Ready for the climb?

Zootopia belongs to Disney. Spider-Man belongs to Sony.

Chief Bogo was like a rock caught between two hard places. Wait, that's not it. A rock had wedged him into a hard place. Huff. He was in a pickle!

The press had somehow gotten wind that the Black Spider, as he had been referred to by some in the high-end business community, was in custody, and almost immediately, lawyers were stopping by the ZPD in droves. And then they learned of his status as a minor with no legal guardian. That put the old chief in a very big pickle indeed.

Of course, City Hall was nervous. The mayor called the commissioner complaining that he was about to lose his job (the commissioner that is - yeesh!) if the situation wasn't taken care of. Something had to be done with the boy. The most obvious course of action would be to place him in juvie. Slight problem though: it was more dangerous to place a child as unstable and, more importantly, powerful as the cub into a cesspool filled with raging hormones and ruined preadult lives. Chief Bogo knew what the risks were. Either the mayor didn't understand, or he was more concerned with... other matters... coughvoters!

So the chief was in a major pickle. He couldn't keep him here, per regulations, and he couldn't put him in youth jail because reasons. Arcturus had already been in holding for just over a week while this Kenten was under investigation, and litigations were on hold. But that leopard was missing, so the situation was growing more dire. The ZPD's rep was at stake.

Oh, think!

There had to be an answer.

He was just glad his star officer was on the case.

Judy walked downstairs into holding to see something that surprised her.

The young panther had slipped off the top of his one-piece orange jumpsuit and tied the sleeves around his waist. She was astounded at what he was doing at the present moment.

He was upside-down, supporting his body with three fingers on one paw. He slowly lowered himself to the floor, then launched himself with a grunt a few feet into the air, then caught himself with three fingers on the other paw.

Judy stared in awe at the youth. She scanned his upper body, marveling at his large, toned muscles that rippled under his fur. His body radiated with power. He looked unstoppable.

She shook her head, suddenly remembering why she was there.

"Happy birthday, Danny!"

Danny happened to be in midair when she shouted the greeting. He had been facing away from her and was so focused on balancing himself that he did not hear her approach. He yelped before coming down hard, grunting on impact. Judy cringed, her ears falling briefly. Unbeknownst to both of them, a certain red fox was trying to keep from laughing. And no, he was not watching Judy's interaction with the cub through the security cameras, he was checking them! Gah, stupid conscience!

"Sorry!" said Judy as Danny groaned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," he grumbled as he stood up and shook his head rapidly. He slid his arms back through the sleeves.. "You just..." He saw the large pan Judy was carrying, along with a plastic shopping bag. "What's that?" He pointed to the large, blue... thing on the pan. On top of it was a red inscription in cursive, but he couldn't tell what it was from his current line of sight.

Judy's face tilted, her eyes and mouth widening. "You don't know what this is?! It's a birthday cake!" She tilted it toward him and he saw that the writing spelled out in large, red characters, "Happy 12th!"

He perked up. A birthday cake? He had heard of those when he was little, but he had never actually seen one up close. He and his father didn't ever really celebrate birthdays as far as he could remember, which rankled him endlessly even after his death. He would see other kids having birthday parties and did not yet understand that, oh yeah, that costs money, which they happened to be a little short on at the time. He felt a little apprehensive about calling it a happy birthday, not being able to remember a time since his dad's death that he had actually been happy. The best, and only, gift he'd ever received was his book, which sadly had been left at the compound. It had ignited his love of chemistry. And it kept the memory of his father alive. This was the first time since he was four that anyone had mentioned his birthday, let alone mention any kind of celebration of it.

"But... m-my birthday isn't until-"

"Next week, I know," she said. "But you've been through a really hard time."

He whispered under his breath, "Quite an understatement."

"I think it's high time you had a break. And what can I say?" She bounced on the balls of her feet, her shoulders locking in an excited shrug as she said in a squeaky voice, "I love birthdays!"

The side of Danny's mouth pulled into a subtle smile. Happy or not, he was hungry. And Wildes' attitude, he had to silently admit, was something he really liked about her. Even given his general animosity toward prey, she seemed to be a bit of an exception, even if...

She killed your dad, remember?

The thought lingered in his mind. But his experience of her could not have produced less evidence of his accusation. He had thought that she was playing him for a fool. But over the past week, she had been nothing but kind to him. He buried the thought down deep.

"You want to try it? I baked it myself!" She held a bag in her paws along with the cake. She pulled out several supplies - plates, utensils, napkins. Nick was not present; he remained at his desk, doing paperwork while pretending to not keep an eye on the security footage. Her devotion, while admirable, caused him a great deal of stress from time to time. He had insisted on going with her, but she had all but forced him to stay at their desk. Ooh, that woman could drive him crazy...

