Chapter 3: Mendings

The late morning sunshine began to peek through the single tall window and slowly fell directly onto Nick's face, beginning to rouse him from his slumber and his ears began to twitch at the sounds of the city street below coming to life. He squinted his lidded eyes a few times but kept them shut before slightly shifting his position. It appeared he had rolled onto his back during the night. Nick was rather surprised he slept through the entire remainder of the night and actually felt incredibly rested despite the sour turn of events of the previous evening.

He felt way too comfortable. Perhaps this is what it was like to sleep in a real bed again. He remembered how even the bunks at the Academy were too stiff for his tastes. As his senses slowly came back, the fox finally noticed that something warm, soft, and heavy was resting on his torso. He didn't remember pulling up any blankets before he had zonked out.

Opening his eyes finally, he looked down, to be greeted by a small mass of velvety gray fur just inches from his snout. Nick's eyes immediately widened and his whole body tensed as if he was zapped by electricity. There was Judy, still sleeping soundly, completely entangling around him. Her head lay near the crook of his neck with her cheek resting on the furrier tuft of his chest, right paw on the other side with an iron grip through his longer ruffled fur. Lower down, he felt her right leg completely wrapped around him.

Occasionally, there was a slight twitch and her toes would curl and uncurl. He would think this was cute if it wasn't for the awkward situation he found himself in. Deep breaths revealed some very quiet snoring along with an occasional nose twitch. Noticing his right paw was sitting in the small of her back, just above her tail, he quickly snapped it away.

All Nick could do was stare in terror at the greasy ceiling above him, "Oh god, oh god..." he barely muttered to himself trying to think of a plan to untangle himself from her before she woke up. The fox had no idea how she would react to this. His heart was beating rather quickly now. Slowly shifting his weight around, he reached out with his left paw and leg against the mattress and tried to slip away but all it did was cause her to shift and tighten her grip around him, as if that was possible. He felt like some fox life preserver in a sea of blankets and she was clinging to him for dear life.

For now, he decided to wait it out and see if she might just roll back to her side of the mattress on her own. The ex-con always had to be patient in his previous profession, he could be patient here.

Several minutes slowly ticked by. No luck. Calming down a bit, he found himself almost lulled back to sleep with Judy lying there against him. It felt strangely euphoric and so natural. Was he really supposed to feel this way about his best friend? The fox began to wonder what kind of effect this petite rabbit was having on him when suddenly that world was about to come crashing down.

A light knock came from the door, derailing his thoughts and bringing him back to alertness. Nick was suddenly willing to risk just rolling himself off the bed, consequences be damned.

A second knock.

Judy had begun to stir and her eyes were fluttering. She felt so warm and comfortable, she didn't want to move or get up.

A third knock.

Her brain was registering that someone was at her door. Just as she finished yawning she opened her eyes and looked up only to be greeted by Nick's terrified face right in front of her muzzle. Then the realization hit her like a tsunami.

Judy bolted up, ears to the ceiling, mouth open, eyes wide, nose twitching, paws still clinched on Nick's bare chest, assessing exactly where she had just been sleeping. "OhmygodNickIamsosorry!" the words came stammering out in rapid fire.

Bonnie and Stu's muffled voices came from the front door, "Sweetheart, are you awake? Morning Jude the Dude! Rise and shine sleepy head."

She gasped and brought her paws over her mouth, looking like she was straddling her best friend while her parents were at the door, "Oh sweet cheese and crackers!" She felt red from ears to toes.

Nick hadn't moved nor said a word yet and was simply gripping the mattress in sheer terror, like a naughty kit being caught by a girlfriend's parents.

The bunny gracefully jumped off and hopped around in panic. "Nick!" she whispered loudly. "You have to hide!"

Snapping out of it, he shot back, "Hide? Hide where? There's nowhere in here to hide!" Making a sweeping gesture around the apartment with his paws.

Judy's eyes fell on her small clothes rack cabinet. She flung it open and grabbed some clothing to make room, "Get in here!"

