Author's Note: This chapter originally included lyrics to a song. The lyrics have since been removed to better follow the rules of this website, as well as allow me to submit the story to a Zootopia fan website for review.
CHAPTER FOUR:
"FACE THE MUSIC"
"Brr! How 'bout that awkward silence, 'eh Carrots?" Nick bluntly joked, attempting to reroute the mood. He'd never intended on baring his soul. "Tell you what. Go ahead and plug your iPawd in. I'll let you sully this beautiful car with your trashy music, just this once. Deal?"
"Har har."
He caught a glimpse of the rabbit wiping the back of a paw against one of her eyes. At least her ears were standing back up. Good. It's working.
"But no Packstreet Boys... or Mice Girls!"
"Deal." Judy looked up at him with her head tilted, smiling at him. The tod wore the most sincere smile he'd had in a very long time. He felt a warmth spread through his body, immense pride filling his chest at having successfully cheered up his little bunny. He watched as Judy connected the adaptor to her device and tapped a song. The speakers found their voice:
"This time. I wonder what it feels like. To find the one in this life..."
Nick gasped in playful horror. "Oh... oh no! No...! Fluff! Carrots! Toot-toot! Not you. Not this! You don't seriously listen to this do you? Come on. Don't do this to me. Not Silverback."
Judy's head was bobbing, her smile now wore an edge of defiance. "That wasn't the deal, Slick." Encouraged by the tod's exasperated groan, the doe turned the volume up and began – terribly, loudly – singing along.
The bunny began flailing about adorably, air-drumming.
Nick couldn't help it – he burst out in deep, uncontrollable laughter. This was one of those situations, the kind in which you'd never envision yourself in a million years. Here he was, now a cop, driving home an air-drumming bunny with whom he was infatuated, being forced to listen to Silverback within the once-hallowed confines of his precious convertible. Life is weird.
As cheesy as the lyrics were, the fox admitted how fitting they seemed in the current situation. Nice night, wind in their fur... He couldn't be enjoying this garbage, could he? No! He was just being analytical. Comparing like with like. Just because he could appreciate the appropriateness of the song... He'd already realized he was into prey tonight. This would be one step too far! The bunny had already ruined him in so many different ways, and he wasn't about to let this be one of them. If nothing else, the fox had his pride. And my sharp visage. Let us not forget about that.
The lights of the city blurred by their car as the silver fur-ball gleefully embarrassed him as much as she could. Normally he'd protect his image to the death, but seeing her like this...? This is worth it. Just this. If she can't like me back, it'll be... fine. It'll have to be. I can't lose this.
The doe, more perceptive than he would've liked, caught the moment his eyes turned from pleased to wistful. She stopped singing. "Hey there, Red."
"I'm not red, I'm orange." he corrected.
"You're kinda' red. I'm trying it out, seeing if it sticks." A tiny rabbit tongue stuck itself out at him.
Nick poked her shoulder with a paw. "Me thinks you should leave the nicknames to the professionals, Carrots. Don't try this at home, and all that."
"...Hey. It'll be alright, okay?" She'd unfortunately decided to ignore his last bit; he had been trying to derail her. "You've got me now. We're a team. We'll be there for each other."
Clearly the rabbit had thought he'd gone back to thinking about his past. But the sentiment was there, and that was what mattered. Before he could suck the words back in, the fox turned to her with full sincerity: "You're cute."
"...Excuse me?" Judy blushed. Nick caught the sight of her paws clenching. "Run that by me one more time?"
Against his better judgment, Nick doubled-down. "I said: You're cute. And I mean it." The fox was a marked mammal. He braced for impact.
...And the impact never came. (Rather anti-climactic if you asked him.) Instead, he got two precious words, so quiet he almost didn't hear them over the air blowing by: "Thank you."
The song faded, and before he realized it Nick was pulling into the parking garage beneath Judy's apartment building. He turned the car off. They sat in relative silence, something Nick's notorious mouth couldn't leave well enough alone. "Thank goodness. I thought my torture would never end!"
Judy smirked, one ear half bent. "Oh please. Popular music isn't gonna' kill you."
"Almost, Fluff. I saw my life flash before my eyes! I was this close!" he hovered two digits close together for emphasis. "And here I thought you were trying to kill me with the Gazelle concert! Boy was I wrong."
"What!" Judy's ears shot up with genuine surprise. "I saw your smile. You were having a great time! Don't you change your story on me, you sly fox. You liked it!"
"I never liked the music, Judy. I liked..." Suddenly the fox's body was on fire. His chest hurt. He was breathing shallow, jaw clenched. He had intended to keep this a secret, to deal with it alone, but some unknown force convinced him to get it out of the way – rip the bandage off, consequences be damned. His ears slowly pressed back against his head, his voice going quiet. I'm going to regret this...
…
"...I liked you."
