Okay, so here's how this is going to work.
I read the Junior Novelisation. So I, your author, know what's going to go down. But I am merciful. I will include spoilers, but only minor ones, and then after the movie is out I will unleash whatever I wish. Which is fantastic. Because I have about three new stories almost ready that are gonna either make someone cry or someone else grab the pitchforks. Unfortunately, I cannot break those out until after (which is truly a shame, as they are some of my most emotional yet and I'm proud of that fact…) and trust me when I say that once March 4th hits I will be merciless when it comes to angst and hurt comfort.
But until then you will all have to enjoy some fluff and small, itsy bitsy spoilers that I've crafted!
AND NOW, BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE REQUESTED IT: A landlord is an ass and Nick is an idiot and Judy doesn't quite know how she fits into any of this.
P.S. See below for next story ideas and a "sneak peek" at what's to come after the movie is released!
o0o
His attentive treatment of her had nothing to do with the presumption that she was weak, and everything to do with the conviction that she was valuable.
~Angela N. Blount
o0o
"You're an idiot."
"Yeah I- ow! Not so hard!"
"This is your own fault. You're an idiot!"
"Can't you just call me a hero or som- ah!"
"No. I'm gonna call you an idiot because you are an idiot."
"Okay, okay, I get it!" He winced again when she gave the cut next to his eye a particularly vicious swipe. The air smelled like rubbing alcohol and sweat and the cologne that he'd no doubt put on that morning, lingering and musky and sickly after being mixed with soot and whatever else had been on the floor. His tie was lying next to him, shredded past recognition, and his shirt had lost two buttons, skewed and messier than normal.
It had been a fright to see him at first. He'd knocked on her door a few times and had been met with a yelp of surprise, the rabbit on the other side of the stoop pulling him in, slamming the door behind them before locking it and threatening the entire city with a taste of her tranq gun.
Relax Judes, he'd told her, leaning against the wall, pathetically nursing a bruise that was no doubt forming under all of his fur. It was just a few punches. I got some in, if that's any consolation.
It hadn't been, and after she'd pushed him into her desk chair and had drowned a rag in antiseptic it had been easier and easier to lose any sympathies he might have had coming his way.
"I can't believe you," she growled under her breath. "My landlord is a Lynx, Wilde. Did we not go over that a hundred times."
"Felt like a million…" he muttered. She slapped the back of his head, brow furrowing. "Right. Sorry. Lynx. Yeah. Kind of got that."
"And you know that Lynx's aren't really… friendly to foxes, right?"
He rubbed the back of his head where she'd added her own bruise, shifting in the old, wooden chair. "Yeah…" he seethed. "I don't think I missed the memo on that one."
The rag she was holding slapped the desk with a wet slorp, her hands free to fall to her hips. "Then why would you go after him! You practically fell into this one! I can't believe-" rubbing at her face, growing into her paws. "Even I have the common sense not to stroll up to owls on bad days and you go right up to a Lynx and throw a punch!"
Nick looked like he wanted to jump out of the chair and launch into the defence but another look from the Rabbit before him had him sitting back, sulking. "He threw the first punch," Wilde pointed out, demonstrating a swing with his good arm. "The guy wouldn't let up! All I was doing was having a… friendly chat-"
"Oh bull." Nick blinked, gaped.
"Um…" a swallow, his adams apple bobbing. "Judes?"
"Don't Judes me! A friendly chat! Really!" Arms waving about, she paced in front of him before stopping to waggle a finger. "You were going down there to talk about me! Weren't you!"
"Well…"
"Nick!"
His arms shot up, palms out in surrender. "Oh come on, Judy! The guy wasn't letting up on your rent and you told me that it wasn't fair-"
"Yes," she reasoned through her teeth, "I did. I confided in you that I thought the guy might have a… bias against me. But that doesn't mean I go down and punch him!"
It was true enough, of course. Her landlord had been less than happy to let one of his own prey take up residence in an apartment. And it showed. Ever since the last box had taken up space in the tiny 12x19 studio apartment things that were unexplained but very much obvious began occurring. Her room alone lost heat, and then it lost power. There would be a backup on the water, showers were freezing and on the worst of days alarms had been pulled when the man had known she'd returned from the red-eye shift. Her phone line had been disconnected, her television had lost signal and her outlets had been removed.
Anything and everything that could had gone wrong, had. And after every incident she'd strolled down the stairs, knocked on the basement door and, through gritted teeth and mutilated pride, asked politely to have the problems looked over. And the natural predator to all things that hopped, would slyly reply that he'd never known and that he'd look into it… when there was time…
Sometimes that was a day later, sometimes it was a week.
But she wasn't a kit, and her parents had warned her on how to behave around those who still had instinct to see her in a baking pan, and so she didn't complain and waited, hoping one day he'd come to his senses before she broke.
Despite her will power, she'd broken first.
"It isn't fair!" she'd pounded her fists against the dash of Nick's car just a few nights before. It was a Thursday, the precinct had kept them both late doing file work, the practice tests for Wilde's exam had been brutal, and the biggest case, which Judy had had her eye on for months was given to the newest detective, a Wolf, without a second thought. And after he'd offered to drive her back to her home, which was no doubt still freezing after her heat had been disconnected again, she'd finally lashed out. "I can't do anything to the guy! I have no proof, so I can't complain! And if I do it'll only get worse!" She'd pounded on the dash again, ignoring the way the Fox beside her flinched, his own fingers rubbing subconsciously on the steering wheel, as if to soothe his poor, abused baby. The car had purred, revving sadly in response.
"You know…" Nick had told her, "you could just get one of the other officers to do it. Hell, I could do it! You know I'm being instated in a few months!" His blinker trilled as he took a left. They'd left uptown ten minutes ago and already the change of scenery was more than obvious. Flickering lights of 2 a.m. bars just starting up were near blinding and the smell of cheap vodka, vomit and fried food permeated the small back roads. A pop song flowed, following the streams of grey cigarette smoke from under doorways. "I'm sure he wouldn't be so high up on his pedestal if ya brought a Rhino or a Fox over."
"It'd just make it worse…" she sighed, leaning against the window. "I don't need my lights shut off again." She could see him look towards her in the reflection of the passenger window, brows stretched down in worry, ears flicking this way and that, thinking, fiddling with ideas.
"... If you ever need a place to crash…" he offered slowly, turning down another street that smelled like early brewed coffee and new whiskey, "... you know that-"
"I know," she cut him off, turning just enough to smile shyly. He'd given her the offer before. His place wasn't huge, but it had a few more rooms than a studio. A tiny kitchen, a bedroom and a living room with a pullout couch that he'd told her she had open access to under muddled, shy breaths hidden beneath signature nonchalance. "And I would. But… you know…"
"No. I get it. It's not really an area for-"
"Prey."
"I was going to say Rabbits," he offered sourly.
