Edited by DrummerMax64
Cover image copyright of ゆづきち.
The Three Seasons of Christmas
Past
The crisp dawn light filtered through her window, touching over carefully placed decorations and newly prepared beds. As the first rays of a midwinter morning reached her sleepy eyelids, the rabbit blinked into awareness, stretching gently and swallowing. She propped herself up on her arms, back to the cotton pillow, and stared across the room filled with ten similar beds.
All around her, siblings were stirring, slowly realising that it was the morning they had all anticipated with frenzied excitement. Well, all except Jessica, who seemed the least interested of all. She just tugged the bedsheets higher over her head, hoping to grab a few extra minutes of slumber before the cacophony of yuletide hysteria echoed up and down the walls of the Hopps residence. Unless thirty seconds had been the desired amount, that was one Christmas wish to go unfulfilled.
A squeal of delight erupted from further down the room, picked up by younger siblings and carried along as a tsunami of pure giddiness washed over the room. It was all a little more than the rabbit had expected, but no less than she had hoped.
"Judy! Wake up!" Lily shouted, bouncing up and down at the foot of her bed.
"I am awake!" Judy laughed, kicking the bedsheets high enough to grace the ceiling and launching her body off the mattress before they floated down again.
In true Hopps tradition, the majority of their gifts were left at the foot of each bed. With the sheer number of rabbits crowding the house, it would be impossible to squash them all together under the enormous Christmas tree in the dining room and avoid having them step over each other's gifts. So Judy found her stocking by her bedpost, stuffed with presents, wrapped in the most eye catching designs available, from nativity scenes to snowmammals in country fields.
"Better hurry up or we'll all have finished before you!" July, one of the youngest, giggled from across the room.
Judy shook her head in amusement. This was even better than her seventh birthday a few months ago, and that was still a fresh memory for her.
Running to the front of her bed, she unhooked the stocking - struggling to maintain her stance - and swung it up and over onto her mattress, just as her sheets touched down again. With a bound and a hop, she landed atop her mattress, proceeding to empty the collection of delights all in front of her. From the smallest cracker to the largest box, she rapidly sorted them into neat piles. There was a system to present opening. The bigger it was, the more likely it would be left till last. Unless it felt like an expensive present, such as a new CD or perhaps a movie. That could be guessed by careful shaking, her keen ears detecting the telltale sounds of a rattling disk.
The whole day stretched out before her, and to her young mind, it seemed unending. As her paws worked carefully to untie every bow and rip every shred of wrapping which Bonnie had prepared with such care, she couldn't restrain her excitement to focus on just the task before her. Instead, her imagination anticipated vivid scenes of what she knew from past experience would follow. The family breakfast, complete with freshly baked croissants and chocolate cereals. The snowball fights out in the white dusted fields of Bunnyburrow. The hours spent greeting and thanking relatives who were too numerous for her to remember yet, especially when her mind was straying back to her presents. Finally, the wonderful Christmas dinner, where all the family would gather in the largest barn, meticulously cleaned for the function, and hours of laughter and feasting would follow.
For now, the most important thing was to come back to the present moment and stop Jessica from sneaking in and taking her best gifts while she wasn't daydreaming. Thankfully, this was just what Judy had been preparing for by practicing her flying kicks on the lineup of snowmammals in the back…
Present
"Are we done, Carrots?"
The call came from further down the corridor, and Judy quickly snatched the last few files which littered the desk, deciding that the precariously placed coffee mugs could be cleared away on the 26th, or all evidence removed if they fell in the meantime. Taking one last glance around her the office, she clicked off the lights, closed the door firmly and raced down the corridor towards where her partner was standing, paws on his hips.
"You really are addicted to those reports, aren't you?" the fox laughed, the Santa hat he had worn all day shaking on his head with the movement, but remaining firmly in place.
"Whaaat?" she grinned. "I just don't want to overlook anything. I see you're not taking anything home with you for Christmas."
He grinned, catching her eye for longer than she expected. "Well, you're always welcome to come along, if that's what you mean. You could pull up for breakfast at 07:30, then stay the rest of the day."
