Finnick let out an aggravated snarl, startling Nick who sat beside him in the patrol car, staring at the smaller fox in surprise.

"If you sigh one more time…" Finnick's deep voice was low with threat, "I'll claw your lungs out so you can't even breathe."

"Oh, pardon me," Nick replied with a curled lip. "I guess I should be jumping for joy, after all it's not everyday we get assigned to a backwoods crime-free town."

"And whose fault is that," Finnick shot back.

Nick didn't reply. He and Finnick were members of the ZPD and partners at that, the only foxes on the force. They had only been on the job for a few months but Nick had already crossed the line with Chief Bogo.

The fox wasn't what one would call 'by the book' which led to breaking protocol, meeting up with certain crime bosses, and just down right not listening. Throw in a buffalo as short tempered as Bogo and Nick was down on the bottom of the ZPD food chain and he had dragged Finnick down with him. Just yesterday Bogo had gotten a call from the sheriff of Bunnyburrow, a flu had spread amongst a majority of his already tiny force and he had wondered if the buffalo could spare a couple of cops. Turns out he could.

"If he had to punish us," Nick went on, "Couldn't he have sent us to a dingy, shady, part of Zootopia where there's actual crime."

"That would've made you happy," Finnick said, "Bogo couldn't have that."

Nick sighed again, despite Finnick's threat, and looked out the window. Bunnyburrow was miles upon miles of hills and fields, with rows and rows of carrots as far as the eye could see. He grinded his teeth, dreading the boredom this place would no doubt drown him in.

"You realize the worst crime we'll see here is two bunnies starting a vicious fist fight over a carrot, right?"

Finnick didn't reply, keeping his eyes on the dusty road. Nick couldn't blame him for his bad mood though; he had been dragged involuntarily into Nick's unorthodox crime solving.

Suddenly they were passing food stands, bunnies selling carrots, lettuce, and a bunch of other gross vegetables. But then he saw it.

"Stop the car, stop the car," Nick insisted and Finnick pulled up beside the series of stands, pulling the stick shift into park.

"What," the fennec fox demanded, unnerved by Nick's broad grin that had come out of nowhere.

"Can't you read," the fox demanded his eyes on the last stand. "They sell blueberries!"

Finnick rolled his eyes as Nick pulled out change from the car's cup holder, "We're already late for the sheriff's office."

"And we'll be late either way," Nick replied, "So we might as well get some delicious orbs of heavenly bliss while we're at it."

He opened the door and slammed it behind him as he raced toward the stand, nearly startling small bunnies and sheep to death as he raced past them; he was reminded that he and Finnick were probably the only predators in all of Bunnyburrow. Joy.

Nick skidded to a halt at the blueberry stand but his ears drooped when he didn't see anybody.

"Hello," he leaned forward over the table, "Anybody here?"

"Hold on," a voice under the table said and then a bunny popped up and Nick nearly collided noses with her.

The two jumped back, the bunny nearly dropped the basket of blueberries she held in her arms.

"I'm sorry," she said, fixing her sun hat. "I didn't see you there."

Nick only stared at her, taking in her gray fur, pink nose and shining violet eyes, she was in good health and curvy in all the right places, her pink shirt and blue jeans hugged her just right. Nick tried to swallow but his mouth had gone dry. Oh my God, he thought to himself, Bunnies aren't supposed to be this hot!

"Hello," she spoke and Nick jolted, he had been studying her lips but not the words that had been coming out of them. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," he replied honestly then leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, offering his one hundred dollar grin as he lifted his sunglasses to rest atop his brow. "How are you, Cottontail?"

Her brows raised but answered, "Just fine, thank you. Can I get you anything…Officer?"

"Blueberries," he replied, wagging his tail. "I've been having a bad day; darling and I really need to cheer up." And watching you move will definitely help.

"Bad day," she echoed, her head tilted in curiosity.

"Let's just say my boss doesn't approve of how I solve a case."

"I'm sorry," she said, her ears drooping in compassion. "But you can look on the bright side."

Nick's brow furrowed, "Bright side?"
"You're a cop, you get to spend all day making the world a better place," she told him then gazed at his badge with a soft sigh, "I've always wanted to join the force."

Nick blinked in surprise, he had never heard of a rabbit wanting to be a cop before but if Finnick (who was smaller than this fine glass of carrot juice) could make it he didn't she why she couldn't. But before he could say that she looked at him expectantly and holding out her paw which looked so delicate and soft. "If you want blueberries you'll need to pay."

"Oh, right, right," Nick nodded quickly and pulled out his change and a few wrinkled bills, suddenly embarrassed by the state of his money, something that had never happened before. She took the money from him and Nick felt a bolt of electricity when their paws touched, hers was soft (he called it) and warm and he tried to swallow again but failed.

The bunny turned around to pull out a cloth bag, giving Nick the chance to admire her fluffy tail and he fought the urge to lick his lips. She turned back around and Nick decided her eyes were just as nice to look at.

As she bagged the blueberries Nick spoke, "You could be."

