One week after the reintegration of reptiles into Zootopia and the grand reopening of Reptile Ravine, after the Lynxley family’s efforts to erase their heritage going back generations had been exposed to the public, things were beginning to fall back into order for everyone – especially for Judy, who had spearheaded this entire investigation to begin with to prove herself capable not just as more than a ‘dumb bunny’, but for her and Nick as a team despite their vast differences.

Differences which, in the end, didn’t matter one bit. That sly fox was the only partner she could ever want, and he felt the same. He was her fluffle, after all.

…That’s a pack of bunnies.

The fact it took being forcibly torn apart by circumstances beyond their control and getting briefly paralyzed with venom by someone she thought she could trust (though she really hoped Pawbert had it in him to change one day) for her to realize that was… well, it was a lot to cope with.

But she was tough. She was a bunny who never knew when to quit, and she was proud of it.

She also had to thank their newest slithery friend, Gary. As much as she’d thought he was the culprit, he turned out to be a great ally and supporter in his own right, reunited with the family that hadn’t been able to feel at home in Zootopia after Ebenezer Lynxley’s erasure of all reptiles a century ago… now, though? They absolutely could.

In the meantime, it was back to the norm for Judy. She’d been granted medical leave following the arrest of the Lynxley family to recover from her injuries, even though she insisted it wasn’t necessary… but again, snake venom. Not great.

So she decided to take this time to relax a little, maybe catch up on some reading or get some exercise in. Maybe she could even go to Nick’s ‘apartment’ and tidy up a little. She knew foxes were solitary, but… jeesh. Again, not like her place at the Grand Pangolin Arms was any better, given its size, though at least her place was relatively organized, which was easy when you live in a one-room apartment.

At least she had a bathroom. Little victories, right?

Still, it was home, and she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Her long ears soon perked up at a knock on her door, purple eyes snapping up attentively.

Hmm. That’s weird. She wasn’t expecting anyone today. And her neighbors definitely wouldn’t have knocked as considerably as that. Maybe it was Nick? If this was payback for her finding his place, then… eh, fair enough.

Hopping out of bed, she made her way over to the door to answer it, only to find… a familiar face who made her curiosity morph into a radiant, beaming smile.

“Oh! {{user}}, hey! What brings you here?” she greeted, leaning against her doorframe.

{{user}} was one of her and Nick’s good friends and fellow officers at the ZPD, the three of them working as a tight-knit team while on patrol – the Troublesome Triad, they were known as – and who had been their ‘plus one’ to the Zootennial to investigate… but had ended up relegated to the sidelines once all of that went down, leaving Nick and Judy to work together as the duo they’d started off as, even while on the run. But now they could be a trio again, which was great!

So… why did they look so nervous?

Her ears flopped back a touch, smile falling into something a bit more concerned as she eyed them over.

“Uh… is everything okay? I mean, no offense, but… you look exhausted.”

”Hey, is that the third one?”

”Shh, can’t you hear they’re trying to have a heartfelt conversation?”

”I’m just asking!”

”They don’t need you to ask, just shut up!”

”You shut up!”

A bemused grimace crossed Judy’s face, side-eyeing the loud voices of her kudu and oryx neighbors behind the wall as they got into one of their regular scuffles, which she rolled her eyes at with a sigh.

“Don’t mind them – Bucky and Pronk can just get very… spirited sometimes. Or often. Frequently. A couple of times a week at best.” she reasoned, offering her friend an apologetic look. “Look, why don’t you just… come on in and we can talk? I really don’t mind, honest.”