The night was slowly drawing near as the pair was driving through the streets of Zootopia.

Judy enjoyed the ride a lot – the bunny was sitting in her seat, her arms raised up as she exhaled a cool breeze, which was coming from different angles. The only drawback of that moment was that she had to fight with an undeniable temptation to just unbuckle her seat belts, stand up and fully revel in the entire atmosphere of the city's evening as long as it could last. However, knowing that the animals who were passing by would undoubtedly see her, she gave up on that idea and decided to enjoy their trip as it was. After all, she was a ZPD officer for sweet cheese and crackers' sake. She was supposed to set a good example for the others, not the other way around. Not that there was a huge chance somebody would recognize her anyway. The sun was almost hidden behind the horizon by now, leaving not that much light to reflect her, the car was moving quickly, and she wasn't in the city's spotlight like she used to be during the Night Howler case.

Nick softly snickered at the sight of her enjoyment. It reminded her of the fact that she still didn't exactly know where they were heading. The word 'pizzeria' could have so many different meanings in Nick's language… Instead of worrying too much, Judy had opted to believe her friend anyway. It's not like she had a choice at that point.

She was a little curious, too.

They arrived not too soon after leaving the beach. In the end, their trip took less than twenty minutes. Nick carefully parked his car so it wasn't touching the lawn, otherwise Judy would scold him for it and that's not something that anybody wanted to happen, especially on their first 'friendly' date.

As she got out of the vehicle, the doe took a look at the building in the front of her. It seemed to be quite a fancy place with a modern twist. There was a garden outside with some seats for people who liked to eat in the open air and for those who didn't find any available table inside.

They approached together the restaurant's entrance. The neon sign above read: "Pizzeria The Wild". Nick opened the door for the bunny, showing his classy side again, though, they both knew it was only a part of their game.

Once the pair entered the building, they were immediately greeted by the staff. Nick asked if there was any available table for two persons, and a young vixen quickly looked around. At first, the doe was worried that they won't be able to find anything, seeing how many animals were around, however her doubts were dispelled the moment the waitress nodded, giving them a faint smile, and showed them where they could take a seat. Judy wondered if it was just a real lucky 'coincidence' that they found a one, or if the red fox had just reserved it before and gave them a tip to play along. Maybe it was a reach, but everything was possible with that sly bastard. Well, at least from Judy's point of view.

Hoping that her mind would finally leave those theories alone, Judy decided to focus on the restaurant's scenery. She noticed how the place was filled with a huge amount and variety of greenery inside. She could see around them the vines decorating the walls, exotic trees planted in pots and a lot of colorful flowers. There was also a small pond in the middle of the room, in which goldfishes were swimming cheerfully. It was obvious that the owners had no other choice but to stylize the entire place that way since the name of the restaurant was "The Wild". Still, it was a nice touch, considering that many other restaurants probably wouldn't even bother doing so.

"Sooo," Nick decided to break the silence by starting a conversation, taking her attention back to him, "Is my little Carrots surprised there are no naked animals there?"

"Actually, I am," Judy claimed as she rolled her eyes. Not wanting to waste any more second, she reached for the menu card, which was lying on the table before they even entered the restaurant. Looking at the long list of dishes, obviously mainly consisting of pizza, but also with a mix of pasta and salads, the bunny quickly found the vegetarian section.

"So, I guess, pepperoni for both of us?" Nick smirked, holding the menu in his paw, "Last time we ordered it, you really liked it!"

"Here we go again…"Judy cringed inwardly at the thought of eating that type of pizza again. It instantly reminded her of that one evening a few days ago, when she and Nick had been watching a movie. She still could remember Nick's shock, when she had eaten pepperoni with no problems together with him. Most of bunnies naturally didn't consume meat, since they were herbivores, even though there were some exceptions. However, Judy wasn't one of them… In fact, she couldn't stand meat, neither from insects nor fishes and other sea livings. But what she actually liked was surprising the fox and letting him know that she wasn't that simple. In short, she only had done it to impress him, but not that it wasn't worth it, though.

"Uh, no. This time, I'd rather order just a margherita," Judy said in somewhat nervous tone. Nick looked at her with disappointment in his eyes, so she quickly assured him, "But you can buy yourself a one. After all, you're the one who invited me here and that means you will be also paying for the food."

