A rustle at the door of the car drew Judy's eyes up from her notebook. Instinctively she pushed it into her lap, words face down, but relaxed a little when she saw a familiar fox balancing on one foot. She cocked an eyebrow at his bizarre dance, but all became clear as he levered open the door. His hands were full; in one a cardboard tray with two takeaway coffee cups in it, and in the other a brightly-decorated box with the words 'Full Circle Donut Co.' printed on it. Judy rolled her eyes.
"Really, Nick?" she said as he seated himself.
"Hmm?"
"Did you really just make me pull over so you could go and buy some coffee?"
"No."
She stared at him confused for a moment, then it clicked in her mind.
"Did you really just make me pull over so you could go and buy some coffee and donuts?"
"Correct. I don't know why you're like that, that's what I said I was doing."
"You told me you had a gut instinct you wanted to follow."
"And I was doing that. It's just on this occasion I meant it literally."
He flipped open the donut box and claimed one of the pair inside, taking a sip from his drink as he did so. Judy watched him with a thin smirk. Her expression hovered between amusement and irritation, and though she tried she couldn't find which one better suited the moment.
"So you've tricked me into taking an unapproved break so you can feed your face."
"'Tricked' is a strong word. I prefer 'creatively phrased'. Anyhow, it's not just about me," he tapped the second cup, "I got you something as well. Don't think I don't look out for you, Carrots."
Judy took the cup and sipped it. Two sugars and two creamers. Perfect. She smiled.
"And thank you very much for that," she said, voice noticeably quieter. "But even so," she added, restoring her firm tone, "I'm not impressed at you diverting us out of the line of duty."
Nick turned his half-eaten donut in his hand with a shrug. "We're cops. We exist to keep order in the city; if the city is in order, we drink coffee and eat donuts. I've seen movies." He smirked, "And Clawhauser."
"Those gross inaccuracies aside," Judy snorted, "We have actual, scheduled breaks to get coffee and donuts. You shouldn't be inventing your own."
"Ah, lighten up, will ya? It's nice to just have some time together."
Nick reclined in his seat and took a long, pensive sip from his coffee. Judy opened her mouth to offer more protests, but his changed body language stopped them in her throat. On the face of it nothing seemed amiss, just a fox relaxing in his seat, but in their time together she had learned to read his eyes, and their story was entirely different and entirely more serious.
"Huh?" she eventually said.
"It's nice to just have some time together. Time when we don't have to worry about chasing crooks or pencil-pushing or any of that other stuff. Time when we can just sit back, watch the world go by, and talk."
Judy frowned. "But we have plenty of time to do that. We have lunch; after work; non-working days…"
"And how many of them have we spent together?"
Judy raised her paw to start counting them off, but froze as her train of thought crashed into the buffers. Last night? She'd done a late shift. Yesterday lunchtime? She'd spent most of it on the phone to her parents. Last weekend? She'd taken a trip out of the city. When was the last time she had seen Nick in a non-working environment? Last week? Two weeks ago? Three…
"I assume the penny's dropped," Nick muttered between sips of his coffee. Judy's ears sunk.
"I guess you're right," she said, "We haven't spent a lot of time together outside of work lately. I didn't know it was bothering you, though."
"When did I say it was bothering me?"
"What was it you once said, Nick? 'Never let anyone know that they get to you'. I can see you're trying that right now, but you're a bad actor around me."
Nick's fur stood on end as his cheeks lit up in pink. He quickly suppressed it.
"I know you live by that mantra, Nick," she continued, "But you can't get anything if you don't ask for it."
"I know," he sighed, "It's just hard to break the habit of a lifetime."
"Well at least you've come out with it now. You want to spend more time together? That's great. Let's make a date of it. Did you have anything in mind?"
Nick shook his head, "I didn't think that far ahead, to be honest."
It drew a grin out of Judy.
"Really? What happened to the master criminal who'd thought of everything and was one step ahead of everyone else?"
Nick gave a half-hearted laugh. "Well, things are a little different when you never thought you'd have the courage to ask her on a date"
He said it with his best imitation of his cool, suave voice. For a while Judy was fooled by it, but as she dwelled on his words a little longer the web unravelled. She dropped her half-eaten donut, mercifully catching it before she coated her lap with sugar, and looked at him.
"Are you suggesting…" she said, tailing off.
Nick cocked a devious eyebrow. "I don't know. Do you think I am?"
Judy grinned back at him, "Do I think I know what you're implying? Yes, yes I do."
She took a drink, pretending to divert her eyes but all the while peering down the cardboard to watch Nick trying to suppress his shudders of excitement. Tingles of her own fluttered through her stomach.
"Anyway," she said after replacing her cup, "I'm not working Saturday, if you're available then."
"As am I. Do you want to get lunch?"
"How about dinner? It's a better environment for conversation," she drummed the wheel with her fingers as she thought, "What about Lasseter's? I've heard good things about the food there."
"Sounds good to me."
"Great. I'll make reservations when I have a second. And by the way, it's quite a nice place, so I expect to see you all spick and span. You look much better that way."
She looked across at Nick and smiled, and he smiled back. Neither said a word, but words were unnecessary. It was easy enough to read one another's thoughts, and that told them more than any sentence could say.
Their gaze was broken by the buzzing of the car's intercom. Both jumped in shock, but Judy only let it unsettled her for a split-second before hitting the speaker.
"Officers Hopps and Wilde?"
"Reporting," they said together.
"Reports are coming in of a robbery at Bank of Zootopia on Moore Street. Two culprits, both sheep, white wool with black jackets and hats; reported to be heading in a northerly direction carrying bags from the vault. We need you to track them down."
"Roger that," Judy replied, "We're on our way."
"Affirmative. Dispatch out."
Without a second of pause Judy revved up the engine and shifted the car into gear. Her paw slid onto the handbrake, but before she released it she stole another glance at Nick.
"Are you ready to stop being lazy now, or do you still have that 'gut instinct'?"
Nick polished off the last of his donut. "Am I ready to help my favourite partner save the day? Yes, yes I am."
Judy laughed, and with the broadest grin on her face released the brake and roared off down the street. Eyes on the road except for the occasional glance up at the mirror so she could see the equally beaming fox beside her.
Goodness me it's been a long time since I've done one of these. Well, better late than never, I suppose.
I love Zootopia. I made the cardinal mistake of watching it while flying home from Disney World, and I've regretted it ever since (at least there was no meet and greet for them in Orlando). However, it has inspired me to delve into their world a little more. This is just some basic fluff, but that's all I really want to do. I have too many personal projects to deal with to dedicate my time to another multi-chapter fanfic. I'm quite content with just churning out oneshots like these, and I hope you are too. ^_^
Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated. :)