A/N: Nick thinks about the long road he's travelled, about how far he's come, and about the feelings that continue to grow inside of him.

Thanks to Tinbuzzard11, TheAlienHeart, serpentacodex, Blkdragon7, BeecroftA, Guest, Bloodfox22, Guest, side-fish, Nicaperu9003, Mooni.95, Olivia g, Minion Master 1, and Dogastrophic for reviewing!

Also, a special thanks to BeecroftA for editing this chapter.

Chapter 32: Four Letter Word

"So, what do you think?"

Nick didn't answer immediately. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, licking his lips, before reluctantly scrunching his face up into a frown.

"I can't believe I'm saying this…" he sighed. "But that carrot juice actually tastes…good. Ugh, what is wrong with me?"

"Told you it was good," Judy replied triumphantly. "It's almost as good as what you'd be able to get in Bunnyburrow. I wouldn't be surprised if they get their produce from there."

"But it's still carrot juice; I never liked the stuff at all. Wait—I'm not turning into a bunny, am I?" He grabbed his ears. "Gah, I think they're getting longer!"

"Well, from what I remember you telling me before, bunnies are known to be dumb and emotional, so based on how your little reunion with your mom went, I'd say you're an honorary bunny already. Ooh, ooh! Wanna hear the recording again?" Judy pulled her carrot pen out of her pocket with a wide grin.

Nick opened his mouth to retort, but he eventually sighed in defeat, slumping in his chair.

"Forget it, I'm not beating that one. I'll let you have this win, Carrots. But only for today."

"I'll take it." Judy beamed proudly. "Now, since I win, do I get a prize? Like say, a refill on my drink?"

"Ever the extortionist, aren't you?" Nick chuckled. "But I guess it's good timing; I could use a refill too. Want something different? I saw something called a Berry Crush just now; it's got apple juice, blueberries, raspberries, and sorbet. I'm thinking of either that or one of the fruit smoothies."

"Well, it is a buffet, so you could just get both," Judy replied. "Can you get me a banana mango smoothie?"

"Sure thing," Nick said, standing up from his chair. "If my mom and Flatfoot come back before I do, tell them not to start eating the shrimp without me. I want to see Flatfoot's face when he eats it."

Judy's only response was a roll of her eyes and a chuckle between chews. Satisfied, Nick walked out of the room. He made a beeline towards the drink station—which surprisingly wasn't too crowded—and made his order. A few minutes later, the tapir bartender behind the counter slid two fancy-looking glasses across the table without even looking at them. Both glasses came to a stop right in front of Nick, and the bartender went back to work as if nothing had happened.

…I have got to learn how to do that sometime, Nick thought to himself, grabbing a drink in each paw before heading back towards the room. On the way back, he noticed a pair of long brown ears sticking out from the middle of a line over in the predator's section of the buffet. Though for some reason, he didn't see an accompanying red fox beside the pair of ears.

Hmm…I could go back right now, or I could salvage what's left of my pride by giving a certain panicky bunny a heart attack.

Nick immediately started walking over towards the pair of ears.

The brown bunny that the pair of ears belonged to soon came into view. He was idly scrolling through his phone while waiting in line. His ears perked up as Nick got closer, and the moment the fox came to a stop right beside him, he froze, looking up from his phone while his ears dropped behind him. Taking advantage of the newfound head real estate, Nick leaned over, resting his right arm on the bunny's head.

"Hi."

Robbie flinched visibly, though to Nick's disappointment, he didn't squeal in surprise or scream in terror. Ever so slowly, the bunny raised his head, looking up until his eyes met the fox's.

"…It's my turn, isn't it?"

"Turn? What turn? And where's my mom? I thought she dragged you with her to go get some shrimp."

"Ah, she's in the other line over there." Robbie pointed in the distance. "She asked me to help her get some fish and chips for you to share with her."

"Ooh, good call." Nick sniffed the air a few times. "Definitely smells like it's worth the stomach space. By the way, hold this for me, would you?" He handed the beverages in his paws over to Robbie. The bunny took both glasses without hesitation, allowing Nick to cross his arms and rest them both on the bunny's head.

"Ahh, much better. Y'know, I thought you would be freaking out a lot more right now. I kinda miss the days where you freaked out about everything. It was a lot more entertaining," Nick remarked.

