#savagefrost

[honeywithblueberries]

Jumpstart Chapter 3

This is getting a lot of my attention. I really have no clue what started this Jack/Skye kick, but someone tell Kulkum we’re ready for another chapter of Savage Dark. I think that will cure my obsession :).

…………………………………..

The music was soft and lights dim, a romantic hue being cast over the reception hall. The Arctic todd clinked his scotch glass with his wife’s wine glass before turning back to the dance floor. The smile he had given his wife melted and became slightly sad and disappointed when he turned his blue eyes towards the dance floor. There, his little vixen was wrapped in the arms of the last mammal he would have chosen for her. And he had given it several shots throughout the years.

Daniel Frost remembered the day his nine year old daughter had brought her new friend over after school. At first he felt pride. His daughter had not only taken his words to heart but had gone out her way to unalienate the new kit in her class. He had called into work for the day to catch up on house repairs, and was finishing up repainting the kitchen when Skye came home from school with Jack. Standing at the sink, rinsing the paint roller, his ears perked at the sound of the door opening. A glance at the clock and he figured who it could be.

“Welcome home, sweetie! I’m in the kitchen!” 

He set the roller aside to scrub his paws, only to pause at the sound of two sets of footsteps. Mixed with an unfamiliar male scent, his daddy instincts kicked in. Turning around, he was greeted by his Skye and an unfamiliar rabbit kit. The most ridiculous, little rabbit kit he had ever seen. 

“Hi, Daddy!” greeted his little vixen happily. She put an arm around the small buck, who looked up at him with a shy smile, and gestured between the two males. “This is my friend Jack! He’s in my class. Jack, this is my dad.”

With eyes that took up most of his face and ears that were nearly as big as he was, the rabbit took a breath and stepped forward. Daniel blinked down at him and his tiny, outstretched paw. Combined with the dark stripes framing his face and running down his arms, it was a lot to take in. Fortunately, his astonishment lasted only a mere moment before he shook it off to accept the pawshake.

Such a formal, serious, weird little thing, he thought.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jack,” he said out loud, with a smile. Jack smiled back, his large teeth distracting him for a moment. 

“Pleasure to meet you, too, Mr. Frost.” 

Fantastic manners, though.

“Can Jack stay over for a while?” Skye asked, clasping her paws together in a pleading manner. “Please? I don’t have any activities today and Jack said he can help me with my math homework.”

“And I could really use Skye’s help with our vocabulary homework.”  

Both kits looked up at him, Skye’s big blue eyes combined with Jack’s hitting him in a very unfair manner. Daniel looked from one to the other and saw no harm in saying:

“Sure! Go get started on your homework and I’ll get a snack ready for you two.” 

Watching with bemusement as they grinned and darted to the living room, he thought about what an odd pair they made. Giving a final shake of his head, he chuckled, happy that his daughter had made a new friend. And knowing she was willing to risk her reputation to stick up for others made him proud as hell. The few times he had met that skunk had been less than pleasant, so he wouldn’t be sad if she was out of his daughter’s friend circle. But kids changed a lot as they grew up, so who knew how long a friendship with a bunny buck would last.

“I give it a month, tops,” he muttered with a smile. 

Cutting up some veggies and making a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, he set everything onto plates just as the door opened again. 

“Hi, Honey! Hi, Jenny Benny!” 

His wife called back a greeting, followed by his youngest and echoed by Skye from the living room. Both plates were gathered up while his ears picked up sounds of his daughter introducing Jack to her mother and little sister. Daniel was secretly glad Marie was staying the night at her friend's house. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself from making snarky comments. He passed his wife on the way to the living room, the vixen giving him an odd look as she went by. It confused him for a moment until the reason became all too clear. 

Skye and Jack were set up at the coffee table, workbooks, papers, and pencils spread out. Jack stood over Skye, who had remained seated, and explained the math problem to her, totally and completely in his daughter’s space. The young vixen was happily unbothered by it. She elbowed him, her own father, away on a regular basis due to her love of space. Jenny sat on the other side of the table with her own little workbooks (courtesy of the first grade), watching her sister and this new… friend with stunned curiosity. Daniel was immediately put off by how close the pair were but kept his mouth shut.

“Here you go, you two.” He set the plates down in front of them and received a pair of smiles and thank yous in return. Unease filled him when his daughter passed Jack half of one sandwich before taking the other.

Skye NEVER shares food! 

“I’ll bring one out for you, too, Jenny Benny,” he assured his youngest, his eyes still on the odd pair, now working and munching. 

“She can have this one, Daddy,” Skye offered, looking over at Jack, who smiled at the younger vixen and passed her the other plate. To Daniel’s astonishment, Jenny blushed and giggled, accepting it with a shy smile at the rabbit buck.

“Ooookay,” Daniel backed away slowly as the kits settled into their homework and snacks. He finally turned away when he reached the kitchen just as his wife Abigail was tying an apron on.

“Perfect timing,” she began with a smile, scooping up another and throwing it at him. “I need someone to peel the veggies.”

He caught it without a word, amazed at how undisturbed his wife was. All he could was gape as she started about the kitchen to make dinner. She paused, though, once she realized he was still staring at her in disbelief. 

“What?” she asked with concern.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked. Glancing towards the living room, he got closer and lowered his voice. “What the hell is going on out there?”

Abby’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?” His paws gestured towards the room, approximately where Jack and Skye were working. She snorted in amusement. “Danny, come on. They’re kits. We raised a daughter who is so sweet and charming, she can put a bunny at ease. And let me tell you now, that kit looks like he needs some good friends.”

“And a hell of a personality,” Danny muttered under his breath. Abby snorted and gave him a light slap while chuckling. 

“Just give it time,” his wife assured. “Kits outgrow friends all the time. Jack only recently transferred to this school and he just needs to break out of his shell. Skye’s great at helping others fit in! Once he finds his place in school, he and Skye will go their separate ways. Trust me! I’ll be very surprised if they’re still talking this time next year.”

4 YEARS LATER

“I can’t believe you’re not in ANY of my classes!” Skye stared down in disbelief at Jack’s school schedule. They sat in Skye’s family kitchen, tucked away in the bay window seat, the pair looking properly discouraged. Jack shook his head at Skye’s schedule in his paws.

“This is so unfair. Our first year of high school and they expect us to not be together? We even have different lunch hours! That’s sick!” Skye nodded in agreement before looking up when Jack snapped his fingers decisively. “I think I can get Trent to change it for me.” Skye beamed at him hopefully and Jack grinned at her. “He owes me a favor after I covered him on Mom’s birthday present. Mom would have killed him if she found out how much he spent on it!”

“She looked so good in that dress, though.” Skye scooted closer to him and put the schedules together. “I might be able to convince my parents to fix mine, too!” Her chin moved to rest on his shoulder as the pair debated and argued and negotiated on how things could be rearranged. 

Daniel sat at the breakfast bar with a coffee in paw and a plate of fresh eggs and toast in front of him, his eyes glued on the duo. Jack was a frequent visitor in the mornings and afternoons, whereas Skye was usually found at his house on the weekends. Both felt Jack’s was too crowded to spend vast quantities of time at. Marie sat next to Danny, phone to her ear, jabbering away and oblivious to the resigned look her father had. Abby came to stand beside him, sipping from her own cup and gazing at the pair with her own brand of disbelief. 

“She can’t possibly think we’re going to change her schedule to fit her friend in,” he whispered to her. He met her eyes, hers just as troubled as his. “Can she?”

They exchanged shrugs before looking over at them again. 

