Zootopia Adventures

Doughnut Disaster V

"Sure thing, Nick! Let's hop on to the next stage of case cracking!" Judy exclaimed with excitement as she light-heartedly pulled away from a seemingly brimming in cloud nine Clawhauser.

"Aw, come on, Carrots! That was a pun that only I am allowed to use," Nick retorted playfully, smiling. For a split second, Judy could have sworn that that was the first time after a long period that Nick had displayed not the usual fare of con artist smirk but a genuine, warm smile. His happy demeanor made her undeniably cheerful as well, for reasons unknown to her, she started to view him not just as a partner in the police force, but also as an older sibling. Seeing him satisfied in his life which he once had hated and shunned from was heartwarming. Staring at Nick, she looked away immediately when his eyes met up with hers.

"What's going on in there, Whiskers? Still stunned by the amazing crime discovery?" Nick asked with an eyebrow raised in question. His vision was as sharp as a blade refined by whetstone; She could almost never get away from him when she is not honest about a matter. Probably because one of the key requirements of being a professional con artist required him to be able to pick out even the slightest of exploits one could manipulate out of his victim. Not to mention that she was one of his many "Pawpsical" scandal scapegoats; Which she still holds a slight grudge on him for. She shifted her sight back on to Nick. "Probably; But more of looking at your rare case of warm smiles."

Nick's smirk dissolved into a thin line, eyes wide open as his face flushed a slight tint of red. "I uh, I just felt the need to - you know..." he rambled absent-mindedly as he searched desperately in his mind for words to say. For once, the bag full of jokes and cringe-worthy puns Nick drew a blank. "Is it wrong for a fox to show his feelings?" he muttered, conceiving that he had nothing clever to shoot back to save his dissipating suave.

"It's totally fine!" Judy laughed at Nick as she gave his neck tie a gentle yank. He blinked at her blankly with his lower jaw closing and reopening, forming soundless words. Nick grumpily frowned at his flustered state of mind. She chuckled at him, letting go of his tie."You are acting silly now, pull yourself together you dumb fox!"

"Ahem, back to the case shall we?" Nick faked a cough as he recovered from his embarrassing antic. Huffing, he sprang back up on his two feet from his former seating posture and sauntered casually towards the bedside cabinet; Retrieving the case file which he had placed before he climbed atop of Clawhauser. Nick's fluffy tail swayed lazily against gravity as he made his trip back to Judy. He flipped the single piece of paper in the folder for added measure, pretending to be intrigued by the written details of the report as he took a seat beside her. She giggled from his sarcastic body language. "Is the pen in your possession?" he inquired condescendingly, smirking as usual.

"Oh, yes I do, Officer," Judy replied as she pulled out the carrot pen from her utility belt.

"Good, because we will need to record and plan out a few things onto this report for future references," Nick explained keenly as he rested the file on the carpeted ground. Judy leaned forth, pen readied in her paw.

"You said that something small brushed past you, right?" Nick asked right after waiting for Clawhauser to simmer down, which took quite a moment. If that cheetah deserved a trophy of recognition, it would probably be "The most capricious animal award". He knew fully that Clawhauser was the kind that floats haphazardly on a barely buoyant raft down a lazy river packed full of emotions. One prod was sometimes more than enough to stir the tranquility inside of the chubby cheetah.

"Yes! Yes! I am certain of it!" Clawhauser piped with overwhelming anxiety, his paws driven firmly onto the floor.

"Could you tell us approximately where you were when it happened?" Judy questioned, seriousness set in her solid glance at the report as she skillfully spun the pen with her paw. Nick observed Judy as he placed a paw firmly on the corner of the file, keeping it firm for her to write. He smirked as he admired her impressive level of concentration and passion - one of the values which he had found rather amusing the first time they met; Which was why he had the urge to stick around with her throughout the case solving besides getting himself off of her hook. Her passion was an undying flame, and he was attracted to its shimmer like a fly mesmerized by a light bulb. Not to mention that her optimism and zeal reminded him of his past self - and also that she had outsmarted and outwitted him on multiple occasions.