A/N: After more than a decade away, Nick finally returns home.
This chapter was supposed to be a simple one, but somehow the first half ended up being three times as long as I had intended, so I had to break it off into its own chapter (why does this keep happening XD). In any case, I hope you enjoy the longer than usual chapter!
Thanks to Bloodfox22, BeecroftA, Guest, Medic 27, Mooni.95, 1k, J Shute, dannymc0911, niraD, side-fish, and ok for reviewing!
Chapter 33: Homecoming
How long has it been since I've been here?
It was a rhetorical question, and one that Nick knew the answer to. But still, he couldn't stop himself from thinking it as he came to a stop in front of a place that he knew all too well. He stood there for what seemed like minutes, gazing at the very house that he grew up in. Other than looking slightly worn, from the outside, it looked exactly the same as it did twenty years ago. Same faded green walls, same small flowerbed, same address number by the front door.
A cool breeze blew through the morning air, tickling at his fur. The pavement was still slightly damp from a rain shower earlier that morning. No one else was out and about yet, a stark contrast to the perpetually bustling, raucous streets of Savannah Central. He closed his eyes for a bit, hearing the rustle of the trees above, and the pitter-patter of leftover raindrops falling to the ground as the wind blew through the leaves.
It was just like he remembered all those years ago.
Opening his eyes, Nick took a deep breath and smiled, before walking up to the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited.
He heard the sound of footsteps from inside. After a while, the door opened, and a familiar red fox emerged. She was wearing a t-shirt and knee length khaki shorts, which was unusual attire for her; normally at this time, she would still be in her morning gown. Then again, the last time he'd seen her this time of the day was almost a decade ago. Plenty of things could have changed in that time.
"N…Nicholas? Is that you?" Evie asked, her eyes growing wide.
"I know, I know, it's surprising to see me up so early in the morning. I figured we've got a lot to go through, so I thought I'd come a little earlier and—"
"Hold it right there," his mom interrupted. "What's the meaning of this?"
Nick blinked. "…What?"
"That's my line, Nicholas. What do you think you're doing here? You leave home for ten years, never call, never visit, and then you suddenly show up here like this before I've even had my breakfast? What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?" The mildly shocked expression on his mom's face was gone, now replaced by what he could only describe as a troubled frown.
Nick stared, his mouth still hanging open slightly.
"Mom…we had lunch together yesterday, remember? I told you I was coming over today," Nick said slowly.
"Lunch? Oh, that's rich! As if my runaway son would ever do anything that nice for me." Evie scoffed.
…Am I dreaming? Nick thought, gently pinching himself on his forearm. The stinging sensation that shot up his arm immediately answered that question for him; this definitely wasn't a dream.
"M-mom, I—"
"I mean, it's not as if you were planning to show up at my doorstep yesterday to try and explain to me why you never visited for the last ten years…right?"
The inflection in her voice gave Nick pause. She had dragged out that last word ever so slightly, in a way that was completely different from everything else she'd said. It was at that moment that Nick noticed a slight glint in her eyes that wasn't there before. It was a playful glint, one that he remembered all too well. The realisation finally hit him.
She's…giving me a chance!
He couldn't believe he didn't realise it sooner. His mom was putting on a show for him! She already knew about his plan to visit her after graduation, and now she was giving him a chance to let things play out the way he had imagined all along.
"Actually…" Nick cleared his throat, smirking to let her know that he understood. "As a matter of fact, I did plan on showing up at your doorstep yesterday to tell you something. Unfortunately, two meddlesome bunnies got in my way, so I was only able to come today."
His mom looked visibly relieved, though she quickly put on a faux frown soon after to stay in character.
"Is that so? So, what exactly were you planning to tell me, Nicholas?"
"Well, a lot of things. I had a whole speech rehearsed and everything, but to be honest, it was pretty lousy, and I kinda forgot it the moment you opened the door. But if I had to try and summarise it, it would go something like this: I would start by saying sorry—a lot. I would admit that I lied to you for the last twenty years, and that I became the fox you never wanted me to become. After that, I would tell you that I've changed, and I would take my police badge out to prove it to you." He made a show of reaching into his empty pocket—he'd left his badge back at Judy's place—before continuing.
"And then I would just cross my fingers and hope that you wouldn't be mad enough to slam the door in my face," he finished with an awkward grin.
Evie folded her arms, her eyebrows still furrowed. Though from the look in her eyes, she seemed to be trying very hard not to break out into a smile.
"If I'd let you continue, what would you have said next?" she asked. Nick glanced down at the ground for a moment, before he looked up back at her, his expression turning a touch more solemn.
"I would tell you…that you were right. About everything. About seeing the good in people, about trying to be my best self. I threw all that away before, because I thought no one would ever see me as anything more than a shifty fox. But I was the one who was wrong. It might be too late to stand in front of you and say all this now, but I wanted you to know the truth. And…if you were ever willing to forgive me, I would have liked to start again. And I would have done anything to make it up to you."
Evie was silent for a while. But finally, the vixen's façade finally broke, and the corners of her mouth curled just slightly upward.
"So, I was right all along?"
"Yup. Sorry it took me twenty years to realise that."
