"Who's ready for their last day of work?"
"Shut up."
"Good morning, Sunshine. May I just say you look absolutely stunning this fine morning?"
The last comment ended with Nick finding himself on the receiving end of a hard punch.
"It's not going to be that bad," Nick chuckled as he rubbed his now sore shoulder.
The two were in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee maker to finish brewing their morning batch. Nick had awoken that morning to find Judy in a very negative mood, but he didn't let it faze him; it was her last day of work, of course she was going to be in a bad mood.
He had gone about his usual morning routine, trying not to get in her way, and had even started the coffee maker for her. Until she had met him in the kitchen, Judy hadn't said a word to him. Judy rolled her eyes before letting out an agitated sigh.
"This just–it just…sucks! My feet and back hurt like all the time now, and I can't even enjoy the distraction of work since I can't do anything there but sit in an office chair, and I don't even have that after today! I am just–just so frustrated!"
Judy balled her paws into fists and shook them in the air, making Nick recoil slightly, a smirk clearly etched on his face.
"Okay, okay, I hear you," Nick stated calmly as he dodged around her fists and placed his paws on her upper arms to calm her down. "But this is just part of it, Carrots. I'm sorry, I really am, but there isn't much I can do–"
"Useless!"
Judy shrugged Nick off quickly before turning on him. The rabbit moved so fast that she left Nick dazed and confused.
"Huh?"
"You're useless!" the bunny exclaimed.
"What–no I'm not," Nick chuckled quietly.
"You don't do a thing to help!"
Nick placed his paws on his hips and raised his eyebrows.
"I think the hours I have spent rubbing your feet would disagree."
"This," Judy said, gesturing toward her large abdomen. "This is all your fault!"
"Whoa," Nick laughed. "Back it up there, Fluff, it's whose fault?"
"Yours!"
"Care to explain?"
"You did this to me!" Judy yelled as she struggled to hold her flailing fists down at her sides.
"You blame me for your pregnancy?" Nick smirked, which didn't improve Judy's mood at all.
"You're the one who got me pregnant!"
"It's kind of a two-animal job–"
"Do not make me explain why I'm right and you're wrong!"
"Please, I would love an explanation. Maybe a visual representation too, you know? Like a chart or a diagram, maybe a poster? Oooh, a slideshow would be more professional, though."
"Nick!"
"I'm kidding, take it down five notches, Carrots."
Judy stopped and fixed Nick with a ferocious stare. Nick replied with a puzzled expression.
"What did you just say to me?" Judy hissed.
"I told you to calm down," Nick shrugged. "I was just kidding."
"Unbelievable!"
"What–?"
"Do not tell me to calm down!"
"How about we talk about some cutesy stuff, huh? Like how we're getting married, or how we're having kids in about a month."
"I'll talk about that stuff when I'm not completely pissed off!"
"Fair enough. Should we just stand in awkward silence then? I am quite the fan of it, to be honest."
"Give me the car keys."
Nick complied immediately, taking the car keys out of his pocket and tossing them to Judy without a word. Slightly surprised he hadn't argued or made a snide comment, Judy caught the keys and glared at him for a few seconds before sighing angrily again. She then left the house without so much as another sigh. From his view through one of the kitchen windows, Nick watched her struggle into the SUV, start the car, and then leave for work. With a shake of his head, Nick let out a soft chuckle, returned to the coffee pot to pour himself a fresh cup, and pulled out his cell phone. He selected the desired contact and placed the phone to his ear, listening to the dial tone patiently until a cheery voice came over the line.
"Hey, Clawhauser, can you do me a favor? … Can you pull up the traffic cameras on Main Street? … Got 'em? … Okay, cool, do you see my SUV? … Great. Do you still have access to the traffic lights? … Alright, go ahead and turn them all red … Yeah, and leave them red … For like the next ten minutes … Just trust me on this one … Yeah, I'll explain when I get to work … Yeah, she's in the car … No, I know she's going to kill me, that's why you're not going to tell her … I will handle it–look, can you do it? … Awesome, thanks Big Guy, see you soon."
