So this one is more friendship than humor.

Inspired by LOADS of fanart, I give you this.

Genre: Frienship/Humor/Comfort

Be Anything

"Bye, Nick! See you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow, Carrots."

In the darkness of night, soft sobs and grunts echoed softly through a small alleyway. A young, red fox kit wearing a Junior Ranger Scout uniform sat hunched by the alley walls, desperately trying to pull off a crude snout muzzle from his face. As much as he tried, the metal muzzle just won't come off even with stronger pulls after every attempt. After a while he gave, sinking further into his legs and shut his eyes as tears fell down his betrayed face.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

A small, girly voice suddenly came in, surprising his teary green eyes open to find the source. A silhouette of a small animal appeared from the entrance of the alley, her figure hidden by the shadows. The fox kit's eyes filled with fear and embarrassment, turning his head away in shame.

"Leave me alone!" The fox shouted at the girl, who moved to him uncertainly, but bravely.

"Are you hurt? You sounded like you were crying" She inquired as she stepped closer.

"I wasn't crying! I'm f-fine! I said leave me a-alone…" The boy whimpered as he turned his back completely on the new arrival.

"But I am a police officer! I'm here to help you." The girl kindly offered from right behind him.

The black of night was broken by the soothing light of the full moon that revealed all in the alley. The fox was surprised to see the shadow of the girl appeared to belong to someone who is even shorter than him. He turned around slowly to see a grey bunny kit a few inches below his chin in a police costume, with three red claw marks on her left cheek.

"You're… you're just a bunny." The fox kit stated obviously. The bunny scrunched her nose in displeasure.

"So? Just because I'm a bunny doesn't mean I can't be what I want to be! Just like the motto of Zootopia: 'Anyone can be anything.'" She quotes with pride. The fox just looks away, a bitter expression on his face.

"I use to believe that lie. Look where it got me." He murmured, continuing to try to remove the muzzle after a few seconds.

"I'll help you get that off." The rabbit kit held a paw to reach for the straps, but the fox jerked away, glaring at her.

"Like I need the help of prey…" He snarled with venom in his voice. It frightened the bunny a bit, but she didn't back down.

"Hey! I'm only trying to do something nice." She reasoned, facing him with a defiant stand.

"It is animals like you who did this to me!" He edged closer while pointing at the muzzle caging his face with his claws.

"I did not do that to you! And what about these, Mr. Fox!" The bunny countered as she pointed to the wounds on her face.

"What about it, rabbit?" The fox kit asks with a scoff.

"It is a fox like YOU who did this to me!" She shouts as she points at him, bringing a rather pained look to pass through the fox's face.

"I did not do that to you!" He defends himself, eyes losing some of their hostility as hurt wrestles with it.

"Then why are you bring mean to me just because I'm prey, even if I'm trying to help you!?" She asks with pained eyes, a tear falling down a crushed face. The predator child's hostile stance suddenly weakens, his fisted paws releasing their tension as his arms fell on his sides.

His barriers started breaking down as he shut his eyes closed to prevent the tears from falling. It didn't stop them though, once again spilling down his defeated face.

"…Because that's what they said. I will only be a predator, just like you will only be prey. And prey do this to foxes like me…" He admits with shame, rejection, and even fear.

He heard footsteps through the darkness of his vision, thinking the rabbit went away as it stopped. He then heard a click from the side of his face and felt the muzzle's tight grip leave softly. The fox opens his eyes to see the muzzle gone as he reaches a paw to feel the fur of his snout once again.

He turns to his side to see the bunny holding the muzzle in her paws, looking down with sadness, and even sympathy, in her violet eyes.

"I'm sorry they did that to you, whoever those jerks were." She says, dropping the muzzle on the dirty alleyway floor as she drags her feet to the street, her head still down. Guilt fills the fox as he fights his internal struggle to stay put. He walks towards her slowly, going against his fear to place a paw gently on her right shoulder. The bunny stops and looks back at him, curiosity mixed in with the emotions of her eyes.

"I'm sorry I was mean. You were right. I got mad at you for trying to help me." He apologizes, the guilt overflowing in his voice. The girl looks a bit surprised, but then shows the faintest smile as she nods. But was supposed to be relief for the fox was replaced by defeat. Defeat that came with realization that reflected on his face as he went ahead of the bunny and sat on the street curb.

