My take on the 'Every mammal is given a watch at birth. Said watch tells them when they'll meet their soul-mate' story that I've seen floating around.
Also, Happy New Year!
"What you think you're doing, Nick?" Despite the fact that the small studio apartment was situated in Sahara square, cold from the late December night permeated the room. The great thermal walls of Zootopia had been turned off earlier in the week for routine maintenance, making the entire city subject to the whims of Mother Nature. Said whims currently dictated that the city should be almost entirely shut down due to the blizzard raging outside. Many mammals of the city were fine with the new situation – those in Tundra Town were used to such conditions year round, whereas the more temperate zones of Zootopia had been naturally cooling on their own, leading to most of the residents' winter coats coming in. The two foxes in the apartment, however, were not so lucky, and were coping with the weather in their own ways. Finnick, the fennec fox, was currently bundled in all the blankets of the apartment as he sat in front of the television, ensuring that his outsides were warm while he played his video games.
The half empty bottle of whiskey next to him ensured that his insides were warm as well.
Finnick's flatmate, the larger red fox named Nick who Finnick was currently yelling at, had his own method of dealing with the cold. "I'm getting ready for my date with Skye."
In Finnick's opinion, Nick stayed warm mainly through his delusions; he wasn't currently in the world where cold reigned supreme. Shaking his head, he turned back to the TV. "Whatever, weirdo." He'd resumed the game for all of five seconds before his head whipped back to his companion. "Wait, Skye? Fiona Skye, of Savage Skies? That's who you think your soulmate is?"
"Has to be. Think about it, it makes perfect sense." The larger vulpine hummed thoughtfully as he looked at his reflection, holding up first one tie then another. "What colour dress do you think she'll be wearing?"
"This aughta be good." The controller rolled off the pile of blankets as the fennec rotated in his cocoon to face his roommate. "How's this make any kinda sense?"
"Well," the larger fox held up first a red tie, and then a light blue one. "First, we're both foxes."
"Bravo, ya idjit. You figured it out."
Nick stalwartly ignored his small friend's kind words. "How many interspecies couples do you see walking around out there?" He paused, speaking more to himself. "Red or black are always a good bet, but blue could bring out the colour of her eyes…" He turned to dig around in his closet before continuing his original line of thought. "Not many, is the correct answer. Thus, more likely than not, my soulmate will be a fox as well."
"And the fact that she no longer has her watch?" The fennec pointedly looked at the back of the door his roommate was currently digging behind, on which hung said room-mate's poster for Savage Skies. As was expected, the figures in the poster hadn't changed at all since it was first mounted, and the vixen's wrist was bare of any adornment, soul-mate watch or otherwise.
"Movie magic, my friend." Finnick was sure of it now; Nick was delusional. The larger fox had since stepped out of the closet, with ties of all three aforementioned colours draped around his neck. "You don't believe mammals can fly, or shoot lasers from their eyes, do you? If movies can do that, then they can certainly remove something as small as a watch." Incapable of deciding which tie to wear, the red fox opted to worry about it later, instead swinging his suit jacket across his shoulders. "Wish me luck!"
"You don't need luck!" Finnick hollered, "You need a shrink!" His words of wisdom fell on no ears, sadly, as the door to their flat had already swung shut. "Idiot's gonna wind up with his ass in jail," the tiny desert fox grumbled as he turned back to his game. "See if I bail his ass out again."
The penthouse suite of the Royal Palm's Resort was the place to be on New Years Eve. From tycoons and moguls to actors and artists and those who report about all the above, everyone who was anyone was there.
And Nicholas Wilde was smoozing with the best of them.
Just how he got an invitation to said party, he would never reveal, but darn it if he wasn't going to live it up for all it was worth. While it was true, he wasn't the normal calibre for such soiree's, he knew how to act it. Yes, there were mammals here who acted for a living, but with his experiences hustling, Nick acted for life. And thinking about it, with his hustles, he likely made just as much money as anyone else here, if not more.
Snagging a pair of champagne glasses from a passing waiter, the fox began his prowl, hunting for his prey. Ever since he'd worked out the exact time that his soul-mate watch said he would find 'the one', he'd been ecstatic. New Years in Zootopia was always a blast, but New Years in Zootopia when you had the right contacts was an event to remember, and with his time-piece telling him that midnight would be the magic moment, he knew it would be a meeting for the ages.
But with three minutes left on the clock, Nick was beginning to get nervous. Where is she? Fiona Skye had to be here; it was the event of the year. That, and she was hosting the darned thing.
