AN: I've been wanting to write this for a while but only just got around to doing it. I will try to update it at least two times a week, but with school it might end up being one time a week.

Nick's Thoughts

Over the past few months, Nick had been struggling with his own thoughts. He had fully accepted that at this point, he was completely in love. To whom his heart pointed at was Judy. Judy Hopps, in his opinion, the most beautiful girl he'd ever met. At times he would be completely lost in her amethyst eyes. He lost too many hours of sleep thinking about her and it was beginning to affect his job. It wasn't like he hadn't tried saying something to her either. He'd attempted to ask her out on multiple occasions but backed out from fear of her response. He would always ask himself the same question afterward, why am I doing this to myself? This time, this time would be different.

…

It had been a relatively slow day for Nick and Judy. It was rather chilly out and very few mammals would be going out at that temperature. The only crime committed was a raccoon stealing the purse of an elderly fox. That had taken only ten minutes out of their nearly eight hour long day. Nick knew that Judy would be free that night and decided to finally go for it. "Hey Carrots, any chance you'd like to get some dinner with me and then maybe catch a movie?" Nick stuttered a small amount towards the end of the question. He immediately regretted asking and started to panic.

"That sounds great!" Nick wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying. He was already too deep in thought. What if she doesn't think of me in the way I think of her? What if I just messed everything up. He was ripped from thought when Judy placed a paw on his arm. "Are you okay? You kinda spaced out.

"I'm fine Fluff. I was just thinking."

She couldn't help but smirk. "That could be dangerous." Nick was usually really impulsive and only thought things through if it had to do with getting out of work. "Did you even hear what I said when you were thinking?"

Nick sighed, "No, I did not."

"Nick! You need to pay more attention." He whined internally wanting to hide his shame. "I said that it sounds great. Where would you like to go?"

"Well, I was thinking you could come over to my place." He noticed the confused look on Judy's face and continued. "I can cook us something to eat and then we could watch something on Zooflix. I know it's not the fanciest place for a first date." The color disappeared from Nick's face. What did I just do? Why am I so stupid.

A small devil that could only have been his conscience appeared on his shoulder. While you are stupid, I don't think she cares.

"It doesn't really need to be fancy, just make sure that you make something I can eat. That means no meat." Nick nodded. He knew exactly what Judy liked and was an astounding cook but he left those details out. He thought he should give her some form of a surprise for the date. Another thought popped into Judy's mind. "What time should I come over?"

"Around seven would work best." They could clock out around five, giving Nick about two hours to get home, prepare dinner, and groom himself. His house was usually kept pretty clean, so he could skip over cleaning. Nick grabbed a small sheet of paper and wrote his address. He lived near the border of Savannah Central in a small, two-bedroom house. On the inside, it seemed bigger because of the basement.

Judy was thinking for a bit and was about to speak but Nick interrupted her. "Hold that thought." She looked up to see what he was talking about. "Dispatch, we have a speeding vehicle down Main Street. Hopps and Wilde, in pursuit."

"10-4 Officer Wilde."

…

Nick regretted giving himself two hours to prepare. He made a carrot stew that Judy would like as well as a bowl of mixed vegetables. The downside is that he still had an hour and only needed about half of that time to groom himself, so he'd end up drowning in his own thought.

He didn't waste any time and got in the shower. He decided to take a bit more time so he could look extra clean. He normally did his thinking while in the shower and this time was no different. What if she doesn't like me or the movie I chose for us to watch? I'm taking things way too quickly. You never invite a girl to your house on the first date.

The devil appeared on his shoulder once again. Are you blind or stupid? Have you not seen the way she acts around you? She totally wants you! Nick cringed at the wording but started to calm down a bit. When he was fully calmed down, he shampooed and conditioned, which he only did on special occasions. Usually, shampoo was enough to look presentable. When he rinsed it all out of his fur, he turned off the shower and got out. No detail was overlooked in his grooming. Every fur he could reach was shiny and in place, it was super soft, and his tail was extra fluffy. He knew Judy loved fluffy things so he just assumed she'd enjoy his tail being so fluffy.

When he was finally done, he walked into his room and got dressed. He decided to wear a pair of black pants and a nice, non-floral polo shirt. This is different. I never dress like this. When he was fully ready, there were about fifteen minutes left until seven. He went into the kitchen and moved their food into the dining room with five minutes to spare. He decided to sit in the living room and browse Furbook for a few minutes.

His browsing was cut short when he heard an urgent knocking at the door. He didn't even look through the peephole before opening the door. "Judy! Are you crazy? Get in here now." While Nick was getting ready, the temperature in Zootopia fell well below zero. Judy had arrived at his house in a very light sweater and from the looks of things, was incredibly cold. Nick did not lead her into the kitchen, he lead her into the living room. He sat down and patted the seat next to him. She sat down and started shaking.

