Author's Note: I know that it is seriously late to have a story that takes place around the Christmas season. But better late than never, I guess...? I dunno! I have quite the fascination for all things that are associated with Christmas and the like, even when I know it's a long time away from coming around on the calendars again. XD

I typed this one out last year as an attempt at writing a sweet, holiday-themed story, and meant to share it when I wrote my other Christmas story.

Even though it's February and 300+ days 'till Christmas comes around again as I write this, I still hope you enjoy this one and that it makes you smile. :)

Enjoy!

Once again, the fox found himself hustled somehow. It was all thanks to a certain sly bunny and her ways of constantly tricking him.

As Judy knocked against the red door in front of them and backed up, Nick started to reminisce about how he managed to get himself stuck into the place and situation that he found himself in now…

It all started on what would've been just a typical evening. Judy was in the process of helping her companion out in getting his place decorated for the wondrous holiday season.

The entire living room was undergoing a completely festive transformation, as if the magic of the holidays somehow crawled inside and spread itself around the originally undecorated spaces. Across the floor laid a few small storage totes, containing decorations and supplies from the yesteryear's holiday celebrations. A slight mess of such items was scattered upon the ground, making the living room floor look like a construction sight from the North Pole.

Smiles abundant, Nick and Judy stood on opposite sides of the room as they both filled every possible inch with joyous decorations. The fox worked over on the left side of the living room, hanging up a few extra festive decorations. Beneath the decorations flickered the fireplace, a soft but warming flame radiating inside. On the accompanying sides of the fireplace hung Christmas cards they had received from family and friends, and above it all a beautiful wreath.

A couple minor decorations were placed out by the two of them, set on top of some free spaces. A winter-looking snow globe with a snowmammal in it was placed idly on a nearby coffee table, where a cup of tea and a cup of hot cocoa complete with marshmallows stood. Nick placed his muzzle near his mug and took a quick drink, the warmth and soothingness of the hot chocolate refreshing him as he swallowed.

On the other side of the room, the doe was putting some of the finishing touches on one of the main decorating staples of the holiday season: The tree.

A gorgeous white tree sparkled luminously against the walls. Tinsel had already been wrapped around it, and Judy was applying some of the last few snowflake ornaments on the branches as a decorative compliment. It was almost complete, except for one important detail that needed to be placed on top.

Judy grabbed a star topper decked with glittered accents out from a bin beside her, handing the decoration over to Nick. "You wanna have the honors?" she jokingly asked.

Nick placed a paw by his chest. "It would be a great pleasure, Fluff."

Judy laughed as she smiled, and Nick placed the star on the top of the tree. After a few minor adjustments to how it was decorated, the fox and rabbit both took a few steps back and looked at the room that they had just finished decorating.

After everything was complete, the two sat down on the couch as flicked on the television, putting on one of the holiday specials that they were featuring for the evening.

With as much Christmas joy that was already filling the air, it currently felt like the proper time to address her fox with what she felt like participating in. The doe always had a considerably stupendous sense of joy that rushed over her during the holidays (the time it was being her favorite time of the year), but what she was contemplating on doing was out of the question for her fox companion upon her inquiry.

Much to her dismay, it ended up being an unadulterated "no" from the fox regarding his participation in the annual act of caroling. However, Judy was not going to take it as an answer. She knew on the inside that Nick would actually enjoy himself if she took him with her.

"Come on, Nick," she said persuasively. "It'd be fun."

"You and I both know that my voice is far from the singing type," Nick informed. "You've heard it yourself, Fluff. I'm pretty sure if I sung loud enough I'd end up hurting somebody's ears."

"You're bein' too hard on yourself," the doe replied. "But if you don't wanna go, I completely understand."

The vulpine looked her with a little bit of confusion, unsure of how she went from being completely adamant on his participation to understanding of why he didn't wish to go.

Regardless, however, he felt a little bad for rejecting his bunny's offer. "Sorry, Carrots. I'm promising you that I'm gonna make it up to you somehow."

"Whatever you say, Scrooge," Judy remarked, getting a chuckle out of Nick.

