Author's Note

Sound the alarm, romance incoming! Not much, but still. Anyways, this chapter revolves around Nick and Ivan mostly, and Nick's inability to do the rightthing, unlike last time.

Nick's POV

I was bewildered about the recent events that had occurred all in a fragment of time. Judy heard the crying, and it hurt her, I could tell. She hesitantly dropped the pistol, still smoking, on the hardwood floor with a loud thud. She seemed to have pushed her guilt aside, and fell to her knees to aid Alex, I did the same, but instead turning to the jaguar. He was still definitely conscious, as he was only shot once, but based on where was what worried me. The bullet went almost straight into the middle of chest, just barely to the right. I noticed no blood, none at all.

"I'm a certified Kevlar officer." He chuckled. I instantly squinted my eyes, wondering how he knew about that. "Alex told me about it." He followed up, as if he was reading my mind. "I'm okay!" He shouted, making me flinch. I heard the now quieter crying of his children come to a halt, and they swayed away from the balcony. "My apologizes, my name is Ivan." He expressed with a hand over his chest as I turned my attention towards the grounded jaguar. "I have a theory, Nick. You saved my life because you don't want to change." He analyzed. I gave him a puzzled look, staying silent, so he continued. "The serum we gave to you, you don't want it to change who you are." He sat up further leaning closer to me. I was tempted to push him down, considering this guy tried to kill me just a couple days ago, but I couldn't. I noticed his supposed children running into the living room. I stood up from my knelt position to make room for them. Ivan took them both into a hug.

"Thank you." One of the cubs said looking up at me. That made me feel better, knowing I helped someone. The two of them got off their father and backed up, letting him resume our conversation.

"You don't want to change because of Judy, because of how it would hurt her." Ivan theorized, however, he was right. "Also, might want to take that bullet out." He warned, pointing to my side. I put my chin down against my chest, finding said bullet wound. Judy's first shot had hit me, and I couldn't recall such events.

"Alex!" I heard Judy yell in excitement, turning my head to see her hugging the now sitting up wolf. That made me smile for the first time since entering this damn house. Alex would probably need some form of medical attention, but I was more focused on what would happen when we got to the second address Judy had received for us, which was none other than the creepy, old, dirty, rather large building on the edge of the Rain-forest District. I felt a paw grab my shoulder SMACK! I was quick to knock it off, turning to face Ivan, who wasn't phased by my actions.

"You love her don't you?" I was perplexed by the question, surely he wasn't suggesting what I thought he was, was he?

"What?" Was all I could muster, still challenging the fact that Ivan could be friendly with me.

"You heard me." He laughed quietly. "Be quick to answer the question, or else you'll miss your shot." He explained, looking at Judy on the other side of the room as he spoke. I kept a, for the most part, blank expression, staring into Ivan's eyes, hoping to see something. Something that could help me understand him better. "Nicholas, you were injected with years of research and millions of dollars, you're the world's most resilient mammal, yet also so fragile." He paused a moment, reading my face. "Like your body once was, just as your mind, fragile. Judy could wake up and find you dead tomorrow, and there would be no explanation, your heart could just give up. Or if you prefer the more intense route, the brain in your head could stop processing emotions properly, possibly take one word wrong and injure someone. Which is why you need my help, you can't throw me in prison." He concluded. I growled as I thought about what he said. I caught myself and instead kept a genuine idle appearance.

"You're right, but you must remember," I said grabbing his shirt and pulling him close. "I don't give up." I released my grip and he fell back just slightly.

"Giving up is like an excuse, it sounds better in your head." He joked, even though I could sense some seriousness to his voice.

"Mr. Jaguar! You are under arrest." I heard Judy state professionally, regardless of the nickname she used.

"Judy Hopps if I'm correct, you can just call me Ivan." He corrected her, placing a paw on his chest.

"Judy, we can take him in for questioning, but no serving time." I sided with Ivan, as he seems to know more about the situation, even more so than Alex. "He can help us." I threw in without much context. She would understand what I meant. Checking to make sure Ivan's kids weren't looking, I began investigating my wounded side. I was bleeding, but not as much as I would have imagined.

