Judy had only been home for a few minutes that evening when she heard a knock on her apartment door.
"Just a minute!" Judy called out, still slipping into some casual clothes. "Who's there?"
"It's me," a gruff, deep tone replied.
"Finnick? That you?" Judy was intrigued and slightly confused; Finnick had never come to her door before.
"Sure is," the fennec's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Just one sec!" Judy wiggled into her top and her head and ears sprouted from the opening in her shirt as if they were a turnip. Judy opened the door and smiled at Finnick. "Howdy!"
"What's good?" Finnick said casually with a lazy grin, his hands in his pockets. "'Ey, you know where Nick is this evening?"
"Ah, no?" Judy picked up her phone to text him, but Finnick held up a paw.
"Eh, don't bother, 'detective', I already tried his phone," Finnick said. Judy chuckled lightly in response to the quip, but then her countenance fell.
"That's odd..." Judy's brow scrunched. "I hope everything's okay."
"Prob'ly is," Finnick said, shoving his paws into his pockets. "It's just- it's the Completion today, and Nick and I usually hang out. But this is the first one since he turned into a cop n' all, so I figured he might be witchoo somewhere."
"What's the 'Completion'?" Judy wondered.
Finnick waved a paw dismissively. "Eh, it's a dog thing. You wouldn't know about it."
Judy peered down at the fennec. "Well, could you teach me about it, then?" Finnick looked up at Judy skeptically. "I'm trying to be a little less ignorant." Finnick scoffed, but he could see that Judy wasn't joking and looked down, kicking at the ground with his foot.
"Well uh..." Finnick looked around. "How do I say this... it's like a celebration honoring the canid goddess Karma. There's lots of different ways to celebrate it, and since it's just a canid holiday it's not commercialized or anythin'. Nick and I just used to get together where we did our first hustle and get a drink at the bar near there."
"Aw, that's sweet," Judy tilted her head. "In a weird sort of way."
"You up to playin' detective and helping me find him?" Finnick shrugged. "I got no other plans tonight."
"Sure! That sounds fun," Judy rubbed her chin, thinking. "Any clue where he might be?"
"Somewhere important to him, if he's doing something for the Completion," Finnick shrugged.
Judy seemed to think for a little longer, then perked up. "Okay, let's go!" She excitedly beckoned Finnick and the two left her apartment.
"Ha ha... ol' Jumbeaux's..." Finnick gave a dark smile in Judy's direction as she and Finnick approached Jumbeaux's Cafe. "Bun, you fell for that scam hook line and sinker."
Judy's eyebrows and ears fell. "Nick's a good actor, okay? And you're good at pretending to be cute."
"Tch, shows how much you know," Finnick folded his arms after Judy got the door. "You really think a red fox can have a fennec kit?"
"Why not?" Judy chirped, then shook her head. "Wait wait- I'm not that dumb. You could have been adopted!"
Finnick held up a finger like he was about to say something, then let it down. "I guess you got a point there." The small fox looked left and right. "Don't look like Nick's here. Don't suppose you want some ice cream?" He jerked his thumb to the counter.
"Mm mm," Judy wiggled her index finger. "Not until you've had your dinner, young mammal."
"Pff, don't you start," Finnick warned with a hint of aggression. Judy flashed a grin to ensure she was joking, but Finnick didn't appear to enjoy its content. Judy shrugged and left the cafe with the small fox.
"Are you and Nick very good friends?" Judy started to head to the subway with Finnick.
"Uh... I dunno if you could say that, exactly," Finnick sucked his teeth. "I ain't the kinda fox that needs or gives emotional support, y'know? I just been hustlin' with him for a long time."
"So he's not like a brother to you or anything?" Judy wondered with honest curiosity.
"Psh, no!" Finnick gave a broad smirk. "Maybe like the kind of brother that you hang out with and you need money from but you can't be around too much 'cuz you wanna punch him right in his smug face after while."
"Been there," Judy returned a smaller smirk.
Finnick waved his paw in front of his face as if to dismiss the current topic. "Anyway, you got anywhere else in mind where he might be?"
"Yeah, a couple of places," Judy nodded. "Just kind of figured Nick might be here. I did meet you two here."
"Mmh, what's that got to do with it?" Finnick grumbled. "Anyway, where's your next idea?"
"It's nice isn't it?" Judy smiled as she enjoyed the soft breeze of the day in one of the Rainforest District's cable cars. "You get such a good view of the Downtown and the rest of the district from here."
"I can barely see anythin'," Finnick grumbled, standing on his tip toes to peek up and over the side of the car.
"Aw, want me to lift you up?" Judy smirked.
Finnick quickly backed away from the edge and waved his paws. "No no, don't you touch me...!"
"Afraid of heights?" Judy half-closed her eyes.
"Listen bun, if mammals were 'sposed to fly, we'd have wings!" Finnick retorted with a glare and a point. He got his accelerating breathing under control and crossed his arms. "So what makes you think Nick'd be here?"
