He came to her with two duffel bags in each paw. She was surprised to find him outside her front door so late into the evening. His fur was tattered and bristled with his eyes low and baggy, as if he had suffered a traumatic event. She glanced down to find his pants completely soaked in water. Her brow raised as her eyes trailed down the hallway of her apartment building, to find wet footprints leading up to her door.

She heard him sigh heavily. "Can I come in?"

She stepped aside, hearing his feet slosh with each step on her carpet. She cringed seeing the mud he was tracking in. Holding her tongue and ignoring the mess, she closed the door while she watch him throw his duffle bags onto her couch.

"What happened?" she asked, concerned. Nick never visits without calling her first. It was a common courtesy. He wasn't one to come over unannounced..

"My place flooded." he stated dryly. He sat down on her couch, utterly exhausted. "And my landlord kicked me out thinking that it was me who caused it."

"Oh Nick, that's horrible!" She gasped, placing a paw over her chest. She rushed over to him, sitting down beside him as he told her what happened. "One of my pipes burst when I was sleeping and I spent the whole day trying to save as much as I can, but I only managed to grab the essentials." He said motioning to the two duffel bags. He lost everything, his furniture, his eletronics, anything that was close to the floor was ruined by the flooding. It didn't help that his landlord automatically put the blame on him as the cause of it. Nick knew the real reason why and it was because he was a fox.

"That jerk-" Nick muttered bitterly. "It was the rusty pipes in that old building that did it!"

"I can't believe that happened to you Nick." She said softly, stroking his back gently in comfort. His shoulder slumped when he stared at her. A small smile appeared across his face from her kind gesture. After all he went through, he was glad to have someone like Judy. "Did you managed to save anything important?"

He grabbed one of the duffle bags, setting it down at his feet. "Just clothes, pots and pans, DVDs and some money-" he zipped it open, revealing a bush of green cash. Her eyes almost fell out of her sockets from the amount of large bills.

"Where did you get that?" She demanded. Nick put his paws up in defense from hearing her almost accuse him of theft. He knew she would never think of him as a thief, even if she did sound like she was.

"Relax, it's my life savings from the past decade or so, it's a good thing I kept it in my mattress." He grinned. Judy couldn't even fathom the idea that Nick, kept thousands of dollars underneath his mattress.

"Nick, that is so irresponsible. Why didn't you put this in the bank?"

"Don't trust them." He said swiftly. She pivoted her hips to the side, crossing her arms from his nonchalant response.

"But you trust a dirty mattress?"

"If it's mine, then yes."

"Nick! Some animal could have mugged you on the way over here!"

"Aww." He cooed. "Are you worried about me, Judy?" Her eyes went down in a serious glare. His ears went back from her shooting daggers. He gave her a smirk, waving it off. "Don't worry, as you can see, nothing happened on the way over here."

Judy sighed, rubbing her temple. "Okay, do you know where you're going to be staying?"

Nick turned to her, scratching at his neck. "Yeah, about that...."

"What?" She tilted her head, wondering why he was acting so strange. He was giving her a larger grin than usual. Almost as if he was about to tell her a joke.

"I was hoping I can stay here?"

She blinked, followed by a scowl. "Excuse me? I already told you I am not moving in with anyone until I'm married." She was very adamant about that fact. Moving in is a very big step in a relationship. Nick knew it all to well. While they did have overnight sleepovers (from a long night of binge watching movies) he was asking more than an overnight stay. She crossed her arms, moving her head aside. A sign Nick didn't want to see. It meant that the conversation was over and Judy was a hard bunny to convince after. He place a paw on her shoulder, moving his head down to lock eyes with her. Judy refused to look because she knew he would be doing his classic puppy dog look.

"Please Judy!" He begged. "I'm not asking to move in, I just need a place to stay for a week or two, just until I find a new place." She moved his muzzle to the right, trying to catch her eyes. She turned to the left, rejecting them.

"Than stay in a hotel."

"Do you know how expensive that is in a city like Zootopia?"

She huffed. "I think you have just enough money."

"Whiskers please! I can't stay in a shady hotel, let me stay here with you."

"What about your sister?"

"You're kidding right? Her place is too small."

Two weeks living with Nick? Who is a complete slob, a snorer, and an insomniac? He must be out of his mind. No, she would not have it. A part of her thought that she should let him stay, it was only for a while, what will it hurt? It might be even fun! They could eat together, watch movies together once they come back from work. Spending almost 24 hours with each other. In the morning the first thing she'll see is Nick. It would be like a dream. She shook her head, her sensible side coming in. He was a male, which was the first problem. She only has one bathroom. Sharing a bathroom might be a bit intimate. He might leave the toilet seat up, she shivered at the thought. He was always so snooty too. He might even take a peek behind her medicine cabinet. She would die if he ever did that. When he takes a shower, his fur will cover the drain. She would gag if she sees that. Yet, on the other paw, she might catch a glimpse of a clean Nick after he showered. When still wet, his fur almost looks roughish. She blushes every time to see his neck fur out of place.

