WingedKatt here. This chapter is extremely long, so you might want to grab a bowl of popcorn. You'll also need some insulin shots handy as this chapter is full of fluffy goodness. Don't say I didn't warn you.


Benjamin Clawhauser sat on the porch swing, with his paws pressed up against his chubby cheeks, while watching the rabbit and fox walking towards him. He was in complete fluff heaven right now having watched how close—and passionate—the fox and rabbit were with each other. And seeing how comfortable Hopps acted in the fox's arms as he carried her across the yard to the porch, had Benjamin's eyes sparkling with fluffy happiness. They were so cute and adorable together!

He just wanted to shout it from the rooftops on how cute a fox and rabbit could be! That a predator and prey couple could work, and live, and be together in happiness, without the fear and unrest that so recently—and still was—sweeping through the city. Oh! If mammals could just see this—see how cute and comfortable this unlikely couple was! How could anyone still want to fight and throw such awful insults (and fists) at one another when such fluffy happiness was unfolding right before their eyes!? Oh! This was how life should be—united as one, with no divide between predator and prey! Now that would be a true Zootopia!

But even as Benjamin thought this, he knew he couldn't breathe a word about their passionate, fluffy relationship. Not only did he need to protect his precious donuts from the fiery horrors of tabasco sauce, but he could still hear the chief's steely voice telling him how bad Judy had it at the precinct, along with the implication of what some mammals would think if rumors got around about her being romantically involved with a fox.

Then again, Benjamin also had to consider how badly Nick would be treated if those in the department got wind of him putting his sly paws all over their cute bunny officer. With how close Judy was to Nick, it was obvious he would be making frequent appearances at the Precinct and Staggson already showed how little the officers tolerated a fox hanging around the place. With this level of prejudice already leveled at him for merely sticking his face inside the building, how much worse will Nick be treated if it was found out he and Judy were in a romantic relationship? A romantic relationship where Nick and Judy were already swapping saliva and having massive tongue wars!

Remembering how Judy had pulled Nick in for those two really deep kisses in the gyrocopter, Benjamin squealed internally while thinking, Ooohh! They are the cutest couple ever!

Benjamin's fluffy thoughts were interrupted as Nick carried Judy up the steps to the porch. "Hi, Benjamin!" Judy said with a wave of her paw. Then indicating Nick who was still holding her, she added, "This is Nick Wilde. Nick, this is Benjamin Clawhauser."

Shifting Judy slightly in his paws, so he had a free paw, Nick shook the chubby cheetah's paw while saying, "Nice to meet'cha, Benjamin."

With a wave of his paw, Benjamin said excitedly, "Oh, please, you two, just call me Benji—all my closest friends do."

Judy grinned while her nose twitched happily, even as Nick's tail started wagging as he spoke for the both of them, "Okay, Benji, we will."

Before Nick could say anything else, though, the excited cheetah pressed his paws to his round cheeks and squealed briefly as stars danced in his brown eyes before firing off several questions all at once. "So how long have you two been a couple? Did you two start dating back when you were chasing down Otterton? What's it like kissing a predator, Judy? And Nick, your ancestors once ate rabbits, so how does Judy taste to you? And her scent!? Does it drive you crazy with her being prey and all? How far have you two gone!? Because—wow!—you two kiss like you were newlyweds or something!" Taking a deep breath after rattling his questions off, Ben sat with his tail in a death grip while waiting for their answers.

Nick and Judy glanced at each other, then laughed. "I don't know, Fluff," Nick murmured, "did we start dating back during our wild otter chase?"

With one arm around Nick's neck, Judy tapped her chin with the finger of her other paw while saying, "I don't recall we did. You were a real jerk that first day." She still couldn't forget the hours Nick wasted that first day on the case. The whole day was gone in just a blink of an eye!

"That I was," Nick replied sagely, his tail flicking behind him, as he carried Judy passed Benjamin to the back door. "But then again," he flicked her nose, "you were quite patronizing, so I," Nick tented the fingers of his free paw over his chest, "felt it my due to be a royal pain in your tail."

"Yes," Judy replied dryly while rubbing her nose. "And you did a splendid job of it, too."

With a smug grin and twitch of his large, triangular ear, he murmured, "I did, didn't I?"

Scowling as her eyebrows scrunched together, Judy smacked Nick's chest and said, "Nick, I wanted to strangle you so many times, it's not even funny!"

As Nick's grin grew bigger and smugger, he said, "Oh, yes it was. It was hilarious! And you are so cute when you're furious. Your little button nose starts twitching, and your backpaw starts thumping on the ground something fierce, and you have the cutest death-glare ever."

Judy scowled again and Nick merely looked down at her while running his long tongue over his exposed canines and across his lips. Judy's ears immediately turned bright red as they fell down her back, even as the memories of how good Nick's teeth felt sliding through her fur and across her skin flashed across her mind while her skin began tingling with pleasure at his phantom touches. Nor could she forget him saying earlier that her cute, angry face made him want to push her up against the wall and gobble her up. The hungry look in his eyes had her groaning with suppressed desire. "Ni-ick," she whispered hotly.

"Yes?" Nick asked with a smirk as he opened the backdoor and carried her into the dining room, all the while staring hungrily into her amethyst gaze.

Taking a shaky breath while pushing the memories (and desire) back down, Judy then scowled again while jabbing Nick's chest with her finger and said, "Well, you weren't thinking of eating me back then. You just wanted to annoy the carrots out of me."

With a smug smirk, Nick stopped a few feet inside the door and replied, "Yes, yes I did." With a chuckle, he added, "I really outdid myself there, too, didn't I?" As Judy's scowl deepened, Nick dipped his head a little closer to hers and said, "What does it matter how we both acted in the past? The present is all that matters, and now, whenever you get angry, I find you cute enough to eat."

Nick licked his chops again and Judy could feel his hot breath on her nose and lips. With a shiver of anticipation as she slipped her paw up Nick's chest and around the back of his neck to join her other paw, she played with his fur and murmured, "Well, I guess I can't really complain about the past as it's what brought us together."

