Chapter Two


As Judy laid on her bed, staring up at her ceiling, she found herself wondering what she'd managed to do for Nick to make him want to thank her. After a few moments more, she gave up and groaned as she rolled over and plunged her head deep into her pillow. Then she smiled stupidly as a sense of euphoria surged through her at the thought of working on another mystery with him. Granted, it had been tough and there had been ups and downs, but she wouldn't have had it any other way. She remembered when she had forced him into working with her, as well as the look on his face that had followed, and she giggled at the thought before her laughs faded. I need to get ready, she thought, looking over at her alarm clock. It was 4:30 PM and Nick said that he would meet her out the front of her apartment at 5:00 PM before promptly asking for her address. After that, he'd just left her at the ZPD without as much as a hint as to where they would be going. 'I'm wearing these, just don't be too formal or too casual,' he'd told her. She rolled her eyes. That's very helpful, Nick.

She lulled in her bed for another moment or two before she jumped up and got to it, already having an idea about what she was going to wear.


As Nick stood outside in wait, he smiled at the thought of a nice meal. The last few meals he ate consisted of instant noodles, toasted sandwiches, and... that was it. Nicholas Wilde did not have a very good diet, nor was he a good cook. He could make a damn good popsicle, though. I should try and learn to cook, he thought, an inquisitive glare on his face as he stared at nothing in particular until the sound of the door behind him brought him out of his thoughts and he turned to see Judy walk towards him with a smile.

"Took your time, Carrots," he murmured with a smirk as he held up his wrist and tapped his watch. "It's 5:01."

"I'm actually surprised that you were here on time," she told him as she looked around. "Where's your car?" she asked, but he only continued smirking as he began to walk. "We're walking?"

"We're not far; it's only a short stroll," he replied. "Besides, walking is better than driving when you're in a big city. Too much traffic to have any fun."

"Do you even have a car?" she asked but he just shrugged.

"It's not like I need one," he replied. "You should ask if you can do police work in casual attire sometimes because that outfit looks ten times more comfortable than your uniform," he told her as he stopped at the crossing, waiting for the light to go green.

"The uniform is a symbol; it doesn't need to be comfortable," she argued, despite enjoying the feeling of being in such nice clothes. She was wearing a shirt similar to Nick's: a plain white long-sleeved buttoned shirt, only with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of beige slim jeans.

"Oh yeah?" Nick asked. "Say that to Batram."

She rolled her eyes before realising where they were near. "Hold on," she began, looking around. "We wouldn't happen to be going to the Firefly, would we?" she asked.

"The one and only," he replied, continuing to look ahead.

"What!?" Judy exclaimed, causing Nick to smile a little. "I don't have the money to eat at a place like that."

"Well, I suppose that's alright then, considering you're not paying," he told her nonchalantly as he began to cross the road, leaving her in a stupor as she watched him move. She realised that she wasn't moving with him and quickly caught up to him, shaking her head to clear it.

"You don't have to do this, Nick, I don't even know what you want to thank me for," she started, still trying to understand what she'd done for him. All she could think of was blackmailing him into helping her solve the case.

"We're just going to a restaurant, that's all there is to it," he replied simply.

"Yeah, like the most expensive restaurant in the whole city!"

"So what? It's a nice place and I wanted to see what the view's like at some point, no need to get so worked up," he told her, chuckling lightly.

"Yes, but..." she continued, only to let out a sigh. I'm not going to change his mind no matter what I do, she thought, still surprised by her inability to understand any of the red fox's motivations. "Whatever, but did you make a reservation? The regular floor has a huge waiting list, apparently."

"That won't be an issue," Nick muttered simply as they both walked down the street and Judy looked up to see the building in question, shooting high into the sky above them. It was a tall spire, with no middle floors; only a lobby, the restaurant itself, and further business levels high in the sky, situated at the very top of the spire in a bright ball of light. After admiring it for a moment, Judy and Nick walked through the revolving door of the Firefly before being greeted by a horse, who seemed to be the host.

"Your reservation, Sir?" the horse asked and Nick smiled as he walked up to the counter.

"Nick Wilde," he announced, and the host took a moment to type into his computer.

"Right this way, Mr. Wilde," he said as he stood, walking them to a nearby elevator off to the side.

"Wait," Judy began, looking between this elevator and the one in the centre of the lobby. "Isn't that one over there the main entrance?"

