DING DONG
The grating chime of the doorbell wrenched Judy from a deep, peaceful sleep. She shifted slightly on the twisted bedclothes before settling back into him, vaguely hoping that if she ignored the visitor they'd leave like a bad dream. Nick's soft fur tickled her nose. She smiled and burrowed deeper, enveloping herself in his warmth. The half-conscious fox sighed blissfully in response, reaching out and cradling her to him, nuzzling her cheek. But then the bell rang again, more insistently, and Judy , with extreme reluctance, untangled herself and rolled out of bed with a disgruntled groan. She and Nick were supposed to be off-duty, but she supposed if something serious had come up...
Judy padded stealthily out of the bedroom and across the kitchen, vainly trying to wrestle herself into a dressing gown. The morning sunlight let in by the windows lanced vindictively into her eyes. Annoyance began to stir in her gut as the bell rang a third time.
"OK, OK I'm coming," she muttered, swinging the door open with a theatrical flourish. Her sleepy brain registered the absence of police uniforms. So much for serious. Judy opened her mouth to ward these unwanted guests away when she recognised their faces. Then the words died in her throat and she felt the world collapse around her.
"Hiya honey!" her mother beamed. It was all Judy could do to stare in horror, producing some very odd gurgling sounds.
"Mom... Dad... What are you doing here?" she finally managed to choke out, now wide awake and mind racing. She was suddenly painfully aware of her ruffled fur, paws instinctively reaching for her unkempt ears. The timid little prey animal in the back of her head was imploring her to run. To run until her legs gave out and never, ever look back.
"It's my birthday next week, Jude, remember?" her father laughed boisterously, all ruddy cheeks and whiskers, "So your mom and I thought we'd come see our little girl in the big city!"
"Yeah," Judy mumbled faintly, still shell-shocked, "I remember. It's just that I really, really wanted to come round and... deliver my gift this weekend - y'know, at home. At... uh, Bunny Burrow." She trailed off. Only half of her mind was on the conversation; the rest was formulating then discarding insane escape plans at a million miles an hour. And oh Gods, Nick was still asleep in bed! She shuddered; if they found out like this...
"Well, nonsense," her mother tutted, trying unsuccessfully to edge past her daughter into the shadowy appartement beyond, "we haven't seen your new apartment yet!"
"Fine MOM," Judy grinned maniacally, stepping aside and letting her parents through. The older bunnies shared a worried glance,
"Jude, are you feelin' OK?"
"Fine, DAD, just fine!" a muffled crash from the bedroom told her Nick had got the message. Her mother's head whipped round.
"What was that?" Damn. She'd always had exceptional ears.
"Probably just the neighbours; they're really loud!" Judy thought her cheeks might give out from the insescent grinning; the timid prey animal in her still wanted to balk.
"Oh.. Well, this is a very nice place dear" her mother commented approvingly, pirouetting slowly so she could take it all in. Judy heaved a sigh of relief and latched on to this new topic. She needed to lead them away from Nick.. Maybe convince them to take a morning stroll through the neighbourhood? But her father, nodding in agreement, scuppered this plan by planting himself firmly in a kitchen chair. Judy could feel the perspiration rolling off her. Her parents being here, it was... wrong. Like a flying saucer had just beamed a couple of chipper looking aliens into her appartment.
"Isn't it just?" Stu agreed, "I don't know, all these swanky city places. But how did you pay for it Jude?" Oh no... Judy cast her mind back to the moment she'd first walked through the front door herself, some six months ago.
They'd taken the train here, Nick and her. He'd been buzzing louder than a beehive about his big surprise for hours and Judy had played along, silently revelling in one of his rare, carefree moments. He'd led her into the elevator and down the hallway with his paws clasped tightly over her eyes. It had been thrilling, in a childish sort of way. Like unwrapping presents at Christmas. She'd heard the key click in the lock, and she'd tried not to peek, she swore she did. But it was too much for her, so Judy wrestled his paws away. The midday sun had streamed through the windows, illuminating every corner in warm light. There was so much space, it felt like a castle compared to the old broom cupboard she'd been living in. It felt like home, even then. But her dad was right, there was no way she'd ever be able to afford it, not on her own. Then, eyes sparkling and fur glimmering gold in the noonlight, Nick had dropped one of his bombshells. ("I figure it's about time because you practically live round my place anyway, and now I can get you to finally start paying rent. Plus your stairs are a menace.") Next thing she knew they'd moved in together. Just like that, the most natural thing in the world.
