Chapter XXI
Shattered Memories
Judy took a few steps back, her long gray furred ears perking up as they caught the sound of something crunching underneath her rear-paws. Glancing to the carpeted floor only confirmed the thoughts that were rushing through her head. Before picking up the remains of the picture frame, she leaned up against a wall, turning her paws over to examine them for any traces of blood or cuts. This carried on for a few minutes, in which she ran a finger over the spots her rear-paw coverings didn't protect, which were her three toes believe it or not. Of all places that it didn't cover, it was there. Then again she had never had an incident with this, though as her partner always reminded her, there was always the opportunity for a first time. But this was hardly a time or place to be thinking of such trivial, irrelevant things, especially since it was their apartment that had been broken into.
Bending over, she pulled the wooden casing from the floor, though it was barely holding together since the left frame had been rendered into splinters. The pane of glass was in no better condition, appearing as if an animal had smashed it with a baseball bat or some other implement. Whatever had been used, the results were still the same, whatever had been underneath was hidden from the impact breakage, though a few shards had come loose, cause to why she had stepped on some glass a few minutes prior. Letting out a soft sigh, as this wasn't the first one that she had stumbled across, she turned it over, slipping the image out from the back. Throwing the frame back to the floor, she flipped the photo over, her mood falling even further, if that was possible.
The moment that the picture had captured was of her and her husband, on the day of their wedding day. No dress or suit for either of them, instead they had agreed on using their ceremonial uniforms, the ones they had used in their graduation and other such rare occasions. The image was clear, which was surprising since her mate had done it one handed, his other arm had been encircled around her waist. Her face was pressed against his, both of them wearing wide smiles as they were delirious with immeasurable amounts of joy. She traced a thumb over the places where their uniforms were reflecting the light of the court house. Regardless of the present situation, a weak smile still escaped her, eyes brimming with fond tears. This all could have been avoided if they simply stayed friends, but she wouldn't give up what her husband and her had for the world.
Padding lightly around the shards of glass, the rabbit continued searching what was left of their bedroom. Though there wasn't much point as there was barely a single possession that hadn't been violated in the break in. As of this moment, it hadn't been confirmed if anything had been stolen, a majority of what they owned had been more or less destroyed or marred in some shape or form. It was clear that the only intention that the intruders had was to destroy their home, which they had succeeded quite well in. Everything from the picture she was still holding in her paw to the possessions that they held dearly to their hearts had been ruined. Though it could be said that a great deal of it were Nicks, in turn hers as they now shared it all. Seeing as she had only come to Zootopia with a single bag of luggage four year…..almost five years ago. Not much had been added to that besides clothes, towels, bedding, a small box of movies, her uniforms, and even a few pieces of jewelry; though her mate had bought her most of them, mainly for their anniversaries.
Thinking of her partner, the doe glanced behind her to the door that led to the rest of the apartment. He was performing a sweep of the rest of the house where the other officers were undergoing their investigation. They had no authority over this matter as they weren't officially allowed to be involved as this was pertained to them. This wasn't to say that they couldn't point things out to the animals working on this case. It was the laws and the codes of conduct they had to follow as law enforcers; it was similar to when her partner had been shot, she wasn't permitted to assist in it because she was too close to him. With that being said, they shouldn't even be allowed to be collecting anything from their home, as it was all in a way, evidence. The one solitary reason why they hadn't been blocked from entering was because the chief was overseeing this personally.
Baring in mind that her partner and her were overstepping regulations, the rabbit hurried up in her search, placing the things that had seemingly been untouched into a pack. Bogo had shown his sympathies and was letting them break procedures to do what they were doing, it would be best not to hang around. No one could say this was particularly painless; how could anyone? Sorting through the remnants of everything they had worked so hard to earn, the things they cherished, now left ruined. Items such as kitchenware, tools, some pieces of furniture, and even the windows and doors caused pangs of grief to course through the doe's chest. Not because they held any significance, it just upset her to see the extent of these animal's ferocity went, leaving her to imagine what they would have to them if they were here. It was an unpleasant trail of thought, so she quickly forced her mind on the current task; collecting up everything that was still in one piece to take with them.
Their bedroom had gone through the same amount of abuse as the rest of the apartment, the bed specifically. The covers had ripped to shreds along with the pillows and their casings, the wooden headboard had been turned into a splintery mess, as though it had an argument with a sledgehammer; if the circular holes in the wall were anything to go off of. Then there was the frame, which was titling to the side from having the fore and back legs smashed out. None of it was worth retrieving, including the mattress which had been sliced open, the stuffing having been torn and thrown about the room. The bedside tables hadn't even gotten through it, the draws being pulled out of them, then seemingly hurled at the walls. A few things had survived from them, such as her jewelry and their medals.
Beyond that, what hadn't survived were some of the pictures of them, the window had the couch smashed and thrown through it, along with the dining room table. Their various uniforms they had discovered in the washing machine, torn up and lit on fire, before going through a rinse cycle. Various articles of their clothing had also shared the same fate, but with the dryer, having been doused with the few bottles of wine they were saving for special occasions, or romantic evenings. Many of the books they had collected over the years, Nick longer than her because he had lived in the city his entire life had been shredded, or thrown into the oven and set ablaze, nothing but ash and smoldering cinders. Everything in the fridge and freezer had ended up across the carpeted and tiled floors, the ceiling as well. To say that majority of what they owned was destroyed would be an understatement, so their two luggage bags were full, now relying on their packs. It had taken a good thirty boxes from her partner's storage container to furnish their apartment to feel like a home.
The rabbit officer walked away from the cupboard, pulling out a few coats and sweaters, which had been forgotten, nothing else worth rescuing was left now in their bedroom. Only fifteen of the fifty or so pictures they had put up in frames or thumb tacked had been in one piece, even the ones of her and her family were ruined, the same with her partners. The small collection of gems the fox had started way before meeting her, had all been smashed into fine pebbles. This was the reason why he had stormed out of their bedroom twenty minutes ago, claiming that he was going to search the rest of the apartment, but she had noticed him wiping at the tears at his eyes. They may have seemed to be ordinary stones, but one of his grandfathers had helped him start that collection, who had passed seven years ago, a way for him to remember his relative.
