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“Okay, so that's Julie, Jane, Emma… Cotton… Ahh… Molly… Umm… Jack, Timmy, Toby, Ryland… Gavin? Or was it Gary? It was G… something.” Nick was pointing around a playground next to Judy who was patiently nodding at the red fox.
It was the first time he visited the burrows, after a lot of procrastination. He half expected everyone to grab a pitchfork upon his arrival, and chase him back to the city, but surprisingly the first impression went great. It was a bit awkward, but hey, all ‘boyfriend-girlfriend’s family’ meetings are awkward at first right? Of course, there was the obligatory ‘We’re happy for you two but what about kits?’ discussion with Judy’s parents. Well, it was more Judy telling how she never really wanted kids in the first place while Nick was patiently smiling.
Now Nick was helping Judy watch for her younger siblings on the ‘small’ playground which was… in his point of view… huge… The whole ZPD building could fit inside it, heck maybe even twice. And that is a small playground? ‘Rabbit things I guess.’ He thought to himself.
He had no clue how Judy was this calm watching 21 of her younger siblings running around, disappearing for a few seconds, just to reappear a few seconds later.
“So far so good… You did switch up Julie and Jane but… It’s okay! Even Dad does sometimes, so you’re good. And he IS Gavin, you’re correct. Gary is my littermate, remember? Okay, next?”
Now the fox was in a bit of trouble, and it was only 10 names out of the present 21. Not even 50% for a passing grade.
“Ahh…” He looked around, not recognizing more faces, let alone remembering names. So he slowly moved around his finger, hoping to finally see a familiar kid but to no avail. In the end, he slowly pointed at the gray rabbit next to him. “Judy.”
She gave a grin and playfully nodded. “Yep, that's also correct!” She says while pulling the fox in for a kiss. “It’s okay you’ll learn their names eventually. It’s been only 3 days. I had all my childhood to memorize.”
“Yeah... If I learn one name a day I'll be able to recall your whole family in a year. I mean… Wow… I knew you had a big family but… It’s not only big, it’s… big big.”
“You can say that again.” Judy agreed with a smile, looking at the happy kids running around, some playing tag, some climbing the various playground games, it’s a smile that almost makes one question…
“Hey, carrots…”
“Hmm?” She absent-mindedly turned an ear towards the fox signaling she was listening.
“Are you sure you don’t want… The same? Big family, lots of kids… Cause well… You know, we may hit some roadblocks there…”
Now she fully turned her head questioningly with her nose twitching. “Did… my dad's questioning got to you or… what’s up? Because if that’s the case it’s just my dad being my dad. Most of my older siblings already have a family and kids. It’s just uncommon for rabbits to be… Well… be with a fox first of all, and not have 12 little kids running around by the age of 27. But as you could already tell, I’m not your average Bunnyburrow resident.”
“Yeah, I realized that much.” Nick gave a slight chuckle.
“What about you?” Judy twisted Nick’s own question back at him. “Do… You want kits?”
“No, not really,” He said immediately but even he realized it didn’t feel honest. The truth is, he never thought about it. During his conmammal years, he would have obviously said no. No place for family there so no reason to think about kits, they would have been a headache anyway. Now it’s the same, but a different situation. No reason to think about kits because it’s not possible anyway. So his answer was more of a reflex than an honest one. “Look, I love you, that's what matters. If all I wanted in the world was having kits I wouldn’t be here now, would I?”
Perhaps it’s because of the past year of living with the fox but Judy’s senses were tingling that something wasn’t right. She got better at seeing through Nick’s laid-back, always sly mask. However, it wasn’t the right place to start that discussion. She did make a mental note to come back to this question.
They kept on looking at the playing rabbits. One tag player was just caught, giving them the burden of now being ‘it’ and having to run after the others. An 8-year-old girl appeared at the bottom of the slide…
“AMY!” Nick exclaims happily, recognizing the small rabbit on the slide. “Her name is Amy. That’s 11! I know 11 names out of 21!”
“See? You will be there and know all the names in no time!” Judy playfully punched Nick on the shoulder.
