GhostWolf88 : Sometime, I get an idea for a scene, and I try to get it to fit the story. This one of those instances.
Sapperjoe85 : Honestly, the hardest part was to get the OC to fit. My favorite is Joan. I love this bumbling mess of a pachyderm (maybe I read Elephantmen too many times).
Cemsay : Speaking of which...
Scottishvalhalla : No you're right, I always miss typos when I proofread (even in my native language). Thank you for your proposal, but to be honest, it would just add to the writing process and I can't be bothered x) Maybe I'll take you up on that offer on my next fic, though.
Foxlover91 : Thank you for the compliment. To be honest, I haven't seen any fic where Nick and Judy end up as real enemies, but that's the whole point of these characters I suppose.
Chapter 8 - Forgiveness
After the slap event, the mood between the two mammals had become more friendly. Judy, having admitted that she hadn't fully forgiven the fox yet started being less awkward around him. Nick, turned down the snark a notch to make her feel more at ease. All in all, the week went fine, even though there was some tension between them and a lot of work to do.
The following few days felt like a long string of forms being filled, papers being filed, and tasks being boring. Judy soon discovered that Nick couldn't help bantering when he was in the same room as someone, and the fact that she often was this someone made her realise two things.
First, he was much less of a loner than he appeared at first glance, two he could talk for hours on end, and would never let slip a single thing about himself.
Nick for his part, found that the bunny was making an effort to be of good company. She didn't have his knack for banter, but she made up for it by delivering the occasional devastating blow (either verbally to his face and physically to his left shoulder).
He was taking his coffee on the front porch one morning when he saw something he had been expecting for a very long time. A very tired Finnick getting out of Joan's caravan. He could almost hear his own smirk growing on his face when the small vulpine noticed him and groaned.
"That ain't what you believe." Said the fennec fox between his teeth as he approached his boss.
"I believe nothing, this is all very self-explanatory." Nick smiled, sipping his coffee.
"We're taking things slow." Stated Finnick defensively.
Nick stared at him above his cup. "More than a week to get into her trunks, I'd say I've rarely seen you be slower."
As on cue, the caravan's door opened again on a tired looking Joan only wearing her underwear. She made a beeline toward them in a zombie-like pace, and passed next to them. "Hi Boss. Need coffee." She muttered, totally oblivious to her own state.
Nick whistled between his teeth. "Phew, Fin'. I see you haven't lost your touch."
"We didn't sleep together. Well, we did sleep together, but we didn't 'sleep' sleep together."
Nick's eyebrows rose slightly. "Yo mean you haven't 'shagged dat fine piece of ass'."
"As I said, takin' things slow. We just… Talked."
Nick's jaw had hard time deciding if it should hit the ground or snap itself shut. It chose the middle-ground and hung loosely. "You just talked ?" He finally articulated.
"And drank. A lot. Tha' why I slept wid- at her place."
Nick's gaze went to the caravan to Finnick's van, parked a mere ten meters away.
"I mean, we haven't even gone on our first date yet."
Nick blinked. That shouldn't have surprised him. They were swamped with work, and the elephant had barely enough strength to crawl into her bed at the end of each day. And though he had strongly encouraged all of them not to, he knew most of his employees still got some work done on their off days, and were still on call in case of emergency. He felt a bit guilty about it. As their boss, it was his job to get them to rest.
"Got nuthin's to say ?" Asked Finnick after a few moments.
"She's something special, isn't she ?" The snark was unusually absent from Nick's voice.
"Yeah, I guess… I guess she is."
A couple of seconds passed before Nick spoke again.
"She snuggled you with her trunk didn't she ?" The fennec fox stiffened, his tail poofed up, all but confirming Nick's suspicion. "Oh my god, this is so cute." The snarky smile was back at full capacity. Finnick threw his arms up and headed inside.
"Ya had to fuckin' ruin it."
...
As Nick kept sipping his coffee on this beautiful morning, he saw Judy get out of her own room and waved at her.
"Hey Boss." She greeted cheerfully.
"I thought I was Slick."
"Not when I'm off-work."
The fox snorted. She was becoming more cheeky by the minute. She still maintained some distance, especially when they were alone, but it seemed she was less and less upset with him.
The bunny took a step inside the building. "Are you coming for the morning briefing, Slick ?"
"Grunt and Duke haven't arrived yet. You should go take a look in the kitchen though, there's a surprise."
