Disclaimer: You get the gist. Here's chapter 8!
"Are you done yet, Fluff?" called Nick from behind the door. In one paw he held his phone, and in the other was their paperwork. The pair was now Mr. and Mrs. Mill, two locals from Zootopia. They were a young couple at only 22, but the duo had been married for 3 years. In the papers, it said that they lived in an apartment close to the heart of the city (what a coincidence, in Nick's same building, too) with three little bunnies. He was a lawyer, she a gardener. 'Nathan' met 'Clara' at a florist's shop a couple blocks away when he ducked inside on a rainy day. They had been 18 and felt a connection. As it turned out, they had, because he left with a potted plant. She left with his number. A match made in heaven.
Nick grimaced. This was all so cheesy. Who had written this? He had no idea, but he wanted to burn the papers.
Well, actually, it wasn't the story that made him upset, it was the fact that they hadn't had any input. For some reason, he thought he would have been able to make up some of the fine details with Judy, like how they met. Buying a potted plant? He thought 'Nathan Mills' would have been smoother than that. And anyways, there was something undeniably appealing about creating a fake life with Judy (sorry, 'Clara'). But either way, he could almost feel the blush building on his cheeks as he thought about his partner. His wife . . . for the night, at least.
Why was it that a small part of him wished their lie was true?
"Almost . . ." Judy huffed, sounding as though he was struggling. Nick shifted closer to the door, wrinkling his uncharacteristic black suit and orange tie as he did so.
"Are you all right - "
"Got it!" she interjected cheerfully. Nick shot up, excited that the wait was finally over. Then came a groan from inside the closet. "Wait . . . never mind, I just need to . . ." He sighed. Judy was taking forever and a day, it seemed. It was just a formal dinner. With him. Alone. In a fancy restaurant. Kind of like a . . .
"Date," he muttered softly. He clamped a paw over his mouth. Did he really just say that?
"Huh?" called a certain somebunny's voice faintly. "I don't know what you said, but I give up. I need help."
"What sort of help?" asked the fox cautiously. When a girl says 'I need help' from inside a closet, things tend to get awkward. Especially after you were just thinking about how dating that person would feel like. Luckily, he was saved from an inevitable awkward response by Judy herself. She reached out, grabbed his tie, and pulled him inside.
"Zip me up," she ordered, with red beginning to stain her muzzle. When her partner just stared at her, dumbfounded, the bunny huffed. "Just do it, please?"
With a slow nod as he came out of his stupor, Nick dragged the zipper upwards, bringing the garment to a close, other hand on her hip. He then wheeled her around, almost fainting.
Judy was no longer Judy the partner. Judy was Judy the girl. She was wearing a sparkling blue gown that dipped down in the back and reached down to her knees, spreading out slightly. On her feet were black sandals that strapped up her calves, and a black and blue clip shown on her head. She looked incredible, and not at all like the innocent and humble bunny he had come to know and love.
"You look . . ." he trailed off, swallowing thickly. "You look amazing, Hopps." She grinned at him, and he tried to smile back without looking overwhelmed. Like this, she seemed way out of his league.
"Thanks, Nick," she replied, touched. The gray bunny looked him up and down. "Not bad yourself, Slick. It turns out that there's a gentleman hidden beneath your loud Hawaiian shirts, after all." The male fox laughed, jostled but happy they were back in more familiar territory. Friendly teasing was something he could handle.
"Same, Carrots. I never would have pegged you as the glamorous type." With a wack on the arm, he knew that they would be just fine that night. "One more thing, though," he stated. His partner got quiet and prepared to listen, knowing it was time to get more serious. "Clara Mills," he began, leaning down on one knee. "Will you do me the honor of being my fake spouse for the remainder of this endeavor?" She nearly gagged on her laughter but managed to keep it together.
With fake shock, Judy replied, "Oh, I can't believe this is happening!" Tears were threatening to spill as she fanned her face. "It's all starting so fast, but I knew it was you from the moment you bought your first fern!" He nearly cracked up himself, remembering the stupid detail about the plant and his number. It wasn't ever going to die now. "Of course, Nathan! I would be honored!" She slipped on the ring and, caught up in the moment, kissed her partner's cheek. Instantly he froze. It wasn't a real kiss, on the lips, but man . . . it felt good. Really good. And as warmth practically pooled in his chest, the fox found himself wanting more. The spell was broken by Judy herself.
"Nick? Are you okay?" she asked through pursed lips, beginning to get worried. He shook his head. He couldn't like like Judy. She was his best friend. He had a task to perform right now.
"Yeah," he found himself saying. "Yeah, I'm alright."
