Chapter 3.
AN: So in case no one's realised this story will be much longer than my first two. I know roughly where it's going and though it's started out pretty light and happy just remember it will eventually get dark. But remember! In order to get back to the light of day we must first go through the dark of night … or something cheesy like that. Once again all criticism is appreciated!
It was a beautiful morning late in July. The storms had kept at bay for most of the summer meaning Zootopia didn't stink thanks to overflowing drains. Judy stretched and looked out her window over an alley about a mile from Sahara Square, Zootopia's main thoroughfare. She had moved out of her pokey one room apartment in the Grand Pangolin Arms six months ago. She finally had a spacious place to call her own. A living area combined with a kitchen, her bedroom and a large bathroom made up the three rooms. It was plenty for Judy, almost too much, though Nick had called it cosy.
There was muffled shouting on the other side of her bedroom wall. Judy smiled, living in an apartment wouldn't be the same without at least one set of noisy neighbours. Those noisy neighbours happened to be Bucky and Pronk, the two antelopes that had lived next door back at her old place. She knew they weren't antelopes and she knew it was bad to generalise but it was hard enough to tell them apart most of the time.
Bucky is the greater kudu, Judy reminded herself. And Pronk is the gemsbok. Bucky usually wore red while Pronk usually wore blue. Sometimes they stole each other's clothes but that was only when the two were having a drawn out fight. Of course these longer fights always ended in bouts of passionate lovemaking which thankfully Judy couldn't hear anymore thanks to the thicker walls. Bucky had been right when he told her they'd be loud. Judy had no problem with same-sex couples but she had a whole heap of problems with overhearing other mammals' sex lives.
Her phone buzzed on her bed. Nick was outside in the Zuber. She shut her case and made sure everything in the apartment was off. Judy loved working but it'd be great to relax after all that intensive training. She hadn't seen her siblings in so long, it was going to be great catching up with all of them. As she shut her door the one beside hers opened.
"You heading off Judy?" asked Bucky. Both mammals were dressed in boxing shorts, padded helmets and they wore padded gloves on their hooves.
"Yeah I'll see you guys in a week OK?" she asked. "But before I go what's with the get up?"
"Oh yeah we're training for MMAM," said Pronk.
"Mixed Martial Arts for Mammals," explained Bucky. "Not all of the neighbours are as understanding as you. The landlord said any more noise complaints and we're on probation so we decided this was a better method for anger management."
"Well best of luck with that guys. Just try not to put any holes in our wall."
"We'll do our best and congrats on the promotion Judy! We'll have you and Nick over for dinner soon."
"Sounds amazing, see you guys soon!"
Judy hopped down the stairs feeling lighter than air with excitement. Nick was waiting in the lobby, shades and smile on. He held out an arm and she linked with it, smiling up at him. He smiled right back.
"Excited Carrots?" It was a rhetorical question.
"You bet I am," she replied. "Ready for you first taste of country air? Your first look at life on a farm?"
"It's either gonna clear all the pollution out of my lungs or kill me the second I breathe it," mused Nick. "So yes. Yes I am. Now come on your chariot awaits."
The car was black and reflected the light of the bright summer sun. Judy could swear she'd seen it somewhere before. The tinted windows, chrome grill and rims as well as the snowflake hood ornament all reminded her of something. It was only when the window rolled down and a panther in a driver's uniform popped out that she remembered.
"Manchas?" she asked in surprise.
"The one and only," replied the big black cat, stepping out of the car. "Nicky here called in a favour with Mr Big so your ride to the station is free of charge."
"I thought Mr Big hated you after the skunk butt rug incident?"
"Yeah and he still gets a little icy whenever anyone mentions it," explained Nick. "But ever since we found his florist and with you being godmother to his grandchild he's had a change of heart."
Manchas opened the back door and fox and rabbit slid into the leather, air-conditioned interior. The car pulled out and headed towards Sahara Square Station. Judy never stopped being awestruck at the titanic skyscrapers all around her. Most were placed in the Temperate Zone which housed the financial district as well as the Zootopia Bowl. The Rainforest District had plenty as well though they were all huge trees with building pods attached to them. Factories dominated Tundra Town while the Desert District housed mostly petroleum and oil processing plants as well as the Camel Corporation, Zootopia's biggest tobacco manufacturer.