She gave him an inquisitive look but he said nothing more. As she disappeared inside his gaze followed her. He knew she was still having rough evenings. Joan's ears were to blame for him knowing about that, but not only, as she had sometimes fallen asleep in his office. It had been surprising to him the first couple of times, he didn't know mammals could cry in their sleep.
"Oh my gosh ! I'm so sorry !" Came her voice from inside the building and Nick snickered in his mug. He heard her footsteps coming closer and the bunny planted herself in front of him.
"Do you find it funny ?" She asked, glaring at him.
"Very much so."
The bunny wasn't really fuming, as he could see the corners of her lips curl up. "So that's what you meant about Joan."
The fox nodded. "I'm honestly surprised you never saw her in that state before."
"I think I fully grasp the 'Trunks' nickname now." She stated. "Finnick didn't seem fazed by her though."
"He wasn't even oggling ?"
"Didn't seem so."
Nick shrugged. "Probably because they slept together."
"They… What ? How do you know ?"
"Saw him get out of her caravan right before her."
The bunny pinched the bridge of her nose, trying really hard to block out the mental images. "How does that even work." She muttered under her breath.
"Sorry what was that ?" He asked, having perfectly heard what she had said.
The bunny blushed. "Nothing."
"You were wondering about the logistic of the whole situation, weren't you. Ah, bunnies…"
"Could you be even more aggravating in the morning." She groaned.
"I'd need a second coffee for that." He grinned back. "As to answer you question, he was snuggled up in her trunk. I mean, the top one."
Judy shot him a confused glance. "What do you mean ?"
"To sleep. She made him a little bed with her trunk. You know, not to crush him, since they slept together."
The bunny seemed like she understood less and less what the fox was saying.
"They just slept, Carrots. Nothing more." Explained Nick. "You have a dirty mind, by the way."
"It was you that said…"
"That they slept together." He finished with the smuggest of grins.
"Oh my gosh, you're infuriating." She sighed.
Nick snickered. "I try, thanks. They're taking things slow, I think Fin' might be quite smitten."
"You've seen him like it with someone else before ?"
"Never. That's why I thinks he's smitten. Seems loves doesn't see age or species after all..." The tod took out his phone and looked at the time. "He should almost be here."
"Herbert or Duke ?" She asked.
"Them too." Nick answered enigmatically.
The sound of a vehicle coming from the road began to be heard, but it wasn't the same as Herbert's car. In fact, that sound was familiar to her. It was an old truck she had driven a few times in the past.
"Gideon ?" She asked with surprise. "He's coming ? How do you know him ?"
"I don't know him. I just happened to call him a few days ago and give him the address, as well as the time you'd be available. I'm giving you your day off, by the way."
As he finished his sentence, he saw a pink truck park. It had a large board on its side with the words "Gideon Grey's real good baked stuff." on it. The tod repressed a chuckle. He had seen the fox's website, he had a real way with words.
The bunny had started toward the truck, and she she launched herself at the driver's neck as soon as he had opened the door. It was a rather tubby red fox whose whole appearance screamed country-mammal to Nick.
"Oh my gosh, Gideon ! I missed you so much. What are you doing here ?"
"What are we doing here." Corrected a female voice.
Judy hadn't noticed the other passengers in the fox's truck. First came Katie, then Evan and last…
"Ethan ?" Judy's ear immediately dropped. Several things occurred to her mind as her eyes went from one mammal to the other. She had missed them all, true, but seeing them reopened the wound that had only started to heal. Ethan looked ten years older than when she had left. As she stared at her ex-husband's face, she felt sadness, affection, but not the longing she had experienced when she had crushed on Gideon years ago. At the moment, she knew she still liked him, but didn't love him. And she understood she never had in the realest and deepest sense of the word.
"Hey Judy." He greeted meekly, his ears down. "How are you doing ?"
Time had stopped. The only emotion she felt now was guilt. She was doing good, and part of her hated that it was because she was away from her old life. From him. "I'm doing okay. How are you ?"
"I'm…" He drew a deep breath. "I manage."
She approached him and took his right paw. Ethan had never been a strong mammal, but right now he seemed so frail, she feared a gust of wind could break him down. She heard Gideon shuffle and take her children away, giving them some privacy.
"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm sorry for what I'm putting you through."
"Are you happy here ?" He asked timidly. "Do you still feel trapped ?" The selfish part of him hoped she did. Maybe it would lead her to come back, but deep down he didn't believe it.
