-The Wilde-Hopps' Aardvark Rise Apartment-
Judy Wilde-Hopps grumbled as she awoke. She patted the bed rapidly with her paw before opening her eyes, but it was empty, save for her. She yawned, and let the breath out slowly into a sigh. Her fox wasn't in bed with her. He'd been getting more unreliable lately, Judy thought. Usually, she could rely on him to wake up second.
She blearily hopped out of bed and started to get ready for work. A faint smell on her way to the shower told her Nick was fixing breakfast, probably for their son, Larry. Judy got ready, got her uniform on, and headed into the main living/dining area.
"Hey Judy, blueberry pancakes okay?" Nick asked.
"Mhm, that's fine," responded the bunny. She noticed it was "Judy" more and more often lately. Judy had more pet names than she could count, but these days, she was catching fewer of them. Judy's adopted son, a gray squirrel named Larry, finished his last bite of breakfast and launched off his seat. "Whoa, where are you going in such a hurry, mister? It's your summer vacation."
"Dad said I could go to Chet's today and spend the night!" Larry grinned. Judy looked to Nick, who nodded slightly.
"All right, well, brush your teeth first before you head out," Judy said automatically, mentally wincing. What a "mom" thing to say, she reproved herself. She stopped herself short of asking him if she could lead him to the subway. Larry complied with her, then headed out the door after grabbing his things.
"Bye, love you!" Larry said, waving.
"Love you, Larry!" Nick called out.
"Love you...!" Judy agreed. Nick offered Judy her breakfast, and she ate.
"Thanks, Nick," Judy said with a small smile, which he returned.
Judy sighed slowly once between bites. It was Judy and Nick's seventh wedding anniversary that day. But, it seemed like any other day to Judy. She loved days like that; occasions to excuse celebration. But she hadn't thought of any plans or ideas, and Nick hadn't discussed any with her either. It was set to be just another day for the two.
-Zootopia Police Department Headquarters-
Judy meandered out of the bullpen after the morning briefing. She hadn't expected a party, or even an acknowledgement of her anniversary. Chief Bogo had always tolerated their relationship as long as it didn't interfere with their work, but it was never celebrated. Today, Nick and Judy were supposed to just be keeping their eyes on the traffic cameras in a few key locations where some accidents had occurred. Very exciting, Judy muttered mentally.
"Hey, Judy, I'm going to see if Skip can give me another set of eyes on the cameras," Nick said to her. "You know her setup is huge."
"Why Karen?" Judy wondered.
"I heard on TV before you woke up that there's a big pileup in the Rainforest District," Nick explained, "and Bogo said he wants us to go out there to divert traffic if necessary. Hey, could you get you and me some coffee?"
"Sure," Judy nodded, and broke off to the break room. Judy tried to put on a wry smile as she mentally called up how he liked his coffee.
Sweet as my bunny, he would say. Though of course, she didn't expect him to say that on the job. For her part, she liked her coffee a bit stronger.
The break room was empty as Judy came into it. After a moment's contemplation, she took out her phone and called her mother on MuzzleTime.
Bonnie Hopps answered on the second ring. "Good morning, sweetie! What's the matter? You normally never call this early. Are your ears droopy again?" She looked to make sure. "They are!"
"Hi mom," Judy smiled gently. "It's just, I feel kind of weird today. It's my seventh wedding anniversary with Nick and... and... I got him ties. I got him ties, mother. Oh my heavens, I am so lame..." She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Well, what's wrong with that?" Bonnie grinned, continuing to make some breakfast for the endless droves of hungry bunnies that were her children. "I know Nicholas likes ties."
"I don't know mom," Judy's teeth showed. "I just... I feel like the spark may have gone out from our relationship. I don't... know if Nick even remembers its our anniversary."
"Oh honey," Bonnie shook her head. "You do know Nick is, what, eight years older than you, right?"
"I know," Judy nodded slightly, starting to actually make the coffee for the two.
"And a fox?" Bonnie continued.
Judy sighed in mild irritation. "Mom, I thought we were past this."
"No, I don't mean it like that, Judy," Bonnie explained, "I just mean, well... you know we bunnies are known for our... ah... stamina."
Judy finally laughed a bit. "Guess so."
"Love's like a fire, sweetheart," Bonnie started. "No matter how it starts, there's usually that big, bright, intense flare up at the beginning. It burns so bright, it's almost unbearable. Impossible to quench. But as time goes on, the fire gets softer. Warmer, more comfortable. But, and you listen here, as long as there's fuel for the fire, it won't go out."
"Mm," Judy smiled serenely. "That's just what I needed to hear. I should probably go though, mom, before someone else comes in for their coffee."
"Okay, Judy, have a good day," Bonnie began, then added, "and, oh! Be sure you bring Larry down here sometimes to visit, okay? He's my grandkit too, after all! Mary shouldn't get to have all the fun!"
