A/N: Hey guys! I'm glad to finally get you the third chapter of Pieces! A lot goes on, and you'll finally understand why I created Tanya's character. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll let you read and definitely don't forget to let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Nick rode quietly in the smaller elevator designed to carry passengers no larger than a wolf. His apartment being on the thirteenth floor made the ride last longer than most, giving him a little more time to think about what he was going to say to Tanya when he met her in the lobby.

Of course, he was going to apologize to her. He knew that he wouldn't want to get ditched at a bar. He may have been incredibly intoxicated and didn't know what he was doing, but that didn't mean he didn't have anything to apologize for. His lack of self-control was the real reason that happened.

He also knew that he was going to explain what happened after they left. According to him, he took Judy home and then went to his apartment and went to bed.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

While it was a blatant lie, it was necessary if he wanted to keep things the way he and Judy wanted them for the time being. Despite his past, Nick didn't really like lying all that much anymore. He preferred the honest and truthful lifestyle over the life of a common street hustler.

Nick felt his body pushed slightly into the floor as the elevator slowed to a stop at the ground level where the lobby was located. A delicate and high-pitched ding emanated from a speaker near the ceiling and the door slid open, allowing Nick to walk out, and a few others to get in. Nick looked about the lobby and found Tanya leaning against the wall, holding today's paper under her arm and tapping her foot as she waited, apparently a little impatient. The cat looked up from the floor and caught sight of the fox.

And she did not look happy to see him.

Nick instantly noticed how she gave him the most fleeting glimpse of her sharp fangs and how her eyes remained narrowed at him as the two gradually became closer and closer each passing second. Nick's ears twitched nervously while Tanya's twitched angrily, her slightly hunched over figure looking as though she were ready to attack. As the two were within a reasonable distance, Nick tried his best to address her.

"Look, Tanya. I know that I-"

THUMP!

Nick's paw shot up to the top of his head where the caracal's rolled up newspaper had just hit with incredible force. When Nick looked back up at her, her features had softened up a bit. Apparently hitting Nick was satisfying for her and allowed her to release a bit of anger.

"You know that you're an ass-face?" the caracal said a little too loudly, right as a donkey in a three-piece suit walked by, giving her the stink eye. As he passed, she looked back at him and mouthed sorry.

"Yes, I was a complete idiot. We left you at Miranda's. But in my defense, I was about as drunk as I've ever been. There was no telling what I was going to do last night." Nick defended. Tanya's shoulders slumped a little bit, knowing that was the truth of the matter.

"I know. It probably couldn't be helped, but…" the caracal suddenly got even more vexed than before.

"You're still a moron!" she yelled, swatting at Nick several times with her newspaper. Nick held up his arms to prevent his face from being bludgeoned and yelled at her to stop the assault.

"Alright, enough! I get it! I was stupid, and I'm sorry about that, ok?" Tanya stopped hitting Nick with her paper and looked at him with a slightly guilty expression. "I let you hit me. Feel better now?" The fox asked. There was a moment of hesitation before Tanya gave him one last albeit weak swat on top of his head for good measure.

"Yes. I feel better, and I forgive you, alright. We good?"

Nick looked Tanya in her golden eyes and they both extended their paws at the same time, meeting in between the two for a firm pawshake.

"We're good, Kasten," Nick said cooly. He let go of the pawshake and very nearly started turning around.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to in my apartment," The fox started walking away, but Tanya quickly grabbed the collar of his shirt, preventing him from walking any further and choking him at the same time.

"I don't think so, fox-trot. You're not getting off the hook that easily. It just so happens that I haven't eaten anything yet today and I'm quite famished. We're getting something to eat so that you can tell me all about the night you had, and then you can be on your merry way. Sound good?" the caracal said as she got menacingly close to Nick's ears, still having his collar and cutting off his airways. When the only response she got was his struggle to get air, she tightened her grasp.

"Sound good?!" she threatened. The fox nodded up and down in a quick manner, eager to get oxygen back to his lungs. Tanya let go of Nick's collar and the fox inhaled deeply and quickly to catch his breath, leaning over and putting his paws on his knees. Tanya began walking towards the doors to Nick's building.

"Can't I at least go up to my apartment to grab my wallet?" Nick asked. The only reason that he wanted to go up to his apartment was to tell Judy was what happening and that she needed to leave, but he wasn't going to get the chance.

"Nope. I'll pay. You just follow me or I'll be more than happy to hit you again."

