Story welcome: Hello reader! Thank you for taking the time and interest in checking out this fic. This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. My goal is to do my best to stick with established and deleted concepts/lore and information learned from various materials such as the directors' twitter, art books, short comics, and the crime files mobile game, etc.

Overall tone will match the movie. This story is lighthearted and mostly fluff and humor based with sprinkles of action. Hope you enjoy it and any feedback or criticism is always welcomed!


Chapter 1: D.I.F.H.

Judy Hopps, Zootopia's first rabbit police officer, was laying in her hospital bed after getting her leg wound cleaned and dressed. Her fox friend, Nick Wilde, had accompanied her in the medical bus to the Zootopia Downtown Medical Center and stayed by her side for the entire afternoon. Despite being grateful for his company, she insisted he go home and rest. He finally relented and said to contact him later.

She sat looking out the window of her room when a light knocking sound pulled her out of her thoughts. Standing in the doorway to her room, was a large cape buffalo, the Zootopia Police Department Precinct One's Chief.

Ears perked skyward and she quickly sat up, "Chief Bogo!"

The Chief approached and stood by her bedside, "Hopps. How is your injury?"

"The doctor told me there's no infection and that I will have to be off my feet for a few days. Nothing serious, Sir."

"Good." Bogo reached into one of his pockets and held out his hoof with a tiny badge resting in his palm. "We will need you back when you are ready, Officer."

The rabbit's violet eyes lit up and gently picked up her old badge and held it in both paws. Judy's eyes began to water. She smiled at him and made herself hop out of bed to hug her chief. Bogo looked slightly uncomfortable at the gesture but placed a hoof on her shoulder.

Once she let go, he nodded and turned to let her rest. As he stood in the doorframe, he paused for a moment without looking back, "Don't make it a habit of 'misplacing' your badge, Hopps."

"Yes, Sir!"

As Bogo was leaving, Judy's doctor, a boar was coming in to check on his patient and they stopped in front of one another. The doctor recognized the Chief of the ZPD.

"Ah, Chief Bogo. Checking in on your officer?"

"Yes Doctor. Please keep me updated on the status of her recovery."

The doctor nodded and entered the room with his clipboard in hand.


Nicholas P. Wilde found himself finally waking up in the early afternoon the next day once the warm midday sunlight crept its way through the old dirty skylights above him. Rising from his bundled collection of old blankets and a single large dusty pillow, he reached over to grab his phone and check the time. 1:39 PM. He unlocked his phone to check for unread messages. There were several, all from a single bunny, his new best friend, Judy Hopps.

He squinted his groggy eyes and began to read them.

[Judy:] "Hi Nick, it's Judy! They released me from the hospital soon after you left. Thank you for staying with me, I really appreciated it."

[Judy:] "I am back at my apartment now. I have to wait a few days before they reinstate me back into the ZPD and Chief Bogo wants me to rest my leg before I come back into active duty. He actually stopped by and gave me my badge! I feel so excited and restless. I told him I could do paperwork but Bogo refused. I hope you are doing well."

[Judy:] "Call or text me whenever you feel like it. I am gonna try to get some more rest. TTYL!"

Judy's last text ended with a goofy carrot emoji, bringing a smile to Nick's face. He quickly got dressed in his usual ensemble of a collared floral green pawaiian shirt, his prized blue tie with purple stripes, and brown khakis.

Reaching over to a small dusty box, he picked up a small red handkerchief that he briefly thumbed in his hand, before stuffing it into one of his pant pockets. He lifted his phone again and flicked through his contacts, clicking on the image of a small tan fennec fox.

"Nick." A deep baritone voice answered after a few rings.

"Finn! How is my favorite goofy little stinker?" Nick asked nonchalantly.

"Shut up, Wilde. You're up late today. You ready to get hustling?"

"Actually, I need to ask you for a ride." He paused. "I need a lift to the ZPD Headquarters in Downtown."

Nick should have anticipated the extremely loud reply that came screaming from his phone as he recoiled back, ears flat, "You want me to take you WHERE!?"

After several minutes of pleading and convincing, Finnick finally relented, picked up Nick, and drove him to his destination. The two foxes drove in silence most of the way and Finnick stopped about a block away from the ZPD Headquarters.

"No VIP service, Finn?" Nick asked with a side glanced smirk to his business partner.

"I ain't driving up to a building full of cops, Wilde. Get your tail out and walk the rest of the way," the fennec growled behind his giant sunglasses.

"Still appreciate it, big guy. I love ya, I owe ya," the red fox exclaimed as he jumped out.

"Whatever," was Finnick's only reply as he quickly gunned it out of there, causing the old van to backfire like a loud gunshot and drove away.

