Downtown Zootopia Wilde Suit-topia: Paul's Point of View
As I left John's shop with Finnick, I noticed that the city was slowly darkening; the golden sun that illuminated the world was now starting to set.
Finnick and I waited outside for Nick and his friend, I glanced down at Finnick, he was busy checking his phone. I raised my head and looked back into the shop, I saw Nick and John hugging each other 'Those two' I thought to myself 'I wonder if they'll ever find out about Nathan, maybe they will in the future, maybe they won't, ever. Maybe Nathan will never meet either Nick or John'
The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that my sweet nephew might never know the love and care of a Father or Grandfather.
In my heart, I only wanted the best for my sister and nephew, but in a world where you're a Fox in a prejudice society, the best might never come.
I thought back to what had happened inside the shop, that sudden burst of memories, those nightmarish thoughts that I had repressed for so long, came back today. I tried thinking back to what happened, the memories were always hazy, but today, when that Rabbit stared at me, everything revealed itself, the 'incident' that made me as a small kit realize, that the world wasn't exactly friendly towards Foxes.
As I became aware of what I had repressed for so long, a headache began to form; I decided not to dwell on the thought any longer.
Instead, I turned my attention to Finn, who was still busy checking his phone.
"So, where is that place you mentioned exactly?" I asked with uncertainty.
"Well it's a Club, you'll see soon enough, we just have to wait for Nick" he assured.
"Okay..." I replied, "So, Finny, got a girl yet?" I asked.
He started chuckling "Not yet, everyone that I met turned out to be a real gold digger, you know? how about you Paul?"
"Eh, you know…" I replied, hoping that this conversation wasn't heading to where I thought it was.
A smile grew on the small Fennec's muzzle "Still shy around Women eh?"
"Shut up" I interjected in an annoyed tone.
I took a glance back into the shop, they were still in there talking, "What could be taking them so long?" I wondered, I glanced over towards the Bunny, she seemed familiar, I was unsure but, I knew that I had seen her before. I turned to Finn "So, the bunny, who is she?" I asked, curious about the identity of Nick's friend.
"Oh, you mean Judy? She's Nick's partner" he answered nonchalantly.
'Partner?' I thought to myself 'What on earth was he talking about?' my blood started to boil 'Is she? Did Nick replace my Sister with a Rabbit?!' I thought. I turned my attention towards Finnick.
"What do you mean…Partner?" I asked slowly, trying to hide the anger in my voice.
"Man, did you forget? Nick's with the fuzz, remember? And Judy's his partner" replied Finnick, calmly while browsing his phone.
I started chuckling to myself the moment I heard those words, crying tears of laughter.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing" I replied, as I took off my glasses to wipe my eyes, smiling as I realize how much I overreact to things 'Always jumping to conclusions' I thought to myself. I looked back into the shop, Nick and his friend were starting to leave, I glanced over at the bunny 'Now I remember, this is the infamous Judy Hopps'
I thought back to her Night howler speech 'For whatever reason, they seem to be reverting back to their primitive, savage ways'
'Primitive, Savage, such uncivilized words, yet that is what they see us as, as uncivilized monsters' I thought.
Even though she wasn't Nick's significant other, she still filled me with uneasiness and doubt; I made a personal note to be careful around her. 'If prey mammals can't trust a fox, then a fox can't trust a prey'
As Nick walked out of the shop, Finn and I walked towards him, both curious to the lack of a rabbit called Judy.
"Hey Nick, where's the rabbit?" Finn asked
"Oh she went to the bathroom for a bit, she'll come to join us when she's done" replied Nick, walking ahead of us towards Finn's parked van.
The familiar red van brought back pleasant memories, I whispered to Finn as he was searching for his keys "Remember what the van used to look like? Before you had it repainted?" I asked, hoping to reminiscence about the past.
"Yeah, it was a dirty blue delivery van, we picked her up from a scrap yard" he replied, chuckling at the memory.