"And if I had forgiven you, you would have done anything to make it up to me?" she asked coyly, her eyes twinkling.
"Umm…yes?" Nick said, feeling a small sense of foreboding at the question.
"Alright then! I forgive you, my son. You can make it up to me by giving me lots of grandkits! Preferably soon; I'm not getting any younger, you know." She grinned cheekily at him.
Nick could only stare with wide eyes.
"Uhh…"
"I'm kidding, sweetie." She giggled, before gazing at him with a gentle smile. "…How long did you spend practicing that speech?"
"More than I care to admit," Nick replied with a sigh. "There was a bunch of stuff that I skimmed over, but that was the gist of it. So…do you think it would have worked?"
Evie clasped her paws together, her face radiating with unbridled joy.
"It would. It absolutely would. It was everything I ever wanted to hear."
Before Nick could respond, his mom took a step out the front door, rushing up and throwing her arms around him in a warm, loving hug. And then, she did something Nick didn't expect. She pressed her cheek against his and began rubbing affectionately against him—the unmistakable sign of a mother marking her kit.
"…Welcome home, my son."
Nick closed his eyes, letting a smile form on his face. In that moment, every single memory from the day before began rushing in again, filling his heart with a warmth that he had longed to feel again for years. He nuzzled her gently in return, and she responded by tilting her head to give him a tender kiss on his cheek. Nick felt his own tail begin to wag joyfully behind him; it would have been embarrassing if not for the fact that the vixen in front of her had an equally waggy tail.
He could have stood there forever, but eventually his mom pulled away, motioning with her head for him to follow her inside. He hesitated for a moment as he looked into the house, but after taking a deep breath, he stepped through the doorway. The moment he did, a wave of nostalgia immediately washed over him. Some things inside had changed, but most of the house was still exactly the same as he'd remembered it as a kit. The coat closet near the door, the wooden stairs near the living room, the large mirror on the wall…he even caught a familiar whiff of morning coffee coming from the kitchen, the same blend his mother had drunk for as long as he could remember.
It's like I never left.
Memories from long ago came rushing back to him in a flood. Despite preparing himself for this moment, seeing the very house he grew up in after more than ten years away still left him feeling overwhelmed. He gazed around the room, allowing the memories to flow in and allowing himself to reminisce about simpler times.
"…You know, I didn't expect you to show up looking like my walls," Evie remarked, snapping him out of his reverie. "Did you wear that on purpose? I must say, the green Pawaiian motif looks better on the walls rather than on your shirt."
Nick glanced down at his usual green shirt that he wore around most of the time; it hadn't occurred to him that the design on it bore a striking resemblance to the wallpaper in the house. It did look a little odd, now that she mentioned it.
"Well, I've always dreamed of looking like a disembodied head while walking around the house," Nick quipped, following his mom towards the living room. "But no, I didn't wear this on purpose. This is what I usually wear when I go out."
Evie blinked. "That's what you usually wear? Sweetie, that shirt is so gaudy! Please tell me you have other outfits in your wardrobe."
"Oh, I do, don't worry. I'd say I have about eleven other shirts like this. I'll show you the pink one next time I'm here. I think you'll especially like the tie that I'm thinking to go with it." Nick grinned.
Evie shuddered visibly.
"…I think I know what I'm getting you for Christmas this year. And next year," she shook her head with a small chuckle. "In fact, we do have quite a few Christmases to make up for, don't we? I think I'll just get you a whole new wardrobe and have it delivered to your place."
As she finished her sentence, something seemed to click in her head.
"Oh right, I've been meaning to ask: are you still staying in Savannah Central? I remember you telling me before that you were staying in a small apartment there."
Nick paused in his tracks.
"Wait…you mean you don't know? Carrots never told you?"
His mom stopped as well, turning back to face him. "No, it never came up in our conversation. Why?"
Oh boy.
"Right, about that…at the moment, I'm kind of homeless. But don't panic—"
"WHAT?!"
"Mm, should've started with 'don't panic'," Nick deadpanned. "Relax, mom. It hasn't been that long. My landlord kicked me out of my last apartment about seven months ago."
"Seven months?!" Evie exclaimed, still clearly panicking. "But why?"
"Long story short, one of my hustles went south, and he found out about it. It didn't help that this happened around the time when a whole bunch of predators were going savage."
Nick quickly raised his paws to stop the older vixen from spontaneously exploding where she stood. "But don't worry, I haven't been sleeping on the streets or anything. I've been staying in the academy for most of the last six months. And Carrots has been letting stay with her while I look for a new place."
"Oh…" Evie's tone finally softened, and she let out a sigh of relief. "I see. That's very kind of Judy to do that. She's such a sweet bunny; I can't believe she's gone and done all this for you."
"Yeah, me neither…" Nick mumbled, feeling a familiar flutter in his chest. At that moment, he thought he saw a strange expression on his mom's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"You know…your room upstairs is still available; I haven't touched it ever since you left. If you don't mind, you could always move back here for a bit, at least until you find yourself a new place."
Nick smiled.
"Thanks for the offer, Mom. And it's not that I don't want to, honest. It's just that Judy's place is much closer to the precinct, so it's a lot more convenient to go to work from there. And unfortunately, morning roll call at the bullpen tends to be pretty early."
