The sun hung in the sky over Savannah Central, home to Precinct One. It was a day like any other day, for most mammals anyway. For a particular fox and rabbit, it was a very special day indeed. The duo strolled into the precinct, the bunny eagerly hopping in front of the fox, who sipped from a cup of coffee and regarded her from behind a pair of mirrored aviator shades.
"Last Day on patrol, Carrots," he reminded her as they walked into the station, him sipping a coffee.
"I know!" She smiled, bouncing through the door. "Then we make Detectives! This is so exciting!"
"Calm it Fluff, we still have to survive. Okay?" He finished off the cup of coffee and threw it into the trash. He walked over to Clawhauser's desk and snatched a donut when he wasn't looking, following behind Judy on their way to the Bullpen. As he walked, he took a moment, or ten, to make sure her fluffy cottontail was still present. He had to make sure some miscreant hadn't shaved it off in her sleep! 'Still there.'
He took a seat in the same chair as Judy and smiled up at Bogo, smirking confidently as he handed out reports for them. They were given Patrol in Savannah Central. A nice, easy way to close out a successful career as beat cops. Not that Bogo would ever admit that. He didn't care, of course.
They got in their cruiser and rolled out, Zootiopa's premier (and only) bunny and fox duo in action! Nick remained laidback while Judy could barely contain her excitement.
"Fluff, would you calm down a little bit?" He asked. "You're making me tired and I'm not even doing anything."
"How can you not be more excited? We're going to be detectives after today!"
"Unless we die," he joked, peering at her over the rims of his sunglasses.
"We're not going to die, Nick."
"Day's not over yet, Carrots. Day's not over yet."
She laughed at that and went back to driving.
Fortunately for them, it was a pretty boring patrol for the most part. Quiet, mostly just tickets and the like. But it got a little exciting towards the end when they caught Duke Weaselton. He was selling pirated movies off of a table in a back alley.
"Hey Duke," Grinned Nick as they approached him.
Duke wasted no time and flipped the table at them and bolted, forcing them to chase him down. He was a slippery bastard, but they finally cornered him.
"See Duke, it's out last day on the beat, and we were feeling nice," began Nick. "Nice enough that if you pack up and don't get caught again, we'll give you a break and only make you pay a fine, okay?" He offered.
Duke nodded furiously and bolted, trying to get back to his precious counterfeit blu rays before they were all snatched up.
"Have fun Duke! Stay FROSTY!" Called Judy as he sprinted away.
"Carrots, who knew you had that kind of spark in you?" He teased, a tad surprised at the barb.
"I guess you're rubbing off on me." She smirked, making his ears shoot straight up at the mental image that conjured up. Not that she noticed.
"So this horrible, evil fox has finally brought the incorruptible Judy Hopps down to his level?" He teased back. "This city is doomed!" He cried dramatically, dropping to his knees and throwing his arms ide into the sky.
Judy rolled her eyes. "Come on, Slick. Day's almost over. Let's head back to the precinct?" She offered.
"Yeah okay," he instantly switched gears back to his normal, cocky self. He stood up and walked back to the car with her. They headed back to the car. "Well, this is it Fluff, the end of an era," he mused as they drove back. Tomorrow, the days of Officer's Hopps and Wilde are over, and we shall greet the dawn of Detectives Hopps and Wilde. You ready?"
"I was ready when you were still in diapers!" She challenged.
"You weren't even born when I was in diapers!" He retorted.
"Exactly! I've been ready since before I was even conceived!" She grinned at him, unwilling to back down from this.
"Fair enough. I suppose it'll be interesting to see you in a suit," he remarked. In the almost three years he had known her he had never seen her in something like that, she usually wore dresses to formal occasions, and her casual wear was jeans and tee shirts, or sweatpants when they were just hanging out at one of their apartments.
Judy stared out into the distance before slamming the breaks. "CRAP!" She screamed. That was unusual, she never actually swore, not unless she was really upset. Given what he had said, it wasn't hard to figure out what she had just realized.
"You forget the suit, didn't you?" He asked without missing a beat. "Don't worry Cottontail. I figured that would happen. We have that celebration dinner planned. How about we go shopping after?" He offered. "I'm sure I can help you get something good."
"Thanks Nick. I always like having a second set of eyes when I go shopping." She smiled and hugged him at a red light.
'Holy shit Judy! Did you not Shower this morning or what?!' He thought. Not that she smelled bad by any means, it was just the opposite. She smelled so goddamn good! He quickly let go of her, not wanting to risk things getting awkward. "No problem. I'm your partner, aren't I? Can't have my cute little fluffball wandering around looking all shabby. It might just cramp my style."
