General acceptance.
.
AN: So, we're at the end of this episode, and the first arc of season 1 for that matter. This whole episode was probably my least 'inspired' to write, given that it came about primarily to move a lot of characters to where they needed to be and to introduce certain important things. However, it also had some very fun scenes to write. This whole series is going to have a kind of empire strikes back like pacing to it, (you've already had the action packed main battle), but I'm looking forward to sharing what comes in act 2 and, eventually, act 3.
Not to get ahead of my horses though, as there's one last chapter left here. One I think you'll all enjoy.
.
It wasn't that far back to his apartment, a few stops on the subway and then a decent walk. Just far enough out of the way for the steepness to go out of the prices as Nick put it. The Zootopian planning system was pretty open and that meant that, for smaller mammals at least, housing was cheap. Many mammals lived in 'pods', placed on the roofs of larger buildings, or in little climber towers that rose up in alcoves of older buildings. It wasn't too uncommon for a larger mammal to find a tower built in the space between two of their windows, taking over a small planting area on the ground floor or something.
Nick's place was like that. A small-ish nook between the corners of two larger buildings that had been filled in, two apartments on each floor serviced by a shared lift and staircase. In they hopped and up they went, the ride seeming to take a rather long time, the bunny feeling tired on her feet as they rose. Finally reaching their floor, Nick let her in and she stepped inside, yawning as she went. It had been a long day, with a short night before, and all the little cheques to tiredness that she'd written were being cashed in. Through the little lobby she went, past the bathroom where they'd had the embarrassing moment this morning…
This morning…?
It felt so much longer ago than that. Judy couldn't really believe it, she couldn't really believe much of what had happened this day. She'd been embarrassed, excited, gutted, thrown into the heart of an enemy base where she became enraged, faced off against one of the nastiest mammals she'd ever faced, felt sympathy for the daughter of someone who was technically right up there with him…
"Nick," she said, softly. She'd settled herself down on his sofa, hoping to maybe watch some Pawflix, but not really caring about what was going to be put on. Right now, she was just looking at the black TV screen, her eyes feeling a bit droopy, and she couldn't summon a reason to change that.
She paused. Had he heard her?
"Nick," she said again, before some clattering came out from behind her. Standing up, peeking up over the back of the sofa, she saw Nick bringing something out of his freezer. "Ice cream?" she asked, confused.
He raised a finger. "Prescription ice cream."
Good old irritating Nick. "I don't think there's such a thing," she sassed back.
"Well, it's ice cream," he began, as he scooped out a helping of blueberry, placing it in a bowl already containing a vanilla and strawberry one. "And I'm prescribing it to you." He then brought out a tub of special carrot cake ice cream and put a scoop into another waiting bowl, the vanilla and strawberry already there. "Which makes it prescription ice cream."
"Thanks Nick," she said, before shaking her head. "Though I don't know why I need it…"
"-Oh dear," he deadpanned. "That calls for wafers, whipped cream and either raspberry of chocolate sauce. Which one do you prefer?"
She giggled. "Calm down there Nick, it's fine…"
"In that case you're getting both," he stated firmly, before burrowing into his cupboard. "And a flake too!"
Getting the memo, Judy watched on his he worked his way with his frozen treats. Whipped cream was sprayed, the flakes went in, the sauces went on, spoons were prepped, and, with a proud little flair, Nick settled down next to her, handing her treat over."
"Thanks Nick."
"Always my pleasure."
She nodded, before taking a nice spoonful, savouring the flavours. She couldn't help but have a little though spring into her mind, immediately chuckling at it.
"What?" Nick asked.
"Frozen treats have always been your thing," she jibed.
"A rather ice speciality, if you ask me," he replied, getting a groan in response. "Always helped keep me afloat when things got a bit freezed… You know, if you always liked it this much, why didn't you gelat-me-know? You know, I like to be an active mammal, but in my past I certainly spent of time lollyhaggling…"
"Staaahhhhp…" Judy groaned, cringing from the onslaught of terrible jokes.
"Uh, oh, tired Bun is cranky Bun, as usual."
"Niiiiicccckkkk…"
"Early bedtime tonight."
"Staaaahhhhpppppp!"
"Why, I thought that you wanted irritating Nick back," he teased.
"I did," she groaned melodramatically, before having to pause for a yawn. Her mouth snapped open, stretching out as she went before she pulled it back together. There was a slight pause, before she finished off by relocating one of her ears, which had flopped over the front of her face, back to behind her. "What a foolish bunny I was."