But her parents couldn't know.
"My promotion to detective came with a great raise - it's a long story - would you excuse me for a second?" Judy gabbled, already scuttling down the hall and into the bedroom, leaving them blinking in bewilderment. She slammed the door shut behind her. "Nick? You OK?" she whispered.
"Well, I never really wanted to know what your socks tasted like, but apart from that I'm good," came the muffled reply from under the the bed, and the fox wriggled out of his hiding place. He looked so ridiculous, so undignified and so not-Nick Judy would've burst out laughing on any normal day. But today wasn't normal. "Do they know we're living together?" he asked as he brushed dust off his fur, eyebrow cocked. Judy felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. Yet again.
"Uh... No"
"Oh." his face fell momentarily. God, didn't he know he was tearing the heart right out of her? "but you can tell them now, right, so it won't be weird when I come out of your bedroom?" Judy gnawed at her lip nervously;
"Nck, I haven't told them anything." He froze like a deer in headlights.
Anything? But... Two years, Judy... How is that even possible?" his voice had grown incredulous and shrill and Judy worried her parents would hear. Immediately they all came flooding back; all those family visits when she'd tried, she'd really tried, but the words had escaped her because everything had seemed so perfect and she was terrified of screwing it up. Her life in Zootopia was hers, a beautiful golden bubble. But so fragile: She'd been so scared of popping it.
...
Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Hopps were arguing with a wall. Bonnie had been commenting on the general 'mixed up' nature of the Zootopians when a waspish voice had issued from the tiles:
"Well excuse me, little miss high and mighty, but we can't all take it as slow as you farmers!" Mrs Hopps jumped a country mile.
"Arrgghh! Oh, I mean... Well, it's just that our daughter Judy, we worry about her, that's all... Isn't that right, Stu?"
"Right on, hun," agreed Mr Hopps, "but I think we've got to accept she's all grown up now..."
"Your name's Stew?" interrupted the voice, edged with mirth, "Isn't it a bad omen or something, calling a rabbit Stew?" Mr and Mrs Hopps looked horrified. There was a muffled thump from the other side of the wall, followed by the faint sound of cursing.
"Bugger off," ordered a second, softer voice, "don't worry about your Judy folks; she's got this lot well in hand -" the new speaker was interrupted by a sharp yelp ricochetting down the hall, followed by a raucous trumpet; the voice sighed resignedly "hold on a mo' - WILL YOU TWO FLEABAGS SHUT UP?! WE'VE GOT ENOUGH NOISE WITH DORIS AND HER RUDDY HAIRBALLS KEEPING US UP 'TIL TWO IN THE MORNING! Sorry, folks, that was room 102. Flat share between a hyena and an elephant, goes about as smoothly as you'd expect," Mr Hopps nodded at the blank wall with sage understanding. "Anyway, as I was saying. About your Judy..."
...
"Do you want me to climb out the window?" asked Nick, only half-joking. Judy laughed and rubbed her cheek against his silky tail.
"Somehow I don't think this is worth you plumeting thirty storeys to your death. "
" Aww, you really do care, " he crooned, playing with her ears. "Seriously though, it might be better than being caught by your parents," he grimaced, "they don't even know we're partners?"
"Nope," sighed Judy, running her paws over Nick's tail. Part of her, a disturbingly large part, wanted nothing more than to wrap herself up with him and never come out of the room again.
"But I came to your house that time, when you needed to escape from that date they sprang on you, remember?" he protested, a tinge of desperation coluring his words. A smile played across Judy's lips. She did remember. Nick had been in full slippery con-man mode, all smooth words and smoother moves. To be honest she'd felt quite sorry for her smarmy 'date', whom Nick had treated with the same disdain he would have a piece of gum on the bottom of his shoe. Bogo would've been proud. As for her parents, the looks on their faces, confronted with this walking embodiment of all their fears, were priceless. She and Nick had cried afterwards for laughing so hard. Judy just hadn't had the heart to tell them he was her partner. She groaned and flopped onto the bed. Just hadn't had the heart.
"I don't know, Bottlebrush. It seems so stupid in hindsight, but it was all happening so fast. It was like a perfect hurricane: the badge, the cases, my friends. And you," she rolled over and looked Nick in the eye. Those sparkling, emerald eyes that could still take her breath away,"You were beyond perfect."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to butter me up with compliments." he remarked, stretching languidly like a cat.
