Hi everyone, WingedKatt here. There are several songs that will be played in the chapter that you can look up on YouTube and listen to. They are "Cold" by Jorge Mendez, "Rain" by Michael Ortega, and "Broken Hearts" (Extended Orchestral Version) by Michael Ortega. I highly recommend listening to them as they set up the mood for the second half of the chapter.

Now go find out more about Nick's past and how it's shaped him into the cynical todd he is today.

….

Carrying Judy past the living room, Nick headed towards the bathroom, then entered the door directly to its right. Watching her face again, his sly grin grew bigger as he watched her eyes pop as they landed on the large exercise machine. "I know that machine is too big for you, but I do have some things here you can use."

Setting Judy down on the exercise bench, he handed her the adjustable dumbbells and the exercise band. Leaving her to ogle them, he moved to the corner and picked up the small punching bag and stuck it between the doorframe at Judy's height. Turning back to his cute, little honeybun, he said, "Ta-da! How's this for burning off some of that excess bunny energy?"

Looking up from the weights she'd already started lifting (2-pawed), Judy gasped in excitement at seeing the punching bag. Quickly setting the dumbbell down, she clapped her paws and exclaimed, "Ni-ick! This is perfect! Where'd you find it?"

"At the thrift store last night when I was picking up your clothes. I knew you couldn't sit still while your leg healed, so I asked myself, 'What would a strong Energized Bunny do to keep herself busy?'" He moved the chair from in front of his music synthesizer over to the punching bag.

"The answer, of course, was exercise. That tight, little body of yours could only be the product of intensive training. And being the bunny that you are, I knew you'd never be able to give up exercising for two or three weeks while your leg healed. Your legs might not be much use at the moment, but that doesn't mean you can't exercise your upper body, right?" With a smug grin on his face, Nick walked back over to her.

Giggling at being called the Energized Bunny, she slugged his arm lightly. "Nick, how do you do it?" she asked, her voice and expression filled with curiosity.

"Do what?" he asked as he picked her up and sat her in the chair.

Reaching out, Judy ran her paw over the faux-leather punching bag, then turned to watch Nick again. She wanted to see his expression when he gave his answer. "Think of everything. Does it come naturally, or did you train to think of everything? Not just now, but you also had everything ready for your hustles. I'm curious. Is it a fox thing? Or extensive training? And if you trained, what kind of training?"

Nick didn't answer right away as he looked over her head and scratched under his chin. Instead of brushing her off as was his habit when asked such a personal question, he wanted to give Judy an honest answer. "Well, I guess you could say I was sort of trained when I was a kid." At Judy's expectant gaze, he continued. "My dad was a tailor and made clothes for mammals of all types, though it was mostly the medium and smaller predators that would come to him—no one else would trust a fox to make their clothes."

A slight frown crossed his muzzle, but then he pushed the dark memory aside and focused on her question. "Anyway, he made expensive suits and dresses for well-to-do mammals, but he catered to mammals of the lower-class by selling his clothes much cheaper to those who were struggling to get by. He wanted them to have at least one good suit that they could wear to an interview and hopefully get a decent paying job."

Remembering the lessons his dad had taught him, he continued, "I think I was five or six at the time, and he had brought me and my twin brother to the shop to show us around." Glancing down to Judy, he explained, "He wanted to teach us the trade. He hoped we'd be able to take it over when we got older."

"But you didn't," Judy whispered, afraid she knew the answer. He was eight or nine when the Junior Ranger Scouts happened, and it was his mom who scraped up the money for his uniform.

Nick's ears flattened back and a dark, brooding look entered his emerald eyes. "I wasn't given a chance."

Judy nodded and swallowed the questions that sat on the tip of her tongue. Now obviously wasn't the time to ask about his dad. Going back to her original question, she asked, "And the lesson he taught you?"

Nick shook the depressing memories away and answered, "So he brings us into the shop and shows us all the materials he has, from the real expensive dry-clean only, to the cheap cotton fabrics. After showing us the various fabrics, he says, 'Nicholas, Demetri, when you make a suit for someone, you have to picture what colors compliment their fur. Once you've decided on a few colors, then you have to ask yourself what kind of fabrics they would look good in. But not only do you have to decide what fabrics they look good in, but what kind of fabrics will they be able to take care of. A dry-clean-only suit will be fine for someone with money, but Joe down the street won't be able to afford the cleaning bill. You need to think beyond the store, about what will happen to the suit once the mammal gets it home.'"

