Judy
There are two things that promised always good sleep for Judy Hopps, her bed here in Bunny Burrow and a certain fox right beside her. Both together were like heaven for her, knowing that she would awake the next day completely rested and ready to take on everything she wanted. Others needed long vacation to regenerated what work or society had taken from them, she needed just a weekend with Nick in her parents home.
Her eyes were still closed but her mind was already in high gear and working on different questions but since a long time, they were not work related. She thought about all the things she wanted to do with Nick and the others, during their time off. There was a lot on her list but for now she thought only of one thing and this was the present for Nick, which still was in her suitcase, where it waited to be overhanded to him.
Judy stretched her head a little bit up, so that she laid perfectly between Nick's throat and chin but his unconscious mind seemed to have different plans. His head turned a bit but just perfectly that his whiskers tickled her nose and triggered the typical reaction for this, Judy had to scratch it. No way around. And as soon as she raised her paw to do so, Nick drew her closer to him in his sleep, this was how she learned by now a typical reaction from him. To be honest, he did this several times in the night but somehow had Judy until now not the courage to speak with him about this behaviour. And why should she? It was kind of cute and since she had him as a sleep companion, never in this time she had woken up, freezing because she lost the blanket or forgot to close the window. Nick was all she needed to sleep well.
After some seconds she heard again the soft snoring of her fox and she knew that she hadn't woken him, well not now. Slow and careful raised the bunny Nick's right paw, which laid around her stomach and tried to hold her close. As soon as Nick's paw was high enough, she made a roll and landed careful on the cold wooden floor of her old room. The sudden change in the temperature and the lost of the blanket as well as her fox made her shiver, not to forget that she instantly regretted to get up without him. But, awake was awake and she was almost bursting with anticipation for the day.
Watching her surroundings for a while, she decided that her first stop for the day, was her old desk, where her and Nick's phones laid to charge. 7:48 am stood on the screen, late for the normal Hopps time schedule.
She took a quick look for new messages, maybe some new burrow gossip, wouldn't be too bad. Judy couldn't care less about some famous mammals and what they are doing but the situation of her own family was always something she was interested in and with over two hundred bunnies, there was always something happening or in progress. Even more now where the whole bunny clan was extended by some foxes, a beaver and a wolf. There it was, the first pic of the day, which was already worthy to talk about and talk was already in progress about it. The first message itself was from Amanda who wanted to look for her girls in the morning but found even more in their bed. Too be exactly, there laid two vixen sleeping but holding each other by one hand, in a sea of fluff. Dozen of little bunnies slept around them, besides or on top of Patricia and Stella. Some of the little ones even used the tails of the vixen as a blanket and Judy knew how warm and cozy that could be.
Yesterday evening, both fell asleep during a story, that Judy was reading out loud of a book with bunny bedtime stories. Not even 10 minutes and everyone including the two vixen were fast asleep and so Nick and Judy left the two with the little ones, both laid head on head there covered just by fluff.
Judy scrolled through the messages of the Hopps group but saw just positive reactions, she knew that some of her siblings weren't so delighted about her and Nick but they seemed not to correspond with the others. From time to time appeared a new brown icon and somehow had Elliot managed it to join the Hopps group and Judy couldn't even differ him from the rest of her gossiping sisters, at least from the style of writing or the used language.
'Tell me one more time, you are not interested in something like this El,' thought Judy smiling and was just about to lay her phone back.
But of course noticed the sharp eyed beaver, at least sharp eyed when it's about monitors, screens and what happens on them, that Judy was online. Not even one second and the first words from him appeared in a private chat.
Elliot: Hey Boss. Hope you had a good night with your fox. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Judy rolled her eyes but kept smiling, she knew that he didn't mean it in any offending way.
Judy: Yeah, not bad I guess… (#•_•#)
Elliot: Well, then guess who else had yesterday night some fun ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Judy: Don't know...who? ＼(°ロ＼)
Elliot: Let's say, she resembles you a 'lot'
Realization, followed by a big wave of Confusion, rushed over Judy's face…,'Jess has no boyfriend at the moment, so who…'
Elliot: I guess you play the old Owl game right now, boss - who, who, who could it be that Jess met? (^–^)
Judy: Oh you betcha! So…? ＼(°ロ＼)
Elliot: Well, I bet he will deny it during breakfast but you should keep your eyes out for Nathan...
Another wave of realization hit Judy but this time not just in the face. 'Nathan? The good guy, who always helps you out, never a bad word about others? He should initiate that? Maybe I should have a little talk with my sister.'
Judy: \(°O°)/ What? How?...When?
Elliot: 3 in the morning. Nick's mum and I were just going to our rooms, separated rooms of course. As we heard behind us a door opening. At first we thought it's you but as soon as we saw her dirty grin and heard her voice, wishing us a good night, we knew something was up. Mrs. Wilde could seconds later confirm my theory by her good nose. I think you know the problems of foxes and wolves after some intimacy… ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Judy: Yeah…hehe...(#^_^')...well, till breakfast El
Elliot: Later boss, gossip beaver out!
Laying her phone back on her desk, Judy stood there for a while to get over the new information and the heat in her face. But after a short shook of her head, she walked around in her now a little bit more enlighten room, still with her purple sleeping shorts and top on. A quick look back to the bed and Nick still seemed to sleep, the blanket slowly lifting and lowering in a rhythmic way.
Judy walked over to the pile of clothes, which laid on the ground in the middle of the room.
Memories from last night came to her mind, as she looked at the red pile. Was it really last night or was it already this morning, that she took it off? She couldn't say for sure. But she knew one thing, thinking back made her shiver, blush and she felt how her heart was beating faster, a warm feeling of comfort covered her. At this certain moment, she felt home in this burrow, like she never felt home before, not like coming home after a long week or month of work or after a long vacation, no. This felt different, if she would used one word to describe her feelings, she would have used the word 'complete'. And looking back to her fox, she had the feeling that a lot of her feelings are because of him.
With a cheeky smile and biting her bottom lip, she placed the dress, with the fine stuff she wore underneath it on a hanger and put it for now back into the closet. Her paws stroked a last time over the fine red fabric and clasped for some seconds to one of the fluffy edges, before she closed the doors and turned in direction of her little bath. On the doorstep to it, she dropped her shorts and top, and thought back at the time where she and her siblings had to use one big community shower. 40 naked bunnies under the shower, running, playing but none of them really showering, it's a wonder that Judy's mum not just took a load of soap and dropped it over the bunnies...or maybe she did? After all that years it was difficult to tell...and Judy was also just one of those bunnies, playful and open for every stupid idea thst came along.
The time went by under the shower, as Judy stood there and damped for a long time her fur with warm, almost to hot water. Her ears were dropped and the water which fall on it too loud to hear anything around her. With circling movements she massaged shampoo into her fur on the head, which made it impossible for her to see anything that happened around her. Carefree she stood there and hummed the melody of a song, she remembered from Nick's music collection, by now she was almost halfway through the collection but she already picked some favorites for herself.
Behind her, dragged a shadow nearer and nearer.
Slowly, he raised his paws, holding in his right a little metal object that was just destined for her and no one else.
The grin on the shadows face widened as he heard which song she was humming under the hot shower and how easy he it would have to come to his aim, but slowly, very slowly… Judy's humming had changed by now, she was singing.
"Take me back to square one
Right back where it begun
Push me over the edge
Start me again and again"
A little shriek escaped her mouth, as soon as she felt how a paw was stroking over her chest fur. Not like she didn't knew which mammal belonged to this paw, nor was it something the paw had never down before. But as the second paw joined the first in his work on Judy's throat, she became suspicious. Nick ended her little singing by joining her with the refrain.
"Come away with me
While the world's asleep
Walk from sea to shining sea
Find ourselves a place to be"
"Nick, what are you doing there," asked the grey doe with a chuckle.