"Indeed, you left your ice cream right open for capture."
"What?" she said, waking up a little from the tease. She looked down and expected to see a massive chunk missing, but only found the small divot she had made. She looked up at Nick, who shrugged.
"Just a point of advice," he defended, eyes closed and paw going up. "Not that I'd actually do it. That's just your overactive bunny mind hopping about."
He received a featherweight punch in the arm for that.
"Ouch. Fox abuse."
….
The two burst down giggling, before digging into their ice cream. It had been a long and tiring day, at the end of a long and tiring set of events. From finding out about those howlers at the theatre, until now…
…
"Was this ice cream thing getting back at me for the hustle we pulled on you at the theatre?" she asked, looking at him deviously.
"No," he shrugged. "That was a well deserved hustle that's got me feeling a lot better, thank you very much. I was a dumb fox back then, who you helped out." He then paused, and put down his ice cream to face her. "I won't repay that hustle," he said, frankly. "But I will repay that favour… Judy, is everything okay?"
She blinked a few times, her eyes drooping down on each occasion. "Yes, everything…"
"No," he interrupted, looking at her. "Everything isn't fine."
"But it is…"
"Okay, Judy, first rule. Please don't lie to me. I can tell something is up, and I'm concerned for you. Now, I know I really am not the mammal to judge and lecture you, but there's no-one else here so you're stuck with me." He paused, looking at her, feeling a bit guilty as her nose twitched a few times before pushing on. She needed this. "You're not you today, and the more I think about it, the more I notice it."
"But it's been a crazy day," she justified trailing off at the end. "Lots of stuff happened…"
"Right," he said. "It's affected you. But how? Why? I saw your nose twitch there, so I know I'm onto something."
Judy looked at him before slumping down, huffing as she looked away. "Right… Right… I'll tell," she said, before grabbing another big spoonful of ice cream. A spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. "You remember this morning, getting in? Finding about them tracking down the howler plot?"
"Yup."
"Well…" she began, before sighing. "You'll probably think I'm really selfish for this," she grumbled.
"I don't care."
"I thought they were wrong," she muttered. "I believed they were wrong. I… -I wanted them to be wrong. It's selfish, it meant that they, whoever they were, would have more time to pull off their plan and hurt mammals." She kicked her foot out and grumbled. "But with all the work I did, and at the time it suddenly seemed like it was all pointless… I mean, it might still help out, I hope it does, and that makes me feel better. But… Well, I felt gutted back then, and thinking about it now, I feel like I'm… I'm…" There was a weary sigh. "A selfish glory hog."
She paused, before jolting a little as Nick put his paw around her shoulder. "Carrots," he said softly. "I… Well, remember the whole skunk butt rug incident?"
"Uh-hu."
Nick looked away a little, scratching the side of his muzzle. "I worked hard to get that rug, and it was supposed to mean something, and I finally found something like what I was looking for and I was so proud. I was going to give this to Big, and Grandmama was going to rest in it, and oh boy would I be doing them proud… And then other mammals starting warning me, saying it was a fake. A phony. Not wool, but fur from the butt of a skunk. A skunk butt rug. Who were they to say that? I'd worked hard to find this rug! So I ignored it, gave the rug to Big, and almost got iced as a result." he shivered a little before shrugging. "You got invested in your work, super invested, as nobody works harder than you…"
"I just want to make the world a better place," she said. "And that means working harder to do it." Despite her tiredness, her voice hardened with resolve as she said it, Nick smiling in response.
"And when you found that all your hard work would do nothing it hurt," he said, coming in to hug her a little. "No biggie."
…
"It's not just that," she said.
"I could guess."
She nodded her head, looking at him, and her paws trembled slightly. "Seeing Fru-Fru… She's my friend, and seeing her hurt like that... But it's Big! Should I be hurt, should I be happy, I don't know how I feel."
Nick shrugged, before a grin grew across his muzzle. "To quote a friend, 'I have mixed feelings about this.'"
Her face lit up a little. "So do I."
"They are good words of wisdom."
That's Kris for you," she smiled, only to pause, her nose beginning to twitch.
…
"Carrots?"
"He lives in the rainforest," she said, her voice little more than a whisper.
