Sorry this took a while, this last few days have been super busy. I have a bad feeling about how this chapter turned out, but I hope you guys like it.
The night was extremely cold; a hard wind blew across the streets and caused any animal in its way to shiver and run for their homes looking for shelter. Heavy mist floated all around, darkening the surroundings and making it even harder to see in the faint light of the moon above; even for animals that had been gifted with amazing night vision like foxes.
Nick sat on the same bench he had been sitting for almost three hours now as he braced himself with his tail curled up around his waist and his legs folded over each other; all in an almost useless attempt to produce some heat. His fur was slightly moisturized by the mist around him, which seemed to steal what little heat he did manage to produce. It didn't take long for his teeth to start chattering and his body to start shivering.
The little fox looked from side to side as he looked for any sign of his brother, refusing to let his hope fade despite the fact that Rick had never been that late before and it appeared that he wasn't going to show up.
'No, he wouldn't do that,' Nick thought as he shook his head and forced a small smile, 'He's just really late. He's been late before, yeah, that's it. Never this late, that's true, but... He's coming. He wouldn't just leave me here like that.'
Nick's ears and head perked up whenever he heard a sound, but it was never his brother. Animals passed by him and they seemed to be unshaken by the sight of the little fox who seemed to be either lost or abandoned, but Nick didn't care for that at all. He just kept looking from side to side, always hoping that the next sound of steps he heard would be his brother's, but it was getting later and later and Rick wasn't showing up.
A powerful gust of cold air startled Nick when the wind blew across him with a loud whistle, fluttering his fur. He scrunched his eyes closed as he shrank because of the cold, the chattering of his teeth getting louder than before as he began to hiccup, a few low sobs leaving his mouth from the feeling of loneliness that consumed him inside.
It had been three hours since he had left school, but Rick still hadn't come by to pick him up. As much as it pained to admit that to himself, Nick sighed when he realized that he couldn't wait anymore. The cold was starting to get too much to bear as all he was wearing was a plain shirt and shorts; and he knew it could be dangerous if he remained alone in the middle of the street that late. The idea of walking home alone in that weather wasn't exactly thrilling, but waiting there seemed even worse.
Jumping out of the bench he was sitting on, Nick picked up his backpack from the ground and began walking.
'He must be really busy doing something else. Maybe he's dealing with big fox stuff since mom and dad can no longer do that for us.' Nick thought as he walked slowly, almost dragging his feet on the ground. He gulped so that he could force back in the tears that pricked his eyes when he thought of his parents. 'I'm sure. He would never leave me alone like that. Not Rick.'
Nick shook his head and began running, desperate to get home as soon as possible and hoping it would help him clear up his mind a bit. People always told him that walking could help you do that. The backpack on his back flung from side to side with each step he gave. Maybe he would find Rick home and he would explain why he didn't go to get Nick. Nick was sure he had a very good reason.
Because Nick knew that his brother would never, ever leave him alone.
...
"Rick?" Nick called as he pushed the door of the house open. It was locked when he got there, but luckily there was a spare key hidden under the carpet - something his mother thought could come in handy someday and she turned out to be right. "Rick, are you here?"
Nick walked into the house, dropping his backpack near the doorway and entering the living room. It was dark since none of the lights were on, and that let Nick know that Rick wasn't home. He walked toward the wall as he searched for the light switch, and once he found it he turned the lights on. Nick stood still and looked around, as if to make sure Rick really wasn't there, and sighed when he realized the house was empty.
Nick pressed his back against the wall and slowly slid to the ground. He sighed again and then brought his knees to his chest, hugging them and laying his head on top on them as the tears he held back when he was walking home rolled out his eyes.
It had been three full days since his mother's funeral; three days that felt longer than his entire life altogether.
Everyone told Nick that time would heal his pain eventually, but he hated how nobody said how much time it would take. He hoped it would be quick, but so far it still felt as strong as it was on the day she died. He knew that she was gone forever, but sometimes he found himself absent-mindedly looking around the house for her; hoping that he would find her sitting on the table, or in her room; but it didn't take long for it to dawn upon him that she was gone. And every time it happened, he'd cry.
