The new tales from Zootopia

by Vindictive456

This story is a well thought out work of fan-fiction that will cover in moderate pace how Judy came back to the force and convinced Nick to be her partner, Nick's training to become an officer and his days at the academy, a weird new case involving corrupt mammals and a new dangerous drug, all of that sprinkled with the growing love between Zootopia's favorite pair of officers.

34. Episode 34: Household (part 3)

Episode 34: Household (part 3)

Bonnie was in the kitchen, just monitoring things in there and supervising lunch with the rest of the kids in the burrow, Stu had gone out to check on some of the far corner areas of the farm and left her in charge of things while he was gone, she was ready for everything, except, apparently, watching Judy walking past her in an angry huff. Bonnie watched in silence, she wasn't even sure Judy noticed that she was there when he walked out through the back door, all that she could hear were small laughs coming from the living room, it did not take an experience deductive mind for her to understand that Judy's mood had something to do with Nick.

Bonnie turned to look at Judy and followed her walk out the door attentively, she passed so fast that there was barely enough time to ask her anything at all, but Bonnie just had to do something, mostly because it was an unchangeable clause of her motherly duties and also because she was very curious. Bonnie walked in the direction of Judy, passing through the space in the middle of the two tables where there was plenty of room for her to move along and cross the kitchen area, before leaving, she felt it was prudent to leave someone in charge of the kitchen in her absence so she turned to the tales bunny seated by the end of the table on her left side, telling him:

- Percival, you're in charge. Make sure no one eats from the cookie jar.

The young bunny was just a kid but he was the oldest in that particular lineup, he turned to his grandmother as he saw her passing by and answered to her with a simple salute of his left paw, since his right paw was busy holding the fork he was using to eat and his mouth was too full to post a verbal answer to her. Bonnie exited the kitchen and looked around the backyard, she saw the fence, she saw the gate, she saw her garden and then she saw the gazebo by the right, Judy was inside the gazebo, seated in the comfy and welcoming shade during that hot day, curled up over the seat by the corner and hiding away from everyone, her own private spot in the shade where she could think and sulk in peace. Bonnie smile as she saw her daughter on the exact she spot she imagined Judy would be, she walked towards her and then said as soon as she was leaning by the entrance of the gazebo:

- Since you were just a little kid you have been coming here, to this exact spot. You came here to sing, study, cry, pace around and mumble angrily, or just think about whatever you wanted to think away from everyone else. If I did not know you any better I would think that you liked being alone like this.

Judy looked at her mother, raising her head from its hiding spot behind her raised legs over the seat and crossed arms over her knees and directing her ears ahead as soon as she sensed her presence and noticed steps coming closer to her position, Judy answered to her while her voice was being softly muffled:

- I don't like being alone. It's one of the things I hate most in the whole world, no matter where I am. It's just feels better to think and come up with a solution when I take a moment to be by myself.

Bonnie entered the gazebo entirely and pulled up a seat for herself, she sat down close to the corner and right next to Judy before asking:

- Is there something that has been troubling you?

Judy turned her eyes to the right, looking at her mother before answering:

- Yes.

Bonnie pried further by asking:

- Do you want to talk about it?

Judy released a bit of air out of her nose before saying:

- I do, but it's really complicated.

Bonnie adjusted her posterior over the seat, moving back a little, raising her ears lowering her paws and placing them over her knees before making a summoning gesture with the fingers of her left paw and saying:

- Let's hear it.

Judy took a deep breath through her nose and let it out, for a moment she thought about playing different scenarios in her head where she would simply tell her mother some far off detail that had been bothering her up to that point or maybe put the attention on her sisters and their constant teasing, but none of that seemed like a viable option, on top of that she did not want to lie to her mother's face, she had to tell the truth. Judy moved her ears around to make sure that she and her mother were alone, she knew that Bonnie would not judge her harshly if she spoke the truth out loud but she still wished to make sure that the subject would remain between them, Judy did not raise her head or moved her sight towards Bonnie as she began to speak, it started out as a simple set of words, but those words carried a lot of weight as Judy said:

- Mom, I think I'm in love.

Bonnie had her brows raised slightly higher, her facial expression said it all but her ears did not even move an inch as she heard that. Bonnie had waited so long for those words to come out of Judy's mouth and she was not done yet, Judy reiterated her words as she repeated them while putting the final piece of information at the end:

- I think I'm in love with Nick.

There it was, what Bonnie expected to hear right out of the gate, it was indeed heavy to hear that in a sense, the again, the truth that has been hiding itself for some time often is. Bonnie made it sound like she was shocked to hear that, which she was not, as she gestured with her left paw in the direction of the house, making a subtle movement with her wrist as her paw pointed back towards the way she came from and she asked:

- You are in love with Nick. As in Nick… the fox?

Judy pressed her lips and lowered her head, closing her eyes and not even bothering to look at her mother's face, imagining that Bonnie must have looked at her with immediate disapproval and not even seeing the little smile that the older bunny had on her face as she said that. Judy answered to the question posted by her mother, the awkward pause in the middle did not help out in assuring Judy at all which only gave her the incentive to air her answer as if it was an apology:

- Yes, mom. That Nick. I think I am in love with him and it has been eating at me for a while now. I don't know how to tell him or if I should even tell him at all and I am confused and I feel so weird and I think I might be getting sick to my stomach with all of these emotions and I hate myself for even think that I like feeling like this sometimes.

Judy started rambling on, her rampant thoughts made her unsure on which way the conversation should go at all and her worries of being yelled at by her mother after her confession only made things worse, luckily, Bonnie tried making sure her daughter was attentive and centered for their talk to move forward. Bonnie placed her left paw over Judy's right shoulder, asking her without the need for words to calm down for a second, a request followed soon after as Bonnie asked of her:

- Take a breath, take a moment and start at the beginning. Tell me everything.

Judy only then turned her head and got a good look at her mother's face, Bonnie did not look sad, stressed, apprehensive, she actually looked… happy? Judy did not get that. With a few seconds passed, Judy followed the advice given to her by her mother, she took all the time she needed to get to the main focus of that conversation and how it may help her out and began at the beginning, by telling how she became more conscious about her strong feelings for Nick and how they started out. She began her narrative by recalling the time a few weeks past, on a day right before her working shift:

- A while back, I woke up and noticed that I was entering my… estrus cycle, I didn't have any suppressant on reserve so I had to go to work while feeling the effects on my body through the entire day. It was really embarrassing for a moment.

Bonnie's facial expression actually changed a lot after hearing that, placing her right paw over her own chest and having her eyes opened wide with shock, that called a little more to Judy's attention as her mother released a small gasp and said:

- Judy dear, you are stronger than I. I would have never gone out to work anywhere in that situation when I was your age.

Judy placed the palms of her paws on the sides of her head as she lowered herself in a penitence posture over the seat and said:

- I know! That was so irresponsible of me, but I felt like I had to do it anyway.

Bonnie asked what must have been the most important question for that time, in her opinion at least:

- Did you interact with any other bunnies that day? Anyone at all?

Judy understood the reasoning behind that question, one interaction with another bunny of the opposite sex, no matter how brief, could serve as an early warning about the start of the estrus cycle, one can always tell a lot about the other given the chance and things can get out of control fast. Judy searched her memory fleetingly and was able to recall about the only bunny she interacted with on that exact day when she went to work, she turned to her mother and answered:

- There was just one, agent Jack Savage who was visiting the precinct that day. But I don't think he caught any whiff of me or my condition when we talked. I took a really long shower to try masking my scent to anyone that day.

Bonnie nodded her head and allowed Judy to continue the story she had going before, the main point of the narrative arrived as Judy said:

- I really wasn't feeling myself during work, I did not have to go on patrol that day which was really beneficial in my case but I spent the whole shift in the cubicle with Nick. He noticed that something was different about me and I lied to him to cover up my embarrassment, told him I was feeling feverish, he was really caring as he helped me out the rest of the day.

Bonnie smiled, expecting as such from the fox at that point in the story, the narration continued as Judy skipped ahead and said:

- I purchased the medicine and took two pills before going to bed, only it didn't work right away, I started to feel warm, warmer than any other point in my life or any other time I entered the cycle. I was feeling so strange and out of sorts.

Bonnie leaned ahead, Judy began to slow down in her narration, feeling self-conscious from telling that, even if she was only talking to her mother it was still a touchy subject to her. Judy felt the need to continue telling exactly what happened, taking a deep breath and saying right after:

- On that day, I began feeling a sort of… attraction towards Nick, in a way I haven't felt before. I was awake on my bed that night while thinking about him in all sorts of ways, lewd ways. Nick always had my respect as a friend and partner, but I started to think of him in a more.. personal way. Far more personal.

Judy gestured with both of her arms, moving slowly in front of her in a parallel downward arch that her focus on that subject from then on was incontrovertible, always sitting on the back of her mind and bothering her to no end until she was courageous enough to admit it. Judy then placed her left paw over the left side of her face and said in a revelation that shook Bonnie a little bit:

- I even had dreams about it

Bonnie retreated for a moment, leaning back over her seat and showing her half-open mouth as she heard that, her daughter definitely had a strong attraction to the fox if even her subconscious was alerting her on it. Judy continued to speak, lowering her left arm over the resting spot of the chair and saying:

- In the dream, Nick and I are close, we aren't exactly the same as we are now, but we are still very close. I began to imagine myself constantly like that, with him. Whenever I am alone or whenever I feel his presence close by, I can't help but feeling like this and imagining what it would be like to be with him in such a way. It started out sounding so wrong in my mind but the more I thought on it I felt so unaffected and didn't mind it as much.

Judy shook her head slowly from side to side before turning to her mother and saying:

- Mom, I'm so confused.

Bonnie reached ahead, readjusting her seat a little more to turn in the direction she was looking at, as she placed her left paw behind Judy's head and brought her in closer, Judy was now leaning comfortably against Bonnie's shoulder and there was one last surprise to be had as Bonnie spoke up:

- Judy, I am so happy for you right now.

Judy had her ears raised as she heard those words, it was absolutely not the kind of answer that she expected to hear from her mother after she was done speaking, but there it was. Judy raised her head while slowly moving herself away from Bonnie's soft hold, she looked at her and asked:

- Mom, are you okay?

Bonnie simply smiled and told Judy:

- I am just great. I tried for so long to get you interested in romance, to peak your interests and settle in. When you came of age I tried for so long to find you a match, heaven knows I almost gave up, but I guess you just needed to find it on your own.

- What is going on? Aren't you mad?

Judy was definitely confused, Bonnie heard her questions and answered to that after taking the bearings of the talk and saying:

- Mad?! How can I be mad? You're in love. My Judy is in love.

There was an extended moment of silence after that, Judy did not know how to respond to such a reaction from her mother and thought that the fact of the predicament had not sunk in just yet, not the case. Bonnie lowered both her shoulders as she took a more relaxed stance over the seat, she looked at Judy and explained the reason of why she sounded so supportive after hearing Judy's explanation:

- I can understand why you felt the need to hold this feeling in for so long, even why you were so scared of talking to me about it. Your friend there is very different from the other romantic interests that any of your siblings has brought home.

- Mom, he's…

- I'm not finished.

Bonnie said so as she showed the finger of her right paw, Judy took to silence immediately after and let her finish:

- Here in this house, me and your father had to deal with all the talk about love, how it begins, how it grows, how we all have to tend to it if we wish to keep it strong, only we thought no one would need to get through the talk with you in particular, ever. You were always so smart and I thought you would get through it on your own, but hearing you now just makes me feel so relieved, it helps me know that there are still parts of your life when you still need my help and I will always be glad to provide you with any help I can give.

Judy blinked slowly after her mother was finished with what she had to say at first, the bunny officer was left stunned, almost like every trail of thought in her mind was halted abruptly. With that piece of the talk out of the way and her feelings sorted for her daughter to hear, Bonnie took a deep calming breath and asked:

- So… about Nick.

Judy turned her thoughts towards the possible outcomes of that part of the talk and braced herself once more, she was sure that what would come next would not be favorable. Bonnie tapped her paws over her knees as both of her legs hung from over the edge of her seat and that is when she spoke up by asking Judy:

- Are you sure that what you feel for him is the genuine article?

Judy pressed her lips, she tried airing an answer and she nearly bit her tongue in the process, but she finally spoke up and answered:

- I'm sure, mom.

Bonnie nodded her head once and retorted:

- Then I am sure as sugar that you should follow that feeling.

Judy gasped, her ears almost lowered but the look in her mother's eyes alerted her that she was dead serious about what she just said. Judy leaned forward and looked around, making sure that they were still alone as they talked before saying:

- Mom, I don't get it. Why aren't you freaking out about this?! Nick is a… he's a…

- A fox? Judy dear, you don't need to run around the bush for this one. I have eyes.

Judy still could not understand why her mother was acting so relaxed when talking about that, for many years as she lived in the farm, Judy had grown accustomed to her father's mentality and the distrust on predators that was sometimes also preached by Bonnie, but that situation just passed all the marks that could have been stablished. Bonnie was already noticing the look in Judy's eyes so she tried to remedy her daughter's nerves by speaking more about how she came to realize that Judy's feelings for Nick were apparent and how the fox made an impression on her:

- On the day your father and I went to Zootopia looking for you, I had my heart in my mouth just thinking about what might have happened, and I met your friend for the first time, I wasn't too sure about him. Habits are hard to break, especially if they have been grafted into you for such a long time. I saw that big, slim and, admittedly, well-dressed fox appearing right in front of us and I have to admit that I was a little scared of him. I saw the teeth in his jaw, the sharp claws on his paws, but I also saw the kindness in his eyes and that really called out to my attention. I saw him looking ahead and I noticed that little spark in his eyes trying to break out and I noticed how he struggled to find the right thing to do, I almost laughed because he was just as nervous to be meeting us.

Bonnie smiled, Judy could recall bits and pieces of that day but she did not take any notice about how her mother was talking to Nick or any detail that would have alerted her if the fox was feeling nervous at the time. Bonnie continued to speak after getting the sense that Judy had caught up with the talk:

- Time went by and I could see you only getting happier as you moved back to Zootopia and got your job as a police officer back. I could see your face shinning as you talked about how your day went during our video-calls and how the first subject that popped into those talks was your partner, you were happy because you were with him.

After a short pause, Bonnie spoke up once more:

- When you left the burrow and returned to Zootopia, I was worried, just as worried as the last time you departed, but you built such an amazing life in the big city, you built yourself back up and I was so proud of you as you came back to doing what you loved and what you always dreamed on doing. All of that pride spilled over and you inspired the rest of the family to follow bigger things, bigger dreams. I am always so glad to hear about you and what you do, even if sometimes I put my heart in my paws as I pray for you to be safe.

Judy smiled and fought the urge to cry as she put her left paw over her lips, her mother was saying such beautiful things and those were things that Bonnie just had to tell her. Bonnie placed her left pw forward and put it over Judy's right wrist, taking her daughter's paw before saying:

- I am so grateful to have you safe as you do your best to make a difference in this crazy world and I just know that a great part of the gratitude I have to offer lies with that fox. I just know that Nick and you push each other to be better in so many wonderful ways, also, I've had my suspicions for a while now but the confirmation of it came when I saw you two hugging over his hospital bed.

