Most of the day was passed at the festival. However, towards the evening the pair briefly returned to the burrow. This was to both rest their paws and prepare for the rest of the day. One of the traditions of the festival was a massive outdoor dance which almost everyone attended. There would be bands, food, friends and fun. Judy, with her fun loving and social nature, was of course going, but was having a bit of trouble convincing Nick.

"It's a tradition slick, we have to go. Everyone will be there."

Nick sighed, "Exactly, everyone will be there, but a lot of them don't want me there. And besides," he struck a slight smirk, "I don't dance."

Judy couldn't help but give a playful smirk. "Well, fortunately, I do, and I'll teach you. It'll be fun, you'll see."

Nick stared for a brief moment before acquiescing, "You're lucky I love you Carrots."

Judy giggled and smiled, "I know, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

Now both on board, they moved on to start changing into more formal clothes for the event. While both parties would have been fine changing in the same room, and probably would have enjoyed it, having seen each other bare many times before, they knew that Stu would probably be more comfortable if they didn't. The buck had been consistently watching the pair since their return, and they knew he would probably end up having a heart attack if he thought that they were getting into anything naughty. Instead, they headed off to the pair of communal bathrooms used by the residents of the burrow. Of course, like everything else in the burrow, these were on an industrial scale to support the needs of the hundreds of residents. There were a pair of near identical rooms, one for males and one for females, the large chambers divided up by different purpose areas. There were a row of toilets along a wall, sinks in front, and showers in the back. Nick and Judy split off into their respective bathrooms with their formal clothes in paw.

As he wandered into a stall to change, Nick noticed that there were relatively few other rabbits there, most still being at the festivities. He was grateful for the absence though, as he doubted many would have been comfortable with a fox sharing their facilities. He began to get into his more formal clothing, an emerald button-up shirt that Judy said would bring out his eyes, and a pair of dark gray pants. It wasn't too fancy, as Nick often despised suits, but still managed to make him look nice. After getting dressed, he stopped to check himself in the mirror. While not often too concerned with appearances, as evidenced by his usual casual attire, he was still reasonably pleased with his formal facade. He briefly smirked at his reflection before exiting the bathroom to wait for Judy. He leaned against the wall partitioning the bathrooms, daydreaming, until he heard her approaching. He turned to face her, and his voice died in his throat at the sight of her.

"I look ridiculous don't I," she said meekly, a blush permeating her face and ears, nervously rubbing her arm. Judy was a beautiful rabbit. She often looked as though she was born to wear a police uniform, but that was hardly a comparison to when she actually dressed up in her best. Even the sundress from earlier couldn't hold a candle to the perfect balance of natural and mammal made beauty that was now presented before Nick. The grey doe was clad in a stunning violet dress that perfectly matched her eyes. Complimenting the purple background were the ghostly green outlines of tulips, arranged in patterns across the dress. The fabric hugged her in a way that showed off her slim yet strong form, and almost made Nick salivate. Adorning her neck was a silver necklace with a small heart hanging from the center, almost like the bow on top of a present.

As Nick stuttered at her beauty, unable to form words, she grew ever more uncomfortable and tried to hide her face with her long ears. Seeing this spurred Nick into action. He quickly rushed forward, wrapping his strong arms around her.

"Don't ever say that," he chastised. "You are the most beautiful mammal in the world." This only caused her blush to spread further, her cheeks growing hot from embarrassment at the compliment. Pulling back, Nick smiled fondly at the grey doe, who returned the affection with a shy smile of her own.

"You're not half bad yourself," she said in a half-joking manner, knowing that he knew full well that she thought similar things about him as he did about her. For his part, Nick was determined to be a perfect gentleman for once, offering his arm to Judy.

"Well then, shall we be off my dear?" he said in a mock accent, both funny and polite at the same time. Judy giggled but took up the offer, grasping his arm with one of her paws, allowing him to lead the way. They passed through the burrow without incident, and soon wound up out on the dirt road once again. Night had already fallen, and countless stars could be seen adorning the sky. The pair were once again reminded of the differences between Bunnyburrow and Zootopia, where the glittering lights of the skyscrapers replaced the stars at night. Judy recalled one of their first dates, when Nick had taken her to a hill just outside the city so that she could see how the bright colors light up the night, and how the city seemed like something out of a dream. While she had to admit it was surprisingly beautiful, she would always prefer the stars and nature's beauty. Speaking of which, they were currently passing by a small batch of flowers.

