It was a hot summer day and Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were cruising down the highway with the windows down. It was a rare occasion for both of them to have the same day off from the ZPD, so they wanted to make the most of it. The duo decided to make it a beach day and were driving out to Sahara Square.

It didn't take long before the two found themselves in the middle of one of their usual heated-yet-light-hearted arguments. This time around, the discussion had started innocently enough. Nick had just finished reading the Harry Pawter series, something he only did because Judy insisted. Near the beginning of their little road trip, the bunny had inquired about his opinion on the books. Nick's review was generally positive but he held one major complaint; he thought there was way too much plot convenience.

And Judy was having none of it.

"What do you mean there's 'simply an absurd amount'?"

"I'm just saying," Nick said from his place in the drivers seat. "A certain amount of plot convenience is okay, but the whole series is just Harry Pawter somehow being at the right place at the right time."

"It's barely any of the series!" Judy, who was riding shotgun, protested. "Name one specific time."

"The way he discovers that half rat guy in the third book."

"Harry had the Marawrders* Map for that one. That's not plot convenience, that's him being a detective."

"Fine, but the map itself is awfully convenient. How about the sixth book when he randomly runs into Slughorn?"

"Harry had the luck potion and it made him lucky!"

Nick groaned. He could've have argued that the luck potion was also plot convenience but decided to drop it. "Okay, backtracking a bit. In the first book when he just happens upon the magic mirror thingy."

"That happened in the castle," Judy refuted plainly.

"So?"

"So?!" She nearly hopped out of her seat, not seeing how he wasn't satisfied with her response. "It's a wizarding school! The building is literally made of magic! Is it really so crazy to think that the castle is guiding him towards where he needs to be?"

"Alright, now that's a stretch. You're really gonna pull the 'it's-magic-so-ha' card?"

"I think it's a perfectly valid argument since we're discussing a series about magic."

Nick sighed and shook his head, no longer able to hide his smile. To any outsider it would seem like they were always fighting, but Nick and Judy knew it was all in good fun. Constant bickering and teasing was just the nature of their relationship.

"Alright, Fluff. You win this one." He paused. "But on a technicality," he added with a joking sneer.

Judy rolled her eyes but smiled as well. "Thank you, oh gracious one, for allowing me to accept my victory."

"Oh you're very welcome. Anytime," he responded seriously, causing Judy to laugh. Nick smiled again and chuckled along with her. Soon, the laughter faded and Judy's gaze settled on the sandy terrain whizzing past them.

"I've never really visited Sahara Square," she mused, stretching and yawning a bit. "It's surprisingly beautiful."

"Surprisingly?"

"You wouldn't think that a desert could be beautiful, but..." she trailed off so Nick decided to looked around and see what she meant.

He hadn't noticed until now, but she had a point. Reds, yellows and browns painted the dry landscape. Sand dunes rose and fell, resembling a petrified golden ocean. Rugged hills met impressive palm trees while shorter, darker shrubs peppered the desert for as far as the eye could see. And above it all was the sky- stunningly clear and solid blue.**

That's just like Judy, the fox thought as he admired his surroundings. Opening my eyes to something I would have never taken the time to look at.

Nick continued to take in the scenery for several minutes until he noticed the silence that had enveloped the car. He chose to comically return to their previous topic.

"You know what? No. I've still got a bone to pick with you, Carrots. How's about this? If Harry Pawter- are you even listening?"

Nick took his eyes off the road just long enough to take in Judy's form on the seat next to him. She was curled up in a ball, her large feet tucked under her and her long ears flat along her back. Her breathing was slow and even.

"Asleep," Nick muttered to himself. "Well that's just great." He looked back at the road. He didn't mind really; this turn of events just meant the trip was going to be a hell of a lot more bland. He stole another glance at Judy and smiled. She was kinda cute all curled up like that.

Adorable, Nick mentally corrected himself. If he started thinking she was cute then he'd start saying she was cute, and lord knows he would never hear the end of that one. For the most part, Nick's teasing knew no bounds- cute was one of the few exceptions. He chuckled a bit to himself, remembering the first time he called her cute- back when she was driving that stupid joke-mobile.

Officer Fluff sure has come a long way since then. Sometimes Nick was astounded by how far they had both come in the two short years they had known each other. Nick had completely turned his life around and Judy had really made a name for herself at the ZPD. What's more, the two had become the best of friends- virtually inseparable.

I'm lucky I have her. Nick imagined what life would be like if he had never sold that otter-Otterton, was it?- a Pawsicle. He would still be hustling today, and he would only remember Judy as that dumb bunny cop who was naive enough to pay for his scam. Nick was about to ask Judy if she remembered that day as clearly as he did but then frowned, remembering her current state of slumber.

