The Good Life

AN: I meant to post this yesterday, but I'm now juggling three different machines with only two HDMI cables. I just didn't switch the cable back to my computer to upload before I went to sleep last night. Apologies for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to the Bad Guys or Zootopia.

Chapter Fifteen:

Two more days had gone by with him stuck behind bars. In that time, he'd learned a few things. The first was that the cops had gone to talk with Viktor, though he didn't know what the Bear had said, if anything. Secondly, his car had been impounded. He knew that was bound to happen, of course. It was simply standard procedure for them. Still, that didn't stop him from worrying over what they'd find because if they found that thing he wasn't supposed to have in this city, he'd be in big trouble.

Third, however, was based more on an assumption than anything, but seeing as how they hadn't even mentioned it in these past days, he was reasonably sure that his assumption was correct. They had his car...but his gun wasn't in it. And he could think of only one reptile that would be responsible for that.

Snake had snuck it out of his car before it was impounded. That meant his buddy knew he was arrested. Whether he heard it from Diane or figured it out himself didn't matter. What did matter, though, was that Snake's quick action had saved him from a whole heap of charges.

Finally, and most importantly, he figured out that Alex hadn't lied to him. His cousin hadn't shared his confession to murder. If he had, he wouldn't still be in the precinct. Wolf supposed he was grateful for that even if Alex hadn't spoken with him since their previous chat.

When he thought about it, though, he honestly wasn't sure why he was still here. Surely they had enough to charge him, right? They had dash cam footage of his car in the race and the subsequent chase, complete with plate number. Obviously, they wanted to get information about the street scene from him, but he'd think after three days, they'd give up. Though...maybe they were willing to keep trying until his 'lawyer' got here?

Speaking of Diane...exactly how much trouble was he going to be in? And how much was he causing her?

...And how much longer was she going to be? If he had to sit in this interrogation room for another day with either Chief Bogo or the dynamic duo of Nick and Judy constantly glaring at him, in the former's case, or trying to appeal to his better nature, in the latter's—specifically Judy's—case, he was going to lose it. None of them were even asking questions anymore since they all knew he wouldn't answer.

And Nick's damned smirk was slowly but surely wearing down his patience. It didn't matter if he tried to glare the fox into submission or he actively avoided his gaze, it was still always there. Currently, the fox's elbow was rested on the table top, and his chin rested atop his raised hand, smirk firmly planted in place. Judy's foot occasionally thumped upon their shared chair as she just glared at him after her latest failed attempt to reason with him.

The stalemate was broken when the door suddenly opened. All three of them looked to see Chief Bogo standing there. His expression indicated that he was none too pleased, and Wolf couldn't stop himself from feeling both nervous and excited when he said the one thing he'd been waiting to hear. "His lawyer's here..." He stepped back and held out his arm in invitation for someone unseen to enter.

Diane turned the corner, dressed in her business suit like she usually was while in a professional setting. Instead of her normally cool, professional countenance, she was giving him a death glare the moment he entered her sights. Nick was on his feet at attention in an instant, his usual mask falling to show his genuine shock.

"Officers," she greeted cooly, though her glare never left Wolf. His ears began to lower as he began to understand just how much trouble he was in right now. "May I have a moment with him?"

Nick, somewhat predictably, had something to say about that. "I beg your pardon, ma'am, but you're not a lawyer. What are you doing here?"

"Nick, who is she?" Wolf heard Judy whisper. She could tell based by Nick's reaction and his words that this newcomer was important, but she apparently wasn't very knowledgeable about the wider world.

"She's the governor of California, Hopps," Bogo answered from the door. At having her question answered, Judy's eyes flew open in shock, as well.

"And to answer your question, Officer Wilde, I may not be a lawyer, but I do know the law." Once again, her glare never left Wolf.

"But, why—" Nick tried, only for Diane to interrupt him.

With an annoyed huff, she turned to the smaller fox. "If you must know, I'm here because he's my boyfriend..." She trailed off to turn her glare back to Wolf, ignoring the three cops' stunned expressions. "...for the moment, that is."

Wolf gulped audibly at that and just barely suppressed a worried whine before it could escape. "Hopps, Wilde, with me," the chief ordered the two smaller cops, who left without argument. Both still appeared too stunned by the revelations to do anything else.

As soon as the door shut, Diane came over to the table and set down her briefcase. Throughout her slow, methodical movements, she never once met his gaze, though he could tell she was beyond furious. Slowly, carefully, he began to stand, though he was ready to sit if she did or said anything.