“Yes, Uncle Nick?” Amy asks, with her small brown eyes locking in with the fox. Looks like she heard Nick’s victory shout of her name and decided to actually listen.
“Oh hey!” The fox said. “Sorry I’m just not that good with names. So Uncle Nick was just happy to remember yours, that’s all.”
With a tilted head she was already off to a new question, not even listening to the answer Nick gave. “Is it true that foxes are red because they are made by the devil?”
“Amy!” Judy cautioned her sibling. “It’s not nice to say something like that.”
“It’s okay.” Nick chuckled, “Well, Amy… can you keep a secret?”
The girl leaned closer, with curiously widened eyes and quietly said. “Yes!”
“It’s absolutely true!” Nick whispered, earning an excited gasp from the girl and a confused look from Judy. “However, there is more to this story than just that. Do you want to hear the details?”
Hopping on the bench, Amy’s glare was now fixed on Nick, and wouldn’t look away for anything. She was getting her story now no matter what.
“Okay so where to begin… Oh yes. Hundreds of thousands of years ago when all land was connected there was a small rabbit clan that had all the sweets they could ever dream of.”
“Even gummy carrots?” Amy’s eyes lit up
“Are you kidding me? Of course! They had gummy carrots for breakfast! And their stomachs never hurt after! They were happy living in their little corner of the world, with no trouble. However, the devil was angry! He was mad that some mammals were living so carefree, so happily, therefore he made a plan. He made a creature whose fur was like hell’s burning fire and horns like his own!”
“Do you have horns?” Amy quietly asked, reaching for Nick’s head. But he just gave a smile and gently pushed away the curious paw.
“I’m getting there, be patient! Where was I?”
“A creature with fur like hell’s burning fire?” Judy said with crossed arms and an eyeroll, but a smile also started appearing in the corner of her mouth.
“Ah yes. So. The devil sent these creatures up to the living world and each night they sneakily stole every piece of gummy carrot from the rabbits. No matter how much they gathered up, how many guards they set up to protect it. By the time the first rays of sun appeared on the horizon every piece of candy disappeared from the pile. So the desperate rabbits prayed to their god to catch the thief, and their god answered. It sent down an angel, her purple eyes beautiful as amethyst, a smile so warm it could turn a cold night, feeling like a pleasant summer evening. So one night only the angel was staying guard, but it was enough. The hellish creatures’ tricks were no match for her all seeing eye, the thief was captured in no time, with no chance of escaping into the woods! She could have banished the hellborn. Make them go back where they came from, so they could never come back! But… She didn’t.”
“Why?” Amy asked with anticipation in her eyes.
“We can’t be sure.” Nick shrugged “Perhaps she saw the good in the creature. But we’d have to ask the angel herself to know exactly.” He gave one smiling glance at Judy, then resumed the story. “Anyway, the angel blessed the creature, cutting the ties with their origins. The flames slowly died out, revealing their red fur, and even the horns disappeared. They were no longer the devil’s thief. They were free and could do whatever they wanted. Do good or bad, it was up to them to decide.
Of course the other rabbits were untrusting towards them at first. The damage was already done, a lot of candy was already missing. Some rabbits even thought it was just another trick. But the foxes tried their best in helping wherever they could. They helped planting carrots which was you know, not as tasty as the gummy ones, but it was a start! They also didn't stop until they got all the gummy carrots back to their rightful owner, and placed the sweets in a protective bag so the devil couldn’t take it ever again with any creature he may make! The devil felt cheated! He knew he couldn’t do anything to the rabbits now. His own creation turned against him who would know all his tricks! So… He cursed hell’s traitors, in a horrible way. Wherever the foxes went, in everyone’s eyes they would appear as the devilish creatures they originally were, making everyone scared, and untrusting whenever they saw one. A few foxes gave in. They decided if they appeared evil they might as well be evil. However most of them are still fighting the curse, and with the help of the angel they are trying their best to appear like the good mammals they are now, and not the hellborns they once were.”
