Bleeding Me – Metallica (watch?v=gscpOtPmS7s)
Nick sat in the driver's seat of the patrol vehicle; his head angled low-right as he watched the speed monitor for the vehicle mounted radar system. Every couple of seconds, his eyes would flick up at the road to see the next car that had the new reading. It was the second day of standard patrols. The duo was in Sahara Square and it was already looking like they would be back the next day. They hadn't given out a single traffic violation ticket. It was how it worked, though. The real baddies would push some high-profile crime run on the city. There would be a day or two's worth of counter-operations and raids. A half-day or day of paperwork after that, if the case had been closed with the operation, and then the next two-weeks would be staggeringly dull. The operation would go out over the newsfeeds and, all the sudden, all of Zootopia was on its best behavior.
Lunch had already gone by and the sunlight was bearing down on the black hood, glaring through any piece of glass or off any piece of metal that had an angle from his front. Luckily, it was not so hot to have to keep the windows up and the air conditioner on.
In the passenger seat, Judy was supposed to be taking a bit of a nap. But, between the fact that she was far more bored than Nick was and her curiosities about their trip out on the previous Tuesday's evening were driving him crazy. He could hear the difference in her elevated heart-rate, compared to when she was asleep, and he was waiting for her to give up trying to hide under her patrol cap. Judy was trying to be respectful and it was a kind gesture. Judy was also like a battery being charged with a device that was rated for over what the battery could handle. Eventually the energy had to be vented or there would be a detonation. Judy was also stubborn. She would press for answers until you gave up. But, she could also use that drive to hold back until she was blue in the face with frustration at herself.
Nick was fine, truth be told. But, because Judy was being stubborn, he was trying to figure out a prank for her that wouldn't give the doe a heart-attack. The todd gave her the side-eye to ensure that the doe could not see him from under the patrol cap. Once that curiosity was satisfied, his eyes wandered over her form. She was laid back against the corner of the seat and the door with her hindpaws crossed on the center console between them. The twitch of her fuzzy digits had him second-guessing if she was asleep or not. He decided to play a low card to draw her out.
"I'm pretty sure Clawhauser painted Wolford." Nick said loudly, still watching the road.
"Turn the radar down, Nick!" Judy snapped at him from under the hat.
Well, that didn't work, He thought.
Nick's brow raised in annoyance as he released a sigh through his nostrils. "We're down to three-over, Carrots. I'm being a dick just by having it that low. And, they're not even going the speed limit out here. I'm not going to be a Townie and lower it to one-over in the hopes of catching someone when the average median is four-under." He replied calmly. "What did I tell you when you finally tracked me down?"
"You told me to be plain with you." Judy muttered.
"The other night…" Nick said slowly, taking another firm breath as he took the first step for her. "I asked Karma to let my parents walk together in their next life... Your turn."
The annoyance dissipated when Judy threw her patrol cap up against the bottom edge of the windshield. He had hit the nail on the head, but it felt like he had driven the patrol vehicle over a landmine, so the fox held fast.
"How do you know?!" She asked loudly.
"You're challenging the best mammal in the business at the art of reading mammals." Nick countered simply. "And, it's you. I trust you. And, you trust me."
"That explains nothing." Judy lied.
"Your fuzzy little head will pop off if you don't ask your questions?" Nick chuckled questioningly, still not taking his eyes off the radar. "And, I'm telling you that it's fine."
Nick could not keep the smile from showing when the doe growled at him. More time passed before she decided to speak up.
"I thought that your father was buried." She finally said.
"Considering the fact that I was at the funeral, I can say I thought so, too." Nick said, setting the radar-gun in a door cubby before picking up the mic. "Dispatch, this is Unit-Three. Mark us down for rolling patrol."
"Roger that, Unit-Three." Clawhauser radioed back.
Nick pulled their patrol vehicle out onto the road and began driving around the district, eyes flicking down to check the time to ensure when they needed to head back. Both of the duo knew that there was more that needed to be said.
"Mom left me a letter explaining everything. The marker was more for everybody else that knew the couple and, later, for me after I left. I never really considered it... But, it makes sense. Red foxes don't do well separated from their mates, so my mother kept my father as close to her as she could." Nick finally explained, several miles down the road.
"What will you do with them?" Judy asked cautiously.
