Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

As much as Judy Hopps had found herself in several unbelievable situations since embarking on her quest to become a police officer, they just… kept happening to her. Sometimes, in fact, it wasn’t even her fault.

Case in point: the rabbit stood at the threshold of a grand ballroom, where there was a suitably swanky soirée in progress. Very Important People were in abundance, not only from Zootopia, but from all across the country, and just as many from beyond it.

What was rather unusual in all of this was Judy herself; because unlike at a certain Zootennial Gala, she was an actual invitee. She’d need to speak to the Very Important People, about Very Important Things, whilst trying to convince herself that, at least by virtue of being in attendance, she was Equally Important and Totally Fit In.

The rabbit tried to suppress a shiver of nervousness, steeled herself as best as she could, and then stepped daintily across the threshold and into a world she had never dreamed of entering – other than by infiltrating it.

It all came about a few months earlier. On an otherwise normal morning, Chief Bogo had instructed both she and her partner, Nick Wilde, to wait for him outside his office after morning roll call in the bullpen, and that he would be along shortly thereafter. They had dutifully albeit confusedly complied.

“We’ve been good, haven’t we?” Judy had worried as they passed Clawhauser in the lobby and climbed the stairs, which Judy took two or three at a time. “We’ve specifically been on our best behaviour since the Reptile Case: we’ve attended Partner Therapy regularly, we haven’t taken unsanctioned initiative on a whole apple-cart of other cases, and you’ve even been letting up on teasing the Chief, assuming you haven’t been playing pranks on him behind my back…”

She hopped up the last few steps with nervous energy and turned around, to see Nick still only halfway up and climbing at his usual, frustratingly languid pace.

“I’m glad to see you aren’t particularly concerned, Officer Wilde,” she huffed, and crossed her arms.

“Elementary, my dear Hopps,” he replied, with customary smirk. “As a surprisingly famous fictional fox detective once said: ‘after you’ve eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ ¹

“And it’s like you said, Carrots,” he enthused, as he held a paw up to his chest and placed the other on her shoulder to start guiding her towards the relevant corridor, “we’ve been on our best behaviour! And yes, that even includes me, thank you for the vote of confidence. There cannot realistically be some terrible punishment for some terrible infringement because there has been no infringement to speak of! So calm down, it’s probably nothing to worry about; for all we know, it could even be something good!”

“I suppose…” Judy sighed. “I don’t know about ‘good’, though, unless they’ve finally decided on a trial date for the Lynxleys.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Nick nodded amiably. “But how about we make things more interesting?”

She looked up at him, eyebrow raised questioningly, to see a more innocently playful smile on his face. Judy couldn’t help but smile in return; a glimpse of the less-emotionally-insecure source of her comfort and strength was always to be appreciated, after all. So, as they reached Bogo’s office she hopped up to sit on one of the big waiting seats, helped him clamber up beside her, and asked:

“Okay, and what does the fox think will make things interesting?”

“A little low-stakes wager, rabbit: if it turns out we’re doing security for that fancy gig in a few months for the Kingswellers, then you gotta buy me a jumbo-pop!”

Ah yes, the next big headache headline, which had taken over all of the news outlets almost immediately after the ZPD had finally managed to round up all of those escaped convicts. Kingswell, the nation neighbouring their own Federation of Animalia, was to send a goodwill delegation after years of polite-yet-strained relations between the two countries, with the hope of fostering a greater friendship. Judy, ever hopeful for good things to come from honest effort, was quite excited by the prospect, in principle; however, being familiar with the realities of policing in a less-than-perfect world, she knew that it would cause her and her colleagues a great deal of trouble, one way or another.

Because the delegation wasn’t being hosted in Woolington DC, the capital city, oh no.

It was coming to Zootopia, the ‘cultural capital’, because of course it was.

There were a variety of perfectly good reasons for it, which she had to begrudgingly admit made sense,² but it didn’t stop the fact that the ZPD would have an absolute mess of chaos to deal with in order to ensure the safety of the delegates from both nations, whilst also ensuring that the festivities which were planned to coincide with the event were kept safe, and that the normal running of the city was maintained to the maximum degree possible throughout.

No pressure.

The ‘gig’ in question was no doubt the party being planned for the two delegations to mingle and socialise before the real talks began, an ice-breaker of sorts. For such a party, there could only be one place to hold it in: the Palm Hotel, in Savannah Central. It was famous worldwide for its luxury, less a simple hotel than a one-building holiday resort for the super-rich, boasting ballrooms, swimming pools, restaurants… pretty much anything you might need in order to minimise the amount of time you needed to spend outside amongst the riffraff.

Judy, sceptical, responded with a deadpan: “And that’s your idea of ‘good’, Nick? Standing around all night watching – now what was it you said before – ‘a bunch of snooty animals dressed to the nines come and go and have the most boring small talk imaginable’?” This whole shebang had been getting planned for some months, and they had both waxed lyrical on their opinions regarding it to each other already.

“Hey, I never said that would be fun, I just want you to buy me a jumbo pop!” Judy snorted at his silly grin, but decided to stay in the spirit of things and go one further:

“Okay, fine. But what I think is that we’ll be put on direct bodyguard duty, given how well we scored on the close-protection modules we’ve done recently. And naturally, if I’m right then you have to buy me a jumbo pop instead!”

“You drive a hard bargain, Fluff,” he said, nevertheless shaking her paw to make it official.

Judy’s ears perked up at the sound of approaching footfalls, so she knew their time alone was quickly coming to an end.

“Just one thing, Slick: what if we’re both wrong, as is most likely?” Nick shrugged and sat up straighter, apparently having decided to at least pretend to wait attentively.

“Then we’ll just have to split it.”