Walking the remainder of the way, Nick soon found himself standing at the steps that led to the large circular entrance with the words POLICE mounted up top. He pushed through the rotating doors and looked around at the large and spacious reception area. Several mammals and officers bustled about their business.

Memories of his last visit came flooding back in. The press conference after they found the missing mammals. When Judy revealed she wanted him to be her partner and gave him a ZPD application and the carrot pen that contained his admission to felony tax evasion. When she had unintentionally said some bigoted statements that sparked citywide predator/prey tension and hurt his feelings. When he angrily returned his filled application after lashing out at her to test her fear of him and she had reflexively reached for that fox repellent. When he stormed out after crumpling that fake junior detective badge that was stuck to his shirt pocket with an aching pain in his heart.

Nick pulled himself back from his reverie and leveled his eyes to the large bubbly cheetah sitting directly across from him at the reception desk. With hands in his pockets he approached the desk and glanced up at the nameplate.

"Hey Officer Clawhauser!" Nick greeted while taking his hands out of his pockets and placed them behind his back. "May I have a moment of your time?"

Benjamin Clawhauser had just finished devouring a glazed donut when he looked towards the voice that greeted him with a warm smile, "Hello there Sir!"

He paused for a moment as a realization dawned on his muzzle, "Sir… you look familiar. Oh. Em. Goodness, are you Judy Hopps' friend? The fox who helped her with the Nighthowler case?"

"That's me, Claws. Nick Wilde, in the fur." Nick smirked. He liked this cheetah. "Nice to meet you."

Clawhauser squealed and began to thank Nick profusely for helping Judy on the case and for helping her return to the force. He also asked him if he was a big fan of Gazelle. Then the cheetah realized why Nick might be visiting the station.

"Oh. Oh. Officer Hopps isn't here today. They need to get her reinstated and she has to rest her leg injury. Chief's orders."

"So I've heard." Nick raised his paw, "Actually, I'm here for a different reason. I would like an application form if you please."

"REALLY!?" Clawhauser could not contain his excitement. "That'll be wonderful! One second, let me get you a copy."

"Thanks Claws."

Chief Bogo was heading back to his office. He peered over the side of the railing to see Clawhauser gesturing wildly and pointing to his phone with what appeared to be a fox in a horrific green collared shirt and tie with a sheet of paper in his paws. Bogo put his glasses on and recognized the mammal. Only one fox he knew dressed so ridiculously. He made his way to his office, sat at his desk and promptly dialed to the reception desk.

The call was picked up immediately, "Yes, Chief?"

"Clawhauser, is that fox in the lobby, Nicholas Wilde?"

"Yes sir. It is."

"I would like to request a meeting with him. Send him up to my office," the buffalo's voice bellowed. It had sounded more like an order.

The cheetah turned to Nick after hanging up the phone and pointed up, "Mr. Wilde, looks like Chief Bogo would like to meet with you. His office is upstairs on the fourth floor to your right."

"Well now, I guess I shouldn't keep the boss man waiting, should I?" Nick smirked and took his application with him and waved goodbye to Clawhauser as he began to ascend the stairs.

After arriving on the fourth floor and making his way down the hall, Nick knocked on the large glass door with the words CHIEF BOGO sprawled across.

"Enter." came the booming and curt reply.

The fox entered the office and took a few brief glimpses around the office, closing the door, and climbed into the large lone seat perched in front of the desk. He remembered the large cape buffalo when he had come to Judy's defense that night in the Rainforest District after she saved his life from being mauled by a savage jaguar. Nick had spoken up for her, and refused to let her turn in her badge when he put together the pieces of how unjustly she was being treated by her boss and the entire police force.

Nick didn't remember just how intimidating Bogo could be but he wasn't going to let that get to him. He kept a slight smirk and maintained eye contact.

Bogo stood and put his hooves behind his back. "Mr. Wilde, I never had the chance to thank you for your help with the Missing Mammals and Nighthowler Case. I am grateful for your assistance to Officer Hopps. Without you we may not have solved this case and I would have foolishly ended the career of one of my newest promising Officers. There is always a need for good cops like her. I also apologize for my behavior towards yourself in the Rainforest District. It was unprofessional."

Nick's eyes went wide. He certainly had not expected this.

"Thank you, Chief. I know it's been Officer Hopps' dream to be a police officer. I had made some assumptions myself when she and I first met and I am happy she proved me wrong."

Bogo sat back down, leaned forward, and gestured to Nick. "Now then. May I ask as to the purpose of your visit? If you wanted to visit Officer Hopps, she will not be back on duty for several more days."

Nick reached back and pulled out his newly filled application, unfolded it, and placed it on the desk in front of the Chief.

The buffalo took the form and placed his reading glasses on his snout and read the details of the form. "I see."

