Chapter Text
Nick slept with his seat reclined, his head resting on the window, as the wind whistled through his fur, ruffling it. Judy, on the other hand, was wide awake. She sat straight, leaning against the car door, looking out at the landscape, which seemed to stretch on for miles. The border road was quiet, as if nature itself had conspired to keep them company. The only sounds were the sound of the car's motor rumble.
She glanced over at Nick, still asleep.
She had a disapproving look on her face, which quickly turned into a playful one as she got an idea of how to wake him up. She leaned over after making sure that everything was in order on the road. Even though no one else was around driving with them. Then she snatched the temples of his glasses yanking it off of his face, and threw it on the back seats.
"When you finally wake up were already going to be there" she joked
Nick yawned and stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "where?" he asked groggily, sitting up and looking around inside their police car.
She opened her mouth as if about to say something but closed it and frowned as she prosesed what he had just said. "You're still in the dream world i see". She turned around to face the road as she began to explain. "Chief bogo asked that we patrol the border beyond Sahara square even though there is nothing around these parts". She finished.
"Asked ?! He practically shoved us inside the car. I've never seen him so angry just because we were quote 'waisting time'" Nick signalled with his paws and leaned more comfortably on his seat crossing his arms, "Well, we're here now. Let's just do what he says and get back to the station when we finish".
Judy looked at the empty horizon once again. "Yeah I don't know what he expects us to find out here, really. It's just sand as far as the eye can see..." She continued with a more eager tone. "But then again, it was his orders and I'm just excited to drive here, it's kind of calming.
They got silent for a moment before Nick still a bit sleepy muttered after touching his face "Where's my glasses ?".
They had arrived at the very end of the border. The road leading further west was marked with a sign that said "No Trespassing." Judy got out of the car and stretching her legs she walked to the edge of the dune, gazing out at the vast, empty expanse before her. "I don't know why the chief wanted us to come all the way out here."
Nick as well looked out at the nothingness with his sunglasses back on his face allowing him to look even at bright places where Judy was struggling to look at.
"Maybe he noticed how bored we were with the paperwork only job".
Judy looked over her shoulder dissapointedly at Nick, who was leaning against the car.
Seeing her looking like this at him, Nick felt worried with guilt. And shook his paws rapidly in front of him. "No no no, I didn't mean that. There's nothing wrong with the no crime wave job. It's just... I'm on duty for three ? Two months now, and I did nothing of importance.
"Oh I'm sorry nick! It was not because of what you said" she did the same with her own paws. "I am just sad that...no, forget it".
"What?" Nick asked, his curiosity piqued. "Wait wait if you're sad-"
She quickly cut him off. "No, I'm not exactly sad, I'm... i don't know exactly but forget it anyway. It's an ungrateful thought". She finished turning around not facing him anymore and grabbed her arm from behind her back.
Nick looked at her silently for some time.
And then walked beside her, waiting for her to continue. "Come on, I'm not the best to judge someone".
She sighed, "It's just... I mean, I'm happy that I now live here in zootopia, i became a cop and even brought everyone even closer than when I arrived. But..." she put her paws in front of her face and said awkwardly "i want more. Not the problems it will bring to everyone of course but". She sighed again and looked away from him. "I don't know i said it was better to forget it".
"You want more challenges, huh?" Nick said, understanding now. "I think we all want that. The chief knows that too. He's probably trying to keep us sharp by giving us these little assignments. And if you want i can do some crime and have you chase me if it will cheer you up" he joked.
Both chuckled at the joke and Judy looked back at him still mildly laughing now uncovering her face and looking at him. "Don't do that you'd be fired, after working so hard to enter". Their laughs already fading he thought to himself, "maybe it would be worth it".
Nick smiled at her. "Seriously though, Judy, you've done great. You're a good cop. And you're a good friend. Lets patrol already".
And with that phrase both of them went to their car to plan out their patrol.
"By the way now that I said that word your name sounds like duty".
Judy just gave a deeper sigh and remained silent.
Some time later Nick kept his attention focused on the border, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. The night sky was filled with countless stars, and a cool breeze rustled through his and Judy's fur. The tension was palpable as they waited for something to happen.
