TCH-CLUNK!

The air hockey puck had screamed past Nick's paddle and into the goal. The air seeping from the table stopped, signaling the end of the game.

"Ugh," Nick shook his head and sucked at his teeth.

"Woo!" Judy dropped her paddle and thrust both of her hands into the air, pointing upwards with both index fingers. "I won! In your foxy face!" Judy started joyfully waving her arms and hips side to side, dancing around with pride. Nick took in the movements of the dancing bunny. He'd call them silly before he called them graceful or skilled. He did find her quite attractive, though.

"At least you're a gracious winner," Nick muttered, smirking.

Judy's silly dance ended up drawing her closer to Nick, and she looked up at him with mock astonishment. "Aw, what's wrong, Nick? Feeling a little outclassed?"

"Well, first you absolutely destroyed me in bowling, now here in air hockey," Nick counted to two on his fingers. "I don't suppose we could find something to play that I could win at."

"Not on this date, anyway," Judy winked, giving him a happy glomp.

"Okay, okay," Nick chuckled, patting her on the back twice before briefly returning her hug. "You're usually more fun when you win, anyway."

"Hey!" Judy laughed as she suddenly broke the hug, but then brought a finger to her chin and contemplated. "Well, I mean, I guess you're not wrong."

"So what now?" Nick asked. "I can see you're not tired yet. Wanna go grab a bite to eat? Or maybe we can find another game for you to beat me in."

"Maybe!" Judy laughed. "Actually, I'd kind of like to just go for a walk."

"Huh," Nick shrugged. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

The two left the bowling alley, which was quite near the border between Savanna Central and Sahara Square. It was a quiet evening; the busy-looking bunny's head kept perking this way and that to look around, but there weren't many mammals around to see. The two different flavors of night lighting that were visible near the border of the two sections of Zootopia were quite enchanting; both styles each with their own unique merits. The quiet stately simplicity of Savanna Central, and the flamboyant, playful opulence of Sahara Square. Of course, at places there was also a good view to the very heart of the city with its varied, colorful skyline.

Nick gave a sigh and let a smile play out on his face. He felt like sometimes the most simple, easy pleasures of life were the most enjoyable. He looked over toward his bunny and smiled at her, and she returned the grin.

"Oop!" Judy stumbled forward and caught herself on her knee. "Rgh." She curled forward, almost into a ball.

"Uh!? Judy?" Nick scrambled over towards her. "I didn't accidentally trip you, did I? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, just give me a second," Judy chuckled, hesitating.

"Are you sure?" Nick tilted his head curiously. "Usually you're a bit more sure-footed than this. Either way, I won't tell anyone." Nick smirked.

"No, dummy, I'm fine," Judy grinned, looking up at him, flashing an assuring smile. Nick suddenly felt a stab of unease; he sensed something was up. "Incidentally..."

Nick's jaw dropped. In an instant, what was going on dawned on him. Judy was on one knee.

Judy brought out a small box from her coat, opening it. Inside was a stately gold ring, with silver intertwined into it near its top.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde, will you marry me?" Judy asked sweetly, offering the ring.

"J-Judy?" Nick's eyes flew fully open. "I mean? Really? You're gonna... but our families don't really know about 'us'... and our jobs... and if we were to be married wouldn't that-"

"Nick, stop talking," Judy's expression dropped to an exasperated smirk. Then, her face softened considerably. "Let's try this again. Nick, will you marry me?"

Nick hesitated. Judy felt her heart beating very fast. She knew that Nick's relenting to being in a relationship with her was her doing. All of the moves she made were from her initiative. Maybe she had finally gone too fast for him, too sudden. She wasn't unaware of the social risks of such a move, either. Her mouth felt dry, until finally, Nick looked like he would speak.

"Yeah, sure," Nick sighed, giving an almost tired, but very pleased smile.

"Yee!" Judy launched directly at him, and Nick was ready with his arms to catch the bunny. "Put your ring on! Put it on!"

"Okay, okay," Nick laughed, setting her down and putting on his ring. He was surprised that it fit perfectly. "Wow. It's handsome and it fits perfectly."

"I measured your finger when you were sleeping once," Judy said proudly.

"Sneaky," Nick gave her a proud smile, then tilted his head. "And that 'trip'?"

"I hustled you good, huh?" Judy's voice was very gleeful, and she was almost vibrating in exuberance.

"So long as this time we don't have to outwit a psychotic mammal so we can get married," Nick chuckled. "Uh, by the way, inter-species marriage is legal... right?" His face showed genuine worry.

"Uh huh!" Judy said as they resumed walking, skipping as she went. "My neighbors are different species and they're married. Annoying, but married." Judy rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Nick kept looking at his ring and Judy gave a small squeal when she noticed this. "Embarrassing, in a way. I should have... you were quicker than me."

"Oh, so you wanted to propose then?" Judy gave a big grin.

"I was trying to wait for the perfect time or place," Nick grumbled. "But I kept shooting all of my ideas down. I guess I was too self-critical."

"I'm sure I would have liked any of them," Judy chuckled, still feeling an emotional rush from pulling off her "hustle".

"Yeah, but would any of them have been good enough for this?" Nick indicated the rabbits ear-tops with his hand and dropped it all the way down to her feet. Judy looked at him, rather surprised. "Um, heh... that was a bit corny."

"Well, if so, then I guess I have to say, 'aw, shucks'," Judy giggled. She ran up to hug him again and rubbed her cheek rapidly on his chest. "Mmm."

"You're so... wonderful, Judy," Nick tried to keep his breath from catching as he gave her a gentle squeeze. He tried to mask his compliments under his layer of snark, but he couldn't find the right words. "Lovely little gray bunny. And you want me to be your husband?"

"I sure do," Judy hummed in pleasure, hugging close. She let go, looking earnestly up at him. "Nick, thank you for letting me win tonight."

"Letting you-?" Nick scoffed. "Hey, bunny-bride-to-be, I didn't let you win anything. I'd never dumb my skills down to-"

"Hush," Judy placed her paw on his muzzle. "What I mean is... thank you for letting me win you." She nodded to his ring. "The most fetching foxy prize I've ever laid my eyes on."

"Mm, so is that all I am to you?" Nick chuckled. "A trophy husband?"

"Well, of course," Judy grinned widely. "You know I'm too picky with my goals in life to settle for anything less than a sterling vulpine like yourself."

"Okay, one of these times one of these ridiculous compliments is going to get to me and I'm going to start crying," Nick swallowed hard, "so maybe we should go home before that happens."

"Aw, okay," Judy gave a charming grin and took Nick's newly ringed hand in hers, walking with him towards the nearest subway station. "So, when do you think you'll want to officially make me Mrs. Wilde, huh?"

"Well, offhand, I'm not sure," Nick grinned with a dangerous sort of chuff. "But... I can make you 'Wilde' as early as tonight, if you want."

Judy gave a playful gasp and a single hop as they continued on. "Ooh! I want, I want!"

"Well then, you'll get," Nick smirked. "After all, you did win tonight, so it's only fair."

"I have a feeling I'm just going to keep on winning," Judy gave him a slightly dreamy smile, and the fox winked at her.