FSE

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"I didn't think we would still be doing this," Finnick mumbled through his elephant costume.

"Aw, come on. We have a good thing going on here. I couldn't just stop what we started," Nick responded. He watched the smaller vulpine getting ready for another day of hustling. Finnick's ears got stuck, bringing about a cursing fit from behind the van.

"Are you ready yet?" the red fox called, leaning against the open back doors of the van.

"Yeah, shit. This thing must be getting smaller.." Finnick groaned through the costume's fabric.

Nick let out a scoff, turning to look at the elephant-disguised fox. "Aw, is my little man putting on some pounds? Maybe he should cut back on the Jumbo Pops."

Finnick stomped his foot and pointed a paw at the bigger fox. "Shut the hell up, Wilde!" He jumped out of the van, striding forwards. Nick closed them both, making sure the van was locked.

"Now, come on. This stroller ain't gonna push itself," the fennec demanded, raising his arms. Nick just rolled his eyes and reached down to pick up and cradle his business partner. He carefully placed Finnick in the stroller, making sure that he was secure.

"Just like old times, huh?" Nick asked, pushing the stroller through the city's plaza. "You know I kinda missed them... and you...a little."

"Aye, no sappy shit on the job!" Finnick hissed, snapping his digits. "We got rounds to make."

The hustle of the day was a lemonade stand set up to make money so little Finnick could afford a trip to the famous resorts in Sahara Square. Of course seeing a cute little fox, who just happened to want to be an elephant on top of that, many of their patrons felt the urge to donate as much extra as they could. They kept up at it until the sun began to see. Together they thanked the last of their customers and gathered everything they made.

"This is the most we made in a long time," Finnick grinned under his costume, flipping the thick stack of bills in his paws. Nick pushed the stroller back towards Finnick's van, eager to rest after the long day on his paws.

"You really need a place of your own", Finnick grumbled as Nick lifted him out of the stroller. He reached into his costume to reveal his car keys. With a press of the button he unlocked the doors of the vehicle. Nick had no actual home of his own, instead the two foxes shared the van.

"Aw, come on. This is my home. Our home all our own," the red fox stated dramatically, waving his paws, gesturing to the entirety of the van. Finnick only rolled his eyes, hopping into the back of the van. Nick climbed in after him, pulling in the folded stroller and closing the doors. "Besides you wouldn't know what to do without me."

Finnick was struggling to pull the costume off of himself, his ears getting stuck once again. Nick helped him out, pulling it off and tossing into the corner of the van. Nick held back some laughter seeing the small fox in nothing but his boxers now shuffling around his things for proper clothes. "You're welcome?"

"Hey, I'm a grown ass fox. I can take care of myself," Finnick growled, fishing out a shirt to wear.

"Hmm," Nick was sure that he was the only one in the world who could care so much about a tiny fox that did nothing but complain and growl all day. But he couldn't help it. He had known the fellow vulpine basically his whole life. He had seen sides of Finnick most would have never thought existed within him.

Nick shuffled closer and grinned. "You know what your problem is?" He asked in a serious tone to his voice.

"What?" Finnick grunted, feeling a little prick of unease from the bigger foxes' tone.

"You're just too damn cute!" He scooped Finnick up, snuggling close to his chest.

"Hey, Nick. Put me down, dammit!" Finnick's snarls fell on deaf ears. "I'm not cute--" His rant was interrupted by Nick's tongue swiping across his cheek. His mind drew a blank, completely forgetting what he was going to say. Instead he just gave a defeated sigh and let Nick get it all out of his system.

"Don't worry. Soon I'll find a place, maybe an apartment. But it'll be one of those nice ones," Nick smiled to himself, picturing it.

"Oh, really?" Finnick sniffed, pulling a shirt over his head.

"Yep, and you'll be there too. There's gonna be more than enough room for you," Nick teased. Finnick gave a frustrated groan at the words but deep down he liked the sound of that. He loved his van but the idea of sharing an actual place with Nick sounded... A yawn escaped his muzzle.

