Judy was beaming as Benjamin Clawhauser caught sight of her in the ZPD lobby. The bunny moved with proud, jaunty steps, halfway between skipping and stomping. Officer Wolfard, who was talking to Benjamin, followed his gaze and smiled as he saw the happy-looking bunny. The wolf's tail began a subtle wag as her happiness spread to the two chatting officers.
"Well! Doesn't Hopps have a spring in her step today?" Wolfard asked, his tail coming to rest, but a big dopey smile on his face.
"Mmhm!" Benjamin nodded, squinting his eyes shut with a smile. "And I bet I know why."
"Why's that?" Wolfard's head tilted.
"It's her birthday in just two days!" Benjamin offered in a very loud whisper, leaning over to tell the wolf this. "Her first one since Hopps and Wilde became a thing."
"Oh!" Wolfard nodded, but then his face scrunched in confusion. "Wait, I don't get it. Why's that making her extra happy?"
"Because..." Benjamin rotated a paw, "she's excited over whatever Nick might do for her on that day! And I gotta say, I'm excited too! You know how kind and thoughtful Wilde can be when it suits him."
"Hey," the fox in question came up to the side of Benjamin, causing the round cheetah to shrink back and yelp in surprise. "Take it easy, Donuts." He pointed at the cat with a reproving leer. "Don't want you to be spreading false rumors about me being some sort of softie."
"Nick!" Benjamin nearly squeaked. "Oh, hi! Sorry, um, were your ears burning?"
"Hey, Wilde!" Wolfard said jovially. "So, what are you going to get the bunny?"
"Yeah!" Judy joined the little group. "Whatcha gonna get me?"
"Now look at what you guys have done," Nick said, staring at them while indicating the bunny with his paws. "You've created expectations for this rambunctious rabbit." He brought his paws into his chest. "And I'm the one that has to deal with her all day."
"Oh!" Wolfard blinked. "...Sorry?"
"C'mon, doofus, let's get out on patrol," Judy said merrily, grabbing him by the sleeve and dragging him off.
Wolfard looked to the retreating couple before he returned his attention to Benjamin. "So, have you heard anything? Like a party for her, or..."
Benjamin winced, showing his teeth, and shook his head, looking past Wolfard. Turning his muzzle, the wolf yipped as he saw Chief Bogo behind him.
"Wolfard," Bogo said evenly, beckoning him with a finger. "A word, please."
"Ahhhh...!" Judy launched herself onto the couch, looking as pleased as she could be. "What a nice day!"
"A high speed chase leading to an arrest," Nick recounted, "yeah, I think that's about par for a 'nice day' for my little adrenaline junkie."
"Hm...!" Judy rolled over with a grin, watching Nick head to the fridge and open it. He made a face as he looked over the contents of the fridge.
"Carrots, we're low on stuff, even your namesake," Nick grumbled. "Guess I'll go out to the grocery store." His eyes glanced over at her. "You already look comfortable enough."
"Ooh!" Judy's eyes twinkled and she placed her cheeks in her paws. "The 'grocery store'. I got you!"
Nick's brow raised halfway. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," Judy sang, sitting up on the couch and turning on the TV. "I'll just sit here like the oblivious bunny I am while you go buy my birthday present."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Judy, really. I don't know what you're expecting from me, but maybe it'd be good if you lower those expectations." He held his paws up in caution. "You've wound yourself up over this, and I don't think anything can live up to the hype you've built at this point."
Judy looked at him chidingly. "C'mon, you're telling me you're going to the grocery store."
"Right, to buy things we eat," Nick pointed at his muzzle. "We need food to live."
"Okay, okay," Judy said in a placating voice, holding up her paws. "You're right, of course, I'll settle."
"'Sides, it's not the last minute yet," Nick smirked on his way out. "What kind of mammal waits until the day before the day before the deadline to do anything?" He shut the door to their apartment swiftly.
"What mammal, indeed?" Judy grew a devious grin as she immediately popped out of the couch and looked left and right sneakily. "I know you, Nicholas Wilde. You've probably already got whatever it is you're gonna get me, and I just have to find it." She hummed, retrieving some rubber cleaning gloves and snapping them on. "No pesky gray-and white furs to give me away..."
Judy toured the apartment with a critical eye, glancing here and there. "No no, I have to think like Nick. Get into his head... if I was a devilishly handsome fox trying to hide something from a bunny... where would I put it...?"
The bunny made her way into their room, peeking under the bed. Nothing. Judy clapped her gloved paws together.
"Of course! His shirt drawer! Nick knows that I hate half of the shirts he wears."
Judy began to meticulously comb through the dresser, putting aside shirt after shirt and remembering the order. Finally, she came upon a nice-looking greeting card.
"Ooh!" Judy chirped at her search bearing fruit. She looked into the card carefully, her front teeth digging into her lip. It was Nick's handwriting inside, which was very nice when he wanted it to be; the effort clearly showed in the card. With a smile large enough to strain her cheeks, Judy began to read it:
"My darling bunny,
I don't even know what to write here. Words fail me, and you know that's not a common thing for your suave, debonair fox. I'd really like to celebrate your latest trip around the sun with something meaningful and lasting. Something to really "wow" you. Something that lets you know how much you mean to me, and how lucky I am to know you. Not, and I repeat, NOT just some cheap trinket that I found at some store because I ran out of time and ideas.
