Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

December 11th, 8:14pm

‘Twas just before Kitsmas, and all through the town, not a mammal was stirring, not even a…

“Come on Nick, hurry up!”

…Okay so in fact many, many mammals were still very much stirring, not least of all one particular rabbit.

Stirring was actually a gross understatement… Officer Judy Hopps was currently just about sprinting through the interior halls of Precinct One, darting between and underneath larger mammals, and leaving the ground with each successive bound.

The reason for Judy’s excited pace was rather simple. The ZPD’s shift schedules for the various precincts were posted every two weeks, exactly seven days ahead of the first date upon it. A city like Zootopia never slept and the massive population combined with that hustle and bustle meant that there was always a need for an ever present, watchful eye making sure the city - and its inhabitants - stayed safe.

Today was the eleventh, and so the dates for the eighteenth all the way through to the new year had just been posted, including - perhaps most notably - the shifts for the twenty fifth of that month, Kitsmas day.

A sad reality of the life of first responders was the simple fact that work could never really, ever truly stop. EMTs… firefighters… doctors… cops… all of them were needed twenty four hours of the day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days of the year. It was a hard truth that every mammal in these lines of work eventually had to face; sooner or later they would - through no fault of their own - have to miss their partner’s birthday, their kids' school play… their mom’s anniversary… Kitsmas. Traditions perhaps observed diligently for years, or maybe even decades before, all inevitably put aside in the aim of making the world a better place. 

Judy loved her job as much as anyone possibly could, and try as her partner might to not let it show most of the time, Nick did too. The pair had overcome more than their fair share of struggles to achieve all that they had, and neither of them would give it up for the world, but that didn’t completely take away the pain that came with the disappointment when this inevitability reared its ugly head. She was ready for it, she really was, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t hope against hope that maybe, just maybe the dice would fall favourable this year.

And speaking of her partner…

Nick was following behind as they made their way towards the noticeboard where the schedule was placed week after week like clockwork. They danced this dance every time the new dates were released, Judy bounding off ahead - a picture perfect image of excitement - and Nick following slowly behind in his typical I’m just too cool to care kind of way. Though… that being said, Judy could’ve sworn that he was following at an even more disinterested pace than usual.

She shook that thought off, probably just a result of herself being even more excited than usually to see when exactly she’d be working in the coming days

After shouting for Nick to get a move on Judy turned back around and after one final burst of speed practically skidded to a halt in front of the noticeboard where several other officers were already stood. She quickly made for the copy suitably sized and placed for small mammals, which - only existing for her and Nick’s benefit - was unobserved by any of those surrounding. 

Judy quickly scanned the sheet for a moment, until her eyes finally fell upon the two names that she was most interested in, and the dates next to them.

25th - Not Scheduled.

26th - Not Scheduled.

27th - 15:00 - 23:00

Judy felt her heart skip a beat inside of her chest as she stared at the page in silence for a moment.

A moment was all though.

“WOO!” 

The cheer that the rabbit let out in that moment was only a single decibel off of shattering all the glass in the building as it rang out through the precinct’s halls.

Judy landed back on the ground after having quite literally leapt into the air in joy at about the same time that she’d shouted.

The echo could practically still be heard as Nick finally arrived by her side a moment later. His usual half smirk adorned his muzzle and although he’d probably just about figured out the good news from her reaction alone he still took a moment to run his eyes over the schedule himself.

The pair would have Kitsmas day and the day after off before pulling second shift on the twenty seventh. They’d have the luxury of enjoying the main portion of the holiday in whatever way they liked, free from work obligations - short of a city-wide emergency - for almost three full days, a rare thing for first responders all indeed.

“Can you believe it? Both of us? Ohhhhhhh, Nick, I’m so excited!” the rabbit clamoured, barely succeeding - if even that - at containing her seemingly limitless excitement as she instinctively turned and began to make her way towards the precinct’s main exit at a much more typical - if still clearly overjoyed - pace. “Mom and Dad always throw this huge Kitsmas party for the entire burrow and it’s just amazing! Food, presents, carols, drinks, the dumbest Kitsmas TV specials you can imagine, ugly sweaters… it’s the best! I thought I’d probably end up missing it this year but this is perfect! I can get the last train home on Kitsmas Eve, spend all of Kitsmas Day there and head back on the twenty sixth, or maybe even stay for that as well and come back first thing on the twenty seventh!” 

Judy quickly slipped into a reverie as the two exited out into the cold air, imagining all the Kitsmases that had come and gone in the past, each and every one a joyful memory of happiness and love and light. 

She was so lost in her own reminisings that she missed the sadness that flashed across her partner's face for the briefest of moments in the shadow of the open air. She didn’t miss him looking away, though.

“What about you?” she asked. “Any plans in particular?”

Nick turned back towards her at that, the moment all he’d needed to push back down the little slip of the mask.

“Me? Nah not really. I’ll probably just sleep in and watch trash all day,” he said in the most casual voice Judy had heard from him, like he was giving a golf score.

“What? Why not? No plans with Finnick or Flash or… someone…?”

Judy silently kicked herself as they crossed a street. The concept of family was so innate to the bunny who’d come from such a sizable one that she found the idea of its absence almost inconceivable. She often found herself catching or indeed missing faux pas when the subjects of Nick and family mixed.

“Flash is a big no no. Don’t get me wrong, love the guy to the other side of the DMV queue and back, but the spirit of good will unto all mammals only goes so far and I think a sloth Kitsmas is probably pushing it. I went around his house after school for dinner once as a kit.” He shuddered. “ Never again. As for Finnick… yeah, that’s an even bigger think I’ll pass ! Mr. Small and Angry mixes with Kitsmas about as well as oil does with vinegar and it always gets him even grumpier than usual. I once tried to get him to sing carols mid hustle… very likely the closest to actual dismemberment I’ve ever come, nighthowler fiasco included! He’ll probably be hitting the bottle first thing and not stopping until he’s barely functional. Spending the day in some seedy bar isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”

Judy stopped in her tracks at that, something awful stabbing at her heart as she began putting two and two together before hurrying to catch him up.

“Nick… You’re not spending Kitsmas alone are you?”

He looked away again at that, scratching the back of his neck lightly as he avoided meeting her eyes.

“More out of necessity than anything else... Nope! Hold it right there. I can sense them coming up so let’s hold off on those bunny emotions right now.”

Easy enough to say that, but not nearly so easy to actually accomplish. Judy felt as if a shard of ice had been thrust into her gut. She wasn’t sure what part of it had hurt the most though: the very idea that her best friend - one of the most important mammals in her world - could spend the most wonderful day of the year alone, the fact that she’d almost let him before stumbling onto the fact, or that he didn’t even seem to be upset about it. Instead he just seemed… resigned .

“Nick… when’s the last time you spent Kitsmas with… anyone?” she asked in an almost hollow voice, one that dreaded the answer it might receive. 

He looked away, but what Judy saw in those green eyes - illuminated for a split second in the light of a window as they passed it - before he did broke her heart. He didn’t look sad, or disappointed, or regretful…

He looked ashamed.

“Well the year after Mom… That year I tried to do everything just like she always used to, like nothing had changed… invited everyone I could think of over… When I was a kit she would always let me baste the turkey… I had a breakdown doing it that year… Told everyone I was ill in the end and didn’t eat a mouthful of it… too close to chicken… I’d chucked it all by New Year’s… Anyway so yeah that’d make it… thirteen years! Wow…”

“Nick…” Judy began as the cold pang in her chest intensified and she felt the first tears starting to well their way up to the surface.

“And here we are Casa del Carrots!” Nick exclaimed in a voice suddenly full of a jollity that would have passed for genuine to most ears. “Another busy day of making the world a better place coming right up tomorrow so you’d best get yourself to bed. See you in the morning, Fluff!” 

He turned tail and started to walk away without so much as another word. In that moment Judy wanted to run after him more than anything else in the entire world, but she didn’t. She was the only mammal in the world that Nick trusted with stuff like this, but she could tell when he wasn’t in the mood to talk. He tried so hard and they’d made such huge progress in the almost two years that they’d known each other, but Judy of all mammals could tell when he needed his space.

However, there were plenty of other ways for Judy to make the life of the fox that meant so much to her a little - or a lot - brighter.

“See you in the morning, Slick,” she whispered to herself, while a plan began to form in her head, and the icey pain in her stomach was thawed by the quickly kindling fire of determination.

“See you in the morning…”

December 24th, 7:08pm

 The dynamic duo of the ZPDs two smallest officers were once again making their way out of the precinct’s front entrance after finishing up their shift, and beginning their familiar walk home. 

The two of them caught the subway back to their respective apartments as the night drew in and the temperatures dropped. The walk wasn’t far for either of them, but the savannah night could get surprisingly cold, especially for mammals who weren’t naturally acclimatised to them. 

Their apartments themselves were only just around the corner from each other and they had the benefit of sharing a nearest stop. Today, however, as they approached the precinct adjacent subway entrance Judy just carried on past it and continued walking. Nick, for his part, didn’t say anything, just quietly followed after her. Judy secretly suspected he’d take any opportunity for the company given what he expected tomorrow would look like. Nick may have been an expert at hiding his emotions, but Judy might well be the only mammal in the city who could see through the mask he so often wore.

“So,” he said as they walked along the chilly streets, “what time does your train leave tonight?”

“Pretty soon, two hours or so I think? Need to get there early enough not to disturb the burrow too much. Even on Kitsmas the kits still have to be settled down by a certain time.”

After that he quieted before eventually speaking again after a moment's pause. “You know if you’re in a rush you can hopp on the subway right? Joke fully intended by the way.” he was smiling slightly sillily at her but she could see that look in his eyes.

“I know, but I want to walk home on this beautiful Kitsmas Eve night with my best friend.”

“Right… bunnies… emotions… of course, how could I forget?” he replied, trying his best to hide everything else underneath the sarcastic humour.

She rolled her eyes at him. “You know if you’re ever stuck for what to get me as a present one year, I’d kill for a ‘no snark for twenty four hours’ voucher. In fact, I'm pretty sure half the city and definitely the entire precinct would pay handsomely for them if you ever want to make a quick buck!”

“Hmm… nah, I like being snarky way too much to ever give anyone the power to stop me doing it. Plus if the public servant paycheck ever fails to cut it I could always go back to the popsicle hustle,” he said, the mischievous glint front and centre now in his eyes. “Fancy joining me as my new partner, Carrots? I’ll let you wear the elephant costume!”

Judy shook her head at his continued japery. “Hmm… give up my dream job and position of regularly helping make the world a better place to become a full time popsicle hustler with benefits including - and limited to - wearing a cute little elephant costume? Yeah I think I might be good you know!”

Nick snapped his finger. “Darn, and so close too! Oh well, it was worth a try.”

She smiled. “But we’re in agreement that I’d totally rock the costume, right?”

“Oh, without a doubt! Don’t tell the small and loud one I said that though! Deep down I think he’s actually pretty proud at how well he pulled off that whole schtick.”

Judy failed to contain her giggles at that, and when she finished her tittering she realised they were already at the main entrance to Nick’s apartment complex. She’d noticed them passing the front doorway to hers a few minutes beforehand but neither of them had said anything as they’d carried on past it.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got time to come in?” he said as they paused just next to the entranceway steps, a whisper of hope colouring his tone.

She hated to disappoint him, she really did.

But…

“Sorry, I’ve got lots of things that I need to take care of before tomorrow. Got some big surprises planned!”

He nodded, but she didn’t miss that flash of sorrow that passed across his gaze.

“Yeah, I suspected as much. No worries, Fluff. I’ll, uhh… would you… do you mind just waiting here a minute? I’d say come in the foyer but I’m pretty sure that they somehow managed to get it even colder in there than outside…”

She looked up at him and just smiled before nodding.

He vanished in a flash of red and blue, borderline sprinting into the front entrance of his apartment building and out of sight.

It was probably just a little over a minute later when Nick reappeared and Judy didn’t miss the slightly elevated rise and fall of his chest.

His almost chaotic exit and reentrance slowed as he approached her again, one arm hidden behind his back.

“I’ll see you when you get home. Have a great time and… Merry Kitsmas,” he said before bringing the arm out from behind him and holding a small, vaguely rectangular, wrapped present out towards her.

She felt the corners of her mouth beginning to corner upwards at the sight of the wrapping paper he’d used; the background an identical shade to the traditional ZPD blue that was accented with the addition of bright orange carrots every centimetre or so. Truly garish in the best possible and most seasonally appropriate way.

“It’s… real dumb but… I hope you like it. Or at least have a good laugh at it or… something… It’s been a while…”

She gently took the gift from his paw into her own, and then wrapped him in a hug so strong that for a second she thought her back was about to crack.

“Thank you, Nick. I know I’ll love it. Merry Kitsmas.”

“Merry Kitsmas, Judy.”

And, as the two stood there, impervious to the cold for a few precious and all too fleeting moments, Judy could only think one thing to herself.

You better believe it’s going to be merry.

Chapter Text

December 24th, 11:46pm

Nick was lying on his bed, staring up at the familiar ceiling above him as he tangled with the labyrinthine mess of his own thoughts. He’d tried sitting up in his living room for a little while at first, but something off was making the larger room feel just unbearably… cold tonight, and he’d soon retreated to the comparative comfort of his bedroom

He knew this wasn’t going to be easy; he’d made peace with that particular fact a while ago, but only now was it really hitting him just how hard it was going to be, how used to this new way of being that he’d gotten.

Just how out the window ‘never let them see that they get to you’ had gone.

How many times had he told himself in the past… however many months that he didn’t care about spending another Kitsmas alone? That one more year on the end of so many others wasn’t a big deal? That he’d be happy as long as she was happy? He didn’t need her to tell him about the Hopps’ Kitsmas traditions to know that they’d be there. Nick knew how to read mammals, and Judy - the bunny who had at least one photo of each and every one of her three hundred plus siblings - was the most family orientated mammal he’d ever met. Of course a Hopps family Kitsmas was a legendary event. They probably had a perfectly dumb hat that you had to wear if you did one thing or another, and stories about how Great Uncle Archibald had once eaten a hundred and thirty seven whole carrots in one sitting back in 1884 that’d be told while younger family members foolishly tried to break the record.

But what could he do? Ask her to stay and spend the most important day of the year with him instead? ‘Hey Carrots, I know you’re looking forward to finally spending a holiday with the family you see three, maybe four times a year max nowadays, but how about instead you upend all your plans and spend it with the emotional wreck of a fox who you practically dragged out of the gutter? That’s gotta be a way more worthwhile and enjoyable use of your time, right?!’ 

Yeah, that sure sounded like something a real ‘friend of the year’ contender would do right there...

The worrying part was that he knew she - real friend that she was - might very well do it. Judy was like that, always trying to help everyone and fix everything. But she meant the world to him, and he wouldn’t let his baggage get in the way of her having the long overdue good time that she deserved so very much.

So, he kept his trap shut, pretended it was no big deal and that he was used to it after all these years, which to be fair wasn’t all a lie. Realistically, he knew that she was well aware that wasn’t the case, his mask barely worked on her anymore, even when he put his all into it. Nevertheless, it seemed like he’d managed to do just enough to send her on her way and make sure that she’d have the best time over the Kitsmas period that she possibly could, even if it meant that he wouldn’t.

His mind flashed back to that day all those months ago when he’d first met her parents, how all three of them had lit up the moment they saw each other, how much her family adored her, and she them. A shining example of a truly close-knit family, one who’d missed a part of itself more than words could possibly express. Who was he to stand in the way of that void being filled even if only for a few days? 

That was the most important thing at the end of the day, that she enjoyed herself, and that the rest of her family got to see her, as well. He saw more of her than any other mammal on the planet by far, he almost felt like it was selfish of him some of the time. Surely he could grit his teeth and go back to the way things were for a couple of days, right? Then, everything would go right back to normal. Because deep down, it really was true, he was happy as long as he knew that she was.

There were easier pills to swallow, though.

With a resigned sigh he turned his head to stare at the digital clock resting on his bedside table just as all of the digits rolled over.

12:00am

His ears picked up the chiming of a bell some distance away and he let out another sigh, even deeper than the last.