Judy had a moment before the Chief and whoever was with him rounded the corner, and in that moment she decided to do something… daring.

Their joint confessional atop the weather wall could quite easily have continued for longer than it did, were it not for their realisation of having an audience. In some of the private moments the pair had shared since, they had gathered the courage to bare their souls again, and have calmer conversations about the ways they had behaved and how that had made them both feel. There had been more tears and hugs, some previously implied apologies and forgiveness were made plain…

…and ultimately, it let them expand on just what they both meant to each other, and admit to a few other feelings, a few other desires. Things that they had feared would go forever unfulfilled if only Pawbert Lynxley had been a more competent assassin.

These conversations had opened up some beautiful new possibilities for them both, which they had resolved to explore at a steady pace, with plenty of understanding for how each of them were feeling at any given time.

The fact that a new avenue of mutual teasing became available as well was simply a bonus, one which Judy took full advantage of by quickly hopping to her feet and whispering breathily in Nick’s closest ear:

“You say that like we weren’t going to share anyway…”

And then she licked it.

So it was that Chief Bogo rounded the corner to see Officer Wilde spluttering and coughing, with his tail stuck straight up, fur standing on end and one paw clutching the ear closest to his partner, whilst Officer Hopps sat suspiciously normally beside him, not reacting to Wilde’s apparent discomfort at all.

The buffalo rolled his eyes and snorted.

“I don’t care,” he said, striding into his office without a second glance at the two.

If the ostentatious, blonde-maned horse following behind had any notion about what may have just happened then his almost cartoonishly-handsome face³ betrayed nothing.

That said, chances were low in the first place.

“Officers Hopps and Wilde, how wonderful to see you’re both here already!” Mayor Brian Winddancer was his usual, boisterous self, and wasted no time in beckoning them to follow him in following Bogo into the office.

In their instant before scrutiny, Nick patted himself down as best he could and sent Judy a wry look, full of promise that she would answer for her transgressions.

Judy, in response, bit her lip and giggled silently.

She couldn’t wait!

In short order, Judy and Nick were side by side in one of the oversized seats that they normally shared when meeting Bogo like this; Bogo himself was sat behind his desk, looking increasingly annoyed; and Winddancer, having been offered a seat of his own but having graciously declined for the moment, strode about the office in full, oratory flow.

“…and so I said to the President, ‘Johnny,⁴ buddy, don’t you worry about a thing! Ol’ Brian here’s got it covered!’

“I’ve got the best Police Chief in the business, and he’s got the best underlings in their business! We’ll handle it, or I’m not the best action hero-mayor in the business!” He shadowboxed an imaginary assailant, and then posed for the room like they were paparazzi, not police officers.

Judy glanced around in confusion, having lost the thread of Winddancer’s impromptu speech several paragraphs earlier; when meeting Nick’s eyes garnered her nothing other than a subtle shrug, she politely clapped, because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Bogo, meanwhile, glowered at the stallion like he wished he could incinerate him with his mind, apparently having had more than enough of him that morning.

“Mister Mayor,” he began, carefully controlling the amount of ire present in his voice whilst he worked to school his features, “as remarkable as the full circumstances may be, my officers and I are very busy with preparations for the Kingswell visit, to say nothing of everything else we deal with on a daily basis. Perhaps you might… truncate the rest so that we can get to the heart of the matter?”

Judy had to prevent herself from letting out a hearty sigh of relief; she hadn’t missed anything important after all!

“Of course, of course,” Winddancer said magnanimously, before pointing a polished hoof dramatically at Judy.

“Let’s cut to the chase: Judy Hopps, we need you… to represent the ZPD… to represent law enforcement all across the FA… at the upcoming talks with Kingswell, our vaunted continental neighbours!”

There was a beat, in which Judy could only stare and blink.

“Uhh, sorry, Mayor Winddancer… represent? What do you mean? Will I be on security detail, or– or bodyguard duty?”

“What the Mayor means, Officer Hopps,” Bogo explained, appearing much relieved for being able to direct the conversation in its proper direction at last, “is that you are being asked to attend the upcoming talks between Animalia and Kingswell, and of course the preceding party. Not as security, but as a member of the Federation of Animalia’s delegation: Special Envoy for Policing and Law Enforcement.”

“What?!” Judy looked at Nick, and saw the same surprise on his face which presumably was displayed on her own, and had caused them both to lean forward and exclaim in unison. The fox cleared his throat deferentially and sat back without a quip for once. She could tell from how he had tensed that he wanted to put a paw on her arm, or on her shoulder, some gesture of comfort or support (whether for her benefit or his was less certain), but he wasn’t sure if he really should, given the circumstances.

“I-I… I mean, I, uh…” She floundered, looked at Nick again, actually hoped he would have something to say, even though she had no idea what she wanted from him, but he looked just as surprised as he did three seconds previously.

“Chief… M-Mayor Winddancer, I-I’m flattered – honoured, even? Honoured? B-but, um, I, I don’t even know what to say!”

Once again she had visions of making another gaffe like at that press conference, of putting her foot in her mouth on the world stage and embarrassing not only herself, or the ZPD, or even Zootopia, but the entire country! She was still a junior officer, for carrot’s sake! She didn’t have experience of… anything like what was being suggested! Chief Bogo, at least, was surely familiar with events like that: he’d been a guest at the Zootennial Gala, after all! Was that some of the reason why he was so annoyed with Mayor Winddancer?

“Shouldn’t – shouldn’t it be someone with more experience? Like, Chief Bogo, wouldn’t you make more sense? I, I don’t know if I’m really the best candidate for this?”

Bogo opened his mouth–

“Nonsense, Officer Hopps, nonsense!” Winddancer broke in again; quite how the stallion managed to photogenically throw his hair around so much whilst talking, and without hurting his neck, was anyone’s guess. “You’ve been personally recommended to the President!”

