The Good Life
AN: My original plan was to post a new chapter once every two weeks, but since I had this already written and the prologue was pretty short, I figured I'd go ahead and post it. I'll post chapter two over the coming weekend, but after that it'll be two weeks.
Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or the Bad Guys. Any non-canon characters were created by me.
Chapter One:
"Why does it have to be so hard to find a parking spot in this city?" Wolf grumbled. With the massive variety of animals living in Zootopia, a lot of parking areas were reserved for vehicles of a particular size. They'd been driving in the same area for probably ten minutes now, and the only designated parking lot was reserved for large vehicles—the kind hippos, elephants, giraffes, and the like drove. All the spaces for vehicles around the size of his car were along the side of the street, but they were all metered. He was trying to find a permanent parking area of some sort.
"I thought ya knew where you were goin'?" Snake asked, clearly frustrated.
"I know where the apartment is, but I don't know where we're supposed to park," Wolf defended himself, equally as frustrated.
"What about that parking garage that was literally right next to our building?" Snake shot back.
Wolf furrowed his brows as he stopped at the light before looking at Snake in confusion. "What parking garage?" He didn't remember seeing one, and they'd gone down that road like three times now.
Before Snake could answer, red and blue lights lit up their rearview, and Wolf groaned in annoyance. They hadn't even been in the city for an hour, and he was already being pulled over! As tempting as it was to just gun it and have a nice car chase for old time's sake, he turned the corner and pulled into an empty space at the side of the road, the police cruiser pulling in behind them. "Oh, great! What do they want?" the serpent huffed, glaring at the side mirror and the uniformed—and very large—rhino stepping out of the car.
"Just keep cool and let me do the talking, Snake," he told the grumpy serpent as he turned off the car. Then, rolling his window down, he donned his most charming smile as he addressed the officer glaring down at him. "Evening, Officer! What can I do for you?" The nametag on his uniform read 'McHorn'.
"License and registration," Officer McHorn demanded, and Wolf pulled out his wallet and gave his driver's license to him. He studied it for a few moments before giving it back. "We had some calls reporting suspicious behavior."
Driving around the same area was a bit odd, Wolf had to admit, but there was an easy explanation for it. "Yeah, sorry for any concern we may have caused. We just got into the city, and we're a bit lost, is all. See, we paid for an apartment at the Grey Wolf Lodge..." He was a hundred percent certain Diane chose that particular complex on purpose. "...And we're having trouble finding a place to park."
The Rhino studied the both of them for a moment before pointing down the street. "The lodge has an underground parking garage on this side if you're driving towards it. The entrance is just on the street behind the lodge's entrance. You aren't the only ones who've had trouble finding it."
They had been down that road once, but Wolf hadn't been looking for an underground garage. "Hey, thanks, officer. Are we free to go?"
The officer nodded, stepping back from their car with a parting, "Stay outta trouble, and enjoy your stay in Zootopia."
Wolf couldn't help the relieved sigh. He may be on the right side of the law now, but for some reason, dealing with cops made him even more nervous than when he was a bad guy. "At least he was friendly," he commented, cranking his car back up and pulling out into the street. Armed with their new directions, it was embarrassingly easy to find the garage entrance. Though, he did notice a sign next to the entrance that read 'Parking Reserved for Residents. Permit Required to Park'. "Guess we'll need to take care of that before we do anything else."
Snake didn't say anything at first. But when he did, Wolf loudly rolled his eyes. "Told ya there was a parking garage."
"Snake...we've been on the road for an entire week, and I had to drive through rush hour traffic in one of the largest cities in the world. Can you maybe tone down the attitude, at least for the rest of the night?" He pulled into a parking spot and shut off the car, turning to look at Snake with a serious expression. Normally, Snake's snarky attitude was something he could easily handle, but he was a bit stressed right now, and it wasn't just because of how long they'd been on the road.
Snake was watching him, too, seemingly deep in thought. Eventually, he huffed. "Alright, fine..."
Wolf just sighed in relief, at both Snake agreeing to his request and the fact he hadn't accidentally offended his friend. "Thanks, Snake. I appreciate it," he said with a thankful smile.
"No problem," the serpent said simply before smirking. "I'll just make sure I'm twice as grumpy tomorrow for ya." Wolf couldn't help but chuckle, holding up a fist for Snake to bump his head against. "Now, come on. I'm beat!"
"Yeah, me too," the canine agreed. "You wanna wait here while I check in with the receptionist?" The serpent nodded, coiling up on the seat as Wolf got out of the car, stretching his legs for the first time since just before noon. Travel was hard work. He made sure to park a good distance from the elevator to give himself a chance to actually remember how to walk, which is why he took the stairs instead of the elevator.
Opening the door to the lobby, he walked over to the receptionist, who just so happened to be a grey wolf. "They put you out here on purpose?" he asked as he approached, trying to appear friendly.
The other wolf just snickered at that. "I guess. You new here? I haven't seen you before."
