The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

16. Episode 16: Getting started

Author's note: Hi everyone. It's me, Valiant and I am back with a new chapter of Zootopia. It feels like not that long ago since i published my last chapter but it is only because this story is getting better with every passing chapter and the reviews that some of you send off to me just give me more energy to keep working on it and giving my best to make this story flourish. Before we get started, I got a few things to get out of the way: First of all, this fan-fic just crossed the mark of the five thousand reads and that is just insane! I had no idea my writting would get this much attention and that is just awesome. Second, I turned over to some of the old chapters and made some minor changes to the writting, nothing too drastic, just a few slip ups in the grammar, gotta keep the story in the best shape I can manage and that means making sure every part of it is readeble and cohesive. Third, my Spyro story is still a work in progress and I will have another chapter of it soon enough, I just have been struggling with some of the more action oriented scenes during the original route that i decided to take it, just some dumb complications with my structuring, I'll get it fixxed later. Finally, I hope you will enjoy this chapter, I'm already working on the next one and it is one of my favorite moments in the entire story. I don't mean to spoil anything but it will be a monumental stepping-stone on Nick and Judy's relationship. Well... Enogh about that. Onwards with the show!

Episode 16: Getting started

The sun rose and the morning came to salute Zootopia. Inside his apartment, Nick was still snoozing over his bed, enjoying a blissful sleep when the alarm on his cellphone rang and released a repetitive beeping sound that invaded his ears and caused him to retreat beneath his sheets to try and muffle out the annoying noise. Unfortunately, there was no escape. Nick reached his right paw outward from under the sheet and his paw stumbled around over the nightstand in search of his cellphone, after finally finding it, the fox brought the device closer to his line of sight and squinted his eyes to check the screen and read the words of a memo he had set himself on the night before. Nick pressed the screen to shut the sound off for good and raised from his mattress with a tired look over his muzzle and a mumbling that exited his mouth as he said:

- Oh, right. Work.

Nick slowly moved his arms and legs over the comfy bed and felt a sudden lack of courage standing from the thought that he would soon have to say farewell to that cozy resting spot, he felt like there was no particular reason to hurry up even if it was his first day on the job. As soon as he felt that his body was a little more able, the fox passed the palms of his paws over his face to get a little more aware and quickly hopped out of bed and onto the ground, he made his way to the bathroom to get ready, he walked up to the sink and splashed some water on his face, he shook the moisture away from his facial fur and checked himself in the mirror. There was only one thought he could share with himself at that time after seeing his own tired and wet face in the reflection:

"Geez! You look like hell and you haven't even gone to work yet."

The fox got under the shower and gave himself a quick bath, not bothering to stay too long underneath the running water or waste too much soap, he exited the shower box and dried himself up before walking back to his room and opening his closet to look for his uniform. Nick put on a fresh pair of underwear, adjusted his shirt and the metal badge that was to be pinned to its chest, he put on the black tie and took little time adjusting his belt along with all its little features before stepping over the full-body mirror and admiring himself. Nick took some time to adjust the tie around his neck and make sure that everything was in place while his mind dished out some very important pointers for his first day on the job:

"Alright. First day working on the force. Keep your cool, stay on task and do not blow it. You're gonna do just fine."

Nick was done getting his appearance in order so he decided to head straight to the kitchen to get something to eat before heading out. As soon as he got to the kitchen, Nick went in search for some coffee powder that he could put on the coffee maker, he searched inside three different cabinet before finding a bag full of the stuff, he reached inside and fell the weight of the object in his paw before sighing and saying to himself:

- Thank goodness. I'm guessing Finnick didn't get much into coffee since I was gone. Hope it is still far enough from the expiration date for me to drink it.

Nick placed some of the dark powder along with some recently heated water into the machine and decided to prepare a simple meal for himself while he awaited for the hot beverage to be done. He reached into another cabinet and grabbed a medium bag filled with toast bread that was left unopen, after cutting the plastic package using the claw from his right pointing finger, he tossed two of the breads in the toaster and returned his attention to the coffee maker, there was a little ding of a bell letting him know that the coffee was ready. Nick poured himself a fresh mug of coffee and put the two slices of toast on his plate, he ate up the simple but satisfactory meal and felt himself much more energized and able once he was done, he still wished that he could taste some of the meals that Judy would bring for him during his training but he set that aside so he could worry about more pressing things at the time.

After walking a few steps out of the kitchen and into the living room, Nick remembered that he still had to go out and make some grocery shopping for himself so he could restock his apartment with a few more essential supplies, he made a mental note to make a stop at the nearest supermarket later that day. After making absolute sure that he was not forgetting anything, Nick walked through the door, locked it behind him and made his way to the precinct one building, quite the track since, as he recalled, there was quite the slope he needed to climb to get there, he figured it was alright since it was nothing compared to some of the tracks he used to make alongside Judy. The fox made his way confident but still feeling a little sleepy inside, he hastened his step by a small margin and did his best to shake that feeling from his body.

Close to twenty-two minutes of walking later, Nick spotted the ZPD building off in the distance, he made his way up the stairs and walked through the big revolving doors getting to spot the front desk, which was being managed by a slim looking zebra with the ZPD uniform, and soon after he saw a bunny appearing from the northwest hallway and making a straight line towards him. Judy halted her walk and stood right in front of him with a precious smile before speaking out loud:

- Welcome to your first day as an officer, slick. How are you feeling?

Nick took that question to heart. He had crossed the front doors of the precinct as a full-fledged employee of the ZPD, he looked back to the revolving doors, at himself and at the bunny, still standing in front of him and eagerly waiting for his answer. Nick gestured with both of his paws over his chest and said:

- It's hard to explain. I feel…

That was when an overwhelming but brief sensation made its way through his body, Nick clutched his paws into fists and complemented to his initial idea by saying a single impactful word:

- Fierce.

Judy thought that answer a tad unexpected coming from him, but she also understood much of the meaning behind it, the sensation of having and embracing authority can be overpowering for a mammal, everyone needs to watch out so this rushing sensation can be kept in check. That sudden rush of confidence that she felt coming from his voice was most likely because he felt not only strong but accomplished now that he had reached his goal, she knew all too well how that felt. The fox then believed that his choice of words was a little out of sorts, he decided to apologize for the way he sounded:

- Sorry, it's just… It fells sort of…

- It's alright. I get what you mean. I felt a little like that too after I got my uniform.

Judy gestured with her right paw and said:

- We better get to it mister "fierce". There is a lot of things we must go over before beginning our first patrol shift.

Nick's ears twitched after hearing that and he showed a wide smile before watching as his bunny friend began to skip in a random direction away from him, he thought that they were going to get straight to the job but apparently he was wrong. Judy gave a single step off into a completely new direction but Nick stopped her from going any further as she called to her:

- Wait. Hang on there, fluff.

Judy turned around to face him once more, her left ear twitched and her eyes were aimed peripherally at her partner as he asked of her before she fully turned around:

- Aren't we supposed to just get on to work? Are you seriously about to give me a grand tour of the place right now?

Judy smiled and answered to that:

- You are a little late to the party, slick. Orientation on the precinct and its features takes priority for the rookies. You need to take the tour just like all the other recruits have.

Judy restarted her walk and Nick followed her shortly, doing his best to match paces with her on their casual walk inside the building. Judy showed him the way across the northwest hallway that she had come from initially and pointed to a door that had no indications on its frame but he could already guess what it lead to thanks to the sounds coming from the other side. His ears moved around frantically as he detected the noise of paws tapping away over computer keyboards and plenty of mixed up talk coming from the inside, his nose also caught the pleasant whiff of freshly printed paper. Judy reached for the door knob and she swung it open revealing to him a brand new scenario consisting of many different cubicles that accommodated the individual working spaces of a few officers, she signaled with her right paw so that Nick would follow her and they both walked down the line in the center of the workspace while Judy took her time to talk about that area:

- This is where we get plenty of work done regarding documentation like reports and case files. We also sort out through emergency calls and transfer the information to our local server using the unique interconnected system installed on each computer. Although I think a few of the others just come here to waste time before getting on patrol.

Judy pointed to a few different directions as she spoke about a few prominent details concerning her co-workers. She started with the one closest to them, a tall lion that was meticulously brushing his mane in front of his computer screen:

- That over there is officer Delgato. He became famous for scoring five major arrests in a single month. You will mostly find him just like that, applying some product or other to his mane.

Judy continued walking and Nick followed her as she continued:

- That is officer Fangmyer. She is super tough and dedicated. Before heading out on patrol we usually talk or exercise together. Next to her is her usual assigned partner, Wolford. He is a nice guy but he can get way over his head around the precinct from time to time.

Nick saw the wolf as he hastily transferred a big pile of documents from one mount to another, he smiled and spoke to Judy:

- I'm enjoying the tour so far.

Judy released a little humorous sigh from her nose and pointed to her right as she directed Nick to the next line of cubicles where things seemed to be getting much more busy. Judy crossed paths with a hippo that was making a mad rush for a room where most of the physical archives where stored. She turned around and pointed in the general direction of the passing over mammal and said:

- That was Higgins. He is the lieutenant in charge of most things when chief Bogo is not around. He knows the inner workings of the precinct and the bureaucracy of other stations better than anyone. Most say that his family has been working at the ZPD since the days it was just starting out on precinct divisions.

Nick looked over in the direction the hippopotamus had just gone, he didn't even get a good look at the mammal but he was very impressed with the brief description he got of him. His eyebrows raised as he spoke with low volume:

- That's an awfully long time.

Judy heard it but she didn't give it too much mind, aside from a single positive nod, she then walked a few more steps and pointed to another work station that laid empty as she said:

- This is Grizzoly's cubicle. He is the one in charge of keeping reports and important assignment documentation in order. He is not here right now, so whatever you do, do not mess with anything inside his work station. He will know.

Nick laughed a little after hearing the ominous tone in Judy's voice as she allured to the dire consequences that could arise from him messing with the absent officer's work place. Judy continued to walk and Nick followed as the pair exited the office area and walked through a door that lead into a huge hallway, Judy pointed to another door by her left side and spoke without slowing down her step:

- That there is the janitor's closet. Hector is not around very often, he mostly just comes to clean things up during the night shift. One morning I arrived by the break room and found him sleeping on the couch. He works really hard to keep every minor thing in the precinct in working order and he is very proud of that.

The tour continued as Judy showed Nick the interior of a spacious room that appeared to be the subtle mixture of a kitchen and a living room with a big couch by the corner, a vending machine with a variety of snacks inside, a water filter, a refrigerator, a stand with a sink and a small television on the far wall. Judy gestured with her arm to the entire space in general and said:

- This is the break room. If you bring any food or drinks you can store them here to have at lunch later during the day. Just be sure to mark them as yours with a label or something like that. If you want other types of snacks, you can just go to the vending machine right there, just a warning, the A-5 slot is a little iffy so I would not recommend it.

Nick looked around and though how that room would've been a great place to catch his breath after a long day of work, but Judy wasn't done with her tour just yet and their next stop was the one that truly left an impression on Nick. The fox continued to follow her while keeping quiet, not wanting to miss a single detail about the tour and just enjoying the relaxing time with Judy before getting to the real part of work. After exiting the break room, Judy took Nick to a whole other wing of the precinct where a few unfamiliar scents filled the air, a variety of odors ranging from pleasant to unsavory mixed together as soon as Judy opened up a door that lead to an enormous room that was equipped with screens, sinks, test tubes, cabinets with labeled glass jars and electronic equipment of all sizes, it was a fully equipped crime lab and, even though the smell of the place was not sitting well with Nick, Judy could not care less about the odor. Judy turned around and spoke up as soon as she got a better feel for the place:

- This is one of the newly remodeled additions to the precinct building, the crime lab. This science enriched environment is fully equipped and was custom build thanks to a few brilliant minds that decided to join the ZPD, including our new lead egghead: Dr. Pura Saonai.

