Hello again! I'm so glad to hear that people enjoyed the last chapter. There were a couple typos (sorry about that), and I realized that in my transfer of the document from Word to the site, it for some reason deleted the BunnyBurrow Bank email. Which was irritating, but oh well. It was supposed to be bunnyburrowbankandtrust animail . com, in case you're curious.
And to reply to a comment that HawkTooth made in his/her review (which was to name a specific species that I would need a name for), I don't want to name any specific species because I don't want to give anything away. D: Which kind of contradicts my request I made in the previous chapter, I know. BUT what I really meant was that if you had a certain name that you just randomly thought up, or like, or whatever, you can tell me if you want. Doesn't matter what species… I'll probably end up using them at some point, or using them as inspiration for another name that better fits the story. Or I'll just use normal names if all else fails, lol. :):):):)
I also don't get word caps. Like, do people get bored if the chapter is too long? I've always loved long chapters, as long as the content is relevant; there's more to enjoy. My last chapter was 10k, but I personally felt like it still moved pretty fast.
I just realized I have some really long author comments… I apologize.
Sorry in advance for any typos. Enjoy, my lovelies.
… … … … … … …
Chapter Two: Chocolate or Something
Nick called Judy on his way home from work. He had just stepped off the bus and into the cold, sparse rain at the time, his hoodie zipped up as far as it could go and his hood shrugged low over his ears. He must have looked really shady- any mammal he passed quietly inched to the farthest side of the sidewalk, sending him cautious glances and holding tight to their purses or bags. Nick just ignored them; he had more pressing matters on his mind.
Nick had, for a large portion of the day, been trying to think of the best way to approach Judy with his concern. His first thought was that he would go up to Judy and demand answers, but quickly decided otherwise; if Judy was emotionally fragile, he didn't want to add any pressure on her. His second thought was to ease it out of her gently; he decided not to do that either, since they were at work and he knew Judy would rather do her job and would probably refuse to assess any personal matters at the time. His third thought was to go to her apartment after work with a carrot-covered pizza to talk about it, but once again decided not to for the simple fact that she looked exhausted and if he showed up, she would insist on staying up and hanging out with him instead of getting sleep like she should.
Which left him with the fourth and final option of a phone call.
Judy had a callback tone, an unsurprisingly peppy Gazelle song about being yourself or some other equally optimistic and inspiring message. Nick was okay Gazelle's music, but he didn't prefer it; he was more of an Kenny Doggins, Elkton John guy. On top of that, Judy was on his most-called list, so he had grown quite weary of this particular song- he didn't bother to hold back a groan as he tried to ignore the over-enthusiastic pop tune and attempted to focus instead on the short but sloshy walk back to his apartment.
Finally, the song stopped mid-note and there were the muffled noises of a tiny paw bringing a phone to a bunny ear. "Hello?"
She usually answered the phone with a chipper "Hi, Nick!" or a sing-song "Heyyyy!"; with this particular greeting, her voice was forced to sound passive and content. Nothing really gave her away, but Nick could just tell. He had been around her enough.
Nick went straight to the point. "Carrots, what's wrong?"
A clear of the throat. "Wh…What do you mean?"
Nick passed under a streetlamp; the rain glistened in the dim light, and a few drops that had landed on the end of his nose shone. He blinked, and wiped them away with a finger. "I mean, what's the matter with you?"
"There's nothing the matter with me."
"I'm not stupid, Fluff, you've been acting weird all day."
She gave a tiny, oh-so-familiar huff that Nick may or may not have thought was endearing. "No, I haven't, Nick. I just didn't get much sleep."
Nick rolled his eyes, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "You're lying. You bad little bunny." He tutted teasingly, hoping it would incite a giggle from her. "You know, even if I didn't already know that something was wrong, I would still figure out you're not telling the truth because you're an absolutely horrendous liar. Your nose is twitching, isn't it?"
There wasn't a giggle, to Nick's disappointment, only a sniff. "I-I'm not lying." No denial of nose twitches, Nick noted.
"So you weren't looking up waitressing jobs today at work?"
There was a pause, and Nick cocked an eyebrow. He stuck his paw into his jacket pocket and took hold of his keys, his apartment coming into view just down the street.
There was a sigh. "I thought Howlton would tell Bogo, not you."
"Well, he didn't. He told me," Nick said. "Quite the tattletale, isn't he?"
"I'm sure he was just doing it because he was concerned about me." This was said with a slight hitch in her voice. She chuckled; it was light, but not quite a giggle. "I kinda wish the Captain was a little less considerate."
"For once, I'm glad that Cap is so observant," Nick snickered in reply. "So are you gonna tell me what's wrong, or are you gonna make me guess?"
"You just don't like the fact that Captain Howlton is observant because, besides Chief Bogo, he's the only one who catches you on EweTube while you're on the clock."
She was right. "That's beside the point, Fluff. You're beating around the bush. Besides, I wasn't the one looking up waitressing jobs on the clock." He scoffed, crossing the street and avoiding the puddles that laced the road; he could see quiet reflections of himself in them, wisps of the red of his fur and the blue of his jacket. "I mean, you, a waitress? Pfft!" The thought of Judy trying to serve a pair of picky elephants greatly amused him.
"For your information, I have had my fair share of restaurant work—I was a great waitress."
"Yeah, okay, that's all fine and good, but that doesn't tell me why you're thinking about being a waitress now." He paused at the bottom of the rusted iron stairs that led up to his apartment, one paw rested on the wet and cold pawrail. The freezing rain was starting to seep through Nick's jacket; he could feel his fur begin to dampen. He blinked rapidly in an attempt to shake some droplets from his eyelashes.
"What's wrong with being a waitress?" she insisted, giving that cute huff again.
"Carrots, you love being a cop. You want to dedicate your whole life to it. Why would you distract yourself from nabbing bad guys and 'making Zootopia a better place' with another job unless you really needed it?"
