A Son of his Own Chapter 36: Exhaustingly Boring But Worth It
Sincere apologies for the very late update, I haven't updated since the summer holidays have I? I'm very sorry for that but I was just living my holidays to the fullest! They are over now unfortunately and school and my job now require my full attention.
I do slip in the few odd paragraphs to my stories whenever I can, but they won't be updated or done fast enough due to my busy schedule so find in your heart the patience to wait like you always have in the past. I'm not leaving my stories so don't worry about that.
Whenever I type up chapters for this story in general, it helps me forget about the bad things that are currently happening in my life because of how I make Nick and Nathan cherish their happiness together, how Nick is so happy that his life became more adventurous since he adopted Nathan after their encounter under the brick bridge.
But me, I'm facing plenty of challenges, I can surpass them just fine but I find it hard to get a break from it all, the weekends pass by too quickly yet the week passes by so slowly when you have school or work, sometimes my part-time job takes me out of school so I can be thankful for that.
Not just that, but I recently found out something that I will tell you guys at the end of this chapter, I know that I can handle it but the thought of what it is scares me sometimes but I try not to overreact.
My French teacher expects too much from my class, thinking we're all walking dictionaries and we can easily learn 100 phrases off by heart, whatever fantasyland she's on, that's not how it works, we can't always remember every single detail, we have other things to worry about too but she'll never understand that.
Now that my ranting is out of the way, let us get started with the chapter but first and most importantly, leave your reviews and do let me know if you have any ideas for future chapters! I've gotten plenty of them and take them into consideration and give credit to whoever gave me the idea!
My prayers go out to anyone affected by the current hurricane season and I hope you all manage to pull through and rebuild the damages caused by the horrific storms occuring, they will stop eventually and hopefully you can live in peace and not having water up at your neck.
Without further ado, let the events unfold...
Savannah Central, 4:30PM, Nick's point of view...
Despite it being a very long day in Zootopia, Nick felt like as if the day itself just flew by like a gust of wind, he hadn't even checked the time at all when he was out looking for cars violating the law and he was quite surprised when he saw that it was 4:30PM.
Over the period of that time, he had managed to file out over 700 tickets to 700 individual cars overstaying their welcome or speeding for whatever reason or driving without taking safety precautions, not everyone complained but those that did complain, Nick honestly didn't care about their complaints since they were music to his ears over the course of his life.
"My shift ends at 5:00PM and it'll take me around thirty minutes or less to get back to Precinct 1, I think I should head back before the worst of the rush hour kicks in and then I'll be certainly screwed like a loose bolt in a machine" Nick thought to himself as he waited for a traffic light to turn green at a not so busy junction.
He did get the few odd stares from citizens walking about but as you'd expect, Nick simply ignored them and looked ahead, he could sigh with relief knowing that he could threaten to arrest or prosecute anyone that disrupted him on his shift so that would be a lot of relief for him, not having to listen to stereotypical names being thrown his way, not that he cared but he could let his thoughts drift more without any insulting remarks.
Having a radio station playing smooth or quick paced jazz music made Nick feel like he was in the zone, he had an exquisite taste in music that many would consider odd but he'd rather listen to music that was made with blood, sweat and tears rather than being made on a computer or soundboard program since he thought that hard work music was more enjoyable, sure he'd make a few exceptions but they would be very rare to come across.
After waiting for who knows how long, the traffic light finally turned green and Nick could start moving his slow clownmobile again, one step closer to getting back to Precinct 1, the streets were not that busy at the time but the heavy majority of vehicles would make themselves seen soon, something Nick would not want to part of.
The sun was still shining in the sky but a few clouds in the sky would dim it out for a bit, causing the streets to look a bit darker but not too dark if you catch the drift, a gentle breeze blew through Nick's fur which he found taming as he could feel himself relax and forget his stresses as his fur would lightly caress in the wind.
Nick lightly bobbed his head in beat with the jazz music but he was smart enough to keep his eyes locked on the road, he did find it very boring being on parking duty but he knew it would be worth it once he would get to see Nathan happy little face again when he got back to Precinct 1, that was the only thing that kept Nick going forward, thinking about his son and being with him again.
Stopping at another red light with a few cars passing through, Nick patiently waited and rudely felt himself eavesdropping on the conversations of the Mammals around him, he just let his ears hear what they wanted to hear and it was as simple as that, but the conversations would usually be horribly dull, politics, celebrities, fashion, TV, cars, parenting and the list goes on, he would have to listen about parenting hacks while waiting for the lights to turn green but he didn't need parenting hacks since he knew how to be a good parent and it's simple as that.