"Edge of it, yeah…"
"The gas," she said, her voice hoarse and tired. She hadn't ever thought of it before, the risk he and others were at. "Those mammals, Kazar… He wanted to turn them savage," she spoke, slowly but sadly. "Wanted to kill them all, pred and prey, and…" Her voice hitching, she closed her eyes, her paw reaching down to Kozlov's necklace gift. That sweet young fox, after all he'd been through. She had an image catch in her mind, of a grey figure dressed in blue banging against a glass wall to get at a red fox, only to collapse to the ground choking…
Kris and Ash…
They were just kits. "-All that time spent waiting for his father to recover, all that time waiting to be reunited and coming to this city, and it would…"
She left the rest unspoken, a single tear dripping down from her eye. Nick pulled her onto his lap and held her tight with his arms, tail up and covering him as he stroked her ears. "He'd have been be in school at the edge of Savannah Central. I think his dad works at UZ. They'd be out of the way…"
"Or maybe not," she replied. "I… When I saw what that mammal was doing, I was angry, Nick. Furious. He was trying to hurt innocent mammals, and kill them, even when he'd lost! Even when he had nothing to gain, he was going to do it anyway just to spite us. I was mad with him, just like I felt awful when I found out I'd wasted my time, and upset about Fru-Fru…"
…
"Do you feel better now?"
Blinking, realising just where she was, Judy smiled a little. "Maybe," she said, before glancing at her ice cream. "Maybe more with that."
Nick smiled. "Greedy bunny."
"Dumb, caring, fox," she replied, as they separated and she began eating, taking lazy bites out of it.
"Carrots, you're the caring one," he replied between bites. "So emotional. But all you want to do is make the world a better place."
"All I can do is try, and keep trying," she said, before breaking down into another long yawn.
"And you know, everyone is happy for you," he said. "Everyone believes in you. You're making the world a better place for every nice mammal out there."
Judy nodded back, only to pause. She suddenly felt cold, colder than her ice cream, because that wasn't true, was it? Because, however much she tried, she ended up hurting mammals.
One in particular.
The one who had come to Judy, her hero, the one she seemingly thought would always be on her side. Her hope, her rock, her paragon of truth and justice and the Zootopian way.
And Judy had repaid that faith by sticking a tranquiliser dart into her, sealing her fate and betraying her.
Those eyes, that look, that face hurt beyond belief… It had been a few days before, and they were still etched into her mind, hanging over her. Guilting and shaming her, the whole thing getting even worse when Judy remembered that she wasn't the one truly hurt by all this.
That poor honey badger was.
Nick saw the change and tried to speak to her. She began sobbing, really not helped by how tired she felt, and she turned to face him, burying her face in her chest as she told the truth. Told him that couldn't get the guilt out of her mind. She'd done the cruelest thing imaginable to her, all in a rush, and had just hurt another predator.
Another one who believed in her, like Nick had, back at that press conference.
Another one whose hopes and dreams and pride and everything she'd just dashed. Again. Not for the first time, and she knew it wouldn't be the last time.
"It's what I do," she sobbed. "I just… I just… I just go around hurting predators."
"We brought her in together…" Nick urged.
"I tranq'd her!"
"Fluff, she was nuts," he sighed. "She was a risk to herself, to others…" He paused, shaking his head. "What else could you have done?"
"I could of… I could have found a way…" she said, looking up at him.
"What way?"
"I could have talked her down…"
"The cops behind us would have darted her, or she'd have raced past."
"But, still, I…"
…
"But what?" Nick asked. Judy looked away, and he then grabbed her and pulled her close. "Judy, Judy, Judy… Always racing, always pushing, always making the world a better place." He turned her around and booped her nose. "But sometimes you have to choose the least bad option, okay? The least bad one. And, you know what, doing that is sometimes the most heroic thing you can do."
Recovering a little, Judy nodded her head, Nick taking the opportunity to spoon feed her some of the ice cream. It took her a few seconds after to register what had just happened. "Did you just…"
"You weren't taking your medicine," he scolded, earning a laugh. He smiled at it, he was getting his bun back. "Life can be cruel and mean, and you can get stuck in situations you can't win," he said. "But you, you're a trier. Always have been, always will be. You're a good mammal, Judy."
Wiping the last of her tears away, she smiled. "Thanks," she replied, before taking a deep breath in. "I can try and apologise to her…"
"If she lets you," Nick reminded her. "If she doesn't, that's not your fault, don't go blaming yourself."
She nodded her head. "Okay," she said, smiling. "Maybe… Maybe things aren't perfect. But I can still help out."
"That's the spirit!"
"I can do good."
"It's what you do."
