-I was totally (not) joking-

Silence.

Sometimes silence is a wonderful thing. It is actually pretty underrated really. It can be so calm and relaxing. Just walking and enjoying someone's company as you take in all your surroundings. It can actually be a great way to start one's day.

Of course on the complete other end of the spectrum, it can be so awkward that one may wish they would burst into flame and burn away rather than take another second of the agonizing awkwardness.

Judy was unfortunately stuck in that situation.

Sure the day had started on a bright note. She had been woken up from a nightmare by a text from her partner. She had read the message like it was a letter about her winning the lottery. The doe had practically leaped from the bed and cheered. It wasn't until she heard a series of curses coming from her paper thin walls that she realized she just might have gotten up a little too loudly. Maybe the cheering was a bit much.

After apologizing to the wall which was using words that made the doe blush Judy got ready for the day. She took a quick shower and got ready. Making sure to give her shield one last quick rub to make sure it shined like it always did in the morning.

A text message from Nick told Judy that he was waiting downstairs for her. It was their everyday ritual. Nick would meet up in front of Judy's apartment and they would stroll to the train station together.

As Judy bounded down the stairs of her apartment building she felt like the world was giving her a second chance. Nick having forgiven the bun for her little indiscretion the day before. Maybe he had just written it off. The thought did make her feel somewhat down but it was better than the alternative, whatever that nightmare may be.

It wasn't until Judy caught sight of Nick that she realized how things may not be completely ok between them.

When she opened the doors that lead out to the sidewalk she saw him.

The bright green eyes which had widened in surprise yesterday.

That wonderful russet fur.

That floofy tail.

Those lips…

Judy remembered right then and there what she had tried to do the day before and all the confidence and eagerness she had simply vanished.

It didn't help that Nick suddenly looked a little nervous as the doe descended the stairs in front of her building.

The look on his face said it all. It was an apprehension mixed with a kind of pity. Judy absolutely hated it. What made things even worse was how Judy couldn't think of anything to say as she arrived in front of Nick. For once the fox was also at a lost for words.

They stood in an awkward silence. Judy pleading with her body not to show how embarrassed she was. Sadly though she couldn't control her emotions as a warm blush covered her cheeks, she also felt her ears warm which told her the blush was spreading.

Stupid body! Stop betraying me!

Nick's ears fell back against his head. The smug smile on his face would have fooled anyone else but Judy wasn't just any mammal. She had been partners with Nick long enough to know some of his tells, few as they were. The ears were always a giveaway.

Say something! Anything!

The seconds finally managed to turn into a whole minute before Judy finally managed to say something.

"Shall me?"

Nick tilted his head as Judy winced.

"I meant to say…shall we?" The doe corrected. She then opened her eyes and panicked, worried that he may take that phrase the wrong way. "And by that I mean shall we start heading to the train station? Not up to my apartment…which wasn't implied in the first place because why would I ever invite you up there?"

Nick raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"I mean! I would invite you up there! And I have..before.I think," Judy stammered out.

Shut up shut up shut up!

"But only to see things," Judy continued, her mouth no longer taking orders from her brain. "And by things, I mean things that were in my apartment. Not me….well I was in my apartment and…with you but nothing happened…Not that I wanted anything to happen. Of course not because you're a fox…not that that even came up."

Nick, please shut me up!

Nick put one of his paws to Judy's lips which finally convinced her mouth to stop betraying her. The doe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before trying to speak again.

"Nick I...I am so sorry," The bunny began but when she opened her eyes she felt a wave of relief.

The fox that stood before her had on such a dashing smile she felt her heart flutter. That wasn't the reason she felt so calm though. It was the fact he was smiling through all this.

"So was it my good looks? My sense of humor? The tail?" Nick began to list off some of his characteristics.

All of the above would be the safest bet.

"You aren't going to let me off the hook for this are you," Judy grumbled as she let out a deep sigh, her lips curled into a pleased smile none the less.

