It was cold. The temperature outside was hovering just below freezing, allowing the world beyond the windows to remain blanketed in the pristine white that only existed on days when no one had anywhere to go. Unmarked by the passage of tires or feet, at least this early in the morning, the fresh coating of snow continued to rise slowly as fat flakes fluttered by at a lazy but consistent pace. The windows and walls were no real barrier against the cold, of course. It had seeped into the bedroom until it seemed to radiate from the walls, causing even the surface of the blanket to be frigid to the touch.

This cold, however, didn't really reach the gray bunny. Or, at the very least, it was overpowered by the warm cocoon she had wrapped herself in. A cocoon where the inside of that very same blanket was heated by the large furred body spooned behind her. Large paws that were wrapped possessively around her midriff, that long handsome muzzle nestled between her ears, and the rise and fall of his breathing the only sound that stirred in the room. The scent of him, musky and male, was all around her and filled every breath with warm reminders of what was hers. What had been hers starting on this very day a year before. And though the fireplace that had managed to keep the room at a toasty temperature through the cold days behind them was now dormant, she had never been so happy to be wrapped up against the cold as she was now.

She even considered letting herself drift back to sleep, though that thought was interrupted by the slight change in his breathing followed by the minute increase in pressure from the arms around her. It took a full thirty seconds before his muzzle moved, tilted just a bit so that the cool tip of his nose could root around the base of one ear lazily. The whisper of breath, the soft inhale that caused his chest to rise before he released it with a sleepy sigh of contentment before he gently licked her inner ear. Her muzzle curved in a soft smile as she remained still, her own nose twitching as his fingers started to slide over the white fur of her belly, then through it as his claws dug deeper to trace over her skin easily. The heavenly sensation caused her to release a soft sigh of her own, though neither of them seemed interested in moving beyond that for a long moment. After all, why risk letting the cold into their little world?

"Morning, Carrots," he murmured, his tone as lazy as the strokes of his fingers through her fur.

"Good morning, Nick," she replied, risking tilting her head back towards him, which his muzzle angled to meet until their lips touched. Not a hard task considering his size advantage which, even lying in bed like this, had him looking down at her. Which she was grateful for when she parted her lips as the kiss deepened, her eyes slipping closed as his tongue lightly danced over hers. He always started gentle, even in kisses. She wondered if he still felt the need to assure himself that she was his, that he needed to find permission from her before doing the things he should have known she wanted.

It never took him long to catch on, either way, which had her smiling against his lips when she felt the new heat nestle against her rear. Despite being younger, and having a sex drive to prove that youth, he was still a romantic at heart. This meant he didn't just grind himself against her, start humping or pawing at her like some sex-starved fox with a helpless bunny at his command. She wouldn't have minded, in all honesty. It took only a few breaths of the warm musk of arousal permeating from under the blanket to have her own blood heating, and the slightly more intense slide of his claws through her belly fur to have her hips writhing. The motion sharpened the contact with the growing arousal until she intentionally adjusted her hips to allow the still growing length to slide between the full cheeks of her rear. She smiled when he released a pleased groan, tightened her muscles until she heard the low growl she craved, and then relaxed when his lips moved to the underside of her chin. It was her turn to gasp when his teeth dragged against the beat of her pulse, nipping just to the edge of where it would have been painful as he worked his way down to her shoulders.

"You have the patience of a sloth," she murmured, her tongue sliding over her damp lips eagerly as she felt his paws move lower as his ears moved back up. Clearly, the fox understood her desire to keep their little shelter unbroken and kept the motions of his body to a minimum for the time being. "A move like that and a lot of males would already be inside and halfway finished."

"Quickies are fine," he murmured, speaking a truth that they knew all too well, "but a beautiful, cold Christmas morning like this? Is for snugglefucks."