It’s only for a couple of days.

Then his gaze fell instead upon his bedroom window, the still winter’s night beyond it, and the vague silhouette of the distant building that his nocturnally tuned eyes could just about make out in the darkness.

Merry Kitsmas, Judy.

And with that last thought of the most important mammal in his world lingering within his mind, the fox rolled over, pulled the duvet up, and allowed himself to fall into whatever sort of slumber he could find.

December 25th, 7:13am

Kitsmas morning was perhaps the only time of the entire year where, for a brief moment, it almost felt like Zootopia was taking a breath. The hubbub of a city that size could of course never really stop, but just for this ever so special day it always felt like the edge of that hustle and bustle had relaxed.

Only a few slivers of the morning’s first light had breached the sky as of yet, and even in Savanna Central a bitterly cold edge hung to the air. It was the type of Kitsmas morning to stay in the warmth of bed late, and then to gather around a roaring fire with loved ones close by to fight off the cold’s sting.

Most of the bustling metropolis’ citizenry seemed to be spending the morning doing exactly that, and in the early morning light the streets of Zootopia were as quiet as they’d been probably since last Kitsmas morning.

One mammal, however, was doing anything but laying in bed and keeping warm that morning. One mammal - laden with as many bags as she could possibly carry - was making their way up to an apartment door next to which was written ‘Nicholas P. Wilde’.

A brief struggle with the load and a couple of muttered almost-curses  heralded a jangling of keys and then the turning of a lock as the door clicked open.

The figure paused in the now open doorway for a moment as a pair of long ears suddenly sprung up to attention and listened carefully. They picked up only the faint, repetitive din of a slumbering mammal.

The rabbit smiled to herself, and violet eyes ignited with a fire that could thaw the chill that lay across the entire city. For now though, they only had one objective in mind.

Judy tiptoed into the apartment and carefully made her way away from the snores in Nick’s bedroom and towards the living room where she quietly began to lay down her load. She cast an eye over the state of the oh-so-very familiar room, and already a dozen ideas sprung to mind.

A glance at her watch told her that she still had plenty of time, but that she did need to make a start nonetheless. She cast a look back down the hallway and towards the snores that she could still just about hear, before smiling a smile that carried each and every emotion that the holiday was synonymous with, a look that spoke volumes in the morning’s stillness.

Right now though there was work to be done, and a rapidly diminishing time in which to do it.

So, she turned back towards the living room and affixed it with that fiery glare of determination once more. 

Sentiment could wait.

Time to get to work.

9:39am

When Nick went to sleep; his intent was to sleep in well past midday. It was literally Kitsmas morning, after all; if there was one day of the year that he felt could get away with giving himself a guilt-free present of adequate shut-eye, it was this one. He didn’t have work to be at and with Judy in Bunnyburrow he didn’t have any personal obligations to attend to either. It wasn’t like he had a much better use for the morning and given the long, hard hours that his new career choice entailed he certainly wouldn’t complain about the chance to catch up on some much needed sleep.

That plan, however, was thrown off when he was slowly but surely roused by the sound of music. At first, he assumed it must be his alarm but that notion was quickly dismissed after the third time he smacked the top of the accursed apparatus without managing to silence it.

By then the worst of the just-woken-up confusion had worn off and Nick started to realise that not only was the music that had so rudely interrupted his rest not his alarm, but that it also wasn’t even coming from his bedroom. Instead, it appeared to be blaring from outside his door.

Still slightly confused, Nick quickly grabbed a set of clothes from the chest of drawers across from his bed. He threw them on as he opened the door and made his way out to his apartment beyond.

Despite the music sounding as though it was coming from inside his abode, he reasoned that it was much more likely to be an overzealous neighbour filled with just a little too much holiday spirit and not quite enough consideration for their fellow residents.

That notion, however, was abandoned the moment he opened his bedroom door and was hit with an even stronger cacophony of noise that was most definitely originating from within his apartment, specifically his kitchen by the sound of it.

Adeste fideles læti triumphantes, venite, venite in Bethlehem!

Nick quickly made his way down the hallway and rounded the corner. The bizarreness of the situation had his still sleep-addled brain at something of a loss, but as he got closer and closer to the kitchen his mind began to settle on the only possible explanation. Only one mammal had a spare key to his place and therefore…

Venite adoremus, venite adoremus, venite adoremus, dominum!

He rounded the corner into the kitchen just as Adeste Fidelis reached the top note of the descant and yep, there she was.

Judy Hopps stood in his kitchen peeling - hilariously - carrots. She was making good progress filling up a tray of the things that sat next to a second tray of already peeled potatoes. His bluetooth speaker next to her gave off the incredibly festive racket and at that moment, she just happened to look over her shoulder and noticed him.

“Nick!” she cried out, her face a picture of joyful excitement.

She flew at him immediately and wrapped her arms around his midsection in an embrace that just about forced every fraction of air from his lung in the space of a nanosecond.

“Merry Kitsmas” she said in a voice filled with warmth, care, and affection.

“Uhhh… Merry Kitsmas?” he just about managed to splutter back in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Kitsmas!” she shouted back as her face beamed with one of the widest smiles Nick had ever seen. “I’m just preparing the veggies. Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty for you as well, but I thought I should probably let you handle the fish. The smell still kinda turns my stomach if I’m totally honest.”

That… didn’t really answer anything as far as he was concerned.

“I know it’s Kitsmas but I mean what… what’s going on… here? You’re supposed to be back in Bunnyburrow? You had a train to catch last night? Big party? Food, presents, carols… ugly sweaters? Ringing any bells?”

At that she relaxed the grip she she still had on him and took a couple of steps back. She grabbed one of her ears as she did so and began to stroke it in the telltale way she did whenever she was nervous, or embarrassed, or trying to figure out the best way to put something into words.

“Yeah… yeah I know… I did but…” She paused and stared up at the ceiling above them. After a few moments of silence, she took a deep breath and dropped her gaze back down to meet his directly.

“I’ve felt awful since the other week. Kitsmas is meant to be the happiest time of the year, where you show the mammals that matter to you just how much they matter to you. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let my best friend in the world spend it alone when I could spend it with him instead.”

Nick was speechless. Gone was the uncertainty that had coloured her gaze only a moment before as she searched for the right words. Instead, those brilliant eyes bore a steely determination that had been forged in the hottest of fires, and that she typically reserved for the most heinous of cases.

“That… that’s really, really thoughtful of you, Judy,’ he managed to eke out, “but… you don’t have to. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to seeing your family again and I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that. I’m sure there’s still a train or two running that you could probably catc…”

“Nope!” she said with a smile and in a tone of voice that made it clear this was the end of the matter as far as she was concerned. Then, she took a few steps forward and took one of his paws in both of her own, squeezing it slightly as she carefully drew it up towards her. “I want to spend the day with you, my best friend, one of the most important mammals in my world because you matter to me and seeing you hurting hurts me, and because I want to make you happy.”

Her eyes bore into his as she spoke, and he felt whatever remnant of his mask that still remained crumble to dust in the wake of that adoring gaze.

“I know you’ve been trying to keep a little more distance than usual the past couple of weeks,” she continued. “Hoping that maybe I wouldn’t notice. That I wouldn’t see how much you really wanted to spend today with someone else.”

He could feel his pulse quicken and his breath become less steady as emotions he’d been trying to keep contained for weeks started to force their way to the surface.

“You’ve been waiting for this all year, haven’t you?” he finally said in a hollow voice. “It’s worked out perfectly, just how you wanted it. I can’t get in the way of that.”

“Nick, I know you can be a very dumb fox at times so please listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

As she spoke her paws moved up to either side of his muzzle, gently drawing his head down to her level so that she could look him in the eye without having to look up at him.

Two sets of eyes burned into one another, their joint gazes unbroken as the bunny continued to speak.

“You are not an albatross. You’re not some dead weight that I’m stuck carrying around or that I’d be better off without. You’re the kind, brave mammal that has had my back every day of the year, who’s always been there to pick me up when I’ve fallen and who’s always forgiven me when I’ve made a mistake. Who trusts me and who I trust with things we don’t tell anyone else and I won’t be able to enjoy a second of my time off knowing that you’re having to spend Kitsmas alone.”

He had pretty much nothing left in the tank after that, but even as he tried to keep his breathing steady and his pulse down, he made one last attempt.

“You should be with your family,” he whispered.

She just smiled that smile that shattered the last of his defences in a single heartbeat.

“I already am.”

And while his breath was still catching in his throat, she wrapped him in another embrace as the tears started to flow.

After a long while of just holding each other close, the bunny eventually spoke again.

“Plus… I am still going to see my parents. Tomorrow in fact. And, if you like, you are too.”

Just when the fox thought that he couldn’t be any more stunned by the force of nature in mammal form in front of him, she said that. He somehow managed to keep it together as she continued.

“I spoke to mom and dad last night and let them know what I was doing, and I asked if they minded me bringing you along with me. Kitsmas day is always manic, there’s hundreds of us around the burrow and it’s all presents and meals and games. I knew you probably wouldn’t be comfortable with it… So instead you get me today and then if you want, we’ll take the train up tomorrow. The day after is always a lot quieter, any distant family has left, the smaller family groups all break off to be together and most of the remainder are either recovering from food comas or hangovers and barely brave outside their rooms all day. It’s a lot closer knit and calmer.”

He felt her squeeze just a little bit tighter at that, before pulling back to look him straight in the eye once more.

“I think you’ll like it.”

She paused for a moment, and the smile that she was levelling against him deepened.

“If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, then you’re more than welcome.”

Nick couldn't speak for a moment but eventually he did find the ability to.

“Carrots… Judy, listen… thank you, really, but… I… I…”

A hundred and one reasons why he couldn’t sprung to his mind, most of which he’d already said in some capacity. But as he stared back at her face, he couldn’t bring himself to raise a single one of them in objection.

“They would like you there, Nick, I would like you there, and if you’d like to be there too, then there’s a place at the table set for you.”

Those eyes kept boring into him as she spoke, brimming with intensity and insistence. But that wasn’t all that hid behind that violet stare. In at least equal measure there was also care… adoration… love. 

“So…” she continued after another moment’s pause. “How does Kitsmas at the Hopps’ Farm sound to you, partner?”

And as she eagerly awaited his reply, she kept smiling, that smile that wasn’t in any way fair.

How could he possibly argue with that?

So he didn’t.

“That sounds like a plan.” 

And at that, she pulled him into the biggest hug of the day yet.

“Our train leaves in the morning, but we can go over all the logistics later. For now, we’ve got a Kitsmas to enjoy so how about you give me a paw finishing up the rest of the prep, and then we fix ourselves some festive drinks?”

“Do I get special Kitsmas Day carrot pun leeway increases?”

The look she gave him was all the answer he needed.

“Kidding! Kidding!” he quickly shouted while raising his hands in a placating gesture.

Judy just rolled her eyes at his silliness as she stepped away from him and began moving back towards the kitchen counter.

“…”

“Okay, fine , a little leeway.”

Now it was his turn to smile.

“It’s a Kitsmas miracle!”

“Just, get over here and help me, you big goof!” 

“Yes ma’am!’

He was just in the process of making his way over towards one of the cutting boards laden with an impressive array of foodstuffs but halfway to it Judy suddenly grabbed his paw and began dragging him towards the living room door.

“Wait, I almost forgot! Wait till you see this!”

He wasn’t quite sure what he’d been expecting as she pulled him forwards, but it definitely wasn’t what awaited them in the living room.

Flickering fairy lights and long strings of tinsel in a myriad of bright, festive colours adorned every surface of the room. In the corner was a small tree, tastefully decorated with baubles, tinsel, and ornaments alike, and crowned with a star.

As Nick looked at the transformed room in front of him, - somehow so much warmer even amidst the plummeted temperatures outside - memories, some twenty or so years in the past worked their way to the surface of his mind.

Kitsmas days that had also been spent in the company of only one other mammal, and ones during which he couldn’t have been happier.

“What do you think?” she said, hope and excitement practically dripping from her voice.

 He didn’t say anything at first, but after a brief pause he reached out an arm and pulled her gently to his side before carefully letting his head rest just upon hers.

“Thank you Judy,” he said in perhaps the softest voice she’d ever heard. “Merry Kitsmas.”

He could hear her smile even if he couldn’t see it, as her arm pulled him closer in return.

“Merry Kitsmas, Nick.” 

Chapter Text

After Judy’s emotional outpouring, the rest of the day was spent in peaceful tranquillity inside Nick’s apartment, with barely a raised noise between the two of them.

…

Yeah right.

10:21am

“It just isn’t a Kitsmas movie, Carrots!”

“I think you mean it’s the greatest Kitsmas movie ever made, Slick!”

 Nick scored the skin of a side of salmon that sat on a chopping board in front of him as he shook his head and chuckled. They’d spent the last hour or so continuing all the meal prep and subsequent cooking that Judy had made a start on prior to Nick’s arising. Trays of potatoes and carrots sat roasting in the oven and atop countertop surfaces around the kitchen - in various stages of completion - were assorted other vegetables, batters, gravies, sauces and much more.

Nick - like any competent cook - always had a well stocked pantry and had always been planning on rustling up something for the day, even if it was more for the sake of giving himself something to do to distract himself from his own loneliness. Judy, however, had absolutely outdone herself. The side of salmon was almost comically big and looked so glorious as Nick finished prepping it that even Judy was practically salivating.

The fish was a favourite of Nick’s - adverse to poultry and things that were trying too hard to mimic it as he was - and Judy had specially ordered it for the day from one of the best fishmongers in Tundratown. She’d collected it yesterday afternoon - just before they closed - under the masquerade of picking up her train tickets for later that evening. While there she’d received more than a few confused looks from assorted predators as she’d been handed a bag that was almost as big as she was, and she could’ve sworn she heard one polar bear mutter something about needing to drink less as she’d made her exit from the shop.

She’d also gotten a bountiful supply of the very freshest Hopps’ Family Farm produce delivered - courtesy of her parents - which contained enough fruit, veggies, preserves and everything else imaginable to last them the day and likely well into the New Year once they returned to Zootopia. Bonnie and Stu had even included a wide selection of Judy’s favourites from the family cheese order as well as an entire Kitsmas carrot cake. Bonnie’s famous world-beater recipe - spiced up quite literally with all the traditional Kitsmas flavours - was a staple at Hopps’ family Kitsmasses and Judy was more than a little partial to a slice or three. The entire package had brought Judy to more tears when she saw them than she was ever going to let Nick know about.

Since then the pair had worked tirelessly washing, preparing, and cooking almost non-stop. While working away they’d decided that sitting around a table was a bit haughty with just the two of them and instead had settled on having the meal in much the same casual way that they typically did: sat upon the couch, half watching some movie while simply enjoying each other’s company.

Sure, it perhaps wasn’t the most orthodox way of eating Kitsmas dinner, but when did either of them make a habit of being orthodox? And as odd as it may have been - just like their unlikely friendship - it was undeniably them .

However, this had almost immediately led to another issue: What to watch. As soon as the subject came up, Judy immediately threw her hat into the ring with her apparent favourite ‘Kitsmas’ film ever… Die Herd.

“It’s a must-watch for the season,” she continued. “I’ve watched it every year for… must be going on twelve now!”

“Look, don’t get me wrong, it’s a classic! A strictly non-seasonal, just-so-happens to be set at Kitsmas classic,” Nick shot back. “Tell you the truth I’m kinda surprised you’re a fan. Never took you for a long time action flick connoisseur! Anything in particular about that one that you like so much?”

Judy turned around to meet Nick’s gaze directly as he looked at her over his shoulder. She made a point of scratching her chin and looking up at the ceiling above her in a deliberately over the top let me think about that one fashion.

“Hmm, I wonder… a story where an all-on-his-lonesome cop has to face off against a group of borderline cartoonishly evil bad guys with almost no help from an extremely uncooperative rest of the force only to triumph over the baddies in the end and save the day?”

…

…

…

“Yeah okay, guess I should’ve put that one together.”

“Yes, yes you should’ve!” she said with a smile.

