R/Zootopia Anthology Volume I: Gritty Zootopia

An Honest Fox

by iamcave76 (reddit) -- CDNCrow (AO3) -- Canadian Crow (FF.net)

Tucking her phone away, Judy ruminated on the short – and somewhat one-sided – conversation she'd just had with the chief. Moving to stand beside her partner, they both watched as the badly-beaten drug dealer was loaded into the waiting ambulance. "Bogo wants you to report to his office as soon as we get back."

The fox nodded silently, slowly flexing his paws and wincing when the action re-opened his recently split knuckles.

This wasn't a surprise, as much as she wished otherwise. Since his first day in uniform, Nick's crusade against the illegal drug trade in Zootopia had made her own devotion to the law seem like a passing interest. It had stood entirely at odds with his otherwise laid-back nature and he pursued it with a fierceness that had given her pause on more than one occasion. But today...

Today, she'd seen her partner – her best friend – beat some low-level punk dealing nip in a schoolyard within an inch of his life. Today, he'd actually snapped his teeth at her when she tried to pull him away. She'd very nearly had to deploy her taser just to keep her partner from killing someone, and although he'd come to his senses and ended the assault on his own, the fox would be hard-pressed to avoid the undoubtedly severe consequences to come.

"Nick..." She looked up at him, frowning when the fox tried to avoid eye contact. "What was that?"

"I dunno." He muttered. "One less dealer?"

"Don't do that, Nick. Talk to me." She placed a gentle paw on his arm and led him to a nearby bench. He momentarily stiffened at the contact, then seemed to deflate before her eyes.

"He was..." Hesitantly, he turned to meet her gaze. "He was a good father. And an honest fox." Her partner let out a shuddering sigh. "He ran a tailor shop over on 43rd Ave - a pretty successful one, too – and every day seemed to live his life in contrast to every negative fox stereotype..."

ooooo

Everyone in our neighborhood knew Dad, and they all respected him. No small achievement, especially for a fox. Mammals from all over Zootopia would come to his shop to have work done.

I remember when one customer – a moose, I think – said that it was surprising to see a fox using those nimble paws for something better than petty theft. Dad just smiled and reminded him that he hadn't seen the bill yet. The moose laughed, and ended up becoming a regular. Dad was just like that; you couldn't help but like him. But the universe can be cruel, sometimes for no good reason at all.

Rheumatoid arthritis doesn't sound like a life-ending disease, unless your livelihood depends on having steady paws. It was manageable for a time, but eventually his condition started to show in his work. A loose button here, a crooked stitch there. Before long, mammals started to take their business elsewhere. On the street they'd give him pitying smiles and pats on the shoulder, offer their sympathies and best wishes. They'd ask if there was anything they could do and he'd thank them politely, not commenting on their newly tailored clothing.

As the pain got worse, he needed more and more medication to steady his paws and keep working. We had health insurance, but foxes don't have the best immune systems to begin with and the premiums for our species are pretty steep. It wasn't long before he and Mom just couldn't afford it anymore. To make matters worse, some speciest bastard at Zootopia General Hospital flagged him as a drug-seeker, and after that he couldn't find a doctor willing to write him a prescription. I guess even Dad couldn't outrun the "shifty fox" reputation forever.

I can't really imagine what kind of headspace he was in - maybe I just don't want to – but I guess when faced with going out of business and failing his family, he took the only path left to him.