Work Text:
It was a full moon out tonight, which was something significant to some species in the city. Although it didn’t matter much for my instincts, it was still quiet pretty to look at. Even though I didn’t answer the call of the moon, I did have other impulses I answered for, like any animal would. Beyond instinct, you could say that each individual followed their own set of beliefs as well. Maybe doing something for a sense of justice, a sense of morality, or just something fun to pass the time; whatever that thing may be, I always felt there was a reason behind it, even if it wasn’t obvious. Following logic is important if you ever hope to understand mammals, after all.
And so, it made me ponder… what could have possibly been my reasoning for what I’m doing right now?
I looked at my friend across from me with a neutral expression as she gave me one of surprise. In fact, she comically had her paws near her face with her mouth agape like she had almost seen a monster; if it wasn’t for the fact we were in a public area, I had the feeling she would have screamed.
“Oh… my god! Nick, I can’t believe it, you’re totally in love!”
I put my finger up to my maw. “Don’t say that so loudly!”
“How can I not say it loudly? I feel so happy for you, I never thought I’d see the day!”
“Yeah, me neither, but I don’t go shouting it at the top of my lungs...”
But of course she didn’t listen to me, and let out an ear piercing squeal.
“Ooohhh, this is so cute! You need to tell her right away! Oh... but wait!” Honey’s face turned into one of dramatic horror. “The way you described it, she like, probably doesn’t like you that way, huh!?”
I rolled my eyes. “Jee, I wonder what ticked that off… maybe the part where I specifically said that?”
“Oh no, that’s so sad! And you have to work with her too, oh dear…”
Honey looked down at the table disappointed, almost like she had lost her favorite toy before looking back up at me with a childish glimmer of hope. “So are you like, gonna try to find a way to make her love you then?”
As usual, this badger was off in her own time and space. Even with stories she liked, she only ever half paid attention and only remembered the parts she wanted to hear, nothing in-between.
“I’m not sixteen Honey, and this isn’t a high school drama. It’s not as simple as saying I’m gonna ‘prove my love’ to her, you know. I’m not so sure about whatever fantasy world you live in, but in the real world unless your some lonely obsessed stalker or have no self-control, you learn to live with what you don’t have. I’m not about to crumble just because I like my partner and have to continue to work with her, nothing’s going to change, nor does it need too.”
Feeling a bit aggravated I took a strong sip of my tea as I looked off to the side, not particularly interested in seeing Honey’s melodramatic expression.
But Honey only let out a boyish giggle. “Oh no need to be so upset, Nicki, I’m sure the time to tell her will come.”
Honey paused and looked over at me for a second. “Ah, but when it does, maybe you can put on some decent clothing for once.”
I couldn’t help but also let out a giggle at that one. “If I ever did that, then you’d know it wasn’t me.”
Honey gave me a curious look. “Hmmm, you say that, but weren’t you once a sly, hustling fox? Your job is almost like the complete opposite of that now, you know. If you ask me, that seems like an identity crisis if I’ve ever heard one.”
I gave Honey a sly smile. “Nobody knows me better than me, Honey.”
Honey sighed and relaxed into her chair. “Whatever you say, Nicki, either way I’m happy to hear things are going so well for you.”
Honey stuffed her wallet into her pocket. “Oh, and you better make sure to tell me every single juicy detail about what happens between you and your partner!”
I raised my eyebrow at her. “You aren’t leaving so soon, are you?”
She stood up from her chair and frowned at me. “Must you always use that nose of yours? But since you asked, yes, I’m going to get in some extra hours for work tomorrow and need a it of extra sleep today.”
I rested my paw on my chin. “Sorry, I can’t help it. This nose was born to sniff out every juicy detail about you, I’m afraid.”
Honey looked down at me annoyed. “Yeah, well, you’re nose isn’t always right! You’d do good to remember that.”
And pretending to storm off, Honey turned away from me and immediately left the café holding an almost pompous posture. For some reason, that badger always got upset when I read into what she would do or say before she even said it. I’ve known her long enough to know how she acts or reacts to things, but hell if I’ll ever fully understand why she does it that way.