The laugh that escaped her was shocked, delighted, and heated by a surprising blush that crept up the length of her ears until the pink insides were almost red. Then the laugh mingled with a little whimper when his paws claimed her hips. A weakness of hers, the way his claws dug in painlessly and anchored her hips as he dragged her firmly back against him. It caused heat to spread through her sex as she felt every throb of him between her cheeks, felt him continue to grow as he slid free of the sheath with a glorious heat that made her forget the cold outside entirely.

"Snugglefucks, huh? How romantic," she whispered breathily as she tried in vain to squirm back against him. This was why he took control of her hips like this. He had learned very quickly that she had the tendency to impale herself just to feel him inside of her because she loved the feeling of him sliding so deep that it was almost agony. "Well, we're snuggling. That means we're only missing…"

Her words were cut off, a small whimper escaping her when, after he chuckled against her ear, he used that grip on her to adjust her hips until the tip nudged the already wet folds of her sex. Something about the male just made her want him so easily. Sometimes, he just looked at her in a certain way and she felt the warmth spread. She had never been able to resist or refuse him, even though he seemed to take delight in at least drawing out his resistance to her until she was on the edge of begging. Which was exactly what the bastard fox did now. Even as she felt him nudge the entrance, one thrust from satisfying the ache that was spread into her belly, he intentionally allowed the tapered tip to slip past. The quick flick of that tip of the bud of her clit caused her to gasp, then groan in a mixture of frustration and delight when his length nestled between her thighs rather than inside of her. Even worse, as the feeling that heat against her folds made her want to grind for some friction between them, his paws kept her still.

"Niiiick," she whimpered, frowning at the chuckle that growled into the back of her neck as he nipped, then bit softly, then melted her muscles into a jelly-like substance made weak by lust when he firmly clamped his jaws on fur and skin to pull her head back so that every inch of her body was pinned against him as he arched his hips back.

He filled her, that sexy growl deepening while he did so, making it so that she felt every last inch of him through that vibration. The fullness was something she wasn't sure she would ever get used to, never wanted to get used to, as she opened to greet him. Just the feeling of him entering her while holding her in his complete control was enough to make thoughts vanish like smoke. Smoke that was blown away by the huffs of heated breaths and hungry growls from the fox behind her. Yes, he was just as eager and needy as she was. She felt it in every strong throb of his arousal, every low groan that was almost drowned out in the growls, and in the wayhis paws had tightened on her hips to the point of blissful pain as he struggled to maintain the control he felt he needed.

"I love you, Judy," he murmured as he released her neck, only to rain light kisses and licks down the side of her throat as his hips pressed flush against hers. "I know you're not supposed to say it when…"

"Only when you don't mean it," she managed to assure him, her head tilted back with her eyes closed in bliss as she savored the feeling of being filled, surrounded, and loved by him.

When she opened her muzzle to release the cry that wanted to escape when he ground his hips against her rear, his mouth was on hers again. This time the kiss wasn't gentle or patient. This time his mouth took hers, his tongue sliding against hers in a little battle for dominance that it easily won before he caressed and savored the taste of her. All the while, he was moving. Moving so slowly that anyone watching from outside of their little nest wouldn't have been able to make out the motion of each thrust. But slight as the motion was, she felt every inch of it and him as he rolled his hips back until he was halfway withdrawn before slowly filling her again. It was a process that was made painfully delicious by the fact that his paws never left her hips, never allowed her to quicken the pace even when she felt the pleasure start to build. The soft sounds of pleasure that escaped her into the kiss quickened. She could feel the base of his shaft thickening already, only eased by how wet she was when he slipped it into her again and withdrew with only a little effort.

"If I knot you, we'll be stuck here for a while," he panted against her ear after breaking the kiss. "We still have presents to open."

"Why do you think I wanted to stay home with you this year?" she said, grunting and moaning loudly when he popped the only partly swelling bulge into her again. "Christmas day started… Ah! …right!"