"Oh, I'm freaking out plenty on the inside, Nick. I'm already thinking about what colour my coffin should be, because I'm practically a dead bunny walking at this point." Robbie chuckled nervously.

"Aww, don't be so negative. Your lifespan isn't going to get that much shorter from one buffet experience."

"That's not what I…oh, you know what I mean, Nick!" The bunny groaned in exasperation. "Don't play around with me—you already heard my sister's side of the story, but you're here to find out what I really did, right?"

"Oh? You mean there's more?" Nick asked curiously. "I thought the only thing you did was to tell Carrots that I was planning to see my mom. Are you saying there's other things you did that I don't know about?"

"I…" Robbie's eyes widened; the bunny suddenly looked like he regretted opening his mouth. "I-is it too late to—"

"Yes."

Robbie slumped where he stood. Eventually he straightened back up with a sigh of defeat.

"Just now, Judy said that she was the one who begged for my help to fix her mistake with your mom. She made it sound like I only helped her because she asked, but that's not exactly how things happened."

Nick took his arms off the bunny as they continued moving forward in the line. Robbie turned to face him now.

"The thing is, I already knew that Judy was looking for your mom, even before you told me that you were going to see her. She told me about it a couple of months ago. She shared it with me because, well…she thought you and I were only acquaintances, you know? Because we 'met' on my birthday."

"Right…" Nick nodded.

"This was about a month after you told me your mom's story. Back then, my sis asked me whether I thought she was doing the right thing. I could have told her no, but…I didn't. In fact, I pretty much encouraged her to do it. I thought that I was helping you by doing this, but then she met your mom at the precinct and that whole misunderstanding happened. She told me that she messed up, and that she had to find a way to convince your mom that you still cared for her."

Robbie paused for a moment to let the words sink in, before continuing.

"I could have told you about it. I should have told you about it. But instead, I went behind your back and recorded you saying that you were going to see your mom after graduation. I gave that recording to Judy after coming clean to her about everything. And then I went with her to convince your mom to come to your graduation."

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"You recorded that? Wait, I remember now—you were watching the fight next to Carrots' bag. Was that when…?"

"I snuck my carrot pen into her bag, yes." Robbie nodded. "My plan was to give her the recording before leaving for Bunnyburrow. But after everything you said, I…I changed my mind."

Nick's brow furrowed. All the little oddities he noticed on that day were finally starting to make sense. Robbie's sudden silence in the changing room, him hiding next to Judy's bag to watch the fight, and most importantly, his sudden decision to come clean to his sister about everything.

"So, let me get this straight. The whole time, you were going behind my back about my mom, lying to your sister about being in the academy, and lying about your arm to both of us?"

Robbie sighed. "Yeah. I know it's stupid, but I thought that maybe if I tried to play both sides, I could somehow make it up to both of you for lying about everything."

Nick folded his arms.

"I see. I think I'm starting to get the full picture now, Flatfoot. And I must say, I'm impressed. This is a level of treachery and cunning that I never expected from you. You've really come a long way from the panicky, wide-eyed bunny I first met six months ago."

"Umm, thanks? I…had a good teacher," Robbie replied sheepishly.

"Yes, you did." Nick nodded, before bending down to the bunny's eye level. "But that doesn't mean you're getting away scot-free. So, Mister 'I-promise-I-won't-tell-my-sister-about-this', what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Robbie gulped.

"Uhm…I'm really, really sorry for everything I did?"

"And?"

"I'm an absolute moron?"

"Keep going."

Robbie shuffled back and forth uncomfortably. "To…make it up to you, I'll do whatever you want for the next week?"

"Month."

"Month?! But that's—"

"Two months."

Robbie's eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"Okay okay! Two months!"

"Good bunny." Nick petted Robbie on his head. "Don't worry, I promise you'll still have some dignity by the end of it all."

"For some reason, I don't believe you…" Robbie grumbled, just as they reached the front of the line.

"Two servings, please," Nick said to the lion behind the counter. The lion turned around for a moment, pulling out two pieces of fried battered fish from the fryer and placing them onto two plates. He then added a generous amount of crispy golden chips and little cups of tartar sauce to the plates, before handing them to Nick. With a plate in each paw, Nick began walking back towards the room with Robbie right behind him. The fox glanced over his shoulder.

"Relax, Flatfoot. What's the worst I could possibly do to you?"

