Darker Sides
By: Galvitrox
His alarm went off at five-thirty in the morning, and it was quickly answered by a the paw of a red fox. The fox sighed deeply, not wanting to get out of bed quite yet. Reason one, it was cozy. Reason two however was laying right next to him. He smiled, thinking about his good fortune. Nick Wilde had been many things in life. A delinquent, a con-artist, and now a police officer in precinct one of Zootopia. After hustling mammals out of their money for a little over ten years, becoming a cop was the last thing on his list to do. Hell, it wasn't even on the list. Until a certain bunny came along. Judy Hopps, the first rabbit police officer, jumped into his life and turned it upside down for the better. A voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Whatcha thinkin about?" He turned to look at the very same bunny, lying next to him in bed.
"Just how much you changed my life" She smiled
"And how would that be?"
"Oh, I don't know. You made me happy, got me a legitimate job, and gave me the best group of friends a fox could ask for in the form of the ZPD"
"You're such a sap" He widened his eyes, as if offended
"Me? A sap? How dare you" giggling, the rabbit jumped out of the bed, completely naked. She looked back at Nick, now slackjawed, and rolled her eyes.
"Almost a year of this, and you still act like it's the first time"
"You haven't become any less beautiful over the course of the year. If anything, that butt has gotten rounder from all the criminal chasing"
"No, Nick. That would be from squatting" He smirks at her
"From squatting weights, or on this d-"
"Don't say it." He gave his half lidded smile
"Say what" Nick could almost feel those violet eyes bore into his soul with the glare she gave him.
"Alright Carrots, no need to get so worked up."
"Oh, i'll show you worked up. Join me in the shower" The foxes eyebrows shot up
"In the morning? We're running late" Judy had never been late. Not once. The only time she even got close was when they spent their first night together over a year ago, and that was because she forgot to set the alarm at Nick's apartment after their "activities".
"Yes in the morning. That way we can wash at the same time. I can let out some of my "worked up" on your fur"
"Oh, I see" Nick said in the most disappointed voice he could muster. Her eyes almost rolled out of their sockets
"Love you" She called as she strolled into the bathroom. Nick smiled. He would never get tired of hearing those words from that bunny. After a brief hesitation, Nick followed her into the bathroom. After he stepped into the steaming shower, he embraced her
"Love you too, Carrots"
"Oh shit"
"What?" Judy turned to see Nick staring into their toiletry cabinet
"We're out of scent-away" For the third time that morning, her violet eyes rolled.
"So? We showered"
"Yeah, but I can still smell you on me"
"Nick, you're a fox, of course you can" He leaned in and sniffed Judy
"I can smell me on you, too"
"Stop being so paranoid" It was his turn to glare at her
"Wolford will be able to tell"
"Nick, I'm pretty sure Wolford has known since day one" she stressed the last word. Nick looked incredulous.
"He didn't start making his comments until a couple weeks later"
"Maybe he was waiting to make sure. I don't know. It doesn't matter when he found out. " she eyed him curiously
"Wait, if you knew Wolford knows, why are you worried he'll be able to tell?"He threw up his paws
"I don't know" She sighed, exasperated "If I can't smell you, Bogo can't. End of discussion"
"Whatever you say, Fluff"
The two quickly got into their uniforms and sped off to work in their "new" Supawru. It was new to them, but already had almost 100,000 miles on it. However, they got it for a good price. And it ran well. The ride was mostly quiet, which was unusual. The two usually joked and bantered with each other on the way to work, fueled by their morning coffee. Today, they both just sipped silently. Nick could tell something was on Judy's mind, and he had a good idea about what it was. They had been discussing it for the past couple of months. He decided on a preemptive strike "Carrots, we can't t-"
"We have too, Nick."she said, cutting him off. Nick's ears flattened slightly at her tone.
"No we don't, we're doing fine so far." He mumbled
"Are we? Because Wolford, Delgato and Fangmeyer know." She hesitated "And i'm pretty sure Clawhauser is on to us too" The foxes emerald eyes widened in a mix of surprise and fear
"We're done. You're done, i'm done. We're both done."
