Tension turns to Forgiveness

In the middle of the day, a police officer is minding his business as he looks over some stuff on his phone. He has short brown hair and white skin and green eyes behind his sunglasses. This is Officer Zack Harloff. He looks to his right to see his partner trying to get a burrito. His partner though isn't a human, he's actually the first ever Orc police officer in the United States, Nick Jakoby.

When Zack was assigned to be his partner, he actually didn't mind unlike other police officers who are still hateful towards Orcs for what happened long ago. Zack and Nick so far have gotten along rather well.

"Hey, Zack." Nick said in his semi deep voice to grab Zack's attention. Zack turns his head to see Nick with a burrito in his hand since he bought it for Zack. He nods in return and Nick walks back.

But just as Zack put his phone in his pocket, he heard what sounded like a shotgun cocking and so he turned his head towards where the sound came from and saw an Orc with a hood on pointing his shotgun at him.

Then the Orc took the shot and Zack was flung back on the road and Nick got into action to try and take the shooter down.

Zack then wakes up, gasping for air as he's drenched in sweat. He was dreaming. And he's been having this dream for the past week since that incident. He looks to his left to see his wife, Zoe Ugrill asleep on her side, facing away from him.

His wife isn't a human though, she's actually an Orc. Their marriage was heavily covered on the news and the public response is mixed to positive. There are some humans and Orcs that feel it should never have happened, mainly because they still hold grudges from what happened 2,000 years ago. But everyone else accepted it and congratulated the couple for pushing forward the relationship between the races.

The two met when Zack was off duty and strolled into a bar that was acceptable of Orcs and humans. He saw her sitting next to him and they decided to talk to each other and that was the start of their relationship together. Since they're married, the Orc Clan she came from has allowed him to seek comfort in them since they aren't looking for dominance and instead just keep going, looking out for their own.

She stirs in her sleep and moans as she wakes up. She turns her head and blinks rapidly seeing her husband wide awake.

"Hey, hun. You okay?" She asked him groggily.

"Had the same dream again. I just wished it stopped." He told her as he leaned towards her and kissed her on the lips. Her lower canines weren't as big as other Orcs which makes kissing easier.

"Don't worry. It might stop now that today will be when you'll get back to work." She reasoned as she sat up and stroked his back. Upon hearing this, Zack was both eager yet nervous to get back to work. Eager because he'd finally be able to do his job since he had to take a week off to heal his injuries, but nervous because of Nick.

"I'm just worried about Nick." He said as he held her hand which was on his right shoulder. She immediately understood what he meant.

After he was shot at, Nick chased after the shooter, but apparently the shooter got away. At LAPD Headquarters, when Nick explained to Zack what happened, Zack got angry. So much so that he ranted about how Nick didn't do good enough and he was so blinded in his angry that he ended up calling Nick a 'pig fuck'. Nick was hurt hearing this and later when Zack had calmed down, he realised the huge mistake he made and regretted it so bad that he stayed at his sister's place to avoid his wife, feeling that she'd ask for a divorce if she knew what happened.

Zoe was worried about him since he didn't show up for 3 days and so she searched for him until she came to his sister's place and found him depressed. She begged him to tell her what's wrong until he broke down and told her what happened and instead of being scolded by her, she actually comforted him and reassured him that he made a mistake that can be fixed.

That made him feel better and so he tried to contact Nick but no matter what he tried, Nick wouldn't answer him, this made him believe that they're friendship was permanently damaged.

"Hey, you both will be together, so there's no way he'll ignore you." She told him. He nodded, knowing she was right.

"Yeah. I just hope he will actually listen when I say how sorry I am." He said before he got up, revealing that he was wearing pyjama bottoms. Zoe then got up and revealed she was wearing a red bra and thong, she then grabbed a gown to put on. The couple exit the bedroom to the kitchen which is next to the living room, separated by the kitchen worktop. They both make breakfast and coffee and consume it as they watch the news which showcased the typical bullshit bias and racist crap. Zack wrapped his hand around Zoe's in comfort and to show that he's nothing like them. She smiles, knowing the meaning behind his sign of affection.

Then they both heard knocking coming from the front door of their house. Zack slowly got up and walked up to the door, knowing that Nick was on the other side.

He took a deep breath, preparing to face an angry Orc. He opened the door to see Nick in his police uniform, giving him a glare.

"Morning, Nick." Zack greeted him, containing his nervousness, though he knew Nick would pick up his scent due to Orcs having a high strong sense of smell. And he was right because Nick instantly picked his scent up and cringed at how much he could smell his nervousness and fear, of course he knew why he'd smell that way.

"I'm here to pick you up and drive you to the station." He told him in a distant tone.