"You can use that word, you know. I know what I am. To you, I mean." He didn't respond to that one, choosing to lean his arm out the window, ears lowering down. She let out a sigh. It was true though. Nick lived in an apartment complex that was a bit more friendly to the carnivorous type. Lions, tigers, bears, anything with canines and an appetite for the deli aisle lived in the vicinity. Of course there was the occasional bison and moose- any larger creature that could hold its own (though most battles were of the verbal variety) against another. Her kind, no matter what badge she slapped on her chest, wasn't remotely welcome.
And looking over again she could see the hurt there, just as much as the understanding. Nick got it. He did. He was working with prey. His prey. But there was something else there too. Insult with no real place- an odd sense of protection and the hopelessness that he perhaps couldn't provide it. She'd never needed something like that. Nick though…
She sighed again, puffing out her cheeks and swallowing what pride was left in her that night. "If my lights get switched off… or the heat or something…" Red ears slowly rising, eyes moving from the road for just a moment to stare hopefully. She waved the expression away. "I have you on speed dial," was all she said. No promises. Nothing secure. But it was enough, and his old self came back in full force, sly smile tugging back blackened lips, incisors flashing into view.
"Course, Carrots," he goaded, "yer gonna have to pay for it."
"Aaaand there's the catch."
"I'm not some rich fox with a silver spoon in my mouth, yunno," one hand on the wheel he leaned back, tugging at his tie.
"I'm not giving you twenty bucks to sleep on a couch."
"Psh," flicking his wrist he turned onto her street. "Cooking me dinner'll do. And none of that roasted veggie stuff either." The wheels beneath them rolled to an unsteady stop, crunching over old beer cans and gravel, pulling next to the curb. The light from her building's small front door interrupted the cutting dark of alleyways and dimmed neon open signs that had long since been turned off for the night. From where they were, Nick could still hear the purr of a base hissing into the air out of the surrounding bars, the calls of rowdy animals following along. He didn't want to drop her off here, but he resisted saying otherwise. She'd despise him if he suggested anything of the sort.
"I'm a Rabbit," she pointed out smoothly," vegetables are kinda our thing. And my dad sends me fresh shipments from the farm every week. I have to get rid of them somehow!"
"Nice try, Carrots, but I know for a fact that you can make blueberry pie." After a pause he added, "And I don't want anything store bought. You know that I'll only take farm fresh."
"What is it with you and my parents blueberries."
"Say what you want about the Burrows, Carrots, but they have all the makings of quality pie."
"That isn't dinner."
"In the Wilde household, anything's dinner." He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes, but one nod told him enough. Tugging the car to the side of the road he leaned over, pushing the door open with a practiced hand. His fur brushed her arm, red filling her vision for just a moment along with something like cologne and leather and shampoo. If her father knew she'd been that close to a Fox, close enough to see every red fiber poking out from under his green shirt collar, he'd have had a fit… or an aneurysm… or both.
Cool wind from the open door woke her from the stupor and she thanked Wilde quietly, grabbing her bag before stepping out. Her hand steadied on the door, shutting it softly behind her. The night air was cool and smelled like sewage and weed. On the corner, far off, there were glowing red sparks of something rolled being inhaled.
"I still can't believe I'm on your speed dial," Nick leaned over the dash, teasing. Judy leaned forward, meeting him halfway and propping her forearms on the open window.
"You're gonna be my partner. Of course you're on speed dial."
"Uh uh. Not good enough. Admit it. I'm your friend!"
"Saying that you are or aren't isn't gonna do anything!" She rolled her eyes. "You're just looking for a reason to tease."
"You liiiike me!" He sang, waggling his brows. "I'm your friend!"
"Whatever, Nick."
A toothy grin was her reply as he shifted the car into gear. "I'm serious, Hopps," he told her one last time. And from the way his leer had dropped in favor of steady, worried eyes, she could tell.
"I know, Nick." She waved her phone shyly. "Speed dial. Remember?"
He nodded. "Anytime."
"Anytime," she affirmed with a nod.
His car pulled away, the window rolling up after a call of "only farm fresh!" She had waved him off when he drove away, and didn't go inside until the red car had turned the corner. That night she was met with lights and heat and everything had seemed as if it would have been fine. She had been in a good enough mood to not call out the people down the way for smoking marijuana, ignored her rowdy neighbors and made sure to eat a microwave dinner before she went to bed.
The last few months, despite all hiccup's, life was actually okay. She'd solved a case and saved the day. And sure, she was still on the bottom of Bogo's list as far as cops went (though he had an inkling of respect for her which was incredible to say the least). But Nick had been right. She'd made a friend. And suddenly that had made eating dinners for one and biased bosses not seem so awful after all.
Until the week after.
Winter had been holding off for some time, it would seem. The air had been tepid at best and the general concencus was that sweaters among animals were as good as it was going to get. And then, just like a sudden sweeping smack from Tundra Town, the season arrived.
Temperatures dropping to the twenties, ice on the steps outside, frost in the air, the landlord had "accidentally" switched off her hot water. She'd come in on that chilly Tuesday morning with bags under her eyes heavy enough to carry industrial luggage, a headache to rival all others and the start of a fever testing her brow. The Chief had done his best to send her home, but the previously token member of his squadron had stubbornly refused to bend to the inevitable.
So he'd had to stoop as well.
Bogo was as thick headed as his breed. And he wasn't one to give up and give in easily. When he'd gotten the application for a Rabbit officer he'd scoffed and tried his best to push it to the side. Unfortunately, test results being what they were, he had been forced by higher ups to accept with recommendations to use her where his more useful officers were less needed. So she'd been assigned parking duty.
And then she'd solved a major case, and he was left with national coverage and every other precinct in Zootopia and beyond either watching his next move or laughing piteously over his bad luck. Him. The Chief who had a Rabbit Officer. He was a joke and a fool, but she was one of his best and he'd have to use her somewhere or his changing reputation would be left behind.
Bogo hated change. But he'd finally supposed that perhaps keeping her on for menial tasks wouldn't be… too bad…
And then she'd optioned for a partner. And he, Chief Bogo, was left with a problem. Not only was his precinct the first to hire a rabbit, but should Nick Wilde pass his exams, he'd have been the first to have hired an active con man and a Fox.
From the way Judy had been coaching… it was seeming as if that reality was close to becoming true.
So he'd done his best to stay out of contact with the newest addition of his night terrors.
And then his best and only Bunny officer had come into his office on a blustery day looking like she'd fought through the gates of Hades just to get there, and he'd had no choice. It wasn't hard to look up his number, filed away under the W's of his less dangerous criminal files. Taking a breath, massaging his temples with the tips of his hooves, he'd needed a moment before dialing the number and listening to each, awful ring.
When there was no answer, he swallowed back pride and tried again.
The Fox had picked up after the second call with a lazy "S'Wilde."
"Mr. Wilde," the Chief's gravely voice did nothing to test the smaller animal on the other end who grunted in reply. "You know, it'd do you some good to have more respect for the commanding officers of your city. An attitude like that will likely get you tazered."
"Been there, done that. And aren't you supposed to be calling me Officer Wilde or something?"
Bogo gritted his teeth. "Your ceremony isn't for at least four more months, Wilde. Do not test your luck." A huff. "And, if all goes in my favor, you'll fail the written exam."
