Chapter 2.
"Detective Hugo McHorn," called Captain Hoof. He picked a badge off the cushion Chief Bogo held and pinned it to the proud rhino's chest. The audience clapped good naturedly but they were getting tired in the stuffy lecture hall. Precinct one was the last to receive their official detective badges as they had all gotten the best results as a group and individually.
"Detective Lucy Schwartz," the Captain said in a failing voice. This graduation wasn't as official as the larger ZPD recruit graduation so each officer was only allowed one guest typically. Judy had been an exception because Stu and Bonnie Hopps were significantly smaller than the other guests. Judy could see them from here; Bonnie smiling proudly and Stu holding back tears of joy. She looked beside them and saw Finnick yawn massively. He caught her glance and shot her a wink.
She had become good friends with Finnick after Nick joined the force. She had expected the opposite but it seemed the smaller fox had taken a liking to her. He had taken the savings from all his hustling with Nick, pursued a one year business degree and started trading on the Zootopia stock market. Legal crime he called it and Judy was inclined to agree. As long as it kept him off the streets.
"Detective Nicholas Wilde," croaked the Captain. Her fox strode forward the ever present smirk fixed to his face as he saluted both Hoof and Bogo. The applause was more subdued for Nick though he didn't seem to mind. Judy had taken some time to study up on why foxes were treated with such suspicion even in Zootopia where, supposedly, anyone could be anything. The history was a long and storied one rife with activism, corruption and crime.
Foxes in Zootopia and throughout the United States of Animalia ostensibly had the same rights as every other mammal. However foxes and the neighbourhoods they lived in often had the highest rates of arrest, same-species crime and poverty. The reputation of foxes as thieves, brigands and liars had carried on from the Middle Ages into modern society. This view had engendered legal, professional and personal biases. Other species were quick to scapegoat foxes when it came to rising crime or drug use.
Statistically the correlations were grim but that was before Judy had dug deeper. Governments, both state and federal, had enacted laws and encouraged violent policing procedures in order to keep foxes and similar disenfranchised predators such as wolverines down. Government agents introduced canine crack into Foxton and other areas such as Upper Wolverine Row before cracking down on its users. The fox population of Zootopia, Judy had learned, had been pushed into a trap because of centuries old prejudices.
"Detective Judith Hopps," wheezed Captain Hoof in relief. The applause was thunderous this time. Judy was sure they were just glad to be out of here but when she cast a brief glance at the audience she saw they were on their feet. Her chest swelled as the horse captain pinned the badge in place. The light reflected off the burnished bronze metal and Judy smiled widely.
"They think you're a hero," coughed the Captain with a smile. "Now's your chance to really prove it."
LATER THAT EVENING. NICK'S APARTMENT.
"I didn't think your place could fit McHorn never mind Francine," said Judy, tossing a salad.
"That's the beauty of these new multi-purpose places," replied Nick, opening a beer. "The furniture is all fitted to suit the tenant and when they move out the same kind, albeit in a different size, is brought in for the new one."
"What about the lights?"
"All on clappers or motion sensors."
"Appliances?"
"Same as the furniture as well as the cooking utensils, cutlery and crockery. It's not just a home Carrots it's the way of the future."
"A very inclusive future if you ask me," said Fangmeyer stepping into the kitchen. "And economical too. You're living the life Nick, how'd you do it?"
"Oh you know some savings here, an inheritance there. It is what it is Fangs."
"Yeah whatever but just so you know the old rabbit in there has started busting out the shadow puppets. I'm afraid Clawhauser might try join in just thought I'd warn you."
Judy sighed as Fangmeyer walked back out. Nick chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. Judy didn't respond as affectionately as she usually did but that was OK he knew they weren't supposed to be too handsy tonight because of Judy's parents. The stress of their daughter becoming a detective was enough for one day. To find out she was dating a fox in the same night? It'd make headlines back in Bunnyburrow.
"You go make sure old farmer rabbit ain't playing into us city slicker's preconceived notions of country rabbits; I'll go check on the barbecue," said Nick with a drawl.
Judy scowled in mock anger but smiled when he winked at her. She picked up the salad bowl and headed into the living room. On various sized chairs sat their closest friends from the ZPD. Francine, Delgado, Fangmeyer, Clawhauser and Bogo all sat watching in fascination as Stu Hopps constructed shadow portraits of everyone there using only a lamp, his fingers, toes and ears.
"Down in front Hopps," barked Bogo as Judy set the bowl down. "He's about to do Buckton."
Everyone looked in rapt attention from the stag to the silhouette on the wall. By carefully folding his ears and all four paws into awkward positions Stu was able to recreate the buff deer's outline on the wall. The gathered mammals clapped in awe and shouted for more. Judy watched as her father stood up and stretched his back. She stepped forward and with the aid of her mother helped her dad sit down.
