(A/N I promise I haven't abandoned this story it just took me forever to finish this chapter. Sorry for the wait! Also pls excuse the poor execution my writing is really off right now but I don't feel like redoing the whole thing, so just bare with me)
Upon arriving at the bar, the bunny and fox were quite pleased by the ambience. They heard great things about it before, but they didn't assume it would hold up to its expectations. It was very inclusive, so it had areas for mammals of different sizes (it even had a mini bar for small rodents). It was the ideal place for all the officers to spend time together.
Judy and Nick made their way inside and were almost immediately greeted by their co-workers sitting at a large round table together. Benjamin Clawhauser—one of their closest acquaintances—enthusiastically waved them over. They walked to the group and hopped up in one of the chairs, sitting in it together since it was big enough to hold them both.
"About time you two got here." Francine said, "Hope you don't mind we started without you."
The pair noticed the others already having their drinks, but it didn't bother them. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Judy said dismissively.
"You got here just in time, though." Wolfard said, then nudged the cheetah sitting next to him, "We were about to place bets on if Clawhauser here can pick up a girl."
Clawhauser appeared embarrassed, but he tried to hide it with a confident look. Although the redness in his face told the group otherwise. "These guys think I can't do it, but I say I can get any girl in this bar in less than ten minutes." He turned to the two smaller officers, "What do you think?"
Nick laughed, reaching into his pocket to grab his wallet. "Oh, I'm so getting in on this." He said, "How much are we talking?"
"15 bucks he can, 50 he leaves this bar vomiting in shame." Snarlov said, which made the others snicker while Clawhauser gave him a scowl.
"Hmm," Nick thought for a moment, "I'm gonna go with vomit." He said, placing some cash on the table with the rest of it.
Judy rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You guys are so mean." She turned to the cheetah with a gentle smile, "Clawhauser, you are a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have you."
Clawhauser smiled, touched by her assurance. At least someone thought he was dating material. Her words seemed to ease his insecurities, but it didn't last long.
"Would you date him?" Nick asked, raising a brow.
Judy's eyes widened, as she didn't anticipate that kind of question. She couldn't say no after what she just told him, but she also didn't want to lie and make things weird among the group. Instead she awkwardly looked away, searching for something else to talk about. "Uhh, hey look! A disco ball.."
The cheetah sighed, choosing to ignore her response. "Anyway, you'll all be paying up by the end of the night." He said, standing up from his seat while taking one last slug of his drink. "I'm gonna go find the hottest girl here, a-and I'm gonna give her a good time!"
He then stormed away toward the crowd of mammals dancing in the main room, while the rest of the officers just watched in complete doubt.
"Well, while he's busy failing at that, I think I'm gonna go get us some drinks." Nick said, specifically to his partner. "You want anything?"
Judy scoffed, recalling their previous conversation at the apartment complex. "Oh, but I thought you didn't wanna pay for my drinks." She said knowingly, shooting him a little sneer.
Nick gave her a look, "You want something or not?"
"Yes, I'll have a martini, please." She said, switching her expression to an actual grin to sound more polite.
"Coming right up." He said before jumping down from the chair to walk to the bar. Once he was gone, Judy dropped her smile and turned to the group with an exaggerated look of annoyance. It was clear to the rest of them that the pair was once again having one of their "moments". Most often they were finishing each other's sentences and reading one another's mind. But occasionally they had small periods when they'd bicker over the littlest of things. Even though it wasn't actual arguments, it still irritated the hell out of them.
Francine sighed with sympathy, "I know how it feels, Hopps. My boyfriend drives me nuts sometimes, too."
Judy chuckled, "Well, he's not my boyfriend."
Some of the officers seemed shocked by that bit of information, while the rest remained unfazed. The two were pretty popular at the ZPD, being the only cops of their species, so the others would often make assumptions about them and their personal lives. One big rumor had gone around that they were going out with each other, but many of the officers knew it was untrue (much to their disappointment).
"Are you sure?" Francine asked, making the bunny laugh. "I mean, you sure fight like an old married couple."