"Me?" asked Judy with mock anger, "Never! Besides, I thought that was your job." she breathed, burying her nose in the crook between his shoulder and neck.
"OK, point taken," Nick conceded, "I may have occasionally used my considerable charm to escape certain... annoyances- " Judy grinned into his fur - "but back to the point; wasn't it you who brought fox-repellent to the city?" Now it was her turn to grimace.
"But that's exactly what I mean, Nick! My parents gave me that repellent; they hate foxes! They'll never say it to your face but they've feared your species since the day Gideon attacked me!" she glanced down and her voice grew softer, so soft Nick had to shuffle even closer to hear; "I would never have admitted it, but that's part of why I came here. To see if they were right about predators. Everything I'd been raised on pulled against it, but I just had to see." her face contorted to somewhere between a grin and a grimace, "Honestly, the tiger I sat next to at the train station was the first really different species I'd ever been close to, and he scared the living shit out of me." Now Judy looked back up at him, glaring, defiant. "But Zootopia worked, Nick! I mean, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing but I got there: A week later I was a respected officer and my best friend was a fox!"
"You should be telling them this, not me." he interjected, resisting the urge to bundle her up and hide her away. It was her goddamn eyes, like amethyst fire. He'd always found them hypnotic. "Take them out for breakfast, explain everything. I'll be at the precinct by the time you get back." Judy winced and in spite of himself Nick rolled his eyes.
He couldn't fathom why this was so difficult for her. The way she gushed about her parents sometimes; it seemed Judy had had the perfect childhood. Sure, having her dreams trodden on must've been harsh, but that was pretty insignifigant compared to being wrestled away, wailing helplessly as your dad was arrested. It definitely didn't have anything on peeking through the banisters as your mother answered the door at the dead of night, then watching her collapse onto the embarrassed police officer standing there, her body wracked with heaving sobs. And, no offence, but Judy's family troubles really couldn't touch being sat down by your grieving mom, as a ten-year old kid, and being told you were the man of the house now because daddy had gone and got himself shot... No.
Nick loved Judy and, though he'd never admit it, respected her so much. But family was too important for something as trivial as such pointless secrets to get in the way. "If you don't tell them I will" Nick stated calmly, "all of it. Every last detail." He almost grinned at Judy's mortified expression. "Love you loads! Now go on and get out there. I'd better put some clothes on; I really don't want them catching me with my pants down..."
...
"Hiya honey!" trilled Mrs Hopps in a suspiciously sunny tone. From her position leaning against the bedroom door, Judy's eyes darted around the kitchen. There was something wrong... Something - something missing... Her father cleared his throat in an authoritative manner.
"So," he began, beaming affably. He too seemed uncommonly pleased; Judy was reminded of a birthday balloon pumped up just a little too much, threatening to burst, "tell us everything that's happened since your last visit. Spare no detail!" Judy blanched as pure, unadulterated terror struck her. Had they heard? They couldn't have! The bedroom was all the way down the hall, and they'd been whispering. Besides, she was 100% certain her dad would have to be higher than a pot-smoking llama to be even remotely happy about her and Nick. Judy recomposed herself quickly and fixed on her warmest smile. The one she'd perfected over three years of playing the precinct's resident good cop and reserved for the hardest to crack interrogations. Or getting Nick to do the washing.
"Why don't you sit down, mom?" she offered, walking forward with paws raised like she was cornering some savage beast. Her mother sat with some difficulty; she was either extremely excited or extremely constipated. Her father was staring at her raptly. "I have something to tell you - " but Judy was drowned out by Mrs Hopps' ear-splitting squeal of delight.
"Oh it's so amazing! My baby girl!" And to Judy's complete and utter bemusement, she began to bawl her eyes out.
"Steady on there hun," murmured Stu, also holding back tears. Judy's befuddlement mutated into something ugly and raw as her mother fished her gleaming engagement ring out of her pocket. Judy steeled herself, tried to block it out. But that little bastard called instinct was whispering in her ear. She shouldn't have listened, but as a cop she'd learnt to follow her gut. Man, what a crappy excuse. So before anyone knew it instinct was pulling her strings and she'd snatched the ring up; drawn it to her chest like a mother protecting her kit.
Crap.