"Aw, Mon Capitan, don't you worry bout a thing!" There was the sound of crinkling and the Chief hated to imagine that he was reclining back on his couch. Smug bastard. "I aced all exams when I went to school! I'm a champ."
"You cheated."
There was clucking on the other end. "No such thing for a con man. A few winks at the instructor here and there didn't hurt, but all that knowledge was all me."
"Well then I hope that your physical exams are far more exhausting. I truly hope that you've been practicing crunches."
"I'm a Fox, Bogo! We're born athletes." The tsk of a soda can being popped open flooded the speakers followed by a hasty gulp. "Now! You gonna tell me what's up? Because I have places I gotta be. Not that I wouldn't love to sit and chat about how much I can't wait to be a part of your squad, but-"
"It's Judy."
And that did it.
Bogo took out a sticky pad and wrote down Officer Hopps on it in red pen, pasting it to the back of a drawer. He'd have to remember that for later. It would seem as if not much got through the tough skin of the Fox who would be joining them soon. But without fail, whenever the name of the Bunny was brought up, the nerves that were hiding away so far behind sticks and stones jumped into action.
There was the sound of fumbling, as if the phone had almost been dropped and caught mid air, a rushed curse, and then, "What's wrong." The Chief's brow quirked. So that was how to get a rise out of the careless creature. One mention of his partner and he was at attention without a stutter, his drawl stringing tight and sure, in serious danger of snapping. "Did you send her out without anyone! I'm supposed to be her partner! Does she not have a temporary!? Why didn't you give her a temporary! What happened. Who was it. A perp? Chief, I swear, if you sent her out alone and she-"
"I wouldn't send her out alone, Mr. Wilde. I am not as thick headed as you'd have others believe. And she's fine. For the most part."
A sigh on the other end, bushy tail no doubt lowering. "Right…" the Fox sighed. "Okay… So then…"
"As you are quite aware, Ms. Hopps takes the bus to work every morning. But today she came in quite ill and I rather believe that she's in no state to be traveling." He pushed the sticky notes to the side. "I would have gotten her to take a cab, but she seems hell bent on staying in her place. And from what I've gathered from your time here, the only one she listens to seems to be you."
Keys jingled and a heavy door opened with a complaining creak. "I'll pick her up in ten minutes."
"She's refusing to leave the-"
"I'll drag her out in a hunting bag and tie her to my hood if I have to." The Chief snorted at the crude reference, but nodded all the same. The Fox had a dark sense of humor, to be sure. But he was serious enough, and that's what mattered in the end. .
"Thank you." There was a click. And that was all. Scrubbing his brow the Chief wondered vehemently how he'd stumbled upon such contemptuous animals in his life, and how the ones that seemed to stay there were somehow also the most damn loyal. With a shrug he leaned back in his desk chair, pulling out the reports he'd meant to look over, and donned reading glasses. Wilde would take care of Hopps, and for the moment he was free of his tiny, stubborn rabbit of a problem.
It was a mystery, really. But not one that Bogo, in all his years of detective work, was willing to solve. For whatever reason, the Achilles heel of the Predator was its designated long eared and fluffy tailed Prey. And if that was what kept said Prey out of his antlers, then he wasn't about to question it.
The Chief had been right when he'd said she refused.
As soon as he walked in Clawhauser was there, leaning over the desk with a donut in his paw. "Thank goodness you're here! Our little buddy seems to be having one heck of a day!"
"Yeah," Nick shrugged off his coat, leaving it to hang over the crook of his arm. "I heard."
Clawhauser nodded, pushing a box of donuts away so he could lean over the desk further, elbows balancing against a collection of documents. "Came in looking like a hunting party was at her heels! Chief tried to get her home but you know how she is." A sympathetic smile followed a sad shrug. "She's been like this since day one. Refusing to listen and chuffing along. I tried to get her to stop, I really did!"
Wilde smiled back. "Don't worry about it. That's just her. My little, block headed partner." He looked around. "Where is she?"
"Oh, the Chief had her put into the evidence room. Thought he could keep her at least occupied and in one place until you got here. Last time I checked she was reorganizing the whole place."
Nick thanked the portly man, making his way through the building. He nodded hello to some of his future coworkers, who all nodded back, passed by three water coolers where a few of the Officers were busy mulling around, avoiding processing work, and made his way to the stairs that would lead him to The Dungeons.
Aptly named, The Dungeons were a series of long, confusing hallways made up of chain link fenced walls, creaking doors, dim, flickering lights from the 70's and stacks of boxes all wrapped up in a sprawling package of seemingly endless continuation. And, for a few minutes, he did walk through, hands clasped behind his back, meandering along. He was sure that had he been another animal he would have been running about, shouting her name, wondering where in the world she was and how he would have found her in all the madness she had settled herself into. He wasn't another animal, though, and so he strolled about, casually casting his head this way and that. And after a few minutes of silent contemplation, his nose and eyes did all the work for him, and it was child's play to spot the tips of two grey ears poking out from above Evidence Files K-L.
"Hey there, Carrots." he made his way into the room, looking around at the dusty cabinets, the unwashed floors and the cobwebs that made up most of the ceiling. No wonder Bogo had had a fit earlier about the state of the place. He shifted along, avoiding a particularly large stain that might have been blood… or grape juice. "How's it goin'?"
The long ears stalled their bobbing, twisting and darting about, catching and analyzing sound. Then they began to rise up. A fuzzy face was quick to join them.
"Nick?" Ooh, yeah. She was sick, her voice the combination of a cheese grater and a train wreck. "What are you doing here?" She frowned, and then, after a short moment, her eyes popped. "Oh god! Was today your practice test? Jeez, I'm so sorry! You know, I've been so crazy here I totally forgot-"
"Relax, Judes." He made his way around the boxes, sitting down on the cleanest stack he could find that she'd labeled 237-245. Looking at her without everything blocking his view he could see that her tiny body looked even smaller, hunched and shivery. Usually bright, alert eyes lacking, the violet gone dull. "It isn't until next week." Her shoulders lowered with a blustery sigh.
"Good." She rolled her joints where they'd begun to ache again, grabbing for another box. "So… what are you doing here, anyway?" A pause. "And if you are here on your day off then grab those files you're sitting on. I need to put those away next."
"Sure." He collected his seat, following her to a set of bins on the farthest wall, pressed innocently against dusty chains. "I'm actually here because your boss-"
"Our boss."
"Yours," he pressed, "gave me a call."
"Really? Why? He had me doing cleaning work. He said this was a priority." She dropped another stack of files, a puff of dust blowing this way and that.
"I'm sure it is. But someone else can do it today. Because right now he wants me to take you home." He put his own files down, clapping his hands free of dirt. "So that's what I'm gonna do."
It didn't surprise him whatsoever when Judy, instead of pleading or agreeing or swooning into his arms, just rolled her violets towards the dusty ceiling and snorted. "Yeah. Sure, Wilde. Whatever you say."
"No. I'm serious." He padded along after her as she hobbled towards another stack. "You're sick. You're going home."