"I understand…well, I'm just glad you have a roof over your head. Anyway, let's sit on the couch; we'll be standing here the whole day otherwise," Evie replied, turning and walking towards the living room. She did an excellent job of hiding it, but Nick could still hear a tinge of disappointment in her voice.
He immediately reached a paw out and gently placed it on her shoulder, causing her to turn back towards him. When she did, he looked reassuringly at her.
"I'll still come by to visit often, Mom. I promise. For real this time. And you can come and visit me too, anytime you'd like. Although it might be a little bit of a tight squeeze until I find my own place."
After a couple of seconds, his mom smiled softly, placing her paw on his and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Thank you, sweetie."
The two of them finally made it to the L-shaped sofa—which was the very same one that Nick remembered sitting on as a kit. It was still in great condition; he wouldn't have guessed it was more than two decades old just by looking at it. Evie sat down in the middle of the sofa, and he followed suit, placing a bag he had been carrying on the ground. As he did, he sniffed the air a couple of times, realising that the smell from earlier had gotten stronger. He looked down at the table, seeing a pair of filled coffee mugs sitting on a tray, with a jar of sugar and a couple of teaspoons beside them. The coffee looked freshly poured, with wisps of steam still rising out from the mugs.
"Did you fill these when I rang the doorbell?" Nick asked.
Evie nodded cheerfully.
"Of course! If I remember correctly, you like it black, with two sugars?"
"It's one sugar now." Nick took a teaspoon of sugar and dropped it into his mug. "Two teaspoons is a little too sweet for me these days. I guess that happens when you get old."
"I must be an eternally young fox, then." Evie grinned back, adding a couple of teaspoons of sugar to her own mug. "I don't think my sweet tooth ever went away."
…Note to self, get a blood sugar meter for Mom, Nick thought, taking a sip from his mug before placing it back down onto the table. As he did, a couple of old and worn photograph albums sitting on the table caught his eye. It had been a long time since he'd last seen them, but he instantly recognised them. He reached out and picked one up, running a paw over the album cover. It was smooth, without a trace of dust on it. He flipped it open, and sure enough, he saw many younger versions of himself smiling back at him.
"Mom, don't tell me you've been looking through these old photo albums…" He rolled his eyes, giving his mom a look.
"Well, I was worried I would forget what you looked like after ten years, so I wanted to give myself a little refresher." She winked in response.
"Very funny. As if this dumb-looking fox kit looks anything like me." Nick pointed at one of the photos of his younger self sticking his tongue out and making a funny face at the camera.
"Really? I'd say you look exactly like the silly kit in this picture to me. Except a little taller. And fluffier." Evie giggled.
"You wish."
"Oh, it's true. I even took a bunch of photos of the same silly kit going up on stage to collect his shiny new badge yesterday. Here, let me show you!" She picked her phone up from the table, swiping through the screens slowly. "Now let's see, where were my pictures again…?"
Nick chuckled softly.
"That one, Mom. The blue one in the top left."
"Ah, that's right! Thank you, sweetie." She tapped the screen and held her phone next to the photo album for Nick to see. "There we go. Undeniable proof, wouldn't you say? I managed to get a few nice shots of you, even from the back of the crowd. I can't wait to get them printed and add them to the collection."
Nick swiped through the photos on her phone, unable to stop himself from chortling loudly.
"I think our definitions of 'nice' are quite different, Mom. These look terrible! You do know the ZPA has dedicated photographers, right? They should have already posted the photos of graduation on their social media page or something." He pulled out his phone, quickly looking up the page on Zoogle before showing it to his mom. "Yup, they uploaded the album last night. Here, take a look."
He swiped through the photos one by one for her to see. As he did, he saw his mom's eyes light up.
"Oh! You're right, these pictures are lovely! And look, that's you in the front! Aww, and look at your handsome little face…wait—" she leaned in closer to the phone. "Are you wearing sunglasses? And holding coffee?"
"I'm surprised they actually posted that one." Nick grinned. "You think the Chief will let me use this as my official precinct photo?"
"Probably not. Though I must say, you do pull off the look very well," Evie remarked, swiping through the photos on the phone. "There are so many good pictures of you here, I don't know which ones I should print out. I would love to print the whole album, but I think that might be a bit too expensive."
"Probably. But you know, if you wanted to look at them all, you could just do this."
Nick picked up his mom's phone from beside him and navigated to the same social media page that he was on. Without saying a word, he tapped on her phone screen a few times, before locking the phone and handing it back to her.
"What did you do?" Evie asked, confused.
"Try unlocking your phone," Nick said. His mom did as instructed. A moment later, she let out an audible gasp as she saw what was on her screen; her phone wallpaper—which up to now had just been a generic blue background—was now showing the exact same photo that he'd just shown her.
"You didn't know you could do that, did you?" Nick asked with a smirk.
"No, I didn't. That's amazing! How did you do that?"
"Magic." Nick winked. "If you'd like, I can download the whole set and have your wallpaper rotate through them. So every time you turn on the screen, the picture will be different."