As the female officer was about to turn and leave the room, her foot landed on something soft, that didn't exactly belong to the carpet. Pulling her foot away, she stared down at the gray stuffed animal, seeing that it was a rabbit. Her nose twitched curiously, as she didn't recognize this as one of her stuffed animals, all of which had been kept safe since she had hid them in her luggage bag. Her husband had made fun of her still having to sleep with them when he had originally moved in with her, a short few weeks before the academy. It wasn't the mean kind of teasing she had gotten from some of her sister and brothers around her age, more playful teasing. It was also difficult to share a bed with them when they had started sleeping together as most couples did. Shaking these wandering thoughts off she inspected the cute little stuffed animal closely, only to find that on the back of the blue shirt it was wearing it had Nicky P. Wilde sewn into it. Placing it in her pack, the officer reminded herself to give it to him when they had found somewhere to settle in for the night.
Taking a last look over, the doe came to the conclusion that whatever they had forgotten that was still retrievable would more than likely be collected by the investigation teams. Once it was no longer deemed a crime scene, they'd also be back to collect the few things that hadn't been demolished by the criminals, whoever they might be. Her nose twitched as she picked up the faint smell of burnt clothes and paper coming from the other side of the house, causing her ears to become increasingly more droopy. But it wasn't the smell, or the constant visual reminders that their apartment had been practically razed.
What did this was seeing her mate slouching over in one of the few chairs that hadn't been broken, holding his head in his paws. His emerald pools staring down at a pile of CDs and records, which had all been thrown into a pile and quite clearly stomped on. The CD player had been smashed into the vinyl player, along with the I-pod docking station. It was hard enough going through their home, seeing the carnage that the intruders had created all because of fun, cruelness, or gods knows what other reasons they held. But seeing the predator that was both her friend and husband like this, with a look of such defeat and sorrow, it felt as though her heart was being clawed out of her chest.
Most days she could only wonder how he could be pulling jokes at the seemingly worst times, the sarcastic remarks he'd give, or how he'd be smiling even when they were in the mist of absolute chaos. Was it his way of managing his emotions so he wouldn't show weakness? Maybe it was all down to his secretive nature? After being married to him for two years, another animal would expect mates to know one another better than this. Besides that, she had known him for half a decade, yet there were still a lot of things she didn't know about him. This being the case, it often made handling situations such as these…..well difficult. She didn't know how to approach him when he was like this! One of the leading causes to their arguments was him closing himself off to her, not vocally, or physically, more along the lines of emotionally; at least regarding when he was stressed or hurting, or just fed up with it all.
Fastening her eyes tightly shut, the lapin forced back her emotional side, one of them had to be strong tonight, and it wasn't her partner who had lost his composure quite a pawful of times. After breathing out a heavy breath through her nose, she padded over to her mate, his ears and nose the only things registering her presence as they twitched. Some of the other officers looked up from what they were doing, giving various nods of acknowledgement, a few smiling at her with sympathetic eyes. Another tally they could add to their wall, being the first officers in the last fifteen years to have their home vandalized, for Zootopia anyways.
Having stood at the fox's side for the last minute or so without a single word passing between them, the rabbit was about to break the silence when finally.
"My great-great grandfather brought these over from DeutschStag when he moved to Zootopia," the tod's voice was soft, but audible enough to hear clearly, he waved a paw over the ruined vinyl collection.
"He gave them to me when I turned twenty-three…..twenty-four," he nodded, to himself. "They…they were the only things that he gave me…to remember him by. I can sti…..still remember sitting with him and my great-great grandmother in their living room…..listening to the music," his eyes had filled up with tears, a few making their way down his face, leaving damp trails behind them. "They may have all been in DeutschStaggen….bu-but they were all I had left o…..of either of them."
The predator sighed tiredly, looking much older than he was. His ears flat against his skull, his wire thin whiskers drooping along with the rest of his fur, even his tail showed no signs of life, having remained dormant across his lap, not even the faintest twitch from the tip. Judy noticed that the tips of his black ears, and wherever the fur was a very dark brown or simply black, there were small wisps of gray already starting to appear. Rarely it crossed her mind that he was three years older than her, as it wasn't that much of a distance in time. But it wasn't that which reminded her of the differences in their lives, it was the scars. The emotional ones, such as the way he would change subjects if the conversation was leaning too much on his past or his emotions, how he'd brood when something was troubling him, the cynical outlooks he had on life. In this moment it was all simply gone, leaving a vulnerable, emotionally worn out male who seemingly had enough of life dragging him through the mud.
A few moments had passed since he had recounted the story behind their vinyl collection, which the younger officer had been thinking of how to respond. There wasn't anything she could say, an apology was honestly just too bland and wouldn't even express how sorry she was. The lapin's grief could easily be seen from just looking at her, but this was beyond words, all of it. Instead of trying to think of a way to say that things would get better, she stood up on the balls of her hind-paws so as to better reach her mate. Her arms circled around him in a tight hug, pressing herself against his warmth, offering hers to try and soothe him. He returned it, his more muscular and masculine arms easily embracing her, the underside of his muzzle rested between her ears, his eyes looking distantly at a wall.
"Nicholas…." she sighed, tenderly running a paw over his back, albeit pointless since he was still wearing his vest underneath his uniform shirt.
"Judith," he breathed her true name, causing a warm shiver to dance across her spine. "It doesn't matter that our apartment is trashed. I only care that you're still here with me, that you weren't here alone when it happened," he lifted his head off of hers, only to lower his face to hers. "Not an ideal time to be mushy, considering circumstances, but you're all that really matters to me here," he pressed his nose against hers for a few short moments, before pulling away, his expression having lightened a degree.
"Stop worrying so much about me…I can take care of myself," she smiled, it seemed like it was years since she last smiled. "Besides, we both know you can't fight to save your life," he chuckled softly, rolling his eyes to this.
"Before, you say something hurtful," he scolded her as though he was addressing a child. "Let's head out, pretty sure that we're carrying all that we own now," he sat up from the chair, slipping the strap to his pack over his shoulder, along with pulling the luggage up from the floor.
"Okay," she mumbled, her earlier mood returning as this would more than likely be one of the last few times they'd be coming here. It was only an apartment, but had been there home for so long now, it was hard saying goodbye when it wasn't on their terms.
