A/N: Fox meets bunny parents. Embarrassment ensues.

Thanks to luxaurorae, side-fish, Kochich, randomkungfupandafan, BeecroftA, savisawesome2004, Niori, Goldyx, Guest, Pim, Guest (again), and Finnick for reviewing!

Evergreen has cover art! Done by the incredibly talented Kochich, the picture represents the most important items in this story, and it might just give you a hint of what is to come. The full picture, in all its glory, can be found in my profile.

Do give Kochich your feedback! Some of the future chapters will be illustrated as well, during important moments.

Chapter 3: Floof

For Judy, the last twelve hours were probably the most eventful her life had ever been. After everything that had happened, sleep had never been as welcome to her. She slept like a log, getting the best sleep she'd gotten in a long time.

At least, that was what she would have liked to say. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, because the moment the clock struck one in the morning, she was rudely awoken by a 'pleasant' pair of voices.

"It wasn't me!"

"Of course it was! There's no other person in this room!"

Her bloodshot eyes shot open, paws grasping around her bedside instinctively but finding nothing. It took a moment before she realised it: her earbuds were back in Bunnyburrow. She had nothing to plug up her ears tonight.

Argh…on the night I needed sleep…

It had been bearable for the first week or so after she'd first moved in, but the constant noise from her horned neighbours had quickly become excessively grating—hence the earbuds. Her troubles on the job didn't make it easier. Being given social commentary on her problems didn't help either.

The big ears definitely didn't help.

She smothered her face with her pillow, trying to drown out the racket. They were arguing over who was responsible for paying for groceries. The conversation then shifted to who was at fault for losing the money for the groceries. She took some comfort in the fact that they weren't discussing more intimate things.

She finally managed to find a position that squeezed her ears close enough to her head that the noise became a muffled throb. Sighing, she tried to force herself back to sleep. She wasn't sure if the arguing stopped or her mind managed to drown out the noise, but she managed to drift back off.

Knock.

Judy stirred. The knocking sounded heavenly compared to what she had been subjected to last night. It was rhythmic, almost soothing. She began to drift off again.

"…ello?"

The sound of words forced her to crack open her tired eyes. She groaned, rubbing them with a paw. As the world came back into focus, she rolled onto her back, feeling a throbbing in the side of her head. Her large ears flopped open, and instantly she felt them cramp up from being pressed up against her head for so long. Definitely not one of the better ways to have been woken up, but at least it was quiet in her apartment now.

Except for the knocking.

It took her a while to collect her thoughts, but when she did, she quickly bolted upright.

That's right! My parents! They're supposed to be coming! What time is it?!

She glanced at her bedside clock, gasping sharply. It was already 10.16 a.m. It was so late! She quickly pushed herself off the bed, but as she did, she felt a sharp lance of pain shoot through her leg.

"Ngh!" she groaned, biting her lip. The worst thing she could do now was to scream in pain. Her parents would never let that one go. They'd probably carry her all the way back to Bunnyburrow if they had to.

The knocking was growing louder. Holding the wall for support, Judy hobbled over to the door. "Coming! Coming! Hang on a sec!"

She reached the door, quickly smoothing out her shirt and jeans before yanking the door open with a forced smile across her face while she called out: "Mom! Dad…!"

The red fox standing in front of her looked plenty amused.

"Aww, does baby bunny miss mommy and daddy? Don't worry, Uncle Nick is here."

Judy stared, gaping.

"…I brought bagels." Nick said, holding up a brown paper bag. "And coffee. I don't suppose you have plates, do you?" he casually pushed his way past the bewildered bunny and stepped into her apartment.

"Nick! What are you…why are you…never mind. Listen to me. I need you to leave for a while, okay? I don't have time to explain." She hobbled in after him, shutting the door behind her.

"Leave? Why?" he asked, placing the paper bags on the table.

Judy pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just said I don't have time to exp…argh! Please, Nick. I have some guests coming over, and…" she grabbed his arm and began dragging him over to the door.

"Woah woah woah, Carrots, slow down. What could be so urgent that I can't be around?" Nick planted himself firmly onto the ground as Judy yanked open the door.

