Author's note: A big thanks to Brutus deagon for serving as a beta reader, and since he might be consulted with certain aspects of the plot he might eventually become a coauthor.

…...

Wedding from hell

chapter 2

The trip from the city to Bunnyburrow was probably the nicest part of the whole journey, Nick and Judy got a seat on the top level and the view of the lush nature as the buildings were left behind really amazed Nick, he had been so used to the artificial skyline of the city that the baroque lines of true nature seemed alien on his eyes.

As soon as they arrived at the train station they were greeted by Stu, he was polite and respectful but you could tell by his droopy ears that he was in a really bad mood, the police duo shrugged and assumed he was just stressed out about the wedding.

-" Sorry guys but you have a very tight schedule already. I'm afraid you won't have much time to relax or in Nick's case, even get to know the town"- The Hopps patriarch mumbled while loading their luggage to the old truck. It was a conscious choice to arrive only one day before the big event, knowing that the least time they spent on the preparations the more they would be spared of all the needless drama.

They barely had time to unpack before they had to rush to the seamstress to do the fitting of their gowns, since they were the only ones outside of the burrow when the dresses were designed and made. Judy was one of the twenty five assigned bridesmaids and Nick was shoved into the equally large groomsmen entourage. As a result both had to wear a gaudy lime green outfit with grape purple accents, she was stuck with a poorly fitted baby doll type of dress and he had to wear a tacky three piece suit.

The couple made a face while looking at the mirror, they would have been better off wearing something from an obscure bin in a thrift shop. Since they were the last ones to do the fitting their suits were the most sloppily made, Nick asked if there was a chance to do more proper fitting but they were informed that their seamstress was unavailable. Apparently she had a breakdown after sewing tons of shimmery sequins on the bride's dress, which took about four days of work, only for Suzie to change her mind at the last minute and asking to get those off.

Groaning Judy gave up and resigned herself to go to the goddamn wedding in that awful dress and just be done with it but Nick knew a social event like this would draw in both regular and social media and he refused for him and his girlfriend to be seen in public with that monstrosity, so he decided to fix the clothes himself.

-"You know how to sew, Nick?"- Judy asked while watching him work, he moved with a perfectly natural ease using the sewing machine and was really thorough in taking the proper measures, adjusting the clothes with carefully placed pins.

-"Yeah my dad taught me, he was a tailor you know?"- He said absent minded

Judy could only give him a compassionate smile and nod. The story of Nicholas Wilde senior was a painful one to bring up, he just disappeared one day. No good bye letters, no thorough police investigation, nothing. He just vanished into thin air, up to this day neither Nick or his mother know if he left his family or was killed. Judy had searched through the file of the missing mammals case and the only lead was that his last public action was to ask for a loan on the Lemming Brothers bank to start his own tailor shop but was then denied, there were rumors that he was willing to ask for funding to Mr Big. So naturally she talked with the shrew about it and he said he did comply, but then Wilde senior disappeared before he could collect the money. Still giving up on the case never crossed the doe's mind.

Later that night at the dinner table Nick thought this whole thing wasn't such a bad idea, sure he's meeting his girlfriend's family in a time where they are overly anxious and in a somewhat jaded mood, but at least he's not the reason why they feel that way. Under a different circumstance him being a fox would have made a difficult issue to deal with but now everyone is too worried about the wedding to care that much, he was sure that by the next time he visited they would have gotten used to the idea of an interspecies couple already.

After a hearty meal, if overly vegan for his taste, the fox went to his sleeping quarters located in the single male area of the huge Hopps family complex, but before he could reach his room he was tackled by a frazzled looking Bonnie.

-"I need your help with something, Mr Wilde"- She whispered

-"Uh sure what is it?"-

-"Stu can get overly emotional during weddings and most of my sons are either having their paws full with the ceremony or just don't have the patience to handle him, I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself"-

Well that was a weird request, and Nick knew there was a lot more into it than what the doe had said, still he had no other choice but to comply.

"Don't worry Mrs Hopps, I'll keep an eye on him" He said in his charming half smile while saluting in a mimic of the Boy Scouts style.

...

The next day was spent in the typical chaos regarding an event of this sort, to the fox's surprise the wedding was alright at first. Every single flower that decorated the church was fresh and matched the color scheme, the courtship and all parties involved were right on schedule, even the priest did a speech so meticulous it almost felt mechanical.

Bogo would have been envious of the discipline Suzie had inspired on the entire courtship and the rest of the staff, one comment and move out of place and the bitch fit that would follow would make the polar bear at the academy look like a fairy princess.

