A/N: I apologize for the three month wait on this Chapter, but the good thing is, that it's out before Valentine's Day. Anyways, enjoy reading this long, exciting Chapter.

With Fur There Is Love

Chapter 7: Love's Arrow to the Heart

Nick felt a tingling sensation rush down his spine as his eyes burst open. He felt groggy and a little chilly, his left arm numb from sleeping on it awkwardly. Lying a foot away was Judy. The little bunny snuggled deep into her sleeping bag. The air in the tent felt heavy and damp as Nick withdrew himself from his comfortable sleeping bag.

He threw on a pair of cargo shorts and a black t-shirt and quietly unzipped the tent, stepping outside into the chilly morning air. A light fog had settled over the forest floor and Nick couldn't see more than maybe fifty feet. His breath only proved that it was fairly cold outside, but it didn't really seem to bother the young fox.

His stomach began to grumble as food popped into his mind. So without disturbing Judy, he grabbed the cooler out of the tent and zipped it closed. Nick set the cooler down on a nearby, low-sitting stump and opened it up.

He immediately thought of about five different things he could make for him and Judy. But then his eyes set upon some apples and a knife. Since he was a kid, he used to make them all the time and he figured Judy would be impressed by them.

"Let's make some apple swans," Nick said excitedly.

Reaching his forearm into the cooler, he snatched up a couple apples, a cutting board, some other assorted fruits, a knife, and some extra utensils. He decided to start with the apple swans since they were going to take a few moments to create.

Nick then proceeded to cut each apple in half on the cutting board he placed down on another stump, removing the seeds and putting them aside. He laid both halves of the apples face down and then cut right angles out of two of the halves to make wings. Repeating this process to get five pieces, he stacked the wings together and it looked beautiful. He then did the same process on the other two halves, to make two sets of wings. Smiling at his progress, he carefully made a small slit on the center of the apple half to make a slot for the head.

He then picked up the other two halves of the apples and cut it each horizontally four times and picked up the piece that had a heart shape. Making 3 strategic cuts to that piece, he made the shape of a swan head, and pressed two of the apple seeds into it, making two eyes. He carefully stuck the head into the slot he made and the apple swan was complete.

He put the fully constructed apple swans onto a paper plate, and he grabbed a few strawberries out of its container. He then made slight cuts into the strawberries, and fanned them out like rose petals. Repeating this process, he then surrounded the apple swan with many strawberry roses, topping each one with a mulberry.

Judy's breakfast was then complete. Smiling at his creation, Nick took a picture of it with his phone, and then heard a zipper noise nearby. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Judy stepping out of the tent and zipping it back up from behind her. Judy was wearing blue jeans and her pink plaid shirt. Nick thought it looked nice on her, it reminded him of the day they made up under the bridge. He put away his phone and had his back to her.

"Morning, Nick! How did you sleep?" Judy said, yawning as she stretched her arms out wide. Nick thought of what to say as he kept holding the plate of beautifully designed fruits.

"I was a little restless last night. I guess I was worried about some things going on in my life," he said monotonously, keeping his head down. Judy's ears shifted in concern. "But, it's nothing, Carrots, don't worry. I made you breakfast, you want to see?" Nick asked as he had a smile on his face.

"Yes, I do, please, show me!" Judy said enthusiastically as Nick turned around and showed her the breakfast he created. Judy was immediately amazed and mesmerized by the vivid, bright colors of the fruit assembled on the plate. "Nick! It's so beautiful and looks delicious!" she said, jumping in joy as she takes the plate of apple swans and strawberry roses into her paws and nibbles on one of the mulberries, smiling at the taste.

"I'm glad you like it. My mom taught me how to do it when I was a kid. Just a few simple cuts here and there and then you have swans. It's really all in the technique," Nick explained. "Anyway, do you want to plan out the day? I'll start up a fire."

"Sounds good. I'll grab our chairs," Judy said, as she set down her plate.

Nick approached the fire pit and began to build up a teepee of kindling. He set moss in the center and sprayed a little bit of oil onto it. Using his multi-tool, he began to create sparks to ignite a small flame. The flame took no time in starting up and soon the heat spanned out across the campsite.

Judy had returned with the chairs by the time he had finished. "Wow! That was fast," Judy said.

Nick shrugged. "What can I say? I'm good at starting fires." He leaned over a snatched a few blueberries out of the cooler and began to eat them, savoring their sweet taste.

Judy set up the chairs and took a seat with her food in her lap. She bit off the wings of one of her apple swans before Nick shoved a small handful of blueberries into his mouth. Judy giggled watching him.

