Judy pushed through the door to the female locker room open and kept her ears perked. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of no water running and no feet shuffling across the tile floors.

The morning rush usually didn't last much beyond 6:30 or 7 a.m. as shifts were beginning or ending. It would pick up again in an hour or so, but right now it was the sweet spot between shifts. It suited her just fine — she really was in no mood to deal with anyone right now. It didn't matter if they were all 'happy for them,' as Nick said, it was still embarrassing to have something so personal be so exposed. The betting was especially egregious, and she felt a seed of disgust growing in the pit of her stomach. She narrowed her eyes as she padded down the rows of lockers.

"How much you want to bet Clawhauser is the ringleader..." she muttered to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw a water fountain and her thirst suddenly came to the forefront of her attention. She hadn't had anything to drink since just before the concert last night, and given the night's activities, she felt on the brink of dehydration. Thankfully, it was a standard multi-tiered unit with the second-to-lowest level at her height. She leaned over and started gulping down the cold, crisp water, sighing with content as the dry mouth she'd had since she woke up disappeared. It was good; she could feel herself beginning to unwind already.

She had the presence of mind to stop herself before she drank too much. It was never a good idea to load up when going to exercise, but it would be enough for now. She stepped back, sighed deeply, and smacked her lips in satisfaction.

"Whooo... that's better," she said, and turned and headed to her locker.

The row where hers was located consisted of the smaller kind where each had top and bottom doors. These were mostly used for those who didn't have a regular locker and just needed a place to store clothes or items temporarily while they worked out. For her, they were the perfect 'full' size with the bottom ones just at her height. She flipped the series of built-in combination dials, and once open, shrugged out of her t-shirt. She held it in her paws for a moment looking before ducking her head down to delicately sniff. She didn't really smell anything. She smelled herself, of course, and some of Nick but it certainly didn't stink like the chief and Hogg had implied. She furrowed her brow at the shirt.

"What does shame even smell like?" she grumbled and hung the shirt on one of the hooks, wriggled out of her shorts, and hung them as well.

She had a few sets of workout clothes in the locker; one fresh, two others not so fresh that she had yet to take to the laundry. Not wanting to soil the clean pair, she pulled out one of her dirty ones. She was apparently in desperate need of a shower, if the chief and Hogg were to be believed, and she was still half-disheveled and felt pretty grimy. It had been a few days since her last shower, which normally wasn't an issue for her Usually, just a quick dunk now and then to get the day's dust off was all that was needed, but after last night... well... they had been all over each other, mixing each other's scents for hours.

She wasn't dumb. She knew everybody had oils in their fur and were constantly exuding pheromones of one kind or another. Nick certainly did have that distinctive, light, foxy musk to him that she personally found pleasant. She figured her scent must have been pretty foxy, which would mean Nick smelled pretty rabbity in turn. She sighed. She so looked forward to a nice, long, hot soak. And shampoo. Lots of shampoo, she thought. She finished pulling on a snug fitting black tank top and blue shorts then headed for the entrance to the gym.

The gym was on the second level of the ZPD building. It was around two hundred feet long and half that wide, with a tall arched ceiling to accommodate the larger members of the force. The room was slightly curved as were the outer walls and windows that overlooked the street along the backside of the building.

Warm morning light filtered in through the windows. It wasn't the harsh direct glare of the morning sun, however, but a more muted and soft glow from light reflected off the buildings across the street.

The room was filled with cardio and weight-training equipment, with a few other open areas used for sparring and stretching. There were weight machines, benches, free weights, and treadmills, but due to her size, Judy was relegated to using mostly the smallest of free weights and a very few of the machines. She was the smallest officer on the force, and there were few concessions for smaller mammals anywhere in the building, except for public spaces the occasional water fountain. The gym was no exception.

Judy looked around; only a few other officers were there with her. A tiger ran on one of the treadmills, while a snow leopard at the far end was jumping rope in one of the open spaces. She spied a gray wolf and rhino she recognized from her time at the Academy. Most of them were on separate shifts from her, so Judy's interactions with them were limited to saying hello in the hallway as the other clocked in or out.

Howlson, the wolf, and McHorn, the rhino, were doing some punch pad practice in one of the open areas. McHorn held the pads for Howlson; Judy figured if they switched places, the wolf would get knocked across the room from the force of the rhino's punches. McHorn noticed her walking in and raised a padded hand in greeting.

"Hey, Hopps! How's it goin'?" he said in his gravelly voice. The wolf turned and raised a paw as well.

"Hey!" Howlson said. Judy noticed his tail started wagging when he saw her.

Judy smiled, absurdly grateful they either didn't know or weren't mentioning her unwanted appearance in the weekend newspaper. She raised a paw back to them just as Nick exited the large door a few feet down from the one she had she had muscled her way past.

"Hey, guys! I'm doing alright, you?" she said.

"Can't complain!" McHorn said, shrugging.

Howlson spied Nick and looked back to Judy and gave her a wink with a thumbs up.

Okay... so they do know. Judy sighed and rolled her eyes.

Howlson barked a short laugh until McHorn cuffed him lightly upside the head. It was a testament to McHorn's control that he didn't send the wolf sprawling, but it did elicit a yelp of surprise.

"Don't be a jerk!" she heard the big rhino say.

"Ow! Okay! Okay! Yeesh!" the wolf said, rubbing his head. McHorn inclined his head again at Judy.

"We'll catch ya later Hopps," he said and lifted the pads up again. "C'mon, puppy, gimme whatchya got," McHorn said. His taunt had the desired effect, and the two resumed their practice as Nick stepped up beside her.

Judy looked up at him. He was dressed in a white t-shirt and gray shorts hanging loosely over his body. The word 'handsome' popped into her mind unbidden, and that strange full body flush coursed over her again.

Judy was starting to regret coming into the gym now. She was tired and seriously ready to demolish some breakfast. She and Nick hadn't had any time to really talk yet, either, and she was starting to get anxious about it. She suspected that her idea to come to the gym was just an unconscious way to avoid it. She did want to talk, specifically about them and what everything that just happened meant.

Her mind tended to go blank every time she tried to think about how to start such a conversation. Outside of her desire to become a ZPD officer, Judy had never been fond of talking about the future. This morning hadn't made things any easier. From the moment she woke up until now, she'd been rushing from one crisis to the next.

Nick looked down at her and caught her lingering gaze on him. "Having second thoughts?" he asked.

She blinked. Alarms blared in her head before she realized he was talking about coming to the gym and not about them. Her ears burned and she chided herself. The fatigue had taken a toll on her usually sharp mind.

She rubbed at her eyes tiredly. "I guess so, but now that we're here..." she said, shrugging, "Let's stretch first, at least. I'm tired of feeling like an invalid." She knew being so stiff and sore could have actually made her a liability on the streets, and it unnerved her. The chief was right, she thought. Not that she really doubted it, but being given an obvious physical example was humbling.

Nick smiled and gave a little theatrical bow, making an ushering gesture with one arm. "Lead on, Officer Hopps."

She rolled her eyes at him and padded off one of the open areas in the gym.

They used the same stretches and light exercises that were used in the Academy. Judy was no novice to exercise even before her induction too, having spent years playing sports and running track in High School.

They moved in relative silence. Stretching was mostly a solitary activity, but to in some instances it helped to have a partner help push or pull a muscle to its limit. At least that is what Judy told herself when she asked Nick to help pull her arms in a backward stretch, and again to push her each of her legs up as far she could tolerate.

It was a simple thing, but everything Judy did with Nick now seemed to take on some extra dimension. She tried not to let it get to her, but when he touched her, it sent a thrill up her spine. She was also confident Nick was letting his paws linger a little longer than needed and pressed up against her in ways that made her shiver.

Nick's thoughts were not too different from Judy's, and she wasn't wrong about his lingering touches. He couldn't help wanting to be as close to her as she seemed to want to be to him. He started taking any excuse to 'help' that he could. Judy in turn helped him, but to a lesser extent due to her smaller size. As nice as this was, however, he had to start thinking about about anything but Judy as he was about to become what could only be termed 'immodest.'

He concentrated instead on the eventful night and equally hectic morning, and he wished they had just been able to sleep in. He would have been plenty content to lounge in bed and snuggle Judy and her ridiculously soft fur all day. Instead, they had to scramble in a frantic rush to the ZPD, only to get yelled at.

The one nice thing about the morning, Nick thought, had been the unexpected bonus of being kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really suspended. The new Nick was a bit miffed about being taken off the streets only a day after he had gotten on them, but unlike Judy, he was not quite as militant as she was when it came to being an officer. He planned to take the job seriously, but he doubted his ability to keep pace with the voracity that Judy tackled work with. Plus, the old Nick still inside him was more than a little pleased at getting a paid week off on top of a hundred bucks a day to spend on food and fun.

Judy groaned and winced as she forced her sore muscles to stretch, but in the end, she felt much better and limber. She was a bit more worked up from the close contact with Nick, too, but she hardly considered a few butterflies and a racing heart to be a bad thing.

They finished after a few more minutes, and Judy picked a treadmill a few down from the big female tiger, who looked focused on her run and the music coming through her earbuds. Judy didn't know her, but had seen her around before. The tigress turned her head briefly to them and gave them the same kind of inclined nod that McHorn had then turned back without comment. Judy hopped up, and Nick got on the machine to her other side.

"Two miles?" she said to Nick. He audibly groaned.

