Ohh sweet Chapter 5. Nearly half of this story is over now. But I'm still have a lot of things planned for Nick and Judy on their time at Bunnyburrow. This time, they are heading into town. They will also run into a certain fox. Pretty sure you all can guess who if you watched the movie. Now then, let's get this chapter going.
Judy and Nick, who were now wearing their hats again, have just left the house and are taking the family truck into town. Judy was doing the driving. Nick was currently searching around the truck for something. Judy knew what he was looking for and she also knew that they wouldn't find them.
"There aren't any blueberries, Nick." Judy said.
"Why not? I could really use something to eat." Nick said pouty.
"We can get something to eat later. I promise you, Nick." Judy said.
"Fine." Nick said still looking pouty.
Judy looked at the horizon I could see the town ahead.
"Look! There it is." Judy said smiling.
"Huh. Looks like a nice little town." Nick said.
The two then parked the truck and both got out. The town was just as you would expect. A few small shops on every corner. Their were mostly bunnies walking around, but their were a few other mammals as well. Judy grabbed Nick's arm and started to tug him.
"Come on Nick." Judy said.
"Hey! Easy Carrots." Nick said. "You're gonna pull my arm off."
"Sorry. I'm just so excited to be back here." Judy said smiling. "I can't wait to show you everything."
"Okay. Let's just take things slowly." Nick said.
Just like that, Judy and Nick began their walk around town. Both Nick and Judy were greeted by most of the townsfolk. Nick was quite surprised that most of them were so nice to a fox. They started by going to a small clothing store. Judy had to try on some of the new clothes they had. Nick didn't seem to not like the idea of waiting for Judy to try on clothes. But he was too good of a guy to just leave. So he watched Judy put on three different outfits. The first outfit she tried on was a pink shirt with a white sweather and a red skirt. Nick didn't seem to impressed with the look. Judy then switch to an pink dress with flowers on it and was also wearing a red bow near one of her ears. Nick thought she looked cute in it, but he knew about how bunnies feel about the "C" word. So he didn't say anything. The third outfit Judy wearing a slim sparkling white dress with a silk scarf around her neck. Seeing her in that dress, Nick was stunned. He thought Judy actually look really beautiful in in. His responds was wagging his tail rapidly. Judy responded by giggling. Nick then realized that she was laughing because of his tail. So he hold his tail down so it wouldn't wag so much. Now it was Nick's turn to try on some outfits. The first outfit was a red version of the green shirt that he usually wears with a palm tree tie and white pants. Nick seems to like it, but Judy questioned it since it was too similar to his regular attire. Judy told Nick to try something different. Nick decided to wear something else. He then put on a green polo with some dark blue jeans. Judy liked the look. Nick felt comfortable in it. Nick then switch to wear a sleek black suit and tie. Nick felt he looked like quite the gentleman in the suit. Judy couldn't help but think that Nick looked handsome in that suit. Nick noticed the way Judy was staring at him and tease her a bit by flirting with her. Judy tried her best to ignore the flirting. But with Nick, it was hard. After switching back to their regular attire, they bought some of the clothes the tried on and left the store to do their next activity.
Nick was really hungry now. The same could be said for Judy. The two decided to get some lunch at a spot that Judy would always go to as a kid growing up. It was a nice little diner. The two had some veggie burgers with some fries. Nick really liked the fries, saying that they were better than any that he has tried in Zootopia.
After lunch, the two walked around town some more. Going to other stores, seeing Judy's old school, and saying hi to all the townsfolks. Nick actually liked Judy's hometown quite a bit. It was... different from how things were in the city. Nick and Judy walked down one of the streets a bit.
"This day has been pretty good." Nick thought. "Just me and Carrots..."
"I'm really have a nice time with Nick." Judy thought. "Ha... ha... If I didn't know better..."
"I would say that this..." Nick thought.
"Is kinda like..." Judy thought.
"A date!" Nick and Judy thought.
The thought that all of this could be a date made Nick and Judy start feeling awkward around each other and they both started to blush a bit. I mean, this wasn't the first time Nick and Judy hanged out this long, but this time, it felt weirder than usual. All weird feelings aside, Judy looked ahead and noticed a small bakery. On the window display, their were several tasty looking treats from cakes to pies. She looked at the top of the title and it said "Gideon Grey's Good Bakery Stuff".
"Huh. So this is Gideon's Bakery." Judy said.
"Umm... who's Gideon again? Nick asked.
"I told you about him already, didn't I?" Judy asked. "Gideon and my parents work together as partners. He's also a fox."
"He's a fox and your family of bunnies is working with him?" Nick said looking surprised. "I'm starting to think members of your family LIKE working with foxes."
"Mom and dad did some changing after I became a cop." Judy said. "But enough of that. Let's go in."
