Another chapter! For some reason, I'm pushing out chapters right now like a bunch of jack rabbits... E-hem. Anyway, here is more fluff. And now some crack, apparently. Have fun cackling! Nothing in this belongs to me, except for how stupid everything in this chapter is. Enjoy~

"Officer Hopps!"

The ferocious, angry yell of Chief Bogo erupted from the speaker of Judy's cellphone, and the bunny in question quickly drew the offensive voice away from her ears. Taking in a sharp breath, her orbs winced at the sound, and her ears drooped a little. She wearily eyed the smirking fox beside her. He winked, silently but proudly rocking back and forth beside her, as she suffered through the heated conversation. The two were sitting thigh to thigh on a sure-to-be lengthy train ride to Bunnyburrow. Beneath them, laid the duo's bags; just a suitcase and a small carry on each.

Nick shrugged uselessly. He visibly grinned when the distraught rabbit let out a loud sigh, physically turning away to give him the cold shoulder. A second later, the fox placed a laughing hand over her it, lightly patting at her arm as if to say "you can do it." His actions also said, "Thank god I'm not you right now."

Chief Bogo continued on; his voice spoke in a threatening glare, "I swear to god Hopps, if you don't come in- Where are you and Officer Wilde?"

"That is… kind of a long story," the bunny slowly muttered. The female looked away from nothing at all, idly talking, as a guilty edge entered her voice. Once again moving in her seat, she brightened and her worry instantly vanished. She slyly eyed the fox beside her, watching him closely. She stared at the mammal, as he started to not listen to their conversation, innocently moving a paw upward to scratch at his ear unconcernedly. Taking in a quick breath, she skillfully edges, "However, Officer Wilde is here with me if you'd like to hear everything from him."

"Huh?" Nick sputtered, unknowingly gaping, as Judy shoved the phone into his ear. The male's larger paws instinctively closed around it, before the fox realized what was going on. His emerald eyes widened in fear, as she smirked proudly.

Nick was absolutely sure that Chief Bogo had heard him. Now, the fox was in for it; the chew down of the century. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god n-

"Wilde!" the grumpy buffalo yelled directly into the fox's ears. The pointed appendages bat forward instantaneously, and he shrunk in mild pain at the sound of his booming tone.

An uneasy laugh left Nick's muzzle, "H-Hey Chief! What's up?"

"Why aren't you and Officer Hopps at your post?!" the officer yelled, gruffly asking, "Also, why didn't the two of you clock in this morning?"

"Well, ya know," Nick awkwardly managed, as he threw a hand behind his head. His words came out with a nervous lilt, as he admitted, "We kind of couldn't, actually."

Beside the fox, Judy giggled girlishly. She chuckled harder when he turned to give her a hardened but not evil glare. The bunny was not worried; Nick was irritated and caught off guard, sure, but he was never mean. She had every confidence in her friend that he would never hurt her.

"Oh?" the Chief questioned, his words sounding surprised but suspicious, "And why is that?"

"Um, we were previously engaged," the fox weakly responded, not quite ready to admit his mistake, to which the cape buffalo abruptly laughed. Then, a profoundly rare air of amusement coated his reply.

"So, that's how it is, eh Wilde?"

"What?" Nick helplessly questioned. The fox mentally paused, swiftly eyeballing the bunny next to him in mild confusion. The male was suddenly grateful that the woman was not listening to their conversation anymore. Instead, the lapin had her head positioned completely against the glass of the window in front of her, breath fogging up the window repeatedly, as she joyfully took in the passing scenery.

Nick watched her, as sharp spring entered her ears; the rabbit's lips opened in slight awe at what she saw, and her orbs gleamed brightly from the light of the early morning sky that lit the landscape. It shown in her eyes. At the back of his mind, the fox could not help but find it immensely enchanting how the prey loved to stare across the widespread, tall grassy plains that seemed to roll on for miles just beyond the city's walls. The prey was enthused by the vegetation, as she placed a paw longingly against the glass. Her senses took in everything she saw, and her stare was hungry for the outdoors, while the fox took in everything about her. Yep. Everything about the fox's Carrot was worthy of his attention.

However, his mind fought, it had been a long time since Nick last witnessed the countryside for himself – at least seven years, the male believed – but the predator was much too preoccupied at the moment to give them any thought. Oh, yeah. The conversation.

It was at that moment that Chief Bogo sniggered deeply.

