Ch. 6, Sunset:

It was late in the night when Judy and Nick had arrived back in Zootopia. They both had one more day off and wanted to spend it together. Nick decided to spend the night at Judy's apartment. Judy shoved the produce they had harvested in the fridge she shared with the other residents. In Judy's small apartment, Nick thought it best to leave his luggage by the door and help Judy unpack her suit case.

As Nick ruffled through her clothes, he found her underwear. He held the bunny's colorful lingerie up, laughing at her. Nick, in a playful spirit, kept her underwear out of her reach, high above her head. Each time Judy tried to snatch it out of his hands, he would in a quick pinch, pull it back out of her reach. Without warning, Judy jumped and wrapped her arms and legs around Nick. Catching him off guard, Nick stumbled back and fell onto the bed. Laying their frozen, Nick only looked into Judy's dark lavender eyes and smiled. Nick kissed her. He thought of himself as some passionate lover in a cheesy rom-com movies.

Nick's, focusing completely on Judy, took in every aspect of her. Her scent, smelling of newly bloomed flowers. Her soft fur, feeling cushy pillow. Her sweet kisses, tasting like fresh picked blueberries he loved so much.

Judy reached up and snatched her panties from Nick's hand. He pulled away from their passionate kiss, looking at her and smiling.

"Were you just trying to get the panties, Carrots?" he asked her with such playful spirit. Her actions reminded him of when he caught her on tap saying, she was just a dumb bunny. Crying her eyes out into his chest, laughing, and trying to grab at her carrot pen recorder.

Closing her eyes, Judy laid her head down on Nick's chest. Her fluffy tail twitching with excitement. She was still hugging him tightly, with her arms and legs, not wanting to let go. Judy felt at peace and did not want it to end. Judy unbuttoned his pawaiian shirt so that she could rub her cheeks into the fur of his chest. She marked him with her scent, rubbing her cheeks on him.

Nick liked every bit of where this was going. Reaching down and grabbing at Judy's shirt, and ever so gentle, pulled it over her head. Judy, returning the favor, unbuttoned the rest of Nick's pawaiian shirt and tossing it to the floor, along with his loose fitted tie. It was Nick's turn, and he slid his paws up Judy's back and unhooked her bra and tossing it to the floor next to his shirt and tie. Nick kissed each one of her exposed breasts.

They helped unbutton and unzip each other's pants. Being on top of Nick, her pants were the first to come off and fall to the floor, along with her panties. Wrapping his arms around Judy, Nick rolled her off of him and positioned himself on top. Not wanting to let go off her fox mate she tried pushing his pants to floor with her foot. Finally, looping her foot around Nick's pant's and boxer's, pushing them to the floor. She could feel Nick's fox cock hard and erect between her legs which excited her, feeling it pressed against her.

They could feel the heat radiate off one another's body. Like Judy had done with him, Nick rubbed his snout against her cheek and under her chin. Wanting as much of his scent on her as she did with him.

With no warning, Nick entered her making her moan and gasp in pleasure. One of the best advantages of being an interspecies couple was that there was no need for protection. Though it does happen, it's rare for an inter couple to conceive a child. The chances for an inter couple to conceive were one and a hundred thousand.

Though, if the inter pair consisted of one being a predator and prey, the chances were one in a million. The only thing to worry about, of course, were of any transmittable diseases, which Nick and Judy were both clean of. Now, every time they made love, they could do it all natural, experiencing full pleasure.

Judy wrapped her feet around Nick to hold him tighter and feel him deeper inside her. Nick kissed her neck and nibbled at her ear knowing that would make her heated and excited. Nick held her tight, thrusting deep inside her, making her moan with each thrust into her.

Neither one of them stopped until both collapsed in each other's arms, reeling from ecstasy. Both were panting and trying to catch their breath. Patches of their fur were wet with sweat.

Nick moved to get off of her only for Judy to pull him back down. She did not want him to leave her. Feeling Nick inside of her felt right, feeling warm and whole, and did not want it to end. Nick, so gentle, rubbed his hand down the side of her face and down to her chin. They held each other till they both fell asleep, listening to the nightlife of Zootopia outside the window.

