#I was expecting a cubicle or picnic desk at best so this is nice

[ilikedetectives]

First two weeks at new job have been great (つ≧▽≦)つ

[truthofherdreams]

24 Days of Dickkory-smas

2. Pretend boyfriend/girlfriend for family Christmas party (ao3)

“I need your help.”

Things never end up well when Dick pops his head into her cubicle with such words. Last time, they both almost got fired over one of his so-called brilliant ideas. Before that, she nearly flooded the staff bathroom to prove him wrong about something. Then there was that time they got locked out of the building at midnight with all their shit still inside and no mean to break in.

So, really, Kory should stop entertaining him. It’s assured to be a shit-show.

Which is why she sighs and turns toward him. Or, well, turns as much as she can while her feet are propped up on her desk and her keyboard is balanced on her stomach – what? She likes to be comfortable at work, okay! “What do you want this time?”

And thing is, Dick is half decent at his job when he feels like it. He’s also the most popular guy at work, with the majority of people-attracted-to-men lusting over his (arguably interesting) ass all day long. But Dick has about zero skills when it comes to socialising, and to relationships, and to basically acting like a normal human being. Which is funny as fuck most of the time.

Which also means he rambles. A lot.

“Well, see, my sister is organising a Christmas party this year after a few years of us not really gathering as a family – you know how it is, she travels a lot and Rachel isn’t always the best at family shit, and driving back to Gotham isn’t that practical to us. And, anyway, Donna is going all in this year, big dinner at her place with lots of people, food for days, even…”

“Dick,” she interrupts him. Puts him out of his misery, really. “To the point.”

He sighs, and frowns. Cute. Almost. “She was very sarcastic about it, all ‘Guess you don’t need a plus one?’ so, obviously, I had to argue back. And well, long story short, I told her we’re dating so, are you free next Monday evening because I need you to be my date?”

Her mouth has opened agape halfway through his speech, but it’s only once Dick is done that Kory actually starts laughing. And laughing. And laughing. Tears pearling at the corners of her eyes that she brushes away with a knuckles, even if her body is still shaking with silent giggles. Dick looks upset, quite obviously, but it’s hard to take him seriously when he apparently decided to re-enact a Hallmark movie, just because – well, because he’s a petty dude, apparently. Kory can almost relate to that.

“Are you out of your mind?” she asks with another peel of laughter. “Your kids know we’re not dating; they’ll snitch in a second.”

He looks… almost sheepish now, which is totally not what she’s used to when it comes to Dick. Like, yes, the guy is awkward as fuck when it comes to making small talk, but at least he has enough confidence about him that it almost looks like he knows what he’s doing at all times. Except now, apparently.

“That’s the thing, right. I told them, and they find it fucking hilarious. Even told me they want to see this shit happen, just to see me fail. I think there’s bets going on and all.”

Kory has met Dick’s kids a couple of times before. They’re both cute as buttons, even if they definitely give as good as they get when it comes to sass and wit. Definitely take after their foster father in that category. And, well, maybe it’s the sick part of Kory talking, but she kinda want to see that shit happen too. And she’d never say no to spending more time with Rachel and Gar, cause those kids are awesome.

Which is basically how she finds herself in Dick’s soccer mom van not even a week later, on her way to Donna Troy’s Detroit loft. Dick has been prepping her for days about this shit, so now she can only picture his sister as some kind of crazy helicopter sibling who believes vaccines are causing autism and everything is cured by essential oils. Why else would he put so much effort in this story, after all, if not because his sister is off her rockers?

Needless to say, ‘surprise’ barely covers how Kory feels when the door to the loft opens on a very beautiful, very put-together brunette. Donna grins from ear to ear at the sight of them, hugging the two teenagers first, then Dick. Despite knowing they are not blood-related, Kory can’t help but notice how much they look like each other – it’s the way they hold themselves perhaps, or how Dick’s rare smiles seem to mirror Donna’s.

“And you must be Kory,” Donna exclaims as she pulls Kory into a hug too. “I’d say I heard a lot about you, but this one never tells me anything.”