"No more," she announced. "Doctor's orders. Only three shadow puppets per day or else his back goes out. Apparently ol' Stu here is one shadow alligator away from a slipped disc."
Her fellow officers laughed along with the three rabbits. As Judy sat back beside her mother about four separate conversations started around her. Trent Buckton, himself a country deer, struck up one with Stu about twelve gauge shotguns while Bogo and Finnick began to argue about the legalities of insider trading. Clawhauser extolled the virtues of Dodo's Donuts to an uninterested Fangmeyer while Delgado hit on a very interested Lucy Schwartz.
"So Judy," said Bonnie. "When are you going to give us a proper introduction to your famous partner?"
"Oh you know soon…" said Judy nervously. She hadn't been home to visit in so long she didn't know if her parents' opinion on foxes had improved with time. She knew Gideon was practically family at this stage but he was just one fox somehow she doubted her parents well entrenched opinions had changed that much. Still anything was possible, she thought as Nick placed down two plates; one of vegetable skewers and the other of crickets.
"Look Stu there he is," said Bonnie. "Oh Judy won't you call him over? Oh he's certainly more handsome than the foxes back home isn't he Stu."
In a daze at what she'd just heard Judy obliged her parents who stood up in eager anticipation. Nick made his way over his trademark smirk replaced by a smile full of genuine warmth. Judy had to admit, despite her bias, that he did look handsome. He wore dark blue jeans and a green open-necked shirt, tighter fitting than his tropical print 'hustling shirt' as he called it. A pair of aviator sunglasses were pushed up onto his head completing the summer evening look he was going for.
"Mrs Hopps I presume," he said, all smiles. "And Mr Hopps. My, my now I know where Judy gets her looks from."
Judy froze and in that split-second she saw the relationship she'd tried so hard to build begin to crack. The cracks however instantly sealed with the sound of Bonnie Hopps' schoolgirl giggle. He shook their hands before pulling up a chair. Judy shook herself and turned to her parents.
"Mom, dad this is my partner and friend Detective Nick Wilde," she said, hoping the nervousness wasn't present in her voice.
"Oh please Judy we're more than friends," Nick scoffed, as if playing with fire was no big deal to him. "Let me tell you about the time Judy saved my life…"
Bonnie and Stu leaned in totally focused on the charismatic fox. Judy looked from one to the other in a sort of happy confusion. To be truly honest she didn't know what she felt. She hadn't expected her parents to scream and run for the hills at the sight of Nick but she had expected this reaction less. They weren't just getting along they were becoming friends by the looks of things. He addressed Stu as Sir or Mr Hopps. He showered Bonnie in compliments. He maintained a vested interest in everything both rabbits had to say from farming carrots to making carrot cake and even to brewing carrot moonshine. It was too much to take in at once.
Judy excused herself and went to the kitchen where she found Clawhauser trying to get Bogo and Francine to pose for a photo. The water buffalo and elephant had been going out secretly for about three months but had recently decided the secrecy wasn't worth it. Of course Benjamin Clawhauser already knew and now he was desperate to get the couple into as many cute photos together as he could. Unsurprisingly he had been unsuccessful so far though not through lack of trying.
"C'mon Chief think of the likes on Furbook," pleaded the cheetah, attempting to position the two much larger mammals.
"Ben you might be the best damn dispatcher we have," stated the Chief. "But I swear on my badge that you will be back on the beat so fast it'll make your head spin!"
That gave Clawhauser pause for thought though only briefly. Luckily Francine saw Judy come in and took advantage.
"Judy quick come here!" she exclaimed. "Let's all get a picture with precinct one's newest detective. Clawhauser you're on camera duties."
The cheetah squealed as Francine and Judy smiled while Bogo maintained his usual stern look though he did smile a little. Clawhauser's phone clicked one, two, three times before he was happy. He flipped through the photos with undisguised glee before showing them to Judy, Francine and Bogo.
"We look like the weirdest inter-species family ever," commented Judy as Clawhauser rushed off to show everyone else.
"I don't know Hopps," replied Bogo. "You and Wilde stay steady and there might just be a weirder one sooner than you think."
"C'mon Chief we've only been together two months."
"Yeah but don't most foxes mate for life?" asked Francine.
"I'm pretty sure that's just an urban legend."
"I don't know Nick seems pretty smitten to me."
"You don't have to tell me he's already working on my parents…"
"And?" asked Bogo.
"And it's going really well and frankly I'm a little weirded out by it even though I should be happy."