But he didn't respond immediately, he wanted to finish his work first and even in the wet and from shampoo slippery environment, which was at the moment Judy's neck, he managed to put the little metal object on. Happy about his done work he smiled down at her and responded finally.
"Giving you, your Christmas present of course, Carrots. And joining your little song, a fine voice by the way. You know, I like when you sing."
"What? Nick we said we wouldn't…," began Judy but was just interrupted by him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Is that not something, everybody says but no one does? Besides, you want to tell me, that you have made no present for me? Well, then I would say, I don't believe you little bunny. Not...one...bit."
"Okay, you got me…," answered Judy meekly and Nick knew that she blushed, she always did in situations like this.
"What is it?" asked Judy now with joyful anticipation.
"I think you should see for yourself." said Nick, smiling from behind her. Judy washed of the shampoo as fast as she could, ended her cleaning and left the shower. She stood herself in front of the bath mirror, holding up what Nick had put around her neck. It was an oval shaped locket, that laid on Judy's chest, it was not very big but she saw that on top was an engraving. No words were engraved but a stilistic bunny and a fox which encircled each other. The bunny at the lower end and the fox at the upper end. A little chuckle came from Judy as she saw through the steam of the hot water, that the showing eye of the bunny was colored in purple and the showing eye of the fox was green. Details, that was what he always had a special eye for.
The chain was short and it completely disappeared in Judy's chest fur, together with the oval main part. The metal was a little bit darker than she knew from such silver lockets and it felt also pretty heavy, at least for its size.
Nick stood behind her and smiled, he looked still a bit sleepy to her. For a moment he laid his paws on her shoulder and his head on her head.
"And what do you think whiskers?"
"It's...it's beautiful…"
"Ahh, I hoped you like it. Now, would you kindly open it?"
"Open it?"
"Yeah sure, I mean it's a locket, so there is something locked in it, don't you think?" replied Nick with a kind smile.
Again felt Judy a rush of sensation flowing through her body. A little secret and Judy loved such little secrets, he knew that. Of course. Carefully she opened, the locket and looked with wide eyes at the two sides. On the left was a miniature photo of their kiss behind the old cinema, shortly before Nick left for the academy. And on the right side however, stood heir vow, engraved with fine italic letters.
Judy could just smile about this present, from one of her large ear to the other and wouldn't it be so steamy in the bathroom, could Nick also see that a little tear run down on Judy's right cheek. She turned around and took her fox in a tight hug, her arms around his back.
"Thank you Nick."
"I'm glad you like it, that's all that count for me."
After her intense hug, Judy hold it still in her paw, watching it from every ankle, turning it, closing, opening it and looking again at the graving in it. Nick whoever took a look at the shower and asked.
"Say Carrots, you are finished with showering?"
Judy almost didn't react, still concentrated on the piece of jewelry around her neck and in her paw.
"Mhmm," was the only response he got from her. Smiling he undressed himself from his shorts and stepped under the shower. He turned on the warm water and waited till the questions would come and he knew they would.
"It's pretty heavy and has a short chain…," asked Judy. 'And here we go,' thought Nick to himself.
"Yes my dear, because it's aim is to hide under your adorable chest fur. A piece of jewelry as beautiful as you are and just for you and your eyes only."
Nick counted internally the seconds till her blush would spread over her face. He wouldn't see it but he knew it was there.
"Ohh...mmh thanks and quite…," there it was he thought.
"Clever of me? Yeah I know, that's me," replied Nick from under the shower, Judy could already hear his grin but just continued with her questions.
"Haha... it's a little bit dark for silver, don't you think?"
"Yeah, because it's not made of silver."
Panic spread in Judy. Why? Well because she had given him a clear rule and that said nothing over hundred dollars. Normally, no one in the Hopps home received any kind of gifts to Christmas, not because it was to expensive or someone could be forgotten, no the chaos that resulted from it was just to big and holidays would turn for every involved mammal into hell. In fact such tradition was tried twice, once when Judy was 8 and once when she was 14 and both times it ended in total mayhem and at least 40 crying bunnies. By now are just some bunnies a present, Tommy for example is such an exception. Judy banned the memories for now and thought of the next expensive metal on her internal list.
"W-White gold? Please don't say you chose such an expensive metal!"
"No... it's not white gold…"
Judy turned herself to the curtain and talked directly to the fox shaped shadow behind it.
"Steel, y-you have chosen steel. Please, tell me you have chosen steel for me."
But she knew it wasn't steel, her jewelry was to heavy, to be of that kind of metal.
"Do you honestly believe, I would give you jewelry, made of steel? Who do you think am I? Scrooge McDuck?"
In this moment remembered Judy that every expensive piece of jewelry had somewhere a mark, with the material and the purity, if it was a fine piece of jewelry. But by now, she had no doubt that it was. Again she started to turn it in her paw, until she saw it clear on the backside of it. 'Pt' stood there, platinum one of the rarest and what mattered more for Judy, most expensive materials of this planet...no on every planet. But what struck her even more, was the number besides it '999'. Even more purity was almost not possible for jewelry, maybe for some high tech industry machinery but not jewelry.
The emotions were raging in Judy, switching from pure delight to angered bewilderment in an instant and back. And at clearest to see, were her emotions at her bottom lip, which was also switching between uncontrollable trembling and biting. With force she drawn back the curtain to the shower, hot waves of steamy fog encountered her and in the little shower stood Nick, trying to hide his private parts with his tail and smiling at Judy with a dirty grin.
The doe tilted her head slightly, after she crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at her fox, as if she wanted to say, 'You try to kidding me right? After that night and with me standing naked in front of you? Really Nick?'
But Nick saw that his joke was not working, so he let his tail swing back to the position where it belonged and leaned instead against the wall, smiling at his bunny while warm water was pouring down his fur.
"So...Carrots, you want to join me for sometime under the hot water?"
"I want...that you tell me how much that locket has cost! Nick that this platinum! We said not more than 100 dollar! Sweet cheese and crackers."
Judy raised her right paw to her head and started to massage her temple, the locket still in her left paw.
"Wrong Carrots, YOU said not more than 100 dollars. I never agreed to this rule, cuddle bug...so...I have to assume, that you don't want to join me? Is that correct?"
She didn't replied, she stood just there and looked at him, with her eyes half closed, still some anger in her gaze and waited. Nick didn't even last a whole minute before he stopped his play.
"Fine! You've won...just give me 5 minutes and I'm ready…," exclaimed Nick loudly and this time really a little bit annoyed. With the same anger and force tried Judy to shut the curtain and succeeded. Nick was now forced speed up his morning shower, he hated that.
Judy took meanwhile a towel from under the sink, wrapped herself in it and was on the doorstep to her room, as Nick exclaimed loud and with a ton of sarcasm in his voice.
"I really wonder Carrots, that you have something against the metal but not against the gems, my goldsmith used as eyes for the fox and the bunny."
And then silence, she could hear nothing more than the water of the shower and her own heart, which was pounding now very fast and loud in her chest.
'Gems? Which gems?'
With widened eyes, ran the doe the few steps to her desk and turned on her little lamp. It almost felt like ripping the locket from her neck, as she took it in her paw but the chain was too hard and steady, to really make any damage. Under the direct light of the lamp, saw Judy that it was no joke from Nick, a purple gem for the bunny and a green one for the fox. She had mistaken it for simple color but it was more – real gems, well at least she thought so. Never in her whole life had she seen so colorful and shiny stones, she saw diamonds before yes, but those?
She forgot again the time around her and looked at this precious gift and thought of her own, which was in comparison...not more than a joke or so she thought. Maybe Nick would not even like it.
Still in her towel, she heard how Nick left the bath and stood behind her, his slow breathing beside her ears. He was still half dressed and just in need for a sweater. But this had time, it was warm enough in Judy's room to not freeze to death without one.
He leaned on the table right beside her and whispered seducing into her ear ,"The purple one is an amethyst and the green one an emerald. It thought they would resemble our eye color the best."
