Judy
"Thanks for doing lunch with us Jude." My dad said, smiling from the other side of the table. "I know you kids had plans."
My mom nodded, but I could only laugh in reply. "Dad, I'm 25, same as my littermates, are you two ever going to cut it with the 'kid' stuff?"
Mom laughed. "Maybe when you're in a nursing home dear. Also, when you can eat toast without getting crumbs in your ear."
Dang it... I batted the offending appendage clean and the waitress, a perky little high school aged pig, came by with our drinks.
Just to be clear, I am 100% in on fitness. I did my calisthenics this morning, (followed by a large, rather frustrating amount of cardio chasing my insufferable sister around) and I do my level best to eat right.
But you have to understand... The triple chocolate raspberry milkshake from Honey Bunnies was not a food, it was a sacrament. It was a cultural icon of Bunnyburrow. It was a tall, smooth glass of chocolate ice cream blended with raspberries straight from Westfield Burrows and fresh cow's milk sold by local mothers.
Whipped cream? A cherry? Of course it had those, but it also had fresh raspberries dipped in chocolate covering the top and a swirl of hot fudge running down its center.
I stuffed my straw in, took a large draught and sighed in pleasure... After a long boffer thrashing, this was exactly what I needed.
But milkshakes were not my only goal today. I had a mission, one much more important than ice cream. My parents asking me to lunch was the perfect opportunity. "So..." I began, idly playing with my straw. "Have you folks heard from Aunt Sally recently?"
My mother flinched. My dad looked away, twiddling the straps of his overalls. Things were silent for a moment.
"Judy dear..." My mother began, finally. "You know that relationship of your father's didn't end well..."
I sighed, now came the hard, even a little dangerous part. "I know. And I'm not saying you should be throwing yourself at her feet Dad, but if you've accepted Nick and I... shouldn't you at least call her?"
Dad looked lost. "Nick? What does he have to do with-" A flash of realization hit his face and he laughed. "Oh! I see! Judy, don't y'all worry your pretty little head about that, our breakup with Sally had nothing to do with her bein' cross. In fact, I was mighty glad she found herself someone who was a little more serious."
My mom grasped my hand from across the table. "And just to be clear, we couldn't be happier with you bringing home Nick. He's quite the gentleman."
I smiled. Her saying that had lifted a huge weight off my shoulders... but it still left a question open. I felt the detective portion of my brain whirring to life. "Wait... Then why did you stop talking to Sally? I mean, obviously she married someone else, so Dad wouldn't stay with her, but that's no reason to cut her out completely." I turned to my mom. "I mean, you still play bridge with Aunt Wendy and Aunt Suzie right? Why is Sally different?"
My mother tensed. My dad coughed. "Well... You see-"
"JUDY!" Came a shout.
Our very interesting conversation was interrupted when Nick Wilde came blundering into the restaurant. He was more bedraggled than I had ever seen him, and for the record I'd seen him after he fell off a waterfall.
I hopped out of the booth instantly. "Nick what-?"
He snatched me up into a hug and started crying into my shoulder. "I'm sorry... Oh god I'm so sor-"
*Kachunk*
He paused in the middle of... Whatever he was doing to look up at Maud Westfield pointing a shotgun at him. "Put her down you brute!" She cried.
I turned to look at the rest of the diner, who wore expressions ranging from shock to fear.
I hopped out of his grasp and held up my paws. "No, no, no! Maude he's my boyfriend. for Pete's sake, do you even have a permit for that thing?"
Maud blinked, eyes wide with shock. "What? But Judy... You're a good girl!" She narrowed her eyes at my fox and kept her gun trained on his head. "Are you beating her? Is that how it is?"
Nick was taken aback, possibly more than he was by the Shotgun. "What? No! Of course not! I-"
"OKAY!" I shouted. Mostly to get everyone's attention. I pulled out my badge and marched right in front of the barrel of the gun. "Ma'am I'm going to have to ask you to lower your weapon."
The Waitress put it down, more out of shock than anything else.
