A Better Place

by Soulfire72

Nick and Judy have been working at the ZPD for three years, and comfortably settled into their roles as partners, as well as lovers. However, as they explore options into finally forming a family, they find Zootopia itself pushing back. After the city's true nature rears its ugly head, they both resolve to make this new dream a reality – whether Zootopia likes it or not.

7. On Display

Chapter 7

On Display

---

Benjamin Clawhauser spent his free time that Monday morning sizing up the area around his desk. The ZPD had put out a job ad for a second receptionist; the interview for which he would directly participate in. Strangely, the last time Bogo had tried to hire another receptionist, the poor deer had quit within a week, and the cheetah wasn't sure why. Clawhauser had no immediate plans to retire from his position, so any other receptionist would need to work with him from the get-go.

The desk had already been replaced with a wider one which arced across the lobby; the upgrade coming around the same time their new PCs were installed. As for Clawhauser, he was thrilled when he first laid eyes on the new size accommodations. Not only did it save him from having to lean over the desk all the time, it gave him enough room to keep a small bar fridge under the desk. But it did feel a bit lonely having so much space – which was why he asked Bogo about any updates any chance he could. He sometimes imagined who and what his new co-worker would be: most likely a smaller herbivore, maybe like Judy.

His monitor's clock read 8:15, and he started to greet the officers of all ranks as they arrived for work. Francine dropped off a Cowla bottle in return for a previous favour, and he immediately placed it in his fridge for a cool drink later. It was going to be another hot day.

The cheetah saw a familiar rabbit and fox come in just before opening, which was unusual, as the fox was normally a couple minutes behind the rabbit. Nick had been occasionally tardy at first, but that problem had been sorted once the pair moved into a house together. Judy, in general, was a lot more… well, judicious.

Clawhauser quickly picked up on their mood as the doe seemed distracted and kept her head down instead of greeting him brightly like she usually did. Nick seemed normal, but the cheetah spotted a couple of concerned glances Judy's way.

'Morning, you two! Everything alright?' Since they approached from the lower side, he pushed on the desk to shift his wheeled chair over a little. 'Looks like you had a bad Monday morning.'

Nick spoke after a moment. 'Not that. More like… our day out was ruined.'

'Really? It's not like it hasn't happened before. You two always seem to bounce back.'

Clawhauser knew some of the unfortunate public encounters the pair had – he had even witnessed several – but it hadn't kept Judy down for long. Nick had naturally conditioned himself to ignore public ridicule, so it normally had no visible effect on him.

Judy spoke in a hushed tone. 'This one felt… different, more…' –her expression soured as she limply put of her paws – 'visceral.'

Clawhauser finished skimming over his morning report and fully detached himself from his workstation, leaning on balled fists as he studied Judy carefully. 'We have a few minutes – talk to me.'

Nick looked up at the nearest clock. 8:24. Bogo hadn't yet left his office.

'She was… a woodchuck. Her daughter was with her.'

'Ohhhh.' Clawhauser's eyes widened with a twinge of sadness. 'Did the girl see the whole thing?'

'Worse – she was part of it,' Judy said.

'The mom threw a lot of fire at Judy,' Nick continued. 'But then our friend, Alex – you know the one?' Clawhauser nodded somewhat fearfully. 'He stopped her,but ended up scaring them both to death.'

'She didn't deserve it,' Judy's ears drooped. 'And I think the woman genuinely thought she was protecting her daughter from me. I don't know why she thinks that, but… it means I can't get angry at her, as much as I want to.'

'You two didn't do anything wrong,' Clawhauser reassured her. 'Some mammals don't understand, and don't want to, either. Such things take time to change.' He gave a small smile and pointed at himself. 'Can you believe that some of Bogo's peers didn't want me as a receptionist, because of my size? Oh yeah, and being a predator, but the first one kinda hurt.'

'It's not really me I'm worried about,' Judy murmured, 'but the girl. She's probably going to be scared of predators for the rest of her life.'

Clawhauser nodded sadly. 'Parents often pass on problems to their children. That also takes time to change.'

There was a chime from his computer, and he pushed himself back.

'Oh! It's 8:30. Strange, the Chief hasn't–'

There was a swift boom from Bogo's office up above, and the three glimpsed the buffalo making his way to the elevator with an annoyed scowl.

'Huh. Something – last minute must have been added to his to-say list.' Clawhauser turned and smiled down at the pair brightly. 'Time to get to work! Making the world a better place might help you forget at least a little bit of what happened yesterday, ya think, Judy?'

The rabbit managed a small smile. Just talking to Clawhauser did seem to help a little.

'I'll try my best, Ben.'

Nick gave him a small salute as they started towards the bull pen.

The pair got a couple of acknowledging nods as they made their way to their seats, which were now a more suitable size for them and a lower desk. McHorn, who still sat next to them, now had to watch where he put his elbow, lest he topple himself over.

There was a quiet murmur throughout the room as usual; Delgato and Johnson were talking in the back. Judy picked up them mentioning a young lion Johnson had taken in, which Nick had mentioned to her a couple of days ago. As she looked around, she was surprised to see a tiny desk to her far left just in front of Snarlov's seat. A hamster and two mice were sitting in tiny chairs, looking rather nervous. Most of the time they kept out of the bull pen; Bogo must have requested that they attend the morning's meeting.

The Chief's approaching footsteps quieted the murmur down to a subdued ooh ooh ooh, on account of the rodents present. Nick smirked up at McHorn next to them, while the buffalo on the stand tightened his jaw even more.

'Ugh. Don't you all start – my morning has been anything but smooth.'

Taking his cue, the force quieted down. Bogo shoved a recently-printed sheet of paper into his clipboard before putting on his glasses.

'To start with, I would ask how all your weekends were – but I don't care,' he began.

'I'd say yours was plenty relaxing, then,' Nick called out cheekily, only for a scrunched-up paper ball to hit him in the back of the head, prompting him to rub it and shoot a glare back at the polar bear behind them.

'Thank you, Andersen.' Bogo continued without missing a beat. 'As you are all aware, the Mayor has been… gracious enough to keep me in the loop with the upcoming Unification celebration, and numerous emails have been sent to everyone requesting volunteer representatives.' He pursed his lip. 'Well, he calls them "volunteers" but we all know we can't afford to refuse the mayor. I will now read out the respondents, or officers who have no choice in the matter. I already have Hopps and Wilde down for rabbits and red foxes.'

Judy nodded; Nick had also discussed that with her on Sunday. As long as she didn't have to speak too much, she felt comfortable helping the mayor out with this event. Bogo began calling more names, with each volunteer nodding signalling their affirmation.

'Wolfard, for wolves. Andersen, for polar bears. Higgins…'

After a few more names, he turned to address the tiny rodent desk.

'Hamish, for hamsters. Brie, for mice.'

The pair of rodents in white office shirts nodded, and the hamster waved in Judy's direction as she watched them, while Brie remained focused on some papers on her own desk.

Bogo had read down to the bottom of his page, and flipped it over the clipboard. His eyes immediately narrowed with a similar prickly visage he had walked in with.

'Ugh… Might as well get this out of the way.' He stood up straight and cleared his throat. 'A complaint was filed yesterday evening by a Rosalinde Lemmingham, in relation to some of our officer's public conduct…' – Nick and Judy froze –'And I have yet to read it. Hmm…'

The buffalo's left brow rose after a few seconds of reading, as he gave Nick and Judy a short glance, before scrunching the paper up and tossing it into a bin in the back corner.

'Sir!?' Judy exclaimed as she leaned forward with her paws on the table.

'Something to say, Hopps?'

She paused for a moment, before settling down and sitting back. '…Nothing. My apologies.'

Bogo finished off the morning meetings with some other updates on general council activities, but apart from that it was business as usual. With the "volunteer" retinue complete, Clawhauser would send an email later that day giving more specific instructions for attending the mayor's event tomorrow.

'You all have your regular assigned duties for today,' Bogo said as he put away his glasses. 'Dismissed.'

The police rabble pushed their way out the door, loudly chattering to themselves and not paying much attention to their surroundings. The rodents watched the procession nervously, and in turn, Bogo remained where he was to witness them finally leave, then packed up his papers and headed to the door. Nick and Judy, however, were still in their seats, Judy fidgeting while Nick watched his partner worriedly. The fox pulled on Judy gently to get her to follow him.

'Chief? A moment of your time, pretty please?'

Bogo put his glasses back on indifferently. Nick finally nudged Judy with his elbow and she exhaled after a moment.

'Sir… about the complaint…'

'If I required an explanation, Hopps, I would have called you both into my office,' Bogo said shortly.

'But, Chief Bogo…' Judy took a moment to find the right words. 'Whether the accusation is true or false, there are serious considerations to be made… regardless of which!'

'You are correct, Hopps,' Bogo acquitted, 'since it turned out to be neither. Therefore, I can throw it away and have Clawhauser deliver the news. Just another civilian who believes that any police officer always represents the ZPD whether they are in or out of uniform. Besides, it seems your wolf friend was the true instigator. In a word, I would call this complaint "misdirected".'

'That's gonna be hard on Clawhauser, then,' Nick surmised.

'Is that what you think?' Bogo regarded Nick dismissively. 'He does an ample job of handling disgruntled civilians. Well, aside from those that can slip away.'

'So… we're good?' Nick asked hopefully.

Bogo took a moment to focus on Judy, who was still glancing at the floor uncomfortably. 'Are you?'

When Judy didn't answer, Bogo gave a low-key snort.

'It seemed my initial concerns were justified. This is exactly the sort of thing I warned you two about.'

After a brief glance at his wife, Nick studied the buffalo quizzically. 'You'll have to be more specific, Chief.'

Bogo gestured at both of them.

'This. You know what I'm talking about.'

As Nick and Judy gave each other an awkward glance, they got a sense of déjà vu. They did know what he was talking about.

---

- 18 months after Nick Wilde's police graduation -

Judy had to admit she was pretty. She would even go as far as saying she approved.

The vixen – Sally – was a red fox like Nick, but had a warmer orange glow to most of her fur, with only the tips of her tail and ears getting close to Nick's more vibrant red. She was about in her late twenties, though Judy knew better than to ask directly, especially in front of Nick.

When Nick and Judy had first met Sally, the vixen had reported a breaking and entering into her city apartment, just on the outskirts of Sahara Square bordering on Savannah Central. She had greeted them and succinctly summed up her version of events; her door was ajar when she got home the previous evening, and she had gotten a locksmith to replace the lock as soon as possible. Thankfully, not much had been stolen; much of her possessions were related to drawing or graphics. Some of her more expensive computer peripherals had been stolen, but thankfully her storage drives were all untouched.

The rabbit doe had gradually sensed the two foxes eyeing each other up as they took notes and completed their report, but it wasn't until the end that the vixen casually asked Nick for his number. With a sheepish, but proud grin, he gave her his personal mobile.