Time seemed to slow down as they continued their patrol. Inside the car Judy glanced at Nick out of the corner of her eye, noticing how well he handled the situation. He was always so calm and collected, even under pressure. If she hadn't seen it herself, she wouldn't believe he was terrified some months ago. She wondered if it was something he had always been like, or if it was just a skill he had developed over time.
Either way it always impressed her.
She rested inside the car that was just warm enough that she still could feel the cold from outside, but not so much that it bothered her.
It was actually even better than if she was completely warm. She was just the right temperature that made her feel relaxed. Judy was gazing out of the window, watching the lights of the city in the far distance, when she heard Nick clear his throat. "Hey, Judy?" he said, sounding a bit eager.
She turned her head to look at him after getting mildly scared not hearing his approach. He was staring straight ahead. "Yeah, Nick?" she replied, trying to keep the curiosity out of her voice.
He was smiling like a child that is about to ask what your favourite dinosaur is. "So i am the good cop and you're the bad cop right ?"
She frowned immediately at his question.
"You left your shift just to ask that ?"
"Oh come one, there is literally zero things here to look out for. We might as well do something fun".
Her expression softened as she thought more about his question.
"What makes you think that, Nick? I'm just as good a cop as you are".
"it's not a bad thing to be the bad cop. It's just as important to balance things out."
"But i don't like the idea of being called the bad cop".
He lifted his paws gesturing while he explained "it doesn't mean your bad bad, like you interrogate the bad guy and say: if you don't speak you're gonna pay for your crimes or whatever. And I'm like: if you talk I'm gonna make my homemade pawpsicles and sneak them inside the station just for you. There, you see the difference ?" He closed his case.
"Why is mine so much more generic ?"
"Hang on I have a picnic towel here, let's lay here and ask more of those questions". Nick said ignoring her question.
"And you still make pawpsicles ?"
"Calm down it's all legal this time. And of course i still do them you saw me with them before".
He opened the backdoor and grabbed the picnic towel, then laid it out on the hood of the car.
"Come on, hop on up!" He patted the towel invitingly. Judy hesitated for a moment before exiting the car and climbing onto the towel. It was soft and warm from the heat of the car, and she felt oddly comfortable lying on it. He laid as well head to head with her
"So, why did you wanted to become a cop ? You're kind of the only one here that can answer that, i mean you saw when i became one" Nick asked before she could think of anything.
Judy thought about it for a moment. "Well, in my school I did a theater project about what we wanted to be when we grow up".
"Let me guess, you played a cop am i right ?". Nick asked with a grin.
"No, actually I had no idea of what to choose, i just knew that It'd be everything else besides a farmer like my parents. And then while i was discussing this with my teacher one of my classmates got stuck in a tree and i helped him get down before a cop arrived, he said i did a good job and that maybe i should consider it as a career. I liked the idea of helping others since that day so i did, and now here I am."
"So he was the you for me ?" Nick asked giving a grin looking at the empty sky. "What !?" She laughed until It faded.
"I meant that he was the one who made you think about that career, like you did with me".
She thought what it meant to be someone that inspired others to become what she also does. And it definitely is good.
"I don't know, maybe I did inspire you in some way. But didn't you said you wanted to be... ah, I'm sorry i-i forgot". She stopped herself when she was gonna mention his past trying to become a scout.
"It's okay, i remember. And maybe i did want to be that. But after... that, i was just... scared to do something that needed me to trust people again". She looked at him, her eyes searching his for understanding. He wasn't smiling anymore. She never saw him open up this much, besides when he told her about when he was a kid. But it's a totally different thing telling something that just happened and trying to explain what you are feeling. she thought.
On his mind he noticed the same thing that was in her's, what was he doing ? It slipped from him. "Well there goes my cool and collected self." He thought. His expression also shifted to something more... sincere and he adjusted himself so she could see his face from above. "So, Judy... do you want-" his question was cut by a blinding light. They both shielded their eyes and jumped out of the hood they were laying on like teenagers caught hanging out in a restricted area, despite them being the law force.
As the font of the light approached, they recognized it as belonging to someone holding a flashlight. He also had a police uniform. And was like no one they ever saw. Like a greenish grey, with no fur whatsoever. And another one of those hiding behind him.
"Aren't ya an ugly bunch".