But even if we don’t hang out a lot, it felt nice to confide some of my feelings in someone I know would keep them a secret. I suppose I also have Finnick, but I have a feeling he’ll just lecture me and give me the typical ‘fox advice’ he always has; advice that will only come out after he laughs at me for using the word love.
I took a last sip of my tea, left a tip, and walked out of the café. As I exited the building, I looked up at the sky and saw the full moon lighting up the night alongside the street lights, it looked much better outside then through a small window in a diner.
I started my usual walk home and looked around at a few of the mammals and buildings around me. Nothing was really strange or unusual, same night life, same hustle and bustle, same buildings, a typical stroll through the city. The normalness of the walk home that night actually put me more at ease then even talking with Honey.
It really had only been about a week ago that I had figured I took a liking to my partner Judy; that is to say, love, if you like the use of that word. From my perspective, nothing about it was unusual though. Rabbit stumbles into my life out of nowhere, hustles the best hustler on the block, saves my life from a savage panther, and through a series of convoluted events even goes out of her way to apologize for what she did and offers me a job as an officer. Me, a no good hustling fox with zero marketing qualities except a charming smile and great sense of fashion. Oh, and not to forget, we also got to know each other very well as police partners over time.
You could say I’m a bit skeptical of the word love and how much it’s tossed around these days, but if love comes in the form of wanting to be with a mammal that changed the entirety of your life and done nothing but provide support and help, then yes, I’m in love.
I was initially worried about this revelation I had a months ago, though. It made me wonder if knowing this would somehow change everything that had come into my life, like things wouldn’t be the same. And after a bit of thinking and talking with Honey… it really hasn’t. I can talk with her as I always have and stand by her like always without any problems. Work isn’t any less difficult, and it isn’t hard to subdue my interest in her.
Sure, Judy probably doesn’t feel that way for me, and maybe I can’t get everything I want, but at the end of the day, that’s hardly different from my old life. Take what you can, and don’t ask for too much, a simple motto I used to live by. I might not be a hustler anymore, but there’s still something to say about that kind of motto; though if I ever told Judy that, she’d never agree with me.
I stopped walking once a large block of wood suddenly appeared in front of me. I looked at the door to my house in slight surprise as it took my mind a second to register where I was. I’ve been having a bad tendency of getting lost in my own thoughts when alone lately, something I used to actually avoid back in my hustling days, funny enough.
So with that in mind, I think it was about time to turn my old brain off for the day. I unlocked the door to my apartment, walked in, threw off my clothes, set the alarm, and laid right on my bed without a moment of hesitation. Tomorrow was another day on duty, and much like Honey, I couldn’t afford to lack in sleep, either. I’ve been left to my own devices for far too long this weekend anyways; being with Judy again will be nice. Keeping a relaxed smile on my face, I closed my eyes and let my brain drift into sleep.
I adjusted my sunglasses as I took another sip of coffee and leaned my feet up against the inside of the car. It was yet another peaceful Friday morning with nothing particularly interesting happening; no crimes or suspicious activity. It was a good thing for the city, but a boring thing for my job.
I rolled my eyes to my left, towards Judy, to see what she was doing at the moment. She was looking straight ahead with a fairly neutral and bored expression on her face, not paying much attention to her surroundings. As per usual in the morning, her grooming was perfectly on point in almost every capacity a mammal could think of. Perfectly straightened fur from her head to her toes, perky cleaned ears, wide eyes without a single mark of missed sleep, and a well cleaned uniform that fit tightly enough to let you see her curvy body, yet not tight enough to make it seem uncomfortable.
Now, were those last bits of details necessary for describing how well-groomed she was?
Probably not.
And was I using my sunglasses to my advantage to ogle her at this exact moment?
Yes I was.
You can call It creepy all you’d like, but that would only be because you don’t have a well hipped rabbit partner sitting at your side. I believe I’m entitled to have a few dirty thoughts of my own on occasion, and as long as you don’t have the self-control of a howling wolf at night, it isn’t an issue in my book.