"Right. Just let me put some clothes on and we can go. You can come in if you want." Zack nodded and then walked back to the bedroom to change. Nick decided to take up on his invitation and entered their home. He saw Zoe sitting there at the kitchen table and she looked at him with the kind of look that a parent makes when their child has been naughty.

"Nick, you should at least give him a chance. He knows he made a mistake and he wants things to be as they were before." She told him. Nick looked down in shame. When Zack had to take the week off, Nick was very hurt to hear what he called him, especially since Zack is someone who knows about Orcs thanks to his wife and the Broadtooth Clan who took him in and taught him the culture and language of the Orcs. Nick was so hurt that he didn't want to talk to him again, but he realised that Zack was just angry and he had to vent it out and he accidentally did that on him. When Zack made attempts to contact him, Nick just couldn't figure out what to say.

"I'll try. I just still feel hurt from what he called me." He explained to her. This made her get up and walk up to him.

"And he feels ashamed of it. Please try and be friends, as you two were." She begged him.

"I will. Besides, I still want to be friends with him." Nick agreed with her and a few seconds afterwards, a freshened up Zack came back downstairs wearing a casual white t-shirt and jeans.

"Okay, ready to go." He told Nick. He in turn nodded and walked out to the police car. Zack realised that Nick and Zoe were close.

"What were you two talking about?" He asked her. She shrugged her shoulders.

"About the tension between you two." She told him. He nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you later, sweetheart." He then said before the two kissed for a few seconds.

"See you later, love." She softly whispered and he walked out, waving goodbye, of which she waved back.

The cop duo then drove through the streets of LA, heading to the LAPD. The radio was on, with some police radio chatter and that was the only thing heard as Nick and Zack were silent.

Nick, with his sense of smell picks up a scent which he assumed came from the radio and so he sniffed it, but realised that it wasn't from the radio. He picked the scent up again and it turns out to be from Zack, and this scent was revealing a particular piece of info about him.

"You smell like you haven't slept." He stated, starting a conversation.

"Yeah, had repeated nightmares of when I was blasted by a shotgun. I just wished that event could just go away." Zack replied, groaning.

"In that case, did you try anything to deal with it?" Nick asked him.

"Yeah, tried sleeping pills, tried having particular dreams and heck, even sex. And none of them worked." He listed off. Nick was a bit caught off guard to hear him openly say he had sex with his Orc wife.

"You and Zoe actually tried sex?" He asked, stunned.

"Mmm Hmm. And even though it was intoxicating and made me so tired and blissful, it didn't work." He said, smacking his leg.

"Damn." Nick muttered.

"By, the way. Do you think you're capable of getting something like a burrito while being able to watch my back like every other cop?" Zack then asked, since the two have to truly work well like a well oiled machine.

"Yes." Nick replied back instantly with a look on his face that spoke volumes about how actually feels a bit responsible for this whole thing. Because if he actually caught the guy that shot him, things would've been smooth.

"Look, Zack… I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry for not catching the guy. I know that I let you down and that it nearly cost us our friendship. I want us to start over." He then apologised, seriously hoping his partner would forgive him. Of course, Zack himself felt guilty about calling him those things.

"I'm sorry too. I should never have used you as a way to vent out my anger that day, and for calling you those disgusting names. I want to start over as well." He apologised back, and Nick's yellow eyes had a spark of hope in them.

"So, are we still friends?" He asked his human partner.

"Friends." Zack confirmed with a smile. And now the awkward air between them is gone. In a way to celebrate this, Nick turned on the radio to play some female Orcish music.

"So… anything interesting happened while I was off?" Zack asked Nick since he would get hassled by the police officers at the station since they still don't like Orcs. And that also meant Zack wasn't popular because of his Orc wife.

"No, same old, same old." He answered.

"You know, I just wish people can just move on and actually get along. The past is the past, it can make us learn from our mistakes." Zack verbally expressed his opinion.

"If only it were that simple." Nick told him.

The two continued to drive through LA, making various conversations about all kinds of stuff until Zack notices that they're about to enter the Elven Special District, the area in LA that is run by the Elves, who Zack don't like that much since they are usually snobbish pricks who think they're above everyone.

"Why are we going through here?" He asked Nick.

"It's fine, it's a shortcut." He told him as they reached the checkpoint that had armoured vehicles on guard.

"Nick, you do realize that we can't just simply go through Elftown. And besides, the Elves just shop and be all snobbish." The two turned a corner and drove down a street where they could see all the Elves going about their daily lives in their expensive clothes and trinkets, which got on Zack's nerves.

