Original Concept and Illustrations by: orandatheunclever
Edited by: Jeinu
A big thank you to orandatheunclever, who inspired this story and allowed me to write it truly to the sketches. Illustrations are not supported by fanfiction dot net, thus, only the AO3 version of this story will have the original sketches. So if you wanna see those, head on over to my AO3 page, if not, read on!
Notes: The following story is a one-off, and while it is canon-compliant, it is not compatible with my other story Contrasts or my Tails of Zootopia series. Thus, there are no prerequisites for reading. This story is a bit more unconventional than my others, but I hope you will give it a chance regardless. Enjoy!
Notes notes: This is the first in my series of drabbles called Contradictions. Each story will be wildly different, sooo yeah. Have fun with the reading and what not!
Notes notes notes: Since I have many other stories to update, I will only be able to update Contradictions every 1 and a half months. This story will be 3 chapters long, so it may be a bit before you see the final chapter. Please don't be mad all over me, pls. Ok bye
New message
Hey, Judy. I know I'm calling during your shift. You're busy being the world's best cop and all that. Anyway, before you come visit me this weekend, can you stop by my apartment and grab some of my fox deodorant? The last time I used the bunny stuff you brought, all the other 'nosey' guys looked at me funny. And you know me, I only like attention when it's intentional, heh. OK, carrots, I'll either talk to you when you call tonight or when you drive out here on Saturday. Ciao, I love ya, I owe ya.
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Thursday
"Headin' out early today, Judy bun?"
"Yes," Judy nodded, grabbing the envelope that Clawhauser was handing to her over his desk. "Figured I'd surprise Nick! He thinks I never take time off."
Judy was still in uniform. While the precinct did offer showers and a locker room for her to change before she went home, she found that most of the water fixtures in the showers were geared toward much larger animals. This wasn't remedied by Chief Bogo's well-intended efforts to have a smaller shower-head installed for her. It was discovered later that the lowered fixture was often prone to being bumped into, or even snapped completely off the wall by her rough-housing fellow officers, like Francine. She soon returned to just using the shared shower in her apartment complex. This reinforced the popular opinion at the precinct that Judy did not own any other clothing besides her uniform.
"Well, technically he's right." Clawhauser chortled, returning to his half eaten cruller, which he quickly inserted into his mouth before speaking again. He continued, his cheeks full of donut. "You don't take any time off. This is the first time since he started attending the Academy. Probably the first time I've seen you take time off since, well… ever! Hah!" He finally swallowed the contents of his mouth, though there was plenty of evidence of the pastry left in his whiskers.
Judy thought for a moment as she folded the envelope into the small duffel bag slung over her shoulder. He wasn't wrong, but then again, Nick had only just started attending around a month ago.
"Then it'll be the perfect opportunity to surprise him." She smiled, patting her bag cheerfully as if to make a point. "He's come so far the past few months and I really think he deserves something to look forward to when he graduates. Nick's been working so hard, I'm so proud of him. It's the least I can do."
As Judy spoke, Clawhauser leaned forward placing his paws under his chin and his elbows on his desk. He made a long, enduring sound akin to squealing and sighing. Judy tilted a brow, then closed her eyes, as she knew what that sound meant.
A hippo passerby, Officer Higgins, watched as the cheetah made this squealing noise and shook his head. "Now you've done it, Hopps." He chuckled as he kept plodding along on his way to the elevator.
"Ben," Judy said, putting a paw on her hip. "We are not—"
Clawhauser abruptly ended the noise he was making. "Oh, honey! The way your eyes get when you talk about that fox. That teensy little smile, you are just too precious."
"Ben," She said his name again, this time in a warning tone. She rubbed the lids of her eyes with a thumb and a finger.
"Is that what this is all about?" he asked softly, in a raspy and secretive voice. Despite this, Judy was still sure that everyone in the lobby of the precinct could still hear him. "Are you finally going to ask that fox on a date?" This marked the end of his quiet tone, he quickly returned to his bellowing excited voice, "Hu-What! I knew it was going to happen eventually, I knew it!"
