Chapter Text

When Tobias had moved into his apartment, one of the first things he bought was a pair of blinds for his bedroom. He adjusted very nicely to a diurnal lifestyle, but the nocturnal part of him still disliked being woken up by the early morning sun.

Blinds could not block out sound however, and Tobias had spent the best part of a half hour awake listening to the street outside his window. It was late Sunday morning, which was usually quite calm, even before the savage crisis. Tobias could be mistaken, but he could swear it sounded as if there were more mammals out and about than normal.

Glancing over at the radio clock on his nightstand, he decided he had postponed getting out of bed for long enough. Over the past weeks, it had become harder and harder for him to find a reason to get out of bed at all on the weekends. Without the obligation of work and office hours, he could find no compelling argument to get up. In the end, the prospect of a good workout and Muzzle Time with Hazel made him swing his legs out from under his blanket.

He paused for a moment on the middle of his bedroom floor, feeling a warmth spread around his heart. He smiled a tiny, careful smile as the memories from yesterday's conversation danced around his brain.

Tobias caught his own reflection in the full length mirror on his wardrobe door. A thin sliver of light on each side of his blinds provided just enough light for him to see himself clearly in the dark bedroom.

"Look at you, smiling like an idiot," he mumbled to the tiger in the mirror. He was standing in nothing but his boxers, his fur a ruffled mess across his torso.

"An idiot that needs a shower," he concluded, smoothing his paws over the tangled fur on his chest and stomach.

His living room and kitchen was bathed in sunlight, making Tobias blink a few times before his pupils adjusted.

On his way to the fridge, he picked up his phone from its place on the coffee table out of habit. He alway left his phone and iPaw in the living room when he went to bed. Digital distractions made it hard for him to sleep. He would end up browsing until the early hours of the morning, coming to work with bloodshot eyes the next day. Better to just remove the temptation all together.

He had one eye on the milk he was pouring as he checked his phone for updates. His heart sunk in his chest. Eight missed calls from Hazel. One he could understand, maybe two, but eight missed calls before twelve on a Sunday could not be justified unless something was seriously wrong.

His pulse was beginning to race as he redialed and waited for her to pick up. Maybe she had changed her mind about him, maybe she had felt forced to say it back. Or worse, maybe there had been a savage attack in Bunnyburrow after all, maybe Lilly was hurt-

"Toby!" Hazel's nearly euphoric voice sounded through the phone. In the background, he could make out some commotion and a cackle of other voices talking over each other.

"Hazel, is everything alright?" Tobias asked, not as worried as he had been.

"Everything alright?" Hazel repeated, sounding a little surprised. "Toby, haven't you- Oh! Mom I don't need that- Haven't you heard?"

Tobias had a hard time making out Hazel's voice over the commotion in the background, it sounded as if Hazel was running around while talking to him, her phone scratching against the side of her cheek as she moved around.

"Heard what?" Through his confusion, a small glimmer of hope fluttered to life at the joy in Hazel's voice.

"Pred's don't go savage! They were drugged. With Nighthowlers!" Somehow, the last piece of information seemed important to her, as Hazel's voice went up a few octaves. But Tobias did not catch it, he just stood in shock, not sure if he had heard her right.

"What?" He asked on an exhale.

"Pred's don't turn savage! You can't turn savage Toby. It's on the news! They've arrested Mayor Bellwether, it was all part of some crazy plot. I don't know exactly, -oh please turn on the news Toby!"

Hazel was speaking so fast and high pitched that Tobias had a hard time understanding everything she was saying, but he got the essence of it. He stumbled over his own feet as he hurried over to the TV, pushing several wrong buttons on the controller before he found ZNN.

Over the phone, he could hear Hazel talking to Lilly.

"Sweetie, did you remember your toothbrush? And where did you put your jacket?"

Tobias could hear the distinct sound of zippers closing, and he suddenly understood that the commotion was Hazel hurriedly packing.

"-and we will keep you updated on the case as it unfolds. Now to Steve with the weather" Fabienne Growly finished, just as Tobias switched the channels.

Tobias quickly reached for his iPaw, tapping furiously at the screen to get to the news channel’s website.

“Toby? Are you there?” Hazel asked, but Tobias could not answer.

He was skimming through articles, not really believing what he was reading. The police had confiscated a modified dart-gun from Mayor Bellewether, created to shoot round capsules containing a powerful drug made from a flower commonly known as Nighthowler. Several of these guns were believed to have been created for the sole purpose of shooting predators.

