Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Zootopia or any respective characters. I'm not brave enough to challenge the mouse so it'll probably stay that way. All OCs, however, are mine. Rated M for violence, language, sex, drugs and suicide.
Chapter Two: Catching Up
Savannah Central
For a fake date, thought Nick to himself, I'm surprisingly enjoying this. He sat with Judy sipping beer and munching on a bug-burger in some hole in the wall joint not too far from the precinct. Judy has been complaining about her parents setting her up with what seemed to be every buck in the city that they could reach for the last two months. In her mind, they were all assholes. Nick may have been one at times, but not on the level of some of the guys she met. Either they wanted a pushover or they were beta-cucks. If there was anything in between, she couldn't bother to remember.
"So Nick," said Judy, "what're you thinking about?" "I've only been on the force for about a week," answered Nick, "and already, I'm getting an important case with you. What a world I'm living in!" "Oh come on slick," said Judy, "if it weren't for you, I'd be out of a job and those fifteen mammals would've never been found! You're a hero!" "You wouldn't say that if you knew me back in the day," warned Nick, "I'm nothing to be proud of." "What do you mean," asked Judy, "you've got the insight and quick thinking skills to make Zootopia safer than ever before? And you're one of the few mammals I know I can solidly trust up here!" "What if I conned you into having sex with me tonight, leave you on the sidewalk crying and never call you again," joked Nick. "Hahahaha," laughed Judy, "acting all big and tough, when I know deep down you're about as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I was when we first met."
"Haven't been bright eyed in a long time," said Nick. "That's not the way you were at the Gazelle concert," teased Judy. Shit, thought Nick, she actually paid attention to that. "Well I, uh…" Nick tried to think of an explanation. "And you do know how to show a girl a good time," continued Judy. "C'mon, carrots," said Nick, "you haven't seen anything yet. And on top of that," he continued, trying to defend himself, "we aren't even an item. A rabbit and a fox? Get real fluff." "You're more man than any of the rabbits I've seen lately," said Judy in a surprisingly flirty tone, "and you actually sorta understand me." "Oh don't flatter yourself," teased Nick, "I'm a guy, which means I don't understand you," he pointed at Judy, "a female, by default."
"So why don't you talk about your family," asked Judy, "I know it isn't as big as mine, but you must have some around." Nick froze, being brought back to one of the most painful days of his life, when he lost it all. "I don't have any," said Nick coldly. "C'mon," said Judy, extending her paw putting it on Nick's, "what's wrong?" "You know about the Junior Ranger Scouts, right?" Judy nodded. "Well my life got a lot worse after that," said Nick, "much worse." "What happened," asked Judy.
"I don't want to talk about it," muttered Nick, "not now, not ever." "Nick," said Judy empathetically, "whatever it is, it's in the past. You've become so much more since then. I even trust you with my life. Why can't you let me in?" "Well," he said reluctantly, "before I was hustling popsicles in the heart of Zootopia, I was a hard core criminal." "What could you have possibly done," asked Judy. "I went to juvie three times," answered Nick, "I can pickpocket large mammals without them noticing a thing. I can hotwire a car. I even know how to cook meth. Can you guess how I learned these things?" "That bad," asked Judy. "You don't know the half of it," said Nick, "and now's not a good time to talk about it."
Rainforest District
Duke Weaselton walked into the loading dock of Club Savage, a popular, predator oriented joint in the Rainforest District. He could faintly hear the heavy metal music echoing against the concrete walls of the boiler room as he was escorted by a sea lion wearing a camouflage jacket over a white t-shirt and jeans and an arctic wolf wearing a black polo shirt and green cargo pants to the main office, while some cougar who looked like he had a bad attitude began to speak to him. The cougar wore a simple black and white suit, like a stereotypical government agent. Then again, it was unlikely that the federal government would be helping him flood the streets with heroin.
"I understand you are interested in doing business with us, Mr. Weselton," said the cougar. "It's Weaselton, cat cunt," said Duke. The cougar growled as he reached into his jacket, most likely reaching for a weapon. "Okay, okay," said Duke, "I'm sorry I called you a cunt." "Friendly advice," said the sea lion, "don't piss off the boss, because we will find you and you'll be dead before you realize it." "Tough crowd," muttered Duke to himself. "The 'Paw does that to mammals," said the sea lion. "Like I should care about that," said Duke, "Vietpaw is ancient history."
They escorted Duke into the office, a modest room that looked more like a glorified closet, where a snow leopard sat puffing on a cigar. He was older than all of the other mammals he met that night by at least a decade. The leopard wore a black sweater under a bomber jacket, camo pants and a red colonel's beret. But the most striking feature was the eye patch over his left eye that was surrounded by 'battle scars' of some sort.
