Digmund & Clawhauser
Chapter 1: The Unlikely Pairing
The city of Zootopia was the largest city, filled with animals predator and prey alike living in harmony. The differences between the two left too many moments of prejudice, but those moments began to change with the help of Mayor Lionheart and his decision to give even prey a chance to have equal footing with the predators. It was thanks to the Mammal inclusion project that gave rise to Zootopia's first ever bunny and fox officers of the ZPD, the two heroes of the savage case, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. They were the inspiration and hope for all species to come together, and was the hope of one young man to go for his own dreams. Here I am… ZPD Headquarters. He gazed at the police department, seeing the many large officers chatting with one another or currently bringing shady criminals inside. It was time for him to take the first step.
Benjamin Clawhauser was to everyone's opinion, the most jovial and happiest cheetah to work in the ZPD. People would always see him with a smile on his face and his phone or a variety of donuts in his paws. So it was quite a shock when they came to see the pudgy feline looking actually depressed, even while eating his favorite Lucky Chomps cereal he chewed in a slowed and saddened manner.
"Whoa, people were talking but seeing it up close is crazy." The familiar voice Benjamin heard was from one of his two newest friends, Nick Wilde was standing in front of his receptionist desk with his partner, Judy Hopps. "What do ya think, Carrots? Is this Ben's evil twin or is it opposite day?"
"Hey Nick… Hi Judy." Benjamin greeted enthusiastically.
"You ok, Ben? It's unlike you to look so sad." Judy pointed out. "Did something happen?"
"Well… you know that today is when the new recruits come in right?" He explained. "The Chief told me some news. I'm getting… replaced!"
"Replaced? But what are you gonna do?" Nick asked.
"Don't tell me you're being put in records again?" Judy went with that first because she knew from her own previous mistake how much the cheetah hated that position.
"Even worse… the chief is putting me on the field!" Benjamin answered. "He's having me along with other senior officers to be partners for the new recruits."
"I can understand that for the other guys… but you?" Nick smiled at an attempt to cheer him up. "Whoever you partner up with will probably only learn how to stuff five dozen donuts in an hour." His small joke managed to put a smile on the cheetahs face. "Cheer up ok, Ben? I'm sure it won't be all that bad."
"Yeah… thanks for worrying you guys." Ben had finally started to smile again. He took his bowl of cereal and gulped it down milk and all leaving his grinning face all wet and soggy. "I feel much better now thanks to that. But you guys should hurry and get ready. Aren't you doing a speech for the recruits?"
"Right! Come on, Nick! We can't stay around here any longer." Judy grabbed his arm and pulled the groaning fox towards the bullpen.
"Good luck you guys!" Benjamin waved them off happily. He reached under his desk and grabbed a box of donuts he had brought earlier, the strawberry frosted goodness in his hand perked him up even more as he wolfed it down in one bite.
It was at that time that the entrance door opened and someone new entered the department. It was a mole, a black european mole. He was stepping towards the receptionist desk wearing only a pair of pants and a shirt from the police training academy. The mole was stern, serious, determined for what he was there for. Now standing in front of the receptionist desk, he looked at the pudgy cheetah stuffing his face with donuts. "Excuse me, Officer?" He called out to Clawhauser as the cheetah continued eating obliviously. Feeling he wasn't loud enough he called out again while hitting the bell to catch his attention. "Officer! Could you please help me?"
"Hm!? Oh I'm so sorry, how can I help…!?" Ben expected the voice to be a little animal but was surprised to see the mole was at least between a foot taller than Judy. He saw the pudgy body smaller than his own, but his eyes mainly focused on the glasses on the mole's face. The big circular lenses magnified his eyes covered a bit in fur to show a pair of brown eyes. "O...M… Goodness. You are so cute!"
"W-What!?" The mole blinked blankly at the cheetah who instantly realized what he said.
"Wait that's not what I meant. I-I meant handsome!" Clawhauser gained another huh from the embarrassed mole, "No wait, I meant adorable… y-your glasses are adorable. So adorable! Like something on a teddy bear."
"Please s-stop!" The blushing mole felt his body trembling in nervousness. "I-If you please… w-which way is the bullpen for the new recruits meeting?"