"Oh, you know," the older male spoke with a cryptic but sneaky air, "A previous engagement. Now, you listen to me kid. I have been in the police business for many, many years, Wilde. Twenty-six to be exact, so don't you think that I haven't heard my fair share of excuses, because I have – so many, in fact, that I could probably name a hundred right off the bat – but c'mon Wilde. I'm not a dumb buffalo. We all know."

Nick blinked.

"What do you all know?" the fox hollowly whispered. For some reason, the male was afraid to find out. A wave of cold rushed over him in his puzzlement.

Chief Bogo did not think anything of Nick's question, and he airily responded, "Oh, you know; about you and Officer Hopps. How you like her. Everyone in the whole damn department knows about your relationship."

"Woah, what?!"

Nick's startled cry had Judy sharply turning in his direction. The bunny stared with wide eyes, her heart pounding a little at being abruptly pulled from her thoughts. She placed a paw over her racing chest and gawked at Nick with a confused expression. The male in question shrugged his shoulders, mouthed a quick sorry, and waved a noncommittal hand in her direction. When she failed to look away, he rapidly glanced around him, before swiftly standing from his seat and moving across the train car from her, standing by a window and muttering low beneath his breath.

With her face flushing from embarrassment, Judy shook her head at herself and chose not to listen in on their conversation, even if Nick's sudden departure forced her interest to rise to an all-time high; nevertheless, she would never impede on his privacy, but dammit that would not stop her from asking him about it once he came back. She instantly busied herself with looking out the window once more, as her cheeks continued to faintly glow. Her paw remained positioned over her gradually calming heart.

From his place a good ways away from Judy, Nick gave a visible scowl. He stared angrily down at his feet and hastily murmured, "Now, what are you talking about?"

"You and Officer Hopps," the Chief easily joked, and a small clicking sound erupted curiously within Nick's ears, "Hey Clawhauser, guess what? Officer Hopps and Wilde, they're a thing now."

"Oh. My. Goody. Goodness."

The well-known sassy voice of their friend made Nick feel like tossing himself off the train.

"You shut up," Clawhauser continued out of habit, pure disbelief wholly radiating from his desk on the first floor of the police department. His smile was too sharp and toothy for normal work hours.

At the cheetah's words, Chief Bogo only grinned like a devil to himself from his own office. The older bull chuckled into the phone's receiver and quickly said, "I've got Wilde on the other line. This is a three-way."

"Shut up!" came Clawhauser's overly excited repeat, before the cat eagerly yelled, "Nick, Nick! I am so happy for you, you little fox you. You and Officer Judy are far too freaking precious and cute together! She is so sweet! I swear, you two deserve each other. Both of you really fit, you know? You click. You're like a sappy romance movie. So, um, where are the two of you right now? I mean, I didn't see you guys come into the office at all this morning, which is really odd, because I always sit at the welcome desk, so I see everyone, which must mean that you didn't. Oh. My. Goodness. I am so excited, and I just can't stop talking! Ah, my little fur babies! My otp! This is my shit! You know, I am so happy. As happy as I was when I heard about the new Gazelle song a couple of days ago. Oh. Wait. Should I stop talking? Should I? I'm sorry, Nick. Okay, I'll stop talking."

"No, no, keep talking," Chief Bogo laughed into the phone.

Visibly, Nick's left eye twitched. Panicked, the fox whipped his head over to stare stricken at Judy's back, as the bunny continued to pay him no mind. She stared out the window, refusing to eavesdrop on their conversation. Thank god for Judy's kindness! Feeling trapped, the male stuttered for a long floundering moment, as he tried to find something intelligent to say. Ultimately, he settled on forcing out the only word that rang like a glaring bell within his head.

"No!" the fox hurriedly cried, before awkwardly lowering his voice, "Clawhauser i-it's not like that, really. W-We're just friends. We just skipped work for the day. That's all."

Chief Bogo airily clicked his tongue in disbelief and repositioned himself in his office. The broad bull idly tapped at the desk in front of himself and chuckled. Then, he sarcastically replied, "Uh-huh. Get this, Clawhauser. You want to know the reason why the two of them didn't come in today? It was because they had a previous engagement."

"Oh?" Clawhauser asked in calm surprise. After a short moment, a knowing smirk entered his tone, and he crooned an ambiguous, "Oh."

"Oh?" Nick questioned, whispering with his maniac heart pounding, "W-What do you mean by 'oh'? What is wrong with having a previous engagement? Why are we even having this conversation?"

Chief Bogo sniggered, "Right."

