This evening was like any other at the Wilde residence. Nick had come home about two hours ago and could hardly resist his recliner's siren song after dinner. Miles, however, was wide awake. In need of something to occupy his mind, he observed the framed photos that hung on Nick's wall, portraits and events the older fox held strong attachments to. A group photo of his graduating class of new ZPD recruits, a few pictures of him and Judy together, and even a certificate of adoption, the affidavit that bound Nick and Miles as father and son. Yet there was one that was set apart from the others, an old-looking portrait of an unfamiliar female fox. Miles took the photo of the wall and examined it, captivated by the strange vixen he held in his hands. The woman shared Nick's slender figure, sunset orange fur, and emerald green eyes. She was clearly of elderly status, yet she had not a fleck of grey fur to be found. Even in her twilight years, she had a natural beauty about her that could not be eroded. Curiosity piqued, Miles padded over to Nick, who was drifting off into dreamland, and tapped him lightly to get his attention.

"Who's this?" Miles presented the photo to his father with genuine interest.

Nick shook himself back to the world and took the photo from his son. When he noticed who the younger tod was inquiring about, he caressed the edge of the frame, smiling to himself as he did so. Nick had always been a mama's boy as a kid, and even though they grew further apart as he aged, he still knew she loved him. The red fox harbored so much guilt for pushing her away like he did, which made him all the more hopeful for when he would get to see her again.

"It's my mom. I don't think I've seen her in person since graduation from the academy. God, it's been ages."

Nick went back to where his photos hung and placed the one in his hand on a plastic wall hook. He dropped to look Miles in the eye and took hold of his son's paws.

"Would you like to meet her?" Nick offered eagerly, "I'm going to see her soon. We have so much to catch up on…"

Miles looked away in an anxious manner. "I-I dunno. What if she's…old-fashioned? You know, like, transphobic? Or what if she's disappointed in you for not having a wife, or a biological kid?"

Nick put a hand on Miles' shoulder. "Miles, my mom is not transphobic. I don't think there's a bigoted bone in her body. There's nothing you have to be afraid of, and I know you'll love her as much as I do."

Miles thought it over. He was nervous for the event to come, especially while being put on the spot, but realizing how much excitement it brought Nick was what gave him the courage to accept.

"Okay," he sighed, "I'll meet her. You're gonna be with me, right?"

Nick patted Miles' shoulder with a smile. "Of course I'll be with you, I'm the one who arranged this meeting, aren't I?"

As Miles went off to his room for the night, he couldn't hold back his nervousness. If Nick talked so highly of her, why was he so afraid? The young tod had to remember it was all in his head. "It'll be fine," he told himself, "It's not like I have to say anything. I'll just sit there and let them talk. Yeah, sounds like a plan." Though he still had his worries, Miles felt content with himself. For now, at least.

When the day came for the Wilde family reunion, Miles' anxiety returned. Nick, on the other hand, was more than ecstatic. He had a certain pep in his step that Miles rarely saw, so this event was certainly of utmost excitement for him. The grey fox bounced his leg the whole ride to wherever his father would be taking him. As the car came to a stop near Nick's childhood home, the older vulpine was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Nostalgia, and a bit of unease. His mind flashed a memory of the night he came home from that horrible event, an event he pushed to the back of his mind. He tried to remind himself, those days were over now. Today was a day of healing, not of worry. However, Miles did not look to be carrying the same eagerness as Nick, and he looked over to his son with an empathetic expression.

"Maybe I should just wait in the car," Miles stuttered, "I'm still not sure about this. I don't wanna interfere with you guys…"

"Hey, you won't be interfering at all," Nick reassured the young tod, "You're part of this family now. I'm sure things will go well."

Nick's fingers rapped on the faded white wooden door, scratches and peeling paint denoting its age. Nick had lived in this building his whole childhood, and it seemed his mother couldn't bear to part with the old place. It was a small suburban home, only two stories, but just enough for the two of them to have gotten by. Nick imagined it felt much more empty when he moved out twenty-odd years ago. The chain lock on the door was heard rattling free and the doorknob twisted, opening inside with a comforting feminine voice.

"Oh, Nicholas! Do come in." Nick's mother beckoned with a hug and a grin as her son stepped into the main hall.

The female red fox was about Nick's height, and she looked exactly how the photo presented her. She wore a violet blouse and a magenta skirt along with a simple silver-colored necklace. Her face acquired a puzzled expression as she noticed Miles, who was standing outside a few inches behind Nick. When he met her gaze, he shyly looked away and felt his anxiety begin to spike up.

