Chapter 14 Date-not-Date?
AN: I made some changes to their ages in this story. Why? Because...THIS...IS...FANFICTION! *punts Bellwether off a small stool*.
Judy's paw was next to the door, and had been hanging there for nearly a minute now, Clawhauser's and Valorie's words hanging in her mind like lead weights.
This is not a date...this is not a date...she repeated again and again. Finally, once her mind's thoughts had again been locked away, heavily bolted down with chains, she gave three quick raps against the door, missing the third as the door swung open almost instantly.
And there he stood, Don Nicholas de la Wilde, in all his glory.
"I was wondering when you'd knock," he replied, chuckling lightly. "I saw your approach and was waiting here for quite a...while..."
All words from him ceased as he looked down at the bunny Capitán. His mouth stayed open as his eyes absorbed every detail of her.
"Hermosa..." he mumbled, before shaking his head. "Where are my manners, please, come in." The fox stood aside, mouth still slightly open as Judy walked past him.
"Thank you Don Wilde, for setting up this getting to know each other meeting," Judy began, trying to ignore his reaction to seeing her, as well as Sergeant Clawhauser's words which had somehow broken free of her mental blockade of them.
"It's Nick," the don stated. "And if this is simply a get to know one another meeting, you are looking absolutely stunning."
A blush crept up Judy's ears, one which she tried to halt in its advances but found herself hard pressed to do so. "Thank you Nicholas. You are quite kind with your words."
"Deservedly so when they come to you, Judy," the fox said nearly instantly, his eyes not leaving Judy's form, before his tail froze behind him and ears shot up. "I apologize for my behavior. It is wrong of me to stare at you for so long. Please, follow me and we can start our sumptuous feast to welcome you to Zootopia."
Nick rushed forward, his speed startling Judy, who had to nearly jog to keep up with him.
"I thank you again for your hospitality. I wasn't expecting such kindness after what I did my first day here. Especially from a Don of all mammals."
Nick froze mid-step, his ears and head lowering slightly. "Never judge a book by its cover," he stated simply, before turning to again walk towards what must have been the dining hall.
Judy followed behind, wondering why Wilde had suddenly gone so cold, as the warmth that had accompanied his previous comments had suddenly disappeared. He led her to a nearby room, a crystal chandelier hanging above an elegantly carved mahogany dining table that already had been prepared for the occasion. Nick walked towards a seat, pulling it out for Judy, who thanked him for his kindness as she sat in it. Gently pushing it forward, Nick walked towards his own chair at the head of the table, facing her, giving Judy time to examine the expertly crafted silverware and dishes, which with their designs must have been bought and shipped across the Pawcific ocean from Chinning.
Nick's voice broke her from her reverie.
"I hope you are fond of what I have had prepared," he began, clapping his paws twice. Several servants, including a very small desert fox walked in, holding several silver trays with lids atop them. The small fox ambled up to Judy's chair, staring at her with what she assumed was slight distrust as he un-ceremoniously dropped the platter onto the table next to her.
"Finnick," came Nick's warning voice. Judy looked up to see a scowl crossing the Don's face. "Now what have I said concerning guests.
The smaller fox crossed his arms across his chest, before releasing them and gesticulating wildly with them. Judy was quite confused, as Nick seemed to nod, then frown, then laugh at whatever the tan fox was doing.
"Finnick, it's ok. I know what you mean. She is different than the others."
Judy's eyes widened as Finnick continued waving his paws in a series of movements. She caught him making several motions repeatedly.
Is this some sort of language only they understand? she wondered as again a smile crept up Nick's face as a server lightly placed one of the silver trays next to his plate.
"I understand," Nick stated with a hint of amusement. "We can discuss that later, alright?"
Judy watched the smaller fox nod, then proceed to offer her a very forced smile as he lifted off the lid from the tray he had carried in for her. Nearly instantly, Judy's mouth began watering as the smells of fresh watercress , honeysuckle and an assortment of vegetables alongside a large salad, hit her with the force of an elephants punch.
"That smells heavenly," Judy whispered, eyes closing as she simply let the smells delight and tease her senses.
Nick watched in amusement at the Capitán's reaction to her meal, as the lid from his own plate was removed, revealing a tender chicken breast fillet with a blueberry drizzle. "If you think that it smells heavenly, wait until you taste it." The don grinned as a smile came upon Judy's face. "It is my mother's own recipe, and I had it prepared especially for you tonight."
Her eyes darted open. "Oh, you didn't have to go to such lengths for me," she sputtered, ears drooping behind her as her gaze fell to the food before her. She noted some of the ingredients were incredibly rare to find in Califurnia, and that the entirety of the dish itself must have cost nearly a month of her salary to acquire the ingredients for it.
"I would hope that you will enjoy it then, as you deserve a proper welcome. I have heard from a servant in town that was buying some of the ingredients for this dish, that your superior does not seem to be too welcoming of you in your new position."
If Judy's ears could have lowered further, they would have. "So you heard then..."
Nick's smile turned to a frown. "Did I overhear my servants talking about how unjustly a certain rabbit in town had been treated? Yes, yes I have."
Nick watched her reaction carefully, studying her to see what her reactions would give him as information. He was still cautiously optimistic of the new Capitán, but was worried that she could still go the way of all the others...
Well, everyone except for Skye of course. Just at the thought of the vixen his ears lowered and his eyes lost a bit of their merriment.
