Chapter Text
“First Dates for Dummies.”
This was the book that Judy was reading in her apartment. How someone was able to make an entire book for a first date is anyone’s guess, but Judy was thankful, as she was about to go on her first one ever tonight.
Nick was the one who asked her, and he explicitly used the word date, not hang out, not dinner, not any other word. He said, exactly, if she wanted to go on a date tonight. Judy had never been asked out since… ever. The book said that it was completely normal for people to be nervous on a first date, cause that shows you care about the other person, but for her it was doubly so. She had taken down corrupt mayors and evil business families without her fear getting the better of her, but this was worse than both of those combined.
Her first obstacle came sooner than expected. The book said to dress into something nice and wear some makeup if you had any. The dress wasn’t the problem, she still had the one she wore for when they went undercover. The real problem was the makeup, as she didn’t have any in her place. Everything she had there was practical, which worked for her lifestyle until this very moment.
“Cheese and Crackers!” Judy said to herself as she rubbed her palms against her face. “It’s ok, I can just get myself some makeup before tonight! But what do I get? Is there makeup for bunnies?”
“There’s makeup for anything if you put your mind to it!” Her neighbor, Pronk, shouted through the wall.
“Is she still talking to herself about her date!?” Bucky said.
“Of course she is, it’s normal for her to be nervous!”
“Well, don’t you think your shouting at her only adds to her pressure!?”
“I’m just trying to help! She was talking about makeup and-”
Judy finally spoke. “I’m fine, you guys!”
“I don’t believe that!” Pronk said.
“Yeah, the way you were talking to yourself made it seem you were not fine!” Bucky added.
Judy sighed. “I just ran into a snag with something, but I can-”
“It was about makeup! Doesn’t sound like she has any!” Pronk said.
“... you’re right, I don’t but again I-”
“That’s it?” Bucky said. “Pronk, you could help fix Judy up before her date!”
“Why me!?” Pronk replied.
“You used to do drag, remember?”
“Only once, and I got second place in the contest!”
“It’s better than being last place like I did!”
“I remember! That’s how we met!”
Judy finally spoke. “That really isn’t necessary!”
“You won’t be saying that when you see the work he’s done on you!” Bucky said.
Pronk sighed. “Fine, you’re lucky I love you!”
“I love you too! Judy, get in here!”
Judy knew that there was no point in arguing with them, so she accepted defeat and left her apartment, walking over to her neighbor’s door. Before she could knock, the door already opened, revealing Bucky in the doorway.
“Step right in, Judy!” He said as he pointed to his husband, standing next to a recliner chair with a makeup brush in his left hand.
Judy was about to say something, but Bucky grabbed her and threw her onto the chair before she could. “Now hold still.” Pronk said. “This requires precision!”
For the next thirty minutes, Pronk applied eyeliners, powder, and various other makeup tools to her face. It honestly felt more like an operation than anything else, especially with Pronk asking his husband to hand him tools as he worked. Finally, he stopped and put the recliner chair back up before giving Judy a mirror. She gasped as she saw herself with eyelashes larger than any rabbit she ever knew. And with the blush and highlights, she felt more like a celebrity than she already was.
“Wow… thank you guys.” Judy said, her eyes never leaving her reflection.
“Told you he was the best!” Bucky said before pulling out Judy’s dress. “And the look goes great with your dress!”
“... How did you get that?” Judy asked.
Nick stood in front of the mirror of his bathroom, looking over himself in painstaking detail. Tonight would be a special night, and he had to look the best for Judy. Despite being the one asking her out, he was a nervous wreck. The number one rule of his previous profession was not to lose your cool, and he was failing that miserably. Nick looked over the tuxedo he kept from the gala and thought that everything looked good, but he couldn’t tell if there was really something missing or if his brain was playing tricks on him.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nick gave a sigh of relief before running to the door and answering it, revealing Gary De’Snake, his second opinion.
“Oh Gary, thank goodness you’re here.” Nick said as he let the snake in. “Be honest, how do I look?”
“You look really handsome!” Gary replied.
“Are you sure? Because I look like a sly fox trying to dress up as a gentleman.”
“You said to be honest, so I am.”
“How about Judy, do you think she’ll like this?”
“She did say you were handsome in it. If it makes you feel better, she’s nervous for this date too.”
“Well, glad I’m not alone then.”
“You’ve been with Judy lots of times now, just treat it like you would normally.”
“I wish I could, Gary, but tonight is different.”
