"You know, Fluff, when I teased you about getting a hobby, I wasn't suggesting that free time was necessarily a bad thing," Nick jeered as Judy joined him at the small corner table of the sleek café, her eyes shooting a quick glare at him following his quip. The other patrons shuffled around without notice, a steady flow constantly leaving and being replaced with new customers. Nick gave a quick wave to the opossum that owned the café as he walked by with an order for a group of four ferrets heatedly discussing Zootopian politics at a nearby booth.
Through the glass panels lining the front of the café, Nick could observe the everyday hustle and bustle of downtown Zootopia. There were few things he liked more than sitting back and watching mammals going about their lives and the interactions that came along with them. He couldn't help but try to guess at the stories behind each one, turning it into his personal drama program. The slightly annoyed business mammal walking by might have just lost a deal that would have given him that long awaited promotion. Those two young hedgehogs could have had everyone else fooled, but Nick could make out the hints of hesitation, pointing to a romantic attraction that neither had found the nerve to express to the other yet. Perhaps today would be the day. Suddenly, He was pulled back to his partner at the soft sigh of irritation she released.
"Well, instead of crying to me every time you have nothing to do," Judy responded, a small touch of annoyance laced in her words, "why don't you find yourself a hobby?" Nick felt himself smirk, sporting his well practiced grin. He watched the features of Judy's face, something he'd quickly become accustomed to (not to mention extremely proficient at) while fending for himself on the streets. Her brows, furrowed up slightly with exasperation, seemed to soften for just a second when her eyes caught his, and he could swear her cheeks tinged almost imperceptibly. Her eyes diverted to the ground for just a second before shooting back up to meet his again.
"And miss a chance to spend time with my favuwite bunny evew?" Nick he asked in the most childish voice he could muster while lightly pinching Judy's cheek. "Never!" he finished, quickly letting go of her to drop his arms back to his signature pose: one hanging lazily over the chair and the other gripping what was left of his drink. Her annoyance came back for just a second, followed by a roll of her eyes and a shy grin of her own. The edges of Nick's mouth rose slightly without intention at the sight of her small smile.
"I mean, if you really want to come with me to my cousin's baby shower," she jokingly offered, her head now resting on one paw and her face mirroring his earlier smug smile, "you could tag along. Seriously, there's not a whole lot more entertaining than a colony of does all gushing over the wonders of childrearing, wouldn't you agree?" She really was getting much better with the sarcasm these days, something that he liked to claim as one of his greatest achievements.
"While that does sound oh-so tempting, little miss cottontail, I would just hate to distract all of your bunny buddies with my inescapable charm," he retorted without missing so much as a second. It earned him a small chuckle from the rabbit across the table that left him with a warmth in his chest. Judy pulled her head up from her paw, once again sitting up straight in her seat before taking a sip of her tea with both paws. The drink sizes at the café were designed with slightly larger animals in mind, but it was just a few-minute walk from the precinct and the food and drinks were some of the best in Savanna Central, so it quickly became one of the favorites of the officers at the station, in addition to a hot spot for those mammals that happened to pass by during the day.
"In that case, what are you going to do tonight, then?" Judy questioned after placing the paper cup back down in front of her. "You can't just go home and watch movies every night. You're already starting to gain some weight," she laughed as she poked and prodded his belly a few times under the table. He twitched at her touch and playfully batted her paws away, legs curling up to protect his abused midsection. He playfully retaliated with a soft kick to her chair, making her jerk up, before responding.
"Well. I was going to have a guys' night out with Finnick, but something came up." He intentionally remained vague about his fox friend around Judy in an attempt to protect them both. Nick and Finnick had managed to keep up a friendship after he had gone straight, but that meant a lot of half-truths and non-answers. Nick had been clear with the smaller fox and told him that he could get in big trouble if he ignored crimes that came to his attention. He also mentioned however, that if he didn't know about anything going on, there wasn't anything he could do, thanks to the standards of evidence he was required to provide. For that reason, they'd come to an unspoken agreement that gave Nick some level of plausible deniability of any wrongdoing.
"Nick," Judy interjected, "there's so much more to do in this city besides hopping between seedy bars! You could always check out one of the museums. I hear there's a cool exhibit at the ZMFA," she offered, hoping to pique his curiosity.
"Carrots," he droned, one eyebrow raised, "I used to be a docent for extra cash at all the major museums in the city." He gave a little shake of his hand before he continued. "Well, not officially, but it's easy to memorize fun facts and offer cheap tours." His smirk came back full force at remembering some of his earlier antics.
"Okay," Judy said quietly, paw going to her chin as she contemplated some other ideas. "You could always take a dance class," she exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe impress some vixens," she teased while wiggling her eyebrows.
"You think I need fancy moves to woo ladies?" he asked, putting a hint of mock hurt into his voice. "For your information, hip-hop, I learned how to dance years ago. You wouldn't believe how useful a skill like that is. I'll take you out sometime and teach you some moves," he breathed out in the huskiest voice he could manage, followed by a wink. They were both quiet for a second before they were unable to hold back a bout of laughter at Nick's faux pick-up line.
"Alright," Judy managed between breaths, finally calming down. "But how about learning a new language? There are over 100 different languages spoken in Zootopia after all." She easily recited, proud of the information she studied regarding the metropolis that she thought would make her a better representative of the city. "I've been working on some Spanish during down time in the office." Her chest puffed out a bit at the statement.