There was silence for a moment. Nick knew she was contemplating his question, and trying to conjure a reply; he waited at the bottom of the stairwell made of chipped black paint and dented metal bars, eager for her to say something that would tell him that she was okay.
There was a small chuckle, and a sigh. "Nicholas Wilde, worried about me? What an honor."
That was not the something he wanted.
"Think of it as my end of the bargain, instead," he immediately said in return, always ready with a comment. He chewed on his upper lip. "My worry in exchange for the truth about what's going on with you."
Another much heavier sigh. "Nick, I'm sorry, I can't tell you quite yet."
"Yes you can, you're just being the ever-so-stubborn Miss Judy Hopps and don't want to."
She gave a long, exaggerated groan that made Nick roll his eyes. "Niiiick, don't say that! You're making me feel like I'm betraying you or something."
"To be honest, it does feel a little bit like that, Carrots."
Nick knew that he hit home when he said that. He probably (definitely) shouldn't have said it, because he knew the first thing she would think of was the press conference during the Nighthowler case and how she had… well, betrayed him; but it was the truth, and Nicholas P. Wilde was a blunt fox. He said it how it was, and Nick was hurt that Judy felt like she couldn't talk to him—especially after she worked extremely hard to get him to hack down his own emotional walls.
"I…" she began, "I'm not trying to betray you, Nick. What I'm stressed out with does not concern you."
"But Carrots, I'm your best frie—"
"Well maybe this is one thing I just need to keep to myself right now." Her voice was harsh, stony; it was colder than the rain that snaked down Nick's snout. "Maybe, as my best friend, you could understand that."
Another truth was that Nick did understand. There were still parts of him he had not yet exposed to Judy—but, on the flipside, these parts were not affecting his ability to function in everyday life like Judy's apparently were.
None of that meant that her statement didn't sting at least a little.
Nick stopped in front of his door. It was black, spattered with rain like everything else was. Someone was playing Frank Swinatra music down the hall; he tried not to listen to it.
Part of him felt that he had to be kind, ease the truth out of her…but he was way too blunt for that. "Carrots, don't bottle it up."
"I'm not bottling up anything."
"Lies! Horrendous, nasty bunny lies!" he proclaimed, desperate to push some humor back into their talk. "Lies that smell of carrots and caramel coffee and fruity perfume and a ridiculous amount of plushies and the extra-spicy curry you like so much, oh, the stinky bunny lies—"
"Okay! Okay, I get it," Judy insisted, and sighed. "I just…" A ringing note of hesitation.
Nick twirled his key ring around his finger. "Carrots, from someone who has bottled up feelings since he was twelve, let me tell you that it's not a good idea. You even went through a bunch of crap just to show me it wasn't a good idea."
"I know, I know. I'm a hypocrite, aren't I?"
"Maybe, but at least you can handle that curry. You have taste buds that can withstand the wrath of the gods. That's something to be proud of, Carrots," Nick snickered. "And you have that good-smelling fruity perfume, too, but I don't imagine you would like the taste of that like you do the curry."
She snickered. "I don't wear perfume, dumb fox. It's my soap."
"Soap, whatever. Something that smells like strawberries."
"It's actually supposed to be floral-scented; freesia, I think."
Nick was officially too cold to stand outside any longer. He had his usual struggle with unlocking the deadbolt, having to press hard with his hip near the lock so it would click open; he held his phone with his shoulder as he (what he liked to say) booty-bumped the frame. "Freesia, strawberries. To-may-to, to-mah-to."
"Nick, freesia and strawberries don't even sound remotely the same."
"Yes, they do—you just gotta believe." Nick swung open his door. "All you need is faith, trust, and sandwich crusts."
"Pixie dust, Nick."
"I'm telling you, Fluff! To-may-to, to-mah-to!" The LED lights flickered as he flipped the switch in his quite expansive but run-down studio apartment; it sounded like his upstairs neighbor was vacuuming. "And, crust and dust do sound similar. I like my quote better than the flying fawn in that one movie, anyway."
"Peter Pan would be ashamed- but whatever makes you sleep at night, sweetheart."
That nickname surprised him. He used it for her a lot, but not the other way around; maybe this signified that she was feeling better? He hoped so. All these stupid cracks he was making were attempts to do just that; he could feel the IQ level of the whole block lowering with each joke.
But, if it made Judy happy, it made him happy. To Nick, that was worth being stupid over.
Nick smiled, clicked the phone on speaker, and set it on his crowded coffee table as he shrugged off his damp jacket. "So, Carrots, all kidding aside… Are you gonna at least hint at what's going on? I think I deserve to know."
"I think you do too," Judy agreed; her voice echoed through the room. Without the background noise of the city outside, Nick could better hear what was going on at Judy's end. It sounded like her noisy neighbors were having quite a heated argument—he wasn't sure what it was about, only that it was ending with a bunch of shut ups and no, you shut ups.
"Lucky and Donk don't seem to think so," Nick chuckled, plopping down into his worn suede sofa and picking up a stray box of crackers he had left on the armrest. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, his phone only inches away and glowing with his contact picture of Judy—she had been squinting at the flash of his camera, which resulted in a very funny expression on her face.
"Their names are Bucky and Pronk, and I'm pretty sure they're arguing about something else entirely," she replied. "But that's not the point."
"You're right, Fluff, it's not. Get to it." He tossed a cracker in his mouth, and grimaced; stale.
Judy sighed, the sound light and quiet in the vast space. Bucky and Pronk had quieted down- at least, for the moment.
"Nick," she began, "I honestly don't know what exactly is going on right now. I don't want to say anything until I know exactly what is happening and what I need to do, so…"
He raised his eyebrows, focusing his vision from a second cracker pinned between his claws to the dorky contact picture of Judy. "So…?"
"So, let me just… I'll tell you, I swear. Just let me assess it first, okay?"
Nick rolled this request around in his mouth, trying to get a taste for it. He could respect what she asked of him, certainly; that didn't mean he liked it. He hated being kept in the dark—but, he also had to acknowledge the fact that Judy was a mammal like everyone else. She had a right to privacy.