"That would be wonderful, sweetie! Thank you!" she leaned in to give him a loving nuzzle once more. A pleasant warmth spread through Nick's chest as he felt her gentle, loving touch. He hadn't realised how much he had missed moments like this. Despite their reunion yesterday, he had still harboured doubts that they could regain the same loving relationship they had when he was a kit.
But now, sitting with her like this, he felt those doubts slowly begin to fade away.
"Alright, let me get the rest of the photo set into your phone. I was going to ask if your phone has enough storage space for them, but something tells me you don't even know how much storage you have to begin with."
"You're right about that," Evie replied with a giggle.
Nick didn't even bother rolling his eyes this time. He went back to the beginning of the album and began scrolling through the photos, downloading the relevant ones into his mom's phone. The album was in chronological order, starting with the guests filling the venue, to the graduates walking in, to Judy giving her big speech, and then to all the graduates going up onstage to receive their badges. He went through the photos at a quick pace, until one particular picture gave him pause.
It was the photo of Judy pinning his badge to his uniform.
He lingered on the picture for a bit, specifically on the smiling bunny's face. Seeing her instantly reminded him of what happened the night before.
What almost happened, more like.
He had been so close to saying it to her, but he'd chickened out at the very end. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. But how could he? She valued their friendship so much, enough that she broke down into tears over it under that bridge. How could he even think about doing something that might ruin everything they had?
He exhaled softly.
Yeah, that's right. It's still too soon. We haven't even started working together yet. But maybe someday…
Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye. Glancing to his left, he saw his mom looking at him intently with a tilted head, a mildly curious expression on her face. The moment he made eye contact with her, she blinked, pulling her head back quickly.
"Uhh, Mom? Is there something on my face?" he asked.
"Oh, no, it's nothing, sweetie," she replied, looking back down at the phone in his paws. "I was just thinking how much I missed looking at you."
"You've still got the rest of the day to do that." Nick chuckled. "Anyway, that's the last photo. Now if you ever want to look at my face—although I have no idea why you would ever want to—you can just check your phone."
"Thanks, sweetie! I'm still going to get some of these pictures printed though. I'm definitely framing that one of you getting your badge—that's going straight on my bedside table."
"Sure thing, Mom…" Nick said. "Well, now that that's done, I suppose I should get started with what I actually came here to do."
He leaned forward, reaching into his bag and pulling out a familiar brown sketchbook. Evie's expression turned a touch more solemn; it was clear that she knew exactly what this sketchbook was. Nevertheless, she still maintained her calm expression, looking at him silently and waiting for him to continue.
"You already know what's inside, right?" Nick asked.
"Yes, I do. I must say, a lot of the plans inside are very impressive; they must have taken a lot of planning." She smiled gently in response.
Nick hesitated. His mom sounded unexpectedly…nonchalant about this whole matter.
"…Yeah, it was a lot of planning," he finally replied. "I figured I would use this to explain everything to you, since this is where it all began. Are you ready?"
Evie nodded.
"I'm ready."
And so, with the two of them seated together, Nick began. Using his sketchbook as a diary of sorts, he brought his mom through the last two decades of his life. From the start of his morally questionable exploits as a kit, to the lies he had told to keep them hidden from her, to him turning his back on her and everything she believed in. He had always known that revealing the whole truth would be hard, but saying everything out loud felt like he was stabbing her in the gut, over and over.
He expected her to be shocked, angry, or disappointed at the very least. But throughout his entire confession, she never once raised her voice or frowned at him. There were many moments where he would pause and flatten his ears, or hang his head in shame. But every time, his mother would simply put her paw on his shoulder and ask him to keep going.
She wasn't just calm about everything he did; she actually expressed genuine interest in it. Like asking for more details on how some of his hustles worked, how he refined them over the years, and all the contingency plans he had in place in case he got caught. She even joked about some of the schemes, offering suggestions on how to improve some of them. If Nick didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was interested in trying hustling for herself.
But more likely, she probably just didn't want to say anything that would re-open the rift between them. And Nick was grateful for that. He also felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards Judy; her first meeting with his mom may not have gone the way she'd intended, but it had definitely helped prepare his mom to hear everything he was saying now.
A couple of hours passed. Evie had been listening calmly the entire time so far, but when Nick told her about his first big hustle that went bad, her veneer of calm finally broke, and he saw her eyes began to widen.
"They were going to cut off your tail?!" she gasped.
"Yeah, pretty much. I was pretty lucky, all things considered. Finnick was the one who helped me to get away before that happened. That was when we first met, actually."
For the first time that day, a scowl began to cross his mom's face. He could almost see her arm fur start to bristle.
"You were just a kid! How could they even think about doing something like that?!"
"Technically a teen. And a pretty reckless one, too. These weren't your average schmucks, Mom. And to be fair, what I did to them wasn't exactly harmless either. Either way, I learned a good lesson that day on having a proper escape plan whenever I pulled a hustle."
Evie looked like she wanted to say something, but she thought better of it and exhaled slightly.
"Please tell me you never did anything that reckless again after that."
"Mmm…not exactly," Nick said sheepishly. "There was the time I sold a mob boss a rug made from skunk fur."
"Ohhh, you've got to be kidding me," Evie groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose with her paw.
"Unfortunately not. But hey, that mob boss turned out to be a big reason why me and Carrots were able to find the missing mammals, so I guess that all worked out, huh?"