"Ugh... If you insist," he said. He yawned wide enough for his fangs to peek out of his mouth as they pressed the buttons on the control panels.

Judy had to stand on her toes to even get a decent view. She didn't know what Nick selected, but she just used the manual program to set a leisurely six mile-per-hour pace. The machines beeped and the belt slowly started to move under her, gradually picking up speed.

Nick had selected a slightly slower pace for himself, but even that seemed like too much right now.

"So," Nick said as he got into the rhythm, "Since we have some time on our paws now, what do you want to do?"

Judy was quiet for a half dozen strides as she thought. This was the exact question she had been asking herself since they left the Chief's office, and it was one she didn't have an answer to. Outside of work, she usually kept to herself with reading in her apartment or at the nearby park. Dating hadn't even been on her radar since she'd moved to Zootopia. Or ever, she thought. She wasn't sure what to do for one. All the cliché things dating were supposed to do together popped into her head, but in the end, she called up her logical side to analyze and enforce some kind of order. Her stomach rumbling as she ran gave her the most immediate answer.

"Food," she said.

"Amen to that. I'm so hungry I could eat a rabbit," Nick said and winked down at her.

Judy's ears burned. She was torn between shaking her head and giggling, and was too overcome by that thrill up her back that she did both.

"I also need to go home and get a change of clothes," she said after a moment as priority number two slotted into place.

Nick nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Fluff," he said.

Judy inwardly squirmed. She didn't know what it was, but she loved the nicknames he called her. All his little inappropriate comments, the way his eyes lingered on her when he thought she wasn't looking, she noticed them all. Before it had just been amusing camaraderie, but now they seemed to take on an entirely new meaning.

Nick was just short of a mile before he stabbed the big red stop button on the panel and the machine started to slow. He bent over and huffed when it finally stopped moving.

"Oh, come on!" Judy said next to him, "We're not even halfway!"

Nick waved a paw at her and stood up. Months at the academy had whipped him into shape, but he was exhausted and too hungry to care at the moment. His metaphorical tank was empty.

"I'm," he said between pants, "A fox... we're good at sneaking... not running."

Judy snorted and hopped up in a demonstration of agility to stab at the buttons on the panel and the speed increased.

Nick chuckled and shook his head. He wasn't sure where she got her energy from, but he wished he could tap into it once in a while.

"Fine," she said, hardly winded, "Meet you out front?"

Nick arched his back in a stretch. "Yeah, but first for that shower," he said with legitimate eagerness despite his exhaustion. For the most part, mammals with fur tended to be good at being self-cleaning. A full body bath and shampoo wasn't something needed often As much as of a hassle as he knew it would be, Nick was very much looking forward to a hot, soapy soaking. He also apparently smelled, so there was that reason, too. He struggled to smell himself, but after hours at a concert followed by hours in bed with Judy, he knew his musk must have been a bit overwhelming .

He made his way back into the locker room and to the showers. He didn't spend as much time as he initially planned. The problem with a coat like his was the difficulty in wetting it down to the skin and working the soap all the way in. The biggest pain, though, was rinsing all the shampoo out again, which usually took twice as long as everything else. After several minutes of trying to work the steamy water down into his coat, he started liberally lathering himself. It was still almost impossible to thoroughly get his back, though. He thought how much easier it would be with Judy's help, and made a mental note to bring up showering together the next time he wanted to see her ears turn pink.

After his russet red fur was full of bubbles, he began the process of trying to wash out all the soap. Eventually satisfied, he turned the shower off, got down on all fours, and gave a couple of good shakes to send the bulk of the water flying off him. He pushed the curtain aside and walked out, snagged his clothes, and headed toward the locker room. He grabbed a towel off the stack of them near the shower area entrance and cocked an ear as he heard the echo of conversation reverberating off the tile walls. He turned into the aisle that contained his locker and found McHorn there pulling an enormous grey-green t-shirt over his head. Nick just caught the tail of Howlson leaving around the other side of the isle. He vaguely recalled the two leaving the gym and passing by while he had been in the shower.

"See ya at MacNelly's, Mick," McHorn said from under the shirt to the departing wolf.

"Roger that!" Howlson's voice echoed back.

Nick had already started rubbing himself down one handed with the towel as he reached his locker. His, unlike Judy's, was one of the medium sized ones and he was just tall enough to be able to use. He set his clothes on the bench and continue to towel himself down.

McHorn's horn first popped out of the neck collar of the shirt, followed by the rest of his enormous head. He noticed Nick and inclined his head to him.

"Hey," McHorn said and inclined his head in that time-honored way of males everywhere.

Nick returned the greeting. "Hey."

The big Rhino tugged and settled his t-shirt then moved over to reach down to extending one huge hand. "George McHorn. Friends call me Georgie."

Nick hesitated for a moment before he took the enormous thick fingered hand, although it was more accurate to say the it enveloped his.

With a grace that belied his size, McHorn gently shook Nick's paw.

"A pleasure to meet you, Georgie," Nick said as they shook, "Nick Wilde."

McHorn snorted. "Everybody knows who you are, bro," the rhino said with a laugh and moved back in front of his own larger locker.

"Only good things, I'm sure," Nick said with a bit of sarcasm which garnered another low chuckle.

"Yeah. Somethin' like that," McHorn said and sat down on the bench running down the center of the isle. The thick, stout beam of wood creaked ominously.

Nick continued to towel himself off. "You any relation to Frank McHorn?" he asked as he dug the towel into one ear. He already knew the two were brothers, but it prevented any awkward silences.

McHorn smiled. "Yeah, that's my older brother. Bein' cops runs in the family," he said reaching into a locker to pull out a soft looking brush then leaned down to start and buff his thick toenails.

Nick didn't reply. He'd always felt somewhat unnerved by huge mammals like rhinos, and busied himself with the combination on his locker. He pulled the door open and started to reach in to get a pelt brush, but jerked his head back as the musky scent of a very specific rabbit and foxes co-mingled pheromones wafted out. He blinked and closed the door for a second then slowly pulled it open a crack to lean his head in for another sniff. He closed the door again and stared at it. He had to admit,it wasn't exactly a bad smell. It was bit overpowering in the confines of the locker, though. It took a few moments, but he finally realized that he and Judy had been scent blind.

They had been together all night, but the brain has the ability to block certain scents if you're around it long enough. Now that he'd gotten a shower, it all became apparent. His ears drooped and he let out a quiet groan of embarrassment. He and Judy had been trailing that odor behind them the entire time as they walked through the precinct. He chastised himself for not knowing better, but two hours' sleep and the added rush to get here had distracted him from it. Plus, it had quite a while since this had been an issue for him, a fact he wasn't excited to admit.

"You okay down there?" McHorn asked.

Nick blinked and stepped back, picking up the towel again and pretending to dry himself some more. "What? Oh! Nothing! Just, uh, thinking," he said, trying to sound nonchalant and doubting his success.

McHorn grunted and leaned down and began picking at the skin around one big nail.

There was another long pause, and Nick thought of what he was going to do. All he had here was his uniform and his workout clothes, which he now wondered if they had a questionable scent too. He eyed the clothes on the bench and shrugged. They would have to do until he could get back the apartment. They were clean, and he hardly ran for more than ten minutes before begging off, so he figured they would be the least offensive to the noses of mammals around him.

Nick made a decision. He picked up his t-shirt from the bench. "Hey, Georgie," he said, "Do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

Nick held out the shirt to the rhino. "Sniff this and tell me what you smell."

McHorn raised an eyebrow but leaned his big head over and snuffled at the shirt for a moment. "Like you two been fuckin', and not just a little bit of fuckin', either."

Nick's eyes closed and he let out a groan as his arms dropped to his sides.

McHorn burst out laughing. "What?" he said, "Are you tellin' me two didn't know that? Shit, me and Mick could smell you two damn near as soon as you came in."

Nick rubbed a paw down over his eyes and muzzle. "Well, that's just fantastic."

McHorn, still chuckling shook his head. "It's all good. Everybody forgets sometimes," he said, "And that shirt ain't too bad. Just give it a shake or two."

"Thanks, Georgie," Nick said with a tinge of sarcasm.

McHorn, still chuckling. He leaned forward to put the brush back in his locker before standing up. Getting up from the bench caused it to creak and visibly flex up back up to horizontal. "So," he said, drawing the word out, "You and Hopps, eh?"

Nick put the shirt down and resumed toweling himself off. He shrugged. It wasn't exactly something he could deny — not that he wanted to. In fact, he kind of liked it that everybody knew. The newspaper was unexpected, but he found himself proud of the fact that it was now 'Him and Hopps.'

"Yeah... me and Hopps," he said with a stupid grin. He tossed the towel back onto the bench. He cracked the door to his locker open and snuck a paw in to grab his brush while trying to obscure his efforts to keep the door closed. He saw no reason to advertise things more than they already were.

McHorn gave a little chuckle and shook his head. "I tell ya, I ain't never seen a fox and rabbit hook up. Not that I know many foxes and rabbits. Ain't you guys supposed t'be like, you know, fire and ice?" McHorn asked.

Nick couldn't help chuckling. The oddity of his love for a rabbit was hardly lost on him. "More like fire and gasoline," he said. When McHorn looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Nick made an explosion like gesture with his paws. "Boom! Except instead of fire, it's fur."