The powerful drug would have an immediate effect once it absorbed through the skin. And not just on predators. Any mammal exposed to the drug would have the same reaction, it was only because Bellewether had exclusively targeted predators that it had seemed as if only they could go savage, which had been the whole point.

Tobias sat dumbfounded. A confusing mix of relief and anger washed through him, rendering him speechless.

“Toby?” Hazel repeated, her voice vary.

“Yeah, sorry Hazel- I just- This is a bit much too take in right now,” Tobias breathed, not able to take his eyes of his iPaw.

“I know,” Hazel’s initial joy and excitement was subdued by Tobias’ reaction. “Toby, you know I never believed that you-”

“Yes you did,” Tobias cut her off harshly, the turmoil of feelings inside him fighting for dominance over the other. “In the beginning you did.”

Tobias remembered the first day on the bus. Hazel’s scared eyes, high ears and protective arm around Lilly. He knew it was wrong to hold that against her now, to circle back after everything that had happened after. But he could not help the stab in his chest feeling fresh again.

Hazel did not know what to say. He was right. She had been scared in the beginning, she had to control her own fear. But she had changed. Slowly at first, but she had, and now everything was changed. She felt her throat tighten, her words stuck while she stood motionless in the middle of the commotion of her mother and siblings helping her pack.

“But so did I,” Tobias said, finally seeing sense through the turmoil. He had been just as convinced that he could turn savage at any moment. He remembered his own fear of losing control and lashing out.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, Toby. I’m sorry,” Hazel said timidly. “I didn’t think about how you must feel about this, I was just so happy” Hazel apologized.

“Please, be happy,” Tobias put his iPaw down, covering his eyes with his paw. He hated the tinge of hurt in her voice, knowing he had caused it.

“I want you to be happy Hazel. I just feel so-” he clutched his paw in a fist around the fur on the top of his head, searching for the words to describe the sickening feeling to his stomach.

“I feel so stupid, so fooled, so-” Tobias looked up at the TV in time to see the images of Mayor Bellwether being led handcuffed down the steps of the Natural History Museum, closely followed by the city’s chief of police.

“Betrayed,” he concluded.

“Toby...” In lack of anything better to say, Hazel said the first words that came to her mind.

“I love you.”

From the corner of her eye, Hazel could see her mother’s ears perk up. Her golden brown eyes turned towards her, burning with curiosity. Hazel ignored her. She was not ready to have that conversation just yet.

“I love you too,” Tobias said. Picking up on the concern in her voice, he added: “That doesn’t change”

“Will you meet us at the station?” Hazel asked carefully. She glanced down at her small wrist watch, realising they would have to hurry to catch the train.

“You’re leaving now?” Tobias asked, a little surprised.

“Train leaves in under 30 minutes,” Hazel explained. “I would’ve gotten on an earlier one, but it was fully booked already. I wanted to get back to you as soon as I heard the news”

Tobias chuckled warmly, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

“I know it’s short notice,” she began, suddenly worried he might think her a little rash.

“Not at all!” He quickly assured her, feeling the initial turmoil of emotions giving way to pure excitement.

“I’ll meet you at the station, I’ll be there when you arrive. I just really need a shower first.”

The last part was more of a realisation as he looked down the tangled mess that was his fur, and he was not aware he had said it out loud before Hazel laughed.

Tobias could not do much but laugh sheepishly with her. “Right, I’ll just got then,” he said, clearing his throat.

“You do that,” she chuckled. “See you soon Toby.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you.”

Tobias sat motionless with his phone in one paw, iPaw in the other, watching the TV in amazement. Then, as if someone had touched his tail with the end of a live wire, he flew up, leaping over the back of his couch. His electronics flew haphazardly around his living room as he beelined for the bathroom, barely taking the time to remove his boxers before jumping in the shower.

Hazel was fidgeting nervously with the hem of her dress, suddenly wishing she had worn something more casual. The peach coloured sundress had seemed very fitting as she left her parent’s house in Bunnyburrow, but as the train swiftly approached Zootopia, she felt hopelessly overdressed. She should at the very least have worn a cardigan.

Lilly had wanted to wear “something pretty for Toby” as well, and was wearing her favourite white sundress with yellow flowers. She was nodding her head along to a music video on Hazel’s phone, not at all affected by the nervous anticipation that had Hazel making creases in the fabric of her dress.