"…I think I need more coffee." Evie sighed as she looked into her empty mug, though her expression quickly softened. "It is good timing though. Why don't we take a break first? I think we've already covered a lot as it is. You can tell me more about that after we have some lunch."
"More food? You know, Carrots was already teasing me about it, but at this rate, I really won't be able to fit into my uniform next week."
"Don't worry, it's not that much. I'll just go ahead and get it ready." She stood up from her seat, picking up both her and Nick's empty mugs in her paws.
"Would you like me to help?" Nick asked, standing up as well.
"It's okay, sweetie. Everything's almost ready; I just need a few minutes to put it all together." She began walking towards the kitchen, but then paused to turn back to him. "Oh, could you help me with something else though? There's an ironing board sitting near the front door. Do you think you could help me carry it upstairs to the spare room?"
"You bought a new ironing board? That's a surprise."
"Oh, it's not new. Remember Renee from a few houses down? Her aunt passed away recently, and her family's been clearing out the old vixen's house. They were going to throw away a whole bunch of stuff, but Renee asked me if I wanted anything. And I have been using the same board for a while now…"
"…Ah, that sounds more like it." Nick chuckled. "Aren't you worried about it being haunted or something?"
"I don't think her aunt would choose the ironing board to haunt. I'm betting on the fridge; Renee took that one for herself. I told her to tell me if she starts hearing voices when she goes to get a midnight snack."
"You know what? I'm not going to comment on that. I'll be right back." Nick shook his head, heading towards the front door to grab the board as his mom disappeared into the kitchen. It wasn't too difficult for him to carry, though he could imagine his mom having a slightly harder time because of its awkward size.
Once he made it up the stairs, he turned left and brought it into the spare room like she had asked. He then turned around to head back down the stairs, but another door just a short distance away gave him pause—his old room. His mom did say that she'd never cleared it out…
It can't hurt to take a quick peek.
He took a moment to push the door open. Sure enough, the familiar sight of his old room greeted him. Everything was still in the same place that he remembered them being: from his desk, to his old dresser, to his old bed. Even the bedsheet was the same one he remembered using years ago. But in spite of that, there was hardly any dust anywhere. It was clear his mom kept it well maintained.
He slowly stepped into the room, running his paw over the bedsheet, and then his old desk. He then went over to the chest of drawers, pulling them open to look inside. They were still filled with random knickknacks that he didn't have space to carry with him when he'd left home ten years ago. His old collection of comic books, a Rubik's cube, random brochures and letters that he'd opened but never gotten around to tossing away…the list went on.
He took out the items one by one, feeling increasingly nostalgic as he did so. He was surprised his mom hadn't thrown away any of the things inside, but he was glad she hadn't. He pulled out a couple of the comic books from their plastic covers. The pages were yellowed, with some brown spots littered over the pages. But otherwise, they were still perfectly readable. He flipped through the pages of one of the books, and as he did, a small plastic card fell out from between the pages. Nick paused, bending over to pick it up. It looked like an access card to someplace, though he couldn't remember exactly what it was. The card was light green in colour, with a small serial number printed on the bottom.
He flipped the card over to see if there was anything else written on it. There wasn't, though on the other side of the card, there was a minimalistic design of what looked to be a tall tree with a wide canopy. He cocked his head, trying to remember what the card was for.
After a few moments, it hit him.
This was for that 'tallest place in the district', wasn't it? The Sky Bridge, or something like that.
It was coming back to him now. He remembered visiting the place a couple of times before as a kid, and he remembered enjoying the experience enough to keep the access pass as a souvenir. Though obviously it had long expired by now.
"Sweetie! Lunch is ready!" He heard his mom's voice from downstairs, followed by the sound of cutlery and plates being set on the table.
"Alright, I'll be right down!" he called back, slipping the card into his shirt pocket before putting the rest of the items back into the drawer and shutting it. He made a mental note to reread those old comic books someday soon as he headed out of the room and back downstairs.
Lunch was a very familiar spread: grilled tuna melts with a side of tomato soup. It was a meal his mom made often in his younger days, especially when she didn't have much time to cook. Maybe it was just nostalgia, but they tasted even better than he'd remembered. And to top it off, she surprised him by bringing out a pint of blueberry ripple ice cream for dessert—something she'd bought for the special occasion.
After lunch was finished, they went back to the living room to continue with the next big topic: The Nighthowler case. Thanks to a certain nosey rabbit, Evie already knew some details about how Nick and Judy first met, including how Judy blackmailed Nick to help her with her investigation. So, for the rest of the afternoon, Nick helped to fill in the rest of the blanks in the story.
While Evie had been mostly stoic throughout their talk in the morning, she was a lot more expressive this time around. She frowned as Nick explained the pawpsicle hustle, and how it ended with Judy being left standing in wet cement. And she looked visibly amused at the fact that Judy managed to get her revenge in the form of the carrot pen recording.
Against his better judgment, he told his mom about leading Judy to the Mystic Springs Oasis. Although the vixen didn't say anything out loud, he could tell she badly wanted to ask about how he knew about the less-than-clothed place.