She didn't cried but she felt extremely sad about all of this. Not what he had gave her but what she could return, that was her major concern at the moment.
"Listen Judy, I have more than enough money and I don't know how to spend it. I just wanted to make you happy, that's all. If you don't like it, then just say it and I will take it back, okay?"
"That's...that's not it Nick. I love it, like I love you but THIS," Judy held her paw up with the locket in it, shiny and precious it laid there in her palm.
"This is just too much Nick. It's like the apartment, I know that you care for me but I have not the feeling that I deserved that...and I have the feeling in me that I can't repay you like you deserve it. I mean you did so much for me and I? I couldn't even say no to a stupid hare and send him home…"
"Judy?"
Her gaze went now completely to him and there it was it again, this warm smile, that told her, 'Everything is alright Carrots, nothing can separate us. Not money, not an apartment and especially not a stupid hare.'
"No matter how much I give you in my life, it would never be enough to repay you for the great thing you did to me."
A sad chuckle came from Judy echoed through the silent room. From outside came muffled noises, seemingly were a bunch of little bandit bunnies on their way for the next raid. Their aim? Maybe breakfast, maybe the snow on the yard or an empty barn, who knows. But this was at the moment not important, at least not for the two right here at the old desk, looking at each other.
"And what was that great thing I did to you? Getting you almost killed because an overachieving bunny wanted desperately to solve a case?"
"Ahhh good old memories, aren't they? But no Carrots, that's not what I meant."
Nick took her paws into his and squeezed them tightly, his look was warm but Judy could see that there was more, the old bitterness which he tried to keep deep inside was also there, lurking in the background.
"You gave me an aim in life, a partner, a best friend and what's most important the one that I love the most. If you ask me if this locket around your neck was expensive, I have to say yes, yes it was . . . but not for you. For you it feels just like the bare minimum I can do and if ever comes the time where I have to decide between all the stupid money I collected over the years and you, believe me I give it away with a smile and without a second thought."
He ended and both shared a short kiss and leaned their heads together, closing their eyes. Judy chuckled softly and went one, now more relieved but still with some worries in the back of her mind.
"You know slick, it was beautiful but also pretty cheesy."
"What? I thought you like something like that, Carrots?"
"Really," asked Judy almost laughing, "What make you think, I would like something like this?"
Nick turned around and leaned with his back against the small desk, his eyes facing towards Judy's full book shelf, scanning for some special books, which he found after some seconds and grinned.
"I don't know, I would say books like 'Storm of Love', 'The Woken Princess' and 'Not without You' tell me that you have something for such words Carrots," said Nick, teasing her like a child, which played even at an older age with toys made for babies.
Judy's happy face changed fast over in an embarrassed look, she didn't thought he would find her 'shameful' books so fast. Patricia would at this point breakout in laughter or fall into misunderstanding because she owned the same books, maybe even one or two, that were way more...explicit than the ones Judy owned.
But this was Judy, she liked them somehow but she also felt a kind of shame, everytime she looked at them and not even to mention, that she always had a high red head when she was reading in one of those books. And just for the case of visitors, she had spread them over the whole book shelf but maybe that was the problem. Order was a part of her life and mindset but this books were totally out of the order and arranged between some tidy ordered books or book series. For Nick it was easy, to spot the ones that didn't belong at those places.
'Stupid bunny, stupid, stupid, stupid...at least he didn't found my version of…,' thought Judy and watched Nick with wide eyes, how he walked relaxed (and still without a sweater) over to the shelf and picked with abnormal precision one book out of the masses, it was the book he never should find nor even read.
And before Judy could react properly, was Nick already clearing his throat, opening the book where the bookmark was and started to read without any kind of shame, no when Nick felt something right now, then it was pure amusement.
"So Judy, will you take my gift or do you want that I read you the best lines of this book?"
"What?"
This was Judy's only reaction, still not completely aware what happened in front of her.
"He's said such loving things today … But how long will he want to do this without wanting to beat the crap out of me," read Nick out loud, like a professional storyteller, reading for his dear audience.
'How could he…,' thought Judy desperately and felt how heat started to rise in her body, up to her cheeks and ears. He stood there and red lines from her hidden version of '50 Shades of Fur'. it took just a second until she realized it, 'He prepared this and waited just for the right moment! Nick knew it all the time…and now he...just goes on reading it out loud!'
"His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel... or something," went Nick on, still without a grin on his face.
Judy dropped her head and walked ashamed but fast over to Nick, who by now leaned against her book shelf and went on reciting line for line from the book, that he probably marked. She didn't even recognized that she lost her towel, standing in front of him like on the first day of her life.
"Grabbing it quickly, I squirt toothpaste on it and brush my teeth in double quick time. I feel so naughty. It's such a thrill," said Nick, now with a faint smile on his lips.
Judy stood right under the book, raised her arms and closed it, with each of her paw on one hardcover side. Embarrassed, she looked up to him and spoke meekly.
"Okay,...you got me. I will take this locket and keep it, forever. But please, please stop reading it out loud and never do that again, it's embarrassing enough that I own it…"
"No."
"W-what no?"
"If you want that I stop, you have to do something for me," said Nick grinning to Judy, who started by now again to blush because of her current situation.
"Nick, . . . I'm standing naked in front of you, what else do you want from me," said Judy and had somehow to smile about the situation.
"Well," he said, looking slowly down at her with a grin that she knew quite good, "It's a good start but what I desire right now, even more like your fluffy grey body, is my Christmas gift, Carrots."
Her face brighten up but just for a short moment, before she thought of her present and compared it in her mind with Nick's. What she had was selfmade, maybe not even done well. Judy thought back to the work she had with the present, it took her three weeks, almost a kilogram of wool and every now and then a laughter from Patricia about the state her work was in. To give Nick no hint, she did all the work in Patricia's apartment. During the time of her work was Patricia playing on her piano and Judy sat in the armchair and worked on Nick's Christmas gift.
The bunny went over to her suitcase, shivering as she walked over to it. And decided that it was finally time to put some cloth on, she picked some undies, an old jeans and her Hopps Christmas sweater. Judy could feel how the warmth, she missed since she left Nick alone in bed, slowly returned. With a quick movement hide the doe the book, from which Nick recited just minutes ago, in her closet under a thick pile of really thick socks for really cold winter nights.
'No need to give him even more munition…,' thought Judy and took out her present and the one from her mother or better the whole family.
Not long and she returned to Nick, who made by now the bed, gentle mammal as he was and sat on it's edge to wait for her. In her paws a way to huge gift, which was wrapped in green gift paper with little candy canes on it. But on Judy's gift laid also a fine folded sweater in white, red and with three green pines on the chest. Smiling she stood before Nick and he took the sweater with a suspicious look into his paws, holding it up and away from him like a full diaper.
"What in the name of the all the holy mammals is that?"
After a second he looked at Judy, who stood there grinning in front of him and noted that she was a wearing a very similar sweater. White, red and a bit too big for her but on Judy's were three golden bells, all of them in movement or at least so it looked.
"Carrots,... what is going on here? I'm not sure if that is a crime or really a piece of clothing..."
"Oh, you shouldn't say that in front of my mum, Nick. She made it just for you."
"For...me? Okay what did I do wrong? Is this a punishment for something?"
"Nick….!"
Judy's facial expression changed slowly but Nick knew that it was time to stop the teasing, at last when he saw how her eyes fixated him and her right feet started to stomp on the ground, as if would say 'Not today Nicholas, not today.'
"Okay, okay...now what is this whiskers?"
"This, my dear fox, is a Hopps Christmas sweater. Everyone in the family has one."
"Everyone...in the...family? You mean…," Nick repeated the last words slowly and let them sink into his mind. His eyes widen a bit and the normally attentive ears of him, fell back. Judy smiled warm and sat herself besides him on the bed, giving him a little poke with her elbow. His tail started excited to swipe from one side to the other.
