The Big Donut.
The aesthetic of the building looked almost comically out of place in Sahara Square, sitting off to the side as it did on a street corner. Nick supposed that's just what happened when a franchise takes off. Just like Snarlbucks, you could barely drive five minutes in any district of Zootopia without tripping over one of the places.
There he was. Thus far the only fox on the ZPD, sitting at a table outside under an umbrella to take shade from the heat. One of the most atypical cops, about to indulge in perhaps the most mundane and stereotypical of police activities.
But hey, who doesn't appreciate a good pastry? The fox chuckled to himself.
He turned his head slightly as a gray and white bunny paw placed a coffee in front of him decisively.
"Coffee for the fox," Judy said in a bright, declarative voice. "Just how you like it; with enough cream and sugar to make its claim to be 'coffee' dubious at best."
"Ah, the benefits of having a partner that knows you," Nick barely grinned.
"And...!" Judy said, bringing her other hand from behind her back. "A blueberry muffin."
"For shame, Carrots," Nick gave her a dry look. "Just because I adore blueberries doesn't mean that I want everything I eat to contain them-"
Judy replied with a withering stare, her eyelids dropping partway and her head lolling.
"Yeah, I'll- I'll just take the muffin," Nick chuckled lightly.
Judy barely smiled, her eyes narrowing in response. She set the muffin down, just a little too firmly. Then, the bunny walked merrily over to the other side of the table and scooted onto a seat. She placed her own coffee on the table, along with a tasty-looking glazed donut.
"So!" Judy chirped. "It's been one year today. I'm surprised you've made it this long."
"Hmph," Nick grinned, taking a bite of his muffin. "Underestimating me, as usual."
"The more I thought about... y'know, the offer, the weirder it seemed," Judy admitted, looking off to the side. "I'd known you for what, two days? Three? I asked you to become my partner just out of the blue. Impulsive? Yes, that is me, but, well, when you actually said yes? That threw me a little."
"What can I say, Fluff?" Nick crooned airily. "Your optimism is a particularly insidious poison."
"Here we are though," Judy smiled, balling up a fist and tapping it on the table. "This is, on the dot, the day you truly, officially became my partner."
"So how are we going to celebrate this anniversary?" Nick chuckled, tilting his muzzle up a little. "We've already celebrated the one year anniversary of us meeting up, the one year anniversary of us kicking that sheep's butt..."
"C'mon, Nick," Judy grumbled. "Don't you canines have something in your culture about anniversaries? Like, circles or something? Am I getting this wrong?"
"Partly," Nick took a sip of his coffee. It was, indeed, just how he liked it. "I'm a vulpine, not a canine. And yeah, wolves came up with all that circle junk, remembrances and so on."
"Well, either way..." Judy looked at her donut, pausing before taking a conservative bite. "I thought maybe we could do this one a bit more low-key. Maybe just... talk about our feelings a little?"
"Our feelings?" Nick repeated, punctuating the last word with a rock of his body as if it was ridiculous. "With regard to what?"
"Just... like, how we're doing, I guess," Judy smiled tentatively. "As partners." Nick looked curious and almost concerned for a moment, then lapsed into his typical mischievous grin and half-lidded eyes.
"Ahh, I know what's going on here," Nick picked up his coffee cup and extended one finger to point at Judy. "You're upset, aren't you? Ever since the big ol' Bellwether blowout you and I have just been stuck doing more mundane police things. All of our success has been front loaded, and now we're just sort of the 'novelty' officers of the ZPD."
"No, no, that's not it at all!" Judy waved her hands back and forth. She looked struck by a thought and rolled her eyes up, suddenly lost in thought. "I mean, now that you mention it, taking down another big-name villain would be a nice feather in our caps..."
"I've gone and given her an idea..." Nick droned. "Me and my big muzzle."
"Wait, forget that," Judy shook her head firmly to try to get it out of the clouds. "I don't mean that. I just meant... like..." Judy looked down, giving an extended sigh. "Like how we feel about how we're working together."
