FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Zootopia - Overcoming Fears

"Carrots, I changed my mind," the fox whispered, his voice choked with fear to a whisper. "I don't think this is such a good idea."

"Shhhh, it'll be okay, Nick, I promise," the rabbit responded, ruffling her fingers through the fur of his cheeks.

The blinds were drawn for the sake of privacy, the room dark, the door shut, though neither expected company. He knelt before her on their bed, nude save for two sets of handcuffs that locked his left wrist to his right ankle and vice versa behind his back. He was panting already, ears tucked, eyes dilated, and he had not even seen the final piece yet.

"Don't you trust me, fox?" she asked playfully, planting a kiss on his nose.

He swallowed loudly, closing his eyes and trying to force his breathing to slow to a more normal pace. After nearly a minute, he opened them again, emerald gazing into violet. "I trust you, Judy. I just..."

"I know, sweetheart." She hugged her arms around his neck and rubbed cheeks with him. "It'll be fine. Just focus on me, okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'll... I'll do my best."

She hopped down from the bed and lifted a cardboard box onto it before bounding back up. Nick tried to keep his eyes on her, away from the box, forcing them to roam over her grey-furred form, tracing her familiar curves, but he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, beating harder with every passing second. As the lid began to lift, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, but that didn't block the metallic tinkling of the buckles as the contraption was lifted from its container. He was starting to hyperventilate again, but he couldn't help it. He clenched his jaws shut, pulling his tongue back into his mouth, forcing himself to breathe through his nose, but that didn't help either. He could feel the constricting tightness of a panic attack gripping at his chest, a low, helpless, pleading whine escaping him. The cuffs binding him bit into his wrists as his hands tried vainly to interpose themselves between his face and the thing that was coming to encapsulate him.

But instead of harsh leather against his cheeks, he felt the tender caress of his partner and love.

"Shhhhh," she gently shushed him, tracing her thumbs from the corners of his eyes down his cheeks to wipe away tears he had unknowingly shed. "Trust me, Nick. Focus on me."

"I don't think I can do this," he whimpered in response, a slight sob hitching his voice.

"Dumb fox," she chuckled affectionately. "This is Zootopia, remember? You can do anything you put your mind to."

"Just never gonna let that go, huh?" He offered a strained laugh in response, trying to capture his usual humor. "You're right one time, and hold it against me forever."

"You betcha."

He gasped suddenly as he felt teeth nibbling along the edge of his ear, her hands still gently petting at his cheeks, one moving to stroke beneath his chin as the other slipped around to scratch at his scruff. It sent a pleasant shiver down his spine that did more to ease the panicked pressure squeezing his heart than anything else had so far. His ear slowly perked as her teeth neared the tip, letting her trail love bites down the other side, then reverse course. The hand scratching beneath his chin left off to trace a finger around his snout where it emerged from his skull, the place where a muzzle would fit against him, and he felt a slight fluttering from the scarred little child that still lived in him, but her other tender ministrations laid it to rest.

She switched around to nibble at his other ear, her scratching at his scruff becoming long strokes that dragged from the base of his skull to half way down his back. Her other hand continued to trace the lines a muzzle would make through his fur, one along each cheek and a third over the top of his skull, but her caress was so gentle and loving that he felt himself relaxing, bit by bit, enough to actually enjoy the situation. Then there came a clink and a tug, the lines she had been tracing becoming instantly real and solid.

He felt his entire body tense suddenly, the metal of his bonds cutting into his limbs as he strained against them, teeth bared in a snarl, but he kept his eyes tightly closed and focused on keeping his breathing even. He could feel the metal wire shrinking, constricting, digging into his flesh, cutting off his air. He began to pant again, hard, terrified, his ribs a cage to contain the panicked beast that was his heart as it struggled to break free. But he felt a warm body pressed against his back, loving fingers scratching lightly over his throat and chest, the only scents around him those that meant home and safety and love. As long as he kept his eyes closed, he could pretend they were just lines traced by a finger. Just lines traced by a finger...

Slowly, slowly, he managed to fight back the panic, the same panic that could have gotten both of them killed only a few weeks ago. He wasn't able to relax entirely, as he had been before the muzzle had been added to his adornments, but he could feel his breath coming easily and naturally, the tightness in his chest a barely-felt pressure. It wasn't gone; it would never be gone, but it was survivable.