Not good… Nick thought. Judy was going to be wondering what was taking him so long, and he was just going to have to wait until he had a good chance to text her what was currently happening to him. Just as Nick was about to take off towards the elevator he felt Tanya's rather large paws grab him by the back of his shirt and began pulling him farther away from his intended destination.

The caracal and fox walked in utter silence to the cafe just down the street, Nick with an angry frown upon his face as he was towed along against his will. Tanya seemed none the wiser to how Nick was acting, and he noticed how she seemed to completely ignore his discomfort with the situation. The two entered the small street-corner cafe, which at the moment was rather deserted save for an otter couple that sat together near one of the few windows.

Tanya led Nick to a table and she sat down, but Nick did not. He looked around for a second before turning to Tanya.

"I've gotta go to the bathroom really quick… I'll be back in-"

"Just go. Spare me the details," Tanya said while waving him off. Nick quickly took off towards the restroom. Walking inside the echoey room, Nick shut the door behind him and locked it, making sure that no one else would come in while he was there. Nick stopped leaning on the door and pulled out his phone, briskly dialing Judy's number. He listened and only a second later she picked up.

"Nick!? What the heck is going on!? I thought you would be back in five minutes!"

"Ok, I know I said that, but Tanya sorta kidnapped me," Nick said. He could hear Judy sigh on the other end before she spoke once more.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She dragged me to that cafe just down the street from my apartment so that we could talk about last night. You should probably leave now while you have the chance. There's a spare key underneath the doormat-"

"Nick, what are you-"

"Just listen to me. Now is the best chance you will have without being seen by Tanya, or with me. Go now. The subway is four blocks north of my place." Nick said hastily and in a hushed voice. Judy hesitated, apparently a bit uneasy about sneaking out of Nick's apartment.

"Alright. Is Tanya upset about last night?"

"Yeah, and rightfully so. But she's not as bad as I thought. Give her the weekend to fully cool off and she'll be back to normal by Monday. Now, I gotta go. I've already been away from her too long. She's gonna be wondering what took me so long in the bathroom," Nick said. He could hear Judy laugh over the phone.

"Ok, Slick. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah,"

Nick wasn't sure what possessed him to say his next words. He hadn't even given it an ounce of thought; they just came out of his mouth as easily as any other words.

"I love you,"

The brief moment of hesitation that stood between the two over the phone was enough to make Nick think he had just screwed up big-time. Judy's affectionate voice brought all of his confidence back in one simple phrase that he was overjoyed to hear.

"I love you, too, Nick. Bye bye!"

And then she hung up, not giving him the chance to respond. As he lowered the phone from his ear, a smile slowly crept its way onto Nick's muzzle. It finally felt good for him to say those three words to someone that he really, truly did love. It was just so unfortunate that he had to love someone of an entirely different species. And to most, that was how it would seem.

Unfortunate.

But Nick saw it a different way. He saw it as a new opportunity to try something that had never been done before, and possibly open the road to more animals embracing their true feelings. If he could be a part of the beginning for interspecies couples all over the city, or even all over the world, to be a beacon of hope for them, it would possibly be the greatest feeling in the world.

Ever since he became a police officer, he started to share Judy's dream of making the world a better place. If this was the beginning of a new era, Nick was more than happy to be the catalyst and make the world a better place for those like him and Judy.

Nick replaced his phone back in his pocket and walked out of the restroom, meandering back to the table where Tanya was patiently waiting, already having received two glasses of water for the two of them. She was looking over the excellent selection that the cafe had to offer for breakfast items, her eyes wandering over the whole menu, but consistently moving back towards an omelet loaded with peppers, onions, and cheese. Nick sat down without saying a word and Tanya simply watched the fox pick up his menu and begin searching. She looked him over, instantly noticing that he was acting differently.

Before, he was grumpy having been dragged along by her. Now he seemed happy and content with his current situation. Deciding not to press the issue, she went back to the menu and concluded that she would be ordering the omelet.

When the waiter came back to the table, Tanya ordered the omelet and Nick ordered a plate of waffles with a side of hash browns.

As the two waited for their food to arrive, they did not speak to each other. They just awkwardly sat, every once in awhile taking a sip from their water. Nick knew that Tanya wanted to talk to Nick about last night, but he saw no reason why that couldn't have been done in the lobby of his apartment building. There was another reason that she brought him here.

"Something tells me that there is a reason you dragged me to this place. Am I right or am I right?" Nick said. Tanya wasn't going to lie to Nick. She did have something that she wanted to do.