He quickly moved to talking about the DMV, and then being caught and brought to Mr Big's place in Tundratown. Nick could have sworn he saw his mom's heart jump into her mouth when he told her how close the two of them came to being iced. It was the first time the entire day that she asked him to stop talking, so that she could take a moment to try and compose herself—by holding her head in her paws and mumbling incoherently to herself.
She did eventually calm down, although unfortunately, her composure didn't last long, because the next part of his story involved nearly dying from being mauled by a savage jaguar and falling to their deaths in the Rainforest District. She did manage to keep herself together through that part, and then she continued listening silently, all the way until he got to the press conference.
"…Did you see it on TV?" Nick asked her.
"Yes, I did. It was…quite the big deal at the time," Evie replied. "Judy told me about it on the day she came to visit me too. She told me that she quit being a cop because of what happened at that press conference. She felt like she was responsible for hurting predators. Especially you. I think I lost count of how many times she apologised to me that day."
"Yeah, that sounds like Carrots alright." Nick chuckled, before his eyelids closed slightly. "After that day, I thought that was it. It was all over. But then…a few months later, she came back. She drove all the way back from Bunnyburrow to find me, just so she could cry her heart out and say that she was sorry. She even called herself a dumb bunny, and I managed to get it as a recording on that carrot pen of hers."
Something seemed to click in Evie's head.
"So that's why she wanted to get a recording of you at your graduation. The two of you seem like you're having some sort of contest to see who can one-up the other with those pens."
Oh, you have no idea, Mom…Nick thought to himself.
"Anyway, I forgave her, she gave me some blueberries from her family's farm—they're the best, by the way—and then we went to find out where they were manufacturing the Nighthowler serum. We tracked it down to an old train car in an old underground station, but there were a whole bunch of Bellwether's cronies there…"
Nick continued on with his story, detailing the train hijacking, the near escape they had, and then what happened in the Natural History Museum. This moment was by far the most upset that he'd seen his mom, especially when he mentioned Bellwether's plan to shoot him with a Nighthowler pellet to turn him savage and kill Judy. With how tightly the vixen was gripping her coffee mug, Nick was worried she would have crushed it in her paws right there and then. He made a mental note not to ever let her come within eyeshot of Bellwether under any circumstances.
"…So after they arrested Bellwether, I brought Carrots to the hospital. The rest of it is pretty straightforward. She got her job back, asked me to be her partner again, then she found out I was homeless and offered me a place to stay. Then she found out about the neckerchief, and she went on her little adventure to try and find you. You met her, I met her brother, things happened…"
"And now you're here." Evie finished.
"Well, I skipped a few steps—like what happened at the academy—but yeah, that's the gist of it."
"That was…quite the story." Evie exhaled, finally relaxing her shoulders. "I think I aged a few years just listening to all that. Honestly, all I can say is…I'm just glad you're alive, sweetie. If anything had happened to you out there, I don't think I…" she trailed off, swallowing a lump that was in her throat.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry for making you worry."
"No, it's fine," Evie replied, placing her mug down on the table. "Judy told me some of the details about the case when I met her, but I had no idea the two of you went through so much…"
Nick rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe I should have left out some of the details…"
"No, I'm glad I heard all of it. Thank you for telling me everything, sweetie. I appreciate it a lot. Anyway, I think that's enough for today. Today is supposed to be a happy day, so maybe we should talk about happier things now."
"Like what?"
"Like next week! You're going to be the first fox on the force! Are you excited?" she asked, her ears perking up.
"Well, it's a bit too early to say, right? You never know if my first day is going to end up like what happened that night with the Scouts." Nick chuckled, although he immediately regretted saying it when he saw his mom's concerned look on her face. He quickly waved it off.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't. But I suppose I would say that I'm…hopeful? Positive? Something like that. But to be honest, I have no idea what to expect. Being in the academy is one thing, but being a cop…? I've been a lot of things in my life, but never anything like this. I actually have to follow the law. Can you imagine? Me? A good, honest working member of society? Inconceivable!" He let out a mock groan of disgust, which made his mom giggle.
"I think you'll do just fine, sweetie. I hear that good, honest working members of society tend to be well liked."
"Maybe. But don't forget—fox." He gestured to himself. "I don't expect things to magically be peaches and cream just because I'll be wearing the uniform. But…even if it isn't, that's fine. If people don't believe in me, I just have to keep trying till they do, right?"
"Definitely." Evie nodded in response. "And no matter what, you'll always have me in your corner supporting you. And I know I'm not the only one."
A smile crossed Nick's face.
"Thanks, Mom."
Something suddenly seemed to occur to Evie, and she leaned a little closer to him.
"That reminds me, there's something I've been meaning to ask."
"What's that?"
"I was joking about the grandkits thing earlier, but have you actually made any progress on that? I'm just wondering if you have a special someone in your life you were planning to introduce me to eventually." She grinned hopefully.
…Oh.
"Hah, you've been waiting to get back to that one, haven't you?" Nick chuckled.
"Well, it does get lonely in here sometimes, and since you probably won't have as much time to visit with your work and all, I was hoping you could give me someone to look after. So, do you already have someone?"
