Judy didn't immediately react to her boyfriend's statement, her attention focused on drying a coffee mug that boldly declared 'The Fox Rocks!'. It wasn't until she'd placed it on the countertop and began reaching for a freshly-washed plate that his nonchalant suggestion actually registered and her posture snapped upright. Slowly - almost unnervingly so - both ears rotated in the fox's direction; her gaze followed just behind as she turned to stare at him in disbelief. "Was that...was that a proposal? Did you seriously just propose to me while doing the dishes?"
Nick was gripped by a momentary sense of terror, but the pin was out of the grenade now. "Seemed like as good a time as any." He nodded, stubbornly resisting the urge to look directly at her. As he picked at a charred piece of food still stuck to the pan, he could practically feel her eyes boring into him. "What do you think?"
"Are you really...?" She sputtered. "How could you...?"
"Something the matter?"
"I...you..." Her fur bristled as the insides of her ears began to turn crimson.
"Use your words, Fluff." Nick glanced briefly into the next room, spotting a sand-colored blur as it leaped out the window and onto the fire escape – not a moment too soon as the bunny let out a frustrated yell and stormed out.
Following his irate girlfriend out of the kitchen with some bemusement, he was pleased to find the bunny right where he expected her to be; frozen in the center of the candle-lit living room, gazing in awe at the dozens of roses adorning every surface. "Oh Nick, they're beautiful!"
Double-checking that his phone was connected to the nearby BlueFang speakers, Nick placed it on the table and pressed play. A soft melody floated through the room as the fox dropped to one knee, pulling a small velvet box from his pocket just as Judy turned to face him. "How did yo-"
She gasped, eyes widening as her paws shot up to cover her twitching nose.
"I had so many ideas for what I'd say when this moment came - inside jokes, long sappy speeches, even an interpretive dance routine that you will never see." He gave her a playfully stern look. "But in the end, it all comes down to one undeniable truth." He reached out, taking Judy's paw. "I love you and I can't imagine any kind of life without you. So if you think you can keep putting up with this dumb fox, I've got a pretty important question for you."
The bunny's eyes shone with tears as she took a tentative step forward, practically vibrating with happiness and anticipation.
"Judy..." He smiled, a little cheekily. "You feel like getting hitched?"
"Y-you dumb, dumb fox!" She laughed, throwing her arms around him. "Of course I do!"
9:32 pm
Toot-Toot: so?
Nick: :)
Toot-Toot: damn
Toot-Toot: hoped you'd come to your senses
9:33 pm
Nick: You really came through for me, buddy. I owe you.
Nick: Thank Emmett for me, too. He really outdid himself.
9:35 pm
Toot-Toot: damn right you owe me
Toot-Toot: those roses had thorns, wilde
Toot-Toot: sharp ones
9:37 pm
Nick: Well if you're ever in Bunnyburrow...
Toot-Toot: like that's ever gonna happen
9:38 pm
Nick: Fair enough. Take care of yourself, Finn.
9:40 pm
Toot-Toot: always do
Toot-Toot: peace
9:57 pm
Toot-Toot: and congrats
10:03 pm
Toot-Toot: dumbass
"Mom...Dad...I have some big news for you."
On the other end of the video call, Judy's parents shared an apprehensive look. When it came to their daughter, those words we usually followed by gems like 'I've been accepted into the police academy' or 'I'm going to be godmother to a known mobster's granddaughter'.
"Oh." Her mother smiled, albeit a bit nervously. "Good news?"
"I think so. I hope you will too." Judy smiled. "What if I told you guys that I've found the mammal of my dreams and we're moving back to Bunnyburrow to start our new lives together?"
There was a moment of thunderous silence, then Stu's eyes went impossibly wide and he began to wobble on his feet. Bonnie took him by the arm, giving their daughter an admonishing glare as she guided her stunned husband to a nearby chair. "Judy! Don't tease your father like that!"
"Not teasing." Judy grinned happily. She lifted her paw to reveal her glittering engagement ring and watched, with a fair amount of amusement, as her mother's expression shifted from irritation, to uncertainty, on to hopefulness before finally settling on a mixture of shock and elation.
"R-really?" The older bunny asked uncertainly. "Y-you're coming home?"
Judy nodded happily.
"That's wonderful! Oh, Stu! Our little girl is coming home!"
"Huh...?" The dazed buck responded. "Which one?"
"Judy! Judy's getting married and she's coming home!"
"...she is?" He blinked as the new information sunk in. "But why?!"
Her mother's smile faltered. "Stu..."
"What about - I can't believe I'm saying this – Judy, what about your job? You've dreamed about it your entire life." He lifted his paws defensively. "Not that I don't want you back home, but the last time you were here you weren't exactly a ray of sunshine."