She looked behind her for a moment before suddenly turning and slapping him hard. "I am so, so utterly disappointed in you, Wolf!" she shouted. As he worked his jaw to recover from the stinging pain, she continued yelling at him. "You were supposed to be better than this! I trusted you! I stood up for you! And this is how you thank me!?"

"None of this was supposed to happen," he responded, his voice quiet. She'd successfully cowed him already, and now he was just grasping at straws to try and defend himself. "If the cops hadn't—"

"Do not finish that sentence," she growled. He promptly shut up at her order. "You should've known better than to go street racing in the first place. You should've come to me. I have alternate channels to funnel money through, so you know I could've helped out the guys. You were just too stubborn and prideful to admit you needed help!"

The accusation made him growl lowly to himself. He wasn't going to deny that she was right because she was, at least partially. He would admit that the thrill of the race had been an exciting callback to old times, but there was more to it than that. It was true that he hadn't wanted to make things harder on Diane by asking her for financial support, but there was another, more personal reason behind it, too. He was supposed to be the one the others' depended on, and he didn't want to feel useless by asking for money from someone else.

"They depend on me, Diane," he shot back. "How can they depend on someone who can't get them the money they need?"

"How can they depend on someone who's in jail?" she fired back. "And you are going to jail, Wolf. I was on the phone with the President on the way over here—you know...the guy that pardoned you? He's not going to uphold it now that you've broken the terms that you were warned about."

He could only stare at her, shock turning to regret as her words sunk in. To be perfectly honest, he'd forgotten about the 'terms and conditions' he'd agreed to when he was pardoned. Put simply, the pardon would be nullified if he committed any further illegal activities...like street racing.

"Forgot about that..." he mumbled.

She sighed and looked away in clear frustration for a moment. Her eyes were hard as she crossed her arms. "Back when we first met, you told me that you were tired of being the villain of ever story. You were the one who wanted to be good. The others, even Snake, have turned their lives around, so why were you so quick to go back to being bad?"

Her expectant gaze turned to him, and he looked away, reminded of a similar question Alex had asked him. But rather than tell Diane, the person he trusted most in this world, the truth, he just muttered, "It's just who I am."

She scoffed, and somehow her gaze hardened even more. "Then have fun in prison, Wolf. I'm not going to help you if you're going to act like this." She uncrossed her arms and picked up her briefcase again, already turning towards the door.

He just watched her, growing more and more incredulous as it became clear that she wasn't bluffing. She was fully prepared to leave him to his fate. "Diane, please..."

The clear desperation and guilt in his voice made her pause, hand on the door handle. Without turning, she gave her ultimatum. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't break our relationship off and walk out this door." He just stared at her, completely lost for words. "Well...?"

Desperate to prevent the best thing to have ever happened to him from leaving, he just started talking, hoping something he said would satisfy her. "I made a mistake...and you're right. I was too prideful to ask you for help, but...for a long time, I've only ever been able to depend on myself. Even with the guys, I knew it was up to me to give them the best life possible. I'm not—" He sighed and continued with his admission. "I'm not used to depending on others, Diane. Not like this, anyway..."

He sat down atop the table and sighed. Seeing as how she hadn't left yet, he was sure he was on the right track. A quick glance showed she was definitely listening, but neither had she moved away from the door. He needed to say more. And in a split second decision, he decided to spill the beans. He'd do anything to keep Diane in his life.

"When I was twelve and my parents were in the process of divorcing, my mother started having an affair with another wolf. He turned out to be a conman and stole all of my parents' money. A few nights later, my father killed my mother and then himself as I hid in the closet." A quick glance showed Diane was staring at him with genuine horror and surprise. "I was adopted by my aunt and uncle. They tried to press charges against the conman responsible, but nothing stuck. Three years later, when we finally got the news that no action could be taken, I left. I took to the streets and ended up becoming a criminal when I was fifteen in the hopes of tracking down the guy who...hurt my family."

"Did you?" At her quiet question, he glanced at the camera, just making sure that it was actually off. It was.

"I did," he quietly confirmed. "I—" He stopped, the words unable to form. The fear of what Diane might do or say weighed heavily upon him. Would she leave when she heard he was a murderer? Probably. But she was going to leave if he didn't say anything, either. Her hand was still on the door. Swallowing his fear, he uttered the three quiet words that seemed to echo with their connotation alone. ""I killed him..."

Her mouth fell open, and already he could see how she was looking at him differently. The sight made his heart ache. "Wolf—"

"And my name's not Wolf," he cut her off. "Or Moe. It's Mason Robert Wolford. I changed my name after I became the wolf who murdered my parents."

