Dear reader,

Oh, I didn't see you there. Don't mind me, I'll just be sipping some cognac in front of my fireplace... The story? Oh yes, the story! It's right below, you can't miss it. Go on now, I'll be here when you get back. Trust me, I got at least 5 more chapters, I'm not going anywhere. Uploads Schedule: Tues/Thurs/Sun

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"You bunnies really like your carrots, don't you…" Remarked Nick to the table as he looked about the inside of the massive canvas tent.

The throng of bunnies and a fox had gone out to eat at one of the massive tents that had been erected for the Carrot-Day's celebration. Inside the tent were 10 long rows of tables with bench seating on either side. Countless rabbits gathered under the tent to eat, drink, talk and celebrate. All the while brew-bunnies and waiters patrolled the isles weaving around the tables and tent poles to delivering food and drink to the army of festive bunnies that gathered there.

Nick and Judy shared a two-bunny bench which sat on the other side of the table from Bonnie and Stu, whom also shared a bench. A few of Judy's older siblings sat to the couples left and right, while any of the younger siblings that came along sat two tables away at the kit's table. Stu glared menacingly at the red fox who sat across from him.

"Oh absolutely!" chimed Bonnie to the worried looking fox that sat next to her daughter. "We bunnies have a proud heritage of farming. While we do grow other fruits and vegetables, the carrot is an iconic staple of every farm." Bonnie smiled as Nick tried his best to look interested. "And the Carrot-Days festival is just our little way of celebrating that heritage."

"Well I certainly wouldn't call it little," remarked Nick in his best attempt to maintain the first pleasant conversation he had had with Judy's family thus far. "You bunnies sure know how to have a good time," laughed Nick elbowing Judy, whose ears perked up as she nodded enthusiastically at Nick.

Stu's eye's narrowed on Nick in disapproval of any physical contact with his daughter. Stu opened his mouth to comment, but was interrupted as one of the brew-bunnies stopped at their table.

The busty-brew-bunny had light golden brown fur that was punctuated by the white fur that covered her muzzle, ears and paws. She sported a low-cut blue sundress, with a white half apron around her waist. She had a drink-tray tucked under her arm, and her floppy ears were tied back with a matching blue ribbon behind her head, making her look as though she had a bunny-ear-pony tail. When she spoke, it was with a chipper and high pitched tone that accentuated her country-drawl.

"How're yall doin' today?" asked the brew-bunny as she surveyed the group of rabits, and single fox. "Oh my! Well I don't s'pose I've seen you around before. What's a sharp-looking-city fox like you doing in these parts?"

Nick shuffled nervously and went to reply before Judy cut him off. "Hi Mackenzie, this is Nick." Judy intertwined paws with Nick to emphasize her next point, "he's my boyfriend!"

Stu's brow furrowed even deeper as he glared at the pairs now intertwined paws.

"Judy, is that you!" chimed the brew-bunny. "My word, I haven't seen you in ages!" she batted her paw at Judy as she continued "I'm so happy you found someone… even if he is a fox."

Nick's eyebrows perked up in amazement at the brew-bunny's last comment, whom didn't even recognize the nature of her own remark.

"Any-who," continued the drew-bunny "what can I get the Hopps family to drink?"

"I'll have a glass of carrot-whiskey, on the rocks…" requested Stu as he locked eyes with Nick. "It's going to be a long night…"

"Well I will have," replied Nick without breaking Stu's gaze "A carrot-whiskey as well… but hold the rocks, it's going to be an even longer night."

Nick's posture stiffened as Judy thumped his tail with her foot, before shooting Nick a silent "be-good" glare. A small whimper of pain escaped Nick's clenched teeth as he wrapped his mashed tail about his own feet for protection.

Oblivious to the growing tension, the brew-bunny looked to Judy and Bonnie for their orders. "I think my daughter and I are going to stick with carrot juice," said Bonnie. "Somebody's gotta keep these boys in check."

"Don't you know it," replied the Mackenzie with a wink, before heading back to the brew-tent to retrieve their orders.

"I must say," interjected Bonnie, in an attempt to diffuse the tension between Nick and Stu. "All the kit's just absolutely adore you, Nick. What is your secret?"

Nick smiled slyly before Stu butted in, "You know what, those kits just say the darndest things too. I was talking with little Davey before dinner," Stu paused to steel his expression, as nick took a sip of water to try and regain composure. "And he asked me if Nick was the monster that lives under his bed…"

Nick's eyes bulged as he choked on his water and dropped the glass, spilling it on the ground, which was covered in saw-dust and hay. "Are you ok sweetie?" asked Judy patting Nick on the back, as she shot a death-glare at her father.

Nick coughed a few times before clearing his throat and regaining his speech. "No sir," Nick croaked "I'm only a monster in the bed..."

Nick paused, waiting for a laugh. Instead he was rewarded by shunned silence as the rabbits in the immediate vicinity processed the implications of his joke. Nick frowned, pinning his ears back in shame as he caught Bonnie's slack-jawed expression.