Judy and Nick then went into the bakery. A slight chubby red fox with an auburn hair cut was at the counter placing some of his desserts on the display counter. This was none other then Gideon.
"Gideon Grey." Judy said to get his attention.
"Well if it isn't Judy Hopps. When did you get back in town?" Gideon asked.
"Just yesterday actually." Judy stated.
"So, who's your friend here?" Gideon asked looking at Nick.
"My name is Nicholas P. Wilde. Call me Nick." Nick said holding his paw out.
"Gideon Grey. But I guess you can call me Gid." Gideon said shaking Nick's paw.
"Nice bakery you got here." Nick said.
"Thanks." Gideon said.
"Look at you two. A country fox and a city fox getting along." Judy said smiling.
"Well we are both foxes." Nick said.
"Ha ha... yeah." Judy said scratching the back of her head.
"So Nick, how do you know Judy?" Gideon asked.
"Judy's my partner at the ZPD." Nick said.
"First a rabbit, now a fox? You two must really be making history for Zootopia." Gideon said.
"I don't like to brag about it." Nick said soundly a bit smug.
"Bragging is ALL you do." Judy stated.
"Not ALL the time. Just enough of the time." Nick said. Judy responded by rolling her eyes then shooking her head.
"Nick, I swear... sometimes you are just... too..." Judy said while look outside of the store window. She happen to see two sheep, one black and one white, and a rabbit walking down the street. She seem to have a really surprised look on her face. "HEY! Those are my old friends from my old school. I haven't seen them in ages. I got to go talk to them."
Judy then went to the door to go outside.
"You two can talk to each other a bit. You know... some fox talk." Judy said.
"Fox talk?" Nick and Gideon said looking concern.
"You know what I mean. Guy fox talk." Judy said.
"Guy fox talk?" Both Nick and Gideon said concern again.
"Whatever you want to call it. I need to go. I'll be right back." Judy said.
Judy then left Gideon's bakery. Now Nick and Gideon were the only two there. The two of them both felt a little awkward. But they both knew Judy, so they decided to go with Judy's idea of guy fox talk.
"So... Gid, Carrots told me you work with Mr. and Mrs. Hopps?" Nick asked.
"You mean Judy? Yes. They provide the produce and I use it to make all my desserts here." Gideon said.
"Huh. Pretty cool. Carrots told me that her family use to be afraid of foxes. But to see them work with a fox shows that they really are willing to go with change and not be so judgmental." Nick stated.
"Yeah... about that..." Gideon said starting to look down. "Didn't Judy told you anything about when we were kids?"
"No. Why?" Nick asked.
"Well... you see... in the past, I...I wasn't the nicest kid around. I was a real jerk." Gideon admitted. "Judy was one of the kids I wasn't the nicest to."
"Oh." Nick said looking a bit surprised.
"Yeah. I was going through some personal things and having some self doubt." Gideon said.
"Personal things? Like others seeing as a fox and not getting to know you for who you truly are?" Nick asked.
"So you know what I mean?" Gideon asked
"I guess you can say I have been through the same thing. But I was more bullied than being a bully." Nick said.
"Ah. Sorry to hear about that." Gideon said.
"No. It's fine. I was able to manage myself pretty well. But for you, it must have been pretty rough, growing up in a town full of bunnies." Nick said.
"Yeah. But I've learn to cope with it by baking." Gideon said. "Loved baking so much that I decided to opening up this bakery. The rabbits in town even stopped fearing us foxes."
"Pretty cool." Nick said. "So I'm guessing that when Judy's parents decided to become partners with you."
"Uh huh. I also made sure to apologize to Judy. She didn't even hold a grudge against me." Gideon said.
"Well the little bunny isn't one to hold a grudge." Nick said.
"So Nick, how did you met Judy?" Gideon said.
"It was a bit of a random encounter the first time." Nick said. "The second time she needed my help to solve the 'Missing mammals case'. Let's just say, Judy knows how to get her way. After we found the mammals, she wanted me to join the ZPD as her partner. But then there was the press conference and... I wasn't too happy about some of the things she said."
"Huh. I guess that what she met by knowing a thing or two about being a jerk." Gideon said.
"After that, she apologize to me. I wasn't one to hold a grudge either." Nick said. "After we found out Bellwether was the one causing everything, we got her arrested and I decided to join the ZPD for real. Carrots and I have been partners ever since."
"Wow. Sounds like Judy has really turned you life around." Gideon said.
"From what I heard, I'm only one of the mammals who's life got turned around because of her." Nick said.
"Haha! Too right." Gideon said. "Judy really is one tough cookie."
"Yeah. She also works harder than any other officer in the force." Nick said.
"Guess that's why Mr. and Mrs. H are always so proud of her." Gideon said.
"With a daughter like that, they have a reason to." Nick said smiling.