With the confession that he was a completely different wolf than she thought, even down to and including his name, Diane had fully turned around, expression hard to read. The hints of betrayal were hard to see, but it was nothing compared to how she was looking at him like he was some kind of stranger. "Wolf...or Wolford—"

"Call me Mason," he told her quietly.

"Mason..." Based on her expression, she wasn't really comfortable with the new name, and he didn't exactly blame her. "Why tell me all this? Why now?" She scoffed to herself and crossed her arms. This time, however, it was from severe discomfort rather than anger. "I never would've known that everything you ever told me was a lie if you hadn't."

In reaction to the shocking statement, he finally looked up at her, and upon seeing how close she was to an emotional breakdown, he stood slowly, though he didn't close the distance. "Diane..."

"Don't..." She trailed off and closed her eyes before starting again. "Don't talk to me like you care, Wolf." She scowled at her slip before correcting herself. "Mason...damnit..."

"I may not have told the whole truth, but I never actually lied to you, Diane. I'm still the same Wolf you know, there's just...more to me." As much as he wanted to tell her that he loved her, he thought that might cause her to react poorly right now. "I mean, people change their names all the time, right?"

Based on her reactions throughout his story, the name change seemed to concern her more than the fact he'd previously murdered someone. Why that was, he wasn't sure. Any normal person would be the exact opposite. Diane wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen herself, but based on what he knew, the Crimson Paw had never actually killed anyone. Hospitalized, sure. But never killed.

A thought occurred to him then, and he decided to clear something up for her. "If you're worried about being the last to know, don't be. Other than you, my cousin Alex is the only one that knows the whole truth, and I only told him two days ago." He huffed humorlessly. "Guess getting arrested makes it hard to keep secrets."

"And you were perfectly alright with never telling me, weren't you?" she accused.

He hesitantly shrugged, not really arguing that one. "I probably would've told you eventually when I—"

"What? Trusted me?" Diane clenched her jaw, back to being angry again. "I thought you already did, but I guess I was wrong."

"No, you're not wrong," he quickly corrected her, making her look at him skeptically. "I do trust you. More than anyone. I just wasn't comfortable with admitting some things, not just to you, to anyone. I'm sure you have your fair share of secrets you've never told me."

"Nothing to this degree," she argued back.

But he capitalized on that point. "But you do have secrets you've never told me?" After a moment, she eventually nodded. "Same difference." He slowly approached her and gently grabbed the briefcase from her and put it on the ground next to him. When she didn't try to stop him, he smiled at her. Gently guiding her chin up, so she was looking at him again, he gently kissed her. "I'm the same guy, Diane" he told her. "This wasn't for some ulterior motive. I was just hiding from my past. You can understand that, right?"

She sighed and nodded, finally coming to both accept and believe his words. Then, she pulled him into a hug, which he couldn't really return because of the handcuffs. "As weird as it feels right now, I'll get used to it. We're going to talk more about this later, though, alright?" He nodded against her cheek. "Now, uh...do you prefer Wolf or Mason?"

That question gave him pause. At first, he was just going to tell her to call him whatever she was more comfortable with. After thinking about it for an extra second, he realized that that wouldn't be right. 'Wolf' was his old identity. 'Mason' was who he really was, and if he and Diane were going to have a healthy relationship, he needed to accept that...and everything that came with it. "It's time I stop hiding from what makes me, me."

She nodded in understanding. "Okay, then. We'll make a deal with the cops, alright? If you give them the information they want, I'm sure they'll reduce your sentence."

Wolf's expression was as if he'd just bitten into a lemon. "I...can't really do that."

Gentle expression turned serious once again as she pushed him away. "Why not?"

"The guy who runs the street scene said that anyone who talks, dies. If I rat them out, I have no doubt that someone will come after me. Maybe even Snake, too. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to make idle threats. Not with the weapons those guys were packing." Diane sighed heavily at the explanation.

Unfortunately, she wasn't swayed. "You'll be fine as long as you're under police protection. We're making the deal." As soon as he opened his mouth, she shut it and glared at him. "End of story, Mason. I'll even call Snake and tell him to keep an eye out just in case." At seeing his skepticism, she changed the offer. "Or I could tell him to come meet me here."

At that, he finally relented. Still, he had a bad feeling about this, especially because he knew the receptionist for his building was one of them. That meant, those guys knew where he and Snake lived.

AN: And so the fated meeting between Diane and Wolf/Mason finally happens. Obviously, learning the truth was a bit of a shock to her since she's been dating the guy for over a year now. She seems to be okay with it, though. For now, at least.

And, of course, Wolf did make a good point about potential consequences of telling the police what they want to know. So one has to wonder if King was bluffing or not.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22