Still giddy and proud of feeling promoted, and experiencing first hand the Chief's first hustle, Nick, Judy and Aaron were currently waiting in the room of their first kiss, where they would be meeting their co-supervisor. Bogo was sitting in his chair, reading some files on his computer, while the two uniformed canines and the lagomorph were occupied by their phones. They were all currently telling their friends and family about their promotion. Nick and Aaron did not hesitate to steal quick touches and sniffs of the other, their tails were continuously trying to wrap around the other, but they had to restrain themself, much to the rabbits amusement.

Bogo told them, that as detectives, they will still serve mostly under his hooves, which means, if there is an emergency or no cases, they will have to serve as regular officers, they will still patrol areas if Bogo orders so, and they will have to do their paperwork in the same cubicles.

What would really change now? Well, they still didn't know, but every 5 minutes, Nick looked up from his phone, and made sure to annoy the chief about that.

''But Chieeeeeef, why can't we know nooooow?" whined Nick with an exasperating tone.

''I already told you Wilde, but if it gets through your thick skull, I will tell you again: I can't say anything without the presence of the co-supervisor." Grunted Bogo without looking at the Vulpine. Meanwhile Judy and Aaron did everything in their power not to chuckle on those two, but damn, it was hard.

''Who is this guy anyway? Is he some kind of secret ZBI agent that will give us new identity and makes us fly to exotic places?" mocked Aaron sarcastically. He never knew he could be so sarcastic, but seems like Nick is already rubbing off on him. Chief thought about the wolf's sentence, and grunted.

Well I hope that he will make Wilde fly far, FAR away

''Deputy Pictus is the head of the Crime Detective Department, and if something happens to me, he is the deputy chief aswell, until i return or a new chief gets elected." Informed Bogo.

''Pictus? What kind of name is that?" snorted Nick.

''What kind name is Piberious?" cut in Judy with a giggle.

''Who's side are you on Carrots, again?" inquired Nick on a now less than amused tone. His answer was an other giggle.

''Pictus…. I have heard that somewhere….." wondered Aaron while stroking his chin.

''You know the guy, Wolfie?" asked Nick looking at the wolf next to him. Damn, his fur colour was so soothing to look at especially with the blue of the uniform.

''No, I'm pretty sure I don't know the guy, but the word Pictus seems to ring some bells." Answered Aaron while thinking hard.

''That might be the case Wolford, since it comes from his species' scientific name, Lycaon Pictus." Cut in Bogo. He finally looked at the three in front of him.

''Lycaon Pictus hmmm….Aha! isn't that a painted dog? A Very rare canine?" remembered Aaron. Nick looked at him in wonder and a proud smile spread through his face.

My clever wolf

''That would be correct. Deputy Pictus is indeed a painted dog, one of the 50 specimens in all of Zootopia. So 'very rare' is an understatement." Replied Bogo. There were a knock on the door.

''Come in"

''I have never seen a painted…dog….woah" Started Judy, but her heart stopped for a second when the door opened and immediately spotted Pictus. She could not believe what she saw. It was the most handsome mammal she has ever seen. It's not like Nick and Aaron were ugly or not nice to look at, they had their own beauty, but what she saw was not just utterly beautiful, but breathtaking. The painted dog looked like a miniature wolf with round ears, with a lithe, almost fox-like body. The fur he showed was little, but Judy already knew where the name 'painted dog' comes from; his fur was filled with spots of black, light-brown and beige. And goddamn, he was so handsome. He had a black leather jacket with jeans on. He wore a ZPD marked T-shirt under his jacket.

A loud thud was heard, and everyone looked at the rabbit, who seemed to have fainted.

''Do you think we should bring some water or wait for her to wake up?" leaned in Aaron and whispered to Nick's ear.

''I don't know….just in case?" guessed Nick.

Bogo looked at the rabbit in shock. He had no idea what caused the sudden reaction from the rabbit, and he did not hesitate to voice his concerns.

