Disclaimer: I do not own zootopia or its characters, but i do own the OC's and this story
Chapter 10: Back again
The sun rose over the horizon to greet the morning to the people of bunny burrow. Nick woke up with Judy sleeping in his arms, breathing slowly, "my dumb bunny" he said snuggling his face in her head, "my sly fox" he heard answer back. "We need to pack, where going back today remember" Judy said pulling away from Nick, "what time is it...6:37pm, god…" Nick stated whilst looking at the clock, "I'll go wake up Leo, you stay here and pack" Judy said opening the door to exit "i love you".
Leo sat in his room looking at photos from his time in the orphanage, "good times...good times" he whispered to himself. He got up out of the seat and went to his backpack checking if has packed everything, "hoodie...check...tapes...check...photos...check" Leo said a whole list of stuff checking it everything one by one, he came across another photo of him and Clara, it was class graduation, Clara was on his back whilst he was smiling. "You really miss her, don't you" A voice spoke behind him, which startled him, making him jump, fur standing up...it was Judy, "Don't sneak up on me like that, and shouldn't you be packing?" Leo said giving a concerned look, "Yeah but i wanted to wake you up first, seemed like you already are so I'll be going, oh, whilst you're awake, go wake up the siblings…" Judy said before leaving him in the room alone, he picked up everything and left the room.
"Hey Nick, looks like he's already up, how's packing?" Judy said entering the room again to find Nick dressed, bags packed and room clean, "that was...quick" she added shocked by the state of the room, "Well that's what happens when you are actually clean" he said smirking at Judy, "Shut up, I'm clean when I want to be" she laughed. They both walked at the room with luggage in one paw and holding each other's paw with the other down to the hall where there was her siblings all hugging Leo and him hugging them back.
"Why do you have to go Leo? will you come back to visit? I will miss you" they all questioned him, "i will come back" is all Leo could say, he say Bethany in the corner so he walked up to her and kneeled down "Hey kiddo, you alright th-" before he could continue she hugged him, tight… "Don't go Leo, please…" she sobbed, Leo pulled back for a second but both paws On her shoulders, "take this, whenever you feel left out or sad, just look at it and think of me." Leo said handing over a locket (not his one with the picture of Clara and him) to her with a picture of him in it. "Thank You Leo, i hope you find Clara, then she will see how cool and caring you are" she said putting on the locket, he was touched by what she said but laughed, "remember, be the hero of your own story" Leo said standing up whilst ruffling her head her. "looks like someone is gonna miss you loads" Judy spoke walking up to him, "Yeah, she's a really good kid" Leo said looking over at Bethany. "Well, we better get going otherwise we will miss the train" Nick said picking up the luggage and waving goodbye to Judy's parents, before Leo and Nick could walk out Stu came behind them and tapped there shoulders, "since you Nick is dating out daughter and Leo...since you're important to Bethany...welcome to the family...so don't mind if we get a picture before you go?" Leo and Nick stared at you before looking back and nodding, "Great! I'll get the camera!" Stu said rushing into the kitchen. Whilst Stu was getting the camera, everyone got in positions, "Leo? Can i stand by you please" Said a sweet voice next to him when he was taking his hoodie off, "sure, and plus...u have gave me a new family...a new hope...thank you...thank you so much" he said hugging her even letting out a tear or two "Don't cry Leo, you being part of the family will be cool" Bethany responded dragging Leo over into position right next to Judy and Nick who were hugging, "ok! Ok! Got it, everyone in position?" they all nodded when Stu came running in. He pressed a button and ran over to the group next to his wife "say Carrots" Stu said before a white flash appeared.