Judy slowed to a stop, staring at him, her nose twitching. "Oh! I...erm...I promised to be with my family and-"
He let out a heartfelt chuckle. "I'm joking, Carrots. I know you've got quite the family to return to. Gotta love me for teasing, right?" The fox winked, sauntering into the main reception hall where a huge tree finally vied with Clawhauser as a visitor's first impression of the ZPD.
Shaking off the confusion, the doe followed close behind. "Well, we'll see each other the day after tomorrow."
"Oooo, what's this?" he smirked, glancing round. "Are you counting the moments now until you can be with me again? Is that what this is about?"
"No!" She shook her head, successfully hiding her blush behind the tower of files in her paws. Whether the blush suggested that he was right or wrong about that, even she didn't want to ask.
"Because I thought..." he began, trailing off as he saw the large frame of their boss approaching, announced first by the loud thundering of his hooves on the floor.
Chief Bogo trudged along, doing very little to hide the look of dread as he saw which two officers were waiting to see him off.
"Hopps, Wilde, you two should be out by now."
"Actually, so should you, chief," Nick smiled, leaning over the counter where Clawhauser, had he still been there, would have been seated. He rummaged beneath the desk, stretching to his longest to avoid having to actually walk around the counter. With a triumphant cry, he retrieved the stack of presents he had stashed under there, mainly composed of gifts which had found their way onto his desk from the other officers of Precinct 1. He had, of course, reciprocated. He was still aching from the hug Clawhauser had squeezed him into when he delivered a box full of the choicest Christmas flavored doughnuts into the cheetah's paws - everything ranging from candy cane flavor to Brussels sprouts, although he had kept quiet about that one, inferring that it just might have been mint flavored.
"Wait, sir, before you go!" the fox said, holding up his paw.
The buffalo stopped in compliance, eyeing the fox warily. Halloween had not left a good impression of what to expect when Nick asked him to stay put…
"One for you, sir," Nick grinned, passing the larger mammal a carefully wrapped, thin, square gift.
For once, Bogo actually looked taken aback. He turned the gift over in his hoof, grunting suspiciously. "Are you sure you're feeling alright, Wilde?"
"Just very festive, chief," he saluted, adjusting his Santa hat. "Only happens once a year, so you'll have the Weekday Wilde back in no time."
This elicited a groan from their boss, who continued on his way to the doors. "I'll see you both tomorrow."
Judy flinched. "Tomorrow?! Tomorrow is Christmas!"
"Fine. But be here all the earlier the next morning," he huffed in return. As he reached the door, he stopped, turning only slightly. "Hopps, Wilde."
"Yes chief?" they both said in unison, not even realising it.
"Thank you," he said, his deep voice free from annoyance, and sounding like he actually meant it. "You two weren't so bad this year. Keep it up. You'll do the ZPD proud."
The fox stared at the rabbit and saw his own amazement reflected in her purple eyes. "Did the chief just...?" he began.
"I think he did…" she gasped.
"Don't let it get to your head," came the gruff response. They looked to see the door sliding shut behind the buffalo, and the hall became quiet once more.
"Well, I would say he likes us," Nick declared, curiosity getting the better of him as he sniffed at the presents in his arms.
"Undoubtedly," she agreed.
The fox looked at her mischievously. "The funny thing is, I doubt he's even noticed that clump of holly stuck on his horns."
"I won't say if you don't," she smiled, shaking her head.
"Incidentally, Carrots, what did you get him? You gave yours earlier, right?"
The rabbit began walking to the doors, checking her watch carefully. "Oh, it was a new mug. He broke the last one when he threw it at Clawhauser."
"Actually, it was at me," Nick admitted with a wink.
Judy tried to contain her amusement, only barely managing to avoid the stack of files slipping over as her body shook with laughter. "You must have made him really mad."
"Noooo," the fox coed. "He just has a short fuse."
"And what did you get him, Slick?"
He looked smug. "What if I said it was a Christmas CD? Couldn't tell you who it's by, of course..."
Pushing open the doors, they stepped out into the silent night beyond. Frost clung to the tops of cars, the streets were coated in a virgin layer of snow, and a winter moon illuminated the area with a glow that almost felt strangely nostalgic, taking both officers back to Christmases long past.
Judy shuddered in the sudden chill, all warmth from the premises dissipating in seconds. "Who's going to switch off the lights in the bullpen? I didn't do it, did you?"
