7:00AM –– 2 HOURS UNTIL BOARDING
The sky was blue and the sun shone down on Zootopia, a picture perfect day for its animal citizens. From the Meadowlands all the way to Savanna Central, animals were waking up and starting their days with an extra little pep in their step.
Sahara Square had it the best. The sand was that delicate mix of scorching and soft to step on, and all around desert animals rejoiced at the amazing weather.
The docks were no exception. Seven hundred mammals (all either powerful, insanely rich or both) were gathered there on that fine morning, standing in a weird hybrid of a crowd and a line. All around, mammals of all kinds were bustling through the docks. Elephants stomped around, talking boisterously and giving several mice families a reason to fear for their lives. Lions sat on the ground, leaning on their suitcases in giant clumps of grumpy slumber.
Each and every one was waiting for a chance to board The Crimson Carrackal, Seabear Cruise's newest luxury ship.
In the midst of it all a wolf and his wife strolled through the crowd.
Shepard's nose wasn't malfunctioning. He could still smell her, still pick her scent apart from hundreds of others in the crowd. It was his eyes that betrayed him. Whenever he looked at her and didn't see her white wool, nerdy glasses, and dorky clothes, he would think for a second: "Is that really my wife?"
Then she'd speak, and the wolf would know that she was definitely his Dawn. Sometimes he would laugh about how ironic it was that he was married to a sheep. They used to herd them, after all. Then she started a race war between predator and prey, and then it got really ironic that he was married to her.
Speaking of, she was looking at him right now. Shit. She must have noticed his staring.
Dawn slowed her walking and met his eyes. "Something wrong, Shep?"
Stupid him. Now she was gonna freak out internally about how she was ruining everything, but pretend all the while that nothing was wrong. It had only been a year since her release and their reunion, and she was still dealing with all of her regret and guilt about her crimes.
He elected to smile at her. Hopefully ease her fear before it started. "Not at all, sweetie! I just think you look better white."
The statement made her giggle. Shepard held back his sigh of relief.
"I think you can handle beige for a few weeks." she said, her voice crackling adorably.
Suddenly, Shepard grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned, flashing his dangerous (but oh so sexy) razor edge teeth. His voice dropped into a sensual whisper. "As long as I get some of that pink…"
Dawn blushed and leaned into the embrace, nuzzling her husband's arm. "Once we're on the ship, honey."
And what a ship it was. The cruise liner was the highest of its caliber. No expenses barred––all of the rooms were essentially presidential suites, two pools capable of holding 300 elephants at one time, a casino, four spas! They could only spend two weeks here? It was worth more money than he could ever make in his entire life!
"You sure you want to do this?" Shepard squeezed his wife's hand comfortingly.
"Of course!" she chirped. "Do you?"
"I wasn't sure about it before…" Shepard felt Dawn's posture sag in disappointment. His heart sank with her, but it was the truth, and it was important that he share it. On the bright side, he was slowly changing his mind. Shepard continued to talk, adding to his previous statement with an optimistic ring to his voice. "I think I'm feeling better about it, now! I guess I'm just worried about you."
A moment passed, and then a hand pawed at Shepard's chest. Dawn's way of asking him to crouch down for a kiss. Being a 6 foot tall wolf didn't make it easy for her to show him affection when she wanted. He complied with her request, and their muzzles met. Warm breath and wet tongues mingled in way that they had many times before. Eventually they broke away from each other, if only to catch their breath. Dawn looked up at her husband, gratitude and passion in her eyes. "Don't work yourself up, okay? We're on vacation. The whole point is to NOT worry about anything."
Shepard smiled back at her. "I'm sorry. I believe you."
The Bellwethers leaned on each other, turning their gaze to the ship. It wouldn't be long until they were allowed to board.
"It'll be fun." Dawn whispered, talking more to herself than to Shepard.
