Chapter 9: The Break Room.

"I told you carrots, I don't like donuts, how many times do I have to say before you get it?"

Nick and Judy where arguing near the coffee machine in the break room of the ZPD precinct, they were on their break from office work and were trying to decide what to have for lunch, it had been almost two weeks since Robby had become a detective and they still hadn't spoken to him properly.

"Because it doesn't make sense, everyone loves donuts, and you love sweet stuff more than anyone I know, plus, being a cop, it comes with the territory, you need to love donuts"

"They just rub me the wrong way, I'll stick to fruit for lunch, speaking of which, are your family growing blueberries again?"

"They planted the first batch last week, so you won't be seeing hopps blueberries for a while"

"Well then what's the point in me keeping you around farm girl?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because we're best friends and partners?"

"No, that can't be it, I'm pretty sure I just stay for the blueberries"

Judy punched nick on the arm in a friendly way, they both giggled as nick rubbed the spot that she punched, "Rabbit, you keep hitting me in that spot you're gonna leave my whole arm paralyzed from that point down"

"Good, then I can punch it and you won't notice"

"I'm glad to know you care about my safety Hopps"

"your safety? Nick, may I remind you of the time you almost ran me over in the parking lot?"

"Hey, that was not my fault I told you I'm not a good driver but you insisted I move the car out of the lot anyway"

"I didn't know you literally couldn't drive otherwise I would have done it myself, you should have just told me"

"I did, seven times, but no, you said "Oh nick, you'll be fine, its thirty feet what could go wrong?", and look what happened". Nick mockingly imitated Judy, doing a bad impression of her voice along with overexaggerated body movements and hand waving to get his point across.

"Nick, I do not sound, nor act like that", Judy unknowingly performed a body movement completely reminiscent of Nicks mocking, Nick's face turned extremely smug as Judy came to the realisation that she did sound, and act the way Nick did, "Ok, we lost track of the conversation, what were we talking about?"

"I don't remember either but it was something boring, let's talk about something interesting, like me for example"

"Could I just shoot myself with a tranq dart instead? It would give us something to talk about in the future, and more importantly, it would be a lot less boring"

"ya know Hopps, one day you might actually hurt my feelings saying something like that, maybe, probably not, definitely not, but you really shouldn't take the chance"

"Nick, just grab your coffee and lets go take a seat"

"Good idea, I'm bloomin' parched"

"You've been talking to Bogo too much Nick"

Nick grabbed two cups of freshly brewed coffee from the machine, Judy made her way over to one of the break room couches, followed swiftly by Nick, he handed Judy one of the cups and took a seat next to her. Nick picked up his phone and started texting, while Judy sat there with her eyes closed, she was particularly and didn't feel like speaking or wasting time on the internet, she just felt like sleeping.

"Bad night's sleep Hopps?"

"How'd you tell?", Judy smirked, she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep now that Nick wanted to talk.

"So what was it? Nightmare? Work? Stress? Or perhaps a combo?"

"I just couldn't sleep, something was just keeping me awake"

"Ah, I have those nights, what I try to do is count sheep."

"Hah, the last thing I want to do is count sheep nick"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I guess there are better things to count"

"Such as?" Nick leaned forward in his chair, he really needed to think about what he was going to say.

"Foxes?"

"Nick, you're enough stress during the day, the thought of seeing your smug face while I'm trying to sleep is horrifying"

"How about cheetahs?"

"Ya know what, that's a good idea, they're fast so maybe they'll go by faster and I'll get to sleep in half the time", Judy was clearly mocking Nick at this point, he could tell by her tone of voice and the way she was just barely paying attention to the conversation that she didn't really care.

"Or maybe you could just take sleeping pills, I used to take them when I lived in a particularly loud neighbourhood a while back"

While Nick and Judy were talking the break room door swung open and in walked a familiar figure, Robby, wearing the same suit that he wore his first day, this is the first time Nick and Judy saw him outside of his office, he'd gained a bit of a reputation for being a workaholic.

"Afternoon officers" Robby gave them a quick two-finger salute as he walked by, Nick and Judy shared a smile at this as they're not used to officers being so formal around each other, especially not detectives, who were known for being particularly more relaxed around the office.

