YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE LYRICS ARE REMOVED. THIS IS DUE TO COPYRIGHT CLAIMS AND INFRINGEMENT OF RULES. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING.
The Demeaned Mistake
By CrazyWriter (thecrazystorywriter14)
Chapter 1 - Song
December 23, 6:45 PM
Normally when Nick Wilde walked into the police station with his fellow officer and girlfriend Judy Hopps, he found the lobby empty with excessive space. Normally the lobby would be lit by the daylight and the ceiling lights would be left unnecessary.
As Nick enters with Judy into that very room, there is no daylight, as it is evening. The ceiling lights shine dimly onto the well-furnished lobby – furnished with multiple tables, two lounge stations, a dance floor, and a snack table to quell hunger and thirst.
The dress of all officers attending is strictly formal - uniform with a tie - and only families of officers are additionally invited. Scattered among the tables are these various families - intelligible by the informal dress - and their related officers standing among them. Some officers – such as Judy and Nick – have little or no family attending, leaving them to socialize with their fellow peers.
Nick and Judy, after greeting various officers wandering about the floor, sit at a two-seat table. After a moment, Nick pulls himself into the table and leans in so only Judy can hear. "Hey, was it a mistake to come here? Nobody's here."
"What do you think, genius?" Judy replies smoothly. "We're ten minutes early."
"You want to get something to eat?" he says, and she shrugs and begins to stand. Nick shakes his head firmly. "Hey, I'll take care of it. I know what you like."
"Okay," Judy replies while Nick strolls off to the table. She leans back slightly but not so much to attract attention.
He returns a minute later with a plate of nachos, a small salad plate, and two tall glasses of clear liquid. "They said 'light refreshments'. I'd like to see what 'generous refreshments' look like. By the way, your drink's the less bubbly one. I got myself some clear sparkling cider."
"Thanks, Nick," Judy says, taking her food and taking small nibbles of it while looking around the room. "It looks like there are some more visitors."
"Oh, really?" Nick replies smugly, looking toward the door. "They invite people, you get people. What else?"
"Just statin' the facts," the burrow tone returns to her voice before disappearing again. She steals one of Nick's chips. "So, how do you normally spend Christmas?"
He flashes a quick smile, knowing this is not the first time she had asked the question. "Two years ago, I bought a little two-foot tree and put it on my counter. I don't even think I decorated it. That was, what, six months before I met you?"
"That sounds accurate. Did you go see family of some sort?" she steals another chip.
"I haven't done that in years. The last time I did do that was probably four years ago. Sometimes Finnick comes over and downs two cups of the eggnog I buy every year."
"That stuff's gross. I don't understand how you like it so much."
"It's genetic. My brother loves it, my parents do, my uncles, aunts, basically everybody. Well, except my grandma. She's not much of a fan."
"Same with me," she takes a sip of her water. "Besides Finnick and eggnog, what are your Christmas traditions?"
"I don't do much. I really wish I could make Christmas cookies or make candy canes like I've seen so many other people do."
Judy nods. "That sounds like an achievable dream. Anyway, we could go over to the lounge area and at least wish our officers a friendly 'happy holidays'," she stands from her chair.
"Not now. It's more pleasing to sit here."
"Oh, C'mon, Nick. It's not like they're going to kill you," she wraps her paw firmly around his forearm and lightly tugs on it. He reluctantly complies and follows her over to the corner of the lobby, where Fangmeyer and a few other officers remain.
"Well, the party's starting," Fangmeyer says as the duo approaches. Nick seats himself on the green sofa while Judy sits next to him, leaving a small gap between the two. "How 'ya been, Wilde?" Fangmeyer says.
"I could say fine, except I'm having an inconvenience at the moment," he glances at Fangmeyer and points his thumb at Judy. Fangmeyer flashes a quick smile.
"Hey," Judy complains playfully, delivering a poor blow to Nick's shoulder. He covers his shoulder in faux discomfort and rubs it despite it lacking pain.
"I don't have anyone else to tease but you, Carrots," Nick replies quickly. "You're my go-to besides my brother."
She looks at the ceiling and shakes her head. "Always you."
He ignores her and glances past Judy's roundish head, where the chubby Clawhauser stands cheerily. He waves eagerly at any officer passing by. Nick takes the opportunity of a separate conversation between Judy and Fangmeyer to approach the attendant. Clawhauser smiles happily as he approaches. "Why, isn't it our officer of the week? How are you doin'?"
"Fine, you?" Nick replies, looking around the room while Clawhauser explains his day quite generously. Nick nods occasionally to pass off a genuine listening factor in the monologue-like conversation. After Clawhauser's monologue, Nick pauses for a moment. "Interesting, big guy. Hey, remember what we talked about yesterday?"
"The coffee?"
"No, not that," Nick shows his teeth in an awkward grin, holds his two paws out in front of himself and moves his fingers rapidly in the air.
"Ah, yes, that. What about it?"
"You got it?"
"Sure, I got it. You wanted the mic too, right?"
"Yep, buddy. Where'd you put them?"
"Storage room two. Four-"
"Fourth door on the left. I know," he slowly walks away from Clawhauser but still faces him and walks with his back toward the hallway. "Hey, I really appreciate it. Check's coming Monday, I promise."
"Okay. Thank you for doing this."
"Gladly," Nick turns around and disappears behind the left wall of the hallway. He returns shortly with a rectangular case in his right paw, along with a cart of miscellaneous items. Nick stops at the corner of the lounge area and begins to unload the cart.
"Nick?" Judy looks at him, bewildered. "What are you doing?"