"And we'll take a break now, let's listen to some commercials about products I don't want" the radio host said as the current jazz song playing ended and commercials about hardware equipment being on sale started playing, Nick always liked the radio host of this radio station called Jazztopia, he was so honest and not shy to share his thoughts despite him facing criticism from the media.
"Ha, my thoughts exactly buddy" Nick thought to himself as the lights eventually turned green and continued making his way to Precinct 1, taking in well known sights and streets to remind himself of where he was going and letting his thoughts take over sometimes.
Sometimes those thoughts would get a little, frisky.
What would Nick be thinking about that would be a little frisky? Him thinking about a certain grey female Rabbit with amethyst purple eyes and tall sensitive ears? Would that be enough to put the icing on the cake.
"Why am I getting these thoughts? I've known her for some time now but am I really in love with her? A Fox and a Rabbit? I don't know why but that sounds right in my head for some reason, maybe now isn't the right time" Nick thought to himself as he tried to think of something else that didn't involve Judy or anything with Rabbits in general.
He tried to think about something else that was more worthy of his time, those thoughts would immediately take him over as he could already imagine the happy times he would have when he returns back to a special little Fox awaiting him at Precinct 1.
"Oh I know a good place where we can get ourselves a good takeout for dinner, Nathan'll love the foods that they serve in that restaurant" Nick thought to himself happily as a smile formed on his muzzle which he didn't pay attention too because he was more focused about spending time with his son again.
He hasn't been with Nathan for 4 months, he has to try and make up for those 4 months of not being with the most important little Fox in his life, he could already think of everything he and Nathan could do in their free time, going on walks in the park, going to arcades, going to the beach on a nice sunny day, going to a waterpark and get soaked by the water, ice skating if they ever got the opportunity, the possibilities were never ending.
Although his work days would get in the way, at least he could initiate a secret mission whenever he started doing proper police work whenever Chief Bogo would assign to said proper police work.
That secret mission was to protect Nathan from anyone and everything that threatened his life and well being, to make the city safer for him when he grew up, to make the world a better place for him.
That would be a long and painstaking process, but Nick knew it would be worth it at the end, just like he knew how much seeing Nathan back at Precinct 1 would be worth it and taking him somewhere where they can get a delicious takeout and do father and son stuff together.
After many sickening turns and successful attempts at avoiding heavy traffic in the Savannah Central streets, Nick eventually arrived back at Precinct 1 with a few minutes left to spare before he could clock out, plenty of Mammals were still walking in and out of Precinct 1 and plenty of Officers were either clocking out of getting ready for their night shift.
Parking the clownmobile back perfectly where it was in the morning, Nick hopped out and stretched his arms and legs after a long and boring drive, smacking his lips by how thirsty and hungry he was, he did stop and get a coffee and some doughnuts at a café while on shift but he was still hungry either way, he could already taste the cola soda fizzing up his mouth already and couldn't wait to get one once he collected Nathan from either Clawhauser or Judy.
Using an employee only door to get into Precinct 1, Nick made his way into the locker room and went to his assigned locker which was thankfully at his height and unlocked it, took out his normal citizen clothes and began to change out of his Parking Duty uniform, neatly folding it and placing it back in the locker and taking his Police uniform which he had already put into a ZPD duffle bag he got from Judy, after getting changed, he closed his locker and made his way to reception to see if Nathan was there or not.
Once in reception which wasn't too busy with the few occasional Mammals and Officers walking about, Nick walked up to the reception desk where Clawhauser was typing away at his computer and Nathan was nowhere in sight, Nick assumed he was with Judy and went to ask Clawhauser to see if he was right or not.
"Hey Clawhauser!" Nick said in a loud but respectable manner which was enough to get Clawhauser's attention, even if it did make Clawhauser jump with fright a bit.
"Oh hey Nick! How was your first day?" Clawhauser said back as Nick was now standing in front of the reception desk, trying to pretended that he wasn't frightened by Nick greeting him out of nowhere.
"It was steadily boring but I filled out plenty of tickets and got in arguments with commuters but I'm glad now that it is over, for now at least. Nathan isn't with you?" Nick said, asking the important question at the end in which he hoped Nathan was with Judy or with someone else trustworthy.
"He's with Judy, she finished her little assignment today and is doing some office work in the cubicles, last time I heard about them was that Nathan get her high score on carrot crush and she seems determined to take her throne back" Clawhauser said as Nick sighed with relief in his head, he was glad that Nathan was with someone trustworthy and was having some form of fun.
"Oh did he now? I bet she isn't too happy about that somehow but my shift is over anyways so I'm going to collect him and get ourselves a takeout" Nick said as he waved Clawhauser goodbye and made his way to the cubicles, he specifically remembered Nathan's little tour around Precinct 1 so he wasn't going to get lost that easily.