"Aww, is my little guy tired?" Nick asked the fennec, climbing into the front seat.

"Screw you..." Finnick growled as he reclined the seat back.

"Love you," Nick called.

"Whatever," Finnick responded, closing his eyes. Hidden from Nick's view was a small smile stretched across the fennec's muzzle.

***

Finnick's sleep was interrupted by the sunlight filtering through the front windshield. With a groan and a yawn he sat up and stretched. His ears flicked from the small noises coming from the back of the van. Nick was sleeping peacefully, a blanket wrapped tight around himself.

He's even cuter than me when he's sleeping, Finnick thought to himself. Heh. Cute. Feels a bit weird to be calling someone else cute for once.

For a while now the fennec was the victim of Nick's endless flirting and unexpected cuddling. The anger Finnick showed at those times was just a front he put up. Deep down he loved every second of attention and interaction he had with Nick. But for some reason he just couldn't admit it. His body wouldn't let him; even when he felt like he was melting in Nick's embrace it translated on the outside as irritation and insults.

"One of these days..." the fennec mumbled to himself, climbing out of the front seat. Stumbling around the many clothes piling up behind the seat, Finnick stopped over the sleeping fox.

"Come on, Nick. Get up. You're gonna be late for your job," Finnick nudged the sleeping fox with his foot, rocking him back and forth. Nick only gave a sleepy mumble and turned rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head. "Get up, Nick! Don't make me use the horn again."

Slowly Nick pulled the blanket down, revealing his upper half. His eyes were still closed and he murmured something in a faint tone even Finnick could barely hear it.

"What was that?" Finnick asked, leaning down closer to hear.

"You have to kiss the prince to wake him up," a grin spread across the red fox's muzzle, his emerald eyes shining playfully.

"Come on, Wilde." Finnick prodded his foot into Nick again, shaking his head. "You only got an hour until your job starts."

"Ah! I overslept!" Nick shouted, throwing the blanket off of himself and rising to his paws. "Hey, is it too much to ask for you to drive me to Judy's place?"

Finnick shrugged, turning around to climb over the clothes and back into the driver's seat. "Sure, whatever. If it'll get you the hell out of my face faster." On the drive to Judy's apartment Nick was putting on his uniform in a rush.

"Relax, you're making me nervous," Finnick groaned, his eyes darting from the road back to Nick. The drive to the rabbit's apartment wasn't a long one at all. There was still plenty of time but the bigger fox was rushing like his life depended on it. For all Finnick knew, maybe it did. He never pried about Nick's job for obvious reasons. He didn't like the idea of Nick working for the fuzz but if it brought in some extra cash then he would at least help Nick get there and back.

"You're a real lifesaver, Finn." Nick sighed, as Finnick found a place to park. They arrived at the apartment complex Judy lived at. "I'll bring something back for you. Love ya.." The fox dressed in blue hopped out the van and bolted towards the complex.

"Whatever..." Finnick grumbled, his ears lowering. He stayed in the spot for a little while, watching Judy stepping out of the complex to meet with Nick. The fennec couldn't hear what they were saying but Nick was smiling and laughing at her words. Judy led Nick to her car and they soon drove away, honking at Finnick before driving off.

Left alone, Finnick was stuck in his head now. All he could think about was the joy on Nick's muzzle talking to the rabbit. He felt ridiculous about it but the small fox couldn't help but imagine himself in Judy's position, making Nick laugh with his words and making him smile. Why couldn't he do that in real life? What made that so hard for him?

Every time Nick flirted with him or said something snarky the fennec's muzzle would curl into a pissed off snarl. It was something that he just couldn't help, it was automatic. He had known Nick his whole life and the red fox for the longest got a kick out of purposefully annoying him. And now it seemed to be the only thing Finnick was capable of towards his friend. And he hated that. He hated that his only response was hostility. And the fact that Nick responded with kindness and more silly shit only pissed him off more. It pissed him off because he wasn't strong enough to say what he actually meant.