“Like you tell me everything about your girlfriends,” he replies, petulant.

Kory jumps in. “Girlfriend, singular.”

Donna is grinning even more now, and Dick throws her a surprised smile before he checks himself and pulls an arm around her waist. It’s stiff and awkward, and he’s obviously not used to acting like that, but muscle memory is a beautiful thing to Kory. It only takes her a few moments to relax, leaning into him just enough that soon his arm doesn’t feel so uncomfortable around her or his body so tense against her side.

“You’re doing great,” she whispers to him as they make their way instead.

“Shut up.”

Donna’s Christmas dinner is less of a family matter than a quick get-together with friends, and Kory is soon introduced to many people who all seem to more or less know Dick and whose names she forgets the moment they move on to another conversation.

Thankfully, both for Dick’s social anxieties levels and for Kory’s boredom levels, Dawn and Hank are quick to arrive too, and stay by their sides all through the evening. Kory does enjoy Dawn’s company – so peaceful and quiet, her voice soothing even when she tells a particularly funny joke – and is glad to see at least two familiar faces. It doesn’t take long until a biracial guy, who introduces himself to her as Wally West, joins them in their corner of the loft.

And it’s so interesting, seeing Dick outside of work. Yes, there’s been the odd night out at a bar here and there with their colleagues, and that one dreadful picnic their boss all forced them to attend. But it really is something else to see him surrounded by friends who’ve known him for quite some time now – he’s more relaxed than she’s ever seen him, more at ease. He’s smiling a whole lot more too, and perhaps Kory is starting to understand why everyone and their brother has a crush on him.

“You all look like a Benetton advert and a half,” Donna jokes as she walks toward them, beer in hand. “Kory, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Dick shares a meaningful glance with her – of course they were expecting Donna to go all big sister on her ass tonight – but Kory rolls her eyes at him before she stands up. He has nothing to worry about; they did make up a believable story and she does know how to lie flawlessly.

Donna asks her to help with the cheese cubes or some other bullshit, just the two of them in the empty and quiet kitchen, so Kory isn’t fooled. This is less of a nice chat and more of an interrogation, at this point.

“It’s nice that you could come tonight,” is how Donna decides to start the conversation as she takes some stuff out of the fridge. “I haven’t seen Dick that happy in a while.”

Well, he did promise Kory he would do all her annoying paperwork for two months if she agreed to this so – sure, he must be thrilled. “Thanks? I guess.”

They do set up to cut some cheese and put it into bowls, which proves more arduous than Kory had anticipated, what with her nail extensions and all. She’d rather not take an emergency appointment at the salon between Christmas and New Year, thank you very much.

“Don’t tell him I said that, but I worried about him. Between his jobs and the kids, I think he often forgets to just – live, you know? It’s good that he found someone.” Donna smiles at her, and it’s soft and loving. Not for the first time, Kory aches for her own family, halfway across the world. “Especially with the way he talks about you.”

Her eyes widen, just a bit. “He talks about me?”

“Oh, girl, I was only fucking with him earlier. It’s been going on for months now, every time I manage to have him on the phone. Always complaining about how your bonuses are bigger than his and how your boss likes you better, and Kory this, and Kory that. It seriously only was a matter of time before he realised how bad he had it for you.”

Kory finds herself grateful for her dark skin – it definitely helps hiding the blush on her cheeks and how warm her entire face feels all of a sudden. She has a hard time believing Dick would just rant about her to his sister if given the chance, even more so than she has a hard time believing siblings actually still call each other to gossip in 2018. But it’s – cute, almost? Definitely heart-warming. The thought of Dick complaining to Donna about her, over and over again, until it became A Thing, capital letters and all, doesn’t fail to make her smile.

“But seriously though,” Donna goes on as she gathers a bunch of cheese cubes before dumping them into a bowl, “not to be all ‘if you hurt him, I’ll hurt you’ about it but – he’s seen some fucking shit in his life. And I know he can be a pain about, well, basically everything but… be nice to him, okay? Cause I’m strong enough to break a few of your perfectly manicured fingers.”