"Yes, yes, it is." With a wide grin, he met Judy's bright gaze and leaned a little closer to her, giving her the impression that he was going to kiss her. But at the last moment, he pulled back and glanced over his shoulder, saying, "You coming, Spots? It's much cooler and more comfortable in the house."

Benjamin had been sitting on the bench with his paws pressed up against his chubby cheeks while watching and listening to their easy banter. He couldn't believe how comfortable they were together. And Judy actually let Nick call her cute! That was amazing! And listening to Nick talk about wanting to eat her like it was the most natural thing in the world—Oh! A rabbit wanting to get eaten by a fox! These two just kept getting cuter and fluffier by the minute!

With the image of Nick 'eating' Judy, the gears in Benjamin's mind were spinning overtime with all the possibilities. Did they play hunt? Did Judy enjoy Nick nipping and biting her? Did she bite him back? And did Nick let her cuddle with his tail? Benjamin knew foxes were extremely jealous of their tails and didn't like most mammals touching them.

At Nick's question of him coming in, Benjamin was pulled from his fluffy thoughts and said, "Oh, yes." Scrambling up off the bench and grabbing the thick envelope sitting on the bench beside him, the round cheetah followed the adorable couple inside.

As he entered the house, Benjamin opened his mouth to repeat several of his questions again when the cool, air-conditioned air hit him in the face. Pressing his paws to his cheeks, the spotted cat squealed for an entirely different reason. "Nick, your house is so cold! You have no idea how good this feels after spending all day in Records. It's so hot and stuffy in there! I swear I'm going to melt!"

Judy's ears drooped, but before she could say anything, Benjamin took notice of the large dining room and kitchen he was walking into and squealed again. "Nick! This room is so roomy and elegant!" The ceiling was high for a house a fox was living in, as the tubby cheetah's head had a good several inches between it and the ceiling. The antique mahogany table and matching china hutch were beautiful, along with the black walnut cabinets and black granite countertops with their vibrant purple, blue, and green flecks. There were shiny black appliances, too, with a tan and brown tiled floor and light tan back splash on the walls to break up the black nicely.

With a chuckle, Nick replied, "Thanks. But I didn't design it—Honey did. She wanted elegance in here and the piano room upstairs, while her husband Daphyd designed the living room and bedrooms."

Benjamin nodded, then asked, "Honey is Maige Badgersen, right? The badger who redesigned our S.W.A.T. gear." At Nick's nod, Benjamin grinned excitedly. He thought he recognized Nick from somewhere, and now he knew where—along with the jeep parked outside. With a knowing hum, he said, "Oh, so that means you're the Nick Wilde who helped Honey win all those jeep rallies." With a squeal, Benjamin nudged Nick's back saying, "You guys won four years in a row! You two were the talk of the jeep world back then!"

Nick paused to glance over his shoulder at the cheetah following him through the kitchen. With a wide, toothy grin, he said, "That's right. I'm surprised you remember. It's been about a decade since we won all those rallies."

Benjamin's long, spotted tail swished excitedly behind him as he replied, "I have several family members who were into the jeep rallies back then and I was able to attend a few of them." Glancing down at his bulk as he stopped behind Nick, he added, "I was a lot slimmer back then and a lot more active."

Nick nodded, but then Judy said, "That's right, Finnick told me about the jeep rallies you two used to enter with Honey." With one paw around his neck, she caressed the fluffy fur sticking up from his shirt and said in a soft, seductive voice, "I don't suppose you would consider entering this year?"

A sly grin spread across Nick's face as he said, "Oh, I don't know, Fluff, that was a lifetime ago."

"I'd really like to go with you." Digging her fingers through his thick fur to scratch the skin beneath with her blunt claws, she added, "Finnick wants to go, too, and I have an older sister, Amy, who is a huge jeep rally and mechanic buff. She could be our assistant mechanic." Tilting her head and batting her wide amethyst eyes in the cutest bunny stare she could muster, she asked, "So can we go? Pretty please with a blueberry on top?"

Nick's tail swayed behind him as he used every last shred of his self-control to keep his mask in place. He did not want her to realize how her death-by-cuteness stare was affecting him. It was a straight shot through the heart! The fact she was digging her blunt claws through his fur and across his skin did nothing to help the tentative grasp he had on his emotions. Meeting her cute, heart-rending, pleading expression, he tried not to show the effect her killer Fairy powers had on him. He had to bite his tongue to keep from blurting out, 'Yes, we'll go!'

Taking a deep breath, he tried to get his focus off her lethally cute doe eyes by thinking about how she wanted her sister—a mechanic—to join them in the rally. Was Judy thinking of hooking her older sister up with Finnick? Depending on how good she was with a wrench, Amy might just be able to stitch the little fennec's bruised heart back together (he'd been through several bad breakups in the past). Judy had thawed his own frozen heart, so Nick wouldn't rule out the possibility that Judy's sister could work her bunny magic on his little fennec friend. Being with a bunny might even do the jaded todd some good.

He also considered what it would be like to enter a jeep rally again. The idea was an intriguing one as he'd had a lot of fun when he, Finnick, and Honey had raced before. And taking Judy to one of the rallies and sharing that part of his past with her—a wholesome, happy part of his past—was exciting to think about. But even though he was ready to agree to her request, that didn't mean he couldn't still tease her about it. So, with a cheeky grin, he asked, "Like I said, Carrots, it's been a long time, so what's in it for me?"

Judy was still digging her claws through the fur above Nick's shirt collar (and sending warm shivers down his spine), but at his question, a devious smile crossed her lips. Blinking her large eyes, she slipped her paw around Nick's neck to join her other paw, then pulled herself up to run her nose along the fur at the edge of his ear. Feeling him freeze beneath her, her grin widened as she whispered, "I promise to make it worth your while," then she licked his ear.

A shudder went through Nick's body and he quickly flicked his ear out of reach before she could bite it. Feeling heat starting to radiate out from his belly, he promptly said, "Okay, okay, I get it. If that's what you really want, I'll enter the jeep rallies this year!" Judy giggled happily, even as Nick rubbed his ear, saying, "Just don't lick my ears anymore."

"Oh?" Judy said in a teasing voice, "Is the big, bad fox afraid of getting his ears a little wet?"

