"The Bouquet"

In the hours that followed, the city's skyline had become hidden behind dark, grey clouds that hung over the skyscrapers like a large sheet of cloth. The afternoon sun had disappeared, leaving dark, damp shadows on the world below. Heavy rains followed soon afterwards, drenching those who were unlucky enough to have been outside. One of those people happened to be Nick, who had been standing in front of Otterton's Flower Shop for the past fifteen minutes, being that the line stretched out the front door. He had found an emergency umbrella in his ZPD backpack, thankfully, so for the moment he was quite comfortable.

Despite the popular opinion of most mammals finding the rain annoying, Nick actually enjoyed it. To him, it was a refreshing cleanse for the world of filth that had been laid out before him. The sounds of rain hitting his apartment rooftop and of echoing thunder could put him to sleep in minutes. He shivered as the cool air brushed over the exposed parts of his body. As he staredd blankly at the jaguar in front of him in the line, he found himself unusually quiet and calm. Wondering why he felt this way, he turned his gaze to the cars which dragged trails of mist along the street. He then turned to the people behind him in the line, observing similarly placid expressions on them. No one was trying to hustle him. No one was judging him. No one was coming after him. No one had even bothered to look at him.

And for the first time, he felt accepted by the world.

As droplets of rain fell off the points of his black umbrella, he stepped inside, feeling the heat of the building's climate warm his fur. The store was pleasantly laid out, with small lights shining on specialty items that sat on wooden shelves to the left and right, and bouquets upon bouquets behind the small desk at the front. When the small otter behind the desk saw Nick approaching, he ran out from behind, abandoning a customer, and ran into Nick's torso, giving him a warm hug.

"Nicholas! My friend, how are you?"

Nick chuckled, smiling down at the otter. "I'm great Emmitt, thank you. Just looking to get something for Judy."

Emmitt paused for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "I have just the thing!" he said, scurrying towards one of the back shelves and plowing his paws into the bunches of flowers. Nick followed curiously, trying to see what he was grabbing, but his body blocked the view. Finally, he resurfaced, carrying a gorgeous set of twelve, gorgeous, lavender-shaded tulips.

Nick's eyes widened as he gently touched one of the delicate petals. "Beautiful. The same color of her eyes."

"They are nice, yes."

"How much I owe you?"

"Nothing. Consider it an apology gift for when my oldest son smacked you across the face with that soccerball."

Nick glanced at the flowers for a moment, looking a bit dazed. "I hope she'll like them."

"Worry not, my dear Nicholas. I know she will."

Nick thanked the otter and bid him farewell as he walked out the door with Judy's gift, returning back into the cold, wet city that beckoned him to the warmth of her side.


Authors Note - I hope you guys enjoyed this little piece! I wanted to get part of the story from Nick's perspective before we (hopp) back to Judy's POV. I was inspired to write this by some of the photos in the "Art of Zootopia" book which I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed the movie or just likes art in general. I hope you understood the vivid scenery that I was trying to paint, especially regarding the weather. Thanks for all the support I've been getting on this story - it's definitely not ending anytime soon! Stay on the look out for the next chapter!

-CreativeBreath