Nick awoke with an uneasy tightness in his chest. One glance out the window told him the sun had yet to rise, although judging by how rested he felt it couldn't be more than an hour or two away. A light sigh slipped from him and he rolled onto his side then curled slightly around Judy's smaller frame in an attempt to sink back into unconsciousness.

Several minutes later he decided it was a lost cause. His mind had already sprung to life with a whirlwind of different thoughts so intense that remaining still actually made him more anxious. Everything in him called out for him to get up, to move, to do something.

With a light groan, his eyes reopened to look down at Judy, and he cursed his brain for doing this to him. They had the day off, and with how much overtime they pulled recently the chief wasn't about to call them in again for anything short of the city collapsing into anarchy. There were already plans in place. Today was supposed to be about them, not work.

His thoughts refused to relent.

Ears back, he leaned in and gave Judy a soft lick between the ears, then dipped his head down to give her cheek a nuzzle. "Carrots? Sweetheart?"

Judy's breath hitched lightly before she let out a yawn, stretching out before beginning to snuggle back against him. "Mmmm? Nick?" she mumbled, still mostly asleep. "What time is it?"

"Too early," he said gently, tracing over her side with the back of his hand. "Can't get to sleep though. Thinking about going for a walk and wanted you to know."

She reached blindly for her phone, then pulled it to her face. "Nick, it's not even five yet."

"I know, I just can't get back to sleep." His ears folded back for a moment until he had a thought. "Tell you what, I'll pick up something nice for breakfast while I'm out."

"Mmmph…" Judy rolled over to face him. "Muffins."

Nick scoffed. "Muffins? Really? I'm offering to get you something nice to wake up to and the thing you ask for is muffins?"

Judy stuck out her tongue. "I feel like muffins. So what?"

"Then I suppose muffins it is." Nick planted a light kiss on her nose, then another on her lips.

Just as he was about to draw back, Judy grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled him in for a second, deeper kiss. Half a minute later she released him once more, then hugged a pillow close and curled around it while he tried to catch his breath.

"Enjoy your walk love," she said, then stifled a yawn. "Stay safe."

"Promise."

With that Nick slipped out of bed and got cleaned up just enough to be presentable, forgoing the usual quick shower since there wasn't any need to bother with the scent neutralizing shampoo. Not today at least.

Twenty minutes later he was out in the night air, enjoying the way Judy's scent hovered about. His fur fluffed out against the pre-dawn chill while he waited on the taxi he'd called, already turning the situation over in his mind. Finnick wasn't going to be happy. In fact, Nick was willing to guess that a lot of mammals wouldn't be.

What am I doing? He wondered as he let out a sigh. This is the sort of thing Judy would do. It isn't like me at all.

Normally Judy was the one who found herself fretting about cases when they were off-duty, not him. Occasionally he needed to step in, to remind her that she needed to have a life of her own. That was just the way she was built. Concern for others was a part of who she was, and a large part of what he admired about her.

In contrast, to him being an officer was a job. A good one, and he was certainly proud of his ability to serve. Without a doubt he much preferred helping others to his previous profession, if running scams could even be called that. Even so, it was still a job and he still looked forward to his time off. Perhaps Judy was rubbing off on him. Or maybe it was because this time the victim was someone he knew. Whatever the reason he found he simply wasn't able to let things sit where they were.

Which was why he found himself getting out of the taxi in a neighborhood with a less than savory reputation. He wasn't concerned though, he still felt completely comfortable even though it had been a couple of years since he'd frequented these areas. Granted having the right friends certainly helped.

It took a bit of walking, but he found what he'd been looking for without much trouble: Finnick's van tucked away into a side alley. The sun was just barely beginning to peek over the horizon as he walked up to the vehicle and knocked on the back doors. Then he knocked again for good measure and swiftly got out of the way.

Sure enough Finnick came bursting out with bat in hand. "Don't ya know what time it is?"

"Hello to you too," Nick said dryly, unable to stop himself from smiling. "Still grouchy in the morning I see."

Confusion played across Finnick's face, the bat lowering slowly. "Nick? Why in the world are you waking me up at this ungodly hour?"

"Come on, you know this isn't even close to the earliest I've come knocking," he said, head tilted to one side. "Honestly figured you'd be used to this. Sleeping in a van on the street is practically asking for it."

"No. No no no no no," Finnick said, pointing his bat at Nick's chest. "Don't you dare get started. It's too early for this shit, Nick. I know we're still pals, but why are you here?"

