[A/N]: As a general note: I wanted this story to have fairytale-type vibe in the sense that it's timeless. There's no era or specific time period this story takes place in, there's actually elements from multiple time periods and European practices, so that made this pretty fun to write!

Predator and Prey had never gotten along. It was as simple as saying the sky was blue or that sugar was sweet. But war was threatening to tear apart the land of Zootopia, and something had to be done.

A wedding was decided upon, after all, it was the ultimate symbol of a union between two mammals. The most prominent predator family offered up their son, and the most prominent prey family, their daughter. The two families would be united for the greater cause of peace, a stepping stone for bridging the gap between the two parties.

Nicholas Wilde, age 8 and the son in question, was less than thrilled.

"I have to marry a baby?!" He exclaimed, holding the squirming bundle in his arms. The bunny, his betrothed, was no more than a month old, and no bigger than the size of his paw. She was crying, which Nick finally silenced by allowing her to suck on his finger. The staff 'aww'ed at this, to which Nick eyed them.

Nick and his family were visiting the Hopps manor in celebration of Judy's birth, and to finalize the agreement of the engagement. Nick's mother had stuffed him into a shirt with a collar so high he felt he could barely breathe, and pants so tight he couldn't run (he'd tried that already, sadly). Lady Hopps had handed Judy to him, a small gray puff of fluff swaddled in a lilac cloth, while the adults fawned over the two.

Nick frowned down at the little bunny. "I don't want to marry a baby!" He insisted. "Or anyone! That's gross!"

"Not a baby!" Lady Hopps corrected, beaming down at him, "You won't marry her until she's of age!"

"We still have 18 years," her husband added, along with a muttered, "Thank the Lord."

"It's for the good of the people," his mother reminded him gently, leaning down to ruffle the top of his head. "Trust me, Nicholas, I'm sure you two will grow to love each other. You may not understand now, but you will when you're older."

Nick wasn't too sure, but at this point, there was no use in complaining or whining about it (he'd tried that already, loudly).

His mother kissed his forehead and turned her focus back to Sir and Lady Hopps.

"Shall we discuss the land trade?" Nick's father asked as the adults drifted off to the other side of the room, leaving Nick alone with Judy, the boring baby bunny. She had stopped sucking on his finger and was instead staring up at him blankly, nose wriggling slightly.

Nick's nose twitched as he examined the kit closely, poking her gently to see if she'd do anything remotely interesting. "Do something," he instructed, though he was pretty sure babies couldn't even understand words.

Judy just waved her tiny paws up at him before grasping onto one of his knuckles as hard as she could. She blinked up at him with innocent, violet eyes as she gripped him, and Nick furrowed his brow.

"Dumb baby bunny," He muttered as Judy wriggled her nose up at him curiously. He pulled his knuckle away easily, but the moment he did her nose twitched faster and she started to make these high-pitched squeaking sounds that escalated into a full-on cry.

Nick's eyes flew wide open, and he started rocking her as best he could to calm her. "Quiet!" He hissed as Judy wailed, "You're gonna get me in trouble!"

"Is everything okay, Nicholas?" His mother asked as the adults looked back at him concernedly.

"Yes!" Nick answered quickly. He stopped his rocking and waved his finger in front of Judy's little muzzle, which caught her attention. The little bunny sniffled one last time before gripping back onto his knuckle, holding it tightly and smiling up at him happily.

"Weirdo," Nick muttered, breathing out a relieved sigh.

Judy only smiled more.

Nick tried to listen to what his mother had told him, tried to smile back when his father gave him an encouraging look, but he wasn't happy at all. Why did he even have to get married? Why were they making him marry a bunny who cried and liked holding fingers? She was weird and Nick was never ever going to fall in love with her.

He was happy he still had ages to go, 18 years was practically forever away! He wouldn't have to see her for a long time.

Or so he thought.