"Fine," Nick finally decided, his mouth bitter with uneasiness and stale cracker. "But you have to promise me something, Fluff."
"Yeah, of course, Nick. What is it?"
Nick couldn't help but smile her immediate consent. "Promise that one—you'll get sleep. Whatever problem you have won't get fixed by lack of sleep. I don't need you only running on three cups of coffee all the time, that's wayyyy too much caffeine for a bunny. It can't be healthy."
She chuckled lightheartedly; it made a smile tug at the corner of Nick's lips. "Fair enough. I can do that."
"Secondly…" he continued, "…you absolutely cannot let it control you. You have not been yourself today." He was waving his pointer finger at the phone, as if it was Judy instead of an inanimate electronic device. "Assess the problem, do what you gotta do, but don't stress out twenty-four-seven. That won't fix it either."
"I… I'll try my best. You know me, though, I worry about everything."
"I do know that, which is why you have me," Nick replied with a chuckle, dropping his cracker back into the box.
"Unfortunately." She giggled.
Nick couldn't help but grin at her laughter, which he had been trying to squeeze out of her for about eighty percent of the phone call. There we go, that's my girl. "You know you love me, dumb bunny."
"Do I know that?" Nick could practically feel her smirk through the phone.
He smirked back, already knowing the remainder of her reply. "Get some sleep, Carrots. Don't forget the coffee and cinnamon rolls."
"I won't."
… … … … …
On Wednesday, September 3rd, 2016, Benjamin Nate Clawhauser was ninety percent sure he had a heart attack.
It wasn't, like one would assume, from his bad eating habits. Oh, no no no. It was a shock-induced heart attack- this shock came all at once and didn't go away for quite a while. It happened about twenty minutes after roll call in the Bullpen, when everyone was just about to leave to attend to their assigned duties; Clawhauser was happily munching away on the cinnamon rolls Judy brought that morning.
His heart attack came in the form of a tall, slender, beautiful mammal—blonde, soft-spoken, and accompanied by two intimidatingly tall lion guards. The citizens walking in the ZPD were whispering to each other, taking curious glances at the mammal and sneaking pictures with their phones; they didn't approach the visitor, however, because her guards shot them all warning glares that ensured they would regret it if they walked up to her without permission. Clawhauser didn't realize she was there until he looked up from his breakfast treat, and was halted mid-chew.
"Hello, friend. Is it possible that I can book an appointment with the Chief of Police?"
A pain in his chest! He couldn't breathe! Was he dying?! He didn't know, he couldn't tell. He wondered if you got paralyzed when you had a heart attack, because he couldn't move, he couldn't blink. Was he even conscious? Was this a dream?! Part of him hoped so, because he was sure he looked like an absolute fool.
Gazelle cocked a perfect eyebrow, and a perfect smile grew on her perfect face. "I hope I didn't startle you."
The only sound that came out of Clawhauser's gaping mouth was an inaudible gargle.
Gazelle's smile started to shrink, and Clawhauser went into panic mode. "Ah… er… reason for appointment?" he managed to whisper, still immobile.
Gazelle giggled gently; her laugh was like bells, soft beautiful bells. "Well, in truth, I do not wish to talk to Chief Bogo—I want to talk with the officer who saved Zootopia."
What an absolutely perfect specimen. "I… um…"
"I hope that's okay. I know you all must be very busy."
"No, no!" Clawhauser insisted. Please don't leave! "Oh, dear, I'm… sorry. I… uh…" he paused, and the squeaky voice that rose to his mouth could no longer be held back. "I absolutely love your music, Gazelle!"
She blinked rapidly, obviously surprised by this outburst; only for a second, however. Her eyes began to glimmer with amusement. "Why, thank—"
"You are so amazing! I'm, like, your biggest fan. Well, not litera—okay, maybe I literally am your biggest fan, as in fattest, but I'm also one of your biggest fans as in—"
"Clawhauser," she interrupted, her voice soft but firm. "Is that your first name?"
He nearly fainted. She knows my name?! He forgot, momentarily, that he had a name plate sitting in front of him on the desk. "N-No, it's Benjamin…"
"Benjamin… how lovely." She cocked her head angelically, and placed one hoof to her chest in genuine modesty. "I am honored to have my work appreciated by you, Benjamin Clawhauser. And," she said, picking up a pen from the desk and gesturing with it, "you shouldn't be nervous. I'm a mammal just like you are."
"No, you are an angel with horns! An immaculate mammal with a gorgeous voice, and a perfect personality to top it all off! To say anything different would be an atrocity." He gave a small gasp, realizing what he just said. "Not that… not that what you said was an atrocity, of course not. An animal as kind as you would never be anything but humble…"
She giggled, obviously amused but flattered. "Thank you, Benjamin. Do you have something you would like me to sign?" She gestured again with her pen.
It took a moment for Clawhauser to understand what she meant. Once he figured it out, he began to scramble furiously, shoving his box of cinnamon rolls to the side and digging in the desk drawer with great haste. "Oh, yes, yes! …Crackers, where did that… oh, here it is!" He pulled out a cut-out from a magazine, which pictured the brightly-colored cover of Gazelle's latest album.
As she scribbled deftly on the page, Clawhauser had to remind himself to breath. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, this is actually happening, pinch me, oh my god Gazelle herself is standing right in front of me this is the greatest day of my life—
Gazelle slid back the page, and gave another gentle smile. "Is Chief Bogo too busy today? I only want a few minutes of his time."
Clawhauser couldn't help the grin that rose to his face. The Chief is going to love this—this'll top all the other presents I snuck in his office! "Oh, no, Gazelle, he isn't too busy. Fortunately, the officers you're looking for are still here, as well."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Officers? I thought there was only one, the brave little rabbit."
Clawhauser was afraid to touch the magazine page; he would frame it in a really nice frame, take great care of it and keep it forever. "One of the mammals who helped with the case wasn't put in the papers because he wasn't an officer at the time, but he became one later—he's a great guy, really funny, you'd like him I think."
