"If you need to go to the bathroom after this next series of chapters, please let a writing associate know, because in all likelihood, whatever comes out of you is going to be rainbows. Only temporary, so do not worry. If it persists for a week, though, start worrying and come see us, because that's not supposed to happen."
-Furry Johnson. Black Lives Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter. LGBTQIA2+ Rights Matter. These are basic human rights, and cannot be ignored.

5th Peelian Principle: To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.

Let's boil this principle down to it's root; 'To demonstrate impartial service independant of policy', IE, ignore your Department's policies if they are not impartial. Yeah, no one does that today, look at the stop and frisk policies being used. 'Without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws' When you have laws being designed to infringe on other's rights, then those laws should be null. 'by ready offering of individual service and friendship to ALL members of the public, without regard', YEAH, WITHOUT REGARD. Let's clarify that means RACE, RELIGION, ETHNICITY, SEXUALITY, GENDER IDENTITY, AND ETC.'Ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour'. Cops need to exercise their courtesy and friendly humour, it's weak AF. 'Ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life'. Individual sacrifice to preserve life. That INCLUDES THE LIVES OF 'CRIMINALS'. YES. YES, IT DOES. Because it doesn't matter if they've committed a crime, they are still a living person worthy of 'some' respect.

This chapter is a little story filler, as we prepare to keep moving forward. That, coupled with a few story hints, and some relationship building. I hope you all like it!

Disney owns everyhing. Just, everything. Take it all.

Past the doors, a story begins

That smile. That was something else.

And the way she looked at him when she pinned the little piece of metal on his chest, with those eyes. He knew that he should have been happier about the badge, about the achievement he'd worked so hard to get. But to Nicholas Wilde, the look on Judy's face was worth far more than the shiny shield.

Even if it was a nice shiny shield, hanging on his uniform. Even it made him a part of something bigger than himself. None of that mattered in comparison. That look of. . . Pride? Happiness? Compassion? It was probably a lot of things. But, it made him feel. . . . goopy inside. Well, that also probably wasn't a good word. . . But whatever, he couldn't describe it.

It was strange, having someone believe in you like that. Maybe not strange for others, who always had people around them. But for Nick. . . It wasn't that common. In fact, he didn't remember anyone ever standing for him like she had. If it wasn't for his mother, he wouldn't have had anything at all.

Sure, there was Flash, and Finnick. But, those were friends, and they weren't exactly the type to push Nick to 'be' anything. But that rabbit, on the other hand, pushed him in so many ways to be better than the fox he was yesterday. She was. . . Special.

He wasn't going to tell her that, though. She had a big enough ego as it was.

As soon as the hats fell down, the picture was taken, and the ceremony evolved into a celebration. Nick had approximately three minutes to say 'hi' to the rabbit before they were surrounded by mammals. Fellow graduates, teachers, random officials, they all wanted to talk to the rabbit hero of Zootopia.

Especially his colleagues. They all wanted to know about 'how' she did it. What gave her the skill she had. All questions that Nick already knew the answer to. It was all because Judy was Judy. Nick quickly decided that was the time for him to dip out on the festivities, and slipped away from the growing crowd. She could enjoy her moment of attention, she'd more than earned it.

Bill gave him a pretty sidelong glance as he quickly slipped away. If Nick had to guess, the bull recognized Judy from that one night. It must have seemed strange, finding out that the rabbit he was friends with was 'the' rabbit officer from the news awhile back. Yeah, he knew Zootopia's hero. Yeah, they were friends. No, that had nothing to do with him getting valedictorian.

At least, Nick hoped. It sure would be a kick to the balls to find out she'd somehow manipulated everything so that he got the title. But, it was a coincidence, right? Judy would never pull strings like that, she was a stickler for the rules. She probably accepted just for the chance of seeing his graduation, not actually pinning the badge on his chest. And, maybe she knew he was going to get it anyway since she probably talked to the instructors about him.

Still. . . Thinking back on that smile, he didn't really care if she had 'nudged' the teachers into picking him. Or if it was some other kind of tokenism going on, what with him being the first fox. It was worth it, just for that moment of seeing her violet eyes look at him like that. And, to receive his badge, right from her paws.

After he'd skillfully slipped out of the crowd (a natural talent, for the fox), he made his way over to the student barracks to pack up his stuff. Everyone else could have their moment with Judy, and the celebration, but she was driving him back to Zootopia. He'd get his time with her, one way or another.