With that, the doe got up from her seat with a wide and conniving grin conjuring across her face. She knew what she would do next. If Nick wouldn't join the caroling excursion, then she knew that she had to hustle him into it.

Some time later, Judy proposed a bet between to the two of them before the day started at the ZPD. Knowing both Nick and her competitive attitudes all too well, the bunny was certain that the fox would immediately take the wager she had proposed. However, as if with all of her other bets that she had made with him in the past, there was a catch that he would realize at a later point in time.

"Alright, it's settled," Judy remarked, shaking paws with Nick.

The fox grinned, feeling quite certain in his head that he was about to win the bet that had already been proposed. The booming voice of Chief Bogo called all of the officers back to where he was, and Nick followed Judy inside as he pushed the wager into the back of his head for a later time.

Little did Nick know, however, that Judy intentionally designed the little proposal out perfectly to work in her favor.

Sooner than later, the fox had lost the bet and needed to pay the price for it. He would now have to go caroling with Judy and some of the ZPD officers.

Once again, the fox had unsurprisingly been hustled. Not until the moment in which Judy and the other officers started to congregate did the fox acknowledge there was something else he had to do alongside caroling...

Nick's mind came back to the present moment as he prepared himself once again.

Responding to the unexpected knocking that had been placed upon his door, the elephant who occupied the house looked humbly at who awaited him at his front porch. His wife and daughter came to the door soon after, smiles abundant to the familiar yet warming sounds of the Christmas carols.

Outside stood the familiar faces that made up the ZPD, Judy within the middle of the group like a leader.

Although some of the caroler's voices weren't exactly on key, the sounds they produced were enough to bring joy to the citizens across Zootopia. The elephant family stood close together, the little child in the bunch pointing at something that was in her interest as she innocently laughed.

What the child was pointing at was none other than Nick, who was cloaked in the outfit that he was wearing as part of him losing the bet. While the carolers were all in festive, close-to-matching attire, the fox was in an elf outfit complete with bells that jingled on his sleeves. Nick, however, didn't feel uncomfortable at all despite the getup he had been hustled into wearing by Judy.

Although he wasn't too happy about it in the beginning (his face previously had been giving off a not-so-joyous look alongside the other smiling carolers), seeing the pleasant reactions from the mammals they were singing to made him good inside.

As the carol they were singing came to a close, the voices held their note. Nick exuberantly waved his paws to get the bells to jingle on the sleeves of his outfit, a jovial expression spreading across his muzzle. The young elephant giggled and started to clap, the child's parents ended up joining in a round of applause a few seconds later.

The assembly of carolers walked off, heading down the street to go to the next available house. As they came closer to a house covered top to bottom in multi-colored lights, Judy cocked her head and saw the jocund smirk radiating on Nick's muzzle. The doe tapped at Nick's shoulder, feeling that she was right about him once again.

"So," she remarked, "did this fox's heart grow three sizes today?"

"Har har," Nick breathed, trying his darnedest to cover up the fact that he was truly enjoying himself.

The doe shook her head. "You can't fool me, Slick, I can see it in your face."

Looking back at the house they had just, they caught sight of the family they had just visited. Nick could see the kid to the two elephants waving cheerfully back at them, faintly hearing the little one saying something.

"Bye, Mister Elf!" the little elephant called from a distance. "Happy holidays!"

Judy saw the smile that Nick failed miserably to contain. "Awww," she mocked. "It would seem as if Mister Elf beside me has a fan."

The fox sighed, giving up on containing all of his enthusiasm. "Alright, Carrots, I admit it. This caroling thing is actually a lot better than I expected. The whole elf outfit thing you managed to trick me with ain't that bad, either."

"Told you, Slick."

Nick and Judy continued to walk forward to the next house and catch up with the rest of the caroling participants, their figures glowing underneath the dazzling spectacle of lights. Judy went up and knocked on the door, and Nick and the rest of the ZPD officers got ready to repeat the process again.

For once in his life, the fox was actually quite happy to be the loser to one of his companion's bets.