"Clawhauser!" She shouted, getting frustrated. She calmed herself as she realized how loud she yelled, "Look-look, first of all, like I told you before: Nick and I are friends."
"Psh, yeah, for now—"
"Second. Of. All!" She spoke over him, "We are not having this conversation again."
"Oh, honey," Clawhauser visibly grew sadder, as if in mourning, "You're killing me here. You two are so cute together, I can't stand it!"
It was no use, he had one thing on his mind now and there was no changing it. While it was nice entertaining the thought with Clawhauser initially, it had since become tiresome, as he would bring it up whenever the opportunity arose.
Judy shook her head and turned away from the rambling cheetah, "Goodbye Clawhauser! I'll see you Monday!" The cheetah made some noises of disappointment as Judy broke into a jog, heading out of the precinct and into the bright day that awaited her.
"Still can't believe Nicky gave you keys to his place," the fennec fox chuffed as he drove the van onto the interstate.
"What's so hard to believe about that?" Judy crossed her arms, watching as the short, grumpy mammal piloted a vehicle that was much too big for him. Still, she was grateful for the ride. "Are you upset that Nick trusts someone other than you?" She teased.
"Number one, you a cop." He raised his pointer finger, "Number two," He lowered his pointer finger and raised his middle one, an obscene gesture. "He ain't never given anyone but me the keys to his place. So 'scuse me if I'm a little uneasy that you two become buddies so quick. Ya' dig?"
Judy huffed, "First time for everything right, Fin? Aren't you giving a ride to a cop?"
Judy had stopped off at Nick's apartment to grab the rather large box of fox deodorant he had stashed in his closet. While she pondered for a moment why he would need to stock up on so much anti-scent, she figured she would find out soon enough after she went to see him. She'd be spending the whole weekend up at the academy with him after all. Finnick was nice enough to drive her out to the Academy when it was her turn to visit.
"We'll see 'bout that," he grinned. "Maybe I just leave you on the side of the road once we get outta the city."
"Ooo, now that's really something you want to do to a police officer." She crossed a leg and stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't think Nick would like that too much either."
"Tch, yeah, whatever." He honked at another car on the road, a much larger car. He quickly changed lanes and sped up, the van rumbling to get up to the speed which he demanded of it.
"Have you ever thought of relaxing while you drive?" Judy suggested, watching as the large vehicle got left behind.
"Yeah, now you gonna tell me how to drive. You gonna write me a ticket, too?"
Judy thought for a moment, where was all this aggression coming from? Normally, this was just the way Finnick spoke; it was all in good fun. But she could sense a bit of tension between them that wasn't usually there.
"Fin," she started, dropping the insincere tone that she was using up to this point, "Are you sure you don't mind driving me out to visit Nick?"
He didn't respond, just took in a deep breath and continued driving.
"I could always just take the bus or hire a Zuber," She continued, "You don't have to feel obligated."
"Nah, nah," he replied, "I don't mind, Judy. You know I just like giving ya a hard time. Sorry if I seem a little… 'tense' today."
"Anything you wanna get of your chest?"
"Hmm…"
A moment passed between them, and Judy took to watching the tall buildings that passed by begin to thin out, signifying that they were leaving the City.
"OK, Officer Bunny." He finally said.
Judy took her attention away from the passing city and returned it to Finnick. "Yeah?"
"How much you know about Nick?" He asked, his tone was odd, seemingly trying to hint at some underlying meaning. "I mean, how much you really know?"
"What do you mean by that?" She replied, confused.
"Nick, he's…" He waved a paw around, before returning it to the wheel. "He's got his secrets, right?
Judy laughed, "Oh, I know that all too well."
"Dude's not exactly…" Finnick paused, struggling to articulate. "He's told you already, yeah? 'Bout him bein'…"
"Told me? Told me what?"
"Agh," He scratched his ear, agitated, "N-nuthin'. Forget I said anything."
Judy's curiosity was piqued, what in the world was Finnick trying to say? "Tell me what? What are you talking about?"
"Nah, nah," he shook his head, "You'd know what I was talkin' about if he told you already. Must be some reason he ain't told ya yet."