Leo, Nick and Judy were waiting at the train station, Leo was sitting down cleaning his katanas whilst Judy and Nick were looking at arrival times, "Well should arrive in 15 minutes at least...so what are we gonna do when we get back. Watch movies? Go shopping? Go eat somewhere? Or maybe could we see your place Leo?" Nick said shouting over to the silent black fox, "umm, no, sorry, private reasons…" Leo said continuing to clean the blades with a cloth, Nick understood what he was like when it comes to privacy so he didn't try to push on. "i say we should watch a movie or two then go out to eat somewhere at night, sound good you two?" Judy said trying to get a plan going, "yep...sure…if they don't get terrified" Leo said putting his katanas back his sheaths, "hey, don't say that, they don't you for who you are, all they know is that you've done something wrong" Judy said walking closer to him, "still, I didn't say no did I?" he said giving her a little smile before looking at his phone. "yeah, guess we could do that tonight, got nothing else to do."
'TRAIN TO ZOOTOPIA ARRIVES IN 1 MINUTE, DON'T FORGET ANY LUGGAGE'
The speakers boomed, Judy and Nick picked up their luggage and Leo put on his backpack and walked.
Arriving in Zootopia…
"Ah, home sweet home, starting to think I will never see this place again" Nick chuckled as he opened the door to his apartment, Judy and Leo walked after Nick, Leo closing the door behind them. Judy and Nick sat on the couch after putting their luggage away, but Leo...he sat in the corner looking at his phone with earphones in, "Hey Leo, come watch a movie with us, it'll be fun" Judy said looking and indicating for him to come over, he huffed, stood up and walked over and sat in the on the left side of the sofa whilst Nick and Judy cuddled together. 'guess it can't be that bad' Leo thought looking at the introduction.
"So...What's you gonna do now Leo" said Clara hand on hips, looking at Leo making something, "we are gonna prank hyenson but dropping freezing water over him, and you know how he hates water" he flailing his arms, "that's just nasty...count me in" Clara said walking over to Leo, helping with water buckets, "hey, I need you for a something, see that little bit in the ceiling" he said pointing to a huge hole in the ceiling, "Yeah, I have too much muscle on me whilst your slim, can you fit in their and put the bucket in there please" Leo said explaining to Clara, "ok fine, I better be owned something for this though" Clara huffed climbing up the ladder with the water bucket, "ok got it" Clara said coming down but whilst she was she slipped, Leo acted fast and caught her fast enough, "need some help their butter feet" Leo said winking at her, making her blush. "Hey, Leo, can you promise me something, ok?" Clara said still in his arms, "yeah, sure, we are best friends remember" Leo said shrugging it off, "you are right...ok...promise me that…."
"Leo...LEO!" a voice shouted, waking him from his thoughts, "what?" he replied opening his eyes lazily finding Judy and Nick dressed nicely in front of him, "you were sweating back so i thought you were having a nightmare, also, get ready, we are about to go" Judy said pulling him up, "alright, I'm going, I'm going". Several minutes later Leo came out in a white and black Flannel shirt, black pants and a black tie, "ready to go or what?" he questioned grabbing his phone and putting it in his pocket, Nick unlocked the door letting Judy and Leo leave first whilst he locked the door, "hey guys, wait up" Nick said sprinting over to Judy and hugging her. "By the way, since when were you a type of smart dressing person, I thought it was hoody 24/7" Judy exclaimed looking at the smartly dressed Black Fox, "it's called something bringing back memories" Leo said, walking hands in pockets, Judy knew who he was on about again and stopped herself from pushing on.
They arrived at the restaurant after a short walk, the place was covered in a all posters and Neon signs. They entered to find a fancy looking waiter standing there with list in his hands, "table for 3 please" Nick holding up 3 fingers to indicate, "sorry sir, we only have tables for 2 left" the zebra waiter said, Leo huffed and spoke "ill go, don't worry about, I'll wait for you back at the apartment ok" Leo said walking off, but before Judy or Nick could stop him he was gone, "well, I guess table for 2 then" Nick said chuckling, "say, what's that young fellow's name? he looked familiar" the zebra asked in a posh accent, "Leo, Leo Smith or im guessing his full name is Leonardo Smith" Judy looking at the zebra,
"oh God...umm" Judy and Nick both looked at him whilst he stuttered, "what's wrong, you look scared" Nick stated to the zebra. "I was...umm...a bully to him...back in the orphanage, I feel bad for what I did to him and Clara" Zebra said wiping his sleeve across his forehead, "why, what did you do to them" Judy asked intrigued by the backstory, "I'll tell you after you meal is done, my shift should be over...meet at 'benny's bar'" he exclaimed, "anyway, to your seats, should be a quite empty one at the back. Not hard to miss" The zebra said sending them in. "Guess we are one step closer to understanding Leo" Nick said arm around Judy. They sat at the designated seat the zebra set for them, it was a table alone away from everyone else. "some privacy for once" Nick huffed, pulling out a seat for Judy, "such a gentle fox" Judy spoke after sitting down, "this is our night, no one's gonna ruin it" Nick said leaning over to hold Judy's paw. She smiled at what he was doing.
