Work Text:
Judy sighed as she laid another traffic ticket underneath the wiper of a mid-sized vehicle. It wasn’t because she was getting yelled at again for issuing an overly-strict ticket. It wasn’t the chilly morning wind that she didn’t have a coat for. It wasn’t even because she was alone for the day of parking duty, without Nick to lighten up the day with his snarky attitude and endless jokes. He was still at the academy training for his own badge. Only a couple of months had passed since the unlikely duo solved the origin of the Nighthowler attacks and put Bellwether behind bars. Those couple of months led up to the month of October, and every ticket Judy printed displayed the date for her to see and be reminded that…
Tomorrow was Halloween, and she had to work that night.
She hadn’t given much thought to the matter until the week’s roster was announced. She was set to join up with Fangmeyer for patrol that evening. Judy had spent the last few months learning the streets of Zootopia, which, she had to admit, parking duty was very adept at teaching. She’d come to realize that mispronouncing a street name could have massive impact on response time if there was an emergency, so she always took the assignment with a new outlook on what it meant. Now, though, she would move up the rankings to start learning about the proper way to go about patrolling and how to respond to reports, instead of running head first at them as she was previously inclined to do.
The old ZPD traffic car gave a rickety squeak as Judy sat down in the driver’s seat again. The poor thing desperately needed a tune-up and some replacement parts. It seemed liable to fall apart at any moment, but against all odds, it remained in one piece and functioned for getting the bunny around and observing careless traffic-goers. Speaking of which…
Judy groaned loudly. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A pickup truck, mid-sized, was parked up on the curb, in a no-parking zone, with broken taillights. She’d never seen a more blatant disregard for traffic laws in the few months she’d been on duty. There wasn’t a driver to be seen, so Judy pulled aside and started typing up the infractions. Ticket number three-seven for the day printed out of her handheld, and she sighed again. October 30th printed on the top of the ticket. She hopped up and placed the slip under the windshield wiper and made a note to return to see if the truck needed to be towed out.
She was doing her job, the job she had set her sights on for her whole life. Tomorrow would be the next step for her career. An actual patrol. She knew she should have been excited for the occasion, but the thought of what day it was going to be loomed in her head, and she couldn’t get all that excited. All she could think about was home.
Halloween was always a very busy time for Bunnyburrow. The days leading up to the night of fright always started in the pumpkin patch. Each kit would pick out one of the numerous pumpkins the farms would grow to carve up. The scraped out seeds and flesh were always saved to be used for cooking up a multitude of pumpkin based dishes. Each carved pumpkin would then get its candle and, as a jack-o’-lantern, be lined up along the road for all passers-by to see.
When October 31st finally arrived, the Halloween festivities began straight away. From dawn until dusk, residents from all around gathered at the heart of Bunnyburrow for a festival. There were many different activities for mammals of all ages to participate in. For kids, there were apple bob bins set up, as well as a hay maze the community crafted up the week prior. It was different each year, too, and the Halloween frights sneaked their way into the maze as spooky ghouls and skeletons littered the ‘dead’ ends.
Adults were not left out, either. Pumpkins made up most of what they did. Farmers from all over the Tri-Burrows brought their best, and largest, pumpkins to be judged for quality and size. Many more much smaller pumpkins got brought in for pumpkin chunking, which the engineers showed off their crazy contraptions for. Some even dismissed the mechanical aspect and just hurled them by physical strength alone to see who could send theirs the farthest. Add in baking competitions for the cooks, and all-in-all, no one was left out of the festival fun. However, once the sun started to disappear behind the horizon, the real fun began.
With such a large population, a holiday where everyone went out and about, knocking on doors for Trick-or-Treating – it was a hectic event, for sure! But the community always came together to make sure every kit got their share of spooks or sweets. If someone’s costume got torn or broke, there was always someone ready to help sew a patch job or tape a box back together. If someone got lost from their group, there was always another willing to lend a helping paw to get them back.
Judy absolutely loved being that helping paw.
