"No seriously Carrots! I think you should wear the purple get up! It will really help with our interrogations." Nick wiggled his eyebrows at her, laughing.

"Ugh! Just shut up!" she said as she smacked him with her backpack.

They were walking the streets of New York, looking for leads to Dr. Skunk. Judy had left the shop wearing a flannel shirt, T-shirt and jeans, and had purchased a few other things for good measure, the purple dress included. That little purchase clearly didn't go unnoticed by her partner and he had been teasing her about it all day.

She didn't totally hate him for it. The teasing was easier to handle then the tension, so she allowed him to think he was getting to her so he could continue his game, and their friendship could still feel normal.

"So Carrots, do we have any leads on this skunk? It feels kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. Especially if he's human too." Judy's head looked up to the sky.

"That's a good point." She said, exasperated. "I didn't anticipate him being human also…"

Just as she finished her sentence, she had an idea. "That's it! What would a skunk do if he were human? Something a skunk probably couldn't usually do in Zootopia."

Nick thought for a moment. "Well this particular skunk was a scientist…One who was obsessed with other worlds. I'm sure he'd want to study things that are different in this world from our Zootopia…"

Judy's head snapped up as a bus drove by them with a huge ad for the "Central Park Zoo."

"Zoo…?" Judy whispered out loud.

"What was that Carrots?"

"ZOO! LOOK!" Judy grabbed Nick's head face and literally turned his entire head towards the bus ad. "They have a place here called a ZOO! And it has ANIMALS! Just like Zootopia! I bet Dr. Skunk would be there!"

"Wow! Good job Carrots!" Judy let go of his face and pulled out a pen and paper to write down the address from the ad. "Got it! Let's go find this Zoo."

oOo


"That will be $16.00 each" Said the cashier at the Zoo entrance.

"Jeeze I could get a jumbo pop for that much," mumbled Nick as he fished money out of their shared envelope. He counted out what they needed for two tickets and handed it to the lady behind the glass.

"Thank you. You and your girlfriend enjoy." Said the woman as she gathered the money and handed him two tickets with pictures of snow leopards on them.

Nick cringed and blushed, "Uh…thanks, but she's not my girlfriend." He looked over his shoulder to see Judy standing a few feet away, unfolding a piece of paper.

"She's uh…she's my partner." The woman behind the register cocked and eyebrow at him, clearly confused at his wording. "Eh, ya know what, it doesn't matter. You have a nice a day ma'm." he said, giving her his still effective, sly fox-like smile and turned back to find Judy with their tickets in hand.

"Whatcha find there Carrots?" he asked, as he saw her scanning what looked like a map.

"This shows where all the animals are located in here. This place….it's like. It seems almost like a jail." Judy's voice sounded a bit shaky as she spoke, " I don't know about this Nick. I don't know if I can handle this."

"I'm sure it's fine Carrots. We gotta see if we can find any clues that may help us locate that damn skunk so we can get home. Like…ASAP." Because the longer I am around you in this form, little bunny, the more I can feel my control slipping.

He looked at her nervous demeanor. He liked the flannel shirt and jeans she chose to purchase. It reminded him of the casual clothes she would wear back home. Her long silver hair was pushed to on side of her head, exposing her neck, and Nick wondered what that particular spot on her neck tasted like. UGH! You disgusting dog, you GOTTA get a hold of yourself.

"Ok! Let's get going!" he said, a little too loudly, quickly ushering her inside and away from his thoughts.

"Jeeze okay, okay! Relax!..."

oOo


They walked the Zoo for a couple of hours. At first, Judy was skeptical about these animals living in these environments. She even got emotional a few times, putting her hand up to the glass of the Polar Bear exhibit, remembering Mr. Big's cronies and wishing he could understand her.

Nick came up behind her and reminded her that these animals aren't evolved yet, and how harsh the wild really could be. They weren't muzzled, or in tight cages, and at one point they even saw the humans go into the exhibit and kindly feed them.

"It's definitely not preferable Carrots, but hey. Could be worse." Judy nodded in agreement. She still didn't enjoy this place, but his words atleast helped her get through it.

After two hours they had no leads, and Judy decided to sit on a bench in front of the Sea Lion exhibit, watching the humans throw them fish, with her head in her hands and unsure of where to go next.

She glanced down and her eyes scanned the ground for clues, catching only a few pieces of trash, and a picture of a badly drawn sea lion with some notes scribbled on it.

Wait a second…she thought as she picked up the paper. Notes. Notes made by someone studying this Sea Lion's environment.

She quickly dug in her backpack and found their file on Dr. K Skunk. When she glanced over it she saw examples of his handwriting, and compared it to the notes in her hand. It looked like a match! So he WAS here!