"Is this a friend, dear?" She asked, pointing in the youngest fox's direction.

"Oh, where are my manners!" Nick sprung from his mother's side and stepped to the side.

"Mom, this is Miles," he then turned his attention to Miles, "And Miles, this is my mother."

Nick guided Miles into the house, though he felt quite a resistance from the young vulpine. Miles quietly took a nervous gulp as Nick shut the door behind them.

"Why, he's a child," she suddenly noticed, "Is he…is he yours?"

Nick nodded as stepped to Miles' side. He put an arm around the boy and gave a proud smirk. The older vixen began to scan over the boy, taking in every detail of him. Once finished, she looked back at Nick with a comment. Her tone didn't sound angry or disappointed, but more confused or curious. Her brow furrowed as she tried to put the pieces together.

"He looks nothing like you. You aren't even the same kind of fox. Nicholas, be honest, now. Are you playing some joke on me? Is this really your son? Or perhaps, is there a special someone in your life you're not telling me about?"

If he was still a hustler, Nick was confident that he could con any mammal in Zootopia except for her…and possibly Judy as well. Lucky for him, this was no joke. Nick had to have a chuckle at his mother's assumptions.

"I'm single, and Miles really is my son, just not by blood. Yeah, the two of us had quite the adventure together, but in the end, this little rascal stole my heart."

"I'd like you to elaborate further," she instructed her son, "Please, find a seat, and let's talk."

Nick chose to sit down in the dining room with his mother across from him. Unbeknownst to either of the red foxes, The young grey fox of interest sat down on the floor, hidden behind the wall of the entryway to the kitchen out of view. Miles' notched ear twitched like it always did as he folded it down so as to better listen in on their conversation.

"You're a father?" the vixen began, "And how long have you kept this from me?"

Again, she wasn't angry with him, Nick could tell, but it didn't appear she was too happy about being left in the dark about Miles. His mother had never raised her voice at him, let alone punished him as a kit. She was always a gentle and understanding parent, even when her son would misbehave. The younger red fox straightened his tie and gave her his honest answer.

"I adopted Miles not very long ago. I wasn't exactly sure how to tell you, so I figured I'd bring him along when we met up."

The older red fox folded her paws on the table. She had hardly heard from her son for six years, and he returned to her as a father. She pressed on, needing to know more of how this came to be.

"So, how did this happen? You had no interest in having kits of your own before, no matter how many times I asked you. Did you change your mind all of a sudden?"

Nick tugged on his shirt collar with his finger. "Well, that's a bit of a long story."

"I'm retired," she crossed her legs under the table, "I have all the time in the world."

Nick took a deep breath and tapped his fingers on the table. He swirled the tablecloth around his finger and looked around the room. A white porcelain vase that held a few Easter lilies, the old oak cabinet with his mother's decorative China, the floral green wallpaper in the hall—it was all the same as it was when he was a boy. It put him in a state of comfort, and with that comfort, he was able to tell the story of how he became a father.

"This is going to be extremely paraphrased, but okay. I first found Miles one day while on patrol with my partner. You know, the rabbit officer you met at my graduation."

"Oh yes, that Judy girl who you speak so highly of," His mother interrupted, "She's a lovely young woman. You two would make for a fine pair."

"Mom, the story," Nick diverted the attention back to the story as he tried to conceal his slight blushing.

"He was trying to run away, and the foster home he lived at informed us that was a habit of his. He doesn't like it when I say the place's name, so we refer to it as 'the orphanage.' It isn't really an orphanage, but it sort of acts like one for some kids. It's orphanage-adjacent. It brings up bad memories for him, so I've made a habit of just calling it that. Anyway, he acted out because he felt misunderstood, and because he wasn't accepted for who he was. You know how I feel about such things. He believed no one cared about him, that he had no friends, and that his caretakers didn't understand him. I thought, 'Hey, maybe what he needs is a friend,' so I asked him to keep in touch with me. But I knew it wasn't going to be easy. The kid had awful trust issues back then, and he still struggles with trusting people even today. I grew up spiteful and depressed because I was mistreated once, so I couldn't bear to think what would happen to him if it continued over a lifetime."