"Hey," the vulpine lifted the lapin's head so their eyes would meet, by cupping her chin lovingly between his thumb and index. "We'll be alright, we don't give up easily, even after we've been kicked and bruised to hell and back. If we can survive an entire year at the ZPA with Ms. Sergeant Ice Queen, I'm pretty sure we can figure out where to go from here. So turn that frown upside down, for me, Darling," he pecked her lips with his own, simply ignoring some of the sideways stares they got from the other officers.
"I've never been through something….li-like this," her voice was meek, but that was of no really surprise to her mate. "I don't know what…..what to do from here."
"That's not too difficult, we'll just bug some our friends till they let us stay with them," he pulled his phone out of his pocket, having sent some messages out, along with a few phone calls. There were some replies, but he decided that he could look through them once they were out of their apartment.
"Besides, you got me, so don't worry that much about it," her partner attempted to cheer her up. "This isn't the first time this has happened to me…..but I haven't ever had my couch thrown out of a window," he trailed off, his tone having become a little bitter. "Guess we'll have to buy a new one," he grumbled as an afterthought.
"This isn't…"
"Hopps, Wilde?" Chief Bogo called as he re-entered the apartment, having stepped out to discuss what the investigation team had found.
"Sir," Judy gave him a small salute, which was absent of the usual vigor and preciseness it usually held.
"No need for formalities," the older mammal dismissed, waving a hoof as though batting a fly away.
"Well, that's saved at least…five seconds of my life, thanks a bunch Chief, I owe yeh," the tod sighed, adjusting the pack's strap across his shoulder.
"Officially you two aren't allowed to be here," the larger mammal's voice was in the usual bored, gruff tone. "but have either you found anything that could give us an idea of who could've done this?"
"I don't know, maybe them throwing animal's couches out of windows is there calling card or something," the chief raised an eyebrow at the short predator, along with the rabbit officer who was staring at her partner in surprise. Sass and quirky remarks was something had become well accustomed to hearing from him, but never such hostility.
"Didn't mean to step out of line Buffalo Butt," Nick apologized, wiping a padded paw over his face. "No, I didn't find anything but some stay bits of mane and fur," he handed over an evidence bag over to their boss, who took it with a slight nod of the head.
"I found some shards of glass with blood on them," Judy handed over the small amount of evidence that she was able to stumble upon while collecting the stuff that was still in one piece.
"We'll send these down to the labs with anything else we find," Bogo's eyes roamed over the main room of the apartment, his expression solemn. "Officially you two weren't here," his smallest officers nodded in acknowledgment to which he gave a brusque hum. "Is there anything that you two noticed were missing from your apartment?"
"No, it appears that they just wanted to trash our place," the fox pulled his phone back out of his pants, his expression becoming irritable. "I got to take this, I'll meet you back at the cruiser," the vulpine mumbled to her before he headed out of the apartment, the last thing she saw was his scruffy, red-furred tail, the fur bristling on end.
"Hopps," the voice of the chief broke the officer out of her thoughts. "I suggest that you head out as well. I got confirmation that some news crews will be here pretty soon, I'm guessing that neither you or Wilde want to be here when they get here," the easily seen smaller prey shook her head with a distant expression as she absorbed the state that the apartment was in. "Look, I can't say that I understand what you two are going through, but I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Chief Bogo," she confessed, her heart feeling incredibly weighed down. The buffalo, placed a hoof on her shoulder, turning her to face the bashed up door that led into the apartment. Picking up the luggage bag she let her superior guide her to the door, before stopping at the threshold.
"I'll understand if you two need a few days off to get sorted somewhere, or just to recover from this. Just call check in with us so we know," he patted her shoulder encouragingly. The doe replied with a quiet nod of the head once again before she stepped out of the apartment, leaving behind the place she had called home for the year or two.
"Hopps, I almost forgot," she faced him slightly, twisting her torso and neck around so she could look at the Chief of the ZPD. "We found these in these in your microwave," he placed a few pictures in her paw, her eyes widening as she recognized them as some of her husband's family photos.
"Wh-where…..where was the microwave?" was the only thing she could say, as they had noticed it wasn't in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the apartment for that matter.
"Uhhhhh, I'm not quite sure. Officer Declaw gave these to me, so I haven't the faintest clue," his tone was heavy, obviously he was in foul mood. Attacking his officers extended more than just physically touching them, their homes were also a part of that package. The doe was certain that the chief would insure that whoever did this to them would be brought to justice, it was only a matter of time.
"Is there anything else that you need, Sir?"
"There's nothing else that we need you for, I may call your or Wilde for further questioning and clarification, you understand the drill," his attention centered on a rhinoceros officer, one that the rabbit wasn't all that familiar with. She knew his name, but hadn't gotten that well acquainted with him.
"McGeld, were you able to find footage?"
"Chief, my fingers are too big for the tenant's keypad. There's footage but I can't do anything with it."
"10-4," he mumbled, rubbing his face with a hoof, honestly he should have seen that coming, but he hadn't been sleeping all that well lately. "Go help with the perimeter check and go check that the police boundary is up, I want the press and news crews as far away from the crime scene as possible," the other prey nodded his head before heading down the corridor, heading for the stairs, as the elevators were out for maintenance for the entire week.
"Dervolk!" a timber wolf came running out of the apartment.
"Chief?" she gave a quick salute.
"Go ask the tenant to show you the security room, see if you can copy the footage of the last forty-eight hours for this complex," without another word the she-wolf headed off in search for the landlord.
You're free to go Hopps, we'll sort things out from here," the cap buffalo sighed, seeing that she was still there. Waiting for his permission to leave. He gave her a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder before heading back through the crime scene.
"Night, Chief," the doe mumbled to herself, before putting her back to the vandalized property.
At the complex's garage….
The trip back to the cruiser had taken the rabbit office a solid ten minutes, as there was no reason to be hurrying like earlier. That, and she was drained, mentally, emotionally, physically and to it all off, morally as well. However it was the physical exhaustion along with the emotional that took the greatest toll. Her mind was practically fried, no thoughts or ideas popping to mind, besides the image of being curled up in a soft bed with her husband. Where they could hopefully sleep away the rest of the night and deal with this tomorrow. Though this was still decently far away as they didn't have a place to stay or go to, as of yet. Hopefully one of their friends would be able to lend them a room to stay in for tonight, or maybe even the rest of the week till they were able to sort out this mess. A motel or a hotel wouldn't be out of the question, even settling for a beat down apartment would be better than nothing. For now, she'd leave it to her mate to sort this stuff out, as her phone had died roughly three hours ago.
