Author's Note: What a fantastic movie. I'm so happy I finally got around to watching it. Incredible writing, voice-acting and animation. And of course, I couldn't help falling in love with Nick and Judy. They're just so perfect together, y'know? Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Zootopia © Disney
Peter's Party Supplies
We put the pep in parties!
Judy Hopps' violet eyes were transfixed on the business card, clutched a little too tightly in her paw, when Nick's smooth voice seeped into her ears.
"Two sugars, light on the cream, all yours," he said as he slid into the passenger's seat of their patrol car, presenting her with a steaming paper cup of her usual coffee. His gleaming green gaze caught the small card in her paw before she could tuck it away, and in one fluid motion he slid her coffee into the cup holder and plucked the card from her grasp with the ease of picking up a feather. "What've you got there, Carrots?"
His easy, laid-back grin, while ordinarily soothing, only kicked Judy's nerves into high gear as she'd all but jumped out of her own fur. She lunged towards him, extending her paw as far as it could go, while Nick, one step ahead of her, held the card just out of her reach, his wide grin never wavering.
"Peter's Party Supplies?" he said. He gave his panicked partner a sideways glance and, as if taking pity upon seeing her look so genuinely distraught, he handed her back the card. "Let me guess, your folks are packing in their carrot farm, so you're planning on throwing them a retirement party. If that's the case, tell them to ship me the rest of the blueberries. Don't worry, I'll pay for every last one."
As Nick spoke, Judy slipped the card back into her vest and lifted the coffee cup to her mouth, welcoming the taste of the perfectly brewed beverage made just the way she liked it. As she swallowed, she realized Nick had grown silent and was simply staring at her now, patiently waiting for her response as he took a sip of his coffee. She tightened her grip on the hot cup.
"Actually, it's nothing like that," she said, purposely avoiding his gaze as she returned the coffee to the cup holder and put the car in drive. "You see, I… Well, I met this… I sort of… It was… And he…"
"My, my, Officer Hopps, you really do know how to keep a guy on the edge of his seat," Nick said as he tucked his arm against the back of his head and took another leisurely sip.
Stopping at a red light, Judy released a sigh, at last gathering her nerves as well as enough courage to tell him the truth. "I met this bunny named Peter while I was making a quick run at the grocery store the other day, and he gave me his card after he… asked me out."
She chanced a quick glance at Nick, whose arm slipped to his side as he straightened up, his body stiff. A mere second later, the light turned green, and Judy looked away from him and pressed down on the gas pedal once more.
"A bunny named Peter, huh?" he said, and there was something terse in his voice, a sizeable bite of sarcasm as he followed it up with, "Is his last name Cottontail?"
"No, as a matter of fact, it isn't," Judy said almost angrily, as the regret she felt for actually telling him was instantaneous. She waved dismissively. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I'm not going to go out with him."
"Now, now," Nick said as if to calm her. "Obviously, this Peter rabbit guy can't be all bad, otherwise you wouldn't have accepted his fun little business card. And, while we're on the subject, may I point out that his slogan, 'we put the pep in parties,' doesn't make any sense? He should've said we put the 'art' in parties. Or 'pies.'"
"Are you done?" Judy asked.
"Are you going to call him?" Nick countered.
"No, okay, I'm not," Judy said, her patience running thin. She tightened her hold on the steering wheel as she rambled on, "And it's not because he doesn't seem like a perfectly nice bunny with a good job and a lovely coat of dark gray fur."
"Really?" Nick said, dryly, yet with the slightest tinge of amusement. "Then why not, dear Judith?"
"Because, Nicholas," Judy snapped back, "I'm an officer of the law first and foremost." She paused, composing herself, before she continued, "My purpose in life is to serve and protect, which means I don't have time for all those mushy things like dating or holding paws or cuddling or—"
"Whispering sweet nothings into your beloved's ear after he serenades you from a balcony?" Nick said with his ever mischevious smirk spread across his face. He leaned back against the seat once more. "C'mon, Hopps, obviously you're amazing at what you do, and you're fortunate to get to live out your passion and make the world a better place, but you gotta take care of your needs, too. You're telling me you've never even once envisioned yourself being wooed by some handsome prince charming who worships the ground you walk on, eventually marrying him in some lavish ceremony and riding off towards the sunset together?"
Judy blinked. "You've read too many fairy tales."
"My point is, one little date won't kill you," Nick said. "I think you should call him."
Approaching a stop sign, Judy eased up on the gas pedal and pressed on the brake, bringing the car to a halt. The sound of the running engine filled the silence as she looked at Nick, who looked back at her with that confident, half-lidded gaze of his. In that moment, a strange feeling hit her. It was heavy, bordering on gloomy. Disappointment.