"That is the elevator for the main restaurant, yes, but that is not where your reservation is," the host replied. "This elevator leads to the second floor of the restaurant." Judy didn't know what to feel or say, so she decided to just keep her mouth shut as the two of them entered the elevator. "Please enjoy your meal." With that, the door closed and the elevator began moving upwards.

Judy slowly turned her head to Nick, who had already taken it upon himself to lean on the railing and stare out of the glass elevator towards the city, which had begun to light up the night sky. She allowed herself to stare at him, trying to understand him, unsure of how to feel. "You didn't happen to win some prize or something to get up here?" she asked, despite knowing the answer.

"No."

"Isn't this expensive?" she continued.

"I suppose so, but I don't really care," he told her as he turned around. "Stop fussing so much and just enjoy the view." She was about to reply, but one look at what was behind him made her shut her mouth, only to have it open again in awe.

"Wow..." she trailed off, stunned by the beauty of the warm orange glow that was the sunset. Lights were abundant and incandescent, eagerly glowing and setting the city ablaze with colour. Even in their insignificant independence, as a group, the lights were very much a warming spectacle.

"Hey, Carrots, we're here," Nick's voice cut into her daydream, causing her to fumble for a moment before stepping out of the elevator. "Nick Wilde," he continued, talking to another host in front of him who'd asked for his reservation.

"Right this way," the host replied, walking over to a door labelled, '42'. "Your menus are on the table and a waiter will come soon to take your orders," he told them as he held open the door, waiting as they entered before he gave a bow and left the room.

As Judy looked around, she felt another sense of awe. In front of them there was a set table and to the side, there was a window that opened up to the main floor of the restaurant below them. Another window opened up to the city and the sky. "You gonna sit and look at the menu or are you just gonna walk around?"

"I've never been here before," Judy replied in defence as she turned to Nick, who was already sitting down, scouring the menu. "I'm just looking around," she said before she walked over to the table and sat. "By the way, Nick, did you really need to get a private room?"

Without looking up, he replied, "I don't like being around so many people. This is much nicer, anyway. And before you ask, the silence is absolutely worth it."

"Huh," Judy murmured aloud, honestly surprised. "I'd pegged you as a more outgoing person, but I suppose not so much."

"Maybe, but if you're thinking along the lines of a people person, definitely not," he told her with a smile as he put down his menu. There was a bit of silence for a moment until Judy spoke up.

"Nick... what did you want to thank me for?"

The red fox looked at her for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I guess you're only going to keep bugging me at this point," he murmured and she nodded. "Well, I guess I'll get right to it then: I'm sure it goes without saying, but I was quite the horrible person to you when we met. To anyone in general, in fact. And you put up with it and somehow managed to get through to me. Whether or not it was the fact that I enjoy solving mysteries and puzzles that helped, you got me out of the horrendous depression I found myself in. Without any real purpose or aspirations, I was swayed by the easy life of a hustler. And... well... I'm sure you're wondering what the reason for my depression was in the first place, aren't you Carrots?"

"I take it that his wasn't what happened to you when you were eight or nine, right?" Judy asked and he let out another sigh.

"I got angry at the things that happened in my life, which was why I was fed up and just wanted the easy life of a hustler," he murmured. "Doing something so... useless... was what caused me become so callous and cynical. Well, on top of the racial prejudice I was faced with at such a young age. And the things in my life that happened, well..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Nick," she told him. "The last thing I want is for you to be pressured into telling me things you're uncomfortable with."

"Uncomfortable or not, these things need to be told to someone, Judy," he told her. "It's... draining; not being able to talk to anyone about it, I guess." She looked up at him and gave him a smile and instantly Nick felt more at ease. "If I delay this any longer, I'll end up not being able to tell you, so I'll just go ahead and say it. When I was too young to remember, my father left us. He took with him almost all of our money and cost us our house, causing my mother to work tirelessly just to put food on the table, let alone pay rent. She was a nurse. She was working both day and night shifts, barely resting, only coming home to feed me and take care of any household tasks until I was old enough to do it myself.