On that moment, a huge figure appeared from behind a desk on the background. The mammal was a large, dark furred and scrawny feline, dressed in a long white lab coat with a red pinstriped shirt underneath, she had a pair of cargo pants and was also sporting a pair of reflective-proof safety googles along with a pair of sterilized gloves on her paws. She emerged from beneath the desk while brandishing:

- Did someone just call my name?!

Nick and Judy leapt off into the air after being surprised by the previously undetected presence within the lab, Nick's tail fluffed up with shock and Judy placed both paws over her chest while releasing a little yelp. The bunny turned over to the mammal in charge of the lab and spoke up:

- Horse Radish, doc! You scared us half to death!

Nick laughed uncomfortably and spoke up to that:

- Scared?! I wasn't scared. Just surprised.

The panther behind the desk removed her safety glasses, letting the protective eyewear hang from her neck, she approached the two mammals to apologize for her unpleasant entrance:

- I'm very sorry Judy. I was lost on my own world and I was a bit startled when I heard someone mentioning my name out of nowhere like that.

Nick got a good view of the scientist, but he had a nagging question that he just had to ask her:

- What where you doing under that desk?

The panther reached into her lab coat left pocket and pulled out a set of jingling keys before answering:

- I was looking for my keys. I let them slip off from my paws before you two came in. Wait… what time is it?

Judy looked at the clock nailed to the far wall of the room and answered without really getting why her friend had asked that question:

- It's eight fifty in the morning.

The panther sighed with relief and spoke to that:

- Good, then my experiment is still going.

She rushed towards a nearby desk filled with testing tubes, an enormous distiller setting and a lit up Bunsen burner, she started to mix liquids together and her seemingly aimless actions caused Nick and Judy to exchanged looks that conveyed precisely how they were feeling at that moment, Nick launched a look of unsureness towards that whole situation while Judy showed him an awkward smile letting him know that, even if that situation was strange, it was not uncommon. Judy walked near the panther and politely introduced Nick to her:

- Anyways, Nick, this is Doctor Pura, our expert in all things scientific. Doctor, this is Nick Wilde, the fox I told you about.

Dr. Pura turned herself around, lowered her body and squinted her eyes protected behind the safety googles as she analyzed the vulpine as if he was a brand new variable to an overly complicated equation. She extended her right paw protected by a glove to cumpriment Nick as she recalled a major detail about him:

- Oh, the fox responsible for recuperating the uncontaminated sample of the night-howler serum. It is very nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you too, doc.

Nick shook her paw but he was struck by an unnerving feeling as he noticed that the glove covering her paw was drenched with an unknown substance, the panther continued to shake paws with him as she said:

- I'm sorry if my gloved paw is a little moist. I have spent the whole night in this lab and I have honestly lost track of all the substances I have been meddling with during my experiments. If the fur on your paw starts falling off, Do Not Panic!

Nick's eyes shot open, his ears fell flat over his head and he immediately went to wash off his paw on the nearby sink as soon as Pura turned herself around and returned her undivided attention to her experiment, Judy laughed with that and she was keenly aware that the doctor was only kidding, it only took a sharp eye and an attentive set of ears to pick up on that. Nick returned to the company of the two after thoroughly scrubbing his paw and he heard as Judy spoke up:

- Dr. Pura here was one of the scientists that analyzed the sample you delivered to the chief and develop the anti-serum. She has been working at this precinct since the savage mammal outbreak was solved.

The panther's ears twitched to the sides as she heard Judy's voice, she continued to monitor her chemistry set while she spoke:

- I was always interested in chemistry and the effects it can have on the mammal mind and body, but seeing the effects that those enzymes had on the predators of Zootopia shattered my expectations. It opened my mind to the unimaginable dangers that science could present to innocent lives all over the city. I joined The ZPD science and armament division in an effort to use my intellect in order to help others and assure that nothing like the night-howler serum would ever haunt our city ever again.

Nick smiled after hearing those inspirational words and found very easy to understand why Judy was friends with the scientist, even when taking into account her weird mannerisms. Judy gave a single step forward and placed herself on the tip of her toes in order to get a glimpse of what doctor Pura was working on, the bunny could not distinguish any of the chemicals since most of them were colorless so she simply asked of her:

- What are you working on today?

Pura's tail swooshed upwards and she got fairly excited about answering that inquiry. She prepared herself to show in great detail the results of her experiment as she started to speak:

- I am working on this special reactive agent that will revolutionize the search for evidence relating to violent crimes.

Nick figured that seeing such a thing would be interesting but he wasn't sure about how a chemical substance would help in an investigation. Most of his classes back at the academy revolved around discovering crucial details left by suspects around crime scenes with the help of equipment like a black light or a special kit to collect evidence. The fox crossed his arms and devoted his attention to the scientist as she ran to the other side of the lad to retrieve the main subject of her experiment, an old piece of clothing that was shown folded in her paws as she continued her explanation:

- Last year, it was reported that a group of criminals managed to erase their tracks during a violent mauling by using this illicit substance, a remover that erases almost all traces of bloodstains from a piece of clothing.

The doctor unfolded the fabric and laid it on the table revealing to be a bright yellow shirt, possibly belonging to a mammal of medium stature, with a clear red stain splattered over it. Judy's ears twitched and placed parallel to one another as she asked of her friend with very noticeable concern in her voice:

- Whose blood is this?

The doctor was just reaching to the next part of her demonstration before turning herself around and answering to that question:

- I am 78.7% sure that it is not mine.

Not a reassuring pitch for neither of the two mammals watching the demonstration but they continued to watch it out of sheer curiosity. Pura retrieved one of the testing tubes that was placed near the left edge of the table and spoke:

- Behold what happens when this marvel touches the bloodstain.

With extreme care, Pura dropped a small quantity of the colorless liquid inside the test tube over the fabric and the part of the red stain on which it fell seemingly vanished without leaving a trace. Nick was very impressed and his mind immediately wandered if he could take some of that liquid home and remove a few tough stains from a few of his favorite articles of clothing, Judy simply remained silent and showing her smile as the doctor continued:

- This liquid hides away the red coloration of the blood and makes no one the wiser about the relevance of possible evidence. Even if the officers on the scene were using a black light or had impeccable tracking skills, it wouldn't be easy to identify many vestiges of blood left on this fabric. However, I have found a way to circumvent that issue.

She said as such and left a dramatic pause in her speech as she rushed to retrieve another testing vial that was resting over the Bunsen burner, demonstrating the outmost care to not touch the vial directly and to not accidentally spill the liquid. She used a small set of long reaching clampers to hold the sides of the vial containing a pinkish and translucid fluid within and hoist it into the air as she said:

- Within this little flask lies the result of countless sleepless nights, I have developed an efficient way to reveal hidden bloodstains that may have been removed by washing or any other sort of method without damaging the fabric gathered as evidence in the process while also making it possible to retain the initial aspects of the bodily fluid for future analysis. I proudly call it: Hemogloreactolite.

The enthusiasm in her voice was palpable as she disclosed the name of her proudful concoction. Judy's eyes opened wide as she imagined the possibilities to use such an invention for investigating in the field, Nick remained mostly stationary with his arms folded and let his opinion be known by saying:

- Catchy name.

The doctor was very excited to hear that her made-up nomenclature for her creation was marking in accordance with the fox's tone of voice, however, it remained to be tested and to be proved as effective. With firm wrists and a watchful eye, Pura turned the vial to the side and began to pour a few drops of its contents over the yellow fabric in an attempt to bring back any remnant of the missing bloodstain that her previous liquid managed to hide, unexpectedly, nothing happened. Seconds rolled by and the shirt's coloration remained unchanged, Pura put the vial away and Nick felt inclined to ask with a touch of skepticism:

- Was… something supposed to happen?

Dr. Pura released a sigh of discontent and spoke to herself out loud:

- I don't understand. The reaction was meant to cause a small pink stain to appear over the fabric and reveal the hidden traces of blood in clear view of anyone. Maybe I left something out of the reaction during the distilling process.

Pura put the vial in her reach aside and returned to her initial spot behind the desk to check on the papers left over it, trying to seek any line of reference that would alert her to a mistake or to an unforeseen fail in her experiment. The panther didn't touch any of the papers in the small pile in front of her, she merely glossed over the notes with her eyes as to not risk moving anything out of place or dripping any liquid remaining on her paws over the printed ink. Judy decided to approach her to make sure she was feeling well but something very unexpected happened as a strange new sound made itself known inside the room. A curios hissing sound resembling a piece of food tossed inside a fry cooker was heard by the bunny and her ears turned over to try and identify where the sound was coming from, Nick had already seen the thing causing the sound and he spoke to the doctor, calling to her attention and pointing to the table with much concern as he asked:

- Is that… supposed to happen?!

To everyone's surprise, the spot where the second liquid had been poured over the shirt was dissolving the yellow fabric into nothing, the result of a bad chemical reaction that was eating away at the material like a hungry pack of moths. That sight immediately sent Judy and her colleague into a state of panic, Judy ran near the shirt to make sure the reaction was contained while Dr. Pura began to run her paws over a nearby shelf in search of something that could resolve that. The panther retrieved with great hastiness a small, enclosed vial with a white powder inside, she removed the lid and tossed its contents over the shirt on the table causing a big cloud of white dust to spill everywhere even hitting Judy who immediately closed her eyes to not let any of that hit her sight. The powder was a harmless basic extract that was used to effectively neutralize the bad reaction and halt the experiment, Judy was left with her paws waving around to disperse any of the powder that could be still hanging in the air around her and releasing a little cough as to get any of it away from her mouth and nose.

Doctor Pura reapproached the piece of fabric to get a close assessment of the experiment's result, she hoisted the shirt, which now had a gapping hole right at its center, and said with a very disappointed tone of voice:

- Oh, good God! Not again!

She tossed the failed attempt of her experiment inside a safety disposable bin and turned over to Judy as she saw the bunny trying to clean herself and her uniform from any vestiges of the powder. Pura leaned a little closer and said:

- I'm really sorry, Judy. That was not the expected result, I swear it to you.

- No. No, it's alright.

Judy spoke up while showing a dismissive gesture with her paws to her friend, she continued shortly:

- Keep at it. I'm sure you're gonna hit the big one in no time at all.

Pura took her gloves off and tossed them inside the bin as well before tossing her body over a chair in clear defeat as she said:

- I've been cooped up inside this lab forever and I have had one fail after the other. I'm starting to think I'll never get this thing to work like I want it to. I really believe that I'm gonna make it happen, but it is getting a little harder to believe every time.

Judy didn't really know what to say to her friend right away but she made an attempt to brighten her day anyway, she walked a little closer and extended her arm before speaking:

- I know you're going to figure it out. You're the most brilliant mind I have ever met.

Pura raised her eyes to look over at Judy, the doctor remained seated on the chair as she asked to receive resolute confirmation of those words:

- Do you really think so?

Judy gestured with both of her paws as she made her point across:

- I know so. Don't you remember what you said when I came to your lab for the first time? That whole thing about how science is unwavering and dedicated to grab uncertainty by the coat hangers and demand satisfaction.

Pura let herself get lost into a fit of laughter after hearing those words, she felt such a surge of good humor taking a hold of her that she nearly forgot about her previous experiment failure. The panther rose from her chair and felt the need to correct Judy on her quoting:

- Actually I said it was about demanding 'answers' and grabbing uncertainty by the 'balls'.

Nick was inspecting another pieces of lab equipment nearby when he heard that and he decided to ask:

- Wait. "Uncertainty" is a guy?

Judy was a little uncomfortable while paced in the middle of that talk but she quickly took a hold of the conversation by pointing a finger at Nick and saying:

- Not the point.

Judy quickly turned over to Dr. Pura once more to continue her talk:

- My point is: Since you came to work alongside us you have been using your mind to help us in ways I could only dream of. You will strike big with your ideas sooner or later, I know you will.

Pura gestured with her left paw as she answered to that:

- Yeah, I know that too. It just gets a little hard to keep my chin up when the only thing my experiments seem to bring out into the light is one headache after the next. I'm gonna keep at it. Thanks, Judy.

