My Favorite Bunkmate

While not as cold as Tundratown, the downtown of Zootopia could get rather chilly at late autumns. Even fluffier animals could feel cold at this time of the year.

At Grand Pangolin Arms, Judy had gotten home from work much earlier in the evening. Nick would have a much longer shift during that night, and wouldn´t return until after midnight.

Even though the two worked together most of the time, they had separate shifts occasionally too. Nick always got the late night shifts, because Chief Bogo believed foxes worked best at that time of the day.

Judy was now sitting there at her apartment, spending her night alone until he would return. Slightly shuddering from the cold, she sat by the fireplace drinking hot chocolate from a mug. The rabbit spent the cold days usually like this when she had nothing special to do.

While her landlady had been generous enough to install the fireplace to the apartment, the cold was still strongly present in Judy´s flat.

As her gaze briefly looked at the pictures of her family she had on her desk, it made Judy think of something.

She had a fairly supportive family, and lots of friends who she cared about more than enough. Yet even when she had them from the start, the first rabbit police officer of Zootopia felt like there was missing something different. Something closer. That special someone.

That was until she met Nick.

Both the fox and the rabbit had managed to enhance each other´s lives greatly ever since they became partners. Now they were slowly evolving into something more, especially since the fox moved in to the same apartment too.

She cared deeply for him and would always put his needs before hers. And every time Nick was alone in dangerous operations, Judy was always a bit worried for him. Even though Nick was a predator, he wasn´t any less vulnerable than Judy was. Whenever they got the chance, they would protect each other at any cost.

But deep down, she always knew that they´d make it through as long as they were together. Every time he´d come home from something dangerous, it felt incredibly satisfying to Judy. Seeing Nick alright was like a "top priority" for these situations.

The best of all was how comfortable Nick and she felt around each other in this small flat. Neither of them ever brought any noisy friends there, and they always listened to each other´s worries when talking. Whether she was eating, reading, sleeping or watching TV with Nick, company of someone like him was exactly what she treasured the most.

Without anything to say to herself, Judy still was anxious to when Nick would get home. It was getting late, and she was feeling tired. It always happened at this time, because she woke up so early to work.

She quickly took a shower, and slipped into her pink pajamas and bunny slippers. Laying down into her bed full of stuffed animals, she wrapped a warm blanket around her.

Still, Judy couldn´t help but feel a bit cold. Sleeping alone was something she had trouble getting used to when she moved to the city, and it was even harder after Nick moved in.

In a matter of time, she fell asleep. It wasn´t until two o´clock at night until the door opened.

An equally exhausted Nick entered the room. The day at work hadn´t been dangerous this time, but it still had managed to tire him, especially how he woke up just as early as Judy did.

As he noticed Judy sleeping, he smiled lovingly in her direction.

"As always, Sleeping Beauty falls asleep much earlier than I do", he said.

Judy leaned herself a bit towards Nick´s direction in her sleep, and he could see a smile on her face too.

The fox got changed, and went to sleep in the same bed too. In a flash, Judy could feel an immense amount of warmth around her. Even her feet felt warmer since Nick wrapped his tail around them.

Nick put his paws on her shoulders, and Judy clasped one of them with the paw too. He loved hugging her while sleeping similar to how Judy used to do with her stuffed animals when she was a kid.

Judy almost purred in satisfaction while sleeping in Nick´s embrace. Nick was not only her dearest friend, but also the best bunkmate imaginable.

Having him come home safely and sleep next to him, what more could she ask for a night like this?