FSE

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Finnick's eyes flew open, confused about what happened. Looking out his windshield it was clear to see that had fallen asleep once again. The fennec was glad he was able to get some sleep after all, the memories of his late night agonizing coming back to haunt him. The passenger seat next to him was empty, leaving all alone.

And so it begins.

Finnick grumbled, looking down at his phone. The blinking light of a notification was going off and on. Turning the device on and unlocking the screen revealed a text Nick left him.

Srry. Didn't want to wake you. You looked so cute. I'll be back earlier today. Miss you already <3

A smile formed on Finnick's muzzle as he read the message. Usually he wouldn't respond to texts unless they were actually important but the events of last night urged him to act for once.

Bet. See you then. :)

After pressing send Finnick immediately felt embarrassed. What the hell was he thinking sending something sappy like that? The fennec sighed to himself and shrugged, figuring there was nothing he could do about it now. All that he could do was make his own rounds until Nick came back.

Nick was helping Judy organize and file reports. It was a pretty slow day at the ZPD so he was just doing anything he could to make the time burn away faster. It just so happened that doing things with Judy nearby made the slow tick of the clock just a bit more bearable. His phone laid on the edge of the table they laid the files on. With a small sound and a quick vibration Nick's screen lit up to reveal a new message from Finnick.

"That's something new," Nick thought aloud, setting his phone back down and returning his attention to the papers. He expected Judy to ask him what it was but she didn't pay attention to him at all, just flipping through sheets and putting them in the right place in an automatic fashion.

"Uh, Carrots? Jude?" Nick reached forward and snapped his paw, knocking the rabbit out of her trance.

"Huh?! Oh, Nick. Sorry, I thought you were Bogo for a second."

"Long night?"

"It's my neighbors. They kept me up all night with their constant arguing," Judy groaned, slipping a stack of papers into a folder. "I mean they've argued before, off and on, but this was all night. And the whole reason they started fighting was over different shades of red, of all things."

"Okay, Judy... So you got any plans for after work?" the fox asked, changing the subject. An uncomfortable look flashed across the rabbit's face.

"Hey, uh, Nick. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while," Judy began with a hint of worry in her voice.

Nick gave a kind and patient look. "Carrots, it's okay. Whatever it is, I got your back. You can tell me anything."

"Well, the truth is that I've been seeing someone... And things are going pretty well. I'm sorry. I should have told you earlier--"

"Wait, wait, wait. Slow down, Carrots. Why are you apologizing to me?" Nick chuckled, placing a paw on the rabbit's shoulder.

"Oh well... We've been through a lot together and I guess I just assumed you--"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm happy for you, Judy. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Oh. It's an old friend of mine from back home. His name is Gideon Grey," Judy revealed.

"Gideon Grey? The pie making Gideon Grey?" Nick asked with widened eyes.

"You know him?"

"He's a regular customer of ours. He really loves Pawpsicles if you can believe it," Nick shook his head and turned back to the papers left to be organized. "He's a good guy. Hope you take good care of him, Jude."

"Alright. If you say so," Judy smiled. "Hey, we're going out for dinner tomorrow night. How about you and Finnick join us? We can make it a double date."

The word date struck the fox. "That sounds great, but..."

"Alright then! See you and Finnick tomorrow night!" Judy took the organized papers and walked off to give them back to Bogo.

Nick returned to his space, throwing himself back in his chair. "Great..." Reaching over at the corner of the table he grabbed his phone and began to text Finnick, his new date.

Got something to tell you

He sat back in the chair, waiting for the notification to go off.

What is it?

Nick thought for a moment of how exactly he was going to tell Finnick that they were going to one of those swanky restaurants as a couple of all things. He didn't even have an idea of how Finnick would respond to something like that.

I'll tell you when I get there

***

"And you said yes?!" Finnick stammered. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Okay, I didn't say 'yes'. She cut me off before I could say anything and then she just walked off," Nick tried his best to explain. "I mean, what was I supposed to say? You should have seen her face. Even if I had the chance, how could I have said no?"

Finnick let out another groan, kicking the pile of clothes. The force made them spread all over the back of the van. Nick only rolled his eyes at Finnick's action but also felt frustrated about what the two of them should do.

"I hate places like that. It's nothing but some bunch of small ass portions for high ass prices," Finnick grumbled. "We don't even have anything to wear there anyway."

Nick looked at the angry fennec and a small smile spread across his muzzle. "Hmm. Let's just wear what we usually do. It'll be fun. We'll go there, talk a little bit and have something to eat. And maybe if we're lucky we won't have to put anything towards the bill."

Finnick turned back towards Nick, a grin on his muzzle as well. "Now we're talking! Maybe it won't be that bad, then. I'll take small meals if I can get that shit for free... Fine, I'll go."

Good ol' Finnick, Nick thought to himself.

Reaching over, Nick began to pile the clothes Finnick kicked around. There was a whole day they had to prepare for the night. As he did so his mind was wandering to what he said to Judy earlier that day. His ears perked once he realized that he had to tell Finnick what he learned.