This would all have to be brushed aside for the current moment, since what greeted her at the cruiser was a tad bit concerning. Her partner had his legs sprawled out in front of him as he sat against one of the black and white vehicle's tires, arms crossed and a menacing growl directed at a smoldering pile of ash. The first thing that registered with her when she padded over to him was the smell, her nose twitched as it was assaulted by the rich, think mustiness, she could only describe it as stale. A little ways from the dark cindering pile was a packet of matches, her mind finally catching up with her. It was so simple that she wanted to smack herself for being so slow for it to come together. Though she played it off as she placed her bags in the cruiser, not wanting to jump straight to this topic, as it was rather clear that her mate was near his breaking point. After taking a seat next to him she pressed her side next to his, resting a paw at the base of his neck, scratching at his scruff lovingly.
"Hey, Slick," she breathed, her nose finding it difficult to differentiate itself from his scent and the bitter….yet somehow welcomingly intoxicating smell of cigarettes.
"Glad that you could find time out of your busy schedule for me, Whiskers," he mumbled, resting his head against the side of hers, eyes closing, his muzzle features lightening a great deal.
"Chief said we could have a few days off, if we want them anyways. What do you say, want to skip out of wo…."
"I'm sorry…Judy, for everything of late," he cut her off, his voice as barren of emotion as the asphalt of the garage was of life.
"For what? There's nothing for you to be sorry about." If this was about him resorting to smoking, then she could care less, as of tonight anyways. If it helped him calm down, to find a little peace in the disorder that had become their life, he could…..as long as he didn't go down a road of self-destruction with them.
"I can't honestly tell you. Hmmmmm, maybe for getting you into this mess," his emeralds orbs focused on what was above them, an asphalt and concrete gray sky. "Not how I imagined our life playing out when I proposed," he chuckled despite himself.
"We understood from the beginning that….what we are would be looked down on."
"Yeah, that was displayed quite clearly," he mumbled, referring to their apartment, the place they had called home for the last year or so. "How can you honestly stay with me…."
"Hey, don't talk about yourself like that!"
"Couch thrown through the fucking window, all the doors busted down, bed destroyed…Oh yeah, I can totally see why you're sticking around with a loser li…"
"Enough!" she yelled, making him snap his muzzle shut, shaking his head with self-disgust, training his eyes forward. "Why are you always being so cynical about everything?"
"Ran away from home, young stupid teenager, everyone against you the moment you walk into a store…I got accused of stealing an orange when I was seven…an orange! You wouldn't be so optimistic about the world," he snapped, before taking a breath through his nose. "I'm just dealing with a lot of stress right now."
"You can't blame yourself for this," she nuzzled his cheek, a small purr rumbling from her grinding her teeth together, poles apart from how he was able to do it with his throat.
"Try me," he grumbled. "If….if we hadn't taken this….."
"Stop. I don't want to hear this from you, Nick. I'm happy that we're together, I'm not going to let other animals looking down upon us change that. I love you, nothing's ever going to change that," she pulled his head so it was facing hers, before kissing him lightly on the lips. "You understand, you big, Dumb Fox?"
"You have such a way with words. Mrs. Wilde," the tod snorted sarcastically.
"Did I do something? What's going on with you lately? You've been distant lately and you haven't been talking to me lately?" she questioned, not knowing if this was directed towards her, or if he was just venting.
"I…I'm tired….of fighting," he relented, his eyes focusing on hers, everything around them ceased to matter to him. All that existed was them as they talked things out, something he had been avoiding for the last few weeks.
"I understand that feeling," she sympathized with him, having fought since the day she was born to live, with her friends and family to get where she was.
"How? What's the point of fighting this…society, animals, what we swore to do when we decided to put on these uniforms and wear these badges?" he plucked at the piece of metal, nothing more than a novelty without him and other animals to enforce what it stood for.
"Because at the end of the day, we know we're doing the right thing," she squeezed at the base of his neck. "I know it seems hopeless….all of it, but as you're always telling us, we'll pull through. "I understand that you want to give up someday, to leave the ZPD. I can't stop you if that's what you really want, but please I don't want to lose my partner." The words meant more than just their professions, went beyond the simple meanings that they held.
"Don't count on it, I'm not leaving you, Whiskers. Till death do us part, and even then I'm sticking with you. Call me selfish, but I'm not letting you go after we're gone," she giggled to this corny statement, his voice soon joining hers as they shared a laugh. "No, I'm not going anywhere, just want you to understand how I'm feeling. It's…..we're following false leads it seems," his shoulders fell, relaxing as he laid his heart out. "Who honestly care's what anyone else thinks, they can't even imagine what we have," he pressed his muzzle to her forehead, leaving a gentle kiss. "Don't let me go and I'll always be at your side."
"You really are an idiot some days," she settled her other paw on the upper part of his chest, feeling the faint thump of his heart.
"I sold pawpsicles with a fennec fox that dressed up as an infant in a elephant costume. Did that for a solid six years before you came along and ruined it, so that should explain to you how low I was willing to go," he shot back with a smirk, a familiar mischievous glimmer returning to his eyes.
"Case and point, a naïve, ZPD rookie bunny was able to hustle you, and completely change your life," she booped her nose against his larger one playfully, the bends of his muzzle tugging up in amusement.
"Have to say, it was a welcomed take of fresh air," his mood starting to improve as she nuzzled him, her attempts to cheer him up working quite well.
"You hated every minute of it," the doe scoffed.
Even to this day she could remember how much of a pain the vulpine had originally been when they were working together. The reality of it was that when she had blackmailed and conscripted him to help her. It was far from a partnership of trust or respect, he had only done as she asked and worked with her to keep himself out of jail…..maybe even prison if the courts stacked more to his charges.
"True, but there were definitely benefits," he let out a groan after she landed a punch at his abdomen, all the air in his lungs having been forced out.
