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BZZT BZZT BZZT

Nick groaned, rolling to one side on the tattered mattress that he called a bed to slap the alarm clock working its way into his skull from the bedside table, letting it crash to the floor. The buzzing stopped. The fox frowned, slowly pulling his heavy head from where it rested on the mattress, rubbing the sleep from his eyes slowly. It was that time of year again, he could tell by the way his heart quickened, his breath refusing to settle into a steady pace.

The fox let out a groan as he collapsed back onto the bed, slowly rolling his hips against the mattress. Today would not be fun, it was a Wednesday, and he had work to do despite his current condition for the next two days. His cell phone sat dark on the bedside table, and he seriously considered calling in sick for the day. In fact, it would probably be best for everyone if he did.

He picked up the small metal rectangle, the pads of his paws sliding through various menus until he reached the chief's number. The massive ox was always annoyed when Nick used the bovine's personal number to call in, as it was supposed to only be for emergencies. His thumb hovered over the call button, but slowly moved away after a few moments. He really should work, it would be better for him then laying at home all day.

Nick looked up and over to the window, the only light that this tiny apartment got. Living in the city was expensive, even for a close friend of the local celebrity cop. Of course, he could always afford something quite a bit more lavish than this, but he wasn't exactly too picky about his surroundings. After his former accommodations, this was paradise. Finally he made a decision, rolling out of bed and tugging an undershirt over his head before dressing in the police uniform he now belonged in, leaving the top button open despite his tie.

The sly fox shot himself a grin in the mirror, quickly finished preparing for the day, and opened the door to the world outside. Public transit would be hell, but it would certainly be better than walking today.

Nick pushed the door of the patrol room open, striding in confidently as usual, trying to mask his clouded mind. Damn, how did these other guys do it? Surely he wasn't the only one in here with a heat cycle. His nose was already hyperactive, catching every scent in the room, pleasant or otherwise. Damn evolutionary advantage, why did nature have to gift him with such a strong sense of smell? Luckily, no women here to trigger anything specific, the police force was barrenly male, and it looked like Judy wasn't in today to-

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late! Traffic is a killer out there!"

The scent hit him before her words did, and Nick's eyes shot to the tiny bunny pushing her way into the room against the might of its great oaken door. There was no need for the apology, as the chief wasn't even in the room yet, but the fox attempting rather unsuccessfully to regain his composure took it as a moment of mercy.

Judy sprung into the seat next to him, noting his somewhat odd expression as she padded to the left, scanning the rest of the room. There wasn't anything she could notice out of place in the room generally, so she turned back to check his expression again. Somewhere between terror and pain was what she decided it was most close to. She wondered what could cause him such discomfort, worrying for a moment that it might be some sort of injury or pulled muscle that he hadn't reported. After a few more she decided against that, Nick might have a smug appearance on the surface but he would never let it actually devolve to the point of needless bravado in such a situation, she was sure.

"Hey there sly, what's up?" She inquired casually, shuffling in her seat. Bunnies were restless, even as much as they tried to dispel that stereotype.

Nick flashed his usual grin back at her quickly burying whatever baggage he was carrying for the time being, infuriating the bunny in the process. Why was he so good at that? Oh yeah, he learned young. "Same as always fluff, stuck in a room with a bunch of knuckleheads, slowly becoming one." He let his voice carry to the rest of the room, and Judy frowned as a few chuckles responded. He had cut off their conversation from going anywhere personal by involving the rest of the force. Sly fox.

Nick slowly shuffled his collar, again, his partner could detect the slightest discomfort. Perhaps the room was too hot? Judy whimpered slightly, realizing that she didn't really know much about fox physiology. What was comfortable to her might be hellishly warm for members of the vulpine family, and she suddenly felt very guilty for all the times that she had hijacked their patrol car's climate control.

"You okay there, carrots?" The doe realized she was being addressed.

"Oh, yeah, just didn't get much sleep is all," she lied, she didn't want him concerned with her today.

"Bad dreams?"

"No, nothing like that." She shrugged, rubbing her eyes to make her ruse more convincing to the bigger officer.

He shrugged in return, sitting back in his chair, one arm draped over the side. "Whatever you say fluff." He was really concerned and she noticed, smiling slightly again as her ears perked up. It was good to have a reliable partner on the force.