"Just setting up for a performer. He's supposed to be here any minute now."
Judy turns from him and continues with her conversation. Nick continues to unload the cart and eventually gets everything set up. Clawhauser pulls the cart to one side and then consults Nick. "You ready?"
"Sure. You know what to do."
Clawhauser nods and lumbers off. The quiet Christmas music that once played through the ceiling speakers ceases. Nick now stands in the spot where he anticipated the performer to stand. He taps on the microphone directly in front of him. "Testing, testing," Nick says softly, and his voice echoes through the lobby. Heads turn to Nick as he sits on the bench in front of the piano. There are two speakers at his sides and equipment designed to assist in the performance. "Good evening, everybody," Nick says, noticing Judy's stunned gaze. "I would like to perform a... special tune. It's a parody of a song, and I changed the lyrics to appropriately fit the theme," he says, plugging a cord into the side of the piano. He plays a chord, which quietly emits from the speakers in the ceiling and next to him.
He begins to play a melody, starting from lower keys and ascending to higher keys. He plays the remaining portion of the melody, then begins to sing the song.
The words flow from his mouth. Each is carefully enunciated to allow proper understanding. Just when Judy starts getting into the song, the lyrics turn to her. Each word is carefully crafted to evoke the emotion he desires in her.
Nick resumes the melody from earlier and plays slowly until the song ends. He looks toward the audience as he lifts his paws from the piano. Judy looks at him with teary eyes, her mouth twisted into an odd smile, amused, embarrassed, and loving. She jumps up from her spot and embraces him fully. "Thank you, Nick. I loved that."
8:45 PM
As the modern four-passenger vehicle continues on the highway, darkness passes on both sides of the pair of officers frequenting it. Coolness circulates throughout the car from the driver's open window, relieving - if any - tenseness or discomfort. Judy sits comfortably in the seat, her arms folded loosely on her lap. She takes even breaths, switching directions of her gaze from Nick to the road ahead. As she looks at him, she again imagines the perfected words he sang so beautifully, so... handsomely. The hand rest between them is the only barrier keeping her from cuddling herself up to him and feeling his warmth and protection.
Nick's left three fingers touch the steering wheel, being the only appendages keeping the car straight. He'd passed his driving test - admittedly - on his second try and failed his first attempt when he accidentally ran a red light. His driving instructor hadn't been the cheeriest after that. But after joining the police force, both his attention span and his reflexes had improved. He became more aware of his surroundings, more comfortable with driving, and more serious about operating a vehicle.
His right paw lays comfortably upon the armrest, almost begging Judy to lay hers upon his. His breaths are also calm, signifying the proudness he has in himself for performing well.
Judy cannot stop thinking about Nick's paw on the armrest and finds herself staring at it for longer than she should have. She glances away, but Nick's peculiar ability gives her away. "Carrots, if you're gonna do it, just do it."
Without replying, she carefully lays her right paw upon his. Immediately the warmth soothes her paw, prompting her to move his paw under his, and she locks their paws together with her three fingers side-by-side and her thumb topping his thumb. He has his paw in the same position as if he'd been expecting it.
"Not bad, Carrots," Nick says comfortably, keeping their grip locked. "A little insincere, but I like that."
"I would've backed away, but I'm glad you like it," she continues to embrace their linked paws. Her paw, so small, seems to fit his perfectly well. They had held paws before, but only to cross the street a couple weeks ago and when Judy's paws got a little too cold during Tundratown patrol. She has never held paws with different intentions.
"You didn't back away, so that shows me your bravery," he says, disconnecting their paws to take a left turn into Judy's apartment complex. As they turn in, Judy's mind races with indecisiveness.
Should I ask?
"Carrots," Nick gestures toward the apartment doors, which he had just stopped ahead of. "You getting out, or what?"
"Yeah, yeah," Judy says, slowly exiting the car. She turns from the apartment doors and races toward the car door, where Nick's head is visible through the window frame. "Can I give you a hug?"
"How can I refuse?" Nick says, opening the door, stepping out, and slowly embracing her. Judy's frivolous dream in the car of embracing him is coming true. She feels that same warmth from his paw all over her frame, feeling the firmness of his bones underneath the comfort of his clothing. In seconds the warmth disappears, and Nick stands a foot or so away from her. "It was a nice night. See you tomorrow, then?"
"Yep. We have tomorrow off, right?"
"I think so. Why?"
"Well, I was wondering - well, I've been thinking..."
"Sorry to stop you, Carrots, but this feels like a replay of that time you tried to get me into the force. But don't let me stop you. Go on."
"I know, I know. I was just thinking, well, if you'd like to have me over tomorrow morning. I'd like to share a few Christmas Eve traditions."
"I'm all for it. You mind telling me what you're planning on doing for these traditions?"
"Actually, I do mind. It's going to be a surprise. I expect you to be surprised when I come over tomorrow."
"I'll try my best, Carrots. Goodnight, now," he says as he begins to enter his car.
"Yes, Nick," she giggles. "I'll see you soon. Oh, and Nick?"
"Yep?" he says, almost eagerly.
"We may have to go shopping first. I have to pick up some materials and I'd like your company."
"If that's what you want to do, Carrots, I'm all for it," he pauses, looking at her. "Bye now," Nick moves his head downward slightly, flashes a smirk, and drives away slowly, with enough time for Judy to flash a wave into his side mirror. She does not expect him to wave back in the way she had, and he doesn't. After a few moments, her buzzer on her phone goes off and she notices a string of waving paw emojis in a single text message from Nick.
An overwhelming warmth overcomes her as she enters the building, staring at the text message all the way to her room.