"Pervert!" she hissed, the paw that had been laid against his chest was now tugging on his tie, threatening to pull on it till it was a noose.
"Hey, I already came clean with that, Darling. I clearly recall telling you that I thought you were an eye-grabber, to me at least."
The predator raised his paws up dismissively, as though he was surrendering. The prey was relieved that their talk had cleared the air between them, at least enough to make it normal and bearable again. There were still subjects that they had to address and many more things to deal with, but that was what communication was for. Early on in their relationship they had left too much unsaid, hoping that if it wasn't addressed then it would just simply disappear. Mistakes that seemingly all couples made, but they had gotten through those rough patches, their relationship becoming stronger because of it. This wasn't any different, they were both at fault, they were both responsible for this. They'd work them out within the next week or two, but for now they just wanted to put their troubles beside for the rest of the night.
"So you've told me, so many times before," she mock-chided before adding, "Now how about you tell you're Honey Bunny about that," she referred to the scorched pile that was once a carton of smokes with the tip of little pink nose.
"I found them in my pack….guess I was keeping them as an emergency or something," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, earning him an unimpressed glare from his mate. The one thing that she absolutely loathed more than being called cute, was being lied to.
"Toooo, be honest I had myself a little relapse when I got out here. I partially got through my first one…I kinda lit the rest on fire with it. I put that behind me, I don't want to go through that stuff again. Besides, my breathings jacked up enough as it is."
"Going to be alright?" her paw had made its way to the back of his ears, unmercifully attacking his itchy spots, rich purring resonating around them and filling their ears.
"Oh yeah, you can count on that, Carrots. You can abuse me all you want, but I'll only come back and do it again," he declared smugly. "Foxes are stubborn like that, when we've found a comfortable way to do things, we rarely break away from it," the rabbit socked him in the arm with her free paw.
"Owww, what was that for?" he grouched, all the same he wrapped an arm around her, the desire to be close to her having become overwhelming.
"I didn't hit you that hard," she scolded, as though addressing a cub.
"No, you didn't. But you should really stop hitting me one of these days, you could break something important," he mumbled, rubbing the course fur of his chin into her neck. Ticklish squeaks echoed across the garage from the sensations, the doe squirming in his hold, desperately trying to break free.
"Stop. Nicccckkkkk, stop it!" she cried, her heart racing from the sudden change of mood from her husband. Not even five minutes ago he was questioning their marriage, now he was back to his affectionate self.
"Hey, this is way better than smoking, now stay still so I can nuzzle you," he growled as he exposed his fangs, but it was all for show and play. Where other rabbits and prey would flinch in fright, she barely showed any sign that it affected her, besides her muscles going taught, lingering reactions of instinctual fear.
"I'm starting to think is how you deal with stress, not how you show affection, Sweetheart," she hummed in pleasure, his nuzzling having turned into licking and nipping.
"It's part of it, but I can't help myself around you," he confessed. "…..I-I can stop," he pulled away.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, head butting him a few times to try and get him to play. A large paw encompassed her face, shoving her away good-naturedly.
"Not that I mind all this, but Lance has offered us one of his spare rooms. He's letting us stay as long as we need…wants us to help pay with the rent though," the tod sat up, pulling her to her hind-paws as well. "It's in Tundratown, last thing I want is for us to get caught up in a blizzard," he opened the driver's side door, offering for her to get in, which she did.
Half expecting to drive, she was surprised when he crawled himself up next to her, hip checking her a few times to get her to scoot over. Rolling her eyes she pulled herself over to the passenger seat. She let out a high squeak as she felt him pinch at her fluffy tail, making her cover it with both paws and to sit up rigidly, before twisting herself around.
"Nicholas Wilde!" the lapin exclaimed shyly, the fur of her muzzle have darkened a light shade of crimson.
"That's for strangling my tail like a plush cushion in the shower earlier," he smirked evilly at her. "It's still sore you know," he moped. "What did I ever do to you, huh?" his tail was wagging ever so slightly, yet the doe noticed that it was doing it rather stiffly. "Messing with you, you're tail massage was amazing," he purred fondly, his mind reminiscing the time in the shower that morning.
"Wake me up when we get there, alright," she yawned, leaning back in her seat, closing her eyes. Another thing their two species shared in common was that they too naps whenever they could.
Not wanting to keep them here any longer, he turned the ignition, the engine roaring to life before it started humming healthily. It would take them an hour or so to get to where Lance's place was. Out of all places the kid had decided to chose to live, it was out there! With all that he learned about the younger officer, it didn't quite add up why he decided the coldest district in the city. From what he had told him, he had grown up on a farm, where he was out in the hot humid weather most days. Why would he want to live in a tail freezing district was beyond him. Guess they'd find out soon enough.
Sometime later that evening…..
Having lived in Zootopia since the day he was born, one would expect that nothing would truly sneak up on the city's first fox officer. This couldn't be any further from the truth, as it were he was baffled that it had taken a full hour to arrive at their friends apartment With it being late there wasn't much traffic outside, and they had been fortunate enough not to be stopped all that much from the ridiculous amount of traffic lights. All the same it had taken a lot longer than he believed that it should have, not even the numerous shortcuts they had taken seemed to make a difference. Either way it didn't really matter anymore, they were finally here and the only thing that was on his mind was curling up in a bed to sleep off the rest of the night. Not wishing to stay in the cruiser any longer than he had to, the tod shook his partner awake. Her amethyst eyes blinked open slothfully, coming back to reality once again.
"Come on, you can get back to your beauty sleep once we settle in."
The male chuckled, finding that the rabbit waking up, was one of the cutest things he had ever witnessed. This wasn't something he'd tell her though, since the last time he had done so had ended up with him being shoved out of their bed. Not something he would be particularly interested in reenacting with their vehicle.
"You could be a gentlemale and carry me," the doe retorted as she stifled back a yawn.
"Hmmmmmm, As much as I'd love to do that, Fluff. I'm not coming back for the rest of our bags."
The smaller officer was silent for a few moments as she considered it, but nodded her head reluctantly, flexing her stiff toes. Her hind-paws were killing her, after spending half the day in the Canyonlands it shouldn't surprise either of them that their paws were sore, hers especially from all the running she had to do. Bearing that in mind, her husband had promised a paw massage tonight, which she'd try and hold him to.