Nick ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket with a smirk.
"Two can play this game, Carrots."
Smirk still present, Nick turned off the coffee maker, rinsed out his mug, and left the house, locking the front door behind him. He then strolled down the sidewalk of their street until he exited the neighborhood out onto Main Street. The sight that met his eyes brought an evil grin to his face. What could have been the biggest traffic jam in history filled Main Street as every single traffic light remained a monotonous red. Taking his time, Nick weaved between cars as he made his way directly down the center of the street, looking for his SUV as if it was a normal action. He spotted it after a few minutes of looking and walked right up to the driver's side. Seeing that the door wasn't locked, Nick opened it, making Judy, who had been heavily laying on the car horn, jump in surprise.
"Nick!"
"Morning, Beautiful. Scoot over for me?"
Still dumfounded by his sudden arrival, Judy slid over into the passenger's seat, letting Nick take control of the car. Not touching the wheel or the gears just yet, Nick took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Clawhauser once more.
"Alright, Big Guy, you can fix the lights … Yeah, I'm good … Thanks."
Ignoring Judy (who he knew was fuming with rage), Nick put his phone away, waited until traffic resumed, and then flicked on the SUV's police lights. The still partially jammed traffic diverged for the car, giving Nick room to cruise the vehicle down the center of the street. Nick then dared a glance in Judy's direction, which he instantly regretted. Their eyes met briefly before Judy started yelling again.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Something wrong?" Nick chuckled.
Judy threw her arms into the air in frustration.
"You just abused so much power, Nick!"
"Yeah, but it was super fun."
"I can't believe you did that!"
"Are you done being angry, Rabbit? Or are we going to continue this all day?"
"Continue what all day?"
"I don't know what you want to call it, but if you continue to mess with me, I'm going to continue to mess with you."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, just a fun way to cheer you up."
Judy let out a "huh" of thought as she considered what Nick had said.
"You're on, Wilde."
The car pulled into the parking lot of the ZPD, where Nick parked and then helped Judy out of her seat. The two walked into the building, passed Clawhauser, but not without Nick winking at him first, and then journeyed through the ZPD offices to their cubicles. Before either one sat, Judy turned to Nick with a pout on her face.
"Nick, I left my notebook in the car. Could you go grab it for me?"
"Sure thing."
Nick turned and made his way back out to the car, whistling as he did so. Once out in the sunshine of the day, he opened the passenger door and glanced around, not finding Judy's notebook. He then checked the glove compartment, the center console, and the pocket in the door, but still found nothing. Just as he was looking under the seats, a horrible thought entered his head.
"She doesn't even have a freaking notebook," Nick muttered angrily as he slammed the car door shut and raced back into the lobby.
"Nick? Everything okay?"
"Not now, Clawhauser! Judy's pranking me so hard right now!"
Slamming through the glass door that led to the offices and surprising those nearest, Nick ran all the way back to his cubicle.
"What did you do?" he gasped as soon as he arrived to find Judy in her own cubicle.
"What are you talking about?" she answered in a sickly-sweet voice.
"Don't play dumb, Cottontail, I know you don't have a notebook."
An evil grin dawned on Judy's face as she let out a dry laugh.
"I can't believe you fell for that."
"What did you do?"
"I guess you'll just have to figure it out."
Nick groaned, still wheezing from running so hard. He trudged into his cubicle, a suspicious eye still watching Judy, and sat down in his swivel chair. The chair collapsed underneath him with a large bang as his weight fell upon it. From his place on the carpeted floor, Nick looked over at a snickering Judy.
"Oh, it's on now, Carrots."
Judy replied by lightly tossing a small screwdriver over, which landed on Nick's chest. Nick narrowed his eyes at her before she shrugged.
"It was already on."