Kory can’t help but smile at that, even though Donna is dead serious about it. It’s comforting, in a way, that someone is as protective of him as Dick is of his kids, that someone cares about him just enough to make threats about his happiness. It makes Kory long for something long forgotten, left behind in a country she no long calls home.

“Whatever she’s saying, she’s lying,” comes from behind them, the two of them turning around to find Dick standing in the doorway. He looks between her and Donna, before his eyes stop on Kory. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, we’re done. Thanks for the help, Kory.”

Donna grabs both bowls before she walks away, leaving them alone in the kitchen. Dick lets her go, before he moves closer to Kory. She pretends to focus on plucking bits of cheese from under her nails, just so she won’t have to meet his eyes; she doesn’t know if she’s quite able of such a thing right now, not when Donna’s words still ring in her ears.

“Seriously, though. You okay?”

He’s right in front of her now, hand curling around her elbow. Kory has no choice but to look at him, and witness the flash of worry in his eyes as he takes her all in. She feels stupid and childish – like a school girl who suddenly realised that the boy was pulling at her pigtails for months because he actually likes likes her. And she doesn’t know how to react, because maybe she was replying in kind all this time to hide the fact that she likes likes him too. What a concept.

“What are you doing next week?”

He frowns, just a little. “Next week is New Year’s Eve.”

“Yes.” Genius.

Dick frowns some more, looking into her eyes for – something. She doesn’t know what, exactly, but it makes her stomach fluttery all of a sudden with the way he takes a step closer, fingers tightening around her elbow. He’s so close she can see the specks of gold in his eyes, so close her red hair brushes against his face.

And he’s smiling now, one of those real but rare smiles. “Spending the evening with you?”

She might be smiling, too. “Good answer.”

[zooptoopfanworks]

False, Fatal Motif, Pt 2

I posted this to AO3 already, but I compeletely forgot to post it here! Don’t forget to leave some feedback!

One sleepless night later, Judy called in sick for the first time of her career. Not just because she wasn’t motivated to don her police uniform once again, bus also because she felt physically sick. Her heart pounded wildly as she replayed the events of last night in her head over and over again. And every time, once she turned her back on Nick, her stomach somersaulted and threatened to empty its contents. Luckily for her, she hadn’t eaten anything since last night. When she called the chief to inform him, there was a moment of surprise in between. I took the seasoned buffalo a good few seconds to recover from that. Their conversation was brief as he was met with a call on another line. She set her cell phone back on her windowsill and just laid down there. She didn’t move at all, except to use the bathroom and to get a bag of banana chips when she finally caved into her growling stomach. She only ate three chips and left the opened bag on her nightstand.

Her sleep was sporadic and restless, at best. Once her alarm clock sounded off again, she didn’t feel much better than the day before. She convinced herself that calling in sick a second day when she wasn’t really sick would leave a blemish on her reputation, and so found the strength to slip on her police gear and take the train down to the station. She would have to face Nick sooner or later, and it was better it happen sooner than later, where she expected him to be, rather than on the street, where she would be caught unprepared.

“Judy! You must be feeling better!” Clawhauser gleefully squealed when she saw her saunter up to the front desk. His smile faded as she approached. “Whoa, maybe I spoke too soon.”

“I’m fine, Clawhauser.” She mustered the strength to shoot Clawhauser the best fake smile she could manage. “Just... going through some stuff.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” The cheetah tilted his head curiously.

Judy shook her head. “It’s not that important.” She lied, and shuffled off to the bullpen before he could ask any more questions.

Other officers were scattered in their own seats in the bullpen when Judy walked in. A few smiled and nodded their heads politely to acknowledge her, which she returned as enthusiastically as she could. She hesitated when she stood in front of her chair. The chair that she and Nick always shared in the mornings, since that spare chair that was supposed to come in to accommodate for another cop never came in. Not that either of them complained. She took a deep breath and hoisted herself up to the chair and stood up, her eyes gazing down on the empty table to look busy. One by one the other cops came, and Judy’s eyes would always dart to the footpaws of whoever came in. Surprisingly, that morning, Nick’s never entered her view.

