"Just a heads-up: That coffee we gave you earlier had fluorescent Furr-ium in it so we can track the neuronal activity in your brain. There's a slight chance the Furr-ium could harden in your brain and turn you into a full furry. Anyway, don't stress yourself thinking about what fursona you'd have if you were a furry. I'm serious. Visualizing a fursona while under stress actually triggers the reaction."-Furry Johnson. Black Lives Matter. BIPOC Lives Matter. Trans Lives Matter. LGBTQIA2+ Rights Matter.

6th Peelian Principle: To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.

This one really doesn't need an explanation. And, that was the point of these principles. These were to be carried by all officers of the Met police, as guidelines and rules of behaviour. They weren't meant to be complex or hard, or 'terribly' deep in thought. Just simple, responsible policing by the consent of the nation's population. This gives credence to this, advising to only use force when all other attempts fail (Hello, 5 step hardstyle? You were a century late, but, what a style). Only to a necessary extent, and not one step above that minimum need, another important point. And only for the purposes of gaining obedience to the law, or restore order. Punishment is. . . Seemingly absent here, for good reason.

Now, we're finally getting somewhere towards the end of the damn movie. . .

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

This'll surely be over in a. . . Flash?

"Nnniiiiiiiccccck." The sloth responded, as his eyes relaxed and a large smile formed on his face. It must have been a happy sight, seeing the fox on the other side of the door.

Nick, on the other hand, was staring at him with a surprised grin, one brow raised curiously.

The fox knew 'everyone', as he told Judy so often. And, it was probably not true but that wasn't really the point. Because, of all the people that he did know, the last person that he had expected to see behind the wheel was his high school friend Flash.

Weaving through traffic, running red lights, and speeding. Street racing maybe, as the reports claimed. That strait-laced sloth from high school. Nick shook his head, chuckling, as he glanced over at the rabbit.

Judy looked at him and motioned her head towards Flash with a smirk. Nick guessed that meant that she wanted him to take the reins on this. He felt his heart quicken slightly, not really sure if giving him the lead was a good idea right now.

Sure, he'd just gotten out of the academy. But, this was literally the first thing he'd ever responded to. . . Wasn't this the part where she was supposed to show him how to do everything in the field?

Was this her way of seeing if he was paying attention in the academy? Probably. . . And, a good test of morals, given that Flash was his friend. Judy kind of ran right through the whole greeting part, though. . .

He looked back at the sloth, grinning as he quickly decided how he was going to run this. "Well, you know who I am. And, I'm sure you remember my wonderful bunny partner, Officer Judith Hopps?" Nick asked, trying his best to salvage the 'greetings' portion as he gestured to Judy with a grin. She rolled her eyes, but he saw the little smirk.

He nodded slowly, smiling at Nick happily. "Yes. . . . . I. . . . . . remember. . . . . .Officer. . . . . . Hopps. . . . . But. . . . I. . . . . did. . . . not. . . . . . expect. . . . . . to. . . . . . . see. . . . . you. . . . . . . Nick. . . . . You . . . . . . the. . . . . . Z. . . . . P. . . . D? . . . . . . . . How. . . . . . did. . . . . . that. . . . . . happen?" He asked, as he slowly turned his head to the side.

Nick grinned harder and shrugged as he gestured to Judy. "Well, she made me an offer I couldn't refuse. But, we can talk about that later; Flash. . . what, in all of Zootopia, are you in such a hurry for, buddy?" He asked, as he crossed his arms and leaned onto the window frame. He had to follow the eight-step, even if Judy kind of spoofed that already.

But, introductions were done at least. The sloth began to respond as his shoulders began to lift in a shrug. Judy crossed her paws and glanced between the two with a smile.

Like a happy supervisor, maybe. Nick had a feeling she'd intervene if he screwed up too badly, right?

"I. . . . . . . . . . . did. . . . . . . . . . . not. . . . . . . . . . . realize. . . . . . . . . that. . . . . . . . I. . . . . . . was. . . . . . going. . . . . . . . . that. . . . . . . . fast." The sloth answered, as he smiled at the fox genuinely. It must have felt nice, being pulled over by your high school friend. Your close friend.

However, he was there with his partner. . . The spunky rabbit, who definitely didn't believe in partial treatment. And personally. . . . Nick was pretty angry.

"One hundred, and fifteen miles an hour, though? Is your speedometer not working or something? You must've at least felt something was up when you ran that red light back there. You nearly hit us, y'know?" Nick responded as he cocked his head to the side.