The morning sunlight shined through Judy's window and on to their sleeping bodies. Judy winched at the sun light making her open and rub her eyes. It felt nice not to have to wake up to the loud buzzing of her alarm clock. Though living on a farm her whole life, she always wakes no later than seven in the morning. Nick had his arm around her, cuddling her. As comforting as it was to have Nick hold her, she wanted to get up and get a start on the day.

As careful as she could be, she grabbed Nick's hand by the wrist and lifted off of her, making sure not to wake Nick. Still naked from last nights coitus with Nick, she tiptoed to her dresser and grabbed a large ZPD shirt to wear. The shirt belonged to Nick, which he had left one night. Judy loved it, having Nick's scent and sleeping in it on nights he could not stay over. She also grabbed an extra pair of underwear to put on.

Though her apartment was not big enough to have a kitchen, she did have her own Keurig machine to make coffee. She made two cups of coffee, one for her and one for Nick. On most days, she would get coffee at the precinct, already made and available for her to take.

Nick twitched and turned in bed at the scent of grounded coffee beans filling the apartment. His ears perked up, and he gave the air a hard sniff, taking in the coffee's aroma. Stretching out his limbs and rubbing his eyes awake, he looked over at Judy who was enjoying her cup of coffee.

"Carrots, it's not even eight o'clock yet. You should be back in bed," Nick said, tired and still rubbing his eyes to stay open.

"No can do," Judy said, taking a small sip of her coffee, "no Hopp's rabbit ever sleeps past seven."

"Well, I'm nocturnal, and we like to sleep in."

Judy put down her cup of coffee and approached Nick with the cup she made for him. She held the cup of coffee out for Nick to take, being careful not to spill any of the hot liquid. "Come on, Slick. Wake up and get dressed. There's something I want to show you today," Judy said.

Nick took the cup of coffee in hand. The steam flowing out the top of the mug made his whiskers twitch and frizzle the fur on his snout. He took a small sip, savoring the feeling of the black liquid moving down his throat.

"It won't take long, will it? I want to take you out to Eden this evening. You know, that fancy restaurant in the Rainforest District," Nick said.

"No. It won't take long," Judy said, "But, figured it would be best to go ahead and show you. That way we can spend the rest of the day..." Judy stopped and realized what Nick had said. He wanted to take her out to Eden this evening. That sounded like something Nick would never be up for doing. Nick wanted to take her out to Eden, which was the most outstanding and fancy restaurants in Zootopia. A mammal would have to wear a nice suit, or dress, just to get admission through the front door. When it came to eating out, at a restaurant, Nick could be, at times, cheap and the prices at Eden could cost up to over a hundred dollars.

Is he joking, Judy thought. Is he trying to have a laugh at me at my expense? Making her believe they would be going to a high-class dining experience, only to bring her to some local greasy diner then. She had no clue what Nick was up to, but it made her suspicious of him.

"Can we stop somewhere for a quick bite?" he asked, "before you show me whatever it is you want to show me?" The coffee alone is not going to keep his hunger at bay.

"Only if you hurry up and get dressed," she said, tossing him his pawaiian shirt from off the floor.

Nick was gracious for Judy stopping and letting him get a quick bite to eat. She brought him to a diner that she knew he liked, Timon & Pumba's Diner. It was where they served some of the best tasting and non-healthy food possible. Nick favored their roasted and glazed crickets.

Where she brought him now, he had no clue. Nick would question her, try to hustle some idea or clue out of her. Judy would only shake her head, not wanting to ruin the surprise.

"Here we are," Judy said, pulling up and parking in front of a building complex.

"Carrots, if you wanted me to look at old buildings this morning, I could have pulled them up on my phone, while in bed."

"Shut up and come take a look."

Nick did as Judy said, following her into the building complex. The interior of the building was rather quite beautiful when Nick saw it. Polished hardwood floors, well lit, and a marble counter top for management to sit behind.

"Come on, this way," Judy said sounding anxious, wanting to show what she had in store for him. Grabbing his lose fitted tie, she dragged him up the stairs.

They did not have to travel far up the stairs. Judy pulled him off on the next floor up. Standing in the middle of the hallway was an old female armadillo with red glasses. She looked so much like Judy's landlord. Nick wanted to ask if the two were by any chance related, twins perhaps. The old armadillo had a set of keys in her hand and giving the both of them an impatient stare.

