Domestic Dispute

Moving in together had been easy. Judy didn't have many belongings to pack up, and she certainly wasn't sad to leave her tiny, dark apartment for his not-much-bigger but definitely cozier place. Coming home after a long day of protecting the city was a lot better with someone to come home to, she'd quickly realized. Her coworker had easily become a good dinner companion, couch-mate and conversation counterpart. Truly, it was nice to have a partner. Beyond nice.

That being said, there were a handful of evenings in which their schedules did not get along and one of them would find themselves home hours earlier than the other. This happened to be one of those nights, as Judy drove home by herself. Nick had been scheduled later than she, working on some kind of paperwork or another back at the station. Of course, she had left him with the cruiser and taken their newly acquired second car home. The second (or possibly third) hand sedan had grown on her since it's purchase.

Judy admired the setting sun and it's effect on Zootopia's sky as she made her way home. A content sigh escaped her, and she smirked at her home city while at a stoplight. Zootopia was loud and boisterous during the day, but it always had a quiet spell around twilight. She found herself turning the volume dial up to accompany her peaceful mood, landing on an upbeat pop song that pleased her ears.

The light turned and she hit the gas, happily bopping her head to the beat. She turned it up louder, in too good of a mood to let the song slip by without proper appreciation. Admittedly, the tune had caused her to have a bit of a lead foot.

Two blocks from home, she caught a strange sound in the song. One that appeared not in the chorus, and not anywhere that made since in the song's layout. It was a high pitched whine, an uncomfortable sound. Worrying it may her car acting up, she quickly turned down the radio for a better listen. Then the lights caught her eye, and she recognized the sound as a siren. A police car was on her tail, signaling her to come to a halt. She rolled her eyes and scoffed at the irony.

This outta be good. This time of day, I bet it's Fangmeyer in there. He'll laugh when he recognizes me, take a selfie to make fun, then say he'll see me tomorrow.

She put on her right blinker and made her way to the shoulder of the road. The car behind her had just met her there when she put it in park and awaited her authority. It wasn't long before footsteps greeted her, and she turned to enjoy the look of surprise on Fangmeyer's face.

"Well, the expression is true. You really were going 'quick as a bunny.'" Nick's words were slick through his smirk. Her eyes widened.

"Oh no." she whispered. He would die for this kind of opportunity, and she already knew he would never let her live it down. He failed to control his overjoyed expression when he landed at her window, smiling as coy as a fox could.

"What are you doing out? I thought you were scheduled at the office." She questioned.

"Delgato called in, Chief sent me cruisin." He leaned his elbow on her window frame, a smug look on his features. "Gotta catch all the criminals such as yourself, fluff." She grinned and rolled her eyes again, though she was smiling.

"Har har, very funny. Go ahead and give me a stern warning so you can get back to your job and I can go start on dinner." She teased. He shook his head.

"Well I am doing my job, I have to punish the speeders. I signed a contract, you know. Took an oath, too. It's pretty serious business."

"Nick, come on, you're not really going to ticket me, are you?" She was genuinely worried now, and already a little angry. And he was obviously enjoying every second of it.

"Fraid so, sweetheart," he flipped his book open and drew the carrot pen from his breast pocket. "Now, what was the name miss? I'd like to see some ID and proof of insurance, if you don't mind." Now she was mad. Her previously amused face and transformed into a full-on angry pout. Her lower lip jutted out triumphantly.

"Nick come on! I was going what, 5 over?"

"18, actually." He corrected.

"How on earth can you bring yourself to ticket your own significant other?!" She stormed on, but her bout of rage was diminished by its adorableness aspect. Nick tapped the end of the pen to his lower lip thoughtfully.

"Hmm… well, I suppose I can let you off with a warning, but I just don't see why I would…" He said playfully, waiting for her to play along. She sighed in defeat.

"I'll do the dishes tonight." She surrendered, albeit with a slightly amused grin. He smiled back.

"I'm listening." He was unbearably smug.

"Aaaanndd… I'll let you drive the cruiser next time we parole together?" she was taking bets on what to offer, really.

"I want to pick the next movie we watch, and I get the good side of the bed tonight. Oh, and I like a good shoulder massage after a hard day's work." He said decidedly. She laughed at his blackmailing scheme, looking away a bit to cover her amusement.

"Fine, deal. Anything to avoid a fine by my own department. And my own partner." He grinned at her and flipped his book closed, shoving it and his pen back in his pocket.

"Deal. But, if you don't follow through, I'll report you for your expired plates." He threatened, serious again. She raised a brow in confusion.

"What expired plates?" She asked. He winked.

"Exactly." He answered. She lidded her eyes playfully.

"You sly fox." She teased. He shrugged with a smirk.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart. You know the drill." He stood and clicked his radio as he spoke, halfway paying attention to the report coming through.

"Alright, I gotta go stop more crime. See you at home?" He leaned his face toward her window, expecting a departing kiss. She complied and pecked his cheek with a comical "mmm-mwah" sound effect.

"See you there, flatfoot." She called as he walked back to his cruiser.

"Hey, respect the uniform, lady." He called with his back still to her. She chuckled and turned her key, thanking her lucky stars that she knew someone on the force.