Only one word is needed to describe an average meal in the Hopps household: chaos.
Absolute chaos.
Baby bunnies were everywhere; they bounced off the walls, jumped on the table and chairs, coated the floor. Bonnie had made a fantastically delicious carrot stew that was yummy for everyone one except for Nick, who still forced the vegetables down politely. Nick and Judy sat opposite of Judy's parents, letting the chaos around them just happen. Judy's siblings were a force to be reckoned with, and this wasn't even all of them; Judy's older siblings and the siblings who were close to her in age had left the house long ago to pursue their own goals and dreams within the confines of Bunnyburrow, with Judy being the exception. All that remained was the little ones, but that was nowhere near ideal. However, it seemed that Nick was the only one not accustomed to the constant movement in the Hopps home, but he didn't complain. After all, he was pretty sure that if he did complain, the hoard of bunnies would surely outrun him. Although Nick was slightly overwhelmed, he couldn't help but admit that he was beginning to enjoy all of Judy's younger siblings. Granted, he had had a somewhat bad experience with one of Judy's baby sisters earlier when she had begun wailing, but Judy had quickly come to the rescue, taking the baby into her arms and soothing her with light kisses. Nick had actually been sad to see her leave his arms, but he had enjoyed seeing the baby giggle and smile again at the sight of Judy. Nick was also becoming more comfortable with the kids when they were all interested in him at the same time. Just moments before everyone had been served for lunch, he had asked to see all of the toys the baby bunnies had collected, even though he technically didn't have to see them until after lunch. He had actually enjoyed seeing the excitement on all of the bunnies' faces as they fought over one another to show him their individual toys, which consisted of various stuffed animals and items from around the house.
Nick was starting to feel as if this trip to Bunnyburrow was going to teach him a thing or two about parenthood. After only a few hours of interacting with all of the baby bunnies, he was starting to think that he could actually be a pretty good father, and that maybe he wasn't as unprepared as he had originally thought. He had also quickly learned that Judy was going to be the perfect mother; seeing her caring nature toward all of her siblings confirmed that. Nick had always considered Judy to be the perfect mother, but now he had witnessed her amazing mothering skills, and this reassured him that even if he was bad at parenting at first, she had his back.
Just then, Nick's thoughts were interrupted by a clattering sound that managed to be louder than anything else in the room. Looking up, it became clear that Judy had dropped her spoon, letting it clang against the edge of her bowl. He barely had time to notice this, however, before Judy was shaking him excitedly.
"We completely forgot to tell them!"
"Tell them what?" Nick asked, afraid that he hadn't been listening to her again.
Judy's parents looked on in curiosity.
"Tell us what?" Stu asked, eyeing the two somewhat suspiciously.
"About my last appointment, Nick," Judy whispered with a smile.
"Ah, that," Nick nodded and smirked lazily as he finally understood her instant excitement.
"Tell us what, Judy?" Bonnie pressed, clearly feeling left out of something important.
"We found out the sexes of the babies earlier this week," Judy grinned, waiting for a reaction.
Her parents' faces lit up instantly in approval.
"That's wonderful!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"What are you having?" Stu asked.
Judy looked at Nick and nudged him, as if to say, "go on, tell them. They're your family too!" Nick looked up and smiled politely at the awaiting couple.
"Three boys and a girl," he answered.
"How precious! Congratulations you two!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Hopps."
"We've already picked out names!" Judy grinned again. "Alan, Robin, and Red for the boys, and Violet for the girl."
"Well, how about that. Those are perfect names, Jude the Dude."
"They're tentative, but we're pretty sure at the moment. Speaking of which, Nick, we haven't told your mother this either."
"We can tell her when we get back."
"She'll be so excited to know! We should call her later today and tell her."
"If we tell her while we're gone, she'll go out and buy baby clothes, and then break into the house to put them in the kids' room," Nick smirked.
"Oh, this is all so exciting!" Bonnie stated cheerfully as she reached out across the table and squeezed Judy's paw in delight.
"When is the wedding?" Stu asked.
In Nick's mind, gears halted, brakes screeched, glass shattered, smiles disappeared, and children screamed. Fear crept down his spine as the million-dollar question hit his ears like a gun shot. Stu had a habit of asking the questions that put everyone else on edge, but they were the important kind of questions that needed to be answered in a relatively soon manner. Judy cleared her throat nervously.
"Well, we're still working that all out, but it will be after the babies are born."
Stu nodded as he mulled this over. He then turned to Nick.
"Have you proposed yet?"