"Yeah, my friend and I just got into the city, and another friend of mine sent the rent for an apartment ahead of us. The name should be under 'Foxington'." Wolf waited patiently as the receptionist checked the system. Meanwhile, he took a chance to look around the lobby. It wasn't glamourous by any stretch of the imagination, but it was clean and inviting, almost like a hotel but more homely. "Oh, and we need a permit for our vehicle, right?"
"Yeah, I can take care of that for you," the wolf nodded, not turning his gaze away from the computer. A couple clicks later, and the printer came to life. "What kind of car you drive?" he asked, passing the permit to Wolf.
"It's a custom '69 Camaro SS," he answered, taking the permit. "Supercharged 6.2L V8 with a 6-speed manual gearbox, produces 896 horsepower and has a top speed of 204 mph." Of course, those vital stats weren't necessary, but he loved bragging about his car. And he loved seeing the impressed expressions from the people he told, such as the wolf sitting in front of him.
The other wolf whistled, clearly impressed, and Wolf couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction. "Those human cars are certainly something else. I take it you're here for the racing festival?" He opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of duplicate keys, giving them to Wolf. They both read 312.
"Yep," he confirmed, leaning on the counter with an elbow. "Say, you know a good garage around here?"
"Nah, I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff. I don't even have a car of my own," the wolf said. "But that doesn't stop me from being interested in other people's cars."
Just then, the elevator dinged open, and Snake slithered out with a frown. "Hey, Wolf, what's takin' so long?" the serpent wondered, eyeing the receptionist with suspicion, probably assuming the other wolf had been giving his friend some trouble.
Wolf chuckled. "Sorry, pal, I was just talking. Here..." he tossed over the room keys, which Snake caught with his tail. "Why don't you head up to our apartment. I'll get the stuff from the car."
Snake gave the two of them a last suspicious look before getting back in the elevator. "We don't see many reptiles in Zootopia," the other wolf commented. "Well, good luck with the festival. I'll make sure to catch one of your races." He held out a paw for Wolf to shake, which he accepted. "I'm Joe Barker, by the way."
"Moe," Wolf answered. "But everyone just calls me Wolf."
Joe chuckled. "Well, that might get a bit confusing around here." Wolf just shrugged with an amused smile. "See you later, Wolf."
Wolf took a few steps backward, giving Barker his signature salute before spinning around and heading through the door to the stairwell. He'd made it to his car, put the permit on the dash, grabbed their stuff, and made it into the elevator before something dawned upon him. He'd just had a perfectly normal conversation with someone without there being any suspicion or fear. He may be a Good Guy now, but his previous reputation still lingered around the streets of LA. A lot of people were still wary or even hostile towards him there.
Here, though? Nothing. Even the cop who pulled them over had been friendly enough once the confusion had been sorted out. It wasn't anything like the distrust the cops in LA showed him. It seemed like they pulled him over for every little thing, even if he hadn't done anything wrong. He never reported the clear abuse of power to anyone—not even Diane—because he didn't want to cause the police to harbor further resentment towards him.
Being a wolf in LA was hard. He stuck out like a sore thumb, and people were afraid of him and what he could do. But here in Zootopia, being a wolf was...normal. Well, mostly normal. He still remembered the suspicion from that Zebra mom in the red SUV from earlier. The fear and suspicion may not be completely gone, but it was significantly diminished. Simply knowing that caused a tingle to go up his spine and his tail to start wagging. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be accepted by society rather than shunned.
It was rather easy to find the apartment once the elevator stopped on the third floor. Following the sign on the wall, he took a left and went to the very end of the hall. Apartment 312 was on the right, so he knocked a few times with his foot. Snake opened it mere seconds later, doing a double take before he fully turned around.
Wolf walked past him, looking at their small apartment's main living area. A short half-wall separated the entry from the front of the living room, where a forty-inch tv was mounted on the wall. A small grey leather couch and chair sat situated around a nice coffee table and separated the living area from the dining area, which held a small rectangular table surrounded by four chairs. The small kitchen was to the left of that with standard stainless-steel appliances and black granite countertops over grey cupboards. A bar with accompanying barstools separated the front half of the kitchen from the living room, though the back was open, leaving a clear path between it and the dining room.
The whole area was floored by a nice hardwood, and the walls were painted a light grey with white molding along the floor and ceiling. "Wow...Diane sure did pick us a nice apartment! Pre-furnished, too! How many places do that, nowadays?"
"Only has one bedroom, though," Snake commented, slithering up next to him. "So, uh...I guess you're pretty excited about this, huh?" Wolf looked at him in confusion and noticed Snake gesturing at his tail, which was still wagging.
"Well, yeah!" Wolf agreed exuberantly. "This place is nice! And have you noticed that no one seems afraid of us like in LA? We actually fit in around here!" Snake just shook his head, and Wolf's excitement diminished a bit, his tail halting its motion. "You don't like it?"
"It's not that. The place is nice." He looked around as if to emphasize that statement before looking back to his friend. "You may fit in around here, but I still stick out in a crowd. This is a city for mammals, not reptiles. Probably why they built it in Maine and not Louisiana or somethin'."
