Judy let out a contented sigh as she sat on her bed. She had eaten her dinner and dressed down, and was ready for the next day to come. Another long, boring day at the station, exhausting in its own way. She looked out of her window as the sun had just finished setting and the stars were beginning to show. A lazy smile crept along her face. Zootopia was beautiful. Mammal-kind had created a wonder, and she was now an intrinsic part of protecting it. It made pride well up in her chest and throat.
The bunny also felt quite lonely.
She was starting to count the things that she had taken for granted earlier in life. The constant din of frivolous complaints and games from younger ones in her parents' home. The fact that you could go basically anywhere at home and just find someone to talk about anything, or nothing, for hours at a time if need be. Every one of the Hopps had their own stories, their own gossip, their own jokes.
Judy gave all that up to live alone and write her own story; forge her own path.
Guiltily, Judy realized that she'd rather her neighbors Bucky and Pronk not reconcile their differences so early in the evening, like they had on that particular night. It was just an argument over who drank the last soda. Trivial, but so familiar. Though she didn't begrudge the two for getting along and letting her sleep peacefully, listening to their arguments had also become familiar to her, and in some ways it reminded her of home.
Cripes, she wasn't getting homesick, was she? She shook her head to dispel the notion. She was lonely, though, there was definitely that.
She'd tried the bar scene a few times. The boisterous, loud atmosphere was familiar to her from home, but also more chaotic. Judy found herself reflexively scolding a couple of rabbits who were getting a bit out of hand, only to remember that they were strangers, and she wasn't on the job. If she could have cringed into a ball like an armadillo could, she was pretty sure she would have.
Absently, Judy tumbled her phone over in her paws. Dispelling her loneliness was only a phone call away, at any time. Dozens of family members still loved chatting and gossiping with her. She'd even woken her parents out of a sound sleep once and they didn't even sound bothered to listen to her troubles. Twisting her mouth this way and that, Judy considered her options. She took a deep breath, opened her contact list, and pushed her paw to the button.
The phone only rang once.
"Carrots...!" Nick's tone had that long sort of chiding drone she'd come to like. "Miss the sound of my voice already...?"
"Please, Slick. It's only been three days since I last called," Judy grinned, rolling her eyes. "How goes the academy?"
"Same ol', same ol'," Nick returned conversationally.
"So that means you're about ready to drop?" Judy teased.
"Ugh, every day," Nick admitted with a droll voice. "I seriously don't know how you did it."
"Told you it wouldn't be easy," Judy scolded warmly.
"You did," Nick replied. "Still a half a year to go. I'm pretty sure foxes weren't designed for this type of punishment."
"Oh, you can do it, you big baby..." Judy sat back on her bed, stretching and relaxing.
"Yeah, I can," Nick said, his voice flattening. "But sometimes, I'll admit, I think back to the hustles. How easy they were. How good at them I was."
"Nick...?" Judy's ears reflexively perked and she sat right back up.
"I could be making a small fortune still, Carrots," Nick's voice seemed almost self-mocking. "Just going with the flow, doing what I'm good at."
"Nick..." Judy's voice began to weaken.
"Instead, here I am, punishing my body, trying to be something different," Nick said seriously. "Trying to break two decades of bad habits in just over half a year. Sometimes... I just think..." Nick sighed.
"Nick!" Judy grit her teeth. "Please tell me you're not thinking of quitting...?"
There was a short, tense silence.
"I won't give up, no I won't give in, until I reach the end, then I'll start again!" Nick suddenly barked out into song. He was not on key.
"NICK!" Judy shrieked with an exasperated tone.
"Hey, keep it down, will ya bunny?" Pronk suggested from the apartment next to Judy's.
"Oh oh oh oh oh! Try everything!" Nick continued.
"That's not even the right order the lyrics go in!" Judy hissed. "You rusty-furred nitwit!"
"Gotcha!" Nick chuckled. "Nah, I won't quit."
"Your bunk-mate should punch you for that," Judy smirked. "For my sake, at least."
"Fitzbearald? He's drinking with his pals, I think," Nick sounded noncommittal.
"Well shouldn't you be with him?" Judy asked perkily. "You could always know a bit more 'everyone' than you already do."
"Want to be able to get up in the morning, Carrots," Nick said pridefully, as if he was always on his best behavior. "I shouldn't go out drinking tonight."
