"So..." The guy dragged out the awkwardness. "What's your name?"
"Judy" Judy began. "Judy Hopps."
"Judy Hopps!" The guy repeated with enthusiasm. "I've heard about you! You saved the society of Zootopia from those evil animals!"
Judy rubbed the back of her ears. "Well...I wouldn't take all the credit. I did get help from Nick."
"Nick?" The guy said. "You mean that fox dude?"
"Yep! That's Nick..." Judy spoke fade. "So, what about you? What's your name?"
"Jacob Hares."
"Jacob Hares?"
"Yup."
"That's a fairly interesting name."
Jacob chuckled. "So, make a left here, right?"
"Mhm." Judy hummed. "Thanks for doing me this favor."
"Anything for a neighbor."
Arriving at Judy's apartment, Judy took her leave. "Thank you again."
"No problem, Judy." He smiled. "By the way, do you want to hang out together some time? Get to know one another?"
"That sounds nice." Judy and Jacob exchanged numbers and waved goodbye.
Entering her apartment, Judy slouched in a couch and turned on the TV to see what was on. She decided to see the cooking network to prepare dinner.
Thinking of creating a carrot top salad, Judy ran to the kitchen and began preparing the meal. After a couple of minutes of cutting carrots and pouring them into the pot to boil, she sat down by the TV and relaxed once more.
The bell rang, getting her attention and she went ahead to answer it. Opening up, her eyes were drawn from his chest, to his face. "Nick."
"Hey Judy, I missed you at work today."
"Yeah...I know." She sighed.
"What's up?" Nick sniffed the air as he walked in. "The aroma in here is great! What cha making?"
"Carrot Top Salad."
Nick's mouth dropped. "Seriously? My mom used to make that for me when I was little!"
"Seriously?" Judy giggled. "I thought you'd be probably eating meat."
"Nah, ever since my mom moved to the city, she decided to abstain from meats and preserve herself with vegetables."
"Reasonable woman." Judy commended.
"Heh...thanks." Nick sat in the dining area. He watched as she stood on a stool, to peek over the pot and stir the mixture.
"N-Need any help? You seem pretty short for a cook."
"Nah, I got this."
"You sure?"
"Positive." Judy tippy toed even more, struggling to see everything inside. Nick rolled his eyes and smirked, coming over. He lifted Judy, startling her. Judy turned her head up to Nick who stared with a concerned smile on his mouth.
"Go on, stir the food."
Judy smiled, and began stirring the food thoroughly. "Alright it's all finished!"
Placing her on the ground gently, Nick followed Judy with the pot to the sink to empty the water, placing it back on the stove.
"Okay, you've done enough, you can go sit now."
"Yes captain!" Nick saluted and sat.
Judy finished preparing the meal and settled two plates, one for her, and one for him.
"Mmm smells delicious." He wooed. Nick took a bite of his salad happily. "This is too good!"
"Aha, thank you!" She smiled watching Nick take in his food like a hungry fox. Nick slew down, noticing that Judy was taking her time eating. "What? You're not hungry for your own food?"
Judy chuckled. "No, it's not that, it's just that we bunnies like to take our time with our food."
Nick scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "Now you know that's a lie. Bunnies are always rushing their food to keep it going."
"Well...that's partially true."
After conversing, eating, and Nick washing the dishes, they sat on two separate couches. Judy went to the bathroom quickly to get a rinse off.
Nick made sure that he made himself at home on the couch. He pulled his collar a little, feeling a bit intimidated by his thoughts. Pulling a small box out of his back pocket, he took a glimpse at the shiny bedazzlement inside the safety case. "I want to, I want to, I really want too..." He mumbled.
"Hey, I'm back!" Judy protruded in her pajamas.
Nick hastily shoved the box into his pocket and laughed a bit cautiously. "Boy, did you surprise me."
"Did I?" Judy questioned a bit puzzled.
"Yeah, you sort of did." Nick leaned back in his seat and exhaled heavily, spreading his arms across the sofa. "Tell me, Judy. What is it like to feel...different?"
Judy fell onto the couch across and got snugly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean like, when you feel like you wanna take a bigger step in your life...but you don't know how to proceed with it?"
Judy's thoughts became distant. Oh...I see. He must be talking about Carrie. Maybe those crates were her moving her things into his.
"I don't know, it all depends." Judy spoke stern.
Nick sat up straight. Staring at Judy, he tilted his head in interest. "What do you mean?"
"You tell me, you're the one who's asking."
"I know but..." Nick rubbed his shoulder. A smile replaced his uncomfortable demeanor. "Well, I guess it not that hard to figure out. Forget I mentioned it."
Arriving at work the next day, Judy entered the meeting room where all her colleagues were. Nick wasn't there. Sighing to herself, she sat at an empty seat. Chief Bogo began to talk about the next case that needed to be handled. Ten minutes into the meeting, Judy became impatient. She ducked under the desk, reaching for her phone and dialed Nick's number. It took a couple of seconds for her to get a response.
"Hello?"
"Nick!!!" Judy hissed. "Where are you?!"
Judy could tell Nick was shocked because his voice squeaked a little. "I-I'm at the ZPD!"
"No you aren't, because if you were you would have been in the meeting!"
"I am there!"
"I would have seen you! You're not in here!"
The line became awkwardly quiet. "Nick, are you still there?"
"Nick, who are you talking to on the phone?"
Nick glowered. "Ugh, Carrie can you not?!"
"Aww, I just wanna know who you're talking to!"
Judy muted herself, lowering the phone from her ear.
"Judy, are you still the-" Judy hanged up the phone. She felt terribly angry, shoving the phone in her back pocket.
"As for you, Officer Hopps-Officer Hopps? Are you alright?" Chief Bogo questioned. "Are you listening?"
Judy jumped in her seat. "Yes sir, I am!"
"You and Nick will be handling the case of the con-artist, Daniel Camo."
"Yes sir."
"By the way, where is Mr. Wilde?" The chief queried.
Judy sadly shrugged. "I don't know..."
Judy had to begin the case on her own. Taking the files, she examined the documents in her office. She ruffled the fur on her head in frustration. It's not easy for her to focus and think of clues without Nick around.
Connecting some dots, she decided to begin investigating. Judy first headed to the flea market. She spoke to the manager of the store. Ms. Rep was fearful that if she doesn't figure out who's been manipulating her company and causing it to look like a fraud, then her business would shut down ASAP. Judy pleaded to give her time to consider matters and went along her way to her next destination.
As she walked down the street full of animals walking about, Judy's phone began to ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey! Judy?"
Judy gasped. "Jacob?! Hi!!!"
"Hey, what are you up to right now?"
Judy held the phone close to her ear, and ran into an alley quickly. "I'm actually in the middle of investigating a case actually."
"Aw, shucks! I didn't mean to disturb you."
Judy smiled to herself. "It's okay. I barely got anywhere at the moment so I guess I can spare some time."
"Well, I was just wondering..."
"...yeah?"
Jacob paused for a moment. "Would you like to go to the movies with me tonight, or tomorrow?"
Judy hastily took out her planner and skimmed through the pages. "Actually, tonight is good!"
"Really? Great! Can I pick you up around 6:00?"
"That's fine with me, okay, see you!"
Jacob's laugh brought a warm feeling to Judy's heart.