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Saving Zootopia twice over apparently meant little to the cops at the ZPD, as they still dragged poor Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps kicking and screaming to the holiday party.
Every year, the Zootopia Police Department of District One City Center held a Christmas party in a karaoke bar downtown. Judy had already been filled in by Clawhauser; there was lots and lots of alcohol, teasing, and foolishness, so he’d warned her to be ready since there was no escape. Nobody, not even the grumpiest cop like Chief Bogo, could turn down the Christmas party without serious consequences, so Judy knew to be ready one week to Christmas before everyone was semi-off (basically, they’d be on-call and there’d be a skeleton crew of cops that wanted time-and-a-half pay rather than going home). Nick was a regular party animal when he wasn’t being antisocial—a feat Judy still didn’t quite understand yet—and wasn’t the least bit worried about how things would go. He was confident with his own skills and happy with how uncovering the Lynxley’s corruption had proven his valor yet again. Judy wished she could be as unaffected in social gatherings; she’d have to work on it in therapy for sure.
Judy had just put the finishing touches on her outfit when her phone chimed that Nick was out front. She’d been kinder to him about letting him drive after giving him lessons first, so now she could relax and just be a passenger for half the week (and yes, they split the week in half to make the driving fair). She gathered up the presents for the White Elephant part of the evening and unplugged her charging cell phone. As she turned, she heard her antelope neighbors through the wall as usual.
“Heya, bunny, you headed out for that Christmas party?”
She shook her head, but couldn’t help smiling. “Sure am!”
“Tell us if ya get caught under the mistletoe with your partner,” one of them teased smugly, and she scoffed.
“Oh, you two! We’re not together-together. How many times have I told you that?”
“I’m just saying! He’s here all the time, isn’t he?”
“He’s my partner.”
“In every sense of the word, little lady. Have fun!”
She chuckled, hollering, “Thanks!” as she shut and locked her door, then headed for the front of her building. She spotted Nick standing out front by their cop car, and when she did, she nearly tripped over the bags.
She mostly saw Nick in either his police uniform or his usual button-down with a tie and khakis ensemble. Tonight, he’d switched it up a little on her. He wore a black long-sleeve shirt with a scarlet tie—one she’d gotten him for his birthday, actually—and black suit pants, glancing at his watch to make sure they were keeping good time. He looked…relaxed, comfortable, and utterly handsome in those colors, like a true gentleman. It warmed her heart to see him there waiting for her.
As did the warm smile that formed on his muzzle as he lifted those green eyes to see her in her cute little Santa Baby outfit.
“Well, look at you!” Nick teased, holding his paw out for the bags. She giggled and did a little spin so he could see the off-shoulder, white-trimmed red dress with a stylish black belt and the Santa hat that left her perky ears bare. “Cute as a Christmas cupcake, partner.”
“Thanks!” she chirped as she popped the trunk and he put the bags inside. “You look great, Nick.”
She straightened his tie just a tad. “Then again, you always look good in red.”
“So do you,” he said fondly as he shut the trunk. “All set?”
“Yes, I can’t wait! Clawhauser said he looks forward to it every year; always lots of fun!” He chuckled as he popped the door open for her, then went around to his side and hopped into the driver’s seat. He wove into traffic and the two chit-chatted about which presents they’d pooled their together for the group and checking off a last few office-related tasks before the holiday. Judy would be heading home to Bunnyburrow for Christmas, but she’d secretly been hoping to use tonight to invite him with her since she knew he and his mother were estranged and he spent it alone watching football and eating Christmas Zebra cakes by himself. He never confessed that it made him feel lonely, but she had grown up in a huge family and hated the idea of him alone when everyone else had someone to come home to at the end of a very cold night.
And…she wanted to be the home that Nick came to each year for the holiday.
They made it on time to the karaoke bar and the hostess directed them to the biggest karaoke room in the center. They had an open bar right outside of the room and the waiters would wander in and out to collect their empty dishes. The party was fully catered, so as Nick and Judy entered with their gift bags, they spotted four long tables against the far wall laden with delicious food. Most of the other cops had already made it too.