"Okay, mom," Judy laughed again, "we'll visit soon. I love you."
"Love you too, Bun-bun," Bonnie said, ending the call. She finished setting up her coffee, then worked on Nick's. She took both coffees in her paws and headed out of the break room.
"You think this will clear up by early evening?" She heard Nick's voice coming from Karen Skippel's station.
"Yeah, I think they got it under control for now, you and Judy might not even have to deploy," Karen, an arctic hare technical officer, replied.
"We're not even going out, then?" Judy winced, handing Nick his coffee. He sipped it.
"Thanks, Judy, and maybe not," Nick shrugged. "Not every day can be a winner."
"Yeah," Judy tried not to sound disappointed, "I guess you're right."
-Savanna Central Subway Station-
It was, indeed, rather a dull day at the ZPD for Nick and Judy. They headed out of the police station, walking near each other on the way to descend into the subway station. Judy barely registered Nick taking off his tie before they even got onto their subway train.
"Uh?" Judy yelped as she felt Nick's hand tug at her wrist, preventing her from boarding their train. Nick pulled Judy close, and started tying his tie around her eyes. Judy couldn't see, and Nick made sure the knot in the tie was tight and secure.
"We're not going home just yet," Nick explained, smirking. Judy's heart accelerated in surprise.
"Really?" Her nose started to twitch and her ears started to move in excitement and to try to sense what was going on. Nick spun her around twice and then picked her up so she wouldn't know which train they were getting on. Judy squeaked as she was picked up; her sense of direction was disoriented.
Nick got a lot of strange looks as other animals on the train observed a fox cop carrying a gleeful-looking, blindfolded bunny cop. He blissfully ignored them.
"No cheating, now," Nick said, holding one of his arms tightly around her ears. Nick pointed his muzzle down at her and hummed smoothly into her big bunny ears. Judy was pleasantly distracted enough to not hear what station was called out when Nick carried her off. He couldn't block all of her senses, of course. She felt it was humid out, and raining. Little plunks of wetness dropped onto Judy's fur, and she flinched from the first few. She was still excited; trying to recall where rain was forecast for the day. Nick's arm instead moved across Judy's nose, as the smell might have given it away to her. It sure did to him.
Judy happily inhaled, taking in her fox's scent. It felt like forever till Nick finally got to where he wanted Judy, as he had to take her on quite a winding path to get where he was going. Finally, he came to a halt and set Judy down.
"Carrots, you saved my life," Nick said in a familiar, hushed voice.
Judy felt a chill, shivering lightly.
Nick placed his hands on his tie, removing the blindfold from Judy.
"I said that," Nick started, "right about..."
-Near Tujunga and Vine, Rainforest District-
"There," Nick pointed out into the distance to a random cluttering of vines hanging off in the expanse. "Of course, the vines are a lot different now, but..." Judy smiled widely at where Nick had brought her. It was the scene of one of the most intense nights of their lives; where their lives hung in the balance, literally, more than once.
"You saved my life here, as well," Nick said, touching his foot lightly twice on the wood they were standing on. "That kitty just wasn't listening to reason."
"Oh, Nick," Judy smiled brightly, "you saved my life here, too! Or at least, my job. I was so crazy; willing to throw my whole life's dream away just because I got one chance to prove myself. You... you helped me hold on to that chance."
"Well you sure proved yourself to me here," Nick grinned. "I just had to lay it out in ways that stubborn buffalo could understand. Can't believe we both still work for the guy!" Judy giggled. Nick walked towards the end of the pier, where the sky cars loaded up. "I hope you remember this part." Nick grinned, opening the door to the sky car. "After you, Officer Wilde-Hopps."
"How could I forget?" Judy said warmly, giving a tiny little curtsy and getting into the car with Nick following her. Judy had a small grin on, looking at Nick for what he would say next. He wasn't looking directly at her; instead out into the sky, where the sun was starting to fade into the horizon.
"First time I opened up like that to any animal," Nick nodded distantly, shifting his mouth a bit. "Never thought it'd be to a dumb bunny."
Judy laughed pleasantly. "Oh, Nick. Bringing me here. You're still a 'redwood', aren't you? Just a big tree, full of sap." She placed her paw on Nick's arm. The first time they had done this in the sky car, he had pulled away. Now, he stepped closer.
"Judy, I have to come clean," Nick shook his head. Judy felt a burst of distress. "This? This is it."
"What do you mean?" Judy tilted her head, her ears dropping.
Nick gave an embarrassed sneer, looking away. "This is all I could think of for our seventh anniversary." Judy gasped and her ears shot back up. "I'm just awful at coming up with gifts. Flowers? Transient. Card? Oh sure, let me have a greeting card company tell you 'I love you' on a scrap of paper. Fancy dinner? We do that at least once a month anyway." He sighed. "I just... ugh. It's so hard coming up with something that'd be special..."
