You Are In Love

by That_One_Dwarf

Summary:

'Cause you can hear in the silence
You can feel it on the way home
You can see it with the lights out
You are in love, true love
You are in love

Notes:

WildeHopps is one of my OTPs and I thought of writing a very short yet sweet fic for them.

Enjoy reading while listening to my favourite 1989 song, You Are In Love 🩵

Chapter 1: You Are In Love (WildeHopps's Version)

You Are In Love (WildeHopps's Version)

 

One look, dark room
Meant just for you
Time moved too fast
You play it back

 

Judith Hopps has always seen the world through the contradicting lenses of both optimism and realism.

She was optimistic in a sense that she believed in dreams. 

She believed in the impossible.

She believed in reaching those impossible dreams.

Ever since she was a child she believed that anything was possible or attainable if you just put your mind to it.

Then the whole Gideon Grey incident occurred and she was quite figuratively and literally slapped by reality.

Said reality was an absolute bitch, pardon her language, but she stood by that claim to her grave.

But she never really allowed that incident to truly define her, who she was, and what she stood for. If she gave up, she would never forgive herself.

So she made sure to be both optimistic and realistic when it came to her goals.

She knew that a mammal her size would have little to no shot in attaining any sort of ground as a police officer, but she knew if she studied enough and trained just as hard, she would at least be given the recognition of being at least worthy of being an officer.

She knew she would be underestimated once she did get into the field, but she knew if she was given a chance to prove herself, she would be seen as a force to be reckoned with.

She knew that a certain fox was a questionable ally in the whole Nighthowler incident, but she knew that if anyone had solid enough leads, she would be able to crack the case in just a mere 48 hours.

What she never knew was that aforementioned fox would be the love of her life.

No matter how many times she plays back the moments they had and the time they spent together, she would be hit by whiplash of how they became friends to lovers.

Realistically, this would never occur.

Realistically, their love would be seeing imminent destruction.

Realistically, they would never even come to be.

But Judy never really cared for reality, not when the warmth of Nicholas P. Wilde kept her grounded and safe in a world that never dared to give her on any normal occasion.

 

Buttons on a coat
Light-hearted joke
No proof, not much
But you saw enough

 

It was in the smallest, insignificant things that made Judy fall for Nick without even realizing it.

The way he stooped down to her height to fix a stray button on her pink rain coat that one blistering Tuesday morning.

The way his little jokes never failed to make her smile, even if she didn’t want him to see his effect on her.

The way he held the umbrella every time they had to be out on the field during a rainy day.

The way he looks at her when he thinks she doesn’t notice.

His eyes light up in way she has never seen eyes do, they way they shine made her knees weak every time.

 

Small talk, he drives
Coffee at midnight
The light reflects
The chain on your neck
He says, "Look up"
And your shoulders brush
No proof, one touch
But you felt enough

 

Judy remembers them driving back to HQ one particularly long day of work, she wasn’t much of a coffee fan, but when the time came for it, she soaked in the ambiance of caffeine and sugary powdered donuts.

“Hey, Carrots, look up.” Nick says as he gently brushes his shoulder to hers, taking Judy out of her sugary infused daydream.

Stars were a rare sight in Zootopia, what with all the light pollution basically killing them out of sight. But with the hustle and bustle of the city dying down a bit, the stars were starting to peak out of the night sky.

True, they weren’t as present as they would be back in Bunnyburrow, but this was still a sight to behold.

A thousand shining balls of fire illuminated the midnight sky, some of them shooting through the sky with streaks of white light heading to destinations unknown.

“Whoa…” Judy says as she moves forward and looks at the majestic sight before her, not noticing her paw gently falling on top of Nick’s.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” She says as she continues to admire the rare spectacle.

“Yeah, it is.” Nick says in a voice that she never heard before.

She didn’t notice it that night, she only found out later on that he wasn’t referring to the midnight sky. What with his eyes being captivated by her and her alone.

 

You can hear it in the silence, silence, you
You can feel it on the way home, way home, you
You can see it with the lights out, lights out
You are in love, true love
You are in love

 

She wasn’t sure when she found out.

But she had a suspicion how it occurred.

She had been trying to look for a new apartment to rent when he suggested they moved in together.

It was a perfect idea.

They were partners, they had the same schedule, they almost had the exact morning routine needed without getting in each other’s way, and most importantly, they trusted each other with their lives.

She never realized how easy it was to live in the same space as him.

It was as if they were meant to be that way from the very start.

It was in the way they communicated without words.

It was in the comfortable silence they had with each other.

It was every time they came home to each other on the other’s day off and how they were welcomed with a fresh cup of coffee every time.

