And just like that, a YEAR was coming to an END.
For Officer Judy Hopps, the arrival of a dawning year was often associated with unyielding positives, new beginnings that awaited her for the next 365 days and achieved accomplishments from the 365 days that long preceded, looking back with no small degree of earned pride and facing forward with immeasurable anticipation.
Yet, CURIOUS as the day that she had her eyes open to the city that did not quite match the idealized society she had envisioned in her youth yet surpassed her hopes and expectations in its own unique way, profound as the moment that she had decided to place her trust and faith in a sly fox who proved to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy —— and not to mention a very important friend ( but don’t tell HIM that ), it is on this particular eve that Judy Hopps finds that she is more somber than excited, reflective of her honorable work and harrowing trials, from months she braved the training as a police recruit to solving a mammal conspiracy originating from the last ewe she expected in the streets of Zootopia to today — tonight — illuminated by the evening lights of Sahara Square, surrounded by prey and predator alike, from the tallest animal to the smallest rodent, who have all come together to watch and wait for the countdown of the impending new year ( and listen to a performance and an all-new single from the one and only GAZELLE ).
But in spite of the spectacular entertainment, the mirth and cheer of friends and fellow citizens, the company and sarcastic banter of her partner in crime, and the city that she loves, the initial starstruck exhilaration of the night’s festivities wanes with each coming hour as she wanders through the mass of spectators, catching the occasional glimpse of Clawhauser partying the night away to his antithesis in the form of her neighbors Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson, both of whom cling to the corner of the crowd with blunt honesty and keen dissatisfaction. But she forgets these visions of Zootopians, of her ecstatic, doughnut-loving cheetah friend and other co-workers; she even forgot only a few hours ago Nick had been not-so-subtly dropping obviously halfhearted lines jokes of needing a mammal to kiss when the COUNTDOWN hits midnight. It bothers her — the introspection, the lack of her wide-eyed and grinning mood. Is it because so much has changed in so little time? Is she apprehensive for a future she once could not wait for? She doesn’t know, grasping for an answer she cannot seem to reach. Only when a familiar paw finds her petite shoulder does the LOOMING CLOUD over her thoughts vanish.
❝ —— Carrots, there you are! ❞ A twinge of relief is masked by Nick Wilde with a laid-back smile and an arch of a quizzical brow. He is not emotional; only bunnies are.
❝ ... Nick? Oh! ❞ A sliver of regret washes over ashen-grey features. How could she have left him by himself? It was ZPD’s first bunny cop who invited its first fox cop ( and the rest of the precinct ) to the event in the first place, and despite Nick’s highly exaggerated claims of being ‘ a very busy fox ’ and needing to check his non-existent schedule, he had come right on time all the same.
❝ Look, I know bunnies gotta hop, but you really ought to tell a guy... ❞ Any words he might have said fail to leave his muzzle, once he gets a good look at her and doesn’t like what he sees. ❝ What’s with the long face? ❞
Aaand he NOTICED. Because of course, he would. ❝ What long face? There’s no long face! My face happens to be round, thank you. Maybe a look too round on the cheeks, but —— ❞ And now she’s laughing and rambling to mask her ill-timed melancholy. Of course, and right on cue, Nick would notice THAT too.
But he eases up on her. It isn’t like him to be openly concerned. Whatever worries the fox might have felt ( and would have denied he did feel ) are woven in easygoing spiel. ❝ It’s New Years Eve, Carrots. Live a little! Is somebody getting a case of the bunny blues? ❞
Planting a hand on her hip, Judy rolls her eyes. ❝ Not everything I do is EXCLUSIVE to bunnies. ❞
❝ Could’ve fooled me. ❞ He smiles, his features softening a little, if a certain bunny knew where to look. ❝ So, why the long face and the not-bunny blues? ❞
Why, indeed. And why, even more so, does the answer come to so easily once the bunny is in the fox’s PRESENCE, rather than off on her own? ❝ So much happened this year, Nick. And the year before that too — following my dream, coming to Zootopia, solving our first case, meeting everyone, meeting you... ❞ Purple irises cast a warm glance at him with an easy shrug of her shoulders before she looks down. ❝ It wasn’t perfect. A lot of bad things happened too, but it was the good things, the things we worked hard on and never stopped believing in, that made it all WORTHWHILE. Maybe that’s why I’m in the ‘ bunny blues. ’ ❞ Cue her little paw air quotes and all. ❝ I don’t know what to expect now or wait for. Everything I’ve ever wanted, it’s come true. ❞
❝ Then DON’T expect anything, ❞ Nick replies as if it was the most simplest question to answer in the world. ❝ Don’t wait for it too. Your dream came true, so look for new dreams. I bet you can think of a couple. I didn’t expect to be a cop, but look at me now. ❞ He flashes a grin as he shows off his uniform. ❝ That’s all thanks to you. ❞
Judy could not help but smile as she shakes her head, floppy ears lowering a little. ❝ Nick... Give yourself some credit. You worked so hard to get where you’re at, and I wouldn’t even BE here without you. Bogo would have given me the hoof if you hadn’t spoken up when I almost gave up my badge. That’s all thanks to you. ❞
❝ We help each other, ❞ he reassures her, proudly, fondly. ❝ Isn’t that what PARTNERS do? ❞
And just like that, the melancholy is gone. Just by one word from Nick Wilde. Her smile then widens earnestly. Really, she could not argue with that.
A tender moment that feels like it could have gone for an eternity passes once a booming ‘ TEN, NINE, EIGHT ’ reverberate in both of their ears that shoot to the sky. ❝ The countdown! ❞ they shout in unison. And already the pair are hurrying, scrambling through the mass of mammals, moving past paws and fur and hind legs and tails as they try to find a good spot to see the dome fall. The numbers dwindle effortlessly, and by the time it hits ‘ THREE, TWO ONE, ’ the fox has the bunny hoisted over her shoulders so she may see as well. And the view is truly a sight to behold. Fireworks explode and scatter across the night sky, enveloping the city she loved in beautiful, iridescent light. Jubilant cheers and shouts of ‘ Happy New Year! ’ are heard from near and far and everywhere, all in joy of celebrating the new year.
If it had not been for a certain fox who she once could not have pictured as anything other than a hustling, sly fox up to no good, then Judy Hopps might not have been HERE, embracing the new year alongside him.
With a smile, she plants a small kiss on his cheek. She might as well partake in a bit of New Years tradition, and since she is on his shoulders, he happens to be easier for her to reach. She will probably regret this later ( good thing THIS can’t be recorded on her carrot pen... ), and maybe Nick would rather be celebrating with a pretty vixen, but the bunny supposes that her wily compatriot would just have to settle for his partner tonight. Luckily for her, the fox doesn’t seem to mind. A pause leaves him jaw slacken before his muzzle eases into a smile.
❝ Happy New Year, Carrots. ❞
Judy Hopps isn’t sure what awaits her in this year or what new beginnings to anticipate, but already she could FEEL it. She knows without a doubt in her mind:
It is going to be a good year.
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