For once in his career, Nick was not looking forward to the weekend. It was already Thursday morning and time seemed to be moving faster than ever before. He'd heard the saying about time going by faster when you were having fun but never believed it. To his surprise, fun was in no short supply in the police department and he seemed to be having an ample amount of it. While not everything in his job was sunshine and rainbows, he at least had a partner that would be there suffering through bad times with him. He wanted to thank her for that and had done so… in one of the letters he'd thrown away. A loud wheezy honk shook him from his thoughts, there was his ride. Hopping in the old pickup truck with as much enthusiasm as he could tiredly muster, he greeted his partner.

"Good morning, Carrots. Thanks for the ride."

"I'm just waiting for you to get your own car," she joked.

"What? Tired of talking to me in the morning? Oh, how you wound me madam!" He proclaimed overdramatically while reclining in his seat pretending to be stricken.

Judy laughed but didn't say anything otherwise. She'd never admit it but she got lonely rather easily, a side effect of having such a massive family she supposed. Part of her hoped Nick would never get his own car, just so she could keep talking to him in the mornings. That was a bit silly though, wasn't it? She saw him at work all the time and seeing him half an hour later wouldn't kill her. Besides, they spent plenty of time together at work and even took their lunch breaks together. When they went out to lunch, she usually wanted to go somewhere nice but Nick had low standards, insisting that fast food was nice. He did have a point though, finding a restaurant, getting seated, and eating usually did take more time than their half hour lunch break allowed. Still, she remembered overhearing a conversation about a Chinese restaurant that might work…

"Hey, Nick wanna grab some Chinese food for lunch later today?"

"I don't usually like Chinese food. Do you mind if we go somewhere else?"

"C'mon, just give it a chance. You might like it."

"Why should I spend money on food I might like instead of going to a place to buy food I know I'll like?"

"Because it would make me happy," She declared cheerily with a big grin.

"And I care about that… because?" He joked.

Judy pulled out a carrot shaped pen with a microphone and speaker on it. It could play back a message it recorded but only one at a time. It was a cheap thing, really, something you could find on sale in a dollar store. It could be used to record reminders of important events or just play with when someone was bored in an office.

"Do I care about my about you? Yes, yes I do," a slightly low quality recording played out of the pen.

Judy snickered as her partner's expression fell. It could also be used to blackmail and embarrass your friends.

"Clever bunny," he uttered glaring at her and her infamous pen; he hadn't known she'd been recording him yesterday.

Upon their arrival to the police station Judy hopped, literally as was natural to her, out of the truck while her partner lethargically slid out. Judy stuck out her fist to Nick.

"Ready to make the world a better place?"

"You know it," He said with a small but genuine smile, rather than his signature smirk as he lightly bumped his fist to hers.

They both made a big deal about the impact, pulling their fists apart quickly and making loud explosion sounds with their mouths. They continued to do this while laughing as the explosions got sillier and sillier to the point where Nick was just saying "twinkle" really loudly instead of "boom." Suddenly, Judy noticed something that really bugged her.

"Nick get down here a second," Judy ordered.

"What, like on my knees? You gonna knight me or something?"

"Just do it."

The fox rolled his eyes but complied, squatting down to meet her at eye level. She began to unclip his slanted badge and clip it back to the correct position. She gave him a look over and decided that his collar needed adjusting… and now that she looked at him she saw a tuft of uncombed fur sticking out from the rest on his head. She needed to fix that too.

The impromptu makeover was soon interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind them. They turned and saw Chief Bogo with an amused smirk... He'd seen everything fist bumps and all.

"When you two are done playing dress-up I've got a job for you," He gave a light chuckle with a shake of his head and went inside. If being a dork was a crime, those two would've been locked up for life. Still, he had to admit there was an odd charm to their relationship. It was certainly something he'd never seen something like before.

Nick got up slightly embarrassed, much like his partner.

"Thanks mom," He quipped.

"It's not my fault you can't seem to dress yourself properly," She countered hotly.

"Well, why didn't you just tell me? Why did you have to do it for me?"

"I was just being a good friend!"

"Well… thanks," He conceded.

Judy had a retort on the tip of her tongue; a finger raised in the air and her other hand on her hip. However, she paused after processing what he had said. She was expecting sass, not sincerity. What would have been a sharp comeback turned into a soft smile as they walked in the station together. After a brief greeting from Clawhauser, the bubbly cheetah at the front desk and first face to be seen upon walking into the building, they entered the bullpen.

