CH. 7
"That was too close for comfort." Finnick spoke while driving. "Tonight just proved my point, Nick."
Nick turned on the radio to listen to some tunes. "It can happen to anyone, F. Besides, we got away clean and clear."
Finnick laughed sarcastically with his throat. "Yeah, all thanks to me."
Nick waved his hand in the form of 'Oh,-Whatever' before looking at his passenger window. He won't admit it but he knows that his best friend is right. They drove on an empty road, which is very rare in the city of Zootopia, as Finnick is driving Nick back home before heading back to his condo. Upon entering the driveway of Nick's neighborhood, Finnick took a few turns while driving to prevent making engine noise that his KIA is giving off.
"Alright, dude I will see you later." Finnick parked his car in front of Nick's home. "Elsa, wanted to have you guys over for dinner sometimes. Or you guys are up for an unlimited bowling night?."
"You act like your guys wanna hang out without us while time is still on your side." Nick looked at Finnick with a brow raised.
"If you must know. My family is flying to Arendelle soon for Thanksgiving, and Elsa thought that we should do something together. You guys have three months and some days till then. We are driving first class to both there and back. Ha!." boasted Finnick.
Nick slyly smirked. "Yeah, and your wife is paying for it."
Nick exited the car before he could even hear Finnick answer back.
"My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are paying for the tickets." said Finnick, before driving off.
Upon reaching the front door of his home, Nick started to hum a tune of his Incredible-Mr. Fox theme song while getting the keys. Nick had that sly smirk on his face as he entered his home and quickly turned off the alarm system that was close to the door. Once closing and locking the door back, Nick then rearmed the alarm system. He made his way into the kitchen to see if he could sneak himself some night snack before bed. Luckily for Nick, he did just that. There on the countertop inside a pie container was a nice helping slice of pecan-carrot pie.
"Don't mind if I do." Nick opened the lid up to grab one of the sliced pieces. He took the first bite. "Mmm, my wife knows how to bake."
With his guard down a certain figure sneaked up on him and turned on the kitchen lights, while giving Nick a jumped scare. The animal responsible for this is none other than his own wife. Judy, who had that 'I-Know-What-You-Did-Tonight' frown and suspicious facial expression, was lying on the countertop with her chin resting on her left hand. Nick, whose mind is slowly comprehending what is going on in this current mixed with an awkward situation, eased down his surprised jump position and relaxed a bit. But not too relaxed since he is dealing with his tipped-off wife who is in her pink fluffy bedroom robe.
"It is late. Too late to be enough for the pool hall to be closed until the next day in the afternoon. Why are you so late to get home?." Judy asked while giving him a pointed look.
Nick played cool. He gave her an innocent smile. "It was a battle to the death. Me and Finnick were tied throughout the whole night on the literal first round. We kept on trying to be the first to put the eight-ball into one of the holes on the pool table to win the game. Man, everyone, and I mean everyone, was watching our game to see who would be the victor. Heck, they even made a wager on us. Crazy, right?."
Judy, who still kept on her frown, got off on the countertop and walked over for Nick to see her in full body. She crossed her arms while bunny-tapping her left foot uncontrollably while her ears started to twitch a bit. She stopped tapping her foot.
"Huh, that is so very funny." Judy began while still holding her suspicious facial expression.
Nick took another bite of his pie. "What is so very funny, love carrot muffin?."
"Well…" Judy tilted her head before doing a quick ear twitch and raised a brow. "I had my police radio on when folding our laundry. You know how much I love to hear what is going on with my group when I am off duty when I get home. Anyways, a recent call came in some time ago tonight saying that Myria, our young newbie snow leopard, was found inside a jewelry store completely frozen in pure ice with her bullet in midair frozen. You and I both know that there are only two animals that have the power to bend subzero at will. Coincidence?."
Nick responded in a shrug even though he knew what Judy was trying to say. "Yeah, sounds very coincidental. However, Finnick was nowhere near tonight's incident. Including me, so I will see you in bed, yeah?."
Nick walked past Judy to make his way to the hallway to reach their bedroom. Judy, however, is not the kind of wife to just drop the conversation. No, she is the type of wife that would get to the bottom of things and put them to rest. As such she followed Nick to examine his attire for anything that looked out of place. She found it. Before the two can even exit the living room, Judy extends her arm and grabs hold of Nick's right shoulder making him stop in his place. Judy made Nick turn around to face her before she walked up to him and not just let her long arm reverse back into place.
Judy eyed her husband for a short second before picking off small specks off his coat. Nick flinched as he knew he had been busted. Judy pulled her arm back into its original place while eyeing the specks in her fingers. She reached down to sniff at it before giving it a few licks. Smacking her lips a bit to get the flavor running through her taste bud before looking back at Nick.
"Rubble. Wood chip. Concrete rubble. Hand Cut…no…mouth cut wood chop. Conclusion…two different walls with two different materials." Judy eyed Nick seriously. "EXPLAIN. NOW."