The big horse leaned in, and raised a hoof to his mouth conspiratorially.

“By me!” he stage-whispered, or perhaps that was just the volume he thought actual whispering was meant to be.

Straightening up and returning to his normal volume, he continued:

“Zootopia has, for better or worse, seen a fair bit of attention in the last couple of years as far as police work is concerned–” aaand he was going for another lap around the office; Judy noticed with some worry that Bogo’s left eye had begun to twitch.

“–and it’s fair to say that you, Officer Hopps–” A hoof was pointed again, this time so close to her face that Judy instinctively leaned back for fear of her teeth gaining extra keratin.

“–have been front and centre during that time! My disgraced, wooly predecessor may not have had the best of intentions, but pushing you as the face of the ZPD has turned out to be pretty spot on, if you ask me.

“You’ve got star power, bunny!” he said, waving a hoof before him dramatically as he did.

“And believe me, I know a thing or two about star power!” That was naturally an opportunity for the Mayor to pose once more, this time with one foot upon the empty chair whilst flexing and looking into the middle distance.

“As much as it p–”

The Chief caught himself, reconsidered, and started again.

“Mayor Winddancer is, admittedly, correct in that assessment, Hopps,” he said, looking thoroughly, thoroughly tired. “Your escapades, for better and for worse, have made you a rather prominent figure within the ZPD. Animals know about you, all across the FA and quite possibly beyond, more than anyone outside Zootopia is likely to specifically know about me, for instance. That fame, or perhaps notoriety–” and he narrowed his eyes at both she and her partner, as if daring them to object.

Nick scoffed a little, Judy just rubbed the back of her head and grinned bashfully.

“–is the sort of thing which can be utilised for our benefit, if simply as a means to drum up interest by sending a ‘celebrity’ rather than a ‘normal cop’.” Seeing the large buffalo utilise air quotes was a bizarre experience for Judy, though Nick was recovered enough from his prior surprise to chuckle at the sight.

“Shut it, Wilde. And whilst tempering your enthusiasm is something we have discussed previously, it cannot be denied that you have several more traditional metrics in your favour, even in spite of your lack of veterancy. Academy valedictorian, various training scores, practical experience well beyond the norm for someone of your tenure, an apparently encyclopaedic knowledge of law and policing code…”

Bogo paused, and then eyed Nick closely.

“I am about to be unusually open and frank about your partner; and you, orange dog, will keep your mouth shut throughout. I trust I am understood?”

Nick jauntily mimed zipping his mouth closed.

“Fantastic. Now: Judy…”

The Chief was actually addressing her by her first name! He’d never done that before, in fact she couldn’t remember ever hearing him call anyone by their first name! Somehow this made the moment seem even more extraordinary than it was already, an impression only helped along by Bogo looking at her with what she could only identify as fondness!

“I know this has come as a surprise, and I’ll admit that I was sceptical when the Mayor’s office approached me with this idea. You are, after everything, still a junior officer.

“Make no mistake, however: I have no hurt feelings about being passed up for this… spectacle. You’ll know from experience that I am perfectly happy to let another capable officer handle whatever matters they can, where appropriate. And yes, I can tell you’re thinking about that press conference, and it must be admitted that sometimes even I can make mistakes when it comes to delegating responsibility. We’ve talked about what happened then and it doesn’t bear repeating now, lessons have been learned.

“As for now… you are young, Hopps. Idealistic.

“That idealism has previously caused you to be extremely naive, and I think it’s fair to say that you haven’t entirely shaken that off. Some are likely to keep that aspect of you at the forefront of their minds, regardless of what you say and do subsequently.

“You’ve also been through trauma the likes of which can break senior, hardened officers with decades of experience; and whilst I know it hasn’t been easy, you’ve somehow come through the other side, not just alive but thriving. Anyone who matters here knows that, and it’s bought you a lot of respect.

“You have a lot of growing to do, still, but there is a not-insignificant part of me which hopes you don’t change too much. You have an honest passion for what you do, for the animals you help on a daily basis, and you wear it on your sleeve. That genuine desire to make the world a better place hasn’t dimmed in spite of having a few harsh doses of reality. You are a commendable officer, Judy, and offering this assignment is as much a reflection of that as anything else.”

Judy hadn’t been prepared to cry this morning, but the waterworks were in full swing by the time Bogo had finished speaking. Nick was quick to offer his red handkerchief, and she blew into it loudly after dabbing at her eyes.

There was an even louder honking sound from the other chair, and everyone looked to see Mayor Winddancer, finally sitting down, blowing into his own handkerchief.

“Sorry,” he squeaked, sounding surprisingly self-conscious, “that was just such… such a beautiful moment…”

Judy giggled through her tears, blew again, offered the used, visibly soggy handkerchief back to Nick, who couldn’t help but pull a face, and then put it away in her own pocket.

“I’ll… I’ll wash this, first. Then give it back. Thank you!” She beamed at him, and the fox squirmed in embarrassed happiness before she offered him pity and looked away, back to the Chief.

“And thank you, Sir, that… that really means a lot, coming from you. If you think I can do it, I’d be happy to accept!”

“If you think you can’t do it,” Bogo cautioned gently, “then no-one will think any less of you, either. This is a big responsibility, and you’ll need to have a good working knowledge of policing practices all across Animalia as part of your duties. A full informational brochure will be made available for you to read in the near future, so we won’t say it’s concrete quite yet, although the sooner we can finalise your involvement, the better.”

Judy nodded her agreement, and then noticed that the Chief and Nick were sharing a look.

“Anything to add, Officer Wilde?”

