Chapter Text
Judy leaned her head on the train window, the fields outside passing by in a blur of yellow and green crops as the afternoon sun shined down. It had been a couple hours since she had started this trip out to her hometown, and she was very much looking forward to being able to get out and really stretch her legs. And of course, she'd finally be able to see her family for the first time in months.
The last time she'd seem them in person was a bit before Nick had gotten injured*, and she had taken the first few weeks to help him with his recovery. And now, a couple months later, they were both on their way to Bunnyburrow for the Harvest Festival.
Judy turned to look at the fox, who was currently taking a power nap. She shook his shoulder gently, causing him to wake up and look around, confused as to where he was for a moment. "Huh? Wuz happening?" he said groggily.
"We're going to be at the station in a couple minutes, sleepy fox," Judy answered gently. "Gotta get ready to meet my parents."
Nick shook himself fully awake, looking back down at the rabbit. "Right. They're not going to have torches and pitchforks ready at the station for me, right? I just got this new conditioner for my fur, and it'd be a shame for it to go to waste."
"No, Nick, my parents aren't going to chase you out of town," she tried to assure. "With how many times you've saved my life, they'll adore you."
"Didn't they give you fox repellent when you first went to Zootopia?"
"Ok, yeah, they did do that," Judy admitted. "And a fox taser. And they still probably have room to improve. But they have gotten better. They've been working with that fox baker I told you about."
"Wait, a fox taser?" Nick asked in bewilderment. "Is it, like, a taser that can only be used by foxes, or a taser that can only be used on a fox? If it's the latter, what if you wanted to tase someone who wasn't a fox, like a capybara or something? Would you have to reach for your capybara taser. Also, can I have one?"
"It's just a normal taser, obviously," Judy said, exasperated at the silly question. "They just call it that to sell more of them to morons who can't get their head out of the ground. And why would you want one anyways."
Nick shrugged. "'Cause it'd be funny."
"Of course," she deadpanned.
"Thanks, Carrots, I knew I could count on you." Nick leaned his head on his hand, looking down at the rabbit with a smirk on his face. One that was quickly wiped out by the jab Judy threw at his arm. "Ow!"
"I'm not getting you a fox taser," she said. "They threw it away anyways, so you're going to have to get your own if you want one." At least I hope they did. Judy had largely forgotten about the taser, so she hadn't ever actually followed up on what happened to it. But as long as she didn't have to deal with anyone pulling it on Nick, she just wouldn't worry about it.
The overhead speakers crackled to life. "Arriving at Bunnyburrow in two minutes."
Judy looked back outside the window, starting to notice familiar landmarks as the train rapidly approached their destination. She and Nick both moved to gather their stuff, and as the Bunnyburrow station pulled into their line of sight, she excitedly pulled him along to the doors as best she could with them both having suitcases.
As the train finally pulled up to the station, the two partners could see several dozen rabbits gathered, a banner overhead spelling 'Welcome Home Judy and Nick'. To her side, Nick gulped. "They're not all here, right?"
"Nope!" she answered cheerfully. "That's just a handful of them. The rest are probably working at other stuff for the festival. We'll meet the rest of them later"
"That's good, I guess. I'd rather wait to get crushed by a wave of bunnies."
Judy threw a quick punch at his arm, doing her best to not let it be seen by the bunnies outside. "Don't worry, there'll be time for that later. Now come on!" She dragged him forward as the doors whooshed open.
"Welcome home, Judy!" the group outside cheered. Bonnie and Stu stood at the front, quickly greeting their daughter.
"We missed you so much, Judy!" her mother said, embracing her a strong hug. "We're so glad you could make it again this year."
"Me too, Mom," Judy said, returning the embrace. "It's so good to see you guys again." She turned to her dad, quickly giving him a hug as well.
"Ohh, I missed you too, Jude the Dude," her dad said happily.
Judy let go and ran back towards Nick, grabbing by the arm to pull him closer. "And you guys met Nick at Gary's house."
Nick waved awkwardly. "Hi again, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. How's the farm?"
"Oh, none of that formality, Nick," Bonnie said, waving dismissively. "Just call us Bonnie and Stu. Especially after everything you've done for our daughter."
"Alright, that works for me, Bonnie," Nick replied, adapting quickly to the request.
Judy beamed, happy to see her partner getting along so well with her parents already. They hadn't had much of a conversation during the celebration at Gary's place, and Judy had been just a little bit stressed that her parents wouldn't get along with Nick. Fortunately, she hadn't needed to worry.
Suddenly, a small grey rabbit launches herself into her arms. "JUDY!" Cotton yells, hugging as tight as her little arms could manage. "I missed you!"
"I missed you too, Cotton," Judy exclaimed, returning the hug. She set her down, smiling. "How has my little sister been? Have you done anything cool recently?"
"Yeah!" Cotton shook her head, smiling even wider than Judy was. "We had to do a presentation about someone we look up to in school, and I chose to you."
Judy felt her heart warm at the young bunny's greeting, the others chuckling at her endless energy. "She was so excited to meet you," Bonnie explained. "We had to make her promise to wait a minute after you got off the train. Guess she was counting down the seconds."
Cotton beamed, but as she turned to look behind her big sister, she froze. She pointed at Nick. "I-is that…" Judy's heart sunk, hoping that Cotton hadn't picked up any of the Burrow's fear towards foxes. "Mr. Nick?"
Judy nodded. "Yeah. Nick is my partner. He helps me catch bad guys at work." She wasn't entirely sure how to handle the situation, and looking at Nick, neither did he.