Judy smiled and nodded before wishing her friend good luck on her next experiment, Nick followed her to the way out but he was still intrigued by the prospects inside the lab and his eyes landed right over a set of test tubes that were locked inside a thick glass box and had a label plastered on its side with a warning sign. Nick pointed a claw at that and asked:

- Hey, Doc. What is this one over here supposed to do?

Pura did not even look in the direction Nick was pointing at, sure sign that she n-knew where everything inside that lab was located better than anyone, she picked another clean set of vials from the shelf near her before answering:

- Oh, that? It is a small sample that I obtained from an original extract of the night-howler serum, chief Bogo insisted that I kept it under lock and key at all times until I can get the proper protective equipment to continue my studies. This form of the serum is not potent enough to turn someone savage but I have determined quite the intriguing application for this formula as a pheromone enhancer and a powerful aphrodisiac.

Nick turned his eyes to the vial and asked with a very jokey tone of voice:

- Any chance I can take some of it with me? Not for myself, obviously, asking for a friend.

Judy released as sigh as she was clearly not in the mood to deal with the fox's shenanigans and pulled him by the side fabric of his uniform so that they could leave the lab and continue on their tour. Pura was left to her tubes and serums but her mind was still quite intrigued by the fox, the way he moved, acted and talked was quite different from any other officer in the precinct and his light hearted nature was somewhat similar to Judy as she recalled the first time they met. The panther imagined what sort of crazy circumstances would have lead a bunny and a fox, two individuals so different from each other, to work together, the files she read and that lead her to the employment of precinct one were fairly vague and so were her attempts to extract anything too relevant from Judy's stories. Even as such, one thing seem to appear in both the files and Judy's words, a fox that got mixed up by what could only be described as pure coincidence.

As she imagined different scenarios for the strange circumstances that were reported more than six months prior when referring to the savage outbreaks and the night-howler serum, one thought made itself apparent inside the doctor's head and she felt the need to say it:

- Science does not believe in coincidences.

She stayed with that thought for a minute or so before turning all of her attention back to her notes and to the real intended result of her experiment. Judy and Nick continued on their tour as Judy guided her partner to the back wing of the precinct building until an open space filled with medium sized metal doors and latches, it was no big surprise that it was the locker room of the precinct but Judy continued to present the place like she had initially planned:

- This is the locker room, there are showers in the back. You can safely store any of your private belongings right here so you can pick them up later, you can have your clothes and personal data drives stored right here.

She said so as she pointed to one of the lockers, Nick walked in closer and saw that the one she was pointing at had a little plaque with his name on it. The fox looked over and asked:

- Is this… really my locker?

- Yep. Here is the combination to get it open. If you want it to change you need to talk with the custodian staff, they understand it better than me.

Judy said so as she gave Nick a small, folded piece of paper, Nick received the little message and saw that there were a series of four double-digit numbers written in sequence. He stored the little paper in his back pocket to have a closer look later and showed a very satisfied face for knowing that he had a spot to keep his belongings before work, even if it was highly unlikely that he would bring something too important on himself to the precinct. Judy lead Nick out of the locker room and they steadily returned to the front wing of the precinct, this time following the line by the other hallway that took them by the northeast side wing. Judy stopped for a moment as she pointed to her left and said:

- This is chief Bogo's office, he's usually up to his neck in paperwork so always knock before you enter to see him. He may strike any mammal as a infallible bureaucratic type at first but he is also always up to getting stuff done by himself. Story goes he was the top officer of the precinct before being appointed chief.

She then proceeded to point to her right side and continued:

- Over here is the main assembly room, the other officers around here nicknamed it the "bull pen". It is the place where we will be called to get all of our assignments for the day.

They continued to walk and Judy pointed to an elevator just a few meters ahead of them:

- Over there we got an elevator and a few stairs that will take you to the administration and to the training room right above or to the IES lock up down below.

- "IES"?

Nick asked and Judy turned herself around, not minding that Nick had interrupted their tour walk, to explain while listing the meaning of the acronym by listing the meaning of each letter on her fingers:

- "Items, evidence and suspects". It was Wolford's and Delgato's idea to have it named that. In addition to the upper levels that are in clear view, the precinct also has three sublevels where we keep an extra layer of cells for suspects along with an interrogation room, a vault for evidence and all of our servers as well as a top of the line workshop where we can make modifications and repairs on our equipment. All of those things monitored by our ever alert security system.

Nick had a clear image of a secret lair with multiple levels drawn inside his mind, a place filled with incredible equipment and safeguarded against any individual that might use it improperly, almost like the places he imagined super-heroes might store some of their most sensitive artifacts. He directed his eyes over to the bunny right near him and said with a very noticeable smile:

- Okay, I got to admit it: This is really amazing.

- Right?

Judy said so as she gave a short hop into the air, showing that she was really excited to show the entire precinct to him like that. Judy walked to the left and with just a few more steps the two of them were back to the front desk area of the building. With a few more paw gestures pointing in various directions, she showed Nick the last few bits of the tour:

- Right over there we have the main communication room, where we monitor calls and signs of trouble though the entire city. Right around there we have the supply closet with all the office supplies. Back there is the infirmary and… that's it.

Nick raised his brow and give one last slow twirl as he saw the place in its entirety. There was just so much to take in and he was more than satisfied to have learned about it all from her, he turned over to Judy and asked of her:

- Anything else that we need to go over about the work hours, carrots?

Judy thought for a little bit, she believed the tour was just about concluded, she placed a finger over her own mouth as she recalled the trajectory she had rehearsed before coming over to Nick and showing him all of that, she recalled that there was one last stop on their tour and she was sure that her friend would appreciate it more than anything. She turned over to Nick quite suddenly as that detail reappear in her mind, the quick step that turned her entire body around to face the fox caused her ears to flop around before returning to a still position on top of her head, she made sure that he was still paying attention and said:

- There is one last thing that I would like to show you. Come this way, you're going to love this.

Nick let her give a few skips ahead and followed her soon enough with a hastened set of steps at first so he could match her speed soon after. Judy presented to Nick one door at the end of the left most corridor that was marked with a plaque that had no name on it, as soon as she opened the door for Nick to get in as well the two of them passed through a small hallway that lead to a single flight of stairs. After getting down the stairs, Nick was marveled to see an enormous squad of vehicles in front of him, each and every one of them parked parallel to one another and bearing the colors and emblems of the ZPD. The fox remained still and having his mouth hanging open with no sound coming out of it, Judy figured that such a sight would leave her friend struggling for the right words to say. She took a step ahead and presented the place to him much like she did the rest of the precinct:

- This is our car pool. The sign on the door is being properly scribed on tomorrow. It's in here where we keep our cruisers so that they can be safely deployed on to the streets above this level, we also have the office of the mechanic team right over there and a small space where we keep impounded vehicles for transferring or for safety. You never know what sort of strange contraband some sleezbag is going to keep in his trunk.

Nick wanted to stay there forever, the smell of fuel in the air alongside the curious mixturesque scent of rubber, asphalt, oil, cerated metal, all of that combined with the perfectly warm temperature, created an environment that was just very much inviting to him. The sight of so many cruisers just made him ask her:

- Which one is ours?

Judy pointed out to one of the last cruisers in the parking space and Nick wasted no time looking for the one, he dashed over the floor passing one car after the other on his way until he found the one. The machine on itself was a thing of beauty, a touch smaller than any of the other cruisers parked in that space but still quite the sight, the main cabin was slick in design in contrast with the chassis which looked more than powerful enough to handle anything that might get in its path. The front grill counted itself on two frontal, high powered head-lights along with frontal sirens, slight elevation, impeccable hydraulic suspension and guaranteed shock absorption systems all of that paired with great storage space in the trunk for all sorts of equipment and high performance tires that could grip the road along with providing smooth sailing. Nick analyzed the machine from up close, giving small steps around its outer frame before gesturing with his paws and asking of Judy:

- Carrots. Are you telling me that we are going to go out there on the streets and fight crime in this beast?

Judy laughed once and answered him with detail:

- Yep. Had to put in a special requisition to have this cruiser upgraded for me to drive it. Check this out.

She gestured with her left paw as she pointed a finger to the door and opened it to show him the inside of the cabin. She gestured to a few spots of interest as she hopped over a step near the driver's seat and spoke up:

- The two front seats are adjustable, same with the pedals. This model is equipped with detachable pedals so their reach and sensitivity can be adjusted for mammals of different sizes, the pit crew can handle that no problem as I have been told. This panel controls the siren, the console right over here keeps us connected to the precinct and the radio has a powerful short-wave inlay that can bounce the transmission of any call right here to the main precinct, meaning that as long as we're out on patrol our call will reach any part of Zootopia in a flash. I also had them install this little number.

She hopped back to ground level and showed a little compartment right under the driver seat that could be opened simply by turning a small metallic latch. The space was empty and there was a significant amount of room to keep quite the number of useful items inside, Judy turned over to Nick while gesturing with one paw directed at the added feature and said:

- Custom job. The other seat has one of these too. I was thinking we could use this to keep supplies like civilian clothing for undercover or stake out missions, those are few and far between but you never know. I might just keep a first aid kit on mine, better safe than sorry.

Judy finished her presentation and closed the little compartment under the seat, she closed the door of the cruiser and asked:

- So… what do you think?

- I think I'm in love.

Judy raised a brow as she saw Nick carefully approaching the vehicle and placing the palms of his paws over the metal chassis, the fox passed his paws over the smooth surface and a sudden spark ignited within him. He felt the instinct surging inside his heart, he had to drive that car. He turned over to Judy, leaned her way and asked:

- Where are the keys? Please tell me I get to drive.

Judy showed him the palm of her left paw to halt his train of thought before he could get any funny ideas involving the misuse of ZPD property. She took the keys to the cruiser out of her back pocket with her right paw and showed the palm of her left paw to Nick jingling them in the air as she answered:

- Whoa! Slow down there, rookie! Driving a cruiser is a privilege and it must be earned. If you behave during patrol hours, I will consider the notion of you driving.

Nick put his paws together as he asked her once more with tons of feeling in his voice:

- Carrots, please. I beg of you. I must feel that wheel in my paws, I must hear the roar of this engine. I'll trade you anything for just one measly ride.

Judy was not about to fall for any of that talk, she clutched the keys in her paw and turned around to walk towards the exit and not have to look at his Puppy dog eyes while saying:

- You're not going to get this key like that slick. There are no shortcuts to be had here.

Judy put the keys for the cruiser back in her pocket before she took the stairs and returned to the ground floor of the precinct with Nick following close behind, the fox continued to pester her as he insisted to take the driving seat on the cruiser and she continued to deny him which he believed was very cruel by the snarky tone she continued to say no to him. Grizzoli came through the front door with a hefty load of paper in his paws and walked in the direction of the front desk, he was just returning from a quick trip from the rain forest district when he saw the bunny walking off into the northwest corridor with the fox right behind her, Wolford came closer and saluted his fellow officer:

- Hey, Grizzoli. Did you bring those late reports that Bogo asked for?

The enormous bear turned over and looked down to meet eyes with the wolf and answered to his question as soon as his mind returned to the pressing matter he was attending just as he entered through the front door:

- Oh, yes. I got those right here with me.

Grizzoli gave the stack of files to Wolford and he made sure to secure al of the documents before taking them to Bogo as soon as possible. Grizzoli returned his eyes to their previous position to try and get a better look of the fox who was incessantly following Judy around but the two mammals had already left in the direction of the break room, possibly to prepare for the assembly by the bull pen later that morning. Wolford was rather curious while thinking about the direction that his friend was looking at, he poked him with a gentle nudge of his right elbow and asked:

- Did you see? That fox guy that Judy talked about last week has finally arrived.

Grizzoli looked back down to the wolf right beside him and answered:

- I saw him. Did you already pegged what kind of officer he might turn out to be?

