November 28th, Thursday – Hopps Residence, Bunnyburrow
"This is definitely not somewhere I thought I'd end up again so soon," Nick said, as they stepped off the Zootopia Express onto the station's platform. Dozens of bunnies and other prey wandered off the train, while others boarded, though most gave Nick odd glances in passing, a clear reminder that predators were rare in the burrow on the best of days, but since Podunk they were viewed with even more distrust. "Thanks for getting Stu to forgive me. I half-expected him to be waiting here with a shotgun when he found out we were back together."
Judy smiled in an attempt to reassure Nick, but with none of her family having shown themselves on the platform yet, she was not confident that he was wrong. Her smile must have looked like a lie, as Nick stared at her with an annoyed glare.
"He's going to shoot me, isn't he?" he asked, with one of his irritating tongue clicks. Some canines licked their muzzles when nervous or angry, but he always clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. After spending a couple weeks with his mother, the habit seemed to be hereditary. "Should I be wearing my bulletproof vest, Judy? Should I get back on the train?"
"No, no, of course…um…probably not?" Judy offered, but Nick clearly did not believe her. "He promised me he would behave when I talked to him last weekend. Mom's coming with him to make sure. Besides, he really seems to have an obsession with the fox taser, not shotguns. Much safer. Non-fatal."
Behind them, Marian finally spoke up as her cane came down on the platform. "If he shoots at Nicky, this may be among the worst holidays I've attended. Not the worst. Finnick got shot at almost every year, usually by ex-girlfriends. Got good at stitching graze wounds."
"Not helping, mom," Nick told her.
"Not even a little," Finnick muttered, as he followed Marian, carrying both his own bag and hers. "Someone wanna tell me why I'm here? This ain't even on my list of places I ever wanted to visit. Judy's the first bunny who ever was willing to talk to me. Burrow full of 'em kinda creeps me out. Hundreds of little bunnies underpaw…"
Judy reached back and grabbed Finnick, pulling him to the front of the group so he could not escape back onto the train. "You're part of Nick's family. The whole family was invited. Like it or not, you're going to be social. Also, we're bigger than you, so stop calling us 'little'. My cousin Marty could probably step on you."
"Aw, this ain't even a little bit fair," Finnick grumbled, tugging at his shirt sleeve to get away from Judy, though she held tight. He dropped the suitcases and swatted at Judy's paw ineffectually. "Skye didn't hafta come, so why do I? She's as much family as me."
"We've been over that more than enough times on the train," Marian replied firmly. "She wanted to spend some time with her friend Harry for the bunny holiday, now that he's fully recovered. They were not amused by your unannounced visit to the house last week to root around for alcohol in the fridge, while they were unpacking her things in her new room, or whatever they were doing."
"So the vixen's gettin' some action, and I get punished for it?" demanded Finnick, throwing his paws in the air in frustration. "How's that right?"
"It's right because no one but you seems to like having others walk in on them when they're getting action," Nick added, without looking back. Even with his dark sunglasses, Judy could tell he was watching for Stu to sneak up on him.
"You ain't entirely wrong, Nicky."
"And," Nick continued, lifting his glasses to glare at Finnick, "we're giving them time to see if they click or not. They aren't even sure if they're friends or friends yet. You didn't take the hint last time I told you to leave them alone."
"They're friends, not lovers, you two," Judy reminded them, but they ignored her completely. "Not every couple needs to be anything more than friends. Please stop shipping them."
"So what you're saying," Finnick asked slowly, cocking his head and nearly smacking Judy with his huge ears, "is they're gonna be foolin' around on the couch or that crazy-big kitchen table."
"Ew!" Judy exclaimed, barely able to keep herself from slapping Finnick. "What is wrong with you?"
"Oh, where to begin?" Marian said under her breath. "You think this is bad, you should have met him as a pre-teen. Having the sex talk with him was far more educational for me than for him."
