Chapter 2
Did I mention there is a whole lot of judging in this story? Sorry! It fits the theme of the original film and even Kingsman, so here goes! I hope no one is offended! And thanks for your reviews! They mean a lot. Enjoy!
Judy tried to get her husband to walk faster. "Come on, Nick! Hurry! We'll be late!"
Nick just smirked and watched her eye twitch, a habit of hers whenever she was nervous. "Relax, Carrots. Our interviews aren't until around three."
Judy stopped in her tracks. "What?! You said they were at ten!"
"Because I knew my mom and Dan, whenever he's here to grace us with his presence, wake up at nine almost every morning. So, I set our alarm to eight. Now..." He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her nose. "We have the whole afternoon to ourselves."
"Nick..." She half-whined, half-giggled, as he cuddled shamelessly with her. She then looked around them. They were in the middle of the street. Several bystanders glanced up at them.
"You're welcome."
Judy huffed and tried to shove him off of her, but he quickly caught her off guard when his tail tickled her sides.
"Nick," she whispered urgently, fighting the urge to giggle again. "Nick, you know I'm ticklish! Not out in the open like this! Someone might complain!"
He just shrugged and leaned close to her ear. "Let them. What are they gonna do? Arrest us?"
Nick had a point. Not too long ago, Zootopia legalized predator-prey relationships, even though many citizens detested the idea. Still, Judy was not in the mood for another screaming wolf. (Last time, a wolf caught them kissing, and Nick could not use his paws for a week after the scuffle.)
Judy stood on the tips of her toes to reach Nick's lips when a shrill cry interrupted them.
"Mommy! Why is that fox speaking to that rabbit through lips? I wish I could do that!"
Nick looked up at the baby hippo peering down at them, fur bristled because they were interrupted. The hippo was watching them curiously from his upstairs apartment room window, licking a lollipop. A bigger hippo, his mother supposedly, gasped at the cuddling pair and threw a newspaper and plastic cups at them.
"GET OUT OF HERE! SHOO!" She turned to her son. "Sweetie, those two are strange animals. Never date any animal besides a hippo, you hear me?" She scowled and glared at Nick and Judy. "Especially tigers! Mangy furballs! Hmph!"
"Ma'am, tiger are wonderful animals!" Judy exclaimed loudly so the hippos were able to hear her. "Besides, we have our rights -" The hippo just threw another cup at them and squawked at them. Taking this as their cue, Judy and Nick quickly marched out of there.
"My mommy says she wishes you two were arrested!" The baby hippo yelled.
"Unbelievable!" Judy hollered as soon as they were out of earshot. Nick just wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Let's just go to the park," He suggested suavely, knowing she always loved a nature walk. She grinned sheepishly and agreed with him.
They walked to the Zootopia's major park, to a nearby pizza place for some lunch, and to a local market. Throughout their little date, the couple bumped each other playfully like teenagers.
Judy used to roll her eyes when Nick tried to act playful. But now that they had less time to themselves, Judy missed these dates, which were now occasional instead of weekly. Ever since Charlotte had to go to an alcohol rehab center and heavily depend on them, Judg and Nick scrambled the entire city for jobs. They had just graduated high school, so the timing was perfect. Then, they finally found and worked at a local coffee house for four years.
But before they graduated, feelings changed. Feelings changed dangerously. Both fox and rabbit hid their feelings for one another until senior year. Their last prom was that year.
Judy still remembered how Nick approached her a few weeks before senior prom...
High School Flashback
"Carrots!" Judy put her textbooks in her locker and turned to Nick, who was panting heavilly.
"You alright there, slick?" Nick just laughed a bit wheezily.
"I, uh, need to ask you something quick."
"Me, too!" Judy chirped a little too quickly. "Um... Do you..."
"Wait!" Nick stopped her short. " Car- Judy, do you want to..."
Finnick, Nick's best friend besides Judy, suddenly busted out of Nick's locker and landed in his arms.
"Hey, stupid! Just ask her out to prom already! It's been months and all you've been yapping about is Judy! Judy, Judy - OW! You dimwit!"
Nick flushed and dropped the fennec fox. "Thanks, Finnick. Thanks for asking her out for me even though I clearly told you NOT TO!"
"You're welcome."
And so, that was that. They dated during and after high school until Nick decided the time was right (the time when Finnick was out of of the city and when they had worked for at least a year). They were at their favorite diner. He proposed to her in an uncharacteristically shy way, she said yes, and they went to the courthouse a few days later. There was no fancy meal or cake or gifts, but it was absolutely perfect to them. Not every rabbit or fox married his or her best friend, and they felt blessed to have found each other. Nick wore his father's tuxedo and Judy wore a lavender dress with her mother's pearls around her neck. Charlotte was there and baked them some cookies after the event. Two years later, they adopted Tommy. Things ran smoothly until the coffee house manager received complaints and fired them. Some customers apparently did not want to be served by a predator-prey pair. It "unsettled them", as they put it.