"Hate to rain on your parade, but I've been shot, but hey! Three times a charm." I turned to see Alex leaning against the wall, holding up three claws.

"Let's take Alex to the hospital before he decides to die on us." Judy sighed, returning to the arch where Alex was.

"You take him, I'll wait here with Ivan." I offered. Judy turned back to face me, her look was filled with caution.

"Alone?" I sighed, knowing she wouldn't let that happen. I'm pretty sure some humor would sway her.

"No of course not, I said I'd be with Ivan, not to mention his two adorable cubs." I smiled as Judy rolled her eyes. She then proceeded to help Alex to his feet, and the two limped to the front door.

"Kids, go upstairs please, your father has some particular subjects to disclose with this fox here, the savior of myself." I furrowed my eyebrows at his words, his kids most likely didn't even understand the full of what he said. Ivan's children ran through the arch and back upstairs, presumably to their bedrooms. Ivan jumped to his feet with a sigh.

"Nicholas, any subject that is off limits? Because if not, I may just rant about anything at this point." He said, a deceptive smile upon his face. Was this a trick question?

"Not that I can think of." I replied, following him down the luxurious hallway, filled with what seemed to be expensive paintings.

"Well then I guess I'll start with Judy." He walked into the kitchen, heading for the fridge. I should have said Judy was off limits, but he'd probably bring it up anyways. "Tell me about her, who is she." He continued. I thought about the question; it's meaning was rather clear.

"Judy is very optimistic, or at least when I'm not dying." Ivan silently nodded his head as he dug into the fridge, the cold air slamming into me. "She is intelligent, and likes to challenge society, hence her being a cop in the first place." I paused, thinking of what else to say, Ivan pulled out a bottle, full of alcohol. "She fun to hang out with: nice, humorous, and helpful." I was going to continue, seeing as Ivan didn't respond right away, but apparently he was taking his time.

"How close friends are the two of you?" He asked, opening the bottle and pouring some in two glasses.

"Best friends." I responded, keeping it short. Ivan could be trying to just gather information.

"Ever thought about, anything more?" His back facing me as he spoke, but his head angled so I could just barely see his left eye. I started feeling strange on the inside.

"I guess, but anyways, can I add something to that 'off limits' list?" I asked with a obvious fake smile. Ivan shook his head slowly.

"Nick, fairly simplified scenario to better understand one's true thoughts. If Judy were to die tomorrow, what would you tell her?" He said, handing me a glass. Both glasses have contents from one bottle, so that means it's safe.

"I would, umm..." I trailed off, not knowing how to answer the simple, but also complex question. "I would tell her that she is my closest friend, and I couldn't live without her." I felt confident in the answer, but Ivan's expression told me that would change.

"You wouldn't use the word love? It's quiet a heavy word, but you must consider it's use." He told me, leaning over the island in the middle of the kitchen. He then took a sophisticated drink from his glass.

"The word love can used in different ways, but I don't see why I wouldn't." I replied, and taking a drink in unison with the jaguar. He stayed silent for a while, which I didn't dare interrupt, as I was already feeling strange enough. After a couple minutes passed, both our drinks were gone, and he placed both glasses near the sink.

"Can I show you a few things?" He said, saying things with a different tone. I squinted my eyes a bit before replying.

"I don't see why not." We walked out of the kitchen and he led me to a room; a room that seemed to be more of just a relaxing space. There was a piano, paintings, and a lether couch. The piano was quite a sight, it looked old, but so in place.

"You like the piano, you think it's very antique, yet so lively." Ivan said with a sly smile. His dialect just confused more every time he spoke. I tried to ignore the fact, and instead looked around the room a bit more. There was a picture of him with his children, no wife. I slowly made my way closer to the picture, only to realize it wasn't a picture, but a painting. "A friend painted it for me." He answered without question. "Do you 'love' it?" I exhaled at his recall to the previous conversation.

