Nick stood at the corner of the street under an awning, looking at and listening to the pouring rain in the streets of Savanna Central. He and Judy were interviewing various shop owners on the block about some armed robberies that had taken place, and Nick was done with his allotted stores and was going to go meet up with Judy, but the rain made him pause. Not that he minded getting wet, but he had just gotten his uniform cleaned. He figured Judy would come and find him when she was done.

Another fox hurried under the awning, holding his hand protectively over his hat. He had a nice suit on.

"Come to get some shelter from the..." Nick paused as he saw the other fox's face. It was a face he recognized. "...Rain?" Nick's face slowly twisted from shock to disgust. The other fox merely looked surprised.

"Ah, hello, Nick," the other fox said, wiping off his clothes.

"...Don't act like you know me," Nick said coldly.

"Right," the fox nodded. "We're just two foxes sharing an awning to take cover from the rain..."

There was a full minute of silence, except for the dull constant shriek of the downpour.

"You have a lot of nerve to come back to Zootopia, John," Nick sucked at his teeth, folded his arms, and looked away from the well-dressed fox.

"I just go where the business takes me," John said calmly.

"Oh, I know that," Nick said in a dark tone, continuing to refuse to look at him. "One of my first memories is mom crying her eyes out on the day you left. I was only five."

"Your mother and I..." John sighed. "We had different ideas on what we wanted out of life. My priority was always following my dream to start a chain of tailors. I tried to make her understand that. But she wanted a family, and she wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Like having a family is so bad," Nick's teeth grit in anger. "You couldn't settle for toning back your ambitions to be there for her? For me?"

John sighed, taking off his hat and shaking some rain free of it. "I had an opportunity I had to take. Listen, any animal can eat, sleep, and breed. But we won't be remembered for that. I had a chance to start a legacy. Long after I'm gone, Fox Tails Tailors will remain."

"Yeah, but they sure won't be remembering you," Nick looked at him with a hateful sneer. "They say the clothes make the mammal, but I don't see one in there. Just a shell."

"You're so harsh, Nick," John exhaled slowly. "I told her over and over I didn't want kits. She's such a traditional vixen, you know; wanted to be a homemaker; have three or four kits. It's just not how things go these days."

"Uh huh, but here I am anyway," Nick made a flippant gesture. "And thanks to you, I grew up with no father."

"She never remarried?" John seemed surprised.

"No, I think she had a vain hope of you coming back," Nick sneered directly at him. "Not that it seems like you were worth that hope."

"We were adults, and we consented to disagree with our arrangements," John said. "At least, that's what she told me when we agreed to separate."

"Looks like she didn't let you know quite how much her marriage vows meant to her," Nick shook his head and looked away from him again.

"Marriage vows? Really, Nick?" John sucked at his teeth. "Marriage is a joke, a formality. A party for females to make themselves feel pretty. You know what a pittance it takes to get an annulment?"

"It's not... it's not about the money," Nick put a few fingertips on his forehead. "It's about principles!"

"So, you think I should have stayed in an unhappy marriage where I disagreed with my mate?" John folded his arms. "You think I should have stifled my own dreams because of her desires?"

"Maybe you should have cared about something more than clothes!" Nick growled openly at him. "But since you appear to, look at me! Look at what I'm wearing!" He indicated his uniform. "I found something to truly believe in, to really give myself to." He huffed a bit, his heart accelerating. He almost said "someone".

"Yes, you appear to be a police officer," John said plainly. "Noble, I suppose. You'd like to lord your virtues over mine, then, I guess."

"What do you have, John?" Nick snapped. "Money? A few vixens that'll sleep with you on the side because of that? I have loyalty to my city and to my department. I have mammals that trust me. Me! A fox! And when I'm gone, people'll know me as ZPD's first fox officer. And what'll you be!?" Nick dismissively swept his hand at John. "Some fox who had a clothing chain."

"So, you're proud of who you are, then?" John said, his expression continuing to be even.

"You bet I am!" Nick thrust his thumb into his chest. "I'm somebody to someone! I serve this city!"

"Well, you got there without my help, then," John shrugged.

Nick paused in surprise at this audacious statement. His jaw dropped a little. "You're unbelievable."

John put his hands into his pockets. "If you became this way just to spite me and my failings as a father, then mission accomplished, I suppose. Well done, noble fox."

"Don't you dare mock me," Nick sneered, the top of his muzzle curling back a bit. "You're nothing to me."

"And what if I was something?" John made a flippant gesture with one hand. "If I was something to you, how'd you turn out then? Maybe you wouldn't be this sterling fox before me, huh?"

"Or, maybe I wouldn't have spent two decades hating Zootopia and everything in it!" Nick clenched his fists at his sides.

"...Tell your mother to find someone else, Nick," John said. "Her misplaced faithfulness to someone like me shouldn't be worth her continued misery."

"She can do what she wants," Nick huffed. "As far as I'm concerned, this conversation never happened. We're just two foxes sharing an awning to take cover from the rain."

"I suppose we are," John said, and silence fell again.

Judy's cruiser drove up to the corner, and the rabbit flung the door open.

"Nick! Finally found you!" Judy said cheerfully. "C'mon! Sorry I took so long; the store clerk just down the road is from Bunnyburrow, and I know her! Pretty big coincidence, right?"

"Yeah, pretty big," Nick agreed, rushing out into the car and shooting a final, cold look to the other fox.

Judy leaned over and her expression brightened. "Hey! That other fox looks just like you! And since you know everyone, I bet you know him, right?"

"No, I don't know him," Nick stated curtly, slamming his car door and staring straight ahead with a blank expression. Judy read a small bit of anger and hurt from his voice. She slowly nodded, shifting the car into gear.

"You don't know him," Judy quietly agreed, her cheerful expression melting as she drove off into the distance with Nick.