If there was one thing Nick's best friend loved, it was holidays. While the fox himself was hardly festive, Judy Hopps was more than enough for the both of them.
"Don't you just LOVE the holidays?" She'd asked last Christmas, as she cut out paper snowflakes while wearing a Santa hat, while also listening to Christmas music, while waiting for Christmas cookies to come out of the oven, while all in the midst of decorating his apartment, for Christmas.
This was a surprise in more ways than one. One, being that Nick never knew it was physically possible to be this festive. Two, being that it was 8 am and he'd just rolled out of bed to find all of this, without warning.
"Good morning to you too," He'd yawned, a grumpy pout settling on his face. "Remind me why I gave you a key again?"
"Because we're friends!" Judy insisted, going over to Nick's windows to hang up her newly finished snowflakes, "And best friends don't let other best friends spend the holidays being a Grinch!"
"I'm not a Grinch!" Nick defended, weaving his way through the garland that snaked across his living room floor. "I just…don't care."
"Well, you should!" Judy huffed, "Holidays are the best time of year! You get to spend time with your loved ones, and make everyone happy!"
Nick ignored the way his heart lurched at 'loved ones,' because he wasn't that much of a sap, only enough of one that he still had those snowflakes up, and it was February now.
And with February, brought Valentine's Day, which meant Judy had to have something in store. After all, she'd been responsible for planning the ZPD Easter Egg hunt for the local children's hospital, the ZPD Labor Day picnic, the ZPD Trick-or-Treating Night with the local elementary school, the ZPD Thanksgiving Potluck, the ZPD White Elephant gift exchange, and the ZPD New Year's Eve 'Extravaganza' (her words, not his).
Bogo had long since given up on reminding the bunny that her festivities couldn't distract her from her work. Namely because it didn't distract from her work — somehow, Judy was always able to plan these elaborate events, and still have time to crack down on Zootopia's toughest criminals, all before dinner time.
So that's why it was a surprise to absolutely no one when Judy announced on the 1st of February that they would be doing a ZPD rose exchange.
"The roses are from my cousin's farm, back in Bunnyburrow, and all proceeds will go to the Zootopian Make-A-Wish foundation!" She explained, standing at the podium in the front of the debriefing room. Well, standing on the stool Bogo had left there, just for occasions such as this. "They're only $5, so all you have to do is find me or Clawhauser before February 12th, and I will place an order for you! Then the roses will be delivered to the person of your choice! We can also have the roses sent to an address if there's someone outside the force you'd like them sent to!"
"Thank you, Hopps," Bogo finished for her, giving the bunny a tight smile.
"So how many roses will you being buying me, Chief?" Nick asked dryly, earning a handful of chuckles from the rest of the ZPD officers.
Bogo gave him an equally dry look. "One, to bring to your funeral Wilde."
There was another round of laughs, and Bogo dismissed the officers.
"You did good up there," Nick said as he met up with Judy.
"Thank you!" Judy beamed, leading the way back to their office. "I just really want to make the world a better place anyway I can."
"So I've heard," Nick smirked, giving the bunny a playful nudge.
Judy giggled as the two took to the stairs. "So, are you going to buy a rose for anyone?" She asked, a question that made Nick flush far redder than he should have.
"I dunno," he shrugged, thankful that his red fur hid his blush. "It's not like I have a mate to buy them for."
"Well, you don't have to buy them for a mate!" Judy reminded him, "You could get some for a friend, or your mom, or even…Finnick! I'm sure he could use some to brighten up his van!"
Nick let out a bark of a laugh. "Yeah, that's not happening."
"But your mom?" Judy asked, a pleading tone raising her voice to higher pitches. "Pleaseeee? It's for charity!"
"If it'll get you to leave me alone, then fine," Nick sighed, smiling when Judy cheered and gave him a tight hug.
"Thanks, Slick!" She squealed, pulling out her carrot pen. "I'll put you down for the first order!" She gave him a quick hug and ran off ahead to their office, hopping excitedly along they way.
"Thanks to you too!" Nick replied without thinking, though he quickly realized that the reply didn't make much sense, as he didn't have much to thank her for. "I mean, y-you're welcome!" He corrected quickly, but by then Judy was already gone.
