Saturday morning.
"WHAT?! YOU SET ME UP?"
Many customers turned to look at the fox yelling at a bunny.
Wait, weren't those the cops that sent Bellwether to jail? Yeah, you know, they solved that case about the missing mammals and the animals going savage... what were their names?
"Nick, please, calm down. I didn't set you up with anybody... but he wants to see the big city and your apartment at least looks like an actual apartment. Come on, I don't even have a couch—"
"Is this because I told you I'm gay? What were you thinking? 'I'm Judy Hopps, I always know what's best for everybody, the only two foxes I know should get married.'?"
The angry and bewildered fox stood up, not even wanting to hear what she had to say. He left the café without paying his part; he was too focused thinking about this betrayal. Why would she do something like this to him? Did he ever say he wanted to be with anyone? What if she, for example, had asked him in the first place IF HE WANTED TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP—?
"Stop overreacting!" Judy shouted from the door as she dashed towards him a few seconds later, but her voice wasn't enough to stop him. He kept walking and, apparently, ignoring her; and she followed him trying to make him listen to her. "It's not a big deal! You'll just be a week on vacation, maybe showing him around, going shopping, sharing a wonderful lunch at The Carnivore's Den, exchanging opinions on how society sees foxes..." She was joking... for the most part, but Nick didn't know that.
In fact, each word that left her mouth made him even angrier. After all, that guy was HER friend, and last time he checked, his apartment wasn't a hotel. He wouldn't let anyone in his house just because she thought it was a great idea.
Now the fox was regretting telling her about his sexuality.
He came out to her two months before this, when they were drunk after celebrating his first semester on the force. He told her to keep it from everyone else because, even if they were living in the city where anyone can be anything, many wouldn't have positive opinions on a homosexual fox cop. It's a shame really, but not all mammals are as accepting as his best friend.
That's why only a handful of people got to know about it: a coyote who was something like his secret lover during the last year he attended high school, Finnick, his mom, two wolves he scammed once, a few guys from the part of the naturist club we didn't get to see, and Judy. He thought of telling Clawhauser too because he suspected he swung the same way, but assuming that kind of stuff isn't right so he decided against it.
Needless to say, his love life was inexistent.
"Nick, please, it'll be just a week!" Nick's silence was starting to make Judy anxious; she didn't think this would be his reaction. "Look, last time I saw him he was feeling really down, and when you told me you were gay I just thought you two had one more thing in common. I thought that maybe coming to Zootopia would cheer him up, and I'm positive it will if he spends his time here with a cute fox that might share a few interests with him instead of with a dumb bunny who assumes she's right but it's actually wrong and very sorry." Now she was telling the truth. When she visited her parents three weeks ago she found her former childhood enemy worried about his business because someone started the rumor that he used night howlers in his pies and many potential customers hesitated before buying anything from him. Surviving exclusively from deliveries was practically impossible, and if things kept going that way...
He finally stopped. His serious demeanor remained unchanged, and in his gravest voice he asked "do you really think I'm cute?"
Judy didn't know what to answer. Was that all he got from her monologue?
When the fox saw her mouth quickly opening and closing and her nose twitching, he let out a deep sigh and went back to his usual self. "What was his name again?"
After deciding that going back to the café wasn't the best idea, they ended up in Nick's apartment eating raw cookie dough and drinking ice tea after their breakfast interruption.
By the time they got there Judy had already told him the whole story (and was forced to admit that, indeed, he was a very cute fox.)
"Gideon Grey, the pie baker fox, huh?" He snickered as he put down his glass and grabbed his phone before sitting on his couch next to Judy. "Let's see what Zoogle has to say about him."
"He's on Snoutbook, but he doesn't use it much." Judy took a sip from her glass of tea as she typed on her own device. Gideon was texting her saying he'd be there on Monday afternoon. "Okay, he'll be here in two days. We should go to the station and see how many vacation days you have left."
"All of them, you never let me take any off."
"Fine, then we have to go and tell Chief Bogo you'll be taking this week off."
"I texted Ben on the way here, I'm already on vacation."
"Oh, okay then… uh… can you ask him if I can take Monday off? I wanna be there to pick Gideon up."
"Yeah, sure. Hey, Carrots, is this him?" For the first time in the last two minutes they stopped looking at their smartphones. Judy saw Gideon's profile picture on Nick's screen and nodded before resuming her texting. She didn't pay attention to her partner's face, but she should have if she wanted to have some good material to tease him with.
Nick was staring at the pudgy, smiling fox surrounded by bunnies who probably were Judy's siblings and thinking that maybe spending a week with him wouldn't be that bad.
'I don't know him at all but I feel the urge to hug him... wait, did I just think that? Shit, I must be having an aneurysm or something…'
"Hey, Gid wants to know things about his future flatmate. What do you want me to tell him? Any quirk I don't know about? Maybe that you use three different shampoos?" She was joking for the most part; she knew Gideon wasn't choosy; but maybe telling him that Nick could turn one jumbo pop into 200 pawsicles would impress him.
A few seconds later his reply came as a barely understandable mutter. "…tell him I'm single and that he can keep the bed if he wants to because someone like him doesn't deserve to sleep on a couch."
Unfortunately for him, Judy could hear him. "Yeah, okay, you're single and... what?" She lifted her head and stared at the... blushing?! fox staring at his phone. "You're kidding, right?"