Besides, it was better than a bus ticket like how he got there. Noisy, rowdy, and smelly, it was a terrible time. And, it meant that he got to talk to her for at least an hour on the way home, all alone. Not that he was going to have issues with having time to hang out with her, they did live together, after all. And, they 'might' be partners, so, there was also that.

They'd be living together. . . That reminded him, he needed to get a new mattress. And some sheets. Maybe a pillow or two. And probably a bunch of things he'd only remember after he got home, knowing himself. Nick had basically abandoned all his bedroom accoutrements when he moved, probably wisely. He'd better mention that to Judy on the drive, or he'd have to sleep on the couch again.

Not that it was a bad couch. But, it wasn't a bed.

There were at least a few mattress stores that would be open when they got to the city, it was only about 3 PM right now. Judy would probably be chatting with people for another hour, so they had lots of time. She had a nice 4-door car, it could fit a mattress box in the back just fine, right?

Probably. Or, Nick would find some way to strap it to the roof. Whatever, that was a problem for when they got back to Zootopia. Right now, he needed to finish packing up his stuff, and wait for Judy to finish.

Nick took off his tie, the gold braid, and the utility belt they'd been supplied, and stuffed them into the bag. Well, except the radio that he pried out of the belt, he left that on the desk. He still couldn't get over how silly it was they even gave them radios for the ceremony. They were used for radio training, but during the ceremony, they filled no purpose.

That was neither here nor there, though, as he took the badge off his shirt. Nick glanced at it, smiling at the tiny reflection of a fox in the shiny golden glean. His paws idly played with it, as his mind wandered. A shiny little badge, all because of that rabbit. Because she walked into an elephant ice cream parlour. He snorted, as he reached over to the little badge box he'd been given, and placed it inside. Gently, he placed the said box into the large bag and began undoing the buttons on his shirt.

If they were going to the store, he really didn't want to be dressed to 'impress'. Or, to get the shirt dirty, considering that it was still clean enough for his first shift. The less he had to wash, the happier the fox would be. He sloughed the shirt off his shoulders and stuffed it into the bag. Of course, he also just wanted to relax in some simple clothes, after standing for a few hours in those stuffy clothes.

He unbuttoned his pants and slipped them off in one smooth motion. Sure, the door wasn't fully closed, but, when did that matter in the academy? His roommate wouldn't be back for a while, and no one had any reason to come to his room in the barracks, so he wasn't terribly worried about anyone walking in. Besides, whoever would, probably was adult enough to have seen far worse than a fox in his underwear.

Everyone was still busy celebrating, talking with instructors or likely planning a party or something. The little celebration had food, and some champagne, neither of which Nick was interested in. But, free food was such a draw for all of his troopmates.

Still. . . Nick paused, holding the balled-up pants in his hand as his ears trained towards the ajar door. . . But, the large triangles picked up nothing but a breeze and the regular noises of the empty complex. He shrugged and turned back to his stuff.

After he crammed the pants into the bag, he pulled out a ZPD academy tee and a pair of shorts. Simple and 'elegant', and somehow not destroyed after so many gym classes. The perfect 'relaxed' wear. If he was going to have to haul a mattress box around, he wanted something loose-fitting and comfortable.

He pulled the shorts on quickly, hopping around on one paw like a fool. They were a nice dark blue with little grey accents. Not exactly 'fashionable', like Nick preferred. But it was either this or his dress pants and Pawaiian shirts. And, he didn't feel like wearing the one pair he'd brought the day he came here. He'd worn that one too many times lately.

As he squeezed his way into the shirt, his ears caught a whisper of sound as they were flopped around by the fabric. At first, he thought it was just caused by the shirt rubbing his ears, but it continued to persist as he slipped his head through the collar. His ears popped up, free of the collar, and he heard the distinct sound of the door behind him creaking open.

Yanking the bottom of the shirt down, he turned to face the interloper with a curious expression. Was it Bill? Maybe an instructor? Who'd be wandering down-

It was the rabbit. Of course it had to be Judy. He snorted.

The rabbit was standing at the door, smirking as he pulled the hem of his shirt down snugly. "Carrots." He murmured, smirking. How much had she seen? "Aren't you missing out on your adulation?" He teased, as he crossed his arms with a smug grin. He didn't know how long she'd been there, but if there was one thing he knew about Judy. . . She tended to appear whenever he least expected it. It was her trademark, wasn't it?