Judy had her mind thrown into a bit of a tizzy after hearing that, the conversation was so nice and mellow up to that point, but her mother's words pushed her to ask:

- You saw that?!

Bonnie nodded her head and then raised the fingers of her left paw as she counted:

- Well, me, your father, Maria and that nice wolf officer that let us peek inside the room saw it happening. We didn't want to disturb you.

Judy pressed her eyes shut and made a sour face after hearing that, lowering her head and making her ears flop forth during the motion before she said:

- Oh, mom… I am so embarrassed right now.

Bonnie spoke up once more, reaching for Judy and raising her up to sit straight once more before saying:

- You don't need to feel like that. I understand that love, new love specifically, can be confusing.

Bonnie prepared herself as she prepared to tell a story, taking a breath and having her nose twitching for only a second before speaking:

- When I met your father, I thought he was strange. All I could see on him was this aura of intimidation, that big and bulky bunny type that did not seem too friendly, but once I got to know him better I found out that he was the most kind and understanding partner I could ever ask for. I see the same things today in your father as the time we started dating, in the same way I can still see the same spark in Nick's eyes and I have a feeling that you see it too.

Judy clutched her paws, one burning question nagged in her mind, one dreadful possibility. Judy turned to her mother once more after a small break to think things over and asked:

- Mom, what if he thinks I'm weird? Even if I come over and tell him how I feel, what would he think of me? What if he doesn't even take it serious when if I tell him? What if by doing this I screw our friendship over all together?

Bonnie had a more serious look in her face that time, calling out to Judy and telling her:

- Now Judy Laverne Hopps, you listen to me and you listen to me good, young bunny. Does your fox friend really seem like the sort that would tell you off like that?

Judy moved her eyes to the left, away from her mother and towards the house, as she answered:

- I don't… think so.

- I know you don't. Because we were both listening loud and clear when he said all of those things last night. Nick understands things about love and about caring for others that most mammals still struggle to grasp, so don't even pretend thinking that he wouldn't be kind to you and what you have to say after all you both have been through.

Once more Judy didn't have a lot of time to answer to that as Bonnie kept going at it:

- And while you're there thinking about all of the bad things that could happen and keep on wasting time, have you ever stop to think what could happen if you take too long to set your mind straight on all of this? What if some common vixen drops by out of nowhere and drags his tail along? What if you become trapped just like this, thinking about what could have been? Is that what you want?

To that, Judy had a more serious and decisive tone to her voice as the scene played quickly in her mind and she just had to say in protest:

- No. That is not what I want at all.

Bonnie reached for Judy again, placing her paws over both of her daughter's cheeks as she said:

- Then go for it. Take the stand that you wish for and fight for it, just like you have been fighting for what you want every single day of your life. I guarantee you that it will not be time wasted in the least. Love is never a waste of time.

Judy placed her paws over her mother's paws to gently remove them from her face before asking while still holding on to her paws:

- Mom, even if I was all set to do just that, what would dad say?

Bonnie nudged her head and showed a side smile, making it like a gesture with a slightly mischievous nature on her part that indicated as if she knew exactly how to deal with that sort of thing. Bonnie spoke up in response to Judy's question:

- Oh, don't you worry about your father and if he finds out about it. He can be very stubborn but I know just how to deal with him. Focus on getting a leg up with Nick, because it's already obvious he cares deeply about you, the true mark will come from getting him to be on the same page you are right now.

Bonnie let out a puff of air close to a sigh from her mouth before saying:

- Males can be plenty remarkable but it does get them a while to get the point across.

Judy laughed after hearing that, a single laughter that turned to her asking her mother:

- Do you really think I should just go for it?

Bonnie raised from her chair and looked at Judy as she answered:

- Absolutely. I may not get the full length of your feelings but I can understand that they are indeed strong and I get the sense of where they are coming from. That boy makes you happy, so I say get on with it.

Judy felt a great piece of the weight she felt in her chest drift away, she raised from her seat and kept listening as her mother as she said said:

- Nick is smart, strong, funny, polite and he is by far one of the most important mammals in your life. Even if there are still a few more obstacles ahead of you two, I know you can find a way through.

Judy opened her arms and tossed herself forward, Bonnie received the hug gladly and she could also feel the warm and calm breath from Judy. There was a nice moment of silence between the two and Judy was very happy with her mother's insight, very glad that she had that talk with her, but one last bit of information came from Bonnie as the older bunny, still in the mists of the embrace, said to her daughter with a whisper and a saucy tone of voice:

- Also, he has a really nice butt.

Judy unmade the embrace, she retreated and looked at her mother with a stunned look in her eyes, bordering on disapproval, as she distanced herself only by about arm's length and spoke up:

- MOM!

- What? I'm just saying, that is a very important factor to consider. When I started dating your father I thought that he had a nice butt. In fact, he still does.

Bonnie's eyes moved up as she said that, projecting a more suggestive tone to her words, Judy had no intention on continuing the conversation in that direction as she reached upward, grabbed both of her ears, pulled them down to the sides of her head and spoke up:

- Oh, God! I don't need to hear this!

Judy turned around, not wanting to know anymore and not even interested to know if her mother was joking or not, Bonnie was just trying to tease Judy while making a very coherent point, she walked right behind her daughter while saying:

- Judy, come back, this is something you really need to hear.

Their banter only continued for a short time until they arrived at the back door of the burrow and entered the house once more. Bonnie noticed that there was no one else in the kitchen, all the children had already finished their meals and headed on down back into their rooms, or so she thought, as Judy and her mother continued to walk ahead, they could hear the small traces of a commotion of some kind coming from the living room, to their surprise, they saw Nick and Simon engaged in a competition, an arm-wrestling contest. Nick and Simon had their left paws clasped together over the living room table and neither one of them was showing signs of giving the other any leeway for an easy victory, around the two competitors there was a crowd of young and older, cheering for their favorite contestant. Judy and Bonnie arrived just in the middle of the competition and it was clearly not what they expected to find, Judy raised her ears and gestured towards the scene with both of her paws as she yelled:

- What is going on here?

Nick looked to the right, he could see Judy right away, popping just from the side of the crowd and exiting the kitchen with Bonnie smiling right by her side as she saw it all too. Nick raised his right paw to show a little wave of greeting and said:

- Oh, hey there, fluff. You doing alright?

Judy walked closer to Nick and asked:

- How did this even start?

Nick nudged his head in Simon's direction and spoke up while sounding a little amount of strain in his voice, showing that they were both putting some effort into the competition:

- Simon here challenged me for it, the rest just gathered.

Simon renewed his strength, putting a little more weight into his motion and determined to defeat Nick, the buck loved to exercise and he bragged a lot about being the strongest Hopps brother so a test of might against a fox seemed right the most intuitive way to prove that. Arthur, Dilan, the twins, Samantha, Theodora, there were so many others there to watch the show, Simon quickly raised his head and spoke up as a further challenge to Nick:

- Darn right I was the one who started this, I'll be the one to finish it as well.

Nick returned the talk back at his opponent as he said:

- In your dreams, bunny boy. Bring it!

The contest continued and the crowd cheered for each of them, that is when Bonnie noticed someone overseeing all of it from the back of the crowd, two ears popped from behind Arthur as the oldest bunny in the pack stepped to the right and Bonnie asked as soon as she saw her husband:

- Stu? Did you have something to do with all of this?

Stu shook his head as he placed both of his paws to the side to pinch the support of his overalls and he answered to Bonnie's question right after:

- Not at all. I just came in here to thank Nick for fixing my tractor. This was already happening when I came in through the front door.

Nick's left ear twitched as he caught wind of that, the fox turned his eyes in the direction of Stu and retorted by saying:

- Hey, it was my pleasure. I just wished I could have done more to help out.

Nick's greet was interrupted as Simon said:

- Quit your yapping and pay attention. I'm about to smoke you.

And the fox looked ahead with improved determination by smiling wider and saying:

- Oh, it's on now!

The fox and the buck continued in their self-made challenge, neither of them giving up and all Judy could do was release a sigh, point at that ridiculous scene and say to her mother:

- You see? This is what I have to deal with.

Bonnie giggled and nudged her head to the side for only one second before saying:

- Boys will be boys.

Judy walked around the crowd, making her way towards the hallway and Bonnie noticed that right quick so she followed Judy, politely asking her kids to open way so that they could get through. As the two of the arrived by the side cover of the hallway, Bonnie felt like the cheers would be just enough for them to continue their talk without being interrupted or discovered, she placed her left paw over Judy's right shoulder so that she would halt her motion temporarily and ask her:

- So, is there any place you and Nick can go while you're here? Some place where you two can talk while being alone?

Judy was relieved that her mother helped figure some things out but the fact that she was already nudging Judy along to initiate her plans to approach Nick were leaving her a little flustered. Judy turned around to face her mother and crossed her arms before saying:

- There is this silly movie about giant robots that Nick wants to watch at the drive-in theater.

Bonnie recalled the subject right away as she pointed to Judy and said:

- Oh, that's right. You said that there was a movie and he is footing the bill. I remember it now.

Judy lowered her head and said:

- Yeah. But Nick is busy now. I'll call him on it later.

Bonnie was quick to counter that, telling Judy that the best time to ask Nick to go out with her, even if there were others around that might interject, was that that precise moment:

- Judy, don't think too hard on it. Make your move and ask him to go with you. I heard that they are selling tickets by one of the stores at Tarnof hall. You can take my car.

Bonnie said that as she reached for her back pocket and gave Judy the keys to her car, nicely parked up front. Judy looked over to her mom and was only able to catch a little wink out of her and a little whisper as Bonnie said:

- I won't let your father know.

Bonnie then took off to give Stu a slight distraction, it would make it a smoother transition for him if he was none the wiser at first, so she pulled Stu from over the crowd he was overseeing and asked him to go over to their neighbors across the way and ask for a few cups of flour since she was planning on baking some cookies that afternoon, a long talk would eventually breakout between Stu and the owner of the neighbor so that would be the chance for Judy to make a move. The plan was in motion, Judy still was not too sure about it but she appreciated her mother's actions, Judy moved on towards Nick as soon as her father left through the front door and Bonnie gave the 'okay' signal with a thumbs up in Judy's direction, Judy walked around the crowd, remaking the course she took in reverse to pass them by, and spoke to Nick as he was still engaged in the arm-wrestling match:

- Hey, slick.

- What's up, fluff?

He asked while having a touch more strain in his voice but there was still no sign of him either winning or losing, Judy continued as she said:

- I.. just heard that the tickets for the movie you want to watch are on sail by Tranof hall, you best hurry along if you want to grab a good spot to watch it with me.

Nick raised his ears and straightened his stance over his seat as he said:

- Oh, dude! That's right! The movie!

With those words, Nick moved his left arm down like an overpowered steam lever and caused Simon's immediate defeat, the buck had his left arm as stiff as possible in an effort to wear Nick out and secure a win but that would not amount to much if the fox actually had the capability to overwhelm him instantly. Nick's quick motion to hurry the contest along caused Simon's entire body to follow the motion of his arm, turning to the side as his muscles grew stiff and he was laying down on the ground, crushed by total defeat and washed over by painful moans. Everyone in the crowd gasped as they saw Simon kissing the floor, Samantha and Arthur came to his aid and they asked respectively:

- SIMON!

- Are you alright?

The buck stayed down to the ground as he groaned and answered to them:

- Yup, I'm fine. Just going to lie down here for a little bit.

Nick went over to check on Simon as well, he would hate if he was actually the reason that the buck got hurt during their little competition, it ended off with Simon raising hastily back on to his feet and assuring Nick that their next round would be twice as great and at least three times more challenging, Nick merely answered with a smile and telling Simon that he would look forward to it. Nick and Judy walked down the stairs, each of them went inside their rooms to get ready for an outing and to watch the movie which Nick already considered to be a blockbuster so he had some concerns if he and Judy would actually be able to find a nice spot in the drive in to see it. As Nick was inside his room, getting dressed in the freshly clean shirt that Judy gave back to him and that he brought along considering it was his best available item of clothing, Judy was pacing back and forth inside her room as she revised her options.

It was meant to be very simple, just a little outing, some talk, a movie, then return to the burrow but Judy's mind was once more turning her attention over to possible scenarios of ruin that could arise suddenly if she did not tended sensibly for her interactions with Nick. Judy took a pause, standing in the middle of her room as she thought things over regarding her immediate situation, she took to selecting the most nice looking pieces of clothing contained within her travel case, she settled for a long sleeved shirt with bright plaid flannel patterns and a comfy pair of long pants made of material similar to jean but less cumbersome on her movements, she felt ready to move along and show Nick her town and that simpe outing would be more than enough of an opportunity for her to understand the workings of a date better and move closely to airing her feelings towards Nick.

Judy exited her room, fully dressed and ready and Nick was waiting for her right by the exposed threshold of his room, he had his paws behind him as if he was hiding something as he leaned his upper back side against the thin wooden seam, the door was opened which gave him a little more room to lean and adjust himself so that he would not accidentally disturb the patched wound on his right shoulder, focusing on only putting any weight or strain on his left shoulder. Nick saw Judy exiting her room and admired in silence the nice and colorful outfit she was wearing, she saw him dressed in the same pair of pants as before but now with his iconic green buttoned up T-shirt, she gestured towards him as she was about to close the door of the room she just left behind her and asked:

- Ready to go?

To which he answered:

- In a second. I got a question for you first.

Judy closed the door to her room with a slow latching motion, she looked at Nick and wondered what he might come to ask her, that is when he revealed what he was hiding behind his back as his left arm came up front and he stopped leaning against the threshold right behind him, Nick placed himself at a straight stance as he showed that his left paw was holding on to one of his many ties and he placed it under his jaw and right in front of his neck. Nick showed his appearance to Judy, repeating the gesture he had performed in front of the mirror to himself that morning, he consulted Judy in her honest opinion as he asked her:

- Tie? No tie?

Judy got that right away, it was a simple question and a simple gesture that she caught on right away, so she gave him a simple answer as she nodded her head and said:

- Tie.

Nick got the gist of it and placed the tie over his shoulders, around his neck and tuned into an expertly shaped knot. Judy watched the fox work on his signature look, the dark blue tie with thin white stripes now formed into a nice and fancy addition to his outfit, Judy walked closer just as Nick was reaching back to close the door behind him, she positioned herself right next to him and said:

- You are able to tie that knot so fast.

Nick turned to Judy just as he was about to close the door and showed her both of his paws, his palms in clear view as he moved his fingers around, as if to accentuate his dexterity, before telling her:

- Nimble reach and lots of practice.

Judy noticed how nicely Nick was dressed as he closed the door to his room completely and turned to face her, she also noticed that there was one item missing on him, it had been missing since that very morning in fact but she was so worried with many other things that she did not realized it until that exact moment:

- Nick, where is the sling for your arm?

The fox looked over himself and answered shortly after as he pointed towards the closed door next to him:

- It's inside. I felt like I wouldn't need it today since I didn't feel my shoulder hurting after you helped me out.

