It was already pretty late when Judy got home that night. She decided to change out of her police uniform and into something more casual. Even though she knew that the guy wasn't going to be able to see her. Still, she wanted to feel comfortable.

After changing, she got out her laptop and typed in 'Z-Harmony'. In no time at all, she had found the site and was looking at pictures of happy interspecies couples.

Judy still wasn't 100% sure if she wanted to do this, so she decided to take a look at the Q&A section of the site. She scrolled through some of the questions, trying to get a feel for how this site worked.

Q: How am I supposed to not talk about what my species is?

A: There is so much more to a mammal than just what their species is. Species is just what you see on the outside. Ask them about their likes and dislikes. Sometimes you may have to be vague while describing your life to them. Just please try to avoid outright lying to them.

Q: When is the right time to reveal my species?

A: It depends. You should wait until you feel like you really know them. Some couples like to admit their species during an online discussion, while others like to wait until they meet in person. Do whatever feels right to you.

Q: Am I guaranteed to end up with someone of a different species?

A: No. It is entirely possible that two mammals of the same species can be paired up if their profiles match. It's rare, but it does happen.

Feeling a little more confident, Judy took a deep breath. It was now or never.

She went to the sign-up screen. It asked her for her gender and which gender she was looking for. After selecting, 'I am a female seeking a male', she typed in her first name and her address. Then it started asking her a bunch of questions about her personality and lifestyle. Judy made sure to be as honest as possible when filling this section out.

The last question asked, 'Just between us, what is your species?'

Judy raised an eyebrow at that, but complied and selected 'Rabbit.'

The screen read 'One moment please…' with a loading symbol. Judy sighed and waited for what she felt was longer than necessary before finally the results came in. There were four matches, but only one of them was currently on Z-Harmony.

Some guy named Nick.

—

'Just between us, what is your species?'

Nick's palms were shaking. Should he lie? No, he was going to be honest. After all, this had to be just for gathering data, because some species make better interspecies couples than others, right?

He selected 'Fox', and after the loading screen, he was looking at five matches. Two of the names, Judy and Winifred, were highlighted as currently being on the site. Nick was going to get out a coin to flip, when he saw the message, 'You have 1 invitation: Judy.'

He clicked on her name. There was no information about Judy. All he knew was her name, her gender, the fact that she lived relatively close to him, and that apparently, Z-Harmony thought they would be a good match. He also saw that there were two options for having conversations, using the keypad or the microphone. He wasn't sure, but when a notification pointed out that Judy would rather use the microphone on her computer, Nick obliged.

'Talk to Judy? Y/N'

Nick took a deep breath.

He clicked 'Y'.

—

After a moment, both of them were connected.

Nick spoke first, "Hello?"

"Hi," said Judy. "You must be Nick."

"That's right. And I'm guessing you're Judy?"

She smiled. "Look at you, junior detective."

Nick chuckled. "…So, how is this gonna work?"

"Well, I guess we just ask each other questions. What do you want to know about me?"

"Well, the first thing that comes to mind, is 'what kind of mammal are you?' but I think we should play by the site's rules."

"Hmm…" Judy thought for a moment. "So… what color are your eyes?"

"Green." Nick said "Or, as my mom used to say, emerald."

"Emerald. I like it."

"And what about you?"

"Purple."

Nick almost did a double take. "Purple, seriously? I mean, I heard that some mammals have that, but…"

"Yeah, it's rare," said Judy. "But I think it makes me a little bit special."

"I bet it does," said Nick, smiling. "Okay… how old are you? I mean, I know you don't usually ask women that, but given the circumstances…"

"Yeah, I get it. I'm 24."

"24, really? Well, I'm 32."

"Huh…" Judy thought about that for a moment before shrugging. "An 8-year age gap doesn't really mean anything, does it?"

"I don't think so," Nick said. "My dad is 6 years younger than my mom, and they made it work."

"Well, here's the thing," Judy explained. "I don't know if I really want to commit to a serious relationship at this point in my life."

"And yet, you're on a dating website."

Judy sighed. "I know, it's just… my life is really hard for me right now, and I just needed someone to talk to. Do you understand that?"

Nick thought about telling her that it was almost the same situation for him. What he said instead was, "Well, let's get to know each other first, and we'll see what happens."

Judy smiled. "Okay, I've got one. What's your favorite movie?"

Nick thought for a moment. "Hmm… I'd have to say Pup Fiction."

"Really?"

He wondered if he turned her off by citing such a violent film as his favorite, so he tried to clarify. "It's not just the violence, I love how clever it is, and that speech at the end always to me."

"I agree, it's a great movie."

Nick hadn't been expecting her to say that. He asked, "How about you?"

"Well, I don't know off the top of my head," Judy said. "I'm thinking, maybe Mad Yax: Fury Road. I know it's recent, but I really like how fluid and smart the action scenes are, not to mention a strong, tough heroine who restores order to a world of chaos."

Nick smiled. "I take it you relate."

"Oh, yes," Judy said "If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I'm not one of those women that sits around waiting for a man to save her. I'd like to be the one who does the saving."

"Well, I can certainly respect that."

Judy smiled. It was nice to know that somebody respected her, something she hardly ever got in her daily life. After a moment or two, she found herself yawning.

"Whoa," said Nick. "Don't yawn, you'll make me wanna yawn!"

"I'm sorry," said Judy. "I'm just tired. You know what… I have to get up for work early tomorrow, so maybe we should sign off for the night."

"I understand." Nick said getting tired himself. "Well, It's been great talking to you. Maybe we can chat again tomorrow?"

"You want to?" asked Judy. She didn't know much about online dating, so she wasn't sure if this first chat had been successful or not.

"Of course," said Nick. "Look, you said your life was rough right now. Well, my life isn't exactly a picnic either. Actually, talking to you was the highlight of my day."

"Mine, too."

Nick smiled. "Well, good thing we found each other."

Judy was beaming now. "Yeah, I guess. So, uh… same time tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

—

Author's Note: So, I did some research on the real life eHarmony to try and make Z-Harmony seem realistic. Anyway, I'm very grateful for the reception that this story is getting so far. Keep up the positive energy in the comments, and I'll keep up this story!