"I don't know if I'm happy yet… But I don't feel trapped. I actually feel like I matter."
"You always mattered to me. And the children."
"I know." She closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't keep going down this path.
"Is this your boss, over there ?" He asked, glancing at Nick.
"Yes. Do you want to meet him ?"
The buck nodded and Judy waved at Nick to come closer, hoping real hard he would keep the humour at bay.
"Nick, this is my hus- ex-husband Ethan. Ethan, this is Nick, my boss."
"I recognise you." Said Ethan. "You're that fox that saved Zootopia a while back. Nick Wilde, wasn't it ?"
"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." The buck looked like he was looking for his word. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know why I came here." He finally said, taking a couple of steps back before turning around and heading toward Gideon's truck.
"Woah, what did you do to this poor guy ?" Whispered Nick.
"I dumped him." She answered, before getting after Ethan. "Ethan, wait !" She circled the truck and found him sitting on the ground, his head in his paws, back against the vehicle.
She meekly sat next to him. "Ethan…"
"I shouldn't have come." There were no tears in his voice, only resignation. "It hurts just to see you. It hurts to realise you're ready to start something new, where I know you'll be happier than you ever were with me. It hurts because I wish I could give you that, and that can't because… Because I'm just me. I want your happiness, Judy, I really do, but I wish we could be part of it."
"Me too. There isn't a day I don't wish I was in love with you." She took his shoulder and tipped him over, resting his head in her lap. "I know there's nothing I could say or do to make you feel better, but I wish I could."
"Why did you accept to marry me in the first place ?" He sighed. "If it was all for nothing."
"I married you because… I thought it could make me happy, or at least close to it. I thought maybe I could bury my dreams, and in the end, I couldn't.… But we got Evan and Katie. It wasn't all for nothing. That, I don't regret. You were the best husband and co-parent I could have wished for."
"Really ?"
"If I ever have other children, I promise to ask for your help." She smiled.
The buck put a paw to his eyes as he started chuckling, a few tears rolling out of his eyes. "And I'd be happy to help. How messed up is that ?" They shared stifled laughs, and the buck wiped his eyes. "You started joking again. Your were so cheerful when we were in college… How could I not notice how miserable you were with me ? I'm not sure I was as good a husband as you say."
"You were, Ethan." She whispered, stroking his ears. "I just got really good at hiding it. I managed to hide it from myself for years didn't I ? I guess I just couldn't anymore."
"You're really better here, aren't you ?" He looked up, trying to catch her eyes.
Judy looked down and their gaze met. It was painful, but she had to give him the truth while looking him in the eyes. "I'm starting to be. I think this is what I wanted… Needed."
"It's back." The buck sniffled. "Gideon told me… The fire in your eyes. I never noticed it was gone, but now that I see it, I know… It's back. You had it in high-school, in college… And now you have it again. I wanted to ask you to come back, to work things out, but…"
He straightened up slowly before standing and helping her up in turn. She saw his eyes fill with tears again. He suddenly hugged her and she hugged him back. "You're you again." He sniffled. "You're not the bunny that settled for me anymore. You're back being yourself."
"Ethan-"
"No, don't." He pulled back, his tears still running, but a sad smile was growing in his face. "It breaks my heart, but you can't believe how happy that makes me."
Judy wanted to scream, to punch destiny in the face, to tear through herself and find the love Ethan deserved. "I'm sorry." Was all she could give.
"I know." He said, running a finger on her cheek. "You wouldn't be you, otherwise."
She pushed his paw away and drew closer, giving him a simple kiss on the cheek. I was soothing, full of affection and kindness. "This is how I really feel about you." She muttered.
"I'll have to live with that." He sniffled. "Oh, cookies and sour cream, I'm such a mess."
Judy shook her head. "No. You're not." She nudged his cheek with her nose. "I broke your heart and you're taking it like a champ."
"What would it be if I took it hard." Ethan said with a sad chuckle, while he wiped his eyes again before drawing a deep breath and exhaling it slowly. "Let's go see the children. They've missed you as much as I did and I have kept you long enough."
She wanted to step forward and hug him, but she wasn't sure he would be able to keep it together if she did.
Instead, she took the lead and they walked around the truck, to find Gideon, Nick and their two children chatting.
"Hey, Carrots, I still can't believe I had to find for myself that your best friend was the 'Gideon Grey'. The first time you told me about him, I thought the name was just a coincidence."