"OH-Kay!" Judy practically shouted, breaking the silence. "Nick, have you decided what you're eating? You should really look at the menu."

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but instead shut his jaws tight and lifted the menu in front of himself as an impromptu barrier, concealing his shame.

Judy Propped up her menu as well before turning to hiss at Nick, "What in Zootopia are you doing?" Judy gave an icy glare which could extinguish the sun if it were pointed upward.

"Besides being butchered by your father?" defended Nick.

"Monster in bed?" questioned Judy, almost seething with frustration.

"Saying it back to me, isn't going to make it unsaid, Judy" retorted Nick.

Judy slammed her head into the table behind her menu-wall in exasperation. "Are you guys… ready to order?" came a voice from the other side of the menus.

Nick and Judy both collapsed their walls, and attempted to look collected as they realized that their drinks had arrived. A waiter was standing over the table expectantly, waiting for Judy and Nick to order so he could escape the tense atmosphere of their dinner party.

"I'll have the house salad," quipped Judy, painting on a forced smile. "And Nick will have the fried eggplant club-sandwich."

The waiter snapped his order-book closed, spun on his heels and left without saying another word. Nick discovered his whiskey, thanked the heavens, and downed the whole rock-glass before exhaling in appreciation of the carrot-reserve's finer notes. Stu's eyes widened as he watched the fox down the entire glass without so much as a flinch, and attempted to replicate the predator. However, when he got to the bottom of the glass, gravity took hold, and threw the ice at his button-nose causing him to recoil and choke a bit.

Bonnie giggled slightly at her husband, prompting Nick to take another stab at polite conversation. "So Bonnie," Nick smiled politely as he spoke. "Judy said that you two have been married for 25 years."

"Well, not quite," Chimed Bonnie. "you're two days early, dear. It will be 25-long years on Sunday. That's when we're going to renew our vows."

Stu smiled, for once, as his wife took his paw in hers. "It seems like it was only yesterday that we met in this very field…"

"It was a dance hall that year," spoke Bonnie, looking deeply into her husband's dark-brown eyes. "But Stu doesn't dance anymore. I'll tell you Judy, as soon as they get a ring on their finger, men just stop dancing. It must cut circulation to their legs…"

Nick noticed that for the first time, Stu looked embarrassed. Nick opened his mouth to comment, but was distracted by something pulling on his tail. Nick looked behind him to see that a little bunny kit had made his way from the kit's-table. Nicks eyes widened in excitement as he instantly recognized the little artist from earlier.

"Char-wee!" said Nick, excitedly picking up the kit and setting him between Judy and himself. "What can I do for you, my little Pigcasso?" Judy giggled a little as the tiny bunny hugged Nick's arm.

"Can I bo'ow your pen?" asked the adorable bunny, giving a look that could melt the frozen heart of even the most bitter mammals.

Nick smiled warmly as he reached for his shirt pocket, never breaking the gaze of the pint-sized artist "Can you borrow a pen? Absolutely." Nick obliged the tiny-bunny before continuing. "I really liked the picture you gave me, Char-wee." Charlie hopped back down from the seat. "My giant fangs and claws made me look very handsome." The Kit giggled as Nick rustled the fur between his ears with a padded paw.

"Than' you, Mr. Wilwd" cooed the bunny before skipping back to the kit's-table.

When nick tuned around, he was greeted by Judy's lilac gaze "You're a big softie," teased Judy. "Aren't you… Mr. Wilwd" Judy smiled at Nick as his ears folded back in embarrassment.

Nick's nose prickled as he was greeted with the dreamy smell of his food that had arrived while he was distracted. Looking about the table, Nick realized that all the bunnies around him were now busy eating. He let out a deep breath and gave thanks that he wouldn't have to talk for at least a couple of minutes. Judy gave Nick a small peck on the cheek and squeezed his arm affectionately and whispered into his ear, "You're doing great, just relax."

Nick straitened his tie, picked up a slice of the savory vegie-club and took a massive fox-sized bite, before the bench was nearly knocked out from under him.

With a surprised yelp, Judy's ears shot straight-up as she sprung to her feet, launching the bench backwards into the side of a passing brew-bunny who barely managed not to dump her tray on the table behind them. Nick nearly choked and dropped his sandwich at the same time as he tried to recover his balance on the stool which was now a foot away from the table. Judy's shock turned to frustration and confusion as she glared down at the assumed cuprite. Nick chewed slowly as he looked back up at Judy in confusion. Judy's eyes darted from Nick's eyes, to his pocket, before widening in horror as she recognized only a solo carrot-shaped pen.

Judy's heart skipped a beat as she looked about the table. To her surprise, it seemed nobody had noticed her outburst. Judy reached for her glass of carrot juice to calm her nerves, when electricity struck her again.