Judy chuckled, as she stepped into the room and shrugged. "What good is it if you're not there to kiss my paws, too?" The rabbit taunted, holding a paw up and looking at it with a smug expression as she played with her little claws. "Besides, things got a little weird when I started telling your classmates about how you were integral to cracking the case. . . Meanwhile, you skittered off and left me there. Alone. With, like, a thousand people questioning me.

Nick laughed, somewhat nervously. The troop wasn't nearly that big, but, he got her point. "Yeah. . .Well, I knew you were going to tell them that 'story', so, I figured I'd take off before they started kissing my paws instead, y'know? Don't want to steal the Hero of Zootopia's thunder." He continued the tease, as the rabbit walked closer to him.

Sure, that sounded like a reasonable reason for him slipping off, didn't it? She shook her head, letting out a sigh. "We did it together, Nick. You deserve that title, too. I'm still mad that the headlines just called you a 'fox civilian'. . . You were so much more than that."

Nick laughed, shaking his head. "It's fine, Carrots. I know I'm awesome, you know I'm awesome, that's enough for me. But, the sentiment's nice."

She snorted. "Never mind, I take it back. Your ego's big enough as it is. . . . . . Still. You made it, Nick. You're now an officer, of the ZPD. How do you feel?"

He shrugged. "Hungry, to be honest." The fox joked, as he grabbed his laptop from the desk and stuffed it into the bag, 'finishing' the last of his packing. Well, unless he forgot something, as he gazed around the room.

It was sort of a joke. He was actually a little hungry. . . But, the last thing he wanted to talk about was how he felt.

"Well, if you hurry your foxy ass up, maybe we could do something about that on our way home. But, I meant about graduating. . . How do you feel?." She mocked, as she began to tap her hind paw on the ground exaggeratingly. He rolled his eyes, as he went back to his bag and zipped it closed.

He slung it over his shoulder and turned back to the rabbit. To his surprise, the rabbit was closer and gazing up at him with that same smile, and those big violet eyes.

The fox felt his voice catch in his throat, as his head rocked back and forth slightly. He eased into a smirk with half lidden eyes. "Good, I think. I don't think it's fully sunk in yet. . . I keep expecting Freidkin to run in, tell me I'm only half done or something."

She snorted. "Well, now it's my turn to yell at you, slick. I hope you're ready for it."

"So, business as usual, then?" He teased back, as the rabbit shook her head.

Judy sighed, as she crossed her arms. Then, she lowered her gaze, dragging it across his body until her gaze locked on the shorts. Instinctively, he looked down to see if 'anything' was showing, or something was stained. But, when he saw nothing, he looked back up at the rabbit, who was now looking him in the eye again. "What?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"So much for hating shorts, hm?" She asked, smirking at him with that adorable face as she stepped to the side of the room. Clearly, that was her way of telling him that it was time to go.

He sighed, as he started walking towards the door. "I know, it's a hideous affront to my wonderful body. However, I'm comfortable, so fuck it. . ." Judy shrugged in response, as she smirked up at him. "Are you sure you don't want to stay and get some more praise from all your fans?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm good. I talked to my instructors, gave a little time to the recruits, and that fulfilled my part of the ceremony. Unless you want to go back? I'm sure your troopmates have a lot of questions for you since you know the famous 'Hero of Zootopia'. . ." The rabbit spit out the term dismissively. She didn't think she was a hero. She just did as she was supposed to do, as a police officer. "Besides, I get to drive home with my 'biggest' fan. . . I'm sure he can shower me with adulation just fine." She teased, grinning at him.

Nick definitely didn't want to go back to that crowd, especially answering questions about whether or not they were dating, like Bill. He was sure that she'd hate that, too. That was. . . Too awkward to talk about, especially in front of Judy.

As for him being her biggest fan. . . Certainly not, there were many animals much larger than him that were fans of the rabbit. But he had to admit, he liked her hutzpah. "So, where are we going to eat?" He muttered, quickly changing the subject as he passed her and walked through the door.

She laughed, as she reached out and tugged on the fox's passing tail. Nick yipped, as his head whipped around to face her with a glare. "Well. . . I was thinking of going to Renaud's Kitchen. Do you think you can tough out your hunger for that long?" She responded, as she let go of his tail and walked up to his side.

He was still frowning at her, as they started walking down the hall together. She was smirking, naturally. The rabbit always loved her teasing. But, at the mention of Renaud's, a smile had begun to infect Nick's face. As great as that little mom-and-pop shop was in the nearby town, there was just something special about that diner back home.