"Are you serious?" he exclaimed almost a little too loudly.

"Judy?" Bonnie called again.

"One second, Mom!"

The frantic bunny turned back to her partner pleading, "Nick, please!"

Nick quickly snatched his torn shirt off the chair and tried to squeeze into the cabinet. It was awfully small and he had to contort his body and wedged himself in. He grabbed his tail to pull it inside.

Judy attempted to close the doors on him but they weren't closing completely. Thinking on her feet, she grabbed her desk chair and wedged it up to the door frame. This would have to do.

"Coming!" She stopped in front of her door. Composed herself, took a deep breath, and forced a smile before opening the door, revealing the worried faces of Bonnie and Stu Hopps.

"Bun-Bun, are you okay?"

"Oh hey you guys! I didn't expect you to come over this morning!" she replied in a mock perky tone.

"We were worried, sweetheart. We called several times but your phone kept going to voicemail," Bonnie supplied with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Yeah, we decided to make sure everything was okay," Stu added.

The phone. Of course, Judy had forgotten her phone was broken from fighting that mugger last night. "Oh, there was nothing to worry about, Mom, Dad, we just kinda stayed up late and I ended up dropping my phone on accident on the way home. I think I broke it," she hastily lied.

"Oh. Well either way, we wanted to have breakfast with you before we headed back home. Maybe you'd like Nicholas to join too? If your phone is broken we could call him. What's his number?"

Nick! Her eyes nervously glanced over at the cabinet, she swore it seemed like it moved. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw his tie. It was still laying on the front edge of her desk.

"Um… I think he told me he was… pretty busy today actually. Running a bunch of errands and helping a friend..." Judy said as she conspicuously backed up, picked up both pieces of the tie and turned away so her parents couldn't see it. She pretended to straighten her bedsheets a bit and shoved the tie underneath the blankets.

"That's a shame. He's such a nice young mammal."

"Yeah… so, hey, why don't you guys wait downstairs, let me change, and we can go eat?" she suggested, hoping to get them out of her apartment quickly.

"Sure thing hun," Stu replied. "Let's go wait outside Bon."

The pair of rabbits walked out the door and headed down the hallway. Judy closed the door and banged her forehead against it, ears down, letting out a big sigh.

She quickly turned around and opened the cabinet and a fox came spilling out. He stood up and saw the apologetic look on her face.

"Nick, are you okay?" She reached out to put a paw on his arm.

"Well, that brought back some memories of something that's probably too inappropriate to share," he smirked trying to lighten the mood and straightening out his back and patting down his fur. "Though I think I pulled a muscle, ow…"

Judy found herself staring at him for the first time without his usual green shirt on. The mix of russet and cream colored fur ran all the way down his elongated torso. He looked so much more toned and built then she remembered. The payoffs from his gruelling nine month police academy training were clearly there.

The fox was about to say something about her silence when a new pair of voices came from the other side of the wall. They both turned to the source.

"That was really close, wasn't it, Bunny?"

"Yeah, I think this is the first time she finally brought a guy home."

"Are you saying she isn't allowed to have some fun? She is a rabbit after all."

"Of course she is. And what does that have to do with it?"

"Oh shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Shut your mouth!"

Judy pulled her reddening ears down over her face and simply wanted to curl into a ball right then and there and die.

Nick went from another terrified face to one of complete amusement, crossing an arm and putting the other up to his chin in mock thought, as he raised an eyebrow, smirked, and just glanced between the noisy rattling wall and Judy.

"Those two just tell it like it is, don't they? I like them. Though I didn't know you were such a celibate bunny, Carrots," smirking to his partner.

"Shut up, Nick."


After profusely apologizing a few more times, Judy changed and ran downstairs to meet her folks. Nick stayed behind, gathered his things, and waited a good fifteen minutes to make sure the coast was clear before leaving and locking the door behind him. Since Bogo had given them the weekend off, he decided to head back to the Docks and clean up.

