House Rule #1: When one of them calls bedtime, the other has to comply. No exceptions.

"Always make sure to get the molars," his mother had told him as he first learned to brush his teeth. It was a lesson that hadn't left him, even all these years later. Of course, having one's teeth in good order was a high priority for a fox, and an even higher one for a con-man. After all, a winning smile might mean the difference between a successful hustle and a good punch to the face. Of course, Nick thought to himself as he gargled then spat his toothpaste into the sink, now his smiles tended to be a lot more genuine.

And it's all that dumb bunny's fault. He sighed, then caught himself smiling at himself in the mirror. Yep, I've definitely gone soft. He pulled his a spare ZPD T-shirt over his head and walked out the bathroom into the bedroom, expecting to see his girlfriend and roommate changing for bed as well. Instead, he was greeted with an empty bedroom, save for himself. Yawning as he walked, the fox made his way to their apartment's small office where, lo and behold, Judy was still sitting at the desk, scratching away at paperwork.

Gently, he walked over to the chair and kissed his hardworking partner on the head, before leaning back up.

"Bedtime, Carrots."

Judy turned and threw a small pout at him.

"Come on, Nick, I'm almost through! Fifteen more minutes?"

"Nope. You know the rules, fluff. Bed," Nick said with finality. In response, Judy just hmphed and turned around to continue her work. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to be a good bunny and come yourself, or am I going to have to pick you up and carry you?"

Judy tapped the pen to her chin without turning around, but the amorousness was evident in her voice as she replied.

"Hmm, that might be nice…"

The next thing she knew, she had been scooped up into her lover's arms, and was cuddling against his warm chest as he brought her through the threshold to their bedroom. The paperwork wasn't that important anyway, she decided.

"The warriors of Morngrad have pledged you their blades, my lord! We shall ride with all due haste, and meet the foe in glorious battle upon the fields of Amornon!"

Nick's eyes were transfixed on the lupine knight as he spoke, his attention so captured by the television that he didn't notice a certain bunny entering the living room. Instead, he was focusing on a different rabbit, one that had just burst into the war room, scrambling to approach the circle of knights and lords surrounding the table covered in various tactical charts and strategic maps.

"My liege, we've uncovered the identity of the assassin behind the attempt on the king's life! She was a spy posing as a handmaid to the queen, and she was under the employ of —"

"Come on, Nick, it's bedtime. And you know I can't go to sleep alone, I need something to snuggle!"

Nick sighed and favored Judy with a long-suffering look.

"Way to make me miss who the assassin's working for, Carrots," he said as he pointed at the screen. "Surely you can wait a bit longer, I want to see what happens!"

Judy frowned and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Nick, you know the rules!"

"Yeah, and you went to the academy, right? A law is only as good as its enforcement. And whereas I can pick you up and carry you to bed, I highly doubt that option is open to you," Nick replied, a smug grin plastered across his muzzle as he turned his attention back to the television, in time to see the same wolf from earlier, this time locked a vicious duel with a large hog warrior. As he did so, Judy stomped up to the table in front of the couch, picked up the remote, and shut the TV off. Before the "hey!" could even escape Nick's muzzle, Judy hopped onto the couch and stood over him.

"You think I don't have any method of enforcement, do you?" she said, venom dripping from her voice. It was the only warning Nick got before he found himself being dragged out of the living room by the ears.

As he got settled into the covers, Nick rubbed at the base of his ears, which were still pulsing with soreness at having been used as the principal method of moving him through their apartment to bed.

"Geeze, Carrots, way to go hardline! I might have to file for excessive use of force on this one."

Judy smiled mischievously and pulled the covers back before crawling onto his chest. She softly raked her small claws down his well-toned chest as she whispered, "Well, would you prefer I use gentler persuasion techniques next time?" Her eyelids fluttered suggestively as a decidedly naughty smirk crossed her face. Nick felt himself shiver as the pain in the base of his ear miraculously faded from his thoughts.

"Ah, umm… tha- that might be preferable." The fluster was evident in his voice. Judy merely giggled at him, before leaning across his muzzle so that her lips were only centimeters away from his ears.

"How about I try a few out on you right now, hmm? Let's start by kissing those poor ears better, shall we?" she whispered.

It was all Nick could do to avoid a second wave of tingles from shooting down his spine. As he felt his bunny lightly kiss his ears while her paws explored his chest, a low growl escaped his throat. His lust-addled mind formed a rough plan to push her up then pin her down, so as to seize the upper hand. However, Judy saw through him, and as he slowly eased her up, leaning forward so that she was kneeling above his legs, she forcibly shoved him back down, slamming him against the mattress before roughly diving down for his lips. With his thought-coherency rapidly deserting him, Nick wondered if this meant that he ought to break the rules more often, or never again. Just then, Judy broke off the passionate kiss and continued to hold him down with her paws on his shoulders, while her gaze travelled downward, her eyes hungrily drinking in his muscular chest, and then moving just a bit lower before swinging back up to meet his own with a wild and completely absorbing spark. It didn't matter, Nick decided. He had a much more important thing to take care of.