"What a shame. If he helped, he deserved recognition; he will certainly receive my appreciation."
Clawhauser felt his chest puff up. "Well, you know, I was kind of the communications guy for them… I helped Officer Hopps with the case file and such." He was kind of stretching the taffy, but his claims were pretty much true. Sort of.
Gazelle grinned, and dipped her head towards him. "Then you have my utmost gratitude, Officer Benjamin Clawhauser."
How amazing she was, so considerate of others. Clawhauser sighed dreamily, thinking: I've died… I've died, and gone to heaven. "I, uh, can get you in right now, if you'd like. Chief Bogo is in his office. Would you like me to show you?"
Clawhauser wondered how she could look so graceful simply shaking her head. "Oh, no, that isn't necessary. Please, continue your work; I'm sure it is very important."
He thought guiltily of his cinnamon rolls. "Oh, yes, uh… important. Let me give you directions."
After Gazelle and her guards disappeared behind the elevator doors and she sent him a polite little farewell wave, Clawhauser basked in his bliss for a moment. He was the happiest cheetah alive, the happiest mammal alive, he was so so happy, he could die right now and not feel an ounce of regret…
He picked up the magazine page gently; once he read what Gazelle wrote in her lovely swirly scrawl, he thought he might cry tears of joy.
…
To my (metaphorically) biggest fan, Benjamin—
Thank you for you encouraging support—I'm so glad that my music brings you happiness!
And remember above all else: you are absolutely perfect just the way you are.
With love,
Gazelle
…
… … … … …
Nick and Judy had been assigned to office work, much to their chagrin. Judy, of course, asked if it was a punishment—Chief Bogo replied that no, it wasn't punishment, he just simply needed paperwork done.
Judy wasn't sure if that was the whole truth, but she didn't question it.
A realization fell upon her the night before, right before Nick had called her for their heart-to-heart phone conversation: if she was unable to come up with the money and the bank did start to take what she owed straight from her paycheck, she wouldn't be able to stay in Zootopia. While police work paid fairly, living in the city costed quite a bit more than it would have in BunnyBurrow. Her tiny, cramped apartment was about the best she could afford without taking money from her food and miscellaneous funds; if she had to pay six thousand dollars straight from her paycheck, she wouldn't be able to make rent. She wouldn't have a place to stay.
Which meant that moving back to BunnyBurrow again was the only other option she had.
That scared her—a lot. But she kept telling herself what Nick said.
Despite this shiny new boulder that had rolled its way onto her shoulders, Nick's talk made her feel a bit better. He was absolutely right—no amount of stress or lack of sleep was ever going to help her come up with the money. So, she decided to assess it by discussing her money issues with Bogo later that day. Maybe he could let her get extra overtime; the only other thing she would be able to do besides work would be sleep, but if it got her the money, she would be okay with that.
So, in result, Judy had gotten a fair amount of sleep the night before and was in a better mood; she could joke around with Nick normally again. She also wasn't running on only caffeine, which was a definite plus; that left her irritable. Despite that there was a relentless knot of dread eating away her insides, she was acting more like Judy. Nick knew that she wasn't okay—he was a skilled actor himself, he knew a façade when he saw it—but it put him in a better mood anyway. He looked slightly less disdained than usual at the thought of doing paperwork.
They had just sat down to their computers in Judy's cubicle when Bogo called them to his office, strangely flustered. Afterwards, Judy set her phone back on its hook and informed Nick about Bogo's order; Nick had been pensively clicking Judy's carrot recorder pen as he listened in on the conversation.
Immediately after Judy told him, Nick stopped his clicking and cocked an eyebrow. "Not a punishment, my butt. We're in trouble," he announced plainly, tossing Judy's pen onto the desk as if in forfeit; it clattered across the surface and stilled on an open file.
Judy rolled her eyes as she slipped out of her office chair. "I didn't do anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if you were in trouble."
"I wouldn't be surprised, either, to be honest."
She chuckled, quietly grabbing her pen from the desk and slipping it into her pocket. "C'mon, dumb fox. Let's go."
… … … … …
The door to Bogo's office was already cracked open when Judy and Nick arrived.
Nick had glanced Judy's direction, sending her a cocked eyebrow with a look that said, Weird. He followed it with an oh-well shrug.
Judy blinked, and looked at the door left ajar. She agreed; the open door was weird. If there was anything Bogo valued, it was his privacy—his door was always closed. If you forgot to shut it all the way on your way out of his office, Bogo would threaten parking duty and paperwork for at least two weeks. No one could ever tell if he was serious…but no one wanted to challenge his threat, either.
Judy took the initiative and went to knock softly at the door. "Chief…?" she quietly called.
"Come in, Hopps," a gruff voice answered. "Wilde there, too?"
Nick smiled coyly as he slipped past Judy and through the entryway. "Yes, sir, of course. At your beck and call," he replied; Judy followed behind him, a safe distance back from his swishing tail.
Judy first noticed the lions. They were in simple, black suits, sunglasses perched on their noses and paws clasped firmly behind their backs. They stood directly in front of one of Bogo's guest chairs, eyeing the newcomers suspiciously as they approached; Judy could not see who or what they were guarding. Bogo was sitting at his desk, spine stick-straight, trying to hide his discomfort behind a mask made of cold stares and unwavering solemnity. To anyone outside of the ZPD, they wouldn't know that Bogo had something to hide—but to our two officers, they could see right through him. Something was making him sweat.
Judy was, of course, nervous at the sight of the large felines—but she didn't let it show, Judy being Judy. Instead, she smiled courteously at them. As expected, they didn't smile back.
Judy inwardly winced. Ouch.
Nick noticed this awkwardness, flicking his half-lidded eyes from lion to bunny. "Well," he commented, turning his smirk to the Chief, "now we all know how desperate the Chief is to hold back the Nack-inator from Nick-inating; hiring some kitties to do his work. But, to his chagrin, it will not-"
"Wilde… shut it."