Nick turned back away from the now exceptionally smug looking bunny - he always knew teaching her that look was going to end in disaster for him - and was just starting work on the fish again when suddenly a thought occurred to him.

“Hang on… Isn’t Die Herd rated R?”

“Uhhh yeah… I think so? Why?” she said with that smug note still detectable in her voice. “Too violent for you?”

“Absolutely, I don’t know if my old-fashioned sensibilities can take such degeneracy!” he said in a dramatic tone. “But that’s not what I was thinking. You said you’ve been watching it for about twelve years right? That would put you at, what… around about thirteen? Maybe even a little younger? Your parents strike me as the type to stick to ratings religiously… and definitely not the type to watch Die Herd of all movies at Kitsmas.”

The sound of clanging metal echoed out around the room as Judy accidentally bashed the tray she was holding into a pan next to her. As Nick turned to look at her again, he was greeted by the sight of a more than a little bit flustered looking bunny.

“ Uh, yeah… totally… well, not totally, I mean… they sometimes would… not often, but you know… every once in a while… like a really long while…”

She continued fumbling over her words as the smug grin now transferred itself over to Nick’s face.

“Well, well, well… Was little Carrots sneaking violent action movies to watch on her own behind her parents back?”

“No! I mean… not really… It was just that!” she let out in a near shout before pausing for a moment.

…

“And Infernal A-Hares…”

…

“And The Silence of the Lambs..”

…

“And Baaaaaaaa-d Boys…”

Nick's grin had now reached critical levels of smugness.

“My, my! I can barely believe you even had the gall to come at me for just a little bit of tax evasion!”

“It was just because they all were about police officers! I never did it with any other movies!” Judy replied in a defensive bid.

“I should probably have a word with the Chief next chance I get. Let him know that Zootopia’s next criminal mastermind is right under our noses at the ZPD already!”

Judy’s initial panic was wearing off by now. As Nick continued to grin and play-act in melodramatic fashion, her eyes narrowed.

“Walking on real thin ice there, Wilde,” she said in the voice that she usually reserved for making hardened criminals cower in fear.

“And what a glorious death it will be!” Nick said simply, still grinning at her.

They stayed like that for a moment, just staring at each other, Nick grinning broadly, Judy giving him her best death glare.

Judy was the one who broke first though, and once the first snicker had broken he quickly joined her. The two were almost doubled over in laughter before long.

It must have been a good few minutes before either could really do anything, but eventually Judy’s laughter turned uneasy, and her smile faltered. “Look… I know a lot of mammals don’t really consider it a Kitsmas movie and it’s pretty far out there so if you would prefer to watch something else then…”

“Hey, none of that, you know I’m just giving you a hard time. I’m actually a pretty big fan myself. Like I said, it’s a classic!” he said, casting a look back at the bunny as he finished off seasoning the salmon. “If that’s what you want to watch, then let’s go for it!” 

“You sure?” she replied. “No childhood classics that you’d prefer to start with?”

“We just watched the regulars every year, none that particularly stood out as a tradition or anything. Tell you what, let’s get the last of all this cooking away and get your absolutely not a Kitsmas movie buddy cop fantasy started and then afterwards we can switch over to some channel and see whatever real festive entertainment they’ve got on. How’s that sound?”

Judy looked over at him with an incredibly convincing look of faux annoyance. “That ice isn’t getting any thicker, so you might want to be careful what you say considering I’m standing over food that you’re gonna be eating soon!”

“We both know that you’d never be able to look your dad in the eye again if you even thought about sullying any of his famous produce!”

“We are not that protective of vegetables, Nick!”

“I can see the headlines back in Bunnyburrow now! ‘Carrots’ carrot catastrophe!’ They’ll never let you back again,” Nick continued, almost soliloquising to himself.

“Oh, be quiet you big goofball and get back to work, or do I have to do everything myself as usual?”

“You know you love me,” Nick shot back at her while sporting that grin again.

“Do I know that?” she said before pausing for just a moment. “Much to my continued distress… yes, yes I do.” she finished before sticking her tongue out at him.

Nick let out a somewhat contained snicker at the all too familiar brand of silliness that they’d grown so used to from each other before hoisting the fish-ladened tray into the air and carefully sliding it into the already heated oven.

3.57pm

That Kitsmas dinner was a work of art. Nick was a phenomenal cook anyway and it seemed that either the festive season or the thought of spending the meal with someone else for the first time in so long had clearly put an extra pep in his step. Judy also was far from a slouch in the kitchen - the result of having a genuine domestic goddess of a mother - and had learned to enjoy cooking far more since moving to Zootopia and meeting Nick. Between the two of them they rustled up an absolute triumph of meal.

The salmon was perfectly moist and smelled so delectable that Nick almost succeeded in convincing Judy to try it. The roast potatoes were gloriously golden and crunchy as well as being smothered in a garlic parmigiano compound butter. The mash was creamy and smooth, the carrots had been honey roasted in the oven until they were worthy of drooling over, and the cabbage - such a humble vegetable usually - had been elevated with just some simple seasoning and a bit of butter into a dish that Judy thought she could’ve gorged herself on all day.

They both devoured seconds with a near ravenous hunger and could have easily gone back for thirds had they not had cheese - and crackers! - and cake to contend with as well.

They finished up Die Herd while eating. Nick silently enjoyed just how transfixed to the screen Judy was throughout and decided to hold back on the snark for once in his life.

Afterwards, they switched over to live TV and watched whatever classic happened to be playing at the time like they’d agreed. They didn’t talk too much throughout, although Nick shut down the smirk that Judy shot in his direction when the Grinch came on screen for the first time with an immediate “not a word.”

After they finished contending with cheeses, crackers, chutneys, and cakes, as well as a frankly ludicrous supply of biscuits, the two were well and truly stuffed. They were almost incapable of anything beyond just laying there on the couch and giving the barest scrap of attention to whatever seasonal mainstay happened to be playing now.

They stayed there, barely moving for what must have been the best part of two hours as the minutes and movies flew by. To some it may have appeared a waste of a Kitsmas and of time off in general, but to the two best friends moments of such total and utter peace were all too fleeting, and they certainly wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity when it so perfectly presented itself.

The day did have to carry on, however, and as a particularly pretty scene of a tree - adorned at its base with countless presents - came upon the screen in front of them, Nick decided that now was as good a time as any.

“Another glass of the good stuff, Fluff?” he said, reaching out for the two freshly empty tumbler glasses on the table in front of them.

“Mhmm…” Judy mumbled in reply with a sleepy nod of her head, only the faintest slits of her eyes visible where they weren't quite closed.

Mustering all the strength he could to not call her cute as she snuggled further into the couch, he grabbed the glasses and made his way back to the kitchen where one of his better bottles of whiskey - something he’d had a taste for since his hustler days - was waiting for him.

Nick quickly - but carefully - poured a couple of generous fingers’ worth into each glass. He began making his way back towards the couch and the happy bunny resting upon it, but not before stopping at their own little tree standing proudly in the corner, and grabbing the small parcel that he’d only wrapped up less than forty eight hours ago that lay there.

He maneuver his way back to the couch and carefully placed the two glasses upon the table again before lightly tapping one of his claws on her glass a few times.

“Earth to Carrots!” he said in between the cheerful tings of his claw. “You still with me?”

Her eyes slowly opened fully again and locked onto the source of the noise before she leaned over with a smile, took the glass from where it rested and brought it up to her lips for a sip.

“Thanks.” she said, before her eyes turned to him and she noticed the wrapped present in his other arm.

“I uh… I thought now seemed like as good a time as any… You know… if you want…” he said, that unsure, slightly embarrassed tone returning to his voice the moment he opened his mouth.

“Oh my God, yes!” Judy practically shouted, her eyes igniting as every hint of tiredness and fatigue vanished in a split second and she bolted upright to face him directly. “It was almost impossible to leave it alone all night. I ended up putting it inside my dresser just so I wasn’t tempted!”

He smiled at that, but Judy could see the cracks oh so expertly hidden behind it as he reached out, offering the gift to her.

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint,” he said so very quietly, only just above a whisper. “Merry Kitsmas.”

He was just about to take his paw back after she took it from him, but she reached out her other paw and took his within it.

“Thank you. I know I’m going to love it.”

She just stared into his eyes for a few moments longer until he smiled, a smile that had just a touch less terror behind it.

Judy smiled too at that, but even as the fox in front of her looked relaxed, she still heard him - seemingly involuntarily - take in a breath the moment she began to draw the present up so she could take a better look at it. 

That cut right at Judy’s soul. He’d been so ready to spend the day on his own, miserably, just so she could enjoy it with her family, but even so he’d probably spent months obsessing until he found the perfect gift for her. A gift that he hadn’t even expected to get to see her open.

How many nights had he probably spent lying awake thinking about it until he’d found it? Or deciding whether or not it was really just right afterwards?

She carefully peeled away the beautifully wrapped - even that was perfect - package in such a way as to leave the paper undamaged - a necessity in a family of over three hundred - to reveal what appeared to be a vaguely A4 sized tome with a matte purple face. On the front of  it was a white card with a twenty dollar bill paperclipped onto it.

After a split second of confusion she picked the card up to read the gorgeously penned script upon it while the other paw carefully tugged the bill out from the paperclip.

“To Carrots,” she read aloud. “Thought I should finally pay you back. Guessing jumbo pops aren’t really your thing but this should cover you for a pretty good takeout some night. But, if that doesn’t work, here’s something else to warm you up if you ever need it. Merry Kitsmas, Your Dumb Fox.”

Judy’s confusion had melted away into barely contained fits of giggles as she’d read the note that somehow managed to be funny, banterous, and humble all at once. Still holding back the snickers, her gaze fell to the book, and the inscription that adorned its front cover.

Never forget how many mammals care about you, Judy.

Her giggles immediately ceased as she read it, and she couldn’t help her mouth curling up into an involuntary smile as she reached forward and turned the cover over to reveal the first page.

It was a photo album and on the first page were a dozen or so images of her fellow Precinct One officers. Everything from posed photos to candidly caught snapshots. Clawhauser practically leered at the camera while clutching his latest acquired piece of Gazelle merchandise, Wolford was smiling brightly while everything but his head was clad in that ridiculous sheep costume, and even Bogo was seemingly halfway through a respectful nod of the head.

As Judy turned the pages over, the pictures slowly changed from precinct one colleagues to other ZPD staff they’d worked with during their time on the force, then other first responders and emergency workers they’d gotten to know followed by their friends outside of work around the city. Finnick - who looked decidedly like he was a microsecond away from biting the face off of whoever was behind the camera - was there, as were Mr. and Mrs. Otterton and their family, Bucky and Pronk, Fru Fru and more. Nick was scattered haphazardly throughout both in and out of uniform, more often than not goofing off somehow while she could see herself in the background actually working.

Then, after too many pages to count, the content of the album shifted, and suddenly they were in Bunnyburrow. Friends - some of whom Judy hadn’t seen in years - adorned the pages. Sharla, Gareth, Bobby, Gideon… so many friends, old and new, smiling back at her.

How did Nick get these?

As she continued on through the pages they shifted again. The images were still clearly back in Bunnyburrow but instead of friends they now showed rabbits upon rabbits. Her family. She saw cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, nieces, nephews and every other relative imaginable scattered across those pages, many of whom she couldn’t even remember how long it’d been since she last saw them.

But even as love and gratitude began to pour out of her in equal measure, Nick still had one last surprise waiting for her at the very end of the album.

On the last page - instead of the neatly separated photos that had been throughout the album up until that point - there was a single protective sleeve, in which had been placed dozens of photos.

They were all of her family, and she was struggling to pick out any faces missed amongst them. They’d been neatly arranged with metric precision, more distant relatives further towards the edge and closer ones in the middle of the sleeve.

At the dead centre of the collage was a ring of her very closest family. She saw her littermates there, her younger sister Mary, her niece Cotton, and past them, at the very centre were her parents, looking back at her with that same loving gaze that she’d grown up with.

The first teardrop barely missed her dad’s face.

Tears were streaming down her face as Judy finally broke contact with the album to look back up at Nick.

He was still looking embarrassed, and so Judy did the only thing she could think to do in that moment. 

She practically launched herself at him, and she wept into his chest.

“Ohh Nick it’s… it’s beautiful! I… I love it! Where did you get all the pictures? It must’ve taken you ages to get them all in… You’re the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it so much… It’s… it’s one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten,” she choked while burying her head further into his chest and fighting through frequent happy sobs. “You’re the best.”

“No… pretty sure you are, Fluff. But… you’re welcome. I’m… I’m glad you like it. Merry Kitsmas.” And as he spoke, he brought his arms up behind the sniffling bunny and pulled her a little bit closer.

They stayed there for longer than either of them cared to count, but even through Judy’s occasional sobs, short breaths, and sniffles, a thought occurred to her as her mind raced through all the dozens of photos that she’d seen only moments prior. A thought that once it had reared its head, she found herself powerless to silence.

“I really love it, Nick… it’s almost perfect but…” she said smiling, as she drew her head back to look up at him. “It does need just one slight alteration.”

And with that she opened the album again, turned back towards the front of the book and carefully pulled out a picture of Nick.

It was one of the many they’d taken together at his graduation, only a few minutes after she’d pinned the badge of the ZPA’s newest valedictorian to his chest. The two were clad in their dress blues and they stood side by side with their arms wrapped over each other’s shoulders in a casual embrace. Judy’s other arm was outstretched in front of her where it held her phone, and both of them were smiling bright.

While most of the photos were ones that Nick had taken or acquired stealthily and thus ones that she’d never seen before this one was one she was already very familiar with. It was one of her absolute favourite photos of the two of them, and a framed copy stood proudly front and centre of her collection back at her apartment.

Without a word she turned back to the collage on the final page and - carefully as to not disturb any of Nick’s hard work - placed the photo within the central ring of closest loved ones.

“There.”  She admired the updated assortment of images before turning her gaze back to meet Nick’s. “Now it’s perfect.”

And without another word she threw herself back at Nick and wrapped him in a hug that most bears would have been proud of as the tears broke forth once more.

And he hugged her back.

The two stayed like that a while longer, until Judy finally summoned the considerable willpower to extricate herself from warm the embrace. She rose to her feet, and still smiling, made her own way over towards the little tree that she’d put up earlier that morning, underneath which sat one other gift.

She bent down and retrieved the now solitary package that she’d placed there herself and then slowly, almost sheepishly began to walk back towards Nick. She toyed with one of her ears as she approached and couldn’t quite bring herself to make eye contact.

“We… kinda had similar ideas sort of but… but you’ve definitely outdone me. I… I just hope you like it… I wanted it to be really special for you, to be perfect even… I… I hope it stacks up…” and after finally bringing her gaze - one that was full of doubt and fear and uncertainty that in no way suited her - back up to meet his, she held out the similarly rectangular, if significantly smaller wrapped present.

Nick never knew quite how he felt when he saw Judy like this. Seeing the strongest mammal he knew looking frazzled in any way almost failed to compute on some level in his brain, and he always found it sobering that her care for him of all mammals could be the cause of it.

He knew she was almost certainly worrying about nothing as he took the present from her. The bunny was a serial overachiever after all, who held herself to a ruthlessly high standard in every aspect of both her professional and personal lives.

As he looked again at the present he now held in his paws, it was clear that this had been no different. 

It too was beautifully wrapped; Nick supposed that with a family as large of hers you got plenty of practice at that sort of thing and he was sure that she’d nailed it first time around rather than the half a dozen or so attempts it had taken him to hide every uneven corner and exposed inner side. She even managed to match the paper to him just like he had to her, little blueberries decorating it at regular intervals that his paw lightly passed over as he continued to stare at it.

He broke his gaze away from the present to meet hers again with a smile.

“Knowing you, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna love it, whatever it is… although just having you here is gonna be pretty hard to top.”

She smiled at that, and Nick felt some of her tension immediately dissipate. 

“Go on,” she said after a moment’s pause longer. “Open it!”

He turned back to the present in his paws and with a quick flash of a claw cut through the single strand of tape that bound the parcel together at the back. After that, the paper came neatly apart in that just so way that only really well wrapped presents do.

