#wildexhopps

Nick woke up early, he always did, it was the awesome thing about being a fox.

He was not the only one awake, he could clearly hear the “clink” of glasses downstairs being moved around and the magnet strips of the fridge doors slapping shut every few minutes.

“God does she ever sleep?”

He dragged himself from the nice warm cover of his bed sheets and made his way to the small bathroom, the room Pricilla had given him wasn’t grand by any stretch but it was cozy and safe feeling, and was a million times better than being the bum on a seat.

The blanket was thrown over Nicks shoulders and he sported only his boxers. He got to the small medicine cabinet in the outdated bathroom and gently brushed his paw over his cheeks and chin, a shave and clean up was definitely in order.

He began to fill the sink with water and splashed his face several times taking out an electric razor and getting to work, he brushed his face in the small towel he had bought with his clothes yesterday and looked into the mirror to see what almost resembled a dashing middle aged fox.

He smiled at himself and the reflection smiled back he; reached a paw out and placed it on the mirror and for the longest moment just starred.

He jumped when there was a banging at the door.

“Hello?” he called from the bathroom.

“Hey Nickie it’s just me sweetie, just making sure you haven’t hung yaself in der”.

Nick chuckled, but didn’t know whether or not she was serious.

“Still alive!” he shouted out to her.

“That’s good sweetie, look, I know you’re not meant to work right now but can you give me a hand changing the kegs downstairs in the cellar, they are heavy to boot”.

“Do you ever sleep?” replied Nick looking at the bedside table and the time of the morning.

“Nope, meet you downstairs sugar”.

“Be there in a minute”

Nick heard her walking away as the floorboard creaked.

He get dressed in nice black shirt and sported some casual cargo pants, he came down stairs rolling his sleeves up ready to help Pricilla.

“Okay, where these kegs at” he asked looking around, only to see Pricilla sitting at a table with bowls of food sitting in the middle. Scrambled eggs, toast with lobs of butter, blueberry pie, and other assortments lay on the table.

Nick stopped halfway through rolling his sleeves up, there was no kegs, there was no work to be done, Pricilla got up early to make him breakfast.

Pricilla noticed the silence and looked to the food “I tought you might be hungry, didn’t wana ask when ya last real meal was, so I wiped together some of the good stuff in the kitchen hopin youd like sometin I put out”.

Nick gingerly placed his paw on the spine of the chair in front of him and took a seat his eyes locked on Pricilla then down to the unbelievably delicious looking delicacies in front of him, his eyes unable to move and his body frozen.

Pricilla noticed a saddening look in Nickie and pried “What’s wrong sweetie?” She asked placing her palm on his closest forearm trying to get him to look at her.

Nick hastily made eye contact with her, his brow creased in confusion and heartbreak.

“Why are you doing all this for me?” he asked, as if her making him breakfast was the equivalent of dying for his sins.

“Because, there isn’t an ounce of bad in you Nicholas Wilde, not a single drop, and I’ve known dat from de first day you walked in ere”

Nick simply nodded thinking deeply on her words.

Nick smiled at her as he raised a spoonful of cheerio’s to his mouth and cheered her with it taking the first bite of an unbelievable diverse banquet.

Nick finished breakfast and sat slouched in his chair his paws resting on his belly.

“Ugh, I’m stuffed, where did you learn to cook like that?”

Pricilla giggled as she cleared the table, “Well after my husband left me for a young better looking broad, I had to fend for myself, didn’t have many other things I was good at, but hey I’m a Hippo, so I know good food, ever heard the saying as big as a Hippo?”

Nick chuckled as he continued to listen.

“Well anyways, I could pour a beer and make a feed and so when we divorced and I got my settlement I opened dis ere bar, I never ad much faith in my own abilities, me hubby was always debasing me and making me feel worthless, but den dis place, it took off you know, people love coming ere for karaoke and I love being a part of people’s parties and fun it worked out well”.

“What about him?” asked Nick.

“Last I heard, his Gal left him for another Hog and he ended up taking the easy way out”.

Nicks face turned to shock.

Pricilla just shrugged “Ya win some ya lose some Nickie”

“Is that why you were worried about me last night?”

