Nick heard a rapid knock at his apartment door that momentarily startled him.
"C'mon in, Carrots," Nick said. It couldn't have been anyone else.
"Well, well!?" Judy excitedly burst into Nick's apartment. "What did it say?"
Nick let out a heavy sigh, brushing a hand through his head fur. "I haven't opened it yet; was waiting for you to get here." He held an envelope in the other paw with the ZPD's seals all over it.
"What are you waiting for now, then? Open it, open it!" Judy placed her fists to her chin and bounced a few times.
Taking in another deep breath, Nick fit his claw into the fold of the envelope and carefully opened it, taking out the letter therein. Judy had a high-pitched, but quiet squeal while she was waiting for the news, hunched over.
"Dear Nicholas Wilde, we regret to inform you-" Nick started, and Judy's ears immediately dropped, though her expression remained frozen in glee. "-that the Mammal Inclusion Initiative act is not fielding applications for the Zootopia Police Department at this time. Please consider submitting your application at a later date." Nick's ears flattened on his head.
"What? No... what...?" Judys expression was falling by increments. "T-that can't be right."
"Read it and weep," Nick handed her the document. "So I don't have to, hm?" He gave a sad smile.
"You applied via the Mammal Inclusion Initiative...?" Judy wondered, reading the paper. "I thought you just-"
"I didn't specifically," Nick shrugged, "they must have just seen 'fox' in the species field and assumed, I guess."
"Ugh!" Judy threw the paper down and folded her arms, rapidly tapping her foot. Then, she pressed both of her paws to her forehead. "All this red tape is ridiculous! Why can't I just have you as a partner?"
"Sorry, Carrots, I guess it just doesn't work that way," Nick gave a tiny shrug again.
"It's... not fair," Judy's lip was catching as she tried to keep from sneering, or sobbing.
"Nope, the world never is," Nick said. "Ah well, I can always try again in a year or so. Maybe try to build up some muscle until then."
"Really?" Judy gave a tiny grin. "No, that's right! Don't give up!" She paused, giving him a sidelong look. "You really want to be my partner, huh?"
"Officer Fluff," Nick advanced upon her. "You awoke a desire deep within me, and I will see it satisfied."
"Oh...?" Judy squeaked in a barely audible voice, the inside of her ears heating up rapidly as the fox stared down at her.
"A desire for justice," Nick nodded seriously, spinning on his heel away from her and nodding.
"Oh..." Judy fought the urge to laugh. "Well, I'm glad. I think."
"Hm, if the ZPD still doesn't work out, maybe I can see about getting my own private detective office set up," Nick stroked his chin, looking off at a corner of his apartment.
"Really? You know that private detectives still have to play by the rules, right?" Judy narrowed one eye, cocking her head.
"Carrots, you should know by now how good I am at just about following all the rules," Nick turned his head and gave her a cocky look.
"Right..." Judy rolled her eyes. "Just make sure you do all your taxes correctly."
"Of course, fool me once..." Nick chuckled. "Hm, wonder what I'd call it. Maybe Nick's Private Di-"
"Um, no," Judy gave a barely disguised amused huff as she cut him off. She walked over to look him up and down. "Hm... how about Emerald Eyes Private Detective Agency?"
"Emerald eyes?" Nick put his hands in his pockets. "A little cheesy, but eye-catching."
"Just like a certain fox I know," Judy ribbed him in the side.
"Touche, Carrots, touche," Nick laughed.
Roughly one year had passed. On duty and still in uniform, Judy got out of her cruiser Downtown and quickly rushed toward a particular cluster of buildings.
Judy entered the Emerald Eyes Private Detective Agency with some measure of excitement at the prospect of enlisting Nick's help, but her excitement instantly changed to confusion as her eyes were having a lot of difficulty adjusting to the dim lighting inside the small office. She blinked rapidly, squinting as she tried to make out all of the shapes in the office.
"Nick, you here?" Judy called out loudly. "I can barely see, it's so dark. And what's with the... mournful saxophone music you have on?"
"She complained about the lighting," Nick's voice muttered, though it sounded a bit affected and intense. "Didn't she know foxes are nocturnal?"
A large office chair spun around to reveal Nick, wearing a tan trench coat and matching hat. He set both of his feet on his desk and crossed them at the ankle. He was licking a pawpsicle, as well. Judy's eyes widened in surprise as she finally made him out with her vision.
"Uh..."
"I knew the dame was trouble from the moment she walked in," Nick shook his head to himself as if he didn't even notice Judy.
"Nick..." Judy rolled her eyes. "C'mon, seriously?"
"The doe-eyed doe was from the Burrows," Nick ignored her. "She had a thick drawl to her voice..."
"I do not!" Judy protested, stamping her foot and thrusting her arms straight down.
Nick cleared his throat, tilting his head all the way back and looking at the ceiling. "I said, she had a thick drawl."
Judy gave a loud groan, figuring she may as well humor him. She got up and sat on his desk, slicking her ears back and dangling them over one of her shoulders, petting over them. She fluttered her eyes. "Why, Mistuh Wahld, Ah need yoh hayulp..."