“Nothing except wholehearted agreement, sir. Judy is the best of us.” Wow, he didn’t even hesitate! Judy couldn’t help but blush at the further compliment, although her embarrassment didn’t stop her from noticing the subtle nod Nick gave the Chief, or that Bogo responded in kind. A small but genuine gesture of respect or appreciation, from what she could determine. Who’d have thought?

“Although, now that you mention it…”

And there was the shift; in an instant, the atmosphere between the fox and the buffalo morphed back to their usual dynamic of Smarm and Smarmier. Judy braced herself for what was to come; but although her brow flattened in pre-emptive exasperation, she couldn't fully cancel out the small smirk which also displayed itself on her face.

“It does come to mind that you specifically wanted both of us at this little heart-to-heart. So far, though, all I’ve done is sit here and look pretty.”

Nick glanced at her, and winked.

“Look pretty and provide emotional bunnies with supportive ordnance, rather.”

She rolled her eyes and he turned back to Bogo, who was watching the fox with the mien of a put-upon schoolteacher fighting to maintain patience in the face of a rowdy pupil.

“And whilst I must say, I think I’ve been performing my own duties admirably this morning, I can’t believe you’d want me here just to bask in Officer Hopps’ glory before being assigned to parking duty whilst she hobnobs with the bigwigs.”

“Never assume that is a fate you are destined to avoid, Officer Wilde, for there is still ample opportunity for me to make it so.” The two were smiling at each other, but in a manner Judy likened to sharks circling a helpless swimmer.

“However,” Bogo relented, for now, “you are correct.

“I would never wish to speak on behalf of Officer Hopps,” he glanced at her knowingly, “or question her taste, but there is a ‘Plus One’ available for the starting party, and it was rather assumed that you would be chosen for such an ordeal.”

Nick, surprised, looked at her again with imperfectly guarded hopefulness. She couldn’t help but scoff fondly: really, who else did he think she might choose? He had the sense to look a little sheepish.

“And, uh, supposing I might deign to grant the Kingswell envoys my foxy presence, what does being a ‘Plus One’ entail, exactly?” Judy decided that she wouldn’t tease Nick about the happy little wag in his tail, at least not until their lunch break.

“Your only function at the function, Wilde, will be to hang off her arm and, as you say, ‘look pretty’.”

The buffalo smirked at the fox before continuing:

“Seeing as that’s a lost cause already, however, whatever you may believe about this morning,” to which Nick snorted, “it would behove you to assist with Hopps’ preparations and try to have some relevant details held inside your own, tiny skull as well. A streetfox has his uses, but a more genteel vulpine should be present at this party.”

“Don’t worry, Chief Bogo,” Judy decided to prevent whatever snark was on the tip of Nick’s tongue. “At the Zootennial Gala, Officer Wilde displayed a remarkable talent for polite society behaviour, following some corporal encouragement, at least.” The rabbit smirked as Nick rubbed absentmindedly at his poor stomach, although her amusement was quickly ended by a further thought.

“Um, although, on that note…” She cringed a little in embarrassment, but there wasn’t any way around this but to be honest. “I… don’t exactly have anything to wear. I never got the ballgown I wore back from the… friends… who helped us in a Big way after we escaped from the Gala, or Nick’s suit for that matter…”

Full details of the pair’s dealings with Fru Fru and her crime boss father were, once again, kept deliberately quiet from the public, although Bogo had been informed and would understand. She had asked after their clothes on the next of the (necessarily few) interactions she’d later had with Fru, but the fashionable shrew had apologetically informed her that they had been burned to dispose of the evidence. She had offered to cover the cost of the replacement bill the rental place was charging, however, and Judy had gratefully accepted, because it was not cheap.

Even with that handled, Judy doubted they would be thrilled to accept her custom once again, which was unfortunate because they were the cheapest supplier of such fine garments that she was able to find. Anywhere else, and she might as well have just bought something outright, which would put a considerable dent in her finances if that was what she would need to resort to this time.

“Not to worry, Officer Hopps!” Apparently much recovered, Winddancer happily sprang out of his chair – Bogo didn’t even bother to hide his groan – and rummaged in his coat pocket for a moment before retrieving a small-class envelope, which looked decidedly undersized in his hoof.

“Ol’Johnny-boy has been good enough to approve a modest federal stipend for expenses related to your time as an Envoy!”

He passed Judy the envelope; she opened it, and read the letter within.⁵

She nearly fell out of her chair.

…from the Office of the President of the Federation of Animalia…

…in recognition of service above and beyond…

…hereby reward Officer Judith Laverne Hopps, Zootopia Police Department…

…to utilise as you deem appropriate, upon agreement of accepting the position…

Beside her, Nick let out a long, slow whistle, perhaps to represent the zeroes.

“Indeed,” agreed Bogo.

“Let’s just say,” the Mayor confided, casually buffing his other hoof on his jacket and looking quite pleased with himself as he did, “the Lynxleys’ influence didn’t stop at Zootopia’s municipal boundaries, and Woolington was glad to see them go. The President was more than happy to extend his thanks to you for your services, Officer Hopps; he told me they had their fingers in way too many pies.”

He paused, clearly thinking about something very, very hard.

“Strange thing to say about them, though,” he wondered aloud. “Always seemed the types for cleanliness, not to mention proper dessert etiquette. Must have always just washed their paws any time I met them…”

“Right, well, I think that just about covers everything, Mayor Winddancer!” Bogo exclaimed, eager to have the horse leave.

“Right you are, Chief Bogo!” Brought back to the present once again, the stallion gave all the officers a beatific smile. “I know you’ll have the particulars to iron out, so I’ll leave you to it! And don’t worry: no need to see me out, I know the way to the lobby, and my driver’s waiting for me there!”

He favoured the two smaller officers with a wave as he passed them by.