That's just what Judy needed, more ambiguity surrounding her best friend, Nicholas Wilde. But Finnick was right, if there was a secret Nick was keeping from her, it would be best to hear it direct from the source.
"But hey," Finnick spoke again, "I know we gone over this already, but, what exactly is Nick to you? Like I know you 'friends' an' all—"
Judy grumbled, "Oh, Finnick, not you too… Come on, can we please not have this discussion right now?"
"'Ey! That ain't what I meant—"
"Yeah-yeah, of course that's 'not what you meant'." She said, frustrated.
"Look, will ya just lemme finish?" He grumbled back, "Sheesh, you cop types always so pushy, you don't see the big picture, always lookin' for some layers of 'motive' or whatever."
"Fine, I'm sorry. What did you mean?"
"You and Nick been friends ever since you dudes arrested that sheep mayor, but that still ain't that long."
It was true. Her and Nick had only been friends for the better part of a few months, take away the time they had their falling out. But still, time had no bearing on true friendship, right?
"You and Nick got real close, real fast. He spends more time with you now. What little free-time he has left now he spends with you. Kinda makes me feel a little kicked to the sidelines, ya know?"
So, that's what this was about. In truth, Judy hadn't quite thought about how her friendship with Nick would affect his friendship with Finnick. She suddenly felt guilty.
"But that ain't what I'm gettin' at," He continued, "How much do ya trust Nick?"
Judy pondered this for a moment. That was his question? What was he trying to say? "I trust Nick with my life." She responded, resolutely.
"Huh," He smiled, almost contentedly, "You sure 'bout that?"
"Absolutely, no question."
Finnick tittered, "Good."
"Why?" She asked, still not following.
"Nick's my best friend." His smile faded, almost turning into a forlorn frown. "I'd do anything for my dude. He may have found another best friend, but that don't change nothin'. I just hope that trust you two have don't change, no matter what happens."
Judy didn't quite know how to respond, she just watched as he kept his eyes on the road, his paws scratching at the wheel slightly.
"You turned his life around," he chuckled, his large eyes started to get glossy, he blinked a few times, then cleared his throat. "You got him to stop bein' so doom and gloom, stop thinkin' the world's pissin' on him. Even got the dude to sign up for cop college. Never thought I'd see the day…"
"Finnick…" Was all Judy could say.
"Just… just take care of the idiot, aight? Keep him outta trouble."
Judy smiled. Despite Finnick always trying his best to keep to his tough-guy attitude, the emotion showed through.
"I will."
"You sure you don't wanna come in and hang out with me and Nick for a bit?" Judy offered, grabbing her things from the back of the van. "He doesn't know I took time off to come see him, I'm sure he'd be surprised."
Finnick chuckled, "Nah, I'm good. Got some work to do back in the city. I might chill with you dudes when I come pick you up though."
"Alright, thank you for the ride, Fin." She opened the passenger side door and hopped out. "I'll call you on Sunday around noon then."
"Cool in the gang," Finnick switched the van out of park and it roared back to life, "Later, Officer Cops."
"Bye!" She shut the door and waved at him through the windshield.
He nodded as the van coughed out a plume of black exhaust and rumbled away, leaving her in the courtyard of the Zootopia Police Academy, the main office just behind her. Still in her police uniform, she made her way toward the front door, her duffel bag and other supplies in tow.
"Pff," she snickered, "'Officer Cops.' Oh, Finnick, how do you come up with these names."
A chill breeze swept along the aluminum guard rail. Judy glided her paw along its lower partition as she observed the recruits struggling to make their way over the ice wall. A challenge she herself had to face nearly a year ago. She grinned, watching as Nick awaited his turn to scale the wall.
She stood in what resembled a small set of bleachers for any onlookers observing the training. However there was no one here but her, and she couldn't recall these bleachers getting much use when she attended. They were elevated, hanging off the edge of the residential building, which was connected to the other training courses of the academy via other elevated catwalks.
The scene was uncanny to watch, she had never seen it from the sidelines before. She was always training alongside the others, trying not to get stepped on, left behind, or worse. Now she could look on with pride; she had passed her tests, and had graduated top of her class. She would never again need to face these trails. At least, not in a training capacity. Now it would be the real world she would face, and the challenges that came with it.
