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Judy still can’t believe the place she managed to afford. Her and her parents had scrounged up any last bit of money they had to throw into her dream. Admittedly, she didn’t need a fancy place to make her dream come true, but it was certainly a perk.
Cheese and crackers. She’s probably going to have to survive on minimal, microwave carrots for the rest of eternity.
Plastering a smile on her face, she scoops up her luggage and shuffles inside with a quick nod to the lion that opens the door for her. That was going to take some getting used to.
Of course, like some sign of fate, something had to go wrong. It’s almost comical, really. Judy actually considers turning right around and asking for the soonest train back to Bunnyburrow. Nope, she’s sure, she’ll tell the ticket master. Dream dead and gone forever.
Because it had to be a sign, didn’t it? Why else would a fox be her doorman?
She hopes he doesn’t notice the way her steps slow when she sees him, how her nose quivers and her eyes dart to the nearest escape. But if he notices anything, he doesn’t show it. He wipes a look of indifference off of his face, kicking his feet down from where they had rested on the desk in front of him.
He rushes over to her, already reaching for her bags.
“Welcome to Zootopia’s finest residence, the Lion’s Den. Can I help you with your bags?” He gives her a toothy, forced grin that makes her think he doesn’t enjoy his job as much as he should.
Microwavable carrots and an unhappy doorman who is also a fox , she thinks, And how long have I waited for this?
Judy tugs down on the hem of her shirt. “That won’t be necessary.” It comes out a little harsh, so she smiles to cover it up, her ears perking back up.
The fox straightens, hands held behind his back. “Of course. Well, if you need anything, I’m Nicholas.” Then, he bends over again, a hand held to his mouth as he says, almost like he’s telling her a secret, “But, between you and me, you can just call me Nick.”
“Thank you…” she tests the name out in her mouth, “Nick.” Surprisingly, it feels fine, natural even.
“Almost forgot your key.” He winks as he pulls it out of his pocket.
Judy can’t cover her shock. “How did you—”
“Had it ready for you. You scheduled your arrival. Not that hard.”
She takes the key from his paw, careful not to even brush his fur. Even still, when she lifts her luggage and carries it to the elevator and Nick calls out behind her, “Second level!”, she secretly hopes another doorman is on duty tomorrow.
“A bunny police officer?” Nick draws back in surprise, though Judy can tell by his expression he’s exaggerating his surprise a little. “Well, I’ve officially seen everything.”
Her parents always told her she had too much nerve growing up, and she guesses they were right, because without really thinking, she strides right up to the front desk, straightening her uniform. The desk towers over her and Nick’s got his arms crossed over it, leaning down to smile at her in a condescending way that makes her fur just itch .
“That’s right.” She folds her arms. “And what do you have to say about that?”
“Me? Oh, no.” he holds both paws up. “I’m fairly open minded, Carrots—”
“Nicknames are not kind , Nicholas—”
“But let me just ask you something: where are you from?”
Judy frowns, not liking the direction this conversation’s taken. “Bunnyburrow.” She replies somewhat grudgingly.
“Ah, just what I expected.” He leans back in his chair like he’s proven some great theory. “Though, I have to give it to myself. Totally nailed the carrots part.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is folks like you come here all the time. Granted, not here here. I’m surprised you can even afford this place. Anyway, you come here with big dreams and ambitions, but you’re gonna be let down, kid. Just a warning.”
“Yeah?” Judy has to forcibly try to keep her foot from thumping, a habit she gets when she’s angry. And Nick is making her quite angry. “Well, here’s a warning for you: I don’t give up easy.” And with that she makes her leave, saying “Thank you,” to the lion that opens the door for her a little too loudly.
She swears she hears the fox chuckle behind her.
Judy’s not having a very good first day and the last thing she needs is Nick’s teasing. Honestly, she isn’t sure why she doesn’t take off the vest and hat before coming back.
“Now this makes a lot more sense.”
Well, he’s already seen her now, so there’ really no point to taking off the vest. She’s too proud for that.
Instead, she tries to make her way quickly to the elevators without looking at him, but then she hears footsteps coming towards her.