He missed that cricket burger, so much. And, of course, the ever-boisterous Annette. Maybe Delilah, too. "Now that's an idea I can get behind. . . Maybe we could pick up a snack for on the way?" Nick asked as he leaned toward the bunny beside him as they exited the structure. "Since it's going to be at least an hour or so of a drive. Don't want me eating you by accident, right?"

"Hah!" Judy responded, rolling her eyes. "As if it would be an 'accident'."

Nick laughed. "True. . . You're pretty irresistible, fluff."

"Shut up, Nick."

The drive back to Zootopia had been filled with comedy and gentle teasing back and forth. As it always was, as if somehow all that time, six months apart, had somehow changed nothing in their lives.

However.

Nick had suddenly become very fond of the idea of time apart.

In fact. He could go for some right now, sitting across from the rabbit.

While he sat there.

Chin to paw, leaning on his arm, scowling heavily.

As Delilah, his relatively related flesh and blood.

A confidant. A friend. A family member he trusted.

Betrayed him like he was some common mammal, as she brought up some of the most embarrassing shit that Nick had ever done, while she and the rabbit laughed at him mercilessly.

Okay, maybe he still wanted to be around the rabbit. But, right now, he was being subjected to an onslaught of laughter at his foolish, young self.

Yes, he'd once stuck a fork into an electric socket when he was 16. Yes, he once blatantly lied to his parents about the 'adult' magazines they had found underneath his bed, claiming that he didn't know how they got there. Yes, he once wrote a long love letter to a vixen in high school and then dropped it in the wrong locker (That one smarted). And yes, there was that one time when he actually set fire to a piece of pizza with a microwave.

But why Delilah decided to tell the rabbit all of these things, he didn't get. But, worst of all, it wasn't like he could just shoo Delilah away and stop this from happening. No, the damage had been done. The two were reminiscing about the stories, as the rabbit had made it a custom to come here to eat every now and then.

And Delilah spilled the beans on everything. Now, he had to sit here and listen as Delilah continued to ask if she'd told Judy each story. "I mean, I really wish I had a picture of his tail after that. It was like, twice as poofy as it is now. We didn't even care if he was okay, we were just laughing as he was twitching on the floor!"

"I was in pain, Delilah. As one would expect from an electric shock." He muttered, shaking his head. "Is our food done yet? Do you have some other customers that you might want to torture?"

The fox sneered at her, causing the vixen to shake her head with a smirk. "I'm on a break." She lied. A break in the middle of the dinner rush? Nick knew better than that. Judy laughed, as she looked over at her friend, the fox.

"It's okay, Nick, we all do silly things when we're young." She offered, clearly ignoring the fact that it was only okay because it was about Nick, and not her. If the shoe were on the other foot, Nick was certain that Judy wouldn't feel so happy about everything.

Nick didn't know anything of Judy's childhood, this was completely one-sided torture. And because of that, Judy thought it was 'okay' to keep digging it in, on his one day of celebration.

"Aren't we here to celebrate my accomplishment? Not shaming me?" He spoke, raising his voice with a smile as he tried to change the subject. That was the pretence of why they came to the diner, right?

The two mammals came right here after he picked up a mattress at the nearest open store. Nick didn't spend a lot of time trying to figure out which was 'right' for him. He liked a firm mattress, so, he picked one right away. You could always put tops on a firm mattress to make it softer. The other way around never worked.

Unfortunately, they had to fold the back seats down in the car and play a little game of whose seat had to move forward (Nick's. . . of course), but in the end, the box did fit in snugly. It always amazed him that they could fit an entire mattress in such a small box. Well, a foam mattress at least.

The vixen chuckled, as she shook her head looking at the defeated tod. "But, I mean, that's the point! We have to keep you humble. It's hard to imagine that the same kit who accidentally sheared his muzzle is also now a responsible adult, in charge of keeping everyone safe. Gee, I hope whisker clippers aren't a regular police tool. . ."

Nick's eyes narrowed, as the rabbit started laughing. As if this would possibly make him humble. . . Nick was perfect, and he knew it. He opened his mouth to respond before the lagomorph he formally considered his close friend decided to interrupt.

"W-wait, he did what!?" She choked out between laughs. Before Nick could open his mouth to interrupt, the vixen turned back to face the rabbit with a swish of her tail.

