Story Notes:

It's James this time. So me and Nicole got some good feedback for our stories the last time, if you don't know about what that means and are curious to find out check out my (our) profile/bio page and it should explain everything. But in short this account is a collaboration between my friend Nicole and myself where we post one-shot ideas that we have together.

This is my version for Judy and Nick's first date, enjoy!-

The Secret's Out:

It was spring time and Judy and Nick have been working together for two years now and made quite the reputation for themselves already, with the Night Howler case going on both of their records as their first case they received a lot of attention in the media. After that fire had died down the crime fighting duo had already helped with stopping several bank heist and now their resume included missing mammal cases, hate crimes, drug raids, and more to go; but now it seemed like there was a few things that Nick couldn't escape from.

The first was all the attention he was getting for being the first fox officer and being paired with the first rabbit officer along with all the hype about everything they had worked on together. But the second thing he couldn't escape from was something that was his own, and that was his growing feelings for the cute bunny with amethyst eyes who sat next to him driving their police cruiser.

Nick had always been protective of his friends so when he became protective of her during the bank heist while they were under fire he thought nothing of it, but after the case he began to notice subtle things like longing to be at work or missing the vibrant color in her eyes. Those small things and many more only grew as they worked together more and more. The way she was always ready to help anyone and everyone, the way she looked after him after he got a broken arm during a chase, but most of all the way she always brought a genuine smile to his muzzle; even though he always tried to hide it.

The red fox stole another glance at his partner sitting beside him. Her eyes were focused on the road and her ears were up but not focused on anything in particular, she always kept her eyes moving across the road and down the sidewalks always looking out for anything and everything. And that included the deep exhale that Nick let out as he turned to look back out of his window. "What's wrong Nick?" she asked taking a glance in his direction the back to the road once more.

"The patrol is going so boring I'm losing my mind." He respond, however only half of that statement was a lie.

Sitting in the driver's seat Judy rolled her eyes and looked at her partner out of the corner of her eyes. "Even we have our slow days Nick." She said with a smile, usually it was her complaining about not having any big case to work on or any action in the field; Nick was always just happy to follow her lead no matter where she took them.

"Yeah you're right Carrots." Nick said flatly trying not to look into her sparkling eyes for too long as he turned to her before looking away before an idea popped into his head, "Hey what do you say after shift we grab some take out and go eat at the park over by your place?" he asked now in a more upbeat mood as he began to work out his plan in his head.

The small crime fighting duo spent the rest of their day with no crime fighting to report and no excitement to chase away their boredom, but now it was the end of their shift and they had just checked out.

"See you tomorrow Clawhauser." Judy said waving goodbye as they past the receptionist in the front lobby.

Nick looked up from searching through his phone to say goodbye to their friend as well, "You take care big guy." He said using the term fondly and warmly.

The yellow predator waved back at them happily taking a bite out of a chocolate donut with rainbow sprinkles. "See you guys later." Those two had easily become his closest friends over the years, and definitely his favorite fellow officers. For a few minutes while he sat at his desk reading through fur book and checking his work email he said to himself thinking about how they would be if they were together."Those two would make a cute couple."

"Who would make a cute couple?" a stern voice said from behind the cheetah causing his tail to shot up with its fur standing on end.

Having been startled by the sudden voice behind him he dropped his half eaten donut to the floor. "N-no one chief!" He said quickly as the small officers had exited the building now being out of sight of them. "I was just thinking about Gazelle and Justin Timberwolf." He came up with trying to cover up his slip up.

At the mention of the antelope and the wolf the large mammal looked around seeing that it was only the two of them. "Clawhauser you need to be careful about mentioning those types of things here in the workplace. We don't want anymore issues to come up again." Chief Bogo said referring to an argument between officers that had happened last month over whether or not those types of relationships should be allowed in Zootopia.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." They spotted predator said somewhat sadly and down. As he watched his receptionist picked up the dropped pastry and went to throw it away, chief Bogo couldn't help but feel bad knowing that what he said had hurt Clawhauser's feelings and with a defeated sigh he went back up to his office.

Nick was at the register paying for his and Judy's take out as the cashier handed over the tray for the drinks and the brown paper back with their food. "Thank you come again." The antelope said tiredly to the fox after a long day. And with that Nick joined up with his go-getter partner waiting outside while he got their food, and after only a couple of minutes they found themselves sitting together at a park bench enjoying the start of a sunset as they began to eat.

