After Kevin got Pawbert home safely, he started poking around for information about Nick’s family.
What he uncovered wasn’t pretty.
Someone had been showing up at the tailor shop every single day, stirring up trouble.
Graffiti and shattered windows were the least of it, the real damage came from customers who walked in specifically to cause a scene, nitpicking every stitch, finding fault in everything.
All because they were foxes.
Sly, scheming foxes.
In the end, Nick’s father couldn’t take it anymore.
The tailor shop shut its doors for good.
The marriage fell apart.
And the man simply vanished, like a drop of water evaporating into the streets of Zootopia.
No one ever saw him again.
Nick and his mother moved away that year.
He was only eleven.
Kevin did the math in his head.
That made Nick seventeen now.
According to the original story, he should already be out on his own, scratching out a living, only swinging by to check on his mom every now and then.
But Kevin couldn’t be certain.
His presence in this world had already thrown things off course in ways he couldn’t predict, Pawbert was living proof of that.
And he had no idea whether Nick was still running that Pawpsicle hustle.
Back at home, Kevin pulled out a red marker and circled every ice cream shop in the Savanna Central on his map.
Then he called Mr.
Big and borrowed a few of his men.
Early the next morning, they fanned out across the neighborhood, keeping their eyes peeled for a red fox, around seventeen or eighteen years old.
Kevin hadn’t let himself get his hopes up.
But somehow they actually found him.
Guess fate had other plans.
When Kevin arrived at the shop, he spotted that familiar silhouette from a distance.
Nick was walking out of an ice cream parlor alongside a small fennec fox, both of them hauling two massive blocks of popsicles on their shoulders.
The midday sun blazed down on the frozen slabs, sending blinding white light ricocheting in every direction.
A beat-up semi-truck sat parked nearby, its trailer loaded with bulging foam coolers.
A leopard lounged in the driver’s seat, head tilted back, smoking a cigarette with lazy indifference.
Kevin had never seen that guy before, he wasn’t in the original story at all.
Probably some partner Nick had picked up along the way, someone the movies never mentioned.
Kevin didn’t approach right away.
He and Raymond followed at a distance in their car, quietly shadowing Nick’s crew through the entire Pawpsicle operation from start to finish.
At the peak of noon heat, Nick and his partners rolled their ice cart to a stop outside a towering office building.
The leopard set up a large beach umbrella, its canopy printed with a faded paw-print pattern.
Nick positioned himself at the edge of its shadow, cleared his throat, and started hollering at the top of his lungs: “Pawpsicles!
Small, medium, and large, cheap, tasty, and good for you!” Finnick crouched on the steps nearby, his oversized ears swiveling like radar dishes, eyes darting in every direction without blinking.
They didn’t have a license.
They didn’t pay taxes.
If a patrol cop caught them, they were finished.
Office workers began trickling out for their lunch breaks, drifting toward the cart in small clusters.
The thick-furred ones came first, bears, sheep, the kind of animals who suffered most in the heat.
They bought one and gnawed at it as they walked, ice crystals crunching between their teeth with each bite.
Some of these animals lived in Tundratown, but they commuted here for work, where ice cream shops were practically more essential than pharmacies.
Within half an hour, the cart was about a third empty.
That’s when Kevin made his move, strolling over at an unhurried pace with Raymond beside him.
He’d changed into a blue T-shirt and gray pants for the occasion.
Raymond wore the same getup, but there was no hiding that white fur and massive body, he stuck out like a wall in a crowd.
Both of them wore sunglasses, and the gemstone rings on their fingers glittered so brightly in the daylight that they might as well have been wearing neon signs.
Nick was head down, counting change, but Lepp noticed them first.
He narrowed his round eyes and nudged Nick with his elbow, keeping his voice low.
“See those two?
The rings on their fingers could buy a hundred carts of our ice cream.” Nick followed his gaze.
A white wolf and a polar bear…
that combo seemed oddly familiar.