"what will it be today Leo? the usual?" Benny spoke after spotting Leo seated. "Yeah, just need to escape from some thoughts" Leo said paw on head, "is it Clara again? You need to get over her dude, you can't go on forever" Benny answered back, "i try, i really do try, i just...can't...my younger self is a total fucking screw up" Leo chuckled popping the cap of a bottle of lager. "Well, if you can't get over her by tonight, you know she's the right one and you should go look for her" Benny said cleaning the desk, "she IS the right one Benny, i just know it…anyway enough about me, how's lauren and the kids?" Leo asked trying to start a different topic, "well, kids are off to college so me and lauren are going to jungle district for a month" Leo thought of his cottage...his family, the thoughts made taunted him, "hey, Leo? I know about it, just try not to think about it, they wouldn't want to see their son who is a generally smart fox like this. You still play guitar?" He asked, this intrigued Leo, he knew Leo loved guitars, "give me 1 reason why i wouldn't play guitar Benny?" Leo laughed, making Benny laugh as well, "Ah, you know how to cheer me up Benny, you really do" Leo said drinking his second bottle, "i'm magic" Benny shrugged leaving Leo laughing and drinking.
Judy and Nick had just finished their meal and were heading outside to meet the zebra. "you two ready?" the zebra questioned getting his jacket on, "more ready than ever, anyway Benny's bar is just down there isn't?" Nick said pointing down into the dark abyss, "yep, i know the bartender there so we should be all good on not spending anything." the zebra explained, "i forgot to ask, what's your name?" Judy said looking up at him whilst walking, "Christopher, but i prefer to be called Chris" he spoke. "ok Chris, can we know some things about Leo? Like hobbies or something that cheers him up or past disorders, anything really" Judy asked very eager to find out about Leo, she even got out a notebook. "ok, I'll start with hobbies, so loves guitar, likes pranks, listens to music almost always and likes bouncing tennis balls" Chris explained, Judy got writing down immediately, "now what makes him happy, so basically hobbies, sleeping, silence, good jokes, seeing a person he loves, Playing guitar whilst singing and...Clara, his huge crush, he even attacked me and a few others back when we bullied them, but what I don't get is, when Leo released her, she ran away from him...wonder how that must feel" Chris stopped and thought, "so that's why he's likes that…" Judy whispered to herself, "ok, now disorders and addictions, a slight alcoholic, has parasomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder." Chris explained looking at how fast Judy was writing, "what he hates is when people but into his privacy, someone hurting a friend, someone hurting him, hates getting angry and...he hates his past...you to can't blame the poor guy." Chris finished off before getting sight of Benny's bar, "ok…done, thank you for this" Judy said putting her pen and notebook away. "so I want to ask u how I could make it up to him, like apologize" he said opening the door, he looked in and saw Leo sitting there laughing with Benny, with multiple drinks around him, he closed quickly, "oh God…" he whispered, Nick got concerned, "hey, what's wrong? what's in their?" he pushed the door open to find Leo laughing with the bartender, he walked over dragging Chris along, he pulled him down and whispered something, "act natural, if he gets aggressive, I've got a tranquilizer ready" Nick said showing him the big Green syringe in a gun.