"We're perfect together," Nick's response came immediately, and he half-smiled. "Ask anyone. Especially Donuts himself."
Judy's mouth formed into a wide line; she seemed to be having a hard time looking at Nick. "Nick... what I'm trying to say is... ah... I don't- I don't feel like we're being as open as we could be with each other."
"What?" Nick raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, by that I'm mostly talking about you," Judy suddenly looked up at him, pointing a hand at him. "Lots of times with you can be very evasive with me when we talk about certain things. I thought- I just thought that we trusted each other, that's all."
Nick gave a weak laugh, pawing at the air. "You know me, Fluff; I don't give out information about myself without a fight-"
"No, I don't know you," Judy's lip quivered as she stared at him in concern. "Not really. I don't know what happened to your dad. I don't know how things are with your mom. I don't know why you actually decided to work so hard to become a cop. And... I don't know why..." Judy trailed off. Her nose twitched.
Nick blinked. He hoped she'd continue herself, but she seemed to need a little prodding. Nick took a shallow breath. "Why what...?"
"Just- you're still so deflective," Judy looked at him cautiously. "I thought that was the 'old' Nick. The Nick that had things to hide..."
"I wouldn't want to bore you with a history lesson of some completely plain fox, Fluff," Nick explained, taking a small sip of coffee. "What you see is what you get with me."
"Nick, that's not true, and you know it," Judy frowned. "I just... I thought being a cop changed you."
"'You can only be what you are'," Nick quoted. "Remember that?"
"Yeah; a little hard to forget, you jerk," Judy's frown weakened and threatened to become a wry half-smile.
"I still believe it," Nick grumbled with a subtle shrug, his expression becoming grave.
"What...?" Judy said breathlessly, her jaw dropping halfway.
"You taught me something, Judy," Nick said, and the bunny flinched slightly at the use of her first name. "That... sometimes, we don't know who we are. We can't achieve anything beyond the parameters of what comprises our character. But... if we don't know where those parameters are.. that can often hold us back."
Judy nodded silently. She looked like she was having trouble finding the words to reply to him; she was moving her mouth, but nothing came out.
"You helped me figure out what I was capable of," Nick sighed a little. "And after that, I found out some more by doing my own soul-searching when I was at the academy. But, unfortunately for you, I'll always be Nick Wilde. I'll always be a sly fox." He chuckled.
"So, you're not going to tell me what you've learned that you're capable of," Judy said, without a hint of question in her voice.
"Not a chance," Nick smirked, having another bite of his muffin.
Judy suddenly didn't feel like eating anymore.
"Nick, we're partners," Judy said gently, her ears drooping. "You're my- you're my best friend..."
"Ouch, I'm sure you could do better than me," Nick chuckled, rolling his eyes.
Judy's mouth broke open a little as she looked at Nick. The lower parts of her eyes came up a little as a look of hurt passed onto her face, very briefly. Then, she closed her mouth and stood up from the table. She turned around, and after a moment's hesitation, she jumped down to the ground and started walking to the cruiser.
"Forget it," Judy muttered, quiet and dejected.
Nick's ears went back and he felt a knot in his stomach. He swallowed, and pursued her.
"Judy, wait..." Nick grit his teeth.
Judy was going to ignore him, but she paused her pace and turned her head slightly. Though tears weren't welling, her eyes looked slightly glassy.
"What," Judy said flatly.
"...What do you want to know?" Nick sighed, his paws at his side, but turned up in conciliation. "What do you want to know about me?"
"I dunno..." Judy's mouth wrestled with itself, but couldn't land on a discernible expression. "Anything? Everything?"
"Judy, I'm not like you," Nick said heavily. "I envy you, in some ways. When you want to say something, even if it's about your darkest fears or deepest worries, all you have to do is," Nick made a twisting motion with his hand, "just turn on the faucet. It all comes pouring out, crystal clear, your purest emotions."
Judy grit her teeth and looked off to the side, but turned to look up at Nick and nodded, her shoulders shrugging.
