Shining brightly above the city of Zootopia was the sun. Its glowing warmth enveloped the city in a bright happiness, from which only a peaceful, beautiful day with a few bright, fluffy, white clouds hovered over the citizens. The city was bustling as usual, cars honking, mammals talking, everyone going about their daily business. One could look at the city from above and see how vastly different yet similar the sectors were to each other. Today was different than usual; today, a certain red fox walked down a hall with violet flowers that were so vibrant that they instantly stood out to all who looked their way.
Today was different because the fox was going to meet up with a very special mammal, one that had brought him nothing but joy and happiness to his life ever since she showed up. Well, not entirely since they met. It took some time to grow used to each other, but he wouldn't change a thing since that day they met in that ice cream shop. He had been nervous for weeks when he first thought up this crazy plan. But he had finally bitten his tongue and asked that special rabbit in his life if she would be so kind to allow him to take her out for a date, for Valentine's Day.
To his bewilderment, she had accepted. After nearly two years of being simply friends, she had taken the chance to see what they could be together, with him of all mammals. A fox of all things - a species known to be shifty, sly, and conniving. But not to her, she saw more in him, more than a fox, more than partners, more⦠than friends. Just like he saw her.
He walked down the hall, still holding the flowers behind him with one paw while he held a box of carrot-shaped chocolates. He knew they were cheesy things for such a cheesy day, but to him, they were symbols of love he had grown to know towards this rabbit. The flowers were her eye color; he hoped she would see the beauty in them just as he did with her stunning eyes. The carrot-shaped chocolates represented how sweet and "cute" she was to him. Items based on her to show how much he saw in her, how much he wanted to be more than what they were now. She was more than a rabbit to him: she was Judy. And he was more than a fox to her: he was Nick.
Arriving at her doorstep, the fox stood there for what seemed like an eternity until he gathered the strength to knock on her door. He called out Judy's name, and like a beacon of hope, she opened the door and greeted him. With a gasp, Judy raised her paws to her mouth in surprise at the stunning gifts he held out towards her. Without warning, Judy threw her arms around Nick and thanked him for the gifts. Nick could only smile at her excitement as she took the flowers and looked at them, smiling and smelling them.
Nick was about to mention how they matched her eye color when she dived in headfirst and began to savagely eat them. Nick's face turned from joy to shock as she munched them quickly and loudly. Once she finished them, she tossed the paper that was holding the bundle together into a trash bin just inside her room. Nick was still in shock as she tossed her arms around him and thanked him for the flowers. He couldn't help but think about the two hundred dollars he had spent on those for today. But, money didn't mean a thing to him, not when compared to her.
After a moment's hesitation, he finally broke from his stunned state and saw the outfit she was wearing. She wore jeans that complimented her very nicely, just as much as the jacket she wore. They were both a lovely, light blue color while the cuffs and bottom part of her jacket were a pure white color. Her scarf was a lightly tinged brown that brought out the color of her natural grey and white fur. Nick, on the other paw, wore khaki pants - as usual - but was sporting a designer's coat of some kind. Judy certainly didn't know what it was, but its bright green color was slightly off-putting to his own natural color.
It was horrible-looking but yet, he managed to make it look good, to the rabbit's dismay. It wasn't cold out, not by a long shot, but where they planned on going was. They planned on going to the small, but well known shop StarBear Coffee. From what Judy had heard, they were famous in the city of Zootopia for their coffee and shakes. Judy took one last look at her room as she closed her door. She could see the box of chocolates on the bed and couldn't wait to try them out when she returned home. She didn't want to ruin her appetite on chocolates right before heading out.
With a click, her door was shut and she followed the smiling fox, who walked backwards and stared at her longingly. After a couple steps, Nick stopped and waited for Judy to catch up so he could make a joke on how slow she was. She chuckled a bit before tossing her elbow gently into his ribs. It didn't hurt, but that didn't stop Nick from acting like his ribs were shattered as he gave a dramatic display of his "final" moments. Judy smirked and rolled her eyes at the performance from the red fox.
Judy decided to end the charade as she walked past him towards the stairs, forcing the fox to stop and follow her. The walk was rather peaceful as the two recalled past cases and how scared or excited they were during them. First they talked about how the whole train crashing was absolutely terrifying as they tried to get evidence to the ZPD. Before they knew it they were talking about meeting each other's parents. Judy had yet to meet Mrs. Wilde and Nick had yet to meet Stu and Bonnie. The subject was soon dropped as they ran out of things to talk about and the silence was awkward as usual. Finally they made it to the local trolley station that could take them anywhere in Zootopia. They stood in line getting tickets before they sat on a nearby bench as they waited for the trolley to arrive.