Nick braced himself. "Listen, I'm gonna level with you. I need a favor for a case."

Finnick stared at him, ears perked up. "Thought I told you I'm not in the mood for your stupid jokes," he said, giving a humorless chuckle. "You must be joking, my man, because there is no way you're stupid enough ask for something like that. I know you gots to be careful about who you're seen with, and you ought to know that I can't get all buddy buddy with no cops."

"You heard that someone got attacked on Mr. Big's property?" Nick asked, choosing to plow ahead over the objection.

"Nick! Shut your mouth," Finnick warned. "Even if I did there's no way—"

Nick raised his voice to speak over his old partner in crime. "Brisa was the one they went after. Did you know that?" He paused just long enough for that to register in the smaller fox's brain before he continued. "She was hurt, bad, and they took everything she had on her before the police could arrive."

Finnick blinked, then let out a light growl as he looked away. "You think it matters that it was her this time?"

"Doesn't it? Are you really going to pretend you don't care?"

"That isn't fair and you damn well know it," Finnick snapped, his grip tightening on the bat as if he could throttle it. "Of course I care, but that don't mean I can do nothing to help ya, boy-o."

"Yes it does, you're just too afraid," Nick said, drawing a sharp look from the smaller fox. "You didn't even bother to find out what sort of help I wanted."

"Because you know there ain't no kinda help I can give a cop without getting cut outta everything." Finnick snarled and threw his bat back into the van. "Crime bosses aren't exactly known for being understanding."

"Well in this case you got a crime boss that is eager for the ZPD to clear his name, and all I'm asking for is to be pointed at where Brisa's been staying," Nick said, then leaned in a bit closer and lowered his voice. "Come on, I know you want to do this. Brisa was always good to us, we owe her at least this much."

Finnick glared at him, ears pinned back. "Now you're just playing dirty," he rumbled, then let out something akin to a hiss. "Fine, if it'll get ya off my back I'll see what I can do. Just don't expect much, right? Lotta mammals liked Brisa, but that don't mean they're gonna be eager to be seen talking to no cop."

"Then just have them call me," Nick said before he gave Finnick a significant look. "And maybe point out that if they don't help me on this it's going to mean I'll have to go digging around on my own. In a whole bunch of places I know they aren't going to want to see me. With a ZPD task force at my back."

"You're bluffing."

He gave his friend a look. "Are you sure?"

Finnick turned away again, clicking his tongue. "Not gonna make yourself any friends with this you know. Everyone's gonna assume it means you've gone fully to the other side."

"You know what?" Nick said, giving his friend a tiny smile. "I don't think that really bothers me anymore."

When Judy finally woke back up she was surprised to find that Nick still hadn't returned, and her first reaction was to worry that he'd had an accident until she checked her phone and saw he'd sent a text an hour ago saying he'd just gotten the muffins and was arranging for some sort of surprise as well. That brought her a smile as she wondered what the mischievous fox had planned for their day off. Knowing him it could be almost anything. A few times he'd caught her off-guard with a gag gift just to make her smile, but there were others where he went for something decidedly more romantic and meaningful. She shot him a quick text to let him know that she was awake and looking forward to whatever he had planned, then started on her morning exercises while she considered what to do until he returned.

There was always work of course, but during their time together she had gradually come to accept Nick's belief that she needed to set aside at least some time that didn't involve her career. There was also the possibility of calling home, but with the recent surge in violence she knew her parents would begin harping on how dangerous her job was and how they worried for her safety. Telling them that she was investigating a brutal assault that was somehow connected to one of the city's most notorious crime bosses wasn't likely to calm their nerves any. As for chores…well, she didn't really feel like attending to those first thing in the morning. In any case, Nick could get back at any time and she wouldn't want to start something only to leave it half finished.

Ultimately she began to surf the web on her phone, mostly skimming the local news until she happened to stumble upon a tabloid piece that featured a picture of the last date she and Nick had gone on. Judging by the angle the photographer had been inside the building with them. How he'd managed to get it without them noticing she didn't know, but that was actually the least of her concerns. What really bothered her was the article's tone as it speculated if the romantic outing "was a one-off fluke, or signaled they have moved past the problems they'd been seen having several months ago."

