Chapter Text
For the first time ever, Yuri was incredibly proud of himself for choosing to not pave the mountain trails on the island, because the human could clearly see the tracks that Nook had left behind on the barren terrain.
That small hint was enough for Yuri to understand the path that Nook had taken, which sofar had simply been the quickest route back to the city: however, the human’s luck was bound to run out once he hit the cobblestone roads, and so he cursed softly under his breath.
A flash of light on his right suddenly grabbed his attention, and when he turned around Yuri saw Scoot walking straight towards him, flashlight in hand and a worried expression on his face.
“Yuri! Good evening, zip zoom!” said the duck, pointing one arm towards Yuri’s swollen and dirty feet. “Huh, did you noticed that you have no shoes on?”
“Scoot, did you saw mister Nook walking around here?” asked the human without any preamble, and Scoot blinked at him a couple of times before laughing.
“Ah, you guys playing hide and seek or something?”
“Ah, not really…” replied the human, growing really uncomfortable, but before he could bolt again, Scoot mumbled something under his breath.
“Yeah, I thought so when I saw that huge safe in his hands-”
“What?” interrupted him Yuri, walking toward the duck. “Scoot, did you saw mister Nook?”
“A-ah, yes I did, but he told me not to tell anybody that I saw him…?” admitted the duck, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “Well, I guess now you know anyway-”
“And where did he go?” pleaded the human, not caring how pathetic he must look, all dishwelled and with his feet covered in dirt and scraps. “Please Scoot, this is really important…”
“Oh, alright, zip zoom! He was going that way, headed towards Nook’s Cranny!” admitted the duck at the end, pointing towards the direction that he had just walked from. “But, you didn’t hear it from me-”
“All right, thank you!” agreed Yuri, before sprinting again towards the direction that the duck had pointed to him; he heard Scoot say shouting something else, but his blood was rushing too loudly in his hears to catch that last phrase.
Now that Yuri knew where Nook was headed, he also had a very big suspicion on the reason why Nook had chosen Nook’s Cranny as his next stop, but he decided to just lock his doubts away for the moment: ignoring the pain in his feet and arms, and also his burning lungs, Yuri kept on dashing down the road, cutting corners whenever he could without much care of the red and yellow mums that he ended up ruining.
After many, interminable moments, Nook’s Cranny finally appeared in front of the human, and Yuri stopped for a second in front of the entrance to think about his next move.
The shop was nestled between two orchards, but Yuri knew that Nook was not hidden between the rows of trees; instead, the human slowly walked towards the back of the shop, where he knew Timmy and Tommy kept a lot of their tools and supplies, together with a workbench that had every possible construction tool that a skilled worker could possibly want.
Yuri’s previous intuition was immediately confirmed by the sight in front of him: Nook was kneeling on the ground in front of the safe, surrounded by an impressive array of construction tools, and was now looking at the stolen property with a defeated look on his face.
“Mister Nook, please step away from the safe.” calmly said Yuri, taking a couple of steps towards the raccoon, and for a moment the human winced at his choice of words: he sounded like a cop inside a very bad thriller novel, but he was also amazed by how sure his tone had sounded.
Nook, on the other hand, didn’t even try to make another run for it. He just raised his head to look at Yuri, with a very sad look in his blue eyes, before he fully realized how badly in shape the human looked.
“Oh, Yuri, are you all right-?” immediately asked the raccoon with a worried tone, looking like he was about to walk towards him, but the human stopped his movement with a gesture of his hand.
“I am all right, sir.” said the human, but even if his tone was harsh, his heart was filled with warmth: the distress in Nook’s words was another confirmation that the raccoon was not a bad person, just an individual that had acted on some repressed emotions, but since he had attacked mister Redd, Yuri couldn’t go too soft on him. “Please, step away from the safe.” repeated the human, but Nook was still not complying with his request.
“You don’t have to worry about that, because I cannot open it.” replied the raccoon, gesturing to all the tools scattered around him. “I could use some heavier tools, but if what I am searching for it’s inside, then I will end up damaging it for sure.” he then went on, looking down at the safe with a scowl. “He is the cheapest bastard on the face of the planet, but he spent so much money on this…”
Knowing that the situation had come to a stall, Yuri allowed himself to just take a moment to breathe, and while he did so he also studied the look on Nook’s face; the raccoon was still looking at the safe, but the anger had been replaced by a mixture of frustration and hopelessness.
