Barkeeps: Date Night
Nick stared with an annoyed look across the bar counter at the patron who had taken up residence on the stool. It wasn't fair none of this was. How is it he had to work and someone like her could have the night off?
Trisha meanwhile was beaming at Nick from across the bar as she rested her chin in her paw as her elbow leaned on the counter. "Tell me, what would you recommend?" the smug bunny asked.
"A different bartender.," Nick grumbled as he tossed a towel over his shoulder.
It wasn't that he hated Trisha. Far from it, he loved her. It was just a little annoying how Judy and Nick had to be working at the bar after a long day on patrol only to have one of the full-time bartenders sitting there with the night off.
In fairness, it was Judy's idea to pick up this shift. Rent was due soon and the two could use the extra cash. Especially if they wanted to go on the beach vacation they had been planning for a while. This only helped slightly though as Nick stared at the brown doe Infront of him.
"What do you normally drink?" Nick asked as he raised an eyebrow. Trisha was famous for making sweet drinks for Judy and other patrons. To the point, she had her own secret menu that some regulars ordered from. The fox, however, realized he hadn't necessarily ever seen Trisha with a night off to enjoy a beverage so he was a bit of a loss when it came to what she may drink.
"Statesman, neat," Trisha said simply as she watched the fox who had to mull over the order. Even though the bar had a wide variety of different beverages most of the patrons normally ordered mixed drinks or whatever was cheapest. It was rare to get a sophisticated order like this. Well, not necessarily sophisticated but Nick respected Trisha's taste a little more.
"And what about for you sir?" Judy piped up as she sat on the bar in front of Delta, mimicking Trisha's normally bubbly attitude. While Nick was slightly annoyed to be serving Trisha, who could very well get her own damn drinks, Judy was relishing the situation as she beamed at the painted dog who looked rather handsome in his dark dress shirt and slacks combo. Of course, his appearance paled in comparison to Trisha's who was wearing a dark blue cocktail dress with a series of white spots on the skirt.
"Hmmmmm," Delta mumbled as he tapped his paw to his chin. "Normally I am a simple beer kind of mammal but tonight I feel fancy."
"It is fancy date night," Trisha pointed out.
"And you come here…?" Nick grumbled as he searched the shelves for Trisha's orders.
"Hey, this can be a fancy place!" Trisha barked at the fox. At that moment the universe threw Nick a bone as the firefighting mammals in the corner began to have a belching competition.
"Taco! Stop that!" Judy shouted at the small black and white bunny who was currently taking the lead in the competition.
"Sorry!" Taconny grumbled as she hopped from the table and scurried over to another table to take orders.
"We did just get in that new bourbon," Trisha suggested.
Delta shook his paw slightly.
"Well, what are ya feeling like cutie?" Trisha asked as she patted Delta on the leg. The canine smiled and gave Trisha a wink which caused the doe to blush. Judy felt her own cheeks warm, having rarely seen Delta flirt with Trisha in this capacity.
"Maybe something refreshing and cold," Delta said as he eyed his date.
Trisha smirked and looked over at Nick, "oh barkeep.."
Nick was still grumbling as he finally found the whiskey bottle which was of course hidden behind several others, making it hard for the fox to find it. The fox looked over at the couple, his green eyes flashed with an annoyance.
"A Johnnie Hopper on the rocks," Trisha said with a sweet smile as she tilted her head. Nick rolled his eyes as he went about making drinks.
"Thanks, Nick," All three mammals chimed in which caused the fox to wave a paw about.
"So this is so much fun!" Judy admitted as she smiled back at her friends. "I mean total role reversal but fun!"
"Yeah. I'm just glad we have the extra help so I could have a night off with my mate," Trisha said as she reached over and placed a paw on top of Deltas who smiled back at the doe.
"Wish I could have a date night," Nick grumbled only to have a coaster land on his head right between his ears. The fox turned to glare at Trisha who had a surprised smile on her face. Nick realized it hadn't been Trisha who tossed the coaster. As his green eyes went down the bar he saw Judy sitting with both paws raised triumphantly in the air. A look of victorious smugness on her beautiful face.
"I have been practicing for so long!" Judy cheered happily.
"I'm so proud," Trisha said as she wiped away a fake tear.
