Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia, or the characters.

Enjoy.

Two Rings

"Okay, I just want you to act cool, and please don't... joke... like, about anything."

Both Judy and Nick were on their way into Bunny Burrow... to announce their engagement to Judy's family.

She was dreadfully nervous, but tried to keep her cool.

Nick on the other paw was twice as nervous and trembled a little in the passenger seat. "Maybe this isn't a good idea." He said.

Judy's thoughts exactly... but she wasn't about to tell him that.

They passed the boarder of Bunny Burrow. In every second came closer and closer to her parent's carrot farm. Nick sunk lower in the seat as he got odd looks from bunnies on the sidewalks. He sighed and rubbed his face. Judy turned to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He responded. "Oh... except the fact that you're bringing a FOX home with you!"

"They already know you're coming. It's okay."

He sighed once more, sitting up in the seat again and tried to think optimistically. It seemed nearly impossible.

They made it to the farm, a very large wooden cabin that very likely contained 300 or more bunnies.

Nick gulped and reached over to grasp Judy's paw. "Carrots... if this goes bad-"

"It won't. It's going to be just fine." Judy herself stopped after she opened the door... her ears lowered. She closed the door, and turned to her boyfriend. "But, on the slight chance it... doesn't work out." She handed over the car keys to Nick. "Make a run for it."

Nick looked up at Judy, with no words... but a small smile. He looked down at the keys in his paw, debating to give them back to her and tell her, Too drastic. ... Instead, he pocketed the keys.

Judy knocked on the front door. Nick stood still and when the door opened his ears raised, as well as a forced smile.

"Hey! Judy! Jude the dude!" Her mother and father both embraced her at the door. Her dad turned to Nick and reached out a paw. "Nice to meet you, Nicolas. Welcome."

Nick shook Mr. Hopps' paw, worried the rabbit might feel his thunderous pulse in his wrist. "Thank you." He said, keeping his smile.

Mrs. Hopps turned her attention to Nick as well. "Oh, you really are rather handsome... for a fox."

Judy snickered. Probably thinking I know, right?

"Thanks... Mrs. Hopps." Nick responded, clearing his throat.

"Well, come on in! Dinner is almost ready!"

Once inside, Nick wasn't surprised to see several bunnies in practically every corner of the living room, and throughout the house. He was surprised that not all of them gave him a second glance. Slowly but surely... he felt a little more like he wasn't an outsider.

Judy suddenly yanked his paw and went into the nearest restroom, shutting the door. She locked it, looking upwards at Nick. "How was that? You okay? I hope this... isn't too much for you."

Nick smiled at Judy for her concern for him. He brushed his paw over the side of her face. "I'm fine." He said.

Judy was overjoyed to hear that. She kissed his paw and reached into her pocket. "You ready for this?"

Nick's ears drooped a little. "Yours first." He said.

Judy took out of her pocket... an engagement ring. She placed it into Nick's paw and he gently slid the beautiful rock onto her finger. He then kissed it. "It's beautiful... they'll be so happy for you."

"I certainly hope so. Even my mother thought you were handsome."

Nick chuckled. "They um... have no clue it's ME you're wanting to marry."

"Not yet. I'll break the news when it's time." She placed her paw on his cheek. "I want them to get to know you first. Take the time to fall in love with you like I did." She kissed his muzzle. "It's not every day a Fox asks a bunny to marry him."

"Are you sure you want them at our wedding?" He asked.

"I have it all planned out. We'll just... take it slow."

Nick had never seen one household prepare food for so many tiny mouths... yet, when Judy gave him the tour, he was surprised. The dining room alone had at least 9 ovens, four stove tops on each of them, and it was spacious.

"My dad built this house with my older brothers when I was a kid. And some neighbors too."

"How long did it take?" Nick asked.

"About a year. And it took even longer for the half of us to learn how to cook... but hey, such is the bunny way." She laughed.

Nick noticed that each oven was on, and baking their dinner. He shook his head, smirking. "Unbelievable."

"It's pretty great actually. You ever had lasagna?"

"Once or twice... or a thousand times as a cub. My mom loved cooking. I hardly saw her do anything else."

"Oh, I doubt that." Judy giggled.

The ovens all started to ding, as if choreographed to do so. As several little bunnies rushed into the kitchen to open up the ovens, a deliciously nostalgic smell entered both Judy and Nick's nostrils. Nick's eyes widened. "Wow... your siblings have really outdone themselves."