“Looking forward to seeing you at the party, Officers!”

The door closed behind him, and they could make out his receding voice as he muttered to himself:

“Now, Brian, let’s get this right this time: first a right, then down the corridor to the bannister…”

Only once he had faded away completely did the Chief release a mighty sigh, accompanied by visibly deflating in his chair whilst rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Ye Gods, I thought he’d never leave…” Bogo mumbled, either forgetting the other officers’ presence or just too exhausted to care.

Judy, it had to be admitted, didn’t particularly notice, as she was still reeling from the prospect of quite so much money being shortly deposited into her bank account. She read and re-read the letter from top to bottom, the gratifyingly plain-language fineprint, and of course the number itself. It didn’t change, the decimal point didn’t miraculously shift itself any further to the left, and it was even written out in words after the numerals, so there was no mistaking it.

“This… this is…”

In the grand scheme of worldly wealth, it wasn’t ‘that much’ money. She’d hardly be the new wealthiest mammal alive, or even anything approaching it. But for her? For where she was in her career, in her life… it was a lot of money. It was life-changing.

Stipend?

Expenses?

This was no stipend!

And forget expenses!

With this, she could buy a beautiful new ballgown for every day of the week, plus an entire new wardrobe! She could move out of her tiny little shoebox apartment! She could explore considerably higher-rate savings products with her bank, or with any other bank she chose! She could think about fancy vacations, financing a nice car, putting a deposit down on a real house…

“This is… too much…”

She wasn’t quite sure if she meant that it was too much money, or that she was feeling overwhelmed by it, or both, or what…

A good few moments passed before she realised that Nick had gotten off the chair and stood in front of her to hold her trembling paws. The letter had been handed to Bogo, who was carefully replacing it in its envelope whilst studiously examining the view from his window.

“Breathe, Carrots, you’re okay.”

She did as bidden, and inhaled deeply through her nose, held it for a couple of seconds, then let it all out in a whooping sigh. Judy focused on Nick, on his worried eyes peering into her own, and lightly squeezed his paws to show she was alright.

Well, she wasn’t alright, to be honest; she felt like she’d been through the wringer, and it wasn’t even halfway through the morning.

“Just… just like that.” She shrugged, unsure of what else she could do. “My life has changed, just like that. No warning, no build up. It’s just so… bizarre.”

“I believe this is what’s sometimes referred to as a ‘Golden Ticket’, or a ‘Substitute Medal Notice’, depending on who you ask,” Bogo informed them. “Some bright spark in Woolington apparently realised a while ago that most mammals probably can’t be bothered getting paraded and lauded and wined and dined ad nauseum, but they were unusually inclined to reward them for exceptional acts anyway. So, what does everyone normally benefit from? Easy: cash injection. I’ve seen a few of them given to other police officers over the years, although this is probably one of the most considerable.”

Nick had given Judy’s paws a squeeze of his own after she had stopped spacing out, and then let her go. Comforting your partner after a shock was one thing, but holding hands in front of your boss when it was no longer strictly necessary was another. He hadn’t taken up his place on the chair again, though, opting instead to stand on her opposite side and put his paw on her shoulder.

After Bogo’s revelation, he had exclaimed:

“Oh, really? I always thought ‘SMNs’ were just an urban myth! Like, come on: the President giving out a chunk of the Federal Reserve as pocket money for all the good little kits and cubs? Good one, pal, now pull the other one!” Nick seemed genuinely surprised by this revelation, though why Judy was surprised that Nick had heard of it in the first place she didn’t know, it was the kind of tidbit that probably got whispered about in his circles.

On the subject of surprise…

“You didn’t seem surprised by this, Sir,” Judy stated, and Bogo nodded.

“Whatever the Mayor thinks of himself and his supposed friendship with the President, I doubt his word alone would actually have sufficed to get this sort of thing off the ground. By which, I’m referring to everything discussed today, not just the Golden Ticket.

“I say that, because I was contacted on a number of occasions by Federal representatives of one form or another, who asked a number of questions about you, Hopps. Your actions, your character, and so forth.

“I also wanted to ensure that this appointment, and particularly this ‘stipend’, didn’t come with any strings attached. I have extracted several promises, just short of speaking with the President himself, that this is indeed the case.”

That was a relief to hear, and something which had been a niggling worry at the back of Judy’s mind.

“The only requirement I was instructed to adhere to,” Bogo continued, “was that you were to be asked to be the Envoy first, and then the reward could be offered if you said ‘yes’. Some final test of supposed worthiness, presumably.”

Worthiness? Her insecurity had a few things to say about that, although Nick’s paw on her shoulder helped her push it down for the moment. Of course, thinking about ‘Nick’ and ‘worthiness’ in adjacent sentences just brought another question to the fore:

“Wait a minute, what about Nick?”

Bogo raised his eyebrow and tilted his head, and Nick looked similarly confused when Judy looked up at him.

“Without you, Nick, I’d never have gotten to where I am today! You didn’t just help me, you saved Zootopia alongside me! And you’ve saved my life as you’ve done it! Isn’t there anything for him, too?” she asked as she turned back to Bogo, who considered for a moment before replying.

“Whilst you always make it a point to emphasise the important role your partner plays in any report you write,” Bogo said carefully, “and, for once, without any particular disrespect being directed towards Officer Wilde, it is nevertheless the opinion of the powers that be, one which is shared by myself, that you are very much the prime mover in your partnership. You are the leader, and Wilde is the follower. You are the trailblazer, the go-getter, the one with… mmph, ‘star-power’…”

Bogo grimaced at quoting Winddancer, but it helped get the point across.