The fox was rummaging through his few boxes of possessions. It looked like he was going to need to buy some more thread to repair his torn clothes. In the meantime he put on his other terrible yellow shirt with a light gray floral design. It was the same shirt he wore on the day he first met Judy at Jumbeaux's Cafe. That felt like such a long time ago now. He smiled remembering her in that cute meter maid outfit.

It felt odd to not have a tie on. Like he looked a little bit less respectable without his favorite accessory. Tomorrow he would take care it. He had promised his Mom, he would finally visit her this weekend and today seemed as good as any.

He called her to arrange a time and they agreed on a late brunch. Mrs. Wilde was excited to see her son and cook him some of his favorite food. Inspecting himself one last time, he concluded that perhaps it would have been best that he didn't wear that striped tie today, even if it hadn't been slashed in two. His small bandage was hidden enough that his Mom hopefully wouldn't notice it.

On the way over, Nick stopped by the Otterton's Floral Shop and purchased a small bouquet of yellow daisies. They were his Mom's favorite. She still lived in their old home located in Savanna Central close to the Happytown slums.

Soon he found himself standing in front of the door to his childhood home. It looked like nothing had changed, as if time had stood still. But here he was, no longer that angry kit who ran away from home a year after high school. He took a breath and hit the doorbell.

Hearing the sounds of approaching footsteps, the door quickly opened, and his Mom appeared with wide open welcoming arms. She reached out to hug him something fierce. "Oh Nicholas, I am so happy to finally have you home."

"These are for you, Mom," he held the daisies out.

"You remembered!" she beamed with wetness building in her eyes. "Come in, make yourself comfortable while I find a vase for these."

Nick, with hands in pockets, stepped in and looked around. Everything really was the same. Across from the doorway was the old circular mirror with the decorated thick brown frame where he once stood admiring himself in that old Ranger Scout uniform. His fingers began to play with the old red handkerchief in his right pocket.

"Here we are," came his Mom with her pretty new flowers and placed them on the nearby table. She walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder as they both shared a brief look in the mirror. "Come, help me set the table and we can eat."

He nodded and followed her into the kitchen.


The younger fox sat on the old sofa, stomach full of wonderfully home cooked food, leaning back against the cushion, one leg crossed over the other, with a cup of tea in hand.

Mrs. Wilde sat down with her own cup on a loveseat facing opposite him, sitting up straight with her feet crossed. She looked at her son and studied his features. It looked like he hadn't aged much at all despite the length of his absence. He always had a youthful appearance. Nick was thinking the same thing. His mother did not look her age at all despite being in her fifties.

"Thank you for the lunch, Mom, it was wonderful," he spoke first.

"Oh it was nothing. Let's chat. Tell me sweetheart, how is it being a Police Officer?"

Nick finished a sip. "Oh you know, Mom. Chasing bad guys, getting all the glory in the newspapers after a big case, vixens throwing themselves at my feet," he answered with a smirk.

His mom, simply stared back at him with those same inquisitive green eyes, looking right through his crap, but she still gave him a motherly smile. "I'm serious, Nicholas."

"Okay, okay. It's been… surprisingly great. It finally feels like I belong to something worthwhile, Mom. Other mammals are taking me seriously, well, most of them anyway… and I get to spend my days with my partner, who is my best friend."

"Would that be the young pretty rabbit who spoke at your graduation? Judy, was her name?"

Her son almost choked on his sip of tea, suddenly being reminded of this morning's events, and turning a deep red shade. He thanked God for having red fur. Mrs. Wilde slightly raised an eyebrow, noticing her son's reaction, but said nothing.

"Yeah. Judy Hopps. I had helped her with that Missing Mammal and Nighthowler Case a year ago."

"How did that happen? How did you meet her and get involved?"

Nick closed his half lidded eyes and decided to fully disclose, waving his free paw towards the ceiling, "Short version? I hustled her out of fifteen bucks for a jumbo pop, insulted her, left her stuck in wet cement, and then the next day she blackmailed me with felony tax evasion to help her investigation because I was her only lead when I had sold a pawpsicle to the otter who went missing," he casually explained.