"Good evening, weasel," said the snow leopard in a deep, gravelly voice, "my name is Colonel Spotzen. I hear you wish to be supplied by us." "Yeah," said Duke, "and I'd feel better about it if you called off your stormtroopers, or whoever these bastards are." "You picked the right time to deal with us," continued Spotzen, "we're expecting our next shipment out of Lambodia this week. And don't worry about my men," he assured Duke, "they're loyal to me, and me alone." "Who are you mammals anyways," asked Duke. "We don't exist," replied Spotzen, "we are nobody." "Spare me the Black Ops bullshit," said Duke, "what's with the get up?" "Mr. Krueger," said Spotzen, calling over the cougar.
Spotzen took out a cigarette lighter as Mr. Krueger rolled up his sleeve on his right arm, revealing a tattoo of a knife through a heart, with the words, Never Quit, written underneath. It looked a lot like a special forces tattoo from an action movie or something. Then Spotzen flicked open the lighter and held the flame against Mr. Krueger's arm, burning through the fur and flesh. But the cougar just stood there, cold and emotionless, not seeming to care. Duke watched both in awe and horror as the cougar just let the snow leopard burn his arm. Then he flicked it closed. "Dylan," said Spotzen to the cougar, "go get Igor to look at that." "Aye sir," said Dylan Krueger as he walked out of the room.
"You motherfuckers are crazy," said Duke, "you're gone. What, with the spec ops or mercs or whoever they are, you mammals are real whack jobs." "Do you want the merchandise or not," asked Spotzen as the wolf and sea lion loomed over the weasel. "I suppose it's a necessary evil," said Duke nervously, "if it's any good." "I don't believe in charging top dollar for inferior products," assured Spotzen, "you'll get your money's worth. But any and all discrepancies go through Mr. Krueger." Duke gulped, not liking the idea of dealing with the psycho cat again. "Alright," said Duke as he prepared to leave, "I'll buy it. But you guys are still completely fuckin' insane."
Savannah Central
Nick and Judy walked down the sidewalk after leaving the restaurant, talking, laughing and smiling but refusing to hold paws. "Ya know slick," said Judy, "I don't get why you don't like me." "It's not that," said Nick, "I do like you a lot. As a friend and a coworker. But romantically, we're not cut out for each other. We're just too different." "Like that should stop either of us," said Judy as she playfully grabbed Nick's arm, "this 'not-date' was better than any real dates I've been on. You really know how to treat a lady. What's your secret?" "I don't really know," replied Nick, "I've never really dated." "Why's that," asked Judy. "Never found anyone I could bother with," said Nick, "and being a fox, we don't sleep around. It's in our biology after all." "Nick," said Judy, "you should know better than anyone that biology isn't a valid excuse." "Look up fox mating habits," said Nick, "then you'll get it."
"Nicholas," said an older, female voice. One that Nick hadn't heard in thirteen years but recognized instantly. "So you really did become a cop, I'm proud of you!" "Mom," asked Nick confusedly, "you're still alive?" "Oh don't be rude son," said Marian Wilde, Nick's mother, "I know manners don't matter to you, or at least, not then, but please try," she turned to Judy, "So who's your mate?" Nick froze with an awkward expression, not knowing what to say while Judy jumped up to introduce herself. "Officer Judy Hopps," she said enthusiastically with her paw outstretched, "Nick's partner at the ZPD and his 'not-date' for tonight."
"That's a shame," said Marian, "I've seen you on tv with my boy. You two seem really good together." "As partners," interrupted Nick, "and why do you care about me? I thought I was dead to you! I was almost dead, period, by the end of the night! I'm not in the mood to be judged." "He's been acting a little defensive tonight," said Judy, "but I think he secretly wants some." "I know him good enough to be able to tell," said Marian, "all you need to do is get him to open up a little." "Dammit mom," said Nick, "give me a break! The night you kicked me out and that piece of shit Raul turned on me, I stared into a loaded gun! It's a little much to come back like this!" "Nicholas," said Marian to her son, attempting to calm him down, "don't worry. I've seen what you've become since then. A good, honest mammal working for good this time. And as for the bunny," she said gesturing to Judy, "don't push her away like you did me. She's too good for you to do that." "I missed you, mom," whispered Nick. "I did too," said Marian, "how about you take my phone number and call me back. It seems we have a lot of catching up to do."
