As she flung open the door, she was immediately met with the rancid smell of tension in the air. The small hallway and the rooms branching out from it were smothered in shadow, the only source of light being a cheap lamp tucked away in the corner of the living space.

Judy advanced slowly through the rooms as she searched for Nick. She hadn't heard his voice in a bit, but she doubted that he had heard her enter their home. Soon after planting a foot in the living room, her ears were greeted with a strange sound... almost like a cross between a growl and a whimper.

"Nick...?" she quietly asked the area.

No response.

Then Nick's voice again, but only this time did she managed to make out the words he was saying.

"NO, DAD! It... It... Isn't like that! I... I-I don't see it that way."

She was about to turn the corner and confront her husband when she heard another voice: Distinct. Gruff. But scratchy as it was from the source that it emitted from: The phone, no doubt. She didn't recognize the voice, but had a feeling she knew exactly who was behind it.

Nick's Dad...

At first it sounded garbled and messy... but as she leaned in closer and focused, she heard a few choice words slip from the other side of the phone-line:

Disgusting. Unnatural. Disgraceful.

It was at this moment that Judy decided she had heard enough. She turned the corner and stared down at the bedroom entrance. She saw Nick's tail swish in and out of view from the door-frame. It was puffed up and messy; quite unlike him.

Judy continued forward until she reached the bedroom, hearing Nick quarrel more with his father over the phone as she approached.

"You got some nerve old-man...WHAT? NO! I-I... Ugh... It's OUR life!"

At the last word, Judy leaned into the room and finally saw Nick. She thought that she would recognize him at first sight.

She didn't.

Throughout their years of companionship, Nick rarely showed his darker emotions: Sadness, bitterness, regret, and disappointment were all quite rare in his lifestyle. Judy knew that they were there, but were very rarely acknowledged. She admired her husband's ability to keep a straight face in a sticky situation. His personal motto, 'Never let them see that they get to you', was something he lived by daily with pride. Rarely did anyone truly get to him... It took a lot for that, apparently.

But when she envisioned Nick bantering with his father, she expected him to at least look calm and collected.

However, she did not expect to find him standing in the corner of the room, shirt off; thrown haphazardly and onto the floor. He had his back to her, no doubt completely oblivious to the Bunny that had snuck up on him. He looked severely agitated: Hunched over, free hand clenched in anger. The other arm held his phone rigidly against his head, as if he was afraid the device might electrocute him any second.

Judy's eyes traced his form from top to bottom. The fur on his torso was matted in some parts, and stuck up in tangled clumps in others. It was obvious that he had been running his fingers through his fur, as it was a nervous tendency he often did in certain situations. It stuck up all over the place, glistening with sweat from the glow of the moon shining through the window.

Nick's voice continued flowing. Broken. Angry. He spoke as if he'd just been strangled. His sweltered words sliced through the silence of the night like a knife through warm butter.

"You never appreciated us... a-and despite the world accepting... changing... you never did."

His mellow tone was followed by a response from the phone. It spoke slowly, as if to emphasize a point. This time, Judy had no trouble understanding its words:

"Son... you need to understand! This isn't about our past... This is about YOUR future! Your... your... Affiliation, with this bunny is unacceptable! Unnatural! No fox, no son of mine, would partake in such an irregular way of life!"

Judy withheld the urge to gasp.

So that's what they've been arguing about, she mentally realized.

This entire time she believed that her husband was arguing with his dad over the fact that he abandoned his family. In truth, Judy's father-in-law was quarreling about his son's relationship...with Her.

Nick's jagged voice broke her train of thought:

"No f-father... you don't understand. This is what we've worked years striving for, ever since we first met. The world has changed! I don't see why you can't grasp the fact that... That as different as we are... We've found love. Each-other."

Judy's heart wretched in her chest as she forced back a small sob. Despite the fact that Zootopia had begun to finally see inter-species relationships as culturally and biologically acceptable, some animals were still highly against the mere idea of two different species forming a coherent partnership.

It was apparent to Judy that Nick realized too late that his father was one such animal.

She was admittedly taken back by Nick's words... He truly did appreciate his relationship with her.

Nick began speaking again, and the Bunny decided to take the time to listen a little bit longer.

