Better Off As Lovers

Chapter One: Set-up

Judy's parents set her up with another bunny, and she has to quickly find a way to get out of the situation without appearing insincere. Awkward conversations about feelings in the dead of night ensue.

(Feat. Nick's antics.)

Judy Hopps stormed down the hallway of her parent's old burrow in the way only a bunny can; feet slapping against the floor in an angry manner, small muzzle scrunched up, and ears flat against her head.

On any given day, Judy fancied herself to be a rather amicable animal; making friends and being cheery came easy to her. Today, however, she was not in a friendly mood. She had been so delighted to come and see her mom and dad for the first time in months – she hadn't seen them since the year before when she had left her small hometown and burrow; but it was he parent's anniversary soon, and she was more than happy to come down and visit.

Her happy mood had changed as soon as she'd entered the familiar kitchen. Sitting beside her father was a young rabbit. A young, male rabbit, to be exact. He had dark gray fur, and blue eyes that seemed friendly enough – so Judy was willing to humour her parents, if only for one night. (" No, mom, I'm not interested in finding a boyfriend right now." Judy had grumbled into her phone more times than she could count.)

Once outside, Judy made sure to slam the front door to convey to her parents how sick she was of them butting into her life. She frantically ran through field after field of carrots until she was panting, and so tired she could barely stand up. Sighing, she flopped down onto the cold, dew-covered grass. What am I gonna do?

Judy pulled out her phone, and called the only friend she had. A small image of her smiling next to a smug fox in uniform appeared on the screen for a brief moment before someone picked up.

"Hey, Carrots! How's your little vay-cay going?" The poor cell-service in BunnyBurrow made the call sound fuzzy, but the familiar voice still managed to sound smooth.

"Hey, Nick." Judy began hesitantly. "It's actually not going so well. My parents tried to set me up with this rabbit, a-and he's okay looking, I guess, but god, Nick! – He was so boring! I wanted to shoot myself in the head! And then – my dad had the audacity to suggest that we were going to start a warren, and I just – uuurrgh." Judy's small paws tugged at her ears before she continued, "Why do bunnies still insist on trying to arrange marriages?!"

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, then, "Aw, Judes, that sounds like it sucks -big time. I didn't even know rabbits still did that – arrange marriages? - What is this, the Dark Ages?" Judy smiled at his sympathy, knowing that it was real – he only ever used her first name when he was being totally and utterly serious. "If you want, I can get over there as soon as I can - tell your folks something's come up back at the station. Your house isn't too far away, right?"

"No, but… my mom and dad don't know my partner is a fox. They've started to come around – heck, they work with Gideon Gray – but they might still be wary. Especially since their oldest daughter is working with one."

"Who says I have to tell them we're partners?" She could practically hear Nick's smirk. "I'll just tell them you're needed down at ZPD, and that I'm the only one working the night shift. I'll just be a fox who works in the same building. No harm in that, right? It'll be like stealing candy from a baby; which is actually very easy – I've done it before."

"Alright…" She said, giving in. "Just don't scare them too much. Get here as soon as you can, and I guess I'll head back inside."

"You got it, Judester. See you soon." *click*

()

*knock knock*

Judy's mother's head darted up, eyes alert; looking very much like the timid prey animal she was. After a moment, she politely excused herself to go answer it. Judy hunkered down, prepared for the inevitable.

A small, muffled shriek sounded from the doorway, and Judy's dad looked up now, too. "Honey? Everything alright?"

There was a pregnant pause.

Then, "Ah, yes, sweetie, it's just a nice police officer here for Judy. He says she's needed on the night shift because it was too much work for one mammal." Her voice sounded very obviously strained.

Her mother rushed back in, Nick in tow, looking very much suited for the part of a smug, arrogant, handsome -…. (er… where did that come from?)

Judy pretended to be surprised. "Oh, Good evening Officer Wilde." She smiled coyly. "What brings you here?"

Nick's arched eyebrows seemed to arch even higher, if that was possible; and he oozed as much stereotypical fox behaviour into his voice as possible. "Well, Hopps, I was all alone at the station and, well, I'm falling terribly behind on my work, and was wondering if a diligent officer as yourself could lend a paw; this case is just too much work for one fox."

"Any amount of work is too much for a fox…" Judy could hear her father mutter; but her mom kicked him in the shin, whispering something about respecting an officer, and 'oh, look at those wretched claws!'

Nick winked at her when her mother's head was ducked; the faux arrogance fading from his eyes, replaced by amusement. Judy offered a grateful smile in return.

"You'd better go get your things, dearie." Her mom said, nudging her in the side. "Wouldn't want to upset your co-worker." Her voice dropped an octave, and she cast a nervous glance at the fox.

Judy was more than happy to oblige.

On their way out the door, she high-fived Nick.

"Thanks."

"No worries, Carrots."

::

Nick's foot slammed down on the gas pedal furiously, but the car refused to budge. The fox hit his head on the dashboard in frustration; and he tried to start the car again, but to no avail.

"I can't believe you let your car run out of gas." Judy huffed. "Who lets their car run out of gas?!"

"I don't normally!" Nick protested, hands gesturing wildly. "This thing is so old and beat up that all of my gauges are broken. I have to track how many miles I've gone manually." The fox rubbed his neck self-consciously. "I guess I forgot to check since I was in a hurry." He mumbled.

Judy's voice softened. "It's okay. Something like that is easy to forget."

Her partner offered her a weak smile in return. "If it's any consolation, I have…. Blankets… in my trunk. And flashlights. And food."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "Really? Since when? You don't seem like the kind of guy to prepare for scenarios like this."