Amidst Bogo’s droning off on the morning announcements, something about the company picnic and laying off some officers until finances improve, Judy paid attention long enough to hear she was to work on the case that she and Nick had been working on for the past month, to which she headed back to her desk after Bogo closed his speech. Judy shared a cubicle space with Nick, with her desk facing one wall with his facing the other. Her eyes fell upon Nick’s desk, and it was exactly the way it was last time she saw it. Despite it’s relative disorganization, Judy keenly observed that not a single paper had moved since she last saw his desk. Even the fern, which occupied its own little corner, had its soil dried out.

Nick wasn’t at work either yesterday Judy thought to herself. Hm. I guess I can’t blame him. I called in sick yesterday too. With that she plopped herself down at her own desk and observed the case files closely, keeping her own emotions and memories of last night locked in the back of her mind as best she could. Although multiple times, she caught herself glancing back at his desk to check for that orange fuzzy tail swishing back and forth behind the desk chair, revealing that Nick had snuck into work.

Every time she checked, the desk remained empty.

*  *  *  

Nick’s desk hadn’t changed the next day either. Or the day after that. Or the day after that.

Soon, days turned into weeks, and their case load started to weigh her down. On multiple occasions, Judy considered calling Nick to see why he hasn’t shown up for work. Something about how he still has a job to do, and how both of them can be professional in the workplace. But she never could. Maybe he ran off, maybe he was with that husky, maybe hearing his voice would cause her to lose all composure. Whatever the reason, Judy decided to simply buck up and muscle through it.

Almost a month after her sick day, after a long day of patrolling and reviewing case notes, she heaved a heavy sigh as she pushed the revolving door of the police station. Clawhauser’s cheerful voice usually welcomed her, but this time his voice came in the form of a lowered conversational tone as he was helping another mammal that evening. Judy glanced up to greet Clawhauser, when all of a sudden she froze in her tracks.

It was the husky. The same husky who was with Nick in the photographs. She was a little shorter than Nick’s height. She had gray fur that coated her back with creamy white fur decorating her front. The gray at the top of her head and face contrasted nicely with her icy blue eyes and off white fur. She wore a simple purple dress and a denim jacket that stopped above her stomach, and as much as Judy hated to admit it, she was beautiful, with the kind of body you only see in magazines. She leaned in to talk with Clawhauser.

“I’m just not sure if this is the kind of thing that I should be coming to the police about.” She said. “I don’t want to lead you on a wild goose chase or anything.”

“Not a problem, Miss Fusco.” Clawhauser replied with a smile. “We leave no stone unturned.” He flagged down Judy. “Hey, Judy! Have enough energy to do one last thing for me?”

“Sure. What is it?” Her eyes darted back and forth from the husky to Clawhauser.

“Everyone else is out in the field, and Miss Fusco wants to report something. Ideally, after the day you’ve had, I’d ask someone else, but... Well, there’s no one else. Would you mind, Judy!”

Judy forced herself a smile and shook her head. “No big deal. I got this one.” She turned to the husky. “Follow me, please.”

The pair walked past several empty cubicles before arriving at her own desk, the whole time asking herself what kind of questions she would ask her so she would finally get some answers herself.

She slid Nick’s chair over next to his. “Sit down please.”

She hopped in her own chair and logged in to her computer. “Name, please?”

“Sarah Fusco.” Sarah replied.

Judy tapped away on her keyboard. “I’m sorry...” Sarah smiled warmly, “You’re Judy Hopps, aren’t you?”

She cringed when she heard her say her name, but nodded past that. “Yes, I am.”

She seemed relieved. “My friend Nick told me all about you. He says you’re his partner. ‘In more ways than one.’ His words, not mine.”

“Not so sure about that now...”

“He had nothing bad to say about you, and he absolutely loved...” She beamed.

“Mmmhmm...So you knew about me then?” Judy interrupted, her eyes still not breaking from the screen.

Sarah blinked, confused. “Well... yeah. He told me everything”

“And you still went after him?” Judy’s pent up rage started to crack the dam she built. “Knowing that he was seeing someone else?”

Sarah chuckled uneasily. “Officer, I’m not sure I understand.”

