Judy Hopps sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time today. It's been two years since she cracked the Night Howler case with her partner and best friend, Nick Wilde, and their lives couldn't get any better. They were considered one of the most successful police duo's in their generation, they were both respected by nearly every mammal in Zootopia (with a few exceptions since Nick was a fox) and they were now getting important cases to deal with.

Although, this case was, admittedly, more boring than her parking duty shifts.

"Come on Carrots, chin up." Nick said, his voice from his position next to her. Snapping her out of her trance, she tilted her head slightly to glare at the fox.

"Hey, you try doing something for a change. All I see you doing is drinking coffee and nodding off while I do all the work." Judy said, her face showing annoyance. Nick merely lowered his shades, his bright, green eyes showing nothing else but disinterest.

"And why would I do that? I do need my energy." He said, his signature smirk sliding onto his face. Sighing, Judy turned away from the infuriating fox, seething on the inside. During the years they've worked together, Judy noticed that sometimes, Nick didn't seem like he took his job seriously. Sure, he was reliable when the situation called for it, but outside those important moments, Nick was the very definition of 'slacker'. He would always be late for rollcall, even if Judy decided to wake him up early that day. He would never take any cases seriously, always feeling the need to make a joke out of anything and everything that they come across. So, it didn't surprise her when she started to get annoyed at Nick's passive attitude. But, since Nick was a good friend off-duty, she was able to let it slide, much to her own annoyance. She knew that Nick had to clean his act up, lest he endanger his own job.

Quickly excusing herself from the table to go to the toilet, she stood up and was about to start walking until she felt something grab her paw. Looking down, she saw that Nick had grabbed her paw, his head bowed down. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he looked up at her and smiled. Judy instantly knew that something was wrong. She noticed that his smile didn't really reach his eyes, and that she could see... regret in his eyes? She was pulled back into reality when he pulled out her phone from his pocket. Eyes widening in surprise, Judy quickly patted herself down, scowling when she didn't feel her phone on her. Snatching the phone from his hands, she quickly made her way out of the store, her mind stuck on what she noticed about Nick earlier. She could tell that his smile wasn't his usual smirk, but there was something off about it. And his eyes. She heard that the eyes are a window to one's soul, and using that logic, she concluded that Nick regretted something. What it was, Judy didn't know.

She was so absorbed in thinking about this, so when her phone ringed out of nowhere, it wasn't a surprise when she jumped up in surprise and tripped on her own foot. Falling forward, she closed her eyes and prepared herself for impact. But, what she wasn't expecting was to land onto a silky surface and into the arms of another mammal. Quickly recovering, she looked up and was about to thank her saviour before her heart leaped into her throat. Her saviour was another bunny, a male this time. He had black-tipped ears, like her, although the black in his was more prominent. He had shiny, silver fur, with three black stripes on his face that looked like war paint. He wore a black business suit that clung onto his sharp features. Overall, he looked like the perfect spy. And the perfect bunny, if anyone asked Judy.

"Are you okay, miss?" Judy blushed at the sound of his voice. A deep, trembling baritone nearly made her melt into his arms, but she quickly caught herself.

"Ah! Yeah, I-I'm fine, thanks to you…" Judy trailed off at the end of the sentence, enamoured by his bright, blue eyes. They gleamed with happiness and were extremely beautiful to her. Soon, she forgot all about the green eyes that used to plague her thoughts, replaced by these wonderful pair of god-sent eyes. But there was one thing Judy couldn't shake off. Something about him just felt… familiar.

"Hey, have we met before?" She asked, her amethyst eyes shining with curiosity. She felt her heartbeat quicken when he smiled, different to the usual smirk she sees daily.

"I don't believe we have. The name's Savage. Jack Savage." Judy's eyes widened considerable when she heard his name. Jack Savage was considered a hero to bunnies around the world, being the first bunny spy in the entire world. His works and achievements were very impressive, ranging from apprehending a crazy buffalo to shutting down an entire ring of criminals.