The sloth began a slow nod. "The. . . . . . . speedometer. . . . . . is. . . . . . . . in. . . . . . kilometres. . . . . . for. . . . . . this. . . . . . car. . . . . I. . . . . . was. . . . . . . confused. . . . . . . . . by. . . . . . . . the. . . . . . conversion. . . . . . . . And. . . . the. . . . . light. . . . . . . . just. . . . . . turned. . . . . . . . yellow. . . . . . . . . for. . . . . . . me."

Nick wondered if the light thing was true. He wasn't sure what the time-lapse was for a sloth's comprehension of changes in the environment. But, given how he responded to people's questions, there was the possibility of a delay.

But then, how did he not crash into something when he was driving? He couldn't just be 'lucky' every time something stepped out in front of him.

However, unfortunately for Flash, entering an intersection when the light was yellow was still a ticketing offence, on its own. After all, there were many people who abused the yellow light's purpose out of impatience. But, still. . . . If that was the only issue, then Flash was being pretty cooperative, and Nick would've been okay with the idea of letting him off.

"Well, still, so I'm going to have to ask you for your driver's license, insurance, and registration. As a good DMV employee, I'm sure you have them on you?" Nick responded, as he straightened up, and hooked his sunglasses into his pocket.

"Yes. . . . . I. . . . . . . do. . . . . . Hold. . . . . . . . on." The sloth nodded slowly, as he began to turn and reach around for the requested documentation. Nick turned to Judy, who nodded slightly with a grin.

He snorted quietly and rolled his eyes as they waited for the sloth to retrieve everything. Nick honestly wondered how Flash ever got to work on time. Probably speeding, the fox grimly noted. He couldn't wait to get back to the car and talk to Judy about this.

Nick knew he was doing fine. Hopefully. He didn't introduce himself, but, that wasn't exactly necessary here. The sloth turned back slowly, as he held the documents out to the fox. "Here. . . . . . . you. . . . . go," Flash spoke, with a smile.

Nick took the documents in his non-dominant hand and glanced at the license briefly. It was definitely Flash's photo and his name. As if he needed to check. "Is everything in here up-to-date and correct? No address changes, or new pink cards?" Nick asked, looking at the sloth.

"No. . . . . it. . . . . . . is. . . . . . . all. . . . . . . good." The sloth said, as he began to slowly nod.

Nick smiled and nodded in response. "Alright. Well, my partner and I are going to go and verify the information here. Please stay in your car, for your safety and mine. We'll be right back." The fox responded, with a nod. He waited until the sloth began a slow nod, and then the two walked back to the car carefully.

Nick watched the traffic, and the car as they walked back to the car, and hopped in. He passed the documents to Judy, smirking at her. "That. . . . was not who I would've suspected." He muttered, shaking his head lightly.

She chuckled, as she scanned Flash's license on the computer, and tapped through a few windows of information. "I couldn't believe it, either. How could he drive that fast and not crash? He couldn't even interact with a touch screen quickly" She asked rhetorically, as Nick laughed.

"Well, I've known him for a long time; but I still have absolutely no idea. . . . So, what's he got on his record?" Nick asked as he leaned over the centre console, nearly onto the rabbit's shoulder as he tried to look at the screen.

Sure, he could turn the screen, as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, smirking. But, he liked being weird. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few tickets under his name. Running lights, speeding, the regular stuff you would expect from a regular mammal of Zootopia.

Considering he literally worked at the DMV. . . Nick snorted, and shook his head. "Sheesh. . . For working at the DMV, he doesn't obey the rules of the road often. . . Well, what's the plan, Sergeant Judy?" He asked, as he leaned back into his seat and smiled at the rabbit. Not so subtly trying to pawn the choice into the capable rabbit's paws. She was impartial, she'd know what the right thing was. Nick already knew what he would do. . .

The rabbit, however, crossed her paws and smiled back at him. Nick knew what that meant, even before she spoke. "I don't think so, slick. I want to see what you come up with first.." She retorted as Nick scoffed.

"Aren't you supposed to be teaching me?" He responded, gesturing to his chest with wide, surprised eyes.

She shook her head, chuckling to herself. "Oh, I am. But, first I want to see what I have to work with. How much do I have to work with this fox clay to make it right, y'know?"

Nick huffed and sighed as he looked at the computer screen. "Well. . . . He's my friend. I've known him for a long time, Judy. And, he was pretty cooperative. . . You wanna radio for the tow truck?" Nick muttered as he smiled at her.

The law was pretty clear. And, Nick was not going to play favourites. Especially, "I'm impressed, Slick. Not surprised, but, impressed." Judy's smile beamed, as she grabbed her radio. "Base from Z240." She spoke into the microphone.