Nick rolled his eyes, then said, "Let's just put it this way, Carrots," he booped her nose with his claw, "you can lick and bite my ears all you want, but only after I get to lick and bite yours."

Judy's ears turned a dark pink as she remembered what happened the first, and only time Nick bit her ears, along with the promise that he wouldn't do that again until they were married—and for good reason. Remembering what his sharp canines did as Nick slid them up her ears had heat pooling in her stomach and her abdominal muscles starting to feel a little tingly.

"Right," she said in a breathy whisper. Taking a deep breath while trying to gain control of her body, she whispered, "No more nibbling on fox ears unless it's to return the favor." At Nick's nod, she added curiously, "So, it has the same effect on you?"

Nick flicked his ear and stated flatly, "Yes, yes it does." While trying to not to think about what Judy would be doing to him on their wedding night, he stepped into the living room.

Benjamin had his tail stuffed in his mouth again as he watched the two discuss the jeep rally (he was definitely going to sign up with his cousins this year!), and then to see the brazen way in which Judy got Nick to agree was simply shocking—and super, duper fluffy! And going by the faint scent he was now smelling from both of them, Benjamin knew exactly why Nick outlawed ear licking and biting for the time being. Benjamin could just imagine all the fluffy stuff they were going to be getting up to as their relationship deepened. Oh, this was complete fluff heaven and he was privileged enough to be a part of it! To witness this turning point in history where predator and prey truly did live up to the ideals that Zootopia was founded on.

As Nick carried Judy to the loveseat against the back wall and sat down, he wrapped his tail around his hot, intoxicating girlfriend. Judy immediately snatched up the fluffy orange appendage and began petting it, but made no move to move from Nick's comfortable, warm lap. Turning his attention back to Judy's fellow officer, Nick watched the large cheetah walk into the living room, then grinned smugly at the chubby cheetah's expression.

Benjamin's eyes widened as he took in the rustic, log cabin themed room. "Wow!" he breathed. The pine log furniture and pictures frames went well with the stone mantle of the fireplace, along with the rich oak coffee table. The large flatscreen tv hanging above the mantle made for good, out of the way entertainment and Benji wondered how good the picture quality was. Seeing the trophies, medals, and pictures sitting on the stone mantle intrigued him, but he would look at them later. Glancing back over his shoulder at the kitchen, he whistled softly. "You go from an elegant, high-class kitchen into a rustic, mountain cab. You got the best of both worlds."

Nick chuckled. "Yes, yes I do." Watching Benji sit down on the larger couch, Nick then said, "So what do you have for us?"

"Oh, right," Benjamin said, "Here ya go, Judy." Handing his packet over, Judy took it from him and opened it up to glance inside. Seeing the police forms and officer statements, Judy's ears dropped to her back and she groaned.

Nick's ears perked forward as he asked, "What's wrong."

Glancing up, Judy muttered, "We haven't written out our statements yet. I'm sure Bogo and Delgato were expecting them before now."

Nick nodded, saying, "After Benji leaves I'll log us onto my computer and we can fill them out then." Judy nodded with appreciation and happiness, then glanced back at Benjamin. Nick did too, even as he leaned back on the couch to await the cheetah resuming his questions about their love life.

Benjamin once again watched the easy way the odd couple interacted and didn't miss the way Nick wrapped his tail around Judy, nor the way she immediately started petting the fox's thick, bushy tail. No matter what Bogo or anyone else said, and as weird as a fox and bunny dating was, these two made it look so natural. And Benjamin could already hear wedding bells ringing and desperately hoped he would be invited. How magical would that be? A fox and bunny wedding?

Seeing Nick and Judy's attention back on him after Nick said he would set Judy up on his computer, Benjamin immediately asked, "So how long has it been? And when did you first know you were attracted to each other?"

Nick and Judy glanced at each other, then Nick tilted his head, saying, "Well, we definitely developed that deep emotional bond while tracking down Otterton, but the physical attraction didn't come about until after Bellwether tried turning me savage and killing Fluff, here."

Benjamin pressed his paws up against his cheeks again while his long tail twitched beside him. "Judy, that must have been so scary for you," he whispered while trying to imagine how terrifying their whole ordeal must have been.

Judy nodded, as she explained, "Well, being chased by Bellwether and her goons was definitely scary but being chased by my fox here . . ." Judy shook her head as a softness came over her features. Turning to Nick, she lightly ran a paw over his cheek, while saying, "I felt no fear towards Nick." With a giggle, she added, "It was actually fun, pulling the wool over Bellwether's eyes."

Turning back to Benjamin while leaning back against Nick's chest, she said, "There in the pit was when I got the first inkling that I was physically attracted to Nick."

A smug smirk crossed Nick's muzzle as he leaned forward and whispered next to her cheek, saying, "That inkling wouldn't have come when I had my teeth wrapped around your neck, would it?"

Judy's face and ears flushed a dark shade of pink, even as her tail began wagging excitedly against Nick's stomach. Taking a deep breath as she felt Nick's breath ruffling the fur of her cheek, she stated, "Maybe."

"Wait!" Benjamin exclaimed. He'd been sitting with his tail in his mouth again, trying to hold back another squeal at watching them interact and listening to their tale, but at Judy's admission that Nick's teeth attracted her, he couldn't sit quietly any longer. Pointing to Judy, he said, "Are you saying Nick's teeth excite you!? Even back then? He was acting savage! How could you be sure he wasn't going to hurt you!?"

With a wide grin, Judy reached behind her to run her fingers through the thick fur beneath Nick's ear. "Because it's Nick," she answered. "Of course, there was the element of danger. I had a predator hunting me, but at the same time, I knew Nick would never hurt me. And when we sold the whole act to Bellwether and Nick bit me . . ." Judy could only shake her head happily. "Nick was extremely careful, and feeling his teeth lightly brushing through my fur and against my skin . . ." Judy shivered happily as she leaned back and rubbed the top of her head against Nick's chin, saying, "It felt incredibly good."

Nick's grin got wider hearing Judy's confession. But then he looked over at Benjamin and at seeing him suck in a breath for another squeal, Nick hurriedly said, "Being able to smell Judy's trust and excitement while I was chasing her definitely grabbed my attention, but I think what did it for both of us is when I started petting her ears in the hospital."