"You do?" she heard herself ask, unexpectedly quiet, unable to shake the feeling. If anything, it only deepened when he gave her a nod. She turned her eyes back to the road and proceeded down the street, still struggling to pinpoint the source of this feeling. With her eyes cast towards the city skyline, she said, as if to herself, "In that case, I think I will."
Having torn through her entire closet in her new, much larger apartment, Judy came to the conclusion that her wardrobe was in desperate need of an upgrade as well. She ultimately settled on her favorite pink blouse and a pair of black slacks. The outfit wasn't particularly dressy, but it was comfortable, so that was good, at least. She didn't have time to dwell on it any longer, as her date would be arriving in less than fifteen minutes. Now, staring at her reflection in her bathroom mirror, Judy brought her attention to her ears. Should she leave them up, or down? There were too many little decisions to make, and she was overthinking every single one.
It didn't help that Nick had made himself comfortable in her armchair a half hour prior, all lackadaisical and relaxed as he perused the latest issue of Mammals magazine. His ears only perked up when he heard the door open, and Judy stepped out, her shoulders back and her chin up.
"How do I look?" she asked.
Nick's eyes looked her up and down in a quick sweep, and the corners of his mouth ticked up as he released a soft chuckle and dropped his gaze back to the magazine. "Like you haven't a clue what you're doing."
Judy's jaw dropped for a second, and another second later, she stomped up to him, paws on her waist. Nick raised the magazine higher, flipping to the next page. She folded her arms.
"What was that… partner?" she asked in a low voice, fury simmering beneath the surface.
Nick, calm as ever, met her heated gaze. She narrowed her eyes, while he rolled his. He closed the magazine and tossed it on the chair as he got up.
"All right, look," he said, holding up his paws to level with her. "You're new at this, so I'll give you a few quick pointers. First off, don't be nervous. The guy clearly already likes you, so if anyone's going to be nervous, it'll be him, trying to impress you by making witty remarks in an embarrassing attempt to show you how funny and charismatic he is."
Her initial skepticism deflating, Judy relaxed her stance and willed herself to listen to Nick's advice. After all, he was right. She was new at this. Putting her own life on the line to protect the city against crime, she could do that with her eyes closed, but dating? She was terrified. Any advice was more than welcome, and Nick seemed to have it in spades.
"Second," he went on, "that 'be yourself' nonsense that everyone's always prattling on about, it's true, to a certain extent, when you're on a date. However, you want to take a keen interest and really get to know the guy, find out what you two have in common, ask him questions, like where'd you grow up, what do you like to do for fun, how many kids do you want, you know, light stuff."
Judy's brow furrowed. "Asking someone how many kids they want is light?"
"Just making sure you're paying attention," Nick said, and he brought his paw to her shoulder, clasping down on it gently. "Now, there's one last important detail you should know. It's not uncommon for a date to end with a bit of… physical affection, as it were, in the form of a hug or, I don't know, perhaps a… kiss."
Judy drew in a sharp breath, her eyes widening. A kiss? Was she even ready for that? She'd just met the guy!
"Take it easy there, Twitchy," Nick said as if he could read her thoughts. "Not everyone likes to kiss on the first date, but the way I see it, if it feels right, and you're ready, just go for it. You may be pleasantly surprised."
Judy swallowed now, her usual confidence chipping away the longer Nick gazed at her with that knowing glint in his eyes. Her voice was small, almost trembling, as she asked, "How… How do you know if it's… right?"
"Well," Nick said, his smile widening, warm and dazzling, causing every single one of her hairs to stand up. "If he's a gentleman, he'll probably insist on walking you to your door. You'll agree because you're polite, even though you're more than capable of walking to your door yourself. Heck, you should be walking him to his door."
Judy let out a small giggle at that.
"So, when the two of you reach your door," Nick continued, "you'll both stop and turn to each other. He'll look you in the eyes and tell you what a great time he had, how lucky he was to be in the company of such a smart, kind-hearted bunny with beautiful purple eyes."
Something seemed to catch in his throat then, and he cleared it forcefully. "Or, you know, something cheesy like that," he said in haste, before returning to the scenario he was building. "Then, you'd thank him for a wonderful date, and he'd tell you how much he was already looking forward to seeing you again. He'd say goodnight, as would you. Your gazes would linger. He'd start inching closer to you… like this…" And he did, lowering his head towards her. "You'd feel your heart start to race as you'd slowly shut your eyes." And she did, her heartbeat soaring. "And then… he'd…"
A loud knock on the door had them both jumping back, their faces mirrored with wide-eyed expressions as they each struggled to breathe properly.