Nick smirked. "So. . . You'll have fun playing with this fox clay, hmm?"

She rolled her eyes, as a voice came through the speaker on the radio. "Z240, go ahead."

It was her euphemism, could she really blame him for having fun with it? He pulled out his notebook and began filling it out with the information on the display. And he started writing out the tickets. . . "We've had a severe speeding violation, and we need a tow truck down on Canopy Drive and 12th street." She informed them of the case, while he opened the glove box and pulled out one of the little pamphlets with directions to the impound lot and information about how to retrieve your vehicle.

"Tow truck en-route, Z240. Do you require backup?" The radio crackled again after a few seconds, as Nick sighed.

"Nope. Thank you, Base." She finished, as she looked over at the fox. "Do you want me to. . ." She began, tilting her ears to the side. It was obvious that she wondered if he was able to give the sloth the bad news. . . Nick snorted.

He shook his head, smiling. "Hey, you chose to trust me and I am going to take full advantage of it. . . He's not going to be happy, but at least it's bad news from a friend, right?" Nick mocked with a shrug, knowing full well that it wasn't going to go well. Despite how calm Flash seemed, it was quite possible to make him angry. Especially when he was having a bad day, like being pulled over by the police.

But to Nick, that didn't matter. Truth be told, he didn't just choose this because it was the 'right' thing to do. Friend or no friend, he ran a red light at 115 miles an hour, in a 40 zone. And, nearly T-boned their cruiser. All because the sloth decided to 'go fast'. The lies he gave were bullshit. If it truly was a kilometres confusion, he'd have been going a lot slower, not ridiculously faster.

The impact would've been on Judy's side. On her door, maybe. Nick wasn't sure what would have happened at that speed if they'd so much as rolled a few feet further forward. He wasn't an accident specialist. But, what he knew for certain was that Judy would not be 'hunky-dory'.

That was enough for Nick to decided that 'leniency' wasn't an option here. Even if it wasn't Judy if it wasn't them, the facts didn't change; Flash could have killed someone. Would kill someone, speeding that fast and running lights. It was only a matter of time if someone didn't do something.

He'd seen some accidents when he was on the street selling pawpsicles. The horrific injuries, the mangled cars. The screams of pain, both mental and physical. A parent, wailing over their child.

Sometimes it was a real accident and just a bad circumstance. Other times, someone was blatantly ignoring the rules of the road, simply because they wanted to get somewhere quicker, or didn't believe it was an issue. He'd seen a lot of stuff on his days in the street, but there were few crimes that were so egregiously negligent, and driven by childish need. Finnick never understood why he always harped on the fennec fox every time he turned right on a red without stopping.

But when Nick saw the carnage and heard the pain, it was hard to justify a few minutes of time. 'I was in a hurry' is no excuse to a mother, who held her bleeding child in their arms. He'd seen it, and he didn't want to ever again.

A few moments later, they both exited the cruiser and approached the window of Flash's car again. Judy followed along behind and passed him the insurance documents as they halted at the door.

Flash turned to face them, a smile appearing on his face as Nick held the documents out to him, the barest of smiles on the fox's face. He didn't want to look mean, but, he also didn't want to look goading. "Thank. . . . . you. . . . . I. . . . . . am. . . . . . sorry. . . . . . for. . . . . . causing. . . . . . you. . . . . . . . trouble." The sloth answered as he took the documents back.

"Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Flash. But, I'm afraid you are going to be ticketed for speeding. And. . . We're going to have to take your license, and impound your car for thirty days." Nick spoke confidently, as he watched the sloth carefully.

For what seemed like a long time, the sloth did not respond as he slowly comprehended what Nick had said. Then, his expression changed to surprise, as he turned his head to the side. "But. . . . . we. . . . . are. . . . . friends. . . . . . . Nick. . . . . . C'mon. . . . . I. . . . . . promise. . . . . not. . . . . to. . . . . . speed. . . . . again." He murmured, as Nick waited patiently for him to finish.

It was rude to interrupt mammals in general, but when it came to a sloth it was extremely disrespectful. It took them a long time to speak, to try and skip ahead just because they were still speaking was unbelievably impolite. Even if you could tell what they were going for before they got there.

Just because you could respond before they finished, didn't mean that you should. "I know, Flash. However, you work at the DMV. You have for years. You know, as much as I do, that speeding is against the law. And, as I'm sure you are aware, speeding in excess of double the speed limit means that we have to tow your car. You also ran a red light and nearly hit our vehicle, so I'm sure you can see why we're concerned about this behaviour." Nick explained as he handed Flash the ticket and the little impound information packet. "You'll be able to get your car in thirty days at that address. Now, sir, I need you to please exit the vehicle while we wait for the tow truck to arrive."