Judy frowned slightly at the memory. "I know, but this is different. An unexpected opportunity came up, and it turns out there's a way for me to have my cake and eat it too."
"What's that supposed to..." A sudden crash off-screen interrupted her father's question. "Aw, cripes! Looks like the little ones got into the molasses! I'll be right back!"
As he bolted from the screen, Judy felt the familiar weight of Nick's muzzle come to rest on her shoulder. "Hi Bonnie!" He grinned and waved at the small screen.
"Hello, Nicholas." Bonnie responded politely. "Are you there to help Judy celebrate the good news?"
"Mm-hm." He nodded, grinning.
"I'm surprised to see you so chipper about it." She commented. "You're not upset that Judy is coming back to Bunnyburrow?"
"If she's happy, I'm happy."
"I'm very glad to hear that." The matronly rabbit smiled. "I suppose you'll have to break in a new partner, won't you?"
"Funny you should say tha..."
"Actually!" Judy cut in, giving the fox a warning look. "I think we should wait for dad to get back before we talk about this anymore."
"Are you pregnant?" Her mother suddenly asked. "Is that why you're suddenly getting married?"
Judy blinked as the conversation took an unexpected sharp turn. "What? No!"
"Are you sure? You are using protection, aren't you? You know you can talk to me about anything." She leaned in closely, peering at her daughter. "Does Nick need to leave the room for a moment?"
"No...I mean, yes...but no, I'm n..." Judy stammered as she struggled to follow her mother's rapid fire questions.
"You're not?!" Bonnie screeched. "I thought I taught you better than that!"
"Of course you did, but I don't need...that is, it's not really an issue..." Judy insisted. "But I can guarantee that I am absolutely, positively, one hundred percent NOT pregnant."
She heard Nick stifling a laugh as her mother's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Judy, are you two..."
Judy felt her mouth go dry as a surge of panic gripped her. "I..."
"Have you been saving yourself for marriage? Sweetheart, that's so...old-fashioned."
That was all it took to shatter Nick's fragile self-control as the fox collapsed to the floor, clutching his stomach with his paws as he shook with laughter.
"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to..." Bonnie eyed the hysterical vulpine. "You know I'm just concerned for you, and if you ever need to talk about...you know...family things..."
"I appreciate that, Mom, but..."
Her father's face suddenly filled the screen. "You're pregnant?!" He spun around to face his wife. "Judy's pregnant?!"
Nick, who had finally begun to calm down, once again howled with amusement.
"No, Dad." Judy sighed, gently kicking the cackling fox. "I'm not pregnant."
"Dear sweet cheese and crackers, Bon! Judy's pregnant!" Stu cried, turning back to the screen. "Who said you were allowed to be pregnant?"
"Please stop saying pregnant!" Judy groaned.
"Calm down, sweetheart." Bonnie told her husband, taking him by the shoulders and gently drawing him away from the small camera. "Judy says she isn't...in such a condition. We should take her at her word."
"Like hell we should!" Stu growled, leaning forward again in an attempt to glare at the exhausted fox. "What the hell did you do to my daughter, Wilde?!"
"Oh, Stu!" Bonnie swatted him on the shoulder. "What could Nicholas possibly have done?"
"That's what I want to know!"
"Nick didn't do anything, Dad!" Judy interrupted, wondering why she ever indulged her father's speciest nonsense. "Why would you immediately jump straight to blaming him? What has he ever done to deserve your distrust?"
"Well to start with, he didn't even try to reach out to us before asking our daughter to marry him!" Stu narrowed his eyes at the abruptly quiet fox. "And believe you me, Wilde – we're going to be having a long talk about that, very soon."
For the second time in one phone call, a stunned silence hung in the air.
"You knew Nick and I... that we're..."
Her father grimaced at her. "Oh for goodness sake Jude, we're not blind! Of course we did."
"H-hold on..." Bonnie stammered. "T-the two of them are...t-together? As in..."
Stu turned to stare at his wife. "I told you they were, Bon! Repeatedly!"
"Yes, but I thought you were being...well..." Bonnie waved her paw at him vaguely as she searched for the right word. "...eccentric."
"Sweetheart, after 158 daughters I think I can recognize when one of them is in love - whether it's with a bunny or not." He huffed indignantly before turning back to his daughter. "Are you two using protection?!"
"OhmigodNO!" Judy cried. "I love you guys talk to you later BYE!" She abruptly ended the call, gasping for breath as she stared at the suddenly darkened screen. It was barely a second before it lit up again. Shaking her head at the picture of her smiling parents, she rejected the incoming call and turned her phone off, tossing it onto the table and dropping her head into her paws. After a moment, she felt Nick's muzzle return to her shoulder as he drew her into his arms.
