The conclusion to Conceal I and II

"Make yourself at home," Judy's voice was heavy with disbelief as Nick walked into her small apartment. He had never just "shown up" unprovoked, and his sudden presence just as she was thinking about him seemed highly coincidental, if not downright serendipitous.

Not that she didn't think about him quite often.

Though Judy was expecting some sort of dig at her apartment, Nick surprised her by slowly walking in and sitting down at the foot of her bed, almost eye-to-eye with the bunny. Nick looked serious, almost resigned.

"So," Nick slapped his paws together and rubbed them briskly. "What do you want to know about her?"

The bunny resisted the temptation to play dumb and ask "who?" Instead, she spoke from her heart.

"Nick, I don't really care about her. I care about you."

The fox stared into the bunny's eyes as she gave him the tiniest smile. She squeezed his shoulder to attempt a bit of comfort.

"Okay, kind of blunt, but okay," the fox took in a huge breath and let it out slowly.

"What else is new?" Judy's head and ears tilted to the left with a dull smirk.

"Well..." his eyes wandered to the corner of her apartment. "Okay. I came here to tell you this, so here goes. When I was younger, in high school... I met her. Roxanne. She was the first female to make me think beyond that- that purely physical lust like I had for the vixens I'd dated before. I thought my read on her was perfect. Our personalities jelled so well."

The gray bunny nodded, petting his shoulder soothingly while he talked.

"And then... we had sex," Nick continued. He tried to say it as dispassionately as possible, but Judy could detect the note of hurt in his voice. "It was- well, frankly, it was amazing. Somehow it felt so... I don't know... alive. There was something just so- so different about it compared to the vixens. I didn't know what it was. At first, I thought it was the thrill of the pred-prey thing... but, after thinking about it more, I had another thought."

"Yes...?" She kept petting his shoulder.

He sighed heavily. "I thought it was because I'd found a mate."

"Oh, Nick..." Judy squeezed his shoulder again.

"But, you can see how that went," Nick said bitterly. "She was after something different. I was just a 'flavor of the week' to her. I wasn't special. What we shared wasn't special."

Judy's big eyes started to well, then she shivered, wiping her eyes of the approaching tears.

"Whoa, Judy, what- I mean, c'mon," Nick's eyes flew open, holding a paw up near his chest. "It wasn't that bad... I mean, pff. Had sex with a hot bunny. Not the worst thing in the world."

"Nick..." Judy's lip wavered. She gestured to herself. "I'm so sorry. I must have made you feel like that too. Like you weren't worth anything... like you weren't special."

"I mean..." Nick sighed, bowing his head and shaking it. "We got through that."

"And you've gone through your life having that feeling," Judy continued, clutching a fist to her chest, "that feeling like bunnies can't commit. That something about them entices you, but they'll just... you know... leave when they get what they want."

"You came back though, Judy," Nick smiled softly, tilting his head back to meet her.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Judy shrugged with a weak smile, but then laughed weakly and hugged him.

"Anyway, I didn't entirely come here to boast about my sexual conquests," Nick said, causing Judy to scoff and push away from him. "I had a question to ask you."

"Okay...?"

"You wanna..." Nick swallowed, looking like he was having trouble with the words. "You wanna go out tonight? Dinner? Movie?"

"Well, I've eaten," Judy smiled guiltily. "But a movie sounds fun!" She stood up straight, indicating her very comfortable-looking, pastel clothes. "Is what I'm wearing okay?"

"Looks fine to me," Nick said, trying to keep his voice steady. He had that rush of a feeling like he'd just survived a tumble off of a cliff. "Is there anything you wanna see?"

Judy thought for about four seconds, then clapped. "Oh yes! Yes! Rise of the Starborn."

"That superhero movie?" Nick narrowed one eye.

"Yeah, the one about the avatars chosen by the Celestials to combat the forces of darkness!" Judy looked suddenly very enthused. "It's opening weekend, so I wanna see it before the internet is inundated with spoilers!"

"Sounds pretty cheesy to me," the fox huffed in amusement.

"Oh, I hope so," the bunny flashed a bright grin. "I love dumb movies."

"I'll have to remember that for later," Nick quipped. Somehow, he felt a little warm inside when she responded with an eager nod.

Just that little assurance that there would be a "later". It was a comfort.

"What do you mean there's only one seat left!?"

"Just what I said, ma'am," an exhausted-looking male horse said to Judy from behind the ticketing booth window. "There's only one seat left, for a mammal about his size." He gestured at Nick.