“Wilde Hopps in the house!” Clawhauser cheered as he spotted them, setting his apple martini aside to give Judy his usual warm hug. She hopped right into his arms for a big one, giggling as she noticed his adorable ugly green sweater and jeans combo.
“You look appropriately Christmasy, I must say,” Judy chuckled when he let her go enough to give Nick his usual fond fist-bump.
“Oh, I’ll do you one better,” Clawhauser said, pressing the dot over the letter I on his shirt that said “Merry Christmas” and the entire thing then lit up with red and green lights.
Judy giggled and clapped, bouncing on her heels. “It lights up?! You gotta tell me where you got it.”
“Good ol’ eBay, what else?” he said with a wink. “Presents are over there in the corner near our tree. I think we’re just waiting on a couple stragglers before we get started, but you’re gonna have a blast, trust me. Just be careful—Hoggbottom’s the one that makes the punch and she doesn’t pull her punches.”
“Oh yeah,” Nick said, shaking his head as he tucked his paws in his pockets. “Learned that one from our sparring sessions. Nobody outdrinks her and nobody out-fights her. Just the way of the world.”
Clawhauser chuckled, patting his back. “See, you learned fast. Everybody knows not to mess with the Hoggster. I’m gonna go grab a refill on the eggnog and I’ll see you two shortly.”
“Thanks, Ben!” They took the presents over to the enormous mass of them beneath the Christmas tree, then grabbed a plate to load up on goodies. Judy picked out a seat next to Officer Wolfford while Nick loaded up their plates. He knew Judy wanted the fine cheeses, olives, and fruit as well as a big honkin’ slice of carrot cake.
“Glad to see the mysterious Mr. Wilde was able to make our little Christmas party,” Chief Bogo said as he brushed past the fox to grab a croissant from the pastry plate. “They were taking bets on if you’d show or not, but I told them if the bunny came along, you’d go.”
“Glad I could make you some extra money instead of costing it, chief,” Nick said, then offered a wolfish grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. “Though I can’t vouch for that when I head to the bar.”
Bogo snorted as he crunched into the croissant, grabbing a dollop of butter. “I expected as much. Trust me, we’ve saved up the entire year just for the alcohol budget of this one party.”
Nick laughed then. “I believe it. No wonder it’s cops only, no family.”
Bogo chortled. “That rule literally got introduced on account of Ben’s mum, if you can believe it.”
Nick’s jaw dropped. “No way! Sweet, adorable little Connie Clawhauser is why you had to institute the no family rule?”
“She bloody out-drank Hoggbottom!” Bogo said with wheezing laughter, which set Nick off too. “Hoggbottom was utterly destroyed.”
“That’s amazing,” Nick said, practically gasping for air in between laughter. “Oh, that’s definitely a story I need straight from the cheetah’s mouth. Wow. Little Mrs. Clawhauser out-drank Hoggbottom. You just can’t make this shit up, huh?”
“Never in a million years. I expect you to be on your best behavior, meaning you won’t be at all, and that is my Christmas gift to you—no nagging from me tonight. Scout’s honor.”
Nick saluted his boss. “Awful nice of ya, chief. I owe ya one.”
“Oh, I’m keeping score, Wilde,” Bogo said with a sly look. “You owe me hundreds, trust me.”
Nick chuckled as he headed over to where Judy sat chatting with Wolfford, passing her the plate, which she thanked him for, and they ate as the last few cops trickled inside the karaoke main room. Once they did, Bogo tapped his champagne flute with a spoon to quiet the chatter and addressed everyone. “Thank you so much for joining me, you rowdy bunch of ladies and gentlemammals. We’re so glad to hold our Christmas party this year with new faces, but plenty of familiar old ones. For the newbies, we have a few rules for karaoke night. If you’re a veteran, you get to pick your own songs. If you’re new, then the senior staff will pick your first ditty, but then you’re free to choose the whole rest of the night. Every new person must sing at least once tonight, but then you’re off the hook, I promise. We’ve got all the rookies’ names in one hat and we’ll randomly draw from there to pick who goes first. We’ll do singing and drinks for an hour, then it’s time for the White Elephant gift exchange and then we’ll all give our presents and go home for the holidays. I just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of your for your fearless hard work and dedication to honestly one of the hardest jobs on the planet. It ain’t perfect. In fact, this job needs a whole lot of revising from its very core, but I appreciate all of you for doing your best with what we have available.”