The sloth slowly shook his head. "But. . . . . Nick. . . . . ." Oh, how much Nick wanted to interrupt there. But, again, he needed to be respectful here. "We. . . . . can. . . . . . . work. . . . . . this. . . . out. . . . . Come. . . .on. . . . . buddy."

Oh, how much he hated that word right now. Yes, they were 'buddies'. But, he was five feet from possibly killing Judy and Nick. . . . . In another world, it might have happened, too. Nick could've been dead, or worse, holding a dying Judy in his arms. "I'm sorry, Flash. For one, my field training officer is watching me," The fox responded, gesturing to Judy.

The rabbit had to know that didn't matter to him, as she smirked back at him. "And two, as an officer my greatest concern is the safety of everyone in Zootopia, including yourself, Flash. You're risking your own life driving like that, let alone other mammals."

For a moment, the sloth just stared at him with a surprised and hurt expression. A part of Nick felt bad, but it was nowhere near the size of the part that knew this was the right answer. Instinctively, Nick looked at Judy to double-check, who nodded to him supportively.

And then, the sloth's face slowly changed to one of anger. Yeah, Nick figured this was going to happen. . . "How. . . . Fucking. . . . . dare. . . . . you. . . . . . I. . . . . . have. . . . . been. . . ."

Is this going to take a while? Nick thought, trying not to roll his eyes as he looked over at Judy with one raised eyebrow. Arguments with sloth's were terrible, if only for the reason that they literally could take hours just to get through. Flash was a fairly calm sloth, though. Chances were, he was going to somehow calm down about halfway through the argument.

Of course, considering how long it took the sloth to have that argument, Nick couldn't even try and guess how long it would take to reach that point. Minutes, a few hours maybe. For all he knew, their entire shift would end by the time they reached that halfway point.

He really hoped not. What with the wonderful teasing Nick and Judy were having right before this, Nick figured he was going to enjoy this whole cop thing. Especially since it meant he spent his day with Judy, who was always a special delight to the fox.

But first. . . Nick shrugged to the rabbit, as they both turned to listen to the sloth's argument drone on.

How long could a sloth stay angry, before falling asleep?

Good news, it didn't take the entire shift. But by the time that the sloth had finished complaining, and the truck had picked up the car, they both decided it was a good time to grab their lunch break while they finished the paperwork. There was always extra paperwork when you seized a vehicle. . .

Especially when he took so long to get out of the car, cursing and swearing at them all the way. That was. . . . somewhat demoralizing. But, it was the right thing. And, having the bunny sitting across the table at him, was worth far more. "Are you doing okay, Nick?" Judy asked, tilting her head to the side.

Nick looked up from his cup of coffee, immediately grinning when he saw the concern on her face. "Aw. . . Are you worrying about me, Carrots? . . Don't worry, fluff, I'm fine. He'll cool off, eventually." He responded, as Judy immediately rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, you did well, considering I kind of threw you into it." She added before she continued eating her salad. It was entertaining to watch the rabbit eat, as she shovelled more lettuce into her mouth.

If Nick didn't know any better, he'd assume that she was stuffing far too much food in her mouth. But, as he'd learned from watching her eat over the last several months, he was greatly underestimating her abilities, across all things

He shook his head, as he picked up the last bits of his sandwich. "Of course I did great. I have a bunny partner to impress. How could I possibly mess it up?" He mused as he took a bite.

She chuckled, shaking her head as she scooped up the last of her salad. "Uhuh. You're going to have to do a lot more to impress me. A good start, but you've got a long way to go." She teased, as she took the last fork-full, and continued scribbling information into her notes.

Nick chewed, smirking back at the rabbit. The fox's notes were allowed to be simple. But, for the poor rabbit, she also needed to record his behaviour during calls, in order to write reports about him later. Hopefully, it was all good notes.

"I don't know. You did say you loved me back there. That's got to count for a few good points, hmmm?" He purred, tilting his head to the side, one ear propping forward comically.

Her eyebrows fell, as she shook her head and swallowed the last of her food. "Sure, I love you. . . As a friend. But, as a partner, you've got a long way to go." She responded, grinning at the fox as she flipped her notebook closed. "Almost done?"

Nick snorted, as he threw the last bit of sandwich in his mouth, and chewed, emphatically. She shook her head with a light laugh, and got up from the table and walked toward the cashier. Nick grabbed the last of his stuff and rose to follow her.