“You both are in some serious denial,” came the voice of their youngest.

Jenny had entered the kitchen and bounced over to the stove to help herself to breakfast, Marie tuning in to briefly nod her head in agreement before jabbering away again. Everyone looked over to the pair when they started laughing with each other. Marie pulled the phone from her ear and pressed it to her chest to address her parents.

“Those two,” she pointed one perfectly manicured claw between Skye and Jack, who were grinning at each other, “are going to be together forever.”

“Get used to it,” confirmed Jenny as she sat on the remaining stool with her food.

Danny and Abby looked back at their daughter and her friend. 

Skye had blossomed- as Danny knew she would- getting taller and more willowy like her mother, and just as beautiful. She had those sparkling eyes that could melt even the coldest heart and a smile that welcomed anyone and everyone. Jack, however, had remained small and out of proportion. His ears and front teeth were still comically too big, and he had barely grown at all. 

Until that summer.

One moment, he was just the nerdy, little bunny that his daughter insisted on spending her time with. The next, he was only slightly shorter than Skye, his mouth growing around his teeth and ears growing into the rest of him. His face, once dominated by his eyes and stripes, now began to wear them as a compliment to the rest of his features. He still had the air of an awkward teen (his body had grown longer, leaving him lanky in the arms and legs, with no real muscle structure to compliment it, yet), but the todd knew it wouldn’t last forever. 

It was only a small comfort that Skye hadn’t noticed yet.

4 YEARS LATER

Jack balanced a stack of boxes as he followed Danny down the hall. Young students of all species rushed past them, most with parents trailing behind. Around them, joy and anxiety circling the first year of college radiated. It was an emotional day for everyone. Especially parents who were going to be apart from their babies for the first time ever.

“In here, guys!” Skye’s voice called out. 

Both males turned into the dorm room, greeted by Skye, who was setting up her side of the room with her mother. Abby smiled at them as she reached for the boxes her husband was carrying, though it became an eyeroll when her daughter ignored her father’s outstretched arms to approach Jack instead, relieving him of the boxes. The two teens smiled happily at each other while she set the stack on the floor next to them and embraced her friend. Jack closed his eyes and hugged her back fiercely. 

“Thank you so much for helping, Jackie,” she muttered.

“I hate that name,” he protested with a sad smile. “And don’t thank me too much. You’re helping me move next weekend, remember.”

Skye loosened her grip and Danny smiled expectantly, re-raising his arms to accept a hug from her. But his face fell when she just held Jack at arms length and smiled at him sadly.

“But this is the first time we’re not going to have any classes together.” She sniffled and blinked away tears. “Or live next to each other!”

 Jack’s eyes became misty as Danny and Abby rolled theirs. 

“I know,” he choked out. “But if you start crying, then I’m going to cry, and if I start crying, you’re going to tell Josie and then I owe her thirty bucks and I don’t have that kind of money, Skye!”

She gave a small, watery laugh and hiccup as she tried to compose herself. “I would say, ‘I would never’, but you know me too well.”

He laughed, too, pulling her back in for another hug. It was a long one, one that the parents were going to interrupt before they finally broke apart and wiped away their tears. 

“Okay,” began Jack, backing away with a sad smile. “Like a band-aid!” He gave her a wave and smile, before seeming to realize Danny and Abby were still there. His ears tinged pink but he still gave them a parting farewell. “Great seeing you two, Mr. and Mrs. Frost.” His eyes moved back to Skye. He held his paw up to his ear in a phone sign. “Call me later?”

“Definitely,” she assured with a nod. Jack grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up before turning to leave. He rushed out the door, past a pair of bunny does who gave him interested looks he didn’t notice. Skye did, however, and glowered at them unconsciously until they passed by; only then did she remember her parents were still there.

“Thank you, guys.” With tears still in her eyes, she moved to hug her mother and father. 

“Of course, sweetheart,” her mother mumbled, burying her nose into her daughter’s head fur. 

She still has that new baby smell, Abby thought sadly.

“Anything for you, princess,” Danny said gruffly. He squeezed a bit tighter and looked to where Jack had vanished. “And don’t forget-” Skye pulled away to look up at her father expectantly. “College is not just about grades and academics. It’s about meeting new mammals. Experiencing different cultures. Making new friends.” Skye blinked up at him. “Meeting new mammals.” He grinned down at her only to be gifted with a look of confusion from Skye and a small kick from Abby.

“Ooookay then…” his daughter said, backing away. 

“Okay then!” Abby pulled away and clapped her paws together. She gave her daughter a final smile and hooked her arm through Danny’s. “We love you. Please be safe and call us if you need us.”

After Skye agreed, the Frosts gave her a final goodbye and left. The door closed behind them and they began the walk back to the car.

“This is the year, right?” asked Danny with a hint of worry.

Abby simply smiled and shook her head. “Nope.”

He looked down in alarm at her. “What makes you say that? It’s college! She’s bound to meet a TON of new mammals.”

“And she will,” Abby agreed. Her eyes looked up at Danny. “But Marie was right.” She sighed heavily. “Those two will be together forever.”

Danny groaned. 

“That’s what I thought.”

5 YEARS LATER

“I think I claimed that apartment first,” Skye argued with a grin. Jack shook his head in disagreement. This was their latest ‘argument’.

“Considering I viewed the apartment first,” he countered, grinning at her eye roll and playful slap to his arm, “and have already signed the paperwork, I get first dibs.” 

Skye leaned in to whisper something in his ear. Danny tried to not growl at their closeness, opting instead to drink deeply from the glass in his paw. Abby smiled at her husband and refilled his wine when he was done. The todd smiled his thanks before turning away from his middle child, towards his oldest in her wedding dress, greeting tables with her new husband. The handsome todd was positively radiating happiness, but the newlywed’s love for each other seemed to be dimmed by the pair next to him.

When Marie had sent out her wedding invites, the Frosts were eagerly hoping their middle daughter would find a proper date. But neither were surprised when Marie paw delivered Skye’s invite on a day Jack was joining them for breakfast and announced she expected both to show up. Skye was a bridesmaid and Jack a groomsmale, Sam (Marie’s fiance) having been a contractor who had worked with him at Jack’s lab. The bunny was the reason the couple had met. Neither Marie nor Sam had thought twice about including them on the same invite. 

And Jack and Skye hadn’t thought twice about it either.

Danny had pretended to be resigned to the fact that his Skye and Jack were a permanent feature the day he dropped her off at college. But that was so it made it more natural to introduce her to any and every todd he met, any chance he got. A few times, she had even agreed to a meal with one or two, which made him optimistic. Only for the follow up to disappoint every time. Her relationship with the rabbit confused him, to say the least. They were always together, they carried each other’s scents, practically shared living spaces, yet had never announced their relationship to their families. 

As far as Danny knew, Jack’s parents had not spoken to him about his perpetual bachelorhood. Nor about his relationship with his daughter. Danny got the impression they didn’t care one way or the other and the times they had gotten together with the Eairs-Savage clan, the rabbit couple only seemed to encourage it. As his fellow bunnies were settling down, Jack stayed by Skye’s side. Danny had heard he had a doe from time to time (which made the todd confusingly upset), but nothing that had been enough to derail his relationship with his daughter.

With every passing year, they’re relationship grew stronger.

And then, the day Daniel Frost had been fearing since Skye first brought him home at nine years old, when Skye showed up with Jack for dinner at their house. That was not an unusual occurrence. But his arm around her shoulders and her paw on his leg combined with the occasional nuzzle, elevated things to a whole new level.

