Juliet sighed contently as she gazed at the blue sky above. The rust brown wolf smiled as a soft breeze ran through her fur, bringing with it the smells of the city. It was supposed to be a chilly day, but the sun broke through the dreary clouds and warmed up Zootopia. Savannah Central, with open parks between towering skyscrapers, was no exception. The female decided to enjoy her lunch out in this perfect day, and chose a clean metal bench to relax on. Thankfully the black skirt she decided to wear didn't ride up, and the teal blouse she wore was thin enough for the breeze and sun's rays to pass through. She sighed again and closed her eyes.

"You're really enjoying yourself." remarked a voice to her right.

Juliet nodded, "It's nice to get out of the office every now and then." She opened her eyes and turned towards the voice with a bright smile, "Besides, this is an amazing day!"

The mammal joining the wolf on this wonderful day was Terry. The coyote was not dressed up like their last encounter, but in his normal attire of a white button down shirt and a brightly colored tie. Today's color was peach. The male and the female bumped into each other at the local coffee store close to the law firm where they worked. While neither was a lawyer, Terry worked payroll in Mammal Resources and Juliet one of several front desk receptionists, they were paid well enough. They also worked on different floors, the wolf on the firm's "first floor" on the fifth, and the coyote working on the "third floor" on the seventh. It made their encounters random, fleeting, and normally spread out over days, which made this shared lunch break unexpected.

"It really is a beautiful day," Terry murmured wistfully, the lupine watching his brown eyes glance over the sky with pinned ears. He then closed his eyes and chuckled, muzzle dipping down as he shook his head slowly. "I didn't expect you to talk to me again," the male admitted quietly, eyes only partially open and pointed towards the ground while his remained pinned, "I thought you were dome with me."

Juliet opened her muzzle to refute the smaller male, but in a way he was right. In their long, quiet date at Aromanauts, the coyote revealed a lot to the female. He openly talked about his early struggles with attraction to other candids, his family's slow acceptance of his sexuality, and his continued fight against the other mammals thinking that he was a deviant. The wolf hadn't expected the last part, but after some self reflection on how she used to think of interspecies dating, she understood. It would've been impossible, or at least improbable, of Juliet thinking any different if not for Ralph's break from the pack. Now...she still didn't know what to think.

"I'm sorry," Juliet whispered quietly, "It wasn't fair of me to use you like that." She hesitantly reached out a paw to touch the male, but her will faltered and it landed back on the bench. You...You talked a lot about your past," the wolf started up again, "but you didn't tell me much about you."

The coyote chuckled dryly, "The same could be said about you." Terry quickly glanced, then looked away. "You talked about Ralph, his likes and dislikes, and what he means to you...and I figured some things out on my own." The male lifted up a paw and straightened a digit, "You love your family." He straightened out another, "You still haven't forgiven Ralph for shaving your ears when you were little." Terry straightened a third digit, "You stress eat."

"I do not!" Juliet exclaimed indignantly.

"You scarfed down the tarts before I even got a chance," the coyote teased with a wry grin, "I had to settle for sucking on grapes!"

"You could've ordered more," the wolf countered, poking the smaller mammal in the shoulder, "What kind of cheap date only buys one course?"

"The one who took his date to a very expensive place!" Terry retorted, laughing as he poked the lupine's side.

Juliet let out a surprised yelp as the coyote's blunt claw tickled her. She scooted out of the male's reach. The two sat in silence, simply staring at one another and unsure of what to do next. The wolf had no clue to what to do, and no earlier dating experience helped, but she did know she wanted to keep talking to Terry.

Juliet opened her muzzle to speak, at the same time as the male. They shared an uncomfortable laugh, with the lupine looking away, before finally she spoke. "I...I want to keep talking to you," the wolf stated deliberately, "but I don't want it to seem like I'm leading you on. So…" Juliet finally looked at the coyote once again with a confused grimace. "...is that ok?"

Terry smiled weakly, but nodded. "Sure...we can, uh…" the coyote frowned in thought and scratched behind his eat. He eventually shrugged with an uncertain expression. "...meet up for luuunch?"

Juliet smiled, then nodded. "Ok...lunch it is."

"Great," the male mumbled sullenly, before forcing himself to smile broadly and his ears to rise, "I mean great! As in yeah and awesome and-"

"Terry," the wolf interrupted, reaching out a paw and placing it on the coyote's forearm, "I know this is...awkward...You don't have to act different." Juliet tried to smile reassuringly, but it faltered, "Just be yourself."

"Ok," Terry sighed as his ears tilted back, "This is just…"

"Weird." the lupine supplied.

The coyote nodded curtly. He opened his muzzle then hesitated. Finally he sighed and shook his head. "Juliet...just so you know...I wouldn't do this for anyone else...but you seem...special."

Juliet snorted indignantly, "More like a special case!"

Terry chuckled, "...maybe that's all that it is...but I still want to talk to you too." The wolf smiled at the coyote who patted her paw still on his forearm. She hadn't noticed that she was still holding on. "Now though, we gotta go."

Juliet frowned as her ears tilted back, "Why?"

The coyote stood with a forced wry smile, Juliet's paw sliding off his arm, "Well...lunch is over, and we need to get back to work."

"Oh..."

"Yeah," Terry sighed dishearteningly, looking away from the lupine, "not enough time." The lupine hummed in agreement. He turned to the female and offered her a paw.

Juliet accepted it, and stood. They momentarily held paws, only for her to let his fall. Not wanting their impromptu meeting to end on such a odd note, the lupine stuck out her other paw to the coyote. "Good talking with you, Mister Saghir."

Terry chuckled, then grasped the wolf's paw. "Good talking to you...Miss Wolford." He leaned closer and whispered, "Friends call Terry." The coyote winked.

Juliet tried to hide her mirth behind a paw, but failed. "Friends call me Juliet," the wolf started. She leaned in closer and whispered, "But you can call me Ju."

"Ju," the smaller mammal tested quietly, pursing his lips and speaking slowly, "I like that."

The wolf's cheeks heated, and she pinned her ears back for fear of Terry seeing her blush. Juliet pointed in the direction of the law firm with her free paw. "We should go."

The coyote gestured with his head, "You go first. I'll follow in a bit."

"Ok…" Juliet drew out. Slowly, she backed away from the male, her digits gently sliding between his, "...until next time."

Terry smirked, "Until next time."

The lupine finally let go of the coyote's paw, and quickly rushed in the direction of her work. The beautiful day was ignored by the wolf, mind frazzled all Juliet could focus on was making it through the day. That final moment with Terry was…different. Different than their date, than any conversation before. So different that she needed time to think. Just...some time before their next conversation. That's all she needed.

Time.

Hello Readers

Another installment of OV, and still sticking with focusing on Juliet. I have two more chapters in mind, and am also working on other chapters as well. Let me know what you think!

-CG