"Singing like us"

It was her big day. Martha White had been preparing for an opportunity to sing on a stage for years, and tonight she finally got her wish. By standing in for a sick singer, who got mange, meant she will be filling in for months. Martha sat in front of a large vanity mirror in her new changing room, surrounded by red furniture and beautiful costumes. She found a silver dress that sparkled and a cap with golden beads that made her look like a goddess. With a dash of red lipstick, she was ready to catch the audience eyes but only if she overcomes her crippling stage fright. She kept shaking in her seat in front of the mirror, anticipating the time when they will call for her. She was so nervous, she was afraid of fainting before she even reaches the stage stairs.

She jumped when she heard a knock.

"C-come in!" she called out, immediately getting up, she didn't want to disappoint her boss who gave her this opportunity. He was wary at first because she was so timid, but she begged for a chance. Now, she was wondering if she was ready for it.

A black muzzle appeared, and she immediately felt calmer when she saw Martin, wearing his dark trench coat and suit. Having just finished a case in the ZPD, he wanted to pay her a visit, when she called him to tell him the news.

He tossed his hat aside on a couch in her room, giving her a wolfish grin.

"Look at you." He growled happily, circling her. "you're a star already."

Martha nervously chuckled and blushed. "T-Thank you, I thought the audience might like me more if I came out like this."

"I certainly do," Martin replied. "Must be working, oh wait...you always had." He grabbed her paw, making her look up at him in surprise. His eyes narrowed in concern. "Are you nervous?"

She sighed heavily and touched her head. "I-I am so afraid, Martin." She admitted, pulling away from him and collapsing onto the couch, resting her head on at armrest. Martin bit the inside of his cheek and slowly sat down beside her.

"When Helga got sick, and Franky wanted a stand in, I was the first to raise my paw. Oh!" She shook her head in disbelief. "I begged him to give me this one night, I even bet my job on it! But now-I feel so sick, I can't stop shaking, it's actually making my body ache, and my head won't stop pounding."

Martin grabbed her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "Calm down, calm down, Cottontail." He crooned. He had never seen her as a nervous wreck before. He wondered if that was the life of a diva, which meant she was born for the job. His ears went up when he had an idea.

He pressed his muzzle next to her ears, whispering to her gently.

"You feel sick with anticipation, Martha." He began. "You're shaking because you're excited to see the lights on you, and taking the attention of every mammal in the room." Martha's head slowly lifted up. "And your head is pounding because of the applause you hear in that little head of yours because you know you are going to be great!" He pulled away when she saw her ears went up. She sat up in surprise.

"I never...thought of it that way." She murmured, followed by a smile. "Thank you, Martin, you always know what to say."

He chuckled when he leaned back against the couch. He opened his coat and took out a cigar out of his breast pocket. "Anything for you Cottontail." He replied as he patted down his chest, trying to find his lighter.

He stopped when he felt Martha's paw on his chest as she leaned against him, holding a spare lighter. Martin's ears went down he saw her large ruby eyes staring right at him.

"You should really stop smoking, I heard it's not good for you." She cooed, flipping the switch. "I read an article that it can make you sick, darling." He puffed slightly as his eyes scrolled down to her freshly painted ruby lips. She ran her paw across his suit and brushed against it. "All this ash is also dirtying your clothes, Marty, I have an excellent detergent at home perhaps I can do something about that." She gave him a smile, making him blush and suddenly forget to breathe out the smoke. He lurched forward and let out a set of coughs, which sounded more like he was hacking. Martha's ears went up in alarm.

"Martin! Are you alright?" She asked patting his back as if he was a child choking. Martin got up and put out the cigar against an ashtray that was set on her vanity.

He coughed again. "I-I'm fine! I just...need some water!" To escape from the embarrassment, he went to the door. "I-I'll see you on stage!"

He slammed the door behind him, leaving Martha alone in confusion.

He shoved his face against the tabletop in front of his friend, Ben, a young bachelor lion who is his partner on the force. Ben ran his finger around the ring of his class cup.

"What happened?" His friend asked with a smirk.

Martin sighed and rested his chin on the table. "I forgot to exhaled when I was smoking in Martha's room."

His friend laughed loudly as he slammed his massive paw on the table. Martin gave him a glare when he shook the table. "And you coughed and spit all over her like some pup!"

Martin felt his face heat up. He sunk into his seat and shook his head. "Ugh, she probably thinks I'm some sort of fake-out, I'm clutched for sure."

"Ey, let's cool it down," Ben said pouring him a drink of bourbon. Martin chugged it down to try to forget about his situation. "So you're a bit of a goof, but you're still a cool cat. That classy chassie of yours probably still thinks of you as a hip fox."

Martin still wasn't sure of that and frowned. "We have just started dating for a week, but...with all of the hate against...you know-." He said keeping his voice down, his friend leaned over from the hard topic. In Zootopia, inter-species relationships are unheard of and are seen as taboo, any animals caught in such an affair is persecuted, sometimes even violently.

"Hey, I gotcha." His friend, Ben replied in a whisper. Martin nodded.

"I wanted to take her to one of those passion pits to see a movie. No one would suspect a thing, it's dark, and my windows are tinted, so I thought it will give us the chance to relax with each other, but now, I'm too much of a punk to ask her after what had happened."

