November made everything worse.

His fur had finally evened out, and under the right light it added both fluff and body to his frame. But come every morning, his windy commute would see him entering the ZPD as a fluffed up ragdoll, without fail. So every morning he'd arrive early, ignoring everything and everyone while stomping straight over to the locker room. Clawhauser didn't even bother to greet him as he walked in anymore, already used to the sullen pre-brush silence. Most mammals knew to give him a wide morning berth by now, and knew better than to try and hog the mirror whenever Wilde went for his brush with grim determination. Touching up could not be rushed, alas. But at least afterwards he felt like a person again, ready to tackle the day head on. Long as he had his brush and his coffee, he could get through this. Really, it wasn't a big deal. He'd been doing this since he was… well, long enough.

He flung the brush into his locker so hard it bounced straight back out. His ears flattened as he tried again, almost hitting himself with the rebound. Snarling, he all but slammed the brush down, flinging the locker closed.

"Easy with the facilities, Wilde."

Lips pulled up, he turned for a snide retort, if Grizzoli had a problem he would gladly tell him just where to shove it. Behind the wolf, the Chief was eying him from across the room. Nick snapped his jaws shut on the words. Bogo looked, if at all possible, even more under-amused as usual.

"Officer Grizzoli, kindly give us the room." The white wolf shot Nick a sympathetic look before slinking out. Somehow, that made Nick's hackles rise even further. What kind of game was that howler playing?

A low grunt forced his attention back. "At ease, Wilde." He willed his face to calm down. Breathe, Wilde. It was only half a victory. His placid smile returned with practiced ease, but he knew his ears betrayed him. Chief Bogo took his time, looking him over with a stern and calculating look. Nick was sorely tempted to tell him to take a picture.

"There have been complaints, Wilde." The cape buffalo raised his hoof as Nick's eyes darted to the door with a low growl. "Not from Grizzoli. Nor Wolford, for that matter. Which I could consider strange, seeing as most of my sources mention you have it in for them lately." He leaned in, somehow taking away from the light in the room. "But I'm not an idiot." He looked the fox over once more. Nick had to bite down on the urge to raise his hackles again. "Can I count on you to make this go away?"

"Make what go away, Sir?" He had aimed for friendly and disarming, so where did this rough edge in his voice come from?

The Chief grunted. "I'm sure I don't have to spell it out for you. We're all grown mammals here. I don't much care what you do in your own time; long as you're at headquarters, do try to remember this is Neutral Territory." Nick winced at the pointed use of capitals, but mercifully, the Chief seemed to be done with him at last.

"Now go on, get out of here. Have a donut or something. Might keep your teeth from snapping at my wolves."

He forced himself to grin. "Donuts, yes, wolves, no. That might explain my indigestions of late. Thanks for the tip, Sir."

Bogo snorted. "Briefing's in ten. Don't be late." He paused at the door. "My office is always open, Wilde."

Nick turned back to the mirror as the Chief left the room, a stubborn glint in his eyes. While the offer surprised him, he wasn't going to go crawling to his superior for… what? A listening ear? A shoulder to cry on? Extra vacation?
Sick days?

If it comes to that.

He took a long, hard look at himself in the mirror. There was an edge to his reflexion that was hard to deny. He took another deep breath. And another. Shoulders down. Loosen that jaw. Relax. He gave himself a critical once over, and tried a smile. Better.

He made it a point to greet Clawhauser as he crossed the hall, which got him a look of utter surprise. He might have to hand it to the Chief: donuts seemed like a very good idea right about now.


"Where were you?"

His partner all but dragged him onto their shared chair, her nose doing that little twitch, a telltale sign that she was worried.

"Take it easy, Carrots. I'm not late, am I?" He let himself relax into the chair, shooting her a carefree smile. "Missed me that bad?"

She did not return the smile. "Someone said you had a run in with Chief Bogo." She was whispering, and moved in closer to keep the conversation private. Her ears drooped down, nose still twitching. "Are you in trouble?"

He had to stop himself from swallowing. Damn those eyes. He refocused on her twitchy nose, lightly tapping it with one finger. "Carrots, if I don't have a run in with Bogo at least three times a day, my life simply would not be complete."

She scrunched up her face in a glower. "Don't touch the nose, Wilde."

His grin grew. "Oh?' Tap. 'Whatcha gonna to do about it?" His grin faltered and his third tap halted mid-air. She had gently placed her foot against his stomach. Not as much of a push; more like the promise of one. "Try me."

He removed the offending finger. '"ick a fight with ZPD's toughest bunny? I wouldn't dare."

Her grin was contagious. "Oh I don't know, you're still the toughest fox on the force. We might be evenly matched."

"We could be, yes." He pointedly looked down. "Only you seem to have me at an unfair advantage, officer Hopps."

She removed her foot with a cocky smile. "Is that a challenge? Because I could take you in the training ring any day, officer Wilde."

He allowed himself a lazy grin. "For a cute little bunny, you sure talk big."

He expected her to replace her foot, maybe give him a little shove to drive the point home, but she simply smiled. "You're on. After our shift ends. Loser buys coffee for a week."

Bad idea Nick. Horrible idea. Back out. Say something.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Deal."

"All right, settle down!"

Both partners turned as their Chief entered the room. Nick put on an air of polite interest. Something in the way Bogo glanced his way, warned him to be on his best behaviour today.

"Snarlov, Delgato, we've had reports of vandals in the Tundratown shopping district. See what you can do about that. Grizzoli, Wilde, Clawhauser just had a call in for a domestic dispute, third time from that address. Let's see if some new faces can change their tune. Trunkaby, Higgins…"

Judy nudged him in the ribs, shooting him a quick glance. He gave her a slight shake of his head, hopping down from the chair. He hated it, but Bogo was keeping an eye on him, and he wasn't going to give him cause, not after this morning.

"… and Fangmeyer, Hopps, you're on school duty. Let's see if we can get some kids interested in a career at the ZPD, shall we? Dismissed."

Nick met up with Grizzoli at the door. "Give me a minute?"

The wolf nodded amiably. If he was upset about this morning, he wasn't showing it. "Sure, I'll drive the car out. See you up front."

He turned to face his partner, who was eying him with a look of annoyed surprise. "You knew about this?"

Nick shrugged. "No, but isn't this normal procedure? They were bound to split us up eventually. It's not the end of the world. At least you get to entertain kids today. Want to swap?"

She crossed her arms and huffed. Her foot tapped once, twice, threefourfivesixseven…

Huh. That's new.

She slapped the offending foot down, back in control, and let out a sigh.

"You're right. I just thought that… well, maybe Chief Bogo is upset with our performance?"

"Don't be insecure Hopps, it doesn't suit you." Fangmeyer gently bumped the bunny in the shoulder, almost causing her to topple over. "We get switched out all the time. It helps us learn about team capabilities. Good for relations too. You'll get your fox back tomorrow."

He couldn't help it, she looked utterly adorable when she frowned like that. Finally relenting, she followed Fangmeyer out of the Bullpen, but not before Nick's sharp ears picked up her final retort.

"I'd better."

The grin spread warm on his face, and stayed with him all the way to the car.