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<center>**The Cold**</center>
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<center>It was dawn when Hugh arrived at Maxine's door, seemingly soaked to the bone and wearing nothing but a hoodie and sweatpants. He didn't even wear a shirt underneath it, the dumbass. Even if winter in the heart of Zootopia wasn't usually this harsh, it would still be a dumb thing to do.
Rubbing her eyes, Maxine tiredly propped herself against the door frame to greet him.
**Maxine**
"Hugh. It's 6 A.M."
**Hugh**
"I know, I know. Was in the neighborhood though, and damn -- it's snowin' like you wouldn't believe out there."
**Maxine**
"...'in the neighborhood'."
**Hugh**
"You ARE the friend who lives closest to my work, y'know."</center>
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<center>Sighing quietly, Maxine stepped aside to let her drenched friend in. Hugh rubbed his feet against the hallway carpet before walking into her place. Wouldn't want to get her floor soggy after all.
What a gentleman.
**Maxine**
"And what kind of work is that?"
**Hugh**
"Didn't I tell you? I'm a relatively well-known carpenter."
**Maxine**
"Somehow I doubt that."
**Hugh**
"You don't live in a house, so you wouldn't know."
Maxine rolled her eyes, closing the door behind him. She'd only known Hugh for a little while -- six, seven months maybe -- but it was long enough to know he was pulling her leg. She watched as he took a seat, curling up against her end table with a yawn.
**Maxine**
"Oh, right. It's bedtime for you isn't it?"
Folding her arms, Maxine sleepily resisted the urge to match Hugh's yawn with one of her own.
**Maxine**
"You can nap here if you want, but I'll probably be gone when you wake up. Work and all that."
Chuckling, Hugh glanced toward the window with a smirk.
**Hugh**
"'Somehow I doubt that.'"
**Maxine**
"Funny."
**Hugh**
"No, I mean it. With the snow goin' like it is, I wouldn't be surprised if your kiosk's buried."
**Maxine**
"It's not a kio-- wait, what?"</center>
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<center>Looking out the window, Maxine was alarmed at the thick mounds of snow piled up outside already. She was certain she hadn't seen this much snow in Zootopia before -- at least, not outside of Tundratown.
**Maxine**
"Holy crap. Did the cooling system break down or something?!"
**Hugh**
"Downtown's probably got the worst of it."
**Maxine**
"And you WALKED in this?!"
**Hugh**
"Wasn't about to crawl over to the train station."
**Maxine**
"That -- probably would have been a better idea, actually."
It was at that moment that Maxine regretted not owning a television set. Pulling her phone out to look at the weather, she learned that there was in fact a snowstorm in their area overnight. While it seemed to be over now, waiting for the streets to be plowed was probably a smart idea.
Setting her phone aside, Maxine took a seat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her temples. Hugh was probably right -- her coffee stand likely WAS buried under the snow. Even if she and Hugh both went at it with shovels to dig it out, it would probably take a good quarter of her working day just to get there and unearth it. She supposed she could call Mr. Pumalice for help, but getting a hold of him was a relative crapshoot with all the work he usually did.</center>
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<center>**Maxine**
"Looks like I might have the day off."
She looked dejected, and in truth she was. As her own boss she could technically set her own hours, but a day lost was money lost, and staying in her apartment all day rarely felt like the ideal circumstance.
**Hugh**
"Hey, you can get some well-earned rest then."
Hugh nuzzled up against the dresser-end table combo, seemingly settling in for a nice rest. It was then that Maxine actually started to pay attention to him. His clothes were soaking her carpet, his nose was burning red, and she swore she could make out red cheeks underneath all that matted fur on his face.
Standing up, she walked over to him.
**Maxine**
"Hey, take off your clothes."</center>
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<center>Her sudden request took Hugh aback. An uncomfortable grin spread across his face even as he began defensively gripping his hoodie.
**Hugh**
"Hahaha, it's not that kinda visit Max."
Quickly realizing her mistake, Maxine sighed, extending her paws.
**Maxine**
"You're getting the floor wet, and you're gonna get sick if you stay in those wet clothes -- at least give me your hoodie. We can air dry it in my bathroom."
Hugh reluctantly complied, taking off the drenched article of clothing and handing it over to his friend. Maxine could tell he felt uncomfortable without it already. The guy was quick to make cheeky comments, but it seemed that acting on those comments was something else entirely. Given his frequent, casual jokes about his occupation, this came as no surprise to her.
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<center>By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Hugh had already closed his eyes, curled up with his arms wrapped around his chest and still wearing soaked pants. She wished she had clothes to offer him, but even with the weight she'd gained his frame was still broader than hers. Nothing she had would have fit him.
