The life we choose

At the Hopps|Part 1

AN-Alright so I deleted the last chapter because I wanted to write this. The chapter is not as good as I wanted it to be, but I guess it'll do. A lot of plot development in this.
Enjoy!

   "You want me to do what?"
   Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps where sitting in their squad car having a conversation that had Nick become a little nervous.
   "I just want you to come with me to Bunny-Burrow to meet my parents. I've told them a lot about you and they said that you seem like a nice mammal and they would like to meet you," Judy said looking to her partner.
   However, Nick could tell something was wrong with Judy. Like she was hiding something.
   "Carrots. What did you tell them about me?"
   "I said that you where my partner on the force, your name is Nick, we're best friends, and that your a really nice mammal," The rabbit continued with a smile.
   "Ok. Now what did you NOT tell them about me?"
   Judy started to become a little uneasy.
   "I may have failed to mention that you were a con-artist.....and a fox."
   "Judy looked down disappointed. As if Nick was going to get mad. But she was surprised to feel his paw on her shoulder.
   "I understand, Carrots. Your parents don't like foxes and you didn't want them to know unless it was 100% necessary. I supposed your parents having a heart attack in first meeting would be great," Nick said with his signature grin.
   "So..will you come?"
   "Of course I will. You know I can't be too far away from you too long," Nick said and froze when he realized what he had said aloud.
   "What was that?" Judy asked with a raised brow.
   "I said I know you can't be too far away from me too long," Nick said.
   Judy seemed to have bought it,"Alright, Slick."
   The bunny didn't let it show but she was disappointed with that answer. She did care dearly for the fox, and ever sense her talk with Amber she knew she felt more that just a caring feeling for Nick.
   She was wild for Wilde.[A/N-See what I did there]
   "So when is it Carrots?"
   "This weekend. Will you be ready?"
   "Yeah."
   The two then spent the rest of the day patrolling.
###
   Once again. It was Friday. The two loved this day the most of any other day. It was the only day of the week the fox and rabbit could hang around together without mammals insinuating that he two was dating. Behind the doors of Nicks apartment the friends where trying to select a movie.
   "Alright Carrots. My movies are in that cabinet over their."
   This was the first night the two had done movie night at Nicks place. The two decided it was a good idea because they had to leave for Bunny-Burrow the next day, and Nick had the car. It just made sense.
   "Oh my God. Nick you are hoarding movies!" Judy yelled when she opened a large cabinet to find close to a thousand movies.
   "Well, Carrots, I needed something to pass the time," Nick said with a wink,"Judy chose something."
   The rabbit scanned through the many movies and found one that made her eyes go wide.
   "Nicholas P. Wilde!" Judy yelled.
   "Yeah Carrots?" Nick said as he walked into the living room with a huge bowl of popcorn and a couple of drinks.
   "Why do you own a copy of '50 Shades of Prey'?!?"
  "It's not mine. Finnick bought it."
  "Bullshit."
  "Carrots. What would I want with that movie."
  "I don't know. Maybe because your a creep. You know what. How about we not talk about this further. Here let's watch 'Die Hard'," Judy finished.
   Nick knew that he didn't buy the movie but Judy didn't care. It was in his house. Judy was a cop. It didn't matter what Nick thought.
   The movie was halfway through when Nick saw that the little bunny was asleep. Snoring in a soft and quiet way that made Nick smile. He was forbidden to say it to her face but the way she slept was nothing less then 'cute'.
   "Well, guess it's time to call it a night."
   Nick turned off the TV, and, careful to not wake her, picked up Judy. He carefully led her to his room where he layed her down. Covering her up so she wouldn't get cold.
   "Goodnight Carrots," Nick whispered. He then leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and walked to the living room where he slept on the couch.
###
   Judy woke up to the amazing smell of food. It was very strange however. She never thought of Nick as a cook, but as she got up and went to the kitchen the bunny was proven wrong.
   "Good morning, Carrots!" Nick said flipping a pancake.
   "Nick Wilde knows how to cook? And he didn't burn his apartment down?" Judy said sarcastically.
   Nick put his hand over his heart and said,"Carrots, I must say that that hurts. I am an amazing cook. My mother taught me everything i know."
   "That makes sense. Sam is a wonderful cook."
   "Are you going to have some or not?" Nick said handing her a plate.
   "Indeed," Judy said taking the plate. The bunny was excited to try them but unsure about how that would taste. She loved Nick dearly but sometimes she didn't trust him a lot.
   As the bunny cut her a piece and put it in her mouth all her unsureness was gone. The pancake was amazing.
   "Nick, these are great!" Judy said with a mouthful.
   "Well thank you Carrots."
   The two sat together eating pancakes and laughing about the things that happened to them earlier on the week.
   "But Nick. You didn't have to take advantage of him like that. He was high for crying out loud."
    "Now, Carrots, wasn't it hilarious to hear him freaking out about the aliens taking over the doughnut shop?"
    "Not to the chief. He had a time trying to figure out what the old goat was talking about."