"You're late," the old armadillo said.

"Sorry, we stopped for a bite to eat and lost track of time," Judy said.

"Doesn't matter" the old armadillo said with a sigh, "here's the apartment that's up for rent." the armadillo fumbled with her set of keys, finding the right one to slide into the door lock and opening it for them to see.

Judy, leading the exposition, dragged Nick into the apartment by his tie. The apartment was five times the size of Judy's place. It had a living room area big enough to fit a well-sized couch and a kitchen with a fridge and stove. A hallway that led to two bedrooms and bathroom with a nice sized tube. Looking around Nick wanted to take in the whole spectacle of the apartment.

"So?" Judy said, questioning Nick, "What do you think?"

"It's great, Carrots," he said, still in awe at the apartment."Are you planning on moving in here?"

"Actually..." she said, sounding nervous about the next words she was going to say. "I was thinking, that both of us could move in here." Nick's ears perked up when she said that.

Nick had completely forgotten about the conversation they had, about finding a place together. Judy explained how she decided to take it on herself and look for a place. It made Nick wonder, how long did it take her to find this place? Did she start searching for a new apartment the very next day, after their conversation that night? Was she upset that he didn't help her look for a place, or did she want to surprise him with it?

"Now, it's a little pricey. But, I figure, with the both of us we will be able to afford it, along with other accessories."

"Judy, this is all great. Let's do it," Nick said, finally speaking up with excitement and a cheery smile on his face. Her surprising him with this apartment, could not have come at a better time.

"Wow, really?" she said, surprised at how quickly Nick jumped at the idea of moving into the apartment. "I figured you want a day or two to think it over, or weigh the options before deciding."

"Don't need to, Carrots," he said still filling excited. "This is, even more, of a reason for us to go out tonight. To celebrate."

"Still can't believe you're willing to take me to Eden for dinner. This better not be some ruse that you're leading me on."

"If it was the old me... maybe. But I am honest, one hundred percent, that this, is not a ruse. Thank you. This is a wonderful surprise" he said. Walking up to her, hugging her and leaning down to kiss her between her ears, making them turn bright red. Smiling, Judy gave her fox mate a kiss on the lips.

Judy stacked her lovely dresses and outfits on to her bed. Holding each one up to her and looking at herself in the mirror. She did not have a lot of options to choose from, so she would hold up the same dress, or outfit, again and again.

"Okay, plain black dress or this suit," she said aloud to no one imparticular. "Plain Black dress or this suit? Black dress or suit?"

"For pete sakes, Rabbit! Just pick one!" came Pronk's voice through the wall.

Before Judy knew it, Bucky was yelling at Pronk. Telling him that what this was important to Judy. Then, as usual, Pronk and Bucky started yelling back and forth, telling the other to shut up. Judy, rolling her eyes and ears dropping behind her head, gave a big sigh. Needing to get out of her apartment and away from her arguing gazel neighbors. Tossing the dress and suit on the bed, she left the apartment to go for a little walk. I'll wear the black dress for tonight, she thought. She still had concerns, thinking that Nick will fall through on taking her to Eden.

Walking, not sure or caring, where she was going. She walked for a good half-hour through Savannah Square. Passing by Otterton's Flower shop had a line of beautiful carnations out front. Judy stopped to look and smell all the different flowers Otterton had displaying in front of his store.

Sniffing the beautiful scent given off by a batch of Gardenias, She did not see that she was in the path of a dazed looking Yak. The Yak, bumping into her, turned around to apologize. Flys and nats buzzed around his head. His long hair covered most of his face. Parting his hair from his face so he could see Judy.

"Oh, sorry about that- hey you're the other cop," The Yak said. Judy did not recognize him at first, but it was Yakady Yak who ran the Mystic Spa in Sahara Square.

"Oh, hey it's you. Sorry, didn't recognize you with..." Judy said in an uncomfortable-nervous tone, "clothes."

She remembers how Yakady Yak had surprised her and exposed himself to her. This time he wore a loose sun-shirt, looking as though no one has ever washed it. For his bottom half, he wore loose fitting cargo pants.