Judy had been supportive of the pair; after the case involving the two wolf families, Nick's name began to go around in the canine community. Most vixens, and even some other smaller female canids, tried to see her fox partner at least once if they had business with the ZPD. He had entertained one or two of their advances and met them a couple of times over coffee on break, but nothing really happened after that.

Judy also liked Sally as the vixen had given no indication that she had heard of Nick before showing up to her apartment. She had a respectable job at a nearby animation studio and had a degree that she likely worked very hard for. The vixen did not beat around the bush, and was very confident in everything she did; at least that was Judy's impression.

As such, the rabbit had gently nudged Nick to see the vixen a lot, and often asked how they were going once the foxes started dating, and things seemed to be going well for a few months. Nick often showed Judy Sally's drawings of various parts of Zootopia, and some of the more interesting mammals in some unsavoury sections of the city. This also meant that Nick and Judy hanging out at karaoke bars and cinemas after work became less frequent – down to once a week at most.

Four months in, Judy began to feel strange. It became harder for her to talk to Nick. She stumbled over her words more often in his presence. Even though she had barely seen Sally after that first meeting, she kept wanting to ask Nick about her, but couldn't bring herself to.

It had become enough of a problem that it was beginning to affect their work together. While she had never had a boyfriend, just living among 275 siblings, both younger and older, allowed her to pinpoint exactly how she felt and why. And she was determined to resolve it as soon as possible.

A warm Tuesday morning, she pumped herself up as she pushed through the revolving entrance door.

Alright, Judy. You need to talk to him today. Just resolving to do that should make things easier. I should give him a heads-up as soon as I can, though.

She made her way into the lobby, greeting Clawhauser as usual. She and Nick were rostered for a vehicle monitor shift in East Tundratown, so she made a note to find appropriate attire at least 15 minutes before they left.

She strode over to her and Nick's cubicle, fully expecting him to be absent, as she was ten minutes early as usual. However…

'Boo!'

She jumped and darted back for a moment, gasping for air before she beheld Nick before her, waving a second-hand DVD up in front of her face.

'Nick!' She stomped a foot and frowned. 'What's the big idea?'

'I know!' Nick spun the cover around to admire it for a moment. 'Whoever thought up pirate-ghost hyenas is a genius!'

'Wait, seriously?'

Her fright immediately forgotten, Judy moved in for a closer look, and indeed, the B-movie seemed to feature hyena ghosts in a haunted shipwreck.

'Huh.' Judy frowned as she made her way to her seat and spun to face him. 'And… why are you showing me this?'

Nick paused for a moment. 'I got it from a Central store Sally showed me once, and…Well, I didn't want to watch it alone. You've been stuck inside that toy box of a room for too long, so I thought… you know…'

I only did that because you were with Sally.Judy frowned. Wait… "were?" Why am I thinking that?

Still, the way he fidgeted as he spoke made her smile, but also set some butterflies in her stomach.

'A toy box, huh?' She tried to recall the last time she went over to his apartment. 'At least I don't have actual toys in it.'

'What?' Nick scoffed. 'I've lived there for years. There's nothing wrong with a few knick-knacks.'

'True. But you have a wolf plushie behind your bed.'

Nick's terrified expression was once again priceless.

'Do you have to keep bringing that up?' he hissed.

She grinned cheekily. 'Only because you keep making that face.'

'Ugh…'

They soon felt a pair of eyes on them, and they slowly turned to see Clawhauser peeking in with a gleeful expression.

'Uh… something up?' Nick asked, trying to mask his annoyance.

'Oh, don't mind me…' The cheetah said innocently, before placing a couple of pamphlets on their desks with "Beyond Blue" logos plastered all over them. 'I just wanted to pass these around!' He waved as he whipped around to keep moving down the carpeted walkway. 'Have a good night, you two!'

Judy's face and ears flushed at that remark.

What does he mean by that?

Nick cleared his throat, still frowning with annoyance at the interruption while swinging the DVD in her face again.

'Aaaanyway… terrible B-grade horror movie! Take it or leave it!'

I guess I can tell him during the movie… That could work.

Judy took a deep breath.

'Alright… I'll bite, slick. What time?'

'After dinner, probably at half-past seven? You remember where I live, Carrots?'

'Oh, I remember. Cypress Grove is pretty active at night compared to my place.'

Nick smiled, before dropping the DVD into his drawer and moving on to a paperwork pile he had clearly been putting off until that point.

---

Fortunately, the rest of the day felt relatively normal. Since Judy had resolved to tell Nick about her feelings, things didn't feel as awkward running through their paperwork and chatting casually while they took turns recording vehicle speeds. It was early autumn, so Sahara Square didn't turn out as sweltering hot like it usually was, though they had to use air-conditioning the closer it got to lunchtime.

Once they had finished their shift, Wolfard and Jackson invited Nick to the firing range that afternoon. Judy decided to stay and help some rodent council staff move their equipment as the records room had been cleaned up to accommodate the new IT team being incorporated into the ZPD.

Staying busy kept her mind from wandering until 6 pm, but the moment she got on the subway the butterflies in her stomach returned. She knew what she wanted to do, but had no idea how to do it. After all, she had no experience with romantic relationships, or anything of the sort, while many of her sisters close in age were now married in Bunnyburrow. She now wished that she had paid more attention to her sisters during their teenage years instead of dismissing the whole dating affair as a distraction from studying and training.

She debated calling one of her sisters, Jackie, as soon as she plugged her phone into the charger, as well as her parents. However, the fact that Nick was a fox proved to be too much of a hurdle for her to articulate to her family without revealing the tod's identity.

Judy tried to eat, but found she had no appetite, despite having bought her favourite large carrots on special. As she smelled the deliciously large carrots, she cursed at her opening the packet prematurely, and wrapped it up as best she could. She stuck on a post-it noteand put it in her bar fridge.

Maybe I can eat it after I get back... I'll probably be starving by then.

As the time approached 7 pm, she prepared to go. She had run over what she would say many times.

"Nick, I want you to know how much I value your friendship and how much I treasure our partnership. I don't want to muddy things up for us, and know that I really like Sally and think you two are a great match. But, I have feelings for you. There, I said it. Now you can go ahead and gently rebuff my feelings, and I can work on accepting you two being together and we can get on with our lives."

She could only picture his expression. His striking cheeks, long snout, vibrant red fur and warm green eyes. Would he be surprised? Sad? Or would he play it cool like usual? She had known him for over a year – and at times, it felt like they had known each other all their lives – but she found she couldn't predict this particular scenario.

Judy put on her pink flannel and jeans, packed a backpack with some water, and upon passing the fridge, fished out her prematurely-opened dinner – as she remembered Nick having a microwave. On the train, she ran through some of her message history, seeing Nick sharing Sally's digital artwork of the city. The last portrait of the mayor's tower in Savannah Central was shared on Saturday afternoon, where Judy guessed they had their latest date. Sally seemed to prefer landscapes and architecture, as Judy didn't see many drawings of the vixen or Nick. Or maybe Nick just didn't share those ones.

Multicoloured night lamps in the distance signalled her stop as she watched the window and listened to her personal playlist. As the doors opened, several mammals of similar size walked out with her – most being predators, but a hare and a capybara were also in the mix. She went back towards the lights the train had passed, as Nick's apartment in the 1900 block was just after that market lane, the familiar lights signalling the road ahead.

The first time she visited Nick, she found herself nervously hopping through the stone lane, with market and food stalls on either side – all of them being run by a predator of some kind. Nick had helped her with some shopping runs of his own – pointing out merchants he trusted. She found that the honest owners of all species had attires that were not too dishevelled whilealso not being too pricey or extravagant. Nick knew the honest ones had mostly practical and down-to-earth outfits, which also reflected in their stalls. After Judy had learned this, she had gotten some pretty nice jewels and other gifts from this place.

Nick's building was solid but of the more classic era; the small wooden door opened easily, and she checked that the fox was still in the same unit via the poster directory to her immediate right.

"Nicholas P. Wilde – number 24." Still the same one.

She hastily made her way up the stairs to the second floor, trying to ignore the hammering of her heartbeat. As she approached Nick's wooden door – his number sign a gold metal in Times New Roman – she heard faint brushing from the other side. She knocked tentatively, and heard the brushing stop.

The door opened with a slight creak, and she found herself staring at Nick, bare-chested in his work trousers with a brush in his free paw, smelling of shampoo. The tod's eyes widened for a moment before he dashed back inside and out of view, but left the door open.

'Carrots! Sorry about that… I was just about finished. You can come in.'

Judy remained where she was in stunned silence. She knew that Nick's figure had improved from his new working officer life – but now it was burned into her brain. All that training and reluctant heavy door usage had done wonders for Nick's chest, shoulders and arms. It wasn't that she hadn't seen Nick shirtless before – they had gone to the gym together on occasion – but already Nick was pushing her buttons; the exact buttons she was trying to suppress right now.

Gee thanks, Nick! It's not like this was hard enough already!

She tried to ignore the extreme heat in her cheeks and ears as she went inside, with Nick having disappeared into his bedroom on the left, with the kitchenette, TV and small couch against the wall on the right. She put her leftovers into his fridge, and sat herself down, her long feet kicking restlessly.

She started talking in an attempt to distract herself once again.

'Don't you normally have your shower in the morning?'

'Yeah, but… funny story,' Nick answered through the bathroom door, 'some joker swapped out the fake tranquiliser pod for one of sticky green goo. The stuff came out the side of the big tiger's rifle while I was standing in the perfect spot.'

'That joker wouldn't happen to be you, would it?'

Nick chuckled as he opened the door in his classic green shirt and tan pants. 'You know me too well, Carrots.' He frowned for a moment as he glanced at the ceiling. 'In hindsight, I think Wolfard was on to me from the very beginning. I could swear he was herding me to that spot.'

Judy glanced at his kitchenette and noted the lack of dirty plates.

'You had dinner yet?'

Nick shook his head. 'Didn't want to eat anything after my paws got covered in goo.'

'Heh… typical.' She perked up as she remembered. 'Oh! I had leftover carrots. It was a big pack, so we could have two each if you want. You can eat vegetables, right?'

Nick's smirk was evident. 'Dining with Carrots, featuring actual carrots. Sounds like a good pitch for a host show.'

Judy scoffed and rolled her eyes before retrieving her carrot pack, while Nick busied himself with setting up the DVD in the background. As the moment of silence passed, Judy had relaxed to the point where sheremembered her main reasonfor coming.

Focus, Judy! You have to tell him… but doing that before the movie would be a real buzzkill… not to mention awkward…

Nick got them a couple of glasses of water and sat them on the small coffee table just as she found a plate and divided the carrots between them. As the usual ads and obligatory "movie piracy is bad" warning that every DVD and Blu-ray had these days played out, Judy found herself relaxing again.

Oh well, might as well enjoy this while it lasts.

'Get ready for astoundingly cringey dialogue and overly retro visual effects,' Nick announced dramatically.

Judy smiled. 'Oh, stop it – it can't be that bad.'

---

It was that bad.