She stopped and looked at him, "Excuse me?"

"You could be a cop," Nick told her, "I believe in you."

She blinked and suddenly looked flustered which made Nick's heart squeeze with delight. Her eyes darted back down as she continued to bag the fruit, "You don't even know me."

"I'm an excellent judge of character," he replied. And good looks.

"What is an officer of the ZPD doing here anyway," she changed the subject, "Are you on some dangerous case?"

"Not exactly," he began. Telling her he was basically being grounded by his chief probably wouldn't impress her.

"How long does it to buy blueberries," a familiar deep voice made Nick jump and suddenly there was Finnick, he was just barely able to look over the table at the bunny who stared at him in surprise.

"Officer Finnick," Nick greeted with a smile, trying to squash his mortification over the fact he had just jumped into the air right in front of this rabbit. "How are you?"

"Impatient," the fox glared up at him. "We have to go, Wilde."

"And we will, we will," Nick assured him, accepting the bag from the bunny. "But first I want a taste test." And then he popped a blueberry into his mouth.

Nick nearly fell over as soon as the juice hit his tongue. It was sweet and tangy all at once and the shell was so crisp as it cracked between his teeth and he wanted to cry from how perfect it was.

"I need a million more of these," Nick turned to her bunny; clutching the bag to his heart as if was his most prized possession.

She giggled and it was like music to his ears, Nick found himself leaning in.

"I'm afraid I don't have that many with me right now," she informed him. "But if you have the time later drop by at the Hopps residence and you can be buried in blueberries."

Nick's eyes widened, this bunny had just totally asked him to come to her place, her place meant her house, her house meant her room, her room meant her bed, her bed meant-

An old beat up black and white truck with a star on its door suddenly stopped beside them, the engine making a rattling nose and exhausted causing the three animals to cough. A pudgy porcupine jumped out of the truck and fixed Nick and Finnick with a stern look.

"I was wondering if you two had gotten lost," the porcupine snapped in a deep country accent as he stomped over.

Nick stared at the porcupine, trying to figure out what he was talking about when the bunny spoke: "Sheriff Pines!"

Oh…

The porcupine smiled warmly at the bunny, "Good afternoon, Miss Judy. You get prettier every time I see you. I see you've already met the newest members of Bunnyburrow."

The bunny smiled at them with newfound excitement and Nick immediately smiled back even if it was probably a seriously dorky grin, after all how cute was the name Judy! "I've heard about you! My dad said we'd be getting new officers but I never suspected…" She looked Nick over and he desperately wished he could read her mind and figure out what she thought of him.

"Didn't expect to get someone so handsome," he asked with a wink and Finnick rolled his eyes.

"I was actually expecting prey," she replied, "We don't get many predators out here. Not that that's a bad thing," she quickly added. "Anyway welcome to Bunnyburrow, I'm Judy Hopps."

"Wilde," he replied offering a paw, "Officer Nick Wilde and this is my partner, Finnick."

"Hello," Judy smiled down at Finnick who only nodded in return. For a second Nick was terrified she'd leave him hanging but then she took his paw in hers and he felt his toes curl.

Pines cleared his throat loudly and Judy pulled away quickly. "We need to get going," the porcupine told them, "I had other stuff to do today besides waiting on you two." Nick highly doubted that but managed to bite his tongue just in time.

Pines went back to his truck that rattled as he drove back down the road, Finnick grabbed Nick's arm and started to lead/drag him back to the car.

"I'll hold you to that promise about being buried in blueberries," he called after Judy.

She laughed and nodded, waving goodbye.

As soon as the two foxes were in their car Nick snatched his friend's shoulders, turning him so he would look Nick right in the eye, Finnick looked at him with wide eyed discomfort.

"Finnick!" he nearly screeched, "I have a crime to solve!"

"What crime," the fennec fox demanded.

"The horrible crime of that bunny not dating me, mark my words Finnick I'm going to solve that crime if it's the last thing I do!"

.

They had followed Officer Pines to his office which was a small building, nothing compared to the ZPD precinct. And besides Pines there were only three mammals working in the office. A brown-furred bunny named Barbara who answered the calls but spent most of her time checking social networks on her outdated computer. Then there were two officers, Munch and Crunch, a goat and a beaver who spent most of their times playing cards and telling jokes.

Nick shot a look at Finnick that said exactly what he was thinking. They would literally die of boredom from this place.

Pines' wife was a real estate agent that had already rented out a small house for them; it was a yellowing white with a blue shingled roof. It didn't take long for Nick and Finnick to visit the office and unpack at their new house and then they decided to walk. There wasn't much else to do.

"Let's find a store," Nick told his friend as they walked through his grass, his teeth blue from the blueberry juice, he was sadly out.

"Why," Finnick asked, his sunglasses on as he looked around, watching a couple of bunnies chase a ball around.

"Because stores have mammals," Nick replied, "And mammals have information."

"You're really going to go and hunt down that rabbit," he demanded.

"Indubitably," Nick grinned, "I'm a big believer in not wasting time."