And as Nick pulled the gift out of the paper and up in front of him, he wasn’t quite able to suppress the unsteady breath that he drew in.

In his paws he held a photo frame, about the same size as the plethora of them that Judy had owned for as long as he’d known her but this one stood out from any that Nick could recall having seen before.

The frame was beautiful, ornately fashioned from a single piece of wood - redwood he was certain, no need for a space - and decorated with meticulously carved little rabbits and foxes. 

Inside was a single photo of a scene he remembered well, one that has been burned into his memory for the best part of a year now.

His graduation.

Of course he had plenty of photos from that day. A handful of them were even in the album he’d made for her, including the one she’d just picked out. There’d been the official photo of the whole class - in which he as valedictorian was of course front and centre - as well as individual pictures including one of the two of them together facing the audience. In addition, Judy had insisted on taking nothing short of a small arsenal of selfies after the ceremony while they were mingling with the rest of his class, academy staff, and ZPD representatives.

This photo, however, was of a moment they’d not caught.

It was only a second or two after she’d pinned his badge to his chest.

He was drawn up to his full height, beaming down at her with a look full of pride and barely contained joy. She had just broken her gaze away from the badge now fastened to his chest and looked up to meet his eyes as a fully fledged officer of the Zootopia Police Department for the first time.

And there was something in that look that words - no matter how numerous or grandiloquent they were - would never be able to convey.

“I… I had to go on a real Wilde goose chase to find it,” Judy said, the obvious pun doing little to hide the clear note of worry still present within her tone. “Luckily one of the lions in your class has one of those family members who considers themselves the unofficial photographer of every event they’re at. I was about three quarters of the way through the entire year group by the time I found them. I know photos are more my thing but I… I wanted you to have something to always remind you how far we’ve come… how far you’ve come.”

She inched closer towards him until she was close enough to reach over, and run her paw along the redwood frame slowly.

“Something to remind you where we started.”

Her paw slowly trailed down from the frame and onto the glass pane resting over the photo itself until it was just next to Nick represented likeness.

“And something to remind you where you are now.”

He reached a paw up and brought it around her, pulling her closer until her head was nuzzled gently into his shoulder, the frame clutched jointly in their paws resting between them.

“Thank you.”

And in that moment, even the bitter cold outside couldn’t hope to have been anywhere near frigid enough to chill the warmth that was kindled between the two mammals that sat on the slightly too big couch, clutching each other close on that Kitsmas day.

Chapter Text

6.51pm

“...after that Mom didn’t let any of us back in the kitchen unsupervised for a month! Well… after we finished cleaning up the mess anyway. I swear it took us at least a whole week before we stopped finding little patches of flour all over the place!”

Kitsmas night had finished drawing in, and for the past hour or so Nick and Judy remained sitting upon the couch. Judy’s album rested between them and she was slowly flicking through the Bunnyburrow section of it, telling story after story of her family and friends from back home.

The TV was still on, and some holiday classic or another was playing away on ten percent volume or thereabouts, but the two’s attention was focused solely on the book and its images in front of them.

“And that’s Jenny!” Judy pointed at a young doe with just a touch more of their father’s fur colour about her than Judy had. “She’s a few years younger than me but we were thick as thieves as kits. She was always mature for her age and she really took a liking to Sharla and Gareth so I ended up seeing more of her than some of my littermates.

She was one of the few who didn’t think I was completely insane for wanting to become a cop. I mean she didn’t get it … no one did, really, but she used to sit and listen to me recite the penal code and tell me how awesome she thought it was that I kept at it for so long…”

As she spoke, Judy’s smile began to slowly but surely widen, and her eyes took on that almost melancholic air of reminiscence.

Whether Judy realised or not was hard to say, but Nick certainly didn’t miss it.

“Thick as thieves, eh? Guess you two still keep in touch then?” he asked, as nonchalantly as he could.

“Oh yeah, always!” she immediately replied with a bright smile. But as quick as that smile had come it was tinged with a hint of something else.

“Well… as much as we can anyway. She’s a teacher, works with kids who… haven’t had it easy… make the world a better place, you know? Lots of work. Between our schedules it’s not always easy to find the time. Last time I saw her in person was at my graduation. She took time off of college right in the middle of exam season just so she wouldn’t miss it…”

She barely noticed the ruddy paw as it wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her in a little closer.

“You’ll see her soon,” Nick whispered.

“Yeah… yeah I know…” Judy said as she wiped away the beginnings of a tear - when had she started crying? - before looking back up at Nick. “Tomorrow in fact! She’s home for Kitsmas and I can’t wait for you to meet her! I’m sure you two are going to–”

Briiiiiiing! Briiiiiing! Briiiiiing!

All of a sudden she was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing on the couch cushion next to her. In one fluid movement, Judy quickly grabbed it and held it up in front of her. There the oh so familiar contact image for her parents was waiting.

Better timing than Cliffside at least, she thought to herself.

Nick had obviously noticed the incoming call as well and Judy felt a shift in weight across the couch as he made to stand.

Oh, absolutely not.

Just before he pulled himself up from the seated position Judy hooked her arm around his and carefully - but firmly - pulled him back down until he was directly in centre-frame as well. Before he had a chance to even object she hit the accept call button and the still image of her parents was instead replaced by their bright, smiling, and very much realtime faces.

She didn’t have even the slightest chance of getting a word in before it happened.

“Merry Kitsmas, Judy!”

The seasonal greeting hit her square in the face, a bellowed cacophony of noise as her parents along with surely at least five or six dozen other assorted family members joined in.

That initial cacophony was immediately followed by a far more fragmented general din as brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins all pelted her with questions upon questions about her day.

“What’s Kitsmas like in Zootopia?”

“Wasn’t Mom’s cake even more amazing than usual this year?”

“How’s your Kitsmas?”

“Did you like the cheese?”

“Too many carrots… It’s too late for me… save yourselves…”

“What do predators eat at Kitsmas?”

“Does Santa Claws come to Zootopia?”

Before Judy could even begin to make a doomed attempt at answering all the questions, the voice of the one mammal who could actually control the entire Hopps warren spoke up again.

“Alright everyone, that’s enough!” Bonnie said in her typical caring-but-will-not-be-argued-with voice. “I know you’re all very excited to speak to Judy but there’ll be plenty of time for that tomorrow so back to it!”

Sighs of disappointment echoed all around, followed by  the sounds of bunnies all returning to whatever they’d been doing beforehand. The camera followed Bonnie and Stu as they made their way into a quieter room away from the hustle and bustle of the community areas. The image steadied once again as the pair's attention returned to the screen.

“Merry Kitsmas, Bun-Bun!”

“Merry Kitsmas, Jude!” Judy’s parents said in almost unison. “How’s your day been?”

“Merry Kitsmas, you two!” Judy replied as she beamed at the phone. “It’s been great! Not bad for a two mammal effort if we say so, right Nick?”

“Not bad at all considering one of us was once banned from their kitchen for a month.” Nick responded, smug grin in full effect.

The look Judy shot his way could’ve probably killed a mammal at ten paces.

Before the sparring could begin its inevitable escalation, the two were interrupted by the sounds of snickers coming from the other end of the line.

“Well, certainly seems like you have been having fun,” Bonnie said amidst a warm smile, before turning her attention towards Nick. “Merry Kitsmas, Nicholas.”

“Yep! Merry Kitsmas, Mr. Wilde!”

“Merry Kitsmas Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. Yeah, it’s been… it’s been really nice. I hope you’re not missing her too much…”

He said that last bit with a joking grin, but Judy didn’t miss the faintest of undertones that accompanied it.

“Glad to hear it, and please dear, Bonnie and Stu are just fine,” the Hopps matron said with a smile of her own.

“We’re missing her plenty,” Stu added, “but we’re excited to see you both tomorrow!”

“Speaking of which… I just wanted to double check what time it was that your train was getting in, Bun-Bun?

Judy was just about to answer, when she felt Nick shift again. She turned to look at him and caught his eye just in time to see him mouth the words ‘I’ll get you another drink’ before standing up and making his way back to the kitchen.

Judy watched him go, concern raising more and more with each step the fox took until he vanished through the doorway. She stared at it a second longer before half-remembering that her mother had just asked her a question.

“Uhhh… about nine, I think,” she said as she shook herself to and returned her gaze to the phone. “We’re getting the first train out of central so we should be with you pretty early still!”

Her father was beaming back at her “Well, that’s just swell! We were a bit worried what with the date and all that you might not be able to get here before the afternoon. Great to hear that we’ll still have you for most of the day.”

But even as her father began to wax lyrical about all the goings-on she’d missed throughout the day, and family activities they’d have time for tomorrow, Judy didn't miss the more poignant look her mother was giving her.

“Stu,” she interrupted him with a light squeeze on his arm, “be a dear and fetch me another drink would you? Actually, would you open the bottle at the top of The Cupboard?” 

Judy couldn’t help but snicker at the look of slight fear that passed over her dad’s face. The Cupboard was legendary, sizable enough to put most bars to shame, and for all his good points, Stu Hopps was far from the most agile of mammals.

“Oh… haha… uhh, sure thing, Bon! Be back in a jiffy!” he said before quickly heading in the direction of the kitchen.

They watched him depart, then Bonnie turned back to look at her daughter again. She was still smiling, but the smile carried within it something deeper than the untarnished happiness it had a few moments prior.

“How’s he holding up?” she said in that voice that only mothers knew how to use.

Judy thought about playing it off for all of about two seconds. Nick may have been an expert at telling when Judy was lying, but Bonnie Hopps might as well have invented the polygraph machine itself.

“Okay, I think… I don’t really know. I think he might still be feeling guilty that I’m here instead of with you guys,” she said as her eyes continued to bore a hole in the door that Nick had vanished through only a minute before. “He finds it really hard but I… I just wish I knew what I could do to help him.

Bonnie just smiled that slightly sad smile that Judy had seen countless times in the past. “If you could solve all of life’s problems with a wave of a wand, I don’t think there’d be any of them left.”

Judy tittered at the line she’d heard more than a few times before.

“Give him time. Some wounds take a while to heal, days, months, years… and not all of us are as good at facing our problems head-on as you are. I’m sure he’s really glad to have you there. I may not be some brilliant detective bunny like some, but I can still tell, clear as day, that that fox adores you.”

Judy could feel the tears welling up again as she beamed at her phone; her mom always knew just what to say to make her feel better.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome, Bun-Bun. Now…”

SMASH!

Whatever else Bonnie Hopps had been about to say was cut off by the crash of shattering glass. Both does’ ears to shot upright, and Bonnie snapped her head in the direction the noise had come from.

“Uh… Bon! Little help over here please! Drinks emergency!” the distant voice of Stu said from off screen.

“Ohh, sour chestnuts!” Bonnie said with a sigh. “I better go and help your father before he hurts himself. We’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve made up two guest bedrooms over on the quiet side so you’ll have plenty of space if things get to be too much to handle. I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you guys, too. See you tomorrow.”

With that the call disconnected, and Judy was once again on her own. She quickly wiped away the latest set of tears before realising that she could hear another voice just over the din of the TV. It was hushed and only just perceivable even to bunny ears, but nonetheless she immediately recognised it as Nick’s voice.

She jumped up from the couch and made her way over to the door, the voice getting louder little by little as she got closer.

She knocked lightly on the door a couple of times and after a second’s polite pause, turned the handle and slowly made her way in.

Nick was standing next to one of the kitchen counters, his phone held to one ear. He gave her a flash of that signature smirk of his as she entered before turning his attention back toward whomever it was he was speaking to.

“Yeah, yeah, I know buddy, but you know I’m good for it,” he said in typically suave fashion before preemptively pulling the phone an inch or two away from his ear.

Judy couldn’t make out exactly who it was on the other end, nor what they were saying exactly, but she could safely assume from what she could hear - and the fact that she could hear it - that they weren’t pleased.

“Okay, okay, big guy, I gotta go!” Nick said after allowing the rant to go on for a couple of seconds. “Thanks again, I owe you one!”

And without another word he pulled the phone down in front of him and disconnected the call.

 “Who was that?” Judy said with a smile. “Do I even want to know?”

“Who else? The small, angry one! Just… called in a favour he owed me.” Nick said as he reached a paw around to scratch the back of his neck.

“I thought you said he’d be… preoccupied today?”

“Ohh yeah, big time! I just disturbed his beauty sleep, that’s mostly why he’s so angry… well, that and the whole being himself thing. Don’t worry, he’s probably asleep again already!”

Judy tilted her head to one side. “So… what’s the favour?”

“Oh, nothing much, I just needed him to grab some stuff for me.” 

As soon as he’d finished they both heard the familiar buzz of his phone vibrating, and Nick looked back down at it. They stood there in silence for just a moment as he quickly skimmed whatever message he’d just received before he pocketed the phone and looked back at her.

“Hey… grab your coat, would you? I know it’s cold out but… there’s something I think you’ll like.”

Judy looked out the window. It had started snowing lightly again; the last traces of the day’s light were long gone and the temperature was still probably falling.

Had it been her choice, she’d have been happy to stay in, in the warmth with the food and the blankets.

Had it been anyone else she might’ve tried to convince them to stay, or at least inquired about what it was that she might like.

Instead, she just turned to him, and smiled.

“Okay.”

Savanna Central - 7.32pm

The streets of Zootopia were hushed as the fox and rabbit made their way through them. Parts of the city where normally you’d not be able to walk without bumping shoulders with other mammals were now only inhabited by a scattered few, and the silence was only broken by the occasional ‘Merry Kitsmas’.

A steady shower of pristine little snowflakes fell down upon the duo as they walked, and although the sun had long set the city was still brightly lit by its multitude of lights, more numerous than ever due to the festive additions amongst them.

Cold or otherwise, it was a beautiful evening, and Judy had to admit that she didn’t really mind being dragged out of the house. 

There was, however, one thing that she wouldn’t have minded knowing.

“Sooooooo… any chance of you telling me where we’re going?”

Nick just smiled back at her - what else had she expected?

“You’ll see soon enough! Pretty sure I owe you a few surprises after this morning. Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” he said with a wink.

Judy just rolled her eyes at him. “If you say so. Well then… how about you tell me what you were talking to Finnick about?”

“Questions, questions, questions! I thought it was cats who were meant to be curious?”

“I’m pretty sure you know me more than well enough by now to know that curiosity might as well be my middle name,” Judy shot back with a smile.

His grin met, and matched hers pound for pound.

“And I’m pretty sure you know me more than well enough to know that I’m immune to your bunny powers of persuasion. Torture me, kill me, you shall never know! Well… not until tomorrow anyway.”

Judy couldn’t help but roll her eyes again as Nick soliloquised in front of her, his eyes closed for most of it until he signed off the monologue with a wink.

“Or something like that,” he carried on, dropping most of the dramatic air as he turned to face her once again. 

“But I’ll find out tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it’s just a little something I’ve got planned. Don’t worry, nothing crazy!”

Curiosity was still just about burning a hole inside Judy, there was little she found more difficult than dropping things and for a moment she was tempted to keep pressing Nick for answers. She trusted him, of course, she just couldn’t stand the thought of not knowing.

But Nick was more than worth it.

And so, with a not inconsiderable amount of effort, she forced down that particular want and for the time being just enjoyed the day that was in front of her.  

“Looking forward to it,” she said. “Can’t wait.”

They were silent again after that; the only sound that broke the night’s tranquillity was the slight crunch of the snow beneath their paws as they made their way down the street towards wherever it was that they were going.

They didn’t go very far.

“And here we are!” Nick announced and gestured generally. Judy followed his gaze and immediately felt more than a little confused.

In front of them was the entranceway of an apartment complex that they’d just about reached, not too dissimilar from the one they left only about half an hour ago.

Furthermore, now he was leading her up to said entranceway while holding what appeared to be a keycard in his paw. Judy’s confusion peaked as the door immediately unlocked with a beep. Nick opened it and turned back towards her, smirk in full force while he held the door ajar.

“After you.”

Judy ducked in through the doorway. Confusion aside, she was more than used to his antics by now and knew that there was little use in doing anything other than going along with it.

Nick followed in behind her and the pair made their way over to the lobby elevators.