Judy's ears perked up, and after a moment of thought, she agreed. "That's definitely when it became a sure thing for me."

"You let Nick pet your ears!?" Benjamin said with stars sparkling in his eyes.

"Well, I was pretty emotional after everything happened and Nick was comforting me and trying to calm me down." Looking up at Nick, she added, "His petting my ears did the trick."

With his paws wringing his poor tail in his excitement, Benjamin said, "But aren't rabbits as picky about their ears as foxes are about their tails?"

Judy just shrugged as she snuggled back into Nick's chest. "What can I say? Nick makes me feel safe and loved. What more can a girl want from her guy?"

Turning his attention to the fox, Benjamin asked, "And Nick, you let Judy pet your tail?"

Nick shrugged as he flicked his ear. "It was a mutual decision." With a wave of his paw, he added, "I wanted to touch her tail and she wanted to touch mine. It was an easy decision to make."

Benjamin dropped his tail and pushed his paws into his cheeks again, even as he squealed lightly. "Oh, that's just so cu—I mean adorable!"

Judy rolled her eyes at Benjamin's near miss at calling her cute, even as Nick glanced at the clock. Knowing the cheetah couldn't be sitting around here all day while he was still on the clock, Nick said, "Look, Benji, I have to make a quick trip to the store. Can you stay here with Judy while I'm gone? It won't be long."

Benjamin's ears immediately drooped. "Oh, I don't know, Nick. I'm supposed to head back to the precinct now that Judy has the packet."

"Oh, come on, Benji," Judy said. "It won't take long and if Bogo wants to complain, tell him you were bunnysitting."

As Benjamin sat looking unsure, Nick sat Judy beside him on the couch and stood up. "I promise, Spots, I'll make it worth your while to stay." At the cheetah's still unsure look (though it was obvious the cheetah desperately wanted to stay), Nick picked up their date DVD off the table where Judy had left it this morning and said, "And it just so happens that I have here a video of our first date last night that I know Judy hasn't seen yet. I'm sure it'll fill up the time while I'm gone."

Benjamin reached out and grabbed the disc, even as he looked at the star-studded cover. With a squeal, he said, "Deal. I'll stay."

Judy laughed at Benjamin's ecstatic response even as Nick nodded to them both as he said, "I'll see you shortly."

Judy watched Nick leave, then turned to Benjamin as he moved to the DVD player, saying, "I was going to watch this with Nick this evening, but I guess we can watch it together. Nick did watch it last night when he made it, so I guess this works." With a grin as her friend pushed the disc into the player, she added, "And now I won't have to wait to see it."

Benjamin squealed in excitement as he hurriedly sat back down, even as Judy turned the tv on and pushed play on the DVD remote. Throughout the movie, the star-struck cheetah 'oohed' and 'aahed' while squealing every time he watched the unlikely duo kiss. (Judy was blushing while remembering how it felt to feel Nick's lips against hers.) It was just too precious, and Benjamin couldn't understand how anyone could say there was a divide between predator and prey when watching how naturally and completely in love these two were. Watching one of Gazelle's concerts was the only thing that could top this date video in Benjamin's books.

Nick didn't waste any time getting to the ice cream shop, but when the owner didn't want to sell to him for being a fox, Nick MuzzleTimed Judy and had her put Officer Clawhauser on the phone. Once the chubby cheetah knew that the bighorn sheep was standing between him and a decadent, icy treat, Officer Clawhauser threatened to send the Health Inspectors over within the hour if the bigoted sheep didn't sell the icy treat to the fox Right. That. Minute.

With a foxy smirk, Nick gave the now terrified bighorn sheep his money for the treat (at a discount, no less) and then bought two smaller treats for him and Judy. After loading them up into the jeep (Clawhauser's treat had to go in the back so it would fit as it was a large, 3-teired ice cream cake), Nick then returned to the house. He brought his and Judy's ice cream sundaes in, then went back for the ice cream cake.

Taking it into the kitchen, he returned to the living room to pick up Judy, then carried her to the breakfast bar and sat her down. Turning back to Clawhauser, he showed him the ice cream cake, telling the cheetah it was all for him, but when the chubby cheetah made a grab for it, Nick pulled it back just out of reach, saying, "You only get this if you promise to keep mine and Judy's relationship out of the precinct gossip. As far as anyone else is concerned, we're just friends. Got it?"

Benjamin didn't even need a second to consider it before immediately saying, "Right. Just friends. No one will hear anything otherwise from me." Reaching up and once again making the motion of zipping his mouth closed, locking it, and then throwing away the key, Benjamin looked expectantly at Nick, then at the icy, extremely decadent, sugary cake.

Nick grinned as he slid the cake back over to the large cheetah and handed him a large spoon.

Benjamin immediately dug in and hummed at the sweet, icy treat, feeling like he had died and gone straight to heaven.

Nick then grabbed his and Judy's sundaes (his was a blueberry sundae while Judy's was strawberry) and sat down beside her at the breakfast bar. As they both dug into their summer treats, Clawhauser looked over briefly and said, "You know, I wouldn't have said anything even if you didn't bribe me."

As a confused Nick and Judy looked up to meet his gaze, Clawhauser explained, "The chief threatened to drown all my donuts and Lucky Chomps in tabasco sauce if I breathed a word to anyone that you two might be more than friends." Digging out another large spoonful of ice cream from his cake, he added, "And then the Chief also pointed out how badly Judy was treated when she was here before, and Staggson showed how most of the officers felt about you, Nick, and I wouldn't want to give anyone more fuel for their specism."

Looking up with a huge spoonful of flavored ice cream, he grinned at Nick and Judy, saying, "Especially to the world's cut—I mean—most adorable couple." Then he promptly stuffed the spoonful in his big mouth, with his chubby jowls shaking as he rolled the ice cream around his tongue as he let it melt in his mouth before swallowing it down with a loud purr.

Nick's jaw dropped, and then he groaned, as the large, 3-tiered ice cream cake hadn't been cheap, even with a discount. Seeing Nick's expression Benjamin hurriedly said, "But I much prefer these icy bribes to the Chief's threats." Scooping up another huge spoonful, he shoveled it into his mouth and purred in ecstasy again.