"It was hilarious. He'd seen how his dad always kept his whiskers nice and trimmed in the photos, so, he thought he'd do the same with his little 'baby' ones. But, instead of just cutting them, he ended up shaving off all the fur on the end of his muzzle! His mother screamed when she saw that!" Delilah told the embarrassing tale, as Nick let out a huff. He was like, six or something, he didn't know any better. The amount of teasing he suffered for the next few months after. And now, his best friend was laughing at him.

"Poor little Nick. . . Well, at least you know your way around them now, right?" Judy asked, attempting to somehow put a positive spin on his humility. As if that would work. . .

Wait. . . Delilah wasn't even born then. . . "How do you know that story, Delilah?" Nick asked as he cocked his head to the side. Who was ratting on him? Was it Finnick? Flash?

"Oh, your mother told me a while ago!" Delilah chimed back, laughing.

Nick's heart sank at the mention of his mother, and he saw as Delilah caught it. And, her humorous smile faded slightly, as she looked Nick in the eye.

". . . Have you told her about your graduation, Nicky?" She asked as the rabbit glanced between the two.

He smiled and shook his head. "Not yet. But, I will." He lied, knowing full well that he wasn't going to for a long, long time. There were. . . issues with that. . . The last time they'd talked, he was a petty criminal.

The vixen nodded, understanding. They had talked about the rift between his mom and him a few times. Although mostly, it had been Delilah encouraging him to reach out again. As if it was something so easy as that. "See that you do, Nick. . . I'm sure she'd be ecstatic to know."

Judy continued to glance back and forth, as she raised a brow. "Is somethi-"

"Hey, Delilah! You ain't on a break, sweetie! Orders 10 and 11 are up!" Annette shouted from the kitchen window, as she set two plates down on the counter with a glare.

"Shit, sorry!" Delilah shouted back, as she horridly departed the table. Nick sighed, as he turned back to face the rabbit, smiling at her.

But, Judy had a curious expression on her look, as one ear cocked to the side. "Do you and your mother have a. . . Complicated relationship?" She blatantly asked as she played with her paws absently. She always was a direct rabbit, wasn't she?

He smiled and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. We talk often, but we're not really a family that usually shares what's going on in our personal lives. What with my. . . Past activities. . . It always seemed better to keep her out of it, than tell her. Kind of a habit, I guess." He told the half-truth, as he smiled at the rabbit and hoped she would drop it. Yeah, he didn't talk about his daily life with his mother because he was a criminal for a lot of the time.

But, the main reason was a little more complicated than that.

She regarded him carefully for a moment before she smiled. "Well. . . I think you should tell her. I don't know her, but, I'm sure she'd love to see her son in a police uniform."

Nick laughed, as he took a sip from the glass of water on the table. He shook his head, with an impish grin. "Somehow I doubt that. There's only one thing that goes through my mother's mind, trust me. I'd bet ten to one that her response would be 'that's great, but have you found a vixen yet? Where are my grandkits? I want grandkits, damnit. Why aren't you producing'?" The fox mocked, twisting his voice into a very inaccurate portrayal of his mother. But hey, it was funny.

Judy snorted, laughing as she rolled her eyes. "That sounds familiar, like half of me and my parent's conversations. 'Have you found a boyfriend yet', 'have you met some potential candidates yet', 'are there any hot bucks working at the ZPD'. Is that just the purpose of kits, to them? To have more little ones for them to dote on?"

Nick snorted, as he relaxed back into the seat. "At least your parents have like, 200 other kits to bother about it. My mother, she's focused every inch of her effort on convincing me that having kids is the 'best thing in life'. For the last, I don't know. . . 14 years? I think she's starting to think I'm a lost cause. Or, about to lose my 'ability'. . ."

Judy shook her head, as she lifted a paw and shook a digit at him. "You'd think that my parents would give me a break, but, you're wrong. My mother has grand kits already from my older siblings, but none of that matters to her. No, she wouldn't be satisfied until she has grand kits from everyone. In my humble opinion, I think the 'Hopps' family will live on without my contribution, thank you very much." Clearly, this was a topic that Judy could go on and on about. Good to know. . .

Nick laughed, shaking his head. At least they were off the topic of his relationship with his mother. Hopefully. . . "You know, that's something I don't understand. . . How in the world do they keep all of those names straight?"

"Well, it's simple, my parents had a system of naming that-" The rabbit started, before he raised his paw.

"Ah, no thanks. Forget I asked." She frowned at him as he intterupted, shaking his head. "I'm sure it's interesting, and makes sense, but, I'm pretty sure 'Judy' is the only Hopps name I need to know right now."

