"Tundra town is cold this evening," Nick said softly, his breath misting in front of him before being carried away in the wind. He wrapped his thickly clothed arms tighter around his chest, keeping the warmth in before looking down to Judy.

"It's always cold in Tundra-town," she chided.

Nick's eyes widened as she said that, a grin growing on his muzzle, and like an excited kit skipped up and down. Judy looked at him curiously as he calmed down, before he leant in close to her and shook his head.

"Then you know nothing, Judy Hopps," he said, his voice both wise, mysterious and seductive at the same time.

Judy rolled her eyes, before bothering to look her partner in the eyes. "You said it was cold so I would say that, wouldn't you?"

Nick looked up at the sky, shrugging his shoulders as he answered. "That is certainly a possibility… albeit a very unlikely one…"

"Nick," the bunny cop teased, "you've been acting this way ever since I got you the books."

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," he said innocently.

Judy put on a small bust of speed and cut in front of him, before turning around on the spot and, carrying on at the same pace only backwards, locking her eyes on Nick.

"It's called being a geek, Slick!"

If the jab had hit him he didn't show it, instead pouncing on the new opportunity. "I'll wear that like armour," he proudly boasted, drumming his chest with his fist. "…and it can never be used to hurt me!"

"And someone will not be getting the Lord of the rings audiobook," Judy replied.

This time Nick did react, his palms reaching out to the sky as he cried out. "Noooo! I'll never be able to experience the world of mammal earth, as read by Sean Preen!"

"And you'll never be primed up and desperate to make references while we're working," Judy said happily, turning around and carrying on walking in the same direction as before. "Now come on, we've got to walk into this reindeer herd and make sure they're not up to no good."

Nick blinked, and then smiled. "Judy," he said.

"What?"

"One does not simply walk into a reindeer herd."

.

"…..Urghhhhh," Judy groaned, facepalming as Nick jogged back up next to her. "I really walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Did you carrots?" the fox asked out loud.

"Yes, yes you/I did!" they both said at the same time.

"Anyway, I'll stop now, we're here," Nick announced, as they paused at the edge of a large park. Before them the square was laid out, cleared flagstones around the outside and a great circle of fresh white powder snow laying in the middle. At the very centre, rising up, stood a perfect spire of snow, as if a mathematician had got hold of the weather and plugged in his favourite inverse equation. All around it, great figures bounded and leaped through the sea of powder, kicking up great clouds as they went. At least two dozen reindeer calves, boys and girls, racing after each other. One of them seemed particularly repellent, everyone keeping a wide berth as he scooped up a ball and fired it at the nearest player. Seeing it coming, he ducked downed into the snow, leaving just a pair of antlers sticking out. The projectile sailed through the gap between them, burrowing into the depths of the white field beyond and vanishing from view. The ducking buck got up and, gloating in his victory, blew a loud raspberry and waved his arms about, mocking his failed attacker.

A second snowball came, and hit him dead on his face.

"You're it, Donny!" the previous holder of the title called, before turning and bounding off in the opposite direction.

"Not for long," he called out, snapping out of his shock and shaking the snow from his face. A predatory look in his eyes, he balled up a snowball and let it fly, almost clipping another mammal.

"Almost!" she called, before changing direction and dodging another ball.

.

Nearby, both Nick and Judy slipped through the black iron gates of the park and walked over to a nearby bench.

"Ahhhh," Nick sighed, relaxing as he felt his pads touch the warm pavement beneath him. "Zootopia, where your tax dollars are used to heat up pavements in areas that even more tax dollars are used to freeze down. How I love you."

"Well, it's my tax dollars isn't it," Judy pointed out. "How many of your tax dollars went into this?"

Nick's eyes widened slightly, as did his grin. "You wound me, Carrots," he said, swooning. "I'd like you to know that I am now a law-abiding member of society, who pays his taxes and has repaid those I owe this fair city. So, I am perfectly justified in complaining about the inefficiency that I'm currently enjoying very much. Thankyou."