"It'll be to your left, once again I'm…" Before Clawhauser could apologize the mole was quickly running off towards the direction he gave him. "Sorry…"
W-What was that? What was that!? The mole felt his face still red and blushing, the cheetah had broken his composure so easily. He had his plan and stern expression completely ruined. What was with that cheetah? Saying these grandpa glasses are cute? Cute!? Why was he still thinking about it?
"Ugh! Stupid!" He walked faster through the halls until his thoughts distracted him enough to cause him to bump into a hard object. His glasses flying off the moment he fell on his behind. "My glasses! M-My glasses!" He crawled about trying to find his glasses on the floor hoping he wouldn't hear the sound of them breaking.
"Looking for these?" A red figure entered his blurred vision but what he noticed immediately in the person's paw were his glasses.
"Oh thank you!" He took the glasses back and placing them back over his eyes. "Thank you very much. I'm sorry if I bumped into you like…!?" The mole gasped in shock, his vision clearing up to see that the person who helped him was a fox he knew well. "Nick Wilde… you're Nick Wilde!"
"Somebody's heard of me." Nick chuckled.
"Of course! You and Judy Hopps are the first fox and bunny cops in ZPD. You're an inspiration to all of us small animals!" Quickly regaining his composure, the mole saluted with a serious tone, "Officer Wallace Digmund. New recruit of the ZPD at you're service! It's an honor to meet you."
"Same here newbie, the bullpen is to your left but you should go to the locker room to the right." Nick explained. "The new recruits already have their own lockers with their uniforms inside. Better hurry up."
"Yes sir! Thank you sir!" Feeling his excitement returning he saluted again and made his way toward the locker room. Wallace looked around when he found a locker with the name "W. Digmund " written on a plaque.
Finally. After so long I'll finally get to do my part. He opened the locker and grabbed the new uniform which was made to his size. The blue uniform fit his chubby body well, the gold ZPD badge adorned on his chest shining brightly in the light. He took it in his paws looking into grinning reflection with great confidence. Wallace turned to the large mirror in the room getting an even better view of himself. Should I? He looked around the room to find himself completely alone. Why shouldn't he enjoy himself?
"Justice burning within me!" Wallace crossed his arms together striking out into a heroic pose. "Burying evil beneath my feet!" He grabbed his badge and thrusts it in front of the mirror. "ZPD Officer Digmund! On the scene!" The last pose made the outfit all the more exciting, but the mole soon felt his nervousness return.
Through the mirror reflection he saw Clawhauser, the cheetah standing at the door watching for who knows how long with a cellphone in hand. The two stared for a few more seconds before Clawhauser said, "Were you in the middle of something?"
Wallace, unable to handle the embarrassment anymore ran past the cheetah and out through the door. The feline feeling as if he made the situation all the more worse.
"Alright Alright, quiet down!" After the couple of minutes of the officers lining into the bullpen. Chief Bogo, a tall powerful looking buffalo caught the attention of his men with only his voice. "Today is a special day. In accordance with the Mammal inclusion project, we now have five new officers joining the ZPD. And to welcome them all, we have our first bunny and fox officers, Hopps and Wilde to welcome them." Bogo left his stand turning behind him to see the newest smaller members of his men. A spider monkey, a sheep girl, a hedgehog, a rat of all things, and then there was Wallace. He gave them each an intimidating glare with a grin as Judy and Nick stepped on the stage.
"Thank you chief, as the first bunny to join the force I was… and still am, very excited to be here." Judy told. "The duty of protecting the citizens of Zootopia, bringing criminals to justice. All of it is a great feeling, especially more so when you have a great partner at your side." She turned to see her partner in question smiling at what she said. "Speaking of my partner, anything you wanna say to the recruits, Nick?"
"Pretty much everything you said, Carrots." Nick's reply got a laugh from the fellow cops, Judy wasn't very pleased until he continued, "That, and remember to always trust your partner. When on the field they aren't just someone you work with, but also a friend that will always have your back."
The officers and new recruits joined in a round of applause, Judy in particular was especially happy. Stupid fox. She whispered low enough for him to hear getting a grinning wink in return. After the applause was over, Bogo returned and spoke again. "Now we're going to pair up one recruit to a senior officer. I'll be calling each one and the two called will be partners so pay attention for your name. First off… Digmund and Clawhauser."
