the ridiculous government's fee known as 'taxes', than they had before. Though he put that down to the fact that while no respectably cool mammal would want to buy ice cream or popsicles from those dinky stuck up ice cream parlors or sissy ice cream trucks with their absurd paint jobs and hideous music, they had no problem buying his awesome Pawpsicle from his tricked out hot rod with it's epic paint job and his excellent taste in music. He'd even had enough money recently to get the paint job touched up and install air shocks… though he needed to secure the stuff in his mobile apartment better in the future as it had sent everything bouncing around.

"Still fucking worth it." Finnick grumbled to himself picking up the bat just as there was another series of raps on the back door.

"Who is it?!" he bellowed before slamming open the door, his bat resting against his shoulder.

I swear if they scratched the paint I'll… his thoughts trailed off to a 'Oh Fuck', as he looked into a large business suited mammal, and then looked up… and up some more until the business suit turned to white polarbear fur.

A polar bear he was unfortunately familiar with from past hustles.

He swallowed but managed to keep his normal pissed off voice despite the alarm bells that blaring in his mind.

"Hold on one fucking moment Koslov." He managed to get out before slamming the door back shut and allowing himself a short moment to panic as he tried to figure out what the fuck Mr. Bigs primary enforcer and in some ways literal right paw was doing here.

I haven't don't have anything to do with them nowadays!, Was the first thought to roll through his mind followed by,

This couldn't be over 'The Rug' incident, I thought Nick cleared that up with Mr. Big? Then he stopped as a different train of thought accrued to him.

Wait… are they trying to shake ME down for protection money?! Because FUCK that! See this is what comes from having a legit business… I mean legit HUSTLE. GODS FUCCKING-

Frowning and swearing he reached over and grabbed some batting weights and slid them onto his trusty 'argument helper'. They might not do much against a freaking polar bear but he'd be damned if he didn't give him at least a few good lumps if they thought they could shake him down.

Batting weights secured and baseball bat back on his shoulder Finnick threw open the door again.

"Okay Koslav what are you here for? And don't try offering me any 'insurance' plan because this here," he bounced his bat on his shoulder, "is MY fucking insurance and protection plan."

Koslvo's expression didn't change at all at his hostile tone, in fact if the bear hadn't grunted slightly he wouldn't have been sure if the biggest of the Big's big bears had even heard him. Finnick was about to continue but was interrupted by an excited squeaky voice from somewhere above him that, for a moment, sent a shiver of fear down his spine until he quashed the reaction.

"Oh no! Koslov and I aren't here for that silly! Koslov can you lower me down, how can we have a conversation if I can't even see who I'm talking to?"

Another grunt and the massive polarbear's paw moved down as low as it would go, which to Finnick's annoyance and ear-itation was still well above even the highest part of him.

"No, no, no. Now this just won't do!" came the shrill voice again and there was a call back to the limousine parked in the street. Four more polarbear bodyguards piled out and came over to the van before hoisting the whole vehicle right off the ground until he was even with the small shrew in Koslov's paw.

"Fru Fru Big," Finnick said evenly with the slightest nod, deciding that a little politeness right at the moment might be a good idea (a five foot drop would not do his van's suspension system any good, and it was brand freaking new), "It's pretty fu-," he bit back the curse, "pretty rare to see you around here."

"Well I do love to get out and see the city Finny!" Finnick cringed at the 'nick'name (and swore he'd kick a certain fox later for it) but decided to let it slide given his current circumstance, "But I was actually sooooo hoping that I might run into you today Finny! Can you imagine just how lucky it was then that we just happened to see your van here? It's almost like, Why what's that phrase my BFF is always using, oh yes! Serendipity!"

"Damned goody twopaws bunny cop has gotten to her too…" Finnick mumbled and there was a sweet, "What was that Finny dear?"

Finnick coughed and quickly said, "Damned good phrases that bunny cop has."

"Right, I know! Judy is the sweetest mammal I've ever meet, why even her curses are cute!" the little shrew squeaked delightedly.

"It sounds more like she's hangry for a salad," Finnick grumbled, though far quieter this time before clearing his throat and speaking up.

"Fru Fru, as fuc-, ehem, nice as it is to just…" Finnick frowned choosing his words, "coincidentally run into you today, you said there was a reason you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh Yes!" The shrew squealed in delight and Finnick's grip on his bat tightened.

Oh shit, I'm not going to fucking like this, not one fucking bit…

"Mrs. Big," He cut in a before she could continue, deciding to cut right to the point, "Not that I think your implying anything, but I just want to make it clear that I don't work for either fucking side, I don't fucking snitch for the fuzz or 'help' out 'the family' and I fucking like it that way!"

Koslov frowned at him disapprovingly but Fru Fru just laughed.

"Oh nothing like that! Not at all!" she said and waved a paw at the large polar bear who lessened his glower before she walked forward right to the edge of her portable furry platform and spoke in a conspiratorial squeak.

"Have you noticed how my bestie Judy and her partner Nicky seem to be having some trouble getting their relationship moving?"

Finnick grunted.

"I think anyone can see that." He said in an exasperated voice, "I've never seen two mammals that just need to fucking rut each other so badly before! Nick was godsdamned useless at our last poker night because all he could do was stare after her every time her back was turned, wasn't even any fun cleaning him out. Like taking candy from a kit, except the kit would have actually noticed."

"Well... Me and some other friends of theirs decided that it's about time we gave them… a little push." Fru Fru squeaked with a huge smile.

"Good fucking luck with that." Finnick groused and glared back up at the disapproving look Koslov was giving him. He pointed his bat up at the polar bear, "As I recall, some previous attempts haven't turned out so well Friar Tuck."

Koslov actually looked away seeming almost embarrassed and muttered something, that with his large ears, Finnick was pretty sure was, 'Would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for that meddling gang.'

"Oh, no this time it's a bit different," Fru Fru said breaking in with a gleam in her eyes that reminded Finnick far too much of her father, "This time I'm getting personally involved and we have help from others as well. I'm quite sure it's going to work!"

Finnick gave the shrew a wary look.

"And what are you up to, Fru Fru Big? Because I'm don't know how you could possibly get them together unless you're planning on fucking kidnapping them and chaining them together alone in a locked room… and maybe dose them with nighthowler too, just so that they finally cave to their instincts and rut each other silly."

The shrew shrugged in a completely indifferent manner, "If I have to. Though, I don't think Judy or Nicky are into that kind of bondage stuff, at least our background checks on them haven't suggested it."

Then she smiled at him and Finnick felt another shiver of fear run up his spine, "And there are better, more… natural ways than using nighthowlers, though I considered it," she said smiling like she was talking about what dress she'd considering to wear in the morning, "Plus, kidnapping is such an unpleasant way to go about it too. If our other first plans don't work and we do have to do something… drastic, like you suggested, then it's much easier to just trick them into going where we want rather than going to all the hassle of forcefully bringing them there. We'd just need to provide them with a little incentive, a 'little' bait; You could help us out with such a 'little' hustle right, Finny?" The shrew asked in a oh-so-sweet voice, smiling at him in as another shiver ran from his ears to his toes. He gulped as the shrew continued like some sort of demonic little cupid angel floating on a white pawed cloud, "You'll help us, right? We're only doing what's best for our two precious friends after all."

---

(Operations Clock: +6.25 Hours)

"Hey! Stop hogging all the popcorn and pass one of the bowls over before the commercials finish!" Jessica shouted across the main living room of the burrow where most of the family had gathered to watch the show.

"No fighting, There's plenty for everyone." Bonnie said, pointing to one of the bunnies near Jessica, "Samantha, share with your sister,"

Samantha smirked and then tossed a pawful of popcorn at Jessica snickering at her, before noticing the stern glare from their mother and passing the popcorn bowl she had over. There were some laughs from the surrounding siblings but those got shushed by others who pointed at the screen and Jessica turned back to the super wide deluxe flatscreen on the wall where one commercial had just finished and another started, this time with a well muscled dark haired mustang standing in front of a steamy shower only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist.

"OMG, I love Erinnye Crews!" someone in the crowd squealed while another shouted, "Erinnye's number 1!" only for everyone else to drown them out with irritated shushes.

"Hello ladies." The commercial actor said in a resonating deep voice with a squeal inducing charming smile as he continued in quick confident manner, "Look at your man. Now back to me. Now back at your man. Now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me." he said before lifting up a red product bottle, "But if he stopped using lady scented body wash and switched to Musk Mask's Old Spice scented deodorizer, he could smell like he's me."

The scene suddenly switched, the steamy shower background lifting away to show a boat and ocean as the towel was ripped off to display the white boating slacks just as a blue and white striped, sleeve knotted shirt fell from off screen to land across his shoulders making his muscled glossy black haired chest stand out more. There were a few more squeals of delight, primarily from the teenaged does. (though some came from older does and even some from a few bucks too)

"Look down. Back up. Where are you?" the commercial actors continued without breaking his smooth charming monolog, as his hoof holding the bottle dipped out of view of the camera "You're on a boat with the man your man could smell like. What's in your paw? Back at me." his hoof came back up as the camera view focused back in on his chest and head, showing only the ocean background, while his hoof held a sea shell that popped open to show Gazelle VIP tickets instead of a pearl,

"I have it. It's an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again." The oyster fell away to show a pile of gems over flowing from his hoof, as his voice became even deeper and sexier, "The tickets are now diamonds!" the pile of gems continued to overflow as the bottle from earlier started rising out of them, and he gave a swoon worthy smile as the camera angle zoomed out to show him walking on a beach, "Anything is possible when your man smells like Musk Mask's Old Spice scent and not an old lady." He finished grinning sexily and posing to make his contoured chest stand out before saying in a non-sequitur statement, "I'm a horse."

There was a wolfwhistling trademark tune as a gorgeous artic she-wolf sauntered up to him while the camera continued to zoom out showing more of the beach. The she-wolf took a sniff of him and smiled, pressing herself up against his chest as he winked right before the commercial cut off.

There room filled with noise as some fanned themselves and others pulled their phones out and began tapping away.

Jessica could hear her dad groaning about how the whole burrow was going to smell like scented deodorizer for a week again while old Grandpa Pop-pop grumbled about how in his day you'd never see such a uncouth thing as blatant interspeciesism on tv by golly gosh darnit.

Jessica snickered as she shoved some popcorn in her mouth; old Pop-pop with his bad hearing and iffy eyesight hadn't apparently figured out that the news report everyone was watching was featuring their sister. The entire room quieted as the commercial run ended and switched back to the news channel showing Peter Moosebridge and Fabienne Growley sitting at their desks in the ZNN News room.

"Welcome back to our 6 o'clock special report on the two Valentine's day love stories everyone wants to know about." Moosebridge said smoothly, "Before we continue with our behavioral traits expert Dr. Viktor Vandyke we have an emergency weather announcement. Fabienne, if you would."

The screen focused on the snow leopard as she began speaking, a background image of a weather map of Zootopia appearing.

"Thank you Peter. An emergency shut down of water main 12 has caused excess water to be diverted to northern Zootopia. Residence of the Rainforest District can expect heavier than normal rain throughout the rest of the night and into tomorrow as beaver work crews inspect the pipes for reported damage and make any necessary repairs. In addition, residents of Sahara Square should bundle up as temperatures are expected to reach record lows tonight due to an unexpected ice chuck that broke off of one of the polar straight's glaciers and floated south before the new iceberg beaching itself on Sandy Grove."

The image cut to a shot from the Palm Tree Resort where the titanically huge ice berg could easily be seen along the Sahara Square's coast. Bonnie headed over toward Jessica handing out more bowls of popcorn as the report continued but stopped by her to whisper, "I still can't believe they went with your plan. Don't you think this is a little… excessive?"

"Moooomm," Jessica said exasperatedly though she kept her voice low enough so that it didn't travel too far, "This is Judy we're talking about. Jude the dude, Judy on duty, Judy 'I can't realize the mammal I've fallen in love with, loves me back even if he's almost drooling all over me'. There is no such thing as 'excessive' in this situation and everyone else obviously agrees with me," she said waving her paw at the screen, "Besides if this doesn't work, nothing will and dad will have a heart attack anxiously waiting by the phone day after day to hear that they're finally 'officially' together so he can 'officially' start the wedding preparations."

Her mother huffed but glanced at her dad with a warm smile muttering, "He's already started the wedding preparations."