"Yeah, that's what it means Slick, see it as another welcome. And believe me, normally mum makes those things, when the male is finally married to the bunny of our family, or even much la…," like so many times before was Judy cut off by him. But this time she felt not even the spark of anger in her. Because as soon as he understood, he put the sweater on as if there was no tomorrow and almost crawled into the handmade piece of clothing or so it looked.
Smiling he grabbed his bunny and took her into a deep hug, Judy however chuckled about the sudden outburst from her other half. She knew just too good how rare this things were, normally hiding his emotions under a big grin.
Walking up to the mirror besides Judy's closet and standing in some normal and some less normal positions, Nick exclaimed finally to Judy, "You know, I saw some of your siblings and nieces in those sweaters and almost laughed but . . . you know what? Damn! I can wear this, I think it even suits me . . . but," Nick cleared his throat and walked back in front of Judy, "but of course I will wear this just to make your mum happy. Not that you . . . get some, well . . . wrong ideas and think that I like those clothing in general..."
'Yeah, yeah,' thought Judy and leaned herself a bit back on her bed and watched him with a smug grin, how he inspected his new self, ' no need to play the tough and cool guy in front of me...well let's see what he will say to my present.'
Without a word, stretched Judy the present in her paws up to him, leaving her head and ears dropped. Nick looked with a slightly tilted head and confused expression at her and took the package into his own paws. Still then, she didn't dare to look up, as if she feared his reaction.
The unpacking began and the sound of rustling paper was everything that filled the air at the moment, at least until Nick started to talk.
"Oh come on Carrots, I bet I like it. You do, as if you made the worst present ever for…me," but he stopped talking, not knowing at what he looked right now. Carefully he took it out and inspected it, just like Judy inspected his locket before. Inch for inch and not letting any part of it out. Like a little fascinated kit, he felt it with his paws until he was sure that it was one of the softest things he ever touched in his life. A loud laughter came from his mouth, a laughter only kids mostly produced when they woke up on Christmas, run down the stairs, unpacking their present without any expectations and then bam. They are just blown away.
And like a little kit he was just happy about the present from Judy, happy and almost ecstatic. It was a scarf but a special one, only made for him. The main color of the scarf was fox red, almost like his own fur. The one end had even a tail with a darker almost black tip, just like Nick's tail. But the stilistic head was the best, with it's little black nose, little red ears and green buttons as eyes. Judy had made a scarf out of Nick's image and he liked it, no he loved it. Maybe it was not perfect, here and there were little mistakes but Nick didn't cared, for him it was perfect and nothing would change his mind, ever.
"Nick… I know, it's nothing special but…"
"Are you kidding me? That is the best present ever! Myself as a scarf, Hah! What could be better? Judy this scarf is worth 10… no, no, no 100 of your lockets maybe even more! Because… because you made this on your own, all I can do is spend money and hope to fit your needs, but this…," said Nick smiled brighter than Judy ever saw from him.
And without waiting he wrapped the scarf around his neck, he had to do it several times because Judy was very generous with the length or to put it better, she brought too much of the wool and didn't wanted to waste it.
The head of the fox scarf hung over one of Nick's shoulders and the tail very loose over the other end. It was so thick, that Nick could easily hide his snout in the wall of wool, which he did.
"Y-you like it? ...you know it's too long. Maybe some mammals are right, when they say that I don't know when to quit…"
Again took the fox the bunny in a deep hug, lifting her up from the bed and letting her float through the air. Giggling followed the little flight in his arms.
"But, I'm glad you like it Nick."
"Oh you have no idea Carrots."
"What do you say Slick, ready for some breakfast?"
"Ready when you are partner."
Smiling took Judy her fox by the paw and went to the door but as soon as she wanted to push down the door handle, she stood still and thought for a moment about the news from her phone.
"You know...there happened things last night, which are already in discussion in the burrow and...yeah…," tried Judy to start but didn't know how to proceed.
"What? Ohhh! You mean that Jess tricked Nathan into sex with her? And then, good natured how our Nathan is, he didn't said no? Oh please, I knew that even before yesterday."
Confused dropped the ears of the doe and puzzled she looked at her fox, not knowing from where he could have this information.
"How do you . . . ? You didn't even checked your phone, so how?"
Nick took Judy's paw lifted it up and gave her a kiss on the back of her paw.
"I would say, In this case I would stick to the words of Void , which he once told us, 'I know things'," and smiling he opened the door for his partner.
Stella
Slowly opened Stella her eyes but nothing changed and everything around her remained dark. She wasn't fully awake at that moment but felt that something heavy laid on her face and what is almost more important it was also something fluffy.
Her memories from yesterday night returned, one after the other. They brought the little ones to bed, Judy red a bedtime story for everyone and then . . . just darkness. Gosh . . . she couldn't believe that a story for kids had her sent to the bedtime land. But there was still this darkness and the more or less heavy weight on her face. She started a first try to open her snout, it worked but as soon as her fangs went down, returned a giggle from her nose.
Her brain now finally back at work, understood now what was going on her and what or better who the extra weight on her face was.
"Couwd you pwease stand up fwom my face," asked Stella into the darkness and the giggling of at least one bunny returned to her ears. But probably there were more, there was always more than one bunny, it almost seemed like a natural law to her.
"But you have so fluffy fur, aunt Stella," exclaimed the bunnies and rubbed their tiny paws against the place between Stella's ears, the same place where she showed Patty month ago her scars. Was that one of the Rose-siblings? Possible but there were so many of them...Nick could for sure differ them without a problem. Damned, they also smelled pretty much the same.
"Yeah, you do, you do!" shouted the next.
"I'm pwetty suwe I do but the fox attached to thwat fuw, is awake now and needs to stand up . . . so pwetty pwease?"
Finally! Someone lifted the weight from her head. Stella was still afraid to do something that could hurt the bunnies, even when Judy, Jess and Amanda assured her that they are pretty tough. For a moment she thought it was Patty, who helped her but as soon as she could open her eyes and saw what happened around her, she recognized the little black buck, who held the bunny in his paws, which laid seconds ago on her snout.
"You heard aunt Stella, didn't you Rose?"
The other bunnies, not caught from their relative run giggling out of the room, just Rose couldn't escape.
Stella thought that she saw her little savior yesterday already, if she could remember right he sat besides Nick and sung with him Christmas songs. And if her brain didn't made up any false memories, then he was the only son of Jimmy and Cathy, the only older black bunny in the whole burrow, her guide from yesterday and the one who raised those beautiful multicolored flowers, Patty was literally crazy about.
No one told her by now their story but she assumed a tragic one, because a liter with just one bunny? She didn't know why but having a tragic story in your own past made you more sensibel for others or at least she thought so.
"But . . . but Tommy," Rose wailed at her cousin but it was no use, Tommy dropped her off right besides him and said.
"No Rose, you heard our mum's, we should wake them for breakfast not go back to sleep."
"Meany!" exclaimed little Rose to her cousin, stuck her tongue out, jumped from the bed and run out of the door. A smile appeared on Stella's face as she looked after the bunny girl. And for the first time, she took a better look around. Of course she was still in jeans and her grey shirt, there was no time to change some cloth. Patty was still sleeping besides her and wore still the Christmas dress, one of her thumbs stuck in her mouth and this was one of the rare things, the young red vixen was not so proud about. As Stella found out and wanted to talk with Patty about this, she ignored her for half a day until Patty gave in and explained embarrassed, yeah there were really things that made Patricia Wilde feel embarrassed, that this was an old habit of hers and you know the saying, old habits die hard.
Stella had to assure her her that she would never tell anybody about this and in return told Stella her better half, that she has the habit to clasped to her at night like a pillow. Back then, Patty just starred fooled at Stella and said that this was even cute and in no way childish. In the end could both laugh about this but Stella had also to assure Patty, that those behaviour was in no way a problem for her. And it really wasn't.