"I don't know… Mom didn't leave me with any special requests." Nick said, brow up as he tilted his head side-to-side. "Both my parents were brought to Zootopia by their parents. They didn't really belong anywhere in the world. They didn't have it any better than I did growing up and they grew up just as alienated. I don't think it's right to put them in the ground here and I have nowhere to take them internationally."
"What will you do then?" The doe inquired quietly.
"They're going to stay together in the house for now." Nick replied simply. It was not even debatable. "That won't bother you, will it?"
"No! Of course not!" Judy blurted out. Nick could feel her eyes boring into the side of his skull.
That response caused Nick to fight between a frown and a grin in turn, ears pinning down at the sudden scrutiny that he was under. It was expected from the doe. But, it was also a bit of an issue that she did not understand.
"It's weird for foxes that aren't related, OK? It's superstitious for some." Nick explained in a clipped manner. "I don't know if it's the same for bunnies."
"Even it if was, Nick… You know that I'm different from others." Judy said, hearing every bit of the inflection of concern.
"That wouldn't stop a lingering concern from me: if you had a specific raising. That's my point here. I've seen welcomed guests leave homes over such a revelation." The todd continued, waving a paw sympathetically. "I have never had a problem with it, despite my species' specific concerns about the dead, and I didn't want you to be surprised by it."
"Of course not, Nick! I asked you to go in on this place with me so that we could both feel comfortable and safe!" Judy urged.
Life's cracking whip – or Karma's, depending on who was viewing the situation – was a helluva distraction for Nick lately. The red fox was extremely analytical, though. The loss of his mother was devastating, but it also shored up his resolve. There was nothing left for him to defend on his own frontlines. There was just the doe – Judy Hopps. Carrots. Fluff. His dumb bunny. And, he would fight for her. Defend her.
"Do you feel 'comfortable' and 'safe', Judy?" Nick asked, throwing down the gauntlet. "You said 'we' and we haven't covered the 'you'."
Nick did not have to look over to raise any more meaning from the sudden gasp that she released. Judy had been deflecting from herself the entire time they have been together; since that fateful night in the pit. Nick had been prepared to let her open up on her own about things because the doe was not like him. There weren't the same defense mechanisms in her that the todd already had learned. But, nearly three-years later? Nick was rightfully concerned that it would eventually all come crashing down on her. He knew. He knew that the beautiful, gray-furred bunny could lift anything over her own head. But, when Judy was the one putting the weights on her own barbell? That would mean a catastrophic collapse at some point.
And, Nick was not going to let it get that far.
Nothing more was said for the remainder of the patrol. Nick reported in to Clawhauser that they were going off-duty and returning to the station for the end-of-shift after another hour had passed. He had planted the seed in her mind and could only hope that it would germinate quickly within his partner. There was nothing to feel bad about anymore. Technically speaking, Judy had requested him as a partner within the ZPD. That meant that he had to ensure that she was as mentally sound as he was in the scheme of their logistical compatibilities. She had expected the same of the todd, in turn. There was nothing for him to feel bad about… but, Karma did not give one solitary fuck about his feelings. There was no helping feeling like a shitheel.
The duo returned home shortly after five in the afternoon. Nick did not bother cleaning up after the front door had closed behind them. He left Judy to complete her normal routine while he began making dinner for them both. It was a simple affair comparatively. The gray doe ate her dinner, after the fact, in an orderly fashion and thanked him for it cordially. After that, Judy went straight upstairs and not even Nick could miss the emphasis behind how softly the doe closed her private door.
He spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the kitchen and washing the laundry before sneaking out the back door. Darting out into the darkness, Nick knew exactly what he needed to do in the moment. Judy would be safe and, no thanks to him, preoccupied. The resounding sense of betrayal almost made the todd pitch a plate at the wall for his impromptu words earlier on. The todd felt like he had painted Judy into a corner with the question and he was furious at himself. No matter how sound the reasoning was.
Running down through the streets that he knew well, Nick ducked through chain-link fence bolt-holes and over picket fences for several miles. Friedkin would have been proud of the todd's performance on the makeshift physical training run, no doubt. He slowed within the last half-mile to catch his breath. Mimi's eventually fell into his sightline and Nick took his time entering through the front doors. There was no helping the sigh of relief that pour out of the todd at the sight of the building.
The stillhouse was moderately filled out with the earliness of the evening, so Nick took a seat at the end of the bar and waited for Gerard Deacon to make his appearance from within the backroom. When one of the waitresses tried to serve Nick, he merely raised a calm paw to wave the female away.