“Oh…” Amy’s eyes sadly stared at the sandy floor, not getting the happy ending she thought she'd get from the story. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Hey it’s okay! Now you do. And you aren’t afraid of me, are you?”
“No. But Emily is! Maybe you should tell her the same story you told me! She would understand!”
Knowing he probably wouldn’t get past the ‘Foxes are indeed from hell’ part without Emily running off to her parents crying, Nick shook his head. “Unfortunately I can’t. The more mammals know this, the stronger the curse becomes. I only told you because I trust you can keep this our secret! It’s alright. One day even Emily will see through the curse. Go on, you can go back playing.”
“Okay…” Amy quietly said, and hopped off the bench but she wasn’t as enthusiastic about the playground as before.
Feeling a bit guilty, Nick wanted to ask Judy “Did I overdo it?” But before he could finish this sentence he was met with a teary hug. So I did overdo it… He thought and hugged Judy back. “Hey! Hey. It’s alright, it’s just a story.” He hugged the rabbit back. “You bunnies… So emotional.”
“Shut up.” Her shaky chuckle was heard through Nick’s shirt.
“Hey, no cursing! We’re surrounded by kids who have supersonic hearing!”
“Bad idea to tell a top secret story about the ‘fox curse’ then.” She swiped the tears away “I’m just… I was the same untrusting mammal when we met I…”
“And I was the horned candy stealer.” Nick interrupted, smiling at his partner. “It’s okay, really. Haven’t you been listening to the story? IF you listen closely you can connect the dots between the angel and a certain rabbit.”
“Yeah beautiful amethyst eyes… You are a real poet!”
“Thank you ma’am I aspire to be the best poet the world could offer!”
The next hour wasn’t really eventful. Some families left, some arrived. The thing that finally started to clear out the park was the appearing distant dark rain cloud, and a warning lightning that signaled the storm’s eventual arrival.
“Okay Hoppses, to me!” Judy shouted. “Zack, last sliding okay? Timmy, don’t climb up again! Wait! Okay… One more slide to you too but nobody else! No Gavin, you can’t bring home that toy, it's not ours. Nope, that toy isn’t ours either. Come on everyone!”
Slowly all 21 kids arrived, and after a quick headcount they were already on their way, Judy leading the group, and Nick at the back making sure nobody gets left behind, like some rabbit daycare group.
A small paw grabbed his paw, and looking down a bit surprised, Nick saw Emma, shyly looking at the ground “Can you be my pair on the way back? Molly paired up with Hannah and Amy said, you are nice.” She asked with a frown and he obviously didn’t have the hearth to decline. Plus if what Amy said was true and Emma still wasn’t too open towards him, this was a big step.
“Of course.” He said with a smile, and received a quiet ‘thank you’
The winds also started to take a faster speed, and by the time they were halfway back home the first rain droplets started hitting the ground, quickly picking up the pace. The little group had to quicken their steps too if they didn’t want to get soaking wet, which was easier for the older kids and a bit harder for the younger ones.
He couldn’t help but realize his ‘walking partner’ was getting slower and slower. And when he asked what was wrong she quietly said her feet was hurting, so Nick did the only reasonable thing.
“Would you like to climb on my back?” He asked, and after a bit of thinking Emma gave a shy nod. So he kneeled down and waited until she was securely sitting on his neck before standing up. “Alright, hold tight!” He said and fastening his steps, he caught up with the rest of the group.
The rest of the journey was spent getting soaked in rainwater. They weren’t too far away from home, but it was enough for the storm to completely catch up to them, and by the time they arrived it looked like everyone got pushed clothed up into a pool.
The house was empty. Almost everyone was on the fields helping in with the harvest, and considering how big of a storm just arrived out of the thin air, they most likely took shelter in one of the closer houses. The mud would stop any car in the middle of the road and walking isn’t really an option either. Not impossible but it’s not exactly a dream thing to. That’s why they have a few houses on the outer part of the fields too.
“Okay everyone to the bathrooms! Shower or bath, and new clothes!” Judy yelled, while trying to twist the excess water out her ears outside.