Jessica rolled her eyes, "That's why I said 'officially', now let's watch the report. I want to hear the rest of what Dr. Vandyke has to say, he's been pretty spot on so far and I didn't know half the stuff about courting signs he's mention either, predators are so different." She finished delightedly and turned back to the tv, listening to the feline anchor as her mother smiled and shook her head before going back over to sit with her dad.

"Climate wall operators have increased heating to Sahara Square to maximum and expect that 'Hell's Snowball' as they've nicknamed the iceberg will be gone by tomorrow, but areas nearer the cost will have cooler than normal temperatures as they melt it away. Unfortunately, this also means that residents of Tundratown can expect colder weather tonight as the Climate Wall will need to increase cooling proportionally with the heating. This in combination with the excess rain and humidity that is expected to cross over the mountain divide from the mains water diversion to the Rainforest District is expected to bring about Tundratown's biggest blizzard of the decade. Snow is expected to start falling within a few hours and residents are warned to stay indoors and ride out tonight's storm. So break out the hot chocolate supplies, snuggle up with your Valentine's special someone and enjoy the night and a chance to sleeping-in in the morning as Tundratown schools have issued a 2 hour delay for tomorrow and most businesses are expected to follow." The anchor finished smiling as the map disappeared. Only for a windowed view of a black jaguar wearing a tweed jacket sitting in what looked like a cross between an academic professor and medical doctors office to appear.

"Now back to our feature story." Growley continued, "Dr. Vandyke, we thank you again for helping to explain to our viewers about what we are seeing with these alleged couples, particularly as not all courting customs are the same between species."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it's safe to call them couples, my dear. Why, the level of intimacy and classic courting behaviors certainly suggest it. And the fact that all this news about these couples has only become public knowledge now, also makes sense given the season."

"Do you mean because it's winter and that at least one member of each couple is a predator?" Peter Moosebridge asked.

"Certainly, my boy!" Dr. Vandyke said waving enthusiastically, like a student had just asked the right question, "The real interesting part of this from a academic perspective is how the differences in cross species nature of the relationships will effect this given that they will not all have the same culture and instincts driving them. The canids will be far more effected by the season while the tigress will only be minimally effected by it. Officer Hopps on the other hand has the most interesting case since bunnies don't have a particular mating season at all. But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet and look at Officers Wolford and Fangmeyer's relationship first." The professor said, smiling and leaning back in his chair as he played with an old wooded pipe.

"Based off of the information ZNN was able to provide, the apparent suddenness and depth of their relationship is not all that surprising. You see, wolves have a rather rigid courting process built off of the nature of their packs, while tigers, like most felines tend to have a looser, more fluid approach." He paused before emphasizing, "However, there is one fairly common and important part in feline relationships that marks the difference between a causal interest and when a relationship turns into a very serious mating courtship. It is generally what is known as a 'dominance display' or 'dominance fight'."

"A fight?" Moosebridge interjected effortlessly without so much as a hitch as his co-anchor blushed ever so slightly. The almost quiet room in the burrow filled with a low level chatter as everyone started murmuring about that. "Could you explain that a little for those non-predator viewers?" Moosebridge asked as smoothly as he would for a weather report, "Unlike you Doctor, must viewers won't have such an expansive understanding of different cultural norms."

"Absolutely," Dr. Vandyke said waving his pipe, "The term fight though might be a little misleading, just like acts of biting among predators can be misunderstood by other species. Biting and nipping among predators can be anything from strictly playful, to intimate, to matronly displays, depending on the situation and species but aren't actually harmful. I'm sure most mammals have heard of how sometimes predator mothers will pick up their cubs by the scruff of the neck, sometimes even by with their teeth?"

Moosebridge nodded at this and Dr. Vandyke continued.

"It's not something you'll likely ever see, unless you actually live in a predator home, but that kind of behavior is not un-common for predators nor is it done in any harmful or mean way, as some less educated prey mammals seem to automatically assume. In fact, being bitten on the scruff of the neck can actually calm many predators as the feeling is instinctually linked to rearing behaviors." Dr. Vandyke smiled and gestured with his pipe, "But I think we are getting off topic here. The point is that when I say 'biting' or 'fighting' it is entirely different from something like biting or clawing you would see in a mauling sort of fight."

"As for the feline 'dominance fights', actual real fights are rare, though they do sometimes occur with hardline 'feline naturalist' who adamantly stick to the most traditional or as they see it, 'natural' ideas and methods of courting and mating. Usually though, even among most feline naturalists, it's more of a mating display, which is an idea fairly common to many species even non-predators, except that in this case it usually consists of lots of roaring as well as posturing that other species might be more familiar with; it can even include some small amount of tussling were one or the other would lightly bite and hold their partner. It allows them to show off for each other; to display their strength, agility, and dominance, while the 'bite' is essentially a claiming statement. This is generally the point at which a growing relationship between feline's will either end, if one or the other refuses the claiming gesture or continued with a mutual intent to become mates if it is accepted. It's something of an instinctually based tradition among felines that usually happens shortly before the pair scent marks each other, which as everyone knows since it is one of the few nearly universal courtship rituals, publicly and legally declares them to be formally engaged."

Jessica had her paws over her mouth by this point imagining what that must be like. It made the tail flicking and other subtle gestures of bunny courting sound bland by comparison. The whole thing sounded so… primal and exciting. Maybe she could convince Bobby Catmull to tell her more about it over a few beers…

Her thoughts about the small cougar were broken off as Dr. Vandyke's voice caught her wandering attention.

"While male felines tend gain a slight urge to find at least a causal relationship during winter, or what many call a 'winter arrangement', the relationship will only ever progress to that of actual mates after the dominance display happens. This is usually but not always initiated by the female, particularly at the start of a heat cycle, and only after the two felines have come to know each other over some time of more casual courting. Sometimes this takes years, sometimes only months and in other cases a 'winter arrangement' or casual interest will simply break up having never even reached that point in the relationship."

Fabienne Growley cleared her throat daintily and with only the slightest blush showing through her light fur, asked, "So you believe that they have already passed that stage of their relationship? That they have essentially taken each other as life-mates? My understanding is that wolves tend to be a little slower and less... spontaneous in their courtship process. The relationship between Officers Fangmeyer and Wolford, from what we've been able to find, seems to have been fairly low key before now."

"Right on all accounts!" Dr. Vandyke said nodding as if praising a star student, "Wolves unlike felines, have a more rigid and formalized courtship structure which in many cases is overseen by the pack or packs involved. This structured courtship helps wolves by giving the process a designed rule set to follow since they are more sensitive than most other mammals to dominance dynamics due to the nature of the packs they grow up in. It also helps to prevent issues and fights from erupting between the members of various packs since wolves can become excessively territorial over who they are courting, particularly during winter."

Doctor Vandyke stopped for a second to grin at the camera, "As you said my dear, their relationship seems not to match what we would have expected given that a wolf is involved, but you have to remember that this isn't a wolf courting another wolf and that it is winter mating season. Part of why wolves have such a stringent courtship structure is because wolves like many canids feel the instinctual effects of the winter mating season far more than other predators. Given that and that most wolves mate for life, if there wasn't some sort of courting structure, the beginning of winter would be utter chaos for them, like back in stone age times, as the younger wolves started pairing off and fighting over mates. The whole courtship structure keeps it civilized. The problem is that felines don't follow those rules and some of what is involved in the wolf courtship process involve aspects that reflect a wolf's dominance within their pack structure as a way to display that they would make a strong, smart and desirable mate. What I believe happened is that Officer Wolford in trying to court Officer Fangmeyer as he would any other wolf during the winter courting season, even though he was doing it below the radar of his pack, so to speak, probably made some gesture or action that to another wolf would have only been a mild show of dominance but to Officer Fangmeyer would have been akin to initiating a feline dominance fight. At least that's what the evidence seems to suggest."

Dr. Vandyke stopped for a second and turned to someone to the side of the camera. "Please have them play the video from the reported trying to interview Officer Fangmeyer's neighbors…. Yes, yes that one. It's the perfect example to illustrate this lectures point… You already censored it so it should be fine. Come on, hop to it, this is going out live, isn't it?-"

The view cut back to the two anchors and Growly managed to pick up from the sudden shift with only the slightest pause.

"ZNN managed to get an exclusive interview with neighbors of Officer Fangmeyer earlier today so we'll let ZNN's Tod Irontail take it from here."

The screen cut to a view of a small apartment with a well dressed beaver sitting in a couch chair holding a microphone while an old long bearded goat with one broken horn sat across from him on another couch.

"Hello, this is Tod Irontail here interviewing Herald Hornsly a neighbor of Officer Fangmeyer," he turned from the camera to face the goat, smiling as he held out the mic. "Mr. Hornsly, you know both Officer Fangmeyer and Officer Wolford?"

"Of course I know Officer Fangmeyer and Officer Wolford, I live below one of them and they work together," the old goat with a broken horn said peevishly, "Damned cat doesn't even have the dignity to stay with her own species, has to go chasing after that blasted wolf she's always hanging around with even outside of work," he nearly spat.

The beaver frowned slightly but kept a professional face as he asked, "You don't approve of their relationship?"

"Relationship? How can some cat have a relationship with a-" he was cut off as a voice from across the room and through what looked like it lead to a kitchen door, called over sternly.

"Herald, don't you go being mean to that nice young couple again. There is nothing wrong with being in love even if they aren't the same species."

The goat scowled over at the door before saying, "Love? That's not love, that's lust! Djali save us all women! That sassy little nightmare of a neighbor even calls them WolfEyer because that cat can't stop eying up that wolf!"

There was a muted equine snicker and the camera bobbed for a second while Irontail brought the microphone back to himself and tried to speak.

A loud harrumph interrupted him though and a nanny goat appeared at the door of the kitchen wearing an apron and scowling at Hornsly, "Don't you go swearing by Djali or her ghost will come back and make you regret it!" Mr. Hornsly glared in response, and of all things blew a raspberry at his wife, startling the reporter who looked like he was trying to figure out how to regain control of his interview. The old nanny goat though was quicker than him, huffing and waving a dishrag at Mr. Hornsly, "Megan is a very nice young girl, just a bit… energetic. And you know that it's impolite to go around calling felines, cats!"

"Not when all they do is yawl all night and lust after mammals not even their own species!" the old goat spat.

"Oh?" his wife said, seeming to finally get seriously irritated, "And what's wrong with being a bit lusty with the mammal you love? You certainly don't seem to have that problem when we get a bit 'lusty'! Maybe I should cancel your prescription. Tell the doctor that you've decided 'lust' is a bad thing in a relationship and that you won't be needing those little blue helpers anymore."

"Oh come now!" the old stoat bleated in alarm, "That's different, we're married and we don't go around making a racket and bother other mammals so much we make the news! They were roaring and howling up a storm, banging around the apartment like it's was a free for all MMA fight before r-(bleep)-ing each other so hard they made their bed sound like an entire string orchestra! A hideously out of tune orchestra attempting to squeak out the 1812 Mousekovsky Overture!"

The now wide eyed beaver reporter opened his mouth to say something before closing it and trying again only to get interrupted by a knock on the wall as the mammal in the neighboring apartment shouted, "If you're going to complain to that reporter about the noise they made then you should tell him about how noisy you are with your b-b-b-b-bleating!" he finished in mockery of a goat's bleat, "They don't make half as much of a ruckus!"

"Go get your own damned reporter!" Shouted the now angry Mr. Hornsly, "This is my interview and I'll tell it the way I want, ya squealing pork nose!"

"Why thank you, I've always been very proud of my nose," the voice shouted back just as a few other neighboring apartments joined in on the shouting match while the reported tried and failed, to calm the goat down and the interview descended into utter chaos.

The screen cut back just as a rising chorus of 'This is our house!' from the neighboring apartments started, showing a view of the anchors on one side and Dr. Vandyke on the other as the burrow's living room erupted in laughter. Jessica was giggling too hard to even care that one of her brothers had managed to steal her popcorn bowl.

"And thank you Ted Irontail for that… novel interview," Growley managed to say as Moosebridge coughed once into his hoof, though her cheeks were noticeably more pink than before, "Dr. Vandyke, you said this, um, illustrated your point?"