The Gray eventually came out a few minutes later, noticing the fact that the non-discrete waitress was urging him to deal with the newcomer. As soon as Gerard saw that it was Nick, the fox angled his head towards the paying customers, taking in his surroundings by eye instead of beelining it straight for the customer with the most important business. Slowly, Nick watched as the other todd made his way down the bar towards him, servicing any mammal that needed a new refreshment between them first. Nick withdrew a folded twenty between his fingers and waited for the visual to be seen. When Gerard saw the indicator, but he was looking around the area for the other members of the group, before the todd minutely shook his head from side-to-side in declination before raising a pointed finger at the stage. The customer in front of Gerard was looking at the Gray like he had lost his mind.
Nick pushed off the bar with a purpose, hearing the sound of a whistle off to his right. He knew it was Gerard giving a signal for something. Nick already had a hunch to what it was and withdrew his phone, typing out a quick message on his notepad before vaulting up on the stage. Sure enough, three other foxes materialized out of the gloom from behind the stage, throwing themselves up on it to meet with the visitor. Nick quickly flashed the message to the group and saw them all return the confirmation with fanged and determined grins. It seemed that they were all as eager for some action as the officer was. They were Gerard's kits, after all, and they knew Nick well.
Mixtures of red and gray foxes, inked more in black than the primary colors of their parents. The Deacon todds were both equally blended to the darkness no matter the streaks of red and dark gray in their black furs. They flowed across the stage far better than Nick, who stood out with his solid russet and white tones.
As soon as his rhythm guitar was chosen, Nick waited for Wilson to clash on the high-toms before he began strumming along the instrumental lines of the song. Mark and Gerard Junior merged in with the electric and bass guitars seconds before Nick merged with the microphone stand, the drums kicking in before the lyrics, and the todd's voice flowed in seamlessly.
The crowd's attention was not on them until Mark slammed in as the lead with Nick following on the high-notes of the intro's bridge. It calmed them down, though not catching everybody's attention as the song lulled back into the monotone notes of the second verse.
Nick had their complete attention when he hit the second bridge. The sound of the electric behind him wailed as deep as he dug for the vocal tones in the next chorus, clenching his eyes shut as he felt tears welling up in them.
"Heh-yuh!"
The makeshift team grabbed another gear in the song with Nick's belted prompt, locking down his discomfort with steel as the Mark's electric tones bended his fur and screamed into the todd's soul through the instrumental bridge, and the second chorus poured from his maw with an echo from the crowd. They were matching his tones and words line for line, some holding so much emotion that Nick almost whined at their own pain.
Most of the predators that frequented Mimi's were considerably older than Nick himself. They had suffered their early adult lives under the restriction of TAME collars. When the todd opened his eyes, through the song, he could see the glints of light off raised shot glasses and mugs. He could see pale white flashes of bare skin on their necks as heads were bobbed up and down to the rhythm. He could hear some of the voices breaking as those preds were brought back to their tortured former lives. Nick was singing with a crowd of mammals whose pain he would never know… as long as he could prevent it happening again.
"Come on!" Nick bellowed at the crowd. He wanted to hear them.
Wilson's toms eventually bled out and Junior took up with the bass through the fade as Nick and Mark took up the supporting pieces. The lyrics belted back at him grew louder all the while.
"Caught under wheel's roll,
I take that leech, I'm bleeding me!
Can't stop to save my soooOOUL!
I take the leash that's leading me!"
Wilson was the point instrument throughout the final chorus, hammering on the drums so hard that Nick could swear the other todd would break his sticks. There was such a strong desire to look back to see just how hard Wilson was trying to beat the drumset.
"I'm bleeding me,
OHHHH! I can't take it, I can't TAKE IT,
I CAN'T TAKE IT!
Oh-HOH! The bleeding of me!"
With Nick's final shout, "Come on! Bleed me!" Mark struck with the electric, grinding and squeezing every single bit of power from his guitar into the speakers surrounding the stage. Nick could feel his body shuddering and gasping for air, paws shaking so hard as he barely kept up with the supporting notes, while the gray-accented todd power-stroked into the crescendo. Peaking. Falling a bit. Taking it down into his final piece before the drawdown.
Nick took over the slowed tone of the outro, reverting to the deeper monotone voice, from the beginning of the song, to end it just the same. The crowd joined him all the way through as they were brought closer to the edge of the stage. He hit the final high-notes as the guitars fell completely away from the area.