He was about to cry again for thinking of her when he heard a loud thud. He bolted upright in shock as he looked for the source of the sound, his breath speeding up and his heart beating hard against his chest. He was beginning to think his ears were playing tricks on him when he heard the thud again, and this time it was followed by a painful whimper. Nick tilted his head to the side as he stood up and walked to the front door as he realized that the thud had come from outside.
"Uh, hello…?" Nick said once he was in front of the front door. He knew better than to just open it without knowing who was on the other side, especially on their neighborhood. "Is there anyone outside?"
"Uh, my head..." A weak voice said from the other side of the door.
Nick's eyes widened and he jumped back when he realized it was Rick's voice. He sounded really weak and spoke slowly as if he had been hurt. Nick's heart sped up again as he jumped forward and hastened to unlock the door, millions of possibilities running through his mind in the few seconds it took him to do so. Was Rick beaten up by someone? Did he get hurt somehow? Did he need any h-?
"Rick!" Nick yelled in shock. As soon as Nick unlocked the door and opened it, it gave in and Rick fell sideways into the living room with a heavy thud. Nick had to jump aside in the last second to avoid being crushed by his brother. At first Rick seemed to be unconscious, but as soon as he fell he took his hands to his head and hissed in pain. Nick stood a few steps away from him, confused; but shook his head and approached Rick as the older fox tried to sit up on the floor.
"My head..." Rick whined as he sat up and took one of his hands to his head, closing his eyes.
"Rick?" Nick said softly as he approached Rick. "Are... Are you alright?"
Rick didn't seem to acknowledge Nick as all he did was stand up - with quite some effort - and just walk forward. He was able to give a few uncertain steps before he stumbled into the kitchen table; the upper part of his body bending over it. He didn't even seem to have seen the table, for he just walked right into it as if there was nothing in his way. Nick gasped in confusion and shock.
"Careful!" Nick said as he ran to Rick and positioned himself beside his brother, placing one hand on Rick's back and the other on his belly as he tried to give him some support. "Are you ok? Rick?"
As Nick held Rick and helped him straighten himself up as much as he could - which wasn't much because Rick was so much taller and heavier than Nick - his nostrils were invaded by an awful smell. It wasn't really stinky, more like a bitter and acid smell; but it was bad either way. It burned Nick's nose and throat with each breath he took and made him want to throw up badly, as if the smell could enter his stomach and twist it. It was so strong that soon his eyes were tearing up because of it.
"What's that smell? It... It's coming from you." Nick said, closing his eyes and rubbing them with one hand as he kept the other on Rick's back. However, just before he could open his eyes again Rick pushed Nick away from him with all of his strength.
Nick's eyes widened in shock as he failed to regain his balance and tripped over his feet, falling backwards. Everything went black for a few seconds when the back of his head hit the hard floor, and when Nick felt conscious again he could not help but cringe at the pain irradiating from that area; a few tears escaping his eyes. He pushed himself up with his hands, looking at Rick completely dumfounded.
"R-Rick…?" Nick cried lowly.
Rick rested himself against the table, his knuckles turning white from the strength he was using to grip the borders and his legs seemed to be shivering; as if Rick had to make a huge effort not to let his knees buckle. His eyes were clenched closed and his breath was raspy and loud as he breathed heavily through his mouth. The awful smell that came from him now seemed to fill the whole room. Nick stared at him, not recognizing the fox in front of him as being his brother. Never once had Rick refused his touch, let alone pushed him away.
"Rick!" Nick cried out as he stood up and walked towards Rick, but didn't approach him enough for them to touch. "Rick, what's wrong with you? Are you ok?"
Time seemed to freeze as Nick stared at his brother, waiting for an answer, waiting for a reaction; anything. But Rick did nothing but stay in that awkward position, his entire body shaking and his eyes clenched closed as the sound of his raspy breath and that awful smell he had filled the room.
It felt like he was trying to escape heavy chains that were dragging him down, his breath sped up as if it didn't matter how much air he was getting, it wasn't enough; or as if he was drowning in air. Suddenly, his breath got so raspy it felt like he was about to die from affixation.