To stop her, Nick wrapped his arms around her torso and his tail around her waist. Judy, being surprised by his action tried to talk. "N-Nick, what are you d-doing?" Nick felt bad for her. She felt frigid.

"Shhh. Don't talk. I don't really have many blankets and I'm trying to help you warm up. I hope this isn't too weird for you." She shook her head and they sat in silence for the next few minutes. She held onto his tail like it meant life or death, and she wanted to live. Truth be told, she could have sat there like that for ages, she was just scared to say anything to Nick.

When Nick finally regained his tail, he gently nudged Judy to tell her to get up. She grumbled quietly but obliged. They walked into the dining room together and sat across from each other. "Nick! This looks incredible. Are you sure you made this?"

Nick was a bit shocked at her surprise. His fur spiked up a bit on end. "Yee of little faith. Yes, I did make it. I hope you like it." They sat there in relative silence as they ate. Judy loved the stew he made and every so often had a berry or two. When they were done eating, Nick told Judy to sit in the living room while he took care of dishes. He decided to take the extra fruit into the living room for them to eat while watching the movie. When he was attempting to put the soup away, disaster struck.

Judy heard a yelp coming from the kitchen and rushed in to see what happened to Nick. She stifled a laugh when she saw Nick on the floor, covered in soup. "Nick, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit soupy." He smirked, causing Judy to smile. He was okay or at least his stupid humor was okay. The silliest things that Nick could do would make her laugh. "Could you give me a few minutes? I'm going to go downstairs and take a quick shower, then I'll come back and clean this mess up." Judy nodded.

As soon as she heard the shower start, she searched for a mop in a nearby closet. She started to clean the floor while humming Try Anything. Both Nick and Judy finished cleaning around the same time. Judy was proud of her work but Nick was shocked when he saw that she cleaned it. "Judy, you did not need to do that. I would have done it."

"I know I didn't have to. I just wanted to help a friend. You probably burnt yourself from that soup and I wanted to take part of the burden of cleaning off your back." He nodded a thank you and lead Judy into the living room.

"So Fluff, how do you feel about horror movies?" Her eyes widened and her brows furrowed. She hated horror movies. She was scared way too easily. Nick saw the worry on her face. "I'm just kidding. I was thinking we could watch Wreck-It Rhino."

"I'm glad that you can laugh at my expense." Judy was now smiling too. Nick had the most contagious smile. "Yeah, that movie sounds fine. I've heard it's pretty good."

Nick was shocked that she had never seen it and started it right away. Neither really spoke while the movie was playing, only a few odd remarks here and there. When the movie reached its climax, Nick could hear a rumbling sound coming from beside him. Judy was fast asleep and leaning against his shoulder. That has to be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Better not say that to her or you might have more soup to clean up. It was true, She would kick him so hard in the gut if he called her cute. Nick decided to move Judy into a more comfortable position where her head was laying on his lap. When the movie was over and Nick knew that she was in deep sleep, he picked her up. He carried her into the guest room that was right next to his bedroom. He tucked her in and planted a light kiss on her forehead. He left a note saying, "I'm in the next room if you need anything. Don't hesitate to wake me up if you do." He fished her phone out of her pocket and placed it on the stand next to the note. On his way out, he whispered, "Sleep well, Judy." He closed the door very carefully as to not wake Judy.

It was in that moment that he realized that he needed to tell her at the first opportunity available. I'll talk to her in the morning. He made it to his bed and fell asleep almost instantly. He was so emotionally exhausted and just needed a decent night's sleep.

…

Nick rarely ever had a dream when he fell asleep. He usually woke up too many times for a dream to even get started. This night was different. He actually had a dream, a nightmare. He wasn't aware of it but his sleeping body was curled into the fetal position with the blankets thrown everywhere.

At first, the dream seemed relatively normal. Patrol's around Savannah Central with his partner Judy. Things quickly took a darker turn. They were chasing a pair of wolves who appeared to be dealing drugs to minors. They chased them for blocks and Nick was beginning to get worn out, but Judy was right on their tail.

They finally got the two wolves cornered in an alley. Both Nick and Judy were approaching slowly with raised tranq pistols. "Both of you, on the ground, now!" Judy was scary when she gave orders. One of the wolves complied but the other, an arctic wolf, quickly pulled out a pistol and shot Judy multiple times.

Nick had no idea of what came next because he was jolted out of his dream. He was shaking beyond his control and was drenched in sweat. He laid there for a while, crying about how real the dream felt. I can't show this side of me to Judy. She'd just laugh at me. After a half an hour, Nick got up and decided to make some breakfast for him and Judy. She'd be getting up soon.