The sling from the guitar was immediate tossed over his ears before Nick whipped his head up at Mark. As soon as the guitar was set down on its stand, Nick took a long stride over to the eldest todd, grabbing his paw and rolling a wad of twenties into it while slapping Mark on the back with his left. Once they released, they ignored each other so that Nick could shake Wilson and Junior's paws', respectively. Nick didn't even acknowledge the fact that the stillhouse patrons were clapping and hooting uproariously as he ducked behind the curtains of the stage and out the stage exit door. He could hear the instruments starting back up before the door fully closed.
The nighttime air was distinctly chilled as he rushed down the southern route of the ally. Nick's body was shaking so hard that he could not still his paws even after shoving them in his utility pants pockets. Nick took off towards one of the bus stations, as if Major Friedkin herself had ordered him to double-time it, without even taking a moment to catch his breath.
The bus ended up taking him to the Riverside ZTA subway entrance. The todd kept to his shadows as he made his way unground to board the subway car, waiting as it began moving towards the west. The Inner Loop line would take him around nearly all of the districts just on the mainline. But, he would get off sooner than that first and take the eastbound back to the Acacia Street stop later.
Nick was patient as the subway curved around bends and made stops on its way north, into the Marshlands. There were subtle looks around the train-car to ensure that nobody was really paying attention to the exhausted todd. The overhead lights bathed every mammal riding within in a bluish-white light while the yellow lamplight from the outside flashed by every couple of seconds. When the subway came out from underground, Nick readied himself. The ride was short, just shy of twenty-minutes, and they were eventually at the Moss Street platform within the Ficus Grove subdistrict of the Marshlands.
The air was somewhat chilly beyond the lit platform as Nick made his way to the north, heading up a couple of blocks to find the shop that he had been planning to stop at. Nick ducked into the adjacent alleyway and pounded on the rear entrance door outside before waiting patiently. The intercom box next to him buzzed with the sound of a reply before a voice poured out.
"Order?"
"Wilde." Nick replied, hitting the microphone button.
The sound of another buzz, from within the building this time, indicated that the door was unlocked. Nick stepped through and made sure that it was firmly shut and locked behind him. Neither Nick, nor the owners, expected anybody else to be in the area wanting to see them and it would take a breaching charge to remove the bolts from the hinges and surpass the locking mechanism.
Nick made his way into the front of the clothing store to take a look around the merchandise while he waited on Gregory Fedorov to meet him with what was already ordered. The store was run by the Fedorov couple; each specializing in male and female clothing lines for all mammals within Zootopia. The tundra wolf couple immigrated from Moscow, before the fall of the Soviet Union, to seek out a more unified location to sell their clothing in. They were one of the last mammals that were still around who had known John Wilde in the flesh. Mostly because the todd's father had been a direct competitor in the southeastern portion of Zootopia. A friendly rivalry, though.
"Wilde!" Gregory shouted, causing the todd to jerk his head towards the manufacturing door of the establishment.
"How are you doing, Fedorov?" Nick called out.
"It's late." The larger white wolf groused.
"Not for the Nocturnal." Nick replied, stepping over to the main counter.
"I didn't believe it when I heard that you were ZPD. It's good to see that you got your head screwed on straight." Gregory said, noticing the gold badge that Nick had clipped to his belt. "I hear you are doing great work out there."
"The Chief doesn't exactly disagree, so that's a happy meal for me." Nick said, holding a total agreement in reserve.
"Well, that's a good thing. But! Equally important, I have your requests here. All of the items are custom tailored, as you requested, and each example comes with all of the complementary pieces needed. Ties, headwear, etcetera." The wolf smiled, pulling packages up onto the counter for the todd to consider. "Do you want to see them?"
"No. I trust that they are exactly as I requested them." Nick declined, pulling out a roll of Zootopian currency and placing it down on the counter for Gregory.
Going through the bills, the wolf frowned a bit. "I heard that Vivian passed away through a colleague, Nick. Is it true?" He asked.
"Yes." Nick said in a clipped tone while stacking the soft-wrapped packages accordingly. "Cancer took her late last week. If there are any bills due unto the Wilde Family, I ask that you tell me now. I'll get them taken care of on my family's behalf."
Gregory frowned, doing the mental count on the cash that Nick had provided for him on the order. Their two families had been extremely close due, once upon a time. "Your family owes me nothing, Nicholas. Nothing that isn't already included in this, as it is." He said lowly.