"I know," Cotton said, staring at the fox with wide eyes. "I see him on the TV next to you."
"To be fair, I'm mostly there because she asks me to," Nick joked casually, but Judy could tell he was nervous. "I'm just there to make sure she doesn't get herself in too much trouble. I don't do nearly as much cool-"
Nick grunted, interrupted by the small bunny attaching herself to his leg, hugging it tightly. "Thanks for saving Judy," she said, voice muffled the fox's pants leg.
Nick reached down, patting Cotton on the head gently as he tried to pry her arms off of his leg. "It's no problem, just doing what partners do. Now, can I have my leg back, please?" Cotton just shook her head, gripping on with all her strength. Nick looked back up at Judy exasperated, and she giggled at the fox's reaction. He grabbed his suitcase and walked towards the group, taking longer, exaggerated steps as the bunny stayed attached to his leg.
"Aww, I think she likes you," Bonnie remarked as she reached down to detach Cotton from Nick's leg. She hauled her up, lifting the young bunny onto her shoulders. "C'mon Cotton, lets let Mr. Nick walk freely, ok?"
"Alright," Cotton replied, pouting as more mammals stepped up to greet the two partners.
Judy's face lit up as another one of her sisters walked over to say hello. "Violet! How have you been?"
The older rabbit embraced Judy. "I've been great! It's so good to see you again." As the two separated, Violet turned to Nick, scanning him up and down. "So. This is your partner you've talked so much about."
Judy's ears flushed slightly as Nick stepped forward, offering a handshake to Violet. "Hopefully nothing too bad."
"Oh, don't worry," Violet assured while shaking the fox's hand. "Other than the occasional comment on how annoying you are, she's had nothing but good things to say about you."
"Oh, really?" Nick shot a smirk at Judy over Violet's shoulder, but Judy thought she could see genuine affection peeking through his smug expression. "Well, hopefully I live up to expectations."
Violet nodded as more of Judy's siblings came up to greet them. "Hey June, hey Jane!" Judy greeted her litter mates, the three sisters embracing tightly. "I missed you guys!"
June pulled back, the dark eyed, earth-brown rabbit giving her sister a quick look over as if checking for injuries. "We missed you too! I'm so glad you're ok. We heard what happened with Nick a couple months ago.*" She looked over at Nick, who was currently doing his best to handle the energy of half a dozen or so bunny kits. "He looks like he's doing a lot better."
Judy smiled, watching the fox do his best to protect to protect his tail from the grabby kits while still entertaining them. "Yeah. He's doing great, isn't he?" she said, a hint of wistfulness sneaking through.
Jane, who looked almost identical to June except for the purple eyes, looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Yeah. Just out curiosity, is there something you wanted to tell us?"
"What?" Judy said, snapped out of her staring. Her face flushed as she processed what her sister had asked. "What are you talking about? Me and Nick are just friends."
Jane raised her eyebrows at her, clearly not buying Judy's flimsy excuse. "I never said anything about that, did I?"
Judy winced at the unintentional reveal, annoyed at herself that it was so early into her trip. She hadn't told any of her family members how she felt about Nick, but she supposed that given how much she talked about him, some of her more observant family members were bound to find out eventually. "Please don't tell anyone, ok?" she begged quietly, trying not to draw any attention from her parents, and especially Nick. "I don't know if he feels the same, and I don't want him finding out if I'm wrong."
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone," June assured her, also doing her best to keep her voice from reaching the others. She looked back over at Nick, seemingly appreciating the view. "But you've better make a move soon. A fox like that probably won't stay single for long."
"June!" Judy protested, her face almost as red as the fox's fur.
"What? I'm just saying that you've got good taste. Plus, look how well he's handling the kits." She nodded towards Nicks direction, where he was holding up two kits on each arm, raising them up and down like an amusement park ride as the rest of her family watched in amusement. His green eyes shone in amusement as he looked back up at Judy, a huge smile stretching across his face. A face that immediately turned into surprise as another kit managed to sneak behind him, wrapping their arms and legs around his tail.
Judy and her sisters snickered at the fox as he gently put the kits on his arm safely on the ground before reaching around to try to wrangle the other one off of his tail. "Alright, give him some space," Judy announced as she walked over. "We'd like to get settled down, before it gets too late." She grabbed the kit off of Nick's tail, setting him down and sending him back towards the others.
The rest of the swarm dispersed a bit, starting to make their way to the vehicles, Judy and Nick both grabbing their suitcases to follow them. Of course, with how many rabbits that needed transportation, there were a number of cars in the parking lot, as well as a rabbit sized bus. Most of the rabbits started to make their way towards the bus, but Judy grabbed Nick to drag him along a slightly different direction. "Wait, are we not taking the bus?" Nick asked, looking uncertain.
"Nope!" Judy answered, heading off towards her parents' minivan, the vehicle usually used for larger trips like this. "Mom and Dad are taking us in their car."
"You're the boss," Nick relents as he lets himself be pulled towards their destination. Violet, June, and Jane also stood by the car as they stacked their suitcases in the front. Judy and Nick ended up sitting next to each other, Nick getting the window seat this time. Jane filled in next to Judy, giving her a knowing smirk as the three mammals squished together in the back seat.
Judy felt her face warm as she felt Nick's arm against hers in the cramped area, her ears drooping a bit to hide the blush. She hadn't wanted to tell Nick her feelings while he was recovering, but even after that, she kept procrastinating, waiting for just the right moment. As the car started to head off towards home, Judy hoped that she'd finally find it over the next week.
* Nick got injured saving Judy a few months earlier. If you want full context, read 'You Can't Save Everyone'.