In the past years, Judy, being an older Hopps sibling, was mostly tasked with chaperoning her much younger and more trouble-bound siblings. That didn’t mean she never got to have any fun herself, however. She always dressed up along with her charges, even eventually venturing out into realms of dress-up that didn’t include police officer; and shared in the bounty of sweets that each house had to offer. She always ended up trading or giving most of it off to others much younger who ran out of energy while the night was still young, and didn’t get as much as those who stayed out longer. She didn’t mind at all, though. Just seeing the smiles, hearing the laughter or playful screaming – that was more than enough for her.
And once the kits had their fill of Trick-or-Treating, they’d return home to their mother who would be ready to serve each and every one of them a warm mug of fresh, homemade apple-cinnamon cider. They would mostly scatter around the house, trading candy amongst themselves or consuming it with reckless abandon, but most ended up by the fireplace, chasing the autumn chill away with their cider, the dancing flames, and scary stories that would sometimes scare some straight to their room and to their beds.
It was a night of frights and of family, and for the first time in her twenty-four years, Judy would miss that night. Her ears fell flat against her back as that thought ran through her head again. There wasn’t anything she could do about it, though. This was her dream – to move to Zootopia and become a police officer. She never really thought about what she would have to leave behind to follow that dream.
A faint buzzing and a rumble in her pocket snapped Judy out of her thoughts. She parked the traffic car and pulled out her phone. On the screen was a photo of a fox and bunny smiling together with the fox’s arm stretched out to take the selfie, taken mere days after they put Bellwether behind bars. It was Nick. She smiled, hoping that he would help take her mind off of her Halloween thoughts.
She swiped across the phone and put it to her ear. “Hey, Nick.”
“Hey, Carrots,” he panted out. Did he just get done with some running? “How’s your day been so far? Mine’s been a morning of literally one hundred laps around the academy.” A ‘whumpf’ sound played through the phone – Nick had collapsed onto his bed. “How in the world did you survive the academy?”
Judy laughed. “Oh, it’s not that bad, Nick. At least you’re not being told to go home every ten minutes,” she mused. She could clearly remember all her infractions from the polar bear instructor. “How is the Major, anyways?” She locked up the car and started to stroll around on foot. She was still on the clock, after all.
“Did she always scream at you a lot? If so, then she’s same as usual,” Nick replied. His breathing slowed down until he let out a short laugh. “I never once considered I’d ever do anything like this, but I am and I’m doing well at it.” He let out a sigh. “So, yea. How’s your day been so far?”
“Parking duty as usual. I’m really starting to learn the streets, though.” Judy beamed with pride. She was nowhere close to Nick’s level of knowledge when it came to Zootopia’s streets, but she did start to memorize almost all of the streets in Savannah and Sahara.
“Heh, don’t want to get lost if you don’t have me around, eh?” Judy could imagine the smirk he had on his muzzle saying that, which made her roll her eyes and smile, actually. “That’s good, though. Anyways, I called to ask you, what plans do you got going for tomorrow?” Judy stopped. Her breath hitched and her smile faded. She never told Nick her schedule, so he didn’t know she was to work through Halloween. The thoughts that previously trapped her returned to hold her again, long enough for Nick to ask, “Carrots? What’s wrong?”
She snapped back to reality again, quickly replying “Oh, it’s nothing… I, uh… I actually work tomorrow. I’ll be shown patrol routes with Fangmeyer.”
“Oh,” came Nick’s reply. He was a smart fox; he knew something was up. “I suppose you’d rather if you didn’t have to work, huh?” he prodded.
“No, no! I mean, kinda… B-but it’s a patrol! I’ll actually be doing real cop work, without my job at stake. I can’t say ‘no’ to that,” Judy explained. It was the truth, but it didn’t mean it still didn’t sting a little missing out on the holiday.
Nick hummed for a moment. Judy couldn’t see it, but the fox suddenly had a large grin on his face. “I see… Well, I should probably let you get back to work. Take care, Carrots!”