"You know about him ?"
Nick chuckled. "The most renowned restaurants in the city are fighting over his pies. You bet I know about him." He put an arm around Gideon's shoulder who started blushing under Nick's praise, and led him away. "You and me are going to have a little talk about these pies." The tod shot Judy a knowing smile, and she understood that he was giving her and her family some space.
"Hey kids." She greeted meekly.
"Mom." They answered in the same tone, their ears low.
She took a couple of timid steps toward them. "I missed you."
"We missed you too."
She wanted to hug them so bad, but she feared they would reject her. They hadn't talked since the day she had left bunny-burrow, and she hadn't contacted anyone else since. She found that she couldn't hold their gaze. The silence lingered until she felt Ethan's paw gently push her forward. She was soon wrapped into a hug, Katie, with her face in her neck, while Evan, a head taller than her, was holding both his sister and mother in his arms. Ethan soon joined in on the hug, and for a fleeting second, Judy felt like everything was going to be okay between them.
"We talked a lot with uncle Gideon." Evan said. "He's been here for dad and us, as much as his work let him…"
Judy felt a bit guitly. she had asked him to keep an eye on Ethan, but she should have known he would go overboard.
"Grandpa Stu and Grandma Bonnie are really worried you know ? They were angry too when you left. Grandma even talked about bringing you back by the ears..."
Judy chuckled half heartedly. "And dad ?"
"They got into a big argument, and he had to sleep on the couch for a week but he managed to talk her down." Said Katie.
Judy sighed. She had to call them, but she didn't feel ready yet. The fact that Ethan or her children seemed to understand her actions helped, but her parents had always been set in their ways. At least her father appeared to be on her side.
"Aside from that, how are they ?"
"Stu is bouncing back up, but your mom is very upset." Said Ethan. "She thinks you should have talked to her. She think that you should have taken more time to think."
Part of Judy wanted to laugh at that. She had been thinking about it for almost six years. What more could have her mom brought to the table ?
Awkwardness crept up in the silence, and they were saved by Gideon and Nick's return.
Judy's boss was nibbling on a piece of blueberry pie. "This fox knows his way around pies." He commented. "Why don't you-" He suddenly interrupted himself his eyes straying from Judy's family before settling back on them. "Keep your eyes on me. Yeah that's it. Perfect." The four bunny gave the fox perplexed looks before they saw Gideon's mouth fall agape. He was staring at something behind them.
They started turning around.
"No. Nononono !" The tod snapped his fingers a few times, catching their attention. "Don't look behind you, eyes on me. Eyes. On. Me. Don't… Aaaaand there goes my credibility as a boss."
As they all looked behind them, they saw a mostly naked elephant trying to discreetly make her way back to her caravan, while a fennec fox failed at concealing her with his body.
"What the-" Began Evan.
"Fuck is this ?" Finished Katie.
"Kids ! Language !" Immediately reacted Judy.
"Cookies and sour cream." Said Ethan. "What kind of place is this ?"
"The kind of place Judy is going to tell you all about on her day off with the delicious picnic Gideon told me he prepared. Meanwhile, I'll be in my office expecting no interruption whatsoever." As he made his way toward the building, the red fox made a stop next to Judy. "I wish I could be here but sadly I have a mountain of work. I'm sure Carrots will be more than qualified to tell you about everything."
Nick went away with a knowing smirk on his face. He wished he could be there when she would explain the relationship between the elephant and the fennec fox to the country mammals.
"Jerk."
Nick took his eyes away from his work, his eyes pausing on the clock (it was already 9PM) before finding the bunny that had spoken to him.
"I've been demoted from Slick, it would seem." He smiled, putting his pen down.
"You wouldn't believe how many questions they asked about Joan and Finnick."
Nick chuckled. "Are pred-prey relationships that unusual in Bunny-Burrow ?"
"Not anymore." She shook her head. "But most of the time, it's between mammals roughly the same size. The weirdest couple we have is a squirrel with a pig, but both of them are still prey, so…"
"You know, Fin' and Joan are technically not 'together' yet. I bet they'll keep dancing around for at least another month. There wasn't much to explain to your family." The tod had stood up, and was rounding his desk to approach her.
"Yeah, because an elephant crossing a parking lot in her underwear doesn't warrant an explanation." She answered sarcastically. "Thank you by the way."
"For what ?"
"Everything. You didn't have to do anything, but you still went out of your way to organize all this."