"So why did you want to eat here?" Judy asked as she munched on a carrot from her salad. It went unnoticed to her but in the reddish yellow light of the sunset her eyes sparkled brightly and her grey coat of fur glowed radiantly as Nick looked over her small figure.

After taking a bite of his insect burger he answered, "Well because it was the only place that has insects for me and plants for you." He said with a smirk as he avoided the question "And besides it was close by."

"They aren't plants. You make it sound like I go around eating bushes and grass." Judy said sharply as she turned to Nick seeing his trademark grin on his face waiting for her reaction. But when she looked at him she saw the way his red fur looked golden in the warm light of the sun, the way the green of his eyes was not only sharp but gentle as well, and the way that he looked at her with those same gentle eyes. And suddenly in that moment she discovered she didn't care what his reason for bringing them here was, she was just glad he did.

Together over mindless talk they passed the time together watching the sunset and eating their meal until after they had finished eating and were enjoying the silence Nick decided to speak up. "Hey Carrots, what do you think about people doing things that others don't think they should be?" he asked as he rolled his empty cup in his paws.

"Nick we are the first and only rabbit and fox officers, what do you think I'm going to say?" she said with a smile as if that was the most obvious thing in the word. "Does this have to do with what you have been thinking about all day today?" she asked having picked up on his off set in mood throughout their day.

The red fox looked at the grey bunny sitting next to him, while he knew she was smart and quick on her feet he thought that she just hadn't noticed his mood. "Yeah kinda." He said while looking down the hill that they had sat down at on top of the park

"Why don't you tell me what this is all about Nick? We are partners and your my friend, it's okay to talk to me." She said while putting a small grey paw on his arm to comfort him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his heart before opening them and breathing out. "What if I wanted to be something that nobody else thinks is right? What if I wanted to be more than just a fox?" he said ending his questions there when she spoke up and grabbed his paw with both of hers.

"Nick you are already something that nobody in the city thought you would be, even you never thought you could be an officer. Besides, you are already so much more than just a fox to me Nick, you know that. What is it that you wanted to be?" she said showing just how much that he meant to her and just how much that everything they had been through meant to her.

It was what she said that finally gave him the courage to say it, to speak the thing in his mind that was always wanting to be said, "I don't just want to be a fox anymore." He stated as he turned to look at her. "Judy, I want to be your fox." He confessed as he gazed into her shimmering amethyst eyes with his own sparkling green ones.

Judy's small pink nose twitched slightly in her stare, she felt his other paw placed on top of hers and she held onto his paw tighter, she thought about what Nick just said. About the words he used, about the words they meant, about what it meant; and her eyes started to water slightly as a happy smile crept across her face. She screamed happily as she jumped against him and wrapping her arms around her fox in a tight hug. "Only if I get to be your bunny." She said with a wide smile as she laid across his chest with her tail shaking happily after having knocked them over.

"Okay, my little bunny." Nick smiled happily as he wrapped his arms around her and held her against him as he pressed his muzzle into her neck. "Tomorrow let me take you to dinner, it will be our first real date."

"Nick I want to, but you know chief Bogo's rule. If anyone sees us like this we could get in trouble." She said as realization hit her, while she wasn't going to let that stop her it would be something that slowed her down. With that in mind she had gotten up and instead sat in front of him still holding onto his paws though.

The red fox laying on the grass thought about it for a moment, trying to think of how to work around that pain of a policy, and then he had an idea. "Don't worry, I know a quiet place. Nobody would notice a thing, and if they did they wouldn't say anything about it. So what do you say Carrots?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

"I can't wait." She said returning a smile just as happy and hopeful as his.

Judy spent her whole day off getting ready. From all the excitement the day before she even slept in till seven in the morning and spent quite a long time trying to figure out what to wear. That was a hard part because unfortunately Nick hadn't told her what type of place it was going to be so she had no idea what clothes would help her to fit in more, but she ended up deciding on wearing the a light pink flannel shirt along with a dark blue pair of jeans. While she didn't wear or even have any sort of make-up she used a new shampoo and conditioner to make her fur extra soft.

