Machinists Chapter 4: Another Day in the Rain
Written by TheAssassin_2
Edited by LapisLucius42
Artwork by TheAssassin_2
Chapter quote:
Never give up on your dream because of the time it takes to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.
-Earl Nightingale
Nick and Judy's relationship progressed rather quickly. They spent New Year's sipping sparkling cider, neither of them being old enough to drink, and snuggling on the couch while watching the Avengers series. Judy was half-paying attention, with her thinking about the craziness in her life and how much time she spent working towards her dream only to feel like she'd been forced to abandon it. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the movies' direction and could not wait for the new one coming out later that year.
Though a difficult topic to talk about, they finally brought up Judy's college courses. Judy found out that they started on the tenth of next month. They also discussed how it will affect their relationship if they couldn't be together. Nick and Judy agreed that it would be best to keep in contact via phone and visit whenever possible. Neither liked that they wouldn't be able to spend much time together, wanting to be able to touch and hold each other. It especially was going to be hard for Judy.
The next day
Jack was back! He really enjoyed his reunion after having not seen some of his cousins in almost ten years. When Nick told him about Judy's situation, Jack's mood immediately darkened. 'Oh,' Was all he had said. Later when he retired to his in shop office, Nick and Judy were alone again.
Nick decided to show Judy the tools he made to spin metal. While explaining how they all worked, he and Judy heard arguing coming from the office. The doe cringed when she heard Jack slam the phone down and mutter some choice words.
Neither couldn't stand the tension and was about to leave for the house when Jack threw the office door open and stopped them. "Wait! Judy, I need to talk to you."
Judy sighed sadly and turned away from Nick, but he held her paw, momentarily stopping her. She turned and looked at him.
Nick gave a small reassuring smile. "It's going to be alright Carrots."
Judy's voice shook as she spoke. "I know Nick." Slowly and painfully she pulled her small paw out of the comforting shelter of his larger one. Nick watched the brokenhearted bunny enter the office before he himself left the shop.
Back inside, Judy sat on the lone chair in front of Jack's desk. She noticed the desk was littered with little doodads Jack had made over the years as the coyote walked around it and slumped into his seat.
Jack looked at Judy across from him. Her ears were down and shoulders slumped. He sighed. "Judy I don't know what to tell you. I don't know why the college has decided to pull this on you. But there is nothing I can do to stop it. I looked at your record; you more than meet the qualifications for my class. So did Nick. You see, I have a choice to pick my students. I try to pick the best and the brightest. I picked you because of how smart you are. And now that I've gotten to know you better, I know that you were the right choice. When you first arrived here all nervous and shy, I had my doubts, but when you walked into the basement shop, you lit up like a lightbulb."
Jack smiled a little, calming the nervous doe slightly. "Judy, I know you want this more than anything. I was the exact same way when I was your age. That's why I teach. And I know you'll make an amazing machinist. But take it from an old coyote who's already had his day in the sun. You're gonna have to be patient to get what you want. I know it's hard to do, especially for someone of your age. But you have to, and I know if anyone can do it, you can."
Judy numbly nodded her head as she struggled to hold back tears. Even though Jack was technically her boss, he had treated her more like a friend than an employee. "I know. It's just, hard to give something up that I have finally gotten." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I don't want to leave, especially now that Nick and I are a thing." She didn't even notice what she said; too lost in her emotions.
Jack wasn't surprised. That would explain why he held her paw so long before she came in here. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't be taking any more students for the next six years. As soon as you are done with college, you can come back and start right back up where you left off."
Judy looked up at him with a look of disbelief. All Jack did was nod to her unspoken question. For the first time since Jack had been home, he saw Judy smile. "Thank you Jack."
Over the next week, Nick and Jack helped Judy enroll at the college. Orientation was on the ninth and today was the eighth. Jack walked out of Judy's soon-to-be-old room with her last box of belongings. "Alright Judy, this is the last one. I'll take it to your truck. Then we can have our last meal together." Jack quietly walked down the hall and turned around the corner.
Quietly, Judy walked into the room. It was just like the day she arrived. Plain white walls bed in one corner with no sheets and dresser in front of the window. This was her little domain. A place she had decorated and made her own. She had loved filling the space with her projects and giving the room life. Now it was gone. All of it was gone.
Quietly Nick walked into the room and saw Judy with her ears down, even her tail was droopy. "This is so much harder than when I left home," she whispered.
Nick walked up to her and she turned around to look at him with tear-filled eyes. "That's because this is your home now. This is where you belong Judy." She nodded her head sadly.
Judy very shakily reached into her pocket and withdrew a small wrap of cloth. "Here I've been meaning to give this to you for a few days now."
Nick took the small wrap and unfolded it. What he saw stole his breath from his lungs. In his paws, sitting on the cloth, was a Damascus ring. Nick looked up at Judy in shock. She had tears streaming down her face. But she still managed to talk through her soft sobs. "I promise to come back to you. I won't stop working towards my dream, because my dream now has you in it, Nick. I love you." She laid her head on his chest and grabbed his shirt with both paws and sobbed harder. "I don't want to go Nick."
Nick embraced the bunny in front of him and rested his muzzle on her head between her ears. "I know Judy, I know. It's going to be alright. I'll wear this ring and I will remember your promise. I love you Judy, so much. Don't you ever forget that!"