Once he arrived at the medium sized cubicles, he began to look around to see if he could spot a pair of Rabbit ears standing straight up in the air, Judy was the only Rabbit in Precinct 1 so spotting her wasn't going to take a long time much to Nick's relief.
Looking around, he eventually spotted a grey pair of Rabbit ears standing in the air and he could hear the clicking of a keyboard from the cubicle he was looking at, Nick knew it was Judy's cubicle since it smelled like her.
"What? I'm keeping Judy's scent now? Stupid nose" Nick thought to himself as those thoughts began filling up his head again, trying to distract himself with thought of being with Nathan again wasn't going to work this time unfortunately.
"I'm probably going to end up telling her at some stage but not today, let's just hope she doesn't panic if and when we do tell her" Nick thought to himself so Judy wouldn't hear him and then things would get frisky very quickly.
Walking over to the Rabbit ear cubicle, he could see Judy typing away at her computer typing in what look like a diary entry and Nathan was busy colouring into a colouring book with some markers.
"Guess who's back?" Nick said as he knocked on the plastic wall of the cubicle which immediately got the attention of Judy and Nathan, Judy spun around her chair to see who it was and she smiled to see Nick back after a hard day of parking duty. Nathan however, he was more than delighted to see his Dad again.
"Daddy!" Nathan screamed with pure joy as he ran straight towards Nick and hugged his right leg tightly, Nick placed his paws on Nathan's back and gently patted him while smiling down at him, looking back up at Judy, she was just smiling and admiring how happy the two Foxes looked together.
"That's a nice thing to be greeted with, how was your first day on the job?" Judy asked as she hopped off her chair and awaited a response from Nick who was lightly tickling Nathan, light giggling from Nathan was the only background noise in the cubicle and Nick liked it.
"I don't understand how anyone could do Parking Duty for years, it's so boring but I'm glad it's done for today, I filled out plenty of tickets, got in arguments, resolved them using diplomacy and moved on, I managed to avoid the rush hour so thankfully I didn't get stuck in major traffic jams cause if I did, I probably would've arrived back way beyond the clocking out time" Nick said as he could imagine arriving back at Precinct after an hour or more from the heavy traffic jams of Zootopia, he hopes he will never get stuck in one for the rest of his career.
"Chief Bogo won't keep you on Parking Duty forever so keep that in mind. Little Nathan here bet my high score in Carrot Crush today so now I have to spend who knows how long trying to beat it like the little rascal he is!" Judy said with a humourous tone as she tickled Nathan who was still hugging Nick's leg, the three Mammals were getting a great laugh out of this.
"Don't give Nathan your silly little app games, he'll always beat your high scores no matter what, he did learn from the best after all" Nick said as he carefully tucked Nathan into his arms and fiddled with the fur on his head, making Nathan giggle as Nick's paw pads tickled his head.
"Taking it from someone like you, I'd believe it immediately. Have you clocked out yet?" Judy said as she asked the million dollar question at the end, Nick didn't clock out of work just yet because he thought seeing Nathan first was more important to him.
"I haven't yet, I think seeing my little boy first is more worth my time" Nick said as he and Nathan touched their heads against each other and nuzzled each other's noses, making them both giggle slightly, Judy loved to see the fatherly side of Nick because it showed that he could be a very nice and caring Fox, not a stereotypical one.
"I can't blame you for that I guess, I'll be clocking out soon but you'll get there before me, enjoy your evening and stay safe you two" Judy said as she left her paw out for Nick to shake, he gently placed Nathan back onto the carpet floor but he didn't skake Judy's paw.
"Really girl? Bring in the real thing here Hopps" Nick said as he opened his arms out and invited Judy for a hug, knowing she couldn't refuse to hug him, she hugged Nick and felt his arms wrap around her back which felt very fluffy and warm.
Just touching her would trigger those strange feelings again in Nick's head, he wasn't even hugging her that tight and he still felt the weird loving emotions to something of a different species, it was practically driving him mad at this point.
"I'll have to tell her at some stage, let's wait a bit and see where this goes like I've said to myself before" Nick thought to himself as he eventually broke the hug between him and Judy they both smiled at each other nervously while looking away from each other.
"Well, maybe whenever we have a day off work, I was thinking maybe we could, hang out with each other?" Judy said nervously with her paws behind her back and she slowly looked up at Nick as she spoke, little did Nick know that she was feeling the same kind of feelings he was at this moment, they just couldn't confess to each other and break the ice.
"That sounds like a good idea, whenever we have the day off and if we're not busy then maybe we could hang out, we already have each other's numbers don't we?" Nick said nervously as he felt himself get goosebumps under his fur, he didn't even know what he was saying at this point, his mouth was saying anything that would get him closer and closer to Judy.