“This is, in all honesty, to be expected. Even without your particular exceptionalism, you’re the senior officer, overall junior though you still are. Wilde will be taking his cues from you for some time. Over time, he will develop his own strengths and competencies to reinforce and supplement your own, and will be able to stand on his own two feet to a greater degree. Until then, you are the focus of attention whether you like it or not, whilst Wilde plays second fiddle.”

“But–”

“Carrots, it’s fine.” She stared up at the tod in disbelief, only to see him smiling gently down at her. He gave her a shrug of his own.

“It doesn’t bother me that I’m not being rewarded like you are. It’s like the Chief says, I’m still playing catch up to you, one way or another. Sometimes a bit too literally…” He bounced his eyebrows and she scoffed and turned away, crossing her arms and sinking down into the chair more as she did. Childish? Absolutely, but she didn’t care.

“I appreciate your concern for me, partner,” he chuckled, his paw remaining in place upon her shoulder, “but you don’t need to worry about it. For now, I am your support act, and I’m perfectly happy doing some of that basking I mentioned earlier. At least I’ve got a front row seat!”

“And if you are concerned about compensating your partner for his hard work, perhaps you might offer to organise his outfit for the party,” Bogo suggested blithely, “if for no other reason than I trust your fashion sense far more than his.”

“How dare you.”

“Look me in the eyes, Wilde, and tell me that you currently own anything more classy than those horrendous Pawaiian shirts.”

“I cannot do that, Chief, because the concept is flawed in its very principle.”

Judy zoned out as Nick and the Chief descended into another bout of bickering, her head swimming with everything that had happened that morning. She was elated at having been so highly praised and regarded, nervous at the prospect of representing her country in an important series of talks, flabbergasted at having a fortune dumped in her lap…

And she was definitely getting a headache, not helped by the two bantering males.

“Chief Bogo, sir?” Judy cut in without really meaning to interrupt, “I feel like I need to go home and lie down.” She was only half-joking.

Nick’s paw on her shoulder tightened a little, and she could imagine the fox’s face similarly tightening in worry, again, but he relaxed as a rumbling chuckle was drawn forth from the buffalo’s chest.

“I’ll bet, Hopps, I’ll bet. For now, both of you can take an early, extended lunch break to talk things over, and I’ll send relevant documentation to your emails.” He stood, and came around the side of the desk. After waiting for Judy to get off the chair and stand beside Nick, he bent down and handed her the letter once again, which she held onto with some trepidation, as if it was a delicate piece of china. Or a live hand grenade.

“If you’re truly not feeling up to carrying on after that we can talk about it then. I know Wilde will be just itching for some of that parking duty we talked about earlier…”

Bogo ignored whatever face Nick might have pulled (Judy didn’t need to see it to know it happened) and strode to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle before he opened it.

“I would suggest speaking to the Accounts team when you have the chance, Hopps,” Bogo advised sagely. “They are trained to provide guidance to officers about a number of different financial situations, including sudden, dramatic changes in wealth and how to manage it. This wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened, after all, although that’s generally been comparatively modest lottery winnings and not, well, this.”

She thanked the buffalo once again and the two small officers filed out of the office and into the corridor.

“Oh, Officer Wilde, aren’t you forgetting something?”

They turned back to look up at Bogo, to see him grinning down at Nick with a glint in his eyes which made the fox gulp.

“Did you think the party on the first night was the entire event? Or did you think the party was going to last for the entire week?”

Ah, yes, the matter of Nick’s involvement still hadn’t been entirely answered. The fox cleared his throat and snarked back in an almost-but-not-quite insubordinate tone:

“I’m terribly sorry, Chief Bogo, it must have slipped my mind on account of Officer Hopps’ surprisingly lucrative letter. Do please inform me of what I am to do for the rest of that week?” He threw in a simpering flutter of his eyelashes and a clasping of his paws in front of his chest for good measure.

Judy, instinctively, punched him in the arm; fortunately, Bogo was apparently in a good mood, and his grin was undiminished as he snorted.

“You have two things going for you, fox: you’re the only other officer close to a rabbit in stature, and some of this rabbit’s competency has inexplicably rubbed off on you. Therefore, seeing as you managed to score well on the recent close-protection modules, you’ll also be performing bodyguard duties for the duration of the talks. See to it that no harm comes to Madam Special Envoy Judy Hopps.”

Bogo spared Judy one last pointed glance of her own.

“And if Madam Special Envoy Judy Hopps could do her best to avoid any shenanigans of the sort she is famed for, at least until the Kingswellers are safely back home, that would be appreciated by all, yes?”

The door was closed, and Judy and Nick were left alone once more.

“…sweet cheese and crackers,” Judy mumbled, turning to lead them back down the corridor and follow in Winddancer’s footsteps.

“You can say that again, Carrots.” Nick said no more until they had reached the glass partition overlooking the lobby.

From on high, it almost seemed strange that everything was still perfectly normal down there: other officers of all shapes and sizes going out or coming in; suspects in cuffs, being led this way and that; Clawhauser at the reception and dispatch desk, playing with his phone in one paw whilst absentmindedly holding a half-eaten doughnut in the other, waving it around to the beat of some tune or other.

“What do we think Benji will do when he finds out about all of this?” Nick ventured. “Will he squeal? Will he not care unless Gazelle is also involved?”

He paused.

“Come to think of it, Gazelle is a chart-topper all across the FA, so maybe she will be involved!”

“Oh radishes, you’re right, she could be!” Judy agreed. She considered a few ‘what-ifs’ about this or that other person being asked to participate, but shook her head to avoid the various tangents that train of thought might follow. She looked down at the portly cheetah again, thought about his love for gossip (and utter inability to keep it to himself), and grimaced. He was a sweetheart, but…

“Well, for starters, I’m not telling him about the money.” Judy glanced up at Nick briefly. “Or anyone else, for that matter. I don’t think I need the world to know my business like that.”