"Yeah, you guys are closer than close." Rhinowitz chimed in, "Besides, have you seen the way Wilde looks at you?"
Judy's laughter ceased almost instantly, her face going blank. "What? What are you talking about?" She asked, both intrigued and nervous. What could he possibly mean by that? Nick looked at her the same as he looked at anyone else...right?
"Isn't it obvious?" Wolfard asked, "He's definitely got the hots for you."
"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't noticed." Francine said in amusement.
Judy's ears lowered as she took a glance in her partner's direction, now beginning to wonder if what she was being told was even remotely true. There was no way Nick actually thought of her like that. He was her best friend. Nothing more, nothing less. If he did have feelings for her, he would've said so by now. At least she hoped he would, since they didn't keep secrets from each other.
But what if it was true? What if he really did feel that way but was too afraid to tell her? She could understand that. Maybe he didn't want to jeopardize their friendship. But then again, this was Nick Wilde she was thinking of; he didn't overthink things like this.
She shook away the thought and turned back to the group, "Okay, can we get back to talking about Clawhauser's love life instead of mine?"
The others shrugged just as Nick returned with the drinks. He placed them on the table before sitting next to his partner—who tried to leave some space between them. "Here ya go." He said, scooting the martini in front of her.
"Thank you." She said, taking the glass to hold it. She briefly looked at the fox, the thoughts from before still sitting in the back of her mind. Maybe she could find out if it was true. She'd just have to be more attentive from now on.
"So, what'd I miss?" Nick asked, leaning back in the chair while popping open his bottle of beer.
Judy shot the others a look as a way of begging them not to actually tell him what they were talking about. They caught on to what she was trying to say, and all silently agreed to comply. "Nothing much." Rhinowitz said, "We were actually just about to place some more bets if you're interested."
Nick immediately sat up, intrigued by the offer. In his younger days he was quite the gambler, so anytime bets were placed, he was all in. "Sure, what kind of bets?"
"Well, since Clawhauser's getting to look around for someone to pick up, we thought we could make things a little more interesting." Francine smirked.
While the rest of them started making wagers, Judy just sighed and watched them completely uninterested. She could tell it was going to be a weird night.
—
The next two hours were nothing but wagers, drinking games, and occasional bad dancing to the techno music in the background. Judy and Nick spent half of the time sitting in the lounge for mammals closer to their size, having a few drinks and watching as her co-workers embarrassed themselves by stumbling around or laughing obnoxiously loud. It was a good thing their chief didn't know about this outing.
Judy had tried to be more observant of Nick's behavior toward her, but he wasn't acting much different than what she was used to. He played the games and made conversation with random mammals at the bar. Judy was beginning to think the others just said what they said to mess with her. Then again, since Nick was at a social event, he wasn't as focused on her as he would be if it were just the two of them.
As for Clawhauser, he wasn't doing so well. Every time he attempted to talk to a woman, he would freeze up or say something stupid, and he was rejected almost immediately. He avoided talking to Wolfard and the others for now, since he didn't want to give up just yet. But it was proving to be harder than he thought. He decided to take a quick break and talk to the only two mammals he felt comfortable discussing topics like this with.
He lazily made his way into the smaller lounge and sat on the floor next to the loveseat Judy and Nick were sitting in. His presence was noticed right away, mostly because he stood out in the area meant for medium-sized animals. "Oh, hey Clawhauser." Judy said, confused as to why he was on this side of the bar.
The cheetah just sighed in response. The two looked at each other, having an idea as to what was wrong. But still, it was better to ask than just assume. "Uh, everything alright there, bud?" Nick asked.
"Not really." He answered, shifting to face the two of them. "Every conversation I have with a girl ends in disaster." He said defeatedly, "Maybe I should just go home."
Judy frowned, "No, come on, this is your night off. You should be having fun!"
"Yeah, forget the bet. You don't need to hookup with someone to have a good time." Nick said.
"It's not about the bet. It's about me." He said sadly, bowing his head. "I mean, I've been looking for a girlfriend for years now and it just hasn't happened. I don't think I'll ever find the one for me."