"Smell is one thing, taste is another." Judy's mother said as she approached behind them, slipping on a couple of oven mitts. "Now, go on. Be seated. The food will be out shortly."

Judy realized she was clutching her left wrist... hiding the ring from her mom. She didn't feel ready to draw the attention... yet.

She and Nick left the kitchen and entered the, also massive, dining room. There were several large tables with bunny siblings seated everywhere along the sides. She asked one of them to move so that she had a place next to Nick.

She sat down and took a deep breath. Nick leaned over to her, whispering. "They act uncharacteristically careless that a fox is here."

Judy smiled. "I heard Gideon Grey and members of his family have visited before."

"Gideon Who?"

The dining room doors opened and sort of like an assembly line at least a dozen lasagna trays were placed on the tables. Nick's mouth began to water as he saw them.

Judy suddenly felt a tug on her left side. A young bunny sibling had seen her ring and was examining it with awe. She smiled down at her younger sister. "Please, keep it a secret. Between you and me, okay?" She kissed her sister on the forehead.

"Can I try it on?" The little bunny asked.

Judy smiled. "Someday, I'm sure you'll have one of your own."

"Oh... okay."

Nick had some engaging conversation with a little dude to his right. "I'm Leo, and I grew an INCH this year."

Nick made a surprised face. "Nuh uh! You still look short to me."

The bunny seemed offended. "Yes, I did! I'm not lying!"

Nick folded his arms. "Okay, prove it."

The bunny stood up on the chair. He put a level paw over his nose. "Last year I was THIS tall." He then raised his paw above his head. "This year, I'm THIS tall."

Nick tilted his head. "Hmm... that's awful suspicious."

He then heard Judy next to him. "Mmm, this is delicious!" She nudged her secret boyfriend. "Hey, eat up!"

Nick saw his plate had been already portioned. Leo, the bunny next to him still had an empty plate. Nick turned his head and pointed. "That's an odd place to put a piano." Leo turned his head and Nick switched the plates. Now he had the empty one. When Leo turned back he looked down and saw he had food. He dug right in.

Nick turned to Judy. "That mean little bunny just took my food."

Judy rolled her eyes, smirking. "Hey, could someone pass the-"

A tray of lasagna slid over to her side of the table. "Thank you."

Nick portioned his food and took his first bite. Immediately his eyes closed and a smile crossed his face. The taste was delightful. He scarfed down the rest of the meal.

Judy felt good about the visit so far. But, the hardest part was still ahead of her.

After the dinner was over, several little bunnies were already asking things of Nick and Judy. They wanted them to stay, to play, to build legos, to talk, to do puppet shows. It was a mad house.

"So." Judy's mom asked her as she sat across from her on a couch. "How's the job going?"

Judy sat with her right paw over her left, still covering the ring. "Oh, it's going great. We got promoted not too long ago."

Mr. Hopps took a seat next to his wife. "We heard Zootopia was having some trouble. Is that... taken care of now?"

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely. The city is back to it's good ol' self."

"Hey... where's um... what's his name?"

Judy's ears drooped. "Oh, Nick?" She stood and looked around but didn't see him.

Mr. Hopps spoke up. "He's actually outside helping with some of the gardening."

Judy gave a deep sigh and sat back down. "Oh, you guys don't know how hard it was to bring a fox here." She was half lying, but it sounded convincing enough.

"Oh, it's okay, honey." Her mom said. "Nick is probably the most well behaved fox I've ever met."

Judy smiled. She was reminded about why she said YES to him when he proposed. "I'm glad you think that, mother. Nick... he's probably nicer than a lot of bunnies I used to know."

"Oh, cripes." Mr. Hopps spoke up. "Do you remember George. That pesky wabbit!"

"Oh, Stu!" Bonnie nudged Mr. Hopps. "We don't say that."

"What? He was! He pretended to like Judy for MONTHS before he broke her heart."

Judy remembered George... she used to think she loved him. Before she got crazy enough to try new things... like... academy training, and forgetting about even BEING in a relationship. "I decided being single was better." She said.

"That's not true, Judy. I'm sure there's a nice bunny out there somewhere for you."

Judy's ears lowered... that sentence alone killed her spirits entirely. She clutched the ring tighter. "Um... how's Nick doing? He's still outside, right?"

