I DO NOT OWN ANY OF ZOOTOPIA CHARACTERS; I MADE THIS WORK ONLY TO ENTERTAIN AND NOT TO PROFIT.

Hi there! Here I come, with the second chapter of this series, I've seen the first chapter has been slightly well received, so I thought uploading the next might increase the number of readers (though, maybe I am wrong).

I have no much to say, so you'd better start reading right now and tell me your opinion later.

Enjoy the reading!

Link to the cover image: art/Zootopia-El-regalo-600466540

Link to the original work: s/11850299/1/Someone-to-lean-on


SOMEONE TO LEAN ON

WRITTEN BY: Nefertari Queen

TRANSLATED BY: JuanLMejiaG

COVER IMAGE BY: Angelus19


CHAPTER 2: The cup of coffee

—"Officer Hoops, what's your opinion about the Tigerwild case?"

—"Officer Wilde, how do you feel for arresting the murderer Tigerwild?"

—"Officer Hoops, do you think the youngster Tigerwild's actions are justified?"

—"Officer Wilde, what's your opinion about the marital reform?"

—"Officer Hoops, do you regard yourself as homophobic?"

—"Officer Wilde, do you support the Tigerwild family?"

Officer, officer, officer, officer…

Questions, lights, photos, microphones, cameras all around… Everything turned into a sea of confusion; Judy and Nick were barely able to utter a few words. Fortunately, their coworkers repelled the crowd of reporters, and escorted the couple far away from the ruckus, although the cameras and the harassing questions followed them a bit longer.

Nick turned the corner at the parking zone and slid away among the cruisers; Judy kept walking and scurried by the avenue leading her home. No matter how much she wanted to talk to Nick about those strange words of his, they had to scatter if they wanted to avoid those nosing reporters and their annoying interrogations. Judy headed a sigh and decided to go to her favorite restaurant rather than her apartment, since it was probably crowded with paparazzi waiting for her.

—"We've got long days ahead of them"— She thought, since the media were not going to let neither Judy nor Nick alone until they got answers from them.

Nick, on his own, taking advantage of the confusion, walked as far away from the center of the city as possible, avoiding any undesirable meeting. He knew he could not escape eternally, but he urgently needed some minutes to meditate, to be alone, to think of why on the earth he said such an unchecked words.

They were not lies. He had spent the last three months being aware of his love to her, and hence, in a constant attempting to hide it, how did he fall in love with her? Nick had no clear answer to that question. Nick meditated about it sometimes, but his reasoning led him always to the same dead end.

Nick remembered when and how he met Judy, then, he was a con artist running from law, and she was the embodiment of justice, the perfect police who lives only to encourage rules. An utterly unlike duo. However, as they worked together on the case that put Bellwether behind bars, they built a stable and deep friendship.

Nick lived many years distrusting everyone, but it was relatively easy for him to trust Judy. She was the purest animal he ever met, she was unable to deceive, she didn't even knew lying, it was almost impossible not to trust her. When he realized it, that cute bunny turned into his best friend, perhaps, his only friend.

As he spent more time with her, his feelings grew stronger. He didn't plan it to fall in love with her, but he didn't regret it. If there was someone in Zootopia who deserved the eternal love of that distrustful fox, it was Judy, the only one who understood him and who he would lay his life down for, if necessary. Nick admired that bunny who fought so hard for her dreams and, in the process, changed his life, guiding him to a new path, one he could be proud of.

Yes, he was in love with Judy Hoops, he barely realized it three months ago, when the little bunny h had a date with an elegant hare from the center of city. His blood boiled with anger for no good reason, and he felt extremely happy when they decided to break up. It was not necessary to be an expert to recognize the jealousy, and it was easy to link jealousy with love. From that day on, he tried his best to behave as natural as always, pretending to feel anything but the companionship they were used to.

