-Why not?-
It took two days for word about the Rainforest incident to finally make its way around the ZPD.
With a city the size of Zootopia, it wasn't uncommon for big news like this to take a bit to circulate. After all the same day of the "accidental" explosion, there was a major traffic pile-up in Tundra, a protest in Sahara, and an overturned superyacht off the Beach Blocks district.
Also, add the fact that the ZPD and ZBI were keeping a tight lid on the investigation since they were still gathering all the facts.
While the ZNN hadn't picked up the whole story yet you better believe the rest of the ZPD eventually caught wind.
At first, officers were messaging Nick and Judy since they had found out the fox and bunny duo had been the first on the scene.
All of them begging for some kind of gossip that would help them get through the shift. Or maybe a story that they could pass on to the other officers throughout the metropolis.
Judy had been tight lip about what happened. Nick on the other paw couldn't help but mess with his fellow mammals in blue.
He began playing a little game, giving one officer a made-up fact while telling another a completely different story.
Soon no one knew what to believe which both impressed and annoyed Judy who turned into a kind of fact-checker.
"Is it true you fired your gun into the air to get control of the scene?"
"No of course not!" Judy nearly shouted into her phone.
"Nick says you had to carry out an unconscious rhino all on your own."
"Are you serious? Aren't you a detective?" Judy groaned at another question.
While Nick found the whole thing rather amusing Judy was seeing her department in a whole new light.
"You know how hard I had to train to be accepted here?" She would grumble before returning to her lunch. "And they believe the stuff you make up so easily?"
"What can I say, I can be rather convincing," Nick would shoot back with a wiggle of his brow.
If Judy had felt they were being pestered before it was nothing compared to what happened when someone came across the dispatch notes about the call at the Rainforest control facility.
Normally every call that went through dispatch was recorded but it was also typed out by the dispatcher in real-time. They would make notes on the event that would later help investigations.
This was one of the many reasons most responders respected their dispatch centers because not only were they handling multiple calls at once but they were typing them out too.
While most of the notes were relaying basic information some of them were made to clarify certain aspects of the call.
It was such a note that led to an avalanche of gossip.
K-9 team Zulu 16 on scene. Handler Delta confirms Detector Atoms' positive alert on explosive material.
Confirm the previous detection by Officer Nick Wilde.
K-9 team Zulu 16 handler Delta confirms the original odor detected by officer Wilde.
Soon a renewed avalanche of messages started pouring into Nick and Judy's inboxes.
"There was a bomb at the Rainforest site?!"
"Nick found a bomb?"
"When did you two join k-9?"
"Did you watch last night's episode of Zuits?! Oh my gosh talk about steamy!"
Ok so maybe not all of them were about the Rainforest incident.
It took Bogo stepping in to finally dispel the many rumors and try to get control of the situation.
The stern water buffalo had taken time during his morning briefing to address the rumors.
After the initial morning chant, the chief raised one of his hoofs before putting on his reading glasses.
"Before we start with the daily assignments I believe it is important we address what kind of trouble officer Wilde has been getting into."
"Don't forget Officer Hoops," Nick chimed in with a smug smile as his partner's ears fell behind her head.
Bogo glanced at Judy, his eyelids drooping.
"Feel free to give him an elbow when you see fit Hopps," The buffalo said which was met by a polite laugh from the officers in the Bullpen.
Judy didn't even hesitate as she gave Nick a sharp elbow to the side which caused the fox to playfully wince.
"As many of you are aware there was an incident at the Rainforest Climate control operations center," Bogo continued as Nick nursed his bruise. Judy stared straight ahead at her chief, a lovely smirk gracing her lips. "While there is still an open investigation and evidence is being gathered here are the facts. Officer Hopps and Wilde were the first on the scene. They worked with the ZFD-"
At the mention of the ZFD, several officers groaned and made some joking remarks about hose draggers.
"- and assisted with the evacuation of the facility. During that time officer Wilde detected something at the control room doors. A detection team confirmed the finding and a device was removed from the door."
Bogo placed a pair of glasses over his eyes and began to look over his morning briefing but movement in the bullpen caught his attention.
Several paws went in the air, each of them attached to an eager-looking officer who obviously had more questions.
"This is not a Q and A session!" The buffalo barked which caused all the paws to suddenly lower. "There is an active investigation going on as to what happened which means I will not discuss it any further. Hopps and Wilde's involvement has also come to a close to the event so no bother pestering them as they will have their paws full with their assignment today."