"Yes, Yes. Absolutely!" the old doctor said pointing off screen, "See, what happened there? Something triggered a fight with howling and roaring back and forth as well as a tussle, and one, given the pictures of them afterwards holding paws, that was not a serious 'fight' kind of fight. It is not surprising that Officer Wolford, due to the season might be more forward or dominate in their budding courtship and those actions could easily trigger, as it clearly appears to have done, a feline dominance fight with Officer Fangmeyer. Given how winter affects wolves, and that Officer Wolford is considered more of a dominant wolf or 'alpha wolf' as many call them, it would be very unlikely for him to simply back down once such a fight started." The doctor stopped for a second to remove his pipe from his mouth and use it to gesture at the camera, "That it happened is not surprising. What is so interesting to me and the others in our field is how it was resolved. We'd love to have more details on it since I would have guessed that such a dominance display between a wolf and a feline, particularly that early in their relationship, would have been unlikely to end with them together given the nuances of the two separate cultures."

Moosebridge frowned slightly and asked, "Do… you mean you would have expected them to break up after such a fight, or 'display'?"

Dr. Vandyke shrugged, "If I was a betting mammal I'd have given it long odds. There are a number of things that could have gone wrong and would have marred the relationship, but considering that they ended up mating right afterwards which is generally what happens after a successful display, it's certain that they are a couple now, especially given wolves tendency to mate for life. They managed to skip right over most of the wolf courtship process and come out together on the other end, so while they might not have marked each other yet, they're the next best thing to legally engaged."

"Well that seems to be quite the fairy tale romance story." Fabienne Growley replied, "Quiet fitting for Valentine's day wouldn't you think?"

The doctor gave a noncommittal gesture at that, "Yes, it might be romantic, a 'true love wins out' story but it's not over yet. While they have managed to get through any issues between themselves being different species, Officer Wolford is still part of Savanna Central's most prominent wolf pack and wolf packs have internal politic structures inside and between them that make the Zootopia politics look simple by comparison. Officer Wolford, an adult member of the pack, has gone outside of the pack's courting process without even informing them and essentially claimed a mate, a mate that isn't a wolf, isn't part of any pack, and if ZNN's information is correct, done so despite an apparently preplanned trial date between himself and the daughter of the Silverclaw's alphas. All that is going to cause more waves inside Zootopia's pack dynamics than dropping a bomb in a pond. Depending on how his and other packs respond, this 'fairy tail' love story could end up being anything from a Cinderalla story to a modern age Wolfspeare Romeo and Juliet tragedy.

"Well however it turns out, you can be sure that we here at ZNN will surely be following it," Moosebridge said, "Now Doctor, what about Officer's Wilde and Hopps?" the screen shifted to show a photo spread of the two, "Canids and Felines might traditionally not get along well together, but they aren't natural enemies like foxes and rabbits. Some have even expressed a concern that they think a predator, being more naturally aggressive might be unintentionally pressuring her into such a relationship."

Jessica laughed at that along with most of her siblings though there were a few mutters of discontent (particularly from Pop-pop, who was saying something about foxes being red because they were made by the devil). The idea of anyone pushing Judy into a relationship was ridiculous though. Judy would be more likely to punch out anyone who tried that, she'd done it before after all to at least one pushy buck in highschool who thought she'd be some easy tail.

Doctor Vandyke's response seemed to concur with Jessica's reaction to the comment, since he chuckled before speaking.

"I'd say that's not something you would have to worry about, at least not between a male fox and a female bunny." He chuckled again and waved away a comment before Moosebridge could even make it, "In fox culture it's always the female that moves the relationship along. Everything from asking them out the first time to marriage proposals, the vixen is the one that pushes the tod." He chuckled again, "If there was a vixen with her eye on a buck, well then you might want to worry because that buck might just find himself married and not know how it happened."

"But Doctor Vandyke," Fabienne Growley asked, gesturing with one paw, "I thought that male canids, including foxes get very territorial and aggressive about their courtship interest during winter. Are you saying that Officer Wilde is not going to act like that? That he wouldn't pressure Officer Hopps at all?"

"Oh he's certainly going to act that way," the jaguar leaned back in his chair, grinning, "In fact you can see that in every picture and video you've shown of the two of them during winter so far." He held up a paw forestalling any comment and continued, "Take a look at the pictures, the posturing, glaring, the way he positions himself between her and others. But all that territorial behavior is focused at those around Officer Hopps, particularly other males around her. While Officer Wilde is essentially instinctually trying to drive off any potential competition for Officer Hopps attention and affection, he hasn't made any move on her or pressured her in any other way except to make sure he and no other suitor is around her as much as possible. That's Fox Courtship 101. He'll stick by her as close as he can get until she either rejects him or decides to court him."

"Wait," Growley interrupted, "The rumors of the WildeHopps relationship have been building for months. Are you saying this could be a one sided love affair, with Officer Wilde pining after Officer Hopps? There's no clear evidence that what many are taking to be a date today is in fact actually one."

"Yes and no my dear," Doctor Vandyke said bobbing his pipe in a sort-of gesture, "that is only partially correct. Officer Hopps might not have initiated a formal courtship but it's certainly not a one-sided love affair. Take a careful look at the videos you've shown of them together all the way back to the missing mammal's case. Other mammals might not know the intricacies of these particular species courting methods but mammals do usually have sort of natural intuition about these kinds of things and they are right to assume that something is there, because it certainly is. If you watch most of the media coverage of them carefully, you can see how Hopps will often go skipping out in front of him. That's not just general enthusiasm, look carefully at the way her ears are on end and how they move and especially how her tail flicks; you can see all the classic signs of lapine interest. Then there's the way she is always hugging him or near him; Bunnies may be gregarious social animals but you don't see her being that close to anyone else. And though there are other signs the best one is how she acted in the video that went viral today. It's blatantly obvious from how she was holding him that she was not only worried for him but quite defensive and protective too. Lapines are not necessary known for their protective or aggressive natures," the doctor said smiling, "However they can be extremely protective of their family and mates."

He let that sink in for a second as a picture of the scene in question was displayed.

"That," Doctor Vandyke said, almost purring in satisfaction, "Shows that Officer Hopps is certainly more than just slightly 'interested' in Officer Wilde."

"Then why has she not asked him out?" Moosebridge questioned, only for the doctor to shrug again, "There could be any number of reason for that. That is more the type of question for a psychologist rather than a specialist of behavioral traits like myself, though I will say that it maybe something as simple as Officer Hopps hoping he would ask her out and any hints she's been giving him simply aren't recognized by a fox. The fact that they are going together to the Valentine's Day festival together could have been an attempt from Hopps to start something, but one that Wilde simply didn't understand. Vixen's… tend to be very direct when they initiate a relationship. So this all might be like a cow waving a red flag at a bull and saying 'come get me', while the unfortunate bull is color blind and speaks a different language."

Jessica brought her paws up to cover her mouth as she started snickering uncontrollably at that.

"Like star-crossed lovers that are always passing each other without ever being able to connect?" Growley asked and the Doctor nodded with his own chuckle.

"Precisely, but I expect that sooner or later they'll collide, and that should be one interesting show. I certainly look forward to when it happens as it will make for one intriguing research paper."

"Well," Moosebridge said turning to face the camera, "it's a good thing then that after our next commercial break we have Doctor Madge Honeybadger, a licensed psychologist as well as one of Zootopia's most renown medical doctors here at ZNN to talk with us. Maybe in addition to the questions regarding the possibility of cross species reproduction we can ask her for her view of the Officer's Hopps and her actions. Thank you again, Doctor Vandyke for your time, and we'll see the rest of you right after this break."

---

( Operations Clock: +6.25 hours )

"You should listen to Nadine, Jack. It doesn't matter where those two go, they'll find some sort of trouble and end up in the craziest predicament." Ralph said, from under the towel as the tigress continued to dry off his ears and head, "Chief Bogo has a whole theory about them being like little Murphy cursed chaos magnets; has diagrams and statistic charts and everything… it's actually a rather impressive presentation." He snickered.

Jack just rolled his eyes not that the wolf could see the gesture, "Really, how much trouble could they possibly get into while just sitting on a boat?"

There was an incredulous snort from the ride attendant who had just come by to pick up the pair of wet towels.

"Hopefully less trouble than they did," the moose said looking at the tiger and wolf before giving Jack and Skye a pointed look as well, "Or you two for that matter." He grumbled before heading back toward the attendant's booth muttering the whole way, "… hope their friends didn't dunk themselves too because we're out of towels..."

There was some more snickering from the wolf but Jack just crossed his arms.

"I'm still betting that nothing happened. The two of them are still holding back on how they feel for each other. They probably sat awkwardly in the boat the whole time not even able to look at each other."

There were some muffled, amused sounds from beside him and Jack looked at Skye questioningly.

"Well you're at least right about the awkward part," she said pointing over his shoulder just as there was a shout of, "We'll just see about that!" from the tunnel exit lane for the small and medium sized boats.

Ralph's ears under the towel snapped up like the poles of a ranger scout tent before he lifted up the front to see and broke out into a howl of laughter as Fangmeyer facepalmed.

Jack turned around to see Wilde sprawled out over the whole seat of the smaller love boat coming toward them with two long gray ears sticking out over his shoulders. The ears popped upright and swiveled around in the direction of the laughter before a red blush started traveling up the pink insides.

"NICK" Hopps's embarrassed voice cried out from under him as her head followed her ears up and peeked over his shoulder, "Let. Me. Up. Right. Now! You dumb fox!"

Nick barely shifted as Judy squirmed and only snickered, "I already told you, we're going down together. And I'm stuck, remember? I'm a dumb fox and all, we're a built a little different than you rabbits; things like this happen sometimes."

Skye grabbed her muzzle, muffling her giggles and started shaking as her cheeks went red while Wolford fell off the bench laughing.

"Sometimes?! Sometimes!? I've never seen that happen to anyone before!"

"That because you're Not a fox."

"Well, fox," Judy nearly spat, "If you got yourself stuck, then you can get yourself unstuck!"

"That's a lot easier said than done Judy, I already tried remember?" he said sounding incredibly smug, "I'm really stuck; buried in all the way and can't get out."

"Aghhh! That's Not the problem! You could let me go and you know it!" Judy fumed, before finally catching a glance of her laughing audience, "OMG this is sooo embarrassing! Why do I have to be stuck here with you like this?"

"Because you know you love me?" Nick said sounding very happy.

"Oh no! no, no NO!" Judy said turning back to face him, "Don't try to pull that one over on me again Nicholas Piberius Wilde! I am NOT falling for that again! I wouldn't be trapped her if I hadn't fallen for that little hustle!" there was more struggling as Judy tried and failed to pull herself out from under Nick who started squirming in response.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW! Judy stop jerking and tugging on me like that! My ruff is not a climbing rope! It's your fault I'm stuck like this, so you can share in the embarrassment!"

"It's Not!" Judy snapped back, "Not at all! Not my fault! You're the one in control of your body not me! How is it my fault this happened?"

Nadine was staring wide eyed and slack jawed at the boat as it drifted towards them, but Ralph was rolling on the ground holding his stomach as he laughed and Skye wasn't doing much better. Jack though, was a true unshakable professional. He might have let out a few snickers but his paws were rock steady as he held his phone up, recoding the scene.

"As I recall you started stroking my tail which directly lead to this happening. Ergo your fault," Nick replied smugly, as Judy tried to extricate herself again without much success.

"Stupid dumb fox! Why do you have to be so damned big?!"

By this point Wolford was gasping and shaking as he laughed while Fangmeyer stared wide eyed with her paws up over her face, though they didn't hide her blush or her almost manic giggles.

Skye leaned over to support herself on Jack and whispered to him between her own barely controlled snickers and giggles, "See! That's one more reason why I'm so happy with the way you are. We don't have to worry about inconveniently getting 'stuck' together!"

---

"Don't worry about it, Judy." Nadine said trying not to giggle again as she patted the bunny on the back, careful so she didn't knock her right off the bench they were sitting on, "It just looked like…" she stopped and had to fight not to start manically giggling again, "Well, it was just a misunderstanding."

"Nadine," Judy said plaintively looking up at her from behind one of her ears she was trying to hide behind, "Everyone thought we'd just had… that Nick and I were… that… " she spluttered to a stop her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.