“But we showered yesterday!” One of the kids exclaimed, not realizing the growing mud pool under himself.
“Oh yeah?” Judy smiled. “I suppose you will clean up the house then. Look at your feet!”
“Oh…” The kid looked where Judy pointed and looking back at his big sister, he gave an innocent grin. “Hehe…”
“Bathroom. Fresh clothes. Go.” Judy said, and the kid finally started running towards one of the bathrooms while drawing a long muddy line and laughing with 3 of his siblings.
Meanwhile Nick arrived too with his passenger, and carefully placed her down. However, before he could stand back up he got a watery hug.
“Thank you!” Emma said. Now she wasn’t as distant as before, and her frown was nowhere to be seen either. She truly saw through the ‘Fox curse’
“Any time, princess.” He hugged her back.
However they weren’t alone. 4 kids gathered around them asking. ‘Can I climb on your back?’ ‘Yeah me too!’ ‘I want to go too.’
“Guys what did I say?” Judy yelled, “Go shower, Now! Besides, leave Nick a bit of breathing room!”
“Ahwwwww…” All 4 kits groaned in unison.
“Hey! Tell you what?” Nick grinned. “If you listen to your big sis, I will let you climb on my back. Deal?”
All 4 kits' eyes lit up like Christmas tree, and excitedly looking at each other, they started running towards the bathrooms while shouting ‘Uncle Nick lets us climb on his back! WOOOO!’
“You know you’ll probably have to carry everyone around now, right?” Judy asked with a smile as the cacophony slowly died down and got concentrated on one segment of the house. Muffled playful screams still could be heard, but it wasn’t as ear shattering as before.
Nick shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m just happy to be the cool Uncle Nick… You know what? I will be the coolest uncle they have had so far! How does that sound?”
“Sounds great! But don’t complain if your back hurts like hell during the next shift!”
“Officer hopps I solemnly swear I will keep my complaints to myself during work hours! Besides, it will totally be worth it!”
“We’ll see about that.” Judy chuckled to herself, as he kissed the fox. “You should take a quick shower too. You smell like Wolfard after chasing that criminal through Rainforest District...”
“Oof yeah I better get going then… Fancy joining me?” Nick asked with a wink. “Just to preserve water of course!”
“Maybe next time Slick!” Judy laughed, then thinking a bit, with one last kiss she quietly added “Definitely next time.”
With that, Nick finally decided to head towards the ‘guest’ bathroom and after making sure nobody was using it he locked the door on himself. The shower was refreshing after getting soaked by the storm. He could have stood under the running water for hours but he resisted the temptation and cut the water immediately after he was done. He dried himself, dressed up into the clothes he brought with himself for this little trip and was ready to head back. Arriving back, he saw that Judy was still sitting next to the door, while talking on the phone.
“Yes, everyone arrived home safely… Yes. We did count everyone! Mom… I already told you. It’s fine. Everyone’s fine!” Judy claimed. Meanwhile the storm became even more fierce than before. No wonder her mother called her to make sure everyone arrived home safely. That was some real Rainforest district raincloud spillover. “Did you manage to go inside before the storm hit? Okay. Okay good to hear. Okay. Yes we got a bit wet, but I already sent everyone to shower... I will do that. Yes. I’ll try to make something for dinner too… No… mom… that was years ago! I won’t burn anything! Yes… Love you too. See you tomorrow!”
She hung up, and spotting Nick she stood up. “Ah about time. I suppose it’s my turn to shower. Will you be fine? If my siblings are too much, just tell them to stop, okay?”
“Sure. But it’s all right, I can take it. Oh and… do you want me to make dinner?”
“If I’m correct you are expected in the living room to be a mount. Besides, I can cook! Mom acts like I can’t…”
“Well she is right about…” Nick started but spotting Judy’s ‘consider your next words very carefully’ stare he decided to end this sentence differently “...about a lot of things but not that!”
“Clever save!” She nodded and walked past the fox. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just holler if you need anything, alright?”
“As much as I’d love to see you running out in nothing but a towel, I’ll try not to abuse this power. Take your time, really.”