After an enjoyable meal filled with the usual laughter and chatter, it was more than obvious they had finally transcended ‘just friends’. Daniel thought the news about Officers Hopps and Wilde getting married may have been the reason behind it. Which was a pity, because Danny remembered Nick Wilde from when he was in high school and had hoped to set Skye up, somehow. Marie, her husband, and their two kits had been visiting, and Jenny had come up from graduate school with her new partner to join them. As always, Jack charmed the vixens, bonded with Sam, and doted on the kits. But this time, Skye looked on with a naked look of love.

He could handle Jenny coming home with a vixen and declaring her love for her. His tongue was held when Marie had told him they were homeschooling their children and moving to the country for a more simple life. It was not his life they were living, after all. He even grinned and bared it when his wife decided to rent out their free rooms to travelers for extra cash. 

But he was entirely unprepared for his daughter, his little genius and prodigy, to lean into the rabbit buck she had spent the last twenty five with and kiss him. She kissed his lips and he returned it with equal love and devotion. A small quiet fell over the dinner table. Considering this was the first time either had been intimately demonstrative of their relationship, it was understandable. 

“I love you,” Skye told him, thumbing away a smudge of lip gloss from his bottom lip. Jack’s blue eyes drank in every detail of her face.

“I love you, too.” She beamed at him before realizing they had captured the family’s attention. Together, they blushed and laughed, the night carrying on after a moment.

Later, after the plates had been cleared and leftovers stored away, the females had branched away to visit with each other, leaving Daniel with Sam and Jack. The trio moved into the living room, Danny trying to drag out the boring conversation he was trapped in with Michael to avoid Jack’s questioning gaze in his direction. The buck sat at the piano and played a bit while waiting for an opening to jump in. It was to the older todd’s dismay that his son-in-law excused himself for the restroom, leaving him alone with the bunny for the first time since he was a child.

Jack continued to play the melody he had chosen, looking over to Danny with a grin.

“This is our favorite song to play together,” he explained. His finger’s moved across the keys with skill and grace. “Skye loves this part, right here,” he smiled and closed his eyes as the complicated notes echoed around them. The buck smiled, his eyes still closed. “I’ve been practicing for years and she can still play circles around me.” His eyes opened as the piece started to wind down. But the smile remained. “She’s way too good for me. But…” He played the final notes, pausing his fingers on the keys to let the sound play out. Once it faded, he lifted his paws and smiled again at the todd in his chair.

“I guess I’m a pretty lucky guy.”

Jack gulped and stood from his seat. He strode over to where Danny sat, the todd’s jaw set and eyes narrowed with suspicion. His blue eyes looked up at the handsome, successful buck in front of him, remembering the odd, almost ugly little kit he had once been, and braced himself.

“Mr.Frost,” Jack started after clearing his throat. “I love your daughter. I think I’ve loved her ever since the day I met her. She’s the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing, smartest mammal I have ever known. And I don’t want to spend another moment without her knowing I’m hers.” Jack shrugged. “For the rest of my life. I was hoping you would give me your blessing to ask her to marry me.”

Daniel Frost took a sip of his drink to gather his thoughts. 

“No,” he said simply.

The way it was said, without hesitation or thought, had the buck blinking in response, obviously thrown by his answer. Jack opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off.

“My daughter can do better than you, Jack,” Daniel continued, his lips becoming more pursed with every sip of his drink. “And I’m happy to bide my time waiting for that day to come.” With a grin, he reached down to release the footstool on the recliner and gave a satisfied sigh when he reclined back and settled in. “I know tons of todds who would be a better match for her.” He gave the rabbit a smug look and shrugged. “It’s just a matter of time until she meets someone better.” A wink was tipped to Jack over the rim of his glass. “So, don’t get too comfortable, Stripes.”

The younger male gave him a look of disbelief before opening his mouth to argue.

“Asking you is just a formality.”

Both males jumped and looked over to the living room entryway. Skye stood, looking at her father with angry eyes. Behind her, Abby gave her husband a sympathetic look. Danny lowered the footrest and stood from his seat.

“Now, sweetheart,” he started, the paw not holding his drink out stretched, “I’m just looking out for you. You’re young, brilliant, and beautiful. Do you really want to waste your best years with a rabbit?” Her eyes widened at him but her father wasn’t done. “What about kits? Do you think you’d be able to start a family with him?” He saw Jack’s expression fall out of the corner of his eye and fought off the guilt. “I won’t let you throw your life away for someone who won’t be able to give you the life you deserve. And you deserve a husband who can provide for you and give you children and with whom you can grow old with.”

Skye’s eyes were filled with tears, but she nodded before turning her gaze to Jack. Jack’s own tears fell freely as his paws fiddled with the box in his paws. Daniel hadn’t noticed him pulling it from his pocket when he stood from the piano.

“If we gross you out so badly, Dad, you may want to look away.” Skye stepped closer to Jack and grinned, still teary eyed.

“Jack,” she got down on one knee and took his free paw, pulling her own ring box from her jean’s pocket, “I love you, so, so much. And the idea of not being yours for the rest of our lives sucks.” Both mammals laughed, Jack gripping her paw and bending to kiss it. “You’re my best friend, my confidant, my partner.” She gently tugged her paw free to open her ring box, Jack sob laughing at the sight of the silver ring hidden inside. It was removed and his left paw taken up for the ring to be slipped onto his finger. “ Jack Edmond Savage, love of my life. Will you marry me?”

Danny’s jaw dropped and his eyes went to his daughter on her knee, to his family watching with happy astonishment from the hall. Jack laughed through his tears of happiness and nodded, joining her on his own knees. His ring box was opened, Skye gifting him with a gasp of joy at the tasteful, vintage ring inside. He took her paw again and slipped it onto her finger with a smile.

“Yes, Skye Abigail Frost,” they exchanged looks of pure love, paws now clasped together, “I will marry you.”

There was no further discussion, Daniel realizing there was nothing he could do but sit with his mouth agape as his daughter embraced her new fiance. His wife, daughters, and their partners impatiently waited for the chance to congratulate the couple. 

Which brought him to this moment. 

The second moment he had been dreading since the day his little vixen brought that odd, awkward, unfortunate looking little rabbit kit home. 

His daughter was marrying a rabbit. 

He walked her down the aisle to the buck, whose eyes were alight with happiness at the sight of his bride. And Danny knew he was wrong. He wasn’t happy about it, but as he reluctantly released his daughter’s paw and stepped aside for Jack, he knew their lives were made for this moment. The disaster he had hoped for, never happened. They were together, for richer or poorer. In sickness and in health. It only made Skye and Jack’s bond stronger. Danny was used to it by Christmastime, when his wife opened the door to the happy couple. In his opinion, their relationship had desensitized himself from a lot of things life threw at him.

But not the positive pregnancy test the couple had gifted them for the holiday.

[theunaccomplishedwriter]

Skyebound: Chapter 1 - The Day Things Changed by Oddly Unaccomplished Productions

Jack Savage’s lonely and humdrum existence as Precinct One’s underrated detective is turned upside down on one fateful day when an arctic vixen sits next to him for lunch. Strap in for a journey of romance, action, comedy, and whatever else we can throw in the mix in Oddly Unaccomplished Productions’ first feature length fanfic! Also all art is contributed by the wonderfully talented w4g4 who you can find here: https://w4g4.tumblr.com/

The monotonous electronic bleep of an iCarrot phone resounded around the tiny flat, the screen obnoxiously flashing on and off as it announced to its owner that 5:00 am had arrived. A pair of long ears twitched slightly at the irritating sound, before their owner rolled over and instinctively shut off the incessant sound.