7:30 –– 1 HOUR 30 MINS UNTIL BOARDING
Wolford was not happy. His feet hurt. The last time they'd been so sore was during the Academy. He shifted his weight and shook his right leg in an attempt to ease his pain. He'd been standing in line for…3 hours, now. Scanning the crowd proved fruitless, as it had the past 15 times. Where the hell is he?
The grayish black wolf sniffed the air. The salty breeze of the docks filled his nostrils, as well as the scents of the many animals in the vicinity. He caught a faint whiff of who he was looking for, and the scent became stronger and stronger until finally, Wolford had him in sight.
Fangmeyer was 165 pounds of pristine white fluff and goofiness. Wolford crossed his arms and frowned, growling at his boyfriend when they were finally within hearing distance of each other. "What the hell took you so long, Fangmeyer?"
Fangmeyer smiled, an unapologetic look in his eye. "You know me, I don't really do so well in crowds. Remember when I got lost at that festival in Bunnyburrow last year?"
"I do. I had to come and pick you up from a lost kids tent." Wolford deadpanned.
"Mmm. Remember how they thought you were my brother?" Fangmeyer slinked his way into Wolford's personal space, getting in close and pressing his cold nose to the other wolf's neck. They were never really too big into PDA, but instances like this weren't exactly uncommon.
Wolford shivered. Fangmeyer was now licking him affectionately.
"Save it for the boat."
"I get sea-sick! This might be the last time in two weeks that I can love you without also wanting to puke my guts out."
8:00 AM –– 1 HOUR UNTIL BOARDING
"Give me my phone."
"No. If I do then you'll make me go through the checklist again."
"What if we forgot something? What if Finnick lost his extra keys and someone breaks in? What if we've made the worst mistake of our lives by getting onto this boat?"
"Calm down, Hopps. I have everything under control, and by 'under control' I mean I'm not gonna worry about it. Neither should you."
"Nick! This isn't funny!" Judy glared at her fox companion before quickly returning to the road.
Nick shrugged, leaning back and enjoying the comfy passenger seat. The couple was headed to a cruise vacation–all Nick's idea, of course.
Judy was excited when she first heard about it, but the poor bunny quickly devolved into a bundle of nerves. Before Nick knew what was going on, she had several checklists that she was ticking off at any given moment and an endless amount of travel blogs open on her phone. He figured that she was just channeling her uneasiness about taking days off into their packing, but two nights ago after they came home from work, Judy confided in him that she'd never taken a vacation in her life.
It only made sense that she would want her very first vacation to be perfect, and it was absolutely adorable! "Carrots. You've been stressing since we woke up even though you checked over everything eight times last night. Our luggage has everything we need, Finnick's gonna watch the loft while we're gone and Delgato's taking care of our car. We're golden."
"I-But…" Judy stuttered. Nick was surprisingly organized and having him around definitely helped her nervousness, but there were still so many things that could go wrong…
"Hey."
A paw started stroking the top of her head. Judy struggled to hold back a dreamy sigh. As much as it pained her to admit it, the petting really hit the spot. Her ears twitched as she felt a muzzle come in close, moving until it was mere inches away from her head.
Nick's voice turned husky. He leaned in close, wet nose almost making contact with her ear, whispering to her. "It's gonna be okay, okay?"
Judy prepared a firm and logical rebuttal as they pulled into the parking lot, but in the end, decided not to say it.
Not because she believed him or anything. She was just…taking a break from being right, was all.
9:00 AM –– BOARDING TIME
The Crimson Carrackal opened its gates as soon as the clock struck nine.
Alexander Wolford and Jacob Fangmeyer were near the front. They were ZPD officers. Good ones, too. One of them was even preparing for the detective exam! Though if you'd asked his boyfriend about it, he'd have no idea what you were talking about...
Dawn and Shepard Bellwether were in the middle of the line. No one was supposed to know who they were.
And finally, Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. They arrived last, out of the six. They didn't end up in the back of the line, but they were pretty close.
The wolves, the heroes, and the criminals all boarded the ship.
Ten pairs of eyes watched their every move.