"Remember when it took ten minutes to unpack," Finnick asked, "It would've taken five if you hadn't wasted time."

Nick rolled his eyes before perking up as they found the heart of the town. Stores and larger houses crowded around together, rabbits, sheep, and to his surprise he saw a weasel, walking through grocery stores, saloons, toy shops, auto stores, and anything else you'd need to live out in the country.

Nick's nose twitched and he followed a delicious scent that led him to a bakery with the name Grey painted above the door. He looked around for his partner and saw Finnick disappear into the toy store; Nick knew he liked to amuse himself by pantomiming as a toy and scaring the living daylights out of unsuspecting children so he left him to it.

Inside the bakery was pleasantly warm and cozy; he could practically feel his stomach becoming full by inhaling the sheer scent of cakes and pies. He walked over to admire an array of sweets behind a glass case, they all were practically works of art and Nick couldn't imagine eating them, though a blueberry pie did catch his attention.

"Well bless my stars," a voice spoke and Nick looked up to see an aging female fox behind the register, she was pleasantly plump and had kind smile.

Nick blinked; he hadn't expected to see any foxes here.

"Hello there, darling," she said, "Can't say I've seen you around Bunnyburrow."

"I just arrived," Nick told her, "I kinda became an official member of Sheriff Pines' entourage."

The older fox admired his badge, "Bless me, never thought I'd see a fox officer. Can I help you with anything?"

Nick leaned against the counter, his back to the door, "I actually need some directions, Mrs…?"

"Grey, Darla Grey," the fox replied.

"Mrs. Grey," Nick continued as the bell over the door jangled but he didn't look away, "I was wondering if you knew where the Hopps family lives."

Mrs. Grey looked over his shoulder then looked back at him, "The Hopps family?"

Nick nodded, "I kinda have a date."

"A date," a familiar voice spoke up behind him, "With you, Officer Wilde?"

Nick's fur stood on end as he whirled around to see Judy Hopps smirking at him.

"J-Judy," he grinned, his entire body going hot. "How are you?" He leaned his elbow against the counter but ended up slipping and falling to the checkered floor, knocking down a cup of suckers (take one they're free!) with him.

"Are you alright," the two girls spoke simultaneously and Nick scurried to get back to his feet.

"Fine, fine, totally fine," he said, still mortified as he picked up the suckers and placed them back on the counter. He turned back around to smile at Judy, trying to smooth out his fur. "We meet again."

"One would almost think you're stalking me," she smiled with raised brows, a paw on her curvy hip. She had a bag over her shoulder that was stuffed with blueberries.

"Of course not," he insisted, leaning against the counter and trying to appear suave and confident. "When I said date I only meant an engagement, a meeting if you will, you promised me more of those delicious blueberries and I wanted to collect." He forced his eyes off her and to the bag.

"I'm afraid I can't hand these out," she told him with a shrug, walking over to the counter, "They're for the Grey Family bakery."

"And we appreciate every berry," Mrs. Grey smiled and accepted the bag. "Your family grows the sweetest berries I've ever tasted."

Judy smiled at her before looking at Nick, "So you really want to get some more, do you?"

"I really do," Nick replied, smiling as well.

"Well I'm more than ready to offer you some but you'll have to work for it."

Nick's ears perked up and his grin widened as he thought of so many scrumptious ways to 'work for it'. "I'd do absolutely anything," he said, more honest than he had ever been in his life.

"Great," Judy beamed, giving a tiny hop, her shirt rising slightly to show a flash of her belly, Nick almost whimpered.

"We just have to wait for Gideon and then we'll be on our way."

Nick blinked, those words breaking him away from a pretty fantastic fantasy, "Who now?"

"My son, Gideon Grey," Mrs. Grey spoke up, smiling fondly.

"He's a sweet guy," Judy told him, "He's our age so I'm sure you two will get along."

Oh I seriously doubt that…

As if the words had summoned him the door jingled open and in walked a husky fox whose fur was neatly combed atop his head, he wore a pink apron over a checkered shirt.

"I finished the deliveries, Ma," the fox told his mother, then his eyes fell to Judy and they gleamed as he smiled warmly at her, "Howdy, Judy."

She returned the smile, "Hey, Gideon."

Uh-oh, Nick thought.

He took a step toward Judy which got Gideon's attention, he looked at Nick with surprise, "Who's this?"

Nick grinned, "Officer Wilde."

"He just moved here to help out Mr. Pines," Judy told Gideon. "But since they're always free he's decided to come and help us at my house in exchange for blueberries."

Gideon narrowed his eyes at Nick, "Is that so?"

"Can't resist being a good, upstanding citizen," Nick replied, a growl slightly escaping his throat but Judy and Mrs. Grey apparently had heard it.

The pretty rabbit urged him to follow her and walked out of the bakery, Nick's eyes trailing after her fluffy tail. Gideon was still glaring at him and Nick returned it as he followed the two outside.

Nothing worth winning was ever won easy.

Originally I was going to wait to start this AU but gosh darn it, it all ITS ADORABLE.

The next two chapters will be longer and better.