FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"What?!" Judy exclaimed, her long ears falling to press against her back.

"I said no, I'm not interested. I have something planned tonight. Sorry Carrots." Nick had refused the offer to tag along with Agent Savage, and his partner for the life of her just could not understand his reasoning.

"But... But-" she started to protest, the minute Jack had offered the little job shadow of sorts she had been ecstatic, and had to admit she rather liked the picture that came to mind of her and her vulpine partner on some dangerous adventure (while conspicuously blocking out the part that involved any sort of use of deadly force).

"Hey, don't worry about it one bit. It's just an offer, I get it totally if you don't want to get involved. Obviously it would be one of the less exciting jobs anyway. Kinda like the sort of thing you guys do for PR in the police department." Jack put a much-too-small paw around Nick's back, pulling him away from Judy's quivering features and twitching nose gently, prompting him toward the door. "I'll probably see you some other time too, with those kind of scores I don't think it's above my station to give you a preemptive 'pass' on the initial weapons test. Good work, and you really must tell me your secret some time."

Nick had seemed somewhat apologetic, bordering on hesitant to refuse, but the charismatic male bunny ushered him away quickly, reassuring him that he had made the right decision. "Yeah, thanks. I'd hate to stand someone up, no matter how cool the opportunity might be."

Judy's ears went from flat to perked at that, but certainly not in her usual cheery cute way. Unfortunately, it was too late to question her partner any more, Jack was already showing him out the door and sending him on his way for the rest of his work-free day... and whatever came after.

By the time the Special Agent had returned, she was absolutely fuming. "That stupid fox! I'm so sorry Mr. Savage-" the other bunny held up a hand, but she kept going, "I mean, this is like one of the most interesting things to happen since the Bellwether case! The fact that he doesn't even care about participating-"

"Officer Hopps!"

Judy squeaked as she was cut off by the taller rabbit, silencing herself immediately.

Jack smiled at her, chuckling gently. "I don't think that you should worry about it. He can be his own fox you know, and he did say that he has plans for tonight. I actually didn't expect him to accept anyway. He really did not like me much at all, unless I was reading his body language wrong. Vulpines can be a bit difficult in that regard."

Judy frowned, turning to face her current superior. "You noticed that too? I don't know many people who can really tell when they get to Nick besides me..."

Agent Savage nodded, shrugging.

The smaller bunny pursed her lips. "Not only that, but we do like everything together. He never told me anything about tonight, I mean what could he even have planned?" She admitted that she was thinking out loud, but didn't care. At this point, she was still a bit shocked by her sudden separation from her favorite fox.

Jack chuckled again, patting her back. "Oh, I think that's pretty clear. You can tell when they're in heat, you know? They get all strange and unfocused. Happens to Skye all the time. Err, well once a year really, but that happens to be right around now. Of course, another good indicator is just how fast she started to warm up to your buddy there. Especially when he started nailing those tests. She always has had a thing for guys with guns." He let himself speak a little more freely than he may usually, but he didn't mind just as Judy didn't.

However, Judy certainly _did _mind what was being insinuated between her partner and the Arctic Fox that was somewhere in the back room right now organizing bullets as well as potentially his plans for the evening. She tried her best to convince herself otherwise. "I... don't really think he's seeing anyone right now or anything. And I mean, he's not the kind of fox that would do that. He needs to find the right girl, you know?"

Jack smiled at her. "You haven't ever met a fox in heat then. And is that so? I should toss Skye his number then, they'd be cute together, don't you think?"

"No!" Judy exclaimed angrily and immediately covered her mouth.

The rabbit agent standing beside her gave her an amused smile. "Mh. Maybe not. I think he already gave it to her when you were on the range."

The police officer's ears burned a bright red, but she didn't say anything, burying how much the gentle teasing really was getting to her.

"Either way," Jack dismissed the subject with a quick wave of his hand and a slight drop of his charming smile, "that actually brings us to what I was going to ask you to help me with. The agency wants me to attend an early screening of the newest project, it's a semi-private event that I didn't volunteer to show up to right away, but since the rest of the cast is going to be there command figures it'll look funny if I don't."

Judy's attention was immediately diverted. "Wait, let me get this straight... You're inviting me to an advance screening of-"

"Skyfowl, yes." Jack seemed to be remarkably pleased with himself as the bunny in front of him nearly exploded.

"Well of course I want to see it! I mean I've been aching to watch it, Nick and I were gonna go see it opening day, I was even gonna preorder tickets and everything!" She failed to remember how much her partner had been looking forward to that particular event in her excitement.

