The door he opens without a creak.
Inside he looks, takes just a peek.
Everything is dark and quiet.
Truly, 'tis a silent night.
It steps inside, on careful paws,
the mammal we call Santa Claws.
Places beneath the Christmas tree,
A little story, just for thee.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Carrots?" the red fox asked for the umpteenth time.

"Nick, I promise you my parents don't own any torches," the grey bunny doe sitting next to him replied, shaking her head in amusement.
"And all the pitchforks are stored in the barn, far enough away that you could escape long before they can get them," she added in jest after a moment.

"But they know that we are coming. By the time we arrive, everything might already be prepared for a good old-fashioned fox hunt," he kept pressing on.

With a slightly annoyed sigh, the bunny briefly closed her eyes.

"They know that we are coming because they have been the ones who invited you and your mom to celebrate Christmas with us in Bunnyburrow. It will be f-fi~ne."
Her last word was prolonged by a huge yawn, causing her buckteeth to show and forcing a smile on the reynard's face.

She's so cute when she does this, he thought.

Of course, he would never say it out loud. He didn't have a death wish after all.

"Why don't you try to get some shut-eye, Fluff? I'll wake you up when we reach the station."

Her eyelids already dropping, Judy nodded in agreement.

The doe tipped up the armrest between them, and sidled closer to the tod, snuggling up against his side.
Nick laid his arm around her and after a moment covered her with his tail as well, barely leaving her feet and head to poke out of the mass of red fur.

With a content sigh, the bunny fell asleep almost instantly; only a whispered "Thanks" left her small muzzle, her lips curled into the faintest smile.

Nick could feel the gaze of his mother, who was sitting across from them in the train's compartment they occupied.
Looking up from the grey female, he saw the amused teasing twinkle in the green eyes that looked so much like his own.

After Judy had met Mrs. Wilde for the first time, she had told Nick that he had the same gleam in his eyes whenever he was bantering with her.

Giving his mom a shrug and a lopsided grin that could have meant anything or nothing at all, Nick averted his eyes and stared out the window.
He felt the inside of his ears burning at the knowing expression he had glimpsed on the vixen's face.

The landscape flew by concealed by the darkness outside the train that the fox's gaze couldn't penetrate. His night vision was useless with the lights inside the Rabbit Transit turned on.

Not that it really mattered.

Endless rows of trees and expanses of vast snow-covered fields meant not much to him at the moment since his thoughts were occupied by a certain lagomorph.

There was a reason the tod was so nervous to celebrate with the whole Hopps family.
His mind wandered to his bag in the overhead rack and its contents.

Nick had invited Judy to celebrate Christmas with him and his mom, but she had turned him down with an apologetic look, telling him that she would visit her family.
Though, her parents had told her it would be alright for him to come, too.

As happy as that had made the tod, he couldn't just abandon his mom.
Of course, Judy had understood this, but she had looked downtrodden nevertheless, her expression a reflection of the fox's.

That is until her eyes had lit up and she had fished her phone out of her pocket, swiping away at the screen.

When Nick had asked her what she was doing, she had shushed him and greeted the mammal at the other end of the line which the tod had realized was her mom.
It hadn't taken a minute and not only Nick, but Vivian Wilde as well was invited out to Bunnyburrow.

While his mom was excited to visit the countryside and meet Judy's family, it left Nick in a pinch.
At the Hopps warren it was custom - or so Judy had told him - that all presents were opened at the same time while the whole family was gathered in the big dining hall, which was the only room where they all would fit in at the same time, given that it was cleared from all the tables and benches.

So everyone would see what he was giving her.

And everyone would hear what he meant to tell her.

Pitchforks and torches. Or forks and candles if they have nothing else. I just know it.

His gaze drifted from the window back to the sleeping doe.

Depending on her answer it might still be worth it… or it will be an utter disaster. Oh, woe me, the tod thought with a hint of gallows humor.

Judy shifted in her sleep, snuggling a little closer to him.
When the fox caressed her arm with a thumb, a content, little huff escaped her, causing Nick to smile.

Judy really deserved to get some rest after the day they had had.

While being on break, the bunny had offered to get the both of them something to eat.
Only minutes later she had called in a purse snatcher over the radio, stating that the perp was fleeing by bicycle and that she was in pursuit.

Nick had tried to follow them by car, but at one point the road had been blocked because of a traffic accident, making it impossible for him to go on.
He had left the vehicle and chased his partner and her quarry by foot, knowing that the distance between them was already fairly big.

To his great marvel, Judy had kept up with the thief, herding him back in her partner's direction.
After half an hour they had finally gotten the perp cornered in a dead end.

Her energy was something that never ceased to amaze Nick.

And it was one of the reasons he was madly in love with the bunny.

Another one - he mused - was that she was entirely unafraid of him and trusted him without a second thought. The way she was cuddling with him, a predator, was evidence enough.

Oh, she had been embarrassed at first, when she had fallen asleep during one of their regular movie nights at his place.
When she had woken up, she had found herself in a similar position as she was currently in, nestled into the fox's side and clutching his tail to her chest like it was a big, soft plush toy. She had apologized to him.
Profoundly.
But Nick had just told her it was okay.

A brief moment of awkward silence had settled in before the doe, still visibly flustered, had admitted that it had felt nice. He was so fluffy and warm.
Without hesitating, the tod had put his arm around her, pulling her close again and a second later Judy had relaxed and leaned against him.

It had become a habit for them to cuddle up like this for every movie night after that one.

Looking up from the sleeping, gray bunny, the reynard caught his mom gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. The same knowing gaze as before.

The fact that she was with them was also thanks to Judy.
Without the doe, Nick was convinced he would have never mustered the courage to reach out to his estranged mother, trying to repair the bond he had damaged and apologizing to the female he had hurt so much in the past.
But there she was, right in front of him, smiling, teasing him on occasion... shedding tears when he had reappeared at her doorstep after almost fifteen years.

He felt the familiar warmth in his chest when he pondered how everything that was good in his life was centered around and connected to Judy.

About an hour later, the announcement that they approached Bunnyburrow Station drew Nick back from his thoughts and caused him to turn his head towards the window once more.

As the rabbit-shaped station building came into view, the fox couldn't help the chuckle that left his muzzle. "You gotta be kidding me."

Roused by the tod's words, Judy lifted her head from where it had rested against his side.
"Whas th'madder? Something habbnd?"

Her slurred questions caused Nick's chuckle to turn into an amused snort before he was able to answer. "Yeah, I just saw a giant bunny looking at us from the snowy depths of the night. Nothing interesting."

If he were able to reach his phone, he would snap a picture of the bewildered look on the still only half awake rabbit's face. But the device was burrowed in his pants pocket, trapped between their hips.

Judy slowly leaned forward to look past the fox and out of the window. When she spotted the building, she hid her face in both paws, groaning in fake despair at the vulpine's pun.

The doe's head jerked up as a realization hit her.
"That means we're there."
A broad smile appeared on her face, and as soon as the train started to slow down, Judy was out of her seat, almost dragging the fox along.
"Come on Nick, hurry! We are here! Move it!"

He shook his head with a fond expression before gently pulling the doe back.
"It seems somebunny is well rested now. But don't forget our luggage, Carrots."

Putting her arms behind her back, Judy slightly leaned forward and peered up at her foxy companion, shooting him an apologetic grin.

That gave him the perfect opportunity to admire the way she looked.

Simple blue jeans were emphasizing the doe's strong, slender legs and round hips.
And the salmon-colored, hand-knit sweater with its vertical cabled pattern that her mom had sent her last year was nothing too fancy but complimented her figure quite well, accentuating her small waist and making her already stunning purple eyes seem a little darker and more mysterious.

Beautiful bunny, he thought with longing, praying once again that his surprise would go well and that he wouldn't be chased out of Bunnyburrow by an angry mob of lagomorphs.

"Nick, are you listening to me?"
And now the beautiful bunny was looking at him with annoyance in her dark, mysterious eyes.
Her arms crossed in front of her chest, Judy waited for the reynard's answer, her foot thumping away at a mile per hour and her ears irritatedly standing up.

"You said that you are sorry and that you were only acting like an overcharged energizer bunny because last year we had to work with no time off around Christmas."

With a satisfied smirk, Nick watched as the bunny's expression morphed into one of surprise.

Don't mess with a former street hustler, Sweetheart.

Though her foot slowed down, it wasn't standing still just yet.

"Okay, first of all, don't mention that stupid commercial. And secondly: if you listened to me, what were you spacing out for, then?"

Nick knew she wouldn't just give up that easily.

Throw her a bone... uh... carrot then?

His grin grew a little wider.

"I was completely captivated by a certain lovely lagomorph is all."
He added a wink for good measure.

Like a magic trick, it stopped the continued assault on the train's floor and set the insides of Judy's ears on fire, causing the tod's heart to skip a beat at her reaction.

"I think you two should postpone your little banter until we got off the train," Vivian Wilde's voice broke through the sudden silence that had set in after Nick's unexpected comment.

Realizing that they had finally come to a halt, he hurried to retrieve his and Judy's belongings from the overhead rack.
The three mammals swiftly stepped out onto the platform right when the doors closed behind them. Nick was convinced he had lost some fur from the tip of his tail there.

The air in Bunnyburrow was crisp, and the spit of snow that fell softly from the dark sky was carrying some additional cold with it.

Setting their two small bags down - they had only one day off and therefore hadn't brought much with them - he handed Judy her parka before putting on his own.

While the doe was still fighting with her rebellious zipper, mumbling not-actual-curses under her breath, Nick unceremoniously placed the bunny's beanie on her head, pulling it down over her eyes. With an outcry, Judy blindly swatted away at the fox's paws.

Pulling the headdress up with an annoyed huff, she found that the tod had kneeled down in front of her, holding her scarf in both paws.
Reaching forward and behind her head, Nick wrapped it deftly around her neck, making sure to cover the bunny's ears as well and not tying it up too tightly.

Judy - unable to be angry at the fox now - gave him a small smile.
"Thank you, Nick."

Returning the smile, he pulled up the zipper on her parka.
"You are welcome, Carrots. I can't let my favorite bunny catch a cold out here in the middle of Podunk now, can I?"

That earned him a soft punch to the shoulder and a chuckle.
"Believe me, Podunk would feel much worse to a city slicker like you."

Being that close to her, Nick was almost sure he saw the doe's cheeks flushing under her fur.

Silence settled in between them, and Nick couldn't help but stare deeply into the doe's amethyst eyes.

He could never get enough of them.

How they lit up when Judy was happy.
How she rolled them when he was telling her one of his silly jokes.
How fondly they considered him right now.
How big they appeared to be when he was so close.
...when did he get close enough that they took up almost his whole field of vision?

"There you are!"

Both mammals jerked away from each other at the sudden call.

The tod felt his heart beating violently in his chest while he stood to his full height, turning around to see where the voice had come from.

Through the veil of snow and night, he saw another bunny approaching them.
Occasionally the light from the station's lamps illuminated her when she passed beneath them, showing a white-furred bunny doe whose ear-tips and area around her nose looked like they had been dipped in milk chocolate.