"I don't know—maybe dyeing my fur some outrageous colour, or shaving it off completely and making me walk through Tundratown…"

"Ooh, that's way more embarrassing than what I had in mind! Thanks for the suggestions, buddy." Nick grinned.

Robbie paused in his tracks for a second. When the realisation hit him, he raised his paw to slap his forehead, barely managing to stop himself before he found himself drenched in a banana mango smoothie. He then sighed, continuing to walk with his shoulders still slumped. Nick saw the despondent look on the bunny's face, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

I guess he's still the same Robbie on the inside, he mused. As he looked at the plates in his paws, an idea suddenly came to him.

"Though, you did play a big part in getting my mom to come to my graduation today as well, so I suppose I could give you a discount on the whole thing."

"A discount…?" Robbie replied, sounding uncertain as they entered the room. When they stepped back into the room, Evie was already there, having just sat down in her seat next to Judy.

"Oh, sweetie, you're back! And I see you've found Robbie. I got you your shrimp; an extra serving, too. Thanks for helping to get the fish."

"Anytime, mom." Nick smiled, sitting down and placing both plates of fish and chips on the table. He turned back to Robbie.

"Yes, Flatfoot, a discount. Eat a piece of fish and some shrimp right now, and I promise I won't make you dye your fur—or shave it."

Robbie's eyes widened, and he swallowed nervously. But after a moment of deliberation, he slowly reached out and picked up a piece of shrimp from the plate.

Judy and Evie stared, blinking a few times.

"Wait, wait, what's happening?" Judy asked.

"Oh, your dear brother has kindly offered to try some seafood as penance for stabbing me in the back," Nick answered nonchalantly. "I mean, my mom already offered it to him earlier…"

"Sweetie, I was only joking," Evie immediately replied. "You don't need to make the poor bunny actually eat it!"

"What are you joking about, mom? Shrimp is the most delicious thing in the world! I'm suuure our favourite brown bunny would love to try some. Besides, he's seen me eat shrimp and lobster plenty of times while we were in the academy, and I distinctly remember him saying he'd give it a try one day. And what better day than today?"

"Lobster?" Judy suddenly interjected, causing Nick to turn towards her. "The academy has the budget for that now? Usually it's just fish, or that weird brown goop that no one knows what it's made of."

Nick paused.

"Oh right, I never told you about that, did I?" He smirked. "You're right, they still don't have the budget for that. But let's just say that Flatfoot and I have been fairly well fed for the past six months in spite of the terrible canteen food, thanks to the power of takeout and mysterious delivery mammals."

Judy cocked her head, confused.

"They let you order food into the academy now?"

Nick didn't elaborate further, only maintaining the smug expression on his face. He could almost see the gears turning in her head, until they finally clicked.

"You snuck takeout food into the academy?!"

"Took you long enough to figure that out, Carrots. Did you really think I could have survived for six months on that slop they call food? I would have died by the third week." Nick chuckled. "And if you were wondering, I only ordered food on the days that the canteen food was truly atrocious. Meaning every other day."

Judy opened and closed her mouth several times, the realisation quickly sinking in.

"All the times you joked about eating lobster thermidor and drinking fancy coffee milkshakes in the academy…"

"I never said I was joking, just for the record. And also for the record, they were all delicious."

"Ooh, I should have known you would do something like this!" Judy pointed an accusatory finger at him. "How were you never caught?"

"You should know the answer to that, Carrots." Nick winked. "But hey, having real food to eat was instrumental in being able to survive the months of torture. Isn't that right, Flatfoot?"

The two of them—plus Evie—turned towards Robbie now. The moment they saw him, they all did a simultaneous double take. The brown bunny was holding the tail end of a piece of shrimp, having already taken a bite out it. But more shockingly, there were already two discarded shrimp tails on the bunny's plate. Robbie suddenly noticed everyone else's eyes staring at him, and he paused mid-chew.

"Robbie…did you just…" Judy gaped.

"Oh, um…kinda, yeah." He finished chewing and swallowed the piece of shrimp in his mouth, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he'd eaten the other two pieces. Nick stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're not gagging. Or spitting it out."

"N…no? I mean, the shrimp felt a little weird at first, but after getting used to the texture, it's actually pretty tasty."

Everybody else blinked.

"Hang on." Nick immediately cut out a small piece of battered fish and held it out on a fork in front of Robbie. "Here, try this. I have to see this for myself."

Robbie leaned forward and took the piece of fish into his mouth, chewing it a few times.

