Chapter 100 It's Called a Hustle Sweetheart

Judy and Nick walked out of Ella and Ridley's room, shutting the door softly so that their children wouldn't wake up. The two eight year olds had just fallen asleep and now their parents allowed themselves to finally relax. They had taken the day off work to be chaperones for their kids field trip to the Natural History Museum. They hadn't been inside since they foiled Bellwether's plot, so they thought it would be a fun family trip to make.

Apparently nobody told them about the statues of them set up above the pit they had fallen into, nor how all the other kits in their children's group would be begging them for pictures or to retell the story again, and again...and again.

It had worn them both out. Judy hadn't felt this tired since the day she chased down a cheetah, and Nick had never felt so exhausted.

Who knew that kits could be so tiring.

Shuffling to the couch in their living room, both plopped down upon it, sighing as their bodies sank into the fluffy cushions that Nick had ordered to his distinct specifications for maximum comfort. After all, he knew a guy and got a good discount on the sofa. After a few moments, Nick noticed Judy's left ear twitching, and, with a roll of his eyes, scooped up the bunny in his arms and placed her down upon his chest as he began to tenderly rub her feet.

Judy purred out her satisfaction at his caresses, as this had become a nightly ritual for the two of them. Nick would rub her sore feet, she would brush his tail in response. It was such a tradition after nearly a decade of marriage, that it made them feel somewhat domestic after so many years.

"Nick," Judy finally spoke as the fox switched from her right foot to her left. She squirmed slightly as he found a slightly tender spot. "Did you ever imagine us like this? Before we were married?"

The fox stopped his ministrations for a moment, "Did I ever imagine us loving each other like this? Yes, yes I did."

A serene quiet fell between them for the following minutes as Nick finished pampering Judy's feet. As the bunny reached for the brush set upon the coffee table , Nick's tail floated atop her, tickling her nose. Both laughed as Judy pushed his tail away, before holding it in her paw while tenderly stroking it with the fur-brush.

"So, Judy. When did you first think about us being...well, like this?" Nick began to gently stroke Judy's ears, his heart lifting when he heard her quiet, satisfied 'hum' at his action.

The rabbit paused, and by the sudden flick of her tail, Nick knew she was deep in thought. "Since the day I hustled you to begin that silly bet about us kissing."

She could feel the fox freeze beneath her as she began brushing anew, a tiny grin forming as eventually Nick appeared to calm down.

"You almost got me there Fluff," the fox chuckled, ruffling her ears playfully. "Have you forgotten I was the one who brought up that bet? So I think that you have that memory a little mixed up."

"Oh really?" Judy replied, turning over so that she was laying on Nick's chest, her eyes glinting mischievously as she set the brush aside. "Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely, one hundred percent," Nick chuckled. "That was all me, and you can thank me now for it."

Judy gave a soft, 'hmm' before flicking out her phone, her paws clicking away on it. Nick watched the action with a frown.

"What are you doing, Carrots?"

"Proving you wrong..." Judy replied calming, a smile beginning to form as her tail twitched.

Both of which Nick knew were not good signs...

"Carrots..." Nick breathed slowly.

"Yes?" Judy replied, just as slowly as her eyes narrowed at the screen as her grin only grew in size and smarminess.

Before Nick could reply, she pressed her phone's screen with a flourish, flipping the phone around so Nick could view the video on its screen. It was a video of Judy filming herself, at what appeared to be Clawhauser's desk.

"Here I am, at..." The Judy in the video checked the time on the clock behind Clawhauser's desk, as the cheetah came into view with what looked like a calendar. "6:10am on Friday, May 15th in what hopefully will be the biggest hustle ever to hit the city." Onscreen Judy stared into the camera and giggled. "Nick, I know you'll be watching this at some point, most likely after I've won our little wager so as a mental note to my future self...Judy, please see if Nick has that dumb look on his face and laugh for me."

Judy looked over at her husband, who indeed did have that silly expression on his face. So she followed her own advice and laughed as he clamped his mouth shut and frowned. Nick looked down at Judy, who simply brought her feet up and let them kick idly above her. "Keep watching Slick. I want to see more of those expressions on your face before we're through."

Nick turned back to the screen as Judy resumed the video. The screen turned, and seemed to fly upwards as the Judy in the video jumped onto Clawhauser's desk. Her face came back into the picture, a beaming smile filling the screen. "So, I've come up with the idea to finally get Nick to ask me out, or at least to get him to realize he likes me. Something I've known, for months now."

"Hey," Nick pouted, glaring down at the bunny on his chest. "I've always liked you."

"Oh hush and just listen," Judy giggled, shoving the phone closer to Nick's muzzle so he had to back up to see it, before Judy pulled it back away. Nick shook his head, but kept watching.

"Alright, so here's the plan. Clawhauser here," the cheetah waved at the camera while giggling, "Will bring up how adorable you and I look together, and ask if we are dating or have kissed yet."