Sitting up, Jack rubbed his eyes, trying in vain to remove the early morning groggy feeling. Going into autopilot, Jack threw his covers into a messy heap at the foot of his bed and walked through the open bedroom door into his dinky kitchenette.

Within minutes, Jack had prepared, boiled, and poured a piping hot mug of coffee and was taking his first tentative sip. Coffee wasn’t something lagomorphs usually drank, their species usually having so much energy that giving them any amount of caffeine was the equivalent of giving any other mammal a large hit of cocaine. Yet Jack, forever having to be different, needed the coffee.  

Jack remembered his first few years where he would struggle to keep his eyes open to watch TV, let alone pay attention at school. Eventually his parents took their perpetually sleepy kit to the doctors to see whether there was something preventing him from being as spritely as his siblings.

Though Jack was still tired at the time, he clearly remembered his worried mother and father looking as if they had been smacked across their faces as the coyote doctor prescribed their low energy kit some caffeine tablets. He also remembered the loud voices and speciest comments being flung at the patient canine, calling her a trickster and fraud, as they led the half awake Jack out in a huff.

After a few failed alternatives, most of them being vile herbal remedies that only made Jack feel as if he would lose his sense of taste, Jack swiped two of the illicit tablets his parents left in the medicine cabinet. Upon seeing their otherwise drained and droopy eared son bounding into the living room with all the energy of a firecracker, caffeine became an integral part of Jack’s life, though not before his parents returned to a certain coyote with bowed heads and tearful apologies which she gracefully accepted.  While Jack now preferred a bitter mug of caffeinated deliciousness, he still kept a few tablets on him just in case he started to feel low, the same coyote dutifully keeping him supplied whenever he needed.

Feeling revitalised as he downed the last dregs of his coffee, Jack quickly returned to his bedroom and donned his usual work attire. Jack admired himself in his wardrobe mirror. Admittedly it was a standard look. Sleek black suit, white shirt and black tie, but Jack thought he pulled off the look pretty well.

“Heh, I almost look like a secret agent.” Jack chuckled at the thought, before grabbing his detective badge, his phone and keys from the bedside table before quickly heading out of his front door with a spring in his step.

After a crowded trip on the subway, Jack popped up at Precinct One in Savannah Central, bounding through the door and heading straight towards his office. Draping his jacket on the back of his chair, Jack sat himself down and booted up his computer.

While Jack had loved the atmosphere of the bullpen, in amongst his fellow officers, all readying for their assignments, Jack couldn’t deny that he preferred getting on with his own tasks and only being supervised as and when necessary. What he didn’t like however was the work he was being assigned.

Emails flooded his inbox sending him attachments, links, and instructions to complete mountains of digital and physical admin.

“Damn it,” Jack said, dragging his paws across his face. “I’m never going to finish this in a month of Sundays.”

Staring at the long list of emails, Jack resignedly clicked on the first one, silently praying that today was going to be a slow day.

Jack let his head thud against the table and he quietly groaned as the sound of yet another email hitting his inbox. No matter how quickly he completed his work, it always felt like another three admin cases fell into his lap. It wasn’t as if they were his cases either. In the two years he had been at Precinct One, Detective Jack Savage had been on precisely two cases, neither of which was he lead investigator on, or even much of an investigator. He’d pretty much been foisted upon the other detectives by DCI Longtooth so that he wouldn’t have Bogo breathing down his neck. So every once in a while Jack would be allowed a brief outing to show he was a valued part of the team before being shut back up doing everyone else’s admin. Well, that and being a part-time clock watcher.

Glancing over to the clock, Jack noticed that it had mercifully turned 12:30 to which Jack eagerly jumped out of his swivel chair, grabbed and donned his jacket, before making way over to the cafeteria.

Pushing through the large swing doors, Jack made a beeline to the counter. Grabbing a tray, Jack hopped up and filled his tray with a large dollop of carrot salad. With tray in paw, Jack made his way over to the smaller mammal section of the cafeteria. Despite now having a few more smaller mammals working with the ZPD, the smaller mammal section was still relegated to a corner of the room, a few tables directly in sight of the doors which suited Jack fine. Despite rabbits and hares being incredibly social creatures, Jack seemed to miss out on that trait as well, preferring to be alone and observe others. Despite his lack of sociability, Jack’s perceptive character had allowed him to work well as a detective, when he got the chance to. Right now though, it was only helping him mammal watch.

Seating himself down at the end of an empty table, Jack began to lazily munch at the carrot salad while regretting his lack of coffee, despite having drank a large mug not an hour before.

Two thuds across the table made the hare detective look up from his meal. A russet coloured fox and a grey rabbit, otherwise known as the famous Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, had sat across from him on the other side of the table, a single bowl of salad placed in front of the two of them.

“Come on now Carrots,” Nick said, spearing a fork into the salad. “you know I’m right! Clawhauser so fancies Buffalo Butt.”

“And I’m telling you Nick,” Judy replied as she stabbed a load of salad with her own fork. “that you’re wrong. I saw him the other day with a lovely jaguar. They were holding paws and and everything! You just don’t know when to admit defeat Slick.”

“Oh contraire, my dear Fluff Ball. I’ll admit you saw Clawhauser out on a date with another mammal, but I still say that marshmallow’s heart still belongs to our one and only Chief Stick in the Mud.”

“And I still say you’re wrong.” Judy replied, taking a huge mouthful of her salad.

“Jeez Carrots, an Officer for how long and you still eat like a kit.”

“Do not!” came Judy’s garbled reply, lettuce leaves and carrot shavings sticking out her mouth.

“Oh yes, because a grown-up would totally do that Carrots.” Nick laughed as Judy swallowed her leafy mouthful. “If you’re gonna eat like a kit, I might as well feed you like one.”

“Don’t you even dare Nick Wilde!” Judy threatened, pointing her fork at him as if it were a deadly weapon.

Quickly disarming her and setting the weapon aside, Nick held his lettuce laden fork up to Judy’s face.

“Come on Carrots, here comes the aeroplane!” Nick said, making aeroplane noises as he moved the fork closer.

“If you think I’m going to degrade myself to that Nick you’ve got another thi-”

Judy’s protests were cut short by sudden laughter, Nick having moved his paw under her chin and began tickling her gently with his claws. Moving swiftly, Nick pushed the salad into the laughing lagomorph who, although shocked, chewed and swallowed her airborne meal.

“You’re so dead Wilde.” Judy half-threatened.

“So, you don’t want more then?” Nick asked coyly.

“Shut up and give me food you dumb fox.”

Jack, having stopped to watch this production play out in front of him, felt a pang in his heart. It had been a while since Jack had dated anyone though dating had always felt like a hassle to Jack. Being a bit of loner didn’t help his love life but it wasn’t as if he was against finding someone. He’d even catch himself daydreaming sometimes with a future with some delightful mammal in future.

With most of his siblings married or at least engaged, Jack was one of the last of the litter yet to find a mate. His worrying parents had set him up a few times with some lovely does and even a buck or two, but nothing ever came of it. Even after coming out as inter didn’t help things. All the mammals Jack went out with were usually funny, kind, attractive, intelligent mammals. Perfect partner material. Yet they had never flicked a switch in his head to go from friendship to something more. And so Jack remained alone but content.

Now though, looking at a pair of mammals that clearly had the switched flipped to the extent of being broke off while their careers were heading in the right direction, Jack couldn’t help but feel little despondent at his sad state of affairs.