But as I was staring at her, I felt a sudden strange tinge in my left arm, a twitch. I looked down at my hand and saw it idly lying by my side. I knew what that twitch was, however, as a thought arose the second I felt it. In that moment, a part of me wanted to reach my hand over to Judy, wrap it around her, and pull her in close to me.
As I continued staring at my motionless hand, it felt almost like it was staring back at me. I knew what it wanted… and it was trying to fight me for it! But it didn’t matter what my body wanted to do, I was the one in control, and it had no saying otherwise!
“Uuh, you doing alright there, Nick?”
I lightly jumped up in my seat in surprise at Judy’s words and looked over at her.
“Huh?”
Judy gave me a sarcastic looking smile. “You almost looked a bit angry there for a second.”
Recollecting my thoughts I relaxed my expression.
“Maybe a little… I was just lost in my own thoughts, is all.”
Judy playfully turned her head back forward. “Can’t blame you, it’s another dull day, after all. But you know, in a weird way, I’m sort of relishing the little bit of silence. We’ve been talking so much that it’s almost a bit relaxing to not have anything to say…”
Judy’s relaxed face then suddenly lite up. “Oh, but! That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy our conversations, I just-“
I chuckled. “I know what you mean, Carrots. But even so, I wouldn’t mind a bit more dialogue today, just to warm things up.”
Unexpectedly, Judy gave me a curious look. “…Did something happen last weekend?”
I was a bit taken back by her response, it was strangely astute.
I shrugged. “Not really, I just ended up doing stuff alone for most of last weekend and could maybe go for a break from this break of silence.”
Judy gave me a wide smile in response. “You know if you were lonely, you could have just called me.”
I slyly smiled back at her. “And ruined your mini vaca with Fru Fru? I wouldn’t dare interrupt a delicate ladies spa treatment with a tough, gruff, manly voice such as my own.”
Judy immediately gave my arm a strong punch, eliciting a pained groan out from me.
She gave me a rough smile. “What was that about delicate?”
I rubbed my arm looking over at her. “Okay, fine… your crude and violent spa treatment.”
Judy rolled her eyes. “You know that a call from you would never ruin my weekend, Nick.”
“Perhaps not, but we pretty much hang out with each other all the time at work, I just figured that-“
“Oh, come on, Nick! You know that being together outside of work is totally different, we should do it more often!”
I let out a small sigh. “You know my reasoning for why, Judy. If we hang out constantly 24/7 outside and inside work, then we’re gonna get bored with each other to quickly.”
“I don’t think that…”
Judy gave me a serious look as she replied, almost baiting an answer out of me before continuing.
“You keep using that excuse, but I think you’re the only one who believes in it. What about what I want to do? Maybe I’m the one that wants to be more than work friends with you.”
In an instant, it felt like my throat had just been dried clean from her words. It took a good bit of my willpower not awkwardly swallow as I responded.
“You know it’s not like that! You should know you mean more to me than just a work friend!”
Judy turned her head away from me. “I know that, Nick, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way…”
My ears turned flat at her statement. Thinking about it more, it’s seemed like I’ve been turning her down more recently compared to a month ago, just after finding out my own interest in her. But saying it like that isn’t quite right, it’s because I found out my interest in her I’ve been doing this, isn’t it. Have I really been acting this scared just because of that?
I gritted my teeth and put my paw firmly On Judy’s shoulder. She turned around and looked up at me as I gave her a toothy, confident smile.
“Fine then Mrs. Pouty, in that case, how about we just spend the entire weekend together? Later today, Saturday, and Sunday, it’ll be just the two of us.”
Judy’s face lite up with excitement. “R-Really!? And no lame excuses this time, right?” Judy ended her statement with a sterner tone.
I brushed it off and continued to smile at her. “You have my word. Once were done with our shift we’ll head to our homes, get dressed, and hang out.”
Judy’s own smile, in turn, became confident. “Alright then, it’s a date!”
Alright then, it’s a date!
It’s a date!
a date!
a…
I looked at myself in the mirror that night. My fur was groomed to absolute perfection, and my ears were as clean as a whistle. I had on the best outfit my wardrobe even had and made sure it was spotless; it fit well enough to extenuate my features, but still be comfortable.