"Yeah we do, anyhow, see you tomorrow" Judy said as she waved Nick and Nathan goodbye as they made their way out of her cubicle, they both waved back at the Rabbit and began to make their way to the exit of Precinct 1.
"Bye now, say thank you to Judy Nathan" Nick said as he lightly nudged Nathan's shoulder as they made their way out, Nathan nodded at his Dad and turned around to speak to Judy.
"Thanks for taking care of me today Judy, I had fun and you're the funniest and best Bunny ever" Nathan said happily as he waved goodbye to Judy who looked to have been blushing at Nathan's kind words, she waved goodbye and said a quick "Thank you" to the little Fox.
After clocking out of Precinct 1 for today and making sure he had everything with him, Nick made his way out of Precinct 1 with Nathan holding onto his paw and they had the rest of the evening to do stuff with each other.
Nick already had plans made for today while he was on Parking Duty, first he planned on taking himself and Nathan to one of his favourite restaurants in Zootopia, a takeout fast food restaurant in Savannah Central called "Savannah Chompers" which made some of the best predator fast food in all of Zootopia.
It was close to the apartment building that he and Nathan stayed in, although they would have to endure the amount of rush hour traffic there would be now since most Mammals will have clicked out of work at this time and the amount of cars blocking up the streets was horrific sometimes, making some workers use other means of getting to work other than using their cars like bicycles, motorbikes or even walking if they had the time.
"Alright son, let's go get ourselves a bite to eat why don't we? I know a good place we can go too" Nick said as he looked down at Nathan as they both walked, Nathan already looked excited at the mention of getting something to eat as he was starting to get a little hungry, sure, he had Clawhauser and Judy to rely on for food but he wanted something that would keep him filled for a while.
"Yes Dad! I'm pretty hungry!" Nathan said excitedly while holding his dad's paw, Nick made extra sure that no one around him was going to try anything funny as the taller Mammals at the Watering Hole square in Precinct 1 were known to shove other Mammals and pass no apologies or remark at who they push out of their way.
"I guessed that, stay close to me and-" Nick said as he began to give precise warnings to Nathan but he wasn't expecting Nathan to interrupt him when giving his warnings.
"Don't wander off anywhere or else Daddy will get worried and sad, thanks for warning me Dad" Nathan said in a rather cynical and bored tone, Nick was surprised by Nathan finishing his sentence like he had read his mind but he was happy that Nathan knew and did what he was told, even if he wasn't told.
"Well aren't you welcome? You're just like me, a right little scamp" Nick said as he smiled down at Nathan and began ruffling his head fur again which made Nathan giggle at his Dad's rough paw pads rubbing against his fur, Nick knew he had nothing to worry about but he hasn't seen Nathan for 4 months, he has spent more time under the care of Judy than his adoptive father and Nick was more than determined to make up for the amount of lost time spent with Nathan.
"That tickles!" Nathan said laughing as he playfully fought back against his father's ferocious tickle attack with his little paws, even though Nick was a lot stronger and seemed to always get the upper paw with Nathan but he always liked having a little tickle fight.
Making their way quickly out of the crowded Watering Hole square, Nick and Nathan made their way down a one way street which served as a shortcut to their apartment, but it wasn't their apartment that they were going too, not yet anyways, on they way to their apartment is another street that will take them to the restaurant that Nick planned on going too with Nathan, there were plenty of pedestrians on the streets and little vehicle traffic since it was a one way street which the pedestrians were thankful for since they wouldn't have to worry about traffic incidents or something worse.
Keeping Nathan close to him, Nick looked on ahead and carefully tapped Nathan whenever he was going to turn to let his son know they were turning so that way he wouldn't have to drag him aggressively around like a ragdoll, he made sure that he stayed in a clear area so that way he and Nathan were less likely to get stepped on and made sure they had a safe walk, all the while ignoring the many peeking eyes of civilians thinking a plot was up since there was a Daddy Fox and his little kit on the streets.
The street they were walking on was filled with many electronic signs that lit up in many colours, with Mammals walking in and out of them with shopping bags or a few knick-knacks they could carry in their pockets, it was quite a busy street but it was nothing Nick couldn't handle just as long as he sticked to his little and clever routine he planned out whenever he was walking on the streets.
Despite it being a scary situation with the amount of taller Mammals walking about along with the fear of being stepped on by a careless walker, Nathan kept himself calm and he kept close to his Dad's side so he wouldn't get lost that easily, Nathan didn't know the streets of Zootopia as much as Nick did so he tried not to think of a scenario where he would suddenly get separated from his Dad, but he knew himself that wouldn't ever happen.