She snorted. "Sure. What'll it take to get you to say my name to me for once, hmm?"

"We'll find out, won't we, fluff?"

"So, should I expect a disaster when I get there?" Nick asked as the fox carried the mattress over to the door. "Did you manage to destroy the apartment in six months?"

Judy laughed, shaking her head as she opened the door, and held it open for the fox to step through with the box. As he stepped through, he'd be able to see that she kept it clean, if not even cleaner than before.

Sure, there was nothing that she could do about the funky wallpaper. The ugly popcorn ceiling, and the putrid green tile in the kitchen and bathroom. She couldn't even fix the wood floor's scars. But, the wood floor looked pretty good after she gave it a good cleaning, even with the imperfections. It even gave it some charm, she thought.

"As you can see, I didn't. And, I'm expecting you to finish the job you started." She teased, as she gestured to the TV stand.

The cords were still everywhere, as she never bothered to fix it. Partly because she didn't want to. But, mostly because looking down at the mess of cords always made her chuckle, and remember the poor fox struggling to figure it out.

And, she liked laughing about it in that lonely apartment. Judy didn't mind being in her little apartment alone, it was perfect for that. But, in the large apartment, it felt quite empty some days. And, as a rabbit who came from a large family, an empty house always felt weird.

But now, it wasn't going to be empty anymore. Now, it was going to have this ridiculous fox in it.

"Hmm, well, it looks like you didn't burn the place down. . . So, guess there's that." The fox teased, grinning as he dragged the cardboard box toward his bedroom. Judy would complain about him dragging it across the floor. . . But, she'd just make him clean it next time.

She rolled her eyes. "Har-har. . . You're going to want to unpack that thing right-"

"I know, I know, Carrots. . . I think I can figure out how to 'mattress' just fine." The fox muttered as he walked into his room. She followed and leaned on the door frame as he laid the box down, and began to open it up.

"So. . . Are you ready to start on Monday?" She asked as he worked on pulling the large foam block out of the bag. Since Bogo had already agreed to Judy being his FTO, it put his start date on the day that her shifts resumed. Which, luckily for him, gave him one day off.

At least he'd get a chance to try out his mattress properly, as he unrolled it on top of the bed frame. It was a decently sized bed for Judy, but for Nick, she imagined he might have thought it was small, compared to the one he had before.

But, that was the frame that the apartment came with, and Judy had learned that Nick was nothing if not frugal. Nick shrugged, as he cut the big plastic cover off of the mattress. Almost instantly, the mattress started to expand, ever so slightly. "Yeah, I'd say I'm ready. Wouldn't matter if I wasn't would it?" He said with a grin, as he bundled up the plastic and threw it back into the box.

"No, it really wouldn't." She murmured, as she set the bag with his new pillow and sheets down on the ground beside the door. "Don't worry, Nick. I'll take care of you." She teased, grinning at him.

He raised his brows, a slight grin appearing as he walked over to the two boxes with his stuff in it, from back when they first moved in. He popped open the first box and looked inside. "Whatever you say, Carrots. . . I see you've been rooting through here." He murmured, as he turned and smirked at the rabbit. "What. . . Hoping to find some toys, or maybe a few, 'magazines'?"

Judy shook her head. "No, remember when I asked you where the whisks were? I grabbed all the kitchen stuff in the box and washed it."

Nick scoffed, lifting a paw to his chest. "How dare you violate my privacy. I feel so. . . Offended. You've hurt me, rabbit." He moaned, exaggeratingly, as he raised a paw to his forehead in mocked distress.

She rolled her eyes, as she stood up straighter. "Mhm, I ruined your whole day, right after you gave me permission to do it."

"I should have put a rabbit porn mag in there, just to see your reaction." He teased, as he set that box down, and opened the one with clothes in it. He pulled the clothes out and walked towards the dresser, head craned to watch the rabbit curiously.

Judy rolled her eyes, trying to detract from the blush that formed in her ears. That would have been. . . strange. "It wouldn't surprise me, honestly. Considering how easy it was to manipulate you into doing my bidding when we first met." She mocked back, as she turned and headed back into the living room. "Have fun unpacking. I'm going to order some food."

"Mhm." Nick responded as he stuffed the clothes into the drawer haphazardly. The rabbit would cook. . . But, one thing she was bad at was grocery shopping. She usually picked up what she wanted to eat on her way home from work, but today she had gone to pick up the fox.