Nick gave Judy a smirk, unable to be made at his lovely gray doe who looked particularly cute in a new navy blue 10-7 shirt that Trisha had given her. Since the bunny and fox had been picking up so many shifts at the bar lately it only seemed right that Judy got more shirts. In fairness, the shirts were simple enough to make and Judy managed to rock the mid-drift look rather well thanks to her fit figure.
"I had an amazing teacher," Judy said as she crawled over and rubbed her cheek against Trisha which earned her a purr.
"Judy!" Taconny said happily as she scurried behind the bar and looked around. Judy looked over at the eager bunny who was wearing a red firehouse shirt.
"What's up Tac?" Judy asked as she prepared to help the doe with the drink orders.
Taconny raised a digit into the air and ran over to Nick, hugging the grumbling fox around the waist randomly.
"Bah!" Nick yelled in surprise as he tried to shake the doe off. "Back you beast!"
"Ok!" Taconny said, having gotten her high fill for now. "Can you help run some pitchers over to one of the tables with me?"
Judy nodded, happy to help out and also eager to pull her weight. The bunny was worried she had been spending too much time oogling her friends on their date night. The gray doe hopped from the bar and proceeded to help Taconny fill a few pitchers of beer.
Nick finished making Trisha and Deltas drinks which weren't very hard and placed them in front of the two off-duty mammals. Trisha eyed the glasses and noticed the generous portions and gave Nick a smile.
"Oh, that's not for you," Nick teased. The fox then looked over at Delta and winked. "All for that handsome stud right there."
Delta burst out laughing and raised his glass, the ice inside shifting slightly as it mixed with the light brown liquid.
Nick nodded and watched as the canine took a sip and smacked his lips.
"Very nice," Delta said as he savored the cool beverage. Nick smirked, a little pride welling up inside. Of course, he hadn't been the one to recommend the drinks but he was happy to take the credit.
Trisha took a sip of her own drink, hers devoid of ice and she closed her eyes as the smooth taste rolled over her tongue.
"Didn't take you for that type of doe," Nick admitted.
"What can I say?" Trisha began as she looked over at Delta, her bright blue eyes full of passion. "I have good taste."
Both the canine snorted and shared a laugh. Delta reached for his glass and holding it over towards Trisha who happily clinked her own drink against deltas and then took another sip.
"I didn't even know we carried that stuff," Nick admitted. He turned his back to the couple and examined the worn bottle. The whiskey had been agreed over time and the bottle itself looked rather old. He took a whiff from the open bottle before capping it and placing it back on the shelf.
"Mmm!" Trisha said as she placed her glass down and waved her paws at Nick. "No, put it behind the others…the last thing I need is someone seeing my special bottle and wanting to use it as a mix or something."
"Does that actually happen?" Nick asked in disgust, the thought that someone would dare use a drink like that as a mixer was an insult he couldn't even begin to fathom. Of course, not many mammals understood the importance of what drinks not to use as a mix. Something as refined and smooth as the contents of the bottle should be enjoyed as is or over ice for those wanting a colder drink.
"You would be amazed as to what orders we get sometimes," Trisha said as she smiled up at the fox.
Judy returned to behind the bar, only to clamber up onto the counter so she could sit and smile at her friends.
"So how is everything?" She asked as if Trisha didn't work at the bar every other night.
"The drinks are great," Delta said as he raised a glass.
"The views are lovely too," Trisha said as she gave Judy a wink.
"The service could use some improvement though."
At this comment, Trisha smirked over at Nick who rolled his eyes. The fox glanced down the bar and noticed several mammals were getting close to finishing their drinks so he excused himself to go see if he could top anyone off.
"So date night," Judy began as she scooted closer on the bar. Delta was between the two does so he smiled at Judy only to look back to his other side at Trisha and wink.
"Date night," The painted canine echoed.
"Drink night!" Trisha exclaimed as she savored another sip from her glass.
Judy and Delta chuckled at the brown doe who wiggled her eyebrows at the two.
"So what's the plan for tonight?" Judy asked eagerly.
"Well after drinks here we are off to see a friend sing at a local jazz club," Delta said with a smile.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Trisha shook with excitement. "Judy it's amazing. You just sit back and let the smooth songs play. Plus we know the owner so drinks are normally discounted."
"Gotta save that money somehow," Delta admitted. "You know how the ZPD is."
"Uh hello!" Judy said as she pointed at her shirt with the bars logo.