Her heart was racing in her chest like she was a nervous teenager again. It was pulling her relentlessly towards Tobias, aching to be near him again. At the same time she was anxious, uncertain of what to expect. They had not seen each other for weeks, and yesterday he had confessed that he loved her, that he wanted to try at a relationship. But it had all been under the pretence that they might never get the chance to try, and now they did.

Hazel looked out at the train window, wondering if maybe this was happening to fast. But she quickly disregarded that thought, as the landscape speeding by outside did not seem to speed by fast enough.

He should have brought flowers. Tobias had arrived on the platform of tracks 8 and 9 almost thirty minutes early, giving him plenty of time to study other waiting mammals. A train from the Meadowlands was about to arrive on platform 9, and the platform was filled with waiting mammals.

Almost everyone was holding something in their hooves and paws, leaving Tobias as one of the few without flowers or some other sort of gift. A giraffe was anxiously checking his watch every other second, tilting his expensive looking bouquet of roses every time he did.

The atmosphere in the station was positively electric with relief and anticipation. Before today, Tobias had felt as if he had been walking on glass that had been ready to break at any minute. Now, it was as if the entire city had exhaled and the tension had melted away. On his way to the station he had passed mammals in a state of euphoria, dancing in the streets. Someone had opened a fire hydrant and children were running through the water screaming with joy.

Finally, after months of hostility and fear as a result of lies and deception, the inhabitants of Zootopia could relax.

Tobias on the other hand, could not relax. His heart was beating like a drum in his chest and his palms were tingling with anticipation. He realised he had no idea how to act when Hazel arrived. The nature of their relationship had changed while she was away, and now he found himself lost.

Should he hug her? Could he kiss her? He covered his eyes with his paw, barely keeping himself from groaning out loud at the thought of it.

He suddenly wished they had talked more about how they would solve these things. Interspecies relationships were one thing. Pred-prey relationships something else entirely, not to mention the size difference between them.

Prejudices were not washed away in a day, and he had no illusions when it came to the kind of reactions their relationship would get. Before today, he had not cared much. Mostly because every precious little moment had felt as if it could never last, as if there was no chance of anything permanent anyway.

But now that there was a chance, he had no idea how to proceed, and it made him more nervous than he had ever been before. He glanced impatiently up at the arrivals board, and there was still 20 minutes before the train from Bunnyburrow would arrive.

To the right of him, a group of construction workers caught his attention. They were still in their hard hats and overalls, and had a rolled up home-made banner and a chase of beers between them. One of them, a buff looking brown bear, had already opened a bottle and was sipping it while looking at the same arrivals board. He turned a little, catching Tobias looking at them.

Before Tobias could look away, he raised his beer in a toast, giving him a wide smile. Tobias nodded his head back, smiling carefully as his nervousness eased a little.

Just as the train from the Meadowlands rolled into the station, a scrawny weasel in a white tank top and black shorts came running down the escalator. He halted to a stop on the platform with his paws on his knees, panting heavily. The bouquet of delicate white flowers he was holding looked a little worse for wear.

The train doors slid open, and the group of construction workers erupted in cheers as a field mouse stepped out of the train.

“You guys gotta be kidding me,” the field mouse squeaked a little embarrassed as his work buddies held up their banner. It read in big green letters: Welcome back Max!

But he smiled from ear to ear as a beaver gave him a pat on the back, almost knocking him over.

The big bear handed him a mouse- sized bottle of beer, gingerly holding it between his index- and thumb claw.

“Hasn't been the same without ya Max,” he rumbled.

“Yeah,” chimed the beaver in. “It’s been hell tryna get the electric done without ya. Boss’ been drivin’ us crazy.”

The group made their way through the crowded platform, cheerfully chatting between themselves. They passed two uniformed police officers who purposefully ignored their public drinking. The atmosphere in the station seemed to have rubbed off on them.

Tobias found that it affected him as well. There was a distinct feeling of unity. They were in this together, and as he looked around himself at the mammals on the platform greeting their friends and loved ones, he realised a lot of them were in a similar situation as him.

The anxious giraffe had been joined by his wife and daughter, both impeccably dressed in designer coats. The daughter had her arm in a sling, and Tobias tried not to wonder how that had happened.

The platform was becoming less crowded as the train was emptied of passengers. Tobias noticed that the weasel that had sprinted into the platform last minute was still standing alone, nervously shifting his weight from side to side. He was anxiously scanning the few remaining passengers still disembarking. Apart from a few exceptions, Tobias and the weasel were the only predators waiting on the platform.

