When Leo and Cecil returned to the private room, Ruben, Summer, and Noah were inside. 

The seating moved around. Nathaniel was next to Noah, while Summer took Noah's other side, and Jo and Ruben sat beside each other on the other side of the booth. Cecil sat beside Jo, thinking Leo would join him, but Leo sat by Summer instead. 

Nathaniel tried flicking Noah's forehead, causing Noah to hit Summer several times and Summer to hit Leo. Even then, Leo stayed where he was (plus everyone had on scent blockers so that he couldn't smell any pheromones). He pulled off his mask, pocketing it while asking Ruben, "Did any of you have anything to add to the order?" 

Summer glanced at the menu and asked Jo what she had added. "We have everything," She concluded. 

Jo's stomach was like a black hole, so no one would be surprised if she ordered everything off the menu. 

"Okay, but Jo, remember, if you are still hungry, you can add more," Leo said. 

"Did you hit the lottery or something?" Noah commented, holding Nathaniel's hand down. 

Leo shook his head. "Just know that I have the meal covered." 

"Well, I cannot fight with that statement." 

The private room's door opened as the server wheeled in some meat. The sides and drinks were already on the table (put there when Leo left), and the mini grills were turned on and hot. Once the server put down the different meats, they left, closing the door behind them. 

Leo covered his nose a bit when the door opened and finally put his sleeve down when it closed. 

Jo quickly grabbed the tongs to pick up the meat while Ruben sprayed oil on the mini grill. The meat sizzled once it hit the oiled grill. Jo swallowed, watching the meat cook with a fervent expression. 

"I swear, at this point, you should marry food with how much you love it," Noah commented, still holding Nathaniel's hand while he stole his (Nathaniel's) drink to sip from. 

Nathaniel pulled his hand back, grabbed his drink, and flicked Noah's forehead, "Hands off my drink." 

Leo internally rolled his eyes at them. They could not go a second without flirting. He grabbed a plate and set some sides on it while waiting for the meat to cook thoroughly. 

"Is there anything you want me to help with?" Cecil asked, looking like he wanted to serve Leo. 

Leo shook his head. "I believe Jo has it handled." 

"Damn right. No one can out-grill me. Food is my language." Jo injected, causing the others to laugh. 

"Okay." Cecil dejectedly answered. Not only did he want to find some way to hold Leo's attention, but he also wanted to ask who Mad Dog was. 

Although Leo's expressions are covered once he has a mask on, when Cecil sees Leo talking on the phone earlier to that person, he can see the happiness in his eyes. It makes Cecil nervous; it feels like Leo is slipping away. 

Even though Cecil never had him, he could at least rely on his childhood status to keep Leo close to him. 

The conversations continued from there as everyone talked about anything new in their lives and Starlight Journey. The food and atmosphere kept everything light until a simple question caused the mood to sober up. 

"Noah, do you have a tattoo?" Ruben noticed ink peeking through Noah's sleeve. At first, he thought he was seeing things, but the more he stared, the more it stood out. 

Summer, who had been occasionally silent the whole time, spoke, "Noah and I got half-arm sleeves together last month. He did his left arm while I did my right." Summer pulled down her and Noah's sleeves, showing off their tattoos. They did a yin-yang concept with the sun and the moon. Noah's showed a male celestial holding the sun while the background held his zodiac in constellation form, and at the bottom of the celestial's feet lay his birthdate in Roman numerals. Summer's was the same, except hers was in a female form and held the moon. It was their twin tattoos. 

"It looks amazing. Did you draw the concept?" Leo asked Summer. Summer was a striving artist, going to art school, so he wouldn't be surprised if she had made the beautiful design. 

Summer nodded. 

Before anyone could ask other questions, Nathaniel touched Noah's tattoo, tracing the design as he said, "I didn't notice that you got a tattoo. Why didn't you tell me?" 

Noah moved his arm away and, through gritted teeth, replied, "If you had visited me like usual, then you would have known, but you decided to become a coward and stop." 

After Noah spoke, the room was silent; only the grill could be heard. Nathaniel's face went blank. "I need to go to the restroom. Can you let me out?" 

Leo and Summer stood up as Noah kept sitting, not moving. "Are you running away again?" 

