Because it was a Rainforest District apartment complex, the atmosphere of the halls was dark and somewhat humid. This was typical of the area, but Judy couldn't help being just a little bit nervous as she made her way toward the apartment number that she was texted. She kept her paws close to her chest as she looked over the door numbers.

Judy took a steadying breath, her heart and nose seeming to move in unison as she reached her paw up to knock at the door. "...And here we go."

The door opened after several seconds, revealing Nick dressed in his typical attire.

"Carrots...!" Nick said blithely, opening the door wider. "Come in, come in. Excuse the mess, or don't. I'm not your boss."

Judy involuntarily looked around the apartment and found it in slightly worse shape than she imagined. Even the cluttered chaos of Honey's secret lair seemed somewhat more desirable to her than the damp, leaky-looking apartment that was Nick's home. It also had a somewhat empty composition that caused the flaws to leap out at her.

"So! Uh, you live here!" Judy said, her eyes scanning the apartment.

"I do indeed," Nick said, going over to the sink to wash his paws. "And yeah, it's a mess. You know the expression: messy home, messy life. Something like that." Nick shrugged as he was drying his paws. "I may move eventually. Maybe sooner than later at this rate."

Judy was having a hard time focusing on what he was saying, especially as he snapped on some gloves. Her eyes flitted over to a bare table not too far off the ground. "Gloves, huh?"

"My paws are chocolate brown, not black," Nick said, flexing his fingers. "I intend to keep them that way."

Judy let out a breath through her lips as she felt her fingers tapping at her hips. She bounced on her feet a little. "So. I just- uh. ...I take off my clothes and jump up on there, huh?"

"That's about the size of it," Nick said, going to get the products necessary. "You said you wanted black, right?"

"Yeah, it'll be easier for me to blend into the shadows," Judy tried to say this with an adventurous flair, but it came out with a nervous titter.

Nick set the products near the table. "We can go with semi-permanent dye. Easy enough to maintain, but also fairly easy to get rid of with enough effort should you change your mind. It should work well enough since you're going darker, not lighter, and it's unlikely to damage your fur."

"Great!" Judy nodded emphatically. "That's just... that's great!" She kept seeming to stall as Nick walked around. He seemed to be all business as he shuffled around and got things ready. Eventually, he looked over to Judy expectantly. "Right so I'll... I'll just get naked and be right on up there." Judy took in another breath.

"Fluff, if you're having second thoughts, that's perfectly fine," Nick shook his head subtly. "We can do this some other time, or not at all."

"I'm not having second thoughts!" Judy shook her head firmly. "I'm just... just a bit nervous."

"Mm hm," Nick took in a couple of sniffs. "A 'bit'."

"This is no big deal," Judy said, mostly to herself. Her hands opened and closed. "You've had your teeth a fur strand away from my jugular. What's the problem with a little nudity? Ha! No big deal. Ridiculous!"

Nick didn't stare, but he could tell from Judy's twitching nose and scent that she was rather anxious. He said nothing, and remained impassive in his body language.

Finally, with a suddenness akin to jumping into a chilly pool, Judy flung off her clothes, nearly all at once. In the next couple of moments, she hopped onto the table, laying on her front, trying to remain still. Her head turned in the opposite direction from Nick. The fox heard a sigh of relief come from the bunny.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," Nick said calmly.

Judy chuckled in response. "What, you mean in general, or when it comes to naked rabbits?"

"I can leave those details blank, if you'd prefer," Nick teased, starting to work the dye into her back.

Judy flinched at the first touch, which felt a little odd due to the texture of both the dye and the gloves. She attempted to slowly relax.

"Whew, I can't believe this," Judy breathed out as he worked.

"Me neither," Nick returned in a dry voice. "I thought you'd look better as a cream, to be honest."

"Pff," Judy chuckled, smiling faintly. "I mean, it- it is true that I barely know you, and... well."

Nick didn't say anything. He kept working rather clinically.

"I just..." Judy bit her lip. "I don't want to feel those paws linger, all right?"

"Of course not," Nick said smoothly. Somehow, the tone of her voice made Judy's stress melt several stages. She allowed herself to delve into her deepest thoughts and realize that she did, in fact, trust Nick.

Nick's unexpected professionalism and his smooth, gliding motions helped the time to pass less excruciatingly than Judy had feared. Though she tried not to, she released a giggle when Nick worked on her sides.

"Hm, and I thought this bunny didn't have any weak points," Nick teased. Eventually, the paws stopped.

"So, front now?" Judy asked hesitantly.