"A sister of yours, Fluff?" Nick asked from the corner of his mouth, glancing at the rabbit beside him.

"Mhm, that's Mellida. I guess she came to pick us up."
A wide grin appeared on her muzzle at the sight of her sibling, though her eyes kept flicking back towards the reynard standing at her side, her nose twitching slowly.

Something in the look she gave him made his fur tingle, and he inwardly cursed Judy's sister for her untimely entrance.

When Mellida was close enough, Judy hugged her sister with a smile.
"It's so good to see you, Jude. We've all missed you last year."

Letting go, Judy gave her an apologetic look.
"I've missed you guys, too. I'm sorry that I couldn't come home last Christmas, but the city was going a little crazy at that time. None of us got time off back then."

Mellida just shrugged it off.
"You are here now, that's what matters. And you brought guests."
With that, the white doe stepped towards Nick and his mother who had waited a little behind the two bunnies.

Just a little over one and a half year ago, no member of her family would get so close to a predator without showing at least some concern.
That's the reason Judy felt so proud and grateful towards her sister who wore an honest smile and approached the two foxes without fear.

"So, you must be the famous Nick Wilde my sister can't stop talking about."
She offered a paw that Nick took gently into his, impressed and warmed by how the doe seemed to be entirely unfazed by the fact he was a fox.

"It's not like I'm talking about him all the time. You are exaggerating."

Judy's mumbled protest brought a grin to her siblings face.
"Right. Of course. It's just that whenever we are chatting with each other or I hear you talking to mom and dad via muzzle time you almost always say things like: 'Nick said this', 'Nick did that', 'you should have seen the expression on Nick's face', 'I'm going to meet Nick later', 'I'm at Nick's place right now', 'Nick's tail looks just so fluffy, I-gmph.'"

Sadly, the tod in question never got to hear what Judy had to say about his tail since the gray doe quickly put a paw over her sister's muzzle to cut her off.

"Yep, that would be me," Nick interjected, wearing a smirk that to Judy spoke volumes about the teasing, ribbing and probing she had to expect in the near future, making her groan inwardly... and outwardly.

"And that," he moved his tail forward and upward, so its tip was at eye level with Mellida, "is the fluffy appendage that Judy apparently mentioned occasionally."

With that he let it tilt forward slightly, making it look like his tail was bowing to the doe.
A motion Judy didn't capture since she had pulled her beanie down as if she wanted to try and hide inside.

The white-furred bunny couldn't help but laugh at the tod's antics.

"Why, aren't you a fluffy little gentlemammal?" she addressed Nick's tail, reaching forward like she wanted to pet it.

Just in time, the fox moved it away, bringing it out of reach.
"I'm sorry, but we foxes aren't very fond of other mammals touching our tail."

The words had left his muzzle before he had thought about it.
Too late he realized that Judy was still standing next to him and even without looking at her directly he saw how her ears twitched in the confinements of her clothes.

He mentally chided himself an idiot and knew he had to run some damage control come the next chance to talk with the doe alone.

Mellida instantly pulled back her paw with an apologetic look.
"No, no. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

"It's fine. You couldn't know. But talking about rude..."
The reynard turned towards his mom, ears flattening against his skull.

The vixen just shrugged it off, though, and offered her paw to the young bunny.

"Welcome to Bunnyburrow, Mrs. Wilde."
The doe looked about as embarrassed for forgetting the second red fox as Nick did but tried her hardest to make up for it with the brightest, most inviting smile she could muster.

"Don't worry about it, Dear. At least all of this had been quite entertaining."
She spared a quick glance towards her son, who spotted the traces of a teasing smirk around the corners of her lips.

Great, have I really been that obvious? I guess I'm losing my fine edge as a conmammal if others can look right through me like this. I guess I could blame it on a mother's intuition?
Or I just blame it on Carrots.
Yeah, that sounds good. It's all the fault of this unbearably overenthusiastic, sickeningly empathetic, incredibly beautiful, heartwarmingly compassionate... where did I want to go with this again?

Shaking himself from his absentminded state, he snuck a peek at Judy, observing how the grey doe tried her hardest to contain a giggle.
Following her gaze, Nick watched a flustered Mellida arguing with his mom, who obviously was about to convince the white-furred bunny to call her by her given name.

"I just don't want to be rude again, Mrs. Wilde. I already almost offended your son."

"Nonsense, Sweetie. He wasn't offended in the slightest, right Nicky?"

It was apparent that the vixen greatly enjoyed herself and Nick almost felt sorry for Mellida, who surprisingly seemed to be quite a worrywart. Almost.

"That is correct," the tod agreed, unable to keep the smirk entirely off his face.
It grew only wider when an amused snort from next to him reached his ears.

"See? Also, if you are afraid of being rude: calling me 'Mrs. Wilde' makes me feel old.
So you would basically be calling me old by continuing to address me this way.
'Vivian' sounds a lot nicer and would be less... offending, don't you agree?"

While her sister struggled with herself, Judy leaned closer towards Nick, whispering just loud enough so he could hear it: "I can see now where you got that teasing side of yours from.
I bet your mom could make Chief Bogo go haywire in less than a day."

"Fluff, I could make ol' Buffalo Butt go haywire in less than a day.
The difference is that my mom wouldn't have to fear his wrath, while I on the other paw might get parking duty in the coldest part of Tundratown until I'm nothing more than a frozen fox-pawsicle."

That mental image caused Judy to burst into another fit of giggles that made her whole body shake.

It was only stopped by the sound of two paws clapping together once, and Vivian - who had finally convinced Mellida - exclaiming victoriously: "Wonderful! Now that we got this out of the way, why don't we leave this platform? I start to feel cold."

Sure enough, the wind had picked up, and the snowfall had thickened since their arrival, forcing the temperature to fall yet lower.

Looking closer at the grey doe next to him, Nick realized that she hadn't just been shaking from laughter, but that she was actually shivering by now.

"Sounds good to me. Let's go then."
With that, he picked up his and Judy's bag and held his paw out to take his mothers as well.

When she handed it over, the tod let his eyes quickly flicker towards Mellida and raised one eyebrow by a fraction.
Catching on, Vivian gave a small smile and nod and thanked Nick for taking her bag.

"Can we go now, please?" Judy asked, almost jogging on the spot to warm herself up a little.

"You two go ahead. I wanted to talk to your sister here for a second if that's okay with you?" The last part of the vixen's question was directed at the white-furred doe, who looked surprised by the request but nodded nevertheless.

She threw her sister the key for the car and watched her and the tod walking towards the parking lot which was located behind the station building.

Vivian had already come up with a plan to occupy the bunny for a couple of minutes so that her son could talk in private to Judy.
She had a vague idea what it was about but decided on confirming it later, after they had returned to Zootopia the next day.
She would have plenty of time to probe him then.

But for now...

Her attention shifted to the white doe who was still looking in the direction the other two mammals had vanished in.

The vixen opened her muzzle...

"Have I done something wrong?"

... and closed it again.

After a couple of seconds had passed without the lagomorph speaking again, Vivian asked: "Why are you asking, Dear?"

"Judy seemed like she wasn't all too happy when I showed up. She tried to hide it, but I could sense that something was off."

This little bunny is sharp, Vivian thought.
Maybe it just runs in the family.

With a sigh, Mellida shifted her gaze towards the red fox.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about Mrs. ... Vivian?"

The vixen smiled and pondered her answer for a moment before she decided to follow her intuition instead of lying to the bunny.
She started walking at a slow pace, indicating her to follow.

"I actually had nothing I wanted to talk to you about, but those two need a moment to speak without anyone listening in."

"And to answer your first question," Vivian said despite Mellida trying to get a word in at that statement, "you didn't do anything wrong. Your timing was just bad. They had such a sweet moment going on."

"Wait, what are you trying to tell me? Are they dating?"

The vixen simply shook her head in denial.

"Not yet. But it's obvious there is something between them. From what you have said before, you have felt it as well, right?"

The doe contemplated her words for a moment, while they slowly approached the parking lot.

"It's true that they are very close from what Judy had told me. But they are... well, you know?"

"Different species?" Vivian provided.

Mellida nodded in reply.

"And? Does it bother you?" the vixen gently pressed on.

The bunny stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded by the question.

Giving it some thought, the answer she arrived at surprised her.
"No. To be honest, I had already thought that it was such a shame that your son wasn't a buck since it felt like Judy and he would have really hit it off. But I guess, if they feel that way about each other, it doesn't matter what species they are."

Vivian had felt a little nervous about telling the doe so much, but her intuition had been right, it seemed.
She offered the white-furred bunny a smile. "I'm glad you think so, too."

Mellida shrugged and smiled as well.
"As long as Jude is happy, that's what matters. So, what was that about a private talk they needed to have?"

The vixen couldn't stop the grin that appeared on her muzzle when an idea struck her.
"I have a rough idea... I know I said they should talk without anybody listening in but what they don't know... how good are your ears?"

Judy had turned on the heater and sat down next to Nick in the back of her parents old Mercury Mewstic, waiting for the air inside the car to warm up.

The reynard had been surprised when he hadn't spotted the blue pick-up truck Judy had used to drive back from Bunnyburrow to Zootopia during the Nighthowler Case.
The doe had explained to him that her family owned a couple of different vehicles.
Four mammals on the tiny truck would be too many, and one of the busses they used to drive around the whole family would be a little overkill.

The image of multiple busses filled with bunnies who all belonged to the Hopps family rendered even him speechless.

Seeing how the bunny doe next to him was still shivering, the tod sidled closer, opened up his jacket and pulled her to his side, sharing his warmth with her; something the doe accepted with a content hum.

When he curled his tail around her, though, he felt her tense up.

After a moment, Judy leaned away from the fox's side.

"I'm so sorry Nick," she said with downcasted eyes and Nick was convinced that her ears would be all droopy if not for the fact that they were still trapped inside her scarf and parka.

"I would ask you what you are apologizing for, but I saw how you reacted when I told your sister we foxes don't like it when other mammals touch our tails. So I'll tell you now: it's nothing to worry about or apologize for, Fluff."

"How can you say that?" the doe asked in an agitated voice that was slowly rising in volume.

"I did that to you out of ignorance. I didn't even spare one thought about the fact that you might feel uncomfortable about it.
Just because I liked it and because you are too nice to tell me off, I..."

"Judy!"

The use of her real name stopped her rambling that could have almost been called shouting at that point.
She looked at him with big, wet eyes that were close to spilling tears.

"Listen to me, now! Did I say that we dislike it in general? Yes, yes I did. Did I say there is no chance I could ever like it? No, no I didn't say that. Usually, the only ones we would let touch our tails are family members or mammals that are very close and precious to us. You might not be family, but, Carrots, you are definitely one of the most precious and most important mammals in my life."

The fox wiped the few, stray tears away that had started to make their way down Judy's cheeks before he continued.

"Also - and I swear if you ever tell anybody I said that I will deny that I ever knew a bunny named Judy Hopps - I... well, you see... I... liked it w-when youcaressedmytailwithyourtinybluntclaws."

Gah, curse that emotional stuff! I'm really not used to that.