Nick just grinned in reply.
Judy swallowed, sending Nick a don't push him glare. "Are we in trouble, Chief? If I did anything wrong, please tell me, I'll try my best to fix it…"
Bogo rolled his eyes, probably at the combination of Nick's sarcasm and Judy's anxiety. "No, Hopps. You have…" he cleared his throat, pulling at his collar as if it choked him or it was too hot. "…a visitor."
Judy cocked an eyebrow. "A visitor?"
"Yes, a visitor," said a soft, familiar voice from behind the lions. "Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day."
A figure stood up from the guest chair; blonde and tall, with horns. Elegant, almost regal. Bogo pulled at his collar again, but this time with much more aggression.
Nick's eyes widened; Judy gasped at the unveiling of this mammal, her paws covering her mouth in shock. "Gazelle?" she squeaked. "What… why…"
Gazelle stepped through the lions, motioning her hoof and giving them a knowing stare; their shoulders relaxed a bit. She then turned to the shocked duo. "Officer Hopps," she said, gazing intently at the bunny who now had a huge grin on her face.
Gazelle giggled a bit at Judy's reaction. "And…" she glanced at the fox beside her, who had his arms crossed and his tail swishing. "Officer Wilde, I believe?"
Nick gave her a toothy smile. "The one and only, m'lady."
Another giggle. "Officer Clawhauser told me I would like you, and from what I've seen, I must confess that I am inclined to believe his claim."
"It pleases me to hear that Benji holds me in such high standards."
She nodded. "He seems like a very nice boy."
"He would probably spontaneously combust if he heard you say that, ma'am," Nick chuckled. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he already did." The whole time Nick was talking, one of Gazelle's bodyguards—a lion with a fair chunk of flesh missing from his left ear—glowered at the fox almost suspiciously. When Nick noticed, he simply jutted his chin up at the feline. "Hey, how ya doin'."
A simple grunt came from the lion, and nothing more.
Judy was sure Nick would have no problem with chatting it up with the pop star- or the lion guards, for that matter- but she was ready to get straight to the point. No time for small talk.
"What brings you here, Gazelle?" Judy interrupted, stepping forward. She immediately went into what Nick had dubbed Never Can Stopsy Flopsy Copsy mode, Judy under the assumption that if Gazelle had arrived so suddenly then there must be something wrong. "Do you need our help?"
"Oh no, not at all," she replied, shaking her head delicately. "I'm here to show you my gratitude."
Bogo shifted and sniffed precariously.
Surprise tickled the end of Judy's nose, and she blinked a couple times. She and Nick glanced at each other; he shrugged, his shoulders almost touching his jawline before they fell back to their original position. "For what?" Judy asked, setting her eyes back on the star.
"For saving my Zootopia, of course!" she exclaimed. Then she scratched her cheek awkwardly, as if in guilt. "It is a bit overdue, I admit, but with the release of my album and my tour of charity concerts over the past few months, I've hardly had any time to do anything. But, I suppose a late thank-you is better than none." She shyly brushed off the front of her baby-blue silk shirt, pressing out a small wrinkle in her sleeve distractedly.
Judy couldn't help but smile, her heart warmed. It seemed even the ever-so-confident and bold Gazelle felt insecure once in a while.
Gazelle cleared her throat. "But, I am not only here to thank you," she continued, "I'm here to give a thank-you gift."
Judy gasped. "Oh, no, you don't have to—oof!" She was interrupted by a sharp jab in her side.
"Carrots, shut up…" Nick muttered through the side of his mouth. Judy rolled her eyes at him, giving him a meaningful huff.
"No, I insist." Gazelle reached into the cinnamon-colored Preyda bag at her waist and pulled out an envelope. She turned and placed it on Bogo's desk; the buffalo eyed her with skepticism, one bushy eyebrow raised.
Poking the envelope, the star looked intently at the Chief. "Inside this is a check for eight thousand dollars for the ZPD to improve the equipment, instruction, or anything else for their officers. It's a gift, so ZPD officers will have an easier time protecting the city that I love."
"I was expecting chocolate or something," Nick whispered in Judy's ear. That time, she was the one to jab him.
Fortunately, Chief Bogo didn't hear. He was too busy gaping at Gazelle, who had adorned her signature soft smile. "This is…" he cleared his throat. "This is very generous, ma'am. But you must know that we cannot accept."
"Looks like Bogo's finally gone bonkers," Nick announced.
"Shut it, Nicholas!" This wasn't Bogo, but Judy.
A tiny frown graced Gazelle's petite face, her eyebrows furrowing. "Oh, but Chief Bogo, sir, you must!"
"It's our duty to save lives, ma'am," Chief Bogo replied. "My officers go into this job with the knowledge that, to make the world a better place, we must willingly give our services and help the city without the expectation of repayment." He gazed down at the envelope for a moment. Then, with a pained expression, he pushed it back toward Gazelle, looking straight down at his desk. "I... The ZPD cannot accept this without warping our reason to serve Zootopia."
A wide grin slunk its way onto Judy's face, her heart swelling a little; Nick was impressed, too, though he would never let it show. The only thing that betrayed him was a slight raise of his eyebrows.
The bunny officer crossed her arms. There were some moments when Chief Bogo was scary, mean, or unnecessarily rude…and then he'll go and do stuff like this, being all noble and true and uncorrupted. It made Judy really, really proud to be an officer of the ZPD, and proud to have a Chief who was as great as Bogo was.
Gazelle remained silent at first, letting Bogo's statement sink in. The buffalo waited patiently, gazing back at Gazelle with a fixed stare that Judy knew slapped a seal on the fact that, no matter if Gazelle was a star and no matter if Bogo was a secret fan, he would not budge.
Gazelle finally chuckled, and slid the envelope back in her purse. She did not look disappointed at this rejection of her gift; in fact, she looked quite pleased. "I can respect and admire that, Chief Bogo," she replied. "Thank you for your time."
