As they wound their way down the old dirt path, Judy reflected on how much she enjoyed these trips to Bunnyburrow. She loved Zootopia, probably more than plenty of mammals who'd been born and raised there. The sights, sounds, and spectacles never stopped, and there was always something new to try. It was a city of a million souls and ten million problems, a tall order for a certain bunny cop determined to handle all of them personally.
But at least she didn't have to do it alone. Despite their rough start, Nick had become a rock of support in her new life as a city cop. He kept her grounded, taught her how to focus on problems that could be solved instead of trying to save the whole world at once. Even when her impulsive streak ran them off the rails, Nick had a way of guiding and directing it to astounding results.
Nick was a microcosm of the city, which was exactly why she loved him so much. He was different in every way to her, a novelty in all respects. Even spending forty-plus hours a week together hadn't dulled her enthusiasm. But the closer they got, the more worried she became.
To outsiders, he was always in control, with a smile and a scheme to get you to do exactly what he wanted. Months of proximity had shown her just how much of it was a mask though. Like the city, he depended on mammals not thinking about all the little cracks in the façade. The conflict and long-buried hurt that had been painted over with a veneer of civility and confidence. Bellwether for all her insanity had understood this, and brutally leveraged it against predators during the Nighthowler crisis.
Judy shivered. She knew Nick had a troubled childhood, but they hadn't talked much about anything past that. He didn't seem comfortable discussing it, and Judy didn't want to pry it out of him.
She just wished she could help.
Back home, life was a lot simpler. Most things could be fixed with elbow grease and a kind word. Maybe a pie, if they were really upset.
Gotta remember to get one of Gideon's daily specials for the trip back she thought, and continued up the trail.
Puffing and blowing, Nick finally caught up to her on the hilltop. He set the basket down and let out a melodramatic sigh.
"Ya know, it's a good thing this basket isn't full of picnic supplies or lugging it way out here would have been really difficult", he groused.
Judy rolled her eyes. He had insisted on carrying everything, an oddly quaint gesture coming from someone so urbane. Besides, it wasn't her fault that it was a two-mile walk.
Nick scanned the horizon, a hand over his brow to block the midday sun. "What's so special about this place anyways?"
"Well, there's nobody around for miles"
He shot her a glance. "Really?"
This was an unusual trait. Despite the Hopps Family Farm covering numerous acres, there always seemed to be a relative or three with their ears perked for some juicy gossip-fuel. Their relationship wasn't a secret, in any case. It was just… complicated.
Perhaps there was a simple solution?
"Yup. Just you and me. Out here together. Alone."
Nick's face went stone cold. "Ms. Hopps, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?"
"M-maybe?"
Nick grinned and tapped her on the nose. "You're gonna have to do better than that, sweetheart. Many have tried and few have succeeded at winning my affections."
She rallied a bit. "I'll be sure to interview your body pillow for the secret."
With a laugh, he began unpacking their lunch. It was quite a feast for just two mammals, consisting of huge sandwiches, several side dishes, fresh-baked cookies, an impressive egg salad, and even a bottle of wine. Thank the burrow-news-network for that little addition, thought Judy. Once word got around that Jude the Dude and her dear partner were going for a private lunch, food, alcohol, and certain other impolite personal items were practically dumped on them by snickering siblings and winking aunts.
Nick had taken it all in stride of course, cracking an extremely rude joke that had set her brothers and uncles howling with laughter.
He fits in with them better than I do, she mused.
Their sizeable picnic was finally ready to go, spread out over the blanket. Nick picked up a sandwich and dug in with gusto. Judy settled for a small fruit salad, chewing thoughtfully.
"You know," said Nick through a mouthful of food, "I can't believe I let you drag me out here without my aviators."
"What, so you could pull the 'cool cop' routine on my parents?"
Nick gave her a hurt look. "You wound me, carrots. To think I would have to stoop so low to impress my partner's family is just shameful."
She had to admit it would probably work though.
Judy got another spoonful of the delicious fruit medley before replying. "Then why do you need em?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'll give you a hint: Night vision plus bright sun equals bad time for mister fox."
"Wait, it's because foxes are crepuscular, right?"
"Ding ding ding, ten points to junior scientist Hopps! And here I thought all you learned at the academy was how to write tickets and blackmail law-abiding citizens."
Suddenly, he leaned over so that they were almost nose-to-nose.
"But since you're so interested in vulpine biology, how about a private demonstration?"
Judy flushed, heart racing as his green eyes bored into her. There was a whiff of sandwich. She tried to respond, finished swallowing the bit of fruit still in her mouth, tried again and managed to speak in what she hoped was a suitably sultry tone.
"Lay it on me, slick."
Real subtle there, Jude.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Sit tight fluff, you're gonna enjoy this."
With that, he sat back down and held one hand in the air, fingers together. He brought his other hand up and pretended to pull his thumb off with it; the most juvenile magic trick in history.
