After the almost chaotic day that was Saturday, both fox and rabbit decided that having a lazy Sunday on the couch was the best course of action. And it was, for the first three hours, until boredom started killing Judy from the inside. No matter what Nick tried, nothing seemed to keep the bunny's attention for more than ten minutes.

Come 3pm, Nick was out of ideas to entertain her, so he just asked her what she wanted to do and braced for impact, preparing himself for the inevitable trek around the city.

Judy surprised him, however, "I want to talk about you joining the ZPD," she said with resolution in her voice and hesitation in her eyes. It was clear that the topic had been eating at her, but she didn't look too confident in bringing it up.

"What do you mean?" asked Nick, still thrown by the sudden request.

Judy started playing with one of her ears, "Well, I know you said we'd talk about it in the weekend and I don't wanna push you, but it's Sunday already, and you haven't said anything…" She sheepishly shrugged, "I just wanted to know if you still wanna do it."

It took Nick more than a moment to process what Judy just said. To say it was the last thing he was expecting would be an understatement. Yet, it wasn't unexpected either. He did say they would talk about it and he did not-so-unintentionally avoid to bring it up, which made him frown. Why did he do that?

He shook his head and focused on the present again. His musing could wait, for now, he had an apprehensive bunny to deal with. "Worried I'd ditch you, Carrots?" he said with a joking tone and a smirk. He reasoned that a bit of humour might help her gloomy disposition.

"Yes," was her sincere and sad answer.

Which took him another moment to process, this time without as much success. "Huh?" was his incredibly articulate response.

Judy briefly glanced over him and looked away again, shrugging once more. "I understand, really. The first time I asked you I immediately messed up royally, and the second time I was in distress, so you probably felt pressured into saying yes," she said while still playing with her ear. "I keep forcing you into these situations and-"

Nick cut in before she finished the sentence, "I'll stop you right there," he said with a stern expression that took Judy off guard, "First off, you really need to stop with this 'forcing you' shenanigan. It's getting annoying. You didn't force me to fill the application the first time, and you sure as hell didn't force me to accept the second time. You offered me the chance to change my life, and I happily accepted both times." His tone was as stern as his expression. Judy felt like she was being lectured and started acting a bit defensive.

Seeing that, Nick decided to change gears. "Second off, I made you a promise Judy, and I am a fox of my word. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not," he said with a much more gentler tone and expression. That, coupled with his use of her real name made Judy relax. He really meant it.

Taking a deep breath and growing a small smile Judy finally looked at Nick in the eyes, "Thank you."

Nick smiled back, "You know, I was kind of joking when I called you bunnies emotional, but you're definitely living up to it."

She lightly shoved him on the shoulder, "Shut up. You never let me enjoy those moments when you're not a pain in the tail," Judy said with a smirk.

"Can't have you get used to it, can I?" he said with a smirk of his own.

Judy chuckled and shook her head, "You're unbelievable." Nick just chuckled. "Well, that still leaves us with one question," she said.

Nick's ears perked up, "And the question would be?"

"When do you want to do it?" she asked with some trepidation.

'She really is afraid that I changed my mind,' he thought while looking at Judy. Her nose was wiggling like crazy, and her eyes were glued on him. 'But why?'. Nick sighed, "If I say tomorrow, will you let me enjoy the rest of today on the couch?"

Her ears snapped up, and her eyes grew like saucers, "Really?"

"Yes, really."

Judy smile grew from ear to ear, and she brought her paws to it before unleashing an ear-splitting squeal and diving for a bone-crushing hug, "I can't wait!"

"Neither… can… I…" said Nick, trying not to die from asphyxiation. That bunny really didn't know her strength. After a few more excruciating seconds, Judy finally let go of him, and he could finally look forward to a lazy Sunday of nothing but T.V. and junk food.

…

…

…

"This movie is getting really boring, isn't it?" Judy asked. Nick just groaned.

"C'mon, Nick! We don't wanna be too late, or the Chief'll be too busy to see us!" yelled Judy from the living room.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" yelled back Nick from the bedroom. He was already regretting the whole thing, waking up before 8 a.m. should be illegal. That and those damn pants were not collaborating! Seriously, what was with that rabbit and skinny jeans?

Luckily, Monday was the last day of their deal. Unluckily, they both had the idea to be witty with the last outfit. That's why, when he finally managed to pull those stupid jeans up, Nick got out of his room looking like Judy did when she came back to Zootopia. It was definitely not his style, be he could understand why she liked it. The flannel shirt was very comfortable.

Judy on the other paw had absolutely no idea how Nick could dress like this every day. The khakis were too slack, and she almost tripped on them every other step, and while the shirt was silk, it was also an eyesore like no other. Not to mention that damned tie! She was trying to tie the knot for almost ten minutes now.