Now it was Mrs. Wilde's turn to have her tea go down the wrong pipe. After recomposing herself, she stared back, blinking at her son with shock. His eyes indicated he was completely serious.

"I see…" she was still processing this incredulous information.

"Hard to believe? I can't blame you, Mom," Nick said putting his tea down.

"Oh I believe you, sweetheart. I also believe I raised you better than to insult and treat other mammals like that. You deserved that karma," she replied with a stern look in his direction.

Nick was tempted to counter with how Judy had profiled and patronized him and to mention that he saw her carrying around fox repellant but that would have been immature and it was such a bygone that he had long forgiven her for.

It suddenly occurred to him that if Judy hadn't profiled him, they would have never met, there would have been no grand life changing adventure, no having her as a best friend and partner, and he would still be hustling on the streets and not sitting here reunited with his Mom. Life is strange in how some events play out.

Mrs. Wilde spoke up again after the short silence, "Tell me the whole story, Nick. I remember those city wide tensions during the disappearing incidents and after that press conference. I was afraid to leave the house sometimes."

"Alright," he sat up in his seat, leaning forward and placing both elbows on his knees, and clasped his paws together. "So about a year ago, I was going to this elephant ice cream shop called 'Jumbeaux's Cafe'. It was around noon and I went in to start my hustle for the day…"

The older fox sat and listened as her son retold the events of those crazy couple of days. Naturally, he omitted certain bits of information and downplayed the danger of almost dying several times. Then came the three month span apart from Judy when that press conference tore their new friendship to pieces, only to have her find him again with her new case revelation and heart breaking apology, more leads lead to more danger, and the impressive act they concocted to secure the necessary evidence to put away former Mayor Bellweather for her crimes. He was proud of his little rookie hustling bunny.

Finishing his tale, he shared some brief moments from the Academy and their first week together on the force, leaving out everything that happened after the concert and this morning.

Mrs. Wilde had quite the laugh when Nick told her how they had busted Flash for being a street racer on his first day as a cop. She remembered the kind sloth as a teenager. He was Nick's only prey friend back in high school. And now her policeman son had a rabbit for a partner.

"Nick, you must bring Judy here one day. I would love to meet the bunny who changed my son's life and brought him back to me since I did not get the chance at the graduation," she requested with a beaming smile.

"Mom…" he looked away from her praise in embarrassment.

"And I want to her version of that crazy story."

"Hah. I knew there was an ulterior motive!." he chuckled. "Sly mother."

"Dumb son," she quipped right back.

Another period of silence fell upon them, but this time it was comfortable. He was studying something on the wall behind her, she was looking over something on his shirt, or lack thereof.

Nick returned his gaze to his mother's eyes and decided to change the subject. He had one burning question that was sitting in the back of his mind since he first walked back into the home.

Clearing his throat, he spoke softly, deciding to just spit it out, "Mom, I knew how tough things were for you, especially once Dad was gone so I have to admit, I secretly mailed every cent I could spare to you after I ran off. Why… why are you still living here? I thought it would have been more than enough to let you live a better life?"

"I didn't want to spend your money," came the curt reply.

"What? So you knew it was from me? The whole time?" he began to get visibly upset.

"I'm not some old senile vixen, Nick! No matter how clever you tried to make me think it was from some odd inheritance or life insurance payoff. I knew better."

"Even so, why did that matter? You didn't have to continue to live like this!" Nick found himself off the couch, arms in the air, pulling his ears down, before his paws settled onto his hips.

Mrs. Wilde, now on her feet as well, glared and pointed her finger at her son, "How can I, as a mother, take and spend my only son's money while he was out suffering in his own self inflicted exile on the streets? I didn't want this damn money! I WANTED MY SON BACK!" Her voice cracked and tears began to fall down her furry red cheeks.

Nick's face fell immediately to the ground, ears flattened, pain in his heart, hands in his pockets, he was still standing but could feel he was quickly losing his ground against his mother.