"Jeez there's a lot of Mammals walking about, we should've went down one of the other streets instead of this one! There's no turning back now Nick, we'll be there soon" Nick thought to himself with slight frustration as he carefully maneuvered between the many pedestrians walking about, he felt his fatherly instincts kicking in as he kept checking that Nathan was as close to him as possible which he was everytime he looked down at him, Nick did not expect there to be so many Mammals out and about since he didn't really see too much activities on the streets, either those streets were conveniently quiet or not everyone was just bothered to walk through those streets.
Nathan did feel frightened with the many Mammals walking about, he felt so tiny compared to everyone else which frightened him very much but he knew it wouldn't be long until there would be less Mammals walking around once he and Nick reached the restaurant they were making their way too, the thought of eating fish and chips made him hungry and he hoped he could get some soon.
Thankfully the street started to decline with the amount of Mammals walking around as they got further and further down said street, reaching a junction they would have to wait for the traffic to make a stop at the pedestrian crossing they were waiting at, Nick kept Nathan close to him and they both patiently waited for the signal to go off so they could start making their way across the road, after what felt like forever, traffic started stopping and the walking signal turned green as the rapid beeping started to fill the air with the crossing sound, Nick and Nathan quickly made their way across the road before traffic would start moving again and they reached the other side, it wouldn't be long until they reached Savannah Chompers now.
After carefully through taller Mammal legs and patiently waiting at pedestrian crossing, the Savannah Chompers restaurant was finally in sight and Nick could hear the Messiah playing in his head as he laid his eyes on the long awaited sight.
The restaurant was painted a light tan brown colour with green window sills, small trees planted in black clay pots were sitting around the façade of the restaurant and an electronic sign flashing "Open" in red surrounded by blue flashed above the entrance, the restaurant was two floors high and in-between the two floors was the Savannah Chompers logo, the name was in bold white with block capital letters and the C in chompers had a chunk missing as if someone had bitten some of it off, its motto was "Predator food for those with a Predator appetite!", Nick had a friend who worked in there and he hoped he would be the one serving them today since he hasn't seen him in months. The two Foxes walked through the glass front door and waited in line like everyone else.
The floors weren't messy unlike a lot of other restaurants, the floor was made of glossy black tiles and there were plenty of seats for any customers looking for a bite to eat, there were more seats upstairs and there were even stairs at the back behind the restaurant which consisted of an open space which had a great view of the city.
The restaurant wasn't that crowded, there were plenty of predators sitting around or standing but there wasn't a long line which made Nick and Nathan sigh with relief when they made their way into the restaurant, the many smells of food cooking and the sounds of sizzling fries and sodas made the two Foxes mouthes water with saliva as they hungered for something to wolf down, no pun intended.
Everyone in the restaurant was a Predator, there were Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Cheetahs, Panthers, Wolves, other Foxes, Jackals, Hyenas, Otters, Bears and most other Predators that you could think of, some were already chomping down on their meals while others were still waiting, passing the time by conversating, typing on their phones or reading the newspaper, anything to pass the time as they waited for their food.
As Nathan and Nick waited in line to order their food, Nathan noticed a familiar looking young Wolf sitting down with an older Wolf which he assumed was his Dad, he had grey and white fur and his eyes were hazel brown, he was a red and blue t-shirt and a pair of black khaki shorts, he looked to have some scars on the side of his head which looked to have been caused by shards of glass cutting him, he was pretty tall for a young Wolf, probably old enough to be in the early stages of puberty.
On his left paw, there was a red silk ribbon wrapped around it, Nathan immediately knew who it was, it was the same savage Wolf from Cliffside Asylum who wanted to eat his candy bars and played with him outside his cell, even with not seeing him in 4 months, Nathan instantly recognized him.
He decided not to go crazy about it and wait for something to happen, the Wolf he recognised then passed a quick look at him in which he immediately looked at Nathan again, staring at him with recognition just like Nathan did to him.
"Dad, that's the little Fox I told you about before, that's him!" the young Wolf said happily to his Dad who looked over at Nathan and based off what his son had told him before, the Fox matched the description well, he wouldn't have to worry about Nathan being a nasty Fox since his son told him he was very kind to him.
"Well, why don't you go over and introduce yourself to him? Based off what you told me, the two of you liked each other back at Cliffside Asylum when 'it' happened, you're growing up and I think it's time you start doing these things by yourself to raise your confidence on yourself" the young Wolf's father said with confidence that both Nathan and his son had the potential to introduce each other and perhaps even become friends, the young Wolf stood up from his seat and began walking towards Nick and Nathan.
"Dad, does that Wolf look familiar to you?" Nathan asked Nick as he nudged at his leg, Nick looked over to the Wolf Nathan was pointing and he did recognise that Wolf to be the same one that was savage back at Cliffside Asylum, Nick immediately recognised the Wolf walking towards them and changed his facial expression to a smile to make the Wolf feel invited.
