Chapter Text
Chief Bogo slammed into the bullpen and settled at the podium. He was scowling (admittedly, a difficult fact to ascertain, but Judy was a skilled investigator), but he dropped his arms heavily onto the podium, betraying his exhaustion.
“Good morning, everyone. I don’t have time for the usual pleasantries, so let’s get to business. We are one day out from the Europa visit, and we are nowhere near ready. We’ve got six security sweeps to finish, about three hundred background checks that need doing, and someone needs to hold the Europans’ security team’s paw.”
Next to Judy, Nick swept to his feet.
“Chief, Judy and I are honored to be assigned to such an important and prestigious task. Representing Zootopia to our foreign neighbors, presenting a model of inter-species cooperation to the world-”
“Officer Wilde.” Nick, thankfully, shut his mouth at Chief Bogo’s words. “As much as I hate to entertain your idle fantasies, you have hit the nail on the head. Due to yours and Officer Hopps’ particular...celebrity, Mayor Lionheart decided you would be the best...ambassadors of Zootopia’s victories.” Judy couldn’t quite keep her ears up; for all Nick’s and Chief Bogo’s words, she knew acting as liaisons to the Europan security team was little more than a babysitting job, as Chief Bogo had originally identified it. It was hard to imagine it being as important as sweeping the streets for potential dangers to Europan royalty.
“They are, in fact, arriving in the Zootopia International Airport in an hour, so I need you two in dress blues and awaiting the arrivals in forty-five minutes. The rest of you, I’ll hand out assignments, which we are finishing before anyone gets off shift. Now, get moving!”
Nick, whose paw was rarely far from Judy - her shoulder, arm, paw, or, until she’d firmly explained otherwise, her ear - yanked her off their chair as everyone else began shifting. “Come on, Hopps,” he urged as he darted for the door, dragging Judy behind him. “We’ve got a diplomat to impress.”
As she stumbled out the door after Nick, Judy glanced back at the bullpen. She was almost positive that Chief Bogo gave her a wink, although she’d never be able to prove it.
“You can slow down, Nick!”
“Are you kidding?” He looked back at Judy, grinning toothily, sprout-green eyes gleaming excitedly. “You heard the chief; we’ve got forty-five minutes to meet up with the Europan security team.”
“You’re unusually excited to meet new people.” Because sure, Nick could turn on the charm like nobody else, but he hated wearing that face if he didn’t have to.
“You heard Chief Bogo. This is an opportunity, Cottontail. If we play nice with the security team and keep anyone important from getting assassinated, big things could be coming our way.”
“Ah.” Judy smiled gently in response, although her heart skipped a bit. She couldn’t blame Nick for wanting something more than this, even if the thought of him moving on made her feel a little empty.
“Hey, wait.” Nick slowed and glanced at Judy. Her nose twitched of her own accord, and Nick leaned in close, sniffing at her. “What’s got your tail in a knot?”
“I’m fine,” Judy retorted.
“I don’t think so, Hopps. You’ve got those ears under control, but I know you. You're a sad bunny. Come on; what is it? Worried about if the Europan cops will like you?”
“No. And weren’t you the one who wanted to hurry?”
“When my partner’s in a funk, we’ve got time.” Nick stopped and pulled Judy into a supply closet, pushing her back at arms’ length and tilting his head inquisitively at her. “Now, what’s up?”
Judy shook her head. “No, we’re going to be late. We don’t want you to miss out on your big shot, after all.”
Nick pulled back, eyes narrowed in confusion. “My big…” He suddenly shook his head in a few short jerks. When he met Judy’s gaze again, his gaze was softer. “This partnership’s never going to work if you don’t learn to communicate, Carrots.”
“You don’t have to worry about me-”
“Cottontail. Judy.” Once he was certain he had Judy’s attention, Nick pulled her in for a hug, not a tight one, but a very emphatic one. “This isn’t some long game to get away from you. Sheesh, I can’t imagine what you’d be like floundering out here without me. Wait. I do know.”
“Laugh it up, conman,” she muttered into his shoulder, because she couldn’t work up a better retort.
