"Rabbit, you have got to be joking."

Nick was less than happy as he looked at her. Less than happy, but still appreciative. It was hard not to be appreciative considering the fact that she was wearing nothing but a towel and a thin one at that. The view took some of the discomfort out of the situation.

She, meanwhile was the picture of coquettish mischief, right down to the smoldering eyes and rapaciously impish grin as she leaned over her little makeup mirror. "Nope! Go get dressed."

Nick huffed as an excuse to roll his eyes away from the curve of her hip. "The same as last time, I presume?"

"Uhhuh!"

"Illusion, too?"

"I can shield myself from it, now, so yes." Judy spared her attention from testing her new lipliner just long enough to give her partner a little side-eye and a smirk.

"Did someone slip something in your coffee, today?"

"No, Nick. I'm sober. Totally."

"And now, I'm terrified."

"Good. Go get dressed and get back here. We leave in 20." She paused as he headed towards the shadow in the corner of her room. As he was slipping into it, she stopped him with a saucy, "Oh, and Nick?" The fox stopped halfway through the shadow gateway and raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Don't forget the collar."

He rolled his eyes, sighing in resignation before vanishing. Judy turned her predatory grin towards her shower. This was going to be a fun night.

Roughly two weeks had passed since Judy had first brought the city with her into the conscious world. They were some of the weirdest days of her life. The dreams were ever present and more intense, but she wasn't exhausted when they happened, anymore. Her new perceptions of the world around her added a layer of complexity that was frankly disorienting, at first. Seeing emotions hanging around mammals on the street was strange. However, that paled in comparison to the realization that everything from the cars and construction vehicles on the street to the streetlights had emotions. Hearing a muscle car purr as their owner gave it a goodbye pat in a parking lot had left her questioning her sanity and Nick doubled over with laughter.

As weird as the days had been, they had also been some of the best. Perceiving the city anew was thrilling in a way she hadn't felt since she was a kit. Her days were a kaleidoscope of new sights and experiences, filled with novelties and her nights… Her nights had become something truly special to her.

Once she clocked out, heavens help any mammal who got between her and the door. She wasn't doing her job with any less zeal, or devotion. Quite the opposite, in fact, Judy was getting notably better at it. Applying her new senses to her work came to her like a fish taking to water, or a leprechaun to scotch. Her capabilities for observation and analysis had long been considered creepily accurate by her coworkers. Now, they held her in something close to reverence. Suspects cracked in minutes with her in the interrogation room, regardless of their histories or training, and cases closed with a distressing frequency. Too distressing for her chief. He was running dry on work for her and while that was a good thing in some ways, he did not was her energies undirected. Her endless enthusiasm had truly become a force of nature.

That said, her chief and coworkers were relieved to see that she was taking to her personal life with the same gusto. Apparently, gone were the days of Detective Judy Hopps sleeping at her desk (or under it) for up to a week at a time, while she worked herself into the ground on a case. Now, she was just as eager to leave at the end of the day as she was to get in at the start. There wasn't a mammal in the precinct who would look poorly on it either, not seeing the huge turnaround she'd gone through.

Today had been no different.

On her way out the door, Fangmeyer called out to her.

"Hopps!"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"We're off the clock, Jude. What do you call me when we aren't working?"

"Nads!"

Wolford, who happened to be walking by, snorched a mouthful of his coffee out his nose. The tigress glanced the direction of the lupine distress and smirked. Seeing him torn between laughing and choking was very funny. Judy didn't miss how the look lingered on the felid's face as she watched her sometime partner struggle.

"Nadine," the tigress chortled, trying to sound irate and failing.

"Yes, Naddie, I remember. What's up?"

"Other than bean juice up a wolf's nose?"

"Great timing, wasn't it?"

Nadine could only smile and shake her head. "We on for drinks tomorrow?"

"Hell yes!" Judy beamed. "A case wrapped means a night of drinking and dancing as a reward!"

"Perfect. I need the stress relief." The massive feline smirked down at her petite friend and added, "You could always bring your boyfriend with you. I'd love an introduction to the mystery mammal."

Judy smirked right back. "One, he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, gods, Hopps…" Fangmeyer interjected sarcastically. "Like your not-date thing? Is he your not-boyfriend?"

Judy let all the attitude out. "Alright, big cat. If you want me to bring mine, you have to bring yours."

Judy crowed as the tigress' face dropped. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'll explain, then. You want to meet my not-boyfriend? How about you, me, Nick and Wolford. Double date next Friday. We all have off the next day and with that much forewarning, I can get Nick to take an evening off."