"I get you're serious," she said. "But that's really not going to change anything."
"Judes."
"No!" she turned, her paws on her hips, glaring a baggy-eyed glare. "You have no jurisdiction here. At least not yet. So if I were you, I'd go back to your apartment, get back to studying and then in a few months, when you're carrying an actual badge, you can drag me out. But until that moment have fun finding your way out of The Dungeons." And then, as if it was the end all and be all, she turned her back and struggled with another box.
He hadn't known her for what some would consider long. But for someone who had never held down an actual friend in their life, the time they'd spent together was exponential. And in that time he'd learned enough to expect that reaction. But even so, it wasn't as if he was used to receiving it. And part of him, a very loud part of him, was yelling that he was better off just giving up then and leaving her there. Almost stuck his nose in the air and turned on his tail and told her that she could ruin her day if she wanted, and he had nothing to do with it.
But he didn't.
Because he also knew enough about her to know that there was always something else going on. And from watching her life unfold like the patterns in a perfect quilt, it didn't take much effort to guess.
So instead of leaving, he looked closer at her -tired, sick, sniffling and far too happy to be sitting in the warm, creepy basement- and tilted his head, flashing his best, I-Know-Better-Than-You smile. "Hey, Carrots?"
"Hmm…" she puffed through another heavy box.
"What did your landlord do."
It was like watching a light switch burst after an electrical overload, all sparks and dread and deflation, her head whipping around, the box dropping out of her hand, a huge puff of smoky dust following along. Her mouth opening and closing, looking more and more like the knot in a very guilty tree than a sick Police Rabbit. "He…" she struggled through the words, stepping back from the still falling dust cloud. "He didn't-"
"Oh come on, Jude. You don't think I know you well enough by now?"
"Nothing happ- I mean, it's just that he didn't-"
"You," he cut her off, stepping forward and pushing the box to the side with his foot, "are a terrible liar."
The jig was up, and she knew it. Crossing her arms about her chest and looking away, he had to wonder if this was exactly what a successful interrogation was like. She only helped along his question when she muttered, "you're gonna be a really, cop, you know that?"
"Is that sass I hear?"
She just shrugged dejectedly, making it a point not to look his way. Nck huffed, leaning down to put his hands on her shoulders, hoping she noticed the way his ears had flattened back against his head, the worry just as poignant as the anger. He got it. He did. She was worried about the consequences. That was what she was always going to be, and what she always had been, from the moment she was born to the second he had met her- a determined Bunny with a need to prove herself, a fear that she wasn't good enough and too much heart for her tiny chest to hold.
She hated the idea of someone taking control, hated the reality of hurting someone else and despised the fact that there were things in the world she couldn't do.
It was like she had read his mind when Judy said "I can take care of myself…" in a voice that was as lost as it was hurt.
"I know you can," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, smirking when the Rabbit pressed her sore muscles into the touch. "But you're sick."
"Am not."
"Are too."
She huffed something, finally managing to gain enough willpower to push his hand off. "I know you're trying to help. But I'm fine, Wilde. I don't need a babysitter."
"Oh really."
"Yes really. And you have no proof of anything and no way to stop me from worki-"
His claws had wound their way about her forearm, close enough to feel their deadly points push through the thin sleeves of her shirt, tugging her closer. The back of his hand slapped onto her forehead. He huffed. "You have a fever." Nick stated easily. "I'm calling you in sick."
"What! No! You can't-"
"The Police Handbook you had me read extensively stated that if an officer has a fever or an illness that qualifies as contagious they must be off the premises for 24 hours."
"It does not-"
"Section 36 subsection C. Don't test me. I know the answers like the back of my paw. All thanks to you, I might add."
"Nick! You can't just-!"
"Too late." The papers were plucked from her grasp, tossed onto a random desk. The wolf sitting there snarled something, but Nick merely retorted with his own carnal growl. Judy stepped back, wary and determined all at once. "It's called a hustle sweetheart. I can and I will drag you out of here as long as I have the right to. And the Police handbook says-"
"Oh can it, Nicholas. I'm fine," she pointed out again, tugging away weakly, looking very much like the Prey that she was. He just held on tighter, a Predator in every sense, frowning a determined sort of scowl. She'd always been a terrible liar, too many tells to count flashing across her face. The room was spinning, her feet were killing her and she wanted nothing more than to curl up under the covers and go to sleep. Still, he knew what was keeping her from simply accepting defeat on the side of a hot cup of tea. Work was work, and if she wanted to prove herself…
She shook her head, giving her arm another tug. "Nick…" Her teeth flashed, worrying her lip, looking at the piles of boxes around her. The evidence locker was suddenly too big, too dark, too much. "Please. You know that Bogo sometimes just keeps me around as a token and… and if I don't-"
"You can prove yourself tomorrow." he promised, paws rubbing perfect circles against the stiff muscles down her arms. "You're the best I know. Honest. And a few days isn't going to change that. But for now you deserve a break," reading her mind with an ease that both disturbed and soothed. He gave her arm another tug, gentler that time, knowing from the way her face was beginning to crumple that he had won. "C'mon, Hopps. Let's take you home."
"I don't-"
"You're sick, Judy." She sucked in a breath at the unfamiliar sound of her full name, doing her best to ignore the tickle that followed. "Please. Just let me take you home."
And that was that. She sighed, but nodded. Together they pushed a few more of the boxes towards the wall, packaged up the case files that had been sitting in the open, and then, with a few more sighs and her eyes on the ground, she finally let him drag her out the door. Clawhauser looked more than wildly impressed that he'd managed to get her that far, wishing the poor woman a speedy recovery and a quick promise that should she need anything she could "always call! You have my number and everything!" Judy smiled back weakly, leaning into Nick's side as he slung an arm around her and finally -finally- maneuvered her outside.
The sun was too bright and the day was too cold, and she'd forgotten a good jacket. So he had just blasted the heat and let her drape his windbreaker across her shoulders as they drove. Maybe it was the warmth or perhaps it was the doting friendship, but whatever the reason, as they neared her neighborhood, something prompted her to spill every bean there was about what had been the cause of the whole debacle.
"I was getting sick anyway," Judy massaged the bridge of her nose, hoping it would do her headache some good, but all it seemed to do was make her face sore. "Not that I would have called out, naturally."
"Naturally."
"But it wouldn't have been this bad! It would have never gotten to this point at all if…"
"If…"
She sunk further into her seat, her long ears drooping to the sides, her fingers going to pick absentmindedly at a string from her pants as she avoided his line of sight. "If I had any hot water and my apartment wasn't turning into the Tundra. But it is. So… there's that."
He'd been right when he'd called her out before. But he hadn't realized it had gotten that bad. Nick growled something under his breath, but Judy didn't have the moxy to laugh or shy away from the sound. She just reveled in the grateful heat of the car. "It's fine." she muttered, leaning on the window. "Really."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it is."
"You're too nice," Nick snarled, anger hardly directed at her alone. "You know that, Hopps?"