"Hey, guess who Judy is dating?" Nick asked, tossed the last shirt into the pile. Finnck sat back in the front seat, looking out at the alleyway they were parked in. But his ears flicked at Nick's question, his interest clearly peaked. He looked back at the other fox with a raised eyebrow and a tilt of his head. Even though he never opened his muzzle to speak a single word Nick recognized the signs that he wanted to know.

"Judy's dating the pastry boy! Gideon Grey."

"Ain't that the hick that buys like 6 pops at once?" a snicker escaped Finnick's lips. "There's no way those two got together that quick. Hmm, maybe she's got a thing for foxes?"

Nick was about to tell him how ridiculous that sounded but some part of him couldn't help but consider if that could be a possibility. There were many points against it, one of them most glaring being the fox mace she carried. But there were also a few things to support Finnick's assumption.

The first time he met Judy was when they were doing one of their cons and she was all too willing to help out. Sure Judy may have shown signs of fear but for the most part when not annoyed by his antics she was, for the most part, nothing but kind and caring to him. And when their adventure was all set and done he finds out that Judy has hooked up with another fox.

"I'm telling you, Nick. I've seen this kind of shit before. I bet her whole life both parents told her how bad and dangerous foxes were. Now that Judy's grown and she met you and me... I bet that she wants to know just how bad foxes really are!" Nick shook his head as Finnick cackled.

"Well, however it happened... They're dating each other now. And Judy wants us to come so it can be a double date."

Finnick's laughter ceased upon hearing those words. Craning his neck, he eyed the red fox. Thoughts of that night came rushing back to him. Was this a chance he could use? He could finally say something. "Ah...Uh, a date. Huh?"

"Yep, just the four of us. Judy and Gideon. You and me..." Nick gave an awkward laugh.

"That wouldn't be too bad..." Finnick sniffed, looking back out the windshield. "With a few drinks I could actually have some fun...with you."

Nick smiled at the last part of that statement, hearing the bit of awkwardness in the fennec's voice. "Huh. Finnick Fennec, are you asking me out on a date?"

The fennec's breath caught in his throat, making his eyes widen. "W-well? I mean if you wanna say it like that then... I mean...Well you know."

"I know what?" Nick asked playfully, creeping up from the back of the van to the passenger seat.

"You know I care about you and all that.." Finnick trailed off, scratching at one of his ears. He felt both burning hot and ice cold at the same time, it became hard for him to swallow against the swelling sensation of his throat. He felt something on his shoulder and looked over to see Nick placed his paw on his shoulder and gazed into his eyes.

"Finnick I feel...that...same way. You know, more than as a best friend. I have for a while now," Nick admitted, feeling a weight of sorts being lifted off of him.

But there was something he needed to know from Finnick. He cleared his throat and asked the question that was burning in his mind.

"Finnick, do you love me?" Nick asked simply.

Finnick felt struck in place as if he was being forced between Nick and a wall. He had no idea why it felt so suffocating. All Finnick wanted to do was answer the question as easily as Nick could admit how he felt. Taking a deep breath and another moment to focus on nothing else but the words he wanted to say. Slowly he looked up at Nick, gazing into the shimmering emerald eyes like he had many times before.

Nick's eyes widened, giving a soft noise of surprise at Finnick grabbing his collar and pulling him in. The moment Nick's muzzle drew close enough Finnick leaned forwards to connect his own. Finnick put his small paws on both sides of Nick's muzzle, trying to pull him in closer. Finnick was the first to break away from the kiss, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Fourteen years," Finnick admitted, his eyes misting. "I wanted to do that for fourteen years."

Nick chuckled and cocked his head. "You still didn't answer the question."

"Come on, Nick! Ever after I just-- Whatever...I love you, Nick Wilde. There I said it," Finnick stood up in the seat. Even though he stomped his paw against the leather a smile crept across his muzzle.

"That's all I wanted to hear," Nick said, reclining back in the seat. Finnick eased up and flopped down in his seat as well. "You know. I wanted to tell you this after dinner tomorrow but...I found a place."

"What kind of place?" the skeptic fennec mumbled.

"I'll show you tomorrow night after our first date," Nick said as he planted a kiss between Finnick's ears.

***

"Hope they didn't expect us to dress up for this," Finnick mumbled. He had parked the van and walked side by side with Nick through the restaurant's parking lot

"Oh, come on. You look great," Nick smiled down at him. Though Finnick just wore his usual clothes Nick thought that he looked perfect for the night. What he was wearing himself was no better. But it was better to just go in and own it rather than agonizing over what couldn't be changed.

"Alright, fine. But you're a little too excited to be looked at like a freak."

"Hey, don't be like that," Nick said. "We're gonna have a good time."

"I don't know, Nick. I've done a lot of thinking about this and I'm just saying that three foxes and a rabbit is not a good look," Finnick stated.