All other bunnies, that laid in the night around or on Stella, were long gone and Tommy the last one in the room, besides Patty of course. Careful caressed Stella Patty's cheek and a smile flashed over the face of the still sleeping vixen.
"Good morning sunshine," said Stella in a warm tone to her vixen and slowly, almost in slow motion opened Patty her eyes looking around her but decided for herself, that it was not the time for her to stand up.
"Five more minutes…," mumbled Patty to Stella, snuggled her snout into the pillow in front of her and closed her eyes again. The arctic vixen sighed in return and said, "Fine, but just five, not more. The others are waiting for us."
"Let them wait…," were Patty's last words before a fine snoring could be heard in the room. Stella knew Patty was no morning mammal and needed her time. And for your own sake, you better gave her this time or she got grumpy. And the last thing you want in the morning, was a grumpy Patricia.
Stella got up and stretched her limbs, Tommy watched the show but said nothing until he saw how messed up Stella was from the night and the many bunnies, which laid around her.
"Oh no, your fur is all messy," said Tommy in an apologizing tone, almost as if he was the reason for her messed up fur. Brushing her fur would take too long now and so she decided for the faster and more practical way.
Stella smiled at him and said, "Do you want to see something cool, Tommy?"
Stella was maybe not so good with the most bunnies but she seemed to like Tommy and thought he could be a good beginning to come closer to them. Eagerly nodded the black bunny with a smile and watched her. She shook her whole body several times and puffed on this way her complete fur up, well at least at the places, where her fur wasn't covered with cloth. After this, all of the fur went slowly back to its normal position and remained neat and tidy there. No signs of a hard night on her anymore.
"Taadaa!" said Stella and raised her arms in an entertaining posture.
"Woooh! You never have to brush your fur! That's really cool!"
"See? Told ya. But . . . yeah, I can do this of course from time to time but it's still better to brush my fur."
A murmur came from the bunny bed.
"What is cool? And why are you two soooo loud?"
Woken from the loud noises around her, sat Patty upright in the bunny bed and looked at the two. But still not fully awake, her eyes blinked alternating, almost as if she was drunk or someone hit her hard on the head. Stella smiled at her and said.
"So. . . you are finally ready for breakfast, sunshine?"
Patty yawned with her mouth wide and also stretched her limbs, to bring some life into her body. She looked now directly at the two and both, Stella and Tommy, had to laugh.
"What?"
Confused watched Patty the two, switching with her gaze between them, the sleepiness still in her body. But there was something more, she understood that both laughed about her but she didn't understood why.
But the reason was pretty easy to get, once you saw her from both sides. Her left fur was fluffy and okay like ever but the fur on her right side was flat, like a wheatfield after a strong and windy summer storm.
"Aunt Patty," asked Tommy and walked some steps in her direction, "Can you also show me how you puff up your fur, to be ready?"
"Puff up my...what? Okay Snowflake, what did you showed him?"
Stella sighed but looked still smiling to Patty.
"Okay, darling look," said Stella and started to shook her body again, puffing up her fur and letting it slowly fall back into its place. But this time Stella looked directly into the eyes of her mate, giving her a seducing gaze.
"Woohoo!"
Replied Patty from the bed, her eyes now finally open and ears up. Not even 5 minutes full awaken and her dirty grin was already back in place, around her muzzle.
"Uhh Snowflake, if you wanted to turn me on, then you made everything right. You should keep that in mind for the next time, when we two are alone. I like it…," said Patty almost purring to Stella.
Maybe Stella would have taken that compliment, but right now she remembered very well, that there was still a little boy in the room. And how it was with little kids, their ears were very sharp. And even this time was no exception.
If looks could seal the mouth of other mammals, Patricia Wilde wouldn't speak for the next year, at least according to Stella.
Tommy however tilted his head and asked, only innocence and purity in his voice, with a puzzled face the two vixen.
"What does 'turn me on' mean?"
For a moment stood the perplexed Stella there and didn't know what to do. But then an idea came to Stella's mind, 'Yes, let her explain it. Let's see how she wants to drag her head out of this sling.'
"Yeah, Patty what does that mean? I'm curious as well."
But not even for a second vanished the grin from Patty's face.
"Oh Snowflake, I'm sure you know what it means and if not . . . I will give you later a private lesson and refresh your memories . . . "
The grin on Patty's face widened and Stella could almost hear her thoughts, whispering and seducing her until both ended like so many times before in bed together.
Blood rushed through the cheeks of Stella while she thought about this. Again and not for the last time in her life she thanked for her thick fur and laid her ears close to her head so Patty couldn't see their red inside. Her gaze started now to wander through the room and she needed to get a clear head and staring at Patricia wouldn't help her.
Patty however turned to Tommy and started to explain, she sat still on the bed and let her feet dangle over the edge.
"You know my little black bunny friend, if someone like me, who was veeeery tired and veeeery sleepy, saw something so cool like a puffed up white vixen, well you could say this started my day and turned me on, okay? Or . . . to put it easier . . . Oh yes, that's a good one! Do you know when your grandpa Stew start one of his machineries? Well, then he turns on the engine of one of them, to make them go and start their work, right? Do you understand what I mean Tommy?"
A big open mouth and frenetic nodding explained pretty well if he had understood it.
"See? And now, I think you can already go ahead and tell them that we will come shortly. Would you do that Tommy?"
Smiling placed Patty the request onto the little bunny and waited until he was gone.
Satisfied with this explanation and commissioned with a request, he turned around and run out of the room shouting some last words to the vixen.
"Okay! I will tell them! See ya later!"
A moment of silence passed where both vixen looked after Tommy and how he left the room, until Stella sighed again and turned smiling at Patty.
"Smooth solved darling, but one day I will find the words that make you speechless, Patty."
But the red vixen just kept grinning and held her right paw very lady like up to Stella, to gave her a signal to help her up.
"Oh Snowflake, I don't think that such words even exist in our language, maybe not in any language at all."
"We will see."
Carefully grabbed Stella Patty's paw and lifted her up from the bed. Light-footed as the red vixen was, took she the chance and wrapped her arms around Stella's neck, knowing that her arctic vixen was more than strong enough to hold her. Stella however laid her paws on Patty's hips, she could feel how skinny the vixen was underneath her dress.
Smiling stood the couple alone in the room, their muzzles just inches away from each other. Stella looked down at the smaller Patty and somehow Stella felt that it was time for a real good morning greeting, now where all little bunnies were gone.
"Good morning Miss Wilde," said Stella to the smaller red vixen. And like in an old play responded Patty almost purring to Stella, "And also, a good morning to you Miss Conroy."
Patty was now finally tired of waiting, she wanted her good morning kiss and closed the small gap between their muzzles. Her left feet was bend and pointed up to the ceiling, like in old black and white movies, where the romantic couple met in the park, walked together for a while and shared finally a romantic kiss on a bridge.
Joyful and full of excitement, danced a red and a white tail over the floor of the bunny bedroom. All around stuffed animals and dolls watching them silently but right now not even a hundred bunnies and no matter of which age they were, would bother the two right now.
Stella's paws wandered from Patty's hips, over her back up to her shoulder blades, where she let her paws rest and felt her vixen through the soft velvet of her dress.
"Oh my . . . I bet this will be a great day, after such a wonderful good morning," purred Patty into Stella's ear and ended her sentence by blowing into it. A shiver ran down on Stella's spine, which caused her tail to puff up and a little moan escaped her muzzle.
"I love you…," said Stella half loud and waited for a reply. She knew that Patty wasn't ready yet to respond to her in the same way. But she hoped that one day would come, where Patty would answer her with the words, she wanted to hear from her for so long. An answer, she wanted just from her and nobody else. And she didn't cared if it takes a year, ten or twenty. She would wait on her.
"I know Snowflake . . .," replied Patty and carressed the right cheek of the vixen, the smile on her face looked now somehow sad and a bit apologizing,". . . ,but please give me time."
