Sunderance Chapter 26: Night Terrors (Final) (Patreon)

   Sticky dread clung and pressed against her chest like a suffocating force as the last image followed her out of the nightmare, dread that caused her already quick heartbeat to speed up further as she sat up with the sheets clenched in one paw. With eyes wide in the darkness, her gaze darted to every corner illuminated by the faint shafts of light from the window, nose twitching rapidly. The instinctive need to be out of the dark overwhelmed her as even the sheet she clutched to her chest started to feel like a trap. Looking down at it for a heartbeat, she flung it away from her before kicking it away and all but leaping from the bed.

   The flash from the window was followed almost instantly by the roar of thunder, causing the entire office to vibrate and leading her to understand what had woken her from the dream. It also made her jump and flinch, the need to run almost overpowering. So much so that she rushed to the light of the partly opened door and rushed through without thinking, almost stumbling into the main room to calm her heart and catch her breath. Wide lavender eyes moved around the familiar room.

   Familiar, except for the fact that it was empty.

   Judy had never stepped out of the bedroom without the fox being there. Usually, he was just sitting or looking out the windows in what she assumed was the normal paranoia of a bodyguard. Always brooding. Except recently, when the brooding stopped as soon as she came out of the bedroom. What her thoughts were on his stoic face softening every time she came into the room wasn’t on her mind now. It was the fact that, aside from the sizzle of the rain and the low-toned rumble of more distant thunder, the office was completely quiet. The lights were on, the chair on the opposite side of the desk was pushed out as if he had just been in it, the bathroom was dark, and the TV was silent.

   All she could think was that he was gone. Maybe, under normal circumstances, this would simply have made her curious but, with the nightmare still pulling at threads of thought that she had refused to pluck, the dread only clutched at her chest harder. He couldn’t leave her alone here! Maybe before coming to Zootopia, she had believed that she would find a way but now? Now she understood that he had been right. The city would be the death of her, and the politics in motion were too big for her to deal with without someone beside her to keep it from crushing her.

   Panic rose as a weak sound escaped her throat when she tried to call his name, pushing away from the bedroom and heading towards the front door. The second time she tried to call his name, she found her voice as she reached the front door.

   “Nick!”

   Light from the open door spilled over the fox in the rain, no more than three feet from the door and moving towards her, bringing her to a sudden stop. His arm was already raised and whatever nightmare Neveen had warned her about was taken by the worry that instantly clouded his visage. Worry that was quickly replaced with a darkening of his eyes, a ready tension sweeping through him as one paw moved behind his back when sharp green eyes moved behind her. Searching for whatever had chased her into the night after him. A keen protective instinct that had saved her more than once already, but one that was befuddled quickly when she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his torso.

   “Carrots?”

   Her name was the only word he spoke, even as one of his paws rested between her shoulder blades as she breathed in what of his scent she could find through the rain-soaked shirt. She knew he realized that nothing was chasing her when his other paw, relaxing from the baton at his back, joined the other around her. Whether he was trying to figure out what had driven the half-naked bunny into the night looking for him, or he was simply allowing her a moment, she wasn’t sure. But as she pressed her cheek into his chest and felt the warmth seeping through into her fur, she was glad he didn’t say anything. It allowed the panic to subside and the images of the nightmare to become cloudy and distant as nightmares usually did once the waking mind took over for the subconscious fully. It wasn’t until her nose stopped twitching and her heart rate had dropped by half that she drew a deep breath and raised her head, looking up at him without letting him go.

   “The storm makes it impossible to hear outside,” he explained, now mostly curious green eyes bright in the light from the door, “so I went out to walk the perimeter.”

   “You’re not going to leave me alone in this city, are you?” she asked bluntly, as even fading images left lasting impressions and fears lingering in her gut. Fears that were, by and large, diminished by the confused frown that tugged at his muzzle when he shook his head slowly.

   “No. I thought that was clear by now.” She understood what he meant. His chance to leave had been obvious when she had threatened to end their partnership on all fronts if he didn’t explain who he was and why he was doing what he was doing. And secretive as he had been, right up to not telling her that his sister was The Administrator the day they had their meeting, he had told her what she wanted to know. When she nodded and rested her head against his chest again without a word, he squeezed her shoulder with one paw lightly. “Let’s get inside. You’re hardly dressed for the rain.”

   She gave a small nod, allowing him to turn her to walk by his side as he led her into the office again. Her ears were low as she huddled close to him, feeling the cold of the rain on them for a moment now that he wasn’t acting as a sort of shield against it. Still, the back of her nightshirt was soaked and Nick was dripping onto the floor as he released her and turned to close the door.

   “Hold on, I need to get a towel,” he said, one paw squeezing her shoulder lightly before he made his way towards the bathroom.