"Yup, unless you're going for a really alternative style," Nick joked.

Judy mentally counted to three and rolled over swiftly. Though nervous to see the reality of the predator's eyes on her unguarded form, she was taken aback by the dull and almost disappointed look on Nick's muzzle. He began to work dispassionately.

"S-something wrong?" Judy asked nervously. "I mean, y'know. I'm not gonna win any beauty contests or anything, but-"

"It's not that," Nick grumbled as he worked. "Not that at all."

"What's the matter?" Judy pursued.

"I really, really thought you'd be a little more hesitant than this is all," Nick explained in a low voice. "I take you to one of my craziest acquaintances and you act like you've struck gold. You ask me, who's basically a friendly stranger, to dye you so you can proceed with this 'justice' you want to chase after. I saw and smelled your reservations, your nervousness. Both of those scenarios, you were apprehensive. But I guess Judy Hopps doesn't back down, does she?"

"Sh-she doesn't, no," Judy looked pensive. "Not usually." A tense moment of silence passed. "You were secretly trying to discourage me?"

"Gee, I don't know, Carrots," Nick frowned. "I'd just thought hustling and going against the law to do your own thing would be a little beneath wonder-bun."

Judy was quiet, though her mouth moved as she tried to formulate a response.

"Maybe I could only hustle bad people?" Judy asked lightly in an innocent-sounding voice. "Or is that hopelessly naive?"

"You'd be a regular Robin Hood if you could pull that off," Nick almost smiled.

"You know everyone, right?" Judy looked amused. "You could give me some targets, I could make some enemies, then take them down when they get uppity!"

Nick didn't share in Judy's levity and seemed suddenly thoughtful.

"Can you explain to me what really drives you?" Nick shook his head subtly as he continued to work. "Something that you can't fit as a platitude on a greeting card?"

"I want..." Judy's eyes broke their focus on Nick as she twisted her mouth. "I want people to feel safe, Nick. I want people to feel like their salvation could come from any time, from anywhere. Whether it be the police or... vigilantes... I want to give people hope."

"Mammals have a long history of using their peculiarities to their advantages," Nick sucked at his teeth. "Do you believe that one bunny, no matter how incredible, could change the minds of mammals willing to use their skill sets to hurt others?"

"It's not really about the crimnals," Judy said with emphasis, "it's about the victims. It's about the people I could help. I don't- I don't have to save the world anymore, Nick. We already did that." She laughed gently. "For me it's enough if I can keep saving people. Maybe if it's only a handful of mammals. Maybe even just one. If I can make a difference, no matter how small... then I'll have made the world better."

Nick's eyes widened slightly and his movements on Judy's body slowed.

"Huh," was the fox's response. "...Well, close your eyes."

"Oh?" Judy blinked, but then kept her eyes closed.

"Yup, gotta do your eyelids too," Nick replied. "Wouldn't want those big ol' purples getting hurt."

"Thank you, Nick, for this," Judy said. "Do I need to keep my clothes off for a while afterward?"

"For a little while, yeah, unless you want to stain your clothes," Nick said.

"Enjoying the show?" Judy smirked, a little mischief entering her voice.

"You really want me to answer that?" Nick's voice sounded tired, but warm.

"C'mon, I'm trying to deflect the situation with humor," Judy said. "That's one of your tricks."

"Fair enough," Nick chuckled. "The view isn't unpleasant."

"Oh, is that all I get?" Judy laughed.

"You're a lovely bunny," Nick said with sudden earnest affection, then his voice returned to its teasing timbre. "Is that what you want to hear?"

"Nick...!" Judy laughed a little harder. "I want to hear what you think!"

"Good luck with that," Nick chuckled mischievously, then clapped his paws once. "All done. You should be good to go."

Judy's big ears picked up Nick washing his paws again, perhaps to get any trace of the dye off of him. Judy opened her eyes to look at a full-body mirror in Nick's room and was surprised by the transformation. Of course, she recognized herself, but the intermingling of gray and white fur was gone, replaced by black and dark gray, mixed together in rather enchanting and pleasant ways. Judy was expecting to be solid black, but the depth of Nicks artistic skill surprised her. She felt her ears warm up as her reflection visually reminded her of where Nick's paws had been, however gloved and for however brief of a time.

In the mirror, Judy also noticed some conspicuous shreds of paper, balled up and poking out of the trash. Impulsively, she reached out for them and started to unravel them.

Nick's ear twitched at the rustling sound, and he displayed unguarded shock at the naked bunny rustling with the discarded paper.