“Probably wise,” Nick nodded. “Not that I’m cynical or anything–”

“Perish the thought!” Judy couldn’t help but laugh, and Nick made a mocking impression of her laughter before carrying on as if she hadn’t said anything.

“–but in my experience if some mammal finds themselves richer than they were before, and word gets out, they soon find out who their real friends are, and it can be a smaller number than they first thought.

“Now, granted, that was the case with my previous life of scum and villainy, and it might not entirely translate to the pillars of society we now find ourselves among.”

They saw Zebraxton and Zebrowski emerge from a doorway in deep conversation, exclaim some realisation simultaneously, and knock heads with a celebratory cry of “Zebros!” that they could hear from upstairs.

“Or the savants…” They both shook their heads, he with mild disdain and she with amusement at his remarks.

“Still, there’s plenty of scum and villainy left out there even without me, and more than one desperate animal amongst them who might fancy their chances at grabbing Little Miss Richbunny’s purse if they thought she was packing fat stacks.”

His face darkened, and he glared at the assorted mammals below as if suspicious of them all.

“To say nothing of those who might try grabbing Little Miss Richbunny, herself…”

He trailed off, worry yet again twisting his handsome features. Judy’s personal safety occupied his thoughts more often than it did her own, as she now knew. Her efforts to be more calm and careful had been noticed and appreciated, but there was likely nothing either of them could do to alleviate that worry entirely. They were in a potentially dangerous job even when not averting city-upheaving crises, and short of wrapping her in cotton wool and keeping her hugged close in his den at all times⁶ there was nothing Nick could do to keep the world away.

There was nothing he would truly want to do, either, as he knew how much the life Judy had chosen for herself meant to her. He had left the multitude who put her down over the years, and now he was her staunchest supporter, and protector.

And to think, that was actually going to be his job for the duration of the event. Judy didn’t think he needed much encouragement, and half-worried he might try a bit too hard, not that she was one to lecture on moderating one’s actions…

Instead, the rabbit bumped the fox’s hip with her own.

“Come on, Slick, you can’t go looking at everyone like they’re about to rush me all the time. I still need to do my job until the party, and then I’ll need to actually talk to people when I’m there and at the talks! Gotta let me get close to folks sometimes.”

“I dunno about that, Madam Special Envoy.” The fox mustered a smile, clearly putting a bit more effort into it than usual, although it seemed genuine enough. He moved a half-step away and held his paw up as if addressing an invisible petitioner:

“Please, sir, no closer than three feet from Madam Hopps at any time! No, thank you, Miss, the Special Envoy will not be shaking paws at this time! Stand aside, buddy, got a VIB en route to a meeting of international importance and you aren’t invited!”

Judy laughed again and started walking towards the stairs, and beckoned Nick to follow.

“Okay, Mr Comedian, I think it’s high time we get out of here and hit the beat, even if we aren’t walking it right now. I need some fresh air, and maybe an aspirin.”

“’Few drugstores nearby. Dunno how ‘fresh’ you’re gonna get in downtown Savannah Central, though. Hey, you thought about what frivolous fancies you’re gonna buy yet?” he asked as they descended back to lobby-level. “Golden bathtub? Diamond-encrusted carrot pen? Life-sized teddy bear to rule over the rest of your plushies? Please tell me you’re gonna do something stupid, at least; even you can’t be Miss Sensible all the time.”

“Oh, so you want me to go all ‘I’m not gonna tell anyone, but there will be signs’, huh?” Judy shook her head ruefully. “I hate to break it to you, Nick, but the first things I thought about included boring but eminently practical things, like savings rates and a house deposit.”

“Oh my God!” He made a gagging noise, and she was alarmed at how genuine it sounded.

“It’s worse than I thought!” he gasped, and looked at her like she’d grown an extra head. “You really have no idea how to splurge, do you?”

“Neither of us are - or, were, I guess - rich enough to know how to splurge; the fact that you do is not indicative of anything good or admirable!”

He blew a raspberry at her, she blew one right back, and they laughed together whilst passing - and deliberately ignoring - Clawhauser’s desk, the eponymous cheetah staring at them from behind it with dewy eyes, his elbows resting on the desk and his face resting in his paws.

By unspoken accord they left the station with no more banter or behaviour which could in any way be construed as flirtatious; in fact they were the absolute picture of platonic friendship, yessirree. It was only after they had gone down the outside steps and picked a direction to walk at random that Nick opened his mouth once more, the noise and movement of the crowds around them providing privacy.

“Do you suppose he suspects anything?” There was no particular likelihood that Clawhauser had been informed by Chief Bogo regarding the subject of their conversation that morning, so Judy didn’t need to guess what he was referring to.

“I think he’s been matchmaking for a while,” she replied with a fond shake of the head, “we didn’t need to grow up and start talking about it for him to start.”

“Well, yeah, sure.” Nick rolled his eyes, well aware of the big cat’s proclivity for such antics. “You going on about our ‘anniversary’ so much sure didn’t help with that, I might add. But I mean, now that we have developed a little more collective maturity, have we… done anything that we didn’t do before? Is there any reason Benji, or anyone else, might have to suspect that we’re… kind of a thing?”

Judy was still in a funny mood, otherwise she might not have been tempted to brazenly pout up at Nick, with trembling lower lip and wide eyes, and say:

“Only kind of? Mean fox!”

The instant flattening of the tod’s brow was ample reward, and she burst into giggles as he swiped at her half-heartedly, an attack that she easily dodged by hopping a few steps forward. They were definitely getting looks from passersby, but Judy didn’t care at that moment; she was too busy floating in a strange cocktail of emotions which had her feeling dangerously playful.