With a snort, Nick murmured, "I'll keep that in mind."

The large cheetah grinned, then hastily said, "Oh, but if you want to really bribe me—you can just invite me over about once a week and let me ogle all your date photos and videos." Squeezing his paws into fists of happiness and holding them up to his chest, his spoon held tightly in one paw, Benjamin gave a tiny squeal and said, "Oh, that would be the best bribe ever! You two make the sweetest eye-candy I've ever seen!"

Putting his paw out across the black granite countertop, Benji said, "Oh, and I can bring the sweets next time." At Judy and Nick's raised eyebrow and glance at each other, the cheetah explained, "My mom's marbled brownie recipe is delicious, and I also know how to bake several different kinds of cookies: ranger cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies." Pointing to Nick, and then Judy, he added, "Just tell me which kind you want to try, and I'll bake them up and bring them over."

"Wow, Benji," Judy said, "That's really sweet of you. We'd love to have you over," turning to her boyfriend, Judy continued, "wouldn't we, Nick?" At Nick's enthusiastic nod, Judy turned back to her friend and said, "We can even make you a photo album of our dates." Benjamin's eyes got large again and Judy pointed his spoon at him, saying, "And then, if you're a good little cheetah, once Nick graduates the academy then we'll present it to you. How does that sound?"

"Would you? Really?" Benjamin asked as he reached over and took Judy's paw. "That would be the greatest gift anyone has ever given me." Putting his other paw up to his cheek, Benji added, "Oh, that would be too wonderful." Holding one paw over his heart (the spoon still held tightly in his fingers) and the other out to his favorite couple, he said, "And I promise, no one will learn of your relationship from me. Nope. I won't say a word."

Judy giggled as Benjamin's cute expression, but it was Nick who spoke up. "After I graduate, we'll probably hold off telling anyone in the department about us right away. We'll let everyone get used to the idea of having a fox officer before revealing that we're a couple."

"Of course, I totally understand," Benjamin said. "After the horrible way Staggson treated you, I would want to wait, too. Let the others see your worth before giving them any fuel for their small minded thinking."

Nick nodded, then said, "But if you help us keep up the pretense and steer conversation away from us—or anyone they might think Fluff here would look cute with—"

"What do you mean?" Judy interrupted. Who in the department would others think she would look cute with? She was the only rabbit on the force, after all.

Benjamin nodded as he, too, was curious. With his small, round ears pointed forward, Benjamin took a large spoonful of ice cream and stuffed it in his mouth as he waited for the fox's explanation.

Glancing at Judy, Nick replied, "Carrots, once the city knows you were the one who discovered the real cause of the savage attacks and brought Bellwether in, I'm sure a few rabbit bucks are going to join the ZPD so they can follow you." Holding up his paw to forestall Judy's comment, he explained, "I don't see another rabbit joining as a cop, but there are a lot of positions that don't require the academy training to fill—you got the tech department, administration department, the janitorial department."

Judy's ears dropped realizing Nick was right. There were still a lot of positions in the police department that didn't require any real training. As long as they had the proper college degree and could show they were qualified for the position, it wouldn't take much for a rabbit to be hired. And a lot of the positions most rabbits would be qualified for wouldn't require them to interact with the Chief, who looked down on small mammals wearing a badge.

"Nick's right," Benjamin said. "I don't think you met him yet, but there's a hare working in the PR department right now. I think he's one of the secretaries or something." Shaking his paw out as his long, spotted tail swished behind him, Benji said, "Anyway, he's an older buck, close to retiring I think, so you shouldn't be bothered by him. But like Nick said, once you do the press conference next week, we might get an influx of rabbits joining these low-key positions."

Judy nodded as her ears drooped. She wasn't looking forward to being harassed at work by a bunch of over-enthusiastic bucks who didn't know how to take 'no' for an answer.

"Right," Nick said as he reached over and caressed Judy's cheek. After seeing her smile return, Nick turned back to Benjamin and said, "So, this is where you come in, Benji." Spreading his paw out in the air as he spoke, Nick said, "Should any bucks join the department or start hanging around the station in hopes of catching Judy's eye, you need to make yourself annoyingly persistent in interrupting any conversation they might strike up with Carrots."

Pointing his finger at the spotted cheetah across from him, Nick explained, "And if any of the other officers start talking about what a cute couple they would make for no other reason than they're both rabbits, then you need to remind them that Judy would never be interested in a boring buck who couldn't hack it on the beat with her." Glancing at his stunning girlfriend, Nick added, "Fluff here, needs an adrenaline junky like herself or she'll never be satisfied with them."

Judy's eyebrows creased as she jabbed Nick in the shoulder and said, "Nick, I am not an adrenaline junky."

"You're not?" Nick asked. Leaning in closer, a knowing, teasing smile spread across his face as he said, "Are you sure about that, Carrots?"

"Of course," she replied with a huff as she crossed her arms.

Nick smirked as he said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you or did you not face off against a mob boss and his polar bear thugs, go toe-to-toe with a savage jaguar, swing us onto some rain-soaked vines, sneak past a pack of gun toting wolves, and then flush us down a giant toilet and over an immense waterfall three months ago?" As Judy's ears drooped, he continued, " And then three days ago, you stole a subway train that was the secret lab of some extremely dangerous mammals, had to fight said mammals, then crashed the train before going head-to-head with a psychotic ewe and her giant bodyguards who were all hell-bent on destroying the whole city." Spreading his paws out wide, Nick added, "If that's not an adrenaline junky, then I don't know what is."

Judy raised her finger to answer, but then stalled. "That . . . I mean I . . ." Dropping her paw as her gaze drooped to the sparkly, black marble countertop and her half-eaten bowl of ice cream, Judy murmured, "Yeah, okay, you might be right, Slick. The fact that you could hack it with me while I dragged you all over the city definitely caught and held my interest."

Holding his paws out in a 'See. What did I tell you?' expression, Nick grinned at Judy, then turned back to Benji. "So, if anyone wants to start rumors about Judy dating some worthless buck, just remind the officer that Judy will never be interested in anyone who wants to hide behind his desk and stack of paperwork. Judy is a doer and a trier and needs a doer and a tryer to catch her eye."

