Here we go guys, the first Epilogue of the three that's coming.
~Later That Night
The door of the bedroom in the Wildeford residence opened and two tired mammals stepped in. One of them was a wolf with a giggling baby polar bear cub sitting on his neck and playing with his ears while the other one was an equally tired fox holding a sleeping coyote girl in blankets in one arm.
''Man, I like our friends and family more than anything, but right now I'm happy they are gone." whimpered Aaron while he carefully dismounted Mateusz and put him in their bed. The polar bear cub looked up at his new daddy curiously.
''Look at it from the bright side; at least Spots and Flower was unconscious for most of the time. I think even I would have broken if those two joined in the others." replied Nick with a sigh while putting Amelia on his pillow, the little coyote girl subtly snoring in her sleep.
''Oh god, that would have been devastating. Now we both need a good night sleep. With Lazlow rudely waking us up, the plane ride and this party our friends did… I can't feel my limbs." complained Aaron while groggily taking off his shirt and pants and changing into his night wear, his fox mirroring his actions.
''Dramatic wolf…" replied Nick tiredly as he got under the blankets, while being carefully of his new daughter and son. Said son was found sleeping again, much to the amusement of Nick.
''This little guy will be a party mammal, I can see it." whispered Nick as he gently started to rub Mateusz's head. Aaron soon joined in next to them, so the two babies were between the two adults.
''Yeah, no kidding. He slept through the entire plane ride, but the moment we stepped into this building he was wide awake. Have you seen my mother looking at him like he is the best thing in the world?" asked Aaron with a small chuckle.
''Yeah, I was surprised. And she was the one who called you a disgrace when she found about you." mused Nick as he wiggled while trying to find a comfortable position next to Amelia.
''She was raised by the book, my grandparents from her side were strict about traditions, so I'm not really blaming her. Thankfully, she is clever enough to see the wrong. Plus, I think your mother is a good influence on her too. Speaking of the vixen, am I right if I assume that Amelia was in her arms almost all the time?" asked Aaron as he scooted closer to his family and hugging them close to him. Mateusz immediately hugged Aaron's extended arm and giggled sleepily.
''I haven't seen her like this since me and her reconnected two years back. I think we gained their approval, didn't we?" asked Nick playfully as he and Aaron hugged their kids with their entwined hands. Aaron chuckled quietly as gave a small kiss on top of Mateusz's head.
''That's a huge understatement mister." said Aaron as he closed his eyes finally and dozed off. Nick sighed in contentment and did the same, feeling tired but really happy altogether.
…
…
''We have to choose their godparents." stated suddenly Aaron, earning a groan from Nick.
''You are right." said the fox as he opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling in thought.
''For the godfather, we have Chocolate cake, Spots and Finnick. I'm thankful that Flower is your brother, thus making him their uncle. I don't think we could have afforded choosing between Spots and him…" trailed of Nick, turning toward his wolf who was listening to him silently.
''Any ideas?"
''Can't we have all three of them? Clawhauser would be devastated if we didn't choose him, but I feel like Finnick deserves it the most for being your only friend for years. And we owe Chocolate pudding big time for what he did back in the Burrows." reasoned Aaron, making Nick humm in thought.
''True. Though I don't think that traditions allow more than one godfather." mused Nick. His statement made Aaron snicker and roll his eyes.
''Like we ever followed traditions Bushy Tail. We make all three of them godfathers and that's it. Finnick and Chocolate pudding will probably shrug it off while Clawhauser will be too happy to care that he is not the only godfather for the kids." reasoned Aaron, making Nick nod his head in agreement.
''True. About the godmother slash godmothers?" asked Nick.
''We have Judy, Bonnie and Isabelle." listed off Aaron quietly. He glanced at the two babies, and saw that Amelia haven't even stirred while Mateusz managed to fall asleep while hugging Aaron's paw.
''Carrots got us together and was the one who helped me go legit, Bonnie is still grieving Stu so she needs every bit of happiness and Isabelle was the one who managed to get you and your mother back together. All three of them?" asked Nick with an expectant eyebrow.
Aaron smiled.
''All three of them."