"You love blueberries, don't you?" she laughed, eating another strawberry rose. Nick nodded as his mouth was filled with blueberries, swallowing them after a few seconds of chewing.

"Yes I do!" he laughed, closing the top of the blueberry container. "So, Carrots, what shall we do today? Go for a swim? Go for a hike to those flowerbeds?" Nick asked, twiddling his thumbs. Judy went over to her duffle bag to pull out her swimsuit.

"How about we hit the waters and go swimming?" she suggested. "The water looks very clear and refreshing." She watched Nick grab his swim trunks.

"I'll wait outside for you to get changed, and then I'll change?" Nick asked as Judy nodded. He then went outside the tent and patiently waited for Judy to change into her swimsuit.

Minutes later, she came out of the tent, wearing a red two piece suit, which was a little revealing, but still quite modest. Only less than half of her stomach was showing.

"You look nice in that swimsuit Judy. Not too modest and not too revealing either for my taste," Nick smiled, heading inside the tent as Judy's cheeks turned a slight red. Nick came out a few minutes later wearing green swim trunks with white flowers dotted around it.

"Well, I'm ready to hit the lake," he announced.

"Race you!" Judy said, as she bolted towards the beach.

Nick grew shocked, but he started to Chase after her, but almost immediately felt exhausted. "Hey, no fair. You had a head start," he called.

"I told you to work on your cardio," she called back. "All that cardio training paid off, for me!" she laughed, almost to the lake, which got Nick to speed up, almost passing Judy before they both stopped at the shore. Nick panted heavily as he stopped, Judy letting out a chuckle.

Once Nick caught his breath, he made his way towards the crystal clear water. He dipped his foot in and immediately pulled it out. "Aye! That's cold!"

"Shall we go in at the same time?" Judy asked, facing the water. Nick nodded with a sly smile.

"Alright, on 3…" Nick started. "1… 2… 3!" he began running in place to make it seem he ran with her, and it worked. Judy ran straight into the cold water, her shrieking.

"Ayeee! That's really cold!" she shouted as she tried to get herself used to the cold water. "Nick, where are you?" she then said, noticing he wasn't in with her. She spotted him on the sand still, smirking. Her expression quickly changed. "NICK! How dare you trick me like that!"

Nick shook his head and laughed. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart," he responded, setting his towel and sunglasses down as he then went into the water with her, having about the same reaction Judy did.

After a few minutes of getting their bodies adjusted to the water, they swam out deeper into the lake. "It's really quite refreshing, isn't it?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, it really is," Judy responded, not even looking at Nick.

"What are you looking at?" Nick asked, his curiosity spiking.

"Nothing, I'm just admiring the scenery. That's what makes lakes ten times better than pools. You just can't get the same views or relaxation. Besides, public pools are very chaotic," she explained.

"I can agree with you there. I've always wanted to have a log cabin, just sitting beside a gorgeous lake like this. Wake up every morning like this would be the life," Nick said.

"That sounds wonderful, Nick. I would want to do the same," Judy smiled, diving underwater for a couple seconds before coming back up. When she came back to the surface, Nick splashed her, smirking. "What was that for?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Splash fight!" he shouted, splashing her wildly. Judy shrieked and laughed, quickly splashing his face, following by many more splashes. Nick chuckled and kept splashing her shoulders and face, but was no match for her nimble arms splashing him. "I didn't think you were this good!" he laughed. Judy kept splashing him with no mercy.

"Apparently I am this good!" Judy said eagerly, continuing her attack. Nick smirked and dove underwater, quickly swimming to get behind her. "Nick, where did you go?" she asked, looking around for the fox after the splashing stopped.

Nick immediately sprung up from the water behind her. "RAH!" he screamed, gently shaking her once. Judy shrieked and turned around, seeing Nick laughing, which gave her an opportunity to completely drown him in a fury of splashes. Nick coughed as some water got into his mouth. Judy laughed at this, and smirked.

"Ha! I beat you at your own tricks, you dumb fox!" she laughed, splashing him again to taunt him. After a few more coughs, Nick could speak again.

"You sly bunny, you! I almost had you!" he laughed, coughing up more water again. Judy smirked and rubbed the fox's head gingerly.

"I know how to fight back you know," she smiled. Nick blushed a little and smiled as well.

"Well, that was quite fun anyway, Carrots," he said, wiping his eyes of any water.

They continued to swim in the lake for hours on end, enjoying the scenery and enjoying the company of each other. They fiddled around on the beach building intricate sand castles and then destroying each others. Then they would go back out and swim some more. The possibilities were endless with these two.