Tobias found that watching the nervous weasel distracted him from his own nervousness. It was in a strange way comforting seeing someone in the same state as himself.

“Dukey-pie!” A shrill voice carried over the platform, making the weasel spin around.

Curious, Tobias turned to see a chipmunk in a green crop-top and high-waisted skinny jeans running towards the weasel. A pair of large golden hoop earrings danced around her head as she dodged between the other mammals on the platform.

Tobias watched in fascination as she abandoned her hot-pink suitcase a few paces from the weasel. Running straight for him, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around the weasels waist.

‘Dukey-pie’ looked about to mouth a protest when the chipmunk, to the onlookers surprise, pressed her lips to his without hesitation.

Tobias could see how the weasels eyes widened and darted around, clearly nervous about the reactions to this very public show of interspecies affection. But then the chipmunk quite passionately pressed her tongue into his mouth, demanding his full attention.

Tobias did not very often feel bothered by couples making out in public, but as the weasel groaned and firmly grabbed his girlfriend’s behind, he felt compelled to look away. Instead he, for obvious reasons, glanced around to gauge the reactions of the mammals around them.

A few were staring in shock. An elderly pig looked especially appalled, firmly holding her husband’s arm as if she needed physical support. But for the most part, everyone was trying very hard not to look at the odd couple, who were finally finishing their make out session.

“Aww! Those for me, Dukey-pie?” The chipmunk looked at the flowers her boyfriend was holding. She still had her legs wrapped around his waist, and Tobias got the feeling that this was something she did often. It was an effective way to compensate for their height difference.

“Yeah,” the weasel cleared his throat. “I know they ain’t daisies, but I couldn’t find any,” he said apologetically.

The chipmunk did not seem to mind the fact, and quickly jumped back down. She held the flowers with both paws, giving them a long sniff before suddenly looking up at the weasel with a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Dukey-pie” she began, putting her paws on her hips. “You haven’t stolen these flowers, have you?”

Tobias could not be sure, as he was only watching them from the corner of his eye, but he thought he saw a flash of regret on the weasel’s face.

“Daisy,” he said, looking down at his girlfriend. “I promise ya, I ain’t never stealin’ ever again. Especially not flowers, or bulbs, not even a frickin’ sunflower seed.”

Daisy looked a little surprised at her boyfriend’s sudden sincerity.

“You mean in Duke?” She asked hesitantly, studying him intently. “No more stealing?”

“No more stealin’.” he repeated.

Daisy’s face broke into a smile.

“Aww, Dukey-pie! I’m so proud of you!”

For a moment, Tobias was afraid she would pounce on him again. But instead she pulled him down by his tank top to get him to her level, giving him another loving kiss.

“My Dukey-pie living an honest life.” she cooed.

“Hey, I said I was done stealin’.” The weasel said, suddenly getting a sly glint in his eye. “I didn’t say nothin’ bout bootleggin’ or other side hustles.”

Daisy let out a shocked, angry squeal. She was still holding Duke down by his tank top, and now she began whacking him over the head with the flowers, making white petals fly everywhere.

“You sly, sneaky, shifty weasel!” She squealed, though not quite managing to hide her giggle. “I can’t believe you!”

Duke, now clearly more at ease with the whole public show of affection thing, placed his paws around her middle and pulled her into him.

“Well, ya sweet little self will just have ta live with it,” he smirked down at her.

Daisy gave him one last smack with what was left of the flowers, before freeing herself from his grip. Without another word, she turned and walked back to her suitcase, swaying her hips very deliberately as she did.

Duke’s confident smirk faded as he watched his girlfriend walk away, and a look of uncertainty played across his face.

It quickly melted away when Daisy shot him a challenging look over her shoulder while she rolled her suitcase towards the escalators.

“You coming?”

Duke grinned like an idiot, jogging after her to catch up. He mockingly saluted the two police officers as he passed, winking at them before joining Daisy on the escalator.

The couple disappeared out of sight, leaving Tobias and the others that had been close enough to witness their encounter baffled on the platform.

“Well,” Tobias heard an antelope saying to another. “That’s not something you see every day.”

“This isn’t every day,” his buddy answered, giving him a meaningful look.

The generic voice announced the arrival of the train from Bunnyburrow, and Tobias suddenly felt nervous again. He was slightly jealous of the young chipmunk’s total disregard of what others might think of her behaviour. He wished he could say the same. Not that he thought Hazel would attempt a similar stunt. The idea made heat rise to his cheeks and he self consciously ran his paw through the fur on his head, tugging at his ears. He would have to keep himself together.