"Alright boys," bellowed Chief Bogo, "let's get this done, shall we? First off we have Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde," He acquired a small but concealed smirk. "Since you two enjoy dress-up so much, it only seems fitting you get this," He said passing them today's manila folder.

Several pairs of eyes went to the pair in confusion, looking for an explanation for their chief's words. Even with Nick's sunset colored fur, it was abundantly clear he was blushing and his partner even more so. Judy wanted to burrow herself into a little hole until everyone forgot about her and Nick was thinking about jumping out the window, on the first floor of course, he wasn't insane. Trying to hide their embarrassment, the pair quickly ripped open the folder and tried to bury their muzzles in it. Yes, they had an extremely interesting job today. They needed to work undercover, posing as drug buyers for a narcotic that has been plaguing the streets of Zootopia as of late… catnip. The Chief's comments made sense now. Dealers wouldn't sell to someone in uniform, they needed a disguise. The dealer was supposed to arrive at seven thirty in the evening in a particularly shady area of the Rainforest District.

"So, what should we do Judes?"

"I don't know. This whole thing seems a little sloppy to me. I wish they'd given us some more time to prepare."

"I do too but it's not really their fault. According to this file, the only thing we have to go off of is a recent anonymous tip saying this guy would be there today."

"Doesn't that seem a little shady to you? What if it was a setup and they're waiting to ambush some unsuspecting cops?"

"Well what can we do? If the tip's fake and it turns out to be a trap than isn't it our job to take people like that off the streets anyways? Besides, if it isn't a trap and we don't investigate than a catnip dealer gets away from us."

"You're right, Nick but it's just so infuriating! I'd at least feel safer having some backup in case it was a setup."

"If I asked for backup and we never ended up needing it Chief Bozo-"

"Bogo," Judy interrupted.

"Whatever, he wouldn't be happy with us."

"Not to mention that neither of us are felines, so if either of us went to buy catnip…"

"It'd look suspicious," Judy finished.

"Why didn't they send Clawhauser for this?"

The bunny gave her partner a look. Sure, Clawhauser was a nice guy but he wasn't exactly… field agent material. Then again, neither was she. She supposed it wasn't fair to judge him without giving him a chance to prove himself. She was a firm believer that in Zootopia, anyone could be anything and if Clawhauser was given the chance, he might be a better cop than she was.

"Clawhauser wasn't given the job; we were, so let's figure it out."

The clock on the wall was constant. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, it almost seemed to be challenging them. It had been several hours and neither of them had a clue how they were going to handle the case. If they couldn't figure out how to get it done soon, they'd either miss the drug dealer or have to go to Chief Bogo and explain to him why they couldn't do it; neither of those were an option. Nick was surprised his mind hadn't exploded from overload and at this point he was hoping that his partner would come up with a brilliant way to save the day. Her face was scrunched up and her foot was tapping wildly on the floor, she was thinking really hard… and she looked adorable. Nick would never tell her that though; he knew she didn't like being called cute.

"Are you sure you don't have any ideas? You used to be… street savvy," Judy tested.

"I sold frozen treats to hamsters, Judes. I never did anything that could have gotten anyone hurt or sold anything addictive. I didn't exactly rub elbows with real criminals; they'd be too busy laughing at me."

The rabbit's face and ears reddened a little. Nick was never exactly a hardcore criminal and she felt bad for even suggesting that he would know anyone like them. She stopped to consider what he had said however. Nick had been down on his luck and struggling to survive in a society that judged him before they even got to know him. He had every right to be angry about it and she was sure he was but he didn't hurt anyone. Sure his whole Pawpsicle sham was a little low but nobody got hurt. Maybe the hamsters missed the little cooler outside their workplace? What if they looked forward to seeing Nick and his stand after work every day? He might have been making some hard working hamsters very happy. Sure he was indirectly taking money from the elephant's business in an extremely convoluted way but in her opinion they deserved it. However, Judy was well aware that her opinion was not law. The more she thought about it the more she realized that despite being hurt by others, Nick never returned the favor and might have even been spreading a little bit of joy to those he sold his treats to.

"I'm sorry, Nick."

"What are you apologizing for?"