Stella returned the gesture and carressed now the cheek of the smaller vixen, her smile still kind and warm. Patty leaned into Stella's paw, she enjoyed the touch of her partner and closed her eyes, softly moaning and waiting for Stella to end her little treatment for her, "I'm sorry Snowflake."
"Don't be . . ., take any time you want. You know I will wait for you, no matter how long it will take."
With closed eyes gave Patty her vixen a last deep hug before she parted, "I didn't deserve you, Snowflake. You're way to good for such a crazy fox as myself."
"Don't say that Patty, I think your just the right one for me. I even would say we complement each other, you keep me calm and . . . well . . . at least I try to keep you in check."
Both parted and took a step back but still holding each other by their paws. Patty was back to her old smug grin and Stella was more than happy about this, she hated it to see her sad and she knew, sad was not a state Patricia Wilde could long survive in. Angry, yes. Euphoric, oh yes for sure. Happy, well that was pretty much the standard config in which she ran all day, until her batteries were drained. But sad? No, a calm and sad Patty was nothing she wanted for too long.
"Come on, Snowflake. I think it's time for some breakfast or what do you say? This vixen here needs a tummy full of "
"I'm right behind you."
Stella knew, Patty would take her by her paw and lead her through the Hopps burrow. And this was for the better, because the arctic vixen was still confused about the many tunnels, rooms and halls in here. A maze was a joke against this.
Walking paw in paw, both crossed several times the way of some older bunnies, which greeted them friendly but also started to giggle, as soon they thought the two vixen were out of sight. Stella didn't mind it much and banned any thoughts quite fast from her mind.
Not even 10 minutes and Patty did it. She succeed in maneuvering them to the great Hall. But shortly before they could enter, sounded a familiar voice from behind them.
"Oh you two lovebirds, still clasping to each other?"
It was Jessica who approached them with a grin that would have made both Wilde siblings proud. But the two vixen didn't let go of each other, their paws still clasped tight together. Before Stella even could think of a smart reply, was Patty long shooting back at the cheeky bunny.
"What's up, Jess? Feeling lonely? If yes, then come here, I have still an empty paw for you," said Patty and blinked to Jessica, who just replied with her tongue,which she sticked out of her mouth. Both females grinned at each other, as they stood there.
"What do you mean with still," asked Stella confused.
"Wait? You two don't know it?"
"Jeez, . . . bunny, what are you talking about," asked Patty, slowly irritated from the mysterious behaviour of Jessica. Patty was in no way angered, but she was almost bursting out of curiosity.
"You two didn't looked at your phone today?"
"No?!" – "No?"
The answer came simultaneously from both mammals, a little magic trick that normally just worked between Judy and Nick. Jess raised her index finger to let them both wait for a moment and started to search something in her phone. Out of the blue felt Stella that something wasn't right, maybe nothing bad but still not in the correct order. Patty however, tiptoed from one feet to the other waiting, for Jessica and what she wanted to show.
As Jess held her phone up to the two, the difference in their facial expression couldn't be bigger. On the one hand we had Patty, grinning like the mask of theater who represented the comedy and on the other hand we had Stella, looking in massive disbelief at what she saw and impersonated just too good the second mask of theatre but not in such a tragic way.
Both looked at the picture Amanda had taken this morning and which was actually highly discussed. The two vixen, sleeping in the bed of the bunnies, Stella's left paw clasped to the right one of Patty, holding on to each other, even in the night. And on top of that, at least twenty little bunnies, who slept on top of them, covered by the tails of the vixen or snuggled at their bodies. It was in any way a more than adorable picture.
"Who . . . ," started Stella but didn't came far with her question.
"Amanda wanted to wake her daughters and stumbled upon this delightful picture in front of her. And . . . don't blame her but she couldn't just keep it for herself, so she posted it in the Hopps family group and since then you two sweethearts are the number one topic of the burrow. So . . ., what do you say?"
Stella tried another attempt but was immediately cut off by her vixen, who was more than happy about this picture. And so she decided to smile over this incident because it was cute, wasn't it? So why bothering? It's not like they were naked, no just sleeping with a bunch of bunnies, peacefully in the same bed.
"THIS! IS! GEORGEOUS! I want it Jess, please send it to me! That's my new background! NO! I made a poster from it. YES, that's good . . . NO, printed bed linen . . . That's it!"
"Oh Patty, already done. As soon as I saw it, I knew that you want to have it. And by the way what happened to your cheek fur?"
"Ah this, never mind. I moved a little less last night, like you could see. And you? You look pretty relaxed today, did you had a good night," the ambiguity in Patty's voice together with her wiggling eyebrows couldn't be mistaken and let no room for interpretation. It was clear what she was getting at.
Grinning replied Jessica to the two and both had an idea, what she was talking about. Nick had already told them, that she was more the open minded mammal, with none to almost no restrictions in her preferences of partner. Stella wondered till now even, that she hadn't made her and Patty an 'offer'. Well, she would declined it of course, Stella was way to jealous for something like this.
"Oh I had great night, not much sleep but still a great night. . . Anyhow enough from me, I think I get us beauties something warm to drink. Or what do you think?"
Both vixen nodded in agreement to her but said nothing. Jessica blinked, turned and went through the door into the hall and from there in direction of the kitchen, still writing something on her phone.
"Do you know what she meant and even more important, whom could she mean Snowflake?"
"No . . . Well I'm not sure . . . but I have an idea, who it might be."
"Uhh tell me!"
A new wave of excited came over Patty, best seen on her tail which swung fast from one side to the other.
"I think you will understand it soon by yourself."
Stella didn't answered her directly, Patty was smart, she would get it. Instead opened Stella one of the swinging doors, which lead into the hall and held it open for her. Stella's gaze wandered over the mammals who were already awake and in the middle of their breakfast. Mostly what she expected, chaos in combination with a lot of bunnies. Stella took a quick look at the one of the four clocks, that hung at each of the walls – 8:10 it's still pretty earlier, well for fox standards not bunny standards. Emilia seemed to be long back in the kitchen and directed like a general over twenty bunnies. Right now she gathered her troops and showed them how to cut a lot of, precise and with a huge knife. Bonnie however stood beside her and watched the older vixen, with growing concern in her eyes, as the bunnies started to handle the sharp kitchen tools.
But right at the table were they played cards yesterday, sat a bit lonely the black wolf and ate his time led Stella in front of Patty and dragged her along. Nathan didn't even recognized the two, he just sat there and stared at the wall in front of him, munching his cereals. Both vixen sat themselves opposite of him, on the other side of the table. No reaction.
Stella flipped her fingers loud in front of Nathan's muzzle but still — nothing.
"Is he okay? Maybe I should examine him," Stella heard that it was real concern, that sounded in Patty's voice and decided to tell her a bit about Nathan or at least a bit.
"No . . . He's fine. I know this behaviour from him. He and I talked a lot in the last month because we knew, that the two of us would be partners on the streets, as soon as we finish the academy. You know, we talked to learn about each other's weaknesses and strength. And this is definitely his biggest weakness . . ., If something is bothering him too much he shuts everyone out and his mind goes into a loop. This happened the first time after his first girlfriend left him. And honestly it is a heartbreaking story."
"Okay . . . what happened," asked Patty very careful, as if she knew that she stepped on emotional fragile territory. Stella however exhaled a last time deeply, took a last look at Nathan, who was still deep in thought and started the story of Nathan's first love.
"She was like him a child in the orphanage and both knew each other for a long, long time. If I remember correctly, then they met for the very first time on their first day of school. Well, she was bullied from some bigger predators and our dark knight here, stepped in and got terrible beaten. But since then they were both inseparable and spent every waking moment together. No matter how much time they spend together, they were never sure what they really felt for each other. One year ago, after a rainy day they finally found to each other and well, Nathan always said they did everything together and not just what you think Patty, with your dirty mind."
"Heyyy," Patty looked offended over to Stella,"That's not fair, I'm more of a classy girl than you think, Snowflake!"
