Chapter 4
"Judy, what on earth happened!?" Nick started, noting the mess that Judy was in, and swiftly moved towards her. "Geez, Judes, did you miss me that much?" Nick spoke softly, lost in her glittering eyes as he wiped her tears away with a soft paw.
Judy let out a small chuckle, slightly irritated that he was so late, but so much more relived that he was here. She buried her head in Nick's chest, feeling his chin rest upon her head and his arms pull her close.
"I had a bit of an accident on the way here," Nick spoke, embarrassed, but thankful he had an excuse other than merely falling asleep for too long, "but it's okay, no one was hurt."
"Oh... Well, I'm glad you're okay." She nuzzled her head under his chin, feeling guilty that she'd assumed he'd forgotten about her.
His fur was… different, Judy noticed. It was softer, and less wiry than usual. It also smelt of lavender? "Nick, why do you smell like you bathed in a flower bed?" she teased.
"Oh, uh, I, uh, well I used this new cologne that turned out to smell different than I'd thought it would." Nick replied, slightly flustered.
"Ha-ha, it's okay Nick," she smiled, "I've never seen you wear that shirt before, it's nice." He looks amazing, she thought to herself. She'd never seen his fur groomed before: it was wonderful.
"You don't look so bad yourself, Cottontail," Nick said, standing up to get a good look at Judy.
"Oh this? It's not much, I mean I only had jeans, but I know you liked this shirt but it's all wrinkled cause I couldn't find the iron and-"
"Judy. You're gorgeous," he interrupted, "I'd never change a thing about you."
Melting on the inside and now speechless, Judy stared at Nick in a way she never had: lovingly.
"Come on, Carrots, we're gonna miss the stars at this rate," Nick chuckled, breaking the trance. He held out his arm as an escort, and Judy gladly took hold.
"So, where are we going?" Judy inquired, buzzing with excitement as they walked down the stairs to Nick's rental car.
"Well, I couldn't find a restaurant that served both beetles and beets, and our rotation at the academy is off tomorrow, so why not a moonlight picnic?" Nick spoke, opening the passenger side door as a courteous gesture to his companion.
"That sounds wonderful, Nick!" Judy exclaimed, barely able to contain herself.
"Oh my, I feel like a queen," Judy said, imitating a royal dialect as she hopped up in the car seat with a large grin.
With a snicker, Nick hustled to the drivers seat, and started the drive to Zootopia's central park.
The drive was short: no longer than fifteen minutes through light traffic. Judy stared out the car window, more to secretly admire the reflection cast by Nick than to view the passing streets. He looked amazing, she thought. His rustic fur glistened briefly with each passing of a street light, rustling gently from the current of the air conditioning.
"Sly bunny," Nick teased, catching Judy's stare through her own reflection.
"What? I don't know what you mean." Judy replied, turning to face Nick with a sly grin and hot ears. She grabbed a hold of his arm. "I'm so excited, Nicky, I've never seen the park at night. I hear it's beautiful."
"It is," Nick confirmed, "I used to spend nights there all the time." Oops. Hoping Judy didn't catch the subtle reminder of his homeless months, Nick place his paw upon hers.
Her heartbeat raced. It was all she could hear. "Nick you missed the exit," she giggled, tugging on his paw to get him to focus.
"Ah! My bad." Nick turned the car mid-road into a squealing U-turn, causing Judy to tense up like a board: frantically grabbing Nick's arm as tight as she could.
"Nick!" Judy squeaked, holding herself to him for dear life, eyes wide with panic.
"Geez, Judes, your grip!" Nick spoke painfully, feeling her tiny nails dig into his arm.
"Where did you learn to drive!?" Judy exclaimed, still shaking but releasing some of her grip on him.
"Learn to drive?" Nick inquired, as he never actually learned to drive. He'd just cheated on the test to get his license.
"Ugh." Judy groaned, thankful that they didn't die.
The park entrance neared to the left, and Nick turned the little red car into the park road.
No other cars were present: lamps lit paths through the forest that was Zootopia park. A lake sat calmly in the center of the park: surface untouched save for the soft reflection of the lamps surrounding it.
Nick watched Judy squirm in her seat as he parked, foot tapping wildly. He touched his nose to her ear, causing her to swing around and face him in pleasant surprise.
"Excited?" Nick inquired, hovering his face dangerously close to Judy's, locking eyes with her.