"Judy!" Her mom and dad stood right outside, arms outstretched.

"…and they're…here. It's my parents! Ah…ha ha ha…" her ears dropped immediately. "Hi mom and dad!" She waved as nonchalantly as she could, keeping her eyes on her parents and trying her best not to turn around.

"Hi, Jude! How's it going?" Stu asked. His eyes travelled upwards, looking straight at the red fox that Judy was trying—unsuccessfully—to block from their view. "Uh…is that…?"

"Oh, it's all good, dad! Just, hang on a moment. I need to settle something." She quickly shut the door in their face. She then turned around and began pushing Nick to the side of her bed. She briefly considered throwing him out the window, but that was probably a bit too extreme, even for her.

"Nick, get under the bed."

"What?"

"Just stay there until my parents are gone, okay?" she grabbed him forcefully and pushed him down onto his belly, trying to squeeze him into the drawers under the bed. "Be still and don't say a word. It'll be a lot better for everyone if you don't meet—"

"Judith Laverne Hopps! What in the world are you doing?"

She froze, slowly turning her head to the door. Her parents had let themselves in, apparently. Just in time to see Nick's rear end still poking out from under the bed, including his bushy tail. Her mom's arms were on her hips, while her dad just stared with wide eyes. The fox quickly stuck his head out, his tail doing a little quiver and flick in the air.

Please don't have heard that please don't have heard that…

"Judith…" he started.

"No, you didn't hear—" Judy waved her arms frantically at him.

"Laverne…"

"Nick, it's not—"

"Hopps?" He was grinning from ear to ear.

Judy could feel the walls crumbling around her. Today's going to be a very, very bad day.

"Judy, how's your leg?"

"It's fine." Judy grumbled back, sulking. She was sitting with her parents on her bed, while Nick sat on the single chair. Although her parents couldn't see it, her paws were tightly gripping the pillow that she'd placed on her lap.

"Uhh…were you going to introduce us to your friend here? You didn't seem happy for us to meet him," Stu asked.

"Oh, she's just afraid I'd try to sell you something," Nick said, chuckling. Judy did not share his mirth.

"Wilde. Nick Wilde. You must be Judy's parents. It's a pleasure to meet both of you." He extended a paw, which the two bunnies both shook together.

It was a nightmare come true. Her fox-phobic parents meeting a fox who was exactly like what they thought foxes were like. It was like pouring oil in a fire. She knew her parents were getting better with their prejudice issues, but they had never met Nick. He was pretty much the embodiment of everything they didn't like about foxes. On the outside at least. Regardless, nothing good could possibly come from both parties meeting.

At least he didn't call me 'Carrots', Judy would have probably burned bridges before they even formed.

"You're the fox we saw on TV! Isn't that right, Bon?" Stu pointed at Nick.

"Oh yes! You were with Judy. It was in the news this morning. How do the two of you know each other?"

Both Nick and Judy glanced at each other simultaneously. Nick was the first to speak, turning back to Judy's parents.

"Well, I was minding my own business as a simple salesman a few months ago when your daughter found me." Nick offered. "I was caught up in her investigation of the Night Howler case, and I helped her solve it. Oh, and I did save her life. Twice." He glanced over at Judy, smirking.

"Twice? What was the first time? If anything, I saved your butt more," Judy fired back.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! From Mr Manchas, then at the lab, and…"

"You did?! Judy, is that true? You didn't tell us anything about that," Bonnie interrupted.

"You didn't tell us about Nick at all," Stu said, sounding a little hurt.

Judy froze. Oops. She winced internally. Ever since she'd resigned and gone back to Bunnyburrow, she had mostly kept to herself, only letting her parents know the bare minimum about what happened during the Nighthowler investigation. She'd left any mention of Nick out of her explanation, not wanting to bring him up after what happened during that press conference.

"Mmph…yes, it's true. Nick helped me a lot during the investigation. We didn't get along at first, and we had some…issues between us. That's why I didn't tell you about him. But we're friends now." She glanced over at Nick in the corner of her eye.