"It was just a little bit of a workout, carrot honey cakes." Nick spoke while finishing eating the rest of his slice of pie and trying to talk his way out of his situation. That is if luck is on his side tonight. "Just trying to stay loose from time to time. Do not want my upper body to get too stiff you know?."
"Awwww, Nick, you know how I feel about this!." Judy let her upset emotions run all over her husband. So much so that she threw down the specks that were in her paw to the floor to show how this was upsetting her. "For the love of sweet cheese and crackers, darn you Nick!. We can not afford to blow our cover again!. Literally!. We are literally the only animals that are deeply draining the finances of the NSA every single time you do this!."
Nick frustratingly exhales his breath in frustration. He really did not want to hear the nagging of hearing the infamous speech of Judy Wild. "Look in my defense, Judy, the whole building was coming down anyway. They should build the place with a different material other than woo…"
"Wait, hold on a minute…" Judy started to think about what Nick just said to his downfall, after literally telling on himself. She looked at him in utter shock. "You knocked down a building!?. A building!?."
"It was on fire, honey carrots." Nick slowly explained his actions despite his irritation by rubbing a pass down his face. "The flames had burned the structures and the foundation of the building. It was going to come crumbling down either way without my assistance. A lot of good animals would have been dead if it was not for me and Finnick."
Judy rubbed her left side temple after having an idea on how her husband and best friend have managed to prevent the loss of lives. "Please, do not tell me that you two were not listening in on police scanners?. You know how I feel about you listening into the affairs of my department."
"Look." Nick gave his wife a serious facial expression. "What I did tonight was perform a civic duty for the community. A public service at that and you are treating it like I did a very bad thing."
"You did, Nick. What you did is a very bad thing for us personally." Judy put one hand on her hip while letting her other hand move freely while she talked. "For the ridiculously obvious, you are uprooting our family…AGAIN. Making us feel like we are part of a freaking circus that never stops touring or staying at the same location. All just because you want to relive the Glory Days."
This has upset Nick big time as the last sentence has gotten underneath his fur. "Hey, reliving the Glory Days is a whole lot darn better than pretending and acting like that moment in time did not happen!."
"Yes, the Glory Days did happen. From the 90s to the 2000s. That is in the forgotten past, Nick." Judy used both of her index fingers to point down. "This is 2027. We are in the Now. And this now is you, me, and the kids. Our family. And you are both missing it and ignoring it like we do not freaking matter or have absolute value!. Speaking about our kids, I just can not believe that you would rather work on the day of our son's graduation instead of calling out. Do you not love our kids?. The kids that we have made together and brought into this world?."
"Judy, you know good and well that I love and value our kids with passion." Nick started defending himself after his wife questioned him as a father. "I am nothing like my sorry-ass excuse of a father. Besides, that so-called 'Graduation' that our Dash is getting…well newsflash it is not an actual graduation. It is just a pointless ceremony of him and the other kids moving from the fourth grade to the fifth grade. Now, if he was in high school like his sister, then that is a real graduation. A graduation where your so-called counselors did not do a damn thing to help you get a scholarship or not a single member of the crowd does not bother giving you a standing ovation, or even give you a freaking cheer when crossing the stage to get your diploma. All because those entitled assholes will not acknowledge the fact that you have finally reached the finish line and are officially about to enter the real world. But when their ass needs saving they then want to call for your…"
"Nick, cut it out right now." Judy crossed her arms. "This is not about you. This is about Dash."
"Well, fine, Judy, if you want us to do something for our little boy then let's do what I have always been saying. Let him try out for sports. Heck, let us put him in pee-wee football. He would be great in a wide receiver position. Who knows he might make it into the NFL. Geez, what am I saying?. Of course, he would make it into the NFL." said Nick, really wanting to see that happen for his boy.
"You know good and well why we can not jeopardize that, Nick. It all takes just one slip up and everyone knows that Dash is a Super." Judy looks down at her feet to prevent eye contact with Nick before she actually knows what is going to happen, based upon what she is going to say next. "As for Violet on the other hand. Her powers are not as eye-catching compared to her brother's. Meaning that it is alright…I mean is most definitely alright with me for our daughter to participate in a cheerleading tryout…"
"Oh, heck to the double no, Judy." Nick frowned. "I refuse to let my little girl wear sexy eye-catching clothing while shaking her little booty in front of those sick horny perverted lusting boys."
Judy rolled her eyes in response to hearing the same response from her husband as she walked her way to the dark blue furry recliner to sit. "I do not know how many times I have to keep on telling you. From every relocation that we have been in, I have been eyeing those boys in Violet's schools and see them having no lust in their eyes when they see her. Shoot, the boys in this current school do not pay any attention to her much less have any interspecies tendencies. Those boys are…I really freaking hate to say it…are straight-straight."
Nick took in and exhaled his breath in relief of hearing this good news. "Good."
Judy looked at Nick with concern. "No, Nick, it is not good. I want grandchildren. It is bad enough that Violet is awfully shy and timid mixed with diffidence. To top it all off she is born with a birth defect of looking, sounding, and feeling depressed."