"Mmhm…"
He was hesitant to let her leave once they'd gotten to her apartment. But that was the farthest that he could push her, and Nick knew it was the most he'd be able to accomplish that day. Hopps was many things, and stubborn was high on that list. It was a miracle that he'd gotten her out of the precinct at all, and he'd be reliving that victory for years to come.
So instead of pushing father, he just popped the locks and twisted his fingers against the steering wheel until his knuckles went white through his fur.
"I'll see you later, Nick," she'd muttered, softly shutting the door. "Thank you… for the ride home. I know I was impossible to get out but… but I appreciate it." A flick at her ear where it had been lazing against her shoulder. "Really."
"S'no problem," he lied through his teeth. "Get some rest."
She'd smiled, thanked him again, and limped inside.
It wasn't Judy's fault by any means. But there was always the harrowing what if that haunts all of the world. What if this, what if that, what if she'd merely waited another few moments, like she often did, to see him drive down the road. If she had stayed she might have kept him from doing something he'd later regret. But she hadn't. Her feet had been too sore and her ears hung like anvils down her neck and she'd needed, more than anything else, just to start the kettle and sleep.
And so she'd gone inside, completely unaware of the red car parking, the Fox inside, a look of determination steeling itself against usually blase features, stepping out and slamming the door. She would have seen him tug at his shirt, adjust his tie, rub the edge of his nose with his knuckles. She would have seen him storm forward through the doors towards the landlord's office, pounding his fist against the aged wood.
And had she stuck around, she would have seen the door open and the Lynx on the other side raise a humored brow at the smaller animal before him, two predators staring one another down.
"Yes?" The Lynx queried, shifting to lean against the doorframe. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, you can. Nick Wilde, ZPD. Are you the landlord here?"
"Bill Escroc." He offered a name, but not his paw, crossing his arms around his chest. "I am the landlord here, yeah. But… I don't see a badge, Officer Wilde."
"I consult. That should be enough for you."
A single brow lifted against a spotted forehead. "Oh should it?"
"Yeah, buddy, it should be."
Tilting his head, pointed ears following the full of gravity and flopping ever so slightly along for the ride, Bill Escroc did nothing more than unleash a heathen's smile. "I don't believe I've done anything wrong, Mr. Wilde. Unless offering people a place to live for a fair price-"
Nick had to wonder if this was what being an Officer was like. And if it was, this was damn good practice. Drawing himself upward, reciting some sort of mantra that Judy had used over and over again in the past about defending those around him, he stood tall and did his best to keep his tone assertive and clear. "Offering most a fair price isn't a crime." he pointed out, jamming his pointed finger towards the floor, hoping his power pose was doing its work against the taller creature before him. "But in cases of discrimination-"
"Discrimination!" Apparently nothing at worked when the Lynx choked back a cough, sharp teeth flashing with unfiltered amusement. "In what way!"
"Your resident Judy Hopps-"
"The Rabbit! Oh come on!" Whatever persona he'd been holding before decided that it was quite finished for the evening, making way for a sleazier figure, rearing forward to slap his knees in delight, one hand going to pat Wilde hard on the shoulder. "Oh come on," he said again with more vigor, hissing out a chortle. "That's not discrimination! That's the circle of life! Even you know that. Isn't she on your food chain? What? Is she making complaints to the police now?"
"Sir…" He was doing his best to breathe through the words, trying not to snarl. Keep it together, a voice chanted in his head. You're going to have to be a professional about this. Keep it together! "Our work isn't really your business. What is your business is that you're discriminating against someone who's paying you for your business. Not to mention that you're housing a Police Officer. And from the way that you're treating her-"
"Hold on." Escroc shook his head, and for the first time since the start of their discussions he looked genuinely confused. "She's a cop."
"A police officer. Yeah."
"I thought the Prey was just a Meter Maid!"
Wilde had to hold back another feral growl. "She's a Police Officer," he said again, hoping the repetition would work the way lullabies did, to soothe, simmer down and keep him from mauling the man before him. Food chain be damned, the animal deserved it. "I'm sure she's told you once or twice-"
"Yeah, but I didn't think she was serious. I mean, come on!" A laugh, loud and obnoxious, followed. "She's a Bunny! What's she going to do! Wiggle her wittle nose at me?"
"No, but if she wants to, she can arrest you for hate crimes. And that's at least a two year sentence, from the way you've been going at it."
Too far! The voice was at it again, waving its tiny arms in the air like batons. You're going too far, Wilde! Pull back! Pull back while you still can! He promptly told that voice that it could suck an egg and instead stood taller. "In fact," he added, "I could arrest you for it."
Hoo boy… he heard the voice sigh away. Now you've done it.
"What did you say?" There was less humor now through the strained grin on the Lynx's face. "I thought you were just consulting, Fox-Boy."
He was in too deep, and he knew it. The door behind him was beginning to look like a great out, and his car was only a few steps out of that. He was faster, and ducking and slithering away was seeming better and better.
But…
He drew himself up with a breath. "I'll be an active officer soon enough. And I think we'd both know that you'd hate to see me at your door in a few months with a perfect cause for arrest."
"You're serious, aren't you?"
"You messed with the wrong Animal," Nick barked back. "One thing you never do to an Officer is mess with their partner and-"
The pop of laughter was so unexpected that Wilde nearly jumped back, newly fluffed tail very close to tucking between his legs.
"A Fox and a Rabbit!" Another howl of joyous laughter interrupted him, Escroc moving to click his nails against the wall, doubled over in hysteria. "She's your partner! You! A Fox! Teamed up with a Rabbit! You've got to be joking!"
His ears rose slowly, a foil to the way his brows sunk down. "Yeah…" Nick seethed, "real funny."
"A Fox and a Rabbit!"
"Can we get back onto the subject of you turning her heat back o-"
He was cut off by another laugh, incisors and canines fluttering into the view of the flickering halogens above. "Oh man… Are the Police making cutbacks or something?" Another fearsome chuckle. "What? Did she send you here? Is that her game? Because you know, if she did, I can just make her life even more miserable. You think heat is bad? Just wait until things start breaking."
"Sir, is that a confession?"
"Not at all! Besides, you can't do anything to me. I watch enough cop shows to know that if there isn't a witness then I can do what I want." Nick was almost compelled to explain that Paw and Order wasn't really a viable source of information dealing with the workings of their system, but he sucked back the words and, instead, smoothed down his ears with his claws. He'd done enough already. And if the only way out was by dropping the Police act, no matter how mad that may have made Judy (though really, if she found out about this at all it would be a whole other story) then he'd do it.
Changed Animal or not, he was a con man by trade. And he knew how to grovel.
"Look," he struggled to come up with the right way to phrase it, eyes flickering everywhere. "I… I get it. Okay? Having Prey in your building can't be… easy…"
"Damn right it isn't." Escroc picked at his teeth with a claw.
"Yeah. Must be tough. But I mean come on. Predator to Predator. We live in Zootopia. It's supposed to be this, I don't know, haven or something for everyone. She just needs a place to live. She doesn't bother you. Can't you just cut her a break?" He attempted a smile of his own, flashing a pair of twin fangs back at the Carnivore before him. "Do what I do. Grab a few racks of ribs from the store, buy some rawhide and a few chew toys and move on."