He was just about to down both party beverages due to nerves alone when, like the parting of the curtains at show-time, the eddies of the crowd flowed and revealed… her.
There she was, Fiona Skye. An arctic vixen known for her works on the silver screen and imaginations of young males everywhere, she was stunning in her black evening gown. Even with the pane of glass separating him from her, Nick could swear that he could smell her scent, that intoxicating aroma that was gifted to the queen of mammal-kind for him alone. A smile pulled at the corner of the mouth as he saw his quarry, leaning against the outside balcony railing, idly glance at her wrist, where – yes! Despite his room-mate's arguments, a watch yet adorned her exquisite, perfect appendage!
Nick glanced at his own watch – less than a minute to go. Now was the moment, he knew, as his feet made their way across the lush carpet of their own accord, now was the meeting that would be talked about for ages to come.
So lost was he in his upcoming date with destiny, it wasn't until his name had been called for the third time that Nick finally reacted to the mammal behind him. "Yes, what is it?"
It was then that the fox in question realized a number of things. One: No-one at this party should know his actual name. Two: By answering, he'd just blown his cover. Three: The champagne glasses were now lying in pieces on the floor, ensuring that Four: Every mammal in the room was now looking at him. It didn't help that Five: His arms were pinned behind his back, as the harsh, cool metallic feel of paw-cuffs slipped around his wrists.
"Nicholas Wilde, you are under arrest for charges of breaking and entering, theft, impersonating an officer, impeding an on-going investigation, defacing public property, public indecency, public urination, felony tax evasion, and–" Nick was spun around by his captor at this point, and as his gaze met the stunning violet eyes of the – dare he say it – cute bunny (presumably) police officer before him, he felt something click. Turning from her gaze, he looked at the floor behind him, where… Yes, yes that was in fact his watch on the ground. Looking back forward, he saw a similar watch at the feet of the rabbit before him. A sense of dread overcame him as his gaze was drawn first to the large grandfather clock in the corner – Midnight – and then back to the officer, who was looking at him with a similar look on her face as was on his own.
One thought was shared by the both of them.
"No!"
Fiona looked back over her shoulder as the sounds of a large commotion broke out from inside, and smiled. There, closing the glass door to the room behind him, was her buck.
"Sorry I'm late, love," Jack smiled as he tugged at his shirt sleeves. The black-striped white rabbit approached his co-star, lover, wife, and soul-mate, giving her a peck on the cheek.
The vixen affected a sigh as she glanced at the watch on her wrist; as opposed to the ones every mammal received at birth, this one actually kept proper time. "It's past midnight, Jack." With an elaborate twirl, she turned away from her rabbit, leaning against the balcony railing. "I'd waited all year for this moment, and now it's ruined!" Fiona couldn't suppress the bubble of warmth that rose in her chest as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, or the satisfied purr as a pair of lips kissed their way up her exposed back.
"Let's not keep you waiting any longer then, shall we?"
The romantic moment was spoiled as another wave of noise rose from inside. Curiously glaring over her shoulder, the arctic vixen raised a brow at the row that appeared to be occurring between a hand-cuffed fox and a grey bunny. "What's going on?"
"Hmm?" Looking up from his ministrations, Jack shrugged, poorly concealing a smirk. "Well, it would appear that an undercover officer uncovered an undercover crook, only for both of them to uncover that they're destined to be together."
"Oh?" Fiona recognized the tone that her lover was using; he knew more than he was letting on. "This all just happened to occur, did it?"
"Of course!" Returning his attentions to his affections towards his mate, Jack murmured against her fur, "Although I may have pointed out an uninvited guest to an unassuming rabbit inside."
Another bubble of laughter burst from the vixen. "And just how did such an uninvited guest come to be here, hmm?"
"Must have got an invitation from one of our mutual friends, who may have informed a certain somebunny about said uninvited guest's date with destiny."
Fiona's head fell back as she laughed unabashedly at the sky. "Oh, Jack! You're such a romantic!"
"Guilty as charged!" Jack smirked as he wrapped an arm around his vixen's waist, the pair falling silent as they watched fireworks burst over the city below.
A/N
Head-cannon for this piece: Jack and Judy were childhood friends, thus how Judy got invited. Fru-fru (Daughter of Mr. Big, Nick's boss) was introduced to Jack via Judy (Fru having been a fan of his). Through her, Jack learned of Nick, his time piece, and was able to give the fox the invitation.
Just wanted to wrap up some loose ends there.