Jack beamed at her praise, then again the look faded for a moment. "Only problem is, everyone will recognize you, so you can't be like a bodyguard or anything combative. Skye was telling me that a good disguise for you might be as, well, part of my... entourage."

The bunny cop was listening, her ears twitching slightly as he said that. The way that he mentioned Skye's involvement sounded somewhat disingenuous, but she couldn't really be sure. He was a good actor after all. "So like, your driver or something?"

The actor frowned, scratching his neck. "No, actually I was thinking more... a date?"

Judy froze, blinking as her eyes widened slightly at that request. She laughed nervously. "Alright, funny joke Savage..." she laughed again, staring at him.

Jake gave a halfhearted smile back, something that really didn't fit well on his face. It looked like broken glass against the usually incredibly attractive features that made up his visage. "Uh... well, yeah. I mean like just as a disguise." He coughed uncomfortably. "Otherwise this would be... erm, massively unprofessional." He coughed again.

Judy's ears began to burn as she noticed the strange reaction, pushing it to the back of her mind. "Of course I'd do that! I mean, getting to see a movie with, well, you in it early? Plus, getting all dressed up is something I don't get to do very often."

The Special Agent perked up slightly at her response and praise, pushing his front paws into his pockets. He gave a genuine smile this time, nodding to himself. "Right. Meet you at your place, eight tonight?"

"Oh, sugar..." Judy checked her phone. It was already seven o'clock and she hadn't figured out what to wear yet for the night's event. She was dressed in a short red gown that cut off just below her knees diagonally that she'd rented on the way home. "Great work Hopps, you look like a boy in this thing. I mean, where did these even go?" She cupped her admittedly modest chest. Sure she wasn't the bustiest of girls, but she preferred that her wardrobe not painfully admit that fact to the world.

She thought for a moment about asking Nick what he thought would be appropriate, but her mood soured slightly again as she remembered his refusal to tag along on the small operation. He was probably busy destroying some hot vixen right now, and she couldn't even dress herself. The rabbit kicked viciously at the leg of her bed, immediately regretting her decision. Metal is a good bit more sturdy than paws are, it turns out.

"Owww..." she moaned, nursing her newly stubbed toes. Why was she so worried about this anyway? Jack had asked her on as a gesture of goodwill, not as an actual date or anything. Then again, maybe that's why she was so worried. If she didn't look good the public might not buy that he was actually on a date with her, she could blow his cover wide open. Her pondering was interrupted by her phone ringing on the bedside table she had set up. It was her parents, and she relished the excuse to stop worrying for a moment about her dress.

"Hey! Good to see you mom, dad!"

Bonnie's ears sprung into frame before her face did, and she nodded quickly. "It's great to see you too Judy! How have you been? And are you still planning on visiting?"

Stu butted into the picture after a few moments, keeping the pace of the conversation at its usual lightning speed. "Oh, and how are you and the big guy getting along? Remember, you might like him, but that fox-away stuff really is great! Not gonna kill him or anything after all, just in case he gets a little too riled up with-"

"Mom, dad!" The officer secretly adored the distraction. "Thank you. And I'll probably visit sometime over the coming weeks. I've got a few vacation days built up and can take one so that maybe I could stay for a whole weekend or something." She made a bit of a face as she addressed the next issue. "And I'm not doing anything with him dad. He's on a date right now or something. I don't really care." She didn't seem to convince even herself with that, an attempt at detached dismissal sounding more like total depression than anything else.

Bonnie pursed her lips, wringing her hands. "Oh Judy, your dad and I know how that can feel, I mean breakups sometimes can be really hard, but you should know that there's always more fish in the sea!" She gave what was supposed to be an encouraging swing of her arm as she said the last line, but Judy cut her off before she could really finish it.

"We're not dating, mom! We aren't and never have been. I don't know what has you two so convinced about us being together, but it's certainly not happening. I know you guys would prefer it that way anyway..."

Stu cringed a bit as his daughter trailed off, but responded nonetheless. "Well... maybe there's someone out there for you a little more... I don't know, close to home?"

The bunny cop didn't want to let that one go, but talking about the issue was only making her feel worse and worse. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? "Whatever. Maybe." Her ears dropped, she looked rather similar to when she had left the city during the nighthowler case, absolutely despondent. Her parents started to move to comfort her, but before they could say anything her ears perked to about half-mast and she continued. "Either way, I've got some work to do tonight..." her ears continued to rise as she talked, thoughts swinging her back from the edge.

She slowly patted back her ears gently, trying to make sure she looked her best as she remembered tonight's engagements. "You two would never guess who I was tested by today for the firearms course!" She was smiling again, so her parents didn't want to address her previous mood and potentially bring her back to it.