Nick gave a loud, annoyed sigh. His thoughts had been able to entertain him for a bit but now he was bored again. He reached for the radio then dropped his paw. Music would wake Judy. He sighed again and leaned back in his seat. Driving in silence would have to do. Soon, he caught himself humming absentmindedly.

What song was that? Oh yeah! He laughed at himself. Somehow his mind had wandered and found a wonderfully fitting song. Nick gave a small smile and began singing softly.

You fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time,

But that's okay, I'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine.

I'm driving here I sit, cursing my government,

For not using my taxes to fill holes with more cement.

"Clever choice, Slick."

Surprised, Nick looked over to see Judy stretching and yawning, her feet still tucked under her. She rubbed her eyes and stretched one last time before sitting properly in her seat with a satisfied sigh.

"I don't think I've ever heard you sing before." Judy's violet eyes looked up at him sweetly. "You're pretty good."

Nick shrugged. "I would hardly call that singing."

Judy studied him a moment before suddenly jumping up and searching her bag.

"No, no, Carrots, what are you doing? What's your plan?" He groaned as she pulled out her portable music player, turned on the Bluetooth and began searching through songs. Finally, she selected one by Twenty One Penguins and the car was instantly filled with an upbeat percussive intro.

"You wanted to sing this song didn't you?"

"Nuh-uh. I'm not a singer, sweetheart."

Judy frowned. It seemed like she was going to protest but the lyrics began and suddenly nothing else mattered. She leaned forward to turn up the volume and began singing along enthusiastically. Nick chuckled at the dramatic change and watched in amusement as she put every ounce of her soul into singing and dancing along. She was putting on quite the show, pantomiming and changing her expression to fit the lyrics. By the time she got to the end of the first chorus Judy was essentially yelling the words and Nick couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Nick continued to only be a spectator, but as the second chorus approached he felt the tiniest urge to join the fun.

What the hell, he told himself.

"She's the tear in my heart," he sang plainly, doing his best to appear as if he was only joining to humor Judy. Despite his half-hearted singing the bunny lit up and gave him a solid punch in the arm, excited that he had finally joined. She began singing even louder and with more gusto- something Nick didn't think was possible. He sang through his laughter.

The two continued their musical antics right through to the very end of the song at which point they both erupted into a fit of laughter. The next song started and Judy went right on singing. Nick didn't know the words so he focused on the road, occasionally commenting on Judy's performance. On the surface Nick was his usual sarcastic self; in reality though, he was deep in thought. Certain lyrics kept playing in his head.

Sometimes you need to bleed to know,

That you're alive and have a soul,

But it's takes someone to come around to show you how.

If you put yourself out there you can get hurt- Nick already learned that lesson the hard way when he was young. Since that day, he stopped wearing his heart on his sleeve; he chose to put up a constant façade rather than risk feeling any pain. Then he met Judy and in the rollercoaster of events that followed she, in a way, taught him how to feel again. Hurting every now and then was normal- necessary even. Judy had shown him that.

My heart is my armour.

She's the tear in my heart.

He looked over to the energetic dancing lapin beside him. For so long he didn't let anyone in. How was it that she, of all animals, broke through his shell so easily?

She's a butcher with a smile,

Cut me farther than I've even been.

It didn't matter how she did it, it was just important that she had. And it was even more important that Nick continue to let her do so.

The song changed once more and this time Nick knew the words. So he sang. He sang his heart out alongside his friend. He sang even though he knew he looked foolish. He sang because that's what Judy was doing, and he knew he could always learn a thing or two by following in her tracks.

*Not a typo, just an attempt at being punny.

**While I know this doesn't exactly represent the scenery we see in the movie, I was actually driving on a highway through the desert while writing this and was inspired by that.

And there it is, my first Zootopia fic! They say you know you're in love when all the songs make sense. Well I say you know its your OTP when all the songs become about them! Nick X Judy forever! Seriously though, I wasn't expecting to write this fic- I was actually trying to write a different one while this song was playing in the background. But then inspiration struck and this basically wrote itself.

I'm not only obsessed with Nick X Judy though. I have been obsessed with this movie as a whole since I saw it two months ago. Something about the movie made me think there was more to it than met the eye. I took to the Internet and lo and behold I found a ton of deleted scenes/concepts/areas/characters. It's amazing how much there is to explore in the world of Zootopia. And that gave me lots of ideas!

While this is my first Zootopia fic, it definitely won't be the last. I'm already a fourth of the way through writing a longer fic and have 3 shorter fics in mind. And of course, since every song reminds me of Nick and Judy, there'll probably be more song fics on the way. So stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

Dani~