A/N: As always, thank you to my wonderful editor, kt_valmiri, for her insight and guidance. This is it! The final chapter of Pop. Just a little detour to recalibrate for more Perks and Idol, both of which are on the way. Thank you again to everyone who reads and comments. I hope you enjoy and I hope the wait was worth it!

…

Duke came from a long line of moguls.

His father had started Weaselton Records around the same time Vincent Big was building his own empire. And the company was always one step behind the shrew. Byron Weaselton, Duke's father, took it personally. His cold, bitter attitude rubbed off on his son and, long after Byron was gone, was really the only driving force behind the company.

While Weaselton Records was well respected, those that signed with Duke shared Jack's feelings about their contracts. But, the weasel had enough influence to keep his artists renewing their terms. That, and their fear of his retribution kept many of them in line.

"The key to it," Byron explained to his son not long after he'd graduated college, "is to sign the starry-eyed ones. The ones who are new to the city and so dazzled by everything that they don't bother reading the fine print."

It was advice Duke kept close. And just as it helped get that damn rabbit to sign with him, it would help destroy that dumb bunny for thinking he could break out of it.

"If that little punk thinks he can hide behind his new friends, he's got another thing coming!" he snarled into his phone. He had been on the phone with his lawyer all day. "I don't want that little jerk to be able to get a job as a bathroom attendant in this city. I OWN this town and I want him GONE!"

With a final growl, he disconnected, wishing land lines were still a thing. Slamming a phone down was so much more satisfying back in the day. Turning to the young starlet in the room, singing at the piano, he scowled at her.

"Come on toots," he snarled at her, causing her pretty eyes to widen in fear,

"if you're not gonna play good, then quit wastin' my time. I'm adding an extra hour to your gym time for that. No sense being untalented and ugly."

Teary eyed, the young raccoon watched him storm out as a fennec fox dressed in custodial gear entered. Sniffling and looking down at the piano keys, she continued to play, with a notable lack of her previous enthusiasm, as he started to clean the room.

"Does he always treat you like that?" The gruff whisper had her starting and looking over at the fennec. His big brown eyes watched her carefully, filled with concern. He frowned when she nodded. "What about the other mammals he represents?"

"I don't think there's anyone that really likes him," she muttered, looking at the doorway, half expecting Duke to come barreling in. "But what are we going to do? He's already starting to smear Jack Savage's reputation." She shook her head and looked back down at the piano. "I never should have signed with him…"

"What if I told you there's a way to turn this around? Would you help?"

Looking up at him, her tears dried as she studied his earnest face. "What did you have in mind?"

…

ONE WEEK LATER

Duke kicked his feet up on his desk, taking a pull from his cigar. Life was good for the weasel. He had an article ready to launch against Savage, there was a judge ready to hear the case against him, one of his other clients was up for a teen choice whatever award, and he had a date with a sexy dancer he had been eyeing for a while.

Yup. Life was good.

Though it got a bit worse at the sound of his office door opening. Looking over to it, he rolled his eyes at the sight of Judy Hopps. Had she been in any other profession, he would have turned the charm on her. But considering she was the reason why his best meal ticket left him, Duke wasn't feeling very welcoming.

"Can I help you, cotton tail?" he asked rudely, not bothering to straighten himself up. She was in his office, after all! Screw her and Wilde.

But she wasn't put off by him, whatsoever. With a smirk on her muzzle, she strode from the doorway to the chair across from his desk. Sitting down and leaning back, one shapely leg crossed over the other as she continued to smirk at Duke.

"Do you know why I'm here?" she asked sweetly.

Taking a puff from his cigar and blowing the smoke into her face, he gave an indifferent shrug.

"Other than to prove I need to fire my receptionist? I don't know or care." Another drag was taken, but still the bunny didn't flinch. "I'm guessing to ask me to back off Savage. Maybe agree to cancel his contract and settle his debt with me before we both move on."

With an impressed nod, Hopps pulled her briefcase into her lap. "So close. But you're really only half right."

"And you really need to fuck right off, Hippity Hopps," he growled, narrowing his eyes at her. "That little rodent thinks he can just walk out and cheat me, he's got another thing comin'! And if you think a cute, little bunny like you is going to 'scare' me into folding, you're even dumber than you look!"

"Oh, I know you're not scared of me, Duke," the case was popped open. "But if I were you, I'd be scared of these."

Some papers were pulled out and slid across the polished desk top towards him. He eyed her suspiciously before lowering his feet to take a look. Pictures… Lots and lots of pictures…

"W-what is this?" he asked, as his paws moved through them.

There were pictures of him placing bets at an illegal fight, pictures of him purchasing some… very questionable company and illicit merchandise. Pictures and receipts of him using company funds for personal needs. All under a stack of notarized and witnessed statements from over three quarters of his clients.