And with that, they extended their muzzles and gave each other a loving kiss. Their tails started to wag and they both felt warmth spread through them. After disconnecting, they looked down at the two sleeping babies and smiled. This was their family now. It might be strange, a tad bit extraordinary and will definitely make others raised their eyebrows, but they didn't care. They are now their fathers of these two gems and will make sure to raise them well.
Because a Wildeford must be sly and playful, but protective and serious if needs be.
Epilogue 1
~6 years later
It was a sunny morning, around 7 in the morning and a police cruiser could be seen driving on one of the main roads towards Zootopia Elementary School, which was also situated on the same square as the City Hall, the building of the Precinct one of the ZPD and the Natural History Museum. They were still a tad bit far away, around a quarter of the whole journey from the Wildeford residence.
''Daddy! Papa! When do we arrive?" came the high-pitched male voice from the police cruiser.
''Mateusz, I told you. We arrive when we arrive, which is soon." came the slightly annoyed but still patient answer from none other than the 39-years-old Aaron Wildeford from the passenger seat.
Over the six years, he changed very little. The one noticable difference between his 33 yo. and 39 yo. self was that he looked more confident, more father-like and definitely happier (not like he didn't have all the reasons for those.) He still used his time to look as handsome in the mornings as he did everyday since he hit puberty, and in this six years he has never taken off his wedding ring either. He was always asked why did he keep it on even on duty, where it is forbidden, which he always answered: 'It's a part of me.' He always did that while dreamily eyeing the huge ruby that always reminded himself of the one mammal in his life that he loved unconditionally (besides his kits, but don't complicate it). When Bogo sternly notified him that wearing jewellery while on duty is indeed against regulations, Aaron basically told the buffalo off angrily and like he knew how Bogo would 'reward' him for such actions, he willingly went on Meter Maid duty, rendering not only the strict buffalo but his partners and Nick speechless. Bogo didn't make a comment neither on the wolf's nor Nick's rings after that, but he warned Judy and Charlie that they won't get the same privileges, making the bunny go tomato and the painted dog raise a questioning eye brow.
Nick changed even less. He was still wearing that all-knowing, sly smirk while radiating confidence. The only noticable change was a chain around his neck that he always hid under his orange-ish fur when on duty, but completely exposed it out of the uniform. It was a pendant that contained a family photo, having him, Aaron, Mateusz and Amelia smiling at the camera brightly. The pendant itself was painted in a rusty colour, had a gem shape and was flat, so the police uniform could conceal it. He was never a jewelery mammal, but this pendant and his wedding ring managed to be exceptions. Both reminded him that he wasn't a lying, sneaky, no-good fox anymore. He had a family now that he fought for and would fight for should the need arise.
Said fox snorted in amusement upon hearing the conversation.
''Hey, Computer head, I believe there is an unsolved crossword puzzle under your seat. It seemed really hard, me and your Papa couldn't even begin solving it. If you complete it, you might just get a big reward. Deal?" asked Nick in a childish tone. Mateusz's face brightened upon hearing his own nickname that his Daddy gave him which became even brighter when he heard about the crossword puzzle that not even his parents could solve, and all for this for a reward. Next to him, Amelia was busy with drawing something called 'buffalo-butt'. She heard his Daddy say this name yesterday while talking with Papa about police stuff, so she got the inspiration to draw this 'buffalo-butt' character.
Amelia and Mateusz became wonder kits according to other parents at the age of seven. They both were taught how to read and were also taught basic maths very early. With the help of their parents and Bonnie, the wolf and the fox managed to teach both of them the english ABC and the basic mathematic operations, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Their parents gave them useful tips, such as trying to teach them while mixing it with different games, and it helped immensely. Both kids enjoyed learning this way, and the fact that their grandparents and godparents kept on calling them clever and smart just encouraged them. To top it off, they both seemed to find what they loved to do at this age.
Mateusz turned out to be a computer whiz. He had a passion for technology and computing, and he liked using his brain for everything. Nick and Aaron supported him and taught him some things concerning technology to a point, where Mateusz could use their phone and their computers at the precinct without much help. He also loved using his brain, which resulted in numerous amounts of crossword puzzle books (for children, but Mateusz doesn't need to know that) being almost done. All these resulted in his nickname: 'Computer head', which he loved almost as much as his Daddy who gave him the name.
