Author's Notes:

I don't own Zootopia, though I do have a shiny nickle I'd be willing to trade for it.

Sorry for the late posting, I just became an uncle and I've been spending some time getting to know the little bugger!

After the police had left the two of them Nick and Judy waited for the tow truck to arrive while sitting on the tailgate of her brothers' truck. When it did show up Nick told them to just take the other two vehicles to the impound lot and the hippo driver nodded before getting to work.

When Judy asked him why not the third truck (there was plenty of room on the flat bed), he said, "Well, I figured I could spend a few days cleaning it up, it's really not in too bad of shape. After that, someone from your family could pick it up. It might help prove that I don't blame any of them for what happened."

Judy was touched at his thoughtfulness, "Every time I think I can't love you more than I already do, you show just how perfect you are. It's a great idea Slick."

Nick leaned in and whispered in her ear, "And I thought we could lay some blankets down in the truck bed and fool around. Just as one last fuck you to your brothers."

There was no stopping the giggles that image induced and after a minute Judy was doubled over laughing hysterically. Nick joined his bunny in laughter and as the other vehicles were hauled away the pair made their way back inside. Nick took a few minutes to gather some plywood and tools to put over the new hole in his garage door while Judy called her parents.

The phone didn't even finish ringing once before both of Judy's parents were displayed on her screen. She didn't even bother to get a word in as both of her parents yelled over each other in a panic to ask if she was okay, or if they needed to come to Zootopia, or any of 100 other questions they asked in less than 5 seconds. When they both stopped to take a breath Judy interjected, "Mom, dad, everything went as well as it could. Nick and I are totally fine, and Justin, Henry, and Steve will be okay, though they are in some trouble. Henry was driving and when the officers I called asked him to step out of the car… he panicked and drove the truck into one of our garage doors, that's going to make things harder for them, legally speaking."

Bonnie and Stu let out a sigh of relief, and her mother was the first to compose herself enough to talk, "As long as you are okay sweetie, that's all that matters for now. We'll figure out what's going to happen to those three later. Right now, is there anything we can do for you two?"

Judy reflexively went to answer no, but she quickly remembered something, "Well, Nick was able to keep your truck from getting impounded. There are plenty of scratches and dents, so he's going to clean it up in a couple of days, but it'd be much easier for us if you could make some time to come and get it."

Stu spoke up, "That is great Jude, is Nick nearby? I'd like to talk to him if I could."

Judy was pleasantly taken aback at her father's request, "Yeah dad, he's right over here. One sec." She made her way over to where her fox was working on the door, "Hey Slick, my parents want to talk to you."

Nick put down his tools and crouched down, he was still wearing his vest and didn't want to freak out the Hopps parents with that particular piece of protective apparel. Once he was settled in frame Nick said, "Hello Bonnie, Stu. Wish we could be talking under better circumstances."

Stu was the one to respond, "You two are A-Okay, for the circumstances we couldn't ask for a better outcome. Thank you Nick, for everything."

Nick figured now might be as good of time as any, "Well sir you may not be so thankful in just a moment…" He looked to Judy who understood what her fox was thinking straight away and stepped in closer to support him, "I'm dating your daughter Stu, and I love her very much."

There was silence for a few moments before Stu replied, "Oh, is that all? Good for you two."

Judy was taken aback, "That's it dad? You don't seem surprised."

Stu chuckled, "I may not be the smartest mammal around, but even I have eyes. I saw how happy you were to be back in Zootopia compared to when you were back here in Bunnyburrow, and I guessed it had more to do with a certain someone than the city."

"Still, no talk about how I should be careful or he might be dangerous?"

Mr. Hopps deflated a little, "No, none of that. I'm afraid that kinda talk is what caused your brothers to show up there today. That's dangerous, but I don't think Nick is, are you son?" His shame was only overcast by his admiration for the two mammals on his phone.

That one word shook Nick to his core, no one had called him son since his mother passed all those years ago. His eyes welled up with tears, and his throat became tight, he tried to speak, but nothing came out. Judy saw that Nick was quickly becoming overwhelmed and stepped in, "Well, it looks like you broke my fox dad. So we're going to have to let you go!"

Stu was taken aback, "Oh, cheese and crackers, I'm so sorry! I-I… we'll let you go."

Nick was able to choke out, "Not your fault, wasn't expecting you to accept me like that."

Judy kissed his cheek and said, "We'll talk later mom and dad! We need to plan for whoever comes to pick up your truck."