Pricilla smirked, walked over and placed her hoof on Nicks shoulder awaiting his eyes contact and when she got it she explained “No, I checked on you last night for a different reason....you see Nickie there are two types of people  those who take their life when they are hurt bad, like my ex husband. The second Nickie…. The second is why I checked on you, the second ones they take their life just when things are starting to get better, they do it like that, because they think if it gets better again, that sooner or later it will go back to being bad, and they don’t want to live with that feeling ever again, that lonely...lonely feeling”.

Nick knew the words were for him, she wanted him to think long and hard, that is why she had waited for his eyes contact.

“But you’ll never be alone Nickie” Trust me she said with a smile while she picked up Nicks plates; that’s when Nick noticed it, faint and barely visible, fading scars riddled up the arm of Pricilla. Nick looked to the scar then to Pricilla, who didn’t seem ashamed or shy away she just starred at them also while addressing Nick.

“It always gets better Nick”.  

There was a long silence as Pricilla placed the plates in the sink to clean; “Now get outta here Nick, you have work tonight, I suggest you get some sleep, I hear you up there last night I know it’s tough to sleep here sometimes, but last night was quiet”.

Pricilla was right the music from the jukebox the night before and the constant sound of other animals talking and laughing made Nick anxious and made it hard for Nickie to sleep, but he didn’t care, according to Pricilla last night was a quiet night and perhaps he just needed to get use to it.  

Nick got up from the table and made his way to the door, the words of Pricilla echoed his mind and made him truly thought provoked, he couldn’t shake what she said, but he knew where he was going, he was going to make things better.

He reached the park that he had slept in for so long, he checked his watch, he didn’t have much time, he went to run, when the sound of a bus behind him honking grabbed his attention, and he saw it the red ears of a Vixen inside the bus.

“No, I’m too late” he cursed, annoyed at himself for dawdling on the way. He kicked a rock and placed his hand in his pockets walking through the park, he knew where his body was going, straight to his usual seat, he got to his old home and placed his rump down on the park bench, grumbling to himself about how stupid he was.

❝ NICK WILDE × JUDY HOPPS — MEETING THE FAMILY ❞

Nick Wilde knew this was a bad idea the second Judy Hopps said the word “family.”

Not because he didn’t like the idea, and not because he didn’t want to meet them. It was the way she said it. Bright, excited, completely confident, like she had already decided how this was going to go. Nick had learned very quickly that when Judy sounded like that, it usually meant she was underestimating something.

In this case, she was underestimating a lot.

“They’re going to love you,” Judy insisted for what had to be the fourth time, practically bouncing in her seat as the train rattled toward Bunnyburrow.

Nick flicked an ear, glancing at her from where he lounged back, arms crossed. “You have, what, a few siblings?”

Judy beamed like that was the easiest question in the world. “Two hundred and seventy-five.”

Nick stared at her.

“…you’re kidding.”

“Nope!”

He blinked once, then leaned his head back against the seat, staring up at the ceiling like he was reconsidering every decision that had led him to this exact moment.

“Carrots,” he said slowly, “I need you to be honest with me. Is this a meeting, or am I being… processed?”

Judy laughed, nudging his arm. “Oh, come on, it won’t be that bad.”

Nick gave her a flat look. “You said that about paperwork once. I almost quit.”

She only grinned wider.

That did not reassure him.

—

Bunnyburrow was exactly what Nick expected at first. Open fields stretched out in every direction, warm air drifting through the train doors as they stepped off. It smelled like fresh soil and growing things, peaceful in a way Zootopia never quite was.

For about ten seconds.

Then the front door of the Hopps house opened.

“JUDY’S HOME!”

The shout rang out like a starting signal, and before Nick could even process what was happening, the yard exploded into motion. Rabbits poured out from everywhere. Small ones, older ones, all of them moving fast, all of them talking at once, voices overlapping into one giant wave of sound.

“Judy! Judy! You’re back!” “Who’s that?!” “Is that the fox?!” “He’s taller than I thought!” “Do foxes bite?!”

Nick froze.

Completely.

Judy, on the other hand, lit up like she had just been plugged into a power source.

“Guys!” she laughed, dropping her bag as she was immediately swarmed. “Hey, hey, slow down!”

