Judy was grateful most of the paparazzi had moved on after the party had started. Whomever was left over had their eyes on the main entrance, cameras ready to capture the latest hook ups. Thankfully, she had spent enough time with Fru Fru to know how to leave the mansion discreetly.

Sending a text the driver Mr. Big always insisted she use, she grabbed Nick's paw and dragged him to the car when it pulled up. Opening the door, she pointedly stood to the side, grinding her teeth as Nick took the hint and scrambled in. He winced as she slammed the door shut and stormed over to the other side.

Sliding into her seat and slamming her door shut, they fell into tense silence as they pulled away from the curb.

"Carrots-"

"Not until we get to your place."

Nick's heartbeat pounded in his ears as they drove from Tundra Town to the Rainforest district. Pulling up to his house, he barely remembered to thank Mr. Manchas as he climbed out and followed Judy to his front door. She waited for him to unlock and disarm his house with her arms crossed and eyes to the ground. Judy stormed past once he stepped aside, keeping her back to him as he lock the door behind him once they were both in. Dropping his keys onto the entry table, he looked at her as she set her purse and shawl on a chair in the living room.

"I can't believe your behavior tonight…." she began, looking over her shoulder at him.

Nick's eyes widened. "My behavior? What am I supposed to do when some random mammal just grabs you? Let it happen? That rabbit started it!"

She marched to where he stood and poked him in the chest. "You're suppose to let me handle it! Not grab one of the most recognized celebrities in the city and punch him! Not start a fight like a spoiled frat kid! You're almost thirty three, for gods sake, Nicholas Wilde!"

His large paw reached up to grasp hers, keeping it pinned to his chest. "Did you like it?"

Judy blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Him kissing you," Nick stepped closer until he was towering over her, his other paw moving to grasp her elbow. "Did you like it?"

Her eyes continued to stare at the fox for a moment, taking in his suspicious glare and heavy breathing.

"I think," Judy began carefully, looking from him to hide her blush and gently moving from his grasp, "that shouldn't be something you should be worrying about."

He didn't fight her when she tugged herself free from him completely, much to her relief. In attempt to keep the silence from crushing them both, she turned stride from the living room towards the master bedroom. The soft paw steps assured her Nick was following. Though the thought simultaneously thrilled and flustered her as she passed through to the adjoining bathroom. Flicking on the light, the doe opened the medicine cabinet and pulled a small bottle of lavender oil from it.

"Your focus right now shouldn't be on me," she lectured, moving to sit at the edge of the tub. The water was turned on and adjusted before the stopper was put in place. "Focus on our next event. That concert in the park is going to a big deal for you-"

"A big deal that I'm doing for free," Nick replied with a scoff from the bathroom doorway. Judy shot him a dark glare as the scent of lavender filled the now steaming air.

"Yes, for free. At first this was supposed to be a just another way to boost your name. Look at it now as damage control." She reached over to shut off the water and stood. Finally turning to face him fully, she put her paws on her hips and gave him her best stern look. "Your reputation is too fragile to have this stay in the media for any length of time. I have to call Mr. Big and find a way to convince him to get his guests to erase any and all pictures and videos of you and Savage's little 'He-Male' display. And you better hope he agrees.

"Meanwhile, I want you to take a bath and relax. Leave your tux on the hook and I'll get it dry cleaned in the morning. And I want you to turn in early. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Walking towards the bathroom door, she was stopped from leaving by a gentle paw on her waist. "Alone?" he asked softly.

Purple eyes narrowed in confusion. Nick smirked as he looked her up and down, before meeting her eyes again with a spark of something she was too afraid to name. Not that that kept her from recognizing and wanting it.

"You're going to make me bathe… alone?"

Pushing those thoughts away, Judy sighed and moved past him. "Maybe if the night had gone differently, and you had behaved… you would still be bathing alone, Slick."

Now it was her turn to smirk as she practically felt his drop. Turning back to where he was standing, still in the doorway of his bathroom, she watch Nick shrug out of his tux jacket. He tossed it to her, that look coming back to his eyes as he considered his agent. She was slipping it on the hanger when he spoke again.

"You know, you're awfully cute when you're angry, Carrots."

Scowling at him, she hung up the jacket in his closet and stormed over to the bedroom door. "Don't call me cute."

"What about tempting?"

The words made her pause before exiting. "What?" Not quite sure she heard him correctly, her ears snapped up as she looked at him again.

But Nick just laughed and shrugged. "Nothing." Without another word, he closed the bathroom door, leaving Judy staring at where he had vanished and fighting the urge to slip out of her dress and join him. It was only self preservation that had her heading back down the hall to gather her things.