His brow twitched, but before he could think too hard about it, he’d already grabbed one large and one small Pawpsicle and was striding over with a practiced grin.
“Hey there, hot day, huh?
You guys from Tundratown?
How about a Pawpsicle?
All handmade, all natural, no additives.
Our regulars swear by ’em.” The words rolled off his tongue smooth as silk, his smile perfectly calibrated, his tail swaying lightly behind him with calculated charm.
Kevin studied those green eyes through his dark lenses, and something in his chest tightened.
He remembered the fox kit with eyes as clear as glass.
Now Nick was a young hustler, already slick and polished, and in a few more years, he’d probably evolve into a full-fledged con artist.
Lucky for him, though, he’d eventually meet his angel.
Kevin let out a quiet sigh, then leaned in to examine the popsicle.
“Looks pretty good.” “Right?” Nick’s tail wagged even faster.
“Everyone says so.
Want two?” Kevin pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and handed it over.
Nick held it up to the light, checked the watermark with practiced efficiency, then fished a handful of crumpled bills from his coin pouch.
“Here’s your change, twenty bucks.” He handed over the ice cream and the cash, flashing a grin that showed off his two little fangs.
Kevin stared at the near-disintegrating twenty in his hand, then let out a short laugh.
“Nick, is this thing gold-plated?
Everywhere else sells these for a buck or two.
But for me, it’s forty?” “Of course, it’s a limited–” Nick cut himself off mid-sentence, his pupils snapping into sudden focus.
“Wait…
how do you know my name?” Kevin took off his sunglasses and casually shoved the ice cream in his hand into Nick’s mouth.
The moment those blue eyes appeared, Nick’s tail froze mid-sway.
He stood there, popsicle clamped between his teeth, stunned for two full seconds before mumbling, “K-Kevin?” “What do you think?” Kevin tilted his head with a warm smile.
“Whoa, it really is you!” Nick yanked the ice cream out of his mouth, nearly dropping it in his scramble, and did a full circle around Kevin.
The shock melted off his face, replaced by pure, unguarded delight.
“Man, it’s been years!
How’d you get so big?!” He spun around and called out to Lepp and Finnick, his voice bright with genuine excitement.
“Hey, let me introduce you guys, this is Kevin!
We were buddies as kids!
He moved away, and we lost touch.
Can’t believe I ran into him here!” Lepp and Finnick exchanged a glance, then nodded at Kevin without much surprise.
They knew Nick had gone to a decent school when he was little, it wasn’t weird that he’d known a few rich kids.
Kevin glanced at the few dozen Pawpsicles still in the cart, then up at the blazing sun.
He pulled out his wallet and handed three hundred-dollar bills to Lepp and Finnick each.
“Take the rest of the day off.
Come on, Nick, take me to see where you’re staying.” Lepp pocketed the cash, his eyes lighting up as he folded the bills and tucked them into his chest pocket.
Finnick, being smaller, rolled his share up and stuffed it into his oversized hat, the corner of his mouth stretching damn near to his ear.
Three hundred bucks for nothing.
Lepp leaned close to Nick and muttered: “Go on, he asked.
What’s the big deal?” Nick hesitated, scratching the back of his neck, his ears warming slightly.
“I…
I’m not living with my mom anymore.
I’m sharing a place with these two, it’s pretty small.
If you don’t mind…” “Mind what?” Kevin gave his shoulder a light punch.
“Lead the way.” Nick rubbed his shoulder, broke into a grin, and shoved the ice cart onto the semi’s trailer.
“Alright, the day’s work is done!” Lepp took Finnick and climbed into their own truck.
Nick got pulled into Kevin’s Jeep, with Raymond behind the wheel, just in case they got stopped by the cops again.
The car wound through Savanna Central’s main street, heading toward the outskirts.
Outside the window, the buildings gradually shrank, their facades growing more weathered and worn.