The train arrived at the station with the same smooth electrical buzz as the day they had left, but this time Tobias welcomed the sound. The doors slid open, and the platform was engulfed in happy voices greeting the arrivals. All around him scenes of reunitement unfolded. The pictures taken at this station today would most likely end up in the history books, and he should probably have taken a moment to memorise it, but the entire platform seemed to fall out of focus as a beige bunny in a beautiful peach sundress stepped off the train.

He had had all the best intentions to stay calm and collected. But as a pair of hazel eyes met his through the crowd, all previous intentions were forgotten.

Tobias ran.

If Hazel had been nervous before, it was all washed away as Tobias came sprinting towards her. With Lilly in one paw and her suitcase in the other, she began running to meet him. Lilly quickly outran her mother however, and Hazel had to abandon her suitcase to keep up.

“Toby!” Lilly joyfully called out while dodging between legs of larger mammals, pulling her mother behind her. Hazel was grateful for Lilly’s firm little paw in her own leading the way, because her vision was becoming increasingly blurred by tears.

It took everything in Tobias to keep from pushing innocent bystanders out of the way as he ran through the crowd.

“Toby!” Lilly happily reached her free paw towards him, and Tobias felt his legs give in. He fell to his knees so hard they would probably be bruised for weeks, but the pain was just a faint throbbing as the two bunnies ran straight into his arms.

As Hazel felt Tobias’ strong arms close around her, she could not help it anymore, and her entire body shook in a happy sob. Her tears flowed freely as she pressed her face into the soft fur at the base of his neck.

Tobias never wanted to let go. He felt Hazel’s paws closing around his neck and Lilly hugging as much of his chest as she could reach around and he let out a mix between a sob and laugh. He buried his nose in the fur on top of Hazel’s head and drew her scent down to the bottom of his lungs in one deep desperate inhale.

“Why are you crying?” Lilly looked concerned over at her mother, then up at Tobias whose eyes had began to turn watery.

“I’m just so happy sweetie,” Hazel said, drying her tears as she loosened her embrace to look at her daughter. “Mom is crying because she’s happy.”

“Yeah,” Tobias agreed, feeling his voice growing thick and unsteady. “Very happy.”

He carefully caught Hazel’s chin between his thumb-and index finger, properly looking into her eyes for the first time since she had gotten off the train.

There was a pull there that was almost impossible to resist, and Tobias felt his head inch forward.

Hazel felt like she was about to burn up under Tobias’ intense amber eyes. She did not mean to, but she realised what he was about to do and felt a tinge of panic.

Hazel’s nose twitched, almost unnoticeable, but enough to give Tobias pause. He gave her a small understanding smile, and instead placed a soft kiss on her tear stained cheek.

“It can wait,” he whispered.

Hazel reached her paws up to hold his head in place as she placed her forehead against his.

“Sorry, this suddenly happened a little fast,” she whispered back, laughing a little at her own sudden insecurity.

“I know.” Tobias purred, carefully running his paw over her ears. He loved the way it made her relax into him. “But it’s happening.”

“Yeah,” Hazel smiled, leaning into his touch. “It is.”

“What are you talking about?” Lilly asked a little impatiently, disliking being left out of the grown ups conversation.

“Nothing, sweetie,” Hazel said, reluctantly freeing herself from Tobias’ embrace. “Let’s go home.”

Tobias smiled down at Lilly as Hazel hurriedly went back to retrieve her suitcase.

“You wanna ride, little Lady?” He asked her, offering his paw for her to step on.

“Yes!” Lilly beamed, but then motioned for him to get up. Tobias complied, standing up to his full height.

“Toby, watch this!” Lilly carefully measured her steps as she walked backwards, and after taking a deep breath, she ran and jumped straight up into the air.

In one impressive leap, she landed with both feet on Tobias’ shoulder, though she had to grab his ear to keep herself steady.

“Hey!” Tobias exclaimed. “Well done, you didn’t need any help at all!”

Lilly sat down on his shoulder and proudly straightened the skirt of her dress.

“I practiced in the barn everyday,” she said, sounding rather pleased with herself.

Hazel came back with her suitcase, and Tobias picked it up, carrying it with two fingers through the handle. Without a word, Hazel reached up and grabbed his free paw. Tobias looked down at her with a warm smile, closing his paw firmly around hers.

The odd trio made their way up the escalators, turning quite a few heads as they went. The elderly pig looked like she was about to have a stroke, but in that moment Tobias was too happy to care.