"You okay, Fluff?" He muttered, giving her a gentle nuzzle.
"No thanks to you, chuckles." She grumbled, even as she snuggled into his embrace.
"Sorry." He paused. "But you have to admit, it still went better than we expected."
To their dismay, the call to Judy's parents wasn't even the toughest part of their week. The days that followed were practically consumed by the exhausting process of packing up their lives, deciding what they'd need right away and what could be shipped.
Although Judy rented her tiny apartment on a month-to-month basis, Nick wasn't in so convenient a situation - the fox was only four months into a one-year lease. His landlord hadn't been particularly pleased about having the lease broken, and made his displeasure clear when Nick came back to find his belongings piled on the curb. If the fox had felt any hesitation about leaving Zootopia up to that point, he certainly didn't anymore.
But even that paled in comparison to the one thing they'd been dreading most; officially resigning from the ZPD.
Although they'd briefly flirted with the idea of submitting their resignations in writing, Judy's conscience wouldn't permit her to take what she viewed as a coward's way out. It was that mindset that had her standing in Chief Bogo's office, her gaze focused on the floor tile between the cape buffalo's hooves. She'd explained the situation regarding Nick's new job and their recent engagement, formally stated that she was resigning from the Zootopia police department, and was holding on to the faintest of hope that the Chief might actually congratulate them.
"Hopps, do you recall the day of Bellwether's arrest, when you stood in this office and begged me – begged me – to not only allow you to return to the ZPD, but to accept the application of a fox with an unquestionably dubious past?"
"Yes, sir." She answered quietly.
"Did you know how much resistance there was from the city council? How many mammals, Councilor Morrigan notwithstanding, didn't want to see you back in uniform? Who were understandably hesitant to reinstate an officer who managed to start a race war with a single botched press conference? I can certainly say that both requests flew right in the face of my better judgement, but I chose to take a leap of faith. And in the last two years, neither of you had given me cause to regret that decision."
"Thank you, s– "
"SHUT IT!" He bellowed, crushing her response. He took a breath, pausing a moment before continuing. "Whatever your reasons are or wherever it is you're going could not possibly matter less. What I care about is simple; after all that has been done to help you realize your dream – both by the Mammal Inclusion Initiative and by the ZPD – you are still thinking only of yourself."
"Now, I will make this very simple." Bogo stepped back from her and casually returned to his seat, peering at the bunny over his desk. "When I dismiss you, you will leave my office. If you are at the morning briefing in fifteen minutes, I will forget this conversation ever happened."
Judy opened her mouth to respond, but the buffalo's deep timbre easily overpowered her. "If you are not present for the briefing, I expect to find your badge on my desk when I return. And let me be absolutely clear; if you leave your badge on this desk, you will never get it back. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir." She replied, her voice tight.
"Tell Wilde not to waste my time by coming in here – the same choice applies to you both." Bogo finished. "Dismissed."
Judy offered a sharp salute, holding it until it became clear that it wasn't going to be returned. Slowly lowering her arm, she turned and shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind her.
An hour later, Bogo wasn't surprised to find a pair of ZPD badges sitting on his desk, both polished to a high shine and one laid almost protectively over the other.
Gazing out the passenger car's windows, Judy idly examined the few mammals still making their way through Zootopia's massive Central Terminal. It wasn't difficult for her to remember the first time she'd seen it, gleaming in the sunlight, welcoming her to her new home. It was quieter now, the hustle and bustle of rush hour had long since faded as she and her fiancée (she still couldn't hide the smile that word brought to her face) prepared to take the evening commuter train out of town.
It would have been nice to have taken the express train. Rather than going straight to their destination, the longer route would carry them through Podunk, Acrewood, Long Dam River and Acorn Hill first. In all likelihood, they wouldn't reach Bunnyburrow until well past midnight.
Beside her, Nick yawned audibly. She gave him an encouraging nudge, seeing through his practiced expression of boredom to the anxiousness that lay beneath. It was a nervousness she knew all too well – the feeling of leaving your home behind you and going on an adventure. He sighed wistfully as the train began to move away from the platform and she felt his larger paw wrap around her own.
"You nervous?" He asked, giving her paw a gentle squeeze.
"Sort of. It's tough to describe" She shrugged. "How about you?"
"Scared out of my wits." He replied, in contrast to his seemingly bored demeanor. "You know I've never actually left the city before?"
She blinked owlishly. "Seriously?"
"Never really had a reason to." He confirmed. "But I've got no reason to stay, either. Home is wherever you are, even if that's out in the savage wastelands."
"It's not so bad out there, Slick." Snuggling up against his side, she gave him a comforting pat on the leg. "I'll keep you safe."
-o—o—o—o—o—o—o-
End Part II