"Ta-daaa. Magic thumbs, see?"
Judy blinked once. Then twice. She got to her feet and walked right up to his stupid, grinning face.
"Of all the immature, conniving, dumb foxes in the city", she said, punctuating each word with a punch to his shoulder, "You are the worst!"
But she was already starting to laugh, and Nick helped her along with a barrage of tickles. She returned the favor leaving him writhing on the blanket. Eventually they collapsed, sides aching and eyes watering.
Judy wondered if she'd made a mistake. Lunch had gone well enough, and with a little prodding she convinced Nick to join her in the bottle of wine.
"This is good stuff, Nick. Wolfson-Woolworth vintage merlot isn't cheap these days", she'd said.
Nick cast a derisive look at the bottle in her hands. "And risk having all my little secrets plied from drunken lips?"
"Oh, come on. I barely get tipsy from one bottle and you're twice my size!"
In the end he relented, and now they were sipping from glasses in the summer sun. Judy tried to make small talk, wracking her brains for things they hadn't already discussed at length. But as they worked through the bottle, Nick's good cheer seemed to drain right out of him. Eventually they trailed off into silence punctuated by the rustle of trees and occasional bird call.
Judy's silent introspection into just how badly one rabbit can mess up a simple lunch date was broken by a comment from Nick.
"Huh?" She'd missed it, senses slightly muddled by the fine wine.
"I said I'm sorry, carrots."
She turned. He looked utterly defeated, a far cry from the confident hustler she knew.
"Nick, what's the matter? You didn't do anything wrong…"
"I didn't do anything right, either."
Voice cracking, Nick took a breath and regained his composure.
"I know how much you want to move this forward, Judy. I can see it eating you up inside. You can't stand being in the middle of something, it's either stay or leave." A trace of his old smile returned. "It's what makes you so damn endearing, honestly."
Judy was livid. "You knew?! Why didn't you just tell me yes or no then? Or was jerking me around too much fun for mister sly fox?!"
He winced. "That's fair. I earned that one." Her rebuke hadn't shut him down, quite the opposite. Maybe rising to this sort of challenge was ingrained into him after years of hustling. "I never meant to hurt you, Judy. If nothing else, I promise you that."
"Then why? Why push me away one moment, and lead me on the next?"
"Because I'm afraid of losing you, ok?! If we take the next step and it doesn't work out, I dunno what I'd do with myself." He visibly sank at the thought. "When you left the city, I was a wreck. The only mammal who'd ever believed in me, ever would believe in me was gone. I can't go back to that, not anymore."
Judy blinked back tears as she remembered the disastrous press conference. Nick must have been hit a lot harder than she thought, despite how quickly he seemed to get over it. She hesitated, then grabbed him in a hug. She felt him collapse in her arms, all pretense gone as he silently wept. Judy gave him a moment
"But I'm here now, Nick." She lifted his chin with a paw, staring into his eyes. "And no matter what happens, you'll always be my friend." Tucking his head under hers, she went on. "You trust me, right?"
"With my life."
Judy paused, choosing her words carefully. "I want you to be happy, Nick. You deserve so much more than what this world gave you. But I need you to stop thinking about yourself so much. You don't have to suffer through this alone."
Nick coughed. "Yeah…yeah. You're right." Puling himself together, he turned to face her directly. "Guess I was in a little too deep there" he said, wrapping her in a hug of his own.
"Yeah, you were. I was really worried about you, Nick", she murmured into his shirt.
He rocked her slightly, at a loss for words. "Um. Sorry about that."
An awkward silence fell, which Nick predictably broke within moments.
"Did your family really give you a pack of…them?"
Wordlessly, Judy reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of preventatives.
"And just my size, even. Great. Wow. No pressure, huh?"
"None at all."
"Because a healthy relationship is based on-" Judy put a finger gently to his lips.
"Nick? Sweetie?"
"Mmhm?"
"Please stop talking for a moment"
"Mmmk."
"It's my turn to show you a magic trick."
"HM!?"
As they trudged back to the farm proper, Judy basked in warmth that seemed to fill her from the tips of her ears down to her toes. Now that she and Nick were on the same page, the crushing uncertainty that had been hanging over her like a guillotine had vanished. Nick wasn't keeping her at arm's length anymore, allowing and enjoying her touch while giving plenty of his own. Even his attitude felt more sincere, with all the energy he used to spend on dissembling and deceiving now turned towards finding out just how to push Judy's buttons in an oh-so-right way.
And the sex was incredible, she thought. That little adventure was going in the memory bank for a while.
But she had to admit it was more of a heat-of-the-moment thing, a consequence of the intensity of the situation and relief of all that pressure.
Still, there was no denying this was going to be a welcome change. So many new avenues of their relationship were now open to explore, and Judy was eager to get started.