Right off the bat, Judy pegged the teenagers as the outdated stereotype of popular footballer-slash-cheerleader groups she sometimes saw on soap-operas. Then they all thought it was a good idea to check out the scary shipwreck together on a Friday night, even after they clearly heard other mammals had disappeared there, with no weapons or safety provisions whatsoever. Then, predictably, the tiger quarterback and zebra cheerleader went off by themselves to make out in the captain's cabin only to get ambushed by the hyena ghosts. The screaming was so monotone that Judy and Nick burst out laughing. In that way, it was so bad that it was entertaining. Charming, even.

'It's like watching a trainwreck,' Nick remarked as he took his first crunchy bite out of a carrot.

'Except the trainwreck gets repeated every couple of minutes, with each crash surprising you with how absurd it is,' Judy observed as she started on her own orange stalk. 'I guess that's how these movies work; you want to see the dogpile at the end.'

'Sounds like you've got the gist of B-movie horror,' Nick smirked at her. 'And I suppose we are uniquely qualified for judging train wrecks.'

He continued smirking directly at her to the point where she had to avert her eyes in embarrassment.

'Ugh. Don't remind me.'

'Why not? It was our finest hour!'

His sarcasm was thinly veiled, but Judy picked up on it immediately.

'Okay, slick,' she quipped back, 'explain to me exactly how it was our finest work.'

'Well… to start with, a brave bunny who figured the Night Howlers out before anyone rushes out in her dad's farm truck, recruiting her fox friend to root out the conspirators in one fell swoop! Except…' He pressed the back of his paw to his forehead in a dramatic flourish'– whoopsie – that it's not so easy. They're outmached by a couple of rams and they blow their cover to steal the whole train car anyway. This led to the bunny getting flung out the window and nearly colliding with an oncoming train, with the poor fox nearly getting crushed as the train derailed.'

Nick's smirk wasslowly replaced with a concerned frown, and Judy felt herself squirm uncomfortably.

'Before they had even started – Double whoopsie! They didn't inform the ZPD, who could have offered a lot of support much earlier since the bunny had, despite her resignation, proven herself trustworthy. Finally, whoopsie number threesie, the unfortunate bunny had her ankle gored, and it was only thanks to a last-minute setup that either of them got out of the whole ordeal alive.'

He let his point sink in, and a tense silence passed. During that few seconds, Nick's jaw was slightly clenched as he tried to keep his eyes on the TV instead of her.

'So… yeah, not our finest, I guess.'

Judy, similarly, averted her eyes. 'I'm sorry, Nick. When you put it that way, I put you through a lot – I really didn't think a lot of things through.'

'True, but I didn't think of them either.' He managed a small smile. 'It wasn't all bad, though. There were a few things we did right. Aside from catching Bellwether, at any rate.'

Judy began to relax again, as she smiled with apparent curiosity. 'Oh really?'

'Well, you did come back despite almost giving up on your dream.' His paws ran down his front proudly.'And you came to this handsome and brilliant fox for help, so I can't fault you too much.'

Judy tilted her head in mock curiosity. 'What about the other fox? The smaller, less handsome one?'

'Oh yeah… that was a good call, too. Finnick was happy to see you, by the way,' Nick grimaced. 'He's just not too good at showing it.'

Judy paused thoughtfully as she studied the tod. Despite his smile, it was clear he was still uncomfortable about bringing the subject up at all.

'Well, for what it's worth… I'm sorry for risking your life like that.'

Nick sighed and shook his head. 'You don't need to apologise. It's just…' He scratched his cheek fur awkwardly. 'I worry about you, you know.'

'Huh?'

The butterflies returned. Nick didn't elaborate, averting his eyes and fixing them on the TV.

'Nick, what do you–'

'Oh look, the lion is fleeing to horrible violins. That screeching must hurt your ears, huh? Need me to turn it down?'

Judy blinked and glanced at the TV. To be honest, she had forgotten they were watching a movie at all.

Wait, we're watching a movie, from a store that Sally showed him, so…

She hesitated, but Nick seemed to want to avoid the last topic, so she asked something else that was on her mind. She only got distracted when she saw Nick at the front door.

'When you asked me to come see this with you, I kind of assumed Sally would watch it with us. Is there some reason she's not here?'

Nick's ears twitched in her direction, but he didn't turn his head when he glanced at her. 'Is there some reason she should be?'

'Aren't you two dating? You shared her last piece on Saturday.'

It was Nick's turn to squirm.

'Carrots, we… um, we stopped going out six weeks ago.'

'What?' Judy found herself annoyed. Despite her personal feelings of selfish relief, Sally seemed like a decent girl. 'Why didn't you tell me? Did something happen?'

Nick managed a chuckle despite her accusing look. 'Carrots, not every relationship ends with a huge argument, a broken heart, and suicidal depression. We both just realised it wasn't going to work out. I still chat to her online, though. Girlfriend of mine or not, she has great talent.'

Judy stared at him in disbelief, before sinking back into the couch to stare at the TV blankly. Well, there goes my whole plan. Now she had no idea what to say, except let her curiosity guide her.

'You both realised it wouldn't work out? I don't mean to pry, but…'

'Can't help those detective instincts of yours, huh? I think she would want you to know, anyway.' Nick took a deep breath before running something in his head. 'I guess… by all accounts, she's a pretty cool vixen. She had some jokes of her own, and she showed me a lot of things I didn't understand before, especially when it came to drawings and buildings. But always something felt… off. Even after we–'

His eyes went wide in that terrified way Judy still found loveable as he looked at her. After a moment's pause, she laughed.

'Nick, remember who – or rather, what, you're talking to.'

He grimaced awkwardly. 'Uh, yeah. Well, after we, you know – did the deed and whatnot – it still didn't feel right. Funny thing was, she had to tell it to my face to get through my head. Back in my twenties, that kind of thing didn't bother me, but now…?'

Judy winced sympathetically – it was hard to imagine Nick getting let down in such a brutal manner. 'That sounds like it must have hurt.'

'Actually, not really. Not the way you're thinking.'

Judy blinked in surprise as Nick fished out his phone and began scrolling through some of his chat history.

An SMS break-up?

'She drew me this a couple of days after we broke up. And to quote her: "This is what you really want, isn't it"?'

He held his phone up for her to see, and she stared, almost in disbelief. It was her – Judy Hopps.

She was in her casual grey top, her long ears upright and listening to music in the distance. She, Nick and Sally had gone to the annual Zootopian festival where Gazelle and some other up-and coming artists had performed for the crowd, and Judy remembered that it happened a couple of months after they had met the artistic vixen. Her violet eyes were clear and hopeful.

It was not a perfect portrait, but that made it more beautiful. It was if the colours mixed in a way that painted her in a dream-like shroud, that made her eyes and mouth stand out more.

As Judy gawked at the picture, Nick studied her intently.

'What… why did she…?'

Nick lowered the phone, staring down at it, as if pondering a lingering question. He finally squared his shoulders as if he'd come to a decision.

'Hold that thought, fluff.'

While Judy was still pondering the picture with her heartbeat dialled up, he swiftly drew close to her, cupped her cheek in his paw, and kissed her.

Nick… kissed me.

He doubled back to his previous position, his eyes widening again nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck.

'I… uh, well, I guess I owe you an explanation. You see–'

He got no further, as Judy reached up, grabbed his collar, and pulled him into another kiss. It took her a couple of tries to get the angle just right on his jaw. He froze in surprise, but when Judy got it right, he returned her kiss, and Judy felt the edges of his long canines brush against her smaller front teeth. The strange, but exotic sensation made her shudder.

After several long seconds they broke contact, leaving them both giddy and breathless. They were both beaming. Judy was leaning into him, relished placing her paws on his chest.

'So… Want to keep going with that explanation?'

Nick gazed down at her with half-lidded, hungry eyes.

'… It can wait.'

---

Judy lifted her eyelids to the sound of distant cars and faint sounds of other apartment residents waking up. It was dark at first, but as her eyes adjusted she realised she was staring at Nick's bare chest, with the fox having embraced her with his tail wrapped around her back. The smell of fox and… something else, filled her nostrils.

The doe smiled and stroked his cream fur, memories of last night flooding back. Her taking in Nick's musky scent up close, running her paws through his thick fur, feeling his wiry muscle over his upper body…

Her smile broadened as she fully understood what had happened.

She had slept with Nick. And her fears of rejection, or the possibility of it feeling awkward and souring their friendship, seemed unfounded now.

The tod stirred after a couple of minutes and yawned widely, earning Judy a close up view of his sharp teeth. He smacked his lips before grinning.

'Morning, fluff.'

'Morning, handsome fox.'

They both leaned in and kissed again, but far more deliberately and gently this time. He sighed with satisfaction as they broke it, and pulled back a little. Judy felt behind her, and realised that the bed was only a single, and she was close to falling off. She edged over and pulled the cover over her to look up at the ceiling.

The bunny felt Nick's eyes zone in on the bedside table past her, and her own gaze followed. The black digital clock read 6:42 – they still had time before work.

'You alright?' He asked.

Almost the instant Judy thought that was a strange question, she realised her legs and lower body in general felt a bit sore. But that was balanced out by her high on elation and relief.

'I'm… a lot of things, right now. But most of all I'm just… happy. Relieved, even.'

'… I know what you mean.'

Judy mused over the previous nights' discussion, now that she had time to process it all.

'So… six weeks. Is that why you–'

Nick groaned and batted at her ears in a way that tickled. 'Yeah, yeah, I'm a dumb, indecisive fox who doesn't understand what he wants. You and Sally made your point.' He grinned for a moment. 'Before you so rudely interrupted me, Sally also said: "Go and get her, you dumbass." Heh.' He took a deep breath. 'But yeah, I waited this long and didn't want to tell you, because…'

'Because…?'

He managed an embarrassed smile. 'No doubt Mom's regaled you with some of my embarrassing stories. And how I apparently have rotten luck with women.'

'Well, to be fair, you can't have rotten luck without trying,' Judy said with a scathing grin.

'Oh yeah, you can say that again. Before Sally, it was all fun and goofing around. But when it came to you, I…' He let out a deflating breath. 'I didn't want to screw it up. You're… too important to me.'

'Huh.' Judy's ears perked up. 'That's pretty much how I felt, when I thought you and Sally were together for the long haul.'

'That being said, it's not going to be all fun for us, either. If we're going to make this work–'

Judy found her eyes wandering over his chiselled chest and arms again, and her face heated up again.

'Uh, Nick? If we're going to have a serious discussion about… us…' She let out an embarrassed laugh. 'Maybe we should get out of this – um, compromising situation?'

Nick smirked knowingly. 'Oh really? Well, we could do that, but going by my experience in the past, the moment I put on my pants and shirt, you'll probably be possessed to jump my bones and we can go through the whole song and dance again.'

'…You're kidding.'

'Nope.'

She frowned for a moment, noticing Nick's eyes wandering over her in a similarly lecherous manner. 'Fine, wise guy, but try not to get distracted, alright?'

'I'll do my best, ma'am.'

He did display some courtesy as he also twisted to lay on his back, facing the ceiling above with her, and pulling the sheets up to cover up a bit.