"Smart fox," the rabbit praised, her whisper caressing his ear. "Now, for the rest."

"Sure, Carrots, just try not to wake the neighbors this time. They're louder than we are. It's starting to make me feel inadequate."

Judy laughed, half with relief that he could even make a joke and half at his self-deprecating humor. "They're louder than I am," she corrected him, "but only because they both make noise. And trust me, there is nothing inadequate about you."

"Ah, you're only saying that because I've spoiled you."

"Yep, for any other male, ever."

"C'mon, bunny, you're gonna make me blush."

"Ha, that'll be the day."

She gave his scruff a playful nip, then took hold of his shoulders and gently pulled him backward until he lay on his back atop the mattress. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable position ever, what with his hands cuffed beneath his hindquarters sandwiched beneath him, but it was the best for what the bunny had planned. She began to crawl over him, planting light nips and kisses and scratches along his neck and chest, giving his stomach long strokes as she nosed through his fur to find his nipples and suckle them, working her way towards her target. Eventually, she lay stretched out along his torso, her head nestled between his legs, her paws splayed to either side of his head.

Her thin tongue teased the opening of his sheath, flicking over it a few times before delving inward, her fingers tenderly massaging his inner thighs. She only wished that he wasn't muzzled and cuffed so that he could return the favor, a frequently pastime, but this was all for him. Instead of dwelling on what she was missing out on, she used her lips to press his sheath down, taking the tip of his flaccid maleness into her mouth. She teased over the oddly-shaped head with her tongue tip as she suckled lightly, enjoying both the shape and flavor. He was so different from a rabbit, but that was part of the attraction. It felt like a forbidden fruit, but she was damned if she'd willingly give it up.

As she mused, she felt him swelling to fill her mouth and let out a soft moan of pleasure, his generous preseminal fluids beginning to gush in regular pulses. She drank them down with pleasure, letting each squirt coat her tongue before swallowing it. The fox let out a moan of his own, hips bucking slightly, and she smiled around the meat stretching her lips. A circled thumb and finger pushed his sheath the rest of the way down to puddle at his base, revealing the bulge that would swell to form his knot, an inch and a half past the end of her nose, and the tip of his shaft was already pressed to the back of her throat. One day, she vowed, she would have her lips locked around that knot... but not today, when Nick would be unable to help if anything went wrong.

She wrapped her fingers around the bulge at his base instead, beginning to bob her head along as much of his length as she could take, letting the tip slip just barely into her throat until it began to make her gag before pulling back to flick her tongue over his pointed head a few times, then back down.

"Hairballs, bunny, I swear you get better at this every time," the fox groaned.

Her reply was to press her head forward, taking that inch and a half of fox down her throat, straining until her nose pressed against the fingers wrapped around his suddenly ballooning knot.

"Oh, cheese and crackers!" Nick exclaimed, hips bucking as best they could.

She held herself there for several seconds, fighting her gag reflex, then pulled off suddenly. She didn't want things to end just yet.

Nick let out a frustrated whine as his throbbing shaft was suddenly reintroduced to the air, leaking jets of pre onto his stomach, and demanding, "What'd you stop for?"

"This," she explained simply, flipping herself around to straddle his hips and dropping herself down onto his dribbling member.

The fox fell mute once more, his words stolen by primitive mewls and whines and growls as she rode him, hard and fast, pounding down onto his vulpine rod. He filled her like nothing else, stretching her to the limit and spearing deep into her. She was determined to finish things properly, too, and had gotten plenty of practice in the last six months. Nick ground his teeth as he tried to hold himself back. She was so tight around him, so hot and wet and ready, and all his, but he wanted to finish it right as much as she did. It had taken some working up to, that first time, but it had blown them both away, and had again every time since. She was so much smaller than most foxes, so much more compact, and she squeezed in ways he had never thought possible.

The sounds she made as she rode him were much different than those he forced from her when he was directing the show, but no less enchanting. Each time her hips jolted against his knot, she let out a soft squeak, drawn into a soft, inward gasp as she rose, turning into a soft moan when she dropped herself downward again.

"Not gonna make it, Carrots," the fox panted.