"I still think we should've just bought a new van, it took so much work to get her road worthy again" I stated
"And miss out on the times we had fixing my baby?" returned Finn, pulling out his keys and unlocking the doors.
"I think Paul is still mad about the time he got stuck under the hood" added Nick, hopping into the front seats.
"NICK! You promised me you wouldn't bring that up" I reminded.
"Whoops, must have slipped my mind" he replied, smug as ever.
"You got stuck in my van?" cried Finnick, trying to control his laughter, as he scrambled into the driver seat.
"Hey I'd like to see you laugh when you've been trapped in a rust-bucket for three hours" I mumbled, making my way towards the back of the van and open the back doors, I clambered inside and proceeded to head towards the front, trying not to slip on the mess of beer cans and paper receipts at the back.
As we seated ourselves in the van, a wave of nostalgic memories flooded my mind, 'just like old times' I thought to myself.
My nostalgic memory recalling was interrupted by the sound of the van door opening, and a perky pair of bunny ears protruding from the front seats. Thankfully, the fox stench in Finn's van was enough to hide Judy's scent.
Suddenly, I heard her voice "Where's your friend?" she asked.
I poked my head through the seats, taking care not to acknowledge her presence "Right here" I mumbled.
"What are you doing in the back?" she asked.
"There are only two seats up front remember? Someone has to sit in the back" I sighed.
"This doesn't seem safe or legal" she declared.
I rolled my eyes at her comment "Can we just go already? Before I change my mind"
Finally, after a short drive, we arrived at the supposed Club. As the van's back doors swung open, I slowly hopped off; who knew that sitting at the back of a van can cause numbness?
I stood with my head between my knees, as I felt the blood pass through my legs. Suddenly I felt a paw on my shoulder, I glanced up at the owner of the paw; it was Nick.
"Feeling okay bud?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, forgot how bumpy riding with Finn was" I replied
"Nothing a few drinks can't fix" he chuckled.
"Yeah…drinks" I replied slowly, as I brushed his paw off.
Suddenly I heard Finnick shouting behind me "Hey, come on you two, Judy and I are dying of Sobriety here"
"Yeah, come on guys" shouted Judy.
"Alright, just give us a sec" replied Nick. "You right to go Paul?" he asked.
I let out a sigh in frustration; I didn't know how much longer I could keep it up "Does…does your…rabbit friend have to follow us everywhere?"
Nick's ears laid flat on his head, his eyes opened wide as though it finally came through to him "Oh no…Paul I'm sorry, I forgot about your…condition"
I stared at him with a pained expression, 'have we drifted that far apart for him to forget?'
"It's just that with everything happening, and that Judy's a close friend and…"
I raised my paw to silence his rambling "it's okay Nick, I was being selfish…I think I-I can hold out a bit longer, a few drinks would certainly help" I answered, forcing myself to smile.
"Are you sure?" he replied, a worried expression stapled on his muzzle.
"Yeah" I answered, as I slowly stood up "Let's not keep them waiting"
As we approached the club, I noticed a large blue neon sign; displaying the word 'Tranquillity' the sign illuminated the street outside the building with a bluish hue. Right underneath the sign, sheltered under a small roof, awaited a long line of various mammals, which seemed to almost consist entirely of predators.
The entrance of the club was overlooked by a Gray Rhino in a black suit. "Looks like we'll be waiting the whole night" whispered Nick, as he pointed towards the long queue of mammals.
I gave a small laugh in reply "Don't be too sure on that, five bucks, say that Finn can get us past the line"
Nick gave me a sceptical look before replying "You're on" he replied.
As we strolled over towards the entrance, the Rhino turned his attention towards Finnick "Hey Finn, haven't seen you here in a while"
"Hey Raymond my man, how's it going?" asked Finnick.
"Eh, same old, same old. You heading inside?" he asked, gesturing towards the door.
"Yeah, and I've brought some friends" Finn explained.