“Excuse me.”

Looking up at the unexpected voice, Jack looked up to see who had managed to sneak past his enhanced hearing so effectively. Clad in dark blue, oil stained dungarees with a turquoise shirt underneath, stood a breathtakingly beautiful vixen. Her pristine white fur stood in stark contrast to her messy attire, but she radiated elegance as if it were her natural scent. Her sapphire eyes were deep and full of understanding, as if she could see into his very being and pluck out his entire meaning from within him. Looking lower, Jack saw that her mouth was moving.

“Wait, is she talking to me? Why is she talking to me? No-one talks to me unless they have to!” Jack’s mind raged against himself. The vixen’s mouth stopped moving with not a word of it going into Jack’s mind.

“Erm, sorry, could you repeat that?” Jack said sheepishly, mentally slapping himself for not paying attention.

“May I sit with you?” the vixen repeated sonorously.

“Yes of course.” Jack said nervously as the beautiful vixen smiled at him.

The beautiful vixen sat down next to him, her elegant white tail swaying back and forth hypnotically, Jack’s eyes taking quick peeks at sensual fluffiness.

“Adorable, isn’t it?”

“Huh?!” Jack blurted, his eyes shooting back up, his cheeks turning a deep crimson at the thought of being caught peeping at her tail. 

“Those two, the fox and that bunny sitting over there. They look so happy.” The vixen said in a sweet soothing tone that made a shiver run up Jack’s spine.

Looking back over, the red fox was making aeroplane noises as he fed the giggling bunny a forkful of their shared salad. In quick succession, Jack felt a wave of relief at not being caught, another pang of jealousy towards the couple across the table, and a huge dollop of anxiety as the vixen waited for his answer while her mesmerising sapphire eyes looked down at him.

“Erm, yeah, they seem… comfortable… together.” He muttered nervously, suddenly finding his cold carrot salad incredibly interesting as made a show of stabbing at it.

The vixen could sense something different about this rabbit but she couldn’t put her paw on what it was.

“Comfortable? More like playfully in love.” The vixen pointed out with a sweet giggle, looking back at Jack whose heart had now skipped a beat.

“Yes… playfully in love” he replied, trying not to stare at this vixen he had only known for a minute.

As the vixen tore into her turkey sandwich, Jack was still watching the red fox and the euro bunny across the table, thinking about how he much he wanted something like that.

His melancholy thoughts were interrupted by loud, yet satisfied, moan emanating directly beside him. Glancing back at the still nameless vixen, his eyes went wide as her as her sharp, predatory fangs sunk back into the turkey sandwich, giving another happy hum as the she swallowed the poultry’s flesh. Almost in slow motion, she licked her lips, revealing her pearly whites. Despite have grown up in Zootopia, brushing shoulders, or rather knees, with all types of predators, seeing this vixen’s teeth up close and personal set off all his alarms. His primal instincts screamed at him to make a break for the door before he joined the turkey as her next meal. Yet, he remained glued to his seat, transfixed by her teeth. Those deadly, threatening, murderous… exciting… beautiful… sensual… sexy teeth.

All thoughts of the couple across the table vanished into the ether, the world not existing for but himself and the arctic fox sitting so close to him. Jack suddenly felt as if he was burning up. He could swear steam was rising from his ears, his cheeks as hot as furnaces. And when the vixen looked over to him, flashing him a wide smile, all her fascinating fangs on full display, Jack was using every ounce of self-restraint to not launch off the chair like a rocket, powered by sheer embarrassment and lustful need.

Nervous and enchanted all at once, Jack started thinking about how he would keep the conversation alive between him and the goddess with fangs white as pearls and yet sharp as knives. He knew he had to say something but what? Then it hit him.

“A compliment.” he thought to himself.

He glanced back up in a flash to a glimmering smile. 

“I don’t know what’s whiter: your smile or your coat.” he blurted out, immediately regretting what he had just let out of his trap.

To his surprise however instead of a scoff, he heard a cute giggle from a blushing vixen whose tail was now swaying elegantly.

“I bet you say that to all the arctic foxes.” the vixen said with a coquettish grin, turning the hare such a deep shade of scarlet he could have passed for a rabbit shaped strawberry. She was enjoying the flustered bunny’s shocked look, drinking in every second, before he turned and directed all his energy to devouring his carrot salad that would even put a wolf off his meal.

“Aww… such a shy sweetie.” the vixen thought, taking in the still beet red buck. Through the expensive looking form fitting jacket and suit trousers, the vixen could see the power within him. His clothes hugging his muscles in a way that sent a jolt through her being. His grey fur, marked with those black stripes across his head and ears only served to define his chiselled features. Her eyes drifted down to his cottontail, perked up and twitching slightly, her mind only just restraining her from running her claws through the alluring soft tuft of fluff. Then his scent which, though she knew rabbit’s scents to be more subdued then a fox’s musk, he radiated something… powerful. Breathing it in like a divine fragrance, causing another hit of heat coursed through her being, the vixen shook her head quickly, freeing her head of some not so innocuous thoughts.

“So, it seems we’ve not introduced ourselves,” the vixen began, extending a paw. “I’m Skye Frost, resident ZPD mechanic. Nice to meet you.”

Jack wiped his mouth with a napkin that came in the plastic silverware package then, dusting off his paws, shook the vixen’s right paw with a firm grasp.

“How rude of me,” Jack said, embarrassed at forgetting his manners. “Detective Jack Oliver Savage and it’s an absolute pleasure to meet you Ms. Frost.” he said with a grin starting into her royal blue eyes, his heart beating as fast as a humming bird’s wings.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Skye replied, flattering her hare companion.

“Please Ms. Frost, forgive me for saying this, but you don’t really a lot of foxes working as mechanics.” Jack said cautiously, not wanting to offend the angelic fox. Slightly bewildered, Skye didn’t know what to think as all she could think of is how strong of a handshake he had and how flattering he was.

“Oh, don’t worry Mr. Savage, that’s only you and everyone else.” she chuckled, looking back into Jack’s turquoise eyes.

She had to give it to the hare though, as Skye was a little more than mildly surprised that he was taking her pawshake in his stride, not even remotely flinching, making Skye grin a little. 

Working as a mechanic on all manner and sized of vehicles, as well as keeping herself in top shape through use of the ZPD gym, Skye had more strength than mammals gave her credit for. Usually some mammal would saunter over to her, all swagger and bravado, and throw some cliché line that would make her cringe so much that it almost caused internal bleeding. But she would turn around, greet then so sweetly, then shake their paw. She didn’t even need to exert much pressure before the would-be suitor was trying to hide the pain behind their shocked and pained eyes. They’d all give her some saccharine pleasantry through gritted teeth, before skulking off, tail between their legs, nursing their wounded pride and bruised paw.

Now though, even as she squeezed a little more than usual, the hare didn’t even seem perturbed in the slightest, his smile resting easy on his muzzle. “Clearly that muscle isn’t just for show.” Skye thought, a hot flash fluttering in her chest. 

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way either, but you don’t exactly look like the usual brand of detective.” Skye commented, releasing his paw.

“Please call me Jack and no worries. Believe it or not it’s actually an advantage being a rabbit detective. Trust me when I say… you would be surprised.” He replied with a sly grin gazing into her azure gems for eyes. Skye’s heart fluttered hearing that last sentence and she could feel herself on the brink of losing her composure as she gazed back at Jack.

Just as Skye was thinking about her next move her watch began to beep. Jack watched her as she tried to shut the annoying beeping up, pushing its buttons frantically before the incessant beeping was halted.