Nick broke out into a large, pleased grin, looking at her. "That's better. What seems to be the trouble, Doll-face?"
Judy squinted her eyes shut in irritation over the nickname and paused as it washed over her mind, but she managed to stay in character and forced her eyes into a sultry half-lidded state. She traced circles on Nick's desk with her forefinger. "It's that pop stah, Gazelle. She's in a mite bit of trouble, y'see... n' we need a brave, handsome fox such as yohsailf on ah side..."
"The charming, suave fox took a bite of his pawpsicle," Nick narrated, doing this. "And what am I supposed to do to help?"
"Mistuh Wahld, if yuh'd be so kind- okay, I'm not doing this voice the whole time," Judy said abruptly as she switched back to her normal voice, scooting off of his desk.
"Aw, couldn't you have stayed on the desk, at least?" Nick whined, his own voice going back to normal. "So, Gazelle's in trouble. What's going on?"
"Someone's targeting her with tranquilizer darts," Judy explained. "It's happened twice now, disrupting her events and causing panic in her audience."
"Hm, that doesn't sound good," Nick nodded. "But what can I do to help, then?"
"Chief Bogo's actually a huge Gazelle fan," Judy shrugged.
"No kidding?" Nick blinked.
"Yup, he's willing to ask for help even from some private eyes to make sure we have all of our bases covered and every event of hers has someone looking out for her well-being in it," Judy explained, then gave a fond smile. "And you know who I suggested, of course."
"Why sure," Nick returned the fond look to Judy. "I'm not the biggest fan of hers, but getting paid to go to a few of her concerts on the ZPD's dime sounds pretty all right with me."
Judy shook her head. "Not just concerts. She also does speeches and rallies, mostly for pred-prey relations awareness. We're going to have to have a small presence at every event she does until we can nab the crook responsible. And... since no one can be sneakier or blend in better than a fox..."
"Heh, I hear you," Nick grinned, getting up onto his feet. "Well, let's just see what we can do, Toots."
"We're going to have to have a talk about these anachronistic nicknames," Judy grumbled, but had a half-smile on. "And could we ditch the saxophone music?"
"Okay, okay," Nick grumbled in good humor, turning his radio off.
Judy met Nick at the Franklin Moobody Auditorium about a half hour before Gazelle's scheduled speech. Judy was quite surprised to see Nick looking more casual than he normally did; he was just wearing a t-shirt in a muted, faded color as well as blue jeans.
"Why Nick, you look so... inconspicuous!" Judy chuckled. "No loud shirt, no tie?" She was dressed a little more formally, wearing a coat which had some of her gear tucked into it, as she was undercover. In her ear a barely perceptible clear plastic bud was placed for her connection to the ZPD.
"Carrots, I'll have you know all of my outfits were picked on purpose," Nick tugged at his t-shirt with both hands. "The bright shirts are to get your attention, and the ties are to project an air of sophistication and seriousness."
"Ah, yeah, right, I believe that," Judy rolled her eyes, trying to find a good seat. There was almost no one present at that moment, but she wanted a seat with a good view of the rest of the auditorium.
"Hey sweetheart, it worked for twenty years, so who are you to judge, huh?" Nick wiggled his eyebrows. "I know what I'm doing."
"I suppose that is why we hired you," Judy said in a pleasant, faux-harried voice. "How's this?" She sat down on a seat on the left side of the auditorium and three chairs in from the middle. "I think I can get a great view of most of the auditorium with one subtle full sweep of my head."
"Yeah, that looks great," Nick nodded. Judy patted the seat next to her.
"Come sit with me!" Judy encouraged.
"Uh-uh," Nick shook his head. "I'll get a seat closer to the back so I can cover any area behind your head."
"Ooh, that makes sense," Judy nodded. "See you after the speech." Judy crossed her fingers on both hands and gave a charming-looking wince. "Hopefully this all goes well."
"Hopefully, Doll-face," Nick smirked. Judy's fetching expression and ears both fell into half-lid eyes and an annoyed pout of her muzzle. "Hmhm, you're too easy to bother, Carrots." Nick walked to one row from the very back, and took a seat on the right side of the auditorium, a few chairs from the middle. He relaxed casually, and none of the rest of the mammals filing in paid either of them any mind.
Judy smiled as Gazelle took the stage. She was a lovely animal, but her pretty presence was tempered by her gentle, encouraging voice as she talked about the issues facing Zootopia at the time, especially predator-prey relations. Judy found herself becoming engrossed in the speech, her heart aching for her words, but she did remember to give a few sweeps to check for suspicious activity.
"So, if you are a prey, please don't think of predators as frightening," Gazelle's speech continued on. "I know from personal experience how kind and gentle predators can be. Look past their sharp teeth and toned structure and see them for who they really are. And on the other hand, predators. Don't look at the weakness of prey's small or thin forms. They often hide such strength, if not of body, of will and spirit. In fact, I think a union between a predator and a prey could be-"
At this point, Gazelle paused in surprise. She thought she had felt a small gust of air blow right by her neck, and put a hand there instinctively. Her train of thought was disrupted, and Judy felt the small bubble of yearning that was forming inside her pop at the distraction. "-a union between a predator and prey could be quite beautiful. It would perfectly symbolize that we truly have come far as mammals from the day of the hunter and the hunted." Judy began to relax at her recovery, but then she heard a loud bleat and growling coming from the back of the auditorium, which caused other assorted gasps.