"It was a pleasure having you, ma'am. Thank you for your offer."
She abruptly turned to the two officers, one of which was listening raptly and the other standing casually with his hands in his pockets. "To the heroes of Zootopia…" she said, her voice soft and beautifully accented, "you forever have my gratitude."
Judy smiled back at her. "Just like the Chief said, ma'am, we were just doing our job."
"You didn't just do your job, Officers—you went above and beyond." She turned to the fox diagonal of her. "And I want to say that I find it a pity the news didn't mention your efforts in the Nighthowler investigation. You're truly a good-hearted mammal, Officer Wilde."
"Why, thank you, Miss Gazelle," Nick replied, gesturing expressively with a paw. "I will accept a compliment, since no one else here is willing to."
That received glares from both Judy and Bogo; the fox pretended not to notice it while he exchanged a friendly pawshake with the star. Her guards winced slightly at this interaction, clearly not fully trusting Nick; instead of showing his hurt, Nick only sent them his usual smirk accompanied with a cocked brow.
A severely distraught paw weaved Judy's esophagus arounds its fingers. She knew, unlike all the others, that clear displays of distrust due to his species hurt Nick. He would never dare show it, though, and definitely didn't wanted it acknowledged; so, it was for this reason that Judy simply bit the inside of her cheek and remained quiet.
Gazelle, obviously unaware of the non-verbal communications between her bodyguards and the fox officer, gave a somber smile and retreated her hoof. "Please, officers, let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you—either or you- and I will immediately do so. Do not hesitate to ask."
Judy eyed the envelope sticking out of Gazelle's purse. She knew it was not proper to request money, and she would not; her pride would not allow it. She was not a beggar! She was a cop, and had to maintain a certain dignity. Doing something like asking for money would defy every reason why she was here, that she paved her own way and made it in Zootopia by herself despite being a mere bunny. She was better than that.
No, she thought, inwardly kicking herself, I will not sink to that level.
But she couldn't deny that it was tempting. "Thank you," she managed to squeak out.
Her smile unwavering, Gazelle pushed a long blonde lock from her face and sighed. "Well, I really must be going… but thank you again, so so much." She turned to the Chief. "Sir, if you change your mind about my…donation, please do not be afraid to say so."
Bogo swallowed; he appeared to be holding his breath for a moment, until he spoke. "We will not change our minds, ma'am."
"We?" Nick hissed under his breath. Judy quickly nudged him with her shoulder, and he grimaced.
Gazelle gave an amused puff from her nose, focusing on the buffalo instead of the dorky bickering between ZPD's finest. "So noble. I'm very thankful that my Zootopia has such a dignified gentleman for a Police Chief."
Judy was sure that, if she could see beneath Bogo's fur, he was blushing.
After a few friendly good-byes and autographs scribbled for Judy and Nick (who, in reply to Judy's shocked expression at his request for a signature, only winked at the bunny), Gazelle turned to leave the room with her duo of frighteningly tall lions dutifully following behind her.
The lion with the damaged ear made a point to scowl at Nick over his sunglasses as he passed. Nick smirked back and smartly asked, "Coffee? I'm sorry, I don't usually ask mammals on dates this abruptly, but I truly feel as if we have chemistry."
The lion only grunted, rolled his eyes, and wrapped his paw around the doorknob, facing his body away from the fox.
"By, sweetums. Call me."
In reply to Nick's sarcastic remark, the lion shut the door a bit more forcefully than what may have been appropriate.
There was a stretch of silence after the star and her cohorts had exited the office, two of the mammals inside still reeling from shock and staring at the now-closed door; Nick had had been recovered from his own shock for quite a while, naturally. He went to scratch one ear, giving Judy a nudge.
"You know, I think that lion really liked me."
Judy scoffed, sneering at him. "At the best, he thought you stunk."
Nick snickered, and adjusted his tie; the coyness never left his face. "Doesn't mean he didn't think I was handsome, Fluff. One can stink and be handsome." He gestured toward the buffalo behind them, who was listening to his officers' conversation with a look of utter displeasure. "Just look at Chief Bogo."
The chief rolled his eyes. "I'm just going to pretend that you didn't say I stunk."
Judy wrinkled her nose, a laugh bubbling in her throat. "Or that you said he was handsome!"
"Oh, Chief Bogo's the cutest kit on the block!" Nick jeered, leaning casually on one of the guest chairs with an elbow. He chuckled at Bogo and shrugged. "Sorry, bud, I know I'm getting your hopes up, but I don't swing that way. Hate to break your tiny fragile heart, I know the whole thing must be so painful; I don't blame you, though, I am a pretty nice piece of fox—"
"Wilde, shut up before I rip your snout from your ego-bloated head."
Judy snorted, trying desperately to hold back her laugh. She slapped a paw over her mouth when she received a glare from Bogo.
Nick snickered again, and dipped his head as he raised his paws in surrender. "Say no more. If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't wanna talk about it."
Bogo took a deep breath and let it out through his nose, looking at the ceiling as if it had ideas for ways to legitimately remove a snout from a head. Judy pressed a second paw over her mouth; she was struggling to bottle up her laughter. She knew, though, that any outright display of amusement would encourage Nick to continue with his sly remarks, and that would not make the Chief happy-hence, the second paw.
Bogo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please…leave my office and get some paperwork done. I want a good chunk of it done by four forty-five."
Judy's paws shifted a few inches away from her face. She looked at Bogo curiously. That doesn't make any sense…the night shift comes in at six. Six is Bogo's normal deadline for paperwork. "Why four forty-five?"
"Don't ask questions, Hopps, just do it."
Not the first time she's been told that. "Yes, sir."
Nick scratched the side of his snout with one claw. "Do you want us to bring up what we finished at four forty-five?"
"No. I'll call you up," Bogo replied, shaking his head. He shooed them off with one hoof. "Now, leave. I gotta get some work done."