"oh God, what happened after" Leo laughed, "well he ending falling on his arse and ripping his pants on stage" Benny explained, this sent them into a burst of laugh, "oh you Benny are a good man" Leo said hitting his shoulder lightly. "Sup Benny, I'll have a shot of whisky" a clear voice came from the side of Leo, he looked right to find the waiter he seen at the restaurant sitting there. "Wait, I swear you are the waiter from up there" He said very unsteady, "that's because I am, sorry i couldn't get you a three seat table" he said taking a sip of whisky, "it's ok, don't worry about it, just...don't...worry, me and Benny were just having a ABSOLUTE! Blast, isn't that right Ben" He was losing balance pretty quickly but straightened himself up. "Hey, your name's Leo, Leonardo James Smith? Right?" Chris asked, trying to approach the ticking rage bomb carefully, "yes...how do you know that" he was regaining his strength but was bound to lose it again since he took another gulp, "well, you could say i know you from our childhood, remember me? Chris?" he said, he noticed his eyes open, the bottle slipped from his hands but made no reaction. The thoughts, the memories flooded him within a second, Nick got ready just in case. He finally woke up from his, all his drunkenness transformed into pure rage anger, "you fucking bastard! You! I lost her because of you and those pricks! Stay away from me, don't talk to me! I'm not gonna let you destroy my life again! Fuck you!" Leo shouted backing up to the door. "Woah, Leo calm down, what's going on?" Benny said leaning of the desk, Nick drew ready to fire, he was too angry, "oh I'll tell you! This prick ru-" he was shut off by a sudden pain to his back, he looked back to see Nick holding a tranquilizer pistol, "why?" was all he could say before his corpse fell to the fall. "Hey, Chris and bartender, help me carry him back to my apartment, he's pretty heavy. Benny quickly closed up his shop for the night and Chris got a hold of Leo.
They arrived at Nick's apartment, he unlocked the door before Judy had to open it since she wasn't carrying Leo, they put him on the spare bedroom and then all walked into the living room to rest. "We need to dig deeper to find out about this Clara and Leo thing, search his backpack, gotta find something" With that said Nick and Chris stood up walked over to the urban coloured backpack. After a few minutes of savaging, they found a pen drive, "this could tell us something, they put it inside the living TV and waited till it comes on. After a 10 second wait, a video of Leo placing the camera somewhere appeared, they just watched.
After a full hour of watching Leo and Clara, something unexpected to them came on. It was a picture of Leo kissing Clara's forehead and under it, a title said 'god how I miss you'. They turned the video off and took out the pen drive, Judy was sitting there crying, "they look so perfect together, it's sooo cute, especially the last one" Judy exclaimed. They put the Pen drive back into his backpack, they knew they weren't suppose to touch his property.
Leo woke up in a white room, and it looked like Nick's apartment, "Thank god i got away from that cunt" he walked over and peered through the door. To his horror, he seen the zebra...the one who ruined his life. He walked out quietly and stealthily, trying to get behind the Zebra and hit him. After zig zagging, he stood over upon the zebra, ready to strike, he heaved his fist back, ready to strike but was stopped when something clutched his arm, "Don't...it's not worth it" it was Judy, standing there holding his arm. He eased down and sighed, to then walk into the spare bedroom, everyone could hear shouts of rage from within the room, "see when I say post-traumatic stress disorder?" Chris spoke looking down playing with his hoofs, after several minutes of Leo shouting at the top of his lungs, the sound eased until silence came. "Should i go to check? It sounds like he's passed out or something" asked Nick approaching the door slowly, "just peek in and see where he is" Judy said from behind him, with that said, Nick turned the handle slowly and pushed the door open slightly, enough to peer in. All around there was mess, resting on the culprit was the culprit, curled up in a ball, Nick thought he was asleep until he spoke, "Tomorrow...continue your search for the Shadow clan, tomorrow is the only way you're gonna get a lead, cargo deal down in tundra town, Frost avenue. I'll stay here, i can't pull myself together, you will be better without me" he said before curling more. "Judy, get ready for tomorrow, we are going Shadow hunting…"