Stella smiled soothing over to her vixen and carressed for a short moment her cheek, a little purr came from Patty and Stella knew that she was not mad at her. The arctic vixen continued with Nathan's story.
" . . . Anyhow they were basically like Nick and Judy or well . . . like we two. But there is a rule in this town, as soon as you became 19 in a Zootopia orphanage, you have to leave it because from there on you are an adult and no more a kid. You have to live your own life. Both were not sure what to do, Nathan wanted to stay and become a police officer. He always wanted to build something up in Zootopia, a home, a life and . . . well, a family. He's maybe younger than we are but from all of us, he and Judy are the most mature ones. But back to the story, she wanted to leave the city, travel through the world and find a place just for the two of them. Unfortunately it shouldn't come like supposed, she was two months older than him, which meant she left the orphanage also earlier – but she didn't waited on him. She left the city on her birthday without telling him and she never tried to contact him again."
"What a bitch! What kind of wolf would do something like that and then also to Nathan? I mean, we're talking about Nathan here and not some alcoholic, wife beating asshole..."
Stella face twitched for a short time, she fought with herself, not knowing if she could talk about this. Her eyes wandered for a short moment over to the wolf but his mind was still not here. The topic was also . . . Let's say delicate and she promised him, not to talk with anyone about it.
"Well she . . . wasn't a wolf. . ."
"Uhhh, now it gets really interesting. What was she then? A fox? Or maybe a bigger cat? Or . . . "
Patty shouldn't come up with more suggestions, Nathan cut her off, right in the sentence but at least he escaped his dream like behavior. Better than staring at the wall
"She was a deer and her name is Alice," answered the wolf short and continued now with staring in his bowl, filled with cereals and milk.
"Oh . . . ," was Patty's only reply, not really knowing if she should talk on or if she gone to far.
"Nathan . . . I'm sorry I shouldn't have told Patty about this."
But to Stella's delight appeared a smile around Nathan's muzzle, his gaze was now way more positive than a minute ago. Whatever had troubled him was gone or he tried to ignore it as best as he could. Stella knew he was no good actor to cover a bad mood, so whatever it was, it was gone – at least for now.
"Nah, it's fine. I thought you told her anyway? I mean she is your mate and I didn't mind if Patty knows it. I don't mind if any of our little suicide squad knows," replied Nathan chuckling and Patty pointed with her left paw over to Nathan.
"See? He thinks I should know it! You know what? I want an apology from you Snowflake! For my so-called 'dirty mind' and the reason that I shouldn't know it," and with those words crossed Patty her arms before her chest and waited with her head up high for an reply.
But Patty also started to grin at Stella, like a little school kid, that won an argument against an adult and this was also the exact way Stella felt at the moment. Tricked by a kid. The arctic vixen just sighed about all of this and exclaimed loudly.
"Fine Patty! I'm sorry! I'm deeply sorry for overestimate your dirty mind and not telling you everything about Nathan. From now on I will tell you everything about him and his life, deal?"
"Deal!"
Exclaimed Patty and just then, seemed Nathan to realize what he did, his eyes widen and he tried to contain the damage . . . but it was already too late for that.
"What? No! That's not what I meant . . . ahhh dammit. Anyhow you can forget the story, I'm over her."
"Over whom?"
Asked the new arrived Judy and Nick, both with a smile on the lips and sat themselves right besides Nathan. For a moment tried Nathan to interpret the gazes from the fox and the bunny, but this was a task not so easy to accomplish. Judy for example shone all over her face, who knew why and Nick hid his face behind a very long fox shaped scarf, his muzzle almost not visible.
"Ehmm . . . we talked about Alice, you know my girlfriend . . . I told you about her."
"Ah . . . she! We thought you would talk about . . . mhm . . . someone else," said Judy trying not to grin too much and took a bowl from the stack which stood in front of her and started to fill it with cereals and milk. Nick however stood up and excused himself, his morning dose of tea waited for him in the kitchen and with some luck, had his mum already boiled some leaves for him.
For a moment fell silence, over the mammals on this table in the big hall of the Hopps burrow. Around them dozen of bunnies trying to eat, play and planning already their day. Stella and Patty joined the example of Nathan and Judy but instead of cereals tried they the fresh baked bread from Bonnie Hopps with some homemade marmalade, Judy had always praised the bread of her mum and said that it was no comparison to the bread you got in the city. And she was right. For Stella it was a complete different taste, she thought about it and tried to find the reason for the great flavour. Maybe the countryside? Or maybe the fresh air out here but she had abandoned both ideas rather quickly. Her mum also had baked bread back in their home but she couldn't remember that it ever tasted as good as this. And one thing was sure, countryside and fresh air were two things, they had more than enough in Fairbanks.
After ten minutes returned Nick with a cup of tea in his paw, a grin on his face and Jessica walking besides him with a big can of coffee. Shortly behind them followed Elliot, the beaver had like always an IT related piece of cloth on, this time it was a thick sweater in black with a bright yellow font on his chest that said, 'I tried making things idiot-proof but they keep making better idiots.'
Nick placed himself again besides Judy. Playing the great hostess, Jessica first gave everyone, who wanted it a cup of coffee and placed then the can in front of Judy and sat herself besides Nathan, who took a quick look at her. Jessica returned the favor and smiled up to him. Judy however looked at the big can and then at her fox.
"Couldn't you take the can for my sister, Nick? It's kinda big . . . "
Most of the bunnies around them were gone and the little odd group remained almost alone in the big hall, apart from two juvenile bunnies, which were sentenced by Emilia, to clean the tables for the big festive dinner today.
"Oh I would have taken it but I think Jess proofed last night, that she can handle big black things quite good."
The reaction on this statement were very mixed on the table, Judy tried to hold in the sip of coffee she took seconds ago, Elliot broke into laughter, Nick grinned on as if nothing happened, Stella chuckled a little bit but also tried to keep it together. Nathan however looked with a scolding glance over to Jessica, she whoever just shrugged her arms and smiled soothingly back to him. The only one who didn't know what was going on was Patty. With a bored gaze she asked to all in the group.
"Okay, what did I miss?"
Stella leaned to her and started to whisper the needed information in to her ear. Widened eyes, followed by a dirty green appeared one after the other on Patty's face. That were news she liked to hear in morning.
"Nathan! You little devilish seducer! Something like that, I thought maybe of Nick but not from you. Congratulations Casanova."
The so-called Casanova had his face deep into his right paw, which leaned on the table. After Patty ended, turned Nathan to Jessica, who sat right besides him. He sounded tired and also disappointed from the revelations.
"Jess we had a deal and there was just one rule! No talking about this one-time thing."
Offended by his words, turned the doe defensive to him. Her purple eyes sparkled up to him.
"I didn't talked! If you want to know who the blabbermouth is, then you should ask El over there! He saw me, how I left your room. I kept my word, unlike you! We said no kisses and you gave me a smooch on my head!"
Switching in seconds from her offended face to her smug grin, she added in a very seducing voice.
"Also . . . for a one-time thing, are three times in a row pretty often Mr Graham."
The discussion between both went on, they didn't even recognized that Nick left together with Jimmy and Tommy the table for a while, both had also just finished breakfast with Cathy and discussed now something with the fox. But he returned quite fast, even before the argument was settled. And to everyone's surprise, ended Patty the discussion with a simple question.
"And? Are you two a couple now?"
Both went instantly silent and looked first with big eyes at Patty and then at each other.
Jess finally ended the silence and exclaimed for herself.
"We? A couple? No, no, no. This puppy here is a little bit to young for me."
"Puppy? Thank you Miss Hopps. I will keep that in mind."
Both looked with with anger in their eyes at each other.
"Oh please, get a room you two . . . maybe this time the one from Jess?" said Nick and all eyes went slowly to him and even Jess and Nathan chuckled about his little joke.
"Okay, now that I have your attention, Carrots any suggestions for the day?"