Judy came closer, just one extra step, before reaching over Nick's right arm with both of her paws, her left paw was gently placed around his wrist while her right paw delivered a nice pat over his forearm, she looked at him and said:

- You should put it on for the rest of the day.

Nick looked over and thought about protesting against that, but the look of worry in Judy's eyes quickly changed his mind, he went back inside the room to retrieve and reequip the sling over his shoulder and around his arm, it was for the best, even if it chafed his elbow on occasions. Nick and Judy climbed over the stairs but they stopped before reaching the surface floor, Judy pointed out towards the end of the hallway of the first basement and Nick followed her without asking any questions, although he did wonder why they were taking that detour and not heading straight out of the burrow through the front door above ground level. Judy revealed that the slight detour was so that they could get easy access to the garage, by the end of the hallway and behind a large sliding door, there was a passageway that lead to a big car pool where pick-ups, cars and even scooters, most of which bared the stamp with the logo of the Hopps family farm on their sides, were parked and ready for use and deployment. Just one more addition to the house that made Nick's jaw drop on the spot.

Judy called out to Nick, seeing the fox's stunned face was more than a good enough treat for her to start that outing right, the fox entered the garage and could then appreciate how nicely it was built, made to be separate from the structural plain of the main house and built to house vehicles of different porterage for use as well as easy parking space and access for any family member that had a driving permit. Nick looked around as he imagined how wild it would be to have something like that, a dream to have a private parking space filled with different owned vehicles, but that parking structure was not really all that big, it was only meant to house thirty-two vehicles total, separated by a clear midway path that lead to the exit with sixteen parking spots on each side and each side having a column that divided the spaces in rows of four. It was very simple but compact and functional enough to get the job done, he really admired that sight as he was walking there.

Judy grabbed the keys that her mother gave to her I good faith and pointed it up, pressing a little button on the surface of the keychain to identify without delay where the car they would be taking was parked, the beeping sound and the blinking lights at the back of the second parking line alerted them of the location of their ride, Judy walked ahead and guided Nick until they were placed in front of a nice looking car, it was clean and it had a smooth paintjob colored in maroon red and it was more than nice enough to get them where they needed to go. As Judy went to unlock the doors, Nick could not help but lean over the hood, place his paws over it and appreciate the vehicle for his model and finish:

- Cool. Lermane, corsair nine-one-five. Lerman always makes cars that deliver in both look and performance.

Judy opened the door to the driver's seat and stepped inside before letting Nick know:

- My mom really likes this car. She bought it recently.

As Judy stepped inside and reached to the right as far as she could to open up the door for Nick to do the same, she put on her seatbelt as she waited for the fox to sit down but Nick just stood next to the car, leaning his head inside but not stepping in to take his seat at the passenger side of the cabin. Judy watched her partner just taking a look around and asked of him:

- Are you going to get in the car or just look at it, slick?

Nick directed his eyes towards Judy and said:

- Well, if this car is new to your mom then I got to be careful, fluff. I don't want her to complain that there is fox fur all over the seats. I molt easily and the last thing I want to do is mess with the ride of a cool mom.

Judy smiled and leaned her head over the steering wheel to try hiding her smile from the fox, she looked at him once more before saying:

- Mom trusts me with the car and, if she asks, I'll tell her you called her 'cool mom'. Now, get inside, please.

Nick shrugs that off and enters the car, only the seat is set for bunnies so it feels a little constricting for Nick to sit down comfortably once he gets inside. Judy notices how Nick was grunting and probably uncomfortable to be sitting in a spot that did not have his height and mass in mind so she had to perform a little adjustment, she reached for the lower part of Nick's seat and pulled a little sliding pin that allowed him to slide the seat back and open a little more room for him to stretch his legs, the fox looked to the left as soon as his seat was correctly adjusted for his figure and thanked his partner:

- Thanks, fluff.

- Don't mention it. Now, let's get going.

With that, Judy put the key in the ignition, turned the engine on and drove off, the two said farewell to the hill and the farm for that afternoon and moved towards a nice, enjoyable and worry free outing just between them. Nick waited for a moment before turning to Judy and asking her while having the pointing finger of his left paw behind his ear:

- Do you hear that rattle in the engine?

To which Judy answered with?

- Oh, don't you start that with me.

The fox turned to face forward while having a toothy smile on his muzzle, Judy kept driving and told herself in silence that this would be a very favorable day for them both. As Judy and Nick arrived by Tarnof hall, having fully left the open fields and plantations behind, she noticed how Nick had a smile on his face as soon as he left the car, the heavy traffic of the mini-mall paths stretching in front of them reminded the fox a little bit of the rushed motions of the big city, it made him feel much at ease since he was much used to the crowded areas and streets, although, he was usually the smallest mammal in the middle of the crowd, in a town mostly filled with bunnies, Nick definitely stood out. As they were walking away from their selected parking spot near the front of the main mall entrance, Judy halted Nick and asked him:

- Nick, could you wait here for just a moment?

Nick looked over at Judy, they haven't even left the side of the car that brought them there and she was already asking him to split up during that outing. Nick leaned closer and asked her while making small gestures with his left paw:

- Why, fluff? Are you afraid I'll to be embarrassed if you are seen walking next to a fox in your old stomping grounds?

Judy quickly immediately said no to that, she had the feeling that Nick was only joking but she could not help but take that question with a dash of sincerity sprinkled in the middle. Judy made a repetitive dismissing gesture with both of her paws in the air and told him:

- No. Nothing like that.

Judy then directed both of her paws to point to her immediate let as she said:

- I just need to go over across the street and have a word with an old friend of mine. Sheriff Marshall is an old family friend and I would like him to know that I am in town for a bit.

Nick then pointed his left paw to the right and then to the left as he asked Judy for clarification on the matter of the actual identity of her friend:

- So… wait a second. Is he a 'sheriff' or a 'marshal'?

Judy was quick to explain that as she said:

- He *is* a sheriff but his *name* is Marshall.

It took only a second for that to sink in for Nick as he said right after:

- Well, that doesn't sound confusing at all.

Judy released a little giggle and rolled her eyes before excusing herself, she turned to the left and walked past the street and on to an office structure marked with a golden star on its entrance, the sheriff's office looked very simple but it also looked to be a nice place to work. Nick leaned his lower back against the side of the car, he tucked his left leg softly and crossed in front of his right leg as he waited for a moment but the heat of the sun beating down on him made it rather difficult for him to remain in that exact spot for far longer than two minutes:

- Shoot. Today is a scorcher.

Nick said to himself in a whisper, he then reached into his left side pocket to grab his shades and placed them in front of his eyes, he looked up and noticed that there was nary a cloud in the sky and, though it was no longer high noon, the sun was still shinning strong over Bunnyburrow, so Nick decided to seek the nearest shade, beneath the covered up front of a cosmetics shop, that would do it for the time. Nick loitered under the shade as he waited for Judy, in a similar pose as he employed as he waited close to the car, the air in Bunnyburrow was much fresher than Zootopia but without the funnel for recurring winds provided by the tall buildings of the big city, the heat took a while to move on around there in relation to the savanna. Nick took a little time to breathe and cool himself off but, as he took deep breaths through his nose, he caught wind of an interesting scent that passed by, it was food, fried meat, he wanted to know what it was.

Following his nose through a path that lead to his immediate right, Nick took off, abandoning the post trusted to him by Judy and searching round for the source of that scent. Nick passed in front of a few stores on his way, different smells would have obscured his olfactory senses but he was still hot on the trail of the intriguing scent of food, there was a coffee shop on the way, the familiar smell of caffeinated beverages passed strongly in his mind as he crossed past it and he thought to himself:

"I never thought I would miss the taste of coffee so damn much."

Nearly at the end of the border separating the mini-mall from the rest of the town, Nick found a stand that was without a doubt the origin of the scent he had been following, a food stand with wheels and a single mammal to move and manage it in that place, Nick noticed the merchant by the kart, a raccoon dressed in a neat little uniform, engaged thoroughly in his preparations, slicing vegetables into manageable pieces, pinching spices over the mixes and turning small pieces of skewered meat around over the smooth surface of an oven mounted into the frame of the kart, only, it was not a conventional oven. The surface of the oven, where all of the ingredients placed by the raccoon were steamed and sizzled long enough for the appealing smell to waft out into the breeze, was made of a smooth and thin stone, similar to granite only far rougher upon further inspection, Nick decided to approach and he was greeted by the owner of the cart as soon as his approach was noticed:

- Good day there, pal. Can I interest you in some scrumptious tastes or exotic flavors?

Nick had heard a lot of sellers' pitches but there was definitely the most colorful entry he had ever heard up until that day. Nick walked a little closer as the raccoon stored his cooking utensils aside and asked of him:

- What is this? I never smelled anything like it.

The racoon showed a pointing finger of his left paw before answering:

- This, my good sir, is nothing more than a certain blessing for your discerning taste buds. Strips of chicken and turkey melded into perfectly delectable cubes, seasoned with diced onions and/or cassava stripes, skewered and fried over the searing stone stove built by yours truly and a true mid-day snack for raging summer or mellow winter. I call it… 'sun sol meat' and it is the best road side snack for any hungry carnivore.

Nick was definitely interested now, the description of the meal so nicely detailed by the vendor made it sound very appealing, and easy to do, he really wanted to try it out. Nick pointed to one of the skewers on the stove and asked:

- How much for a full appetizer course?

The raccoon took a good look at Nick, taking into account the level of interest that the fox was showing for the meal, and only then realizing that he had never seen a fox quite like him anywhere around Bunnyburrow before, it was a small town with lots of inhabitants but it was still rather easy to identify any faces that passed by. Planning to get the fox hooked right away on the exotic flavor of his dish, the raccoon spoke out and gave Nick a small sample as he said:

- Take this first one on me and get a taste for yourself. See how you like it.

Nick grabbed the offered skewer and took a bite right away, the crunching of the meat under the pressing of his teeth caused the juices trapped in the meat to pour over and flood his pallet, he halted his chewing only for a moment before continuing to appreciate the taste he was now experiencing and telling the vendor his honest opinion:

- Damn! This is great! It's got a kick to it.

- Ain't it? I prepped stuff like this around these parts every week day. Don't get a lot of costumers coming around here.

Nick only then took a look around and noticed that he was actually the only costumer present in that area, such tasty food from a source that seemed so open and reliable should have a line turning the block but the fox was the only one there. Nick looked back to the vendor and asked:

- Don't get why that is. This skewers are great. Why don't you have your cart placed in an area with more transit for costumers? Instead, you look like you're hiding in this tinny corner.

The raccoon burst out in laughter, looking at the fox a few seconds later before saying:

- Would if I could, but a city ordinance doesn't allow me to do that anymore. It's kind of hard to sell meat products in a town where most of the population is vegetarian by nature.

Nick looked around and figured that what the raccoon said was the true matter to that, did not change the fact that it was a tough dish to swallow. Nick continued delighting himself with the small dish in his paws, turning the skewering stick to a new angle and snagging another bite out from it, the vendor on the other side of the cart returned to his task in preparing more servings of his signature dish before trying to make conversation with Nick, the fox imagined that it was out of a need to connect with a costumer and making so that the need of buying more would arise out of it, classical bit for a transaction. The raccoon placed more skewers over the stone stove before asking:

- You a tourist?

Nick still had a tiny serving of meat in his mouth as he answered:

- You could say that. I'm just visiting for the week.

The raccoon placed a thin layer of cooking oil over the fresh serving on the stove and asked subsequently:

- Where do you hail from?

Nick swallowed the bite he had in his mouth before answering calmly to the question and looking for a new favorable angle to take another bite:

- Zootopia.

The raccoon stopped his task for a second, holding on to two of the skewers, one in each paw and steadily in place, as he asked the fox:

- Get out! The big city? What's it like in there?

Nick nudged is head to the sides as he went on to list the main attributes related to the city where he came from, making it sound like a direct pitch of why o one should ever visit the place as he made his voice sound unenthusiastic and he spoke up:

- Well, it's loud, fast, obnoxious, crowded, tough, pushy…

But the pitch ended with a smile on the fox's face as he said:

- Best city in the world.

The raccoon released a loud laugh before turning back to his tasks, relieved to know that the mammal in front of him was not only friendly, he was witty as well. With the skewers all in place and his stand ready once more to serve any interested carnivore that might come by, the raccoon pointed at Nick as soon as the fox raised his left arm to take one last bite of the snack into his mouth and asked of him:

- So, how did you get that little number?

Nick halted completely and checked the direction that the vendor was pointing at, to his right arm, the sling around it really called to the attention although Nick did not wish to freak anyone out by just bluntly telling about his injury, he thought that the vendor did not watched the news so he probably never heard about a fox officer who had just been shot out in the big city. Trying to remain calm and making sure that he would not spill any grievous details about his wound, Nick cleared his throat and answered:

- It was a… work related injury.

The raccoon reputed that by asking right after:

- Are you a mechanic?

Nick did not answer to that, looking at the vendor right across from the hot stone stove cart with a stunned look in his eyes, trying to figure out if he had let something slide to allow the raccoon to arrive at that conclusion or simply chalking it up as a rushed guess on his part. Nick turned to him and asked:

- How would you even… ?

Assuming he had arrived at the perfect conclusion about the fox's vocation, the raccoon pointed to his own nose and raised a brow as he looked to the fox and answered:

- I smelled motor oil. Got real strong when you walked the corner.

Nick was impressed, clearly he was not the only mammal in the vicinities with sharp sense of smell, he released a soft guffaw before saying:

- I took 'two' baths.

The raccoon lowered down and roamed around for a bit inside a small cabinet built at the side of his cart, he raised to his feet after finding what he was after and told Nick:

- My younger brother is a mechanic as well. Word to the wise, that is one smell that is not going to leave you any time soon, no matter how many times you bathe.

Nick took another bite of his snack, the last bit of food on the stick, before thanking the vendor for the words. Already finding himself wanting more of the delightful snack, Nick tossed the used stick out in a nearby trash can placed at the side of a electric pole and turned to the vendor to ask for the price, pointing to the snacks being prepared over the stove and asking him:

- Any chance I can get two more of these to take with me?

To which the raccoon answered:

- Sure, but this time I'll have to ask for pay.

- No worries.

Nick said that as he removed a thin stack of folded bills from his left side pocket. It was a little tricky for Nick to hold on to the bills and count them precisely with one of his arms being partially impeded by the sling, but he managed to get the right value of two skewered snacks, thanked the vendor for the service and walked out on his way, back to near the spot he and Judy had parked earlier to wait her return only now with the satisfaction of a brand new flavor recorded in his memory. Nick wondered about the conditions of the vendor on his way back, thinking if he should have suggested to him to move his cart and his culinary creations since there were more than plenty of carnivores back in the big city that could enjoy the mid-day snack on their ways out of work, then again, that might be intruding and there could be a number of reasons why the vendor decided to simply be in Bunnyburrow.

As Nick returned to the spot he was before venturing off to follow his nose, he waited for just a few more minutes before seeing Judy returning on her way, she immediately apologized for the delay since the sheriff wanted to exchange a few words with her and tell what was new in the little town but she also inquired where Nick had gotten the little snacks in his paws. What followed soon to that was Nick retelling about the interesting character he met just around the corner and the delightful discovery of a new meal that he might research and attempt for himself when they returned to Zootopia, even if he had no access to a comparable stone stove to do so.