'As I was saying…' His visage tightened. 'Things were always going to be hard with me. And that's not even counting the fact that you're a rabbit and I'm a fox.'

'What do you mean by that?'

Nick paused. 'Before the whole thing with Sally even started, I may have looked up what a predator-prey relationship might look like. I couldn't find anything official when it came to public information, so it was mostly online chat rooms and some health professionals. But I have to tell you, it was… bad.'

'Bad? How?' Judy asked with some trepidation.

'Just giving the impression that I might have been a predator who was interested in dating a prey, seemed to trigger everyone and sent them into a flame war. I had some rather fanatic insults thrown my way.'

'Like what?'

He turned his head to regard her sombrely. 'Have you used chat rooms, Carrots? Are you sure you want to know?'

'If it bothers you, then… yes. Yes I do.'

Nick sighed as he faced up again. 'Alright. Some said I was just as bad as those predators in the past who ate prey, that I was a monster for wanting to harm and kill prey like in the dark ages. Others called me a sexual predator – which is kinda funny to hear since it's technically true – but they meant that kind of sexual predator.'

Judy's ears flopped back sympathetically. 'Oh.'

'And then it flared up into a discussion about predators and prey living together at all, with some mammals using it as an excuse to want to kick the other side out of Zootopia. Then the moderators came in and nuked the whole thread, citing that government intervention might shut down the website entirely if that kind of discussion continued.'

'Seriously?' Judy said incredulously. 'All this because you asked about predator-prey couples?'

'Yep. That kind of discouraged me for a few days, but then I tried two other chatrooms, in the hopes they would be more understanding.'

'And?'

He glanced at her sadly. 'What do you think?'

Judy lay there in silence for a minute. If such a thing happened in chat rooms, then real life wouldn't be much better.

'That… brings us to the more annoying part. We're going have to tell people.'

Judy's head swerved faster than she realised was possible.

Mom! Dad! Ugh… how am I going to…?

'Really? We have to tell them right now?'

'Well, no… but look at it this way, Carrots. It's a band-aid that's got to come off, and the more you draw it out the more painful it will be. Just get it over with and we can move on.'

Judy sighed and began to run through some names in her head.

'Well, I guess I have to tell my parents. And… Bogo.'

They glanced at each nervously, prompting them both to frown.

'I… think that will be fine,' Nick said, albeit uncertainly. 'We're both the same rank in the ZPD, so there's no issue of fraternisation or anything.'

'Yeah, but… Bogo was discussing a promotion with us,' Judy said miserably. 'This could throw a wrench in that.'

'Maybe, but that's why we let him know as soon as possible. Even if it delays a promotion, well… getting up to detective just under two years in was unfathomable to me.' He smirked. 'I guess we're just that good of a team.'

Judy slowly nodded to herself. 'As long as this doesn't affect our work… maybe Bogo will understand.'

'He may need some convincing, though.'

Judy nodded, then sighed tiredly. She suddenly had the urge to drift off back to sleep and forget about the day ahead. She glanced over at the clock, and it read 6:52.

Still at least an hour…

Nick cleared his throat. 'So… uh…'

Her ears perked up as some of Nick's old nervousness had returned, and she grinned cheekily.

'What? You want to go again?'

Nick stared at her in shock for a moment before he let out a chuckle. 'Very funny, Carrots. You'll have to call in sick if we do.' His eyes passed over her small, but voluptuous body. 'If we weren't working though…'

He let the question hang for a moment, before he frowned up at the ceiling.

'I just wanted to ask… are you that kind of bunny, that… Um…'

Judy rolled her eyes fondly. 'Come on, slick, spit it out.'

'Did you want children? Like, any at all?'

Judy blinked as she looked at him dumbly.

'I've never even thought about it.' She frowned for a moment. 'Come to think of it, I've never heard of predator-prey couples, let alone children. It's… hard to imagine them having biological children, anyway.'

'Yeah…' Nick said, and Judy detected a hint of sadness. 'I don't think we'll have that issue.'

Judy studied him for a moment, before reaching out and gripping his paw.

'This is kind of early talk for this, isn't it? I mean, first night together, and then talking about children?' She smiled gently. 'Going a little fast, don't you think, slick?'

'Maybe, but it felt like our relationship really started when you hustled me.'

'Oh yeah!' Judy giggled. 'That was the first time I saw that priceless look on your silly mug!'

'You still delight in tormenting me, I see,' Nick said with a reluctant smile.

'I have to admit, it's a nice perk.'

The fox groaned with apparent annoyance but soon smiled at her. Judy let her paws wander over his chest, leading them to stroke his cheek fur, and they kissed once more.

Nick squinted as a beam of sunlight passed over his eyelids. He pursed his jaw reluctantly, and pushed the sheets down.

'Well, time to get ready.' He glanced at Judy; the doe's eyes danced over him shamelessly. 'You didn't happen to bring your uniform, did you?'

'Uh…no? I came last night expecting a bad horror movie, not this.'

Nick grinned. 'Alright. I'll take you home first, and we can go from there. We should think about showering, though…'

He gazed at her lecherously for a second, before his smile dropped entirely, as if he had forgotten something important.

'Nick? Something wrong?'

'Hear that?'

Judy focused, and indeed, there was a slight buzzing in her ears, and it felt like it was coming from just outside the bedroom.

'… We left the TV on.'

---

Nick tentatively invited Judy to shower with him, with Judy staying a bit longer in an attempt to shampoo Nick's scent out of her fur. They had agreed they would rather not draw undue attention while on the job, and in public as well if they could help it.

After freshening up and getting dressed, Nick escorted Judy back to the Pangolin Arms and waited outside her door for her to suit up. By the time Judy had finished, it was still only 7:40, so they had time to get some breakfast at the local café called Six Pedigrees. Judy stuck with some yoghurt and fruit, while Nick splurged a little on fish and chips. Judy wasn't too pleased with such heavy food so early in the morning, but Nick made the point that it was a good time to celebrate, not to mention the energy he would need after expending so much the night before. This got Judy blushing and tongue-tied, ending the discussion there. After a considerable helping of high-energy food, and Nick taking some of her fruit and berries, they made their way to the ZPD.

While Judy felt much less tense and apprehensive than she had yesterday, the main concern she had today was whether anyone apart from Bogo would notice. However, just going up to Clawhauser's desk, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

They didn't go straight up to the cheetah's desk, but as soon as he spotted them, he waved – calling their names through a doughnut mouthful.

'–iick? Jurrrdee?' He swallowed as they approached his desk, Nick smirking as usual while Judy tried to act natural. 'How was your niiight?'

It took a lot of effort on Judy's part not to flush, but Nick answered quickly.

'Well, the movie was exactly what I expected, but it was a dollar worth spending.' He glanced at Judy for a moment, his smirk getting more insufferable. 'Though I could've bought the thing for two – they seemed eager to get rid of it.'

'So was it scary at all?'

Clawhauser had his elbows on the desk with his tail curling enthusiastically. Judy felt that he was a little too interested in the movie for her comfort.

'It kind of was,' Judy said after a moment's thought. 'But it didn't take long to get used to. By the time the screams started, I was laughing until the end.'

'Screams, huh? Sounds intense!' The large cheetah's gaze darted between them knowingly, before he slurped on a half-full Cowla bottle.

'So how did it end?'

It took a moment for Judy to question what he was asking about, but once again Nick responded coolly.

'Really? You don't care about spoilers at all?'

'For a B-movie, Nick? Are you kidding me? I have my paws full at home on social media alone!'

Nick shrugged. 'Well, if you're sure. Typical horror movie – everyone died off-screen, no gory details or anything. And the last guy may or may not have lived to tell the tale.'

'I can't really remember much of it,' Judy said. 'All the characters were so one-note.'

Nick nodded. 'It was honestly more fun to remember which weapons the ghosts had. Not that they showed anything meaty…'

'Think you'll get another one?'

'I dunno, it was entertainingly bad, but the entertainingly-badness might wear out its welcome. I think I need a palette cleanser first.'

Clawhauser's eyebrows shot up. 'Ooh! I heard that new movie Meowana is coming out in the next couple of weeks! Maybe you two would like it.'

Judy had been standing there awkwardly with her foot tapping the floor softly, and she took out her phone. It was 8:29.

'Well, we should probably be going,' She offered an overly sweet smile before tugging at Nick's arm. 'Nice talking to you, Clawhauser!'

'Have a good day, you two!'

Nick saluted a goodbye as they made their way to the elevator, with the fox striding along as if nothing was out of the ordinary, but Judy was baffled.

'What just happened?'

'You're going to have to be more specific, Carrots.'

She lowered her voice as she drew closer to him walking along. 'Does he know…?'

'Does it matter? I don't see any difference.'

'Well, he certainly gave us that knowing look.'

Nick stopped to press the silver "up" button.

'Not to burst your bubble, Carrots, but he's been giving us that look for weeks.'

Judy silently ran through some numbers in her head as they stepped into the elevator.

'Wait… could it have been six weeks?'

'…Something like that. Probably a lot more.'

'…Ugh…'

Nick continued to smirk down at her with amusement as Judy ran her paws over her ears.

'Y'know, I think you should have taken up poker with me when I offered. It would've really helped about now.'

'Ya think?'

He let his smirk drop a little. 'If it makes you feel better, I can do all the talking – at least until we meet with Bogo. You can pretend that you're hyper-focused on the promotion or some other story.'

Judy was about to say no, but she took another second to study Nick again, and she honestly felt that he was doing a far better job processing all this than she was. Which made sense, since he had far more experience in controlling conversations as well as… carnal activities.

'That… sounds tempting, slick, but I'm not sure if I can even handle that much.'

'Just do your best. Clawhauser isn't the only one that's going to notice… probably.'

Thankfully they didn't have any further extraordinary encounters on the way to their cubicle. A couple of minutes after they booted their computers, Nick spotted Wolfard's grey ears poking over their small divider, who was approaching.

'Company,' Nick warned, and Judy tried to keep focused on her work emails.

Sure enough, the wolf officer stopped and tapped lightly on Nick's wall before leaning against the divider on one leg.

'Morning! Wilde,' he nodded in Judy's direction, 'Hopps.'

'It is morning, isn't it?' Nick responded with a grin, while Judy turned and acknowledged the wolf with a nod before returning to her work. 'Anything special happening on this particular occasion?'

Wolfard shrugged. 'Not really. Just wondering when you're up for a rematch?'

Nick studied the wolf suspiciously. '… You're talking about the goo, aren't you?'

'Yep. We both know your shenanigans made that whole session not count. So…?'

Judy involuntarily turned to glance at Nick, and he caught her eye for a moment. As Judy turned away, he grimaced and scratched the back of his neck.

'Sorry, Wolfard, but I'm going to be tied up this week. At least until Friday, maybe.'

'Really? How come?'

Nick waved a paw at Judy. 'Believe it or not, we're trying to focus on a promotion soon. Paperwork and whatnot, and maybe overtime shifts. Stuff like that.'