"What's got you weirded out?" Francine asked as Judy sat at the kitchen island. Bogo grabbed them all a Roars Light beer from the fridge. Not Judy's favourite but she'd drink anything to calm this ridiculous wave of anxiety that was coming over her.
"They're getting on," said Judy as if that explained it all. "They haven't busted out the fox repellent or made any accidental bigoted comments. Nick's been just as good. No smirk, no smarm and no sly jokes. It's everything I should want but I just never ever expected it to happen. It's going too well if you ask me."
"Sounds like Nick is doing what any smart boyfriend would do," observed Bogo. Francine and Judy turned to look curiously at the buffalo. "It's quite simple Nick's treating them with respect. You treat any mammal with respect, even if they don't deserve it, they're probably going to like you a whole lot more. That's why you get along with that Fennec fox, you treat him with respect even if his opinions on taxes are wrong and frankly unethical."
"But Nick doesn't treat anyone with respect unless they really earn it," mused Judy, knowing the statement wasn't quite true. Bogo said as much.
"Or because he wants to respect them. You and your parents are different but they have the same drive and tenacity you have Judy. Don't act so modest Hopps you know it's true! For them to raise a daughter like you is worthy of respect on its own. I think Nick is being respectful because he respects you. He knows that the things he loves in you didn't just come out of nowhere. Your parents didn't teach you everything but they taught you enough to make Nick Wilde respect them and that truly is something."
"I… I guess you're right," said Judy, still a little uncertain.
"You're damn right I'm right," snapped the Chief. "Now get out there and spend some quality time with your boyfriend. Francine and I need to take a selfie on the balcony while Clawhauser's distracted."
"He's gonna be so mad," giggled Francine.
The night went quickly after that. Judy's nervousness abated and she joined in regaling her parents with some of her and Nick's adventures over the past year and a half. From high speed chases to the annual ZPD Charity Games right up to detective training. They only excluded the stuff they knew would upset the rabbits. Needless to say Stu and Bonnie were taken by Nick's charisma, charm and sense of humour. But most of all they were taken by his responsibility.
The love he had for his job, his working relationship with Judy and the respect he gave Stu and Bonnie had them practically begging him to accompany Judy on her visit to Bunnyburrow next week.
"I don't know," mused the fox. "I don't know how I'd deal with the country air sir."
"Oh tarnation Nick," said Stu. "Country air ain't never done no one no harm. It's good for the soul and the body so they say, whoever they are."
"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother…"
"Nonsense sweetie," scoffed Bonnie. "We've got a burrow that, at one point, housed and fed over two hundred kits. We've got the room and frankly we could always use another babysitter. You don't mind kits do you?"
"Course not," Nick replied. "Why back in Foxton I looked out for plenty of kits younger than myself."
"Foxton?" asked Stu curiously. "Where's that?"
"It's Nick's old neighbourhood," explained Judy, knowing they were treading on dangerous ground. "Biggest population of foxes in Zootopia right Nick?"
"You got that right Judy," replied the fox maintaining his cheerfulness.
"Do your parents still live there?" asked Bonnie.
And there it was. The change was so insignificant as to be barely noticeable. A twitch of the ears. A shift in the eyes. An ever so subtle bristling of the fur. Judy leaned closer unconsciously reached out to Nick not sure if he was going to keep talking or go completely silent. If anyone could draw it out of him it was Bonnie Hopps. Judy knew next to nothing about his past before he became a con artist. It was on file at the ZPD somewhere but Judy wouldn't go behind his back like that. She could have asked Finnick but she wanted to hear it from Nick first.
"I don't know," admitted Nick. "I left home when I was fourteen. My dad and I, we didn't get along so well and my mom, well, she had her own problems. I figured I was better off without them and they were better off without me. Foxton wasn't the best place to live at the time but I got by and more importantly I got out."
Before Judy could rest her paw on Nick's knee both of Bonnie's were already there. He smiled sadly at Judy's mother and patted her paws in thanks. Judy sat back, so that was why Nick didn't like to talk about his family. He essentially didn't have one.
"Why that's even more of a reason to come down next week," said Stu excitedly.
"And why's that Mr Hopps?" asked Nick.
"We can give you an experience that no one's been able to give you in, how old are you thirty? In fifteen years!"
"Exactly," agreed Bonnie and Judy found herself nodding along.
"Well then I guess that settles it," said Nick with a little of the old playfulness back in him. "Bunnyburrow here I come!"
MIDNIGHT. NICK'S APARTMENT.
"OK Mrs Hopps I'll see you in a few days," said Nick.
"Bye mom, bye dad," called Judy, suppressing a giggle as Nick leant against the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You never told me how long those two could talk for," said Nick. "I'm not sure which I'd rather; two hours talking about hay bales or two minutes on the sparring mats with Wolford and he was in the military!"