It was now Nick's turn, who was currently being yelled at, or coached rather, by a familiar figure: Major Serena Friedkin. A boisterously loud polar bear that was responsible for all the physical training of the cadets. Judy was warmed to see that she was still here, training the new wave of prospects. Nick was in good hands.
The Major was pointing at the rest of the cadets to have a run at the wall. The previous batch of trainees were leaving the field, some victorious and looking proud, but most, not so much.
Judy watched as Nick calmly walked onto the field, not a care in the world. His fellow trainees stampeded past, all of them were eager to prove themselves, leaving Nick behind.
"C'mon, Nick." She chanted quietly, her ears falling, "What are you doing? Show everyone what a fox can do!"
He sauntered forward, as if he had no care in the world. Had he given up already? Something wasn't right. Judy stared on in confusion as the other cadets continued to rush past him.
Then, he was gone. Judy instinctively rose her ears, her nose twitched. "What the—" She started, "Where did he—?" A rhino had stomped in front of him, and with that, he had vanished. Like a ghost that wasn't there. Could the rhino possibly have picked him up?
Judy watched as the rhino flung herself toward the icy wall, latching on, almost slipping into the frigid water that awaited below. And sure enough, there was Nick, calmly riding on the back of the rhino. He had grabbed onto the back of her shirt and a foot was riding on her large waistband.
"Huh… sly fox," Judy grinned, surprised at herself for not expecting this.
Nick waited patiently for another opportunity, he observed as his fellow cadets rose along the wall. He found one. Leaping from the rhino, he grabbed onto a nearby tail, belonging to a large gray wolf who was higher up the wall. Nick ran along the wall, as if the tail was a short rope, then released the poor wolf, leaping to his next target: the head of a giraffe. His next jump took him well onto the top of the wall. He turned around, making a gesture of smug appreciation to the mammals that had helped him reach the top. All of which were too busy struggling to maintain their ascent of the wall to give much reaction.
"I thought I saw a familiar some-bun up here," a strong voice spoke from behind.
"Major Friedkin," she smiled warmly, seeing the familiar face to the voice, "It's been a while."
"Not too long, it hasn't." She laughed, "And you can just call me Serena. How you been Officer Farm Girl? Makin' the world a better place?" She walked over next to Judy, towering over her.
"Hmm," she turned to look back at Nick, who had just slid down the other side of the wall and was now calmly making his way toward the end of the course. She smiled fondly, "Yep, one fox at a time."
Serena saw who Judy was looking at, she let out a snort, "Never thought I'd live long enough to see our first fox cadet. The smug runneth over in that one," She leaned onto the upper railing, watching as her cadets struggled up the wall. "Get up that wall, you useless mammals!" She shouted, her thunderous voice echoing effortlessly across the field. Judy dropped her sensitive ears, protecting them from the all too familiar drill. "If you all wanna let that smug little fox beat you, then I suggest you all go home!"
"Inspirational as always, Serena." Judy said, deciding to keep her ears lowered, just in case there was another set of taunts on the way.
"I stick to what works," she shrugged, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
"Nick seems to be doing well enough," Judy nodded in approval. While her methods were a bit brash, they certainly did motivate Judy in the right direction while she was a cadet. It was tough; but then, real life is tougher. She was grateful to have had a trainer like Serena.
"Well," Serena made a gesture in the air, a wavy paw, which signified a hit or miss. "He's got some skill, and he's got enough smarts and lip to talk his way out of a bear trap. But he's gotta long way to go when it comes to teamwork."
Judy hummed thoughtfully. While Nick worked really well with her, she hadn't put much thought to how Nick would work with anyone else.
"I should get back down there," Serena said, clapping her large polar bear paws together a few times, "Those sorry sacks aren't gonna beat themselves into shape. Especially that foxy smug mug you want me to pound into a cop." She turned, and began walking toward the stairs that led back down to the training grounds.
"Don't be too hard him, he bruises easy."