"Ha!" the rhino said and closed the door to his locker and spun the combo wheels with a thick finger.

Nick started to brush his fur out as McHorn turned and leaned against the lockers, crossing his arms. The entire row of made a brief but distinct sound of metal under stress. For a second Nick was afraid the whole thing would fall over, but the solid construction held.

"I guess it ain't that odd," McHorn said and squinted his eyes in thought, "My cousin is datin' a grizzly bear. A grizzly bear! Damnedest thing I ever saw, but ya know what they say - love is blind and shit."

Nick gave a little shake of his head and smiled. "Believe me, Georgie," he said, "I'm as surprised as everyone else. If you said a year ago I'd be dating a rabbit girl from the country, I would have said you were crazy."

McHorn grunted out a little laugh. "So you guys in trouble?" he asked, "We heard the Chief yellin' at you when you guys came in."

Nick shrugged and opened his locker to put his brush back. "I think the entire building heard that," Nick said, chagrined as he reached down to fish his phone and wallet out of his slacks, and pluck his sunglasses from the shirt pocket.

"But yes and no. Suspended with pay for a week," Nick said, deciding that the deal made didn't need to be made public knowledge if it could be avoided. McHorn grunted again.

"Yeah, that's what we was figurin'. Somethin' like that," McHorn said and scratched the side of his muzzle with a thick finger, "Chiefs a good guy once you get t'know how he works."

Nick nodded and started to reach for his shirt but stopped and briefly debated going to stand in front of one of the big body blowers for a while. If he left things as they were his undercoat would be damp all day, and he hated the muggy, humid feeling it gave him. The idea of using the blowers to air his clothes out also came so instead of getting dressed he just turned and mirrored McHorns lean against the lockers and crossed arms.

"Tell ya what," McHorn said, wagging a finger at him, "That is one badass bunny bro. I went to the Academy with her. About knocked my ass out in the ring."

"Oh!" Nick said, "That was you?" Judy had already told him the story many times, but he figured it was a good opportunity to shift the conversation away from his love life.

McHorn rumbled with a big belly laugh that shook the doors of the lockers. "So you heard about that, eh?" he said.

"Oh, yes indeed," Nick said, "Ursula told us the story. She's a bit of a celebrity there."

McHorn snorted. "Ol' Major Thunder Paws, ha! And I don't doubt it," he said, "But she got my respect that day, I tell ya that. She's a damn good cop."

"Yeah, she is," Nick said. A dopey grin spread across his muzzle as he thought about his little 'badass bunny.' "She inspired me to join, after all."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" McHorn said, "All that stuff with Bellwether and shit." The big rhino took his weight off the lockers, the metal creaking and ticking. "Hey, I gotta get goin', but you guys should join us tonight at MacNelly's. Some of us are meetin' up there at seven to hang out. You know where it is?"

"Oh, I do," Nick said, trying not to smirk. MacNelly's was a cop bar. Every precinct had a nearby place that the local cops adopted as their watering hole to hang out at when off duty. In his former life, Nick had given them a wide berth. You didn't want to be hustling or carrying out questionable activities near a place like that if you wanted to remain free to hustle and carry out questionable activities.

"Cool! We've tried to get Hopps to come out before, but she never has. Bit of a workaholic, ya know?" McHorn said, "When she's not on duty, she's got her nose in some fuckin' text book or somethin'. Think maybe you can get her to come?"

Nick had not known Judy was a workaholic, but in retrospect, it didn't surprise him. He hummed. "I think I might be able to do that," he said after thinking about it a few seconds, "But no promises."

McHorn nodded and turned to leave.

"Good enough for me," the rhino said, "Hope to see ya both there!"

"Roger that, big guy!" Nick said and scooped up his clothes as he padded the other way to the big wall mounted blowers.

Judy luxuriated in the shower more than Nick after she finished her run. The mild tremors in her quads and the pain in her sides were all she needed to justify a few extra minutes.. Her fur wasn't as dense as Nick's, meaning she didn't have to work as hard to get the soap down to her skin. She allowed herself to sit under the hot water and counted the drops that fell from her nose.

She still had a bit of a runner's high, but her energy was quickly draining. What little boost she got from soaking in the hot water dissipated quickly once she stepped into the comparatively cold air of the locker room. She used her paws to squeegee the water off her arms, torso, and legs before trotting out and grabbing a towel to finish the job.

There was still nobody in the locker rooms. The tigress had still been out there running when she left, and nobody else had come in. She flipped the combo dials on her locker and opened the door. She immediately shut it with a bang and wrinkled her nose.

She sighed and leaning forward to rest her forehead against the cool painted metal of the door.

Nick waited for Judy just outside the rec area, leaning against the wall between the doors of the male and female locker rooms patting down and fussing with his fur. He'd never been a fan of blow dryers; they tended to fluff up his fur and leave it puffed up at odd angles. It took a considerable amount of brushing to tame it. He made a mental note to complain about the supposed shampoo and conditioner combo they had in those showers as it was obviously not up to the job for fox fur.

After about ten minutes, Judy finally pushed her way out of the female locker room. She spotted Nick waiting and gave him a look he could not quite decipher. She didn't stop and just kept walking.

Nick pushed off the wall to fall into step next to Judy. He noticed that she was not wearing her clothes from last night or the workout clothes she had run in. Instead, she had what looked like another exercise outfit on consisting of a white t-shirt and tight blue calf length capri-style spandex leggings. Nick also noted that the leggings were rather form fitting, if the surreptitious glances at her butt were to be believed.

They walked in silence for a few moments, heading to the front of the building. Nick flicked out the aviator sunglasses he had been holding in his paw and settled them on his muzzle. He clasped his paws behind his back, walking lockstep with Judy.

"We did smell," Judy said flatly, keeping her gaze forward.

"Yes, Carrots. Yes we did," Nick said coolly.

They continued to walk in silence. Nick followed her lead as she went to the curving stairs down instead of the elevator.

Judy kept her eyes locked on the revolving doors. She just wanting to get out into the fresh air without anymore knowing looks, winks, or chuckles.

When they finally made it outside, they headed down the steps and stopped. Judy turned her head up to the sky. The morning sun was just starting to climb above the height of the taller buildings. A light breeze blew and held a slight chill as the vagaries of wind brought the occasional gust over from Tundratown. There was also a slight hint of moisture in the air, and looking down the street, she could see a dark line on the horizon.

Nick sniffed the air, nose twitching. "Is it supposed to rain today?" he asked, and Judy shrugged.

"Some early afternoon showers, I think," she said and placed her paws on her head and slid them back and down over her head and ears.

"I'm so hungry," Judy mumbled, "but so tired..."

Nick couldn't disagree.

The adrenaline of the morning's rush long gone, hunger gnawed at them the longer they stood there. They stood there in silence, unsure of what they were waiting for. .

"Okay," Judy said finally, "Food." She rubbed her cheeks and looked back and forth, trying to recall what was around the ZPD and open this early. Most places around the precinct were coffee shops and fast food, with the occasional food cart occupying a street corner. There were two actual restaurants in line of sight, but they only opened later once lunch rolled around.

"Uhh..." Nick said, "Well, there's Donut Joe's." Nick nodded across the street, not for the first to think that old Joe has been a genius to open a donut shop across for the ZPD.

Judy made a face. "No," she said firmly, "No coffee shops, no donuts... I want real food."

"Lawn clippings aren't real food," Nick said with a straight face.

Judy rolled her eyes and slapped a paw at his arm. "Jerk," she said, which got a chuckle out of Nick. They both stood there in silence for a few more moments when Judy spoke up.

"There's a place a few blocks away called Honey's, I think," she said, "I've never been, but I've heard a few other officers mention it. It's supposed to be pretty good."

Nick stiffened, which went unnoticed by Judy.

"It's one of those old-timey diners, the night guys love the place," she said and looked up at Nick, who had managed to relax after his initial reaction to the name. "I am going to assume you've heard of it Mister 'I know everybody'?" she asked.

Nick knew Honey's, and going to the diner was not on his list of priorities for the morning. It was the last place in the city he wanted to go right now.

"Nick?" Judy asked.

Nick blinked down at her, and his mind raced trying to think of what to say. He considered lying and saying he'd heard it wasn't any good, but lying to Judy was even lower on his list of priorities. The diner was the go-to place where you found sleep-deprived college students cramming in the middle of the night, cops drinking coffee, or drunken revelers who just had to have eggs and pancakes at 2:30 in the morning. The food was plentiful, cheap, and tasty. The perfect combination. Given different circumstances, Nick knew he'd be there every week.

His options were limited. He either pretended nothing was wrong, told Judy was the deal was or... Or I stop being such a coward, he thought. What he had said last night came to his mind about how Judy affected him, and this bolstered his nerve.

Judy's brow furrowed. To her Nick seemed to have frozen in place, his eyes locked on hers. "Nick?" she said again, "are you okay?"

Nick blinked. "I know it," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. He forced a smile. "It's good. I think you'll like it."

Judy looked at him curiously. She didn't know what had just passed, but it wasn't nothing. "Are you sure?" she asked, "You don't seem thrilled about it."

Nick rubbed a paw under his muzzle and sighed. He had the sinking feeling this was going to ruin the day and did not want to have this conversation just yet. One step at a time, he told himself, but that coward in him secretly hoped Honey wouldn't be in.

"I just have some... history with the place," he eventually said. He took the initiative and gestured down the street as he started to walk, "Let's go."

