-PRESENT-
Nick sat outside of Bogo's office, waiting to be called in. He looked down at his hands and saw them trembling. He took a deep breath and thought to himself, "Don't be nervous. Don't let them see you weak." And like that, his hands stopped trembling. Many years of planning schemes and conning people taught him how to look confident and be smooth 110% of the time. Being nervous was not an option for him.
He needed to talk to Bogo, but the police chief was too busy at the moment. He guessed (he knew) that Bogo was playing Gazelle's new app. It was the one where you're best friends with her and you become a pop star.
"Am I the only one who doesn't love her?" he thought to himself.
He let out a big sigh as one of the policewomen, a white Arctic wolf, passed by and joked, "The big guy coming down hard on you again?"
"You know it Candice," and gave her a sly smile and a wink. She giggled to herself as she headed off to records.
"You still got it Nick," he whispered to himself.
He didn't know Candice well, but they were friendly with each other. A passing joke, a sarcastic remark, maybe a little flirting here and there, just the way he liked it. Plus he thought she was cute too.
Tired of sitting, Nick stood up and walked towards the glass railing and leaned against it as he peered down to the atrium. He saw various police officers and staff scurrying across the atrium. He then saw Judy holding a stack of paperwork almost up to her ears going the direction of her cubicle. He smiled since he knew she was going to finish all of that today no matter what it took. He headed back to his seat and closed his eyes. He was brought back to the day they first met.
-FLASHBACK-
Finnick and he were walking down Trunk Street in Downtown Zootopia. It was a beautiful, sunny day, a good day to have pawpsicles. They have been planning this pawpsicle scam for weeks. If everything went according to plan, they were guaranteed hundreds of dollars of profits. They were mostly silent walking to the elephant ice cream parlor. The only time they really needed to talk was to go over the plan, and to negotiate the splitting of the profits. After working with a business partner for 10 years, there's not much you need to say. They understood each other's little movements, expressions, and gestures. Nick could see Finnick's ears twitching slightly, not noticeable enough for any random animal to see. But Nick, Nick knew Finnick was excited. Nick smiled to himself and crossed his arms behind his head. He wished that he could be as excited as Finnick. But he has been doing this for 20 years and it was all starting to feel the same. You trick people, they give you money. Viola. Done and done. There's no excitement in playing the game anymore for him. But, he's a fox, if he tried to do anything else, it'll end in failure. He remembered how his father tried to get out of conning and open up a suit store instead. It was going to be at the corner between Birch St. and Dandelion Dr. It was a dream they had together. But it just could not hap-
Finnick interrupted his thoughts when he nudged Nick and pointed his head towards the direction of Judy. They looked as she was running and hopping around the street, passionately giving tickets to many poor Zootopia citizens who did not come back to their cars on time.
"That bitch is one of the biggest tools I've seen," Finnick said flatly.
Nick gave a chuckle and said, "Isn't she the first bunny cop that we've been hearing all about? How long do you give her? A week tops?"
"HA, I give her 2 days!"
Nick chuckled in agreement. He despised cops, especially cops like her. The ones who are so idealistic, so naïve, so self-righteous. They become so blinded by their own definition and sense of justice that they don't realize their own prejudices and the harm they commit. However, seeing her ticket countless parking violators gave him the perfect idea. He just needed to catch her attention. That's when he saw a truck with a sheep driver about to leave an alleyway. Perfect.
Nick whispered to Finnick, "Follow my lead."
He then sped in front of the truck when he heard the sheep driver yell, "Watch where you're going, fox!"
He glanced at the bunny cop and what do you know, she's looking straight at him. Things were going according to plan. Now it was time for him to pull out his acting chops. He imagined himself as a spy and started looking around and behind his back, like he is scoping the area. He knew to her, he basically became a giant sign that screamed in flashing neon lights, UP TO NO GOOD. STOP HIM. He then walked into the ice cream store with Finnick. She was going to come in any second, and right when they got to the front line, BOOM, there she was. Let the con begin.
As he melted the Jumbo Pop on the roof, he congratulated himself for a job well done.
"Man, I haven't duped a cop like that for a while! What a rush! And all because that bunny cop felt the need to stop a sly fox like me! Dumb bunny."
And that is when he heard the voice. The voice that regularly haunts him ever since the Junior Ranger Scout incident.
"She's just like everyone else Nick. Every single animal that has seen a fox like you. A fox not worthy of trust. Not worthy of respect. Not worthy of-
"Thank you. Thank you. You can go back into your cage now."
The voice was gone. He defeated it this time, but he felt scarred from the battle. His chest felt heavy, determined to weigh down his short-lived jubilant mood. He felt the heaviness spread throughout his veins. And that's when he felt like he was the tool. The tool used by cops like her to validate their "justice." Hey I helped this fox, so I must not be prejudiced! I must be a great cop! He then felt belittled being called "articulate" for the 1000th time. That is how he knew. How he knew she was just like everyone else.
Later that night, as he laid in bed staring at the ceiling, he thought about how it felt good to let out all his frustrations and anger on her when she confronted him about the pawpsicle scam. "She deserved it. How dare she confront me for trying to make a living while she lives guilt-free about the pain she caused. I couldn't let her get away with that." A moment passed. He then quietly admitted to himself that she really did get to him.
The voice popped up and told him, "You know why? It's because she reminds you of how you're always going to be just a fox. Nothing more. Remember those Junior Ranger Scouts? They were right you could never be trusted. Also, fuck you."
"Well, hate to be unoriginal, but I had a long day, so fuck you too." The voice disappeared.
-PRESENT-
"Nick! You can come in now!"
Nick was quickly opened his eyes and found himself outside of Bogo's office. He placed his hand over his chest, his heart was beating fast. How long was he out? He checked his watch, 5 minutes. It felt a lot longer than 5 minutes to him. It was strange, he forgot how mad he felt at Judy on the first day they met. Their relationship has gotten much better since that first day. Which is why what he is about next made him nervous. He knew this would disappoint her. No, it's going to make her pissed. She was stubborn and would never let him do this. This is why he had to do this without telling her. It was something he had to do, for both of them. He went into the office and saw Bogo sitting at desk, perfect posture, intimidating, and displeased. The usual when he saw Nick.
"Have a seat, Nick." Nick sat on the chair across from him. "It's quite strange that you want to meet me. Usually I have to call you in to stop fucking around. Why this urgent meeting?"
Nick gave a sly smile, acknowledging the little jab at him, but then he quickly frowned and said, "Chief, I would like to make a request to switch partners."
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! This is my first fanfic, and I'm not the greatest writer... so feel free to critique me! When I first watched Zootopia I just absolutely loved it. I loved all the characters, but I had a strong connection with Nick. I guess this story is an opportunity to share what I imagine Nick was thinking/doing in the movie, and how he is and what he does after the movie. So enjoy!