I turned to my parents. "Dad! Keys!"
He threw them to me, staring at the rabbit with the gun.
"Thank you." I said. I grabbed Nick by the arm and yanked him out of the diner.
#
The open road stretched out before us, finally giving me some time. Some time to think long and hard about how screwed up this town was.
I felt at my chest where the gun had pointed. I thought about what she'd said... Oh god was that what it was like to be Nick? Could someone really see me as tainted because of who I loved?
"I'm sorry." I said finally, "About Maud. She's... Racist."
Nick nodded. "I got that." He collapsed against his chair, letting out a long breath. "You know, your town is kind of surreal."
I laughed. After all the tension I just couldn't help myself.
And that beautiful man joined in. We must have been laughing for six miles when we finally stopped.
Nick let out a weak chuckle. "This truck... God I remember last time. Heh, that flannel. Oh I wanted to tear you out of that."
I blushed, not sure if it would show through my fur. "You knew even then huh?"
He snorted. "Actually I was talking about getting you back in uniform Miss 'get between me and a shotgun', but yeah, that too." He frowned. "God Judy I'm sorry."
I shook my head. "No, Nick I'm the one who should apologize, for dragging you out, for not knocking Maud's teeth out, for the entirety of my species..."
"Not like that," he said, his voice hollow. "Giddy. I'm sorry about Giddy."
I raised an eyebrow, trying to track his expression through the rear view mirror. "Nick, it's okay. I don't care how far things went with Giddy, it's not like I sent you out with a chastity belt."
His fur slicked. "You know we-? How?"
Okay if he hadn't noticed the blush before I'm sure he noticed it now. "You... Sort of have a distinctive scent at the moment."
He crossed his legs and draped his tail over his lap. Until that moment I wasn't sure if it would be possible to see a blush through red fur. "That... Okay, I'm sorry about that too, but that's not what I meant." He looked out the window. He had that look sometimes that he got when his guard was down, that wistful, broken look I'd first seen that day on the Sky tram the day after we met.
I was honored that I got to see it, and crushed that it even existed.
It didn't take long for me to connect the dots. "He told you about the clawing huh?"
He frowned. "No, he said something stupid and... Okay not exactly evasive, but he didn't just tell me like he should have."
I groaned. "Nick, when was he supposed to have said? Hi! Do you want to try my new blueberry crumble? Oh by the way I got into a stupid fight with your girlfriend when I was twelve. You should have it with whipped cream."
He looked nonplussed. "Why are you defending him? He hurt you."
I grit my teeth. "Yeah, when he was twelve. Then he straightened himself out, got a ton of therapy, was nice to my parents and apologized." I chanced a glance over to the fox I loved, making sure he knew I was serious. "He's a better person now Nick. You know that better than anyone."
He gripped at his ears. "Sure, whatever he's safer now, better. That doesn't change what he did to you."
I felt my paws gripping the steering wheel tight. "It needs to be enough Nick. I can't give you anything else."
He looked as lost as I felt. "What are you talking about?"
I wasn't sure where all this was coming from. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but one way or another it was all pouring out. "He's my friend Nick."
He put a paw on my shoulder. "Judy a friend who hurts you is not a friend."
I pulled over. I was not driving like... like whatever this was.
Plus I needed air, badly. I got out of the car. The field next to it was laying fallow so there was plenty of room to pace.
Nick was out and after me before I'd even hit the dirt. "Judy-"
"God Nick, if that's how it works, what am I to you?" I asked the sky more than him.
He pulled me into a hug, holding me. "You're the woman I love. You're my partner, my friend."
"No I'm not! I hurt you Nick." I croaked. My throat felt tight. "I hurt you way more than Gideon ever hurt me. And if you don't want him that's fine, but... If he can't come back I definitely can't."
He held me tight. "Judy you are not Gideon. You may have done some stupid stuff because of what he did to you, but-"
Okay, no. I pushed myself out of the fox's grip, wheeling on him with rage in my eyes. "That is not his fault!" I cried. "Nick, I hurt Finnick, I hurt your mom, I hurt Clawhauser, I hurt you."