When they came back in after having another splash fight, which Nick lost yet again, he spoke to Judy. "Well, I'm a little beat. Wanna grab some lunch and do some other things?"

"Sure, I'm starving," Judy replied, as she began to dry off with her towel. After a brief moment of drying off, they ran up the steep hill to get back to the tent. "So what's for lunch?" she then said, watching Nick rummage through the cooler and pulling out bread and cheese, along with a campfire grill.

"Does grilled cheese sound good to you?" Nick asked as Judy nodded happily.

"I love grilled cheese!" she said in delight, helping Nick set everything up to cook the sandwiches. Nick prepared four sandwiches, two for the each of them. After putting a hearty amount of cheese on each sandwich, he got the campfire going, and put the sandwiches on the grill plate.

Judy's nose twitched in delight smelling the cheesy goodness that was being cooked right in front of her. "You are quite an amazing cook, Nick," she smiled, winking at Nick. He also smiled, and flipped the sandwiches, revealing a perfectly golden brown side on all four.

"Learning how to cook takes a ton of trial and error, Carrots. First time I made a cake for my mother, I accidentally used salt in place of sugar," Nick blushed as Judy laughed, rolling on the floor. This made Nick's blush heavier, but he continued cooking until the sandwiches were complete. He put two sandwiches on Judy's plate, and the last two his.

Judy went to take a bite of her sandwich, but immediately tore her mouth off the sandwich upon touching it. "Ow! That's hot!" she whimpered, her tongue moving around in discomfort. Nick smirked.

"Of course it is, I just took it off the heat, fluff," he chuckled, cutting his two sandwiches into halves. He then took two paper cups out of the cooler, and poured a pitcher of mulberry juice into one, handing it to Judy. Pouring himself a glass, he then held it up to hers. "Cheers to look forward to a fine day of hanging out together?" he said, smiling. Judy gave a warm smile.

"Cheers," she answered, and they clinked their cups together, before downing the entire glass of their juice. Judy's tail wiggled in delight from the taste of the juice. She then took another bite of her sandwich, and it was not blazing hot anymore. "Nick, this is so delicious!" she said, her mouth full. Nick smiled and began eating his sandwich.

"I thank you for admiring my cooking," Nick said, devouring the cheesy sandwiches before him, Judy giggled and did the same, but a bit slower.

"So what shall we do after we finish these sandwiches?" Judy asked curiously.

"Well, I'm going to change into something more comfortable, but I was thinking of taking a hike up to the flower beds I mentioned," Nick said, hoping Judy would be on board. "Besides, there is a pretty nice view on the way."

"What about the beds we saw on the way here? Wouldn't those ones be closer and easier to get to?" she asked curiously.

"Those beds are nothing compared to the ones I'm talking about," argued Nick peacefully. "I figured we'd finish the camping trip with a bang, you know!"

Judy seemed to contemplate whether or not to go to the closer flower beds or the other ones. "Oh, alright! Because we may never get the chance to come back again." She took two swift bites of her last grilled cheese, devouring the sandwich down.

"Yes!" Nick hissed under his breath. "Well, I'll go get changed over, unless you'd like to go first?"

She shook her head. "You go ahead. I'll wait for you."

"Okay," Nick shrugged, as he entered the tent and closed it behind him.

The fox quickly changed over to the clothes he wore earlier that morning. But he topped it off with a navy blue ZPD hat. Nick grabbed his hiking pack and loaded a few items inside. Within another minute, he was outside of the tent, waiting for Judy to get dressed.

She seemed to take a little longer, which didn't bother Nick at all. It only gave him extra time to think about his true plans. He wanted it to turn out perfect, but the thought of failure lingered at the back of his mind.

As Nick continued to think, Judy came out of the tent with her hiking pack as well. She was wearing the same outfit from earlier as well. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep," Nick said enthusiastically. "Let's hit the trail."

He led her on a trail that ran beside the lake before it turned up the mountain and into the trees. The towering oak trees made them feel small and the sun barely shined through the canopy high above. It didn't take long before they found the view Nick was talking about.

The view sat on the edge of a cliff, a few hundred feet above the tree line. You could see the blue lake below and the pair could barely make out there campsite.

"Wow!" Judy breathed. "You weren't kidding. This view is spectacular."

"I told you," Nick chuckled. "And if you turn around and run just over that hill, you'll see the flower beds. Wanna race there?"

"Of course, Nick! Let's go!" she said, darting off towards the direction of the flower beds, with Nick right behind her.