And that was how their last day together went. It was filled with sweet sorrow. That was a week ago. Neither Jack nor Nick talked much since, the mood a dour one as they were still getting used to the quiet without Judy around. They both sat around the kitchen table sipping on juice boxes. Nick was staring at the ring that Judy made for him for the hundredth time.
He couldn't help but wonder how she did it. It was a beautiful Damascus ring. He had dabbled around in blacksmithing for years now and he still could not figure out how to make Damascus. Yet Judy made it with so little experience and he wondered how long it took her.
"You know you two made a cute couple." Nick looked up at Jack who had broken the silence. "She begged me to help her make that ring for you. I just told her how to do it and she did the rest. The pattern is unlike anything I've ever seen before."
It was true; the ring had loops that looked a lot like bunny ears going around it. "Listen Nick I know how you feel. I knew love once too. It was me and my wife that built this place. She was the blacksmith and I was the machinist. We always wanted to pass our knowledge on to other young minds, so we started teaching together." After a very long pause, he continued. "Do you remember what you asked me when you arrived here, about the blacksmith's area?" Nick nodded his head; he had asked why it was so dirty. "I lied to you that day. I haven't cleaned that space in over ten years. When my wife died I just didn't have it in me to clean up her last mess. It was as if I was cleaning up her memory to throw away. When I look at you and Judy I see myself and my wife. I'm sorry Judy's gone Nick. I truly am."
Judy wasn't enjoying her new life. She hated the city; there was too much noise and too many other animals. She had been attending Zootopia Central College now for over three weeks and was absolutely miserable. She didn't feel like getting up in the morning, didn't feel like going to class every day. The only thing that kept her going was her promise to Nick. If she didn't get good grades, she wouldn't get to go back home. So she powered through each class, Nick's image in her mind forcing her forward.
It had been raining in Zootopia since late last night, which was weird for the time of year. Rain, rain was an interesting thing. It could turn almost any day boring. Some people loved it, others not so much. Judy was one of the latter. Rain was depressing to her and she hated it. It blocked out the beauty of the sun and sky with darkness and cold.
The roads were so busy around the college that the bunny had to walk to most of her classes for fear of getting into a wreck with her only truck. So here she was, walking through the freezing rain to another class she didn't want to go to.
It was the first class of the day and she was already soaked to the bone. It was going to be a long and cold day. "Stupid carrot picking requirements! I could be back home right now in Nick's warm arms," she muttered to herself. This was one of her new pastimes: complain about her dumb classes.
"Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the Nature and Science building?"
Judy turned around to be met with a familiar brown coat. When she looked up, she met the most beautiful sight she had seen all day. "Nick?"
"In the fur," he put a paw on his chest.
"H-h-how are you here?" She asked in bewilderment. She had to be dreaming. No, she was dead, frozen to death in the rain. This was it. Now she would never get to see Nick again.
"Look at what I got in the mail Carrots." He held out an envelope which Judy took and read.
It was a letter that stated he was not eligible for the apprenticeship program and that he needed to take classes at the college if he wanted to continue. Judy looked up at him with tears growing in her eyes. "Nick." But that was all she could say before he wrapped her in his arms in a hug and picked her up off the ground.
"I missed you so much Judy."
Judy wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know Nick, I missed you too. I don't think I could have done it. Not without you here."
Nick lowered Judy to the ground and knelt down in front of her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little pouch. He opened it and dumped the contents into his palm, holding out an object to Judy, who covered her mouth with her paws. "I didn't think it was fair that I got a ring and you didn't." He picked the ring up and took Judy's paw in his own. "Judy, I promise I won't leave your side. No matter what; you're stuck with me, through thick and thin, and hell and high water. I'll always be here." He slid the ring on her finger as he spoke. "I love you Judy."
Judy couldn't take it anymore. "I love you too Nick!" She lunged forward and kissed him. It was their first kiss. It was awkward because it the shape of their mouths and they were both soaked. But it warmed Judy from the inside out. And she could safely guess it did the same for Nick.
Slowly Nick drifted back into consciousness, images of tools and machines still flashing in his memory. "Carrots?"
Judy sat up and took her visor off as Nick did the same. "You know Nick? The rain really isn't that bad is it?"
Nick was baffled. "I guess so. What makes you say that?"
"I'm not sure. I just get a warm feeling when I think about it now." She had a dreamy look on her face.
"Huh. I guess you enjoyed yourself?"
"As long as it is with you Nick, I'll enjoy anything." She smiled as she stood up and stretched her arms and back.
Nick put an arm around his wife's shoulders. She relaxed into his touch. "Come on Carrots let's go home."
AN: Alright what did you all think? This is my second ever story and my first time working on a collaboration. I'd like to thank Cimar for giving me the amazing opportunity to participate. And I'd like to thank my editors this story wouldn't be what it is without them. Give them all a huge round of applause. Thank you all so much! If you liked this I humbly suggest that you check out my other story: To Stand Together or Not at All. You can find it on Deviantart and by TheAssassin2. Also I may continue this on my own. I'm not sure if I can actually do that… Can I do that Cimar? Before I go I want to clarify that the rings Nick and Judy exchanged were promise rings. I've never seen a story with them in it and thought it would be sweet. Let me know what you think. Thanks again guys! I'll let Cimar take it from here. Bye!
AAN: I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who worked on this story. For TheAssassin_2 for writing and making the picture, and for OnceNeverTwiceAlways and LapisLucius42 for editing it. I really loved this story and I hope you now take some time to go look these guys up, follow them, read their stories and leave them some nice reviews. :)