She turns around when Nick catches up to her. He bends down with his hands on his knees.
“So a meter maid, huh? Can’t say this is all that surprising.”
Judy hates how surprising it was to her. She had been top of her class and the only thing keeping her from being an actual police officer was Bogo’s sick prejudice.
“Yeah? Well, rub it in all you like. This is my life now. Livin’ the dream.” She makes to face away from him and continue on, but he reaches out and grabs her arm.
She freezes and looks to where his paw touches her. And she doesn’t die. She isn’t injured. Her parents aren’t there to whisk her back home, safe back in Bunnyburrow.
He looks concerned for her for a millisecond before plastering a lopsided grin on his face. “You know, I started out out there.” He nods his head to the lion manning the front door.
“I thought they only hired lions to do that. For, you know, aesthetic purposes.”
“Nah, they used to only exclusively hire lions, though. Period. Changed their policy when it became too hard and they wanted some diversity in the staff. So, I started outside with the doors until I made my way up to the glorious status I have right now.”
“You don’t seem to enjoy your current status.”
He frowns and looks up, as if considering her comment. “No. You’re right. But you will. And you’ll make it there.” He gives her arm an encouraging bump as he releases her.
“You don’t understand. It’s different.”
Nick exhales loudly as he straightens. “Whatever, Carrots. Just…you’ll try for me, right?”
“Maybe,” she bites her lip. “But not for you.”
Judy has to admit that Nick’s comments did help. But, she’s always been kind of an optimist. The only way she’s managed to survive the last few weeks is by setting goals for herself. And it seemed to work. A week after being assigned meter maid duty, she was “promoted” to paperwork.
Granted, it wasn’t as much fun, but it was more respectable, right?
She’s on her way home slurping a banana spinach smoothie she decided to treat herself to on her way home from work when she she’s him. It’s late, a little past midnight, because Judy’s been working later to try and raise her standing with Bogo.
“No night shift for you, huh, slick?” she tilts her smoothie towards him. He’s in the alley a few doors over from her building, but she doesn’t stop to wonder how odd that is.
It’s because she’s in too good of a mood, she tells herself.
Nick whips around, his eyes gone circular. He’s surprised to see her and a little…embarrassed.
It’s only now that Judy sees what he’s standing in front of. A beat-up van with an interesting piece of art spray painted onto the side of it.
“Carrots! Uh, wow, you’re coming back late.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but you’re looking at the new head of paperwork at the ZPD.” She props a hand on her hip proudly.
Nick gives a nervous laugh, but he’s distracted, casting quick glances behind him occasionally. “Look, that’s nice, kid, but I’ve got to—”
“Nicky, when you coming to bed? Quit chatting out there and close the door.” Judy hears a gruff voice say from within the van.
“Finn, listen, I’m trying —”
Then, Judy puts two and two together. He’s standing in a vacant alley in front of a sketchy van. How unhappy he is at his job. His desperate attempts to berate her.
“Wait, Nick, is this where you sleep? Are you—” she swallows before finishing, “Are you homeless ?”
And just like that his face turns from frantic and worried to angry. “Don’t take pity on me, Carrots, I’m fine—”
“Nick, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Whatever,” he turns his back on her, climbing into the back of the van. Before closing the doors, he says one last thing to her, “And this is much more of a home than you think.”
Usually Clawhauser’s perky moods do the trick in cheering Judy up, but not today. The guilt of catching Nick had put a heavy weight on Judy’s shoulders and she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. She wanted to apologize that morning, but he had firmly hidden himself behind a newspaper he clearly wasn’t actually reading.
“Judes, Judy , are you even listening to me?”
She’s technically on lunch break, but she’s barely eating, pitifully nibbling at a celery stick.
“Yeah, I am.”
Clawhauser sighs dramatically and puts down his doughnut. “You need a boyfriend. Lucky for you, I know just the guy.”
Judy turns towards him with wide eyes. “Wait—what? Clawhauser, I don’t need a boyfriend, I’m—”
“He’s a rabbit, like you, I presume.” He continues on, ignoring her. “I was talking to him about you the other day. Says he’s interested.” He takes a sip from his soda bottle.