Judy directed Nick further into the mini-mall, the movie at the drive-in would only start much later after the sun would go down so they still had plenty of time to peruse the wide gallery of shops around them and admire the sights before purchasing the tickets and getting on their way for the picture presentation. Judy walked close to Nick by his left side, she placed her paws together as they took syncopated steps forward and she imagined what they should do next, or more appropriately, what she should do next. The two were no longer inside the burrow and there was no risk of their outing being rudely interrupted by someone of Judy's family, they were fee to enjoy the day as they pleased but Judy had no idea what the protocol for approaching Nick in a more romantically oriented way should be placed at, even after the talk that she had with her mother earlier, Judy still felt lost and did not know what to. Having many thoughts rushing over her head, she thought to herself:

"What do I do? He's right there and I still don't know what I should say to him. Should I reach for his arm? Would that be okay? Maybe I'm just thinking too much. But what if I'm not?"

Judy stopped herself, in a way at least, her body continued to move in a sort of automatic set while she kept her regular distance alongside Nick as they walked but she halted her chaotic and pragmatic trail of thought as she said to herself in silence:

"Stop it! He is right there and you have nothing to fear. Just get close and reach for him."

Having that in mind, Judy slowly raised her right arm and reached for Nick's left paw as it hung near his side and followed a gentle swing back and forth as they kept walking. Nick was far too distracted to notice Judy approaching him, making an effort at the very least, he was seeing the many stores and imagining if he should buy a memento or a simple trinket to take as a souvenir to remember his stay in Bunnyburrow with something more tangible than a mere sensation of fond memory. With one side glance to the left followed by a sudden halt of his walk and surprising raise of his left arm as he pointed to a sight he had just discovered, Nick spoke out:

- Holy crap!

Judy jumped away from him, a short hop backwards as she imagined that the fox had reacted to her sudden approach, she was very much on edge since she still had not gotten any clues about what could play out for the both of them if she actually mustered the courage to confess. Judy yelped and, as she felt the soles of her feet back on the ground and took a short breath to calm herself down, she asked of Nick:

- What? What is it?

Nick looked at Judy, paced to the left and only a few steps behind his position, her yelp called to his attention since she had no intention of startling her out like that. Nick turned his body around to face Judy and told her:

- Sorry about that, fluff. I was just surprised to see that.

Nick said the last word of that sentence as he pointed to a spacious structure at the gallery, a colorful lit sign with the words 'Starlight palace' written in huge letters and that showed the entryway to an arcade, a relic of digital entertainment that the fox considered lost to time, clearly, it was not the case in Bunnyburrow. Nick began to walk in the direction of the arcade and Judy followed close, mostly disappointed that another chance to speak up to Nick had been lost but also somewhat relieved that it happened. Judy spoke to Nick as she followed his steps in the direction of the arcade and asked:

- That is just the old town arcade, it has been here for ages. I think that the collars in city hall just refuse to move it or remake it into something more useful.

Nick was appalled to hear those words, he turned to Judy and said:

- Judy, don't you see what is standing right here in front of you?

- I…

Nick did not even give her time to answer as he said:

- This is a monument to entertainment and good times from all around, some of the best moments in my youth happened in an arcade much like this one.

Judy crossed her arms and leaned her ears forward, they lowered at a slight angle in front of her stance as she asked:

- Oh, really? Playing hookie and skipping class?

Nick smiled and shook his head as he said:

- Unbelievable, even on a vacation you still can't turn the 'cop' off. You're treating me like I am a punk of some kind.

Judy showed the palms of both her paws and raised her ears once more before saying:

- Sorry, I didn't mean it like that.

Nick turned around and continued walking closer to the entrance as he said:

- It's not about the games or the prizes, it's not even about skipping class like a rebel. It's about the hang out potential. It's about getting together on a spot that can call out to the imagination and probable setting for competition, is about friends and cool memories that just stay with you like the pattern on a screen of a really cool arcade cabinet. You know, I had my first kiss under the roof of an arcade.

Judy felt her heart skipping a beat after hearing that, she did not know why Nick would even bring something like that up, then again, they were open to one another when it came to talking about certain details of their lives. Judy leaned closer and asked:

- R… really?

- Yeah. But I must have read the moment very wrong because she kicked my knee right after.

Judy lowered her head and placed her right palm over her eyes before saying with a small touch of laughter in her voice:

- Oh, my gosh. You are such a clown sometimes.

Nick shrugged that off by telling her:

- At the very least, I am consistent.

Nick walked ahead a little further, he stood right in front of the arcade wide opened entryway, he looked around and said:

- Wow, this place is actually kind of a bummer.

Nick recognized the soft flashing lights and the bleeping sounds of games being played but there was no rowdy crowd lining up to play any significant game not even a crew of rowdy kids coming together to pool some tickets for a large prize at the counter, the place was much calmer than his old stomping hangs back in Zootopia, the selection of available games was not that significant as well upon further inspection. Judy came close and told Nick the reason behind the lack of movement inside the arcade:

- It's probably because today is a school day. Most kids in this side of the county get bussed over to school and it is a long drive there.

Nick had his ears lowered as he took a long breath and said:

- Wow, this used to be my dream.

Judy turned to him with a brow raised and asked:

- What? To be at a musty old arcade?

- No. To be the coolest guy in the arcade. Flynn's back in Zootopia was the place to be, cool games, cool friends, cool snacks, but me and Finnick were always the odd ones out.

Judy stepped forth and leaned ahead to get a better look at Nick's face, the fox sounded as if he was kidding but the look in his eyes told that he was actually being sincere, Judy poked the upper part of his wrist to call his attention and asked:

- Wait, really?

Nick looked at her and asked:

- Yeah. Being considered cool while attending the coolest spot was considered high priority back then. I told Finnick that I was going to get to the top someday. Of course back then I thought that would amount to getting the high score in one of the games but the arcade closed and got demolished before either of us could get to it. Also, it got pushed to the side, like most of the things that slip along when we get to grow up.

Judy turned her head to look at the colorful place around her, figuring that Nick was actually giving her a lot to think about. When Judy was just a kid, she held on to the dream of becoming an officer of the ZPD, she achieved that dream but that made her a one note type of character growing up in Bunnyburrow, other kids might have had silly dreams and more approachable goals that faded away with time, minor objectives that might have seem crucial back then but that are only recalled as trivial in the present. Nick released a long and loud sigh out of his mouth as he finished his thought from before and said:

- Here I am now, the coolest guy in the arcade, I don't even get to enjoy it.

Judy smiled and shook her head, in Nick's own way, they were having some fun together. As Nick turned around, already intending to leave the arcade behind for a more interesting activity until they had to go see the movie, something else caught his eyes, a machine that sat abandoned near the left side corner of the entrance and it was loaded with prizes, it was a claw machine and he just had to have one of the prizes inside:

- Hello there. What do we have here?

Judy noticed what Nick was looking at and immediately tried to discourage him from even engaging in the challenge proposed by the machine, gesturing towards the glass casing where the mechanical trap resided and saying:

- Oh, Nick, c'mon. Even I know that this game is rigged. I think there are prizes in this thing older than me.

Nick showed a simple gesture of his left paw as he turned to Judy and said:

- That's just the thing, fluff. When the game is rigged and you know it is, you have to throw some of your own rules into the mix. That's how you come up on top.

Nick said that as he fished a quarter out of his back pocket, change from the skewered snacks he purchased earlier, and inserted it into the coin slot of the machine, he reached for the joystick to become familiarized with the flow of the claw in the casing and Judy simply stayed on standby, waiting for Nick to fail at the game like many others had before him but she was in for a surprise. After understanding the move of the claw mechanism and the expected delay between tug and motion present in machines like that, Nick directed the claw around until it was just above the first prize to catch his eye, a little plush toy on top of the pile and he managed to grab on to it without an issue. Judy heard how the claw game at the arcade was rigged, it was at the same time a hard fact and a challenge for any mammal who would consider themselves skilled enough to best the machine, no one heard of anyone else who was sly enough to best the game, that is, until Nick came around.

Judy unmade her stance and came closer, she watched astounded as the claw picked up the toy, hoisted it up and dropped it into the corner slot, she was expecting Nick to waste time, drop in many more coins into the slot as he lost his patience with the game, but the fox managed to defeat the claw machine in a single go and he did not even looked surprised about that. Nick reached for the opening below to collect his prize, just what he saw, the little plushie of a griffon was now in his left paw, a creature deemed powerful and menacing according to scholars of mythology but the toy made it look as nothing more than a cute character, glinting button eyes and a friendly smile on the beak, it was ridiculous but it made him smile too. Nick looked to the left with the prize in paw as Judy pointed at him and at the machine and asked:

- How did you do that?!

Nick leaned closer to her, smiled softly and whispered to her:

- I'm a hustler, fluff. A professional at that. No half-a-dime machine with no mind or soul can outhustle me.

Nick stood straight again before giving Judy the little plush and telling her:

- There you go. I think it will be much better if the one with no sharp claws holds on to it.

Judy took the little soft toy I her paws, she looked at the charming souvenir in her reach before looking at Nick with her ears lowered and her eyes filled with joy as she hugged the toy and said:

- No one has ever given me a griffon before. Thanks, Nick, I love it.

The fox nodded his head and gave himself a pat on the back as he walked off in the direction of the arcade exit, Judy followed closely while having her new gift in her arms but neither of the two noticed when a couple of employees from the arcade came to check on the machine. Two rabbits came from the back of the arcade where the tickets for prizes cabinet is supervised, they approached the claw game after having witnessed from a far how the fox that was just there managed to score a significant prize from the game that everyone assured was rigged to the very last turned bolt on the mechanism. One of the rabbits leaned closer and asked his friend:

- Did this freaking machine just spit out a prize?

Never having witnessed such a sight in all of the five years that they have worked part-time in that place, the other employee turned to him and answered while giving the side of the claw machine a hefty kick:

- Damn thing must be busted.

Nick and Judy continued on their path and arrived at a booth close to the center of the corridor of stores, it was located in a stretch of the corridor that was covered by an archway like ceiling with the food court of the mini-mall located close by, Nick had to take a moment as Judy conversed with the attendant of the booth to admire the structure above them as the archway stretched out over them and became almost a simple curvature dome like roof that covered the food court. By the time Nick was done looking at the structure and imagining what would have been like to see it built in the first place, Judy was already done purchasing their two entry tickets to watch the movie at the drive in but the later screening was all booked up so the only tickets available were the ones for the first screening as soon as the sun went down, that only got Nick even more excited. As the two of them walked away from the tickets booth, Nick leaned closer and said:

- I told you the movie would be a hit. We have to make sure to find the sweet spot at the theater when we drive there.

Judy was unsure about Nick's choice in words, she turned to him and asked:

- 'Sweet spot'?

- Sure, every theater, even the drive-ins, have a sweet spot. The one seat that you must grab to capture the perfect movie experience but it is highly coveted. Center line, nice enough distance to the snack bar, close to the screen but not too close. That's the sweet spot.

Judy felt a little blush growing in her face before she finally blurted out:

- Stop saying 'Sweet spot'. You're making it sound weird.

Nick could not resist cracking a laugh at her. After walking a few more steps and exiting the most patronized area of the mini-mall, Judy could see a sign that really called to her attention, a name that she remembered and that just called on her mind as soon as she could smell baked goods near their path. Judy turned around and looked up, to their left was a bakery bearing the name of a friend on the sign, Gideon Gray, and there was even the name of a few distributors near the upper corner of the sign. Judy smiled as she read through it all and said:

- Oh, hey. I didn't know Gideon had his bakery here.

Nick stopped his walk as soon as he heard Judy's voice, talking about a name that bounced around his mind for a short second before hitting him at full force, he heard that name before, the dots connected and he did not like the full picture they formed at all. Nick watched as Judy asked him to wait just for a moment, he thought they would walk a little more and see more of the calm sights of the country while they waited for the first screening but Judy just wanted to go inside and check if Gideon was around so she could give him a quick hello. As Judy crossed the double front door made of thick glass and bearing a friendly looking sign that let passing costumers know that the eatery was opened, she got a true sight of what it looked like and she was marveled at it all.

As Judy got into the bakery, the first thing that called to her attention was the colors on the walls, the far walls behind the counter were colored as a soft pink, easy on the eyes and relaxing, the wall on the right that lead to a opening guarded by a curtain of beads which lead to a seating area spaced out like a separate section of the bakery itself had a more noticeable color pallet, made to be a color between blue and purple as it guided visiting costumers towards the seats on the other side of the curtain. There were benches where costumers could wait for their orders and a display case by the counter that showed treats, cakes pies and even special orders, all of them neatly organized by size, price, flavor and popularity, it was an amazing place to enjoy a snack and a baked treat prepared with love. Managing that space with great acumen was the head chef and proprietor of the whole shebang, Gideon Gray himself.

Nick entered Gideon's bakery right after Judy, she told him it would only take a minute to greet the owner and then they would leave on their way but Nick just had to check on some things for himself, he took in the scent of the fruits and ingredients put with extra care in all of the confections, he then saw how Judy smile as she spoke out to Gideon and how the fox behind the counter smiled back as he greeted her, at that moment, Nick hated Gideon. Nick squinted his eyes, clutched his left paw and lowered his ears as he looked ahead and he just hated every aspect of the vulpine behind the counter, he hated his muzzle, he hated the way he moved, he hated his humble clothes and his stylish apron, he even hated the way he parted the tuff of fur over his head, but he stayed silent as Judy spoke to the other fox as he left his stablished spot behind the counter through a narrow side door and said:

- Judy, it is so darn great seeing you again. How have you been?

Judy nodded her head once and raised her ears as she answered him:

- Going as steady as I could be.

Gideon stood with his back straight in front of her as he looked slightly down and asked right after:

- You came to Bunnyburrow on vacation or something like that?

Judy showed the palms of her paws before saying:

- I'm only here visiting for a short while. Figured I stopped by and see how you are doing.

Gideon gestured to the whole store around them as he said:

- I can't complain at all. Business is booming and I am just getting things to move along with an expansion. I am actually trying to recruit more talented cooks around the tri-burrow area to join me in this.

Judy gave a short hop while in place as she looked to Gideon and said:

- That sounds great. I didn't ask my parents about how you were doing when I arrived but I am glad to learn that you are doing so well.

Gideon leaned closer and pointed at Judy before saying:

- It's thanks to folks like your parents that I got the courage and the gull to go on an endeavor like this. The partnership that I got with them paid off for everyone big time.

Gideon only then noticed the toy that Judy was hanging on to, it looked brand new in his eyes and he was a tad curious to learn where she got it from and why she had brought it along. Gideon looked away from Judy, it felt like a heavy cloud was blown on top of him specifically once he laid eyes on the fox located by the entrance of his bakery, he placed his back straight and looked in Nick's direction, curious to learn who that was and maybe a little apprehensive to learn why the atmosphere became so heavy after he noticed his presence. Gideon did not move from his spot in front of Judy, he simply directed his eyes at the strong looking and intimidating fox and stuttered as he greeted him:

- Oh, h… hi there. Who might you be?