"This…this is actually good! It's oily and salty, but it tastes really fresh. And it's sooo crispy! Oh, this is tartar sauce, right?"

He grabbed the rest of the piece of fish from the plate, dipped it into the white sauce that had come with it, and then took another bite. Instantly his face lit up, and he let out a loud "Mmm!", before dipping it again and shoving the rest of the fish into his mouth, eating more messily than Nick had ever seen since they'd first met.

Judy's jaw dropped.

"This can't be happening! Robbie! What has he done to you?!" she grabbed her brother's shoulders, shaking them in mock horror.

"I don't know! I'm not trying to be weird, I swear!" he replied, his head swinging back and forth like a bobblehead. Evie giggled to herself, seeming quite amused by the situation. She cut a piece of fish out for herself and took an inquisitive bite, her eyes growing wide almost instantly.

"My, it is good! Especially the batter—I'm sure anything would taste good fried in that. But don't worry, Robbie; prey eating fish isn't exactly weird, just a little uncommon. I'm glad you like it." She smiled reassuringly at him as Judy finally let go of his shoulders.

"I'm not," Nick grumbled. "I was hoping for him to gag or something. It would have made a great addition to the 'Flatfoot Funny Face' collection."

At that moment, an idea came to him. He turned to Judy. "Hey Carrots, wanna—"

"No thanks."

"Aww, come on. Look at how much Robbie is enjoying it. Just one?" He picked up a piece by its tail end and wiggled it near her face.

"Not happening, Nick." Judy rolled her eyes.

"Eat me, Carrots! I'm plump and juicy and I taste reeeeally good!" Nick said in a high-pitched voice, moving the shrimp around as if it were a marionette. He then switched to a deep, cackling voice, moving the shrimp closer to her mouth. "Eat me…and complete your journey to the dark side."

"Oh my god, you are too much!" Judy laughed, getting out of her chair and walking towards the door. "I'm getting more salad—"

"Shrimp salad?" Nick asked.

"Normal salad! And if you keep asking, that salad's going over your head, got it?"

Nick held up the shrimp.

"Yes ma'am," he squeaked.

The rest of lunch flew by in a blur. Nick couldn't even remember how long they'd been there, or many rounds of food they'd gone through by the end of it all. But when the group finally raised their paws in surrender, it was a full half hour before they found the strength to move again. After Nick settled the bill, they somehow managed to stumble their way out of the restaurant, eventually finding themselves just outside the hotel entrance. The mid-afternoon sun that reflected off the nearby buildings was bright enough to make them squint, and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust properly. They stood there in silence for a while, watching the multitude of mammals on the street go about their day. Eventually, Nick was the first to break the silence, turning tentatively to his mom.

"So…I guess you're going home now?"

"Yes, I am," Evie replied. Nick glanced down at the ground for a moment, before looking back up.

"Well, it may not have the same impact anymore, but I still want to keep my promise to visit you after graduation. Would you prefer to take a cab there, or…" he trailed off as his mom placed a paw on his shoulder.

"That's alright, sweetie. You don't need to. You should go home and rest."

"What? But I was going to…"

"I know. But I'm sure you must be tired after everything that happened today. I know we have a lot more to talk about, but there'll be plenty of time for that. You should get some well-deserved rest first. Whenever you're ready, my door will always be open for you."

Nick hesitated.

"I know, but…I don't want to put this off longer than I already have." He glanced down at the ground for a moment, before looking back at her. "…Tomorrow morning. I'll come over tomorrow morning. Would that be okay with you?"

"Of course it is, sweetie. I'll be waiting for you." Evie nodded with a warm smile.

Nick glanced over at Judy.

"Carrots, do you—"

"No, Nick. This is your moment. You should go. Besides, I think I'd like to spend some time with my little brother here. We do have an outing that we promised to have, after all." She placed her arm around Robbie's shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then?" Robbie asked.

"Yup. We can meet at the station and figure out where to go from there."

"Sounds like good plans on both sides," Evie said, before looking at Nick. "Well then, I suppose it's time for me to go. Thanks again for the lunch, sweetie. I don't think I've felt this full in years."

"That's what I was hoping for." Nick smiled. "Glad you enjoyed yourself, Mom."

Evie nodded appreciatively, before turning back once last time to the bunny pair. "Judy, Robbie, thank you both again for everything today. I know I already said it before, but both of you are always welcome to come over, anytime you'd like."