He put his paws together and everyone joined him giving themselves a round of applause. “Now then, why don’t we get started as we all always do with our karaoke champion?”
Bogo picked up the mic and held it out, grinning. “Take it away, Clawhauser!”
“Thanks, Chief!” the cheerful cheetah said as he swiped the mic on his way up to the little stage. The machine itself was built into the giant flat-screen behind them, so he tapped the tablet to pick the first song for the evening. He naturally chose “Here Comes Santa Claws” to get the Christmas Spirit kicked off officially, and Nick and Judy then settled in to sing along or enjoy as the veteran cops all picked their songs to start, going around the room once with everyone participating.
“Alright,” Bogo said, grinning wickedly as he held up the Santa hat full of names. “It’s time for our rookies to give it a whirl!”
The ZPD members all jokingly drummed on their seats for dramatic purposes. Bogo pulled out the slip of paper and cleared his throat. “Hopps and Wilde, Wilde and Hopps, you’re up first!”
Nick hung his head. “Of course we are.”
“Yes!” Judy cheered as she popped up from the seat. “We’re going to nail it! What are we singing?”
“We shall see,” Bogo teased as he held up the second Santa hat that had all the song choices for the duets. He then pulled out a second slip and chuckled. “Couldn’t be more perfect, actually.”
He went over to the tablet and typed a few things in, then offered the mics to the two of them as they vacated their seats. “Dazzle us.”
“You bet!” Judy chirped, while Nick just sighed, but smiled since he loved how much it had made Judy’s night to go first. He knew she’d been hoping for it; she loved to sing, as he’d found out in their cop car, and she actually had a great voice too. Not that he’d ever admit as much.
Nick turned to face the flat-screen with the lyrics as the opening notes to the song began. It was a slow and meandering beat with minimal instruments, then he heard Judy do the opening “ooh” and Nick’s fur instantly warmed into a blush as he realized Bogo had chosen a love ballad. He didn’t have time to panic, for the opening lines of the duet was the male singer Bruno Marsupiel. Despite Nick’s inner panic, he turned to Judy and sang as smoothly as he could.
“I just woke up from a dream
Where you and I had to say goodbye
And I don't know what it all means
But since I survived, I realized…”
Judy’s bright violet eyes softened at his words, her smile radiant and warm as the apple cider he’d been sipping on just a while ago. It was so hard to look down at that sweet face sometimes. He’d do anything just to make her smile…even sing a love ballad to her in front of a room full of fellow cops.
Nick faced her a bit more squarely since the cops around him cheering them on made him nervous, pushing past his discomfort for the next verse, but his mouth felt dry. Thankfully, the next parts had Judy chime in on the last word of each sentence, so it helped calm his nerves.
“Wherever you go, that's where I'll follow
Nobody's promised tomorrow
So I'mma love you every night like it's the last night
Like it's the last night…”
Sensing Nick’s discomfort, Judy held his other paw. Instantly, Nick relaxed and refocused completely on her and remembering the lyrics to the chorus. The next lines came out far easier, especially when he realized how much he meant them as he sang.
"If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you
If the party was over and our time on Earth was through
I'd wanna hold you just for a while and die with a smile
If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you…”
She swayed with him in time to the beat, her bright eyes about the only thing he could see. Her voice came out sweet and encouraging.
“Ooh
Ooh, lost, lost in the words that we scream
I don't even wanna do this anymore
'Cause you already know what you mean to me
And our love's the only war worth fighting for…”
Nick joined her at the simultaneous lines, then the chorus, his heart swelling at the conviction in her voice and his own as well, squeezing her paw in his own affectionately.