"Hey, Carrots! Look!" Judy snapped out of her trance to see what her husband wanted. "Look at these!" He pointed to the shelves of the freezer section that were full of "Dawn's Blues" blueberries.
Judy nodded. She heard about the new brand. It was getting to be quite popular, since it managed to have a whole assortment of favors from grass to cupcake to grasshopper. Even carnivores liked them!
"When we run out, we should get Tommy and Charlotte some of those."
"But what about me?" Nick whined.
"Huh?" Nick gesticulated crazily.
"Two-hundred percent juice! And they come in cricket flavors! How do they do that?!"
"Genetic engineering," Judy replied smoothly with a shrug. Nick just glared at her while pouting. "Okay, you ruined it."
Once the rabbit walked off, however, the fox pawed the glass separating him from the berries and stroked it lovingly.
"No, she didn't..."
"Nick! Hurry up!"
xxx
They did not get the job. After all they hid, every precaution taken, they were turned down for their "inappropriate relationship". Unfortunately, the law did not force employers to take second glances at predator-prey couples, so the sow running the restaurant saw through Nick and Judy and politely, though gruffly, dismissed them.
Both Judy and Nick were shocked. They thought they addressed everything that could potentially go wrong. The restaurant was conveniently far from any places they had worked at or any places they frequented. They walked in with no wedding bands, and they walked in separately, not even addressing each other.
Then, it hit Nick. Someone snitched on them.
Ever since they were in grade school, Nick and Judy were often treated and judged unfairly. Hence they stayed together, scratching each others backs, protecting one another. Judy was always seen as the rabbit who could not do much besides look cute and cuddly. Nick was always seen as the fox who was always up to no good. Therefore, they rebelled. If the world was not going to accept a fox and a bunny as friends and more, then they were not going to accept the world. Little by little, they began to pickpocket, then steal, and then scam others for money. Sometimes they worked with Finnick. Sometimes they worked alone. Either way, they only worked for some cash on the side, no for another's pain or blood. It was strictly and confidentially business. No one got hurt by them; only the pride and wallets of others were bruised.
Still, there were obvious risks, so they kept their skeletons hidden. If they wanted to keep Tommy and provide for the family while still making some money on the side, they had to be sneaky.
Having jerks and snitches around, of course, never helped.
xxx
Finnick chugged down his afternoon coffee and threw the cup into a nearby dumpster. "What's with the glares, guy?" Nick and Judy approached him with scowls on their faces. "Did you finally get jobs? Where's the stinker?"
"He's at home," Judy replied curtly. Nick instantly grabbed Finnick by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground.
"You ratted us out, didn't you? Did - Ow!" Finnick slapped Nick and hopped out of his grasp.
"What am I getting blamed for this time?"
"We had job interviews today," Judy snapped. "And we know what you could earn by snitching, so confess!" Finnick sometimes worked with Dan and Gideon at their bakery for some extra money, and Finnick was infamous for blabbering.
Finnick smirked up at her. "Darling, I may be a thief, but I ain't no snitch! You should know that Duke's been on your furry asses with the snitching."
Nick blinked rapidly. "Wait. Why would he -"
"He's a butt-kissing, sleazy weasel, stupid!"
"Why would he rat us out," Judy wondered aloud. Finnick gestured to the bar on his left.
"Why don't you ask him yourself? He's in there." They nodded and sauntered into the bar, quickly picking out the weasel. He was guffawing stupidly and sitting beside Gideon and the rest of his gang of foxes and ferrets. The couple quickly marched up to the table.
"Hello, Duke." The weasel smugly turned to the fox who addressed him. "Found yourself some friends?"
Duke picked at his teeth with a toothpick and flicked the toothpick aside. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Mamma's boy?"
"We know what you did," Judy told him crossly. "Just tell us why you did it."
"Alright, I did it. I snitched. But I have my reasons, Flat-foot! It's a tale as old as time, true as it can be... Barely even acquainted..."
"What?"
"Your mother, Bonnie Hopps, caught my father stealing onions! And that's why he's in prison!"
Judy slammed her fists on the table, startling everyone in the bar. "She was doing what was right!"
"And that's why my dad's in jail for life!" Duke hissed. "Thanks to good old' Gideon for telling me who's related to that carrot-farming hussie." Gideon just grinned evilly at them both, enjoying the scene.
Judy looked ready to strangle Duke, but Nick held her back and stared quizzically at Duke. "For life? For onions?"
Duke shrugged and sipped his drink. "He may have murdered a few rodents, but hey! Time is money."
"And you'll soon be out of both!" Judy tried to pounce at him, but Nick restrained her and exited with her on his back, leaving a bar of chuckling foxes and ferrets.
"You know we can't take them with their numbers," Nick told her, putting her down gently. Judy growled, one of her feet stomping the poor pavement rapidly.
"Fine. Let's just -" Nick shook a pair of keys in her face and grinned slyly.
"We're not gonna pop the weasel, sweetheart." He clicked the unlock button, and a silver convertible beeped right behind them.
"We're gonna steal from him." Judy found herself mirroring his grin.