Bonnie said, "You two take care, love you both and we'll talk later." and with that the call was done. Once the screen went dark Nick pulled Judy into a tight hug and he sat there shaking slightly. Judy wrapped her paws around his neck stroking his fur in an attempt to comfort him.

It didn't take long for the shaking to stop, and though he didn't let go of his bunny he stopped clinging to her like she was the only thing keeping him together. When he was a little calmer Judy asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head and said, "Not just yet. Let's finish up with this door first." and with that they set about putting the plywood up again.

Once it was all set they made their way inside their home and, without words, helped each other out of their vests. They didn't stop there, pulling the rest of their clothes off at a steady, but unhurried, pace. Once they were standing there in nothing but their fur Nick scooped her up into his arms and held her against chest, taking a moment to reapply his mark while she hummed happily. He didn't want to say anything about it, but smelling those specist bastards on her fur from her placing the cuffs on them annoyed him slightly. He was pretty sure he was going to have to reapply his mark every time she arrested some mammal, and he was very much okay with that.

After he was satisfied that she smelled only of him he carried her off to the bathroom and started to draw a bath, never once setting her down, just shifting her from paw to paw when needed. He handed his bunny the bottle of bubble bath and she happily added some in. Once the bath was full enough Nick turned off the water before climbing in and sat back against the wall of the tub letting out a sigh of contentment. He eased up his grip so Judy could settle onto his lap comfortably. It didn't take Nick long for his paws to start roaming over her body, though he tried to avoid directly arousing her. This bath, and his presence in it, was all in order to sooth his mate: no matter how well she was holding up, her brothers and a few of their friends did show up at their front door with nothing but poor intentions, and that would bother anyone, no matter how strong there were.

They stayed in the bath, their paws gently caressing each other over every inch of their bodies, until the water started to cool. They drained the water and rinsed off under the shower head, Nick once again carrying his bunny. Then they climbed out and stepped into the fur dryer for a minute before making their way into the bedroom. Nick walked across the room before he set Judy down on the edge of the bed and stepped back for a moment just to take her in. She felt a little uncomfortable at him staring at her as intently as he was, but she sat there unmoving, neither covering herself up, or reveling more. Once he was satisfied he stepped close to her and kissed her softly. He pushed her onto her back and climbed on top of her.

The kiss didn't last long before Nick pulled away and laid down next to Judy, curling up around her. Judy squirmed for a moment to get comfortable and pressed up against him. There were a few things she wanted to say, how thankful she was to him for everything he did, for how sorry she was for her brothers, and how happy she was her parents were so okay with them being together, but it all seemed unnecessary at the moment. Instead she relaxed into her fox's embrace and soon gave into sleep as Nick continued to stroke her ears.

When Judy woke up she had no idea what time it was, but she didn't care, she was surrounded by the warmth that was her mate. She turned around in his arms and touched his face gently, struck by how much she loved him. She noticed that Nick's breathing had changed slightly so she whispered, "Slick?"

Nick took a slow deep breath and paused before answering with a hum, "Mmm?"

She scratched under his chin and asked, "Are you awake?"

"Mmm."

Judy chuckled softly, "Oh your honeyed words are music to my ears Slick."

Nick groaned at her joke, "Grrr."

She kissed his neck softly, "Marry me Nick."

That woke him up. He sat up in the bed and set her down next to him so he could look at her. What he saw in her eyes was… honesty. There was no joke there, no sarcasm, she was being wholly serious. When his voice returned all he could ask was, "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Do I want you to marry me? Yes, yes I do."

"But what if I have some awful habit you don't know about?"

"Nick, you quit smoking because you might miss out on a couple of kisses. Whatever it might be, we'll adapt Slick."

Nick reached out and picked her up, setting her down on his lap, "What about your family?"

"My parents love you, and my siblings now know not to fuck with you, though I expect most of them will like you. You're running out of excuses to not say yes." She was grinning at him wickedly, she knew he was simply stalling before he said yes, just to drive her nuts.

"I was never not going to say yes Carrots, I just want to make sure you won't regret it."

"Nick, you marked an knotted me, I know that marriage is just a formality for you at this point. As for regretting it? I could never regret being with you. How could I possibly love another after having been loved by you? Besides, I think you'll look hot in your police uniform, I better lock it down before you graduate and get scooped up by some vixen."

Nick picked her up and laid back down dragging her on top of himself and kissed her senseless. He loved his bunny, more than he would have thought possible, and by Karma he was going to show her. He brought his paws to her hips and rolled over so he was pining her beneath his larger frame. When she eventually pulled away to gasp for breath he didn't relent, he just changed to nibbling at her neck.

Then in a flash he was gone. Judy didn't even notice at first, she was too enthralled by the sensations her mate was giving her to even feel his absence. When she finally caught on that her lover was missing she sat up and found him digging through his dresser. She was a little annoyed that he'd left her high and… well, not dry, but that only made it worse! "Nick! What the hell are you doing all the way over there! Get back here and make love to me damnit."

Nick didn't look back, he just kept digging through the dresser until he found what he was looking for: a small wooden box. He took it in his paw and made his way back to his bed and his impatient bunny. She was curious about what he was carrying so she remained silent as he sat down next to her, he appeared to be lost in thought as he looked upon the box. She got a good look at it now that it was closer and saw that while the box was simple, it was adorned with all manner of stickers and drawing, all mostly faded with time.

No longer lost in thought Nick picked Judy up and sat her upon his lap, his favorite place for her, and he cut the silence, "This was my box of treasures when I was a kit. I collected cool looking rocks, or funny bugs, more than a few bottle caps, and would stash them in here. The contents would change throughout the years, but it was always my box of treasures." He opened the lid and pulled out a photo, it showed a very young tod in a scout uniform standing next to an older vixen. She looked tired, but so proud of her son, who was grinning from ear to ear, "She took this just before she dropped me off for my first meeting. She was late to her night job that day, just so she could see me put on the uniform. Judy, I'd like for you to meet my mom, Vivian."

Judy was crying softly, but she managed a level voice, "Oh Nick, your mom was beautiful. I wish I could have met her."

"Me too Carrots, me too. Anyway, after she passed I was going to end up in Child Protective Services, but I'd heard the stories about how they treated fox kits and I wasn't going to allow that to happen to me. So I grabbed my box of treasures, made a few changes to the items, and ran." He pulled out a watch with a broken face, a silver dollar, and an item she didn't quite catch. "I stashed the box when I got out onto the streets so it wouldn't get stolen by anyone. It has one last thing in it, one last gift from my mother. I was planning on giving it to you before I left for the academy, but now is a good time too."

He opened his paw and inside was a small gold ring with a diamond and two small emeralds on the band. "This was my grandmother's before my she gave it to my mom. I'm honestly surprised he didn't take it with him when he split, but I'm glad he didn't, because now I get to give it to you. Of course I'll marry you Judy, there is nothing that could make me happier." She slipped the ring on, though it was much too large for her tiny fingers, "I guess well have to get it resized, eh Carrots?"

"Oh Nick, I love it." and she kissed him, noticing the tears that had matted his fur. It was obviously painful for him to talk about his mom, but she got the sense that it was also a weight that had been lifted from him. As she broke off the kiss all thoughts of love making were set aside for the time being, their emotions were still raw. Instead she noticed the time, "Well, we've got time before we need to head out to the bar, do you want to grab a bite to east first?"

"That sounds great actually. I say we go out, I don't feel like cooking tonight."

"Ugh, now I have to put on clothes. But you're right, I don't feel like cooking either."

"An aversion to clothes eh Fluff? Maybe you should consider joining Mystic Springs Oasis..."

"Just because I hate wearing clothes when I with you doesn't mean I want to be walking around in my fur in front of everyone."

Nick smiled at her, "I understand that. I still don't like mammals seeing me with my shirt off." He idly traced a scar on his chest.

Judy stepped forward and stopped his paw with her own before kissing the scar softly, causing him to shiver. "You should never be ashamed of your scars Nick. They are a testament to your life, and if I'm being honest, I think they're kinda sexy. They made you seem dangerous and mysterious back on the gondola, and now they remind me of your determination."

"I love you Judy Hopps. If I died tonight just know I died as the happiest and luckiest fox to have ever lived." He leaned down to give her a kiss.

"We'll, that's nice and all, but you're not allowed to die until after our wedding. About 70 years after. I love you Nick, and I plan to love you for a long time."

Author's Notes:

If Judy's proposal took any of you by surprise don't feel bad, it took me by surprise too. That line about Nick proposing to Judy before he left for the academy was how it was supposed to go...

Next chapter will be at the bar with Nick's future and Judy's current co-workers! Fun and awkwardness ensues!