Chapter Text
It was an unusually hot summer, and despite the towering weather walls across Zootopia, city center was absolutely melting. Not even the residents’ beloved pawpsicles stood a chance against the heat, leaving antsy mammals sluggish and irritable as they shuffled their way to work.
Judy Hopps, however, was not one of them. She popped out of bed every morning with the same unstoppable enthusiasm, dashed straight to the ZPD, and set her mind on making the world a better place—heat wave or not.
Sadly, there wasn’t much world saving to be done when half the city looked like it might slide into a puddle. With the station’s air conditioning broken, most officers were hot, sleepy, and dramatically miserable. Judy, meanwhile, seemed to be the only one who was genuinely happy to be there, standing tall and ready for the next case despite the unforgiving temperatures.
Unfortunately, it would seem that the universe had other plans. Just as Judy was gearing up to go look for trouble, Chief Bogo hauled both her and Nick into his office, and much to her horror, ordered them to take two weeks off.
“But Chief—” Judy began, already revving up.
“Nope,” Chief Bogo said flatly, and watched as Judy deflated by approximately two inches. At this, he folded his arms and fixed her with a look. “Listen, Hopps, out of all my officers, you’re the most eager, by a landslide. But given your most recent case together, I’m deeming it necessary for both of you to take a few days off.”
“Music to my ears,” Nick said, far too cheerfully and quickly for Judy’s liking. “I’ve been emotionally preparing for this moment since the day I was recruited.” He pulled out his pair of pink party sunglasses and slid them on with a flourish.
“Absolutely not,” Judy snapped, yanking the sunglasses off his face and flinging them aside. “We do not need a break.What we need is the next case.”
“Or,” Nick offered in opposition. “A beach. Possibly with snacks.”
At this, Bogo rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Ugh—think of it as a vacation, Officer Hopps,” he said. “Some time away from the precinct. Go see your family. Do something, anything that isn’t crime related.”
“But Chief—” Judy’s ears drooped, her brows furrowing in a way that clearly signaled emotional distress incoming. Nick leaned in, lowering his voice as he said to Bogo: “Careful, Chief, That’s her sad bunny face. Very powerful. I’ve seen hardened criminals crack under it.”
“It’s not a punishment,” Bogo said, rubbing the bridge of his nose at Nick’s usual banter. “Even the best officers need time to decompress. You’ll come back sharper, stronger, with a fresh sense of purpose.”
“See?” Nick nodded. “Doctor’s orders.”
“But we don’t lack purpose!” Judy protested.
“Officer Hopps,” Bogo said firmly. “This is an order.”
The words hung heavy in the air. Bogo cared about the two of them deeply. They were his absolute pride and joy, but between the missing mammals case and the Lynxleys, the weight they’d been carrying was far more than any two officers should have. He needed them in top shape, even if that meant forcing a break they didn’t realize they needed.
Judy fell silent, her paws frozen mid-gesture as if she were trying to summon an argument that simply refused to appear. For a moment, Bogo almost felt like the bad guy.
“Look,” he added more gently, “Zootopia won’t fall apart while you’re gone. There’s barely been any crime lately. It’s too hot for most criminals to commit to the effort. I’m confident our very capable officers can handle whatever petty nonsense pops up.”
Judy hesitated. “And you’ll call us if something happens?”
“You’re first on my speed dial,” Bogo promised.
That finally did it. Judy accepted defeat, walking out of the office with drooping ears and her head down. Nick followed after her, but stopped mid-step as Bogo called out to him.
“Nick,” the Chief stood from his desk as the fox turned back, Judy already disappearing down the hall. “Take care of her, will you?”
Taken aback by the sudden request, Nick blinked in surprise, but then flashed that smooth, confident grin of his all to quickly before nodding.
“Of course, Chief. I promise,” he said. “Scout’s honor.”
***
Outside, Nick found Judy at her locker, begrudgingly clearing it out. She slammed the door shut after having put all her stuff in a cardboard box, only for it to creak back open again with a loud, traitorous screeeech.
Judy growled under her breath and shoved it closed again, yet the locker immediately reopened, as if it was trying to mock her.
“Ugh…” she sighed, shoulders slumping.
Nick hated that sound.
He strolled over, and planted a paw firmly on the door, giving it a solid slam, and the locker closed immediately.
“There you go, carrots,” he said with a soft, easy smile.
“Thanks, Nick,” Judy replied, though the defeat in her voice was impossible to miss.
Nick tilted his head. “Aww, is someone in a bad mood?”
Judy raised an eyebrow and shot him a look that clearly said choose your next words very carefully. “—Because,” he continued quickly, “I know exactly what would cheer you up. Pawpsicles. Plural. To celebrate our very first forced holiday.”
Judy sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s not something to celebrate, Nick.”
She turned and started toward the exit. Nick immediately jogged after her, mildly concerned that she might actually leave without him.
“Hey, c’mon,” he said. “Think of all the fun things you can finally catch up on! Like—oh, I don’t know—taking a cooking class instead of living off those terrifying carrot ready meals.”
“Cooking?” Judy arched an eyebrow as they passed the front desk. “In this weather?”
