YOUTHOPIA
CH05: Curiosity

Nick goes missing for one day shift, only to show back up as Finnick's 10 year old nephew and claiming the parentage of two Bunnyburrow residents.

I do not own Zootopia.

- O – O – O – O – O -

"Finnick doesn't have an idea but he told me we should just enjoy little Nick's presence," Gideon reported dutifully, looking alright upon laying out the fennec's early departure. "I don't really have much qualms about it. I mean, look at our furry." He gave a lopsided grin.
Judy spared him a chuckle. "Feels like an actual parent talk when the children's not looking."
"Ain't that a striking semblance?" Gideon said in light reception of the joke.

"Mum! Dad and I got something for you!" Nicholas jumped from the bed, looking excited.
"The pies?" Judy asked innocently as she gave him a sweet expression.
"Carrots!" The fox cub waved his personal device. "Listen to it!"
The bunny took the recorder and spun it carefully to touch the play button.

"We love you, Mum!" The voices of the two foxes roughly mixed in for the heartwarming greeting, followed by the giggle of Nicholas and a quick additional message. "-by the funnies!"
Every animal in the room laughed jovially and huddled themselves on the bed space.
"What's the funnies supposed to be?" Judy asked humorously.
"Foxes and bunnies!"
The police officer flushed in a little embarrassment as she stroked his head.
"You're such a dumb fox."
"And you're a sly bunny, Mum!" Judy looked at him fondly, while Gideon absently wondered whether his acting partner was remembering stuff from her time with the actual Nick Wilde.

"Mum, you haven't tasted Dad's pastry yet!" Nicholas said as he reached for what was left in his blueberry pack which Judy just noticed by then, giving it an incredulous expression.
"Your uncle got you that?"
Gideon chuckled. "I had the same look. Uncle's really close with li'l Nich'las."
The temporary mother hummed in interest as she stood up to inspect the doughnut box. "I'm guessing Finnick ate so much."
"Yeah. I still haven't eaten," Gideon said as he followed Judy.
Nicholas dug his face through their waists to complete the family presence looming over the available pastry.

"Most of 'em got choc'lates. This one got it dark," Gideon stated discreetly as he pointed using a finger. "This one got soft milk cream, frozen. Icing or sparkles for this one."
"You mean sprinkles," Judy amended in humor.
"Oh, ya got that right. His uncle ate three but there are still copies for their tastes. Nich'las had the special blueberry one."
"It was the only one colored black!" Nicholas mentioned pleasingly.
"The blueberry mix was actually tricky," Gideon admitted. "I thought the donut's gonna melt away with the taste when I was makin' it."
"Dad, can I reserve that one?" Nicholas asked as he tried to raise his paws, slightly hitting Judy's waist which caused an object to go pop.

"What was that?" Gideon wondered out loud as their heads turned to find the source.
Judy chuckled. "It's just the fox repellant. Son, what were you pointing at?" "This one."
Gideon regarded the forbidding object with a wary look. "I thought yer partner dislike's that repellant. And we're also foxes."
"Both of you had a similar look. It's also handy for perfumes though." Judy casually got the material and pressed it to her uniform. "Gives me a factor of intimidation to larger suspects. Gives me a personal service. Win-win situation."
"Sometimes, yer ingenuity jus' surprises me," Gideon acknowledged. "Ya really earned that sly bunny name, eh?"
"Silly." Judy bit on a chosen donut, humming in delight at its bread's texture. "This is good."

"Want to help me with a new brand logo?" Gideon lightened up as he addressed the matter he did not have the chance to pursue with Finnick as they seated themselves back on the bed. "A happy pie can only tell much."
"Oh, so that means we'll have to repaint the van?" Judy asked eagerly. "Then we can bring Nicholas tonight and he can even meet my relatives!"
The fox cub jumped in excitement. "I'll get to meet Mum's relatives?!"
Gideon gave him a worried glance. "But yer Dad..."
"Oh, they'll be accepting of our son." Judy blinked twice as she realized the problem. She regarded the cub with concern. "I can see that… but we can't just cross that off the list. Do you know any vixens, Gideon?"
The chef seemed to blush in embarrassment. "N- not really."

Judy crossed her arms in consideration. "Nicholas can call you Dad, but he definitely can't call me his Mom. It'll cause an uproar, and there are so many animals in Bunnyburrow."
"What if-"
"It's only for a day, right?" the fox cub spoke up. "I can do it! I know Mum's gonna be with me the whole time anyway."
The two elder animals traded tender looks before the bunny turned back to her son.
"Aww, that's so sweet of you!" Judy gave him a slight squeeze on an arm.
"So, 's all set now?" Gideon asked with a smile. "'Bout to be night. But we can still catch up for dinner."

X

The seemingly limitless miles of travel to Bunnyburrow through train left Gideon sleeping on Judy's shoulder, likely tired out by taking care of their little fox.
Initially, he had been hesitant to act it out but Judy decided to offer herself as physical support. He could not do much against her good intentions and he was easily convinced.
Nicholas, however, still had more energy to spare as if he was enlivened by his intake of bread and blueberries.
Judy was fortunate enough to have lots of stories to tell, which kept the fox cub out of boredom.

"So Nicky," Judy drawled, still feeling clumsy with the name she had settled with to use to stand for the actual Wilde. "Nicky and I were running for running for our lives with Manchas growling at us like grrrrr!"
With her free arm, she made a menacing stance to imitate a claw. Nicholas seemed breathless in anticipation, which Judy found entertaining as if they both had something to watch the other's face for.
"I called for Clawhauser and asked for immediate back-up, everything while Manchas almost caught up to us. That was until... we got into a dead end."
"But both of you are still alive, right?" the cub muttered innocently.
"That's right! But the story doesn't jump there..."