"It's called leverage, sweetheart," Hopps answered, leaning back in her chair again.

Looking up at her with a growl, he picked up a pawful of the pictures and started to tear them up. Only to pause at the giggle that escaped Hopps.

"Do you really think those are the only copies?" she asked incredulously. "Who do you take me for?"

Teeth still bared, his breath coming in panicked gasps, he glared at the doe. "Name your price."

"I can't be bought, Duke." Her voice grew hard as her eyes narrowed. "But I can be negotiated with. Under the statements are a list of names. Those are the employees you're going to fire. And you're going to replace them with mammals who actually have your clients' best interests at heart. But before that, you're going to drop the case against Jack and release a statement retracting your previous claims. All of this is going to happen by no later than tomorrow afternoon. None of your clients will be working or performing until they have fair representation.

"If you don't, I know a reporter whose very eager to exonerate Jack of everything. Not to mention, there's another mogul who'll be happy to help you get raked over the coals if this ever gets published."

Standing again, Hopps gave him an almost friendly smile. "And if you ever try to pull this stunt again or think you can retaliate," she put her paws on his desk and gave him a look that sent chills down his spine, "I will END you."

Leaving him gulping in his chair, she turned to leave the office.

"Take care, Duke!"

Looking back at the papers on his desk, he pulled the list of names to the top of the stack. Disgruntled at the turn of events, Duke Weaselton started to make the necessary calls, impressed despite himself.

"I knew I should have hired her," he grumbled.

…

No one in BunnyBurrow had thought she was going to make it. Her parents had done their best discourage her; everyone else had followed their lead. And a small part of her wasn't sure that she would even go anywhere with her career, especially after deciding she wanted to operate solo.

But if there was one thing that could be said about Judy Hopps, it's that she was determined. Leaving Duke's office, she could help but feel empowered. She hadn't felt empowered since Nick hired her as his agent. No, she had been feeling a lot of other things that could complicate their… relationship.

Even after their rocky start, he was still just as sexy as he'd ever been. And somehow, even more so now. The smirk that had made her swoon as a teen was nothing compared to his smile whenever he received good news. Nick was suave and sophisticated, but his laughter was not, coming out in snorts and squeaks if he was trying to contain himself and deafening when something really got him going. And him laughing never failed to set her off, too.

The times she spent with him, seeing his nervous vulnerability, his passionate outrage, his tender care, and his love for his profession…

Judy was way in over her head. To say she was in love with him was an understatement. Nick Wilde had her mind, body, and soul. And it was in everyone's best interest to ignore that fact and act like he didn't. It's what he would need.

Nick was just getting his career back on track. In the next few weeks, he and Jack would be pulled in so many directions, each one having enough company to make the todd forget about her in every sense but a professional one. All Judy needed to do was solider on and pretend…

Her phone cut through her thoughts. Smiling down at the todd's picture, she swiped to answer. "Perfect timing! I'm on my way to the venue now."

"Excellent!" She could practically see his grin, the image making her heart beat faster. "How did it go with Weaselton?"

"Jack's off the hook. I have a contract in my briefcase ready for him when he is."

On the other end of the line, Nick sighed. "You're really gonna sign him, huh?"

"Yes, Nick. I'm really going to sign him."

"Fine," he whined. "But between you and me, I think you should just focus on your good client."

"Once I sign him, I can." She laughed at his snort.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Carrots." For a moment, they both went silent. "What's your ETA?"

"About twenty minutes or so. I have an errand to run, but I'll be there for sound check." Maybe it was wishful thinking that he gave a low disappointed groan. "I'll see you soon, Slick."

"See you soon, Carrots."

Ending the call, she looked down at the phone in her paw. His picture was still on the screen, a screen shot from the set of their first music video together.

"Just breathe," she muttered as her car maneuvered through the city.

…

Jack and Gazelle were having a ball. The clock was ticking closer to the start of Jack's first major performance and Gazelle was doing a great job at distracting him from his nerves. The pair of them were moving in sync with her back up dancers, the tigers deciding to test run their new outfits. The sparkly, skimpy shorts had the buck wondering if he could pull them off.

But while he and Gazelle warmed up their voices and polished their moves, Nick merely sat on his stool, tuning his guitar. It wasn't his favorite out of his collection, but it went with the ambience of the stage. And funnily enough, it wasn't nerves that kept him reserved.

After tonight, he would be welcomed back into the fold. He, Nick Wilde; Mr. Fox… The fox. Whatever name he came up with, the todd was back. And better than ever. His bank account was going to triple and the invites would cascade in.

Yet the thought of going back to that lifestyle made him feel very, very tired. All he wanted was-

"Judy!" Gazelle's voice had him springing to his feet, the guitar barely saved from crashing to the stage by the strap around his neck.