"Eventually, I found out how hard she was working and I wanted to help her somehow. So, I read up on things like hustling, unbeknownst of the path it would set me on until my mother found out and told me I couldn't be doing that sort of stuff. She reminded me of what happened with the ranger scouts and what people would truly think that of me if I continued, so, we had a falling out, because my image wasn't as important to me anymore as was helping her out. I ran away when I was about twelve, continued making money with the intent to return with enough to buy us a house until I found out in the local newspaper..." he trailed off, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. He swallowed hard before taking a deep breath and looking up to Judy once more. "I found out that she'd been involved in an incident with a druggie, who'd stabbed her with a needle. Shortly afterward, she'd contracted HIV, and has been permanently hospitalised ever since. I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but foxes have terrible, if not the worst, immune systems out of almost every mammal in Zootopia. Couple that with a disease like HIV... the slightest common cold would kill her. And the worst part... is that I've still never visited her once..."

He trailed off that last sentence with such a desolate look on his face that it made Judy seriously worried. "I don't know what to say," she said, barely containing her sadness at his plight. But with resolve, she managed to solidify herself to say what needed to be said. "Nick, you need to go see her. You know you're never going to fully recover from that kind of traumatic past unless you do."

"I... I know, Carrots," he murmured, finding himself in a state of disbelief. I actually... told someone...

"If you'd like, I can even go with you?" Judy suggested, watching as he disconsolately sat there in silence. Another few moments passed before the fox spoke up.

"Yeah... that sounds like a good idea," he said as there was a knock on the door. The two of them look over at it before Nick turned back to her and continued, now smiling, "But there's no need to dwell on this any longer. Let's just enjoy the time here and have something nice, yeah?" he asked, and she nodded as she smiled in return.

"You're right," she replied. "We don't need to talk about this now. Come in," she then called, and a waiter entered the room.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked, and Judy nodded.

"I'll have the cauliflower and cheese soup, thanks," she told him, and he nodded as the moose wrote down her order.

"Of course, ma'am. Your order, Sir?" he then asked, turning to Nick.

"I'll have the smoked salmon with mashed potato and vegetables, thanks," he responded and the moose nodded. "Oh, and can I please get the pumpkin roasted, please?"

"Of course," he replied. "Any drinks?" he then asked, and Nick turned to Judy.

"I don't suppose you like wine, do you?" he asked her.

"Depends, but I don't really feel like wine right now," Judy responded. "Maybe a lemon, lime, and bitters if you have it, please?" she asked, and the waiter nodded.

"And you, Sir?"

"I'll still have a glass of your finest white, thanks," Nick told him and the waiter nodded.

"They'll be here shortly. Please, do enjoy your evening." With that, the moose left the room. Judy looked at Nick skeptically.

"White wine? Really?" she asked him.

"What?" he asked in defence. "I barely ever have any alcohol, let alone white wine," he murmured before he let out a sigh and looked down, instantly losing his cheeky demeanour. "Carrots... I'm not happy."

"Well, Nick, anyone in your situation would be feeling like that-"

"Trust me, this feeling has nothing to do with what I've just told you," he interrupted her, causing her to become confused. He realised he should elaborate before she started to tell him otherwise. "Look, I've had this feeling, like this sort of emptiness inside me for almost my entire life.'

"What if..." Judy began but then trailed off, deciding it was better to not say it. Besides, it's highly unlikely, anyway.

"What if what?" he asked, but she shook her head.

"Oh, it's nothing, continue on."

"Alright then... well anyway, for a brief moment during the Night Howler case, it vanished. Poof, completely," he told her, making an explosive movement with his hands. "But, it's back, and I'm hoping that this case might be able to get rid of it for longer, if not forever."

"Well, what do you think it could be?" she asked and Nick seemed to stop for a moment. He swallowed quickly before continuing.

"I'm not sure for now, but I'll just have to wait and see," he told her, silently hoping for the topic to change. He was suddenly feeling very awkward and anxious. After a few moments of more silence, there was a knock on the door once more. "Come in," Nick called, almost instantly, and the door opened to reveal the moose with a trolley. He rolled it over to them before placing both of their meals in front of them, including their drinks.

"Enjoy," the waiter said, promptly leaving the two to their meals.

"Wow, this looks great," Judy said, eyes wide. "Well, we can talk a bit later. Let's eat."

"Good idea," Nick replied as he took a deep breath. That was miraculously well-timed, he thought as he tried to calm his beating heart. Anything could've slipped out of his mouth in his flustered condition, no matter how good he was at suppressing himself.

After all, he'd just realised for the first time that Judy could mean more to him than just a close friend.