"I'll pay for my own food," Nick spoke as he approached, hoping to catch the cashier before the rabbit finished. But, in a flash, she smirked at him, as she quickly tapped her card on the ATM receiver. Nick shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"Oops." She teased, as the receipt began to print off noisily.

"Sorry, sir." The squirrel cashier responded, shrugging.

Nick shook his head, chuckling softly. Immediately, he decided to get revenge by cooking dinner. Of course, then he needed to think about what he needed to pick up from the store. . . What would a rabbit like?

He could whip up some carrot cake for dessert. She seemed to like that, back when they were at that little restaurant by the academy. That would work, right? "Thanks. C'mon, foxy." She chimed, as she put her card back in her wallet and turned towards the door.

"Right away, Sergeant." He mocked, as he followed behind her. She snorted, shaking her head as they walked out the door and to the cruiser.

She unlocked it, and they both clamoured back inside. Immediately, Judy picked up the radio transmitter. Always such a keener. "Base from Z240."

"Z240, go ahead." The familiar voice of Clawhauser crackled through. How that feline was responsible for all dispatch calls, he'd never know. Or, maybe that wasn't true. . . It didn't sound like him on the radio earlier.

"We have finished our break, are there any calls in the waitlist?" She asked, raring to go as usual. Nick grinned, as he regarded the rabbit in the driver's seat. Her seat, as she so eloquently suggested when Nick jokingly offered to drive this morning.

It was always her seat, wasn't it? Metaphorically, too. In life, she never 'let' anything happen that she didn't want to. Not without a fight, at least. But, as long as she was willing to let him sit beside her, he couldn't complain much.

He still didn't understand when she came after him that day. She'd figured it out, 'cracked' the case. She had all the clues. They were flowers, there was the possibility that there was a cure. And, she knew who might have been (and was) involved.

She could've taken that information to the ZPD immediately. Even as a civilian, it wasn't like they wouldn't take what she said as serious, and investigate it. Especially after she found all the missing animals. She could've easily 'earned' back her spot, in a second. They would be able to find Weaselton, selling DVD's on the street corner, he wasn't exactly an invisible character. They could've used that, to get him to confess. From there. . . Well. . . Maybe they would've never caught Bellweather's confession like that. . .

But, that wasn't the point. She would eventually uncover everything, she was more than capable. Instead, she did something entirely different. Judy could never have predicted how it would turn out, when she went and found Finnick, in a desperate search for him.

For him, who'd been. . . Not having a good time, the last few months. Judy wanted to find him. To see a fox, that she barely knew. To apologize to him, for hurting him. Tell him that she was wrong and that she needed his help. And, that she was a dumb bunny, of course.

How could a fox- No, how could Nicholas Wilde, not respond to that teary-eyed bunny?

She was a spitfire, and completely unpredictable. The fox doubted there was another mammal like her, in the entire City of Zootopia.

"I've got nothing for you right now, Z240. According to the computer, you two have been assigned to. . . . patrol Sahara Square for the rest of the shift!" Ben's voice chimed in, disrupting his thoughts as the rabbit shook her head.

"10-4, Base." She responded, as she set the mic down, and started the cruiser. Nick frowned, lightly shaking his head.

In all of Zootopia, there wasn't a single call that they had to respond to? Not even a bullshit call? Nick didn't believe that at all. "Something sounds fishy about that." He murmured, as he instinctively buckled himself in as she put the car in reverse, and drove out of the parking lot.

She shrugged. "I don't think so. They might be holding us in reserve, in case they get a call from one of the smaller communities. I can't imagine how hard it would be for Officer Francine to try and respond to a call in Rodentia."

Nick nodded, trying to imagine the poor elephant trying to move around in there. One wrong step and traffic would have to be diverted for the entire community. At least with Judy and Nick, they could try and stay mostly out of the way.

"Alrighty then, Carrots, whatever you say." He responded as he leaned back in his chair, paws behind his head. Driving around for hours sounded like a pretty boring shift. But, there were worst things than being in a confined space with a bunny, right?

Judy let out a huff, shaking her head. "You really need to start being more careful with your words, Slick. We'll pull in here." She spoke, as she turned the car into a parking spot by the large nearby park.

Nick leaned forward curiously, as she put the cruiser in park and turned off the engine. ". . . What are we doing exactly, fluff? I thought we were supposed to patrol?"