When they arrived at the desk of the restaurant, Nick almost expected them to be called out. To say that they weren't really married. To challenge their story about anniversary reservations. To see through their very real skin and view him as the fox he was. But nothing happened other than getting seating by an overly dapper waiter. Apparently all those facts they had spent hours memorizing for this test were pretty much useless.
One small part of him was pleased. It meant all of those cliche romance novel knockoffs that were complied into a backstory would never be spoken aloud. Thank goodness. He was saved.
"Nobody around here looks like a drug dealer," whispered the bunny as they sat down. As she smoothed her cloth napkin over her dress, 'Nathan' grinned wryly.
"That's because they're not drug dealers; they're actors. And one of them has a fake bag of inhalants on their person, Clara." At this, she snorted.
"So, honey, how was your day in the office?"
"Fantastic, I got lots of new cases today."
"Oh really?"
"Yup." He looked smugly at her. Even undercover, he loved their faux arguing sessions.
"Is there anything you would like to eat?" asked their waiter. He was a zebra, and he had yet to pull out a notepad.
"Aren't you supposed to ask us what we want to drink first, sir?" questioned Nick, confused. "And you have nothing to write with."
"Yes, well," the man said, sounding slightly upset and embarrassed. "I'm only working here for tonight. But what do you want?"
The two looked at eachother for a second before Nick quickly spoke for Judy. "She wants the tossed garden salad and I would like the pasta of the day with mixed vegetables." The waiter nodded before walking off and wandering to another table.
"Strange," mused Judy. Nick cocked his head and she explained herself. "It's just that he spends a lot of time talking to that giraffe that's sitting alone." He nodded.
"Strange."
By the time their waiter came back with their food, he had stopped to give them water cups and talk to the animal in the corner about 7 times. It was clear that they knew eachother, and besides that, the zebra had been acting weird the whole time. But when he busted the food stand again and was about to walk off, exposing the top of a zip-and-seal bag scrunched in his pants, they were pretty sure they knew who the fake drug dealer and buyer were.
"So, you think it's him, too, right?" asked Nick, leaning over to her.
"Of course," she hissed back softly. "It's so obvious, isn't it?" As the waiter came back around with napkins, the two readied themselves.
"Here's your . . ." They pounced. Judy was on his back, blinding the man and securing his hands with cuffs. But before Nick could secure him to anything he slipped out with ease, running out to the door. The man muttered something about stupid employees after realizing the entrance to the reserved room was locked.
"You can't leave," snarled Nick. This guy had thrown Judy to the floor. Nobody threw Judy, even if they were paid to.
He laughed. "I'm a hired escape artist, pal. My life's work is getting out of jams. I can literally jump up and grab an expose beam before climbing out the skylight. I can dive under the table, throw the cloth up into the air as a distraction, and sprint the other way until I reach the back door. I can grab your own tie and secure you with it. I'm practically untouchable!" Nick glanced behind him, wondering if Judy was still lying on the floor. Then he laughed straight at the zebra. "What's so funny?"
"Do you know the number one way to catch a criminal?" quizzed the rabbit. When he was met with no response, he suddenly dashed up to the zebra's left. "You get them to start monologing." In order to avoid the sloppy catch, the zebra dodged right, then grabbing Nick roughly before scoffing.
"Did you really think I'd fall for that?" snorted the actor. Nick only grinned.
"Nope, but then again, I was only the distraction." The zebra turned around just in time to see the bunny cop punch him in the face (hard enough to stun and disorient but not enough to knock him out; he was only hired as practice, after all) and then tie a tablecloth over his face, two rough holes in it for breathing purposes. After this, she grabbed another tablecloth and bound him several times over to a decorative pillar. Behind them, the giraffe shrugged and got up to talk to the cops, who were now both tousled and dirty from rolling on the floor.
"Good job," he said, impressed. "He's pretty good at what he does. Here's the fake money, by the way. You don't have to try to capture me; I'm just here to look suspicious and hold stuff." He handed the officers a stack of printed cash and another set of real payment. "That stuff is for him; we promised him $450 upon completion of his task or capture, whichever came first." With that, the animal left, humming contently.
"So . . . you want to eat, Mrs. Mills?" asked Nick, all smiles now that their fake bandit was caught. It was easier than he thought it would be.
"Of course, Mr. Mills," she teased, shoving him lightly. "I've been waiting for that $50 meal for forever, so it better be worth the wait." Nick didn't know if it would be or not, but sitting there with the best partner in the world; now that was worth it.
So this was chapter 8, everybody. I hope it didn't disappoint you guys! It was done in a rush, just one foul swoop on my computer, so I apologize if it didn't turn out the way you might have imagined it going. I didn't think it would happen this way, but it all sorta came out like this. See you all in chapter 9!