It was through sheer force of will that Judy kept her foot from thumping against the floor. The amount of time it took for Flash to tell a joke could be downright excruciating – but his punchlines were always worth the wait.
They both knew that today was going to be long, arduous, and seemingly without end; an unparalleled mental and physical trial the likes of which could crack even the toughest mammal.
With that in mind, the pair had cleared their schedules entirely and taken a vacation day from work. They'd made sure they both got a good night's sleep, and met up early to have a filling breakfast. They were dressed comfortably and their phones were fully charged.
They were ready.
"Flash, Flash, hundred-yard-dash!" Swaggering up to the service window, Nick lowered his mirrored aviators and grinned at the sloth. "Nice to see ya, buddy."
"Hey, Flash." Judy added.
"Hey..."
Although they didn't need him for official police business anymore, Flash was still the fastest mammal at the DMV. That was why he was still the one they came to when they needed their licenses renewed.
Strictly speaking, Judy's license was the only one that was expiring. Nick still had about six months on his, but he'd decided to go in at the same time. As much as he liked catching up with his friend, he was also interested in keeping their DMV visits to an absolute minimum.
"...guys."
Before Nick could continue, the grey bunny at his side gave him a positively evil grin and turned to the slow-moving bureaucrat. "Hey Flash, heard any good jokes lately?"
Glaring at his partner, Nick resisted the urge to groan. Although they'd been among the first mammals to arrive that morning, it was just past eleven o'clock and they'd only just reached the front of the line.
"Sure."
Pulling out his phone, he peered at the lock screen and raised an eyebrow at the new text message notification icon. Since there were only a handful of mammals in the city that ever texted him, and two of them were standing right in front of him, he was pretty sure he knew who it had come from.
Unlocking the device confirmed his suspicions; the text had been sent by his mother.
[Hi Sweetie! Call me ASAP. Need to know where you're going! Love, Mom]
Although the message was annoyingly cryptic, as was typical for the older vixen, he couldn't help but chuckle at her sign-off. Despite his best attempts to explain the difference, she just couldn't wrap her head around the idea that text messages weren't like miniature emails and finished every single one with 'Love, Mom.'
He put on a big performance about finding it so annoying that his mother couldn't seem to join the modern age, but the truth was that he didn't really want her to. He'd never admit as much – except maybe to Judy - but every 'Love, Mom' he received warmed his heart a little.
He mulled over his potential response, weighing his options carefully. Although he was tempted to ignore the question, his mother possessed a tenacity that could make Judy look downright lazy in comparison. On the other hand, sending her an equally vague reply would only result in an infuriating back-and-forth exchange of ambiguous texts until one of them broke down and provided a straight answer. Based on past experience, the one to break wasn't going to be her.
Might as well get this over with.
"What's..."
Wandering away from Flash's service window, he dialed his mother's number. He idly watched a wombat taking a driver's test as he waited for her to pick up, wincing as the nervous mammal struggled to get the car into gear.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mom. I got your message."
"Nick! I'm so glad you called back!"
He waited until it became clear that she wasn't going to continue. "Soooo...what's up?"
"Oh, I'm just putting together my shopping list and I wanted to ask where you'd be spending the holidays."
"With you?" He responded slowly, a little confused. "Where else would I be spending them?"
"I thought you might be visiting Judy's family this year."
"Why would I be visiting Judy's family?"
"Nick, don't be obtuse." Somehow, he could actually sense her eyeroll.
"Mom, I'm just..."
"Completely infatuated with her?"
"Mom!" He hissed, glancing back to his partner. "Stop it!"
"...orange..."
"Nicholas!" How his mother could fit such an effective scolding into a single word was a mystery to him. "Don't you dare take that tone with me, young man."
"Sorry, but we've talked about this."
"No, you've talked about this. I've never pretended to agree with your nonsense."
"Mom..."
"Honestly Nick, you two are completely head over tail for one another! I just can't figure out why you've both been too dumb to do anything about it."
"Excuse me?!" He barked indignantly, catching the attention of a few nearby mammals. Lowering his voice, he turned back to the window and growled into the phone. "I'm getting tired of going over this. She and I are doing things on our own terms and you need to butt out."
"Nicholas..." She hesitated.
"...and..."
"Damnit." Running a paw over his face, he glanced over to his partner again. "I'm really sorry, Mom. But we have talked about this. My life, my choices, remember?"
"I know, honey. I just can't bear to see you unhappy." His mother replied softly. "I know you've always lived life on your own terms, but no matter how experienced you think you are, you need to remember that I'm always going to be thirty years older than you."
"Mom..." He trailed off.
"I know a thing or two about loneliness, sweetheart. If you two care about one other, you shouldn't have to be apart."
"Fine." He huffed. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll ask Judy about spending the holidays with her and her family. Happy now?"
"Very much."
"I should mention that I haven't actually been invited." He pointed out. "If it's a family-only thing, I might not be welcome."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." She assured him. "Have fun and say hello to Bonnie and Stu for me. Love you, sweetheart! Bye!"
"Love you, too." He pulled his phone away, ending the call. "Unbelievable."
"...sounds..."
Confirming that Judy was still enraptured by the sloth's glacial sense of humor, Nick scrolled through his contacts and place another call.
"What?"
"Hey Finn. How ya doing?"
"Why? You behind on your arrest quota this month?"
"I swear, that just gets funnier and funnier every time you say it." Nick responded dryly.
"Must be my mirthful nature." The fennec drawled. "What do ya want?"
He sighed. "Look, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."
Nick grimaced as the other fox's laughter came booming over the line. "The fuzz askin' me for a favor! That's rich!"