He almost managed to chuckle but it was lost in a needy snarl as she bore down on him when he tried to slide his knot free again. She reached back with one arm to wrap it around his head when he pressed his muzzle against her shoulder, panting lightly as she tightened her slick inner walls until he had no choice but to shorten his thrusts. Then, she felt it really start to grow. It wasn't just the knot that thickened; it was all of him. As full as he made her feel, the aching stretch and strain of the suddenly massive bulb of flesh teetered right on the edge of agony and bliss. To ease the pressure just a bit, she raised her leg and hooked it behind his, spreading her thighs as he quickened the pace with short, quick thrusts.

The increase in friction and need was more than enough, and exactly what she wanted. The slow build only added to the sensations that coursed through her, pleasure that was so intense that she saw spots flashing before her eyes when her body tensed. Intimacy, love, and need bubbled over when he closed his mouth on the base of one ear. The bite, the suction of his mouth, the thick throb of his flesh buried so deep inside of her that she could feel his sac twitch against her thighs as he came close to the edge himself. She didn't wait for him, didn't even try to hold back as those lights became blinding ecstasy. An ecstasy that sent trembles rocketing down her smaller frame when he dragged her back against him with both paws, orange and cream meshed with white and gray as she felt his length leap inside of her. Liquid warmth only kept her from crawling back into sanity when he pumped her full of his seed, every throb so hard and thick that she found herself spinning over the edge again as her leg tightened around him, trying fruitlessly to draw him even closer.

She never came down quickly from orgasms anymore. There was just something about this young Todd that kept her body on edge. That something was mostly his knot, at least on a strictly physical level. And the fact that he continued to cum, continued to spill his seed into her long after they had both gone still. But mostly, it was the fact that no one had ever made her feel like he did, in every respect. She felt physically complete and content, half roasted and most certainly well basted in their now very hot little cocoon. She felt safe and needed. And mostly loved. It wasn't just that they were joined at the hips that made the fox behind her begin a series of touches over her body. It wasn't an obligation that had his fingers, which still trembled from time to time when they were together, sliding up and down her arm as if he was touching someone made of glass. It was love.

She just hoped it would be enough.

"And a sugar-laden carlatte for my dear Officer Hopps," Nick announced with a foolish little flourish as he handed her the steaming mug, causing her to grin up at him.

"I still can't believe you learned how to make these so perfectly," she commented, breathing in the frothy coffee and carrot juice concoction with pleasure, "considering how much you hate them."

"I like coffee," he said, taking a sip from his own cup of regular latte as he sat beside her on the couch, making her laugh when he continued with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "and I like Carrots. But something about carrot in coffee. Bleh."

She grinned as she leaned into him, resting against the amazingly soft and fluffy sweater he wore as he draped his arm over her shoulder. The Christmas theme knitted into the sweater, red and green stars behind a trio of bunnies singing while holding hands, was her mother's doing. And no matter the fact that the sweater was a little oversized, forcing him to roll the sleeves up every few minutes, he refused to stop wearing his first official Christmas present from her parents. It had been one of a dozen that they'd opened between them after they'd worked up the courage to leave their warm spot to start a fire. The colorful paper was still scattered under the small tabletop tree that they had decided on together, a simple compromise considering his usually busy study schedule and her carefully coinciding duty shifts.

But she knew there was one last present to give him. One that she hoped this handsome, loving fox would see as a gift.

"Nick," she began, drawing a lazy 'Mm?' from the fox as he contentedly sipped his coffee while his paw lightly caressed her shoulder. "I need to tell you something."

"Hm?" he said, seeming more alert now. Maybe it was the nervous tone in her voice, which she was one hundred percent certain was noticeable now. "What is it, Carrots?"

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out far more easily than she expected, feeling him go very, very still beside her. She waited for a beat before she looked up at him, determined to be calm about it. And instantly started to ramble. "I went to the doctor to confirm it. I wasn't sure how to tell you, or if I should even tell you today. Then I started thinking about silly things. Like, I was going to wrap up like a gift - the pregnancy test, I mean – and give it to you last. I even did it! At least, I got a box for it. It's hidden in the closet. But then I realized how silly that was, to risk ruining Christmas with a present that you might not even want."

