One Spring Night

It was a calm Friday afternoon during the late spring in the Zootopia downtown. Summer was coming, and many of the animals there were ready for their vacation. A lot of them were just finishing their biggest days at work or at school before summer holidays would start.

The same applied to ZPD. Judy Hopps had went through a lot of hard work during the recent days in the police force, even though the hardest stuff was over. From catching speedsters to investigating a couple of murders and going through mountains of frustrating paperwork, she couldn´t wait to get on her vacation, which would start in two weeks.

At the moment, she was just finishing her last reports on the computer at her desk. She was working on the same cubicle where she had written the reports on savage mammals during the Nighthowler crisis.

It had taken almost hours to write down the reports from her last case involving a jewel store robbery. Judy had to investigate several stores and even go undercover on some shady establishments to discover a contraband smuggling ring and eventually managed to arrest its heads.

As she had finished the reports and saved the files, Chief Bogo walked into the room. He had been absent from the office for the entire day, because he had been in a long conference with the mayor that had lasted longer than Judy´s work. Looking stern but steadfast as always, he went to see how Judy had progressed.

"There. It´s finished", Judy showed what she had finished as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Hm. You did this one faster than I expected. No working overtime this time", Bogo shrugged.

"When the weekend is approaching, it´s more motivating for me to work faster, you know. Like a kid at school during Fridays", Judy laughed awkwardly.

"Not very surprising from you. Hope you can keep up the good work for the next week too. But for now, you´re dismissed and have a nice weekend. Oh, and by the way, happy birthday!" Bogo´s tone warmed up as Judy packed up her belongings.

Her ears perked up a bit. She had totally forgotten was that today was her birthday. Despite his gruff nature, Bogo was always kind enough to remember other animals´ birthdays, but nobody else she had seen that day had remembered. Clawhauser, McHorn and Fangmayer all had forgotten about it. Except for Francine, who had brought her a card.

Still, her parents and siblings always remembered it, and Nick especially. But she hadn´t seen Nick in days, who had been doing other volunteer duties aside from his policework recently. She was a little worried if he, her best friend, had been too busy to remember it.

As she was about to go into the bus and take a ride home, Judy heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hey! It´s Officer Toot-Toot!" Nick said in his usual mischievous tone.

"Nick!" Judy cheered up as he saw him, drinking a cup of Snarlbucks coffee in his casual green clothes and holding a big wrapped present. The fox lifted up his shades and smiled warmly.

"Happy birthday, Carrots!" he said as he handed it to her. Judy was delighted and hugged him in return.

"Thanks a lot, Nick! Where have you been all this time?" she asked.

"Well Bogo hasn´t given me as much work as he has with you, so I´ve had some more free time on my paws. Guess Chief Buffalo Butt still likes to boss you around more than me. I´ve been babysitting Mrs Otterton´s kids and selling some of those pawpsicles to the lemmings again. Earning a little extra buck every chance I get is still in my blood, even after becoming a cop. But it´s more than 200 per day, this time, and I have paid my taxes too", Nick said.

"Old habits die hard, you sly fox", Judy smiled.

"They do. By the way, are you going anywhere tomorrow night?" Nick asked.

Judy shook her head. "No. Nothing special then".

"Well I was wondering, would you like to go to a dinner with me at Mother Nature? I´m paying, I promise!" Nick suggested.

Judy was surprised to see Nick suggest that. Mother Nature was the most expensive and prestigious restaurant in all of Zootopia. It was especially popular among romantic couples with its ballroom.

"Why not? I´ve always wanted to eat there. But no hustling the waiter this time! I still remember the time you pulled off a bit of a hustle at Bug Burger in Rainforest District," she reminded him.

"Of course, of course! It won´t happen again. When will we go there, then? I guess nine o-clock will do, it´s when I usually eat supper," Nick laughed.

"Very well, see you soon then. Bye, Slick Nick!" Judy said as the bus came and she walked in.

"See you tomorrow, Carrots!" Nick waved as the bus left the stop.

As Judy went home to her flat, she laid the package Nick had given her on the bed and started opening it. It was such a huge package that there were more than one things inside it.

She discovered a small bouquet of roses first. Judy blushed in delight at such a sweet gesture. But as she looked further, she gasped in amazement as she discovered a golden necklace, which had a symbol resembling rabbit ears and a gorgeous strapless red sequin dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was a very expensive Vera Fang dress, one of which Judy had wanted to have for a long time.

"So this is why Nick wanted to earn some extra", the rabbit thought to herself blushing harder.

It all made way too much sense to her now. She just remembered that Mother Nature was the same restaurant where her parents had their first date, a fact which she had once told Nick too. He had always seemed to have a bit of a crush on her, and now he was buying her the most expensive gifts imaginable while inviting her to Mother Nature.

There was a part in Judy that wanted them just to stay as friends, but she couldn´t help but feel something for her too. Even though he was less optimistic and naïve as she used to be, she could connect with how he felt and what he had experienced in life, and she was highly attracted to his kindness and sense of humor in particular. Even though interspecies romances were pretty common in Zootopia, Judy wasn´t sure about taking their relationship further yet.