"Get your hands off that! Help!" A voice called out.
Nick was wrestling with a ram in the back row. They were trying to gain control over a large rifle. Judy grit her teeth and launched out of her chair, charging toward the two.
"This fox was trying to shoot Gazelle! Someone help me get this gun away from him!" The ram wailed, struggling with Nick. Angry murmuring welled up in the midst of the crowd as they made eyes at Nick. A couple of larger animals started to approach them
"Hold it, everyone!" Judy leaped behind the two. "Judy Hopps, ZPD!" She flashed her badge quickly.
"Judy Hopps!?" The ram felt a jolt of panic. "T-tell this fox to leave me alone!"
"No," Judy said smugly, drawing a stun gun from inside her coat and pointing it at the ram. A questioning sound of shock broke out from the audience. "Give up the struggle, DOUG."
"I'm not-!" The ram protested.
"Doug Ramses!" Nick confirmed. "Lackey to a certain corrupt sheep, former mayor Bellwether!" Another shrill gasp from the audience. "I'd know that pungent odor anywhere!"
"Hey, I bathe once a day, you mangy predator!" Doug sneered.
"Give it up, Doug! You're outgunned!" Judy proclaimed. Doug looked in fear at the fox, bunny, and the eyes of many other animals that had been turned over to their side. He dropped the gun and held his hands over his head. "Aw, I really wanted to shoot him, too." Judy quickly made her way over to him and cuffed him. "Doug Ramses, you are under arrest!"
The crowd exploded into cheers and clapping, as if the whole thing had been part of the show put on for their amusement. Nick gave a dramatic bow, and Judy gave a few little acknowledging nods of her head, smiling proudly. Doug just cursed to himself, feeling the metal of the cuffs around his wrists.
Gazelle looked on from the stage at the two and eventually caught Judy's eye. She mouthed "thank you" meaningfully toward Judy and gave a little wave. Judy saluted with her free hand and then used both to start leading Doug away, while Nick picked up Doug's belongings, which included his gun and a tote full of tranquilizer darts and other such incriminating evidence.
Judy ended up in Nick's office again, sitting on his desk.
"Well that was fun, huh?" Judy smiled, letting her legs dangle back and forth.
"The debonair fox had to agree," Nick said in his affected, serious voice. "In truth, he'd been hoping for some excuse to work with the bunny broad again ever since they put away that crazy sheep, Bellwether."
"Aw, Nick," Judy giggled, closing her eyes happily. "Well, you've got Chief Bogo's begrudging thanks, you've got Gazelle's undying gratitude and probably a backstage pass heading your way in the mail, you have Clawhauser's thanks of course, and you have my thanks, too." She changed her voice to a drawl briefly. "This loveleh bunneh belle from down in the Burruhs..."
"I play by my own rules, the calm fox said. You can bet it's easier to catch the bad guys when you don't have a big guy like Chief Beef breathing down your neck."
"While that may be true," Judy turned her head to fully look at him. "Now that you're on his good side, maybe you could... apply again? Be my partner?" This got Nick to pause and his face to become serious.
"I'll think about it, Carrots," Nick said, breaking his persona. "To be truthful, though, I am quite liking getting to work for myself and stick my nose into cases that the ZPD deems too frivolous or trivial. I've helped out a lot of families; brought peace to people looking for answers; it's kind of satisfying stuff, actually. The corniness here is just for you."
"I know, but..." Judy slid her paw across the desk, palm up. Nick took it in his, and felt Judy squeeze firmly. "I... maybe it's selfish. I want you to be my partner."
"Judy, it's probably easier this way," Nick said, stroking his thumb over the back of her hand. Judy felt a complex emotion stab at her at this admission and the rare use of her first name. She let out a shaky sigh, trying to control herself.
"Okay," Judy said simply, sliding off of his desk and turning to leave.
"Wait," Nick said, getting in front of her and between her and the door. "If we don't become partners at work, it'll... it'll probably be easier for us to say how we really feel about each other, huh?" Nick gave a surprisingly unsure grin. His chest felt tight.
"You think so...?" Judy gave a tiny smile. Her warm expression started to put Nick back at ease.
"C'mon, put 'er right here," Nick pointed at his muzzle.
"What you get right there will depend on whether the sax music is still playing," Judy folded her arms, trying to douse her broadening grin. Nick tried turning it off, and Judy got on her tiptoes to give him a small kiss, which Nick returned. His tail started to wag a bit, and Judy gave a satisfied smile. "Let's do this again sometime, hmm?"
Nick nodded, and gently chucked Judy's jaw with his fist. Judy let out a tiny hum and allowed her face to move from the motion, and then captured his fist in her paws and affectionately looked up at the emerald-eyed fox. He adjusted his hat with his free hand.
"Here's looking at you, kit."
Author's Note: You guessed it, another suggestion from Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps. Thanks again for feeding my plot bunnies!