5: Wet T-Shirt Contest

After finally finding an open place to park the bike, considering the fact that main street hadn't been closed off yet (it didn't get closed off to car traffic until late on Saturday afternoon) Nick and Judy proceeded to peruse the vendors that had come in early to set up and display their wares.

Only a little surprised to find Midnight checking out the swap meet vendors, probably making mental notes for parts that could be used on the upcoming build, especially since there was no telling what exactly was in the mystery boxes that were provided to the builders, it made sense. Entering one of the stalls that sold souvenir t-shirts and like clothing, our favorite pair bumped into Nicholle and Skye, who were holding up shirts with silly sayings on them.

"Hey you two!" remarks Skye, "Where ya been?"

"Short trip to Deadwoods for a bit of gambling, and then to my spot by Devils Tower." replies Nick.

Noticing the matching necklaces "Looks like you two 've come to some sort of an agreement then?" says Skye motioning to the items.

"In principal, yea, I guess" answers Judy shyly.

"Devils Tower hmm?" intones Nicholle thoughtfully, staring at Nick "I guess that means-"

"That I told Judy about Krystal? Yea, it does. I included how I got the shop and the fact that most of the guys are vets as well. I'm putting everything out in the open, for both Judy and her kit. I wanna do this right Nickie."

"And how do you feel about all of this Judy?" Nicholle asks.

"Humbled, blown away, lucky to have met Nick again after all these years. Nicholle-"

"Nickie … you can call me Nickie if ya want Judy. I'll respect Nick's decision and treat you right. But trust me in saying, please don't hurt him again-"

"Enough Nickie" interrupts Nick, with more than a bit of an attitude "I thought that we'd covered this a couple of times already!"

"Let me finish damnit Nick!" says Nicholle forcefully. Then, turning her attention back to Judy "I've seen Nick in places where no mammal should ever have to go mentally, especially after getting out of the military, then losing mom and finally Krystal. If you hurt him again, he may not recover … ever. So please, don't hurt him again, please."

"I have no intention of hurting Nick or letting get away from me ever again" says Judy, matching Nicholle's attitude. "In fact, he wants to take me home, back to Deerbrook after the rally, to meet my daughter. This is his choice and basically his idea (a small lie, but Nick says nothing). He wants to meet a young doe, who already thinks more of your brother after a simple phone call, than she does of her own biological father. How am I supposed to say no to that? Tell me Nickie …"

Stepping between the two, Skye intervenes "Ok ladies, I think it's time for cooler heads to prevail…"

"Nickie, Judy's right. If Nick really wants to make this work, if both of them want to make this work, they both need to make a commitment. And at some point, Nick is gonna need to meet Judy's daughter. Don't forget, she'll be a large factor into whether there's even going to be a relationship at all. If the daughter doesn't approve, then it's back to square one.'
'Besides, here's something else to think about … what if Nick didn't approve of his sister being gay and dating his psych counselor to top it all off? What would you say to that?"

"I'd tell him that it was none of his damned business what I was or who I was dat …. Ohhhh, ok, I get your point. Did I ever tell you how annoyed I get when you're always right?"

"Yea, like, only always."

Turning her attention to Nick and Judy, Nicholle tries to patch things up with both of them "Look you guys, I know I've been a little, ok, a lot pushy lately, and I'm sorry. I've been worried so much about Nick that I lost sight of the fact that he truly needs someone in his life who cares about him besides me. And from the looks and sounds of it, that just might be you Judy. I promise to back off and give you guys the space that you need, really. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you?"

Taping a small claw on her front teeth in thought, Judy smiles "Well, there is one thing that might help!"

"And that is?"

"What, we actually came here for was we were looking for a bathing suit for me so we can use the hot tub. Of all of the stuff I brought with me, a swimsuit wasn't on the list. I never in a thousand years thought that I'd need one here."