"I can't do that," Nick enunciated, placing his hands on his chest while leaning over. "I hoard my feelings like a bear hoards food for hibernation. I just can't... I can't open up. I need an emotional plumber."
"Nick..." Judy held out a paw palm-up. "That's- that's what I'm talking about. I'm your partner. We should trust each other completely. You can tell me anything you want, anything, and I'll listen, and I won't judge."
Nick shook his head. "I can't. I can't tell you absolutely anything. And you will, you will have to judge. Because-"
"Because it's what I do?" Judy's brow furrowed and she smacked the side of the cruiser's door in sudden anger. "Because I'm an idiot bunny, is that it?" She stomped her foot.
"No," Nick rubbed at his midsection, his eyes flitting away from her. "No... you're not."
"Why then!?" Judy clenched her paws. "Why? You think of me as a lesser, don't you? Just because I don't have twenty years of fooling hapless, stupid mammals under my belt-"
"Judy," Nick interrupted softly. He walked closer to her and crouched down. "No. Don't you see what I mean? You're a better person than me because you... you have that emotional purity to you. You're honest with yourself, even if you're not always entirely aware of what 'yourself' is."
"You admit it then," Judy raised her lip. "You admit I'm stupid."
"You're honest," Nick replied. "You're earnest. You're passionate. All things I'm not."
"You can be, Nick!" Judy insisted, placing her hands on his shoulders. Nick shook his head. "No, I know you can. You proved it to me...!"
"I'm not ready, Fluff," Nick said in a suddenly weak voice. He put on a smile Judy had never seen before. His teeth were barely showing; he looked slightly frightened. "I'm not ready."
"Nick?" Judy blinked, surprised. "What's wrong?"
"Please don't make me say it, Judy, please," Nick response was unusually weak as he closed his eyes, his muzzle dropping to point at the ground. "Not right now. Can- can you just trust me that I'm not strong enough yet to be the mammal you think I am?"
"...O-okay, Nick," Judy pat his shoulders. "I-I didn't mean to upset you."
"I know," Nick said quietly. "We should probably get back to our snack, though."
"I'm not... actually that hungry anymore," Judy admitted.
"You paid for it," Nick said, gathering up the half-eaten food. "We should at least save it for our traffic rounds."
Nick and Judy sat there in the cruiser, staking out a particular corner. Unlike nearly every other time they had done this, silence prevailed between the two. Judy drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She couldn't think of what to say. Her own emotions bubbled within her like a pot of soup with the lid rattling. She found herself closing her eyes and taking a calming breath to center herself. She could do it; she could let him be.
"Fluff," Nick broke the silence, taking Judy by surprise. His maw moved this way and that like he wanted to say something, and Judy looked at him slowly, her nose slightly twitching. "...Nh-no, I'm sorry. I can't."
"Nick," Judy took his hand with one of hers and squeezed firmly. "It's okay. Whenever you want to talk. I'll be here for you, okay?"
Nick nodded slowly as Judy let his hand go. There was another bout of silence where the two couldn't quite manage to look at each other. Nick took the paw that Judy had squeezed and used it to rub his shoulder.
"Did you mean it?" Nick asked. His voice sounded a little bitter. "I'm your 'best friend'?"
"No one understands me like you do, Nick," Judy smiled gently. "True, I'll dump my emotions on anyone that'll listen, but not everyone appreciates being sprayed in the face with blubbery bunny tears."
"Yeah, that sounds like an acquired taste," Nick smiled weakly. He sighed. "...Where do you see us in a year? Think we'll still be doing this?"
"...I dunno," Judy shrugged. "I've thought about if we're good enough to advance. Maybe get to be detectives together? We do kind of well on that front, and it's more cerebral..."
"How about 'us'?" Nick continued.
"Don't know that either," Judy smiled. "No, no, I do know. No matter what, we'll still be partners."