Meanwhile Nick was having just as hard of a time trying to pick something out for himself. He only had changes of uniforms and thin polo shirts, while he didn't mind wearing them with a tie he wanted to show Judy that this time with her meant something to him. He knew that Finnick had some nice looking clothes, but unfortunately not only was the older fox not keen on sharing; there was more than an obvious gap in size. After a lot of changing and sorting through shirts he found a dark blue shirt with lighter blue and dark yellow designs on it that paired up well with a solid black tie and a pair of dark green pants.

Now Nick found himself outside of Judy's apartment building waiting for her to come down, and sure enough the door opened and the bunny he had been waiting for came out. Maybe it was the nervous feeling, or the dim yellow light in the doorway, or the new step they had taken together; but to Nick, Judy was absolutely glowing. Her eyes sparkled brighter and her smile a bit wider, her fur shimmered more and her scent was sweeter; and Nick could barely take everything in. He was stunned and speechless, but little did he know so was his bunny.

As Judy exited the door she saw Nick leaning against the street light and when he turned around to face her the way his fluffy fur bounced the yellow light off and the way his gentle eyes caught that same light took her breath away. They took a few steps closer to each other and stopped with Judy on the last step still looking up slightly at her fox who was right in front of her.

Surprisingly enough this was not either of their first dates, but yet for both mammals they were so nervous and worried about what to do next. Nick was the one to make the first move and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug only to feel her arms around him, and while it was a bit awkward for the both of them it was also a soft and gentle first step down their path together. "Are you ready Judy?" he asks as he pulled away from her and held onto her paws.

"I was born ready." She said with a smile responding to him. Together the two of them headed to the train stop nearby and headed for Tundra Town and lucky for them the walk wasn't far away. The cart the were in wasn't busy, but still they didn't want to be seen holding paw in public but neither of them were sure if the secrecy of hiding their relationship or if it was the fact that there was a relationship that set their stomachs dancing for the whole ride. And after another short walk they found themselves at the restaurant Nick had made their reservation for.

"What do you mean my table was given away? I made reservations for tonight, a table of two." They heard a large mammal near shouting to the host behind the front entrance desk. "How does a reservation just get forgotten in your little book?"

With a quick look at each other they knew that they had to do something before the large mammal got even more angry. "Excuse me sir what seems to be the problem?" Judy said stepping up to the side of them.

"I'm not causing a problem, I'm asking a question to…" the other mammal carried off as he turned to face the new voice in the conversation. "Hopps?"

"Chief Bogo?" both Judy and Nick said shocked seeing their chief of police here. Out of all mammals in the city this is the only one they had to avoid with their new relationship. And then as the three of them were shocked to see each other the door opened letting in a forth mammal.

"Alright I got my phone…now…Judy? Nick?" a very familiar voice said as they turned to see a very familiar cheetah standing confused in the doorway. "What are you guys doing here?" Clawhauser said nervously seeing the two of them and Bogo standing together.

"Yes what are you two doing here?" the large prey mammal said turning the attention back to the small officers.

Both Nick and Judy began to crack slightly under the pressure, but that same pressure is where Nick shinned. "Well it's been two years since we've been working together and I thought dinner would be a great way to celebrate that. What about you, sir, why are you guys here?" he said with a smirk as the pressure was put on the horned officer.

"Nick don't push it." Judy whispered to him worried about his always present antics.

But chief Bogo was at a lost for words, while normally he wouldn't be caught off guard by Wilde's snarky comments and come back, but this situation he was put in had him thrown for a loop. And before he could say anything someone else did. "Excuse me, but if you aren't going to leave we are going to have to call the authorities sir." The host said trying to get the new mammals seated.

"Actually, I know our reservation is for two, but would we be able to put our fellow officers with us at our booth?" Nick asked quickly turning to the horse. "It would be under Nick Wilde."

"Oh you are all officers. I see, give me a moment." The horse said quickly before flipped a page in his book and running his hoofed finger down the page. "Ahh yes, you have booth reserved. Yes we could put you all together. Please right this way." He said leading them into the back area of the restaurant and to their booth in the back. "Would you two like a booster bench?" he asked as they got to the reserved table and saw the problematic size difference.