"Dumb Fox," she rolled her eyes and went back to driving.
He smiled and relaxed, constantly aware of her hypnotizing scent in the car. He exited the car with a mixture of relief and regret. He was glad he could finally breathe again, but missed that pleasing, tantalizing scent. He smiled and jumped out of the car.
"Clawhauser!" He called to the obese cheetah working dispatch. "How the hell are you doing?" He asked, snatching a blueberry donut as he did.
"I'm great!" He replied. ""Did you hear?! Gazelle is planning another Concert here! I need to get tickets like I need to breathe!" He gave an excited wiggle in his seat, happy that his beloved musical savior would be visiting his city again!
"Well, good luck with that," replied Nick. "In the meantime, we have a Buffalo Butt to see."
"Hopps! Wilde!" Called Bogo.
"Speak of the Devil…" Remarked Nick. "Later Spots."
"Bye Nick! Judy! Good luck as detectives!"
Nick finished munching on the donut as they entered Bogo's office. The massive cape buffalo was working on some paperwork when they entered. He closed the file and regarded them both.
"You two have been some of my finest, and most unconventional, Officers," he began. "And the source of some of my worst migraines. So I can only look forward in horror and hope as you take this next step, and become Detectives of the ZPD," he told them. "Take them. You've earned them."
He pushed a box made of polished wood across the table, inside it were two badges nestled in a soft, blue satin lining, the word "Detective," stamped into them.
"Well then, if that's all, you two are free to go. Get yourselves two suits, and get them pressed," he ordered before going back to work.
"Wow Chief, if I didn't know you better I would have expected you to be a bit happier for us," snarked Nick.
Bogo looked back at them and leaned forward, stony-faced as ever and spoke in a neutral tone of voice. "I'm ecstatic for you two, can't you tell?"
"What my partner means to say, is that we are grateful for this opportunity, we won't let you down," interjected Judy. She smiled and took her badge as Nick grabbed his.
"I expect that you won't" was his reply as he went back to his work. "Close the door behind you as you leave."
The pair departed, closing the door. As soon as they were gone, he gave a heavy sigh. He had been gnuine in what he had said, they really were his best, not that he would ever tell them that. Deciding he deserved to treat himself for a few minutes, he grabbed his phone and opened the Gazelle App. He had earned this Gazelle break, dammit!
"YES!" Shouted Judy as they exited the building, jumping into the air and giving a twist before landing back on her feet.
"Okay, Carrots," he told her, looking at her. "You can't just binky like that and realistically expect me to not call you cute," he remarked as he walked alongside her.
"I'm just so excited! We're detectives Nick! Detectives!" She shoved her badge in his face.
"Really?!" He gasped sarcastically. "I totally gapped on the last five minutes of my life!"
"Snarky Fox,"
"Excitable bunny."
She wanted to say something back, but her excitement won out and she binkied again before walking to the tram station with Nick. They had an evening planned as celebration for them making detectives.
They took the tram over to the downtown area, where they planned to share a meal at a very nice restaurant." They shared a table and looked over the menus. Nick ordered the halibut steak and Judy had the vegetable stir fry and they shared some wine.
"To us, Carrots," he proposed a toast. "The bunny and fox that somehow made detectives on the ZPD."
"To us!" Agreed Judy, clinking her glass with his. She caught herself staring into his eyes, again. She couldn't help it, they were a piercing shade of green, with black slits. He normally kept them hidden behind polarized, mirrored sunglasses, to protect his nocturnal eyes from the harsh sunlight. But when she could see them, she always loved looking at them. There was something alluring about them, maybe it was just the fact that they were so unlike anything she had ever seen, growing up in Bunnyburrow, the only fox around had been Gideon, and she had avoided him like the plague as she had grown up.
She also stole glances at his teeth as he ate as well, when she knew he wouldn't notice. Just admiring her partners meticulous dental hygiene was all.
They ate and enjoyed themselves, not noticing the people typing away on their phones around them. They would later realize what this meant, and would wish they had noticed and said something.
After dinner, Nick accompanied her to a store where they went shopping for her detective outfits. He really came alive during this, telling her the best place to get the best deal on good clothing, reminding her that this was for work, not a formal occasion, so comfort and ease of movement was more important than anything else. He also began explaining the finer points of suit shopping to her. His father, a tailor, had drilled it into him. Judy was grateful, her father was never big into fashion, and she had never gone shopping for anything besides casual wear, so having Nick along was a big help. Turns out that they are just a great team in every respect, not just police work.