“Wherever you go, that's where I'll follow
Nobody's promised tomorrow
So I'mma love you every night like it's the last night
Like it's the last night!
If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you
If the party was over and our time on Earth was through
I'd wanna hold you just for a while and die with a smile
If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you…”
He couldn’t help but think back to the moment where the ice had cracked apart and he’d been free falling. The world had been nothing but cold, white hurt, and yet she’d dove off the ledge for him without even knowing or caring if Gary would be there to catch them. She’d thrown it all away for him—just him—to protect him, to save him, same as he’d done for her, and the memory brought tears to his eyes briefly as they sang.
“Right next to you
Next to you
Right next to you, oh-oh!”
Nick swept her up in his arms and spun her around, dancing with her and twirling her on the stage as the instrumental continued, loving how it made her giggle and wrap her arms around his shoulders, the mic still in one paw. She sang the last lines just to him, intimately, and he joined her happily.
“If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you
If the party was over and our time on Earth was through
I'd wanna hold you just for a while and die with a smile
If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you!
If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you
Ooh
I'd wanna be next to you…”
Judy giggled, blushing up a storm as she pressed her forehead to his own, her other paw on his cheek as the closing notes of the song petered out.
And then they both realized.
They’d forgotten anyone had been in the karaoke room except for them.
They both realized it at the same time, their eyes going huge, and then they dared to glance over at the other cops.
All of them then broke out into uproarious cheering.
“That. Was. Perfect.” Clawhauser’s eyes finally flooded over with tears and he burst out crying so hard that an amused Bogo had to pat his shoulder. “They’re so perfect together! It physically hurts!”
Nick laughed nervously as he slowly put Judy down and tugged at his hot collar, blushing further as he noticed they’d gotten the biggest applause of anyone that had sung so far, even Ben. “Wow! Think we’ve made ourselves some fans finally.”
“Tell me about it,” Judy laughed as she waved off all the gratitude as they stepped off the stage and passed the two mics back to Bogo. "I didn't think we were that good."
"Oh, but you were," Bogo said with that demonic smile that told them both he was up to something. "In fact, I honestly think you've more than earned this."
"Earned what?" Nick asked suspiciously.
Before either of them could move, Bogo held up a sprig of mistletoe over their heads. "This!"
The karaoke room of course went wild.
Nick facepalmed. "Chief, come on. Didn't you tell me you'd cut me some slack tonight?"
"I said no nagging," Bogo reminded him cheerfully, enjoying their dual blushing and the knowing chuckles of their colleagues. "Not no shenanigans. Get it in writing next time, fox."
"This is so immature," Judy fussed. "I can't believe you're the one instigating when you've threatened us with meter maid duties if you ever caught us making out."
"I said caught you making out," Bogo said smugly, waving the mistletoe. "I'm giving you full permission right now."
She facepalmed as well. "Such a responsible boss."
By now, the other cops had dug in their heels, chanting, "KISS! KISS! KISS!" like a bunch of adolescents, so Judy just heaved a sigh. "They're never going to knock it off if we don't--"
Nick tilted her chin up and kissed her. It was soft and sweet and tender, just a few seconds, and yet the only word that ran through her mind was "heavenly" by the time he pulled back. He then sent them all a glare and asked, "Happy?! You animals!"
Naturally, they all cheered their heads off again. Nick just shook his head. Judy didn't. She forgot how to move and talk after that kiss, but the noise kickstarted her brain again so she tugged at his shirt.
“Um, it’s a little cloying in here, so you wanna…?”
“Oh God, yes,” Nick said as he offered his arm, adopting a brief accent. “Exit, stage left!”
They zipped out of the room for the bar to have a couple drinks for their nerves, promising they’d be back shortly to enjoy more songs (and teasing). Nick ordered a beer and Judy ordered an apple martini. They sat in the stools and chuckled as they heard the Zebros firing up “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“I can’t believe you’ve never told me you can sing,” she teased, bumping his shoulder with her arm. “It was good, Nick. Really good.”