Stu seemed to cringe just a bit as she mentioned the word 'firearms'. "You had a firearms course, Jude...?"

The rabbit officer took that as a good enough prompt to break her news, which had the added benefit of smothering her father's endless worrying over the dangers of her profession. "Yeah, but the guy who ran it was_ Jack Savage_." She was beaming now, the memory of her hero pushing everything else out of her mind.

Bonnie's paws came up to cover her mouth in surprise. "The actor? What was he doing with the police?"

"Oh, you won't believe this, he's not just-" then, a thought occurred to her. Maybe Jack actually being a secret agent wasn't exactly supposed to be public knowledge, "-an actor, he helps out with all the local police forces and stuff! Apparently he has to learn about the weapons a lot for his movies, so he's useful to have around. Who would have thought that, hm?"

Her mother nodded, Stu following suit. "Well that's certainly something you don't see every day, y'know. Did you get an autograph or anything?"

"No mom, he was there to do a job, I didn't want to bother him. Either way," she cut off her parents before they could shoot back into the conversation, "I'm going with him tonight to an early screening of Skyfowl!"

Bonnie looked to Stu and back to her daughter on the screen in some disbelief. "He just up and invited you?" She was incredulous.

Her father butted in finally, "Jude that's amazing!"

"Now you better wear something nicer than that outfit missy, you'll probably be around a lot of celebrities and not to mention-"

"Jack Savage! Our daughter with what might be the best-known bunny in the business! I gotta say Judy, that's quite the score."

"Now Judy, did you bring it up or did he? Oh, I'm sure it was him, he's such a gentlemammal really if the papers were right about-"

"Just think Bonnie, our daughter going out with a movie star! I gotta say Jude, I knew that you were gettin' kinda famous off the big case ya just did, but this is a bit more than even I expected. And plus, he's a rabbit just like you! Isn't that wonderful?"

Bonnie nodded quickly. "Oh it is! We're so proud of you, you know."

Judy was having trouble keeping up with the conversation, her parents could be pretty rapid-fire when they got going. She decided now might be a good time to step in. Her ears were slightly burning at her mother's assumptions, but that didn't stop her from somewhat enjoying the idea of them. "It's just as a friend mom, he needs someone to tag along with him to the show." Her mother didn't look very convinced, but the officer continued before she could be cut off again. "And you're right... I can't find anything good to wear honestly." Her ears shifted again.

Bonnie stopped for a moment, frowning. "We have so many nice spring dresses back at home that you refused to take with, you know."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I didn't really expect to be going to any royal galas though, mom."

Her mother thought for a moment, Stu looking rather clueless behind her but willing to stay in frame for the moment. "Are there not any places you might be able to buy anything nice around you?"

The rabbit felt her ears burn slightly. "Yeah... I... actually rented this one from a place nearby." She mentally kicked herself for the hasty decision she had made.

Bonnie shook her head. "Oh Judy, that just won't do. I mean, not to be rude at all of course, you really do look better in blue, your uniform certainly fits you ya know."

The bunny cop frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, how long do you have, dear?"

Judy checked her phone. A half-hour now, and she hadn't even touched her fur yet. "Uh... no time. Quick, how do I make this look good?" She had resolved not to panic, but time had moved much more quickly than she liked.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "I guess what I'm trying to say, Judy, is that maybe you should just wear your uniform? People might think you're in costume, and it really does look nice on you!"

The ill-dressed rabbit on the other end of the line nearly facepawed. "Thanks mom..." she groaned. She had no clue as to when showing up as a cop would ever go over well with the public in such a situation, but she was desperate at this point. "If you insist..." she finally offered, "either way, I really have to get going mom, dad. Love you, bye!" Sure, she might have cut them off a little quickly, but that was nearly a Hopps family tradition at this point.

Judy tore her dress off as quickly as she could without damaging it and incurring any additional fees. She looked to the tiny wardrobe she had improvised from a shower curtain bar and a few hangers, pulling her dress uniform on and inspecting herself in the mirror on the back of her door again. She looked okay in it, and her stab vest was padded enough around the chest to rather comfortably cover up her... deficiencies. Still, she wasn't so sure about this. The rabbit gave herself a half-nervous laugh that sounded almost more like a pained yelp, quickly dashing out and to the communal bathroom to make sure she didn't have any bits of fur sticking up wrong.

The half hour moved much too quickly to the rabbit and she dashed back to her room, doing her best to act casual and as if she wasn't just scrambling for her life. It was somewhat strange to Judy when she heard a knock on her door a minute later. Whoever it was, they were perfectly on time. Normally all of her engagements started just a little later than expected with Nick.