"L'ho fatto già." His smirk painted itself back on his face when he saw the look of astonishment overtake her face and her chest deflate. He chuckled a bit before continuing. "Lavoravo per signore Big. Non ti ricordi?" His years doing odd jobs for Mr. Big were made much easier with a basic understanding of Italian, an opportunity he quickly took advantage of once he found himself in that position.
"Uh, okay…" Judy began, a little shocked by the realization, but quickly got back to coming up with ideas of things to do before she was interrupted by Nick again.
"Look, I appreciate the concern, Carrots," Nick spoke quietly, and seemingly without a trace of sarcasm, surprising both of them. "But I've done a lot of these things. I know everyone, remember?" he joked before his face became stoic again. "I just…I want to do something to help out, you know?"' His eyebrows creased a bit in the middle, and his eyes were lost in thought. "Ever since I put on this uniform, I've felt like I need to make up for everything I've done: cons, scams, hustles, you name it. Kind of like my own personal debt that I'm trying to pay off."
He looked up just in time to see the rabbit's face shoot up for barely a fraction of a second in realization before it fell down into what he recognized as hesitation, with her eyes down, shoulders slightly hunched, and her front teeth softly biting her lip. Really, she made it too easy for him, and he no longer felt the need to approach those situations with tact after working together for so long.
"You might as well just say it, Hopps, because you sure as hell can't hide it," he said, surprising her as he once again donned his playful smirk and waited patiently. She hesitated only a minute before turning her body to reach into her back pocket and pull out what looked like a pamphlet. Her eyes were locked on it for a while as she tried to choose her words.
"Well, I forgot until just now. I picked this up earlier today while we were patrolling central." She slowly handed him the tri-folded paper before dropping her arms back down. Nick's eyes wandered over the colorful pamphlet, his face shifting to a slight frown when he recognized the letters on the front: JRS, Junior Ranger Scouts.
Judy saw his expression change and quickly spoke up again. "I know you had a bad history with them, but I saw this and noticed they were looking for someone to help as an assistant pack leader." Her voice was quiet, and she didn't make eye contact with Nick as she spoke. "I thought that maybe," she sighed, "you could help those kids learn how to be good mammals." She put her paw over his. "Like you."
Nick stuttered a bit, something he hadn't done for years. He caught himself, feeling a bit of humiliation at letting this affect him so much, and closed his mouth to simply think about things for a second. He pulled his paw away from hers to open the pamphlet. The familiar green uniforms reminded him of that day years ago, but he had to admit to himself that ever since then, he had always still held some type of nostalgia for the group.
"I don't know, Ju…" he began to say, but before he could finish, the bunny interrupted, probably in an attempt to delay what she assumed would be a rejection to the idea.
"They have a meeting tonight at 2389 Willow St." she recited, obviously having read the pamphlet entirely before their meeting. "It's a few hours once a week, and there's no obligation to keep going if you don't like it," she continued, almost like a negotiation. "Nick," she whispered, looking into his eyes with all the determination she could muster. "I think this would be really good for you. At least you would be able to confront those memories, and I'm only asking you to go one time."
She reached out and held his left paw with both of her own, eyes looking into his and simply awaiting his response. He took another glance at the pamphlet in his right paw. Part of him wanted nothing to do with the group, but he suddenly noticed one of the pups in the image. It was a group of six mammals, but he was most concerned with a small wolf pup: the only predator in the group. He was smiling: the same type of smile Nick became so good at when he was younger. It was a smile that begged you to believe that everything was fine, while hiding the fact that it wasn't. It's what he had given every mammal for years when they had asked about this or that, and he hadn't trusted them enough to let them in.
He put down the pamphlet with a bit of sadness in his eyes, and Judy's ears dropped slightly on recognizing that look of hesitant rejection. She opened her mouth a bit to say something, when she was interrupted by his voice instead. "Okay, I'll go," he announced, and she watched a smug grin slide back onto his face, and an eyebrow pop up. Her surprise lasted only a moment before she could properly react.
Nick laughed heartily as small paws slapped his arms a few times. "You jerk!" Judy scolded. "I was so worried you'd say 'no,' and all this time you were messing with me!" The last statement was punctuated by a final slap to his arm, followed by the bunny crossing her arms and pouting slightly, head turned away from the fox. He laughed for another minute, while Judy continued to ignore him after the joke he had played. It wasn't until she felt a soft paw on her shoulder that she turned back to see an honest smile played across his muzzle.
"Thanks, Judy," he stated. All the annoyance she had felt just seconds ago washed away, and she couldn't hide her own smile, as much as she wanted to make him feel guilty for the prank. She picked up her tea and gulped down the rest of it, wiping her lips of the leftover before regarding him again.
"Alright, I think it's time we get back to work, before I have to sit through anymore of your mushy fox feelings," she heckled. They threw down a few bills, deposited their cups into a trash can, and began their walk back to the station to finish the rest of their day and prepare for the evening ahead.
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Hello everyone! I didn't really want to have authors notes at the end of every chapter, but I was pleasantly surprised by the response in such a short time! Thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed the story and started following me! I unfortunately won't be posting chapters as quickly as other authors do, but I'll try to keep the momentum going forward.
Which brings me to the real reasons I'm writing this now; I'm in need of an editor. I go through my own multiple draft and edit process, but it's always easy to mistype something and overlook it, and that's not even mentioning that I might not really how something I've written might not make sense, as i already have the whole image in my head.
if you're interested, just send me a pm, and we'll discuss details. Thanks again for the love so far, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!