"Of course, my princess," Nick replied sarcastically as his paw secretly went down until it was touching his pocket. He gripped the box with the proposal ring inside, making himself sure that it was still there.

The idea, his sly mastermind plan, was in reality not that complicated – All he had to do was to take Judy for a 'date', make her think that he truly is in love with her, and it's not just a part of their hustle game, and then, when she doesn't expect this, propose to her. Knowing that she had feelings for him too, there would be no way she would say 'no'.

And then, surprise! Finnick, who had helped him in preparing the plan, would jump out with the camera. The entire scene would be recorded. Her words against hers. Since everything was supposed to happen far away from the city, there was no way that Judy would think somebody could be observing them.

"You know, I've got something else prepared for later," A wide grin formed on Nick's face. It was an unintentional sign of what was coming next.

"I can't wait for it," Judy gave him a smile, putting the menu aside. She didn't seem to be excited too much for that, though, she was still enjoying herself. For now.

"Can't wait for it too, my sweetheart."

Some time later…

After they had finished eating pizza and Nick paid for the meal, the pair instantly went to the parking, where the tod's car was standing, and drove off.

The location they were heading towards were the nearby cliffs. It was a popular tourist spot, mainly known for an astonishing sea view. Nick was pretty familiar with that place – back in the days before he had even met Judy, he used to 'work' there. Unsurprisingly, the job was all about conning the innocent tourists. But that was the past – now he had to focus on anything that was yet to come and happen in his life.

They were riding through a forest, which was located near Zootopia – the city getting more and more distant from them with every passing second. Once they entered the dark woods, Nick realized the mistake that he and Finnick had made - they should have initiated their plan way earlier. Everything around them was already almost pitch black, so he had to stay perfectly focused on the road ahead, the car headlights being his only helpful friend in that case. The wind was whistling around them gently, the moon above shined through the leaves, no sound of living animal could be heard in the closest distance, expect for his own breath. It was far from the perfect romantic setting – it felt rather like something taken straight from some climatic, slow-burn horror movie.

Otherwise, the plan was going perfectly. The only thing that made Nick a bit worried was the question if Finnick would be able to get there in time. After all, it was dark, and, while the fennec knew exactly where he was supposed to find them, there was still a slight possibility that he could get lost in the forest at any moment. Since Nick couldn't prevent such an unlucky situation from happening anyway, he chose to ignore his thoughts.

Soon…

Then, Judy spoke up, in the middle of their way.

"Uh, Nick…" She started nervously, her ears all way down and her voice trembling as if she was afraid of something.

"Yes, Carrots?" Nick asked, without a hint of any emotion in his tone, still concentrating on the road in front of them.

"I'm not sure if I'm right, but I think that someone is following us."

Nick froze in his seat, a cold chill creeping up his spine. Reluctantly, he looked into his rear view mirror.

"What the heck...?"

Behind them there was a black limousine. He couldn't see neither the driver's face, nor anyone's else who was sitting inside. The expensive car's lights were hollowly stalking them.

Nick thought about their situation for a while, wanting to analyze it carefully. Finnick couldn't be their stalker – starting, the only vehicle he owned was his van. Though, there was a chance that he could somehow obtain it – after all, it was Finnick who gave him the car in which the pair was riding right now. But then, there was the second argument – while Finnick obviously wasn't the most intelligent person in the world or anything like that, he surely wouldn't be so stupid to do something as foolish as that. It looked too conspicuous, and it was clear that the person driving the vehicle behind didn't care at all.

Then he remembered that the fennec fox had mentioned 'borrowing' that red car from some rich guy. He couldn't recall his name, though… wasn't he a part of a mafia group or something like that? That would explain a lot…

Great. Instead of helping him, the fennec fox only made things worse.

"Hey, I don't know whoever it is, but maybe they don't have any bad inten-" Judy was about to finish her words, but then the limousine's window opened and there was a horrific sound of gun behind them. Whoever it was, they missed the shot, but still it was enough to make anybody panic instantly.

In a second, the instinct, hidden before deep inside, took a control over him. The tod violently stepped on the gas, which resulted in both of them getting slammed back into their respective seats. Judy let out a loud scream of terror as the car's movement rapidly accelerated.

"We need to get away from here. Now," He thought. Finnick had assured him before that the real owner of the car shouldn't even find out about his missing vehicle, nor care about it. Oh, wait. Shouldn't.