Just like that, it was over and soon things began to return to normal for the fox and bunny cop duo.
Well at least as normal as things could be in a city like Zootopia.
While Judy was kind of intrigued by the fact Nick had detected an explosive the fox seemed almost happy to put the event behind him and return to making fun of Judy over silly little things.
The kiss had not been brought up since the day of the Rainforest explosion, much to Judy's relief.
There was the occasional awkwardness between the two. Mostly on Judy's end.
The doe seemed to be walking on eggshells as of late, hoping to keep her feelings for Nick out of the limelight during their shifts.
If Nick had noticed the change he didn't mention it. Which Judy wasn't sure was a good thing or not.
She felt conflicted on the subject. In some ways, she wanted to talk about it and even Nick's teasing was an acknowledgment of what happened.
This whole going on as if it hadn't happened though, while nice, also made Judy feel a little down.
These thoughts however were pushed from her mind at the end of their shift though when Nick came up with a fun idea.
"I could use a drink," Nick said casually as he finished filling out the last of their vehicle inspection log before pawing over the keys and logbook over to a zebra in a ZPD mechanic jumpsuit.
The larger mammal looked over the document and gave the fox a nod before strolling back into an office and out of sight.
"Shift wasn't that bad was it?" Judy chuckled as she strolled alongside her partner as they made their way into the main hallway of the precinct building.
"Well I mean the lunch left more to be desired," Nick teased as he glanced at Judy who rolled her eyes.
"I thought it was an interesting place," the doe defended her choice of lunch that day. "Besides last I checked, I'm the one who got lunch."
"They served me a beetle burger with the bun on the inside with a giant piece of lettuce wraps around the fries!" Nick laughed.
"Ok so maybe it was a little silly," Judy joined in with a laugh.
"Well since you got lunch how about I treat us to drinks," Nick returned to the previous topic.
Judy blinked a few times but had to mentally remind herself that this was actually very normal for the both of them.
They may not be dating but their friendship had always been like this. At the end of the shift they would normally spend a few hours together or end up chatting over the phone.
Cheese and crackers no wonder I tried to kiss him.
"Where were you thinking?" Judy asked as the two made their way into the open atrium inside the central ZPD building.
"Where else?" Nick asked with a smug smile.
After swinging by their respective apartments for a quick change of clothing the fox and bunny duo managed to finally make it to the first responder watering hole Judy had started to fall in love with.
The sun was just starting to set over Zootopia as Nick and Judy made their way into the bar.
Petey the bouncer had given both of them a warm greeting along with a hoof bump that Judy eagerly returned.
The doe skipped into the bar and felt herself warm up on the inside as she spotted friends from around the city occupying various tables and booths.
Judy waved over at a lovely-looking cheetah who raised a glass in the doe's direction. She then spotted a hyena she had run into on occasion in the central district. The two locked eyes before the canine grinned and gave Judy a friendly wave.
The bunny felt so at home at the 10-7 which was amusing since it was only her second time visiting.
Much to Judy's annoyance though Nick and her booth was currently taken.
A pair of mammals in ZFD t-shirts were busy playing a drinking game at the table in the corner.
"Freaking hose draggers," Judy grumbled.
She had really been looking forward to sitting at the booth where Nick and her picture was hanging.
For one it was like a seat of honor, the other reason though was a little on the mischievous side.
The booth itself was perfect for her to curl up next to a certain fox.
"How about something at the bar?" Nick suggested as he nodded over at several vacant spots right up at the spacious bartop.
While it would have been nice to curl up somewhere Judy reminded herself this was just casual drinks with her best friend.
The doe nodded and hopped on over to the bar.
They found a set of barstools that were the perfect height and managed to scramble up and take a seat.
Several menus sat in a pile right in front of Judy and she beamed as she reached over to grab one.
Before she could though a paw came up from the other side of the bar and came down on the menus with a loud smack.
Judy nearly jumped in surprise as she stared at the white paw. There were a few black spots on the fur going up the arm which matched a pair of bunny ears that suddenly popped up.
A pair of brilliant teal eyes stared up at Judy. The bunny behind the counter remained hidden for the most part as she seemed to study Judy who couldn't help but give a hesitant wave.
The mysterious bunny behind the counter glared as she slowly dragged the menus towards her end of the counter, causing them to fall away out of sight. The bunny then slowly sank behind the counter and out of sight.
