A/N: Heya everyone!

Well, this is my first Zootopia fic, and I can already tell that I am going to have lots of fun with not only this story, but the fandom as a whole. Anyway, please tell me what you guys think. Feedback about the character dev, and my general story telling are is always appreciated.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Ottermen Lane

Ottermen Lane was a street Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde knew for its high petty crime rate. The narrow roads, shabby apartment buildings, and busy sidewalks plagued with side vendors made the place ideal for minor robbery and pickpocketing. Otterman Lace was also the stage for many trades of illicit nature, which made constant patrolling of this street a must.

On a regular day, Judy -not Nick- would find the energy and high potential of catching a crook in this street a delight -not Nick, who found the area to be far too chaotic-. Today, however was the hottest day of the year thus far, and the sun beating down on them was brutal. The scorching heat that sizzled the sidewalk and large crowds huddle together were not good when combined, not even for the never-deterred rabbit officer, who sipped the last bit of the "Jungle Juice" carton she had just bough moments before and threw the container away in a recycle bin.

At the end of the sidewalk, Nick and Judy looked to both sides of the intersecting street before crossing cautiously. Around them, many walked without a tinge of the attentiveness they had, and some looked annoyed as they were obliged to move around the officers out of fear that challenging them would lead to trouble. Upon reaching the other side of the street, Nick moved to the nearest wall, leaned back against it, and laid his head against the bricks. Opening his mouth, he let out his tongue and started to pant, and while such a behavior was deemed inapropriate of a police officer, what the hell. The group of young weasels coming their way, chuckling at him, could deal with it.

"Tired, big boy?" Judy asked as she also moved up against the wall and leaned upon it. After retrieving his tongue and biting down, Nick swallowed.

"No, just very, VERY hot," Nick remarked, exhausted, as he closed his eyes shut. Opening them and looking down, he noticed that his partner had that buttery smirk she wore whenever she had the idea she was better than him at something. "Come on, Smalls," the fox retorted to her unspoken arrogance. "You're hot too."

"Yes," she bluntly admitted as her amusement teemed to it's limit. "But, as an officer, I must be ready to handle the harshest of conditions." Nick snorted, unamused, as he crossed his arms. Judy, more than happy to tease him, moved in front of him, and poked his chest. This caught Nick's attention, as he fixed his eyes on her. "And you said you could handle Zootopia a lot better than the poor little farm girl." Nick looked away, as he tightened the hold of his crossed arms. Smirking, Judy poked him once more, this time on his side. As a result, Officer Wilde hopped from the sudden tickling sensation that shot up his back.

"I was talking about street smarts," Nick hissed. "Not the weather. Heat is hell." Judy giggled as she poked his chest again. This time, Nick Slapped her hand away, and shot his partner bothered eyes. "And could you stop that!" Grinning, his partner moved her paw away. "Besides," Nick said, returning to the subject once Judy had taken a step back. "I'd be a lot better off without this suffocating police uniform." Judy shook her head, clicking her tongue as she did. As two or three animals walked behind Judy, she stepped closer to her fellow officer. Being nearly toe to toe, officer Hopps inspected the fox' uniform with a quick up and down with her eyes -an action that had become more common than not and that Judy had started doing unconsciously. Nick, noticing her action, puckered his lips.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he remarked. Judy looked up to the officer, and blushed lightly, unaware of what she was doing. Suddenly, she cleared her throat and fixed the knot of her tie.

"Well, you wouldn't have to be wearing your dark blue of your summer uniform were washed," she chastised Officer Wilde, pretending to have ignored his comment. Nick lifted his arms to waist level and open his hands.

"What was I suppose to do, wear a three-day used, smelly uniform?" Nick clamored. "You don't let me in the vehicle if I do."

"And I shouldn't!" Judy retorted teasingly, leaning her face closer to Officer Wilde's, to where their noses almost met. Realizing that Nick face showed slight discomfort with the closeness of their faces, Judy pulled back, and poked his chest again. Nick quickly dropped his look and glared at her again.

"I said stop that!" Nick growled, evoking yet another devilish grin from Judy. "Hell, I'd be better if I could at least remove this vest." As the officer spoke, he started to pick at the Velcro holding his bullet proof vest in place. Immediately, Officer Hopps placed her hand over his.

"Hey!" she called out in a serious tone, obtaining Wilde's attention once more. "This vest is your life. And while your bigger, dumber colleagues don't wear them, I, as your superior, will not tolerate you not wearing it." Nick puckered his lips in response, glaring deeply and his fellow officer. For a moment Judy wondered if she had been too harsh, but then Officer Wilde rolled his eyes, amd dropped his hands to his waist.

"Whatever."

Looking around, Nick made an attempt to distract himself. He noticed cars in the road in front of him, all front to rear, honking at each other for not moving as rapidly as they should. Around them, all sorts of animals walked to and fro. It seemed to Wilde as if each individual was in his own world, talking on their phone, carrying groceries, or thinking to themselves. The only animals that seemed to be truly interacting were the street vendors, that sold pirated movies and pointless nic-nacs; and even so, few heeded them attention. Truly, Nick thought, most of Zootopia's animals were blind to their surroundings. No wonder, he thought on, he could trick them so easily in the past. But he was a police officer now, and his duty was to protect these animals, regardless of how foolish or ignorant of their surroundings they were. He was their eyes and shield. Sighing, Nick looked down to his partner, who still had her eyes on his visage.

