Juno gazed up at the restaurant, her eyes beaming with wonder. "Louis, I've never seen this place before." Her canine nose twitched, catching a new and unfamiliar aroma steaming from inside, her tail wagging with excitement.

Louis chuckled, most likely at her canine excitement. He took the first step forward, guiding them into the restaurant. "It was one of the first restaurants I've been to in my life. Once my father saw that I was well mannered and trained enough to eat in public, he had my nanny take me here often."

Juno looked at Louis, eyes widened. Did he just open up about his past to her? She blinked, breaking her trance. "Your nanny took you here, not your mother?"

Louis's eyes dimmed, though his smile remained. "My first nanny was like a mother to me, she always saw the best in every person she met, including my father. She had this joy in her eyes that never broke, no matter how bad a situation was. She always did her best to take care of me, like I was her own child."

A female gazelle waiter greeted them at the oak wood front doors of the restaurant. Louis ordered a table for two and continued, "whenever I would wake up from a nightmare crying, she would lay beside me until I fell asleep in her arms. Whenever I felt sad, she would manage to cheer me up with her personality. And whenever I was hungry, she would make the best food I've ever eaten."

They followed the gazelle waiter to the table and thanked her. Louis scooted back the seat for Juno, letting her sit before he did. "One day, she stopped coming to take care of me and a new nanny had taken her place. It wasn't until a week later that my father told me that she had passed away."

A long, long silence passed between them. Juno could only look at him, her mouth slightly gaped as she tried to find the words to speak.

Louis's eyes widened, as if he'd realized what he just said. "I'm… I'm sorry. That was a lot."

"No! It's okay!" She blurted out, her paws up. "I'm very sorry for what happened to your nanny, I had no idea. It's just…" She paused.

She… she wanted to know.

She wanted to know if he really loved her the way she did him. She wanted to know why he asked her out, why he was telling her about his dead nanny. She wanted to know if he truly wanted her in his life, what she meant to him. But the question she asked… "why did you bring me to this restaurant, if it reminds you so much of your dead nanny?"

Louis froze, his ears dropping, a look of deep sadness flashing across his face, but then it vanished. His lips stretched into that fake, agonized smile she had seen so long ago, when they had first danced together in the night. A smile that was made to cover hurt, pain and all his desires. She hated that smile; she had never wanted to see it again. He said, "I just wanted to impress my date, is all."

Juno launched up from her chair, the legs groaning against the marble floor as she yelled. "No!"

Louis looked up at her, shocked, as well as the whole restaurant. But Juno's eyes were only focused on the deer she loved as she said, "stop doing that! Stop acting like I have no value in your life, stop trying to push me away! I know the trouble an interspecies relationship will cause us, but I don't care about any of that." Tears mixed with eyeliner began to stream down her cheeks, staining her fur black. "I love you; I love you with all my heart, Louis. Why can't you see that?"

Louis's eyes flicked down, no longer meeting hers.

Juno wiped at her tears, strapping her purse over her shoulder, glaring at him. "Or maybe you just don't want to." She stormed out of the restaurant, heels clicking against the marble floor. It took every part of herself not to look back at him as she left the place, her heart broken.

Juno walked down the sidewalk, doing her best to wipe away her tears and silence her sobbing. She was already regretting yelling at him like that, because everything she had said to him was how she felt inside, not him. But… that look of sadness on his face after he told her about his nanny… what did it mean? She cast the thought aside as she wiped away a tear.

She had to focus on getting back to her dorm before it got too dark, the time when carnivores would be stopped by the police for simply being outside. Still, some invisible force grabbed at her shoulder, wanting her to turn around, to go back to Louis.

But she ignored it.

His heart racing and his teeth grinding together, Louis clenched his trembling fist from underneath the table. He closed his eyes, the burning sensation in them becoming overwhelming. He should've never have opened up to Juno, he should've never have asked her on this date.

When they first arrived to the restaurant, he didn't know why he told her about his dead nanny, a female who loved and cared for him like a son. He realized how much he wanted to open up to this female, expose his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities. Though, the more he talked about his nanny, the more he began to realize why he was falling in love with Juno.

And yet… pushing Juno away had to be the best choice… it had to be, right?

He could feel the tears brimming at his eyelids. Stop it, you weak, pathetic deer.

A gray wolf and a red deer being together, in a long-lasting relationship, a marriage, even, was impossible. He was the new CEO of his dead father's company, bound to expand in business and popularity, and if his and Juno's relationship was made public… the amount of persecution they would face would've been too much for her—and maybe even him.

He couldn't put her through that kind of pain, even if she, herself, was prepared for it.

A tear slipped though Louis's closed eyelid. He just couldn't.

I love you; I love you with all my heart, Louis. Why can't you see that?

Pushing her away was for the best, he was doing this for her, not himself. And yet…

Or maybe you just don't want to.

He wanted to love her, he wanted to embrace her and kiss her. He wanted to care for her, comfort her through any struggles she had in life…

I love you; I love you with all my heart, Louis…

He wanted…

How you live your life isn't up to society, it's up to you!

He wanted to love her.

Louis's body ignored his thoughts entirely as he stood up from his chair and ran out the restaurant, his watery eyes wide and his mouth gaped as he panted. It was as if his heart had taken control of his brain, making him run to her, making him find her.

The gazelle called out to him as he bolted out the restaurant like a love-struck virgin, but Louis completely ignored the hostess. He had to find her, he had to say something to her… anything. Despite all the hardships their love would bring them, he wanted to be with her. It was a selfish desire within him, one that he shamefully wanted to accept.

Legosi, was this how you felt when you fell in love with Haru?

Panting heavily, Louis looked down both sides of the crowded sidewalk, hoping he would somehow see her. He looked left and right, trying spot her dark red dress and her droopy ears, but he didn't see her anywhere.

His ears drooped, he'd lost her, and most likely wouldn't see her again for a long, long time. But then, Louis felt something tugging at him internally. He looked to the left and that tug became stronger, as if his heart could feel where she was.

The sidewalk was way too crowded to run in, so Louis quickly slipped through, hoping that whatever sensation was pulling at him was right.

Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter in particular. Also, I hope the events of this chapter didn't feel too rushed, I wanted to jump right into the plot of the story since there's so many Juno/Louis dating stories out there.