A great amount of time had passed since Judy's midnight bout with Nick, and their relationship hadn't changed much since then. The few times they met, for however long, the air grew tense and sparks practically flew between the two. The rest of the time, the two actively avoided one another as best they could.
Judy had ended up staying with Mr. Big, finding no real reason to leave his care until she had secured herself a new job – though it proved to be a significantly harder task than she had anticipated. She was not a freeloader, however, and she did her best to help out around the massive estate in an attempt to earn her keep: doing dishes and helping cook, or helping to reach and access areas too small for a polar bear but too large for a shrew.
Fru-Fru was a constant source of support, always keeping Judy company when she needed it and, on occasion, taking her for a 'girl's day out'. The two were fast friends, and Judy quickly found herself growing happier with the little mammal around. What she lacked in size, she made up for in enthusiasm – a definite challenge to the energetic cheetah she had briefly known at the ZPD.
Perhaps the best part of it all was that thoughts of the ZPD were no longer setting the rabbit to immediate depression. She had failed her dream in some sense, true, but she no longer saw it as the end of everything. She was finding the monotonous tasks around the estate to be some semblence of comfort, a sort of numbness that was welcome to her.
The only thing that broke that monotony was the call from her parents she received every other day; they were constantly worried, checking up on her and almost begging her to return to the farm at the failure of her police career. Yet she was adamant in her refusal, insisting that she liked the city and wanted to at least try something new and different. It was a constant back and forth that she grew weary of, despite knowing that it was all from their love and concerns for her.
Close to three months later, Judy had finally gotten a job – albeit something different from what she had anticipated. Mr. Big had summoned her to his office with a proposition: Work under him, as a part of the family, and be paid alongside keeping her current place in his home. After so long with nothing to show for her efforts in regards to work, Judy accepted – though, she had a feeling that the alternative was to either be sent out into the streets, or 'iced', as she had overheard some bears say.
And so it was she began her work for Mr. Big. Initially, it was nothing nefarious, or even suspicious to her: she was to help keep the Tundratown Limo Service station clean, and assist in directing drivers to where they needed to go. It was, in all honesty, fairly similar to dispatch at a police station, as well as something new to make her parents stop requesting she return to the farm.
That was the biggest change for her. When her parents called, she no longer had to tell them how she was still searching for a job, and instead could proudly state that she was helping to keep a limo service running smoothly. Though they still clearly wanted her to return home, her parents were happy that she had found work and that she seemed significantly happier. Things were going smoothly.
And then, one day, Judy was summoned to Mr. Big's office. She had no idea as to why, but she knew better by now than to put the shrew on hold – so instead, she set the dish she had been washing back into the sink, and immedaitely set off. When she entered the office, she let the faint hints of a scowl appear on her face – Nick was waiting in the office, facing Mr. Big with his paws held behind his back. When Mr. Big looked her way, though, she quickly replaced the scowl with a faint smile, stepping up beside Nick.
"Ah, Judith, good. I have a request for you, and Nick as well." The shrew looked between the rabbit and fox, discarding any formalities at the very start. "I have a set of errands that need to be run through the city, and want the two of you to do them."
Nick glanced over to Judy, frowning a bit as he turned to face the shrew. "Together?" he asked, a bit hesitant.
"Together. As partners. Which, from now on, you two will be." Mr. Big nodded, watching the two, gauging their reactions.
"What?" They both sounded off at the same time, glancing to one another before trying to come up with an argument to use against their boss. It was Nick who found one first, taking a small step forward. "Mr. Big, sir, that's cra-" A sharp look from the smaller mammal made Nick stop his protest immediately, the fox taking a nervous step back into place.
Judy, being more careful, decided to try and object. "Sir, I don't think that's a very good idea. Nick and I don't get along very well and - "
"That is exactly why you two are being put as partners. A family, though sometimes disfunctional, can always find ways to get along with each other. But the hostility between you two is clear, and that same hostility could lead to problems on all fronts – business and otherwise." The shrew leaned back in his chair slightly. "And avoiding one another will only make matters worse. It is best to end whatever problems we could have as soon as we can."
Judy nodded once, sighing as she recognized the logic in Mr. Big's decision. She didn't like it, but between her respect for Mr. Big and her desires to actually get out of the house for longer than her brief stays at work led her to not fight it. Nick seemed resigned to it as well, his shoulders slumping slightly as he set his face to a neutral expression. The shrew took note of this, giving a chuckle. "Perk up, Nicky. It won't be that bad. As for your errands today..." He gave a wave of his small hand, and the massive polar bear behind him set a sheet of paper down on the desk, sliding it over. Nick reached out and took the paper, reading over its contents. Judy leaned over to try and read some of it, and Nick tilted the page slightly for her once he noticed.