"Good friends. In fact, I'm the one that brought her home last night after she was discharged from the hospital. I offered to help her out till her leg recovers."

"Oh my. That's so kind of you, Nick!" Bonnie said, touching her chest. "Thank you so much for helping Judy. We were so worried when we heard she got injured. It's nice to see that she has a good friend to help her out." She immediately nudged Stu and whispered in his ear. "Stu, you'd better hide the care package."

Stu nodded slowly with a nervous smile.

Oh sweet cheese and crackers. Judy pinched her forehead, groaning. They brought the fox taser?!

"Judy, are you feeling okay?" Bonnie asked, looking worriedly at her daughter. "Is it your leg? Are you in pain?"

Yes, mom. I am in a lot of pain. "I'm fine, mom. I just need to take my meds…"

"Well then you need to eat something first, sweetie."

"Well, I did buy her a bagel and coffee. And I'm not really hungry, so this is for you, Mr and Mrs Hopps." Nick held out his own bagel and coffee to them. "Why don't you tell me more about yourselves? Is it your first time here in Zootopia?"

"Aw shucks, Nick, that's awfully kind of you," Stu said, taking the bagel and coffee from Nick. "Yes, it is our first time in the big city. It's really quite something else altogether."

"Much different from where we're from," Bonnie added, sipping the coffee that Stu passed to her.

"Bunnyburrow, isn't it? Judy told me about it. Also, your blueberries are absolutely delicious. Better than anything I've tasted here in the big city." He paused. "Are you moving in?

"Oh, heavens no. I don't think we could live in a big city like this. It's way too…big for us. Why do you ask?" Bonnie replied.

"You looked like you were moving in, with all that luggage you're carrying. What's in it, then?" Nick said, pointing to the bags in the corner.

"Oh, that's Judy's stuff," Stu replied, taking a bite from the bagel. "There were two of us travelling now, so we could bring more things that Judy couldn't fit the first time she came—"

"Wait, what things?" Judy interrupted.

"Oh, you know, all the stuff you asked us to bring. And stuff you'll definitely need," He replied, opening the nearest bag before she could stop him. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Oh no.

"Ah, there they are! I bet you missed them, didn't you, Jude?" he pulled out a few well-worn and well-snuggled stuffed rabbits.

No no no no no—

"Stuffed rabbits?" Nick asked, grinning.

"Oh yeah, she's been sleeping with them ever since she was small. They go everywhere with her."

"Did she give them names?" Nick asked, his grin widening.

"Oh yes, this one is Floof, that one is Floofier, that one is Mr Bucky…"

Judy was mortified. No, mortified would probably have been an understatement.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, glaring daggers at him.

"Aw, come on, Jude. He's your friend, isn't he? Saved your life, too. I'm sure he can know about all these things. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Isn't that right, Nick?"

"Absolutely. One hundred percent," Nick replied without hesitation. "You said that one was Floofier, right?"

Kill me. Kill me now. Judy buried her head in her pillow.

"I'm guessing Jude is your pet name for Judy?" Nick continued.

"Oh yes. She's my little Jude the dude. I call her that because she's always been a little fighter, ever since she was small. She'd never let anyone stop her from doing what she dreamed. She'd take on bunnies twice her size, even."

"As much as we told her not to…" Bonnie added.

"So she's been that headstrong since she was small, huh?" Nick asked.

"Yup. Remember when she was a baby?" Bonnie giggled, nudging Stu.

"Oh yeah! Jude hated wearing clothes. She'd run out of the bath completely naked, yelling "Freedommmmm!" Stu made a big show of it.

"Then maybe you should have called her Jude the nu—oof!"

A swift punch from Judy quickly silenced Nick before he could finish his sentence. Her cheeks and ears were burning with embarrassment. She regretted not throwing Nick out the window when she had the chance. In fact, she didn't need to; she was almost ready to make the jump herself.

"Okay guys, it's been great! Fantastic, really! Thanks for bringing everything over, but it's a long drive home and I'm sure you're both needed on the farm so I guess it's time for you to go bye!" Judy stood up and grabbed her parents' paws, pulling them to their feet.