Bogo took off his glasses, leaned forward, and gave Nick a very serious stare. "Tell me Wilde, why do you want to become a cop?"

Scratching his chin for a moment, Nick straightened himself and placed his hands behind his back. He was going to be honest. "Sir, Officer Hopps was the first mammal I met in many years who genuinely saw me as something more than just a sly fox. She believed in me, became my friend, and showed me real compassion. I had no direction with my life up until now. Now… I want to share in her dream. And I hope I can do so right alongside her."

Naturally, he had to leave out a few details such as his con artist dealings and initially being hustled into helping Judy, but he didn't care anymore. That was in the past.

The Chief simply kept his gaze on Nick and pondered his answer for a few moments. A momentary slight upward curl appeared on his lips.

"Very good, Wilde. Then I am glad I had this printed and signed in anticipation that you might show up."

Bogo opened a drawer and placed a sealed docket onto his desk and slid it over to Nick. "Inside is my personal letter of recommendation to the Zootopia Police Academy Administrator. This year's cadets have already started training two weeks ago. However, we can fast track you in immediately if you are serious in applying. You will have to play a small bit of catch up."

Nick didn't hesitate and took the docket. "When do I start?"

"I will call the Administrator and give you two days to prepare. Then you are show up 7AM sharp at this address." Bogo took out another piece of paper, wrote the address of the ZPA, and handed it to Nick.

After gathering his new materials, Nick slid off the chair, thanked the chief, and headed towards the door. Just as he opened the door, Bogo stood and called his attention one more time, causing the fox to pause and face him.

"Wilde. Just so you know. Only the top graduates are selected to come to Precinct One."

The fox glanced upwards understanding the statement. That award winning smirk came right back out. "Then I will see you in nine months, Chief. Good day." He gave a lazy salute and closed the door behind him.

Bogo, huffed through his nostrils and turned around to look out his window for a moment. "Let's see what you're made of, fox." He spun on his hoof and punched the intercom button.

"Clawhauser. Get the Administrator of the ZPA on the line."

"You got it Chief!" came the jovial response.


Later that evening, Nick and Finnick sat at the bar inside of a small quaint fox dive, called "On The Leash" in the Nocturnal District. Some soft jazz music played from the nearby jukebox. The fennec fox had just downed his beer, while the red fox was simply babysitting his.

"I can't believe you Nick. You? Turning blue? Did Sahara Square freeze over?" Finnick spat as he slammed his mug onto the counter. "Another!"

"Finn, I know this may be hard to accept, but I want to have a better purpose in life."

"This is because of that bunny cop, ain't it?"

Nick's ear twitched. He felt like he detected a tiny hint of malice in the question but chose to ignore it. "Her name is Judy, Finn. And yes, she asked me to apply. She wanted me to join the ZPD and be her partner."

Finnick kept his eyes on his refilled beer answering with a hint of snarl, "Yeah. So, you into chasing cotton tails now? What about me, Nick? I'm your friend too. And your business partner."

With furrowed brows, Nick shot his friend a dirty look. "Yeah, you are, but I recall you leaving 'Daddy' all high and dry when I got hustled into helping her with her case, laughing all the way down the street."

"Didn't seem like you had a choice, Wilde. I give that girl props though. She hustled you good," Finnick laughed and noticed how Nick dodged the former part of his question.

The two foxes managed to share a chuckle, followed by a few moments of silence. Nick spun on his stool so he could face Finnick directly. "Listen, Finn. I really am thankful for everything you've done to help me. I am not abandoning you. This is something I just need to…I want to do."

"Dammit, Wilde, don't be getting all sappy on me. Save that crap for some lonely vixens." Finnick glanced at Nick while taking another chug of his beer, paused and spoke up. "Look Nick, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't let you do this. Just don't become a Buster. Besides, I bet I'll still have to come and save your tail when you get in trouble."

Nick enjoyed himself a hearty laugh as Finnick flashed him a toothy grin, "Well, Finn. I think you'd be second string because Carrots is one tough bunny."

"Ugh. She got nicknames too? You are becoming a sap. When do you start?"

Nick checked his phone. "Two days, 7AM sharp, at the Zootopia Police Academy."

Finnick glared at him. "Bet you gonna want a ride there too, huh? Whatever, let's just drink tonight. We got time for one more hustle, boy scout."

"Deal. Drinks are on me then."

"I won't say no to that."

The two foxes toasted their mugs and ordered another round.


Judy sighed. Being bedridden was no fun for an energetic rabbit such as herself. She already read through several of her favorite novels, listened to hours of Bucky and Pronk arguing, called her parents, and did lots of stretching. Now she was just utterly bored in her tiny apartment.