The list was fairly simple. Some items were seemingly for a party – streamers, balloons, etc. – but others seemed random. Ball bearings, paracord, a fleece blanket sized for a larger mammal? And, to add to the cofusion, there were three addresses seemingly strewn through the list. Nick began to fold the paper up, slipping it into a pocket. "Is there anything else?" he asked, nodding once Mr. Big shook his head. "Alright. Come on, Carrots, let's go." Nick turned and jerked his head in a 'follow me' motion.
"I told you to stop calling me that," Judy muttered, walking out of the room after the fox. She grit her teeth for a moment, before taking a deep breath – there was no point in letting him get to her right now. She continued after him, keeping only a step behind as he walked in silence to the garage where most of the vehicles were kept.
Judy, despite being here for several months, hadn't been in here yet; she had no vehicle of her own, giving her no reason to use the garage. She was rather surprised at the variety of vehicles within, most of which were sized for polar bears of course. Trucks, SUVs, a few vans, sports and commercial cars lined the massive space. Each one had its own paint job, though there was a set of black ones visible on the back that she could spot.
Nick continued to quietly lead her along the vehicles until he found his own, grinning widely as he walked faster to it. Judy tilted her head, inspecting his car – it was clearly and old muscle car that was well-maintained, loved, and updated. A two-door, dark gray colored vehicle, setting it apart from the rest of the ones in the garage, the interior perfectly sized for a smaller mammal like a fox.
Nick swiftly slid into the driver's seat, beginning to buckle himself in. Judy tugged on the passenger side door, but it didn't give – locked. She looked through the window at the fox, who had paused as he was putting the keys in the ignition, before he reached over and unlocked the door for her. Judy opened it and jumped into her seat, muttering a small "thanks" as she did so. Nick remained silent as he turned on the vehicle, slowly driving it outside and into the streets.
Judy stared out the window, watching the world pass by as she let out a small sigh. She could feel Nick look over to her, but when she glanced at him, his eyes were fixed on the snow-covered road. The two sat in a somewhat uneasy silence for a while, before Judy grew frustrated with it and decided to try a civil conversation. Something simple, that the fox likely couldn't react poorly to. Something like...
"Nice car," she commented.
She caught Nick glancing over to her in slight surprise as she looked his way. The fox was quiet for a moment, before responding with "Thanks. Took a while to get her fixed up."
"You fixed up this car?" Judy asked, a bit surprised. Nick didn't exactly seem like a mechanic or anyone good with a wrench, so much as a businessmammal.
"With some help," he admitted. "But I like what we've done with her."
Judy nodded, falling quiet again as she tried to think of a way to continue the conversation. "What year is she?" the rabbit finally asked.
"Nineteen-sixty-nine. Seems to have been a good year for muscle cars." Nick sat up in his seat a bit, trying to get a better view as he drove. "Mach 1 Mustang."
"Seems like you know a lot about cars," Judy remarked.
"Muscle cars are what I work on," Nick explained. "Any model, make, year, I've probably fixed a part or two on it."
"I thought you did odd jobs for Mr. Big?" Judy tilted her head slightly.
"I do, but there's long gaps between jobs. So, I work with a friend at a car shop." He looked over to her again, and the rabbit glanced back. She gave a small smile, noticing the lack of tension between the two. "What do you know about cars?" he asked.
"Not much," Judy sighed. "I helped work on an old pickup we had on my parent's farm, and the tractors, but that was about it."
"Oh, so you are a farm bunny?" Nick grinned and chuckled at this. Judy let her ears fall at realizing what she had said. She began to stammer, trying to think of a response, before sighing.
"Yeah, I came from a farm. Bunnyburrow, remember?"
"I hadn't heard of it before, I thought you were making it up," Nick chuckled.
"You haven't heard of Bunnyburrow?" Judy asked, somewhat surprised by this.
"I'm a city mammal, Carrots. Born and raised. Never really had a chance to leave it." Nick shook his head, while Judy bit her tonuge on a reminder to not call her Carrots. She let out a small "Oh" and returned her gaze to the window. She couldn't quite tell what, but there was a shift between them – the tension from before, while still there, was significantly less than before.
She could only hope it lasted.
So this got out a little later than I wanted, and for that, I'm sorry. Between some personal things and a lack of sleep, writing has been really difficult. With any luck, though, I can put out updates for this more often as time goes on. I also apologize if this chapter seems rushed or a little imcomplete, but for what I wanted to happen next, I felt this was a good enough place to leave off. Hopefully later updates are twice this long, as well.