Judy fell in beside him, looking up at him with concern and suspicion.

"Did you try and hustle them or something?" she asked with narrowed eyes, "Steal some special secret sauce?"

Nick put a paw over his chest. "Why, Officer Hopps, you wound me!" he laughed, "No Carrots, nothing so mundane." He looked at her. "And what do you mean try to hustle? I never tried. I just did, Fluff."

Judy gave a little snort, but Nick continued. "No, it... it's just where my mom worked before... she, uh, got sick."

Judy's ears fell. "Oh, Nick," she said and reached out a paw to lay it on his arm, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. We can go someplace else." Judy knew Nick's mom was listed as deceased, and there had never been any mention of his father, but she had no other details — she'd never asked. All she knew about his mother was that tiny mention of her in that sky tram ride a year ago. She felt decidedly uncomfortable having evoked this reaction from him, but was intensely curious to know more. She made a conscious decision not to pry. Nick hadn't badgered her with questions about her family, and she felt like she'd be overstepping her bounds.

"That's not it," he said, shaking his head, "I mean, it is, but it isn't, too... it's just sort of complicated, I guess" Nick trailed off. They walked in silence for a short time, neither of them speaking. Nick's thoughts were drawn to the past. He felt that dark pull down into bleak memory. Nick looked down as one of Judy's small paws slide into his. They could not exactly hold paws and walk together due to the difference in height, so instead Judy just pulled his paw and forearm to her chest and hugged it to her body snuggling up close to him as they walked. The mood that had started to creep up on him vanished in an instant to be replaced with just thoughts and feelings about the little rabbit that walked next to him.

"It's okay, Nick," Judy said, "Leave it for another time. Let's find someplace else."

Nick smiled down at her. "Thanks, Carrots, but it's okay. It'll be fine," he said and squeezed her against his side briefly. The tension seemed to dissipate, "It can't rain all the time."

Judy wasn't sure what that meant, and they continued to walk in silence.

"So," Judy eventually said, "Honey's is good?"

"You've really not been there?" Nick asked, incredulous.

Judy shook her head. "Nope, " she said, shaking her head.

Nick clucked his tongue. "You've been a year and have never been there? Carrots, you really need to get out more," he said shaking his head, "They have fantastic omelets, and this potato cheese casserole that should be a controlled substance."

Judy cocked an eyebrow. "That good?" she asked skeptically.

"Just you wait," Nick said, "Ugh, I'm drooling just thinking about it."

Judy raised both eyebrows then. "Well, can't get much better praise than fox drool," she said. When Nick didn't respond, she looked up at him. He was gazing back down at her with an intense look that she could feel even through the mirrored glass of his aviators. His ears tilted back and his tongue slowly slipped out to lick the right side of his muzzle. Judy sucked in a breath and jerked her gaze away. A new shot of adrenaline coursed through her and the fur from the top to the bottom of her spine felt like it was standing on end.

"Oh my gods, stop that," she said quickly, her body giving a shiver.

Nick chuckled, pleased with himself.

"Sly fox," she said and gave leaned into him, giving him a little push.

"Beautiful bunny," Nick replied back, making the same thrill run through here again for the second time in as many seconds.

Judy groaned and Nick laughed. "You are such a cheeseball, you know that?" she told him.

"Okay, okay," Nick said, holding his other paw up, "I'll behave."

Judy hugged Nick's arm tightly for a second.

"Just for now," she said. Their exchange had pressed a few internal buttons she'd become aware of last night, "I fully intend to have you not behave in the near future."

"Yes, Officer Hopps," Nick said, mimicking the tone he had used last night.

Judy's eyes went wide, and she shoved him again. "Oh my gods! Stop it!" Judy pleaded.

Nick let out a genuine laugh and put his free paw over his eyes. "You're too easy Carrots," he said and snaked a finger under his aviators to wipe small tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes.

Judy huffed, and failed to suppress a wide smile. Despite everything, she was very happy right here. Right now. Is this what dating is really like? she wondered. She was immensely enjoying the little pleasures like holding Nick's arm, their suggestive banter, and the simple talk about personal things. The banter was especially new, and she was loathe to admit how much she enjoyed it.

Nick's chuckling ebbed. He took a breath. "So," he said, looking down, "McHorn the younger wants us to go to MacNelly's tonight."

Judy cocked her head up at him. "Who, Georgie?" she asked, and Nick nodded.

Judy thought about this for a moment. She had been invited to go out to 'hang with the guys' before, but had never accepted. Her brow furrowed; previously, the prospect of going out drinking wasn't particularly exciting. That was especially true now that she was confident she'd be teased for her burgeoning, public relationship. With Nick there, though, she figured any comments wouldn't be too bad. Not to mention, this would get us out in public, which is what Bogo wanted, she thought

"Hmm, okay," she said as she started to nod and shrugged, "Why not? It gets us out like the chief wanted, and they've been bugging me about it for ages. It's not like we have anything better to do, anyway."

"Oh, I could think of some better things to do," Nick said. His face remained neutral, but his eyes glanced down at Judy from behind his aviators to gauge her reaction.

Judy's ears started to burn again, but she was immediately distracted at the thought of something else. She jabbed Nick in the ribs, earning a yelp from him.

"Hey!" he complained, looking down at her, "What was that for?"

"Speaking of inappropriate comments!" she said, "Thanks a lot for the help up there with the chief!"

Nick gave a small grin and had the good grace to look a little ashamed. "Yeah. Sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "I swear, my muzzle has a mind of its own sometimes."

Judy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "So I've noticed."

"It's one of the many reasons you love me," Nick replied matter-of-factly.

Judy snorted, but couldn't deny it. His blithe, smart-aleck personality was one of the things that drew her to him in the first place. He'd been the most insufferable mammal she'd ever met at the ice cream shop months ago, but she had to admit he'd grown on her . She smiled and hugged his arm tighter once more.

"So, what time tonight?" she asked.

"Seven," Nick replied, "I guess you've never been there, either?"

Judy shook her head. "Nope, " she said, "I don't drink, and just haven't been interested. It all seems... tedious? I guess that's the word. That's not even mentioning all the calls I've been on for mammals drunk in public."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Never? Not even a sip?" he asked. "I bet you were a blast to party with in high school."

Judy stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, I mean, there were a few times, but I can't say I've ever been more than tipsy," she said, and Nick hummed to himself.

"Well, if you don't want to go, we don't have to," he said, the conversation now reversed from where it was just a few minutes prior. "Georgie seemed kind of eager, so I figured I should ask."

"No, it's okay," Judy said, shaking her head, "It's not like I have to drink if I go, and you're right about needing to get out more. I've been here for months, and it's about time to get to know my fellow officers better."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Carrots, stop being so analytical," he said.

"What?" Judy asked, furrowing her brow.

Nick's paw, clutched against Judy's front, idly rubbed her belly. Judy grabbed his paw with one of hers quickly and squeezed it making him stop. If he doesn't cut this out, she thought, we are going to have an incident to really give the papers to talk about.

"You still have this textbook way of looking at the world," Nick said, seeming oblivious to what his rubbing had done to her. "It's not naïve or anything, but... I'm not sure how to put it. You..." Nick rolled his free paw in the air, "You, um, well, you always see four as being the sum of two plus two, but four is also six minus two." Nick rubbed his eyes with his paw, "Ugh, I think I just confused myself with another terrible metaphor, or analogy, or whatever it is."

"Analogy," Judy said, grinning and Nick just rolled his eyes.

Judy looked down at the sidewalk and thought. It was a terrible analogy, but she started to understand what he meant. All her childhood had been spent in zealous pursuit of joining the ZPD, but not every officer was like her.

She recalled her first few days on the force and how she had been treated, even by Nick when they had first met. She'd come to terms with her former naiveté about the department. She was self-aware enough to realize she tended to default back to her 'book smarts' in unfamiliar situations.

The silence dragged out. Nick snuck a peek down at her, afraid he had upset her. He was just about to say something when Judy spoke up.

"You're right," she said.

"I am?" Nick said in surprise.

Judy nodded. "Yes," she said, "I mean, when you really get down to it, I grew up in a pretty insular place." She made her gait waddle a bit and shrugged. "Bunnyburrow isn't the biggest hub of action and excitement," she said, "I had my plan, and I stuck to it. I studied, and I trained and never... I don't know, put myself out there?" She shrugged again, "In a lot of ways I'm still a dumb bunny from the country."

Nick smiled and snorted.

"What?" Judy asked.

"You said dumb bunny," Nick snickered.

Judy narrowed her eyes up at him.

"Infuriating fox." She retorted.

Nick winked at her. "You know it Fluff," he said. He looked up and saw they'd arrived in front of the diner. He stomped down on the anxious feeling that had built with every step of the way. "And here we are... prepare for deliciousness," he said, pulling his sunglasses off and tucking them in the collar of his shirt.

Judy looked at the place with some suspicion, despite the restaurant's reputation. Honey's chrome and tile color scheme made it look like any other greasy spoon. The smell of fatty food cooking wafting from the kitchen caused her stomach to rumble and made up her mind for her without further internal debate. Judy let go of Nick's arm, and he opened the door for her and followed after as she walked in.