"I try to remember that, carrot cake," Serena let out a hearty guffaw. "No promises though. By the time I'm done with him he might be beggin' for the bruises."
Judy paced around, waiting excitedly for Nick to arrive. Other cadets had begun to show up to the bunk room, fresh from the showers.
While most mammals only required the occasional shower, sometimes weeks apart, the academy required daily showers after Physical Training, or "PT". PT not only required cadets to push themselves to harsh limits, but also in substandard or even extreme environments. These environments, as Judy could attest to, included scorching sand storms, 100 foot falls into viscous mud, and even freezing waters. To name a few.
The wolf cadet that occupied the top bunk had since come back from the showers, and was now watching a video on his tablet. He leaned over the bunk to look down at the impatient rabbit, who was still dressed in her police uniform.
"Ya looking for Nick?" He asked.
Judy looked up and sighed, "Yeah, is he usually this slow coming back from the showers?"
"Hmm," The wolf thought for a moment, "I don't think I ever actually see him in the showers… not sure where he goes after PT. Although that would probably explain why he usually uses so much deodorant…"
"Any idea where he might be?"
"Some of the other guys say they saw him headed toward the mess hall. He kinda slinks off around this time of day, not sure what he's up to. I think he thought you wouldn't be visiting 'till the weekend, Officer Hopps."
Judy crossed her arms, why on earth would he be sneaking around? "Thank you, I'll go check around there." She gave him a smile as she turned to leave the bunk room.
Making her way down the stairs, she couldn't help but ponder what Nick was up to. What was he doing the same time everyday? Was he skipping out on showering? Maybe that's why he needed all the deodorant that he had asked her to bring.
Judy huffed. There would be no answers until she found her friend.
She reached the mess hall, but there was no sign of Nick. The place was empty, as chow time wasn't for another hour or so. From where she was standing, the kitchen seemed to have a few mammals busying themselves with food prep, but she doubted Nick would be involved with that. She left, deciding to go back to Nick's bunk. He'd have to come back there eventually, right?
But the curiosity remained. Was it the curiosity that drove her toward a sound that she heard, coming from the cleaning closet toward the end of the hallway? Yes, yes it was. Her keen ears had heard the subtle sounds of someone struggling, possibly in trying to lift a heavy object, or…
She neared the closed door. Perhaps it was just the janitor, but why on earth was he grumbling so much? The more sounds of struggling she could hear, the more she was sure; it was Nick.
She opened it, letting herself in quietly. The cleaning supply closet was rather large, with large drums of cleaning liquids and equipment for much larger mammals.
"Ok, come on, I've gotten it off before…" a familiar voice said, panting lightly. "Why is it so hard to get off now?"
He whined, "Well, it's probably stuck on forever now," He tried once more to pull it off over his head. It wouldn't budge.
As she slunk toward the end of the shelf that held these things, peaking around the corner, there was Nick.
While she made no effort to conceal herself, Nick was much too pre-occupied with the stubborn article of clothing. Until by happenstance, and in his frustration, he shook his head and turned to face her.
He said nothing, only letting out a surprised gasp as he crouched to cover himself. He stood, dressed in a pair of blue sweatpants, the required clothing for academy PT, and…
Judy furrowed her brow, he was trying to get something off, a tight undershirt? No…
He cleared his throat and stood up straight, donning a familiar smirk, "State of the art Girdle Action." He stated proudly.
He proudly waved a paw over his bound torso as Judy listened on with skepticism, "Foolproof action to instantly slim your waistline, state of the art breathable cotton able to conform to any size and shape, one size fits all, and best of all, it's completely—"
"Nick," She interrupted his nervous ramblings, her eyebrow tilted, "I'm from the countryside, not the underside of a rock. I know what that is."
And indeed she did. Nick was wearing a binder, which meant…
Nick sighed. "I… look, Carrots." He scratched the back of his neck roughly.
Judy's eyebrow remained in a sustained tilt. If there was one universal constant in this moment, it was Judy's expression. She waited patiently for him to speak, yet for Nick, it felt like an eternity.
Would this change the way she saw him? Acted toward him? He had come out to enough mammals to know; he never knew how someone would react… no matter how well he thought he knew them. In spite of all this, he braced himself, there was no turning back.