But despite how I looked in the mirror, my mind was far from my image. That damn word ringed like a bell over and over in my head, like a catchy tune from a bad song you want to forget. What she said had no connection to her liking me in that way, it’s something anyone can say jokingly or as a figure of speech. But even so, a small part of my brain clinged to the idea that it meant more than just that.
I scratched my head in annoyance. I knew better then to believe in something like that! Going after some idea like that would only hurt yourself in the end, and isn’t worth daydreaming about if it’s not in reality. I rejected the idea that just because it was ‘love’ that it was the reason I couldn’t push it back as well as I used to for other things in my past, I’ve just become a bit soft. I had almost forgotten what it was like to hold yourself back after getting such a cushiony secure job like this, it was a bit sobering to feel it again.
I looked at myself in the mirror with a determined expression.
“Telling Judy randomly and expecting her to reciprocate that same feeling isn’t like you, Nick. I mean, look at yourself! Getting beat up just cause of a few stray words she told you before going out? Wake up! You know what the smart approach is? Adjusting your jacket, putting on that smooth, sly grin of yours, acting normal, and gauging your luck. You can read anyone like a book front to finish if you put your mind to it, and someone like Judy is no different. Hell, if anything, that bunny wouldn’t even know how to hide it.”
As I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my usual smug grin on my face, I began to feel at ease. “Stay calm, stay collected, and don’t reveal your cards; that’s how you win at poker, and at life.” Feeling a renewed sense of confidence, I quickly strutted out of my room and to the street Judy told me about.
After a few moments of walking I looked at my phone and the clock, 8:59, just on time. And according to the maps, I should also be at the right place. I started to put down my phone and-
“Nick!”
My ears perked up after suddenly hearing Judy’s voice. Stuffing my phone in my pocket I focused my attention in front of me to look at her, and I couldn’t believe it; she was in a dress! Not just some raggedy dress she threw on, but a gorgeous looking red one. And the closer she got to me, the more stunning she looked in it.
She gave me a nervous looking smile. “Ah sorry, I know this is probably your first time seeing me like this, but I just thought I’d be a nice you know… change of pace… It doesn’t look bad, does it?”
A part of me wanted to make a cunning joke about this situation, or make fun of her for looking so feminine for the first time ever.
“Uh no, not at all, it… looks great on you.”
But almost like instinct, the words slipped out of me before I could even think of a witty comeback.
Judy gave me a lightly blushing smile. “Heh thanks! Guess it wasn’t for nothing then. And uh, you look really handsome in that outfit too… first time I’ve seen you dress like that.”
Before I could respond though, Judy suddenly seemed to remember something. “Oh, uhm, we should probably head inside though, before it’s too late!”
Judy suddenly grabbed my one of my paws as we rushed to the inside of the building we were in front of, something I hadn’t even taken into account when coming here.
My eyes were practically blinded by the difference in light once we entered the building, and it took my mind an even longer time to comprehend what I was looking at. This place we had just entered wasn’t just a diner, but a restaurant; a legitimate, no stragglers at the bar, restaurant.
“Right this way.”
I suddenly heard a mammal say as I was almost dragged along by Judy’s guiding hand as my body mechanically followed. And before I knew it I was sitting down at a fancy looking table, and across from me was Judy, smiling.
“A bit awe struck, are we?”
I had to physically shake my head just to get myself out of my own daze. “Uh yeah, wow, I… wasn’t expecting all this, is all.”
Judy turned her eyes off to the side with an embarrassed smile. “Well, it was all kind of last minute, but… I guess I just, wanted something unique, you know? And I gathered enough money to do it and got these last minute reservations at this place soooo, why not?”
“Here you are.”
Our waiter suddenly said as he handed us both the menus, my eyes naturally gravitating towards it as I opened it up.
But even as I was looking, not a single word on the menu was legible. There was no questioning it now, was there? Judy was treating this like a date… a real date, an almost generically nice date. Does that mean she has interest in me? Has she had interest in me this whole time? How could I have not known for so long though… am I dressed well enough for this? Is this really even happening?