Which meant that her fridge mostly consisted of carrots and soy milk. . . Not really much to cook, especially to please the fox. But, he couldn't say no to a pizza, could he? She heard an affirmative grunt from his bedroom, as she flopped down on the couch and pulled out her phone.

Now. . . what would she order. . .

A few minutes later, the fox emerged and hopped over the back of the couch to crash down beside her. With the way he glanced over at her with a grin, she imagined that he'd expected to 'surprise' her.

However, the rabbit was used to him being unpredictable. "So, what do you want to watch?" He asked as he draped his arms across the top of the couch lazily. Judy rolled her eyes, as she turned the TV on with the remote.

"I don't know, what do you want to watch?" She retorted as the fox looked down at her with a smile.

"I'm fine with anything. . . Anything that's not one of those silly cop dramas." He reiterated, raising a paw with a shake of his head. "Now that I know more about policing, watching them do everything wrong is probably going to piss me off too much."

Judy laughed, nodding her head. "That's an understatement. If I hear them talk about disregarding warrants one more time, I'm going to lose my mind."

"Yeah. Do the writers know anything about proper police work? Any evidence seized illegally, without a warrant, is basically ineligible in a court of law. Period, with few exceptions. There are specific, limited procedures and allowances for warrantless searches, you don't just go 'damn the torpedoes, let's bust into someone's house'" The fox spitted facts, angrily at no one in particular.

"And, why is there no damn fallout for it? Seriously? They always have the boss say 'let me handle the legal stuff' but never show how the entire investigation gets thrown out due to idiocy. Let alone, let's not talk about how that boss is a corrupted piece of shit if they're condoning their members breaking protocol just because it's the 'only way'. What an example to set for people wanting to become police officers, that the 'laws' you follow mean nothing." Nick added, waving his paw around for exaggerated effect. And, it certainly had an effect on the rabbit.

Judy looked up at him with a smirk, cocking her head slightly to the side. For some reason. . . The fox was pretty attractive when he was spouting legal knowledge. . . But, that was just because she had a thing for smart males, she imagined.

Which pretty much ruled out most of the bunnies in Bunnyburrow. She didn't even really start dating until she went to college, thanks to that. But now, she was in Zootopia, and she could easily log on to any dating app and find some smart guy to settle down with.

As her mother was so willing to point out, every other day. But, Judy's career was just starting. She didn't want to settle down, get married, or have kids at any point in the near future. She wasn't throwing away her dream for her mother's. And since when did it make sense to get married in your 20's anymore, anyway?

In your 20's, that was the time to enjoy life. Have fun. Experiment, learn and develop as a person. That way, by the time you did get married, you actually knew what you wanted in life. She looked at the fox, as a perfect example. He was in his thirties, and had changed so much from the fox that he met, so many months ago. . . Yet, he was still the same, in so many ways.

No, right now in her life, Judy was going to do what she wanted to do. And what she wanted right now was to sit on this couch with her friend, and watch some television while they waited for their food to arrive. If only he could actually help her choose a show. . . "Well, that eliminates at least 50% of the shows on Netflocks. . . How about a horror flick? Those are always fun."

The fox raised a brow. "Depends. . . are you going to cling to me if you get scared?" Nick teased, as he looked at her, wagging his eyebrows with a telling smirk.

She scoffed. "Aren't you the one who was scared when we watched Extraterrestrial?" The rabbit pointed out, reminding him of that. . . particularly spooky psychological horror movie. Space. Aliens. A whole lot of slimy disgustingness. Classic or not, Judy had to admit it was definitely a good horror movie.

Yet, the rabbit never flinched once during it, as opposed to the fox who jumped constantly. The fox chuckled, shaking his head. ". . .Good point. I'll cling to you instead, hmmm?"

". . . Dumb fox."

"That's not a 'no'?"

No, no it wasn't. The photo alone would be worth a million laughs.

Nick lifted the break-away tie, begrudgingly, with a very displeased look on his face.

The fox liked real ties. Good, proper ties. Sure, he basically only had two of them. . . But hey, they were good ties. Instead, he was required to have this break-away junk that could barely be considered a tie.

Yes, he understood the purpose. In the middle of a fight, a police officer having a 'factory' strangling rope was not an ideal situation. But, as he clipped it on behind his collar, he found himself again fiddling with the piece of trash. See, the knot in the centre was just a single fur misaligned, and Nick was trying to get it twisted to the right side. With a deep sigh, he gave up and wondered if death was a viable alternative to this tie.