Nadine's brain finally re-engaged. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Just like Nick isn't mine, right?" Judy locked eyes with the tigress, daring her to argue. Seeing the huge feline speechless and fidgety was quite satisfying. The tough-cop persona they always had to maintain on the job was too good a fit on some mammals. Judy knew she was one of them, now. Nadine was another. After what she'd been through, Judy knew that sometimes they needed to be reminded they were still flesh and fur. In Nadine's case, powerful flesh and stripy fur, but under thirty years old and too serious too often. Just like Judy had been. "Next Friday, after clock-out. Dinner, ice cream and a walk in the park in the company of our not-significant others. Deal?"

Finally swallowing her sputters, Nadine ground out, "I'll ask James if he's free."

"He is. He's also waiting for you to make the first move. With canids, it's the females who ask first."

Finally giving in, Nadine leaned down and muttered, "Why are you doing this, Hopps?"

"Just returning the favor, Lieutenant. You encouraged me to take more interest in having a personal life. I've found something that I enjoy. I want to help you find the same thing."

"I don't need a romantic life."

"I said personal, not romantic." She held up her paws to forestall the flailing tigress' response, even as she grinned. "It could just be for fun. You know, that thing you told me friends do? It'll be fun!" Judy waited until the tigress had relaxed before adding, "He could be a lot of fun, too, couldn't he, Naddie? Friendships can be very stress relieving with a few fringe benefits. I mean, why… knot?"

The red ears the tigress wore only got worse as Judy winked. Her grin turned puckish as she shimmied backwards and turned to leave.

"That fox is a bad influence on you!"

"Keep Friday open, Nadide. See you later!"

Judy's parting words were delivered over her shoulder as she jogged towards the door. Fangmeyer and Clawhauser shared a brief look of shared amusement at her antics, before he beckoned her over.

"What's up, spots?"

"Did I hear right that you and James finally going on a date?"

"Gods damnit…"

Nadine Fangmeyer's gaze at Judy's back was part vexed, part pleased. Her friend was finally a little like what she used to be and showing a little spirit, again. Her eagerness was easy to understand, despite the fact that her coworkers were in the dark. To them, she was building a life and finding joy in it, again. It looked like a magic trick to them. They just didn't know that afterhours was literally a magical time for Judy.

As soon as she was out of direct sight, she leapt into the wires and made her way at the speed of lightening to her mentor's company. She had lessons. Of late, city electrical engineers were baffled by the sudden surges that happened around rush hour.

Lessons were a delight for her.

Speaking of delights, this evening was going to be a special treat. Judy grinned to herself as she stepped out of the shower three minutes after stepping in and started scrubbing the water out of her fur. Once she was dry enough, she stepped onto the fur dryer pad and set it to medium fluff. She reveled in the feeling of warm air running through her fur and tried not to make a comparison to a different kind of heat.

One of her most recent lessons had led to things of an entirely unexpected sort. All she had been tasked with was collecting electricity from passing cars; just enough to pull a spark or two, but not stall the vehicle. It should have been simple, but not stalling the vehicles and not letting what she'd taken dissipate proved a solid challenge to her. It remained that way until Nick took pity and stood behind her. His paws cupped hers on the outside, helping her feel the correct balance of the spell as he worked the magic. At his direction, she closed her eyes to help her feel the spell, claiming it would help her understand. It did, actually. Feeling tension of the spell in her paws helped quite a bit, indeed.

Unfortunately, she had also felt his body heat. That and his scent had her very quickly leaning back into him, totally lacking in focus. Her inattention cost a telephone pole it's life to a rabbit-based lightning strike, but she reproduced the spell perfectly, afterwards. Nick's talk about sense-associative memory finally made a little sense, after that. All she had to do was remember how she felt in that moment and the magic came naturally.

The magic wasn't the only thing coming closer.

Closer and closer and yet distance remained.

For all she and Nick had more contact, spent more time together, and learned more about each other, there was something holding him back. Judy had seen the hunger in his eyes and felt his want when he got too close to hide it. She was positive he was refusing to take action for some reason. Therefore, being a good friend and partner, she was going to push him until he cracked and told her what it was. Then she'd do the thing any good friend would do and help him remove it.

Then she might just get the foxing she was after.

That was why she was slipping into the dark, form-fitting clothes she just bought, tracing and dusting on a little makeup and getting ready to go fox hunting. She'd paid careful attention to his preferences and the things that caught his eye, crafting them into her appearance for the evening. However, how she looked was only one part of her plan. The venue was going to be the lynchpin.