“Then let me put it this way.” She pushed past her desk so her chair spun to face her directly, glaring into the Husky’s eyes. “Stop me if any of this in incorrect. You and Nick are friends. Probably even close friends, the kind you tell things you never tell anyone else. You meet for coffee one day, and before long it becomes a normal thing. The more times you meet, the more you realize that you’re starting to see the fox in front of you as something more than a friend.”

Sarah furrowed her brow. “Now wait just a second...”

Judy remained vigilant. “The same fox tells you all about his life. His childhood, work... you even find out that he’s seeing someone that’s not you.”

Sarah sighed and shook her head. “That’s not...”

“Now, usually, the other party would stave off on the pursuing until either she finds someone else or he becomes available. But not you. You want him, and nothing’s gonna stand in your way.”

Sarah stared at Judy, bewildered, eyes burrowed and teeth bared.

“So tell me, who locked lips with who when it finally happened?”

“Officer, are you accusing me of seducing Nick Wilde?”

“Of course I am!” She screamed, her amethyst eyes burning holes through the husky. “Give me one good reason why that doesn’t make sense!”

“I’m gay, Officer!” Sarah fired back with rage equal to Judy’s.

Whatever anger Judy held, whether it be toward Nick or Sarah in that moment, dissipated, and was replaced with utter shock. “Wait, you...”

“Nick isn’t my type.” Sarah replied, calmer this time, as the corners of her mouth slowly relaxed.”It’s not exactly something I like to broadcast.” She chuckled to herself lightly before muttering, “Didn’t take you for the jealous type.”

Judy plopped down in the chair in front of Sarah, still too bewildered to say anything. Sarah went on.

“If you must know, Nick and I go way back. I first came out in high school. Not of my own choosing, but because someone found out. They bullied me. Relentlessly. Verbally at first… then they spray painted “queer” on my locker… Then it got physical.I would’ve slit my wrists if it weren’t for Nick. He came to me when no one else would. He let me vent, he listened… He was my best friend all throughout high school.We just reconnected a bit ago, but a few weeks, I saw something was bothering him.”

She twiddled with her thumbs a bit. “He never gave me details, but all he would say that his life was falling apart faster than he could mend it back together. I haven’t seen him since, and I’m genuinely concerned for him now. He’s not even answering his phone anymore, and I’ve never been to his place, so I can’t check up on him. Judy, please. Find him and make sure he’s okay.”

Judy nodded silently, then got up. “Excuse me for a moment.” She quickly walked up the stairs to Bogo’s office and rapped her paw on the frosted glass.

“Come in.” Bogo’s voice called from the other side.

His door opened with a creak, and Judy’s feet pattered lightly against the carpet as she made her way inside. Bogo looked up and pursed his lips at her once she made it in. “Hopps. What can I do for you?”

Judy hopped up on one of the chairs in front of Bogo’s desk. “Sir, how many more sick days does Nick have left? I need a gauge as to the next time I see him.”

Bogo glanced up at Judy, brow furrowed, confused. “Sick days? Technically, he has until these budget cuts stop.”

Judy’s ears rose in intrigue. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t understand…”

Bogo stopped writing and set his pen down and removed his glasses to look at her directly. “Hopps, Wilde was one of the cops I had to lay off. I thought you knew that.”

Judy’s ears shot up as she leaned on his desk. “Nick was laid off?!?” She gasped.

Bogo nodded slowly. “I announced that we had to lay some mammals off because of budget cuts a few weeks ago. You were there.”

Judy shook her head violently. “Not exactly there, sir.”

“He took the news surprisingly well. Said he needed some time to think anyways.”

“Why is that?”

“Don’t you read the newspaper, Hopps?”

Bogo dug in his desk and pulled out one of the newspapers from several weeks ago. He flipped to the obituaries and plopped it in front of Judy, so she could read it clearly.

Marian Wilde, a long time resident at Willow Apartments and Suites, passed away in her apartment complex last wednesday. Her body was not found until several days later, as she lived alone and no one knew until then...

“Nick… lost his mother?” Judy gasped.