"Yes I do, it's amazing, maybe I could meet this painter one day." I followed up, standing within reach of the painting, taking in all the detail.

"You use the word love so lightly for almost anything, everyone does; when it comes to mammals, not so much." Ivan explained, now standing right behind me. "Remember Nick, giving up is like an excuse, it sounds better in your head." He repeated the somewhat cheesy phrase from earlier. He put a paw on shoulder once again, but this time I didn't even flinch, and I didn't know why. "Want another drink?" He interrupted my thinking.

"No thanks." I said, sure that if Judy came back and I was drinking she'd kill me.

Judy's POV

I drove our squad car down the street, swerving through traffic and skipping through red lights. I occasionally looked at Alex, who was sitting in the passenger seat, one arm over his chest. "Do you know Ivan?" I asked, I've been wanting to know how much Alex truly knew him since we got that phone call, but never asked.

"I do. Ivan is a mentalist, deceptive and prowling. He is quiet the fellow though, I hung out with him a bit after 'work'." The wolf said, emphasizing his occupation. No one would want to be drunk around him. A mentalist being someone who can 'read minds'.

"Luckily Nick isn't stupid, and probably has Ivan in handcuffs right now, for safety reasons of course." I said, knowing Nick didn't want to throw him in prison. Alex just chuckled a bit, remaining calm, regardless that he's been shot three times. Luckily, the wall did a good job at reducing the impact. Sadly, Ivan's vest wasn't enough to stop them completely, and because he was shot in the back, I'm glad it didn't do something like paralyze him.

"Nick, you bastard." I could hear the joking manner in his voice as he looked at his phone. "Where will you be when Nick texts you. You will be hiding from a crazy jaguar with a gun." He continued, putting his phone away.

"Nick did that?! Why?" I asked, trying to remain calm. Alex just used a flick of his paw to gesture it wasn't a big deal.

"He was telling me that kids were possibly in the house. How right he was." He sighed. It was nice of Nick to look out for those cubs at least. Wait a second, that's why he tackled Ivan, because his kids were in the house. My stomach started tightening as I tried to stop myself from tearing up. I almost murdered a father, one who was defenseless. I shot him anyways, after Nick went through the trouble of saving him.

*Time skips along the sidewalk, not a care in the world*

I dropped Alex off at the hospital, a different one than where Nick was, to ensure his safety. I then drove back to Ivan's house. I knocked on the door, no response. I rang the doorbell, once again, no response. I then rolled my eyes remembering Alex broke the front door. I simply turned the doorknob and peered into the dark, open house. As I lurked around, cautious about what could have happened while I was gone, I heard laughter. I followed the source of the sound, trying to find the origin. I came across a set of stairs downward, where the sound was most prominent. I quietly, and slowly, made my way down them, making sure to not make a single noise. As I neared the bottom, I heard uncontrollable laughter, making me even more puzzled than before.

I peeked around the corner of the doorway at the bottom, which was only cracked. I saw Nick sitting on a couch, next to Ivan. Both of them were doing the opposite of holding back their laughter. There was a pool table in front of them, littered with bottles and glasses.

"Nick my man, you are funny." Ivan said, obviously drunk out of his mind. "If I had cash on me right now, I'd give you some." He said before wheezing.

"Judy would love that." Nick slurred, getting another laugh from Ivan. "She also loves when I buy her things, even if it's only a coffee." I sighed quietly at the two as they shared pointless information with one another.

"You have to tell her, Nick, you can't wait." Ivan warned, trying to be serious, but he couldn't stop himself from sounding like a moron. Wait to tell me what?

"Ivan, dude, you got to tell me how you talked me into drinking so much, because Judy always says no to it." Nick choked, becoming less understandable at the end, as he was wheezing. I've never seen Nick drunk like this, sure a little bit, but this was down right pathetic. Nick reached for the bottle on the table, but Ivan grabbed his arm.