"That you and Nick 'tied the knot' on a love boat?" Nadine finished grinning and Judy groaned, flopping forward and covered her face with her paws. Nadine patted the bunny lightly on the back again, "As I said don't worry about it, why I bet that by the next girls night out we'll both be laughing about this!"

"Oh gods, Nadine you can't tell Francine!" Judy said sitting bolt upright in sudden alarm, "She'll tell Clawhauser and then he'll tell everyone and then I'll be the laughing stock of the precinct!"

"Judy, it's not that bad," Nadine said comfortingly, "This kind of thing happens to everyone,"

"Oh?" Judy said sarcastically, almost hysterically, "When was the last time someone thought you were having s… s… sex," she almost failed to get the word out and blushed even harder, "with your best friend!"

"Happened twice this morning," Nadine said without thinking, then flushed as Judy's jaw dropped.

"b-b-b-but… what?!" she finally spluttered and Nadine scratched the back of her head nervously but decided that it might help Judy if she told her.

Fair is fair anyway, she thought trying to shrug off her own embarrassment.

"Ralph came over this morning and… we were a bit loud and my neighbors thought we were, well… rutting." Nadine finished awkwardly trying hard to control the heat suffusing her face. "See, happens to us all."

"But your dating Ralph, that's different." Judy said.

"NO," Nadine snapped and blushed hard, "Well, yes, but no, sort-of. We weren't dating! Not this morning at least! In fact, we aren't technically dating now, we're only going to be dating!" Nadine said in a fast flustered mess and Judy gave her a skeptical look.

"But you called Ralph your boyfriend when that other tiger hit on you earlier."

"He is, will be, but that's not the point Judy!" Nadine said waving her paws in negation, "We were most definitely not dating this morning and my neighbors had no reason to assume that we were, and they certainly shouldn't have started commenting and arguing about our sex life!" Nadine realized that she might have said that last part a bit too loud as there were some interested glances from Ralph and the others as they tried to help get Nick unstuck from the boat seat. She slid a bit down on the bench as if that could hide her from them before turned back to Judy... and froze.

Shitttttt…

The rabbit had her detective, 'something doesn't add up' look on her face. And when she got that look she'd dig and keep digging until her curiosity was satisfied.

Why me? Nadine whined to herself, Destiny must hate me.

"What were you and Ralph doing that made them think you two were rutting?" Judy asked far too acutely, and Nadine's cheeks flamed up.

"Nothing!" she replied way too quickly and cringed as Judy's face all but screamed 'Gotchya!'

"Sooooo, you were doing something with Ralph this morning then?" she asked delightedly.

"NOOO, We were not having sex!" Nadine tried saying but could feel herself caving under Judy's knowing look, "I swear! We weren't! Not really." She winced at that last part.

Damnit! I should know better! Get the perp talking and flustered and they'll always say something they didn't mean to!

"Not really?" Judy repeated, latching on to that last bit and Nadine mentally cursed herself again. She looked back to make sure that everyone was still over at the boat and then leaned down to Judy.

"Fine," she hissed, "This is just between us girls, got it?" Judy nodded enthusiastically, and Nadine sighed, "we… we made out and it might have gotten a bit heavy. Really heavy… but that was it! The rest was just a damned misunderstanding so you're in the same boat as I am!"

"Oh no Nadine, that is completely different!" Judy nearly squealed like Clawhauser spotting gazelle, "I wasn't making out with Nick in our 'misunderstanding'. You must really like him!"

"Well, you only went and petted Nick's tail!" Nadine shot back and Judy's ears started turning bright pink again.

"Okay I… I might have gotten a bit pawsie, I didn't know before… well Skye only just told me about foxes and their tails. But Nadine it sounds like…" Judy blushed a bit more but continued, "like you really want to, well you know… with Ralph."

"No more than you want to rut Nick too!" Nadine snapped out of sheer embarrassment, and then groaned as Judy blushed beat red and started stammering as her eyes went wide.

"Sorry, Judy," she said quickly, her own face feeling like it was on fire as well, "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, I'm… I'm still coming to grips with how I feel about Ralph. I shouldn't have brought in your feelings for Nick-"

Judy went ramrod straight and squeaked in a terrified whisper, "You Know!?"

Nadine gave her a quizzical look, "Know what? That you're in love with Nick?"

Judy meeped and all the color started leaching out of her cheeks and ears before she grabbed them and started yanking.

"No. no. no. no. no." she looked up pleadingly at Nadine seeming about to panic, "Nadine you can't tell him! You can't tell anyone! He can't find out!"

Nadine placed her paws on Judy's tiny shoulders and gave her a careful shake.

"Judy, calm down. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me too,"

Not that literally everyone doesn't already know… except for Nick.

But her words seemed to calm Judy down just enough to stop her from going into a full on panic attack as she stammered, "H-how d-d-did you know?"

Nadine sighed and tried to figure out the best way to deal with her friend,

"Besides the fact that you grabbed his tail?" she started and Judy flinched, so she continued as kindly as she could, "Judy, were friends and friends can tell these things right? You obviously picked up that…" Nadine looked over to were Ralph was yanking on Nick like he was a tug-of-war rope alongside Savage and Skye… and losing to the boat,

"That… I…"

Nadine swallowed hard and closed her eyes before whispering, "love Ralph."

There was a moment of nothing and then she could feel herself staring to shake and she squeezed her eyes shut but felt a tear escape anyway.

A small but surprisingly strong paw gripped hers.

"Nadine?" Judy asked still sounding a bit shaky but her voice was filled with concern.

Nadine squeezed her paw back thankful for the gesture and only remembered at the last second not to squeeze too hard. She took a deep breath and rubbed at her face with the back of her paw.

"You really love him, don't you?" Judy asked.

"Yes, I do." Nadine said trying not to sniffle.

"Since when?" Judy asked and Nadine gave a short laughed.

"I have no idea, I only realized I was already in love with him yesterday. Way, far gone, completely in love with him," she gave another short laugh still scrubbing at her face, "Do you know when you fell for Nick?"

"I…" Judy's voice was a little unsteady but she continued none the less, "I think I started falling in love with him when he stood up to Chief Bogo for me on the sky tram back in the Missing Mammals case…" She swallowed hard, "by the time he left for the academy I knew… I just… I just couldn't tell him… and… and now it's too late." She finished sounding like she was on the verge of breaking down.

"And why do you think that?" Nadine asked as she finally started getting some control back over herself.

Judy just stared at her incredulously for a moment before finally almost shouting in a frustrated and pained voice, "Because he's already in love with someone else!"

"Maybe," Nadine said suddenly feeling like she was walking on very thin ice.

You should just tell her. part of her mind argued

Ya that's like saying you should cut the red wire in a bomb? What if it's the wrong choice? She'll blow and probably level the city.

Well everyone knows that you always cut the red wire! It's what they do in all the movies and tv shows!

You're suggesting I use movies and tv as a source for romantic advice?

Doesn't everyone?

… that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Ya, but it'll be one hell of an explosion.

I think we need to call in the Demolition experts, handle this with a bit of care

Joy kill, where is your sense of adventure?

Currently occupied gleefully freefalling for my wolf

So… you finally admit it then?

Shut up

You're just a sore loser

I'll bite you…

Okay okay shutting up

"Nadine!" Judy snapped in a fizzing combination of anger and pain like that first almost calm moment when a mentos gets dropped in a coke bottle, "There's no 'maybe' about it! He's not only said as much but anyone even a dumb country bumpkin bunnylike me can see it!"

Ummm… okay, you might be right, maybe don't cut that red wire, part of Nadine thought as she watched the bunny almost visibly smoke like she was ready to explode.

Ya think?!

Maybe now would be the time for some of that careful handling? Like right now? Before we have to explain to the hospital how a bunny sent us there,

"Okay, so he is in love with someone," Nadine started as calmly as she could and then hurriedly added, "but that's all you know and he hasn't made any choice yet, so… how do you know you don't still have a chance?"

Judy's ears dropped down like a popped balloon and she murmured, "Because I know Nick. And this isn't just some passing fancy. He's really in love with her. I'm not going to steal his happiness just for my own."

Crap, this is bad, she's imploding now instead of exploding!

Well try something else then!

Damnit this is like trying to walk through a freaking minefield! What if I say the wrong thing?

Well if you don't do something, you're going to have to explain to a savage fox why his bunny just fell apart!

Well maybe he can comfort her then, who knows? That might just get through to her.

That might work… only problem with that plan is we'll still be in the hospital. And 'tiger beaten up by fox' doesn't sound much better than if it were by a bunny!

Nick's good but he isn't that good. Judy might be a gamble but I can definitely take him.

Sure, normally. But that fox has some breathtaking overprotectiveness issues. *shudder* when his eyes go all greenish and half-feral *whine*…

Oh come on, You're making him sound like the next Bruce Bear Banner from the movies!

And did you not see the footage from the warehouse? The whole 'Puny Mammals! Nobody hurts Fox's Bunny!' rage? Good gods girl! he smashed that jackrabbit around like he was a swinging about a jump rope!

That was only a jackrabbit…

Oh? And what about what he did to the bear? Hell, he brought down half the freaking warehouse and that was just over insult!

More of a veiled threat really, I'd do the same if anyone threatened Ralph like that.

Ugh… Focus! That's not the point, do you want him to go all green eyed and savage on you?

Um… no.

Then do something and do it quick before the fox breaks free and goes all 'Nick Smash' on you for making his bunny cry!

Not having any better ideas Nadine carefully laid a paw on Judy's shoulder again trying to comfort her.

"Judy, you know that Nick's in love with someone, right?" the bunny nodded her head and her lip started to tremble as her eyes got watery.

Crap, crap, crap! I'm a police officer not a therapist for the terminally lovesick, They didn't teach us how to deal with this stuff at the Academy!

"Well," Nadine said quickly, crossing the fingers of her other paw and bracing herself as she prepared to cut the red wire, then at the last second decided to cut the blue one instead, "do you think he might… love you?"

Nadine waited for the explosion… and was still caught completely off-guard by it.

Judy laughed, and not in a very happy way.

"Of course he does! He makes a point to irritate me as much as possible just so he can tell me that right before I'm about to thump him!"

Nadine couldn't have been more surprised by the bunny's reaction than if Judy had splashed her in the face with ice cold water. She blinked feeling completely lost.

"You… you know he loves you?" she asked stupidly.

"Yes, Nadine. That's part of the problem!" the bunny said with another short barking laugh.

"Would you mind explaining that one please?" Nadine asked, wondering if maybe this was just all some sort of weird dream as everything seemed to be unraveling and making less and less sense.

Please don't be a dream, Please don't be a dream, if this is all a dream then that means maybe Ralph didn't confess to me and then I'm going to be stuck loving him like Judy thinks she loves Nick-but-with-the-part-where-its-actually-unrequited-love,-not-just-'I-think-he-doesn't-love-me-while-he-really-does-love-me-and-we-just-can't-see-it,-and-Idon'twanttogobacktoburyingmyfeelingsIhaveforhimthatImightormightnothavebeenhidingforgodsknowhowlong,andwhycouldn'twejusthavestarteddatingaftermeetingattheacademyandPleasePleasePleasePLEASEdon'tletthisbeadream…

"-he can't be in love with me because he already 'loves' me." Judy said snapping Nadine out of her increasingly frantic mental panic.

"… Huhsa-sayWHAT?!" Nadine articulated elegantly.

At least this time Judy didn't laugh in that terrifyingly morose way and instead just sighed and started rubbing at her now watering eyes.

"Nadine, Nick loves me like a sister, as his best friend, he doesn't love 'love' me."

The confusion and stress and tension that had been building all day, along with the denial of her almost, but not quite earlier sexual release that was smashed by the craziness of the phonecalls and a cold water dunking all seemed to combine in that moment with Judy's absolutely absurd and yet just barely believable twistedly logical rationalization that was like the cherry that caused Clawhauser's famous Zootopia records book attempt at an Ice Cream Sunday Extraordinar to buckle under its own weight and slide apart.

Nadine's eye twitched.

---

"OUCH!" Nick cried out as Ralph pulled on him, "Careful or you're just going to break it! It'll take weeks to grow back out!"

"Oh don't be such a sissy, Nick. Having one chipped claw for few weeks won't kill you." Ralph said with a grunt, before easing up and reevaluating the situation.