Nick forced himself to put the device away to properly answer her. He liked what he saw, but the fact that just a picture was enough to make his sly fox façade falter worried him. "Uh... sure! Yeah, just... tell him that I won't bite him... NO, ah... tell him... to bring his own towel because I only have two... unless he wants to share..." He was mostly talking to himself at this point, avoiding the curious bunny's eyes.
"Oh my god, you have a crush on him or something? I mean, therapy did wonders to him, he's really nice and all, and he has this, uh… country look that may appeal some people... but you, reacting like this after storming out of Little Spoons 40 minutes ago because I told you he'd spend a week here? Pure gold!" Judy was struggling not to laugh like a hyena. Her teasing skills improved greatly since she started hanging out with Nick, who wasn't enjoying this at all.
After snapping out of the stupor the sight of the baker fox supposed, he retorted with a sigh. "I'd say hypocrisy, Carrots." He groaned and rested his muzzle on her head, admitting his defeat. "Why didn't you tell me he was that cute?" He mumbled tiredly, seeing her typing again out of the corner of his left eye and slowly swaying his tail.
It was her turn to snicker now. "Oh, no! Don't set me up with anyone ever... unless they're cute." She mocked him. "I didn't because I never thought you'd be interested. As I said, I'm doing this for him; I'm NOT setting anyone up."
He'd had to believe her if she kept insisting. But now that he had seen his soon-to-be-flatmate, maybe it wasn't that bad of an idea? "Hey... has he seen any pic of me?"
"Yeah, probably. You've been on the news a couple of times."
"Right, right... and, what if you sent him one? Just to make sure he... err... knows that I… uh…" He didn't know what to say, but he was sure he wanted his validation.
But after spending so much time with him, Judy was able to see right through him. "Nick, you want me to send him a picture of you to see if he likes you?"
"...please?"
"Gosh, where did slick Nick go?" Judy was having the time of her life. Who would have thought that Wilde was that easy to tame?
After making him plead (just a little) and discussing why he had so many pictures of himself wearing ragged shirts, she obliged and sent Gideon what she thought it was an inappropriate picture for someone's introduction
"Come on, Carrots. It's just a little fur; he was showing some too on Snoutbook."
"What? No. He was wearing an apron with a shirt underneath!"
"Yes, but his chest fur was peeking out! He had two buttons undone!"
"...are you some kind of stalker?"
"...no... I'm very observant."
"Right..." Wow. Awkward. "Hey, he replied! 'You were right, he's kinda cute, but why is his shirt open?'"
'Yes! He thinks I'm cute too! That's like 80% of the work, right?.' His following words came out fast. "Tell him you caught me by surprise."
"I caught you while you were dressing? And posing? Yeah, sounds totally believable. As believable as your excuse to send the pic." Nick pretty much forced her to tell Gideon she sent that picture because maybe she couldn't go pick him up on Monday and her partner would have to go by himself. Then the not so sly fox insisted on asking the baker what he thought of him. Good thing he's innocent and oblivious, huh?
Judy was right, he realized, which made Nick freeze and stare wide-eyed at nothing in particular before wanting to bite his ears off. He had to settle for tapping the couch with his claws to alleviate his worry. "...I don't know, okay?! I can't think right! Improvise something!"
He stood up. Maybe sending that picture was a mistake? What if Gideon realized what the fox cop was doing? In any case, his pacing around the apartment didn't help at all. In fact, it seemed like his nervousness was contagious and Judy stood up as well trying to face him. Sending it was his idea, his choice, so he had to deal with the consequences.
"You were the con artist, you do that!"
Once again, Judy was right; he used to rely on his lies to make his way through life.
He could do this.
For a moment he looked like a very determined version of himself. He walked to the bunny, took her phone, and started typing frantically... only to delete it afterwards. 'Okay Nick, something simple but meaningful... something easy to understand... something casual yet witty… yeah, this will do it.'
A moment later he gave her phone back.
"'idk lol'? Wow, great job. So... charismatic."
"Carrots, I'm panicking. I couldn't think of anything better!"
When Judy Hopps left her apartment that morning, she didn't think she'd see the always cool and collected Nick Wilde hyperventilating and dragging her along to do some "I regret doing that holy shit what's wrong with me" shopping. He spent most of his paycheck on stuff Gideon might need while staying there and alcohol to drown his mistakes in, and he kinda forced Judy to drink with him that night, but they made sure to put away their phones to avoid having more regrets in the morning; just a hangover was enough. Besides, the looming threat of developing feelings for someone he didn't even know drove him to do something Nick wouldn't have ever done: asking Judy about Gideon. If he was going to fall in love like a schoolgirl, at least he needed to know if the pie baker vulpine was a nice guy.
And Judy… well, alcohol made it easier to speak her most honest thoughts on Gideon, but at three in the morning both her mouth and her brain were dry. Nick wasn't disappointed in the slightest; as a matter of fact he liked everything she told him about who Gideon Grey currently was.
Unlike certain Jim Davis's character, Nick was looking forward to Monday.
Ohhh, what will happen next? I have no idea! Literally!
Also I'm introducing a next level feature: a house map! Am I doing this because I don't feel like describing Nick's apartment? Probably!
[HERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A LINK TO THE MAP OF THE APARTMENT, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT FF'S LIKE. I'M REALLY SORRY. IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY INTERESTED, CHECK IT OUT ON AO3. YOU CAN ALSO USE YOUR IMAGINATION; I MEAN, I BET YOUR IDEA FOR HIS RESIDENCE IS REALLY COOL. I LOVE YOU.]