“Judy, if you think for one minute that if Interpol came along and asked me to join, I wouldn’t tell them that these skills, as impressive as they are, are nothing compared to what I can accomplish with Judy Hopps by my side, you are a dumb bunny. The dumbest I’ve ever met.”
Judy hiccuped, a little laugh, even as she felt tears prickling at her eyes. “Oh. It’s just you were saying-”
“Shush. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Not after what we’ve been through. But you are right; I’m going to use this to springboard to greatness. Imagine: Hopps and Wilde, policing the whole world!”
“That’s not actually how Interpol works-”
“Details.” Nick pulled back and tugged Judy out into the hallway. “Now let’s go impress some fancy Europan cops.”
Forty minutes later, after a hurried drive and a fifteen-minute wait, they finally met the “fancy” cops. There were two of them, a towering bristled boar, dressed in a sharp blue and red uniform, and a dark-furred badger in a darker outfit with fewer adornments. A certain similarity in stance made them look more like military than police officers, and the aborted salute from the badger supported that theory.
Nick didn’t seem to need the extra time to examine their visitors (or, as Judy thought was more likely, he worked much faster at picking up mammals’ moods), so he was striding to them while Judy was still trailing behind.
“Good morning, ladies-”
“Captain Wilfred Scrofass,” the boar grumbled. “And Constable Gertrude Mellivora.” Her mouth seemed fixed in a permanent scowl. “I suppose you are the liaisons the local police assigned to us.”
“Ah, yes!” Judy jogged up behind Nick and held out a hand to Captain Scrofass. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Under the circumstances, I cannot agree.” Captain Scrofass paused as Gertrude tugged her down, and listened intently to a moment of whispers. “Although you apparently come highly recommended. Nevertheless, we must secure our luggage and deliver it to our quarters before we can get to work. I trust you can at least perform this adequately.”
“Oh! Yes, well, the baggage claim is this way.” It took a few steps for Judy to regain her balance; she should have expected the King of Europa’s security detail to be serious about their jobs, but the captain’s brusqueness was a bit of a surprise. Maybe it was a captain thing. She glanced at Nick; he had pulled alongside Gertrude, and although he wasn’t talking, he had a wide, sly smile. That left the captain to Judy.
“Um, did you have a nice flight?”
“I was not born with wings.” Judy walked for a few moments in silence; when Captain Scrofass didn’t elaborate, Judy’s shoulders slumped.
“So what sort of threats-”
“It would be wise to postpone any discussion of business until we reach a more private location.” As they rounded the last corner to the baggage claim, Captain Scrofass nodded toward a set of small, khaki bags. “Those are ours.”
“Right on it!” Nick was already scurrying toward the baggage claim; Judy watched after him, chest twisting uncomfortably. Nick wasn’t that accommodating to anyone, unless he was mid-con. She glanced at Captain Scrofass and followed, moving slowly enough that Nick was just tugging the second bag from the conveyor belt when she arrived.
“You’re acting really weird,” Judy muttered as she picked up the first bag, stumbling only a little bit under the weight.
“Ah, relax, Carrots.” Nick winked at her. “Gotta keep our guests happy, right?”
Judy’s chest loosened; Nick’s ears twitched at her first easy breath.
“You gotta relax, Cottontail. This might not be a James Pond film, but we need to be on our best behavior and make nice with the Europans or we will be just pretty faces. Coming!” He broke into a jog, holding up his bag to Captain Scrofuss, who took it with a grunt.
With that assurance, Judy handed over Gertrude’s bag. The badger gave a quiet sound that could have been the words ‘thank you’, or just a hum.
“Anyway, the car’s this way. You’re staying at the-”
“Sh!” Judy’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden noise. “We do not need to discuss this where anyone could hear it. I think it would be best if you drove us to the hotel without any more unnecessary commentary.”
Judy’s ears fell back. “Right. Of course. You can just follow me…”
Judy drove in silence on their way to the Ocelot Hotel the royal party had booked. The back of her neck prickled the entire way, but she didn’t dare look back. Captain Scrofass was already annoyed with her; taking her eyes off the road would probably make it worse. After a few minutes, something warm touched her right paw. She glanced to the right to find Nick smiling gently at her.
The back of her neck was still prickling, but her chest was warm, and her partner was by her side, so she could handle anything.