"We'd be happy to visit again sometime, Mrs Wilde." Judy beamed. Robbie nodded affirmatively as well.

"I look forward to it. Take care, both of you. And see you tomorrow, sweetie!" Evie waved goodbye to all of them, before heading off in the direction of the nearest train station.

"I guess I'll head back to my hostel as well," Robbie said, waving as he headed in the opposite direction. "See you, Nick. See you, Sis!"

"See you, Robbie!" Judy called out as Robbie turned around and began walking off into the distance, eventually disappearing into the crowd of mammals on the street. After a while, Nick looked over at her.

"So…food coma back at your place?"

"Already ahead of you, Slick."

With the threat of a food coma growing increasingly by the minute, Nick offered to hail a cab so that they could both concuss in the back seat together. But at Judy's request, they decided to take a leisurely bus ride through Savannah Central instead, followed by a short walk the rest of the way to burn off some of the food from earlier. It was a comfortable walk, with both of them making small talk, poking fun at each other and joking like they always did.

Before Nick knew it, they were back at the Grand Pangolin Arms. The climb up the oversized stairs was a little more difficult than usual considering how full they were, but with some effort, they eventually made it to Judy's front door. The bunny quickly unlocked it, wiping her feet on the doormat before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Nick did likewise, but as he stepped in after her, he found himself pausing in the middle of the doorway. He gazed around the room pensively. Seeing the organised mess of items inside her room sent a wave of emotions through him, though he couldn't pinpoint what they were exactly.

"Ah, we're finally back!" Judy sighed in relief, placing her bag down on her chair and stretching her arms into the air. "I can't believe it's almost seven already; how long were we even at that buffet?"

The question snapped Nick out of his thoughts, and he stepped into the room proper, closing the door behind him.

"Long enough that I can safely say I got my money's worth. Which is saying something considering how much it cost." He chuckled. "We didn't even take that long; we're only back late because you wanted to take a long detour through the park."

"Hey, I was doing you a favour. If I didn't, you might not be able to fit into your uniform next week."

"Oh please, like one meal would make a difference," Nick scoffed.

"Really? The pudge sticking out right here says otherwise." She suddenly reached out and poked his belly through his uniform playfully. The sudden action caused Nick to stiffen for a moment, but he quickly relaxed himself and shrugged his shoulders, glancing downwards at his stomach—which was indeed a little rounder than it was before.

"Meh, I'm sure that'll be gone by morning. Besides, now that I'm back to being stuck with you again, I'll be getting plenty of extra exercise with you dragging me around everywhere. I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"We'll see about that." Judy smirked. "Anyway, I'm guessing you're still too full to eat dinner?"

"Pretty much. Right now, all I want is a hot shower and to change out into something more comfortable. The dress blues are nice and all, but they don't make for very comfortable sleeping attire."

"No, they definitely don't." Judy chuckled. "I'm looking forward to changing out too. It's been a long day."

Yeah, it really has…Nick thought, heading over to his corner of the room as she grabbed her toiletries bag, her towel, and a change of clothes.

"See you in a bit, Nick!" she called out, before heading out of the room.

Nick was about to do the same, but as he passed the mirror near the front door, he paused. After looking at his reflection for a couple of seconds, he removed the neckerchief from around his neck. He then unclasped his badge, placing both items gently on his mattress before heading back out of the room.

The cleanliness of the communal showers still left much to be desired, but for once, the other shower stalls were empty. That meant he could enjoy his shower in peace and quiet. More importantly, it meant that the water pressure in his showerhead was strong enough to be enjoyable. Nick closed his eyes, letting the warm water cascade down from above and wash through his fur. The feeling was absolute bliss, and it was exactly what he needed after the rollercoaster of events earlier in the day.

Even after all the soap had been washed out of his fur, he stayed under the showerhead for a while, letting himself enjoy the rare moment of solitude. It was only when he heard other people beginning to enter the bathroom that he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. Slipping on a simple t-shirt and shorts, he headed back to the room. He opened the door, expecting to see the grey bunny already lying on her bed. But surprisingly, her room was still empty.

She'll probably be back soon.

Nick hung his wet towel behind the door, before folding his ceremonial uniform and placing it in a basket in the corner of the room. He then walked over to his mattress and flopped down onto it, sighing in relief as he felt himself sinking into the soft material—though it didn't last very long because of how thin the mattress was.