''What happened to her?!" shouted Bogo.

''We don't know sir, it seems to be a bunny thing." Replied Nick whole starting to poke Judy's shoulder.

In the mean time, Charles Pictus was shocked. Not because of Judy's behaviour, because it was Judy.

There was the one mammal he really wanted to meet in his life. The mammal who got his brother back from the asylum after being turned savage and kitnapped by Lionheart. The mammal, who imprisoned that bigoted sheep. The mammal, that he has a mondo crush on. The mammal, Judy Hopps, ZPD's first rabbit officer. And she was there, lying on the ground unconscious.

''Oh come on, now both of them?!" he heard a deep exclaim. He realized that he didn't move since he spotted the bunny, so he quickly shook himself out of the freezing spell. He had to remain professional until Bogo was around, no matter if his hero and crush were standing in front of him.

''Ahem, my apologies. So, I know what to do in this situation, give me space." commanded Pictus. They looked at him with confused glares, but nonetheless gave space to the painted dog.

Pictus stood in front of the rabbit, kneeled, and to everyone's dismay, booped her nose. Judy immediately started blinking rapidly while her nose was twitching furiously. She did not know what happened, but when she regained her conciousness there was the same painted dog looking at him with a satisfied smile on his face.

Why is he so handsome, goddamnit

''Welcome back, Hopps" greeted Pictus.

''How….How do you know my name?" asked Judy in a voice that did nothing, but betraying her nervousness.

''You went to a brain freeze." Explained Pictus avoiding her question. That did not go unnoticed by the chief and the two other canines.

''Did I…?" mumbled Judy hesitantly. Then she realised something, and wanted to ask it, but Nick beat her to it.

''How did you know what is the problem and what to do?" asked Nick, while helping Judy up on her feet.

Pictus turned his head, and was surprised. There was Nick Wilde, the first fox cop who helped his idol save the city and his brother. He was grateful to the fox's doings of course, and he symphatized with the smaller canine, who showed others that not all foxes are petty criminals. But mind you, he did not swing that way.

''Every cop should know something about every species, just in case." Excused Pictus with a smug smile and a wink, although that was a total lie, but they did not have to know that in his free time (and sometimes while at work) he studied rabbits, and by now, he could be a bunny with his knowledge. Although the taste of carrots disgusted him.

Upon his remark, the Vulpine rolled his eyes. A loud *ahem* made all of them look at the very annoyed Bogo.

''Now that we got Hopps out of her sudden change of mental state, can we keep on going to the introductions?" asked impatiently Bogo. After everyone nodded, he continued.

''Detectives, this is Deputy Chief Charles Pictus, he will be your boss when I'm not around, and he will help you in the cases that are a bit tougher than a report of a domestic dispute. Deputy Pictus, these are the new detectives you have been told about. This is Detective Aaron Wolford-'' the wolf took Charles' paw and shook it with a polite nod.

The painted dog eyed the wolf curiously. Well, not just the wolf, he was watching how close Aaron and Nick were to each other, but nevertheless smiled and returned the nod. But when he touched the wolf's paw, he saw the fox from the corner of his eye frown a bit while his tail waging stopped, and his smile faltered.

Interesting….

''-Detective Nicholas Wilde-'' the fox did the same. Charles' noticed how the wolf's tail went limp and how his hackles raised a bit when he touched the fox's paw. He smiled internally.

My-my, so the rumors about this Wildehopps stuff are not true. It seems like one part of the ship is not into bunnies, and prefers wolves…

''-and it seems you already know Detective Hopps." Remarked Bogo completely oblivious to everything. Charles took the rabbits paw, and felt how soft it is. He would hold it as long as he could, but it wasn't the time to daydream. Just to be sure, he stole a glance at the canines, who were standing next to the rabbit. They were even closer to each other, but did not show any signs of possessiveness when he took the rabbits paw.

Well, it seems that the number one question has been officially answered.

