Jules was twisting his peg leg on the street in front of a restaurant. The kitsune hadn't been this anxious in decades, nor did he think he would ever find someone to share his life with. He walked this Earth for far longer than his peers, one and a half century, too afraid to bond with someone afraid to see them die while he looked like he hadn't aged a day. He had gone through tough times over his life; three World Wars shook up his life. He looked at his left arm, a robotic prosthetic. An attack on his life over twenty years ago costed him a literal arm and a leg. Some blame him for bringing the world into chaos after his invention made fossil fuels redundant. But all that was in the past. It seemed that life had love in store for him after all. The only thing he wouldn't have guessed is that it came from out of this world...

He readjusted the collar of his suit again. It was the best suit he had, a purple tuxedo. He had it made by a tailor in Montréal seventy years ago, but despite the suit being three quarters of a century old, he maintained it in mint condition, as if he had bought it yesterday. His left arm was aching, feeling the weight of the prosthetic hanging on the end of the stump. He never liked the prosthetics he had, and only wore them for formal and practical reasons. At home he mostly left his prosthetic arm off. If only he could regrow his limbs back, but the Fiend Fire he was attacked with made that impossible. Nasty stuff, that Fiend Fire, not to mention very illegal. He could've died that day, but he was lucky to receive medical attention quickly after the attack on his life. The scars would never fully heal, but that doesn't mean he couldn't present himself at his best in public. The kitsune people got a bad reputation after the Kitsune Kult was uncovered, the same party that tried to eliminate him. But he was the exception, a war hero, and very much respected within the Terran Fleet. His many years of experience in wars made him an attractive candidate for a commanding officer on one of the starships of the recently founded Terran Starfleet. And it had been necessary as well; they had found themselves at war again, this time with the Kentauros Empire, a local power outside Earth. Under Captain Higgs, he was the first officer of the Pioneer during its first year in service. But now that the war was over, his career was in calmer waters. He'd serve some time on the flagship, the Yorktown, but he had heard he would get his own captaincy soon over the Terran Fleet's first battleship. He was looking forward to that, but what he was looking more forward towards is meeting someone again he had met during his time of service: Mi'vaki Trana, an alien woman and the former captain of the Yorktown. She too was a creature built to fight, but in her heart she wished for peace and diplomacy, just like him. He felt a strong kinship in her, even though she was not from this planet, and she was a century younger than him, even though she was far more experienced in all this space navy business. And yet... he felt something with her he had never felt before, as if she was the one for him. He had read about strong sensations people would get when they found their soulmate, some people would feel it more than once, but never had he imagined he felt this way, and she told him she felt the same when she was near him. He couldn't wait to see her today. This would be their first real date on Earth. He hoped it would be a success...

From behind the corner, a strange creature in a silk pink dress turned onto the street, heading towards him in a surprisingly elegant pace. Her fur was as brown as a tree trunk, with long black hair that was unusually elegant for a creature with a predator background like her. Several horns sprouted from her head, four from her cheeks, and three more from her long nose ridge, ending up in a snout. Her pointy ears were perked up, and her yellow eyes with slit pupils almost seemed to glow this evening, mostly thanks to the make-up she put on. But most peculiar was that she had no jaw line, no mouth below her nose. Her four-fingered hand had well-maintained and dulled claws, the ones on the index fingers longer than the ones on the other fingers. Behind her was a long, fluffy tail, with on its round end a large maw, that smiled at him when she saw her.
"Mi'vaki!" Jules said to her, "You look beautiful tonight, ma cherie!"
"And you look very dandy as well, dear," she spoke with her tailmaw with a soft, almost soothing voice. He saw that she too was very anxious. You'd almost forget that her people were once vicious predators themselves, until they were humbled by other predators even more ruthless than they were. Her kind were refugees now, the ones that escaped. She had lived most of her life in space, never having a home of her own. He could sympathise with that; he too had to leave his home in the past when war forced him to leave his beloved France, a country that, thanks to the events of K-Day, had been mostly destroyed, a home he can never return to...
"So, what do you think?" he said to her. "Looking forward to our dinner?"
"I've been thinking about it all day," she replied. "I just hope this cuisine has meat on the menu..."
"Of course, ma cherie! I can recommend the Foie Gras to you. It's a delicacy where I come from. Shall we enter?"
"That would be lovely, dear," she kissed him with her tail maw on his cheek. He blushed.
"After you," he gestured.
The pair went through the door, and entered a chic French restaurant. The room was designed in neoclassical style, with many pillars and curtains along the walls. The waiter showed them to their table after they had looked up their reservation. The table was covered in a red velvet tablecloth, and the seats had cushions matching the same colour. They took their seats, their tails sticking through the back of their chair, and read through the menu, skipping ahead to the wine section.
"Stabbing Sabertooth! There are so many of these!" Mi'vaki said. "I... I don't even know where to begin."
"Do you know what kind of wine you want? Dry, fruity, strong..."
"I'm not an expert, I just wanted to try some French wine. Can you pick one for me?"
"Hmmm... I was thinking about picking Merlot. It's one of the few they still grow in it's original region..."
"Yeah, let's pick that one, some actually French wine."
"I'll order that for us then, ma cherie, along with some zucchini soup and Foie Gras."
Jules gestured towards the waiter to take their order. The waiter assured them their meal was underway, and left them alone again.
"So... I wonder, do Spirtrans have restaurants like these on New Spirtra?" Jules asked her.
"No, not really," Mi'vaki answered. "It's just all... just practical, nothing fancy. We lost most of our culture when the Salzorn came. It's not the first time I've been to a restaurant like this on other planets and space stations, but us Spirtrans... we don't have that much to offer in that sense..."
"C'est dommage, ma cherie! I wish I could see some of that old culture one day."
"Trust me, you don't want that. It was a culture of violence and exploitation. It's a bit morbid, but... I think we deserved to be conquered like that."
"Oh, don't be too harsh on yourself. You aren't responsible for what your forebearers did. Look, your people have changed for the better. They left that toxic past behind and use their predator skills for good. Just like I use my magic to make the world a better place... mostly..."
"Dear, you did more good than bad. That's all that counts. Thanks to you and your team, you could rebuild this world with the removal of the pollution from the past fueling it. Thanks to you, this world is healing."
"Yeah... but it cost me dearly..."
"But you are still here, and so is this planet. You'll leave this world in a far better state than when you found it. Only the Gods know for how long you'll roam around this universe..."
"Please, don't remind me of that. Let's just... you know... live in the moment for once..."
"Of course, my dear," she kissed him again. "Just you and me and this dinner..."