"You're right. I just wanted to talk to you about last night."

"That's it?" Nick asked.

"That's it," Tanya replied.

"Go on."

"Well, I suppose our first order of business is whether you remember anything or not," the caracal said.

"It's all pretty fuzzy. But after a certain point I've got nothing," Nick replied.

"Well, start with us getting to Miranda's and go from there. I want to know everything that you remember so that I can fill you in." Nick rubbed his chin as he recollected the previous night.

"Well, we arrived at Miranda's. You and Judy grabbed our usual booth. Judy went to get us drinks and came back with three scotch and sodas. She had too many. I had too many. We engaged in very inebriated conversation, which I imagine was quite interesting,"

"It was about the funniest thing I've ever seen," Tanya added. The next part of Nick's recollection was a complete and blatant lie.

"And that's it. I don't remember anything after that."

"So you don't remember me going off to the bathroom, leaving you two alone which was probably a mistake due to what I found when I got back."

"Please fill me in," Nick said, knowing very well what she was going to say.

"You two had left. I got back to the booth, expecting to find a fox and a bunny either still enjoying your conversation if you could even call it that…"

The next part of what Tanya had to say was perhaps Nick's worst nightmare.

"...or sucking face with each other. You were so drunk I was half expecting the latter," Tanya said, looking at Nick with a look that said, 'I'm on to you, fox.'

Nick tried his best to remain calm, but he could feel a slight blush begin to form on his cheeks, the heat from the blood rushing to his face causing him to feel uncomfortable. He wiggled in his seat as he made a poor attempt to laugh and have it sound genuine.

"That's h-hilarious. It would have just been too weird if that was the case… which is totally not the case…" Nick said, mumbling the last part of his sentence. The fox cursed internally at his terrible execution. Sure, he was out of the hustling game, but it had only been a year since he stopped. He didn't expect his mask to have been worn down so much that he broke so easily when under pressure.

Tanya noticed how nervous Nick got when she said that. She was beginning to think that her skepticisms were true. She needed to play things right if she wanted to get more out of Nick.

"I know, right? I mean, imagine if you two went home together! That would just be weird, wouldn't it?"

This time Nick managed to regain most of his composure, but he knew that the damage had already been done.

"Yeah, that would have been. I guess it will all just be something that could have happened but never did. Although I think that last night is going to be something that we look back on in twenty or so years and laugh at-"

"Oh just shut it, foxy. You really think I don't know what happened last night?" Tanya said, standing up, putting her paws on the table, leaning towards Nick and getting in his face. Nick was so taken aback by the sudden aggression that all he could do was gulp.

"It's pretty obvious, really. You two both leave while I was in the bathroom. Where do I instantly think you would have gone? One of your apartments, that's for sure! And with you two being so drunk, it's even more obvious what happened once you got to said apartment! And now you're just trying to play this off as if nothing happened and we all are going to live life like we used to. Not on my watch! And what do you think I'm going to say about it?"

Nick was leaning back in his chair farther than he would have liked, but Tanya continued to get even closer to Nick's muzzle with each interjection, causing him to move farther away from her. This led to his chair being on the back two legs, only a few more inches of movement from him falling backward. Nick held up a paw with one finger pointed upwards, but he was interrupted before he could get his first word out.

"I'm so happy for you guys!"

"What…? Ahhh!" Nick screamed as his chair finally reached the literal tipping point and he fell backward onto the floor of the empty cafe. Tanya's paws shot up to her mouth to cover her half-gasp, half-laugh as she walked around the table to help Nick off the floor. She grabbed his paw and pulled him up, Nick brushing himself off.

"So, what do you mean you're happy for us?" Nick asked. Even though Tanya had pretty much gotten the rest of last night's events exactly right, Nick still had to try and play it the way that he wanted it.

"Oh, quit trying to deny it, Nick. I know that you hooked up with Judy last night. I've been rooting for you two secretly ever since you joined Precinct One, and now you're finally a thing! It's so exciting!"

The caracal bounced up and down with joy, bringing a smile to Nick's lips. But one thing took that smile away from him in a heartbeat. Judy wanted their relationship to be a secret between the two of them.

It no longer was.

But the more Nick thought about it, the more he thought this was a good idea that Tanya knew. She wanted them to be together, so it would make sense that she wouldn't do anything to split them apart.