'Ooh.' Wolfard smiled and nodded. 'I get it. My transition to Sergeant was rough, and it wasn't that long ago…'He stood up straight. 'Well, I should be getting back to my duties.' He glanced at Judy's back. 'Don't push yourselves too hard, alright? I'll see you later.'

Judy nodded, loosening up as Wolfard turned to leave. Then the wolf's ears perked up, and he doubled back to sniff at Judy once. His eyes widened, fixated on Nick, and the wolf grinned. He left with a thumbs-up in Nick's direction.

Judy's forehead immediately met her desk, followed by her softly tapping her head on the flat surface.

'Wolves and their sense of smell…'

Nick pursed his mouth as if he was looking at a child, and patted her on the shoulder.

'Hang in there, fluff.'

---

They got their work affairs in order after about fifteen minutes, and Judy was about ready to contact Bogo.

Nick pushed his chair over to her desk as the rabbit took a deep breath, tapping her desk nervously.

'I can–'

'No, Nick. This part I have to do.'

Nick paused for a moment, then nodded. 'Alright. But I'll be the first to talk in the room.' He grinned as he recalled the previous night. 'We both have to take some of the responsibility, I guess.'

Judy eyed him flatly. 'I'm so glad you're taking this seriously.' She lowered her head for a moment. 'But yeah, that would be nice.'

'Anything for you… now go for it.'

The way he said that made Judy's chest flutter a little, but she squared her shoulders and dialled Bogo's extension.

'Chief Bogo here.'

'Sir, it's Judy Hopps.'

'Hopps? If this another request for an evaluation, I've told you plenty of times that I'll let you know if I need anything else from you.'

'Sorry – this is something else, sir. It concerns me and Nick, as well as our working relationship. We… need to discuss this in person.'

'Hm?' The handset fell silent for a moment. 'Unusual to call me over this if it's his usual troublemaking.'

'It's not.'

Despite that, Nick couldn't help but give a self-satisfied chuckle in the background, earning a disapproving "zip-it" gesture from Judy.

'I see…' Bogo grunted thoughtfully. 'Fine. I have some reports to finalise, but I should have time before the mayor comes in to bother me again. See me at 11:45am.'

'The mayor? Again?'

'Not your issue, Hopps. You and Wilde can come at 11:45… or don't. It matters little to me either way.'

The bull hung up, leaving Judy a little confused.

'Well, that went just as I would have expected,' Nick mused.

Judy put her handset down, pondering.

'I wonder why Mayor Gilesby is visiting the chief so often?'

'Well, he has an agenda, just like all politicians,' Nick said, 'and the little furball has even more involvement with the MII than Lionheart did. He hasn't been mayor long, but he hasn't made too many changes to government policy… yet.'

Judy exchanged a thoughtful glance with Nick. Her fox partner always seemed to pay far more attention to Zootopia's political side than she did. 'You think that includes the ZPD?'

'Why else would he see Bogo that much?' Nick's smile widened. 'Maybe you should stay behind and eavesdrop. Those ears of yours can come in handy.'

She lightly punched him in the forearm.

'Doesn't matter how curious I am, I'm not going to go out of my way to commit insubordination, as well as a security breach.'

Nick gave her a toothy grin. 'Well… don't be so curious then.'

---

It was just about 11:44, so Nick and Judy went up the elevator and knocked on Bogo's office door. There was a momentary shuffle of paper before they heard Bogo's impatient growl.

'Come in, already. I'm a busy mammal.'

Judy quickly glanced at Bogo's clock opposite his desk as they filed in, as Nick pulled up a chair. They still had the full 15 minutes.

As Nick and Judy sat together on the moderately-high chair, Bogo studied them for a moment.

'You both wanted to see me – so talk.'

Nick took a breath and straightened up. 'Alright, sir. I don't think there's a way I can sugarcoat this. The nature of our relationship – that is, Officer Hopps and I – has changed.'

'In what manner, Wilde?'

'The sexual manner.'

Judy stared at her partner for a moment, slack-jawed.

'Nick!'

Nick maintained his serious composure as he looked at her. 'I don't think there's a better way to put it, Carrots.'

She pulled at her ears. 'Ugh…'

However, Bogo didn't react anymore than if Nick had asked for a sick day.

'As of when?'

'Last night.'

'…I see.'

The chief lowered his gaze to his desk, mulling things over in his head. Then, he looked up to glance between the two. This led Judy to study the bull with surprise.

Wait, don't tell me he–

'Can one of you recite, or paraphrase, policy ZPD-dash-three-two-three?'

Nick's ears folded back as he failed to recall the lines, but Judy quickly cleared her throat.

'"Anti-fraternisation policy: The ZPD holds its members to the highest professional standard when providing services to the public, as well as conduct during working ZPD does not forbid romantic relationships, and positive relationships between officers is known to increase performance and productivity. However, there are instances where pursuing those of a romantic nature can lead to a hampering of productivity and distrust within our ranks.

'One of the first checks in considering a workplace relationship is whether it is mutually consensual. If it is not, then such a relationship constitutes sexual harassment and should be reported immediately.'

'I think we have that one covered,' Nick said with a grin. Judy kicked the side of his foot before continuing.

'There are situations where romantic relationships require a reorganisation of the immediate operation team surrounding the relationship. For example, when one whose significant other is higher or lower in their command chain.'

Bogo nodded for her to continue.

'There is a list of other examples, but as you said, paraphrasing: The officers involved need to communicate a separation of their personal and professional lives. As such, they must not allow any relationship they may have to negatively affect their performance, or those around them."'

The chief then held up his hand for her to stop.

'This is where I have to cut in. And I have to ask you both: can you honestly say that your performance will be unaffected by this change in your relationship?'

After a moment, Nick nodded.

'I can only speak for myself, sir, but… yes. I think our performance will be back to normal in comparison to the last six weeks. Better, even.'

Bogo slowly nodded, as if confirming a suspicion of his, before shifting his focus to Judy.

'Hopps?'

Judy was silent for another moment, hesitating as she answered. 'It's… hard for me to say. This is not something I have a great deal of experience in. I hope Nick's right, but I can't honestly say without giving it some time first.'

Bogo tapped his desk thoughtfully. 'Time… indeed.'

The buffalo was silent for almost a minute before sighing heavily.

'Okay. Here's the deal; both of you are no doubt aware that you're under evaluation in relation to a transition to detective rank. This will be impacted by this new development; by what degree depends on you both in the coming weeks. If you had asked me two months ago, I was going to green-light a probationary promotion by this time next week, but… considering the past six weeks, and now this…'

He got up and paced behind his desk, evidently still in thought, his jaw clenched with a tight frown.

'I'll have to push back your promotion by at least a couple of months. We can raise the question again then, and go from there.'

Nick and Judy's ears collectively drooped, but they were prepared for the news.

'I have something to say about that!'

All three of them faced the apparently empty door, then dropped their gaze to the floor, only to see a white-furred hamster in a polished black suit pushing it open, closely followed by a similarly-dressed weasel clutching a thick clipboard. Judy and Nick especially stared in shock, and Judy quickly checked the clock – it was only 11:53.

'Mayor Gilesby,' Bogo said, not bothering to hide his annoyance, 'and assistant mayor Linnalo.' He also glanced at his clock. 'I believe our meeting was at noon?'

As the two small mammals approached the desk beside Nick and Judy, the weasel assistant, with well-groomed brown fur, bowed apologetically.

'I'm sorry, Chief Bogo sir! But the mayor was… uh… how to say…?'

'Appalled!' The hamster had his arms folded, though his assistant frowned for a moment. 'I think it is a bit of an overreaction to delay a well-earned promotion because of a hiccup like this.'

'"Hiccup" is not exactly the term I would use,' Bogo began. 'Besides, I don't believe it's your place to say whether it is an overreaction or not. We have rules and policies that are enforced for a reason. In addition… you'll forgive me for not jumping to your call, given my experiences with previous mayors and their associates.'

'True,' Gilesby conceded, 'but sometimes rules and regulations unnecessarily get in the way of progress – Zootopia's governance history aside.' He glanced up and gave Nick and Judy a friendly nod while still speaking to the chief. 'If you are concerned about their immediate performance, why not extend the probationary period by a few months?'

Bogo opened his mouth as if to explain exactly why not, then sighed and sat down. The hamster doubled down.

'If you still have reservations, I can extend my sponsorship plans to the two as well.'

'Sponsorship?' Judy repeated. 'That's… very generous sir.'

Nick nodded in agreement. 'And that's an awful lot of stock you're putting in mammals you haven't even met.'

The mayor immediately brightened as he pulled his attention away from the chief and onto them. 'Well, let's fix that right now, shall we? I would try to get up there and shake your hands, but, well…' He lowered a paw towards the floor, as if measuring a toddler, then bringing his other paw over his own head.

'Oh! Of course, sir. Sorry.' Judy immediately hopped off, with Nick following suit. The rodent eagerly took both her hands and shook them vigorously.

'So good to finally meet the famous officers!' He moved on to Nick, and the fox had to lean down, but his paws were shaken just as heartily. 'Adrian Gilesby, at your service! Though I haven't really been to see most officers personally, cleaning up Bellwether's mess…'

The hamster stepped aside and glanced at his assistant, tipping his little head towards Nick especially. The young weasel beamed and also shook Judy's paws, but began to gush as soon as he faced Nick.

'Wilde, sir, I just wanted to tell you how much of an inspiration you are… to little predators like me, especially.'

Nick smiled awkwardly. 'I can't remember the last time someone called me "sir". Or given me any sort of respect, for that matter.' He turned to smirk slyly at Judy. 'You could stand to learn something from this guy, Carrots.'

Judy simply shrugged and rolled her eyes. She glanced over at Bogo, who was tapping his desk while resting his chin on one hand, glaring at them as if pondering whether to throw everyone out.

'Enough of this,' the bull eventually said as the weasel continued to geek out. 'I'll take your suggestion under advisement, Gilesby, but can you move on to the reason for your meeting?'

Linnalo finally let go of Nick's paws and joined his boss, while the fox wrung the tension out of his hands.

'Has there been any news about the Major's new course? I have at least four new MII candidates waiting to start!'

'Uh, sir?' Linnalo cut in, with a quick glance towards the two officers. 'No offense to the officers present, but are you sure you want them to hear this?'

Gilesby raised a brow for a moment, before waving his hand dismissively. 'Not a problem. It's not like it's a secret, and I'm sure they'd be interested to hear. I have no intention of making them leave, and I think Judy Hopps would have been able to hear through the walls anyway.'

As Nick directed a knowing "I-told-you-so" smirk in Judy's direction, the mayor directed an inviting open palm towards the two officers, and Linnalo smiled thankfully, before nodding to the mayor and detaching himself. The weasel immediately returned to the officers while the hamster awkwardly attempted to climb the chair Nick and Judy were just sitting on and begun his discussion with Bogo. Fortunately, Judy had many questions for Linnalo already.

'You're the new assistant-mayor?'