Wolford made a small dismissive gesture with his right paw while the other one was busy stacking the files he had just received and said:

- The only things I could get about him were little tidbits in reports and a few details from Hopps and Higgins. From what I've been able to gather the guy is a joker, not at all what you might expect from a precinct one officer.

Grizzoli turned slightly around to adjust his uniform and say:

- Bogo is not too fond of jokes or japes during work hours.

- Tell me about it. He still got the joy-buzzer I brought to the precinct that one time.

Grizzoli showed off a little smile and spoke with a low tone of voice that he was sure his friend could clearly hear:

- Everyone hated you for pulling that old gag off.

After organizing the files he had received, Wolford picked them up and walked on his way to Bogo's office, Grizzoli followed close to his slow and calm pace as they continued their conversation:

- You think Hopps is gonna be able to keep her brand new partner in line?

The bear asked serendipitously, to which Wolford promptly answered after releasing a single loud laughter:

- No way. Guys like that don't just "stay in line", he is bound to have a few earfuls from Hopps on a regular basis. I would be surprised if she doesn't kick his tail out the door pretty soon.

Grizzoli's heavy paw bumped against Wolford's shoulder right after his comment was finished. The solid impact to his side almost caused the wolf to lose his balance and drop all of the files he was carrying in order to keep himself from falling to the floor. He looked over to his friend's direction but he didn't complain about the hit he had just taken, he already knew all to well that large mammals like Grizzoli had a few spots of trouble keeping tabs on their own strength. Even if it was a little of a hard bump, Wolford shrugged it off as he heard his friend saying:

- Don't talk stuff like that. Hopps is a great officer and she has a great instinct when it comes to other mammals, there has got to be a reason why she was so dead set on not taking a partner until that fox came around. He has something special. He has the makings of the ZPD.

Wolford adjusted the pile of files he was holding one more time and asked:

- What makes you so sure of it?

- I saw him on the stage on the graduation ceremony. Top five at the academy course and Hopps let it out that his team scored big time during the Crucible.

The two officers made a turn to the right by the corner of the hallway as they continued their conversation, they were just about to reach the front door of the chief bufallo's office when Wolford suddenly stopped on his tracks and fully turned over to Grizzoli. The wolf pointed an inquisitive claw towards his friend and asked:

- If you're so iron sure about it, care to take this on a wager?

The bear could not even hide his loud laugh as soon as he heard that. Wolford was well known for being wrong about a variety of things and he had the worst possible track record when it came to making bets, which really didn't make much sense considering he continued to periodically make bets with anyone at every chance he could get. Grizzoli leaned a little closer and taunted his friend with a laughing jest in his voice:

- A bet? With a sucker like you? What are the stakes?

Wolford stomped his right foot and pointed down as he made the terms of his bet heard:

- Twenty bucks. I give it a month before that fox steps over the line and Hopps takes it out on him. Big time.

Grizzoli thought for a little while and added some more to that by saying:

- Make it fifty and we got a deal.

The two mammals brought their paws together and made a proper agreement for their bet. They went on to deliver the files to Bogo right after that and the patrolling day around the ZPD continued like normal with the arrival of the new rookies besides Nick and the assignment of different patrol routes to everyone. It was a long day at precinct one but Nick and Judy had plenty of fun working together and neither of them could wait for the next day.

Nick's first day out on patrol was not very exciting but it was memorable to be sure. After entering the bull pen and grabbing a seat for herself, Judy was surprised to see that Nick came closer and wished to share the big chair where she was sitting so he could get a better feel for the place, quite a sight for the other officers, a bunny and a fox sitting side to side over a seat bigger than either of them. Out on the streets for their assigned patrol route, Nick would have never imagined that the reports of a speedster making tracks around Savana central would lead him and Judy to his old friend Flash. The sloth was going full throttle and Judy had to stop him from endangering anyone out on the street. The whole affair took quite some time but at the end of it all Nick convinced her to just let his friend go off with a warning. The rest of their patrol was a tranquil time, they strolled across the savanna, got on the drive-thru of a nearby eatery for lunch and returned to precinct one where plenty of work still awaited for them.

Returning to the precinct, the duo remained occupied with a few written reports that had to be copied, submitted and archived, not something that Nick particularly enjoyed doing but it was a necessary part of the job. Judy often asked Nick to go back and forth all over the precinct to get her something that she might need to conclude the shift, while she remained inside her cubicle typing away at the computer he ran up and down in search of every form and resource that she asked for. By the end of it all it was revealed to Nick that all of that effort was a sort of 'initiation' meant to give rookies a run for their money by the more monotonous side of the job. Judy apologized for putting him through it but Nick took all of that very light-heartedly.

After finishing their shift, Nick and Judy each returned to their homes. Judy arrived in her apartment with plenty of energy still left within her and decided to listen to a few pumping music tracks while performing some simple aerobics exercises; Nick, on the other side of it, arrived at his apartment completely bushed from all the work he had done that day, his first day turned out to be far more taxing than he had initially expected and he just tossed himself over the couch for a long nap without even taking off his uniform. After waking up, feeling far more refreshed, Nick remembered that he had forgotten to go and buy groceries like he had planned to do just the other day, he whined for a few minutes before deciding to just order in some food and worry about groceries some other time.

The next day rolled around and the routine clocked in with far less effort that the day before. Nick woke up, bathed, exited his apartment and headed off for the ZPD, arriving a little earlier than the day before but still fashionably late. He met Judy and the two were assigned a similar patrol shift like the day before, Nick was okay with that, keeping things slow, same with Judy as it gave them plenty of time to talk and Judy could familiarize herself far better with the intrinsic streets of Zootopia for herself. The duo stopped their patrol at a park where there were reports of a few delinquents causing a scene, the place seemed to be calm once they arrived so they simply moved on and returned to the precinct one building. Another shift ended with no remarkable happenings and once more Nick and Judy parted off on their separate ways.

The sun was about to set over the on the horizon, the sky was colored in a beautiful end-of-the-afternoon color and Nick was just about to go to a small market place nearby to buy a great heap of provisions for himself when he received a notification on his phone, it was a message from Finnick marked as urgent. Nick looked over the screen for a few seconds before he opened the messaging application and found it to be an invite to come over and hang-out by the usual place. The fox looked over his right shoulder to a line of building at a far with the sun hiding itself right behind them and figured that there would still be plenty of time to go and make shop after he went and had one quick drink with his old friend. Nick took off for his apartment to give himself a quick once over, dress in his usual attire and go meet Finn inside their favorite bar, The Matriarch. The spot was rather noisy, filled with a plethora of differing mammals who came by to enjoy themselves with drinks, games and music. Nick sighted his diminutive friend seated on a bar stool and saving an empty spot by his right side, Nick approached, took the seat for himself and the two vulpines were drinking and celebrating their reunion in no time.

Finnick tapped over the bar counter and asked the waitress for two large mugs of Gold-time beer, the tigress nodded positively, walked a few steps off to the right to grab two glass mugs, poured the two drinks in a timely fashion and Finnick started to speak as soon as the mugs were filled and placed in front of them:

- Glad you could come by and have a swig with me.

Nick placed one paw over the counter and turned right to face his friend. Finnick was very well dressed, having a black shirt, a nice dark red overcoat and a simple but comfy looking pair of pants on him and Nick was very satisfied with seeing his old friend once more. The fox showed a smile and said:

- It's great to see you too. Any big turn outs since I've been gone?

Finnick stood over his stool and reached over the counter to grab his rink, he scooched one of the mugs a little closer and sat himself once more before answering:

- Nothing too big. I've been doing a few jobs here and there, mostly just moving some stuff around or helping out on cleaning detail in a few places. Pay just as much as our old regular hustles but is not really the same thing. You know?

Nick reached over the counter and placed his paw on the handle of the mug closest to him, he looked over to Finnick once more and nodded affirmatively before answering:

- Yeah, I get that. Life is sure going to be a whole lot different without you around to pester and annoy during work hours.

Finnick poked Nick on the side of his torso and added to his talk from before:

- I thought I would get to see you around some more by these past few months. When the holiday rolled around I thought you would be back for a single hang out but I didn't find you anywhere.

Nick recalled that there was, indeed, a small time of recess during the academy course when there were no classes or drills during the holiday that came to pass. He explained to Finnick that he thought about heading for Zootopia to get some rest but he ultimately decided to accompany his studying colleagues on a couple of extracurricular activities that took mare time than he thought. Nick also took that chance to tell Finnick about the group of mammals that he met at the academy and how they worked together to pass the exams along with all the craziness that occurred during the crucible, the little fox was rightfully impressed with all of the things that Nick had done during the time they were apart. Finnick took one big gulp of his beer and asked as soon as he reached halfway through his mug:

- So… how is it? Being a cop and all of that?

Nick gestured with both of his paws as he answered like it was no big deal at all:

- Not a lot of exciting things. I get ready, I get an assignment, I get to patrol around with carrots in a police cruiser, which is awesome, and then I come back home. There are a few moments of fun but, all and all, it's a job like any other.

Nick finished with his brief description of his two initial days as a police officer and then he got to drinking the beer that was placed in front of him. The fox held the mug in his paw, lifted it slightly and brought it slowly to his lips, after taking three swigs of the drink, he placed the mug over the counter once more and let out a satisfied sigh before launching his head back and showing off a wide smile. Finnick was half sure that his friend was having some sort of spasm after experiencing the drink, Nick was too busy with the refreshing pleasure of having the beer slide smoothly down his throat to care about anything else and he stayed relaxed and quiet over his seat until he heard Finnick's voice saying to him:

- Geez, Wilde. It almost looks like you haven't had a drink in six months!

- That's because I haven't.

Finnick's large fluffy ears twitched after hearing that and his eyes shot open with incredulity. Nick decided to complement to his previous idea by saying:

- There are no acholic drinks inside the walls of the police academy. The only thing we were allowed to drink was juice and coffee. Not even good coffee.

Finnick reached his arm over the fox's back, placing his little left paw over Nick's left shoulder, before letting out a voice that sounded strangely empathetic as he said:

- You poor, tortured soul. I don't know how you survived it.

Nick released a hearty laughter after hearing that, he placed his paw over Finnick's back and returned to enjoy the rest of his beer. The two foxes finished their mugs and Finnick went right ahead to ordering another dose for them to enjoy some more, Nick took the time that took for their drinks to arrive to tell his friend that he found Flash out on the streets and that he and Judy had to stop him on an account of reckless driving. Finnick placed a paw over his muzzle to hold off a loud laugh, he already knew that the sloth had quite the lead foot when it came to driving but he could hardly believe the odds of Nick having to hold him off right on his first day on patrol. The two foxes saw as their drinks were once again delivered over the counter in front of them and held their respective mugs before Nick spoke up:

- This is great. Almost feels like we should have a toast or something.

Finnick smiled after hearing that, he picked his mug to hoist it a little higher into the air, being mindful to not spill any of his drink, and said it so as he showed the glass to Nick:

- To Nickolas Wilde. The first fox cop in Zootopia's history. The guy who just won me about a dozen bets at once.

Nick rolled his eyes at the little fox's jest but he also thought that he should have seen something like that coming his way, he still appreciated the gesture. Nick grabbed his mug and hoisted in the air the same manner Finnick did before saying in a more controlled and serious tone of voice:

- To making history.

The two foxes clinked their mugs and took a long swig of their drinks after making that toast. Nick put his half-empty glass down and looked around as he noticed that there were a lot of mammals enjoying their time at the bar, there were a few laughs in the air along with the sound of great music that made him tap his foot over the support beneath his stool. His mind was just wandering off and getting lost in the place's atmosphere when Finnick called out to him and asked:

- So… how's things going to work anyway?

Nick's ears turned over to the side and he directed his eyes at Finnick, he didn't really get the point of that question right away, it was a little vague. He asked in return:

- What? What do you mean?

- Now that you're a cop, how are things going to be? Are you gonna come over and try to arrest me any time I want to mount the stand and sell pawpscicles?

