So I lied. Somehow I wrote an extra 5000 words without meaning to.
This chapter kind of veers off from the flow of the story... but hey, it's only fanfiction so I'm just going to go ahead and post it anyway.
Next chapter is the last one (this time for real).


Judy had been pacing around the empty Mess for almost half an hour before she finally plucked up the courage to head back to the cafeteria.

As she approached she heard the sounds of animated voices intermingled with general merriment resounding through the halls.

Entering the room Judy was greeted by a view of her mother sitting and talking with Nick, who was smiling ear to ear. Bonnie had her head thrown back and she let out a long peal of laughter. A few of her older siblings were sitting alongside them, while Stu and Gideon were notably absent.

Judy approached them silently. When she was a few steps away, her mother turned to her and threw out her arms

"Well if it isn't miss kissy-kissy!"

Judy noticed a mostly empty bottle of blueberry wine sitting on the table alongside empty plates and a pair of stained wine glasses.

"Mom are you seriously drunk?"

"Oh hush Bun-Bun. Can't this old lady have some fun once in awhile? I decided to stick around and make sure Nick here got some food into him." She pointed eagerly at the fox who only shrugged in response, "Wouldn't you know if he isn't the most charming mammal I ever did meet. We've been trading Judy stories and I can't remember the last time I had this much fun!"

Judy had to suppress the urge to punch Nick; somehow this was all his fault. "Ok drunk lady. I think it's time you went and found dad and then went off to bed."

Judy tried to guide her mom off the bench but was brushed aside.

"You don't get to tell me what to do in my own house young lady. Also, your father is having a talk with Gideon right now and they are working things out-so no interruptions. Now Judy, it just so happens that Nicky and I had a couple questions that I think you are going to need to answer."

Nick's face was currently set to maximum smugness, "Right you are Bon-bon. Officer Hopps has some definite explaining to do."

This was too much. Judy wanted to crawl underneath the table and stay there, "Guys, please stop using those nicknames. I will answer any and all questions tomorrow. Right now I am so burned out I can barely stand."

Still maintaining his grin Nick chose that moment to pass his phone to Judy. On the screen was the picture of them kissing. If had shown up on his ZooBook; the image tagged with Nick's name.

"I admit it's a nice picture, and I sure enjoyed taking it, but I wish you had asked me before you posted it."

"I didn't post it!" Judy choked in exasperation. "That fat fff- that stupid... Clawhauser did this." Judy took a deep breath and continued, "He's my contact at the ZPD. The only way he would help me get in touch with the chief is if I sent him a picture of us kissing. Then he went and sold it to the highest bidder! When I get my paws on that flabby-"

Letting a little anger into his voice Nick cut her off, "So here's what I don't understand Fluff. Why the big secret? Why not just tell me. Did you ever even think to ask my permission first?"

The sudden accusatory tone of Nick's voice brought back memories of the press conference. A gut wrenching fear washed over Judy. It felt like someone had suddenly grabbed her heart and started to squeeze."

"No! Nick. I was s-scared. I needed the photo and I didn't know if you would let me or… or even want to. I messed up and I'm-"

Nick interrupted again, this time sounding deeply saddened, "So you only kissed me for a picture, huh? I understand." Dejected, Nick began to rise off the bench.

"Wait! I- I- I wanted to! I wanted to kiss you and not just for the picture. It was," Judy gulped in panic, "Nick it was the best kiss of my life, I-"

But Nick's face had suddenly shifted from forlorn depression to a wide glowing smile.

Judy had a sudden an epiphany which started her blood boiling.

"...you're messing with me…"

Nick put his hands on Judy's waist and pulled her towards him.

"You were messing with me! You scruffy lowlife-"

Judy's hands were balled and shaking, only moments away from landing several not-so-light punches to Nicholas P. Wilde's stupid face. But before they did-before she could unleash the righteous fury she was working up to, Nick leaned forward and kissed her passionately.

Judy found herself returning the kiss almost immediately. It took a few seconds for her fists to relax and then a few more for her whole body to turn to warm mush. Long ecstatic seconds past like slow heartbeats. Judy was about to climb up onto the bench, intent on finding a better vantage from which to draw him towards her when Nick finally drew back. Their lips parting, Judy's eyes bobbed open as she rocked slightly on her feet.