“Since when do you have two places?” Judy said - only half sarcastically - as Nick hit the button and the doors of the elevator slid open.

“Afraid that’s a little outside of my budget, Carrots,” Nick replied, hitting one of the elevator’s buttons once the pair were both inside. “If you remember, somebody convinced me to call it on the two hundred bucks a day hustles and go straight. Missed your chance to be friends with the richest and most handsome fox in the city! Oh well! You’ll just have to settle for the second one I suppose!”

“Really? Most handsome fox in Zootopia?” she said quizzically. “Is he a friend of yours? When do I get to meet him?”

“ Haha , very funny. I bow before the greatest comedian to ever come out of Bunnyburrow!” He paused then for a moment, looking upwards as if considering something. “Hang on… have you guys invented comedy yet out in the sticks? I know you’re a century or two behind the curve on some things.” He finished with a grin.

Judy just rolled her eyes before getting her own back - for now - by sticking her tongue out at him. Before long, the pair were giggling away at their combined silliness as the elevator came to a stop at whichever floor Nick had selected.

They made their exit once the door opened and began making their way down the hallway, Nick leading the way past assorted residence doors.

“Anyway no, not my place,” he continued as they carried on down the hall. “It’s a friend’s. He’s often late getting home so occasionally I drop by to feed a pet of his, even got the spare keys to prove it if you’re suspicious that I’m falling back into my old, dastardly ways!”

He jangled a keyring that had a couple of keys on it as well as the card he'd used to open the front entrance as he finished.

“Hmm… I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now,” Judy replied with a smirk of her own. “So… what? You drag me out of your incredibly warm and comfy house where we have all the bad TV and good food we could ask for to show me your friend's house and feed his goldfish?” 

Nick suddenly stopped at the door they just reached and looked down at Judy while twirling the keys around in his paw.

“Oh ye of little faith. Just you wait,” he said with a smile, before unlocking the door in front of him and pushing it open.

The pair entered and Judy was greeted by a surprisingly spacious and pretty luxurious apartment. While it was still a far cry from the multi-million dollar Downtown high rise penthouses or Palm Hotel luxury suites featured on the front of magazines the abode was still beyond impressive, and managed to comfortably put both her and Nick’s places to shame by comparison. The furniture, while minimalist, was clearly expensive too, and the walls were covered with metal posters of sleek sports cars ranging from old classics to cutting-edge modern models.

“Uh… Nick? Who’s place is this?” Judy asked.

“Believe it or not, it’s Flash’s! I know, I know… how he can afford these digs and that car on a DMV workers salary I will never know but the guy’s apparently pretty good with his cash.”

“So… is this all just a cunning plan to show me your old buddy’s fancy apartment and make me want to move out of the Grand Pangolin Arms then?” Judy asked. “Hate to be the one to break it to you but I think this sort of place is a little out of either of our budgets.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I know that our ever generous salaries would struggle to keep up here.” As he spoke Nick was making his way over to an adjoined kitchen where a large marble worktop island stood in the centre. “Why don’t you head out onto the balcony, they’ll be starting soon. I’m just gonna feed Speedy and then I’ll be right out too.”

“Speedy?” she said with no small amount of confusion.

Then, before Nick had a chance to respond, she saw it, laying in the middle of the room, just about moving at a pace that could give both continental drift and coastal erosion a run for their money.

As great as her surprise was though, the power of speech did not quite leave her. 

“Flash has a pet tortoise called Speedy?!”  

“I know it seems absolutely hysterical at first glance but when you think about it it does actually make sense. I mean sloths like pets as much as any other mammal and can you imagine one trying to take care of anything else? Apparently someone thought of it a few decades back and since then it’s become a huge market. To your average sloth these little guys are like baby geckos hyped up on sugar and caffeine!”

By the time he’d finished Judy was nearly doubled over laughing, her mind assaulted by countless images of Flash chasing after his tortoise, or trying to usher it into a pet cage to take to the vet’s in what surely would’ve been the slowest pursuit in Zootopian history.

Just as her chest was beginning to hurt both of their ears perked and they heard the faint drone of an organ echoing in from outside.

“Annnnnnnnd that’ll be them now! Get yourself out there if you can manage it. I’ll be right behind you in just a second.”

He turned and made his way into the apartment’s kitchen, leaving Judy to force down the last of her giggles and make her way out and onto the balcony.

And what she found out there stole her breath away again.

In between the towering buildings of the apartment complex was a little park, no more than sixty or so feet across. The buildings, streetlights and greenery were decorated in a beautiful array of festive colours, and at the very centre an elephant-sized Kitsmas tree stood tall and proud. 

Just in front of the tree on a little platform were a few dozen mammals standing together, holding hymn books and singing away, happily accompanied by a digital piano placed on a X-stand to their side.

“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! 

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by: 

yet in the dark streets shineth the everlasting light; 

the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

Though beautifully sung, it was clear that this wasn’t a performance by a full-time, professional ensemble. The menagerie of mammals were clad in a wide assortment of outfits, from families sporting especially ugly Kitmas sweaters to professionals of all disciplines who’d presumably only just left work. Judy noticed an antelope nurse on the right, and a hippo ZPD officer who she was sure she recognised from Precinct Two.

Young and old, rich and poor, predator and prey… all come together to make music in celebration of this most special of days.

Judy’s diligent observation was broken by the sound of the balcony door sliding open behind her. When she turned to look, she saw Nick stepping out into the cold air, holding two steaming mugs of fresh cocoa.

“Like the show so far?” he said as he offered her one, smiling widely at the answer he doubtlessly already knew.

Judy took the offered beverage gratefully.

“It’s beautiful… well worth the trek.” He’d made his way up to overlook the courtyard at her side now, and she wasted no time in burying the side of her head  against his arm as the two watched the choir carry on together. “Thanks for bringing me along. Best Kitsmas ever.”

“You’re welcome, pretty sure it’s the least you deserve.”

Judy pressed her head a little harder into his side.

“It’s the least we both deserve.”

The choir had since finished the previous carol, and after a short but enthusiastic round of applause from the audience were just starting their next piece.

In the bleak midwinter

frosty wind made moan,

earth stood hard as iron,

water like a stone:

snow had fallen,

snow on snow, snow on snow,

in the bleak midwinter,

long ago.

Judy hadn’t been to many live performances in her life, especially since her litter outgrew the school concerts age. She loved music, and had been surrounded by plenty of it back home, but gigs and other events had been one of the many casualties of her commitment to becoming a police officer and making the world a better place.

After graduating she’d promised herself that she was going to do something to make up for lost time. Zootopia was, after all, the cultural capital of the world; what better place for it could there possibly be?

Despite that though, things hadn’t gone quite to plan.

Her first few months on the force had been spent dealing with the Nighthowler situation and subsequent fallout. Then, while Nick was at the academy, she’d practically buried herself in whatever work she could. It wasn’t until Nick had graduated and come home that she’d finally started to let her fur out.

This wasn’t the first time that Nick had surprised her, whether it be with front-row Gazelle tickets, her favourite meal after a long day, or just a coffee in the middle of a particularly long and hard shift.

“Hey, Nick?” she asked in a low voice, just about hearable over the choir below.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

“What for?”

“Everything.”

He paused at that, but only for a second, and then he brought a paw up to pull her head a little closer into his side.

“You’re welcome.”

They stayed silent for a little while after that, as the choir made their way through the rest of In the Bleak Midwinter .

Judy was the one who eventually broke the comfortable silence.

“So… how did you know about this?”

“Mom used to bring me every year. Well, she actually used to sing apparently! Didn’t have the time anymore after I was born but she still brought me along to watch every year without fail until I got squarely into the ‘grumpy teenager stage’. She always loved music. I’ve… I’ve not come in a while…”

Judy squeezed him back a little tighter at that, as the choir started up their next piece.

“How do you capture the wind, on the water?

How do you count all the stars in the sky?

How do you measure the love of a mother?

And how do you write down a baby’s first cry?

Candlelight, angel light, firelight and star-glow!

Shine on his cradle ‘til breaking of dawn!

Gloria! Gloria! In excelsis Deo! 

Angels are singing, the Christ child is born.”

“Hey… Judy…” Nick said eventually.

“Hmm?” she mumbled, just about audibly.

“Do you think… we could maybe do this again next year? I mean not necessarily here, of course, and I’ve got no idea if we’ll be working… or where we’ll be… or anything, but whatever happens… I think I’d like to spend it together again if you don’t mind.”

Judy just smiled.

“I’d like that too.”

Chapter Text

December 26th, 6:24am

Judy sat on the floor, quadruple checking the contents of the suitcase she’d brought with her ready for the trip. She didn’t really need to, but Nick did actually have to pack and she might as well do something with the time.

The two of them had headed back to his place after the choir finished their performance. They’d been content with a slow stroll, one that had allowed them to admire the city in all its winter beauty, and once back they spent a couple of hours relaxing and picking at leftovers with a couple more drinks each.

Eventually, though, their rapidly approaching early start had enforced a somewhat reasonable bedtime. After taking a few moments to deploy the sofa bed that Nick had gotten specifically to avoid the previous routine back and forths over who would take his, the two said their goodnights and turned in.

Now, Judy was halfway through refolding the shirts she’d packed as the morning’s first, faint trickles of light began to creep into the room. The bunny’s mind, however, was elsewhere.

Nick was acting a little… off this morning. When Judy had first woken up he was already awake and in the bathroom showering. Instant red flag. Nick was infamous for his love of sleep; if he had the time to, he could easily lounge in bed cycling between the various stages of slumber for hours before getting up. Even when he didn’t, he’d usually try and eke out every single second he could before admitting defeat. Judy had wholly expected to be knocking on his bedroom door to rouse him long after she’d woken up.

For him to be up and active before the notoriously busy bunny was just about unthinkable, and Judy couldn’t remember the last time - if ever - it had happened.

Not only that, Nick hadn’t left the bathroom since. The sounds of the shower had stopped about twenty five minutes after Judy’s alarm woke her up, and since then a veritable chorus of dryers and other gadgets had been sounding from that direction, even an hour later.

Good grooming, however, was something that Nick took very seriously. “Being Zootopia’s best looking fox comes at a high price after all!” he’d often say. Still, this was extreme even by his standards. Judy couldn’t remember a time since his graduation day that he’d pulled out all the stops and gone to quite these lengths.

And she was pretty sure she knew why. 

Before she could ponder Nick’s behaviour anymore, however, she was interrupted by a series of knocks from the front door that was loud enough to echo through the whole apartment, and somehow managed to sound entirely unfestive .

“I’ll get it!” she shouted, out of instinct more than necessity, leaping up immediately from her seated position and dashing over towards the apartment’s door.

She already had a decent idea who she’d find on the other side as she disengaged the lock, but that didn’t do anything to deter what happened once the door was open.

“Finnick!” she practically shouted, only just managing to stop herself from hugging the diminutive fox in front of her. “Merry Kitsmas!”

“Yeah, yeah, and a happy freaking New Year too!” the fennec said as he made his way in, not waiting to be invited. His balance faltered for just a moment as he passed her, and nearly bumped her with a bag almost as big as he was slung over his shoulder. “AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY can we keep the volume down, bunny cop?”

It was as Judy was shutting the door that she realised he really did look worse for wear. His fur was an unkempt mess and his clothes were creased. Though his eyes were hidden by his oversized aviators, she imagined they were probably bloodshot, too. 

“Uhhhhh… are you okay?” she asked as she followed him back into the living room.

“You should see the other guy. I’m just dandy… apart from the fact that my head feels like I just went twelve rounds with Chris Ewebank and somebody! ” he shouted into the apartment ahead of him. “...had me runnin’ all over town to do their shopping when I shoulda been sleeping!”

“Love you too, buddy!” Nick said, smiling at his old partner in morally questionable activities as he finally left the bathroom. “Did you get them?” he finished, tone turning just a hair more serious.

“Yeah, yeah, I got ‘em right here,” he grumbled as he slung the sack down from his shoulder, and then pulled out a smaller, unmarked brown parcel from it.

While Judy was vaguely aware of the interaction between the foxes, her attention was focused on the larger of the two. Likening the morning’s routine to his graduation had been right; Nick’s fur had been washed, brushed, and dried within an inch of its life, to the point that Nick more closely resembled the type of mammal you might see on the front cover of a fashion magazine. Even by Nick’s exacting standards it was clear he'd put an extraordinary amount of additional effort into his appearance that morning.

And what was he wearing ? Judy couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Nick dressed in anything other than his signature Pawaiian shirt and tie combo, his ZPD uniform, or the occasional comfy, casual wear when they were lying about relaxing. Now, though, Nick was clad in a smart, blue dress shirt, a pair of accompanying dark slacks, and a patterned reddish, purply tie, the full Windsor of which looked even more meticulously tied than usual.

Nick looked pretty good in most outfits - he had an innate eye for fashion, and could usually pull off even the strongest of looks. He certainly did now, too; the smarter than usual ensemble gave off a distinguished, sophisticated effect, but… he also looked decidedly unNickish .

Nick himself, meanwhile, was reaching out a paw towards the parcel that his former partner was holding.

“I owe you one buddy, always knew I could…”

He was just about to take the package in his own paw when at the very last moment Finnick yanked it back away from the large fox, holding it just in front of his own chest.

“Ain’t you forgetting something?” he said, as he stared back at Nick.

Nick relaxed his arm, letting it fall back to his side as he met Finnick’s gaze, turning his smile up to critical levels of charm.

“Ah, come on buddy, you know I’m good for it! I’ll settle up with you later. Don’t you trust me?”

“We used to make a living lying to folks, Wilde, I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” Finnick replied matter-of-factly. “I’ve been up since 3am sorting these out for you, if you think I’m gonna leave empty handed then you must be losing your damn mind. And don’t even think about tryna convince me you ain’t got it, I know for sure that two hundred fifty bucks ain’t peanuts to you anymore, Mr. Salary Mammal. ”

The smile fell from Nick’s face at that, replaced instead by an expression that wasn’t far short of a straight up grimace. Judy’s jaw meanwhile practically hit the floor when she heard the figure that Finnick had said a moment earlier.

Nevertheless, Nick slowly fished his wallet out of his pocket, and a second later he was handing over a small stack of bills. Finnick grabbed the cash immediately before unceremoniously thrusting the parcel he was still holding back at Nick in exchange.

“Oh well, guess it’s cabbage soup for the rest of the winter. I’ll be nothing but fur, skin, and bones by the end of it for sure!” Nick said, grinning from ear to ear as he spoke in a voice that practically dripped sarcasm onto the floor with each word that came out of his mouth. “Pleasure doing business with you, buddy.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, you want emotions, read a poem. Enjoy your little road trip or whatever the hell this is,” Finnick said, gesturing generally at him and Judy. “I got a date with my mattress. Oh, and if you ever need anything else from me feel free to go and play in traffic instead of calling.”

And with that he was gone, almost in a flash, the parcel that Nick held in his paws the only proof that he’d ever been there at all.

Silence lasted for all of about two seconds after Finnick left, and then…

“Pickled radishes, Nick!” Judy shouted. “Two hundred and fifty dollars??”

He looked thoughtful. “Ohhh, pickled radishes? That’s a new one.”

She backpawed his arm. “Nevermind that. What on Earth did you go and spend so much money on?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Nick said, grinning at her before starting past her. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some wrapping to do.”

And then he vanished as quickly as Finnick had, the bedroom door closing behind him with a dull thud.

Judy let out a sigh, it taking every ounce of self control she had to stop her foot working a hole in the floor.

“Dumb fox…” she eventually muttered; the frustration in her tone would’ve been clear to hear had there been anyone else within earshot.

She retrieved her half finished tea from the living room, although she quickly realised that she wasn’t in the mood for it anymore. The last few dregs ended up emptied into the sink.

She tried to go back to her inventories but found her mind wandering, losing count or focus almost immediately every time her thoughts turned instead to Nick, and his getup, and his two hundred and fifty dollar spending spree.

It was obvious what he’d bought, or at least what he’d been buying for. Had the occasion not been obvious enough his immediately disappearing to do some wrapping might as well have been an admission.