They did not slow down.

Nick watched as she disappeared into a pile of siblings, his ears slowly lowering as more and more of them ran past him, around him, nearly into him. There were too many. Way too many.

“…I’m going to die here,” he muttered under his breath.

“You must be Nick!”

Nick turned, blinking as two older rabbits approached him with warm, welcoming smiles. Stu Hopps and Bonnie Hopps.

“Uh,” Nick said, straightening slightly as he slipped back into his usual charm. “Guilty.”

Stu didn’t hesitate, reaching out to grab his paw in a firm, enthusiastic handshake. “We’ve heard so much about you!”

“All good things, I hope,” Nick replied automatically.

Bonnie laughed, clearly amused. “Mostly.”

That did not help.

Before Nick could recover, a blur of movement shot past his legs, nearly knocking him off balance.

“Whoa—!”

Another one followed. And another. And then three more.

Nick looked down at the chaos swirling around him, trying and failing to track even a single rabbit as they darted between his legs.

“Carrots,” he called out, raising his voice slightly, “there are too many of them.”

“I heard that!” Judy shouted back from somewhere inside the swarm.

“You were supposed to!” he shot back.

Something tugged on his pant leg.

Nick looked down to find one of the younger siblings staring up at him with wide, curious eyes. No hesitation. No fear.

“Are you Judy’s boyfriend?” the kid asked.

Nick paused, considering.

“Well, that depends,” he said slowly. “Is there a correct answer here?”

“Yes.”

“…then yes.”

The kid nodded, completely satisfied, and immediately ran off, loudly announcing the answer to everyone within earshot.

Nick closed his eyes briefly.

“…I walked into that.”

“Nick!”

He opened them just in time to see Judy finally push her way out of the crowd, ears slightly messy, fur a little ruffled, but smiling brighter than ever.

“You’re doing great!” she said, stepping up beside him.

“I’m being evaluated,” he replied.

She laughed, bumping her shoulder lightly against his. “They like you.”

“They’re interrogating me.”

“Same thing.”

More siblings began to gather around them again, forming a loose circle this time, eyes fixed on Nick with open curiosity. The energy shifted just slightly, less chaotic, more focused.

Nick exhaled slowly, then crouched down to their level, resting his arms loosely on his knees.

“Alright,” he said, lifting a paw. “Let’s make a deal.”

The chatter quieted, not completely, but enough.

“You ask your questions one at a time,” he continued, “and I promise to answer… most of them honestly.”

There was a brief pause.

Then—

“DO FOXES HAVE SHARP TEETH?!” “CAN YOU RUN REALLY FAST?!” “DID YOU SAVE JUDY?!” “DO YOU LOVE HER?!”

Nick blinked, ears flicking back.

“…okay, that was not one at a time.”

Judy laughed beside him, not even trying to hide it anymore.

Nick glanced at her, then back at the crowd of siblings staring up at him with wide, expectant eyes. For a second, just a second, he considered backing off. Deflecting. Slipping into something easier.

Instead, something in his chest softened.

He huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head as his tail flicked behind him.

“Yeah,” he said, settling into it. “Alright. Let’s try this again.”

He pointed at one of them. “You. First question.”

The kid lit up immediately, launching into another rapid-fire question, and this time Nick answered. Then another followed. And another.

The chaos didn’t disappear.

But it changed.

It became something warmer. Something easier.

And Judy noticed.

She stood just off to the side now, watching him as he talked, as he joked, as he slowly let himself be pulled into the noise and energy instead of pushing against it.

Because despite everything, despite how overwhelming it was, despite how out of his element he clearly felt…

Nick didn’t step back.

He leaned in.

And as one of her younger siblings climbed halfway onto his arm mid-question and he didn’t even flinch, Judy felt something soft settle in her chest.

Because that told her more than anything else ever could.

He wasn’t just here for her.

He was trying.

Oh my gosh okay so like now that Nick and Judy are both cops Nick will like always be trying to protect her and she is gonna be super fed up with it like just UGH can’t you just see it!!!!

Nick: Carrots look out!!!!

*Judy almost trips Nick catches her at the last moment swinging her around so there noses are touching*

Nick: you got to be more careful