Nick looked up at the wolf sharply, reading his father's friend for any sign of a lie. "If that ever changes… If the accounts don't match up later. You contact me for a total, single payment. I will not leave a debt unpaid." The todd's voice held an edge in it.
"You don't owe me anything, Nicholas." Gregory growled back. "And, I am so sorry to hear about your mother's passing. What will you do?"
"I'll rebuild." Nick replied simply, folding the stack of packages under his left arm. "Thank you, Fedorov. You'll see me again. And, good night."
The two canines nodded at each other in kind before Nick made his way out the door he came through, listening to the buzzer as the door was remotely unlocked for him. He quietly made his way back to the subway and took it back down to the south.
There was a bit of levity on the todd as he made his way from the subway station back to the house. Nick could not help but smile as he snuck his way around the house until he reached the back door, carefully unlocking it with the key before sliding into the building. How as he supposed to fight the old ways that were ingrained within him? It was a right bit of fun to be sneaking around where he hadn't needed to.
Once Nick was upstairs in his room, he stripped down the packages to their based forms so that he could review the contents. After that was done, Nick studiously put them all away in several locations around his room. There was nothing left to do after that, and it cause the todd to fall into his bed to seek the sleep that the mattress held.
...
The following couple of days were not easy for the duo's chemistry. Nick knew that there was nothing that he could do now about the line-of-thought that he had forced upon Judy, and the doe had subsequently kept quiet through the majority of the following weekend and well through the follow-up work-week. Nick gave the doe every bit of space through that week that he could.
A rumor had brought the todd to the Harbour Street ZTA station late on the evening of the 11th of December. When the extension-line train stopped at the station, Nick carefully leaned up against a pillar near the baggage claim so that he could clearly see all of the doors of the train itself. There was a scent on the wind and, in short order, Nick found his target nervously looking around the platform to figure out where they were going.
Nick took off to the exact claim when he heard the alert buzzers going off. His mark would be disoriented by all of their senses and that would buy the todd some crucial time. Near the initial release point, Nick stood and checked every single tag until he found the bags of his mark. There were no qualms about removing the bags from the conveyor system and taking them to a nearby, non-operated baggage turnstyle.
It was both boring and hilarious to watch his mark stand at the turns-style, watching as the same chosen purple bag went around three times without a single notation of their own bags' rotation through. The mark clearly became frustrated as they threw their paws up into the air, looking around wildly for a baggage clerk. The two mammals met eyes for a split-second while Nick's grin grew wider. His mark had no clue whatsoever: despite seeing their own bags momentarily.
Nick stood up between that and his mark's dismayed conversation with a baggage claim attendant. When the two met eyes again, Nick grinned all the wider while Robby Hopps nearly blew his top in the middle of the concourse. The buck stomped over towards the unused baggage turn-style with a mission.
"You asshole!" Robby shouted, not even fifty-feet away.
Nick grinned a bit more while he waited for the buck to close three-quarters the distance before speaking.
"Didn't your parents teach you watch out for sly foxes?" Nick countered finally, chuckling all the while.
"Fuck you!" Robby exclaimed, throwing a balled paw at the todd.
Nick bounced the thrown punch off of his flat paw before using his free palm to wallop the buck over the side of the head.
"Don't give that crap!" The todd retorted, throwing the buck's bags at him. "I'm cute and fluffy!"
"Like a vacuumed warren fuzzball, you giant red ass-blister." Robby said indignantly.
Nick's barking laugh echoed across the concourse as he hooked the buck around the neck, dragging him away from the area with one of the bags in-paw.
"C'mon. The last thing we need is Transit Authority detaining us and forcing us to sit around until the 'proper hour' to call my boss at the ZPD." Nick stated.
"You're lucky I realized it was you!" Robby blustered, following the todd across the pedestrian paths to the parking lot.
"Puh-lease… You were clueless for nearly a half-hour." The red fox needled.
Another laugh was loosed when one of Robby's bags collided with Nick's back. It was a short walk through the evening air, considering the lack of a breeze in the winter air while Nick followed his originally path in. After a moment, he spotted the truck and led Robby over to it. Fortunately, the bags were heavy enough to ride in the bed of the truck without fear of them falling out.
"How did you even know that I was here already?" Robby finally asked, buckling in.
"How did I know?" Nick countered loudly, laughing at the buck's conundrum a bit. "I'm hooked into HWNN these days… Someone let it slip on a public post that you were headed this way as early as two-days ago."