She allowed herself to silently fume for a few minutes. Even after all this time she still could not get used to the way some publications only saw her relationship with Nick as something they could use to get a few more clicks. Most of the time she went out of her way to avoid looking at any of them, but that didn't change how unbelievably creepy it was. There was no telling how many mammals were out there trying to get a few choice pictures of her while she was with Nick, and every time they were successful she found herself wondering how. The feelings it gave her came uncomfortably close to the way she'd felt after Nick learned that Flip had broken into her last apartment.

It was also a sharp reminder that every step (and misstep) their relationship took was being watched by mammals with some opinion on predator/prey pairings. She knew better than to check the comments, but couldn't completely contain her curiosity so she ended up visiting a site she hadn't been to in over a month: the Lifeline forums.

Returning to the forums felt a little strange after her long absence from them. Nothing specific had made her stop going, it just sort of eventually fell off her list of things to do once she felt comfortable enough to navigate her relationship with Nick alone. Then there had been the uptick in the amount of trouble the ZPD had been dealing with. And of course there was the oddity of seeing her open relationship with Nick being a frequent topic of discussion on the boards, and her worries that if she wasn't careful she might accidentally out herself.

She carefully avoided any sub-boards that might have a discussion about her and Nick, not because she was worried about what she would find but rather because it felt weird to watch so many mammals discuss and second guess everything she did with her boyfriend. In a strange way it was actually worse than the mammals that kept looking for something to indicate that a fox and a rabbit couldn't work. Although nobody on the forum explicitly said it, she could tell that many of them felt that both she and Nick were standard bearers of a sort, and that as such everything they did would reflect on every predator/prey relationship. The forum members wanted this to succeed, but nobody really seemed to know what that meant or how to bring it about.

Judy very much wanted to do right by them, but that was a lot of pressure to put on a single couple. Perhaps too much. There was always the temptation to assume the forum users always knew best, and to do what they wanted simply because it would make them happy.

So she mostly kept to the information and advice boards now. Even lurking as she usually did it was possible to learn quite a bit. Sometimes she even got the chance to chime in with some advice of her own, and in rare instances it had been someplace she could run to ask for help or to find someone who might be able to help her understand Nick's occasional fox-isms a little better. Today she wasn't actually looking for anything in particular, but she stumbled across a list of restaurants that catered to both predator and prey tastes, and apparently didn't mind such mixed couples dating openly.

As she was copying the business names down so she would be able to look them up later her ears caught the sound of Nick humming as he returned. A smile came to her lips as she listened to the tune. This morning he'd sounded anxious, but apparently his time out had improved his mood.

Or maybe he was just looking forward to today as much as she was.

"Honey, I'm home!" he called out in a sing-song voice once the door opened, ambling inside with a box.

Judy rolled her eyes. "That reference is old, even for you," she said, then paused as the scent of fresh-baked muffins filled their living room, prompting her stomach to remind her that she still hadn't eaten. "Those smell delicious. Thank you."

"Anything for you," he said, then brought the box over and opened it.

Inside sat ten muffins, as well as two conspicuously empty spots. When she gave Nick a look he returned it with an impish smile.

"I might have helped myself on the way home," he admitted.

She squinted at him and slowly picked up a muffin, then went up onto her toes to give a quick peck to his lips before hopping over to the couch to settle in. "I suppose I'll just have to eat by myself then," she said, carefully tearing a chunk off the top of her muffin. "So is that the surprise? You ate a couple of my muffins?"

"Your muffins? I'm the one that got them, you silly doe."

"Yes. For me," she said with a grin, then popped the chunk into her mouth and chewed slowly.

"No, that wasn't the surprise," Nick chuckled, his tail swishing slowly. "Just decided we should make the most of today, with how bad work has been lately, and thought of a place I think you would enjoy that I don't think you've been to yet."

"Really? After this long I was sure I've seen pretty much everything."

"Seen maybe, but I doubt you've ever gotten a good look. Or been inside." Nick leaned closer to nuzzle teasingly along her cheek and down to her neck. "Especially since the good chief keeps us away from Tundra Town because of someone's mob connections."

"You're one to talk," she giggled. "Tundra Town? Should I dress warm?"

"You know, that's a good question," Nick said. "I mean, you're pretty hot so maybe you'll be fine."

Judy stopped mid-chew to stare at him. "Nick?"

"Yes?"

"That was terrible."

Judy lightly hugged herself when she got off the train, thankful that she'd decided to go with her purple turtleneck. A light, artificial snow was falling and there was just enough of a breeze that without the sweater she was sure to feel a bit of a chill. Nothing too extreme of course. While Tundra Town did cater mostly to mammals that preferred colder climates some compromises had been made to accommodate visitors that favored milder conditions, leaving room for businesses to serve anyone looking for a more extreme experience.