The 'knot' wasn't even half-perfect, basically just stapled together haphazardly with a 'collar' that went around to the back of his shirt. Even his ties, which he basically never untied, were still better looking than this.

But, it was something he was going to accept, as he shifted the tie back and forth as he looked into the small dresser mirror he'd picked up yesterday.

Despite being their 'day off', Nick spent the majority of yesterday driving around and buying stuff that he needed for his room, and the house. Now that he had more room than just a tiny studio and some money to spare, Nick wanted to spruce his room up a tad.

A dresser mirror was a must, of course. As a proper gentlemammal, he couldn't just wait for the bathroom to be to make sure his fur was perfect. With a slight frown, he gave the tie one last fiddle, before he shook his head in absolute defeat.

Oh well. It wasn't like he was going for the 'total professional' look anyway. He was the sly one. The suave one. He picked up his sunglasses, and hooked them into his left front pocket, as he smiled in the mirror one last time.

He looked to the left, to the photo frame that he'd quickly turned over yesterday. He gave it a quick pat before he heard the dull thumping coming from outside his bedroom door.

Well, there was the bunny alarm, telling him it was time to get moving, he supposed. It was still early, though. . . But, he wasn't going to question her.

He'd also gone grocery shopping yesterday as well and dragged the rabbit along with her. Her method was perfectly fine, but, when you literally had nothing for cooking in the house, it was really annoying. Instead, he bought a whole bunch of non-perishable and long-lasting foodstuffs, so that they at least had something.

He padded over to the door and opened it. Right outside, the rabbit was tapping her foot impatiently, with a light smile on her slightly cocked head as she waited for him to come out. "Alright, Carrots, I'm coming."

Immediately, her smile turned to a frown as she looked up and down at the fox's attire. "You know you missed a button on your collar, right?" She asked, quizzically as she narrowed her eyes at the fox.

"Not missed; a personal choice. . . You don't want this poor fox restricting his breathing, do you? I could pass out." He teased, as he walked around her towards the door. The rabbit sighed and followed him to the door.

"Not a very 'professional' choice. . ." She muttered, as Nick opened the door and let her exist before him.

He shrugged, as he watched her walk out the door. "Well, one could argue that body armour and a wetsuit isn't very professional either fluff."

"Ha!" She scoffed back. "My uniform is regulation, and I wear it as the regulations require. . . I'm not telling you to button up, I'm just warning you not to be surprised if Bogo complains about it."

Nick rolled his eyes, as he closed the door behind them, and locked it with his key. "As if the chief is even going to notice, Carrots. I'm all the way down here, and he's waay up there." Nick joked, raising his hands to the sky comically.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Fine. But, I warned you. C'mon, let's hurry up. We can't miss our train." The rabbit spoke, as she began hopping down the stairs two at a time.

Nick begrudgingly picked up his speed, although his brows fell at the mention of a train. "Train? Why are we taking the train, and not your car?" He asked, one ear flitting down in confusion. Was that why there were leaving so early because they were taking the train?

Why in the world would they leave early just to take the train? As Judy got further away, Nick picked up his pace, carefully moving his way down the stairs after the rabbit. "Why waste wear and tear on it, when we can just take public transit? I only got the car so I could go to Bunnyburrow more often, and so I could buy large stuff without renting a truck. It's still much more economical to take public transit, think of the traffic right now."

The rabbit nattered on, as Nick rolled his eyes as he balanced his decent with a paw on the bannister. He'd never be able to understand that rabbit, would he?

They chatted on the train, about all of the stuff he should know before they went into the bullpen for the first time. Most of which he already knew, of course. He didn't just graduate from the academy for nothing, after all.

They continued to talk when he went and finally met this Benjamin Clawhauser for the first 'official' time as an officer. He seemed to be a big bundle of joy, almost sickeningly sweet. But, they seemed to hit it off before the rabbit finally pulled him away, and guided him to the large door that was now in front of him.

He looked at the simple entryway, a small smile on his face as he thought about the path that lead him to this moment. Nick turned and gazed at the rabbit smiling beside him. "Well? Go on. I'm not going to open it for you. . . Are you ready to get yelled at by a buffalo?" She teased, as Nick shook his head and lifted a paw to the door handle.

"And a rabbit, yes. I'll take anything you two can throw at me." He muttered, as he turned the knob and pushed the door open. The loud chorus of voices spilled out, as he glanced around the room of animals.

"Good to hear, Nick. But, I'll make you regret saying that soon enough. . ."

"I truly doubt it, Carrots."