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Following Nick's suggestion made earlier, he and Finnick were walking up the stairs to the third floor. More specifically Nick was carrying the fennec while we walked up to the third floor. Upon reaching it Finnick was set back down to walk on his own, something the fennec was a little upset about doing.

All that was left was the short walk to the third door and knock on the door.

"Who is it?!" a voice answered that wasn't Judy's.

"Who the hell are you?!" Finnick yelled back at the hostile voice.

"We're her neighbors!" One of the voices shouted back. The door marked as number four opened, revealing two deer-like animals staring back at the two foxes.

"So, who are you two anyway?" Nick asked them both.

"I'm Bucky and this is my husband Pronk!" the kudu gestured to the oryx standing next to him. "We're very loud and We're not apologizing for it!" Without another word the door was slammed shut.

"Are they gone yet?!" the voice of Pronk was heard through the wall.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Bucky shouted back.

"Quiet! You won't know unless you listen for them!"

"Well, it's hard to hear anything over your voice!"

"Oh, whatever! You're way louder than me, Buck!"

"Oh yeah?! Well...You're the reason that sweet old badger moved away!"

"I specifically remember her telling you to be quiet!"

The noise boomed and echoed through the hallway; their voices were clear and unfiltered as if the door wasn't even there. Both Nick and Finnick winced as the yelling continued, only getting louder and angrier with each rebuttal.

"Good grief, do they talk to each other like that all the time?" Nick groaned.

"I'd rip my own ears off," Finnick agreed, crossing his arms. "Hey!! We can all hear you dickheads!!"

The yelling from the other couple quickly ceased, leaving a silence throughout the entire floor. Suddenly the door burst open, both Buck and Pronk stepping out into the hallway.

"Okay...We had a little talk and we'd like to reintroduce ourselves," Bucky said in an unexpected calm tone of voice.

"My name is Buck Oryx-Antlerson and this is my loving husband Pronk Oryx-Antlerson," Bucky introduced, extending his hoof to shake Nick's paw.

"Uh...Okay." Nick blinked and extended his paw and shook with the smiling kudu. "I'm Nick and he's Finnick. Judy Hopps is a good friend of ours."

"Well if she comes by we'll... Oh, look! She comes now," both Bucky and Pronk pointed simultaneously. Judy walked down the hall, Gideon walking alongside her. The fox and rabbit were happily talking and laughing as they approached the others.

"Hmm? Oh, hey Nick!"

"Hey, Judes. We were just looking for ya," Nick grinned at her.

"Hey, Gid. Guess you made it home okay, huh?" Finnick asked, tilting his head towards the larger fox.

"Y-yeah. Made it home just fine. T-thanks for worryin' about me," Gideon chuckled awkwardly.

Pronk cleared his throat, focusing everyone's attention on him and Bucky.

"It was really great to meet you guys but since you got what you came for we'll just..." Bucky and Pronk stepped into their apartment and quickly slammed the door shut.

"Well...How are things?" Nick asked, changing the subject.

"Great! Gideon dropped by and we went out for ice cream," Judy beamed, pressed against the thick fox.

"Aw, isn't that cute. We spent the morning cleaning--"

"The couch!" Nick interrupted, giving Finnick a quick glance. "We spent the morning cleaning our new couches because...we moved here!"

"What? Really?" Judy gasped. "When?"

"It was last night. I bought the place a few days ago and we're finally breaking the place in," Nick explained. "We're on the second floor, room five."

"Just warn us before you come over," Finnick said, tapping a foot against the carpet.

"Duly noted," Judy nodded, fishing out her keys to open her apartment door.

"You guys wanna drop by?" Judy asked.

"We still got a few things to unpack...But thanks anyways," Finnick huffed, looking away.

"Alright then. See you guys later," Judy waved.

"Come on, Big Guy," Nick grunted, lifting Finnick up in preparation to carry him back down the stairs.

***

"Hey, Nick! I'm going out for a little bit," Finnick said. He was already at the door, his sunglasses held in his paw.