Wallace quickly raised his hand, excited to be able to work with a senior to learn from. I wonder what Clawhauser is like? He thought for only a moment when a spotted paw was raised in the air. He felt as if the fur on his body turned white as a ghost when he saw that his partner was none other than the fat cheetah that's embarrassed him since their first meeting. "The new recruits will start their first day on the job tomorrow morning. So be sure you and your partner know where to meet."
Wallace had to talk to the chief, there had to be some way for him to get out of this partnership. So when the introductions and meeting were over, he followed the buffalo to where his office was and knocked on the door. "Come in!" Bogo sternly called out.
"Hello, Chief? Wallace Digmund here, I wanted to ask you something?" He asked as he entered closing the door behind him.
"Alright, sit down and let's talk." Bogo gestured to the chair in front of his desk which the mole politely took.
"Well sir, in um… regards to my new partnership with Officer Clawhauser," Wallace swallowed the nervousness he felt and continued on, "I would like to ask if I could have a different partner?"
"You have a problem working with a predator?" Bogo questioned.
"Not at all sir! I've never shown a prejudice towards predators nor will I ever. We all live here and we have to work together to maintain peace. But it's just that…" The mole felt his face blushing again as he remembered those moments with the cheetah. "I've had time too meet Clawhauser since being here. And he kind of um… stresses me. I feel a strange nervousness around him that makes me uneasy. I don't believe I can work effectively like that."
"I see…" The chief went through one of the files with Wallace's name on it as he listened. "Digmund right? You just moved to Zootopia today didn't you?"
"Huh? Oh, yes I have. I just arrived today but I had my things delivered to my apartment several days before." He answered a bit confused as to why he was asked this. "I'm supposed to have a roommate but I never met them yet."
"Listen Digmund, you may have your problems for some reason. But Clawhauser has been one of my best men for years, he has experience that'll help you learn a few things." Bogo smiled. "As much as I don't like to admit it, Wilde was right. Try and trust your partner more, you might find yourself even closer than you are now."
What's that mean? "Yes sir, I'll try my best." Wallace saluted as he got to his feet and made his way outside. The trip to his new apartment would be long, but it at least was in walking distance from the department, giving him plenty of time to think. Chief Bogo was right, no matter how he felt about him, Clawhauser was still his senior. He had more experience in the job as him, which on the field could prove useful. I guess I should try giving him a chance. He sighed finally reaching his apartment complex, it was a half hour or so from work so he could at least get a jog in whenever he wanted.
The mole entered and looked for the door numbered 103, he had wondered why of all rooms there would be a vacancy on the first floor, but he wasn't picky. "There it is." He saw the door to his right only a few feet from the entrance, loud booming music could be heard coming from the door. It took Wallace to figure out it was from Gazelle, Zootopia's number 1 pop idol, he listened to her songs a few times but he never thought of being a fan. "Hello? Is anyone in there?" Wallace knocked hoping someone was there to open the door. "Hello? This is Wallace Digmund, I'm your new roommate! Can you let me in?" The music stopped abruptly, the sound of footsteps moving closer until the doorknob turned. Wallace stood back and gave his best smile, ready to introduce himself to his new roommate. But the minute that door opened, his eye twitched in disbelief.
"O...M… Goodness!" It was Clawhauser, that towering pudgy cheetah in a I heart Gazelle shirt was looking at him with a wide grin on his face. "Chief said there'd be a surprise! Come on in, roomie!"
That's what he meant. Wallace sighed, it took a minute before he stepped inside the large house. The first step lead to the kitchen messy with snacks and boxes of cereal, a living room with a large flat screen… at least large for his size. "Don't worry either," He looked back to Clawhauser, the feline trying to reassure him. "I'm gonna be the best partner I can be for you. So let's do our best. Wally."
"Don't. Don't call me, Wally." He told bluntly.
"You can call me Ben too if you want?" The cheetah smiled more. "It's a nice way to start our partnership."
The mole just stared at that chubby face, those big eyes staring at him for acceptance. He couldn't win. "... Call me Wally then." I hope this works out...
Hey there everyone, I can't tell ya how much I fell for Clawhauser and his adorable face. I just had to do a story for him. Read and Review please.