A/N: Sorry it took longer than usual. As I've said before, I wanna take my time writing this story. New chapters will be rather late actually. So… Don't blame me.
Disclaimer: Zootopia belongs to Disney.
Day 2 in the Wilde's residence. The sun has already shone upon the apartment. Birds have already stopped singing as morning is about to be over. Nick was seen sleeping, facing away from the window.
He opened his eyes lazily. He sat up and looked around in the room. His bunny is gone. But he wasn't surprise though after looking at the time. 11:37am. He chuckled and got off of bed. He knew Judy was always the kind to get up early. Even after she moved away from her hometown.
He got off his bed and opened the door, slowly coming out. "Morning…" he said, sleepily while yawning. The first thing he heard were laughters in the living room. He turned to his left to find his mother and Judy sitting on the couch.
"Did it really happen?" Mrs. Wilde said softly to Judy, laughing.
"Yea," Judy answered. "It was like I didn't know him at all."
Nick walked up to the two. "Morning, you two," he said. The bunny and vixen turned to him. "What're you ladies talking about?"
"Remember our time in BunnyBurrow?" Judy reminded.
"Yea?"
"Yep. That."
"I didn't know that your pawpsicle selling got so famous already in that place," said Mrs. Wilde.
"Well…" Nick said, rubbing the back of his head with a nervous smile. "I needed something to do after all. I can't be doing something… 'Not-me' all the time."
"'Not-you?'" Judy said with an eyebrow raised.
Nick's mom laughed. "Still stuck being a ranger scout," she said. "Anyway, Nick. Judy and I were thinking to go out to do a little walking. Do you want to come along?"
Nick raised his paw up. "I'm good."
"Great." Judy stood up. "You really need to show me around. I don't go out often either since I'm always stuck at work."
Mrs. Wilde stood up. "I'd love to. It'd be good bonding time too." She turned to her son. "Watch the place for us, Nick."
Nick chuckled. "I know, mom."
The vixen and bunny were about to head out together. Mrs. Wilde gave her son a kiss on the cheek which he was so defensive about. However, his reaction was perfect to set up laughters from the two females.
Judy and Mrs. Wilde decided to go for a stroll in the park with all this fresh air surrounding them. It's not often that Mrs. Wilde gets to walk out with someone. Especially when that someone is very close to her son. She was delighted to hear the stories about the bunny and tod's adventure together. From the missing mammal case, to the Robin Hood case. And to the point where they ended up meeting Nick's old friend, Max.
"Really?" Mrs. Wilde said while walking. "Max just got back and headed out the day after?"
"Yea," Judy said, nodding. "But unlike us, he's really busy."
"Well he must be really successful."
Judy gave a nervous laugh. "I guess you could say that."
"Say, how about that story of Nicholas at BunnyBurrow again? Did he do anything… 'Unusual' of himself?"
Judy giggled. "Well…" Judy tried to think. "The weirdest thing about him in BunnyBurrow was when he never actually touched his phone for the whole week."
The vixen laughed. "Is that true? I thought he never leaves his phone behind."
"I know right? It was weird to me too."
They finally reached the park and Mrs. Wilde stopped when they found a bench.
"I really shouldn't be this old actually…" she said taking a seat, catching her breath. "But phew… I just can't keep up these days."
"Do you want me to get you a drink, ma'am?" Judy said, her ears down, feeling worried.
The vixen thought. "I think I could use some water. Not cold though."
Judy nodded with a smile and went to the nearest grocery store right across the street. She bought two bottles for her and Mrs. Wilde. When she returned she offered her the bottle of water and helped opened the bottlecap for her. The vixen thanked her and drank, breathing heavily.
Judy looked at her with a thought running through her head. "Hey…" she said. "I know it's weird to ask but… What actually happened to… Your husband?"
Mrs. Wilde looked down, holding the bottle with two paws with her ears dropped down.
Judy looked at her. "Ah, I'm sorry," she said. "I was just wondering."
"He… Just left us," Mrs. Wilde said softly.
Judy's expression changed from a nervous smile to a serious, attentive face.
"Before Nick was born… He left us."
Judy looked at Mrs. Wilde's paw holding the bottle tight. "Um… Can I ask… Why?"
Silence at first but Mrs. Wilde answered eventually. "I was… Pregnant with Nick inside me when I was only… 17…"
Judy's eyes widened. She wanted to speak but couldn't.