"Judy, I'm…" He started, then paused, trying to find the right words. "I wasn't called Nick when I was born. They… they thought I was a vixen." He lifted his paws in defeat. He watched as Judy's expression shifted to a softer one, his fears somewhat alleviated. "I'm transgender. But… I'm still Nick."
Judy's expression shifted a few times as she decided how she would take the news. With each shift of expression, Nick could feel his breaths grow shallower.
She finally settled on a smile, and she shook her head. "Nick, why didn't you just tell me?" She walked over to give her friend a hug. While she was frustrated that he had kept it hidden, she knew that this was a difficult topic to bring up.
Relieved he put his arms around the bunny, it was nice to see her, despite her being unexpectedly early.
Nick let out a long breath as he patted Judy's head with a paw. "Not exactly the easiest topic to segue into, you know? And the timing never seems right."
It all made sense now, Nick not showering with the other males, all the deodorant that she brought.
"So…" Nick started again, releasing Judy from the hug. "This doesn't change anything, right?"
"No, absolutely not." She said, smacking him lightly on the forearm, "I mean, yeah it caught me a little off guard—"
"Right, I caught you off guard."
"But, don't you dare think that this changes anything, you're still my best friend and I still want you to be my partner. I trust you with my life, remember?"
"Right," he rubbed the top of her head with a paw, her ears falling in response as she grinned. "Sorry, I never told you, carrots. It just never came up in conversation, and it's not really something easy for me to talk about. I would've told you eventually."
"Don't worry about it, slick. I know." She assured, "Need help getting out of that binder?"
He chuckled, "Yes. I'm… probably going to need to buy a new one. You weren't kidding when you said PT here would be brutal. On the plus side, I've gained a lot of muscle," He flexed his arms, showing off his new muscle tone. It wasn't much, but when it came to Nick, he wasn't the most muscular of mammals when he started attending the academy. "Of course that means that this doesn't fit anymore…" He gestured at his very tight binder.
Judy thought for a moment, while she was much stronger than Nick, which she had demonstrated on more than one occasion, the binder would probably need to be cut off. It was still surprising that his binder had become too small in just under a month of muscle building.
"Nick, I can see how tight it is." She said, assessing his situation. "Your fur is bunching up around your stomach and chest. We're going to need to cut it off."
"I was worried you were gonna say that," He winced.
"How um… how big are your…" Judy hesitated, finding it odd using the word 'breasts' in conjunction with her male friend, Nick. "I mean… you know…"
Nick looked at her puzzled, "'I know' what? I don't follow…"
"You know," she let out a awkward laugh, "This means… you have boobies, right?"
Nick blinked a few times at the word, before letting out a sigh, "Yes, carrots, I have 'boobies.' That's precisely why I wear this thing."
Judy nodded, not quite sure how to ask her question. "How big are they?" She asked flatly, "I-I mean, h-how… noticeable are they? Can you go without it?"
"My breasts aren't the biggest," He shrugged, the novelty of discussing these details with Judy was… oddly therapeutic. He was finally able to stop hiding it from his best friend, "But all I have to hide them is my PT shirt, which is pretty dirty, considering I've been exercising in it all day. And the shirts I brought with me." He picked up a shirt from a chair in the corner of the room.
Sure enough, it was Nick's signature green shirt. It was hideous, at least in Judy's opinion, but for some reason, Nick could make anything look good.
"It's probably the only option we have," Judy said, "Unless you have a bigger one in your bunk I can grab."
"Nope," He shook his head, "Like I said; I haven't gotten around to buying larger ones yet. I've been busy here."
They both paused for a moment, pondering other options. But like Judy said, there weren't many others.
Nick flicked out one of his claws, it glinted in the florescent lighting of the room. "Alright, let's get this over with, I'll need you to hold the fabric while I cut through it."
It wasn't the easiest fabric to cut through, being fairly elastic and durable. But with enough effort, they freed Nick from his bounded prison.