Nick did not answer to that, he had all the intention to but he took a little too long on letting the words out so he simply allowed Judy to make the introductions for him. Judy looked at Gideon while opening a path by slowly stepping to her right and gesturing towards Nick as she said:

- Gideon, this is my partner, Nicholas Wilde. He is visiting alongside me.

Gideon stepped forth, only a short step before he halted his walk, he then extended his left paw and said in a good natured greeting:

- Oh, I heard about you from television. It's nice to meet you.

Adopting some of the slight intimidating stance that Arthur used on him when they first met, Nick did not extend his paw to greet Gideon in return, the fox office remained stationary for a moment as he looked at the baker from foot to muzzle, he nudged his head in Gideon's direction and said:

- So, you're Gideon. You're not what I was expecting, at all.

Gideon lowered his arm and reshaped his stance, trying to appear a little more relaxed but still showing by the stiffness of his shoulders that he was still tense by Nick's presence, stare and tone of voice. Judy could feel right away that something was amiss, all she wanted to do was see Gideon and maybe thank him properly for the vital clue he let slip out and that lead her all the way back to Zootopia. Gideon looked straight at Nick, saw as the fox officer only approached when his arm was lowered and his proximity felt as if more pressure was being added on top of that moment, Gideon asked:

- Oh, Judy… talks about me?

Nick responded without changing his tone of voice:

- I heard mention of you, once or twice. Judy told me that you are quite the character, especially in relation to the… 'claw mark incident'. Really called to my attention.

Nick said that as he raised his left arm, turned his face slightly to the left and tapped his pointing finger twice over his right cheek, that caused an alarm to blare off inside Judy's head, it caused her to be reminded only then about Nick's reaction the night she told him about what Gideon had done to her when they were kids, Nick looked livid yet contained, that could change at any second. Gideon retreated, a single short step back as he placed his paws together and fiddled with his fingers before asking:

- She… she told you about that.

Nick lowered his left arm and said:

- We're partners. If we can trust each other with our lives we can trust each other with a few secrets.

Nick gave one step forward, effectively nullifying the short step that Gideon took to gain the minimal amount of distance in relation to him, Nick gesture towards Gideon and said:

- Look, I have dealt with my fair share of bullies in the past, it's something that most mammals learn to deal with and it is all kid stuff anyway, I do not hold any resentment towards that sort of stuff. However, when Judy told me about you and what you did to her, the mark you left, it hit me, it hit me in a really bad way.

Nick's left paw continued to gesture as he spoke, he continued to walk closer with a sharp stare directed right at Gideon which confirmed his aggression towards him, Judy thought about stepping in but Nick was not exactly doing anything wrong at the time, no punches were thrown and no direct threats were issued so she just remained still. Nick pointed to his own chest as he came closer and then at Judy and Gideon next as he clarified one important detail of that meeting between them:

- In fact, I would like to say, I stepped in here hoping to meet you but if it weren't for her being here right now, this conversation would've gone *very* differently.

Gideon pressed his lips together and swallowed a little bit of saliva he had in his mouth, he was definitely not ready for a potential confrontation, Nick was a consecrated officer of the ZPD and Gideon has never been in a fight with another vulpine in his life, his chances of victory in case a fight actually broke out were not favorable. Judy did not know how to react, her partner's tone of voice sounded much less like the police officer she was so used to and much more like a thug, she just had to do something. Judy decided to step forth, she hugged tightly to her plush griffon and called out to Nick with a whisper in the hopes of setting his nerves aside for that moment:

- Nick…

The fox was already expecting something like that, he showed her a simple sign of his paw, showing her that he was handling the situation quite well and there was no need for her to be concerned, he kept a fixed sight on Gideon before saying:

- *However*, Judy has assured me that you apologized and what you said to her played a great part in her decision to move bac to Zootopia. In a way, if it weren't for you, we would not be partners right now. If your words are enough to her, they are more than enough for me.

Nick finished his statement by extending his left paw and finally responding to Gideon's greeting:

- It is nice to meet you.

Gideon let out a relieved sigh, same as Judy, the two foxes shared a nice moment as they shook each other's paws in a gesture of good faith, Nick then went right ahead and asked about the selection of pies that there were in store and Gideon was just about to provide them with a slew of options as he took to returning to his spot behind the counter. As Gideon placed his paws over the counter serving area and looked at the two mammals on the other side, an authoritarian voice came just from the other side of the bead curtain leading to the eating and gathering area of the bakery, it was female by sound and it sounded really mad about something. To Nick and Judy's surprise, what they saw coming their way and walking right past the curtain, opening way with heavy steps and a swift swipe of a right arm, was a female sheep and she looked very professional.

The sheep that just made her way into the area where Judy, Nick and Gideon were located , she did not mean to be made the center of attentions with her controlling presence and slightly dramatic entrance but she did so anyway, she looked like a business mammal of great caliber, she was tall, had a soft, glistening and well-kept coat of black wool covering most of her body, dressed in a gray suit with thin vertical stripes detailed over the fabric, the buttoned layout of her outerwear showing that she was engaged in a stance strictly meant for corporate tasks also clearly denoted by the absence of any other extravagant accessories on her figure or attire except for the fancy looking cellphone she held against her left ear as she spoke clearly to the representative on the other side of the call:

- Dolph, you have to listen to me when I am telling you this. Flower arrangements on the napkin cloths are out. They are so out.

She turned around, not even bothering to check on the other mammals in the room for the moment, she only looked at Gideon to give him a sign of her left paw, showing one tap of her hoof, she was in the cusp of a very important deal to be made. Nick and Judy shared look, both of them wondering who that mammal could be as she continued her phone conversation, turning around so there would be no distractions or interactions as she said her point:

- I am saying that stars are totally in right now. Napkins and table guards with tiny starry designs will be the new hot thing for events. It is an untapped selection with tons of potential and I will hear no further more from this. We'll get the jump on that hack Melissa by crossing the line before she even thinks about doing so.

There was a short moment of silence that was high on rigidity as the sheep heard the answer from her contact, everyone witnessing her surmised that it must have been a positive answer as she smiled shortly after and said:

- I knew you would see it my way, Dolph. You keep the word circulating and we will be on top of the pile in no time at all. Kisses, dear.

The sheep turned the phone off and then she walked closer to Gideon, she just had to tell him the good news. After placing herself on the tips of her toes to reach his sight over the front counter and tell him, Gideon only had to lean a little forward and a little to the left to catch perfect sight of his associate and hear her saying:

- Gideon honey, great news. The proposal on the neighboring city was approved wholeheartedly, the organizers are all excited about meeting you and I secured us a spot on the next event meeting next Saturday where you can give all of those half-bakes a piece of your mind, provided I tag along, of course.

Gideon smiled softly and gave props to the sheep, he placed his right elbow over the counter and told her:

- You are the greatest.

To which the ship answered with a not so modest reply:

- I know. Give me some standing novation.

The sheep turned around and walked a few steps, her hooves clacking moderately loud against the white tile on the floor, Judy was just about to inquire her name but the sheep delivered a hearty surprise as she opened her arms and leaned closer before she pulled the bunny for a full embrace. Judy was really confused about that but Nick figured that the sheep was just an old friend that had not seen Judy in quite a while, Judy merely repaid the hug as she placed her left arm on the sheep's back while her right arm squeezed the little plush she still had with her which nearly fell down to the ground during the surprising interaction. The sheep released Judy from the embrace before telling her:

- It is such a treat to see you once again, Judy. Big shot cop come to grace us, you should get some free pie samples on the double.

Judy looked at the sheep attentively but she could not pin down her identity in any way, she finally raised her left paw in a soft gesture before saying:

- I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before.

The sheep let out a small puff from her nose before saying:

- You seriously don't remember me.

Judy just shook her head, admitting honestly that she had no recollection of the sheep in front of her but that did not bring the conversation down as the sheep took one short step back to stablish some perspective and said:

- I honestly don't blame you, I was really different then than what I am now. I used to be much wider, shorter, thick glasses…

That list of details was enough for Judy to pin down the identity of the sheep, the eyes of the bunny were opened wide with shock as she leaned forth and asked:

- Caroline?! Caroline Hoofmenes?!

The sheep showed a showy smile and a side glance as she raised both of her arms until her paws were matched in height with her shoulders in a simple but understandable gesture, Judy had confirmed her identity and decided to come close once more to greet her old friend properly:

- Caroline, I'm sorry I did not recognize you sooner. You look great. You look strong. Also tall, really tall, you used to be shorter than me.

Compared to Judy, Caroline was much taller, that fact surprised Judy since the last time they saw each other as young students, the sheep did not even come close to the average height of a bunny. Caroline shrugged that fact off, sitting down on a plastic bench next to them as she said:

- I know, but I changed all of that around. I got into shape, went through a hell of a growth spurt and got laser eye surgery. Now I'm head of my own investments company and I am helping small business owners like Gideon over here reach the height of their financial potential.

Caroline pointed to Gideon as the fox behind the counter was already getting busy with a wide selection of pies and confections to be organized and placed into presentation dockets in the reserved spots in the display. Caroline raised from her seat, she came close to Jud and continued with what she had to say:

- Gideon here may be a wizard in the kitchen but he knows next to nothing about actual business margins.

Gideon heard mention of his aptitude and concurred to it while still focused on his predetermined task, he did not turn in the direction of Caroline's voice, he simply said:

- It's true.

Caroline proceeded as she turned Judy around and walked a few steps with her while saying:

- Gideon and I met one evening as I showed interest in his bakery and it was a match made in heaven from then on. This star right here has been shooting up to the very top of the catering front, thanks to my guidance. He has been giving classes to aspiring chefs, consulting on events and helping out with the organization of varied shindigs throughout the tri-burrow area. All of that thanks to a little nudge from me.

Gideon recognized that he was a popular cook, he had a true talent but he did not disagree with what Caroline said, the only reason why he was able to gather enough courage in order to make his culinary efforts grow was thanks to her and her big ideas. Caught in the hype vibe aired by the sheep, Nick released a little puff of air out of his mouth and admitted to being very impressed with all of that, he placed his left paw over his waist line and said:

- That's a really boss move.

Caroline turned in the direction of the fox and pointed right at him before saying:

- It *is* a really boss move. Question: Who are you and why do I adore you already?

Nick felt a little out of sorts after being pointed at and having his presence acknowledged by Caroline, the sheep stepped closer to the fox and reached for him, trying to get a good read on his figure from a nice enough distance, taking one good look at him with the sling around his arm and already gathering he was a mammal of action. Judy walked close and performed the introduction as she said:

- Caroline, this is my partner Nick Wilde. He has come along to visit my home.

Caroline was astonished with Nick, she had heard that Judy made it big as an officer but that was the first time she was actually meeting her partner in the force, he was a true sight. Carline stepped back for a moment and asked:

- Charmed to meet you. Quick follow up question: Have you ever modeled before?

- What?

Nick was very unsure on how to answer that, he was actually unsure if she was being serious, Judy on the other hand dreaded the idea of Nick being involved in a modeling carrier as she thought that his ego might just shoot up beyond her tolerating threshold. Nick made a dismissive gesture with his left paw after regaining some composure and said:

- No, I never modeled before.

- Then it is a great chance for you to start it. Gideon is coming up with this new line of homey recipes and you would fit right in with the healthy and burly image we have been searching for.

Carline reached into her lapel pocket and retrieved a rigid enameled business card with her own contact information before giving it to Nick:

- Here is my e-mail, buzz mark and other contact info. You have your boys call my boys and we will get you into the swing of things in no time.

Caroline walked away from Nick, picking her cellphone up again and fiddling around with the buttons on the screen as she organized and check on any other meetings or calls she had to get through the week still. Judy came close to Nick once more as the fox was left a little dumbfounded with the business card still being held in the fingers of his left paw, he looked at Judy and whispered to her as he was very much on the fence about accepting the chance to model in front of a camera at all:

- Do I have… 'boys'?

Judy lowered her head and placed her right palm over the bridge of her muzzle, it was hard for her to take Nick seriously at that point, she could not tell straight away if the face he was making communicated uncertainty or just plain eagerness, shinning past the apparent confusion. Caroline turned to Gideon and asked him to put out some free samples of pie for the two mammals that stepped into the bakery, the fox was already on the task and complied with no protests, Nick and Judy had one slice each served on little plastic dishes, Judy hummed very satisfied with the taste of the pie in her mouth while Nick appeared to stare forward with an impartial look in his eyes, he swallowed the bite of pie he had in his mouth before leaning closer to Judy and saying:

- I didn't want to say anything before because I didn't want this kind of talk to get out, but I think your mother has some serious competition in the pie department.

With a nice laugh exchanged by the ones inside the bakery, Judy and Nick left, Judy wished Gideon and Caroline the best of luck in their future while Nick left with the vague consideration for Caroline that he would consider the whole modeling deal in a future day. Nick and Judy left the bakery behind and Judy noticed that the sun was already close to setting, the movie was about to begin and Nick's advice to seek the perfect spot stood as they decided to depart for the theater and begin their search for the nicest spot they could find to park the car, get comfy and watch the picture presentation.

Nick and Judy passed through the path they had come through previously and they returned to the spot where Judy had parked the car, she placed her plush griffon down between the two front seats of the cabin, sat down, put on her seatbelt and turned the engine on. Nick followed Judy into the car and he looked absolutely giddy to be finally heading to the drive-in, he clutched his paws and adjusted both of his shoulders as he sat down before giving Judy the go ahead to drive along. After a short drive through the path they had taken on the drive towards the burrow the day before, Judy turned to a side path that would take them right to the theater's doorway, she delivered the freshly purchased tickets to the attendee at the front gate and drove inside, Nick was amazed at the sight of the empty lot and at the big screen and he pointed out to a free spot in the center row between two other cars, it would seem they arrived there just in time.

With the wine colored Lermane nicely parked between two other cars, one compact of white to the right and one of bright blue sportive to the left, Nick began to check around to get a sense of the accommodations, the sound boxes placed between each vehicle which also helped to demark the parking spaces as well as the positioning of their seats inside the cabin to make sure they would enjoy maximum comfort while engaged in the action packed trail of the movie. Judy sat still, having her eyes on Nick as the fox got everything ready, this was supposed to be an outing that would give her the chance to give an effort to approach Nick in a more emotional way but they simply hung out like they were already accustomed with doing, that was not a bad thing but it left considerably low wiggle room for such a development.

Nick got out of the car and checked the sound boxes which would allow the occupants of each car to hear the sound of the movie while enclosed in the relative privacy of each vehicular cabin space, Nick placed the symmetrically provided sound systems on each of the front windows before opening the door and asking Judy:

- I'm heading out to get us snacks. Any preferences on the selection?

Judy stayed silent for a moment as she thought it over, Nick asked right away:

- Want to share a big bucket of popcorn?

Judy turned to him and answered with a soft smile as well as a decisive tinge to her voice:

- I do.

Nick asked for further instructions as he said:

- Any specific soda?

She replied:

- Club lemon.

Nick asked further more:

- Any candy?

Judy took a pause and said:

- Caramels. As many as you can get.