The weasel simply tilted his head at the rabbit in confusion.

Nick raised a clarifying finger. 'What my fluffy partner means, is how did a weasel end up with such a prestigious job?'

Judy glanced between the two predators nervously. 'Well, I didn't want to draw attention to it like that…'

Linnalo nodded emphatically to them both. 'Sometimes I can scarcely believe it myself. I might be the first weasel to work in the Zootopian government sector in… well, ever.'

Nick inclined his head with interest, while Judy seemed to hang onto his every word.

'Reaaally? Sounds like a story to me,' Nick prompted.

The weasel smiled, all too happy to indulge. 'Well, first off, I'm not originally from Zootopia. Tanvale is a couple of hours south, and it isn't the wealthiest medium-sized town around, but I got a good education. I moved to Zootopia after I got a high school scholarship, landing a place at Central University.'

'Wow! A scholarship?' Judy said enviously. 'That must mean you worked really hard to get there, didn't you?'

Nick nodded at his partner with approval. 'Remind you of someone, Carrots?'

'Well, I mean, I got sponsored by the MII, but it's nowhere-'

'Give yourself some more credit, fluff. It's basically the same thing.' The tod placed one paw behind his back and placed the other on his chest proudly. 'Meanwhile, I spent most of my post-high school years thinking up get-rich quick schemes and other unmentionables, pretty much coasting along until this bunny here tripped me up.' He winked at her. 'Which I very much appreciate, by the way.'

Judy tried not to flush under his gaze; thankfully, Linnalo didn't seem to notice as the weasel regarded her favourably.

'Huh. I guess I should be looking up to you too, Miss Hopps.'

Judy awkwardly glanced around the room, trying to change the subject. As she saw Gilesby and Bogo continuing their discussion, another question formed.

'So… what is it like working for the new mayor?'

Linnalo broke into another wide grin. 'It's great! He's very good at telling me anything and everything that could affect our schedule, while also keeping up with so many appointments and meetings. In fact, I think he doesn't take enough time off… I guess you could call him a workaholic.'

'Well,' Nick cut in, 'that sounds like one improvement over our old mayor. I didn't see much of them, but I don't think Lionheart and Bellwether had the best working relationship. Might've been one reason she went off the deep end.'

Judy frowned with displeasure. 'Ugh, I'd rather not think about her…' She quickly straightened up and faced Linnalo again. 'So did he interview you for the job? What was your first impression of him?'

Nick's grin somehow got wider. 'My, such a curious bunny…'

Linnalo glanced at Nick with slight confusion before he answered.

'Well, yes, he was on the panel of interviews. At the time, I saw a bunch of other predators going for the interview too, but no prey. At the time, that was somewhat encouraging.

'He didn't seem impressed or disappointed upon first meeting me. He and a couple of other council members just asked me questions about my experience and qualifications. Then Gilesby asked more personal questions, like why I wanted to work in the public sector.'

'Let me guess,' Nick gripped his chin overtly. 'You wanted to help your fellow small predators in need? I'm all too aware of our currently low position in the overall Zootopian class hierarchy.'

'Yes and no. I've worked in many weasel owned businesses, and…' His smile twisted into an annoyed frown. 'I've learned there's not much point trying to help those who don't want to help themselves. The problem that I saw with small predators was that many couldn't see an honest way to make a decent living. I simply wanted to find ways to give them those opportunities as well as effectively tell them about it. There are things we weasels are good at, especially when it comes to spotting opportunities and knowing when we're getting short-changed.' He smiled again. 'That's when I could tell I was winning Gilesby over.'

'I figured as much,' Nick pondered, before leaning over to Judy. 'Part of his whole schtick is each mammal's unique abilities. That's probably why he likes us.'

Judy gazed off towards the lobby for a moment. 'Is he the one that pushed the rodents forming the new IT department?'

Linnalo nodded gleefully. 'Yep! Working with Gilesby, I think, will give a lot of mammals more opportunities than before.'

'That's… actually pretty cool. Are they trying to get another training course approved?'

Nick snorted. 'Yeah, they probably need it…'

'We have gotten a few rabbits and foxes applying for several governmental positions, and for any desk job it's a pretty simple process,' Linnalo explained. 'However, for police training it is… quite a bit harder, as you're both aware.'

Nick folded his arms, putting up a disgruntled front. 'This… kinda reminds me of the time my high school introduced free periods just as I about getting rejected by Lady Luck.'

Judy eyed him slyly. 'Weren't you just saying they need another training course?'

'Yeah, but that doesn't shake the feeling.'

Linnalo, however, gripped his chin for a couple of seconds.

'Actually… that's not a bad analogy. It's because of what you two went through that Gilesby saw changes were needed. I'm not exactly sure how you got through, Wilde sir, but I know it was pretty rough on you, Miss Hopps. Pretty much all the other rabbits and foxes bounced off that training course altogether. Yet, when Gilesby and I met them there was little reason to believe they couldn't be police officers.' He looked up at them with a renewed admiration. 'You two really are something, huh?'

Nick grinned. 'Well, I don't mean to brag, but…'

'Ohhhh yes you do,' Judy cut in. 'But I can't let you take all the credit.'

She did feel a flash of envy, however. Nick didn't take anywhere near as much of a beating in most of the courses; being just big enough for him not to get pummelled into the ground. And when in the ring, he resorted to taunting the elephant until the large herbivore charged and flung himself out of the ring.

Typical Nick, but I guess it works sometimes.

'If it all works out,' Linnalo continued, 'you might be seeing other rabbits and foxes joining the force!' His smile fell a little. 'But you might need to give or take a few years.'

'Makes sense, I suppose,' Judy said while trying to curb her disappointment. 'It did take me five or so years after high school.'

Nick was still smirking. 'Meanwhile I–'

Judy shushed him with a punch to his elbow.

Gilesby and Bogo's discussion seemed to be winding down, and they fell silent as the two exchanged final words.

'So I should expect a go ahead for the new recruits by the same time next week?'

Bogo sighed reluctantly. 'Yes, sir. However, keep in mind the process will not be as… streamlined as it has been typically. It will take longer to assess them. If you want to continue pestering someone about that, take it up with Major Friedkin.'

Gilesby nodded, seemingly satisfied, before the hamster glanced at his watch.

'Linnalo!' He called down, in a surprisingly commanding voice, just before climbing down the chair awkwardly. 'When's my next meeting?'

The assistant-mayor opened his clipboard and his beady little eyes zoomed through the list. 'You have some time, sir – the next one is with Council Security at 1.'

'Indeed? Time to consider lunch, then.' The hamster took a moment to think, but shrugged as he nodded with finality to Bogo, and shook Nick and Judy's paws one last time. 'It was good to meet you two. I expect you both to keep up the good work!'

'Likewise, sir,' Judy said.

Nick gave the mayor a small salute. 'Sure thing, little guy.'

Linnalo also took a moment to shake their paws before following the mayor, both pushing open the wooden frame together.

'How about we try that Custom Bug Burger restaurant?' Nick and Judy heard the two speaking just outside the door. 'It has a good view, and caters to both predator and prey.'

'That sounds lovely, sir, but I can't afford…'

'Nonsense! My treat.'

Judy's nose twitched a little as she let her curiosity carry her forward, and afforded a peek around the corner to watch them go. Nick followed, and even Bogo walked up to catch them going into the silver doors.

'Hm… I think Zootopia's in good hands,' Judy said before ducking back inside.

'Easy for you to say, Hopps,' Bogo grumbled on the way to his desk. 'You don't have to put up with his unceasing pestering.'

Nick raised his index finger. 'Well, you can't deny he's got good ideas. Zootopia is known for allowing any mammal to come and live here, though so far it's been kinda messy.'

'Messy, broken… I'm aware.'

Judy paused for a moment, just remembering what they were discussing before the interruption.

'So, are we all done too?'

Bogo frowned in consideration for a moment, before gesturing to the seat once again, and the pair pulled themselves back up.

'Thanks to Gilesby's… intervention, I won't be pushing back your promotion. And as he suggested, I'll extend your probationary period for three months. That means you have more time to muck things up for yourselves.'

'What about our,' Nick cleared his throat awkwardly, '"special" case, sir?'

'Unless it directly affects your work, your personal life is none of my business. Nor anyone else's.'

As the two small mammals frowned, puzzled, he turned around in his chair again.

'Hopps, begin paraphrasing policy three-zero-zero. Specifically, subheading four.'

It took a moment for Judy to find her place at the beginning of the paragraph.

'"Zootopia Police Department Anti-Discrimination Policy: As a government body, entrusted with the enforcement of law and protection of Zootopia's citizens, we absolutely do NOT reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE.'

Nick grinned at the adorably angry puff of her cheeks. She really took that paraphrasing and ran with it.

'Subheading four: No member of the ZPD is allowed to unlawfully discriminate against another based on age, species, sex, disability, marital status, sexual identity or carer responsibilities, either alone or in combination. To do so is a violation of Zootopia's Anti-Discrimination Act, which goes back to Zootopia's founding, in the effort of an inclusive workplace.'

Nick scowled darkly. 'Too bad that Act doesn't extend to most of Zootopia.'

Judy glanced at him sadly, before rolling over what she'd just recited in her head. If Bogo is calling attention to subheading four, then…

'So… The ZPD isn't allowed to discriminate – us? At least, if there's no impact on our work?'

'Correct.'

However, Bogo's expression remained as grim as ever.

'I sense a "but" coming…' Nick said.

Bogo remained fixated on Judy. 'Take note of that last sentence you recited, Hopps. It does not take a genius to figure out what that "but", as Wilde put it, is.'

'Inclusive… workplace,' Judy said, her ears drooping, 'but not necessarily outside of that.'

'In our case, definitely not,' Nick said reluctantly, before raising his brow at Bogo. 'So basically, if we decide to get involved with each other's personal lives, we need to brace ourselves.'

'Again, correct.' Bogo sighed, and they detected uncharacteristic concern in his heavy gaze. 'Best case scenario? It will be difficult. The other?' He simply shook his head. 'Violence and crime are not the worst some mammals have to offer.'

Nick and Judy fell silent. When Bogo next spoke, his voice was gentle.

'You can show yourselves out. This is all I can do for you.'

---

The rest of the day went by normally. Thankfully, no other keen-sensed predators bothered them, and they had an afternoon patrol in Sahara square to close things off. Judy briefly dreaded her losing control while alone with Nick in the police car, but nothing dramatic happened. However, she spent a good deal of time paying attention to how he looked, as if seeing the fox in a new light. How rich his red fur was, the appealing sharp angles of his fur and ears, his long teeth, his flowing tail… and especially his warm eyes. Also… his bad habit of putting feet on the dashboard. When it was Judy's turn to hold the lidar gun, she could feel Nick's eyes on her as well, and it created a constant, tingly excitement.

As such, the doe realised that towards the end of their shift, she had no desire to go back to the Pangolin Arms. Once they had both changed into more casual outfits and deposited their uniforms in their lockers, Judy stood in front of the closed metal door pondering what she should do. Nick quickly answered her question as he raised a brow at her expectantly.