She sprung off her bed, quickly moving to the entrance and opening it for... oh dear.

Jack savage was awaiting her. He was dressed in a dark black suit jacket and pants, a white undershirt and red tie accompanying his gray fur. The agent smiled at her, a genuine look that despite her less-than-formal garb stuck around. "Hello Officer Hopps, now I must say, I didn't expect you to come in costume." He raised an eyebrow, but suddenly his smile grew a bit more excited.

Judy nodded, pursing her lips. "Yeah, I'm really sorry! I just got here a few months ago and haven't really moved my nicer dresses to the city... or really owned any in the first place. Not much around Bunnyburrow that needed any better than business casual!" she laughed nervously again, but the male rabbit was already pulling her out the door.

"Don't even mention it, you just gave me an idea... we might be a little late."

Jack's house was even more impressive than his very expensive sports car, and Judy had to take a moment to remember that not only was he a world-famous actor, but also received a government salary that was hard to match in any other department. He had driven them there rather quickly, joking along the way that Hopps might even give him a speeding ticket. She wouldn't have to, he was apparently just careful enough to keep under the limit. She appreciated that, as a cop she'd seen one too many needlessly dead mammals.

The Special Agent could be spotted again as he quickly dashed out of his door, Judy still had no clue what his 'idea' was, but she did know that they were supposed to be there a half-hour before the movie started and they were already five minutes late. Jack rushed to the car, and his partner for the night's eyes widened. He was wearing a full combat uniform that she'd only ever seen in movies, covered from head to toe in armored plates and arctic camouflage, complete with a white beret. His eyes were full of a sort of youthful joy that was hard to find these days, but she could tell he tried to cover it up with his usual charisma as he slid back into the driver's seat. "How do I look?" he flashed her a playful grin as he started the car, pulling out and beginning the journey to the theater, this time not quite following the laws so strictly.

Judy felt her ears burn, she was beginning to get over the initial shock of being with Jack Savage still. "Great, honestly. Still, was this your big idea?" She checked him up and down, observing every detail of his outfit and committing it to memory.

Jack chuckled and nodded. "I liked your costume idea actually, whether or not that was really your intention. So, I'm wearing one of my outfits from shooting days. Err, shooting of the movie, not mammals. Strictly speaking, I'm impersonating an officer in the military right now, which is something totally illegal, but I massively outrank anyone who could call me out on it." He was grinning, the GPS built into the car listing them as only a kilometer away now.

The bunny cop blushed a bit again, turning away to try not to let it show. "Well I gotta say your designer certainly did an awfully good job..." she mumbled, trying to push anything unprofessional out of her mind.

The million-dollar car pulled into a small U created by the road near the theater. A crowd of reporters and adoring fans awaited, lights already blinding Judy through the tinted windows. What did they all care about the car? Jeez. She had had to deal with paparazzi before, but not to this extent. The crowd seemed all-consuming, and entirely overwhelming even to the officer that had already helped to break up one or two less-than-peaceful demonstrations. Jack hardly even seemed to notice, opening the driver-side door and quickly bouncing out, coming around the front of the car to open the door for his current partner.

That was when the flashing really started. Hopps had thought she might be blinded before, but through the veritable stun grenade going off constantly the bunny couldn't even see where she was walking. A cacophony of voices filled her sensitive ears, all questioning the actor she was being essentially dragged through the crowd by. Sure, he might be a gentleman, but at the moment this was a war zone and he was getting her to safety. Finally, they broke through to a short red carpet that had been put down by the theater hosting the event, complete with somewhat discount-looking security. One of them gave Savage a nod, a tiger that seemed to be a bit more premium than his comrades. Judy guessed the ZSA must have more of a presence here than just them.

"First time?" Jack was looking at her, still wearing his charismatic grin.

The lapin noticed that she was a bit starry-eyed still, and quickly moved to cover for her embarrassment. "O-Oh! Yeah..."

"I'm surprised, you're quite the name even in the celebrity world, you know. Not often you get a cop like you roaming the streets." The toned agent was still leading her through to the lobby of the building, but this time he was gentle, subtly guiding her by a paw.

Hopps's ears turned a solid scarlet as she realized he was holding her hand, still dazzled from the lights as she made it into the lobby. She tried, unsuccessfully, to shake herself from the daze. Jack seemed happy enough despite her condition, taking it as an unintended compliment.

The lobby had a small area cordoned off to restrict access to the general public, and several other very well-dressed (and rather attractive) members of the cast were sipping cocktails in recliners while a limited press presence looked on, hiding their cameras from bouncers that appeared somewhat more savvy than those outside.