"Sure are lots of people to look over," Nick spoke his thoughts out loud. Judy searched into one of her chest pockets, retrieved her sun glasses, and put them on. Turning to face the street, she looked around like his companion, and contemplated the grandness of the task.

"Sure are," Judy replied, taking a deep breath. "But we do this because it is our noble duty." Nick eyed Judy -who proudly held her fist to her chest- with an eye ridge lifted. Lifting his hand, he placed it over her head, and ruffled the fur on her crown.

"Now you're just being melodramatic," Nick teased as he lifted himself up off the wall and began walking down the street. Judy grumbled, as she fixed her head fur, and turned to follow.

"I hate when you do that," Judy complained. And you can only do it because you're taller than me." Snickering, Nick lifted his arms and put his hands behind his head.

"And that is why I do it," Nick replied. Pushed to retort, Judy walked ahead of the fox, and stood right in front of him. Being halted, the fox went to look his partner in the eye, but before he could, he caught a glimpse of a commotion occurring half a block ahead. Looking over his companion's ears, he noticed that a mammal of about his height, wearing a black hooded jacket, was suddenly tugging for the purse of what he thought was a beaver. For a moment it seemed that the two were struggling for the purse like two children, and it oddly seemed comical to the fox, but as the hooded mammal started to tug with greater force, it conflict suddenly seemed rough and violent.

"No! Don't you dare!" the she-beaver screamed just as Judy opened her mouth to chastise her partner. "Help!" Turning in the direction of the screams for help, the rabbit officer spotted the act.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Nick asked, as he slipped past his companion and started to dash towards the crime underway.

"Yup, a 484," Judy hollered as she started to run and caught up to her fox companion. "Petty theft!"

"Call it in," Nick shouted as he turned to look at Officer Hopps., who, as he would have expected, had already turned her radio on and was tugging it up from her uniform to her mouth.

"This is officer Judy Hopps calling in a 484 Near Ottermen Lane and 3," Judy spoke to her police radio. "Approaching the suspect now." As she fixed her communicator back on her uniform, a smile peaked from her visage. The idea of action made her burst with excitement that she tried her best to conceal; however, Officer Wilde knew her well, and as that smile grew, he shook his head.

"As thrilled as always," he muttered as he turned to look at the crime scene in action.

As the hooded mammal succeeded at tearing the purse off his victim's hands, and he made a dash in the direction of the two officers. Suddenly, with his visage their way, officers Hopps and Wilde identified the mammal as an otter; but before the two could reach their suspect, he spotted them heading down the street, gave a look of horror, and turned the opposite way to run.

"Damn, a runner!?" Nick complained as the tight, inflexible seams of his dark blue uniform, and the heat of the day suddenly became more apparent and cumbersome with his dash. Picking up his pace, Nick ran as fast as he could and got moments from catching the otter, but suddenly they reached a clumped crowd of mammals their size, which the suspect began to run among. Shoving some of the mammals onto the ground behind him, the Otter caused mayhem among the group, which began moving more erratically. Hopps and Wilde saw this as no challenge, as they had faced tactics like this before. Jumping into the crowd, Judy and Nick began to move among then with little trouble. Among the masses of mammals, Nick spotted the otter again, and sped ahead of his companion.

"Police! Wait!" Nick shouted, trying to move past as many individuals around him as he could. As if by a streak of bad luck the group the officers were clumped in rushed to the inner side of the walkway, leaving one side of the way clear. Nick felt frantic shoves from his side as he was moved closer to all the bodies around him. Keeping an eye on their suspect -that had nearly gotten to the front end of the group, Nick pushed back against the mammals to his left, making an opening big enough for him to rush out to the clear, which he took with a rapid dash. He reached the clearing, but as he did, horro struck him. An elephant was in front of him, heading his way, and was just about bring his foot down on the fox. Nick jumped out of the way and into the crowd of smaller mammals with all his might, barely dodging the giant foot.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the Elephant shouted as he looked back to the fox.

"Sorry!" Nick shouted back as he regained his footing and looked ahead for the purse snatching otter. Before the crowd of smaller mammals could retake the whole street, Nick raced ahead of them and made it to the clearing. To his surprise, Officer Judy was ahead of him in hot pursuit of the suspect.

"I said stop, in the name of the law!" Judy shouted, as she pushed further ahead. Upon seeing this, Nick ran as fast as he could, straining his body to catch up to his fellow officer. Suddenly the otter turned right at the corner of the street. Fearing that they would lose his tracks, Judy raced ahead of Nick and turned the street as well.

