Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters represented here.
Judy Hopps was always ready for anything and everything that came her way. When she was young, she was ready to let everyone know she would be the first bunny cop. She was ready to (politely) defy her parent's wishes of being a carrot farmer like everyone else in the family. She was ready to make the big move to her dream destination: Zootopia. She was ready to pass the police training academy and become the best cop she could be. She was ready.
She was always ready...except for when she wasn't. She wasn't prepared for the crimes that could be committed when so different types of animals lived together in the same area. Sure, they had crime in Bunny Burrow: rabbits and foxes haven't always gotten along splendidly so there was always cases of bad disputes. But the sheer volume was nothing she could ever imagine.
And then there was Nick Wilde, she was not ready for him at all. His smooth-talking conniving ways had made her feel things she never had. Her heart beat with the challenge of trying to find a way to get under his skin the way he had gotten under hers. When they first met she was struck by the difference between him and Gideon Grey. Where Gideon was a brute when they were younger, Nick was just trying to get a jumbo pop for his young elephant-wanna-be son, or so she had thought. He was charming and polite and oh, so conniving. She had never seen a con artist get so much money so quickly and easily the way Nick and Finnick had. They hustled well.
Though she had used her own hustle to get Nick to help her with the missing mammal case, she was glad in the end. She had a friend, a best friend, who trusted her as much as she trusted him. They ended Bellwether's reign of terror of Pred VS. Prey and had saved Zootopia. There had been a few bumps on the way there, Judy had said some things she shouldn't have, but in the end, they had come together. He had gone to the police academy on her request to be her partner and have a shot at a better life. Judy was proud of him and most importantly, Nick was proud of the man he became.
Judy knew she felt something for Nick but couldn't come to terms with it herself. The way his green eyes glinted when an exciting moment came upon him, whether it be a new case or Judy surprising him with some blueberries from her families farm, made her heart melt. His fur, to her, was the most amazing shade of red she had ever seen. He smelled like fresh grass and pine, ink (probably from signing so much paperwork after all those exciting cases) and his own fox musk. His style, though tacky, became a welcome site after work in Judy's apartment because it meant they could both finally relax. His paws, though clawed and larger than the top of Judy's head, were gentle and kind whenever he touched Judy. Sometimes he leaned against her shorter frame and other times he absentmindedly played with one of her ears if they were both sitting on his couch watching a movie. Judy never said anything in fear Nick would stop.
Her parents liked Nick, he had introduced himself when she was Muzzletiming them on her iPhone a few months ago. Of course, they had already heard of Nick by then, Judy had opened up about her life more to them now that she was comfortable with work and life. They weren't happy that she had undergone such a large task and case like the missing mammal one and even though they had become friends with Gideon Grey, they were still skeptical of Nick. Nick, though, had charmed his way into their life. The way he spoke about Judy's optimism and her joy for her job had calmed them down and made them excited for her. Her father Stu, the bigger skeptic of the two, had gotten to the point of delightfully telling Nick about how they grew their blueberries using only the best quality soil and no pesticides, only Midnicampum holicithias ("He must have forgotten that Nighthowlers were the whole cause of our problems" Judy had told Nick after, "too excited talking to someone else about farming blueberries and carrots."). Bonnie had made Nick promise to visit Bunnyburrow next time their daughter did so she could make him a big blueberry pie to thank him for being such a good friend to Judy and helping her with the case. Before they had finished the call, Bonnie had flicked her eyes to Nick (who had been looking away at that second) and then to Judy, giving her a wink and a small smile. Judy's cheeks had a slight red tint, slightly visible through her gray fur when she had hung up with her parents and she hoped Nick hadn't noticed.
Judy had had boyfriends before: one kit named Johnny had asked her out in middle school and they had dated for 3 days before Johnny had noticed that Judy's sister Margie was a little less obsessed with becoming a cop. "She's more fun, sorry" he had told her.. Judy didn't mind, she knew Margie liked Johnny so it was better for her and Judy knew, even at a young age, she was already a little more serious than everyone else because she was so passionate about becoming a police officer. She had a boyfriend in high school, Mark, who she dated a little longer then two years from Junior to Senior year. Her parents had really liked him, he was an aspiring farmer as well, helping her parents from a young age as a farm hand. He had been nice and courteous, taking her to every Bunnyburrow festival (Harvest, Pie, Pumpkin, Carrot, every Holiday,etc. They had a lot of festivals) and prom. He first said he loved her during the Carrot Festival and they had made love in an old barn far away from everyone else.
Everyone thought Mark was what she needed but no one asked her what she wanted. Judy didn't want to be married to a farmer, she didn't want to be a wife and mother immediately after high school like many of the other doe's there, not that there was anything wrong with that. She still dreamed of being an officer., of moving away and doing her own thing. She broke up with him right before high school had ended, one month after prom. She had applied to the police academy secretly and because of her high academic and fitness marks, had gotten in. He had been heartbroken but Judy said he deserved someone who loved him as much as he loved her. They would be friends but anything more wasn't fair for either of them, for him to have an unhappy wife and her to have an unhappy life.
She had bounced back quickly and though her parents were shocked about the breakup and actually applying to the academy they eventually and begrudgingly came around to understanding that this was what she wanted. What she wanted was the opportunity to be the first bunny cop and she did that. She wanted to find the good in everything and she tried to do that.
Judy was almost always ready.
But she wasn't ready to fall in love with a fox, much less a fox who was her best friend and partner. And she certainly wasn't ready to fall into the biggest plot of mayhem and murder Zootopia had ever seen after Bellwether. Judy and Nick were a good team but a good team can only do so much when a whole city is run by the ungodly and corrupt.
A/N: This is the first fic I've done in years. I used to be a very active writer under a different name on this site years ago. Please excuse me if I made any mistakes or faux-pas, it's been a long time since I've written for an audience. Hopefully I haven't bastardized the characters to much, I really enjoyed Zootopia and I really enjoy a darker sense instead of the G ratings we get in movies. I just want to forwarn now that this might get pretty dark. I have a good sense of where I want to go with the plot so I don't want to drag it out or make it too short and ruin it. Hopefully I can make the fandom happy and get back into writing. Thanks in advance :)