"Aw, but what'll I do while you're gone?" The question was asked in a baby-like voice by Nick, enjoying the look of irritation growing on the fennec's face.

"Use your damn imagination," Finnick reached for the doorknob and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Left all by himself, Nick looked around the apartment. Aside from the couches and coffee table there was not much to decorate the living space and give it a homey look. The same issue applied to the kitchen and even the single bedroom.

Nick got up from the couch, walking past the kitchen, and down the short hallway. He grabbed the doorknob of the bedroom, turned it and pushed it open. It was a relatively small space, all four walls were the exact same, giving the room a box-like appearance. All that stood in the space were the mattress and a single dresser, both left behind by the previous tenants. Unlike the other rooms, there were things in the bedroom. Mostly his and Finnick's clothes, the red fox's shirts and pants were neatly put away in the closet while the fennec's were laying wherever he threw them. With a shrug Nick stepped over the discarded shirts and shorts and threw himself on the bare mattress.

Reaching into his pocket, Nick pulled out his phone and clicked the power button. A small smile spread across his muzzle seeing the wallpaper was an image he had taken of him and Finnick at a bar. It was a day that Nick often thought about, especially whenever he used his phone. Now feeling a bit curious, Nick clicked on his galley and scrolled through the many photos stored there. He changed the layout to sort them all into folders by year. Flicking down as far as he could the fox came to the last folder. But instead of being titled by whatever year it was taken in, the folder was named WON'T FORGET. With a press of his digit the folder was opened, revealing a single photo. Once he took a good look at it a gasp escaped his lips. It was a photo of him and Finnick in front of a fountain.

The quality obviously showed that this picture was taken by a phone much older than the one it was now stored on. The image showed both foxes smiling, their fur was soaked and ruffled.

This was taken, like, twelve years ago, Nick thought to himself.

--

"Are you gonna stare at that thing all day?" a seventeen year old Nick groaned.

"Hell yeah I am! This phone is gonna get me all the bitches," an 18 year old Finnick grinned, holding the device in his paw.

NIck rolled his eyes and kept walking. The duo were walking through an outdoor mall plaza, looking for a new way to make money. But instead of making anything Finnick spent what he had left on a brand new flip phone.

"Look, Finnick. Are we gonna make some money or not?" Nick asked, getting frustrated. All he got in response was Finnick's snickering, staring into the phone's screen.

He was about to say something else, turning to face the smaller fox. Once he did an idea popped into his head.

"Y'know, Finnick. You look just like a little kid, obsessed with a new toy."

Finnick's gaze rose to meet the fox's. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey, look at that!" Nick grabbed Finnick's shoulder and pointed at a vixen sitting in front of an outdoor cafe.

"Damn!" Finnick exclaimed. Nick saw an opportunity, swiping the phone while the fennec was distracted. Before Finnick could react Nick was already running off.

"Nick. Give it back, you dick!" Finnick yelled, chasing after him.

Nick ran to the fountain at the center of the plaza, knowing Finnick wasn't far behind. Soon the two foxes were locked into a game of sorts. Whenever Finnick ran to one side, Nick ran to the other.

"If you want your phone back, you're gonna have to go through," Nick laughed, referring to the fountain separating the two. Finnick growled, balled his paws into fists and dashed through the fountain. Nick was taken by surprise and was tackled by the smaller mammal. He quickly recovered from his shock, the phone still clutched in his paw. He stood up and jumped in the fountain, making sure to hold the device away from any of the flowing water.

"Come on, Finnick. All you gotta do is grab it!"

Finnick dashed forwards once again and in one swift motion snatched the phone back from Nick. Both foxes were soaked from the shenanigans.

"Okay.." Finnick panted. "You got my attention."

"I gotta admit," Nick sighed. "That phone is pretty sweet."

"Ugh, I hope you didn't smudge the camera..." Finnick mumbled. "Hey, you wanna take a picture?"