"Rick!" Nick cried out once more, this time with tears rolling down his eyes as he gave a small step towards his brother. He didn't know what to do or even what he could do; and as he walked he found that his lips were quivering. "What's wrong?"
Punching the table and startling Nick, Rick shook his head and groaned as if he was extremely frustrated. Nick stood still, appalled. He knew that that was his brother, but at the same time, that wasn't Rick. It just wasn't him. It was his body, his voice, but it wasn't him.
"Rick…?" Nick said among his tears with a weird feeling getting control of him. It took him longer than it should have to realize that he was afraid of his brother. He had never, ever felt any bad feelings towards Rick; and now he had felt both deception and fear on the same day.
No, he wasn't scared of Rick, because that wasn't Rick. There was something wrong with him, there had to be.
"I can't do this anymore!" Rick yelled as he bent over the table, interrupting Nick's train of thought. "I can't, I don't want to, just, fuck! Why?!"
Nick covered his mouth in shock. Not only Rick had said a curse word for the first time ever, but what he was saying didn't make any sense. Nick approached Rick and gulped before he reached out to touch his back in an attempt to calm him down.
"Rick, it's-"
"Don't!" He yelled again, not exactly pushing Nick away that time, but backing away from him as much as he could. Every time Rick yelled Nick's heart would skip a beat in confusion and fear, his brain trying its hardest but still failing to understand what was going on.
Rick didn't look at Nick's general direction not even once as he started walking to his room and left a confused tear-filled-eyed Nick behind. However, he barely got to give three steps before his knees gave in and he fell backwards. He would have hit the floor had Nick not run to catch him. The little fox almost collapsed under his brother's weight, and the awful smell didn't make it any easier to hold on, but he did not let go until Rick was standing up on his feet again.
"Rick, what's wrong with you?!" Nick yelled in despair, stomping his foot once Rick was standing up with his back on him. Nick's cheeks were wet and his eyes were glowing from the tears he had been shedding nonstop ever since the first one came out. The fact that he was crying because of his brother only made him want to cry even more. "You didn't show up to pick me up from school today, and you smell weird, and you're acting weird, and you're not making any sense right n-"
What happened next was so fast and so beyond Nick's comprehension that it felt like his brain refused to process what was happening around him. Next thing he knew he was laying sideways on the floor with a sharp pain on his cheek and neck.
An unsettling stillness fell over the room with Nick panting on the floor and Rick standing behind him breathing heavily. The little fox had wide eyes and shook his head in disbelief as he looked behind with a shaking head to look at Rick. Rick looked sideways, avoiding Nick's direction, but he still had that cold, petrified look as if he wasn't really there.
Nick gulped and began sobbing as he refused to acknowledge the facts.
His brother had punched him.
'No, no, it didn't…' Rick would never hurt him. Not Rick Wilde, his older brother, he loved Nick more than anything. He would never, ever do anything to hurt Nick. There had to be some other explanation, Rick would never do that.
Yet the pain on his cheek and neck and the terrifying look Rick had on his face were enough to open the door of doubt in Nick's heart.
"Rick…?" Nick shook his head, taking his hand to his neck as he used the other one to sit up on the floor. He looked up at Rick with pleading eyes, still refusing to accept what had happened. "Rick, please, what is happen-"
"Stop!" Rick yelled once again, taking his hands to his head and groaning. Each move that he made was shaky and unsure, as if he had forgotten how to control his body. Nick shrank in fear when his brother yelled, and when Rick turned his head to glare at him, he crawled away from him. "This, ok, this is hard enough, I can't, ok? I can't!"
Nick tried to say something, but all that came out were sobs. He felt like his world had been shattered, all he believed with all his heart came down. He had felt something similar when he was muzzled, but that; that was over ten thousand times worse.
Rick rolled his eyes, let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand as he leaned against the wall with the other, knowing that he was going to fall if he didn't do so. "All I fucking need is some time to myself, got it?"
"Rick…"
The orange fox turned around and walked away from Nick, going towards their room. His knees gave in several times and he almost fell on his way there, but he managed to get to their room and slam the door shut.