"No more, Judy could get her any second for all we know, not to mention, you already have enough health problems." Ivan said, sounding more serious. "With your intellect, I'm perplexed as to how I got you to agree to this in the first place." Ivan's brain seemed to be returning to him, at least I hoped.

"Just one more swing, that's all." Nick said, trying to release Ivan's grip on his arm. Ivan was a criminal, why is Nick letting Ivan touch him?

"I would agree, but your appearance at the current moment is far from professional, you are technically on duty." Ivan responded, releasing Nick's arm. Knowing Nick, he'd probably smooth talk his way back into a drink, but he didn't. He just sat silently.

"Ivan." Nick said, grabbing his attention, "Remember how I told you about the first time I met Judy earlier? He asked, receiving a nod from Ivan. "I went from despise her, to loving her." He said, sounding confused. Ivan just let out a small laugh in return. "We were opposites, and we kind of still are, but somehow we managed to be so close. What if she says no?" Nick asked. I felt my heartbeat increase, I knew what he was talking about.

"If she says no, she will probably never speak to you again, and she would probably hate you for it." Ivan speculated. I readied myself to confront him, "I'm joking, she is an understanding friend, from what you've told me, she would probably say yes, but in the case of her saying no, she would let you down easy and just try to remain close friends." I clenched my fists, wanting to scold Nick for talking about me in the first place.

"Let's head upstairs, I want you to properly introduce your children." Nick said seriously, both of them standing up. I panicked, I couldn't run up the stairs as they would hear me, and if I moved slowly they would see me.

"No thanks, you'll probably tell them your life story, and they wouldn't understand half of it due to not being sober." Ivan teased. I quickly, but quietly, tried to move up the stairs as they neared.

"Wait, help me bring up the glasses." Ivan interrupted, ceasing movement. I sighed and slowed my ascend up the stairs. I heard the clanking of bottles and glasses as I made my way back into the living room. I stalked my way back to the front door, and gently opened it. I closed it behind me and acted as if I had just arrived. I rang the doorbell once, then twice.

"There you are! About time you show up." Nick greeted as he opened the door. I faked a smile and walked inside, brushing past Nick as I stalked towards the living room. "Say Carrots, how about you and I stay here for a bit longer." He burped. I stopped in place and turned to him.

"How could you be drinking at a time like this?" I asked quietly, but with distinct anger. Nick rubbed his forehead, probably trying to turn his brain back on.

"I don't know, Ivan talked me into it, but we had fun." He explained simply, not changing my expression.

"Ivan tried to murder you, twice!" I exclaimed, loud enough that Ivan could probably hear it. Nick sighed, crossing his arms.

"Ivan has children, whom are in the house right now." He breathed, attempting to keep the peace. I wasn't ready for that just yet.

"Alex told me himself, Ivan is a mentalist." I said, trying my hardest to stay quiet. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"A what?" He asked, I rolled my eyes.

"A mentalist." I responded, ready to go find Ivan.

"No, I mean what's a mentalist." I ran both paws down the sides of my face at his response.

"A mentalist is someone who uses tricks to read your mind, and we are talking about a criminal in this case." I concluded with an angry glare, Nick seemed to understand what I said, but at the same time didn't see it as a big deal.

"I'm sorry." Nick said as we talked together down the hall, and into the living room once again. No way I was going to lighten up: Ivan easily got to Nick, and I wasn't going to let it happen again. He continued walking once we reached the living room. Without a word I followed. "Ivan, Judy is back!" He shouted loud enough for anyone in the house to hear. We both were silent as we entered the kitchen, still no sign of the jaguar.

"Nick, I swear, if Ivan is missing, I am going to hurt you." I said half joking half extreme anger. We may have lost our one biggest lead. Nick and I searched through the whole house and found nothing, not even Ivan's cubs. We returned to the front door and Nick stood there, paws behind his back, a look of shame on his face.

"Well, looks like I'm getting hurt." Nick said slowly, scanning my face, probably hoping for a smile. I punched him in the arm, only hard enough to get a reaction. "Ouch." He chuckled.