Dumbfounded, Nicholle can only stare at Judy for a few seconds, then her face lights up "Hold on a sec, I think I've got just the thing!"

After disappearing for a minute or so, she returns with a bunny sized bikini in pale blue with tiny pink flowers all over it.

"You're kidding, right?" asks a slightly concerned Judy.

"Hell no" smirks Nicholle "like it or not, you've still got the figure for it. And if it doesn't get that thick-headed brother of mine turned on, I don't know what will!

"Actually" begins a suitably embarrassed Judy "That's not the problem."

Noting the confused looks on Nicholle's and Skye's faces, Judy continues "The problem is that we've both agreed to try to keep the … sexual activity out of this for as long as we can. We need to get to really know each other a lot better before we get into all of that. I understand what it means to a tod, to Nick, if we get carried away and he knots me, and I, that is we, aren't willing to take that chance just yet.'
'While it's true that we slept together last night, we did just that, slept. In our underwear remember? And that's as far as we want to take it right now, and for the foreseeable future!"

"Well just … damn" says a stunned Nicholle "you really do care enough to go the distance. And I for one am grateful for it."

"… Yea … thanks for that …" says a highly sarcastic Judy, giving Nicholle a verbal slap in the face. Then grabbing Nick's paw she tells Nick "C'mon Nick, let's go."

…

Watching Nick and Judy disappear into the crowd "You know you deserved that, right?" Skye tells Nicholle.

Letting out a deep sigh "Yea, I know. The more I try to help protect Nick, the worse I seem to make everything."

"Nickie, ya can't protect Nick forever. Sure he's seen more than his fair share of shit, but this is entirely in his paws … and Judy's … and I guess her kits. You've gotta back off and let him go. And to be perfectly honest, I think she means every word of it. There's no way she'll ever hurt him like that again."

"I sincerely hope not, for both their sakes ... and no I'm not threatening Judy. If she's been through what Nick told us, she deserves as much happiness as he does. Let's go pay for these shirts and see what else we can get into…"

…

Working her way through the crowd with no clear direction in mind, Judy is suddenly brought to a gentle halt when Nick softly tugs her paw.

"I'm sorry Nick" she begins morosely "I let her see that she got to me."

"It's ok Fluff, I understand. But to be honest, she deserved every bit of it. Maybe this time she got the message, we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, we still need to get you a swimsuit of some kind."

Looking around and noticing where they are, he has a suggestion "How about we stop here and get a drink or two, anything to get out of the sun for a bit!"

"The Broke Spoke Saloon?" she asks, noticing the sign.

"Hey, it's a biker bar. Spokes in the wheel … get it?" he asks with his usual smirk.

Rolling her eyes "Yea Nick, I get it. Ok, fine let's go."

…

As Nick and Judy enter the Broke Spoke and look for a place to sit, the live band is just about to take a break when the lead singer notices them "Ok mammals, listen up" the announcer says into the PA system "It was just called to my attention that Nick Wilde, one of the biker build-off participants, and his lady friend have just entered the Spoke! Since Barry and Arleen and their companions are here, what say we ask them all to join the band on stage for a hearty Stergis welcome?"

Amid thunderous (and boisterous) applause, the six mammals gathered in a group on stage with the band.

"All right, all right, settle down a minute! You all know Injun Harry and Bambi, and of course Arleen Ness and Bev, but now we have Nick Wilde and his lady friend … what's your name there gorgeous?"

"Umm, Judy … Judy Hopps."

"Judy Hopps ladies and gentlemammals! Anyway, since we have all three build-off contestants and their ladies here at the same time-"

Which suddenly causes Nick's mouth to drop open 'Oh shit, not this, not now!' which of course, goes unnoticed by Judy.

"-we're gonna ask the ladies to participate in the annual Broke Spoke bikers build-off wet t-shirt contest…" the spokes-mammal finishes.

"Judy I'm sorry, I had no idea that-" he whispers.