'You wanna come with?'

Her cheeks immediately flushed as flashes of last night ran through her head, but she was mentally fatigued and didn't want to entertain the idea of repeating those events today – tempting as it was. However, she found the idea of just spending time with Nick in closer proximity comforting.

'Yeah… you read my mind.'

She double checked her bag to make sure she had the essentials, before the two of them left together, turned right out the entrance and went down into the subway station. Going straight to Nick's unit for no other reason felt strangely exhilarating.

As they sat together on the train, Judy couldn't help but fidget. There was a lot she wanted to talk about, but there were enough mammals around that she instinctively held her tongue. Nick's gaze flicked to her several times as he picked up on this, and after a while he started swiping through his phone, showing her some of the chats between him and Sally that she hadn't seen before. At first, Judy wasn't sure why Nick was giving her this sensitive information, but towards the end, dating back to a week ago, Sally and Nick talked reluctantly about how the vixen was going to be moving soon after finishing her studies, as she had a graduate programme lined up to be an animator. Judy was a little sad at having not spent more time with her, but wrote an SMS of her own thanking Sally for giving Nick a push in the rabbit's direction and wishing her the best with her career.

They stopped at the local market on the way to Nick's apartment block and got a couple of iced teas, sipping them periodically as they went up the stairs. Nick opened the door, set his tea on the kitchen bench, and flopped on his couch, letting out another wide yawn. Judy slipped inside before the door swung shut.

'I guess I wasn't the only one thinking today was oddly tiring,' She observed, still standing.

Nick managed a tired grin in her direction. 'Yeah, we didn't really do much, did we? However…' He leaned forward with a lecherous glint in his eye. 'I got some… vibes from you in Sahara Square. Anything you want to… you know, get out of your system?'

Once again, Judy felt tempted to leap on him right then and there, but her body was still somewhat sore, and they still had most of the working week ahead. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

'Maybe… just something to whet my appetite.'

Nick watched her as she followed his lead and plopped on the couch, propping on her knees in front of the fox. He leaned forward eagerly, and she wrapped her paws around his neck for another kiss – which lasted several seconds.

Her heart was racing as she broke the kiss, and Nick gazed at her with half-lidded eyes.

'Well, I guess my hankering is satisfied… for now.'

Judy simply nodded before cradling herself against his side, and he wrapped an arm around her.

Nick reached for the remote with his free paw.

'Anything you want to watch?'

Judy yawned. 'Just… anything, I guess, that's not too loud. This is… nice.'

Nick smiled before putting on a random quiz show that usually played at close of business, but his attention was almost entirely focused on the rabbit cuddled up to him, half-dozing.

After about twenty minutes of blissful silence, she yawned and stretched, extricating herself from his arm. She let out an involuntary squeak, which didn't register until she saw Nick's pleased grin.

'Aww, how adorable…'

The rabbit eyed him flatly for a moment, but shrugged. 'Well, at least you didn't use the "c" word.'

'Well, I might not be able to resist, if you keep waking up like that. Anyway… good – evening?' Nick smiled smugly. 'Nice to know my hyper-manly presence makes you feel so safe.'

'Hmph… "manly" has nothing to do with it.' She looked around for a moment, then raised the side of her head up. 'Not having Bucky and Pronk around really makes a difference. It was kinda charming at first, but it just got to a point where I had to shove my pillow around my ears.'

'Speaking of painful…' Nick's smile dropped as he tightened his jaw. 'Maybe we should think about ripping off that band aid now.'

'Ripping off…?'

Judy blinked dumbly for a moment, then dread instantly crept up in her stomach. 'Seriously, Nick? Right now?'

'Now's a good time as any.' He got out his phone again. 'And you're not the only one.'

That eased her trepidation at least a little, as she reluctantly got out her phone to see it still had 62% charge. She then glanced at Nick's bedroom door.

'Should we do it at the same time? Probably better for you to go into your bedroom rather than me.'

Nick nodded in agreement, taking his phone and iced tea into his room before shutting it. Meanwhile, Judy remained on the couch, trying to plan how she was going to break the news to her parents. While they were both a bit hesitant when Nick had first visited their home – not long after they became partners –the older rabbits quickly warmed up to the tod the more they heard about their work. Stu especially came around after Judy had described Nick spotting general hazards on crime scenes before she or any other officer could hurt themselves, as well as unorthodox ways of dealing with them.

Still, she couldn't help but be nervous. Once again, she found herself wishing that she'd at least paid attention to Bonnie and Stu's reaction to their other sons and daughters announcing an engagement or something along those lines.

She brought up her parents' mobile number and sent them a text.

"Hey do you have time to talk? Muzzle-t me when you're ready plz"

She braced herself, now pondering how long she would have to wait before she could get this over with.

Thankfully, the familiar, somewhat overt chime of her phone came only half a minute later. Her mother, dressed in a red flannel and straw hat, made it obvious that she'd been caught just when the older doe had been closing up the roadside vegetable store. Despite it being the end of the day, and the orange evening sun looming behind Bonnie, her eyes were bright and full of energy.

'Judy! It's not every day you initiate our little talks! Has anything serious happened?'

'Well… uh…'

As Judy tried to find the right words, Bonnie studied the couch and wall behind her daughter in the phone's camera.

'You're not at home? Is that Nick's place?'

'Yes, that's right.'

'Is it because of those horned goats yelling through the wall again?' Bonnie adopted a disapproving frown. 'I keep telling you that every hard worker needs proper sleep. You should really start looking for a new place, even after you've asked them to cut it out.'

'Mom, they're an oryx and a kudu. Anyway…'

Bonnie had just given her a strange idea. Could she live with Nick in a place like this? Too soon, Judy. Too soon.

'Sorry, sweetheart. What did you want to talk about?'

'Um…' Judy tightened her lips. 'I'd rather you and Dad hear it. Is he still handling customers?'

Bonnie blinked for a moment before turning the phone away and calling toward the vegetable stand.

'Stu! She wants to talk to us both!'

Judy heard her father bounce away from his truck, most likely in the middle of loading their leftovers into the back. Bonnie picked up the phone in time for a somewhat-dusty brown buck to come into view.

'Jude the Dude!' He exclaimed in surprise. 'I can't remember the last time you called us like this.'

Bonnie rotated her paw in front of him impatiently. 'Yes, we've been through that, dear.'

Stu met his wife's gaze for a moment. 'Could it be about that promotion she's been talking about?'

Well, that's part of it…

Bonnie covered her mouth for a moment, and she paid careful attention to Judy's expression; especially her upright ears.

'Oh my word! Are you a detective already?!'

'No! …But the chief plans to approve an early probationary period by next week, so I might be promoted the week after.'

'Ooooh that's wonderful!' Stu beamed. 'Being a detective is nowhere near as dangerous as a regular officer!'

'Uh Dad, I'm not exactly going to stop doing my regular duties… just less of them. Maybe with more flexible hours.' She tilted her head in consolation. 'Though I guess I will be doing less "dangerous" stuff.'

The pair of them offered repeated congratulations, but after a few sentences, Bonnie frowned curiously.

'Wait… you said early probation? What's that mean?'

'Well… that's what I really wanted to talk to you about.'

Judy began to tap the back of her phone nervously, which wasn't lost on Bonnie and Stu.

'Mom, and you too I guess, Dad… you've wanted me to see about getting married as well as finding a nicer place to live. I admit I haven't made much progress on that second point, but…'

Both Bonnie and Stu's jaws dropped.

'You have a boyfriend? Really?' Stu couldn't help himself. 'Jude the Dude?'

'Yes, Dad… and it's Nick.'

'…Really?'

'Yes, really.'

Her parents gave her a long, searching look. Then, after several seconds, they both smiled.

'Well, good for you.'

'Huh!?'

The older bunnies were unfazed by her outburst, gazing at each other wistfully.

'I know my previous prodding felt a lot like a lecture, Judy, but…' Bonnie sighed, 'I wanted you to find a boyfriend, not just because I think it will make you happy, but it gives you someone to spend time with in such a big place like that. And, someone to keep you safe.'

Stu nodded as he kept his gaze on his wife. 'If everything you've told us about Nick is true, and our impression of him in the flesh was accurate, then Nick does all those things.'

'And after pestering you one too many times,' Bonnie continued, 'the more I thought about it, the more I thought a decent buck wouldn't really do that for you. Considering how famous you are, most rabbits might feel intimidated or overshadowed by you. And after seeing you and Nick here, enjoying each other's company so much… Well, that told me that getting a boyfriend may not be such a good thing if you have to cut Nick out of it in any way.'

'Yeah, so… You have our–'

They stared at the phone, now realising the frame was empty, facing the rotating overhead fan of Nick's apartment.

'Where'd the heck she go?'

---

'Ooh, give me details! Where did you do–'

'Mom!'

Nick couldn't help but facepalm despite being alone in the bedroom, gazing through the single window.

'Come on! You can't blame a vixen for being curious!'

'Actually, I can, because: number one, you're fifty-five. Two, you're my mother. Three, it's Judy! You know how I feel about her!'

'Well, I think I know better than you do.'

'Yeah, yeah, I took long enough, yada yada.'

'Was she satisfied? Did she have that glow when you both woke up na–'

'Mom! Do you have to make it sound like I seduced her, took her to my apartment and had my way with her?'

'…Didn't you?'

'I'm hanging up.'

'Wait, but–'

Nick punched the red icon faster than he thought possible. His facial fur, for once, felt as hot as its colour.

He fumbled for the next number the moment he realised Mary would try and call him back. She was all too curious about Sally, too, had asked similarly embarrassing questions – even going as far as a muzzle-time the morning after he and Sally had done the deed.

His connection quickly brought up the inside of a van, with the phone facing the ceiling, and Nick could hear rapid typing on what sounded like laptop keys in the background.

'Finnick? Where are ya, pal?'

There was a thud as the laptop immediately snapped shut, and an irate fennec fox glared into the phone's camera.

'Who is it!?' His gaze immediately softened.'Oh, it's you, Nick.'

'Dude, why'd you answer my call if you're gonna greet me like that?'

'I thought it was another alarm.'

'Uh huh…'

'So… whaddya want?' Finnick scowled. 'There's still a few days before our Murphy meeting. And for the last time, I don't need any of your "help".'

'Come on, Finnick, you live in a van. That creates its own waste.'

'So?'

Nick quickly tried to focus and remember why he was calling.

'Never mind. I'll wait until Friday. But as to why I called you now… uh… how do I say this?'

'Say what? Come on – time is money!'

Maybe he does some stock trading or something on that laptop…

'It's about me and Judy.'

Finnick raised a concerned brow. 'Judes? Did something happen?'

'Well, yes. I mean, no. Uh… how do I put this…'

Nick stammered for a few seconds, reaching for his iced tea, but Finnick gave a small smile.

'Did you fuck?

Nick's mouthful of iced tea sprayed all over his screen and stained his window.