After a few failed attempts the two finally managed to take a decent picture. While Finnick was looking it over Nick was chuckling to himself.

"What?" Finnick asked, looking up at him.

"You're so cute when you're upset," Nick said, leaning down to pinch Finnick's cheek.

"Hey! G-get the fuck off me!" Finnick yelled, shoving the fox back into the fountain.

"Fine. Whatever. Jeez." The reeling fox mumbled.

--

As far as Nick could remember, that was the first time he called Finnick cute to his face.

The fox's ears perked up, hearing the door being unlocked. He quickly pressed the home button and closed the gallery.

"Hey, Nick. I'm back!" Finnick announced.

Nick rushed into the living room, lifted the fennec, spun him around and finally hugged him close.

"I missed you so much..." Nick mumbled.

"Damn, I was only gone like...ten minutes." Finnick grumbled in the other fox's grasp.

***

Finnick was still fast asleep but Nick was up just at dawn, planning to meet with Judy and the two would go off together for work. He grunted as he pulled up his pants and fastened his belt. The small noises coming from the belt made Finnick stir in his sleep. Seeing this Nick made his motions careful and slow. Usually he would take a moment to look at how cute the small sleeping fox looked but he had to make sure he was ready for this day in particular. With one last glance at Finnick, Nick tiptoed out of the bedroom.

All that was left for Nick was to grab his sunglasses off the coffee table and ease his way out of the front door. He made sure to lock the door behind him and strolled down the hallway towards the stairs. Down in the lobby he found Judy waiting for him.

"Hey, Nicky." She greeted him with a pep in her voice.

"Hiya, Carrots. You seem pretty happy," Nick grumbled with a stretch and yawn.

"Well? You ready to go?" The bunny asked, twirling her keys in her paw.

"Alright, alright. Let's go, fuzzfoot."

The next few minutes were spent by both fox and rabbit making terrible animal puns back and forth. It was only when Judy pulled into the ZPD's parking lot that the two finally stopped and stepped out, preparing themselves for work. Nick especially gave himself an inner pep talk, lately there had been a string of crimes around the area. They were petty crimes, but crimes nonetheless.

"So today's the day you actually get started around here, huh?" As the two walked side by side Judy sensed the fox's dreary mood and tried her best to cheer him up.

Nick sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes. "Hopefully it'll be worth it after two days of complete boredom."

"Come on, Nick. I had to go through it too."

"Uh, no. You came in and took in a missing otter case, found the other missing mammals, you became a hero, learned from and fixed your mistakes. And by doing all that you became an ever bigger hero. Is any of that ringing a bell?" Nick recounted.

The duo stopped just outside the two doors. Judy looked up at Nick and gave him another smile. "And I couldn't have done any of it without you."

Nick smiled as well, placing his paw on the door. "You know...I'm pretty sure they're gonna make a movie about you."

Together the rabbit and fox entered the main entrance of the ZPD side by side. Thanks to the bunny's words the vulpine was in a much better mood.

"Hey! Officers Hopps and Wilde, both of you are supposed to report to case assignment," Clawhauser called to the two of them. The two friends looked at one another and did as they were told, heading for case assignment.

Once all officers had taken their seat Chief Bogo wasted no time handing out assignments.

"We got a huge amount over the weekend," Bogo boomed. "All the info you need will be in the case files..." Judy and Nick were given separate cases, something neither of them were expecting. Both walked out of the room, exchanging info about them.

"I got a case of hit-and-run. Suspect is unknown, but it has some leads and some suspects.." Judy summed up the gist of it and flipped through a few more pages.

"I got..ooh...A drug bust," Nick blinked. "This should be interesting." He read the details aloud to the curious bunny.

"Apparently there's a gang of raccoons in Tundra Town. We finally got the evidence that they are shipping it to Sahara Square. Looks like we found out where they're making it, too." He flipped a bit further, until he landed on the last page. "Hmm, it says the ZPD have been trying to get these guys for 5 years now."

"Oh, you're talking about the Hood Masks?" Judy asked, the details sounding very familiar.