“W-wait, Nick!” She tried to call out, but the call end tone played in her ear. “…Bye.” She did not expect Nick to just end the call so abruptly. All she could do was stare at her phone for a moment before she placed it back in her pocket. She thought about calling him back, but the sound of a meter expiring across the street ended that thought. She still had a job to do, after all…
Nick never called again for the rest of the day. Judy managed to push the Halloween thoughts out of her mind again, if only for a moment. They were still there, no doubt. They just weren’t as strong as they had been. The train ride from the precinct to her apartment gave plenty of idle time for them to recover their strength. Judy knew she couldn’t keep entertaining them. She’d end up distracted and could miss out on vital information, but there was little she could do. Tomorrow she would miss Halloween.
The sun had less than an hour left before it disappeared behind the mountains, but in the city, the buildings blocked most of the light it still gave out, resulting in Judy’s short walk from station to apartment fairly dark. She wasn’t afraid, though. She’d had to walk home when it actually was dark, the sun having long since fallen from view. The only thing that bothered her was the chilly air from the lack of the sun’s warmth.
Bunnyburrow snuck its way into her thoughts again, and Judy sighed when she realized it. “I should call them – that’ll help get some of this out of my head…” she muttered. She was only a block away from the Grand Pagolin Apartments when a peculiar sound pierced the night.
SNAP!
Judy’s ears perked to find the source, but her eyes couldn’t see anything. It was strange, because it sounded like a twig or a branch breaking, except there weren’t any trees planted nearby to make such a sound. She figured it had to have been something from one of the houses, but it sounded so close and it wasn’t muffled at all. Cautiously, she continued towards the apartment doors, before another anomaly happened. A rock came sailing through the air, nowhere close to hitting her, but it skidded across the ground right in front of her.
Immediately, her eyes darted around, looking for the culprit. Again, she saw nothing. ‘Someone’s messing with me,’ she thought. She crossed the street towards the direction the rock came from, expecting to find some delinquent finding it funny to mess with the bunny. There was only an alley with a number of dumpsters lining either side of it. There wasn’t any sign of anyone. “It had to have been from over here…” she mumbled out, paw curled around her chin in thought. She didn’t even notice when a familiar face came up to her.
“Good evening, Miss Hopps,” an aged voice greeted. Judy was so lost in thought, the voice startled her enough to make her jump into the air. She turned to see someone she’d become acquainted with recently, a raccoon who lived in the Grand Pagolin Apartments as well. She became startled as well when Judy bounced into the air. “Goodness, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Judy forced herself to calm down quickly. She could easily feel her heart rate increase and her nose twitch. “Oh, no. It’s okay, Mrs. Ray. You didn’t scare me, just surprised me,” she clarified. “I heard some strange sounds from over here and was just looking around. I don’t see anything, though.” Judy turned back towards the alley. It was unchanged as it was a minute ago.
Mrs. Ray peered into the alley as well. “I don’t see anything either. Don’t let it bother you too much. It’s probably just some youngsters getting some early Halloween tricks in.” Judy silently groaned. Everything conspired against her to make sure she never forgot about Halloween. Mrs. Ray didn’t catch on to Judy’s plight and continued, “I’ll see you around, then, Miss Hopps. Take care, now.”
“Yes, you as well,” she replied, waving as the raccoon crossed the street and entered the apartments. Judy sighed heavily, holding a trembling paw in front of her. “…I need to calm down. I’m getting way too worked up right now.” Judy had her back turned to the alley, so she didn’t see when a figure emerged from its hiding place. It silently crept up until it was right behind her.
“Boo.”
So quietly, so suddenly, Judy heard the voice in her ear, right into her ear. With how on edge she already was and just how close the voice was, her fight-or-flight reflexes kicked in immediately. Being the trained police officer she was, fight took precedence, so she jumped and landed a well-trained kick to the side of whoever’s head was just behind her. The force of the kick flung the assailant straight into the side of the building, before it slumped down.
Judy quickly regained her senses after realizing she just full-force kicked whoever tried to scare her. Regret that she couldn’t control herself, worry for whoever she just hit, angry that someone tried to scare her like that – many emotions flooded the bunny, but when she saw just who it was, sadness overtook all.
