The smell of freshly baked cookies filled Nick’s nostrils as he opened the oven, and pulled out the tray. He set it down on the counter, humming a tune so faint only he could hear it. He then took a cookie off the tray and bit into it. Nearby on the couch, Judy was watching a Christmas movie marathon on the TV. Suddenly, the both of them heard the doorbell ring.

“I’ll get it!” Judy exclaimed, pausing the TV and leaping out of the couch and towards the door. She turned the knob, and was greeted by a familiar striped jackrabbit and white fox.

“Hey Jack! Hey Skye!” The rabbit cheerfully said, waving as she talked.

“Hello Judy.” Jack said, speaking in his normal quaint English accent.

“Stripes, Snowball, what are you doing here?” Nick asked, with a mix of curiosity and slight irritation.

“We thought ya could use a little company on Christmas Eve. Plus, we brought ye both gifts.” Skye replied, with two carefully wrapped gifts in her paws. Judy chuckled a bit upon hearing her friend’s almost cartoonish Scottish accent.

"Well, thank you both for coming!" Judy said cheerfully! She took the gifts from Skye’s hands, and walked over to the Christmas tree, kneeling down to put them underneath for the next day. After she placed them down, her phone began to vibrate, and pulling it out from her pocket, an emergency alert was prominently displayed on the screen. She read the words on the screen multiple times, to make sure they weren’t malfunctioning.

“Recordbreaking Blizzard inbound for the Republic of Zootopia. Seek shelter immediately. Stay indoors and wait for further instructions.”

“Umm, guys? Is anyone else getting this?” she asked as she looked up, only to see everyone else also staring at their phones, reading the same message as, almost if on que, the howling of strong wind could be heard from outside.

“Oh dear… Guess we’ll have to stay the night.” Jack said, as Nick began to walk towards the bedroom.

“Come on Carrots. Let’s get the spare mattresses set up.” He said, as he motioned Judy to come towards him.

“Ok, I’m coming.” Judy replied, getting up from her position beneath the tree. Out of curiosity, she swung open the blinds on the window, only to see nothing but pure white. And just like that, she followed Nick into the bedroom.

———————

“So, why are you guys really here?” Nick asked, as he put the turkey in the oven.

Jack, Judy and Skye were sitting on stools in the kitchen, as Jack was opening a champagne bottle that he brought for the celebration.

“Nick, don’t say it like that!”

Skye gave Nick a slight look before answering his question. “Well, wer heading out on a mission in a few days, and we won’t get back til next year. We thought we’d spend some time with ye before then.”

Just as she finished, the pop of the cork on the champagne bottle was audibly heard. “Yes!” Jack exclaimed triumphantly, as he began pouring the liquid into one of the glasses he laid out. A crack of thunder boomed through the room as he was pouring, startling him and causing him to spill champagne on the counter. “Shit! I-I’m so sorry!”

Judy and Skye chuckled, and Nick smirked.

“It’s OK Jack. We’ll clean it up.” Skye said, as she got up to grab a paper towel.

“Thanks guys.”

“Don’t mention it.”

——Two Hours Later——

Nick turned on the knob in the shower as he began to undress, ready to soak in the hot water and relax. After he finished removing his clothes, he stepped in the shower, and reached for the shampoo as he felt the hot water soak in his fur. Suddenly, the loud beeping of the smoke alarm went off. Nick jumped out of the shower, shook himself off and grabbed a towel to cover up as he sprinted out into the main area, to see what was going on. Then he remembered. “Crap…” he said, as he ran to the oven. Pulling it open, he was immediately greeted by the sight of black smoke, and the extremely overcooked turkey, sitting sadly in the oven.

“Damn it…” He mumbled, as he quickly thought of a backup plan. Jack, Skye and Judy stared at him from the living room.

“Carrots, there’s two frozen pizzas in the freezer. Can you put those in for me?” He asked, putting on his oven mitts.

“Sure Nick.”

As he pulled the turkey from the oven, he gave Judy one of his signature smirks. She gave a smirk of her own back.

“I love you Carrots. I really do.”

“I know.”

———The Next Day———

“Wake up Nick! It’s Christmas!”

Nick groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, feeling Judy’s hand resting on his shoulder. He started to close them again when Judy gave him a quick jolt. He didn’t understand why his fiance had so much energy after last night. They had stayed up so late watching movies, playing games, chatting and building that gingerbread house they were saving for the coming night that he felt exhausted. The storm really didn’t help him sleep either. Begrudgingly leaving bed, he looked around and noticed that Jack and Skye were not in their beds either, and that he was the last one up.

“Come on!” Judy grabbed his arm, and dragged him into the living room, where Jack and Skye were waiting.

“It’s about time you got up Nick” Jack said in a playful manner.

“Shut up Stripes.” Nick replied jokingly.

Nick’s senses began to heighten as he started to wake up. He sat in the armchair, as Judy reached for a gift under the tree.

“This one’s for you, my handsome fox.” She said, as she placed the sloppily wrapped box on his lap. Almost immediately, Nick drew his claws and started to slice into the striped wrapping paper. After peeling the rest of it away, in his lap sat a metal container of sorts. Removing the lid, he pulled out a fancy watch.

“I had to dig into my savings for this one, I hope you like it.” She said, as he strapped it to his wrist.

He smiled. “I do.” He then got up, went to the Christmas tree and grabbed a gift for Judy. She tore into the paper and within seconds she uncovered a deep blue variant of Nick’s iconic shirt.

“Oh my God Nick I love it!”

“Good, so I didn’t have my dad make this for no-”

Before he could finish, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him in for a kiss, which he gratefully accepted. Jack and Skye watched as this occurred, and the two couldn’t help but smile.

Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry if this is a bit late, I had a busy Christmas.