"Carrots, wait up!" he laughed, catching up to Judy. She smirked, grabbing his paw and running towards the flowerbeds, laughing. Nick blushed at this, but laughed along with her.

When they got to the flowerbeds, they both circled around each other in joy and silliness, smiling as they danced around the flowerbeds. "What's our plan in this, Nick?" Judy asked, smiling. Nick looked at her and gave a wry smile.

"I feel really happy dancing around here with you," he answered, spinning Judy around and jumping up and down through the flowerbeds. Judy continued her dancing until they both fell down into the flowerbeds, roses, petunias, tulips, and dandelions springing up into the air like an explosion of friendship and love.

As they laid down, Nick blushed and reached for Judy's paw next to him, holding it firmly as Judy's eyes widened. She stared down at their intertwined fingers, and smiled wide with a blush on her face. She scooted closer to Nick, holding him close to her. Nick sighed in content, his tail wagging in happiness.

"This feels so relaxing," he said, holding the rabbit closer to her. Judy's ears perked up in delight.

"It does, Nick," Judy answered, nuzzling her head into the fox's soft fur. "Your fur is really soft and cuddly," she smirked. Nick smiled wide, and felt immense delight and happiness. He never been this close to the rabbit he loved. His concerns about interspecies seemed to be clouded and covered with this new feeling he had never experienced before.

They were there for hours on end, just holding each other close, and having quite a fun time staying close to each other on those flowerbeds. It was past evening and they were still there. Nick felt it was the perfect time to confess his love, seeing how relaxed they were together. Many feelings of love, kindness, compassion, and delight filled his mind.

Those feelings however were interrupted as it then began to rain heavily, threatening to turn into a downpour of thunder and water. Nick shuddered from the cold water droplets touching him as Judy did too.

"Nick! What should we do?" she shouted, springing up to her feet. Nick slowly got up, covering them both with his jacket. Looking at Judy shivering, he gave her his jacket, leaving him shirtless.

"Just run to the tent, let's go!" he replied with a shout as they both took off, dashing towards the tent. As they got closer and closer, the thunder strikes got louder and louder, like as if it was chasing them. They both jumped in fear at the much louder thunder strikes, running faster.

Upon reaching the tent, they dove inside, quickly zipping the door shut behind them. Heavy panting from both followed, Judy taking off Nick's jacket while Nick dried his wet fur and body off, along with Judy's. Judy's fur on her head stood up from him drying it, and he chuckled.

"Can you fix it?" Judy asked, looking at her messy look. Nick smiled and licked his paw before rubbing down the stood up fur, and it was fixed. "Thanks," she smiled, hugging Nick, but letting go when she realized he had no shirt on. "Oops, sorry!" she said gingerly.

"No, it's fine," he said as he got another shirt on. He went back over to Judy as he shuddered again. He felt as if now would be the perfect time to confess his love. The pouring rain and roaring thunder would prevent Judy from running away, and would give him the answer he wants; if she loves him back or not.

"J-J-Judy?" Nick managed to get out, his paw quivering. Judy turned her head, drying off her paws.

"Yes, Nick? What do you need?" she asked as Nick took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"Judy, I-I-I n-n-need to t-tell you s-s-something," he kept trembling, which caused Judy to get closer to him.

"What is it, Nick?" she then asked. She sensed that something was up, but did not know what it was. Nick wiped his forehead before he opened his eyes.

"W-W-Well, e-ever s-s-s-since w-we've became Z-Z-ZPD officers…" Nick stopped, cursing to himself. "N-no, that's not right, w-what I'm t-trying to s-s-say i-is…" he stopped again. Judy's concern was growing, she put her paw on Nick's.

"Just finish what you're saying, I will not judge you," she smiled, knowing that what she suspected all along ever since the nighthowlers case, it was coming true.

"I-I-I r-really l-like… OK, you know what, screw it," Nick immediately grabbed Judy's face, putting both paws on her cheeks, and pulled her into an awkward first kiss, their noses colliding with each other, and their different muzzle lengths making it even more awkward. Judy's eyes immediately widened in shock. After a couple seconds, Nick pulled away quickly, eyes wide, face full of blush, look of fear, happiness, and uncertainty all at the same time. Judy immediately slapped Nick with her paw, hitting him right on his cheek. Nick recoiled back in pain, holding his cheek. Nick looked at Judy, who was fuming a little, and frowned.

"Nick Wilde! Don't you dare kiss me without asking me first!" she furiously shouted, staring at Nick with a glare. Nick closed his eyes and looked away painfully, feeling dejected.