“...So, will you bring it back to mister Redd?” asked the human, and Nook raised his head towards him to respond, but when he did so a flash of surprise passed on his face, before setting into a blank stare.
“...How do I open it?” he then ask, and Yuri was confused for a moment, thinking the raccoon was talking to him: how was he supposed to know such a thing?
Then, Yuri heard a rustling behind his shoulders, and when he turned he couldn't help but softly curse.
Redd was standing between the orchard trees, looking both dejected and sad at Nook: his arms were crossed over his chest, and he was advancing with slow and measured steps, a behaviour that was so far off his usual self that Yuri couldn’t help but be worried in response.
“Redd, are you-” asked Yuri, immediately rushing to the fox’s side, but now it was his turn to be stalled by the fox’s hand on his shoulder.
“I am all right, cousin.” replied the fox, with a small smile, but Yuri quickly noticed that Redd was not just crossing his arms: he was subtly protecting the left side of his torso, and there was a small limp in his steps, but those two details seemed to pass unnoticed to Nook.
“Answer me, fox:” demanded the raccoon once more, still standing in front of the safe. “How do I open this damned thing?”
“Oh, Nookie, it’s really simple:” answered Redd with a hint of delighted sarcasm, sounding exactly like his usual self. “Ya have to put in a six-numbers code-”
“Then tell me which one.” replied immediately Nook, but Redd just looked to the side with a pensive expression, doing his best to appear nonchalant.
“Mhhh, but why should I do that?” pondered the fox out loud. “Ya have invaded my ship, assaulted me, and stolen from me too. And now, ya also pretend to know this? Ya really have no shame?” went on the fox, now looking at the raccoon with burning eyes. “Is this how ya have created your empire? Are all the rumors about the ‘ruthless Tom Nook’ true after all?”
“Ruthless-!” exploded the raccoon, taking a step towards the fox, but Yuri quickly put himself in front of Redd: at that gesture, Nook shot an hesitating look at the human, before stopping his advance and decide to just scowl at the fox instead. “If there is one here with is ruthless, that person is you!”
“At least I am honest about it! I don’t hide my true self behind some placid exterior, like ya do!” shot back the fox, but this time Nook was simply not having it.
“What do you even know about me, huh?!” roared Nook, clenching his fists. “We haven’t talked in fifteen years, Redd! And it’s because-”
“Hey, what’s happening in here?”
“...in here?”
All of a sudden, the voices of Timmy and Tommy interrupted the screaming match between Nook and Redd, and Yuri turned towards them with a horrified expression: the two teenagers were still dressed up in their shop uniforms, which meant that they were probably closing the show when they heard the commotion in the back.
“Ah, guys! U-uh-”
“Yuri! Are you hurt?” immediately asked Tommy, echoed straight after by his brother, and Yuri felt his heart constrict immediately: why were all the raccoons on this island so nice to him?
“O-oh, don’t worry, I’m ok, but-” replied the human, with a sheepish expression. “I don’t think you guys should be here…”
“Why not? We heard some loud voices, and-” said Tommy, before looking at the fox behind Yuri. “Oh, mister Redd, you’re here!” exclaimed the teenager, with a surprised tone, and Yuri instinctively tried to shield the fox with his body from Tommy’s inquisitive gaze.
“A-ah, yes, mister Redd is here because, well... “ panicked Yuri, not knowing how to explain the whole situation, but surprisingly Nook came to his aid.
“Boys,” said Nook, using his most reassuring tone, and immediately the two teenagers turned to look at him. “everything is alright.” he then affirmed, and the racoons waited for a second before replying.
“Uh… If you say so mister Nook!” said Timmy, looking at his employee and at the mess around him without even blinking, but thankfully he didn’t comment on it. “If you need any help, please let us know!”
“...let us know!”
“Of course.” confirmed the man, before giving them a soft smile. “Now, please let us finish our talk, mh?”