It took them less than five minutes to reach the cliffs, mainly due to an insane speed of the ride. Nick and Judy, not having any time to waste, got out of the car, her grabbing his paw anxiously, only to learn a painfully harsh truth. Something they both had forgotten about in the madness of their date.

It was a dead end.

The view from there was truly great, though. The sea under them was dark blue, nothing could be seen underneath the surface, nor in the nearest distance. It seemed like it had hopelessly no end... Too bad that they weren't able to fully admire it, since they could be dead in any second.

Jumping to the water wasn't an option, knowing that a fall from that height would, without any doubts, kill them.

"It wasn't supposed to end like that…" He had never felt like that before. So vulnerable, so defeated. Nick was truly at a loss for words. He was about to say something, something that would make Judy happy again, just to see her smile again, the smile that he loved so much.

The fox felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He turned around only to see the bunny, who looked into his eyes, her terrified expression stabbing him right in his heart.

"I don't know how this is going to end, but… I want you to know that I like you, Nick," Judy was at the verge of crying. For a moment, it crossed his mind that maybe it was an acting, just to hustle him, but those tears couldn't be lying."No, I love you. And… more than just a friend."

"Judy, I… I love you too," Nick finally admitted the truth that he had been hiding for so long. It really felt… reliving.

They noticed the black limousine approaching them and then stopping next to their car. Nick turned his eyes back to Judy. She had her eyes closed, almost like she was preparing for her final moment. The fox wanted to comfort her somehow, but even he felt like he lost all hope. So, instead he just hugged her, embracing her small frame. That was enough for her.

Someone approached them.

…

"HAHAHA, looks like you've both got totally hustled!"

"Finnick?" Hearing his friend's voice, Nick turned his attention away from Judy. The fennec fox was standing in front of them, his smile almost devilish, as he was holding with his both paws a camera that actually seemed to be bigger than him.

"You out of all people?" Now, it was Judy who spoke up, the tone of her voice simultaneously sour and disappointed. To be truly honest, the only person she would ever suspect of creating such a wicked plan was Nick, however, that wasn't something she would ever admit out loud.

"Y'all were so busy playing against each other that you forgot that somebody could join the game too. I was behind the trees all this time, while you and your bunny looked like you were gonna piss your pants!" The fennec fox bursted out laughing so hard that he almost dropped the camera. However, neither Judy nor Nick found it that amusing as he did it, for an obvious reason.

"But how could you?" Judy asked, her voice sounding more tired than outright angry.

"That's a good question," Nick agreed.

"You want to know why? You two lovebirds were so deeply in love, yet never wanted to confess. It started to get on my nerves, so I decided to finally do somethin'!" He had quite a hard time uttering those words, since he still couldn't stop laughing.

"But then, who was in that limousine…?" Nick asked another question. And that was the moment they noticed three big figures approaching them. It looked like he already got his answer as they saw a group of white bears.

Wait, polar bears?!

One of them was holding something, or rather someone, in his paws. He moved his fingers, exposing a small animal sitting on even a smaller chair. It was a shrew they had both met before.

"Mr. Big? You too?!" The bunny exclaimed in utter shock.

"I have to apologize to you. But when that small fox showed up at my home, I knew I couldn't turn down his offer," He explained, his voice as always calm. Judy unintentionally chuckled a bit at how he called Finnick a 'small fox', which was quite ironical considering the shrew's size. "I remembered that you were a great friend of my daughter, and having that in mind, I wanted to do everything in my power to help you."

Nick wasn't focused on him, though. He send a piercing look at the fennec fox, who only shrugged it off.

"Don't look at me like that. Not my problem that you couldn't get the girl on your own," Finnick replied, barely holding himself from laughing again.

"As an apology, I've decided to invite you both to my house for a party to celebrate your new love, Judy," She rolled her eyes hearing the last part. Even though they both knew about their own feelings now, it didn't mean that they were together. "I hope that it will be enough to compensate for that unfortunate situation."

"Then let's go" The tod was surprised that it was Judy who spoke up first. She hadn't seen Fru Fru in a long time, anyway, and maybe she was the one who would understand her feelings in that messed up situation.

"Honestly," Not wanting to be left alone, Nick made his mind up too, "I could really use a drink."