I kicked at the dirt. "It's not this place, it's not Gideon, it's not the crazy racist theories of that dumb badger. I am responsible for those riots. I am responsible for those animals who got mauled while the ZPD was chasing ghosts, me."
I was crying now. Maybe I always had been, "Tell me he was handsy. Tell me he was too dumb to keep up with you. Sweet cheese and crackers, tell me he had bad breath! But do not tell me that you left someone you loved because he hurt someone else you loved." I looked down. "Because if that's the case... We won't last at all."
He was speechless. I tossed him the keys. "I need to take a run, okay?"
"Judy wait, I-"
"I need space Nick. I need to run." That said I started pounding down the road, having no clue where I was going or why.
#
Gideon
*Ding*
My fourth tray of blueberry muffins were done.
Nick was staring at me, looking more than concerned. "Giddy, you've made enough muffins."
I pulled out a tray of delicious steaming pastry and set them down next to the three dozen others. I was already prepping another tray. They still weren't good enough.
"Giddy-"
"Nick! I do not want to talk to you right now!" I snapped at my imaginary friend.
Maybe snapped was the operative word.
He took on the form of a silly cartoon dragon with purple yarn for hair. "Who's Nick? I'm... George, a totally neutral concerned party! Do you want to talk about your feelings?"
I sighed. "I know it's you."
He went back to normal and gave me a smug point. "Yeah, but you smiled, didn't you?"
Did I? I felt instantly guilty.
I turned off the oven and wandered over to the family room, plopping myself on the couch and staring at photos of relatives I'd barely known.
Sometimes it scared me that I actually inherited this place. My dad wasn't old when he died. In fact he'd kicked the bucket while I was in prison. Nineteen and even stupider than I was today.
Nick. The real Nick... He'd held me when I cried. I wasn't sure if it was sadness or joy, but it didn't feel healthy either way.
He was there for me. Some part of me thought he always would be...
But why would he be? I wasn't good for him. I wasn't good for anyone.
Imaginary Nick was at my side in an instant. "Okay, I'm going to list all of the ways that isn't true. First off-"
There was a knock at the door. It was so surprising Nick disappeared in a puff of mental smoke.
What the...? I went to the front porch and opened up the door. Precisely the last person in the universe I expected was there.
"Hi Giddy," An exhausted, puffy eyed Judy said. "Could... Could I lie down for a minute?"
About two minutes later my grade school crush and victim of misplaced rage was laying on the sofa where my dad beat me for finding gay porn on the family computer.
Things could not get more weird.
I handed her a glass of water and a muffin. She sniffed the muffin and took a tiny sip of the water. The glass looked huge in her paws.
I wondered if I should be here. I wondered if I should be trying to stay as far away from the girl I hurt as possible. That's what they told monsters like me to do right? Inform the neighborhood and hide away?
But she was exhausted, and miserable, and we were in the middle of nowhere...
Avoiding people was a lot harder when they showed up on your doorstep.
"I'm sorry my boyfriend dumped you..." She croaked.
I winced. "Judy just... Don't worry about that right now, how long have you been runin'"
She pulled out her phone and weakly pawed at it. "Uh... Roughly half an hour? Like 20 miles?"
I swear my eyes were going to bug out of my sockets. Dang rabbits and their super speed. But even for a bunny 20 miles was pushing it.
I scratched at the back of my head. "Land's sakes Judy haven't y'all heard of a car? What were you thinking?"
The rabbit chuckled. "I wasn't, obviously... I had a fight with Nick. I hear that's been going around."
I grimaced. "Oh sweet lord no, I am not the person you should be coming to for relationship advice."
Judy groaned. "Not that I wouldn't welcome it, but mostly I'm just... Here to say I'm sorry for how Nick treated you. And you know..." She looked down. "I didn't want to be miserable alone."
She sighed into her water, letting out a cough.
I took the glass away. "Don't drink so fast, you'll hurt yourself."
She laughed. "Oh that would be a change from hurting other people wouldn't it?"
