It was a calm night, but Nick was anything but.
Standing there in the quiet, dark apartment of his partner, he slowly walked toward her desk, feeling uncomfortable.
Sparing a look at Judy, he very nearly chuckled. She didn't exactly look glamorous; the bunny was splayed out in her sleep, quietly snoring. Nick thought about how much Judy must have trusted him as he placed a hand into his pocket, feeling the cool metal of a key.
Judy had given Nick the only key to her apartment soon after their little adventure in Zootopia, the one that ended with the bunny's brief stay in the hospital. She wanted a few things from her apartment and asked Nick to get them. She also specifically asked Nick to get the key duplicated.
"I want you to visit while I'm off my leg," Judy had explained cheerfully. "Else I'll be bored to death!" Nick didn't know if she was a bit giggly from painkillers, had poor judgement, or really did just trust him that much to let a fox into where she lived, but he complied with her request. After all, with everything she had been through, he didn't want her cause of death to be from boredom.
So there he stood, his body still in the darkness, watching her sleep. Her features easily came into his sight due to his natural night vision. Was he betraying her trust? It kind of felt like it. He let out a breath slightly longer than usual as he steadied himself for what he had come there to do. Slowly, Nick reached into his other pocket and palmed a lovely red gem, taking it out and giving it a long look. Very gently, he set it on Judy's desk, then just as quietly started to move away.
Nick heard shuffling coming from the bed and his blood froze. Slowly hazarding a half-turn, he merely saw Judy cuddling up with her pillow, squeezing it in an adorable death-grip.
The word "cute" blared into Nick's head like warning sirens, and briefly Nick wondered if his very thoughts could be picked up by those long slumbering bunny ears. Her breathing stayed steady and measured, so Nick very, very slowly left her apartment and dutifully locked the door.
Feeling like he had endured at least a month's worth of stress, he wiggled his paws and let out a nervous breath, then walked out into the night.
"So it turned out the hare actually wanted to be chased," Nick explained to his mother, sitting on her couch with her. "He led us on a chase all over Zootopia just for a thrill."
"Really," Mary Wilde blinked, tilting her muzzle. "Is that a 'prey' thing?"
"I dunno, maybe some kind of thrill-seeking quirk," Nick shrugged. "Life on the edge and all that. Boy did Judy give him an earful when we caught him. I don't think I'd ever seen her so cheesed off."
"That sweet little bun?" Mary giggled, placing a paw to her cheek.
"Oh yeah, you should have heard her," Nick laughed. "'Do you know how many lives you put in danger, mister!?' It was pretty intense. That hare wanted to experience a real-life movie chase or something. But life's not like that, people can get hurt..."
Mary chuckled again, then gave a curious look at her son with a half-smile. "So, what's this about?"
"Come again?"
"This visit," Mary continued, adjusting to be more comfortable in her seat, "you usually only come over when something important has happened, not just for small talk with your dear old mother."
"Okay, first, ouch," Nick held up a curved finger, "but second... yeah, I suppose you're right."
"Well...?" Nick's mother blinked. "Anything I should know?"
"I, uh..." the fox rubbed his palms together uncomfortably, "I gave away the family gem, Mom."
"You did..." Mary looked momentarily alarmed. "...to Judy?"
"Yeah, I- wait," Nick flinched, "uh, how did you know?"
"Come on, Nick," Mary smirked, "she's all you ever talk about anymore." She paused momentarily. "You love her." It wasn't a question.
Nick sat there for a half-minute.
"I do... God, I do," his head bowed and he sighed. "So much it kind of hurts, actually. It hurts my soul to know she might not feel the same way about me."
"Nick..." Mary shook her head slightly, "what makes you say that?"
"There've been so many 'close calls'," Nick swallowed difficultly before continuing, "so many little moments... like- like laughing at each other after getting caught out in the rain, having to spend a night at each others' place for some sort of contrived reason, and- and y'know, the flirting. There's a lot of that."
"So," his mother scratched the side of her muzzle thoughtfully, "I assume you've just... 'explained away' all of those things, as you would."
"Oh yeah, I'm good at that," Nick rolled his eyes self-mockingly, his paws hanging between his knees as he slumped over.
"And how about her scent?"
"Uh," the fox's body straightened up, "what about it?"
Mary smiled. "Does she smell interested?"
"Mom," Nick winced, "I couldn't exactly tell you what bunny pheromones smell like; I don't really know if she's giving those off. But mostly... I dunno, she smells nice. Kind of grassy and earthy." Mary smiled broadly with her eyes closed. "Not that I go trying to sniff her blatantly...!"
"Of course not!" The vixen giggled. "...So then... how did she react when you gave her the ruby?"