"God, I hate this place." He muttered as they stopped at a red light. They both looked at the car next to them to see an Orc chauffeur in a black car. The Orc turns his head towards them and moves their heads in a gesture. The Orc then pointed at his own lower canines, clearly mocking Nick since his are filed, meaning he's not Blooded into an Orc clan due to him wanting to be more integrated with the humans and be a police officer.

Nick looked away, feeling bad and Zack groaned as he shook his head.

"Even Orc chauffeurs are snobs." He said.

After they got out of the District, they finally reached the police station and they saw some officers decked out, standing guard, one of which is a centaur.

When they parked, the two made it to the lockers and Nick waited right outside while Zack continued in.

"Hey, back already, Harloff?" One of the officers spoke as Zack walked to his locker. This is Brown.

"Where's the, uh, diversity hire you ride with?" He then asked him as Zack opened his locker.

"Yeah, what kind of partner is Jakoby? Is he your dance partner? Your sexual partner? 'Cause he sucks at catching bad guys." Another office said to Zack's right. This is Hicks who sometimes like now gets on his nerves, being a meathead.

Zack then pulled out his police uniform and hanged it on the locker door.

"That's Clan Law shit, dog." Brown answered. Zack frowned and shook his head. These guys don't even know Orc culture like him because he knew that Clan Law doesn't apply to Orcs who aren't Blooded.

"Orcs got each other's backs." Another officer said. This one made Zack roll his eyes because it was Pollard, a purely corrupt and racist officer that always annoyed him to no end.

"If you idiots actually know your stuff, you should know that Nick isn't a part of any clan, so Clan Law doesn't apply with him." Zack told them all off.

"Of course you'd defend him. After all, you have an Orc wife, she makes you biased." Pollard said to him.

"I'm not biased. I was fine with Orcs way before I met her. And besides, if you got a problem with Nick, just keep it to yourself." Zack shot back at him as he took his shoes off.

"Yeah, well, we can make you write a letter and we'd back it up and get him fired. But no, you don't care about us." Pollard said as he took his shirt off.

"Of course I don't, because you lot are racists who are stuck in the past and your advice is the type that can lead someone to their ninth divorce." Zack mocked as he took his trousers off and was in the middle of putting his uniform trousers on.

"That's fucking good. Noted." Pollard sarcastically spoke.

"Meanwhile, that Orc fuck is still out there because Jakoby chose clan blood over the badge." He then ranted, not knowing Nick is listening and has his head hanging in guilt.

"Did you not just hear me about how Nick is not Blooded, and therefore not part of a clan?" Zack snapped instantly as he put his trousers on properly.

"Well I'm convinced Jakoby let him get away. What happens next? What happens the next time this pig motherfucker makes a cop suck start his fucking 12 gauge? Only this time, it's Brown, or it's Hicks or it's fucking me. How you gonna feel, Harloff? 'Cause that shit is on you." Pollard fired at him right in his face. Zack just frowned, containing his anger. Pollard has proven yet again, how much of a pure racist slog he is.

"It won't be on me because the shooter just simply ran away before Nick can get him and I won't care if you get shot since you're just annoying little noise in my ear." He calmly said.

"You son of a bitch." Pollard snarled as he walked back to his locker and put his police shirt on.

"Just accept the fact that I have a simple dude in my car, the only difference is that the whole world is watching like when I got married." Zack laid down on him.

"And what happens if they hire more? You know what they say. Once with the Dark Lord, always with the Dark Lord. They chose evil." Pollard then bellowed.

"You know, I find it funny how a bunch of dudes who can barely remember their mother's birthday, have beef with an entire race over something that happened 2,000 years ago. And in case you blind meatheads forgot, Jirak was an Orc who turned on the Dark Lord and had the Orcs behind his back. So Orcs aren't as evil or bad as you racists pigs may think." Zack further berated them. Nick heard this and felt happy knowing he understands Orcs well.

"Here's the fucking deal, man. You keep Jakoby the fuck away from me. Okay? I'll drop an Orc. I don't give a fuck. My ancestors killed them by the fucking thousands in Russia." Pollard then said right in front of Zack's face.

"I'll even drop your pig wife if I c-" He then was going to mock but stopped when Zack grabbed him by the head and slammed him against the floor in a blur. He then got right up to his face with a scary glare.

"You dare to mock my wife again, I will not hesitate and beat your head in to the point you're brain dead. So you keep your fucking mouth shut and stay away from me, Nick and my wife. Got it?" He growled at him. Every officer there was shocked in silence seeing him this angry. He is known throughout the Department for giving officers a beat down whenever they decide to say anything offensive about Zoe. Pollard nodded at a rapid pace and Zack got back up and put his uniform on while everyone else was still watching him in silence.