Bogo was right; three years and she was still green as hell... She had wanted to take it slow, not dump it on them all at once... "Why didn't you tell us you had a mate?" demanded her father indignantly, "and you're getting engaged? Why would you keep a secret like that?!" Judy could almost feel Nick smirking silently to himself through the door. Damn him and his bombshells.
He'd only given her the ring a month ago, right in the middle of movie night, after several nerve-wracking hours acting so serious and uptight. His mood hadn't slipped by Judy either, and worry ate away at her. Usually by that point the movie and snacks would've been long forgotten and they would've moved on to more... interesting things. When Nick finally produced the ring out of nowhere, like a magician, Judy had almost been relieved. For a moment, for a brief, shinning moment she was giddy as a schoolgirl.
Then it hit her hard. Like a ton of bricks.
How far, how deep things had gotten without her noticing. Nick was the last mammal on Earth she would expect to want to settle down ("Marriage is a geriatric institution symbolising how we are all really slaves to the expectations of society" he had once proclaimed - only to regret it when she'd gleefully flung it back in his face before accepting). The whole world was turning upside down, pivoting on its axis. A thousand emotions were scrambling for dominance in her mind, chasing each other's tails round and round... It felt unreal, dreamlike. It had felt like she was watching someone else's life. Because it was impossible, to feel this happy. To have that joy, that electric wonder crackling under her skin. For it to fill her up from her toes right to the tips of her ears. Was she crying? Why was she crying?
But it wasn't all perfect. And now her biggest mistake was coming back to bite her in the tail. Judy had to keep them calm. Don't get ahead of yourself, Hopps.
"Oh no this is - this is a friend's. I'm holding it for her while she makes up her mind." Nick shifted discontentedly behind her, but the hardened cop deep inside told Judy she'd made the right call. A situation like this required baby steps. Already Mrs Hopps looked like she'd just been robbed of a prize possession. Judy's dad had definitely deflated.
"Sod it," cursed the kitchen wall; "Frank, I thought you said you'd heard her say yes!"
"I did, the furball's lying!" came the sulky reply. Judy marched up to the wall, nostrils flared, and bellowed at the top of her lungs:
"YOU TWO ASSHOLES HAD BETTER NOT BE LISTENING IN TO OUR PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS AGAIN!" she roared, almost lifting herself off her feet. All the anger and frustration that had been building for the last half-hour came brimming over with an icy vengeance.
"No! Not us, officer Hopps! We were just trying to be friendly with your folks is all... Frank didn't mean anything by it!"
"JUST LIKE HE DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BY TYING POOR MISS 102'S TRUNK IN KNOTS?!" Judy exploded, "REMEMBER, I'M A POLICE OFFICER. I WARNED YOU JACKASSES IF ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED AGAIN I'D GET REAL PISSED REAL FAST!" at this point she was rather enjoying herself. She so rarely got to play bad cop.
"Won't do it again, we promise" offered the voice weakly.
"Oooh, got answer for everything, hasn't she? See if she can explain away the howling we keep hearing in the middle of the night, go on." Judy went red as a beetroot and actually punched the tiles.
"SHUT UP!"
"Aahh, hit a soft spot have I?" gloated Frank "and what about that partner of yours, bet they wouldn't want to- murmph!" at this point, probably sensing Frank's life was in imminent danger, his friend dragged him bodily away.
"Um" coughed Mrs Hopps, looking markedly pale. With a shock Judy realised she had never really sworn in front of her before. Prickly heat began creeping up her neck. She could almost hear Nick mutter Good on you, cottontail. Oops.
"Well done, Judes. Best to be a bit forcible with these dopes!" enthused Mr Hopps, swooping in to her rescue. Judy smiled weakly and sat down.
And just like that they began to talk. About everything, anything. Her parents soon got over their crestfallen reaction to the 'false' engagement alarm. Judy's worries began to melt away. She was still on edge but this... This was almost normal. Right down to her dad's excessive complaints about his lumbago. But then, almost inevitably it seemed, disaster struck.
"It's just as well you're not getting married dear; I can't imagine the stress of bringing up a litter with a full-time job. In this city! So noisy and dirty and dangerous!" remarked Mrs Hopps in an offhand way that effectively shattered the moment into a million pieces.