Onscreen, Clawhauser seemed giddy with excitement, even more so than usual as he waved at the camera. "Hi future Nick! I just know you two are going to be so cute together! Invite me to the wedding ok?"

Nick laughed as he saw onscreen Judy glare at the cheetah, who brought his paws up to cover his mouth as he slunk down in his seat and offered a muffled apology at using the 'c' word.

"Anyways," video Judy continued, "Nick, I'm absolutely sure that when Clawhauser says this, that it will set you off into 'hustle mode' and that you'll try to make a bet of it, especially since I'm be talking about bets all morning while we walk to work together."

"You were at the precinct twice that morning?" Nick asked as Judy blushed.

"Maybe..." she replied, grinning silently up at the fox.

"So, that is the plan!" Video Judy smiled victoriously at the camera, before her expression grew more sultry as her eyes became half lidded and a smirk appeared. "Nicholas Piberius Wilde, now you know what our bet was all about. You didn't come up with the idea, but I did. And you know what I say about when I out-fox my favorite fox right?"

"Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it," Nick pleaded to Judy's amusement.

"It's called a hustle, soon to be boyfriend...boom!"

The video stopped and for several minutes, everything in the apartment was quiet. Nick was absolutely floored by the news. For several more minutes he could do nothing but stare at the rabbit laying on top of him, whose grin slowly faded as she began worrying if she finally broke her husband with the news. As five more minutes passed by, Judy began getting worried that she had indeed broken Nick.

"Uh, Nick...are you-"

"You hustled me..."

It came out so bluntly and without emotion that Judy's ears fell behind her. "Nick...I'm sorry if-"

"You...hustled...me..." Nick continued right over his wife's statement. "To get me to like you, you tricked me."

A sudden bout of worry shot through her, as Judy tried to figure out if Nick's calm exterior was hiding a volcano that was ready to blow underneath. "Nick, I'm sorry if I did this all wrong...I just-"

She didn't get out anything more before Nick began laughing. It started with a loud bark, then simply continued as the fox continued laughing until tears were coming out of his eyes. He leaned back into the pillows, wiping at his eyes as his body shook, shaking the rabbit laying atop him.

"Nick, are you alright?" Judy asked with worry in her tone of voice.

"Alright?" Nick chuckled, managing to calm himself slightly. "I am more than alright."

A wave of relief blew through Judy's mind. "Oh thank goodness. You scared me there for a moment."

Nick looked straight into Judy's eyes with such a fresh amount of love, while bringing his paw up to caress her ears, that she couldn't help but feel tears pricking at her own eyes as the fox spoke. "I always knew you were a sly bunny, but I never...never would have guessed you had all of that planned from the beginning." His grin widened as he leaned forward to place a kiss upon his wife's forehead. "You hustled me...you hustled me good!"

"Well..." Judy began, pawing at her ears. "It wasn't all planned out. That would have been impossible."

"You mean like what happened with your sister Jessica, or what happened at the waterfall?" Nick supplied for her.

Judy nodded solemnly. "Those definitely weren't planned..." Judy stated nervously. "A lot of what happened was just happenstance, but the main thing I wanted to have you realize is that we both had become more than friends without us realizing it. Once I figured that out, I wanted you to understand that as well." Her furtive glance at him came with a sneaky smile. "But, I wanted to do it in a way that you felt you were in complete control, even though you really were only a puppet in my paws."

"Such a sneaky, sly bunny," Nick laughed as he leaned back, a paw coming to rest over his eyes. "This has to be the best hustle that anyone, has ever done to me."

"Wasn't the first time I've gotten you though," Judy replied coyly, embracing her fox, snuggling into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"And won't be the last," Nick continued for her, leaning down to place another tender kiss between her ears as he tenderly stroked her ears, earning a happy chirping sound from his wife. "This just makes me love you all the more, you know that, right Judy?"

"I'm glad you think that," Judy purred into his chest, simply content to cuddle with her fox.

"Though for hustling me like that, I think that a suitable retaliation is in order," Nick mused, pausing in his ministrations to Judy's ears to lightly tap at his chin.

"And what would that be Slick?" Judy asked, bringing her face up from his chest to look into his eyes while resting on her elbows. He lovingly gazed back at her. Both leaned together, connecting in a delicate kiss that was so simple, yet so divine it could only be called divine. Judy could feel a rumbling within Nick's chest, while the fox could hear the slight purr coming from Judy. The kiss quickly grew into a second, followed suddenly by a third...then a fourth more frantic kiss. Their passion grew for several minutes, then abated like the tide, leaving them both awash in their love and adoration for each other.

The moment was pure bliss for both Nick and Judy.

"I think," Nick whispered into Judy's ear as he peppered it with slow, tiny kisses, "that we should have another bet to see who could get to one hundred kisses the fastest again."