He had found her in the kitchen the night before, baking a cake at two in the morning. When he questioned her, she told him that Danny's birthday was next week, and she wanted to celebrate it.

"So why not wait until next week?"

She had turned, foot thrumming rapidly, eyes sparkling, and made a squeaking sound. That said it all. She couldn't wait. "He's going to love it!" she had said.

Nick had responded, "What if he doesn't even like cake?"

Ugh! Judy thought to herself. Why has he been so cynical lately? But still...

She had paused, worry beginning to creep in at the suggestion. But she immediately pushed it back down. "Ah! He will! And even if he doesn't, that's not what it's about."

"And what is it about, Carrots?"

"It's about showing him we care!" She looked at him with that optimistic smile.

We?

"Carrots, don't get too close to him. He broke the law. You break the law, you're removed from society. That's how it works."

She quickly turned towards him, already having an answer ready to fire back.

"Really?" She'd put a paw to her chin, feigning contemplation. "Because I seem to remember a certain predator who evaded-"

"That was different!" he had snapped, cutting her off. "I never hurt anyone. I never stole anyone's money."

She narrowed one eye and raised her opposite eyebrow, while smiling in a way that said, Really? Never?

"Ok fine, I did a few things I'm not proud of. But look at me now, I'm not like that anymore."

She could tell he bristled when his past life was mentioned. "That's right, Nick." She poked his chest in time with her next words. "You. Changed. Why can't he?"

Nick's eyes lingered to the left for a moment as he tried to come up with a sound argument. She didn't let him. "Besides, he's just a kid. He needs a chance to change. If you were able to go from a con fox to a cop fox in your mid-thirties..."

"Early thirties."

"...he can change at eleven - er, twelve." Nick chewed on this for a few seconds before Judy continued. "I actually see a lot of you in him."

He looked back at her. "Is that so?" He honestly couldn't agree more, and that was what worried him. He'd shared that same bitterness, except this was much worse, in a way. He had been ridiculed growing up, mainly by prey. But Danny watched his father's murder at the paws of prey at such a young age. He shivered at the notion.

She continued, "I mean, he doesn't have your kind of charisma." She gestured at him. "But he's had to learn how to just survive every day. And it's true that you never attacked anyone, I'll give you that. But you lived the life of a hustler because you thought the world would never look past your species. And..." she took his arm with her paw in a very familiar way... "I think it's the same with him."

Nick had felt like he did when they had ridden the sky tram during their first case when she had told him those famous words: You are so much more than that. He still didn't trust Arcturus. But his wife truly had helped him turn his life around. Who was to say she couldn't do the same for the kid? This may have been a different situation, but Judy never knew when to quit. Who knew? It might just work. Hopefully she just wouldn't get too close.

"Ok," he had said before planting a kiss on her forehead. "But if you get hurt, I'm killing both of you." He then proceeded to smooch her forehead repeatedly. "Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!"

She had giggled, trying to talk over the smooching noises. "Fair enough you stubborn fox."

In response, he picked her up bridal-style. "Oh, I'm stubborn?! Look who's talking, Mrs. Wilde!" He strode toward their bedroom.

She giggled loudly. "Nick, wait, we gotta get up for work tomorrow!"

"Don't care, you're mine tonight..."

Nick's warning, though given whimsically, went through her mind as she unlocked the cell door. She was not technically allowed to do that, even though she had her own key. She was unsupervised. But she had to try. Everyone knew she was down there, and they were dealing with a unique situation, so why not break a few rules? She had to try to get through to Danny. Plus she had let most of the officers know what she was up to and had vaguely told them to be at the ready on the off chance that Danny might try something.

They all had told her to be careful, with the exception of one. Clawhauser had rested his chin on his paws and sighed, saying, "Aw, look at you, you're a momma after all." Judy had cringed a bit, since that was not the case; she was only acting as a momitor- er, monitor of sorts. Point being, she kept everyone updated on the situation.

Really, she did it more for Nick's sake. He was being a little overprotective, after all.

The cub watched her intently. She was unlocking the door. Did she not think about the fact that he could escape at any moment with the door open?

What is with this dumb bunny?

"Sure," he finally answered, "I'll try some." He tried to sound casual but couldn't help injecting some skepticism into his voice.

She pulled out a plastic butter knife (smart) and cut two pieces of the cake. It wasn't that he was going to try anything. He still didn't trust her, but she hadn't given him a reason to do anything - not that he would have anyway.

"What's in it?" he asked evenly.