“See you in a bit, Slick! I’ll be quick.” finally she disappeared from sight
“Okay. It’s just a few kids. How hard it could be?” He muttered to himself and opened into the living room where most of the kids were. Some watched a cartoon about a purple raccoon and a colorful macaw on the tv, some were playing, and one in the corner was reading a book... Emma… Yep, that's one name I won’t forget easily. Of course he didn’t really have time to look at the whole room, as two kids immediately rushed to him. Asking if he had time now to carry them around. Promises must be kept so he complied and honestly, it went great for a while. The kids took turns, nobody felt left out, things started going downhill once another kid playfully hit his legs with a wooden sword, testing the waters. Nothing malicious, just one small hit.
Meanwhile Judy took her time. She obviously wasn’t too worried anything bad would happen, most of her siblings would be stuck on the couch in front of the tv anyway so Nick would need to watch out for 8 of her siblings at best. After shower she mopped up all the dirt they inevitably brought in with themselves and listened to the playful shouts coming from the living room. She was almost done with the mopping up when she heard some ‘No, Owww wai… Ahhhh! Stop that! Woaaaah!’ Followed by a thud.
Judy didn’t think twice to just throw away what she was doing and rush inside the living room. It was a bit of chaos. Some kids were on Nick, some pulling one of his arms, some pulling on his tail, while some trying to stop their siblings from hurting the fox who was lying on the ground.
Nick helplessly stared into Judy’s eyes and mouthed a silent ‘Help’.
Despite how funny the situation looked, Judy managed to keep a strict face. And order everyone to calm down. “Okay everyone! Stop beating poor Nick! Tyler! To your room! Timmy! No! Hey! Emily! Don’t hit your brother! No! Shoo!”
Emily gave one more killing look towards her brother, hugged Nick, then angrily stormed back to her book. It’s uncertain if she started reading or just stared at the pages angrily.
Finally free from his binds, Nick managed to sit up and petting his tail he grimaced. He definitely didn’t enjoy that little tug of war with his tail being the rope.
-------
“Are you okay?” Judy asked her partner when finally things settled down. She decided to get Nick’s help with the dinner, to get him away from her siblings for a while. He definitely deserved some time away after that experience. “How’s your tail?
“Been worse…” He shrugged while chopping the tomatoes for the salad. ”Still a bit numb, but don’t worry, I’ll survive. Thanks for stepping in. For a second I thought I would be sacrificed for the rabbit gods.”
“Yeah… But I mean… How did this happen?” Judy asked, swooping the bell peppers she chopped up into the bowl. “You kinda had everyone pulled into the fight… Even Emma! I’ve never seen HER join any fights her brothers had!”
“Well… I carried around… One of your brothers on my back, still no clue about names, and then one of your other brothers hit my leg with a wooden sword. It wasn’t hard, he was just playing, and I was like ‘Will you let your steed get beaten up just like that?’ He guided me to another wooden sword, he picked it up, they were play pretend fighting, yada yada yada nothing too harsh… However after a while a few more kids joined the fight, it started to get out of paws and I tried to intervene. They targeted me, I tried to playfully end things, which… pulled in more fighters, thinking how fun it is. Watching me getting hit pulled in even more kids, trying to protect me, and it was pretty much a downward spiral from there. Just picture a bar fight, except instead of drunk mammals it was your siblings…”
“Oof. Yeah you need to be more strict, if you want something to get through a hyperactive kid’s brain. Take Timmy for example. Once he is in momentum good luck stopping him! Or Michael… Gods Michael is a hard case. I remember him at 6 years old constantly searching for trouble and it only got worse! You need to show you can’t be messed with! Kinda like being an officer… If only you had experience in that.”
“Yeah if only… Yep… I ah… I won’t forget this lesson easily. That’s for sure! Wait hold up… Carrots?”
“Hmm? Yes?”
“No, not you carrots… the vegetable you cut carrots. I didn’t know this salad needed them.”