"You really managed to dig them into the seat." He muttered impressed at just how stuck he'd gotten himself, "How the hell did you manage that anyway?"

"By accident, that's how." Nick snapped, "Now stop asking stupid questions and help me"

"Most have been one hell of an 'accident'," Ralph snickered before turning to Jack and Skye, "Okay that isn't working let's work on just one paw. Here Jack, grab his arm right there with Skye and pull on three, okay? One… Two…"

"Hey wait! No that's-"

"AAGGHHHHH!" The all froze as Nadine's infuriated shout crashed over them, "JUDY! THAT'S THE STUPIDEST, MOST CONVOLUTED REASONING I'VE EVER HEARD! I Swear that if you weren't my friend I'd bat you around like rubber ball you until you saw reason!"

Ralph looked back at Jack and Skye, while Nick, still stuck to the boat seat, unsuccessfully tried to raise his head above the side to see what was going on.

Nadine had stood up and had both paws on her head looking like she might rip out her fur while her whiskers stood out in a crazed manner like she'd been zapped by lightning.

Judy was sitting on the bench looking stunned. She frowned and seemed about to speak, but Nadine leveled a paw at her and Judy shut up as her eyes crossed watching the large claw that snapped out to pointed right between her eyes.

"And why do you think that?!" Nadine roared at the bunny, "Humm? Have you asked or are you assuming?"

"But I-" Judy started to say in a confused voice but Nadine cut her off.

"NO BUTS!" she shouted, retracting her claw and not so lightly tapping Judy on the forehead, gaining a loud "Owww! Hey!"

"You listen here dumb bunny!" Nadine hissed lowering her voice menacingly, "You're a damned good cop but you're still pretty new and you have an issue of not questioning your own assumptions enough! How many times have I had to come in with the SWAT unit to pull your fluffy tail out of the fire when you let your almost right theories lead you into trouble?!"

Judy looked down and mumbled something.

"Oh?" Nadine said giving her another tap, "And what about peanut thieves you tracked down? You had the whole thing figured out correctly except that they weren't squirrels! They were gods damned elephants! You and Nick almost got stampeded with that one!" she glared at the bunny, "Do you want me to go on?"

Judy glumly looked down, her ears wilting.

"STOP. ASSUMING!" Nadine growled one last time and then turned, heading in their direction like an angry steam engine, huffing and puffing the whole way. Ralph could swear he could see a cloud of steam hanging over her head and gulped in trepidation. There were some scrambling sounds and Ralph looked to the side only to notice that Jack and Skye had vanished and that he was now alone in the boat with Nick.

"Hey! Deserters!" he spluttered in surprise but didn't have time to do anything else as two striped paws grabbed him and hoisted him out of the boat.

Ralph turned his head back toward the now very loud sounds of grumbling, almost growling mutters of 'Dumb Bunny idiotic fox stupid-' and accidentally booped his nose into Nadine's.

Her frown deepened, pulling back a little to show her fangs before she let out a huge huff that ruffled the fur of his muzzle.

Ralph put on his best grin and said, "My, what big beautiful teeth you have!"

That got a shorter huff and she nipped his nose before Ralph suddenly found himself being kissed so deeply that it was almost like she was eating his muzzle. Then just as he got over his shock and started to kiss her back, he blinked and found himself being set down next to the boat on the dock.

"Stay right there!" Nadine said sternly before turning back to the Fox stuck in the boat.

"Um… you're not planning on kissing me too, are you?" Nick said nervously but managed a fairly good smirk considering his awkward position, "Because I can't reach my tic-tacs in my pocket right now and I've got wicked bad breath… plus I think Ralph might object."

Nadine's ran a paw over her face with another growling mutter of, "Stupid Slick fox, stuck and still can't just confess?!"

Then Nadine reached down with one paw, extending all her very impressive claws and Nick's smirk morphed into a startled, wide eyed 'Eeep' as she sank her much larger claws into the seat right next to his. Then she did the same to the other side of the seat and with a grunt, flexed her arms.

There was a cracking sound and with another jerk Nadine stood back up, lifted the now broken off seat top right out of the boat with one fox, claws still stuck, right along with it.

She brought the wide eyed, dangling fox right up to her face and snarled, "Stop being so damned slick and coy, understand?"

Nick nodded quickly and Nadine readjusted her paws grip on the broken seat top and squeezed. There was a series of cracking sounds and Nick fell onto his tail under a shower of splintered chunks of what had been the love boats seat.

"Now go over there and calm your partner down." She said in a voice the Chief would have been proud of as she pointed at a still shell shocked bunny sitting on the bench.

"Ummmm… you're going to have to pay for that…" the nervous sounding ride attendant interjected hesitantly as Nick scrambled over to Judy.

Ralph saw Nadine's irritation at the comment and thought it might be best if he handled this, since his tiger seemed to have reached her WildeHopps shenanigans limit for the day.

"Here, I'll take care of that." Ralph said, hurrying over to the moose before pulling out his wallet and trying not to snicker at the whole situation.

The stuff those two manage to get into, he thought with a grin, at least Bogo isn't here with us today, he would have hit his WildeHopps limit far before now and he would have been liable to break the entire boat, not just the seat.

"This'll cover it right?" he asked, handing across what should be more than enough to replace the simple bench seat top and the moose nodded dumbly, "Good, sorry about all the troubleee-" he trailed off as his view suddenly shifted wildly and he found himself flopped over Nadine's shoulder staring at her shapely rear and tail.

"I thought I told you not to move?" Nadine growled as she started walking back over to the rest of the group.

"Yep," Ralph said, his tail deciding that the current situation deserved some wagging, "And I'm not going anywhere."

There was some more muttering from Nadine before she adjusted her grip to keep his tail from waving in her face.

They stopped in front of the bench with the others, or at least Ralph assumed they did since his view consisted mostly of what was behind them (though he was finding the fluid motions of her tail entrancing. It moved so differently than a wolf's and the stipes… and her…)

Ralph's ears twitched as Nadine's still gruff voice.

"Okay enough lollygagging around, are we going to this concert or not?" She asked pointedly and there were some mumbled accents.

"Then let's get moving." She said making shooing motions with her free paw and corralling the smaller mammals toward the exit like a mother duck corraling chicks.

Ralph adjusted his arms so his elbows were on Nadine's back with his paws supporting his head. Nadine didn't seem willing to let him go anytime soon and frankly he was enjoying himself quite a bit at the movement. The view wasn't as good as it was this morning, but her jeans did a nice job outlining her features and his memory and imagination were taking care of the rest. He let himself daydream for a bit as they walked, (or Nadine did) before he remembered the heart shaped sticker Nadine was wearing and snickered.

"What's so funny?" Nadine asked turning her head to look back at him and Ralph only grinned more looking down briefly before meeting her eyes and giving a short appreciative howl. Nadine tripped and stumbled a step before regaining her balance as her face flushed.

"Ralph!" she looked around as they reentered the main thoroughfare, before looking back at him, "Not in public! Jeez, mammals are going to stare!"

"Well, you're carrying me around, they're already staring." He answered grinning from ear to ear.

"That's because you might go running off and get lost in the crowd," Nadine grumped turning back forward, "I don't want to have to spend the entire concert trying to find one lost little wolf."

Ralph snickered again, his tail still trying to thump away under Nadine's paw, "Why, I don't think I've ever seen you this excited to go to a concert before Nadine! You don't have to worry, I'm not going to go anywhere."

"I'm excited because I want this day to be over," she grumbled putting her paw up to her face and rubbing it before muttering, "And I never thought I'd ever have to do anything as hard as when I baby sat cubs as a teenager; this is sooo much more stressful than trying to herd young cats."

"I was kind of hoping our day wouldn't end…" Ralph said, his ears dropping and his tail slowing.

Nadine was quiet for a second before she finally let out a loud sigh.

"Ralph," she started, sounding worried and far more serious than usual, "After we're done here with our job today, you and me need to sit down and have a real conversation about us."

Ralph felt a jolt of panic at that as all sorts of thoughts exploded in his mind,

SHIT

Did I screw up? Did I do something wrong?

Calm down, if she wanted to dump you she'd have done it by now… literally.

NOT GOOD, NOT GOOD

She did dump me earlier today!

Sure… on her bed

Which I marked! Is she still mad about that?

NOT GOOD, NOT GOOD

Maybe I went too far in the tunnel?

I'm pretty sure she wanted you to go farther…

But what if she's having second thoughts about that now? What if I screwed up? I can't lose her now! I haven't even gotten to really tell her how much I love her!

"Ummm…" he managed to say as his mind continued to reel, "That sounds… serious." He finished pensively and Nadine sighed again.

"Yes… yes it is." she said soberly, and Ralph's tail froze as his internal panic spiked like a reactor going critical at her next word, "maybe…"

Oh gods does she think this was a bad idea? Does she want to call this off? Just go back to being friends?

*Internal howl of utter despair* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo!

Do something! Quick! Beg if you have too!

"maybe…" Nadine continued before he could pull himself together, "you could… could come back to my place afterward we're done here. I could make something for dinner or we could pick up something and then… talk? You…" She swallowed hesitantly as Ralph froze, "you… could stay over if it gets to late…" She gave an almost fearful glance back at him before quickly turning away and adding, "only if you want too."

Ralph's mind felt utterly blank for a moment before he finally seemed to comprehend what she said but before he could reply his tail started beating back and forth with such vigor that it broke free of Nadine's hold under her paw.

---

Judy followed along after the Savages as they led the way down the street; a small part of her mind was still stuck contemplating the fact that they were a couple and what that might mean about her chances… but most of it was still reeling in shock over what Nadine had said (more like roared) at her.

She'd always been rather proud of her detective skills and how she could piece together other mammals' motivations and actions to figure out what had happened or what they might do, and okay, if she was being honest she wasn't always right (she still cringed a bit thinking back on how she might have solved her first case correctly instead of missing Bellwether's involvement when she'd assumed that the 'Nighthowlers' where just the name for the wolves involved in the cover up.) But she was nearly always right… well right enough that with Nick's help they'd always been able to figure the rest out in the end.

But that was the problem, Nick was the one that always helped her find the problems with her theories, and it wasn't like she could just ask him, not about this!

Judy stole a glance over at Nick who'd been rather quiet since Nadine had shouted at him too, though telling Nick to not be slick was like telling water not to be wet. She'd apparently rattled him a bit though because his tail was almost dragging along the ground and he had his mask was firmly fixed over his face letting nothing of what he might be feeling out. He looked up and their eyes connected for just a moment before Judy quickly looked away. Those deep green pools had had the same indecipherably pained and predatory, almost longing look that she'd spotted there earlier after their run in with the fortuneteller.

Nadine's words kept nagging at her, tugging at her heart and they wouldn't go away. What if he Nick did feel something for her? What if…

She shook her head.

No No NO!

That's to much like a dream come true. I'll get my hopes up and then I'll find out that he doesn't feel like that. And I couldn't TAKE THAT! She felt like screaming but held it in and blinked her eyes a few times before they started watering.

But….

But NOTHING! He's already in love with someone else!

With someone sure, what if Nadine's right?

Then I would have Noticed!

What about how he acts and what Skye said?

He's acted no different around me than he has since the Night Howler case and he's only fallen in love recently! The logical conclusion therefore is that it's someone else! She had to blink hard to not cry at that.

Isn't that an assumption, plus he's been moody lately…

And Rhinowitz said that's normal for predators in winter, and what's an assumption?

That he only fell in love recently, he never said when he fell in love.

Oh, then you're going to say that my long ears and short tail make me a 'foxy lady'? because that doesn't add up either.

And maybe that just means something different to him like cute does to you?

And that's just hopeful wishing.

Then why don't we find out?

And get my heart crushed forever?

Better than living with not knowing.

Not by much.

It's still better, and you know that question will eat you up from the inside out, you have to know.

Judy sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment. She knew herself well enough to know that after asking herself, that she wouldn't be able to stop until she found out the answer. It just wasn't in her to do otherwise.

But… but not today… She thought to herself trying to distance herself from the pain of thinking about even the possibility that confronting Nick over his feelings would lead to her own hopes getting smashed. Today was supposed to be fun; just a fun day out with Nick where they could enjoy being together… as friends of course. And it had been fun… mostly… when she could keep herself from thinking about losing him to someone else, not that he was hers…

Tomorrow. She decided resolutely, I'll ask him tomorrow and I won't let him evade. I'll find out who he's in love with and… and i-if it m-might… possibly… … well, I'll ask him.

