"One"
Apologizing for somehow ending up on his tail, Judy quickly stepped off it. In the light in front of the secluded bridge, she dried her eyes with a paw again. "I'm glad we're OK again, Nick, but I don't know how you can forgive me so quickly."
Nick nodded lightly in acknowledgement of her statement. "Carrots, do you know how many mammals have hurt me in my life?"
Judy shook her head. "No," she said, her voice a sad whisper.
"Neither do I. I lost count. But do you know how many have apologized for it?"
Again, Judy shook her head.
"Come on, Carrots, yes, you do know."
"I"—she hesitated—"I suppose it can't be many."
Nick held up a finger on his left paw. "One. You, Judy Hopps, are the only one who ever cared enough. It means more to me than you'll ever know."
"Oh, Nick. I'm so sorry." More tears welled up in her eyes.
"You don't need to be sorry about the others. Just"—he reached out and took her paws in his—"we're not always going to agree, and that's OK, but since it looks like we're going to be stuck with each other for the next few decades on the ZPD—"
Judy beamed, overjoyed that Nick still wanted to be her partner without her even having to ask.
"—I never want anything to come to an actual fight between us again. Losing someone I had begun to respect and trust was worse than being muzzled, and I'm sure it wasn't good for you either."
"No, it wasn't. After some time, I went back to Bunnyburrow. My tail wasn't between my legs, but only because it doesn't reach."
The circumstances didn't, but the image made the fox chuckle lightly. Her cute, fuzzy-wuzzy tail really was too short.
"I don't want either one of us to feel that way again either," Judy continued. "We're different, but if we keep learning from each other, I think the only fights we'll ever have will be as sparring partners in the ZPD boxing ring."
Nick smiled. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "You know, since we're getting all emotional anyway, I want to say that I'm sorry for not being as helpful as I could have been early on. And for calling you a 'dumb bunny.'" He let go of her and held up the carrot pen. "Despite what this plastic vegetable will say for the next forty-seven hours and fifty-seven minutes, you're not a dumb bunny."
Judy smiled. "Thanks. But to be fair, I should have seen that wet cement."
Nick chuckled. "Yeah, you should have." He dramatically pulled his tail as far away from Judy as possible and hugged it like a parent would hug a child. "And my tail!"
With another smile, Judy playfully nudged her now-again friend. "I said I was sorry! Jeez, I guess the honeymoon's over!"
Nick quickly dropped his tail as his eyes widened. "Honeymoon? Let's not move too fast here."