But his mother wasn't finished, "I frequently went out to the city, you know. I saw you many times from a distance. You and that small friend of yours, doing your hustles and heavens knows what else. I desperately wanted to run to you, to wrap my arms around you, to bring you home and knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. But I didn't. I couldn't. If I had tried to force you, I might have ended up pushing you away even further, possibly forever. So I sucked it up and waited. I waited every single day for the day you would call, come home, anything." She paused to curb a sniffle and take a breath. "I even dreaded the day, I would get a call… like the day your Da…"

The son didn't let his mother finish that last sentence, "Mom. Don't…" he stepped closer and opened his inviting arms for her. She closed the gap and brought him into a warm embrace. Both foxes crying lightly into each other's shoulders.

"God, I'm such a dumb fox," he muttered.

"But you're my dumb fox. And you're home. That's all that matters to me." she leaned her cheek against his.

"Please don't tell Judy about this. I tease her enough about being an emotional bunny."

Her answer was a light punch to the gut.

"Ow. I seem to have this effect on all the women in my life."

"Why am I not surprised?" she teased as they both stepped back. "So that means you will bring Judy over?"

"Sure, Mom."

"I'll hold you to that, Nicholas," she said as the tears vanished, to be replaced by a warm smile. "You will need to tell me what she loves to eat so I can prepare something nice."

"Can't go wrong with carrots," he suggested.

Mrs. Wilde rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen to get some water. He followed her and leaned into the door frame with his arms crossed.

"Mom, if you didn't spend the money… can I ask what you did do with it?"

"I'll show you." she gulped down her glass and motioned him to follow her.

They went up the stairs to the second floor where all the bedrooms were. His mother walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the door that was his old room, opened it, and stepped inside.

Nick didn't know how to feel as he stepped foot inside his old den. He had just become a young adult when he ran away. All of his things looked like they were all left in place from his high school days, just more organized and kept clean. A small desk, lots of band posters, an old bookshelf full of novels and comics, and a small table with an ancient tiny TV.

Mrs. Wilde opened the closet and Nick immediately saw an addition that wasn't there before. It was a portable tall safe wedged into the corner. She kneeled down to turn the combination and opened it.

The ex-con's eyes shot open as he saw dozens upon dozens of large stacks of bills neatly filed away inside. There had to easily be several hundred grand in the safe.

"It's all here. I kept it here waiting for the day I could give it back to you."

"Unbelieveable… " was all he could quietly muster as tossed his arms into the air for a moment.

"I have one condition." she stood up and locked eyes with his.

"And that is?"

"You take this money and better yourself, Nicholas. I better not find out you are living in some basement, or under a bridge, and no more hustling," she ordered while pointing at the stacks of cash.

Those words stung deep. Had she known? Or was that just a coincidence in her choice of words? He decided not to comment on that and gave her a genuine smile and met her gaze. "I promise, Mom."

This had certainly turned into one hell of a day for Nicholas P. Wilde. He spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening catching up with what his Mom had been up to since he left. In the end, he promised he would visit as often as he could and get a new place to live soon. He took some of the money with him, some delicious leftovers, and headed back to the Docks once again.

He had thought about contacting Judy, but then remembered her phone might still be broken. Perhaps it was better to have the weekend to themselves after what happened when they had woken up in each other's arms. Nick still had no idea how she felt about the whole ordeal and he didn't want to make things awkward or weird.

The fox made a mental checklist of some errands to run tomorrow and decided he would wait to see her back at the precinct on Monday.


Judy was back at her apartment, refreshing the sheets and making the bed. Her parents ended up staying a few hours longer, taking in some extra sights around Downtown. They had even brought up how one of their neighbor's sons moved to Zootopia a few weeks ago and was single. She didn't particularly care for these little blind date arrangements.