Love ya... Nick saying that was so easy for him to imagine...

"Love you, too..." Finnick managed to say clearly only when he was by himself.

***

At the Zootopia Police Department, Judy was showing Nick how the local surveillance systems work. Things like how to switch cameras set up around a location, how to control cameras that could move and even how to play back captured footage.

"And you can start the playback from any point," Judy explained.

"Hey, isn't this how you found Emmet back then?" Nick asked, remembering their adventure in the Rainforest District.

"Yeah, but I didn't have anyone to teach me," Judy explained, chuckling. "I'm surprised that I actually figured it out."

Nick eyed a small blue button that Judy had yet to point out. "Hey, Jude. What does this one do?"

Judy looked at the button he was referring to. She took a moment to think about it, trying to remember what Clawhauser told her. "Oh! That's the audio. It let's you hear the noises that the camera recorded. Only a few of them have an audio feature right now. See, here's one of my favorites."

She clicked a few buttons, making her way around the files held on the footage, looking for something in particular.

"Pawpsicle! Get yourself a Pawpsicle, here!" The recording of Nick and an elephant dressed Finnick attempted to get the attention of the passerby animals.

"Stop it, that's embarrassing," Nick laughed. He turned the audio off and panned a little lower on the playback, zooming in on Finnick in particular.

"Hmm. Maybe I could convince Finnick to switch it up. Get him a new costume, ooh it could be a zebra," Nick chuckled at the idea.

"Ha! You would not do that to Finnick!," Judy giggled at the idea as well. "You might get a couple of bruises before you get it on him."

"It would be worth it," Nick sighed, reclining back into his chair.

"Well it looks like you know the ropes. I'll leave you to it," Judy waved goodbye as she left to return to her cubicle.

"Bye," Nick called after her in a singsong tone. With nothing in particular to do Nick spun around in his chair. All he had to do was sit around and wait for the last 30 minutes of his shift to burn away. His mind drifted to Finnick once again.

Huh, Finnick in a zebra costume might be better for business, Nick thought smiling.

His ears twitched as he heard someone approaching. He swiveled around to see Chief Bogo. "Officer Wilde, I know this is your first day on the force; but I will not tolerate lollygagging in my department," the water buffalo stated as he kept walking by his office.

"I want you to stop by Clawhauser's station. Here, give this note to him," Bogo told him, handing him an unmarked letter. "This is your first assignment. Do not fail." With those final words, the Chief walked off to observe the acts of the other officers.

"...Alright, then," Nick huffed to himself, looking at the letter in his paws. With nothing else to really do he got up and made his way to the lobby of the building.

"Yes, ZPD. How can we help you? Hmm. Oh. Sir, I'm sorry but this is an emergency line only. Yes. Y-Yes. Thank you." The cheetah put the phone back down with a bored expression on his face.

"Uh, Ben-- Clawhauser? The Chief wanted me to give you this," Nick told him, handing the cheetah the letter.

"Oh, thanks Wilde. Let me just..." Benjamin dragged a claw across the top of the envelope and pulled the paper out. His eyes darted from left to right as he read the contents.

"Aw. Oh my gosh, Bo." Ben giggled.

"Hmm?" Nick questioned.

"Oh, nothing." Ben smiled, putting the letter back in the envelope and setting in on the dash behind him. "Thank you, Officer Wilde, I'll tell the Chief that I got the letter." Clawhauser's tone of voice was serious but it was clear to see that the cheetah was trying not to smile.

"And if I'm not mistaken, your shift is over," Benjamin confirmed looking at the clock. "Thanks for your work today."

"Uh, thanks. See ya then." Nick waved to the cheetah and soon clocked out for the day.

He walked out on the sidewalk outside of the ZPD. And to his surprise Finnick was already parked against the curb, waiting for him.

"Huh, so you did miss me," Nick teased.

"Nope," Finnick growled. But his earlier thoughts caught up to him. He lowered the shades he was wearing and looked at Nick directly in the eye. "Hmm. Maybe a little."