Amelia, on the other hand, was an art lover. Half of their apartment was basically filled with her drawings and paintings. She loved mixing colours also, making her fur pretty dirty most of the time, much to the amusement of her daddies and brother, who didn't hesitate to join her creating a mess. Her parents supported her just as much as they supported Mateusz's love for technology, that's how she got her first instrument, a guitar, at the age of five. She was determined to master both branches of art, and maybe take up sculpture aswell. She got the nickname 'Pawinchi' from their Papa, which she accepted excitedly, knowing all to well who was originally called Pawinchi after listening to said Papa reading about the artist for her.
Back to the car, the young polar bear, already reaching the height of Nick, started shuffling under his seat. The seatbelt made it a bit hard to reach, and he knew how dangerous it would be to disconnect the seatbelt, but he managed to grab the puzzle book in the end. He immediately took out his own pen that he got from one of their trips to Wolfska, and started answering the questions excitedly. His sister just snorted at how easily their daddy managed to distract her poo-head brother.
Although the fact that he could have a reward and she can't bothered her.
''Daddy, Papa, can I have a reward too?" asked Amelia with big pleading eyes that she learnt from one of her godmother, Judy. She ignored his brother mumble about 'jealous sisters'.
''Sure Pawinchi, but you have to work for it. What do you want to do for a reward?" asked Aaron as he looked back at his daughter with playful eyes, who stopped her pleading and started chewing on her pencil in thought.
''How about finishing this?" asked Amelia as she held up her half-finished drawing. Aaron squinted his eyes to find out what the drawing was about, but it looked like a potato with two curvy lines on the middle. This weird potato had arms and legs and what seemed to be horns. It was still impressive for a 7-year-old to draw like this, most of her coloring was in-lines. Not even Aaron could keep coloring in-lines at times, so it was definitely something.
''That is great my girl, but it seems half-done, so finish it and we will see whether your drawing is reward worthy or not. What's the name of your picture by the way?" asked Aaron curiously. In the mean time, they arrived at the square, in front of the school to be exact, so Nick stopped the car and waited for his wolf to realize that they were here. While doing that, he grabbed his still warm coffee from the top of the dashboard and started drinking it while listening to the conversation.
''Oh, I overheard you and Daddy talking about uncle Charlie and aunt Judy last night, but I also heard Daddy mentioning a 'buffalo butt', so I wanted to draw this character. Is it good?" asked Amelia innocently. Upon hearing that, Nick manged to spit out his coffee, covering the steering wheel and parts of the windscreen with the liquid, and looked back at the drawing of his daughter with wide eyes. Aaron wore the same reaction.
Before the wolf could comment, Nick piped in excitedly.
''That looks wonderful kiddo! Do you want the real buffalo-butt to see that after it's done?" asked Nick eagerly, making Aaron roll his eyes. Of course his fox would want to show that to Bogo and not care about the repercussions.
Amelia looked elated upon hearing the praise but she also caught the eagerness in her father's voice. She knew that his mischievous Daddy had something planned for this buffalo butt, so it was her decision whether she gives it to him or not.
But she was raised by the best hustler in town, and she loved outsmarting her Daddy and Papa.
''I will, if you guarantee that whatever the drawing ends up as, I will get my reward either way." said Amelia while holding the drawing teasingly. Aaron raised an amused eye brow at his daughter's wittiness. Even Mateusz caught it and chuckled while whispering 'Nice one, sis.'
''Of course! I believe your Papa would like to see the reaction of buffalo butt too, wouldn't him?" asked Nick while looking at the wolf next to him. He was actually immensely proud that her daughter managed to play him, just as he taught her and her brother.
Aaron knew that they will get trouble for annoying the chief, but he also knew about Bogo's soft side and this drawing would actually mean a lot to him at the end of the day.
''Sure, I bet he would even pin that onto the showboard in the main hall, that's how happy he would be." agreed Aaron, hiding his amusement when he saw her daughter brightening up upon hearing such a grand place for something she made.