"We'll- we'll share it!" Judy said. "Can I speak to your manager? I'll pay for two seats...!"

The horse tried not to nicker in frustration, and called for his manager, a zebra.

"We'll share it?" Nick was rather amused.

"I'm not letting this date go south just because I spontaneously decided to see a popular movie on opening weekend!" Judy waggled her finger.

"So those are your 'let me speak to the manager' clothes, huh?" Nick wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh shut it, Nick," Judy rolled her eyes. "You said you didn't mind them."

"Not at all."

"She wants two seats, but only one's left," the horse said, looking at his monitor. "She said the two're gonna share a seat, but how do I sell an extra seat when they're all gone?"

"Here, I'll override it," the female zebra tapped at the screen with her hoof. "There you go."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Judy stood on her tip-toes at the counter as she received her tickets.

"Don't mention it," the zebra said, "hope you two enjoy the movie."

The two entered the movie theater and looked for that last seat, which was at the very end of one aisle, close to the large screen.

"Of course," Judy's ears went back and her eyelids lowered. Then, she shook out of her funk quickly. "No no. We'll make this work."

"Sure this isn't some kind of omen?" Nick chuckled, looking at the seat, which seemingly would just barely fit him.

"No. Sit," the bunny directed, pointing decisively at the seat. Nick obeyed, and tried to scoot to the side for some room for the bunny. She squeezed herself in with some difficulty.

"Comfy?" The fox raised one eyebrow.

"Just peachy!" Judy insisted.

"Doesn't look like it," Nick muttered. "Well, there's a solution to this." He slowly lifted a surprised Judy up and placed her on his lap.

"Oh! Yeah, this works," she smiled. Nick's red and brown furry arms wrapped around her quite snugly for a moment, causing her to sigh pleasantly. "Well, I'm not going anywhere."

"Good, 'cause the movie's starting," the fox noted as the lights dimmed.

Being a modern superhero movie, the directors went all-out on production values and hiring famous actors. Nick recognized the avatar of Serendipity as the unusually striped bunny Jack Savage, here "creatively" named Chance. He was rather famous for his role in a popular spy movie series. The avatar of Karma was played by, the name slipped his mind, Skye something. She was a white fox, and her character was named Boomer. Nick felt as though they weren't really challenging anyone's expectations with which kinds of mammals played which avatars of Celestials, with the possible exception of the one for Fertility. Traditionally a bunny, she was instead played by a rather sexy deer doe. Nick couldn't place her, but she kind of reminded him of a young Farrah Fawncett.

The movie was inoffensive and fun enough to Nick, and it seemed like before long he nearly forgot that Judy was in his lap. It felt so natural to hold her there, and her small movements didn't distract him at all as she adjusted to get more comfy.

Eventually, the plot of the movie was coming to a head. A slightly injured Boomer looked desperately behind her as Chance caught up to her.

"No, Chance, you've got to get out of here!" Boomer wailed. Nick was subtly impressed at Skye's acting skills; it seemed to him like her lines would be easy to overact. "The Emissary of Entropy has my scent. He has my scent, Chance... it's only a matter of time before he finds me."

"I'm not going to abandon you, Boomer," Chance shook his head. His accent and cocky smirk betrayed that "secret agent" charm Jack Savage characters were known for. "We'll face him together."

"No one has survived against the Emissary, Chance," Boomer's head lowered. "He needn't rest. No one wins against Entropy. My circle is about to close..."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Chance held a paw up to look at her in the eyes. "Justice always wins in the end, doesn't it? We'll just have to surprise that Emissary."

Boomer nodded, and struggled to her feet.

It was a little on the nose for Nick, and he felt his exhale tremble a little as it left his muzzle. He hoped Judy didn't notice.

"I've always kinda wanted a car," Nick admitted as the two walked out of the movie theater and into the parking lot. "Red, definitely. Probably a convertible."

"Aw, and miss these nice walks to the subway?" Judy tilted her head. "You can still walk me home, you know."

"Guess so," Nick shrugged.

"So, did you like the movie?" Judy hopped as they walked, shaking her fists. "Did you have a favorite part? I liked at the climax where they were just kicking the Emissary's tail. Boom! Pow!" The bunny began to shadowbox in a flurry of gray and white fists.

"The whole thing was pretty cliche and corny," the fox's brown paws slipped into his pockets. "Decent enough, though."