Judy opened her mouth to begin a lengthy speech about appropriateness aimed at Finnick, but before she could start, a bunny in a bright yellow courier's uniform came running up to them. He looked first to Judy, then reluctantly at the three foxes.
"Is one of you Marian Wilde?" the courier asked, studying Marian warily, with his ears half-raised.
"That would be me," Marian replied, placing her free paw atop her other on her cane.
"One package for delivery," he told her, holding up a shipping tube that was not overly large, even for a bunny. "No signature required."
Marian gave Judy a confused glance, then took the cardboard tube from the bunny. "Thank you. Who sent it?"
"No idea," the bunny replied, scribbling something on a clipboard. "Shipper is listed as 'Admirer'."
Marian laughed and shook her head. "Well I know I have none of those, especially here. You certain it's for Marian Wilde?"
"Most bunnies these days can read," the courier replied, putting away the clipboard. He then looked between Nick and Marian. "I'm sorry. Not to say foxes can't…"
"Get moving, fuzzball," Nick warned. "That cane's more for smacking than it is for her balance these days."
The bunny backed away, then ran, leaving the platform in a hurry.
They all watched Marian, until she cleared her throat and looked a bit self-conscious. "Fine. I'll open it, but only because you all insisted."
Handing her cane to Finnick, Marian popped the seal on the top of the package. She peeked inside, then tilted the tube and let a single dark red rose slide out into her paw, with the cut end fitted with a small plastic container of water.
"That really does seem like something an admirer might send," Judy offered, smiling happily as she bounced on her toes. Despite having no idea where it came from, she was always excited for others who had the attention of a special someone. "I'm assuming foxes like flowers almost as much as we do? Maybe a little less because they aren't also snacks, but it's still pretty."
"Yes, it really is," Marian said softly, turning the flower in her paw. After a moment, she shivered and threw it under the wheels of the train. The package, she tossed into a nearby trash bin. "Let's forget that happened."
Judy felt her ears and tail fall, and when she looked at Nick and Finnick, they both were staring at Marian with mouths ajar and tails down.
"I'm too old for that nonsense," Marian assured them, without meeting anyone's eyes. She limped slowly toward the station without her cane. "Now, where is our ride? Does anyone have any interesting news they want to share? Anything? Anything at all that doesn't have to do with flowers?"
Nick finally blinked and turned to watch Judy, and she silently managed to ask him what was going on, but his reply was little more than a helpless arm-flailing shrug and vague gesture toward Marian. There was no sense in arguing while Marian wandered off, so Judy gave Nick a worried stare, hoping he understood she was concerned whenever Marian hid things from them, then she followed his mother toward the station.
"You know you're not supposed to walk without your cane yet," Judy reminded Marian, taking her paw to help her maintain balance. "Healing, yes, but you're not fully recovered."
"I know, honey," Marian admitted, still walking. "I'm just a bit rattled by that delivery, and it feels good to use my own two legs without the sensation that I'm about to keel over."
"The medicine's working already?"
Marian smiled and kept them moving toward the doors of the train station's only building. "Remarkably well. I never will understand how Nicky got someone to develop a cure for something only I had, but I'm grateful, even if I don't want it to go to his head. I feel stronger than I have in the last few years. I have to go back for transfusions and checkups three more times, but after that, I should be as good as I'll get. They said it won't completely heal me, but even if I stop recovering right now, I almost feel my true age again. No jokes about me being old, or we'll have an argument, Judy."
"I wouldn't dream of it, mom. Besides, you're not that old."
"That's why you're a better animal than my boys. You're kind and respectful, even when others are watching. They have reputations they think they need to maintain, so they act out."
Before Judy could come up with some way to paint at least Nick in a slightly better light, she saw her father pull up their truck in the nearby lot. "Looks like our ride is here. Should I go back for the luggage?"
"No, the boys can handle that," Marian assured her, patting her paw. "I needed to talk with your father, anyway, and I want you there."