Nick's mother took in it all. Her son never really spoke about the incident that occurred in his childhood, but it was one wound she dared not reopen. This resulted in Nick pushing her away as he grew to resent the world, and her heart broke to see her baby in such pain. The worst part of it all in her eyes was that she could not take this pain away. She feared every day that her son would cut her out of his life. The day she first heard his voice again, she was almost brought to tears. Nick continued on with the story, barely scratching the surface of this "adventure" he had with Miles.

"I guess something happened one day where he just…snapped. He left the orphanage again, and he wanted me to harbor him for a day. The reason he kept trying to run away was because he wanted to leave Zootopia. He wanted to have a better life, one that didn't have any neglectful caregivers or oppressive stereotypes. You know how some people talk about us foxes behind our backs, and there are plenty of other reasons that people thought less of him. I couldn't just let a fourteen-year-old boy go out on his own like that, so I offered to let him stay with me."

"Nicholas, you are an officer," his mother interjected again, "You should know better than to have done such a thing."

"It was a huge risk, I know," Nick responded, "But what kind of person would just turn their back on a child in need?"

"You have a good heart, son," the old vixen had a lecturing tone, "But you could have gotten both yourself and this child in serious trouble."

Nick took another breath. There was that stern, yet gentle voice she put on when he had done something bad. Little did she know that after living through what happened, he knew all of this much more than she could ever hope to.

"I fought with myself about that, but I couldn't bring myself to take him back there. A part of me felt like he needed me, and I think that part of me was right. If only you could've seen how much he grew and changed since we first met. He barely talked to me the first few days, and it seemed like he didn't want anything to do with me at first. But with each day that passed, he started to open up to me more and more. I felt like I was really getting through to him. Then there was the day when he finally said he trusted me…God, I think I leapt outta my skin when I heard it. That's why it broke me when I had to confess to harboring him."

Nick's ears folded downward. He looked over to his mother to find a look of sympathy and concern. It was horrible for him to think back on what happened, and he didn't want to think about it for another second.

"It was hard to prove to him that I didn't betray him, but he had every right to feel like I did. You see, his birth parents…they abandoned him when he was just a little cub. When he found that out, he was so afraid of it happening again that he never tried to get fostered or adopted, or even make any friends. He just wanted to run away from it all, from this city where he had been hurt so badly. I wished I could run away too sometimes when I was his age. I guarantee if you dug through the drawer in my old nightstand, you'd find a couple 'I'm running away' letters. I felt awful that I hurt him the way I did."

His mother pondered it all. It was a lot to take in, and she couldn't imagine what it was like to have to live through. Her next interruption was not a lecture, but a sorrowful, compassionate thought.

"A child should never have to grow up feeling unloved," she spoke in a monotone way, "No one deserves such sadness."

"He won't live like that," Nick shook his head, a hopeful tone on his breath, "No, not anymore."

The tod paused for a second before he told what looked to be the end of the story.

"I told him how all of that never should have happened, and I told him how sorry I was for what I did. It took him a while, but we eventually made amends. The orphanage gave him three days to stay with me, and they said they'd give me a background check to see if he could stay over to my place when he wanted to. You know, like a home away from home. But I had other plans. By this time, I knew I felt for him on a deeper level than just as a friend. He awakened some paternal feeling in me that I never even knew was there. I couldn't let him be alone anymore. So when he tried to leave Zootopia one more time, that's when I sprung a new plan. Since his old life made him feel nothing but sadness and regret, I asked him if he wanted to live a new life, and I offered to adopt him. He was lost, confused, and maybe even a little scared, so he had to take a while to think about it. I was so worried he wouldn't accept, even if I said I would support whatever decision he made. But my prayers were answered, and he did. He signed those papers and sealed the deal."

Nick couldn't hold back a little smile as he closed out the story of Miles.

"That night, when he called me Daddy for the first time, I felt my heart skip a beat. I think that's what changed my mind about having a kid."

The elderly vulpine woman got up from her seat. She stood out in the open as she took a breath. Nick stood up as well, assuming their conversation was done, but his mother was not yet finished with him.

"Come here, Nicholas," she softly commanded.

Nick went around the table to confront her, bracing for what she wanted of him. The older vixen wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him into a warm embrace. She stroked Nick's back gently and smiled lovingly at him.

"You're still my little angel," she placed a kiss on Nick's cheek, "You did such a kind thing for that little boy. He should be glad to call you his father."

Nick's mother released her grip on him and made one more request.

"Now, would you be a dear and go find my grandson?" She laughed at herself a little, "Why, I feel so old saying that!"