Decision made, Judy felt a mild bit of relief alongside her internal panic but was finally able to shove all the thoughts far back into her mind. If nothing else she was going to make sure that this concert was the most fun they'd ever have (and it had Gazelle, so how could it not be?). One way or another she'd at least have the memory of today that she could look back on and smile at.

With that and a bit of mental determination, helped along in no small part by the thought of seeing Gazelle sing live, Judy managed to regain her usually happy outlook. She had promised Clawhauser some photos of Nick enjoying himself at the concert. Maybe she could get him to break out some of his oldster dance moves again.

She actually giggled a little thinking about that. If there was one thing Nick couldn't do, it was dance. That though, just made it more fun to be with him when he tried, because he'd do it if she pushed him just to make her smile. He would be there with her and they'd both be having fun and that's what mattered to her.

Maybe I can even try out some of his moves for Gazelle's 'Try Everything' song, she giggled again, It would certainly be appropriate considering the name! Judy thought grinning widely now.

"You're looking chipper again," Nick said, glancing over at her, an almost smile flickering across his face, "I was getting worried there; I'm supposed to be the pessimistic moody mammal and you're supposed to be the upbeat optimist one."

"Well, we are headed to go see Gazelle live!" she said skipping out in front of him with a spring in her step and tail. She turned back to him and smiled, "That would make anyone happy!"

Nick snorted, and she gave him a playful glare, to which he only shrugged, "I'm just happy I get to go there with you, otherwise I'm not sure it would be worth it."

"Don't say that around Clawhauser!" Judy said warningly hiding a grin as his comment soothed some of the lingering turmoil she could still feel, "I swear if you make too many comments like that around him he might do something drastic."

"Like what? Report me to the Chief for crimes of having good taste in music?" He said smirking in a way that she was sure he'd personally perfected to get her fur up in a fluff.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "More like report you to the Chief on suspicion of having your hearing damaged since you obviously can't hear good music when it's sung!" Nick was still smirking at her in that particular way so she grinned evilly back and added, "And I might suggest to him that he gets Doctor Slowinski the sloth to do the hearing check up as well as a full physical and have him play Gazelle's last album the… entire… time!"

Nick's smirk wasn't looking so smirky now.

"Or," she said taking advantage of the moment, "You can admit how awesome her music is and Clawhauser will never hear that little suggestion."

"Fine," Nick grumped, crossing his arms, "Gazelle's music isn't all- HEY!" he stopped and pointed at her accusingly, "Paws where I can see them and they better not be holding that carrot pen! I'm not falling for that trick twice in one day!"

Judy tried giving him her best innocent face, as she let go of her pen in her pocket and put her paws up, though her grin probably gave her away.

"I'm still waiting to hear it," She said, still having fun even if her plan hadn't completely worked.

He gave her a careful look, before sulking and finally muttering, "Her music isn't that bad… for new age fad music."

"Well, coming from you," Judy said, taking a skipping a bit closer to him so she could bump his hip, "That's quite the ringing endorsement!"

"Don't let it go to your head," Nick said trying to sound grumpy and failing, "I only like coming to these things because watching your take on 'hip-hop' dancing is hilarious."

"Is Not!" Judy scoffed before poking him and turning up her nose, "At least it's better than your grumpy rumble routine! It's like a clothes dryer taught you to dance!"

Nick bumped her hip back, "You're just jealous of my groovy moves." He said with a smile and she broke out laughing.

"Oh my goodness, Nick! Nobody and I mean nobody says things like 'groovy' anymore! What do you wear bellbottom jeans too?"

Nick smirked and polished his claws on his shirt, "Oh the good old days; I have to admit that they sure went better with my shirts… but shorts are sooo much more comfortable."

The image of Nick with the Mister Fox pompadour wearing his flora shirt with bellbottom jeans dancing under a disco ball popped into her head and she started giggling uncontrollably. If Nick hadn't put an arm on her shoulder to help her along she would have fallen over right in the middle of the thoroughfare, the image was so ridiculous.

It took a bit for her giggles to finally calm down but Nick kept his arm on her as if afraid she might be hit by some residual giggles and fall over, not that she minded the contact. She was actually just thinking about how nice it felt when she caught Nick glancing at her, his lips pressed together a bit too hard in a flat line, betraying some deeper thought that he was stuck thinking on.

"What's up?" she asked, only for the little slip in his expression to disappear as soon as she asked.

"Pretty sure the sky is," he responded without so much as a pause.

"Nickkkk," she said groaning and poked him, "What were you thinking about?" she poked him again as he opened his mouth to no doubt give her another quick witted response, "No, what were you really thinking about, you know what I mean."

Nick sighed looking away, "It's… nothing, just something stupid."

"Oh come on, Nick," she prodded, "I know that broody fox look, if you don't share you'll keep thinking about it all through the concert and then how will we have any fun?"

Nick sighed again, but this time in defeat. He gave her one cautious glance before hesitantly speaking.

"Back after the fortune teller… well you said that you liked a guy," Nick stopped speaking for a second as her shoulders went a bit stiff. Despite her suddenly racing heart she made an effort to relax, then realized her nose was twitching and nearly growled as she tried to suppress that reaction as well.

"I did," she said trying not to sound too curt, as her heart pounded and some part of her mind shouted 'Run, Run, Run, He's watching you, he'll find out, Run!',

"What about it?"

Nick, now looking even more reluctant to speak slowly asked, "Well… you said he was taken… I, uh," he looked away as one paw went up to scratch his neck nervously, "well, I know it's stupid, but you don't… well don't like… um…" he glanced at her and swallowed, "You don't like Savage do you?"

"WHAT?!" Judy stumbled over her own feet and would have faceplanted if Nick hadn't caught her, she took a moment to regain control of her legs before looking at the vixen and hare ahead of them that they were following and then back at Nick with a completely flummoxed expression, "Why by Carrot picking Cabbages would you think I liked him?!"

Nick gave her a sheepish grin, "Told you it was stupid. Just… I don't know," he said shrugging, "With how frustrated you were when we met him in line and what you said earlier, I just had this crazy idea that maybe well, you know, that you'd had a thing for him and with him being married…"

"Your right," Judy said looking right at Nick who blanched.

"That's absolutely crazy." She continued, "When would I have even met him before? We only met Skye during the joint case."

It took Nick a second to get his mouth working and then he mumbled something about during his time at the Academy, and she just rolled her eyes.

"No. I'd never even met him before, and nice as he might be I don't like his particular suave Mr. 'I'm the next Bond, shaken not stirred' attitude." She grimaced, "Skye can keep him because I wouldn't take him in a thousand years. I've got better taste than that." She said a bit pointedly at one of the stripped ears in front of them that had swiveled around to listen.

"First," Jack called back, shooting her a smirk, "I'm married to the world's best girl and have no interest in trading down." That managed to evoke a growl from Nick and Judy gave him a rather rude, one fingered gesture that Finnick had taught her (She'd have to thank him later, because he was right. There were just some circumstances when it was extremely handy).

Jack only continued to grin, "Second, I'm better than any fictional spy, plus I'm not that picky about my drinks. Walking into a bar your scoping out and using that line is like putting a blinking neon sign over your head screaming 'Wanabe Secret Agent!' And third, I'm not into cottontails, they're just not long enough for me," he smirked before giving the fluffy sandy-white tail next to him a long and appreciative look.

Judy grumped but couldn't help mentally agreeing with him there. Nick's long fluffy monstrosity of a tail beat her little puff of an appendage ten ways to Bunnyburrow. She'd had dreams about his tail, well actually they'd been dreams about Nick… naked, but his tail did feature quite prevalently in those dreams… as well as a few other parts…

"Tail length doesn't mean anything," Nick snapped at Jack, almost growling, "Judy has a perfect tail, unlike that that lopsided thing your sporting. Her's is puffier than a cloud and flawlessly proportioned."

"Nick!" Judy squeaked feeling her face flush as he defended her, but only managed to splutter a bit before Skye turned around and gave Nick a knowing smile.

"I have to agree with Wilde, at least in part on this one Jack." She said reaching around and pinching his tail, causing the hare to give a small started hop, "The length of the tail doesn't matter, and you 'cottontails' sure live up to your name; they're wonderfully soft and they certainly do an excellent job showing off your assets." She smirked, before winking at Nick, "Wouldn't you agree?"

Judy's mouth was just hanging open by the time Skye finished and winked. She glanced up at Nick only to find that he'd looked back down at her with wide almost terrified eyes. Nick's arm vanished from her shoulder and he began spluttering denials and apologies.

"No, well yes, but NO, I wouldn't know how her tail feels!" he said at Skye then glanced again down at her, his eyes going even wider, and waving his arms in front of him, "I swear Judy, I've never tried sneaking a feel! Not once! No matter how tempting it might have been, I would never grab your tail!" There was a twinge of pain at that and something must have shown on her face because Nick became almost frantic, "Not that I wouldn't want too. Anyone would, it's a wonderful tail! A great tail! Goes perfectly with the rest of your figure. Which is great! Not that I've ever looked at it! Hustlers word that I haven't!-"

"Nick," Judy finally managed to say, her own thoughts jarred but recovering. He filched though like she'd hit him.

"It's alright, I know you'd never try groping me or anything like that, not like Leaps would anyway," she said frowning for a second at the memory before shaking them away and sighing. For a moment, she'd almost let herself believe that Nick might have thought her tail was cute, the bunny meaning of cute not just cute 'cute', but she knew Nick and he had a secret penchant for soft normal cute things.

"Nick, you're not the first or last mammal that's wondered about how soft our 'cottontails' are." She said with a sigh as she continued trying to calm him down, because he didn't look calm at all, "I know you've thought about it," he blanched and she rolled her eyes, "I've seen you look before, I'm a cop, remember Mr. Hustler?" she couldn't help smirking just a bit as his panicked expression. He looked almost like he did when she'd booted his stroller, ears splayed, eyes wide, tail puffed. He looked so much like might just bolt though, that she reached out and grabbed his paw.

"Nick, it's fine to be curios," she said soothingly, "remember back in the missing mammal's case with the 'Floofy' incident while getting the street cam videos?"

"That's different!' Nick all but squealed sounding like his adam's apple had lodged high in his throat, "That was just a hair poof! Not a tail! And I'd never ever have been interested in her-"

"Nick," Judy said, squeezing his paw and causing him to snap his mouth shut, "It's alright. I felt it too remember? And I get the difference between that and a tail, its why I was so upset about what I did on the boat. I'm so sorry about that. You'd never do anything like that to me and I-"

"That's different too!" Nick interjected, a bit of resolve conflicting with the panic in his voice, "You didn't do anything wrong, I already told you that. And my tail is longer anyway. If I tried that I'd essentially be-" He stopped speaking abruptly and looking away, before taking a shaky breath and sighing, "Okay, how about… how about we both stop apologizing and just go enjoy your concert?" he asked morosely still not looking at her.

Judy blinked at his sudden change but she could feel a slight shake in him through his paw. She didn't think she'd ever seen Nick this rattled before and didn't understand it.

"Okay," she said giving his paw another squeeze and feeling him return it like a silent thank you. She couldn't help but wonder if this had something to do with the current season as well. Maybe just another quirk about winter? She thought, as she tried soothing her ruffled fox, "Lets just-"

"AGHHHhhhhh!" Nadine's voice cut her off, "RALPH! STOP THAT!"

Judy looked back to see Nadine trying to grab hold of Ralph's frantically waving tail as it slapping back and forth across her muzzle. His tail was wagging so enthusiastically that despite Nadine's best attempts she simply couldn't keep a hold on it and she ended up getting smacked across the nose a half dozen more times before she dumped Ralph right off of her shoulder.

Ralph landed a bit awkwardly but recovered and then in a surprise move hugged Nadine fiercely before pulling back grinning like a he'd just won the lottery, his tail still a waving blur behind him.

Nadine looked like she didn't know whether to be happy or mad at his actions.

"You need to find a way to control that thing," she muttered blushing slightly as she rubbed her nose, "A danger to public safety, that's what it is."

There were more than a few snickers from other mammals on the street and the food court that they were passing as well as some hushed whispers.

"Is that them?"

"Sure looks like it."