He felt his ears heating up and folded them back against his head to hide the rising blush.

But it had the effect he had hoped for.

A broad smile appeared on the bunny's face. One of those typical, bright, bucktooth-showing Judy Hopps smiles that was always able to raise his spirits and alleviate his sorrows.

Wiping the remaining moisture from her eyes, the doe leaned back against the fox and, after a moment, pulled his tail into her lap and started petting it.

"Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you say that again? About how you like it when I do this?"

"Absolutely not. Especially since I have no idea what you might be talking about."

Judy's paw stopped mid-motion, causing the tod almost to whine.
Though when her paw reached inside one of her parka's pockets, all kind of alarms went off inside his head.
As soon as his own voice - slightly distorted and muffled - reached his ears, 'almost' wasn't an option anymore and his whining filled the car, making the doe smirk victoriously.

"I should have known better than saying that without checking your paws and pockets first," Nick admonished himself.

"Yes, you should have done that, dumb fox," Judy teased, her voice laden with mirth.

"But I guess I know how to cheer you up."

With that, she reached behind her as far as she could, placing a paw dangerously close to the base of the tod's tail and almost causing him to let loose a startled yip.

When she slowly dragged her claws along his tail towards its tip - carefully so as not to pull his fur - it was all Nick could do to keep the shiver that wanted to run up and down his spine from showing.

He couldn't stop himself from purring, though, and the deep, content rumbling coming from his chest filled the inside of the vehicle.

It also caused Judy's whole body to vibrate, since she was once more pressed tightly to the tod's side, covered by his jacket and tail.

The feeling made the doe snicker under her breath before she simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the comfortable and companionable silence between them.

A silence that to her displeasure was all too soon interrupted when both front doors were opened, allowing the cold outside air to enter the vehicle as well as a white bunny doe and a red-furred vixen.

Instantly, Nick stopped his purring and Judy briefly considered sliding over to her half of the back seat.

Then she caught Mellida's gaze.

Her sister smiled at her; a smile that only widened when her eyes quickly moved to the tail that was still tightly wound around Judy.

With a wink that caused Judy's ears and cheeks to heat up, she turned forward and started the ignition.

Realizing that she was unbelted, Judy made a move to actually draw away from Nick. Though her efforts were blocked by the tod, who still had an arm slung around her, keeping her in place.

"Nick, come on, we have to belt up."

"Oh, just relax, Fluff. It's not like we will be going at two hundred miles on a highway or anything."
His statement was punctuated by a massive yawn with his tongue sticking out and curling at the tip.

Mellida - who had watched Nick in the rear mirror - got a good look at the fox's canines and felt a pang of worry for her sister.
It lasted about as long as it took her gaze to land on Judy, spotting the huge grin which the doe tried to hide behind a paw.
She knew that her sister worked with the tod every day and spent most of her free time with him as well.
If Judy trusted him, she would do so as well.

"Nick is right. With that snowfall, I'll drive slow enough that walking would almost be faster, so you two just cuddle up and get some rest, eh?"
She caught her sister's attention in the rear mirror and shot her another wink, causing Judy's blush to deepen some more.

Nick - whose eyes seemed like they were about to fall shut after the long day and his own part in the pursuit of the purse snatcher - chuckled at that suggestion.

"Dips has a good idea there, but I think I'll pass. If I fall asleep now, you wouldn't be able to wake me until tomorrow."

The white bunny's ears sprung up, and she asked over her shoulder: "Dips?"

Rolling her eyes Judy softly elbowed the reynard before answering.
"Yeah, Nick is big on... well... nicknames."
The doe giggled at her own joke, causing the fox to roll his eyes in turn.

Confused, Mellida mulled over the monicker.
"I don't get it."

His usual lopsided grin in place, the tod looked at the doe beside him, questioningly raising an eyebrow.

Face scrunched up in concentration, Judy tried to come up with an explanation.

Only when her gaze found her sister's reflection, her eyes lit up with understanding.
Pointing at her own ears and muzzle, she gave Nick a questioning look, and the tod nodded in reply.

"I got it," she exclaimed with a grin. "Your muzzle and ears look like they have been dipped in chocolate."

For a few seconds, it was silent in the car, until a groan rose from the front seat.

"Ugh. Seriously? Chocolate? Dips?"

"Oh, I find it quite endearing," chimed the - up until then quiet - vixen in.

Shaking her head with an amused smile on her face, Mellida decided to change the topic, asking her sister to call their parents and let them know that it might take them another ninety minutes until they would arrive.

After Judy ended the call and pocketed her phone again, she looked at Nick just to find the reynard fast asleep.

Cuddling deeper into the fox's side, the doe first pulled his jacket and then his tail tighter around her.
Her small paws kept petting the soft appendage, a contemplating expression on her face.

Exchanging a knowing look over the car's center console, the two females on the front seats smiled at the peaceful scene before turning their gaze back towards the monotone darkness of the night and falling snow.

For the next one and a half hour, soft music from the radio and sporadic low-voiced conversations filled the inside of the vehicle.
Now and then, the relative silence was interrupted by a soft groan from Nick as soon as Judy stopped petting his tail.

A shimmer of light appeared in the darkness, still out of direct sight, hidden behind a small hill.
The closer they drew, the more noticeable it got until Mellida announced: "Five more minutes and we'll be there. Maybe you should try to wake Sleeping Beauty, Jude."

They grey doe had almost fallen asleep, too, since the conversations had slipped into comfortable silence about twenty minutes ago.

Suddenly feeling wide awake again, she leaned a little around the fox and caught the dim light that brightened the night around them.

She tried calling Nick's name to wake him up but didn't get a reaction from him.

Shaking him awake failed just a miserably, causing the tod only to mumble in his sleep and attempting to cover himself in his jacket, effectively clutching Judy to his side like she was a stuffed toy.
An action that didn't go unnoticed by Vivian and Mellida who were snickering at the surprised expression on Judy's face.

"Maybe you should try to kiss him awake?", the white-furred doe offered her advise.

"I'll keep that as the absolute last resort. But thanks for the suggestion, Dips." Judy replied, her face showing a mix of annoyance, bashfulness, and amusement.

The grey doe took a deep breath before she bellowed, "Wilde! Parking duty!" in a deep voice that still didn't come even close to the cape buffalo's.

Nevertheless, it did the trick.

Upon hearing the detested phrase, his eyes snapped open, and the tod shot out of his seat, hitting his head against the car roof.
All the while he was still holding Judy tightly to his side.

"Ouch! What the hell... Judy?"
Nick looked at the guffawing bunny in his arm, rubbing his head where it had connected with the roof.

His eyes wandered to the front, where two more mammals were trying - and failing - to contain their laughter.

"Ok. Yeah. Har har, laugh it off," the fox grumbled while he sat back down, placing the still snickering Judy besides him.

"I have fallen asleep, and a vicious bunny injured me… so to speak."
He still inspected his head with one paw but was now laughing along.

While the other two females left the car which was now parked on the Hopps' property, Judy stayed with Nick inside a little longer.

The tod's gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by her, making her worry that the fox might have gotten harmed by her prank.

"Show me your head, Nick."

Surprised, he drew his paw back from the still throbbing spot and looked at the doe, showing her his best lopsided grin.

"What, are you concerned that you have hurt your poor partner?"

His attempt at humor was in vain, though, since Judy simply nodded and lifted both paws, motioning for the reynard to come closer.

Seeing the sincerely worried expression on the bunny's face, he leaned forward with a sigh, letting Judy take a look.

"You really don't have to worry about me so much, Carrots. I have a thick head."

When her seeking paws found the spot, he almost winced but caught himself before that. It wasn't hurting that much. Maybe it would leave a small bump, but that was about it, and he didn't want Judy to blame herself like he knew she would do.

"There isn't even a bump here. I guess you were right," the doe admitted after a moment, but couldn't keep herself from asking "Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"

Nick, who felt blissful from the bunny's soft paws and the way they were 'caressing' his head, answered without a second thought: "A tiny little bit, but kissing a boo-boo always works, you know?"

The tod had no chance to backpedal on his words when he realized what he had said before a very brief, soft sensation between his ears made his heart stumble.

Did she just...?

He broke out of his momentary stupor when the lights inside the car turned on.

Looking up, he barely spotted Judy's tail exiting the car before the door slammed shut.

Slowly, a dopey grin formed on his muzzle, one that he found impossible to hide when he left the vehicle moments later.

Tail wagging happily behind him, Nick walked around the car towards the trunk and took his bag.

Once more, he held out his paw to take his mom's luggage as well.

When he did the same for Judy, the night couldn't cover the blush on her cheeks. Not from the fox's eyes at least.

The coy smile that she gave him along with a soft-spoken 'thank you' warmed his chest and made his heart rate pick up some more.

Only when he finally turned towards the Hopps-Burrow did his face fall flat.

Slack-jawed the reynard stared at the small, Christmasy winter wonderland that presented itself to him.

Nick knew from the stories that Judy had told him that the building that he saw was just the most top part of the burrow, like the tip of an iceberg with the main body hiding beneath the surface.

Still what he saw was quite a large building on its own, all covered in snow, with Maid Marian knew how many meters of holiday lights looping around the structure that resembled a medium sized hill. Woven in among the lights were evergreens and garlands of tinsel in gold, silver, and red. Strewn in between were baubles in the same colors, some matt some polished, with filigrain, glittering patterns, and LED stars that shone brightly among the dimmer holiday lights.

Next to the building stood a sleigh, almost as high as Nick was tall, and painted in red and gold.
In front of the sleigh, nine snowmammals were built that Nick realized represented Santa's reindeers, all adorned with coal-eyes and noses, coats, and scarfs in different colors and patterns, and twigs sprouting from their heads like antlers.

And sitting on top of the sleigh was the great mammal himself: Santa Claws.

The old, grey lion with his bright smile that was barely visible through his white mane held his big belly while friendly winking down on whoever passed by and looked up at him.

Before he had met Judy and his life had taken a hundred eighty degrees turn, Nick used to laugh at mammals who celebrated Christmas and kits who still believed in Santa.
After all, the old saint was a predator who broke into your home when you were asleep.
It was unfathomable to him how prey parents could tell that lie to their big-eyed young ones while warning them about all the dangerous and possibly evil predators out there with their next breath.

These days, though, he was the one who looked at this scenery with wide, kit-like eyes, drinking in every bit of the atmosphere.

The fox let his gaze wander about some more.
Besides the reindeers, there were also smaller snowmammals who looked quite a lot like bunnies and even some tiny rodents.
All of them wore green and red suits as well as pointy hats that gave them the appearance of little elves.

He watched Judy disappear behind the building and followed her, his curiosity piqued.

On the other side of the warren, Nick found the main source of the light that brightened the night.

In the middle of the yard there stood a Christmas tree, as high as the building and decorated over and over with lights, tinsel, candy canes and baubles of all shapes and sizes.
Smaller trees surrounded the tall one, each of them a mirror of their big brother, and all were connected to it by a chain of lights, spanning from tip to tip.
Beneath them lay fake presents, partially covered by snow where they were not shielded by the trees.