"You know about this?"

"Yeah. They're a pretty notorious gang. Apparently their leader, who goes by the name of Ringtale, works pretty closely with Mr. Big," Judy explained.

"Well if you know so much about this, how come you're not on this case? This is my first case and it's a drug bust. Shouldn't I be dishing out parking tickets or something?" A rise of panic came from the fox's voice. Was he ready for something like this? What would happen to him if something went wrong?

"Don't worry, you'll have backup. It comes with these kinds of assignments," Judy assured him. "Clearly Bogo trusts that you can handle it. I mean, you helped me solve the whole missing mammals case. That shows you're more capable than you think."

Nick took a deep breath and gave a slow exhale. "Alright, I'll give it my best shot."

"Okay then," Judy said. "Well, I got a hit-and-runner to catch." With those final words she scampered off out the front doors.

"Go get 'em, flat foot," Nick encouraged.

Nick reviewed his case once again, still reeling from the knowledge that he would be accompanying the ZPD SWAT team. Judy's words echoed in his head over and over.

They're a pretty notorious gang. Apparently their leader, who goes by the name of Ringtale, works pretty closely with Mr. Big.

The fox just shook his head and scoffed, setting the file down on his desk.

This is crazy. This is insane. Can I even go through with this?

His thoughts were interrupted by a white wolf, looking around. His eyes landed on the fox and narrowed. "Are you Wilde?"

"Y-yeah, I am." Nick nodded, placing a paw on his desk.

"We're ready for you. Just follow me," the wolf made a motion with his paw for Nick to follow. The fox gulped but still followed after the lupine.

Not soon after he was off to Tundra Town. Instead of taking a standard police car, he rode in the van with the other members of the SWAT. Even though he was surrounded by fellow officers there was a feeling of unease that wouldn't leave him. Most of the animals that surrounded him were bears and wolves, mammals more suited for colder climates.

"So..?" Nick asked. "What am I doing? I mean, I know what you guys do but what am I going to do?"

"Don't worry," the white wolf from earlier spoke to him. "We'll be doing most of the work. Once we're done all you have to do is read them their rights."

"Really?" Nick asked, feeling a bit relieved. "Is that all?"

"Well, it is a bit more than that. But in your case, yeah that's it. We have all the info and evidence we need so it should all go pretty easy. Well, as easy as these things can go. Get in, make the arrests and get out." The wolf explained.

"Hmm. Alright," Nick mused to himself.

The squad van passed the border separating Tundra Town and central Zootopia. The air around them quickly turned colder. Nick shivered a bit, waiting for his body to adjust, his breath now being seen in the air as small puffs. Looking around Nick could see that the others were affected by the climate change. Some snuck a quick shiver, others let out puffs of their breath, watching it swirl and disappear.

The van jerked and stopped. All the units stood up, looked at one another and nodded. Some kind of code or signal that Nick didn't fully understand. The wolf nodded as well and turned to the confused fox. "We're gonna get out there and secure the perimeter."

As they began to file out of the van Nick looked out one of it's windows. It was just a small shed. It's shingles were stripped from the roof. The shed itself was made of rusted metal, a mix of brown and red. The side Nick could see had two windows, one of them broken. There was a 'Keep Out' sign that made the fox chuckle. Totally inconspicuous.

He continued to watch as one by one each squad member deployed from the van and took their place, somewhere setting up lights and barricades while the others were forming a circle.

"Hey," the wolf called. "Ready to go?"

"Sure, uh. Your name is..?" Nick asked.

"Thomas," the wolf answered proudly. "But friends call me Fangs."

"Why's that?" Nick chuckled.

"It's a long story, we can talk about that later." Fangs smiled. His smile revealed that his fangs were remarkably thicker and longer than any other wolf Nick had ever seen. "Oh, yeah! Here, you'll need one of these." He reached down and tossed Nick a bulletproof vest.

"Uh, thanks." Nick replied. He looked down at the vest, shrugged and put it on.