After they both nodded, Timmy and Tommy quietly went back inside Nook’s Cranny, and Yuri took a breath only when he heard the shop’s door close once again.
Because of that interruption, the air around the three man had stille, almost resembling a peaceful moment… Until Redd gave out a small chuckle.
“They grew up so fast...” commented the fox in a low voice, almost as if he was talking only to himself, but sadly Nook heard him, and he immediately looked at the fox with renewed animosity.
“You haven’t even properly met them.” rebutted the man, in what was clearly a comment made to hurt, and Redd froze up for a second before huffing, not taking up the bait. “So,” said then the raccoon, scrunching his eyebrows at the fox. “are you going to answer me now?”
Despite the calm tone of his words, it was clear that Nook still had a lot of fight in him, and that he was keeping himself in check only because he knew he could be heard from inside the shop. Yuri thought that Redd would use this at his advantage somehow, but instead the fox was just looking at the ground, jaw set into a firm line.
Yuri waited, and waited, for any type of reaction from the man, but nothing seemed to be happening.
“Redd,” tried Nook once more, with a tone that was very close to desperation. “Just tell me-”
“Ya already know the code.”
That affirmation took Yuri by surprise, and the human immediately looked over to Nook, but the man didn’t seemed very moved by the fox’s words.
“What? What are you talking about-”
“I said that ya know it already!” screamed out Redd, finally losing his entire composure, and even Nook seemed taken back by his sudden outburst.
“Just, stop playing your damn games!” replied the raccoon, now properly confused. “I don’t know what you mean-!”
“It’s a day that it’s really difficult to forget!”
At that response, which the fox had almost screamed at the top of his lungs, Yuri almost wanted to groan out loud: how come that this two men could not speak forwardly to each other, but only in obscure riddles that he could never decypher?!
The human was about to also shout something at the two, just to let his frustrations out, when he catched the look on Nook’s face, and his words died in his throat.
Nook, for the first time since Yuri had known him, looked like he was just completely lost for words.
The raccoon’s eyes were wide open and focused on the fox, and he looked at him like Redd had just flipped his entire world upside down: the other man, instead, was still looking pointely at the ground, not daring to raise his head or make a movement of any kind.
Slowly, with a trembling hand, Nook walked over to the safe, and slowly pushed the numeric keypad six times.
Then, a loud clang echoed into the evening, and the lock of the safe was finally open.
Yuri was absolutely speechless, and he felt like his brain was turned into mush: the human could nothing more than gaze alternatively between the two man, but then he focused his attention on Nook when he saw what he was about to do.
The raccoon was opening the door of the safe with shaky movements, and then he took a long look on the inside. From his position, Yuri couldn’t see if what Nook had finally found what the had been searching for so long, and the raccoon’s expression was giving nothing away.
Until Nook thrusted a hand inside the safe, only to pull out a simple piece of paper.
It was too far away for Yuri to see what was written on it: all that the human could notice is that the paper was stored inside a transparent plastic sheet, which didn’t hide at all how yellow the paper was. It was probably some old document, maybe a contract of some sort? Yuri couldn’t imagine what else this whole dispute was about-
Until Nook lowered his hand, and turned towards Redd with the most furious expression that Yuri had ever seen on him.
“What does this mean?!” growled the raccoon, and this time Yuri really didn’t had the courage to step in front of the fox to protect him; thankfully, Nook was not advancing towards them, instead shaking with barely restrained fury in front of the safe. “Answer me! What does this mean?!”
His questions, no matter how loud, went unanswered. Redd was still immobile, looking at the ground with a lost expression, but this only seemed to make Nook more furious.
“You told them that you signed them, but you refused to give them back!” angrily shout the raccoon, but Yuri was taken back by how sorrowful his done had suddenly became. “Why haven’t you even signed the divorce papers, Redd?!”
Then, Nook’s words finally registered into Yuri’s mind, and the human immediately went into complete shutdown.
Gaping like a fish, Yuri could do nothing else but towards Redd, which had finally raised his head: the fox was looking at Nook with a calm expression, like the raccoon hadn’t just said something that had transformed Yuri’s brain into a pile of goop.