"I guess they are right. I will only be nothing but a vicious, mean predator." He whispered bitterly to himself, finally just accepting their words, letting them almost breach his heart forever until he felt a paw on his own shoulder. He looked up to see the bunny kit look at him with, not pity or shame, but sympathy.

However, she winced as the pain of her wounds returned with a gust of cold night.

"Ow…" She whimpered, reaching for her wounds only to pull back her paw as they burned when she touched them. The fox stood up and faced her, concern on his face.

"Where did you get that?" He asked, looking at it carefully without touching her.

"A fox named Gideon scratched me for protecting my friends who were being bullied." She explained, watching him observe her before he stopped and looked through a small fanny-pack that he carried.

"Hold still. I have some bandages right here." The fox pulls out a small brown first-aid kit and grabs three strips of long bandages. He spreads a bit of salve on one of the bandages and asks her to hold it over the top wound as he grabs some medical tape and sticks the bandage gently on her face. The liquid in the bandage pricks her for a second, but is then replaced by a cool, relaxing feeling. He repeats the same process for the other two, doing each one with the same precision and care.

"Feeling better?" He asks as he places whatever medical supply he had left back in his first aid kit. The bunny reaches again for her wounds again, only feeling the cloth texture of the bandage on where her pale skin should be. The touch also reaches her scratches and though she feels a little pain, the soft feeling of the cloth eases the tension in her face. She smiles back at the fox with a very grateful aura.

"Very much. Thank you!" She thanked him gleefully. The fox smiled back after placing the first aid kit back on his fanny pack before sitting on the sidewalk again.

"I guess you believe that predators are vicious, too. I wouldn't blame you with having those wounds." He says with a sad tone, his back turned to the rabbit kit while his head hanged down in sadness. The girl sat next to him, also looking at the ground but with a different expression.

"You may be a predator, but I don't think you are mean, or vicious. Meanies don't say sorry, or carry bandages around for other animals. Only nice animals do that." She said with honesty, looking at him with a smile. The fox looks at her with eyebrows raised in confusion.

"But a fox gave that to you." He pointed out her bandaged wounds.

"Well, ya." The bunny kit admitted unsurely.

"Then shouldn't you think they are right?" He asked.

"For one, if I did that, I would never ever be a police officer. I would always believe what they say about bunnies. Also, I would have never helped you and known you were a nice fox." She said plainly, looking at the fox kit with a genuine smile. The fox gave a sheepish smile back, looking away to gaze at the full moon.

"Thanks. Thank you for also removing that thing." He said the final part of his thanks with a dark voice as he glared at the abandoned muzzle on the floor. The bunny's smile fades, however, with a familiar defeated look betraying her confident aura.

"…But even if you are a nice fox, you thought that, too." She said with dejection.

"Thought what?" The fox asked curiously.

"That I can't be a police officer because I'm a bunny. Everyone says that." She admitted with a tang of discouragement in her voice. Even a person who she helped did not think she can do it. Nick look at her curiously for a few seconds before looking up again at the moon.

"…Well, I did. But I was wrong." He admitted, both surprising the bunny and filling her with curiosity.

"Police help everyone, and even if a fox hurt you, you still helped me." The fox said as he continued to gaze at the moon, noticing the small circles and dots that spread across its bright surface.

"Now I believe you can be one." He finally turned to her, saying that to her with a confident smile.

"Really?" She asked with hope restored in her.

"Really." He answered truthfully.

The bunny then edged closer to the fox before leaning herself on her to give him a half hug. The boy was about to be revolted and shoo her with something like cooties before she spoke in a soft voice.

"Thank you." And all his insecurities and girl disgust went away, feeling… secure instead. Safe. A feeling unfamiliar to him towards kids his age. Trust.

It was like he felt that if someone would ever want to muzzle him again, she would be the first to step in and shield him from it. A feeling shared by the bunny, who wanted to believe that if someone were to point their claws at her, his own claws would be out with him in-between her and however wanted to hurt her.

They felt secure. Safe.

Silence came for a few seconds, and the awkwardness was getting to the fox kit so he looked for something to talk about.

"I think your hat looks cool." He said as he shifted slightly away from the bunny, with the half-truth that he wanted to see it a bit better. She giggle in response, removing the hat as her ears popped up in joy.

"I think your hat looks cool, too. But I don't know what it is." She admitted with curiosity. The fox kit's eyes sparkled with wonder as he removed his hat to show it to her.