"Not really, but you sound like you have one?"
Nick started again to grin and laid out his plans for us. He looked quite funny with his way to big scarf and the sweater, like someone who almost freezes to death.
"Well, I promised Tommy and Jimmy yesterday, that I would join them ice skating and I bet my dearest bunny will follow me onto the ice?"
"Your bunny would follow you everywhere Mr Wilde, so count me in," replied Judy enthusiastic and with fast wagging tail.
"Splendid! What is with the others, El maybe?"
At first looked the beaver at Nick, confused and didn't know what to say, then he started heartly to laugh. Everyone started to look around with a questioning gaze but even Nick didn't understood what was going on.
"Is that a yes?"
"Ohh, you were serious about the question? Okay, let me respond with another question Nick. Why on earth have even my stupid ancestors build this dams and underground tunnels, which they lived in? I bet not to leave it in the middle of winter and go ice skating. So, no I have servers to hack, scripts to write and mails to check, maybe tomorrow. . . And by the way, there is a little fireplace waiting for me . . . I also think, we fall in love with each other, you know? Oh and her name is Rebecca by the way," explained El with a smile and blinked with his left eye into the crowd, a small wave of chuckling went through the little group.
Nick sighed and shrugged, "Fine, a simple no, had also did it but okay . . . so Loverine and Judy number two, what's with you? You can say it, if you two sweethearts have other plans…maybe together?"
Tired and definitely not in the mood for jokes, looked Nathan down to Nick, who was at least two heads smaller than him. But there was no fear in Nick's eyes, just the will for more teasing.
"You will not let go of this so easily, right?"
"Oh Nathan, you should know me better by now…,"replied Nick and looked around to the ones who had said by now nothing about their day, "Come on guys, the more the merrier!"
Nathan exhaled deeply and said, "Okay, count me in, I think some fresh air will be good for me..."
"...And I will join you as well, it's a while since Judy and I were ice skating on the lake together, or Juju?"
Nathan didn't overwhelmed with joy but he would survive it.
"Yeah . . . it's been at least four years. Gosh, I was so absorbed from the police officer training on the last Christmas holidays."
"Hah, you can't imagine Nick! Jimmy and I had to carry her out of her room, so that she joined the dinner with us. And still, she was grumpy as hell, or sis?"
"Maybe…," said Judy in a low voice and looked embarrassed in her bowl, ordering with her spoon the last pieces of cereal in a way only she seemed to know.
Nick turned to the last couple on the table and both already waited for his attention. They looked interested at him, Stella drinking her last sips of black coffee and Patty took her time drinking her milk with way too much honey in it.
"And you two?"
Patty grinned like always at her brother and said calmly, "Listen brother, I give you my vixen, for the time at the lake but I want her back and of course in the same condition she is now in. No scratches, no bruises and for almost no unhappy face, are we clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," replied Nick to his sister and made a little salute.
"What?. . . wait, I thought we could spend some time together," asked Stella with hanging ears and a sad face. But her red counterpart didn't seemed to accept this reaction from her. She touched her right cheek careful with her paw and stroked several times over it.
"Don't worry Snowflake, we will. But now I want to tune the piano, as long as everyone is gone and it is calm. I have somehow the urge to play, you understand that, don't you?"
With the end of the sentence drew Patty her paw back but gave Stella a little nudge with her index finger on the black nose of the arctic vixen. Stella smiled about the treatment and accepted slowly the delayed time with the one she loved like crazy.
Nick looked at his phone and exclaimed loudly, "Okay boys and girls! I have the feeling this will be an eventful day, It's now almost 9 am and I think we met up in front of the burrow by around 10, alrighty?"
After this last information dissolved the group slowly and stood up, spreading over the huge burrow, into their rooms and preparing for the upcoming ice skating. Stella and Patty followed at last and needed on the way to their room multiple times the help of various bunnies.
To their big surprise had the bunnies, written their names on the door. Stella's name in white and Patty's in a bright red. Excited stood Patty in front of the door and waited for Stella to open it. In the half dark of the hallway seemed the Names almost to glow here in the dark.
"Come on, come on. I want to see it!"
But Stella who was still a bit moody about Patty, didn't understand the excitement of the vixen.
"What's wrong Patty...I mean, it's just a door with a room behind it?"
Patty's mouth dropped, as if she couldn't believe what she heard from her Snowflake. Or as if she missed something very important here, something from emotional value. Calm but with a warm smile, took Patty Stella's right paw into her smaller left one and asked her.
"Can't you see it?
Stella saw it but couldn't understand. She couldn't understand that something so normal, yes even trivial, has a higher value for Patricia.
Confused looked Stella another time at the door and then at her mate, who looked up at her with wide eyes, that almost seemed to shine. But Stella still didn't understood and she felt how a deep sadness was rising in her chest. And this feeling in her was something she understood. She disappointed Patty, for not understanding good or fast enough and for this, she wanted to turn away. But again Patty don't let her and Stella thought for a moment, 'For such a small vixen that ate the whole day just sweets, was she pretty strong.'
"Patty, why. . . ?"
Patty spoke to Stella in a calm and teasing way but didn't let go of her hand.
"Dumb arctic vixen, are all of you so stubborn? I told you, I don't let you go anymore and I mean it," said Patty in the half dark of the corridor, happy screams of little bunnies echoing through it but both couldn't care less about this now.
Never before had Stella saw a warmer and happier smile on Patty's face, as she raised her left paw, in which she still held Stella's paw. With little effort let the red vixen stroke Stella's paws over the names written on the door and began to speak with a calm and emotional voice.
"I know it's nothing big Stella but seeing this door, this very first door with our two names on it, made me feel . . . I don't know . . . incredible happy. Because they see us as one and not just as the two vixen, who have something for each other. They accept us."
A small pause followed, during which she let go of my paw and crossed her arms behind her back. Smiling she continued.
"You know, they also have written Nick's name beside Judy's, on her door."
Stella felt how her smile returned and Patty was right, to see their names beside each other really made her happy. Why couldn't she see it sooner? Why was she always so goddamn pessimistic? After a while looking at the door, she could hear Nick's voice echoing through her head, 'Old habits die hard, trust me.'
"How do you know that about Judy's door?"
"Oh, we walked past it on our way here. Did you know that her second name is Laverne?"
Chuckling replied Stella, "What? Really? Oh gosh, I bet she don't want that we know that. . .say Patty, do we want to go in?"
"Mmhm . . .yes . . . but you will carry me over the threshold. You know bridal style and without bumping my head, do you hear me?"
"What," asked Stella confused but Patty didn't give her time to rethink it with her right paw she opened the door and swung it open. Behind it appeared a little room, cozy and neatly furnished. Some meters behind the door was a small table for two, with a round window behind it, giving a view over the garden. On the left of the room was a bed, big enough for both vixen with their luggage at the end of it. A closet, a small bath and a bookshelf with some older pieces of literature.
"Make yourself ready, Snowflake," said Patty and looked up to her vixen but this time with her typical grin. Stella didn't understood fast enough but reacted how Patty had planned it.
Patty turned over to Stella, wrapped her arms around Stella's neck and jumped into her arms. Stella saw the skirt of her dress flying through the air and could react just in time, to let the red vixen land in her arms and not on the wooden ground of the burrow.
Both faces were now just inches away from each other and Patty started to recite a line from an old poem, she had to learn in school.
"And if you're not willing, my force I'll employ,"
Stella laughed loudly about Patty's sense of humor and exclaimed jokingly, "Fine, I'll carry you over the threshold . . . tse and we're not even married mammals."
Patty snuggled her snout into Stella's warm white fur on her neck, her snout directly at her ear. With a grin she whispered to Stella.
"Not yet."
The words echoing through Stella's head, sending a shiver down her spine and causing the fur on her tail to stood up. Smiling and very careful she carried Patty over the threshold of the small room but not without forgetting to close the door behind her.