Boyish laughter was heard from either side of the line, and Nick wanted to find a hole to hide in, so no one would ever find him. He flushed scarlet from the weight of their innuendos, a deep red settling under the auburn fur of his cheeks, and he let out a frustrated groan. Cackles ensued within his ear; the tips of his own fell in total annoyance. They flickered when there was a sound of movement from Judy's direction, but she was merely changing position against the window, a small hop in her ears. She stood bent at the waist, continuing to watch out the window with her small cotton ball tail stuck high into the air. It was so cute. The fox had to stop himself from staring directly at her bared tuft of greyish fluff; though, the urge to touch it – to poke it or simply caress and run his fingers through the length of its serene softness – was indeed strong.

Nick had to force himself to concentrate. Letting out a small angry growl, the predator gave a breathy but firm retort, "It's not true, OK? I don't like Judy like that. End of story."

"Sure Jan," Clawhauser replied, drawling out the first word and sniggering openly from his place on the line, "And I don't have spots? Am I right, Bogo, or am I right?"

"I'd high five you right now if it did not mean me having to walk out of my office right now," the chortling Chief automatically replied.

"Air five!" the cheetah cheered, throwing his hand out precariously in front of himself. He paid to mind to the animals giving him concerned looks.

Chief Bogo would never tell anyone, but he also made a small movement as if to meet his predator friend. Instead, the beefy buffalo spoke, "C'mon Wilde. There's no use denying it."

"There's nothing to deny when there's nothing there," Nick wildly admonished.

The fox physically banged his head against a nearby window when Clawhauser began to eerily whisper-sing a romantic song in his ear.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, my, oh my! Look at the boy too shy! Ain't gonna kiss the girl-"

"Shut it," Nick threatened.

Suddenly uncaring, Clawhauser easily switched songs. He carefully lowered his tone into an unusual depth and crooned, "Now, I've haaad the time of my lifeeee-"

"No!" Nick almost shouted.

Clawhauser did not miss a beat.

"Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you-"

Nick deadpanned.

"Untrue."

"Tonight. DADADADADA DA DA!" Clawhauser started to yell the piano accompaniment in amusement to which both Chief Bogo and Nick threw a hand over their sensitive ears.

The fox was the first to yell, "Alright! It's true, okay? That's it! Stop it, stop it, stop it."

The kind cheetah stopped on a dime and smiled widely, undeniably and downright proud of himself. The male let out a few last minute titters, snickering childishly into the sleeve of his uniform. He drawled suggestively into the phone, "Now, are we talking about the so-called previous engagement or about you having a thing for your adorable little bunny partner?"

The all-knowing smugness found in Clawhauser's voice had Nick moaning out of self-pity. The fox hated being put on the sport, but more than that, he hated the idea of outing himself, especially when he had no idea of his true feelings. As far as he knew, the male understood that he liked Judy immensely; any mammal with a brain could see that. He liked her equally as a friend and a person. Sure, he liked her appearance both physically and spiritually. He enjoyed her mind, and he thought that she had a lovely heart. Plus, not only were the pair categorically close, but the rabbit and fox were each other's best friend, trusting in one another more than any other animal. Their sort of bond, they had with no one else. It was only them, but they were happy that way. It was like how Clawhauser had not-so-eloquently put it. The two fit like they were pieces from the same puzzle. Although, the duo had no clue why as to why they worked. The pair had previously mentioned the same topic before. They simply performed. They did what they had to do together, and surprisingly, both never tired of being around the other.

Stalking in a short circle, Nick took in a much needed puff of air. He let it out in a low whoosh and painstakingly admitted, "The second one."

He winced, as a happy gasp came from Clawhauser. Chief Bogo snorted from his side of the line but congratulated the shaking fox on finally being able to manage to articulate it through his fat muzzle. When Nick heard that, he audibly tried to cover his tracks. At the moment, the naturally sly mammal felt like the prey to their predator. He was caught, trapped. He was stuttering and fumbling for an escape.

"M-More like, I think it's the second one? I-I mean, I like her. I-It's obvious that I do, but I'm not sure if I… if I like her like that in that kind of way. You know? Do you understand? I mean, what would others say? Sure, it's utterly normal for there to be interspecies relationships nowadays. Still, c'mon guys. It'd be funny, right? A fox and a bunny? I-I mean, get real!"

Even as Nick continued to speak, the fox felt like he was lying. He knew that he was lying. A sense of disappointment edged in the very corners of his voice, as he forced himself to speak. To deny was to save himself from the pain of possibly losing her. When facing the thought of never speaking to her again, he would rather never chance it. The fox knew that the world would not care; it was perfectly okay for the predator to date her in the light of Zootopia's modern integrated society. 10% predator and 90% prey.

