(See the end of the chapter for notes .)

Chapter Text

"Alright, Wolfton?"



"The barista down at Kopi Luwak."



Judy glanced at Nick, moving the steering wheel to turn the police cruiser down Bonobo Avenue. Then she brightened up.



"Right! The husky! I was wondering why he'd switched over from Snarlbucks..."

"Pup's in love" Nick said with a grin, taking a sip from his own coffeecup.



They stopped at a red light as a flock of zebras crossed, all in expensive suits. Judy drummed her fingers on the dashboard, absent-mindedly. Let's see... Francine had a boyfriend, even she knew that. That left...



She grinned impishly.

"Okay, mr. Cupid. The big one. What about Bogo?"

"Clawhauser" Nick said, perfectly deadpan.

"Nick!"

"Carrots!"

The zebras jerked away as the horn rang, then threw the police car offended looks. A few of them even pointed angrily at the red light. Nick hurriedly took off his sunglasses to give them his most charming, apologetic look, but they stomped off angrily. Nick kept his grin in place, even though it hurt around the edges.



That's right, horsey. A fox police officer...

Once the herd had passed, he turned to the sheepish bunny beside him. She still stared at him incredulously.

"Bogo and Clawhauser?!"

"Well, not at the moment" Nick corrected himself. "But, you know, we were talking about our co-workers' crushes, right?"



Judy still seemed flabbergasted.



"But they're- that would be..."



"Interspecies? Predator/prey?"



"No, I mean they're both-" she blushed. "I mean..."



Nick looked at her for a second, then broke out laughing. He ruffled the top of her head.



"Oh, my sweet, innocent Carrots" he teased. "Still the little country bumpkin."



She pushed his paw away with both of hers, angrily. Then she huffed up at him, her ears still pretty red.



"I am not a bumpkin."



"Possibly" he conceded. "But you're still a terrible driver, though. Light turned green a little while ago."



She huffed again, and started the massive vehicle with a roar. It still seemed surreal to him that someone so small drove something so massive.



They drove in silence for a while, and Nick began to grow genuinely worried he'd taken it too far until the bunny spoke again.



"Nick, I think we should start dating."



An errant sip of coffee. That's what it was. That was what had him coughing and spluttering for half a minute before he could reply. She look at him worriedly, and he met her gaze with eyes watering from the ordeal.



"Are you serious?"



"Well, yeah" she said, nonplussed. "I've been thinking about it for a while, actually."



"You have?" Nick said with rising panic.



"Of course! I'm sure there are plenty of young vixens out there who'd be interested in you!"



It took a moment for this to sink in, and when it did, Nick relaxed visibly.



"Oh. You mean we should start dating other people?"



"Well, yeah. What did you think? It'd be pretty silly dating ourselves."



She looked puzzled at his reaction. Nick laughed.



It was an open, unabashed laugh, and it only grew stronger at the confusion in Judy's eyes. When it was over, he wiped his streaming eyes and patted her head, condescendingly.



"My little bunny" he said fondly. "Never grow up."



She pushed his paw away again, angrily.



"I'm twenty-four!"



"And a terrible driver. Red light!"



"Gah!"

---

Judy was a bunny on a mission.



She always had been, of course. From an early age she had set herself a goal that everyone around her had said was impossible. She had worked harder than everybody else, she had pushed herself farther than should have been physically possible, she had put everything on a single card, and she had succeeded.



And she was content.



If she were to be totaly honest with herself, there had been times when she had worried about that. Late nights studying in high school, forsaking friendship and dancing. Those scary moments at the academy when she had broken yet another record, and she would realise that there would come a day when her dreams would be realised, and she would have nothing left to strive for. She thought of her old history professor, an elderly lemur, speaking of the classics: and Alexander the Goat wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer...



But that hadn't happened. The Nighthowler case had been sufficiently harrowing for a lifetime, a fitting climax to a long struggle. Now, her life consisted of getting up each morning at six for a jog around Sahara Square, a long day of living out her dream and making the world a better place, and finally, most evenings, curling up with Nick for some Ratflix and chill.



It had been during one such evening as she leaned against his chest, idly playing with one of the buttons on his shirt (friends could cuddle, right?) that she realised he was very handsome. Objectively. For a fox. And his fur was very soft. Again, speaking purely objectively. He'd make a girl very happy one day, she realised. He should be doing precisely that.



And that was how it had started. Life was great, it ought to be better. There was nothing missing, but there was room for more. Judy had a mission again.



For her own sake, she wasn't all that worried. While her family had indeed accepted her dream, they wouldn't be Bunnyburrow folk if they didn't have a fluffle of eligible bachelor bucks on hand when they called. So far she'd managed to dodge most of them, but nothing would be easier than giving it a try.



No, it was Nick that concerned her. He liked his independence, she knew. He was always rather vague about past relationships and friendships, but as far as she knew, there was no one in his life at present. Well, except her, obviously.



She paced her little apartment in narrow circles as the Oryx-Antlersons had their usual row next door, furrowing her brow.



She wanted him to have someone in his life, she decided. If she was getting a boyfriend, he was getting a girlfriend, even if she had to set him up. Problem was, she didn't actually have many friends outside of him, certainly not female ones. She hadn't bonded with anyone since the Academy, and-



Her ears shot up in revelation, and a grin spread across her face. Of course, Virginia, her roommate at the academy! She had graduated long ago, and was now in precinct three. She'd been meaning to give her a call.



Humming to herself, she skipped towards the bed and picked up her phone. Nick would love her. And if he didn't, well, that fox could always be bought with the promise of a free lunch or two.