Everyone else crowded around the bunny doe, blocking her from view. Setting the guitar aside, Nick moved to join them. Pushing through Gazelle's tigers, he nearly stumbled into her, Judy laughing as she kept him from falling.

"Easy there, Slick," she joked as he steadied himself. "No need to fall for little ol' me."

Meeting her eyes as he straightened up, Nick smiled back. "Welcome to the party, Carrots. We missed you."

Smiling back, her cheeks blushed slightly. "I missed you too." They held each other's gaze for another second before she turned away, her ears folded down her back. "Jack, I have your contract. If you want to read it over with your lawyer, I have it in my briefcase."

Disappointment and jealousy filled him as she made her way to the buck. Jack's ears perked toward her as she passed the paperwork over to him. The emotions ravaged his heart as they exchanged hugs and laughed together. But he reeled them in when she looked back over at Nick and smiled.

Everyone dispersed, Jack going to put the contract away as Gazelle and her dancers went over their steps again.

Nick walked back to his stool. Realizing Judy had followed him, he forced a smile as he looked down at her.

"I have something for you," she said almost shyly. It was then he noticed the case she carried. "It's kind of a thank you, for going through all this." Lifting to rest it on the stool, she stepped back to let him to open it.

"Carrots," he whispered, running a paw over the hard plastic. The clasps were flipped open and the lid lifted, the fox giving a soft gasp at the case's contents.

A guitar sat in the rich black velvet, it's body a deep, glossy purple. The neck was a sleek ebony with the rosewood fretboard polished to perfection. Nick stared down at the instrument in disbelief. A trembling paw reached out to stroke it, landing gently on one of its knobs.

Looking back to Judy, his eyes widened as she held out a carrot shaped pick.

"In case you need something to strum with," she said with a smile.

Accepting the pick, his muzzle broke into a grin. Taking the strap from his old guitar and affixing it to the new one, Nick lifted it from the case and slipped it on to his shoulders. Judy closed the case and pulled it off the stool.

Nick was at a loss for words. "Why-"

"Because you deserve it," she answered. "I noticed that you seemed to like this designer a lot, but you don't have any of his work. And, to remind you that no matter what…" they met eyes again, his heart melting at the thought of her noticing such a small detail about him.

"We're always going to be friends, Nick." His mouth parted slightly as the words hit him. Friends. "Won't we?"

There was a time when Nick would have mocked such a childish question. Maybe even have mocked her. But now, as he looked at the only mammal who ever saw him for HIM…

"Always and forever, Carrots."

…

It was like he was home again. The lights flashing across the stage, the backup dancers moving to the steps he had helped choreograph, and the words he had helped write sung into the microphone attached to his head. Only this time, it wasn't just him the crowds were going wild for. And there was the weight of his guitar across his front, his fingers pleasantly sore from strumming.

Nick grinned at the audience, eyes moving to Jack and Gazelle as they danced in time with the tiger dancers. The buck grinned back as Gazelle sang her solo, moving to the front of the stage to sing to the lucky mammals in the front row. Feeling more complete than he had ever been (even at the height of his popularity), the todd looked back at the audience.

More specifically, to the pretty bunny doe dancing her heart out to the music.

Judy's eyes were closed as she jumped and swayed to the beat, enjoying what she helped create. Watching her made Nick's heartbeat pick up so fast he was half afraid it would stop. But when she opened her eyes and found his own with a smile on her face, everything began to fade away again. Quite literally.

Nick had stopped playing.

The tiger dancers were the first to notice. Exchanging looks, the quartet's movements became hesitant as they looked at the fox. Finnick let his paws come to stop, his drumsticks dangling from them as he looked first from the tigers then to Nick. That got Jack and Gazelle's attention, both of them gazing at Nick with naked worry in their eyes.

Cheers were exchanged for confused murmurs as the audience grew quiet. Every mammal in the theater watched as Nick stood still with his eyes locked on Judy. Judy herself had stopped dancing to look back at him.

"I can't," whispered Nick, shaking his head. Judy's ears fell down her back as her eyes widened in confusion. "I can't just be your friend, Judy… I can't…"

Mouths dropped as everyone's eyes shifted to the now spotlighted bunny doe. Her eyes moved over the crowed in confusion, before looking back to Nick who was pulling off his guitar.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he continued, holding the instrument by its neck and stepping closer to the stage edge. "Every morning I wake up, I count the seconds until I get to see you. I watch my phone, waiting for you to text or call me. Whenever you leave the room, I miss you like crazy and every time you come back… It's like seeing the sun rise for the first time.

"You're so annoyingly happy, so frustratingly optimistic, and so breathtakingly beautiful. Inside and out. You're the most beautiful mammal I've ever met in my life. You believe in me and challenge me to be better. You make me want to be better."

Nick smiled as Jack stepped forward to take the guitar from him, freeing the todd to jump from the stage to floor. The crowd parted as he walked towards Judy, her paws covering her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm in love with you." Nick stopped in front of her, his own gaze tender and a bit watery. "And the only thing I want out of life is to spend the rest of it with you by my side."