During his sleepless nights thinking of Judy, Nick never considered declaring his feelings, for many reasons, but three of them were the most important ones. First, he didn't regard himself as deserving of Judy, she was too valuable, full of virtues and dreams, she deserved someone she could admire, someone she could see her future in, not a cheater fox who simply had good luck. Second, he didn't want to risk their friendship, which was the only good thing in his life, and which kept him close her, he would never throw that chance of being with her away, even if she didn't love him the way he wanted, just being at her side was enough for him. Finally, interspecific relationships were looked down upon; he didn't feel ashamed for being in love with a bunny, but Judy shouldn't be exposed to backlash.

Then, how on the earth did he dare to screw all up some minutes ago?

He was not as insensitive as he pretended to be, of course he felt offended and prejudiced by all about the marital reform. On his most optimistic moments, he even considered trying to get closer Judy if the reform was approved, when he had nothing to lose, but he never was an expressive fox, and despite it was a bit easier to be expressive with Judy, he didn't want to expose himself to blow it, like he had just done.

In three years of friendship, Nick and Judy built strong bonds of companionship; the fox was aware that his partner knew him very well, and hence, it was going to be difficult to get away of that mess he did. The most he thought of it, the most it seemed to be getting more complex, he didn't say explicitly "I love you", but he implied it, and Judy knew him enough to recognize those weren't words said randomly.

Nick was so distracted that he didn't realize where his paws brought him, when he did, it was getting dark. He was in an alleyway near the Tundratown limits; it was a dangerous and lonely part of Zootopia he knew perfectly. He sighed melancholically, took off his police badge and saved it into his pocket, just to be safer, kept walking and turned the next corner to the right; it was then when he found an old and familiar truck.

—"What the heck are you doing here, Wilde?"— Nick's smile widened when he recognized that heavy and intimidating voice—"Go away, before I get angry at you!"

—"Finnick, my old friend"— He greeted with a joyful yet sarcastic tone—"Long time no see, don't you miss your lovely father?"

—"Don't you dare to say that again if you want to save your stupid tongue!"—The short fox yelled at Nick, pointing him with an iron bate—"You know I can beat you up, fox"

—"Cool down, Finnick, I'm not here to cause problems"— He crossed his arms, acting a bit sterner—"I was passing by, and I just wanted to see if you're still alive, that's all"

—"Ha, I never trusted you, Nick, but you amazed me when you became into a cop. If you've come here to arrest me, I'll remind you I've got a lot of information you don't…"

—"Cut it off, you stubborn! That's not what I came here for. Look, I'm not wearing my badge"—He said, pointing at his chest—"And you're right, I would never try to arrest you, you know too much about my movements, so calm down"

—"Then, what are you doing here? Go away!"

—"I just came to greet an old friend, but since my presence seems to be such an annoyance to you, I'd better leave…"

—"Yeah, you better! But wait, I want to know something!"

Nick slightly turned his head, and looked sideways at the tiny animal.

—"What?"— He said, since his former hustle partner said no word.

—"That case you solved, the one about that tiger, I don't remember his name"

Nick's body went tense; he didn't like the course of that conversation.

—"What about him?"

—"I know him, you know I'm not good remembering names, but I do remember faces, and that guy used to come here, he was one the customers of the hyenas"

—"The hyenas?"—Nick turned around, stared at Finnick, and desperately sought any sign of being joking in his face, but he didn't find it—"The Mark's hyenas?"

—"Yeah, and if I'm telling you this, is because I don't want to have any problem, when the police officers get to this place, I expect not to get involved, right?"—Finnick said; Nick understood his old friend wanted to stay away from the Mark's hyenas.

—"If something happens, I'll warn you, you still have the same phone number, right?"—Finnick nodded—"Good, so tell me, you said he was a customer of the hyenas, are you sure?"

—"Yes, but he didn't buy often, one or two times a month, but I remember I saw him scurrying along"

Nick appraised the information; the hyenas were drug dealers who all sorts of hallucinogenic substances, if the wretched of Michael Tigerwild was drugged up when he killed his sister and her boyfriend, it would be a great twist on the case.