"You…what? Why?" Judy asked, suddenly nervous. Remembering what she had mistakenly told Marian in the hospital, Judy felt as though she might need to panic and run soon.
"Nothing that will get you in trouble, dear."
While that did nothing to reassure Judy, Stu was almost to them, so she decided to let it drop. He rushed over to them, holding his hat on, until he got to Judy and pulled her into a smothering hug.
"Oh, Jude, it's so good to see you again," he said into her neck fur.
"I saw you a week ago, dad," she reminded him, though she clutched him right back, thankful for family, even when they were being weird. It was also nice to finally be getting comfortable with physical contact again, without her heart racing. Each new mammal who touched her had been a struggle for several weeks. "Don't tell me you forgot about helping us move this soon."
"Heavens no, Jude." Stu finally released her and looked her up and down. "Still kind of worried you're going to disappear again on us. That and you aren't eating enough."
"Not going anywhere anytime soon," she assured him, smiling happily.
"Funny you should bring that up," Marian cut in, pausing briefly as Stu shook her paw. "When Judy was away, there was some mention of blaming Nick for her disappearance?"
Stu shook his head, then shrugged, and finally nodded. "Well, yeah. I was scared and angry, and he was with her when she vanished, so it's only natural…"
Marian bent over so she was almost level with Stu's face. "Stu, I have nothing but respect for you and your family, but do not threaten my son. He loves your daughter something fierce. Blaming him was dismissive of his feelings for her. Do you think he felt any less pain than you did? How would you feel if I blamed you for something happening to Bonnie?"
Stu swallowed hard and shrunk back. "Sorry, ma'am. No, it wasn't fair. I know he means well, but it's one thing to love someone, and something very different for them to be family. I overreacted and I'm sorry… Wait, don't tell me. I shouldn't be apologizing to you. I'll talk with him. That I promise."
At the mention of love versus family, Marian glanced at Judy from the corner of her eyes, but said nothing. The brief moment made Judy more self-conscious than anything she could have said, and Judy wondered if maybe it had been a mistake to say something to Marian about her long-term plans. There was a lasting fear Marian might speak up long before Judy was ready. With this particular weekend, it was a very real risk, with the families together.
"Whatever you do decide," Marian told Stu, touching his shoulder gently in a clear statement that all was forgiven, "don't let him know I said anything. This needs to come from you, not me."
"Of course, of course," Stu assured her, grinning nervously. "We've got four days. I'll find a time to pull him aside."
"Before the big feast," Judy added, getting an odd look from them both. "It's only fair that he can get that off his back before we all sit down together. He'll have enough to deal with when my sisters start grilling him with questions."
"True, that's very true," Stu said, nodding vigorously. "Looks like they're almost ready. We should get going."
Judy looked back and saw that Nick and Finnick were struggling their way over, pulling their own baggage, as well as hers and Marian's. Despite the difficulties they were having, Nick gave her the most heartfelt smile, and she knew this was going to be a good holiday. Hurrying back, she helped him drag the bags out to the truck and load them.
Judy woke in her childhood bed the next morning, immediately aware of where she was by the scents that felt like something lost to her so long ago. The flower-patterned sheets and bright violet comforter were distinctly aspects of her old home, replaced in recent years by a larger bed and different styles of sheets. Still, it was cathartic to wake in her parents' home, as a pleasant return to something she was moving away from in life. There was so much that had changed, yet this was still a huge part of her who she was, and always would be. Now, it was even more soothing after the time she had spent in Ursian lands, giving her a fresh hold to what she had grown up with.
Gentle nibbling on her ears made Judy smile even more broadly. Though it had been reluctant, her father had been the one to admit they did not intend to push the issue of Nick sleeping elsewhere, or even on a floor mattress. The bed was far too small for them, but in the damp chill of the burrow, having a fox all but wrapped around oneself was remarkably comforting.