The place looked like it belonged fifty years in the past, with a long counter complete with red vinyl-topped stools and a similar motif for the booths that lined the walls. There were areas set aside for smaller mammals, and on one large section of the counter, there was an entire miniature diner complete with kitchen and grill area. The place was busy, too; most of the seats were taken by mammals in everything from suits and ties to construction visibility jackets.

The air was not only filled with the smell of cooking food, but also with the low hum of conversation, silverware clinking on plates, newspapers rustling and the tak-tak-tak of typing on more than few laptop keyboards.

Judy raised her eyebrows and looked up at Nick.

"Trust me," Nick said, catching the look, "The food here is fantastic."

"Nick?" a female voice called. Judy saw Nick tense.

"Wishes and fishes," Nick muttered under his breath and turned, putting a smile on his muzzle.

An older vixen trotted over. Her muzzle a silvery gray that faded into more red. She was dressed in a pink and white waitress outfit that matched the old time décor, energetically chewing gum,, and sported a nametag that read 'Honey' on it in curling red letters. Apparently, this was the diner's proprietor and namesake.

The vixen slowed to a stop in front of them with her eyes intent on Nick. The gum chewing slowed as well. She looked down at Judy for a moment, then did a double take as recognition hit her. She didn't say anything and turned her attention back to Nick.

Judy looked back and forth between them. Nick's posture had gone stiff, and the vixen was acting like she was facing a mammal she was afraid was about go savage.

"Gotta say, Nicky," she said in a thick country accent, "I'm surprised to see ya."

Nick was steadfastly avoiding Honey's gaze, which Judy thought he seemed unable to meet.

Coward , a voice hissed at Nick from the back of his mind.

"I know," Nick said curtly, but rallied himself. He cleared his voice and forced himself to meet Honey's eyes. "Look, Honey, we're just here for breakfast. It's already been a long morning, and we're really hungry. Maybe we can talk later, okay?"

Honey stopped chewing her gum and stared back into Nick's eyes intently. She was silent for several long seconds as they looked at each other. She nodded carefully and gave the gum a couple slow chews. "Alright," she said quietly, the gum chewing speeding up, "Alright... ok. I'd like that. I'd like that a whole lot, Sugar."

Judy watched this exchange with a mix of curiosity and alarm. She couldn't tell if they were on the verge of tears or an argument. We shouldn't have come here, she told herself, If I had known this was going to happen...

At that moment, Honey transformed from the wary and cautious fox Judy had been introduced to into someone else. She blinked her eyes and smiled wide, and her gum chewing resumed in earnest. She opened her arms wide. "Can I at least get a hug?"

Nick forced a brittle smile. He wanted to hug her more than anything, but at the same time he wanted to run right back out the door. Why did I think this was a good idea again? he asked himself, Oh, right. I didn't. "Sure," he said and stepped into the embrace somewhat reluctantly.

Judy watched as the two hugged. Nick's arms didn't seem to know what to do for a moment before they slowly wrapped around the vixen.

"Mmmm," Honey hummed and stepped back. She smiled and looked Nick up and down. "Just look at you," she said, "Zootopia's first fox police officer! You're doin' us foxes proud." she said with evident pride.

Nick took a stranglehold on his emotions. He was relieved when Honey let him go, but his paws lingered on her back, not willing to be released from the embrace.

"Thanks," he said and cleared his throat, "Uh, about that breakfast? I wasn't kidding about being hungry, and I told her about the casserole."

Honey seemed to have forgotten that Judy was there and looked down. She rolled that gum around in her muzzle and nodded at Judy. "You're Judy Hopps, right?"

Judy smiled. She decided if everybody else was going to act like nothing strange was going on that she probably should too. For now.

"Yes, ma'am," she said and held out a paw, "A pleasure to meet you."

Honey shook Judy's smaller paw gently. "Oh, sweetheart," she said, "Pleasure is all mine. It's not often I get celebrities in my little diner! Especially ones who saved the city!"

Judy smiled as they released paws. "Thanks. I don't know about saving the city, though. I was just doing my job, ma'am."

Honey snorted. "That's what heroes always say," she said and gestured as she started walking, "Now, enough yakkin', c'mon. Let's get you two seated and some warm food in your bellies."

They followed Honey to a empty booth that was just being wiped down by a portly little pig in the same outfit as Honey.

"Here we go," she said then side as an aside to the pig, "I got these two, Jenny."

Jenny gave Nick and Judy a brief glance but shrugged as she moved away. "Okay, boss," she said as she trotted off to some other customer that was raising a paw to get attention.

Nick and Judy slid into the shiny red seats. Judy found her head barely was above the table height. Please don't tell me I have to ask for a booster seat , she silently grumbled to herself as she looked around for possible controls. They tended to be a standard, if not a necessity, in a city like Zootopia.

"Oh, here sweetheart. Let me get that for you," Honey said and pressed a button on the set into the outward facing side of the seatback as the seat shifted and raised up with the quiet hum of hidden motors.

Judy smiled. "Thank you," she said as the level got to something more reasonable for her.

"My pleasure sweetie. Let me go get you two some menus," Honey said and moved off.

Judy watched the vixen move off for a second before turning a very pointed look at Nick. "Nick," she said in a half whisper, "You mind telling me what the heck is going on here?"

Nick grimaced. "It's nothing, Carrots," he said keeping his own voice low. He didn't return Judy's gaze. Instead, he fixed on nothing in particular in the far end of the diner.

"Don't give me that!" Judy countered, "If whatever just happened was nothing, then I'm a hippos aunt!"

"Then you're a hippos aunt," Nick said flatly.

"Nick!" Judy hissed, and Nick's eyes finally flicked down hers.

"Not now. Okay? I admit it's not nothing, but just... later, please," Nick said.

Judy was about to respond, but Honey had already returned to their table.

"Here we go!" Honey said as she returned and set down a large double-sided laminated menus in front of each of them. She also noticed the look that was still being held between Nick and Judy.

Before things got more awkward, Nick pulled his eyes away and picked up his menu. "Ahh, so, what's good today?" he asked hurriedly.

Honey looked back and forth but went back to pretending that everything was fine. "What you mean what's good? Everything, sugar, like always. I'll give y'all a few minutes to look," she said and pulled out a pen and order pad, "What can I get y'all to drink?"

"Coffee," Nick said then looked to Judy, "What about you, Carrots?"

Judy took her eyes off Nick. "What?" Judy asked then the question registered, "Oh, um, do you have carrot juice?"

Honey nodded. "Sure do, sweetie," the vixen said. Judy thought she sounded like a more genial, country version of her mother.

"Some carrot juice then, please," she said then added, "And some coffee!"

Honey smiled. "Comin' right up," said Honey before walking off.

Judy's nose wrinkled as Honey headed back to the kitchen. "I take it she's the owner?" she asked Nick, changing tack and nodding at Honey. She wanted some answers now, or at least whatever Nick was willing to give her.

Nick nodded in reply, glad to change the subject at first. "Uh, place used to be called Jimmy's. Honey and my-" he said and stopped. Walked right into it, Wilde, he told himself. He cleared his throat, "She saved up money for years and when the old owner decided to retire she bought it from him."

So, Judy thought , wasn't just Honey. it must have been his mom, too. They were saving money together. Still, Judy was impressed. She wondered how many years saving up that much must have taken.

"Come on, Judy," Nick pleaded. He saw the gears turning in her head and knew her well enough that she tended to see every mystery as a personal challenge.

Judy's eyes flicked up to Nick's at the use of her name. She broke the gaze and sighed. "Fine," she groused, "But you're explaining this later, mister. You're the one who said it would be okay.

Nick raised his paws, "I know, I jus-" he said but was cut off as a thought popped into Judy's mind.

"Oh, my gods," Judy said quietly, "Nick, did you sleep with her? Is that what this is about?"

Nick blinked at her blankly for several long seconds before his expression turned horrified. "Ew, no!" he said much too loudly, causing several heads to turn their way. He ducked his head and leaned forward. "No, gods, I didn't sleep with her!" he hissed back in disgust, "That's like asking if I slept with my mom!"

Judy clucked her tongue in a way that she she often heard used against her father by her mother. "Well" she whispered and looked away, now rather embarrassed, "Maybe you have a thing for older vixens! I don't know! You're both treating each other like the other is going to explode! It seemed a logical conclusion!"

"Ugh," Nick said again and shivered and went quiet.

Judy was silent as well but her eyes eventually found Nick's again and they looked at each other for a long moment.

A smile started to twitch at the corners of Judy's mouth.

Nick's face twitched as well as he fought down the urge to laugh. Judy snorted and Nick couldn't help it and began to snicker.

Judy put a paw over her muzzle and giggled quietly.

Honey returned just then with a tray containing their drinks in addition to two glasses of water. The vixen looked at the still giggling Nick and Judy as she set the drinks down. "Should I give y'all a few minutes?" she asked.

Nick cleared his throat and swallowed. He smiled politely. "Could you, please?"

Honey arched an eyebrow. "Sure, sweetie," she said and moved off to another table after the drinks were set down.

Nick watched Honey go and relaxed slowly. Well, he thought, maybe this will turn out alright. He turned his attention back to Judy.

Judy looked back, still smiling. The need to know what was going on still nagged at her, but she decided it could wait. She sighed and looked down at her paws on the table as one paw fidgeted with the fingers of the other. It was an awkward situation, but what made it worse is when she looked at Nick she didn't see her insufferable partner anymore, she saw someone she loved. This is why it's dangerous to fraternise, she thought, this is exactly why.