"Wait. THE Jack Savage? The one every bunny in Zootopia considers a hero?" Judy asked, barely registering what she was seeing. But before Jack could answer, an all-to-familiar voice shouted out to them.

"JUDY! GET OUTTA HERE!" Jumping out of Jack's arms, he saw Nick, turning the corner. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion when she noticed his clothes. Dishevelled, messy and unkempt. Judy was about to run to Nick and ask him what was wrong before a paw held her back. Looking at the owner, she nearly swooned at the determination that oozed out of Jack's face. Looking down slightly, he gave Judy a small smile.

"I've got this." Turning to Nick, he was about to run towards him and help when he saw him waving his hands to the side, like he was telling them to move out of the way. 'Odd.' Jack thought, but moved out of the way, letting the fox run past him. Looking closely at him, Jack noticed that Nick had a small box in his hand. And that same box was beeping red.

'A BOMB?' Jack shouted out in this mind. Automatically, he assumed that the fox was trying to bomb the area and was about to go and stop him until he noticed the fox wind his arm back. Before he could react, Nick had thrown the bomb into the sky, travelling high. After a few tense seconds, the bomb exploded, making the ground shake, and colouring the sky orange.

-Linebreak-

Nick sighed as he watched Judy leave the café. He was aware that he slacked off in cases and that it seemed like he never took anything seriously. He also knew that Judy was starting to get annoyed at him. But he knew that this was necessary to keep up appearances. To keep Judy and the rest of the ZPD from finding out about his other 'occupation'. You see, Nick is part of an undercover spy group called the Avex. They were dedicated to eliminating the criminal spy groups and making sure that there is no conflict between the legal and illegal side of Zootopia. Nick joined the group when he was 12 and was trained for 5 years. Since the group didn't give out any pay to their agents, Nick payed the agency's training with the money he earned from hustling the streets in his spare time. But other than that, he spent his spare time training and doing missions.

That's why meeting Judy seemed like a god-send to him. His first friend, the first person that he's ever trusted and the first person he's ever fallen for. That's right, Nick Wilde has fallen for Judy Hopps.

Nick didn't know when his feelings for Judy started developing. He assumed it all started when Judy apologised to him underneath the bridge. He tried to be mad at her, he really did. But as soon as he turned around and look at her, it was like she had stolen his breath. Her amethyst eyes were sparkling with unshed tears, creating a sort of sad beauty. She was holding her arm, her gaze focused downwards. All in all, Nick found that although he really enjoyed the bittersweet sight of a sad Judy Hopps, he had decided there and then that, no matter the consequences were, he would make sure that she would never cry like that again. Not while he was alive.

So, as soon as he was told by Avex that he was to try and keep her at a distance, he was understandably pissed off. He knew that there was a rightful reason behind this decision, but it didn't stop Nick from destroying every punching bag in the gym with his bare paws. He was mad that he was stopped from letting the only thing in his life that matter to him get close to him. He was mad because he was forced to make Judy mad at him to keep her away from him. He was mad because he was forced to risk the only semi-normal job in his life just to keep his cover intact. And most of all, Nick was mad because this one order could ruin his friendship and chances with the only girl he's ever loved.

Now, Nick had grown up in the streets, where a normal relationship was nearly impossible because of the risks involved with it. There was too much blackmail that could happen, too much bloodshed to even imagine having a normal relationship. But he wasn't that naïve. He knows how a relationship works. He knows that to even have a decent relationship that there must be trust between the couple. No secrets kept, and especially no instructions from a powerful, secret organisation that implies that they must be kept apart. Now, he knew that there was that trust between them, knowing that they had each other, no matter the situation. But everything else? If keeping secrets was a crime, Nick would've been sentenced for a thousand lifetimes and more.