It was there when they were dancing in the middle of the night to a newly released album by Gazelle, the refrigerator being their only light source.

Then a slower song came up and all of the sudden, they were slow dancing in the near darkness of the room.

She looked up at him and emeralds met amethysts. A slow understanding washed upon them like a cold bucket of water.

She knew, she just knew, that at that very moment in time… she was in love with her best friend.

 

Morning, his place
Burnt toast, Sunday
You keep his shirt
He keeps his word

 

All of the sudden, things started to change for them.

He would make her breakfast every single morning, it didn’t matter that he was not the best cook in the world, it meant so much to her that he tried.

Sunday morning was always filled with snuggles and pampering by Nick that it felt like she was a princess.

She would wake up wearing his shirt that smelled of him. He didn’t mind that he has one less shirt in his closet, so long as it smelled like her, he was good.

How he would promise to bring back some potato chips she was craving on her days off.
And how she would do the same with blueberries that her parents would send to him specifically when he had a day off.

The little things that mattered were more than what words could describe.

 

And for once, you let go
Of your fears and your ghosts
One step, not much
But it said enough
You kiss on sidewalks
You fight and you talk

 

Judy had a small fear of the unknown.

That was a secret she never told anyone.

Her favourite motto was “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”

But sometimes the unpredictable world still got to her.

Nick knew this when they traded secrets under the safety of warm sheets.

In his arms she has never felt more safe in her life.

If it was up to her, she would stay in this moment forever.

Nick taught her the beauty of unpredictability when he kissed her out of no where in the middle of the sidewalk on the way back to their vehicle one night ordering donuts for themselves and Clawhauser.

She surprised him in turn when she kissed him passionately on an evening stroll in Savannah Central.

Perhaps being unpredictable was not so bad.

 

One night he wakes
Strange look on his face
Pauses, then says
You're my best friend
And you knew what it was

 

She never heard him say the words before. Judy thinks as she snuggles closer to him.

She knew why.

He was afraid of breaking this one perfect thing in life, or at least that’s what he said to her.

He was afraid of losing her.

Doing one stupid thing might break whatever magical thing they had together.

But she reassured him that she would wait until he was ready.

Until he could say them fearlessly without the demons of his past coming back to haunt him.
What she never expected was him rousing up from his slumber.

A look in his eye told her he had a serious thought in mind.

A pause that spanned seconds, minutes, hours, years, or centuries.

And one simple phrase that she would remember for a lifetime.

“You’re my best friend.”

She never replied to that, all she did was envelope him in her embrace and claimed his lips on hers.

For she knew what it was.

He is in love.

Chapter 2: This Love (Wildehopps’s Version)

Summary:

This love is good, this love is bad

This love is alive back from the dead, oh-oh, oh

These hands had to let it go free, and

This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh

(This love) This love left a permanent mark

(This love) This love is glowing in the dark, oh-oh, oh

(This love) These hands had to let it go free, and

(This love) This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh

Notes:

The thing about this song is, it's my second favourite off of 1989, next to You Are In Love.

After watching Zootopia 2 (loved it with all of my heart btw, yall should go and watch it ASAP), I immediately went to TikTok and watched a hundred different Wildehopps edits and devoured nearly every single one. However, there is a glaringly short amount of edits that use You Are In Love and This Love, and by short amount, I mean none at all!!!

I unfortunately don't create TikTok videos, and I refuse to do so, so I'll just do the next best thing and create a fic about it.

This is sort of a sequel to the previous chapter, but you can read it independently from it.

Hope yall will enjoy!!!

This Love (Wildehopps’s Version)

 

Clear blue water
High tide came and brought you in
And I could go on and on, on and on, and I will
Skies grew darker
Currents swept you out again
And you were just gone and gone, gone and gone

 

For the most part, Nick has never seen the ocean with his own eyes before. Sure, he’s sort of seen it from television programs or books and brochures from time-to-time, but he never truly been there before.

 

Living in Zootopia for his whole life, he was basically placed in such a landlocked location that hindered him from experiencing the soft white sandy beaches that his classmates would brag about visiting from their summer vacations to the coasts.

 

So, color him surprised when he was tasked by the Mayor and Chief Bogo to aid in helping some displaced reptiles return home to their newly unbanned homelands hilariously mundanely named “The Beaches”.

 

He was tasked alongside Judy to help in surveying the area and check whether or not the area was properly managed during the years it was vacated by their reptile inhabitants.

 

Nothing really prepared him for the sight that would behold him once they managed to finally arrive. He would notice how the dirt and gravel would suddenly vanish and white sand would take their place like a mosaic showing its true colors the more you look at it. How the grassy glade they drove would vanish as well, leaving nothing but white sand, shattered shells, and coral arms washed ashore be seen and bask the empty canvas that was now in front of him.