"Okay, Carrots, we're getting at least three suits," he began, walking through the aisles until they got to the stuff for rabbits. "A dark one, a light one, and one in the middle, with at least one shirt per suit. After that, you're free to do as you please with regards to them. Got it?" He asked, ignoring the looks he got. This was a store for small prey mammals, so a fox was extremely out of place.
She nodded. She wandered through the aisles, Nick followed her and held the stiff she picked out. The suits were all easy enough, three pantsuits in Black, grey and light grey, it was the dress shirts that she spent a long time picking out. But she settled on a white one, a green one and a purple one, all pastel colors, they complimented her light grey fur nicely.
They went to checkout and Judy flinched a bit at the cost of the clothing, but Nick assured her that it was all worth it. "Unless you want Chief Buffalo Butt to be all up on your tail about the dress code and such," She paid for the stuff and they departed the store, a few bags full of her new clothes.
"Now make sure you pay close attention to the washing instructions," warned Nick. "You don't want to ruin them so soon after you bought them."
"I got it, Nick, throw them in the washer on whatever and blast them with heat from the dryer," she smirked at the faux-horrified expression on his face.
"Carrots! You know how seriously I take clothing!" He gasped, being purposefully over-dramatic. "Give me those bags, you clearly don't deserve them!"
She laughed along with him as they waited for the train to get there. Once it did, Judy opened her arms for a goodbye hug. He smiled and pulled her in for one, trying to ignore her tantalizing scent, that wonderful, earthy, and beautifully feminine scent that tickled his instincts and made him never want to let go.
But he did. She still had to get on her train. He sighed and took a moment to sit down on the bench in the station. He had all these feeling swirling around inside him that he was too tired to deal with. He knew he was into prey, even if almost no one else did. But he didn't know how he felt about Judy. HE knew he liked her, a lot, but he wasn't sure if those feelings were platonic, romantic, sexual, some combination thereof, or what. He sighed again and stood up before heading back to his apartment.
Judy returned to her shoebox apartment and Nick walked back to his apartment. They both went to bed, excited for the next day and blissfully unaware of the coming storm.
Meanwhile, in the Savannah Central Happytown
A lion looked over the crates in front of him with wide eyes. He had shaved patches of fur with tattoos beneath, marking him as a member of the East Savannah Pride gang. "Shit, so you're really selling this kind of hardware on the cheap?" He asked. The crates in front of him were filled with M4A1 assault rifles, MP5K submachineguns, M590 shotguns, M9 handguns, M67 fragmentation grenades, Claymore mines, C-4 kits and MGL-140 grenade launchers.
"Of course," replied the zebra in front of him, dressed in a crisp suit. "Everyone has to start somewhere, right?" he asked, trying to hide his disgust at having to show the chomper in front of him any kind of respect.
"What about ammo?" Asked the lion.
"We'll give you some for free to start out," he explained. "Call it a gesture of goodwill." 'I hope you fucking choke on it,' he thought. The zebra took a moment to remind himself that this was all for the greater good.
"You're amazing," smirked the lion. "I'll take it all." He snapped his claws and a pair of lionesses came over and opened two briefcases, packed to the brim with dollar bills.
The zebra took the cases, trying not to flinch as his hooves were forced to touch their paws. He walked away with the money as the predator gang began loading up the weapons into pickup trucks and SUVs to haul them out to whatever hole they called their home base. He didn't care. If everything went according to plan, predators like them would soon be in their proper place in society.
Claws knew what he was doing.
On the other side of the Savannah Central Happytown, an associate of his was working out a similar deal with another predator gang, a Hyena gang called The Westside Savannah Spots selling them similar weapons with a similar deal. With any luck, the ensuing gang war would generate the kind of response they were looking for, and the first step to a proper society would be taken.
It was only a matter of time.
Author's Notes
Just a few answers to questions that will probably come up, Nick is a closeted preyophile, only Finnick knows about his attraction to prey species, and Judy is a latent predophile. She's super-attracted to predator species but hasn't realized it yet.
The setting is best described as mostly Cannon Zootopia, but with a Zistopian past. Predator segregation and shock collars used to be a thing, but the collars were outlawed before Nick was born, and segregation was abolished at around the time Judy was born. More information will be revealed, but it will be revealed through exposition in the story itself.
I'm going to be attempting a relatively slow burn on this fic, but I'm not ready to promise anything. I have some of it outlined and a vague idea of where it is going and how it will end, and I don't want to stretch things out too much.
Tell me what you guys think about this, I;m curious to know how you thought I was with regards to characterization, writing style, pacing, etc... I know this is only the first chapter but knowing what you guys think will really help me out here.