Zootopia I've been thinking

Chapter 4

Nick wakes up choking for breath, but it won't come. Every inhale is a difficult wheeze, and it feels like there's a rock on his chest. He's drowning. He's probably going to die, and it's pathetic that the only thing he can think about is how he won't be able to meet Judy at the train station in 6 hours and she's going to think he's ditched her, when he's really just dead in his bed.

But mercy smiles on him as suddenly, the weight seems to magically spring away from him. Sure enough, Finnick has hopped off him and is staring down at him with his perpetually half-lidded eyes. He's grinning nastily.

"You thoughtchu was dead, din'tchu?" The fennec fox laughs heartily.

"No thanks to you," the not-miniature fox growls, pushing himself up against the wall. He gives himself a once-over and pats his chest to settle the fur back down. "What are you doing here?"

"We've got a transaction comin' around, and we think it'd be a good idea if you was there to supervise it."

"We? Who is we? There is no we. There's you and the Broods, and then there's me and ZPD."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I mean all we heard was that someone'd spilled some delicate information to the Kits. And you know how we Broods and Kits are. So we thought, 'we've got a big deal goin' on over the weekend, and ain't Nick some big shot cop now? Let's ask him. He wouldn't let the fam down.'" Finnick squints threateningly at his ex-partner in crime.

"Are you crazy? I'm a cop!"

"Yeah! So give us yo protection!"

"You guys are a gang! I'm supposed to be taking you down! You're lucky I'm even having this conversation and not arresting you this second!" Nick stretches over to the side to rummage through his bedside drawer before pulling out a pair of handcuffs and shaking them in the air. Finnick backs away, eyes wide.

"Man, you've really defected."

"Defected." Nick deadpans. "Seriously?"

"That's what we call brothers like you!"

"Oh, give me a break. Get out of here."

"It's a $10000 deal, Wilde. Don't tell me that doesn't just sing yo name. 5% of it, at least."

He's proud of how quickly he growls, "no, so get out!" Cause he's sure if he ever told Judy, she'd dance circles around him while throwing daisies into the air.

The silence that follows makes him think Finnick has left, but then, "fine. I told them you was too far gone, anyways."

Groaning, Nick grabs a pillow to smother his head with. "Why are you still here?!"

"Are those carrot boxers? Lordy, you're far gone in another direction too, ain'tchu? That bunny girlfriend of yos gotchu all wrapped around that sad tuft she calls a tail."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Huh, can't fool me, brother."

"I haven't done my laundry."

"You keep telling yoself that's the reason why you's wearin' that thing. See ya later, sucker. I'll be seven grand richer the next time we meet!" The window thuds shut.

He wakes up 4 hours after and thinks angrily about how interrupted sleep is no better than not sleeping at all. But he pulls on a pale yellow gingham dress shirt (cause he's heading to the countryside. Gingham is all people wear there, right? That and plaid) over his khakis. He doesn't have a tie to match, so he just leaves the two buttons closest to the collar undone.

At first he wonders if Judy is looking for him as he looks for her and maybe they keep passing each other without knowing it, but just as he gives up his search and the train toots its warning horn, the bunny sprints up the stairs huffing and puffing as she doubles over to catch her breath. "Sorry!" She croaks. "Just... wait... a second."

"We don't have a second, that was the warning toot." He grabs her suitcase for her and lifts her to his side by her waist, climbing into the locomotive. When the train starts, she frantically gestures for him to follow her up the stairs into the upper level. The glass ceiling is crystal clear.

"This is my favorite part!" She whispers. He can see why; the entire city is laid out for viewing pleasure, and it's a symphony of vibrant colors. Even for an animal with such poor daytime eyesight, he can still see Tundratown and the Rainforest District and Sahara Square and everything else this far into the center of Zootopia. Little Rodentia is even visible, although it looks humorously like a model of a city instead of an actual one. "It never gets old."

"Yeah." For some reason, he feels compelled to add, "I've never been outside Zootopia before."

"Really? Then this is super exciting for you!" She still manages to whisper while squealing, and he raises his eyebrows.

"Why are we whispering?"

Her eyes blink owlishly. "I... don't know." He smiles at her, and she shrugs, turning back to the front of the train so they can keep watching the dazzling view. When they finally exit the perimeter of Zootopia, she holds up a pack of cards. "The next 80 miles is just wheat fields, so I brought games."

Despite being distracted by wheat fields ("They're just wheat fields, Nick." "Well, I've never seen wheat fields."), his poker face is indecipherable, and she throws down a full house thinking she's finally! won a hand. Except he snaps his straight flush over hers, and Judy gives an uncharacteristically predatory snarl.

"'Don't ever let them see that they get to you!'" He cackles, using his arms to collect the chips into his stack, which looks like it's 500 times the size of Judy's.

Still fuming, Judy deliberately changes the topic so she doesn't start being snotty cause of her terrible tendency to be a sore-loser, "so, that's a new shirt! I've never seen you in it before."

"Keeping tabs on my wardrobe now, huh? I think this obsession is getting a little out of hand, Carrots." He squeezes his thumb and forefinger together, and then widens them until he's reaching as far as he can with his arms with a joking grimace on his snout, which she can't help but to smile at.

"I'm just saying! You look good though," her eyes have gone all soft and liquid again, and he has no words. He just shuffles the cards for a round of Egyptian Rat Slap, which he knows she has at least a fair chance of winning.