The rest of what might have come was cut off by Bogo entering the room. The chief called for quiet as per usual, despite the room already being for the most part silent. He carried under one arm a small stack of red folders, the usual for case files in the ZPD. "I have three things on the docket this morning. Firstly, our newly reinstated mayor has asked me to inform all of you that he does not plan on changing active initiative two anytime soon, regardless of public concern over the Bellwether incident."

Judy nodded to herself, stealing a glance at Nick to see his reaction. He seemed distracted by something, paying no attention really to what Bogo had said. She was surprised. Despite his joking, lazy demeanor, he was a hard worker usually and paid attention during morning meetings. He would be happy to learn the information too, acting initiative two was one put in place by mayor Lionheart's predecessor's predecessor, and had been widely popular both in the force and public for some time. It called for only non-lethal weaponry to be used by the police force in almost every case, and very clear cut rules as to when lethal weaponry was allowed. The public was unable to own guns, so why should the police escalate force by running around everywhere with them? However, after the damage done by Bellwether the public had been advocating for police forces to be allowed at least handguns to more effectively defend themselves. Judy thought it was ridiculous. She didn't need to wonder why not a single cop had come forward to support that idea yet.

Bogo continued. "However, that brings me to item number two. Thanks to the significant public pressure, the mayor has decided that several officers will need to be selected for more advanced firearm training. Over this week all of you will be examined for your marksmanship ability, and those that score high enough will be instructed the week following this in how to refine said abilities."

Judy's frown deepened significantly, and she began to speak up. "Chief-" Bogo ignored it and interrupted her. He did not like to waste everyone's precious time.

"Quiet! Finally, item number three. Sahara square has been off the charts in reports of theft. Officers Krumpanski, Delgato, you two check it out in one team. Fangmeyer, Higgins, different team, same mission. The rest of you are on the usual patrol. Dismissed."

Judy's face fell even further at that, she was being assigned grunt work again! Nick nudged her this time. "Carrots, something tells me you were lying about the being okay thing..." he let his voice trail off in that casual, disarming tone he so often employed.

The smaller doe shook her head. "Let's talk about it in the car." Her ears drooped slightly, and the fox beside her nodded understandingly, his tail slowly pressing near her back comfortingly. Judy blushed slightly at that and quickly hopped off her chair. Nick never did that, especially putting his tail in harm's way.

The pair quickly made their way to the garage and subsequently out onto the streets in their custom patrol car. Nick leaned back, stretching the soft pads of his feet out over the dashboard and lazily dropping his hands behind his head as Judy started a course that would take them through the four closest major districts. It was their usual route, which changed every month or really whenever Bogo decided was best. "So, what's muzzling that cute little smile, mh?"

Judy's eyes widened ever so slightly at Nick's casual use of the word 'muzzle'. He must really be worried about her. "Oh, just doesn't make much sense to me is all..." she dismissed the question, pulling around a corner that housed a Caribou Coffee.

Nick's ears perked slightly and he frowned as he realized she wasn't going to continue without prompting. "What... doesn't make sense?"

The bunny pursed her lips, biting one gently with her front teeth. "The whole firearms affair. I mean, first of all why would we even know how to use them in the first place to score high enough to be provided the super special training or whatever, and secondly why would the mayor tell us we won't be using guns anytime soon, then immediately starts a program to teach us how to use them." She pouted, her frustration showing as she nearly cut off a cursing ram.

Nick had been following something with his gaze out the passenger window as she spoke, and he started as the ram blasted on his horn, his gaze jerking back to his partner. "Sorry carrots, what was that again? I didn't catch the last bit."

Judy's eyes darted to try to catch what he had been looking at, but she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Nick didn't just space out, even if he was getting less sleep. She rolled her eyes, sighing. "Nothing."

The Fox's ears went back as he noticed her posture, and her tone did little to help his worry as she shrugged him off. "No, really Judy, what's happening? I'm sorry, I'm just feeling a little off today, a little distracted." He figured saying that much would allow for some leeway while removing the embarrassing necessity of explaining what exactly was distracting him. Sly Fox.

"By what?" the rabbit snapped back. Oops, not so sly perhaps.

"Allergies, real bad ones," he lied... kinda.

Judy shot him a sideways glance, obviously not buying it, but she knew that a lot of species in the city had to deal with seasonal allergies in the spring, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt. "Well, you've never complained about them before." To his credit, she hadn't been through a full spring with him yet. She reiterated the issue, and her crimson partner rubbed his snout, frowning.