In front of the huge one in the middle, Judy stood, her eyes slowly traveling up and down, drinking it all in.
Her face was illuminated by the lights, and her warm smile made Nick's heart ache, wishing she would look at him that way, too.

Like the answer to a prayer, Judy turned around, her features softening some more when she spotted the tod who was partially shadowed by one of the smaller trees.
She held one of her paws out to him, wordlessly beckoning him over.

When Nick joined the doe in front of the Christmas tree, she took his arm and draped it around her without hesitation, smiling up at him before her gaze returned to the myriads of ornaments in front of her.

The reynard admired her for a long moment, drinking in all the little details about the beautiful bunny next to him, from the glimmer on her silky fur through to the sparkle in her eyes before he followed her gaze.

It was only then he realized that none of the Christmas balls looked the same.
Every single one of them either showed a delicate picture of a bunny's face or was a unique bauble itself.

He saw one in the shape of a book.
Another one looked like a hockey stick.
A third one like a ballerina costume.

A gold one caught his eyes, and when he took a closer look, he saw that it was a bauble in the shape of a police badge.

"What are those?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

It felt like if he would speak too loud, he might shatter the peaceful atmosphere.

Judy snuggled a little closer before answering.
"Each one of the Christmas balls represents one member of my family. The ones which are hanging on the tall tree here show my parents and siblings who haven't started their own family yet. The smaller trees show the ones who have."

His head swiveling in the direction of the other trees, Nick realized that the baubles there were showing even more members of the Hopps family and he briefly wondered if not maybe one day one of them might sport a red fox...

His attention snapped back to the present when Judy spoke again.

"The other baubles here show things that are special to us, things we love, or something that we have accomplished. Mom and dad put the ZPD badge up the year I finished the academy and joined precinct one," the doe remembered with a warm yet melancholic smile.

Nick couldn't help but smile along, admiring the wonderfully unique bunny next to him.
"They must have been so proud of you, Fluff."

"Oh, we were incredibly proud of our little Jude-the-dude."

The sudden voice behind them made both mammals jump on the spot.
Turning around, Nick was met with a pair of brown eyes and one that had the almost exact same shade of violet as Judy's.

Stu and Bonnie Hopps stepped up to them, both chuckling at the reaction they had drawn from their daughter and her partner.

"Sorry," the older doe chuckled, "we didn't mean to scare you two."

His heart rate back to normal, the tod shook his head and put on his best smile.
"No harm done, Ma'am."

"Please, just call us Bonnie and Stu," the Hopps matron asked, her husband nodding in agreement.

Nick's smile widened a little at the two bunnies kind demeanor, and he offered them his paw, which both shook in turn.
"Thank you. And thank you for having my mother and me."
"It's good to have you here, Nicholas," Stu answered, making the fox's ears twitch at the use of his full first name.
"That way we finally meet the rumored partner we've only heard about up until now," Bonnie added.

Judy was just watching the scene in silence, a little smile on her face upon seeing how well her parents and Nick got along.

"So, you two have admired our special Christmas tree?" Stu inquired after a moment, remembering the way his daughter and her friend had stood there, gazing up at all the little glass baubles.

Nick turned halfway back around to let his eyes wander over the hundreds of ornaments once more.

"Yeah. They are amazing. It's a wonderful tradition your family has here, Stu."

Looking back at the older buck, he wondered out loud: "It must have been difficult to find all these unique baubles."

The already big grin on the brown rabbit's face when he heard the fox's praise grew a little wider when he shook his head.

"We didn't find them. They were all specifically made for us," Stu explained, and Nick realized that the bunnies on the Christmas balls weren't just substitutes for real family members but images made after the real mammals.

"We had a gaffer here in Bunnyburrow," the buck continued, "Shawn Diggins. He was an old hare, almost blind and with shaking paws. But his work was unrivaled. Everything he created, he did with passion."

"Sadly," Bonnie took over, "he passed away about three years ago. Most of the Christmas balls you see here were made by him."

A pang of regret shot through Nick when he thought about how he stumbled upon this wonderful tradition just to find out it wouldn't be continued.

Wait! But what about...?

"If he had died three years ago, where does the one in the form of a ZPD badge come from?" the reynard inquired, quickly taking a peek over his shoulder, seeking out the golden bauble.

"That was one of the first ones Emilia and Erik made. They are two of our oldest kits - twins - and had always been fascinated by Diggins' work. So much so that they became his apprentices as soon as they could. They had been working and learning under him for years. When he passed away, they had taken over the shop and continued to create these and many more things."

Both of the older bunnies regarded the Christmas tree with unveiled pride and joy.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Stu suddenly exclaimed, and reaching into the pocket of his green parka he pulled out a small, simple-brown box.

He handed it over to Judy. "They said you had asked them to make this last year, and they wanted you to put it up yourself."

Judy carefully took the small case from her father, regarding it with a fond expression.
When she opened it, inside was another bauble, nestled in a bed of soft cloth to keep it from harm.

Nick tried to steal a glance at it, but the doe took it out with deft fingers, shielding the item with her body from the fox's inquiring gaze.

She searched for a good spot to hang it up before turning around, finally giving Nick the opportunity to see what it was.

His eyes widened when he recognized the shape.

There, hanging on the Hopps' Christmas tree now was a light-red glass bauble in the shape of a pawsicle.

Looking at the grey bunny, he saw that she was focusing him with her beautiful amethyst eyes, an expectant look on her face.

His muzzle opened and closed without words leaving it.
It seemed that Judy was the only mammal who could render him speechless.

Though this time it wasn't with a thread about reporting him for a minor administrative misconception regarding his taxes but with this sweet gesture that he was unable to wrap his head around.

After some seconds had passed, he finally brought out one word: "Why?"

Giving the tod a coy smile, Judy briefly averted her gaze.

"I told you, these unique glass baubles represent what has a special meaning to us. Things that are important to us... or mammals. This one stands for the day that I met you, Nick."

A lump formed in the fox's throat and he felt his chest tightening.
He blinked in rapid succession to stop the tears that started to gather in his eyes from spilling.

Like an arrow shot from point blank she directly hit his core without giving him the chance to dodge or prepare himself.

For a moment, all he did was standing there, his heart beating hard in his chest, his breath billowing in small clouds in the cold air.
Snow had started to gather on Judy's head and shoulders, making him wonder how long they had been out there.

Then he noticed the nervousness on the doe's face.
With a step he closed the distance between them, gently pulling her into a tight embrace which the bunny happily reciprocated.

In a soft voice that Judy might have missed if not for her superior hearing the tod whispered: "I think I need one of those, too."

"My dad already told you," Judy replied in an equally low voice, her face buried against the fox's chest, "those are unique. You'll have to come back here every year to see this one."

Unfortunately, the mood that had built between them was broken by a sudden sneeze.

Realizing that Judy's parents were still there, Nick took a step back and cleared his throat, telling Stu - who looked at them apologetically - 'bless you.'

When Bonnie suggested for them to go inside, out of the cold, they didn't object.

After entering the foyer - for nothing else was the above ground level part of the building - Nick gave himself a light shake in an attempt to warm up a little faster.

Looking around he found his mom and Mellida standing side by side.
They exchanged a knowing look before smirking at him and Judy.

"I see you found our lost kits, Bonnie," Vivian addressed the Hopps matriarch.

"They were behind the building, gazing at our family's special Christmas trees and tried to turn themselves into snowmammals," the older doe answered with laughter in her voice.

The vixen tilted her head a little, giving Bonnie a curious look.
"What makes them so special?" she inquired.

"I can show you later if you want."

Vivian accepted the offer with a nod and a smile.

In the meanwhile Nick was looking around for a place to hang his jacket, not seeing any cabinets or coat hooks.

Judy, who just returned through one of the doors leading off the room, watched the fox scanning his surroundings and waved him over with a laugh.

The tod walked over to her and followed her along.
While he passed door after door, he realized that they were all labeled alphabetically, covering three to four letters at once and he guessed they were walk-in closets.

When the doe stopped in front of another one, he saw the word 'Guests' written on it, seeing his hunch confirmed as soon as he entered.

After the both of them had rejoined the other three bunnies and one red fox, the little group headed down a long flight of broad winding stairs.

At the foot of the stairs, there was a small hall with multiple corridors leading away.

Bonnie and Stu led them down one of the many hallways, which was like the outside of the warren overly decorated.
Evergreens were put up on the walls, adorned with red bands and the occasional pinecone, while many of the doors they passed sported Christmas wreaths.

Following the corridor winding through the burrow, forking every now and then, even Nick was hard pressed to keep track of where they came from, and he got the feeling he would be lost in an hour.

From the rooms they passed the occasional pair of eyes or ears emerged, and slowly but steadily a growing throng of bunnies started to trail them.

While walking, Bonnie and Stu kept telling the tod and his mom about their home, how the rooms were organized on the different floors, how they had to expand the burrow with more and more litters growing up here, what their kits were like and so on and so forth.

When they realized that soft murmuring had set in - murmuring that didn't stem from the group of rabbits behind them but came from the direction they were heading in, rising in volume the closer they got - Vivian asked Bonnie where they were going.

"Well, you arrived just in time for the second round of dinner, so we are going to the dining hall," the doe explained.

"If I remember correctly, Carrots told me that your whole family eats together. So why a second round?" Nick inquired.

"Because," Stu answered, "it's usually just us and the kits that are still living here. Today, though, all of our kits are here, together with their mates, husbands or wives and our grandkits."
By that point, Nick's ears were lying flat against his skull.

Of course when Carrots said her whole family will be here she really meant her whole family.

"We might still fit all in when we've cleared the room from its furniture, but all of us eating there together? Impossible," the buck continued, shaking his head to emphasize his words.

"I might need to start expanding the warren again so we can have a dining hall where all of us can eat on occasions like this," he mused.

It took them only another two or three minutes to reach their destination.

As soon as the little group entered the room, all conversations died down, every head swiveling in their direction.

Nick tried to take in the whole room, but the sheer mass of bunnies seemed to cause his brain to overload.
Every seat was taken, with many of the little kits sitting in the laps or being carried in the arms of their parents or older siblings.
Bunnies were standing next to the tables, leaning against the wall, or sitting on the ground.

In one corner, there even was a literal pile of small fluffballs, playfully tussling, chatting, or simply cuddling.
The only thing missing - the reynard thought to himself - was a sign that read:

Kit-Corner

Just drop 'em here

Focusing back on the rabbits he realized that still, everyone regarded them with curiosity.

He wondered about saying something to introduce him and his mom, but before he could find the right words, he heard some mewling next to them.

Searching for the source, he spotted a little baby-bunny, maybe two or three years old, struggling in the arms of his mother.

"What is it, Sweetie? Want to go to grandma and grandpa?" the doe chuckled while putting her son down.

The little buck, dragging a stuffed bunny along by one paw, started to waddle towards Bonnie... and ignored her outstretched arms completely.

Every lagomorph in the room watched in surprise as the toddler approached Vivian, stopped right in front of her, and made little grabby paws at her with big, shining eyes.