"You worry too much," Nick assured, leaning down to pet Finnick's ears. "We're gonna have fun and when it's all set and done we'll check out the apartment."

Meanwhile inside the establishment Judy and Gideon were chatting among each other.

"Yeah, Nick's gonna bring Finnick. He told me that you already know each other," Judy smiled.

"Yeah, I do. But... Shoot, Judy I gotta admit. I'm awful nervous," Gideon hissed to the rabbit.

"Why? What's wrong?" Judy asked, placing her paw on Gideon's.

Gideon leaned close, eyes darting from the rest of the patrons and back to Judy. "I mean... Take a good look around this place. I'm the only fox in this whole place, hell, I'm the only pred in this whole place. I don't think they'll take too kindly to three foxes all at once. I don't wanna ruin this night for you or any of your friends.

Judy considered Gideon's words but couldn't believe anything bad would happen. She knew all three of the foxes. Sure Finnick may look pretty threatening from a distance but just like Nick and Gideon he was good at heart.

"Oh, look. Here they come now," Gideon said, motioning at the two foxes approaching from the other side of the window. Nick and Finnick were walking side by side inside, quickly finding the table.

"Hey, guys. Looking good, Jude." Nick complimented the purple dress the rabbit wore that perfectly matched her eyes. It was rare for him to see Judy dressed so casually. But his gazing was cut short by both Finnick and Gideon staring him down.

"Oh. Sorry. Gideon, I'd like you to properly meet me and my boyfriend Finnick," Nick introduced.

"Hey, nice to meet you," Finnick said in his deep toned voice, coming as a surprise to the heavier red fox.

"Well, it's great to meet you, too," Gideon greeted warmly.

At that moment the waiter approached the table. He was a rather tall zebra dressed in fancy attire. "What will we be having today?" he asked before actually taking a look at the patrons before him. Once his eyes landed upon the three foxes before him the zebra let out an audible gasp, taking a few steps away from the table.

The zebra cleared his throat and turned his focus to Judy. "Excuse me, madame. Is everything alright?"

"Aw shit. See, I told you this would happen," Finnick hissed to Nick and Gideon.

"Oh no. I'm fine thank you," Judy chuckled politely, picking up her menu.

What the hell? There's no way she can't see what's really going on, Finnick thought to himself.

"Mmm-hmmm," the zebra mumbled. "Excuse me a moment. I'll return shortly." With that he turned around and walked as quickly as he could into the kitchen.

"Maybe we should leave, Judy," Gideon recommended with a worried tone to his voice. "I got a bad feelin' from the look that zebra gave us."

"Yeah, I agree with barley boy," Finnick nodded fervently. Just as Finnick and Gideon were about to get up the zebra returned to their table. But along with him came two buffalos wearing black suits with red ties. Both of them carried looks about them that gave no sign of anything good.

"Terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but we gotta ask you guys to leave the premises." One of the buffalo spoke in a low, gruff tone.

"On what grounds?" Despite his better judgement Nick dared to ask the question.

"On the grounds that you're making the other patrons nervous and uncomfortable. Furthermore we have the right to refuse service," the other bull answered.

"We'd be more than happy to offer you a refund," the zebra spoke, once again only referring to Judy.

"The rest of you can wait outside for her," the first buffalo spoke in a demanding voice. The three foxes got from their seats without any hesitation. Not only was the sheer size of both bulls a factor of why, but it also had to do with the second buffalo's hoof hovering his side the whole conversation.

"They were gonna pull a fucking gun on us..." Finnick shook his head. The three foxes were standing out in the parking lot trying to process what had just happened.

"The nerve of them folks..." Gideon snarled, balling his fist. "Those goddamn, low down, dirty mother--" The sound of Judy's heels clicking against the concrete gained all three vulpine's attention.

"Judy! How did it go?" Gideon asked, rushing up to his date.

"Not so well," she said, looking down at the ground. "Sorry, guys. I wanted this to be fun, but instead it was all just a disaster.

"Now don't you go blaming yourself," Gideon shook his head. "You were perfect back there. It was those guys in there who ruined it."

"Thanks, Gid." Judy sighed. "But I think I'm gonna head home. It was nice meeting with you guys tonight." Gideon walked her back to her car, leaving Nick and Finnick behind.

"Oh, look at Lover Boy here," Nick teased upon Gideon's return.

Gideon smirked and crossed his arms. "That's funny coming from the two of you. It's a real shame what happened, but don't worry too much about it. I'll make it up to her later on."

"Well as long as we're all out, how bout some drinks?" Gideon asked the other foxes.

"Hell yeah. Shit's just what I need...Almost got shot over a damn table.." Finnick grumbled to himself as he stomped towards his van. Nick and Gideon followed close behind him. After being helped into the seat Finnick started the engine while Nick and Gideon climbed inside.

"Why don't we pick up some drinks and we can chill out at our new apartment," Nick suggested. Finnick said nothing but agreed that it wouldn't be too bad an idea.