A/N: My god. How long has it been already? I was so caught up with an anime and manga that I forgot all about this. My apologies.

So first of, I have to say I'm sorry for the late update. That WildeHopps Christmas special was so important that I actually have no time to update it. I was done long ago and then all of a sudden I added some new things in it. Some new words, scenes. And not just that. I wanted it to be perfect so I decided to make sure there weren't any errors and there weren't which I'm proud of. But as soon as I finished checking, how time flies… Anyway, here's the next chapter for The Ball. You all know that Nick and Judy will appear eventually. Since this story takes part BEFORE Christmas. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Disney owns Zootopia. Not me. I mean, not Disney own me. But Zootopia. I'm confuse.

Morning… Sophie slowly opened her eyes and blinked. She was staring at the wall for a minute and then closed her eyes, sighing. How she wished Max was there… She just didn't want to get up if the first thing she saw wasn't her favorite fox.

And as the thought was running, she felt an arm placed on her. Her eyes widened but immediately relaxed when she realized who's was it. Red fur, black paw with claws. She held on to it and turned around to see her boyfriend sleeping soundly, snoring peacefully.

How did he even get into her room? But that question didn't go through her mind. She just smiled and turned to him completely, embracing him in his sleep.

"…Morning…" he moaned tiredly, frowning.

Her eyes stood up and she smiled. "Did I wake you…?" she said.

"No… Just a light sleeper is all…" he said, still not opening his eyes.

Seeing him just gave her the spirit to start her day. She placed her elbow on the bed and rubbed the back of his neck.

He frowned again. "Sorry I barged in…" he said, pulling her closer. "I couldn't sleep… And… You know…"

"You picked the lock to my room," she finished for him.

He smiled weakly and let her go. "I really am exhausted, honestly… I guess I'm really not use to sleeping alone anymore like I use to…"

Hearing that, made her a bit worried. 'Use to' he said… Unlike him, who had no one to go to anymore after his foster parents' death, she had her family who still contacts her from time to time after he left Zootopia. She just can't imagine the things he went through to get to where he is now. And at the same time, she wanted to know more. The guilt of running away from him 10 years ago was still there in her heart. She just seem to forgotten about it.

She caressed his cheek, rubbing their fur on each other and looked at him with such sympathy.

He moaned with his mouth closed softly and opened his eyes to look at her. "You think you can go and get some more Catbury…? I ate the last bar last night for a midnight snack…"

She giggled and rubbed her thumb on his cheek. "I'll get to it," she said finally getting that energy back. She got off of bed slowly not to disturb his sleep and looked back at him. "Just sleep tight. Want me to bring it to you when I come back?"

He didn't answer but nodded.

She exited her room, leaving him to sleep as much as he want. She slowly closed the door while looking back at him and smiled. "Sleep tight, Max…" she said softly before closing the door.

A couple hours has passed and Max woke up unwillingly. He frowned and gave a big yawn before rubbing his eyes. The sun sure was dim today. Probably because the clouds were thick. He looked to his right to find an empty spot and smiled, scratching the back of his head. He felt happy that he managed to get some sleep finally. But it has to be Sophie. He looked at the small table to his left which was beside the bed and grabbed his phone.

Max also noticed a chocolate bar there but it wasn't a Catbury but a Crickers and with a note too that said , "They were out with Catbury. Hope you like Crickers. Sophie."

He chuckled and placed a paw on his forehead. "Thanks…" he said to himself with a smile. He checked the time. 40 past 11 in the morning. He yawned again and stretched his arms a little before he set foot on the floor.

It is the 23rd today. Tomorrow is the day the ball begin. He scratched his head again and grab the Crickers bar off the table before heading out of the room. And just when he stepped out… He bumped into Julie, Sophie's younger sister.

Julie turned to him and blushed. "Oh, hi!" she quickly said, panicking.

Max shook his head and looked at her. He raised a paw up. "Sorry…" he said. "I'm still a little woozy…"

"It's okay," she said giggling, covering half her face in her laundry. She looked up to him and her ears fell when she remembered where he was. "Um… Why were you in my sister's room?"

Max closed his eyes and frowned. "I couldn't sleep last night without her is all…" he said. "Nothing else happened. I just needed her…"

"Oh…" was all she replied. Her arms slowly lowered themselves a little, revealing her face. She felt upset. She gripped onto her laundry tightly and looked at him. "I should go…" she said. "Breakfast is already on the table in the dining hall."

Max watched her walked away and sighed. "Not this again…" he pinched his skin between his eyes. He knew what she was feeling. This wasn't the first time the he attracted other mammals. But he knew she'd get over it. She was still too young after all.

While walking down the stairs, he received a text message. It was from Nick. He opened it to find two words on it. ":Merry Christmas:" it wrote and with a happy face emoji. The young fox smiled and was about to text back until… A thought went through his mind.

When he was downstairs, Silvia walked passed him with a box full of glass cups.

"Hey, Silvia," he called.

She turned to him and smiled. "Oh hey, Max," she replied. "Sleep well?"

He nodded. "Is it okay if I invite guests?" he asked. "I… I don't think I'll be comfortable about being the only mammal in a pred/prey relationship alone with Sophie."

"You mean to say that you need someone else who's in the same situation as you during the dance?"

He stayed quiet for a while and nodded again. "But… Not just that." He smiled affterwards. "Would be nice to see my old friends again. And they're very good mammals. I can assure you."