Unsure how to react to this, the vixen gave the young mother a questioning look just to find her staring at Bonnie, wordlessly seeking advice.

When the Hopps matriarch gave her daughter a small nod and encouraging smile, the younger doe's eyes wandered back to Vivian.
Realizing that the red fox had watched her silent exchange with her mother, the insides of her ears turned slightly red before she gestured her to go ahead.

When the vixen reached out for the baby-bunny, he almost jumped into her arms.

To her, it had been too long since she last held a kit like this.
The moment the little one snuggled up against her, her face split into a warm, wide smile.

In an instant, the subliminal tension that had vibrated inside the room was broken.

When Nick unwittingly leaned in a little, the small buck's paw shot towards him, hitting the tod square in the nose with the plush toy before he could react.

Surprised the fox drew back, sneezing once, twice, and causing the toddler to break into a high, clear laughter.

A moment later the whole room was giggling and laughing along, including the tod and his mom.

Though before the last chuckle had died, Vivian noticed that the little one had fallen asleep in her arms, entirely unfazed by the two predators close to him.

The conversations in the room had picked up again, and the mother of the little buck approached the vixen, reaching out to retrieve her son.

Vivian placed the little bunny back in her arms with a grateful smile.

While she was already turning away from the red fox, the doe stopped mid-motion.
Holding her kit in one arm, she stuck out the other one, offering her paw to Vivian.

"I haven't even introduced myself," she stated while the fox gently shook the offered paw, "my name is Alicia."

"And that little thief," she added with a grin after the vixen had given her her name as well, "who seemed to have stolen your heart is Rupert."

"Quite the daredevil, isn't he," the vixen kidded.

"I think I could learn one thing or another from him," Alicia replied, only half in jest.

Sensing that the bunny felt guilty about the reservations she had had, Vivian quickly engaged her in a conversation, not wanting her to feel downhearted.

"Is Rupert your only kit?" she inquired.

Surprised by the sudden question, the doe briefly wondered if she should apologize for her previous behavior, before noticing the kind expression the fox regarded her with.

Understanding made her smile before she took the bait and answered.

"No, Hazel and Polly are over in that furry pile in the corner, and Yasmine is with her father, changing clothes. During dinner, she had managed to empty a whole bowl of mashed potatoes over herself," Alicia explained with a laugh.

Vivian joined in that laughter.
"Oh, I know that all too well. My Nicky had a habit of doing this when he was a little kit as well. Sometimes I wondered how I managed to get more in him than he got on himself."

The doe chuckled and pondered something for a moment before speaking up again.

"Listen, Vivian, since my mom is starting to usher anyone out who already had dinner, I'll go and pick up my other two before leaving. But after we've handed out the presents later, maybe you would like to tuck Rupert in? It's rare to see him fall asleep that easily, you know?"

The suggestion made the vixen's tail wag, and the smile she had worn grew into a wide grin.
"I'd love to, Alicia," she assured her, beaming at the young mother.

With that the doe took her leave, heading towards the heap of fluffballs to look for her own.

In the meanwhile, Bonnie had managed to clear out the dining room save for the mammals who hadn't had a meal yet.
Those had formed a line and slowly but steadily vanished into an adjacent room, reentering the dining hall from another door with trays with food in their paws.

When the older doe turned her attention back to her guests, her ears slightly dropped, and a look of concern crossed her face.

"Are you alright, Vivian?"

Nick and Judy, who had been engrossed in a conversation with Mellida and another of their sisters instantly turned to the vixen, seeing her quickly swiping at her eyes.

"More than that, Bonnie. I think I'm in love with your wonderful family."

Blindsided by Vivian's reply, Bonnie stared at her wordlessly for a long moment.

When the doe answered, it was obvious from her glassy eyes how touched she was by the vulpine's confession.

"Thank you, dear."

Giving a sideways glance to her husband who heard that comment, Bonnie quickly changed the topic since the buck was on the verge of tears and she knew that once he started, there was no stopping the waterworks.

She led their guests into the kitchen, passing the long line of bunnies.

Once they had entered, Nick and Vivian's eyes grew wide in surprise.

The room was almost as big as the dining hall and resembled more a canteen kitchen than something a single family would own. But considering the size of that particular family, it was quite reasonable.

The single line of rabbits entering the kitchen was splitting into multiple ones inside, each passing by rows of pots, bowls, and pans, loading up the trays they had picked up before with food.

But Bonnie was leading them past those rows and towards a single stove.

The smell that greeted Nick and his mom from the pots sitting atop it made their maws water.

"I hope you'll like it. It's the first time I tried making something like an insect stew," Bonnie stated, looking a tad insecure.

"You really didn't have to," Nick and Vivian said in unison, drawing an amused snort from Judy and a chuckle from her mom.

"I thought you would say that," the older doe replied, "but I wanted to. And I have to admit it was fun to see the slack-jawed expression on Agatha Grey's face when I asked her for a recipe."
Bonnie couldn't keep the smirk off her face.

"Oh, Agatha is an elderly vixen who lives here in Bunnyburrow together with her grandson Gideon," Judy explained upon seeing the questioning look on the foxes' faces.

Nick's ear twitched once when he recognized that name.

Judy had told him about the tod that had scarred her when they were younger.
But she had also assured him it was long in the past, and Gideon was a decent mammal now who had apologized to her and who she had forgiven already.

Dinner reminded Nick somewhat of his time at the ZPA.

A huge room filled with mammals eating, laughing, and talking.

Though the mammals here were smaller, the food was poles apart from the academy's, and he was convinced that the topics of the conversations here were a lot less... risque.

It almost felt strange to him how much he enjoyed the bustle here considering that in the past all he wanted was to be left alone once he was done hustling others for the day.

Maybe he would drink a beer with Fin after an especially lucrative hustle, but that was about all the social interaction he had had.
After all, why should he have tried to mingle with mammals who would rather spit in his face than talk to him?

But now? Now he wasn't even slightly bothered answering the questions asked by the bunch of little rabbits who had gathered around him after dinner.

About being a police officer.
About the big city.
About being a predator.
About being a fox.
About him and Judy being a couple.

The last one almost caused him to have a spit-take, and he was immensely grateful that Judy had excused herself just moments ago to visit the little bunnies' place.

Like the other questions, he answered this one truthfully.
Though this time, when telling them they weren't a couple - no, not even considering that they were acting around each other the same way many of their older siblings and their mates did - he hoped it would stay a truth for not too long anymore.

The fox was saved from the ongoing onslaught of questions when Judy returned.

"Come on, Slick. I'll show you where the guestrooms are so you can put your and your mom's bag away."

Grateful for the excuse, he left the group of little bunnies behind, promising to answer more of their questions later.

"Speaking of whom," Nick said and looked around for his mom but couldn't spot her.

Interpreting his searching gaze, the doe took his paw and gave it a small tug.
"Vivian has left with my mom a couple of minutes before. I think she wanted to see the Christmas trees."

Shrugging, the tod faced away from the room and continued to follow Judy.
While he did so, he caught a glimpse of the young bucks and does who had gathered around him before and how they were all giggling while looking in their direction.

He wondered what that was about until he realized that Judy was still holding his paw to lead him around.

Not that the tod was complaining. Far from it.
He simply enjoyed the feeling of her warm, small paw in his.
To his chagrin, though, she let go as soon as they reached their destination.

"What do you wanna do now?" Judy asked after the tod had deposited his luggage there.
"I could give you a tour of the burrow, though there isn't much to show. Most of the rooms are either bedrooms, bathrooms or storage rooms," she admitted.

Nick mulled over the doe's suggestion for a moment and shook his head.

"Sorry, Carrots, but there's something else I'd like to do right now. Could you show me the way back to the dining hall?"

"Uhm, sure. But why? Right now they are... oh!" Judy's ears stood up in realization, and she gave the tod a playful hip bump while passing him when she left the room again.
"If that's what you want to do, then I'm not going to stop you."

With that, she grabbed his paw again, sending Nick's tail into a lazy, happy wag as they strolled back towards where they came from.

When they arrived, the hall was abuzz with bunnies hurrying back and forth, carrying tables, benches, and chairs out of the room.

Spotting Bonnie in the mass of lagomorphs, Nick quickly approached her while dodging dozens of busy rabbits.

"Okay, Bonnie, where can I help?" the tod asked, cracking his knuckles to show his willingness to lend a paw.

The older doe turned around upon hearing his voice and was surprised to find an eager fox looking at her expectantly with her daughter at his side.

"Oh, Nicholas, you are our guest. You really don't have to... "
"But I want to," the reynard interrupted her, using the same reasoning as she did before.

Bonnie shook her head with an unbelieving smile.

"Alright, in that case just grab a chair or help with the tables and benches. There are a couple of storage rooms around here where we can place them for now. Just follow the others. If one of the rooms is full, someone will point you in the direction of another one."

"Roger that," Nick replied and gave the doe a lazy two-finger salute like he usually did with Chief Bogo before looking for a chance to help.

Spotting two bucks who obviously had trouble lifting one of the large tables on their own, he approached them and offered to take one end while they managed the other.

They gratefully accepted his help, and together the three of them managed to move the piece of furniture more or less without a problem.

Most members of the Hopps family had helped to work the fields of their farm for the biggest parts of their lives and had the muscles to prove it.
But Nick had a slight advantage due to his larger body and he as well as Judy were working out on a daily base to stay in shape for their job. And it was showing.

With those two additional pairs of paws, the work got done faster than Bonnie and Stu had anticipated, cutting the time needed down from an hour to barely forty minutes.

After the last bench had been carried out of the now empty dining hall, Stu walked over to the fox who was scanning the room for anything they might have missed.

He slapped Nick on the back with a grin.

"Nice work there, Sonny," he stated with an appreciating look.
"I think I need to invite you back here next year as well."

If you still want to have me here by then, that is, the fox thought.

Out loud he said: "It would be my pleasure," and gave an exaggerated bow, trying his hardest not to pant and show that it had been more tiring than he wanted to admit.

"So, what happens now," he asked with a cough after a certain gray bunny's elbow found its way into his side for his silly behavior.

Stu took a look around the now empty room.
"Usually, the ones who helped would just take a quick shower before all of us gather back here to hand out the presents. If our PA system would properly function, I could just tell everybody that we'll prepone it, but half of the loudspeakers are not working for some reason. So, just try to pass the time until then, I'd say."

Agreeing to do just that, Judy and Nick took their leave.

The fox declared that a shower sounded good to him.
After they took a little detour so he could grab his set of spare clothes that he brought just in case, Judy led him to the nearest showers.

The tod partly expected huge communal showers but was surprised to find a long hallway with doors leading to small rooms each with a wall-mounted fur dryer, a bench to deposit one's clothes, and a walk-in shower separated from the rest of the room by a curtain.

"I'll pick you up here after you are done. Don't want you to get lost," Judy teased him.

"And here I hoped you would soap my back," the tod replied with a smirk, leaning relaxed on the door frame.

"Oh, wouldn't you like that?" the doe replied, mirroring his lopsided grin and putting her paws on her hips.

"Yes. Yes, I would. And I could return the favor, you know?" Nick added with a wriggle of his eyebrows.

