Author's Note: This features characters from my "Ozzie's Auto Repair" fic, which I haven't published on this website.
Ozzie opened up the garage to his shop, beckoning behind him.
"Anyway, let me introduce you to some of your new workmates, okay?"
The black and white rabbit hopped forward and placed his paws on the hips of his faded blue jumpsuit, standing up proudly.
"Aright, goons! It's time to meet our newest fluff," Ozzie barked proudly.
A coyote, mouse, and pig all looked up from their various projects in the garage and took in the newcomer. She appeared to be a small canid, but lacked many distinguishing features of a fox, coyote, or even wolf, so it was hard to tell what she was. She had an off-white color scheme, which made her look almost wolfish, but still, she looked fairly small and it wasn't concrete.
"This is Sunny," Ozzie held his paws over to present the newcomer. "She'll be mostly workin' in the shop now that Ortie's got more solid work with that Chloe chick. Sunny, the 'yote here is George."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am," the coyote said politely, tipping his lime-green ball cap that matched his jumpsuit.
"The big pig here's Hammond."
"How do ya do?" The pig nodded, cleaning his digits off with a cloth.
"And finally, we got the li'l one," Ozzie held up a large wrench with a cream-colored mouse hanging from it. With a little flick, the mouse popped into the air. Ozzie held the wrench laterally and the mouse landed on the flat of the wrench, then leaped onto a nearby counter, offering her tiny hand.
"The name's Gail! Great to meet you!" She tossed back her dirty-blonde hair, rather voluminous for a mouse.
Sunny tentatively offered a finger for her to enthusiastically shake. The canid gave her a small, reserved smile, but seemed rather impressed.
"Always the showoff," Hammond rolled his eyes and went back to his work.
"Now, Sun," Ozzie snapped his fingers and balanced the wrench back against the counter. "If you're gonna work here, we gotta get one thing straight."
Sunny blinked. "Yes?"
"All of us got different colored jumpsuits," Ozzie flicked at himself. "It's kind of our thing." Sunny looked around. Gail had a faded purple, George had lime green, and Hammond had brown. "So, what's yer favorite color?"
"Light blue...?" She capped off the pinching of her voice with a nervous giggle.
"Got it," Ozzie nodded. "You want it to read Sunny, or Sun, or somethin' else?"
"Ss-Sunny's fine! That's fine," she offered quickly, smiling broadly.
Suddenly, there was a loud vibrating sound. "Oh, crap." Ozzie pat at his jumpsuit and retrieved a phone. "Whoa! It's Mick, you guys! Gotta take this. Feel free to look around the shop, okay Sunny? See ya soon." The brown-eyed bunny retreated to his office.
After a moment's silence, Sunny pointed to the shop. "Well, I'm just uh... gonna familiarize myself with the product and all."
"Sure thing!" Gail nodded. Once the ringing of the door's bell sounded its closing, the mouse turned to the other two. "Well, she seems nice!"
"Ayup, sure does," George nodded, giving a lazy smile. He bent back over a car, fiddled with a part inside the hood, then let loose a breath of frustration. "Say, Gadget, could you help me with this? My clumsy ol' fingers are givin' me trouble."
"Sure thing, Goofy!" Gail carefully jumped down the counter's handles and rushed over to be lifted up to the car's level.
Hammond said nothing and continued his own work quietly, sparing a glance to the store where Sunny was looking around.
A few days had passed. Sunny's uniform had yet to arrive, and she looked fairly melancholy as she minded the shop. The shop was pleasantly arranged enough, and had that rubber smell she was very fond of, but she didn't feel very comfortable. She let out a long sigh.
A jingling heralded one of the doors opening. Sunny perked up and looked over to George entering the shop. The middle-aged coyote gave her a friendly wave.
"Hi George," Sunny's forming smile halted.
"Hey, Sunny," George said, "do we have an alternator for a 2007 Buffalo Charger back there?"
"Um, let me check the system," she replied, nodded. "Yeah, sure do, it's down this aisle." She indicated the one.
"Thank you kindly," George nodded, going to retrieve it. He paused when going past the counter. "Y'know, Sunny, if you don't mind too much my sayin', your name don't fit your expression real well."