"Oh I will," Nick said as he put his paws on his hips, "In a week or so. By then I am sure you will have figured out another way to embarrass yourself."

Judy chuckled as she gave her fox partner a playful scowl. Nick simply smirked as he turned and began to stroll down the sidewalk.

Judy rolled her eyes but hurried off after Nick.

"Till then though I think we should talk about what happened," Nick pointed out as Judy caught up to him, the doe had just begun to get a skip in her step when she heard the suggestion from Nick.

"Or we could not," Judy suggested.

"Awkward silence it is then," Nick said as he looked straight ahead.

"Oh haha," Judy shot back as she looked up at the handsome tod.

Nick didn't respond and simply kept his gaze forward as they strolled down the street.

Is he really going to try and give us the silent treatment?

Judy tilted her head slightly as she studied Nick, hoping he would acknowledge her in some way.

Oh, two can play this game!

Not to be outdone by the fox Judy looked straight ahead as they continued their walk towards the train station that was a few blocks away.

To say Judy was out of her element was an understatement. The doe wasn't the most patient mammal, to begin with. Rabbits having been known to want to get things done quickly and not be held up. Something Nick knew all too well having witnessed Judy deal with Flash on several occasions after the Missing Mammals case. The sloth asking Judy how she was doing took roughly 2 minutes which drove the doe absolutely mad. What was worst was she was far too polite to try and break away without answering. By the time Flash had managed to say how his weekend was 20 minutes had passed, the bunny had been shaking with anxiety the whole while.

Now though she was stuck trying to wait Nick out. Something she knew from the start wouldn't work but her competitive side refused to admit defeat.

Five minutes into the train ride and Judy's foot started to tap against the floor of the train. The bunny's patience was starting to wear thin. What was even more annoying was how Nick showed almost zero sign of giving in.

Does he really not like talking to me? Say something you stupid fox! Come on! What if I tried kissing him now? Bet that would get him talking…or shouting..oh gods why did I try and kiss him?

When they finally arrived at their stop the pair stood up silently and walked out of the small train car. They were roughly halfway down the open air platform when Judy finally decided to change tactics.

"Nick," She said in one of her serious tones, a slight sorrow hung on her words. It was enough to catch the fox's attention and he turned to look down at the doe. "Nick I am really sorry..I don't know what happened. I mean It was just a joke.."

Maybe he will buy that.

Nick remained silent as he studied the bunny in blue.

"I mean you try and get me all the time with your little jokes so I thought I would try one out for once," she lied. She hated that she had to stretch the truth in front of Nick like this. She felt it may be the only option though when it came to salvaging some of her pride along with their relationship.

"It was gonna be great," Judy chuckled half-heartedly. "Give you a little peck, see you all flustered…and um…" She felt herself start to falter as she gazed at Nick. The way his eyes looked right into hers, if she didn't know any better she could swear he was reading her very thoughts. Which in the end wasn't true because if he had the slightest inkling of what she wanted to do to him he would probably burst out laughing or run away. After a few more seconds of silence, Judy let out a deep sigh and looked at the ground, kicking one of her large feet against the platform gently.

She looked up at her partner, the way his eyes still held a friendly warmth as he looked at her gave Judy confidence.

"But I know you would see right through that.."

Nick's lips curled into that famous smug smirk of his and Judy felt her heart skip a beat.

"I don't really know what to say about what happened. I could try and blame some kind of bunny emotions, or maybe I was delirious. But the truth is.."

Are we really going to tell him like this?

"I…have feelings for you..."

Ok, apparently we are...

"I don't know how long they have been there…think it's been recent. But I...I don't know what I am saying…um..." Judy let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck with her paw.

Nick took a knee in front of the doe and reached out as he tugged at one of the straps on Judy's shoulder that held up her vest. He was testing its strength but also simply wanting to give the doe a kind of physical comfort. It simply reminded Judy why she felt the way she did.