Sitting against the side of the building with a dazed expression was a fox dressed up in a black suit, bowtie, and a cape. Plastic fangs fell to the ground beside him. He chuckled, still conscious but also more than a bit disoriented. “Heh, make a note for next year: don’t try to scare ya, or else I get a kick to the face.”
“Oh my gosh, Nick! I’m so sorry!” Judy rushed to his side, wondering just how badly she just hurt him. Thankfully, the fox didn’t look to be in too bad a condition. The worst she could immediately see was a small amount of blood trickling from his nose. She reached into her bag to grab a towel and a half-empty water bottle, beginning to clean up his nose. “What were you doing out there, Nick?”
Nick took hold of the damp towel and tilted his nose down and into the cloth. “Well, I had planned to spook you a little, but I suppose I forgot about the combat training,” he said a bit nasally. “…Don’t tell Major Friedkin you just laid me out flat. I did good at that part too.”
Judy couldn’t help but chuckle. Nick was acting like himself, so he couldn’t be that badly injured. Still, she had questions. “I won’t, but Nick. Why are you here? Why are you dressed like that? Halloween is tomorrow.”
Nick tested his nose to see if the bleeding had stopped, and it mostly had. Still stung quite a bit, though. “It is, and so what? Since you’re not able to participate tomorrow, I figured we’d do so today.” Nick stood and reached into his suit to produce a flyer that he handed to Judy. It was an advertisement for a Halloween party, specifically placed for those with schedule conflicts for the actual day. Judy stood silent, looking up at Nick, who shot her a smile. “Zootopia’s a big city, Carrots. You’re not the only one who has to miss Halloween cuz they work.”
Judy smiled sadly. “Nick, thanks, but it’s not just the whole ‘dress up on Halloween and party’ that I like,” she started.
“Oh, I know,” Nick quickly stated matter-of-factly before she could continue. Judy tilted her head.
“You do?”
“Yup. Which is why I asked someone to prepare something for ya.” Nick pulled his phone out and glanced at it. “You should be getting it any second now.” Judy didn’t understand what the fox meant until she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Nick heard it as well and gestured that she should probably take a look at it. She unlocked her phone and saw she had one new message from her mom. The message was a photo. Judy couldn’t keep her eyes from welling up when she saw just what the photo was. “Family’s a big part of what Halloween means to you too. Your mom was more than happy to set this up for you,” he stated.
The photo was of every one of her siblings, and some of their friends too, all dressed up in costume for one huge picture. Captioned at the top were the words ‘Happy Halloween, Judy.’ Judy recognized everyone present in the photo and couldn’t believe they set all this up for her, in such a short notice. After a moment, a second message popped up from her mom. ‘I’ll make you your cup of apple-cinnamon cider the next time you come visit. Enjoy your Halloween in Zootopia!’ Judy could barely hold back her tears.
Nick waited a moment for Judy to collect herself. “So, you ready to see how Zootopia celebrates Halloween?”
Judy nodded, wiping her tears away. “Yes, Nick. Thank you… really.” Judy couldn’t be sad about this. Everyone had gone above and beyond for her. She was going to enjoy this Halloween. It may be a day early, but who cares? It’s close enough.
“Great!” Nick exclaimed, clasping his paws together before pointing at Judy. “Because now we get to go figure out what you’re going as, and I’m telling you right now, it’s not going to be ‘police officer.’”
“And what’s wrong with going as a police officer?” Judy asked, wholly realizing the irony of the question. “Besides, what’s more cliché than ‘vampire’?”
Nick feigned sadness as he replied, “I’ll have you know I’ve never gone as a vampire for Halloween before, which I’m almost certain is more than you can say about going as a cop!” After a moment of silence, the two couldn’t help but break out in laughter, both knowing full well that Judy for sure had more than one Halloween spent dressed up as a police officer.
“Alright, you win, Nick,” Judy said, placing everything back into her bag. “Let’s go find me something good, then.”