"Don't worry, Carrots," he gave her thigh a soft squeeze. "I haven't forgotten about your aching little rabbit feet," he teased as he pulled his paw away, opening the door which let in a blast of freezing cold air, making them both shiver, the heat from the cruiser having all but been sucked out.
The vulpine shivered as his padded paws met the snow with a crunch, his fur standing on end from his tail to the tip of his angular ears. Hind-paws with pads were useful for traction and absorbing the shock of each step so his bones didn't suffer, but they were absolutely useless for snow. It wouldn't bother him that much when he adjusted but the first few initial minutes were irritating. It was something that his mate seemed not to notice when she hopped out of the car herself, since her rear- paws were completely covered with fur.
Then again, he didn't exactly feel anything from his plantar pads, so it was mainly due to his toes. His palmer pads on the other paw were a great deal more sensitive, since he rarely walked on them. It was unusual to see animals walking on all four limbs, he'd only resort to it if he was trying to lay low while in the field or to get somewhere quietly and quickly. Then there were the evenings his partner and him were mixing things up, usually with him acting feral.
"Oww, ow, ow ow ow ow," the fox's ears perked up as he heard his partner groaning out in pain. Making his way to the passenger side, he found that she was hobbling over to the trunk.
"You alright?"
"My leg fell asleep…..pins and needles," she half giggled and groaned, a torturous tickling sensation mixed with stinging. The predator kept his laughter to himself, as he found it amusing how she was hobbling. Not saying another word he joined her at the trunk, pulling out their bags and packs, his being a tad larger.
"Want me to take your bags?" he asked softly, seeing that it was her right leg giving her problems, the cold would often than not trigger it to seize up.
"Co…..could you carry me…my-my legs…." he took her pack off her shoulder, slipping it over his other one, he picked up her luggage back in his other paw, all before crouching down.
"Hands are a bit full, can you manage?" the gray-furred doe nodded as she encircled her arms around his neck, burying her head into his neck. Her legs gripped onto his hips, securing herself against him.
"Sorry," she mumbled into the exposed fur of his neck.
"It's fine, Fluff-Butt. I'd be more sorry for the animals that we'll be making uncomfortable," he smirked to himself as he started trudging forward, the extra weight forcing him to take it slow.
Once they managed their way into the foyer of the apartment, a siberian tiger who was at the front desk glanced up at them. For a few second, the male stared at them skeptically, before he shook his head and returned his attention to the computer screen. Rolling his eyes, the reynard kept his muzzle shut or he'd let something slip that would more than likely get them tossed out, uniform or not. It was obvious that he was struggling with the bags, and balancing all that with his mate clinging to his front. The least the other mammal could have done was take his bags so he could find somewhere to sit down for a moment. As he was heading towards the nearest elevator, he felt his mate's claws dig into the back of his neck, a muffled gasp coming from his neck. As he was about to ask her if she was alright, an animal approached them, having been sitting down at one of the benches, having pulled their attention away from their phone.
"Oh! Nick!" Lance greeted as he shot up, heading over to them, his head tilting in confusion. "Wha…oh let me take these," the wolf took the luggage bags from him, freeing his paws, which he used to persuade his wife to change her position, to make it easier on him. Soon enough he was holding the rabbit in his arms bridal style, wearing a grimace on her muzzle.
"Sorry about that you guys, I was waiting for you guys to send me a text to say that you were here," the lupine moved his arm to scratch at the back of his head, but his paws were full.
"It's fine, Buddy," the vulpine reassured with a smile. "How long have you been waiting for us?"
"Last ten minutes or so, I was going to give you a guys a hand with your things…seems you got that covered," his lightening blue eyes settled on the doe. "Are you alright, Judy? You look comfortable?"
"I'm fine, my leg's acting up," she mumbled, closing her eyes, and nuzzling into her husband's chest, even with his vest getting in the way. "He's comfy, so yeah," she answered his other question.
"You're lucky, " the larger canine called an elevator down as he said this. "Shannon hates it when I hold her like that," he chuckled in self-amusement as he reminisced to them.
"I warned you, wolverines don't like being picked up or laid out on their backs," the fox laughed, the younger male becoming flustered, a blush showing through his red and dark silver fur.
"Yeah, no shit!" he shot back with a grin. "Seriously, trying to ma….well let's say trying to…..uhhh forget I said anything," he trailed off mumbling.
"I had the same problem, Carrots here kicked me in the jaw," the fox glared down at his wife accusingly who blushed, but shrugged her shoulder.
"It's not my fault," the rabbit chuckled. "You know I don't like it when you're acting predatory."
"So you tried to launch me off the bed, seriously that hurt," he rolled his neck, it may have been years ago, but he could remember the way his neck had clicked. The first time they had mated…..had been in no lesser words, interesting.
"That's a lot better than having a wolverine latch their jaws around your neck," the rookie nonchalantly threw in.
"Were you two fighting?" the doe inquired curiously. Shannon was one of her friends at the station, but she didn't talk all that much about her relationship, which was understandable because she didn't tell her anything about hers.
"No…don't tell her or anyone I told you, but when I got her to lay on her back…..an….and well got on top, she freaked out, kic…..kicked me off the bed actually. Later, she told me she felt trapped," the fur on his muzzle had darkened till the silver fur seemed to be turning black. "What's taking this elevator so long," he jabbed at the button impatiently, his tail whipping behind him restlessly. "Come one," he groaned.
"We're sorry about troubling you with….."
"Don't worry about it," the larger predator stopped the prey right there. "I'm more than happy to do this," his eyes looked down at the floor as he took on a more serious tone and sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry about what happened to your guy's place. How bad was it? Will you guy be going back?"
"Carpets been all torn up, and there's a lot of damage to be fixed," the older male growled bitterly. Our insurance will pay for most of it...I don't know if we're moving back. I don't think our tenant will appreciate it if we do."
"It wasn't like it was your two's fault! I mean come on, you're apartment was torched."
"Quite honestly, I think it's about time we move again, we've had our eyes on this house just a little ways out of Zootopia," the rabbit officer explained. It would have been more ideal if they went for the house next year, but neither of them wanted to live in an apartment for much longer after tonight's entire ordeal.