"It... It doesn't matter dad. It's what we've come to accept here in the city." Nick began turning around, "And if you can't recognize that... then you ca-"

He stopped talking when his eyes met with Judy's. His were red and shiny from crying, but full of surprise at his wife's unexpected entrance. Hers were full of worry and concern, but shown with relief that Nick had managed to calm down and gather his bearings...

Nick took a raspy wheeze of a breath before ending his tirade.

"Then you can abandon me again."

With that finale, Nick shut off his phone and simply dropped at onto the floor. He let his arm go limp at his side, but that didn't stop his hand from shaking.

"Carrots...?" He paused "What are y-!"

Nick barely had time to begin his next few words before Judy slammed into him, intertwining her arms around his back, and pulled him into a grasping hug. The dam broke. Immediately, the stinging tears that had been welled-up in her eyes began flowing forth in rivers that wetted the fur of Nick's chest. He stared down at his wife, mouth agape, unable to formulate the following words. He sputtered a slight cough as Judy held him tight. He prepared to speak out, but was cut off when Judy wept louder into his chest.

"Oh Nick..." She cried for a few minutes. Her eyes gradually draining themselves of tears until she could weep no more. She felt for Nick. Despite being raised by two loving parents, she felt his anguish, and Nick knew that. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, then ran his hands down her back and back up: an effect that usual calmed her down, but this time it held no visible difference in lightening the Bunny's despair.

"Carrots, how long were you listening? H-how much did you hear?"

Judy didn't answer. She simply kept shaking in his arms.

Nick moved his hand beneath Judy's chin and lifted her head slowly until she locked eyes with him. This time, it was Nick whose eyes were full of worry and concern, and Judy's whose were red and watery.

The fox spoke out spoke out, saying his next few words exactly as he told her the first time, all those years ago.

"You bunnies... always so emotional."

Despite everything that had crashed down upon her within the last few short minutes, Judy couldn't help but stifle a smile. It tugged at her lips for a brief moment before fading and being replaced with sadness. Despair. Anguish. Worry.

"I-I heard... a good chunk of it.." She answered to him with a slight feeling of guilt. "I let myself in... Bogo wasn't available..."

She swallowed briefly before continuing.

"So I-I came home, and I h-heard yelling, and I thought..." Her voice trailed off as it cracked under pressure. "Oh god, Nick... I was so worried!"

She hugged him tighter. "I didn't know what to expect!"

Nick sighed and released his hold of Judy: She didn't resist. He then trudged over to the bed and flopped down with a grunt. He laid back, took a deep breath, and sighed heavily once again.

"I didn't know what to expect either," He began. "I would have thought that h-he would have been... proud... of me... no... of Us."

He tilted his head and eyed Judy, who had shuffled over and lain down next to him. She reclined her head upon his upper chest, just below his neck. Her long ears were folded back behind her own neck as she made herself comfortable.

"Everything we've accomplished over all this time... all the lives that we saved... things we helped people realize about themselves, about society..."

The fox's face hardened.

"And the only thing he cared about was you. You and me." Nick started off with a look of disgust on his face. He spoke slow and methodical.

"It started out fine... Then it turned sour early in: He started ranting about how ridiculous these inter-species relationships were... he said that they were a cancer on society..."

He stopped, taking a moment to breath before proceeding. "It all went downhill from there... we fought... he called me disgraceful, unorthodox, revolting... as if he was anything but..."

Nick stopped talking all together to take a brief peek at his wife, who still clung recumbent to his side. Their eyes met for a brief second, but in that moment all of their sorrow and pain reflected to one another with ease: Judy's worry, and Nick's anger.

Neither creature had to go on... It was all there. Evident, apparent, and available for all to see.

Something clicked in that brief moment.

Nick stared deep into Judy's eyes, and saw all her fears and worries: Judy in turn saw all of Nick's doubts and rage.

They both laid there... silent... unmoving... The only sound being the steady breathing from both lovers, which had aligned in unison.

The only feeling was their steady heartbeat's upon one another's chests: A symbol of their life. Their will. Their love, above all else.

The only sight one saw was the form of the other. To them both, the world could have ended right then and there... and neither would have noticed, much less cared.

The only thing that mattered was them... Now...

Forever...