She slapped herself mentally. No, she cannot be swayed. The second problem is the obvious one, he was a slob. Everytime she visits him, he never bothered cleaning up. His floors were always dusty, the kitchen sink is full of dirty dishes and the place smelled like a locker room in the gym. Her apartment was her sanctuary. She kept things in order and with Nick in the picture, it will be a dis-order. The third is the largest problem, he is her mate. A mate looking for affection. One minute they are talking and the next he is trying to flirt. His arm around her shoulder and his lips to her ears. Whispering all sorts of compliments to her, which makes her insides melt. He always knows what to say, which might be a problem since he is always looking for a kiss or two....sometimes three. She bit the inside of her cheek, will it really be that bad?

She glanced up at him, seeing him smile at her. Wanting to woo her over with his charms, he wiggled his eyebrows for added measure. She held back a giggle making him cheer mentally. She could never resists the eyebrows. Judy sighed, she really couldn't turn him away, her apartment is built for two. She would feel guilty if she says no to him, after all they went through, what's wrong with just two weeks?

She flashed him a smile. "Okay, I guess I could let you stay here."

Nick gave her a wink, smirking for having won. "I knew I can count on you, Whiskers."

"But since you're going to bum around here-"

"Bum?" His face fell, losing his confident smirk. "Isn't that a bit harsh?" Judy placed a finger on his chest, leaning in. He stared at her as she gave him a mischievous grin, before finally responding in a low and cruel whisper.

"You have to pay half of the rent."

He frowned, unamused. "After everything I went through, your making me pay half of the rent?" She nodded. His lips move to a respectful smile. "I think I'm finally rubbing off on you."

"I suppose." She said, acting unimpressed before letting out a giggle. He grabbed a handful of money from his duffle bag, placing it in her open paw.

"You're worse than my landlord." he teased, pressing the tip of his nose against her soft pink one. She pulled away giving him a happy grin.

"But you still love me-" she pointed out.

"I suppose." He muttered pretending not to care. She punched him in the shoulder making him chuckle.

"Well, since you're going to be staying, I'm going out to get groceries. I have to cook for two now." She looped the purse over her shoulder, stuffing the was full of money inside it as she walked to her door. Nick followed. Before Judy could open the door, she felt Nick wrap his arms around her waist. She paused when she felt his chin on her shoulder, a blush forming.

"You're making dinner for me? Great! Pick me up some fried crickets."

Her nose recoiled. "Ew no way, plus that's really unhealthy, all you eat is fast food. No, I'm going to make you dinner and you'll love it, I promise!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, pulling away. He frowned as his arms became empty, watching Judy wave goodbye as she closed the door behind her. His arms slumped down, he was hoping to at least spend a little "quality" time with her.

He grabbed his second duffle bag, going into her kitchen. It was time to make himself more at home. He took out his burned pots and pans, opening her lower cabinet doors and placing them besides her shiny ones. He went around towards her coat closet, he knows she only kept her spare sheets there, leaving the rest of the spare space to put his shirts and pants in. He didn't bother hanging them, he threw them inside in a large pile and shut the door. He emptied out his DVDs, placing them on top of her television, setting them up as two towers. It looked out of place since Judy kept her DVDs on a large shelf beside the television, kept behind a glass door. After tossing his bag off to the side he decided it's the right time for him to change out of his wet clothes and take a shower.

Judy was carrying bags full of food, the most she had ever gotten. She held a large grin, skipping along the hall to her door. She was excited on cooking for someone other than herself. She usually ate by herself, it was bit lonely at times. Sitting in silence and watching a bit of tv but with Nick, she wouldn't have to worry about being alone. She popped open the door.

"Nick! Can you help me with the bags?" She called, kicking the door close behind her.

"Sure thing cottontail." Nick said coming to her rescue. She smiled looking up as he took half of the bags.

"Oh thank you I was-!" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw what he was wearing. He was wearing a bright red, loose t-shirt and black slacks. She had never seen him wear those type of clothes before. She was so used to his cheesy green Hawaiian shirts, she never thought he had any other type of clothes. She also noticed that Nick's was glistening from how wet his fur was.

She blushed lightly. "You cleaned up nice."

"You like it?" He asked coyly, raising his eyebrows. "It was the only clean clothes I had, the rest is hard and crusty from the water."

"Ew!"

"So I shoved them in your washer."

"My washer?" She gasped, dropping the groceries. Her own clothes were in there. "What about my clothes?"

"I just put them together, I thought you wouldn't mind."

"Oh Nick no!" She rushed down the hall, towards a set of laundry doors at the left side of the wall. Nick cocked a brow as he peeked down the hall.

"What? They're were dirty right?"

"I had only whites in there! The colors are going to mix!" Her eyes widened as the washer stopped. It buzzed loudly as a red light flashed on the controls signaling that it was done. She threw open the door. Her ears lowered when she took out her favorite white blouse, which was now light green from Nick's shirts. Her white socks, pants and shirts-ruined. Stained with blotches of green. Her ears lowered and her mouth moves into a hard scowl. Nick slowly retreated back in the kitchen. This was going to be a long two weeks.