Despite his constant bluster, Judy could tell that the quick talking fox was getting nervous as her patrol car wove through the city streets towards the gate.
"You know there was a time, Carrots, when riding in one of these things would mean I couldn't show my face. Well, riding in the front seat, at least," he said with a smirk, his feet up on the dash "And now you want a fox to be driving one of these zebramobiles? There goes the neighborhood!"
Judy smiled and rolled her eyes as the Zootopia Police Academy came into view. It had taken a bit of pushing on her part to get Nick to turn in the application, and a bit more pushing for Chief Bogo to sign an expedited academy sponsorship, but now four months after their Night Howler adventure, Nick was officially enrolled. Helping save the city did cut down on red tape.
"Trust, Integrity, Bravery, blah blah blah, all neat words for a motto. I wonder how much they paid the marketing team to come up with that one. Some llama in Sahara Square probably put his kids through college on it." Nick continued staring out the window. He seemed to be talking even faster now that they had arrived in the parking lot.
"Aww, is the brave fox nervous on his first day of school?" Judy said in a mocking but not unkind voice. She remembered her own nerves going under those arches not that long ago. Heck, that stupid ice climbing wall still gave her nightmares. She could sense the edge of anxiety in her friend's voice even if he did his best to hide it.
"Nah, give it a week and they'll name the place after me," Nick said as they jumped down from the oversized squad car. Nick grabbed a duffel out of the back and slung it over his shoulder. He held out his paws as if framing a shot "My statue will go just to the left of the entrance arch."
"Sorry, Slick, but I think you'll have to get in line behind me. I've got my eye on naming rights for at least two of the dorms," Judy laughed, waving her arms towards the campus. They slowly started walking towards the entrance. "Now, did you pack enough underwear, socks, a toothbrush? I forgot to pack toothpaste… Oh, and don't forget to check in at the dorm early, single rooms go quick."
"I've got it, Mother Carrots, I've got it. Now let me go before I change my mind on this whole cottontail idea." They stood awkwardly for a moment. Nick turned to go but suddenly found two small arms wrapped around his middle. Her head met his chest, his snout rested on her head.
"Be careful in there, ok?" Nick was surprised to hear the tenderness in her voice.
"Careful, Fluff, you're making me think you might just miss me," Nick said, returning the surprisingly warm embrace. After another moment, the bunny pulled back and punched him in the arm, hard.
"Miss you? I just don't want anyone in there to break my partner before I get the chance," she said, starting to walk back to her car with a bounce in her step.
"Remind me not to actually piss you off, Hopps," Nick said rubbing his shoulder. "You've got a mean right hook."
"Talk to Rufus, the rhino you'll spar with. He'll tell you about my right foot," Judy said, reaching the car and hopping up into the driver's seat. Turning back, she yelled through the window. "Oh, and make a list of Sargent Friedkin's nicknames, I am definitely going to need those later." Laughing, she fired up the car and sped away.
Still rubbing his arm Nick found himself putting his bag down and staring up at the imposing brick and steel academy archway. Built to accommodate rhinos, elephants, polar bears and other large mammals meant that the small red fox felt very small indeed. Just then the ground rumbled as a large bison in uniform walked by, giving Nick a curious but wary look. Nick just stood there with a small but annoyingly persistent voice in his head repeating no one would blame you if you just turned around. Hell, even Judy would understand, just going to disappoint her and everyone else when you fail. It was so tempting right then to just slip away into the city, another shifty fox in the crowd.
"Nope, not today," he said out loud to no one as he picked up the bag and went through the arch. Besides, if that annoyingly persistent bunny could do it then surely Nick could. Silencing the last of his inner doubts, Nick Wilde put on his best impression of confidence and strode onto the grounds.
Judy had in fact not sped off. Slowly rounding the bend in the road, she pulled out a pair of binoculars and watched Nick standing at the gate. "Come on, Nick, don't stop now," she muttered to herself, reading the fox's body language and second thoughts even from a distance. She hoped that Nick hadn't noticed the tear forming in her eye; the punch had been a good distraction at least. She let out a small cheer as he crossed the threshold. Six months of training and yes, yes, she was going to miss that fox and her first friend, but there was always free time on the weekend. While Nick got to have fun and games at the Academy, someone had to protect the city.