Oh no... There was only one thing she could be talking about. I started to reach out a paw, but I stopped. The last thing on earth I needed to do was touch Judy Hopps.
"Can you touch me?"
I dropped the water. Thankfully the glass didn't break. "Wha?"
She held up a paw. "Sorry... That came out super weird. I just mean. It's all fear. When I get scared of people, people I don't need to be afraid of, I just sort of flip... And I don't think before I say things... And I'm a dumb bunny."
I narrowed my eyes. "You are not a dumb bunny. Never think that." I looked down, remembering a thousand mistakes. "Please god Judy, never think that."
"How am I supposed to not think that?" She asked. "I've done so much terrible crap. Made so many assumptions, betrayed friends, family."
I crossed my arms. "Judy Hopps, y'all ain't got your head on straight. Did you mess up with that crazy press conference? Sure. Did it scar you forever and make you some kind of untouchable pariah? No. There's always going to be idiots who tell you that you ain't worth nothin' to the world because you screwed up at some point, but that don't make it true."
I didn't know if I was trying to reassure her or myself, but I threw out my arms and doubled down. "Just look at yourself, you're a rabbit police officer who's learned the hard way that your words and actions have weight." I smiled. "I mean, You wouldn't be torturing yourself running 20 miles to an ex-con's house if you didn't care."
I twisted at my paws, looking down. "You gotta believe me Judy, You were the only person growing up around here who had real hopes and dreams. You made everyone in town want to be better. You made me want to be a better... Even if it took me a while to believe I could."
She scoffed. "Nick did that."
I smiled. "It was a collaborative effort."
She stared at me, long and hard. It was a little unsettling to be honest. "Gideon... can you please touch my cheek?"
My eyes went wide. Oh... Oh good lord in heaven, that's what she meant. I stepped back. "Judy I-"
She held up a paw, locking me in her deep, caring eyes. "Gideon, think about it... I know it's asking a lot, but I think it would help. I could use a win right now. Maybe we both could."
I let out a long shaky breath. She... She wasn't wrong. "You sure?"
She nodded.
I steeled myself. "Okay." I picked up my paw. I reached it out. I kept reaching...
She took my hand in hers. "Gid, it's okay."
I gulped. It really wasn't "I almost hurt you a second time you know."
She raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"The day after... I was going to get revenge for taking the tickets I stole... God I was screwed up."
To my surprise Judy looked more curious than afraid. She held my hand tight. "What happened? Why didn't you."
I shrugged. "I was going to do... Something during recess the next day. I don't know what. I saw you on the swings. I think you were being pushed by that friend of yours, you know, Bobby? Guy who made all the wacky noises?"
She smiled. "Yeah. Cool guy."
I chuckled. "I know, I think I tried to kiss him once." A few confused childhood memories came flooding back. Oh how the time rushed by. "Anywho, you were out there, swinging, having fun... I don't know it just didn't feel right. There was terrifying, gorgeous little Judy Hopps with her big plans and dreams. And there I was. The kid who stole festival tickets." I shook my head. "You were on another damn planet. I could never touch you."
She held firm to my hand. Hers hand was small, but her grip was strong. "We're touching right now Gid. I'm right here on earth. Always was."
I moved the rest of the way to her cheek, Judy's hand still wrapped around mine.
I felt them. The scars I left. Tiny little things, but real.
I think I was crying. I wasn't sure. I started babbling. "Oh my god I'm so sorry. I hurt you, I'm so dumb and messed up and I-"
There was a tiny, rabbit finger on my nose. Judy smiled. At least I knew for certain she was crying. "I forgave you a long time ago Gideon Grey. You are a good man. Never forget that, ever."
My breath caught in my throat. Her scent flooded over me.
Nick was in my head in an instant. "Gideon, Do not kiss her. I repeat, do not kiss her."
She pulled me close, our lips locked, and the whole world went white.
#
Nick
Gideon's house had really nice picture windows.
I lowered the paw that I'd planned to tap the glass with.
Holy fuck...