"Oh, don't say that." Nick shook his head, "Nobody ever finds 'the one' that easily, especially not if you force it." Clawhauser lifted his gaze as the fox stood up to stand next to him, placing a paw on his shoulder. "Look, sometimes things happen unexpectedly and it's not exactly what you wanted. But it can turn out to be what you needed. You get what I mean?"
Judy briefly narrowed her eyes as she thought about his words. Was he talking about her and how they met? Or was it just some vague advice that anyone could give to someone down in the dumps? Well, either way she was touched that he was being sincere with their work friend instead of teasing him like he usually did.
Clawhauser nodded, a small smile replacing the sadness on his face. "Yeah, I get it. Thanks, Wilde."
"Anytime." Nick patted his back, "Anyway, I'll be right back."
As he walked away, Clawhauser let out a heavy exhale and stretched his arms a bit. He was up way later than usual, but the night was still young and now that he had a good talk with his friends, he was feeling much better and had no intentions of going home yet. "That was nice of him." He said, almost surprised that it was Nick that cheered him up.
Judy scooted to sit on the edge of the cushion, grabbing her drink to take a couple sips. "Well, he has a point. You'll find someone when the time is right."
Clawhauser nodded, "Thanks. I hope so. Honestly, I'd just like to have what you and Wilde have."
Judy rolled her eyes, feeling a bit of dread now that this subject was being brought up again. She was confused enough already, why did everyone have to keep reminding her? She set her drink down and threw her arms up in frustration, "For the millionth time, we are just friends! Why does everyone keep saying we're a couple?"
"Uhh, I didn't say you were." Clawhauser responded, taken aback by her strange outburst.
The bunny's face dropped instantly. Technically no, he didn't say that they were a couple, he just said he wanted what she had with Nick; a close friendship. She cleared her throat and fixed her posture, attempting to recover from her embarrassment. "Right, right. I knew that."
Clawhauser gave her a look before standing up, nearly stumbling as he did. "Uh-huh. I'm gonna go get another drink." He said, awkwardly backing away. "Um, you want one?"
"Please." She said with a hint of dread. The cheetah gave her a thumbs-up before walking back to the space for big mammals. She sighed and rested her face against her paw, finishing off the last of her drink. Normally she wouldn't be having this much (honestly, she'd had enough already), but with the puzzling emotions she was feeling towards her friend, she needed the distraction.
Why was this bothering her so much? From what she saw so far, Nick only thought of her as a friend. But if he really did have feelings for her, what could she do? She wasn't sure how she felt anymore. It hurt her head to even think about...or maybe that was just the gin. Either way she didn't want to dwell on it any longer.
She wasn't given much time to be left alone with her thoughts. As she set her glass down, she noticed a figure walking to her. At first she thought it was Nick, but upon lifting her head, she saw it was a raccoon that she'd never seen before in her life. But he was making his way toward her with certainty, like she wasn't a complete stranger.
He leaned his paw against the armrest of the loveseat, his face donning a confident smirk. "Hey there, pretty lady. Can I buy you a drink?"
Just hearing him say a few words told Judy everything she needed to know. She already knew where this was going and she wanted no part of it. But she also didn't want to be rude, just in case. "Uh, no thank you." She politely declined, avoiding eye contact so he would get the hint.
But clearly, he didn't. Instead he kept trying to make conversation with her. "Say, what's a little bunny like you doing at a bar by herself anyway, hm?"
"I'm not. I'm here with my friends." She said, anxiously fidgeting with her fingers, trying to think of an excuse to leave.
The raccoon raised a brow, as though he didn't believe her. "Mm-hmm. You know, if you want you can come spend your time with me and my buds." He offered, slowly inching his paw closer in her direction.
Judy shook her head almost immediately. "Oh, no. That's okay."
"Are ya sure?" He asked, tilting his head. "Because we've had lots of girls join us before and lemme tell you, they were pretty satisfied by the end of the night."