"I apologize, Judy," Nick winked at her in a way that made her heart flutter, "but you have to admit I owed you one."

Judy tried to scowl but only managed to smile, "I'm going to get you back for this. Mark my words. For now though can we please call a truce. I don't think I can take any more emotional highs or lows today."

As she spoke, and all around them, Judy noticed that the twelve or so other rabbits still in the cafeteria were staring at them, "Why is there an audience everywhere I go today! All of you, go mind your own business!"

A number of the onlookers turned away sheepishly while others decided to take their leave.

As this was going on, a small sobbing sound hitched from somewhere nearby. Looking over, they saw that Bonnie had poured herself another glass of wine and was now hiccuping as tears ran down her face.

Taking a drink from her glass she said, "Oh, I'm so happy for you two." *hick, sniff* "Judy, I was so sure you were going to become an old maid. Some bitter old detective." *hick* "And Nick is just so nice and handsome. You two are so lovely together. It's like my prayers have been answered." *sniff* "I never thought I would have a fox for a son in law." *hick* "I hope you two can have children, I'm sure they will be just so beautiful. Don't worry either if you can't, we'll figure something out."

Judy threw her hands up, "Please stop! Mom, you're drunk. Look, me and Nick have spent maybe a total of seventy-two hours together. Half of that time we hated each other. We are not getting married. We still barely even know one another."

In one long pour, Bonnie downed the remainder of her wine. She sloppily placed the now empty glass on the table. Wiping her face and composing herself a little, she seemed to have finally mastered her hiccups, "Well, I wasn't born yesterday and I've raised hundreds of kits. I know love when I see it, and believe me it doesn't have to take years or months or days or even hours. Sometimes it happens just like that!"

Bonnie tried to snap her fingers but failed.

Standing up from the bench she wobbled for a moment, eventually steadying herself. "Ok, so I'm a bit tipsy. I think it's time for bed after all. Nicky, I'd like to continue our conversation in the morning."

"Can't wait Bonnie."

"Judy I was supposed to tell you-your father and I had a long discussion and decided that emotions were running high for everyone today so we are going to let what happened slide. But at some point, we would like an apology from the three of you, preferably at the next Hopps family meeting."

"Ok, Mom. We owe it to you…"

Bonnie started to weave her way towards one of the many corridors leading out of the room.

"If you can, you two should get some rest." Then waving back at them as she steadied herself on the doorframe; a suggestive grin spreading over her face, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

After a mortified minute Judy sighed and began vigorously rubbing her fingers over her temples. When she felt ready she turned to face Nick. "Can we just pretend that the last ten minutes never happened? Like this-hey Nick, how was your dinner? Have you heard from Lana yet?"

Nick leaned back against the table and nodded, "As usual Carrots, I like your style. To answer your first question, dinner was phenomenal. Bon is quite the master chef."

"Only my dad calls my mom Bon. No more nicknames when it comes to my parents, please."

"Can't make any promises there. As for Lana, she stopped by. Said the concentration of poison in Abby's blood was really low and she should be hopefully back to normal in a couple days."

Judy breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good news at least. Nick, I talked to Bogo and he said the information I gave him could be really important. He wants both of us in his office at noon tomorrow."

"That's great! I mean… since my rental car is due back tomorrow anyway…"

Judy was giving him a look, "So gonna tell me why Bogo knew you were here?"

Nick stood from where he was sitting and stretched his back out. "How about I regale you on our long drive tomorrow. As for now, I think I'm actually getting pretty sleepy."

Judy huffed a little but smiled, "Alright Red, keep your secrets for now. Come on, I'm not taking you back to the clinic. You can sleep in my bed and I'll wake you up a few times tonight to make sure your brains not bleeding."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you Fluff."

Judy didn't respond but took Nick's hand and led him down the hall.


Her room turned out to be rather bare. A few ZPD posters hung on the walls but beyond that, there was little more than a chair, a desk, and a bed."

Nick still took a fair amount of time to survey everything thoroughly. "So Judy, making a quick observation here. I only see the one bed. If the plan is to share, I'm game, but be forewarned, I have a reputation for being a bit of a cuddler."

Judy scoffed, "If you think I'm gonna sleep in the same bed as you then you're more concussed than I thought. I'll sleep in the chair."

