Commission story 6: Big Nick.

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AN: A standard WildeHopps situation, albeit Nick is a bit bigger than in canon. Commissioned by Combat Engineer

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"So, Kits!" Scoutmaster Sharla announced, "we've got three mammals who're getting their badges today!" She smiled as she looked at the assembled bunny scouts. This meeting was for the Brownies, girl scouts from the ages of eight to eleven. Despite the name, it was open to all species, though the demographics of Bunnyburrow meant that her troop was still a sea of long ears. Still, there were two ewes, a sow and even a very young ferret girl, Travis' daughter.

None of them were getting their badges today, instead three bunnies had made the cut. Madison Leaps, with her science badge; Brenda Burrows, who'd made them a lovely new flag to earn her sewing badge, and Cotton Hopps. "I must say," Sharla said proudly as she looked at her best friend's niece. "Three badges at once. Hospitality, first aid and tutoring, you must have been busy."

The little bunny nodded, only to be cut off by the slam out the hall's door opening. Sharla looked over to see a brown hare, her assistant, running over. In her paws were a handful of folders, ones she recognised as the proof of Cotton's achievements. She'd been busy the last few days, and had to give the workload to the head of the boys troop to look through, something she was suddenly regretting. She glanced back at Cotton and her eyes widened with alarm, before she turned back to her assistant. "Not here!" She urged, suddenly fearful for the embarrassment poor Cotton might be about to receive. Before she could say anymore, the folders were thrust into her face.

"You have to read this!"

"Not now!" She urged again as she glanced at some of the picture, her eyes widened. She pushed the folder back, blinking, and was then glued to it as she read through.

Behind them, one of the bunnies, Madison, turned to Cotton. "What's this about?"

Cotton giggled a little and looked away bashfully, pulling one foot paw back and fussing it on the floor. "Weeelllllll…."

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One week earlier…

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"So," Cotton announced, as she brought out a jug of water. "I have drinks for Auntie Judy's boyfriend, and if he wants something hot I can make it for him, and there's some cookies too. If he wants blueberries, I can pick them…"

Bonnie Hopps looked on as her granddaughter eagerly set everything out, working hard towards her badge. She'd called ahead, and both Judy and Nick wouldn't mind, though it would all add up to an interesting first meeting with this Tod.

It would all go fine, she was sure of it.

Not that her husband was helping.

"Calm down dear."

"I am calm Bonnie! Totally calm. Totally, totally, calm," he stuttered, looking away from her.

She frowned and glanced at him, as he fidgeted with his paws from the nerves.

"I mean, it's not as if a great big giant fox is going to…"

"Calm down," she said again. "He's a fox, he's a red predator who's bigger than us. But he's your daughters partner on the force and boyfriend. We're going to be supportive."

"Right," he said, forcing a smile. "Supportive now, supportive when he breaks her heart or scares us or…"

"Stu!"

"But Bonnie…"

"But nothing," she said, before shaking her head. "I mean really, foxes aren't even that big.

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Two months before that.

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"Jesus capybara!" Sharla cried as she glanced at her computer. She looked away from the picture of the two she'd looked up and held her phone to her ear. "He's… he's… -It's like all of Gid's," she began, waving her paws out to the side. "Went into," she stretched them upwards. "Are you sure he's a fox?"

"Sharla," her friend spoke over the phone. "The only reason I didn't think he was a maned wolf when I first saw him was that I didn't know what one was!"

"But how? Is he a hybrid?"

"No, even if he has the dark tipped tail too, he's pure vulpes vulpes. But he had a glandular issue that shot him an extra few feet up. Funnily enough, he's friends with a fennec who had his own gland issue. Only that one shot him down a foot or two."

"Wow," Sharla muttered, shaking her head.

"Do you want to hear a secret?"

"Okay…?"

"It's not the only place he's extra big."

"JUDY!"

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One week before the badges ceremony.

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Stu's jaw dropped, before he twitched up, then twitched up again. "Bu… -Wha… -Giant… -Cripes! -Carrot Stick's!"

He didn't manage anymore, fainting back into his wife's arms as Judy and her giant fox arrived.

The huge vulpine looked at them for a second or two, before looking down at a gasping Judy. "Ten bucks, Carrots."

"NICK!"

"What?" He teased, as Stu recovered.

"I… I… Bonnie, I had a horrible nightmare," he began, before noticing the two guests again. "-And I'm having it again…"

He fainted once more, his wife and daughter attending to him, while a little brown fluffball walked out. "Hello Mr Nick, my name is Cotton. I'm happy to be your hostess for today."

"Oooh," the fox teased, smiling as he looked down at his shirt. "Where are we flying today?"

"Uhhh…"

"Maybe Pawaii?"

"I'm… I'm not an air hostess, I don't think there's a badge for that," she began.

"Well, if your mother lets me," he began, spotting her nod. He went in and lifted the kit up. "Now you're an air hostess! Neoowwww!"