"Yeah, and it's you. The other cop. I ran into your partner not too long ago," Yak said in his dopey voice like he was high. "He was at a tux rental shop getting fitted in a nice suit. I saw him through the large window, which I first thought was a large plasma screen tv showing some designer channel. That was until the manager came out to shoo me away. But your fox friend was looking pretty spiffy in the suit he was wearing. Anyway, you take care now." Yak left, leaving her in a bewildered state.

If Yak was telling the truth, then Nick was planning to take her to Eden this evening. Judy thought about the few dresses she had thrown on the bed before leaving her apartment. None of those dresses, or suits, were going to match up the high quality that Eden expects. She needed help and quick. There was only one person Judy knew with great fashion sense. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number. It rang twice before she picked up and hearing the high pitch voice of FruFru the shrew.

She met FruFru at a high-class department store that caters to all mammals. She had the employees assemble a line of dresses for Judy to try on. Judy was in awe at all the different rabbit size dresses. All were unique, and all were beautiful. She tried on every dress, creating a montage of going in and out of the changing booth with different dresses. The whole experience was odd to Judy. The last time she wore any fancy dress was for her high school prom, and it was not as decorative as these dresses.

It was around the eleventh or twelfth dress that Judy and FruFru came to both loving. Judy stepped out of the changing booth wearing a dark lavender dress matching her eyes. The dress wrapped tight around her but didn't cut off her breathing. When Judy moved, and the light caught the dress at a certain angle, it would give off a lite sparkle.

"Oh, my gosh Judy. That dress makes you look soo beautiful," FruFur said, holding baby Judy in her arms. Judy gave a twirl for FruFru to see all. "That's the one for you."

"I love it," Judy said with a broad smile. Judy looked at every angle of herself in the three mirrors the store had set up. She loved how the dress pushed her breast up and sparkled when she twirled. The high heels that made her look a bit taller and more confident. She even loved how it made her fluffy tail look extra cute. She could not wait till Nick saw her in this. She could imagine his jaw dropping, and eyes popping out with excitement. This dress would beat any nice suit or tux that Nick was renting.

Judy looked at the price tag, and all her excitement went away. The price tag on the dress was two hundred and fifty dollars. She didn't have that kind of money to spend on one dress. FruFru saw how much this troubled Judy and offered to pay for the dress in full. The shrew was so generous to her.

Judy asked if she could hold her godchild. Taking baby Judy into her palm, Judy started making baby noises and cues to her godchild. As she played with baby Judy, she was still thinking about Nick. Thinking about all the different reactions he would have seen her in this dress.

Judy sat in her apartment, waiting, in her new dress, for Nick's arrival. She was becoming a bit unhinged waiting for Nick. Any minute now, there would be a knock at the door, telling her of Nick's arrival. Judy was starting to over think. What if Nick back out of his promise and wasn't going to bring her to Eden? What if he made Yakady Yak make her believe that Nick was renting a tux?

Knock, knock.

Finally, she thought, hearing the anticipated knock at her door. Judy got up from the bed and went to answer the door. She stopped at the mirror to take a quick look at herself over again. She looked perfect in her dress. Judy took in a deep breath and went to open the door for Nick.

Judy answered the door to see Nick standing there. Yak was not lying when he told her Nick was looking real slick in this new suit, wearing black slacks with a black belt and gold buckle. He wore a black vest over a long sleeve gray button up shirt. The tie he wore was fire red like his fur and did not have that relaxed demeanor he always had when dressing in a tie. Instead, his tie was proper and tight, tucked under the black vest. Judy was at a loss for words looking at the fox standing in front of her.

"Wow, you look beautiful," the two of them said at the same time, laughing for speaking at the same time.

As Nick had promised, he brought Judy to the Eden restaurant. He had a reservation for them and everything, which impressed Judy. They sat at their table and had a bottle of wine sent to over.

Judy took a look around the restaurant. Figured this would be the only time she ever ate here. She wanted to take it all in. The Eden restaurant got its name from the mythical place called the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden, supposedly, was the magical place where life started for all mammals.

Judy turned to her menu, not feeling too particularly hungry. What she wanted to do was take Nick back home and rip that nice suit off of him and pounce. Judy wanted to be the predator for once during their love making. An idea popped into Judy's head. Sliding her foot out of her heel and brushed it up Nick's leg. Nick could feel what she was doing and was trying to hide an awkward smile.