Honestly, Nick could not give a rat's ass about any other animal's opinions. In the end, all that mattered to the fox was what Judy thought of him. The male wanted to be good for her; he wanted to be the best fox he could be. Living for her, it was his loving Carrot who mattered. No one else could judge him. No one could touch him with their words or make their thoughts weigh over his conscience, because nothing could get to him, especially whenever he could simply reach out and take her hand. His fingers would clasp around hers; his bunny was firm and steady when she needed to be, and he acted the same way for her. They helped one another through thick and thin. No matter whether the fox held it ever-so gentle or for dear life, his cohort would not pull it away. She would merely accept her companion's touch, revel in it actually, and squeeze his palm gently comfort, willing her aid in that tiny bit of pressure.

A doubtful air settled over the other side of the line, but Nick coerced himself into paying it no mind. He could not think about their thick silence. He could not imagine what they were thinking because to do that, he would subconsciously have to think about Judy, and then he was not sure if he could keep telling himself what he wanted to hear – that everything was fine, that his numbness was good – because the fox was weak, and he was entirely susceptible to his emotions. One wrong though of love and devotion, and there would be no turning back for him. One small admittance to the feeling in his chest, and he could never take it back. Once spoken, it became final, and the finality of it all was what terrified him the most.

Nick hated the finality, because with finality, there was a decision. With a decision, there was a choice to be made. A choice that took two people to decide on, not only him, considering it takes two people to actually be in a real relationship. A mammal could never be in a relationship on their own. It takes two to tango, as the old saying goes. Thankfully, the male tended to stay away from any dance-floors that played salsa music since tangoing is a dangerous, dangerous sport; there is a thin line between grace and utter disaster that one must tread on while in a relationship, and Nick was totally convinced that, once he began tiptoeing, he would trip over himself and fall down, down, down into a hole so deep that Judy would hate him for the rest of his life. The fox could never – would never – chance that.

When the fox finished speaking, he listened to the voices on the other end of the line, but they were oddly silent. Chief Bogo was simply breathing, a quietness to his large exhales, and Clawhauser made no noises of disagreement; however, he secretly held his tongue.

Oh, this poor damn fool! The cheetah thought to himself, and he placed a large paw over his donut frosted mouth, physically holding it shut. He could not help but feel a little insulted for his bunny friend at the words Nick finished speaking. Did he truly think that? Did he really give Judy so little credit? In her own words, Officer Hopps was not your everyday token bunny. She was so much more than her species, the stereotype of her gender, and her stature. Hell, the freaking bunny cop was probably stronger, lither, and keener than over half of the department's own men! Apparently Chief Bogo seemed to agree with Clawhauser's opinion, since he once believed the bunny to be a just a weak minded feeble shrimp. Both had underestimated her, yet the lapin quickly taught the seasoned officers wrong.

It was Chief Bogo who surprisingly ended the silence. His voice became colder for an unknown reason, and it had Nick physically becoming floored in his spot, "Do you really feel that way, Officer Wilde?"

For the first time in his life, Nick had no idea how to respond. He wanted to lie, but he could not even summon the spirit or pep needed to articulate a fib that would remotely work for his unknown situation. The conversation had stepped into brand new territory for the fox, and the topic had him panicking, mentally feeling as if he needed to flee. The male was unable to find a safe way out of his trap; he swiveled back and forth, as he had no idea where to go. He felt insane, almost as if he were staring up at a sign from Alice in Wonderland that pointed this way, that way, up way, down way, and every other little way. His foot was caught in a trap, his throat was caught in a tight vice. The male felt as if he were stuck among an abandoned forest with no open paths before him. Just he and the bushes, there was no possible way to escape the maze without somehow getting caught by their thorns. One way or another, he would end up a sobbing, hurting, and bleeding mess.

Chief Bogo took Nick's silence with a grain of salt and said, "Well, you can figure that out on your own. It's time for me to go, I guess. There's someone knocking at my door. Have fun with your previous engagement, fox. Be sly, but not too sly. If you catch my drift."

Yeah, yeah. We catch it, Nick was too dumbstruck to reply. The fox listened with an immediate ball in his throat, as Chief Bogo spoke a curt goodbye and swiftly hung up on his side of the line. After a long tense moment, Clawhauser eventually permitted a low whistle.

"Wow. Um, I guess the Chief must be busy, huh?"

"Shouldn't you be busy, too?" Nick instantly grumbled, a small bit of sarcasm sparking to life beneath his tongue, "What, no clients coming in today? No major criminal cases to solve?"