   The two laughed like this for a while until it was almost 9:00.
   "Alright, Slick. It's time to go."
   "I know. Just let me grab my bag."
   "Your sure your ok with this? I mean I don't know how my parents will react to me bringing a fox home."
   "I'm positive. At least I'm not going there as your boyfriend."
   "Oh man. Dad would walk out the house with a shotgun," Judy laughed.
   Nick was laughing too until Judy made that last comment. Now Nick was scared of what the old rabbit would do to him. Espescially when Nick decided to confess his feelings toward the bunny.
   "So. Shall we?" Nick said gesturing to the door.
   "Yes. We shall."
   And the two left. Going south bound toward Bunny-Burrow.
###
   The ride to Judy's hometown wasn't as bad as most car trips could be. The trip was nice but Nick wanted to hurry up to the Hopps house so he could get out of the car.
   Nick loves his car very much, but it was still a piece of shit. It over heated often and Nick didn't know why. It needed a new exhaust because it was a killer on gas.
   But through all its defaults it never let the fox down.
   "Are we there yet Carrots?" Nick asked.
   "It's not too much further, Slick. Just take this dirt road up here," Judy explained pointing.
   "Alright. I guess I'm still a little nervous."
   "Don't be. My parents will love you."
   "As long as they think I'm a red sheep, or an over grown bunny with short ears," Nick said laughing.
   Judy couldn't help but giggle also but knew that Nick was nervous. The closer they got to her parents house the faster his heart rate got.
   "Nick.."
   "Yeah Carrots?"
   The bunny put her hand on Nicks arm and said,"Don't ever let them see that they get to you."
   The bunny's smile was all it took for Nick to calm down.
   "Thanks, Carrots. I needed that."
   "Well your nothing but a dumb fox."
   "Whatever, sly bunny."
###
   "Judy's here!" The little bunny's yelled with joy when they saw a car pull into the yard.
   The children where seemed to be correct in their assumption when their older sister stepped out of the car.
   "Hey guys!" Judy said.
   "Jude the dude/Judy!" Bonnie and Stu Hopps yelled hugging their daughter with tears.
   "Hey mom. Hey dad." Judy replied with joy.
   The bunny was then tackled by another bunny her age,"JUDY!"
   "Amber!"
   "How is my best friend and sister doing?" Amber asked.
   "I'm doing as fine as I can."
   "Is that Nick in the car?" Amber asked.
   It was then that Judy noticed Nick hadn't gotten out of the car. He was most likely still nervous.
   Judy walked to the car and looked an the window toward Nick,"Dad ain't got his shotgun if that's what your worried about."
   Nick just smiled and said,"I'm not worried."
   He then got out of the car and the family looked at him for a few seconds.
   Finally, ever so slowly, one of the younger bunnies walked toward the fox. Then pointing to the fox the bunny said,"He looks like Gideon Grey!"
   Stu and Bonnie was a little uneasy at the moment, but understood that this was Judy's friend and they needed to try and be polite.
   "Hello. I'm Bonnie Hopps, Judy's mom," the older female rabbit said first.
   "And I'm Stu. Her dad," the older male rabbit said.
   "Very nice to meet y'all," Nick said kindly trying to be calm and polite.
   It was quiet for a little bit until Bonnie turned to Judy and said,"Hey baby can you help me in the kitchen. Me and Amber were working on lunch."
   "Sure mom. But can dad show Nick where he will be sleeping?"
   "Of course I will. This way Mr. Wilde," Stu Hopps said.
   So the bunny and fox parted ways upon entering the house.
   The room given to Nick was small but big enough for a mammal like him.
   "Thank you very much sir. This is a great place you got here," Nick said.
   "Thank you Nick. This burrow is close to 50 years old. My grandfather built it himself."
   "Wow."
   "So Nick. I got a few things to do in the yard. I'll talk with you later," and with that the bunny was gone.
   The uneasiness in his voice wasn't gone, but the rabbit tried to be kind nevertheless. So after packing Nick decided to go outside and see if he could do something helpful.
   Upon exiting the house Nick noticed that there was a bunny under the hood of his car.
   "What are doing?" Nick asked surprised. And a bunny, about the same age as Judy, came into view.
    "Ah. You must be Nick. Pleased to meet you. I'm Judy's brother, Kyle."
   "Hey Kyle. Nice to meet you. But what are you doing to my car?"
   "Oh. Of course. Well I was admiring this nice car you got. 1977 trans am. Correct?"
   "Yeah."
   "Anyway. Judy had mentioned that the car had problem with the overheating and you couldn't figure out what it was."
   "That's correct. So you decided to just come work on my car with my permission."
   "I didn't think I did. Judy said it was alright."
   "I don't understand what that means," Nick said confused.
   "You two are together aren't you?"
   "No. We're just friends."
   "Right. Anyway, I figured out what your problem is."
   "Did you?"
   "Yeah. You have a cracked head gasket."
   Nick took a really close look and saw that Kyle was right. There was a small crack in the head gasket causing the car to go hot quickly.