Judy grimaced in disgust. She didn't need to ask what he meant by that, she could easily figure it out herself. She subtly tried to scoot away from him to make it more obvious that she wasn't interested. "Well, I'm not that kind of girl."
However, raccoon took advantage of her movements and sat down next to her, leaving hardly any space between them. "Well, maybe you are and you just don't know it yet." He said, his paws roaming up to her shoulders. "Come on, cottontail.."
Her eyes widened when he made the bold move to touch her. Not only that, but the fact that he was trying to lean closer to her as he spoke. Judging by his breath, she sensed he was being influenced by marijuana.
"Seriously, just leave me alone, please." She said, pushing his paws off of her shoulders.
"Aw, don't be like that." The raccoon pouted. This time he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him to prevent her from getting away. "Just try it, you'll see."
Judy once again tried to pry his paws off, but now he seemed to have a stronger grip and refused to let go. "Stop it!" She demanded, "I said no, okay?"
"Come on," He sneered, practically squeezing the poor rabbit while leaning in. "It's not gonna hurt."
Judy cringed and turned away, wanting to avoid whatever he was going to do. She squirmed and struggled, and it was getting to a point where she was growing angry and would have to get violent. She didn't want to, but she didn't have much of a choice.
Before she could do anything, she was suddenly released from his grasp as he was pulled away. She gasped, seeing none other than Nick yanking the raccoon by his shirt. She was both surprised and relieved, but also shocked by how furious her partner looked.
Nick firmly held the raccoon's arms behind his back, preventing him from moving away. "Alright pervert, you probably didn't hear her over the sound of your dick getting hard, but she said no."
"Wh— geez, who is this? Your boyfriend?" The raccoon asked Judy, trying to break free from the position he was in. But it was useless. Nick was ten times stronger when he was angry.
"Well—" Judy was about to answer, but the fox was quick to speak up first.
"Yes, I am. And from now on, you're going to talk to me, not her. Got it?"
The raccoon nodded nervously. Nick tightened his grip even more, ensuring there would be no escape. "So here's what's gonna happen. You're going to walk out of here with all your bones still in tact, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened. But if you ever put your fucking paws on her again, I will have your ass thrown in jail before you can smoke your next hit."
"And uh, how exactly are you gonna do that?" He asked, confused.
Nick chuckled, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I forget to mention?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his badge, "I'm an officer."
The raccoon's mouth dropped, his eyes going wide.
"Now, say you're sorry." He said, putting his badge away.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry!" The raccoon said defensively, squirming once again.
Nick rolled his eyes. "Not to me."
The raccoon turned to Judy—who was too shocked to even do anything—and abruptly apologized. It wasn't genuine, obviously, but it was frantic and desperate. He clearly didn't want to get involved with the police. Maybe now he would think twice before bothering a stranger at a bar.
"Good. Now, get the hell out of here before I change my mind." Nick said coldly, finally releasing him. The second he was free, the raccoon bolted toward the doors and never looked back.
Both Judy and Nick watched him leave as quickly as possible, having to take a moment to register what just happened. Especially Judy. She was still a little distraught by being harassed out of nowhere, but mostly she was surprised by how Nick handled it. She had no idea where that side of him came from, maybe it was the alcohol. But to be completely honest, she kind of liked it.
Once the raccoon was gone, Nick made his way to sit down on the loveseat next to the bunny. "You okay?" He asked, his anger now replaced by concern.
Judy nodded, folding her paws together on her lap. "Y-yeah, I'm okay."
Nick watched her behavior closely, just to make sure that she was actually okay and that she wasn't just saying so to make him feel better. She still seemed tense, but overall she was unharmed and that was what mattered most. "Hey, come here." He said, extending his arms out to her.
Judy didn't hesitate to scoot closer and make her way into his embrace. She sighed, laying her head on his chest. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, Carrots." He said, gently rubbing the back of her head. "You know I'd never let anything happen to you."
For some reason his assurance made her face warm up, but for now she chose to ignore it and to just enjoy being this close to Nick.