The several bucks they had tried to set her up with during Nick's academy training never usually went past one or two dates. Three was the furthest she got, and that particular jerk she had to physically knock down when he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer towards his lecherous advances. She had lied about being too busy with work for the time being. Her mind kept drifting back to this morning's rude awakening and basically finding out she snuggled onto Nick during the night.

Sighing, she let herself fall onto the bed. She could still catch the faint scent of his presence. She still vividly recalled the look of terror on his face. Had she offended him? Was he disgusted? Would he ever come back? Would this make things weird at work on Monday? Then the cherry on top were Bucky and Pronk's perfectly timed inappropriate commentary. What had Nick really thought about their words?

Biting her lower lip, she thought back to right before she had opened her eyes. She had felt so comfortable, so content, so safe at that moment. Perhaps that made sense with everything they had been through together.

She wanted to call him but her phone was still dead and most electronic repair shops would be closing soon. Judy didn't want to wallow in uncertain thoughts. Hopping out of bed, she decided to go for a walk to the town center fountain and get some early dinner. The fresh air would do her some good. The bunny grabbed her pink iPaw and headed out.


Allowing herself to sleep in this Sunday morning, Judy felt really refreshed and changed into her sportswear. The bunny decided to go for a run before breakfast and drop off her phone somewhere to be repaired. She had a nice scenic route through Downtown that she frequently ran in her off duty time.

Several miles later, she was nearly finished with her run. She had stopped at a street corner to take a big gulp of water from her sports bottle. Refreshed, she was about to sprint the last part of her run when she noticed a red fox across the street. A red fox with a really awful yellow shirt. It was Nick! She was surprised to see him up and around so early in the day. He was walking down the street with some bags in one paw. She called out and waved to him but he was too far away to hear her. She began to run in his direction.

She saw him stop in front of a store, look at the signage, and go inside. Judy slowed to a walk and looked at the store. The sign read 'The Gentlemammal's Wearhouse'. The bunny peeked through the windows. It looked like the store catered to high quality formal wear. She spotted Nick again off to the side. He was studiously looking through a selection of ties. Remembering how his striped tie was slashed in half the other day and how upset he was about it, he must be getting a replacement. Judy expected him to pick out a similar style but instead he chose a very elegant solid rich violet tie. Nick inspected it closely, smiled, and headed to the register.

The fox walked up to the counter. Suddenly a slender red vixen appeared from behind ready to ring him up. She was a little bit shorter than Nick, had light blue eyes, her fur was a few tints lighter, and wore a very flattering v-neck white blouse. The vixen looked at Nick with very flirty eyes and a sweet smile and began to chit chat with him.

Judy smiled that it was nice that maybe Nick could make a new friend or even a date with that charm of his, but then she felt something in the pit of her stomach at that thought. Feeling suddenly apprehensive, she admonished herself. Was she feeling a little sad? Possibly even a little jealous? No, that would be completely silly. She heard some laughter and was able to make out their conversation. She really should walk away but couldn't. The bunny came closer to the window with ears perked up.

"Sir, you look very familiar. Have I seen you shop with us before?"

"No ma'am. First time here. Was shopping around to get a replacement tie. My old one had a bit of an accident," he replied with his usual friendly smirk.

Nick placed the tie on the countertop and reached for his wallet. Flipping it open, revealed his officer badge pinned to the inside fold.

Her eyes went wide. "Police Officer? Wait, I saw you in the newspaper! You must be Officer Wilde, the first fox policeman in Zootopia! What an incredible accomplishment! I know so many of my friends who were amazed when they read about you."

"Well, thank you, that's too kind of you. Please call me Nick." he smiled back. Before he had to always pretend to be someone or something else while hustling to get any sort of praise. This was an unexpected and welcome change.

"Ah. Well, this is a beautiful color, Nick. It will look great on you. I'm Tina by the way! The tie will be $110 even. 10% discount for first time shoppers," she winked.

"Wonderful. This color reminds me of my ZPD partner. We've been through alot together, even before I applied to the Academy."

"That's so sweet, this partner must mean a lot to you," she cooed while ringing up his order.