Nick shrugged, embarrassed. "Once I started taking classes at the Academy…." He coughed, uncharacteristically bashful. "I'll go get the blankets and some food I guess…"

He returned a moment later, items in hand. He gave one of the blankets to Judy, but it proved to be too large, so he folded his seats back and laid out one of the blankets in the back. "Here, we can share for now."

Judy raised an eyebrow skeptically, but said nothing, and climbed into the back seat beside her friend.

He offered her a square of chocolate, which she accepted. Shaking her head, she said, "What would my parents think? Me, sitting next to a fox in the middle of the night, sharing food?"

"Who cares what they think!" Nick scoffed, popping open a bottle of water. "All that matters is what you think."

Judy thought for a moment. "I think that this chocolate is good." Nick rolled his eyes, so she continued, "I think that you're my best friend; and I'm glad you drove all the way out here just to pick me up."

Nick smiled. "Like I said, Judes, no problem. S'not like I was busy anyway."

Judy's eyes narrowed – why the 'Judes'? Why not 'Carrots'? - staring intently at the gauges and meters in the dashboard. "I also think you're up to something; because your car has plenty of gas in it." She wrinkled the worn blanket in her fists.

The fox's eyes widened, and his face fell guiltily. "Heh… you caught on, I guess."

Her foot tapped impatiently, and she glare disapprovingly at her friend. "Y'think? What's going on here, Nick?"

"I just wanted to have some time to talk to you, friend to friend. I feel like we don't do that often anymore." He mumbled.

"What do you mean? We see each other every day at work! You pal around with me all the time." Judy snorted, and turned her head. "Next excuse."

Nick remained silent for a few moments. " I – Judes…. You're an amazing, inspirational animal. I look up to you; everything I have now is all thanks to you. Instead of living on the streets scamming people, I have a job, and a friend – a damn good one."

Judy lifted her head and met his eyes. "What's your point?"

()

The sun shone brightly on two friends - One a slick fox, and the other a demure bunny - standing together taking photos. Both were wearing blue uniforms. Around them, there was a dispersing crowd; and a stage crew was disassembling the stage set up behind them.

"Hey, Judes." Nick said seriously, after the umpteenth photo was taken. "I can't thank you enough for helping me get this far." His green eyes had lost their usual droopy, cynical look; replaced by genuine emotion.

Judy smiled warmly. "That's what friends are for, right?" Her nose was buried in her phone; setting her background to a photo of them smiling from ear to ear. Nick's stomach fluttered alarmingly, and he shoved it away in shame.

"Yeah. I guess that is what being friends is about." He mused, lost in thought. "I'll always be here for you if you need me, y'know that right?"

Judy finally glanced up from the phone, something Nick couldn't quite place shining behind her eyes. "I know." In his pocket, Nick's phone beeped. "C'mon, check it! Check it!" She grinned, nudging his arm.

Nick pulled out his phone and checked the text.

From: Judes

I'm so proud of you Nicholas! (teehee. I used your real name.)

Love you!

The text was soon followed by dozens of heart emoji's, and though he smiled, Nick couldn't help but feel sad. He really wished he could add an 'I' in front of that 'love you'...

()

"I love you." He whispered. "I know it seems dumb – a fox and a rabbit, but –"

"I think I do, too." Judy cut in. "Back on our first mission, I thought you were a jerk."

"Hey!"

"A cute jerk, though." She added. "You always have this dumb smug face; and you're so cocky – I hate it… but not really." She said, smiling shyly.

"You have a cute butt." Nick said, grinning evilly; which earned him a paw to the face. "I meant that as a compliment, you loser!" He protested.

Judy's smile faltered after a moment; leaving the duo staring down truths neither of them were prepared to handle. "What do we do now?" She asked uncertainly.

"Isn't it obvious? We go out on dates. Movie theaters and fancy dinners. That's what couples do, right?"

Judy recoiled at the word 'couple'. "I – we – can't." She stuttered. "We're natural enemies! Interspecies relationships are practically unheard of! Even if we weren't publicly humiliated, we'd get fired! Relationships in the workplace aren't –" A padded finger blocked any more words that might have tumbled out of her lips.

"Carrots, if there's one thing you've taught me, it's that in Zootopia, we can be anything. You – a small bunny – are by far the best cop ZPD has. You reunited a city. You taught me that we can be much more than what we're labeled as."

His finger fell away from her mouth, and she sat there, gaping like a fish for a few moments. "….So, what do we do?"

Nick sighed. "We have about two options here, Whiskers." He began slowly. "We can both climb back into the front seat and pretend this never happened. We can ignore whatever this is, and return to work Monday and never speak of this to anyone."

Judy waited for him to continue, and when he hesitated for just a moment too long, she pressed him. "… or?"

"Or we could just say 'screw it', and do this thing for real." Nick breathed, not daring to speak too loud, in case others heard the scandalous words.

"We could get fired –"

" I know."

"We'd have to tell Chief Bogo –"

"Yeah."

"People might hate us –"

"That is a possibility." Nick nodded. "But this is up to you. I already told you how I feel; how do you feel?"

Judy blinked; processing their entire conversation that night. How did she feel? She'd done unimaginable things before, but this? This was just insane.

("Whenever an interviewer asks you a question, ask your own question and answer that one.")

"How do I feel?" Judy asked herself, voice barely a whisper. "Crazy…" she murmured, and then leaned forward.

A/N:

How did I do? This isn't my first time writing fanfics – or writing in general; but it is my first time writing these characters.

May or may not continue this…..

Anyone catch the reference(s)? Heehee.

Edit - Mar. 8. 2016 : Added an extra scene to make Nick's confession seem a little more realistic and dramatic. Enjoy!