"Oh, um, sorry," Sunny gave a nervous laugh, fidgeting a bit. "It's just, uh... y'know. I'll put on a smiling face for the customers, I know how customer service is n'all."
"Well, I wasn't too much worried about that..." George twisted his mouth into a frown. "But if y'don't wanna talk about it y'don't have to."
While he frowned, Sunny became aware of his canines, which seemed to poke out of his lip and be square-shaped, quite unusual for a canine.
"Uh, did something happen to your teeth?" Sunny pointed at her mouth.
"Oh, these?" George returned the point to his own. "Ahyuck, yup. I had a couple of big snaggleteeth goin' on when I was younger. Muh dentist suggested I shave 'em down, so they're like that now."
"Flat, though?" Sunny's brow furrowed. "They wouldn't happened to have been a prey dentist, were they? I'm sure you could sue for malpractice."
"Oh, no no, that's okay," George chuckled. "I got plenty of other sharp teeth in muh chomper. It's kinda like muh trademark. Makes me noticeable an' all that. Some'd say even more approachable. Used it to build muh brand!"
"Your brand...?" Sunny echoed.
"Yup! Used to be a somewhat-famous Ewetuber! Ahyuck!" George gave a bright, pleasant grin. "I still do a video from time to time. Comedy stuff, mostly." He leaned in to whisper. "Pratfalls and such. Makin' myself look dumber than I actually am. Y'know, supposedly." He laughed louder, making Sunny join in reflexively.
After the laugh, Sunny winced slightly. "Sorry to say I've never heard of you...?"
"Oh, that's okay," George flicked a paw. "Not everyone's got time to go watch some silly Ewetube videos. Kinda hope muh son gets into it. Carry on the legacy of the Goof Troop. Ahyuck! Anywho, if you need anythin', lemme know. I'll be out back."
Sunny mouthed the term "goof troop" to herself and then smiled and shook her head. He sure was "goofy".
"Ey, there, Sunny," Hammond slid out from under the car he was working on. The two were alone in the garage. "What brings you here?"
Sunny, now donning her light blue uniform, motioned back to the office. "Ozzie said you're owed another break?"
"Ah yeah," Hammond popped up and started washing up. "I'm starvin'. You gonna take over for me?"
"Sure, if that's okay," Sunny nodded once with a hint of determination. "I love working on vehicles."
"Don't mind gettin' that white fur of yer's all smudged?" Hammond smirked.
"Course not," Sunny's brow furrowed and she returned a smirk. "I like oil smudges. They build character. Pigs aren't the only ones that like to get dirty sometimes."
"All right then!" Hammond gave an easy shrug and nodded with a smile. "Think you're gonna get along with us just fine."
"Lemme at it," Sunny went for the rolling cart used to get under the car.
"By the way," Hammond said casually, grabbing a lunch bag. "I liked you in Dye Another Day."
Sunny froze, slowly turning her head over to Hammond, her eyes pinpricks.
"That was you, right?" Hammond shrugged one shoulder, giving a snort. "A coupla James Bunned flicks ago?"
"Um... yes," Sunny bit her lip.
"Heh!" Hammond took a big bite of a sandwich. "So your expertise with automobiles wasn't just an acting thing, huh?"
Sunny began to look very uncomfortable, dropping onto her haunches and getting ready to go under the car. She frowned, looking somewhat dazed.
"Listen, I won't tell anyone else if you don't want 'em to know," Hammond waved his hand back and forth dismissively. "Ozzie's kind of a dim bulb when it comes to movies, Goofy's into comedies, and Gadget's kinda a nerd. Surprised she didn't notice ya, but she's into more sci-fi and mouse-style movies, I think."
"Gadget? Goofy?" Sunny blinked.
"Oh yeah," Hammond shook his head. "We all kinda go by nicknames here. Cept Ozzie, his is already a nickname. Hamm's mine."
"Hamm, really?" Sunny had to smirk.
"Hey, the first person you gotta laugh at is yourself," Hammond claimed, taking another big bite.
"Yeah, maybe I was dumb to think I could get a job like this and just lay low," Sunny grumbled, rolling under the car.
"Like I said, if you don't want me to tell anyone, I won't, but I wouldn't count on them being clueless forever," Hammond went on. "Ozzie's friends with Mickey McMouse, after all, and he talks to him every so often."
