Chapter 10: Childhood's End
"Here's to your first day being able to drink," Finnick blurted out as he took a large swig from a beer bottle. Nick took a sip from his bottle as well, wiping the foam that remained on his lip with the back of his paw.
"Well to be fair, I've been drinking for quite a while. This is just the first time that I can do it legally."
Finnick scowled and rolled his eyes. Turning back to face the sunset, he took another sip from his bottle and remained silent. The two of them sat on the rooftop of some random apartment building. Finnick had found a fire escape around the back of the building, and invited Nick up on the roof to celebrate his birthday. Neither of them had much money at the time, so a few beers seemed like royal treatment.
"So what did you and your mom do today," Finnick asked as he stared out towards the sunset.
"Well I used any cash I had to take her out to launch. I don't really care if it was my birthday. She's treated me well in life, that I had to find some way to pay her back. A gentleman never lets his mother pay for a meal."
Finnick chuckled as he drained his first bottle and tossed it behind them. The glass bottle clinked along until it found a place to rest somewhere on the gravel rooftop.
"You sound like one of those preppy mammals from the private school in Tundra Town."
"That, or you just don't have any manners and aren't used to hearing about them."
Finnick popped the cap off his next bottle and flicked it over the edge of the roof.
"I paid for these and I can sure as hell take them back."
Nick held up a paw in an exaggerated show of defeat.
"All right, all right, I promise I'll stop."
"So did you only go out to lunch?
"No. Afterwards we went to this ice cream shop in the city center. It was run by this ornery elephant, but he did serve us after my mom had a good talk with him."
Nick took another sip from his bottle and starred out over the darkening city.
"What baffled me about it all is that the serving sizes were probably twenty times larger than what we get here, but they were only double the price. I'm surprised that no one's come up with something to try and resell the ice cream."
"Yeah you're right. That would make a lot of money."
Nick paused and held his bottle halfway up to his mouth. Finnick caught sight of this and turned to his friend.
"You alright?"
"Ye-, yeah, I just had an idea for a second."
Finnick rolled his eyes again and took another sip from his bottle.
"Hopefully this is better than the last scam that you came up with."
"Oh don't worry," Nick chuckled. "I think this one will turn out better than the others."
The two sat next to each other on the edge of roof, slowly depleting their arsenal of booze. When the case was finally empty, they had both grown sluggish. Nick was able to form rational thoughts and speak without stuttering. Finnick, however, was barely able to stand up. While Nick gathered their trash to drop off in an alley dumpster, Finnick stumbled around. He tossed from side to side, mumbling the lyrics to a song he had pulled from the deep recesses of his mind.
"You sure you're alright there, buddy," Nick called out as he picked up the box of trash. Finnick responded with a lopsided grin and a thumbs-up.
"And here you are saying you can handle your liquor. You're so full of shit."
Nick approached the edge of the roof overlooking an alley. Peering over, he lined up the box with an open dumpster. With a few final adjustments, he let it slip from his paws. The box plummeted straight down before landing in the center of the dumpster. The impact caused a muffled sound to echo back up to Nick as it contacted a pile of garbage bags.
"Bullseye…"
Dusting his paws off on his jeans, Nick walked back in the direction of his friend. Finnick was still dancing around the rooftop in a drunken daze. His black and red stripe polo shirt hung unbuttoned, revealing his chest which had become matted with drool.
"Alright buddy, come on. We should start heading back to our apartment. It's getting late, and there's some stuff I want to talk about tomorrow."
Finnick ceased his motion, turning to face Nick. He stood silent for a few seconds before falling forward. He landed with his paws outstretched to break his fall. With a final few mumbles, Finnick turned on his back and stared up at the sky.
"The stars… l-look… so… pretty…"
Nick let out a sigh and scratched behind one of his ears.
"I guess this means I'm carrying you home again."
Finnick responded with some jumbled words as his eyes struggled to stay open. Nick rolled his eyes and scooped up the smaller fox in his arms. No matter how many times he carried his friend home, Nick never found it any easier. For such a small mammal, Finnick's weight always appeared to be heavier than normal.