"Everything I did to you back when we first met. Your Pawpsicles weren't hurting anybody and the might have made some hamsters very happy. It wasn't your fault that others treated you the way they did, you were just trying to get by. I shouldn't have blackmailed you into working with me and I should've treated you nicer. As a matter of fact I should've just left you alone like you wanted. I was just a rookie cop trying too hard to prove herself. I'm sorry, do you think you can forgive me," She looked up at him with her adorable purple, bunny eyes.

Nick was caught off guard by this to say the least. Where had all this come from? Had he done something to make her feel like she had to apologize? Was it the fact they hadn't left the same stuffy room for several hours or was she just being a crazy overemotional bunny? Was it both? He guessed that it was probably both.

"C-Carrots, there's really nothing to apologize for I'm… glad things turned out the way they did. If you hadn't dragged my sorry tail on that lunatic adventure than I'd probably still be an unhappy treat vender who felt like he needed to be what society told him he was. I'm not usually good with mushy stuff, that's more of a bunny thing I'm guessing but I'm actually glad I met you. You taught me that I didn't have to be what others told me to be, you believed in me when nobody else did, and you gave me a shoulder, or head actually, to lean on and you even became my first friend in a really long time. I didn't exactly treat you very well when I first met you either; I said some pretty nasty things I wish I could take back. I'll forgive you but only if you can forgive me first."

Nick soon found himself in a surprising but not completely unwelcomed hug. He had to wonder what was up with all the hugs recently though. Were all bunnies so touchy-feely or was it just something unique to his partner? He supposed he find out in a few days when he went to meet her family.

"Awwww, that's so sweet!" Clawhauser cooed from the doorway with his cellphone out.

"Were you recording us?" The fox asked slightly offended.

The cheetah nodded, "I'm sorry but you're friendship is way too adorable not to share with the internet. First it was the dress-up thing Chief Bogo was going on about and now it's this! Wait; was it makeup or dress-up he was going on about?"

A sudden spark of realization went off in Judy's eyes but her partner missed it being too occupied with Clawhauser.

"Can I at least post the hug?"

Nick weighed his options, "Yes, you may post the hug but nothing from our conversation. Okay?"

The Cheetah nodded giddily and took off to his front desk.

"Nick, that's it! Makeup!"

The fox took a careful step back from his partner. The look in her eyes told him he probably didn't want to participate in whatever fantasies about him were flying about in her head.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?"

"Nick, out of the two of us you look most like a cat and while changing your outfit alone wouldn't work we could make you look like a cat with…"

"Makeup," he finished.

"Exactly!" The bunny nodded her head rapidly, happy that her partner understood.

"No."

"It's the only way; I could get my makeup kit and make you look just like a cat!"

"I said no, Carrots. I'm not your doll."

"Do you have any better ideas or would you like to be the one to tell the chief we couldn't do the job?"

"Fine," he relented, "You better hop to it than."

"I'm getting my purse right meow."

The ride to the Rainforest District was an awkward one to say the least. Nick's constant complaining about having to wear makeup was only rebutted by his partner constantly nagging him not to smear it. She didn't care if he "felt fake" what a ridiculous thing to say! It had taken a lot more makeup than Judy thought it would to make his cover work and neither of them were happy about it, Judy didn't want to waste it all on him and he didn't want to wear it.

"All right, here we are. Be careful Nick, don't mess this up."

"I couldn't possibly, I'm street savvy remember?" With that he closed the car door and got and walked off to the drop off point.

A stalky figure approached, it was hard to discern much detail about the figure other than that. The fog in the Rainforest District made it perfect for this sort of thing. As it came closer, body structure and mane made it clear that this individual was a male lion. Despite being shorter than average height, he still looked like he was a heavy hitter. Nick began to play up his act, he began to twitch slightly and bug out his eyes.

"So, ya' want some of the good stuff, eh?" Asked the lion as he stood next to Nick in the alleyway.

"Y-yes! P-please I'll do anything, I can't relax! I c-can't even t-think straight without it!"

The lion pulled out a small bag of catnip and shoved it in Nick's muzzle, "This stuff right?"

"Yes t-that's it!" Nick pretended to swoon over it, rolling his eyes back for a moment and closing his eyelids.

"Good stuff ain't it?" He dangled the bag closer to Nicks muzzle letting it glide across his nose.

Nick reached for the bag in a mock attempt to grab it. He moved slightly slower and missed on purpose to make it seem like smelling it had affected him. He was roughly shoved to the ground by the dealer.

"You want this catnip? You gotta pay, bud," He said gruffly.