"Uh, hello mister, weren't you two the same Foxes back at that Asylum?" the young Wolf asked nervously as he was afraid that he might be mistaking them for someone else and that would've been very embarrassing, but he knew himself that they were the same Foxes from before, he hoped they were anyways.
"We were, the name is Nick, Nick Wilde, this is my son Nathan, you were savage back at Cliffside Asylum weren't you?" Nick asked as he done the talking, he remembered the young Wolf in his savage state back at Cliffside Asylum and how he wanted Nathan's candy bars so badly that he broke out of his cell in hopes of getting them, which he did and he was delighted for it.
"My name is Adam. I was savage back then, I don't remember a lot from that time but I remember seeing your son and playing with him while he was locked in his cell, then he gave me this red ribbon which I kept as a reminder of my new friend" Adam said nervously as he tried to hide how nervous he was, Nick could see and hear how nervous he was and he wanted to assure Adam that he had nothing to worry about.
"Well it's nice to meet you Adam, tell you what, Nathan, I'll order our food for us and you get to know Adam a little better while you wait, sound like a deal?" Nick said as he knelt down to Nathan at the end and waited for a response from Nathan, even though he already knew what Nathan was going to tell him.
"You strike a bargain Dad" Nathan said as he shook paws with Nick, Nick smiled and rubbed Nathan's head before he headed into the line that led to the counter where he would take his order, now Nathan was left with Adam and he was excited to finally talk to him, even though he hadn't really put a lot of thought into him recently since his life had enough things to distract him with.
"So, nice to meet you Adam, how are you doing today?" Nathan asked to start off the conversation on a good and steady note, this was the first time Nathan ever talked to someone he'd consider a friend so he didn't really know what to do when speaking to a friend.
"I'm doing pretty good today, how about you? How's today going for you?" Adam asked back to role along with the conversation, he looked over at his Dad who simply gave him a wink to show he was doing a good job so far, Adam intended on keeping it that way.
"Today was interesting, my Dad spent his first day as a cop today and he seems pretty tired but I'm certain he'll be fine, I stayed back at Precinct One while he was on duty and I had someone to watch over me while he was away, now me and my Dad are going to get ourselves something to chomp on" Nathan said as he looked over what he had done today, putting it simple and short for Adam who seemed dumbfounded by what he was hearing.
"Your dad is a cop? Never heard of a Fox cop before since, well, you know what Mammals think and expect of you, no offense" Adam said as he put his paws up in surrender, Nathan knew he meant no offense to him so at least he could live with that.
"None taken, he recently graduated from the Academy in Bunnyburrow and he was the best of his class believe it or not, right now he's getting me and himself dinner as you see right now" Nathan said as he looked at the ribbon on Adam's wrist, he kept it all this time as a reminder that he made a new friend, now the two of them could finally get to know each other better and be friends.
"That's certainly going to make everyone look at Foxes differently now that a Fox is a cop, wanna sit down with me and my Dad? We have our food ordered and you can sit with us if you want" Adam said while kindly inviting Nathan over to sit with his Dad, Nathan decided he would but it would mainly be up to Nick to decide but he was busy right now.
"Sure. I'm surprised you kept the ribbon as a memento, though I guess being savage wasn't a pleasant time" Nathan said which he immediately regretted at the end, wishing he hadn't said anything about being savage, now he hoped Adam wouldn't be mad at him.
"It was horrible, my parents were worried sick about me, I don't really remember much and I when I was cured, I had such an awful headache and I was very sick, when I eventually got better, I saw the ribbon on my wrist and I remembered you, the only thing I could remember from that horrible time" Adam said as he and Nathan made their way to the table and Adam and his father selected and sat down beside each other, Adam's father went to greet Nathan as he sat down.
"Hello there, I'm Adam's father but you can call me John or Johnny, I guess my son finally found the Fox he wouldn't stop bragging about" John said in a mature tone as he left his paw out for Nathan to shake, Nathan shook it but couldn't help but cover his paw afterwards because of how hard John gripped his paw.
"Dad! I don't brag about him I just- "sigh", he's the only thing I remember from being savage, I think that's a memory worth sharing" Adam said in protest, his Dad would always do this kind of thing with him and end up embarrassing Adam in the process, and it works.
"I'm just messing with you son, I understand wanting to cherish a good memory in bad times, you two just talk about whatever kids talk about nowadays" John said as he went back to typing at his phone, looking at the news and basically surfing the web.
"Well, you heard him, let's chat" Adam said as he looked down at Nathan, he was taller than Nathan which wasn't surprising since he was a Wolf, Nathan wasn't uncomfortable with this since Nick was taller than him and he was used to being beside medium sized Mammals.