That said, here's a cheap trinket I found for you.
Love always,
Nick Wilde."
A big giggle burst from Judy after she finished reading, and she looked where she'd taken the card from to see if there was anything near it. Under where the card had been lay a small box.
"Ooh..." Judy winced. "I really shouldn't..." Yet her paw moved inexorably forward. The bunny's curiosity seared straight into her soul, compounded with the feeling that she'd finally gotten another one up on her sneaky boyfriend. Mixed together, the irresistible combination drove her to peek into the box.
Judy sighed in relief. She'd probably have had a heart attack if it was a ring. Instead, it was a little bracelet, decorated with green and purple gems. On a closer look, Judy could tell that the gems weren't actually precious stones, perhaps some sort of glass, but she instantly recognized them as their eye colors, and their close proximity strummed at the strings of her heart.
"Aw... what a sweetheart," Judy cooed, almost melting and floating into the air at the same time. She let out a long, warm sigh, her glowing feelings quickly replaced by the pangs of her oft-disregarded conscience. The rabbit's ears drooped, and she carefully placed things back where they'd came from.
When Nick got home, he was struggling with an encumbrance of grocery bags.
"Want some help?" Judy asked, a tone of meekness in her voice.
"Urgh, sure," Nick grunted. "Don't let me drop this on you." He offered her a bag which nearly fell out of his paws, and Judy collected it with a small "oof". "Oh, and no peeking into these bags, all right?"
"Okay," Judy was quiet and had a tiny grin. "I won't."
The day before her birthday, Judy was in a rather hazy mood as Chief Bogo handed out the day's assignment. She was barely paying attention; half-listening for her name as she wondered what she should do. That moment of outdoing Nick always felt so good, but now what? She'd spoiled the surprise. Was she supposed to act shocked when he gave her that gift tomorrow? Her nose wrinkled and she sighed.
"Hopps, Wilde," Bogo saved them until the end, in what Judy thought was almost a running joke at this point. "I've gotten reports of a disturbance down at the Sahara Square Docks. Seems a group of mammals is getting together there and being rowdy; disturbing the peace. I want you two to go investigate it and make heads or tails of the situation. Sort it out."
"Yes sir," Judy perked up at receiving the assignment. She looked to her partner, who had an even expression on.
"Ready, partner?" The fox asked lightly. Judy nodded.
"Mhm, let's go."
Judy was uncharacteristically quiet on the trip in the cruiser, and Nick definitely noticed. He kept stealing glances at the bunny. She lacked the glowing joviality of the previous day, and her ears, while not drooped, weren't as ramrod straight as they normally were when she was riding with her favorite fox.
"So... something come up?" Nick asked carefully. "You seem a little distracted."
"Oh, no, it's nothing," Judy replied automatically, shaking her head. "I was just... just thinking about what you said. About my birthday."
"Oh yeah?" Nick's brow went up, his muzzle even.
"I mean, here I am getting all excited like a kit..." Judy rolled her eyes. "It's just... you know, back home... there's too many of us to really get 'birthday' gifts, and I was- y'know, kind of excited at the prospect of- well... my boyfriend getting me something. Selfish, I know."
Nick smirked. "Poor, deprived little bunny. Well. Rest assured that I'm aware of your birthday, so you might be surprised yet. Just... don't go wishing for the moon."
"Yeah..." Judy nodded, but her inner voice continued to gnaw at her and deride her for her previous evening's conduct. After she nearly failed to notice a yellow light and stopped just a bit too suddenly, she realized she had to come clean.
"Urk...!" Nick rocked in his seat as the cruiser followed suit. "Okay, y'know, I kid about bunny driving, but c'mon Judy..."
"I looked, okay!?" Judy squinted her eyes shut, her mouth in a curve. "I'm sorry, I looked for your present."
"Ah... that's what this is, then," Nick sobered up, folding his paws.
"I'm sorry..." Judy looked at him with those pleading purple eyes. "I know I'm a bad bunny, I just couldn't resist... y'know, the game of it. Seeing if I could find something you were hiding from me."
"Your incorrigible, you know that?" Nick shook his head. "Here I try to do something nice for my bunny and she spoils it with less than two days to go."
"I know, I know..." Judy moaned, "and it was so sweet, too, what you did. I... I love you, Nick."
"The light's green," Nick replied after a moment, gesturing.
Judy frowned, trying not to outright pout, but she resumed focus on her driving. A guilty glance here or there showed an even expression on Nick's face. Moments of silence went by.
"I'm really sorry, Nick," Judy said, guilt gnawing at her stomach. "Tch, I just don't know what came over me."
"Just forget it, okay?" Nick shook his muzzle. "What's done is done. Let's just focus on the work, then I can see if I can salvage my plans to surprise you."