"Taco!" Came a shout down the bar.
A gruff-looking goat who was busy pouring beer was glaring at someone just behind the counter in front of Judy.
The bunny's ears appeared once more soon followed by the same pair of eyes that gave Judy a pensive look.
"What's the password?" Came a stern voice which was amusing given the pitch being so high.
Nick, who had been watching the sight with amusement, chuckled before leaning over to Judy.
"Try password," The fox said smugly.
"Hey, no helping!" The bunny behind the counter barked.
Judy couldn't help but giggle as she stared at the doe in front of her.
"Password," Judy said firmly
The pair of teal eyes went wide in excitement.
"How did you know?!" The bunny asked before finally hopping up onto the counter and sitting cross-legged in front of Judy.
"Lucky guess?" Judy asked with a laugh as she reached for the menu now being pawed over to her by the eager-looking doe.
Judy took a second to study the bubbly bunny in front of her.
The snow-white doe had a few black splotches on her fur that actually looked rather adorable.
Her clothing reminded Judy a bit of Em's bar outfit. Only the doe's shirt was a forest green and she was instead wearing tight jeans shorts.
"Wait!" The bunny said suddenly as she studied Judy.
Nick began to chuckle, "This should be good."
"Wait!" The bunny said again as she leaned forward and stared at Judy.
Judy leaned back against her seat as her personal space was starting to be invaded.
"Wait!" The bunny nearly shouted before stopping just an inch from Judy's face.
Judy began the chuckle as she looked over at Nick who was simply smirking and enjoying the scene. She then looked back at the bunny in green who let out the smallest of sneezes right in Judy's face.
"That's better," The bunny said as she leaned back.
Nick let out a loud laugh as he nearly fell out of his seat.
Judy closed her eyes and let out a groan mixed with a laugh.
"Why?" Judy grumbled.
"Taco what did we say about sneezing on the patrons?" the goat asked as he strolled by, sliding Judy a napkin as he strolled away.
"I am a rebel without a cause!" The bunny known as Taco let out as she raised both paws into the air in celebration. She then looked back at Judy. "Sorry, I got excited."
"It's alright," Judy mumbled as she dabbed her face with the napkin.
"Better not let Trisha see you are sneezing on Judy," Nick managed to say as he finally caught his breath.
"Wait! You're Judy?" Taco asked as her eyes went wide.
"That's what the badge says," Judy chuckled.
"Ahhhh!" Taco exclaimed as she wiggled on the bar and scooted over to Judy, her paws in the air.
Judy simply watched as the smaller bunny made her way closer before lowering her arms and wrapping them around Judy's head.
"I love you cop bunny," Taco whispered as she seemed to wiggle in excitement.
"Judy meet Taco," Nick said in a smug tone. "She has no idea what personal space is."
"I noticed," Judy laughed as she patted the bunny on the back nonetheless.
"Free drinks for cop bunny," Taco said happily as she sat up straight.
"Hey now what-" Nick began.
"And by free drinks I mean it all goes on his tab," Taco finished as she pointed over at Nick.
"Alright now just a second here," Nick grumbled.
"Taco I think you and me are gonna get along great," Judy beamed.
Taco gave Judy a happy open-mouth grin as she nodded her head, her limp ears flopping over her head.
"Well well well, look who came back," Came a sultry tone.
Judy glanced over behind the bar and was pleased to see a familiar otter smiling up at her.
"Hey Em," Judy said with a happy wave.
"See you met the resident hug machine," Em chuckled as she busied herself with ringing in an order at one of the registers behind the bar.
"Eeeeeeee," Taco said as she crossed her legs and grabbed her own ankles, she then began to wobble back and forth.
"Too bad you came on a certain someone's day off," Em said casually as she scooped a bottle full of clear liquid from a shelf on the bar.
"Oh great," Nick grumbled. "Can't wait to hear about this…"
Right on cue, Nick's phone began to play a tune. The fox glanced down and groaned as the image of a bar coaster filled the screen.
"I'll have a Signal Two please," Nick said with a nod from Taco who grinned. The fox then hopped off his seat and strolled away as he answered his phone. "Now before you start shouting I would like to point out this is my second attempt…"
Judy couldn't help but smirk before glancing down at the menu Taco had allowed her to have.
A shadow fell over the menu as Taco leaned over the top of it.
"I like that one," Taco said as she pointed at one drink. "Oh and that one is good if you add gummy worms."