“How so?”
Nick took a sigh before speaking. “I want to tell her… that I love her… that I really love her.”
Gary’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh… really?”
“Is that a bad idea?”
“No, no, not at all! Is that why you asked her out?”
Nick nodded. “We opened up a lot since we first met ya, but there were more feelings I had for her than I admitted. Or maybe these feelings came later, I don’t know. What I do know is that she’s very important to me, and I want to cherish her like the gem she is. And tonight, I wanna tell her how much she really means to me.”
Gary slithered his tail around Nick’s shoulder. “I know for a fact that Judy will appreciate what you have to say. She cares so much for you, so don’t be afraid to say how you feel.”
“But… what if she doesn’t see me that way?”
“The only way to find out is to ask her yourself.”
Nick gave Gary a smile. “Thanks, Gary.” He said before giving the snake a hug. In response, Gary wrapped himself around Nick as gently as he could to reciprocate. After their hug, Nick fixed his bowtie and went out the door, more ready than ever to confess to his partner.
Gary smiled as he watched Nick leave. Funny enough, Judy told Gary that SHE wanted to confess to him tonight as well.
Judy approached the café where their date would be. She had arrived early, yet she saw a familiar figure sit at one of the tables. As she was walked closer, Judy realized who this was.
“Nick!?” Judy shouted.
“Hey Carrots!” Nick said before getting a good look at her. “Wow… you look great.”
Nick was trying his hardest not to stare, but it was hard because she looked absolutely stunning. He remembered how pretty Judy was when she first wore that dress at the Gala, trying his best to keep cool and not let her know how he felt, but now she looked like a movie star.
“Th-thanks.” Judy replied as she admired Nick in his suit. He always did look handsome in it, and he even had a flower in his chest pocket, which made the look better for her. “You’re early.”
“I-I know. You were going to be early so I wanted to beat you to the punch.”
Judy laughed as she sat across from him. Throughout the rest of the evening, they talked like they usually did, laughing as they had their drinks and talked about their weirdest moments at work or what their friends and families did one time. It was just like any other time they had together, but both knew that this would be different.
Eventually night came, and they found themselves in view of the full moon, which probably explained why they could hear wolf howls (then again they would howl even without it). It was as if it was a natural spotlight, pushing them to confess their feelings soon.
“I-I had a really good time tonight.” Judy said.
“Really? That’s… that’s good, me too.” Nick replied.
For a moment there was silence, then they spoke. “I just want-” they both said in unison before stopping.
“You go first.” Judy said.
“No, you go, I insist.” Nick said.
Judy took a deep breath. “I just want to say that… you’re… we’ve been… darn it, this is harder than I thought.”
“You ok?”
“Yeah, I’m ok. More than ok, actually. I’m… really happy to be with you, Nick. I know we’ve had issues, but if it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be writing up tickets or back home at the farm. You mean so much to me, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. But I… I don’t just want to be partners at work, I want to be your partner… in life too.”
“Judy…”
“I love you, you sly fox. And I mean really love you.”
For a moment, Nick said and did nothing. But then a smile came to his lips, as well as some tears down his cheeks.
“Nick?”
“Oh, crap.” He said as he wiped the tears away with a napkin. “S-sorry about that, thought I had something in my eye. But I guess I’m just that happy! I was… gonna say the same thing tonight!’
“Nick…”
“I was gonna go on about instead of saying ‘I love you’ once a decade I’m gonna say it every chance I get, but I guess you beat me to it. And what’s better is you… feel the same way! I love you too, Judy!”
Judy felt herself getting teary-eyed as she got up onto the table and kissed him on the lips, and it was the best kiss either of them ever had. Time seemed to freeze as they slowly backed away to look into each other’s eyes, processing the tender moment they just had.
“Looks like… I’m not the only one crying.” Nick said as he pointed toward the mascara dripping down Judy’s cheeks.
“Oh, dang it.” Judy said before Nick handed her a napkin to wipe it off. “I’m such a mess.”
“Well, I’m glad we can be messes together.” Nick said before they continued their kiss, savoring it longer this time. “It’s weird… I don’t want to leave you tonight.”
“Me neither.” Judy said. “Come home with me.”
“You don’t even need to ask.”
And soon enough, the two left their table, on their way to Judy’s apartment to continue their embrace. Neither knew what the future for them held, but right now all they had was each other and the moonlight.
… as well as Bucky and Pronk’s happy faces.
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