"Yeah, in the berry patch."

"Thanks." She said, as she made her way towards... and out the front door.

Bonnie leaned towards her husband. "Is she okay? She seems nervous about something?"

"I'm not sure. Is her wrist okay?"

Judy came outside and looked around for Nick. She saw him picking berries with some of her siblings. She took off her ring, slipped it into her pocket and ran up to him. "Hey, Nick." She stretched and yawned. "Boy, it's getting late. How long have we been here?"

"4 hours!" A tiny bunny responded.

Nick chuckled. "What's up, Carrots?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking... we might need to get going soon."

Nick looked at her. "Did you tell- Uh... W-why?"

"No, I didn't... I just... Think it's time to go."

Nick's ears lowered. He looked down at the small bunnies, most of them were waiting for him to keep picking berries. "Can you... give me a few minutes?"

Judy looked down at her siblings. Their big eyes seemed to be begging her and the fox to stay. She kneeled. "Oh, you guys. I'll come back and visit again okay?" She kissed one of them on the forehead. "But, I have a job in Zootopia, remember? And so does Nick."

They started to whine. One of them hugging and clutching Nick's leg, begging him not to leave.

"Heh." Nick chuckled. "Look at that, Carrots. They love me!"

"Oh, they don't know what love is." Judy snapped, taking Nick's paw. "I'm sorry, guys. We need to get going."

As she dragged Nick to the car he tried yanking away. "Wait, Judy. Tell me what happened?"

Judy fiddled for her keys in her pockets. "Nick, you got the keys."

Nick took out the keys, but held them over her head, folding his arms. "What's going on?"

Judy sighed, leaning against the vehicle. "My parents... they want me to marry a bunny."

She saw Nick's expression change... He looked severely let down. "Are you... sure about this?"

Judy nodded, closing her eyes in despair.

Nick looked down and noticed the ring was no longer on Judy's finger. He reluctantly handed Judy the keys. She took them... staring at them for a long moment before turning around to unlock the door.

On the drive home, Judy's phone was blowing up with texts and phone calls. She muted it.

Nick put his paw on her knee, looking out the window at the passing landscape. "Maybe... we just give them some more time."

"I know my parents, Nick... they're not gonna change their minds."

Nick reached into his pocket, taking out his golden ring... his ears lowered as he stared at it... "I'm sorry, Judy." He said.

She turned to him. "About what?"

Nick placed the ring in his paw, clutching it tightly. "Bunnies... and Foxes... do you think the law would even let us get married?"

Judy didn't answer... she just stared at the road ahead. Her answer seemed to be a "No."

They wanted to be together for the rest of their lives... but perhaps nobody else should ever know about it.

Judy's eyes began to water, and it became increasingly difficult to focus on the road. After swerving a couple of times, she pulled over to the shoulder, and allowed herself to cry on the steering wheel.

Nick felt a knot in his throat and switched seats to sit next to Judy. She clutched him and buried her face in his chest. He held her tightly, rubbing her head with his paw, and closing his eyes. "It's okay, Honey." His voice started to choke up. He doubted the words coming out of his own mouth. Slightly loosening his embrace he kissed her between the eyes. "It's going to be okay."

Judy wanted desperately to believe that, but she shook her head. She gripped his shirt in her paw. "I don't care what they say, Nick. I love you! ... So much." Her sobbing intensified.

The fox gently rubbed his head against hers, gritting his teeth as a tear came down his cheek. "I just want to make you happy, Judy. I didn't..." He chocked up again. "I never wanted to cause this."

"You didn't." Judy lifted her head, wiping her tears with her arm and placing her paws on his cheeks. "You didn't cause anything, Nick. You were amazing!" She placed her lips over Nick's for a long time, and closed her eyes. Nick didn't actively return the kiss, but he held the bunny's head in his paw. When they released she wiped another tear away. "My parents... just need to see that. You're better than anyone I've ever met. I don't want a bunny, Nick. I want you!"

The fox's ears lifted a little as he smiled through his watery eyes. He placed his paw over Judy's on his cheek... "I love you too, Judy."

She returned the smile, though her ears remained droopy. She rested her head on his chest again, as the fox's chin grazed the top of her head ever so gently.

The skies filled with pink and orange fire from the sunset, that Nick and Judy hardly even noticed it.

To Be Continued