My Perfect Partner (Zootopia)

Consequences

Judy's P.o.V

I sat at the booth tapping my fingers in utter impatience on the table, my other hand propped under my tilted head and my elbow resting upright on the flat surface of the tabletop. Nick was late yet again for breakfast just like yesterday and the day before that. That lazy fox is late for practically everything, and it's annoying. 

I picked my smartphone up from its spot on the table and woke it up to check the time. It was approximately 7:18, which triggered a groan from my lips. We had to clock in at the precinct at 7:30 AM, and I always made it my duty to get there five minutes early when I worked solo.

Two more minutes passed and I saw Nick finally walk into the café. His vibrantly colored green eyes scanned the room until he spotted me in my seat. He walked over to my table with his casual mischievous smile. It made me wonder if this was all intentional. I crossed my arms and shot him a glare as he neared the booth.

"Morning, partner," Nick greeted, ignoring my reaction. 

"When will you start taking this job seriously Nick?" I asked. He sat down in the seat across from me, a chuckle escaping him as he did. 

"Calm down Carrots, everything doesn't have to be a serious matter, ya know." I couldn't believe he was actually this careless about getting to work on time, and quite frankly, I started to debate whether or not I should've been picking him up after breakfast anymore. After all, I worked too hard to prove myself in the police force only for that to be taken away from me. I wasn't going to keep risking my job because of Nick's tardiness. 

Reaching for his navy blue tie, I yanked him closer to me, briefly choking him in the process. His eyes widened and he glanced down at my paws. My glare intensified as I intently stared into his eyes. A sense if fear and nervousness struck him, transforming his mischievous smile into a sheepish one. 

"Unless you want to start walking to work for the rest of your life, I'd suggest that you really consider the importance of being on time," I threatened. Was I serious? Not fully. While I was angry at him, I honestly was just trying to scare Nick into thinking I would do that because I knew he wasn't one to be interested in exercise. Besides, it was kind of... funny!

Nick's P.o.V

Despite my desperation to escape Judy's grasp and make a run for it, I continued to stare into her piercing amethyst eyes. She was literally fed up with me, and unlike the previous day, it was much more terrifying. But hearing one set of words in particular made me shiver inside and out: walking to work. 

Yes, I will admit that I'm not so eager to jump into exercise like my athletically active friend is. In fact, I would've cringed at the words had Judy's paws not been violently tugging me across the table by my tie. 

She waited to get a response out of me, a mischievous little smile of her own forming across her face undoubtedly convincing her that she hit a weak spot. "What's wrong? Bunny got your tongue?" Judy questioned teasingly. That snapped me back into reality. I lowered my ears as I gave her an unamused look. 

"More like my tie and my free will," I muttered. She released her grip with a laugh and grabbed her smartphone, aiming it straight at me. It didn't take long to mentally process what she was about to do. 

"Judy! Don't you dare," I warned. 

Her laughter had paused for a brief second. "But you need to see how pathetic you look right now Nick. It's just too cute! I mean, you're even blushing." 

That's when I froze. I had no clue that I was even- "I am definitely going to post this on Furbook and instagold!" Judy blurted out as she stood up and rushed out of the café. 

"Judy...!" I quickly followed her outside, ensuring that I took what she bought me along to the car.

~~~Time Warp!~~~

Judy's P.o.V

Nick literally BEGGED me not to post the picture from the café earlier when I finally allowed him to look at it on our way to the precinct. After enough convincing I wasn't going to, but it was under one condition. He was going to complete a third of the paperwork I was ordered to go through and turn in by Friday. Chief Bogo also bought the excuse we gave him about an "unfriendly breakfast", (totally one of Nick's crazy ideas, by the way.) but he did heavily pressure us about the importance of getting to work on time. I responsibly promised him that we'd manage our timing a little better.

"My paws are killing me, can't I take a break for at least two minutes Judy?" I looked up at Nick, his eyes pleading for my permission so desperately. I'd already completed my portion of paperwork, so I had nothing else to do but sit directly across from him at his desk and watch the lazy fox struggle through the rest of his. 

"Nope," I said with a smile, popping the 'p'. "You're not stopping until it's done, even if it extends into tomorrow." For the entire two-thirds of work, Nick constantly complained, attempting to slyly find a way out of this "utter torture" he was going through. It wasn't going to work on me, because I knew what would happen if I allowed him to take any sort of intermission: his laziness would kick into full gear. 

"Oh, come on Judy! I can't take the aching, not another second," he tried again, this time with puppy-dog eyes. I placed a paw over one of his that were resting on his desk and looked straight into his eyes. 

"Do you really need a break that badly?" I asked displaying false sympathy. He nodded with a small smile. I pulled out my smartphone, unlocked it, and began tapping away at the screen. 

"Then you take that well-needed break while I post that cute picture of you from earlier on social media. Who knows? You might even strike a little fame throughout the precinct!" I exclaimed sarcastically, confidently knowing I had the upper paw. 

Just to prove that I wasn't kidding, I turned the phone around so that he would see I had every intention to post it if he broke the deal we made. 

"This is so unfair Carrots," Nick growled in annoyance, picking up his pen and beginning to write again. 

I reached my paw out under his chin and lifted his head, locking my eyes onto his. He seemed a little surprised by it as he raised an eyebrow, investing his complete attention in me. I kept my expression extremely calm with eyes that looked as if I saw something dreamy. 

"It's called a consequence, sweetheart." I scratched his chin a little, making his tail wag uncontrollably. There was complete silence for about a minute before the phone on my office desk rung loudly. 

Freeing my paws from Nick's fur, I rolled backwards across the room in no more than 2 seconds and answered the phone. "Zootopia Police Department here, this is Officer Hopps. How may I help you?"