"He's here," Judy said.
"Eager fellow," Nick said. He took a moment to clear his throat again as he fumbled with his paws like he didn't know what to do with them, when finally, he stuffed them into his pockets and walked past her, heading for the adjacent room. "Well, better not keep the poor guy waiting. I'll stick around for a few more minutes and then slip out after you two leave. You kids have fun."
"Nick," she said uselessly, as he'd already disappeared.
Judy stirred the steamed carrots on her plate with her fork, not bothering to actually eat them. Her date, Peter, sat across from her, dressed in a suit a shade lighter than his fur. She only half-listened as he droned on and on about his job.
"Everyone assumes that owning a party supply store is all fun and games, when in fact, being a successful business owner requires a lot of hard work," he said, high-strung, as he bit into a piece of papaya and chewed noisily. "I can't even begin to tell you how stressful it is when someone comes into my store demanding a specific color of streamers, even after I've explained to them that I don't carry their precious coral pink or mint green, and their bratty kid will just have to settle for a standard red or blue. I mean, really, some animals can be so utterly obtuse."
Judy's nose wrinkled. Well, this bunny certainly wasn't as pleasant as he seemed when she'd met him. Then again, they'd only spoken for a few minutes. Here he was now, yammering on for a solid twenty minutes. He had yet to even ask her what she did for a living.
"So, Peter," she said, getting a word in edgewise when he'd paused to take a drink of water. "What do you like to do for fun?"
"I mostly enjoy staying in, reading a book, sometimes watching a good documentary," Peter said, shoveling another spoonful of food into his mouth. "I'm a bit of a loner."
"And… Where did you grow up?" Judy asked.
"Here in Zootopia," Peter said through his mouthful before swallowing. "Although, I do have a few hundred cousins who live in Bunnyburrow. Bunch of simple-minded rabbits, they are. I visited there once. It was awful. Just an awful place."
Judy scrunched her eyebrows together. "I see. And, pardon me if this may seem too personal a question, but… How many kids do you want?"
"Oh, I hate kids," Peter said. "I'd rather my tail be chopped off than have to deal with a bunch of screaming, whiny little kids."
He'd raised the water glass to his mouth again, while Judy stared blankly, drumming her paws against the table.
"What's your opinion on foxes?" she asked.
"Vicious predators," Peter said without missing a beat, setting the glass down. "I detest them more than I detest children, and I detest children a lot."
He returned to finishing his meal, but at that point, Judy had heard all she'd needed to hear. Crumpling up her napkin, she tossed it over her plate, grabbed her bag and fished out a few bills, slapping them onto the table as she stood.
"This has been an eye-opening experience for me," she said. "And, for that, I thank you. Best of luck with everything, Peter."
"Wait, you're leaving?" he asked. "What'd I do wrong?"
Judy was already heading for the exit, though she paused and turned back to say, "I'll give you a quick tip. Next time, try asking your date something, anything, instead of just talking about yourself the whole time."
With that, she spun forward and pushed open the door, heading into the night, knowing exactly where she wanted to be.
The look on Nick's face when he'd opened the door to see Judy standing on his doorstep was one she'd never forget. To say he was surprised was an understatement.
"Carrots," he said as if he was imagining her. "What are you—"
She cut him off by jumping up, looping her arms around the back of his neck and pulling him down into a hearty kiss. He reacted instantly, drawing his paws around her waist like they belonged there. Her heart thumped faster than her feet could ever move, and when they broke away, all she could do was beam an open-mouthed grin as she tried to calm her quickened breathing.
"Wow," he said, and she only laughed. "I take it your date didn't go so well."
"There was no spark," Judy said, still holding onto him like she never wanted to let go.
Nick held on, too. "Oh, you've got to have a spark."
"He also hates kids," Judy said.
"Interesting," Nick said, his usual stealthy grin returning. "You decided to ask him about that on the first date? That's bold, Hopps."
"Takes one to know one, Wilde."
He chuckled warmly, and there was never a sound she loved hearing more. When he quieted, their gazes stayed locked. Slowly, they both leaned in, and their eyes drifted shut as their lips met again. She could feel his heart pounding just as hard, and she wondered if he'd been wanting to kiss her for a while.
"Perhaps," he said, his deep voice vibrating against her as he broke the kiss, "you could tell me more about this horrible date over dinner sometime? That is, if you feel you'll have time for it."
Judy lifted a brow, eyes shining. "For you, I can make the time."
As they went in for a third kiss, she decided maybe there was something to those romantic fairy tales after all.