Chapter 4:

Fireworks

Judy was in her apartment picking out her outfit for the day. It was the 4th of July and the ZPD was hosting a big cookout and that night they would be watching the spectacular Zootopia fireworks. It was her first big event in Zootopia and she was really excited. Not to mention the fireworks here were legendary.

She was in her underwear about to put on a pair of denim shorts and a red, white, and blue tank top, perfect for the occasion and the weather...and maybe to look pretty for a certain fox. Her and Nick hung out all the time outside of work but most of the time she was in her police uniform when he saw her. She finally had an occasion to dress up and look good for him and she wanted to look her best.

Then she realized how stupid she was being. Why would Nick care how she was dressed?

Just as she was about to get dressed the door opened.

"Judy are you ready to go?" Nick said as he opened the door. He looked up from his phone and jumped back when he saw Judy in her underwear. "Ah!"

"Ah!" she exclaimed. Her eyes quickly darted around for something to cover herself with but nothing big enough was in reach. Her face burned with embarrassment. Yes she wanted Nick to see her in something pretty, but not like this!

The two stood in silence for a moment both in shock that this had happened. His eyes involuntarily wandered around her body. She wore a pink lace bra and panties that hugged her body perfectly. Her breasts were succulent and her hips and butt were a perfect shape. Her body was curvy in all the right places and he couldn't help but wonder what she looked like without the underwear.

"Nick," she said realizing he was staring.

He snapped out of the beginnings of a daydream of pushing her down on the bed and unhooking her bra. "Huh? What?"

"Get out of here!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, right!" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry Judy. I'll, um, be outside."

He stepped out and closed the door behind him then sat on the floor in the hallway trying to calm his heartbeat. He'd imagined seeing Judy naked before. Yes they were partners at the ZPD and best friends but he was still a man with male needs and Judy was beautiful. Seeing her in her underwear she was perfect and sexy. It was an image he knew he would never be able to get out of his mind.

One of the antelope's who lived next to Judy suddenly walked past and noticed Nick sitting on the floor. "Were you that bad, man?"

"What?" Then he realized what he meant and glared at him. "No! We didn't…!"

"Hey, don't let me discourage you." Then he went into the apartment next door.

A few minutes later Judy's door opened and she walked out in some shorts and a tank top that he thought she looked equally gorgeous in.

"Ready to go?" she asked still embarrassed about before.

Nick stood up and cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course."

They went down and got into his car. There was an awkward silence until Nick decided it was time to break it.

"So, um...you look good in pink."

Judy's eyes got wide and she blushed even more. "Thanks," she said twisting her hair around her fingers feeling even more embarrassed than before.

Eventually they pulled up to Central Park where the cookout was. It was already lively with music playing, people running around playing games and flying kites, and it smelled absolutely delicious with the smell of grilled food already being made.

Assistant Mayor Maribel came over to them with Clawhauster.

"You're finally here!" Maribel said giving them both hugs.

"Fashionably late," Nick said with a smirk.

"Why do you two have that look on your face?" Clawhauster said. "Did something happen."

"What? No!" Judy said as she and Nick both blushed. "Nothing weird happened this morning."

"Absolutely nothing," Nick agreed.

Clawhauster shrugged. "Whatever. Looks like the food is done, come on!"

They went over to the food table and got some plates then Maribel pulled Judy aside.

"Did you and Nick make out this morning?"

"What?! No! Of course not!" Judy exclaimed.

"Then what happened?" Maribel said eagerly.

Judy sighed. "He saw me in my underwear."

"Oh my god! You actually…?!"

"Shh!" Judy exclaimed looking around to make sure no one heard. "It wasn't like that! He walked into my apartment while I was getting dressed and he saw me in my underwear. That was all."

"I wonder what he thought," Maribel said thoughtfully.

"Well...he was staring," Judy said blushing.

"Of course he was staring. He probably wanted to take it off."

"Maribel!"

"What? It's entirely possible."

"Things aren't like that with me and Nick. I doubt he wanted to see me completely naked." Although Judy wondered how right Maribel was and the thought made her happy.

"He's a man, of course he wanted to see you completely naked."

Nick came over and sat on Judy's other side. "What are you two whispering about over here?"

"Nothing," Judy said waving it off.

"Aw come on, I won't tell anyone."

"I was telling Maribel how you fell out of your chair yesterday," Judy said with a smirk.

"I didn't fall! I did that on purpose," Nick said stubbornly.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure the screaming when you fell backwards was entirely on purpose."

The rest of the afternoon was a lot of fun. They played some games and Giselle performed. The sun started to go down and it was almost fireworks time. Judy and Nick sat in the grass next to each other and made sure to have a perfect view of the sky.

"Zootopia fireworks are amazing," Nick said. "I think you're really gonna like it."

"I've been so excited to see it all week," Judy said happily.

The first firework was shot into the air and exploded into a beautiful array of red and blue light.

"Wow!" Judy exclaimed, her eyes glowing with excitement with every explosion.

Her happiness made Nick smile. She was always so bubbly and happy and it lit of his world.

She looked at him for a moment and they locked eyes. She blushed but she couldn't look away. His green eyes were mesmerizing. She felt like an idiot for staring at him so long and looked down but he surprised her by holding her hand. She looked down at their hands for a moment surprised and then looked back up at him and found him smiling at her. His smile made her happy. She leaned towards him and felt his warm breath. He leaned towards her as well and right before their lips could touch Clawhauster and Maribel ran over and sat next to him.

"Oh em goodness, these fireworks are the best they've ever been!" Clawhauster exclaimed.

Maribel dug her hand into the bag of popcorn she had gotten. "They've really outdone themselves this year!"

Nick and Judy realized how close they were and suddenly felt embarrassed. What were they doing? Were they really about to do this? They quickly looked away from each other and let go of their hands before Maribel and Clawhauster could notice anything.

Judy took a chance and looked at Nick but he was now focused on the fireworks. She sighed. Maybe she had been imagining things. Why would Nick want to kiss her?