"Well, I don't think we can really blame that on anyone fluff. It's politics. See, he says that we're not gonna get guns to appease the guys that don't want 'em, then turns around and gives us training for them just in case to make the people that do want them shut up for a while. Everyone's happy..."

"And Lionheart gets reelected. Yeah, I guess it makes sense," Judy let out a sigh, some of the tension leaving her body as they stopped for a traffic light. "So long as they don't start arming us I'm happy. I want to protect people, not kill them." She shuddered. Even as a kid, she hated firearms. The ban on them in the city and surrounding countryside had been a debate in some rural counties, but one that she had never involved herself in.

Nick nodded, leaning back again. However, after a few more silent seconds he turned his head to her. "And?"

The tiny bunny stepped on the gas again, her eyes drifting slightly to her partner. "What do you mean, 'and'?"

"Something else is bugging you, bun. I can tell that much."

Judy's ears warmed. Had he really learned to read her that well so quickly? "It's just... Bogo gave us grunt work, again. He seems to be doing that a lot, I figured that after the Nighthowler case he would trust us enough to let us take on the important stuff, like those thieves in Sahara Square."

Nick was staring at her, and it was hard to believe that he actually heard a word of her explanation again. He blinked, shaking his head suddenly. "Ugh, sorry Hopps, allergies again. I think Bogo's worried about us being a bit too high profile at the moment. After all, you're like a B-list celebrity these days. Household name! I wouldn't doubt even Lionheart has considered the whole 'face of the ZPD' thing."

Judy rolled her eyes. "I'm not that famous, and don't count yourself out of this slick Nick, you had so many high school vixens asking for your number the department had to classify your record!"

The russet fox chuckled, "A little young for my tastes, carrots, but thanks for the info. And I mean it, I might have gotten a bit of attention in the fox community, but you're a hero through the entire city! Thank god Bellwether's trial is still going on, or that video of me chasing you would be public. I would get torn to pieces."

Judy winced at that. She hoped that no one would get a hold of that video either. Her parents likely wouldn't be nearly as tolerant of her fox partner if they had to watch him bite down on her jugular. "Ugh, hopefully they understand what was happening there. Maybe you were a little too good at acting that out for your own good."

"Mama always said I would make it in Hollywoof. Too bad a bunny cop pulled me out of that glorious path."

Judy punched him in the arm, drawing a wince. "I found you pawpsicle hustling, must I remind you," she smirked.

"Yeah..." Nick's voice trailed off, and it took a few more minutes of cruising for her to realize that he was staring at her again, his eyes fixed on her form. His tail slowly swished from side to side as he watched.

"Those are some weird allergies..." She finally spoke when she realized that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. The bunny gave a nervous chuckle.

The vulpine jerked back guiltily, pinching his own arm so hard that it drew blood against his claws. He didn't seem to notice as he chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, yeah, they sure are! Just uh, make me feel kinda out of it. Pollen or something?" he lied fairly unconvincingly, something that was also very much unlike the clever fox to do.

Judy's eyes darted from side to side as she parked the cruiser on the side of the street, pulling the keys out of the ignition, and they widened, ears drooping back as she saw how much blood was slowly pulsing out of her partner's forearm. "Nick, you need to tell- Oh sweet cheese and crackers! What did you do!?"

Nick also seemed to have just noticed the fur halfway to his elbow rapidly turning a slightly darker shade of red. "Oh, I must have scratched myself on a piece of the interior or got a claw caught or something, don't worry!" He said again very unconvincingly, panicking as he lapped the blood away from the wound, making sure it wasn't too deep.

"What has gotten into you so suddenly? I don't see you over the weekend at all, we don't even get anything to eat much less talk to each other, I'm worried half to death by it and then you act like you're a walking zombie and pretend everything's okay?" Judy seemed near-frantic at this point, and Nick whimpered, pulling his ears back slightly as they fell behind his head guiltily.

"Carrots... just, don't worry about me, okay? Now's really not-"

"Now is exactly-!"

He would have been cut off by the rabbit's heated tirade, but they were both interrupted by a yelp from their right, where a large wooden fence cordoned off a patch of land for private use. It was a call that every officer would recognize, the purpose of their mission.

"HELP!"