   "Wow. How did I not see that."
   "Well Judy mentioned that you where a dumb fox."
   "Yeah. She said that more than once."
   "And the way Judy talks about you I thought y'all were together already."
   "Well we're not," said, but Kyle noticed the disappointment in the foxs voice.
   "Oh. I see what it's like."
   "What do you mean?"
   "You like her, but your uncertain whether or not she feels the same."
   "Why are you all for this. I thought your family didn't like predators."
   "No. Mom and Dad are uneasy about them. I have no problem, Amber has no problem, and the little ones have no problem with it. It's only mom, dad, grandpa, and a few of the older siblings."
   "Really?"
   "Yeah. So are you still nervous?"
   "It depends on whether or not your dad carries a pistol wherever he goes."
    "Only on weekdays," Kyle said, and the two laughed.
   "Well. How much would it take to fix this?"
   "Nick I'll make you a deal."
   The fox got a little nervous,"What?"
   "You tell my sister how you feel about her before your next visit, I'll do it for free."
   "Well what if I never come back?" Nick with his hustle grin.
   "You will. I know your a sucker for Judy. I also know that she cares about you. I also know that your a good guy who would never hurt or take advantage of her. That, and there's a wedding taking place."
   "Who's getting married?"
   "Me."
   "Wow. Congratulations. So why would I come?"
   "Because I'm doing you a favor of fixing your car. You will owe me one and will end up coming. And in doing so you will be challenged to tell Judy how you feel. Because if you do not let me fix your car now you will not get back to Zootopia in this. And you being a dumb fox you most likely do not know how to fix this. And you will be stranded on the side of the road where Judy will call us to help Y'all out causing you to come back anyway and you will have to tell her sooner."
   Nicks mouth was wide open as he listened to the bunny who just hustled the hell out of him.
   "Did you take lessons from Judy?"
   "Well. It's called a hustle."
   Nick then thought hard about it. He did like Judy. He even went as far as to say that he loved her. He wanted to tell her how he felt. And then decided that he could get more out of this rabbit then he thought.
   "I'll tell you what, Kyle. How about we strengthen the deal?"
   "I'm listening."
   "If you fix both the head gasket AND replace my exhaust I will tell her before we leave."
   Now Kyle was the one thinking about it. He only known the fox a while ten minutes but felt like he knew all about him. Kyle liked the fox. Although the bunny was always a little overprotective of his sister, but he thought that Nick was the perfect mammal for her. Even if he wasn't a rabbit, but Judy always was the odd one out.
   Kyle put his paw out toward Nick and said,"Deal," and Nick shook Kyle's hand also.
   "Alright. Now you must leave me alone so I may work on this car."
    Nick left Kyle with the keys and went to find Stu who was working in the fields.
   "Ah. Nick. What a surprise. How can I help you?"Stu said.
   "Well I was wondering if there was any way I could help you," Nick responded.
   Stu had to think about it but decided that he did need the help. 
   "Alright Nick. Do you think that you can help me move these bags of fertilizer?"
    Nick nodded and the two got to work.
###
   As this was going on with Nick, Judy was in the kitchen helping her mom and Amber.
   "So, sweety, Nick seems like a nice fox," Bonnie said.
   "He is mom. We are best friends," Judy smiled.
   "Oh!" Bonnie sounded surprised.
   "Mom? What is it?"
   "Oh nothing dear. I just thought that you and Nick were together." 
    "WHAT?!?"
   "Well you said that you think you liked him."
   "What else did you tell her?" Judy said toward Amber.
   "I didn't say nothing. Mom is the queen of eavesdropping," Amber explained.
   "It comes with the ears sweety. Now Judy. When are you going to tell him?"
   "Mom there are two things. One; I don't know if he feels the same..."
   "Judy. I'm not blind, or death. But apparently you are. Whenever he is around you his heart rate goes up. I also see the way he looks at you." Bonnie said to her daughter.
   "And two...dad."
   "Oh your dad will be fine. He'll probubly over react but he'll be fine."
   "That's just it mom. I want dad to be happy that I found love. I want him to accept it like you and Amber," Judy said.
   "He will be happy for you. It'll just surprise him that you love Nick."
   "I know mom."
   "Look. Nick is trying to get along with your dad. And if this fox can steal your heart I know he can win your dad over."
   "Thanks Amber. Thanks mom. I guess your right. But I'm just scared to tell him, and I get nervous when I'm around him."
   "That's how your supposed to feel. Don't worry. The problem you'll have is if Nick ain't ready" Bonnie said.
   "Alright mom. If you say so", Judy said. Still unsure about whether or not this was a good idea.

AN-So yeah. Pretty excited for the next chapter. I didn't want to have the whole thing with 'Stu Hopps hated Nick because he's a fox' because I don't agree with that. He was raised to think that foxes were not to be trusted or dangerous. But his daughter taught him different. So I'm going to talk about how the rabbit hates foxes because he doesn't. He's just very protective of his family.
Just thought I should say that.
Till Next Time....