Sighing, Nick was about to stand up and find where Judy went (Seriously, how long does it take someone to go to the toilet?) before his eyes caught some suspicious mammals in the corner of the café. Tilting his head slightly so that he could see them without looking suspicious, he noticed three things. One, they were wearing jackets when it was EXTREMLY hot. Two, one of them had just placed a black box on the desk he was occupying with a timer that displayed '00:38'. A bomb maybe? And three, all of the mammals except the fox had pulled out guns, waving them wildly around the room.

"GET ON THE GROUND! NOW!" One of them yelled. It was a fox. He had brown fur, with a scar over his right eye. The ringleader of this little group, if Nick had to guess. But that raised the question, what exactly were a bunch of common thugs doing with a bomb? The mammal next to the fox, a black furred wolf, raised his arm to shoot, the sleeve pulling up a little and showing his wrist. There was a tattoo of a sword, with a wolf and a fox curving around it. Nick's eyes widen in terror and shock. It all made sense to him now. The fox ringleader, the wolves that were rounding up the customers-turned-hostage and the tattoo could only lead to one faction in the underworld. The Black Cleavers. A criminal organisation hell-bent on fox and wolf world domination. Nick has had a couple of interactions with their leader in the past, a red furred fox, and those usually ended in either a blown-up factory or one Nick Wilde littered with bullet holes.

So when one of the wolves had tried to grab his arm, Nick had grabbed the mammal by the head, threw him over his shoulder and then kicked the table he was seated at off the floor, aiming at the wolf. Turning to the others, he didn't have to worry about the wolf he had engaged when he heard a pained yelp from the other side of the Snarlbucks. Shaking out of their shock, one of the wolves had tried to shoot Nick, the sound of the gunshot echoing from the walls of the café. Not surprisingly, the bullet hit the fox officer, although it did nothing to him. In that short span of time that followed, Nick had leapt to the side, pulled out a tranquiliser gun and shot all the wolves. All the darts had hit the side of their necks, the dart firmly lodged into the skin. And it only took two seconds for all that to happen. Turning his attention to the fox, he allowed himself to smirk when he saw the fear in his eyes.

"Wow, your definitely giving us foxes a good name." Nick said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. All the fox did was growl before reaching into his jacket and pulled out a rusty dagger. Gripping it in his paws, he rushed Nick, hoping to end the fight in one strike. Although, not everything went this fox's way.

Jumping to the side, Nick was able to dodge the attack and make the fox overextend because of his over-commitment to the strike. Quickly grabbing the fox's wrist, he quickly disarmed the mammal, making him drop the blade. Twisting around, Nick decided to haul the fox over his head and smash him onto the ground, leave a small crack on the marble floor where the fox's body was. He cuffed the criminal and checked his pulse to see if he was still alive. I mean, it was a pretty hard blow.

After finding the pulse, Nick was about to relax before he heard a beep come from behind him. Turning around, his eyes zoned onto the black box that was forgotten in the duration of the fight. Reading the time, Nick's eyes widened considerably when he saw how much time was left.

00:30.

Acting quickly, Nick scooped the bomb into his arms and ran out of the store, looking for somewhere to dump it. Realising that the area was too crowded to even throw the bomb into the air and that he was running out of time, he took off at a random direction, making sure that he didn't bump into anyone. Quickly approaching a corner, he doubled his pace, hoping that he would have more time and that there were no people there. Checking the timer, his heartbeat quickened when he saw that he only had ten seconds left. He nearly stumbled, however, when a familiar scent filled entered his nose.

'CRAP! JUDY'S IN THE WAY!' Nick yelled in his mind, cursing under his breath. Taking a deep breath in, he yelled out, hoping to get her attention.