"Actually, no," came the cheetah's bright reply, "Since you and Officer Hopps began to take on cases, crime has went down, believe it or not. Maybe a lot of people just don't want to have to face the wrath of the fantastic Mr. Fox and his sidekick Bunnylicious. Or perhaps, most of the crime that used to happen, mainly dealt with the original missing persons case. Zootopia just isn't as interesting anymore, since you and Wilde joined the force."

Clawhauser gave a fake, humor filled sigh, before diving headfirst into a new discussion, "Enough about work. So, what are you doing right now? I'm assuming Judy is with you, based on your earlier blatant need to whisper-yell everything, and how you wanted to fervently deny, deny, deny all your obvious feelings for her."

"They're not obvious," Nick heard himself impulsively replying, before the fox quickly sucked in a brisk vacuum of air. He felt like cursing out loud. Dammit! God, the mammal wished that a random bolt of lightning would come and strike him down. He felt like a damn fool. On the other side of the line, Clawhauser let out an earsplitting squeal, his voice giggling and carrying easily through the speaker, causing Nick to pull the phone away from his ear. His own flattened in disgruntlement against his head, "Well, maybe they're obvious. You know what, whatever. You have a job to do, Officer Clawhauser."

"As do you," the intelligent kitty countered, and his voice took on a knowing tone, "Yet here we are."

"…Can you please stop quoting Disney things?"

"I'll stop when you tell me where you are," the amused predator happily sing-songed.

Nick groaned, but he could not help the moderately fond grin on his muzzle, as he said, "Okay, well you can relay this, and only this, to Chief Bogo. Tell him that Officer Hopps and I are taking a week-long vacation from work; just seven days. Tell him that the time off is long overdue, and that surely the heroes of Zootopia deserve a little break, right? Heh. Oh, and we're actually really sorry that the word was so last minute, but the plans were also last minute, and the train was early this morning. Between commuting, ordering tickets, and getting on the train to Bunnyburrow, there just wasn't any time for calling."

Clawhauser gave a quick gasp, "Wait! Did… Did you say Bunnyburrow?"

Nick's heart sunk into his feet, and he paled. The cat did not even give him time to respond, before he was already squealing once more in his earlobes.

"OH MY GOSH! Hold up! You're telling me that you're already going to meet her parents?" the telling way that his voice squeaked at the end was migraine inducing, "Oh ohohoho that is too flipping precious. So, Nick… when is the wedding?"

"Yep, I've gotta go."

"Darn. You haven't proposed yet, huh?" Clawhauser continued, downright grinning.

Nick faked a look around himself and muttered, "Um, we're going through a tunnel-"

"Have ya'll… you know?"

"What?" Nick breathed, now feeling quite scandalous, "Why would you even ask that?"

The incredulity in the fox's voice was answered by his friend's eerie chuckles. The wary male straightened his back, anxiously waiting for the next hazarding inquiry.

"Have you thought of any names for your children?"

"Oho-kay, that is it!" Nick utterly blushed. Taking in a deep breath, the fox was a deep scarlet, as he threw the phone right in front of his mouth and speedily yelled, "No! But if it's a boy, Reese; if it's a girl, Willow. Now bye."

As Nick hung up the call on Clawhauser, a mischievous cackling met his ears. Spanning the distance of at least a hundred miles, the fat cheetah simply beamed, his sharp canines baring with the utmost pride. He easily shook out his spotted shoulders, glancing mysteriously at the lobby around him. Then, he reached in front of himself to stick a thick hand into the small box of donuts beside him, evilly sniggering under his breath. The cat pulled one out, popping it into his waiting jaws. A satisfied, somewhat powdery smile remained, as he picked up the phone beside him and pressed a number that he had definitely gotten used to calling in the past few months.

"Clawhauser," Chief Bogo's gruff voice answered, "What is it you fat cat?"

The kitten in question merely smirked, wiping the clues of his snacking airily on the front of his uniform, "Oh, I just wanted to say how I know there wasn't anyone for you. You wanna know why I know? Because I would have been the one to send them to you. I can see through you, Chief."

"Really now?" replied the amused bull.

Clawhauser only beamed, "Well, of course! Now, let's talk about other things-"

"Gazelle?" The bull asked. There was a new perk in Chief Bogo's voice.

Clawhauser resolutely nodded, "Gazelle."

From now on, the chapters will probably remain to be about this size, so they won't be quite as long as the first chapter, but I hope you guys will stick around with me until the end! Until then, au revoir~

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