Nick

"Giddy?" The whisper rang in my head. I felt like I was staring down a ghost.

A thousand memories started rolling through my mind. Terrible memories, a horrible situation... And happiness, mixed in with all the horrors.

Gideon stared back at me. He'd gained some weight, and he'd done something dorky with his fur cut... But he was clean and the extra weight had given him a bit of a nurturing look. His arms were the same. I remembered those strong arms holding me. All those nights...

"Nick?" He asked back. It felt like a prayer. I wanted nothing more than to run up and hug him. To cry into his arms and tell him how much I'd missed him...

And then Judy touched my arm.

It snapped me back to reality. "Uh... I... Hi! Gideon. Hi... Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. Great... Uh something." I could feel the hustler inside me facepalm.

Mrs. Hopps tilted her head, more than a bit lost. "Do... Do you two know each other?"

Gideon finally spoke up. "Uh... Yeah! Beggin' your pardon for the awkwardness Mrs. Hopps. Uh... Hey Nick." He put on that smile he always wore when he wanted to hide how tense he was. It was very, very easy to see through.

To be honest, I doubt my smile back was much better.

Carrots cleared her throat. "So... Mom, Dad, would you mind if we snagged your business partner and headed to the nearest quiet room for a bit? I think we need to clear the air."

Stu scratched at the back of his neck. "Uh... I mean, I kinda have a few dozen of your brothers and sisters waiting in the hay wagon..."

What's a hay wagon? A distant part of me wondered. It was the part that wasn't staring at my lost lover and still trying to get past. 'Buwuh?'

I felt Judy take hold of my paw. "I... I think we need to deal with this before we deal with that. I'm really sorry. Could you maybe apologize to them and tell them I'll be by to see them soon?"

The Hopps were lost. Stu had a slowly growing look of horror on his face, presumably imagining the effects of the let down. Her mother spoke up. "I suppose we could make this work dear, but would you mind telling me what's going on?"

The tension in her voice was palpable, but I barely noticed. Gideon... Here...

Judy grabbed my hand and Gideon's and started trudging us somewhere. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."

#

Judy's burrow was something of a marvel, as I supposed it would have to be to house over three hundred rabbits. I wasn't exactly in a solid state to take in the scenery, but I know I passed several kitchens, bedrooms and even a communal swimming pool at one point. I guess that many people worth of labor adds up.

The "Quiet room" was a cramped room in one of the branches of Judy's burrow with two couches, a table, and a bookshelf containing an assortment of things including a pile of puzzles and stuffed animals.

"Uh... Carrots?" I managed, finally finding my tongue. "What is this place?"

Judy shot me a nervous smile. "It's a sound proofed room where we take folks who are immersed in some form of drama. With a family as big as mine it comes in handy."

"So..." Gideon began, "Beggin' your pardon Judy, but are y'all treatin' us like angsty children?"

"Yes." She replied, then followed my gaze to the stuffies. "Nick, do you want the owl?"

"Yes please." Right now I needed something to squeeze and if I used Judy she'd pop.

"C-can I have the squid?" Gideon mumbled with a blush so bright it showed through his fur.

I grit my teeth. Damn it, he's still adorable.

She passed out our fluffy companions. Then, after a moment's thought, selected a frog for herself. We all sat down around the table, just sort of cradling our stuffed animals and staring.

I didn't know how today could possibly get any weirder.

"So..." Judy began, "What was prison like for you two?"

And now it was weirder.

"Hard." Gideon replied, gripping his pillowy squid just a bit too tightly. "I... I guess y'all know about the assault charges huh?"

Judy nodded. "I guess I never asked about what happened to you after you dropped out... Who did-?"

"Some random otter in a bar." He replied. "I threw one punch at him, and he pressed, Honestly I've done way worse and ain't gotten no punishment." He looked down. "I probably should have been in there longer."

Okay, that got me talking. I narrowed my eyes. "Giddy, you are not someone who needs to be locked away! We've talked about this a million times. Seriously, I leave for a few years and you go right back to beating yourself up all the time?"

The larger fox's eye twitched. "A few years? Nick it's been nearly a decade! No calls, no letters..."

Oh he was not pulling that crap. I glared at him. "YOU were the one who said we should split. YOU were the one who thought it would be better. What, you wanted me to go, but not go? I can't-"

"Nick I loved you!" He said, tears building up in his eyes. "I said we should split because y'all were better off without some convicted felon holdin' your heart... I just... I wanted you to have a good life."

I growled. My mind was running a mile a minute and I felt my hackles raising. "That doesn't make it... Giddy you were everything to me! We could have made it work. We could have tried..."

There was something rolling down my cheek. I was shaking.

Judy touched my paw. "Do you want to take a walk Nick?"

I sputtered. "What? No! I want to get to the bottom of this I want to find out why this... this..." I gestured at Gideon. He looked... shattered.

And Carrots... Her eyes were wide as she stood there, shaking. Oh gods...

I was just telling an ex how dumb it was for us to break up, right in front of the girl I loved.

I pulled Judy into a hug on instinct. "Judy you know I love you right? So, so much! You're my best friend and I feel like a better person around you and this is your day... and..."

I had no idea what I was doing.

Judy hugged me back, wrapping me in her impossibly soft fur.

"Nick it's okay." She said, stroking my back. "I don't... I don't know a lot of this relationship stuff, but I know you're not going to randomly dump me... Especially not right after I took you to meet my parents. That's be a dick move. Even for you."

She slid out from my arms, taking my paw in hers and squeezing it, maybe just a little too tight. "So," She began. "Gideon, is there anything you'd like to say in response?

He gripped his squid. I winced. I couldn't help it, he was obviously in pain. "I... I'm sorry if I hurt you Nick. I never meant to drive you away for good, I just... I knew you were smart, going up. You were gonna, do great things and I didn't want to get in the way."

I climbed over the table, taking his paw in mine. "Gideon, you were never a burden. You were one of the few people in my life who cared about me. Let's make it absolutely clear, You. Were. Amazing."

But is he still? Came a thought. I looked around us, two foxes in a bunny burrow. Somehow Gideon had befriended a huge number of people that had every reason to fear him. Somehow he'd showed them his noble side. The side I saw locked away so long ago.

I smiled. "And for the record, I think you did pretty okay."

He chuckled. The tears were still in his eyes, but his smile was real. "You always did know just what to say, didn't you?"

I patted his knee. "You made it easy." I frowned. Honestly he had a point. I scratched at the back of my neck. "Listen, Gideon, I'm really sorry I never called."

The larger fox shrugged. "Eh... To be honest if I was so broken up about it, I probably should have dug through the fear and called you. I had a phone too."

I smirked, making my way back to Judy's side, snagging my owl back. He had a point. "Yeah... Seriously Gids, I love you and all, but sometimes you're a little thi..."

I slammed my mouth shut, realizing what I just said. I froze. He did too.

Judy sighed. "We need more stuffies."