"Plus a certain someone has expensive tastes," Delta mumbled and nodded over his shoulder. The canine let out a grunt when a paw slapped his side.
"Not my fault you spoil me!" Trisha shot back.
"I can't help that I find all these fun adventures!" Delta groaned
"Oh! I love adventures," Judy said excitedly as she scooted closer and raised her ears with eagerness.
"Then this canine is the one for you," Trisha chuckled while putting a paw on the painted dog's shoulder, "but he's mine!"
The gang all shared a laugh before Trisha looked at her handsome canine. She then bit her lower lip as she stood up on her bar stool. Delta didn't need any more prompting as he adjusted himself for the new arrival to his seat. Trisha climbed up in the canines lap and sat down comfortably, her ears raising up on either side of the canine's muzzle. Delta reached over and brought the does drink closer so Trisha could have more of her spirit.
Judy couldn't help but let out a short "aww" as she watched the couple cuddling on the chair. Trisha closed her eyes and a look of contentment crossed her face.
"So where have you all been on your date nights?" Judy asked as she took a moment to look over at her fox, biting her lip and eyeing the vulpine with a hunger. All this lovey-dovey stuff made her eager to get home and cuddle up to her fox.
"Oh, tons of places!" Trisha exclaimed happily. "One time we went to the science center."
"Because of science," Delta teased as he gave Judy a wink.
"Then one time to a shipwrecked freighter that had been turned into a climbing park on the southern part of the city," Trisha said happily.
"Yar!" Delta said loudly, sounding like a movie pirate.
"Oh and the drive-in! One of our first dates," Trisha said with a happy sigh as she nuzzled into the larger canine.
"how did you even find one?" Judy asked in surprise. Drive-ins had for the most part gone the way of the dinosaur and we're hard to come by.
"Had to build it myself," Delta teased.
Judy rolled her eyes, she should have guessed she would have gotten a joke answer first.
"An old friend told me about the place," Delta explained. "So when this one finally said yes to a date you best believe I went all out."
"I like our adventures," Trisha cooed softly as she closed her eyes. "I mean fancy restaurants are nice but where is the adventure? Where is the creativity?"
"I am creative apparently," Delta chuckled.
"Yeah maybe, but have you made an awesome new drink named after Bogo?" Nick asked as he returned to the group.
"Well we can't all be artists," Delta said as he raised a glass in Nick's direction. The fox took a mock bow as he smirked at the painted dog.
"was that your first date?" Judy asked as she shook her head at Nick who gave her a wink.
Trisha opened her eyes and tensed up as she reached out and grabbed Judy's wrist. Judy's eyes opened a little wider and she grinned at Trisha, having a feeling this was going to be a good one.
"Cloud watching!" Trisha exclaimed happily. "oh my gosh I have never been and it's so simple and this guy! Oh, come here you!" Trisha said as she stood up on deltas lap and began to plant kiss after kiss on his muzzle. Delta had to grab the bar to keep balance as he chuckled at his mate's actions.
"Cloud watching?" Judy asked, tilting her head.
Trisha hopped up on the bar and sat next to Judy while rubbing one of Delta's legs with her foot. The brown bunny looked over at Judy and let out a dreamlike sigh.
"So he takes us to a park here in the central district. You know the one by the ZPD.."
"We are familiar with it yes," Nick said mockingly. A coaster landing on the fox's head told the vulpine to shut his mouth. Judy watched on envy, hoping one day to be so good that she didn't need to look at Nick when trying to plop a coaster on his head.
"Anyways," Trisha said softly as she looked over at her Delta. "So it's our first date. I was still a little on the fence having never dated a canine. I will admit.. was a little nervous. But this sweet mammal. He takes us to the center of the park with nothing more than a blanket and a backpack full of snacks. I am all confused wondering if he thinks he is actually gonna get that lucky on a first date.."
Judy chuckled at Delta who gave an innocent shrug.
"So we get to the top of this hill under a tree. He lays out the blanket. Then just likes down and pats the spot next to him. I am all confused but follow suit and lay down. Then without missing a beat he starts pointing out clouds and says what they look like.."
"That's it?" Nick asked with a laugh. "Talk about che-"
The fox trailed off as he noticed Judy and Trisha's expressions. Both of them had tears in their eyes as they looked at Delta who had a surprised look on his face.
"That is the sweetest thing ever!" Judy squealed as she reached over and pulled Delta into a hug.