"I know Nick, there's no way you could have planned it even if you'd wanted to" she whispers back with a crooked smirk on her muzzle "but that's ok, I got this…"

As the three ladies step forward, they are immediately doused with cold water, which made sure to bring out their most prominent features, much to the delight of the assembled crowd of both male and female patrons alike.

While Bambi had the largest breasts by far, their sheer size and her age made them sag. Bev on the other paw, had extremely small breasts for her species, and their most prominent feature were the nipples.

Then there was Judy … while Judy was bunny, she had fairly large and perky breasts for her species and her nipples … well, they 'spoke' for themselves (thanks mostly to the cold water), much to Nick's chagrin!

Couple that with the fact that, even after spending all day with his bunny, Nick hadn't realized that she was braless until that very moment. Nick was beside himself.

"Looks like we have a winner!" said the announcer, indicating Judy. "And for the lucky lady, here are your prizes. Two Broke Spoke t-shirts, one for you and one for your guy, free drinks for both of you for the entire rally, and four all-access, VIM tickets to the George Thorogood concert at the Beefalo Chip campground on Saturday night!'
'Ok everybody, give it up for Judy Hopps … and Nick Wilde…."

Seeing Nick's slightly shocked expression out of the corner of her eye while the pair is escorted to their VIM (Very Important Mammal) seats in the balcony, which overlooked the rest of the old-time saloon, Judy has to laugh.

"What Nick? You just had a pawful this morning-"

"Yea, but I was mostly asleep at the time. And I seem to remember a certain doe being absolutely mortified when we went into that naturalist club back in Zootopia all those years ago."

"Nick, I've been through two bad marriages, had ten kits and more bad dates than I care to remember. I'm far from the virginal doe you knew from those days. Besides, all everyone here got was a peek through a wet t-shirt, you'll eventually, if everything keeps on going like it has been, get to see the real thing … things … whatever."

"Well, I guess there is that" he agrees thoughtfully.

After being seated, a scantily clad sand cat named Cindi (according to her name tag) brought them a drink, even though they hadn't yet ordered.

"Complements of the gentlemammal in the next booth" she informs them, indicating a casually dressed buck hare.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked politely.

"Sure, why not?" offered Judy.

"Allow me to introduce myself" he begins. "My name is-"

"Hugh Heflner" finishes Nick, with a bit of an attitude.

"Why, yes."

"And just how do you know mister … Heflner, may I ask?" inquires a curious Judy of Nick very aware of his quick change in attitude.

"Probably ninety percent or better of the males in this room, and plenty of the females know who mister Heflner here is" says Nick.

Seeing the questioning gaze on Judy's face, mister Heflner explains "I just happen to own 'Playbunny' magazine, and I'm always interested in finding new talent."

"The fur mag that I used to my catch my brothers looking at when I was little? And you think that I might be interested? At my age? Really?"

"Beautiful ladies are always worth looking at" says mister Heflner.

"I hate to disappoint you mister Heflner" says Judy reaching across the table, taking Nick's much larger paw in her own "but the only eyes that'll be looking at my boobs and butt are right across the table from me and he happens to be a fox. I thank you for the … umm, unusual offer, but I think I'll pass."

"Well, it never hurts to ask, no hard feelings on my part miss Hopps. Have a good day and a safe rally."

Just now noticing the still slightly peeved look on Nicks face, Judy asks "What? You think I'd really consider-"

"No Fluff, that's not it at all…"

"Then it's the fact that I participated in, and actually won the wet t-shirt contest?"

"There is that, but no. It's the fact that I never even noticed until then that you weren't … umm-"

"Wearing a bra? Really Nick?"

"Well, yea, that. I've never been much of a tail chaser, but to think that I missed that…."

"It only shows that you're a gentlefox and that your mom raised you right! I'm proud of you Nick."

"You know, we still have one thing that needs doing don't ya?"

"And that is?"

"Getting you a swimsuit."

After thinking for a moment, Judy comes up with the perfect solution. "How about after we finish these drinks then head back to the hotel? I think I might have an idea or two that might work."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm anxious to see what you've got in mind…"

"I think it's something that you might enjoy…"

…

Returning to the room, Nick and Judy weren't surprised to see all of their stuff laid carefully on the bed. What DID surprise them however, was a sharp knock at the door.

Striding to the door, Nick opened it to find a totally irate Nicholle, totally in his face.

"I knew something like this was bound to happen" she said storming into the room. "Your precious bunny making a spectacle of herself in front of hundreds of mammals. What do you think of her now Nick?"

"What the holy fuck are you raving about now?" he asks.

"That little incident in the Spoke slip your mind already?"

"You're going on about a wet t-shirt contest? That's what this is about?"

"Of course it is. Skye and I saw the whole thing. And furthermore-"

"Furthermore my ass, shut the fuck up and listen for a sec Nickie. Yea, I was there, remember? On stage, with Judy. And for one thing, I'm damned proud of her and the way she handled it all considering the circumstances. A bit shocked for a second or two, but proud nonetheless.'
'I'll bet you didn't know that Hugh Heflner was sitting next to us in the balcony while we were at our table. And I'll bet you didn't know that he offered Judy a contract for a photoshoot in Playbunny magazine. I'll bet you didn't know that she turned it down either."

Putting up a paw to stifle any remark that she could make, Nick continued "But here's something that I know … I know that I'm officially done with your ass. You've been against Judy from the start, and to begin with it might have been a bit justified. But your constant and consistent efforts at trying to keep us apart has led me to say this … I want you to stay the fuck away from us at least until the end of the rally. Stay away from the build as well. I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear you, and I don't even want to smell you until then. If I do, even accidentally, someone's gonna get hurt, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be me, family be damned.'

Addressing Skye "Snow, I know none of this is your fault buy any means. But you'd do well to keep Nickie far away from me for the next week."

Holding up the tickets that Judy had won at the Spoke "You know what these are right?"

Turning his attention to Judy and handing the tickets to her "We only need two tickets. The other two I was gonna suggest that you give to Nickie and Skye. Right now, I'd burn 'em, but you won 'em so you get to decide what to do with 'em. What's it gonna be Fluff?"

Taking the tickets, Judy held two tickets in one paw and the other two in the other paw. After several seconds of careful thought, she handed the two spare tickets to Skye "Here. Take 'em. Enjoy the show, just be sure to stay as far away from us as you can. Now, please leave."

…

Returning to their room at the far end of the hall, Skye confronts Nicholle.

"Just what in hell's bells were you thinking Nickie? How on earth did you not think that things wouldn't turn out like this? WHY do you have it in so bad for Judy anyway? Nick's been hurt by vixens in the past, so what the hell's so bad about Judy? The fact that she a bunny? What? Say somethin' damn it!"

"I don't know already, alright? I honestly don't know. I guess I can't get out of my head how bad she hurt him so badly at that damned press conference. Shit, shit, shit!"

"Shit is right. That's what you're standing in right now, knee deep. Nick knew he could never be a cop so he could protect the mammal he fell in love with, that's why he joined the military. That's why he's seen shit that most mammals will never see, and done what most mammals would never have the will or stomach to do.'
'Judy's Judy to him. She's not a vixen, not a bunny, not anything else, but a mammal. His mammal. Why you can't see past that, I don't know.'
'But right now, I'm as tired of your shit as Nick is."

Laying the one of the two tickets that Judy had handed her only moments earlier on the desk, Skye continues: "Until you get this all figured out, I really don't want to be around you either. When you finally get your head screwed on straight, or just want to have a good talk or cry session, or whatever, call me. In the meantime, I'm going to go and get the key to George and Carla's room. Since they couldn't make the trip, the room's empty, so I might as well put it to good use for now."

