A/N: I've been writing a lot of drabble exercise (or technically over 100 words but still super short) type things for these two. So, rather than post them one by one I'm gonna try to group about three a chapter so there's at least some length to them. They aren't technically meant to be sequential or anything, there's gonna be a bit of a mix. And dialogue. Lots of dialogue.

Sutures

Judy scrunched her eyes shut against the pain local anesthesia couldn't quite cover. The nurse, a very round, portly bear dressed in green scrubs, leaned over her leg, stitching her back up. Nick occupied himself by trying to look in every possible direction besides the little table where the suturing was being done. Which, given that they were in a tiny examination room with white walls, white cabinets, and a white sink, got very boring very quickly.

"It's like the interior designer's version of white bread," he commented, more to himself than anything.

Judy made a small, exasperated kind of groan. Just enough to indicate she'd heard him. Her fingernails were digging into the stuffing of the, much too big for her size, hospital bed. He patted her paw.

"Maybe it'll scar," he told her optimistically. He dared a glance at her foot. The spotlight from nurse bear's dual-light glasses on the area with the needle and ripped jeans and too much red immediately made him avert his eyes.

"You'll have more street cred than me, Carrots. And I was shot today. Kind of."

Her paw turned over and somehow caught his palm. He let her squeeze the life out of his fingers for a long minute. Her eyes cracked open a little.

"Thanks for that, Wilde," she said through clenched teeth.

"You're welcome, Hopps," he replied.

Courthouse

"Tuck in your shirt," Judy chided him. "You're supposed to look professional."

"Sorry, I've never been a witness before. I didn't realize this was a professional kinda gig." He rolled his eyes.

Judy's hands met her hips, leveling a very dry look up at him. "I'm not sure you're aware, but this is a teensy bit of a big deal, Nick."

"I got the memo, cottontail."

"So, you don't want to give the impression you aren't taking this seriously," she explained, a mite too slowly. He'll take it to his grave, but he finds her bossiness a little endearing.

"I'm not the one on trial."

"You are gonna be cross-examined, though, so…" Judy let the sentence hang, her foot tapping absently against the tiled floor. Her nose was twitching a little.

"You aren't nervous, are you, Hopps?" He asked pointedly.

"Of course I'm nervous," Judy fired back, not even bothering to try hiding it. "I've never done this before." Her arms crossed around her middle, the lavender jacket she wore creasing sharp at her elbows. She was in this crisp pantsuit that made her look like she was running for public office.

"Alright, alright," he raised his hands in mock surrender. "For you, Carrots, the shirt goes in the pants."

She snorted, looking just a tad embarrassed.

"I like you in purple, by the way," he announced casually, tucking the ends of his shirt in. "Very, what was it? Professional?" He smoothed out the creases in his shirt, straightening his collar and adjusting his tie. Truthfully, he was a little nervous, too. The DA was pretty confident the trial was a slam dunk, and they'd already given their testimony quite a few times. But there was always the nagging, ever present fear that even with all the evidence their story would not be believed.

Judy's eyes traced over him, toe to head, very quickly. Her mouth quirked to the side.

"What?" Nick asked, holding out his arms. "It's not that bad, is it?"

She didn't say anything. Instead she leaned forward on her toes and reached up to his collar. Her finger hooked around the knot of his tie, pulling it loose, just a little.

The doors to the courthouse opened at last. Judy took in a deep breath, steeling herself. "Alright, this is it!" She turned on a heel and took towards the stairs where the crowd was beginning to file in.

"Hey Judy," he called after her. She stopped, already halfway up to the mammoth building.

"Yeah?" She turned her head.

"You're not on trial, either. Okay?"

She smiled, nodding in understanding. "Okay."

Academy

A police officer's job was at least sixty percent paperwork. Or computer work, if you wanted to be accurate. Judy didn't exactly cherish the hours spent tapping away at a keyboard, but she held no deep disdain for them either. It was all just part of the job. The whole thing could get rather tedious though.

She had been at it for almost three hours when, without warning, something slid over her eyes and completely blocked her vision.

"I know what you're thinking," a familiar voice sounded, right next to her ear. "Have I gone blind?"

"Nick!" She whirled around in her chair and his paws left her eyes. She threw her arms around his waist hard enough he had to step back to avoid losing his balance. She hadn't seen him in weeks. She'd been swamped at work and he'd been at the academy.

"Woah, Carrots," he laughed, "Police reports can't be that bad."

"You'll find out soon enough," she said, releasing him.

"Well, that doesn't sound the least bit foreboding," he said sarcastically.

"How is the academy? Tell me everything."

He settled against her desk, propped up on his elbows. "Well, I'm pretty sure polar bear lady hates me."

"Gloria? She hates everyone on principle. You just have to earn her respect."

"Gee, why didn't I think of that. Also, general observation, you could've warned me about the beds."

"I told you this wasn't gonna be a cush gig, fox."

"Un-cush, I can handle. I was prepared for un-cush," he insisted. "What I was not prepared for is metaphorically dying in half a dozen topographical arenas on a daily basis. I haven't been this sore in my life." He self consciously rubbed his arm through his winter jacket. "Now I know how you got so ripped."

"Give it time, Wilde." Judy said, patting his shoulder, teasing and, admittedly yes, a little patronizing. Just a tad. She knew it never would've worked this way, but she almost wished that, somehow, they had managed to meet sooner. It would've been easier to handle, she thought, if they had gotten to go through the academy together.

"But if you will allow me to gloat a little," he slipped into his half lidded smirk, going into his jacket pocket and pulling out a sheet of paper that had been folded over twice. Judy took it from him, curiosity piqued, and spread it out over her keyboard.

Her eyes bulged. "Holy god, Nick!"

"I know, right?"

"A perfect score!" She punched him proudly in the arm and the fox's smug grin was warped with pain for an instant.

"Yeah, still hurts," he groaned.