#1 Whole New World - Aladdin
Golden rays reflected of the still waters of the pond, causing it blend perfectly into the beautiful evening scenery. On the bridge over the waters sat two figures who leaned against each other, one being significantly shorter than the other. They remained there for a moment, taking in the sunset before them.
"Let's go home?" one said to the other as he hopped of the bridge an offered his paw to the other.
"Sure Nick, Let's go…home," Judy smiled and took his paw, getting off the bridge with a small thud as she landed on the ground. They walked, paw in paw, towards the apartment where they were staying, just several minutes away, making jokes and flirty comments as they walked.
"That was beautiful Carrots, haven't seen such a marvellous sight in a while"
"Yeah, it was pretty, especially how the sky just turned orange, it was- "
"Was talking about you, Carrots," he stared straight into her eyes, feeling satisfied as he noticed how they dilated in response to what he said. His signature grin soon spread across his muzzle as Judy giggled, she felt her cheeks flush and her heart start racing, nothing surprising anymore, she always felt like that around Nick.
They walked up flight of stairs that seemed to go on forever, Nick gave a groan seeing how much was left to walk, their room was on the twentieth floor, but they had only climbed up to the sixth. Nick would have preferred to take the elevator, but Judy insisted that they needed the exercise.
"Y'know Carrots, I'm just gonna go take the lift." Nick let out yet another groan before he made his way to the lift just beside the stairs, he pressed the button and waited patiently for it to arrive. Judy shook her head and gave a little grin, she worked her way up the fleet of stairs, determined to beat Nick to their apartment.
After a moment, the door opened and Nick slid into the elevator, it travelled a few moments before it stopped at the seventh floor. Nick was expecting another mammal to be on the opposite side of the elevator, but to his surprise no one stood before the opened door. This repeated itself for the next ten minutes as the elevator ascended to the twentieth floor, stopping and opening its doors at every level. It finally reached the twentieth floor and Nick stepped out, an annoyed and tired look on his face.
"JUDY!" Nick yelled twisting the knob of the apartment's door, to find that it has been locked. "JUDY! I swear I'm going to EAT you once I get inside!"
"COULD YOU TONE IT DOWN?!"
"YEAH SHUT UP!"
"AND YOU SHUT UP!"
"NO YOU SHUT UP!"
As usual, the neighbours, right on cue. He could hear short bursts of giggles coming from the apartment as his anger dissipated, how could he get angry at such a cute bunny? How could he get angry at HIS bunny… The thought caused a grin to grow on his muzzle, he knocked on the door once again.
"C'mon sly bunny, lemme in"
The door flung open and Nick lunged forward at the rabbit that stood before him, grabbing her up and carrying her up to the couch. He sat down with her in his embrace and started tickling her at all her sensitive spots, chuckling at how she struggled and slipped out from his grip. She joined him in the couch upon regaining her bearings, sitting in the space directly next to Nick.
"So, tomorrow's the big day huh?"
"Yeah, I'm finally catching up to you Carrots, next thing you know I'll be mayor of Zootopia!" Nick smirked pointing his snout up in an attempt to look proud, but instead got a punch to his arm as a response.
"Well, being a CSI won't be easy, you're going to have late nights busy cracking your mind trying to solve cases, interrogating suspects, flipping through tons of files, analysing millions of pieces of evidence, not to mention- "
"Carrots, stop, you're just gonna stress yourself out, at least we've got each other," he smiled sweetly at Judy, the same smile that brought reassurance and peace. He was right, through the rush of day, through thick and thin, they had each other. Judy leaned into Nick's chest and snuggled under his muzzle, Nick wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her with his embrace.
They cuddled on the couch and slowly drifted into a deep slumber. Indeed, tomorrow will be a big day.
...
...
"Beep Beep Beep" the alarm pierced through the silence with a deafeningly loud boom. Judy forced her eyelids open, quite against her own will, she soon came to her senses as she rolled off the bundle of red fur beneath her and onto the cold, hard floor. Looking back, she could see the peace and joy that the fox had as he laid on the sofa, a big smile that stretched across his snout confirms this thought, this caused a smile to surface on Judy's muzzle, this lump to fluff, HER lump of fluff, was so happy. She mentally brushed off the idea, she couldn't have him, he wouldn't want a dumb bunny like her, he deserves a better vixen… A battle of mixed feelings of love and pain raged on in her mind, but the train of thoughts came to an end as her ears perked up towards the couch, Nick had started fidgeting on the small sofa. Judy walked towards the ringing noise, which was growing louder by the second, and pushed down on its buttons, silencing the dreadful cacophony.
"Get up Nick, don't wanna be late on your first day!" Nick let out a groan followed by a sigh.
