Steps to synchronize (Zootopia fanfic) : 1st step, come to contact
Dedication to Wildehopps week, thanks to @rem289
Sooo I still don’t have posting fanfic site account yet. But that’s not gonna stop me from screaming my obsession towards the dynamic duo. Hope you folks enjoy my first Eng fanfic series.
A red fluffy tail with a dark auburn tip swayed left and right. A fox, a nocturnal mammal himself, was not all alert in the early morning. Therefore, he would rather stroll across the ZPD’s hallway while sipping his coffee. However, he could not help but notice that it was too rowdy for a moment like this. Without further ado, the tod headed to a portly cheetah at the reception desk. Benjamin Clawhauser, the receptionist, greeted him as soon as he clapped eyes on the fox.
“Good morning Wilde~”
“Morning buddy. By the way, why the fuss?”
Nick Wilde, the first fox police officer of ZPD, stopped at the front of the desk and pointed out their surroundings.
“Oh! That reminded me… You might wanna get to Briefing Room quick.”
“Not till my coffee kicks in.”
He yawned and took another sip with eyes half lidded.
“Hopps is already there.”
At that time, Clawhauser saw Nick gulping his coffee down. Luckily, it wasn’t hot or else it would burn his throat, still he coughed as he nearly choked himself from rushing the drink.
“Okay, that hits the spot. Better get going, see you later”
The fox walked off with mock salute. On the cheetah side, he giggled as waving his paw. Throwing an almost empty coffee paper cup in the bin on the side of path, Nick tightened up his tie also sashayed his way into the Briefing room.
“Wilde, you’re here. Great, take you seat.”
As soon as he entered the room, he received the first order of the day from his buffalo captain, Chief Bogo. Nick smirked in response, ready to kick off his day with a little tease.
“Aw Chief, at least greeting would make a decent start of work.”
“Hurry up already!”
“Roger that~”
The tod went to sit down agilely on the same spot, the same chair he shared with his trusty partner, Judy Hopps. Nick greeted a mammal right next to him with sly grin.
“Howdy Doody partner”
“Morning Nick!”
Cheerful as always, the rabbit officer turned her face to meet fox’s gaze. He examined the doe; neat uniform, bright expression and cuteness (according to Nick’s perspective). Then he checked his reflection in her twinkling big round eyes. Mask intact checked, Nick gave his best tempting smile and pointed finger bang both paws at his reflection or so to speak, Judy.
“What was that for?”
Judy inquisitively scrutinized her partner and snorted in amusement.
“Gotta reassure both first officers of certain species look their best.”
“Quit messing around!”
Chief scolded the mischievous officer which seemed like daily routine more or less, so other officers laughed as usual. Nick pretended to zip his mouth and behaved himself. Nonetheless, it was impossible for Nick not to notice that there were not many mammals at that time.
“Okay, I will repeat the case briefly only once. ZPD received an emergency call from a threatened victim who has been harassed by a peculiar culprit apparently having connections with ZIA. In addition, the threat level dramatically shifted when the victim received a threatening letter which stated that the culprit will terrorize an annual event, the Grand Pride Ballroom night. Therefore, we are planning to go undercover in order to protect all participants and secure the place.”
‘Having some agents backing up, I see. No wonder why things kept hidden from cops till issue escalates this much. But with clear menace on specific place and date, that’s more than enough to think of easier solutions than going undercover.’
So many questions had arisen in Nick’s mind. He crossed his arms entire time, paying attention to the case. The fox lifted his paw. After gaining nod in assent from the chief, Nick inquired.
“Ah, who is the victim?”
“You will meet her in private soon. Let me introduce you to her by that time.”
The Cape buffalo replied with an indifferent tone but somehow, Nick found a glimpse of excitement in his supervisor’s stare.
“Hmm”
‘Guess, all my doubts will be cleared by asking the mammal directly, huh?’
Pushing his curiosity aside for moments, the tod put his both paws behind his head.
“Now, everyone’s on the same page, dismissed!”
Making some noise, all the officers in the Briefing room were leaving, so does bunny and fox duo. However, before they could go anywhere, they halted when Chief Bogo commanded them.
“Hopps, Wilde, follow me.”
They jumped down the chair and followed chief to a door on the side of the room, not the one on the back that general officers usually used. The fox whispered to his partner walking next to him. Hopefully, the buffalo did not catch a curious nature of his.
“Hey Carrots, where are we going?”