The loud noise echoed through the house, startling Nick and hurting his ears. The portraits on the wall swung from side to side with the impact, and it wasn't until they stopped that Nick let out a raspy sigh and lay down on the floor. He curled up there and began crying, crying harder than he had ever done before; harder than when he was muzzled, even harder than he cried when his mother died. He could actually feel his throat getting dryer from the water loss that was a consequence of so many tears.
"Why? What did I do?" He whispered amongst his crying. "I, I don't understand."
Nick was lost. He didn't know what had just happened, he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know what was going to happen from there. All he could do was cry. He missed his mother more than anything, he missed when his father was around; and now he felt like Rick was gone too. Not physically, but that fox he had seen, the fox who slapped him; that wasn't Rick.
"I don't…" Nick whispered again as he curled up and closed his eyes with a never stopping sobbing. Sleeping on the floor wasn't comfortable, but he couldn't get himself to stand up; his body and mind didn't seem to be functioning like they should, he was just a shaking mess of thoughts and tears. "I don't understand…"
A calm silence fell over the room as Nick and Robin smiled at each other, both Rick and Judy watching the scene with proud smiles on their faces as well. Rick tried his best but still could not avoid the tears that were pricking the corners of his eyes with all the emotions that were sprouting inside him. Just the night before he lay awake wondering if his little brother was even alive; and now Nick was there, right in front of him, holding Robin. Rick silently prayed that that was not just a dream – and if it was, he never wanted to wake up.
The events of the day when Judy met Rick for the first time played like a movie in her head; how she had planned on getting Rick and Nick to meet when she thought they were related but didn't know each other and how she could never have expected the way things were going to turn out; but she had liked that unexpected outcome better than anything else she could have ever imagined.
Nick held Robin close to his chest with one hand while he caressed the tuft of fur on his head with the other, feeling the little fox contently rubbing his head against his hand in return. He smiled wildly as he held Robin, feeling something new blossoming deep inside of him. That little fox, that kid; he was something Nick thought he had lost ago – he was his family. He liked the thought of that.
However, the moment was broken when Nick caught a glimpse of orange fur out of the corner of his eye and saw Rick standing in front of him, suddenly remembering whose kid Robin was – as if Nick had just snapped out of a trance where he had momentarily forgot about his brother and who Rick was. He shook his head, his smile became a straight line and he took his hand away from Robin's face, getting a confused and sad frown from the younger fox.
Blurred images of his past flashed in Nick's mind; the weight of the grudge he held against his brother and that he had forgotten about when he held Robin seemed to be coiling up around his heart again and beginning to pull it down. He looked down with quick breaths in a moment of realization before looking back at Robin, who still held a confused frown on his face. It made Nick feel guilty, but at the same time, he couldn't help the bitter feelings he had towards his brother – or anything that had to do with him, such as his son.
Rick and Judy noticed Nick's actions and looked at each other in confusion for a split second before looking back at Nick as he began to speak.
"I think you better go back to your father now, kid." Nick said with a smile and a chuckle that were clearly forced to disguise something that he did not quite let show. "Like I said I'm not good with kids and it's only a matter of time before I let you fall or something. We wouldn't want that, would we?"
Both Judy and Rick seemed to acknowledge Nick's reasons behind that. Judy let out a small frustrated gasp and scowled at Nick, but she sighed in disappointment as she knew there was nothing she could do about how Nick felt.
Robin took a deep breath, clearly disappointed to be leaving Nick's lap but also nodded and smiled slightly as he looked over his shoulder to look at Rick standing behind them; his smile quickly growing wilder at the idea of going back to his father. Rick sighed; his previous happiness was now shaken by Nick's actions as he hoped that Robin wouldn't notice how uncomfortable Nick had gotten from holding him. He knew Robin could get sad if he did notice, even if he wouldn't really understand Nick's reasons…
"Okay." Rick smiled with sad eyes, happy about finding Nick and that he was holding Robin but feeling stupid about everything he had done in the past when he realized Nick wasn't going to forgive him that soon… If he ever did forgive him. "Thanks for holding him, Nick."
