Summary:

Christmas is coming, and the ZPD department is thrilled with the festivity. Bogo, it may not look it, but he loves to celebrate all the festivities and Christmas is no exception.

The decorations start early and the good humor of the mammals in the department is remarkable. As such, the usual is always the department's Christmas party or dinner. And the first of Nick and Judy in ZPD.

But even though it's a conviviality feast, Judy has other plans. By enjoying the party, she wants to tell how she feels about her partner. For months now, the friendship has gained another stronger feeling, and the lack of courage keeps her from leaving the friend zone. For that, she sees the opportunity at this Christmas dinner.

How Nick will get his partner's confession?

A little fanfiction about our heroes. The first one I do about Christmas.

I hope you enjoy ^^

The decoration in the department was just beginning. Bogo might look like a threatening buffalo and always with a bad temper, but when it came to festivities, the expressions on his face softened and the bad temper gave way to a constant smile on his lips, and a few whistles here and there when he passed the department hall or when he simply passed his police officers. For those of that who had been there the longest, that was nothing new. But for someone who would be the first Christmas in the ZPD, that change on the boss was a bit... odd.

Nick, in turn, decided to test whether what his coworkers were saying was true.

Believe me, he rarely gets angry when December starts.

One of his colleagues told him.

As much as the case is assigned to us and doesn't go as intended, we don't get any punishment. He gets a little angry, I don't deny that, but it'll pass in no time.

Another colleague said so too.

But Nick couldn't convince himself of that. And he had to confirm it with his own eyes. So much so, Judy almost got mad at him when the fox decided to start with his jokes that took the buffalo seriously. Or, in so many other pranks that, if it had been any other time, he would have been fired. However, the only reaction he got, was a side look and then a nice smile. That reaction, Nick opened his mouth and his chin didn't fall to the ground because nature didn't allow it.

"Have you come to the conclusion that your jokes and pranks are no good?" Judy walked into their office and went to her desks. In her arms, the paperwork was put on the table.

Frustrated, Nick had his arms outstretched on his desk and sighed.

"Uff, it's no fun coming to work like this."

Judy couldn't help but have a soft laugh. She had to admit a nice Bogo was strange.

"I think that's enough of your pranks. You know Bogo doesn't forget. You're lucky he doesn't give you a punishment when Christmas is over."

"Uff... I hate to admit it, but I miss the old chef." One more sigh.

"Oh, he'll be back. Enjoy his good humor now, before it vanished." Judy sat in her chair and started filling out the paperwork.

"Well, changing the subject, shouldn't you be helping with decorating in the gym?"

"Yes, but I have some late paperwork to finish. Besides, it's still two weeks until the department's Christmas party. I'd rather finish the paperwork now, so I don't accumulate it. I'll do the decor later."

Like every year, Bogo always makes a Christmas dinner. The day chosen is December 20th. The reason, we didn't know. However, until then, the officers would have to keep working on cases and possible occurrences. In their spare time, they would help decorate the department and the gymnasium hall, where the Christmas dinner would be. Even on the day of dinner, they would always have to be ready for any occurrence, but they would not stop having fun.

Judy had decided to help with the decoration of the gym. And Nick, he would help with the choice of ambient music as he proposed. Besides, he had to find a band for the party. Well, after dinner, there would be dancing. As for the alcohol, Bogo forbade it. Even though they were partying, they had to be on the lookout if anything happened. So, the drinks were with 0% alcohol. After the party, for those who didn't have service that day, it was another story.

With the day approaching, there would be an exchange of gifts. Every year the gift of so-called "secret friends" was made. This year, Bogo thought it would be a good idea to do it a little differently, not excluding the "tradition". Therefore, the mammal could put the name in which the gift would be directed without the usual "random choice". Also, it was the responsibility of this mammal to put his/her name or not. But, yes, it was mandatory the name of the recipient of the gift. As such, both Judy and Nick would already know who they were giving the gift.

Christmas Day would come on a Monday. Nick and Judy were dismissed over the weekend. With accumulated hours and almost no day off, Bogo thought it would be a good idea to pamper his favorite agents and dismiss them on those two days. As such, Judy took the opportunity to visit her sister-in-law. Her brother also lived in the city. The country life was not for him, as was his sister, and he decided to move to the big city with his wife and their daughter. Upon arriving at her sister-in-law's house, when the door opened, she was warmly welcomed. Julia, her niece, hugged her aunt strongly. She smiled at such tenderness and, detached herself from the little one, she straightened up and greeted her sister-in-law, who gave her room to enter.

"Lunch is almost ready," Daisy said, smiling at her.

"My brother?" Judy asked, looking with her eyes for the familiar figure.

"He went to pick up some things I asked for at the supermarket and will be right back." Daisy walked past her towards the kitchen.

Judy followed her to the kitchen to help her prepare things. Asking what needed to be done, Daisy asked her to cut some carrots and potatoes and then set the table ready for lunch. After a few moments of silence, Daisy decided to ask her sister-in-law some questions.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Well, don't play it unnoticed. I mean Nick."