"If you drool on my head, we're going to have words, Nick," she teased, without doing anything to stop him from his morning ritual.
"That was one time, Fluff," he replied testily. "I was still asleep when it happened, and I swear I inhaled your ear mid-snore, rather than drooling on you. You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"Nope. Never. You taught me well."
Nick huffed and went back to nipping at the tips of her ears, and one of his paws slid down and stroked her hip and upper leg. After a few seemingly-aimless wanderings of his paw, his thumb claw hooked the top of her boxer shorts, and teased at moving them down.
"Whatcha doing there, Slick?"
"Still asleep. Can't talk now."
"Worst excuse ever. We should get up, not whatever you're thinking."
"One of us already is up. Hard not to be with the two of us crowded into this bed."
"If you start that, we're never making it out of this room, and we have plenty to do today."
Nick stopped what he was doing and leaned over her, so he could look her in the corner of the eye. "We're on vacation. What do you mean 'plenty to do'? I only heard that we're eating a lot and sleeping in. I agreed to this when it sounded like a lazy weekend."
"You heard what you wanted to hear, as usual. Today," she began, rolling onto her back so she could see him more easily, "your mother and my parents are going to spend the day together, while Finnick is mauled by my younger siblings, who see him as a glorified stuffed animal. Tonight's the big public festival, which we're all going to, where there will be way too much alcohol, but I want to see if we can escape the actual festivities, because they're…not why we're here in town. Tomorrow afternoon is the family dinner—"
Nick smiled and nodded as she spoke, but one claw was definitely sliding her shorts down. Swatting his paw away, she continued without pausing.
"—and after that, social food coma and light drinking. Sunday's for recovery and the ride home later in the evening. Like I said, lots to do."
"Do all bunny festivals involve alcohol? So far, they seem like they do, Carrots."
"No, not all," she answered, a little more timidly than she meant to. Somehow, she had not quite managed to tell him that two festivals each year were far more focused on getting younger single bunnies hooked up than the rest, and the alcohol was more for lowering inhibitions than anything else. If he had known this was one such festival, she doubted he would have agreed to come along. Still, this was the most family-oriented festival of the year, and the first such after her return to the city. Avoiding the public festivities was going to be important, if she was going to keep him from learning more than he wanted about this festival. "Farm bunnies take partying very seriously, and that means a few drinks. You can stay sober if you want."
"Hey, hey, let's not be drastic here," he told her, putting on a look of mock-horror. "I'm just trying to fit in. These bunny traditions might be too confusing for me."
When Nick's paws drifted low again, Judy grabbed one and thumped it to his chest to get the point across. "You're starting to make me think you're as single-minded as some bucks I've known. Let's get something straight here. I'm putting my paw down and saying we're not going to do that before the dinner tomorrow. I enjoy it as much as you do—maybe more—but is that really the only thing you think about with me? I wonder sometimes."
The mock-horror on Nick's face faded rapidly into a true worry and confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Your reputation is for being clever. Ours is for…extra-curricular activities. If all we have is sex, I have to wonder if it's because you're with a bunny. I need to know there's more to us than that. Looking for some reassurance here."
Nick's eyes went distant for a moment, which Judy recognized as different from when he was making up a story. This time, he was being introspective, searching out both what had caused the discussion and how he truly felt. When he blinked and returned to the moment, he lay down on his back, with his head resting on her shoulder.
"Ok, you might not believe all of this, but hear me out," he told her.
"I'm listening."
"Do I like having sex with you? Yes, absolutely, that's not in doubt," he said, sounding very much to Judy as though he was still reasoning his way through his thoughts, or preparing a presentation. "Never been happier in my life in that department, without exaggeration. This is probably going to sound sappy, but it isn't really about sex itself. It's about being with you, being near you, and sharing a moment. Don't think less of me for this, but I'm this happy watching a movie, rubbing your paws, or even arguing with you. Sex is an easy way to show that, when you're an insecure fox with no talent for admitting to how he feels. Consider it my clumsy way of saying that I can't find the right words to tell you how much I love you. If you want to replace sex with cuddling or spontaneous hugs every so often, I'm fine with it."