Eventually, she abandoned her attempts to do anything else while she waited for Nick, and instead just sat on the couch, patiently - or not so patiently - waiting for him to reemerge.

Five minutes passed, then ten, and then fifteen. By the time her internal clock ticked over to twenty minutes, Judy was practically pulling her own fur out in frustration.

After twenty five minutes Judy couldn’t stand the waiting any longer. They had maybe ten minutes left before they needed to leave in order to be on time for their train, and Judy Hopps couldn’t remember the last time she’d been late for anything.

After quickly rinsing her long empty mug out she made her way across to Nick’s bedroom door and knocked twice. “Nick? We really need to get a move on!”

“Just a minute!” he shouted back from within. Judy’s ears picked up some frantic rumbling and rustling before the door swung open and Nick stepped out carrying two neatly wrapped presents.

“Perfect!” Judy said, brightly. “You ready?”

“Almost,” Nick replied as he brought up his paws and wiggled them in front of her, showing off the dozen or so bits of tape, paper and other assorted wrapping mess that they were covered with. “Sticky paws! Just give me a second to wash them off and we’re out the door.”

Judy couldn’t help but let out a little snort of laughter at the state his paws were in. One of the many conversational topics that had busied the two the previous evening was how much Nick despised wrapping anything. 

She stepped out of his way, offering him a wide smile as he stepped past her. “Okay, but you better hurry up. We’re going to be late if we’re not careful!”

“Patience is a virtue, Carrots!” he said as he made his way back towards the bathroom with a flash of that oh-so-typical grin of his, a grin that Judy knew all too well often only came out when he needed to hide something underneath its surface.

Nick vanished from view and soon Judy heard the sound of the bathroom sink running.

And still that something gnawed at Judy.

Her gaze turned back to Nick’s room, and rested there upon his closet.

A thought suddenly occurred to the bunny, one of those thoughts that she just couldn’t get out of her head once it had planted itself there.

She was almost on autopilot as she made her way into Nick's room and up to the closet before slowly pulling it open.

A slight smile formed on her muzzle and a plan began to form more concretely in her mind as she pulled open one of the inner drawers, before reaching inside.

December 26th, 9:46am

“Now approaching Podunk, please change here for wider Deerbrooke County services.”

“Nick, will you leave it alone!” Judy said in mild exacerbation as Nick untied and retied his tie for what must’ve been the fourth time in the last half an hour, before pulling out his phone and examining the knot in the front facing camera.

“Just trying to make sure I look my foxy best. Wouldn’t want the folks back home to think you’re hanging out with some ne’er-do-well who can’t even knot a tie properly, would we? Nothing wrong with pulling out all the stops, is there?” He caught her gaze as he finished pulling the knot tight, winking at her as he did so.

“ Ne’er-do’well? Really Slick? ” Judy asked in reply, rolling her eyes as she did so. “You look great. Plus, it’s not like you haven’t met my parents before. They love you, especially after someone pulled that birthday stunt back in the spring! I really don’t think your tie of all things is going to make them do a one-eighty.” Her eyes were focused on him as she spoke, and her expression shifted to one of the wry smiles they so often shared as she finished.

“Of course they love me! They’re only mere mortals after all, who could possibly resist my magnetic personality?”

“Not to mention your legendary humbleness…” Judy added in her very best deadpan.

“It’s one of my very best traits, I know!” he shot back, meeting and matching her grin with one of his own for a few seconds. His ear flicked as he broke eye-contact first, looking away to glance around the train car. His paw worried the recently tied knot and he added, “Are these always so quiet? Kinda surprised that we’ve made it all the way out into the sticks barely seeing anyone else. Knowing what you bunnies are like, I was expecting to be practically wading through hordes the moment we were outside of Zootopia.”

To any other mammal the conversational deviation and lighthearted jab might’ve seemed totally in character, just the incorrigibly clever fox reverting to type to lighten the mood or help settle the typical nerves that one might expect when on their way to somewhere not entirely in their comfort zone.

But Judy wasn’t any other mammal.

The smile fell from Judy’s face and she inched a little closer to him on the train seat, she could see the way that his confident facade was fraying slightly around the edges, she’d been noticing it all morning, and for a brief moment she wondered if maybe she’d pushed a little too hard. If this all might be a little too much, too soon for him.

She leaned across, and took one of his paws in her own, bringing it across to hold just in front of her before catching his gaze again as he turned back towards her.

“Hey… they really do like you, you know that right?” she asked as those violet eyes bored into him.

He sighed, silent for a moment before he looked down to the spot where his paw rested in her own.

“I know, I know…” he eventually said in reply. “I know they like me, it's just that…” he paused for a moment. “This feels different. They’re inviting me into their home for Kitsmas, the most important time of the year. I’m the fox turning up at a burrow of all things. Plus, I haven’t spent the holidays with anyone in over a decade. I’m probably as much Kitmas fun as Scrooge…”

“You seemed to be doing alright with me yesterday.”

“You’re different.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said back, an automatic retort with a little more edge creeping into her tone than she’d intended.

His head snapped up in sudden panic. “No, no, sorry, I didn’t mean it like… what I meant is that you… you’re… you know…” 

Eventually, the usually so composed fox stopped his flapping, and after another sigh he tried again.

“I always know you’re in my corner. I don’t know what I did to deserve that but I’ve definitely used up all the good fortune I had to spare… I can’t expect the same from anyone else.”

A frown wrinkled Judy’s forehead. “Nick… they were delighted to hear you were coming. They might not know you like I do but… but they want to get at least some of the way there. They’re willing to try if you are.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d reassured him on that front over the last twenty four hours, but there was something different this time as they sped ever closer to Bunnyburrow and her family there. She didn’t miss how his eyes kept darting around the carriage, how he kept pawing at the back of his neck, or how he’d started breathing a little quicker. It made her stomach turn.

“You know you don’t have to make yourself up special, or dress fancy, or blow half your budget on expensive gifts to impress Mom and Dad, right?” she said as her gaze found his own again. “They already like you; you don’t need to earn that. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. Not them, not even me.”

He flinched ever so slightly when she mentioned gifts and then hesitated for a second, scratching the back of his neck with the other paw as he did so. 

“Yeah, should’ve guessed you’d figure that one out. Look… I know. I know I don’t have to, but… but they’re inviting me into their home and I just want to show them how much I appreciate that. If putting in a little extra effort helps me do that then it’s more than worth it. And… they’re important to you. That makes them important to me too.”

Judy was only just about holding back tears as he finished speaking, but as much as she wanted to squeal and wrap him up in a hug that could break bones she could tell that he was still only just about keeping it together. An oh so emotional bunny probably wouldn’t be the most conducive thing to help him with that.

So instead she just squeezed his paw a little tighter.

“As long as you know that, and as long as you know that I’m right here. They’re all looking forward to seeing us, both of us. You don’t need to be this, or that, or anything else that you’re not. You just need to be Nick.”

He was silent for a few moments after that before finally opening his mouth to speak when…

“Now approaching Bunnyburrow! Please change here for connections throughout the Tri-Burrows.”

“Well, that’s our stop.” She smiled up at him as their eyes held each other’s, “Ready, partner?”

Nick turned to look out the window again for the moment. Long gone was the sprawling metropolis that had been all he’d ever really known. But, as the train continued to speed by, the trees could almost have been mistaken for skyscrapers, the fields for parks, the rivers for canals… Was it all really that different from Zootopia? He’d made it through ZPA, and gone through hell and highwater with Judy at his side. What was a day or two in the country compared with all that?

He turned back towards Judy, and he gave her a genuine smile.

“Ready.” 

December 26th, 10:01am

The train steadily pulled to a halt alongside the Bunnyburrow platform. Said platform typically would be absolutely filled with bunnies and other various mammals shoulder to shoulder from end to end as the infamously sizeable Burrow’s families greeted their arriving friends and relatives.

Today, though, the platform was nearly abandoned. As Judy and Nick made their way off the train with only a smattering of other departees, there was no need for the usual rapid scampering through the crowds, trying to find one bunny you recognised amongst the hundreds. Instead, Judy’s eyes were able to immediately lock onto a familiar pair of figures as they stood at the head of a modest group of a dozen or so other rabbits.

“Mom! Dad!” she shouted as she broke into a sprint, covering the distance between them in a heartbeat as they turned in her direction.

“Hey, Jude!”

“Hi, Bun Bun!”

“Ohhhhh, I’ve missed you guys,” Judy said as she wrapped the pair of them up in a tight embrace the moment she reached them, before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Sorry I missed Kitsmas.”

“Now, none of that,” Bonnie said immediately, voice tinged with just a hint of scolding. “We’ve missed you too, but we’re just glad you’re here now.”

Nick, meanwhile, had made his way vaguely in the direction of the trio, but was still standing just a short ways off, desperately trying to avoid staring at the touching family moment playing out in front of him.

That was until Judy turned and gestured toward him with a smile.

“And look who I brought along with me!” she said before leaving the embrace to run back,, grab Nick’s paw, and practically drag him in front of her parents.

“Um… Hey Mr. Hopps… Mrs. Hopps… How are you?” he said in an unusually uncomfortable voice. He gave a little wave. “I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the invitatio–”

“Oh, think nothing of it, dear!” the Hopps’ matriarch said with a chuckle. “And please, Bonnie and Stu will be just fine. There’s no need to be so formal with us, not after everything you’ve done for Judy.”

“Ain’t that the truth!” Stu chimed in cheerily as he stepped up, took Nick’s paw in his own, and began enthusiastically shaking it before his expression turned to a more serious one. “It means a lot to us to have someone looking out for her in the big city.”

To the dozens of assorted bunnies watching, it just looked like the Hopps family head’s warm introduction had settled the fox’s nerves. But Judy knew him better, and she didn’t miss the little things… the way his smile took on that almost pre-rehearsed quality… the way his eyes dimmed ever so slightly… the way he tightened his tie slightly as if it’d been loose…

“I’m pretty sure she’s the one looking out for me,” he said with a grin. “Who knows what kind of trouble I’d get into without her there to keep me right.”

Stu laughed at that. “Yep, that sounds like our Jude, alright! She’s always been like that ever since she was a kit. The stories I could tell you–”

“Will have to wait for another time!” Judy interrupted before the typical tale of parental embarrassment could run its course.

“Were you still wanting to head over to the market first?” Bonnie asked. “We brought along the spare truck for you two just in case the rain starts up again, it’s not supposed to but you never can tell, it’s been on and off for days now.”

“Yes!” Judy practically shouted. “You’re going to love the market, Nick, we used to go every Kitsmas when I was a kit! There’s games, and food, and music, and...” Judy was rapidly picking up speed in her excitement, and it wasn’t until Bonnie let out a soft chuckle and began to speak that she stopped herself.

“Okay then, we’ll get those bags back for you and see you at the house a little later on. Just let us know when you’re on your way.”

“Will do, thanks Mom!” Judy said, grabbing the older doe in a hug as she did so, while a few slightly worse for wear looking Hopps siblings grabbed the bags that Nick and Judy had placed down after stepping off of the train.

“Oh, leave the backpack please!” Judy said as she dashed over and took it back off of her brother just as he was about to sling it over his shoulder. “There’s a few things in there that I might need, I’ll be fine holding on to it.” 

He just mumbled something underneath his breath before helping another bunny carry Judy’s larger suitcase towards one of the trucks. She darted back, backpack in tow, and wrapped up both her parents in another near bone crushing embrace. 

“Won’t be long, I promise,” she said as she squeezed them a little tighter.

“Take all the time you need dear. We’ve got the whole day,” Bonnie said softly before Judy gave both of them a quick peck on the cheek and then made her way back over to Nick.

They said their goodbye-for-nows before hopping into their respective trucks. Judy fished the keys to the old spare out from the glove box as a few other of the family’s vehicles rumbled away towards the burrow.

“So…” Nick said casually as their truck too rumbled to life.

Judy turned to look at him, knowing that tone of voice all too well. She found him smiling back at her with that smile.

“Jude?”

Chapter Text

December 26th, 10:23am

It was only a short drive - ten or so minutes - over to the fair, a time that Nick endeavoured to fill with as many Jude puns as he could. He got to about seven before Judy  gave him a look that could have frozen water, and he subsequently decided to reign it in lest he not make it to Kitsmas next year.

The day was still young by the time the pair had actually arrived at the fair. They’d easily be able to spend a good couple of hours here while barely breaking into the afternoon-time at all.

Once there, Judy quickly parked in the field that was operating as a makeshift parking lot, before pulling up the handbrake, turning off the engine and hopping out of the truck. Nick joined her from the other side and the two began walking towards the fair’s entrance.

“So… Bunnyburrow county fair?” Nick said, as he rejoined Judy. “This isn’t going to be some kind of ritual festival thing where you’ve brought the fox home to roast on an open fire for the whole village right? If I see a wickerman I’m making a break for it!”

“No, no, we do that in October,” Judy threw back immediately with a smirk and a wink in Nick’s direction. “Gives me more time to fatten you up!” 

“Ohhh! Well, that explains the salmon yesterday I guess! Oh, and for the record, whoever taught you how to be sarcastic really does have a lot to answer for.”

“Hmm… I wonder who that could have possibly been?” Judy said, the smirk that she’d learned rather well from her partner still in full effect. 

They were just about to the fair’s large, decorative gate by now, and noticing this, Judy turned back to Nick once again.

“Hey, you okay?” she said, just underneath her breath.

He stopped for a moment at that, looking up at the gate in front of them and the hustle and bustle of the crowds beyond it. He turned back towards her, and he smiled.

“Yeah, yeah I am. Come on, let's go and have some fun!”

She met his smile with a wide one of her own, before grabbing ahold of his paw, and beginning to move once more towards the gate in front of them.

“Let’s.”

12:48pm

As it turned out, the Bunnyburrow Kitsmas Market really was something a mammal had to see to believe. Nick had wondered if there was maybe a helping of childhood nostalgia leaking into the descriptions and stories that Judy had told him, but if anything, she’d actually undersold the place. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen anything of the like; the rows upon rows of tents seemed to stretch back for miles.

There were stalls for just about everything, from the ugliest Kitsmas sweaters and warm, woolly scarves to sweet treats like fudge and Kitsmas cookies in a variety of - dare he say cute? - shapes. There were spice stalls, and shows for the kits, and there were old bunnies selling cider, somewhere there was even a mammal with one heck of an accent that Nick could only identify by his frequent and enthusiastic cries of something to do with a roundabout, or at least that was the best that Nick could guess.

Back in Zootopia, Kitsmas fairs always had a somewhat same old, same old quality to them. Whether you were in The Rainforest District one year, or Sahara Square the next you’d find the same stalls, and the same food, and the same drink, and the same knick knacks across each and every one. Not that Nick didn’t appreciate them all the same, some of his happiest memories could be traced back to fairs and markets just like that across the city he’d called home his whole life, but here, everything was just so different. Each and every vendor or attraction was like nothing Nick could remember seeing in Zootopia. The todd found himself drawn to each and every stall they passed, gawking at the contents or goods on display like a kit seeing snow fall for the first time.

Both he and Judy picked out a few select items from various stalls along the way. All of these found their way into Judy’s backpack, and they even made mental notes of a few larger items that they intended to sweep back around to pick up the next day on their way back to the station if they had the time.

They also passed what appeared to be a stall setup by Gideon, from which he’d presumably been selling pies and other baked goods from his shop. Nick had to do a double take at what he later described as a catchy name but Judy had waxed lyrically often enough about the quality of Gideon’s baking that he’d admitted that ‘Real Good Baked Stuff’ was probably a title well earned.

Sadly Gideon’s pie stand had been shut for the day and so Nick was denied the chance to try the country fox’s famous blueberry pie, a fact that pulled a performance so tragic from Nick that Judy was surprised no one presented him with an academy award right then and there.

The weather was thankfully still holding out too, although the darkened cloud bank hovering overhead was more than a little worrying. Bonnie may well have been right about the forecast not being trustworthy. Nick's attention was drawn away from the clouds, and back towards his partner when she gave off a quite violent full body shiver. It was cold, but both of them were wearing perfectly appropriate attire for it, or so he thought before he noticed just how visible her breath was in the chilly air as she exhaled.