"You guys seen the news yet?" asked Manchas from the front.
"No, something big happen while we were away?" asked Nick.
"No it's been pretty quiet around here these last four weeks. It was more when you got back that things started getting interesting."
"How so?" asked Judy.
"See for yourself."
Manchas passed a newspaper back. Judy's mouth dropped open as Nick's eyes widened in surprise. The Zootopia Times' front page was dominated by a full page spread about Nick and Judy. "DREAM TEAM BECOME DETECTIVES" read the headline. Below it in a smaller font the by-line read: "Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, the ZPD's Dream Team, have finally secured positions deserving of their reputation." Accompanying the article were a number of quotes taken from a wide variety of Zootopia's citizens.
"The best thing to happen to Zootopia since Gazelle!" – Desk Sergeant Benjamin Clawhauser, ZPD.
"They're what now?!" Former Mayor Dawn Bellwether, the Pound Maximum Security Penitentiary.
"They saved my life." – Emmett Otterton, Otterton's Flowers.
"Oh for sure!" – Yax, Mystic Springs Oasis.
"No two more deserving. Now get out of my office!" – Chief Bogo, ZPD.
"The best thing to happen to Zootopia since me!" – Gazelle, Zootopia Bowl.
Above the article was a photo of both Nick and Judy graduating from the detective training course. The paper also listed numerous opinion pieces throughout ranging from Nick's preferred bars to whether or not Judy was a fashion icon. There was even a guest spot by Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgado defending the decision to make them detectives despite their short time on the force.
"Congratulations," said Manchas. "You guys are famous, again!"
"Cheese and crackers I'll never be able to leave the house!" lamented Judy.
"Ditto," responded Nick. "Oh holy crap look at that!"
As they pulled into Sahara Square one of the screens lit up with a CGI Nick and Judy running forwards. "The ZPD's Dream Team," flashed in blue over their heads. "Join now!"
"When I get back Chief Bogo is gonna have a lot to answer for," said Nick through clenched teeth. "My muzzle is not that long!"
"And my ears are not that big," echoed Judy. "Are they?"
"Well…" She slapped Nick on the arm.
"C'mon Manchas back me up."
"Well…"
She smacked him too.
The car pulled into the drop-off point in front of the station. Manchas hurried to open the doors before retrieving their luggage. The sun was starting to beat down on Sahara Square making the sand coloured stones shine as much as the highly polished steel and glass skyscrapers did.
"Well Miss Hopps, Mr Wilde, enjoy your trip," said Manchas with a smile and a tip of his cap. "And remember should you ever need anything the Big Family is but a phone call away!"
Nick and Judy waved as the car pulled back into the midday traffic. Nick slung his bag over his back and Judy began to wheel hers as they headed for their boarding point. They were getting the 12:30 train which left them ten minutes to navigate the massive station. Separate transport systems existed for rodents and other smaller mammals but for the medium sized such as Nick and Judy it was always a little intimidating to be surrounded by elephants, lions and rhinos in such a crowded place. The huge mammals were careful where they stepped most of the time but accidents did happen in Zootopia.
The train reminded Judy of the one that had taken her to the city that year and a half ago. It seemed more like a decade and a half now considering all that had happened. She looked up at Nick as he checked his phone. The fox had stopped dressing so sleazily ever since he'd given up conning mammals. His shirts fit him better and the colours were no longer so garish. He was a handsome mammal especially since the Academy and ZPD had forced him to keep in shape.
"Those eyes of yours are going to burn a hole in me if you stare any harder Carrots," he said, smiling.
"Nothing wrong with looking," she replied with a grin. "Are you nervous Nick?"
"Should I be?"
"You met my parents as my friend and partner. Now you're meeting them as my boyfriend. You can't tell me that doesn't make you at least a little nervous."
"Please Carrots I saw your dad crying at our graduation. It's not him that makes me nervous."
"So it's my mom?"