Instinctively Judy knew that Nick, already growing impatient for his cue to emerge from the bedroom, would take this remark to heart. But he wasn't the only one. She knew she could never have the same connection to the city Nick had; he was Zootopia born and bred. But she was still Zootopian too. Her parents, they had no idea, living out their lives on the ancient, roving hills. This city... Zootopia was chemical, a churning, intoxicating cocktail of people and sights and sounds. It was in Judy's blood the moment she'd stepped off the train three years ago. Zootopia had sass, Zootopia had style. It was the kind of place where you knew exactly where you were going until you turned a corner and bam, suddenly the city was a labyrinth again, beckoning you forward with the promise of wonder. This city had made her feel like an ant among giants. This city had made her feel like a giant among ants and Judy would be damned before she let someone offend its honour. She struggled to condense that indescribable swell of emotion into a workable sentence.
"Zootopia is my home mom. Sure it isn't perfect but I love it here. And we work to make it a safer place every day." It was a bit lame and unfortunately it seemed Bonnie was going to fight for this, tooth and paw.
"I respect that dear," she simpered, "but really, I still think the best place for you is on the farm, with your family. Just look at your neighbours! I mean, we could have missed your engagement! We didn't -" Judy felt a twinge of guilt penetrate her exasperation - "but we could have. If it were still up to me you'd be on the first train home." Normally Judy would be aggravated beyond belief that this same argument had come up again, but right now all she felt was a mounting sense of dread. It'd be just like Nick to interject now, to try to defend her honour. He knew she hated it, but she knew sometimes he couldn't help himself. And right now? Right now she wouldn't blame him. Her parents had brought sledgehammers to a house of glass.
"Calm down hun," interjected Stu, and Judy felt a rush of affection towards her dad, "not sayin' I don't agree with you, but Judy's her own girl now. She gets to make her own decisions. Even," he coughed pointedly,"even if they aren't... thought out." Dammit. That was Nick's strike two. He was counting on his paws, Judy knew it. "Seriously though, Judes. You might want to think about moving out of this neighbourhood. This is a nice place n'all, but there are a lot of predators around." Judy felt the affection curdle into embarrassment. "Y'know, untrustworthy types," Stu continued, completely unaware of the massive hole he was digging. Any moment now...
"I agree," chimed in her mother peevishly, lending another paw to the excavation, "personally I don't wonder why your friend was worried about her ring being stolen - there are probably dozens of foxes about-" Aaand that was strike three.
"Damn." Judy sighed, slumping back in her chair.
"Can I come out now?" Nick's voice issued from the bedroom, right on cue, his tone even but lacking its usual verve. Come on Nick, hold it together baby... Mr Hopps almost fell out of his chair, and Mrs Hopps screeched like a banshee.
"Yup." said Judy, rubbing her temples wearily. Nick emerged, auburn fur still slightly haphazard and haloed in gold, just as it had been six months ago, wearing his customary devil-may-care smile. But it was fake; the one he used to build a wall between him and the rest of the world. Judy had seen him smile enough times, made him smile enough times to know when it was fake. Mrs Hopps screeched again, louder this time. Mr Hopps toppled like a bowling pin. "Mom, please; control yourself." murmured Judy, rubbing her ears gingerly. Her father, seemingly hell-bent on inadvertently pushing Nick to breaking point, sprang up indignantly.
"Who the hell are you? I demand you get out of my daughter's apartment!" Nick grinned wider. He did look remarkably like a crocodile, Judy thought with a shiver.
Well, seeing as it's actually our apartment, I don't think you have the right to order me out of my own home." He strolled forward and came to rest by Judy's side. Very carefully, Nick bent over and kissed her gently on the forehead, oblivious to their audience's looks of terror. "Permission?" he whispered softly. And that made her smile. Even after all that, he still wouldn't drop her in the shit if she wasn't ready. Time to own up to her mistakes.
"Granted." She whispered back, and he kissed her again, on the mouth this time. She could feel his smile, a real smile, the kind only she could get from him, through the contact. Her mother seemed to be struggling to breathe. Her father had turned a shade of red that put her own beetroot to shame.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" He thundered. Nick turned and studied him interestedly.
"My name is Nick Wilde, ZPD. Pleasure to meet you. Oh, and by the way, I'm your daughter's fiance." And with that he sauntered out of the apartment. He needed some coffee.
Judy waited for the hammer to fall. She had expected to feel terrible but now it was done, now it was out in the open she felt curiously light, like as great burden had been lifted. She cracked her knuckles expectantly as her parents' gobsmacked faces turned to greet her. Just another press conference. She'd worked real hard to get good at those.
"Questions please."