Chapter I

Judy was sitting at her desk, concentrating hard on her report. She was feeling exhausted from the long day she and her partner, Nick Wilde, had had. It was one of those days that involved a lot of filing complaints from civilians and patrolling the streets of Zootopia to find nothing much exiting which was what made the day long and boring to a point. Long and boring for police officers anyway. She was typing quickly on her computer and putting as much details as she could into the reports. She was always proud of her reports and even on the verge of falling asleep out of boredom, she did her best even at the most tedious task, which was filing the daily paperwork.

"Hey, Carrots!" Her partner, Nick, came into their small office (or big cubicle). "Still busy with that report?" She gave no answer. Instead, she continue typing fast, looking hypnotized on the computer screen. When Nick was about to say something else, she raised her paws and hit the Enter key hard with one finger. "Done! Sent!" She said with a high musical voice, and spun on her chair to face Nick. "Sorry, I didn't wanna lose focus. Ready to go?"

"I've been ready since an hour ago, Carrots." he exaggerated. "Seriously, you have to stop trying to include every single detail of every minute of the day if you…" He was cut off when he felt her hug his arm. "Thank you for waiting, Nick." Judy said as she let go of his arm. "I'll try to be faster next time is my turn to file the report." Her eyes looked tired but she was smiling at him. Nick said nothing but return the smile.

They both walked together towards the ZPD parking lot and got into their assigned police cruiser. They had a routine all worked up. One week after the Night Howler incident, Nick joined the Police Academy and graduated six months later. He had become Judy's partner and had been for the last four months. Every evening after work, one of them would file the day's report, while the other would gather all of their belongings and put them in the cruiser. They took turns for that as well as for driving the other one home.

Tonight it was Nick's turn to drive Judy home and pick her up next morning. "So, Carrots." He began while starting the engine. "Are you too tired or do you want to grab a bite before I drop you off?" It was not rare for them to go to a bar or a restaurant after work every once in a while to have some drinks or some dinner. "I was thinking the usual?"

"Sure." She answered. "I am actually very hungry and you must be too since we haven't eaten anything since this morning." She looked at him with a small smile.

"Perfect." Was his reply. "My treat."

"No, Nick." Her tone had a warning on it. "You always say 'my treat', let me pay this time, please."

"Don't worry about it, Fluff." He said in a calm manner. "I like to treat you. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me."

"Nick, please stop saying that. I've told you. Everything you've done has been because of you and your capabilities. I just pushed you a little." He wanted to tell her she was wrong and that anything and everything good that had happened to him in his life, started the moment he met her. He wanted to tell her that since the day they began to work together, even if it was reluctantly at first, he had started to become a better person. A much better version of himself. He knew that without her, he would still be a street hustler with no goals in his life. But he decided to omit all of this.

"Next time your treat, Carrots."

She rolled her eyes as she knew perfectly well they will have the same argument next time, but she could not help but smile. "Whatever, Slick."

They arrived at their usual place, a bistro restaurant where they served both prey and predator food. After ordering they just talked and talked, which was strange since they had spend the day and, as a matter of fact, all week together, but that didn't matter. They would always find something to talk about as if they hadn't seen each other for days.

"See ya tomorrow, Carrots." Said Nick, looking at her with a pleasant smile and lazy eyes. He was already dropping her home.

"Sleep well." She answered with a wave. "Don't be late tomorrow!"

His smile widen. "Bye, Fluff!"

Judy watched him drive away with a sigh. She entered her building, went upstairs to her apartment and then straight to her bed. She removed her uniform while lying there with her thoughts. All of them about her partner. She grinned in a way that she only allowed herself to do when she was alone since she was sure that if someone saw her face looking like that, they would know who she was thinking of: Nick. His best friend and partner. Who had helped her and supported her even before becoming friends. She knew her career and life would not be the same without him. The thought became bittersweet when she came to the realization that he would never see her as more than a bunny friend.

Nick was driving the streets of Zootopia. It was a starry night, both the sky and city looked amazing but his mind was busy thinking about her. "Judy." All the things he wanted to tell her but he knew he could never do that. How would she react if she even suspected he had feelings for her? Feelings so intense that might frighten her. As he entered his apartment he let himself think that she shared his feelings. Sometimes it really feel like she did. The long looks she gave him along with a dreamy smile, hugging his arm… but he would dismiss these ideas quickly. After all, he was a fox and she was a rabbit. Being friends was already too good to be true. He would settle with being no more than that if that meant he could keep her in his life.