Judy could not help but squeak with joy at the kindness in what Nick was rambling through. Somehow, he had managed to put into words the way she felt, no matter how many hours she had spent trying to reason it out. Had he been trying to seduce her, he pretty much nailed the perfect things to say. On some level, she wished he had managed to be so introspective months prior.
"Thanks," Judy told him, kissing the top of his head. "That's what I needed to hear."
"Thanks?" he demanded, rolling back over so he was on his paws and knees, looking down at her. "That's it? I spill my heartfelt feelings and I get 'Thanks'?"
Judy sat up slightly, so she could plant a big kiss on his muzzle, just above the nose. "Yup. You helped me decide something. You've been a huge help."
"You, my dear bunny, are a brat," Nick replied, glaring at her. "Guessing you aren't going to tell me, either."
"You know you love me," she answered, putting her paws behind her head to stare up at him, gloating.
"Yes, yes I do. Be thankful for that. Who else would put up with this nonsense?"
Judy giggled and slid to the edge of the bed and sat up. An idea dawned on her as she paused there, and she raised her ears as she turned to look over at Nick. "Hey, Nick? You remember you were telling me about that whole idea of a 'walk of shame' some mammals do after a night they're not overly proud of in the city?"
"Yup. Tail between the legs, slinking home, wondering why you agreed to something. Not that I've done that. Don't believe Finnick if he tells you otherwise, or offers pictures."
"We bunnies have a slightly different tradition," she said, getting up. Going to her dresser, she grabbed the towels set out for herself and Nick. "A bunny who brought someone home who is seen alone in the morning is more or less doing your walk of shame, because it implies their partner didn't want to stick around. They get asked a lot of questions—like I did the last time you visited. I'd like to go take a shower. Will you join me?"
Nick did a double-take, staring at her like he expected the offer to be a joke. "You're not serious. Your parents would kill me if I'm in the wrong showers and anyone sees."
"That's not really how it works here," she explained, tossing his towel to him. "There are smaller semi-private showers for those who don't want to see any of that, or are young, or not with someone, or whatnot. I used to always use those ones as a kit, and it's what we used last time. Someone bringing their partner into the two-mammal shower rooms—regardless of gender—isn't really a bad thing in the burrows. It's sort of like claiming them, licking them, or whatever. The assignment of the bathrooms by gender is mostly ignored, anyway. C'mon…you scared?"
For a moment, she actually thought Nick might refuse. Finally, he smiled and got up, sliding the towel over his shoulders. A dare was rarely something he could refuse, which she had been counting on.
"Okay, what am I getting myself into?" he asked. "We sneak off to the showers together, get cleaned up as usual? Kind of a sneaky rite of passage thing?"
"Not…exactly," she told him more nervously. Somehow, this was almost more difficult than telling him she loved him the first time. "The goal is to be seen going there. Showing off, and showing you don't care who knows. It's pretty much the opposite of how we act in the city, and very much the opposite of my nature."
"We prance down the hall—see, I do know what prancing is—and go take a shower. I miss anything?"
"Just follow my lead, okay? It'll be fine."
"Who are we convincing? You or me, Fluff?"
Judy was not actually sure, herself. Rather than try to answer and let Nick know how uncertain she was, she put her towel over her shoulders and took his paw. "C'mon. Let's start the day the way my family would want us to—well, they would if you were a bunny. They might not all accept things as they are."
Leading Nick out the door and into the hall, Judy did not have long to wait for things to get awkward. They had only made it four rooms from hers before the first of her relatives came up the hall toward them. Arlene had a young—and very tired-looking—buck in tow, and both looked to have been freshly showered. At their approach, Arlene's eyes went wide and she looked very nearly ready to come bounding down the hall to congratulate Judy, all but confirming what Judy had long believed: Her siblings did not believe she was as close with Nick as their parents implied.