Nick slid under the covers and spread himself out, "That chair looks too uncomfortable to even sit in, let alone sleep. But, have it your way Carrots. Offer is always open if you change your mind."

Judy shook her head secretly trying to hide a slight blush. "Goodnight Nick."

She flicked off the lights.


Later that night Judy had already woken Nick twice from his sleep. Both times she spent a few minutes getting him talking, just to make sure he was still all-there. No slurred speech or amnesia to speak of. The likelihood of intracranial bleeding was now extremely low.

The last time she woke him though, Nick had found himself unable to fall back to sleep.

Still, in the pitch black room, he lay in comfortable silence. Nick had remarkable night vision in most circumstances, but underground, as he was now, he found himself totally blind. No mammal it seemed, could see in the total absence of light.

It felt strange, not being able to see. Luckily his other senses were still working fine.

He could smell Judy, and hear the sound of her breathing; the intermittent motion of her paws over the carpet and the gentle scuffling of her pajamas as she shifted in the chair where she sat.

She sounded uncomfortable and it took only a few minutes before Nick realized he wasn't likely going to find sleep again tonight.

In this warm darkness, it felt as if she was close to him; it felt intimate.

Some minutes passed before Nick broke the silence, speaking with barely audible softness, it felt as if he were whispering into an abyss.

"Carrots you awake?"

Slowly and after a dozen heartbeats, Judy answered, "Yeah. You having trouble sleeping?"

"Heh, you'll definitely make detective one day. You are indeed correct. I'm exhausted but my mind just won't shut back down."

"I will make detective someday, jerk," she laughed quietly, "I know how you feel, but I'm not the one with the injury. You need to heal, Nick. You have to try to get back to sleep."

Judy could hear Nick shift under the covers, "Ok, well how about we play a game. Might tire me out."

"You better not be about to suggest something untoward Mr. Wilde."

"You wish. Geez, first your mother now you-bunnies-get your minds outta the gutter. I was simply going to suggest a game of questions."

"Oh?"

"You said we barely know each other and I have to agree… but I want to know more about you. So I get to ask you something about yourself. The question can't be stupid, it needs to be personal. The more personal my question is, the more personal the question you can ask. We keep going until one of us loses by refusing to answer."

"So what do I get if I win?"

"One big favor is the prize on the table. A serious favor."

Judy thought it over for a quiet second. On the one paw this could end in serious embarrassment, on the other, she had a burning desire to know more about Nick's life.

Still whispering Judy said, "I have a condition, I will play so long as we steer clear of the subject of what happened at the cafeteria today in regards to, uh... the kissing. As well as any feelings or stuff related to them. I'm still working it out and I need to process. In a good way I think... but, yeah… time-I need it."

Judy could practically hear Nick grin, "That's fine with me. You take all the time you need. No questions about said kissing, or promised future kissing, or kiss related feelings of any kind. Done."

Judy couldn't help but gulp, she had butterflies, "Hmm, fine, let's play. Who goes first?" she said trying to prepare herself mentally.

"Why don't you start us off with something light and simple Fluff."

"Ok. So, Nicholas Wilde, what are your hobbies. Things you do because you enjoy them and not because they make you money?"

Nick sniffed, turned in bed, and began speaking towards the ceiling, "Not many of those I'm afraid. I play the piano, although not as much as I used to. If you ever come over to my house I'll show you. Back when I was younger I used to write songs."

"Oh? What kind of songs did you write?"

Nick clicked his tongue, "Uh-uh, you got your question. Now it's my turn. Ok, Judy Hopps, tell me about your best friend from childhood."

Judy was quiet for a moment, "I don't really know. I had a few people I considered friends when I was really young. But by high school I was seen as the weird kid. After I started saying I wanted to be a cop there was a kind of stigma that formed around me. The crazy bunny who had impossible dreams, and who somehow didn't get pregnant before junior prom. I eventually decided that if they didn't need me then I didn't need them either. I wasn't exactly lonely though. I had my brothers and sisters. Although none of us were really best friends because I was always taking on the role of my parent's' helper. I guess I became kind of a secondary authority figure. Me and my brother Jack were close though, but that's about it. That makes you pretty much the best friend I've ever had. Pretty sad huh?"