"I still don't get it, aren't they supposed to be natural enemies?"

"Well I think there adorable! Have you ever seen a wolf look that happy?"

"I thought there was only one bunny and fox couple?"

Nadine cast a mild look of annoyance toward the hushed conversation amid the tables, which did very little to quiet them.

"Nothing to see here," Ralph called over jovially, motioning for the mammals to look back to their own business, "Go back to eating your food or whatnot."

"Ya," Nick chimed in, "If you keep gawking, we'll have to start charging you. 10 dollars if you want to see them kiss and 20 if you want to take pictures."

Nadine growled at him.

"Nick!" Judy said aghast before stifling a reaction to laugh as more than a few pairs of mammals in the food court pulled out money and started shouting request.

"I got a ten!"

"Here's a twenty!"

"I got another twenty for the fox and bunny to kiss!"

That last one killed Judy's amusement as she gapped in shock, only for a paw to gently push her hanging jaw back up and then use that paw to turn her to face a very smug looking fox.

All she had time to do was take in his grin and hear him say, "It's a hustle, sweetheart," before he leaned in to kiss her and Judy's world seemed to explode.

Really, it was more of just a light peck than a real kiss but that little clarification mattered less to her right at that moment than the difference between a jelly donut and a frosted donut to Clawhauser. The moment his lips touched hers it seemed like a rocket in her mind went off, blasting her ears straight up on end before exploding in a round of ringing explosions (or cheers from the crowd). It was like everything she'd ever imagined from a story book except that the moment didn't last forever. In fact, the moment was far far too short for her.

Son of a Carrot and a Cabbage! She thought in a daze as Nick's lips left hers after the briefest touch, That was supposed to be like a small eternity! That's what all my research with those romance novels said! Those lying good for nothing untrustworthy dime store novels! That was over before it really even started! I didn't even get a chance to kiss him back!, she wailed in her mind, still frozen in place with her ears ramrod straight as Nick leaned over to one, smirking and whispered,

"That's payback for the love boat and making me get my claws stuck, just remember that, the next time you try grabbing my tail."

Nick turned as she just stood there like a statue labeled 'dumb bunny' and started walking toward the food court tail swooshing gently in an absurdly smug manner.

There was another mental wail in her mind as Nick moved away and with an unconscious, yet herculean effort as her mind screamed, 'NOOOO, I'm Not done with you, You dumb fox! That wasn't a proper kiss!' she managed to break through her petrification just enough to reach out and grab at Nick's tail intent on pulling him back to properly kiss her. Only, she'd been a moment too slow and her paw just missed grabbing the tip of his departing tail.

She could only blink stupidly as she looked at her empty paw, while Nick started collecting the cash. He turned back and called, "Come on Ralph, what are you waiting for? These mammals are waiting!"

Judy, managed to turn her head just enough amid her sluggishly glum thoughts at her missed opportunity, to see Nadine, looking wide eyed and terrified garb both of Ralph's arms, pinning them to his sides as he turned to her with a happy grin.

"NO! Don't even think of it Ralph Wolfoorrr…" she trailed off as Ralph leaned up and placed his nose against hers. The tiger's eyes seemed to suddenly get rather wide and then she was kissing Ralph, pulling him toward her rather than keeping him away.

The sight made it feel like something in Judy was breaking and she couldn't help the anguished jealous thoughts of how much she wanted that for herself, how she wanted to kiss Nick like that.

Nadine broke the kiss after a few moments and pulled back enough to glare like she was shooting daggers at Ralph.

"I hate you sometimes," she said her glare intensifying as she spoke, but Ralph just grinned, his tail wagging furiously again and Nadine growled at him before kissing him deeply once more. Then, letting him go except for one paw she took, stomped over to Nick, leading Ralph. Nick was just flicking through the cash he'd collected when she snatched it out of his paw and he gave a startled, 'Hey!'

"There was only one call for the bunny and fox," she said slapping a twenty she pealed from the stack onto his chest before shoving the rest of the money into Ralph's paw and pointing at him, nearly snarling as her finger pressed into his nose.

"Because of that your buying dinner tonight… and tomorrow." She added after a moment.

Ralph's smile had faltered as she pointed menacingly at him but resumed, even brighter than before, at that statement.

"You want me to pay for the meal?" He said, sounding giddy, before bursting out, "Absolutely! I'm paying, I'll get you the best dinner you've ever had!"

Nadine looked at him stupidly for a second before facepalming with a groan before looking at the sky pleadingly, "Godsdamned wolves and their stupid customs, why can't they just do dating the normal way?"

Ralph snickered at that, "Nadine, how we're doing this is absolutely not the normal way, not by wolf standards or anyone else's."

Nadine groaned again at that but was interrupted by a wolf couple sitting at one of the tables near them.

"So is it all true then? What they said?" the she-wolf asked with a look somewhere between scandalized and enthusiastically delighted.

Both Nadine and Ralph looked rather confused as they turned to face the pair.

"Is what true?" Nadine asked just as Ralph gulped, saying, "Who said what?"

The wolf couple at the table exchanged looks and then the she-wolf's partner cleared his throat, "What they've been saying on the news about you two and them," he gestured toward Nick and Judy, where she was standing still mostly frozen. A cold fear started building in her stomach and her ears began to drop as the wolf continued, "The whole bit with the secret romances and how you two have broken with tradition and pack customs and eloped just so you could be together."

Judy could feel her breathing start to become ragged and fast as she tried to sort through what was being said… what was being implied…

"To go that far just for the one you love," the she-wolf said with a wistful sigh taking her partners paw in hers, "It's so romantic."

"What?!" Ralph managed to get out in a sort of startled yip, while Nadine just looked like she was choking, "We haven't eloped or broken pack rules! ... Well… not that many of them… not any of the important ones anyway," he finished trailing off as he gave Nadine a very worried look.

The she-wolf's partner frowned slightly at that and, as if wanting to confirm it, asked, "You all are the two officer couples from precinct one, right?"

Judy's heart just about stopped as her eye's suddenly found and locked to Nick where he stood a few feet away, hackles and tail fur suddenly bristling as he looked at her with a terrified expression.

Two couples…

The thought rolled through her mind like a snowball of doom rolling down a hill getting larger and larger…

Mammals think there are two couples… at precinct one… Nadine and Ralph… and… and… and… Judy's mind kept locking up at that point and looping.

"Of course they are!" the she-wolf said flicking her mate's ear, "how many other interspecies couples like that are there?"

Two interspecies couples… TWO…

The other wolf just shrugged and pointed toward were Jack and Skye were, watching the spectacle with apparent delight, and the she-wolf huffed.

"Smartass, they're dead ringers for the pictures the news was showing. See," she pointed toward one of the tv's mounted around the food courts eating area and Judy looked up to see ZNN afternoon news broadcast with showing some interview with a doctor or professor… and also showing two photos in the corner of the screen, one of Ralph and Nadine holding paws and another of Nick with his head in her lap with the headline scrolling across the bottom reading 'ZNN Special Valentine's Day Report: ZPD's Undercover Couples. Now live with Dr. Viktor Vandyke, Mammal Behavioral Specialist.'

Oh gods… Oh gods… Nooo!

---

Greg Wolford followed after his mate as she stormed down path in the amusement park like a miniature thunder storm and grinned. Cassandra had always been a bit of a firecracker, fiercely protective of their pack and especially their family, though when she really got going she could out bullhead a bison. In those situations, (like now) he'd learned over the years working with her as his mate and the head of their pack that it was better to let her run her course and just make suggestions here or there to provide a little guidance, sort of like riding a raging river. It was pointless to try and fight against it, but if you were smart you could navigate around the dangerous obstacles. And nothing could get Cassy's hackles in a twist like a threat to their pups, no matter how old they were.

He wish his son hadn't been so secretive about his growing relationship; he couldn't really fault Ralph for being a bit hesitant about bringing up that he wanted to court a tigress but by not telling them until the whole situation had blown up? Well, it sure had made one hell of a mess and dropped it right in there laps with no warning or time to prepare.

The Silverclaws feel slighted, the conservative old codgers in our pack are in an uproar, and the packs are calling a city wide meeting of alpha's for the next full moon to discuss this 'threat' to pack tradition and way of life. It wouldn't be half as bad if they hadn't already mated, but they have…

The situation hadn't looked very good earlier this afternoon when they'd first found out about it and then started getting messages from the other packs as the news spread. There'd been one solution though, and it was even an easy and quick fix to all the problems. They could simply have exiled Ralph; kicked him out of the pack and in one stroke calmed all the tensions. But the moon would fall out of the sky before Cassandra would do that to one of hers. Ralph might have had a bit of an independent stubborn streak that lead him into trouble, just like now where he'd blindly followed his heart without at least using his brain to stop himself from kicking just about every stone he could while going down that path. But then again, he'd inherited his mother's stubborn streak.

Cassandra glared at two elephants who quickly got out of her way as she continued down the street searching for her son and his new mate and he smiled as he followed shaking his head. She'd told him that if Ralph was forced out, that she'd leave too and he'd concurred; he didn't even bother asking Ralph's brother because he already knew what Bill's choice would be. They'd have to give up the position of alphas of the Savanna Pack, would lose the protection of the pack, would essentially be exiling themselves to be outcast from the packs, but if nothing else they'd still have the core of what any pack was based on, family.

Before things had gotten that bad though, he'd pointed out that they still had a just over two days until the next full moon to work with before the alpha's counsel and little time as that might be, it was still enough if they moved quickly. The real key to the situation was their own pack. A large pack meant strength, but it also came with difficulties, like an inherent inertial resistance to any sort of change. And this was a change, a huge change, a freaking tiger of a change. The closest thing to something like this was when the small Redwoods pack had accepted a coyote into their group and that had caused an uproar among the city's packs for months, not that the other packs were able to do anything about it since the Redwoods had stood together in their decision. And that was the key. If they could get the entire pack to stand together it wouldn't matter what the other packs thought. They'd moan and complain and howl but in the end it would be as useless as barking up a tree.

Problem was, their pack wasn't unified. Not on this. The idea of accepting a feline into the pack was just too… different for some of them to even consider. Felines didn't get along with wolves, never had, never would, and that was that to them.

But it was their job as Alpha's to hold the pack together and any good alphas knew how to work their pack and even get the most stubborn of the resistant wolves to pitch in and help; and the first part of solving any problem was to understand what the root of the problem was. All he'd needed to do was show Cassy what their problem was and she'd been off like shot to fix it. Well, more like circumvent it in this case, but it would still work.

She'd practically pulled a deus ex machina in the last few hours, twisting all the situations and problems together so they'd work to their advantage, pulling favors and making arrangements so that in one final move she could fix all the whole situation. That last piece though, needed Ralph and his new mate, or fiancée as she technical was now given the legal paperwork that had been filed.

Cassy had managed to convince Bill to cover Ralphs date in such a way that he'd thought it was his own idea to go spend the evening entertaining a pretty she-wolf. That had prevented the Silverclaws pack from feeling like they'd been openly and publicly humiliated when her date didn't show because he'd ditched her to be with a tiger. Bill wasn't Ralph, and there would be grumbles about the switch up but that was far better than starting a pack feud. And in the meantime she'd managed to contact their pack's lawyers and Nadine Fangmeyer's parents and set all the arrangements in order. Everything from getting the feline family sudo legal status as their own pack, to preparations within their pack, to a court subpoena for two runaway pack members just in case Ralph and his mate in their love induced idiocy decided to be obstinate.

Cassy's plan, as was typical of her, was straight forward. The pack's problem was accepting a tiger into the pack and they didn't have time to reason with and cajole all the problem pack members that objected. But if the tiger was already part of the pack… well then what would the issue be? No doubt there would be no end to griping about her high handed methods but all those tradition bound dissenters, worrying about the pack's prestige and pride, the ones that were causing issues right now would suddenly become there strongest supporters after the tiger was made part of the pack. It was one thing to argue that a member of the pack with a secret relationship with someone outside the pack (a relationship they would see as harmful and threatening to the pack) should be ousted and another to kick two pack members out just because they or other packs disapproved. Things like that simply weren't done. It went against tradition. And it wouldn't matter if one of those pack members was a tiger or a sheep, they would still be part of their pack. And the other packs disapproval would, if anything, galvanize them to rally around their new member and defend her even if they didn't like it. That was simply how packs worked.