Scrolling through the her contacts and selecting Big's number, she gave the bedroom a final longing glance as it rang.

Focus, Judy, she scolded….. focus….

…

Alone and surround by the fragrant steam of his bath, the fox watch in the fogged mirror as he undid his bow tie and unbuttoned his shirt.

"She will be mine," Nick said to himself, smiling at his reflection and shrugging out of his clothes. " Oh, yes… She will be all mine."

….

"My child, you ask so much of me," the old shrew smiled to himself. "Such a task would require a significant bribe to assure my guests it would be worth their while. And who knows if any would agree and then sell the footage anyway."

Big listened to the rabbit groan in frustration on the other side of the phone.

"Perhaps," he interrupted, "I could find if a way if a certain well connected agent were to get my little girl the VIP treatment to the Zootopia music festival. She and her new fiancé would be thrilled to know they'd be spending a weekend being pampered and spoiled beside their favorite artists."

Grinning again at the enthusiastic agreement and profuse 'thank yous', Big nodded and smiled at his daughter dancing with her future husband, Markus.

"Enjoy the rest of your night, Miss Hopps. And consider it done."

He hung up and snapped his fingers. Gesturing to the attentive polar bear, the larger mammal bent to receive his murmur instructions. Nodding, the bear straightened and left, lifting a paw to his ear piece to relay the orders. Big left his chair to join Fru Fru on the dance floor designed especially for her and other guests their size.

"My darling," he greeted, Fru grinning and wrapping her arms around her father. "Have you seen Miss Frost? I need to have a word with her."

"You just missed her, Daddy!" She replied, looking over to her fiancé for confirmation. Markus nodded and looked back to Big.

"She left about thirty minutes ago," he continued. "She said she had some footage to go over."

Big pinched the bridge of his nose. "Which means that video is already up on Zoo-tube and Muzzlebook, at least."

"It won't be that bad, right?" asked Fru Fru with a worried glance between Big and Markus. Markus shrugged helplessly while her father merely turned to watch the rest of the party winding down.

"We shall see," he muttered. "We shall see…"

…..

Jack was slumped at the breakfast bar inside his apartment, his arms spread out on the bar top. One paw kept his head up as he watched the video playing on the t.v. He and Wilde, rolling on the floor of the Big estate, throwing punches and trading insults.

But as embarrassing as it was, what was worse was the poll rolling on the bottom of the screen: Is Jack Savage's music misogynistic?

Forty two percent of those who took the poll thought it was; fifteen percent were unsure, and the rest said no.

All because of that stupid kiss! It had been, by far, the worse plan he had ever come up with. Skye's initial photo was only suppose to make it seem like Jack and Hopps were cozying up together. Just a little photo op to get under Wilde's fur. But paired with the video, it looked like… well, like he forced a kiss on a doe who hadn't consented.

Not that Wilde looked any better. A separate pool labeled The Fox as being overbearing and many were tweeting that it should have been expected because of his species. Photos of Wilde as a young pop star (with a new date every night) were displayed side by side the video. All of which were dissected by the shrill busy bodies yapping about the scandal the two pop stars had caused.

…..The scandal YOU caused, Jack corrected as he let his head thump onto the bar top with a groan. As if agreeing, his bruised face gave a small throb.

And he hadn't heard from Duke since they left the party. So Jack was just waiting in limbo, flinching every time his phone made a noise. The show cancelations were bound to happen any moment now.

"And so it begins," he muttered in misery when it finally did start ringing. Raising his head slightly, he gave a wince at the unknown number before answering it. "This is Jack."

"Hello, Mr. Savage," came the familiar, professional voice that had Jack frowning in surprise. "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time. I got your number from your assistant."

"No, it's not a bad time at all, Miss Hopps," he assured, suddenly filled with nervous energy. "I was actually going to hunt down your number and call you to apologize. I'm so sor-"

"I forgive you," came Hopps' quick reply. "And that's not why I'm calling. I'm sure you've seen the news this morning."

Pacing the length of his living room, he shook his head at the t.v. "I have."

"Which means you're watching your career plummet." Feeling some of his guilt alleviate at the harsh statement, Jack rolled his eyes.

"How can I help you, Hopps?" Even he was surprised at the harsh tone of his voice.

"By meeting me and Nick at Café Remy. I've been trying to get ahold of Duke all morning, otherwise you'd be hearing from him, not me. Tell him to join us at noon."

"And why would either of us do that, Hopps? One lunch isn't going to magically fix this, nor will it make Wilde and me friends or even friendly." The buck paused as the doe sighed on the other end of the line.