Nick scoffed, "Having me as your best and only friend is indeed a deeply depressing thought. Don't worry though, I had a special stigma of my own. Even though I had lots of friends, none of them, with a few exceptions, knew a single true thing about me. At this point, you know me better than any mammal alive. Now that's sad."

"Not to me. It makes me feel happy actually…"

They both found themselves swallowing sudden feeling. A part of Judy was trying to convince her to get up and crawl into bed next to Nick, so that they would be speaking face to face.

Judy decided to continue before she acted on that particular impulse, "So Nick, you've been hustling for a long time. Ever get arrested?"

"Yes and no."

"How can you be arrested and also not be?"

"Well, I got arrested once for trying to cheat the Palms Casino. Fortunately, I was using a very credible and expensive alias. Once Finnick posted my bail I was able to wash the dye out of my fur and disappear."

"Nick… you realize how ridiculously illegal all that stuff you just admitted to is?"

"Believe it or not Ms. Hopps, I have a fairly good idea."

"When was this anyway?"

"Oh, back when I was young and dumb. Nearly a decade ago. You gonna turn me in Fluff?"

Judy was silent except for the drumming of her foot against the carpet, "I'm going to pretend you never told me this and we are never going to speak of it again."

"Can do. You know I'm proud of all this grey-area progress you seem to be making. You know if you ever want to learn to hustle-"

"No."

"Just no?"

"That's right… Nick, you said out at the stand that you stopped hustling since the press conference right? Do you plan to go back to it when you get back to Zootopia?"

Nick hesitated, Judy could hear his heart beating faster as he spoke, "It depends-I may end up not having much of a choice Ju-"

"Please don't do it anymore. You don't need to. I- I'm going to help you find something else."

Nick wondered if now was the right moment to tell her about Bogo's offer but decided it would be better to wait.

"It's not really that easy." he ended up saying instead.

"I know, you might be right, but please, promise me. Just let me try to figure something out."

"...ok, I promise. You know I trust you."

Nick heard Judy stand up from her chair. A moment later he felt her added weight at the edge of the bed. Then her hand found his arm as she spoke in a small voice, "I know. I trust you too."

It took Judy a while to withdraw her hand and Nick decided to continue before his heart decided to beat its way out of his chest.

"I uh… I think it's my turn to ask a question, correct? So Judy, does your lack of pregnancy as compared to other bunnies mean you have never had a boyfriend? And if you have, I would like details please. Also don't you bunnies have, like, birth control?"

A spasm of fear gripped Judy and she had to fight the urge to simply forfeit then and there. But she caught herself-no way she would lose this chance; she wasn't going to shy away. Not even if it meant revealing more than she hoped to.

The thought of simply lying to him never entered her mind. This was Nick, she was never going to hurt him again, not with lies or otherwise. It was a promise to herself so concrete it might as well have been inscribed on her DNA.

"Well, as far as birth control, I admit us rabbits have some funny ideas. We have a bunch of our own uh, cultural… things. One of those is the adamant belief that birth control is basically evil, wrong and immoral. It's crazy and stupid I know... but there it is. As far as boyfriends go, I've had three actually. Truth is, none of them lasted very long. The first was in middle school. After a week I learned he had only asked me out as a dare. The second was in college and I chose him because I wanted to experiment with uh… sex. After I got that out of the way I realized I didn't really like him very much apart from his looks-"

"That's cold Carrots."

"Shut up fox. The last one I dated for almost a full two weeks just a few months back. But I was so messed up at the time I kind of caused things to self-destruct. He was nice and I kind of liked him, but I guess he wasn't what I was after."

"Oooh, so you met this guy in Zootopia? Tell me about him, I know everyone after all."

"I feel like I pretty much already answered my question-"

"Na-uh Carrots. I said details, you have been decidedly vague so far."

"Fine, his name was Miles. He did large scale art projects around the city. A lot of sidewalk chalk and paintings. It sounds kind of silly, but believe me, he is super talented."

"Wait, Miles T, The street artist? Yeah, I see him around all the time… Judy, Miles is a skunk."

"..."

"Details, Carrots. I need details."

"Yes, ok, he is a skunk. What difference does that make?"

"Seriously! You realize skunks are preds right."