"Well, you two are welcomed to stay as long as you want…we'll talk more about expenses and crap tomorrow," the lupine reassured them. "If….if you need to talk about it….we're here for you."
"Alright you big sap, stop before you start getting emotional, or get this one going," the other male officer scolded.
All that came as a reply from the lupine, was a soft growl, other than that it was silent between the three mammals. The doe let her eyes amble about the high-rises lobby, catching a lot of noticeable differences from those in Savannah. The most noticeable was the fire place that was set up against a corner of the room, a variety of furniture placed around it, a lounge of some sorts. Besides this, there was also the fact that the interior of the building was built like a cabin, large logs having been cut and shaped to make the walls and ceiling. From what she had picked up, the outside of the building was made with similar material, giving it an authentic, yet warped design of an old style lodge. Cozy was the word that came to her mind if she had to describe it, a rustic and warm coziness. It was nice, but she preferred places more along the lines of her family home, it was more along the lines of an over glorified barn, but it was just her preference.
Her eyes darted from the rafters to the supports, then to the internal decoration of the entrance. Above their heads were several chandeliers, crafted from bleached white branches which resembled antlers, candle-like lights protruding from several tips. The walls were dotted with numerous paintings of wildlife in the winter, to simple log houses out in the middle of nowhere, or of buck rail fences sticking out of snow drifts. Something about it all just left her feeling warm and safe, the troubles from the earlier events that night starting to slip away.
A soft ding, informed the animals that the elevator had finally gotten to their level. A caribou along with a half dozen stoats and a polar bear stepped out of the lift, all of them glancing over the trio. Chiefly the rabbit and fox, but they didn't bring it up or bother to spare them a second glance, their uniforms had probably assisted them from this. Without a single word passing between the officer, they stepped inside, the wolf sing his tail to enter the floor that he lived on. The short trip to the sixth floor was filled with an uncomfortable silence, the three of them never having been off duty together all that long. They were accustomed being around one another while on duty, this however was something entirely different. The awkwardness didn't end till they came to a stop at the door the larger predator's flat.
"Urmmmm, it's not much too look at, so just make yourselves at home," Lance got out anxiously, as he unlocked the door, opening the door wide and ushering them in.
"Heh, not much is it, Kid," the fox officer's voice full of sarcasm, the place easily being twice the size of their place. "Could fit our entire department in here cozily."
"Hmmmmm," another animals voice came, a wolverine walking out of a corridor that was next to the kitchen. "My advice for you, Nick, is to make sure you don't mistake the wrong rooms," she shot fox with fang-filled smile, which brought the tod to adorn his sleepy eyed lazy smile. "Judy, see you're living the dream life over there," she greeted the prey.
"Shannon, leave him alone," the other female officer greeted.
"Sooo, how long have you two been living together," the vulpine asked the lupine with a singsong tone.
"Almost two months now, what's with all the questions tonight?" he exclaimed in mock-defensiveness. "Come on let's get these bags to your room," the younger male suggested, changing subject as he walked further into the apartment, crossing the living room till he reached the opposite end, turning left and heading down another corridor.
"How's that leg of yours feeling?" the fox asked, walking over to one of the two couches.
"It's stiff, but I can walk now," the rabbit yawned tiredly as she was set down on her own hind-paws.
"Just take it easy, don't want you hurting yourself," she gave him a halfhearted shove as he was fawning over her.
"I'll be fin…."
"Nick will you get your scruffy butt in here! I'm not unpacking your crap for you!" the rookie yelled, a smile in his voice.
"Alright, keep your tail on, Kid!" the red-furred predator called back as he exited the room.
"Males," the wolverine chuckled as she sat next to the rabbit, who had scrambled herself up its moments before."They're still boys at heart," she added, before resting her head against the back of the couch.
The lapin noticed that her friend was only sporting a white bathrobe, her exposed brown, black, and tan fur glistening in the low lighting as it was still damp from a recently taken shower. Her fur color was rather generic of her species but she had distinguishing characteristics, such as the markings on her otherwise murky brown muzzle. Starting around the root of her muzzle, the fur was a sandy tan, giving her a naturally occurring mask, displaying her hazel brown eyes beautifully. Her rounded ears which were a chestnut brown, much like the rest of her fur ended with sandy shaded tips. Her stunningly built legs and arms were of a dark brown at least that was the case till it met with the lighter shade halfway up her forearms and thighs. It almost appeared to be black from how dark it was. Other than this, the only other thing that stood out on her were the black tear marks that started from the inside corners of her eyes, till they mingled back with the brown fur beneath her tan mask. Nick had even admitted that she was considerably beautiful, and she had an intelligent mind that mirrored it.
"Lance and you seem to be getting along," Judy stated the obvious, as she had gotten lost in space, her eyes having settled on the ceiling for some time now.
"He's such a sweet guy….shame that I got to let him go," the two of them laughed together, as this was just a joke. "No, he's definitely something special, I'm thinking he might be the right one for me," she purred happily, before adding thoughtfully. "I dated, what like nine other guys before him?"
"No…..I think it was a eleven."
"Doesn't really matter, he's the only one that I've mated with, and he's the first guy I've been with outside my species. I'm also older than him, definitely changing things up with this one. He's four years younger than me….well more around four and three-quarters, so you could say five."
"Four, we agreed on four, Shan!" the lupine yelled from the spare room, the rabbits ear picking up snickering from her husband.
"Stop nosing around!" the female predator shouted back, her eyes smiling. "Let the adults talk for a little while!" she turned her head to the doe. "See, there's no living with them some days. Can't even chat without them butting in, especially mine. Hope Nick is well more behaved."
"He can be a handful sometimes, but there's no other animal I'd rather have watching my back."
"I always suspected that you two were a lot more than you two appeared to be," the angeline tightened the shash around her, as the front of the robe started to part, revealing more of the fur of her breast and flat stomach. "Before you ask how I know, it was the way that he would always hang to every word you said. He was always a step behind you, and he had this look in his eye when he was around you…..oh god I'm going to make myself sick," she gagged. "Too much mushy talk for one night," she placed a large paw on the doe's shoulder. "You going to be alright, Judy!"