"Judy, good morning!" Arlene said, the excitement bubbling over as she reached them. "Did dad let you two stay together? That's so progressive of him."
"Yes, dad's growing up and realizing things can be a lot more complicated than how they were when he was our age. Now, we're going to try and get ready…"
Arlene smiled up at Nick, then patted Judy's shoulder. "You two are so cute together! Oh, and all the small showers are full. You'll need to use the communal ones. Have fun!"
Judy's skin went cold, and Nick must have noticed, as he slunk a little closer and put a paw on her shoulder.
"You sure you're doing all right?" he asked, genuinely sounding worried. "You don't have to show me off. Really."
"Yeah, of course I'm fine," she answered, forcing herself to perk up and lead him onward. "I want to do this, so I'm having to overcome some personal limitations. Remember how I had problems with public nudity at the Oasis?"
"I do."
"Let's just say that I'm going to be struggling with this," she replied, as they reached the bathroom door. "Remember. It's all perfectly natural in a bunny burrow. Nothing to freak out about."
"Pretty sure you're talking to yourself again."
Judy shrugged and forced herself to march into the bathroom. Instead of turning right and heading into the smaller showers for the shyer members of the family—like herself—she led the way into the main shower room, with Nick following a few steps behind. To her dismay, the room was filled with more than twenty of her sisters, along with their partners. For the briefest of moments, she had a possessive worry about Nick looking at her sisters in the shower, but that faded away when she realized Nick was all but catatonic, glancing around frantically for escape as though the bunnies were going to attack him.
No longer the most nervous mammal in the shower room, Judy found herself finally able to relax and recognize that no one really cared, beyond the mild surprise at seeing a fox walk in. A few whispers happened as family explained who Nick was, but within seconds, the bunnies had all gone back to showering, or helping their partners get clean.
"I… I don't think I can do this," Nick told her, backing slightly into the hallway with his towel held up over his midsection, despite still wearing his boxer shorts.
"I thought you never let anything get to you?" Judy asked him, managing a coy smirk. "C'mon! They're family. It's fine. No one cares if you're in here."
To try to emphasize her point, Judy pulled off her shirt and boxers, tossing them onto a bench near the entrance with a flourish. What she had not counted on was several of her sisters noticing the scar on her stomach and staring at it. Likely, the missing fur near the bullet wound on her side and thin scars on her arms and back did not help, either, though those were nearly filled back in. The urge to hide behind Nick was strong, but she reached back and took his paw to draw him into the showers, hoping he would follow her lead. To her surprise, he had planted his hind paws, and was not moving.
Turning to fully face Nick, Judy held his paw with both of hers, applying light pressure to move him forward. "Say the word and we go. I'm not going to force you to do anything."
Nick's panicked stare darted to one of Judy's cousins and her boyfriend, who walked past, naked. He winced and shut his eyes briefly, before reopening them to stare at Judy. "I think I can do this. Give me a second. I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you."
"Take your time," she assured him. The more she concentrated on his fears, the less her own seemed to weigh her down. The mere fact that her scars were more startling to her family than having a fox in the shower was a huge relief.
Nick finally calmed down and began undressing, clearly trying to avoid looking around. Judy waited patiently, barely noticing the other bunnies coming and going from the shower…until a small tan mammal wandered past.
"Hey Nicky. Hey Judy," Finnick said jovially, as he walked by them, entirely naked. With him were two of Judy's cousins. In passing, Finnick looked down at Judy's stomach, and added, "Wicked scar. Can't wait to hear all about it. Didn't know that white stripe went all the way down. Missed that the one time you were showing off."