“…A lot to decide on, huh?”
I turned my head up right towards Judy as if a solider was standing at attention for his commander. I took a couple seconds to long to respond before saying.
“Ah haha, yeah, there is…”
I took a quick gulp and relaxed for a minute, allowing my thoughts to gather back to the forefront of my mind.
“Sorry, all this is just… surprising is all, very surprising. I mean fancy restaurant, reservations, a dress… you were really keen on not telling me about any of this, weren’t you?”
Judy let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah I know, I know, I guess this all came to me… spontaneously, you know?”
I let out a small chuckle, regaining some of my composure. “Well, I have known you to be quiet a spontaneous bunny sometimes, but never to this extent I must say. I hope this isn’t some elaborate attempt to bribe me.”
Judy didn’t laugh in return though; she only gave me a somewhat stifling gaze.
I tapped my digits on the desk trying to think of a response.
“…I-“
“I’m sorry, this whole thing is too sudden, isn’t it?”
Judy looked off to the side in irritation. Before I could even say another word though, she spoke up again.
“Ugh, I knew I should have just been more subtle about this whole thing! I… earlier today I, don’t even know if you remember at all, but I called us hanging out a, uhm... date, and I kind of tried playing it off all cool by saying it really casually, but I think I just failed miserably...”
I licked the inside of my mouth as I felt it start to dry off again, and tried to calm my irregular breathing.
“Actually, I uhm, do remember. I just thought when you said that you meant it as like…”
Judy nervously smiled. “A figure of speech? I was… kind of going for that I guess. I had this weird idea that if I said it like I didn’t mean it, it would turn out really clever, or suave, or something. But I guess maybe playing it smooth isn’t my strong suit, huh?”
She waited for a response from me, but I didn’t say anything, I felt like my tongue had suddenly been cut off.
“…Well, I guess it’s… obvious at this point why I said it like that, huh? Without even telling you I’ve been well, treating this like a real date.“
Her voice started to calm down as she continued to speak. “And I guess if I’m doing this and acting this way, it obviously means I feel... something for you. As weird as it is to say after doing all of this, I don’t fully know myself how I feel. I mean, I really love hanging out with you, and we have a lot more in common than I ever initially thought we would, and you’ve helped me with so, so much in my life that it’s, almost unbelievable and…”
Judy took a moment to collect her thoughts. “You really mean a lot to me, Nick. You’re the most important mammal I’ve ever had in my life that isn’t just my parents, and when it seemed like you wanted to hang out with me less this past month and after what you said today…”
“I love you.”
And just like that, without even thinking, the words slipped out of my mouth. Against all better judgment flowing through my head, I finally just said it. It went against any idea of good timing, being smooth, or being logical; yet I said it simply because I wanted to.
She gave me a soft and wide eyed expression as the phrase left my mouth.
“N-Nick…”
But the realization of what I said without intending to quickly hit me like a brick, and immediate panic and anxiety started to rise through me, as I looked down at the table flushed red.
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that so suddenly. You were just mentioning the date and how you feel and I uh…
“I’m glad you just told me, Nick.”
I looked back up over at Judy with a look of dismay still across my face. But my expression calmed as I saw Judy’s appearance. She looked nervous, and maybe even a little coy, but she was beaming with joy overtop it all.
“I… know how hard saying something like that for you must be. I may be a dumb bunny, but I’m not so ignorant that I don’t know you. With a little push I can get myself to say almost anything that comes to mind, but with you it’s always been harder to get those things out… and for you to just suddenly say something like that it, must have been really difficult for you.”
Judy reached out over the table and grabbed a hold of my hand, looking up at me with a smile.
“And I’m not sure if what I’m feeling for you is love like you think it is for me, but I want to find out if it is.”
The extension of Judy’s paw felt like a radiating light lifting me up into the air, as if just her aura was enough to lighten up my mood. By every notion of how I normally hold myself up, I had failed tonight; there was no question about it. But in hindsight, even if the end result hadn’t turned out like this, I still would have been satisfied all the same.