She'd informed her date for the evening of their destination before shooing him out to get ready and made sure to do it barely covered. His resistance had been token at best.

"You want to go where?"

"Stripepaw's club."

"Are you pulling my tail?"

"I can if you're into that."

"Come off it, Hopps. Why there, of all places?"

"Comparison. You want me to learn the subtle differences in emotions as they manifest in auras, correct? Well, how am I supposed to do that without a point of comparison? You're the only mammal I know that I can claim to know the emotional base line of, so…"

"So, you want to observe reactions to different stimuli to understand the changes and how they can manifest. I get that, but why the kink club? I thought you never wanted to get within a mile of the place again!"

"It's grown on me."

"Like a fungus."

"A humungous fungus!"

"Stop staring at my trousers when you say things like that."

"Afraid you won't measure up?"

"Disconcerted at having my masculinity compared to mold."

"Fair point…" Judy shuddered.

"Foisted by your own petard."

"I'd be foisted by yours if you'd let me."

"Gods give me strength."

"For later I hope."

"Rabbit, you have got to be joking."

His acquiescence moments later and with so little effort on her part was a glaring sign she was winning him over. With any luck, she'd finally get to the root of the problem in a matter of hours and they'd be able to stop dancing around what they both wanted.

They days she spent learning from him were pleasures, but mostly for the little treats she managed to steal in and around lessons. General skills like reading the city, responding to her needs and using her new senses were useful, but only a base. Her more practical skills were coming along quite well; perceiving life in machines, using her senses to predict quick paths, the warp and weft of the currents of power in all its forms. Manipulating electricity was, of course, coming to her very readily.

Those talents and abilities were proving very useful. She was coming to recognize problem areas and the root causes, as well as some workable solutions. She could gain insight that no other officer could and pull information out of anyone she questioned with ease. For instance, reading emotions was extremely effective in interrogation when applied to a suspect. Or in trying to decipher her mentor.

However, she wasn't doing any major magic yet and while sensing and reading changes in auras was becoming very useful in interrogation, she had a long way to go. Particularly in learning the finer parts. She found that she needed a comparison. A known quantity to measure changes against, like a lie detector.

Hence the immanent trip back to the kink club. It was purely so she could learn to read his reactions and thereby understand how they worked in general. If she found out what he liked in the process, well, it was about damn time as far as Judy was concerned.

Nick slipped out of the shadow in the corner of the room a few minutes after Judy finished dressing. She was adding the last touches to her makeup when he appeared and she knew for fact that he liked what he saw.

"Carrots, are you ready… to… go… oh… gods help me."

"Like what you see, Slick?"

Nick found it difficult to answer her question, as he had managed to forget how speech worked for a moment. Judy was wearing what he could only describe as casual dominatrix wear. Figure hugging pants tight enough to prohibit wearing anything under them, a shirt that was more halter than top and just enough makeup to accent her face. Her outfit concealed far more than it exposed, but what it covered and how drew the eye and what it exposed only fed the mind suggestions about what was concealed. The makeup was understated, but the effect worked with the outfit almost too well. She looked puckish and playful, but rather intimidating and very, very feminine. She looked good enough to eat and not for the first time did Nick have to stuff that thought in a box.

Clearing his throat, Nick lamely managed, "You look nice, Carrots," before he realized he'd stared for over a minute before answering her and her grin looked had blown past pleased and settled into predatory.

She sent an obvious look just belt his belt buckle and purred, "So I see."

The action was pure theatricality on her part. She could see his reaction popping on the air around him. Emotions were popping again, though of a less playful variety three hours later, as Judy hauled Nick out of the club and down the street by his tie and collar.

Gone was the lightly teasing atmosphere the pair had enjoyed before their excursion. The impatient enthusiasm that had swirled around Judy for so long had been replaced by angry, boiling jealousy and a smattering of pain, while his own tenuous enjoyment and awkward eagerness were absent. Everything Nick felt was back under the shroud he used to mask his feelings from other prying eyes. He'd let it slide when he was around her to help her learn, but now he was feeling a little regret for that allowance.

"You told me to win, Mistress."

"Not by those means." Judy snarled. "And now is not a wise moment to try to be cute with me."

"Those were the safest means of victory available to me." Nick stated as calmly as he could. "Why are you so angry?"

Judy stopped and released his tie, electing to pinch the bridge of her nose instead. "You really can't be that stupid."

"I'm not, Judy, but I still want to hear it."

