Robert "Robin" Wilde was strolling down the sidewalk on what he thought was the perfect summer night. The wind was gently blowing north, not too cold, not too hot, just cool enough. His collar had not given him trouble today, the little light on its side staying on a safe green all day. In fact, the fox was pretty happy, considering the fact that yet another bank had just turned him down.

And it appeared that little mattered to the vulpine in the three-piece suit and black rimmed glasses that not only had he failed again, but that he had somehow screwed his last chance of getting his life back on track. No sir! Robin seemed very pleased with himself, probably because he understood that things were way over his control now, not that they had been before, of course. Just like every other predator in Zootopia, like every other fox, he only could roll his dice and pray for things to work out.

And this time, they hadn't.

For a long time now, Robin had been struggling to keep his business afloat. Wilde and Son. The best, and only, predator-oriented tailor shop. His Grandad had opened it, his dad had received it from him and then passed it on to Robin. They had never had much work, but the clients they had were loyal and as good as mammals come. They never could afford a full suit, but always managed to scrap enough every now and then to buy a new vest, slacks or even a jacket. And a Wilde piece of clothing was a piece of clothing to last a lifetime! Robin was very proud of his store, and he expected to pass it to his son, Nicholas, in the future.

But right now, the future of not only Wilde and Son., but the Wildes themselves seemed a little bit grimmer than it had been ever before.

It all started when Mayor Swinton senior had instituted the new "Predator Services Tax". The new law basically said that predators were due to pay a thirty percent more for all oriented services like: claw filing, dental care, grooming and, unfortunately for Robin, tailored clothes. It was all under the pretext that prey providers required an extra gratification for the danger they were putting themselves into when serving predators, but, in a classic move of City Hall, the mayor announced that Predator providers were also required to charge extra to their customers to maintain "A Healthy and Equal Business Competition."

It was a stupid policy that made life more difficult for predators all around the city, but it became especially hard for Robin and his Shop.

Unlike things like Health care or food, suits were definitely non-essential. And so, the predictable happened.

Day after day, month after month, fewer customers showed up to the shop, and even fewer made a purchase. Soon came the first month in which Wilde and Son. Made zero sells.

At first Robin tried not to resort to extreme measures, but sooner rather than later he had to let go half of his tailors. The other half lasted a month more before deciding to find another job that actually paid money. Robin could not blame them, he had a family too, but he´ll be dammed if he let his grandfather business go down in flames. He just couldn't get himself to do it.

So, he took what little jobs he could find. School Uniforms, Halloween costumes, Sport fan jerseys… He didn't remember anymore the last time he had sewed a suit, but it kept the store open, at least for a little bit.

At the time he had posed as the errand mammal of the company just to be able to get a few jobs from prey mammals, but then one day one of his clients had entered the store unannounced and found him in the middle of sewing a pair of oversized clown slacks for the circus. Word spread as fast as powder and suddenly Robin found himself without a nickel in his pocket nor a customer order on his desk. Then he began to worry.

When his debt had become bad enough and his bank send a red envelope with "Final Notice" printed on it, he started looking for a loan.

Of course, his own bank refused, he saw that one coming miles ago, so he payed a visit to its competition. But he had not accounted for one small detail: He was a fox in a world ruled by prey. Every single bank he visited turned him down, a few ones even refusing to even receive him. He had made his last bet on Lemming Brothers, only to meet failure for one las time.

Now he was walking home, a briefcase in one paw and his head tall and proud. He was afraid for the future, sure as hell, but he knew he had made all he could to try and change his fate. But there was just so much a mammal could do alone.

He crossed the street and set foot in the sidewalk were his little house has located, taking a moment to appreciate a brand-new Lioncoln Mark VII roll down the street, drived by a slender Thompson Gazelle. Robin could hear "No Son of Mine" by Goatnisis coming from the cars radio, and not for the first time in a while he wished he didn't have to sell his old Furd. It sure had had the best stereo in the world.

Before he knew it, he was standing before his house front door, the little bronze plate besides it whispering its address to the world: 1955 Cypress Grove Lane. Robin didn't bother repressing a smile when he saw a little inscription added in crayon bellow the plaque: "Maid Marian and Nicky´s castle."

He pulled his keys out of his pocket and was about to open the door when someone beat him to it. Suddenly the smooth wooden surface was replaced by a sight very much dear to him. The love of his live in all its glory: Her russet fur, shiny and well brushed; her narrow hips and shoulders and those beautiful green eyes that had trapped him from the very first moment he had seen them. She was his soul mate, sweet and reckless, with a temper as powerful as a storm, but always fair. In all the years they been together she had never left his side, not even on the blackest nights. She was the strongest mammal he had ever known.