"Of course…" Robby muttered. "How did you get away without Judy knowing."
Nick grinned a little at that, shooting the buck a side-eyed wink. "I'm a fox, after all." He replied simplistically.
The truck roared to life at the flick of his key and Nick took off across the parking lot, heading for the Breezeway Apartment Complex. The streets were sparsely trafficked just before midnight and there were a pawful of mammals along the sidewalks: out to complete whatever tasks they had set forth for themselves.
"Didn't get to see much on the ride in, did ya?" Nick inquired.
"Not much of anything except for the stops between Bunnyburrow station and here, no." The buck replied, trying to take in as much as he could see through the gloom beyond his passenger window.
"Did you let Tracy know you were coming, or do we need to go see her?"
Robby looked over and shook his head. "We have to see her. I don't have the key." He replied.
"Cool!" Nick said with an even toothier smile. "You'll love her."
Nick rounded the last corner after waiting on the light to go green and drive the truck into the guest parking lot. They stepped out and Nick grabbed one of the buck's bags, making sure to be careful incase there was something fragile within and the two males made their way inside. Nick guided Robby down the ground floor hallway until he came upon Tracy's room.
"We won't wake her up, will we?" Robby asked just before Nick knocked on the door.
"Nah. We just have to hope she's not out partying." Nick said loudly, projecting his voice at the door itself.
"I heard that, you russet-furred devil!" A shout came from within the room.
"I brought a new tenant with me and he needs a key." Nick explained, grinning widely.
The door flew open and the pretty little squirrel looked up at the two males standing in the hallway. Nick smiled, more at the fact that Robby has suddenly become extremely nervous, and he waited.
"Hello, Miss Hudson. I'm Robby Hopps." The buck said.
"And, aren't you a handsome devil in and of your own right?" Tracy commented.
Nick swore that he heard Robby swallow his tongue at the forwardness of the diminutive squirrel and it brought a huge smile to his muzzle. The buck was going to have a lot of fun in the city once he learned the minds of the mammals within.
"I'm pretty sure she's more of a pred than I am." Nick whispered urgently, elbowing the buck.
"Shut up, Nicholas! Don't scare him off." Tracy admonished the todd before looking up at Robby. "Come on. Your room is right here. It is Nick's old one."
Tracy scurried between Nick's legs and launched herself up at the lock on the door, setting the key and turning it before dropping to the floor. Nick turned and opened the door before withdrawing the key, letting his two friends step inside prior to following them in.
Nick set the bag that he was carrying down in his old room while listening to Tracy explain all of the rules and points of the apartment to Robby. It was quite amazing to see how little had changed within the apartment since he had been gone and, yet, how much of it had changed. The custom locks that he had installed were gone. The bedroom was immaculate and clean. The kitchen area was upgraded with new appliances and paint. It took nearly a half-hour for the buck to eek out all of the questions that he ended up having and for the paperwork to be signed.
After all was said and done, Tracy vaulted up onto Nick's shoulder to give him a hug around his neck.
"It's good to see you again, Nick. We'll catch up later." She spoke quietly.
"It's good to see you, too, Miss Tracy." Nick replied softly, watching as the doe took off for the door and headed back to her apartment.
The todd turned his sight to Robby, who was slowly looking around his new apartment with an innate interest. Nick walked up and clapped the buck on the shoulder with a firm paw to get his attention. It had been his Friday and despite the fact that midnight had already passed, Nick could get away with being out late.
"C'mon. I'm starving." Nick said, conscience of the fact that the buck was as well.
Placing the key in Robby's paw, Nick led the buck out of the apartment and back to his vehicle. As he drove by, Nick raised a paw to indicate the house that he was living in now and where the buck could find his sister at any reasonable hour inside of their standard dayshift timeslots. After that, it was a short drive to the corner of Acacia Street where he slipped the truck into a parking spot behind Kendra's Coffee. Robby was silent upon their arrival, merely following Nick into the establishment. It really wasn't all that far from his new residence within Zootopia and the fox led him in, to a booth inside. Nick regarded the buck closely once they had sat down: curious to know if there was any concern in Robby all the while.
"Was your girlfriend broken up about the move?" Nick finally asked.
Robby's face looked as if he had just slipped on a patch of ice; Nick had taken him off his game again. Who better to do it than the best at playing the game, after all? The buck chuckled softly because he knew that, too.
"I don't have a gal." Robby explained.