And so began Nick's search for his son. He looked around in the hallway and found a grey, black and teal lump curled up near the staircase. He sauntered over and put an elbow on the wall, looking down at the boy with his half-lidded smirk.

"Whatcha doing over here, Mister Man?" Nick asked in an attempt to get Miles' attention.

"Hiding."

"Hiding," Nick echoed, "From what?"

"I dunno."

Nick scoffed a little at the immense depth and sheer intellectual complexity of their conversation.

"I don't see any reason to be hiding."

Miles shrugged, "I just thought you guys wanted privacy. I assumed you guys would talk for a while and then we'd go home."

Nick dropped down to Miles' level and put a paw on his back.

"Well, my mom was hoping to see her new grandson, if it's alright with you."

"I still don't know," The teenager muttered, "It sounded like she was mad at you."

"So, you were eavesdropping?"

Miles shook his head, "Not on purpose. I thought she wouldn't like me because of her reaction. I dropped off when you started talking about me."

Nick patted Miles on the back and gave him a smile. "You should've stayed around 'till the end. If you're gonna eavesdrop, at least try and get the whole story before you go making any assumptions."

Miles' ears perked up, "So, she's not mad?"

"She's not mad," Nick confirmed, "But she might be if we keep her waiting any longer!"

Miles nodded and stood up. That erased one of his fears, at least. Yet he still worried about whether or not Nick's mother would like him. A teenage boy and an elderly woman were two very different demographics, but she seemed kind enough in Miles' eyes. He thought it unlikely now that she would be truly upset with his inclusion in her family. Miles followed his father back into the hallway and he was brought into the kitchen. Nick then spoke up to get his mother's attention as she got up from her seat.

"So, are you ready for a proper introduction?"

The younger red fox gave his son a gentle push towards the senior vixen. Miles tugged on his bandana as he looked up at her. Her face had a gentle expression, and seeing this made Miles ease up a little.

"You're Miles, if I recall?" The old woman made a polite inquiry.

"Uh, y-yeah," Miles stuttered out with a shy wave, "Hey."

"Hey yourself," she purred, "Come here."

Miles stepped forward and was pulled into a hug. Being that she was around the same height as father, the hug felt quite familiar to him. Miles put his arms around her as well and hugged back.

"This is nice," the lone grey fox thought out loud, "I was worried you wouldn't like me, or that you'd be mad at my dad or somethin'."

"Now where would you get ideas like that?" Nick's mother shot a snarky look at her son, "I've been waiting almost twelve years for Nick to give me grandkits. The fact that he's given me at least one is enough to satisfy me."

"Well, that's a weight off both of our shoulders, then." Nick nudged the younger fox with an elbow, "Good to know you had no reason to be scared of her, isn't it?"

"I-I wasn't scared!" Miles jumped to defend himself from Nick's teasing.

"You're right," Nick one-upped himself, "Terrified is a much more accurate term."

"Oh, you stop tormenting him, Nicholas!" his mother playfully scolded him before returning her attention to her adopted grandson. "But I suppose it can't be avoided, can it, Miles? Your father had to go through the exact same 'torment' when he was your age."

Miles had to laugh. He supposed that's just how all parents were with their kids. He had officially gained the approval of his new family, and that was good enough for him. After some consideration, the grey fox decided that maybe he could stay around a little longer. It would give Nick a chance to catch his mother up to date, and Miles supposed that he too could use this opportunity to get to know his adoptive grandmother. Nick had always spoken so highly of her in the brief moments she came up in conversation. At the end of their day when evening approached, Nick's mother saw them off with a smile. It made her day to see her little boy again, and to know that she was finally a grandmother.

"Thank you for this," the elderly vixen sighed, "You're both welcome and encouraged to come by any time."

She then called to the youngest of the foxes as he made his way to Nick's car, "And Miles, don't you be a stranger, now!"

Miles nodded in acknowledgement. Nick smirked as he watched his son seat himself, shut the door, and buckle himself in. The younger red fox prepared to join him and return home, but his mother caught his arm and pulled him into one last hug.

"I'm very proud of you, darling." She whispered as she placed a goodbye kiss on his cheek, "Somehow, I just knew you had the potential to be a great father."

Nick smiled to himself at first. "What can I say? I learned from the best."

His mother posed a new topic now. "Oh, what was that oath you would practice as a kit when you came home from school, so you could get it just right?" She paused in an attempt to remember, "You promised to be 'brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy'…I think your little story proved that after all these years, you've kept that promise tenfold."