"Oh... uh..."

Without taking her eyes off the carrots she was cutting, Judy felt warm just from her sister-in-law mentioning her partner's name.

"What do you want to know?"

"How are things?"

"There's nothing between us. If that's what you mean."

Daisy approached Judy and put a paw on her shoulder.

"You told me there was going to be a Christmas dinner at the ZPD. Why don't you take it and say what you feel?"

The knife was put on the tray. Judy wiped her paws on a towel and turned to her sister-in-law. In a long sigh, she answered him.

"The fear, Daisy. Fear makes me not have courage. I thought the same thing. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to tell him, but... What if he doesn't feel the same? If he just answers that he sees nothing more than a simple friend and partner?"

"Judy, what is your real fear?"

"I don't understand!" Judy faced her. Yeah, until then, her eyes were staring at the ground.

"We're all afraid to say what we feel, but I know that's not what's stopping you."

Judy bit her lower lip. Daisy was right. It wasn't just the fear that he didn't feel the same. The truth was they were both from... different species. A rabbit and a fox, together in a relationship. That would be weird. Even though there were already couples of different species, that was still an ass in front of society. More than seeing same-sex couples, which was already more or less well accepted.

"Dear, don't let what others think to affect your life. You were never like that. Worried about what other people think. In fact, you had good proof of that when you decided to be the first police rabbit. Everybody's against it and you got over it. Even your chef already likes you."

"The problem is not with others, but with Nick's reaction." Once again, she sighed. "As friends and partners, we are inseparable. But as a couple? I don't know, Daisy. Will he react well? Even if he reacts, but feels nothing but friendship, would my feelings not affect what we already have?"

"I doubt it." Daisy walked away and went back to the stove. "If there's one thing I learned when I was with you guys, it's that he wouldn't stop being what he already is if you love him differently. I think you should enjoy it. If he only feels friendship, it's better to say what you feel than to hurt yourself little by little."

Judy cut the carrots again. Daisy was right. She'd rather hurt herself now than later. And if he felt nothing more than a simple friendship, at least she could forget these feelings. At least it would be less painful.

Lunch went quiet and fun. Jack had a great sense of humor, and his jokes helped alleviate the whirlwind of emotion that Judy felt at that moment. After the meal, Daisy accompanied Judy to the mall. She didn't have any proper clothes or dresses to take to Christmas dinner, much less a gift. Although she already had an idea of what gives to Nick, she decided to ask her sister-in-law to accompany her shopping and have another opinion. Jack did not accompany them, decided to stay home and rest. And little Julia wanted to go with them.

After a few shops, Daisy found a perfect one. The dresses were nice. So, she took her sister-in-law's paw and dragged her into the store. Several dresses were on display. Judy looked at them and sighed. Some she thought were cute, others not so cute. But the biggest problem was what she would do with them. Would Nick like it? Would she look pretty in those dresses? Questions after questions that haunted her mind, until Daisy interrupted her torment.

"This and this!" In Judy's arms, two elegant dresses were put on. "Try them both on." Judy's eyes evaluated the dresses. "Go on. Your niece chose them!" Daisy winked and led her sister-in-law to the dressing rooms to try them on. "Both of them. Dress and show. We look forward to it."

The curtains have been closed. Daisy and Julia sat on the couch, waiting.

Inside the clothes, Judy hung the dresses. One was red and the other black. She began to remove her pink blouse and pants. Placing her clothes on the little bench there, she took the red dress. The dress had a favorable cleavage of thin straps. The length was down to her knees. It was simple and fit well in her curves. Judy closed the zipper of the dress that was on the left side and left the dressing room without even seeing herself in the mirror first.

The curtains deviated. Little Julia's eyes glowed when she saw her aunt in the dress. However, Daisy frowned. It was indeed a magnificent dress and it fitted her well, but something was missing.

"Well?" Judy asked, looking at them both.

"Um... Nice, but something was missing. I think the black will look better on you," pondered Daisy.

In a disappointed sigh, she turned her back and closed the curtains behind her. The dress was removed and put on the hanger. Soon, she took the black and put it on. The neckline of this dress was V-shaped. His straps were thin too, but it had the detail of a very thin, transparent white fabric that fell down to her elbows and was opened at the front. The length was up to her knees, but the dress had a tail that went down to the ground. Besides, the black on the light shone. When Judy closed the lock behind her back with the help of the thread that held it, she decided to look at herself in the mirror before leaving. Her mouth opened in amazement. Was it really her? She was different. She looked more like... Elegant! She was... Beautiful. Yes, she never thought a dress would change her image, even though other small details were missing, she looked stunning. A few seconds later, she decided to get out of the dressing room. It didn't take words to describe how beautiful Judy looked. Little Julia smiled and Daisy opened her eyes in amazement. That was the missing detail. It was the detail of running out of words that Daisy wanted.

"Darling, if Nick says no, he doesn't even know what he's missing!" were the words Daisy was able to say after minutes of silence contemplating the figure of her sister-in-law in front of her.

To be continued…