''Now that we got that out of the way, and Deputy Chocolate Cake is finally with us, you can finally tell us what we wanna know chief, right?" said Nick smugly. The chief grunted and sighed heavily.

''Chocolate cake?" asked Pictus. He looked at the other detectives and saw the wolf chuckle and the rabbit facepalm.

''Let's just say, if there were a department of pet names, him and Aaron would be the chiefs" said Judy in an embarrassed tone.

''I will call him Chocolate Pudding." Stated Aaron. The got a laugh out of Nick, and now Bogo was facepalming aswell. Charles was a bit impressed how these mammals weren't afraid of the chief scolding them.

I will have to watch these two closely…..but not as closely as Hopps.

''Hm, jokesters aren't we? Well, since i think Creativity is not overrated, I will let this unprofessionalism pass, but you can only use them if we are in private, understood?'' asked Charles nonchalantly, but only an idiot could not notice the struggle against the smile that started to form on his muzzle. The wolf and the fox smiled and nodded.

''So, what was it that needed my presence, Adrian?" asked Charles while turned to the chief, who sighed and began.

''I brought them here, so we can discuss the changes of their work after their promotion." Stated Bogo which was rewarded by a nod from Charles, who unconsciously was standing very close to Judy.

''First, your work hours. From now on, you don't have to come to the morning briefing, since your work starts at 9 am. Notice how I said 'don't have to', which means that there are no restrictions whether you can join us or not, it's entirely your decision, and your shift ends the regular time, Understood?" He got nods from the three.

''You will also get a pay raise. The exact numbers will be in a file that you will receive from Clawhauser." He saw the fox's smile widen upon hearing this. Bogo guessed, that you can make a cop out of a con mammal, but you can never kill it.

''And now your partnership.'' he looked at Wolford now, and saw the glimpse of excitement flash in his eyes. In the end, he could not fault the wolf. Charles didn't miss that either, and was taken a bit aback. It's like he was partnerless for a long time. If it was true, he started to pity the lupine. The painted dog always had a partner where ever he worked, he can't imagine how it would be without a partner.

Wait, if it is correct and he was partnerless, how did he get a promotion?

He will make sure to ask Adrian later.

''You three are officially partners, which means that you will get cases together, and not to go on solo duties, and yes, I'm looking at you Hopps" noted Bogo while sending a harsh glare, which made the rabbit chuckle nervously. Charles saved this info into his mind.

Independent nature, noted.

''Where ever you go, while you are at work, you will accompany each other as a team should do, understood?" notified Bogo. Nick raised his paw.

''Yes, Wilde?" sighed Bogo.

''Not to sound greedy or anything, but what happens with our cruiser? If we have to go everywhere together, where will Wolfie be, if he can't fit?" asked Nick looking at the wolf next to him worriedly.

''Yeah, Bushy tail here has a point, there are only two seats, and I don't have a cruiser assigned." Joined Aaron while rubbing his neck nervously. Charles raised an eyebrow.

Hopps did not exaggerate when she said these two are really into nicknames. Now I wonder if they have any for Adrian.

''When I made the decision for your promotions, I ordered a custom-made cruiser. The cruiser will still have two seats in the front, but there will be an additional row of seats between the driver/passenger seat and the wall that secludes the criminals you apprehend. Any more questions?" explained Bogo. The three looked at each other in excitement. That sounded too good to be true, even Charles was thinking the same.

That's nice and everything, but Adrian has never went that far for the comfort of anyone. Something smells fishy here.

''If there are no more questions, there is one more thing. Since you stepped up a rank, you will have authority above regular officers. That does not mean that you can abuse your power, and your word only means anything, when you are on the clock, which means, when you are not working, you are a simple civilian. When you feel like you need a team of officers to help you, you notify me, and then send me all the names you require and the reason why you need those officers. After i grant permission, it's fully up to you what the officers you have been given do. But If I get a whisper of you not doing your work, thus making your granted officers slacking aswell, I won't hesitate to punish all of you, Am I understood?!" Bogo's voice continuously raised. Charles was not even bothered by this, he had heard this lecture countless of times. He was more curious of the other three's reaction.