"Will, too," she rebutted. "Just hold out for me."

"Trying! Not gonna make it!"

Any time he swelled before entering her, it had always taken a good bit of manual force to get inside afterward, but he had no leverage to assist her this time around. She was on her own, and he wasn't certain he could last much longer. His lovely little lady, however, wasn't one to give up. She slammed herself down onto him and slipped a hand down to close her fingers behind his swollen bulb, grinding her hips against it as she simultaneously pulled upward and pressed down. Amazingly, he felt himself slipping inward, her flesh spreading as she forced herself to accept him. A quarter of his knot passed her entrance, a third, the struggle becoming almost too much as she reached the halfway point. Then, suddenly, he was in her, rock hard, locked tight, and unable to hold back any longer.

He let out several sharp barks in the signature sound of his species when breeding, feeling her clenching and quivering around him as he filled her depths with his seed. He pulsed into her, gush after gush flooding into her until it filled every bit of space inside her and began to leak out around the seal of his knot. She lay trembling against his stomach, her chin resting against his chest, fingers clutching at his fur, her fluffy little tail twitching so rapidly that it created a light breeze that wafted against his nether regions. It was about fifteen minutes before they separated, his maleness almost forcibly expelled by the pressure inside her once his knot deflated, letting out a flood of fox cream to seep into his fur and the covers beneath him.

"Hey, uh, Carrots?" Nick inquired of the still trembling bunny.

She sighed happily and glanced up at him, her violet eyes half-lidded from the aftershocks of pleasure that still raced through her. "Yeah, Nick?"

"Think you could uncuff me, now? I think my legs are asleep."

"Oh, pellets! Yes, sorry!"

Judy hastily rolled him onto his stomach and retrieved the handcuff keys from atop the bedstand, loosing his limbs. The fox immediately scrambled to free himself from the muzzle, finally opening his eyes to see the monstrosity that caged him, but stopped himself before he could rip it off. With deliberate care, he pushed himself up into a sitting position before slowly reaching back to undo the buckles, sliding it off properly instead of letting fear dictate his actions. He held it in his lap as his bunny-love came up behind him, resting her head on his shoulder as she hugged her arms around his chest from behind.

"Do you feel any better?" she asked solicitously.

After a long moment, the fox nodded. "I do, actually. I'm not cured, I know that, but... I feel like I could be, one day."

She planted a kiss on the back of his head and walked across the bed to retrieve the box for the muzzle. "Let's put that away and talk about things, okay?"

"Yeah," he agreed, tossing it onto the bed beside him and clasping his hands in his lap to prevent her from seeing how badly they were shaking.

He heard her pack it away and drop it to the floor before padding up to hug him from behind once more. He was filled with mixed emotions. There remained that constricting, insane, feral fear inside him, but it wasn't clawing its way up his throat. It sat in an icy little ball just below his heart, waiting for a reason to uncoil and attack, stealing away his reason and reserve and turning him into nothing more than a cornered savage fighting for freedom. On the other hand, he also felt the restful relaxation that only Judy could give him, a loving warmth that seeped deep into the reaches of his soul and chased out anything else. Relaxed and tense, terrified and safe, sexually satisfied and... well, that was it for that one. They warred and mingled into a weird energized lethargy.

"So..." she began. "I have some other ideas we can try for therapy, too, since I know you aren't going to go see a psychiatrist unless Bogo orders you to. We both know you have to get over this, though."

"I know, baby. I know. I messed up, and I nearly landed us both in deep manure. I'm just glad Delgato got there so fast."

"Nick... You can't just keep beating yourself up about it. That's not going to do anyone any good, especially you. We have to beat this, and we can do it. Together."

He sighed and pushed himself to his feet, padding around the bed to stand by the window. He parted the blinds to look out over the city he protected, as he contemplated his words.

"I love you. You know that. Hairballs, I think I love you more than life itself, and you know I'm not about to jump off a bridge for anyone. Well, anyone else. And let's not do that again, ever, huh? Anyways... It's the fact that I put you in danger that's the worst of it. You could've been badly hurt, or worse, and would've been if we hadn't called in for backup first. It was dumb luck and my own yellow streak that we survived in the first place."