"I would have figured otherwise, but alright. That makes things cleaner." He replied, smiling a bit as Kendra walked over to the booth. "And, there's the lady of the hour. How are you, Kendra?"
"Of course, it's Nicholas Wilde. Where have you been?" The jaguar inquired.
"It's been busy at work. But, I brought a new regular to make up for it." The todd placated.
"I can see that." Kendra said, looking the buck over. "And, he looks delicious."
Now… That caused Robby to look as if he had cracked his head on the iced pavement. The only sound at the table was that of Nick's breath being expelled as if a balloon was losing its air… just before the todd exploded with laughter. Nick flashed two fingers while he wrangled the amusement that had welled out of his body.
"Or… Maybe it's just the females who are more predatory than I am." Nick coughed out after Kendra had disappeared. He was fairly sure that Robby was about to flip him off. "Don't worry. Her pendulum doesn't swing that way. Kendra's a good friend to have and a good friend of mine. She's just fucking with you."
A few minutes later, Kendra brought out two plates on a platter. Nick's favorite breakfast platter and one of the same in vegetarian-style and a couple of beers. The todd dug straight into his plate while Robby was more conservative about his consumption pattern.
"You don't drink." The buck commented.
Nick shrugged a bit at that. "Very rarely, I know how to celebrate. You're walking into your new life and that's something to celebrate." He explained, taking one long sip from his beer before placing it on the table and sliding it across to the buck. "And, you need a couple of beers."
The todd stared Robby down while they both ate their meals. He knew the signs. Robby was trying to get a read on him, and it wasn't going the way that would have benefitted the buck. Between every couple of bites, Nick noticed the buck take a drink until he was forced to exchange the empty glass bottle for the remaining full one.
"You're not sleeping." Robby said finally. "Are you?"
"It's the weekend for me. Of course, I'm not sleeping." Nick countered smoothly. "When do you start for the new firm?"
"I'm here ahead of my starting date. They know I'm heading back to the Burrow in a few days for Christmas. I start sometime in the second week of January unless I come back early." Robby explained, forking a bit of side-salad into his muzzle.
"You'll be doing the whole sightseeing bit before that, huh?"
"I guess. I'll know more when the sun comes up, really. I'll see the places that capture my attention and, yeah, I'll seek them out." The buck explained, catching a little in voice as he sought out the right words.
"You have an iCarrot, right?" Nick inquired.
"Of course. Nearly every Hopps does." Robby said.
Nick grinned, giving a nod of acknowledgment as he withdrew his phone from his pocket, before firing off several different maps to Robby's phone before shutting the system down again. He watched as Robby opened his messenger application and looked over each of the datafiles.
"And, you should be able to figure out your Zoogle Maps. The plain bus and ZTA route images work better than trying to dig them out within the maps app." Nick explained, filling with humor again. "The PDF, though. That's important."
The lack of levity in the words that Nick spoke last brought the buck's eyes up. The pieces of turkey bacon and chicken tasted amazing mixed with the eggs on Nick's plate. And, the hash-browns? Bless Karma for them, with a little bit of ketchup and salt added on. The todd let his fork rest on the plate, politely, so that he converse with Robby properly.
"Why is that important?"
A sigh permeated the booth as Nick watched the dark tan buck closely. Emerald eyes were met with a depth of brown that Nick had only seen on some of the bayous, that he had fished, of the Canal District north of the Rainforest.
"It's for emergencies. If something goes wrong – nearby to wherever you are at – you're to go to one of these places as fast as you can and give the owner my name. You tell them that I sent you. They will know how to reach me." Nick explained simply, still watching the for a response in the buck.
"I understand."
The muscles around Nick's heart constricted at the simplicity of the response from Robby. They both knew that Nick did not know exactly what the issue was, but the lacking sense of urgency in the todd's tone drove the point home swifter than any predatory growling or snarling would. It took all of Nick's being to hold back the rising sense of fear in his mind while taking the fork into paw again. Robby trusted that whatever Nick was feeling in his gut was likely going to come to pass: no matter how vague the concept was to the red fox.
"If I came here?" Robby finally asked, forcing down more of his beer.
"You come through the alleyway employee entrance and ask for Kendra specifically." Nick replied simply. "This is one of the safe havens that I have established in that PDF file."
Unknown.