"I knew it!" Nick hopped in the van and quickly buckled his seat belt.

"Whatever," Finnick rolled his eyes, feeling a blush creeping across his muzzle.

"I knew that you cared!"

"Whatever you gotta tell yourself.."

***

Finnick woke up and checked the time on the radio.

3:41 A.M.

He tried to drift back to sleep, but it didn't come back to him. Hearing a familiar sound next to him, Nick fast asleep in the passenger seat.

Why is he so cute when he sleeps? Finnick thought to himself. Letting out a sigh the small fox looked up through the dashboard for the stars twinkling high above him. There were so many of them, all over the place. Too many to count, filling the entire sky. It only made Finnick frustrated thinking about it.

Should I ever tell him? I really want him to know. But would he even take me seriously?

Finnick remembered all the times Nick was there for him. Lending him money to fix the van. Helping him reach things high up that he couldn't reach. And going along with any scheme he came up with.

They had been through so much together and all he wanted to do was tell Nick how much he appreciated that. All the times he stuck by him, even when Nick got dragged in his bullshit. It didn't matter how bad things got or whatever insult Finnick threw at the other vulpine. Nick was always there with that smile and cracking jokes as if it never happened.

Finnick suspected that maybe Finnick saw through his anger. They had been best friends since middle school. Maybe Nick knew him so well that he knew Finnick's rage was just his way of showing he cared. But that bothered Finnick; he didn't want Nick to have to see through his words to find the true meaning. He wanted to let Nick know straight up that no matter how many times the red fox pissed him off he would always be there for him, just as Nick was for him.

He hated wearing that stupid ass elephant costume and pretending to be baby. But he did it because it was a good idea Nick came up with. At the end of the day when the costume came off Nick would maybe make one joke about it but he would never tease the fennec any further about it. That was something Finnick wasn't sure would be the same case for him if the roles were reversed. Nick saw him for who he really was and accepted the angry part of himself as well. His rage was something that got in the way of a lot of past relationships. But Nick was still there through them all. He was always there, a true friend.

But that was also bothering the fennec. The feelings for Nick were developing past just years of friendship. Even when he dated cute girls he found at bars and clubs Nick was always somehow in the back of his mind. It was something he was afraid to admit. But when Nick looked at him with those green eyes that seemed to peer into his goddamn soul he felt every part of himself lock up.

But now there was someone else and that scared him. There was someone else he was looking at with those emerald eyes. That bunny cop, Judy. He didn't hate her or anything like that. But he did carry a fear that she would snatch Nick up and away from him. He already had hours at work with her, it was only a matter of time before they got together. Nick would spend more and more time with her instead of him.

The idea of not seeing Nick as often made him upset but even worse was the idea of Nick blowing him off to do things with Judy. And one day Nick would move in with her, leaving him all alone in his van. Sure Nick would come by to see him but every word out of his mouth would be about her. How great she is and how he should come by and meet her. And he would have to pretend to be okay with it.

The idea of that sounded like pure hell to the fennec. Looking back over to the sleeping fox's face a warm feeling washed over the fennec's being.

"Damn it," Finnick thought aloud, making sure to keep his voice down. The second fox looked so peaceful and he didn't want to interrupt that. His mind couldn't help but wander, imagining himself in the arms of the sleeping fox. Nick held onto him, stroking between his ears softly. Finnick saw himself holding onto Nick, embracing his affections. A smile spread across his muzzle as Nick would hold him and tell him how much he loved him.

"Fuck," Finnick choked. Why was a silly daydream hitting him so hard?

And for once he would tell Nick that he loved him back, that he loved every moment he spent with Nick and never wanted moments like those to never end. He wanted so desperately for something like that to become a reality. Finnick wanted to feel Nick's arms wrapping around him and his voice in his ears.

Get it together, Finnick. You just gotta tell him. Just get it off my chest. Yeah. I'll tell him tomorrow.