"Well, I saved his life right around there," Judy pointed near a platform that looked familiar to her in the dimming light. "I dunno, I guess I thought he might be thankful or something?"
"Hm..." Finnick folded his arms.
Judy placed her paws on the lip of the edge and rocked back and forth a little. "After that, he saved my badge by standing up for me... then up here he told me about his past. Why he had such a negative outlook on the world..."
"He what...?" Finnick's eyes widened from their near-perpetually displeased shape. "...Mm."
"Something wrong?" Judy turned to look at the contemplative fennec.
"Nick's never told me the full story 'bout his past," Finnick mused. "I've only heard bits and pieces from him, and only when he's drunk. The thing about the scouts, or somethin'?" Judy nodded once. "Sometimes he gets mopey after knockin' a few back; lets things slip. Then he tries to get me to drink too much to forget about it too. Hah! S'long as he's payin'."
"He's never told you about-?" Judy felt a spark of distress as she realized that Nick told her what he did in confidence and decided to stop talking.
"Like I said, bun, we ain't that close," Finnick waved his arm. "I'm not his dad, his brother, his son. I'm not even really good friends with him. We just do what we do and go home." He stared holes into Judy. "Maybe that's why he took you back."
"Took me back...?" Judy felt her stomach drop. "Oh..."
"Yeah, I heard about that, at least," Finnick sucked his teeth.
"Maybe we could try the lobby of the ZPD next," Judy sighed. "That was a big moment too; where I screwed up royally and Zootopia paid the price for my mistake..."
"No," Finnick replied tersely.
"Afraid of the police, Finnick?" Judy mocked with her hands on her hips, bending over slightly.
"Bun, I ain't playin'," Finnick looked more standoffish. It was a few more moments before he spoke again. "I know where Nick is. He's not at the ZPD."
"Where is he, then?" Judy tilted her head.
Finnick sucked his teeth and looked over the side of the cable car. "...I already told you."
"You did?" Judy searched her memory.
"Bet you five dollars he's there," Finnick said, nearly a wistful tone in his voice. He gestured flippantly at the bunny before the car came to a stop and the both of them got off. "Hear that? Go find him, and if he's there you owe me five dollars. I ain't comin'."
"Why's that...?" Judy felt her heart sink a little.
Finnick drew a small circle in the air. "Beginnin' to think Nick wants someone else in his 'circle', and it ain't me." He flippantly waved again, turning away from Judy. "Don't feel bad for me, bunny. I got other people I hang with, and it wouldn't be the first time Nick flaked on a long tradition of ours." He gave a dark snicker.
"Sorry- uh..." Judy stammered, holding a finger up daintily. "Where did you say he was, exactly?"
Finnick half-turned his head around and glared at her. "Bun, I told you that I already told you. Ain't gonna say it again." Finnick walked away quietly.
Judy searched her memory again, but then let it dip back further and gasped tersely.
"Oh!"
"Carrots...!" Nick droned, his paws in his pockets. He was walking with his familiar lazy smile on his face beneath that bridge. The bridge Judy had confessed the depth of her despair to him under. Judy felt herself smile and it wobbled slightly.
"Hey, Nick," Judy approached him. "The heck are you doing here?"
"A little thing some canids do called the Completion," Nick said. "Thought I'd do it right this year; not just go get drunk with Finnick."
"He's been looking for you," Judy ambled down the path to be closer to Nick. "You turned your phone off."
"I'm trying to enter a serene state of mind this evening, Judy," Nick smiled up at the setting sun. "That grouchy voice in my ear or a profanity-laced text from him might ruin it."
"Um, okay?" Judy replied. "Hey, you used my first name. Rare." Nick flinched slightly in amusement as he considered this.
"My bad," Nick chuckled, then sighed, speaking in an airy voice. "Well, fitting enough. A rare moment happened here."
Judy didn't respond immediately. She brushed her paw through her ears and looked around at the area. Nothing had changed; the only thing that looked different was the orange-tinted light bathing the scene. "What, seeing me be a dumb bunny? Psh. Happens all the time!"
"No, me upholding my vow," Nick rustled in his pocket.
"Your vow...?" Judy narrowed her eyes. "What, to serve and protect?"
"Nah, before that," Nick pulled out a red scrap of cloth. "You remember the story, right? 'I, Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy'."
"Ah, well... I'd say you're getting there," Judy's voice was a fond tease. "Slowly."
"Hmhmhm..." Nick chuckled.
Judy made a face at the piece of cloth in his hand. "Wait, is that the same handkerchief you tied around my leg at the museum?" Her face scrunched up in mild revulsion. "Ew, it's got to be; it's got bloodstains on it."
"It's also from my Junior Ranger Scouts uniform," Nick tightened his hand, moving it up and down slightly as if judging the weight of the cloth. "It means a lot to me. It represents my broken dreams, but it also represents everything I wanted... and still want."
"To belong? To be a part of something greater?" Judy wondered, her voice softening.
"That's part of it," Nick crouched with a smirk. "Tonight I complete my circle to this point, this place. This thing, resembling what I care about. And..." He grinned charmingly at Judy. "By Serendipity's paw, someone..."