Judy had seen breasts before, especially growing up in a house full of other teenage bunnies. But she had never seen fox breasts before, and she had definitely never seen Nick's. Sure enough, here they were. Like Nick said, they weren't the biggest, but they were not the smallest either.
Nick donned his usually green silk shirt. The conforming soft fabric of it definitely wouldn't be doing them any favors, but still, it was their only option. He hadn't brought many other shirts. A bad idea in retrospect.
"Well?" He asked, turning side to side nervously. He was slouching his shoulders forward in an unnatural shrug, trying to keep the fabric from running along any revealing curves. "Are they noticeable?"
"Uh…" Judy thought. Like most mammals, both Judy and Nick had six breasts, "They're kind of like mine."
"… What?"
"See my top two breasts are the largest," She patted her bullet proof vest before moving down to her midsection, "And like yours, they kinda get smaller as you go down and—"
"Carrots, this is not the time to compare breast sizes!" He hissed.
"Right— They…" She snapped out of it, "Yes, yes they are."
And it was true. Nick's top row were definitely the most troublesome, not so much the lower pairs as their size seemed smaller the further down his torso they went. But they would definitely out him if he returned to the others dressed like this.
"Great, I'm dead." He raised his paws in relent. "I can't go back to that room! I'll get kicked out of the academy and I'll be dead! You'll kill me because I failed to become your partner, then you'll be dead because— let's face it, I'm not there to be your guardian angel anymore— then everybody will be dead because we're not there to save the city. We're all dead!" He crossed his arms and pouted.
"Oh, Nick, stop being so dramatic," She said, trying to calm him down, "We've been in worse situations than this, we'll come up with something."
"Hate to break it to ya, sweetheart. But unless you brought a couple dozen sports bras and some starchy shirts that I can wear until I can order a new binder, there's no hiding these things." He gestured at his pushed out chest. Indeed, there was no hiding those things.
Judy tapped her foot, deep in thought. "We just need to tell everyone. That's all."
"Wha— what?" Nick said, panic starting to emerge in his voice.
"Look, if we tell everyone, problem solved! I'm sure there's been a transgender mammal on the force before."
"Judy-Judy, look-look," He cleared his throat, trying to keep himself from whining, "Number one, no! And Number two, N-O! And are you kidding me? Please tell me you're kidding me."
"Nick, if we just tell them, you wouldn't have to hide it anymore—"
"It's not that simple!" He hissed, trying to keep his voice down.
"It kind of is! Look if we tell them—"
"That's a little assumptive of you. Look, I know you want to do what you think is best, but—" Nick spoke quietly, while Judy simply spoke louder.
"Plus, if we just tell everyone here, we can tell everyone at the precinct—"
"Carrots, are you even listening to me?" Nick put his paws up to his head, "You're not listening to me…"
"Nick, I'm here for you!" She said proudly, "We can do this together, come on." She started walking toward the door.
"Ack, I know you're trying to help me, but this is not helping me!" He raced to stop her from opening the door, "I'm honestly kinda panicking right now!" He grabbed onto her shoulders, his breath was quickened, and shallow. "Please."
Judy stopped, noticing the look in his eyes, his expression. She realized what she was doing, and it wasn't in his best interest.
"Oh, Nick…" she said apologetically. "OK, I'm sorry, I…"
Nick allowed himself to calm down. Relieved, he let go over her and slumped against the door, sliding down slowly into a seated position.
Judy crouched down next to him, "Nick, I'm so sorry, I didn't—" she put a paw on his comfortingly, "I got excited, I thought I had the solution a-and you know how I get when I'm excited."
"Shh-shh," He put a finger up to his muzzle, she was speaking rather loudly again, "I know, I know. You almost gave me a heart attack, you know." He laughed between his panting breaths.
They stopped speaking for a moment, only the sound of Nick's breathing slowing.
"Don't suppose flushing us down one of the toilets is going to get us out of this one, huh?" She smiled, trying to break the silence.
Nick chuckled at that.
"I really am a dumb bunny," she joined him in the laugh.
"No." Nick said, finally calmed down, "I got myself into this mess, I'm glad you're here."