"You owe me for this… again…"
After descending the fire escape with Finnick slung over his shoulder, Nick began walking towards the bus stop. The streets were almost empty save for the occasional passing mammal. Having carried Finnick home on multiple occasions, Nick had gotten used to the questioning stares he would receive from others walking past. Nick always responded with his signature smirk and an eye wink.
As they rounded a corner, Nick's attention diverted to a post covered in flyers. The papers ranged from guitar lessons to inquiries of more than questionable services. However, Nick's ears perked as he came across an advertisement for a used van. Nick plucked the page off and read it as he continued to walk.
"This wouldn't be such a bad deal if it didn't have that mural painted on the side."
Tempted to toss it out as they neared a trashcan, Nick instead wadded it up and slipped it in a pocket. Finnick had been talking about almost having enough money to buy his own vehicle, and the van seemed to be the only option in his price range.
Nick finally reached the bus stop and rested Finnick down on the bench. He had fallen asleep before Nick reached the bottom of the fire escape. Finnick slept heavily, making it nearly impossible for him to be woken up.
"You're so damn lucky you have me as a friend."
When the bus finally arrived, Nick carried Finnick on with the smaller fox snoring loudly. The bus driver cast a glance of confusion in their direction before shaking his head and tossing any ideas out. Nick carried his friend to the back of empty bus, placing him down in a seat by the window. He handled Finnick carefully, resting his head gently against the smudged glass. As the bus moved forward to its next stop, Nick collapsed into his seat and reclined his head back. Turning to the side, he looked down at Finnick who had now curled up in the seat.
He sat with his knees up against his stomach, and his arms crossed tightly over his chest. His mouth had fallen open, causing his breath to create a small patch of fog on the window. Nick sat in silent observance of his friend as the bus carried them home. As they continued towards their destination, Nick found his eyes becoming more and more difficult to keep open. Finally giving up the fight, Nick let the gentle grasp of sleep overtake him. The two sleeping foxes traveled home, waiting for a new day to bring new changes to their lives.
Nick blinked his eyes, pulling himself from his thoughts. Instead of seeing his drunk friend asleep on a bus, he saw Finnick sitting by his side staring out the window. The small fox no longer had sand colored fur, but had been dyed a light shade of beige. Although Nick had taken Finnick out in his elephant suit multiple times, he found his friend's new outfit a little strange. The department had given Finnick a navy blue onesie printed in silver stars. Although Nick had wanted to pull the elephant suit out of retirement, Bogo insisted otherwise considering Finnick had worn it in public many other times.
Seeing his friend in a different fur color and new toddler's clothes still had not settled with Nick. He no longer recognized one of the most important mammals in his life. Even after only a couple of hours, Nick already missed the old image of Finnick he had known for so long.
"Are you alright, Nick?"
He turned to his side, Judy staring up at him from her seat. The ZPD van they had piled into shook at the slightest road imperfection, causing Judy's small frame to bounce.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just still thinking."
Judy placed a paw on Nick's leg and gave him a worried look. Nick let out a soft chuckle before placing his own paw over hers.
"Trust me, Carrots, this isn't something that's going to affect how I work. If it was, I would talk to you about it."
Judy took solace in his words as he squeezed her paw tightly. Leaning down, Nick gave her a quick kiss. Considering that they had agreed to not kiss at work, Judy knew Nick was trying to make his point come clear across to her. Breaking the bond of their lips, Nick passed his fingers over the soft fur of her cheek.
"If this evolves into something, I'll talk to you about it. You have my word."
Judy smiled and nodded. Nick turned to face back out the window of the van as trees began to come into view. The van entered the park, taking a back road that led to the maintenance buildings. The trees passing by the windows casts shadows inside, causing brief moments of darkness as the early morning sun was covered. Nick continued to stare out the window, occasionally glancing down at Finnick. During the entirety of the journey, Finnick had remained silent. Although Nick had been tempted to speak up, he left his friend alone. He wiped a tear from his eye as he watched the small fox sit in silence. Finnick continued to look out the window as they approached the predetermined drop off point. The only noise in the cab was the gentle hum of the engine. Everyone remained quiet as the time for a turning point in the case approached.
Edited by Jack_NWH