Nick looked a little apprehensive after hearing that question, not really sure where it was coming from, but he assured Finnick that nothing would change between them as he said:

- It won't be like that at all, Finn. You don't even have to worry yourself with something like that. Just because I'm working for the ZPD, doesn't mean I'm just come over and bust you up on anything at any time. We have both been careful over the years to stay over the line of the law and I know you're a smart guy.

Finnick drank a short gulp of the remaining beer inside the mug closest to him and reputed to that:

- You damn right I am.

Nick smiled and continued to speak:

- We're still friends. That's not gonna change just because I have a new job. We can still hang out and you can still do the things you like doing to earn money, even if I'm not around.

Finnick continued looking ahead without changing the expression on his face, it didn't look like he was giving Nick's assurance too much mind, but he was actually really relieved to hear all of that. Nick also turned around as he felt satisfied to let his friend know all of that upfront, but he also felt the need to close that portion of the talk with a little bit of a joke as he spoke up:

- Unless you decide to ball up and kill someone. If that happens I am not gonna be able to stop carrots from going full cop mode on you.

Finnick turned over to Nick and showed a little side smile before placing his mug over the counter and saying:

- Thanks. I'm gonna remember that.

They returned to celebrating together although Nick was taking it easy on the drinks after finishing his second mug. He told Finnick that it wouldn't have panned well for him if he showed up for patrol on the next day with a hangover and so he was going to pace himself for the rest of their reunion, the little fox understood that and made a dismissive gesture with his left paw before continuing with his own drink. Nick started to feel a little hungry so he looked around for anything he could snack on, he found a vending machine placed on a corner of the bar and got himself a small pack of potato chips to keep his stomach from growling too much until he could get back home. After returning to his seat with the opened bag of chips, Nick sat down to eat one paw full of the snacks at a time and heard as Finnick spoke to him:

- I didn't know you liked this brand of chips.

Nick swallowed some of the salty snacks he was chewing and answered to that:

- I don't really like this brand that much but I can really take all I can get at this point. My fridge back home is not that full. Probably because *Somebody* ate almost everything in it.

Finnick held off on his upcoming gulp and looked over to Nick before letting out an awkward apology:

- Yeah, sorry about that. I was gonna fill it back up again but it slipped my mind.

- You could have at least tried to remember it before I arrived back home. I had to go to a convenience store to get some of the bare essentials that I needed last night.

Finnick pointed a claw at Nick and launched an immediate answer to that:

- Hey! I'm paying for your drinks. That should at least get me close to even.

Nick looked around before taking another paw full of snacks from the pack he was carrying in his left paw and answered:

- It's a good start.

- Screw you, Wilde.

Nick didn't respond to that, he simply continued to crunch the last remaining shreds of chips between his teeth and relaxed a little more over his own seat. After a few more minutes sitting at the stool and enjoying a nice conversation alongside Finn, Nick thought that it was about time he headed on back to his apartment and maybe stop to get a few groceries along the way as he had originally planned, but that night still had one last hamper to throw at him and he was not prepared for it. Just as he turned over and opened his mouth to talk to Finnick, the little fox bumped him on the shoulder and said:

- Yo, Wilde. Look alive.

Nick's left ear twitched after hearing that and he asked:

- What is it? Is it trouble?

Finnick stealthily leaned his head to the left, trying to look over the fox's shoulder and get a good look at something just a few meters behind him, he raised and lowered his eyebrows inconspicuously and said:

- There's a cute vixen sitting over there and she hasn't taken her eyes off of you the whole time we've been sitting here.

Nick was a little surprised after hearing that, he wished to take a good look at the one that, apparently, was keeping watch over him. He started to move his eyes and turn his head over as he asked:

- Really? Where?

Finnick stopped him and made Nick turn his head back by saying:

- No, no, no! Don't turn around! Keep it cool!

Nick stopped his motion and turned back to Finnick. The little fox continued to look over his friend's shoulder as he caught a more precise and broad sight of the vixen sitting by a small, round, wooden table with one empty cocktail glass right in front of her and a smug look on her muzzle, the spark in the eyes of a predator that focused on a single target, Finnick knew that looked, he loved that look. The little fox gestured with his paw so that Nick would come a little closer and Nick did just that as Finnick whispered:

- Dude, she is totally hot! You should go talk to her.

Nick thought for a little bit and believed that there could be a possible chance to score big in the love department if he followed that advice, but the fox also thought about how he still had plenty of things that he wanted to do for the night before just heading off to bed and that moment of indecision on what to do next caused him to hesitate. Nick rarely hesitated, he thought about staying there and just see where the night might take him, then he thought about the implications of tossing himself in such a scenario that might only ending up wasting time, that bugged him a lot as he reviewed different lines of thought in a record time, trying to come up with a cohesive answer, thinking that he might be a tad rusty in the romance game. He opened his mouth to speak to his friend:

- Finn, I…

Finnick interrupted him and gestured with his paws by shaking them rapidly from side to side as he said:

- Nah, you're right. It could be a bad call. You should let her come to you on her own. Tell you what: I'm gonna slip out and head to the bathroom, if she comes here to talk to you then we'll know it for sure. Good luck.

The little fox hopped out of his seat and landed on the ground, he gave a few steps off in the direction of the bathroom door, passing right through the path of a few other mammals on his way and leaving Nick behind to fend off on a possible romantic situation by himself. Nick didn't even have time to say anything else and convince Finnick of a shortcoming for that moment, the fox raised his paw and quickly turned his body and the rotating cushion of his seat in the direction Finnick was heading to try and stop him from going away, it didn't do him any good. Finnick was already too far off from listening reach, especially with all of the noise going on inside the bar that night:

- Finn, wait! No! Don't… and… he's gone.

Nick remained over his seat, indecisive about staying and leaving, he was half tempted to take a look back and just lock eyes with his mysterious admirer. He turned his body and rotated his seat to face his original position over the seat before placing both of his arms over the bar counter, Nick moved his ears and sniffed the air trying to capture any specific sound that would alert him to something approaching, some smell that might be unfamiliar to him, it took a lot of searching but he found it. Nick caught one distinctive sound that was making itself more apparent at every second, a set of footsteps, softly tapping across the floor and getting louder, coming from right behind him, there was also a strange scent, flowery but not quite pleasant per say. Nick took another sniff of the air and tried to separate the specific smell that he was looking for, he figured that it was some sort of perfume, mixed along with the scent of beer already present in the air, he figured it was a cheap perfume since it irritated the inner most parts of his sinuses.

After a full minute of waiting over his stool, Nick heard a voice coming from right behind him asking:

- Excuse me.

Nick's ears perked up and turned slightly to his left as he heard the pleasant sound of a female voice directed at him, it was smooth and sightly melodious in tone and the smell of perfume he had detected before was now stronger than ever. Nick's head followed the motion of his ears and the full vision of the vixen was revealed to him, he leaned his head vaguely down and landed his eyes over the figure of a beautiful vixen standing very close by. The female fox had orange fur with a cream colored inline that followed her natural curves perfectly, she was dressed in a shock pink sleeveless top that didn't cover much of her midsection, carrying a small navy blue purse and placing both of her paws over it, showing that she was excited and also a little nervous to be talking to him. She was also wearing a simple pair of jeans with a fancy line of metallic ornaments dotting its right front pocket and her long and thin fluffy tail was swooshing from side to side right behind her. Nick directed his eyes slowly upward and quickly took note of her facial features, her ears were small in size both covered with a layer of fur that possessed a noticeable shade of dark near each tip, her eyes were colored with a light brown tone and her muzzle was subtle in shape and was showing a very sweet smile that only got bigger as she noticed that she was now locking sights with him.

The vixen was biting slightly on her lower lip and Nick took notice of that before she gestured with her left paw showing a friendly little wave and speaking directly to him:

- I'm sorry to just come and ask this out of the blue, but I just had to come over and ask. Do I know you from somewhere?

Nick leaned his head to the right thinking that question as an opening line that was somewhat unusual, he showed off a charismatic smile paired up with an iffy response as he looked at her and spoke up:

- Possibly, but I have been out of town recently, you're probably confusing me with someone else. Mammals do say that I have one of those "movie star" faces.

The vixen leaned in a little closer and squinted her eyes as she thought really hard about where she might have seen that gorgeous fox before. Her smile diminished as the thought she was looking for popped into her head and she asked:

- Aren't you that fox that was featured on a news compile just a few days ago? The fox that scored on the Zootopia police academy?

Nick had no idea that he had become famous, at least by a small amount, he adjusted his shoulders to become a little more relaxed at that moment and answered her with confidence:

- Yeah, that's me alright. My name is Nicholas Wilde, but everyone just calls me Nick.

The vixen gave a little hop while in place and put both of her paws over her mouth as she released an audible gasp of surprise, she could hardly believe that she was meeting a celebrity. There was a small bit of embarrassment on her face once she realized the face she had made right in front of him, the female fox walked two steps and turned herself to sit on the stool right next to Nick, she adjusted her bottom over the cushion and took her time to clear her throat and introduce herself:

- I'm Stella Volpix. I thought you looked familiar to me the second you sat down at this bar. I never thought I would have the chance to talk to you. I thought about asking you something but… I don't even know where to start.

Nick gestured with his right paw over the counter, giving the cue for her to ask anything while giving her a helpful suggestion of where to start:

- Start with the most important question.

Stella placed both of her paws together over the counter and fiddled her fingers as she thought about what to say to him next. One question came to mind as she saw to break off some of the tension she was feeling:

- I suppose the first thing I want to ask is… do you want to share a drink?

Nick smiled and decided to take her up on that offer but he insisted on having something strictly non-alcoholic to drink on the pretense that it wouldn't be too good for him to show up at the precinct on the next day with a hangover. Nick leaned over the counter and asked the waitress to bring them each a drink so they could get a little more comfortable as they talked, Nick asked for a simple glass of water while Stella asked for the same type of cocktail she had before coming to sit down with him, a simple mixture of gin and apple cider in a small sized glass with a little slice of lime placed on the side of the glass. Nick was rather intrigued with his new company, it didn't even cross his mind that he might get to meet a beautiful vixen that night, even less to get friendly with her. He was very glad he came there to hang out with Finnick. After their refreshments were served, Stella leaned closer to Nick while placing her right paw over the glass closest to her and asking:

- So, I'm sure you get this question a lot but… what is it like to be a cop?

Nick took a small swig of his water and answered to that without giving it too much thought or embellishing the answer with any sort of hyperbole to make it more exciting. He turned over to her before saying:

- It's not a lot of excitement on the first days but it is plenty fun. I have only been a part of precinct one force for two days, but it is still a really cool job. I get to wake up, head on over to the station, meet up with mammals that I can trust, get my assignments and keep the city safe. There are a few perks but, at the end of the day, it is a job like any other. I have been handling so much paperwork these last couple of days, it should be a crime. Now, I'm just glad that I get to come here and relax for a little bit before heading over there again tomorrow.

Stella placed her paw under her jaw as she smiled and thought about the tone Nick used to deliver his answer to her, he was calm and extremely direct with his words, she was intrigued and wondered if there could be a little more to his job than just patrol and paperwork. Nick turned slightly over his seat and asked of her:

- Don't let me ramble on for too long. What about you? Do you come here to just skip out on work or to just hang out?

Stella was just about to get a good swig of her drink when she heard Nick asking that of her. The vixen distanced the glass she had picked up from her lips and answered him:

- Oh, No. I don't usually come here for anything more than a drink with friends from time to time. I'm a travel consultant and my job has been going a little too fast as of late so I came here to unwind and relax a bit. Do you come around here often?

Nick smiled and gestured to the walls and the environment around them as he answered and reminisced for a while:

- I have been coming to the matriarch since its early days. Used to come here with a whole pack of friends to have a drink and play cards whenever I could in the old days, now I only come here when I need some time and a cold drink to think.

Nick took a breath before taking another look at the place and continuing:

- I haven't come here for the longest time, the place is almost like new. That dartboard over there is a new touch.