“Interview room… the victim’s waiting there.”
Judy responded softly, using the same tone as Nick. He continued conversing tenderly.
“I love surprise and everything, still it would be better if at Ieast, I knew who our interviewee is.”
“I don’t really know who she is. I’m counting on you, Mr. Know Everyone.”
The fox sniggered as he faced away from a rabbit’s frisky stare. Shortly afterwards, he sensed the urge to tease the naïve rabbit a bit.
“For this going undercover mission, do you think we will have to dress up, stand around and wait on a sidewalk at night?”
“Nick!”
“Ahem…”
The doe hissed. Fortunately, these two rooms were not far from one another, hence they reached their destination before they could prolong a conversation further, yet Chief Bogo felt the need to remind them to stay professional as he cleared his throat. Since everything seemed to settle down even though Judy pouted slightly at Nick who appeared to enjoy himself, Chief opened a door to enter the Interview room, followed by the other two.
“Good morning officers.”
A slender chestnut haflinger mare with white mark on the forehead, pale mane and tail stood up and greeted. She was wearing a gold long sleeve off-the-right-shoulder tops and a dark red wide leg trousers.
“Good morning Ms. Boeriz. Here are Officer Judith Hopps and Officer Nicholas Wilde. Hopps, Wilde… This is Ms. Cherisse Boeriz, a professional ballroom dancer and event organizer.”
The buffalo gestured to his subordinates and a guest, introducing respectively. Both sides nodded then took the seats. Nick and Judy sat opposite to the horse while Chief Bogo sat kitty-corner from the guest. The rabbit was aware that this mammal in front of her is celebrity but she still did not have that many clues because she never had interest in professional dancing or organizing events. Thereby, she looked at Nick, wonder her partner would know, which was right, Nick knew Ms. Cherisse Boeriz or Cherry Boeriz, a famous ballroom dance athlete and a host of the Grand Pride Ballroom night.
“Excuse me…”
Ms. Boeriz was abased from speaking up at first although it was obvious that she had a silvery voice.
“It might sound really weird and inappropriate under this circumstance… it’s truly such an honor to meet the heroes who saved Zootopia!”
“Oh no no, I’m no hero… I’m not worthy of such compliment…”
Judy hastily protested. Her words became quieter each moment.
‘It was partly my fault anyway…’
The memory of the night howler case rewound. The guilt was coming back soon she recalled how chaotic it was after the press conference… how she damaged society… how she hurt hers…
‘Those droopy ears again… You bunnies really are emotional.’
The fox glanced at his partner, rapidly capturing her body language. He shifted his pupils to focus on a mammal in front of him.
“You look so gorgeous, Ms. Boeriz, even without the makeup and those elegant dresses.”
“You are flattering me, Officer Wilde.”
The horse lifted her hoof to lightly touch her own face which flushed red at the fox’s compliments. Nick added
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you today as well. We’re at your service, Madam.”
“About that… I apologize for bothering you officers but please help me.”
Boeriz’s expression was altered, tensing up, leading to Judy able to pull herself together and concentrate on the mare. Meanwhile,
‘Not bad, Wilde’
Bogo sincerely praised Nick inside his mind, undeniably impressed how the fox handled the situation after noticing his partner’s reaction. He changed the subject and smoothly got back to the job, the simplest way to distract Officer Hopps from her own anguish by helping her focus at work.
“He’d kept asking me out but I’ve rejected all his invitations. He’d hit on me harder and harder. I’ve attempted to request for assist; however, nothing worked… He certainly can conceal almost everything. I can’t stand any longer when I was given a letter, he insisted if I won’t dance with him and accept his proposal during this upcoming Grand Pride Ballroom event, he will make sure I gonna regret it. Therefore, today I approach you straightforwardly.”
Listening attentively, the duo learned more details about the case directly from the victim. They diverted their gaze to Chief. Understanding what was implied, he informed.
“At present, we’ve collected the letter as an evidence.”
They nodded. The doe was the first who reverse her attention to Boeriz.
“You’ve been saying it’s ‘he’, so you know who’s threating you?”
“Yes, I don’t desire to accuse him, yet I’m convinced, it must be Mr. Ralph Poulon.”
Boeriz mentioned a name Judy did not recognize. She averted her eyes from the horse to the fox, her cyclopedia of Mammals in Zootopia.