"Nicholas Wilde!" the rabbit protested, hopping off the bed and stomping over to yank on his tail until he turned and she could leap up and latch onto his muzzle with one hand to pull him down to her level. She prodded him in the nose with each word to reinforce her point. "You are not a coward. It was the smart move. We were in pursuit of a large predator, in a bad part of town, and on unfamiliar turf. We had no idea what was in that warehouse, and I was the one who was out of line. We would have been in a much worse situation if you had let me just go charging on in after that wolf. You saved us, Nick, not Delgato."

She let him go and stood back to lean her shoulders against the side of the bed. The fox rubbed the back of his neck and looked back out at the view. She was right, but that was where his head and heart disagreed. He sighed and leaned against the windowpane, pressing his cheek to the warm glass as late afternoon light bathed his fur.

"You know I agree with you, I just can't... I can't feel like it, y'know? We walked into an ambush, and we did everything right until I messed up. You... you know how I am about muzzles. I know they're necessary sometimes with violent criminals, predator or prey. I know it was necessary that time, and I knew it when it was happening, I just... I hesitated. Because I hesitated, he was able to get loose, and then..." Nick paused, shuddering, a sick feeling clenching at his stomach. "When he put it on me, I just... I panicked. I lost it. I ran. I left you, Judy..."

He looked over at her, and she could see the pain etched deep inside him. She hopped up to sit on the edge of the bed and gestured with both hands for him to come to her. He did, sinking down to his knees to lay his head in her lap, sobbing softly.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened in a life full of bad luck and bad decision," he admitted between gasps for breath while she petted him soothingly. "I could have lost you, and it would have been my own damn fault."

"Nick, we're cops. We could lose each other any time, any day. It's a hazard of the profession. All we can do is minimize the risks as much as possible, and that's why we have to break this fear. Together, we can do anything. Right?"

He laughed and sniffled, grabbing some tissues from the bedstand to blow his nose. "I thought only bunnies were supposed to be emotional."

She cupped his cheek and smiled, leaning in to kiss him once more. "Every mammal can be emotional sometimes. No shame in it. So, you with me?"

"Always, fluffbunny."

She gave him a mock punch to the shoulder and shooed him toward the shower while she replaced the bedclothes, stuffing the soiled linens into the hamper and spreading fresh ones over the waterproof covering that protected the mattress. He trudged to the shower, dragging his paws as she bustled with energy, efficient as ever. He had a lot to think about. Though he was certain he'd still freak out next time he had to face being muzzled, he felt it might just be something he could overcome. Hopps was right about one thing, though: the pair of them seemed able to overcome any obstacle that came their way so long as they worked together.

He stepped under the hot spray with a long sigh, giving himself an all over shake beneath the water to help wash away the last of the fear tingles. His future wife joined him after a minute or two. He remained leaning against the wall for a moment more before suddenly scooping her up into the air and pressing her against the wall. She let out a predictable shriek of surprise, but it was quickly silenced by the feel of his long, vulpine tongue diving into the space between her legs. She clutched at his ears as he greedily lapped up his leavings, her knees thrown over his shoulders. He licked, he slurped, he dug in and scooped, teasing and caressing her inner walls as his cold, wet nose wriggled and ground against her clit. It didn't take long before she came, though not nearly as hard as when she was knotted.

"What was that for?" she panted afterward, stroking her fingers through his damp headfur.

He smacked his lips, licking at his chops, a slightly confused expression on his face. "Just returning the favor, Carrots. Or should I say... Is that...raspberries? Why do you taste like raspberries?"

The rabbit giggled softly, the inside of her ears flushing red with a blush. "That's kind of a family trait. If we eat a lot of berries, we... well, that happens. It becomes more noticeable when we're-" Judy cut herself off, clasping her hands to her mouth in sudden shock.

"What? What is it? Berries are half our diet, and I've never tasted it on you before."

"Pregnant," she gasped.

"Preg-" Nick's eye grew wide with dawning delight. "Nooo... Really? You mean it?"

"I... I don't know. I didn't think... I mean, we haven't exactly been using any protection, and rabbits are fertile year-round, but I thought..."

"I know. Me, too."

"It's so rare, and it's really too early to tell. We shouldn't get our hopes up."