"Ok, fine. Yes, we're are a thing now. But…" Nick said, holding up a finger to stop the cat from getting any more excited. "... you have to keep this a secret. We decided this morning that we didn't want anyone to know besides me and her. You have to promise not to tell anyone or try and hint to others. If it were to get spread around the precinct, Bogo would definitely find out and we would get separated. I don't want that, Judy doesn't want that, and I know you wouldn't want that, either."

"You don't need to convince me. I wasn't going to say anything to anyone. Your secret's safe with me," Tanya said, placing her paw on Nick's shoulder and then surprising the fox by pulling him into a hug. Rather than the gesture being awkward, Nick felt that it was appropriate and gave into it willingly. After a few seconds, the two separated, Nick looked at Tanya with a little bit of concern in his eyes.

"Ya know, I don't really know what to do from here. I'm excited that we're finally together, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't really know how to act. If at all possible, I want to shield Judy from any hate directed towards us. She told me that she was prepared to take it, but I don't really think she understands what's at stake, here."

"You want her to be as happy as she would be on any normal day."

"Exactly. I mean, it would break my heart if she got upset over something like that. If there's one thing I definitely don't want to do, that would be making her upset."

Nick could be annoying at some times, and according to Judy, saying he was annoying was an understatement. Though his picking on her was all in good fun and part of his charm, he never had the nerve to actually upset her. In the year that he'd known her, he had never truly angered her, minus, of course, the first couple days that they knew of each other's existence where he was fairly positive he managed to get to her.

And since then, Nick had become completely different. Thanks to Judy, he was quite a bit softer than before because she showed him how to care for others again. Years ago, Nick was rather harsh in his words, something that was required of him due to his means of making money. There was no room for true emotions when he was hustling someone. Nowadays he would be considered so out of practice that he would never truly be able to be like he once was.

And that was just fine with him.

Tanya smiled at Nick.

"She's lucky, ya know that? I think I know why she fell in love with you. You're all about her. You don't want her to get hurt. It seems like you could care less about what happens to you.

"Well, I've seen how cruel the world can be, so I know what to expect. She's still so oblivious to the real world. A part of me feels bad for her, but the more rational part just wants to help her figure things out."

"But do you really think that seeing the terrors the world can produce will help her?" Nick looked down at the table and sighed.

"Honestly, I have no idea. It sounds terrible to do that, but I think I need to. She needs to know that the world isn't nearly as wonderful as she sees it, but at the same time, her vision is so idealistic that it makes me feel better about what happened in my own past, the things that led me to hate and despise the very planet that gives life to us all," Nick said. There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them before snickering erupted from Tanya. A harsh frown made it's way to Nick's muzzle as he crossed his arms in disgust.

"What's so funny?" he said tersely. Tanya spoke after finally regaining composure.

"I'm sorry, Nick. What you said was wonderful, but about as cheesy as it comes. But a word of advice, don't try and control every aspect of your relationship with Judy. There are things that you can control, and things that you can't. The way people react to you two is one of those uncontrollable aspects. Let them do what they do, and you two can figure things out from there. It's how I and my fiance have been together for so long without any major hiccups."

"Wait, you're getting married? Since when?" Nick asked.

"In a few months. You should be getting an RSVP in the mail pretty soon. Make sure you check that you're bringing a guest," Tanya said with a wink. The two laughed a little for a few seconds before silence fell over them. Nick was the one that broke the silence.

"So… you think we should take things as they come?"

Tanya shook her head up and down.

"I guess that would be smart. I really don't want to screw this up. It would make things quite awkward the next time we saw each other at work," Nick said, his paw finding its way to the back of his neck.

"Yeah, and one more thing," Nick removed his paw from the back of his neck and looked intently at Tanya. "I like Judy a lot. If I find out that you broke her heart, I will find you and bring about a thousand years of pain and sorrow to you and all of your potential offspring."

Just as Tanya finished threatening Nick, the waiter came by with their food, the smell of which caused both of them to lose focus on their conversation and begin devouring the delicious breakfast that the cafe provided.

Within a short amount of time, both the fox and caracal had finished their meals, very satisfied and with no room for any more. Nick, however, walked over to a large display case, showing off several desserts and pastries and picked out half of a blueberry pie for later. Since Nick was unable to pay due to the absence of his wallet, he told Tanya that he would be refunding her generosity fully on Monday. She made sure that he knew she would not accept anything from him, but Nick still insisted that he pay her for the surprise breakfast.

