Published: July 10th 2022, 8:34:44 pm
Pt. 1 Ch. 1-6 Pt. 2 Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 9.1
Finnick furrowed his brow as he looked around the daycare, crinkling with each step as he waddled forward. He could already feel warmth dribbling into the front of his diaper as his tiny bladder let go of its contents. He'd gotten very good at allowing that to happen, and it felt so good, but now was not the time to focus on that. He had to focus on his surroundings because he knew he'd only get to see the front of the daycare briefly when he came and when he left, well, as far as they knew, anyway.
The daycare was an entire floor of an apartment building made for caretaking use. It's not that this was a special daycare either - no, these services were free to all paid for by the taxes of the fair citizens of Zootopia - at least the ones that paid taxes. Finnick thought about his own work and felt guilty for just a moment, before reminding himself that he was helping in his own way, even if nobody knew it. He thought about the Church, the one with a capital 'C' and knew it was about time he checked in with them. But now was not the time, he had to focus! Why was it so hard for him to stay focused and on task when he was little? He-
"Here we are, little one. It's time to put your overalls into your cubby. Can you do that for me?"
Finnick had been so distracted he hadn't even noticed they were in the free play area. He nodded dutifully, painfully aware of how much his crinkly butt stood out as he walked forward and looked at the cubbies. So many names. But it wasn't hard to pick out his, because it had..."
"There's your cubby," said Clair, pointing Finnick to the correct one. Of course it would be the one with the diapers. "I didn't expect you would be able to read quite yet, little one, but one day," said Clair smiling.
Finnick nodded, trying to keep from blushing as he placed his clothes into the cubby. He couldn't believe he was going along with this. This had better be worth it, he thought.
"It'll be story time in a little bit, then lunch and nap after that. And a lot more fun activities for you as well, you'll see! Now go out there and make some friends, little one."
Claire ruffled his headfur, and had to fight back a snarl at the unsolicited contact, but then Claire left and Finnick was left to his own devices, which was just fine by him. It was time to get down to business...
"Hey! New kid!"
"Wha?" asked Finnick, looking around and spotting a big friendly hippo calf in a pink tutu and leggings. She giggled.
"Hey, didn't mean to startle you. Do you wanna play with us?"
Finnick looked over to see several other cubs sitting around a giant pile of Brickos building what looked like a miniature version of zootopia. Several of them were watching and waved at him to join them with big friendly smiles.
"No, I don't have time for that," said Finnick, scanning the room for anything of interest.
"Sure ya do! You just got here! Come on!"
"I- whoa!" Even as a Juvenile, the hippo was easily exceeded Finnick in size and strength. Soon, he was being introduced to the other cubs, and it was clear that he was expected to play with them. He settled down and muttered to himself as he began to 'play' with the Brickos. This job was going to be a lot harder than he expected.
*****
"Get in, buddy!" said Judy, as she pulled up to the pedestrian pickup zone of Hill Street Station.
"Shh, Carrots, not so loud," said Nick. "I'm still protecting my reputation here."
"Oh yeah," said Judy. "Big reputation. What a bad boy. Now get in the front of the car, already, 've got places to be! We've got places to be."
Nick shook his head and jumped in. "Boy, I sure hope nobody sees me getting into your car or they might get the wrong idea..."
"Oh really?" asked Judy, smirking. "Like what - the part where you worked with me to help solve one of Zootopia's greatest crimes ever? Or the part where you've been taking me out to dates and coffee back at my place?"
The fox grinned at that. "The part where I'm dating a cop, yes. That part."
Judy's eyes went wide for a second as her ears dropped, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, so you admit it now, do you? Don't worry, I won't tell your secret."
This admission seemed to energize her. As she grinned and threw the car into drive. Nick had barely gotten his seatbelt on when the car sped forward, zooming down the street to their next stop by the big church that Finnick seemed to visit after every job.
"So you hear about what's been going on downtown?" asked Judy.
"Yeah, I got my contacts," said Nick, "But I haven't really followed up on anyone since, you know, I'm on the straight and narrow now."
"Right, well let me fill you in," she said, flipping on her flashers as she gunned it through a yellow light. "There's some kind of corporate level mafia stuff going down. It's not like the Shrews in tundra town, or even the Purple Puma Gang in Sahara Square. These guys are all white collar, only... well, it's looking more like red collar lately. You ever heard of a hostile takeover? Seems like they're taking it literally now. First stop is a murder scene over at Tusk Tower. Keep an eye out, bud, and a nose. We're really gonna need your help on this one.
Nick didn't know the first thing about corporate life, but he knew how to bullshit with the best of 'em.
"Oh, and, one more thing... you need to change into these..." said Judy, once they had parked. "Sorry, but it's part of the job."
Nick looked at the neatly pressed pants and shirt - if he was meant to be disguised as a paper pushing dork, it was perfect. "This is fine," he said, "but where are the glasses and pocket protector?"
"Ha ha, very funny. Now get dressed," she said, watching Nick intently.
"Oh, I see, you just wanted to see me naked. All you had to do was ask," said Nick, with a grin. Of course he was just having fun with Judy and quickly donned his new clothes. "Gosh, these look an awful lot like uniform pants. If I didn't know any better, I'd say..."
"I see they got your size right," said Judy with a smirk. "What would you say your arm span is?"
Nick chuckled. "I knew it. You never give up, do you?"
"Nope," said Judy. "And I'm still waiting for an answer about joining. You have until the uniform is done." She seemed confident that Nick would make the leap from consultant to officer before long. Nick wasn't so sure, but...
A job's a job, Nick thought. And diapers aren't free...