Cotton squealed, and Judy smiled as she watched the pair take off. Stu then mumbled and woke up, before spotting them and fainting again.

Eventually, though, they all introduced themselves, before running into the next problem..

"Carrot's, how did you not know?"

"Uhhh," she mumbled.

She looked awkwardly at him, and then at the door to the house. "Slight geometry problem, Fluff."

"We can improvise…" she suggested.

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"Would you like some cookies Mr Nick?"

"Oh yes certainly," he smiled. A smile wider than the entire table, and one that, when opened for Cotton to throw them in, gave Stu a perfect view of all his teeth. He was now regretting that this hosting kitchen had windows. On the other paw, how could he guess that a giant fox guest would be sticking his head through them?

"Trying to hit my dangly bit?" He asked, sending the kit giggling.

"Do you want your coffee?"

"I can manage," he said, and Stu quivered as a paw came through a different window and picked up the mug. He drank it all down in one go, before relaxing. "Aaaahhhh…"

"See," Judy chuckled, "All good!"

"Where's he going to sleep?" Bonnie asked, looking at her daughter.

"He could crawl into the rec room and lie down there?"

"His tail would be out in the corridor and his head in the library."

"Hey, I like a good book before bed," Nick countered.

"How will you read it without your paws," the matriarch presses.

He shrugged, or seemed to shrug, they couldn't see his shoulders and tell. "Maybe my fine hostess can read to me?"

"Can-I-can-I-can-I…"

"-No!" Stu barked. "Mr Wilde may be all kitted out, Cotton. Not all mammals are good with Kits."

Nick cleared his throat. "Look outside."

Stu did that, before seeing a bunch of his children using his tail as a skipping rope.

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In the present.

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"So, that's how you got your hostess badge."

"Uh-hu…"

"What happened next?"

"Well, Mr Nick watched a film with us. He crawled into the rec room."

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One week earlier.

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Everyone was crowded around the TV, or Nick's giant body. The room was big enough for him to sit on his haunches, though his back half was still in the hallway.

Things were going well, and everyone was enjoying themselves.

"Uh Fluff," Nick began, looking at Judy.

"-Mr Wilde," Bonnie interrupted, "if you need to go, go outside."

"-Actually, someone just pantsed me," he said, earning a fit of giggles. He pushed his paws back, trying to pull his slacks and underwear back up, but unable to latch the tailhole button.

Bonnie sighed. "Don't mind…"

"That's easier for you to say," Nick said.

Stu joined in. "Bonnie, we'll have a foxes bum filling one of the halls!"

"Oh calm down," she said. "Nick's been an excellent guest. I mean, what is it with your side of the family."

"It's not as if yours is any better," he mumbled.

"Ahem. How many times did I faint."

"How many times did your 'they're red as they're made by the devil' father faint when you told him that one was coming over?"

Bonnie's eyes widened, before she looked away. "None," she said quietly.

"You did tell him, right?"

Meanwhile, Otto Hopps, the burrow's oldest resident, turned a corner and ran right into a fox's bum.

He jolted back, shaking his head, before deciding that this was definately a nightmare. Fortunately, said nightmare hadn't stolen any of his self-defence equipment, and, much to his relief, he still had his trusty fox taser.

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One hour later.

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Walking out of a massive crater in the centre of the burrow, a line of shell shocked bunnies pieced their way through the piles of rubble that had once been a part of their house. Most of them had been minding their own business in their rooms, and then a fox had launched up through the floor.

A grey buck, Logan Hopps, reached the front of the queue. "Bathroom sink," he mumbled, pointing to a cut on his forehead.

"Okay!" Cotton Hopps smiled, "this may sting a bit." She sprayed it with antiseptic, slapped a bandage on, before calling "next!"

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The present.

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"And that's how I got my first aider badge!" Cotton proudly announced. "I treated most of the hurt bunnies. But, being a good hostess, I waved goodbye to Mr Nick as they took him to hospital in an ambulance."

"Did he say anything back?" Madison asked.

"He said, 'Next time we get a hotel Carrots!'"

"I can imagine," Scoutmaster Sharla said, as she turned back to Cotton. "You earned those badges young scout, very well done!"

She and the others cheered, and the rest of the meeting went on like usual. As it ended though, Cotton's friend had one last question on her mind. "How did you earn the tutoring one?"

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Six days ago.

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"Okay," Cotton announced proudly, as she wrote up on the board. "Welcome to Geometry two-oh-two! It's like one-oh-one, but twice as good!" She was in one of the preschool play areas, A-B-C posters hanging around, while a plastic nursery table had been brought out for her student, who'd been made to sit cross legged on the floor. "Now," she began, as she brought out a baby toy and put it on her student's table. The toy was a simple box with holes in it, and coloured shapes that would fit into each. Cotton pointed out a square hole and brought out a dozen different sized squares. "I know it's hard, but which ones are too big to fit?"

Her Auntie Judy, dunce cap on her head, grumbled and began sorting them into two piles, much to her nieces joy.