"Back at Cliffside, you certainly did act funny when you saw that I had candy, you went as far as to break out of your cell by charging into the glass and breaking it just so you could get some" Nathan said as he remembered that moment oh so long ago.
"I guess that's why my head was sore when I came back to normal, why did I have to be targeted of all Mammals? I didn't do anything to deserve being darted with Nighthowlers, why would anyone want to be savage anyways? It feels so terrible, I can't control myself and I get scared I might hurt myself" Adam said as he rubbed his head, feeling where he hurt his head the most by charging through glass.
"That does sound horrible, let's just hope nothing like that happens ever again" Nathan said as Adam nodded in response to what he said, the Nighthowler crisis had certainly taken its toll on the city of Zootopia with months filled with fear and hate, some of which still exists to this day.
"Here here, what else happened at Cliffside? Anything worth mentioning happen when you were held in there?" Adam asked as he scratched an itch on his neck, being careful not to accidentally cut himself with his rather sharp claws which he had done before by accident.
"I got tased as me, my Dad and a Bunny cop named Judy Hopps tried to escape, they escaped by flushing themselves down a toilet but I didn't get lucky, the marks are still on my stomach and they sting whenever something touches them" Nathan said as he carefully lifted up his shirt and pointed at two white dots on his side, Adam reacted with an uncomfortable look on his face as he could only imagine what getting tased felt like.
"Yikes, that looks pretty sore, they locked you up afterwards but then the Police arrived later on and took over the Asylum and released everyone, I vaguely remember being put in a box cage and being driven off somewhere, after that, I didn't remember anything at all, but maybe that's for the best" Adam said making a very valid point, it was horrible being savage for him and he'd rather not know everything that happened after being taken away from Cliffside Asylum.
"Yeah, at least you got cured afterwards. This looks like your food coming Adam" Nathan said as he pointed at a Lion in a blue and black Savannah Chompers uniform with a red tray in his paws holding 2 bug burgers, 2 boxes of fries, two boxes of chicken goujons and two cups of what looked like Petsi, the Lion placed the tray down on the table and said "Enjoy your meal" before leaving.
"This is the moment you've been waiting for Adam? Let's dig in" John said as he began eating his bug burger and washing it down with his Petsi, despite him having a lot more teeth and a longer muzzle, he took small bites out of his burger like he was trying to savour it because of how good it tasted to him.
"Just watching them eat makes me hungry, Dad you better hurry" Nathan thought to himself as he began daydreaming, feeling himself zone out for a bit until Adam brought him back to earth, left with no other choice but to listen to what Adam had to say.
"Want a bite? I don't mind, I probably won't finish my fries anyways" Adam said, kindly offering Nathan something to eat which Nathan honestly did not expect from someone he just met, well, he did meet Adam back during the Nighthowler crisis but he was savage back then so they wouldn't cooperate with each other like they would now.
"Well, why not? Thanks Adam" Nathan said as he took a fry from Adam's fries box and ate it, tasting the lightly salted potato in his mouth, he dipped the next fry in ketchup which tasted nice to him.
"Hey, to our new friendship" Adam said as he left his fist out for Nathan to bump, this was the first time Nathan had made a friend, he felt so strange but he was determined to be a good friend to Adam, he hit his fist with his fist and they both retracted their paws, going back to eating their grub.
"Well well well, taking advantage when I'm away you little scamp? Our food is ordered, I got your favourite before you even asked you wanted it" Nick said with sarcasm at the start as he snuck up on Nathan and poked his back, Nathan wasn't expecting Nick to sneak up on him and Adam tried to hide his laughter at seeing Nathan get scared.
"Dad! I keep telling you to not do that to me! Don't you know how easily frightened I get?" Nathan almost shrieked as he nearly jumped out of his seat with fright, Nick sometimes took advantage of Nathan's jumpiness to mess with him like some dads would with their kids.
"What do you say? What do you tell Daddy when he gets you fries and a chicken burger for your dinner?" Nick asked in a fake sad tone as he put on sad puppy eyes and pretended to cry, Nathan really hated when Nick done this but he there was only one way to get past it.
"'Sigh', thanks Dad, you're the best" Nathan said in a bored tone, having no choice but to give in to Nick's demands to avoid any further embarrassment with Adam, Adam looked like he was having a blast since he was trying to stop himself from snickering from the debacle happening in front of him.
"That's my little boy, you don't mind us having our dinner with you Mister?" Nick said as he hopped up onto the same couch John was sitting on and made himself comfortable, each seat was lined in a cubicle order so Nathan was sitting beside Adam and Nick was sitting beside John.