“I’m very glad you think so, Carrots. It’s just not one thing I’d consider an actual skill for me. I mean, at most, I’m singing in the shower and that’s it.”
“Well, it’s really good, but I won’t badger another song out of you.” She chuckled. “It’s just nice to know that maybe once a year, you give me a little present that doesn’t come from a store.”
Nick huffed, blushing further. “Alright, alright, didn’t you say it was already cloying in here?”
Judy chuckled. “Right, sorry. Thank you. I know it was a lot of attention on us, so thanks for being a good sport and just participating. I promise I won’t make you do another one.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Eh, it’s like you said. It’s once a year. I can be a team player every Christmas.”
“Well, that actually helps because I wanted to ask you something, but I promise it’s not something you have to put up with or anything.”
Nick shook his head, smiling. “Alright, lay it on me, Carrots. You caught me in a giving mood.”
Judy stared at her fidgeting paws as she played with the fuzzy hem of her dress. “I…I know it’s a…sensitive topic, so I’ll make it quick. I would…like you to come home with me this Christmas to Bunnyburrow. I…want you to spend the holiday with me and my family. If…if that’s…okay.”
She shut her eyes, terrified of his answer and reaction, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She forced herself to look up at him and found that he stared at her as if she were the moon and he a lonely wolf.
“You…you want me to…c-come home with you?” Nick whispered. “But…Carrots, that’s home. That’s your…family.”
“I know,” she whispered. “And…it won’t feel like family without you there this year. I know it’s tough because of what you’ve been through when you were young, but I’d really love it if you’d join us and I know that’s fast—I mean, sheesh, we’ve barely known each other a year—but—”
Judy couldn’t say another word.
Her fox grabbed her and hugged her so fiercely that words simply left her.
“I…” Nick struggled to speak. “Goddamn you, Carrots.”
Judy closed her eyes and embraced him warmly. “I know.”
“Yes,” Nick whispered. “Of course I will. I just…I never thought…I was…good enough…”
She pulled back enough to give him a fiercely protective glare. “Nick, don’t you dare say that ever again. You are always good enough. For me, for this world, for anything at all. Yes, I want you with me, and yes, my family would love to have you. I really mean it, Nick. You can be solitary and that’s fine, but you will always have a home with me and my family whenever you want it. What you’ve done for me…I’ll never forget it, but it’s not just that. It’s…you. Who you are. You matter so much to me and I just want you to be with people that love you, even if it’s just for Christmas.”
Nick swallowed hard, struggling to speak, but pushing through it. “I…wanted it so badly, but I didn’t know how to ask. If I even should. I just…I was scared.”
“That’s okay,” she said, lifting his paw to the side of her face as her own tears spilled down. “I’m scared too, but I think we can figure it out together.”
He smiled as she nuzzled his paw pads. “Yeah. I think we can, Carrots.”
Nick then let out a little hoarse chuckle as he nodded towards the karaoke room. “But you know this’ll make their teasing about us being a couple even worse.”
“It will,” Judy agreed as she finished her drink and passed the bartender a ten spot. She then hopped off her stool and then offered him her paw again, her long lashes low over those beautiful violet eyes. “I guess we’ll just have to date to finally shut them up.”
Nick spat out his last gulp of beer. The bartender was not amused. He offered the guy a napkin and apologized before slowly turning around, his blush now supernova. “Ah…what, uh, what was that, Carrots? Did you…did you just…ask me out?!”
She batted her lashes. “Well, it would be the only way to shut them up.”
Nick slid off his stool and sized her up. He took her paw with a smirk. “Oh, it’s not them I’m worried about shutting up, little lady. Closer to home.”
She chuckled as he tucked her paw into his arm and walked down the hallway towards the karaoke room. “Well, at least I’ll die with a smile.”
“Mm-hmm,” Nick said as he opened the door, winking lasciviously at his partner and soon to be romantic partner. “Play your cards right and it’ll be a little death, Carrots.”
Judy’s jaw dropped open before she reentered the room as she got the reference. “Nicholas Piberius Wilde!”
FIN