"You lost a prime suspect in a major case and were drinking with said suspect." I gritted my teeth, wanting him to see the true consequence of his actions. Chief Bogo wouldn't take it lightly.

"Okay, well at least we can check out the first stop he made, we just have to..." He came to a halt, looking nervous. "Tell Daniel and trace." He finished slowly. I realized his point, and opened the front door. As we left, Nick texted the number Evans gave him. He sighed heavily as we entered out squad car not far down the street. "No response so far." He said with a high tone to his voice.

"His phone is probably just dead or something." I said lightly, starting the engine. Nick gently grabbed my arm and pulled it away from the ignition.

"Judy, I want to talk about what I said at Ivan's." He heaved, I could tell how nervous he sounded.

"What did you say?" I played dumb, as if I wasn't eavesdropping on them.

"I know you were listening to us; I heard you on the stairs." He explained. I guess I wasn't as quiet as I thought. My heart started racing, I didn't want to do this, not now. Especially on duty with a prime suspect on the run. He just stared at me for several seconds. "I wanted to say how much I appreciate your friendship." He started with a small smile. "I realized love is such a meaningful word, but Ivan made me realize how little mammals like myself use it." Nick said. I watched his facial movement for every second of it. His eyelids half closed, his eyebrows raised, and his lips moving smoothly. He was trying to be persuasive. "Judy, I love you." He finished, bringing his eyelids up. I felt like a rock was stuck in my throat, and it hurt. I remained silent for what seemed like a whole minute.

Nick's POV

Ivan stood next to the piano with me, his gaze resting on only it. "This piano is older than the both of us combined." He said with a sigh. "My great grandfather crafted it himself when he was barely twenty. It's current residence, this very spot, is were he built it." He turned toward me slightly as he softly spoke about the antique wood work.

"He lived here?" I asked, being overtaken by Ivan's words. He ran his paw along the keys gently, not making a sound.

"My great grandfather was a servant, almost that of a slave." I ran a paw along the wood along with Ivan as he enveloped me, my subconscious telling me not to listen. "After building this piano, here in a home not his, his master, a fox, who underpaid him without any shame, asked to keep it. Now of course this asking wasn't so much asking as it was requesting, not taking no for an answer. Anyways, he married his master's daughter, who he managed to sway into his love. This master wasn't pleased, but let his daughter marry as she chooses." I just stared up at the day dreaming Ivan, who may even be thinking he is in that very moment right now. "My great grandfather then waited. After only a decade, his master died of multiple bullet wounds. He celebrated secretly in the night, drinking to his victory while his now wife cried in her bed. He now owned the home, the piano, and the fortune, along side his new wife. Less than a month later she committed suicide. In just a month he had gotten everything he even wanted, not the piano, but a loving wife. He married her for the purpose of getting his master's fortunes, and it was then he realized that he didn't love the piano, he loved her." Ivan bestowed to me.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked carefully, not wanting to offend him.

"He realized how much he truly loved someone, but it was too late. Her importance to him was there, but merely a shadow for something else." His words puzzled me, as I wasn't used to being exposed to such concepts and lessons.

"Nick, I would love to tell you a bit more about my heritage, and perhaps more along side it. Would you like another drink?" He asked, his words flowing past my will.

"Sure." I said simply, eager to hear more. Ivan smiled in return, then walked towards the kitchen.

"Well let's get going. I have a pool table downstairs you might want to check out." He charmed. I just happily followed along, not a care in the world.

Jude... I want to tell you something...

Author's Note

Ivan, you sneaky bastard. He will be back shortly. What will Judy's reaction be to Nick? Good question, but what's even a better question is why the hell Ivan's pool table is right in front of his couch. Joking aside, I took my time with this chapter because I wanted to truly capture dialogue, not wanting it to sound illegitimate. Please send a PM or post a review with thoughts, concerns, or general criticism, no seriously, do it, I want more. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay tuned for the next one.