“You okay there?” he asked, more than a little concern in his voice.

She turned with a quivery smile. “Yeah… yeah… fine! Wind chill just… got me for a second, that’s all! Guess I’m starting to acclimate to Savanna Central, huh?”

Nick silently cursed himself at that; he was wearing a couple of layers as well but in reality he barely needed them. By this time of the year his winter coat had grown in fully, and that combined with the years he’d spent living and working in Tundratown meant that he could handle just about any cold short of being dunked into a freezing lake by a polar bear… and that had only nearly happened twice!

He looked back in the direction they’d come, and scanned a few of the stalls in the distance that they’d already passed. One of the advantages of being one of the very few non-bunnies in Bunnyburrow was that he could spy just about everything in the market from his genetic vantage point. It didn’t take long for his eyes to lock onto the very thing he was looking for, and he started making his way toward it.

“Where are you going?” Judy asked.

“I’ll be right back, don’t worry, just want to grab something I saw back there!” he said, and disappeared into the teeming throng of mammals around them before Judy had the chance to get another word out.

Slightly confused, but more than used to Nick’s… Nickishness by now, Judy just settled herself down on a nearby bench, and did her best to keep warm while she waited for her partner to return.

“Well, there’s trouble!” a voice suddenly said behind her.

Judy probably wouldn’t have been able to stop the corners of her mouth curling up into a smile even if she’d wanted to. She knew that voice all too well, and it was one that she hadn’t heard in far too long.

“Jenny!” she practically shouted as she turned to see her sister making her way over to her, an equally wide smile on her face as well.

Jenny was the younger of the two sisters by some twenty one minutes, she was maybe an inch shorter than Judy and had just a hint more of their father’s fur colour about them, a trend that continued as she had also inherited Stu’s brown eyes.

She looked well - a fact that made Judy smile all the wider - and just as Judy remembered her from the last time they’d seen each other at her ZPA graduation. Well, almost just as she remembered. As Judy looked her eyes didn’t miss the dragonfly-shaped earring that adorned Jenny’s right ear in a previously unpierced spot, a subtle reminder of just how long it had been.

The ground between the two was covered in no time whatsoever, and before either of them knew it they were tangled up in a practically patented Hopps family kind of hug, tossing each of their own it’s been so longs and I’ve missed you so muchs at each other.

“How have you been?! How’s work?” Judy asked.

“Fine, fine, everything’s fine!” Jenny answered as she and her sister finally let each other go. “What about you? Life in the big city treating you okay? ZPD everything you expected it to be?”

“Haha well, it was a bit of a rocky start to say the least but since then it’s been incredible!” Judy said, already giving in to the not so slight binkies that usually accompanied her talking about her job in any way, shape, or form. “It’s coming up on two years, actually! I know it’s a real cliché but it’s just flown by. I… I really feel like we’re making a difference.”

Jenny smiled back at her proudly.

“Always knew you could do it. Sooooooooo proud of you,” she said before wrapping Judy back up in another hug.

It was at that moment that Judy caught just a hint of red out of the corner of her eye.

Nick was standing a few feet away, looking on awkwardly at the touching moment between sisters playing out in front of him, and holding two steaming cups of what Judy could only assume was mulled carrot juice.

“And speaking of incredible!” Judy said before grabbing her sister by the paw and pulling her along and up to where Nick was standing. “Jenny, this is Nick! My partner on the force, and just about the only mammal in all of Zootopia crazy enough to keep up with me.”

Nick immediately handed one of the cups to Judy before reaching out his now free paw towards Jenny.

“Nick Wilde. Always a pleasure to meet Judy’s family, although I hope you’re a little more sane than your sister here!”

“Jennifer Hopps, but call me Jenny; everyone does. Nice to meet you Mr. Wilde,” the doe said, shaking Nick’s paw as she did so. “Oh and don’t worry, we’re all a little crazy here but Judy is definitely the pick of the litter!” She gave Judy a little jostle as she finished which her sister gladly returned with interest.

“Yeah, that definitely tracks from what I’ve seen. And please, Mr. Wilde was my father. Nick’s fine,” he said while pulling back from the pawshake. He looked down at the remaining cup in his gasp. “Guess hindsight really is twenty twenty. I would’ve gotten three of these if I’d known. Here,” he finished, before offering the remaining cup to her.

“Oh, thanks but you’re fine, really, I must’ve drank about five pints of that stuff already.” 

Nick pulled his paw back. “Well, I certainly won’t say no to something warm!” he said before taking a careful sip of the piping hot drink. After a moment’s consideration, he added, “You know, that’s surprisingly excellent.” 

“Best kept secret in the Burrows,” Judy said.” Pretty sure they’ve been making it since Pop Pop was a kit.”

“That was about the time that the dinosaurs went extinct, right?” Jenny interjected, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Jenny!” Judy shouted, swatting playfully at her sister’s shoulder as she did. “Oh my God, you’re terrible!”

“Come on! You’re only saying that because you’re his favourite grandkit!”

“I’m not his favourite grandkit! He was just convinced I was going to get eaten the second I stepped outside of the Burrow. You know what he’s like! Remember when we asked him if he’d ever gone travelling and he told us about his day long trip to exotic Deerbrooke back in ‘49 ?”

“Excuses, excuses!”

“You know…” Nick said with a smirk. “Supposedly it’s only the favourite grandkits that deny being favourite grandkids!”

“You see!? Nick clearly knows how it is!”

“Ugh, no! Don’t tell me I have to deal with two of you now!” Judy let out with a groan.

Jenny let out a giggle at that while Nick just smiled.

“So…” he said after another moment. “Do you two want to find a table and sit down? I’m sure you’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

Judy looked back at her sister excitedly, but Jenny just sighed.

“Sorry, I wish I could, but mom’s got me running some errands for dinner tonight. I’m pretty much the only one in the house in a fit state and they need doing.”

“Oh…” was all Judy said to that, but Nick didn’t miss the look of abject disappointment that flashed across both of the does’ faces.

Almost two years…

“You know, I could take care of all of that,” he said nonchalantly. “Leave you two to catch up while I see to whatever it is that Mrs. H needs doing?”

Judy winced. “Nick… you don’t have to do tha…”

“Ah it’s nothing,” he interrupted quickly. “Besides, I’m sure you’ve got a whole lot of catching up to do!”

The two of them stared each other down in silence for a moment, that was until they were interrupted by a small cough from Jenny.

“As kind of an offer as that is, I’ve got it, don’t worry! I’m sure Jude has all sorts planned for you while you're here and I wouldn’t want to throw her plans off. Besides, a city-slicker like you probably wouldn’t know where to start!” Jenny nudged Judy in the ribs and pretend-whispered to her, “I bet he doesn’t even know the difference between imperators and chanteneys!”

Judy practically doubled over laughing.Nick, after having taken the necessary second to recover, just rolled his eyes at the pair of them. This must be what it’s like for other mammals when we’re together.

“Okay, okay, I get the point. Would it help if I put on a straw hat and some overalls?” he said with a smile. “Just putting it out there that I can play a mean banjo!”

Judy was just about recovered by now, and turned back to her sister. But before she could speak, there was a rumble from the sky, and a steady - but rapidly increasing in intensity - shower of rain began to fall.

“Well, I think that’s probably our cue to head back to the truck before we get soaked! It’s so good to see you again,” she said as she went in for another hug. “Catch up properly back home later on?”

“Oh, absolutely! I’ve got so much to tell you about!” Jenny said, hugging back as she pulled out an umbrella.

“I’ll hold you to that!”

“You better!”

Nick and Judy both finished up their goodbye for nows with Jenny, the sisters trying but failing to resist one final goodbye hug even in the rain, and a few minutes later the pair of them were double timing it back towards the parking lot as the rain continued to fall.

“So, how far is it?” Nick asked as the pair hopped in.

“Not far Ten minutes if even that probably? We’ll be there in no time.”

As she spoke, Judy popped the keys into the ignition and the engine … well, roared to life would be a strong way of putting it, but it started, at the very least. The two of them pulled out of the field and were once again on the road, this time heading for the Hopps family home.

“We could’ve walked if push came to shove,” Judy said as she squinted through the poor job the windshield wipers were doing, “but I didn’t want to be dragging you up and down the roads for hours if I didn’t have to, especially with how the rain’s apparently been. I wasn’t entirely sure that Mom was right about it but I didn’t want to be taking any chances.”

Nick turned slowly towards Judy as the truck made its way along the country road, a wide smile forming on his face at her last comment.

“You mean you considered doubting your own mother?! Carrots?! I am shocked! Wait until the folks back at the burrow hear about this! Even for a second that must border on sacrilege!” 

“You know what I mean you big dork! I didn’t doubt her at all I just wasn’t entirel…”

Pst-pst-pst-pst-pst-pst…

“Uhhhhhhhh…”

The noise that Judy made was mostly confusion, but there was definitely a fair bit of panic present in it as well. The reason for this, was that her last statement had been rudely interrupted by a repeated spluttering from the engine that bordered on a cacophony, and only seemed to be getting worse the longer it went on for.

“Yeah… might want to pull over there, Fluff,” Nick suggested helpfully. “I’m no expert on three hundred year old country bun trucks but I’m pretty sure it’s better to be outside them when they explode…” 

Judy inwardly groaned. Trust Nick to take every available opportunity to crack a joke…

“I’ve got it!” Judy shouted back as she pulled the decelerating truck off into a little clearing on the side of the road. It wasn’t the ideal place to stop, but at least it was somewhere they could safely get out without having to worry about dodging traffic.

Judy turned the keys as soon as they were stopped, and immediately the unholy racket that the engine was making ceased.

“Well, not blowing up is a good thing in my book so there’s that at least!” Nick said after a moment’s silence.

“Argh! I knew I should’ve asked someone to bring one of the new trucks instead! This thing’s been a  hair away from giving up the ghost for years,” Judy responded, her voice filled to the brim with exacerbation.

“You never know, it might be an easy fix!” Nick said. “Let me have a look and I’ll see if there’s life in the old thing yet.”

Judy didn’t look particularly convinced as Nick undid his seatbelt and stepped out of the truck. He just gave her one of his signature looks as his paws touched the ground outside.

“Is that doubt I see, Carrots? As you of all mammals should know, I’m a fox whose car is currently held together by hopes and dreams, I know a thing or two about resurrecting old bangers!”

Judy chuckled as her mind flashed back to Old Bessie. To be fair to Nick, her family’s pickup was in pretty decent condition by comparison, so maybe he really would be able to fix whatever the issue was without a problem.

“Okay, okay, point taken! Do you need a paw?”

“Nah, better for at least one of us to stay dry. Plus do you remember what happened when you claimed you knew how to fix the break room coffee machine? If I let you at an internal combustion engine I’m pretty sure it will actually explode!” he said in a tone that sounded like he was enjoying himself far too much. “You just leave this to me and I bet we’re back on the road again before you can name all your siblings.”

…

“Okay, bad example!”

Nick made his way around to the truck’s hood, and quickly vanished from view with a wink in time with his last quip as he pulled it up to inspect the engine.

Judy let out a snort of laughter at his antics, already feeling the stress and frustration that had begun to rise up with the car trouble fade.

Trust him to know just how to keep me sane.

Judy had of course grown up on a farm, and when that’s the case there’s only so little you can know about engines; however, of the two of them Nick was easily the more knowledgeable on the subject. She had family members who could take a truck apart blindfolded and then put it back together again drunk, but her youth had been spent preparing for the ZPA. While useful, there had been other skills that she’d prioritised honing.

Her spirits were lifted considerably when Nick closed the hood, walked back around to the still open passenger-side door, and hopped back in with her. That didn’t last long though when she noticed that his face was twisted into a grimace.

“I, uh… I think your brother may have forgotten to fill up the tank before bringing the truck to the station…” As he spoke, he leaned over and tapped his claw on one of the dashboard’s dials a few times.

Judy's eyes followed his claw, and saw the fuel gauge, its needle noticeably below the red. She immediately turned the keys in an abundance of hope and heard the engine sputtering again, a sound that she now recognised as an engine searching for fuel that just wasn’t there.

“She grumbled and turned the key back. “I bet you anything it was Jerry. He’s notorious for forgetting to fill the trucks up after he’s done using them.”

“I don’t suppose there’s a handy gas can just sitting in the back, is there?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, there probably is but…” Judy began, before quickly continuing as she noticed Nick’s ears spring up in hope. “It’s not that easy. This is a diesel engine, and if you run a diesel dry you have to bleed the whole system before you can run it again. It can take hours if you don’t know what you’re doing and I, uh… don’t. We’d be soaked by the time we managed it in this rain,” she finished with a deflated tone, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. “I’ll get someone to come out and pick us up.”

She glanced down at the phone in front of her, and immediately let out a frustrated groan.

“And we are out of signal!” She let her head fall onto the steering wheel in front of her. “Don’t suppose yours is any better?”

“Afraid not.” Nick said after assessing his own phone.

“The joys of Bunnyburrow phone service,” Judy mumbled out from steering wheel-level. “Definitely one of the things that I do not miss about living here.”

A loud silence filled the cabin before Nick spoke again.

“Hold on… you said the fair was only about ten minutes out, right? So we can’t be that far away now.”

“Um… yeah, not far at all,” Judy replied, pulling her face away from the steering wheel so she could look over at her partner.

“Walkable, you think?”

Judy’s mind wandered back to the years spent in these very fields in her kithood; she must’ve covered just about every inch of them at some point. “Maybe twenty minutes? I used to walk much further back when I was still living here.”

Nick already had his paw on the door handle. “Come on, then. We could be waiting for hours and even if one of us does get a signal I’m guessing things are gonna be a little hectic at the burrow. Let’s save your folks another trip out to come and collect us. Plus, a walk probably isn’t a bad idea, anyway. Burn off some of that salmon and fairground food! Need to make sure I can still keep up with Officer Superbun, after all!” 

“You sure?”

“One hundred percent. If we’re that close we can probably make it there before we’re even that wet. And if I’m honest, I reckon the rain is gonna figure out this roof any time now anyway so that might be unavoidable. Come on, we’ll be there before you know it! The truck’s safe so you can just let someone know it needs picking up and refuelling.”

Judy thought about it for a moment. She wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of making Nick run a couple of miles in the cold and wet, even if the rain was only light at the moment. On the other paw, however, he was right. It might take her an hour to find enough signal to get a message out and then with how atypically quiet the burrow would be today, whoever drew the short straw would have to stop whatever they were doing. If they bit the bullet and started making their way over now, they’d probably be back at the burrow in less than a quarter of the time. And with their background, they wouldn’t be anything more than slightly damp by the time they got there. A roaring Hopps’ family fire and mug of something warm would fix that up in no time.

Judy forced a smile at him. “Okay then, if you’re sure.”

Nick returned a genuine smile back. “I am, and much as I’m sure it’s going to end in my embarrassing myself, how about a little race?”

Judy couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Come on, you big dork, let’s get to it!”

1:34pm

Thankfully, the rain didn’t get any worse, and the pair of them were still mostly dry as they made their steady way towards the burrow.

It had been about ten minutes since they abandoned the truck, and now they were most of the way there, just coming up to the final stretch. With the exception of each other, the only company they’d had was the occasional passing car. Luckily, there was a fairly wide bank of grass on either side of the road, which meant that other than avoiding the frequent puddles from the earlier, heavier rain, the two hadn’t anything to worry about.

About a minute or so earlier Judy had pointed out the field to their right that they were passing. It had been where she, Sharla, Bobby, and co. had rehearsed the Carrots Day Festival play they’d put on back when she was nine. She’d given Nick a brief run of the story, as well as the antics and what some might call her over dedication to the role, even at that young age.

“Well, that certainly explains where all your Natural History Museum antics came from! Planning on being an actor before you settled on the ZPD were you, Carrots?”

“You know me! I just don’t particularly like doing things half-heartedly. Dad always used to say ‘ Jude, if a job's worth doing at all then it’s worth doing well!’ I may have taken that one a little too much to heart.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m well aware that Mrs. Blood! Blood! Blood! And death! Doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. As far as I can tell you probably don’t even know the meaning of the word!”