Judy just sat staring. Nick learned that lesson when he was five! And it stuck with him all these years! She could see how he'd taken that simple lesson and fitted it to everything he did. "Wow, Nick. That's impressive. I can see your dad's tailoring lesson really stuck."

Nick's sly smile returned, and he replied, "Of course, it's a life lesson that's served me well. Do you know how many times it helped me with my hustles?"

"Well, I'm sure it made you a step up from your average hustler." With a bright smile, she continued, "Well, I know of one person who it's helped a lot." Pointing to herself, Judy said, "Me." Nick tilted his head in question, and she explained, "Not only do I have new clothes, a place to stay, and something to keep me from going stir-crazy the next couple of weeks, but because of your analytical thinking we're both here today."

"Well, I did have this big old house just sitting here collecting dust."

Judy softly shook her head, "I'm not talking about the house." Nick raised his eyebrow in question. "I'm talking about our encounter with Bellwether. If you hadn't thought ahead to what would happen if she caught us and so switched the serum, I would be an unrecognizable piece of bloody meat right now and you'd be muzzled and in a cage."

Nick's ears disappeared behind his head and his smile vanished, to be replaced with a frown. "Carrots, there's no way I could sit back and do nothing when there was a strong possibility I'd be forced to hurt you."

"I know, Nick, that's why I'm so happy it's you I met that first day on the job." Standing up, she tried to hop one-legged over to hug him, but Nick beat her to it. As she wrapped her arms around his waist and felt his arms around her back, followed by his tail around her legs, Judy murmured into his stomach, "You're amazing, Nick." She gave a soft laugh and added, "I'll probably never hear the end of it, but you really are amazing, Slick." Rubbing her cheek into Nick's shirt and feeling his fluffy fur and hard muscles beneath, Judy sighed in contentment.

Nick felt tears sting his eyes and felt one slide down his cheek. Bunny, what are you doing to me? Nick wondered. Tightening his arms around her for a moment longer, he then reached down and picked Judy up for a real hug. Bringing her up, he buried his head in her shoulder and muttered, "You're quite amazing yourself, Carrots. You got this jaded hustler to cry."

Judy chuckled and wrapped her arms around his head. "Hmm, but you're my jaded hustler now."

Nick laughed and squeezed her tighter. "You know, this grand tour was supposed to be a happy event, not a bawl-your-eyes-out session."

Judy giggled. "You're the only one bawling, here." Rubbing her cheek against the top of his head while holding him a bit tighter, she added, "You foxes—so emotional."

Laughing again, Nick lifted his head and flashed her a real smile, his happiness unable to be contained. "Are you ready to finish the grand tour. We still have the rest of the upstairs to view and then the garage."

"Hmm, I can't wait to see what secrets you're hiding up there."

With a smile bright enough to blind him, Judy giggled, and Nick replied, "Oh, there's quite a few." With a thoughtful expression, he tilted his head slightly and said, "There's three big ones I think you'll find of interest."

Squeezing his neck slightly, Judy squealed softly. "Come on, I can't wait to see them."

Nick simply nodded, and after removing the punching bag and setting it back in the corner, he carried her out into the hall. Pointing out the hall closet directly across from the music studio/exercise room, he then pointed to the smaller door under the stairs, saying, "And that's the door to the basement."

"You have a basement, too!?" For a house in the city, Judy couldn't believe all the rooms Nick had.

"Well, it's more of a bunker, really. Remember, Honey had worked for the military and was always building and tinkering with stuff, which she did most of down in the basement. There's a large door out back, where she could bring out her larger projects."

Judy bounced in his arms and asked, "When do I get to see it?"

"In a day or two. I haven't been down there in years, so I'm sure the spiders have taken up residence by now."

A slight frown crossed her face—she hated to wait—then brightened when they topped the stairs and they turned to the right.

Nick stepped into his bedroom and said, "I'm sure you were wondering, so here's my room."

Judy looked around and saw that the log cabin theme continued in here, but then felt a little surprised there weren't dirty clothes or anything messing up the place. But then again, he did have an eye for detail and didn't seem to like a mess any more than she did. His pine-log bed was to their left and sat at the back of the room with a nightstand (that doubled as a bookshelf) to either side, and his dresser stood at the foot of the bed. It was a strange place to have a dresser, but it seemed to fit the rustic room. The large closet took up the whole opposite side of the room from the bed, covered by two pine wood doors that gave the room a nice accent.