"I'll be fine, Shannon, it's just….been a long day," she sighed, her mind still trying to process everything, it would more than likely hit her later that night, or tomorrow morning sometime.
"I'm here if you want to talk, we've known each other for a while now. You could practically call me one of your sisters," she joked, but after how much they had confided with one another over the years, except for their relationships that is. Along with how much time they had spent just idly chatting and spending time together off duty. The prey considered the predator to be family, as strange as that may sound.
"Yeah, my big, scary, often times ill-tempered sister…who scares almost ninety percent of the males at the station and in our department."
"I'm not that bad, I just treat everyone with the same amount of distrust," she chuckled, before standing up. "I'm going to get something to drink, do you have a preference. Wine, beer, coffee, a soda, we got plenty of ice cold water as well, and tea," she listed as she walked back into the kitchen.
"Urmmm…..tea would be nice, please..."
Much later that night….
Judy nuzzled her muzzle deeper into the fur of Nick's throat, making him stir in his sleep. One of his paws stroked her back subconsciously in response, the arm he had draped over her waist tightened its hold, squeezing them even closer together. There wasn't a window in this room, and since their friends had retired, there wasn't any light pouring out from the gap beneath he door. As such, she was completely blind, the only senses she could rely on were from her nose, touch, and hearing. But it honestly wasn't needed, as she was stripped down to the fur that she was born in, the same could be said of her mate. It was rather warm in the room as the heating had been turned on, even in the summer the temperatures in Tundratown could reach negative twenty-five degrees in fahrenheit. The real excuse to why they had shed their clothing for bed, was it felt better to feel their mate's fur mingling with their own, much more relaxing then having clothes get in the middle of it.
Though none of this helped her doze off, as everything just felt too alien to her. The sheets, the softness of the bed, the sounds and as outlandish as it sounded the smells all contributed to her being wide awake. Her body was used to their apartment, all the familiarities no longer present as they were now staying at Lances and Shannon's flat. This wasn't to say that she thought it was bad here, it was actually the opposite of that. It was cozy, held a comfortable atmosphere, she felt just as safe here as she did at the place they called home; possibly even more so as there were more of them, safety in numbers as the saying used to go. Though what truly troubled her was that…..that it didn't feel like they belonged. This was all their friends, they were sharing this with them and it made her feel like they were mooching off of them.
That was how she felt at present, her husband having no such concerns as he was unexpectedly already fast asleep. Generally he was the one who was wide awake at such strange hours in the morning, being a night-animal did that, throwing his entire sleeping pattern out of place. Seeing as there was nothing else for it, she let out a sigh, waiting for her mind to clear itself of thoughts, so she could finally get some rest. Ten minutes in and she felt her eyes starting to sting as tears started to flood them, everything started to settle in. She knew this would happen eventually, but she had hoped that it wouldn't come, that she would be able to look passed this entire ordeal.
Her soft sobbing, and the tears that escaped her demonstrated that this wasn't to be. Attempting to stifle them so she didn't wake up everyone equally ended in disaster, her mate's arm tightening around her as he sat up, cupping the back of her head with his free paw.
"Come 'ere," his voice cooed to her softly in the dark. "It's alright, Hon, Nicky's here," he kissed her forehead, removing his paw from her head to wipe away at her tears.
" Ni…Nicholas?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"Hey, I love you too, Fluff," he pulled her closer, letting her sob into him, understanding that it was hopeless to try and stop her. Even though the doe couldn't see it, but there were tears soaking into the fur of his own muzzle, but she could still feel him shaking against her, his breathing shallow and just as uneasy as hers. "Come on, you can let it out, I'm not going anywhere," he murmured to her, resting his muzzle against the top of her head, right between her droopy gray ears. "Everything's going to be alright, I promise."
HI: Wow, so this chapter went on a lot longer than I thought it was…..wow, a whole extra two thousand words. But I really enjoyed this chapter, one of my favorites in fact. The detail and time I put into Nick and Judy's apartment was by far the most difficult to right, and trying to capture the emotions as accurately as I could, while keeping them in character was quite interesting. Also going more into depth with Lance and Shannon's relationship was fun….wanted to put some time in for my OCs without pulling away from the main character's point of views. Though if you guys would like me to go more into depth with these guys, I could try going into their POV and other character every once in a while, what do you think, hmmm, hmmm XD. Welp, I gotta get some sleep soon, or this isn't going to make any sense.
To answer some questions. I got in a lot of comments about Nick and Judy's place. I don't know if I made this clear or if I just made this confusing. They are still living in their apartment when it was broken into, but they refer to it as their home, as many of us would if living in a place for two or more years. Well, it used to be their home, but it's been pretty messed up, as you guys probably found out. Who did this, well we're going to find out soon enough. Also, the apartment wasn't torched, as many of you thought it was. Unless you are meaning how it was basically vandalized and demolished, as torching someone's place can mean a lot of things, from arson…..hehhehheh that's a funny word, XD, all the way to just wrecking someone's place up. Well some things were burnt, but the place wasn't set ablaze. Though a couch and a few other of their possessions did get thrown through a window….what kind of messed up animal does that. Really? Also, if there are things that are unclear and confusing, please let me know.
That's about it on my end folks. If you're wondering why this came out a day early, well, I'm going to be out all day tomorrow, so I won't have time to put this up, or work on it. Sooo, I put maximum effort to get this chapter out. Hope you guys like it.
Last few things. This fanfiction went from just twenty reviews in the first chapter and two thousand views and barely over a dozen or so followers and favorites to the third most popular M romance and drama on the Zootopia archive. It now sits at over 110000+ views, over four hundred reviews, 500+ favorites and 700+ followers.
I couldn't have done this alone, we did this as a team. This story and I couldn't have made it this far without you guys. Please understand that I grealy appreciate all that you guys do for this story. If by sending a PM my way with your thoughts, leaving a review, following and favoriting either the story or myself. Seriously, I sincerely mean this when I say thank you, all of you so much for being a part of this journey. I hope you stick with me for the rest of this story, because there are still a lot of chapters to come.
There's nothing else that I have on my mind to say, I'm just immensely overjoyed to see this story come so far because of your support. Till next time, this is Reverend Archangel signing off. Crisp high five and tens for everyone.