"And do you enjoy that more or less than a sit down?" the bunny asked, hopping up onto the bench as she spoke.

"Sit down," Nick replied, sitting down next to her. "Definitely."

As he did so, she turned to look at the playing mammals and smiled. "I don't think we need to give them any warnings, do we?" she asked.

"No," Nick replied. "But I think we can stick around here for just a little bit."

"Funny thing that," Judy commented. "Me too… me too…"

They sat in silence, watching the game carry on. Various mammals would be hit by a snowball and become it, before unleashing their own improvised arsenal. The two officers watched in silence, happy to see others being so.

It was ten its later when one of Judy's ears rose slightly. Shortly after, Nick's did too, and they both turned around as they heard the running. When the hooves hit the stones, the playing children paused and turned to look. Running past the bench was another reindeer. A youngish boy, two small antlers on the top of his head and a nose that was mostly covered by a large red spot.

"Hey guys!" he called out happily. "You must have got the dates you gave to me wrong! But I saw you on furbook, and here I am!" He jogged forwards, with both Nick and Judy watching. The former sat up uneasily, the hair on the back of his neck and on his tail slowly rising up. Noticing it, Judy leant over to put a paw on his shoulder. He stopped, glancing down at her.

"It's probably nothing," she said calmly.

Nick glanced back forwards, spotting the new reindeer walk into the middle of a silent, staring crowd. "Well, just be ready in…"

He never finished his sentence, instead jumping up as the other reindeers let loose a hailstorm of snowballs, all directed at the new kid.

"Go home, Rudolf!" one screamed.

"Get lost freak nose!" another cried.

His arms were up in front of his face, shielding him from the assault, only for his attackers to flank him and hit both sides of his head.

"Stop this now!" Judy cried out, holding up her badge.

"Is she a cop?" one asked, looking to another.

"She's a bunny!"

"We all know there is a bunny cop guys!" another one warned, slowly stepping back.

"And a fox one!" Nick shouted out, as he ran on all fours across the top crust of the snow to reach Rudolf. "Who is currently very angry!"

"I want you all to stay here so I can get your names and…"

Judy trailed off as the entire herd fled, leaving a mist of kicked up snow behind them.

"Bullies," Nick spat out loud, as he wrapped his arms around the remaining reindeer. "Remember that they're all cowards, kid…"

"No," he sniffed back. Slowly standing up, he held his face in his muzzle and began to tremble. "They hate me because I'm a freak! A mutant freak who… who…"

He broke off as he started to cry, wailing painfully up into the sky.

"You're not a freak," Nick said, doing his best to comfort him. He hugged around the larger mammal's leg and held it tight, even going as far to rub his cheek up and down it as he tried to muzzle. "Don't let them ever make you believe that…"

"But… But… but it's true…" he cried.

"It isn't," Judy said out loud. "You look like a fine young reindeer to me and…"

"HAVE YOU SEEN MY FREAK NOSE," he shouted out, uncovering his face and showing off the birth mark that covered it. "I hate it! I hate it so much!" He grimaced and hit it hard with a hoof, before hitting again and again.

"Carrots!" Nick cried. "I need more paws over here, or else I might have to resort to preening…"

"Greater good or not, I'm not going to let you have to endure another talk from the chief about that," Judy said, as she finally reached them. Looking up, she kicked out with her legs to bounce her up to face height, only for the snow crust to give way beneath her. Suddenly finding her lower half buried deep in the snow, she wiggled and crawled out, reaching Rudolf's other leg and joining in Nick's effort.

He was still crying.

Despite now being in stereo, the two mammals were too small to give the level of comforting that he required.

They still soldiered on though and, slowly but surely, he began to calm down.

"Hey, Rudolf," Nick said slowly.

"Yes, officer?"

"Never let them see that they get to you. You understand that?"

"I think so…"

"Never let them see that they hurt you. However mean, however heartless, however cruel they are. Never let them see that it works."

"But I've tried that!" he screamed. "Everyone says to ignore them! But it never works! And even if it did, I'm still a freak! A freak with no friends!"