"I- um," Nick chewed on his lower lip, looking away, "I kind of left it at her place while she was sleeping. She doesn't know it was me."
"Oh..." Mary looked shocked, but then laughed warmly again. "That reminds me of your father! He and I would leave little chocolate drops for each other in bizarre hiding places all the time. It was such a surprise to find one from him, usually with some silly love note attached." She sighed pleasantly. "Your father was a very clever fox."
"Mom, aren't chocolates bad for you...?" Nick winced.
"Not in moderation," Mary held a finger up brightly. "They're so tasty they might as well be a sin, though...!"
"I uh..." Nick huffed. "I feel like you should be a bit angrier about this. About the ruby."
"Nick, the Wilde Heart is yours," Mary's brow lowered an inch. "I gave it to you as soon as I knew you were mature enough to have the Wilde family heirloom."
"Yeah, basically right after my graduation from the ZPD," Nick chuckled dryly.
"I've never been more proud of you, Nicholas," Mary smiled warmly. "Whatever you want to do with that ruby is fine with me. You could do a lot worse than that cute little bunny. She just seems to complete you. It's so fun to watch you two go back and forth."
"Um, just don't call her 'cute'," Nick laughed unsteadily, "learned that one pretty quick."
"How about adorable?"
"Jury's still out on that one."
"So... are you going to tell her about it?" Mary wondered.
"I think... I think she'll figure it out," Nick laced his fingers together, "one way or another."
The next day, Nick found himself at the Natural History Museum. His pace slowed as he came across the diorama that he and Judy had fallen into a few years ago. Now, of course, there was a protective clear cover above it, and guard rails besides that.
His thoughts ran to that fateful day, as they sometimes did. The ferocity he tried to summon, trying to match the savagery that he'd seen in Mr. Manchas and had himself been terrified by, it almost scared him to think about what he did. But Judy... she wasn't afraid. If anything, she had that intriguing smell of intensity about her; the kind she got when she was fully actuated; fully "on".
Nick wondered if maybe she didn't like danger, like that hare they arrested seemed to be drunk on. Judy could certainly be irrational. However, she also was at her sharpest when the chips were down and it was time to be serious.
The ghostly images of a fox and a bunny ran through that now-fully decorated diorama, reenacting the scene. It was flawless. They were flawless.
She was flawless.
And thus, the day was saved, all due to a bunny and a fox scamming an evil sheep. It was the perfect feather to stick in the cap of a fox. He couldn't be more proud of that sneaky little bunny.
Nick abruptly turned from the display and headed up to the second floor. Wandering around, he found himself at the gem exhibit. There were plenty of gemstones on display, in every color one could think of. There were even a few multi-colored gems, such as watermelon tourmaline, and spheres of more exotic minerals were also sitting there in neat rows. Nick put his hands in his pockets and looked at them somewhat wistfully.
Feeling a tiny bit of shame, he wondered what Judy might look like wearing jewelry featuring some of those gems. Whether contrasting or complimenting her fur, he could imagine her looking amazing in each gem. He wondered if she'd feel like wearing the Wilde Heart. Nick thought she'd look breathtaking with it on.
"'Scuse me, sir?"
Following the source of the small voice, he bent his head down to see a teenage chipmunk boy trying to get his attention. The small rodent looked nervous.
"Hi," he said, "could I... uh, could you do a favor for me?"
"What's that?" Nick replied.
"Heh," the chipmunk seemed even more skittish, "I don't suppose I could ask you to- uh, lift me up? So I can see some of the higher gem displays closer?"
"Oh, sure," Nick nodded with an easy grin, bending over and offering his paws for the rodent. Looking relieved, the chipmunk scooted into his hands. Nick carefully lifted him up and paraded him over to the gem exhibits to get a better look. "Lemme know if I'm going too fast."
"These gems are amazing," the chipmunk marveled, "the ones at the Little Rodentia exhibit are so small compared to these. These're huge!"
After making it to the end of the display, Nick looked at the chipmunk. "Had your fill?"
"Sure, thanks very much, sir," the chipmunk nodded, getting set down. The chipmunk started reviewing the pictures he took with his phone as he made his way off.
"I saw a bit of that."
Nick's ear bat as he heard Judy's voice. He slowly half-turned his head, looking at her sidelong.
"That was very sweet, with the, uh..." Judy moved her palm in an "elevator" fashion.
"Now, how on Earth did you know I was here...?" Nick asked, looking slightly baffled.
"Lucky guess?" Judy's shoulders sprung up. "I remembered Karen saying something about a gem exhibit at the Natural History Museum. And, since gems are the theme of the week, it would seem..." The bunny weighed the air with both paws.
