December, 7
23:42
It was a cold winter night in Zootopia, the colorful Christmas lights illuminated the city. But it wasn't all gingerbreads and carols, since Nick and Judy were still in the ZPD.
After a couple of hours organizing the paperwork about the last case they solved, our protagonists finally left the police station. Although in the past they would have been able to stop Bellwether, they were not used to working on a case for two days in a row and not being allowed to rest for a second.
The fox and the bunny walked to a nearby bus stop. Bogo had given them the weekend off, so Judy could only think of getting home and lying on her soft and comfy bed.
"Ehm...you're not planning on staying here until 5, right? Carrots?" asked Nick as he read the schedules.
"What do you mean 5?" yawned Judy.
"Well...if this is correct, the next bus should arrive in a little bit more than 3 hours..."
"Ow...I didn't look at the time...guess I'll have to go by feet..." she started to walk.
"Hmm...perhaps I could help you..." the fox kept walking next to her.
"Nick, I can walk..."
"But you don't want to"
"Argh...What's your idea?" she stood in front of him.
The fox slyly smiled before lifting the bunny up.
"Hey!" complained Judy before letting Nick sat her on his shoulders.
"Now...where do you live?" he continued walking.
"You don't have to do this, Nick..." Judy softly caressed his pointy ears.
"Oh come on Fluff, you're obviously more tired than me...I'm just helping my partner"
"That's so sweet of you...fine, you can carry me, but only for tonight..." the bunny wrapped her arms around Nick's neck and rested her head on top of his.
The fox kept walking for some more minutes before interrupting the bunny's rest.
"Carrots, I love the feel of your fluffy cheeks rubbing my fur, but if you don't tell me where do live..."
"How you don't know that?" she complained with a sleepy voice.
"Just tell me..."
"Mmm...Crystal Avenue..." she yawned again.
"That's around 5 minutes from here..." he whispered to himself.
Nick walked through the lonely streets of the city while carrying his partner, who wasn't sleeping but enjoying his fluffy fur.
"Hmm...it's here..." Judy patted the top of Nick's head.
"Well, end of the trip then..." the fox gently dropped her.
"Goodnight Slick, and thanks for carrying me around" the bunny hugged Nick's waist.
"Hey hey hey, what do you mean by goodnight?...aren't you gonna invite me to a drink or something like that" he raised one of his eyebrows.
"Oh Nick, I would love to...but I just wanna lay on the bed and sleep for two days straight" she answered with a innocent smile.
"Yeah, me too...goodnight then, Cotton Tail..." he said before taking a few steps while watching the bunny entering the building.
Judy lazily walked up the stairs before reaching her apartment door. She was too tired for getting her clothes off, so she just dived on the bed and tried to close her eyes.
"JUDY?...IS THAT YOU?" loudly asked Pronk.
"OF COURSE IS HER, WHO DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE AT THESE HOURS?" answered Bucky.
"Not now..." she whispered "Guys, can you keep it down for tonight?...it has been a tough day for me..." she nicely asked.
"SURE THING, BUNNY"
"YEAH, WE WERE HEADING TO BED TOO..."
"Also...why are you awake this late?" Judy looked at her little alarm clock.
"OH, WE HAD A PARTY...DIDN'T WE TELL YOU?"
"No, you didn't..."
"OUR BAD, IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE WE WOULD HAVE INVITED YOU..."
"NO WE WOULDN'T"
"SHUT UP, DON'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S TIRED?"
"NO, YOU SHUT UP"
The bunny rolled her eyes before wrapping her pillow around her ears so she didn't have to listen to her neighbors' daily argue.
1 HOUR LATER...
Bucky and Pronk finally went to sleep, letting Judy a little moment of peace. She wrap herself in the blanket and let her eyes close. After a few minutes she felt how the sleepiness knocked her out, making her feel a mix of warm and comfort.
(IN JUDY'S DREAMS)
Two Days Before...(Day of the Case)
The bunny was running through the streets of Zootopia, she was late for work. Judy finally arrived to the ZPD after dodging all the mammals in her path. She hadn't got time for greeting Clawhauser in the entrance, the rabbit just kept running to the mission room. When she arrived all of the other agents were leaving.
"You're late Hopps, go with Wilde so he can give you the details of your case..." said Bogo as he left the room.
"Yeah...*pant*...sorry Chief...wait, case?" she raised her ears and started looking for Nick.
Judy walked through the corridors of the building, looking for her partner, unsuccessfully. She went back to the reception and started thumping her foot while looking around.
"Look who finally decided to show up..." a soft voice made her turn around.
"Nick!...I have been looking for you..."
"I thought being late wasn't your thing, Fluff" he offered her a coffee while giving him a smirking stare.
"It was just today" she took the drink.
"Whatever...drink that quick, we have to go" they started walking through the reception.
"Where?" she took a sip of coffee.
"Oh right, the late bun doesn't know..."
"Nick..."
"Okey cutie...have a look at this" he gave her a folder with a couple of pages of files.
"A murder..."
"That's right...a wolf"
They both got in the car, Nick had to drive since Judy was busy reading the report. The fox drove to the Rainforest District, he parked in front of a wooden house.
"Here we are..." said the fox after he got out of the vehicle.
The couple of agents entered the house, there were a few forensics taking photos and some evidences. After showing their accreditation they got to enter the crime scene, the bathroom.
It was a claustrophobic room, not big enough for the wolf that was laying in the bath half full of blood, his lifeless arms were hanging from the edge of the bath.
"8 stab wounds..." Nick took a look at the wolf's chest.
"Oh my..." said the bunny with a fragile tone of voice.
Then Judy remembered how dizzy she started to feel when she look at the scene closer. There was marks of blood on the wall, the shower curtain was ripped of and there was something written with blood in the mirror.
"Traitor...hum, the murderer seems to be very aggressive...what do you think, Carrots?" observed the fox.
But the bunny didn't answer, Nick turned around to see her covering her face with her paw and almost fainting.
"Judy!" the fox was fast enough to hold her.
Nick's shout rebounded all over the bunny's head until she suddenly woke up, sweating and with tearful eyes. Judy panted until recovering her breath, she calmed down and rest her head on the pillow again, shivers ran through her body as she tried to close her eyes again.
"Nick..."
To Be Continued...