“Well I would love to continue this conversation but, I’ve got to get back to work. Unit 206 needs a new transfer box and I’ve got to have the old one out by the end of the day or I’ll never get home.” Skye explained as she got up from the table.

Trying to look as he knew what a transfer box was, Jack nodded as Skye stood up, popping the last bite of the turkey sandwich into her paw, swallowing it with a delighted moan. 

“I guess I’ll see you round Sherlock.” Skye said with a playful grin, before turning to walk away, giving a frisky flick of the tail that she knew would get Jack’s ear all hot and bothered.

The hare’s eyes lingered on her tail for a moment, before drinking all of her form in as she sauntered towards the door, stopping and giving a little smirk before she left, leaving him with flushed cheeks and a pounding heart.

Jack’s gaze lingered on the closed door, feeling a little empty now she was gone. But the recent memory still played in his mind. Her confidence, her charm, her strength, her undeniable beauty. Jack sat there, letting the brief moment they sat together replay in his mind.

“Hey.” came a familiar sly tone.

Startled from his thoughts, the detective looked across the tabled to find the bunny and fox beaming back over to him, the same sly, knowing look plastered across their faces.

“Oh erm… how’s it going Wilde?”

“Fine…” Nick replied in a sing-song tone. “Say Stripes, I gotta ask, did you get a look at that vixen?” Jack’s mind couldn’t help but lose itself immediately to the hypnotic memory of Skye as soon as she was mentioned. For the first time in his life he felt something… different. Yet, for all the words in the word, none of them could help him fully explain it.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his reverie.

“Yes. Of course I did Wilde. How could I not?” he said, motioning his paws towards the shut door. Nick let out a laugh, already enjoying how easy it was to mess with Jack’s emotions.

“I know you did but, did you notice anything in particular? Like oh, I don’t know, that maybe the fact that she likes you?” he said with a sly grin, making Jacks check recolour themselves crimson.

Jack’s heart began to pound like a jackhammer in his chest. The slightest thought that that Goddess with pearl white fangs and snow-white fur had a crush on him sending him into love-struck reverie.

“You should go talk to her maybe ask her out! Ya know, like, for coffee. That’s what I did with Judy.” Nick suggested, already playing cupid on his theory that the striped rabbit had a crush on the vixen.

“C’mon Nick, leave the guy alone. We just got a call so we gotta go!” Judy urged, already out of her seat and raring to get going.

“Well Stripes I gotta get moving or Carrots will drag me with her by the tie. See ya later and don’t worry, maybe she won’t bite.” Nick said with a wink, hopping off the chair and making his way over to his beautiful bunny. But just as the couple had made their way halfway across the cafeteria, Judy suddenly doubled back, heading straight towards the hare.

“Don’t worry Jack,” Judy said, giving her fellow lagomorph a friendly punch on the arm. “Nick may not be everyone’s cup of tea but, on this stuff, he’s generally never wrong. Besides, the way I heard her heart pounding, I’m pretty sure whatever you’re feeling, it’s very, very mutual.”

With a smile, Judy dashed back over to her partner, the fox and bunny trading quips and jibes as the canteen door’s closed, leaving the lonely hare with a head full of thoughts and ears burning like a gas fire.

After a couple minutes of mulling over the idea of asking the most beautiful mammal he’d ever had the pleasure to meet out for a cup of coffee, Jack finally made up his mind.

“I’m going to do it. I’m gonna see if she’s really interested. I wonder is she a mocha or an espresso kind of gal… or maybe just a strong cup of dark roast?” He wondered to himself, finally getting up from the table, dumping his rubbish in the bin, and making his way out of the cafeteria.

The rest of the day went by in a blur of paperwork, meetings, and innocuous, boring conversations with mammals that Jack had a hard time remembering the moment they left. His thoughts were still completely wrapped up in the burning white-hot light that was Skye Frost. 

Individual images of her flitted through his mind. Her piercing blue eyes. Her wonderfully inviting smile, with those menacing yet marvellous teeth. Her ears that twitched a little when he gave her a compliment. Her paws with those wonderfully curious pads and intriguing claws. Her majestic, pure white fur, with that tail of hers that sparked thoughts that ranged from vaguely immodest to borderline pornographic. The memory of his half-baked excuses to his colleagues, concerned about his reddened face and ears, still made him cringe to think of them but even that could not stop his mind wandering back to that heavenly fox.

Finishing up the last of his paperwork Jack turned off his computer and left his cubicle, once again being one of the last to leave the building. Heading over to the locker rooms, Jack glumly thought at what lay ahead of him. Wandering back to his pokey apartment, vegging out on the sofa while lazily stuffing his face with a subpar takeaway meal yet again before crawling into bed and letting another day come where, yet again, he would be passed over for true detective work and shoved back into his pokey cubicle for another day’s drudgery.

Sure, Hopps had proved herself and, along with Wilde, were given proper cases to deal with. However, the same courtesy seemed to have passed Jack by when they were doling out assignments. He remembered back to his graduation when he had been assigned to Deerbrooke County. Although a little disappointed to be put in the country and not Zootopia itself, it had its charms and he hadn’t minded the couple of years he spent out there with his little house, fresh air, and friendly townsfolk, yet his true calling was back in Zootopia.

Although it was a hell of a lot quieter than Zootopia, he’d made a name for himself as an efficient and energetic detective, always willing to go the extra mile to solve a particular case which may have resulted in promotions being handed out like candy and him hitting detective rank while others were still waiting to be made Sergeant. It may have been because that cases in Deerbrooke were about as common as a month of Sundays but, when he got the documents through reassigning him to Precinct One in Zootopia, he had thought his talents were finally being recognised. Guess reality had other ideas for him, with his fuzzy butt still sat behind a desk, going through case files and other miscellaneous office admin for over two months. Still, Nick and Judy had made him welcome, even if they were always busy making the world a better place.

But at least there was that vixen now…

Shaking the lewder thoughts from his mind and rising blush in his cheeks, Jack hopped up and grabbed the locker room door handle. Just as he was about to open it though, the hare heard a loud crash, followed by a lot of annoyed grunts and swears, emanating from the garage. Curious, Jack hopped down and plodded off towards the kerfuffle, keen to investigate something, even if it was just Nick and Judy getting up to late night antics… again.

As Jack reached the door to the garage he heard a loud metallic clang followed by annoyed growl. Jack opened the door just enough to see a police SUV up on a lift, air hoses draped over the arms of the lift.

Then he saw her, dressed in blue overalls with a sky-blue t-shirt underneath. It was her. It was… Skye.

She was underneath the SUV making all sorts of noises with her tools usually followed by a hate filled growl. His curiosity peeked, Jack let himself in slowly and quietly closing the door behind him. As he began to observe the goddess with fangs remove bolt after bolt from beneath the 4x4. Jack wanted to get a closer look at her working, using her strong arms to break the bolts loose where her pneumatic tools were useless, Jack began to slowly make his way over to her, carefully trying not to disturb her. As Jack got closer though he let his mind wander thinking about her.

“Strength and beauty has never looked so good.” Jack thought to himself watching her work. But as he was daydreaming Jack broke his number one rule: never lose focus on the task at hand.

Without thinking Jack accidentally knocked over a small metal trash bin full of old oil rags, with it hitting the floor with a loud thunk and spilling the used rags all over the shop floor, which caught the attention of a certain vixen. Jack tried to pick them up before the tall snow-white mechanic could notice, but it was too late.

