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“Hey, Officer Fangmeyer! Got an assignment for you.”
The tiger straightened then turned at the sound of his name, finding Captain Hogbottom standing a little ways off.
“Go on,” his partner Delgato said, slamming the prison truck door on the Lynxely family, who were now all cuffed and in custody. “We’ve got this covered.”
Assessing that Delgato was all good, Fangmeyer nodded, leaving to make his way through the press and emergency personnel that were currently swarming the Lynxley mansion.
“What’s up, Captain?” he asked as he approached, brushing some snow off of his uniform.
The warthog glanced over her shoulder, and Fangmeyer followed her gaze to see Officers Wilde and Hopps, who were currently helping the snake and beaver witnesses get situated with the help they needed.
“Officer Hopps has been given the all-clear by the paramedics and is ready to be taken home,”
she said, scratching the coarse fur on her neck. “I want you to see that they both get home safely. They’ll need an escape from all this press… it’s been a long day for them.”
“So… no more arrest warrants on them, I’m assuming?” Fangmeyer asked, trying to keep updated on the current situation. The order to throw Wilde in a cell had only been a couple hours ago, afterall.
“No. They never should have had those in the first place,” the warthog sighed, glancing back at them with guilt in her eyes. “I’m partially to blame for that.”
The tiger glanced back over at the duo, who were attempting to converse privately, despite news reporters still trying to shove microphones in their faces. Their fur was ruffled, dusted with ice and snow, their clothing wrinkled and torn.
Hogbottom was right. They did look exhausted.
As Fangmeyer considered them, he felt a small pang of guilt of his own. A couple days prior, he had gone along with the crowd at the ZPD in teasing the rookies, baffled by how the team that had uncovered the Nighthowler conspiracy had ended up so dysfunctional in the field.
And yet… here they were, having solved yet another case. A crooked fox and a try-hard bunny… how in the world had they gotten along enough to accomplish this?
He cleared his throat, curiosity helping him accept the task. “I’ll take care of it, Captain.”
“Thank you,” she said, patting him on the shoulder, then made her way over to the truck containing the Lynxleys. He heard her mumble as she trudged off, "Chief Bogo is lucky he’s already in a hospital… hearing about all of this will give him an aneurysm….”
Once she had left, Fangmeyer began pushing his way towards the two centers of attention themselves. His size fortunately offered him an advantage and he managed to get to them in hardly any time.
“Officer Hopps and Wilde?” he asked, and the duo turned, jumping a little.
“Yes?” Hopps asked, and Fangmeyer observed that Wilde had moved slightly in front of Hopps in an unmistakably protective manner.
Trying to ease them, Fangmeyer smiled and gestured towards his cruiser, parked several yards away. “I’ve been asked to ensure you make it to your homes safely. If you’ll follow me, please…”
“This isn’t just a ruse to throw me and Judy behind bars again, is it, Frosted Flakes?”
“Nick—”
Fangmeyer waved a paw. “The arrest warrant has been dropped. There’s no need to worry.”
The bunny and fox looked at each other, silently communicating something with their eyes. Whatever the exchange was, it seemed to be growing in intensity, and the tiger watched in confusion.
When their paws brushed each other, that was enough for him to cough awkwardly.
“Uh, follow me…” he mumbled, turning on his heel.
As he made his way, the soft crunch of snow behind him told him they were indeed following. He didn’t look behind him for fear of revealing the baffled look on his face.
Fangmeyer wordlessly helped them up into the large vehicle’s back seat, closing the door behind them. When he slipped into the driver’s seat, his persistent curiosity made it so he couldn’t help but adjust the rear view mirror slightly more downward than he needed to.
Glancing at it, he observed Hopps opting to slide into the middle seat rather than the window seat to be next to her partner, moving close until she was brushing against his side.
What was going on here??
“Addresses?” he said, clearing his throat and starting the engine.
“Gym Trunks and Grand Pangolin Arms apartments, please,” Hopps replied.
She knows his address?? he wondered, typing the locations into Zoogle Maps.
“And make a stop at McPawnolds on the way. I’m dying over here…” the fox chimed in.
“Nick, he’s a police escort, not an Uber.”
“Hey, the ZPD owes us at least a couple free meals, wouldn’t you say?”
Fangmeyer pulled the vehicle out and away from the crowd, bumping and crunching over mounds of snow until they were finally on the actual road. They drove in silence for a couple minutes, giving Fangmeyer enough time to question if he was reading into things too deeply.
Weren’t they supposed to be "dysfunctional"?
His thoughts were interrupted by a small gasp coming from behind him, making him swerve the car in surprise. Glancing in the rearview, he saw Hopps staring at what seemed to be Wilde’s right paw, quickly snatching it up to look at it closely.
“What’s this??” she exclaimed.
“Gah! Jeez, Carrots—” Wilde jerked, trying to pull his paw away, but his partner held it tightly. “It’s nothing—”
“These look like clawmarks, Nick. Who did this to you? When did this happen?”
“I was reaching in the food disposal for a spoon—”
“Nick.”
Fangmeyer watched as the fox sighed, giving in and relaxing his paw in her hold. Hopps continued to fuss over it, tracing a fluffy thumb around the marks.