With all of the instruction for the acquisition of snacks laid out, Nick took off to the snack bar near the front cabin of the drive-in and Judy was left alone in the car waiting for him. It was a nice gesture, Nick was footing the costs of all the snacks and drinks but Jud could not stop thinking that most of that focus was laid out due to Nick's own stubbornness and sense of principle, then again, that was also something she found really sweet about him, Judy took that time to herself inside the car to think things over, wondering if she should confess to him once he returned, the conflict in her mind increased drastically before she finally told herself:

- Stop. He is your friend and your partner. You know him. Just keep it simple and talk to him.

Having that clear set path in mind, Judy placed her paws over her abdomen and waited for Nick's return, the sun had just set and the light was just right for the screening, the final check-ups were being made inside the projector booth and plenty of other automobiles came around to parking at their preferred spots, it was almost time. After a few more minutes of wait, Judy heard a tap on the glass and she saw Nick just outside, his arm sling thrown over his shoulder as his arms were occupied with the load of all the purchased provisions from the snack bar, the fox was embracing the bucket of popcorn with two soda cans safely held under his right armpit and a thin plastic bag filled with caramels being held between the fingers of his left paw. Nick waited until Judy had sighted him and asked with his voice muffled by the closed glass window:

- Little help?

Judy turned to him, pushed her back against the repost of her seat so she could get up more effectively and with less effort on her part, opened the door of the car and helped Nick bring in all that he had purchased with the added care as to not let anything get dropped or spilled on to the seats. After they were done setting up, Judy turned to Nick and asked of him:

- Why didn't you come back and asked for help from the beginning?

- I was already halfway back. Sorry.

Judy shook her head slowly from side to side before letting that go and placing her back once more against the repost of the driver's seat and letting out a sigh out of her nose. Nick was reeling in anticipation for the movie, even more so that Judy was there with him, he sat back down and placed his right arm in the sling once more with little effort, he was now with both of his paws placed over his belly as he tried his best to relax and wait for the start of the movie. The smell of popcorn was already taking a hold of the car's interior, the large bucket of popcorn was placed between the two front seats so that the two could share it while the sodas were neatly placed by the cup holders by the underside of the doors on each side, after two minutes of waiting in silence, Nick broke the monotonous wait by reaching for the top of the bucket, scooping a paw full of popcorn for himself and stuffing it into his mouth, Judy watched that and intervened by saying:

- Nick, don't gouge a scoop full like that. You need to appreciate it little by little otherwise it will all be done before the movie even starts.

The fox swallowed the stack he had just grabbed and said:

- Sorry. I get the urge to eat when I'm psyched up for a movie.

Judy reached for the popcorn with her right paw and grabbed a single kernel before taking it into her mouth, the salty taste got her in the right mood for watching a long presentation. Any moment the screening would begin, other patrons were placed nicely in their cars as they waited for the movie to begin, Judy looked to her right and saw Nick ice and relaxed over his seat, with his eyes closed as he took a moment to rest his sight, she called to his attention and asked of him something that he was definitely not expecting to hear:

- Why did you say it was silly?

Nick opened his eyes and turned in the direction of Judy's voice, he squinted his eyes as he saw her and asked:

- What?

After getting that, Judy clarified the nature of the question as she explained:

- Yesterday, at night, when we were gathered at the living room and you learned I had a fear of ghosts. Why did you say that my fear was silly?

Nick took a good look at Judy and figured that she was undoubtedly looking for a sincere answer, he toned down any aspect of jesting he might have on his voice and answered her:

- Well, fluff, the reason I told you that was because… ghosts aren't real.

Judy leaned forward over her seat while keeping her eyes on Nik, showing him a defiant stare as she lowered her ears and asked him:

- How do you figure that? You couldn't possibly just guess that ghosts aren't real.

Nick leaned his head to the left before saying:

- No, but the lack of evidence is stacked in my favor. I have been to some of the most 'haunted' spots in Zootopia, never seen shade or shine of any spook of any shape. That's why I said that having a fear of ghosts was silly. Of all the things to be afraid of, I would have never guessed that would be one of them for you of all mammals.

Judy had her ears raising during Nick's explanation but they lowered again once he was done, it made a lot of sense for Nick to consider ghosts as merely fictitious. Judy looked away, returning her backside to the repost of her seat just before hearing Nick's voice calling out to her as he said:

- One might think that there were a few more fears on top of your list.

Judy pressed her eyes shut as she heard that, she turned her head to look at Nick without leaving her resting spot as she said:

- There are a few.

Nick realized by her tone to what she was referring to, he took a deep breath and then told her:

- When we started out as partners, I was pumped, beyond excited. I had this goal of standing by you as we patrolled the streets and it was awesome, all of it. The patrols, the investigations, the stake out, sitting in the same cubicle as we worked through our shifts, awesome.

Judy let out a soft smile as she heard that, Nick's tone was serious but the way she was listing all of those things made it all sound so fun and spontaneous, she was very glad to hear it. Nick continued to speak after taking a short break to breath in:

- I never worried too much when we were patrolling or arresting perps out in the streets, you had my back and I had yours, you were strong and you could handle anything. But when we got caught on that day, when you got tranquilized and I felt like the best chance we had was to play along, I felt really scared, like I had bungled it all out.

Judy raised her back from her seat once more and told him:

- You didn't bungle anything up, I had no idea what to do that time. I was scared out of my wits and you were the one with the plan to get us out. I was afraid and I became more so when you were hurt.

Nick rose up and called to Judy's attention with his motion as he told her:

- I was really scared too, but I was still glad you were alright and that you were there by me. Judy, you're amazing, everything you do is amazing.

She smiled once more, she did not even try to hide the blush in her cheeks as she leaned a little closer to him and said:

- I'm only amazing because you're by my side.

Nick reached for her right shoulder, his left paw rested nicely over it before he told her:

- Always.

Judy felt really relieved after that, Nick looked ahead as a light shined on to the big screen ahead and the sound of a grandiloquent orchestra played over the sound boxes to mark the beginning of the movie previews, but for the greater part of it all, Judy just looked at him, letting the scenes and diced dialogue pass by as she saw his smiling face. The movie began and Nick cheered with the greatest level of control he could gather, the title of the movie appeared and he tried to remain as quietly as possible as the preliminary explanation of the plot was put on display by the soothing voice of a narrator, Judy turned her face to the screen and decided to pay at least some level of attention to the movie, even if she was not that interested in it. The movie played out with the level of nonsense that Judy was already expecting, cruel monsters emerging from a dimensional rift out in space and coming down to the planet below in order to exterminate all intelligent life, the task of protecting the world and all of its massive cities fell in the paws of a courageous group of mech pilots who brawled with the beasts aboard the cockpits of building sized behemoths in impressive bouts filled with grand weapons and even grander explosions.

Judy was already missing the context for the movie, so much destruction and unwarranted malice was shown on screen but the movie finally turned attention towards its main character, to her surprise it was not one of the strapping pilots of the fighting mechs but to one of the small post engineers that piloted a much smaller armored suit. Judy witnessed the very first thing that called to her interest on screen as a young lion called Jacob Jansille was seen piloting a house sized mech like it was an important military expedition only for the camera to pan out and show that he was a member of a support crew. The main character was initially charged with helping civilians, clean up ruble and help out once the battling was already done, the movie treated such a function as a sort of grunt work but there was no need for further descriptions for it to be seen as one of the most important jobs of all. Judy reached for her drink and some popcorn as it felt like she could only then appreciate the movie, or, maybe, at the very least, one of its characters.

Judy turned her head to the right, just a little glance to look at Nick's face, his look told her that the young lion on screen was the protagonist in question and that the story was about to reach a high point, in the fox's mind the movie was already playing out just like the other slices of media he had seen the story play out so far, that really delighted him. The story played along and Judy was following it so far, there was a part that really called out to her as a pure white furred bunny on screen appeared on a scene performing maintenance in one of the larger mechs. Judy leaned closer to Nick and whispered to him a question so she would not disrupt the ongoing story to him:

- Who's that?

Nick was glad to explain it to her, he leaned close to Judy and adopted the same whispering manner to her as he said:

- That's Shavon Lefar, she is an engineer that designs and later pilots one of the robots, she is super cool.

Judy returned to the position she was seated on after her short query was answered. As the movie went on, unexpected twists were seen and even a few emotional bumps were had, Judy was chewing on one of the last caramels that Nick had brought her, she took one look to the left, she was not really sure why she decided to do so at that exact time, and she could see just out the window as a bunny couple occupying the adjacent blue sport car was engaged in a fervent act of kissing. Judy saw the scene clearly as it could be, a male and a female that she did not recognized fawning over one another in a lasting kiss though the reflection of the window from their car obscured some of it. Judy did not wish to peep or pry so she turned her sight ahead quickly, her shoulders raised locking her head in place and her wide eyes doing their best to pay attention to the movie and nothing else.

The plot carried on until it was time for the final battle, the soda cans were empty, the caramels were depleted and the popcorn was nearly all gone as the climactic showdown rolled by, Nick nearly leapt forth as he saw the main robot pulling out its signature weapon with one last twist that the fox just had to shout:

- Yeah! Double plasma chainsaw baby!

Judy laughed out loud after seeing his reaction and that just about made the entirety of the movie time for her. As the screening ended, Nick laid on his seat with his head held back and the most satisfied smile on his muzzle, almost like he had just won a massive athletic competition, Judy tossed the wrappers and cans into the empty popcorn bucket before disposing of all of it into a recycling bin next to the drive-in entrance, she returned to the car and turned the engine on before driving Nick and herself back to the burrow. They had returned after a full day of fun, Judy parked the car in the same spot it had been taken out of earlier that day before she exited it with the little plushie griffon in her hug and the keys held tightly in her left grip. Nick walked right next to her as they exited the garage and entered the hallway leading up to the stairs he felt compelled to ask her:

- So… what did you think of the movie?

Judy turned to him, she tightened her embrace around her new memento and answered to his question, trying to make it sound like she was just pointing out the low hangs of the movie they just watched:

- Well… the plot was okay, not at all what I was expecting so it was a nice surprise, but the awkward pauses and cuts made it kind of hard to follow through during some of the dialogue stretches. I didn't get the motivation of the main villain, trying to aid the aliens in taking over the world and all of that. The final fight was alright and I really appreciated the hero moments through it all, it was a little sad when that high pilot died near the end.

Nick leaned close to her and asked for a conclusive answer as he said:

- And… ?

Judy rolled her eyes and admitted to what the fox wanted to hear:

- Fine. It was a cool movie. I really enjoyed it.

Nick performed a small fist pump in the air with his left paw as he returned his body to a straight stance, he gestured to Judy and said to her:

- Told you that you were going to enjoy it. Can't wait for the sequel. The post credit scene was clear, there *will* be one.

Judy shook her head slowly from left to right before saying:

- Well, the movie wasn't that important.

Judy came close, she was a single step away from her partner as she looked up and let him know:

- Today was a really great day. I enjoyed all of it because you were there.

Judy raised her right arm, she made a slow gesture with her fingers contracting and extending while her wrist was leaning to the side, she called out to Nick to get a little closer and the fox did just that without saying a word, convinced that she had to tell him something very important, he lowered down and approached her height, just enough so that she could stretch herself to the tips of her feet and get close to him. Nick waited only a few seconds to hear as Judy's voice came from the right side of his head, being projected so softly on to his ear as he lowered it just slightly to the side, her softest volume caressed him as she said:

- I'm really happy you came here with me.

It ended with a little peck, Judy leaned forward just a little more as she placed her right paw on the side of Nick's neck and she guided him close enough to snag a kiss on his cheek, it lasted for a few seconds but, to the both of them, that short time seemed to stretch out for quite a bit, Judy could feel the intense warmth and the adrenaline of her rather daring advance on her part while Nick could feel a gentle shock traveling from his muzzle to his spine in only a fraction of a second. Judy ended the kiss with a soft clicking sound of her lips and a gentle touch of suction against Nick's right cheek, she retreated slowly with a single step backwards before telling him:

- Thank you. Today was really fun.

Nick watched as Judy turned around and walked off in the direction of the stairs, Judy simply retreated from the kiss after considering it a great end point, she turned around and hopped quickly towards the other end of the hallway in the direction of the stairs, praying that Nick would not see as he tail drummed from side to side as she moved away. Judy turned right and took the flight of stairs to go down until she was at the floor with her room but she did so with a sudden rushed set of steps once she got her foot down onto the first step. Judy went down the stairs as quickly as she could without skipping over any step, moving mostly forward and letting gravity do most of the work as she dashed her way down, tapping her feet on every step with her shoulders raised and her arms set to the side for added balance, the plushie held in her right paw and her mind bouncing around as she asked herself over and over again in silence and in the rushed rhythm of her walk:

"Oh, why did I do that? Why did I do that? Why did I do that?"

Nick had his mouth half-open as he watched Judy move away, he rose back up and raised his left arm, he placed his fingers over the right side of his face as he thought about just happened. Nick could still feel the softness and warmth of Judy's lips over him, that was the first time he had experienced a kiss from her, it was over so suddenly that he did not even had the time to wish her goodnight or tell her that she also had loads of fun, his partner was already gone by the time his mind kick started back up and he said:

- Good night.

Words that were merely blown in the wind at that point as he walked forth and decided to head for the kitchen in search of a cold glass of water to drink before heading back to his room. Nick reached the floor above ground and walked through the living room, he was a little surprised to see that there was no one else around, it was not that late at night and he was expecting to see some of Judy's family around, his expectations were met once he entered the kitchen and saw Bonnie seated by the head seat of the second dinner table, an open book in front of her and a warm cup of tea with honey by her right. Bonnie noticed Nick's presence right away, she looked away from the pages of the book and greeted the fox with a wave and a smile:

- Hello. How was the movie?

Still a little stricken by the kiss from Judy, Nick placed his left paw over the side of his right cheek once more only he made it appear as if he was giving his soft fur a little scratch, not wanting to divulge that detail to anyone else until he was sure about what it meant for himself. Nick had his mind wondering the reasoning behind the kiss, either if it was a simple act of affection from her followed by a lapse of his own mind during the moment, his sharp mind paired with the mindset bestowed on to him by his position as an officer alerted him when there was more to a situation than what it may seem at first but he could not understand what he was feeling at that time. Nick's answer to Bonnie came soon in a sort of automatic manner, her merely looked in her direction, nodded his head after lowering his left paw and said:

- It was nice. The movie was great.

Bonnie closed her book over the table and said right after:

- That's good. Where's Judy?

Nick pointed to the entrance he just came through as he answered:

- She… went down the stairs. She didn't told me if she was going back to her room already.

Bonnie reached for the teacup next to her, placing both of her paws on the porcelain cup with floral imprints on the sides, before taking a short sip and saying:

- She has my keys. Guess I'll bother her some other time.

Nick showed a little smile that quickly faded away as he walked past the sides of the first table closest to him, grabbed a glass, filled it with fresh water from the sink and drank it all in one go. Nick let out a long gap of air as soon as he was done, he placed the cup down over the sink counter with the mouth facing down, the fox had his ears lowered over his head and his left paw slowly reached for his jaw to give it a soft scratch as he became buried in thought, silently contemplating the end result of his outing for a shot while, Bonnie came closer and told him:

- Stu is outback checking on the inventory for today. The boys are on the floor up playing cards and Simon wanted me to tell you that you are more than welcome to join up if you want to.