“Wait, really?”
“Mhm,” he says, “He says it’s hard to meet other rabbits here in the city. I can set you guys up if you’d like.”
Judy looks down at her paws resting on the countertop. “I don’t know, Clawhauser. I’m not really looking to date anyone…”
“Come on , Judy!” He practically whines. “Just one date. It’s all I’m asking.”
She lifts a shoulder to her cheek. “I guess it couldn’t hurt—”
Clawhauser pumps a fist into the air. “ Yes ! So, how’s tonight sound to you?”
“ Tonight ?”
“Sure,” he shrugs like this is no big deal to him, “Why wait?”
Judy sighs impatiently, but, if she’s being honest, she doesn’t really have plans and she didn’t planned to stay late tonight. She isn’t in the best of spirits, sure, but it might be good to have something to get Nick off her mind.
She bites the inside of her check before nodding. “Yeah. Why wait?”
Nick is thoroughly ignoring her and he plans to keep it up…well, for the rest of eternity. He hasn’t really thought that far ahead into the future. He never really does. Maybe that’s how he ended up as he has.
He chases the thought from his head.
But it’s really hard to ignore her when she comes back from wherever she went off to that night. He hadn’t checked to see or even looked up from his game of Sudoku to see.
Judy’s got a short, black dress on. It’s sleeveless and flares out at the waist. But that’s not what catches his attention.
She’s crying. And it looks like she has been for a while.
Nick slaps his book of games down on his desk, rising from his seat. She’s trying to make her way to the elevator without being noticed, but she’s making big, pitiful sobbing sounds, so he has to say something.
“Judy—”
“Oh, so now you’re talking to me?” she turns to fully face him, her purple eyes bloodshot. She sniffs as she rubs her nose. “I’m not in the mood, Nick.”
“Carrots,” he breathes, “I’m—I’m sorry.” He can’t seem to leave the sanctuary of his desk.
“Yeah?” Judy turns to enter the elevator that’s just slid open behind her. “Well, so am I.”
Judy’s sitting on the floor of her apartment, leaning her back against her bed and texting her mother when she hears a knock at her door.
Earlier, she had opted to stick to texting her mom rather than Muzzletiming her. She knew Bonnie would have a fit if she saw how upset Judy was, and that was what Judy was trying to avoid. She’d told her mom that her phone’s camera was broken, knowing full well she’d be getting daily reminders to get her phone fixed from here on out.
She figures it’s worth the risk.
Judy rises from her seat on the floor and ambles to the bathroom to check and see if she looks presentable. Probably not, but she’s not expecting anyone, so it’s probably some sales person, if they even got those here.
She almost closes the door when she sees it’s Nick.
She lets her shoulders slump. “Oh. It’s you.”
“I, uh, saw you were upset earlier and I don’t think my apology was enough, so,” he holds up the plastic bag in his hand. “I brought ice cream.”
Judy bites her lip as she considers him, finally deciding to step back from the doorway to let him in. “Don’t you have doorman duty?”
“Nope. Took off just thirty minutes ago.”
“Also, how’d you know my room number?”
“Carrots, I’m your doorman .”
“Oh, right.”
She leads him to her spot on the floor, sending off a quick goodnight text to her mom. She pats the spot on the floor next to her.
Nick crosses his legs out in front of him as he sets the bag down beside him. “I didn’t know what flavor you rabbits like, so I got chocolate, for me, and the most disgusting looking flavor I could find.”
Judy’s eyes actually start watering again, because she’s just a little too emotional right now and a little too sappy. “Radish flavored is my favorite .”
He wrinkles his nose as he hands the container over to her along with a spoon. “I may throw up.” She lightly hits him on the arm.
The two of them sit in silence before Nick has the nerve to speak up, clearing his throat. “So, tell me, what happened?”
Judy was currently losing herself in her radish ice cream so much that she had forgotten all about her date earlier. The reminder of it makes her throat start to burn. “Right. That. I went on a date.”
Nick raises a brow, prodding her to go on. “And?”