Nick avoided Rick's gaze as his lips retracted into his mouth. "You're welcome… Rick."
However, just before Rick approached Nick enough to take Robin from him the door was open and they all stilled in their positions, turning their heads to look at it. Doctor Taylor walked into the room and Nick could feel it when Robin tried to hide his face in his chest. Looking from side to side in nervousness, Nick sighed and rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him down.
"Oh, Rick, good to see you're here." Taylor greeted as she walked into the room with a smile. She then looked aside and her eyes fell upon Robin, who was visibly scared as he shrank in Nick's lap and tried to hide himself among Nick's fur.
"I don't think he liked it that much when you had to pierce him to draw blood." Rick chuckled as he approached Nick and caressed Robin's head, getting the little fox to look up at his father from his uncle's chest with scared eyes. "Hey, my little Robin Hood, it's alright. She won't have to do it again."
Rick then turned to the cheetah and whispered, "You won't have to do it again, right?"
The cheetah chuckled and shook her head. "No, just that much was enough. But…"
Rick blinked in confusion as the doctor looked down at the clipboard she held in her hands, tapping her fingers on it and never finishing the sentence she'd started. He had seen people nervous before, and he could tell that that was exactly what she was in that moment. He could feel his heart speeding up inside his chest in apprehension, but gulped as he tried not to jump to any conclusions.
"But what?" He shakily urged her when she didn't complete her sentence soon enough. When she looked back at him with a half-smile, his heart went all the way up his throat. He glanced at Robin and his breath sped up when he noticed that he was paying to attention to her and seemed to be getting apprehensive as well.
Judy looked at Rick, then at Robin and then at Taylor; her eyes moving quickly from side to side as she also got nervous at the cheetah's silence. Looking at Nick, she saw that unlike what she expected after his last action, he also seemed to be getting nervous and worried about the cub.
"Would it be possible to speak with you alone?" Taylor asked looking at Rick and then slightly nodding towards Robin.
Rick took a deep and slow breath, apprehension locking up his throat. He shook his head and forced a smile, nodding.
"Hum, yeah, sure, if that's what you want." He gulped and turned to Nick with pleading eyes. "Sorry to ask, but do you think you can take him outside for me? I promise I'll be there as soon as possible."
Nick's eyes widened and he gulped with uneasiness, nervous at the idea of staying alone with Robin; so much that he didn't even notice the cub in his arms seemed to be a little scared. "Hum, I, I don't-"
Judy smiled smugly and approached Nick, reaching out for Robin. "Don't worry Nick, I can take him outside if you don't want to. Only, if I do you'll have to stay here with Rick as one of us has to stay here as well." She said with an innocent voice. "So just give him to me and…"
Nick's eyes widened again as he immediately nodded. "No, it's ok, I take him outside, you stay here." Nick said, finding it much more pleasant to keep company to the kid than to his brother as he gave a step back. "But try to make this quick, ok?"
Judy nodded as she folded her arms with a proud expression on her face.
"Thank you so much." Rick said to Nick with a smile before he approached his brother and bent down a little to give Robin a kiss on the top of his head, putting his hands on either side of the little fox's face. "I promise everything will be alright, ok? You have nothing to fear. Judy and Nick are nice cops, and I'll be there with you before you know it."
Robin still seemed scared, but his expression did sooth a little with his father's words as he nodded and held tighter onto Nick, who sighed before turning around and leaving the room. Rick did not take his eyes off his brother and son until Nick had closed the door. After that, he looked down at Judy.
"Why was it necessary that one of you stayed here with me?" He inquired with curiosity.
Judy rolled her eyes with a smile. "It wasn't. I just want to help him… Overcome a few things."
Rick looked confused, but then his eyes widened in understanding and he shook his head, letting out a small laugh before they both turned to Taylor; their amused expressions becoming worried ones when their eyes met those of the cheetah and they remembered what they were there for.
"So..." Rick started to say, feeling his heart beating fast once more as he clasped his hands together and tried to disguise his nervousness with a smile. "What is it he has?"