Nick's ears perked up after he heard that, without giving an immediate answer to what Bonnie said, he decided to accept the invitation and head upstairs to look for Judy's brothers. Nick turned around and headed for the threshold he used to enter the kitchen, he turned to Bonnie, standing near the sink to wash the cup, spoon and small plate she just used, and spoke to her right before stepping out:

- Thanks.

Nick went on his way, a little relieved that no further questions about his outing with Judy were asked, he felt like he was missing something important and he did not like feeling that way one bit. Nick stepped into the hallway, turned to the stairs and took the pathway heading up a floor that time, searching for the spot that he was invited to for a nice and relaxing round of cards as it was briefly advertised by Judy's mother. Meanwhile, four floors below from Nick's position in the house, Judy was going towards her room, passing by the hallway where the door to the game room was placed, she looked down to the ground, still chewing herself up from the inside after delivering the kiss, she just wanted to get to her, get out of the clothes she was wearing for the day and toss herself face first on to her mattress, that was the plan. However, Judy's trail of thought was disrupted when the double door leading to the game room was opened and Theodora's face popped out causing Judy to yelp and hop a short distance away with surprise.

It was late and the game room was supposed to be closed so that no young bunny could sneak unscheduled hours of fun, Judy waited two seconds so that the sense of shock within her subsided, she looked at her sister and whispered as loudly and as aggressively as she could:

- Theodora! What is wrong with you?!

- Quick, get in here!

Theodora reached forth and grabbed Judy's left wrist, she dragged her sister into the game room where, to her further surprise, many more were waiting for her. Judy looked around and she could see a lot of her sisters, Sarah, Samantha, Alison, Jill, Martha and quite a few more, all of them perched in respective seats as they waited to hear of Judy's return. Samantha was the one who popped the question in everyone's minds as she asked:

- So? How did it go?

Judy opened her mouth halfway but no sound came out, she closed her lips shut and took a few seconds to breathe through her nose before showing a little smile, looking to her excitable audience, hugging her little griffon and telling the truth:

- It was really nice. We had a lot of fun. Nick was really great and I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

After a collective gasp a full cheer broke out, the bunnies al congratulated their sister and came close to ask more details about the outing, to what Judy came to refer since that moment as a 'practice date'. Judy was far more confident with talking about Nick and how she felt, going out with him helped her understand that getting her feelings out did not have to be an unnerving struggle and she could discuss it openly with her family so that maybe it could become easier to let Nick know about it in the near future. Jill directed Judy closer to the group so she could grab a seat and tell what transpired in greater detail, she became immediately curious as she saw the little plushie that Judy was hugging so avidly on her way, Jill pointed at it and asked:

- What is that?

Judy showed the plushie to everyone and answered:

- It's a prize that Nick got from the claw machine at the arcade.

With that said, all of Judy's sisters were impressed. Martha placed herself at the tips of her feet to look further as she was standing at the back of the crowd and asked out loud:

- He actually got a prize out of that thing?! How?!

Samantha, sitting right next to Judy, leaned to the right and scoffed at the little souvenir as she said:

- Figures. That piece of junk coughs up a prize after almost a decade of anyone trying to best it and it turns out to be the silly plushie of a weird chicken thing.

Judy intervened right away, defending the nature of the memento as she shoved it closer to Samantha's field of vision and said:

- Shut up! It's a gryphon and I love it.

Judy's controlled outrage directed at Samantha earned a laugh out of everyone in the room and the gossip was free to run lose inside. Returning to the upper floors, Nick managed to find the room where some of Judy's brothers were gathered, at least only the ones that he knew more personally. After climbing the stairs up a single floor, Nick turned right at the first entrance he saw by a narrow corridor and he found a spacious room with a nice centerpiece, a round cards table where five other bunnies were seated at equal distance from one another while also leaving one free seat in case the fox decided to accept their invitation and join their game.

Simon was the first one to notice Nick's presence, the rowdiest bunny of the bunch was seated on the chair facing the entryway, so he raised his right paw while pressing his left paw with the cards in his reach facing down and said:

- You, Nick, you're here. Pull up a chair, we saved you a seat.

Nick was really glad to be included, he walked towards the table, doing his best to not sneak a peek at the other cards held by all the other player in place, and took his seat without complaint. The table where the bunnies were playing cards was exquisite, the chairs were comfy and cushioned for back and posterior while leaving plenty of room underneath the repost for the tails of the occupants, the table had a sculpted and durable wooden frame, also, the thick green cloth covering the surface and displaying the play symbols of every potential player to be involved looked like a professional demarking right out of a casino from a classic spy movie. As Nick sat down and looked around the table as well as the numbered cards already in play, his first thought was:

"I got to get me one of these tables."

Nick adjusted his posterior over the chair and was quick to identify the other players around him in order, starting from his immediate left, Simon, Dilan, Hermes, Shaun and finally Arthur, seated by his right and forming a complete circle of competitors. Arthur decided to grab the cards of the others as he signaled for them to start the session fresh in honor of their new player joining in, the oldest bunny looked at Nick while smooshing the cards in his paws before saying:

- Simon told us that you have quite the paw for cards so he wanted to invite you along. We don't tolerate any tricks on this table so don't even think about pulling some magic routine on us.

Nick placed his left paw over his chest before saying:

- I don't bring tricks or slide of paw into an honest game. I promise.

Arthur nodded his head once as he tapped the cards on to the table and said:

- Good.

Arthur then took to shuffling the cards, placing them in a methodical way into his reach, cutting them up into two separate stacks then planking them together again, Nick took that time to assure the bunny in charge even further as he placed his left paw over his right shoulder and said:

- Not even sure I would be able to make any tricks of the sort now even if I felt compelled to. My shoulder is starting to hurt again.

Nick earned a concerned glance from the other players, Shaun leaned over the table to ask him:

- Does it hurt too bad?

Nick made a dismissive gesture with his arm before placing it to rest over the table frame, he looked at Shaun seated right across from him and answered:

- The pain comes and goes. The medicine I've been taking keeps it in check but it can leave me really sleepy afterwards. It didn't happen today, that was nice, but it can be really annoying when it does.

Arthur placed the cards he was shuffling down and made a quick paw gesture towards Dilan, asking of him to give Nick some betting scratch to start things out, the analyst bunny got the signal right away and retrieved a box resting underneath the table that clinked with a metallic noise once it was hoisted up. Dilan removed the latch on the box which was nothing more than a tiny piece of string, he opened the lid and scooped up with both of his paws a small pile of metal trinkets that would be used as the chips for the game, he placed the pile on the table and slid them over to Nick's side, the fox grabbed a single of the trinkets and asked:

- Are these… bottle caps? We're going to play using bottle caps?

Hermes was the one to explain the reasoning for that as he stacked his own chips over his side of the game area:

- Dad forbids us to play with actual money so we just use the next best thing. Whenever someone in this house has a bottle of soda to drink, we collect the little caps and use them for the game.

Simon cut into the talk as he said:

- Usually dad invites his pals to play a round or two but we also manage to squeeze in some play time of our own.

Nick turned to his own stack of caps and began stacking them in a comprehensive way, Simon tried explaining some rules to facilitate the fox's organizing as he explained:

- The red ones are worth the most, the blue ones are worth less. The diet ones are worth half and the purple ones are the rarest of the bunch.

Nick showed a nod of his head to signify that he understood. The round of cards began, a simple game of poker between the six players, it had been a long time since Nick played with a full table so he had to focus up in order to not be left in the dust in case the game really picked up the pace. Nick picked the four card reserved for him, a two of clubs, two fours and a king of hearts, not the most exciting paw to start things with but he could work with that, there were a few seconds of silence in the table before Arthur began the play by tossing two blue caps ahead and asking:

- So, Nick, how was the movie?

Nick got the sense that the tone Arthur used for that question was almost like the start of an arduous interrogation but the fox chalked that up as an aggressive tactic for the game, it was not uncommon for a challenger to drag a conversation out of an opponent to throw them off their game, he was used to that. Nick swallowed some saliva and took to organizing the cards in his left paw before answering with measured enthusiasm:

- It was awesome. The food was great, the spot we chose was just right and the production of the movie was top notch. There were dozens of nods to the original tv show plot sprinkled throughout the whole thing.

Simon immediately decided to stop Nick before he disclosed any more details of the movie by turning his head to him and saying:

- Dude, spoilers. I want to watch the movie too.

Nick smiled awkwardly and said:

- Whoop, sorry.

Hermes and Shaun took their turns as well, the first bunny in the pair decided to up the ante while the second checked the first card in the line to play it safe, Nick was getting a good read on each of them but he tried to make it look like he was on the back burner to start things out, after Simon tossed a blue cap on the pot Nick decided to check the next card in line. More talk flared up as Arthur decided to ask one question that bothered him for a while, he called to Nick's attention and began by asking:

- Nick, you and Judy hang out a lot, right?

That was only meant to lay the ground work for the actual question to follow, all of the others already knew what was about to be asked so they did not intervene, Nick looked away from his cards as he answered:

- Sure.

Arthur proceeded to ask the main question:

- Do you know if she has a boyfriend?

After hearing that question, the impact it had was felt over the whole table and every eye turned to Nick, he felt a considerable amount of weight over him as his tail drooped down behind him and he asked in turn:

- Why do you ask?

The sight of the others turned back towards Arthur as he simply said:

- Just curiosity. Judy hasn't been around the farm for quite some time and I get worried about her. She never showed interest in finding a mate before but you never know. You think you can give us some information?

Nick lowered his sight, he looked at his cards one more time before placing them facing down, he let everyone know that he was not backing down from the game before answering to the question with the most detail:

- I don't believe Judy has a romantic interest. If she does have one, she has never told me. I honestly cannot think of anyone that could spark a romantic mindset on her.

Arthur felt relieved after hearing that, the oldest bunny let his shoulders down slowly after getting a concrete answer from the fox but he became stiff as a board once Hermes decided to pry further by asking:

- You sure about that? Isn't there anyone?

Nick squinted his eyes as he picked his cards up once more, his answer came soon enough as he showed a scowl directed at the void and said:

- There is one guy. I really hope she feels nothing at all towards him.

Arthur leaned closer to Nick, looking straight at him with a sharp looking his eyes as he asked:

- Who?

Nick posted a description, letting everyone at the table know about an individual that received no over amount of sympathy from him:

- A while ago the ZPD received a visit from a special association, they are an investigation bureau that has been helping a lot lately, among them there is this guy, a buck named Jack Savage. The instant he walked into the room and came close I already thought he was no good.

Arthur tapped the pointing finger of his right paw on the table before continuing to play, he turned his sight to Nick right after placing a white cap over the table and asked:

- What's up with him?

Nick shook his head once before saying:

- He is an agent of the ZBI, this bureau that is charged with massive investigations that stretch out of Zootopia and beyond, he was in charge of designing new weapons and security items for the precinct, they are cool, but I do not enjoy his company one bit. As he entered the assembly room of the precinct to show a little presentation, he walked right up to Judy and kissed her paw. Who does that out of the blue? You know?

All of Judy's brothers present there at the table shared in an inacceptable scoff directed at the bunny described by Nick, the fox was not done yet, however, throwing one more bit of shade in the direction of agent Savage by saying:

- When he entered the assembly room, the first time I met him, he strutted around as if he owned every tile on the floor. Never was too fond of mammals like that.

Simon tapped his left palm on the table as he said:

- I don't like him already.

Everyone shared in that sentiment, sounding off a little agreement between themselves. Nick and the bucks kept the game going at a steady pace, Nick was the one taking control little by little but Shaun and Hermes were steadily gaining on him in terms of sheer funds for game. As Nick pushed a whole new stack of caps into the pot to show that he was raising the stakes, Simon decided to hop out of the round before he bit off more than he could chew, Shaun and Hermes followed soon but Arthur was still in it, the oldest bunny entered a showdown with the fox to see who among the two would bend sooner, it would be decisive. Arthur continued to speak to Nick, trying to get a vibe out of the fox that would give his game away in a snap, or so he hoped, Arthur tapped the fingers of his left paw on the table one after the other in a steady beat before asking:

- Say, Nick, what's it really like living in the big city? Is it lots of fun as it's promoted in those posters?

Nick shook his head as he released a little humorous puff of air from his mouth, he laid his card facing down on the table and tapped his pointing claw over them before answering:

- Not even close. Life in Zootopia is rowdy, twenty-four seven, no exceptions.

Nick picked the cards again before continuing:

- If it's not the race of every morning, it's the beat of every night. Zootopia is always moving and you have to check if you have the stuff to move along with it.

Arthur nodded his head twice and lowered his ears as he said:

- I think I get what you mean.

Simon intruded in the talk as he asked:

- This may be silly to ask but… Judy… does she have the 'stuff'?

Nick laughed but not in order to undermine the question or the answer to follow, he took in a short breath and then spoke up:

- Judy has the stuff and then some. She kicks tail at work every single day and still has the energy to go on patrol, practice, deal with my nonsense, as she puts it, and even hang out with her friends.

Hermes put in a little more of a jest into the discussion as he asked:

- Judy has 'friends'?

Nick did not take the jesting of the question, he simply answered it as he listed:

- Sure, lots of them. There's Fru Fru, doctor Pura, Fangmeyer and Francine back at the precinct. I don't really know what goes on when they hang out but I imagine it involves a lot of make-up, gossip and dresses. Female stuff.

Arthur retreated slightly as he said:

- Seriously? Our Judy? Hanging out like it's no big deal?

Nick raised a brow after hearing that, leaning forth and asking out of everyone at the table:

- Is it really that hard to believe that Judy might just hang around and have fun out in the city?

Simon corrected that right away, with the others following his lead right after, the bunny seated next to Nick tapped his left shoulder before saying:

- It's not like that. Judy has always been fun to hang out with.

Hermes complemented that trail of thought as he said:

- She was just never the type to hang out with other ladies or gossip. That kind of stuff never… clicked for her.

Shaun placed both paws over the table without slapping the wood or demanding attention, calling out to everyone's attention in a soft way as he asked them:

- Do you all remember the 'spring cotillion'?

The bucks all shared a laugh as the recollection of that particular event played flawlessly in their minds, the scene caused by Judy during the celebration was a hallmark for the ages. The loud laughs being shared around the table definitely called out to Nick's curiosity, he placed his cards facing down once more, symbolizing that the game would be placed on hold for him until his doubts were sated. Nick leaned forth with his left paw placed over the game table as he asked:

- What's the 'spring cotillion'?

Arthur placed his cards down as well as he, and the others along with him, explained it to Nick:

- Every spring, every year, the students of the local high schools throw together a little celebration. I was already graduating, Dilan here was one year away from that, when we were invited to attend the party. Judy was invited too, but she was having none of it.

Simon jumped in as he asked:

- You know how in a party there is always that one mammal that slouches in the corner, content in their own little world? That's our sister. That is Judy. She didn't like to dance or drink excessively or nothing of the sort. She was just on her own no matter what party she got invited to go.