That's why his heart skipped a beat when he saw the damped fur across her cheeks and beneath her glassy eyes, stained with ruined makeup all the way to her neck, were her TAME collar glowed a menacing yellow.

- Robin! -She shouted, throwing herself to his neck.

- What happened? -Robin embraced her, letting his briefcase fall to the ground.

- It´s Nicky! -She cried to his ear, sobbing uncontrollably. – Our poor Nicky!

Now Robin was really worried.

He found his son lying on his bed facedown, crying with his face buried in a pillow. He was still wearing his new Junior Scouts uniform, minus the cap, but it was dirty and scratched in various places. Definitely not a good sign.

- Nicky? -He called for him, knocking softly on the half-opened door. – Is it okay if I come in?

The little fox nodded silently while struggling to sit down on his bed. His eyes were puffy and red, and his snout was marked on various places, patches of missing fur revealing the reddish-pink skin beneath. Robin´s heart broke at the sight.

He didn't have to ask Nicky what had happened cause his wife had already filled him in with the details. Nevertheless, he asked.

- Do you want to talk about what happened? -He offered, not wanting to force him into reliving the experience.

Nicky shaked his head.

Robin understood, in his place he wouldn't have want to neither.

According to Marian she had dropped Nicky at the Junior Scouts Pack 914 reunion site. An hour later a ZPD officer had showed at her door with a crying little fox on his side. Apparently, the other members of the pack, all prey mammals lead by a woodchuck, had lured Nicky into a basement and then forced a muzzle on his face. Nicky had managed to escape and get rid of the hellish device, but not unharmed. Fortunately, a ZPD patrol car had been parked in front of the building and an officer had seed Nicky running away before he got lost. She accompanied him back to their house and listened to his recollection of the events along with a furious Marian.

At first the Vixen wanted to try and press charges against the kits, but both Nick and the officer had made her desist. In one paw, Nicky wanted nothing more to do with the Scouts, he just wanted to forget about the whole thing, and he made it very clear as he run up the stairs to his room. In the other, the officer, a very nice Elephant, made it very clear to Marian that, in case she managed to press charges, it would be her word against hers. She didn't have to say more. The Vixen had lived long enough to know how much value had the word of a predator in this world. So, she did the only think she could: She thanked the officer, walked her to the door, and started to cry until she had no more tears to shed. That's where Robin had found her.

And now here he was, in the room of his heart-broken son. He knew that raising a Kit, a fox kit, in the mess that Zootopia had become would be hard, that sooner or later Nicky would have to face the dire reality of The City Where Anyone Could Be Anything. But he had hoped it wouldn't be so soon, and yet here they were.

The older fox walked towards the bed and sit on it next to his son. He could feel an aura of sadness emanating from him, but it was filled with something else: Rage.

- I don't get it! -Said Nicky after a brief moment of silence. – I just wanted to be part of the pack! But they said… they said…

The kit looked up to his father, his big green eyes full of desperation. Even then, Robin marveled himself when he recognized his wife´s eyes in them.

- What did they say? -He already knew the answer.

- They said… They said they couldn't trust a fox without a muzzle! -The look on Nicky´s face was one of full shock. – Why would they say that? What did I do wrong?

Robin sighed, embracing his son´s shoulders with one arm. Such innocence, such eagerness to try and find what were HIS mistakes. Robin felt so much proudness and fear for his son.

- It´s not you, champ. -He squeezed his shoulders, sympathetically. – It´s just that some mammals… they just can´t see past appearances. They think that all predators are the same. They fear us…

- But I didn't want to hurt them! – Nicky threw his arms around his neck, starting to sob. – I wanted to be their friend. Only that…

- It's not your fault, Nicky. – He gently stroked his head, feeling the soft fur on his little ears. – Guys like those you better stay away from. For them Foxes are just liars and thieves…

- Why? -Nicky rubbed his face against his father´s shoulder. – Why do they think that!?

- That's beyond me. Maybe some fox did something wrong a long time ago… but we will never know. What we know is that this city is full of mammals that think like that, and in most cases it's not their fault. That's just the way things are. -Robin took a deep breath, taking a moment to choose his next words carefully. – But, the most important thing we should do is… is to never let them see that they got to you.

Nicky lifted his face until he found his father´s eyes, doubt painted across his face, asking for his father to elaborate. Robin did the best he could.