Nick groaned, still flushing red and filled with self-loathing. Back in the day, he was always calm, cool, and collected. He knew just what to say to hustle any sultry vixen into coming home with him at night, and yet now he found himself searching for words that he practically stumbled over, just like some naive schoolboy. All because he couldn't stop thinking about some bright-eyed, bushy-tailed bunny, a bunny who most likely viewed their friendship as nothing more than that: a friendship. Platonic. One that would lead him to a live of pining, of watching as she fell for some buck, of being at her wedding and watching her tearfully exchange vows, of serving as "Uncle Nick" to her kits.
The fox sighed, dragging a paw through his fur and flattening his ears. Don't let it get to you, don't let it get to you. After all, none of that had happened yet (thankfully). The last date Judy had gone on had ended rather horribly, with Judy pouring her drink on said date's head, after he'd made a comment that he thought female bunnies should be at home raising kits and waiting on her husband, not working in law enforcement.
And besides, it wasn't like Judy liking him was completely out of the question, right? They were best friends, had been for almost 2 years now. Friendship was always a great base for a relationship, or at least that's what he'd heard.
All this worrying was getting to him, so he shook himself off and went to join Judy in their office. She was scribbling away at her clipboard, seated at her desk and not even looking up when Nick entered the room. "Guess what, Nick? Francine just came in and ordered 3 roses, so we're already off to a great start!"
"The bunny can sell," Nick smirked, sliding down into his own desk chair. "I shoulda brought you along back in my hustling days!"
Judy glanced up at him to stick out her tongue, though the sparkle in her eyes gave away the laugh she was holding back. "Dumb fox."
"Savvy bunny," Nick replied breezily, swiveling in his chair to face his computer. He turned on his desktop computer, pausing to lick his chops before speaking again. "So, uh, you got any actual plans for Valentine's Day? You know, other than passing out roses?"
Judy made an indifferent sigh. "Not really. Fru Fru asked if I wanted to watch Judy, so she and her husband can go out, so I might just do that…"
"Babysitting?" Nick threw her a glance over his shoulder. "That's your idea of a romantic evening?"
"Better than yours!" Judy huffed, turning to give him her own glance. "Your idea of a good Valentine's Day is fried chicken and making fun of The Bachelor contestants."
"That was only last year!" Nick grinned, "And last time I checked, we had a pretty good time."
Judy smiled as she shook her head at him. "You're clueless, Wilde."
"Well, what would you recommend, oh great and mighty, Carrots?" Nick asked, wheeling his chair beside hers. "Please, bestow upon me your award-winning relationship advice!"
"I'm no romance expert," Judy giggled, pushing his muzzle away as he leaned in. "I'm just saying, if you didn't mind being cliché, which you mostly don't, you could at least get some flowers or chocolates."
"A, I already got a flower for my mother, and B, I'll just swipe a chocolate doughnut off Clawhauser's desk when he's not looking," Nick retorted, counting off his options on his paw, "There — a perfect Valentine's Day plan."
The bunny snorted. "You're ridiculous." She turned her focus back to her paperwork, leaving Nick to wheel back to his desk.
Nick pulled out their most recent case file, skimming over it without really absorbing any information in it. "Would you even be into that kind of thing?" He asked in what he prayed was a conversational tone, and not some nervous, hesitant warble. "All that mushy roses and hearts stuff?"
"I dunno. I've never been a romantic bunny, but it might be nice. I always did get a little jealous when all my other sisters would have serenading bucks at their windows, or giant daisy deliveries for their birthdays from their latest crush. It would just be nice to know someone liked you that much, I guess, even if it was a little cheesy."
"Yeah," Nick nodded, the gears in his head spinning as he began to form a plan.
"But, I don't think there's anyone here who likes me that much," Judy added in what Nick knew she wanted to sound as playful. It almost did.
"Well, ya' never know, Carrots," he teased, "Miracles do happen."
Judy chucked her carrot pen at him for that one.
Later that afternoon, when Judy was buried in casework and wouldn't have noticed if her desk had caught fire, Nick sneaked off to the bakery down the street, ready to put his plan into motion. It would require a bit of his old hustling techniques, but then again, he wasn't expecting that the mammal he'd be hustling was going to be difficult.
He was right.
"Clawhauser!" Nick exclaimed, sauntering up to the ZPD front desk with a box full of doughnuts. "Buddy, I need a favor!"
The cheetah beamed, instantly straightening up in his seat and inching closer. "Sure thing, Nick!" He chirped, though his gaze was fixed solely upon the pink box of sugary treats approaching him.