"Well go right on in" added Raymond, as he opened the door.
"Thanks, Ray, catch you later"
As we walked past Raymond, I gently nudged Nick and whispered into his ear "We got in, five bucks pay up" I reminded him, as I stretched out my paw.
Nick was grumbling as he reached for his wallet and pulled out a five-dollar bill "I'll get you back on that" he mumbled.
"I like to see how" I replied, as I looked at Nick with a smug face.
As I pocketed the five dollars, I felt a small tap on my back, I glanced down at the source of the tap, it was Judy. She looked at me with her signature smile, the same ones I saw on the news and billboards.
"Hi, so I realized that we haven't been properly introduced yet, I'm Judy" she disclaimed, as she held out her paw.
"P...Paul" I spoke, as I hesitantly shook her paw. 'Please just go away' I thought to myself.
"So, you're a friend of Nick?" she asked
"You could...Yeah... you could say that" I answered, stumbling with my words.
We continued walking deeper into 'Tranquillity' the usual smell of alcohol welcomed us, but upon stepping into the Club, I was surprised at what I saw, I looked over at Nick and Judy, who were just as surprised as I was.
Instead of a stereotypical night Club, the place was, in fact, a stylish lounge. None of the usual loud blaring music with flashing lights of a typical night Club was to be found in this place, instead, the place was dimmed with lights that created a calming atmosphere; the air was filled with rhythmic Jazz.
Downtown Zootopia, Tranquility: Nick's Point of View
We all stood there, admiring the spectacular beauty of the place, we followed Finnick as he headed towards the bar, taking our seats at the counter, the bartender; a brown stag, approached us "What will it be lads?" he asked while leaning on the counter.
Finnick paused for a split second before answering "I'll take a light beer"
"Make that two beers" I added.
"S-scotch, le-leave the bottle please" declared Paul, by now he was shaking and skittish. I sighed and took a good look at him, Paul White, one of my dear friends who is now going to drown himself in alcohol, all because of me, I just had to get Judy involved, and now my friend is paying for it.
The least I could do for my poor buddy was to make sure Judy doesn't bother him too much, he deserves some peaceful rest, I owe him that much. I gestured the stag closer "Oh, and Carrot cocktail for my friend over there" I whispered.
As the bartender started to fill out our orders, I heard Judy whispering to me "Nick, what are you doing? You know I don't drink!" she reminded me in an annoyed tone.
"First time for everything Carrots" I replied, hoping she would take the bait and drink herself to sleep.
I looked back at the bartender, who had filled the counter with various glasses of a brownish liquid "Two beers, a glass of scotch and one carrot cocktail" he declared.
"Just like old times eh Nick?" suggested Finnick as he grabbed his drink.
I glanced over at Paul and Judy, Paul was just staring at the glass in his paw, swirling the scotch around, he looked lost, meanwhile, Judy seemed hesitant to drink her carrot cocktail, she was, however, nibbling on the carrot stick sticking out of the tall glass.
I leaned towards Paul and nudged him in the hips "How are you feeling now? Better?" I asked in a concerned tone.
"Yeah, yeah, better...good...terrific" he muttered.
"You sure?" I questioned, I was starting to get worried myself.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine" he mumbled,
"Paul, I know that you're not okay, I'm sorry that I brought my 'friend', I'll make it up to you, just tell me what's wrong" I assured him.
"Look, it's nothing okay?!" he shouted, he was getting annoyed at my pestering.
"Okay, just trying to help" I replied in defeat, slowly easing him into a guilty conscience.
"Look, Nick, I'm sorry, it's just, a lot of things have been happening, what with your 'friend' and everything" he confessed, burying his head into his paws.
"Like?" I asked, hoping that he'll reveal something secretive.
He suddenly gave me a sceptical look, before chuckling "Oh Nick, you're going to have to do much better than that" he declared.