"Carrots," Nick began as he looked at the ground and then into Judy's wide purple eyes. She could already tell this wasn't going to go the way she had hoped. "Yesterday was...well it was a little weird. No getting around that."

Judy blushed and nodded. She remained silent for now, wanting to hear what Nick had to say.

"But it wasn't a bad weird," Nick pointed out. "I mean it was only a matter of time before you fell for my foxy charm."

Judy giggled as she put a paw on her hip. She rolled her eyes but they instantly went back to staring at Nick's.

Even in a moment like this, he has to be a joker…

"Judy I don't want to mess up what is between us," Nick continued which caused the doe's ears to fall forward slightly. Nick's eyes went upward and then back to Judy's gaze as he ran a paw up one of her ears. Normally this was considered over the line. While bunnies were affectionate creatures it was still a bit of a reach for a mammal to be allowed to touch their ears. Nick, of course, was an exception. "Hey now, none of that.."

Judy let out a sad sigh, try as she might she couldn't hide her disappointment.

"Judy you are without a doubt the most important mammal in my whole life," Nick continued in a friendly tone.

And yet…

"I would be a completely different mammal if you hadn't bounced into my….hey that's not a rabbit jab that is a figure of speech," The fox said, trying to remain serious but the way Judy's eyelids drooped at the word bounced was a bit too much for him to let slide. "Judy I.."

The fox remained silent as a pensive look crossed his muzzle. He looked to the side as he tried to find the words.

Please just be gentle…

Nick took in a deep breath before looking back at Judy.

"Carrots I love you," Nick said simply.

Judy felt her heart swell with happiness. The world seemed to brighten as the clouds from the nightmare faded away. She already knew there would be strings attached to the last sentence but she didn't care. What she did care about was she was loved by this fox. She already knew he would throw in something to wreck it but for now, she hung onto the blissful joy that radiated through her body.

"But…" Nick began.

Judy, however, cut him off. She put a finger to the fox's muzzle and silenced him. At first, Nick looked a little nervous as he looked down at the small paw against his mouth and then directly at Judy. A tear rolled down the doe's cheek but she kept a smile on her face.

"Nick…I am sorry for yesterday and I am sorry for putting you in this spot. Just hearing that I haven't completely ruined what we had is enough for me."

"Oh Carrots…you really can be a dumb bunny sometimes," Nick said with a smug smile. Judy looked slightly confused which made Nick clarify what he meant. "You could never ruin our friendship."

Judy tried to hold back the tears but there was no stopping the floodgates. Nick rolled his eyes and simply held his arms open as the doe waddled towards the fox. Nick wrapped his partner up in a warm embrace and gave her a slight squeeze.

"You bunny's, so emotional," Nick whispered sweetly.

Judy couldn't help but let out a giggle as she nuzzled into the fox.

She then remembered something that had been eating away at her all morning. She moved slightly in Nick's arms and looked up at the fox who smiled down at her.

"What's this about food on a stick?"

Nick's eyes suddenly brightened as a broad grin crossed his lips.

"Wait till you see! Oh, this one is gonna kick your butt Carrots."

"Our lunch dates aren't a competition Wilde!" Judy pointed out.

"Oh, you are just saying that because you are about to lose," Nick said as he let the doe fall from his arms so he could strut away. "After this, I think I am gonna eat all my food on a stick."

Judy rolled her eyes as she hurried after her fox. So they weren't a couple. Maybe they were destined to be best friends for life. There is nothing wrong with that. They were incredibly close and the fact that something like a near kiss couldn't come between them showed Judy that Nick did really care about her. Of course, now she was kicking herself for having stopped Nick's explanation as to why he felt the way he did.

Ok, so while not romantic that was still…nice. Maybe nice is all we will be.

Judy's stomach rumbled and the doe looked down and then back at the fox.

Hope they have donuts on a stick.

Thank you to my amazing fans who have supported me through all the craziness that has been going on both in and out of this fandom, I don't deserve you but I will do my best to earn such loyalty.

-Blue