Nick merely nodded. Judy had of course neglected to tell Nick about Stu Hopps' impressive collection of firearms. He'd never had cause to use any but he knew how and he had plenty of them. That alone would have been enough to fend off any young buck just interested in what his daughters could offer between the sheets. Not Nick; instead he was worried about her mother's approval.
Anymore conversation was cut short by the loud roar of the train's engine. The doors slid open and one by one mammals, both big and small, began to board. Judy headed straight for the observation platform with Nick in tow. There were no giraffes in this carriage so other than a few excited lambs the compartment was empty. The two stowed their luggage and sat down as the train began to pull out of the station.
Judy stared out as the locomotive rocketed out of Sahara Square, under the vines of the Rainforest District, through the geysers of snow created by the cannons in Tundra Town and past the massive shimmering heat vents of the Desert District into the city outskirts.
"I totally understand why you'd be more afraid of my mom than my dad but trust me Nick you've nothing to fear," said Judy. "Except for fear itself."
"What about bears?" asked Nick.
"Now you do sound like my dad. And keep it down there's a grizzly downstairs."
"Right sorry."
A thought struck Judy and like plenty of times before she couldn't help but ask.
"Nick?"
"Mm-hm?"
"What was your mom like?"
The fox went quiet but it wasn't the cold silence that usually suggested he was upset. Instead his face became thoughtful. She could see the gears working in his head, sifting through memories he would rather forget. Selecting only the good, discarding the bad. Anything that would scare her off. She reached out and placed a paw on his arm.
"I mean really like," she stated. "Give me everything Nick. Did you love her? Was she a good cook? Could she drive? All the little details that make up a person. I want to know who Mrs Wilde was not who Nick's mom was. Hm maybe I should have rephrased the question…"
"Don't worry Carrots I get what you mean," said Nick although it was a while before he spoke again.
The lambs had grown bored of the rolling plains that stretched out for miles in every direction. They were alone up on the observation deck. Eventually Nick started speaking and when he did his voice was heavy with the weight of memory and melancholy. Despite that he smiled almost as much as he frowned.
"My mom was really pretty," he began. "I mean how else do you think I got these looks? What I remember the best was how sleek her fur always was. Hers was always the reddest, it was always well brushed from her ears to her tail. We all need our vanity I guess even in Foxton. She was fierce as well. She fought tooth and nail for me every time she was called up to whichever school I was about to get kicked out of. My dad never smacked her, not for lack of trying but because she always gave as good as she got. Jackass that he was he respected her. She was just as fierce with me though. I hated her for that even when the family started to slide she tried her best and I just hated her even more. I hated her for being so weak that she fell into the same traps my dad did. The drink, the drugs and the crime. She was weak but she was strong as well y'know? That was my mom. That was Mrs Wilde in a nutshell."
"She sounds amazing all the same," said Judy, carefully. "Complicated but amazing. Like everyone I guess. It sounds like she loved you though Nick."
"You know even after I left I always knew that," the fox replied quietly. "I always hoped I'd see her by chance but I never did. I don't know what I would have said to her but hey maybe there's still a chance…"
"Never say never Nick," said Judy.
Noticing they were alone the rabbit planted a soft kiss on the side of the fox's muzzle. He smiled as she leant into him, their paws hidden and intertwined. What Nick had neglected to tell Judy was that he had fallen into those same traps as well. Oh well, he thought. A story for another day.
BUNNYBURROW. THAT EVENING.
The train pulled into Bunnyburrow just as the sun began to dip behind the eastern mountains. Nick stretched and yawned, shivering once the butterflies in his stomach made themselves known. Judy grabbed her case and Nick looked out the observation deck's window. The sight which greeted him did not make him feel any less nervous.
On the platform stood a small delegation of the Hopps family. Small in rabbit terms meant no more than seventy-five but no less than fifty. They ranged in age from about twenty-five right down to two. At the head of them all stood Stu and Bonnie Hopps. Four of Judy's younger brothers and sisters held an elegantly crafted sign that read: WELCOME HOME JUDY. An even younger sibling, barely out of diapers, held a smaller one that, in barely legible scrawl, read: AND NICK!
"Hey Carrots," he said. "Is it OK if we leave off on telling your parents until we have a more private setting?"