A medium-sized window was to the right of the bed and what looked like a large window that seemed to match the one in her room. Why were there such big windows in the bedrooms? "What's that large window for?" she asked, pointing to it.

"That, my curious little bunny, will be answered in a little bit. But for now, on to the main room." Spinning around, Nick carried her back down the hall. The stairs were centrally located in the house and had a walkway to either side of it, which gave the hallway an open feeling. The pinewood railing continued the rustic theme and led towards the front of the house.

Judy blinked her eyes, trying to see what was so special about the room they entered, but with the heavy curtains blocking the windows, she couldn't make anything out.

Walking around the end of the railing, Nick set Judy down on the couch pressed up against the end railing that protected the backend of the stairwell, and then turned to open the large, sapphire-blue curtains that covered the central window. As the bright, morning light revealed the shiny, black object sitting in front of it, Judy gasped, and Nick merely grinned smugly at her.

"Nick! You have a piano! Do you play or was that Honey?"

With him radiating smugness, Nick replied, "Did Honey, the mechanical maniac, ever play the piano? No, no she did not."

Judy squealed in excitement and demanded, "Play something for me!"

Nick moved around the piano and pulled out the bench then sat down. He didn't immediately open the lid, though, but ran a few finger-pads over the slick, ebony surface. Glancing back over his shoulder, he explained, "I haven't played in years, and it was never really my thing, but my mom made sure we all knew how to play the classics."

"We . . . all?" she asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure which question might close him up again.

Nick merely nodded, then returned his gaze to the piano and ran his paw-pads back over the ebony lid. "Me, my brother, Demetri, and our older sister, Anya."

Judy was happy to hear about Nick's siblings but remained quiet as she watched Nick reminisce the past. The memories seemed to be bittersweet and she didn't want to interrupt if Nick decided to reveal more of his past.

Taking a deep breath, Nick opened the lid and plunked a single key, the sound reverberating through the silence. He hit another random key and said, "My mom was talented enough that she could've played in any orchestra she wanted to—if not for one thing." Nick hit several more keys, this time bringing out a more melancholy sound.

Judy waited for him to continue, but he just kept plunking out the same melancholy tune. Judy feared she knew the answer but asked anyway. "And that being?"

Nick gave a short, bitter bark of a laugh and glanced over at her. Wiggling his ears and then his bushy tail, he asked, "Do you really need to ask?"

Judy's ears dropped to her back and she whispered, "Because she was fox." It was a sad statement, and she felt her heart break for her fox and his mother. No matter what they tried, society just beat them down, never giving them a chance. What's worse, she treated Nick no differently when they first met.

"All because she was a filthy, lying fox." The last word came out as a sneer. "They even told her as much."

At Judy's questioning gaze, he explained, "My mom went to every concert hosted by the big orchestra companies looking to recruit new members. They all met with her after her performances, sang praises to her music, and congratulated her on how she was able to bring out the heart and soul of each piece, but each one said that, due to her species, they couldn't accept her as a member of their respective orchestras. They didn't want to tarnish their image by taking in a fox."

Turning back to the ebony and ivory before him, Nick lifted his other paw and placed his fingers on the keys, then played a nameless tune while he refamiliarized himself with the ebony and ivory keys. Once sure he wouldn't be making any monumental mistakes, he began playing "Cold". It was a song he'd found on EweTube that really resonated with him. Closing his eyes as the music washed over him, he whispered, "She doesn't play anymore."

Judy sucked in a breath. He said it with such finality that she feared his mother was no longer around. "Is she . . . did she . . . ?"

Nick glanced sideways and met her gaze with a wry smile, his nimble fingers never missing a key. "Is she dead?" At Judy's pained nod, he shook his head. "No, fortunately, but it was really close there for a while."

Judy tilted her head, wanting so much to ask what happened but afraid it'd be too much for him. And as the sad song continued to play, the notes hanging in the air and filling the house with their somber tune, she felt her heart break all over again.

Nick met Judy's watery gaze for a moment longer, then turned his attention back to the piano. He knew she wanted to hear the story but was holding back her question out of respect for him. Thinking about her made his heart swell with warmth. Judy wasn't known for her patience. She didn't like to wait, she didn't like to be held back, and she didn't like not knowing—and yet for him, she would. She would wait however long it took for him to talk. A small smile found its way onto his face.