For a moment Judy regarded him with big eyes, before bursting into laughter.

Her ears aflame, she gave the fox a couple of shoves.
"Alright, Slick. Stop joking and take your shower now, shoo!"

"Spoilsport," he just replied with a chuckle.

Sticking her tongue out at him, Judy closed the door.
Though for a moment Nick was sure she had paused, and he could almost feel her gaze on him.

When he turned his head, he caught a pair of amethyst eyes still looking at him through the ajar door.

Slowly, he began to unbutton his shirt and heard a surprised squeak before the door slammed shut.

While he wouldn't complain about Judy walking in on him, he didn't fancy the idea some other bunny stumbled in, so he locked it.

The fox barely fit under the low hanging shower head but only cursed once when hitting his muzzle against it while tilting his head back to let the warm water run over his face.

When he left the room, Judy was already waiting for him.

Even with her shorter fur, she still looked as fluffed out as he did after using the fur dryer. Though it was much more prominent for him, considering his thicker coat.

Barely hiding her grin behind a paw, the doe couldn't help but tease her partner.
"Wow, had anyone ever told you that you would make a cute foxy plush-toy?" she asked.

"Are my ears deceiving me or did you just call me cute?!"

"Sure did," was her quick like a shot answer.

"Why, thank you. It means a lot to me, coming from a cute little lady like yourself," the tod replied, putting as much emphasizes on the c-word as possible.

"And what are your plans now until the presents will be handed out?" he inquired, not giving Judy the chance to protest to his remark.

"There isn't much time anyhow, so I'd say we just relax in my room until then. Also: don't call me cute!" she added with a deadpan expression.

"Hey, turnabout is fair play, Sweetheart," Nick singsonged, and lazily ruffled the fur between the doe's ears while passing her by.

Judy playfully swatted at the reynard's paw, trying to look annoyed.
But the smile she was unable to hide betrayed her amusement when she took the lead, heading in the direction of her room.

They walked in silence for a couple of seconds before Nick gazed at the doe next to him.

"... I mean it, though. You are cute."

Judy already had a reprimand on the tip of her tongue but found herself unable to let it loose once she saw the serious and unusually shy look on the tod's face instead of his trademark smirk.

The inside of her ears turned a dark pink, and in a soft voice she spoke: "Once."

"Excuse me?" Nick inquired.

"Just this once, I'll let you get away with it," she clarified, fiddling with the tip of one ear.

Her comment made his heart skip a beat, and he turned his head so fast, he heard his neck pop from the sudden motion.

Judy had stopped, and for a moment he wasn't sure why. Until she opened the door she stood in front of, gesturing him to follow her inside.

Realizing that they had reached Judy's room, he couldn't help but wonder how she was able to recognize hers among the dozens and dozens they had passed.
Especially since there was nothing on the outside to discern it from the ones around them.

With a still rapidly beating heart, the tod stepped over the threshold.

Despite the embarrassed looking doe who regarded him with a coy expression, Nick couldn't stop the amused snort that escaped his muzzle.

Judy's room was exactly the way he had imagined it... or rather, how he would have imagined it if he had thought about it.

Extremely small, with all walls painted in a strong ZPD-blue and posters plastered everywhere.
Naturally, those weren't boyband or movie posters.
Every single one of them showed a mammal in police uniform with a slogan next to them about what great work the ZPD does, that YOU should join them and so on and so forth.

The few wall mounted shelves sported crime novels, different figures - all clad in blue of course -, and trophies from various sports festivals.

There was one thing that slightly disturbed the room's boyish vibe, and that was the mountain of stuffed bunnies on the bed.

"And here I thought you brought all of them with you when you moved to Zootopia. I mean, you barely have any space left on your bed there and yet there are still more plushies here?"

Nick was unable to keep his laughter bottled up inside, causing the doe to roll her eyes.

"Har har, laugh it off," she replied to the tod's outburst, "you know how difficult it was for me to deal with the loneliness. Having them around me always helps me."

Seeing Judy's suddenly defensive posture and how he seemed to have actually upset her with his teasing, Nick quickly scooped up the surprised, protesting doe and carried her over to the only thing that was big enough to serve as a seat for the both of them.

He flopped down on her bed and placed the pouting, flustered bunny in his lap, holding her close to him.

"I'm sorry, Carrots. I didn't mean any harm with what I said. I was just jealous, you know. You have a perfectly fine - and here I cite you - 'cute foxy plush-toy' right with you all the time and yet you still cuddle with those stuffed bunny-imposters."

Judy relaxed a little in his embrace but still seemed unhappy about something.

"I know you were just kidding, Nick. I really do. It's just...," the doe started.

"... yeah," the fox inquired when Judy didn't finish whatever she wanted to say.

"... nothing."

"No, you don't," Nick pulled the bunny closer, resting his muzzle on her head.
"Don't act like it's not important because it obviously is. You can't even try and hide it from me. Former street hustler, remember?"

Judy fidgeted before turning to look the tod in the face.

Biting her lower lip, she finally admitted: "Okay, something is bothering me. But it's... it's not something I can talk about... yet."

Nick's features softened a little upon seeing the doe's distressed state.

"I understand. But you know you can always talk to me. About anything."

Judy snuggled back up against the fox, nodding into his chest.
"I know. And I promise I'll tell you in time."

Understanding that he wouldn't get more out of the bunny, Nick didn't pressure her and just enjoyed their closeness.

Gradually, Judy relaxed and even started to tooth-purr when the tod wrapped his tail around her and started caressing her ears.

Nick wasn't sure if he should blame the season, the weather or anything else for the doe's need for physical contact she had shown all day... but he also didn't care for the reason at all.

He had no idea for how long they had stayed like this before Judy's ears suddenly shot up straight, and she frantically reached for the phone in her pocket.

"Oh, carrot sticks!"

"Wha...?" was all the reynard could say before Judy bolted out of his arms, dragging him along.

"Hurry up, Nick! We have less than five minutes until the presents will be handed out."

Nick watched the frantic bunny grab a jute sack from one corner of her room and throw it over her shoulder.

All the while he tried to calm down his racing heart.

He had entirely forgotten about that specific part of the evening once he was holding the doe in his arms.

He snapped out of it once Judy grabbed his paw and dragged him towards the door.

"Move it, foxy."

Almost stumbling over his own paws, he stopped the doe in her tracks.
"Wait a second. I still need to grab something from my bag."

A quick detour brought them to the guest room where they met Bonnie and Vivian, the latter of whom just left the room the second they arrived with two wrapped packages in her paws.

"Ah, there you two are," Bonnie exclaimed. "I hadn't seen you when we passed through the dining hall. Hurry now; we don't want to be the last ones."

Nick quickly rummaged through his bag, fishing out two presents as well before the four of them made their way towards the big hall.

When they arrived, the air vibrated with anticipation, and small bunnies were running back and forth between adults who tried and failed to calm them down.

It was only then that the brown sack Judy was carrying along piqued Nick's curiosity and he asked about its contents.

"With how many kits my parents have it would be impossible for them to buy presents for all of us. So it has always been tradition that only the youngest litters got something from them and the others would give presents to their littermates. These," she rearranged the sack over her shoulder, "are the ones for my littermates."

"And where are your red outfit and white beard?" the tod teased.

"Oh har har. It's better than carrying six packages around and losing half of it on my way here," she replied after her little pink tongue had darted out in his direction.

"Alright, alright. Calm down you lot."

Every pair of ears turned in the direction of the brown buck standing in the middle of the room.

When most of the bunnies had fallen silent, and only the occasional kit was murmuring, Stu continued.

"I know how eager you little rascals are to open your presents" he glanced at the small bucks and does around him, "so I'll make it quick. Every year this wonderful family grows a little bigger, and every year it seems to be more challenging to get everyone here so we can celebrate together. That's the reason why we," he put an arm around his wife who had stepped up next to him, "are so happy to see our whole family here this year. And we are excited to have some guests today, too." The buck gestured towards the two foxes who looked a little embarrassed to be put on the spot like this.
But all the smiling faces turning in their direction made them ease up immediately.

"Thank you for inviting us here," Vivian spoke up.

"We are really grateful for this," Nick added and felt Judy slightly leaning into his side.
When he looked down at the doe, he saw her beaming up at him with bright eyes.

Stu, who was smiling even wider than before, quickly wiped at his eyes, briefly cursing the fact that he was 'born on a rainy day', how his grandma liked to call it.

"Okay, I see that you are all getting antsy - yes, I'm looking at you, Victor."
The little buck who had been addressed quickly withdrew the paw that had slowly but steadily reached for one of the presents his parents had sat down between their feet and tried to look as innocent as possible, causing half the room to laugh and giggle about the young one.

"So, let's not postpone this any longer. Merry Christmas, to all of you."

"Merry Christmas," came the collective reply.

With that, the whole room fell into turmoil.

Bunnies were looking for their littermates, little kits were almost getting into a frenzy while trying to open their presents and laughter, cries of surprise and happy squeals that would even rival Clawhauser's filled the air.

Nick instantly lost sight of Judy but was almost sure he spotted her black-tipped ears somewhere close to the other end of the room.

His heart beating loudly in his own ears, the tod tried to take some deep breaths.
Hers would be the last present to hand out, but he could already feel his nerves rising.

He quickly turned towards his mom who was already holding one of the two packages she had been carrying at the ready and nodded in the direction of Bonnie and Stu.

Nick gave her a thumbs up, and they made their way through the crowd, careful not to step on any of the little kits skidding back and forth between their legs while playing with their new toys or looking for their littermates to show them what they got.

Reaching the two older bunnies, they could see the surprise in their eyes when they held out the distinctly shaped gift with a jolly 'Merry Christmas.'

Bonnie took it in her paws but looked a little guilty when she spoke.
"We don't have anything for you."

Nick shook his head and replied: "You invited us here. That alone means a lot to us, believe me."

Stu tried to speak up, but Vivian didn't give him the chance to get a word in before adding "With so many mammals seeing us foxes as only shifty and shady creatures and many prey animals being wary of any and all predators, what must seem like a simple gesture is something special to us. And even more to me. For years I had spent Christmas on my own, and the very year my son came back to me I also get to spend this holiday with such a big, lively, lovely family like yours."

By that point, the vixen was sniffling, and Nick gave her a quick embrace before Bonnie hugged her. Stu had lost his fight with the tears in the meantime and was loudly blowing his nose, causing his mate to shake her head while Vivian couldn't help laugh a little at the emotional buck while wiping at her own eyes.

With a big smile, Bonnie carefully unwrapped the present.
What she was holding in her paws now was a glass bottle.
A wine bottle, to be more precise; with a handwritten label.

"It's one of the wines my Robert used to make. It was a hobby of his, and I know he would be more than happy to share it with you. I wish he could have met you," she explained upon seeing the quizzical looks on the two rabbits' faces.

Receiving such a meaningful gift was more than Bonnie could take and her tears started to flow as well.

After a moment she felt able to speak again and thanked the vixen with a weak voice, telling her that they should drink some together later.