   The bunny watched him go, almost feeling every step that put more distance between them, until she started to shiver again. She realized that she didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want him outside again, out of her sight again. Not even if it meant he was just in the office one door away. Even the chair that he had once moved into her bedroom next to her wasn’t close enough. She didn’t want to be alone at all and wasn’t sure she would be able to sleep at all if she had to.

   “The storm is supposed to pass before morning,” came his voice, muffled by the towel he had draped over his head as he walked out of the bathroom, his chest bare as he had left the soaked shirt inside. “So, at least we’ll have clear skies for the drive to co…”

   His voice died when he lifted the towel. The fact that she was now holding her wet nightshirt in one paw at her side was obviously the reason for the sudden silence. That silence was broken when she let the wet cloth hit the floor with a light ‘splat’, watching his eyes widen – and then sharpen - as she pushed her underwear down. Heat rose under her fur and inside of her ears as she bent over to tug them free of her foot and drop them on top of the shirt. She watched his nostrils flare, watched the creamy fur of his chest rise and fall as he lowered the towel to his shoulders. She worried that she had made too much of a show of it.

   Or not enough of one.

   “I don’t want to sleep alone,” she managed to say, somehow keeping her voice from cracking as she moved towards the fox that seemed to be watching every inch of her body all at the same moment. When she reached him, she felt the heat of the blush intensify almost as much as the basic attraction she felt for the male as she reached out boldly to tug on the buckle of his belt. “I want you in bed, and our clothes are wet. I just don’t want to be alone. And our clothes are wet.”

   “Yes, you mentioned that,” he said, making no move to stop her as she focused her attention on unbuckling his belt, unfastening his pants, and then pushing them down his hips. There was an intimacy to the act, and somehow the fact that she really wasn’t looking for sex seemed to make it more so. His voice almost made her stop when she was faced with the boxer-briefs he wore, and what was outlined so clearly by them. “But you’re right. Wouldn’t want you to be distracted.”

   “It’s not like I would be thinking about the case. You know. During,” she defended, using the little huff in her voice to quickly pull the fabric down. Then, of course, she held her breath as he stepped out of them, leaving her with her first good sight of him. And much like he had, her gaze seemed to want to be everywhere at once and every breath she drew was curious, interested.

   How had she thought this was a good idea?

   “Oh, I know you wouldn’t be during, Carrots.” The daze of near innocent lust was broken by a low chuckle from him, causing her eyes to lift to meet his as she tilted her head slightly. “I was talking about being distracted during your court appearance.”

   While there was playfulness in the tone, probably intended to relax her and possibly him at the same moment, the words struck her as very likely true. And very arousing at the same time.

   “Well, that’s not helping,” she muttered, as heat that had nothing to do with the annoyingly persistent blush started to rise. It was a good enough reason for her to reach out and snatch the towel away from him to run over her own ears, which were only slightly damp, as she turned to head towards the bedroom. “No more jokes from you until morning, Mr. Fox.”

   She could almost feel the smirk from the male as she realized that pretty much anything she said at this point could be taken as innuendo. She ignored it, and the feeling that he was watching every step she took as he followed her into the bedroom. Once they were inside, almost as if he knew she was going to ask it of him, he stepped past her as she left the towel hanging on the doorknob. She watched him as he climbed into bed, not making a show of it in the slightest. All joking was set aside now, obviously, his motions were quick and to the point, his expression calm and relaxed as he settled onto his side with his back pressed against the wall. This left her with plenty of room to join him, which after a moment of staring into his eyes for assurance, she did. Her tail twitched slightly as she slipped into bed beside him, under the sheet, to lay on her side facing away from him. And instantly, she regretted the choice. Shouldn’t she be facing him? Didn’t she want to hold him or be held by him? Was it easier to do that when she was facing him? If she moved now and pushed back against him, maybe he would take that as an invitation that she wasn’t ready to make.

   These thoughts had her staying still, silent, and uncomfortably staring into the dark for a long moment. She listened to the sound of his breathing, let his scent filter into every light twitch of her nose, trying not to move for fear that her discomfort and embarrassment would be obvious. Then, she felt the warmth of a large paw on her shoulder. Squeezing gently, causing her to close her eyes as it slipped down her body slowly to wrap around her waist. She offered no resistance when he pulled her into the warmth of his body, tucked her close against him until every inch of her was nestled into warm fox fur and she was fully surrounded by his scent.

   “Goodnight, Judy,” he murmured as he tucked his muzzle between her ears, making her feel enveloped and protected under him.

   It was the first time in weeks that the case wasn’t on her mind, that the city didn’t feel like it was pressing down around her. Even with the twinge of excitement and the nervous flutter of her belly at having him so intimately pressed against her, she felt more relaxed than any other time since leaving Bunnyburrow. So, when she finally closed her eyes again, she released a contented sigh and just let herself be held while the sound of the rain outside and the gentle whispers of his breath tempted her to sleep.