Excited, she leapt up and looked around for Nick. She saw him talking to the young man that was just feeding the Sea Lions their dinner. Hurrying over to him she was about to say 'I've got a lead!' but before she could open her mouth he turned to her with his half-lidded eyes and cocky smile saying "Hey Carrots. I got us a lead."

"Wait, What?" She was clearly confused.

"Yeah, see, we noticed how all these humans look different, right? Well even though we're humans, we still have some same similarities to our animal selves. So I asked this guy if he had seen any gentleman running around here with black and white striped hair. And wouldn't you know, there was a man with that very description who roamed this place all day yesterday, taking notes on everything and apparently mumbling to himself about an entire city full of animals." Nick crossed his arms, ready for Judy to be impressed.

" Yes, and I found his notes." She said just as cocky, and handed him the papers she found on the ground. He looked at the notes and chuckled. "Clever bunny. So what now?"

She pulled her notepad and pen out to write down the information Nick had just relayed to her. "Well…" Judy thought for a moment, tapping her pen to her mouth.

Oh god, don't do that. Please move that pen…Thought Nick, trying to focus on what she was saying.

"Dr. Skunk is clearly interested in studying animals in this world. He may not come back here, but I am sure there are other locations in the city that involve animals as well. If his hair makes him hard to miss, we can find those places and keep asking around. "

"Sounds like a plan. Still feels like finding a needle in a haystack, but hey, at least we got something today." Judy grinned, happy with their small lead.

"It's a start!" Judy said triumphantly, striking her cop pose.

"Well on that note, this place looks like it's shutting down for the day. We're going to need to find somewhere to stay for the night."

"Oh good point. I suppose we could just find a hotel? I'm sure they have those here." Judy started to head for the exit.

"Yea," replied Nick, "It's kind of crazy how much this place reminds me of Zootopia. It would be like if a human took everything they know about their cities, and everything they know about animals, and combined it all together to make our world."

"That sounds ridiculous, Nick" Judy said laughing at his observation.

He shrugged, putting on his usual half-lidded demeanor. "Yea, I guess so."

oOo


"I'm sorry it's how much?" Nick turned away from the counter for a moment and whispered in Judy's ear. "Prices are ridiculous in this city."

"That's $500 a night for two rooms sir." They had effectively walked for three hours and checked out almost twenty different hotels in hopes to find a better deal, but they were all pretty much the same.

Judy yawned, patiently waiting. Nick could see she was exhausted and turned back to the concierge. "How much for one room?"

"$225 sir."

Ugh…I am going to regret this.

oOo


"332….333…..Here we go! 337. Welcome to your temporary home Carrots!"

"Oh thank goodness, I'm beat." Judy snagged the room key from Nick and stuck it in the door, effectively opening it. "Well, good night!" She said, beginning to close the door before feeling something stopping her. Looking down she saw Nick's foot in the doorway.

"Haha…So. Funny thing Carrots." Judy looked at him confused. "Yes…?"

"Remember that little shopping spree we went on earlier? Well it seems this city is just WAY over-priced. We are only going to be able to afford one room a night while were here. So…" He put his hand on the door and smoothly pushed it open, walking past her into the room. "looks like we're gonna be roommates for a bit!" Giving her a cheesy smile, he threw his bag down on the table and kicked his shoes off, ready to make himself at home.

"Roommates?! Nick. I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why's that Carrots?" he asked as he nonchalantly searched the mini-fridge for snacks.

"I just…."

"No worries. I don't snore. Or at least…I didn't in my old body." He shrugged, digging into a bag of Doritos he found.

"I…um." She sighed, too tired to care. "Fine. I'm just…gonna go get ready for sleep then."

She went into the bedroom to change and in just seconds Nick heard a scream. He busted in and looked around the room for the source of danger. When seeing nothing he glanced over at a very angry bunny, with her arms crossed, rapidly tapping her foot on the ground and staring at him.

"What's wrong? What is it?" She said nothing and just fiercely pointed at the bed.

"It's a bed?" he asked, still not getting it.

"Yes! It's A bed! Meaning, ONE! One bed. And no couch in this tiny place!" Nick finally caught on to her point and cringed. "Sorry Carrots. We'll just have to make due. I'll sleep on the floor, don't sweat it."

Judy just grunted and grabbed her stuff, marching into the bathroom to change. She emerged moments later in a white tank top and some grey shorts. Nick was trying his best not to ogle her. The shorts she packed were clearly not made for her new longer legs, and seemed awfully short. Not that he was complaining. Nope…Not complaining. He thought as he watched her reaching across the bed to remove the decorative pillows and pull down the covers. She threw a pillow at him, smacking him in the face, then climbed into bed.

