A/N: Just a short Easter Sunday contribution that popped into my head. I've been seeing a lot of fanart circulating about this topic so I decided to throw my hat into the ring to help celebrate this day of Our Lord having Risen. This is also my late contribution for the fourth year anniversary of Zootopia's release. Now, if you can find all the Easter eggs I've hidden (ducks behind curtain to avoid rotten tomatoes)... if you can't, I promise to post all of them one week from today.
All my thanks to the following people who helped beta read this fic in the shortest time possible: Stubat007, Cimar, username taken, JShute, Bug53, Midlou, A Random Kid, Dancou-Maryuu, Wayfaring Pangolin, and all the other unnamed authors who were in ZAA's Discord server at the time of the reading.
And as always, the required disclaimer: All characters are owned by ©Disney except for original characters created by me. Any resemblance to actual persons or mammals, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
***Update***
As promised, here are all the Easter eggs that were hidden within the story:
1. The Hulk
2. King Richard the Lionheart from Disney's Robin Hood
3. Aslan from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
4. "Foxy Teaser" by RobCivecat
5. Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny
6. Futurama
7. Pepe le Pew
8. "Carrot Pop" by TG Weaver
Thanks to all who left kudos! If you have any questions about the Easter eggs, feel free to leave me a note and I'll try to respond as soon as possible. #staysafe2020
"C'mon, Carrots! I said I was sorry!"
"..."
"Look… I may have gone a little overboard this year–"
"A little?" Judy grumbled, whirling upon her husband of three years. She snagged his tie and yanked him down to her level.
Nick gulped in fear as he gazed into her intense lavender eyes. After being married for some time, he had gotten to know her mood just by staring into them. After all, didn't they say they were the windows into the soul? He knew when she was hungry, angry, teasing, or even when she was about to jump his bones. This particular look, however, was the one she had when interrogating a suspect. The look of a predator on the hunt.
"The first year was cute. The second year was annoying but tolerable. This? This just makes me furious. And you know you shouldn't make me angry. You won't like it when I'm angry."
Nick tried to backpedal, his hind claws scrabbling for traction. But his mate's iron grip on his tie ensured he wasn't going anywhere.
"Okay," he gasped, trying to catch his breath. "I admit pranking you every Easter wasn't the best idea I've ever had. But still, you must admit, they were kinda funny."
"Listen here, you cretinous mutt!" Judy growled through her bared teeth, "I forgave you the first year because you didn't know any better and the year after that because you were being you. But I'm putting my paw down this year. You don't make fun of the Easter Bunny! That's sacrilegious to all rabbits everywhere!"
"C'mon, you don't really believe all that stuff about him, do you?"
"Nick, do you believe in Karma, the fox deity?"
"Well..."
"What about kitsune? Or Robin Hood? What about Santa Paws? What would you think if I made fun of them?"
"Wait a minute! They're all important historical facets of iconic fox culture. They're what young foxes dream of becoming. Heroes."
"Well, what do you think the Easter Bunny means to us, then?"
He wryly rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I didn't think you took him seriously. After all, who'd look up to a mythical creature that lays eggs, colours them, and then hides them?"
Judy rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Dumb fox," she muttered under her breath. Opening her eyes, she yanked him closer to the point their noses were touching. "First of all, the Easter Bunny doesn't lay eggs. You've been looking at too many memes in Muzzlebook, again. Second, it's a tradition dating back to medieval times. A famine had broken out and the lion regent at that time forbade the eating of eggs by civilians. They were to be reserved for his army to keep up their strength in case they were attacked by a neighbouring kingdom.
"There was one bunny poultry farmer who disagreed with that policy considering many of his fellow mammals were at the brink of starvation. So, he hatched a plan–"
"Really, Carrots?"
"Hush, you. I'm the one telling the story. Anyway, so he and his large family decided to organize a secret egg hunt for their village under the nose of their ruler. They disguised the eggs to look like flowers and hid them amidst a field of crocuses. They decided to do it on the day that Lion Christ resurrected as they usually held a Spring Festival commemorating the occasion. When the lion regent eventually discovered the ruse afterwards, he couldn't help but agree that it made his constituents much happier and he rescinded the unpopular decree. Ever since then, it's been a tradition we've been celebrating."
"But, why eggs? And with chocolate inside, of all things."
Slightly blushing, Judy steadfastly maintained her penetrating gaze with her mate. "Because chocolate and eggs go paw-in-paw with what rabbits are known for."
Grinding her teeth at Nick's deer-in-the-headlights impression, she continued. "Why are chocolates given during All Heart's Day? It's because chocolate is considered an aphrodisiac since it contains a substance that inflames desire, and makes the beloved one more open to romance."
"Not to canines though. Theobromine can be fatal to us canids."
"It's the thought that counts!" The doe whined, facepawing herself. "And secondly, eggs are a symbol of fertility and rabbits are good at–"
"Multiplying. Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, I can see why you're upset about my prank but why do I have to wear this bunny onesie?"
"Cause, my lovely buck," Judy said as she waggled her eyebrows while zipping up her fox jumpsuit, "it's Wabbit hunting season. Now, you have a one-minute head start. If you manage to get away, I'll tolerate all your Easter Bunny pranks from now on. If I catch you…" She left her sentence unfinished as she licked her lips in an unnatural predator-like way as she gazed at him with half-lidded eyes.
"Uh, Judy… why are you staring at me like I'm dinner?"
"I'm in heat and it's going to be snu-snu time."
"Wait a second, I'm–"
"You're wasting time, Nick. Fifty seconds left."
"You can't do this!"
"Mmmhhh. Your tent and wagging tail tell me otherwise."
"Traitor!" Nick scowled at his groin. "You, too!" He growled, grasping at his furry appendage. "Always ratting me out!"
"Now, now, Nick. That's being speciesist. Forty-five seconds, Slick. And you know I always get my mammal."
Turning on his tail, Nick fled into the forest bordering the Hopps' farm. Judy waited five seconds and then merrily bounced after him on all fours, humming underneath her breath, "Hey, hey, Mr. Fox, what are you doing in the garden again…"