Judy unbuckled, nodding her head. "Mhm, we are. But, no one said we had to patrol in the car. And, I don't know about you, but I think it would be a lot more entertaining to walk around and talk to our fellow Zootopians, don't you think?"

The rabbit opened her door, smirking at the fox as she slid her way out. He chuckled, as he followed suit and hopped to the ground. As soon as his door closed, he heard the chirp of the car alarm as he walked around to the front of the cruiser.

There, the rabbit was already putting coins into the meter, causing Nick confusion as he cocked his head to the side. "Aren't we immune from parking tickets?" He asked. Surely, they were at least allowed that right?

Judy shrugged. "Not in my opinion. This is a parking space for Zootopians, and we're not special or better than them. Besides, this makes the perfect incentive to come back to the cruiser after two hours, doesn't it?"

Nick nodded, although it still sounded silly to him. No meter maid was going to give them a ticket anyway, right?

But, the rabbit quickly turned and waved for him to follow as she walked towards the park. "Let's go do some real police work, hmm? Make some connections?" She teased, as he followed behind, slipping on his sunglasses as the sun blazed into his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Carrots. I've got lots of connections." He joked back, grinning as they made their way through the park, headed for a small group of picnickers.

She snorted, shaking her head. "Yes, as Nick the con-fox. Now, how about you make some as Nick the Officer?"

Nick laughed, as a grin formed. . . She wanted him to make connections, hmm? "So. . . In lieu of connections, any hints on how to make a rabbit love a fox as a partner?" He teased, bringing up her little tease.

"Well, I would first try not being a pain in the ass, hmm?"

"Aw. . . C'mon. Where's your sense of adventure?"

His sense of adventure was perfectly fine. Sure, he wasn't exactly keen on like, half of the dangerous shit that she dragged him through before. But, that was because the rabbit was crazy.

"Are you ever going to clean up all these wires?" The rabbit spoke, calling from the living room with a very condescending tone. Especially considering the fox was definitely going to reroute the wiring for the entertainment system. Eventually.

"How about this, the first day we have off, it's the first thing on my list. Okay?" Nick responded as he wandered in the kitchen, checking the two pans on the stove every few seconds.

The rabbit shook her head. "I'll believe it when it happens." She had to be so dismissive, didn't she? He wanted to. But, since he moved in, most of his time off was either spent sleeping, cooking, or trying out new organizational systems for his room.

So far, chaos seemed to be the best solution for him.

"So, all in, how do you think your first day went?" Judy asked as the fox continued to carefully poke the frying vegetables with his spatula. Sure, it was calm, calculated poking. But, that was all cooking really was, wasn't it? Throw a few random spices here and there, and call it a meal.

Besides, he only needed to do it for another six minutes, according to the stove clock. Then, the banana bread would be done, and they could eat dinner while it cooled.

Judy didn't like the carrots at the local grocery market, they all seemed a little too rubbery. But, rabbits liked banana's too, right? Everyone liked bananas.

"I don't know. . . You're the 'reviewer', after all. You already knew how well I did, don't you? Are you asking as my superior, or as my roommate?" He asked, leaning to look at her with a grin. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she clicked through the channels on the TV.

"That depends. Are you trying to bribe me with that delicious smelling banana bread, as a superior, or as a roommate?" She spoke melodically, as she looked back to him with a. . . suspicious smirk.

The smell flooding the entire apartment was wonderful, he had to admit. Banana bread was aromatic. But, that accusation. . . Nick held a paw to his chest, feigning pain, as he let his legs wobble. But, he suddenly straightened and grinned mischievously. "Is it too much to ask for both?"

"It's not that big of a loaf." She instantly fired back, impressing the fox as usual. It never mattered what he did, she always stepped up and met him halfway. It was perhaps her most. . . Attractive? Feature? That sounded a little weird.

But, that was neither here nor there. "Well, hold on a moment, I'll whip up some more batter." Ah, that wasn't even half as good as her reply. But, he heard a single laugh from the living room, so, he was going to count that as worth it.

"You haven't answered my question. As a friend, how was your first day of work?" She asked again, punctuating her intention. He knew that was what she'd wanted, but, playing with her was always more fun.

And, he was going to have his fun one way or another. "Ooo, as a friend who loves me? How interesting. Hmm. . . How do I respond?"

"I'd like to retract a statement I gave earlier, Officer." She grumbled from the kitchen, as he decided the vegetables were ready and pulled it off the burner before sliding it onto the nearby plates. He turned the burners off, and also pulled the second pan off, and placed the few fried beetles onto his plate.