There was a moment, a very brief moment, where Nick thought that maybe his not so passionate speech might have gotten to the Lynx. It had worked before, though not for such noble reasons. And it seemed as if it was going to work again. But then; "She's got you whipped, huh?"
"What!?" Nick shook his head, tried to find the words that came next. "What do- are you seri- what's your problem!"
What did get a reaction from him was when the Landlord wiped at his eyes, smiling a leech of a grin down at the animal in front of him and leaned forward to grasp the Fox's shoulder in something that must have been attempted consolidation. The paw was heavy and it burned through his shirt. "It's just… I get it man. It's tough for me, too."
He didn't even have the energy to shake him away, too muddled by the statement. "What do you…? Too…"
"Yeah," nodding, wiping at his eyes again, he patted Wilde's back once more in a one sided comradery. "Rabbit's, right? Good for nothing more than the middle of your table."
If Judy had been there she would have seen Wilde reel back in shocked, true offence. Millions of retort went barraling through his mine (she's my partner, she's my friend, she's the one I have to protect, she protects me, how dare you, how dare you, how dare you!) She would have also heard the horribly rude and unspeakable, but very much justified, comment that had followed. And, fortunately for her, but not so much for her partner, she would have seen her landlords fist go flying.
To be fair, he didn't strike back until after he'd been socked across the jaw. Claws unsheathed, a growl vibrating through him, he did his best to duck under another swing and got in a few good swipes before he was once more made into a glorified punching bag. It didn't go on for long, but when it was all said and done, he'd dragged his sorry self up the stairs with his tail between his legs and, with all pride gone, feebly knocked on her door.
It was better she heard from him then saw it the next day.
Nick Wilde now sat, battered and bruised, on Judy's desk chair while the sick, peeved rabbit chided him, turning his face this way and that to check over minor cuts and scrapes. "I can't believe you…" she said for the thousandth time. "Nick… You're better than this!"
"He wasn't treating you fairly, Judes." He finally took the rag from her, cleaning away at the scrape just at his shoulder. "It's my job as your partner to defend and protect."
"You aren't my official Partner for a few more months! Remember! We literally just had this discussion! You cannot drag me out of precincts when I'm sick-"
"But I did…"
She gave his arm a punch and he sulked through the new pain, going back to tending his wounds… and his pride. "You can't. And even if you were- will you stop doing that!" She grabbed the rag back where he'd dug too deeply at a set of claw marks on his neck, blood trickling down and staining a circle about the first circle of his shirt. "It isn't. I'm a big Bunny, Wilde. I can take care of myself and I really don't need backup when it comes to these things!" She went back to dabbing at the open cut, tilting his head with a steady paw.
"Then…" he swallowed, clearing his throat. "Then it's my job as your… as your friend…"
Judy stopped, swallowed, blinked back the burn of worry from behind her eyes. She shook her head to clear it away, wincing when she did. It still pounded, tiny pinpricks of pain arching across her spine and through all her muscles. Truly, the last thing she'd needed was this to happen. The room was freezing. Even Nick, who's coat of fur was so much thicker than hers, had started succumbing to the cold, arching in on himself. She'd been hoping that maybe some bad television drama and hot tea would be a welcome distraction from it. But instead she got an injured fox and a pissed off landlord and a worry about how far he'd go just to keep her safe…
She sighed. "No… it isn't." She shook her head once, twice, three times, slowly, ears flopping back and forth against her spine. But this time when she contradicted she did it with a smile. "Not even as my friend. You're still not supposed to be my animal in shining armor."
"Judes…"
"I can't have you getting hurt for me." She put down the rag, grabbing his paws in her own. "Nick I… I appreciate it. I do. But you have to understand how this works! You said it yourself, remember? You are what you are-"
"Yeah, but you're Judy Hopps," he pointed out feebly. "And you can be anything."
"And while I appreciate the sentiment, it still doesn't change some things." Her thumb moved back and forth across his palm in a soothing beat. "Nick… I'm Prey… And as long as that's what I am, things are going to happen. You can't change that. And I'd rather you didn't get hurt because of it." Her smile was small but light when she added, "your job is to drag my stubborn butt out of basements when I'm sick."
"And-"
"No." Her ears flopped when she shook her head. "Not to defend against landlords. Just basements and sick days. That's all."
He sighed, nodded, and looked away, feeling dejected and terrified all at once. It was an odd situation, feeling like he had to protect and serve. Just a year ago he wouldn't have given two Pawpsicles about what happened to Bunny's, and now he was sitting in front of one, holding her paw and hoping beyond all hopes that he hadn't screwed up her life any more. "You know…" he told the wall slowly, doing his best to look anywhere but at those huge violet eyes, "that isn't going to stop me."
"Yeah," she said back, humor slipping in through the stern lilt. "I'm here now, aren't I? Trust me. I know."
They sat in silence for another moment. Outside, sirens from an ambulance blared somewhere over the east border of her small district while in the west a police car screamed. Lights from passing cars lit up the walls. The room was cold, but still somehow stuffy, the greasy wallpaper around them almost too close for comfort. A bottle shattered on the sidewalk, people with slurs corrupting every vowel of their shouting diving into the beginnings of a sloppy fight.
Nick hadn't been to her room many times, but taking the chance to look around he did his best to find something redeeming in the badly lit space illuminating the sad pile of books by her bed, the peeling lacquer on the door and the dinner for one stashed on the bottom of her trash bin. Though, he supposed, the family pictures hanging on her wall and the others on her desk were… somewhat cheery.
His eyes fell on one in a new frame beneath a lamp, sitting on top of a pile of papers.
A picture of them on the day she'd finally convinced him to go to a museum. He'd hated it, as expected, but she'd had the time of her life dragging him room to room, hopping along and around sculptures and doing her best to keep him occupied. In the middle of the day, sitting in the overpriced cafeteria, he'd snapped a picture of the two of them. Her in her terrible and cheesy If it's not baroque t-shirt, and him in the Monet tie she'd bought him that was even ugly for his standards. Despite the weird pictures, the boring atmosphere and the awful tie, it had been a good day. A great day.
That isn't going to stop me, he'd told her. And it had taken him just a moment to realize that not only had he meant it, but he was going to make sure of it with every fiber of his being.
He looked back at her, giving her paw a squeeze. "Hey, Judes? How does that pullout couch sound right about now?"
She squirmed, shrugged, looking as nervous as he'd felt just moment ago. "Um… I don't know? I mean… I don't want to intrude-"
"You know that's not possible."
"And… and it's already late and the landlord might turn my heat back on!"
"He won't. Next excuse."
She shifted on the balls of her feet. "... You live with a lot of Predators…"
"I do. Good memory. Anything else?"
Judy swallowed. Then finally she shook her head. "That's it," she said. "I'm out."
"Really? Is that all?"
"It's freezing and I'm sick," she said sourly. "My brain isn't working as quickly as it should be."
