Chapter 1: All Sunshine and Sprinkles

Twas a beautiful day it was. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing its daily song towards the inhabitants of Zootopia. An auburn fox with a creamy underbelly covered his face with a pillow, desperate to escape the reality that it was time for him to go to work at the Zootopia Police Department. Don't get him wrong though, he loved his job alongside his best friend but there were just some days when it pained him to leave the comfort of his bed. Ten years as a Con Man had really worked its way into his system. Back in the bad ol' days, work technically started whenever he decided it did, and it was the few work benefits he actually missed from his old life.

Just then a slightly annoyed voice whispered to him, "Nick, it's time to go to work..." He was initially stunned, he lived alone and there was most definitely no one living in his apartment but him. He reckoned it was his mind playing tricks on him, or ghosts, or aliens or his conscience… Yeah, he went with conscience that seemed most likely. Like with most problems Nick dealt with, he ignored said voice and it worked, there was surprisingly silence again.

Yet this quiet was short lived as the voice whispered once again, this time louder than the first "Nick come on… it's time to get up for work."

Now foxes were never known for their patience, so when the voice prompted him again, Nick figured that he had had enough.

He proceeded to mentally use his pillow to suffocate said conscience to death, "We've got to get to wo...Mmmph! Mmmph!"

"Heh, not so tough now are ya Mr. Conscience~" he muttered to himself in his half-awoken state, his signature smirk plastered across his sleepy face.

"MAMN MIT ICK ET MOFF MOF ME (DAMN IT NICK GET OFF OF ME)!" a familiar voice bellowed.

Before he could even react however, a fuzzy grey paw smashed into his muzzle, knocking him off his bed and tumbling down onto the floor like blueberries rolling down a hill.

Nick struggled to get up on his feet, vaguely resembling a glass-chinned boxer as he stumbled while regaining his balance. Fully awake now, the first scene to enter his eyes was that of his partner, seething with anger, Judy Hopps. "If you wanted my attention, you certainly got it Carrots." Nick groaned as he massaged his pulsing muzzle with his paws. Judy just shot him a glance, mild anger still within her eyes.

"You almost killed me Nick! Like smother me to death, with a pillow mind you! It wasn't even the good kind of smother, not the one with love and sweetness like my Mum and Dad gave me. It was a Death Pillow Nick, full of hate, death and other things that Pillows dislike. Do you know that before this, you were muttering to yourself about Aliens?"

Nick laughed her anger of. For a bunny so full of rage, Judy still managed to look as adorable as when he first laid eyes on her; that is after he accepted her as his friend, when he really looked at her as his equal in all measures. "I'm sorry Officer Hopps, you probably wouldn't even believe me even if I told you why." He flashed a grin, the genuine kind he only ever showed her. Judy knew she could never stay angry at him for long, still feigning anger she quipped "Just get changed you dumb fox, if not Bogo will have it out for both for us."

Nick chuckled under his breath "Cute bunny."

"Judy! Nick! mornin' guys!" Benjamin Clawhauser, the pudgiest cheetah on the block, greeted his favourite police officers as they sauntered into the station.

"Hi Benjamin, morning to you too! Hey is it just me… or is it raining sprinkles in here?" Judy said as the rainbow-coloured rice came crashing down on her ears.

"Clawhauser you really gotta wash your hands after eating those donuts. I mean this is what? The third time this week we've had a Sprinkle Storm in the precinct." Nick commented with a furrow on his brow. It wouldn't matter to him at all honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that the sprinkles had magically fallen onto his aviators and he now had to fling it off with his paws.

"I know Nick, but if it helps, I haven't even stopped eating donuts this morning which is exactly why I haven't washed my hands yet." The cheetah mumbled in between mouthfuls as he stuffed another donut into his mouth. "Anyway, Chief Bogo was looking for you guys. It'd probably a good idea to head to his office now."

Nick and Judy nodded in agreement, waving their good friend goodbye they walked up to the Chief's Office, an air of curiosity surrounding them as they pondered what the Chief needed to talk to them about.

*Knock Knock* "Hopps, Wilde, get in here and lock the door!" Bogo yelled from within. The two officers entered, locking the door behind them.

"Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde reporting sir." Judy reported in a neutral tone.

"Sit. Both of you." Bogo was never one for courtesy, but he was never rude. His curt replies only emphasised how serious the matter he was about to talk about was.

Judy sat on the first seat and scooched over to make space for Nick, Nick grinned and hopped on into the half-seat next to her.

"Hopps, Wilde, I apologise for the short notice but something urgent has come up and to be honest, our detectives have been stumped since last night."

"Lay it on us Chief we can handle it."

"Alright, I won't beat around the bush. At about 0100 Hours last night, a security guard at the National History Museum noticed that the priceless Egyptian exhibit vanished."

"I'm sorry Chief, did you just say vanish? As in thin air, into smoke, like a magician and his sorta sexy assistant?" Nick asked, skepticism laced in his voice.

"Don't patronize me fox! I was there with the first response team last night. It vanished, as in thin air and all that crap your tiny mouth spewed. We swept the entire perimeter, not as much as a dust mite was found. No paw prints, fur strands, nothing. Whoever these guys are, their the damn best burglars Zootopia has seen in decades. The guys up in higher HQ are even calling it the perfect crime, what a load of me." (Bogo is a buffalo but I meant bull, same thing haha)

"Sir, sorry to interrupt again but what does all of this have to do with us?" Nick didn't really get why such a major crime was being told to them. Sure they were good at their job and Judy would probably love to take on the case, but a crime as big as a perfect heist? The first precinct had dozens of more experienced officers who could've taken this case.

"Well Mr. Wilde, despite what you may think, I do have a lot of respect for the passion, dedication and hard work you and Hopps have shown over the past year. Our senior officers have been working on the case all night but have yet to even catch a whiff of the culprit so I believed it was about time I took a different approach to this. The excellent work you and Officer Hopps did on the Night Howler Case was incredible, at least for rookies but there are still those within the precinct who think that both of you don't have what it takes to be Officers. Hence, I've decided that it's about time I prove to your doubters that that one case wasn't a fluke. From here on, you and Hopps are to head the investigation regarding this heist."

At this moment, Judy was flabbergasted. She knew under all that bulk Chief Bogo respected them but she never expected that it was to this degree. She had always known that there were still those within the precinct who doubted her ability to be an Officer but for the Chief to go to such lengths to defend her? This was a whole new ball game. The bunny only managed to nod her head slowly, still stunned by the sudden amount of respect that the Chief had for Nick and her. Nick wasn't any better either as he stared at Bogo, with his forest green eyes as wide as saucers.

"If there are no other questions, I've already compiled our findings into this Case File, you may look it over during your free time. I expect a full report on any of your findings by tomorrow afternoon. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir!" Judy and Nick chimed, both clearly unable to hold back their excitement as they had just been issued their first official case.

"Well then, what are you waiting for? An invitation? Get cracking at the case!" Bogo shouted, a slight smile on his face as he faked his annoyance at the two mammals.

As the two partners exited the office, Judy finally released her pent up excitement, "Nick can you believe it? Our first official big case, together, you and me, me and you against the world! Wew Wew."

The hyper active bunny hopped up and down around her calm and collected fox friend. It was something Nick had always admired about Judy, even when faced with impossible odds, she alway managed to find the good in every situation. It was one of the many reasons he loved her.

"Wait what? Hold your horses there Nick Wilde, love?" he mentally berated himself.

As he glanced at Judy again, a blush couldn't help but creep onto his burning auburn cheeks. Nick had known he had loved Judy for awhile now but the thought of ever addressing it was always all too scary for him. He figured she would never feel the same way, well at least not now. The love-struck fox continued to stare at his best friend, content to just watch her smile for today. Twas a beautiful day it was, twas a beautiful day indeed.

End of Chapter 1

And that's my maiden chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Honestly writing this was a lot of hard work and I'm not sure I'll continue it unless there are actually people reading it haha.

It was still fun though to actually be able to put my thoughts into words and I do hope to improve as a writer through this, so please do review and let me know that you readers exist!

One thing I noticed in this chapter was that I lacked a lot of description regarding the surroundings, would you like more of that or is the banter between characters enough for you guys?