Nick's ears flattened against his head. This question was directed at him, not both he and Judy; if he didn't answer, it would look awful.
"Well, uh… I haven't officially proposed–"
"Why not?"
His tone wasn't angry, but very curious, almost suspicious.
"I, uh, well… I just need to do a few things first."
"Like what? Get the ring?"
Nick leaned back in his seat a little, somewhat more comfortable with this question than the other.
"No, I actually already have the ring," he stated confidently.
At this, Judy's ears perked up and her nose twitched slightly. She directed her attention toward Nick.
"You already have the ring?"
Nick glanced at her, but then glanced away, trying to keep eye contact with Stu.
"Yes, I do."
"When did you get it?"
At this question, Nick almost blushed. He felt his face turn warm as he tried to dodge answering.
"A while ago," he shrugged, now facing Judy.
"When exactly?"
Of course, she asked as many important questions as her father, that's where she got it from. Nick didn't want to answer this question, though. He didn't want to admit that he had bought the ring a very long time ago. He didn't want to admit that after Judy had left to go back to Bunnyburrow after their fight during the case that made their careers, he had used the money he had made while hustling pawpsicles to special order a wedding ring. He didn't want to admit that he had given it to Finnick for the time being, until he and Judy had started dating. He didn't want to admit that when he had gotten the ring back from Finnick, he had been absolutely ecstatic. He didn't want to admit that he kept it in his shirt pocket all of the time, right next to the iconic carrot pen the couple shared.
Shifting in his seat uneasily, Nick managed to mutter a reply.
"…almost three years ago…"
He immediately looked down at his lap, his face burning. The ring in his pocket seemed to feel heavy. Judy's mouth fell agape, and her eyes stung with tears.
"You bought it just a little bit after we met?"
Nick nodded, not really wanting to speak, but he knew he had to explain. To him, this was a major embarrassment; he had barely gotten to know Judy in an intimate way before he went out and bought a ring that he would hope she would wear.
"I bought it after we fought during that press conference. I didn't really start considering using it until we started dating."
Judy smiled and hugged him tightly.
"That's so sweet, Nick."
Nick felt his face become even warmer as he smiled slightly and hugged her back.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" she asked after pulling back.
"I was nervous, honestly," Nick shrugged lightly. "I know I should have proposed sooner, but it just didn't feel right yet."
Judy smiled again, tears still in her eyes, and kissed Nick on the cheek. Bonnie looked like she might also cry, and Stu looked happier than he did a few minutes ago.
"So, Nick, what things do you have to do first?" he asked.
"I have a date in mind, which I won't say because we have a certain someone in the room," Nick winked at Judy, who blushed. "But one thing I have to do is ask you permission."
Silence fell over the table. Most of the children had finished eating and had left the room to go and invoke chaos somewhere else, but there was still a dull roar among those left. For those who sat at the table, all attention was turned toward Stu as they all waited expectantly. When Stu finally did react to what Nick had said, Nick froze in shock.
Stu Hopps laughed.
Stu Hopps laughed, but it was a joyful laugh that brought a smile to Bonnie's face as well as ease the tension. He then stood up, sliding his chair back as he did so, and walked around to Nick, who also stood. Once in front of Nick (who was slightly taller than him), he clapped a paw on Nick's shoulder and brought him in for a large hug. Still laughing, he held Nick out by his shoulders and looked him up and down.
"I like you, Nick. You seem like you have everything figured out. I would be more than happy if you married Judy. You'll make a great husband and a great father."
"Thank you, sir."
"Bonnie and I want an invitation to the wedding, of course. I'd like to walk my daughter down the aisle."
"Of course."
"We'd also like to see you propose to her, if that's possible."
"Yes, I can do that."
With that, Stu gave Nick another pat on the shoulder before reaching across and grabbing his bowl of carrot stew that was now empty.
"Anybody up for seconds?"
The table laughed, and Judy stood to kiss Nick, who had a huge grin on his face. The entire moment was full of joy and perfection as more carrot stew was passed around. The blissful memory in the making came to a halt a few minutes later when someone knocked at the front door.
"Come in!" Bonnie called out.
No one was really paying attention to who it was until he stepped into the room.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
His country drawl attracted everyone's eyes, especially Nick's. Moments before, Nick's body had been red hot from embarrassment, but he now iced over at the realization that the fox in front of him could only be the same fox that he and Judy had argued about on the ride up and the same fox that had scratched Judy when they were kids. Judy shot up from her chair, a huge smile on her face.
"Gideon!"