"Yeah, she's one in a million." He paused, glancing up for a moment then smirking, "Probably closer to one in a hundred million. Literally."

Judy's eyes widened at Nick's comments. The tie reminded him of her? She looked at it again and then squinted in thought, nose twitching. Looking back at the window, she focused on her own reflection and then came the realization. The tie was the same exact shade of violet like her eyes. She blinked and remembered the day in the park where he made the lavender association with her middle name and irises and teased her on his use of 'quixotry'. All of a sudden, she found herself feeling a lot warmer.

Nick removed the price tag and held up the tie while pointing to the full body mirror behind him, "May I?"

"Of course. Do you need any help?"

"Thank you but I have to keep in practice," he winked and stood in front of the mirror, flipped his collar up and deftly looped the tie around and began to form a perfect half-windsor knot. He tucked it down, fixed his collar, and placed his hands on his hips, "Ah, looking good."

He reached down to grab his things and waved goodbye to the vixen, "Thank you Tina, have a nice day!"

Judy was still standing next to the window lost in her thoughts, when a sudden voice directed at her made her jump.

"Carrots?"

"Oh hey, Nick! What are you doing here?" was her weak attempt to pass off the coincidence.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Minus the 'Nick' part," he smiled.

"Funny fox. I was going for a Sunday morning run. I usually run through here and I was going to drop off my phone to be repaired. I see you got a new tie!" she managed.

"Sure did. I felt naked without one," he said then made a face at his word choice.

The two stared at one another for a few moments, before they broke into some laughs.

Their laughter was interrupted when Tina came outside the store looking for Nick. "Oh, Nick, I forgot to give you our business card!"

She handed him a business card with her cell phone number on the back. He accepted it and saw the handwritten number and raised his eyebrows. The vixen then noticed the petite rabbit in a black sports bra and runner leggings standing awfully close to him. She peered at Judy for a few moments. Her eyebrow arched when she noticed the young bunny's eyes and then to Nick's new tie and back, causing her mouth to purse and eyes widen a bit.

"Ah, Tina, this is my partner, Officer Judy Hopps," Nick introduced Judy and put a paw on her small shoulder, giving her a light side hug and smiled.

Judy instinctively squeezed his paw for a moment before flashing a perky smile and waved, "Hi Tina, it's nice to meet you!"

"Oh, hello Officer Hopps," Tina replied in a sudden neutral tone.

It was there for only a brief moment but Nick saw the sudden shift in demeanor, body language, and the subtle look of disgust in Tina's eyes. He kept his smirk up as the vixen silently went back inside the store. He moved his paw to Judy's back and motioned for her to begin walking.

"Nick?"

"It's nothing, Carrots."

He flipped the business card around a few times in his paw and threw it into a nearby recycle bin.

"I don't understand. Didn't she give you her number? Isn't that mean?" she asked looking up at him, biting her lip, ears drooping.

He glanced back down to his best friend and smiled, "I don't date bigots."

"Oh…" she paused looking back at the store, feeling sad and disappointed, then she turned back to face Nick.

The fox leaned forward on his haunches to meet his partner's eyes, "If you need to get your phone fixed I know a guy who will take a look at it for free and give you a good price," he offered.

"Because you know everybody."

"Uh huh, sure do."

The bunny smiled back with her ears returning upright, "That would be wonderful."

"Let's go then Officer Fluff, it's just down the next street," he pointed and began to walk in direction of the store.

Judy skipped next to him and fell in step with his pace. "What's in the bags?"

"Just a few small items I needed. I saw my Mom yesterday by the way."

"REALLY!?" she hopped in excitement.

"Yeah, we sorted things out," he said keeping his eyes forward.

"Oh Nick, that's fantastic. I'm so happy for you!" he had to stop when the small bunny reached over and hugged him.

He squeezed her back, "She wants to meet you one of these days for dinner."

"Me?"

"How many other life changing rabbits do I know?" This earned him a punch in the arm. He found it strange that he missed that. "Think you're up for it, Carrots?"