Nick attempted to set up a bed for himself on the ground, but there wasn't very much room for his newer tall body to stretch out. He was extremely uncomfortable, but they were still sharing a room, so he wasn't about to complain.

oOo


That damn fox. I can't believe he booked us a room with only one bed. Ugh, why does this city have to be so expensive! Judy had been lying awake for the last hour. Although she was exhausted when they first arrived, the idea of Nick being so close as they shared a room was keeping her mind from relaxing. Not that she was afraid he WOULD do anything. It was more that….she wanted him to.

She half wanted him to get so frustrated with the floor he would climb into bed with her. She obviously wouldn't ASK this of him. She was just totally conflicted.

She heard a moan from the floor, and sat up a bit.

"Nick?" she whispered.

"Yes Carrots?" she heard him reply.

"Why are you still up?"

"Well, despite popular belief, sleeping on cold floors isn't exactly comfortable."

"Oh….I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine" He said kindly. Judy bit her lip in anticipation. If there was any time to invite him to just share, it was now. But what if he said no? She would feel so dumb. At the same time he did need a good nights sleep though. I really don't know when to quit do I?

"You can….um. Look Nick, you can share the bed with me. I'm sorry for making you take the floor."

Nick froze from his spot on the ground. Was she serious? Was she really going to let him...gulp...share the bed?

Maybe this was a bad idea… she thought, as he took too long to respond. After another grieving five minutes, she heard rustling and saw the shadow of his tall form leaning over the bed, preparing to climb in. He threw his pillow in the spot next to her own, and lifted the covers, slipping in and making sure not to touch her.

She could smell him as he went to lay next to her, a mix of Earthy scents and something sweet. She stayed perfectly still as he got himself situated, afraid to even breathe. He settled in and both of them were quiet, the only sound in the room was their shallow breathing.

Judy assumed he had quickly fallen asleep and finally felt she was able to relax. She closed her eyes, ready for sleep to take her.

Just a moment later her eyes shot open as she felt something touching her leg. Is that…oh my god is he touching me?!

oOo


Nick couldn't help himself. He wanted so badly to have better control, but he just didn't. As soon as she asked him to join her in the bed all bets were off. Predator instincts, human instincts, male instincts, whatever it was, he couldn't possibly be this close to her, sharing a bed, without touching her.

They had settled in the bed, both on their left sides, so she was facing away from him and he was staring at the back of her head.

Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Please don't pull out that old fox repellant and kill me with it.

He slowly reached his hand over and lightly stroked the back of her bare leg. He felt her body freeze under his touch, and he waited for his death sentence, but it never came.

Thanking heavens but still testing his luck, he didn't remove his hand and continued to slowly stroke up and down his partners leg. The smooth skin felt amazing under his touch, nothing like fur, and he was enjoying it's silky softness. His body was having very primal and male reactions to such simple touch and he had to hold back a quiet growl from escaping under his breath.

Little did he know Judy was trying to get her own emotions under control as she felt his paw, or "hand" as they call it here, teasing her and she had no idea how to react. Should she stop him? Let him continue? Be doing ...something back? She wasn't sure. She decided the best thing to do was to turn around and face him, and figure it out from there.

She shifted her body and rolled on her other side so they were staring into each other's eyes, their mouths just inches away from one another. Neither said anything as their eyes were reclaiming, trying to read the others emotions.

Nick was the first to make a move, half sitting up to lean over her, and inched his body closer, his tall frame over powering his little bunny. They were both breathing heavier now, moving slowly towards one another.

Oh my god, I am about to kiss her. This is it. Nick lazily closed his eyes, about the close the remaining gap.

Before he could reach his mark though, Judy ducked her head down and nuzzled into his chest. Nick froze.

Did she just deny me?

He wasn't sure what to think. UGH! He was so close!

But what was he thinking ! Just because he wanted this doesn't mean she did! He was still a sly, untrustworthy fox from the streets. She was an inspiration back in their world. He felt like a fool.

Judy felt terrible for pulling away. She was the one enticing him earlier. But as soon as the moment came, she was so overwhelmed and nervous. So many thoughts of what is ran through her head. This was all so complicated. Just because they were the same species doesn't mean they should mate. What would happen when they went back home? She couldn't bare being so close to him and then losing him. She didn't want him to think she was completely denying him though. She just needed to think. So she nuzzled her head deeply into his neck, and covered her hand over his own that was still positioned on her leg.

He seemed to relax a bit at this. It had been a long and confusing day. At this point all she wanted to do was feel safe and sleep. She closed her eyes, listening to his breathing, feeling his fingers still lightly dancing over her leg, and allowed her body to fall into a peaceful slumber.