"Good afternoon Elmore, how's your day been?", Judy was first to reply, she was excited that she finally got to speak to him, she didn't like the fact that Robby was the only officer in the precinct she didn't know on a first name basis.

"Boring, it's been nothing but non-stop paperwork ever since I got here, I'm starting to think I'm never gonna be given a case", Robby proceeded to start pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Really? The other detectives have been swarmed with cases for the last few days, I wonder why Bogo hasn't put you on one yet"

"It's not just me, it's all the new detectives, from what I can tell Bogo is just stuck in his way, willing to keep us just sat there wasting time than actually take a chance on us and give us some cases, and unfortunately, the older detectives have a good enough grasp on their cases, even though they've got too many between them, that Bogo can keep doing it, we're last resort and it's starting to tick me off, but yeah, I'm sure you and Wilde here know enough about the old timer to know he's not changing any time soon"

"Not unless you make him, I only got my first case by undermining him in front of a civilian, and then the assistant mayor had to get in there before I was fired and guarantee me the case", Judy hoped this little anecdote would make Robby feel better about his situation, it didn't, it made him worry that he'll literally never get a case.

"Well, let's hope I don't have to go that far, I kinda like being a police office, I wouldn't wanna risk it, besides, something will eventually pop up", Nick put his hand up to Robby so he could interject into the conversation.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, he doesn't like to admit it but Bogo doesn't particularly like foxes, me being me doesn't help that, but I get disciplinaries more often than anyone in this place, he can be alright, but he's particularly snappy towards me"

"That's not right, we're all equals here aren't we? Some mammals are so backwards"

"Well he's in charge and he's still very good at his job, we're just gonna have to deal with it"

"Maybe you're right, still seems wrong to me", Robby grabbed his coffee and went to sit with Nick and Judy. Judy was getting even more excited, she had wanted to make friends with him ever since she first saw him, this was her big chance and she wasn't going to mess it up.

"Hang in there you'll get something soon enough, I know it, by the way, you can call me Judy, and he's Nick, we prefer first names with co-workers", Judy being slightly heavy handed was obvious in her attempts to get a first name out of Robby, he knew she wanted to know his name, he was happy to oblige, to at the very least be polite.

"The names Robby, sorry, I should have said before, I just assume everyone I meet at work has read my case-file, or seen me in the news reports"

"News reports?"

"Well we have something in common Judy, we both faced pure evil and came out on top, evil in the form of Dawn Bellwether"

"You were involved with Bellwether?"

"Yes, I was on the case where she causes a helicopter to crash a ton of mammals to go savage in a warehouse, it was pretty big at the time, considering your history with her it's surprising you didn't already recognise me"

"Ohh, I remember you, your partner was on her payroll and you caught her out, how did I forget?"

"Well I kinda faded off the map for a while, so like a lot of people you probably just forgot, which is good, because that was the idea"

"You didn't want recognition for the biggest case of the century?"

"Not really, it's not my style, plus I wanted to keep my head low while I prepared for this promotion", Nick seemed to regain interest in the conversation at this point.

"Can't blame ya, media attention is the last thing you want in this city", Nick said with contempt in his voice, "Especially if you're a fox, they'll either all be trying to say why you're a god among mammals or trying to say that foxes shouldn't be allowed in public, never mind be police officers, and the worst thing is, they are listened too, all the time, its best we just keep out of the media attention and don't make it a talking point, which is one of the main reasons I let Hopps here do all the talking at conferences or public statements", Judy snickered at this statement.

"So, it has nothing to do with your stage fright?", Nick acted offended at the statement.

"Stage fright? How dare you, I don't get scared of anything, I'm a god among mammals"

"Of course Nick, how could I forget?", Robby had a confused look on his face, he had no idea what was going on, he wasn't used to such overly friendly, but still completely mocking talk in the workplace, he was used to the odd joke here and there, but this was like something out of a buddy cop movie, it seemed slightly too surreal to him, so he decided to try and change the subject.

"So, how long have you two been working together?", Judy snapped back to the conversation.

"Oh, about two years now, but it feels like ten", Nick went back into offended mode.