She was surprised that she hadn't received any text replies or a call from Nick since being discharged from the hospital a few days ago. She was growing a bit concerned. Perhaps he was busy. Technically, she didn't know what he would normally be doing with his day outside of hustling unless he was back at sitting in that lawn chair under the bridge she had found him after the two of them had been apart for three months.

The rabbit smiled at the ceiling with the thoughts that she was able to find him and mend their friendship. Her phone suddenly rang and she carefully jumped up, trying not to put pressure on her injured leg. Maybe Nick was calling!

"Hi, this is Judy!" she answered with a perky voice without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello Judy. This is Dr. Borstein. I just wanted to call and schedule a follow-up with you tomorrow at noon. We want to check your wound again and if all is well, you should be able to return to work very soon."

It took a bit of willpower for Judy to mask her disappointment. "Oh. Dr. Borstein. Thank you for calling. Yes. Yes, I can come in at that time. Great, I will see you then!"

She hung up the phone but felt her spirits lift a little bit at the thought of returning to work soon. Deciding to distract her mind further, she reached for her shelf and picked out another book and flipped to the first page.

Thursday morning hadn't come soon enough. Somehow she had managed to sleep in a little bit later than usual. After making a late breakfast, she sat at her desk finishing the last few bites when her phone suddenly beeped.

Peering over at the screen, it said the notification was a text message. Judy quickly abandoned her food as she unlocked her phone screen and clicked on the message notification alert. Her mouth fell completely open. There on her screen was a selfie photo of Nick Wilde, with a pair of aviators resting on his head, a big stupid grin on his face, a coffee in one paw, and wearing the ZPA trainee uniform with the caption: "I make this look good, Carrots. Surprise!"

Judy squealed. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her thumbs began to furiously tap away a reply message.

"Oh, Nick! Is that where you've been!? I thought this year's cadet roster was already filled! How did you get in? And when?"

The reply came fairly quickly, "Chief Buffalo-Butt got me in when I went to apply at the station a few days ago. I am lucky cadet #15. By the way, my 'death tally' is already up to 17. I am gonna have to figure out how to game this system. Your old Drill Sergeant says hi too. I gotta get back to it. I'll keep in touch!"

The biggest giggle turned into a beaming smile on Judy's face. It made her cheeks hurt. She texted back, "Good luck Nick, I know you can do it! Can't wait to hear back from you!" Bye!"

Judy set her phone down and yelled out a loud whoop while thrusting her arms into the air. A moment later she heard a voice from behind the wall next to her bed.

"Hey Bunny, you okay over there?"

"Leave the officer alone, don't you know she is supposed to be resting?"

"Oh shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Shut up!"

The bunny in question just closed her eyes and tuned out her neighbors. Bucky and Pronk couldn't sour her mood no matter how much they yelled today.


His first day of training had concluded. He was given a quick orientation, filled out his forms, outfitted with a trainee outfit, and thrown into the wolf's den. By day's end, Nick apparently had died 23 times according to his polar bear Drill Sergeant. At least he hadn't fallen into the toilet.

Soon, all the cadets were fast asleep from the all day training. Despite being exhausted and incredibly sore, Nick's natural nocturnal tendencies were keeping him awake. Another attempt at sleep, brought a few flashbacks from the day's training regime. The Drill Sergeant's voice echoed in his mind.

"You're dead, Foxtrot!"

"You're dead, Bushy Tail!"

"You're dead, Red Fluff!"

"You're dead, Motor Mouth!"

"Dead! Dead! Dead!"

Nick's eyes shot back open and he quietly sighed. It was incredible to think Judy had gone through this same training, graduating as Valedictorian, and he had told her she'd never be a real cop on the first day they had met. The fox certainly felt foolish now. Not being able to fall asleep, Nick quietly escaped the bunk area to stretch and ended up going into the cadet recreation room that was filled with quite a few amenities. He located a network printer and hooked his phone into it.

Opening his camera app, the last photo Nick took was the one he was searching for. While staying with Judy at the hospital and with all the press of the Nighthowler case and Bellweather's arrest, he had gotten the urge to take a victory thumbs up selfie. Judy, despite her condition, must have seen him preparing to snap the shot and somehow managed to bound her way out of the medical bed and had latched onto his neck with one paw and grabbed the phone with the other, smiling at the camera just as the photo was snapped. Nick's mug ended up with a dual annoyed and surprised face, much to her delight afterwards.

Now he smiled at this single photo. It was the only one he had of her. He tapped the print option and the printer whirred to life and spit out the image. Cutting away the excess paper, he grabbed one of the spare pens from the small desk counter and scribbled 'D.I.F.H.' across the bottom of the picture under Judy's image. He also helped himself to a few pieces of tape and some snacks and headed back to the dormitory.