"Hey Carrots, stop for a sec," Nick said, letting go of her paw and walking over to the field. He searched around for a minute, ignoring the yellows, oranges and reds in favor of a single dark-purple flower at full bloom. He plucked it carefully and brought it back over to Judy, placing it delicately behind one of her ears, adding yet another piece of beauty to her. Although not normally a fan of paraphernalia, she found Nick's gesture sweet and romantic, remaining still as he positioned the stem. When he was finished, it added yet another thing for him to love about her, the metaphorical cherry on top.

They resumed walking, and it was not long before they could see the dance. As nearly all of the local population attended, it was set in a massive outdoor pavilion rather than in any building. Even from a distance, Nick and Judy could see the bright lights strung about and the countless bunnies milling around or dancing to the indistinguishable music. As they approached the event, the number of other rabbits increased steadily until they were completely engulfed in the massive crowd still waiting just outside. To pass the time, Nick looked around at the elaborate decorations that had been set up. Leafy vines were strung across lamps, pavilions, and other higher points. Flowers were set among them to give a splash of color, along with tiny lights to give the natural pieces some glow. The line slowly crawled into the event, the crowds inside just as bad as those outside. Nick was both grateful and annoyed by this. On the one paw, he was glad to have something that delayed the necessity to dance. On the other paw, the traffic jam gave ample time for Nick to observe and be observed, and he counted many glares being sent their way. However, he was a veteran at concealing his feelings, and slipped into his mask, lazy grin falling into place. However, he did step closer to Judy, and his tail curled protectively around her. Fortunately, no alterations occurred, and they eventually made their way into the main event.

The main dance floor was obscured from them by the packed masses of rabbits, so they skirted along the outside. Soon their attention was caught by a repeated cry of "Judy! Judy! Judy!" They turned to see Rebecca hopping towards them, clearly extremely excited. The young kit had shed her police costume, and was now clad in a pretty little green dress, complete with bow. Judy kneeled down and caught the kit in her arms, giving her little sister a big hug.

"Didja see my skit? Didja? Didja?" She asked excitedly, her voice slightly muffled from being pressed in her sister's midsection.

Judy couldn't help but grin in return an answer, "Yes, we did, it was very good. I thought you did a great job."

"Yeah baby carrots, it was very nice," agreed Nick.

"Baby carrots?" Judy asked, slightly amused by the silly nickname. Rebecca also seemed curious, and looked to Nick for an explanation.

"Well, Judy here is carrots, and since you look just like her, I figured 'baby carrots'," he explained. This caused Rebecca to giggle and give a bashful smile.

"I wanna be just like Judy!" The pair smiled in return, and Nick replied,

"That's a great dream, she's the best mammal I know. The world could use more like her." He turned to Judy, "Although there will only ever truly be one Judy Hopps." He leaned in for a quick kiss, which she quickly returned. Rebecca gave a small "Eww," before saying goodbye and running off to her friends. After watching her run off, Judy decided that it was time to drag Nick off to the dance floor.

"C'mon Slick, it's time to do what we came here for," She insisted, taking ahold of his arm and steering him towards the packed dance floor. He reluctantly allowed himself to be led there, knowing that it would be fruitless to try and resist. The 'floor' was preally just a large section of hard-packed dirt, nothing too fancy. However, it served its purpose well, as countless rabbits and several other species were all dancing around with glee. Some were in pairs, some alone, and some danced in large groups. A small stage was erected in the middle of the area, with a band playing on top of it. Nick could make out some pop song he didn't know the name of. Having positioned them where she wanted, Judy turned to face Nick, taking both his paws in hers. Staring into each other's eyes, they began to sway to the music. While they slowly rotated around the dance floor, Nick could tell that there were more than a few glares and derogatory comments being sent their way, even if he couldn't hear all of the latter. However, the moment was just too perfect for him to care. For her part, Judy could hear many of the things that the crowd were saying.

"Look at them, disgusting."

"This world is going to shit."

"Those freaks, they should know better than to show their faces here."

"Back in my day, those deviants would be strung up. How times have changed."

She bristled, but knew that it was better to simply ignore the comments than let anything escalate. Seeking out a confrontation was bound to just make things worse. So instead, she simply turned her attention back to Nick, losing herself in his deep green eyes. The emerald colored pools were so expressive and beautiful, she felt that she could stare into them forever. Nick was likewise mesmerized by the eyes of his partner, the violet orbs seeing straight through him, and past any mask he could throw own. There was no way to hide, and Nick knew that he would never want to. He knew that his place would always be here, side by side with his bunny. He soon noticed that the song had changed, and the dancers all picked up their pace to match. Their movements became quicker and more frantic, as opposed to the previous slow and smooth grace from before. Paws stamped and clapped in time to the music, adding another layer of sound to the mix. Judy twirled, her dress fanning out around her to create a beautiful rippling effect. Nick held her paw as she spun, until she came back into his arms, leaning against him and looking up at him with love in her eyes and a smile on her face. Nick smiled back, dipping her slightly. They and the others around them continued the ritual for some time, until their paws started to ache and they began to get dizzy. To catch their breath, Nick and Judy wandered over to one of the many tables set about the area, sitting down briefly. They signaled a nearby waiter for some drinks. Nick had a blueberry wine, and Judy a carrot margarita. As they sipped their drinks, they took time to observe the crowd around them, spotting a few familiar faces here and there. William and Jamie were out on the dance floor, Rebecca was talking with her friends, and Gideon was restocking the dessert table with pies.