Judy had to admit she actually enjoyed the extra help when it came to finding a drink. The young Taco was both energetic and eager to help. She reminded Judy of one of her little sisters back in BunnyBurrow.
Once Judy made a drink choice Taco hopped off the bar and scurried away, grabbing various bottles in preparation of making Judy a mixed drink.
The goat from before strolled by and gave Judy a nod of the head, "That one has so much energy we could probably power a city block if we plugged her into the wall."
Judy snorted as she glanced over at Taco who with the help of Em, began making Judy's drink.
"I think she is sweet," Judy said kindly.
"Oh yeah sure," the goat chuckled as he adjusted his worn suspenders. "Sweet like 10 bags of sugar which is what I suspect she had for breakfast."
With that, the goat made his way down the bar to help some mammals from the ZPD who had just arrived at the watering hole.
"Well Trisha says if I bring you here again and she isn't present she plans to shave my tail," Nick said as he hopped back upon his seat.
Judy let out a laugh as she gave her partner a sideways glance, "why not invite her to join us?"
"I did but she says she was too busy planning a bank heist," Nick teased.
Judy rolled her eyes and slapped her partner's arm with a soft paw.
"Don't put words in her mouth."
"I didn't," Nick chuckled. "When you meet her you will-"
A large glass filled with an amber and orange liquid flew by Nick and down the bar where it nearly hit a rhino in a firehouse shirt.
"You were supposed to catch that!" Taco shouted from the other end of the bar.
Both Nick and Judy turned in time to see another beer-filled glass sliding down the bar.
Nick reached out and managed to stop it but some of the foam flew from the top of the glass and sprayed Judy who had been leaning forward to watch the scene play out.
"Uh oh…"
"Taco!" Came a collective shout from several mammals.
"Sorry Judy," Taco said hesitantly, her ears drooping slightly.
After getting Judy cleaned up and set with a refreshing blended drink the black and white bunny made sure to be a little extra careful around Judy.
The bunny from the ZPD did notice however how adorably clumsy the barmaid in the green shirt could be.
No one seemed to mind though as their drinks were occasionally spilled or arrived with a gummy candy floating in the top.
"She can be a pawful," Nick chuckled as he reached over and rested an arm on the back of Judy's seat.
"I think she is kind of cute," Judy chuckled as she took a sip from her drink.
As Taco scurried by Judy took note of an odd logo printed on the back of Taco's shirt. It was a pine tree in the center of a shield.
As Judy tried to figure out what the emblem was from she drank a little too quickly and winced as her head started to ache.
"You ok Carrots?" Nick asked as he finished taking a sip from his own glass.
"Brain freeze," Judy groaned through gritted teeth.
The doe reached up and rubbed her temples but her ears shot up at what happened next.
Nick reached up and placed a paw between the doe's now erect ears and gave the top of her head a rub.
After being friends for so long Nick and Judy were privy to certain liberties with one another. The fox though had never done something like this.
It was actually rather nice and the bunny closed her eyes and let out a soft moan at the fox's paw work.
It didn't take long for the couple to finish their first round and soon Nick's tab began to stack up as the drinks continued to find their way to the fox and bunny duo.
It was around round 3 when something rather amusing happened.
The door to the 10-7 burst open and there came a shout.
"Wilde! Hopps!" Came a shout which caught the attention of the whole bar.
Judy's ears shot up and she leaned back in her seat to see who was calling their names.
Nick was mid-sip as he glanced over as well.
Both of their eyes came across Delta who was still in his full uniform, an annoyed look on his muzzle as he scanned the bar.
His dark brown eyes fell on Nick and he growled as he stormed over, closely followed by his partner Atom who was busy happily waving at several patrons.
"You!" Delta barked.
"Oh! Fight fight fight!" Came a shout from somewhere in the bar.
"Not now Bravo!" Delta shot at a russet-colored painted dog on the other side of the 10-7. He continued to storm down the line of seats in the bar, a little fire in his eyes as he stared at Nick and Judy.
"What did you do now?" Judy asked as she slapped Nick on the arm.
"Why do you automatically assume I did something?" Nick asked with a snort as he glanced back at Judy before turning to the approaching canine in BDUs.
Before Nick could come up with some kind of sly remark Delta slammed a piece of paper down on the bartop right in front of the fox.
"Em, you got a pen?" The painted dog asked as he continued to stare at Nick.