"Really?" Judy folded her arms and looked up at him with a challenging face. "Well... right before the climax, I thought I felt you hold me a little tighter when Chance was saying he wouldn't give up on Boomer..."

"Eh, probably just your imagination, Fluff," Nick smirked.

The bunny breathed out in mild annoyance and fell out of step with Nick, but charged forward to keep up with him.

"Nick, do you trust me to mean what I say?"

The odd question caused some hesitation from the fox, who looked at her curiously as they prowled the clear evening.

"Of course," he finally replied. "You've always been a straight shooter."

Judy's face became a pleasant smile. "So when I said 'I'm not going anywhere'? That time I told you I wanted you as my partner? Or how about admitting that I knew I loved you?"

The fox's heart skipped a beat and he looked down at the smiling bunny.

"Whoa...!"

Judy didn't expect Nick to suddenly scoop down and grab the bunny up into his arms, raising her so they were at eye level, but her excited giggling showed that she didn't mind at all.

"Judy..." the fox took a difficult breath, nuzzling her instinctively. "I've wanted a bunny like you for so long..."

"Have you?" The bunny tenderly rubbed their foreheads together, stroking his muzzle with her paws.

"Yeah, but you're even better than I deserve," Nick gave a weak, though charming smile.

"Aw, Nick...!" Judy softly kissed the fox's nose.

"Eh, get a room, you two," a bored-looking pig said brusquely as he walked by.

Nick set his armfuls of bunny down on the sidewalk, and Judy gave a nervous giggle before they resumed their walk.

"Guess we shouldn't do this whole 'interspecies' thing out in the open, huh?" She wondered with a paw near her mouth.

"Oh, most people are fine with interspecies," Nick shrugged. "Most people. But public displays of affection? Now that's another story."

"Right, right," Judy gave another rush of a giggle, amorous feelings still swishing through her. "Guess we'll have to wait until we can have a private display of affection- and I'm instantly realizing how that sounds."

Nick barked out an honest laugh, putting his paws back into his pockets as his head tilted back. Judy joined his laugh, but then got quiet.

"We'll get there," she said with a pleasant certainty.

The fox stopped laughing and an unusual, almost pained look came over him.

"Mmh, a fox with issues regarding bunny intimacy," Nick muttered. "What a turn on that must be for you."

The bunny's brow lowered and her mouth twisted this way and that before responding.

"Listen here," Judy finally said sternly, capturing Nick's attention. "Here's what's gonna happen. You and I are going to date. Our relationship will progress forward at a pace that you're comfortable with. Then, when we feel like the time is right for both of us, and only then, we're going to mate. And it's going to be glorious, meaningful, sweet, intimate, and everything you want it to be. And the next morning, you're going to have a bunny cuddled up to you to enjoy and snuggle all to yourself. Then, that is going to repeat as long as our bodies will allow. And do you know why, Nicholas Wilde?"

Nick had about half a second to respond, but he couldn't, as he was too blindsided by the sudden, stern tirade.

"Because you're worth it to me. You're worth so much."

Judy's face softened at the end of her rant, and Nick was left staring. It took all of his power to fight back tears, but he was sure a pinched whine must have escaped; really high-pitched, too. Judy didn't seem to react or care beyond a small ear twitch.

The rest of the walk was quiet, with the fox a bit too stunned to strike up any more conversation, and eventually the two ended up at Judy's apartment door.

"Thank you for the nice date, Nick," Judy smiled up at him.

With a flump, Nick ended up on his haunches, eye-to-eye with Judy again. He softly placed his paws on her shoulders.

"Judy, I love you."

Though it wasn't entirely unexpected, her kiss still struck him like a snapped rubber band, though much more pleasant. Her muzzle met his, and though it was a more chaste kiss than he was expecting from the often-exuberant bunny, it still managed to stir that feeling within Nick that he had been chasing from a bunny for so long. The galvanizing spark of a true passionate connection. He felt her paws toying with his muzzle as they kissed, and it was all he could do not to groan in satisfaction.

After a small eternity, but not nearly long enough, their dissimilar muzzles parted from each other.

"To be continued," Judy quipped with a familiar, confident playfulness. She offered him a long, fond look before closing her door.

Nick suddenly flinched, checking his dark lips to make sure he wasn't drooling. His paw fell to his chest as he slowly started to walk away. Tomorrow definitely wouldn't come soon enough.

It was the first evening Nick could remember that he smiled all the way home.