The glint of metal from right beside him caught his eye. He reached out and picked up his badge and neckerchief with his left paw, holding them up above his face and staring at them. As he did, memories of the day's events began to fill his head. The graduation ceremony; Judy pinning his badge to his uniform herself; asking him to kneel on the ground; his mom suddenly showing up; their tearful reunion…so much had happened, it was hard to even believe all this happened in a single day.

Maybe this is just one big dream. Maybe after I open my eyes, I'll wake up and I'll be back under the bridge.

The thought was made in jest, but it still scared him enough that his eyes shot back open. He immediately pushed himself up into a sitting position, clenching his badge tightly in his paw. Thankfully, it was still there, and it hadn't crumbled into dust like things so often liked to do in his nightmares.

Slowly, he relaxed his grip around the piece of metal, feeling the tension in his shoulders beginning to ease. It took a moment to convince himself that no, he wasn't dreaming, and that he was indeed holding a real police officer's badge. His police officer's badge. He turned it over, looking at the words that were engraved into it. He ran his thumb over each groove slowly as he read them.

Trust. Integrity. Bravery.

The words were so familiar, though Nick couldn't place it immediately. There was something nagging in the back of his head. Something faint. A memory from long ago. As he reread the three words again, it suddenly hit him.

"I, Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy."

All of a sudden, he saw a young fox kit in a Junior Ranger Scout uniform standing in front of him, holding his paw up and smiling proudly with bright green eyes. As Nick looked at his younger self, he felt a warmth beginning to grow in his chest. After a bit, he held his badge out towards the little fox kit, smiling gently.

I did promise that, didn't I? It might have taken longer than expected, but it looks like I might be able to keep that promise after all.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a doorknob being turned. The image of his younger self faded away as the front door opened and a grey-furred rabbit walked in, still rubbing the back of her ears with a towel. She immediately went straight to her desk, folding her own uniform and placing it into a bag under the table. As she stood back up, her eyes met his, and she tilted her head slightly.

"Something on your mind, Nick?" Judy asked, hanging her wet towel in her corner of the room, right next to the window.

"Hmm? Oh, just thinking about stuff, you know," he replied, turning his badge over in his paws.

"What kinda stuff?" Judy asked curiously, walking up to him. He looked up at her for a moment, before motioning for her to sit on his mattress with him. She obliged, sitting down and crossing her legs. Nick followed suit, sitting up and crossing his legs to give her more room.

"I was thinking about the first time I met you, at Jumbeaux's. That was almost a year ago now. Since then, my whole life's been turned upside down. I got caught up in a city-wide conspiracy after being blackmailed, almost died multiple times, became homeless, moved in with you, went through six months of academy torture, and then reunited with my mom who I hadn't seen in over ten years."

Judy paused.

"So…is that good or bad? I'm kinda getting mixed signals here."

"It's both. Carrots, when I first stepped foot into this hideous apartment after bringing you back from the hospital, I didn't think I'd ever see my neckerchief again. And I never thought that I'd ever be holding one of these." He held his badge out towards her. "I only have them because of you. You made all this happen."

Judy didn't respond, only looking at the two items in Nick's outstretched paw. After a while, she gently reached out and placed a paw on the neckerchief, glancing up at him wordlessly. Nick understood the look, and opened his paw, allowing her to take both items from him. Judy gazed at the badge and the neckerchief, before finally opening her mouth to speak.

"I didn't make it happen, Nick. You did. You got this badge through your own effort. Even if I wasn't here, I'm certain you would have made it through the academy without any issues—you graduated as valedictorian, just to remind you. As for your mom, that was all you, too."

"Oh really? I find that hard to believe, after everything you orchestrated."

"You made things right with your mom despite my meddling, Nick. Not because of it. Your mom always wanted to reconcile with you from the very beginning—that's why she came asking about you at the precinct. The moment you told Robbie that you were going to see her, you were always going to reunite with her, whether or not I interfered."

"Well, I wouldn't even have entertained the thought of talking to my mom if you hadn't been such a stubborn bunny and pestered me about it."

"I don't think so," Judy immediately replied, before her voice lowered slightly. "Robbie told me about it, you know. About the nightmares you've had, about how much you've been hurting because of what happened with your mom. I'm certain you would have thought about finding her yourself eventually."