"No Nick, I totally missed that. What, do you have a problem with prey dating predators or something?"

"Not at all Fluff, to each his own. But I don't pretend that it's not a big deal. A skunk and a bunny have got to be pretty rare. How did you handle the smell?"

"Cheezing- Nick! And they call me a speciest. Look, I'll admit that at its worst it could be a bit much... but it mostly didn't bother me. I even kind of liked it when it wasn't overwhelming."

"..."

"What, did I stun you speechless?"

"..."

"Nick, are you seriously judging me right now?"

"No, I'm just thinking… Judy were your other boyfriend's rabbits?"

"I've already given you more than enough-"

"Just answer it, then you can ask me anything you want; no limits."

"... fine, my first 'boyfriend' was a raccoon and my second was a mink."

"Holy crap! Your sister was telling the truth. You actually have a type. Judy Hopps has a pred fetish. This is the juiciest thing I've ever heard!"

"It's not a fetish! It's… just a strong 'preference'. It's not something I advertise; its just the way I am. Look, I've never been attracted to other rabbits, male or female; not even remotely. There is nothing wrong or illegal about it. I absolutely do not need to justify myself to you."

By this point, anger had crept into Judy's voice alongside a landslide of embarrassment and insecurity. This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. Nick didn't notice because he was making a squealing noise that could have rivaled Clawhauser.

"Amazing, so amazing. The crown jewel of all Judy secrets. I can exploit this until the end of time. I must know more. I have to know everything."

"No! You jerk-ass. It's my turn. You got my 'big secret' and now I want yours. You said you were hustling when you were twelve. Why? What happened? Where were your parents? I want to know everything."

First, there was silence which was followed by a very sober statement, "Judy, ask me a different question. It's not a fun story."

"No, screw you. You said no limits. So let's hear it. That, or go ahead and forfeit.

Nick subsided into a silence that stretched out into minutes.

A deep uncomfortable quiet settled over the room.

Eventually, Judy sighed, her anger having simmered down a little, "Fine, nevermind. I'll ask you something else..."

"My dad was a tailor; did hemming and adjustments mostly. He was the kind of guy who everybody loved, and who loved everyone. We spent all our time together. He took me with him everywhere and we… we were best friends. I adored him."

Judy heard Nick draw in a shuttering breath, "My mom was a piano teacher. She had a few students, all preds of course. She didn't make much, but with her and my dad working together they just barely made ends meet. Her dream was to be a composer and I remember her days were full of music. She wrote entire symphonies and then tucked them away in three ring binders never to be heard by anyone."

It sounded to Judy as if Nick was sitting up before he continued, "My dad wanted to give us a better life. So he got this idea that he was going to open a shop which sold clothes to mammals big and small. When it came time to ask for a loan, no one would give him the money. We went from bank to bank and every single time would end with us being denied. But dad never lost his optimism. He was the kind of mammal who believed that success was a matter of simply never giving up. Now that I think about it, I guess you kind of remind me of him a little bit Carrots. Anyway, dad never told me where he eventually got the money, but he got it, and a few months later we were in business. Big problem though, no one wants to buy clothes from a fox. Also, it turns out dad was a great guy but not the best businessmammal. Within a year he was utterly bankrupt, a fact that he never let on to either me or mom.

So, one day we are at the shop when three big thugs walk in. They lock the doors, grab dad, and throw a plastic bag over his head. One of the thugs held me down so I wouldn't make too much noise. I watched as Dad tried to fight, but they were too strong and eventually… he stopped. After that, they zipped his body into a bag and carried him outside. One of them, a lion I think, knelt down beside me. He told me that the people he worked for had mammals in with the police. He said that if anyone at the ZPD heard one word about a missing fox then they were going to come find me and my mom and do the same things to us that they did to my dad. He told me foxes were natural born liars, so I should be able to convince my mom of a story he was going to tell me: when I got home I was going to say that Dad had emptied what was left in the safe, before running off with a beautiful young vixen.

I believed they would kill us so I did just what he said. And you know what, it was the best hustle I ever pulled. Because my dad loved my mom in a way you couldn't even imagine and somehow… s-somehow I was able to convince her that he had been cheating; that he had left town."

Judy was stunned. She wanted Nick to stop. She wanted the story to be over but he continued, his voice trembling on the verge of a breakdown.