"I can help Fru-Fru, I can tackle crime, I can protect Kris and his father, and all the other preds. I can keep on going."
"Now there's the Carrots I know and love," Nick cheered, clapping his paws.
The two relaxed down, and began watching TV, the blue lights helping to keep Judy up, though her eyelids sometimes fluttered shut for a little bit. She still listened on though. She still interacted with Nick. Chatting. Catching up. As night fell, there was cheering from outside, mammals happy that the nighthowler threat was seemingly gone. "See, we did that," Nick said.
"Yup," Judy replied, her voice trailing out. "It's not all gone – there's still work to do…"
"There may be setbacks," Nick reminded her.
"But our little group can keep on helping. It's what we do!"
Nick nodded and held out his paw for a fist-bumb, Judy meeting his with hers just as the banging and flashing of fireworks rang out. "Fist-bumping as an explosion goes on," Nick smirked, "another off the bucket list."
"Nick..." Judy began, as she turned to look at the display, firing up from the mountain levels of the Rainforest district. "I don't think fireworks -Woah, did you see that one!"
"The dragon one?"
"Yeah the dragon one, who's even setting them off?"
Nick shrugged. "I hear there's a kung fu temple up there that makes their own; one of their panda masters is called The King because he's so good with them."
"Well," she said, settling in to watch. "Whoever they are, they're making the world a better place. Just like us."
"Yup," Nick agreed, as the pyrotechnics began showing off a mix of all sorts of mammals, and a few non-mammals, displaying all the species that lived in the city. The pair settled down to watch the display until its end. By the time it did, Nick had gotten an email from some friends and, as he read it, he smiled. "Aaaawww…"
"Huh?"
"Question," Nick began, raising a lecturing finger as he spoke. "How cute are baby fox kits?"
Her head drooped down to the side as she tried to think of a response, finding one a bit later that she usually would have. "Criminally cute," she said warmly, smiling as she looked up at her partner.
"Well then, looks like you'll be having to make an arrest soon," Nick said.
"How come?"
"It seems that Ash is going to become a big brother."
Judy blinked a few times, before doing what Nick thought was her best Clawhauser impression. "Aaaaawwww…." she cooed, a goofy grin on her face. "That sounds great."
Nick nodded his head. "We're all invited to the baby shower."
"Nice," Judy replied, before pausing. "How does Ash feel about this?"
"I'm not sure," Nick replied, scratching his chin. "You know what though, I might organise a catch up session with him. I'll talk to the family."
The two nodded in agreement, just as Judy's phone buzzed. She turned to it, feeling a little relief from the awakening powers of its blue glow.
…
"No way."
"What way, Carrots?"
"Jack and Skye are dating…"
Nick paused, blinking a few times, before bursting out into laughter. Full on vulpine tongue sticking out eyes squinting laughter. Judy watched him for a while, until he calmed down. "Good one," he said.
"I'm serious," she replied.
…
"Seriously?"
"Am I serious about being serious?" She teased. "Yes, yes I am."
Nick paused for thought, before nodding. "Right then," he replied. "Interesting…"
"Why?" she asked.
"It's just that Skye really doesn't seem like the kind of mammal who'd want much to do with a lazy, untidy, bohemian like El Stripo…"
"Well, she obviously sees something in him," she said. She carried on looking, and smiled further. "They're also double dating with another pair."
"Hmmm?" he asked, looking over. They scrolled down to a selfie, Judy cooing and Nick laughing.
"Well, there's a pairing you don't see every day," he said, only to pause as he recognised one of them.
"Hey, hyena and red panda," Judy said, shrugging. "Might have something going for it?"
"Like a red panda and an onager?" he queried.
Judy blinked, giving a sleepy 'huh' to Nick.
"Onager, -wild ass," he clarified, before pointing at the red panda. "She was the one dating that tech millionaire a while back."
Judy's eyes widened with shock. "She is," she said, before sighing. "You know, she looks happy, but was she forced away the tech guy because of all the abuse? Did they break up for another reason? Was some of that stuff true?" She looked down and shrugged. "I have mixed feelings."
"I guess we'll find out soon enough."
"Hopefully," she said, smiling. "But red panda and hyena seems to have something that…" she broke off for a yawn, then carried on. "Something seems right about it."
"Maybe," Nick replied, before trailing off. "Maybe… Just like a bunny and a fox."
"Yup," Judy sleepily replied, as she put her phone away.