“Well…” Judy shrugged. “It’s technically not in the recipe, but I like to add it as it gives a bit more flavor.” Noticing Nick’s half raised eyebrow and unsure grimace she rolled her eyes. “C’mon… It’s just a bit of carrot. It won’t hurt!”
“Yeah… I mean… If I search hard enough I may still find some leftover crumbs in my bag so… Yeah sure, add all the carrots you want, I have plan b for dinner!”
“What do you have against carrots?”
“Against you? Nothing. Against the disgusting orange vegetables? I’ll leave those for rabbits, thank you very much!”
Judy gave a heavy sigh and placed the carrots aside. “Okay. I’ll add the carrots last and we’ll get you a ration without those. Crybaby!” She taunted Nick.
“Hey I stopped making fish for myself while you are home, because you complained about the smell! You can’t ridicule me because of the carrot! HA!”
“Alright, alright… That's fair.” She gave in.
Dinner went by fast. The enormous amount of salad they made, have surprisingly disappeared, during the course of the meal. Big family things, I guess. Nick thought to himself. After a bit of boardgaming it was already past bedtime for most kids, and while Judy tucked everyone to bed, he finally had time to catch up on all the missed messages. Jackson asking if he could swap shifts with him next friday, Fangmeyer in the ‘Buffalo Gang’ group chat sharing photos of her kits and Finnick being… Finnick.
It wasn’t until after 9 o'clock when he heard soft footsteps approaching
“Uncle Nick?” a sleepy voice squeaked.
Turning around he saw Emma in her pajamas, hugging a bird plush. “Yes princess?”
“I can’t sleep.” The tired and straightforward answer came, as she hopped on the couch.
“Well we can’t have that! How can I help?”
“When I can’t sleep, dad usually makes me tea, and tells a story about when he was a kid. Can you tell a story?”
“Of course! One tea, and a story coming right up! Wait here!” Nick said and after pocketing his phone, he left towards the kitchen. He had to search a bit, but he finally found the tea packets in one of the cabinets. As he put the water on the stove, he started thinking about any story about his childhood. One immediately popped up, which… Wasn't exactly a bedtime story and still a bit hard to talk about. So no ranger scouts… The more he thought the more he realized how he lacked truly happy moments, and whatever he had, were more bittersweet ones, still not something worthy of a bedtime story. In the end he settled on one particular happy moment. I can leave out the circumstances for that moment…
When the water boiled, he poured it into a cup, placed the tea pack inside, flavored it with a tiny bit of lime and sugar, and headed back to the living room. When he arrived, the kit was still laying on the couch. Eyes flat, yet still open.
“Here you go. Careful, it’s hot.” Nick calmly said, as he settled down next to Emma. “So… a story. Have you ever been to Tundratown? No? Well. You need to know two things about it. It’s cold and there is a lot of snow. One time me and my mom visited a friend there. I was 10? 11? Maybe? We were there for a while and I didn’t really like it at first. I was freezing outside, and it was hard to get anywhere because of the huge snow. I was staying inside most of the time and only left when it was absolutely necessary. However there was another kid too, who wasn’t really bothered by the cold. She was constantly nagging me to go outside to play snowball wars with her, and one time I agreed but only if she stopped nagging me after.
And… Well… I had the best time of my life. We built fortresses, made snowballs for ammunition, made rules for the fight! I had fun! We were out there the whole afternoon! I was technically an icicle by the time we decided to go inside. My mittens got soaked too, and I didn’t feel my paws but I wasn’t bothered. It was the most fun I had in… forever. We both jumped on the couch and buried ourselves under layers of blankets to warm up, and the best part, my mom made us hot chocolate with little marshmallows to warm us up. It was delicious. I can still remember its sweetness on my tongue. It was the perfect day.”
Finishing his monologue, he realized the little bunny wasn’t listening anymore. Her steady breathing and limp ears signaled she was already fast asleep.
Nick gave a smile and carefully picked up the sleeping kit, planning to take her to her bed even if he had no idea where her room was. The moment he stood up, he saw that Judy was standing in the living room door with a smile.
“Come on, I’ll show you where her room is.” Judy whispered and signaled with her head to lead the way.