Benjamin had been sitting and eating his ice cream while watching the two interact, and it just reaffirmed the idea that they were the cutest couple ever. For as short a time as Nick had known Judy, it was obvious the fox understood her extremely well. And for Judy, knowing Nick could keep up with her on a case (and thus keep her safe) was definitely important in forming the trust they had in each other. Nodding his head, Benjamin answered Nick's comment, saying, "You can count on me, Nick. I'll squash any rumor I hear about Judy dating any buck that might show up. I'll also interrupt any conversation they have and make sure they can't make any weekend plans with her once you enter the academy."

Nick grinned as he reached over and shook Benjamin's paw. Judy watched their little male-bonding ritual, then laughed. "I should probably be mad that you two are trying to interfere with my life, but I've met all too many bucks who don't want to take 'no' for an answer when it comes to dating." Holding her paw up, Judy continued, saying, "That's not to say all bucks are like that, but there're quite a few rotten ones out there who will be annoyingly persistent in their attentions to a doe they think should be dating them. And with me being a cop, there will be quite a few of them seeking me out to make themselves look and feel bigger for dating the first rabbit officer." With a cheerful grin, she added, "So I'll have to thank you both in advance for saving me from such irritation and annoyance."

Both Nick and Benjamin grinned widely at Judy's acceptance of their pact, and then they decided they better finish off their ice cream before it melted.

With her tail twitching in happiness knowing there was someone at the precinct who not only supported her and Nick's relationship, but who could also help ward off unwanted attention from persistent bucks, Judy dug into her strawberry sundae with gusto. "This is really good, Nick. Thanks."

With a winning smile, Nick replied, "Anytime, Fluff." Taking a bite of his own icy treat, Nick looked at his enthusiastic girlfriend and then over at his second favorite officer at the ZPD. They all ate in silence for a moment, and then he asked, "So, what did you think of the date video?"

Before Judy could say a word, Benjamin began gushing about how awesome the video was, and what such an adorable couple they made. The only thing that would have made the video better in the cheetah's eyes, was if the Angel with Horns, Gazelle, had been playing in the background.

Nick rolled his eyes, even as Judy giggled again. How could he sing to Judy while they danced if Gazelle was playing in the background? But knowing the cheetah was a Gazelle fanatic could come in handy someday. You never know.

Judy then told Nick how much she enjoyed the video and wanted to watch it with him later. They discussed tonight's date briefly, which had Clawhauser gushing to be told all about it tomorrow and to see pictures. They had to take pictures if not a video. Nick and Judy both agreed to show him pictures of their date, and then Benjamin told them about some of the precinct gossip (the little he'd heard after being banished to the sweltering Records room!). Delgato's wife, Nala, was due to have a large litter of cubs—seven!—any day now. And Steven Fangmyer's cousin Stephanie was just transferred over from Tundratown to take Staggson's place, though Benjamin hadn't heard who she had been partnered with yet.

As Nick and Judy finished their small bowls of ice cream, they looked up to see Benjamin finishing off his large, three-tiered ice cream cake. They couldn't believe it! In the time it had taken them to eat a bowlful of ice cream apiece, the chubby cheetah had finished off the huge, frozen cake, even as he complained about not having enough time to fully enjoy such a rare and delectable treat. Seeing the time on the microwave clock, Benjamin's blissful smile was wiped from his face as Bogo's angry face flashed before his eyes as he had stayed much later than he had intended.

Scrambling off his stool, Benjamin said thanks again for the video and ice cream cake, promised to see them soon, and then he was out the door. As Benjamin's cruiser pulled out of the driveway, Nick and Judy glanced at each other, then broke out laughing. "I have to admit," Nick said, "Benjamin is a force of nature in his own way."

With a giggle, Judy added, "Isn't he?" With a smile, she said, "But at least we have someone at the precinct who's in our corner and has our backs."

With a nod, Nick grabbed their empty plastic sundae dishes and tossed them in the trash, then picked up Judy and carried her back to the couch, where he proceeded to tell Judy about his mom's visit tomorrow evening, and hence the need to have the yard de-weeded and the house painted. It would also improve her dad's outlook of him if the place looked nice.

Judy agreed about needing to get the place looking nice but felt nervous about meeting Vivian. The thought of meeting her soon-to-be mother-in-law on such short notice had Judy's stomach twisting in knots. Nick assured her that his mother was going to love her. Vivian was open minded to the idea of them dating and wanted to meet her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. This relieved Judy's mind, but in telling her about his mom's up and coming visit, it reminded Nick that their fox-marriage registration papers were still sitting outside in the jeep's front seat.

Nick hurriedly ran outside to get them, and upon returning to Judy's side, he pawed the papers over to her, explaining, "We just need to fill these out, leaving the dates and signature at the back empty, then when we perform the fox marriage, we just have to sign and date them and we're legally married. The papers will need to be filed within three days or we have to start the process over again, but we will be legally married."

Meeting Judy's excited gaze, he added, "Normally, the marriage license will arrive in the mail about 2 weeks after filing our marriage papers, but since Daphyd is going to be performing our official wedding, he'll bring the license with him, so we won't have to wait. And he'll file our marriage papers himself, so we won't have to worry about any gossipy clerk realizing that a fox and rabbit just got married and deciding to sell the information to the media."

Judy nodded, even as her gaze dropped to the papers in her paw. Gripping them tightly as her upcoming wedding suddenly felt real, she said, "Um, do we have to wait for the engagement ring? I know I said I wanted one, and I still do, but they're more of a bragging right, as well as a way to ward off unwanted bucks while the wedding is being planned. But since we won't have to worry about unwanted bucks until I go back to work, we have time to get the ring later," looking up to meet his stunning emerald gaze, Judy added, "right?"

Nick's expression softened, and he lifted a paw to caress her cheek, then slipped his fingers below and behind her ear. Judy closed her eyes and leaned into the soft caress, even as she rubbed her cheek against his paw-pad. Nick moved his thumb to caress her lips and she immediately opened her eyes and met his deep, emerald gaze. Leaning down, he lightly pressed his lips to hers in a soft, tender kiss, then pulled back to once more meet her determined gaze. "Carrots, my love, as much as I would love to fill these papers out right now—and I would recommend filling them out now—signing and dating them, then packing you up to my room before smothering you in my scent and making sweet love to you . . ."