"Because, I have an idea. And if you, AND THAT STUBBORN, DUMB FOX, go through with it, it could restore your image AND get your careers back on track. So met us at Café Remy at noon. And don't be late." With that, there was a click as she disconnected, leaving only the low sounds of the t.v.

His blue eyes looked down at the phone with uncertainty before looking back at the t.v. screen.

"Well," he sighed as he started calling Duke, "not a whole lot to loose at this point."

…..

"Please stop slouching."

Nick scowled at the bunny doe seated next to him, her focus on her menu as she took a sip of her water. Though he was personally impressed he was able to even give her a glare. Looking the way she did, he was amazed there was a mammal alive who could function with her around.

"And stop staring at me like that," she added with a hint of smile. Setting the menu to the side, she gave him a patient look as his ears flushed with embarrassment. "When they get here, I want you to let me do the talking."

"Why am I even here," he grumbled, looking down at his own menu. "You could have done this without me."

"Maybe," she agreed with a nod. "But it's possible Duke won't show up. And then those cameras-" he looked over to where she nodded towards; the table next to them was filled with not so subtle photographers who looked away as he did- "would have an image of me and Jack Savage on a 'date' instead of a business meeting."

Looking outraged at the idea, Nick glared down blankly at the menu in his paws. He started when she rested a paw on his arm. Looking up, he was surprised at how close she had moved.

"And this is the first step to restoring you image, Nick," Judy explained softly. "Please… trust me."

Gulping as her words and touch caused a delicious shiver to run down his spine, Nick nodded. "Ok. I trust you."

Judy smiled again, this time with warmth. Moving away, she glanced to the entrance of the restaurant and stood.

"Thank you, Slick. And please, play nice."

Nick followed her lead and stood as Jack Savage approached the table, dressed in a nice grey, v-neck sweater and black slacks. The buck gave her a polite smile, eyes widening slightly in appreciation at her stylish, well fitted purple dress. It took everything he had not to growl as Jack warmly shook Judy's paw.

"Miss Hopps," he greeted. "Twice in twenty four hours! Am I lucky or what?"

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Savage, and thank you for joining us on such short notice. Of course, you know Nick Wilde."

Both males sized each other up, mindful of the many lenses pointed their way from the table next to theirs. Nick gave Judy a look out of the corner of his eyes, repressing a sigh and eyeroll as he held out his paw. Jack didn't hesitate to accept it.

"Nick," he said, his voice only slightly bitter.

"Jack." They released each others paws after two rounds of pictures, Judy's throat clearing making both males turn to her. Smiling, the doe gestured to the chairs and sat down as a waiter came over.

"Wine, please. Pinot grigio for Mr. Savage, chardonnay for Mr. Wilde, and a rosé for myself." The impala nodded and left to fetch their drinks.

Both males blinked at her, surprised she knew what to order for them. But the doe simply folded her paws in front of her and looked to Jack.

"Is Duke joining us?"

Focusing on making sure his napkin was laying perfectly on his lap, Jack shook his head. "I left a message, but I haven't heard from him since last night."

Judy and Nick frowned at each other. "Well," she continued, looking a bit uneasy, but unsurprised at the news. "Let's begin, shall we?"

Clearing her throat, Judy reached down towards her briefcase and pulled a packet of papers from it.

"We first need to address this video," her eyes scanned the paper in her paws before separating them and passing Jack a small stack. "This is an official statement I'm going to be making in response to the video. Mr. Savage, I'm going to be going on Zoo T.V. Entertainment and say you had already apologized for you actions and I've forgiven you.

"Under my statement is a draft for a statement Nick is going to give to Skye Frost about the fight. I can get him on as early as tomorrow, but I want you to be with him."

"Why do I need to be with him?" asked Jack in confusion, looking up from his paperwork to Hopps and Wilde. Wilde's jaw was clenched, but Judy looked calm as the server placed their drinks on the table and took their orders.

"Because," she began carefully, lifting her wine glass to her nose as her menu was taken and the server walked away, "I want you two to collaborate on a project together."

Wilde rolled his eyes and gulped half of his glass down. Jack merely stared in shock at the doe who sipped her wine and waited from him to react.

"And why would I agree to do that?" he demanded. "And what makes you think Duke would agree to that?"

"Because, as much as I hate the idea, too, you and I are both on Zootopia's shit list," Wilde practically spat out the words as he took another gulp of his wine. "The only way we're going to move past this, is make the world think we kissed and made up. So just sign the damn papers, Savage."