The room was in a hall alongside several other ones. Technically it was like a smaller hotel… This house is huge… The room Judy opened in, had 8 beds with 7 kids already sleeping on their respective beds and one empty bed. Nick carefully put Emma down, who sleepily opened her eyes for a split second, her nose twitched twice, but then went back to sleep. “Goodnight.” Nick whispered and walked out of the room.
“She couldn’t sleep?” Judy asked, spotting her partner.
“Yeah. She said her dad makes some tea and tells some childhood stories, so… I tried my best!”
“Was that story true?” Judy asked.
“Yes. Or… Well… We technically didn’t just go there to visit. We got evicted with a 1 week notice so mum had to find someone to stay with, until she found a new home. But Emma didn’t need to know that.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. Wait 1 week? That’s so scummy! And hardly legal!”
Nick shrugged. “It most definitely was illegal. But we got accepted by a friend’s friend’s friend. So it was all good in the end.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this story yet? Or about your childhood friend?”
“You didn’t ask me for a bedtime childhood story! Obviously! And the reason I didn’t talk about her is because… I didn’t want to. I’m sure she is still angry at me.” Nick gave a nervous chuckle tapping the back of his neck. “Remember… with a bit of exaggeration… making 200 bucks a day since I was 12… You pretty much know the whole story except… Once we were 16, she got dragged into my scams. She got busted, I escaped… After that… Our friendship kinda went down the drain. So yeah. That friendship is something I’m not too proud to talk about since… I was the whole reason it ended. I messed up so many relationships in the past it’s not even funny.”
“Why not visit her? You are not the mammal you were! Maybe she forgave you a long time ago!” Judy came up with the idea, trying to cheer up Nick who just gave a painful grimace.
“Look… I definitely will. I just need a bit more time. This whole ‘turning my life around' thing is still a bit recent for me. And I appreciate what you did with my mom, getting her to come to my police academy graduation. But I can’t rely on you fixing all past relationships for me. I have to do that myself.”
“I understand.” Judy gave a reassuring smile and opened inside their shared room. “All with time. But promise me you’ll introduce me if you manage to fix things between you two.”
“Oh trust me you will be the first mammal to know about it.”
“Wanna watch a Crimefinders episode?” Judy asked, ready to move on from the topic.
“You’ve read my mind!”
It was Nick who found this series a while ago, and it became a favorite of both of them. The premise was basically about two rival private detectives trying to solve a murder case. They both gathered information, but they knew different pieces of the puzzle and the whole picture became clear when at the end of the first season they shared what they knew, and managed to figure out the timeline in the correct order.
Surprisingly even Judy didn’t find out the solution 2 episodes in, like with most crime series so they decided to give it a try and they became huge fans of the show.
“You would be a great dad.” Judy says out of the blue while snuggled up to Nick.
The fox, knowing Judy very well, and knowing she said this with a reason, stopped the episode “And you would be a strict but great mom.” Nick says without hesitation.
“Strict?” Judy asked.
“Yeah! But it's alright because someone has to be the strict one! This way our kid can come up to me, they ask if they can do something, and I can just say ‘Ask your mother’” Receiving no answer, he turned to Judy who seemed to be deep in thought. “Is everything alright, Carrots?”
“Hmm? Yeah… Yeah it’s just… You didn’t really answer back at the playground if you wanted kits… Because you know maybe one day you realize that’s something you always wanted and then…”
“Hey hey hey! Carrots. I’m not sure if you didn’t hear me, which would be weird considering those huge ears but In case you missed it I’ll tell you again. I love you. And nothing can change that you hear me? Plus… We can always… Adopt. It’s always so tough to see kids getting orphaned… abandoned… We could try to give at least one a somewhat regular life. I… I mean obviously not right now, but… When both of us are… ready?”
“Yeah… Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.” She seemed to ease up a bit.
“See? It’s all right! But… Please be the strict one between the two of us… I want to be the cool dad!”
Judy finally gave a weak chuckle. “Sure. I’ll take the fun ruiner role, while you can stay the fun dad.”
“I knew I could count on you!”