The fox shrugged. "That wasn't much."
"Yes it was. I mean, I'm not sure I appreciate you doing it in my back, but calling Gideon and doing all this isn't usual for a boss."
The fox didn't answer. Finding Gideon's phone number had been easy. Looking for him on furbook had quickly revealed the he was in fact the 'Gideon Grey'. After that, it had just been a matter of calling his business line and say he was Judy's boss to his secretary. He had received a phone call in the next fifteen minutes. From there, the rest had been a real piece of cake.
"You really go above and beyond for your employees."
"I told you I would do my best to make you feel at home."
"That was still a lot. You didn't have to go this far."
The fox played with his pen somewhat nervously before speaking again. "I had, though. I don't know a lot about bunnies, but I know family is important to almost everyone… And… Well, I also know you've not been the most happy since you've arrived." He chose to keep to himself that Joan still heard her cry on a regular basis. He didn't want to add embarrassment on top of everything else.
The bunny's ears dropped. The truth was, she was happy, or at least getting there, but the situation with her family was still weighing her down a lot.
"Don't get me wrong Carrots, you've officially become our new ray of sunshine. You've been showing a brave front, and I'm pretty sure almost no one saw through it. But your head wasn't really in it, you know ? You gaze off, your ears drop, you get these watery eyes… You were on the right tracks for an emotional burnout. I'm sorry I put my snout where it didn't belong, but I know how hard it can be to renew contact with people, especially when things didn't end on the best terms. The more you would have waited, the harder it would have been. The truth is, I once was in a rather similar situation."
"What happened ?"
The tod shrugged. "Me and my mom stopped talking when I dropped out of high school. She wanted me to study, but by that time, the world had already shown me it would never give me a real chance at being anything else than… A shifty fox."
The tod's gaze had lost itself somewhere behind her. She expected he would redirect the conversation with some kind of joke, but instead he started talking about the incident with the Junior Ranger Scouts. She discreetly wiped her eyes as the story unfolded.
"… Things spiralled down after that. I was guarded, aggressive… I let no one near me. Soon, I was pushing mom away. We didn't mend our relationship until after the whole Nighthowler mess."
The bunny had put a supporting paw on Nick's arm. "What happened then ?"
"She slapped me across the face." The fox snickered. "Then we hugged like we were never going to let go. None of us had dared to try and come back in the other's life for fear of being rejected. I took a goddam TV show to bring us back together."
"What ? Why ?" She knew almost everything there had to know about the Nighthowler incident, but she knew nothing about the tod's reunion with his mother.
"I was invited to a few TV sets for interviews, they were mostly about how incredible it was for a fox to do something worthwhile." He smirked, the irony seeping from his tone. "One of the journalist had dug more stuff up than the others, and he had managed to find my mom. Anyway, they wanted to do this whole 'reunion between estranged family members' bit and weren't being very subtle about it. The moment I understood what they were about to do, I walked off the set with a promise to sue their ass if they aired any footage of us. I still had some favours to cash from him so I was ready to have Lionheart's lawyer involved if I had to. Then I went backstage to find her. In a way, by accepting to come, she was the one that made the first step."
"Wow. That's… A lot."
"Yeah. I… I usually don't talk about all this." He said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Thank you for telling me, then."
"I knew a lot about you already. Felt right to even the field. And again, sorry if I overstepped by contacting Gideon. I sometimes wish things had been different for me, so I though maybe I could nudge things a bit for you. Make things easier."
Judy sighed. The tod was right. Maybe he had overstepped, but she couldn't blame him. In fact, she might have done the same thing in his place. She threw her arm around him and hugged him.
The fox had absolutely not expected that, and patted her back awkwardly at first, before hugging her back with the same strength. "You guys are huggers, aren't you ?"
"For almost any occasion, yeah."
"What is the occasion this time ?"
The bunny broke the hug and beamed at him. "It's a thank you."
"You're welcome."
She let go of him before taking a couple of steps back and directing herself toward the door. "Have a good night, Nick."
"You too, Carrots." He said, walking to his desk.
"And Nick ?" She said, her hand on the doorknob.
"Yeah ?"
"I forgive you."
What was that weird sensation in the tod's chest, he couldn't say. It felt like a bittersweet warmth was spreading through him as the door closed itself on the bunny.
We're entering writing mess territory. Stuff to say with no structure. Be warned, bumpy ride ahead.