"Well…" Silvia looked back at the busy hall with many mammals renovating the place. "I guess since you're a future Glace member, go on ahead."

He bowed. "Thanks," he said. He turned around and walked to the dining hall for his breakfast while texting to Nick about it and hoping his senior would be able to go.

'Future Glace member'… The title seemed to made him blush a little. He could feel his cheeks a little warm just from the echo in his mind. Been a while since he's had a family. Only, his was a lot smaller than hers. Very small.

He brought up his cellphone and called the first mammal in his contact list, 'Nick-senpai'. Yes, that is actually what he wrote in his contact.

(I think you all know where this will lead. But don't worry, this is on Max's side.)

After telling his senior the invitation, Max put away his phone and sighed. He felt a little at ease after hearing his senior accepted it. He won't be the only predator there anymore. What's more, another fox even.

Few hours later, after Sophie returned home…

"Eh?!" she yelled. "Judy and Nick are coming?! Max!"

Max just sip on his tea and looked up at her after putting his cup down. "Hm?" he responded.

She just smiled and stood up. "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before?!"

"Maybe because you're too noisy…" the fox suggested.

A disgusted look appeared on her face. "Hey…!" she warned. "What does that suppose to mean…?" Her paws rolled up into a fist as if she was ready to hit him.

Max smiled and looked at her with half closed eyes. "Sorry, sorry," he said still keeping that emotionless tone.

She blushed and sat down, looking away with a pouty face. "Doesn't matter," she said. "I forgive you."

And just like that, silence between the two in the dining hall. The only exception was the sound of Max drinking his tea.

"Hey…" she finally spoke up. "I've been wondering…" She looked at him for a while in midsentence.

He noticed this and put his cup down again. "Yea?"

She placed her paws on her thighs and looked to her left, blankly. "Do you think…?" Silent for a moment before she continued. "Do you think… We would still be friends if it weren't for… You know…"

At this point, the fox himself was speechless and lean back at his chair. The only thing he did was look up at the ceiling. "I don't know…" was his answer. "But I'm glad it happened."

"Why?"

He smiled and then faced towards her. "Because we're back together again, aren't we?" He leaned forward and placed his chin on his outer paws. "Maybe… Things would have been different if you didn't run away."

She gave a disappointed look. "But… Still… I just can't imagine you going through all that trouble…" And you had no one to turn to.

"Not true, really. I have a lot of mammals that I could count on. The one that we should be worried is you."

"Huh…?"

"Sophie… You told me, didn't you? The only mammals you can trust was Silvia and she had to go overseas with her husband. In the end, you had no one even after you transfer, right?"

She gripped the cloth on the table and looked down. She said nothing and only frowned. He was right… Unlike him who found new companions, she was all alone. She didn't know what to tell him. That some mammals didn't like her for herself. Only in her family and their business.

When she was just full of thought without saying anything, she felt a warm embrace from behind her. She looked back on her shoulder to find Max's head resting there.

"I'm should be the one to apologize…" he said. "Frankie had access to everyone in specific areas back then… I even got your contact number… I even wanted to call you… But, I thought you might not want to talk to me…"

She smiled and scratched her boyfriend's head. "Idiot…" she said. "At least you tried…"

Max opened his eyes a bit and blinked. "I'm sorry for not realizing this sooner…" he said.

She laughed a little with her eyes closed.

"Wow, having a moment, you two?" said Silvia by the entrance with crossed arms.

The couple opened their eyes and the jill's arms began flailing. "Wah! Silvia!" she said. "It's…! It's nothing really!"

Max's eyes still half closed and he was still embracing her. "Yea, we were," he answered bluntly. "So will you please?"

"Max!" Sophie yelled with a blush.

Silvia giggled. "Just be glad I didn't take a picture. Anyway, did you invite your friends, Max?"

"I did," he said letting his girlfriend go. "They're very nice mammals. I guarantee that."

"From what I heard from Sophie, Judy and Nick. As in, the police officers?"

"The power couple of Zootopia, yes."

"Oh ho, mother and father would definitely be happy to hear this."

"If it's possible, try not to tell them at all. Besides, Nick said he didn't want to grab anybody's attention, if possible."

"Well… They're our guests so we should respect their decision."

"Thank you."

"Oh, also, Sophie?"

"Y-yes?" Sophie responded.

"Julie said she wanted to talk to you."

"Julie? Never expected her to do that. I'll find her."

As soon Silvia was out of the dining hall, Max turned to his girlfriend. "You two don't talk that much?" he asked.

"More like… She was… Not as interactive as anyone here. Always keeps things to herself. I'm surprised she wanted to talk to me out of all of us."

"Both of you aren't close?"

"More like, we had our own life to worry about."

He placed both paws on both her shoulders. "Well go on," he said. "Don't keep her waiting."

A/N: The story WILL continue! I really am sorry for not updating this. I actually FORGOT about it because I was so occupied with animes and mangas. But at the same time, I've got some new ideas. And I didn't just forgot about it. More like, I didn't realize it was THIS long. In fact, I didn't even know it was 2017 even. I'm SO SO sorry!

I will update this in less than a week. I guarantee. I need to finish what I started after all. Thank you so much for still sticking with this story all this time, everybody. I'm not the kind that would leave anything unfinished.

Take care, and expect the next chapter soon.