"Carrots, what are doing?" Nick asked, but Judy did not answer. Instead, she continued to look at her menu with a smile and humming a slight tune.

Dinner went perfect, and Judy could not believe how great Nick had pulled this off. She enjoyed her five-star entire which was carrot based, and Nick's was feasting on some type fancy cricket platter. They both drank heavily at the wine that they ordered.

Through out dinner, they engaged in polite conversation back and forth. Nick and Judy talked throughout dinner about the apartment and the design plans they had for it. Nick, joking, insisted that they turn the spare bedroom into a sex dungeon, which Judy could only roll her eyes at such a suggestion. Nick told her stories of him and Jack as kids. Judy could feel some of the effects of the wine take over. She was oblivious to the fact that Nick paid their bill and it was time to go.

Leaving Eden and stepping outside, the sun was still out and starting to set on the horizon. Nick had his arm wrapped around Judy's waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. It took her awhile before realizing Nick was leading her to the sky trams.

"Why are we taking the sky trams? It will be faster if we head back the other way to get to my place." Judy said with concern.

"Ah, come on Carrots. It's still the evening, and the long way home sounds fun," he said. Judy was feeling so ecstatic of the evening she could not care less. She let Nick lead her to sky tram.

Nick, holding Judy's hand, helped her into the gondola. Judy grabbed ahold of the railing. Before Nick joined her, he ran over to the conductor of the tram, a sloth. He was telling the sloth something, but Judy couldn't make it out. She did not care and turned her attention to the setting sun in the distance.

Nick finally joined her in the gondola. The tram moved upward through the rainforest district and towards the setting sun. Judy wrapped her arms around Nick and rested her head on his chest.

The gondola that they were riding in reached the highest point of the tram when it came to a complete stop. Judy started to analyze the situation the two of them were in. Being stuck hundreds of feet above the ground, making her feel a bit uneasy. Nick could see Judy was getting a little antsy and needed to calm her.

"Relax, Carrots. They will have this thing moving before you know it. Come here and enjoy this sunset with me," Nick said holding out his hand for Judy to take. Seeing Nick all calm made her relax. She grabbed his hand and pulled in close to him.

The sunset in the distance was a beautiful sight to lay eyes on. The yellow-orange sun, radiating warmth. The sky, displaying a splash of velvet, yellow, and orange colors. The large fluffy clouds outlined with rays of light from the sun. It all looked like a beautiful painting that belonged in a museum.

"You know I remember when we were first up here and I had told you my dark past trying to join the junior rangers. I remember how you reached out and touched my arm and made me feel that everything was going to be okay. It scared me how someone, other than my mother, could care for me like that. It's why I wanted to bring you up here. Carrots, I have a confession to make," Nick spoke up. Judy took her attention off the beautiful sunset to look at him.

"I asked the conductor to purposely stop the gondola at this location for a few minutes. Why I decided to bring you to Eden tonight. And there was an actual reason I wanted to see your folks this weekend. Because I wanted to ask your father for permission," he said and pulled a small black box from his pocket. Looking at the black box made Judy's hair and ears perk up with tension. Nick got down on one knee and held the box out in front of her. Opening the box, Judy looked in seeing a silver ring with a lavender color embedded on it. Nick smiled and spoke, in a sweet tone to her, five simple words, "Judy Hopps, will you marry me?"

Judy's eyes were wet with tears of joy, giving a little laugh and wiping away the tears in her eyes. "Yes," she said, "one hundred percent, yes."

Nick took the ring out of the box and placed it on Judy's finger. An overwhelming flood of emotions filled Judy's face. She cried tears of joy, laughing at how unbelievable this all felt, smiling for the happiness she felt. Nick stood back up and kissed his fiancé, making her ears perk straight up.

The gondola started to move again, catching them off guard making them both stumble a bit. Grabbing the railing, Nick steadied himself, and Judy grabbed ahold of Nick. Wrapping his arm around her, he brought Judy in close. They both looked out in the direction the tram was moving. The gondola moved forward towards the overwhelming beautiful sunset, and on to a new chapter in their lives.

(AN: So ends the new chapter of The Long Hustle. A lot of things are happening that will have a great impact in upcoming chapters, so please stay up to date. Want to thank everyone that has followed and favorite this story. By all means, if you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review.)