Nick and Tanya parted ways, the caracal back to her apartment, and Nick the short distance back to his own and with his pie in tow. By the time Nick began his journey back everything seemed a little bit brighter than it should have. The sun was shining wondrously, it's heat beating down on Nick and warming his fur. It was still a little bit cool outside, but feeling the summer sun on his fur was just the thing he needed to bring his natural smile to his face.

Walking back inside his apartment, Nick went straight towards the elevator. He waited for a few seconds, idly whistling a song until the door opened up, revealing a completely empty elevator. He got in and pressed the button for his floor and rode up to his apartment alone.

A ding sounded and the elevator opened back up, allowing for Nick to get out and walk down the hall a short distance to his apartment. Nick reached into his pocket for his keys, pulled them out and unlocked his door. He opened it up and found something slightly upsetting about the state of his home. The television was still on as well as several of the lights. There was a bowl of cereal on the end table next to his couch, still filled partially with milk and corn flakes. But there was one detail that he did not see until he had already been inside for more than a minute.

A pair of gray, furry ears sticking up over the back of the couch.

And just as he was about to speak, Judy turned around and looked over the back of the couch, smiled brightly and ran over to him.

"You're back!" Judy exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Nick's abdomen. The fox lifted his arms up a little and looked down upon the rabbit, taken aback by her presence.

"Yes, I'm back. This is my apartment. May I ask what you're still doing here?"

Judy let go of Nick and looked him straight in the eye.

"Is it bad that I'm still here? Because I would have thought that you'd be happy to see me." Judy said, cocking her hip to one side. Nick gulped as he walked over to the counter to set his pie down.

"Believe me, Carrots. I'm happy that you're still here. I'm just a little bit confused is all. I figured after our phone conversation you would have left."

"Well, forgive me for wanting to spend more time with you," Judy said, getting extra close to Nick and letting her paws explore his torso. "I figured you would want to do the same," she said in a rather flirtatious tone. Nick smiled as he looked down at Judy. In one swift motion, he lifted her up, causing Judy to let out a squeak of excitement. She wrapped her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck. They were eye to eye, enjoying the sights before them when Nick moved closer. His eyes closed as Judy's did and they came together for a passionate kiss.

Nick felt all of the furs on his body stand on end as a wave of dopamine flooded his veins. Before they got too carried away, Nick moved away from the kiss, mouth still open slightly and eyes still closed. Judy's nose found Nick's chest and she buried her face in the little bit of fur that was exposed, taking in his scent and getting into a rather comfortable position. It was soon after that the rabbit let out a tiny yawn.

"I could fall asleep right here," she said in a hushed voice. Nick did not respond, but he walked over to the couch where he lay down, holding the love of his life in his arms. He rubbed her back in soft, linear motions, causing Judy to hum in satisfaction. Little did Nick know, his actions were slowly rocking the rabbit to sleep, and his full stomach had the same effect on him. In a matter of minutes, the two of them were both sound asleep, and both of them knew they would rather be with no one else.

A/N: See? I told you she was going to have an important role. She is the one mammal that was actually rooting for them, which should hopefully encourage Nick and Judy to be a little more open about their relationship than they originally planned.

But next chapter is going to be interesting. Did anyone notice that Nick never got the chance to tell Judy about what happened? I wonder how Judy will react?

As always, I really want to hear your thoughts on the story. I put a lot of hard work into this, and one of the reasons that I put my work out there is to make sure that I'm getting better. I can't know for sure unless you tell me how I'm doing. It would be a dream of mine to some day publish a novel, so this is the first step towards that dream of mine. Help me achieve that dream and leave a review!

Of course, thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to follow and favorite if you already haven't, and I'll see you next chapter!

Cheers!

-Ande

PS: Also, I am starting to work on a pretty big project. I am co-authoring for a story, one that I read and really enjoyed as just an ordinary reader. I got to know the author quite well and he asked me to help him finish it since he is unable to do so by himself. I won't tell you what it is, but I'm sure you've heard of it and you'll find out when its next chapter comes out, hopefully, pretty soon.

That being said, I'm currently trying to juggle three stories, school, and work. I'm very busy, and I can thank God that Powerlifting is not in season right now, otherwise, I'd be taking a break from writing for a little while. Obviously, At A Moment's Notice is almost over and I only have a couple chapters left to get out to you. When that happens things will clear up a little and I'll be able to work more on the co-author and Pieces. But for now, updates are probably going to be less frequent. Don't think this means there will be nothing for months at a time, though. It will still be around two weeks per update, but expect some to be even longer, more like three weeks, tops.