As he continued playing, he closed his eyes and thought back to when he was a teen. "I left home shortly after my 12th birthday." His words were laced with pain, but he continued. "Let's just say that birthday was, and is, the worst one of my life." The last note of the song hung in the air for a moment, and then he began playing "Rain," another EweTube song he found.

"My mom could hardly pay the rent and utilities without having a third mouth to feed, so I ran away. I didn't want to be a burden and that house now had way too many memories—I was having vivid nightmares just about every night and would wakeup gasping and trembling." He took a deep breath and pushed the memories back down as he focused on the pertinent ones. "Living on the streets was hard. I never knew where my next meal was coming from and most nights I went to bed hungry—and cold."

Thinking about his statement to Judy at their third meeting, he barked out a laugh and said over his shoulder, "I hope you didn't honestly believe me when I said that I made $200 a day since I was 12, 'cause that was a bald-faced lie." Not hearing a witty response in reply, he glanced over at her. His fingers froze on the piano keys as he met her beautiful amethyst pools. She was crying, the tracks of her tears leaving dark streaks down her furry cheeks and soaking her shirt. His ears dropped back flat against his head. He should've known better. Standing up, he walked over and crouched down in front of her, the salty scent of her tears hitting him in the face and causing his nose to twitch briefly.

"Ni-ick!" she sobbed while wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Burying her face in the scruffy fur of his throat, another sob wracked her small body.

Nick wrapped his arms around her and began petting her ears with one paw and softly rubbing her back with the other. She continued sobbing into his neck, soaking his fur, but he didn't mind. After several moments, he murmured softly. "You know it gets worse before it gets better, right?"

She nodded into his fur but didn't say anything. From his words, she knew he'd lost his twin just before or on his 12th birthday, and then to be forced to live off the street because his mom couldn't make enough to feed him—that no one was willing to pay her what she was worth all because she was born the wrong species! It was wrong! So, so wrong! No kit should be forced on the street just because of his species. With another whimper, she squeezed him tighter.

"Do you want me to continue?" At her nod, he picked her up.

She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and completely ignored the pain that shot through her leg at the unfair treatment.

Nick carried her back to the piano, saying, "I don't think I can finish if I'm not playing." Another nod as he sat down, but she refused to loosen her hold so he could set her on the bench beside him. "You're going to cling to me while I play?"

"Yes," she breathed into his neck, then clarified, "You can play with your eyes closed so why can't you play with me in your lap?"

With a soft laugh, he wrapped his tail around her and began playing "Broken Hearts". "So where was I? Oh, right," he said as his fingers continued dancing across the keys and evoking the sad notes. "I lived alone on the streets, cold and hungry, for about ten months, I think. It was shortly before my 13th birthday when I met Honey and she took me in."

He paused at the bitter memory. "If she hadn't come along when she did, if she'd been 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later, or if she had just ignored the violence taking place down the alley, I would have been a dead fox kit lying in the gutter, another statistic of street violence and another cold case file—if anyone even bothered to report my death." He paused for a heartbeat, then added bitterly, "Which being a homeless fox kit, wasn't likely."

At his silence, the piano music the only sound heard, she asked, "What . . . why . . ." She took a deep breath, and finished, "Did a . . . hustle go wrong?"

Nick shook his head. "It was late in the evening and I was simply trying to find the least cold section of the alleyway to curl up and sleep for the night while wondering if I'd make enough to eat the next day."

Judy waited for him to continue, but when he remained silent, she pushed herself back a little so she could look at him, her brows scrunched up, puzzled. "So why . . . ?"

Nick let out another bitter laugh. "Because I was a fox. Because they didn't like my smell. Because they didn't like the way I dressed. They said my fur was a hideous color and needed more red in it."

"No!" Judy cried, then pressed her nose against the surprised fox's. "You don't smell! And I love your fur color."

Nick's fingers froze on the piano keys, then his ears perked up and his eyes widened, before laughing a happy laugh. "Well, I'm glad to know you like my smell. Most mammals don't like fox musk."

Judy tilted her head sideways in thought, then said, "Well, I didn't particularly like it when we first met, and I can't say I'm fond of any other fox's scent, but I really like your smell now." With a bright smile, she added, "I guess you could say it's grown on me."

….

WingedKatt here. So we're finally getting to see Nick's backstory. There's tragedy, but also some warmth and light to offset some of the darkness, with Judy quickly becoming the brightest ray of sunshine in his life. As more of his past is revealed, how will Judy take it and what does his past mean for their future?