- "Never let them see that they got to you"?

- Well, yes. -Answered Robin. – There are some kind of mammals who enjoy hurting other animals, especially when they can't fight back. -He didn't notice, but his right paw went all the way to his TAME collar. – So, the best we can do is to negate them the satisfaction of seeing how much they hurted you. Sometimes the best defense is a smile…

- Even if I´m not smiling on the inside? -Asked Nicky, very softly.

- Yes, Nicky. Even if you´re not smiling on the inside. – That was his answer, painfully true.

Nicky looked at him for a full minute in total silence, until his lips curved upwards and gifted him with a smile. Robin didn't know if he wanted to laugh with joy or to cry with sorrow. So, he changed the subject.

- Hey! That's some sharp outfit you have there! -He said, tickling his son in the ribs.

- Stop! Stop! -Begged Nicky, laughing uncontrollably. – Dad, stop. Please!

- There we go! -Robin stopped tickling him and ruffed the fur of his head. – That's more like it. Never stop smiling, son.

Nick responded with a giggle, but his face darkened a little when his eyes wandered to his torn uniform.

- Dad?

- Yes?

- I don't want to be a Ranger Scout anymore. -He said, plainly. – I don't want to wear this uniform ever again.

Robin blinked twice, not especially surprised, but neither sure of what to do now.

- Well, then you don't have to. -He responded. – But it´ll be a shame to throw away such a nice neckerchief…

Suddenly an idea struck the older fox. Without a second thought he sprung out of the bed and ran past his wife, who was now standing just outside Nicky´s bedroom. A minute or too later her returned, a little case in his paws. He took Marian by the elbow and pulled her along to Nicky´s bed, both sitting besides a now very curious kit.

- What´s in there? -Nicky asked, carefully examining the little black plastic object. Marian just smiled, knowing exactly what were its contents.

- These… -Robin opened the case. – Where my father´s favorites.

They had a silver frame that made a pretty contrast with the black tear shaped lenses. Only they were not exactly black: When Robin took the aviator glasses out of the case and the electric light of the room shone through them, Nicky could see a bunch of never-ending flashes of deep red, becoming more or less bright depending of the angle of the light. It was like if they were made out of fire and ashes. They were beautiful.

- Wow! Where these grandpa´s?

- He got them on one of his trips to Gerbilny. He used to wear them practically all the time, even indoors! -Robin snorted at the memory. – He wanted me to have them, but I couldn't quite get used to them. -He poked his own glasses whit one clawed finger. – But I think they quite suit you. Wanna try them on?

- Yes! -The Kid squealed with delight.

Robin carefully passed them to him, and marveled himself at the reverence Nicky hold them with. The kid wasted no time and immediately put them on. The lenses seemed enormous on his little face, and the weight of the glasses pull them all the way down to his nose. But the smile beneath them was enormous.

- The fit perfectly! -Laughed Nicky.

- Don't worry, you´ll grow into them. -Said his mother, his sadness wiped away from his face by a smile.

- Yeah, you will. -Robin carefully adjusted the neckerchief on Nicky´s neck until it was straight as an arrow. – See! Perfect match!

Nicky looked down, amused with what he found.

- It´s perfect! Thanks Dad!

Father and Son fused in a tight embrace, that to Robin seemed to last a pleasant eternity.

- Remember champ. -He whispered to him. – No matter what you do, what you become, I will always love you.

- I know Dad, I love you too.

Finally, they split. Robin would have liked it to last a little longer, but that's the way things were. Right now, his thoughts were as far from his financial crisis as the South Pole was from the North.

- Hey! Watcha say if I go to the store for some ice-cream and then you, your mom and I watch a DVD together?

- That sounds wonderful honey! -His wife put her paw over his, a grateful smile on her lips.

- Yeah! Ice cream! -Shouted Nicky. – Can I have Blueberry? Pleeeeeease.

- Sure thing Champ!

Together they walked to the front door, Nicky between his parents gabbing both his hands. When they got to the entrance Robin kissed his wife goodbye and opened the door. He looked over his shoulder and saw his son, a living image of his own father.

- Looking foxy, Nicky! – He complimented him. His chest warmed when he saw his face light up. – Well, see ya´ in a bit.

With a wave of his hand he closed the door, leaving Mother and son alone. Neither of them both knew that they would never see him alive again.

A/N: I could use this space to warn you about English not being my first language or my writing being amateur, but, instead, let me thank you for giving this story a chance. I´ll try to take you in for a ride.