With his night vision, he didn't need to worry about using a light and disturbing his classmates' sleep. Back at his bunk, he taped the photo to the wall above his pillow. Pleased with himself, he lay back down and quietly ate the snacks and closed his eyes, hoping that he could at least get some rest before the next day's grueling training session. He stole one last glance at the photo hanging above him and let sleep take away his thoughts with a smirk on his muzzle.


Judy was ecstatic to be back at the ZPD. Though she had to spend her first week doing paperwork at her desk, all of the officers in the bullpen and Clawhauser were overjoyed for her return and even hung a nice big 'WELCOME BACK JUDY' banner across the bullpen entrance. Bogo had even seemed to smile but it was hard to tell with his usual 'I don't care' mask.

Today, she was finally cleared for active duty by Dr. Borstein and he had notified Chief Bogo of her recovery. Coming in extra early, she stretched her leg and it felt good to be able to walk and run like normal again and headed for the bullpen.

It was lively as usual with all of the larger officers huffing and grunting, waiting for their chief to arrive. Judy took her usual seat in the front row next to Officer McHorn. This time he had a fist bump waiting for her when he saw she no longer had a limp.

Bogo made his entrance and the grunts and excitement grew louder till they were ordered to shut it. He doled out the usual set of assignments to his officer teams, saving Judy and a few others for last.

"Welcome back to the beat, Officer Hopps," he shot from behind his small glasses. "I am to inform you that we have put in a requisition for a custom patrol cruiser to be built to accommodate your size. It should be ready in one month's time. In the meantime, I will be assigning you to work with Officers Fangmeyer and Grizzoli so that you can learn first hand experience on working with a partner on patrol. You will be covering Savanna Central today. Dismissed."

Judy had to bite her lip to contain the exciting news of having her own vehicle but it couldn't prevent her eyes from widening and ears soaring. She couldn't wait for the chance to tell Nick about this later.

Fangmeyer who usually sat on the other side of McHorn turned to her across the now vacant seat between them. "Looks like you're stuck with us for awhile Officer Hopps," she said with a welcoming smile.

Grizzoli appeared from around the other side of Fangmeyer. The white timber wolf extended his paw to Judy. "Ready to go, Officer Hopps?"

The bunny shook his paw and replied, "Of course! This is going to be great!"


The following two weeks had flown by rather quickly. Judy was finishing some late night paperwork and taking notes from a few tips she continued to pick up from Fangmeyer and Grizzoli. They were both really nice to her and she enjoyed the chance to get to know more of her fellow officers.

Taking a small break to stretch herself, she remembered she hadn't heard from Nick in some time. She sometimes wanted to send him an occasional text or email but stopped herself because she did not want to distract him from his training. She looked at the time on her phone. 10:51 PM.

Grimacing that it might be too late to contact him. Maybe one text wouldn't be too bad? She opened up her text app and began to thumb a message,

"Nick! I just wanted to say hi and hope you are doing well. I know it's late so don't worry about replying back. I have some great news to share with you later! Bye!"

Judy had hit send and placed her phone back onto her desk. Just as she was reaching for a folder to file her paperwork in, the phone buzzed back.

"I'm awake. Doing a little bit of extra homework. I heard it builds character. But right now I'm just building a migraine."

A small laugh escaped her mouth, and she tapped back, "You? Homework? I think I must have texted the wrong fox. Sorry!"

"Really? How many foxes do you know?"

"Oh shush, you. One too many in your case!"

"Ouch, mean bunny! So, what's this news you wanted to tell me about? Did someone beat the new carrot eating world record in one sitting again?"

Rolling her eyes but still curling a growing smile, she began to reply, "Har. Har. No. Chief Bogo ordered a brand new patrol cruiser custom built just for me! It should be here in about two more weeks!"

"Well, that is some great news. Congrats Officer Toot-Toot. No more three wheeled jokemobile!"

That fox somehow always found a way to be irritating and sweet at the same time. Judy figured she better let Nick get back to his work. "Alright, Slick, I should let you go. It was wonderful to hear from you again." Her paw hovered over the send button, before adding a few more words. "I miss you, Nick."

After a brief moment the phone buzzed one last time. "Ditto, Fluff."


The months rolled by as Nick found himself trying new ways to improve his class standing. The written exams came easy to him. He found plenty of time to study at night when nocturnal instincts battled him for sleep time. The fox also scored remarkably high on his marksman field tests as well. His biggest challenges were twofold, the physical trials and the fact that he had always been the 'eternal shotgun friend' which affected his scores on the driving aptitude test. He had always walked, used public transit, or bummed rides off Finnick for as long as he could remember.

After much thought, he realized he was probably the oldest cadet as well as the smallest mammal in his class. While Judy was even smaller, she had much greater physical prowess than himself. And technically, she knew how to drive. His jaw had dropped to the ground when the Drill Sergeant had shown the class the video of her using her powerful rabbit legs and the ring ropes to redirect the sparring rhino instructor's fist right back at him for a knockout.