"JUDY! GET OUTTA HERE!" Turning the corner, he, fortunately, saw no one else but Judy and another bunny, both looking at him in shock. The other bunny was only a few inches taller that Judy, his cheeks having black stripes on them, kinda like warpaint. Nick subconsciously noticed how the two were unusually close, although he quickly shook the thought out of his mind, the frantic beating of the bomb bringing him back to reality. His eyes widened in disbelief when Judy narrowed her eyes at him, almost like she was suspicious of something. Is she serious? At a time like this? Ignoring the sharp pain that suddenly appeared, he wildly waved his arm at them, telling them to move because he knew that he had no time to try and run around them. The bad feeling in him only intensified when the other bunny placed his paw on her shoulder and gave her a smile. He nearly growled when he saw Judy's knee tremble, her eyes shining with attraction. Snapping himself out of it, his training from both Avex and the ZPD took over. He went even faster, frantically telling the other bunny to move out of the way. Fortunately, he did and Nick wasted to time in running past him, his arm winding back and preparing to throw. He noticed that the bunny that had moved was about to pull something out, but her ignored it in favour of looking at the timer.

00:03.

Throwing the bomb high into the air, Nick waited a few seconds before a terrifying boom hit his ears, the heat wave and the shock knocking him onto his backside. He turned around and noticed that Judy was clinging onto the other bunny, her head and arms buried into his chest. Despite the situation, Nick was struck with jealousy. Not wanting to look at the bunnies, Nick looked at himself. The explosion long over, Nick was able to observe his bullet wound, which hit his left shoulder, disturbingly close to his heart. Touching the wound slightly, he gave a small wince at the sharp pain that followed. Ignoring the pain, he quickly stood up and dusted himself off, making sure he looked presentable before he made his way over to the pair. Nearing the two, his trained ears picked up bits and pieces of their conversation.

"…okay, Judy?"

"J-Just fine…"

Nick nearly groaned when Judy looked up, her eyes filled with wonder, looking at the guy who she had clung on. Walking to the pair, he was slightly hurt at the glare that Judy sent his way, although he didn't show it. After all, 'Never let them see that they get to you'.

"What. Was. That. Wilde?" Judy said, not even using his real name. Nick was hit with another bolt of pain, but quickly ignored it, deciding to respond to his partner's question.

"Well, after you left the café, there was a hold up by certain… criminals," He noticed how the other bunny narrowed his eyes when he mentioned the 'criminals', but he let his focus slide back over to Judy. "There were five of them. I quickly dispatched of them when I noticed a blinking light. Realising that it was a bomb, I ran out of the store, quickly finding a place to throw the bomb before it exploded." Nick finished his recap, his eyes glazed over as he slipped on his mask. He was able to avoid showing his hurt when Judy just shrugged before turning to the other bunny.

"Oh, oh Jack. I want you to meet my friend." She quickly grabbed his paw, dragging him towards Nick. The two merely stared each other down, the bunny glaring up at him, a certain smugness floating around him, while Nick stared down at him, like a predator measuring up his prey. Judy looked at the two, hopping up and down in excitement. After a few tense moments of staring, the bunny closed his eyes, a light smirk on his face. Soon after that, he opened his eyes and let out a disarming smile.

"Jack Savage." He said, reaching his paw out in greeting. Nick looked down at Judy, and after seeing her expectant face, he caved in, reaching out to shake the bunny's paw.

"Officer Wilde." He responded, firmly shaking the bunny's paws. Judy clapped lightly, squealing softly before grabbing Jack's hand and Nick's wrist, something that Nick sadly noticed, and dragged. them off.

"We have to let Chief know about this. Hey Nick, did you know…" It wasn't long before she went off, talking about the achievements of the bunny that was next to him. To Judy, it seemed like her friend and her idol had met up and were now comfortable with each other. And that was the best thing that could have happened today.

Although, what Judy didn't notice was the way that Nick stressed the word 'Officer'. To her, it would seem like nothing, but to spies? It was basically code for 'This is a cover up, I'm a spy'. And if Nick's suspicions about the black striped bunny is right, then it seems that would have a lot more in common than they would have wanted to.