Judy immediately snapped into a rigid salute. "Yes, sir!" I'm not going to get a little money troubles get in the way of being a cop, no way; even if today's cop-business is paperwork. "C'mon, Nick, let's go."
Nick held up a finger, still smiling coyly. "One sec, Fluff, I'll be right down." His smile softened the tiniest bit, and he jutted his head toward the door. "Go on ahead."
"Uh…Okay…?" Judy murmured, trying not to look too disgruntled as she probed at the pen in her pocket. How am I going to speak with Bogo now?
She had planned on "dropping" her carrot pen in Bogo's office on accident. She would tell Nick to go down to her cubicle without her, go up to "retrieve" her pen, and quickly discuss her problems with Bogo then; but with Nick's request, that wouldn't work. She thought about trying to manipulate him into letting her stay, but Nick was the king of cons; he would be able to sniff that out in a heartbeat.
A sigh rose into her mouth, but she clenched her lips shut to not allow its escape. I suppose I'll have to find another way. "Don't dally," Judy ordered Nick, and abruptly turned to leave.
… … … … …
Nick shook his head and chuckled as the door shut behind his partner. Weird bunny.
"What is it, Wilde?" the Chief blurted, pulling his glasses out of his breast pocket and settling them onto his nose. "I don't have all day. I have paperwork too."
Nick simply chuckled in reply. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, writing scrawled on its crumpled surface with bright purple ink.
Bogo's eyebrows raised as Nick stepped forward and slid the paper onto his desk. "You really think I asked Gazelle for a signature because I'm a fan?" His voice contained more compassion and less sarcasm than what was usual for the fox.
Bogo's jaw hung slack, his eyes wide; Nick took great pleasure at the fact that, for once, he rendered the great Chief Bogo speechless.
A hoof reached over to the page; instead of picking it up, Bogo smoothed it out, a look of amazement still slapped on his face. This time, he was staring at the paper instead of the fox. "Er…"
Nick held up two paws, signaling he needed no reply. "No, you're fine, Chief. I know you're not a fan, but neither am I, so I figured if you didn't want it you could give it to Clawhauser or something." He dared to give his boss a sly wink. "But I won't know if you keep it, either."
One, two, three blinks from the Chief. His jaw tightened considerably.
"I'll get going, sir. Have a swell day."
Hands in pockets, coy smile adorned, Nick left the office with a satisfied swish of his tail, leaving Chief Bogo with both a damaged pride and an ever-so-slightly swollen heart.
… … … … …
"What'd you talk to Bogo about?"
Nick was expecting this question from his rabbit partner, but not immediately as he entered the cubicle. When she heard him come in, she dropped her pen and her files onto her desk and quickly spun around in her chair; her eyes were wide and the usual impossible purple.
Nick let a chuckle gurgle in his throat as he slid into the regular four-legged chair beside her. "Hey, Carrots, nice to see you too."
Her ear twitched. "Oh, Nick, cut the squash. What is it?"
Judy's farm slang had not lessened one bit with her living in Zootopia; Nick found it both undeniably endearing and incredibly cringe-worthy. "You're really going to nag me for not telling you anything, Miss Let-Me-Assess-It-First?" He made his voice have an exaggerated rural twang and high pitch, the usual mock-voice he used especially for Judy.
And there went her nose, practically vibrating. "Oh, fine. Touche," she snapped back, her ears lowering in defeat. "Sorry."
"Oh, you should be sorry. You have offended me in the worst possible way, Carrots. I don't think I can be around someone as horrible as you one moment longer."
Judy chuckled, and rolled her eyes. "Silly fox. You wouldn't be able to survive without me."
"I did for twenty years."
"Yeah, but back then, you were a sly, shifty con artist," she countered, organizing the towering stack of papers on her desk. "And now, you're—"
"A sly, shifty cop?" Nick finished, smirking.
Judy shrugged, and gave a small but genuine smile. "I was just going to say 'police officer'… but yeah, pretty much." She pushed one of her ears onto her shoulder, an action that Nick noticed was becoming more of a habit for Judy. "You have to have someone to keep you in check. If you didn't, I'm pretty sure you'd be on permanent parking duty."
Nick scoffed, pressing his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "I get all my work done. I may nap and goof around some, but you know I always do my job. You don't have to keep me in check, Carrots, I'm fine."
"But Nick, you have to understand…" She focused her attention from the paperwork to her partner. If eyes could smile, Judy's were at that moment. "You need me to keep you in check the same way that I need you to keep me in check."
"Like, to make sure you don't stress so much that your brain starts to leak out of your ears?"
She chuckled. "Something like that."
Giving a small, humored tch, Nick took half of the stack of papers and placed them in front of him. "I know for a fact that you do need me, Carrots," he said as he patted his pockets for a pen, getting a little irritated when he couldn't find one. He was always losing his pens. "But I'm a pretty independent fox, I think I'd be fi—"
He was interrupted by a pen waggling in his face; Judy was holding it, sniggering and cocking one eyebrow. "Are you sure 'prideful' isn't the word you're looking for, Nick? It seems like I keep up with most of your things; you'd lose everything if I wasn't here." She leaned forward, her lips curling into a smile and her eyes gleaming with lure of a challenge. "Admit it, fox. You can't survive without me."
Nick tried his best to act like he was irritated, crossing his arms and imitating Judy's signature huff. "Fine, I'll admit it, but only because you keep up with my pens," he snapped back, swiping the writing utensil from her paw and sticking a tongue out at her.
Judy giggled softly, to Nick's relief, but then turned to her paperwork. It seemed to be a rather abrupt end to the conversation, but the fox didn't say anything; he just started on his half of the files and silently watched her in his peripheral vision.
Nick had, in all honesty, not been feeling much better about Judy. He tried his best to act like he was, thinking that a positive energy would be the best thing for her right now; but he could plainly see that, despite the fact that she had to put in great effort to joke around and engage in their usual banter, all of her jokes and banters seemed not as genuine as they normally did. The fact that she had to put effort into communicating normally with him was definitely something he was to be concerned about.