So Nick used his late nights and solo bunk bed to focus on strengthening his core and stamina. Running laps outside even in the dark, doing sit ups, pilates, pull-ups, and push-ups in the overly large bed, to build up whatever he could. He knew he could never go toe to toe with any larger mammal so he was going to have to use his wits and at least be able to keep up with his future partner. Despite the fact that his vulpine figure stayed slim and lean, he managed to build on another solid twelve pounds of toned muscle and better lung capacity from his efforts. He was not 'dying anymore' either during the boot camp ecosystem sessions. He was developing a new mantra from his ex-con playbook, 'work smarter, not harder.'

Though he hadn't managed any knockouts against his sparring partners, he now began to consistently win draws by simply outlasting or out frustrating them. Sometimes this included verbal sparring in the mix to throw them off their game, much to the amusement or ire of his peers.

His driving scores slowly improved through sheer determination and he believed he was finally on track to at least secure a top slot amongst his class. He wasn't sure if he could get Valedictorian but at least earning second or third place should get him a consideration to Precinct One. That was his goal.

One particular evening, the fox sat around lazily reading through the ZPD officers manual at the edge of his bed. He had scored the highest marks that day at the shooting range. No one else had even come close to him for the night vision portion of the test. At least being a fox was good for something.

"Hey Nick," echoed a light friendly voice from his right.

Closing his book, Nick turned to face his visitor. It was a fellow classmate who was a small framed gray timber wolf with amber eyes.

"Hey Brian. How are ya? Need help with something?"

"Nah, I just wanted to come by and congratulate you on those scores today. Really impressive buddy," the wolf sincerely replied.

Nick was still adjusting to the fact that most of his classmates actually treated him like any other mammal and were genuinely friendly to the fox. As he climbed from the bottom rung standing towards the top of his class, he figured it may have helped earn some respect amongst his fellow future police officers. Their admiration climbed even higher when it was revealed that he had assisted in the Nighthowler case, especially amongst his fellow predator classmates.

The occasional poker night he snuck in and hosted amongst them, in secret, when they had especially tough days probably didn't hurt either. Though he suspected they didn't like it when he kept winning all of their special snacks sent in care packages from their families. No one had gotten the opportunity to try the famous Hopps Family Farm blueberries that he had started to receive from Judy some time ago and often gloated about.

And not once did anyone accuse him of cheating either, which was another first for him. He gave a real smile back to Brian, "Thank you. That is some high praise. You did really well yourself, Nose."

'Nose' was Nick's nickname for Brian since he had the best nose by far in their class. Nick wasn't able to compete with this wolf's knack for finding scents.

"Gotta be good at something, right?" Brian chuckled and glanced around the room and his eyes settled on a picture of what looked like a rabbit fiercely hugging Nick. "Say, Nick, I've been meaning to ask. Who is the cute bunny in the picture there? That your girl?"

Nick had reached over to take a small sip of his coffee and practically spit it out when the question hit his ears. "What? Oh, no, no, that's my best friend. And if you ever meet her, don't call her cute. It'll be your funeral."

Brian simply raised an eyebrow towards Nick and inspected the photo more closely, "What's D.I.F.H., if I may ask?"

"Do. It. For. Her." the fox casually stated. Not realizing how easily he opened up about that piece of information to his new friend.

"Huh? Okay, you sure she isn't your girlfriend?" Brian laughed but looked at Nick with a teasing smile. "I must say though, she does look really familiar to me."

Nick smirked back. A small part of him was actually caught off guard that his fellow classmate seemed to not be bothered at all at the possibility that the bunny in the photo could be with the fox sitting next to him. A Prey and a Predator. It was heartwarming to see a future fellow officer who genuinely wanted to make the world a better place. Perhaps Judy's optimism and big heart was contagious and rolling off of him in spades. He may need to go take a shower. Or two.

"Well, that ball of fluff right there is Officer Judy Hopps. First rabbit police officer, impossible do-gooder, and non stop beacon of sunshine and rainbows," Nick gestured with his paw. "She saved my life, Nose, in more ways than you can imagine."

The timber wolf's eyes shot open while his mouth hung agape, "The same rabbit we saw in the boxing video!? Oh no wonder! She was the lead officer who cracked the Missing Mammals and Nighthowler case! Ah, this all makes sense now! You're trying to graduate to Precinct One."

"Don't ever let anyone tell you, that you're just a nose, Nose. C'mon let's go have you find us some of those hidden snacks the other guys like to stash away from us," Nick winked as he placed a paw on Brian's shoulder and the two headed out of the dormitory.


Graduation was just days away. Nick had finished the last of his exams and the cadets were allowed some free time to rest while final test results were being tallied and the ceremony was being prepared.