"Nope. I never really had time for relationships, you know? And from my experience, relationships are usually more trouble than they're worth. I doubt any decent vixen would have wanted anything to do with me romantically. And to be honest, I would probably question the sanity of any who did."
His mom frowned in disapproval at his self-deprecation—a look he knew all too well. He raised his paws defensively.
"Hey, I'm just telling the truth. In my old line of work, relationships were a dangerous thing. You never knew if someone was being nice just so they could get something out of you, or stab you in the back. Even if I were interested in a relationship, it wouldn't have been a good idea."
"I guess that makes sense…but what about now? Things are different now, right? Since you're going to have a new job and everything. I'm sure the ladies would love a handsome fox in uniform." She gave him a playful nudge.
"Only you would think I'm handsome, Mom." Nick rolled his eyes.
"The handsomest." Evie beamed. "But would you be interested in looking for someone now?"
Nick immediately opened his mouth to say 'no', but the word caught in his throat. Looking into his mom's green eyes reminded him of everything that had led up to this moment. It reminded him that closing himself off was what caused the rift between them to begin with. He'd already promised himself before coming that he wouldn't hide things from his mom anymore. And although this wasn't what he had in mind when he made that promise, he still wanted to keep it.
"Well, it's…complicated. It's a work in progress. Sort of."
"What do you mean?" Evie asked innocently.
"There…might be someone I've been interested in recently, but I don't know if she would be interested in me."
"You haven't told her yet?" Evie asked.
"No, I haven't," Nick replied.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know if she's the right one. There's a lot to consider, you know? Compatibility, mutual interests, all that kinda stuff. I don't know if you would approve of her. And—just saying—she might not even want kits."
Evie thought to herself for a moment, before staring him straight in the eye.
"…It's Judy, isn't it?"
Nick's entire body froze up, his eyes going wide. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. It was like everything had shut down and was now rebooting inside of him. His response, however, seemed to be exactly what his mom hoped to see, because her solemn expression instantly gave way to one of gleeful triumph.
"It is her, isn't it?" she asked, her tone growing increasingly excited.
Nick sputtered a few incoherent noises before he finally remembered what words were. He swallowed the lump in his throat, unconsciously reaching up to adjust his tie.
"…How did you know?" he finally asked.
"You still have the same tell you had when you were a kit." Evie smiled. Nick immediately began looking at his paws and touching his face. His mom just sat there, looking very much amused.
"I'm kidding. You don't actually have a tell; not that I know of, anyway. But it's incredibly obvious, don't you think? Someone whom you think I might not approve of? I wonder, could it be because she's not a fox? And it just so happens that there's a bunny who entered your life recently and went through so much to try and help you? I mean, come on, sweetie."
"I…uh…" Nick stammered.
"Also, I saw it in your eyes when you were talking with her in the room yesterday. I may not be a mind reader, but I know a smitten fox when I see one. I even went out of the room because I thought you were about to confess to her or something."
Nick felt a chill run up his spine. "That's why you went out of the room with Flatfoot?"
Evie looked genuinely confused. "I thought it was pretty obvious. Hang on a moment. If you weren't going to confess to her, what were you talking about the entire time you two were together?"
"I…" Nick's mind was drawing a blank. "I don't know, mushroom soup or something…"
Evie's mouth scrunched up to one side; the vixen looked like she was struggling not to burst into fits of laughter.
"I see. And Judy hasn't picked up on this yet? She really hasn't said anything to you about this? At all?"
"No, she hasn't…"
"Hmm…" Evie rubbed her chin thoughtfully, thinking to herself for a long while.
Nick felt a growing unease inside of him. He didn't know what to say. His mom had called everything correctly, but why wasn't she horrified? Disgusted? Was she just getting a kick out of watching him squirm?
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" His mom asked, her smile disappearing. She seemed to have noticed the discomfort on his face.
"Mom…" Nick swallowed, his ears flattening against his head. "You…you're okay with this?"
"What do you mean?" She tilted her head slightly.
"Are you seriously okay with me liking Judy? Don't you find it weird? I mean, in case you weren't aware, she's a bunny, not a fox."
Evie blinked a couple of times, before it finally clicked in her head. Once it did, she reached out and placed a paw on Nick's shoulder.
"Sweetie, if I had someone in my life who was willing to go that far for me, I would love them until the day I die, whether they were a fox, a rabbit, or a mouse. I would be more than happy if you had someone like her as your partner."
Nick hesitated.
"Yeah, well, that's not really up to me. You may not think it's gross, but she very well might. She already freaked out about the Mystic Springs Oasis, and that's just naked mammals. What would she even think about a fox liking a bunny? It would be a disaster, that's what."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Evie replied. "I can see that Judy cares for you a lot. Like she said yesterday, it's because you saved her, too. She may not have said it out loud, but if you ask me, I'd say there's a good chance she loves you too. I'd be willing to bet my tail on it."
The last couple of sentences gave Nick pause.
She…does? Could she really…?
"I mean, that's not exactly hard evidence, Mom. You don't know that for sure."
"Maybe not. But if you never ask, you'll never know, right? Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith. Things could always go wrong, but things could always go right, too."
"I…guess so," Nick replied slowly. "But, what about your grandkits? Even if she did feel the same way, and even if somehow things do work out, it's not like we could ever give you any."