“Haha, you’re so funny,” Judy deadpanned, having to raise her voice just slightly to carry over the sound of an oncoming vehicle behind them.

“Thank you, I try,” Nick shot back with a grin.

Judy just rolled her eyes at his tomfoolery, before turning to their left now and eyeing the little dirt track that they were just about to pass.

“And that path there leads up to where G…” 

“WATCH OUT!”

Judy’s ears shot up immediately at the sudden, panic-ridden shout of warning that Nick let out, but even so she didn't have nearly enough time to react before it happened.

The vehicle coming from behind them turned out to be a very large truck, and it also happened to pass them at the precise moment that they themselves had been passing a particularly sizable puddle between the road and the bank where they were jogging.

She had time to turn and see the small wave of murky water as it barrelled towards her, but no time to do anything about it other than just close her eyes and accept her fate.

SPLASH!

…

Dry?

That was the first thing that Judy thought.

Well, maybe dry was a strong word, she was still damp from the spitting rain of course, and she’d definitely gotten hit with something from the splash that had just landed, but whatever it was had felt more like a few residual droplets rather than the small torrent of water she’d seen bearing down on her a moment prior.

She cracked her eyes open cautiously, almost as if she expected the wave to be waiting for her still.

Instead what she saw just in front of her, between herself and where she’d last seen the oncoming splash, was a fox.

A very wet fox.

Nick was drenched, his smart attire was clearly soaked through and the bright colours of his tie and shirt were dulled by the light brown stain of the muddy water. His fur too looked soaked, frequent drops falling from his muzzle and ears already as Judy looked at him, and there were even scattered leaves and small bits of other debris stuck on to him at occasional intervals.

It was like the universe had found a way to undo all his hard work that morning in one fell swoop.

“You alright?” he just about croaked in between a couple of sharp breaths .

“Oh God, Nick!” Judy shouted as she closed the gap between them. “Are you okay?”

“Fi-fi-fine, ju-just fi-fine!” he managed to get out, trying his best to flash her a reassuring grin through teeth that had already begun to chatter.

It couldn’t have been more than five degrees above freezing, and that was only if she was being very generous.

Judy immediately pulled him down to her level, all while pulling off her jacket and throwing it over his head before doing her best to quickly worry him dry as best she could.

“Ca-Carrots… your ja-ja-jacket…” he stuttered, his voice now additionally muffled by the garment over his head.

“Is a lot less important than you,” she finished for him before he had a chance to complain anymore. When she pulled her now also sodden jacket back, she revealed an only marginally dryer fox than before. “Prize winning pumpkins, you’re soaked!” 

“A lit-little water ne-ne-never hurt any-on-on-one…”

The look Judy cast up at him would’ve been enough to terrify a lion.

“You went through the academy just like I did, you know just how stupid a thing that is to say.”

Nick stayed silent, other than the continuous sound of his chattering teeth.

Judy turned, and looked over at the path to their left, gazing past the tree line and towards the little cottage she knew lay not far beyond, an idea occurring to her as she did so. Her paw darted down to grab his, and she quickly began pulling him along as she made a start down the path.

“Wha-what’s with th-th-the detour?” Nick chattered out.

“We’re still a ways out from the Burrow, and I’m not having you catching your death of cold on the way over there. Come on, it’s not far.” 

“Wha-wha-what isn’t?” Nick asked.

“You’ll see.”

Chapter Text

1:45pm

It had been years since Judy had seen the cottage that lay in a picturesque little glade in between two of her family’s fields. When she was young it was little more than a run down hovel, the kind of place her and her littermates loved to play around, construct forts in, and generally run amuck, right up until their parents would find them and they’d be scolded about how it was no place for kits, and that they weren’t to do it again.

It had once been the home of one of her mother’s great uncles, Edward Hopps, a painter and generally a bit of a recluse. The quiet, soft-spoken bunny had apparently struggled with the hustle and bustle of life in a family numbering in the hundreds on a busy farm. He’d instead taken over an old workhouse on the family property and turned it into his own little slice of heaven, close enough to still feel part of the family, far enough away to carve out his life in the way that he preferred.

However, all good things must come to an end, and after his passing the idyllic little cottage had fallen into decades of dilapidation and disuse. Rabbits wanting to swim against the stream like Edward and Judy were rare in Bunnyburrow, and most members of the Hopps family since then had been happy to remain on the farm as their parents had before them, and their parents before them.

That was until just a little under a year ago, when after spending so long sitting empty, the house had received a new tenant.

Judy practically dragged Nick into the little clearing where the cottage sat. It was almost unrecognisable from the last time Judy saw it. The walls that had been all but falling apart previously had been relaid, the old broken doors that Judy remembered had been replaced by freshly hung ones, and the collapsed chimney had been propped back up, and from it rose a steady plume of smoke.

Even on this muggy December afternoon, the quaint little cottage stood out in a perfectly homey sort of way.

Judy pulled Nick past a bright pink van parked just outside, and up to a front door painted in the same colour. She quickly rapped on the door a few times as Nick looked around, observing his surroundings in a slightly bewildered sort of way as he continued to shiver.

After a moment’s pause, the door swung open.

“Hello?” a voice with more than a little bit of a rural accent asked.

“Hi Gideon! Merry Kitsmas! Mind if we come in for a moment?” Judy said, her typical mile a minute personality on full display, spurred on even more by the situation at paw.

“Judy? Well I’ll be darned!” Gideon said as he opened the door fully and stepped into view. “Merry Kitsmas! Wasn’t expecting you to be turning up on my doorstep. Come in, come i–” 

Gideon stopped mid way through welcoming Judy in when he saw Nick.

“Huckleberry pie! What happened to you, mister? You look wetter than a catfish who decided to stay in bed late!”

“Picked a ba-ba-bad day to g-go for a swuh-huh-huh-swim,” Nick said, forcing a smile through still-chattering teeth.

“He got sprayed by a car on the way to the burrow. I hate to ask you, Gid, but I don’t suppose you’d mind if Nick uses your shower to tidy up and get into some dry cloth…”

“Absolutely! I remember getting soaked plenty back in the day. Ain’t nothing gonna ruin a mammal’s mood faster than that! Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.” Gideon swung the door wide open and quickly ushered the pair in. “Come on in and warm up.” 

“You’re a lifesaver,” Judy said gratefully as she pulled Nick through the doorway and into the cottage.

The little abode was cosy, but most of all it was warm . The warmth on Nick's soaked fur was like heaven and he could already feel his chattering teeth beginning to steady themselves.

The doorway led straight into a comfy little sitting room. Most of the surfaces were littered with books - the lionshare of which were baking themed or related - and a wood burning stove smouldered away in the corner.

“Here you go!” Gideon said as he reappeared from another door to the side, holding a clean and very fluffy pink towel.

“This should help with the worst of it. Shower’s upstairs whenever you’re ready, first door on the right. Use whatever you want in there; my mama would have my tail if she ever found out I’d made myself a bad host.” The country fox pointed to the staircase in the corner of the room as he spoke. “Come on through to the kitchen once you’re ready. I’ve got a couple of pies that are just about ready to come out of the oven and could do with being eaten!”

“You’re amazing, thank you!” Judy said as she took the towel and immediately began worrying Nick something silly, the occasional muffled, perturbed noise coming from underneath as she went at him with it.

“Hush, you’ll be dry soon enough,” she said, not giving him a chance to properly voice any objections.

A minute or so later she pulled the towel back, revealing a much drier but also much scruffier and very unamused looking fox. Judy couldn’t help herself and let out a little snort as she tried to hold in her laughter.

Nick gave her his best disapproving look. “Hardy har har. Yeah, laugh it up, Fluff!” His tone was one of faux annoyance, but Judy could see that all too familiar twinkle of amusement present in his eyes too.

His expression suddenly switched to one a little more uncomfortable though, and one of his paws came up to scratch nervously at the back of his neck.

“Uhhh… you know all my spare clothes were in my case with the rest of my stuff right? I doubt that your folks are the sort to opt for a Mystic Springs style Kitsmas so I’ll have to wait for these to dry. If you want to go ahead then you don’t have to wait for me. I’m sure you’ve got stuff you’d rather do than sit with a fox literally watching his clothes dry.”

Judy just smiled back at him, a smile that Nick was all too familiar with and usually meant trouble. He gulped at the prospect of whatever was coming.

“That’s where you’re wrong!” she said, before swinging her backpack off of her shoulders and bringing it around in front of her. She quickly unzipped it and rummaged around for a few moments before triumphantly withdrawing one of his bright Pawaiian shirts, a pair of khakis, and one of his signature garish ties. The whole ensemble was an eclectic mixture of greens and reds, the perfect Kitsmas colours.

He blinked in the face of the ‘ta-da!’ reveal. “How did… when did…?”

Now it was Judy’s turn to paw uncomfortably at the back of her neck as she held the clean, dry outfit out for him.

“I thought you might want to change into something more familiar if it all got too much for you at any point, so I grabbed these before I left. I wasn’t going to mention them unless I thought they were needed but… seems like they’ve come in handy a little earlier than I expected.”

A hundred and one responses flashed through Nick’s mind as he took the stack of clothes in his paws, but each and every one of them caught in his throat before he could get it out.

“I meant what I said on the train,” she continued as their gazes met. “You don’t need fancy silk shirts, or pricy presents, or anything else to be worth it, Nick. You’re good enough just the way you already are, and you always will be.”

That didn’t help him get a response out at all, and all Nick could continue to do was stare at Judy as she beamed back up at him.

“Go on,” she said after a moment’s silence longer. “I know I’d be desperate for a shower if I were in your fur. We can head over to the burrow once you’re dry and changed. I’ll be waiting.”

And with that she was gone, following Gideon back through the cottage to what Nick could only assume was the kitchen that their host had mentioned before.

Nick took the small pile of clothes she’d given him. Brain operating on sheer autopilot as he headed up the stairs, hard-pressed to form any other thought but the one that was currently running through his head.

What did you ever do to deserve her?

2:21pm

Nick - now clad in an ensemble far more familiar and comfortable - made his way back down the stairs. The sitting room was empty but it wasn’t hard to follow the sound of pleasant chatter, and the smell of freshly baked pie through the cottage to a little dining room/kitchen combo where he found both Judy and Gideon.

Judy sat at a small table, a steaming cup of what looked like hot chocolate in her paws as she chuckled away at something. Gideon was standing next to one of the counters as he spoke.

“...anyway… Travis eventually managed to get the darn thing off of me but I was in a pretty foul mood for a while afterwards,” Gideon said, finishing off some story that Judy was clearly enjoying before he caught sight of Nick as he entered the room. “Well, well, well, look who it is!”

“There you are!” Judy said, voice exuberant but eyes soft on his as he approached. “Feeling a little more like yourself, Slick?”

“Much better,” Nick replied. “If the mammal who invented the hot shower hasn’t been canonised already I’m starting a petition the second we get back to Zootopia!”

“Glad to hear it, mister! I–” Gideon began before he was interrupted by an urgent beeping of the room’s oven.

Gideon immediately grabbed hold of an oven glove before striding over to it with an as yet unseen grace and pulling from it a pair of freshly steaming pies of some description.

“And perfect timing, by the looks of it! Now, Judy here tells me you’ve got a real soft spot for blueberries and I just so happen to have put these in a little while before you two got here. It’s something of a Gideon Grey’s Real Good Baked Stuff house speciality if I do say so myself!” As he spoke he’d slid the pie dishes onto one of the countertops and cut two generous portions with the kind of smoothness that only came from years of practice. He quickly put each of them on a decorative little dessert plate - the pink hearts that adorned it were very cute - before popping them along with a pair of dessert forks down on the table, one in front of Judy and the other in front of the vacant chair next to her.

The smell of the pie hit Nick like a sledgehammer, and it took just about all of his willpower to stop himself from salivating at the delicious scent on the spot.

“Come on, make yourself at home,” Gideon said, gesturing towards the empty chair and the fluffy pillow upon it as he did so. 

Nick wasn’t about to refuse the hospitality, especially when a comfy chair and freshly baked, still warm blueberry pie were parts of the equation. He quickly took the chair before scooping a healthy forkful of pie into his waiting mouth. 

It was by far and away the best pie he had ever had.

Flavours exploded across Nick’s tongue like fireworks in the night sky. He was pretty sure that tastebuds he didn’t even know he had were currently lighting up, almost like he was just discovering another dimension of experience that the artist had introduced him to with his brush.

“Oh my God, Gideon buddy, this is incredible!” Good manners only just stopped Nick from shovelling more pie into his mouth as he spoke. “I think you might’ve just ruined all other pie forever for me. I don’t suppose you ship to Zootopia, do you?”

“They turn out alright if I do say so myself, and I might be able to sort something out one of these days for a friend of Judy’s! In the meantime, I’ll make the rest up in a box for you two to take with you. Ain’t much of a Kitsmas present but ‘least y’all won’t be hungry!”

“That’d be amazing, if you’re sure,” Judy said, smiling over at Nick as she watched him demolish his portion of pie. “Although I have a feeling that it won’t last the night.”

Nick smiled back at her before he finished off the last morsel. “It would be rude to let pie this good go to waste, and I always have considered myself to be exceptionally well mannered!”

Judy just rolled her eyes at him, before pulling up her phone and taking a look at the time. “It’s really nice to see you again, Gideon, but we’d better get a move on. Dad’ll probably put together a search party if we're any later getting back.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Stu alright! Not to worry, I’ll give you a ride, wouldn’t want you getting wet again!” Gideon said as he placed the cardboard box that he’d put the remaining pie in on the table between them.

“Oh no, Gideon, you really don’t have t–”

“Don’t have to but I’m sure gonna! It’s Kitsmas, and ain’t like I’m busy or nothing. Won’t take me any time at all.”

Nick and Judy looked at each other, Nick shrugging as their eyes met.

“Thanks so much, Gideon.If it’s not too much trouble, we’d really appreciate it.”

“Ain’t no trouble at all, just give me a moment to… now where did I leave them keys…”

A few moments later - keys located - and the trio were stepping out of the cottage, back into the chilly Bunnyburrow air.

It was a bit of a tight squeeze between the three of them, but they just about managed to cram themselves into it. A moment later and they were winding their way through the country lanes and back onto the main road that they’d been making their way up before the puddle incident.

The Burrow was maybe a mile away once they were back on that road, and so it only took them a few minutes before they were turning into it.

Gideon pulled the van into a little clearing in front of the main burrow where a few trucks and cars were already parked. He pulled into a vacant space as near to the front door as he could find and brought the van to a stop.

“Thanks again so much for the ride,” Judy said the moment they came to a stop.

“Yeah, we definitely owe you a few for that buddy.”

“Aw, shucks, y’all don’t owe me nothing. I’m just doing what anyone should. Wouldn’t be able to sleep right if I’d made you walk back over here still waterlogged and all.”

“You know…” Judy said thoughtfully as she looked out at the main burrow entrance, “do you want to join us? I’m sure everyone would be happy to see you. You know there’s always a place for you at the burrow.”

“Ahh, thanks for the offer, but I’m alright. I’ve been pulling extra hours baking for the stand at the festival as well as the shop and a few hours of quiet is just what the doc ordered for me, I think. Give your folks my best though!”

“Okay, offer’s always open if you change your mind. And if you ever happen to find yourself in Zootopia you make sure to look us up!”

Gideon smiled “I’ll keep that in mind. Same goes for you, my door’s always open if you two ever find yourselves back in Bunnyburrow. I’m sure I can rustle up a pie or two if either of y’all ever got a hunger on.”

They finished saying their goodbyes, Judy punctuating hers with an oh so typical hug and Nick with a firm pawshake, before Gideon jumped back into his van and sped away back towards his home.

The two of them were alone again, the imposing figure of the Hopps’ family home looming up in front of them.

Judy could already feel Nick’s nerves reigniting as they stood there.

Her paw found his instantly, grabbing ahold of it and giving it a firm squeeze of support. He turned his head, and his eyes met hers as she smiled back up at him.

“Ready, partner?” she said.

He took in a deep, steadying breath before returning her smile with a slightly shakier one of his own.

“Ready.”