He said as he pointed a claw to the far wall where some mammals were entertained by a friendly game of darts. Nick turned back to Stella and said:

- I'm happy I can still enjoy this place. It holds a lot of good memories for me.

Stella nodded her head and decided to continue that conversation while becoming convinced with every exchanged word that the fox right next to her was an absolute treasure and she wished to take him for herself. Everything about Nick seemed to call to her attention, his smile, his posture, his voice, the way he moved his body, it all radiated a kind of energy that just lured her ever so close to his presence, she had to know more about him. The vixen took a short gulp of her drink and asked right after:

- Are you from Zootopia?

- Born and raised. I know it's kind of a rough place, but there is nowhere else in the world I would rather live in.

She stopped a while to think of another question:

- How long did it take for you to become a police officer?

- About… six months. Seven if you include the preliminary training and studies I had to go through.

Another question popped up:

- Was becoming a ZPD officer part of some childhood dream? I'm only asking it because you don't see a lot of foxes willing to become cops as of late.

- No, it's more of a… recent development for me. It's taking me through some new territory but I'm willing to see where it takes me moving forward.

Stella believed she was taking her questions for too long of a time and inquired while gesturing with the palms of her paws:

- Am I interrogating you a little too much? Because I can stop if you are not too keen on answering more questions.

Nick made a dismissive gesture with his right paw and said while showing off a smile:

- Don't worry about it. It's actually nice to talk like this with someone else. You can interrogate me as much as you want.

That was a little bit of a mixed signal, Nick wished to stay right there and maybe throw some more conversation around, although Stella was already convinced that he was flirting with her. It was an unconventional situation, if he was truly interested Nick could turn on his charm and make all the effort to attract the attention of a female, he was barely trying to have a stimulating conversation and yet it was happening, it was very strange to him. Nick placed a paw over his head and adjusted the fur between his ears, his paw traveled to the back of his head, around his neck and landed over the wringer of his tie, he adjusted the accessory around his neck and spoke up:

- I'm a bit surprised anyone would've taken an interest at me when there could be so many more interesting things happening around Zootopia. I know that becoming an officer of the ZPD may come across as an amazing feat, but I don't think is that big of a deal.

- Are you messing with me?! I think it's amazing.

The vixen said so as she leaned closer to him once more to call his attention and speak her mind:

- I heard out on the street about a mammal that made his mark and became the first ever fox to be fully enlisted in the police force. There was this huge buzz around the subject, plenty of my friends at work got static over it. Of course I also heard a lot of talk saying that this was all a stunt that the mayor pulled to get a better light over himself. He is doing the best he can to get Zootopia on its feet again and you never know what some mammals might do to reach the goals they have in mind.

Nick nodded agreeably believing she was on to something with her line of thought. He leaned his head to the side to get a better read of her expression, figure out if she was indeed after a little something more than a casual conversation, he spoke to her:

- True enough. I heard that some mammals go through a few extremes to get what they wanted, almost put myself in the same category as them a couple of times. Even so, I really think our new mayor is trying his best to keep the city up and running. I heard some of the other officers say that he makes plenty of visits to precinct one in the flesh, he sounds like a guy who gets things done.

- Really?

Stella leaned her head to the side as she asked that. The vixen was wrapped up in that conversation, convinced that the fox next to her was not only strong and confident he was also plenty smart. Nick conveyed every answer he let out with a degree of confidence that she hadn't seen in a male for quite a long time. His voice and the way he gestured with his entire body just called even more to her, before any of them knew it, nearly an hour had gone by and Stella couldn't get enough of him. She leaned a little closer to whisper to him and feeling like she just had to ask:

- Nick, this may sound a bit forward but… what would you say we get out of here and go somewhere a little more… private?

The fur behind his neck sparked up after hearing that question, it had been quite a long time any female had asked him that. Not willing to sound unnerved or to throw what could be a prime opportunity like that out the window, the fox showed a smile and answered:

- That sounds like a great idea. Would you like to come over to my place? It's not too far from here.

Stella drew in a long breath before answering him which kept Nick in suspense for a few seconds:

- I would love that.

Nick placed a twenty dollar bill over the counter to pay for the drinks he had and placed his used glass over it so it would stay in place until the bartender could get it herself, he got off from his stool shortly after, and extended his paw as to politely guide Stella off of her seat and in the direction of his apartment, the two foxes went to exit the bar but before leaving, Nick took notice of one last thing on his way to the front door of the place. He looked over to the left and saw Finnick, seated over a little stool and holding on to a small bottle of beer, the little fox signaled to him showing off a thumbs up and Nick repaid that gesture with a thumbs up of his own as he guided Stella out of the bar and onto a more quiet environment.

Nick and Stella walked side to side as they continued to exchange some words on their way, mostly about how she was really nervous about talking to him over at the bat at first since it had been a while since she done so, Nick confessed that he felt a little nervous as well as she walked over to him but he tried to play it cool. After three straight blocks and a crosswalk with a very slow changing traffic light, they arrived at Nick's front door and the fox calmly unlocked it to let his new company inside. Stella was surprised to see where he lived as she walked a few steps past Nick while he stayed behind for a few seconds to close the door, she noticed that the place didn't have any distinguishing characteristics, it was a simple fox's den but it did have quite the daunting air since she could smell a strong male musk that took a hold of the place, it didn't bother her, she thought it quite alluring. Nick was already well accustomed with the air in his apartment since his return to the city, only now there was a brand new scent in the environment, Stella's strong perfume was still bothering his nostrils but he opted for not saying anything.

Stella turned over to Nick as she saw him taking off his tie and placing it with care over a stand near the door, same with his keys, he walked a little more into the living room and tossed his cellphone over the couch before looking at her and thinking that she might want a little something to eat while she was there, they had spent quite a long time in the bar and he didn't have any more time to get groceries as he had thought about earlier. He gestured with his left paw pointing to the kitchen and said:

- I would offer you something to eat but I don't really have much of anything in my fridge. The only thing I have is one of those microwaved pizza packs. I can also get some water if you want it.

Stella believed Nick as quite the gentle mammal back at the bar and his shoulder alignment as he said that caused her to think that he was becoming rather nervous to have a female company in his apartment. She turned her body completely around and placed her purse over the couch's armrest as she walked slowly in his direction, approaching him ever so slightly. Her side smile and the suggestive look she was letting out towards him alerted Nick that she was wanting for something and that she knew exactly how to acquire it. Stella got close enough that she placed the palms of her paws over Nick's chest, his neck fur fluffed up as he felt her touch and the confirmation of her true intentions was shown as she spoke up:

- It's alright. I'll find something to snack on by myself.

The vixen came closer as she supported a small amount of her upper body over Nick's chest, Nick's head retreated for a little bit as he saw her muzzle calmly approaching him until she placed her mouth right under his jaw very near his jugular and delivered a long kiss. Nick wasn't really sure what to do next and he made a face that may have looked a bit clueless which Stella found very humorous. She smiled and asked of him:

- What's wrong, hotshot? Were you not expecting something like this to happen tonight?

Nick closed his mouth, after realizing that his jaw was hanging half-open, released a throat clearing sound and answered her:

- No, it's not that. I don't mind it at all.

Stella gently rubbed her paws in unison over his chest before reassuring him:

- It's okay. I can sense that you are a little nervous right now.

Nick snickered when faced with that comment as he said:

- Nervous? I don't get nervous. I'm a hardcore police officer with nerves of steel.

Stella laughed after hearing that, she moved her right paw from Nick's chest up past his left shoulder and to the side of his neck. Her finger spread over his neck fur until she got a nice hold over him and decided to pull his head a little closer before asking:

- Is that so? What are you going to do then, officer? Gonna hold me down?

Nick showed a serious face as he placed his paws on her back, very close to her shoulders, to pull her and answer with conviction:

- Keep that up. I just might.

Nick decided to take control of the moment as he moved himself closer and pulled Stella into a thorough hug, that surprised her a little, but as their chests came into full contact and the fox placed his mouth on the side of her neck to deliver a kiss, she merely let him do as he pleased. Stella moaned as she felt a rapid wave of warmth and delight come over her after feeling Nick touching her that way, with his arms were pulling her into a comfortable position and he wasn't making a lot of effort to do so, she could just feel how strong he actually was without even witnessing his peak strength, she also released a little moan after feeling his hot breath brushing past her fur and Nick took note of that as an indication that he was doing a great job. The vixen felt conflicted in the best way possible, she had planned to persuade him into handling her complete control of the moment, she wanted to take the chance to swoon Nick with all she had but it turned out very differently than originally thought.

Nick held the vixen in his arms and he retreated slightly to look her in the eyes and see how she was doing, her wide smile told him that she was enjoying that moment very much so. He decided to get closer once more so he could deliver another kiss but Stella deviated his muzzle by placing the fingers of her left paw over its right side so that they could promptly touch lips, it was a little surprising but it ultimately felt good for Nick to get a proper kiss going with her.

It is not uncommon for mammals, predators in the majority, to experience elevated hormonal levels when near a possible mate which can quickly turn into the act of mating. Females and males alike try to identify in as little time as possible all of the major appealing aspects that a mammal can present and offer as a likely loving partner, factors that go deeper than just physical appearance like a characteristic musk or a distinguishing way to walk, talk and stand. Predators usually enjoy treating a potential mate like the singular target of a hunt, instead of stalking or fighting a conversation is all that is necessary to identify a mammal of the opposite sex as a specimen worth observation and, in a way of speaking, capture. Foxes, females in the majority, can be rather possessive when it comes to mating and Nick knew that all too well, he had already been with a few loving vixens at that point in his life and he already knew what to expect in a situation like that, although it had been such a long time since his last romantic hook.

After a single second locked into the kiss, Nick could feel as Stella's paws slid over his back, her soft paw pads bestowing a nice amount of pressure over him as she got way more into the kiss. Nick decided to give his all and get a little more into the swing of things as well as they steadily and rapidly progressed. His kiss evolved as he gently opened his mouth and closed it once more to renew the gesture, his paws moved gently over her back and Stella released a muffled moan as she felt her lips just melting away over that kiss. After their lips were separated, Nick took a long breath of air through his nose and took note of how both his scent and the scent of his guest mixed nicely with one another, the vixen took in a short breath of air before saying:

- Wow! You're a really good kisser.

Nick opened his mouth as he released a bashful chuckle, he deviated his eyes on a random direction before directing his sight to Stella once more and saying:

- Thanks. You are quite the good kisser yourself.

Stella was more than willing to keep that going, willing to pull Nick even deeper into her little game, just as she had done before she asked a provocative question in a seductive tone expecting him to give his answer and continue to enthuse her in different ways. She passed the palm of her left paw over his chest once more and asked:

- So, "Mr. Officer", what are you planning to do with me now? I assure you, I got nothing to hide.

Nick raised a brow as he quickly caught the gist of what she was doing, he decided to play along. Nick's tail swooshed to the side and, after repositioning his paws over her back side, he leaned his head a little to the left and delivered his response:

- Well, ma'am, it is my job to keep the peace. So I must make absolute sure that…

Unintentionally, Nick deviated his sight to a spot right behind Stella. He took notice of his bookshelf placed away from her current field of vision, he quickly scanned the colorful covers of old volumes, CD's, DVD's and comics that occupied each horizontal lane and saw that one of his prized graphic novels laid out of place and out of order. He squinted his eyes and released a disapproving moan as he said:

- Oh, no.

Stella became immediately worried as she believed that was something amiss with what they were doing, she stopped the motion that her paw was making over Nick's upper torso and asked:

- What's wrong?

Nick took his paws off of Stella's back and made his way past her in a calm and polite manner, he directed his right pointing finger onto the third shelf from the top and made confirmation on his initial suspicion. He kept his eyes on the out-of-place comic and spoke up:

- I had these alphabetized just before leaving for the academy and this one is definitely out of place. Finnick must have messed up the order while I was away. Can't believe he did that.

