AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, just recently saw Zootopia and really liked it so I felt like writing something, or at least starting it. :) Take it easy on me, we're all good friends here. Any feedback would be absolutely wonderful, I appreciate you taking the time to drop in and read.

* I know there's no predator/prey dynamic in their 'zootopia' but humor me. *

5:02

The bright red numbers of my alarm clock glared at me, reminding me of the previous night's lack of sleep. Barely getting in seven hours was less than encouraging and I hoped it would be sufficient enough to at least get me through the day without crashing. As I prayed for my well being, Nick lay next to me, sleeping soundly with his ears flattened down on his skull. I envied him greatly, wishing I had slept well. Surely I'd be fine though, everything would work out.

My biology was against me the previous week, creeping up on me like an unnecessary reminder. For days I felt my body gradually warming up with the stages of my cycle, urging me to seek physical contact. Light aching and distraction were manageable and easily brushed off for the first few days but ignorance was bliss for only so long. Of course, it caught up with me and manifested quickly.

It was just my luck that Nick had moved in to my apartment a day before it began. The small space wasn't much at all but it was better than wherever he had once spent his nights. My small bed provided enough room for us both to sleep comfortably, there was just hardly any spare room to speak of. Going in to heat was a less than favorable event for myself as I shared a bed with someone else.

Sleeping within close quarters of someone else generally wasn't the problem being I grew up with my multitudes of siblings and inheritanly shared beds with them. But, that being said, I was no longer a child. Being fully grown introduced fertility, and as such I had other concerns to worry about... like heat. I wouldn't have had to worry so intensely if my new boyfriend wasn't wedged right up against me. His warmth was tempting and more so it was making me restless.

In the near future I looked forward to having a larger apartment suited with a larger bed. Looking forward to a more substantial living space provided to ascinine for the time being, however, as I lay staring at the alarm clock with crestfallen hopes of well needed rest. . Less than half an hour and it would start blaring. Less than half an hour and we'd get up for work.

Nick shifted in his sleep, turning towards me with his nose rested on the pillow behind my ears. Presumably dead to world, he breathed in heavily and sniffed in his sleep. Even though he slept well, I knew he would be just as annoyed with the alarm clock as I. Maintaining my optimism, I figured I'd do him the favor of waking him up when it was time and reached my hand out to click off the alarm, nearly knocking it off the nightstand in the process from my short arms. The device clattered a bit as I fumbled out of reach to prevent it from tumbling.

"Is it time to get up already?"

Nick's semi sleep laced voice carried by my ears as I retracted my arm back in to bed. I didn't suspect at any point he had woken up and flinched upon hearing him speak up behind me. He felt me jerk and snaked an arm out to pull me in comfortingly.

"Didn't mean to startle you, what time is it?"

"It's fine, didn't know you were awake..." I mumbled quietly, my body stirring awake further as his gruff morning voice spoke directly in my ear. "It's five o two."

Nick nodded in understanding behind me but paused. Resting his forehead on me he sleepily churned the gears in his head and spoke up.

"We're not supposed to be up for another half hour" he stated dejectedly, yawning while doing so. "What did you fumble with the clock for? Chief call us in?"

"No, I can't sleep. I was gonna wake up in a little while...you can go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you."

Nick didn't go back to sleep, instead he stayed how he was and spooned me while partially awake. Slowly, he began waking fully and let me go to stretch. I took the opportunity to scoot closer to the edge of the mattress, putting space between us. I expected Nick to climb over me to get to the bathroom like he'd done the previous days, but he didn't. He laid flatly on his back, tugging on my ear.

"Sleep well?" He questioned, informally turning his head towards me to speak. "You're up early. Something bugging you?"

"Me? Oh yeah, I slept fine. Don't even worry about it."

"Okay then..."

The way Nick dismissed my reply so briefly made me a little nervous as I suspected he knew I was lying. I didn't want to seem suspicious but maybe I had already set the bar for that today. Nick finally got up and climbed over me in bed to use the bathroom, leaving me in the bed. Already feeling the mental exhaustion to come later on, I sighed and pressed my cheek in to my pillow.

Eyes closed, I could hear the toilet flush and the sound of the faucet running. When it turned off I expected to hear the bathroom door open but it didn't. Not concerned, I kept my eyes shut and tiredly went over the mental list of errands Nick and I would be assigned later on. Hopefully Nick would drive the cruiser because as of late my concentration had been lacking..and for an arguably good reason.

Going down the list of places Nick and I would go later on, my ear twitched suddenly. Feeling threatened was very unusual for me while not actually being in any danger, so laying in bed I shook off the feeling and scolded myself for not getting better sleep. The effects were already beginning to take place and that was a horrible sign.

Seconds later the feeling intensified and I tense reflexively, feeling as if I needed to flee. The sensation was almost instinctive and I couldn't figure out why. Unable to shake it off as it peaked in intensity, I opened my eyes to confirm to myself that nothing was after me. Surprisingly enough though, I was wrong. A pair of green eyes peered at me from over the top of my mattress and screamed in surprise. I flung myself away from them and rolled to side of the bed pressed up to the wall.

"Nick, that's not funny!"

His ears slowly began flattening back across his skull as he raised himself to crawl on the bed. Approaching me he stayed silent. Relieved that everything was fine, I came down from the startle Nick gave me. I picked up and pillow and whacked him with it but he grabbed it and chucked It back to it's spot while continuing his approach towards me.

"Cut it out!" I demanded as he crawled over me, growling almost inaudibly. "What are you doing?"

"Getting real tired of pretending I can't smell your phermones."