It took Nick nearly a minute before he asked her about the flower incident earlier today. Judy shrugged it off as something rabbits do; if they were given flowers by a special friend they generally ate them, as was custom in her home town. Nick's heart fluttered a bit when she mentioned the words "special friend". Nick thought carefully for a few seconds before he asked her what she meant by special friend. She didn't respond with words; instead, she looked him in the eye and grabbed his paw with her own. Time nearly stood still for Nick as he finally understood that she felt the same way about him as did he for her.
It was only when the trolley's horn blared did they realize that it had arrived and they may not make it in time. Both started running into the station as they attempted to catch it before it would take off. Just as the doors were closing, both Nick and Judy squeezed through just in time. Nick chuckled as Judy smiled, blaming him for distracting them both with his questions.
This made Nick laugh a little harder as he gazed at the slightly annoyed rabbit before him. Judy huffed at the fox before she quickly took a seat near the back with Nick in tow. Judy watched the city go as she asked Nick questions about the city.
Nick obliged her as he pointed out great places to eat, places to avoid, and generally good places to hang out. Judy kept twisting her head back and forth as she attempted to both listen and look at the city going by. Judy was surprised to hear that Nick knew so much about the city, from it's highest points all the way down in the gutters. Then again, Nick did say he knew everyone, and he knew Mr. Big, so she guessed he would know about the fancy life a bit.
To her disappointment, they had arrived in Tundra Town faster than she had expected as they headed straight for the large wall that marked the border between the center of the city and Tundra Town. For nearly a full minute, darkness enveloped the trolley they sat in before their eyes were blasted by the bright whiteness of snow assaulting their retinas. Judy stared in awe at the sight just like she did the first time she came to Zootopia. Nick followed her example unwillingly as he too was caught up in the beauty of snow and all the couples walking around, paw in paw, hoof in hoof, trunk in trunk. Love was truly in the air today.
Judy was so intent on watching the snow fall that she barely acknowledged that fact they had pulled up to the open-area station, parked, and the trolley was now unloading its passengers. Nick tapped her lightly on the shoulder just as he got up from his seat, causing Judy to freeze like a deer in headlights. Nick always wondered why they did such things as he continued to head to the doors. Judy was right behind him, making sure not to get ahead nor behind her foxy date.
With that devious smile of his, Nick told her that it would be a short walk to the coffee shop he had told her about. Judy only giggled a bit as he nearly slipped on the ice while speaking. He played it off by acting like he was dancing, embarrassing himself a bit more in front of Judy and some other mammals looking on in confusion. Judy's giggle turned into laughter as he finally slipped onto his butt when he tried to twirl once. Nick's face went from blushing to shock to grimacing in pain as he stood back up, rubbing his bottom carefully. Judy tried to not laugh anymore as Nick frowned at her in annoyance, complaining that it wasn't funny and that it actually hurt a bit.
They continued on their way with Nick occasionally grunting, still annoyed about falling. Judy picked up on this quickly and gave him a light tap in his shoulder. Nick looked over to see Judy looking up at him. She commented that he didn't look good when he wore that ugly look of annoyance. Nick apologized, causing Judy to smile again. She had too much power over him, as he felt the urge to smile as well. He tried and tried but failed as a smile cracked his hard surface. Judy chuckled a bit as she teased him for being a big baby. Nick came back with a simple joke about rabbits being emotionally unstable before they turned down a street.
Judy was about to continue the playful game when Nick pointed to a small, wood and brick, single-window building. It had one massive window that had a star with the words Starbear Coffee arching through it like a rainbow. The door stood a little bit to the left of the window, and Judy could see a few large mammals enter quickly. It didn't take long after the door opened when the smell of vanilla, honey, mint and other wondrous smells reached her nostrils. Judy inhaled deeply as she attempted to taste the air itself through her nose. Nick did the same as he enjoyed the smells drifting from the small, but famous shop.
Nick quickly ran up to open the door, bowing deeply and over-dramatically insisting ladies first like a proper gentlemammal. Judy blushed heavily as she walked inside and took in the building more thoroughly. The inside was intriguing and very homely despite the crowded conditions. It was a lot bigger inside than the outside lead on, and little kerosene lamps hung from the ceiling. It gave the place a very fireplace feel to it as a whole. Mammals ranging from bears to otters lounged around the establishment in a cheerful way. Nick placed a paw on the bunny's shoulder and gently guided her to a small table with a sign that said, "Reserved for Nick Wilde". The sight alone caused Judy to gasp with surprise as a moose came over to make sure that Nick was indeed "Nick". After a few moments, they quickly took their seats, Judy sitting on a very cushiony stool while Nick sat on a wooden bench.
