"For once in my lifetime, I wish we were tasked on paperwork instead of this."
Patrolling around the city became their daily routine, but with their cruiser temporarily taken away for extra vehicle on guarding the ministers advent, both were obliged to walk.
But the day was crazy hot.
The duo constantly stopped under the awnings, their sole getting hurt by the heated concrete which almost felt like a frying pan. The shadow covered them from direct sun's ray, but the radiating heat still lingered so taking a brief rest was actually not a good idea either.
Nick's neck stretched as far as he could, panting slightly with the tip of his tongue sought for a breeze. Walking next to him, Judy wasn't in far better shape. Her ears narrowed down as a futile attempt to cover her face from the merciless sun.
"Ditto…" the peevish bunny vowed her agreement. "Today's headline should be 'Zootopia get scorched by hellfire'."
Nick hopped on his feet alternately, a chuckle escaped on Judy's humorous remark. But in fact, the doe did not even have it crossed her mind as a joke.
"Come on," Judy grumbled a protest, jumping on her feet as well. That way, they got their spare feet a very quick rest before getting burnt again on the scorched earth. "This is utterly ridiculous."
Keeping out like this would only lead them to faint right away. Nick gulped his dry jaw and looked around. Fortunately, there was a minimarket just few meters away.
"Let's grab some drink and take a rest." Nick flatly said and began trotting along the sidewalk toward the shop. Judy followed close behind, snickering in advance.
"I was hoping you say that."
Pushing the glass door open, they stepped in straightforwardly. Had there been another customers on the way out, they would've bumped in the lack of courtesy.
One thing mattered ; it wasn't hot anymore.
"Fwah," with arm stretched wide and jaw opened wide attempting to inhale the cool air as much as possible, the vulpine squealed in satisfaction. "This is paradise."
But Judy was nowhere to be seen. Nick let her doing the favor and sluggishly dragged himself to the closest air conditioner. There, he stayed still, getting his face blown by the chilling breeze, a childish smile painted his face.
While the fox was selfishly relaxing, Judy had set down two can of lemonade already on the cashier. She rejected the plastic bag ; they would've swallowed the drink in seconds anyway.
Padding to the exit, Judy halted when she spotted Nick at the corner. Watching his adorable posture from the back compelled her to giggle and she slowly approached him. Luckily, the store was quite empty so no one would bother them.
The bunny nudged and handed him the can, which Nick took hastily. In less than ten seconds, loud gulping sound and contented exhale resulted with two emptied cans ready to be thrown away. But neither wanted to move, so the cans were still held in respective paw.
They just stood still, both face brought up enjoying the breeze.
"We can't just lounge around, though." Judy's out of sudden reminder broke the moment. Nick's grip tightened on the can, the poor thing started to get crushed.
"I know," Nick sighed. His eyes wandered around the store and when a certain stuff caught in his vision, he smiled. "I think we should bring umbrellas next time…"
"Heh," Judy had followed his gaze and mused her disagreement. "Not that tomorrow's going to be as hot as today."
"Better to be safe than sorry." the fox replied and checked his phone for the time.
Surprisingly, they had spent almost their entire lunch break there, even with their early start. Judy noticed his concern and in a flash vanished from his sight. A moment later, she showed up with a bag of jam-filled breads and bottles of cold water. They would eat their lunch somewhere else, not wanting to cause a mess in store with them already idling there for a long time.
"We should get going." Judy gave his tail a soft kick and walked to the door. The tone did not need an answer, Nick recognized the authoritative air. The fox reluctantly began to catch up his partner and stopped right at the door.
In horror, Nick saw the world they were about to venture as desolate desert and three suns revolving in parallel.
He was beginning to reconsider if the heat had somehow vaporized his brain.