—"Do you know what sort of "treats" he used to buy?"—Nick asked.

—"Of course not, you jerk; you know well that it's better to stay away from the hyenas' customers. I am telling you this in order to warn you, Nick, if you keep nosing into this, you might get in severe problems."

—"would you happen to worry about me, old friend?"

—"I just want protection, and you know it, if you didn't come here, I wouldn't have sought you to tell you"

—"I get it"

Finnick looked at his former partner, and noticed something different in him. He radiated a sensation of confidence and pride, as if he felt satisfied with himself and what he, did for the first time. Finnick had never felt that way, and he knew he would never; he had resigned to his life as a hustler long time ago, and at that point in time, he was not going to exchange all his years of vices just for a good reputation amongst the citizens. If Nick changed everything he was in order to become into the first fox cop, it was just because of that bold bunny who literally pushed him to walk her own path, and for any reason, the sly of Nicholas P. Wilde fell into her trap. While he would never accept it, Finnick felt somehow happy that his companion had found a better life style and a trustworthy partner.

—"I won't annoy you anymore, so I'd better go away before some undesirable people come"— Nick winked at Finnick in that irritating way he had not seen for years, he turned around and walked away—"Take care, old friend"

—"Take care"—Finnick replied, then locked himself into his truck and tried to forget the fox with whom he had just spoken.

Judy was right at affirming he would be a sly cop. Nick knew that it was a suicide to try to continue the investigation wearing his police uniform at that hour of night and in a place like that, but he did can go to check the Tigerwild twins rented in order to search for any trace of drugs. He had to talk to his partner about that the next day.

Nick went back to his apartment ready to make up his plans for the next day. First, he would follow the trail his old friend Finnick revealed to him, hoping to find something to subside the polemic the Tigerwild case aroused. Second, he would not to let those words he said to Hoops change things between them. He couldn't pretend he didn't said them, but he did can mask himself and act as if those words weren't important at all. Why would he let things get out of control? If Judy asked something, he would simply lie and say he got upset and babbled nothing but nonsenses.

Knowing Judy, he knew that explanation wouldn't be enough to her, but she would have to resign, since he wasn't going to explain anything else. He didn't want to complicate things, he didn't want her to know his feelings, exposing him to rejection. He had to feign, like he had been doing since three months ago, he loved Judy just as a friend.

It should be easy, he was a fox after all, and lying was in his DNA, wasn't it?


Judy arrived to the small apartment she rented the first time she ever moved to Zootopia. While now she had a much bigger apartment, she did not get rid of that one because it reminded her how low she started and how high she reached by her efforts and merits. She laid down on the small bed, thinking of Nick's words and feeling confused for them.

Her loud neighbors were listening heavy music at full volume, impeding her to think clearly. She felt somehow thankful for that, because she didn't want to jump to conclusions. She had been friends with Nick for too much time to let their friendship end for a misunderstanding. She stared at the ceiling, as she recalled all the changes her life had made, and thought of how proud she felt for fulfilling her dreams.

Sometimes she thought of giving back the apartment key, Nick told her that she could buy a car with the money she spent on it, but she wasn't interested in that. Beside from reminding her origins, that place gave her a sensation of safety. Judy was proud of herself, but she still was a country bunny who felt stressed by the accelerated life of city, and that cornered apartment reminded her the burrows she was raised in. It might be childish and ridiculous, but that chamber was all remaining of that naïve Judy who arrived to Zootopia full of utopian thoughts and dreams to fulfill. She had changed, to better, but that change somehow scared her, and once in a while, she liked to go back to the past, to her former being.

That was why she came here, unwilling to recall Nick's words and expressions, acting as if it didn't happen and wanting to go back to that time when foxes were away from her life. Perhaps, she was just thinking too much, but when Nick said those words, her heart flinched, arousing a pleasant warm, a feeling she never felt before, so unknown yet so fulfilling. What was it? Why did it make her feel so nervous?