"C'mon it wasn't that bad was it?"
"Not at all your parents are wonderful Carrots but one fox can only hear so much about hay you know?"
Judy laughed and sat down on the couch followed closely by Nick. It had been a long evening but an enjoyable one. Finnick hadn't gotten arrested. Delgado had left with the panther Lucy Schwartz. Clawhauser had left with the leftover cricket skewers. Judy hadn't been sure who the happier couple had been. She looked at Nick and try as hard as she might she couldn't bite back the question that had been bouncing around in her head.
"Speaking of not telling each other things," she began. "Why have you never told me about your past Nick?"
The fox froze, a beer bottle halfway to his mouth. He didn't move his head but she saw his eyes shift to look at her all the same. The smirk had dropped from his face to be replaced by an even more unreadable expression. His tail was twitching anxiously between them and it took a great force of will on Nick's part to still it.
"It's not easy for me to talk about," he replied slowly, choosing his words carefully.
"But that's why I'm here Nick," said Judy, her eyes begging him to look at her. "Why we're both here. We make each other stronger and better mammals. Without you I wouldn't be here right now and I'm pretty sure the same can be said of you."
"You're right there Carrots," he agreed, finally turning to look at her. His eyes were sad, sadder than she'd ever seen them. She could see that even trying to talk about this was a huge effort for him. He was doing his best at keeping himself behind his emotional walls even as he tried to knock them down. She took hold of his paw and he smiled sadly down at their joined paws before looking back at her.
"Nick please tell me," she said. "No matter how much it hurts you have to know that I'm here, that I'll always be here."
"You see here's the thing Carrots. When foxes mate, they mate for life but I know that's not necessarily the same for rabbits. So I just want to be sure that when I tell you about the old Nick, the one you know nothing about, that you won't leave. Because I couldn't take that."
"I promise Nick. No running away. We've been in all sorts of situations together. I think we can handle the past."
"That's it though Carrots. Sometimes the past comes back to bite you. And with a past like mine the bites really sting."
Judy just held on tighter and stroked his face with her other paw. He sat back and drew her closer to him. She laid her head on his chest and they sat there the only noise being the beating of their hearts and their steady breathing.
"You're right," he stated after five minutes. "You're always right Carrots. We're partners and partners shouldn't keep secrets from each other. You've always been open with me so I guess it's time I returned the favour. Not tonight though that'd spoil a perfect day. I'll tell you everything before we re-join the force I swear. Just let me get it all straightened out in my head first OK?"
"OK," she replied before kissing him. He drew her even closer, deepening the kiss and smiling against her mouth. He was the first to pull back and look deep in her eyes.
"Feel like a midnight snack?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Maybe," she stated coyly, knowing where he was going with this. "What do you feel like?"
"I feel like I haven't eaten rabbit in a day at least…"
She felt the tip of one of his claws skirt the hem of her underwear. Suddenly she felt herself hoisted up and over his shoulder. She squealed in delight as Nick's claws continued to tease along her upper thighs. Her own paws pulled Nick's shirt free of his jeans as he unbuttoned it on the way to the bedroom. Her world went upside-down again as he laid her down with one hand while whipping off her underwear with the other. In one fluid motion he was on top of her, his fingers working their magic as she slipped off the shoulder straps of her dress.
"My, my Miss Hopps no bra? You are a naughty bunny…" he murmured.
"Well you did bite through the last one," she answered before gasping as he headed down south.
"Us foxes, so passionate," he muttered between kisses.
"And patient," Judy breathed. "Hurry up and get started."
"With pleasure Carrots. With pleasure…"
Judy was lucky she no longer lived in an apartment with thin walls. Bucky and Pronk, her neighbours that had managed to follow her to her newer, thicker walled apartment, would have had to have gone to extreme volumes in order to outdo her that night. She didn't think anyone could know her own body better than she herself did but Nick seemed so in tune with her. He knew exactly when to stop the foreplay and get down to business. He read her responses as if they were the most interesting book in the world. He paced himself so that she was never left disappointed or bored. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her toes curled and her hips bucked against the sheets. With a groan loud enough to eclipse Nick's own final grunt Judy felt a wave of hot release wash over her.
Nick rolled over and succeeded in throwing his jeans and boxers off. Judy shucked her dress to the side and bounced over so that she sat astride Nick. He looked up at her, always astounded and amazed by her boundless energy reserves.
"What? You didn't think we were finished did you?" she asked, leaving a trail of kisses down his chest.
"It never is just one and done with you is it Carrots?"
"Shut up and kiss me Wilde."
AN: As always don't forget to fave, follow and review. Much love guys!