"Good point." He sidled off the chair, passing her to open up the small closet by the door. Pulling out her police duffel bag he threw it onto the the bed. "Pack up, Hopps. Anything you want to take for as long as you need. We're gonna have an extended sleepover."
It wasn't so much of a suggestion as an order, and apparently she seemed to understand. So with a nod and a shy smile she began to look through her drawers, pulling out her uniform, sweaters, shirts, pants, toiletries and anything else she might have needed. And when the bag was almost full, and she was adding a few more books onto the top of the pile, she looked back at him with an expectation of something that he couldn't quite place. "Are you sure…" she nibbled her lip. "Because I really don't want to barge in, you know?"
Nick just smiled through a tired, exasperated laugh. "I told you already. Anytime, Carrots."
"I really hope not."
"Anytime," he said again.
Her defeat was a sad and aware one that had her slipping farther and farther as her will to press on shriveled away. She was too tired to do anything by the time he pushed her out her front door, almost fell asleep on the car ride to his place, barely made it up the elevator and, by the time he had jammed his key into the lock, ushered her into the room, pulled out the couch bed, grabbed her sheets and passed her one of his old shirts to sleep in, she was already slipping awy, burying her face into the pillows.
"You're an idiot," he told her plainly, dragging the forgotten covers up over her shoulders, ignoring her downy-muffled complaints, "You know that?"
Her ears just twitched, finally going flopsy and sprawling out beside her. "I've heard," she slurred, lifting herself up enough to mumble, rubbing at tired eyes. "It's been said… once or twice…"
"Good. You deserve to hear that every day, you loser."
"Yer'loser."
"Yeah. Okay. Sure. I'm leaving you medicine on the table over here. Take it."
"Shuddup… loser…"
"Goodnight to you too." He gave her another look. "By the way, you look downright adorable in that shirt."
He ducked out of the way when the pillow was thrown at his head, cackling out another call of goodnight before slinking away past the dingy kitchen and into the narrow hall. It had taken everything inside of him not to leave her there, go back and wrangle up a gang of cops to take the stupid Landlord out in cuffs. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to give Bogo another reason to have his head on the platter.
Instead he just brushed his fangs, stared at newly forming bruises and cuts in the mirror, did his best with antiseptic, donned his own t-shirt and a pair of boxers, and went to bed.
The next day he called her in sick, not daring to wake her up. The Chief was more than pleased to let her go for a day or two (most likely because she was equal parts his most stubborn and present employee and everyone needed a break) and had wished fast recovery through a hard jaw.
"Keep her with you for as long as you need." He hadn't really been sure if Bogo was furious, happy or out to kill him. He always seemed to sound like there was a pile of rocks on his throat. But it was appreciated at the very least.
"Won't be a problem, sir." Wilde turned on the coffee machine, listening to the first few notes of bubbling singing through the kitchen. The light from outside was flooding through the dusty windows, and it made every piece of cheap, broken appliance glow. "She's not really going anywhere."
"Are you positive? I don't want to see her strolling in just because you turned your back for two seconds."
"Sir, with all due respect, I'm a Fox. It's basically in my genes to catch her. She's not going anywhere."
"I don't trust you. But fine."
Nick just snorted, abandoning the coffee for just a moment to walk across cold tiles and poke his head around the wall. The Rabbit was splayed out, drooling and snoring, face pressed into the pillows. Covers skewed across the creaking mattress, large feet kicking, nose twitching, she seemed happy enough in a place with light and heat and good company. The coffee maker gave an especially loud whirrr and she snorted, turning over, one of her gigantic ears lolling over to cover her eyes..
"Trust me, sir," he whispered again. "She's not going anywhere."
She wouldn't wake up until a few hours later, groggy and cranky but grateful all the same. She did her best to slap lazily at him when he crooned hello sleepyhead in his best obnoxious voice and grunted when he laughed. Though one look at his own bruised up face and a comment of you look like hell won that argument without much effort. They must have reached a truce quick enough because of how fast she was willing to accept a cup of coffee and the promise of cheap Chinese food (he got beef lo mein and she hesitantly asked for vegetarian fried rice) with a cheerier grin than he'd seen on her in days.
It didn't take long for the two of them to fold up the bed, move the table and set up a nook for them to work in. His apartment was small, but it was comfortable enough, with big windows (though they were in need of a good clean), bookshelves (though most were lined with entrepreneurial magazines) and pictures on the walls (though most were framed classic action movie posters that Judy wouldn't tell him for some time she secretly loved). The steam of food unclogging her sinuses and laptops out and blaring in the overcast day streaming through cleaner-lined windows, they both were content enough in their own world that they, a Rabbit and a Fox, had created together.
"This one has low credit, good neighborhood, pretty cheap…" he scrolled down some more. "Looks like the landlord's an Antelope."
"What's the predator/prey ratio." She took a long sip of her coffee, humming into the caffeine.
"You know I hate the word."
"You hate that word now." she pointed out fairly over her mug, smiling happily when his defeat contorted into a scowl. "Find one Bunny and all of a sudden you can't help but hate the word preda-"
"Stop." He turned back to his laptop. "It looks like the ratio of carnivores and herbivores is pretty equal-"
She just snorted again, going back to her computer. "Nice word choice."
"And it's close to a subway and the bus stop."
"Distance from work." She picked up a container and her fork, barely taking her eyes away from her own screen.
Clicking buttons he made a few thoughtful clicking noises in the back of his throat before giving, "two miles."
"Not bad." The words were punctuated by another mouthful of food in. "Save i' fer la'er." She said through the rice.
They went through apartments for enough time to at least decide on a few good choices. They were bookmarked, landlords were contacted and Nick made sure to call one of his people (no, Judy, I'm not telling you if this is legal or not, you'll have my tail for it) to talk about getting her lease back. By the time they were done it was almost night, they'd gone through two pots of his darkest roast and, leaning back against the couch, boredly flipping through channels with a Bunny lying against his side, he was fairly sure that the con man that still lived inside was kicking him over and over for doing something so genuine and nice.
And the odd thing was, he truly didn't care.
It was around the time that he'd skipped over the hundredth commercial about fur-de-tangler that she spoke. "So, you never did tell me what he said to piss you off."
"Huh?" He looked over from where he'd landed on some show about reality dog-housewives. They were shouting at one another, and someone flipped a table. Another one pulled on the others hair. "Wha'?" The hair was ripped strait out and someone else shouted a word that the television station found fit to be censored out.
"You never told me," she repeated. "What did he say anyway?"
He pressed mute when a string of those beeps became too annoying, began flipping through again and wobbled his hand in the air, waving off the question. "Nothing."
"Seriously, Nick?"
"Look. It wasn't anything that you have to worry about, alright? He was just… being an-"
"-idiot."
"No. You're an idiot. He's an ass."
"Right. Forgot. I'm the idiot."
"Yes." He tapped her on the head with his claw, smirking when she flinched away. "You are."
She swatted at his hand, making a quick dive for the remote, but he was faster, whisking it to his side, flipping through a few more channels. After it became clear that nothing was on he dropped the thing to his side, sighing into the room. "Listen... Judes... It really wasn't anything you weren't expecting. Just take everything you think you'd have heard. That's pretty much it."