“Why do ya think I didn’t do it?” asked the fox, slowly, and Nook looked at him in disbelief before switching to an half-enraged expression.
“B-because you still want to mock me!” said the raccoon, but it was clear from his tone that he was not believing a single word that came from his own mouth. “After all this years, you are still…”
The raccoon’s words, however, died in his throat when he saw that Redd was still looking at him with the same, unflinching expression.
Then, the fox exhaled loudly, before looking up at the starry sky above his head.
“I didn’t do it because I still loved ya.” confessed the fox, in a low voice. “I loved ya back then... And I still love ya now.”
“No, y-you don’t!” shot back immediately Nook, but his voice was too clogged up with emotion to make Yuri flinch at his vehement denial. “You never loved me, never! You just tricked me, you ran away and stole everything from me, y-you-”
“Yes, I also did all of those things!” angrly spat back the fox, looking down at the raccoon in front of him once more. “I did all of them, and I want to say that I am sorry for what my younger and idiotic self did, but that’s never goin’ to be enough, and I know it!” he went on, and then he closed his eyes, like he couldn’t bear to see Nook’s face after all. “I didn’t just hurt ya, I destroyed ya! And all ‘cause I was just a damn punk, thinkin’ I could just disappear like that and leave ya behind without feeling any regret. But I was wrong!” he then concluded, voice breaking over his last sentence. “I was so, so wrong, and I realized it only too many years later, but in my heart I always knew that I, that I…”
Yuri, at that point, was hanging like a drowning man to every word that fell from both man’s lips, but when the stream of confessions stopped, he was left at a loss of what to do.
Nook seemed to be in the same state as Yuri: the raccoon was still gaping at Redd, eyes wide open and body frozen, until a tiny whisper escaped from him.
“...Why are you doing this to me?” he murmured, now sounding like he was completely broken, and his eyes were full of unshed tears. “Why can’t you just set me free...?”
“Because I am obsessed with ya.” admitted Redd, and the words started to flow out of him once more, like the dam that had kept them in check for so many years had finally broke down. “Do ya think I always stopped in the towns where you had your shops because I wanted to tease ya? No, all that I wanted was for ya to look at me, even if it was just a glare or a scowl. I just wanted to see ya, even if it was just a glimpse between two curtains.” continued the fox, voice growing nostalgic and sorrowful. “I hoped for such a long time that ya would come into my tent, and ask me where the divorce papers where, but ya never did. You didn’t even want to come close to me, and so…” he finished, with a last sigh.” So I kept ya tied to me in the only way that I could.”
At those last confessions, Nook seemed to lose all of his will to speak. Redd must have sensed that the man in front of him was completely broken, because he opened his eyes again, and then he gave one sorrowful smile to the raccoon.
“I am sorry, Thomas.” said then the fox, looking straight into Nook’s eyes. “But I know that ya are never going to believe me, and that I don’t deserve any forgiveness.”
As soon as those words were out, Yuri knew that Redd really meant every single one of them. He knew because nobody could sound so strong and so desperate at the same time, but it was the acceptance that he saw on the fox’s face that really sealed the deal; Redd was sure that mercy was never going to be an option for him, and he had already made peace with that.
The chill evening wind swept over the backyard of Nook’s Cranny with a gentle whisper, and Yuri couldn’t help but ask himself what was going to happen, now that that all of those secrets were finally out in the open.
Then, Nook let go of the paper in his hand, who slowly landed on the ground without a sound.
Before Yuri could wonder why he had done that, the raccoon took one step, then another, and the human felt his muscles froze up.
Nook was marching slowly but surely towards Redd, and Yuri knew that he had to come between them and prevent a bloodshed, but his legs wouldn’t move. Instead, he just stayed at Redd’s side, watching with wariness as Nook approached, until he was straight in front of the fox.
When the raccoon’s huge hands came up to grab Redd by the shoulder, Yuri felt an alarmed sound leave his throat, but Nook was not doing anything but hold him while also gazing into the fox’s eyes. He looked like he wanted to punch him, gut him, devour him alive, and Redd just stood there, waiting for a blow that never came.
