Well, I developed a small liking (or a filthy obsession) to fanfiction. After watching Zootopia once, I thought it was a damn fine movie, but, a couple of months later, after watching it twice, I needed more. And, oh, I got lots more. First there were some comics, then a couple of stories and finally, writing one myself. I was supossed to work my fingers to the bone studying and here I am!

Anyway, I have to warn everybody who wants to read this about two things. First things first, this is my first fanfic ever, also the first time I share anything with an Internet community, so... I am kinda nervous. I will greatly appreciate every advice, compliment or suggestion you could give me (although in that last case, I have the whole story planned so if it is about a huge change it will probably not come to the plot. At least, in this story). Second warning, as you may be guessing (but i hope not) I am not from an anglophone country, so I write everything in my mother tongue and then I have to translate. This is a slow process, especially when I am supossed to be studying, he. I am trying to check the texts thoroughly, but it is probable that I make a mistake. If you see one, please tell me to correct it as soon as possible and not make it again.

Also, I do not own Zootopia. But I do own a toothbrush, yay!

Chapter 1

The day had started perfectly. A light breakfast consisted of a blueberry muffin and a small cup of black coffee; as well as three knocks at the door, were his daily routine, but he doubted that he would ever grew tired of it. He opened the door with his cup of coffee still in his hand, and the absolutely not surprising figure of Judy Hopps welcomed him to a new day with a huge smile that quickly faded.

"Still having breakfast? We are going to arrive late at the station, Nick! Are you a fox or a sloth?"

"Oh, come on, Carrots," answered Nick sipping his coffee. "We haven't been late for work for the last six months, there is no problem if we want to take it easy for once. Plus, that was speciesist."

"Five minutes and we leave, Nick!"

Maybe six months had already passed since Nick joined the ZPD, but the same situation has repeated itself over and over. And, well, neither of them wanted it any other way, but sometimes Nick wished he could live farther from his friend just to be five minutes longer in bed, but he truly loved to live only two blocks away of Judy's apartment. Anyway, this was merely a brief thought, as he was delighted to live so close to her.

Their conversation continued during the way to the station and the rest of the morning. None of them would admit it, but they weren't annoyed by parking duty anymore as long as they were together.

It was a peaceful day, and they didn't complain about it at all. The strange glances were constant since the Night Howler's case, whether it was because of their shared fame or the mere fact of the presence of the interspecies duo, but it was nothing they were used to. They both felt happy when they went back to the headquarters. Spending time together had become their favorite part of the day and, luckily, that was what they did for the most of it.

Nevertheless, this had changed lately. For a couple of months, Nick had been disappearing more and more frequently, and he refused categorically to answer any of Judy's inquiries, saying that Chief Bogo had some secret tasks for him and he promised not to tell anyone about them. Curiosity quickly turned into obsession over time. Nick simply didn't attend to some assignments and Bogo didn't ask about him. In fact, on one of those occasions, she asked the Chief personally and he had replied that the fox had one of his days off, but the bunny wasn't satisfied with that way of avoiding a question.

Uncertainty was consuming her, but she had stopped asking, even though, little by little, she started to notice small changes in her partner. He was neglecting himself more and more. His uniform was creased. Dark circles were appearing under his eyes. The most surprising thing was that, from time to time, he came to the job without his tie, and he usually wouldn't notice until several hours later. Actually, even Bogo was strange. He started to yell a lot more, and the difference was minuscule, but he was clearly nervous nonetheless. Every now and then, Bogo would call Nick to his office and they would spend a lot of time talking, usually more than half an hour, although his friend always claimed that he had only been reprimanded for being late again. But when Judy was with him, he remained as charming and amusing as always, so the bunny plainly ceased querying him about it, knowing that, when the moment arrived, the fox would explain it to her.

"Take it easy, Carrots, or I will have to fine you for thinking too much."

His partner's sentence suddenly interrupted her train of thought. She turned to the right only to face Nick carrying two cups of coffee.