The waiter came with two glasses of red wine, and two bowls of soup, served with several slices of baguette.
"Bon appétit, ma cherie!" Jules said. He took a spoonful of his soup. "Careful, it can be -"
"HOOOOT!" Mi'vaki shouted, her tailmaw spitting out her soup. She had gulped a large sip, and was finding out the hard way.
"Easy, eat it slowly with your spoon, and lightly blow on it, like this," he demonstrated with his spoon.
"OK, I... ummm... I'll try." She took a spoonfull and tried blowing on it with her tailmaw. She blew the soup off her spoon onto the tablecloth. "Sorry, a bit too strong. I need to find a feeling for this."
She tried again, this time blowing even lighter, and then put the spoon in her tailmaw.
"Yeah, that's better," she said. "But I really have to get used to eating like this."
"You Spirtrans don't use cutlery?"
"No, not really. We usually eat directly from a bowl. If you want to have a romantic dinner on New Spirtra, we don't sit at a table. Instead, we are slowly dancing close together, with bowls of different dishes behind us."
"Oh, that does sound romantic in a different way, but... I guess that won't work out with me as your partner."
"No, I guess not. You can't eat with your tails, haha!"
"And how is the baguette, you think?"
She took one slice with one bite, but it looked like she didn't find it as tasty.
"Bread... never liked bread," she said. She shoved her slices towards him. "Here, you can have the rest."
"Merci, ma cherie! But a shame you don't like it..."
They finished their soup. Mi'vaki was a bit struggling with her spoon, being very small compared to her mouth. She wasn't very elegant in that way. But soon after, the waiter came with the main course: the Foie Gras. the plates were served right in front of them. Jules raised his wine glass.
"Acclamati-"
*CHOMP!* *CHOMP!*
Before Jules could finish, Mi'vaki's tailmaw had snatched both pieces of Foie Gras. Mi'vaki was blushing deep red, with both goose livers hanging from her mouth. She dropped them on her plate.
"I'm so sorry, dear!" she said, "I'm so very sorry! It's just... instinct kicked in. I ... I couldn't -"
"Tout va bien, ma cherie," he tried to comfort her. He picked his own Foie Gras, and sliced off the part that had been in Mi'vaki's tail maw, and put that part back on her plate. "Voilà, all solved. I had some extra baguette, you have some extra Foie Gras."
"Thank you, but... I still feel really bad about it. It's just that stupid predator in me that sometimes takes over."
"You should take your own words to heart, ma cherie. You too will leave this world a better place. Don't let your nature ruin it for you. I will love you regardless."
"Even my flaws?"
"Especially those."
This time he kissed her just above the tip of her snout. Mi'vaki blushed.
"You're such a smooth operator, dear," she said.
"I had plenty of time to practive, ma cherie..."
They ate the rest of the Foie Gras in peace, not disturbed by Mi'vaki's predatory instincts. She also carefully tasted the wine, her large tailmaw not doing her any favours. But at the end of the day, they can both have a good laugh about it...

As they decided to skip dessert, they stood outside again, walking hand in hand. Mi'vaki was hugging him with her tail, the tip of it with her tailmaw on Jules' shoulder. They walked to the park to find the nearest park bench and sit down.
"I hope this dinner wasn't too awkward for you, dear," Mi'vaki said to Jules.
"Are you silly? I haven't had a more surprising dinner in fourty years!" he reassured her.
"Really? You must have had some really boring dinners."
They looked up and gazed at the moon and stars above them.
"Funny," Jules said. "For more than a hundred and fourty years I looked up at those stars, wondering what was out there and if we were alone in the universe. But now... I'm travelling among them, and I found you there."
"It must've been exciting, seeing your planet go through its space age."
"Oh, it was! It's one of the few highlights I have in my life. I'm glad to have become a part of that legacy now."
"I've heard you'll soon become a captain."
"As soon as I have my own ship, yes. It's hit some delays and it's still on the drawing board, but they'll soon start building it."
"Does it have a name yet?"
"No. They told me I should name it when it's done."
"I hope you can think of a good one. Good luck with that, captain"
"Good luck, commodore."
"Huh? Who told you the news?"
"Oh, I've heard the rumours about your promotion on Bifröst Station..."
"News spreads fast, huh..."
"I'm just wondering, will we see each other that much when you're assuming your new function?"
"My dear, I'll make time for you. Don't worry about that."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
They kissed each other under the moonlight, his lips on her tailmaw's. They were an odd couple, one unlikely meeting. But both knew this was meant to be...

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So I received this very cute picture from  Cervelet on his Patreon. One that deserved a short story to go along with it. It's not easy to have a fancy dinner with a giant tailmaw...

Illustration drawn by  Cervelet
Digitally coloured by  MandelSoft