"Y-yes of course, s-sir," He quivered.

"You seem to need it real bad too. How much is it worth to you?"

"I d-don't make a lot of money b-but I-I'll do anything, s-sir!" Nick was weakly groveling on his knees.

"Anything, huh?"

Just then, the artificial rain system started. Water and mist sprayed everywhere clinging to trees, leaves, and pretty much everything it could, including Nick's makeup. It began washing off quickly dollops of mascara and foundation glopped against the now wet ground.

"You, you ain't no cat, kid!" The lion roared as he realized he had been fooled.

Nick ducked just in time to avoid being severely injured but one of the felon's claws nicked his ear. Judy jumped out of hiding and started moving as fast as her legs could carry her with her stun gun out. Of course the makeup would wash off in the Rainforest District! How could she have not seen it coming?! She took aim as the lion's strikes were getting closer and closer to hitting her partner. She aligned her crosshairs and…

The lion landed a heavy hit.

Nick fell to the ground cold.

Judy shot her stun gun.

The lion fell beside Nick.

After rushing to cuff the criminal before he could recover, she rushed to her fallen partner. As far as she could tell, he wasn't bleeding but she didn't trust herself with that observation. It was raining, Nick's fur was red and it was mixed with tons of makeup; she could have easily missed it. Sprinting back to the squad car Judy radioed in.

"This is Officer Judy Hopps, w-we've got an Officer down, I repeat Officer down! We're at Balmon Road in the southern Rainforest District and are in need of medical assistance!"

Sirens always made Judy feel safe. Ever since she was a child she wanted to be able to use one on her own squad car. The sirens now however were different. They made her feel sick to her stomach, powerless even. The ambulance was blaring and Nick was in a stretcher inside, she hopped impatiently about waiting for the news. After what seemed like an eternity one of the medical staff, an otter, walked up to her.

"Ma'am, your friend is a very lucky fox. It seems that the worst he suffered was a blunt blow to the head. The assailant merely hit him with the back of his paw instead of his claws, if he had been struck from the front we wouldn't be having such a happy ending to all this. You look after that one, okay?" He said with a small smile at the end.

"I will. I'm never letting that knucklehead out of my sight again!" She promised.

"Very good," He chuckled, adjusting his glasses and walking off to converse with his coworker.

As she walked up to the ambulance the doors opened to reveal her partner swaddled in a blanket with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Hey Carrots…"

"Don't you 'hey Carrots' me! Do you have any idea how worried you had me?! How long I've been waiting?! Nicolas Wilde if you weren't already hurt I'd throttle you right now! I… I…" She was engulfed in a blanketed hug.

"I missed you too, Carrots."

Judy took a deep breath and calmed herself. She wanted to be mad at Nick and scowl but with her cheeks puffed out and arms crossed while wrapped in a blanket she looked more like a pouting child.

"So what happened to the guy who clocked me over the head?"

"He's being charged with possession of catnip and assaulting an officer."

"What about selling catnip?"

"Since he didn't actually sell you the catnip we don't have evidence of that…" She felt robbed, defeated even.

"Well, that's too bad…" He said slyly pulling out a familiar pen and pressing the play button.

"You want this catnip? You gotta pay, bud," echoed the pen.

"No way…"

"Yes way! We got 'em Judes!"

While sitting in the back of that ambulance that evening, Judy and Nick reflected. While they may have come from different backgrounds, were different species, or even on different levels of the food chain, it didn't matter. Together they could live their lives as protectors of Zootopia and the world as a whole. They knew that life wasn't some fairy tale where all of your dreams magically came true but that didn't mean they were impossible to achieve and it certainly wouldn't stop them from trying. They knew real life could be scary, confusing, and even dangerous at times but if they worked together, they knew they could make the world a better place.

"So…" Nick started.

"So…" Judy continued awkwardly.

"I guess we really didn't have time for lunch today," Nick's stomach growled.

"Yeah, busy, busy, busy all day," Judy laughed sheepishly.

A silent blanket engulfed the two of them.

"y'know what? I'm hungry. What do you say we grab some dinner after this? I was thinking… some Chinese food sounds pretty good," Nick spoke up.

"Yeah, that sounds like a da- good idea."


Author's Note: I am astounded by the amount of support this story is getting! I'd like to thank you all for motivating me to push out a second chapter so quickly. This wouldn't be possible without you. If you have any questions or comments I'm always happy to receive reviews.