Nick removed the book in question out of its spot and the pages flopped around in the air as he held it tightly in his left paw, he then proceeded to look for the proper place for the object as his eyes quickly moved from side to side following the motion of his right paw. Stella found that very unusual, just a few seconds prior they were enjoying each other's company and he wanted to put that aside to resolve a matter that looked incredibly trivial from her point of view. She approached Nick, who didn't even turned around to acknowledge her at first, and asked of him:

- Are you some kind of… "neat freak"?

Nick's left ear twitched to the side as he heard that question, he directed his eyes at her and launched an excuse:

- I'm sorry. I know that this looks a little weird but this is just going to drive me insane if it stays out of place.

He took a second to make sure that his mind was still on track for his secondary objective before continuing:

- Also, I'm not a "neat freak". I just get a little heated when somebody messes with my things without asking permission first.

Stella found that somewhat understandable and decided to wait patiently until Nick was done organizing his collection on the shelf, she crossed her arms and stood straight but she didn't have to wait too long. In no time at all, Nick found the precise spot he was looking for to place the book he was holding, he reached with his right paw into a free opening and gently opened a little more space by separating two other comic books by the line-up that were placed side to side. He carefully slipped the book he was holding in its intended spot on the shelf and clapped his paws once, satisfied with the organized stack of belongings in front of him. He turned back over to Stella and said:

- There. All set.

He looked at her face, seeing the little smile she was showing off and asked:

- So… where were we?

The vixen unmade her stance before walking closer to him and answering:

- You were just about to take me in, officer.

Stella extended her arms and placed them over Nick's shoulders, he enjoyed that and showed a snarky side smile as he witnessed the vixen waving her hips as she approached him once more. After getting just close enough to look deep into his eyes, Stella decided to tease Nick a little more by listing the possibilities of what the night ahead of them could bring, she was just determined to take it all the way with him. She asked with a cheeky whisper:

- I suppose if you are going to detain me, you would have something very special planned to keep me at bay.

Nick liked where that was going and decided to ask of her:

- Do you have anything in mind?

Her smile didn't dissolve as she returned to speak in a similar tone as before:

- How about we get busy with some… restrains?

Nick's cool demeaner was quickly battered away by that word. Unsure but ultimately catching the wavelength of her tone, Nick decided to ask with some noticeable degree of unnerving in his voice:

- R… restrains?

- Yeah. I usually don't tell this to just anyone, but I like to experiment with this sort of thing. You know? Paw-cuffs, holdings, muzzles…

Nick did not find that answer particularly appealing, he immediately pushed himself away from Stella as he showed the palms of his paws performing a repeated dismissive gesture. He was showing off an apprehensive face as he stepped back and he also saw how she looked at him with a confused stare, he launched a retort to her previous suggestion as he quickly spoke:

- No, no, no, no. I'm not really… into that sort of thing.

- What? How so?

Nick didn't want to tell her the true reason of why he didn't enjoy the idea of restrains of any kind during an act of mating, that was something he imagined plenty of mammals could enjoy but he also believed it could bring back the feelings of a time long past when he was trapped in a muzzle lock against his will as a kid. Giving a vague explanation and not letting it show the true reason why, Nick answered her:

- I was never into the "entrapment of love" or bondage thing. Plus, the ZPD code prohibits the use of paw-cuffs and muzzle locks for anything other than the apprehending of suspects. The use of equipment of all kind is required to be kept in check, even during off duty moments. I wouldn't want to get one of us locked in cuffs just to later on lose the keys. Trust me, I have a really convoluted story with losing keys.

Stella squinted her eyes as she looked at Nick, believing that there was something more behind that excuse than just protocol. She didn't get a definitive answer to her doubts but she got a more conclusive explanation as Nick finished speaking:

- Besides it all, my partner would give me a hell of a time if she found out that I went on to bend the rules on my first week as a cop.

Stella showed a side smile and sounded off a single giggle as she reapproached Nick and spoke up, reassuring him that she was okay with that:

- That's okay. We can leave those things aside. All I want for now is to be with you.

Nick was glad to hear that, he released a silent sigh of relief through his nose and hoped that Stella wouldn't notice. They came together once more and continued with their previous routine, only this time Nick was a little more active as he directed his mouth straight at her neck to deliver another soft kiss. The two of them moved around the living room with a careful and somewhat rhythmic set of steps, almost like they were dancing together. Neither of them was very sure where that exciting moment was going to take them but it was still quite the rush, being locked in that motion made Nick thought to himself if there was a significant chance that feeling would evolve into something more significant although he quickly set that thought aside to focus on his current situation before letting his mind wander off somewhere else.

After a full minute of enticing teasing for having Nick kissing her neck, Stella placed her paws over his cheeks and guided his head into another kiss, basically demanding to feel his lips touching hers once more. Nick was a little flattered form experiencing that, as the kiss became more elaborate and passionate, he could hear her little muffled moans becoming more frequent and intense. Stella placed her paws over Nick's back, impeding him from getting away from her embrace, the heat of the moment became even more noticeable as Nick felt her claws being extended and scrapping over the shirt's fabric on his back. The fox became a little alarmed as he felt the sharp nails pressing past the cloth and over his skin and he decided to put another temporary halt on the act as he hummed loudly to call to her attention and separated himself from the kiss before saying:

- Whoa! Whoa! Hold on there for a second!

- What is it now?

Nick apologized to her and didn't even paid mind to the touch of impatience in her voice. He placed his paws over his chest and answered:

- I'm really sorry but… this is my favorite shirt. I don't want it to get ripped, so just let me.

After saying that, Nick slowly placed both of his paws near the neck piece of his shirt, his fingers fondled over the first button for a couple of seconds before it came undone. He continued with that, directing his muzzle and his eyes over his upper torso as his paws moved down over his chest to undo the second button, gradually opening up the front of his shirt and unveiling his chest. Nick placed his paws over the third button and that is when his ears took note of Stella who was positioned only a few steps in front of him and breathing much deeper and faster than before, Nick directed his eyes over to her and noticed the curious expression she had on her face, having her ears slightly drooping back and her mouth half-open. Nick halted his previous motion with his fingers and asked:

- Is… this okay?

Stella merely answered with a single positive nod of her head as her eyes continued to be fixed over Nick and the enticing act of him taking his ow shirt off, he was now in control of the moment and she didn't mind it one bit. After a brief period of waiting, Stella could see the whole picture, the fox had undone the last button and removed his shirt, revealing his bare chest to her. Stella almost felt like she had seen a marvelous art piece being unveiled, the sight of Nick's muscular torso and the cream colored pattern of his fur left her utterly stunned and she gasped in astonishment before saying:

- Oh, my God!

Nick had his recently removed shirt placed over his right arm as his ears caught Stella's voice, he looked straight at her and asked with concern:

- What is it?

Stella walked closer, slowly placing one foot after the other until she was inches away from touching Nick. The vixen raised her arms but she retracted her fingers for a short second before softly touching Nick once more, feeling the gentle bristle of his fur and the subtle bumps of his muscles over her paw pads was like a completely new experience. She looked right into Nick's eyes after a long silent pause and before answering him with an excited whisper:

- You are so buff!

Nick remained stationary, holding his shirt on one arm and waiting to see what happened as the vixen came a little bit closer and placed her mouth over his chest. Stella closed her eyes as she felt the touch of Nick's fur and skin over her muzzle, she moved herself slowly up his bulky frame while her nose took one long whiff of his musk on its way, maintaining her paws in the same position they were during her first touch over him, she could feel the strong beating of his heart and the steady pace of his breathing and she had no intention of stopping her moves over him any time soon. She intended to drive him over the edge with desire. Nick thought that was amazing, the sort of feeling he longed for during an act of mating, no claws or teeth, just a regular loving touch. His chest expanded and contracted slowly as he breathed but that was a little irregularity during a short period in his respiration showing that he was becoming very much enticed to progress in that moment.

Nick slowly closed his eyes as he got completely wrapped up in that feeling, letting the shirt he was holding on to fall down to the floor, not even bothering to pick it up. Stella's paws gently moving up and down over his chest felt like a nice massage, her fingers were gently scrubbing his fur, subtly pushing it aside on some areas to get in close touch with his skin and he enjoyed that very much. Nick directed his mouth upward and released a long humming sound which Stella captured with her hearing just as her paws were steadily transitioning to a new set of motions, she directed the focus of her physical contact more to the sides of his torso so she could better accompany his muscular curves with her touch. Stella soon returned her attention to the front area of Nick's chest but she intensified her actions by letting her claws come out to brush over his fur, Nick took notice of that and his face quickly degraded into a frown as he was keenly aware of what was happening.

Vixens fall into the category of female mammals that enjoy a more wild stand during the act of mating, placing claws and subtle marks over a mate is a standard behavior pattern for females that like to mark a male specimen as a conquest, it can be a little of a possessive behavior for some females but it is part of a well-stablished natural instinct. Nick merely let her continue with her motion as she returned to place her muzzle over him and opened her mouth to give his neck a little nibble, it felt rather enjoyable since she didn't apply enough pressure to break skin, but that changed soon enough once she placed herself more over him. Stella passed her paws over Nick's chest again, they then made their way to the sides of his torso and onto his back side, she took that chance to pull him into a complete and fairly forceful hug. Nick could feel Stella's claws, clamping him down closely to her by his back, impeding him from retreating in any direction that was not of her choosing, she was now assuming control of the moment and doing her all to assume control of Nick.

The fox felt as her claws began to close over his unprotected back, much like she was doing before, and he immediately showed off a wince of pain from his face, clenching his teeth together and pressing his eyes shut before he had the breath and the chance to speak to her:

- Look, I'm sure you're excited about this, I am as well. But can you please go a little easy? It has been a while for me.

Stella disregarded that little tidbit from Nick, the tone that the fox had used to say those words sounded more like a snarky joke than a request thanks to Nick's often comedic tone of voice, his awkward smile did little more than just incentivize Stella to move along as she was doing. The vixen moved her paws slightly up on his back as to better get a hold of him and of the situation, she looked at him with a devious smile, almost malevolent, not giving any thought about the hint of worry in his eyes, and said:

- Sorry, handsome. I don't have a "Going easy" setting on me. The only setting I got is "On"!

Stella finished her sentence with a sudden pounce, her body pushed against Nick's, almost as if she was trying her best to pass the constraints of his skin and reach out to every shred of muscle and nerve underneath it. Nick released a growl that sounded as an exaggerated mixture of pleasure, pain and surprise, one hastily placed on top of the other, a flood of differing feelings invading his system and causing him to lose balance. Nick gave two steps back, for some reason his body instinctively tried to retreat, but Stella wasn't going to let him get away. Her tail waggled with excitement and she took two steps forward to keep herself as close as possible to him, Nick was sure that the rest of his night would've been just like that, a heated series of interactions with the female that seemed to want him more than anything else in the world, until something else happened.

During his unintentional, but relatively justifiable, retreat, Nick bumped his backside against the drawer stand where he placed his priceless collection of model vehicles and the framed picture he had recently received, the photo of him and Judy on the day he left for the academy. The sudden impact with the wooden surface was harsh, the wooden structure of the drawer stand settled back and shook all of the objects placed on it, none of the toys fell but the picture, placed right on the left most edge of the drawer, tumbled down and fell to the ground. Nick's left ear twitched to the side as he heard the sound of the solid plastic frame colliding with the floor and his eyes opened quickly to try and identify the direction of the sound. He placed a significant amount of strength in his arms to halt Stella's movements and ward off any more of her physical advances. The vixen didn't get it at first but she got the gist of why Nick had stopped her once and was also a little star struck after feeling his strength. She saw him leaning down on one knee and retrieve the fallen object while saying repeatedly:

- Oh, no! Oh, no!

She figured that the item in question had a lot of sentimental valor to him but she was also non too willing to stop what they were doing before. Stella raised her shoulders and apologized for that, her tone was not very sincere but Nick wasn't even paying attention to her and she did not feel that bad about what she had done while getting a little too excited during the act:

- Oops! Sorry.