Both Judy and Nick turned red under their fur at needing the booster bench to sit comfortably at their table but in a minute they were all looking through their menus talking about what sounded good and placed their order. But now they couldn't get out from under the weight of the silence. "So Judy and Nick, why don't you tell me what exactly is going on here?" Chief Bogo asked causing the mentioned two the tense up. "Is this a date you two were coming out for dinner?"

At the question the mentioned two tensed up, while they knew it was coming they had hoped it wouldn't be the first question. Before Judy even had a chance to speak up Nick did. "With all do respect sir why don't you allow officers dating?" he said bluntly to their commanding officer.

"I have that policy so that way the feelings and personal lives of officers don't cloud their judgement or get in the way of their duty to protect the city." He responded back sternly.

"What if we could promise that we wouldn't let our relationship get in the way of work. After all wouldn't we still be looking out for our fellow officer?" Nick said pushing his point across.

Clawhauser was not one for confrontation and sure didn't like being in the tense situation so he tried to defuse it the best way he knew how. "Bogo, it's not that big of a deal right?" he asked while placing a paw on the mentioned mammals large arms "Please?" he said carrying out the word.

The unmovable chief looked down at the yellow paw on his arm and then at the spotted face of his officer; and then suddenly he remembered that he wasn't so unmovable after all. "Okay, fine. If it won't get in the way of your duties I will allow it." He said with a defeated sigh.

While Nick and Judy were happy to hear that their chief while reluctant to accept it would still allow their relationship, it was Clawhauser who was the most excited. "AWWW THANK YOU!" he squealed happily while squeezing the larger mammal next to him in a tight hug.

"Claw-Clawhauser?!" the chief stammered having been caught off by the strong embrace, after being let go he was looking away but the small officers across the table could see the red burning in his ears next to the wide smile of Clawhauser. "I don't want any of this going public." He said in a stern voice having his words mean more than what was said. And while things were a bit different than they either Nick or Bogo had planned for them and their dates it was all in all a great date that they all shared together.

After walking Judy home to her apartment paw in paw Nick was getting ready to say his goodbyes to Judy when she spoke up first. "Nick come up to my apartment really quick, there's something I want to give you." She said happily with a smile on her face and in her always vibrant eyes. And how could Nick say now to a sweet face like that, a short walk up the stairs and they found themselves walking up to the doorway of Judy's apartment. "Wait here." She said quietly as she went inside leaving the door open.

After the sounds of a few things being shuffled in a what sounded like a draw Judy came back out of the door. "Close your eyes and hold out your paw." She said with a voice that sounded so gentle and caring, even if the fox was going to say no, that voice would have melted his resolve anyways.

Gladly accepting whatever it is Nick held out his paw and felt something drop into his papped paw as Judy's small paw left his. He opened his eyes and saw a pink cylinder that had caused so much pain for the both of them during the Night Howler case; a can on fox repellent. "I held onto it so I never forgot what I did that day to you and every other predator." Judy said flatly having remembered what happened because of the dangerous spray.

"But then why are you giving it to me?" he asked confused as he looked at his bunny who now had stepped forward and put her arms around him, and in turn he closed his arms around her.

"Because you're my fox now, and I don't want any vixens coming near you." Judy said as she pulled away from him slightly and placed her paws on his chest and marveled at his vibrant green eyes as he gazed into hers. And before he knew what she was doing she stood on the tips of her toes and placed a small, gentle, and caring kiss on the side of his muzzle.

Still standing outside the gentle closed door Nick heard Judy sigh in content and let out a small cute giggle. He began to get weak in the knees, his head went for a whirl as he felt light as a feather, and before he knew it; he was walking on air.

Nick was Twitterpated.

Author's Notes:

Who else loved that Nick and Judy are both Twitterpated? After seeing the movie for the first time that's all I could think of those two!

Alright guys and girls that is that! Let me know what you thought, put it in the reviews or send in a PM, I can't wait to see what you thought about it.

So it seemed like many of you liked the last thing me and Nicole did, and we thought we should let you guys pick the topics too. So if you want to suggest a topic or theme for this 'different version' thing lets us know in a PM. Speaking of Nicole; she will be putting her chapter out some time today as well so go check that out because I loved every bit of it.

Alright I hope you all enjoyed the story and the many more to come! Until next time!-
-James