Just as they settled into their spots, the moose returned and gave them a pamphlet showing their basic orders. Nick let the waiter know that it would be a moment before they knew what they would like. Judy asked Nick how he knew of this place just as the moose walked away to help some other customers. Nick shrugged and stated places like these were easy to find when one roamed around a lot in life. As Nick told Judy about his little scams and jobs, she continued to scan the "menu" until she saw they had an apple and carrot shake. Cutting Nick off, she pointed at the item and stated that it looked good. Nick quickly looked through his own pamphlet and spotted his favorite drink here: blueberry-mint flavored coffee. Nick was just about to wave the friendly moose back over when he saw that the waiter was already heading their way.
With a bright smile, he asked if they were ready. With a nod and quick exchange of words, the fox and bunny order their drinks. As the moose, whose name they kept forgetting, left, they went back to how Nick had lived his life a bit more. After finishing a quick story on how both Nick and Finnick had scammed a fellow scammer into giving them a fat stack of cash, he noticed that he hadn't asked Judy about herself this whole time. He was about to ask about her home when the moose returned with a large glass of apple-carrot shake and a coffee mug in the shape of a bear's face. He placed the drinks on the table and left quietly as he watched the fox lean in towards the rabbit.
Nick's ears folded back a bit as Judy's fell back a little bit as well. She raise one paw to her face just as she lowered her head just the slightest bit without breaking eye contact with him. Nick's smile was one of happiness as he placed one arm on the table for support while he had his other arm in the center of the table. With a blush, Judy reached out and held onto his paw, causing Nick to relax as he tilted his head in a blissful trance. She was so beautiful to him. He never knew he wanted to be with her this much till this moment, right here, right now.
After a few seconds, Nick sadly broke the touch as he took a sip of his drink. Judy followed his example, placing a straw into her shake and taking a big gulp. The flavor was outstanding, causing Judy to continue to drink it until finally she was hit with a brainfreeze. Nick chuckled lightly before telling her to slow down. They weren't going anywhere for a bit.
Time began to blur as the date went on and on late into the day, with many coffees and other drinks ordered between the two. The date went well for both of them , and soon, they found themselves walking to Nick's home. They laughed and talked about the day's events that had happened. Judy couldn't help but bring up Nick falling down many times, just to see him grumble about the pain of slipping on ice. They walked down a street towards Nick's house.
Somehow, the conversation shifted to that of Nick's mom and possibly having the chance to meet her tonight. Nick smiled at her as he opened the door to the house. He thanked her for giving him the chance to take her out on a date before he told her that his mother was most likely sleeping. Judy was saddened a bit but recovered quickly as she thanked him for the great day. Nick closed the door as Judy turned to leave, He stood there, leaning against the wall for minutes and holding his muzzle before he finally sighed and let out a small wail. She was the one for him, he was certain of that. Nick didn't get a chance to move before his mother trapped him against the door and asked him who the special mammal was.
Judy stood before her door, heart pounding at an incredible rate. She had never felt this feeling before, but she knew what it meant. She was in love with that sly fox, and she was sure that he was in love with this dumb bunny. She opened the door and went straight to her bed and opened the box of chocolates. To her surprise, sitting in the center of the box was a beautiful orange necklace. Judy smiled and ate one of the chocolates as she put the necklace on. Once she was sure it was on, she looked at it in the mirror. She looked beautiful. Today had been wonderful. She was certain that she was not making a mistake about this fox. He was the one for her.
The End!
((((Author's Notes))))
This is my first attempt at making a fluff story.
So first off, this story was inspired by two people in particular and the Zootopia fandom as a whole but is also a gift to a good friend. The first is my good friend ZiegelZeig, a talented artist over on DeviantArt who has made some very awesome art for the community, for that I thank him by giving him the gift of a special story based on this story's cover image "Date In Tundra Town". The second person to inspire me was Cimar/WildeHopps. His story Together was amazing, it was so powerful yet no dialogue was needed! And so I wanted to try to write this story in such a way. There were two comics I gave a nod to and they were "Bouquet Ole!" by BlueDouble over on DeviantArt, this little comic was so cute and funny as Judy ate those flowers, I just loved it! The second is "Nick's Mom Wants Grandchildren (Biological or Adopted)" by Rannva on Tumblr, again the way Nick's mom acted and that little cheesy wail of his was so cute.
Thank you Ziegelzeig. Thank you Cimar/WildeHopps. Thank you DoubleBlue. Thank you Rannva. And thank you Blenderguy15 for editing this for me!
And most importantly THANK YOU ZOOTOPIA and have a happy Valentine's Day all you lovebirds!
