Chapter Text
The week before Danny’s adoption was chaos in the Wilde-Hopps household.
Nick didn’t even realize just how big bunny families were until Stu and Bonnie started asking who was invited. But it turned out that 275 siblings had not been a playful joke after all, that was the actual headcount.
Thankfully he was pretty sure they’d convinced the Hopps’ to get a sitter. And god help whoever had that job, if he were being perfectly honest. His side? Had been much easier, considering it had always been him, his mom, Melissa, and dad, John - but his dad has long passed.
Thankfully, both sets of grandparents had gotten over the whole human thing. After all, they’d had close to a year for it to set in right? So outside of the drama in figuring out who was coming it had been an aura of excitement all around.
He was more worried about Danny.
The closer they got to the big day, the more nervous the boy got. And there were all these new questions Nick wasn’t ready for. “What if they say no?” “What if someone tries to stop the adoption?” “You guys are sure, right?”
The poor kid always had those abandonment issues thanks to his history. But Nick felt like getting closer only amplified them rather than calmed him down. No matter how much he and Judy reminded him, day in and day out he was there’s…
Reminded him how much they wanted him.
“I’m just saying,” Danny brought up one Saturday over breakfast, through a mouth full of bagel. “What happens if they do say no?”
Nick tried to keep himself calm, and reminded himself of what their classes had taught them. Danny had been through trauma, serious trauma at that. And they had to be patient. “Then we fight again. Don’t forget, your mom and I are really good at that,” That earned him a half-smile from the small human. “Spunky, I’m telling you - there are easier ways to get rid of us. But we aren’t going anywhere.”
Danny nodded his head and rested his chin in his hands. What was going through his mind now? Sometimes Nick couldn’t really tell. Judy on the other hand could read him like a book most days.
“Good morning!” Speak of the devil, Judy had finally graced them with her presence. “Whew! Lots to do today. We’ve got another meeting with the wedding planner, I have a good feeling this time Nick!”
Oh right, the wedding too… A lot of people thought they were moving fast, but since when did they go slow? They were aiming for a June wedding, but Judy was already jumping on all the planning. Besides, it had landed on the time their little family had formed too.
If they could just agree on a venue… Today’s trip would make ten that he and Judy had turned down if it went south. “Right… Totally forgot about that,” Judy frowned at him. “It’s cool, really. I’ll get ready, who’s watching Danny again?”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Danny pointed out with his hand raised. “Friendly reminder I lived alone for like… A long time.”
Nick chuckled and ruffled his son’s ginger tuft of hair gently. “Yeah, nice try. It was a bad idea then and it’s a bad idea now.”
Judy shrugged her shoulders, and took a bite of the morning carrot he’d laid out for her. “I thought you liked it when Nibbles babysits,” Danny looked up with surprise. “There’s that excitement!”
Nibbles? Nick still couldn’t believe that he’d let Judy talk him into that one. But he supposed she was right, she kept Danny entertained with all of her weird conspiracy theories and stories. He was moreso worried that he’d come home one night to his kit wearing a tin foil hat, going on about aliens eating his homework.
Still Danny seemed satisfied with it and announced: “Fine I’ll allow it. But I’m twelve next month. Can we talk about it then?”
Ever the negotiator, Nick mused. “How about when you’re thirteen?”
“Twelve and a half?”
“Deal.”
And then the ball of energy was off to get dressed he assumed. Nick gave Judy a small satisfied smile. “I’m getting pretty good at my negotiation tactics,” He jested. “Hogbottom can eat her words.”
Judy laughed. “If the criminal is eleven years old, you’re set Nick,” She pecked him on the cheek. “So do you at least remember where we’re going today?”
He was drawing a blank. “Figures.”
———-
Danny did like it when Nibbles babysat, they were right.
It was mostly because Nibbles Maplestick was kind of an absent-minded babysitter. If he wasn’t breaking any bones, or disappearing for hours? She didn’t mind what he was doing much.