“He is a haflinger stallion, a director in a few big corporates’ board committee. No surprise we’re dealing with a guy got hook-ups.”
Nick crossed his arms, replying a question Judy had in mind without making eye contact as though he could read her thought. Nick hesitated; nonetheless, he interrogated Boeriz in the end.
“Ms. Boeriz, would it be better if you cancel this year event?”
“No! I mean… I know how dangerous it can be… even so… even I sound so selfish, I do not want the grand pride ballroom night get cancel! Not a single year…”
“It must mean a lot to you.”
Yelling unawarely, the horse became uneasy whereas the anxiety reflected in her eyes. The rabbit sympathized with her, showing empathy in her tone. On the fox’s side, he finally perceived why it was chosen to go through rather inconvenient plan like going undercover.
“Ah, Ms. Boeriz, you are single, correct? Why did you reject Ralph Poulon since the first place?”
“…”
“Oh! I’m sorry! But you were doing right thing. Better not hang around with a crazy stud like that! Ha ha…”
The doe laughed nervously after accidentally asking question by pure curiosity. She did not wish to provoke the mare’s worry any further. Shortly afterwards, Chief Bogo found an opportunity to proceed the true reason of this meeting.
“Okay, let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Ms. Boeriz, you’ve already known we will send our officers to both inside and outside of the ballroom event in order to insure against dangers. Your cooperation is highly appreciated.”
“I’ve organized the Grand Pride Ballroom night every single recent year including this year too, so I know all the layouts. I can provide you info about the timing and place.”
“Thank you. Furthermore, we need the invitation cards for our undercover officers to attend the event like normal participants and dancers. And speaking of dancers, Hopps, please tell Francine, Wolford that they’re selected be disguised ballroom dancers.”
“Noted, just two?”
Judy showed V sign, tilting her head sideways.
“Actually, it’s four, including Wilde and you.”
“What!? Why?”
The doe exclaimed when chief dropped the bomb. The buffalo merely contemplated the rabbit. He raised an eyebrow then declared.
“I thought you agree on this mission.”
“Yes sir…, as participant, I had no clue I gonna be dancer.”
“Well, we intend to cover all the fields possible. Unfortunately, we lack of female officers, so we have to fill you in. Suppose you understand.”
“… Yes sir”
The bunny frowned and avoided eye contact, staring down at the floor. The tod budged himself closer to his partner.
“C’mon Carrots, do it for the team. You can’t expect Chief to wear a dress and fill that role for you… even if he wants to.”
“Watch your mouth, Wilde.”
Bogo sent Nick intimidating aura. The fox grinned fearlessly despite the scare bubbling inside him. That gained a few chuckles from Boeriz. In the meantime, Judy was still concerned.
- .-. .- -. ... .. - .. --- -. ...
In the lonely evening, a Line Up room was occupied. A grey doe wearing a sky blue seamless v-neck T-shirt and navy leggings was swaying back and forth, side to side while an online waltz dancing instruction video was being played from a phone lying next to her. This particular Line Up room she chose suited all sizes of mammals. Consequently, the room was big enough for multiple elephants and a one-way mirror’s bottom edge was low enough for little rodents. There was plenty of room- plus the huge mirror, an acceptable substitute for a dance studio. The rabbit checked her reflection. Both arms were raised to shoulder height, right stretched straight to the side, left bent frontward. She peeked over her feet standing close together. Feeling tense, she sighed and crouched on the floor. The doe slipped a quiet murmur.
“This is ridiculous…”
“Suspect number 1, step forward.”
The familiar voice through a loudspeaker startled her. Judy leapt then stood still like she got paralyzed as her nose twitched swiftly. The door opened, someone coming in.
“You don’t look suspect-ish per se but you ‘hopps’ around alone here, that’s kinda suspicious. Don’t you agree?”
The mammal who walked in made a bad pun which brought the doe sinking down into deeper embarrassment because that clarified the identity of her guest very well.
“What are you doing here, Nick?”
“See, I found lady bunny wandering in the Line Up room, so I wonder what she’s guilty of.”
The fox closed the door behind him. He ambled along, putting his paws in his pockets. The doe observed her partner. He had taken off a regular uniform, revealing a ZPD T-shirt and putting on a sweatpants instead.
“I get that I use this room without a permission but the mission is right around the corner, insufficient time and fund for picking up a dancing class. This is an expedient solution I figured out.”
Her voice wavered. Judy scooped the phone to press a pause then hastily pocketed it, unaware of Nick’s approach.