"Mickey McMouse!?" Sunny shrieked, almost bashing her head on the underside of the car. "Good grief! He's even more prolific than... well..."
"Jack Savage? You can say that again," Hammond said, finishing up his sandwich. "That rabbit's a hack compared to the Mickster."
Sunny gave a sneaky little laugh. "Yeah, you can say that again..."
Ozzie glanced over the dinged-up menu, looking over at a small black and white mouse who was sitting opposite from him.
"Y'know, Mick, even I could have treated you to a better place than this," Ozzie muttered in a low voice.
"Aw shucks, Oswald," the mouse replied. "Some of the best places to eat are in these little omnivorous Mom n' Pops. Especially in Zootopia."
"You like it here, uh Mickey?" Ozzie smirked.
"Oh, it's great!" Mickey nodded. "Not as stuffy or suffocating as it can be in Hollywool. Plus, no one's likely to notice me in a niche place like this anyway."
"Yeah, 'til you open your mouth," Ozzie balanced his paw on his chin, grinning at Mickey with amusement. "I'm surprised they even give you action roles with a voice like that."
"Oswald..."
"Hey, hey, I'm just sayin," Ozzie chuckled. "So, Minnie's not in this one, huh?"
"Nope," Mickey shook his head. "This flick is... we'll I'm not technically supposed to say, but it's based on an allegedly true story of this big crime ring that started out in Little Rodentia and grew to get seeded in the rest of Zootopia. A real underground mouse thriller."
"I feel like Gail'd be a good stunt double in movies like that," Ozzie chuckled, setting his menu down. "She treats life like it was an action movie."
"Well, she'd probably have to cut off all that hair of hers, and I know how much she likes it!" Mickey grinned.
"Eh, it'd grow back," Ozzie gave a malicious smirk.
"How are things down at the shop, Oswald?" Mickey looked up at his rabbit friend curiously.
"Oh, pretty fair," the mostly-black rabbit tapped his fingers on the table. "We got this new hire, some kinda fox, I think? Her coloring is weird. Mostly off-white."
"Oh yeah?" Mickey replied. "How is she?"
"Well, I dunno," he scratched his chin. "She doesn't seem to be fitting in as well as the others. Seems like a dark cloud follows her, bringing down her mood. Kinda ironic, with her name bein' Sunny and all."
"Sunny...?" Mickey's brow furrowed. "Not Sunny Skye...?"
"Yeah, that's her," Ozzie nodded.
"Aha! Oh boy," Mickey gave a big smile. "Ozzie, I dunno how you get to knowing some of the most famous mammals around, but there ya go. Y'know me, Goofy, Minnie, and now Skye!"
"Wait... Sunny's famous?" Ozzie narrowed an eye.
"I mean, she was a rising star!" Mickey nodded. "She had a role in one of those James Bunned movies, y'know? She's a great actress!"
"Oh, huh," Ozzie grew a peculiar look. "She didn't exactly mention that."
"You've never seen Dye Another Day?" Mickey shrugged a paw, seeming incredulous. "The fox that starred alongside Jack Savage?"
He shook his head. "I don't get to movies much these days."
"It's at least five years old, Oswald."
"I mean, uh, in general," he laughed nervously.
"Anyway... I think something happened and Sunny decided to quit show business. Kinda interesting she ended up here. I never would have taken her for the gearhead type."
"Huh, I guess I'll have to check that out then," Ozzie scratched at his chin.
"Hey, Sunny, could I see you in my office a sec?" Ozzie beckoned to the off-white fox in the shop. "Gail, could you cover the shop?"
"Aye-aye," Gail saluted enthusiastically.
Nervously, Sunny joined Ozzie in his office, watching him jump onto his desk chair.
"So, I had lunch with Mickey McMouse the other day," he began.
Sunny blinked. "Wow, you say that so casually. He's like, the biggest rodent actor there is."
"He's actually pretty small," Ozzie grinned, to a deadpan look from Sunny. "Heh, anyway. He an' I go way back. He let me know who you are."
"Ah..." Sunny frowned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you or anything."