"Judy!" Nick shouted, rushing over to her and snatching up the shreds. "You're going through my trash? Who does that?"

"A seeker of justice," Judy defended herself staunchly. "And I noticed the ZPD's seal there on the header... so you did send your application in?"

The hint of a growl leaped into Nick's throat and his ears went back, but he mastered his irritation. "I did."

"...And did they accept you?" Judy's eyes grew wide, her voice rich with wonder.

"They did," Nick nodded. "But... I'm not going."

"Why not!?" Judy shouted. "Nick... this is an amazing opportunity! Y-you could go to the ZPD, be the first fox, do all sorts of good for the community!"

"Judy," Nick said solidly. "I'm not going."

"But you don't- I mean," Judy's eyebrows turned up. "Then why did you even send in the application?"

"You remember what you said to me, Carrots? Before you blew everything up?" Nick's voice wasn't accusatory, but Judy flinched anyway.

"I asked you to join the force," Judy nodded.

"No," Nick shook his head. "You said 'it would be nice to have a partner'."

Judy grew quiet again, feeling a paw come close to her newly-darkened chest.

"And it sounded nice," Nick said wistfully, looking into the ceiling. "But... we all know how that went."

"But this would be different," Judy balled the paw near her chest. "I wouldn't be at the ZPD, and you could-"

"Exactly!" Nick threw his hands out to the side. "That's exactly it. If I joined the ZPD, you wouldn't be there. We'd essentially be enemies. Instead of hustler and meter maid, it'd be vigilante and boy in blue."

"Nick!" Judy stood straight up on the table and stamped her foot. "If you think- I'm not going to just- ...if you want to be a policefox, the first policefox, I'm not going to stand in your way. I- I won't go through with this crime-fighting thing if that's your dream."

Nick paused, and looked over the resolute, nude bunny.

"Judy..." Nick chuckled. "You don't get it."

"What? What don't I get?" Judy gestured to herself.

"At the bridge that day..." Nick smiled gently. "I accepted what you said. I accepted that offer. I want- I'm going to be your partner. Wherever that crazy path leads, I'll be there. Hopefully to tie you to the ground before you float away."

"Nick...!" Judy's jaw dropped. She clasped her paws together. "So you will wear that costume!?"

"I mean... probably," Nick sighed, giving a defeated smile.

Judy squealed and bounced off the table to go hug Nick. She stopped suddenly as if she ran into a force-field a few inches from him. "Oh right, uh, still naked. Heh!" She retreated to her clothes, quickly and awkwardly dressed, and rushed over to hug Nick.

Nick rolled his eyes and resisted hugging back for a little while. Eventually, though, he relented, and put one cursory arm around her, which only caused Judy to screech again and hug tighter.

"You get excited about the weirdest things," Nick chided, his voice coming out tightly from the firm hug. "Also, you're going to have to train me."

"Train you?" Judy blinked.

"I don't have nearly a year of police training," Nick shrugged. "I'm a lover, not a fighter."

"You're a 'lover'?" Judy echoed with a wry grin.

Nick thought about that. "I'm a hustler."

"Okay, Nick," Judy grinned broadly. "I'll train you. How's tomorrow sound?"

"Let's give me a few days, first," Nick stretched. "Honey still has to R&D that suit for you, after all."

"Oh, right," Judy nodded, then clapped. "Ooh, this is so exciting!"

Nick rolled his eyes over to his mirror and chuckled.

Later on, NIck was looking at that same mirror, the one that had contained that lovely vision of a bunny. Nick saw his arms fold tightly across his chest.

"Well, now you've gone and done it," Nick grumbled. "You've finally made that promise of devotion you were always so scared to make."

"I've already made that promise awhile ago," Nick's shoulders shrugged. "I just- I just told her about it."

"Probably not the best move, Slick," Nick laughed. "You saw how excited she got. Her expectations of this new life she wants to lead are sky-high now."

"She did look pretty cute, you have to admit," Nick pointed at himself.

"You should probably be more careful with that word around her," Nick reproved himself, waggling the finger.

"I'm always careful with my words," Nick said seriously.

"Are you, though?"

Nick almost didn't remember saying it, but the retort came clear and struck him with a deep unease.

"Wow, what have I unleashed on the world?" Nick chuckled nervously. "I must be crazy to go along with this..."

"Obviously," Nick wiggled his eyebrows. "You're talking to yourself in the mirror, for starters."

"Guess we're all a bit crazy in this world," Nick said, beginning to turn around.

"Yup. Some more than others."