'Well...at least he's laughing now, so I guess he's feeling a little better'
"You know me too well" I joked. I grabbed my glass of beer, raising the glass in the air, I shouted "Here's to a renewal of Friendship" as I looked at both Finnick and Paul.
Paul was hesitant before raising his glass of Scotch "Friends till the end" he replied, a smile on his muzzle.
"And here's to good times ahead" added Finnick.
The three of us then poured our drinks into our mouths, emptying the contents of the glasses in a synchronized fashion. After that, however, Paul started coughing "T-The Scotch's a bit stronger than I r-remembered" he wheezed.
The classic Jazz and quiet ambience of the club were quickly replaced with an Arctic Fox trying very hard to not to die from coughing his lungs out, much to his annoyance, however, he couldn't do anything as he was still violently coughing.
"Bartender, another round please," I asked, as Paul continued his coughs.
Paul's coughing continued for a few more seconds, before slowly dying down. I glanced around the club, the few other patrons who were previously staring quickly returned to their own private business. Looking around, I spied a familiar female wolf in a red sequin dress, she seemed to have noticed the commotion, as she sauntered over towards us "Well if it isn't the con-artist duo, Nick and Finn"
"Hey, Emily" I replied, "What are you doing here?" I asked.
She seemed surprised at my question "Didn't Finn tell you? I'm the owner"
"Really?" I blurted out in surprise "I had no idea" I said as I eyed Finnick with an annoyed look.
"So, you going to introduce me to your friends?" she asked, as she looked at Judy and Paul.
"Well, Emily, meet Paul and..."
"Hi, I'm Judy Hopps," she interrupted, as she held out her paw for Emily to shake. Emily shook Judy's paw, before turning her gaze to Paul.
"P-Paul White" he spoke in a soft tone, as he leaned closer to shake Emily's hand, he then returned to staring at his second glass of Scotch.
'Wow, he's a lot less shy than the last time that drink must have loosened him up' I thought, as I chuckled to myself.
Suddenly, I heard a phone ringing in Paul's direction, I glanced at him, as he pulled out a phone and glanced at the screen, I could hear him sighing to himself "Not again" before he turned to us "S-Sorry guys, I have to take this" he muttered, as he walked away.
As Paul stood up, I took a glance at Judy, the Carrot Cocktail was half empty, and next to it, was a snoring grey bunny "Looks like someone couldn't handle their drink" whispered Emily as she sat down next to Finn.
She had the same personality as I had remembered from last time 'Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a long-time' I thought to myself.
"So Nick, last I heard, you went clean, how's that going?" she asked.
"Fine, fine" I replied as I took a sip of beer.
Emily leaned closer towards me, placing her head in between Finnick's ears "So is Judy your girlfriend?" she whispered, her dark brown eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I instantly started choking on my beer, coughing and spitting the alcohol out of my lungs, I was surprised at the sudden question "W-what?" I spurted out in confusion, after a brief recovery, I replied quickly to Emily's question "N-no, Judy's just a friend" I confessed.
"Guys, I'd appreciate it, if you didn't have this conversation on my head" declared Finnick.
"Oops, sorry Finny" gasped Emily, as she rose from Finnick's head "Speaking of friends, your friend Paul, he seemed troubled" she stated.
"Yeah he's like that; it's a long personal story, not mine to tell"
"And that's why our dear Paulie has issues with the dating game" revealed Finnick, as he took a sip of beer.
"Really?" she chirped, "So would you say that he's somewhat of a dating challenge?" she asked. I looked at her with a confused look, before looking at Finn, who just shrugged his shoulders, and returned to drinking.
"Uh, yeah? I think so, why?" I asked, in a cautious tone.
"Oh, no reason" she replied nonchalantly, giving off a sly smile.
'She's planning something' I thought to myself. As I tried to think of what she was thinking about, I heard someone approaching, turning around, I saw Paul; he looked shaken "Everything alright?" I asked.