The classmates all huddled around one another, bantering, teasing, and having a general good time. Excitement swept the crowd. They all passed. Soon they would all get their badges and be assigned to their respective Precincts. It was announced that this year there would be a special surprise speaker. Lot's of guesses were thrown around.

"Can't just be the new mayor, right?"

"Nah, maybe it will be some cool special agent!"

"Oh come on, you've been reading way too many comics."

"How about Gazelle?"

"What? No way…"

The ribbing continued until someone had the idea to do a final cadet group photo in their trainee outfits. They asked their Drill Sergeant to take the picture and send it to all their phones.

Judy was on a small break in her cruiser, enjoying a carrot, raspberry, and kiwi smoothie, while parked under the shade of some trees at a small park in Savanna Central. When she had sent Nick a photo of the brand new cruiser some time ago, he wanted to christen it 'the Hareraiser' but Judy promptly shut down that horrible name. Her phone buzzed and she saw a text from Nick with an attachment.

A toothy smile appeared on her face when the photo appeared fullscreen. All fifteen ZPA cadets, a motley crew of mammals huddled around each other, brothers and sisters in arms, in their ZPA trainee outfits posing together. Her violet eyes immediately fell to the red fox in the middle who sported the snarkiest smirk she had seen yet with a wink to the camera. He had a timber wolf's arm draped around his shoulders and a fellow tiger's paw ruffling his ears.

The bunny still had some time left for her break and decided to dial Nick and see if he could chat.

"Officer Fluff," came the greeting through the earpiece. She could feel the smile on the other end.

"Well, look at you mister graduate. Oh, Nick, I am so proud of you!" Judy had to pause for a moment because she felt a bit of dampness rising in the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, you bunnies. Always so emotional."

"Oh, you foxes. Always so irritating."

Nick chuckled, "They're letting us rest for a few days before the ceremony. I don't suppose my super rabbit officer knows who the secret speaker will be, does she?"

Judy knew. But Judy had to lie.

"Nick, if I told you it wouldn't be a secret now would it. And I am not going to partake in you hustling your fellow cadets out of food and bunnies knows what else," she replied with a smile.

She could feel the mock drama seeping through, "You wound me, officer, I would never do such a thing. On my new badge's honor."

Judy heartily laughed, "Coming from the fox who I found out NEVER shared his blueberries with his fellow classmates and ate all their food."

"Hah! I gave them every opportunity to win some fair and square. Not my fault they couldn't pull it off. So, will I be seeing you at the graduation?"

"Wouldn't miss it Slick. They gave me the day off and a front row seat too."

"That's great. Oh… I wanted to tell you something actually," Nick's voice got a little quieter.

Judy picked up on the faint drop in tone, "Nick is something wrong?"

"No. No. It's just that… well, I invited my Mom to the graduation. I don't know 100% yet if she will show up. I'm hoping she does. I, um… haven't seen her in fourteen years."

She bit her tongue from almost blurting out 'fourteen years'! Now wasn't the time for that. Her ears drooped but a faint smile still clung to her muzzle, "Nick, I'm sure she'll come. She will be so proud of you. And if she doesn't, I will be there."

There was a few moments of silence. She almost spoke up again when he replied, "Thanks Carrots. I'll see you in a few days."

"Okay Nick. I'll see you there."


The sun was shining brightly in the morning blue sky. It was a picture perfect day for a graduation. Nick stood in the center of the front row, dressed in his formal navy dress blues with a gold aiguillette adorning his left shoulder. His classic aviators sat on his snout while he cupped a Snarlbucks coffee in his right paw and kept his left paw behind his back, standing at attention. Surrounded by his fellow classmates, a mix of tigers, elephants, a brown bear, some hippos and wolves. Brian was off to his far right at the end of the row.

He had hoped to bump into Judy before the ceremony began but no such luck. He occasionally scanned the front areas but there was no sign of the bunny. A part of him felt hurt that she may not be here. Perhaps something important had come up at the station? His mood felt slightly soured and he lowered his head to ground, his ears slightly tucked down.

Soon it was time. The new Mayor had come up to begin the ceremony. His speech was brief, nothing special, some honeyed words about thanking this new wave of Officers for their dedication, hard work, and something about the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. Perhaps that was meant towards him? Soon he was finished and was ready to announce the special speaker who was also going to present the badges to the new Officers.

"Please join me in giving a warm welcome to last year's Valedictorian and the Officer who solved one of the biggest cases in recent Zootopia history, Officer Judy Hopps!"

Nick immediately snapped his head back up. There she was, climbing up on something to be able to see over the podium. First he saw those black tipped ears and then Judy's face. He hadn't seen that smile in almost nine months. She too had donned her dress blues for the ceremony.