"Ok, you heard your father, we have to wait for him here." Nick told Robin as he sat the kid on one of the chairs in the waiting room and sat on the one by his side, looking down at Robin. "So, hum, yeah, I guess we just wait now."
Robin nodded at Nick and just kept looking at him, causing the older fox to clean his throat and look to the other side to avoid the kid's gaze. Nick never thought that there would be a day where he would be in an awkward situation with a five-year-old, but there they were. He shouldn't even be feeling nervous, yet all the conflicted emotions that he had inside him about Robin and everything that had happened that day made him feel that way.
After obliviously staring at Nick for what felt too long for comfort, Robin moved his head and began staring at the door of the office that they had just left. Nick looked down at him and expected him to look away from it anytime soon, but he didn't.
"What are you staring at?" Nick asked and raised an eyebrow, following Robin's gaze with his own to try and find what was so interesting he was looking at but there was only the door there.
Robin looked up at him and pointed at the door before looking back at it.
"Just… Just the door then?"
Without moving his gaze away from it, Robin nodded.
Nick blinked and made a confused face. "Why?"
Robin looked up at Nick again with a look that seemed to mean 'Isn't it obvious' and pointed at the door once more before whispering, "Dad."
Nick's eyes widened upon hearing his nephew's voice for the first time as he had even begun to think Robin lacked the ability to speak, but brushed it off as soon as he understood what he meant.
"So you're just going to stare at the door for whatever long it takes until your father's back?"
With one quick and sure movement of his head, Robin nodded.
"You know; it might take a while until that happens. Your neck is going to get sore."
Following the same pattern of his previous move, Robin shrugged.
Nick rolled his eyes and let out a sigh as he slouched down on the chair he was on. He slipped his body down until he was sitting on the very edge of his seat and put one of his legs over the other, folding his arms over his chest.
"You… You really like your father, don't you?" Nick muttered, his eyebrows coming together as he frowned and looked aside to look at Robin.
Robin sighed and straightened himself up on his seat, nodding once more as he looked down – probably getting tired of the position he was on before and giving up on the staring-at-the-door thing.
Nick rolled his eyes again, but his expression soothed when he saw the sad look Robin had on his face. Still, it seemed to bother him how Robin loved his father so much. If there was one person who did not deserve any love or consideration whatsoever, that was Rick. But then again, Robin probably didn't even know about the things his father had done in the past to his own brother. Nick felt extremely compelled to tell him about that, but he was just a kid. And Judy would probably kill him if he told stuff like that to a kid.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Nick.
"Hey, Robin?" He called with a smile, and the little fox slowly moved his head to look up at him. "Tell me, is Rick a good father to you?"
Tilting his head to the side in confusion, Robin nodded.
"Look, you can tell me anything, alright?" Nick encouraged, but that only got Robin to get even more confused. "Has your father ever done something, anything bad to you?"
Robin shook his head. Nick let out a sharp breath. There was no way his brother could ever be that good, even to his own son. After all, he had abandoned his own brother and who knows what he had been up to all those years after he disappeared.
"Seriously? Not even once?"
Another shook of head came from Robin.
"Hasn't he ever hit you, or yelled at you, or done anything of that sort? Anything that might have scared you, or hurt you in anyway?" Nick pleaded, not willing to believe he could be wrong about Rick and that Rick could actually be a good father. "You can tell me; you don't have to be afraid."
Robin sighed and shook his head again.
Nick furrowed and rolled his eyes again, groaning. "Fine then."
After that he looked aside with a bitter expression, not saying anything else. Robin's confusion grew and curiosity came along with it. Momentarily forgetting that he was waiting for his father, he jumped out of his seat.
"Hey, you heard Rick, you have to wait for him here with me and-" Nick got ready to stand up and go after the little fox, assuming Robin was going to try to run away or anything like that, but instead he stood right in front of his uncle. Nick tilted his head to the side and looked down at his nephew. "Hum, what do you want?"
Robin put his hands behind his back and smiled, shrugging.
Nick blinked. "Gee, don't you ever get in trouble for being so talkative?"