Some storefronts were shuttered, rolling doors covered in layers of graffiti, the neighborhood showing its age.
Nick leaned back in his seat, chatting easily with Kevin.
After his parents divorced, he’d dropped out of school.
He’d drifted around the streets for a while, eventually meeting Finnick and Lepp.
The three of them pooled their money and rented a place.
Since both he and Lepp were underage, they’d used Finnick’s ID to sign the lease.
The car stopped in front of a row of old apartment buildings.
It was a rough neighborhood, cracked pavement, weeds pushing through the gaps, but at least it was quiet.
Their unit was on the ground floor, with a garage attached.
The front door was old wood, with a fist-sized hole in it, clumsily patched over with tape.
Nick jiggled the key for a while before the lock finally gave, and he stepped aside to let Kevin in.
Inside was cleaner than Kevin had expected.
Not much furniture, a worn leather sofa in the center of the living room, its armrests taped up; half a glass of water on the coffee table.
A row of potted plants sat on the windowsill, mint and cactus, looking surprisingly healthy and well-tended.
A few pieces of laundry hung by the bathroom door.
An old refrigerator hummed in the corner, and through its slightly open door, Kevin could see neatly stacked trays of ice cubes.
The TV was one of those old thick-shelled models, its screen coated in a thin layer of dust.
Raymond’s large body sank onto the sofa, making it groan and squeak in protest, startling Nick into pulling back a little.
Nick darted into the back room and wheeled out a fairly new-looking black office chair, wiping the seat with his hand.
“Sit here, this one’s clean.” Kevin smiled and sat down, resting his fingers on his knees as he took another look around the small space.
Silence hung between them for a few seconds.
Nick leaned against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes fixed on the floor as he kicked at a lifted strip of wood.
Finally, he spoke: “Kevin…
about what happened back then…
I’ve always felt really bad about it.” “That wasn’t your fault.” Kevin’s voice was calm and calm.
“And it was a long time ago.” He paused, then looked up at Nick.
“After I got beaten up, my grandmother locked me down at home.
Wouldn’t let me go anywhere, wouldn’t let me go to school.
It wasn’t until a few days ago, when my college application got approved, that they finally let me out to get some air.
I went on a trip yesterday, and today I was passing through here, didn’t expect to run into you.” “College?” Nick lifted his head, a flicker of light in his eyes.
“Man, that’s impressive, you got in that young?” His voice carried genuine admiration, maybe eight parts of it.
The other two were something quieter, a little sadness sinking like a pebble to the bottom of a pond, easy to miss if you weren’t paying close attention.
Kevin caught that flicker of loss in his eyes.
He leaned forward slightly.
“Nick, if you ever want to go back to school, I could–” “No, no..” Nick waved his hands quickly, like he was swatting away a buzzing fly.
He knew exactly what Kevin was about to offer, and he knew exactly how much Kevin’s family could afford.
But he couldn’t take it.
He stepped back and leaned against the windowsill, the afternoon light spilling in behind him, gilding his furry silhouette in pale gold.
“Look, I know I didn’t finish school,” he said, lifting his chin with a hint of forced bravado.
“But I’m making pretty good money these days, not bad compared to a lot of folks.” He glanced back at the old room.
“Uh…
we’ve been saving up, too.
Another year, and we’ll move somewhere better.” Kevin watched him and didn’t push further.
He understood, Nick was holding on to his pride.
Besides, he still had his mom to take care of.
A breeze drifted through the alley outside, rustling the mint leaves on the windowsill.
Raymond sat silently in the corner of the sofa, not saying a word.
Out back, Lepp and Finnick were tinkering with the semi, muffled clangs of metal drifted through the walls.
The room fell quiet again, the refrigerator’s hum suddenly loud in the stillness.
————•★•————★ Author Note: Thanks for reading!
🪻🪻 P@treaon: Blueduck14 (20+ chapters) Free members get access to one bonus chapter.