"Yet, another good positive standout of my daughter's virginity will remain untampered, much less her still being this house with us." said Nick.
"Ah, Nick, that is not good!. Violet needs to find or have a boyfriend much less find a husband. Violet is not a little girl anymore, Nick, she is becoming a young woman. She will not forever be underneath your arms. She will one day go to college or join the armed forces and be her own animal. I do not want her to be sitting around the house all day on weekdays and weekends either reading her comic books while listening to her music or freaking playing video games." said Judy, explaining it all in such seriousness.
"I do not see anything wrong about my Violet being a little old homebody. In fact, there are animals who made a career of being homebodies. Being a professional videogame-playing streamer is today's modern occupation. Not every animal wants to work themselves physically to fatigue and go work for The Man. Unlike you, Judy." Nick pointed at his wife when getting too close and poked her in the chest.
This made Judy's left eye twitch. She hates it when Nick is right within his own right in the eyes of their children. She hated looking like a square. A loser. A girl scout. A party pooper. As a response, Judy jumped off from the recliner and roughly pushed the fat porky belly of Nick.
"I will no longer be made the enemy here in this family in front of our kids!. I am so darn tired of you making me look like I am the official Mrs. No-Fun-Whatsoever woman!." argued Judy in anger.
Nick crossed his arms. Look down at his wife. "It can all be avoided if you loosen up and cut back on your dedication then you won't be labeled as the super villain. You can start off by letting Dash play sports."
"Oh, no Mr, you are not going to mind fooling me into letting Dash play football. But we can have common ground in letting Violet be a cheerleader." Judy pushed her idea back.
"Fun fact." Nick ignored his fat growling belly for wanting more to eat. "Cheerleading is a free-to-watch cheaper version of a strip club without the striping. You're just upset that you know I'm right. Right about everything."
"It is not about you, Nick from the second original conversation." Judy looked irritated. "This is about our kids."
"Well, excluding Violet, let Dash try out and play football!." Nick argued back with seriousness.
"You know good damn why we can not!." Judy frowned hard.
"BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT OUR BOY WOULD DO GREAT!" Nick yelled in anger.
Judy not only stretched out her neck to show her body language but also yelled in anger as well. "FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, NICK, THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU!."
Their heated-tempered conversation was put to an immediate end as soon as they found and smelled out that they were not alone in the living room. Nick and Judy stopped in their tracks for a brief moment before calming down. Judy stretched her neck back to normal before crossing her arms and having that shamed facial expression. Nick shared the same facial expression as his wife. The two have found out at the last second that their kids have sneaked into the living room and snooped into their conversation. Now, it is time for the two former Supers to act not only as adults but also as responsible parents.
It was obvious that the fox genes within Violet and Dash are super strong based upon how easily they snuck in without their parents knowing. They heard every single word from the mouths of their Mom and Dad.
"Alright, Violet you do not have to hide. We know you are there so just come out, pumpkin carrot." Nick spoke calmly and warmly.
Judy tilted her head. "Dash. You too young man."
Violet and Dash, who were in the pajamas, were hesitant at first. But it did not make Nick or Judy stop. Instead the two went on to try once again to make them come out from their hiding.
"Vi. D. Me and Daddy are not going to be mad or yell at you." Judy spoke in a motherly loving fashion.
"It is alright you two. We promise." encouraged Nick.
With that said, Violet popped her head up from the couch before turning it back to visible, while Dash walked around the couch and sat down beside his big sister.
"Vi. Dash. Now, there is nothing to be afraid of or have a huge anxiety panic. Me and Mommy were just having a normal speech and debate conversation." began Nick.
"A very high volume speech and debate conversation." added Violet, when crossing her leg over the other.
"Not to mention you two might have awakened the dead." added Dash, before scratching behind his right ear with his index finger.
"Well, the point is that Mommy and I…" Nick motioned Judy to stand beside him, which she did before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Are a duo team. A team that stands strong…we are united…we…".
"A bunch of stubborn assholes?." Judy eyed husband to see if that was the part he was trying to say.
Nick whispered. "Well, I was about to say that we fight against the forces of evil-type things, which would undoubtedly make the conversation confusing and make silly zero sense."
Judy sighed and looked at Violet and Dash with a warm smile. "We are terribly sorry that we woke you. You too should go back to bed. It is a school night."
With no hesitation the two obeyed and marched right back into the hallway and went back to their rooms.
"Good night, Mommy. Good night, Daddy." said Violet, before giving her Dad a kiss on the cheek and hug.
"Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad." said Dash, doing the same with their Mom.
Once the two were out of sight, Judy sighed and said nice and plainly. "I believe that all of us should go to bed. Before things get too uncomfortable."
Nick sighed in defeat as he did not mean any of this to happen much less act out. Followed behind their kids and headed for their bedroom. Judy sighed as she was not angry at what her husband did tonight. He did a good deed. It was just that he wanted to do more and so did she besides being a police officer. But the odds of that even happening is against their favor. Sighing, she went to turn out all the lights and go to bed.
(A/N): MERRY CHRISTMAS and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR, Everyone!.