Chapter 2: Ring the Bell!
Written by Fox in the Hen House
Edited by Cimar
Cover Art over on DA by Alamarus
"Can't...get...this damn...needle!"
Though the words were muttered, almost unintelligible in fact, they still were picked up by the long ears of the bunny sitting in the kitchen. Used to the small fits of her husband, the younger doe took a sip of her coffee, not bothering to look up from her work. Checking off a few more answers, she raised her voice to call out as she heard a loud crash. "Everything okay, Nick?"
A sharp yip came from the other room combined with a second banging sound. "I'm...fine! I just can't get this, I mean I swear why would he come to me? I'm a fox, not a shrew! I don't have anything here for such small mammals." Judy grimaced. Now she knew what was causing her fox so much trouble and she felt awful as it was technically her fault he was dealing with such an annoyance.
"I'm sorry, Nick. When Fru asked me if you would be willing to make some suits for her, I thought for sure it was for Kevin, Raymond and the rest of the polar bears, not her father." A shrew, Mr. Big was one of the smaller mammals that existed in Zootopia. While Nick's business, Suitopia, was equipped to handle any mammal from otters to elephants, nearly all of the business with the very small species was handled by other small species such as mice though squirrels, with their highly dexterous paws, were fairly competent as well. Since Nick was so much larger, none of his machines were designed to handle such small fabric, so most of it had to be done by paw. Threading such a small needle was the cause of his sudden outburst.
"No. No it's fine, Carrots I can handle it just fine. May be taking me a little longer but thankfully he's given me a fair amount of time-OW!" Judy was half out of her chair ready to hasten towards the front office where he was working before he spoke out to calm her down. "It's alright, Judy. I fumbled the needle. Pricked my thumb. If I could just...thread...Haaaa! Got it!" Judy put a paw over her mouth to hide a smile as she heard her husband dancing around letting out shouts of triumph.
"You're such a kit, Nick." Shaking her head, Judy bent over the papers on the kitchen table. Circling wrong answers and checking the correct ones always seemed like a poor way to teach children in her eyes. Instead she took to writing out how the answers were incorrect and how to properly solve math problems or spelling issues. It took a lot more time but she felt the kits in her class were worth it. This morning it was spelling and she found a large number of her class had fallen victim to an old adage.
Her quiet laughter piqued the vulpine's interest. "Alright, spill. What did one of the kids do to give you the giggles this morning?"
"Oh it's nothing really. I'm just grading their spelling and almost all of them misspelled the easiest word to misspell in the English language. They put two "s's" in misspell." Her chuckles went unanswered by a concerned fox who stopped his work to tilt his head.
"Carrots? I don't know how to tell you this, but there are two s's in 'misspell'."
Judy shook her head, amused by her husband being mistaken as well. "No there aren't. Here, I'll even look it up on my phone." Nick caught a few taps coming from the kitchen as the bunny put in the word in the Zoogle search. The giggles ended abruptly causing him to let out a small grin before opening his mouth. "Don't even, Nicholas Wilde. You close that mouth of yours or so help me you'll be on the couch tonight." Nick snapped his jaw shut, though his smugness did not evaporate in the slightest. Attempting to change the subject as she started redoing all of the grading, she brought up their nightly activity. "So what did you want to do for dinner tonight? I hear they're having a special at the Ocean Garden."
"I don't know, Carrots," came the muffled reply from the other room. Nick struggled with a piece of fabric he was trying to lay just right as it was so small. Taking the needle from his lips, he began stitching the seams. "The MMMA event kinda tapped us for the moment. That was most of our 'extras' funds. Even if Milos could get us in, I doubt his family discount would be enough to cover the cost without dipping into the savings."
Neither of them regretted having gone to the event. It gave them both a much needed relaxing day and helped them reconnect a little, being around one of their guilty pleasures. The cost was merely having to 'cinch the belt' for a week or so as the saying goes. "That's okay. I just harvested some ripe veggies from our garden out back and we still have a little bit of frozen chicken strips that we can make a Caesar salad out of."
Sticking his head around the corner, he was able to just make eye contact with his wife. "You're too good to me, Fluff. Remind me to shower you with kisses later."
"Reminder added," she teased, pretending to type away at her phone. The two continued giggling until the bell from downstairs alerted them that someone had just entered the store. "At this hour?" Judy looked at the clock, seeing it was only a few minutes past seven before looking at her husband questionably. Though they technically were open as the locks were turned at seven AM, there was almost never a customer out so early. Though it did not stop Nick from getting as giddy as he did every time that bell rung.
"Welcome to Suitopia," he exclaimed merrily, walking out into the front room. "Tailoring for all, mammals big and small. How can I-...Uhm...Carrots? You may want to come out here." Concerned by the hesitation in his voice though curious at the same time, Judy made her way from the kitchen down the hall to where the storefront was. Just as she was coming through the door, stunned by Nick's wide-eyed expression, the small mammal, another bunny, was turning to face her.
"What's wrong Ni- Oh my god, you're Jade!" The sudden appearance of her favorite fighter, and perhaps her all time favorite athlete, altogether had the rabbit freezing in place. She couldn't help but squeak in excitement as her two paws clasped over her mouth. She wanted so badly to say something, to rush forward and maybe shake the doe's paw, but before she could, the fighter ran her eyes over Judy's choice of attire. Following her gaze, the bunny squeaked again, this time in embarrassment. As school did not start for another two hours, she had not seen fit to dress yet and was still in her bathrobe. Looking up in horror at the amused rabbit, she quickly turned and fled back down the hallway before slamming the bedroom door shut.
Nick shook his head, a frown on his muzzle in sympathy for his wife. "Sorry about that," he said to the other gray rabbit. "She's a huge fan of yours and I think she just embarrassed herself into oblivion."