"So how have you been enjoying bunnyburrow so far Nick?" Judy asked, stirring the fox out of his idle thoughts.

"Well, so far, it's been a bit of a mixed bag. There's been a lot of good things, and also a fair few bad ones. Your mother is very kind, and so are many of your siblings. That drunk idiot wasn't particularly pleasant though." He leaned towards her, sly smirk on his face, "But I will always love being with you Judy. Honestly, after the shit hand life dealt me, I count every second with you as a blessing."

Judy felt her heart melt at the kind and honest words. She leaned forward and whispered,

"You know I feel the same way about you." Their lips quickly met, crashing together as they sunk into a deep kiss. Judy felt butterflies in her stomach as she tasted her fox, lips caressing gently. After a few more seconds, she pulled back and said, "Now come on, I want to do some more dancing." She took his paw and stood up, Nick reluctantly following. As they made their way back to the dance floor, he realized that the song playing was one he actually knew. The strains of Ed Sheepan's "Purrfect" floated over the crowd of dancing mammals. While the pair resumed dancing, Nick pondered how much the lyrics reflected their relationship.

"Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know.

She shares my dreams, I hope that one day I'll share her home.

I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets

To carry love, to carry children of our own

We are still kids, but we're so in love

Fighting against all odds

I know we'll be alright this time."

The rest of the song became background noise as Nick focused his attention on Judy. Over their time together, he had felt like never before. Judy had transformed his life in ways he had never expected. While he used to constantly cheat and scam others, he now sought to be more. He was no longer another problem in the world, but rather one working actively to solve problems. He could not have believed it even a few years ago, but the doe dancing beside him had completely turned him around. In a way, she was his whole world. Without her, he would be nothing. And as she twirled, allowing him a gaze into her deep violet eyes, a powerful reality sunk in. Here, with Judy, was the most perfect he had ever felt in his life. And now, in this moment, he knew that there would never be anyone else like her. She was it for him.

Needing to convey his feelings, he stopped their motion for a moment. As she looked up at him, he brought his muzzle down to hers and closed his eyes. Their lips met, gently caressing and exploring each other. Their paws sought to bring them closer still. Nick's paw wrapped around her back, drawing her in further. Judy let out a sigh and arched her back into his touch. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up and put her arms around her fox's neck. And as they kissed passionately, just for a moment, the rest of the world fell away, there was no one else but them, and everything was perfect.

But not everyone was privy to that moment. Away from the crowded dance floor, there were already groups of inebriated rabbits stumbling around. One of these was the same tan buck, Rob, who had accosted Nick and Judy earlier. Having been repulsed by the interspecies couple, he and his friends had left the party early. Now they were drunkenly attempting to make get back to their respective burrows.

"Theesh idiotsh, they're a disgracesh. Fu-hic-ck dem," Rob slurred out. His friends, as drunk as he was, didn't respond beyond a few giggles. As they made their way behind the stalls and tents from earlier, he felt his foot catch on something and fell over in a heap. Too drunk to notice, his friends continued onward, oblivious to his plight. Hiccuping, Rob tried to sit up and follow them. He suddenly stilled when he heard a sound nearby.

"Whos, *hic* there?" he questioned, staring blankly into the night. Without warning, he was grabbed by the neck, and slammed up against a tree. An arm across his throat and a body pinning him to the tree, Rob struggled helplessly. But it was in vain, as a knife soon came up in the attackers paw, and came down on the helpless rabbit. The blade drove straight into Rob's forehead, killing him almost instantly. Blood seeped slightly around the handle, slowly dripping down the buck's face. As the life quickly drained from him, the killer released their grip, letting the corpse slide to the ground. A quick turn of the head to check that no one was nearby, and they bent down. Rob's corpse hefted over their shoulders, they trudged off into the darkness. The night soon swallowed them whole.

Author's Note: Wow, sorry that took so long to get out. Hopefully the next one will be done quicker. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and hopefully you didn't forget that this isn't just a romance.

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective owners, I do not own Zootopia.