"You okay over there, Carrots?" Nick asked as he reached and pulled his coffee closer, picking up the little containers of cream.

Judy sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing," she said after few seconds, her voice small and sounding uncharacteristically unsure. A sudden nervous feeling having come over her out of nowhere.

"What do you mean you don't know what you're doing?" Nick asked. He used a claw to slice open the tops of the creamers and started dumping one after another into his coffee.

Judy looked up at him. "How many girlfriends have you had in your life?" she asked as she reached out for her juice and took a long drink of it.

Nick blinked and sat forward. He thought for a moment and started muttering names under his breath as he ticked them off on his fingers. "About... eight, I think," he said, "At least ones I would call at least semi-serious, why?"

Judy blinked and looked down at her paws again. "It's just," she said. She shrugged and lookied up at him, "This is weird... is this weird?"

Nick cocked his head at her. "Well," he said slowly, "Let's see... a former con artist fox is now a cop and in love with a rabbit, who also happens to be his partner. He and his partner are suspended the second day of the fox's job after having a picture of them kissing published in the newspaper. Then, they were chewed out by the chief of police and apparently smelled like they had been at each other all night, "

Nick took a breath and gave Judy a leer that made Judy's ears burn before continuing, "Which is exactly what they had been doing, and now are settling down to a nice breakfast on the first day of a paid vacation. A vacation on which they are supposed to be seen out and about with each other." Nick nodded, "Hmm... Yeah, this definitely fits the definition of weird."

Judy rolled her eyes upwards and tamped down some of the awkwardness she was feeling. "Okay, yes," she said, ducking her head, "But that's not what I'm talking about." She caught herself fidgeting with her paws and made herself stop, clasping them together instead. She took a calming breath before she opened her mouth again. "What I mean is, I've never been in a relationship, and-"

Nick held up a paw, ears suddenly up.

"Wait a minute, are — I know you said you didn't really have any boyfriends and everything, but are you telling me that last night was your, uh," he paused, "Was I...? But you, um, you kinda knew what you... uhh... the thing you did with your... and.."

Judy blushed so hard she was sure it was showing through more than just the fuzz on the insides of her ears. She closed her eyes and held a paw to silence him, but failed to notice Honey moving their way.

"Nick, I love you, and I know your mouth has a mind of its own, but we are in public, and I've had about as much embarrassment as I can handle for one day," she said.

"Nicholas Wilde, are you datin' a rabbit girl?" Honey said with genuine shock in her voice as she walked up. She had already been watching the two curiously. She saw something in the way they looked at each other when they walked in, and overhearing Judy confirmed it.

Nick cringed, hunching his shoulders. "Great," he muttered. He relaxed and put on a smile.

Judy groaned and didn't bother opening her eyes. She thumped her head down on the table a couple of times.

"Somebody kill me," she said, muffled.

"My, my, my," Honey continued, "I don't think I could be more surprised if the sun winked out."

Nick shrugged. "What can I say, Honey," he said and put on an easy grin, "She threatened to arrest me, and I fell in love with her."

Honey gave a short bark of laughter and just shook her head in disbelief. "Tsk-tsk, little Nicky Wilde. First makin' good and become a police officer, and now datin' a rabbit... what is the world coming to?" Honey said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Judy still sat with her head down on the cool tabletop.

"Is she okay?" Honey asked Nick in a quiet voice.

"I'm fine!" Judy said with her head still down, "It's just been a really long day."

Honey lifted an eyebrow at Nick. "Ain't it still before noon?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, but we had a rough morning. She's fine," he said, "It's just been a really long day."

"That's what I just said!" Judy complained, head still horizontal on the table.

Honey raised eyebrows. "Well, anyways" she said slowly, "Good for you two! You do make just the cutest couple."

Judy thumped her head on the table once more and sighed. She sat up, smiling wanly up at the vixen.

"Thank you," she said with polite tiredness.

Nobody spoke for a long moment and as the silence started to stretch into awkwardness. Honey rescued them all by pulling out the pad and pen.

"So, you two ready to order?" she asked.

Nick realized hey hadn't even looked at the menus, although he was sure he didn't need to.

"I know what I want," he said,then nodded at Judy, "Though she may need a minute."

Judy rubbed her face with one paw. "I believe you said the omelets were good," she said and Nick started to nod then quirked an eyebrow.

"Wait... do rabbits eat eggs?" he asked.

Judy shrugged and yawned. "Mmmph... not often," she said and blinked her tired eyes, "But as long as they're loaded with veggies, I'm game."

Honey smiled. "Alright then, sugar," the vixen said and looked at Nick, "Your old usual, I take it?"

Nick leaned back and nodded, smiling, and Honey turned to Judy. "What you want in yours sweetie?" she asked.

Judy thought for a moment. "Cheddar cheese and every vegetable you got," she said., "But no onions, I hate onions. Oh, and extra spinach!"

Honey jotted down the order on her pad. "You got it sugar. Comes with toast, white or whole wheat?" Honey asked.

The vixen's constant use of 'sweetie' and 'sugar' started to grate on Judy, but she kept her irritation in check. "Whole wheat, please," Judy answered.

"And what side you want? We got that potato casserole Nicky told you about. Also have hash browns, grits, salad, baked beans, steamed vegetable medley, fried crickets, and curly fries," Honey said then leaned in to add in a conspiratorial tone, "I recommend the casserole."

Judy smiled at Nick. "Nick did give it high praise," she said, and Nick winked at her, "So I guess I'll go with that."

Honey jotted down the rest of the order and smiled. "Well, alright then. I'll leave you two lovebirds to talk," she said and headed back to the kitchen.

Judy blew a breath out, her cheeks puffing up. he constant focus by everyone on her and Nick's relationship was starting to wear very thin.

Nick had begun to tear open some sugar packets and pour them into his coffee. "So," he said, "Where were we?"

Judy started to adulterate her own coffee to creamy and sickly sweet. "I believe you were embarrassing me by commenting on certain... skills I have without any practical experience in such things," she said and tried her best to not let the embarrassment rise again. These were things you just didn't normally discuss in public, at least in her admittedly limited experience.

Nick's ears went up. "Right!" he said as he tore open another packet of sugar, "So you're telling me that you, a rabbit, a species known for its... um shall we say-"

Judy held up a paw to cut Nick off. "Yes, thank you. I think I get the idea," she said impatiently as she glanced around surreptitiously to see if anyone was listening, "Contrary to popular belief not all rabbits are sex crazed maniacs, and... um..." Judy's ears burned as her mind drifted back to last night then to her how most of her family viewed sex. "What I mean to say is we just have a lot of kits is all. It's a misconception," she finished hurriedly.

"Uh huh," Nick said with knowing smirk while dumping yet another packet of sugar into his coffee, "So you're just form a chaste little rabbit family from Bunnyburrow? How many brothers and sisters did you say you had, again?"

Judy's ears felt as if they were about to burst into flames. "I admit," she started slowly, avoiding Nick's grin, "That we may have a more, um, liberal view about such... matters. I'm just one of the few exceptions." There was a pause as Nick gave her an incredulous, but amused look. "What?" she asked then leaned forward to say in a near whisper, "It's not as if I don't... I didn't..." She stopped and sat back with a groan. "Just.. nevermind!"

Nick was entirely too entertained. She is so cute when she's embarrassed, he thought. "So," Nick said as he picked up his spoon, "You were being conservative last night when you-"

Judy's eyes went wide. She waved her paws and shushed him in a manner reminiscent of an old time steam engine.

Nick's shoulders began to shake as he desperately fought not to laugh. "Okay, okay, " he said, "I give, Fluff, but do go on. Inquiring minds want to know!"

Judy closed her eyes and grunted tiredly. She rubbed paw over her face, but when she saw Nick's entirely too amused expression a grin tugged at her lips which eventually turning into a little snort of laughter. She smiled and shook her head. She had started to notice how all the little things that Nick did that she often found exasperating in the past now just made him all the more attractive to her. They both started to stir their coffee with a spoon and Judy focused her attention on this task, not looking at Nick.

She cleared her throat and refocused on the point she had been trying to make. "Sooo..." she said, drawing the word out and ducking her head a little as she did, "You were not, technically, the... first, but you were second. As far as I am concerned, you might as well have been my first. My first time..." She thought briefly of that one fumbling night with Billy years ago. She doubted she could blush any harder at this point. She cleared her throat and picked up the coffee to sip at it, but as she brought it to her muzzle said quickly, and quietly, "Er, anyway, we didn't get far. And I read a lot of romance novels."

Nick cocked his head and cupped a paw around one ear. "I'm sorry," he said, amusement in his voice, "What was that?"

Judy gave him a look, put the coffee cup down, and delicately clasped her paws together. "I said," she began, eyes looking down at a spot in the middle of the table, "I... read a lot of romance novels." She tongued her cheek, still not meeting Nick's gaze. Somehow, admitting that little guilty pleasure of hers was nearly as embarrassing as everything else.

Nick lazily continued to stir his coffee and rested his muzzle on a paw, giving her an appraising look. "Huh," he said, thinking about his little rabbit and how she had been very insistent and definitely in charge the previous night. "All that learned from romance novels, huh? I may have to start reading those to pick up some tips," he said. He put his spoon down and brought the coffee up for a sip. "Do I need to get a pirate outfit? Or a big white puffy shirt?"