The concept of what was unknown was what kept the words off of Robby's tongue. Nick could read ever curl, of every fold, on the face of the buck sitting across from him. The tightening of hickory buck's body read the whole story. Now, he was concerned about his sister's wellbeing – due to who she was gainfully employed by. But, there was nothing more to explain. Not yet. There was nothing else known and Robby was skillful enough to read Nick's features, in kind. And, Nick hoped that he understood, Judy's wellbeing was already well in-paw.
"There are others who are here, Nick." Robby explained shortly, not being able to help the fact that he looked around the diner nervously.
Nick got it. There were other Hopps' family-members who were already within the city.
"Then, you pass them the PDF with the same instructions."
Eventually, the two finished their semi-impromptu "lunch" and Nick unfolded several varying pieces of Zootopian denomination without taking flight from the booth itself. He knew that the jaguar would not question what was laid down even if she took approached the two before they had left the establishment.
"I will suggest that you hit the beach on the east side of Lion's Bay. Even this late in the season, the place will be nice and warm for a swim. Sahara Square has all of the best beaches, but that place will give you a great location to view the Causeway from." Nick eventually chuckled. "It makes me wish we were over in Haymarket. I've got a place that has the whole Zootopia map under a glass tabletop."
"Is it a nice place?" Robby asked, looking down at the wooden top of the booth's table.
"Yeah. I've taken Judy there once." Nick said, a look of reminiscence plastering his face as he looked out the window. "Took her fishing back then."
"Judy went fishing?" Robby asked loudly.
"Well, I mean… I invited her! It was something that I used to do, and I had an itch to do it again!" The todd blurted out.
A rolling chuckle came out from the lips of the buck sitting across from Nick. Both from being somewhat non-believing, but also impressed at such an idea. Nick could not help releasing a nervous chuckle with Robby's own laughter after a moment. There was no surprise from the buck, by the sound of things.
"You should have seen this bass that she caught. I swear to Karma." Nick said happily, pulling out his phone to show Robby the pictures.
"Woah! Holy shit!" The buck exclaimed, taking the todd's phone in-paw as he considered the fish that was over half his sister's height overall. "What did she do with it?"
"Weeeeell…" Nick began. "She ended up selling it to a shop near that place that I mentioned, in Haymarket, and it went to feeding some of the local community."
"You haven't even told her how much that was worth, have you?" Robby whispered, becoming suspicious.
"There was a buyer." Nick said, the undertones of a returned firing measure clear.
"You know who, though."
"I do." The comment came smoothly. "And, she doesn't need to know about something that I have never been able to change. Not every good deed has to be done with full knowledge. Now, come on! Let's get you back to your new place."
"I hope you get caught and get your ass whooped."
Nick grinned a bit at the fuming nature of Robby Hopps. There was nothing malicious in the buck's statement despite the awkward grin that he was depicting. The two mammals knew that Robby was one of the few that Nick trusted wholeheartedly in the current frame of time. Robby was a little frustrated, and rightfully so, but he was not – one bit – hoping that the todd would get caught reentering the residence down the street.
The drive back down to the house was shorter for the buck than the initial drive out. Nick pulled the truck up to the curb and threw the transmission in park before tossing the door opening. The red fox jumped down to the street and slammed the door shut before slinking underneath the frame to the passenger side of the Furd. When he popped out on the sideway, it nearly startled Robby because the buck was looking around the front and rear windows of the vehicle.
"Have it back by Monday morning, huh?" Nick grinned widely, knowing only his teeth would show aside from his eyes due to the darkness surrounding this particular portion of the Earth.
"What?!" Robby shouted through the passenger window.
With a shake of his head, Nick indicated that the buck should roll down the window.
"It's got paw-levers on the steering wheel for throttle and brake controls. The mechanical controls are already set for it because I modified a wolf-sized vehicle to fit me. You'll be fine."
Robby spun around the cab of the vehicle before leaning out the window. The explanation apparently did nothing to calm the poor fella down.
"What if I wreck it? This isn't like driving the Deere back home!" The buck said urgently.
Looking over the lightly lifted pickup, Nick smiled a bit. The honest to Karma's truth? He had built the whole truck up from a scrapheap with the help of Finnick years before. There was a bit of sentimental value to the project, but the Furd wasn't a "her" or a "him" as some vehicles were to some owners out there. The black paint was already scratched to Hell from its use as a proper utility vehicle. The truck was a tool. A means to an end.
"It's just a truck, Robby. And, don't worry," Nick said, turning away with a wave and leaving the buck sputtering. "You're on the insurance."