So far Nick had refused to tell her what surprise he'd cooked up. All he'd been willing to reveal was that it was some sort of park that hosted art exhibits. Vague as that was, it was enough to pique her curiosity. Zootopia hosted it's fair share of art galleries, mostly in Savanna Central or Sahara Square, but never before had she considered one would be hosted outside. Curators were so worried about keeping their exhibits from being damaged she had trouble believing that they would willingly expose their displays to the weather.

The mystery didn't last long, however. As they exited the station she found herself looking at the fenced in park's entrance: the Bauer Ice Garden. She actually came to a stop, eyes wide as she saw a startling array of ice sculptures housed within. In the very center of the park was a ferris wheel, not a particularly large one by any means, but its mere presence sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine.

"Better pick your jaw up off the ground before a bug flies in there, Carrots," Nick chuckled. "Although I suppose there aren't many of those out when it's this cold."

She took hold of his arm and gave it a squeeze. "You are taking me on that ferris wheel."

"Somehow I expected that," he said, then gave her a smile. "That's why I made sure it would be running today before bringing you, but let's take a look at the exhibits first. Then we can get some hot chocolate to sip during the ride. Sound good?"

"Do they really count as exhibits? I mean it says this is a park."

"Well, someone makes all the sculptures. There's actually quite a range, and because they slowly lose detail over time they regularly get replaced," Nick explained, his tail slowly swishing. "It isn't too uncommon to find someone working on a new sculpture either."

Soon enough Judy learned that Nick had been right. In the past the only ice sculptures she'd seen had been on TV, usually as some sort of centerpiece to a buffet at a lavish party and almost always depicting something cliche, like a swan. A cheap attempt to convey how lavish and elegant an event was, she supposed, but none of the sculptures in the ice garden fell into those categories.

Instead what she found ranged from modern art that consisted of abstract, geometric sculptures to ice statues that depicted mammals of every shape and size doing any number of things. Her favorite ones ended up being a number of tiny sculptures of mice that were scattered through the entire park, often hidden, and always doing interesting things. One set had them playing a game of frisbee, while another that was hidden behind a bush appeared to be some sort of tea party. Each one was so detailed that she felt sure they were created by a smaller mammal until Nick informed her that they were actually each made by the garden's owner, a reindeer, who carved them with jeweler's tools to create a kind of hide and seek game the visitors could play.

Nick tended to favor the more abstract ice sculptures. His favorite was a canine of some sort that appeared to be playing a trumpet…only the mammal was made of cubes, rectangles, and triangles, and the trumpet was a simple cone. He also seemed to enjoy looking at the older sculptures that had began to lose detail as they melted and re-froze day after day, gradually becoming less distinct as time wore on.

"About a decade ago they actually managed to carve a miniature castle out of ice that mammals could explore," Nick said when they came across what looked like a tiny doll house. "I don't think an elephant or rhino would fit, not that many of those come out this way, but anyone smaller than that could go in. The thing took up about two thirds of the park."

"That sounds like a ton of work." Judy scanned the park for a moment, noting how large the lot was. "What was it like?"

"Donno. One of the rooms collapsed before I had a chance to visit. Thankfully it happened at night so nobody was hurt, but they ended up bulldozing it just to be safe. I think they haven't done it since because they don't want to risk having an accident," he said, then shrugged his shoulders. "There are some pictures online and those look fairly detailed though, so it must have been quite the experience. Sometimes they still make buildings, but they tend to be much smaller now and they don't let anyone go inside."

Judy's ears dipped slightly at that as she stared at a sculpture that had been placed on a bench that retained just enough detail to be immediately recognizable as a polar bear. "Oh. I guess that would be something to worry about."

Nick brushed a finger over one of her ears, propping it up. "You should be glad. They got the ferris wheel a few months after."

A slight blush warmed the inside of Judy's ears and she looked up at him, her tail wiggling a few times behind her. "Well you didn't tell me that." She gave a slightly exaggerated huff, smiled at him. "Still, it's a little sad to find out there's an experience you've missed out on completely."

"Oh? I should have seen that coming," Nick said, a mischievous smile spreading across his muzzle.

"Why's that?"