"Carrots, if there's anything you've taught me, it's always get your hopes up, and keep them there. Jeez, we haven't even talked about kids, though. I mean, I figured, if you really wanted some, you could just borrow a few from your parents." The initial burst of enthusiasm swiftly faded as old doubts crept back in. "Besides, I'd make a terrible dad."

With a snort of disbelief, the rabbit grabbed his cheeks and pulled him into a kiss. "How about I make an appointment at the clinic and we find out if we have anything to worry about first. It could be just a false alarm, and there's no use counting chickens before they hatch."

"You got it, fuzzbuns. No chicken counting."

"Good. Now put me down so we can actually wash before the hot water runs out."

Twenty minutes later, damp but mostly dry after a run through the fur drier, Nick stood frying up some burgers on the stove with tater-tots baking in the oven while Judy chopped up a large fruit salad for them to share. He couldn't help but glance over at her every so often, trying to see a bulge at her midsection, imagining what she'd look like all swollen up and filled with a litter. It actually wasn't a bad thought. Despite his trepidation, he found himself looking forward to a time when his imagination matched reality, but old fears were hard to get past, as evidenced by his earlier performance. He hadn't exactly had much of a paternal role model growing up. If fate laid a litter in his lap, though, he'd do his best to do right by them and try his hardest to make sure they had every advantage he had lacked.

He pulled the tots from the oven to cool while he prepped the buns for the burgers. By the time he had them plated (a beetle-burger for himself, and a veggie burger for the bunny), Judy had finished mixing the salad. He set the plates and salad bowl on the table while his mate fetched condiments, then got down glasses for both of them while she pulled out some mixed juice. They made a good team, each working to their strengths and covering the deficiencies of the other. They might just make good parents after all. Of course, she'd have to be the disciplinarian; Nick was sure he'd be a pushover if their kits made the big-eyes at him.

"So, pregnant, huh?" Nick said, returning to their shower conversation just as Judy was taking a bite of her burger.

She nearly choked on the mouthful, and he began eating his own burger with a calm grin. She glared at him once she had finished coughing, and tossed a tot at him, which he deftly snapped out of the air and ate.

"Really, it's not even certain yet," she told him. "I'll make an appointment tomorrow morning, and we'll find out by the end of the week."

"Alright, alright, don't get your ears in a knot, Raspberries," he relented with a wink. "And, by the way, how exactly do you know that's something that 'runs in the family'?"

The rabbit rolled her eyes and looked at him with a quirked brow. "The saying 'boff like bunnies' isn't just phrase. I was well educated before I left home."

"Oh..." Judy resumed eating, slowly forking a few pieces of fruit into her mouth with a grin as she watched his eyes widen. "Oooooh... You... and... them... all of them?"

She shrugged and remained silent, continuing to dine on her fruit salad as the fox pressed his hands to the sides of his skull.

"I think my brain just exploded," he told her, baffled. "Are my ears leaking?"

"It just how things are in the Burrows. We hear things about the habits of foxes, too, y'know."

"Well, I was an only kit, so I dunno what you heard, but it sure wasn't me." Hastily, he added, "Not that I never got around, just... not like that. I've been around the block, had my fair share of making the two-backed beast, done the eight-legged limbo, the tangled tail twister... uh... I'm sure there are a few more euphemisms around here somewhere..." He patted himself down as though looking for a misplaced item before offering a sheepish grin.

"Does it intimidate you, thinking I have more experience?" Judy teased.

"Maybe a little, but I'd never admit it. Especially not to some country bunny, like you. I have to maintain the appearance of being a super-studly and sophisticated city tod, after all."

"Oooh, really?" she challenged.

"You betcha," he agreed, picking up his burger once more. "Now, eat up. You're gonna need your energy."

The rabbit rolled her eyes. "Nick, I might not be pregnant at all. It could be just a fluke."

The fox grinned at her and waggled his brows. "It could be. But, since when have we ever given up on something? I need you to make sure you can keep up with me. You know I hate doing all the work myself."

"Oh," she said, then again as she got his meaning. "Oh! Well. In that case..."

She dug in as he resumed eating as well, both racing to finish first. As with so many things in their life together, they competed even as they worked together toward a common goal. And when they put their minds to something, no goal was impossible.