r/Zootopia Anthology Volume II: The Children of Zootopia

Family Ties

By: UneventfulWaffle

"Nick! Come on we can't be late!" Shouted Judy.

"I'm coming!" garbled Nick through his toothbrush, rushing to the door with coat in hand.

Nick swung open the front door, ushering Judy out of the house.

"Ladies first." said Nick suavely, grinning.

"Oh gee, thanks." said Judy flatly, clearly not impressed by the gesture.

"Where are we headed?" Asked Nick.

"Rainforest District, I've already got the address on my phone." said Judy

"this is gonna be such a horrible first impression, The first time we're meeting them and we're not even on time." Said Judy.

"I mean seriously, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and they're gonna think we don't even have the decency to show up on time!" Said Judy, working herself closely to tears.

Nick himself was getting nervous, though Judy would never have noticed, she was far too busy with her own thoughts to really pay attention.

"Listen you're overthinking things here, I'm sure they'll understand, worse comes to worst we tell 'em we got lost or stuck in traffic, and think about if this was you, I'm sure you wouldn't care if someone showed up a little later than expected, Right?"

Nick's words were very reassuring for both Judy and himself.

"I guess you're right, but I just wanted things to go right, I wanted everything to be perfect for our first time meeting them"

Nick could see that Judy had calmed down a bit, but he could still see the disappointment and sorrow in her eyes.

"I can't think of one thing in this world that's perfect, myself excluded of course." Said Nick confidently.

"and even through all of that what we have has turned out okay, I might even go as far as to say things have turned out great." Said Nick with a more relaxed tone.

Nick could see that his Joking around had already made Judy feel far better.

"I know, I know, you're right... for once." Said Judy under her breath.

"oh har har, had to get that one out of your system huh?" Said Nick sarcastically.

"Well I can't just let remark that go unpunished now can I?" Said Judy, quite proud of her comment.

"Well, we have some very lovely people to meet, who have some very lovely little people to meet, and it looks like we should be there in no time." Said Nick.

Out of all the districts in Zootopia The Rainforest District had to be one of Judy's favorites to visit, the smell of the rain lingering in the air, the diversity of all of the different plants and trees, the way the sunlight would cut through all of it.

But most importantly to her, this is when things felt like they started to change between her and Nick, this is where he had finally opened up to her as a friend, revealing things he had never shared with anyone, and in that moment of need he had given her hope and confidence, as she did for him.

"Alright this is the place, Riverside Drive, unit A113." Said Judy.

"Okay then, let's head inside, as nice as it is out here it'll take me all day to dry off."

The building wasn't very opulent, the parking lot was cracked and worn, the paint was covered in dirt and chipping, and what was once a flowerbed was now full of weeds.