“You know, I don’t mind that you were spying on me, but knocking over a bin of oily rags that I do.” She said in an irritated tone as she stood in front of Jack looking down at him with those now icy blue eyes.

Busted, Jack knew he had to think of a quick response to get back on the vixen’s good side.

“I’m sorry I um… I was walking by and I heard a loud noise and a loud growl. I thought you might had hurt yourself.” He replied nervously.

Looking at him, Skye felt confused. On one paw, she was ticked that someone entered her shop after hours without her knowing. On the other she was flattered that her once silent observer cared enough to come check if she was okay. 

“Well thanks for looking out for me but I need to get back to work, this damn thing is the only reason I’m not at home having warm bath and a glass of wine.” Skye moaned, gesturing tiredly to the 4x4 behind her.

Jack sighed, feeling guilty about what he’d done. He got the gist from the vixen that she was not in the mood for a chat and instead got set cleaning up the mess he’d caused. Soon Jack finished picking up last of the spilled rags and wiped up all the traces of oil on the polished floor. Skye had returned to her place trying to remove the stubborn bolt from the 4x4. He couldn’t help but wonder what was holding her up from going home. Naturally Jack felt a need to help and maybe get the chance to ask her out. 

“Hey uh… Skye?” he asked nervously.

Sighing at being interrupted again, Skye looked down at the hare in front of her.

“Yes, umm…” 

“Jack. My name’s Jack.” he replied, a little perturbed by the fact she forgot his name. 

“Right Jack, forgive me I’m terrible with names.” she responded holding a socket ratchet with a long extension in her right grease stained paw.

“Well… do you need a paw?” Jack asked, gesturing to the stubborn bolt.

“No, I…” Skye halted her response after gazing at Jack for just a moment. She realized that he had small enough paws and build to get into the area her own paws couldn’t reach. Even with her array of tools she couldn’t the most stubborn inaccessible bolt loose from its hole.

“Yes… would you give me a paw?” She inquired, smiling down at the grey hare.

Jack couldn’t help but become weak at the knees seeing those brilliant white fangs again. He blinked his eyes and shook his head.

“Sure, how may I assist in you getting home for your warm bath?” he said with a sly grin, cocking an eyebrow suggestively.

Skye let out a giggle. 

“Could you help me get that last bolt loose. My partners in crime is usually here to help me with stuff like this, but she’s off sick and he’s off on vacation so I’ve been shorthanded for the week.” 

“Sure, where’s the bolt?” 

“Top right-hand corner, it’s the only one left on the top joining the transfer box to the gearbox. I’d get it myself but the way its mounted up and with that fixed cross-member in the way I can’t get to it.” She explained, elaborating on the 4WD’s over engineered frame.

Jack looked up at her and then to 4WD. Confused to how he was supposed to get up that high. 

Skye handed him the socket ratchet.

“Well you have the ratchet go on.” she insisted.

Jack laughed. “What do you think I’m going to jump up there?” 

“Well you are a bunny I thought that’s what you do, right?” she asked with a grin showing just a flash of her fangs.

“Well yeah but…” 

Before Jack could respond Skye quickly reached down and grabbed him then put him on top of her shoulders.

“Hey whoa! what are you doing?” He said, surprised by the vixen’s quick action.

“Giving you a lift.” she replied in a matter of fact way.

“Don’t you would have a ladder or something?” Jack asked, steadying himself on her soft shoulders.

“Nope. Now look straight ahead… do you see that green dot?” She said describing the color coded bolt head.

Not knowing what he was looking at he searched for the green dot and after a few seconds spotted it in an unusually tight to reach area.

“Found it!” Jack happily exclaimed.

Jack had some knowledge of mechanics but not much. As he worked his way up into the small space to access the stubborn bolt Skye was looking up at him working his strong arms breaking the bolt loose. 

“Okay, stop. Don’t loosen it anymore just hang out on to the cross-member while I get the sky jack to lower it down.”

Jack noticed her looking at him he thought this might be another chance to impress.

“Take your time I could hang out here all night.” He said happily, hanging like a sloth from the cross-member.

Skye quickly rolled the tall jack under the transfer box to support it the put Jack back on her shoulders.

“Alright go ahead take the bolt out.” Skye said, holding the transfer box to support it.

“Right.” Jack responded.

Jack gave the bolt a couple of turns and out it came. 

Skye held on to the chunk of aluminium as she wheeled it out from under the SUV with Jack still on her shoulders to her work bench, sliding it onto the table and letting out a sigh of relief.

“Thank heavens that’s done. Now I can go home!” she exclaimed.

“This is it,” Jack thought to himself “this is when I should ask her.”

“Before you go I have two questions.” Jack asked quickly, lest he lose the moment.

“Go for it Stripes.” she stated, looking up at the dapper rabbit still on her shoulders. 

“First: could you put me down?” Jack said, starting to feel a little flustered again as her soft fur brushed against him.

“Oh, sure!” Skye replied, a little embarrassed she forgot to put him down, grabbing him off her shoulders and setting Jack back down on his own feet, blushing as she did so.  

“And the second one?” she asked feeling anxious about the next question not knowing what the handsome stud had to ask.

“Do you want to maybe… go out for a coffee or maybe a drink tomorrow night after work, seeing as it’s Friday tomorrow?” Jack said, hoping it sounded as cool as it did in his head. 

Her eyes bulged for a second, before a small smirk pulled at the corners of her lips. Jack, clearly trying to play it all suave and sophisticated, as if he were some sort of secret agent, looked anything but. His nose was twitching nervously, his eyes laced with an earnest and hopeful gleam, his ears quickly turning from a slightly embarrassed pink blush to the deepest beet red. 

“Such a nervous Nellie.” Skye thought, repressing a chuckle at the unarguably cute spectacle before her.

“Sure, sounds like fun.” Skye said, the smirk effortlessly transitioning to an easy smile.

A look of complete and utter astonishment raced across his face. All his nervous movements halted to be replaced by a jaw hanging open, eyes that were nearly bulging out of their sockets, a nose that had halted cutely mid-twitch, his previous blushing ears now stood firmly at attention. With the dazed look he was giving her, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the million mile an hour thoughts Jack was having had come to such an almighty halt that it crashed his entire thought process. A mental blue screen of death.

Letting the lagomorph quickly reboot himself, he coughed and smoothed down his ears, trying unsuccessfully to appear more relaxed than he clearly was.

“Aweso- I mean yeah, yeah, that’s er, that’s cool. So d’you er, d’you want me to, you know, pi… pick you up after your shift if, if you want. I mean if you’re busy or whatever that’s fine, I can just-…”

“I get off shift about one tomorrow,” Skye interjected, saving Jack from his awkward fumbling. “Got a half day anyway. Even us mechanics have to take a break every now and again. You get off at five but, looking at the way you work, I’m betting that’s more like six, seven-ish isn’t it? So how about I pick you up after work?”

“Yeah, sounds… sounds good.” Jack murmured, looking as if his brain still wasn’t quite registering that this was actually happening.

“Oh, hang on a sec.”

Quickly turning on her heel, Skye sped off to a door on the far side of the garage, leaving Jack alone in the darkened room, still trying to come to grips with everything that was happening, his mind still only working at fifty-five percent capacity.