"You are lucky Echo keeps us well-stocked," The otter said casually as she strolled by and placed a pen on the table. She didn't stop though as she balanced a tray of drinks with her other paw.
"Thanks, darlin," Delta said as he pulled the cap from the pen and then looked at Nick. "So since the rainforest incident Atom and I have been working nonstop, double shifts, no days off in sight. I mean just look at my partner."
Nick and Judy leaned in their seats to get a better look at Atom.
The painted dog began to wiggle happily at the attention and waved eagerly at the fox and bunny.
"You are a terrible actor," Delta grumbled at his partner who seemed to be oblivious to the comment.
"I'm not the one who planted a bomb in that room," Nick pointed out, looking a little offended.
"No, but you detected it," Delta said firmly as he shoved the pen into Nick's paw and then gripped the fox's shoulder. Since Delta was a class-size larger than Nick it didn't take much effort for him to force the fox to turn in his seat so he was now facing the bar once more.
Judy watched the scene play out with curiosity. Her brow raised in concern as she put her glass to her lips and took another long sip from her spirit-infused drink.
Nick seemed to be studying the piece of paper Delta had placed on the counter. He had a pensive look on his muzzle as he studied it.
"No…." the fox grumbled as he pushed the paper away.
Delta looked a little taken aback at the fox's actions.
"You made a perfect detection though Nick. It's more pay, better benefits, it-"
"Nope," Nick said as he reached over and scooped up his nearly empty glass.
"Nick, we need more detectors. I mean most of us can be trained to pick up odors but you showed a real unique skill. I have only seen it in a few canines. You could tell there was a problem and you didn't even have the training."
"What can I say?" Nick began as he looked over at Judy and gave her a wiggle of the brows. "I am just that talented."
Judy however wasn't paying attention to the fox. She was completely focused on the piece of paper currently sitting on the bar.
It was similar to the one she had presented to Nick so long ago. It was a ZPD application. Only this one was for the K-9 unit.
She felt her heart start to race as she did her best to hide her panic.
He...he wouldn't leave me…would he?
It is amazing how a simple piece of paper can elicit emotions. While some would have seen this as a great opportunity, Judy saw it as some kind of announcement that she would be losing her best friend.
Her mind went into overdrive as a look of fear flashed in her eyes.
They had been through so much in such a short amount of time but they had just clicked so well.
There was no denying that Nick was her best friend and though that seemed to be all they would be for now the thought of him no longer being her partner was a little too much to bear in her drunken state.
Whether this showed on her face or whether Nick picked up on it Judy wasn't sure. What she was sure of though was how grateful she was to have a friend like Nick for what he did next.
"Besides, you honestly think I can leave Carrots here unsupervised?" Nick chuckled as he reached down and gave the bunny's gray paw a squeeze. "The last time I did that she caused city-wide protests."
Judy's eyelids drooped slightly but that didn't stop a rosy blush to slowly rise up the inside of her ears.
"Atom," Delta said simply as he smirked at Judy.
The other painted dog perked up at his name and hurried over. In a similar manner to his partner, Atom slammed a piece of paper in front of Judy before giving the surprised doe an open-mouth grin.
Judy looked down at the piece of paper and realized it was another application for the K-9 team like Nick's.
"Just check the box marked Handler," Delta instructed.
Judy looked at Nick, a dazed expression on her face.
Nick looked at the paper and then to Judy.
The bunny blinked a few times as she took a second to think. She had made it to the ZPD, her dream come true!
That wasn't the end though, it was just a beginning she had still been trying to figure out. She had worked so hard just to become an officer she never thought about the next steps.
She had thought of maybe becoming a detective, or maybe going into leadership.
The tactical operations team had always looked pretty cool too.
Detection though. She had never even fathomed having the opportunity to work in that operation.
From the sounds of it though this was something that Nick would be perfect for.
If it was perfect for him then she wanted to see him excel. Even if it meant she had to come along and keep him in line every step of the way.
"Well….we may not have a choice in this Carr-" Nick began but was cut off by Judy who grabbed the pen from the fox's paw.
Nick watched in stunned silence as Judy began to fill out the application.
"That-a-girl," Delta said with a laugh before patting Nick on the shoulder. "So let's talk about the interview process."
Hey all!
Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I got an awesome job offer but it does take up a lot of my free time. I am however getting back into the groove of things and hope to have some more chapters done in the near future.
Thank you all again for your continued patience and support.
Pinecone!
...wait...wrong story.
Cya next time!
-Blue