“Fine. Big Daddy Lynxley wanted to leave me with a little memento when they carted me off, alright? It’s literally just a scratch, it’ll be fine…”
“The scabs reopened and are starting to bleed again. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? The paramedics should’ve looked you over, too,” the rabbit said, her voice thick with concern.
“It’s fine, Judy. I’m not the one who got injected with dangerous substances twice today.”
“Says the fox who nearly fell 10 stories…”
Fangmeyer clenched the steering wheel in alarm. Clawed? Injected? These guys had been through more than he thought…
“Need me to take you to a clinic?” the tiger officer offered, feeling awkward revealing he had been listening to their conversation.
“Yes—” “No—” they replied at the same time.
“C’mon, Carrots. As much as I love the free hospital snacks and cute nurses, you know this isn’t serious enough for that.”
Hopps let out a sigh. “Fine. But you’re coming with me. There’s a first aid kit at my place.” She then leaned forward towards Fangmeyer, pointing her free paw at his Zoogle Maps route.
“You only need to stop at Grand Pangolin Arms, now.”
Fangmeyer nodded, adjusting the directions accordingly. He tried not to linger on the fact this implied they might be spending the night together.
Don’t jump to any conclusions, Officer, he grumbled to himself. He needed to stay professional about all this. Get them safely home, that was his task.
But despite himself, Fangmeyer couldn’t help but continue to spy on the partners in the back seat through his mirror. He watched as the rabbit tenderly held the fox’s paw, pressing a handkerchief to the clawmarks and hushing him when he let out a small noise of pain.
They were practically cuddling at this point, Judy pressed against her partner’s side and leaning a head on his shoulder. He in turn rested his jaw on her head, exhaling through his nose as he nuzzled her.
The tiger jumped slightly in surprise when Wilde’s eyes suddenly met his in the mirror.
“Uh, light’s green, buddy.”
Fangmeyer cursed, shifting his attention back to the traffic light they had been sitting at for much too long and stepped on the gas with a lurch.
The silence stretched on. The snowflakes began to melt on the windshield as they made their way towards downtown, the evening light making the water droplets sparkle.
Now only a few minutes from their destination, Fangmeyer’s ears rotated when he picked up on the sound of slow breathing, partnered with a few quiet, nasally snores.
Daring to glance in the mirror again, he found Officer Wilde had fully conked out, his frame slouching against the seat and head now entirely supported by Hopps’s. The rabbit, however, was still awake, continuing to put pressure on her partner’s injured paw as it laid in her lap. Half-lidded, her eyes held what Fangmeyer could only call affection as she gazed at her sleeping partner, stroking his auburn fur with her free paw.
“You have arrived,” the automated voice from his phone announced, and Fangmeyer blinked his eyes back to the road, pulling into the apartment parking lot.
He shifted the gear into park, then turned around in his seat.
“We’re here,” he said, then gestured to the still-sleeping fox. “You, uh, need some help, Officer Hopps?”
“Naw. I got it.”
Gently, she nudged her partner with her elbow, then carefully squeezed his arm.
“Hey. Time to get up, Slick. You’re drooling all over Fangmeyer’s nice leather seats”
Wilde let out a groggy noise of protest, shifting in the seat as he gradually came to awareness.
“This’s where the crimin’ls sit, isn’t it? Doesn’t matt’r…” he slurred, rubbing his eyes.
Hopps chuckled a little, continuing her efforts to try to nudge the sleepy fox to open the car door.
“C’mon, Nick, get up. Or do I need to play the “I’m the best thing that ever happened to you, so you need to do what I say” card?”
That made Wilde sit up a little straighter, and he gave her a look. “Oh, you’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“You’re lucky I didn’t have the carrot pen or else it would’ve allll been on tape.”
Amused but a little tired of their prolonged banter, Fangmeyer exited the car and walked around to help assist them with the door. He swung it open and helped Hopps guide the groggy fox down, her paw never leaving her partner’s even as he slid to the ground.
“Thank you, Officer Fangmeyer,” she said, turning towards him. She threw up a salute, rigid with formality.
Acting like she wasn’t just openly flirting with her partner two seconds ago, he thought dryly.
“We’ll await our next assignment from the ZPD, though I’m planning on visiting the department tomorrow to follow up on Gary DeSnake’s case and file reports on the Lynxleys.”
Fangmeyer nodded, then watched as the duo made their way into the apartment complex. Wilde was leaning his weight into Hopps while he stumbled drunkenly along, though he made sure to never topple her over. Their voices were lost in the growing distance, but Fangmeyer could catch a couple of times they burst into giggles, until finally the door shut behind them.
He lingered there, watching them go, his brain buzzing with a thousand questions.
These two had somehow become heroes overnight, unearthing a secret that had been lost for over a century. What had happened to the inexperienced cops who, only a day ago, crashed a literal parade and later became full-on fugitives?
Not to mention, even a blind mole could tell what was going on between them was anything but platonic.
The officer sighed, shaking his head with a smile, then turned back to the car.
Just wait until his other coworkers heard about this.