"Ye-Yeah, j-just da-dandy" he mumbled as he sat down, he began gulping down his second glass of scotch without difficulty or hesitation "B-Bartender, g-give me 'nother round" he stuttered.
After, what I could only presume was his fifth glass of scotch. He then immediately slammed the glass down onto the counter, I glanced at Finnick with a surprised look, he looked back with the same expression as I had. I could only guess that he was surprised too, at Paul's sudden change in behaviour.
Paul began to stare heavily at the glass in his hand, before taking off his glasses and burying his head into his paws, I could hear crying 'Wait, is Paul crying?' I thought to myself, the crying was a quiet sob, but it was there.
I looked over at Finnick and Emily, they seemed to be concerned with Paul, glancing back I could hear him whispering repeatedly to himself "Why, why, why" he sobbed.
I placed my paw on his back "Paul, what's wrong?" I asked, concerned for his well-being.
He lifted his head from his paws, he stared directly at me, the look of utter pain in his eyes, he took a series of deep breaths, trying to calm himself "Why does it have to be so hard? Why is the world so cruel?"
"Paul tell me what's wrong"
"The...the landlord, he found a video of Nikki causing some scene at the police station, he thinks she's dangerous, so we're getting evicted. Christ, Nick, we're hitting rock bottom"
I sat there shocked, the words repeated itself 'Evicted' the thought of Nicole and my son living in the streets or worse 'Happytown' was horrifying.
"I-I guess in the end, we-we're just n-no good, lying, c-cheating savage Foxes, we're us-useless and unwanted" he continued.
I slowly realized the effect this was having on him 'He's having a breakdown' I thought to myself.
Before Paul could continue his statements, however, Emily stood up and rushed towards him, hugging him tightly "Sshhhh shhhh, just relax, you're not useless or unwanted" declared Emily.
Paul only stood there hanging from Emily's arms before returning the hug "T-Thank you" I heard him whisper, before losing his grip completely and passing out into Emily's arms.
As Emily held a drunken Paul in her arms, she looked at me with a concerned face "What do we do now?" she whispered.
I pulled out my phone and looked at the time "It's getting late, I think it's time to go home" I replied, trying to keep my mind clear from the alcohol and the news of Nicole's eviction.
I picked up Paul's glasses and pocketed them, before walking over Judy, I gently nudged her "Eh Fluff, time to go" I declared.
"Mmmmh, Dad, ten more minutes" replied Judy in a drunken slur.
I sighed as I picked up Judy, scooping her up into my arms, I turned around to Finnick "You coming bud?" I asked.
"Eh, you guys go ahead, after seeing Paul so broken...I-I need some more drinks" he replied.
We left the club, walking with Judy and Paul in our arms. While walking to Emily's car, I glanced over at her; she was cradling Paul, being as gentle as possible "You enjoying yourself over there?" I joked.
Silence, she didn't reply, she instead had a sad painful expression on her muzzle as she stared at Paul in her paws. "I...I feel so sorry for him" she confessed.
"Yeah...me too, he's been through a lot. Even though he's been hurt so many times, yet he stills holds a smile and pretends that everything is fine, bottling it all up. He's a nice guy too, sometimes I think, maybe he's too nice to be a Fox" I stated "Most mammals just look at him for what he is, not who he is. I'm just glad you're not one of those mammals" I pointed out.
We reached Emily's car, a black sedan, we placed the two in the back, seating them the best we could. We got into the front, with Emily at the wheel "Drop off Judy first, Grand Pangolin Arms, then drop me, remember where I live?" I asked.
"Sure I do...though, what about your other friend?" she asked.
"Eh, I don't know where he lives, you can take him back to your place" I blurted, the alcohol was starting to make it hard to think clearly.
"You sure about that?" questioned Emily, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" I replied.
"What a crazy night, ey Nick?"
"Yeah, yeah" I replied, as the world got slowly darker, everything seemed to turn into a blur as sleep slowly took control.
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