"Right, right..." Judy nodded, sighing and then nodding definitively. "Definitely. Can't let it get in the way of work. That's a big one."
The two got out of the cruiser and headed to the docks, where several large ships were in port. Judy looked around curiously.
"Okay, so... some sort of rowdy group's been congregating here?" Judy took out her radio.
Nick did the same. "Wilde to base. We're at the location. Any particular kind of mammals we're watching out for?"
Hearing the sounds of screeching tires, Judy looked back in the direction of the parking lot and saw a few ZPD cruisers pull up.
"What the... backup?" Judy blinked. "This must be serious, Nick." She took out her stun gun, holding it up and scanning the docks. "I don't see anything unusual, do you?"
"No..." Nick followed her gaze. He brought up his radio again. "Wilde to base. What's the situation?"
"Everything's normal, we're on our way to assist," Bogo's voice came back from the line.
"I'm... confused," Judy said, unable to find anything that looked out of the ordinary.
Nick tilted his muzzle up, looking behind him, and grinned at seeing Bogo, Clawhauser, and some other officers arrive.
"Hey guys," Nick said, turning to face them. Judy followed suit, dropping her stun gun. Her eyes squinted in confusion and her head bobbed to the side. Wolfard was there and he seemed to be carrying a couple of suitcases that looked vaguely familiar to her.
"What's... going on?" Judy blinked.
An enormous smile slithered over Nick's muzzle.
"Aren't you pleased with yourself," Bogo folded his arms. "Guessing she's in the dark, huh?"
"Not a clue," Nick almost burst out laughing. "Thanks for coming."
"Mm, well, get on with it," Bogo very nearly grinned.
"Nick?" Judy looked at him. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Of course I do," Nick shook his head. He pointed at her, then himself. "You and I are going to go celebrate your birthday."
"That's tomorrow," Judy reminded him.
"Indeed," Nick nodded, eyes closed. "And we're going to be there when we have the party." Nick jerked his thumb behind him. Judy tilted her head over to see past him. He seemed to be indicating a medium-sized cruise ship moored at the dock.
"...Uh?" Judy winced.
"Oh for the love of..." Bogo slapped his forehead.
"He's taking you on a cruise!" Benjamin exploded joyfully, clapping twice.
"A CRUISE!?" Judy echoed, her ears straightening as if she'd been electrified. Her eyes darted between Nick and the ship. "I've... what!? I've never been on a cruise!"
"I figured not," Nick grinned, his face assuming that one insufferable smug smirk that could make nearly any mammal weak at their knees.
"Got your luggage, Wilde," Wolfard said cheerfully, bringing the two suitcases over to Nick with a lazy wag of his tail. "Hope you have fun!"
"You didn't overpack us, did you Benny?" Nick cast his half-lidded gaze over to the cheetah.
"No sir!" Benjamin saluted. "But I might have gotten a new outfit for each of you and packed it along...! Hope you like!"
"That's my cheetah," Nick shot him a brief thumbs-up.
"Nick..." Judy was still mostly stunned by this turn of events. "I was just... I... I found your gift, Nick."
"Kind of," Nick shrugged, patting her on the head. "You found a decoy, my dear."
"A decoy?" One of Judy's eyebrows piqued.
Nick sighed, as if in pity, and crouched to be at Judy's level. "My dear, sweet bunny. You'll have to be with me a lot longer to even dream of outfoxing a fox again."
"I'll take that as a challenge," Judy shot back.
"Okay, will you two get on with it?" Bogo grumbled.
"Is this all okay, Chief?" Judy looked up at him. "An impromptu vacation and all?"
"Of course," Bogo snorted. "Wilde may not look like it, but he's actually very meticulous. He sorted everything out." He grinned subtly. "If anything, it will be nice to have you two out of my fur for awhile."
Judy laughed nervously. "Yes, sir."
"Have fun, you two!" Benjamin waved his paw, and the other mammals assembled echoed his sentiment, cheering and waving.
"Nick..." Judy blinked as the fox blithely picked up their luggage and headed over to the reception to get checked in. "I just... I'm so... amazed by all of this. I don't even know what you do on a cruise."
"Anything you want," Nick looked behind him as he walked forward. "There's rock climbing, dancing, relaxing, swimming. I think we'll be going to an island, too."
"And we can afford all this?" Judy winced.
"Hey, who are you talking to?" Nick huffed proudly. "I know everyone in Zootopia. I called in a few favors, and I'm practically stealing this cruise. Wouldn't have it any other way."
Judy breathed out, a guilty smile on her face as they joined a sizable queue. "I... I do love you, Nick. This is much more than I expected."
"You think you love me now," Nick wiggled his eyebrows. "Wait till the cruise is finished." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, making it twitch. "There's free ice cream."
"Free ice cream..." Judy breathed out, eyes wide.
Nick chuckled loudly, dropping the bags, scooping up Judy, and hugging her. "You are so easy to please, you silly rabbit."
"Guess I am," Judy smiled guiltily. "All it takes is a fox."
Nick kissed her forehead. "Love you too, sweetheart."