"It's a Junior Ranger Scout's hat! Ranger Scouts are the coolest people ever! They help all kinds of animals, do neat tricks with rope, go on camping and adventures, and earn all these cool patches." He boasted with wide gestures and references to his uniform

"Wow!" She exclaimed as she watch him praise them. However, his cheerful demeanor soon faded away.

"I wanted to be the first predator to join the junior scouts, but you already know how that turned out." His voice backed down again, going back to soft regret as he gazed at the muzzle nearby. He heard the bunny next to him humph in disappointment.

"I think they're losers for not letting you in just because you're different." She said without any remorse, suddenly going into thought for a while before getting struck by an idea.

"I know! Why don't you join me instead?" She asked with excitement.

"Huh?" The confused fox kit asked at the sudden question.

"Be a police officer with me! The Police accept both prey and predators. We also help people, go on adventures, and have cool patches and badges like this one!" She offered, also making wide gestures and references to her costume.

"I don't know… Foxes don't really have a good reputation for being… us." He said sheepishly, the dent in his self-confidence obviously seen. The bunny frowned and grabbed his handkerchief scarf down to look at him face to face.

"Stop telling yourself that. You believed in yourself before those other scout jerks made fun of you. Will you really let them see that they we're right?" She scolded the surprised fox kit firmly. She felt a duty to make sure no one puts him down to less than what he is, including himself.

The fox continue to look surprised, then confused in thought. After a while, he closed his eyes and formed a sly smirk.

"Never. They will never see that they get to me. Never again." He said proudly, pulling himself to stand firmly towards the moon.

"In fact, no one will ever see that they get to me!" He shouted proudly into the night, shooting his paws into the air. His moment was broken by the giggling of the bunny kit beside him.

"So what do you say?" She asks the fox kit, prompting him to scratch as his head as he thought of an answer.

"I'll have to really think about it, but do you really think I could be one?" He wondered.

"Of course I do. We can both be the first! First rabbit and first fox officers!" The bunny answered excitingly, joy sparkling in her eyes. The cuteness of it caused the fox to laugh for a while.

"I still don't know your name." The fox kit said.

"My name is Judy. Judy Hopps." The bunny, Judy, introduced herself simply as she raised her paw towards him.

"I'm Nicholas Piberius Wilde." The fox, Nicholas, stated with boyish pride while taking her own paw in his to shake it. Judy giggled.

"That's a funny name!" She amusingly said, bringing the fox to mock defensiveness.

"No it's not! My mom thinks it's the coolest name ever." He stated with a pout. She laughed again at his "mad" posture.

"It may be, but it's a very long name to say." She stated with her head tilting slightly to the side.

"My friend's call me Nick." The fox offered with a smile. There was silence from the bunny, a curious expression on her face.

"Can I call you that? Am I your friend?" She asked Nick timidly but honestly after a few seconds.

"You are to me. Am I your friend, Judy?" The fox answered like it was obvious then asked with the same sincerity. The rabbit looked at Nick with a large grin on her face.

"Yes. Yes you are, Nick." She happily said, bringing him to return with a grin of his own.

The moon's light stretched across the street, bathing everything in a bright white. The last thing both young kits saw was the joy radiating on the face of their new friend.

ZOOTOPIA

Green eyes opened slowly from their sleep, bringing an image of the ceiling to the woken fox on the bed. The fox got up with a groan and sat on his bed, rubbing his eyes in droopiness. He looked around to find that he was in his small apartment room, the only light around coming from the moon outside his window. He looked down on his sleeveless under shirt and boxers, scratching his head as his mind separated what was dream from reality.

"That dream again." The fox grumbled as he stood up to get a glass of water from his faucet.

He looked around him as he walked towards the sink, his night-vision allowing him to see through the near pitch dark. The uniform he wore a few hours ago hanged on top of a plastic chair, right across the table where his badge was. A few pictures hanged on wall. One of them shown a smiling, old vixen who was hugging a younger adult fox in his police uniform. Another was showing the same fox having his arm around a familiar rabbit, both in their police fatigues at a graduation ceremony.

His eyes broke off from the wall to search a glass on the small cupboard, taking one before filling it with water. He takes a sip, letting the water refresh his dry throat, and starts heading back to bed. Nick stops after a step where he stays by the window, looking outside as he greeted by the soothing light of the full moon, as bright as the smile of a certain bunny girl from his dream.