The audience gasped as he dropped to one knee, his paws over his heart. "I'm so ridiculously in love with you. You make my life so much brighter and happier. And if you say yes, I will spend the rest of my existence worshipping the ground you walk on. Judy Hopps… Carrots… Will you marry me?"

There was complete silence in the theater.

Jack clutched the neck of the guitar, his eyes wide and grin stretched ear to ear. Finnick and Gazelle both held their breath with tears in their eyes, though the fennec would vehemently deny it ever after. The tiger dancers gripped paws as the audience took a collective breath.

Judy covered her face with her paws, body trembling, and shook her head. Nick felt his heart sink as she lowered her paws. Only to feel it soar again as her smile was revealed. Inhaling a breath to stem the flow of happy tears, she jumped into his arms, her own wrapping around his neck. The microphone caught her tear filled "Yes" before her nose was buried into his neck fur.

As one, the theater erupted into cheers. Jack gave a mighty leap of joy, lifting the guitar over his head in victory. Gazelle, Finnick, and the tigers exchanged hugs and laughs as the music started back up again. Now jubilant, the audience clapped and danced around as the two singers started the show back up.

But Nick and Judy were deaf to everyone and everything as the AV mammals, thankfully, cut power to Nick's mic. They were lost in their own little world. Lips connected, Nick's paw moving to her jaw while the other pulled her in close. Separating only to whisper words of love and devotion, they let the world fall away.

…

"Make sure to emphasize the romance! This is going to be the engagement of the year. I want Zootopia to be talking about this every time someone even mentions the word soulmate. And it needs a snappy name to go with it!" Skye paced the floor of her office, various pictures from last night's concert spread across her desk, Nick and Judy's love eternalized in black and white. "Something catchy and playful, yet everlasting… Ideas?"

She turned to the polar bear sitting at her desk, taking notes. He had paused to watch her stress over the article's production, only to smile when she looked over at him.

"WildeHopps?" he suggested with a shrug.

Skye froze and blinked. Furrowing her brow, she pointed to him almost accusingly, causing his eyes to widen in alarm.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes, that's perfect! WildeHopps. It's fun, it's fitting, it's catchy, and just saying it sparks joy. Perfect! Thank you, Kulkum!"

With a smile and nod, the bear looked down at his notes as Skye went back to the desk to examine the pictures. "Now, which ones to use? They're so photogenic, it's hard to choose just a few. What do you think-"

A gentle knock interrupted her, causing the pair of them to look towards the door. And to Skye's surprise, Jack stood in the doorway, smiling shyly with a bouquet of sunflowers in his paws.

"Hi," he greeted with a wave, cautiously stepping into the office. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"No," assured the vixen breathlessly. Turning to her companion, she gave him an apologetic smile. "Kulkum, mind giving us a minute?"

With another smile and shrug, the bear stood and saluted before heading to the door. Closing it behind him, he smirked to himself.

"SavageFrost," he muttered as he walked down the hallway. "I like it."

Inside Skye's office, Jack moved to stand by her desk, looking curiously down at the photos.

"Big project?" he asked.

"Nick Wilde kinda upped the ante with his proposal," she explained. "Now we're trying to beat everyone else with the story."

"So, time is of the essence?" Her heart fluttered as he looked from the desk to her, those big blues eyes seeming to cut through her with their intensity. "Meaning, there's no way I can lure you away for an innocent drink? Followed by dinner?"

Smiling back, she stepped closer to him and crossed her arms.

"How innocent are we talking about, Mr. Savage?" Her smile grew as he held the flowers out to her. Taking them in her paws, she buried her nose into them and sighed.

"As innocent as you would like it to be, Miss Frost. It's just a drink and a nice meal. And if we happen to make the front page tomorrow and start rumors that we're dating?" He shrugged and shoved his paws into his pockets. "Then so be it. What do you say?"

Delaying her response, Skye turned to walk over to the wet bar in her office. Filling a vase with water, taking her time walking back to her desk and carefully arranging them on it, she smiled down at the flowers before looking back at him.

"Well, Kulkum's already got the story written," she moved her paws from the vase to slide them over Jack's shoulders. "And the photos we have are all going to work for the article."

Letting his own paws go to her waist, Jack's heart skipped a beat in anticipation.

"So… Is that a yes, Miss Frost?"

And that's when she struck. Her lips caught his, softly at first to keep her sharp teeth from hurting him. But the tightening of his arms around her had them deepening their embrace quickly. After several minutes that felt like seconds, they pulled apart, panting and grinning as they met eyes.

"You bet your ass it is," she whispered before kissing him again.

…

A/N: And last but not least, thank you to Kulkum for letting his Zoosona pop in for a bit.