"Hm," Nick grinned with his trademark simper, turning to face her, "so, do you give up figuring it out yet?"
"Ha!" The bunny folded her arms tightly, leaning her head toward the fox. "Who do you think you're talking to? I already solved it!"
"Oh, you think so," Nick chuckled. "How's that?"
"I talked to your mother," Judy returned smugly.
Nick's face momentarily read alarm, but he quickly regained his composure and bent down to grin at her. "Ah, so you cheated."
"I didn't cheat!" Judy scoffed, placing her hands on her chest. "I deduced! Karen said the cut and look of the gem was pretty old, so I figured it must have been a family heirloom. Judging by your mother's reaction, I guessed right. Also." Judy swished her finger at Nick. "She's as bad as you are at holding onto information, but she did show me that old photo of the gem... so I figured out its name."
"Ah, so you got it, then," Nick straightened up, his mood suddenly faltering.
"Nick, I can't believe you gave me something so... valuable," Judy smiled softly, her hands hanging down at her sides.
"Well, pff..." he huffed. "Like you said, it's an old cut, and there are larger and shinier rubies. I doubt you could get all that much for-"
"Nick," Judy stopped him by grabbing his wrist firmly, "you gave me something priceless. I intend to treat it with as much care and respect as I can."
He couldn't face her. He turned his head away, taking in a difficult breath, his eyes slightly glassy. "Yeah, okay."
"To that end..."
Nick's attention was caught by Judy rooting around in her shirt. She retrieved a key attached to a simple pendant. The key was dainty; it had a somewhat ornate design with a diamond shape at the end, and a red crystal set in it. It certainly wasn't the Wilde Heart, but...
"What's that for?" Nick blinked.
"It's a key to the gem box I put your ruby in," Judy twirled it in her fingers. "I picked out the nicest one I could find. So... you could say that I have the key to-"
"Right, I got it, you don't have to spell it out," Nick rolled his eyes, an uneasy breath exploding into a weak smile. "That's pretty corny."
"Huh! Look who's talking!" Judy scoffed, wiggling the key at him. "Giving me the 'Wilde Heart'..." She glanced at the key briefly before locking eyes with Nick once more. "I thought I could wear it when we're off-duty," Judy beamed, putting it back in her shirt. "Y'know, close to my chest like this. For whenever we're hanging around, and maybe even when we're not."
"Judy..." Nick swallowed difficulty. His thoughts burned to mentally slap down and excuse each thing she said as her simply being extremely friendly and sweet with him. His muzzle almost wobbled as he found it hard to meet her eyes.
"Hey, Nick?" Judy beckoned with one finger. "I have something to tell you."
When Nick leaned over, he honestly didn't expect the ensuing kiss.
She'd leaned up into his muzzle, and the kiss was gentle. It was quite unlike how he expected something like this to go, and he imagined the moment in several different ways.
After he wiped the look of surprise off his face, Nick's tongue darted out briefly of its own accord to trace the bit of his lips smooched by the bunny. Judy giggled at this reaction, wearing a charming smile.
"Huh, that's very interesting..." Nick marveled, straightening up.
"Hey, did you see that they fixed up that poor ol' deer you wrecked?" Judy chuckled, jerking her thumb backwards.
"I'm glad I didn't get a bill for that," Nick snarked. He started to watch Judy's eyes sway this way and that. "Oh God... my tail's wagging, isn't it?"
"Yup!" Judy exclaimed, then suddenly sprang into Nick's arms.
"Jeez!" Only Nick's quick reflexes caught her, and she held on tight. "Well, this is more like the Judy I know. ...What, you want to reenact how I got you out of here last time?"
Judy dramatically swooned in his arms, a paw against her forehead. "Nick, I'm suddenly unable to walk, carry me!"
Nick chuckled and started to humor her. He sighed softly.
"Y'know, this really isn't how I thought things would go. Life really isn't like the movies."
"Not always," Judy smiled. "I hope you weren't expecting some grandiose sappy love scene while one of us was hanging off a cliff."
"I'd considered it," Nick frowned, continuing to carry her. She felt so soft and light in his arms. "Might have been a little cliche, eh?"
"Kinda," Judy chirped, settling into his arms. "Not that the stunt you pulled wasn't super cheesy. 'I gave you my heart'."
"I'm going to drop you," Nick deadpanned. "Ms. 'I have the key to your heart'."
"So we're both corny, who cares?" Judy shrugged. "Please don't drop me though, it's nice here."
Nick looked down at that earnest, happy bunny face, and he found he couldn't even pretend to loosen his grip, not even for the joke.
"Yeah... I won't."