For Hopps' part, she seemed determined and was continuously nodding, not even removing her gaze from the chief's face. Charles liked determined cops, but he knew that mammals do make mistakes, and over-professionalism is worse than the counterpart. There was a limit to every cop. He already knew that the rabbit will make a good boss one day, maybe even chief, but as independent as she was, she needed someone who can restrain her.

For Wilde, it seemed like he already knew all of that, because he was listening to the chief with a sly, and confident smile. He knew about Wilde's past profession, so he must have opted a kind of mask, to hide his true emotions. It was probably why he was so successful in his 'hustles'. The mask he wore seemed to be perfected, but overtime it kind of cracked. The glances he stole at the wolf next to him and the fact that his tail started to wag a bit when he looked at said wolf were a pretty obvious sign.

Charles read about Wilde and Hopps' arrests as officers, and that they continuously broke all the records in the Precinct. He was always confused how they did that, but now he knew. While Hopps was the professional and determined workaholic who lived for her job, Wilde was a cool and collected mammal, who always stopped Hopps when she had gone too far. Plus the fact the he knew the streets definitely helped.

But the wolf was a real mistery to him. The last time Charles checked Hopps and Wilde's records was yesterday. He read about a report of them catching some truant teenagers, who were going over the speed limit. After it, there were no more arrests the whole day, which immediately caught the painted dog's eye. Then he looked at their profile and saw that they were sent on a paid vacation for an indefinite time. Something must have happened in the morning, that suddenly they were sent on a paid vacation, and Adrian never handed out those randomly. Then, they come back today, get a promotion out of the blue, and they are partnered with a wolf, which he has never even read about in their files, and now it seems like they are all buddy-buddies (or more in Wilde's case).

He looked at the wolf, who were less subtle than Wilde. Made sense, considering that he never had any criminal records, so he never got the hard part of life. It was so obvious that Wolford was head over paws with the fox. Charles thought about the influence the wolf could have on those two, but he knew very little about him.

Let's make sure to look up this Wolford later.

Charles for himself was considered to be a good boss. He wasn't very strict, he only required the work to be done. Until it's legal, and it's done, he really didn't care, and he really did like creative officers. He could already see that this team of his will be a curse and a bliss. Curse, because he could see, that the rabbit won't be enough to restrain Wilde's and Wolford's unprofessionalism, and he really hoped that he don't have to catch them while they 'lose their restrain over their bodies'. They were a Bliss too, because with Wilde's street smarts and knowledge of the city, Hopps' determination and sense of justice, and whatever this wolf could provide, they would be solving cases faster than anyone he has ever seen. But he won't fall to the trap of naivety, so he sits back, and watches the trio work.

He realized he has been deep in his thoughts, and missed the rest of the lecture.

''That would be all. Pictus, the detectives' files should be on your desk already. Detectives, since your cruiser is due to this weekend, you can either stay inside the building and help with paperwork, or patrol Downtown " grunted Bogo dismissively.

''But Chief, what about Wolford?" asked Nick hesitantly.

''After your and his bold display in my office, i don't think we need to be wary about that. Share the seat somehow, and enjoy your detective rank. Clawhauser will give you your new badges and other equipment, now get out of my office." Commanded Bogo.


The 3 canines and Judy left the chief's office.

''So, you are gonna be our other boss, Deputy Chocolate cake?" asked Nick with a serious expression.

''Yes, do you have a problem with that?" retorted Charles.

''Depends on whether you are a Bogo kind of boss or not." Stepped Nick closer threateningly. Aaron and Judy became wide-eyed and readied themself to step between them.

''Depends on whether you get the job done or not." Now Charles was coming closer. The two of them were an inches away with dead serious expression. The suspense was everywhere in the air.

Or so Aaron and Judy thought.