As soon as that was done, he turned to grin at the rabbit, who was smirking back to him. "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am. Are you saying that your earlier statement was incorrect? Were you lying to an officer?" It was not an offence to lie to an officer, unless it was in relation to an offence, or related to such matters. But, that didn't stop it from being fun.

He took the pans and gave them a quick rinse in the sink. From the living room, she heard the rabbit call back. "No, but I fear that my res gestae statement is going to be used to self-incriminate myself, sir." She responded, mockingly exaggerating in a distressed voice.

Nick shook his head, as he turned back to the stove. There was only a minute left, so he hit the off button, and grabbed the nearby stove mittens. "Well, if that is how you feel, ma'am, the statement shall not be used in a court of law as an absolute declaration of guilt. However, the statement will remain in my official notes as altering my notes would be illegal. The evidence you've given may be used to inculpate any accomplices that were implicit in the crime." He mused as he pulled the loaf from the oven.

All of that was bullshit. Res gestae statements couldn't be retracted, that wasn't how they worked. That wasn't how any of this worked. But, Nick liked the game too much to call her out on it.

He could hear the rabbit snort from the living room, as he pulled the loaf from the oven and set the pan on the cooling rack. Sure, he was technically supposed to take it out of the pan first. He didn't follow kitchen rules, though. "Who are you planning to convict with that evidence, Officer?" She asked voice filled with amused curiosity.

He pulled out two pair of cutlery and set one on each of the plates. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't comment on any ongoing investigations. Especially one involving people that you may know." He responded, putting on an act of grace as he picked the plates up, and headed for the living room.

The rabbit watched his approach, one ear cocked to the side. That was the sign for her being amusingly interested, he had learned. Or, at least he assumed. She took her plate, as he sat down carefully beside her. "Alright, Officer. There's just one issue."

He looked over at the rabbit, who'd picked up the utensils, and was watching him with that cute, suspicion-creating grin. "Yes, ma'am?" He asked as he settled into the chair.

Then, the rabbit lifted her fork and reached across the couch to poke him in the chest, grinning widely. Nick looked down at the fork, and then back to the rabbit. "You still haven't really answered my question, Nick." She responded sternly, the use of his name clearly indicating that the game was definitely over.

Which, was too bad. He was having fun. But, with the threatening fork pressed to his chest, he chose to relent and smiled back at the rabbit. "Well. . . As you are my friend, I can say that I enjoyed it. It was fun, and I think I did fine. I have a lot to learn, though. . . My FTO is very harsh, unfortunately. She constantly watches me and is quick to correct me if I do something wrong. Kind of mean, in some ways." He mentioned, the rabbit's eyes narrowing as she frowned at him.

"Sounds like you don't like her very much." She responded gruffly, as she retracted the fork, and stabbed a bok choy.

He chuckled, as he began to fork his own food. She probably would've preferred to stab him, but, laws. Besides. . . He had some more to say. "However. . . She believes in me. Even if I do not believe in myself. . . . I'd like to believe that, she wouldn't be so harsh if I wasn't somehow worth it. . . . At least, I hope?"

The frown on the rabbits face slowly turned to a smile as she shook her head at Nick. Before it slowly curved, into a mocking grin.

"I highly doubt it."

That rabbit was wrong. No matter what anyone said about him, Nick kept his promises. Generally And, what with it being his first 3 days off, he was already kneeling in front of the television with a consternated expression.

It had been an. . . . Interesting run of shifts, he had to admit. While his first day went fairly well, he found out the next day that he'd made at least a dozen small grammar mistakes in his reports, and had to redo all of them. And, from then on, it became pretty clear that the rabbit wasn't going to pull any punches at all.

As he hoped for, he guessed. Learning required correction, after all. But, Nick was a quick learner, he figured. His first instance of arresting a pickpocket was not particularly good, but by the time he arrested that weasel for assault, he had the rights down pat.

'You are under arrest for -blank-, do you understand?'

'You have the right to retain and instruct legal counsel without delay. You have the right to free legal aid, or to contact your own lawyer immediately. Do you understand? Do you wish to contact them now?'

'You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but whatever you say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?'

Simple in principle. He did it several times in school. But when you were arresting someone, holding your notebook nervously on the guideline page, it was a lot different.

The rabbit, on the other hand, could rattle it off like a machine gun. . . No book, no nervousness. Just straight police professionalism. She was an impressive sight to see.

Now, all of their 'arrests' so far were released at the scene, with an appearance notice. Not like they needed to haul every thief back to the station, as Judy so learned when she started. . . But, that wasn't important now. Right now, Nick had greater concerns, here at home.