"Wait up!" Nick shouted as he saw Judy turn the street. Being a whole building and a half away from the cornern, he ran faster when, suddenly, he spotted a small gap between the two buildings he stood between. Coming to a complete halt, Nick's looked down the narrow space. While it was hard to focus -due to the his heavy breath and loud heart beat- Officer Wilde managed to confirm that the opening lead to the street opposite to him where, he hoped, he could cut the otter off. Without time to think, he slipped into the small crevice, making his way across it as best as he could. Looking around, Nick noticed how utterly filthy the walls and the ground below him were: trash, dirt, and gunk covered every bit of the space. Cursing to himself, he thought of having to wash his uniforms again every time he bumped a shoulder against one of the walls or stepped on some unpleasantly soft material. Reaching the end of the alleyway, Nicked jumped out, only to stand face to face with their suspect, who, upon encounter, came to a screeching stop.

For the moment, the two mammals stood facing each other; Nick with his hands up and open, as if blocking the path, and the otter holding the purse. Both panted heavily and showed exhaustion.

"Come on... man... give it up..." Nick started, between heavy breaths. "You can't outrun me and my partner." Just then, Judy reached the street, and came into view from behind the otter, making Nick look up to her momentarily. Taking the distration to make his move the Otter swung his hand to the level of his waist, and drew a firearm and aimed it at the Nick.

Judy, who was a leap shy of reaching the suspect, felt her heart stop as she noticed the action.

No… she thought to herself.

Jumping with all her might, time suddenly traveled slower than ever before as she noticed every detail around her.

The empty, pedestrian free street around them…

The silence of their surroundings...

The Nick looking back to the otter and noticing the gun...

The Officer jolting to his his left in a desperate attempt to evade getting shot…

And suddenly…

BANG!

The three hit the floor in perfect synchrony as the smell of gunpowder filled the air. Officer Hopps, who had managed to tackle and land on top the otter with such force that she momentarily incapacitated him, suddenly felt lightheaded. Her whole body began to shake as she processed the fact that a shot was fired and that Nick, his partner, was down. Quickly, she worked removing the gun from the suspects hands, unloading it, tossing it aside, and then cuffing the him.

No… Nick, no…

Looking up and ahead from where she sat, Judy noticed that Officer Wilde laid face down, with his feet facing her, motionless. Fearing the worst, Officer Hopps heart sunk, and a desire to vomit came to her. For a moment, she stood still, emotions she had never felt whirling around her. Moment's later, she snapped out of it.

"Nick!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she jumped up. Feeling dizzy, she stumbled towards the fox with a slight wobble, but managed to get to his side and drop to her knees. Momentarily, she forgot her protocol…

He's dead, she thought despite her urge to push back the thought. Closing her eyes as tears swelled, she thought hard of what she had to do, and after a moment, remembered. With anxiety and shock, she reached for her radio and switched it on.

"Officer Judy Hopps calling in!" she shouted louder than she expected. "We had a 10-71 and an officer is down! We're on 31 and 2 and need medical help immediately!" Before she managed to put her radio back in place, she heard a response, but heeded little attention to it. For a moment, she looked at her downed partner, and hesitated to turn him around. She thought of what she could see, and felt an even greater desire to ball up and cry. Her friend… her partner… the closes thing she had in Zootopia laid still, and it was her fault. If only she had jumped quicker, she thought, as she trembled.

Calm down! She thought to herself. He might be okay, stupid.

Convincing herself that the only way she could confirm his status was to turn him over, she began to tug at both of his shoulders; and while she struggled, eventually she managed to do so.

As his back dropped hard against the concrete, every muscle on Nicks body flexed, and his hairs shot up, eacting to severe pain. Opening his eyes wide and dropping his jaw, Nick squeezed a pained grunt out of his mouth. Judy jolt in return, suddenly feeling a blend of alert and relief; emotions that she had never felt so intensely -or simultaneously- before. His partner, and close friend, was hurt, but alive.

As Officer Hopps moved to identify where the bullet had struck her companion, Nick's muscles started to ease, and his breathing was regained. While his whole chest ached terribly, he managed to find a way for him to fill his lungs with air in a manner that didn't make him want to die from the agony. A moment later, Judy noticed a hole in his bullet-proof vest, just below the left pocket.

"Did you know..." Nick suddenly mumbled between his breaths as a thought suddenly struck him through his momentary delusion. "That today marks a year from the day I decided to join the academy?" Judy nodded, acknowledging that she had heard him, but in truth had not known. The statement Nick spoke, while out-of-the-blue, made Officer Hopps realize he was right. It had indeed been at least a year since they met, and his partnering with her occurred. Suddenly, she felt terrible for not having remembered early before.

"I just realized this," Nick continued, still mentally dazed from having been knocked unconscious. Judy peeled the Velcro vest off of him and looked to see if the bullet had gone through. Fortunately, his uniform showed no signs of entry.

"Heh, thinking about it," Nick continued in his delusion, as he looked up to the sky. "It was more like you convincing me than me deciding to join." As Officer Hopps fixed her eyes on Officer Wilde's, he returned the glance. "And I couldn't be happier that you did," Feeling emotions stronger than she had ever felt for any other mammal before, she suddenly lowered her head and began to sob.

Moments later, the ambulance arrived.

Please comment.

Thankies!