"Eeee! I'm so excited you're coming with me! I can't wait to introduce you to my parents." Judy bounced on her toes clutching her duffle bag close to her.
"I can't believe you haven't told them about me yet," Nick replied grumpily.
Judy held her phone to her face, "Hey Dad, remember how you tried to give me all that anti-fox stuff when I first left for the city, you know the fox spray, the fox mace, oh and that giant FOX TASER? Well you'll never guess who my new boyfriend is!"
Nick glared at Judy clearly unamused by her antics. "Ok, I get it, your dad hates foxes. Yes, spending the weekend with him and your million brothers and sisters sound great."
"Oh sweetie, it's not like that, he doesn't hate foxes, he's just sorta scared of them. Of you? That's not what I mean." Judy sighed in exasperation, "I just want them to get to know you before I tell them, so that when I do tell them they will know the sweet amazing guy behind those sharp teeth and pointy ears."
"My ears aren't that pointy, and you love my sharp teeth," Nick leaned in closer so only she could hear, "especially when I'm grazing them across your skin."
Judy shuddered. "I know this is tough for you, but you won't even have to deal with my family that much. We'll be spending most of our time at the fair and it will be great. We'll ride rides and play games and I can show you around my town. It'll be fun, I promise."
Nick's ears perked up, "You promise? As in, you want to place a wager on it?"
Judy rolled her eyes, "Fine, what do you want? The usual?"
"Times three." Nick grinned.
"Times?" Judy gasped.
"Hey I'm giving up my whole weekend and if I have to suffer for my beloved I should receive my proper thanks," nick explained innocently.
"Rotten fox," Judy muttered, "fine."
Nick smiled, "You know you love me."
"Do I know that?" Judy asked moodily. Just then the train pulled in and Judy boarded without another word.
"H-hey Carrots!" Nick cried as he ran after her. He caught her trying to place her bag on an overhead shelf so he scooped her up and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly, "Do you know that? Do you?"
"Y-yes, yes I do!" she giggled out before he put her down. She turned and gave him a soft punch in the arm followed by a sweet kiss.
Judy's ears perked up as she thought she heard a small cough and she was suddenly very aware of the eyes of the other passengers on her. She forgot for a moment that even in places like Zootopia, interspecies relationships were still considered taboo. How was she going to explain her relationship to her parents, who still thought that most predators were out to eat prey, when even the more liberal citizens in the big city couldn't handle their relationship.
Nick picked up oh the change in his lover's mood. He looked around and caught a few disapproving glares. This was nothing new for him. Animals always looked down on foxes, but he hated the effect it had on Judy. He grabbed her paws and gave them a supportive squeeze. She looked up at him with a smile and he kissed the top of her head as they sat on the bench together. They rode all the way to bunny burrows just like that, hand in hand.
When they reached the burrows they were greeted only by a handful of Judy's siblings. Apparently the rest of the family was busy preparing for the fair. Judy introduced the seven siblings that stood around the train platform to Nick, the youngest bunny asked if she could see Nick's teeth. Nick thought this was a strange request but with Judy's consent he squatted down and gave his biggest, toothiest grin which resulted in the tiny squeal from the little bunny as it hopped off to the safety of its older sibling's legs.
"You'll have to excuse Lizzie, she recently developed an obsession with all kinds of canines" said one of the older bunnies.
"Ah," Nick nodded. He squatted down next to the little bunny, "My teeth are pretty sharp, but if you want to see really sharp, you need a smaller feline. I hear newborn cats have claws like razor blades.
Judy was impressed as the little bunny giggled behind the safety of the bigger bunny's legs before the group headed to the truck. The oldest sibling, a dark colored buck named Max, drove everyone to the house while another rabbit, Jill, caught Judy up on the latest gossip. They pulled up to a rather small home and everyone hopped out.
"Hey Carrots, i thought you said you had, like, 300 brothers and sisters." Nick glared at the unassuming round mass of a building.
"Well most of my siblings, like me, have moved out to start their own lives. As for the other 132, well, you'll see." Judy said with a smile.
Nick had to duck to get through the door and what he found looked like utter chaos. Bunnies were running and shoving and yelling back and forth to each other. Every bunny froze when they noticed Nick and he suddenly felt two hundred eyes and ears fearfully trained on him.
"This is Nick!" Judy shouted, "He's with me. He's my friend from the city."
After a brief pause all the bunnies returned to their previously scheduled chaos as if nothing happened.
Nick let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, "The fuck is this place?"
"Language!" Judy scolded, "Come on, I'll show you my room, provided someone hasn't stolen it." Judy then lead Nick down a tunnel that twisted and turned with what seemed like hundreds of offshoots before she lead him behind a curtain with a "Ta-Da!"