Nick's eyes widened, and he looked down. "It sucks," he said reassuringly. "It sucks, and I know it sucks."

"You… you do?"

"Bullies like that turned my childhood dream into my childhood nightmare," Nick spat out. Rudolf slowly turned to look at him, and their eyes met. "They did it because I was a fox, and stupid stories told them I was sneaky and untrustworthy and dangerous. Now, I'll admit that I may be cunning, and I can be sly, but I'm not untrustworthy and I'm not dangerous. I'm a good mammal. You're a good mammal. They were not. Those other reindeer are not. Most importantly though, you are not a freak…"

The three stood there in the field of snow for a second or two, before Rudolf spoke. "But I still don't have any friends."

"Tell you what," Nick said, standing up. "Come with us to the cruiser, we'll give you a ride home, talk to your parents and try to help get you some new friends."

"You will?"

"That's what we do at the ZPD," Judy said, smiling.

Together, they rose up and began walking out of the park, only to pause when Nick and Judy's radios fizzled to life.

"All officers in Tundra town, near NoMe, report."

"Wilde and Hopps, Ten-four in Balto park," Judy replied.

"No good," Clawhauser groaned. "We've got a size class M-2 truck that slid into a snowdrift off of ermine way. It…. OH-M-GOODNESS!"

"What?" Judy asked.

"It was carrying presents!" Clawhauser replied. "To a small mammal orphanage!"

"Is everyone okay?" Nick asked.

"Yes, but apparently the truck is sliding towards a river. By the time any other officer gets there, all the presents will be lost. Christmas will be ruined!"

"Listen Clawhauser." Judy said. "We'll save Christmas! We'll find a way. It's what we do in the ZPD!"

"I don't remember it being in the job description," Nick innocently commented, before his eyes widened. "A class M-2 truck, did you say?"

"Ten-four," Clawhauser replied. "Too large for you two to move!"

"Well then," Nick replied. "It's a good think there's currently three of us. Over and out Spots! Time to save Christmas!" He put his radio back, and looked up to Rudolf. "Want to be the hero?"

.

Five minutes later, not too far away, small tumbles of snow were rolling down a hill. They bounced and grew, before hitting a fast-flowing stream and dissolving into nothing. More tumbles and balls and avalanches began flowing and, not too far above, was their source. The truck, laying on its side, slowly sliding to oblivion. At the top of the slope, the marmot driver was looking down and crying, before the sound of approaching hooves woke him up. He turned, and saw a teenage reindeer with a red nose approaching, a rabbit on one shoulder and a fox on the other.

His eyes widened as the two smaller mammals jumped off and the larger one slid down the embankment. Below the lorry, he turned and raised his arms out, stopping its decent. Shifting slightly, he let it roll upright and, straining and groaning, picked it up. The three mammals looked on in awe as he brought it up to the top of the slope, before placing it down in front of them.

"One Christmas saved," he said, grinning heavily.

Nick, barely holding back his joyous laughter, walked forwards. "Thanks to a very special reindeer, isn't that right Rudolf!"

"Yeh…" he panted back, the strain of his heroism suddenly catching up to him.

"Now to just get this to the orphanage," Judy said.

"No need," the driver said. "We're already there. Look behind you."

That they did. Standing on the other side of the road was the building, a crowd of mammals ranging from weasel kits to dwarf sheep lambs looking up at Rudolf with wide eyes. Some were young, some older than him, but they all began cheering and celebrating. "RUDOLF! RUDOLF! RUDOLF!" they chanted.

Nick looked at Judy, and Judy at Nick, and both at Rudolf. "Me thinks you've just got a lot more friends than those bullies, don't you think?" the fox said. Both he and Judy stepped back as they let Rudolf walk forwards into his crowd of fans. They clapped and cheered at him, and he smiled back the largest smile mammalianly possible.

On the other side of the road, Nick drew a finger across his lower eyelid and smiled back. "Judy," he said.

"Yes?"

"That's what we do at the ZPD…"