Jade simply shrugged, giving him a reassuring smile. "Not the first time I assure you. Though I do find most rabbits tend to veer away from the fighting sports. Not much stomach for it. Very few fans out there in the lapine society."
"Well, you definitely have one in her. Myself as well. We were at the fight on Saturday, front row even, and I gotta say we loved your performance. It was quite the thrilling match." Jade raised a brow at that, intrigued by the oddly mixed couple showing up to a live MMMA match.
"You don't say? Of the few bunny fans fighters like myself and Corday attract, even fewer are willing to show up to a live fight, especially when bunnies are being hurt."
"Well, it was sort of a special day for us, though I had to do it a few weeks early. We met at an MMMA event four years ago so it's been kind of our thing." He suddenly looked embarrassed as the realization of exactly why she had come into the store had slipped his mind. "I am so sorry. Here I am prattling on when you obviously came in here for a reason. What can I do for you?"
A warm smile did much to ease his nerves and he relaxed as she brought out a clothing bag. Here was what he understood of the world. Opening the black bag, she hauled out what looked like an official uniform of some sort. "Well I was looking around on the net last night for a tailor and you had some of the highest reviews in the city so you must do great work. Plus I'm a sucker for puns," she said with a wink, referencing the name of the store. "I need this repaired if possible. Took a rhino horn last week and it ripped it right down the side."
A little concerned at why she would have been fighting a rhino, especially as they were out of her weight class by a long shot, Nick unfolded the garment. He could easily see the eight inch long gash down the side and knew it would be an easy repair. What caught his eye however was the letters along the back of the one piece neoprene suit. The large yellow letters spelling out 'ZPA' took up nearly the whole back of the suit. "ZPA. You're going to the academy?"
"Well, close. I actually work at the academy outside of my MMMA career. I'm a combat instructor that handles most of the smaller mammals although occasionally I cover for the others whenever they are sick or get hit a little too hard the day before. Hence the giant gash. One of the cadets got a little overenthusiastic because Jones, the normal stallion trainer, was out sick for the day." She let a grin he could only describe as evil pass across her lips as her eyes glinted with amusement. "I bet he felt pretty proud when he woke up in the infirmary with a rabbit paw shaped bruise on his chin." Nick gave her an appraising look. It was one thing, he felt, to take on another mammal of the same size, but for her to instruct mammals far larger than another rabbit takes someone with a lot of guts, skill, and a fair amount of madness.
"That's impressive. I can imagine it must be difficult to lay a paw on you. Your speed is incredible." Indeed, though Nick was certain one blow would annihilate the rabbit even knowing her skill, he would be surprised to see one actually manage to touch her. The rhino must have gotten very lucky to snag her suit, though even luckier he wasn't dismissed from the Academy for attempting to gore a bunny. "I can have the suit repaired in a couple days. Neoprene requires a special thread and I'm out at the moment, but I can have it shipped in by tomorrow."
"That sounds great. I'm off this week anyways. Part of the deal. I get a small break the week after a match." Bringing out a small purse, she dug around in it for her debit card. "How much do I owe you?" She was never short on cash between her bouts and the steady income from the ZPA, but she preferred to keep digital records of all her transactions rather than pay with what she called 'useless pieces of paper.'
Glancing quickly down the hall towards the bedroom, seeing it still closed, Nick leaned in conspiratorially close before gesturing Jade towards him. He kept his voice to a whisper so that Judy would not be able to hear him. "I'd be willing to do the job for free but I would like something in return." Raising her brow, Jade frowned heavily before crossing her arms and stamping her foot. His own eyes raising high, he waved his paws frantically. "No, no. Nothing like that. I just need a favor," he added quickly, then continued. "See, when my wife was a kit, she wanted more than anything to be a cop. She gave up that dream in her teens when she decided she instead decided to be a teacher to help her siblings. And though she keeps saying otherwise, I know she still wonders what it would be like. Would it be possible to get her a day to run with the cadets at the academy? Do all the fun stuff like the obstacle course and whatnot?"
Finding the request intriguing, Jade mulled it over. Though she knew the obstacle course was not a 'fun' activity, she supposed if she cleared it with the Major it wouldn't do any harm. And knowing how soft she was towards the smaller cadets she was sure she could get her to agree. Holding out her paw, she had to stifle a chuckle at how quickly the vulpine grasped it. "It's a deal, Mr. Wilde. I'll see you in a few days for my suit and I'll give you a date for your wife to attend the academy."
She turned to leave when a high pitched yell brought her up short of the door.
"Wait!"
Judy was racing down the hall, now dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink flannel shirt. Stopping just shy of the superstar, Judy rubbed her paws together, her eyes now looking at the floor. "Would you...would you sign this for me?" Bringing out the program from Saturday's event from her back pocket as well as a marker, she waited with wide eyes. Though stunned at first, Jade quickly relaxed, her mouth forming into a smile before giving Judy a wink and a quick scribble over the page.
With a casual wave, she left the store, pulling out a pair of designer shades that Judy figured cost more than her weekly salary before putting them on to face the now rising sun. All the gray bunny could do was watch as her hero strode away. Turning to her husband, her jaw dropped in both shock and excitement. "She. Was. HERE! She signed my program! Her paw touched my paw when I gave her the marker! I can't...I can't..." Nick leapt forward to catch his bunny as her eyes rolled up into the back of her head before she slowly collapsed.
"Jeez Carrots. Hero worship much?" he chuckled heartily as he moved her to the couch. "Five minutes to come around, Fluff, or I get the water." Still laughing, the tod headed back into his workshop before making a call. He needed a very important roll of thread.
AN: Cimar here. Just wanted to say that this chapter marks the 200,000 word mark for the story! So HOLY COW! Thank you for supporting all these amazing authors and artists in this collaboration project!
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