"Just another minute, or two, maybe three, probably four, possibly-" glaring lights suddenly found its way into the dimly lit apartment as Judy pulled the dirty curtains to the sides. Nick hissed at the sudden bursts of rays as he brought his paws over his eyes, trying to block out as much of the sun as possible. Blinking, he saw a certain rabbit standing beside him with a big glowing smile, a smile as bright as the sun itself. A rush of joy filled his heart as he stretched on the little couch.
"Morning Carrots," he said with a grin, "had a nice sleep on a comfy pillow such as I?" Judy blushed as she shook her head and made her way to the kitchen, boy was she glad that the bright lights concealed her flushing cheeks.
"Today's the day! A brand new day, a brand new world of mysteries to explore!" Judy exclaimed in glee as she grabbed a bowl of carrots out from the refrigerator, looking back to see that Nick had almost dozed off again. "Come on Nick, it's eight thirty already, gotta get up and get going," she said with a bounce in her tone. Nick shot up from his lying position and grabbed a nearby clock swiftly.
"EIGHT THIRTY!?" He ran to his room and snatched his uniform from his closet before dashing into the shower. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm…. HALF AN HOUR LATE!?" Panicked, he decided to do without a bathe, he just combed his fur and slipped into his full uniform. Hoping out of the bathroom, he sees Judy already in her attire, ready to take on another hectic day. "GOTTA GO NOW!" Nick yelled as he picked Judy up by her waist, causing her to gag a little, grabbed the keys to the car and ran down 20 floors. He practically threw her to the passenger seat as he started the car and dashed off to Precinct One, not knowing that Judy had changed the clock so that it showed eight thirty when it was only seven.
"WATCH OUT!" Judy screamed as Nick almost collided with an adjacent car. "Nick stop, calm down ok?"
"Calm down? CALM DOWN!? I'M HALF AN HOUR LATE ON MY FIRST DAY AND YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!?" Nick yelled at the top of his lungs as he slowed into a red light. Nick was panting from the anxiety that rushed through him, then he took notice of the clock installed in their car. It read 7.08 a.m. Giggles were heard from the passenger's seat and it soon turned to hysterical laughter. He stared at the laughing fit the bunny was in with a confused gaze, then it suddenly hit him.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!? JUDDDDDYYYYY!" Nick whimpered before melting onto the driver's seat, rubbing his temples to ease his headache.
"How else could I get you up from bed?" Judy replied with a grin, fully satisfied with what she has accomplished, "it's called a hustle sweetheart."
...
...
-Nick pulled over at a diner, still agitated at what Judy had done, near the ZPD. He got off the car and went straight through the doors of the restaurant without saying a single word, Judy followed behind, feeling a slight bit of guilt, but a greater deal of pride that everything went smoothly as she planned. She caught up with the annoyed vulpine, grinning slightly she tugged on the sleeves of his uniform.
"Sorry Nick, it had to be done or we'll still be stuck on the couch, you were quite fluffy to lie on anyways…" Nick let out a long sigh and glanced at Judy's paws that were on his arm with an unamused look. He brushed her paws off and joined the queue to order some takeaways, completely avoiding her gaze as he did so. Judy's heart broke as her ears drooped, He.. rejected me? Did he really just push me away? What have I done… the guilt finally set in. Completely heartbroken, she stood silently behind Nick, analysing his every move to gauge how angry he truly was.
Nick's turn came, he ordered some take away and received the food almost in an instant. the diner was known for its lightning fast services as it was managed by a family of cheetahs. He turned around and grabbed Judy, before she could place her order, and dragged her out of the diner. He let her go once they reached their car, Judy hoped into the driver's seat as Nick got into the back seat, leaving the Judy alone in the front. Slamming his door, Nick leaned into the cushion with his eyes closed and hands crossed around his chest.
"Drive." Judy's heart started pounding at the hostile demand Nick had just made.
"Look Nick, I'm sorr-"
"DRIVE!" Judy flinched at his burst of temper and started the car, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.
After a minute of driving, Judy skilfully parked the car into a tight space between a tree and a trash can just in front of the ZPD, doing a rather good job despite the tears that occluded her sight.
*Sniff*
Nick's ears immediately perked towards Judy, Is she crying? he thought for a moment, then opened his eyes to see Judy's staring right into his, her tears caused her amethyst orbs to gleam in the sunlight. He let out another sigh as he untied his arms and took Judy up from the driver's seat so that she sat next to him, uncontrollable sobbing soon came from the bunny as she leaned into Nick's embrace.
"I'm sorry Carrots, but don't you ever do that again, sly bunny…" he grinned and wiped a tear that was forming on her eye, she continued to stare at him for a few moments, then Nick got up and retrieved their breakfast from the front seat. "C'mon, let's go" Nick probed as he grabbed Judy by her paw and opened the door, "today's a brand-new day."
They paced into the ZPD, which was still rather empty. As usual, Clawhauser sat at the front desk waving enthusiastically at the fox and rabbit pair as they entered through the door, but his jolly vibe ceased as he gave a concerned look at the bunny.