"Ummm, thanks?" Delta said as he patted Judy on the back. He gave a weak smile at Nick who had a somewhat annoyed look on his muzzle. "Dude I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
Nick let out a sigh, "gonna raise that bar any higher there Delta?" the fox asked, knowing now he had to try and find something equally romantic by the end of the week or he wouldn't hear the end of it for a month.
Most males had an unspoken agreement about not trying to one-up each other when it came to romantic outings. Not wanting a friend to end up sleeping on the couch. Delta had just accidentally raised the bar.
Judy let go of Delta and wiped a tear away from her cheek.
"Oh, it gets better!" Trisha exclaimed. "We fell asleep on the blanket. When I woke up he had his arms around me and oh gosh Judy…his tail was wagging while he napped. It was adorable."
At this point Nick threw his paws in the air and stormed off, having heard enough.
"Oh my gosh that's adorable Delta!" Judy said sweetly. "So when was all this anyways?"
"About 3 years ago," Trisha said softly as she leaned forward and gave her canine a peck on the nose. "Haven't looked back."
"That's nothing!" came an excited Taconny who scurried up yo deltas bar stool and climbed up and stood on the canines lap. "Atom took me mini golfing the other day and we had ice cream afterwards!"
"He does that with everyone," Trisha chuckled.
"That player!" the black and white bunny shouted as she pulled out her cellphone and began to type out a text to the other painted dog. Hoping from Deltas lap Taconny hurried off to cause more trouble elsewhere in the bar.
"Where else have you gone?" Judy asked excitedly.
"Yes Delta, do tell," Nick grumbled playfully.
As it turned out Delta was a bit of an ace when it came to fun adventures. Trisha told stories of their many different adventures and daytime dates.
They had gone to the space center and touched one of the space shuttles butts. Or at least a beam that held the shuttle up. Trisha told Judy that Delta had been standing next to the beam and giggled like an idiot as he kept poking it. It wasn't until he explained what he was doing that Trisha eagerly joined in. They had been asked to leave.
On another occasion, they are gone to a museum and pretended to be tour guides. Trisha explaining that the mummies of old were just actually mammals who had died during a party game of wrap up. While Delta started making up names of dinosaurs and convinced a group of naive middle schoolers that the reason the dinosaurs were extinct was because they had a magical civil war with trees. The trees possessed pinecones though which is why the trees are still around and the dinosaurs weren't.
There were also a few sweet short dates that Trisha gushed about. On one occasion they went mini golfing and they had to close their eyes as the other helped them putt. Or the occasion where they played laser tag but could only shoot at each other of they bent down and shot between their legs.
Each little date was goofier than the last. Some of them Nick took notes on while others he let out a series of gagging noises.
Judy, however, listened with a look of happiness that was mixed with a slight jealousy.
"Oh and another time we went to this new donut shop the next town over."
"What did you do after?" Judy asked, waiting to hear about some new adventure.
"Ate donuts and drove home," Delta admitted.
"So much fun," Trisha said with a squeal.
"Tell them about the escape room," Delta chuckled which caused Trisha to glare at the canine.
"No! We don't talk about the escape room!"
"Oh yes, yes we do," Nick said as he hurried over. It was rare for Trisha to use such a firm tone which told everyone present it was going to be a good story.
"I may have gotten a clue ahead of her," Delta said innocently, "then hid the next clue…"
Trisha growled as she reached down and sipped her drink angrily.
"The character in the room saw, he had such a hard time keeping a strange straight face as Trisha proceeded to tear apart the room."
"We were so close…" Trisha grumbled.
"No, we weren't! We were like 30 minutes in and only solved like 3 clues."
"Would have solved four if it wasn't for a certain traitor!" Trisha said as she used her feet to kick at Deltas knee.
Delta laughed as he tried to scoot away from Trisha who proceeded to poke and prod at the canines sides. This however only lasted so long as Delta soon reached out and began to tickle Trisha's sides which caused the bunny to squeal and try to crawl away. It wasn't much use though as Delta brought the bunny into a hug as he poked at her sides.
"Bahahahaha! Not there! No!" Trisha pleaded. "No, I'm in pretty mode! Don't!"
"You are always in pretty mode," Delta whispered as he planted a kiss on the bunny's cheek. Trisha settled down and nuzzled into Delta. Only to tense up when he started tickling her again.