She wanted to let his pants dry too, but she had no idea if he was even wearing anything underneath them.
Walking past her friend, Maxine sat back down on her bed. She felt a little bad for not offering it up to him, actually -- she was going to, but she got distracted by the weather and how wet he was.
How wet he was. She thanked god she was only thinking to herself because nothing was coming out right today.</center>
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<center>She waited until she was certain that Hugh was asleep before calling Percy. She didn't want to keep him up with her talking. Now she had to hope he wasn't a light sleeper. Luckily for her, Percy was there to answer. Calling him was relatively reliable.
**Percy**
"Hello? Maxine? Is everything okay over there?"
**Maxine**
"Yeah, I'm fine. Er, sort of."
**Percy**
"Sort of?"
**Maxine**
"Percy, is there a lot of snow out by Savannah Central?"
**Percy**
"I-it's snowing a bit. They say there's about two inches of accumulation. What about over there?"
**Maxine**
"Pretty sure it's a few feet here."
**Percy**
"REALLY?!"
Percy sounded alarmed, but Maxine was quick to calm his troubles.
**Maxine**
"Relax, we're okay. I just have a feeling that most of the businesses over here are gonna be closed down, especially small mammal-ran ones."
**Percy**
"O-oh. Well, at least you're safe! I'm actually starting to get ready for work myself. The i-imports store is still open, and the monorail system seems to be operational."
**Maxine**
"That's what I thought."
Maxine flopped back onto her bed.
**Maxine**
"I have Hugh over here, by the way."
**Percy**
"Hugh? Is he okay?"
**Maxine**
"He's fine, but I'm pretty sure the idiot's gonna develop a cold. Walked all the way to my place instead of just taking the train home."
**Percy**
"Oh."
**Maxine**
"He probably would have been safer and DRYER on the train. His clothes are drenched in water now."
**Percy**
"It actually doesn't surprise me."
**Maxine**
"What doesn't?"
**Percy**
"I mean, it's weird that h-he went to you, but he gets more sociable around winter."
**Maxine**
"...'sociable'."
**Percy**
"It's been like this every year. Er, since he moved away from his mom, I mean. I don't know w-what it is about the season, but I always see a lot more of him during the winter than I do any other season."
Maxine sits up, looking at the sleeping skunk in the corner of her room.
**Maxine**
"Is that so?"
**Percy**
"I think he just misses his mom, but he's afraid to bother her. That's just my guess, a-anyway. I don't mean to call him strange. I miss my m-mother too sometimes, but I usually just give her a call, you know?"
**Maxine**
"...yeah."
Maxine seemed to trail off, so Percy quickly changed the subject.</center>
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<center>**Percy**
"B-b-but anyway, this is good! It means he trusts you."
She couldn't help but cock an eyebrow in amusement. Good thing that Percy couldn't see it.
**Maxine**
"Oh, does he now?"
**Percy**
"Maxine, I know we haven't known each other for very long, but you've been v-very kind to the both of us. This could just be Hugh's way of expressing it to you."
A pause.
**Percy**
"Maybe. I don't know. I-I'm actually just guessing, but I don't doubt it. Entirely."
Maxine let out a light sigh of relief.
**Maxine**
"I see."
**Percy**
"A-anyway, I have to head out. I'm accounting for the weather, so I'll need to leave now to arrive to work in a timely manner. T-that's excluding the possibility that the monorail is crowded, of course, and--"
**Maxine**
"It's okay, Percy. I understand. If you need anything just give me a call."
**Percy**
"Of course. Thanks for checking on me, Maxine. You take care."
Hanging up, Maxine slid off the pair of mattresses she called her bed, dragged her blanket off, and grabbed her pillow. She wouldn't be able to slide it under Hugh, but she at least put it next to him against the wall. She placed her blanket over the skunk, and then sat down next to him, wrapping herself in it as well. She figured this was a good way to keep him warm.
Percy made a good point. She HADN'T known them for very long, but despite living in Zootopia for a while now, it was the first time she felt like she'd made genuine friends there. Weird friends, sure, but genuine ones. If this really was a sign of trust from one of them, who was she to turn it down?
Hugh shuffled around a bit in the warmth, his body slumping against hers. Even with the odd smell, the mixture of various perfumes mixed with sweat and what she could only assume was a bit of musk, it wasn't exactly unbearable. It had to be a smell he spent a while trying to 'perfect', she assumed. Another weird trait she felt she could easily live with.</center>
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<center>She wasn't going into work today -- that much was clear. But like Hugh said, at least she could get some well-earned rest.</center>