—"What's wrong with me?"— She whispered.

—"We don't care!"— One of her loud neighbors shouted, causing her to laugh.

—"Shut up! Don't you realize she's not been here for a long time? I do care, tell me!"— The other gazelle replied, causing Judy to laugh even more.

—"Gossiper!"

—"Insensitive!"

—"Good night!"— She shouted to end it up.

The neighbors kept talking a bit longer, but Judy didn't listen them. She snuggled, ready to sleep, it was too late, so she decided to spend the night there. She yawned as added an alarm in order to get to her job place in time, and hopefully, she could clear things with her partner. She picked up her cell phone, a little sad, Nick didn't send her a good night message as usual; that missing message was her last thought before falling asleep.


The next morning, Judy was of low mood, but ready to have a good day; she wasn't going to let her thoughts shut her down. She arrived early at the police station, as usual, and walked to the cafeteria to start the day with a cup of coffee and a doughnut. She was pleasantly amazed when she glimpsed Nick standing in front of the coffee machine.

—"Two days in time, that's a new record!"—She cheered—"Are you keeping on this from today onwards?"

—"What makes miracles so special, Carrots, is the fact they don't come around often"—Nick sipped his coffee, but he didn't turn to look at her—"It's yours"—He pointed at the machine and walked away.

Shocked, Judy started to prepare the coffee, with the recipe she liked so much: Three spoonful of sugar, one of cream, and two sugar little bags. She stirred the mix as she recalled that, during their three years as partners, Nick used to prepare a cup of coffee for her before they headed out to their missions, no day he did not.

Judy walked to the meeting room where they were supposed to wait for the chief, Nick was sitting on the edge of the chair they shared; there were just two officers beside them since it was yet too early. He displayed that relaxed and a bit sleepy expression he always had at that hour of day, but she knew something was going wrong.

—"Everything well?"—She asked as sat down beside him.

—"Yeah"—Nick said as covered his mouth and yawned—"Ignoring the fact I'm working at this time of day, everything perfect"

—"You seem a bit weird"

—"Why?"

—"I don't know, since you said those words yesterday… you've been different"

—"I think you're exaggerating, Carrots"—He said as shrugged—"You were very upset yesterday, are you better?"

—"Yes… Well… No, I was just wondering…"—Judy found the courage, and asked him what she had been thinking since the last day—"What did you mean yesterday?"

—"What did I mean?"—Nick raised one single eyebrow.

—"You know what I'm talking about, that you told me yesterday, before leaving"

—"I simply told you my opinion about the reform"—He said as slurped his coffee—"I know I got upset, but you drove me mad, sorry if I startled you or something else"

—"You know you didn't, I just…"

—"What?"

Judy glared at him; Nick looked the same he always did, as if what he said meant nothing. Judy felt stupid for spending the last afternoon and part of the night appraising those words that, for some reason, meant so much to her; but, Why? They were a mere opinion, just like Nick said.

—"Nothing"—She said in a cool tone, and Nick said no word. That moment of silence lasted a bit longer until chief Bogo arrived and started assigning missions. There was nothing in particular that day, so they were sent to patrol the streets.

They were in the cruiser, and said nothing, until Nick finally broke the silence.

—"I found out something interesting about our dear Michael Tigerwild, by the way"

—"Really!?"—Judy flinched, and turned to him.

—"It seems like that guy drugged himself"

—"Where did you get that from?"

—"You know, I've got contacts"—He said, putting his arms behind his head.

Judy's ears lowered, whenever Nick said that she recalled her partner's criminal history, and she loathed to find out that he remained in contact with his former outlaw companions, though in a lower degree.

—"Are you sure?"

—"Absolutely, but we have no evidences"—Nick said shrugging again.