She paused for a moment.

"I was wrong about you, Nick. You told me before that you would fix things with your mom your own way. I didn't believe you back then…but I do now." She smiled.

Nick chuckled, bringing a paw up to his cheek.

"It would have been nice if you'd believed me before kicking me in the face."

Judy rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yeah…sorry about that. But hey, you still have your free wish that you haven't used yet, right? I'm sure you can think of something humiliating to make me do as payback. There're tons of possibilities."

"Heh, there certainly are…" he trailed off. At that moment, something clicked in his head. "Speaking of that, there's something I wanted to ask. Why did you use your free wish to make me kneel on the ground? You didn't need to waste it like that; I might have been suspicious, but I would have gotten on my knees if you had asked."

"Well, the only reason I made that bet was to try and get you to talk with your mom," Judy replied. "But since she was already there at the graduation ceremony, I didn't need the free wish anymore."

"Then why not keep it for some other time?"

"I just wanted you to be able to reunite with your mom again, Nick. Everything that happened at your graduation today was all I ever wanted to see. There's nothing more that I need."

Nick hesitated.

"…And you're still letting me keep my free wish?"

"Mm-hm. It's my way of making it up to you for what happened during our fight, and for going behind your back. When you think of something, just let me know what you want me to do."

Nick waited for a playful smirk to appear, for her to burst out into laughter and say that she was obviously joking. But it never came. She just sat there, her smile completely pure and genuine. It took a while before he realised that she was being serious. Everything she did wasn't to get back at him, or to prove that she was right. It was to help him—it always had been from the very beginning.

Oh, Carrots…

There was a sudden rush of warmth inside of his chest. And with that warmth came something he hadn't felt in a long time. A flutter. With everything else that had been happening—his exams, Robbie, his mom, and his graduation—he hadn't had time to think about it at all. But now that she was sitting on his bed right in front of him, all of those feelings that he'd bottled up for months were now rapidly bubbling to the surface. He tried to force them back down, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't.

You're staring too long, a voice in the back of his head whispered.

Nick gritted his teeth, quickly forcing a grin for her to see.

"Well, if you insist, Carrots. I'm sure I can come up with something appropriate for you to do."

"I look forward to it." Judy grinned back.

Nick maintained his expression for a couple of seconds longer, before realising that he was drawing a blank on what to say next. The silence was quickly starting to go from comfortable to awkward. He glanced downwards at her paws to break eye contact, and his gaze fell on the neckerchief that she was still holding. Without thinking, he reached out and took it from her.

"Y'know, I've had this thing for a long time, but I never actually learnt how to fold it."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah. I wasn't even a scout for a full day, so I never had time to learn—my mom was the one who put it on for me the first time. And after that whole incident, I never had any intention of wearing it again."

"Right…" Judy said softly. "Well, now that you have it back, why not learn it now? Your mom showed me how to do it; it's pretty easy to do."

"Nah, can't be bothered." Nick waved a paw dismissively. "It's already folded nicely anyway, so I think I'll keep it this way."

"So, like your ties that you never bother undoing? The ones that you just loosen to take off and then hang it on your chair?" Judy asked.

"Pretty much."

"Oh come on, Nick. It's not that hard. Just try it at least once, will you?"

"Alright, alright, fine." Nick rolled his eyes, pulling the neckerchief out of the slide and unfolding it on the bed in front of her. "I'm only going to do this once, just so you'll stop asking. So, I presume I start from here. Then I fold it here, then, uh…"

"Here." Judy pointed. "Fold that over, and bring this side over there…"

Nick followed her instructions, and a short while later, he had a decently folded neckerchief sitting in his paws.

"There we go. Now all I have to do is to put it around my neck, then through the slide, and then I'll never have to do this ever again."

He brought the cloth around his neck and then began fiddling with the gold slide. He managed to get one end in, but he couldn't quite get the other end to go in together with it. He tried looking downwards, but considering the neckerchief was meant for a much smaller version of himself, he couldn't get a good view of it.

"Nick, the mirror's right there, you know." Judy motioned with her head towards the front door.

"No no, I've got this. I'll have it in…any second now…" he grunted, still unable to push the end of the cloth through the slide.