Something inside him felt off about saying he "learned from the best" with no paternal figure in his life. His mother was a good parent, yes, but Nick still had his insecurities. His guilt from pushing her away in his youth, his feelings of inadequacy from his hustler days, and most especially, his father's absence. Something about thinking of his father made him feel a rush of emotions. Confusion, sadness, anger, and a multitude of others all came to the forefront of Nick's mind. His only parent was both mother and father to him, she had to be. So too would Nick have to be for his own son now unless he settled down and found someone who Miles could call a second parent. His mother must have noticed something was upsetting him, as she was standing in front of him now with a look of concern.

"Is something wrong, dear?" she queried.

Nick gave a long, yet honest answer. It was hard to admit, but it was a feeling that he had repressed for too long today.

"I'm just thinking. I never imagined any of this would happen to me, and it was all so sudden. I love Miles, and I wouldn't give up what I have now for the world, but after today, I can't help but think of Dad. What would he say if he saw me now? Then I get to thinking about Mi's birth parents, and how they left him just like Dad left us. I felt like the world turned its back on me once I moved out. And Miles, well, I told you his story. His childhood was spent as an orphan. I don't know why either of them left, and they might've even had a good reason to, but…it can't undo the damage it did."

Nick took a pause. His mother then put a paw on his cheek, sympathetically locking eyes with him. He brought his own paw up and placed it on hers, holding back tears.

"Did you ever feel alone without him?"

The old vixen sighed. To even think of the man she once called her husband depressed her. In the past, she had wanted to tell Nick what happened on many occasions, but she never found the courage to do so. That courage especially started to slip when he began to isolate himself from her. Like his incident with the Junior Ranger Scouts, this was her wound that she would rather not reopen any time soon.

"Darling, your father…" she took a deep breath and sighed as she regained her composure. "…It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done; the past is behind us now. You were all I had for so long, and as you and I became more distant, I feared the worst. It means the world that you came here today, and that you still think of me."

Nick hugged his mother again. They had not bore their hearts to each other like this in decades. The last time he recalled such intimacy with her was that one atrocious night, the night Nick's dreams died. She had dried his tears and cradled her kit in such a way that she hoped would heal his pain, but it was as she had said just now. There was nothing he, his mother, or anyone could do to change the past. It had been written with intangible, immutable ink on a page that no flame could ever scorch. However, Nick had a newfound sanguinity that he sorely lacked in his childhood, and even into part of his adult life. He knew that in times of hardship, he could see that in his hand, he held the quill that would write his future one day. With each new struggle life brought, he could etch in that page a more hopeful day to come. The past could not be erased, but the future was yet to be written, and Nick swore he would not allow his pain—or anyone else's pain—to persist.

"The past may be behind us," Nick proclaimed, "But the future is still ahead. And by God, I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure that no one in my life ever has to go through their pain again. Not you, not Miles, not Judy—no one. I won't ever leave you, and that's a promise."

His mother smiled and brushed her hand across his cheek, breaking the embrace.

"Well, I'd hate for you to keep your son waiting any longer," she teased, "So perhaps it's best you leave me just this once."

Nick laughed a little as he nuzzled her one more time. She waved goodbye to him as he made for the driver's seat and started up the car, absently reaching for his seatbelt in the process.

"That was kinda fun," Miles declared, "We should come visit your mom again sometime."

Nick took one last look at his childhood home. He smiled to himself as he felt his mental scars begin to heal. His mother was back in his life, and that relationship was something he now would never take for granted.

"Trust me pup, we will."

Quick AN + Update: Hey. Just felt like dropping a little one shot here. This was meant to come out earlier, but I was sick for the past few days and I'm still a pretty bad cough, which halted my work quite a lot. Even so, it was nice to write something more Nick-centered, or really anything that doesn't have Miles as the main focal point for a change (not that I dislike Mi or anything, I mean, he's my OC, but that's off topic.) Feel free to let me know if there's anything you'd want to see from me in the future writing-wise. Could be more Little Grey Fox, more Zootopia in general, or maybe something totally different. My DMs are pretty much always open and there's always the comments/reviews section if you want to share any ideas, or just start a discussion. My motivation hasn't been the greatest as of late, apologies to all the hardcore Xlvieor stans who most definitely exist, because I'm just sooo popular and well known /s. I always say shit like "QuIcK aN" and then end up rambling on for days, it seems. Anyway, I'm signing off for now. Seeya.
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Xlvieor.