Judy seized the opportunity and leaned in for a kiss. It was a short one, no more then 5 seconds. But in those 5 ticks of the clock was an eternity of passion. The kiss broke when Nick pulled away, slightly startled at his wife's sudden act. Deep down, he wanted it to go on... he wanted it to advance... but he simply had too much to say... Too much that needed to be dealt with. He set aside his desires and looked Judy in the eye before starting;

"Whiskers... I-" She shushed him, cutting him off from now unspoken words.

"Nick... I know that must have been so difficult for you... But we just need to come to terms and realize that not everyone a-appreciates... appreciates us... or any inter-species relationship. Your dad isn't alone on his opinions... but you need to let him live his life. We'll live ours... free from him... free from the hate that we've worked so hard against. The two of us represent something that he could never hope to appreciate..."

The fox filled his lungs with air before looking around, and then back at his wife. He then spoke his mind.

"Carrots... sometimes I just feel that nobody cares about what we've done... That nobody bothers to look past the fact that love is a fluid thing. I feel like nobody apprecia-" Judy interrupted him with her own statement;

"No Nick! I appreciate! I appreciate us! I appreciate what we've accomplished... what we've come to represent!"

Nick clenched his jaw before presenting his views. "Come on fluff... my own father is disgusted by me! What DO we represent, huh?"

The floodgates opened. The dam broke. The vault breached. Judy couldn't take it anymore.

She was tired of animals looking down upon them.

She was tired of being seen as some proxy for an idea that was viewed as wrong.

She was tired of Nick being so pessimistic, so down, so hard on himself and society.

She realized right then and there that there was only one way to truly prove herself to Nick. To show his arrogant self the meaning behind everything they've striven to achieve AND accomplished over the past 3 and a half years: To show him what they really represented. She gave him an answer... The answer.

"This."

Judy grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a deep kiss; unlike any they've experienced before. Nick struggled in surprise and tried momentarily to pull away. He soon gave in. Surrendered. Completely and utterly melted into Judy's action. His pent up desires blew off the dome of their prison like the top of a teapot, exploding in a shower of passion, remembrance, and love.

But there was something else that was released from his mental Pandora's Box: Something older than any other emotion he'd kept hidden. He had bound it in chains and tossed it into the bottomless pit of his mind. He tried to keep it together... but instinct... this primal emotion, could only be contained for so long.

After several more seconds of being locked together in that kiss, they broke off, both breathing heavily from the lack of air taken in from the past few moments.

Judy shattered the ensuing silence;

"And if your father, or anyone else can't see that... then that's their fault!" She said with a sense of self-righteousness and heart.

Nick, practically lost for words, stared in awe at his wife. He realized the intentions of her words: Despite everything, they did represent something... The two of them represented... defined, the idea of love between two different animals. Judy proved that to him with one simple word.

"You're right..." He muttered softly to his wife. "Judith... I love you more then anything else on this crazy earth..."

Judy's own pent up desires began driving her thoughts.

This is what you've been waiting for... This is what you have been wanting... They told her.

She smiled warmly at him, but past her mesmerizing gaze, Nick thought he saw something else: A flicker of something... carnal...

Judy spoke, her honeyed words flowing over him like a stream through a cluster of pebbles.

"I love you too Nick, now and forever... but... I think I need to... to prove it to you."

The bunny continued to pierce her gaze deep into his Nick's eyes. She knew that he thought the exact same way about her: In the past, the two of them have had discussions about the prospect of inter-species mating... It was something that they both had greatly considered throughout their relationship. It wasn't a very prominent thought during their first few years of dating, but after their marriage of two months ago, the idea had long since resurfaced, and stronger than ever before.

Judy and Nick had previously discussed the complications and the set-backs on the prospect of inter-species mating... It was something that as far as either of them knew, had never been done before. If they were to be the first, they'd had to know about each-other's anatomies and ideals. At first, that conversation had been awkward and near-distasteful, but eventually, they'd managed to learn very much about each-other in the end.

Although they have had close moments before... moments that had nearly driven the two of them over the edge and into primal intimacy... They both agreed that they would save their desires until the right time: They both respected each-other too much to just throw away the passion in some whimsical, heat-of-the-moment decision based on raging hormones and naive ideals. They intended on saving their desires for the right time... And it seemed that that time was at last upon them.

There was no need to say it, no need to express it... Judy just simply knew... Knew that Nick was ready...

Finally...