"No, this is a personal favor. I might be... I'm probably gonna be out of town for the holidays."
Finnick snorted in amusement. "Spendin' some time with the future in-laws, are ya?"
"I've already had this conversation today, Finn." Nick felt his ears pin back involuntarily. "Please don't make me have it again."
"Well, I dunno about that. How'd that conversation end?"
He pinched his brow in annoyance. "It ended with me deciding to spend the holidays with Judy."
"...like..."
"Yeah, I figured as much, but I wanted to hear you say it."
"Look, I just want you to look in on my mom. I don't want her to be alone for Christmas. You think you could manage that for me?"
"Maybe. Is she still makin' that casserole?"
"You know it."
"A'ight then. I'll be there."
"I appreciate it, Finn. Seriously."
"I ain't doin' it for you." The fennec reminded him. "You know I'd tap dance on broken glass for some of Mama Wilde's tuna casserole."
"Fair enough, buddy. You take care now."
"Always do. You enjoy spendin' the holidays down that rabbit hole." Roaring with laughter, Finnick hung up before Nick could respond.
"Jackass." Nick chuckled.
"...parrots?"
"I dunno, Flash." Judy replied, grinning. "What is orange and sounds like parrots?"
Flash paused dramatically.
Judy bounced happily on her toes.
Nick took the opportunity to respond to a couple of work emails.
"Carrots."
The sloth gave them a satisfied smile as Judy snorted with laughter, ears falling forward over her face.
"Seriously? That's what leaves you in stiches?" Nick shook his head as he returned to her side. "Your love for corny jokes is bizarre, Carrots. Honestly, I'm beginning to question your sense of humor."
"It's because they're funny." She argued, scowling playfully at her partner. "Remind me to tell my dad that one next time I visit home."
"I give you comedy gold every day and I never hear you sharing any of that with your dad."
"Really? What would you like me to pass on, hm? The inappropriate dumb bunny remarks?"
"You're one to talk." He smirked at her confused expression. "It only takes a couple of drinks before you're dropping bombs that could make a Vice officer blush."
"Oh, now you're just exaggerating."
"So..."
The pair turned to face the peacefully smiling sloth, and Nick let out a faint sigh. "This is going to take a while. Want me to order us a pizza or something for lunch?"
"Ooh! Could you grab us some take out from that noodle place we went to last week? I loved that place!"
"Carrots, that's clear across town."
"If you go get us noodles while I get my license renewed, then while you're getting yours renewed I'll go get us some pie from that bakery in the Meadowlands. I bet they'll have that berry medley one you love so much. What do you say?"
"...what's..."
"I say that you do know the way to this fox's heart, Miss Hopps." He grinned.
"That's a yes, then?"
"That's a yes." He held a paw up. "Keys?"
She pulled the car keys from her pocket, but didn't hand them over.
"Before you go, I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure. What's up?"
"Well, I was wondering..." She cleared her throat. "And I totally understand if you've already got plans, but I was wondering if you'd, well..."
"What's the matter, Carrots? Fox got your tongue?" He teased, more than a little pleased when a faint blush crept up her ears.
"...new…
"Very funny." She huffed, trying not to smile. "But what I wanted to know was whether you'd like to spend the holidays with me and my family?"
"In Bunnyburrow?"
She nodded, a little nervously.
"I'd love to, Carrots. There's nowhere else I'd rather be." The corner of his mouth ticked downward slightly. "I assume your parents are okay with me coming along?"
"You know, it's funny you should say that. Mom and Dad actually called me last night and suggested I invite you. I was worried you'd rather stay here with your mom." She frowned. "Wow. That sounds really selfish when I say it out loud."
"I'm willing to let it slide." He gave her a little wink.
"...with...
"Anyway, I told them that and they seemed pretty confident that it wouldn't be a problem."
"Is that right?" Nick muttered, the wheels in his head turning slowly. "Those tricky little meddlers."
"Pardon?"
"Don't worry about it." He peered at her curiously. "Do you have that renewal application?"
Patting down her pockets, she failed to locate the paperwork in question. "Oh, carrot sticks! I must have left it in the car."
"Well, go get it then. I'll hold your spot."
"I'll be right back, I swear." She yelled over her shoulder, already running to the door.
"…you?"
Nick turned to face Flash, quietly regarding the sloth. "You really want to know?"
The sloth gave a measured, unhurried nod.
"Yup."
He took a moment to mull over the question, gazing out the window as Judy scrambled through the unmarked cruiser they'd signed out, searching for her errant application.
"Well - since you ask - I'm beginning to suspect that our respective parents are scheming to get Judy and I to acknowledge the mutual romantic feelings that, until now, have mostly been simmering just beneath the surface." He gave a derisive snort. "As if that's their decision to make. Personally, I think it should be our choice when and where we choose to act on our feelings, not theirs."
He glanced back at Flash, who was still listening peacefully.
"That said, I'll be damned if we're going to spend the holidays forced to endure their awkward attempts at match-making. I'd much rather just enjoy spending time with her." Nick's brow furrowed. "So maybe their plan is working after all, because I just realized that is all I want – to spend my time with her. I want to be with her and the more I think about it, the clearer it is that there really isn't any point to our holding back."
"So, if you really want to know what's new, here it is. That ridiculous bunny running toward us is the love of my life. She's the most precious thing in my entire world and, starting now and for the rest of my life, I'm gonna show her how much I love her every single day." Taking a deep breath, Nick turn back to face his old friend. "Also, we...uh...need to get our licenses renewed."
Flash seemed to consider that as Judy came running up, application in paw. Finally, a slow smile crept across his face and he gave Nick an incredibly slow nod of appreciation.
"Cool."