Nick had hardly set the box down on Clawhauser's desk before the cheetah dived right in, munching away happily, a content smile settling on his face. "These are ah-mazing," he sighed, eventually turning his focus back to the fox. "So, Nick, what can I help you with? Is there a case that needs solving!?"
"Not quite…you're helping Judy with the rose thing right?" Nick asked hesitantly, glancing around to make sure the bunny in question wasn't around.
"Mmm hmm!" Clawhauser nodded, frosting already smeared across his muzzle. "Do you wanna place an order?"
Nick could feel a lump form in his throat, in a very non-hostler fashion. Maybe asking Clawhauser wasn't the best idea, after all, the lovable cheetah wasn't known for being the best secret-keeper. And letting him know this was probably one of the biggest secrets Nick had. However, if it came down to asking Ben or asking Judy, the answer was pretty obvious. So…
"IwannaplaceanorderforCarrots." Nick mumbled quickly, getting it all out in one breath.
Clawhauser eyed him, confused. "What?"
Nick glanced around once more and took another breath. "I want to place an order for Judy. I want to buy some roses for her."
There was a moment of silence as Nick's declaration hung in the air, and then Clawhauser's cheeks scrunched up into a wide grin and he emitted a high pitched noise that was either a whistle and a squeal, Nick couldn't quite tell, maybe it was both. Either way, it was loud, so loud that some of the other officers in the lobby turned to look.
"Ben!" Nick hissed, ears rising to stand straight on end. "You can't tell anyone about this, and I mean anyone! If Judy finds out…"
Clawhauser beamed, his paws pushing at his cheeks as he giggled uncontrollably. "I knew you liked her!" He squealed, thankfully more quietly this time. "The way you were always looking at her, and smiling at her, I just knew it!"
"I don't like her!" Nick scoffed on impulse, the words coming out with great familiarly., Needless to say, after 2 years of being just friends, it wasn't like this was the first time this conversation had come up with someone. He'd quickly learned how to deny his feelings, not that this was necessarily a new skill. "We're just friends. It's a friendly gesture."
Clawhauser smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh."
"I mean, of course I like her, as a person," Nick continued, suddenly feeling very warm. He reached a paw up to scratch at the back of his neck nervously. "We're partners, after all. But I don't like like her." He cringed at the phrase 'like like' as soon as it left his mouth, a phrase he hadn't used since middle school. "I appreciate her as an individual," corrected (though he wasn't quite satisfied with that wording either).
"Riiiiiiiight," Ben smirked, giving Nick a knowing smile. "If you say so!" He grabbed another donut with one paw as he clicked the end of his glittery Gazelle pen with another. "So, back to the roses! How many do you want to order?"
Nick hesitated. "50."
The cheetah choked on his doughnut, causing a flurry of sprinkles to bounce off Nick's muzzle. "50!?" He exclaimed a hushed whisper, "50?! You know they're $5 each, right?!"
"It's for charity!" Nick defended quickly. "For kits!"
"But that's $250!" Clawhauser whispered, jaw hanging open. "And a LOT of roses!"
"Well, ya' know what they say: go big or go home."
"But that's really big!"
"It'll be fine, I'll just go back to hustling for a day or two," Nick replied, only half-joking.
Clawhauser just blinked at him before pulling back and shaking his head, returning to smile once more. He pulled out his clipboard and starting jotting Nick's information down, humming a Gazelle tune all the while. "Alright, then!" the cheetah smiled, giving Nick a playful wink. "50 roses for your friend Judy."
Nick felt relieved, excited, and nervous, all wrapped into one sappy package. "Thanks buddy, I owe ya' one!" he smiled, giving the cheetah a salute. "And remember, not a word to Carrots!"
Clawhauser made a zipped-lips motion. "Not a word! You can trust me Nick; I can keep a secret! I've kept Bogo's secret that he likes Gazelle for years!"
Nick's eyes widened. "What?"
Ben froze. "Nothing! That was just the sugar talking! Good luck with Judy!"
Normally, Nick would have brushed the sentiment off. Nick Wilde didn't need luck — he made it. But now, with Judy…
Trying to win her over was going to be harder than any hustle. A lot riskier too. But looking at Judy as he walked back into their office, handing her a fresh cup of coffee and watching the way her face lit up, seeing the smile she gave him, eyes sparkling and two little front teeth biting down on her lower lip all shyly...
She was definitely worth it.