—"Well, we never had problems with finding them"—Judy attempted to sound relaxed, to lighten the atmosphere. She misunderstood him, and that was not Nick's fault. She had the rest of the afternoon to figure out why she reacted like that, why did she feel wounded just because Nick didn't give importance to that conversation they had? She had no idea, but that question could wait.

Nick, on the other hand, sighed relieved that Judy decided to forget the issue. He did not want to expose himself again, so he decided to slightly distance himself emotionally from the little bunny, leaving some insignificant habits like preparing a cup of coffee to her in the morning, and sending her messages in the night. It was not that he didn't love her, he adored her, but he wasn't masochistic and he didn't want to have fake hopes, he had to force himself to see Judy as another friend, to avoid another screw up that might risk his fragile emotional health.

That noon, they started with the investigation with their new clues; none of them mentioned the incident and attempted to behave as normally as possible, but it was a tiring day for both of them, something was changing no matter how much they denied it.


Three days later, it was Friday, weekend was coming up, and the couple of cops would have time to rest their tired minds after that agitated week. On Thursday, they gave Bogo the report that confirmed that Michael Tigerwild got high, which was a great twist in the case; after all, the situation was quite different now they knew the murderer was a drug addicted, since he could have committed the crime not because of excessive homophobia, but because of the effects of hallucinogenic substances.

The media kept pestering Nick and Judy, but none of them declared anything yet. Judy didn't want to give wrong information, like when she hurt Nick during her press conference three years ago; she was aware that she had to answer sooner or later, but she wanted to wait until having something coherent and justified to reveal.

Judy sat down at the meeting room, with a cup of hot coffee in her hands, meditating. Nick no longer prepared her favorite coffee in the morning, or sending messages to her in the night; and while it were unimportant details, it hurt her to notice them. She looked down at her cup; it was yellow, with a big smiling carrot on it. It was a gift from Nick; he gave it to her on her first birthday they spent together, despite it was a bit childish, Judy adored that cup and used it from that day onwards. It made her day to see Nick shoving the yellow cup toward her, with his flirtatious smile of sly fox.

She turned to look at Nick, who was sitting beside her, absorbed by some thought, sipping his coffee. Those mornings of joy were over. At least, Nick still sent messages to her occasionally, but Judy felt as if Nick were distancing more and more every day. Perhaps, it was just her, exaggerating things again, so she didn't commented about it, though she felt sad when she thought of it.

Chief Bogo sent them to patrol the center of the city, they caught two thieves that day, but they still could not feel happy. In the afternoon, when they were writing the reports about the robbery, Judy tried something.

—"May you prepare coffee to me?"— She asked when saw Nick walking to the cafeteria.

—"Sure"—He grabbed the yellow cup and went away; he came back five minutes later with two full cups.

Judy drank gladly—"at least I can still ask him for favors"—She thought; that sounded stupid and she knew it, but she desperately needed a sign to indicate her that things were fine between them.

—"Hey, do you have any plan for tomorrow? I have nothing to do, but I would like you to come with me to that new restaurant in the rain forest district"

—"I would love it, Carrots, but I do have plans"—When Nick noticed that Judy's ears lowered to her back, he added—"My sister's coming to visit me"

Judy nodded, that was certainly important.

—"greet her for me"—She said.

—"Sure, Carrots"

In other circumstances, she would have said they could hang out any other day, but she didn't. She told herself she was exaggerating, but she couldn't help but feel turned down and wounded. Finally, it was time to go back home, Judy said good-bye to Nick hastily and ran out to her apartment.

He saw her running away as he felt his heart shriveling; he felt terrible with himself, because he lied her for the first time in years. He actually was not going to meet his sister; he just didn't want to hang out with Judy, he didn't want to expose himself anymore, he didn't want to cause more uncomfortable situations. However, the guilt for lying her was just awful, Judy had always been sincere with him, she didn't deserve it; but what should he do then?

As Nick shuffled to his own apartment, he realized that, for the first time in years, he felt completely dejected.

TO BE CONTINUED