Seems that Nick and Gideon were getting along pretty well. In some ways, they had a lot in common. Not just the fact that they are both foxes. But they also had there lives changed by Judy. Nick then looked down at the glass counter and started to stare at the delicious looking treats.
"I got to say. You got a bunch of tasty looking stuff here." Nick said.
"Anything that you fancy?" Gideon asked.
Nick continue to look all the baked goods that the display had. There were many different kinds of cakes. From chocolate cakes, to vanilla cakes, to red velvet cakes, to cakes topped with strawberries. They were also cupcakes, cheesecakes, doughnuts, cookies, and pies. But for Nick (and his love of blueberries), what really interested him was a blueberry pie.
"That blueberry pie is speaking to me right now." Nick said looking like his mouth was about to water. "You use the blueberries from the Hopps's farm, right?"
"You betcha." Gideon said proudly.
"Then I have to try that pie." Nick said with a wide smile on his face.
"Alright then. Let me wrap that up for you." Gideon said taking the pie out of the display to put it into a box.
As Gideon was putting the pie up, Judy came back inside the bakery.
"Hey! I'm back." Judy said.
"Hey Carrots. Welcome back." Nick said to Judy. "Did you say hi to your friends?"
"Yeah. They are all doing great." Judy said smiling. "They said that they are happy that I'm doing so well in Zootopia."
"That's good to hear." Nick said.
Gideon give Nick a white box with the blueberry pie in it.
"Here you go. One blueberry pie." Gideon said with a smile. "I also cut it into slices for you."
"Thanks Gid. How much do I owe you?" Nick said getting out his wallet out.
"Uh uh! Your money is no good here." Gideon said telling Nick to put his wallet up. "This pie is on the house. Anyone who is a friend of the Hopps is a friend of mine."
"Wow. That's very generous of you." Nick said. Nick then put his wallet back in his pocket and toke the box. "Thanks Gideon."
"It's my pleasure." Gideon said with a smile.
"Well, I guess we should get going." Judy said. "Sorry we couldn't stay and talk some more."
"It's fine. It's was good to see ya even for just a bit." Gideon said. "Also, you have a great partner here."
"I tell her that every time." Nick said smirking.
"... and you never let me forget it." Judy said shaking her head.
"Alright then. Let's get going." Nick said to Judy. Then he looked at Gideon again. "Gid, if you are ever in Zootopia, let us know. I'm sure we can have a great time."
"I might just take you on that offer." Gideon said.
"Well... see ya Gideon." Judy said waving goodbye.
"Ya'll come back now." Gideon said waving goodbye as well.
So with a blueberry pie in hand, Nick and Judy left Gideon's bakery. Nick was really eyeballing the box and wanting to dig it to it right now. But Judy told him to wait til they find a place to sit down. Judy suggested that they go to the park nearby. After a few extra minutes of walking, they made it to the park and both sat down on an old wooden bench. Both of them were eating a pie of Gideon's pie. Nick was in bliss.
"Mmmmm... Mmmmm... Mmmmmm!" Nick said with a mouth for of pie. "I got to tell you, Carrots. That Gideon knows how to make a great pie." Nick then took another bite of the pie slice. "I already loved your family's blueberries, but in this pie... mmmmm! It's so good."
"Well dad did say Gideon is one of the best bakers in the Tri-burrows." Judy said before taking a tiny bite of the pie.
"With baking like this, Gideon just might be my new best friend now." Nick said. "Well... new best FOX friend. Don't want to make you jealous, Carrots."
"Ha ha..." Judy said with sarcasm.
As Nick finished his slice of pie, he look around the whole park. He had to admit it. It was really nice. Actually, the whole town of Bunnyburrow was nice. It was different from the city, but it was nice.
"I'm not gonna lie, Bunnyburrow really is a nice town." Nick thought. "But I don't know why Judy traded it for life in the city. I wouldn't mind having the simple life. So why did she trade it for the busy life?"
While Nick was in deep thought, Judy notice.
"Nick, are you okay?" Judy asked.
"Oh. I'm fine, Carrots." Nick said. "Just thinking."
"About what?" Judy asked.
"About getting another slice of pie." Nick said about to grab another slice. Judy close the box and took it away from him.
"I think you had enough pie." Judy said with a straight face. "Besides, you don't want to spoil yourself for dinner."
"I guess you're right." Nick said scratching his head.
"It's gotten late. We should head back home." Judy said.
"Okay." Nick said.
So Nick and Judy got off from the bench and went back to the truck to head back to the Hopps's House. During the driving, Nick was still in deep thought about Judy and why she decided to move to the city over staying here in Bunnyburrow.
To be continued...
So Nick got to meet Gideon and bonded with him pretty well. He also seems to be liking his stay in Bunnyburrow so far. But his and Judy's time in Bunnyburrow still isn't over yet. See what else is in store for them in the next chapter.