Judy scanned the crowd and her eyes finally found his. She couldn't contain her smile and neither could he. Her violet eyes flashed him a 'this is what you get for not telling me you went to the academy.'

He lowered his head so his aviators could drop a bit and reveal his bright green eyes. I deserved that.

Officer Hopps took a small breath and began, "When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, real life is a bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We all have limitations, we all make mistakes, which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be."

She continued her speech while gazing upon the crowd.

"But we have to try. So no matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant," she gestured up high to the two new elephant officers. "To our first fox." She lowered her paw to Nick, as their classmates peered down and smiled to their fellow fox officer. Nick lifted his aviators up and winked. A rare heartfelt smile appearing on his muzzle.

Judy concluded, "I implore you. Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us."

A round of applause thundered through the crowd. They began to call the cadets up alphabetically. Judy happily pinned each officer's badge one by one.

Nick's grin grew when he saw Brian get his badge and the two shared a glance and a thumbs up. He kept his eyes locked on Judy not realizing he momentarily zoned out. He hadn't heard who got Valedictorian yet.

The rabbit officer was handed a wooden box that contained the last badge. She turned back to the crowd. "It is with great honor and happiness, that I present this final badge, to this year's Valedictorian and my best friend, Nicholas P. Wilde."

The fox took his glasses off and set his coffee down and approached the stage till he was standing right in front of Judy. She had taken the badge out and held it reverently in her two paws as she stepped in front of Nick. Her look of admiration and that beaming smile melted right through him. He watched her paws as she reached out and slowly hooked his badge onto his uniform.

Judy looked back up at Nick, he matched her gaze as she stepped back. She hadn't seen a smile like that on Nick since the day she had asked him to join her at the ZPD one year ago.

She saluted her friend and he gave a crisp salute back. The newly badged officers roared and cheered as they threw their hats up into the air in celebration.


As the ceremony wound down, Judy ran to Nick and gave him the biggest hug, which he gladly returned. They lingered that way for a several moments, before she pulled away.

"Nick, I already found out you will be assigned to Precinct One! I am totally going to harass Bogo so that he has no choice but for us to be partners," she declared, her petite form shaking with excitement.

"Better be careful what you wish for Officer Hopps, I might be too much fox to handle," Nick replied with another wink.

"I think I can handle one sly fox." Judy smirked back. Unable to stop hopping on her toes, she leaned over and whispered, "Hey, they need me to talk to a few more officials and then I will be right back, okay?"

Nick nodded, "Take your time Carrots. I'm not going anywhere."

Judy lightly touched his shoulder and hopped back to the stage where she exchanged some words with the Mayor and a few other important looking mammals.

Officer Wilde was exchanging nods, pawshakes, and smiles with his fellow officers who were all being flanked and congratulated by their families and friends.

He stepped away for a brief few moments, waiting for Judy to get back. As he gazed around the thinning crowd, his attention suddenly stopped on another fox. His eyes grew wide as an older vixen slowly paced towards him, dressed in a lovely purple blouse and maroon dress. Almost forgetting to breath, he could barely mouth the words, "Mom!?"

The now teary eyed vixen stood in front of her son, equally at a loss of words herself, before her purse dropped to the ground and she opened her inviting arms wide, "Oh, Nicholas!"

She quickly embraced him and squeezed him so hard. Nick honestly didn't know who could crush his ribs more, Judy or his Mom. He quietly listened to her sobs of joy as she sniffled under his chin.

"I never thought I would see you again," Mrs. Wilde said as she pulled away briefly so she could look into his eyes. "But this… this is so wonderful. Words can't express how I feel right now. If your Dad was still around, he would be so proud of you too."

"Mom, I can't even begin to apologize for what a dumb fox I've been…"

"Shh. It's okay, sweetheart. Let's just enjoy this moment. This is your day." Mrs. Wilde had brought up a paw to silence Nick. "Though, I have to ask one thing."

Nick barely raised an eyebrow to wonder what the first thing his Mom might inquire about.

"So who did you hustle to get Valedictorian?" she asked with a wide smile.

The officer blinked and looked dumbfounded for a moment, before letting out a great big laugh and hugging her again.

Judy finally finished her power socializing and looked around for her best friend. Her large violet eyes caught sight of two foxes. Mrs. Wilde had come after all. She took a few steps closer but didn't want to disturb them. Then she gasped. For the first time since she had known Nick, she noticed a single tear rolling down his cheek as he hugged his mother. Her own eyes began to water as she brought both of her paws to her heart and held her breath.

She decided to let Nick spend as much time as he wanted with his Mom. She would text him later to see if he wanted to get together before his first day at work. With a beaming smile, Judy turned back to the crowd and went to congratulate the other remaining graduates.