Judy's Apartment
"Alright," said Judy as she let a distraught Nick into to her tiny apartment, "Bucky and Cronk are out for now, so we have some privacy," she had Nick sit on her bed while she turned around the office chair at her desk, "so tell me, what is it that bothered you so much?" "I can't tell you carrots," grumbled Nick, "I can't." "Don't blow me off Nick," said Judy, "it hasn't worked before and it won't work this time. What did you mean by 'dead, period'?" "When I was fifteen," said Nick, fighting to suppress his emotions, "I attempted to take my own life." Judy gasped in shock and horror, never once imagining Nick, at any point, to be suicidal. "My friends wanted me to kill Emmit Otterton because he didn't pay protection," continued Nick. "That Emmit Otterton," asked Judy. "Yeah him," said Nick, "One of the reasons I knew him before the case was because I was the gangbanger who couldn't off him. No matter how hard I thought I was, I couldn't be a murderer." "What happened," asked Judy. "A good ass-whooping," replied Nick, "and nowhere to go. They just gave me a revolver with one bullet. Told me it was for the otter," he paused, showing a rare tear, "or myself. So I found myself alone in the rain, and I was actually going to do it. The only reason I'm still alive now is because I was caught in one nasty storm." "How," asked Judy. "The gun wouldn't fire," said Nick, "because it got too wet."
ZPD Precinct One
"Come on dad," groaned Danny to Mack, "Wilde and Hopps are the two best cops I know. Don't be hard on them, or me as you've always been." "Don't have the luxury of being nice," said Mack, "being nice doesn't get you through the jungle." "That was when I was a toddler," said Danny, "we're not in a war anymore." "The hell we're not," said Mack, "I've got mammals dying in the streets from this poison and scumbags that would rather be carried out in a body bag than cuffs, so tell me son, what does this sound like?"
"You never were easy to please," said Danny, "you didn't even pretend to be happy at the middle school science fair. You were an asshole at football tryouts. Even when I brought a girl home, you weren't remotely happy with me. Do you even care?" Mack took a good look at his very grown-up son. Twenty years of being alive, and he was never really there. Not since the war anyways. But that was all that young Danny could ever remember. A distant, emotionally unavailable father. No matter how hard it was for Mack to admit it, he was proud of what his son has become. He would be a good cop, and hopefully some day, a better father than he ever was.
"So I was a shitty father," said Mack, "I could never be emotional like your libtard friend's dad's." "All you seemed to care about," said Danny, "was me getting tough and your work. You didn't even flip the switch off on my birthday or Grizzmas. I can't seem to do shit to make you happy with me." "Why don't you go bitch to your fox buddy from the academy," said Mack. "Maybe I will," said Danny as he walked out of the building angrily. Mack went to the nearest washroom, looked into the mirror, and cried tears of shame. He devoted most of his life to service, but couldn't ever take care of his own son properly. It was a fact that he secretly hated.
Judy's Apartment
Judy, seeing how emotionally distraught her partner and not-boyfriend was, decided to watch one of Nick's choice movies on her laptop with him. Nick said something about 'early Grizzmas' as a joke, which led to them watching Die Howled. Judy didn't understand what was festive about guns, gore and the f-word, but as long as it made Nick happy, she felt happy. It was almost like love to her.
Knock! Knock!
"I'll get it," said Judy as she left Nick sitting on the bed. She opened the door and saw a young kangaroo, about twenty, wearing an unbuttoned ZPD uniform. "So that's where Nick is," said the kangaroo, "I tried your apartment, but nobody was there." "What're you doing here Danny," asked Nick, "I thought you had a big special case with daddy?" "If only he'd let me," said Danny, "but nope. He has to be in full bad-ass soldier mode twenty-four-seven."
"Does everyone have issues with their parents right now," asked Judy aloud. "Well not everyone," joked Nick, "there's millions of mammals living in this town, and only two came crying to you." "Can we talk about it in the morning," asked Judy. "I guess," said Danny, "but I've been dealing with this shit since I was in diapers. Just a few hours feels like a bit much." "Danny," said Nick, "you can sit down and hang out with us for now." "Nick," whispered Judy. "Judy," said Nick, "we gotta take care of our friends. I don't know what's going on right now in that little bunny brain of yours. But my friend needs me."
Judy paused, thought about what Nick was saying, and then turned to Danny, "Alright, Danny," she said reluctantly, "make yourself at home." "Sweet," muttered Danny as he squeezed in the door and crammed himself into the apartment. It's like having two big children, thought Judy as the fox and kangaroo sat like two kids watching Saturday morning cartoons.
A couple hours later, Danny barreled out, ready to go home. He said goodbye to Judy, who was now sitting next to a sleeping Nick. She gently stroked his bright red fur, while he snored like a baby. She smiled, knowing deep down that her partner truly had a good heart, and grateful that he was around long enough for her to see it. The thought of Nick ever killing himself shook her to her core. They've known each other for little under a year, and already, she couldn't imagine life without the nagging, snarky, yet loveable fox. Without thinking, she kissed him on the forehead and lied down. She couldn't help but wonder what the fox meant to her now.