"John, I don't mind you sitting with us, you're better off sitting here than trying to find other seats in this restaurant, they'd mostly be occupied at this stage" John said as he began looking around as did Nick, noticing the amount of seats on the first floor being mostly occupied, Nick would rather be sitting with someone he just met than trying to find a place to sit elsewhere.
While they were waiting for their food to be served, Nathan spent time chatting with Adam to pass the time, getting to know each other better like what hobbies they were into, what they liked to do during the day, what they wanted to be when they grew up, typical kids stuff in general, Nick and John mainly talked about adult things that Nathan and Adam were too bored to listen in on.
Nathan was glad to be reunited with the Wolf he met in Cliffside Asylum, he had actually nearly forgotten about him completely after everything in Zootopia calmed down and all Nathan wanted to do after that was relax himself, he was glad to finally have a friend so he could scratch that off his bucket list.
After waiting for what felt like forever for Nick and Nathan, their food finally arrived as a Lioness waitress gently laid their tray onto the table and said "Enjoy your meal" with a smile before she walked off to serve other customers, Nick and Nathan quickly dug into their food while Adam and John were finishing their dinner off.
Nick himself felt satisfied as he had worked a long and boring day on the force, he knew he wouldn't be in parking duty forever but it already bored him to death with how slow it is, even if he catches someone speeding or places a ticket on a car that was parked in an area for too long, he'd get the usual arguments you'd expect from angry citizens but he didn't care about that, he was well used since he was a kid.
But now that he had someone to take care of, it made it more worth his time as he wasn't only working for himself.
He was working for Nathan.
Today was extremely boring for Nick, but he knew that he'd get on into the real police work soon.
And it would be worth it to keep Nathan happy.
Eventually John announced that he and Adam had to go and return home before the Mrs started to worry about where they were at, Nick understood and Nathan said his goodbyes to Adam and hoped to see him again sometime. While Nick was saying his goodbyes to John, John gave his address to Nick incase they decided to plan a little playdate for Adam and Nathan one of the days which sounded like a good idea to Nick.
Afterwards, Nick and Nathan finished their meal and wiped their lips of any sauce or food grease with tissues that were placed on the tray and would start making their way home after Nick placed all the rubbish on the tray and carried it to the right sized bin, after he done that, he and Nathan left the restaurant and made their way home.
Not walking too quickly since they were full and would rather use the bathroom when they got home, Nick and Nathan made their way down a familiar street that led to their apartment buildings thankfully there wasn't too many pedestrians like there were last time so they wouldn't have to worry about crouching between legs and getting stepped on.
The brick apartment building finally came into view after walking around a few corners, Nick and Nathan made their way in and walked straight for the elevator since they were not capable of using the stairs without having a change of pants.
Listening to the static elevator music, the elevator made its way to the floor that Nick's apartment was on and the doors almost struggled to open as they hadn't been repaired in a while, once the doors opened Nick and Nathan made their way to their apartment with Nick unlocking the door and the two foxes stepped inside, Nick locking the door after him.
"I'm just going to use the bathroom okay?" Nick said as he made his way down the hallway to use the en suite in his bedroom, he only had to pee but he was going to bust one of his good parts if he didn't pee anytime soon, Nathan meanwhile sat on the living room couch and was about to watch TV but he couldn't be bothered getting the remote since he was tired from all the walking.
Once Nick was done using the en suite, he walked back into the living room to see Nathan had fallen asleep on the couch, it always touched his heart whenever he saw Nathan sleeping, he looked so innocent and carefree when he was asleep.
"Must be tired from all the walking no doubt, can't blame him either, I'll just listen to some stuff on ZooTube in my bedroom then" Nick thought to himself as he quietly walked over to Nathan and planted a soft kiss on his head, which made Nathan slightly fiddle about in his sleep while a light smile formed on his muzzle, making Nick's heart sink much more with how cute he looked in his sleep.
"This was definitely worth my day" Nick thought to himself as he made his way into his room to turn on his laptop and watch some videos on ZooTube with headphones plugged in to avoid waking Nathan up from his sleep...
Well I haven't been up to anything for a while have I? School has been long back and since I'm in my third year, a lot of work is expected from me so I haven't been writing anything lately.
It has taken me so long to make this chapter, I finally managed to get this finished after so long and I hope you guys appreciate this, I apologize if this chapter feels rushed but I just wanted to show you guys this story isn't dead.
So that's pretty much it I guess, I know it mightn't be a good excuse but I'm sorry, so much is being demanded by me right now, I hope you guys understand how much work I have to do.
I'm not stopping my stories, I'll finish them all, it will take time, lots of time I'm afraid, but please live with the fact that these stories won't be left alone.
Leave your reviews down below, don't forget to follow and favourite this story and myself of course and check out my other stories if you like my style of story choice!
Sincerely,
S47