Both foxes agreed to this, and before long, some of Bonnie and Stu's older kits approached them, wanting to hand them some presents as well.
Bonnie excused herself to take the bottle of wine somewhere safe while Stu stayed to accept the gifts.

For Nick and Vivian that was the cue to retreat a little.

It was obvious to the tod that his mom was overjoyed by the bunnies' unbridled happiness.
Heck, his own tail was still wagging, and he quickly wiped away a stray tear from the corner of his eye.

This Christmas had become one of the best he ever experienced, and he hoped that wouldn't change.

His thoughts were interrupted by a yellow wrapped present that suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

Vivian was looking at him expectantly, so Nick quickly took it and handed over the one he had prepared for his mom.

Unwrapping each other's gift at the same time, the two foxes froze, disbelief showing on their faces.

The tod was looking at a tie.

But not just any tie.

He clearly remembered that particular one: black with very fine green and violet lines crisscrossing it in a diagonal pattern.
It was the very same one his dad used to wear; a present from his dad when he had inherited their family business, a tailoring shop named Suit-topia.

The vixen on the other paw was holding a framed picture of her family.

A picture she had thought was lost.

In it, her husband Robert was holding a tiny little fox cub in one arm while having the other one slung around her.
They were standing in the living room of their new home, both adults smiling like they hadn't a care in the world, and back then they felt that way.

Looking at each other, both couldn't believe what they were holding in paws.
The next moment, Vivian was holding her son in her arms, shedding silent tears while both quietly whispered a 'Merry Christmas' to each other.

When they let go, Nick hesitated for a moment, looking his mom in the eyes.
The same green eyes as his.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you alone all these years," he said with his ears plastered against his head.

"And you should be," came the vixens reply.
But the next moment, her frown turned into an honest smile.
"But I'm glad that you came back to me. That you are here now is all that matters."

Her eyes wandered down to the last present her son was holding.

It was a small, violet gift box that sported a filigrain pattern of winding lines and was wrapped with a green ribbon.

Following his mom's gaze, Nick could feel the heat rise to his cheeks.

"Oh, that one is for..."

"... for Judy," Vivian interrupted with a knowing grin.

Scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, the tod asked: "I have really been that obvious, huh?"

The vixen chuckled at her son's bashful behavior.
"I could just say it's a mother's intuition, but... yes you have been quite easy to read. And I think the scene in front of those Christmas trees was very romantic," she added with a little nudge.

"How do you... who told you... why?" Nick was suddenly feeling very hot under his fur, wondering how many mammals had actually witnessed it.

"Relax, Nicky. Bonnie told me about it when she showed them to me earlier. She admitted that afterward, she felt it was such a shame that she had interrupted you two like this."

It took the reynard a moment until he fully grasped the meaning of the words he had just heard.

"Are you telling me that she is fine with it?"

A grin and a nod was her reply, and Nick felt himself relax a little, knowing that Judy's mom was supporting them.

Only that there wasn't a 'them' yet.

What if there won't be an 'us'? a part of him wondered.

No! Don't let it pull you down until you tried. If you should have learned anything from Judy by now, it's this, another part replied.

The tense lines around his muzzle and eyes were softening, and his ears started to stand up in determination.

He felt his mom squeezing his arm once, and when he looked up from the present in his paw, he found her soft, encouraging gaze on him.

The fox took a deep breath and turned around to look for the doe, only to almost run into her when she appeared from between two other bunnies.

Nearly dropping his gift, Nick took a quick step to the side, catching Judy who was about to trip over her own feet when trying to evade as well.
Looking at each other, both burst into laughter at the silliness of that situation.

"You alright there, Fluff?" Nick asked while steadying the doe.

"I'm fine. Sorry for almost running into you," Judy replied, still looking a little flustered at their near-collision.

The fox just shrugged it off with a grin.

Though it vanished when he realized that now the moment had finally come.
He had been looking forward to it and dreaded it at the same time.

With another deep breath to steel his nerves, he made his move.

"It's a good thing that I found you so quickly, Judy. I wanted to give you something."

The bunny's ears perked up at that.
Nick using her given name was a rarity and made her heart skip a beat.

Holding out the present to her, the tod tried his hardest not to let it show how tense he was, to not let his paws tremble or his fur stand up in nervousness.

Judy's eyes were skipping back and forth between the present and the fox's face, taking in his serious expression.

Swallowing, she reached out and undid the ribbon.
Before she could open the little box, though, Nick lifted the lid himself, showing the content of the present to the doe.

Inside, resting on a nest of black cloth there was a round silver pendant. Embedded in it was a bright, heart-shaped amethyst with little emeralds framing it.

Judy's gasp at the unexpected present was drawing the attention of some of the bunnies around them and her not very softly spoken "Sweet cheese and… oh, Nick," was piquing the interest of some more.

While the grey doe was focused on the piece of jewelry that was about half the size of her palm, Nick tried his hardest to ignore the rising number of eyes and ears turning in their direction.

This is all about Judy right now. Don't pay attention to the other hundreds of rabbits in the room.

With a mental sigh, he forced anything else to the back of his mind, focusing only on the lovely lagomorph in front of him.

"It reminded me of you, Carrots," he stated in a quiet voice, drawing the doe's attention back to him.

Bright, mauve eyes regarded him with a curious look, prompting him to explain.

His features softened once he started talking.

"Beautiful, silver-colored fur. Stunning, violet eyes. And a bright, clear heart. It's a perfect description of you."

Nick could see how Judy's eyes got glassy upon hearing those words and he quickly interrupted her when she tried to say something.

There was more that he wanted to tell her and he was afraid if he lost his momentum now, he would lose his courage along with it.

With deft fingers he lifted the pendant out of the box by its chain, letting it dangle in front of the bunny's eyes before turning it around to show her the back.

The other half was different.
It was made of rose gold with an emerald embedded in it, framed by tiny amethysts.

"And I hope this side reminds you of me. It represents how close we are. How close I feel to you. Because as different as we are at times; as different as we might look on the outside, there is no mammal I feel closer to than you; no mammal that balances me out as you do; no mammal I feel connected to the way I feel to you."

Glassy eyes had turned into little droplets that were slowly running down the doe's cheeks; paws half-covering a shaky smile.

But the tod had one last thing he wanted to get off his chest, so he swallowed the lump in his throat, trying his hardest not to tear up himself.

When he spoke again, his voice was a little croaky, and his paws had finally started to tremble while he put the pendant around Judy's neck.

"There is a third meaning to this. Something I wanted to tell you for quite a while now but never had the courage to."

The tod swallowed again while every mammal in the huge hall had fallen silent, waiting for the vulpine's next words.

"Judy, you are the most amazing, beautiful, compassionate and upbeat mammal I've ever met and I love you for that. I love how your nose twitches oh so slowly when you are deep in thought. I love how your foot starts thumping when you are agitated. I love how one of your ears flop over when you are baffled. I love how your buckteeth show when you are yawning. I love how you roll those stunning eyes of yours when I tell you my silly jokes. I love how you still laugh about those jokes. And there is so much more I could tell you. What I want to say is: You have already stolen it from me long ago, so this present is to tell you: you have my heart. And if you want to keep it, it's all yours."

The rabbit in front of him was openly crying now. Big bunny-tears were leaving wet trails in her fur.
When she opened her muzzle to answer him, no sound came forth.
After she had tried a couple of times without success, she quickly shook her head and reached for the present she had placed on the ground between her feet.

Taking it, Nick looked at the doe with confusion.
Nodding, she wordlessly gestured him to go ahead.

He opened it and looked inside, a blank expression appearing on his face.

Vegetables?

He took the green plant out of its box, holding it up a little for closer inspection.

Wait, is that a...?

He looked at Judy, and the moment he faced in her direction, soft bunny-lips met his.

His eyes bulged out in surprise before he closed them and leaned into the kiss, putting one paw to the doe's cheek and the other one on the small of her back, pulling her a little closer while the mistletoe still dangled from one of his claws.

The silence of the room was pierced by one excited shout that Vivian was sure came from Mellida, before the rest of the amassed bunnies erupted into loud whistling, cheering and applause.

When the two young mammals finally broke their kiss - both being a little short of breath - they looked at each other with equally blissful smiles and, so softly that only they could catch it, told each other what they had both wanted to hear for a long time now.

"I love you."

Belated, they realized the turmoil around them.

Nick could feel the heat that crept to his face and was convinced his blush was easily visible even through his thick, red coat.

Judy had pulled her ears down over face to hide her own flushed cheeks.
But she couldn't hide the huge, happy grin splitting her face.

Conversations had broken out all around them.

"Have you seen that kiss?"

"Gosh, they look so lovely together!"

"About time!"

"Congratulations, you two!"

"I have never seen Jude so happy."

"Nick is so handsome. Judy is really lucky."

"Do you think he has a brother?"

"Do you think he has a sister?"

"Do you think they'd let me join in?" THWACK

"Ouch, what did I do?"

"I don't mind that he is a predator. You know, there is that handsome otter in my class..."

"I actually think that Ferret Williams is quite cute."

"Have you ever seen JuJu blushing so hard?"

"Wait, they hadn't been a couple before?!"

"I wish I had filmed this."

"I have filmed it."

"Just imagine what it must be like with a predator." THWACK

"Ouch, WHAT DID I DO?!"

That was more than Judy could take.

Grabbing his paw, she dragged Nick through the dining hall towards the door in an attempt to escape.

But the tod just couldn't help opening his muzzle before they left the room.
"Thank you all for your support. And to whoever wanted to 'join in': I'm sorry, but there is only one bunny in my life and ever will be."

The last word had barely left his lips before they vanished around the corner.
Though he could still hear the disappointed: "Awww, dang it."

THWACK

"Just drop 'em here? Seriously, Nick?" Judy giggled against the fox's chest.

After they had left the dining hall the doe had dragged Nick down multiple corridors winding through the burrow until they reached a flight of stairs going upwards.

When they entered the room at the end of the stairs, the tod was surprised to find a quite large living room with windows facing outwards.

Judy had explained that while the only entrance to the warren was the one they came in through earlier that day, there were multiple of these above ground living rooms. From the outside, they just looked like small hills in the landscape unless you notice the windows.

Strewn all over the room were multiple small tables with four to six chairs.
Some armchairs and various couches were facing in the direction of a fireplace in which right now a lively fire was cackling.

By the time they had arrived, no one else was there.
Not wanting to be spotted right away Judy and Nick had decided to retreat to a corner, making themselves comfortable on one of the wide windowsills.

Sitting right in front of a window offered them a nice view of the wintery landscape while the radiator below the windowsill warmed their rear ends.

Not that Judy was in need of that since she was sitting square on Nick's lap, snuggling into her fox.

MY fox.

That thought had been running rounds and rounds inside her head once reality had caught up with her.

A little apart from them, four mammals were sitting at one of the tables, looking over at the young couple.

"If somebody would have told me some years ago that my son would date a bunny, I would have laughed about them. Loudly," Vivian said with a fond expression on her face.

"I would have done the same," Bonnie admitted with a small nod, "but looking at them now makes me realize all over again how wonderfully unique our kits are."