Robin shook his head and in one quick move, jumped into Nick's lap. Nick was startled, letting out a gasp and hitting his head against the wall behind his chair as he almost fell off his seat. Robin suppressed a laugh as Nick looked down at him with an incredulous look and rubbed the back of his head.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked.
Robin shrugged. For some reason, he liked that fox; even he did act a little strange sometimes. He looked and smelled a lot like Rick. Sure, the fact that he was a cop still scared him a little, but his father had said that he was a nice cop, and so was Judy; and there was no reason to think his father would ever lie to him.
Nick shook his head and grabbed Robin, attempting to put the younger fox on the ground, but as soon as he was lifted from his lap Robin gave Nick a heart breaking look and pouted. Nick seemed to hesitate for a second, but then he shook his head and proceeded to take Robin off his lap and sit him on the chair he previously was.
"I told you, stay put. We have to wait for your father to come back. No more playing around, we're in a hospital and you have to behave, alright?" Nick demanded, straightening himself up on his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.
Robin pouted, which made Nick feel guilty once more, but he shook his head to dismiss those feelings. His brother had abandoned him, broke all hopes he had and ruined his life – well, up to when he became a cop – and he was not willing to get any closer to him by getting closer to his son, even if he was beginning to actually like that kid.
Robin sighed before looking down and nodding. He then went back to looking at door, seeing that he had nothing to do but to wait for his father, starting to get a little apprehensive at how long he was taking to come back and suspicious at Nick as he didn't want to hold him.
Nick's ear perked up at a very low sound, and he realized it had come from Robin. He waited until he heard it again, and it wasn't long until he realized that the little fox was softly sniffing, and then a few seconds later Robin also began to sob.
"Hum, Robin? Are you alright?" Nick asked, putting his hand on Robin's shoulder and getting the cub to look up at him with big yellow eyes that were shining with unshed tears. Nick softly gasped and took his hand away, as if he feared that the slightest touch could hurt Robin and make him cry even more. "R-Robin?"
Robin forced a smile and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand as he nodded.
"Hey, your dad is alright, ok? I promise he'll be back really soon."
Staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing ever, Robin nodded again without any enthusiasm. Nick thought he had seen Robin's head shaking lightly when he nodded, which made him gulp in guilty.
With a sigh, Nick reached out for Robin and held him with his hands, lifting him from his seat. Robin's eyes widened and he seemed scared for a while, but shortly after he found himself on Nick's lap as Nick stroked his head, ruffling the tuft of fur he had on top of it. He still seemed confused, but no longer scared.
"Look," Nick said, trying the best he could to forget his pride and ignore the bitter feelings he had towards that kid for being Rick's son, "Your father is there. He is ok. He's going to be right back, ok? You don't have to afraid."
Robin nodded and then gave a small smile, closing his eyes and letting Nick caress him. With a yawn, he leaned forward and rested his head against Nick's chest; making himself comfortable in his lap. It didn't take long for him to doze off.
Nick sighed in frustration and then looked up, never stopping to caress Robin as he felt the cub's heartbeat against his own and his warm body against his chest. Nick knew it was silly to feel what he felt for Robin just because he was Rick's son, after all he was still an innocent kid; but at the same time he could not help it. It was Rick they were talking about, the Rick who he used to love with all his will and that broke his heart by abandoning him.
Still, everything he had seen that day proved that not only Rick had been a good father for Robin – otherwise the kid wouldn't love him so much – be he also hadn't done anything bad as far as they knew. He also had apologized to him for everything he had done in their past.
However, Nick couldn't just forgive all that and move on. He could not trust his brother, no matter how much evidence there was to back him up. Rick broke his promises, left him behind, beat him… Ok, now Nick knew he was drunk when it happened and it was just once, but that didn't change what he had felt that night. There was no way Rick was that goodie he was playing. Nick just knew there was something he wasn't letting onto.
Because Rick was still the hugest liar Nick had ever come to know and that could never, ever change.
Hope it wasn't too long, I don't like when I write over 5,000 words and this one has 6,500, wow. Well, hope you liked it! Sorry for the wait and thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews this has gotten so far! You guys really keep me writing, your support is awesome! See you next chapter :)