That was the scene Nick walked into when he entered the living room, Judy sitting on the sofa frowning at her tie. "Need help with that?" he asked.

"The damn knot keeps tangling itself up!" she said with frustration.

Nick got in front of her, kneeled down and started working on the tie, untangling it first, "Didn't they teach you how to tie a knot at the academy?"

"No, but they taught me how to take down a rhino," Judy said matter-of-factly.

Nick scoffed, "I'm sure they did."

"Want me to demonstrate?" she asked with a daring smile.

Nick looked up, her eyes were begging him to say yes. He cleared his throat, "You know what? I'll take a pass on that," and went back to working on the tie. Judy chuckled.

Moments later he finished a simple Windsor knot and left it a little loose. "Perfect," he said looking at his handiwork.

Judy looked at herself too, and what she saw was far from perfect, "I seriously can't understand how you can go around town every day dressed in the equivalent of a punch in the eye in shirt form," she said looking back at Nick with a raised eyebrow.

Nick mirrored her expression, "The same way you can go out looking like the mascot for a brand of paper towels," he said waving a paw up and down, pointing at his outfit.

Judy raised a finger ready to counter, when the image of the mascot he was talking about, a brown bear clad in flannel and jeans, appeared in her mind. Her counter died in her throat and her pointed finger curled on itself. "You win this battle, but not the war," she announced solemnly.

Nick chuckled, "Duly noted." He reached for his wallet and his phone on one of the bookcases by the T.V. by the door. "Ready to go?" he asked Judy.

Checking her pockets for her own phone and wallet, the bunny nodded, "Let's go, partner."

"Let's not make any hasty assumptions, partner. I haven't even been accepted into the academy yet," he said opening the door and letting Judy go first so that he could lock it.

"I know, but I have this feeling, call it a hunch if you will, that everything is gonna be alright," Judy said.

Nick snorted, "Be careful with those Carrots, they tend to backfire," he said with his ever-present pessimism to which Judy just rolled her eyes. "Besides, where does this 'hunch' even come from?"

Judy gave it some actual thought. It was a legitimate question, and she didn't know the answer yet herself. "I don't know. I guess I just have faith in you," she said turning to face Nick with a sincere smile and big honest eyes.

To this day, Nick isn't sure how his heart started beating again.

After a relatively short commute to the city center- Nick lived in Downtown Savannah, which isn't that far from Savannah Central, but it's still 6 subway stops away- the pair found themselves at the bottom of the steps leading to the Precinct 1. They both were trepidant, but for different reasons.

Judy was nervous but in a good way. After taking down Lionheart for the kitnappings and the following press conference, her colleagues had mixed reactions. The prey on the force had a little more respect for her, she proved to be more than just a meter maid. The predators on the force, however, didn't take to kindly to what she said on stage like the rest of the pred community, and understandably so. It had a significant impact on Judy, and she worked relentlessly to fix the situation until she couldn't take it anymore and went back to BunnyBurrow.

Now, she would come back after solving yet another major case, one that no one even knew existed, and after clearing the names of all the predators in Zootopia. She hoped that her colleagues forgave her and that she could try and be on good terms with them again, but at the same time, she feared that her words would still linger in their minds.

Nick on the other paw, was scared shitless. He was about to walk into a police station, of his own volition, to see if he could join their ranks. Let alone the fact that it would be a life-changing decision; currently, he was a seasoned hustler. He conned so many people in the past that it was almost impossible that the police didn't have a file on him. Actually, he knew it was impossible, because Judy managed to get his tax records, so he was in the system. Now, no matter how "technically legal" his hustles were, they were still hustles.

That, coupled with the fact that he was basically about to ask the Chief for a favour. The same Chief that he antagonised multiple times and that was very clearly not happy with his existence. Yup, a walk in the park.

So, with both their hearts working overtime, they began to slowly ascend the steps in front of them, both to be mindful of Judy's leg and to buy as much time as possible without standing outside the doors to the precinct like a pair of idiots.

Once they reached the top, Judy grabbed the handlebar of the first door in front of her and took a big breath. "You ready?" she asked Nick.

Nick took a breath of his own, although more surreptitiously. "I'm always ready," he said with confidence that he didn't feel at all. With a nod, Judy pushed the door open, and they both stepped inside.

A/N: So I know this is a very short chapter, and it came after such a long wait, but as I said in a previous Note, my life has been/is a bit chaotic right now. As a consequence, I neglected writing even more than normal. Since I don't know when I'll be able to write again after I move in two days, I decided to at least give you this. Take it as a prelude to what will be the actual next chapter. Once I'm done with it, I'm gonna merge the two into one.

Lame apology now over, I hope you enjoyed this little snippet nonetheless. As always any and all criticism is more than appreciated!