"They are indeed," the vixen agreed, earning a confirmative hum from Mellida, who was sitting next to her.

"And from the way they were acting around each other it seemed inevitable for them to become a couple in hindsight," the white-furred doe added, earning another round of nods from the other two females.

"Wait, are you telling me you all knew that something was going on between Nicholas and our Jude-the-dude?" A bewildered Stu was staring at the three females who were looking at him in kind, shaking their heads in disbelief.

"Oh Dad," Mellida was chuckling about the older buck while Bonnie was giving her husband a consolidating smooch on the cheek.

"What? It wasn't that obvious, was it?" the buck protested a little doubtfully.

"And what about the way they were standing in front of the Christmas tree, arm in arm? And Judy's special little bauble for Nick? And the way they embraced and looked at each other?" Bonnie argued.

"... oh!" was the male's sole answer to that.

Then he remembered how he had sneezed and interrupted the moment, and his ears dropped.

"Oh!"

The second one was too much, and all three females burst into laughter at the bucks downtrodden expression.

"Mind if we join in?" a sudden voice interrupted them.

Nick was standing at their table with a slightly bashful looking Judy next to him, holding the fox's paw.

"Sure," Vivian said with a smirk, "that way it's easier to watch you two."

Nick gave his mom a quizzical look while sitting down.
"How long have you been watching us already?"

"Oh, maybe about half an hour," the vixen replied, regarding her claws with disinterest.

The young couple looked at the four mammals in disbelief.

"Half an... but we... I didn't...," Judy was stammering, unable to wrap her head around the fact that she hadn't realized a thing.

With a laugh, Bonnie waved it off.
"Don't worry, Sweetie. I know quite well what it feels like to be freshly in love and having eyes and ears only for each other."

Judy wasn't sure if that should comfort her or not, but she was blushing furiously, remembering that she had stolen quite a couple of kisses from her fox and had nuzzled under his chin so she could feel even closer to him.

Nick on the other paw had caught himself and was laughing at the revelation.
"I see, we must be the talk of the warren by now, I take it?"

"The way I know my kits, you'll probably be the talk of all of Bunnyburrow before the sun rises," Bonnie answered nonchalantly.

When Judy laid her head down on the table, groaning loudly, the older doe decided it was time for a new topic. She didn't want to torture her daughter any more than necessary.

"How about we indulge a little in some blueberry wine, now that we are sitting here together," she asked with a smile, producing the bottle that had stood next to her chair, waiting for the occasion.

After everyone had taken a first sip, sighing at the sweet taste and in Nick's case even licking his chops, the conversation moved a little away from Judy and Nick.

The six of them were talking about anything and everything while the evening slowly turned into night.

The other bunnies who had lingered around in the living room gradually took their leave, wishing them a good night and congratulating them, warming the both young mammals' hearts with their acceptance of their unusual relationship.
Judy had more or less expected it, but for Nick the fact that they hadn't heard a single bad word or slight was a genuine surprise, even considering it was the doe's family.

When it was drawing close to midnight, Stu, Bonnie, Vivian, and Mellida wished them a good night as well, reminding them that they had to get up early the next day to take their train home.

Once Nick and Judy were alone in the living room the doe left her seat to climb into the fox's lap and snuggled up against him, a content sigh escaping her lips.

The tod was convinced he would never grow tired of the affection this bunny was showing him.
Wrapping his arms and tail around her, he briefly nuzzled her head.

Putting a kiss on the doe's ear, Nick reluctantly said: "You know, Fluff, we should probably head to bed."

But Judy just shook her head against the fox's chest.

Sensing that there was more to it than just a slightly tipsy and cuddly bunny, he asked "What's the matter, Sweetheart? Something is bothering you, isn't it?"

This time the doe nodded against his front, and after a moment, she spoke up.
"Remember that I promised you to explain my behavior back in my room?"

The tod gave her an affirmative hum.

"It's... well... you had just hit a nerve. The stuffed bunnies back in my apartment in Zootopia are there so that I don't feel lonely. And that was more or less enough for a while. But after we held the first movie night at my place, it was so much more difficult to fall asleep."

"How is that?" the fox asked while caressing Judy's ears.

For a minute, the doe remained silent, making Nick wonder if she had fallen asleep. But then she answered.

"Because that was when I realized that I'm in love with you."

In his surprise, he stopped running his paw down the bunny's ears, causing Judy to look up at him.

"That was right after I came back from the academy," Nick marveled.

The doe nodded.

"You've been in love with me for more than one and a half year?"

Another nod.

The tod placed a long kiss on his bunny's muzzle.

"That means I still got about three months on you," he softly stated with a wink.

"Wait a moment," the doe blinked once, trying to wrap her head around what Nick had just told her.

"That means you have been in love with me..."

"...since my time at the ZPA, correct," the tod finished her sentence.

"And we have waited that long to finally admit it."
Judy couldn't help but wail when she realized how much time she had wasted fretting and agonizing over it.

Good for her that her fox had a remedy to her miserable mood.
He gently scratched her around an ear, placing a small peck on her forehead.
When she looked upwards at him, she was met with another, deeper kiss that left her short of breath but also brought a smile back to her face.

"Better late than never," the fox stated in a serious voice, leaning in until their noses touched.

Sharing a breath with the mammal she loved, she had to agree with him.

They had found each other and fallen in love against all the odds, from the social norms dictated by society through to their less-than-favorable first meeting.

She could consider herself a very lucky bunny.

Seeing how Judy's spirits had been lifted, the tod's curiosity gained the upper hand, and he took up their earlier conversation.

"So, how is that connected to stuffed bunnies and you missing out on sleep?" he inquired.

"As I said, I had realized at that time that I'm in love with you. Partially because I had a hard time falling asleep, suddenly missing you after you had gone home while your scent still lingered on my bed since we sat there the whole evening. Partially because the two annoyances next door kept debating loudly about if you were my boyfriend or not. It got worse when we started cuddling during movie nights. I mean, I loved it, but afterward I missed having you around even more," the doe clarified.

"All I want is to fall asleep next to you and wake up the same way," Judy admitted, suddenly sniffling.

Saying that Nick's heart skipped a beat at that revelation would be an understatement.

It was beating to a whole new rhythm, momentarily making him feel dizzy, and he wondered if all of this was just a very detailed dream. Or had he died, and this was his personal little piece of heaven?

But no, there was a very real, very warm, breathing bunny sitting in his lap, holding him tight like she was afraid he would vanish if she let go.

He knew what he wanted to do. And it was the direct opposite of running away.

He put one paw to her chin, gently lifting her head so she would look at him and placed another small kiss on Judy's lips.

"I think it's time you move out of your tiny little shoebox of an apartment," he stated.

"What does this have..."

"And since my place is not only bigger than yours but also a little closer to work and in a better condition, you should move in with me. That is if you don't think it's too ear-mph!"

The fox wasn't able to finish his sentence before the doe assaulted him with a barrage of small pecks on whatever spot of his face she could reach, causing him to grab the table's edge so as to not topple over backwards.

When she finally stopped - not without kissing him passionately square on the muzzle - Nick needed a moment to collect his thoughts and catch his breath.

"I'll take that as a yes?" he asked at last.

"Definitely," Judy answered, still blushing hard from her somewhat extreme reaction to his suggestion.

"Though, I'm afraid you'll have to sleep alone for today. I don't think your dad would be all too thrilled if I would sneak into your room to stay with you all night. As great a guy as he is, he might actually skin me and hang my pelt over that fireplace over there, if I try that."

Judy's disheartened expression at the realization that the fox was right vanished the instant he mentioned the fireplace.

Her eyes flickered from the still cackling flames to him, and the next moment she shot out of his lap and towards the stairs, only stopping for a second to call back over her shoulder.
"I'll be right back. Give me two minutes."

She was gone before the tod could answer, leaving him right there with a confused expression on his muzzle and one of his ears standing straight up while the other one was sticking out sideways in a quizzical manner.

True to her word, Judy returned before the minute hand of the grandfather clock standing across from him finished its second round.

And carrying in her arms, she was...

"Is that a blanket?" the fox asked, wondering what his bunny had come up with.

"And a pillow," Judy replied, making a beeline for the group of couches.

Finally connecting the dots, Nick followed the doe.

"Are you sure you want to sleep on a small couch for the rest of the night? It might get cramped with the both of us," he pointed out.

"Fine by me," was Judy's reply, "or are you trying to tell me you don't want to fall asleep together?"

Before she had even finished her question, the fox was already lying on the couch, opening his arms for the bunny.

With a happy chirp, Judy hopped on top of him, coming to rest on Nick's chest.
She snuggled up against him, enjoying the tod's warmth while he covered them both with the blanket.

Wrapped up in three layers now of which two were Nick's arms and tail, Judy gave off a content sigh that was almost drowned out by the tod's rumbling purr.

Both knew that they were exactly where they wanted to be; where they were meant to be.

Feeling a little drowsy, Judy looked back at the events of the last hours, fiddling with her new pendant.
She nuzzled her fox under the chin and spoke in a soft, sleepy voice.
"I'm still surprised that you really said all those things in front of my whole family, you crazy fox."

A small, teasing smile was playing on her lips when she felt Nick slightly tensing up beneath her.

"That hadn't been a part of the plan, to be honest. Remember when I invited you to celebrate with my mom and me?"

Judy slowly nodded against the tod's chest.

"After we would have eaten dinner I would have asked you to take a stroll with me. There is a small park close to my mom's house, and every year they decorate it for Christmas with thousands of lights, tinsel garlands, ice sculptures and ornaments. They would give even your family a run for their money," Nick's eyes lightened up when he described the scenery he had looked at every year while trying to work up the courage to visit his mom.

"There I would have given you your present and told you all those things I wanted to tell you for so long."

Judy gently grabbed the fox's muzzle, turning his head so she could kiss him once more.
"I never knew you had such a romantic site to you."

Nick caressed the bunny's cheek who leaned into his touch.
"What can I say, you bring out the best in me."

"Corny fox," the doe teased.

"Emotional bunny," the tod replied, wiping a single, stray tear from her cheek.

The smirk that had accompanied his words turned into a genuine smile while he gazed deeply into her beautiful amethyst eyes

"I love you, Judy," he said before kissing his bunny tenderly, making her heart skip two beats in a row.

"I love you too, Nick," she replied after they broke the kiss.

Their eyelids began to feel heavy with the excitement of the day finally wearing off, and they made themselves comfortable.

Her head coming to rest on the reynard's chest, Judy listened to her fox's heartbeat while slowly drifting asleep.

When her breathing was slow and even, telling Nick that his bunny had fallen asleep, he briefly gave her cheek a small, affectionate lick before closing his eyes as well.

The crackling of the fire mixed with two mammals' soft breathing were the only sounds filling the dimly lit room.

The snow outside gently drifted down to the ground, snowflakes peeking in from the silence of the night.

And the dancing shadows cast on the walls by the warm light watched over the young couple's peaceful sleep.

A special thank you to my friend Quakky who took the time to proofread this story and sniff out some stray typos and missing words. Thanks, buddy ;-)

And with that, I wish all of you a merry, fluffy little Christmas :-)