"Oh, we're not really in a rush, Jude. We came all the way here to see you. We were hoping we could sit down and catch up with you a little."

"You said it was your first time in Zootopia, right?" Nick interrupted, standing up.

Both parents nodded.

"Well, I was actually going to bring Judy on a little tour around Savannah Central today. If you'd like, we could all go together."

Judy turned, mouthing a silent "No!" at Nick. He was completely unfazed, seeming to enjoy the whole situation.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Bonnie said, clapping her paws together.

"I have a friend who'll be driving us around, and there should be more than enough space for all of you in his van. He's supposed to be here in about five minutes. You're okay with your folks joining us, right, Judy?" Nick asked politely, addressing her by her real name for once in his life.

Mmph…I can't really say no at this point. It was starting to look like an unsalvageable situation anyway.

"Yeah…that sounds great," Judy muttered through gritted teeth.

"Fantastic. Why don't we let Judy get ready?" Nick said, opening the door for her parents, giving her a sly wink behind their back.

"Of course. We'll wait for you outside, dear," Bonnie said, heading to the door. "Just call us when you need help getting downstairs."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that, mom. My leg's good enough to walk. Just go downstairs with Nick. I'll see you there in a few minutes."

"All right then. See you downstairs, Jude!" Stu said, as he and Bonnie left the room with Nick.

Now alone, Judy limped back over to her bed and flopped down onto it, feeling the exhaustion begin to kick in. She'd only been awake for twenty minutes, but she was already ready to flop back onto her pillow and curl up under her blanket. She sighed.

"Well, at least it can't get much worse."

Oh wait, yes it can.

Reaching into the second suitcase that her parents brought, she pulled out a fresh change of clothes. She would have loved a bath, but there probably wasn't enough time for that, especially with the stitches on her leg. She settled for rubbing herself down with some wet wipes to clean herself off. She slipped on a t-shirt and a new pair of jeans—the latter with some difficulty—before sitting back down on her bed. As she folded her old set of dirty clothes, she heard a small crinkle of paper.

She quickly unfolded her old pair of jeans and reached into the pant pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. It was Nick's application form. She didn't remember how it had ended up there; she probably fell asleep before remembering to keep it back in the drawer the night before. The paper was a little crumpled, but still perfectly legible.

I probably should wait till mom and dad go home before I ask him, she thought, slipping the application form into her current pocket. She didn't want her parents probing into what Nick currently did for a living. Hustler and confox probably wouldn't have gone down well with them.

She stood up and walked over to her desk drawer, pulling it open. Nick's red handkerchief was still neatly folded inside. She had intended to wash the blood out in the morning, but she hadn't counted on waking up so late. She definitely wasn't planning on giving his prized possession back to him covered in her blood, so giving it back to him would have to wait.

As she pushed the three suitcases to a corner, something small and orange fell out of the second case, clattering to the floor. She picked it up, surprised to see what it was.

"Huh. That could be useful."

She slipped the item into her other pocket, giving the room a quick once-over before nodding, satisfied.

I just hope they aren't telling him more embarrassing things about me.

"…Judy likes hugs?"

"Oh yes. She's a real snugglebug. We have over three hundred children, and Judy is one of the more affectionate ones. She's real popular with her younger siblings because of that. You could be out working in the fields, and she'd just run up and hug you." Stu chuckled, stepping out the front door of the building.

That explains a lot…Nick thought. A whole lot. He had to resist smirking. This was incredible. To a hustler, information was gold, and right now he had stumbled upon an entire treasure trove of it. All for the price of a coffee and bagel. He couldn't believe Judy's parents were handing him information—intimate information—on a silver platter. He had enough info to tease the bunny for months.

Not that her parents needed to know about that, of course.

"It's really amazing. You can't see the sky with all these tall buildings!" Bonnie remarked.

"Did you see the big palm tree building in Sahara Square on your way in? It's the tallest building in all of Zootopia," Nick said, looking at his phone. No notifications.