A gray vixen shot a look at the rabbit officer, and she took a moment to realize that the glance was somewhat aggressive in her current state. It shocked her out of her stupor, body falling back into a much more comfortable status in response to the perceived threat.

Jack was already addressing the fox with a little sly smile. "Hey, no need to get touchy, Sasha. She's not just some fan I picked up off the street this time, this," he presented Judy to the group, who was beginning to recognize some very, very big names that made her feel very, very small, "is Officer Hopps. You may remember that she just about saved Zootopia, doing something that we would only dream of. And I must insist, this is not a date, she is my guest of honor for the night. She's a little harder to tame than most I believe, and wouldn't let me get away with her that easy."

His presentation seemed to completely release the tension that had formed upon seeing the new face, replaced with a light smattering of applause for the bunny cop. For her part, Judy decided that this was a subtle cue to not totally nerd out. "Thank you very much! I must say, what you all do is just as important as the ZPD in many cases, we'd have a lot more crime to deal with if everyone was always bored..." she failed to mention some of the deluded mammals that would cause trouble because they'd seen it in a movie and thought it was cool to break the law, but tact was important sometimes.

Jack nodded as the mote of appreciation received another small applause, and pulled Judy gently to sit next to him.

Sasha, who was now sitting across from them, gave Jack a somewhat playful look. "I must say Jack, or should I call you sir, you must really like that costume to bring it along here. I thought you would be rocking the usual hitman suit."

The Secret Agent laughed, looking to Judy. "Well, this one had an interesting idea, since we're not going as a couple, perhaps I could have a little fun with my wardrobe. I have always loved this armor, as you remember."

The vixen laughed in return, putting a small paw over her mouth. "Oh I do... I think we all remember how I basically had to hold you down in order to get you out of it for the sex scene." The rest of the group was involved in the conversation now and several of them laughed, the rest merely cracking a small smile.

Judy didn't respond in turn, her ears instead shooting up as she tapped her escort's arm lightly. "You never said there was a sex scene in this one..." she hushed to him as the conversation continued.

For once, he didn't look so confident when he turned to her. "I forgot, honestly." He seemed a little guilty about that fact, but attempted to cover for himself. "Still, there's one in every movie, and this one isn't as long as the others..." he offered.

The doe next to him nodded gently, her ears pulled down slightly in a nervous tic of hers. She didn't really want Jack to see how she might react upon seeing him naked, something she'd been privy to a few times before but until now mostly in the comfort of her home and not... right in front of him. She was already trying to block out memories of some of her own... activities when she'd re-watched those scenes.

Soon enough, the conversation around them faded into a dull buzz and the doors of the theater that would be showing the movie opened. For once, Judy was ready and stood first, waiting as Jack casually slid to the doors. The rabbit officer started to go find a good seat, but noticed a rather conspicuous lack of her male companion after about a minute. She set her hat on one chair and looked up, her forehead scrunching up. Where could he have gone?

Just before she began a standard search pattern she spotted him. He had slipped away from her at the door and was personally shaking each fan's hand as they entered the room. Judy felt her heart melt just a little bit as he leaned down to a small mink child, tugging a fake patch out of his pocket and passing it to him. He looked legitimately happy, and so did the agent. Perhaps he wasn't just in this for the money. Jack finally made his way back to the beaming doe, who pretended not to have seen.

"It makes it all the better if you let them believe in magic." The agent smiled gently, winking at his 'date'.

Judy looked up at him as the previews began to play. "What do you mean?"

"Well, that kid thought I was _the _Jack Savage. The bunny that is on the screen, the secret agent that'll always be there to save the day. A hero." He smiled gentler now, much more sincerely than his usual actor's grin.

The bunny next to him mirrored his expression. "Well maybe they don't need to believe in magic. You _are _Jack Savage." She enjoyed her inside knowledge about her idol.

She watched as his smile died on his face, the agent beside her showing a side in the moments before the film that seemed to be buried by him as deep as he possibly could hide. "No, Judy. I'm not."

"But you are, you-"

"Hopps..." He looked into her eyes as she questioned him, and for once she saw pain there that was so deep it was impossible to understand.

Judy opened her mouth, still curled at the edge into a smile that was fading faster than smoke in the wind. She couldn't think of a response as she sunk back into her own chair. The bunny beside her pulled his guard back up quickly, the next glance toward him revealed his same confident smile shining back at her again.

"Sorry, that's a spoiler I think. You start to assume that everyone knows the story after a year or so of shooting." He kept his facade up, and for once Judy wished that he wasn't such a good actor.