"You are daydreaming heavily today, don't you? Anyway," said the vulpine handing her a cup, "I guess that you cannot see someone as exuberantly beautiful as me every day." He scratched his chin, thinking. "Oh, wait! You can! Lucky you…"

"Sorry, I was just distracted," answered Judy sipping her coffee without paying attention.

Nick looked at her harshly.

"It was about my personal tasks, right?" He sighed, his glare becoming more serious. "Look, Carrots, it will end soon, just… Just be patient, ok?" His smile, that smile that his sly partner saved only for her, appeared briefly. "I promise you that if this happens the other way round, I will be about a twenty per cent less concerned than you. Deal?"

Judy shook his paw slightly, but she did not smile. In fact, she was now even more worried, almost scared. His smile was genuine, but his eyes… She had just seen that look once, right before Bellwether shot him with the blueberries, when he was not sure if everything would turn out well. A look that wanted to say "everything will be fine", but cried "I am terrified". Definitely, tonight they would talk about this.

"Hey, Nick, tomorrow we have a day off—since Bogo has been so insistent on it—so why don't we hang out tonight to the cinema or maybe to have dinner?"

They were already in front of the police station, and Nick made a theatrical gesture of surprise.

"Wow, officer Hopps! How daring, trying to arrange a date with me in our own workplace, where anyone could hear it a—"

"I will take that as a yes, dumb fox."

She blushed, but laughed nonetheless, and chose to play along.

"And I will be even bolder if I have to, my dear maiden! My only quest and goal is to captivate you and snatch you away, taking your paw in sacred marriage, stealing you from your terrible guardian…" she kissed his paw, and whispered, "Chief Bogo…"

They looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter and entering the police department, where Clawhauser contemplated them with his head between his paws and an entranced smile.

"How can you two be so adorable!" effused with a soft shriek that he immediately cut off as soon as Bogo appeared in there and stared at them.

Nick and Judy blushed when Clawhauser spoke and stopped laughing. She knew they were joking, however, her beating had sped up. Actually, lately she blushed easily when Nick joked about flirting, but she was not annoyed by it.

She wondered if he had been feeling the same way. The bunny still remembered an occasion three months ago, when they had partnered with McHorn to take down a group of drug dealers and the fox had taken a bullet when he pushed his fellow officer away of the projectile's trajectory. He was hospitalized for nearly two weeks, and Judy spent more time with him than at home.

The first days were the harder, since she missed him more than what she was willing to admit, and got really sensitive. Until his diagnose came out just a couple hours after he was wounded and it came to the conclusion that his life was not in danger at all, she was invaded by such a huge dread that was not able to move from the hospital's hallway or even speak. The mere thought of losing her best friend and partner, the one she could trust with her life… It was devastating. Among tears, she scolded him for doing something so stupid, even when she knew that, if he had not acted like that McHorn would probably have died.

She had questioned herself a lot about that time, and simply concluded that she acted like that because he was her best friend. Still, she knew there was something more, but—

"Hopps!"

Bogo's voice interrupted her thinking, and she realized that she had not listened to anything her Chief had told them. Clawhauser was typing as quietly as he could, the buffalo's grimace showing extreme disapproval.

"Hopps, I told you to go home, you have finished for today. And you, Wilde," he turned to her partner, "to my office."

"Yes, sir."

Nick's answer shocked Judy. From the first day, he never talked to the Chief without a joke or a friendly taunt. Ever. Clawhauser was as dumbfounded as her, almost even scared. He should have noticed that Nick was acting weird lately too. Something was wrong.

The bunny and the cheetah look at each other, puzzled eyes in both of their faces. Bogo and Nick went to the Chief's office without looking back and closed the door. Usually, when Nick entered that room, they first thing everyone could hear before screams was the door being slammed. Instead of that, it was closed delicately, with a brief and quiet *click*. Something was clearly wrong, very wrong.

Well, that was the first chapter. My plan is to make next ones longer, but I think this is right for an introduction. Thank you for reading!