Even their outfits didn't look that bad, a little tweak here and a lot of fabric manipulation there had managed to make them look at least decent enough not to recoil in horror at the many pictures being taken, and boy there were pictures alright. This whole event was a huge media circus, local news channels were all over the place with some small Zootopia based media covering it as well. It was no secret that the father of the groom was using all this as publicity for his upcoming campaign for VP, he was hardly seen without his formula partner and candidate for president, a tall deer buck with a posh yet country attitude that had forgotten how to give a genuine expression on his overly stiff face. To see those two trying so desperately to be perceived as likable and failing so hard was cringeworthy indeed.

And in the middle of this tense scenario Stu had gotten drunk, Nick was split between following the tight schedule, posing for pictures and making sure the buck didn't ruin everything. At least he wasn't the mean drunk type, or even the obnoxious clown type, all he did was cry like a baby at every single opportunity. For the most part the guests had ignored him, having the father of the bride crying was something Judy assured the fox would happen if he were sober anyway. It was in fact expected even by the bride, so at least having the buck bawling his eyes out every five minutes wouldn't hurt the overall image of the wedding too much. Hell a few savvy members of the PR campaign managed to turn that into a cute fluffy moment.

Yet at some point Nick was worried that Stu was taking things too far since he was starting to trip on any surrounding table, so he decided to take a break and drag the bunny outside in the hopes of giving him some fresh air

-"I don't like Kevin, I don't think he's right for Suzie."- The buck said through drunk tears and loud hiccups.

-"You don't think the charming rich buck marrying your daughter is enough?"- Nick said exasperated, if that guy didn't fit his standards what would happen with an ex con fox?

-"No and you know why? Because when Kevin sees her his eyes don't shine, that's why"- He said raising his voice and Nick was grateful nobody was around to listen -"You are a sketchy fella mister Wilde"- he slurred -"But when you see Judy your eyes light up like a night sky in the fourth of july. I can work with someone like you, we can make sure you do the right thing for our kit but if there isn't love then there is no way of fixing a relationship, and I don't see enough of it in Kevin"

Now that was a valid concern, Nick had been so worried about not screwing this up that he had not paid attention at the bride and groom. -"Have you talked to your daughter about it?"-

-"Yeah, but she is head over heels in love and is convinced she lives in a fairy tale, I couldn't get through her, even Bonnie tried to reason with her but it was no use. Then Kevin's family started pushing for an engagement and before I knew it, I'm drinking carrot moonshine while my baby girl is making a huge mistake"-

The buck then hugged Nick and once again begun to cry. The awkward moment was interrupted by the sound of a male voice clearing his throat, Nick saw upwards and met a tall muscular bunny buck roughly the age of Stu with brown salt and pepper fur

-"Stuart for carrots sake get a hold of yourself"- The bunny said and then shouted behind him -"Cotton sweetheart why don't you bring your uncle a big cup of coffee?"-

-"Yes dad"- A slender and cute (yeah more than usual for a bunny) doe responded from the distance

-"Joshua Hopps, I am Stu's brother it's nice to meet you"- The rabbit said reaching a paw towards the fox, who took it gently as he answered

-"Nicholas Wilde sir, and likewise"-

-"Now why don't we give my dumb-dumb of a sibling a little time alone to compose himself? We have a few minutes before the waltz starts, I'm sure a little walk towards the barn would do you good"-

Walking to a secluded far area with a dude he never met and would have no reason to want any time alone with? Nope, no respectable city dweller would do that -"No it's okay sir, I'd rather stay with…"-

Nick stammered but Joshua never lost the grip on his paw and swiftly dragged him towards the open field outside the wedding venue -"I insist"- He said in a tone that left no room for any argument, as the tod went along he debated between looking for an exit or using his police combat skills to defend himself should things go wrong

Once they reached the barn Joshua dropped any pretense of civility and growled at Nick -"Listen here you little mutt, my niece Judy is an oddball but a very decent young lady. Now she was never the type to bring any male home to meet the parents, especially for an occasion like this. That means one thing and one thing only, she is serious about you. And if she is that means you better treat her right, because if I ever find out this was all some pred game you city folks like to play with us country mammals then let me inform you that I own many acres of land where a body would be buried and nobody would go looking. Is. That. Clear?"-

Every word of the last sentence was accentuated by a strong bunny finger poking on Nick's chest.

The fox was about to defend himself when he heard rustling and giggling coming from inside the barn, both males hid in the shadows as a couple came out of the rustic building.

It was a male buck and a female sheep, their clothes were ruffled but they managed to fix them as they rushed outside towards the main complex, it was extremely clear what those two had been doing in there.

-"Am I crazy or is that…"- Nick said baffled.

-"Yeah, that is Kevin Fluffster, having a secret meeting with Angela Fleesen in the middle of his wedding"- Joshua said angrily.

-"Let me guess, is he, too, going to end up buried in your property?"- The fox said with sass.

-"Nah, he is the husband of my niece and she has been screaming to the four winds how much she loves him. She has been going crazy about the wedding while he's been fooling around. A hidden hole in the ground is too good for him"-