"Uh, let's see. Flour, cake mix, eggs, blueberries, yeast, sugar, water, and instant pudding mix," she fired off immediately. "In a word: cake!" She sat down on the floor, just outside of the cell. She held out a plastic fork to Danny, who slowly approached her and sat down, not taking his eyes off of her. He felt a little dumb. He'd never used a fork before; he always used his paws. Kenten didn't allow any of the enforcers or lab techs to use silverware besides spoons on occasion, lest they get a couple of fancy ideas. Which was weird, considering the compound was filled with guns!

He watched as she took a bite, moaning rapturously from the flavor. Everyone at the precinct had agreed a long time ago: whenever she and other colleagues had a party, she handled the cooking, along with Fangmeyer. Oh, she loved cooking before her days at the academy when she was back in Bunnyburrow. But she didn't have many chances to cook when she initially came to Zootopia. It was nice to reestablish her hobby when she and Nick bought their house after they married.

After taking a bite, and much more confident the results would be desirable, she watched him with a big smile. She wanted to see the look on his face when he tried it.

He looked down at the triangular slice of cake. No one had ever celebrated his date of birth before. He didn't know how to feel about it. He didn't even know how to use this three-pronged plastic contraption. He tried grasping the utensil the way she had, but he could not figure it out. He settled on holding it tight with his fist and stabbed the fork into the middle of the cake on its side, thrusting it all the way through, and trying to lift it. But the cake split down the middle. He tried again. Same results. The pastry was getting smaller and smaller. His face tensed in growing annoyance.

Judy giggled. "Here, let me help you." She gently took the fork from his paw and deftly cut a small piece from the side, balancing it on the fork's teeth. She slowly lifted it up to his mouth. "Open up!"

He did, nervously, and closed his mouth around the cake. She drew the fork carefully from his mouth, and the cub's eyes grew to the size of teacup saucers.

The flavor was overwhelming. Never, in his entire life of powdered supplements and fish sandwiches, had he ever tasted heaven. And did it taste good! Judy laughed joyfully at his reaction.

He loves it!

Danny wondered at himself as his tail flipped and flopped, and- did he just purr?! Where'd that come from?! And his tail, it had never done that before, it always just hung behind him!

Judy had to suppress her "AAAAAW!" when she saw how adorable he was suddenly. "I guess that means you like it?" she asked. Without answering, Danny snatched the fork from her paw, bumbling as he tried to hold the stupid thing. She scooched across to sit right beside him. Again, what was with this bunny? Once she showed him how to hold the fork and use it properly, he got the hang of it pretty fast. He proceeded to devour the slice in less than a minute.

"Now slow down!" she said laughing. "You don't want to choke!"

After finishing the first slice, she asked if he wanted another one. He picked up his plate and said, "Yes!" with a generous nod.

They sat and enjoyed slice after slice of cake for the next hour, Judy easing into conversation with him. She asked questions about him, about what he loved. His answers were short and simple - and some questions he didn't know how to answer. But he appeared to enjoy being able to share his life with someone, even if there wasn't much to talk about.

"I never got to thank your dad for being so nice to me. It was the first time since the conference that a predator showed me kindness like that, up to then." Danny stopped eating for a moment as she reflected. "I wish I could have gotten to know him. I probably wouldn't have left the force that day."

"You left the police?" he asked. He hadn't heard about this.

She gave a melancholy nod. "What I said, it didn't just hurt predators, Danny. I saw everything it caused. I hurt a dear friend of mine, who (she smiled) also happened to become my husband." Her expression settled into melancholy again. "I really am sorry. For everything. Can you forgive me?"

Remember, Danny, always forgive.

The words from long ago echoed in his mind. His eyes drifted to the side, staring at nothing in particular.

Always forgive.

I can't.

Forgive.

Why? Cake or not my dad's still dead because of her.

Forgive her.

Danny's mind was locked in a battle with itself. He didn't respond.

Judy waited, terrified to do anything, to even move. The die was cast. It all depended on his answer. She didn't notice that her ears had fallen, but they were still tense. Her nose twitched involuntarily.

Danny slowly held the plate out to her with a blank face.

She seemed to deflate, her ears relaxing fully. Her eyelids drooping ever so slightly, she silently took his plate and put everything back in the bag. The cake was not quite finished, but they had both eaten a copious amount. Danny got back in his bed for the night, facing away from her.

"Happy birthday," she said hopefully, lingering before turning and slowly walking away.

He didn't respond. She sighed but kept her head up. He liked the cake. That was a good first step, albeit imperfect. She wasn't going to give up on him. Ever.

As she left, Danny wondered if it was possible to forgive her for what she did. But once she was out of earshot, he couldn't hold back a smile.

Maybe. That cake was really good.

He began to doze, his stomach full and satisfied. He was beginning to like this bunny, even if he could never forgive her.