Nick puffed himself up a bit more, his eyes practically gleaming. "Because you've been so eager to experience all sorts of things no other bunny has had the privilege of—"

"Ah! Nick!" She nearly shouted at him as she blushed full force, swatting at him with both hands. "Shush."

He burst out laughing, playfully recoiling from her flailing as his tail wrapped around her side. "I'm only teasing," he assured her, then leaned down to lay a kiss between her ears. "Besides, you could say the same thing about me, mmm?"

The blush continued to burn in Judy ears, but she couldn't help giggling at his statement. She gave his tail a quick hug before releasing it in favor of taking his hand and pulling him in the direction of the ferris wheel.

"Come on, you've kept me waiting long enough. I've always wanted to ride one of these."

Nick followed willingly. "Really? Is that a girl thing?"

"Ferris wheels?" She tilted her head as she peered up at him. "I think it is a romance thing. Kinda a cliche scene, but you know…"

"No, I was talking about things that go in circles," Nick said, as if that cleared everything up. When she gave him a look his ears dipped ever so slightly and he offered a sheepish grin. "My mom always loved merry-go-rounds. Any time she saw one she insisted on riding it."

"That is just two women, Nick, that hardly counts as a—"

"Also have an ex who loved the tilt-a-whirl," he continued, practically beaming with satisfaction. "And another that liked the spinning cups. And a third that enjoyed those viking boat ride thingies that spin you upside down."

Judy huffed lightly. "Did you ever consider that maybe us girls enjoy carnival rides too?"

It wasn't until Nick started laughing and brushed his tail along her side that she realized that he was just messing with her. "How about I go get those hot chocolates before I put my foot in my mouth," he suggested with a wink. "You can go save us a spot in line for the next ride."

"Yeah, sure, just run away," she called after him, beaming.

Because of the snow there wasn't much of a reason to save a spot in line; there were only a half-dozen couples waiting. Seeing them made her feel a little self-conscious, knowing that a fox and bunny would surely stick out when the other couples were all traditional pairings. Part of her was a little glad that Nick wasn't there when she got in line since she'd draw less notice that way, and wondered if that was why he was buying drinks while she got them a place. As always guilt followed close on the heels of that. She gave her head a tiny shake, then gave her ears a determined tilt as she prepared herself for the looks and whispered comments that were sure to come.

It didn't take long to start. Less than a minute after Nick returned and handed her a cup of hot chocolate that was almost too hot she began to notice they were getting curious looks, followed shortly by recognition. As usual she made it a point not to acknowledge them, and instead nestled against Nick's side as she blew over her cup to help it cool. Talking helped, even if it was just idle chatter to distract her from whispered comments. Even so she felt a familiar tension, and was only able to start relaxing again when they were seated in a gondola.

"Doing okay?" Nick whispered once they pulled away from the loading platform.

She nestled against his side, hands wrapped around the warm cup. "Yeah. Some days it just gets to me more than others. Wish I could be a little more like you and just ignore it."

Nick wrapped his tail around her as he plucked a marshmallow from his drink with his claws, then tossed it into his mouth. "I don't ignore it, love. I just…" his ears dipped back while he fished for the right word. "Well…more used to this sort of thing. At least in this case it's happening because of something I chose, someone worth all the looks, and not just because I'm a fox. That makes it easier."

She hmmmed lightly and took a tiny sip of her drink to test the temperature. The rich flavor of chocolate flooded over her tongue, warming her body on the way down.

"You're right," she said quietly, sharing a private smile with him. "Sometimes I wish it was easier, but this is worth—"

"Hold that thought for just a second, Carrots," Nick said, interrupting her. Before she could say anything more he leaned in and licked her nose. "Had a little cream on your nose."

Her body warmed in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with the hot chocolate, and she quickly stole a kiss before he could get away. "Thanks."

Just like that everything else melted away. The chill in the air managed to nip at her ears from time to time, but pressed against the heat of Nick's body, and with the glowing warmth coming from the paper cup her hands were wrapped around, she barely even noticed it. They cuddled, and talked, and traded kisses while snowflakes danced in the air around them until at some point the ferris wheel crawled to a stop with them nearly all the way up. Unable to resist, Judy scooted into Nick's lap and tilted her head, drawing him into a proper kiss that she allowed to linger until her lungs began to ache.

When she finally pulled away Nick's ears had dipped back bashfully. "Wow," he murmured. "To think, I expected you to spend most of the ride looking out at the city."

"I'm sure it'll still be there later," she whispered, then gave him a second, softer kiss.