"No we're not"
"If Ben knows, we are. That cheetah won't be able to keep his muzzle shut. You know that."
"The other three kept quiet"
"Hopps, This is Benjamin Clawhauser we're talking about"
"Ok, you're right"
"What makes you think he knows?"
"He's been looking at me strangely. Leaning in a little bit closer when we talk. He mentioned something about me smelling "awfully musky" " Nick sighed. It sounded he was a little more than "onto us"
"Maybe we could talk to him. Like we did with Delgato and Fangmeyer" Wolford was a good enough friend that they trusted him not to tell.
"Nick, even if he agreed, he would let it out accidentally. His heart's in the right place, but his mouth is in another"
"Yeah, in a box of donuts" Even in the intensity of the situation, she had to stifle a laugh. Nick's eyes twinkled a little, but he still sighed in defeat.
"Alright. We'll tell him together. Better he hear it from us rather than by word of mouth"
"That's exactly what I was thinking"
"I hope we know what we're doing, Carrots" He looked into her amazing violet eyes.
"So do I" was all she said.
They walked into the ZPD with a sense of dread. Outside of the three, maybe four officers, nobody knew. Not even Judy's parents knew she was living with Nick. He was her partner, roommate and, most importantly, soulmate. Her parents were none the wiser. She wasn't sure which was going to be more terrifying, telling Bogo or her Parents, but she was about to figure out what the first would entail. The bunny and fox stepped into the elevator, and the ride up seemed to take hours. Nick eyed her.
"You ok Carrots?"
"Of course. We're only about to tell our boss we're in a serious relationship, which is explicitly against the rules. What could go wrong" The fox smirked, trying to hide his fear. Judy had grown familiar with his "sly fox" facade over the year they had been together. Although he was no longer a con-artist, he had kept the personality.
"There's no reason to be afraid" She looked at him, trying to determine if he was joking or not
"There's three reasons to be afraid"
"And those are?"
"One, we're fired for being in a relationship on the force. Two, we're publicly shunned if word of our not only inter-species, but predator-prey relationship gets out." He had to raise his eyebrows at her for the second one. She made eye contact
"What? We're not exactly your everyday cops. We're famous, Nick. That would make headlines" The elevator door opened, and they scanned for ears on the upper level before continuing
"I guess you're right. Go on"
"Third, we're forced to separate because being in a predator prey relationship is too dangerous." the third one sent a bolt of fear through Nick's heart, but he quickly composed himself"
"Well, me being the genius that I am, have an answer for all 3 of your worries" Her ears visibly perked up, and he somehow found himself becoming more relaxed.
"First, I quit the force" She looked at him in shock
"What do you mean?"
"Being a cop was always your dream, fluff. I enjoy it, but it's your passion. He can't terminate us for canoodling on the force if i'm not officially on the force"
"He could terminate us for previously canoodling on the force" Nick froze
"He could?"
"No, that was actually a nice loophole you found yourself there, slick" He chuckled at her joke
"Sly bunny"
"Dumb fox." she said, completing their usual name calling
"What about the other two" she asked
"Second, I don't care what others think of us. I don't think you do either." She hesitated, thinking
"You're right. I would take all the hate in the world to be with you"
"You know it" He said arrogantly. She lightly punched his arm
"And third?"
"Hate crimes like that are unheard of these days, but I wouldn't let anything happen to us"
"That's not your choice"
"Oh, but it is. I would end anybody that tried to hurt you" after hearing the steel in her mates voice, she decided to leave it at that. She had only seen nick angry once, and that was after she almost singlepawedly destroyed the predator population. And that was more out of hurt than anger. Stopping in their tracks, they both looked up at the massive door. Gingerly, Nick knocked.
"Come in" Nick reached up as high as he could and turned the knob. They both entered the room as the chief put down a book and took off his glasses.
"What is it?" said the large buffalo, getting right to the point. Judy and Nick both hopped up on a single seat, using it more like a small bench.
"Officer Hopps and I have something to tell you, Chief"