"I'm really sorry… I just thought, since things were going so well and everything was so perfect, that-" Nick never finished his sentence, for a pair of rabbit lips crashed onto his lips. His eyes widened and saw Judy kissing him. He held her closer to his body and tilted his head slightly to find a better angle to kiss. When he found it, he kept his lips pressed to hers for 10 more seconds before they both pulled away, blushing heavily as they looked at each other, smiling.

Nick was in complete shock and happiness, smiling wide at what just happened. He then hugged the rabbit close to him. "Oh… my… gosh… that was amazing…" was all he could say, Judy laughed, playfully punching Nick on the shoulder.

"It quite was, Nick," she grinned.

"So… does this mean we're a couple now?" Nick asked, slightly anxious. Judy's eyes widened a little, looking back at him. She thought to herself for quite some time.

"I don't know, Nick. It depends… do you want to be my boyfriend?" she asked with a grin. Nick pondered this. He was so focused on the fear being rejected because they're prey and predator, that he didn't focus on what he would do if they were actually a couple. Thinking back to Justin's advice, he began to make a decision.

"I would love to be your boyfriend, Judy," his smile was wider than Judy ever saw. "If prey and predator do live in harmony, I would like to show that we do too," he hugged Judy very tightly in his arms. Judy smiled even wider, hugging the fox back, and kissed the fox on the cheek. Nick blushed. "I thought we needed to ask before we can kiss each other?" he then asked as Judy laughed, and then looked sweetly into his emerald eyes with her violet ones.

"Nick, now that we are a couple, we don't need to ask when we can kiss each other," she smiled, but when Nick went to kiss her again, she held her paw up. "Just, we need to talk about a few ground rules we should have first a couple, OK?" she said sweetly. Nick leaned back from Judy and nodded.

"Sure, fluff. What rules do you think we should have?" Nick asked. Judy thought to herself for a moment.

"OK, Nick. Rule number one, we shall not kiss in public places, or display any public affection. A quick peck on the lips or cheek would be acceptable though, OK?" Judy replied as Nick nodded his head.

"Sounds good. I don't want the media to make a drama fest out of our relationship," he smiled as Judy chuckled.

"Alright, rule number two, do not let our relationship interfere with our positions as ZPD Officers," she then said, glaring at Nick. Nick thought to himself for a moment. He sure did know what could possibly happen if their relationship got in the way of doing their job.

"I wholeheartedly understand, Carrots. I would not want to get yelled at by Bogo," Nick laughed, earning a giggle from Judy, who then got back on her serious tone.

"Rule number 3, please respect when I say no, and I will do the same for you," she said in a stern tone as Nick's eyes widened in concern.

"Of course I will, dear! I would never violate you in any way!" Nick said, giving a small grin. Judy blushed, hugging him for a couple seconds.

"Thank you. And finally, rule number 4, I am allowed to call you whatever I want," Judy laughed, giving Nick a small tickle on his side. He laughed for about a second before he stopped.

"These sound like great rules, fluff! I will follow them until the day I die, you sly bunny!" he made a sloppy salute, which made Judy fall into a fit of giggles. Nick went over to her and gave her a huge hug. "Thank you, thank you so much for making this trip wonderful," he said sweetly, smiling wide as Judy rubbed his head in a loving manner.

"No, Nick. Thank you for making my dream come true… to be with you," she smiled, hugging him tighter. They held this position for a few minutes before Judy went to get changed into her nightgown while Nick put on some light shorts and t-shirt to prepare for bed.

As Nick got under his blanket and laid his head on his cold pillow, he thought of something. "Judy?" he called out as he saw Judy turn her head towards him.

"Yes, Nick?" she answered.

"Would you like me to keep you warm for the night?" he asked nervously, , twitching his nose. Judy smiled and got out of her sleeping bag.

"I would love to, Nick. I feel really cold since all that rain fell down," she chuckled sweetly, getting under the covers with the fox. Nick turned onto his side, and hugged Judy to his chest, his tail wagging in happiness. Judy smiled wide and hummed in relaxation as she also hugged the fox's long and bushy tail to her.

"Judy, you love my tail too?" he smirked, laughing as Judy nodded.

"I do, Nick," she smiled wide.

"I love you, Judy," Nick said, hugging her closer to him, purring. Judy smiled and snuggled into the fox more.

"I love you too, Nick," she said, and with a kiss to the forehead from Nick, they were both asleep in a peaceful slumber, and went on into their dreams, the stars glistening in the night.