"Sure Nick," replied Judy understandingly. "Now let's go. I haven't been home in months!"
Nick followed his girlfriend down the stairs and out the train doors. He nearly jumped back on the train as seventy-five rabbits rushed out towards Judy. Nick shielded his eyes, expecting to be swept up in a tide of multi-coloured fur. No such tide hit however and Nick opened his eyes to see a mass of rabbits gathered around Judy in what was probably the biggest group hug he'd ever seen.
There was a wriggling at the edge of the group and a small bundle of brown fur popped out, sign still in hand. The young rabbit waddled over to Nick and the fox felt his nervousness spike as seventy-six pairs of eyes turned towards him. Eventually the rabbit kit made it to Nick. Carefully he put the sign down at his feet, sucked on his soother one last time and wrapped his arms around Nick's leg. Nick felt relief wash over him as he smiled down at the toddler bunny. A chorus of 'awhs' and laughter came from the group in front of him.
"Hey little guy," Nick said, rubbing the younger rabbit between the ears. "What's your name?"
"His name's Nick," answered Bonnie, looking on in amazement. "I know you said you liked kits but I never realised they liked you so much."
"Probably helps that his name is Nick too I'll bet," added Stu.
"I'll bet," repeated Nick. "Oh where are my manners? Hey everyone my name's Nick!"
"Hello Nick!"
The answering shout nearly deafened the poor fox. Thankfully Bonnie stepped in then ushering everyone to their respective pick-up trucks. The older rabbits would drive the younger ones home. Nick followed alongside Judy, Nick the younger still attached to his leg. They hopped into the cab behind Bonnie and Stu. The engine gunned to life, causing the whole truck to vibrate. Fields full of every kind of vegetable rolled past them. Some late workers were still out; making sure the sprinklers were working, checking farm equipment and weeding between the rows.
"Never realised how big this place was," murmured Nick.
"Yup biggest piece of farmland in the country," admitted Stu proudly. "It has to be. We've gotta feed all the millions of bunnies that live here as well as Zootopia and the other cities."
"Is it just bunnies that live here?" asked Nick.
"No but I'd say we make up about ninety percent of the population," Bonnie replied. "Why one of our neighbours is a fox. Great pie maker. We give him the blueberries free of charge and he gives us a cut of the profits from his bakery. I'd say you two would get along like peas in a pod. Goes by the name of Gideon Grey."
"The same Gideon Grey who…?"
"Yeah that's the one," answered Stu. "I'm sure Judy's shown you the scars but he's a changed mammal now. He used to be so angry and sad. A real bully but he came around eventually. Apologised to those he'd hurt, including Jude the Dude, and got back on track. Bad home life was the problem I think. His pa used to brew and sample his own moonshine. By the time he died he was doing a lot more sampling than brewing."
"Maybe we're not so different after all then…" mused Nick quietly.
"You say something Nick?"
"No just thinking out loud Stu."
"So tell us Nick," said Bonnie, changing the subject. "Any special vixens back in Zootopia?"
"Mom!" snapped Judy warningly.
"No it's OK Judy," said Nick smiling.
He raised an eyebrow at her. Realising the implication Judy began to look as nervous as Nick felt. Gulping, she nodded. Nick cleared his throat and looked at Bonnie Hopps' curious eyes in the rear-view mirror.
"Well there is one girl," he answered carefully. "But I wouldn't call her a vixen…"
"Oh is she another canine? A coyote? A wolf? A coywolf?"
"No Mrs Hopps it's Judy, your daughter."
Bonnie's eyes widened as Stu hit the brakes and wrenched the steering wheel around. The truck bucked and bounced onto the side of the road. The young rabbit in the panicked fox's lap slept soundly on. The truck came to a rough halt as Stu turned around but not to look at Nick. Instead he looked at his wife's smug face in disbelief.
"Pay up," laughed Bonnie. Stu muttered and cursed under his breath before forking over a twenty.
"Oh good grief!" said Nick to Judy in exasperation. "First the ZPD, then your neighbours and now your parents!"
AN: Be sure to feed me them faves, follows and reviews my dudes! Muchas gracias!