Nocturnal by nature, Nick had surprised himself by finding that it was getting easier and easier to be awake so early in the morning. More surprising to him than that, though, was the fact that he had gotten to the area Judy designated to meet up with him before her. With his hands on his hips, he surveyed the park, seeing the early morning mist lay on the grass in the dim light. The temperature was just right to do some jogging; he intended to keep in shape so he wouldn't be a burden to his newly-official professional partner.
Nick gave a soft smile as he saw the gray bunny approach. Though he'd let nothing betray this, he found her quite attractive in her jogging outfit. He wondered when she would be able to take her leg brace off during physical activity; it had been nearly a year since she was injured at the museum.
"Officer Fluff! Right on time," Nick grinned, looking briefly at his phone.
"You're early!" Judy threw back. "Can't say I expected that from you!"
"Don't expect it to become a habit," Nick smirked as Judy stopped near him. "Just trying to impress my new partner before she finds out what a slacker I really am."
"Oh, okay," Judy gave a terse laugh. "I'll be sure not to tell her that. Ready for our jog?"
"As I'll ever be," Nick gave some warmup stretches, which Judy looked at with admiration, if not interest, and then both of them began to jog.
Nick somewhat expected to be left in the dust by the bunny, but Judy matched the fox's pace. He found it odd that they were both focusing on their jogging; nothing audible from them but their breathing. They were nearly constantly talking with each other, but Nick did appreciate the moment of serenity between them, even as he valued Judy's company. Zootopia seemed so peaceful in the early morning, especially in the park.
Nick never thought in all of his days that he'd voluntarily wish to protect the city.
The daylight began to shine a bit brighter, and Judy came to rest near a bench.
"Should we take a break before we head back?" Judy offered. She wasn't even winded.
"Sure thing," Nick nodded, wiping his brow. He wasn't quite panting, but he knew that if he didn't stop soon, he would be. "You sure have a lot of endurance."
"Comes with being a bunny," Judy gave a shrug. There was a slight beat as both tried to avoid betraying where this exchange had landed in their minds. "And, a lot of jogging." Judy added this haphazardly. Nick sat on the bench, and Judy sat somewhat close next to him. Curiosity flared up in Judy's mind. "So Nick, tell me about your dad."
Nick's eyes flew open and he slowly turned his head to Judy. "Excuse me?"
"You know, your father?" Judy gave a slightly chiding smile. "You always talk about your mother, but never your dad."
"That's a heck of a thing to dump on me on a Monday morning," Nick gave a grumble.
"I guess you two don't get along well?" Judy looked apologetic.
"Oh, I'm sure we would, were he still alive," Nick said flatly. Judy cringed.
"Oh, I see," Judy said in a tiny voice. She looked away. "Forget I said anything..."
"Well, my mind is already there, so I may as well tell you," Nick leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. "John Wilde. He was a pretty great guy. Had big dreams, too. He was a tailor, wanted to put up a clothing shop in our neighborhood called Wilde Style. I grew up in kind of a rough neighborhood; he wanted to sell business suits and ties on the cheap to help struggling mammals with their job interviews."
"That sounds so nice..." Judy said, captured by Nick's words.
"He made most of my ties," Nick gave a tiny huff and smile, then looked at Judy. "I mean, they used to be his, but all the same."
"O-oh, I should be careful about tugging them, then," Judy winced.
"This is the part where I say something like, 'oh go ahead, he's helping us draw closer together'," Nick gave a small smile.
"Aw, Nick," Judy felt her breath catching a bit. "You really love him, huh?"
Nick nodded. "Can only hope to one day be a father as supportive as him." Nick looked up at the sky. The last of the stars had only recently been occluded from view. "You know I'm not really a spiritual fox. But, the Vulpine Scriptures say it takes the spirits of nine foxes to make a kitsune spirit, who can watch over you from the afterlife. But I think dad had enough spirit to make a kitsune all by himself."
"Nick, come on, that's not even fair," Judy was smiling, but she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "B-but, I'm sure he is looking at you from the beyond, and I'm sure he's p-proud of his boy..."
"Well, I no longer doubt that last part," Nick gave a shaky sigh, looking happily up at the sky. He jerked his head towards Judy. "Hey dad, whatcha think about me getting a bunny for a partner? Bet you didn't see that one coming. I know I didn't!"
Judy gave a giggle that was interrupted by a little choke. "I don't know how you can joke about things like this, Nicholas..."
"Because I used to think the world sucked, Judy," Nick said flatly. Judy was quite surprised at him using her real first name. "And it still sucks, in some ways. Humor's kind of like a bandage you wrap around the suckage so it doesn't seep or fester."
Judy grinned slightly. "What a wise fox you are."
"I do have many years on you," Nick thrust his arm into Judy's side and she let herself rock from the force instead of resisting. Judy giggled again, giving another sigh.
"Kind of weird how I'm the one crying about this, and I didn't even know the guy," Judy gave Nick a tiny, toothy grin.
"You do know him, in some ways," Nick gave a gentle sigh. "A lot of my good points come from him."
"Agh, Nick, stop!" Judy gave a shaky giggle, wiping her eyes again. "I had just calmed down! Heh... how come you aren't crying?"
Nick's brow furrowed, then raised and began to look sad. "I cried all my tears when I lost him, Judy. He was run off the road high up in the Rainforest District by a careless driver. He didn't suffer, at least."
"Oh sweet heavens..." Judy said in a tiny voice. "How horrible..." She paused for a full minute. "Did he ever get his clothier shop opened up?"
"Nope," Nick gave a weak, wobbly smile. "Even with his cute little fox kit in tow, he was having a hard time getting a loan. I'm guessing a smart bunny like you can figure out why." It took her a second, but a look of a mixture of anguish and anger passed onto Judy's face.
"...The world really does suck sometimes, huh, Nick?" Judy put her hand on Nick's shoulder. That finally did it to Nick and he sobbed for a little while. Judy gave him this moment, gently rubbing his shoulder.
"Yep, sure does," Nick sniveled for a bit before controlling himself. He looked up again, and one last tear rolled from his eye. "It's okay, dad, I can cry in front of the bunny. She's my partner; she gets to see the things that get to me."
"Heavens above, Nick," Judy blinked slowly, trying to fight tears again. "I hope all of our jogs don't go like this. You're going to destroy me at this rate."
"Sorry to bog our jog down with all this heavy stuff," Nick apologized, getting to his feet.
"Hey, I'm the one who asked," Judy said, hopping off the bench. "And for what it's worth, I'm glad I know."
"You better not go easy on me just because you know I'm a sentimental sap," Nick pointed accusingly at her.
"As if!" Judy flashed a wicked grin. "You know the only way you could make any mammal proud of you is by giving it your very best. So that's what I'm going to get from you!"
"Aye-aye, Fluff," Nick gave a mock salute with the wrong hand. "Feeling kind of thirsty, though. You wanna go get something to rehydrate?"
"I heard there's a nice vixen near the center of the park that sells frozen drinks," Judy nodded.
"Oh come on, Carrots," Nick chuckled. "Don't you know better than to buy any sort of frozen refreshment from a fox?" He winked at her.
"Okay, I did not just hear that from you," Judy rolled her eyes. "We are going there right now."
"Yes, ma'am," Nick laughed, but then started in surprise as Judy suddenly took off. "H-hey, wait! No fair going full sprint!"
"Not sprinting! This is my actual jogging speed, Nick! See if you can keep up!" Judy shot back over her shoulder.
"Aagh!" Nick started to sprint after her.