It was that moment that Judy's gaze came up to meet his, and the rabbit noticed the pain in his eyes.
"Nicholas, let us talk of much merrier subjects, shall we? I don't want to bring you sadness with my presence here and if that is what I bring...then I shall take my leave."
"Don't go!"
His words had come out as a shout, startling Judy, Finnick, and the other servants in the room. His visage froze momentarily, before he regained his composure, clapping his paws once. All the servers left immediately, though several turned back to look at the Don with nervous glances and fleeting, worry filled eyes.
As they left, Judy was left wondering what was going on. So far, both of their emotions had been all over the place, and only in a few minutes had she seen Nicholas go from merry, to startled, to sad, to worried, and then repeating all of them. She knew she had been no better, as her confusion throughout it all was probably not helping the situation.
So she did the only thing she could think of.
Judy hopped off her chair and made it over to the foxes chair in a few quick steps, offering up her paw to him.
"Capitán Judith Hopps," she stated merrily. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
The Don stared down at her in momentarily confusion, though it didn't last long before a smile crept upon his features and a slight chuckle escaped his lips. He slid easily from his chair, bringing Judy's paw up to his lips for a quick kiss. "Don Nicholas de la Wilde, at your service."
A slight giggle escaped from Judy as his lips tickled the fur of her paw. "It would seem that we have a well prepared dinner ahead of us. Should we commence in doing what both of us would enjoy?"
She noticed a slight flush creeping upon the Don's feature at her comment, grinning at seeing him somewhat flustered, though for reasons she didn't know. It just gave her a sense of satisfaction seeing him flustered after all the times he had done the same to her.
"Dinner...yes, of course," he stuttered, grinning through it all. "Yes, that is what we both would enjoy." He followed Judy to her seat, again pulling it out for her as she sat, before pushing it in again. "And might I say, that you look elegant tonight Miss Hopps."
"I could say the same for you, though you always look quite dashing, Mr. Wilde," Judy replied, giving his attire a quick once over, noticing that his green suit was freshly pressed, yet smelled slightly of the fields of his lands. As the daughter of a farmer, she could place the smell of the earth anywhere, a fact she prided herself on.
"Now that pleasantries are done with," Nick stated as he sat in his own chair. "Shall we begin?"
Their dinner proceeded well from there, with friendly banter being exchanged, as well as the latest news from near and afar. Judy was quite impressed with how much Nick knew of the world at large, especially with how much he had travelled in his relatively short life of 25 years.
On the other paw, Nick was stunned to learn what Judy had accomplished in the short two decades she had lived in Califurnia. Becoming a Capitán was a hard achievement in itself, but doing so as a rabbit, especially the challenges that she outlined while getting to her goal, mesmerized the fox. Yet through it all, she didn't come off as a braggart or showy in her accomplishments. Rather, she was modest in her statements, attributing her success to how her parents had raised her, and wanting to help make the world a better place for all mammalkind.
As the sumptuous dinner was finished, Judy was enthralled as without even asking for it, the servants entered once again, clearing their plates of dinner before setting dessert before them. Judy again noticed how wonderful the blueberry crumble smelled, and had to force herself not to simply dig into the dessert with gusto. She also couldn't help but notice that Nick seemed to have the same issue as his lips turned up into a smile at just the smells from the sweet confection before him.
"I take it you are quite a fan of blueberries," Judy quipped, noticing a slight hum of satisfaction from him as he took his first bite.
"If I could, I'd marry them," he replied. "Though I'm sure it would be frowned upon if I then ate them afterwards."
Judy laughed, and Nick couldn't help but notice how elegant it was. It was pleasing to his ears in a way that a tuned piano or expert violinist couldn't surpass. The sudden thought of wanting to hear it happen more flew through his mind, before he tried to catch it and put it back into its cage where it belonged.
As her laughter dimmed, Judy noticed a slight twinkle in Don Wilde's eyes as she caught him looking at her, before he coughed into his paw and idly looked towards his blueberry crumble. There was something in his eyes that reminded her of all the looks her siblings had given to those they were dating.
And there it was again. That word...
...date.
For her entire life, Judy was a rabbit of action. When she wanted something, she worked towards getting it. If a problem stumped her? She'd learn how to overcome it. If a thought came to her mind, she acted on it. Too many questions were flooding her mind over this dinner. Thoughts ranging from what the purpose of it was, why the Don was being so kind, did he have ulterior motives or did he just want to meet her as she was the new Capitán?
So many questions, yet the largest of them all stood out, as if lit with thousands of torches thanks to both Clawhauser and Valorie's comments from before.
Setting aside her fork, Judy looked upon Don Nicholas Wilde, a single intent in her steady gaze until he looked up to match hers with his own.
"Nicholas, I've been meaning to ask you this since you invited me to this dinner," she began, steadying her voice so as to not show the slight waver to it.
To his credit, not much betrayed his thoughts or emotions besides a subtle flick of his ears. "And what would that be?"
It's now or never...Judy thought. Steeling her resolve, Judy readied herself for whatever would happen next.
"Is this a date?"
AN: Merry Christmas Everybody! I wanted to surprise you all with a Christmas gift for today, and here it is. (Even my editor didn't know about this since I didn't want to ruin the Christmas surprise for him either.) So enjoy this wonderful season everyone, and have a very Merry Christmas!