Where is he? He was supposed to have been here by now…

"Seems like our tour guide isn't here yet…maybe he parked around the corner. I'll go check," Nick said, tucking the phone into his pocket and beginning to walk.

The moment he turned the corner, something caused his ear to twitch. He didn't have bunny ears, but he could hear whispering coming from behind him. He knew he should have been looking for Finnick, but he couldn't resist finding out what was being said behind his back. He took a few steps back and pressed himself against the corner wall, tilting his head to hear what they were saying more easily.

"…what do you think, Stu?"

"He seems like a nice fox. Real polite and thoughtful. Kinda like Gideon, actually. Still seems a little shifty, but if Judy trusts him, then we should too. Also he did save Judy, even if she didn't tell us…"

"You think she's keeping something from us?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm not sure, Bon. I'm not sure…" Stu trailed off.

Only a little shifty? Wow, that's high praise. Nick grinned. And note to self, Judy likes to keep things from her folks…

"…Oh, hey there, little guy. Are you lost?" Stu suddenly asked. Nick blinked, his train of thought suddenly coming to a halt.

Little guy?

Nick peeked around the corner. There was a little fennec fox standing not too far away from the older pair of rabbits. Upon hearing Stu's question, said fennec fox turned towards the two with a glare, not looking all too pleased.

Uh oh.

"Little guy? I am not lost, you got that?!" Finnick yelled in his deep, booming voice, causing rabbit pair to recoil visibly. "You call me a child again, and I'll—"

"Finnick! Hey, you're here!" Nick jumped out from around the corner, rushing towards them before he could finish his sentence. "Uh, these are Judy's parents. The three of them will be joining us on the trip today."

That didn't seem to placate Finnick in the slightest. He glared at the older pair of rabbits, especially Stu, before turning back to him.

"What do you mean they're joining us? What trip?"

"I know, I know. It was kind of a last minute thing. The back of your van should be able to fit them, right?"

"Yeah it can, but—"

"Hey Nick! I'm here." Judy stepped out the front door, gingerly walking down the steps. "So how are we getting around Zootop…Finnick?"

"Give us a second," The fennec fox said, holding up a paw. Before Nick could say anything, he felt the smaller fox grabbing him by his shirt and dragging him around the corner, leaving three very confused bunnies behind. Once the two were out of earshot, Finnick let go of Nick's shirt, turning around and crossing his arms.

"Okay, spill it. What's going on?" he demanded.

"It's exactly as I told you last night, buddy…" Nick replied, smoothing out the bottom of his shirt where Finnick had yanked it.

"You said this was going to be a simple hustle! Easy money. So what gives?"

"Well, you'd never have showed up if I told you what I really wanted. I just want you to be a driver for us for half a day. It was only supposed to be Judy, but her parents sort of showed up. So we have to take them too."

Finnick gave Nick a look that he knew all too well.

"Right. A waste of time. I'm going to find someone who actually wants to earn money…" he began walking away.

Nick stepped in front of him, blocking his way. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small, neatly bundled up wad of cash.

"More than a day's worth of popsicles. All you have to do is drive us around town, show them the sights, and find us a nice place to have lunch. That's it. Half a day's work for more than a day's pay."

Finnick had a look on his face that Nick couldn't read. After a moment of deliberation, he grabbed the bills out of his paw and began counting them, inspecting each note as if he suspected they were counterfeit. Once he smoothed out the last note, he seemed satisfied enough to tuck the dollar bills into his pocket.

"I'm not a tour agency, Nick. Why didn't you just buy one of those overpriced tour packages?"

"You just answered your own question. And you know how they feel about foxes." Nick let the last bit hang for a moment. Finnick didn't respond, averting his gaze for a moment. Nick knew the smaller fox had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about.

"Please, just do this for me. For Judy." Nick put his paws together.

Finnick grunted.

"I don't believe it. Ever since you and bunny cop fell out, you've been moping around every single day. Can't even pull off a hustle properly. Yesterday, I call you about her coming to look for you, and today you're bringing her around with her parents. How badly did she hustle you this time?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"She didn't hustle me. Not this time at least. I just want to repay a favour, that's all. So do we have a deal?" Nick extended his paw.