The little coyote undid her seatbelt, and stood up on her seat while extending her paw towards Nick.
''Shake paws then." said Amelia while holding her chin up confidently. Nick and Aaron shared a look as the fox extended his paw towards her smaller one. Before they could connect though, Amelia withdrew her paw and looked at her Daddy with a smirk.
''No crossing your fingers and tail behind your back, Daddy." said Amelia, surprising Nick. Mateusz snorted.
''Daddy, she got you, it's time to give up." commented the little polar bear while wearing the same sly smirk as his sister. Nick felt pride swell up in him even more.
''She is daddy's daughter, alright." whispered Nick while shaking his head. He held up his tail and his other paw to show his daughter that they are not crossed. Amelia accepted his paw now and shook it while smiling in triumph.
That lasted for about 2 seconds, when she blow up in excitement and started doing dance moves while boasting about her accomplishment. Nick rolled his eyes as he unbuckled his own seatbelt.
''Okay kids, it's time to get out of the car. We are here." announced Nick.
They exited the car and faced each other as it was time to depart. It was actually hard for both Nick and Aaron, leaving their kids for such times to the hand of mammals they didn't know, but neither wanted to be worrywarts. They raised their kits so far to use their brain to solve things and they trusted them that despite their age, they would know what to do. It was still hard to let them go to their first day at school, but they couldn't pamper them forever.
''Okay kids, what do you do when you or someone else gets hurt?" asked Aaron while squatting down to to meet his kids' eye level.
''Call for a teacher or an adult." came the answer from both the polar bear and the coyote.
''What happens when you see someone being really mean to you or someone else?" continued Aaron while watching Amelia and Mateusz expectantly.
''Use the spray you gave us and call for a teacher or an adult." came the answer from the both again while both proposing two flasks of pepper spray.
''After your lessons are over, what happens?" piped in Nick while crossing his arms but still smirking nonetheless.
''Find each other, come out and search for either grandma Monica or grandma Christine. If we can't find either, it's uncle Rufus or Uncle Finnick we need to find." came the immediate answer from both kids. Nick and Aaron smiled at their kits.
''Are you two ready for your first day in school?" asked Aaron in a playful tone, gaining cheers of agreement. Nick and Aaron hugged their children and kissed them.
''Be safe kiddos." said Nick as they watched their children with their bags on their backs running into the school, eager to make friends and learn new things. Aaron hugged the smaller frame of his husband closer to him sighed.
''They grow up so fast." said Aaron nostalgically while not removing his gaze from the entrance of the school where his kids ran into. He felt a familiar pair of arms circle around his neck and a familiar pair of lips touching his cheek.
''I still remember how frustrated you were when they woke us up for the nth time at one night. I had to give you one of my 'foxy specials' to calm you down. Now that worked" grinned Nick, making Aaron snort.
''You know there are kids around. You can't talk about that in front of them." scolding half-heartedly Aaron, but his wagging tail betrayed his real opinion.
Nick planted another kiss on the underside of Aaron's jaw and smirked.
''Not like anyone would have any idea about the 'foxy special'. And you know you love it." teased Nick playfully.
Aaron sighed and smiled.
''I very much do. I can't imagine how could I have managed without you and your 'foxy specials'." said Aaron as a glint of hunger appeared in his eyes.
''That's what a good husband does. But we cannot have that while at work and you know it. Speaking of work, we should go before Bog- I mean buffalo butt decides to have a bad day." said Nick as he planted one last kiss on his wolf's lips and started walking towards the driver side of their cruiser, completely obvious that his wolf was eyeing his tail the whole time.
~Tomorrow morning, Bogo's office.
Adrian Bogo was finally a happy buffalo. A rare occurence, considering what kind of mammals were working under his hooves. A snarky but smart fox, a snarky but skilled wolf, a workaholic-by the book rabbit and completely light-hearted dog. Even though these four were probably the most annoying officers he had ever seen, they were his best, and he had to give them credit.