"So you two met at the bar?" Judy asked, trying to save her friend by changing the subject.
"Well this time we did," Trisha said which confused Judy slightly.
"Apparently we met once in college at a paintball tournament. She was on the opposing team," Delta grumbled. Trisha meanwhile had a rather smug grin on her face.
"They held up a good fight…"She tried to say but her smile faltered as she snorted. "For the first thirty seconds!"
Delta rolled his eyes as his bunny began to laugh loudly.
"but you two weren't dating?" Judy asked.
Both mammals shook their head. Trisha had a smirk about her which caused Judy to raise an eyebrow.
"Well, I wasn't dating anyone. But this stud here was busy with one of his teammates," Trisha said as she reached over and patted the canine on the muzzle.
Delta looked up at the ceiling innocently but Judy noticed how his lips curled into a smile.
"But that's a story for another time," Trisha said as she finished her drink and wiggled her nose at Delta.
"A story? Like you and that medical intern?" Delta asked smugly.
"Merical intern?" Judy asked with a laugh as she looked over at the blushing doe. "What was his name?"
"Her…" Trisha mumbled which caused Judy's ears to raise up. "Excuse me?"
"it was…umm…a doe," Trisha mumbled as she gave Judy a guilty look.
Judy burst out laughing and had to hold her side for a moment.
"Try everything right?" Trisha asked with a shrug. She then looked over at her canine date. "That though is just a story now."
"Yeah, but it is still something that happened," the canine said with a wink.
"So? There are lots of stories. Some of them I am not with you. But the important ones, the ones that have real meaning," Trisha said as she reached out and scooped up the canine's paw into her own. "The ones that are really matter are the ones with you and me…together.."
Judy watched as Delta and Trisha looked into one another's eyes. Maybe it was their drinks or maybe it was just one of those romantic moments. Whatever it was Judy thought it was so very-
"Dork," Delta said simply.
Both Trisha and Delta shared a laugh at this point. Judy rolled her eyes. Of course one of them had to go off and ruin the moment like that. Judy had to sit and think about this for a moment but decided it made the most sense. These two had been made for one another. They way they acted with one another. How they complimented one another's actions. What they both meant to each other. It was obvious they belonged together.
Judy let out a sigh as she looked over at Nick who was busy putting a piece of cotton candy on a pink drink. She sighed as she realized how similar the relationship Delta and Trisha had was to the one she found herself in now. Sure there were some major differences. In the end, though she couldn't see herself with anyone except for her Sly fox. Just like she couldn't see anyone that belonged to Trisha more than Delta.
"Well we better head out," Delta said as he finished his own drink and put some cash on the counter. Nick's ears twitched slightly and his eyes went right to the cash now resting on the polished surface. His eyes, however, went a little farther till it was staring at Judy's legs. The gray took notice of the look in Nick's eyes and made sure to lean back in just the right way as she batted her eyes in his direction.
The look on Nick's face told Judy everything she needed to know. She looked good in blue.
"Thanks for the drinks," Trisha said playfully as she hopped from the bar and skipped towards the door with Delta close behind her. "Nigut Taconny!"
"Night Trisha!" the black and white doe shouted from one of the tables. "I hope you get lucky!"
Trisha let out a laugh at the other Bunny's remarks.
"I hope she does too," Delta chimed in which earned him another laugh.
"Have fun," Judy said as she waved at her friend who waved back happily. Judy then resumed looking over at her handsome fox. Throwing him a look that made his tail begin to sway back and forth. "So..think there are any clouds to look at in the stock room?"
Nick took in a deep breath as he scanned the slow bar. All the mammals present had full beverages and Taconny was preoccupied with a group of medics.
The fox then darted over and scooped up Judy in one arm, the doe letting out a triumphant and happy squeak as she was carried to the back room. While listening to all of Trisha and Deltas stories Judy couldn't help but think of one thing. How much she wanted to keep making stories with Nick.
One such story was how they made out in the back stock room until a curious Taconny found them, the black and white doe running from the back room screaming.
So a little change in pace on this one. Decided to let my own OCs enjoy a night on the town for once. Hope you all didn't mind the little break from the normal OCs from other stories visit style of thing.
Special thanks to AWildeHoppingTaco for the continued use of that adorable Taconny. She is so fun to write and I have some fun plans for the future involving this bouncy ball of energy.
Hope to have another chapter ready soon!
Till next time.
-Blue