"I was…" The vixen looked up with a weak smile. "I was too young and… I thought for sure I was being loved but… I was such a dumb vixen…"
Judy looked down on the ground. "Well…" she said shrugging. "Nick was actually right about me being a dumb bunny…"
Mrs. Wilde giggled. "Did he now?" she said.
Judy smiled weakly and nodded. "I… I may have offended him more than I thought… I mean… Blaming the predators was by far the biggest mistake I've made."
Mrs. Wilde patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, it's okay, dear. At least, Nick is the kind of fox that would easily forgive others."
Judy looked down, thinking. She was talking with the most honest fox she has ever met. When she first saw Nick, her first thought was because he was fox that caught her attention, thinking he was plotting something. But in reality, he was forced to be sly. But then again… His mother seemed so different. Not afraid to show her kindness and honesty. It was completely the opposite of a fox.
"No…" Judy said, shaking her head. "Of course not. I'll be honest though…" she said turning to the vixen. "I actually thought he was a bad guy. All because he was a fox. But… Now I know that looks can be deceiving."
The vixen smiled at her. "Has Nick ever been… Bad? I haven't heard much from him after he left."
Judy thought for a moment and smiled. "Not at all… He was just… Hustling."
"Hustling?" Mrs. Wilde giggled. "What does that mean?"
Judy giggled back. "It's just something he taught me when we first met."
The shared a few laughters for a moment until Mrs. Wilde spoke up. "I really thought…" she said. "I made a mistake to be in love with that tod… But now I see that Nick is the best thing that happened in my life. Sure, life was hard back then. But seeing him smile makes me so happy." She sat back on the bench looking up at the sky.
Judy nodded. "I know right? But, to be fair, that smile of his IS really sly."
"Really?"
"He sometimes would play the stereotypical fox too. It's annoying but I got use to it anyway."
Mrs. Wilde and Judy decided to use Nick as the subject of their conversation. They really seem to have an interest about embarrassing him. Or rather, because they both love him in so many ways.
Meanwhile, Nick sneezed. (To some Asians, we believe that if someone is talking about you, you would sneeze.)
The vixen and bunny returned home with some food. When Nick sniffed the aroma, he immediately turned to them and head towards them.
"Is that Chinese?" he said.
"Eeyup," Judy answered.
"Just like back then," Mrs. Wilde added.
Nick looked up at her. "Back then?" he said.
"Yup," Judy said. "She told me that you and her would eat Chinese whenever something special is up. So I thought I'd buy some Chinese food for the three of us tonight."
"Mom!" he said, blushing.
"Oh, don't worry, Nick," she said, laughing. "Be glad that I didn't tell her about the bubbles you make every time you took a bath. Oops…"
"Bubbles?" Judy said, laughing.
Nick covered his face with one paw in embarrassment and looked away.
"What about the bubbles?" Judy continued.
"Oh, you see, when he was just a little kit, whenever I would bathe him he would…"
"Okay!" Nick quickly butted in, with a nervous laugh. "Let's enjoy dinner shall we?!"
"Oh, it can wait," Judy said with a smirk. "I'd like to know more about his baby days."
"Oh, I have a photo album of him if you want to take a look." She walked into her room, searching for the photo album.
Nick glared at Judy with a blush. "I'll pay you $50 if you don't look at them…" he said softly.
"Nope," she said, looking at him with a smirk.
"$100…"
"Nope. Think of this as equal like what you did in BunnyBurrow."
Nick's body started shaking and sighed. "Fine…" he said. "At least it'll never happen again…"
She was right though. Back in BunnyBurrow, Nick really wanted to see more of her baby pictures. Now… It's payback time. Only the predator is now the prey.
"And here he is learning to ride a bike," said Mrs. Wilde pointing at a picture of a young Nick riding a bike happily before turning to another page. "Oops. And this is him, falling off the bike for the first time." She pointed a picture of Nick crying with the bike on top of his right leg.
"Awwww," Judy responded. "If I were there, I'd pick him up right away."
Meanwhile, Nick is just eating the leftover dinner, away from the two and glaring at his girlfriend. He was too embarrassed to face them right now.
"Oh and this one's my favorite," she said pointing to a picture of Nick as kit in a ranger scout uniform. "This is when Nicholas decided to show everyone that not all foxes are sly and untrustworthy."