Usually, he would be frustrated this time of the day, knowing that he would have to endure another 'funny' comment from Wilde or Wolford that would lead to Hopps (or Pictus in the last three years) scolding them and (the original) Pictus openly eyeing her lower parts without a care on the world. But now it was different. Last morning, neither Wilde nor Wolford showed their immaturity, which meant a silent Hopps and a focused Pictus. He knew about the Wildeford kids having their first day, so he probably guessed that both jokesters were busy with worrying about their children.
That gave him hope and happiness, knowing that they would quiet down for a while. A dubious voice in his head always told him that it won't be for long, but he tried to swat it away. He really didn't need scepticism now.
As he finished arranging today's task for his officers, a knock could be heard on his door. He raised an eyebrow. Who would want to see him before briefing?
''Come in." ordered Bogo gruffly. Much to his surprise and annoyance, a widely smirking Wilde and Wolford stepped in, the wolf visibly holding something behind his back.
''Good morning Chief Bogo." said Nick in a playful tone. Bogo has learnt, that playful in the case of these two meant headache.
''What do you two want?" grunted Bogo while eyeing them suspiciously.
''Well, nothing much really, except that our little Amelia decided to draw you, or to be exact, your alias." replied Nick as Aaron extended his paw that had a paper in it. Bogo accepted it and saw that it was a drawing of a buffalo with blue clothes that he guessed were his police uniform, but instead of its head there were what seemed to be… buttcheeks?
Bogo raised an eyebrow.
''What do you mean by 'my alias?'" asked Bogo without removing his gaze from the drawing.
''Well, our girl decided to draw a character called 'buffalo butt' that she heard one of us mentioning once. She didn't make the connection between you and this mysterious character so she decided to draw him. We promised we would show her creation to 'buffalo butt' and we are not ones to break our promise, right Bushy Tail?" explained Aaron while almost blowing up from the snark.
''On point, mi amigo." replied Nick while leaning onto the side of Aaron.
Yep. There went Bogo's happiness and 'Hello again Annoyance!'. With a grunt and a weary sigh, he put the drawing down and stood up to be as intimidating as he could be. He looked down at the ever-so smug pair of mammals and huffed.
''I would suggest you get out of my office before I give you Meter Maid duty, and I won't care about what your co-director has to say nor about what Hopps and Pictus." said Bogo sternly. Any normal mammal would melt under his killing glare, but these two got used to it and simply shrugged.
''Sure thing…" said Nick as he and Aaron left. Bogo raised another eyebrow of how easily he managed to shake these two off.
He should have known better.
''Bye, Buffalo butt!" came the double cheering and the chuckle from the other side of the door. Bogo groaned and rolled his eyes while sighing in relief. Considering their usual humor, this was something the buffalo could handle. Eight years of continuously listening to these two trained him to be resistant to some level of their humor. Of course, he couldn't let them know that, they would try harder in annoying Bogo and that was a serious danger for the buffalo's sanity.
He dismissed those two for now and resumed his work. He walked back to the table and grabbed the tasks for the officers that he would announce at the briefing. Before he left the office, his eye caught the drawing of little Amelia. He let out a small smile despite everything. He had to say, it was impressive for a 7-year-old. Most her age would draw a bird which ends up to be a boat or a pumpkin. Amelia Wildeford seemed to know her way around the world of art. And is that an almost complete in-line drawing? Incredible.
Making sure no one was watching him, he freed one of his hooves, folded the drawing and put it in his chest pocket. he would show this to her wife and would get a good laugh at that.
But now he had officers to give tasks to and two mammals to punish.
That's Epilogue numero Uno! Two more to go that would make us visit the times when Mateusz and Amelia hit puberty and when they reach their adult hood. No, I won't end the series with Nick and Aaron's death, if you have read 'A bunny CAN go savage' you know what kind of ending I'm talking about.
Anyway, as this story ends, I have some new ideas for new stories.
1.: A Zootopia story with an Assasin's Creed AU with Judy being a delusional Templar who believes that the templars are the good guys and Nick being the sneaky and snarky assassin.
2.:A Sequel to this story, introducing the lives of the Wildeford family.
3.:Several One shots
These are what I have in mind currently. If you have any more ideas, be brave to tell me. I actually listen to the reviews LOL.
'Till next time.