Instead, Nook slowly lowered his head, and rested it on Redd’s chest, much to the shock of everybody else.
“Red… Red, why…” whispered the raccoon, tightening his grip on the fox’s shoulder, but Redd seemed incapable of processing what was happening, judging by the lost expression on his face.
Then, in the slowest movement ever, Reed raised his hands, and placed them on Nook’s back.
That gesture was enough to break the raccoon, and a loud, single sob emerged from his throat.
Knowing that he was not supposed to see all of that, Yuri quickly lowered his head, and he let it hang for a handful of interminable moments. There was no other sound coming from the two men, except some harsh breathing, and when even that stopped the human raised his eyes again, just in time to see Nook taking a step back.
The two men look both broken and battered, and it was clear that no more talking could be done tonight. Everybody needed to rest, and Yuri was sure that the fox was still in pain, and in no condition to trek back to the secret beach.
“Redd... I think you should sleep in my house tonight. I will lay a futon out for you.” said then Yuri, even if he had been seriously afraid to speak up, and he was surprised to even hear his own voice at that point: even more shocking was seeing the fox nod at his proposal, without even putting up a bit of a fight.
Nook, on his part, seemed to be taking his time to put himself together. He awkwardly walked back to where the divorce papers were laying on the ground, stood for a while with them in hand, and then shuffled back to Redd to thrust them in his hands.
A flash of fear passed on Redd’s face when he took the paper from Nook’s hands, but the he slowly relaxed when Nook didn’t say anything right away; instead, the raccoon looked everywhere but at the other man, and so Yuri silently pulled on one of Redd’s sleeves, in the hope that he would get the hint.
“Wait up a second, cousin.” suddenly told him the fox, taking everybody by surprise. “There’s somethin’ else, inside the safe.” he added, before walking over it, and Yuri watched with curiosity, wondering what was going to come out of it.
When Redd walked back towards the human and the raccoon, Yuri barely saw what he was clutching in one hand: it looked like a satchel of some sort, made of brown and soft leather, but Nook must have recognized whatever it was, because he made another pained sound.
“Redd… Are those-” whispered the raccoon brokenly, feeling emotional all over again, but the fox didn’t let him finish: he just marched towards Nook and put the sachet inside his palm, and then he gently closed his fingers around it with his own hands, looking at him for the last time in the eyes.
Then, Redd just walked away from the other man and past Yuri, heading down the road without looking back.
Yuri was quick to follow him, but after a couple of steps he hesitated and looked back towards Nook, just in time to see the raccoon holding two glistening gold rings in the palm of one hand and the empty satchel in the other, with a heartbroken expression on his face.
Blushing furiously, Yuri turned around and quickly followed Redd down the road, his mind buzzing with so many thought that he couldn’t even listen to one of them properly.
***
Summer had finally came to Riji in full swing, and Yuri had been working hard to maintain the island’s parks and flowerbeds in pristine condition.
That morning, his tasks included the cleanup of any stray weed, and a generous amount of watering; thankfully, Vesta had decided to aid him in his monumental tasks, and the two villagers were just working side by side, making small talks from time to time but mostly just enjoying each other’s company in silence.
At least, until Vesta gave him a subtle kick on the leg, and Yuri looked at her with a confused expression; then, the human noticed that the sheep’s gaze was pointed towards the ocean, together with a huge smile, and so Yuri turned towards the same direction, before letting out a small and delighted gasp.
Redd and Nook were sitting side by side on one of the benches near the beach, engaged in a soft conversation like they had been doing for some time now. Their heads were hanging low and their voices were quiet, like they were whispering all sorts of secrets to each other, and the human felt his throat clench with emotion at that sight.
There were only a handful of centimeters and two cans of drinks between the two men's bodies. Their hands were right next to one another, pinkies very close but not touching, and there were no golden rings on their fingers.
However, Redd and Nook’s tails often brushed against each other while they were talking, a gesture that made hope dawn inside of Yuri’s heart; sometimes, the tails would even dare to caress one another with a single slow stroke, a sight that he couldn't help but smile at.
It was not much, but it was a start.