A smile that is soon reflected on his face. It wasn't his usual sly smile or sneaky smirk, but one that was just relaxed and warm. He looks back at the picture of him and Judy on his graduation day. The fox's smile slightly lengthens, but the warmth in his heart grew much larger.

"You know Carrots, I wonder what it would be like if we met at that time." Looking back at the moon, speaking to no one in particular but Zootopia's night light.

"What it would be like if you were there… Judy."

ZOOTOPIA

In another part of Zootopia, a newly-awakened rabbit with violet eyes stared at the same moon, with a glass of water one hand as she leaned by her window with the other. A simple night gown was her main covering against the cold air of the night yet she shown no sense of shivering, only reflecting warmth in her slightly sleepy eyes.

"I really wonder what it would be like if you were there, Nick. I really wonder…" She turned the paw by the window around, revealing a cellphone that showed a selfie of both the smirking fox and the joyous rabbit, the latter showing two tickets concert to the camera. She smiled as she looked at the picture, a same warmth growing inside.

Judy drank the last of her water before heading straight back to bed. She turned off the table lamp and placed her phone right below it, snuggling back under the covers after lying in bed. She dozed off after a while with the feelings of her dream still on her mind. She felt secure, protected. Safe.

ZOOTOPIA

A few heads were turned to the ZPD predator-prey duo that seemed to have dozed off during the rollcall. Officer Judy Hopps had her head resting on one paw, her eyelids failing her and her ears down flat as she lost the last of her consciousness. Officer Nicholas Wilde's forehead was already flat on the table, his head right beside his hot brew of morning coffee. His snout was just off the edge and his ears completely relaxed by the sides of his head.

"Hopps, Wilde, we have case of missing jewelry from different residences in Sahara Square. You are to…" Chief Bogo trails off as he notices both said officers almost, if not already, asleep. He walks out of the podium slowly and goes right in front of their table, neither of the drowsy officers noticing.

"Hopps. Wilde. WAKE UP!" The buffalo shouts at them as he slams his hooves on the table. Judy's eyes, as well as the rest of her body, spring high up and into the back of their chair as her natural prey "flight" instincts took in. Nick also jolts straight up, his paws closing into fists in panic. Unfortunate, one of those paws held his coffee.

"Arghp!" He restrained himself from yelping too loudly as half of the hot beverage spilled up and burned his skin. The two took a few seconds to realize what was going on, looking up to see a smug Chief Bogo.

"You know, since you lot look tired and all, parking duty is always open." Bogo mocks as he offers the parking duty folder beside their original case. Judy shakes her head rapidly, at the same time drowsily.

"No. No, thanks, sir. We *yawn* we got this." The rabbit said as snappy as she could be as she took the jewelry file.

"Yeah, Chief. Nothing a good cup of coffee won't solve." The fox offered with half-lidded eyes as he raised his messy, half cup of coffee with a stinging paw that he was still rubbing.

"If only a cup of coffee will solve my headaches when I read your reports." The buffalo stated with a frown as he rubbed his own head with a hoof.

"You should try this new thing called aspirin, Chief. Works wonders, I tell you."

"Shut your trap, Wilde. Hogsworth, Grayvur…" As the chief went back to giving everyone their assignments, the partners sighed in relief after being the center of attention. Judy looks to Nick, concern on her face that was easily seen by the fox. He shows his signature smile to reassure her, but a certain image came to her instead. Nick's adult, cool-headed face was covered by the head of young, happy fox scout for a few seconds, the former's expression replaced by a hopeful grin. The shades on the top of his head was eclipsed by a green scout's cap.

This brought a warm smile to Judy's face, surprising the fox as a similar vision happened to him. His partner's soft smile was replaced by a youthful toothy grin, her adult eyes opening into much rounder ones filled with sparkles of hope. To top it off, her ears then hid under a costume police hat. The image made him smile warmly, too.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia. (duh)

AN: Yes, I didn't update on monday. Because the next chapters are quite long and I have stuff to do on monday.

BTW, to reviewers, I would gladly appreciate if you would point out my grammatical or spelling errors, whether to review or PM or whatever makes you comfortable. I don't bite much. I'm an omnivore.

BTW BTW, I'm well aware of the age difference theories. Headcanons aside, I get away with it by making it a dream.