"Okay, this is getting embarrassing to watch." Judy rolled her eyes in exasperation. Before Nick could say anything, she suddenly reached out towards him and grabbed his paws. Nick froze at her sudden touch; he didn't dare move as she pushed his paws aside to fiddle with the neckerchief herself. She leaned in closer, her ears flopping behind her so they wouldn't bump into his face. Although Nick couldn't see what was happening below his head, he could hear her smoothing the cloth out. After a couple of seconds, he heard the sound of the cloth finally going through the slide.

"There, you see? Things would be a whole lot less difficult if you would stop being so stubborn…"

She pulled back slightly, and her head suddenly came into view. A second later, she looked up, and the two locked eyes. Nick almost felt his heart stop. The bunny was directly in front of him now, close enough that he could feel her breaths against his face. There was a full second of complete silence between the two. And then, as if in sync, both of them pulled their heads backwards, glancing away awkwardly.

"R-right. Anyway, that's how it's supposed to be done. It wasn't so hard, right?" Judy asked, her ears slowly moving back into an upright position.

Nick barely heard her. Right now, all he could think about was how her purple eyes looked in that moment. The fluttering in his chest from earlier was beginning to intensify, and those feelings that had been bubbling to the surface were now threatening to overflow completely. He could still smell her scent in his nose from how close she'd been to him, and it made his head—and his chest—feel heavy.

"When you think of something, just let me know what you want," Judy's voice from a few minutes ago echoed.

The truth is, Nick had thought of something. In fact, he'd been fantasising about it for almost a year. But that something scared him very much. He berated himself for even entertaining the idea to begin with. But despite all his senses telling him to hold his tongue, there was a little fox on his shoulder that kept whispering into his ear, over and over.

Just say it to her. Tell her that you like her. Heck, that you love her. Why not use your wish to ask her out on a date?

Nick felt his ears twitch. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Carrots…I…can I tell you something?" The words came out before he could stop them.

"Huh? What is it, Nick?" Judy asked, seeming a bit taken aback by his sudden solemness.

Oh god. Is this really happening? Am I really going to do this?

"I, umm..." he hesitated, biting his lip.

Say it. Just say it. It's one word. One four-letter word.

"I…wanted to tell you that I…uh…"

Do it.

"I wanted to say…thanks." He paused. "For…being a dumb bunny. For going against my wishes, and meddling in my private life, and sneaking around and scheming and conspiring to try and make me happy," he finished with a smirk.

…Smooth, Wilde. Real smooth.

It seemed to take a second to hit her, but when it did, a wide grin began to form on Judy's face. For some reason, she seemed relieved, though Nick had no idea why.

"Anytime, Slick. Alright, I think I've rambled on long enough. I won't hold you back from your beauty sleep anymore; you've got another big day with your mom tomorrow, and I'm sure there's a lot that you both need to catch up on." She handed his badge back to him, before climbing up onto her bed from his mattress.

Nick let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Likewise for you and Flatfoot. Have you decided where you're gonna go tomorrow?" He asked, laying his head down on his pillow.

"Robbie hasn't been to Tundratown yet, so I'm thinking of bringing him to see the snow lodge. Maybe go snowboarding, build a snow bunny, all that sorta stuff."

"Sounds good. Alright, goodnight, Carrots."

"Goodnight, Nick."

With a flick, the room became dark. Nick heard Judy shuffling around a little to get comfortable. Eventually, she settled down, and everything became quiet again—besides the creaks and groans from the floorboards above. As the silence began to take over the room, Nick placed a paw to his chest; he could still feel his heart racing a mile a minute. He couldn't believe he'd come so close to blurting everything out like that. Thankfully, Judy hadn't called him out on it.

But…could she possibly…know?

The thought uttered itself so quietly in his head, as if afraid that Judy would somehow hear him. Not for the first time, he wondered whether her oversized bunny ears could have possibly heard his heart beating faster than usual. He closed his eyes, exhaling as softly as possible to try and calm himself down. As he did, an earlier conversation began to replay in his head.

"Why? Why would you go this far for me?"

"Because you're my friend, Nick."

A friend, huh? Nick thought, feeling a pang of wistfulness in his heart, though he quickly pushed it away. He didn't know whether Judy would understand how he truly felt towards her, and whether she could possibly ever consider him as more than just a friend. But even if she didn't, he was still grateful for everything that she'd done for him. She still thought of him as her best friend, and right now, that was enough. He didn't want to think about it anymore; so many things had happened today, and right now, he just needed to rest.

After all, there was always tomorrow to figure it out.