Shadows of the Past is a fanfic by PrinceBalto.
Nick remembers the past
Premise
The night before Nick and Judy move to their apartment, they stay over at Robin and Marian's place for the night. That night, while Judy is showering, Nick goes to his old bedroom, and is taken back to these shadows of the past.
Story
Nick and Judy had finished their honeymoon, and now were spending the night at Robin and Marian's home, as, tomorrow, they would be moving to their apartment. Nick and Judy were so happy to be married. The day before the wedding, Judy had put her car in the home's large driveway for safekeeping, as the plan was for the two of them to take their separate cars and meet up at their apartment complex. At the moment, it was after dinner, and Judy was showering and cleaning up for the night. Nick would do the same after her, but, to give her a little privacy, he waited in the living room downstairs. He sighed.
"This has been the best time of my life, the absolute best," he thought to himself.
For a long moment, he sat there. Then, memories, those shadows of the past, began to come to him. He looked at a small entryway around a door. This was the entryway to his parents' bedroom. He smiled and went to go in. However, it was not for Robin and Marian's bedroom that he was looking for. Instead, he went to a small room within the room, just before one got to the bathroom. The architect who had designed the home all those years ago had intented it as an at-home office, but Robin and Marian had made it Nick's bedroom.
"So I can keep a good eye on him at night," Marian had said.
He had slept there from early childhood until late adolesence, during which time he moved to a bedroom upstairs. With the exception of a few things that had been taken upstairs when Nick moved, everything was still as he left it. Robin and Marian had intended to keep it that way for memory's sake. Nick smiled as he saw a few of his old toys, including his favorite, a plush green Tyrannosaurus rex that he had dubbed "Rexy", which was laying on the bed, where it had been laid by Marian when Nick moved out. After outgrowing holding it at night, it had been displayed prominently on Nick's night table, but Marian placed it back on the bed when he moved to his upstairs room, and it remained to this day. He had gotten the toy as a gift when he was five years old from Robin, who knew that his son had grown to love dinosaurs, especially the T. rex, after a visit to the natural history museum. Robin, wanting to encourage his son's new interest, had gone to the museum gift shop while Marian waited with Nick in the lobby. Upon finding the toy, Robin bought it for his son, who loved it when his father gave it to him. Nick picked Rexy up and looked at it. It was made of soft green felt, with white felt teeth and claws and stitched in eyes of gold thread, with black in the center for the pupils. He smiled.
"Ah, this brings back memories," he said.
Just then, Marian walked in. She smiled.
"I see you're having a walk down memory lane," she said.
Nick glanced at Rexy, laid it back on the bed and returned the smile to his mother.
"I am. Mom, thanks for keeping everything this way," he said.
Marian put a hand on his shoulder.
"I still remember how you would never bring that toy outside of your room for any reason, just so it wouldn't get lost," she said.
Nick shrugged.
"Well, I loved it so much," he said.
Meanwhile, as that conversation Judy finally finished her shower and cleanup routine. She wore her pretty purple nightgown. Heading downstairs and not seeing Nick, she sat on the sofa and waited. Finally, he and Marian emerged.
"There you are," Judy said with a playful smile.
Nick nodded.
"Just checking out some memories. Well, I will be cleaning up. See you shortly, Cottontail," he said before heading upstairs to bathe and clean up.
Marian sat down next to Judy. A moment later, Robin came in from washing dishes in the kitchen and sat with them.
"If you don't mind me asking, what memories was he talking about?" Judy said.
Marian smiled at her bunny daughter-in-law.
"Oh, just some things from his childhood, including his favorite plush dinosaur," she said.
Judy smiled.
"You know, there are times that I wish I had known Nick when we were kids," she said with a chuckle.
Robin nodded.
"While it's a fun thought, perhaps it is better that it worked out this way. After all, we would have had to wait longer for you to become our dear daughter-in-law," he said proudly.
Judy was pleased.
"I am proud to now be a member of the Wilde family," she said.
Robin and Marian nodded. She was definitely the best girl for Nick. They were overjoyed to now have her in the family. Finally, Nick got back. He was in his typical sleep garb of green shorts and no shirt.
"Hey, Cottontail, you ready for bed?" he asked.
Judy nodded.
"Coming, my sly fox," she said, taking off.
Robin and Marian watched them leave. Tomorrow, they would be leaving for their apartment. They now had their own life.