Finnick eyed the extended paw, before looking straight up at his face.

"Hmph…you've gone soft, Nick. Never thought you would've gone soft for a fuzz bunny. You have a soft spot for her, don't ya? Can't see why you'd go this far for her otherwise."

"It's…" For once, Nick found it hard to conjure a response. "Look, I'll give you five dollars to stop talking about it, and just be a nice quiet driver for us."

"Ten dollars. And you have to let me laugh at you later."

"That sounds like a terrible deal." Nick grumbled something inaudible to himself, pulling out another couple of notes and tossing them to the smaller fox. "Here."

"Well, I did come here for a hustle, 'Slick'. Easy money, like you said." Finnick reached out and grabbed Nicks paw, shaking it. "A pleasure doing business with you."

As Nick walked back to call the others to the van, he grumbled to himself about getting hustled too many times recently.

The tour around Savannah Central was impressive, Judy had to admit. Nick did really know as much as he claimed to know. He could name buildings, streets, and people without even breaking a sweat. She did wonder in the back of her head how long he'd known these people, and how many of them he'd hustled. In any case, her parents were thoroughly impressed with both the city and his tour.

To Judy's surprise, Nick had made no attempt to tease her throughout the tour, despite all of the embarrassing stuff he had heard from her parents earlier that morning. He was like a completely different fox—he even referred to her as 'Judy' the entire time instead of 'Carrots'. Even more surprisingly, Finnick was actually polite, apologising to her parents for making the outburst earlier and explaining how people often mistook him for a child. He was also quite helpful in the tour, pointing out things Nick missed, or offering suggestions on food and shopping.

This can't be real. Someone must have kidnapped the real Nick and Finnick, Judy thought. She wasn't complaining in the slightest though. Her parents were happy, they weren't freaking out from the large number of predators, and they had a good impression of Nick. That was more than good enough for her.

"So, Finnick, how long have you been doing this?" Bonnie asked. The three rabbits were seated in the back of Finnick's van, while both foxes sat in front.

"More than ten years. I've lost count." Finnick replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

"You live in this van?" Stu asked. It was quite clear from the makeshift bed-couch, the small lamp, and the cooler that someone had been living in the back of the van.

"Money ain't good, but there isn't much I can do about that. I do what I can to get by."

Bonnie and Stu exchanged wordless glances, and they didn't push the issue any further.

They had lunch at a quaint diner near the outskirts of Savannah Central. Judy's parents were too busy taking pictures of everything—buildings, people, and food—to reveal any more embarrassing information about her, thankfully. To Nick's credit, he didn't probe them about it either, instead focusing on the tour and helping her parents take pictures, order food, and answer any and all the questions they had for him regarding the city and how it worked.

Slowly but surely, Judy began to relax. She even found herself conversing with Nick as if nothing had happened that morning.

It was around three in the afternoon when Judy finally found herself standing in the carpark near Sanyan Street Station with her parents, and Nick. The Hopps family truck was still exactly where she left it. Finnick stayed back in his van a short distance away while the rest of them gathered around the truck. Judy passed the key to the truck over to her dad, while Nick looked on beside her.

"Well, Judy, it's time for us to go," her mother said. "I wish we could stay longer, but we need to make sure the farm is still in one piece."

"I'm sure the farm will be fine, mom. By the way…Zootopia wasn't so bad, right?" Judy asked.

"It's not as bad as we thought, I'll admit. The city is really something else, and the people were nicer than we thought."

"Well, the mayor was just arrested yesterday. People are finally starting to realise it's not the predators going savage. Hopefully things will start to get better now." Judy walked up to them, holding their paws. "When things settle down, I would like both of you to come back here, stay a few days. There's so much more to the city I want you to see."

"I think we will," Stu said, smiling. "We wouldn't say no to seeing you again, Jude. I'm sure some of the kids would like to come along as well. But make sure you come to visit us…too. Oh cripes…not again." He rubbed his eyes. Judy smiled sadly, reaching out to hug and comfort her emotional father.