"I.. I uh.." Judy stuttered, unconsciously leaning closer.
"Good," Nick snickered, pulling away and leaving her entranced.
"You clever fox," Judy whispered to herself, intently watching him walk around the outside of the car to open her door. The door opened, and she took Nick's reaching hand to help her exit the car.
Nick grabbed the picnic basket and blanket from the back seat, took Judy's hand, and began to lead her to his perfect spot.
The trail weaved in and out of the trees: fireflies hovering over the untrimmed grass around them.
"I've never been to this part of the park," Judy mentioned, gazing at the moonlit terrain around her, "It's so beautiful."
The park was beautiful, yes, but something about the moon high above the trees gave rise to an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She held Nick's hand a little tighter, and walked just a little closer.
"It's okay, Cottontail," Nick reassured his companion, wrapping his tail around her, "it's nice of you to stay up late with me, I know you're not nocturnal anymore in this day and age." He said, noticing her yawn.
"I wouldn't miss this for anything, Nick." Judy smiled, feeling much safer with him closer. "Are we almost there?" She inquired, getting restless, "I'm so hungry!"
"We are, but you don't get to see this part yet," Nick said playfully, moving his tail up to wrap it around her eyes.
Giggling, Judy held his tail and let him lead her. She felt the pavement slip away from under her paws to be replaced by soft grass. They walked, swerving to avoid trees she assumed. They trekked through some the long grasses, up and down hills: Judy free increasingly nervous with each step. After what seemed an eternity, they stopped.
Judy felt Nick walk behind her, and replace his tail over her eyes with his paws. She felt his warm breath on her ears. "You ready, Judes?"
"Yes!" She replied, quivering. The paws were removed, and she gasped.
"Oh, it's wonderful!" Judy said in amazement. They stood in the center of a clearing, roughly circular in shape, and filled with buzzing fireflies. The trees stood tall around them: the moon high above, centered above them, magnified by the numerous stars no longer blotted out by the city lights.
Nick calmly left Judy, who was transfixed by the serenity of her surroundings, and walked to the center of the clearing. He placed the blanket neatly down in the center of the clearing, and sat down. He watched her stand there, chasing fireflies with her eyes. Her beautiful, violet eyes…
The fireflies zipped around in little swarms, glowing in unison. She'd never seen something as wonderful as this. Then, she noticed Nick. He was so sweet to her. He'd never been so sweet to her. He'd never opened up to this degree, and she never asked him to. Yet there he was, staring back at her; a warmth behind the emerald eyes that made her insides buzz more than the fireflies near her ears.
"Are you gonna come eat, or are you just gonna stare at me all night?" Nick played, patting a spot next to him.
Laughing, Judy made her way over to the blanket, and sat next to Nick. "What'd you bring?" Judy sniffed the picnic basket, finding an odd array of smells present. She peered inside. "Yes! I love club sandwiches! No bugs, right?" She questioned.
"Of course not," Nick replied, "for you, at least. Yours are on the left." Nick said, reaching in and grabbing a beetle club sandwich.
"Good," Judy said, reaching for a sandwich. They looked messy, but she didn't want to disappoint him. She knew he wasn't exactly an experienced chef. He couldn't even cook macaroni right. She took an apprehensive bite.
"Mm. These are great!" She told him, mouth full of sandwich. She was genuinely surprised he'd managed to make something appetizing.
"Is it good enough to make up for the report incident?" Nick asked sheepishly.
"Hmmmm. I think so." Judy replied, sending a playful glare his way. She leaned her back against his side, taking large mouthfuls of Nick's deceitfully delicious sandwich. "This is nice." Judy said, tilting her head back to look up at Nick.
He looked down at her, nuzzling between her long ears. "I'm so glad you said yes." He spoke, putting his half-eaten bugwich down on the picnic basket. She felt an arm wrap around her waist, and pull her closer.
"Nick…" Judy whispered, not resisting, but unsure.
"I've thought about you since the day we met, Judy. Even when I thought you were just a dumb bunny that unknowingly aided me in a scam, I couldn't get you out of my head," Nick spoke, now looking down into her sparkling eyes.
"Nick, what will everyone think..? My family? The station?" Judy replied, looking for assurance, now holding onto the arm around her.
"I don't care. We'll convince your parents, but about everyone else that isn't you, I don't care. Judy I've felt this way so long… Judy... I lo-"
"Give me your fucking money."