He took another gulp of his drink and leaned against the palm of his paw, as he propped his elbow up on the table. The Tundra Club was filled to the brim, and the Bar had its counter full of drinks and animals trying to look for a good time with music and beautiful baristas. One barista, noticing Martin's empty glass, strolled by. Martin barely looked up at the snow colored arctic fox dressed in gold, colorful flapper outfit, which actually hurt his eyes. He squinted slightly when he saw her wink at him almost flirtatiously.

"Enjoying the club so far, gentle males?" She asked as she balanced a silver tray on her paw as she poured out of a bottle with the other.

"Yeah, it's a gas!" Ben replied with a chuckle when Martin hummed a response. "Thanks, doll."

"When is uh, Martha gonna sing?" Martin asked. The fox flicked her tail to the side and blinked at him.

"Who?" She asked in almost a ditzy, high shrill voice.

"Martha White," Martin said in a hard tone, which suddenly made her remember.

"Oh, the little bunny...maybe in ten minutes, darling, but I wouldn't worry about her. She is just a barista fillin' in for a sick singer, she's nothing worth seeing." Martin gripped on his drink in annoyance, which made Ben, clear his throat nervously and push his drink away. The arctic fox brushed her cheek when she smiled at Martin. "I mean, I heard her sing her little heart out in the dressing room and between you me-" She leaned down to him which made Martin glare at her. "She's as mediocre as a pup in the choir."

Martin tilted his head back, and with a finger, he knocked his glass over, accidently (but actually, intentionally) spilling his drink on the barista. She gave out a shout when her skirt got drenched in liquor and whirled at Martin in disbelief. He gave out an audible gasp before giving her a smirk.

"Sorry, doll." He wiggled his fingers at her. "Butterfingers, you know I get this way when I have too much to drink. Better send the bottle back."

The Fox gritted her teeth at him and huffed when she took the two glasses away and stomped off. Ben let out a whistle and crossed his arms at him.

"That was a little harsh," Ben said making Martin snort at him. "Now what I'm I going to drink? Club Soda?"

"Please, that little tramp never heard my Martha sing, she sings like an angel." He said in a "matter a factly" tone. "She was probably jealous of her."

"Well simmer down, or else you might get kicked out of this place before you could hear Martha sing."

The lights suddenly went dimmed and a spotlight shined on the large stage. Martin grinned widely.

"Looks like we didn't need to wait long." He and Ben looked on with anticipation as they heard the soft music of the piano play. His ears went up when he saw Martha in her brilliant and shining dress capture every animal's attention. Their hushed and impressed whispers silenced when she began to sing to the crowd, her favorite song. Martin recognized it as the song "I wanna be loved" by the Dinah Washington. Her voice filled the club with her amplified sweet voice, in perfect harmony.

I wanna be loved with inspiration

I wanna be loved starting tonight

Instead of merely holding conversation

Hold me tight

The room was immediately infatuated by her siren voice, even Martin was swooning at the sound of her beautiful voice filling his body. He sighed in contentment as he closed his eyes.

I wanna be loved with inspiration

I wanna be loved starting tonight

Instead of merely holding conversation

Hold me tight

I wanna be kissed until I tingle

I wanna be kissed starting tonight

Embrace me till our heartbeats intermingle

Wrong or right

He didn't even notice she finished until he heard the thunderous applause. His eyes snapped open from his daze and stood up, clapping his paws. Before he knew it, Martha was receiving a standing ovation from every animal in the room. He could see her smiling at the crowd when they began to shower her with roses. She gave them a curtsy, even blowing a shy kiss to the crowd before bowing out to retreat into her dressing room. Martin immediately took his leave and rushed towards the back of the club and back in front of her dressing room door.

He was about to knock before he heard a voice inside, talking to Martha. He recognized the small, and annoying little voice as the owner of the Club, Franky, a Weasel.

"You did great out there kid! Tell you what, I am now hiring you to perform three nights a week!" He exclaimed.

"Really?!" Martin heard from Martha. "Oh thank you, Franky!"

"Don't get sentimental, kid. Just remember, mess up, and you are outta here."

"I won't let you down, Franky!" Martha replied with confidence.

"Alright, I'm stickin' my neck out for you-"

Martin heard the door click, which made him duck behind a set of curtains to avoid being seen by the boss. Once he saw Franky leave, he went inside the room, closing the door behind him. Martha was gushing at the mirror, and when she saw him, she immediately went to her feet and hugged him.

"Marty! Did you see me? Oh, I was amazing! Everyone loved me!" She exclaimed, making his wince when she squeezed him tightly against her.

"Of course I did, I told you didn't I?"

She let go of him and jumped in joy. "Oh, I'm going to be a singer, Marty!" She sighed softly and wrapped her arms around his torso again. "And it's all thanks to you."

Martin chuckled and stroked her ears down. "Y-you know, I was wondering, to celebrate..." he scratched the back of his head when Martha tilted her head at him. "That we can go...to the cinema, a drive in, that just opened up tonight."

Her ears went up. "A picture show! How exciting, yes I would love to!" She grabbed his paw and gave him a quick kiss on his knuckle before grabbing her casual clothes from off a rack of costumes. "Give me a moment to change!"

"Okay."

Martha glanced back and saw Martin still standing in the room, she blushed slightly and motioned her paw at him.

She giggled softly. "Wait outside, Marty."

Martin grinned. "Are you sure you want me to?"

She gasped and laughed slightly when she pushed him to the door. "I am serious!"

"Okay, okay! I'll wait outside!" He laughed when he went out the door. He closed the door and leaned against it. He closed his eyes and began humming her song to himself, as he imagined her singing up on stage.