And with that, Skye steps into the hallway and closes the door behind her, leaving Nicholle alone in total shock.

…

Nick and Judy's room after Nicholle and Skye leave:

"Nick, I'm sorry, I-"

"Stop Judy, just … stop. You've done nothing wrong. This is all on Nickie. She's been told I don't know how many times that we're trying to work thing out, and she just can't seem to leave well enough alone so we can. Until she does, we, or at least I, need space away from her."

About that time, Judy's phone rings…

Looking at the caller ID "It's Sarah" she tells Nick as she connects the call on Muzzletime.

SARAH: "Hey mom!"

JUDY: "Hey Leigh" she answers, giving Nick a quick smile, somewhere between sad and coy.

S: "Mom! You know I hate when you use my middle name…"

NICK: "Wait a sec" interrupts Nick.

J: "Yes?" smirks Judy.

N: "Do you mean to tell me, in all seriousness, that you named you daughter after a brand of food?"

J: "To be fair, I never even thought about it until later, but, yea, it seems like it. At least it's spelled differently."

S: "Nick!" pleaded Sarah "will you please tell mom not to call me that? PLEASE…"

N: "I promise to ask her Sarah. But ya gotta admit, a blue eyed, chocolate colored bunny named Sarah Leigh is kinda funny."

S: "Niiiiick!" pleads Sarah again.

N: "Look at it like this" Nick says continuing on "At least it not something really weird like Cadburry or Reeses or even, god forbid, Easter!"

With her jaw hanging down and a completely dumbfounded look on her face, Sarah can only stare at the phone for few seconds.

S: "Nick" she begins "you … are … terrible" and then she breaks out into a fit of laughter.

Staring at Nick, Judy asks "How in the world can you do that?"

"Do what? I'm just being my usual, charming self!"

"She absolutely hates that name. Then there you go, getting her to actually laugh about it when you use it?"

"What can I say, I have a way with beautiful females!"

Getting over her giggle fit and wiping laughter tears away, Sarah comes back into the conversation.

S: "Mom, can you tie him up and drag him home with you? I wanna keep this one around…"

Looking at Nick and seeing his usual smirk still firmly in place, Judy answers "Actually, Nick was wanting to bring me home so he could meet you, baby."

S: "Really? Thankyouthankyouthankyou….!"

J: "Yea, Nick's even gonna 'loan' me, that is us, one of his bikes while his shop repairs Pop Pop's old bike after the rally."

S: "His shop?"

J: "Umm, yea. Nick owns a custom motorcycle shop in Aweston. Sorry, we really didn't think to tell you earlier."

S: "Mom that's totally awesome…! Anyway, the reason I called is to tell you that I took and passed my brown belt exam today!"

J: "Bu-but I thought that wasn't for another couple of weeks yet! I wanted to be there for it! I'm so sorry honey!"

S: "It's ok mom, really. Turns out that Master Tanaka was gonna have to be in Jappan during the scheduled testing time, so he showed up out of the blue, just for us! Isn't that cool?"

J: "Yes baby, it is. I'm so proud of you."

S: "Ok, enough about me. What did you and Nick do today? Go on a long ride, see the sights? What? I wanna know…"

As Judy opened her mouth to answer Nick interrupted softly, but loud enough for Sarah to hear "Everything Fluff. Tell Sarah everything. No secrets, remember? She'll find out sooner or later anyway, better now than later don't ya think?"

As Judy recounted the day's events Sarah's face underwent the same changes as they did before. From the shock of Nick and Nicholle's confrontation, to sadness of the ride and subsequent revelation of the loss of Krystal, to her amazement of Judy's winning the wet t-shirt contest at the Spoke, to the anger of the final confrontation between Nick and his sister a second time, Sarah only had one question for Judy….

S: "Wait, just … wait a minute mom. You actually entered a wet t-shirt contest?"