Nick, though…
Nick had had a long hard time opening up. A long time practicing, a long time at therapy. He'd improved, greatly, be he still felt nervous. While Judy, bless her bunny heart, would jump into things and try and do her best, he was cautious. He tried to plan things out – take the bigger picture into consideration, that picture including things that could go wrong.
He was a pessimist too, so he tended to blow that sort of thing out of proportion.
But.
But…
He wanted to move forwards, he really did, and Judy had opened up to him today. He'd pressed her, she'd done it, and he was always happy to follow her lead. He loved her, he just didn't want to risk saying it.
But he didn't want to live with it unsaid anymore.
He felt caught between a warm desire to open up about it, and the cold iron chains of caution he was used to. Holding him back, wrapping around his muzzle and throat tight. Closing his eyes, he did a little breathing exercise good old Dr Tic Tac had taught him before opening them again.
"Hey… Judy…" he spoke out, having to force the words out.
She turned to him, her heavy eyes blinking a few times. "Yes Nick?"
"About bunnies and foxes being a good match," he said, taking a breath in.
"Yes?" she asked, curious.
"Well," he began, finding comfort as he drifted into a tangent. "You're my friend, my best friend, we get on well together. We enjoy each other. We tease and we have fun, and you help to… -You bring to me what I don't have in me, and while I think you're a pretty awesome wonder bunny… You may have areas where I lend a helping paw…"
He realised he was looking away from her, up at the ceiling. His heart was beating, fast, and he forced his muzzle down to face her, seeing her looking out with doey eyed curiosity and wonder.
He grit his teeth, closed his eyes, and swallowed down. He could do this. "I… I think we get along great as friends… But, maybe we could try being more than that?" It was a bit of a weasel out, he knew it, and for a few seconds he felt caught in a dreadful silence.
She looked at him, the gears in her head turning and sliding into position as she realised where this was going, and then she smiled. "Yeah, why not?"
Nick's jaw metaphorically hit the floor. It was doing its best to do it literally too, and Judy giggled at the sight of it before, leaning forwards, placing her paw on his. "I'm guessing you're going to end up asking if you want to be in a relationship with me," she said, shrugging. "I never really imagined it, but you know what? I don't have anything against it. Might as well give it a whirl, and if it doesn't work, we can still be friends after."
…
Nick choked back a laugh, and another.
This…
This…
His body buckled with relief, and he leapt forwards, pulling Judy into a tight hug. It hadn't ended bad! It was fine! It was better than fine! He held her tight, and though she was a bit shocked, she then snuggled into him and smiled.
"I love you Judy," he said. Without fear. Without apprehension. Without anything. It was like the levee was broken, the muzzle gone, and what had scared him, terrified him… It was easy now. As easy as any other word, but so much better than that. "I love you, Judy," he whispered, as he gently tapped her ear with another kiss.
Judy, meanwhile, was playing catch up. She'd thought that this was a casual 'try it' thing, but as she registered what her friend was doing, she realised it was more than that. Far more. "How long were you trying to say that?" she asked softly, as she felt his touch upon her.
"Oh, a really dumb long time," he almost laughed. He then giggled. "Ages, really!" He took in a long breath and smiled. "But I can say it now. It's feels crazy, and dumb, just like you, but I can say it…"
Judy held him tight. It didn't take much time or much brainpower to work out that so much of his time in therapy, so many of his exercises, so much of his growth…
It was for her.
She felt a hot flush, realising just how much he must love her, and then excitement. Excitement, and wonder, and just the warmest of warm feelings that anyone would care for a bunny like her so much.
Today had been a roller coaster, and it didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon. But here, now, she felt like she wanted to go on. There was a mammal who loved her, she couldn't put into words how that felt, but it felt good. She cared for him as a friend, yes. She'd do her best to go beyond that though. They could date, and hang out, and her mind flicked back to the image of him from this morning. A foxer in his boxers…
She was so going to try this thing. She was going to try it as hard as she could, trying to make it work and flourish and be something great. She really cared for Nick and loved him as a friend, and she could learn to love him in a different way. She was confident she could do it, she was looking forward to doing it, the whole idea felt fantastic!
And he felt warm…
Warm, and comfy, with his shirt below her and tail over her.
The beat of his body next to her, the feeling of his breathing, his warmth…
His comfort...
Judy drifted off without knowing it, the sleep that had been snapping at her heels all afternoon claiming victory. It seemed like she was going to spend another night at Nick's place.
Both the bunny and the fox though would end up seeing nothing wrong with that.