"I'm glad to be here, slick." Judy smiled warmly at that. While this wasn't exactly the weekend with Nick she had envisioned, she was glad that she could finally understand what was happening with Nick. "We should probably come up with something."
Nick looked up, his usually sly grin crept along his muzzle, "I have an idea."
"What the hell do I gotta come back for?! I'm an hour away now!" Finnick almost shouted, Judy held the phone away from her sensitive ear, "If you think I'm just gonna turn around—"
"Nick said to say it's a… Code Orange?" Judy said, looking over to Nick. He gave her a thumbs up. "We're literally stuck hiding in a broom closet until you can get here so…"
"I be there in five minutes," Finnick said after a pause.
"You… just said you were half an hour—"
"Five minutes!" He yelled back brusquely. The call ended.
Judy looked at the phone, perplexed, before returning it to a pocket on her tactical belt.
"Is he close by?" Nick said hopefully.
"Well, if I was on duty I'd probably have to write Finnick a speeding ticket, but luckily I only have my uniform on because I haven't changed out of it yet."
"Hmm, I'll write him one, too, once I graduate." He tittered.
The two spent some time talking. Judy hadn't really believed that Finnick would only take five minutes, so she sat down for the long haul. Until she remembered the envelope that Clawhauser had handed her earlier.
"I'll have to show you that movie sometime," He grinned.
"Nick?" Judy said, changing to a different tone.
"Something on your mind?" He asked.
Judy felt her rear satchel, unzipping it to retrieve the envelope, "I was going to wait until Sunday to give you these, but…"
A harsh sound interrupted her suddenly, the sound of a small mammal kicking a door in such a way that it provided enough force for it to dent slightly and to fly open, regardless of any locks or silly doorknobs that might have prevented it otherwise.
"Nicky!" A familiar deep voice said. "Nick, I brought the—!"
"Agh," Nick put his paws on his head, "Will you keep it down? I'm trying to not get caught if you couldn't tell."
"Oh, right," Finnick started whispering, "I brought the emergency you-know-what." He held out a binder, that seemed to be slightly larger. Nick quickly snatched it from him and faced a corner to begin putting it on.
"Fin, how did you get past the lady at the front desk?" Judy asked, suspicious, "Did she let you in?"
"Don't worry 'bout it." He said flatly, "Also I'ma be stayin' here until we fix Nick's little conundrum, you cool with that?"
"I think me and Nick can figure this out on our own, Fin." She said, "No offense but—"
"Obviously not, if you had a Code Orange." Finnick spat back.
Judy gave Nick a look, he shrugged and gave an apologetic look as he put an arm through the sleeve of his silk shirt. His emergency binder looked to fit a bit more loosely than the previous one.
"Look, you guys want me to stay or what?" Finnick said grumpily.
"This is a police academy," Judy reminded, "Where exactly do you intend on sleeping?"
"Where are you stayin'?" He asked.
"I'll be sleeping in a private room over at the officers' building, but that doesn't mean—"
"Then that's where I'ma be stayin'," Finnick shrugged, "Problem solved."
Nick chuckled, "Carrots, I know this is a lot to ask, but please let him stay? Just until we figure out how I can blend in better." He finished re-dressing, his breasts firmly concealed. "I'm running out of excuses why I can't shower with the others. I really need his help."
Again, Judy did not have this in mind when she planned her extended visit with Nick. But nonetheless, "Fine." She sighed, "I'll figure out how to get Fin into the officer's area."
Nick gave her a friendly kiss on the forehead, "Thank you. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He headed out toward the mess hall, which was starting to fill up with hungry cadets. Luckily, no one had yet noticed the destroyed door to the cleaning supply closet. "I should get to dinner before anyone realizes I've been missing for too long. Can you show Finnick where he'll be staying?" He didn't wait for the answer, jogging off to join the other cadets.
Judy turned to Finnick. "OK, I'll go talk to reception and get you a parking sticker."
"No need," He made a dismissive gesture, "I parked over by that one statue of the Lion Mayor. That one you dudes arrested."
"Finnick, that statue's surrounded by a pond…"
"'Aight, I guess I parked in the 'pond' then."
Judy groaned. This was going to be a long weekend.