After some seconds, Charles and Nick started to burst out laughing, they were shedding tears from the intensity and they supported each other's weight. Aaron and Judy looked at each other with confused looks. The fake suspense evaporated, so they found themself giggling at their antics.

''Hey guys, I think we got lucky today! We got a cool boss!" told them Nick between laughs.

After both of them finally calmed down and recomposed themself. They looked at each other with smiles and shook hands again.

''It will be an honor to work for you Deputy Chocolate cake." Complimented Nick.

''Why thank you Wilde. Come on, let's get your new badges. 'Till that, I can get to know my new team better." Said Charles looking over his his new colourful team.

''Sounds fair." Commented Aaron. So, the four headed towards the stairs. Charles and Judy were next to each other followed by Aaron and Nick, as usual, suggestively close.

''By the way, what did Adrian mean by 'your and his bold display in his office'?" asked Charles while looking back at them. He saw Nick and Aaron blushing furiously get wide-eyed, and heard Judy giggling.

They couldn't have done that in front of the chief, right?

So Judy told him everything. Throughout the story, Charles' eyes were growing wider and wider. They weren't doing anything that inappropriate, but nevertheless the chief did mean it when he refered to it as a 'bold display', even Charles wasn't allowed to show any traces of unprofessionalism in the Chief's presence, the farthest he was able to go was calling him by his real name. Now, behind him were two mammals who not only did that, but went even further beyond, and to top it off, they managed to get away with it. By the time Judy finished telling the story, they reached the end of the stairs.

''Wow….just wow…." The only thing Charles could mutter.

''I hope you don't have a problem with…..well, us, because you are stuck with us now." Mocked Nick.

''Oh! No-no-no,..n-nothing, I just…. I don't have any problems, I'm just surprised that you managed to pull that out in front of the chief, and he did not immediately fire you." Reassured Charles.

''Well, not like he could fire them, he did accept their request. He never really specified where they should do it." Commented Judy. Charles thought about it, and it indeed was true.

So is this one of those 'hustles' i have been hearing about? Outsmarting others while ensuring that whatever you did would not bite you back…..Actually pretty clever, no wonder he is a good cop.

In the mean time they reached the cheerful cheetah's desk. Aaron suddenly put his paw on Nick's shoulder

''Erm, guys could you get my and Nick's badge and our papers for us too, I need to talk to Nick for a sec, okay?" asked Aaron. Everyone looked at Aaron in confusion, but they nodded. So the wolf dragged Nick out of Judy's hearing range.

''What's up Wolfie?" asked Nick in worry.

''Well, it's just that, do you want to come over, and start doing Bonnie's list? You still didn't show me, and I want to start it as soon as possible." asked Aaron nervously. Nick put a paw on his and started to rub it.

''Okay, sure, I was thinking about that aswell. But be ready, i've seen what is on that list, and it might me more than what you bargained for." Agreed Nick. His sentence started off reassuringly, but ended up in a mocking tone and a wiggle of his eyebrows. Aaron opted his own sly smirk.

''Oh, you think I can't handle a little bit friskiness? As I remember, We both equally enjoyed our 'bold display' in front of the chief." Retorted Aaron.

''Well, some of the things in the list is.,… well, let's just say Bonnie didn't exactly contradict the horny bunny stereotype." Mocked Nick. He liked how the wolf was not afraid to play with an ex-hustler, and in some levels, he was a challenge.

''How about a deal then? The first to to become flustered, will have to buy the other dinner. Sounds good?" asked Aaron with a widening smile.

''Oh, dealing with a Hustler? Well, sure, your money gets wasted not mine, and I get a good dinner." Agreed Nick. With a nod, they started heading back to the reception desk.

''Hey Wolfie?" asked now nervously Nick, while walking back.

''Yes, Bushy Tail?" perked up Aaron.

''What happens if we both lose ourself in each other and do something we regret?" asked Nick a bit shyly.

''Then we both win, and go on a date." Replied confidently Aaron. That got a smile on the fox's face.

Oh, what would I do without you Wolfie.