Most of the time, he convinced her to let him have way more screen time too. Judy constantly reminded him that tv rotted the brain, so she’d send him out to play - or give him a book. But Danny was, for all intents and purposes, a typical kid his age who liked video games and cartoons.
And Nibbles was pretty much right there with him.
“You know Danny-boy there’s just something about two good pals, a bowl of popcorn. And three hours of paranormal investigations that makes a girl happy,” Danny giggled at her words as they vegged out on the couch together - popcorn between them. “Does your dad still argue with you all the time about if ghosts are real?”
“Yes!” Danny threw up his arms in defeat. “Even though he’s complaining the faucet goes on by itself all the time.”
“You sure he doesn’t see you doing it?”
Probably, Danny thought he’d gotten sneaky enough around Nick these days though. Sure, it was kind of mean trying to trick him with a fake ghost. But who cares? It provided him with a challenge. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll start moving things around the house,” Danny mentioned. “When you’re not here I mean. Can’t make it too obvious.”
“Excuse me, for your information sneaky is my middle name!”
Danny wasn’t so sure about that, but he still gave a small laugh as the phone rang. Danny lazily picked up the phone. “Wilde residence!”
“Well if it ain’t my favorite grandson!”
Danny was pretty sure Stu Hopps said that about all his grandchildren. Which was kind of impressive because of how many he’d had before he’d come along, but he wasn’t complaining. “Hey grandpa. Mom and dad are looking at venues or something today,” he said between a mouthful of popcorn. “I’m sure she forgot to tell you - and she forgot her phone again.”
He could hear Bonnie pipe up in the background. “Your mother would forget her own head if it wasn’t screwed on just right I swear!” She called out. “Can’t wait to see you in a few days, sweetheart! Are you getting excited?”
“Bet it feels like all kinds of butterflies in your stomach,” Stu agreed. “I remember I’m a nervous wreck before anything official!”
Me too, Danny thought. It seemed so surreal that his adoption was already coming up on Tuesday. For the first six months he’d lived with the Bogo’s he’d thought it’d never even happen. Now he was just a few short days from being a part of the Hopps and Wilde families.
Considering how this had started, with him being stuffed in a shipping container after being kidnapped from a dead village… That was a pretty surreal thought to him. “I’m… Processing,” Danny decided to settle on that as an answer. “I just want it to get here already. I don’t like waiting…”
Waiting scared him.
“Well, you don’t have to wait much longer, dear. Just do those breathing exercises Dr. Fuzzby had you working on,” Right, those again. But Bonnie was just trying to help. “Listen, we gotta go. Your Aunt Lilly is having an absolute fit! But tell your mother to call us back first thing!”
“Lilly! Lilly that’s fragile!” He could now hear Stu in the background. “Thanks again for getting her the bat for Christmas, Dan, we love it!”
Danny couldn’t help but give a small chuckle, never a dull moment with those two was there? He hung up and felt at least a little better after that. Not that it made his nerves go away completely…
“Y’know it’s ok to be nervous! Heck, I’d be nervous too,” Nibbles pointed out playfully. “A family that big? Woo-wee it’s gonna be chaos.”
“Mom calls it controlled chaos.”
“I must have missed the “control” part,” The beaver pointed out with a wink. “Hey, are you as bored as I am?”
Danny laughed. “Didn’t you just say how much fun this is?”
Nibbles shrugs. “You should know by now to believe only half of what you see. And like… Five percent of what you hear,” Valid, Danny guessed. Especially when it came to her. “How’s about we ditch the apartment and go check out what’s playing at the movies?”
Now she was talking! Danny perked up with a: “Cool! Can we go see that one you were telling me about last week?”
“The horror movie!? Danny, that’s rated R. It’s got lots of blood and nasty stuff. It’s so scary!” Nibbles of course followed that up with. “Of course I’m taking you to see it!”
Yep, Danny thought as he hopped off the couch to follow the beaver, Nibbles could babysit any time.