Judy's hand moved from Nick's arm to his hand, which was resting on the edge of the car. She gripped it firmly, but then her grip softened. "This feels pretty special to me, Nicholas..." The two shared a warm, tender look.
"So!" Nick grinned slyly. "Let me tell you one thing I've always admired about you." Judy gave a somewhat bashful smile. "You carved out your own future with those tiny, bunny claws. You never accepted no for an answer, and never pulled any punches. Or drop kicks. Ever."
Judy looked away a bit, running her hand through her ears, but they refused to stay down. "Well, to be like that, I had to be more than a little crazy..."
There was a moment of quiet. "Seven years," Nick started, "you know, seven is supposed to be a lucky number, right?" Judy nodded. "And I'm with the luckiest thing to have ever happened to me." Judy's bashful smile returned and she felt her perked-up ears warming. She drew closer to Nick, putting her arm around his waist. Nick wrapped his around her shoulders in return, drawing her a bit closer still. "Unlike you, I didn't have anything figured out. I was just blown by the wind hither and thither. Just waited for my circumstances to change so I could come up with a scheme to adapt to them. And then you happened." Nick gave her a small squeeze with his arm. "My lucky bunny."
Judy hummed in delight, rubbing her cheek against Nick's side. "I can feel the fire getting warmer..."
"The fire?" Nick blinked. He shot a cautious look at the traffic below the two. There were no accidents in sight, and he released a sigh of relief.
"The fire of our relationship," Judy clarified. "I was scared of it getting... growing... er... tepid..."
"Not going out, I hope?" Nick met her eyes with worry in his own. Judy shook her head, smiling reassuringly.
"Oh no, nothing like that," Judy giggled, "you know me though. I always rush into life at full speed. I was... afraid we were slowing down."
Nick put on Judy's favorite sly, smug look. "Has your fox been under-performing lately? Would you like to fill out a survey and mark needed improvement areas?"
Judy was amused and burst out a giggle. "No! No!" She pushed weakly against Nick to move away from him, but he redoubled his arm's tension and drew her into a big hug, to which she held on tight. "I'd say you're doing just swell... you're still the lovable, goofy dumb fox I met twelve years ago. I guess sometimes one of us just needs to remember to poke at the fire to rekindle it, huh...?" Judy stared up at Nick with love-struck eyes, and Nick smooched her nose tenderly.
"Speaking of, with Larry not home for the evening..." Nick grinned devilishly.
"Ooh, I nearly always love the ends to these sentences!" Judy bounced up a bit in the hug a few times, flashing an excited smile.
"Think I could... rub my bunny's feet?" Nick said warmly. "You know, for luck. Don't ever want to be less lucky than what gave me this amazing bunny."
Judy bit her lip with longing. "Well, it's a good thing Larry will be at Chet's place, because you know the sounds I tend to make when you're rubbing my feet..."
"If you think those sounds are embarrassing," Nick showed his teeth in his grin, "just wait until what comes after that..."
Judy squealed in anticipation, stamping both of her feet rapidly. The sky car shook a bit and Nick's eyes went wide with alarm. "Oops! Sorry...!"
-The Wilde-Hopps' Aardvark Rise Apartment-
Nick was panting, and he drank from a water glass he had thought to put on their nightstand. Judy somehow didn't even seem winded.
"Whew... are you sure it's been twelve years since we first met?" Nick shook his head. "I don't think you've aged a day."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Judy turned her eyes away and half-lid them.
"Fluff, I've been everywhere I wanted to go tonight," Nick winked. Judy's eyes were barely open as she gave him a very wide grin, but then they flew open and her ears perked up.
"Oh!" Judy popped up out of bed suddenly and jumped off. "I almost forgot to give you YOUR anniversary gift!"
"Are you sure you didn't just give me that?" Nick gave a huff of exhaustion, then his eyes magnetized to her bending over to collect something from the bottom drawer of their dresser. "Nope, I was wrong. Today just keeps on giving. Never gonna get tired of that view."
"Oh, go on," Judy rolled her eyes, handing him a small box and hopping back up onto the bed with him. "Now, uh, don't get mad at me..."
Nick opened the box and saw a small collection of handsome-looking ties.
"Ties, huh?" Nick chuckled. Judy cringed. "Well, I do like ties!" He took one of them out and started tying it proudly.
"Nick!" Judy laughed at him and his state of "dress".
"I like this one," Nick looked self-confident and nodded.
"And I like... this one..." Judy yanked the tie and drew Nick in for a kiss. Nick tried to pretend he wasn't expecting this, but the intensity of the kiss proved otherwise. They both hummed into it in their happiness.
"What do you know?" Nick asked, both of their eyes closed as they gently nuzzled each other following their kiss. "I like this one, too."