"Nick." Judy put her paw on the todd's arm and gave it a light squeeze. Turning her tired gaze to the buck, she gave him a soft, patient smile. "A collaboration is a step towards fixing this. Neither of you came out looking very good. This lunch is the first step."

Judy smiled at the group of photographers as they snapped another round of pictures, both males following her lead just in time.

"Let the public see we're working things out," she continued. "You already apologized to me, Mr. Savage, next step is to apologize to everyone else. That's why I wanted Duke here so he can help you with your statement. But it needs to be sincere."

Jack nodded, for the first time in his short career speaking with a mammal who was making sense to him.

"But why am I apologizing? I get apologizing to you, and even… Wilde, I guess… but why to everyone else?"

"Because, there are mammals in this city who looked up to you." Blue eyes widened in surprise at Wilde's statement. "They knew who you were and what you stood for. And in the blink of an eye, they were all proven wrong. You were their hero. So now, you have to act like a hero and own up to your mistakes."

"That's a load of crap!"

The new voice startled the three of the from their conversation to the irritated weasel now standing in front of their table, his best suit on and toothpick between his teeth. Ever the professional, Judy stood and walked around to greet him.

"Duke," she started, holding out her paw, only to be snubbed by him.

"Save it, Hopps," he snarled, "and I'll thank you for not meeting with my client without me."

Her eyes flashed a warning over to Wilde, who growled and started to stand. His green eyes stayed focused on Duke as he settled back down.

"If you had your phone on then you would know I tried calling you to set up this meeting. Otherwise, you would have heard everything, not just what Mr. Savage should do to mend his part in this fiasco." Judy clasped her paws together in front of her as she waited patiently for his response.

The toothpick was pulled from his mouth and flicked at her nose, a mocking smile on Duke's muzzle. "It's his fault you're too stupid to enjoy what most of Zootopia wishes they could get? You're out of you damn mind, Hopps. Now, I'm taking my client and we're getting out of here. Let's go, Savage!"

"Duke, we can't go anywhere!" Jack argued standing up and walking to him. Stopping in front of him, the buck looked at his agent pleadingly. "Walking away right now isn't going to solve this and right now, my numbers are dropping. It's not going to hurt anything to share a meal with them and brainstorm how to come back from this."

"Huh," Jack's ears perked in hope at Duke's expression of disbelief. "Kinda sounds like you think working with them is gonna help."

Clenching his jaw, annoyance filled the buck as he crossed his arms. "Because I think it can."

"Good thing you're not in charge, then." Duke smirked before he side stepped Jack and kept walking. "Now, I said we're leaving. So let's go!"

"No."

Duke stopped in his tracks, keeping his back to the bunny. The photographers were going crazy with pictures as the restaurant fell silent. Jack just looked at Duke's back, suddenly feeling very tired. Working with him was exhausting. As much fun as he had in the beginning, the longer their partnership went on, the less the buck enjoyed it. He expected it to be difficult… but this almost made it not worth the effort.

"What did you say?" His agent's icy voice nearly had Jack backing down.

With a quick look at Hopps and Wilde, who both were looking at the weasel with equal hatred, and he knew what he had to do.

Gulping, Jack kept his ears upright and posture straight. "I said 'no'." Duke turned to glare at him. "I need this meeting, Duke. Leaving right now would be a very, VERY silly thing to do. You're fired."

"You're on a contract, Stripes! You can't fire me!" Duke spat at him.

"Then sit down and shut up for once. If you can't do that, then I don't care if I signed a contract. Our partnership is over." The pair stared at each other while the restaurant held its breath.

"You'll never work in this town again," was Duke's final words before he turned on his heel and left.

"I'm terrified," Jack muttered, shaking his head in disappointment. Seeming to realize the whole place was still watching, he looked around quickly before raising his arm and drawing it down in front of himself dramatically, closing his eyes as he did. "Aaaand, scene!"

There was light scattering of applause as everyone around them started to go about their lives. The photographers had decided to move on too, paying their tab and getting a final round of photos before leaving. Wilde was helping Hopps back into her chair as Jack rejoined them, just in time for their food to arrive.

"So," Jack started, smiling his thanks at their server. "Do either of you know where I can find a good agent?"

"I might know someone," joked Hopps, earning a smile from the buck.

"But she already has a pretty high profile client," interrupted Wilde as he dug into his meal. "Don't want to over work the poor thing, now do we."

Hopps gave him a nudge before she looked back over at Jack. "Don't worry, Mr. Savage," she assured, "I got you covered."

And for the moment, Jack was sure everything would be alright.