"See when you need more space in a burrow, like if you want your room, you just have to dig it out yourself!" Judy explained proudly.
"And you dug this?" Nick looked at her incredulously. The small hole-room was decorated with mirrors sitting behind old window frames, posters and stuffed animals. In the corner was a small pit that had been built up and filled with a simple mattress and blankets.
Nick smiled at her before plopping into the pit bed, " Swanky bed, don't worry though, no judging from me. You know that really big dresser I have? Before I got my couch I slept in the bottom drawer of that."
"What? How would you even?" Judy shook her head, "It doesn't matter, we should go back up if we want to eat before it gets dark."
"Judy, it's only 4."
"Yeah?"
Nick followed judy up the twisting tunnel and mentally noted not to try and come or go without her because he would definitely get lost and die down here.
Back on the surface Nick saw that the bunnies were lined up like a prison cafeteria waiting to get their food. At the far end of the line Judy spied her parents chatting. She grabbed Nick by the paw and dragged him to where they stood.
"Mom! Dad!" She called
"Judy!" They both called back
"Hey kiddo, sorry we couldn't meet you at the train. Tons of work, you know. You should see the acorn squash we are bringing to the fair tomorrow." Judy's father, Stu, apologized.
"That's ok, I get it. I just wanted to introduce you to Nick. He's the fox I told you guys all about." Judy said signalling to Nick.
Nick smiled and shook the two bunnies' hands.
"Oh so you're the one that helped our Judy when those predators went savage. We can't thank you enough for helping keep our dear Judy safe. I still don't understand why she feels the need to keep putting herself in danger so much," Judy's mother, Bonnie, said.
Nick nodded, "Well maybe I can put your mind at ease. I've recently been instated as her partner at ZPD so you'll know I always have her back, both in uniform and out of it."
Stu and Bonnie gave each other a relieved look. "Well that is a relief that she'll have a bigger animal she trusts to look it for her." Bonnie said before Judy pulled Nick to the end of the meal line.
Nick felt good about meeting Judy's parents till he heard Stu mutter, "I just wish he weren't a fox. Jude couldn't be partnered with an elephant or a rhino?" Nick was disappointed but he couldn't say he was surprised.
Nick and Judy got their meal and they sat down to eat. He was surprised at how many different veggie casseroles existed. They sat near the two rabbits that Nick met at the train station. He talked to the rabbit named Max and he instantly liked the cynical bunny which cheered him up. Nick was surprised that the whole meal experience lasted until 7 o'clock and all the bunnies were busy either cleaning up from dinner or getting the littlest bunnies ready for bed.
During this time Nick was done with the busy, noisy crowd and had to excuse himself to get some air. Judy came with him and they wandered through some fields before stumbling onto the fairground. The fair was eerie without its usual hustle and bustle. A few vendors were still working though, setting up their booths and organizing their wares. Nick could smell fry vats and their oil, sugary treats and all kinds of fruit. As they wandered they came across a pink painted booth with the words "Gideon Grey's Pies". Judy jumped for joy when she saw a chubby fox milling about in the booth.
"Hey Gideon!" Judy called.
The bigger fox turned and smiled, "Well hey there Judy! How ya been doin'?"
"Oh I'm great! Gideon, this is Nick, and Nick, this is Gideon.". The two foxes shook hands. "Gideon helped me realize that the night howlers were actually flowers."
"Jeez carrots, can you do any part of your job without a fox?" Nick teased.
"Haha, Nick is my partner at the ZPD," Judy explained to Gideon.
Gideon nodded, "Well ain't that somethin'. I didn't know there were fox cops."
"There certainly aren't many of us," Nick explained.
"Well, you're probably busy so we will let you be. Good luck with your sales tomorrow," Judy waved to Gideon and the two animals walked back for home.
"So what was his deal?" Nick asked after they were out of earshot. Judy gave him a confused look so he clarified, "Do you really have a fox fetish? Was he your first crush or something?"
"Nick! Are you jealous? I never had a crush on Gideon! Quite the opposite, he used to be this nasty bully. He even gave me a nasty scratch across my cheek when I was nine," Judy explained.
"A nasty scratch? You don't say," Judy could see wheels turning in Nick's head.
"Oh he's alright now. He even apologized for the whole incident."
Nick nodded, still thinking of the other fox as Judy changed the subject and talked about her childhood all the way back home.
Author's Note: Judy's siblings Max and Jill are a bit of homage to Spintherella on DeviantArt. She has this amazing fan comic going called Inter-Schminter and if you haven't seen it before I HIGHLY recommend you check it out. It is so good.