"Nick, thank you so much for today. If you can, please take care of Judy," Bonnie said, turning to Nick as Stu tried his best to compose himself.

"I will, Mrs Hopps. You can count on it," Nick replied with a nod. Bonnie smiled, now turning to Judy.

"Judy, if there's anything you need…"

"I know, mom. Thanks." Judy pulled her mom over into the group hug as well. She didn't notice Nick quietly smirking to himself behind her.

After breaking the hug, Judy's parents climbed into the family truck, With one last smile, they drove off, beginning the long journey back to Bunnyburrow. Judy waved at them, feeling a slight pang of sadness at seeing them go once again.

That sadness was short lived, however, because of a certain red fox standing beside her.

"Jude the dude?" Nick smirked.

"Shut up, Nick."

"Aww, don't be like that. You looked like you enjoyed yourself. I know your parents sure did."

"You got them to give you information about me on purpose!" Judy pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"I didn't have to pry. They were very willing to give the info to me freely. And after hearing everything, I must say that you are absolutely adorable…Laverne." Nick laughed.

"My mom's a fan of the Andshrews sisters, okay?" Judy pushed him, groaning. "I think my parents have embarrassed me enough for a lifetime."

"Well, I promise I won't tell anyone about Floof. Or Floofier. I swear on my striped tie," Nick said, holding his tie up.

"For some reason I don't believe you." Judy rolled her eyes. She paused for a moment, before speaking up again.

"But anyway…thanks for taking care of my parents today, Nick. I was really worried that they'd stress out too much about my leg. They're also not very fond of predators, but they seem to like you a lot. I could tell they were really impressed by you."

"Well, I can't look like a disappointment to my best friend's parents, now can I? That would just be rude."

Judy looked at Nick, almost positive she misheard him.

"What did you say, Nick?"

"What? That would just be rude?"

"No, you said…I was your best friend?" Judy felt a warmth growing in her chest.

"Well, yeah. You are my best friend, Carrots. You sure you're not going deaf in those large bunny ears of yours?" he teased.

He said I'm his best friend. He said it! That means…

It was now or never. She had to ask him now. She reached into her pocket and felt around…

But she felt nothing.

Nick's application form was gone.

"What's the matter, Carrots?"

"Ah, um, it's nothing, Nick." I must have dropped it back at the diner! Or maybe it fell out of my pocket when I was leaving the apartment? Darn it…this was the perfect time to ask, too…

She had to salvage the situation. "Wanna head back to my place to crash for a while?" It was the best excuse she could come up with on the spot. She had to find the application form. And once she did, she would ask him to be her partner, right then and there.

"Well, before that, I have a surprise for you."

Judy blinked. "A surprise? What is it?"

"You don't seem to understand the concept of 'surprise', Carrots," Nick said, amused. "You'll find out, but you need to wear this first," he said, holding up a blindfold.

Raising an eyebrow, Judy took the black cloth from him.

"Why do I need to be blindfolded?"

"You'll see. Now come on."

They headed back to Finnick's van. As Nick helped tie the blindfold around Judy's head, she felt the slightest bit of trepidation. Nick had never asked her to do anything like this before. Just what was the fox thinking?

The van made several turns down different streets, stopping at multiple traffic lights. She tried to make a mental note of her surroundings based on how many times the van turned, but she wasn't familiar enough with the roads to know where they were going. She eventually lost track of where she was completely and gave up. The van continued rumbling along, and finally, after about ten minutes, it came to a stop.

"We're here," Nick said, helping her out of the back of the van. Her ears scanned the area like radar dishes. The sound of people walking along the pavements filled her ears. Still, nothing was particularly distinct to give her a hint as to where she was. The only thing she knew was that she was in a public place, and there were quite a few people walking around. She heard water running. A fountain, perhaps? There were plenty of fountains around Zootopia, so that wasn't very helpful.

She felt the blindfold being removed. Judy blinked, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the afternoon light. The area around her finally came into view.

She froze.

It was definitely not what she expected.