"Well rabbit, I didn't realise you hated having me around so much"

"Maybe if you used my first name I wouldn't be in a constant state of anger"

"Hey, I only use first names with people I don't like, what can I say?"

"Ok fine, keep calling me Hopps, at least now I'll know if you stop liking me", again, Robby seemed bewildered by them taking the conversation off course so much, he didn't really get it at first but now he knew, they weren't just partners, they were best friends, maybe more but it isn't his place to judge.

"So, I get the idea that you two aren't just partners but you're also good friends right?", Nick and Judy both answered at the same time.

"Right"

"Do you ever consider that it may affect your work? I get wanting to be partners with someone you like but that could really have some negative effects in some, less than good scenarios, such as the one I experienced", Judy seemed confused at this sudden outburst, but she saw something in him that she hadn't noticed before, something Nick had seen from the beginning but Judy didn't see, or didn't want to see, Robby had a darkness in his eyes that she hadn't ever seen before, he wasn't like the other officers, he did his job to fight the problems of the world while ignoring his own, Judy, being the kind to do anything to help others couldn't sit by and watch him suffer, she may of only just met him, but she wanted him to be happy, it was just the way she was.

"Robby, we would never betray each other, we would never betray the ZPD, we're not like that, I know it must be hard, knowing your first ever partner was on the wrong side of the law, but that isn't everyone in the ZPD, sometimes we are just good people, let me prove it to you, when do you get off work?"

"7PM, why?"

"Let me and Nick take you out, we'll show you that you can be good friends and work together"

"I… Umm, I don't really go out, that's not really my thing"

"Come on it's one night, if you hate it you don't have to do it again, it'll be a couple of hours, and you can leave whenever you like", Robby sighed, he was way too polite to turn the offer down, even if he disliked everything about it.

"Ok, I'll come out, but I guarantee you I won't enjoy myself, and where will we be going?"

"We'll go to a cop bar, it's not too far down the road so we can walk there, me and Nick finish at six so we'll wait for you in the lobby before we leave"

"I'm a big boy, I can find my way there, I'm not gonna ditch on you, write the address down for me I'll make my way there and meet you", Judy pulled out her notebook and pen and scribbled down an address, and then tore off the paper and handed it to Robby.

"This is the place"

"Thanks, I'll seeya there, anyway, gotta get back to work, I'll see you at about seven fifteen, depending on how far away this is"

"Ok, see you then Robby!", Robby put stood up, scrunched up his coffee cup and threw it in the trash, he then proceeded out of the room and back to his office, Judy, once she knew he was gone jumped out of her chair, she was so excited to be making friends with someone with such an aversion to being sociable.

"Nick, whatever you had planned tonight cancel it, we're going to the bar tonight"

"I heard Judy, I was planning on watching a movie tonight but whatever"

"You're not mad at me are you?"

"Nah, I love giving up my nights to help make Judy Hopps make friends"

"Nick please stop, it's just one night, it's not the end of the world"

"I told you, I'm fine. Judy", Nick stood up and made his way to the door, but before he left he made one more remark. "Judy Hopps", he then swooped out of the room and made his way back to his office.

Authors Notes:

A very dialogue heavy chapter, I'm enjoying writing dialogue quite a lot so the next chapter will be pretty dialogue heavy too, don't worry, there will be some action very soon, and it will be good, I hope :).

Also, I want to talk about something that's been nagging my mind, the general consensus of OC in Zootopia fanfics is pretty mixed, but I want to you all to be rest assured, this isn't a self-insert love story or something dumb like that, I want to write a semi-serious story to the best of my abilities and the characters in zootopia didn't really fit the archetype of the character I needed to headline it, so I created a character that I could shape and mold to my whim and have hopefully developed it well enough that when the overarching plot is actually revealed (Not gonna give it away that would be spoilers), it'll fit naturally, I hope I'm also writing Nick and Judy well, I want to keep them as accurate to the movie as possible as it really does play into the stories major plot point later on (no it isn't an "I know I'm in a movie" Situation), so that's pretty important to me.

Anyway, as usual, thanks so much for reading, feel free to leave a favorite and follow if you wish, and as always, reviews are extremely appreciated, I'm always looking to get better and criticism is the best tool to self improvement, thanks for reading :).