“Fair point,” Nick admitted. “Maybe just… ordering food and pretending you cooked it.”“Holy honey buns! Nick and Judy!” Clawhauser suddenly popped up from behind the desk, wearing a tank top and clutching a fan like it was life support. “How are you two holding up? I can’t believe I have to be here all summer. I really should’ve thought things through before using all my vacation days on Gazelle concerts.”
“Good for you,” Judy said flatly as she walked past, completely missing his point. “See you in two weeks, Clawhauser.” Her lack of enthusiasm was palpable, and Clawhauser tilted his head in confusion as he continued to fan himself.
“Huh? What’s wrong with her?”
“Oh, nothing,” Nick replied breezily, waving a paw as he followed after Judy. “She’s just going on holiday.”
And with that, Clawhauser was left staring after them, completely baffled.
The more time passed since Bogo’s terrible announcement, the quieter Judy became. She marched toward the metro station with sad little steps, clutching the box of things she’d cleaned out of her locker. Nick followed closely behind, waiting for the exact moment she wasn’t paying attention, and smoothly lifted the box from her paws.
“Hey—”
“Shhh,” he said lightly. “I’m being a gentleman.”
It was something he’d always done: walking her to the metro, carrying whatever she insisted she didn’t need help with. Judy Hopps was more than capable of handling herself, and they both knew it. Still, she let him do it, and Nick enjoyed every second if it meant a few extra minutes by her side. Normally they’d talk about their day, or he’d listen as the bunny enthusiastically analyzed whatever new case they were assigned to, unable to tear herself away from work, but he didn’t mind one bit. Her positivity and hyperness had filled his life with so much joy that he started to dread the moments when he was back in his den, with nothing but silence and a lone night in waiting for him.
He was surprised by how much one bunny managed to change his life. It was as if he went from enjoying his solitary nature to feeling like he was in solitary confinement, and every moment spent without her left a little more emptiness that he didn’t quite know how to fill.
However, today’s walk wasn’t filled with any of those things. Instead, the two strolled down the street in silence, and much to Nick’s dismay, they reached the station in what seemed like no time, and he felt his mood dampen at the prospect of already having to part with his favorite bunny.
“Well,” Judy said, her ears still drooping, “I guess this is it.” She paused. “I’ll see you after two weeks, Nick.”
Nick blinked as she took the box from his hands. “Huh? What do you mean, carrots?”
“Well… if I’ve got nothing better to do, I’ll probably head back to Bunnyburrow. Visit my folks. You know how it is.”
“Oh,” Nick said, realization hitting him a beat too late. His ears drooped before he could stop them. “Right, of course.”
Two weeks. Two whole weeks without seeing his favorite bunny.
It made sense. Why wouldn’t she want to spend time with her family? She hadn’t been back in ages. Still, the thought left a weird hollow feeling in his chest.
“And you?” Judy asked, glancing up at him. “Got any plans?”
Nick immediately short circuited.
“Uh—well—yeah! Totally,” he said far too fast. “You know, the usual. Great time to, uh, catch up on comics, and—”
“Why don’t you come with me?” The words slipped out of Judy’s mouth before he could finish his very unconvincing lie.
Nick froze. “What? To Bunnyburrow?”
“Yeah,” she shrugged, way too casually. “Why not?”
She could see straight through him. Nick always liked to pretend he had everything under control, but she’d noticed it all. The way his ears drooped, the way he’d started sweating the moment she said she was leaving. He really thought she wouldn’t catch that?
It was cute, she thought. The way they were so close, and how much their frienship mattered to one another. Especially after the Lynxley case, Judy felt like the fox was constantly following her around, as if making sure that she was okay, despite her constantly reassuring him that she’d learned her lesson about running head first into danger.
But Judy knew she’d be lying to herself if she said she didn’t feel the same way. They got closer after the case, after… everything they had confessed to one another when they nearly lost their lives. And ever since then, she had found herself thinking about the fox more often than not. And the idea that she might not see him for two weeks straight felt more excruciating than she cared to admit.
So Judy went on a whim and asked him to come with her. After all, what was the harm in that? He could meet her family, they could spend time together… wouldn’t that be a win-win situation?
“I—I don’t know, carrots,” Nick fumbled, suddenly very self-aware. The notion that she was inviting a fox to Bunnyburrow was not lost on him. Despite the fact that predators and prey had lived in harmony for so many years, it still felt… awkward. Like he’d be out of place.
But Judy seemed adament. “What?” She teased. “Nervous about meeting my parents?”
Nick’s ears shot straight up as his breath hitched, and the bunny absolutely lost it. She started laughing so hard she nearly dropped the box, wishing she had a free paw to take a picture of him right then and there.
“Sly bunny,” Nick muttered, trying and failing to recover.
“Dumb fox,” she shot back instantly, just as the train pulled in.
Hopping on board, she turned back to him with a grin and said: “I’ll text you the details, yeah?”
Nick grunted, realizing that Judy had already decided he was tagging along and that she was merely asking out of courtesy, so he nodded at the bunny as the doors slid shut, watching her silhouette disappear into the crowd of overheated commuters. Yet despite being forced into a family visit which made him slightly nervous, he couldn’t stop himself from smirking.
The moment she’d asked him to come with her, her ears had perked right back up.
And he couldn’t get that image out of his head.