"Puh, Serendipity?" Judy chuckled briefly. "Nah, you can thank Finnick, he jogged my memory."
Nick drew a circle in the air with his paw. "It's said that when Karma demarcated an area by walking around it in a circle, she consecrated it and no injustice could enter that area. I'm here to honor her."
"Really didn't take you as the spiritual type, Nick," Judy smirked.
Nick didn't reply, and he bent down, drawing a circle in the dirt with his claw. Judy approached and crouched near him, wearing mild interest on her face. Nick carefully scooped dirt away from the area to make a circular hole, then he placed the bloodied handkerchief inside the hole and tenderly covered it with dirt.
"You buried the handkerchief," Judy stated the obvious.
"An offering of sorts," Nick said distantly. "A request of mine, to Karma. May she tie this thing to this place, and my fate bind it. May she know my appreciation for this thing and this place. And, by Serendipity, this person." Nick smiled at Judy and she returned his expression. Nick remained on his knees and closed his eyes, gently placing the tips of his fingers from each hand together, holding his arms in a loop in front of him.
"What now?" Judy wondered.
"Meditating for a little while," Nick smirked, opening one eye. "Helps if there's not distractions."
"Oh, sorry," Judy sucked her teeth with a wry grin.
"Also helps to have a partner," Nick explained. Judy sat down near him.
"Um, I have to admit I know nothing about all this mumbo-jumbo," Judy giggled.
"Just hold your arms out like this so our joined hands will form a circle," Nick offered, gently taking her paws with his and snickering at the shape. "Or at least an oblong oval." Judy chuckled at observing this. "Now close your eyes, focus on something."
"Like what?" Judy asked, a tinge of excitement in her voice. Nick felt the bunny's wrists slightly twitching; she was on edge, like they were playing a game.
"You have to relax," Nick chuckled. "A foreign concept to you, I know. Just find something to focus on... how about the sound of my breathing?"
Judy felt antsy for the next minute or two, but after awhile she was able to focus on his breathing. She found her own was slowly altering to match the depth and length of his breaths. The effect was relaxing; almost intimate. Judy imagined that the two were sitting there with nothing but the cosmos as their witness, that the fates had conspired to bring them together as one soul with one purpose: to make the world better from their efforts upon it.
Judy quickly lost track of time.
When she opened up her eyes again, she saw the glint of Nick's in the dark. The sun had fallen. He was wearing a fond smirk, but a smirk nonetheless.
"What?" Judy wondered, almost breathless. "What- was I... did I fall asleep?" Judy shook her head, breaking the circle of their paws and standing up. "Oh no no! I see what this is." She grinned wildly. "You made all of this up, didn't you? All these little rituals, the object burying, the meditating..."
Nick silently rose and dusted his pants off. "Want to grab some dinner? It's kind of late; if you've been looking for me all this time I doubt you had dinner."
"Nick...!" Judy shrieked, stomping her foot. "Ha! So you don't deny it!" She pointed at him accusingly. "That's it, isn't it? All this hokey stuff, just some excuse for what... to hold my hands? What are you, ten?"
"A simple internet search would give you the answer you're looking for, Fluff," Nick said casually.
Judy grumbled, then her stomach did too. "You bluffer! That's a bluff! What, am I going to sit here, take out my phone, and show you how much I doubt you?"
"I promise I won't feel offended," Nick said honestly. "Now, dinner?" Judy appeared momentarily indecisive.
"Your treat," Judy specified with a point.
Nick shrugged. "My treat."
"Yes, then," Judy smirked devilishly.
"Cool; let's go!" Nick said with sudden energy, beckoning her. As they walked, Judy lagged behind the fox's steps and took out her phone surreptitiously. She was beginning to type "Completion Canid Traditions and Rituals" into it, but stopped. Something mentally gave her pause.
So what if whatever rituals and things Nick was doing were made up? They meant something to him, right? Else he wouldn't have been doing them without knowing that Judy was going to show up or not. The moment was special for him- for both of them, she figured, and that's what mattered.
Boy, and Nick called her emotional. Judy felt a small burst of a complicated emotion; something like amusement, apprehension, happiness, and wistfulness.
"Nick- ah..." Judy placed a hand to her chest, looking up at him. The stars were just beginning to come out and a few even made it through the glare of the city, shining behind Nick's head. "Is there anything- anything you want to tell me...?"
Nick's smile maintained a hint of smug, but his voice was warm. "Nothing you don't already know, Carrots."
A sense of contentment and completeness washed over Judy. She took Nick's paw as they walked down into civilization. In that moment she felt whole, completely happy and fulfilled. Judy looked at Nick again, and he was smiling. The smugness was waning, and he looked as he did to her under the bridge during his forgiveness: calm, serene, and happy. Her arm slowly swung with Nick's. She didn't know what to reply to Nick to communicate the unique feeling that she hoped Nick was sharing with her.
So, with a small, happy sigh, Judy didn't say anything; she felt like that was enough.