“I will have you know, silly bunny,” Nick growled teasingly while jogging to catch up, before continuing in a hushed but heated voice: “that I had the perfect opportunity for vengeance for your little trick this morning when we left the Precinct, and I didn’t take it. There’s a tiny blindspot in security cam coverage when someone is inside the doorway, and with you just in front of me, and me in between you and Claw, I could have plucked at that fluffy little scut of yours and made you squeal, but I didn't.”

Judy giggled a little more quietly and breathlessly, and could feel her cheeks heating up as she imagined that scenario playing out. Nick’s threat was not hypothetical: the two hadn’t ‘explored’ their budding romance to a great degree yet, but a little fooling around here and there had taught both of them a few of the other’s sensitive spots. It was how she knew to lick his ear, after all.

“And this is the thanks I get!” He shook his head with an affectation of sorrow, spoiled ever so slightly by the downright evil grin splitting his muzzle. “You’re on two for two, Judy my dear, and you had best believe that Karma is coming for you. Think you’re ready for that?”

“What I think–”

Judy suddenly experienced a moment of clarity, took a leaf out of Bogo’s book from earlier, and stopped herself from saying something which was probably unwise whilst in front of others. Although, Bogo probably hadn’t been about to say anything quite as salacious as she had been.⁷

“–is that we have probably just answered your previous question, Nick, and should probably dial it down a little…”

Nick’s grin became a rictus, and his eyes darted about at the many, many others in close proximity to their ambulatory tête-à-tête. Were all the random pedestrians staring? Had any of them been paying particularly close attention? Probably not, but best to avoid any possible complaints about behaviour unbecoming of a police officer whilst out and about in uniform.

“Yyyyeah, okay, we might need to be a little more careful.”

They shared an embarrassed grimace, but of course, Judy and Nick being who they were, it didn’t take long for them to break out chuckling at their own silliness.

“We’re doomed!” Judy announced cheerfully.

“Mm-hm, one hundred percent doomed!” Nick heartily agreed.

Fox and bunny walked in companionable silence for a short while, enough to let Judy’s thoughts circle back to her impending responsibilities. The idea that she was going to be actively aiding Animalia and Kingswell improve their relationship was daunting, to say the least. She couldn’t even speculate much on what that would require her to do, not until she read the primers from Bogo.

Still, she had already, out of her own interest (and since she was little), looked into some of the ways that different police services across Animalia operated in comparison with the ZPD. From her experience it seemed like other jurisdictions generally either considered the ZPD to be the gold standard and heavily based their practices upon them, or else wanted to be distinct from the ‘big city cops’ and so did things as differently as was possible whilst staying within federal criteria.

Curiously enough, rural ol’ Bunnyburrow’s own Sheriff’s Department didn’t fall within the latter group, and had instated a number of reforms to bring themselves more in line with the modern standards of Zootopia just a couple of years after Judy had been born. This led to young Judy being particularly interested in them and how they worked while growing up, which adult Judy had to privately admit took the form of pestering them to no end, although they never seemed to mind. Maybe she could send them (and other places) a slightly more mature request for information once she had reviewed her envoy documents.

Perhaps she was already more prepared for this than she’d given herself credit for. If anything, she was beginning to feel a little bit excited about the prospect, which was a good progression. That feeling might flip-flop a bit over the intervening few months, but she was determined to meet the challenge head-on, and she knew Nick would be there to help in any way he could.

Judy shivered suddenly and shook her arms out in front of her. “Brrr! Gosh, I’m still so…”

“Jittery? Nervy?” It was said with a teasing note, but Nick’s paw casually-not-so-casually brushed against hers as they walked. “We’ve passed a couple of drugstores already, by the way; you feeling a little better?”

“Thanks, partner.” She casually-not-so-casually brushed his paw right back, always appreciative of his little gestures. “I think I’m gonna be ok, both just now and, y’know, generally. I think I’m just hopped up on adrenaline, or I’m coming down from it, or something. Just, still a little weirded out by everything and don’t quite know where I am.”

“This morning seems more than just a few hours ago, doesn’t it?” said Nick contemplatively. “Before, everything was as normal as can be expected in this crazy city. Now you’re a diplomat. Funny how that works, huh?”

“And how,” Judy nodded. “I’m trying to plan out some things to do in order to help get ready for the summit, send some messages to different PD’s around the country, that sort of thing. But I can’t really do anything concrete until I check out Bogo’s emails, and I don’t really want to yet. I don’t think I have the mental capacity right now.”

An idea struck her and her ears perked up, a mischievous smile spreading across her face as she finally took note of the area where they had aimlessly wandered.

“But enough about that for now!” she announced, and bounced a few paces ahead again. Nick’s eyebrow raised as she came to a stop and turned to look him in the face once more, and he pulled up in front of her with a questioning smile to match her own.

“I’ve decided I’ve had enough Big Bunny Thoughts for this morning, and it’s time to be a bit silly, if not quite golden toilet silly, or uniformed-PDA silly.”

“Okay, now you’re speaking my language,” he nodded approvingly. “Anything in mind?”

“Yes, in fact, I do: sugar!” She spun around and held up her arm as if to direct traffic, looked over her shoulder to wink at the fox, and started marching in the direction of Jumbeaux’s.

“Now come on, you’ve got a jumbo pop to buy for me!”

“Huh?!” he exclaimed, the perplexed fox too startled to immediately follow.

“You remember our bet, don’t you? I do, and I won! So come on!” she called out, and broke into a jog.

The last she saw of the fox, Nick was left standing, gawping, but as she turned to watch where she was going she saw him shake his head and glare after her.

“Hey! You were only half-right!” he cried out indignantly, and soon she heard the slapping of his feet on the paving behind her as he raced to catch up through the early lunch crowds, his laughter soon joining hers and giving him away.