So, the Fangmeyer 'pack alphas' would be here by tomorrow, (Greg snickered, thinking about that little legal work around and their amusing conversation with the rather befuddled tiger parents that were suddenly thrust into the quandary wolf politics). The paperwork was already prepared and ready to sign and they had some of their more trusted pack members working on the preparations for tomorrows pack marriage ceremony to formalize their son and his mate and bring her into their pack from the 'Fangmeyer pack' (Greg snickered again at that. Who had ever heard of a feline pack?). And all of it would already be done and over with before inter-pack meeting the next day. Hell, Cassy had even managed to make a deal with ZNN; they would be allowed to cover the wedding so long as she got final approval of the front page news article they were planning for the next morning. If handled right they could use the public recognition and support to boost their pack's prestige and use it as a political hammer to bash down any dissent from others. Now they just needed to make sure their son and his fiancée actually made it to their wedding.

"You know Cassy, we could just go wait for them at her apartment, they're sure to head back there after they're done with their date today." Greg said after they'd circled back around to where they'd started searching for the 'runaways', feeling like it was the right moment to try calming his mate a little. They did have some time to find Ralph and his tiger after all.

"I'm not chancing it," Cassandra said in a huff, crossing her arms as her tail swung in an agitated manner. "This whole scheme will come tumbling apart if they're not at the ceremony tomorrow afternoon. It needs to happen before the meeting and we can only keep our problem wolves distracted for so long. We are going to find them and bring them back one way or another so we can make sure they aren't so much as a second late. You still have the court order right?"

He patted his pocket, "Right here, dear, just where it was a few minutes ago. But I don't think just wandering around is going to lead us to them."

She nearly growled in frustration, "And what would you suggest, then? I caught their scent a few times but they've crisscrossed the paths enough that with so many other mammals walking through here, I can't track them!"

"Well…" he said trying to introduce some humor into the situation to lighten her mood, "Maybe we can ask the fortuneteller." He said grinning and pointed over at the old gypsy goat in the fortuneteller's booth to the side. "You know, her being a soothsayer and all, she could probably tell us right where they are… and then maybe, once we find them, I don't know… we could keep them on a short leash and maybe have a little fun here ourselves before we bring them home? It is Valentine's day after all and we did just buy very expensive tickets to the festival. It wouldn't hurt to enjoy ourselves too."

"Greg! This is Ralph's future we are talking about!" she all but shouted, seeming about ready to work herself into a panic, "Our family's future! How can you be thinking about having fun right now?!"

He stepped forward and gave her a quick kiss right before she boiled over and blew up. It seemed to work because he could feel a bit of the tension leave her as her stiff shoulders slumped, eased just a little.

"We'll find them. We have until tomorrow afternoon, don't worry," he said comfortingly, leading her over to the fortuneteller, "We already got all the hard work done and faster than I would have believed possible. And no one will suspect what we are doing until its already over. We can relax a little now, all we need to do is make sure everything goes to plan."

"Like making sure that Ralph and Nadine actually show up to their own wedding?" she asked tiredly.

"Exactly. And that won't be too hard, trust me." He replied bringing her to a stop in front of the goat who had a sign on her booth that said 'On Break – Crystal Ball recharging, Check back in 15 minutes' though he ignored that and cleared his throat loudly.

The fortuneteller, who'd been snacking on some sort of grass energy bar and watching a news report on her phone looked up, seeming rather annoyed.

"What? Can't you see the-" she started irritably but Greg, arm still wrapped around Cassy supportively, quickly motioned with his eyes back and forth from her to his wife trying to communicate what he wanted.

The goat frowned for a second, then gave a few coughs and continued on in a more mysterious sounding voice.

"Can't you see that you've come to the right place? What can Madam Pearl help you with today? Do you need your fortune told? Maybe have your paw read? Or maybe an answer told, Madam Pearl and her crystal ball know all!"

Cassy sighed and gave him a pained glance, "Greg this is silly and we don't have time for this."

He gave a kiss on the nose, "Trust me." he said smiling, "It might be silly but I'll bet it'll help."

Maybe not help them find Ralph and his tiger, well… Nadine, he really needed to break the habit of thinking of his soon to be daughter-in-law as 'the tiger' or 'his mate', but this would help because Cassy needed a bit of stress relief right at the moment. Give her a problem she could face head on and nothing would stop her, but this constant worrying and not being able to find Ralph and Nadine was running her ragged.

Cassandra sighed again but let him push her forward and up to the booth. She crossed her arms and glared at the old nanny goat.

"Fine, Mrs. Pearl, if you know all then tell me what I need to know," She said making it clear that she thought this was nothing but a scam.

"Ohhhh, A unbeliever!" The goat started off in a bit of a quavering voice before grinning and tapping her crystal ball, "You've obviously come to old Madam Pearl for some help, yes you have."

"Obviously," Cassy said rolling her eyes, "Though I doubt that you can even figure out what that problem is, let alone help us."

"Hummm. Let's see if you're right then," the goat said hunching over her crystal ball, making a performance of looking into it. Greg was standing behind and to the side of his wife, who was agitatedly tapping a claw on her crossed arms, and could see the old gypsy goat looking at him through the distorted view of the crystal ball.

"Hummm… what do we have here, what problem does my crystal ball show that you need help with?..." she asked mysteriously and he saw her raise an eyebrow through the distorted reflection.

Greg grinned, and making sure he was out of his wife's peripheral vision put a paw up to shade his eyes as he moved his head around like he was looking for something.

"Uh what is this!" The goat said with sudden shock in her voice, "You're searching for something… hummm… what could it be?..."

Greg made a rocking motion with his arms like he was holding a baby and then pointed looked at his wife.

"Looking for a child! Looking for a lost child you are!" the nanny goat said throwing more theatrics into her voice as Greg quickly shook his head and held up two fingers, smirking now.

"-No, Two lost children!" The fortuneteller quickly corrected still with her head down over the crystal ball as she continued her performance adding in some additional gasps for effect as her reflect through the ball nodded ever so slightly at him while his wife's tapping paw stopped and she gave the fortune teller a startled look.

Greg made a flexing motion and the goat's reflected expression frowned so he tried again. The goats eyes widened with understanding as she continued in her a quavering voice, "… A fine strong boy and… hum…" Greg used his paws to try and outline the figure of the larger tigers body shape, "… and a… strange larger boy?" the fortune teller said with some confusion as Greg quickly shook his head waving his arms, and the goat suddenly made a startled noise with a shocked expression as if seeing something new in the crystal ball as she used the reflection through it to shoot him a quick glare. Greg rolled his eyes and cupping his paws in front of his chest and bouncing them like he was bouncing melons.

"No! No! A girl, A Girl!" the goat suddenly as if the crystal ball had revealed the answer to her, "Your searching for a boy and a girl!" Greg saw the goat give a short glance toward where she put her phone down and then a light of recognition spark in her eyes, "Your searching for your son and his mate, a young wolf who's fallen in love with… with… a tiger!" she finished acting surprised like she'd just been shown that by the crystal ball.

Despite the fact that her arms were still crossed, Cassandra looked impressed. She huffed again but then said to the gypsy, "Fine, so can you help me find them or not?"

"Certainly! Certainly! I am Madam Pearl after all!" the goat said with a flourish making her costume jewelry jingle.

Cassandra uncrossed her arms and sighed like she couldn't believe what she was doing and then muttered, "Alright, how do I find them so they don't miss their wedding? They're proving harder to chase down than a gaggle of geese." She finished irritably.

The goat looked up with a sudden amused snort, "A gaggle? How many geese are in a gaggle?"

"Seven," Greg answered, nodding his head sagely like it was a serious question, "There's at least seven geese in a gaggle."

"Seven?!" the nanny goat said in a shocked voice that Greg was pretty sure hid another amused snort. The fortuneteller looked back down into the crystal ball then made a startled expression and noise and in a deeper commanding voice said, "Then you must howl at the moon seven times and you will be shown the way! Beware though, and carful or doomed will you be! DOOMED!" she finished throwing up her hooves in a dramatic gesture sending all her jewelry jingling and jangling."

"Oh that's ridiculous!" Cassandra said huffly and crossing her arms again, "I bet you say something like that to every wolf that gets there fortune from you!"

The gypsy goat shrugged putting her 'on break' sign back in front of her and picking her phone back up, unpausing the news broadcast she was watching, "You don't have to listen to my advice dearie," she said with a distracted smirk.

Cassy growled at the goat and Greg moved up to put his arm back around her to guide her a few steps away, though he made sure to subtly leave a few 'thank you' bills on her table which he noticed seemed to disappear shortly afterwards. Cassy, though still irritated, didn't seem nearly as tense as she was before so he'd gotten his money's worth.

"Pointless, that was pointless." She said leaning into him, "Really, howling? That's just so stereotypical!"

"Well, I thought she might just have a point." Greg said smirking as Cassy's mouth dropped.

"What?! Why would you think that?! We'd look like fools and might even get in trouble for starting a howl in public! Other mammals already think wolves are strange enough and we don't need to be dealing with another noise violation fine from the city!"

"Starting a howl might just work though," he said and kissed her cheek playfully, "If he's anywhere nearby and gets caught up in it, we'll hear it. And when have you ever been afraid of what other mammals thought of us?"

"But!… But!..." she stammered looking at him and he smiled.

"You know I'm right," he said and she huffed.

"I know we're probably going to get in trouble just like when we were younger!" she replied.

"And when did that ever stopped us?" he asked, still smirking and she puffed out her cheeks obstinately, so he continued, "Soooo… are we going to cause a little bit of trouble?"

She sighed, then kissed him, before saying, "Of course we are. Especially, if it helps us find our pups."

Greg reached out and took her paw in his as he shifted to stand in front of her, paws clasped to each other's, as their noses touched.

"Ready?" Greg asked with a smile and Cassy smiled back for the first time that day. It made his heart warm and feel like everything would always turn out alright, just so long as they were together and he could see that smile.

---

A/N

...

Operations Clock: 6.5 hours

...

Wait... did you really thing this was the end? *Snicker*

This is just where things start getting interesting.

Muhahahahahaha

...

Supply Division:

Extra Fluff now available courtesy of myrza289 on Deviantart. This is an epicly Fluffy 'Daww inducing pic inspired by a particular scene in the last chapter. Check it out here:

myrza289 (.dot.) deviantart (.dot.) com /art/Commission-Double-Date-679664971

...

Secret Squirrel Division Report:

Somebody gave the squirrels coffee and that was a baaaaad choice. It was like having a squad of nightmarish hyperactive fluffballs running amuck. On the other hand they acomplished quite a bit of thievery (Redact that last word) mission critical scouting. Loot list (Redact that last 2 word) Aquired resourses and 'voluntary' assistance listed below:

MinscLovesBoo has successfully been raided for all of his new ideas as well as temperately captured and forced to work on this chapter to help with resolve a few issues. The squirrel division arranged for him to think he escaped but is tracking him so that he will unknowingly lead us to his secret stock pile of ideas.

*Snicker* Erinnyes01 knows what he did and its all his fault for that bit of inspiration. For everyone else, well unless they find the clue about it they (you) obvious don't have the clearance to know about it. If they (you) did, well then they (you) already know.

Squirrels reported a soothsayer tipped them off, and that 'A Funny thing happened on the way to the Forum' um I mean 'Concert' *snicker* and we aren't even there yet are we jknight97? Ehem, Squirrels currently monitoring the situation, though odd two wheeled devices are reported to be seen in the distance.

Ideas hustled from GusTheBear for a jar of honey. The squirrel squad rather proud of this very successful hustle for names and quotes.

Cimar of WildeHopps Turalis reported to be sneaking about planting idea mines such as gokhan16's 'Nick Smash' See file addendum: gokhan16 (.dot.) deviantart (.dot.) com /art/Nick-Smash-678194747

Plot error reported by squirrel scout 'Panoctu' - error justification added and covered up. Hopefully we buried this one deep enough that no one will ever find it.

...

Captain of our fluffy band,

Cottentail is here at hand,

And that youth, oh blind is he,

Pleading for his lover's fee, but too damned quietly!

Shall we their fond asinine pageant see?

Ye Gods, what fools these mammals be!

...

-From the Soothsayers Warning Fables: Don't Puck with a Tigress' Winternight Dream