"Eh," Nick waved a paw dismissively. "Wolford's still in there. I guess some people don't have anywhere to be on Christmas Eve. He's marked himself down for the Christmas shifts all week."
The thought made Judy go silent for a moment. She made a mental note to ask him next year if he wanted to come over to the Burrows.
"So what do you really have planned, Nick?"
"Honestly?" he smiled, deftly balancing the presents on one arm and pulling the key to his cruiser out with the other, the device beeping as he clicked it with his thumb. "I'm going to spend the day at my mom's. She doesn't see nearly enough of me during the year, and it's the least I can do to keep her company in the old place. It's nice, too. Simple by bunny standards, but plenty good enough for us foxes."
He opened the car door with his foot, hopping on one leg in what must have made for one of the most ridiculous spectacles Judy had yet seen during her two months with him as her partner. Stumbling forward, he was lucky enough to cascade all the gifts inside the car, and not onto the icy ground.
"Nick?"
The fox climbed into the car, looking over at his partner who still stood in the chill air, waiting for the lift from her dad that would take her all the way to her home in the country, despite Nick's repeated offers to drive her himself. She figured it might be a little early to spring him on the family.
"Yes Judy?"
"Merry Christmas," she smiled warmly, holding his gaze for a few moments as the cool wintry air swirled in spirals around them.
"Merry Christmas, Fluff," he laughed, turning the key in the car.
Future
The crisp dawn light filtered through her window, touching over carefully placed decorations and falling onto her bed. She tried to keep her eyes firmly shut, stealing just a few more moments of sleep after the tiring night before spent preparing the house. The fox beside her stirred, turning over and pulling even more of the bedsheets to his side of the mattress, exposing her left arm to the cool of the room. She tugged her pajama sleeve down, but allowed him to keep the duvet.
She ignored the feeling, trying to close her eyes once more. After a few seconds, she decided that it was useless. Opening her eyes, she let them stray around the room which was as much his as it was hers.
It was home.
Judy smiled to herself as the light revealed their bedroom's Christmas tree, small, but carefully decorated. It had become a tradition to have a tree of some size in each room, even if it meant just a tiny potted plant with baubles on it.
Her right paw moved for what must have been the sixth time that morning to finger the ring on her left paw. It had been a Christmas Eve just like that of the previous night when he had asked her. Now, Christmas felt more intimately theirs than ever before.
"Nick?" she whispered, turning onto her side.
His ears twitched on the pillow, but he was facing away from her.
"Nick," she smiled, reaching across and adjusting the collar of his red and green pajamas. "I know you can hear me. Stop pretending to be asleep."
No response.
She leaned over and placed a kiss right between his ears. Instantly, the fox shuddered, and she could feel his chuckles shaking the bed. With a weary sigh, he turned over and stared at her, green eyes shining in the dimness.
"Well, that was a Christmas surprise," he grinned.
"It's nearly time to get up," she explained.
"Nearly holds no weight when you're as tired as I am."
"Nick," she laughed, "stop it. You're the one who's most excited about Christmas in this house!"
"Judy, you've got me. Caught out without an alibi. What do I do now? Do I appeal to the judge?"
"You certainly do. That's why I married you," she winked.
He paused for a second, not used to being the one caught out by a pun. "You know what?" he asked, turning to face away from her again.
"What, Slick?" she asked. Before she received her answer, she felt his tail tickling her stomach, even through her pajamas, the bushy fur moving up and down as his tail wagged.
"I think I might be brushing off on you..." he declared, turning over again to grin preposterously at her.
The doe shook her head. "Nick, that is the worst pun I've-"
"Mom! Dad!" came a series of cries from out in the corridor. "It's six o'clock! Santa's been! He's really been!"
Even without seeing the kits, they could hear their jubilation.
"Well," Nick chuckled, sitting up and swinging his legs out of the bed faster than she had ever seen him rise from rest. "I'd say we best get Christmas morning started…"
Author's Note:
So I wanted to present all my readers with a story to thank you all for the fantastic support you have given me. This is my gift to what is, in my estimation, one of the most supportive, creative and vibrant online communities around!
Merry Christmas one and all! Thank you so much for the wonderful time I've had on here so far. Here's to many more months (or years!) of Zootopia! I hope to be doing the same this time next year.
God bless,
~AF