“Self-learning is admirable but when it comes to dancing, it’s not simple. May I?”
Before the bunny could response, the reynard grabbed the hold of her right paw to his left paw. Her right fingers were placed between his left thumb and first finger. Facing each other, his right arm sloped slightly downwards from shoulder to elbow and lifted her left arm to rest on his right arm, placing his right paw comfortably on her left shoulder blade.
“Yoo-hoo, don’t leave that much gap, Carrots. I won’t bite.”
“Whoa!”
Nick abruptly hauled Judy in, sealing the distance between them. Her cheek bumped against his chest in the process. Being a rabbit herself, her sensitive ears caught his heart beat little bit faster. Judy withdrew her head as she looked up to Nick smirking cunningly.
“Much better~ Your well-built frame gives you a good start. Thus, all you need is a decent mentor.”
“What’s up with-?”
“Lesson 1 relax and follow my lead”
The tod’s lecture cut off the doe. He stepped his left foot forward resulting in her to go back with the right foot to avoid the fox treading on hers. She automatically went side with the left, soon followed by the tod’s right foot then both closed left and right simultaneously. The doe’s ears flicked, once the tod began to move again. She tried to watch his feet movement but her concentration was dragged by a teasing tone.
“Oy! Don’t look down.”
“How I gonna see where you are going if I don’t look at you.”
Judy protested instantly. On the other paw, Nick remained composed.
“You are stressing yourself, Ma’am. You must relax and focus on your surroundings.”
Judy was irritated that Nick acted omniscient. Nevertheless, she admitted Nick had far more experiences than her. She beckoned to him as a sign of affirmation. They repeated the moves, fox’s right leg and bunny’s left leg, opened the fox’s left and the bunny’s right to the side, drew the fox’s right and the bunny’s left in, then closed while Nick was counting ¾ time tempo. Judy was apparently amazed by her partner’s skill.
“I’ve never known you can dance.”
“When you were working for the classy crime boss, you eventually picked up one or two things.”
That emphasized the fact that Nick was ex-con-artist who used to fall in with Mr. Big. The doe somewhat could fantasize the tod suiting up fancily alongside the leader of mafia gang, arranging Gala Night, not the bloodshed one possibly.
“Pardon me, Carrots. Would you mind I ask why practice dancing? I mean… no one will blame you if you dance poorly.”
“It’s a part of a job…My duty… I wanna try my best.”
“Try everything huh? How cute?”
“Don’t call me cute!”
The rabbit yelled but not with pure frustration. There was something else mixed in her display indicated by the blush hidden under her facial fur.
“You are stepping on my foot. Off, off, off.”
The tod’s words made the doe perceive that she unintentionally trampled on his foot. She quickly took her foot off from his.
“I’m sorry!”
“That wasn’t on purpose, was it?”
“Of course not.”
Both had sustained the dance hold. Judy was astonished that they had been practicing so smoothly, barely interrupted. Nick determined to tease his a tiny bit.
“Since you’ve learned so fast, shall we spice thing up?”
“Spice wha-Eek!?”
Unprepared, Judy was swung clockwise half-turn. She, losing her balance, spread a left foot, toe tapping on the floor. She leaned backward, a heel stomped. A noise of steps echoed, not just one but two footsteps in harmony. Nick’s right foot trod near Judy’s left, tip of his toes touching tip of her toes. His right paw supported her back firmly. Judy blinked at the fox’s figure, bathed by the LED light before being drawn back to stand straight and closed their feet.
“Pretty impressive, Darlin’.”
“The heck, Nick!?”
“Chill out~ No more unforeseen spin.”
The bunny pouted as she resumed following the reynard’s lead. She did not need to look at his feet to chase after his movement most of the time, just staring in those emerald gaze.
“Hey Carrots, remember what you asked Cherry Boeriz earlier?”
“You mean ‘why she’s rejected Ralph Poulon’? Yeah, it was so inappropriate.”
“Hold on. I’m not here to lecture you about propriety. I got the answer for you.”
“Wow! What is it?”
“Because she’s already in relationship.”
“Eh? How do you know that?”
“I don’t know… but I feel it.”
“That’s so half-baked, Slick.”
“Ouch~ how dare you insult my hustler instinct I’ve sharpened over decades.”
Giggling, she soon realized she did not feel agitated anymore and assured that hers, Nick, was truly remarkable.