Nick did not notice the cold and unemotional tone in her voice or the small eye-roll that she did while he wasn't looking. Nick picked the frame from the ground and held it tightly with his right paw while his left paw examined the exterior glass to see if there were any cracks on it or any damage to the frame. After making sure that the item was completely undamaged, he released a little sigh of relief. Nick raised back to his feet, turned around and reassured Stella with the picture still in his paw:

- It's alright. It didn't break.

The vixen showed off a little side smile and stood straight with her arms crossed as she awaited for Nick to place the picture back on a safe spot over the drawer stand. He turned around with a wide smile and spoke up:

- There. Safe and sound.

Stella squinted her eyes to take a more analytic look at the picture and see for herself why he would consider it so important. The portrait image of the smiling fox hugging a small bunny by his side sparked her curiosity and she decided to ask of him while pointing a finger at the item:

- Who's that?

Nick turned around to look at the picture once more, he kept his smile while pointing at the image and explaining it:

- That's me and my partner. We took that picture together on the day I went off to the ZPD academy.

Stella took another look at the picture and released a little guffaw, her head leaned ahead and her lips pressed together to try and hold off the humorous air but she just couldn't help it, she just thought that was funny. Nick looked over to her as he heard she asking:

- You're partner… with a bunny?!

Nick raised a brow at that question and answered with a tone that made his voice sound like an unsure question:

- Yes…

Stella gave one step back and did her best to hold off any additional laughter she might still have in her. She reassumed a serious stance before asking of him:

- What's that like?

Nick thought that to be an unusual question but he could also understand why she would have the curiosity to ask it. The fox gave a single step in her direction and showed subtle gesture with his paws in the air as he took the time to explain it:

- Quite frankly, it's great. Judy trained me and she has been quite the amazing partner. Then again, I have been in the force for only two days and I haven't had any super complicated assignments given out to us so…

Stella searched her memory for a little while before asking of Nick:

- Wait. Your partner's name is Judy as in "Hopps"? That bunny that appeared on the news a few months back?

Nick smiled and admitted with pride:

- That's her.

Stella looked fairly unimpressed to hear that, reaching the precipitated conclusion that the bunny that Nick was speaking with so much regard was the target of non-deserving admiration. Nick looked over to her and continued speaking:

- Judy is the best. She is very brave and beyond tough. She helped me so much and now I get to pay her back in full by joining with the ZPD full time and helping her protect the city.

Stella gestured with her left paw as she spoke up:

- You really think that she is that great?

- Of course I do. She is the one that exposed the plot behind the missing mammals and the night-howler serum.

Nick answered that without even thinking twice. Stella smiled and undid her previous stance as she walked a little closer to Nick and spoke up with a tone that had a small tinge of laughter in it:

- You don't seriously believe all of that, do you?

Nick showed a face that was degraded into a bit of a frown as he heard that. Pointing a finger to his own chest, Nick looked at her and spoke up:

- I do believe in it, because it's all true. Judy did all of those things.

Stella was convinced that Nick was in on what she believed to be no more than an elaborate ruse concocted by the zootopian press and the ZPD in order to convince everyone that a simple bunny had saved the entire city from the clutches of disaster. She was already fed up with that sort of talk and really wanted to just get back to doing what she and Nick were doing before. The vixen decided to put an end to the conversation by speaking up to him:

- Whatever you or anyone else might believe in, I still think it to be far from possible that a single bunny was capable of doing anything to improve this city.

Nick stayed silent as she continued:

- I mean, most of the prey mammals are still scared like shit to come near predators on a daily basis. That is the sort of stuff I notice every day on my way to work. Just because the missing mammals were found and that sociopath of a mayor was put in jail, it doesn't mean that the world is instantly going to get better. Nothing and no one can just change because of the actions of a single mammal, it just doesn't work like that.

Nick lowered his ears after hearing those words, he directed his eyes to the left, his sight crossed the kitchen and looked out the window in the distance, the silent city just outside, moving along like nothing had really changed. He understood the point that Stella was making but he also believed that Judy had made a huge difference by just sticking to who she really is, someone that just enjoys helping others. Judy changed Zootopia, changed him, for the better. Nick also recalled the conversation that he and his bunny friend had in the academy, her words of how he hadn't really changed, he entered on a spiral of thought as he wandered if that was really the truth, if he was still the same sleezy fox that he was in the past after all:

"Is it really all the same? Am *I* the same?

Nick directed his eyes back at front as he deliberated for a short second and slapped his thoughts back into focus. He recalled all of the amazing things he had done, all of the trust that he shared and all of the hurdles he had passed to get to that point. Even if Judy had said the opposite, he was changed in a way. Nick possessed a different level of pride and accomplishment within him and he knew that he couldn't had done any of that without Judy's help.

Stella saw the face that the fox in front of her was making and figured that he had placed all of the pieces in that conversation together, figuring that he was much more aware of her own truth. Before Nick had the time to answer to anything else that she had said before, Stella leaned forward and admitted with a smile on her face:

- I mean, seriously. How can just one rookie cop could've done all of that? I don't mind what everyone else thinks but she is just an ordinary bunny.

Nick looked at Stella and to the expression she had on her face, the look she had in her eyes, when she said that, she meant every word. Nick gave one step forward in her direction, firmly planting his right foot over the living room floor as he did so, he showed the palm of his right paw and spoke up:

- Judy is not just a bunny.

He completed his initial thought shortly after once he was sure to catch Stella's attention:

- And she is definitely not ordinary, in any sense of the word.

Stella had clearly touched a nerve, Nick didn't know why she was getting so defensive of Judy in that moment but he just knew that he did not appreciate hearing any belittling talk about his bunny partner. Stella noticed the touch of anger Nick had in his voice and opted for dropping that conversation, she came a little closer to him, placed her right paw over his chest once more and said:

- Look, there is no reason for us to be having this conversation. Who cares what a bunny does or has to say anyway?

- I do.

Nick answered quickly and decisively. Stella tried to remedy the situation by continuing:

- My point is: Why are we even talking about this? Let's just leave this behind and continue from where we left on.

Nick felt as Stela was positioning herself and placing her arms around him once more as to pull both of them into a loving hug once more, but Nick's heated temper in the face of all of the things that she disclosed at that moment could not allow any of that to continue. He extended both of his arms forward and placed his paws over her shoulders to stop her movement, slowly distancing himself from her with a gentle push, he placed his eyes over her and spoke up:

- You know what? I don't think I'm in the mood for this anymore.

Nick said so as he turned to the other side and leaned down on one knee to pick the shirt he had let fall to the ground just a few minutes earlier. Stella stayed still, just looking at him retrieve his shirt and put it on one more time, she gesture with her paws and shook her head in a state of confusion and asked:

- Wait… what?

Nick rebuttoned his shirt over his chest and gave off a vague explanation:

- I just don't think that the mood is right for us to keep it going. It's nothing serious.

It took no time at all for Stella to figure out what was going on with Nick. The vixen walked in his direction, with him not even bothering to turn around and look at her, and asked:

- Wait a second! Is that it?

Nick turned around and looked at her while positioning his body just a few steps away from the front door and patting the wrinkles down on his shirt just before hearing her saying:

- You get yourself a golden chance to enjoy yourself throughout the rest of the evening, I am basically throwing myself at you, we had a good thing going on and you're just going to turn your back on it just because I dissed off your bunny friend?!

- Feels like it was about a little more than that.

Stella had her eyes opened wide with disbelief, she was just about ready to show the fox a good time but he just plain refused to keep going. Feeling utter embarrassment for that moment and piping angry with a wasted chance like that, the vixen grabbed her purse and walked in the direction of the front door. Nick remained still near the threshold as she turned the knob and swung the wooden frame to the side before stepping outside, she stood still for a second before turning around and speaking to him:

- If that is really how you think about all of it then I'm leaving, but I want you to think long and hard about one thing, handsome: You just wasted your chance to get along with all of this!

Stella finished her sentence while gesturing with both of her paws over her entire body, swinging her hips to the side and letting her tail swoosh up in the air, showing herself like she was an item on display. Nick leaned against the side of the door and took one last look at her before saying out loud:

- Yeah, quite the wasted chance. But I think I'll survive.

That was not the response that Stella expected to hear from him. The vixen turned away from Nick and began to walk away from his apartment, that would have been enough, although Nick was still a little sore from having to hear all of the nonsense that came from her and was aimed straight at Judy for apparently no reason. The fox paced his right paw on the side of his muzzle to project his voice further away and call to her attention once more just to add up to her already injured ego:

- Oh, one more piece of advice, for future reference.

Stella turned her head in his direction and her ears instinctively moved to catch his voice as he said:

- Try going a little easy on the perfume. That cheap smell ain't doing you any favors.

Stella gasped with shock and watched in silence as Nick closed the door after saying that. The vixen closed her paws into fists and stomped away towards the stairs and the exit while thinking to herself:

"Why are the most handsome foxes also the biggest jerks?!"

Nick leaned his back against the door of his apartment and released a long sigh, he placed his left paw in front of his eyes and slowly slid it down on his face. The fox got away from the door and sat himself on the couch, he gently passed the bottom of his feet on the carpet in front of him to let himself relax and tossed his head back over the seat's repost as a sense of calm took hold of him. Just when he was about to let go of tension completely, he thought to himself as he placed both his paws over his head:

"What the hell is wrong with me?! Why did I just do that?!"

Nick clutched his paws over his ears as he continued to ask himself that same question. What made him just waste that chance? Why was he so adamant on making a beautiful vixen leave his apartment on the grounds of a misunderstanding? Nick leaned his body forward imagining how his old self would have thrown a hissy fit on what just happened, he returned to his original position over the seat and that is when his ears caught a little buzzing sound coming from the seat right beside him. Nick looked to the side and saw a notification on the screen of his cellphone showing that Judy had just sent him a text message:

"Impeccable timing."

He thought to himself as he smiled and grabbed the phone to answer her. He unlocked the screen to read the message:

Judy: Hey, Nick. Just checking to see how you're doing.

Nick smiled and texted her back:

Nick: I'm fine, fluff. Just relaxing on my couch after a short night out on the town.

Judy: You weren't drinking, were you? /:-/

Nick: Only a few beers. Not enough to get me buzzed. I swear. 0:-)

Judy: Okay. Just making sure that you will be heading to patrol tomorrow without a hitch. I was going through some recent reported case files earlier today and there is a chance that things might get a little more busy tomorrow at the precinct.

Nick: Sounds good to me. Just as long as you're there to get me through the day.

Judy: Any day, slick. ;-)

Nick: I'm gonna get a few things sorted out here at home before heading over to bed. How about you?

Judy: Just getting some exercising done. Burning up some energy before going to sleep.

Nick: Gotcha. See you tomorrow, carrots. =ï=

Judy: Sleep well, Nick.

After closing the messaging application, Nick tossed the cellphone aside over the couch and went on to the bookshelf right behind him, in search of an enticing story that might keep his mind busy until he was ready to sleep. He reached into the line of books and pulled out one of the old almanacs with the cover title "X-files". A long running series of science fiction that just left him fascinated with every turned page. The fox sat back on the couch and fondled his finger around the opened page, not even bothering to let his eyes read the first comic strip before having his mind pestering him with the thought:

"Well, Wilde. You get to spent the night alone with your comics instead of roaming around in the arms of a beautiful female. Hope it was worth it."

His head turned around and surveyed the living room, there was still a small touch of Stella's perfume in the air. He turned his head to the other side and his eyes landed once more over the framed pictured that he had placed over the stand. With a sigh and a little smile on his muzzle, Nick thought as he answered to himself:

"Yeah… It was worth it."

Nick turned his eyes to the comic and continued reading page after page, anxious to get to bed and wait for the next day at work.

Author's note: I realize that there were quite a few moments of tension in this chapter. The writting might seem a little silly at times, I thought as much during most of the time I spent getting it done. I reworked this one about three times before getting it ready for publishing, nothing I put on paper seemed to work out like i originally planned. I hope you all enjoyed it and I want to thak all of you once more for all of your support. Stay tunned for the next chapter, it is going to be really special.