 

Judy didn’t seem surprise about, for the most part or from what he remembers, she was able to visit the beach a lot when she was younger, when her parents would take her and her hundreds of siblings on a yearly family vacation to the outskirts of Bunnyburrow that housed a beach which was somewhat similar to the one they were venturing now.

 

So, she wasn’t looking awestruck towards the ocean.

 

She wasn’t beaming at how beautifully the waves crashed on the sandy shores that called it home.

 

She wasn’t transfixed by the vast blue that encompassed the horizon as far as he could see.

 

She wasn’t transfixed at how a certain rabbit’s ears would flow gently by the breeze that seemed to dance around her, or how the heart beating in her chest seemed to be beating faster than what it should be.

 

She wasn’t doing all this, but he was.

 

Ever since the whole fiasco a few weeks ago, Nick has been looking at Judy in a different light. More so than he did when he first met her and she earned his respect and quiet admiration when she managed to squirm into the heart of Mr. Big and his daughter Fru Fru with such ease and charm. Of how she saved him indiscriminately when that panther attempted to maul them to death. Of how she came back after breaking his heart, acknowledging her mistake, and asking him for his forgiveness.

 

Nick knew he loved Judy after that. It wasn’t until he almost lost her that he finally realized that he didn’t just love Judy, he was in love with Judy.

 

He knew he was in love with her when his heart nearly stopped when thought she was about to drown in that gosh forsaken water pipe.

 

He knew he was in love with her when he saw the hurt in her eyes when their treasured pen fell off the edge of the cliff and the pain in her eyes made him want to claw his own eyes out for even managing to hurt her in any way.

 

He knew he was in love with her when he knew he might as well be looking death dead in the eye when he reached for that pen that held the cure to the venom Pawbert injected her with.

 

He didn’t care, so long as she would be alive at the end of the day.

 

It wasn’t until he was falling did he realize that he didn’t want the world to be a better place, no, he wanted his world to be kept safe. Because Judy was his world, she was his whole god damn world.  

 

Tossing, turning

Struggled through the night with someone new

Baby, I could go on and on, on and on

Lantern, burning

Flickered in my mind, only you

But you were still gone, gone, gone

 

To be honest, Nick still had nightmares, nightmares where he was too slow in saving Judy in time.

 

Nightmares that Pawbert managed to succeed in his plan and truly killed Judy.

 

Where she was alone, on that floor, cold, lifeless, gone…

 

He would wake to see her sleeping soundly beside him, his jerk would stir her slowly awake, but he managed to calm his racing heart enough to sink back into the covers and hold her tighter than he did before.

 

She was here, she was safe, she was with him. Just as it should be.

 

Been losing grip on sinking ships

You showed up just in time

 

For most of his life before Judy, Nick would describe it as the ocean.

 

Vast and stretching until forever, but mostly lonely.

 

Of how it seemed so endless, but rather lonely with people who would come and go in his life, Finnick included.

 

But now, he has a life with Judy and he cannot seem to think of a life he had without her in it. He thinks of an alternate universe where they never meet on that fateful day at the ice cream parlor. Oh how he mourns for that version of Nick Wilde that never got to meet the love of his life, the one good thing that he will ever have.

 

Your kiss, my cheek, I watched you leave

Your smile, my ghost, I fell to my knees

When you're young, you just run

But you come back to what you need

 

He’s brought back to the present when she tugs him forward towards the direction of the water. He was wearing a blue Pawaiian shirt and her wearing that similar pink polo on that day they cracked the Nighthowler case.

 

The water felt cool, but warm enough to not be too much of a burden on their skins. It refracted light that seemed to dance across Judy’s face as she playfully splashed water on them.

 

Of all the things Nick has seen his entire life, he knew for a fact that none of it would ever truly compare to Judy, he’s sure nothing ever will.

 

He takes he face into his hands, her laughter halting for a brief second as she takes him in. His emerald eyes looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

 

He kisses he then, not like those cheesy movie kisses that they watch during Saturday date nights, but a kiss that held more words than one could say in their entire lifetime.

 

This love is good, this love is bad

This love is alive back from the dead, oh-oh, oh

These hands had to let it go free, and

This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh

(This love) This love left a permanent mark

(This love) This love is glowing in the dark, oh-oh, oh

(This love) These hands had to let it go free, and

 

Nick knew back then when he called her his best friend, that he was in love with her.

 

Nick knew that he not only wanted Judy in his life, he needed her.

 

Nick knew that it was a terrifying thing to be this in love with someone.

 

But if it was with her, then perhaps it was more than worth it.

 

(This love) This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh