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Chapter Text

The music was turned unusually low at the Tipsy Cow. Normally you could hear the upbeat dance music from down the street, but tonight was different. The volume had been lowered to accommodate the sensitive ears of many Officers who were there that night. The bar had been rented out for the night by the ZPD to celebrate a major milestone, Judy Hopps had joined them one year ago today. Well actually it had been 13 months but she had quit and gone home to Bunnyburrow for a month during the Nighthowler case. Either way Judy had a full year under her belt and everyone insisted they celebrate.

Most of the ZPD was present and all of them were congratulating Judy on all her successes since she started.
"You still hold the record for most tickets in a day, you know that right?" Fangmire told Judy before taking a pull from his beer. The lion was several times Judy's height with a thick mane.

Before Judy could respond, Delgato piped in "Wasn't it 240 tickets? On your first day to boot." Delgato sat next to her partner, sipping some kind of mixed drink.
"247, actually." Judy was stood on the table built for larger mammals, since The Tipsy Cow wasn't frequented by smaller citizens. "I could have gotten a lot more if it weren't for this fox I met." Judy was of course referring to the former con artist and now newly decorated partner.

Delgato and Fangmire exchanged a look, nodded, and smiled. Both turned back to Judy and the Tiger was the first to speak "You really like him don't ya?" Delgato took another sip.

"Well, yeah He's probably the best friend I've ever had..."Judy took a sip from her own Drink, a very weak red wine but still recoiled from the taste. This was her first time drinking anything with alcohol. "I mean I had friends in Highschool but I never connected with anyone like that."

This time Fangmire spoke "Not what he means Judy." She decided to elaborate after Judy gave him a quizzical look. "He means you have a thing for Nick."
Judy's eyes went wide and her ears began turning red "I... I ah" Judy was surprised, flustered, and confused all at once, she hadn't really thought of Nick that way, at least she didn't think she did.

As if sensing his partners discomfort Nick came out of nowhere. He had his usual tacky green shirt and tie with cargo pants. A stark contrast from Judy's purple shirt, dress pants and denim jacket. "Now I know you two are the best interrogation team at the ZPD, but that doesn't mean you get to grill my partner on her big night." Nick was always calm, and had at least 3 backup plans going into any situation. "So what are you talking about anyway?" He asked before drinking some of his soda.

"Just asking how your first few weeks on the force have been" Delgato seemed a little bit annoyed that Nick had interrupted.

"Well if you must know..." Nick spoke with his usual grin "I've had a great time so far, aside form Carrots driving its been smooth sailing." Nick took another sip from the can.
Fangmire decided to change the subject, kind of "So what's the matter Wilde, you not drinking anything?" The lion pointed a finger at Nicks drink.

Nick merely shrugged "Not a fan of what it does to me, I tend to avoid anything that makes it hard to read others."

"Fair point." Delgato nodded "But what's the point in coming to a celebration for your own partner and not drinking? We're at the best bar in Savanna Central." Delgato slammed the rest of his drink back.

"You also have a fair point." Nick pointed to Delgato with his free paw. "Though I think Hopps could stand to hold back, her ears are bright red" Nick moved his paw to Judy's shoulder, making her jump.

"Hey, I've hardly had anything, maybe half a glass." Judy jerked her shoulder away.

"Relax Carrots, I'm kidding." Nick motioned for her to follow him off the table.

Judy followed him, quickly reaching back to grab her drink. Nick lead her towards the other end of the room to where the larger members of the ZPD were standing around drinking massive mugs of beer.

"Fancine, Trunkaby, hey what's up McHorn?" Nick gestured to each of his coworkers as he walked passed, each smiling and nodding back to NIck and Judy. Soon the two of them were off to the side near one of the speakers. When Nick turned his face was serious. "Be honest with me here, you've never Drank before have you?"
Judy shook her head. "Not really, just a sip of beer when I turned 19, Immediately spit it out." She Chuckled at the thought of her litter-mates who had been across from her, who got soaked from the outburst.

"Figured." Nick looked around before continuing. "Look I'm pretty sure they have a right of passage type thing that they'll try and get you to do." Nick leaned down to meet Judy's eyes with his own. "That usually involves a large amount of alcohol and I don't think you should have more than 2 of those." Nick pointed to the glass of wine in Judy's paw.

"Well okay..." Judy tossed her head back, finishing her wine then crossing her arms. "Do you think I should ditch my own party?" Judy's eyes said she was ready for the challenge.
"No, no. I know that look and I'm telling you now, don't over do it. I know from experience it doesn't take much to put someone our size out." Nick was now really close to Judy, when he realized, he darted back up and cleared his throat. Quickly his trademark grin returned. "All I'm saying is, be careful, I'll keep an eye out for anyone who might try and get you to messed up." Nick then walked away and began chatting with the other officers. Judy shook off her doubts and went back into the crowd as well. Surely they would scale anything as bad as what Nick described down to her scale.

Almost 2 hours later and Judy was fighting to stay on her feet, she could feel her weight being supported by someone and she could vaguely here Nick yelling. She had drank a few more glasses of wine as she got used to the taste,a dn at one point she had seen NicK with a glass of something mixed in his hand while talking to Wolford. At some point someone handed her a rather large glass and challenged her to a drink race. Judy had figured this was the right of passage Nick talked about and decided to go for it. She and the other officer clinked glasses and drank as fast as they could. Judy was the first done and set the cup down with a thud. The last thing she really remembered was that thud before she passed out.

Chapter Text

The door to Judy's apartment swung open, to reveal Nick carrying a very drunk rabbit bridal style after a fairly eventful night. It had been the 1 year anniversary of Judy joining the ZPD and as was customary for milestones such as this, her friends from work took her to a bar to celebrate. After Judy left Zootopia during the Nighthowler case, she had to cancel the lease at the Grand Pangolin Arms "Luxury" apartments which put her on the black list for most of that neighborhood. Thankfully Nick had helped her find a new place that was better in every way then her old place, but still within her budget.

Nick carried his sleeping partner through the living room down the hall to her bedroom. The room itself was decorated in a way that fit Judy, with a large number of mementos from her life, highly organized and neatly hung on the wall. Newspaper clippings from cases she'd worked on, a large collection of stuffed toys she'd won at events in her home town and one wall dedicated to a giant family photo that Nick speculated was done via a panoramic.

Shifting Judy in his arms, Nick pulled back the covers to lay her down. "You're goanna have one hell of a hangover tomorrow." Nick said as he set her down on the bed.
The sudden movement and changes in orientation caused Judy to stir, and soon after she opened her eyes "Nick... What happened to the party?" Judy spoke slowly like a child who had woken up in the middle of the night.

"Ssh, shh, its okay Fluff, you had a bit to much to drink so I took you home." Nick spoke softly as he pulled the blankets over her. He then turned to leave her apartment.
Before he could go, Judy reached out and grabbed his paw. "You're not leaving, are you?" There was a pang of sadness in her voice.

Nick looked down, even though the lights were off he could see that she was about to start crying with his night vision. Nick then moved forward and took her paw in his "I'll stay all night if I have to, just know that you won't hear the end of this in the morning." Nick then moved to grab the cot Judy kept in her apartment for guests. He normally slept there or on her couch after their movie nights. But once again the sloshed rabbit spoke up.

"Actually... Could you sleep in my bed, with me?" She looked away at the last part, almost embarrassed as she said it.

Of course Nick wanted to oblige, he'd had a crush on Judy since they'd started going on patrol together and talking about anything and everything. At the same time, he knew it would likely be awkward for them to wake up like that. "I'd love to Carrots, but I don't think it would end well for me in the morning."

Judy's ears drooped as she flopped down on the bed tears forming in her eyes "I knew it, you hate me don't you." She began sobbing quietly, which Nick could her clearly from across the room. He knew she was not in her right of mind due to the "Adios Motherfucker" she had been dared to drink.

Against his better judgment, Nick walked over and crawled into the bed. While he didn't want to think about her reaction in the morning, he couldn't stand to see her cry. "Alright, you win Judy. But I will not be going under the covers, I don't trust either of us to make a mistake the way we are now." While Nick was nowhere near Judy's level of drunk, he had drank enough that he almost fell more than once on the walk to her place.

This appeased Judy and she happily snuggled towards him, nuzzling in to the fur on his neck before drifting off. Soon after Nick could hear her breathing even out and her heartbeat slow to a normal pace, and soon he drifted off as well.

Chapter Text

Judy's nose twitching caused her to stir and begin to awaken, then she felt the splitting headache and tried to bolt upright, but she was held firmly in place by something. When she opened her eyes all she could see was orange and cream colored fur, and the only sound in the room was someone's soft steady breathing. It took a few seconds to register exactly what was going on.

"Nick?" Judy dragged out the fox's name. Trying to coax him awake she reached up and poked his nose. "Nick, what are you doing in my bed?...Ow." Another shot of pain ran through Judy's head, she was done being nice."Nick wake up!"She said more forcefully, but not fully shouting to avoid more pain. Thankfully Nick began to stir.

"Hunh... wha, ow." Nick lifted his arm to his head, likely with a headache similar to the one Judy had. In that moment Judy was able to wriggle out of the larger mammals grip.
Judy was quickly on her feet, though she felt like she was goanna be sick, and she had trouble holding her balance." Nick" her tone was deadly serious. "What happened last night." It was a demand, not a request.

By this point Nick had sat up on the bed, and was rubbing his temples. "I messed up, that's what happened last night" Nick stood up and made his way towards the door. "I let my guard down and you ended up drinking enough to put Bogo out" Nick opened the door and walked across the hall to the bathroom. Judy quickly followed.

"Okay but why were you sleeping in my bed holding me like a stuffed toy?" Judy gestured to the bed as she spoke. "And why does my head feel like it's in a vice?" Judy held her head as another wave hit her. Nick just finished as Judy lost her balance and went down to one knee.

"Oh carrots, I didn't know you felt that way about me." Nick joked as he walked passed. "The headache is from the hangover, Sorry again about that." Nick's voice was coming from the kitchen now, Judy followed the sound, using the wall for support. As she reached the Kitchen Nick handed her a cup of water. "Drink this, then another every 5 minutes for the next hour, that should get rid of the pain." Judy snatched the glass and downed it in seconds.

"You still didn't answer my first question. Why. Were. You. In. My. Bed?" Judy was visibly annoyed now, her foot thumping on the floor.

"You asked me to, that's why I was in your bed." Nick didn't have a grin on, and Judy could tell by the way he spoke it was true. Judy had no response, just staring off into space trying to remember asking Nick to sleep in her bed. "Don't think to hard right now, It'll just cause more pain." Nick was now rooting through the fridge, and before long he had a full breakfast going. Pancakes, eggs, toast and oatmeal.

Judy didn't say much while she ate, keeping a slower pace as Nick suggested to avoid spilling her guts. Nick on the other hand had finished his meal relatively quickly and was on the couch watching TV. Flicking through channels for something worth while. He finally settled on watching Saturday morning cartoons. After a few minutes Judy walked over and sat next to him.

"So did I say anything else last night." Judy took a sip from her glass.

Nick grinned a sly grin."Only that you love me." He was about to start snickering, until he was sprayed with water.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry here let me get you a towel!" Judy vaulted over the couch and ran to the bathroom. She returned seconds later to help Nick dry off. "Sorry, that must have been awkward, I was so drunk I didn't know what I was saying oh I feel like an idiot..." Judy kept apologizing and rambling as she dried Nick's fur Nick had to grab her paws and put a finger to her lips to stop her.

"I uh... I was kidding." Nick then explained what actually happened. Judy's face was a mix of anger and embarrassment. It was Nick's turn to apologies. "Yeah, I shouldn't have done that, sorry." Judy's expression softened and she gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "Though, to be honest, I kind of wish you had." The silence hung in the air for what felt like minutes, this time both of them had red ears. Judy was the first to speak.