"Things were bad for a while. Mom had to find work and she tried everything. Eventually, she did the last thing a beautiful vixen could do. She did it so that we wouldn't starve or find ourselves living on the streets. She was a gentle mammal, Judy… and it wasn't long before it started to break her.

At one point she began accepting drugs for services rendered instead of money. She stopped speaking to me or acknowledging my existence. She had her 'boyfriends' come right to the house. There were weeks where she would be so drunk or high that I couldn't even have a conversation with her. Then one day she told me that she was leaving and wouldn't be coming back. I didn't even try to follow her out the door.

After that, I never saw her again. I'm sure she must be dead at this point, but even if she isn't, I have a feeling I wouldn't recognize her if I passed her on the street.

By the time she left there was no food left in the house so I eventually had to beg the neighbors for something to eat… to make a long story short I ended up on the streets. Things weren't good f-for me at first Judy, believe me. I lost everything. My-my mom's symphonies crumbled a-away i-in the rain. Those f-first.. th-those first y-years… I- "

Judy heard Nick slump over in the bed. His back to her as he curled into a ball. By the time she made out the first hitching sobs she was already crawling up next to him.

Judy reached out in the darkness and found nicks muzzle soaked with tears. She leaned forward and pushed her face into the wet fur, "God Nick, I'm sorry. I-I'm so dumb. You shouldn't have had to tell me that. I forfeit; no more games." Judy was stroking the foxes ears as he cried. She was lost. In that moment she felt that if there was any way she could stop his pain, she would do it. She would do anything if it meant her fox would stop crying.

Before long she had wrapped herself as tightly as she could around his face and neck. Her nose planted against his temple and her hands running over his fur, she whispered, "I'm here," and "It's alright." over and over.

It was not long before Nick was so spent of emotion that the tears ceased.

Judy heard his breathing even out as he fell back to sleep. She continued to hold him, drifting off not long after.


The next morning Nick and Judy awoke in each other's arms. They pulled apart not saying much and quickly washed in the separate washrooms a short ways down the hall.

They made their way downstairs. Still, their eyes hadn't met.

The memory of last night's confession was still fresh in Nick's mind. He hadn't dredged up those memories in so many years. Somehow though, the pain which he expected to be as overwhelming as it had always been, was muted. He could touch it, and although it hurt, it was manageable.

Judy was wrapped in no small amount of guilt for her own part in his pain. Quietly, she endeavored to make the best breakfast and coffee she could manage. If all went well she wouldn't find more ways to stick her foot in her mouth, at least in the next few hours if she was lucky.

It was early even by her family's standards. They had finished breakfast and gathered a few things before any other members of the household had awoken.

Judy left a note for her parents telling them they would be gone to the city for a short time.

Before the sun had begun to rise they climbed into the rental car Nick brought the day before. Strange it was only a day. It felt to Nick like he had discovered an entirely new life in that short span of time.

The interior of the car brought a sudden echo to his mind. The voice of his old mentor, "So what's the plan now Nicky? Think you can keep from screwing this up?"

Nick shook the voice from his mind and turned to Judy. "You're quiet… you mad at me or something?"

Judy perked up immediately, "Of course not! I just feel so bad. I pushed you to reveal something that was private and I ended up hurting you again. I swore I wouldn't but somehow it just keeps happening-"

"Stop Judy. I'm not hurt. I feel lighter actually. I'm… I'm glad you know. I needed to tell you eventually. Now it's out of the way and we can just move forward. That is if you still want to hang around this 'scruffy lowlife' now that you know how messed up he really is."

Judy stood in her seat and padded over to Nick in the chill pre-dawn silence of the car. She reached out and pulled his forehead down against hers.

"If you try and escape, I'm gonna hunt you down. There's no shaking me. You got that?"

Nick grinned and sighed, "So you wanna know how Bogo knows I'm here?"

"Naw," Judy smiled as she stepped back into her seat and sat, "You keep your secrets. I'm sure you'll tell me some time."

For a moment they just grinned at each other.

"Alright, next stop the great and illustrious metropolis of Zootopia. Buckle up Sweetheart."

Nick keyed the ignition and moments later they were driving down the long straightaway that would eventually lead them back to the city; accelerating towards the rising sun.