Instead, Judy didn't laugh. She glanced at Nick. His back was turned against her. But she knew he wasn't happy hearing that. She noticed his ears went down along with hers.
"It was the happiest day of my life…" said Mrs. Wilde. "Because of Nick, now everyone knows that not all foxes are what they thought we are…"
Judy gave a weak and forceful smile. "And look at him now," she said. "He's a police officer. A job where mammals can really trust."
The vixen nodded with a smile. "And I couldn't be happier to hear that too," she said. She turned to Nick. "You make me so happy, Nicholas. Because of you, not all mammals think foxes are the same."
Nick didn't turn to her. He gave a weak smile and then turned around to her. "Yea…" he said. "And it's all thanks to Carrots too. I wouldn't be having this job without her."
Judy smiled back. "Just like me, he's the first of his species to be a cop."
"I've heard." She hugged the bunny. "Thank you so much, Judy. I'll be honest, I don't think Nicholas would be a police officer if it weren't for you."
The couple gave a nervous laugh.
"It's true though…" Nick said. "If I didn't help her, I think I'd still be selling pawpsicles…"
Mrs. Wilde's ears sprang up. "'Still?'" she said.
Nick then realized what he just said. "F-for a hobby that is! Being a… Ranger scoutmaster was really fun too!"
"So that's what you've been doing," she said. "You're a ranger scoutmaster. That makes sense now."
Silence from the couple at first then another nervous laugh came out of the tod. "Ah, yes!" he said. "Kids shouldn't be judging other animals for their species. Isn't that right, Carrots?"
"Oh, uh yes," she said. "And also, selling pawpsicles is a good way to earn some money for such a young age too."
"Ahhh… Now I understand. Charity. Oh, Nick. You really have been good, aren't you?" she said walking up to her son giving him a hug.
His nervous laugh still didn't disappear as he hugged his mom back. Judy sighed in relief.
The vixen then looked at the clock. 11:28pm. "Oh my, look at the time. I didn't even realize it was late already. Time sure flies when you're having fun."
Nick let out a yawn. "Yea…" Nick said. "Need me to help you get to bed, mom?"
"Oh, come now. I'm not that old."
The three laughed at her sarcasm. She wished them goodnight and they did the same before they entered their respective rooms.
Nick slumped his body on the mattress and sighed. "That was close…" he said.
Judy stayed quiet for a while, thinking. "Nick…" she said softly. "I think your mom deserves to know the truth… When we were out walking, she was… She was so nice and honest. I really think it's best she knows about what you've done the past year."
Nick sat up. "That will have to wait. I WILL tell her, don't worry. I'll come clean when Mother's day has arrived."
Judy sighed. "But go easy on her…"
"She's my mom, Carrots. Of course I will."
The bunny smiled and sat on his lap, facing him. "Call me, 'Judy'?" she said softly, looking at him wih half-closed eyes.
He smiled. "Why, Judy?"
She giggled and placed her lips on his.
Mother's day. Only 2 days left.
A/N: Chapter 2 is done! Wooo! And only 2 chapters to go. Sorry if it came out short. As I've said before in the last chapter, I'm putting this story as much effort as I can. That's why the update is taking a while unlike my other fanfics.
Theory: From what Rich Moore said, Nick's dad (who was previously planned to be part of the movie as John Wilde), might have left them maybe before Nick was born, because foxes are solitary animals. And he prefers to be left alone. I immediately thought about maybe this:
Nick probably got his name from his mother's last name instead. She was pregnant with Nick inside her when she was still a teenager. The proof was that Nick said, "So she scraped up enough money to buy me a uniform…" caught my attention. I then thought of the word 'scraped', thinking that maybe it meant she was struggling to get some money. But then I gave some more thought, how is it was she struggling to get money? And I maybe over my head a little but that's when I thought about teen pregnancy which is also the reason why John left her.
But again, this is NOT canon, people. All I can say is that this is just a theory. Knowing Disney, I know they wouldn't involve teen pregnancy but the way how Rich Moore responded about how Nick's dad left them seemed to actually put my mind into that thought.
Anyway, I'll be writing chapter 3 now. Again, don't expect it to be so soon. I want Nick's mom to be special here. Why? Because she deserves to be part of the character selection in this site, gosh dang it! I maybe be overreacting… Anyhow, ciao!