"Well, I... Uh" Judy's ears pressed against the back of her head "I guess I have been wanting to say something... Like that I mean."

Nick looked at her for a moment He mulled over her reaction to his joke, then his eye's widened. "Judy..."

Judy's mind was racing, Nick only used her first name when he was serious. 'What's he gonna say? Does he think I'm wired? Is he already seeing someone he hasn't mentioned yet? Is he...' Judy's thought stopped when Nick grabbed her shoulder.

"I love you, too" Nick pulled Judy into a tight hug, and after the initial shock she returned it. "I've loved you since the Nighthowler case but I didn't want to ruin what we had." Nick had tears rolling down his cheek. He hadn't said those words in years, and hadn't meant them in even longer.

"Dumb fox..." Judy was also crying, it was the first time anyone had said those words to her other than her family and she was so happy it was Nick who said them.
After several minutes they let each other go and wiped their tears away. Then they laughed. Both of them had been holding in the same feelings for so long, it was pure relief once they let it all out. After a bit Judy slumped over into Nick's lap and sighed contently.

"You're not going to sleep, are you?" Nick's tone was teasing but light hearted.

"No, Just something us bunnies do." Judy rolled over and looked up at Nick. "So what do we do now?" Nick pondered for a moment then shrugged.

"Not sure fluff, there's nothing illegal about interspecies relationships are there?" Nick was looking at the TV, but his whole focus was on the bunny in his lap.

"No, but they certainly aren't accepted by most mammals. Last month we got that call about the attempted assault remember?" Nick remembered. A pair of mammals had been attacked fore holding paws in public just because one was a beaver and the other was a koala.

Nick's tone was dry. "What about pred-prey?"

Judy reached up and cupped Nick's cheek. "Same deal, just a bit more rare." Judy sat up and crawled into Nick's lap, cuddling into his chest.

"And I'm guessing not as accepted, especially after last year." It was true, the rift between predator and prey had gotten much deeper after Bellwether's little stunt.

"Well we don't have to be public about it." as much as neither of them wanted to hide their relationship, they both agreed that it was best to do so until they knew how their friends and family would react.

Nick chuckled "Can you imagine what Buffalo Butt would say if he found us making out while on patrol?" Judy pulled back a bit and just kinda looked at Nick. "What? Not funny?" Then Judy started leaning towards Nick, eyes half lidded. Nick then realized what he said and got the same idea as Judy, mirroring her movements.
Just as they were about to make contact Judy's phone began ringing. They both groaned as she checked who was calling. It was Judy's parents calling via muzzle time. Nick and Judy separated and Judy answered. "Hey honey how ya doing?" Bonnie was cheerful as usual, Judy's siblings could be heard in the back, she couldn't tell if they were fighting or if they were just having breakfast, probably both.

"I'm doing good mom, how are you?" Judy did her best to not sound annoyed.

"Oh same as usual..."Bonnie paused for a second, just looking ad her daughter. "I'm interrupting something aren't I?"
Judy panicked. "What? Nooo, I'm just a bit tired is all."

Bonnie wasn't buying it. "You were spending time with Nick, weren't you?" Judy couldn't hide her shock at that. "Don't worry about it bunbun, call me back later OK?" Before Judy could try to explain to her mother, she hung up.

"Well I guess your parents are OK with us, she is at least." Nick would never admit it but than again he never had to, his hear was pounding.
"Guess so." Judy Sighed, her eyes returning to their half lidded state. "Now where were we?"

"Right about... Here!" Nick Grabbed Judy by her waist and pulled her into a kiss. It was awkward due to size and shape difference but eventually the found a good position with Nick's arms wrapped around Judy's upper body and her holding the fur around his neck. After a few moments they separated, then pulled each other back into a tight hug. They sat like that for a few more minutes before Nick spoke again.

"So... How about a movie date?" He gestured to the collection of DVD's Judy had under her TV.
"Sure, what do you wanna watch first?" Judy got up and started tossing out ideas.

They spent the rest of the day watching movies, while holding each other, either making fun of bad acting or ignoring the movie altogether while sharing more kisses. It was a good day.