"Oh, do you think so?" Nick huffed out, giving a laugh colored with a touch of scorn. "You have an awful lot of faith in this game we've been playing, don't you?"
"Nick, c'mon..." Judy smiled wider, her brow lowering. "We're basically unstoppable. Whatever the world throws at us, it's something we'll be able to work through together. You're not going to get rid of me without a heck of a fight."
"That's... nice to hear," Nick smiled gently. "And it's why... I consider you my best friend, too."
Judy smiled broadly, taking in a gasp, joy bursting from her in her next exultation. "Nick...! It's so good to hear that from you...!"
"It's also why..." Nick strained the words carefully through his muzzle. "It's also why I'm scared."
"Why, because I'm so tenacious and persistent?" Judy grinned casually with her eyes shut, wiggling her head. "I guess that's one part of me you'll have to put up with forev-"
"Because I love you more than anyone else in this world, Judy Hopps," Nick choked out. "And I'm terrified I'll ever lose you."
Judy's eyes flew open and she sat there, stunned into silence. She relaxed slowly into her seat, her hands off the wheel as if she'd had a plug pulled from her.
"You... what...?" Judy asked in wonder.
"Well Judy," Nick mumbled, shrugging. "Gave it a try. Played my whole hand." Nick's hands began to tremble, and he gripped his legs with them, looking away.
"Nick..." Judy started to smile. Nick covered his eyes with his hands. "Nick, look at me."
Nick very, very cautiously looked at Judy. Her face was soft, her eyes steady, her smile gentle, her ears perked.
"Why were you so afraid?" Judy's voice was a whisper.
"Because I'm a coward; terrified of getting hurt," Nick shivered. "And... the ones we're closest to can hurt us the most."
Judy's smile wavered a little. She crawled over the console to pet his cheek.
"I kind of meant..." Judy chuckled. "Why were you so afraid to tell me? You know that I love you."
"Yeah..." Nick had a hard time looking at the bunny petting his face. "...Yeah, I- I mean I was pretty sure."
Judy smiled endearingly. "I mean, it's not like I could hide it all that well. You can read me like a book."
"You're very readable," Nick nodded rapidly, trying not to let emotion cloud his voice. "I do enjoy a good dip into my favorite bunny novel. I mean- er. You know."
Judy responded by leaning in and tenderly kissing Nick. He was only half-expecting this, but gradually let himself melt into it. He felt furry paws playing with his muzzle and ears as they shared the kiss. His own paws felt paralyzed, as if unwilling to accept this new reality. The bunny's face was still staring at him as they disengaged, affection radiating from her. He was sure he could even feel the warmth she was producing on his own face, but that may well have been his own blush obscured by his fur.
Without thinking, he licked her, right on the muzzle and to the tip of her nose. The scrunch of her face was worth the immediate feeling of embarrassment that he felt afterwards. Her giggle that followed made Nick smile slowly. Judy briefly closed her eyes with a little grin, then she pat Nick on the head and returned to her seat.
"Married," the bunny said confidently.
"...Wh-what!?" Nick blinked, suddenly very aware of his accelerated heartbeat.
"Where will we be in a year?" Judy winked at him. "Married, I'm pretty sure."
"...Wow," Nick looked away. "You never do anything halfway, do you?"
"Never have, never will," Judy claimed in a bold voice.
"What's going to happen next...?" Nick looked down at his paws. He wiggled his fingers. They were no longer trembling, but he somehow felt even more anxious than before.
Nick and Judy felt the rush of air from an enormous rhino-sized car driving right past them. The cruiser shook slightly from the incident.
"As far as tomorrow?" Judy put on an adventurous smirk. "Don't know. But right now, we've got a speeder to catch."
"Roger that," Nick put a grin onto his face and turned on the cruiser's siren and lights.
The two exchanged a fist bump without even looking at each other.
"Partners," Nick smiled. His smile morphed into his signature smirk and he threw on his sunglasses.
"Yup," Judy nodded with a satisfied grin. "Always."
Their cruiser sped off into the street, lights and sirens blazing.