"I love you, Nick," Judy said to her reflection in her apartment earnestly, staring at it afterwards. She winced. "Way too direct." She straightened herself up and tried again.
"You know I love you!" Judy declared jovially, pointing at the mirror, then let a breath out in dismay, rolling her eyes. "Too corny...!"
"Nick, you know how we're partners professionally, right? How'd you like to be partners in more ways than that...?" Judy said in a flirting voice. She made a disgusted face. "So... so sleazy. I could never say that."
"Augh!" Judy threw her hands up and ran them through her ears. "How am I ever going to admit I'm attracted to Nick without sounding like a carrot-plucking teenager?"
"Why don't you just freakin' smooch him!?" Bucky's voice came through her paper-thin wall as she gave a gasp and looked over her shoulder. "You'd probably feel a lot better!"
"Shut up!" Both Pronk and Judy shouted. Judy melodramatically launched herself into bed, groaning in frustration.
"If only he wasn't so... oh I dunno... suave?" Judy mumbled into her pillow. "Maybe I could actually stop thinking about him."
"Yeah, if only!" Pronk shouted. "Then we could stop hearing about him every other night!"
"Oh, seriously?" Judy grabbed her pillow and tossed it at the wall, where it bounced back into her bed. "I was quiet! When did oryx and kudu get super hearing?"
Judy dashed ahead of Nick at the ZPD HQ, her arms full and excitement in her eyes.
"C'mon, Nick, C'mon!" Judy beckoned with one hand, both her and the fox holding fairly stuffed folders of a few complicated case files.
"Do you think that if we get these case files to Bogo in five less seconds that he'll somehow notice?" Nick had a bored expression and walked, unhurried, toward the elevator that Judy was holding open for him.
"Maybe not, but if you don't 'hustle', you're gonna take the next lift up," Judy smirked. Nick reluctantly hurried himself just a little to get into the elevator with her.
About halfway up to Chief Bogo's floor, there was an odd metallic sound that came from just outside the elevator, and it stopped moving.
"Wait, what?" Judy said. "What? No, uh, no, that can't be right." Judy mashed a few of the buttons on the elevator, but nothing happened. "C'mon, no. I don't believe this."
Nick blinked. "It's stuck? You're not claustrophobic, are you?"
"No, but Chief Bogo is going to be super ticked off if we don't get these files to him," Judy fretted. "How the heck could the elevator have broken on us!? This thing is designed for up to two elephants worth of weight!"
"You got me, Carrots," Nick shrugged, setting his files down on the floor. Judy followed suit, and took out her phone, calling a number.
"Hi! Chief Bogo! Nick and I are stuck in the elevator... No! I don't know what's wrong. ...Uh, yes, that does mean that the case files are stuck in here with us, heh heh..." Judy held the phone away from her ear.
"I needed those now, Hopps!" Chief Bogos voice was as clear as day even to Nick. Judy held it back to her ear.
"Sorry sir! I could take pictures of all of them and forward them to you... but that might take more than an hour for all of this stuff..." Judy said into the phone. "The emergency crews will be here in fifteen...? Oh, that's perfect...! Well, less than perfect, but... right, okay, bye!" She hung up, cringing.
"Good ol' Chief Buff," Nick smirked. "He'd yell at us if we got struck by lightning."
"That's the truth," Judy rolled her eyes, putting her phone away. "So, stuck in an elevator with you, huh?"
"Wouldn't it have been much more fun if I had let you go alone?" Nick grinned.
"Oh, ha-ha," Judy muttered sardonically, scrunching her nose.
Nick chuckled at her, a wide grin playing across his muzzle. "Oh, those little faces you make."
Judy put her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare call me 'cute' again, mister."
"Hey, you said it, not me," Nick smirked, gesturing blithely at her.
"Listen here, fox," Judy gave a dangerous smirk. "You've got nowhere to go. What's gonna happen if you say something you regret?"
"Oh, I'm so scared of a tiny little bunny," Nick mocked, wiggling his fingers.
"Maybe you should be scared of this tiny little bunny, if she gets her paws on you," Judy walked closer, punching her fists together. Nick suddenly looked alarmed, and his nose twitched. "Have I actually got you scared now?" Judy giggled, feeling playful. Then she froze as well, realization suddenly crashing into her. Foxes' noses did not twitch when they were scared. Judy backed away and looked aghast. "Oh no. No, no, no..."
"Wuh... what?" Nick shared her concern. "You don't have to go to the bathroom, do you?"
"No," Judy grit her teeth. "You... you smell me, don't you?"
"Pff, well, of course," Nick shrugged. "You're the only mammal here."
"Don't treat me like an idiot, Nick," Judy half-lid her eyes, frowning. "You can... smell different things about a mammal, can't you? Like if they're scared, or... or..."
"I might be able to," Nick looked off to the side. Judy walked into a corner and sat down, scrunching her knees into her chest and hugging around them. "Carrots? What's wrong?"
"Sweet mother of marmot milk..." Judy said quietly. "So you... you know, then...?"
"That you sometimes get a little uh, riled up when you get flirty?" Nick shrugged. "Yup."
"How utterly embarrassing," Judy put her forehead near her knees. "How long have you known about that kind of smell?"
"Uh, trust me, you don't want me to answer that," Nick gave a nervous chuckle.
"The museum!?" Judy groaned. "Oh no..."
"There was at least something about you that wasn't acting that day," Nick confirmed in a low voice.
"This is so humiliating!" Judy suddenly stood up, throwing an arm up. "How could you never have told me this? My body has been telling you secrets about me that I want to keep, and-!"
"Shh! Judy, would you keep it down!?" Nick rushed over in a panic to her, holding his hands out to her and speaking in a harsh whisper. "If anyone is anywhere near the elevator doors on any of the levels, they might hear you! You know, screaming about your body...!"