Judy let out a little snort of laughter at the idea. Nick dressed up as one of the buff figures from the covers of her trashy novels was funny, but then pictured him as the swashbuckling lead from her favorite series. She almost choked on the air she was breathing He could definitely pull it off;. the year of training at the academy had left him toned and built. Her eyes darted away from eye contact with Nick, unable to look directly at him

Nick caught the look and gave her that slow smile with ears tilted slightly back. "I'll take that as a yes," he said and took another sip of coffee that managed to be lecherous, especially when coupled with the look he was giving her.

Judy made a little heated noise from the back her throat. That look. That damned look he gave her always instantly flipped the dial up to eleven. She broke the gaze and groaned, sitting back with a sigh.

"Anyways!" she said and waved her paw as if to clear the air, "I'm not talking about... that stuff... more the whole dating thing. The point is that you're older and have a lot more experience at this and I... I'm. " She paused to try to gather her thoughts before continuing, "All I know is just... I don't know... guessing and hearsay."

Nick frowned. "I'm thirty-three," Nick said, sounding affronted.

"What?" Judy asked, puzzled.

"I'm thirty-three. I'm not old.".

"I said you were older, not old!" she said.

Nick rolled his eyes and waved a paw at her. "It's a joke, Carrots," he said, "I'll explain it later."

Judy frowned. "Oh, okay," she said, still trying to figure out where the joke was lost on her.

"Judy, relax," he said then, "This isn't a test. This isn't something where you have a list of boxes to check off." Nick shrugged, "It just happens and you have to roll with it." He took another long sip of his coffee and thought for a few seconds "It's... one of those things in life where you think you can plan for it and be ready, but once you're in the middle of it, all bets are off."

Judy thought about this, covering the time by taking a sip of her juice instead of the coffee. She nodded. "I guess," she said, "I just... don't feel in control right now, and that bothers me. You just seem so calm about everything."

Nick gave a humorless little snort. "It's a front, Fluff. Never let them see they get to you, remember?" he asked.

Judy looked up at him, an ear cocked.

"Trust me Carrots, I'm as wound up and unsure of all this as you are, I just hide it better."

Behind the practiced, cool persona he presented, his stomach was tied into knots. He assumed he was more uncertain than Judy. His joy from last night was still almost tangible, , but after the morning, with Bogo and Honey, it had been tempered by irrational fear. He thought back to all of his prior failed relationships, and the idea of things with Judy going badly physically pained him. Normally, this would be the time when he'd shift the conversation to something else to avoid any introspection, but this time he either didn't want to or couldn't.

Not only could he not avoid it, but he actually wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything about himself. For the first time in a very long time, he realized he wanted someone else to know about him. To really know him. A lump built in his throat and that odd tightness in his chest rose again. What has this rabbit done to me?

Judy watched him from across the table. She watched his facade slowly fall. It was something she had only seen twice, the first being on the sky tram, and then second being last night. She could see Nick's expression slowly shift as he focused on her. "It... it's like I said last night," he said, his voice quiet with his attention wholly fixated on her now, "You do, I mean, you've done something to me. Things I've never told anyone, I want to tell to you."

A tightness built in Judy's chest. She sucked on her bottom lip absently as she listened.

"All the other relationships I've had, it was always me that walked away in the end," Nick continued, "Except in a couple of cases, but when they walked away from me, I was relieved. With you... the thought of that happening again scares me to death." Nick finally broke the intense look he was giving her and gazed down at his plate instead, "I'm scared that I'll screw this up and that I'll make the same mistakes. That I'll just end up hurting you."

Judy didn't know how to respond. Her own emotions were already strained and kept her from giving a coherent response. If she were a psychologist, she might call this 'a breakthrough' or 'progress.' Nick was opening up to her more and more, and the fact it was her he was allowing inside made her want to leap the table to just hug and hold him.

"I..." she started to say, but her thoughts were all jumbled again, and she just stared at Nick.

Nick gave himself a little shake, and she watched that facade of his slam back into place. He smiled, back to his usual sly looking self, except for the shining eyes.

"So!" He said, picking up the coffee for another sip, "Doesn't sound like your parents are big fans of foxes, hmm?"

Judy debated trying to steer the conversation back, wanting to see more of the real Nick she just had a glimpse of, but her better judgment told her to leave it. One step at a time Jude, she thought. She would let him open up to her in his own time. She may not be the savviest rabbit when it came to social interactions, but she knew pressing someone, and especially someone like Nick, was usually met with equal pushback. His words triggered an immediate, visceral reaction from her.

"Oh gods, my parents!" she mood immediately shifted to exasperation, "I can't believe they did that! How did they get the chief's external line?" She slumped back against the plush seat, "They are so overprotective and were so against me joining the force." She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, "I'm going to have to call them soon or they'll freak out again."

"How did they even find out?" Nick asked, mostly back in control of himself now, at least outwardly, "You said some uncle of yours?" Their call to the chief left him with several questions. It had seemed awful quick for word to spread to Bunnyburrow.

Judy made a disgusted sound and rolled her eyes. "My Uncle Benny," she explained, "He lives just outside the city and is, um,not quite all there, if you get what I mean. He must have gotten the early edition. I don't think he sleeps anymore."

Nick nodded and noticed Honey coming their way with a loaded tray.

"There's one in every family," he said just as Honey sidled up to the table carrying the tray laden with plates and small bowls.

Nick leaned back, and Honey picked up a plate.

"Here we go, you two," the vixen said, setting their plates down on the table.

Judy eyed the large omelet.

Honey put down two small side dish bowls with heaping piles of hash browns, slightly browned and crispy on top.

"There is no way I'm going to eat all this," Judy said, the portion way more than she could possibly put down, "But I'm going to try, because I am starving and have earned this."

"That's fine sugar, but you just wait until you try that casserole," Honey said, and Nick smiled up at her.

"Thanks, Honey," he said, and the vixen smiled back. Judy's was too distracted by the mountains of food in front of her to notice the strain on their faces.

"You just wave me down if you need anything!" Honey said and headed off to greet a smartly dressed tiger with a briefcase who just entered.

"Now," Nick said as he rolled his silverware out of the napkin it was wrapped in. Judy cocked an eyebrow at him, and he raised up a finger of one paw and his fork with the other. He reached over and scooped up a glob of the casserole from Judy's own bowl and held it up, "Open up."

Judy gave him a shy smile. She hadn't been fed by someone else since she was a kit, and the small gesture, to her, seemed exactly like the kind of thing couples would do. She leaned forward with her eyes locked on his, and opened her muzzle.

Nick gently inserted the rather hefty forkful of casserole into Judy's mouth. She closed it and pulled back and rolled the casserole around for a moment before her eyes went wide. There was the fried potato hash brown taste, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and something else creamy that she could not immediately place. She was pretty sure there was onion in there too, but she was surprised that she didn't mind. It was simple, but the combination of it all was amazing. She brought a paw up to her muzzle, her eyes wide.

"Mmmrmmph!" she grunted. She had heard of something tasting orgasmic, and thought this definitely qualified for that. She swallowed some of it. "Oh my gods," she mumbled and quickly unwrapped her own silverware. She picked up the fork and loaded it up as she swallowed the rest of the first bite, "This is incredible," she said.

Nick raised his eyebrows and leaned forward on his elbows again and said in a hushed tone, "I know, right?" He scooped up some from his own bowl and took a bite.

"I don't even want the omelet anymore," Judy said around another mouthful, "I just want more of this."

"What did I tell ya, sweetie?" Honey said as she walked by, leading the tiger in the suit to a table farther back.

Nick made pleased noises himself as he savored the concoction. I really have missed this stuff. "I've not had this in forever," he said, watching Honey escort the tiger, "Tried to make it a few times, but it never came out right."

Judy proceeded to quickly demolish the small bowl of casserole. Not only was it delicious, but she was also desperately hungry. All the fat and starch flicked that switch in her brain that said 'Eat this! Eat all of this right now!'

Nick was not far behind as he finished off his own small bowl and licked his fork clean.

Judy realized that was the fork he had fed her with and it made something inside her inwardly squirm in pleasure. The small act of casual intimacy bore a smile on her face. All these little things, she thought and sat back. She let out a contented sigh, feeling much better having some solid food in her.

"Better?" Nick asked, and Judy nodded.

"Much," she said, "But that stuff cannot be good for you."

"Oh, it isn't," Nick said with confidence. "You do not want to see the dietary information for it."

Judy felt a bit more civilized now. Between the morning's events and then making the questionable choice to go for a run, she realized some of her odd feeling was probably just due to low blood sugar. Between the juice, sweetened coffee, and food, she was starting to feel much better. Lethargy was starting to bloom inside her, and she leaned forward and picked up her fork again to keep eating before fullness found her.

"This also can't be good for me," she said as she watched cheese slowly ooze out of the omelet.

"Eh, I'm sure all those vegetables make up for it," Nick said as he munched on a slice of buttered toast while he cut into his omelet.

Judy snorted and took a bite. It was good, not nearly as good as that casserole, but it was still plenty good. "I'm going to have to come here again," she said between bites of egg and toast.

Nick hummed in agreement around a mouthful and waved his fork out at the diner in general.

"Told you it was good. I used to come here a lot. Even worked here for a little while a long time ago, but-" he said and swallowed. He had been going to say but haven't been here in like six years, but knew that line of conversation would just lead back to the one he was trying to avoid for now. "But," he continued after a brief pause, "It's been a while. You know, with the academy and such."