"It's all right," Ozzie shook his head. "But if you got any baggage that needs unloadin', you might as well let it out here. Might make you more comfortable workin' around this rogue's gallery we call an auto shop. I'm all ears. Well, a third of me is, anyway." He flicked his own ears with both paws.
"All right, I guess," Sunny swallowed and nodded. "I kinda... after we shot Dye Another Day, I kinda got 'involved' with Jack Savage." She shrugged and grew slightly reserved. "Turns out I might have a little thing for monochromatic rabbit guys, heheh..."
Ozzie suddenly looked smug and thumped himself on the chest. "Well, sorry ma'am, but I am taken."
Sunny perked up in distress and waved her arms. "Oh, no no no! Not you!"
The rabbit gestured to his chest and then outward. "What? Oh, oh, I see how it is."
"Not that you're... uh, not attractive or anything," Sunny cringed.
"I'm just yankin' yer tail, darlin'," Ozzie laughed. "Go on. Oh wait, lemme guess. The public didn't take kindly to you bein' in an interspecies thing?"
"No, actually, just the opposite," Sunny replied, shrugging. "I mean sure, there were some detractors, but the social media all loved that I was with Jack; made it seem welcoming and all."
"Guessing it didn't stay that way?" Ozzie leaned in.
"No..." Sunny huffed. "Turns out my attraction to Jack was... mostly physical. Eventually I started to see him for the narcissistic, stuck-up jerk that he is. He's always so particular and likes things just so... so I wanted away from him. Social media ended up being actually angry that he and I split up. Said I was going against the whole interspecies thing by splitting up with him, but I didn't feel like it was like that at all. I was just... getting tired of the pressure to be with him, and getting tired of him, to be honest."
"Ah, I got you," Ozzie nodded. "So you wanna just slum it down with the commoners til you get another big break?"
"No, actually," Sunny frowned, shaking her head. "I've always loved working on cars, and I even went to a technical school for it. My resume wasn't a lie. It's just, I got picked up randomly by a talent agency because they thought my deformity was attractive." She rolled her eyes. "And that I was a passable actress, I guess."
"'Deformity'?" Ozzie's face scrunched up.
"Leucism," Sunny explained, pointing at her face.
"Gesundheit...?"
"It's a pigment deficiency," Sunny explained. "I'm actually genetically a red fox."
"You look more off-white to me," Ozzie quipped.
Sunny replied with silence and a stare.
"Hey, I make bad jokes!" He winced, holding up his paws defensively, kicking back in his chair.
"Anyhow, one thing led up to another, and I ended up playing the sleek, sexy engineer vixen on Dye Another Day, dying my fur for the part, and all that," Sunny shrugged. "And it was a hit and... one thing led to another."
"Oh right, that movie with the... the part where it turned out you were actually..." Ozzie fumbled.
"You've never seen it, have you?" Sunny deadpanned.
"Nope."
Sunny laughed. "Wow."
"Hey, we're all misfits here in some way," Ozzie shrugged, hopping down from his seat and opening up the door. "Most important thing is you feel comfortable here." He opened the door to his office and motioned out, and the two walked out together. "Don't matter who you are or whatever, but maybe we can see a little more 'sun' in that 'sky', eh?"
"Thanks, Ozzie," Sunny smiled. "Yeah, I think this helped a little-"
"Oh my GOSH," Gail snapped her fingers, standing up straight on the counter. "THAT'S where I know you from. You're ACTUALLY Sunny Skye? I LOVE Dye Another Day! That part where-"
Ozzie gave her a pointed glare.
"Right, not putting our co-workers on a pedestal, eheheh," Gail held up an index finger tentatively.
"She kinda got like this with Goofy too," Ozzie rolled his eyes over to Sunny.
"You all call him 'Goofy'?" Sunny winced. "That seems a little... mean?"
"Hey, it's what he likes to go by," Ozzie shrugged his shoulders. "Same with Gadget here."
Sunny rubbed one of her arms, looking pensive.
"Well y'know... if you guys want... you can call me Skye. It's what I liked to go by when I was a little girl."
"Done," Ozzie snapped his fingers. "You want us to order you a new name patch for your jumpsuit?" He gestured to her light blue uniform.
"Nah," Sunny smiled. "We can just keep that name between friends, okay?"
Gail grew a very bright, starstruck grin.