"J-jeez, yeah," Judy's ears felt extremely hot, and she covered her eyes with them. She lowered her voice, peeking out from between her ears. "Nick, please just tell me why you never told me."
"Okay, I can do that," Nick shrugged. "Shall I tell you one of my body's secrets?" Judy shot a panicked expression to the fox. Nick sniffed twice. "Whoa, okay, maybe I should rephrase that. Poke me in the stomach." Judy cocked an eyebrow. "Just do it." Judy complied. Nothing happened, but she did it a few more times on different areas of his stomach, and eventually, Nick flinched and gave a very brief giggle of amusement.
"You're ticklish?" Judy's mouth hung open in amazement.
"Carrots! What did I just say!?" Nick ran his hand through his head fur.
"Okay, uh, sorry, I got distracted," Judy giggled. "What are we talking about again?" She gave an apologetic wince.
"Involuntary reactions," Nick explained. "How is it fair for me to make fun or even take note of something that you have no control over?"
"But," Judy's eyebrows furrowed, "but you know. You can't just ignore that information if you're picking it up all the time..."
"Let me tell you something," Nick said, "you know how I used to have a low opinion of wolves?"
"Dumb-dumbs, you called them," Judy smirked.
"Yeah, well, that's changed," Nick chuckled. "Now that I've worked on a few assignments with the wolves here and gotten to know them, I know that they actually know a lot more about mammals than anyone else. Then can smell so many things about animals; things even I can't detect. They just don't tell anyone, or gossip about it. Because they're good boys. Yes, they are."
"Oh, Nick," Judy chuckled, shaking her head. "Still, if I had known, maybe I could have invested in some odor-blocker or something..."
"Eh, that wouldn't help too much," Nick swiped his paw through the air. "Once one canine gets your scent even once, they know. It's kinda too late, really."
"It wouldn't be too late if we got any new canines?" Judy shrugged.
"You're gonna increase your morning routine and spend a bunch of money on theoretically being able to keep a wolf or two from knowing you get excited sometimes around me?" Nick gave an incredulous shrug.
"Nick, you're sure arguing awfully hard against- wait," Judy's mouth made a small "o" shape and she glared at nick. She spoke in a harsh whisper. "You like how I smell."
Nick's ears went flat against his head and he grew a clearly uncomfortable look. "Uh, Carrots, let's not open this proverbial box."
"You do!" Judy's showed her teeth in a large grin. "Tell me you don't."
"Well aren't you suddenly proud of yourself?" Nick grumbled.
"Go on, take a big sniff of the bunny, who's gonna know?" Judy said mischievously, gesturing at herself. "I won't tell."
"Carrots..." Nick's foot twisted against the ground in embarrassment. He laid his paw over the bridge of his muzzle and groaned. "Listen. I don't have to even go over there." He took a few sniffs, and then a longer one. "The whole inside of the elevator smells like excited bunny. It's almost all I can do not to start huffing in here like I'm hyperventilating."
"Aw, Nick," Judy giggled with slight unease, "you have such self-control!" Nick sat on the floor.
"Sometimes I've wondered why," Nick's eyes shut. "Why on Earth would a fox like a bunny's smell? Am I genuinely attracted to you, and I just like noticing the subtleties of your scent? Or is it... is it more... primal...?"
"Primal?" Judy repeated, sitting down near him.
"Eh, I don't know if I should elaborate," Nick showed his teeth and looked away in discomfort. "But you know, like back in ancient times. If a fox smelled a bunny, he would... hunt her, right? 'There she is, you like that, you want it...' the smell would say. 'She's scared, she's excited! Now's your chance!'" Nick looked ashamed and fell into silence, but then he sniffed again. "Oh, wow, you like that, huh?"
"Nick..." Judy winced, her ears very warm. "I know you're not going to hurt me."
"Reverting to their primitive, savage ways," Nick sucked at his teeth, shaking his head. "Was Mr. Big right all along? Are we really just animals, deep down?"
"So what if we are?" Judy challenged, standing up, opening her arms wide. "So what if there will always just be some things about our nature that we can't help? We can either keep fighting them, or we can just enjoy them, right?"
Nick stood up as well. "I suppose so. I never really have wanted to let my baser instincts take hold. It'd make it too easy for prey to see us as dangerous."
"And you think I haven't had to fight being skittish and flighty?" Judy chuckled. "A little voice in the back of my head always screams 'no!' whenever I charge headlong into danger."
"I think that inner voice might be smarter than you give it credit for," Nick smirked.
"Anyway..." Judy rolled her eyes. She leaned over a bit and closed her eyes, her nose twitching a bit as she sniffed. "I kinda like how you smell."
"That's uh, not really 'me', just my own odor-blocker, Musk Mask," Nick admitted.
"Oh, well that smells nice anyway- hey!" Judy feigned offense. "You've been holding out on me?"
"Trust me, you'd either really not like it," Nick offered, "or you'd like it too much, and we'd see what a savage bunny looks like after all."
"Oh, rowr," Judy made a pawing motion, giggling. The elevator finally lurched to life.
"Thank God," Nick breathed a sigh of relief. "Another few nostrils full of 'excited bunny' and I don't know how much longer I could have controlled myself." The two started gathering the files they had set down.
"Nice to know I can drive you wild, Wilde," Judy flirted in a light tone.
"Stop talking, for crying out loud-" Nick started in exasperation, the doors opening. Chief Bogo was on the other side.
"Files!" He said sternly. The bunny and the fox both handed over their packets. Bogo stormed away.
The two left the elevator cautiously. Nick winced as he noticed a wide-eyed Officer Wolford staring at him.
"Not. A. Word," Nick pointed at him. Wolford tried to stave off a smile as Nick and Judy headed off.