"That did not just happen," Nick said to no one in particular, still holding his boxers in one paw, as he stared at the floor near Judy's hind paws. "Tell me my brother did not walk in here as naked as a kit, with two of your relatives on his arms, admiring your patterning."
Judy clenched her jaw and grinned half-heartedly. She did not want to admit how unhappy she was that Finnick was in the same shower she was, or that he had the time on his paws to evaluate how she looked naked. "I probably shouldn't lie…"
Slowly, she managed to coax Nick into the stream of one of the available showers, where he quickly calmed down and paid more attention to helping her lather her fur than the other bunnies. It took some time to get him to fully relax and accept the idea of communal showering—and that it had nothing whatsoever to do with sex—but almost immediately after he had started to relax as he soaped up her back fur, Nick abruptly froze.
"Nick?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Those aren't your paws on my back," he replied, eyes wide as he stood rigidly in the spray of water.
Leaning, Judy saw that Jackie was on Nick's far side, holding a bottle of furpoo, and was almost pressed against Nick's back, straddling his tail. Glaring at her sister, Judy snapped, "Sweet cheese and crackers, what do you think you're doing, Jackie?"
Jackie grinned and held up the bottle. "Helping? The little fox said they were into sharing, so I was thinking maybe—"
"Nope!" Judy snapped, scrambling past Nick and stepping solidly between Jackie and him. The cackling from Finnick across the shower room let her know he had set this up on purpose, much like Nick's unwillingness to even breathe told her how he felt about it. "Paws off! First rule of the burrow is always to knock first…asking first goes for asking before groping, too. Can't you see this is all a little new for him? You're not helping! Even if he was used to this, why would you think that's okay?"
Jackie smiled, and one paw slid out of sight—likely onto Nick's lower back near his tail, judging by the way his eyes widened further. "Don't be like that, Judy. I'm trying to be friendly, the way the other one said. He told me all foxes like two or more partners."
Nick's eyes narrowed, and he glared across the room at Finnick, before spinning on Jackie, yanking his tail free. "First off, never listen to anything Finnick says. Second, never listen to anything he says about me, especially if it involves paws below the beltline. Third, you didn't think to ask me or Judy before groping me? Kind of doing the monogamous thing, and this is not helping."
Jackie blinked, as her ears sank. "I'm… I'm really sorry. I didn't think before I acted. Happens a lot with me. I didn't mean to upset either of you. I really was trying to be nice. I thought foxes were into that. I was trying to show the family wasn't scared of foxes."
Judy prepared to unleash a stream of obscenities—or as close as she could manage—on Jackie, but Nick managed to keep his composure and bent down slightly to talk to Jackie. Judy did not have the heart to remind him that bending over while wet and naked probably was not the way he wanted the rest of the bunnies in the shower to remember him.
"Okay, listen," Nick told Jackie, any hint of anger gone from his voice. "I'm flattered. Really, I am. Couple years ago, I'd have been thrilled to be surprise-groped, but times change. Never saw myself as the carrot-farmer type, but it grows on you. Despite that, open relationships aren't so much my thing, and it's my understanding they're not hers, either. Even if I thought I could get away with it, and she'd never find out, I'm with her and not wavering. Getting fondled in a shower alongside her is right out."
Judy's anger faded rapidly, as she smiled at Nick's back. Apparently, she did not need to worry about how he might handle things. To her surprise, even Jackie smiled at that.
"You've got a good one here," Jackie told Judy, bouncing a little, which sprayed water from her ear tips. "He passes the Hopps test. He's a keeper."
As Jackie bounded off toward another part of the shower room, Nick turned to stare at Judy. "Hopps test? That's a thing?"
"If it is, I don't know about it," she admitted, stepping back into the water and trying not to look around any more than she had to. Her peripheral vision betrayed her briefly, and she thought she saw Finnick a little too close for comfort with one of her cousins. "In case you missed it, the doe who just got to third base with your tail is Jackie. Let's get done in here before anything else weird happens."