By the time he had recollected himself and stopped coughing, Finnick's deep chortling echoed through the room.

'Ooh that look is priceless! Looks like I got a new wallpaper!'

'Don't even think about–'

Unfortunately, the tan vulpine had disappeared off camera and evidently tapping buttons on the phone.

'Aaand… saved!'

Nick had to cover his face again, incensed.

'I call you to tell you something important, and I get mocked for it. Wonderful.'

'Well, from one point of view, I guess ya could call it important. To me, it just means I don't have to put up with you two sitting on opposite sides giving each other smoldering looks.'

After Finnick had managed to expunge himself of the giggles, he picked the phone up properly, retaining a small smile. 'Well, it's not like I don't approve.'

'…What makes you say that?'

'Are you kidding? She hustled you!' His smile once again grew mocking. 'Any girl that can bring you down a peg is okay in my book! Especially compared to those dumb broads you slept with before, who just wentalong to your stupid jokes. I sure am glad that phase is over.'

'Uh-huh.' Nick was no longer in the mood to continue this conversation. 'I think I'll cut my losses before you find some other way to mentally abuse me.'

'Yeah? Don't think you're safe just because–'

Nick's ears perked up as he heard his door open from the inside, along with stomping rabbit steps down the hall. He immediately hung up on Finnick and opened the door, only to see Judy's phone still on. And in a Muzzle-time with her parents, no less.

'Where'd the heck she go?'

Nick stared at the phone, frozen in place.

Oh hi, Mr. Hopps, how's the weather? Well, Nicholas, it's clear but dark. Good, good. By the way, I slept with your daughter.

However, common courtesy took over as Bonnie and Stu looked to be getting worried, and Nick picked up the phone with an awkward grin.

'Oooh, hi Nick!' Bonnie greeted cheerfully, but Stu yelped before realising it was Nick. 'We were just talking to Judy! Do you know where she went?'

'Uh…'

He dashed to poke his head through the front door, to see the back of Judy's head bobbing down the stairs.

'Carrots! Something come up?'

'Oh, nothing!' Judy's indignation sounded like it was bubbling under the surface. 'Just the whole world apparently seeing us together except me!'

Nick quickly glanced at the phone, with Bonnie and Stu looking perplexed.'She's just having a moment.'

'I don't get why she's so upset,' Bonnie said. 'I mean, most of the does under seven already thought you two were dating last time you two came here. I only shushed them because Pop-Pop might have heard them.'

Nick inwardly shuddered at that name. 'He still asking if I've eaten Judy?'

Stu grinned somewhat guiltily. 'Well, we eventually just gave up and said yes just before you two visited. Then he started ranting until she showed up at the front door with you, and he completely forgot about it, only to start ranting about you two being near each other. Darned if you do, darned if you don't.'

Nick cringed as he thought of the last "conversation" he had with his mother. 'Well, you have my sympathies. I know how the folks can be.'

Bonnie's eyes brightened as she leaned forward. 'So how have you been, Nick? You look good. You know, Judy has to keep telling me you're thirty-four, but I really can't tell.'

The tod grinned with slight embarrassment. 'Well, what can I say – I'm not a fan of taking in unnatural foodstuffs. My sleep schedule is one of my top priorities.'

'You too, huh?' Stu nodded. 'So you get up at dawn?'

'Not… exactly. Foxes are kinda nocturnal.'

Stu stared cluelessly for a moment. 'Uh…'

Bonnie scoffed and lightly slapped her husband's arm. 'He means he prefers to stay up late.'

'Oooh… right…'

There was an awkward moment of silence as Nick waited for Judy to come back.

'So, uh… how's the weather over there?'

---

Thankfully, Bonnie and Stu graciously decided to hang up as they knew they were digging into Judy's credit limit. Strangely enough, though, Nick could hear Judy by how stiff her footsteps sounded. As she opened the fox's front door, Nick pointed at her phone still on the table. When Judy went for it, he started to gather some food that they could both eat. Then, without warning, Judy started to giggle.

'You okay, Carrots? I hope that laughter isn't of the "evil" variety.'

'No! Well, to you, maybe. Take a gander at this.'

Nick smiled nervously as Judy approached.'I get the feeling I'm going to regret this.'

He sighed, submitting to his fate, and Judy showed him her phone screen. It was a JPEG file from Finnick in her chat, with an unfortunate Nick spraying tea out of his nose and mouth – his eyes so wide they looked like they would pop out. And Finnick had apparently gone to the trouble of carefully drawing a round red nose at the end of his snout and a round rainbow wig between his long triangular ears.

Well, I expected as much. I guess I can't be too mad, since Judy's smiling and all.

He studied the picture with forced interest. 'You know, it's actually impressive how quickly he cobbled that together.'

Judy tilted her head questioningly. 'That's it? No dramatic moaning and covering your face with a pillow?'

'When it comes to you and Finnick, I know there's no point resisting.'

She sighed tiredly and made her way to his couch.

'I guess I kinda owe you a bit there, leaving my phone without hanging up. They didn't grill you or anything, did they?'

'Nope, but Pop-Pop says hi.'

Judy groaned and ran a paw down her face. 'I pray he never finds out.'

'You and me both.'

After a minute of sitting down, Judy got up and peeked under Nick's arm.

'Oh yeah, I forgot dinner was a thing.'

'I guess my foxiness was enough for you?'

She rolled her eyes and hopped up onto the stool next to him. 'Har-har.'

'Well, while you're here,' Nick swept his paw at a bunch of leftover meals in plastic microwave boxes. 'Anything strike your fancy? Mom delivered a bit too much last time, but hopefully there's something you like in there.'

Judy quickly settled for a smaller box with some potato, egg and vegetables, and after microwaving both dishes scooped into bowls, they ate side-by-side while watching a crime show called ZSF – a show mainly starring predator actors in deadly peace-keeping. It was one of the few shows that they both unironically liked – both paid rapt attention to the grim, realistic atmosphere of the predator-dominated city. However, Nick subtly picked up similar signs from Judy that he'd noticed in the police car.

When the credits rolled, he was struck with the realisation that Judy had cuddled up to his side and entwined her paw in his without him realising it. He just smiled at her, and she returned the gesture.

'So, uh…' She said awkwardly while averting her gaze, in an adorable way that made Nick's tail swish against the couch. 'What did you want to do now? I'm not exactly ready to hit the hay just yet.'

'Neither am I. Hmm… quite the conundrum, wouldn't you say?'

He didn't want to lean into suggesting the obvious again, though something else came to mind. However, his smirk dissipated a little as he swallowed nervously.

'Nick? You alright?'

'Yeah, it's just… I'm not sure there's a right way to say this…'

Instead of talking, Nick twisted around to face her, and wrapped his other arm around her, hugging her to his chest and cupping her head against his cheek. After a moment of stunned silence, Judy flushed, but put her arms around his waist.

'Something you want to say to me, slick?'

'Road bumps aside, today might just be the best day of my life. So… thank you.'

Judy managed to chuckle a little, but her voice broke a little.

'For… what? All I did was fumble about like some heartbroken teenager for six weeks. And if you ask pretty much anybody, a lot longer than that.'

'…I'm not just talking about the last six weeks, Judy.'

As Judy remained in his embrace, taking in his tangy scent, her memories flashed before her eyes. Back to two years ago, where she'd first met Nick, then the Night Howler case together… and then, when Nick had saluted her at his police graduation ceremony. And all their time as partners after that…

She half laughed, half cried, but hugged him tighter nonetheless.

Then, Nick leaned back to look down at her with an overwhelming warmth she had never seen, prompting her to lean forward, pushing him down into the corner of the couch, and they began kissing gently once again.

---

Nick and Judy killed time by watching some random TV and chatting during ads. At about ten o'clock they both felt ready to turn in. The weather was mild, so Judy changed into light casual clothes she brought that could pass off as pyjamas, while Nick changed into a white T-shirt and black boxers. The doe's memory of the previous night being hazy at best, Judy found it intriguing how easily she crawled into the small bed without a hint of awkwardness, and Nick curled his body around her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

They both slept like a rock for a couple of hours, but Judy stirred as some moonlight emerged through the half-drawn curtains. She tried to go back to sleep, but she felt her joints itching to stretch out.

She reluctantly pried herself out of Nick's grasp, shivering for a moment as she left the bedsheets, before wandering over to the window and stare up at the glowing orb in the night sky.

Judy had been as happy as Nick not a few hours ago. But now, doubts crept up in her head. She had no reservations about what she felt for the fox was real, and they both had every intention of making their new relationship work. While her new fox boyfriend acknowledged the difficulties they might possibly have, he obviously felt she was worth it. That was how she felt, too.

And yet… Bogo's words echoed in her head.

Just what are we in for?

---

'I'm surprised you haven't run into a similar incident earlier,' Bogo continued, jolting Judy out of the memory. 'I can guess that, up until now, you were careful with how you two conduct yourselves in public, when out of uniform.'

'You… would be correct, sir,' Nick answered reluctantly.

Judy frowned. 'But… we just have to suck it up and constantly watch our backs like that? Just because a predator and prey are married?'

'I'm afraid I cannot comment,' Bogo said wearily, 'except to say it is more complicated than that. And I cannot comment on the source of that complication, either.'

He shrugged, more out of frustration than indifference, but he didn't wait on them any longer, closing the door behind them and leaving them stewing in their thoughts.

After a minute or so, Nick cleared his throat, nudging Judy's hip with his tail.

'Well, Officer Hopps, I think it's about time we got back to making the world a better place, huh?'

The doe could only shrug her shoulders, knowing that changing the public's opinion like that would be an uphill battle. '…Yeah.'

---

Judy didn't talk as much the rest of the day. Nick knew that she just needed time, recognising that she was debating something in her head, and settled for her focusing on work for the time being.

The next morning, while she was getting ready, Judy pictured the upcoming events of the day proceeding in her head. Before going to the carnival that Sunday, she would have been content with the proceedings as they were presented. But now, it was only now apparent just how little her and Nick's relationship was publicly acknowledged, in or out of the ZPD. She finally condensed the internal raging thoughts in her head into something more coherent.

She wished someone, perhaps the Mayor, would at least acknowledge that she and Nick were together. If not someone else, then she had half a mind to take the microphone that day and thank Nick for being such a supportive partner and husband. But she felt shackled, as she knew the consequences for her, and more importantly Nick, would be catastrophic.

Why? Why should I be ashamed of what I have with Nick?

She realised the thing that bothered her the most was that even asking this question would land her in trouble. That woodchuck – Rosalinde – seemed to believe that Nick would harm her or kill her, just because he was a predator. Were mammals still so backwards-thinking that predators would be capable of such a thing? Even if it was someone trustworthy like Nick?

Her anger was only diluted by Clawhauser's advice from the previous morning.

It takes time for change… huh…?

She resolved to suck up her misgivings, as she had found another reason to stand by Nick without losing her career or credibility.

Even if it takes the rest of my life… I want to see this deep-seated attitude removed. Nick, and all predators like him, deserve that much of a chance to be happy.