"I was jealous! Insanely fucking jealous! Do you know how long I've been waiting for exactly what you gave her for nothing?"

"Too long."

"Damn right, too long. What does a doe have to do to get you to fucking kiss me?"

"Your sentence structure has gone downhill, sweetheart."

"Please, Nick. Stop with the deflection. Just tell me you aren't interested and I'll stop getting my hopes

up."

"I am interested."

Judy blinked owlishly. "You're what?"

"Did it ever cross your mind that I might be struggling every day to keep my paws off you?"

"Then why the hell don't you do something about it?!"

"Come with me."

This was not what Judy had planned. She'd done her research and determined how to handle their little foray. At first, it had gone swimmingly. Nick wore his terror illusion as a safeguard and Judy much more comfortable in her role. All she had wanted was an evening of debauchment, if by voyeur's standards. There, she would be able to practice reading Nick's aura, which she knew well, and learn to see changes in it. So doing, she would develop her skills as a sorcerer. She would also learn what turned him on, so she could create a battle plan. Simple!

It was going exactly as she had wanted, at first.

Walking into the play space, they were immediately noticed. Their impact at their first visit had left quite the impression. Several mammals offered to perform, or even service either of them in various ways. Judy pretended to be flattered as she declined. Usually, all Nick had to do was smile and the unfortunate mammal went scampering. Eventually, they were left with only the occasional mammal who enjoyed fear stopping by to bask in Nick's presence, while they enjoyed the ambiance. More specifically, Nick guarded Judy while Judy read his reactions to a very wide variety of mammals doing all manner of naughty, naughty things.

Most of it Judy found off-putting, as did Nick, she was surprised to find. Though, "disinterested" could have applied to him instead. However, there were a few scenes that Nick's eyes kept drifting back to and Judy saw his responses on the air around him. Her fox liked Pred-Prey games for one thing and seemed very keen on some of the performances that let the male cut loose, as it were. Given how restrained he'd been forced to be and for so long, it didn't come as a surprise. A pair of surprises did appear in the form of a momentary fantasy of him hunting her and the interruption of said lurid daydream.

Judy had been annoyed at the hyena for spoiling her fun and decided to agree to the much larger female's challenge for dominance. In response to Nick's flatly stunned expression, she ordered her pet to win on her behalf, as such a competition was beneath her.

She was furious with herself for getting carried away with her role.

A literal fight for dominance was the name of the game, which Judy only realized after the fact. Her fear for her fox was short-lived, however, once Nick let the power out. Less than a minute later, he'd backed the hyena into a corner and ended up with her cowering under him, his paws on either side of her head. The final blow was him gently and slowly nudging the shaking female's jaw up and to the side where he simply clacked his teeth. She fainted.

Judy dragged him out of the club moments later.

Now, she was reeling from his admission to wanting her and their sudden relocation to an abandoned housing project in Sahara square. She followed his lead with no questions, hoping her silence would get quicker results. Judy had grown tired of his evasions, but learned that when he demonstrated something, answers usually followed. This time was no different.

Nick opened the door to a room stuffed with ancient computer equipment and covered in dust. In the corner sat what she assumed was a pile of trash. That was, until Nick walked up to it and turned to her.

"Judy, meet Liam."

She was about to give him a piece of her mind before a piece of her foot in his rear when the trash pile shifted. She instinctively grabbed Nick's sleeve and was reassured when his paw landed on top of hers. He wasn't afraid. That was enough for her. Looking closer, she saw that the heap was roughly in the shape of an aardvark. The comparison came easier when a pair of luminous eyes opened and stared at her; luminous in that peculiar golden-sapphire light streamed from the thousand-yard stare like spotlights.

"I don't understand."

"Liam is the only other sorcerer left in the city."

"Hang on. You said you were the only one left alive."

"I am. He isn't."

"What happened?"

"You remember the Bellweather riots? How that crazy little sheep finally was brought down?"

"Her office laptop's camera and microphone somehow linked to the city Emergency Broadcast System. Her anti-pred rants and plans for collaring and enslaving the predators of the city to act as a military police force against the prey were broadcast to the whole city. It was enough to get her removed from office. She ended up in an asylum."

"That was us. I was just an apprentice at the time, so I provided a diversion. Liam made the laptop turn on and linked it through to the EBS. He also flooded the city with spells to nudge the perception and belief of the citizens. Don't ask me how. That kind of magic is way beyond me. It was also too much for him."

"What do you mean?"