—
The bar was becoming less and less crowded the later it got, but the group of officers remained gathered together in the main lounge playing an interesting game of "Never Have I Ever". By now most of them were already drunk, but that wasn't going to stop them.
Judy was taking advantage of the game to distract herself from what happened earlier, because now she was even more confused about her feelings toward Nick. It was mostly when he lied about being her boyfriend that was puzzling her. Sure, she knew that the word "boyfriend" had more power to it than "friend", but did he actually have to lie about it? Saying he was a police officer was more frightening to the raccoon, anyway, so why didn't he just say that from the start?
"Okay, okay, never have I ever..lied to get out of going to work."
A couple of them took sips, but most of them remained innocent. It was getting harder to find things to say since the more juicy secrets were exposed in the beginning of the game. So now they were just saying the first thing that came to mind.
"Alright Hopps, your turn." Said Francine.
Judy tapped her glass as she tried to think of something. She took a quick glance at the fox sitting next to her, and immediately an idea came to mind. "Hmm, alright. Never have I ever had a crush on a close friend."
She noticed Wolfard, Francine, and Rhinowitz giving her a knowing look while the rest slowly took sips to expose themselves. She also noticed how Nick seemed to hesitate on whether or not to do it as well. Admittedly she felt bad for saying that, she didn't mean to make him uncomfortable. But her guilt faded once he finally took a drink.
The group played a few more rounds, but soon decided to stop before they passed out. It was past midnight now so most of them were ready to call it a night. Thankfully they were still able to call themselves their cabs so they could get home safely.
"Come on, let's get Clawhauser and head out." Snarlov said to the wolf cop.
Wolfard nodded, but then realized that the cheetah was absent from the group. "Wait a minute, where is Clawhauser?"
The rest of them looked around the lounge now that it occurred to them Clawhauser hadn't been playing with them. At first they assumed he might've left already, or he was in the restroom puking.
Nick turned to look at the bar, and was taken aback by what he caught the officer doing. "Uhh, found him."
The others looked in the same direction. All of their jaws dropped in awe and shock, finding Clawhauser leaning against the counter while making out with another cheetah.
"Son of a bitch..." Wolfard whispered.
—
With the rest of their co-workers gone, Judy and Nick were left at the bar waiting for the Zuber driver to come pick them up. They were sitting against a wall outside together, both hiccuping and saying the most random thoughts that came to their minds.
"You know, if we're the smart ones, how come we don't do this every night?" Judy asked, slurring her words. It was hard to speak a coherent sentence now that she had...who knows how many cocktails. But somehow Nick was able to understand her, and was even capable of responding.
"I don't know, Carrots. But if you ask me, we totally should." He said, poking her knee. "From now on, we do this every night!"
Judy laughed and raised her paw up, signaling him to give her a high-five. "Yes! Yes, let's do it!" She said excitedly. "Let's do it every fucking night."
A car started to pull up to the curb they were beside. Nick patted her shoulder, "I think this is our ride." He put his paw on the wall behind him to help balance himself once he stood up. Judy tried to do the same, only she stumbled immediately when she tried to use her legs. "Need some help?" Nick asked, reaching down to help pick her up by her torso.
"Thank you." She said, once she was back on her feet. She grabbed his paw and skipped toward the Zuber car, having a sudden burst of energy out of the blue, which made her practically swung the door open and hop into the backseat. Nick joined her inside, listening to her giggle like a child the whole time.
"I think you might've had too much." He commented as the driver started to take them back to the apartment complex.
Judy huffed and crossed her arms. "I did not! You did, though."
"No I didn't." He shook his head, lightly pushing her.
"Did so. Especially during Never Have I Ever." She said with a knowing look.
Nick rolled his eyes, choosing to disregard her last statement. He turned his head to face the window, leaning back comfortably in the seat. Judy wasn't going to be ignored, however. She scooted closer to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Hey grumpy pants, why the long face?" She asked, but he still didn't pay any attention to her.
Once again the fox didn't respond, which made her realize she'd have to take a different approach. It was a bit of a stretch, but she thought he might agree to it if she was convincing enough. "Hey, you know..the night's not over yet." She said, inching her face closer so she could quieter—no point in risking the driver hearing them. "Wanna do something crazy?"