"Judy, what's wrong? You guys had a fight? That's so adorable!" Clawhauser leaned his head on his paws as cute pictures of bunnies and foxes arguing flashed through his mind. Nick shot him a glare which successfully snaps him back from his fantasies. "Sorry." Nick shook his head and carried Judy, like how a mother would with a child, into their cubicle. This elicited another series of squeals from Clawhauser, barely audible as Nick closed the door behind him.
"So, what did you get for us?" Judy finally spoke up after her emotions stabilised.
"Well…" Nick took two sandwiches out from the bag and handed one of it to Judy. She happily snatched it from his paws and took a big bite. Chewing, she could feel that she had bit into something crunchy, something that tasted odd, but it didn't taste bad, it was actually quite delicious.
"Wow, this tastes amazing, what is in this?"
"Beetles," Nick said with a grin as Judy chocked, she dropped her sandwich on her desk and ran to the water cooler and gulped several cups of water.
"EWW! NICK!" she yelled as she downed another cup of water to get rid of the taste that lingered in her mouth.
"I had to get back at you right? I ain't going down without a fight y'know," Nick replied as he chuckled at Judy. "Hey, if you don't like it, then there'll be more for me, I don't mind at all!" his arms gesticulated as Judy sat back on her chair next to Nick's.
"Ok, you got me, where's my REAL breakfast?" Nick stared at her with mock surprise.
"Oh no, I forgot about that, guess you'll have to make do with all that we have now huh…" a wide grin crept onto his muzzle as a frown found its way onto Judy's. She brought her sandwich to her lips and took another bite, it wasn't too bad actually.
"Sly fox"
"Dumb bunny"
...
...
An hour passed in a blink of an eye, Judy and Nick are now standing idly before chief Bogo's door. Nick let out breathe of air that he was holding, excitement and nervousness took hold of him as he knocked the door.
"It's finally happening Carrots, we're officially CSIs!" Judy smirked at Nick, who was as happy as a child receiving a brand new toy on Christmas day.
"Alright, calm down big fella," just then the door creaked open to reveal a buff buffalo.
"Come on in," Bogo said and turned back into his office, taking his place on his big chair while the smaller officers took a seat on the enormous chairs, the ZPD only has several small mammals working in it, so they never considered getting any smaller chairs, except for those in their cubicle.
"I have to say, Wilde, you are full of surprises. You better not have cheated in your tests to get yourself here." Bogo glared at Nick as he smirked. "I would personally kick you out of here if you did so."
"Living on the 'other side' did have some upsides, one being you get familiar with chemicals and drugs quickly, not that I've dealt with any of that before…" Bogo now had a sceptical look on his face. He reached for a file lying on the corner of his desk as he put his gasses up his snout.
"I'm sorry I doubted you, you just don't look like the forensic type," Bogo noted while flipping through the file. He opened his desk drawer and reached into it, taking a card out from it. "Here you go," he passed the card to Nick and the file to Judy. Nick's ears shot up in ecstasy as he held the card in his paw, a soft squeak of joy could be heard as he slid the card into his pocket, Bogo chuckled at the sight of Nick's joy. "Have fun in the lab, don't kill anyone trying to act smart, do I make myself clear?" Bogo's voice was stern and firm, the officers nodded and got off the chairs.
"Thanks chief, let's go Carrots!" Nick dragged Judy through the door as he rushed to the laboratory, he had always dreamt of entering the lab, but all he could do was stare at the translucent glass and imagine the exciting things that went on behind it, today was indeed the best day ever.
"Wait, Nick," Judy exclaimed in an attempt to slow Nick down, but he was already by the card reader beside the glass door. "Sheesh Nick, slow down, I can barely catch up," Judy panted after running pass their office and towards the lab. Nick just stared at the door, ears erected and eyes wide.
"…"
"Well? Are you going to swipe your card or not?" Judy grinned as Nick turned to her.
"After a decade and a half, I'm- I'm finally here… I've always wanted to be like the cops on TV, playing with fancy equipment and cool tech, and here I am, officially one of them…" he smiled at Judy, a very sweet smile, she thought.
"So there's a THEM now?" they giggled at her remark, thinking about all that had happened up to this point.
"You've worked so hard to get here, go on, open the door." She smiled at Nick as he put his paw on the handle and pushed it open. A fresh new look filled his peripheral vision, mammals in lab coats, large computers, scientific equipment, chemical filled test tubes and so on, it contrasted the lobby of the ZPD, which, by comparison, looks dull and lifeless. He took a second to take in all that was before him, then, holding on to Judy's paws, he stepped in with confidence and pride. Indeed, this was a whole new world, a world of wonders, a world of mysteries, a world where he and his partner was ready to step into. And they were just getting started.