Judy's breath caught as she thought of drowning in his scent as they finished what they started the day before. With her breath coming in short breaths as her nose twitched, she waited for Nick to finish his statement, even as she knew it wasn't going to be what she wanted to hear. There was a 'but' coming, she just knew it.

Taking a deep breath as he ran his thumb across her lips again, Nick took the papers from her paws, then continued, "Fluff, you're meeting my mom tomorrow evening, and I'm meeting your parents Sunday morning. Shouldn't we at least meet the parents before getting married?"

Judy groaned as she knew he was right—again. "You know I hate it when you're right."

Nick simply laughed as he waved his paw holding the marriage papers through the air, even as he tapped his chest with the other paw, saying, "What can I say? It's one of my best qualities."

With a huff, Judy slugged him in the chest, saying, "One of your best qualities my foot. One of your most annoying qualities is more like it."

With another chuckle, Nick shrugged as his tail flicked happily beside him, saying, "Best quality? Most annoying quality? Aren't they the same thing?"

Judy smacked him in the chest again, then opened her mouth to give another retort, but Nick attacked first. Dipping his head down, he captured her open mouth with his own and gave her a very thorough, heated kiss. Judy groaned into his mouth, even as the teasing retort died in her mouth. Slipping one paw around the back of his neck to pull him deeper into the kiss, she slipped her other paw up his shirt to run her fingers through his chest and stomach fur, even as she pulled him down onto the couch with her.

Nick had enough presence of mind to drop the marriage papers on the coffee table, then slipped his paws behind her back as he pulled her closer to him. They kissed for several minutes before Nick finally pulled back for some air. With a heavy breath, he said, "Come on, lets fill out these marriage papers so I can put them away in my nightstand drawer so they're safe and secure until we need them."

Judy nodded, but didn't immediately release her hold on him. Taking a deep breath as a serious expression crossed her face, she then asked, "Do we have to wait for you to ask me to marry you, then?" At Nick's upraised eyebrow, Judy explained, "I know foxes get engaged the day of the ceremony, but we bunnies like to show off our fiancés, and as close as we are to getting married, saying your just my boyfriend doesn't fully convey how strongly I feel about you. For us bunnies, boyfriends tend to be transitory—it's only when we get engaged and we become fiancés that we feel a permanence to the relationship."

Nick studied her a moment longer, then said, "Well, seeing as we're doing a little bit from both a fox and bunny courtship, I guess we don't have to wait to get engaged." As a wide, triumphant smile spread across Judy's face, Nick sat up, then reached over to help Judy sit up. As she looked at him expectantly, Nick had to chuckle at her insanely cute appearance. As her expression started to change at his chuckle, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Pulling back, he said, "You have no idea how cute you get sometimes."

"Nick," Judy warned. She wasn't in the mood for his teasing and simply wanted to be officially engaged. Their marriage was literally around the corner—her parents were coming in 2 days—and Nick wouldn't have any excuse once he met them, so still calling him her boyfriend (even if they'd only been dating a day and a half—wow—it felt like so much longer!) seemed silly. She had waited her whole life to meet him, and after all their near-death experiences in the last three months, she just wanted to be married to him. She could just feel time ticking on as they continued getting older with every passing second.

Nick chuckled again, then said, "You know I'm not thinking of you in a cutesy, stuffed toy kind of way. I haven't thought of you like that since we found Otterton's wallet in Big's limo."

"Really?" Judy asked, surprised, as Nick didn't seem like he took her seriously until she saved him from Manchas.

Nick nodded. "It was then I realized you weren't a dumb bunny and that you actually did make a pretty good cop." Judy tilted her head, confused, but as she opened her mouth to question him about it, Nick placed a finger over her lips and said softly, "Never let them see that they get to you, right, Carrots?" Judy nodded and Nick removed his finger. "Now," he started, "this isn't what we were talking about, is it?"

Judy's ears perked up as she immediately thought of their (hopefully) impending engagement.

"Okay," Nick started, "I'm willing to compromise on getting engaged early, but I absolutely insist on a ring." Judy's ears drooped, even as Nick said, "I insist on this tradition."

Judy opened her mouth to speak, but Nick held up a finger to forestall anything she would say. "Eh, I'm not fudging on this." At Judy's cute, pouty face, Nick reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Taking a dollar bill from it, he then put his wallet back in his pocket and turned towards the coffee table. Taking the dollar, he leaned forward over the table and began folding it this way and that as Judy leaned forward to watch his nimble fingers. It wasn't long before the shape of a ring began to take place. Once finished, Nick held up the heart-shaped ring made from the dollar bill and said, "If anyone asks, you can tell them your engagement ring is a rare green diamond ring."

Judy giggled even as she presented her paw to her heartthrob of a fox. Nick grinned, then sat back and straightened out his shirt where Judy had messed it up while running her fingers through his chest fur. Taking her paw, he knelt on the floor, then paused as he tilted his head. "What's your full name?"

Judy's ear twitched and she bit her lower lip, then answered, "Judith Laverne Hopps."

Tilting his head a little further as he whispered her name, "Judith Laverne Hopps." Nick rolled her full name around on his tongue a moment, then smiled softly. "Laverne reminds me of lavender, which just so happens to be a very lovely, purple flower with a very soothing scent." Leaning forward, he booped her nose and said, "A soothing scent that reminds me a lot of you."

Judy gave him a shy smile as she had been teased a lot as a kit whenever her middle name was used, as there were several kits who claimed Laverne was a buck's name. But the way Nick pronounced her middle name made it sound beautiful.

Looking back down at Judy's small, grey paw in his, Nick rubbed his large, ruddy thumb across the back of her paw while studying the difference between her silvery grey fur against his dark chocolate fur, then looked up and met her beautiful, amethyst eyes which were shimmering with love. With a warm smile, he said, "Judith Laverne Hopps, I love you more than life itself. Will you marry me and make me the happiest fox in the world?"

Judy laughed as her eyes began to water, then she exclaimed, "Yes! A hundred times, yes!"

