Someone special in Zootopia

41.- Mission: Prevent G day

A couple of days passed since Vol bought the phone for himself, wanting to give the other one he had to Ryan for minimal contact. The three entered the ZPD and stood near Clawhauser to discuss how to deliver the gift to the kangaroo.

"I think with a little wrapping paper, it could look great. Not too much, just enough to cover the phone." Vol commented, thoughtful about the best presentation he could give to it.

"You think so?" Judy asked, thinking that perhaps it was too much for what the gift was. "I think giving it to him like this is enough."

"What a poor sense of taste you have, Carrots, I think it'd be nice to wrap it up." Nick smiled, seeking to provoke his partner, who responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

Vol laughed when he saw the scene between the two of them. "Okay, but what paper do we use?"

Judy had the idea of what the wrapper would look like. "Little flowers or some detail, however small it may be."

"Well..." the blue fox blushed and looked to the side, embarrassed, "I was thinking red with white diagonal stripes."

Judy looked at Nick with a sigh. "And then you say that I have a poor taste, look at this blue fox." She taunted Vol.

"Hey! I thought you were on my side." Vol pretended to be offended by the change of sides.

"Two against one right now, you're screwed." The rabbit continued to use a singing, teasing tone of voice.

"Going back to the topic at paw... Do we have red paper here with white diagonal stripes?" The peculiar vulpine looked around to see if he found what he was looking for.

"You're lucky we always keep something. Wait here." Nick said and went to a room in the ZPD where they kept used items and lost items. He returned after a while with the roll of paper with the desired characteristics in hand. "Here you go, mate." He gave it to him with a smile.

Vol took it and smiled back. "Thanks, Nick. Now I just need to cut the paper to the size of the phone." He asked Clawhauser, who was just listening to the whole situation, for scissors and he gave them to him. He gave the paper the shape, with Judy's help, of the phone, wrapping it around it. "Done. Can you guys give it to him? You know why..." He looked at the ground for a moment, disheartened.

Judy nodded, feeling a little bad for him, but smiling to cheer him up. "Don't worry, we'll give him from you." Vol raised his head as they went, with a not-so-bright smile. He handed them the wrapped phone and they started walking to the break room. "You've noticed, haven't you, Nick?"

The question caught Nick off guard. "What do you mean, Carrots?"

She sighed. "Since that complaint came to him, he has a smile that isn't like the one he used to have, as if he partially faked it... and you can see why." Nick was listening carefully. "When they were together and having fun, Vol had a very natural smile, very lively. Since the law forced them not to interact... you can see that he's discouraged."

"Now that you mention it..." Nick put his paw under his lower jaw, "I saw something similar these times we've been with Ryan. When he gives us a smile, it looks much smaller than before, like he lost something precious to him."

Judy crossed her arms. "They have something very special between them and we know it. Do you think they could be... you know, father and son?"

"Only time will tell, Carrots." The fox smiled at the doubts of his companion. "We know their connection is strong, but is it strong enough to be family? We won't know until it happens."

"Right, I'm giving it too much thought." The bunny laughed and loosened her shoulders.

"I thought that, like the rabbit that you are, you would jump between topics." Nick taunted his partner.