Her ears dropped back. "That bad, huh?"
"I wouldn't have even tried to punch him if it wasn't that bad."
"I thought he punched first."
"He did." Nick cocked his head against the pillows to cast her an ironic sort of grin. "But the reason why he punched... that was all me."
He got a smile in return, lazy and content. "Who's the idiot again?" Nick snorted, muttering something about dumb Bunnies. "You know," her paws went to fiddling with one another, picking at dull claws. "you handled it really well. For someone who's becoming a cop." Sitting back, she leaned his side, smiling. "You didn't throw the first punch, you were polite, you almost kept it together." He felt her shrug, her sharp shoulder pressing into his ribs. "I'd say that you did pretty well for a first time trial."
"Did I now?"
She nodded. "Yeah. You did." Giving his side a poke with her elbow, she watched him squirm before declaring, "You, Mr. Former Con Man, are gonna make a pretty neat cop."
He leaned forward beaming. "You think?"
"I know. You don't go around doing this for as long as I have without knowing what good cops are."
"You've been doing this for a year."
"Psh. Please. I've been a cop at heart since I was eight. You should've seen me." Her hands came together imitating fists. "Taking out the bad guys under my sisters bed, checking the closet for monsters in my brothers' room. I ran that burrow."
"Sure you did."
"Are you doubting me!"
His hands flew up in surrender. "No! No, I believe you. I've been here long enough to know when to believe you!"
"That's what I thought!"
The two of them chuckled, and she could feel every twist and churn of lean, hunting muscle against her side when he did but was pleased when she found that she wasn't scared."You know..." she continued, voice dropping shyly. "It's more than that."
"Is it, now."
"Yeah. It is. You got me out of the Precinct, have me loaded on meds right now-"
"You should probably take more, soon, actually."
She rolled her eyes, giving his arm a weak punch before going on. "You gave me a place to stay. Made sure I was in a safe environment. Stuck up for me when you didn't have to. Handled my stubborn self!"
"Is that what one needs to make a good cop."
"No. That's what you need to make a good partner."
His face dropped, and he was sure that if he could have flushed through all the red fur, he would have been an even brighter scarlet then he already was. She watched his throat bob with a swallow, his eyes go wide and stunned. Judy just smiled and moved to tuck her head under his chin. Felt him stiffen before relaxing, his arm draping around her shoulder a heavy and secure weight. If her parents saw her this close to a Fox…
A few months ago if someone had told her that she would be on the same couch, practically wrapped around a Predator…But there she was, nestled against him, happier than she'd been in so long.
"Thank you, Wilde. really. If I don't say it enough, which I know that I don't. Thanks for dealing with the landlord. And letting me stay. And... and for everything. And I should say it more, I know, but you should at least know that I mean it when I say that you really are going to make the best partner in the whole world." She laughed softly. "You were right when you said it yesterday. That's why you're on my speed dial. Because... because I like you. Because you're my friend."
Her sensitive ears were against his chest and she could hear the way it stuttered for the barest of moments, felt the way his mouth quirked, pulling at the skin, felt the brush of huffed, affectionate breath. He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Yeah…" he rasped, clearing his throat. "Yeah. You're- you're gonna be good. Too."
Judy snorted, nudging at his chin again. "Thanks."
The television was still on mute, and all she could see were the images of some sort of documentary about the Dark Ages. A lion attacked a gazelle, a hippo's jaws snapped closed on something, a rabbit chased a fox. They'd forgotten to turn on the light, but the rotating pictures flickered back and forth, filling up the room with its own fuzzy luminescence. Everything smelled like his shampoo and Chinese food. There was heat, there was hot water and the old coffee in the pot was still waiting for them when they were ready.
As far as she was concerned, everything was perfect.
His voice cut through that perfection with a sneer. "I know we're having a moment and all and it's really great, but can you do something for me?"
"Sure."
"Can you take your sick body off of mine and move away. I don't want your dumb bunny germs all over my best shirt."
"Are you serious right now!"
"I'm sorry, Carrots. You're gross. I'm not catching whatever you have."
"Oh my god! You're such a-gah!"
Nick just let out a guffaw, tugging her closer, running his knuckles over her scalp, ignoring her shrieks of laughter, goading her about being an idiot. She pushed him, he pushed her. And then he just grabbed her to him again and leaned back into the couch.
The next day she'd feel a hundred and ten percent better. And she'd walk into work with him at her side. And she'd say hello to her Chief and to her coworkers. And she'd sit in the bullpen and get another case handed to her and hope it wasn't just to deliver parking tickets. But until then the two of them, finally agreeing on an old black and white movie that he claimed to be a classic, to which she replied by mercilessly teasing him about being old, sat side by side on the floor, backs pressed against the ratty couch, sides pressed against each other. At some point one of them dragged down a blanket. At another point someone draped it over the both of them. The television stayed on, the white noise of fuzzy frame by frame noir classics a perfect and lulling lullaby.
And if Nick meant to move at some point but didn't, then he must have just forgotten. And if Judy meant to say goodnight but didn't, then all the cough syrup must have been doing its work.
And if they did end up falling asleep right there, with his claws around her shoulder and her long ears brushing his chest, then they didn't really have to let anyone else know.
And then Judy moved and the landlord just went back to being an asshole and everyone lived semi-happily ever after!
Hoorah?
Alright! There we go! This turned out a lot longer than I originally thought it would! But what are you gonna do? I've always been really bad when it came to length and nothing I do will make anything shorter. Which... I guess is a bonus for you guys, huh?
ANYWHO!
Here's what's going to be happening.
The movie comes out on March 4th, which as of today is almost exactly one month away (just a few days, guys... omg!). And we're all really excited! I'm going to continue with these fanfictions in the mean time and, if everything works out, will most likely get out 1-2 per week, just like I've been doing now.
BUT HERE'S WHAT'S GOING TO CHANGE!
After the movie is released it's going to be spoiler city up in here! Because, like I said at the top, I have SO MUCH FUCKING ANGST PLANNED AND I CAN'T WAIT TO RELEASE IT BUT I CANNOT BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY SPOILERS!
So here's a little... teaser?
Things that will be coming out BEFORE the movie:
1) Meet the parents! (some spoilers?)
2) Predator attack
3) Judy get's shot
4) Valentines Day! (not what you would expect!)
AND THING'S THAT WILL BE COMING OUT AFTER THE MOVIE!
1) Press Conference Part 2
2) Judy is Mauled. Things Don't look good.
3) Fox-Repellent
4) I love you's
IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS (requests) LEAVE THEM IN THE COMMENTS! I CANNOT PROMISE EVERYTHING BUT GODDAMMIT IF I WONT TRY MY DARNDEST!
P.S
A lot of you want to see Nick get hurt protecting Judy... Well... tell me how that would go? If you want to see that, request what sorts of things you'd want to see!
That's it for now, lovelies! Have a great night and choose what you want to see next in the lives of Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps!