"He let himself commune with the city too long and too deeply. He lost himself in it. Never came back. However, if you look closely, you can see more than just the aardvark is in there." The look of dawning realization about the faint golden-blue light in his eyes must have shown, because Nick continued with a nod of his head. "That's the city looking out at you."

"She sees me?"

"Uhhuh. Directly through her connection to what's left of him."

"What does this mean?"

"It's a warning, Carrots. Venture too far on this path and there are real dangers. Use too much power and the magic burn can consume you from the inside out. Go too deep and you can be lost, just like Liam. The risks are very real and never go away."

"So, if I become a sorcerer, I have dangers to face. I'm a cop. That's any day I'm on the clock."

"And, like your badge, you can turn in your magic and walk away if you want."

"That's fine, then. If it's too much I can walk away. No problem. Besides, you'll be there every step of the way, right?"

"Somewhat." Judy groaned and braced for his explanation. "Judy, right now, you can walk away. If you pursue the kind of relationship with me you've been hinting at, that way out disappears."

"Wait, how does that work?"

"One sad fact. Foxes mate for life."

"Wha- Oh…" Those four words changed everything.

"If you want me as much as I want you, that's a one-way commitment and I know you've been burned by that already. A future with me as a friend and mentor means staying the course. A future with me in your bedroom means you get everything that comes with me. The magic, the mysteries, the power, the responsibilities and it's for life."

She made the connection. "That's why you kept telling me to be patient."

"Yes."

Nick seemed sad to her, what little she could see of his expression before the floor pulled her eyes to it. Her situation suddenly had a completely different complexion and a lot more weight. It also had a huge amount of anxiety associated with it in her mind. Pushing it to the side until she could address it, she latched on to the one thing that her mind supplied.

"What do you want?"

Nick sighed. "What I want doesn't matter and if I influence your decision it'll go badly for both of us."

"I see." Judy fiddled with her paws, suddenly feeling very exposed in her risqué outfit. "Oh… I, um…"

"Need some time to think about it. I know. I did, too."

"I'm sorry, Nick."

"Don't be. This is all part of the Choice you have to make. It's a big one and you have to remember, it'll affect your career, too."

"I knew that."

Nick shook his head. "Trust me, sweetheart. You'll find out soon. The City will see to it."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Nick chuckled. "You know what I mean, smartass."

"I do. I also know I owe you something."

"And what's tha-"

Nick swept down quickly while his nerve held and pressed his lips to hers for a heartbeat. "That's the most I can give you without tainting your judgement. When you're ready, you know how to find me," and he slipped into a shadow.

Judy was frustrated, but oddly glad of his absence. She ran the wires back to her place and wasted no time in shucking her clothes. Their tightness had grown restrictive in parallel to her nerves. Once she was out of them and into a set of pajamas and she laid in bed, her eyes were drawn to the inside of her apartment. She didn't like what she saw.

The place was shabbier than she remembered; worn, dingy, pathetic and such a perfect fit for who she had been. After her marriage ended this was all she had seen in her life. A storage locker to sleep in and her life in the office. It was all she had wanted. Now, it felt restrictive. Suffocating and hollow at the same time. It was nothing even close to what she was anymore. Her drab little life that had fit in this place was gone. In its place was a reality full of light and possibility and one possibility scared her straight out of her fur.

Even the word "commitment" made her break out in a sweat. In following the Lieutenant's advice and Clawhauser's nudges she'd let herself get close to someone. Gods help her, it felt good. It was just supposed to be for fun. Now, there was this. The leftover fears from her failed marriage had been going toe-to-toe with her attraction for a long time and now she couldn't ignore it. Everything hinged on a decision she had to make. She'd been so interested in getting her fox crush into bed that she'd forgotten to remind herself of where such things led.

The feeling of the kiss weighing against her fears chased her into a fitful sleep, which she woke from unhappily stiff and emotionally drained. Her nerves were humming with nervous tension. Her morning was a distracted blur from extricating herself from her knotted linens, all the way to the precinct. Before she got even as far as the breakroom coffee pot, she was informed that the chief wanted a word as soon as possible. As her shift hadn't started, she saw no issue in getting the impromptu meeting over with, so it wouldn't impact her work. She turned her toes towards his office with a paper cup of bad coffee in her paw.

The chief called her in when she knocked and for once was totally focused on her.

Gesturing to the sow standing opposite his desk, he made introductions. "Hopps, this is Lieutenant Swinton from IA."

The overdressed porcine turned a condescending gaze her way and sneered, "Detective Hopps. I have some questions for you."