Judy shivered as Nick kissed a spot right behind her left ear, her foot thumping in pleasure as she groaned. Nick chuckled in response to the movement as Judy tossed the idea about in her mind. "Sounds interesting..." she finally replied, as she began her own trail of kisses up his neck in revenge for Nick's kiss. "When should we begin?"

"Five minutes ago," Nick breathed out heavily as Judy pressed herself deeper into his shirt, tugging at the fabric with her paws as she rubbed her chin against his chest.

The rabbit looked lazily towards the door where she knew their children were sleeping quietly. She turned, returning his loved filled gaze with her own sultry stare. "Sounds good to me," she giggled, before they connected again for a kiss that spoke volumes of their love and adoration of each other. "Though I might have already lost count..."

To Nick, his wife's voice was heavenly, and before she could speak again, he captured her muzzle in another kiss , one which was also much less chaste, and much, much longer than any of their previous ones from a few minutes before.

They separated, only for Judy to pounce forward, giggling as her attack on Nick pushed him back into the sofa as she began trailing her paw up to Nick's tie before slowly pulling him closer to her. Nick was so captivated by his alluring bunny, that he almost missed her placing a loving kiss upon his lips.

She gazed at him with a sultry stare as she gently leapt off his chest , swishing her hips back and forth as she moved gracefully towards the bedroom at the back of their home. An almost imperceptible smile etched itself onto her muzzle as she turned to Nick, who had brought himself up from the couch and was following Judy with a mischievous smirk of his own.

"That's one for me..." Judy cooed, barely reaching the bedroom as Nick scooped her up in his arms. She gave out a loud 'eep' at the motion as he threw her onto their bed, shutting and locking the door behind him before pouncing atop her. He stared down at Judy laying below him as she reached out and drew lazy circles in the fur of his chest.

Slowly, he leaned in, capturing her lips in his own as he cupped her cheek with his paw. As they separated, both were grinning like kits on Christmas day.

"That's one for me..."

.

.

.

~The End~

AN: And here it is, the final, 100th chapter of "One Hundred Kisses". What a ride it has been. What I thought would have been a small, 50 chapter or so story that might garner a few views, has become a 100 chapter goliath, reaching nearly 900,000 views, 2677 reviews, 1315 favorites and 1538 followers. I have been completely blown away by your support throughout this story. It has been an amazing journey! All of the thank you's in the world could not possibly show how much I appreciate all of you.

It would be remiss of me to go without thanking everyone who participated in this journey. From the readers, guest reviewers, one time reviewers to those who reviewed every chapter. To those that favorited this story, followed it from the beginning, picked it up at its ending or anywhere in between. To the authors who edited chapters, provided story ideas and especially to those that participated by writing chapters of their own for this story. To all of you I say...

Thank you...

Thank you from the top and bottom of my heart, as well as everything in between. You guy are the best!

This has been one of the most fun adventures I've been on, and getting to know so many of you has made this journey all the better! So to honor those who participated with this story, whether it be through writing chapters, editing, giving story ideas, or contributing OC's, here is a full list of everyone who helped make this story what it has become. (not in order of appearance lol)

Blenderguy15

Irual

BeecroftA

Lord Solaris

Anglofalcon

Upplet

Giantepik123

Mayun

thefonz46

ClassifiedSophie

Kittah4

Foxstang

Selaxis

Aninat131

Cookboss88

PullTogether

Blindstrike

Skiddro

Xobar

storygirl99210

Berserker88

PresidentStalkeyes

Spintherella

Andy Lagopus

DemonwriterX

Ayziks

Whiteclawfox1990

VideogameMaster1478

Sckav

Petthekat

AgentExeider

Skyelansing

Zeigelzeig

MindJack

SweetUnknown

ShippingMammals

Ruffu

Eng050599

Dafid64

The Wildes

Check out each and every one of these lovely people and read their stories, check out their art, or thank them for their support. This collaborative story couldn't have happened without them and their support. Their chapters were amazing and added so much life to the story as a whole. They brought fresh takes and fresh views to the story and I hope you enjoyed all the contributions they made to it. By the end, I had so many ideas that people had sent in, I couldn't use them all in the story, so for those who didn't see their ideas in here, I apologize for that. I thought I'd have enough kisses to go around, but apparently I didn't lol.

Finally, I want to thank all of you, the readers, for making this story happen. You guys kept me going day, after day, after day. Especially when chapters were being posted every day, you kept my spirits up through it all. I wish I could list you all here, however, there are just too many to count, so again, thank you all.

Nothing else more to write here, except to finally bring this story to a close. To those who want me to continue this story, especially in regards to Nick and Judy's kids, when I do continue that story, it won't be here, but in another story I have planned out. So be on the lookout for little Ella and Ridley and what might happen with them in their future. ;)

Thank you, all of you, for contributing to this story in your own you aren't following me now, I still have many other stories to tell, so hit those fav and follow buttons, type one last review and I'll see you in another story or two. ;)

Signing off on this story,

~Cimar of Turalis/WildeHopps