Wolf just shrugged with a grin, seeing the truth in Snake's words. However, he also saw another way of looking at it. "Would you rather have humans being afraid of you or mammals just being curious?"
Snake actually thought about that for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll see, though, won't we?" It was abundantly clear that Snake didn't think it would be that simple, but at least he seemed willing to give the city a proper chance.
"Besides, we're going to be here for six months, and I'm sure this apartment, nice as it is, will get old after a while," was Wolf's parting advice as he went past the kitchen and dining area to the bedroom in the back.
It had a queen bed with grey sheets and pillows, situated with its headboard against the right wall. A black dresser sat against the far wall underneath the window, which had a view of the street behind the complex, which was currently lit by streetlights and neon, the sun having gone down within the last few minutes. Two doors were along the left wall, and Wolf went to check them out once he placed their suitcases on the bed—he'd put his stuff away later. The first was the bathroom, and there was nothing special about it at all. It was just a sink, toilet, wall mirror, and a step-in tub/shower combo. The other door was a small walk-in closet.
After that, he went back out into the main area. Snake was staring into the empty fridge as if it had personally offended him. "I guess we'll need to go shopping tomorrow." Snake just shut the door with a huff. "Remember that restaurant a few blocks away? We saw it while we were driving around."
"Yeah. You wantin' ta go?" Wolf just shrugged at the serpent, putting his hands in his pocket. "Alright. I could use something to eat that isn't fast food." They didn't eat fast food much in LA, but on the road, it was quick, convenient, and it filled the hole at the very least.
"Great!" Wolf gave him two thumbs up. "Let me just change into something more appropriate, and we'll head out." Snake just rolled his eyes with a huff as if saying, 'Then hurry up, I'm starving'. Within minutes, he'd shed the plain white button-down and old khakis, something that was more comfortable while traveling, for a charcoal grey suit with a light grey shirt and goldish-orange tie—a color that Diane said complimented his eyes. He did miss his old white suits, but his year in prison saw him pack on about fifteen pounds of muscle, meaning they no longer fit. Plus, those particular suits cost a few thousand dollars each, which was a lot heftier of a price tag with a tighter money situation. He'd tried several different colors of suits, but he liked the dark greys and blues, and these were much cheaper at only three hundred each. Still expensive, yes, but much more manageable.
And as Diane had once affectionately said: "New car, new life, new clothes...it's like a whole new you."
After one last look in the mirror to make sure he looked good, he left the bathroom. "Alright...let's bounce," he said with a smirk, leaving the apartment and locking it once Snake slithered out. The serpent was quiet, but Wolf figured he was still sorting things out in his head. He'd leave Snake be for now, though. Once in the elevator, he pressed the button for the ground floor. Snake looked at him with confusion. "Figured we'd walk. It's not too far." Plus, he didn't want to deal with finding a parking spot again.
They exited the elevator to the lobby and then went out the front doors. Wolf stopped just outside, taking a deep breath as he looked around at the many different mammals either driving or walking by. "You comin' or what?" Snake called back to him, already a few dozen feet away.
Wolf tore his gaze from the downtown skyline and went to catch up with Snake. "What's the rush, buddy?" Snake just gestured around them with his head. Wolf looked around in confusion, seeing the curious stares the mammals were sending to the lone reptile in their midst. "Ah, they're just curious," Wolf assured him as they went with the flow of foot-traffic.
Part way through the walk, Wolf remembered to send Diane and the rest of the gang a text saying he and Snake made it to their apartment safely and were heading out to grab a bite. After that was done, Wolf put his phone back in his pocket and just took in the city around him. Their apartment was near the center of Savannah Central with downtown proper to the northeast being visible above the shorter buildings. It was as beautiful as he remembered it being.
He hadn't always lived in LA. He'd moved there when he turned eighteen—fifteen years ago, now—but he was born and raised here in this city. In fact, their apartment wasn't far from his old home, maybe two miles or so. He never thought he'd actually come back, but here he was. The more he thought about it, though, the more nervous he felt. He left this city for a reason, after all.
This is where the worst years of his life took place. His preteen and teenage years had been a dark time, the reason he'd become a criminal in the first place. So far no one recognized him, not that he expected anyone to. He'd been a small-time troublemaker back then instead of a world-class thief. He doubted the police even had a file on him anymore. Still...he really hoped he didn't run in to anyone who actually did remember him.
No doubt ale to pick up on his old partner's anxiety and guessing its origins, Snake asked a question that brought him out of his thoughts. "Nervous about comin' back?" The rest of the gang knew he was from Zootopia. They'd also been instrumental in fully convincing him to actually come here for the racing festival.
Wolf smiled at the serpent—thankful his best friend was with him. "A bit, yeah," he admitted with a shrug. "But I'm glad you're here with me, Snake." They shared a fist bump—or head bump in Snake's case—before arriving at their destination.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...
AN: Not much happens, I know. I just wanted Wolf's first night back home to be more deeply involved. A quick note: we saw in the movie that Wolf can be pretty reflective when he's by himself. I tried to incorporate that in his character while writing him.
Let me know what you think.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22.