Judy picked up on this deflection easily enough. Nick had obviously not been here for a much longer time that he made it out to be. Honey's reaction to seeing him reinforced that belief, but she kept her unspoken promise to leave it until later.

Judy cocked an eyebrow. Time to turn the table, she thought. "Let me get this straight, " she said, nibbling on a bit of toast and sounding deliberately skeptical, "You worked? Like work-worked? A real job work?"

"Ya know, rabbit," Nick said and narrowed his eyes as he shook a wedge of omelet on the end of his fork at her ominously, "I may not have reported my taxes, but hustling is work. You saw everything me and Finnick did, and that was just for pawpscicles."

Judy snorted. "Which," she said and pointed back at nick with her own formidable wedge of cooked egg, "By the way, I now realize I should have arrested you for in the first place! In no way was making those even remotely sanitary! I'm sure you broke two dozen food preparation codes!" She made a face. "And you were always eating them! I swear, every time I saw you before you went into the academy, you were eating one those things! How could you?"

Nick rolled his eyes and popped his cooling bit of omelet into his muzzle. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "First off," he said, "Those particular roof tiles are constantly scoured by a hot wind from the heat vents." He stabbed another bit of omelet and lifted it up. "Secondly, the snow in that part of Tundratown is new every morning," he said then popped the cheese oozing forkful into this muzzle and waggled his eyebrows at Judy.

"Ick," Judy said with a grimace.

Nick chuckled. "They were fine, " he said, "I never got sick, did I?"

Judy scoffed and Nick chuckled as they settled down to eat silence for a while. After several minutes, Judy set her fork down with still a good half of the omelet on her plate. She sat back, patting her belly.

"Oooh... I declare myself stuffed," she said and yawned, putting a paw over her open muzzle.

Nick ate a couple of more bites and sat back as well with a sigh of the contented. Food was a good call , he thought before catching the yawn from Judy.

"Mmmph, stop that," he said.

Judy shook her head, and another yawn overcame her. "Can't... nnmmmm... help it," she said, "I'm beat."

With food in their stomachs, a heavy lethargy was starting to settle over them both that the coffee could not put a dent in it. Not only had they not gotten much in the way of sleep, but they were hitting the wall from working a full shift and attending the concert the day prior.

Honey paused in her way by. "Can I get you two anything else?" she asked. She spied Nick's nearly empty coffee cup, "More coffee?"

Nick gave Judy a questioning look and she shook her head. "No, I think we're good," Nick answered and started to fish his wallet out of the pocket of his shorts but Honey stopped him with a wave of a paw.

"Put that away. Your money's no good here, you know that."

Nick smiled, a bit sadly Judy thought.

"Thanks, Honey," Nick said up to the vixen without meeting her gaze.

"Now don't you be a stranger, I've... I've missed you. You come back soon, you hear? For that talk?" Honey asked.

Nick smiled and nodded, still not looking up. "I'll, uh, do that," he said, but silently debated the honesty of that promise.

Judy watched Honey pad off and how Nick had begun to fidget by starting to tear one of the empty sugar packets into tiny bits. She stifled another sudden yawn. I am going to get to the bottom of this , she thought and pushed her arms and legs out in a stretch, but not right now.

"So," Nick said, "Your place to get some clothes, then what? We got all day still before MacNelly's."

Judy thought about that while she twisted her torso to the right, using a paw behind her elbow to pull her arm and stretch the muscles and joints.

"Honestly," she said as she twisted the other way, letting out a little grunt, "I didn't think that far ahead." Nick started to scoot out of the seat and Judy followed, "But, you know, I could really use nap so... so my place first then can we just, I don't know, go back to your place and nap for a bit?" she asked. The shyness of her question wasn't lost on Nick, and the sincerity of it made his heart skip a beat.

He smiled as they walked towards to door, more than happy at the thought of snuggling up with Judy for a nap.

"I don't see why not. I think this meets our 'being seen' quota for the day," he said, surrounding 'being seen' with air quotes.

They had just about reached the entrance, Nick extending an arm to open the door for Judy when Honey called out.

"Nick?" the vixen said, walking up to them.

Nick froze. I knew it, I knew she wouldn't keep her muzzle shut and just let me walk out, Nick thought. He tensed and turned slowly.

Judy watched Nick's expression change as he turned. His ears cocked forward and his posture was suddenly stiff. He smiled, but it was not the slow easy smile she was so used to. It was jerky and erratic, as if he was forcing each individual muscle to move. The fur on his neck even began to slowly stand up.

Honey could not have missed the fake parody of congeniality Nick was trying to force.

"Nick," Honey said and reached out to rest a paw lightly on his shoulder, "I just wanted... I just wanted to say that your momma would be so proud."

Nick visibly swallowed, that strained smile still on his muzzle. He nodded. "Thanks, Honey," he said in a calm voice, "I'm sure you're right. We'll talk soon, I promise." He then turned abruptly and walked out the door not waiting for Judy.

Judy blinked and started to follow. She gave one last look up at Honey, but the vixen didn't look at her. Instead, her gaze followed Nick with a sad and sorrowful expression. She pushed the door open and hurried out. Nick had started to walk in the direction of the nearest subway entrance, paws stuffed in the pockets of his shorts. Judy hurried to catch up with him. She didn't say anything and just silently walked next to him, letting him decide if he wanted to explain. . The shift back and forth between calm and tension had been so bizarre, and she wanted to know what the heck had happened between these two. It was obviously a major event in Nick's life, and not knowing was driving her crazy. There was clearly some deep hurt here. She ached to help him, but she wasn't sure how and decided to just let her company be enough until he was ready. After a time, he did speak.

"You remember what that old wolf said last night?" he asked quietly, his eyes looking down at the sidewalk, "About all the faults and foibles?"

Judy nodded. "Yes," she said voice soft, looking up at him. For the third time in twelve hours she watched his mask drop.

"This is kind of one of those things," he said taking a big breath. He took a paw out his shorts to rub a thumb at the corner one eye then the other. "I'm...ugh, broken, in a lot of ways," he said and paused trying to pull together what he wanted to say. He wanted to say nothing, but he knew that just staying quiet was out of the question with Judy.

"I've had a hard life," he said eventually, "I've done okay for myself for a while now, but I am... I was... still just a hustler, a con artist. Not exactly how I imagined my life would go when I was a kid. Not exactly an easy life. Not what my mom wanted for me."

Judy's ears fell and she looked down at the sidewalk as they continued to walk. She didn't really know much about his past, just the little bits here and there he had shared with her on the rare occasion. Now that she'd been in the city for a year and seen its darker side, she had a better idea what it might have been. What it could have been. While she was confronted with prejudice of being a small bunny, and a doe, at that, when she came here, that was nothing compared to the way society generally treated foxes. It made her think of her parents that day at the train station in Bunnyburrow, when she'd left to come to the city. Even out in the country, foxes were viewed with suspicion and distrust more often than not. Probably more so. Her thoughts were interrupted when Nick sighed suddenly and brought both paws up, fingers rubbing at his eyes.

"This was all a mistake," he said, fatigue and sadness in his voice. He knew he had to face all this eventually. Then again he had been telling himself that for a long time now. Just why today? asked himself.

Judy stumbled as those words registered and she stopped.

Nick walked on a few steps, not noticing.

"Wha... what?" she said, her voice cracking.

Nick immediately heard the hurt in Judy's voice and looked down, then turned with his ears up and alert and eyes wide to see Judy standing there as she looked up at him. Nick thought about what he'd said and instantly understood what he'd done. In an instant he was in front of Judy and down on one knee. She stared at him with tears starting to fill her eyes.

"No, no, no! Carrots! Judy!" he said quickly and took her paws in his, looking into her eyes, "Judy, I wasn't talking about us!"

"You... you weren't?" she asked, her voice wavering but hopeful.

Nick gave a nervous little laugh and shook his head. "No... no," he said and pulled her paws to his muzzle and kissed the back of each in turn, "I was talking about going to Honey's. I thought it would be okay, but... well, obviously things didn't go as I had hoped."

Judy fought to pull herself under control, but it was a battle she ultimately lost. The relief from realizing she'd misunderstood stripped her of what little control she had left. She was tired, the food was making her mind foggy, and emotionally she was at her limit. She blinked rapidly, her face contorting as she let out a little hiccuping sob.

Nick pulled her into an embrace and she wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face into his neck fur. She weakly pounded on his back with loosely coiled fists.

"Oh, geez, Carrots, I'm sorry," Nick said and hugged her tightly to him and Judy let out another small sob. He was't used to a vulnerable Judy Hopps.

"You... you stupid... dumb... fox!" Judy cried into Nick's fur, but the relief in her voice was evident. It made Nick feel warm and more than a little protective.

"Told you I suck at dating," he said quietly, one paw cradling the back of Judy's head while the other slowly rubbed her shuddering back. "You bunnies... so emotional."

Judy let out a little half laugh, half sob and squeezed him tighter.

"You going to be okay?" Nick asked and he felt her nod against him, sniffing loudly. She turned her head and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and slowly pulled herself under control. She blinked and swallowed, sniffling again as she looked across the street.

"Nick..." she said slowly, her voice still high but sounding more normal now.

"Yeah, Carrots?" Nick said.

"There's a giraffe across the street taking pictures of us."