Now Nick's attention was caught. His ears twitched as he turned to face her again, seeing her don a devious little smirk. Whatever she had in mind was something he would either love or dread. "Crazy, you say?" He chuckled. "Like what?"
Judy felt some victory now that he was listening to her again. One of her paws bravely moved up to his chest, reaching to the top of his shirt to unbutton it. "I think you know."
He raised a brow, taking a glance down at her paw. Even in his delirious state of mind, he was able to catch on to what she was hinting at. His face turned red instantly at the thought of it. "Carrots, come on. Be serious." He said with a scoff, grabbing her paw to stop her. She was likely just messing with him to see if he would get turned on, and he wasn't going to let it work.
"I am." She said with a small hiccup, tilting her head. "Don't act like you don't want to. I've seen the way you look at me. If I didn't know any better," She leaned in, her face dangerously close to his. "I'd say you've wanted to do this for a long time."
Nick looked into her eyes while inhaling the smell of alcohol and perfume. Well, there was no denying she was beautiful, and he'd be lying if he said the thought never crossed his mind before. But he always tried not to linger on it since she was his friend, and he would feel guilty for thinking of her in that way. But right now, it seemed like she knew the whole time, and she wanted the same thing.
She could tell he was contemplating it, so she tried one last time to see if he would agree to it—and she knew just how to do that. Her paw managed to escape his grip and move up to hold his face, and with no hesitation she pressed her lips onto his.
He was taken aback at first, as he wasn't expecting her to make such a bold move. He could hardly even believe it was real, his best friend was actually kissing him! It wasn't the right thing to do, was it? But then again, the taste of her beckoning lips was too good to deny. They were soft and sweet, like honey he was forbidden to eat. Then again, since when did he care about rules?
To hell with it. He told himself as he finally kissed her back.
—
It felt like forever, but eventually they arrived back at the apartment building. The two walked all the way up the stairs with joined paws, occasionally giving each other flirtatious looks. They stumbled a couple times, but otherwise were able to make it up to Judy's apartment. The second she unlocked the door, she grabbed Nick by his arm and pulled him inside.
They wasted no time in resuming what they started in the car. Nick kicked the door closed behind him as he held the bunny by her waist, his lips eagerly pressed against hers. Her paws went up to his shoulders to start pushing his blazer off, letting it drop to the floor. Once that was accomplished, he backed her up toward the wall, pressing her body against it.
The longer they kissed, the messier it got. At the same time they were trying to undress each other and their brains couldn't focus on two things at once, so most of the kiss was sloppy. They did pull away for a moment to catch a breath, which gave them more time to complete the other task. Judy fumbled with his shirt buttons, desperately wanting to see more of his body exposed. Nick kept his touch on her thighs, right at the hem of her dress while his lips trailed down to her neck.
Judy tilted her head slightly to give him more room, especially since his mouth was quite big compared to her neck and he needed all the space he could get. She finally reached the last button and hastily pushed his shirt off, leaving him in just his pants—for now.
Nick very gently let his teeth take a nip at the skin beneath her fur, being cautious not to be too rough. He was heavily intoxicated but he knew better than to hurt her, even by accident. She was half his size, and though she was tough, her body was still small and fragile compare to his. But even the tiniest of bites was enough to make her moan and shiver beneath him.
He couldn't help but smirk and repeat his actions, this time adding a couple licks for the hell of it. His fingers bravely slipped under her dress, but not far enough for her satisfaction. Judy huffed, leaning her head back against the wall. "Just take it off."
That was all he needed to hear to finally grab the bottom of her dress and pull it up, tossing it aside once it was off. He gazed down at her bare body, his eyes lighting up in awe now that he could finally see her in all her beauty. How was it even possible for someone to look so perfect?
Nick gave her a couple kisses, moving his paws back down to her thighs, hoisting her up into his arms. She giggled excitedly while wrapping her arms and legs around him, letting him carry her down the hall and into her bedroom.