Still, Judy always enjoyed his company and wouldn´t even dream of refusing to eat with him, romantic or not. Putting her presents aside to wait for the following night, the rabbit went to the shower before going to sleep.

During the evening of the next day, Nick was waiting at the door of the lavish restaurant, clad in his finest tuxedo with a red bow tie and a boutonniere. Mother Nature was a fantastic sight even from the outside, as one could see how elegant it looked through the glass doors.

He checked his watch nervously, hoping Judy would show up soon. It didn´t take long until a taxi drove onto the street, and Judy emerged from the car.

Nick almost dropped his eyes, seeing how gorgeous Judy looked in the dress and the necklace he had given to her. She had also put her ears on a hairtie, almost like a ponytail, put her best heels on and applied her best makeup on her face. One could almost mistake her for a princess in all that getup.

"You look beautiful", Nick said as she was paying the driver.

"Thank you. You don´t look bad either", she responded as she came to him.

"Let´s go in, shall we? I'm already hungry", Nick opened the door for Judy as they went in.

Mother Nature was almost packed with several animals feasting among the lavish 30s-style architechture. The furniture looked extremely clean and spotless and the hall was decorated with gorgeous crystal chandeliers, candles and antique.

"Welcome to Mother Nature. How may I be of assistance?" a poodle waiter asked at the counter.

"A table for two. The house special for both of us, and the best wine in here too, s´il vous plait", Nick said.

It didn´t take long until they got to sit down, and received their entrees in the form of creamy carrot soup after a bit of vegan pate for appetizer. As they were eating, Judy was telling Nick of her work during the week of his absence.

"And so I saved that young gemsbok from almost drowning at the beachside oasis on Rainforest District. Thank God they taught us how to swim at Zootopia Police Academy", she kept telling of her recent exploits Nick hadn´t heard yet.

"Great work! You´re always the one of us who´s better at saving children from peril", Nick complimented.

"I guess living in a family with a hundred younger siblings helps", Judy said. Both she and Nick chuckled at that.

"The most wonderful thing about you is how passionate you are in helping others and seeing the good in others. I´m still grateful for how you encouraged me when I was experiencing hardships. You´ve become the most important person in my life, thanks to all that", Nick said.

"You helped me see the good in others too. You proved me how wrong I was about foxes, and helped me throughout the Nighthowler case. And even after that, you´ve been always there for me when I needed you. No other friend has helped me become a better person that you have. If it weren´t for you, I´d still be a prejudiced, ignorant fool", Judy said as she was finishing her soup.

She was feeling more comfortable with Nick than she was before. Even though he still playfully teased her every once in a while, he respected and complimented her way more than the rabbit expected him to do. No other male mammal treated her like that. Judy could see that feelings were brewing in him towards her.

Soon, their dessert arrived, which was blackberry cobbler. As they finished that and the dessert wine, Nick started to pull up the pockets of his coat in panic.

"What´s wrong?" Judy asked, laying down her glass.

"Not again! Just like in the ice cream parlor when we first met! My wallet! I´ll have to do the dishes!" Nick gasped in horror.

Judy shook her head in disappointment, until Nick´s face turned into a grin. He pulled up the wallet underneath the chair like it was a magic trick.

"Just kidding! I´ll pay...as long as I get to waltz with the fairest bunny in all of Zootopia", Nick pointed at the restaurant dance floor with several couples waltzing.

"Oh Nick, you little scoundrel", Judy blushed heavily. It was all too obvious for her now, but she started to like it more and more.

In a minute, Nick had paid the rather hefty bill to the waiter and led Judy to the dance floor.

Much to Judy´s surprise, Nick was one heck of a dancer as their waltz started. As the beautiful music played, the fox and the bunny kept dancing for several minutes.

"Looks like I made the right choice when picking that dress, Judy. Red really is your color, like my heart that beats for you right now", Nick tried to act flirty.

"Oh, how many more romantic clichés can you apply to this night, Romeo?" Judy said with sarcasm, even though she found it adorable.

"I´m only at the start of the list, Carrots", Nick winked.

Much later that night, Nick escorted Judy back home to her flat at Grand Pangolin Arms.

"I´ve had a wonderful night tonight. Thanks a lot, Nick", an exhausted yet very pleased rabbit said, taking the key to her apartment from her glove. An evening like this was more than welcome after a long week of work that she had gone through. Good food, a pleasant atmosphere and especially Nick´s company had made it worth it.

"You´re welcome. I´ve also heard that they´ve opened a very fine spa at Rainbow District if you´re interested in an another date someday", Nick said.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Can´t wait for summer holidays to start, it would be perfect time for that then", Judy came to the door.

"I agree. Well, I guess I´ll be going now. See you soon", Nick was ready to go.

"Oh, and one more thing", Judy remembered.

Before Nick could ask what she was going to say, the rabbit went to him, wrapped her paws around his neck and gave him a deep loving kiss. Enjoying the sweet taste of her lips, Nick returned the favour immediately.

"Good night, sly fox", she said, smiling lovingly as she was heading towards the door.

"Good night, beautiful bunny", Nick waved at her before leaving.

Both felt incredibly satisfied after that. Their friendship had taken its first steps towards something bigger and better.