“She… she said yes.” The thought becoming more solid and and unbelievably real in his mind. “She said yes. She wants to go for a drink with me. Me? Really? The glorified admin worker? The hare holding onto the idea of being an actual detective again by a hair’s breadth? Me? This has got to be a joke. Someone’s got to be recording this for Ewetube or something. Or one of those prank shows. Oh God, she’s going to come out there with a camera crew, isn’t she? This all a big set-up! I knew it was too good to be true! I bloody kn-”

Skye suddenly reappeared from the door, walking now at a calmer pace than the near sprint she left him, hips slightly sashaying, tail wagging slightly, she gently sauntered across the otherwise empty repair space. 

Stopping in front of him, smiling as sweetly as ever, Jack was about to call her out on her elaborate ruse, wishing for this cruel joke to be over with, when he suddenly noticed the small black device in her paw.

“Sorry about that, so can you just give me your number? I’ve got a memory like a sieve so unless I put it down now I’ll never remember it.”

“You… you want my number?” Jack asked, almost incredulously.

“Well duh!” Skye commented, as if stating the obvious. “How else am I going to call this buck to tell him to get out of his cubicle and get ready!”

“Uh, sure.” 

Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket and read out his number to Skye, with Skye reading it back to make sure it was right, with only one number needing to be changed.

“Okay and… done!” Skye proclaimed, hitting the save contact button with a theatrical flourish. “I’ll text you to make sure it’s right, okay?” 

“Erm, yeah sure.” Jack said, still unsure whether the cameras were still rolling.

“Cool! Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

And before Jack could say anymore Skye quickly turned and headed back to the room she been in before, Jack’s eyes drawn to her freely swinging tail before the door closed behind her.

He wasn’t sure when he had left the garage, gone to the locker rooms and changed, but by the time he had come out of autopilot mode, he was out already standing outside the revolving doors of the ZPD.

“That… that happened… right?” Jack thought.

As if to punctuate his thoughts, a sharp ping rang out from his phone. Pulling it out he saw he had one text from an unknown number. He quickly opened it, still not quite believing it could be from her.

Hey, it’s Skye. Was beginning to think you’d never ask. See you tomorrow sweetie. :) 

“She… she’s looking forward to tomorrow.” Jack thought. “It wasn’t a set-up. She wants to see me. She wants to see me tomorrow. She wanted me to ask her. She called me sweetie! SHE CALLED ME SWEETIE!”

A few noise complaints were put in that night, several mammals all complaining about a mad hare bouncing all over the place, as if someone had poured an entire vat of coffee down his throat, yelling at the top of his tiny lungs. When asked what he was yelling, they all replied the same thing.

“SHE CALLED ME SWEETIE!!!”

[honeywithblueberries]

Brush

“Owwwww….” Skye whimpered as she dragged her claws through her tail fur to remove the spurs tangled in it. She winced as one was pulled free, taking a clump of fur with it.

“Here.” Jack took a seat next to her, a brush in paw, patting his lap with the other. She gave him a smile, flipping her tail onto him. With a coo of satisfaction, she leaned back and enjoyed the feeling of him gently removing the spurs. Her boyfriend smiled.

“It’s a lot easier with a brush,” Jack commented with a smile back.

Skye kissed his nose. 

“And it’s a lot better with you brushing my tail.”

[honeywithblueberries]

Office

“Okay! I have it all planned out.” Jack stayed where he was as Skye moved further into the newly purchased warehouse. A paw gestured to one side, the bunny following along. “Over here I’m going to have the lifts; we’re going to engine construction over here!” Her excitement grew as her ideas overcrowded her thoughts. “Tires are going over here; I have the employee break area over here.”

She continued on about her plans and thoughts, her boyfriend listening as his smile grew. Her excitement grew with it. Together, they moved through the building, reimagining her own garage once the building was repaired and everything was operational. Coming to a stop on top of the stairs, they overlooked Skye’s new future kingdom. 

“Just picture it, Jack,” she murmured to him, her paw clasping his. “I can finally be my own boss. I can hire the mammals I know are qualified and I can make sure other predators have a fair shot. I can make a difference with this place, Jack.” She looked over at him. “I know I can.”

“And you’re going to need a devilishly handsome rabbit buck to make sure your books are perfectly balanced.” He smirked at her.

With a wink she moved closer to him. “Know anyone who would be interested?”

“I’m not sure,” he put his paws on her hips. “What would my office look like?”

Together, they looked at the open door at the top of the stairs. The door hung off one hinge, there was a hole in the floor and another in the ceiling, while some type of bird made its nest in one of the corners of the dilapidated office. 

“It needs some work,” she said with a grin. He grinned back.

“I’ve always wanted an office with a skylight.”

“You’ll have to share,” she warned.

“It’ll be cozy.”

“Cramped.”

Jack suddenly kissed her. “I should be so lucky.”

“You’re hired.” 

[honeywithblueberries]

Tech

“Ouch!” The white vixen pulled her paw back and gave it a shake in frustration. Her blue eyes narrowed accusingly at the little computer hooked up to the car engine. “Stupid computer! Stupid smart cars! Stupid technology!” She gave a growl before pushing herself away from it in frustration.

The striped buck sitting next to her laughed uproariously. Skye glared at him for a moment before turning back to the car. 

“And of course,” she continued while his laughter died down, “they send the most annoying tech guy to help me with this.”

“Oh, yes,” Jack agreed with a hint of sarcasm, “how dare they gift you with the assistance of their most distinguished tech guy. It’s like they respect you enough to make sure you learn from the best.”

“This,” a paw gestured to her work, “is car stuff. Technology doesn’t belong in a car.”

“Until it does.” He passed her the equipment she would need, studying her as she begrudgingly accepted it. But she followed his instructions, nonetheless, feeling impressed when she was able to get the car to respond.

“Huh…” Jack looked up from his notes to her. Skye gave him a slightly rueful look. “It works.”

“Very surprising,” the bunny remarked dryly.

He slid off his stool, pulling the rest of her required equipment out of his bag and setting it down. She watched out of her peripheral, pretending to focus on the car in front of her. Gathering up his folders, shoulder bag, and phone, Jack made his way over to the ZPD garage exit. 

“Hey, Jack?” He paused and looked back. Skye smiled and gave him a small nod. “Thank you.”

“Anytime…” She turned back to her work while he stayed. “Hey,” her blue eyes met his, “if you ever need a refresher course or need a private tutor-” he grinned when her eyebrows shot up- “you know where to find me.”

With that, he disappeared. Skye gave a little scoff before turning the equipment he left.

“I love technology.”

[theunaccomplishedwriter]

Skyebound - AO3 version!

For those of you who want to see Skyebound not on tumblr but in a dedicated fanfic site, fear not! We have an AO3 page so go and check it out here!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11941929/chapters/26996670

[theunaccomplishedwriter]

Jack is Skyebound

Huh? Wha?! I think I just heard my writing partner @oddwilde22 tell me to wake up. Alright fine! So get ready people! Less than an hour until Jack is Skyebound!

[theunaccomplishedwriter]

We’re Skyebound!

I’d just like to give all those who have read, liked and/or reblogged Skyebound here on tumblr as well as everyone who has read, given us a kudos, commented and/or bookmarked Skyebound on AO3 a massive thank you from us here at Oddly Unaccomplished Productions. @oddwilde22 and I would have never have imagined the amazingly positive response to our first chapter and we would like to thank all of you for your support. 

We hope you will be patient with us while we work on future installments of Skyebound but I feel I’m correct in saying that both @oddwilde22 and I love this story we’ve created as much as all of you and we are immensely happy with all the support and kind words we have received from you all.

So thank you all once again and, if you haven’t already, go read Skyebound and tell us what you think! We love reading your comments and will answer all your questions if we can! Thank you all once again! 

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11941929/chapters/26996670