"I'd love to meet her," she replied meeting his eyes.

The duo's trepidation had disappeared when they sank back into their familiar comfort with one another. Nick smiled and stopped at the next store, "And here we are! Mike's Electronics Shack."

He opened the door for Judy and she walked inside. Nick followed her in and greeted the owner.


The owner, Mike, a friendly caribou was able to fix Judy's phone and replaced the cracked screen. With his newfound cash, Nick decided to pick up an inexpensive laptop. Mike sold it to him for a really good deal.

After waiting around for the phone repair, Nick and Judy exited the shop and continued walking while she went through all of her missed texts and voicemails and finally cleared them out. She called her parents to let them know that her phone was fixed. Nick and her parents exchanged greetings and a few words while she chatted with them on MuzzleTime when he had peeked over her ears to annoy her.

The two grabbed brunch and were heading back towards her apartment when Judy had an idea.

"Hey Nick?"

"Hm?"

"Can that laptop play DVDs?"

"Sure can, why?" he glanced down.

"Oh, I was thinking we could watch a movie together if you aren't doing anything else today?" she looked up.

"Alright, Carrots. Pick the flick and let's get some popcorn."

"I know the perfect movie!"

"It's not gonna be some kind of bunny rom-com is it?" he smirked expecting a smack. And there it was right on queue.

"Har. Har. Actually, it's a spy movie and it does star a rabbit AND a fox," she stuck her tongue out. "Ever heard of Savage City?"

Nick arched an eyebrow at her, "Can't say that I have."

"Then we're watching it!" she grinned. "There's a video rental near my place."


They were back in Judy's apartment. She was popping the popcorn in her tiny microwave while Nick sat at her desk setting up the laptop.

"Does your building offer free Wi-Fi?" he asked.

"Sure does. The network is PB&J."

"Hah. Password?"

"P-G-A-A-1-2-3-4," she supplied while taking the popcorn out and pouring it into a large bowl.

"How original," he drawled. He picked up the DVD case next to him and flipped through the front and back covers. "Savage City… starring Agents Jack Savage and Skye Danger? Really? Who comes up with these names?"

Looking at the cover art, the rabbit in question had white fur with blue eyes and several dark stripes on his ears and head. It made him think of Judy's black ear tips. The vixen had a solid light tan fur color with purple eyes. He popped the DVD into the loading tray.

Judy snickered. "Come on, it's really good. They're both spies! There's lots of action, chases, and big explosions!" she was already sitting on the bed, popcorn in lap, and made a big arching boom gesture with both paws above her head.

"Oh, so we're actually watching a Michael Prey film?"

"I don't know how I put up with you," she sighed.

Nick chuckled as he jumped out of the seat, moved it out of the way, positioned the laptop and hit play. He jumped backwards onto the bed causing Judy to grab the bowl to keep the popcorn from spilling. She shot him a nasty glare.

"Whoopsie," he smirked at her as he shuffled to put his back to the wall, crossing his legs and putting his hands in his lap.

"Irritating fox."

"Mean bunny."

The opening theme song began to play as the fox and rabbit shared their popcorn and watched the intro.

"I think I know why you like this," Nick declared.

"Do I dare ask why, Nick?" she gave him a sideways glance.

"The lead is a rabbit and the sidekick is a fox. They're basically the opposite of us," he pointed out.

"Oh, so you think you're in charge and I'm the sidekick, hmmm? I do believe I outrank you and I'm your senior officer, Slick," she smiled his way with half lidded eyes.

"Rank is just a four letter word, Officer Fluff," he looked down.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"No more talking during the movie, partner," she ordered.

"You're the boss, partner." he quietly obeyed as the intro song ended and the opening scene began.

As the movie continued and the popcorn bowl emptied, they sat shoulder to shoulder watching the action. Judy slowly leaned against him and everything felt great. Nick started for a moment at the contact but allowed himself to enjoy her warmth. Both mammals had forgotten the shenanigans of yesterday morning for now and just enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the afternoon.