Evie smiled reassuringly, squeezing his shoulder.
"You don't need to worry about that. All I want is for you to be happy, Nicholas. And I can see that she does that for you. You don't need to rush into telling her anything, but if you ask me, I think she deserves to know how you feel about her."
Nick broke eye contact with his mom, glancing instead at the blank screen of her nearby TV set. His uncertain reflection stared back at him.
"I'll…think about it."
"Don't worry about it, okay? Whatever happens, I'm sure the two of you will still be good friends."
Nick gave a small nod, still staring ahead. He waited for his mom to say something more, but she seemed content to just sit there and stare silently at the blank television with him. Despite having finally gotten all his feelings out in the open, his mind was still a jumbled mess of conflicting thoughts. He could hardly believe what had just happened. His mom knew about his crush on Judy. Somehow, she was okay with it. And now she was actually encouraging him to tell Judy the truth?
…That's it. I've officially gone mad.
He sighed inwardly, shaking his head.
"Right…anyway, is that all you wanted to know about my love life? Or are there any more deep, soul-bearing questions you wanted to ask?"
"No, sweetie, that's all. I've been waiting a long time to ask you about it; I'm glad I finally got the chance to."
"I'm sure you were…" Nick mumbled. "So…what do we do now?"
Evie tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Well, you look like you could use a break, so instead of staring at a blank TV, how about we watch some? Like old times."
Nick's eyes brightened, his ears perking up.
"Sure, we could do that."
The offer to do something that didn't involve talking about his feelings was more than welcome to Nick. After taking a moment to refill their mugs, he settled into his seat beside his mom, flipping the channels on the TV until they both agreed on a movie to watch. It was quiet between them at first, but Nick eventually found himself making small talk with her. It started off a little awkward, but as the movie went on, the two grew more comfortable, and eventually they began to resume their old custom of commenting on the movie's cast, the special effects, and trying to guess what the next line or plot twist in the movie would be—with plenty of snarky comments squeezed in everywhere.
It was strange, Nick thought. Everything was familiar, yet so different. The old rotary phone sitting next to the mirror had been upgraded to a wireless handset. The old bulky television was now a flat screen TV. And the two foxes that sat together on the couch had changed, too. But for those precious little moments, things were the way they used to be. A young fox kit and his mother, enjoying the weekend together.
And it was beautiful.
After laughing their way through the first half of the film, they settled into a comfortable silence once more, letting themselves be absorbed fully in the story on screen. It was only towards the end of the movie when Nick finally spoke up again.
"Hah, that jerk totally had it coming. How many lawsuits do you think that studio's gonna be swimming in tomorrow?" he asked.
He waited for a moment, but strangely, there was no answer. He glanced over to his left. His mom was still sitting there with her head tilted away from him, though she was completely motionless. Leaning forward slightly, Nick finally understood why. The older fox's eyes were completely closed, and her mouth hung open slightly as she peacefully snoozed away. He couldn't stop himself from smiling widely.
I guess some things don't change, even after twenty years.
The sight in front of him was a familiar one. Back then, he would often find his mom passed out on the couch, a consequence of the many jobs she juggled and the long hours she had to slog through. He remembered telling her often to go to her room to lie down, but she'd always insisted on sitting in the living room so she could spend more time with him, even though it often ended exactly like this. Nick wasn't sure whether she was working as much as she used to, but thinking about it now, the vixen definitely wasn't as young as she used to be.
Moving slowly so as not to make too much noise, Nick pushed himself off the sofa, heading upstairs once more towards his old bedroom. He grabbed the folded blanket from his bed and headed back down the stairs, being careful to avoid the squeakier parts of the steps. Once he was back in the living room, he unfolded the blanket and gently draped it over his mom's sleeping form. He then sat back down beside her, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest.
Ever so slowly, he leaned closer and nuzzled her cheek gently, inhaling her comforting scent for a few seconds before giving her a gentle kiss on her cheek. She murmured softly in response, stirring ever so slightly. He settled back down beside her, leaning against her shoulder and slipping his paw into hers. A moment later, he felt her paw gently squeezing him in return.
Feeling a warmth growing in his chest, Nick closed his eyes, leaning back against the sofa as the movie continued playing in the background. He didn't need to see the rest of the movie; his mom would probably ask him to rewind it later once she woke up, anyway. As he slowly began to drift off himself, a pleasant tune from the movie began to fill his ears.
"There is no home like the one you've got, 'cause that home belongs to you…"
Nick cracked open a single eye to see his mom sleeping comfortably under the blanket, her paw still nestled in his.
…Home, huh?
Hearing those words reminded him of everything that led up to this very moment. It had been a long and arduous journey, with few ups and plenty of downs. But despite nearly dying multiple times over the last year, his life had somehow become better than before. He had friends, a new career to look forward to, and a companion who he cared dearly for—though she didn't know just how much yet. And after so long, he had finally found his way home and reunited with the family he thought he had lost. It was everything he could have ever dreamed of.
Almost everything.
"I think she deserves to know how you feel about her."
His mom's words echoed softly in his head. Despite everything that he had already accomplished, Nick knew that he wasn't done just yet. There was still one more important thing he had to do.
And this time, he was going to do it.