This had probably been the longest day in Tom's life. He was only a kit, anyone could tell you that. Mammals like to say that a kit should be playing with his friends after school, but life is not so simple. A friendship he had known as long as he could remember had seemingly been brought to an end today, and not exactly in a pleasant way.

Rodger had been selling catnip at their school for only two weeks, and earlier today Tom had watched him get thrown into a police car. He knew it would happen one day, but he never thought it would be so soon. Not today. He had watched as Rodger was dragged out of a classroom, right in front of him. Carried away, screaming and flailing, right before his eyes. Tom had seen it all, from the moment the rabbit officer had said his name in Ms. Snifferson's class, to the moment the squad car drove away.

He had followed the officers out into the hallway, and he had followed them down the hallway to the door, and he even followed them out the door onto the sidewalk, but he couldn't run as fast as the squad car. He didn't know how it would help, this following, and in fact he was sure it wouldnt help, but he couldn't just sit and wait.

The sidewalk outside the school was where he last saw Rodger. He remembered the way the fox officer had looked at him as he got in his cruiser, he would never forget it. The understanding, sympathetic gaze the fox had given him.

Maybe on a normal day he would be thinking about what it had meant, but not right now. He had done enough thinking already, and he was tired of it. Now he was in his spot, and he was just going to sit and relax. This was where he would always go, after school, maybe just on a weekend, or on a cool summer's eve. He would even go here on a day like today, at sunset, on a Tuesday, in spring.

His spot might not be anything special to other mammals, but It was a place where he was no longer held by the anxieties and the troubles of the world. It made him feel free, like he was floating above the trees, the cool breeze flowing across his nose. His whiskers vibrated with the wind, and a shiver went down his back. He was cold, but he couldn't go home. His parents wouldn't understand. They'd lecture him about drugs without a care for Rodger.

A tear rolled down his cheek, falling thirty feet to the concrete below. The sunset struck a sense of angst and longing into his heart. The beautiful sunset, the deep reds, the pinkish hue it cast on the clouds, the fiery orange and yellow that didn't burn, but rather glowed, with the serenity of a hundred thousand candles. It was perfect, and it was simple.

Why can't life just be simple... Just a sunset. Why can't a long day end with a hug and a pat on the back...

"You ok up there?" A female voice said from below him.

He looked down and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. Seeing the officer, the same rabbit from earlier, was a shock beyond compare. He didn't know if he was going to cry in anger or in sadness, but tears were sure to follow either way.

"Go Away!" He yelled, his voice cracking. He looked away for a moment, and used all his will to keep his composure, but could only do so much. He stared into the horizon, crying, hoping the two would leave him alone.

The sound of a car door opening brought his attention back to the cruiser, and he looked to see a fox getting out, looking at him the same way he did before.

Tom froze. His sobs stopped.

"You wanna come down and talk?" The fox asked. Tom hesitated for a moment, but quickly looked away.

"No!"

"Hey, we're sorry that you're upset, and I know how you feel, just come down and talk, please. Everything is gonna be ok."

"No its not! Rodge is in jail and I'm never gonna see him again!" He sobbed.

"Rodger is gonna be ok, He'll be back in school tomorrow."

That changed everything.

"Really?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, come down and we'll talk about it," the fox said. With his renewed outlook on life, Tom climbed down the utility pole.

"What happened?" He asked. The fox knelt in front of him, coming to eye level.

"Well... we let him go," he said with a smile.

"Really!?"

"Now, don't get too excited, he's still in trouble, but only with his parents."

Tom smiled. Everything was going to be ok, but...

"Why?" He asked. The fox looked down and sighed, quickly looking back up to lock eyes with Tom.

"Why don't you get in the car, let's get out of this cold," the fox said. He opened the door for Tom and they got into the cruiser, the bobcat sitting between the two officers.

"So, the reason why we let your friend go... is because I was in the same place once, a long time ago. I used to be a crook, a hustler. I'd fool people out of money any way I could. I knew it was wrong, but I felt like it was all I had. I... I felt like it was all I could ever be, as a fox," he said.

"But... why did you let him go?"

"Because he wasn't just some catnip selling scoundrel. He was Rodger. And I'll bet that if you ask someone that knows him, anyone that knows him, they'd probably say the same thing. They'd say 'That's Rodger.' Not 'some low life,' not 'a thug,' not 'a scoundrel,' but a friend, or a son, or a student. Someone who deserves a second chance."

Tom was quiet for a moment. He had never heard an adult talk like this.

"How could you tell?" He asked.

"I took one look at you, and I knew. I could tell, it didn't even take a second, I saw the look on your face... and I knew," the fox said, his voice faltering.

"Nick..." the rabbit said, putting a paw over Tom, onto Nick's shoulder.

"When you see Rodger tomorrow, I want you to give him a hug... a- and I want you to be there for him, and I want you to keep him on track... can you do that for me, bud?" The fox asked quietly, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Y- yes sir," Tom said, tears forming in his eyes. The fox gave him a smile.

"Well, we don't need you cryin' too, ok?" He joked. Tom laugh-sobbed, and went to hug the fox. He started sobbing again, for the third time because of these two, but this time was better. They were good tears. Maybe it was joy, he couldn't really tell, but maybe it was hope. Judy wiped a tear from her eye.

Stupid fox, she jokingly thought. She remembered the moment she recorded his admission of tax evasion. She remembered when he used the same carrot to record her admission of being a dumb bunny. After all these years, he had changed, from the cold and cynical con-artist he was, into the passionate public servant he is today.

After a brief embrace, the two officers drove the young cat back home, and watched as his mother hugged him on his way in. She waved to the officers and closed the door, and the two drove away. They saw the color of the sky, but the sunset was obscured by the houses and trees.

"He probably had a pretty good view up there," Judy said.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"I wish life were as simple as sitting on a phone pole, watching the sunset..."

...

A/N: I saw a news article about a bobcat that was spotted on a phone pole, and was immediately struck by the possibilities. I've got a bit of a fascination with the idea of catnip in zootopia, in my mind it's like marijuana, it's illegal but 'every' cat does it.

I have no interest in the real drug, but I think about the people who use it quite a lot. It's illegal, and yet so many people use it, so many normal people. It's the average person's vice. Rarely do people who use it belong in jail, yet we find them there often. Generally, its just people trying to get away, to relax.

But alas, it's illegal, and actions have consequences. What is to be done?