"Right," Judy rolled her eyes. She ran her paw across her soft, cottony shirt. "So uh... what keeps you going then? I mean, if it's okay to ask."
Nick didn't answer immediately. Judy thought she heard a small hum from the other end of the line.
"One moment, Fluff, trying to come up with something that makes sense," Nick said after some hesitation.
"It doesn't have to make sense," Judy giggled tersely, rolling over so she was laying on her stomach, kicking her feet absently.
"Well, I... I keep going because of you," Nick's voice sounded unusually tender. Judy's initial response was only a terse questioning sound as she felt warmth come up into her bunny cheeks. "C'mon Carrots, you remember! You asked me to be your partner."
"Yeah but- but you wouldn't actually do it unless you wanted to, right...?" Judy's voice sounded confused. "You wouldn't do it just for me. C'mon."
"Well, I have always wanted to be part of a 'pack', like I told you," Nick's voice carried its usual mischievous nature. "But no, I think I'm doing it for you."
"Nick! C'mon, stop..." Judy was feeling more and more uncomfortable. "Like why...? Because you want to make me happy?"
"Maybe that's part of it," Nick said, his voice somewhere between noncommittal and teasing. "But mostly, because I want to be surprised."
"Surprised how?" Judy's attention was rapt.
"You remember that big ol' speech I gave you at the end of the first day we met?"
"Oh, what?" Judy scoffed. "You mean the one that I had the time to reflect on word by word as I dragged my cement-soaked feet home? The one that you were basically right on every point?"
"Not every point," Nick's voice carried its signature warm smugness. "You surprised me, Carrots. Especially when you came back. You surprised me with your will, compassion, determination, and your just- your refusal to lose."
Judy didn't know what to say. She felt touched. "Nick..."
"So you gotta have some more surprises somewhere," Nick said lazily. "Maybe hidden in those giant things you call ears? Anyway, I want to see them. After two decades on the streets, you think you know everyone. But apparently I can still underestimate and misjudge. That's on me. But I want you to keep proving me wrong. Keep proving that the world and the mammals in it are interesting, unique, and worth learning about. Worth... getting to know."
"Okay, Nick," Judy's voice was just above a whisper. A fond sternness entered her voice and she furrowed her brow with a smile. "You better make valedictorian. I want to pin your badge on myself."
"Eh, it'll be easy," Nick said haughtily. "Well, maybe not easy, but I'm definitely gonna-"
"RAAAAAUGHHHHHHHH!" An unfamiliar, ursine-sounding yell blasted over the phone.
"AAAGH!" Nick screamed.
"Nick! What's going on!?" Judy's ears shot upright.
"Some people are tryin' to sleep is what's going on!" Bucky yelled through the wall.
"Haha, gotcha again, Wilde!" An unfamiliar voice, but Judy figured it must have been Nick's bunk-mate. "You're such an easy mark!"
"Hey, Fred, you been out drinking again?" Nick's voice sounded judgemental.
"Yes, Dad," Fred laughed. "You should have come with us! You seem tense!"
"Well I actually want to pass the academy, Fitzbearald," Nick said in a dry tone. "I'd bet against you lasting another week with how much you like to party and eat pizza." Judy hummed in amusement twice at how much warmer his sarcasm was when applied to her.
"Hey, I'm ready to be a police officer, Wilde," Fred said boisterously. "The world's gotta ask itself if it's ready for me!"
"Yeah yeah, you're drunk," Nick grumbled.
"And you're talkin' to your girlfriend again!" Fred accused. Judy gasped tersely.
"Fitzbearald!" Nick hissed. "We've discussed this! She's my girl. Friend. With a space in the middle; a girl that is a friend."
"Is that what I am, Nick?" Judy teased.
"Listen, Carrots, I should probably get off the phone and try to get some sleep before Fred's snoring keeps me up till six in the morning," Nick sighed.
"That sounds specific," Judy chuckled, running her free hand through her ears to get them to set back down.
"Well, it's happened before," Nick grunted. "Anyway, good night, Carrots."
"Night, Slick," Judy's voice wavered flirtatiously. She hesitated hanging up.
"Her name can't be Carrots, can it?" Fred started talking immediately. "C'mon Nick, gimme the scoop between you and her."
Judy decisively pressed the call end button. Her heart felt aglow with pride at Nick's determination and drive. She tucked herself peaceful into bed.
She couldn't wait to be in his company again.