Nick laughed with her as he slipped the diamond dollar ring on her middle finger. Then he kissed her. And kissed her again as he reached down and gripped her hips before picking her up, then he spun around and sat as he dropped her on his lap. Kissing her again, he wrapped his tail around her back and across her lightly twitching cotton ball she called a tail.

As Judy straddled Nick's thighs, she slipped her paws around his neck and held him tight as she couldn't believe she was actually engaged. As their tongues danced together, Judy considered that just a week ago, if someone were to tell her that she'd be getting engaged a few short days after returning to Zootopia, she would have laughed in their face, then suggested they see a shrink. But now, she was engaged to this wonderful, sly fox who'd stolen her heart without even trying—and she couldn't be any happier (barring actually being married to the sly todd).

As they finally broke from the kiss, Judy whispered, "I love you, Nick." Glancing at the heart-shaped ring on her finger, she added, "The ring is lovely, too."

Nick chuckled. "I'm glad you like it, since it did cost me a whole dollar to make."

Judy giggled, then kissed him lightly before snuggling into his chest while admiring her green 'diamond' ring. "What now?" she asked with a smile in her voice, even as Nick began petting her ears. She was feeling incredibly happy right now, as she had never seriously considered her life outside her career of being a police officer. Not only had she been turned off by the various bucks who cared little, if anything, for her dreams, but the more her parents pushed her to settle and start popping out kits, the more she dug in her heels and had pretty much sworn off marriage all together. Until she met Nick, she had seriously considered the possibility that she would become an old spinster, married to her career. But now—she was engaged!

As Nick continued running one paw down her ears while running the claws of his other paw down her back, he broke through her engagement bliss by saying, "For starters, we're going to fill out those marriage papers because I seriously do not want to waste time filling them out the day of. Second, I'm going to run them up to my room and put them in my nightstand. Third, we're going to fill out that incident report we're late on, and fourth, we're going to prepare for our date tonight." Grinning as Judy shivered under his light touch, he added, "I was thinking of pasta salad for the main course, with a side of fruit salad and cheesy broccoli and carrots. What do you think?"

Judy hummed in agreement, saying, "That's sounds wonderful to me." Still admiring her ring (although Nick had only spent a dollar to make it, it was unique enough to brag about until he put the real one on her finger), Judy then asked, "What is Judge Princeton like?" If the esteemed elk was going to marry them, she wanted to know more about him.

Grinning, Nick explained, "He's a real austere, no-nonsense kind of judge, but once he takes off his judge's robes, he's really fun to be around." Judy nodded while still staring at her ring, and Nick added, "You'll get to meet him tomorrow." At Judy's sudden look up in surprise, he explained, "Daphyd wanted to meet you before marrying us, so he invited us over for dinner tomorrow evening."

Judy sat stunned for several moments before she finally nodded, saying, "Okay." First his mom was coming, and now she had to meet the judge, too! Couldn't Nick have warned her first before making all these arrangements?! She needed time to mentally prepare for these kinds of meetings! Realizing she was supposed to be meeting both his mom and the judge tomorrow evening, she sat up straighter, saying, "Wait. Isn't your mom coming in on the train tomorrow evening? How can we meet with the judge at the same time?"

Nick slapped a paw over his face and groaned. "Right. I had just finished making the appointment with Daphyd when my mom called. While we were talking, I didn't even think about our dinner with Daphyd and his wife." Dropping his paw and giving Judy an appreciative look for pointing out his mistake, he hurriedly pulled out his phone, saying, "Daphyd is probably still in court, so I'll just text him about the mix-up and see if we can go over there Sunday night. The parents will be gone by then, so it should be fine."

Judy watched him type his message, then said, "Do you honestly think your mom is going to be content spending one night here when she hasn't seen you in almost two years?" At Nick's deer-trapped-in-the-headlight look, she continued, "I don't know about your mom, but my parents?" Shaking her head, she said, "If I hadn't seen them in that long—and had worried them sick the last three months—then you can bet they'd be staying at least a week at the first chance they had to come down and see me."

Nick's ears flattened against his head, then he heaved a heavy sigh. "You're right—again." With a cheeky grin, he poked her pink nose and said, "See, I let you be right some of the time."

"You let me?" Judy laughed. Sliding her paws around his neck again, she giggled and asked, "Should I show you my gratitude for such benevolence, oh mighty king?"

Nick shook his head, stating, "Demon Prince, remember?" Running his fingers through her tail, he added, "And yes, showing gratitude towards your devilishly-handsome Demon Prince is a requirement of any captive Fairy Princess."

Judy laughed again as she raised up on her knees and lightly rubbed her nose against Nick's. "I thank, thee, oh powerful and handsome Demon Prince, for allowing me to be right some of the time."

"You better believe it," Nick murmured against her lips, even as Judy laughed again. Then he captured her mouth, even as he began combing her tail with his claws as he slipped his other paw up her shirt and began running his fingers through the fur of her lower back and grazing her skin with his claws.

Judy moaned into the slow, sensual kiss even as his paws set butterflies loose in her stomach. Raking her fingers through the fur below and behind his ears, even as she pressed her stomach against his, she was gratified to hear his own low growl of pleasure. Mmmm, she moaned. She couldn't believe she was now engaged to this criminally talented fox who held her heart in his highly talented paws. And his claws! Claws should not feel this good!

Feeling her self-control began to slip as her hormone levels began to climb, Judy pulled back from the kiss. With her and Nick both panting slightly as they tried to bring their low oxygen levels back up, Judy lightly rubbed her nose against his. Smiling into Nick's dark green eyes, Judy said, "Come, on Slick, we have some marriage papers to fill out and a picnic dinner to prepare."


WingedKatt again. I hope you enjoyed this double-feature chapter. I almost split it up because it's so long, but I wanted you to read the second half, so here it is. If anyone is interested in seeing how Nick made Judy's ring, just go to YouTube and type in 'ring made from a dollar bill' and you'll get a bunch of videos showing how to make several different rings from a dollar bill.

Next chapter, we'll see the first part of Nick and Judy's second date. The chapter is called, 'Second Date: Air Tour' and will post in two weeks.

I hope you have a great weekend. If you have any thoughts or comments, let me know.