It had taken tremendous organisational effort, and even some political pressure to cut through the red tape, but in the course of the 24 hours after the news of the Nighthowlers broke, the middle of Savanna Central Park had been transformed into a large concert arena.

The two story circular stage had been built in the middle of the large pond in the center of the park. Some creative technician had figured out how to use the existing fountain in the pond to create water-effects to go along with the light show. To top it all off, the entire arena was circled by large screens, both pointing inward and outward, ensuring that mammals on the outside also could follow the show inside.

Gazelle’s announcement to hold a free celebratory concert had thrown the already ecstatic city of Zootopia into pure ecstasy. Almost every available billboard space in the city had been dedicated to the singer, and the hashtag #gazelleinthepark had reached over 44 000 posts in under an hour.

Lilly had decided to throw the tantrum of the century if she was not allowed to go, regardless of the fact that she was too old for tantrums. Which turned out to not be necessary, as Hazel and Tobias had decided to take her even before she had the time to ask.

As Gazelle appeared on stage in a flash of sparkles and stage lights, Lilly was happily perched on her usual spot on Tobias shoulder, cheering along as the audience erupted in screams and whistles.

When the first tunes of Try Everything sounded through the speakers, and the sparkling tiger dancers paraded out on the stage, Lilly was lost in the show.

“You know, you would see better if you let me lift you up,” Tobias said over the music, his deep baritone carrying well through the noise.

“I’m too old to sit on guy’s shoulders in concerts,” Hazel laughed, shaking her head little.

“Doesn't have to be my shoulder,” Tobias replied. He held his arm out with his elbow bent, as if he was offering her his arm for a walk.

Hazel shook her head again, but Tobias stood his ground, raising a challenging eyebrow at her.

“Alright, alright,” she chuckled, bending her knees.

She jumped up, and with the grace rivaling that of a cat she twisted in the air just as she was on the way down again, landing softly on Tobias’ forearm. He actually looked quite impressed as she sat down and neatly crossed her ankles. She placed a gentle paw on the back of his neck for support, offering him a small smile.

Tobias held his arm at an angle, allowing Hazel to lean against his bicep. Her knee was resting against his chest, and she could feel Tobias’ steady heartbeat against it.

“Put your paws in the air! Come on!” Gazelle danced across the stage, encouraging her fans.

Lilly raised both her paws immediately, laughing with glee as Gazelle continued her performance.

“ Look how far you’ve come,

You filled your heart with love,

Baby you’ve done enough that will cut your breath.”

Hazel glanced over at her fist-pumping daughter, laughing happily at the look of pure joy on Lilly’s face. She was so incredibly grateful for this moment, for her daughter being allowed to be carefree and happy, and for Tobias being unharmed and safe.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he turned his head towards her with a warm smile that made her heart beat a little faster. With the way he was holding her, they were almost at eye level with each other. Hazel testingly let her fingers run through the fur on the side of his neck, all the way up to his jawline.

“ No I won’t leave. ”

Tobias’ eyelids were becoming heavy, and even though Hazel could not hear him purring, she felt it vibrating through her.

“ I wanna try everything.”

He did not move, but Hazel could feel his heartbeat quicken as she carefully lifted her other paw up to his cheek. The strobe lights were flashing over the audience, making Tobias’ eyes light up a bright amber everytime it went over them. It was almost hypnotic.

“I wanna try even though I could fail.”

Hazel could feel Tobias’ hot breath play through the fur on her face as she leaned towards him. He was so incredibly warm, and Hazel felt herself helplessly being drawn into him. The tips of their noses touched, and Hazel allowed her eyes to glide shut.

“Try everything.”

Tobias let his lips brush lightly over hers, testingly lingering a little longer each time. Lights from the show made white and purple colours dance behind her eyelids. The music began to build up again, and Hazel was being carried up with it.

In one swift motion, Hazel slipped her paws around Tobias’ neck, firmly pressing her lips against his. She felt him breathe in sharply as she did, but the next second he deflated completely, softening to her touch.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Tobias was aware of a new song beginning to play. Lilly’s happy laughter registered at the edge of his consciousness, but it felt as if everything was happening far away from him.

The only thing he was aware of at that moment was Hazel. The only thing he could feel was the way she held on to his fur, and the way her lips pressed against his.

Suddenly, Tobias knew that whatever the world chose to throw at them after this did not matter because of that one simple fact:

He loved her, and she loved him back.