Judy was out somewhere, running some errands she had put off for a while. Said something about going to the pharmacy, and then going to go pick up some stuff for a 'home office' in her room. She wanted to get a home computer, so she wanted to shop around for some good deals. That way, she could do additional work at home, she said.

Nick suggested that she get a gaming computer, under the guise that it would be over-qualified and therefore capable of handling any workload. But, the rabbit quickly rejected the offer. Probably for good reason, considering a good gaming computer was not a cheap purchase.

He also asked her to pick up a few groceries, if she had time. Nick had given her a bit of money to pay for them, but he was almost certain that she was going to find some way to sneak the money back to him.

Ever since she'd gotten that sergeant's raise, the rabbit talked about how she felt that she was swimming in cash. Nick, on the other hand, knew it wasn't that much money. He'd met street hustlers who made way more than that.

But, to the frugal bunny, he was sure it seemed like a lot. She earned it all and deserved every bit of her promotion if the fox was allowed to have such an opinion.

It was about noon, she'd been gone only for a few hours. And, Nick was pretty much all done doing cable management for the entertainment system. He would've been proud of himself if he hadn't busted the plug off in the AC receiver.

See, a lot of the things he had, he bought second hand. Some from pawn shops, others from online ads. Some were good quality, some were just old. And, some he had to scavenge wires for from wherever he could.

This power cord was one of them. He didn't remember where he got it from, but, considering how corroded the little element looked, stuck in the back of the DVD player, he was pretty sure he should have left it where it was.

The broken cord didn't matter, he was sure he had an extra somewhere. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the broken-off bit inside the player. He needed to get it out, somehow.

He knew he should've been more careful, pulling on cables like that. Nick had been far more careful with everything else, he was just getting impatient. He didn't even unplug it from the wall, he just grabbed the DVD player, and yanked, like a Neanderthal fox.

That disappointed, anxious and horrified look on his muzzle was evidence of his stupidity, as he stared at his failure. A failure that he may not be able to fix.

A new plug was one thing. It was another thing to try and remove the damaged part without wrecking the player itself. It was such a tiny hole. . .

Sure, he could probably afford a new player. He could even get Judy to pick it up for him if she was still out. But he'd had this player for a while. There were memories and stuff. And, he didn't want to admit to Judy that he'd broken something.

Nick sighed, shaking his head. Naturally, he had to be almost done when something broke. He rerouted the TV itself, the speakers, the audio receiver, all of it without a single issue. Only Nick, the foolish fox he was, would manage to ruin the last step.

It looked like he could just pull it off the broken piece. But, his claws weren't exactly 'evolved' for that purpose, and he couldn't get a grip on it. Which meant that he had to hope that they had some option somewhere in the house.

Nick stood up, shaking his head as he made his way towards the kitchen. There had to be a set of pliers in there somewhere, right? Didn't Judy have a tool/random drawer or something? He was pretty sure he'd seen some random tool bits section when he was cooking.

If he got it fixed immediately, Judy would never need to know he screwed up. The rabbit didn't need any more fodder to call the fox a failure. She'd had more than enough this week to shave his backside as it was.

Nick stomped across the living room floor, shaking his head with personal disappointment. He carried the DVD player under his arm, in the hopes it could all be fixed in only a few seconds. One stupid mistake, but, at least it would be fairly simple to correct with the right tools. Heck, Nick figured it would take no time at all if there was a set of-

Click. Nick froze, as he heard the deadbolt of the front door slide open. A villainous sound, as he looked over, catching the sight of the door handle slowly turning. Of course. . . She had to come home now, didn't she?

And there he was, an idiot. Standing right by the door, looking absolutely guilty and foolish while holding his broken DVD player. The fox had told her that he'd be done by the time she got back, and now she was going to have a field day. He was never going to hear the end of it, was he?

He opened his mouth, ready to respond as the door slowly swung open. All he needed to do was convince her it was already broken, or something, and then it couldn't be that big of a deal, right?

However, as the door swung open, it revealed not one rabbit, but two.

Neither of which was Judy. Not even close. Nick felt his stomach drop, as he stood there. Who the hell were they? And how did they get a key? One was female, and one male, older. Wearing very. . . Farmy, clothing? Could they be-?

"Sweet cheese and crackers!" The female rabbit called out, as she immediately dug into her purse. That had to be Judy's mother, right? "P-put your paws up, thief!" She shouted aggressively, as she pulled out a tiny, pink cylinder, nervously holding it toward the fox.

A very. . . Familiar cylinder. "Uhh. . . " Nick muttered, nervously. "Don't. . . shoot?"