J: "No Sarah, I told you that it was impromptu. It was either that or back out and publicly shame Nick and the shop. Besides, it was just a wet t-shirt, no one actually saw anything…"

S: "Please tell me you were at least wearing a bra…"

J: "Umm … no?"

S: "MOM!"

J: "Sarah, it's not like I actually planned to do that ya know."

N: "Sarah" interrupts Nick "if I may interrupt for just a second-"

S: "Nick, how could you possibly let mom do that?" asks Sarah accusingly.

N: "When was the last time you tried to stop your mother when she was determined to do something?" he asks defensively.

S: "Ok, I'll give you that. But please mom, please don't do that again…"

J: "I make no promises that I can't keep!" she replies with a bit of a smirk.

N: "You do know that that kinda stuff never makes it into documentaries, right?" asks Nick.

S: "I know," replies Sarah, "but there's always EweTube!"

Seeing the mild panic on Judy's face, Nick can only answer "Too late to think about that now, it is what it is."

S: "Ya know" says Sarah finally "the more I think about it … you two really deserve each other."

J: "Wait … what?" says a suitably stunned Judy.

S: "Mom, I can't remember the last time that you really just let go and had fun. Not real fun like you're having now. You might go out with some of the other does in town for a drink or whatever, or on another of your terrible dates, but as long as you're happy, I'm happy. And Nick really seems to be the someone that you've always wanted. Yea, I know that you've really thought about him for a long time, but actually being with him is doing you a world of good, wet t-shirt contest notwithstanding."

J: "Well, I did win first place after all…"

N: "And you were offered a modeling contract" offers Nick.

S: "What? You never mentioned a modeling contract mom!"

J: "Nick, really? Just… ok, I sorta, kinda forgot about that. Sorry."

S: "What contract mom?"

J: "It seems that a certain Hugh Heflin happened to be in the Spoke at the time, and offered me a contract for a photo shoot for his magazine."

S: "You're joking, right? Hugh Heflin, the owner of Playbunny magazine, offered to put you in that rag?"

J: "Yes he did and … wait, just how do you know about Playbunny anyway?"

S: "Mom, I'm fourteen, not four. The bucks at school get caught 'reading' (using air quotes with her fingers and rolling her eyes) that dumb thing all the time, and worse. Of course I know about it. And before you even think about asking, yes I'm still a virgin!"

J: "I can not believe I'm having this conversation with my teenage daughter in front of my new boyfriend right now!" says Judy pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

N: "Sarah" interrupts Nick again, (trying to ease the sudden tension between Judy and Sarah) "I for one am proud of you. For passing your brown belt test and for … umm the other thing… as well!"

S: "Thanks Nick. Look mom, Nadine's calling me to help get supper ready, so I'm gonna hang up now. But first ... umm, have some fun ok? Let loose a little. Have a few drinks and please … do something that I wouldn't do, they say it's a great stress relief. Love you both, bye."

And with that Sarah severed the connection.

Staring at the blank screen of her phone, Judy mumbles "I can't believe she said that!"

"Said what Fluff?"

"Have fun, have a few drinks and do something that she wouldn't do!"

"Yea, I heard all that, but so what?"

"Nick, you can't possibly be that dense" says a thoroughly amazed Judy "… she basically told me to get drunk and get laid!"

"Wait … just wait … you're telling me that your daughter, your fourteen-year-old daughter, whom I haven't really even met yet face to face, just gave you, her mother, permission … to have sex … with me, a fox?"

"Kinda sounds that way…"

"I-"

Pressing a finger to Nick's lips, Judy stops him "Look, I know it's a lot to take in all of a sudden. So, let's just try to stick to the original plan to take it slow … ok?"

"I agree. You and I are both more than ready to jump in sexually with both feet, so to speak. But we as a couple, and a new couple at that, I'm not sure that we're quite ready for that level of commitment just yet."

"So … with that settled, how about that little fashion show I had planned before all of this started?"