Shaun chimed in, grabbing a little red bottle cap he still had I his possession before tapping it over another one and saying:

- We all decided to go and we convinced Judy to come along, it was nice. Fun, games, food, drinks, pretty girls, we had it made in that party, but Judy took to the corner to read a book. Then, out of nowhere comes this… one guy…

Nick thought that the pauses that Shaun was taking in the narrative were for dramatic effect but he soon came to realize that the bunny was having some trouble recalling the exact identity of the figure that entered the story at the last moment:

- What was his name again? Hercules? Herman? Herm… something?

Hermes hopped into the talk this time as he snapped the fingers of his left paw before saying:

- Herbert. Herbert Bouncefon.

All of the bucks shared in an affirmative nod, that was indeed the name of the character they were referring to, but the most important part of the story was yet to come. Arthur retook the wheel of the story as he spoke up:

- Herbert was a casa nova like no other. He dated most girls in his class, except for Judy. Our sister was quite famous back then but not just because she was the cutest, most intelligent and most focused bunny in class. She was famous because no boy could ever get her on an actual date, she always turned them all down one way or another. Either that or they were just intimidated by her presence

Through Arthur's words, Nick got the sense that Judy had been holding out on him when she talked about her past relationships. He believed that the bunnies that Judy dated where the ones who pushed her interest away, but, maybe, there was something more to it, Arthur listed off some facts about Judy that were unknown by Nick up until that point, the fingers of his paw raising one by one as he counted:

- Judy was a great soccer player, she ran laps around everyone on the track field, she was even dabbling at the debate club. Really, anything that could get her the spot she always wanted to become a police officer, anything that would help her get noticed and keep in shape.

Nick retreated, leaning back with his eyes wide open in utter surprise as he asked:

- Are you serious right now?

Simon grabbed his phone and slotted a picture he had taken a long time ago to illustrate that point a little better, the picture showed him and Judy as they were some years ago, Judy by his side wearing a white kimono with a dark blue belt around her waist. Simon showed the picture to Nick as he said:

- Judy even took classes for mixed martial arts three times a week at one point. She got the first place at the one local tournament that was held here. She was schooling guys that were way above her weight class.

Nick turned his head to Arthur and then to the others after Simon tapped the phone screen to hide the picture back in the digital album, Nick asked soon after:

- Shouldn't her room be filled up with trophies from all of that?

Shaun made a summoning gesture with his left paw in the air as he took point and said:

- Oh, there are trophies alright, but Judy stored all of them away. Our sister may kick lots of tail, but she is also humble to a fault. Stubborn too. It's a trait we all happily share.

Nick got the picture clearly in his head but the narrative from before still continued with all of those side facts out of the way for the time being. Arthur continued to speak as he gestured to his side with his left paw and said:

- Anyway, Herbert approached Judy that day, he had his sights set on her just as her presence became synonymous with… unfeasible. Judy was tall hanging fruit, sort of speak. Someway, somehow, he convinced Judy to get up from her seat and come dance with him.

Nick felt his breath become trapped in his lungs for a short second as he heard that, it was all promptly released and he returned to a normal pacing of breathing as Simon said:

- Could not believe it when I saw it, but he slipped up at the end.

Shaun gave Hermes by his left a subtle nudge with his shoulder as they all know what was about to happen next, Dilan was the one who took the last and most humorous bit of the story however as he gestured with his left paw towards Nick, the bunny began speaking:

- By the end of the night, Herbert was taking Judy out the door and throwing his dumb smile around like he was king of the world, then he made the mistake. Herbert reached down and fondled Judy's tail.

Nick gasped, now sure why the laughs were had, to make such a move out of nowhere, it may have been a death sentence for a relationship when doing it to Judy, he was not wrong. Dilan continued after the jeering from the others died down:

- Judy felt that and I don't know if it was reflex during the moment or if she was planning to do that through the entire night, but she reached back, grabbed his wrist, raised his arm and TWISTED it!

Nick imagined what that would feel like and he winced up over his seat with his jaw opened and a silly smile, he could not help himself but join along in the laughter that the bucks were having at the expense of the long past event and the buck that made the night a riot. Arthur ended the laughter as he put the final points of the story in perspective, he picked his cards up again and said:

- We were always concerned about protecting our sister from any scummy buck that might have taken advantage of her. That night we all got the message loud and clear, Judy can take care of herself, and Herbert got the message clear as crystal too.

Simon laughed once more as he dished one last joke in the story:

- After that we all started to joke around and asking "How's he going to spend his Saturday nights now?"

The laughs were revitalized and Nick got the sense of comradery that was going around as well when he joined in on the joke. The game continued and the Hopps household was peaceful for the rest of the night, laughs and talking was enjoyed until the time for bed, Nick and Judy slept nicely and waited for the next day to follow.

Not that far away from the Hopps house, there was someone else who was enjoying the night to its fullest. Somewhere around the northern suburbs of Bunnyburrow was the house of Gideon Gray, he was in his bedroom comfortably settled in his bed, seated with his back against the head piece and leaving more than enough room by the right, getting ready for a grand time as he had very distinguished company to entertain. The light of the bathroom adjacent to the room was turned on and there was a feminine presence inside, someone getting dressed and conversing with Gideon, a voice he knew all too well who asked of him:

- So… what was your day like? Aside from all the work.

The fox adjusted himself over under the sheets, he took off his shirt and folded it neatly in order to set it aside under his pillow as he answered the question:

- It was alright. Having Judy come over for a surprise visit was really nice.

There were sounds of straps being tightened and zippers being closed coming from the bathroom but they did little to muffle the female voice as she asked him further:

- What about that fox that was with her? Do you think they are… together? Like us?

The tone she used to ask that last par told Gideon precisely the meaning behind the question, a more private tone, he didn't mind it, that particular moment was private enough. Gideon took in some air before answering:

- I don't think so. They have really strong feelings for one another, I could just feel it as they talked to me, I just don't think they found a way to get them across just yet. Maybe they're getting there little by little.

The sounds coming from the bathroom ceased, just so that the voice could inquire without any other noises to stifle her or make it difficult to hear the following answer. She asked:

- How can you tell?

Gideon made a gesture with his paws that went unseen as he pointed to a spot in front of him and then to himself as he explained:

- The way that Nick guy spoke to me, he stood up for Judy, he saw me as a possible threat against her and was fully intended in protecting her by surpassing me. I was scared out of my mind when he came closer to me.

- Really?

The voice inquired further, Gideon was quick to respond:

- Really. He was staring me down, stepping up, there was a growl in his voice as he talked. I thought that he was going to swipe right at my throat. I was clenching super hard at that moment.

The voice acquired a more sensual tone as she said:

- Uh, that sounds kinky.

Gideon released a little puff from his mouth as he shook his head and smiled, he lowered his head and pinched the bridge between his eyes before saying:

- It was terrifying.

There was a hearty laugh coming from the bathroom but id subsided really quick, the voice took a more serious tone as it said:

- Kind of like our first date.

Gideon leaned to the right as he tried to project his voice a little further off or maybe catch a glimpse of the female inside, he inquired of her with one of his brows raised and his tail wagging by the side edge of the mattress:

- I thought that was a business dinner.

The voice spoke out to that:

- Oh, it was. It just 'evolved' into a date.

Gideon reputed to that with the same tone of voice from before as he asked:

- Really?

There were a couple of loud, softly echoing steps coming from the bathroom but the female figure still did not reveal herself entirely, there were still a few more preparations to be made. The answer for Gideon's short inquiry came soon as she said:

- Really. You were such an adorable pile of nerves when we met. I couldn't figure out your deal for the longest time. You just ate up all of the propositions I was throwing at you like you were trying to impress me or something.

Gideon shrugged that off as he admitted:

- I just thought you were cool and passionate. I really liked that about you. As long as I was able to keep making food and sharing it with others, I was happy.

There was the faint sound of a perfume spritzer coming from the bathroom, one last touch to make the night flow without any flaw and a positively feral tendency, preparations were completed at last and the voice let it be known as she said:

- And that is why you are the sweetest.

From out of the bathroom, the presence marked by the provocative voice made itself known, it was no surprise for Gideon at that point, he wanted to see her and for her to come and claim him more than anything, it was Caroline, what truly came as a surprise to him was the attire she was wearing which she had kept secretive until that exact moment. Caroline appeared from the threshold leading to the bathroom as if it was the curtain cover of her own private stage on a show dedicated for Gideon alone, she appeared from the right, leaning against the seam of the opening with her right arm raised to showcase the whole extent of her figure and her choice in clothing. Caroline was dripped with black latex, dark as her own wool but tightly pressed around the curves of her body, Zippers and straps making sure that it would be staying in place for the duration of the night unless she decided to unstrap it all down herself.

Gideon was fascinated by that suit and what it entailed, she wanted to intimidate him into arousal but he actually found her to be more intimidating with her standard business suit on. The top was cut short over her torso, long sleeves that covered most of her arms while still allowing for free movement, her chest was covered but her belly was in clear view to show that it was nicely sheered, her belly button showing and almost no wool to get in the way of the soft feel of her bare skin. Her pants were tight and nicely enclosed, they reached down to her ankles but left her hooves exposed so she could still walk while showing them off, the material could be stretched and there was no risk of tearing so she could bend her legs in all sorts of ways once it came down to it and there was a thin opening at the rear that allowed her tail to pop out and waggle freely. Gideon was very excited after seeing the full visage of the mammal who would share his bed, he was almost drooling with anticipation, if not for a very important detail. Caroline was wearing a mask similar to the ones wore by wrestlers, it covered her face but not her mouth and it gave her an air of sensual mystery, at least that was the idea, but it was certainly not appealing for Gideon.

Caroline walked closer, her feet tapping against the floor to increase the heat of that moment, she wanted it to last as long as possible, she rubbed her gloved paws together as she got near the bed and looked at Gideon as she told him:

- Regardless, I'm really glad that you are still in one piece after your little 'encounter' with Nick. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you before I got a little slice, right?

Gideon nodded his head and showed a coy smile as he agreed:

- R… right.

After hearing that, Caroline could just tell that something was wrong. She retreated a single step and asked:

- Gideon honey, what's wrong?

- Well.. I…

Caroline looked at herself before looking back over at Gideon on the bed and she asked him for an honest opinion:

- Is this too much? I'm not going to go ahead with it if you don't like it.

Gideon leaned forward as he answered, showing a dismissive and rushed gesture of his paws and letting her know that he was very much interested and only a single detail had to be altered:

- No, I still want it. The mask is just a little much.

Gideon unmade his sitting stance over the bed, turning over until his legs were hanging of the edge, he signaled for Caroline to come closer so that he could make the alteration for himself and she complied without saying a word. Caroline lowered her head and allowed Gideon to undo the straps that kept her mask in place, it did not take too long for the mask to be removed, Caroline's full face was revealed as a little tuff of wool puffed up and Gideon was more than free to caress her while saying:

- There we go. That is so much better.

Gideon tossed the mask aside, it released a clinking sound as the metal on the straps collided with the tiles on the ground but no eyes were directed at it, Gideon wanted that mask to remain abandoned and unnoticed for the rest of the night. Caroline showed a soft smile to him and he flattered her as he placed his paws on her cheeks to direct her face closer and tell her:

- I want to see you. You're absolutely gorgeous.

Carol placed herself at the tips of her hooves as she leaned closer to his encroaching muzzle, she puckered her lips and said:

- Aw, Gideon honey, you are just too sweet.

Gideon puckered his lips as well, thinking that he would be able to score one last loving kiss before the act started for real, incorrect. Gideon felt a sudden poke coming from the area right below his jaw, Caroline had drawn a flexible plastic wand that she intended to use in order to keep him at bay, she spoke to him with a challenging tone to her voice as she said:

- Now, be a good boy. Tuck your tail in, get back in bed and lay down for me.

The act had started, that was his cue, Gideon swallowed some saliva and complied with the order as he said:

- Yes ma'am.

Gideon laid down, just as it was ordered of him. Caroline hopped on the bed, she was standing on the mattress and walking next to Gideon's laying body, tapping the tip of the wand against her right palm as she looked down on him and said:

- I think this is my favorite part of date night. I get to do whatever I want to my darling fox boyfriend.

Gideon could feel the pleasuring keenness coming from Caroline, he sucked his belly inward with anticipation and said with a whisper:

- I like this part as well.

Caroline let out a little giggle before gently placing herself on top of Gideon, his soft belly and luscious fur providing her with a prestige resting spot, she grinded her figure over his and crawled closer to his head in the most sensual combination of moves she could come up with before letting him know:

- Oh, one more thing: The safe word is cinnamon.

To that end, Gideon and Caroline retreated together under the sheets for a long and passionate night of carnal interactions. No one knew of the depths of their relations and no one would dare intrude, for that night was eventful, explosive, daring, it was filled with laughs, grunts and moan of utter ecstasy and, for the following hours, it belonged to them and to them alone for they had each other and it was the most important thing of all. Nary a thing could spoil it.

---

Back in Zootopia, as the moon shone brightly over the savanna, Ortega was standing next to a window at his office, looking out at the city as it was just going to sleep while he remained ready and alert, it was a promising night and he had to make sure that there were no more affairs to be met before he could retire for a few hours of sleep at the least. There was a buzzing sound coming from the desk to his left, his cellphone was ringing and the warning on the screen showed that the number decoded, the line was safe and he could answer the call. Ortega reached for the phone and tapped the green button to accept the call, even if the identity of the caller was not shown up by the device, he already had a good idea of who it was, from the other side of the line came the familiar voice of an underling as it called to his name:

- Mister Ortega?

His most loyal employee asked of him and he confirmed established contact by saying:

- It's me Andersen. What is it?

Andersen released a little gasp before saying:

- Sir, just as you ordered of me, I have been keeping out of the main paths. My fonts lent me their time and they all let me know that the situation concerning the ZPD is slowly improving.

Ortega looked at his left paw as his right paw was pressing the phone against his ear, he tapped his hoofed paw against the mahogany of the table and said:

- That is good to know. But I trust you did not call on me in the middle of the night to give off a simple piece of information that anyone else could've let me know.

Andersen spoke to that as he said in a rush:

- No, sir, absolutely not. I called to inform that the doctor has shown signs of life. He finally hit me up with an update.

Ortega stopped all motions, his right wrist froze up and he let out a pleasant puff of air from his mouth before asking:

- Is that so? Why didn't the good doctor inform me of this himself?

Andersen released a clicking noise from his lips before posting a short explanation:

- He still doesn't have your personal number. He took to routine all updates to me first.

Ortega gave a short pace forward before saying:

- I believe that is acceptable. What did the doctor say?

The answer came swiftly, a short breath for air followed by the most awaited confirmation:

- The tests wielded promising results. The mixtures are stable and ready for testing on large specimens. The dosages have been measured and the experiments can move forward.

Ortega did not wish for anyone to know, especially not one of his underlings, even if he was the most loyal and committed of them all, but he had the greatest smile on his face at that moment. With the same tone of voice he had been using thus far to talk with Andersen, Ortega spoke up with a satisfied air to his voice:

- My, my. That is spectacular news. Let the doctor know that I am heading down to the lab myself. It is time to test our newest product.