She stopped speaking when his eyes, which had been wide and round until that point, narrowed on her. Then, very gently, he set his mug on the side table and pulled himself to his feet. Fear skittered through her when he walked away and disappeared into the bedroom, but she forced it aside as she jumped down and rushed after him while she continued.

"I know you're probably not ready, but we both knew there was a chance it could happen, even without help," she said, stopping at the door to see him rifling through the top shelf of the closet until he grew still when his paw landed on the box. He took it down, and she watched with her heart in her throat as he opened the lid with unsteady fingers to stare down at the little plastic test and it's two pink lines. She swallowed her heart back down when he stared at it for a moment in silence with his ears pinned fully back against his head, then closed the lid and set the box down on the bed. When he started to move towards the dresser where she knew most of his clothes were neatly folded, panic started to leak into her voice. "I don't want you to think that I expect you to marry me because of this! We don't have to change anything! Please, don't…!"

She had started to say 'don't leave me' as she rushed towards him, but was brought up short when he turned to face her with a small, neatly-wrapped package in his paws. A package that was gently pressed into her paws as she stood there with nothing intelligent to say entering her mind for a long moment.

"Open it," he said softly as he dropped down on one knee as he often did to put them at eye level.

"Nick," she began, desperately wanting some sort of response to the news she had just given him. She stopped, releasing a slow sigh when all he gave her was a motion of his eyes to the package again. Frowning a little, on the edge of being miserable, she ripped the shining silver paper from the package hurriedly and pulled open the little white box within. Laughing despite herself, feeling a little bit of the pressure ease in her chest, she looked down at the handcuffs resting on the bed of cotton at the bottom. Unable to stop herself, she reached in and lifted them from the box, her finger looped in one cuff so she could dangle them between them. "I don't underst… Oh."

It was the faint, out of place 'clink' that drew her eyes. She focused on the tiny golden band, with its beautiful clear stone on a low base, neatly looped on the closed ring of the cuff. Desperation and fear turned to a mix of emotions she couldn't even begin to describe when she raised her eyes to him again, realizing that he wasn't on one knee to put them on even ground this time.

"I don't need a reason to marry you, Judy," he said softly, holding his paw out to her. She could see instantly that the hand wasn't empty. In his palm pad was the key to the cuffs, and access to the ring. "Last Christmas, you gave me a new chance at life and a love that I never expected could be mine. One year later, after all the happiness you've given this young Todd, I knew I needed you for every other Christmas to come."

"Nick," she began, but paused when he reached out to take her hand and place it over the key.

"And now you tell me that you're carrying my kit," he continued, leaving her paw over the key as he reached up to brush away tears she hadn't even known had started to trickle through her fur. "If you say yes, in one year, you'll have taken this fox who had nothing and give him everything he wants in this life."

Tears escaped freely now as she laughed a sob and tossed herself into his arms, finding herself easily caught and wrapped up in the strong arms and ridiculous sweater.

"Yes, you dumb fox!" she cried, her voice muffled by his chest as she clung to him.

She was lifted from the ground and swung around once or twice by the exuberant male, laughter ringing through the bedroom when she was set back on her feet, standing on the bed. Eye to eye with him, she grinned and wiped the tears away with one paw while he beamed at her. And just when he opened his muzzle to say something, there was the distinct snap of handcuffs being closed around his wrist. To his credit, he looked only slightly bemused as he raised that paw and the one she had attached to it. The paw that now, as well as being cuffed, also held the glinting golden ring on her middle finger.

"Look like we caught each other this time," he commented, using his now trapped paw to draw her close before he pushed her back onto the bed with his chest. He paused for a moment as he leaned over her, his free paw sliding softly over the belly that had yet to show any sign of her current condition. She felt herself go soft inside and her heart warmed at the expression of pleasure and happiness on that handsome vulpine face before he raised his eyes to her. "Christmas is the best."