Judy continued retelling most of her early days as a cop, which actually felt like the peak of her life. There was something about the fervor of the challenge of the Night Howler case that enlivened her spirits even just through her memories. She could not tell what it specifically was, but she found strange relief in holding on to such passion. Plus, majority of those events had the dumb fox beside her. It felt... exhilarating yet again.
Something about her Nick Wilde...

Carrots.
"Mum, are you getting sleepy?" His question roused her from her lulling thoughts.
Judy chuckled, almost thinking she heard the Wilde's matured voice. "Maybe you're right."
Nicholas smiled sweetly in acknowledgment, then snuggled himself on the bunny's lap. "Let's sleep together again." He raised his head with a frown. "The train won't go past Bunny Burrow right?"
Judy raised an eyebrow at his blamelessness. "I'm sure your Dad will wake up in time."

Nicholas moved to stretch his body and arms, and then got his carrot recorder from his pocket.
"We love you, Mum! -by the funnies!"
"Oh, silly." Judy was about to give him another pat when she realized the fox cub had inched his face so close to hers. The bunny only noticed his outwardly thoughtful expression, before she received a kiss on her cheek.
"Good night, Mum!"
Judy fumbled for words as she hoped her sweet smile was a pass for the abrupt silence. "You dumb fox."
She was spared a weak chuckle and soon, even Nicholas had fallen asleep.

Having two foxes around her made her feel self-conscious and comforted at the same time. She was fortunate enough to have few animals walking around their small family during the travel, most of them only with the reason of going to the toilet. The worst it could get was if anyone familiar saw her with the foxes.
She decided not to worry too much, and allowed the twilight scenery to pass by as the train zoomed across the area. The bunny stared blankly either at the mirror or her pretend family for a few minutes.
A few minutes turned into almost an hour.
Surprisingly, drowsiness never came. Only lots of smiles and sighs did; smiles for the sweet feeling of a family connection, sighs for the thoughts of the original Nick Wilde.
She could not help it. He was her partner, a close friend... a dumb fox she came to be fond of.
She found it funny just how she came to have relationships with different foxes, with the recent addition of an adorable fox cub.

Judy was having a strange sense of calm just dwelling on her thoughts, when she saw the population sign of Bunny Burrow and its designated mark. "Guys, we're here."
Both foxes yawned at the same time in an affectionate display of likeness.
Judy laughed pleasantly. "Last one off the train gets tickled!" They quickly got outside with the tickles being shared to each of them anyway.

They soon got themselves in one of the bigger sections of the interconnected bunny holes, where even a taller creature like Gideon would feel welcomed and unhindered.
The dining table in its center already had served food and, to Judy's interest, the right number of plates.
There was no any other rabbit in sight except for Judy's parents but a steady commotion of footsteps and low rumbles could be easily heard.
The police officer expected as much buzz, while Nicholas looked around curiously as if bent on to catch a sneaking bunny ear or two.

"So you see..." Stu Hopps began uneasily. "Gideon kinda informed us ahead and we did our best to try and accommodate little Nicholas."
Bonnie Hopps nodded eagerly as if to provide a light contrast for the father's nervousness. "That's one more adorable fox for our family!"
Judy tried not to focus on the negative aura, engaging on the plans she and Gideon had actually set for the cub. "So, can we explore the burrows first thing in the morning?"
The two parents traded looks of their own, which Gideon noted with discomfort. "I- I know not all of yer fam's as open as Judy 'ere, two foxes n' all. D- dun' worry. I'd actually be up already by dawn. Busyness can't run by itself."
Nicholas frowned as he turned his attention back to the table. "Dad won't be here tomorrow?"

Much to everyone's astonishment, the fox cub's voice had undeniably shifted to that of a much more mature voice... a way too familiar one.
"Why is everyone quiet?" Nicholas asked in puzzlement, and then gasped himself as he caught wind of what just happened. "What-"
"P- puberty!" Judy stammered out loud.
"I- she- Judy's right," Gideon affirmed.
The two elder rabbits blinked in confusion, while Nicholas started coughing to himself. "I- I'm fine."

His voice had reverted back to being child-like as if nothing strange had happened.
With Judy's parents seeming nowhere near ready to speak back up, Gideon took the initiative to start the intake of food.
"I- I'm sure we're all jus' tired n' 'earing things." He gave one quick glance of worry over Judy's direction before lowering his head to face the plate of Nicholas and help the cub with his food serving.
"G- Gid's right," Stu eagerly took the statement. "It was a busy day in the farm again after all."

Nicholas, however, seemed to be having an inner confusion as his face formed an uncharacteristic scowl. "Dad..."
Gideon hummed in concern. "Hmm?"
"Eh..." The scowl visibly turned to a muddled protrusion of the lips then blinked back to a frown.
"Did Nicholas get something in his throat?" Bonnie motioned worriedly as she tried to get closer.
"Bon, he hasn't even eaten yet," Stu mentioned carefully.
Judy could only focus on the cub as he seemed to be trying to do a specific task.
"I- is it the donuts?" Gideon asked uncertainly.
"N-"

As the fox cub tried to speak more words, his frown grew as Judy's worries did. "Uh, my voice isn't changing anymore."

- O – O – O – O – O -