Bogo nodded silently. “It hit him hard. Since he found out, he hasn’t been himself.”

“Sir, I need his address.”

“How come?”

“I messed up. Big time. Again.”

“You know I can’t hand out personal information like that. Even if it was to another cop.”

Judy sighed defeatedly and plopped down on her chair, glancing off to the side sadly.

After a while, Bogo spoke up again. “The mammal downstairs… the husky… Why was she here?”

Judy looked up at her chief, puzzled. “She wanted to file a missing mammal’s report.”

“And shouldn’t you look into that?” Bogo probed. “The first place you would look would be the mammal’s residence. And any registered mammal should already be in our system…”

Judy’s eyes lit up and she smiled for the first time in a while. “Of course! Thank you sir!” She had sped out of his office before Bogo could properly respond.

*   *   *   

Judy typed madly on her keyboard until Nick’s info finally came up. Sarah looked over her shoulder, curious.

“That’s the place?” Sarah asked, curiously.

Judy nodded. “Seems like it.”

Sarah shook her head. “That can’t be. That building’s scheduled for demolition soon.”

Judy’s eyes shot toward Sarah. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” Sarah confirmed. “Scheduled for about a week from now.” She checked her watch. “I’m way over my break. Please, reach out to me as soon as you find something out about him.” She left her card on Judy’s desk as she left. “Oh, one more thing. Once this whole thing blows over… Could you and me start over? You seem like a really cool person, and I’d hate to be friends with Nick but mortal enemies with his girlfriend.”

Judy chuckled lightly and smiled back at Sarah, sincerely this time. “I should be the one asking you that. But yeah, let’s do that. The three of us will get coffee one day.”

Sarah nodded. “I’d like that. A lot.” With that, she turned down the hallway back toward reception.

Shortly after, Judy ran so fast that she actually passed Sarah coming down the hallway. She had the address, now she needed to get to Nick. She condemned herself for letting her tendency to jump to conclusions cloud her judgement yet again, and she ran through every possible scenario in her head. Finally, She arrived to some form of organized plan that she would follow. She would apologize her butt off. Just like back under the bridge. Then beg for a second chance. Or rather a third chance this time. Not much of a plan, but it was all she had. She hurt him. Again. Arguably worse than she did the first time. It would ultimately be up to him if he still wanted her in his life.

The tires screeched as she stopped in front of the building. It was nearly falling apart. The stone outside was weathered and littered with graffiti, several of the windows were broken, and a putrid scent filled the air. How Nick allowed himself to live here was a mystery to her. Once this was over, she’d help him find a better place. Even if that meant digging into her own pocket.

The door, surprisingly, was unlocked, and she quickly bounded up the steps to Nick’s apartment. She nearly walked right past it because the door was littered with eviction notices, dating back to several months ago. She pounded her fist on the door.

“Nick! Nick, it’s me. I need to talk to you!”

Silence.

“Nick, please! I realize I was wrong. I jumped to a conclusion, even after I promised I’d never do it again! And now it hurt you, at what I now realize could be the crappiest time of your life.” She pounded her fist again. “Let me apologise to your face, you dumb fox! There’s so much more I have to say, and you need to see me so you know it’s sincere!”

More silence.

Judy sighed exasperatedly and flipped the welcome mat over, glad to see that he kept a key under the mat like every other mammal.

“Nick, I’m coming in.”

She twisted the doorknob and crept inside. The apartment itself was as crappy as the outside. It was all one room, leaky ceilings, exposed pipes and wires everywhere… The used to be furniture, as the little dents in the carpet made out, but now it was nearly empty. All except for a moldy mattress, with a familiar body seated on top of it.

“Nick, I know you’re hearing me.” Judy said as she approached. “Wake u….”

Her words were cut short once she got a closer look at the body. Nick lay against the wall, mouth agape, eyes glazed and nearly shut, clad only in boxer shorts, his breathing slow but raggedy. In one hand he held a forty ounce bottle of liquor. It was the other paw, however, that made Judy freeze and her heart sink.

Nick’s fingers barely clenched the empty orange plastic container.