Without a single moment of thinking, and carrying with me my renewed spirits, I did exactly what I felt like doing.
“…Hey Judy, I think we should maybe leave this place.”
Judy looked at me in slight surprise. “Huh? How come?”
But as she looked around the table, she noticed other guests were awkwardly staring at our table, and she realized we had been far from quiet; but I didn’t really mind, I only smiled down at her as I stood up.
“How about we leave before we get kicked out, huh? This place is a bit too stuffy anyways.”
“U-Uh, okay… that sounds- Waah!”
Not even letting go of her paw, I whisked on out of that place without second thought and we ran right out the front door of the restaurant.
“W-Woah hey, Nick! Were out now, we don’t need to keep running!”
I laughed a little and slowed down to a walk, looking back at Judy.
“Ha… Sorry, I guess I forgot you were in a dress.”
Judy gave me an annoyed smile. “Lucky for you it was a short dress, you stupid fox.”
I went back up beside Judy, walking next to her. “Well, I maybe a stupid fox, but I’m the stupid fox you took on a date with today.”
“God knows if that was a good idea after what you just pulled, I don’t think we’ll ever be allowed in there again you know.”
Keeping a smile on, I stuffed my paws in my pockets. “Yeah, well, that kind of place doesn’t suit someone like me anyways, too nice and uptight.”
Judy looked up at me for a moment before looking straight ahead. “Yeah… It kind of wasn’t for me either, I think. And you know, as nice as what you’re outfit is, it’s a bit odd seeing you without some green on.”
I let out a small chuckle. “And as nice as your dress is, I kind of like you with your casual jeans as well… maybe for our date tomorrow, we should just stick to going to a pub.”
Judy cocked an eyebrow at me. “Date tomorrow? It sounds almost like you have the whole thing planned out. Did you plan to run out from the beginning and walk with me outside? In fact, where are we even walking to?”
“You rabbits, no patience at all with you. Can’t you just enjoy our spontaneous walk out in the night? I think it’s only fair after going through your spontaneous little dinner session.”
Judy gave me a somewhat irritated look. “I just… wanted a good way to tell you how I felt is all, I didn’t think I’d turn out like this…”
I took a moment to soak in what Judy told me and stared off in front of me for a moment before responding. “…I was thinking we go to my place for the day, and then maybe go out somewhere tomorrow.”
Judy looked up at me with a smug grin “Oh your place is it? And what makes you think I’ll want to stay with you today?”
“Do you no want to?” I asked her in a serious tone.
Her expression quickly changed to a more bashful one. “Uhm no, I… I do want to.”
I smiled. “Good, because if there’s one thing about my place I can say is good, it’s that you can see the moon perfectly through my place.”
I unlocked the door to my apartment.
“But it’s only at a certain time at night, and only through my room.”
We both entered into my bedroom.
“With all the lights off, the moonlight will shine right through my small little window and lite up the whole place.”
I turned off all the lights and opened up the curtains for us.
“In your apartments? Don’t most apartments only have one small window near the bed, how could you see it from there?”
We both sat down on the bed together.
“What, don’t believe me? You will once you see it yourself.”
As we stared into the window, and Judy looked up at it with an expression of awe.
“Oh my god… Nick, it’s beautiful, almost as big as back in bunny borrow, yet in the middle of the city.”
I wrapped my arm around Judy, and she held no resistance.
“Not as good as it was yesterday sadly, we missed the full moon by a single day.”
Judy looked over at me. “Actually, I think it’s supposed to be a full moon today…”
I thought about it for a brief moment. “Mmmm, don’t think so, fluff, I believe it was yesterday.”
Judy crossed her arms and gave me a cocky smile. “How much you wanna bet?”
I slyly smiled back at her. “A bet, huh? Then, If I’m right, you have to give me... a kiss.”
Judy didn’t back down though, her smile only seemed to widen as she leaned in closer to me.
“Fine, but if I’m right instead, then you also have to give me a kiss…”
Not saying another word, the two of us stared at one another for a brief moment. A few seconds later, we embraced each other, and slowly pressed as our lips together, still under the light of the moon.