She's just a stubborn bunny, he would tell himself. Don't humor her. Maybe she's just trying to get under your skin.
But Judy wouldn't do that. She was too real of a person; too much of an open book.
Nick finished his first page, placing it into the empty finished bin and starting on a second.
Dude, if she wants to keep all this to herself, maybe she doesn't think of you as good a friend as you do of her.
If Judy didn't think he was her best friend, she wouldn't call him that on a regular basis.
This was a constant back-and-forth in Nick's mind. His negative side would tug and pound and push at his brain, but the positive side would always rule out; Judy had had too much of an impact on him. But that didn't mean that he didn't have any doubt. Nick was not the kind of guy to easily trust anyone; that wasn't to say he didn't trust Judy, but maybe more that he didn't trust her judgement of her own emotions. He knew what building up walls looked like, and that was exactly what she was doing.
Which worried Nick immensely. Judy was not a bunny meant to have walls around her emotions.
They had worked through a large chunk of the paperwork in comfortable silence, sometimes cracking jokes about things in the files or taking a break to grab something from the nearby vending machine. Nick had made himself quit thinking about everything for a moment and devote his concentration to paperwork-which was emotionally relieving but mentally taxing-until his partner peeped up beside him.
"Nick," Judy suddenly muttered, pulling Nick from his thoughts. Her eyes flickered over to him for a split second, then fell back on her papers. "You…You're my best friend, right?"
Nick felt like he was the one who should be asking that question. "No, Carrots, I just hang around you for the blueberries."
He gave a small laugh at his own joke, but Judy huffed. "Seriously," she said, her voice barely a whisper. A tiny little crease appeared between her eyebrows, and her nose twitched.
Nick blinked a couple times, and set his pen on the desk. "Of…Of course I am."
"No matter what?"
Nick gave a small smile. He reached a paw over her shoulders and tugged her close to his side, an attempt to show his support. "You got it." Always, Carrots.
A satisfied look settled across her features. She nodded, content. "Good," she murmured. She looked down at her papers for a moment, then back up at Nick. "You know," she murmured, beginning to let out a timid chuckle, "My dad used to be scared of foxes."
Nick shrugged; he considered taking away his paw, but decided against it. Judy probably liked the comfort. "Yeah, you told me."
"Did I ever tell you why?" She had completely abandoned her paperwork by now, her favorite carrot pen resting patiently on the top of her pile.
"No, I don't think so."
Judy touched a tiny paw to her left cheek, letting her fingers slide over the fur for a moment. "The fox, Gideon Grey…"
"The baker that your parents work with?"
She nodded. "That's the one."
"What about him?"
Her ears lowered a very tiny bit; she stared down at the table, paw still pressed to cheek. Nick had the sudden overwhelming urge to give her a noogie, and seriously considered it for a moment.
Ugh, Nick, be serious. This is a serious moment.
Judy licked her lips. "He bullied me when I was very young."
"…Oh." Nick didn't know what to say; it made perfect sense. It was probably the source of the wariness Judy had with foxes, before the resolution of the Nighthowler case.
"It's just funny," she mumbled, giving a small little giggle. "Now, I have a fox for a best friend. That's fate for you, I suppose."
Nick gave his own half-hearted chuckle; he wasn't sure what exactly to make of this conversation. "I guess so."
"Sorry… that was a bit random."
"Yeah," Nick agreed, smirking, "but it's fine. There's nothing wrong with being random."
"I guess the point of it was that…" she paused, blatantly ignoring Nick's sarcasm. "…that fate can be a funny thing."
That statement made Nick think.
They had, of course, kept talking and eventually drew the conversation to a close to resume their paperwork, but what Judy said really struck a chord with Nick. He was a fox that had a habit of living in the moment; not caring about the past or the future, but instead what was happening in front of him. He never really thought about fate.
Nick bit the inside of his cheek aggressively as he scribbled, ballpoint pen pressed deep into the paper. What was fate, anyway? How did you know what fate looked like, where it showed up in the different happenings of your life? Heck, Nick had no idea. Maybe fate came in the form of a meter maid, popping up conveniently in an ice cream shop. Maybe it took the form of paw-shaped popsicles. Maybe it was a jingling bell around a fuzzy, wooly neck. Maybe it was blueberries, or a recorder pen shaped like a carrot. Perhaps a red neckerchief; a muzzle.
Maybe it was a well-tailored suit…the tales of a father's fear.
The faint croons of Frank Swinatra.
If fate was real, it was sure as heck trying to tell him something. He thought he knew what that something was, and if it was that something, Nick didn't know if he was ready to face it.
"Hey, Carrots?"
"Hmm?" she answered, never taking her eyes off her paper.
Nick tugged at his tie a bit; he wasn't entirely sure why. "How do you feel about… Frank Swinatra?"
She looked at him strangely for a moment, the purple and bewildered way of her eyes oh-so-very-Judy. Then, her face relaxed into a quiet laugh. "And you called me random," she shot, rolling her eyes. "Frank Swinatra? Why do you ask?"
That was when the phone rang.
… … … … …
This chapter was written with the intention of character-building. I know not a lot is happening plot-wise in this chapter, but I think the interactions that are going on are vital to build the types of relationships I want in this story. I also think this chapter helped me acquire a better hold on everyone's personalities; last chapter was more fast-paced, not leaving me with much room to explore characters. The pace will pick up with the next chapter, I promise. Hope it wasn't so slow it was boring! D:
I made Clawhauser's middle name "Nate" because that's the first name of his voice actor. Cutie patootie.
I came up with the title for this fanfiction when it was just a mere blurb in my mind. Now that it's evolved, I kind of wish I named it something more vehement and suave. The title definitely holds great meaning, but there are other titles I've come up with since first posting it that may be more appealing to potential readers…Oh, well. A book's beauty lies behind the cover, amirite?
I also might be giving ya'll some links soon to art of mine that I doodle for this story; my cover art is one of them. If you want to use my art for anything, please ask me first.