Her eyes widened, her back arched, her heart skipped another beat, and her paw trembled on the rim of her drink. Her claw caught the edge of the glass, causing it to chime for the entire duration of her three second escape to paradise. When Judy came to, she realized that all the bunnies at the surrounding tables had gone silent and were now looking up at her. Her eyes darted to Nick, whom with his free paw, was checking his phone to see if it had been vibrating. She looked in horror to her parents who had stopped eating, and were now holding paws and looking up at Judy… expecting a toast.

Judy's eyes widened in panic and her paw shot out, instinctively thrusting her glass into the air. All the glasses around her rose up, and countless ears turned towards her as they waited for her speech.

"Hi, my name is Ju-UU-U-Dy…" Judy put a paw over her mouth as she was struck by three quick bolts of lightning. She looked to Nick for help but was only greeted by his confused stare, as he held his sandwich aloft, instead of his glass.

"And in two days from now," Judy spoke in the calm before the storm. "my pa-ARENTS… ARE…" Judy's head bowed, and she slammed her free paw on the table to stabilize herself. The ocean calmed for a brief second and Judy inhaled deeply. She whispered to herself "Sweet cheese and crackers" as a bead of sweat formed on her temple. Stealing her resolve for another barrage, she raised her head to continue.

"They're going to be, c-CELEBRATING…" Judy was smashed by another wall as her teeth clenched together forcing her to almost hiss the rest of her line as her knees began to bow inward. "THEIR TWEN'Y-FIF ANA-VERS-ERY…" Judy's toes curled, digging into the sawdust and straw that covered the ground until the storm lifted again.

Nick watched a cloud of steam escaped from between Judy's clenched teeth as her body relaxed once again. A flashbulb exploded in Nick's brain causing him to almost choke on the bit of sandwich that he was still chewing. Nick realized what was happening. His eyes widened as he looked to his shirt pocket to see that it only contained a carrot-shaped pen, instead of a pen-shaped remote. Nick could barely contain his laughter as a suppressed grin spread across his muzzle. Nick craned his neck to try and find the Kit's table.

Judy took a quick sip from her glass of carrot-juice to steal her nerves; she swallowed hard before returning her gaze to the confused bunnies in front of her. "This is really good carrot-juice," Judy whispered before returning to her speech. "and NEVER HAVE I EVER…" Judy's resolve threatened to crack as her body assaulted her brain. "SEEN, A COUPLE… THAT ARE S-S-SOO-O-O-O…" Judy shifted from side to side, as her knees desperately tried to give out from under her.

Nick swallowed his bite, as he zeroed in on a tiny bunny who was trying to get his "pen" to work. Nick stifled a laugh as he returned his attention to the increasingly more flustered Judy.

"SOOO, OOOH…" a subdued moan cut into Judy's sentence as the storm showed no signs of lifting. She looked to Nick for support who mockingly gave her a thumbs-up and mouthed "You're doing great, just relax."

"A-AH, COUPLE WHO A-ARE SO L-LOOOOVING… THEY ARE LIKE NO COUPLE YOU HAVE EVER FELT… I MEAN SEEN…" Judy's support-arm threatened to buckle and give out as it became the only thing holding up her weight. Her legs were entirely numb as her heart raced a million miles a minute. Her nose flicked and twitched as she attempted to steer around the coming electrical storm.

"AND I J-JUST WANT T-TO WISH THEM," the neurons in her brain began to short out, and her eyes sealed shut while she tried to keep her face from betraying her. "I WANT TO WITH THEM 25 MORE YEARS OF BEING HAPPILY MARRIED!" lightning rolled across Judy's brain as her paw raised her glass in triumph. The surrounding mammals took note and clinked their glasses together, before downing their respective drinks. Applause set in as Stu and Bonnie shared a kiss, seemingly oblivious to what had happened.

"Whoa!" said Judy, ushering a cloud of steam out of her lungs. Nick stood, and wrapped an arm around Judy's waist to steady her and help her away from the table. Judy downed her brink before turning to give Nick an overly-steamy kiss, causing Nick's emerald eyes to snap wide open.

"Come on, Carrots" said Nick, breaking the embrace. "Let's get you some fresh-air." Nick practically carried Judy as she stumbled through her mental cloud of after-glow.

On their way past the kit's table, Nick traded pens with Charlie and patted the tiny bunny on the head. Judy's clouded mind struggled to make sense of Nick and Charlie's exchange.

"Wait, did you know he had it the whole time?" panted Judy as Nick drunk-carried her out of the tent.

"Not the whole time," assured Nick. "Just, half the time" Nick smiled down at the wobbly Judy who was leaning heavily into his side. "I figured I should probably let you finish…"

"What a gentle-mammal," groaned Judy, as she tried and failed not to trip over her own leaden feet.

Oh hot-diggity!

Did you just read another whole chapter? Yes, yes you did. Did you enjoy it? I sure hope so! If you did, then read another! But before you go, please be sure to write a review, leave a favorite, or make a suggestion. I do this for me, but also for you guy. So please, give me your thought.

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