“ And it didn’t go so well.” She shrugs as she jams her spoon into her ice cream.
Nick sighs and sets down his container of ice cream. Judy lets out a surprised chirp as he puts his arm around her shoulders and brings her to his side. “C’mon, Carrots, you can tell me. I promise I won’t spread any rumors or gossip.” He crosses his heart as she glances skeptically up at him. His green eyes are wide as he continues. “I swear . Phil never likes when I talk to him anyway.”
“The lion?”
“Yeah,” he shifts so her head is resting on his shoulder, “So? You gonna tell me?”
Judy sets down her own ice cream. “He’s a friend of Clawhauser, a friend from work, who set us up in the first place. I should’ve refused, but I,” she shakes her head as she swallows, “I just felt so bad about the other night and—”
“Hey, it’s in the past now. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She looks up at him. “Of course I did! I—I insulted you and that should never—”
Nick groans. “Ugh, Carrots, enough with the apologies. Finish telling me your juicy gossip.”
Judy, despite herself, lets out a soft chuckle of laughter. “Anyway, the only credential for the match was that we were both rabbits. The date started out fine, but when I brought up how I was a cop he seemed… shocked . I guess Clawhauser never mentioned the fact that we worked together. Anyway, he wasn’t blatant about it, but he implied that I was dumb for wanting to be a cop. He didn’t understand and you thought the same thing and I—”
She starts to cry and Nick holds her tighter against his side. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I am, I—I didn’t mean any of what I first told you. Carrots, you didn’t make the wrong choice. I hope you know that.”
Judy sniffs as she wipes her nose. “I know, I know. I don’t regret becoming a cop. It’s just that—there’s so few rabbits out here in the city. And I’m just worried that if I couldn’t even get through one date with one, how am I supposed to find someone?”
“ Judy , you don’t need anyone.”
She lifts one shoulder. “I’d like to.”
Nick stuffs his free hand into his pants pocket. “There’s plenty of other…bunnies in the sea. You’ll find someone.”
“But what if I don’t?” she’s looking up at him now with those round, purple eyes of hers and Nick can’t just look away.
“Well, you’ll still have me.”
Judy laughs and punches up in the arm as she leans out of his embrace. “That’s funny, Nick.”
“I’m serious , Judy!”
“We’re not even really friends , are we?”
Nick shrugs. “I’d like to think we are.”
She stretches her legs out in front of her. “Yeah, well. You’re great and all Nick, but you’re not really husband material.”
Judy’s not looking at him, smiling at her lap, but Nick is looking at her. Intently. “Is it because I’m a fox?”
The smile fades from her face as she looks back up at him. “No, Nick, I didn’t—”
“But it’s crossed your mind hasn’t it?”
“Well—”
“I saw your face, you know. When you first got here. I’m used to it, but I never stop noticing.”
“No, Nick,” Judy scoots closer to him, unflinchingly looking him in the eyes now. “It’s not because you’re a fox, or a predator, or you live in a van. It’s not because you’re my doorman, or anything else. It’s just that,” her mouth quirks at one end. “It’s because you think button-downs and striped ties count as casual wear.”
“ Carrots! ” he tries not to laugh as he lightly shoves her away, but she’s laughing so hard that she can barely tell, “I’ll have you know this is considered high fashion where I come from!”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
When she opens her eyes from laughing, she notices how close Nick’s face is to hers. He seems to realize it at the exact same time and blinks, pulling back slightly. “I should—it’s getting kind of late. Finn will have a—”
“No, it’s—you’re fine. I, um,” she looks down before looking back up at his face. “Thank you. For coming here. And bringing ice cream. You didn’t have to, so…thank you.”
Nick gives her a crooked grin. “Anytime, Carrots.”
Then she does something he isn’t really expecting. She grabs him by his stupid, ugly tie and kisses him. He’s rigid for a moment before he relaxes, wrapping his arms around her and letting his paws rest against her back.
Judy’s heart is singing and—for just that moment—she forgets that he’s a fox and she’s a bunny. That she lives in a fancy apartment while he sleeps in an abandoned alley. And most importantly, that he thinks radish ice cream is disgusting.