"Don't start. Let me out." Nathaniel's face stayed blank, but anyone could see he was angry. Noah looked like he wanted to goad Nathaniel again, but Ruben stopped him. "Let him through." So, Noah stood up, letting Nathaniel out. 

Nathaniel quickly walked out, wanting to slam the door closed, but chose not to. Leo grabbed his mask, watching Nathaniel walk out as he said, "I'll go with him." He left the private room. 

Leo followed Nathaniel, seeing him walk to a corner, leaning his head against the wall with a sigh. Leo walked next to him, leaning his shoulder on the wall while he faced Nathaniel, "Are you two fighting again?" 

Nathaniel bitterly laughed, "It is so much better when we are online. At least we can pretend there isn't a problem because we are not face-to-face. It is different when it is real life. You are lucky not to have anyone you like. Feelings are difficult, especially when there are problems on top of them."

Leo would agree with the part about liking someone, but lately, Niko has been causing him to feel things he had never felt before. He didn't want to define the feeling because he wasn't ready to. 

"Is it because of the age gap, or because you two are male alphas?" 

"I don't care about the age gap anymore, and I don't mind that he is an alpha. If I had, we would have never started our relationship, but it is hard to be with him fully." Nathaniel rubbed his face, feeling frustrated before continuing, "Our society has progressed very far to the point that male alphas can publicly be together, but there are still old heads that cannot accept it, and my parents are one of them. And Noah wants to take our relationship to another step; he wants me to meet his parents, and he wants to meet mine. 

"But, I cannot let him meet my parents. They would break him down and berate me for wanting to be with a male alpha. I don't want to put him through that. When I told Noah, he got mad and asked if I wanted to be with him. He said 'What is the point of wanting to build a life together if I cannot cross this bridge?' I don't want to lose him, and I don't want to lose my family either, so it is difficult for me to decide. Since then, I barely visited him, and we mainly talked over the game. I know I am being a coward, but I don't need him to keep telling and forcing it." 

Leo patted Nathaniel's shoulder; he was not good at comforting. "I understand how this is hard for you, but this is also hard for Noah. You two need to talk to each other about this, and I mean listening to both sides without interrupting or getting mad at each other. You love him, right?" 

"I do." 

"Then, you two must find a compromise before you lose Noah. I understand not fitting into what your parents want; mine threw me away because I cannot deal with pheromones and give them grandchildren due to it. And I won't lie, it did hurt initially, but having support helped me get over it. And even though I cannot see my little sister without sneaking to do it, I still find ways to see her. Don't think it would be the end of the world if your parents cannot accept who you are. We will also be here to have your back, and more importantly, Noah will be there for you no matter what." 

Nathaniel straightened up, his face clearing. "You are right. I need a little time to prepare myself." 

"Then, let Noah know, don't let him slip away." 

"I will." 

Nathaniel and Leo walked back to the private room in a better mood. Nathaniel moved back to his original spot, whispering in Noah's ear. Whatever he whispered, Noah smiled while nodding his head. They moved closer together, seeming better. 

After everything, they finished eating and drinking, ending the meal in the last hour since they were within a time limit. Once it was time for the check, Leo left the room while messaging Niko and walking towards the register. He wanted to pay here instead of trying in the room because he didn't want the others to know how he was paying. 

Niko sent him the money, and he went up and paid the bill. Once he finished paying, he messaged the others that it was time to go. Leo also had to stream today and play with Niko later. 

When everyone was leaving, Cecil grabbed Leo and pulled him aside, asking Ruben and Jo to wait. "What is it?" Leo asked. 

Cecil rubbed the hem of Leo's sleeve through his fingers as he stared at the spot. He felt nervous to look Leo in the eye. "Can you tell me who Mad Dog is?" 

Leo sighed, "Cecil, what happened to not pushing me?" 

"I am not trying to, but why can't you answer this question?" 

"Because you don't have to know everything in my life. There is nothing wrong with having a few things to myself. I don't know everything you do or everyone you hang with, so why do you keep pushing this?" 

Cecil bit his lip while furrowing his brow before finally looking at Leo and blurting, "The look in your eyes. Did you even notice how you looked when talking to that person? You have never looked at anyone that way; it was different." 

Leo felt his stomach flutter, not from Cecil's words but from the feelings he was trying to lock away. If Cecil could see something, then hiding how different Niko was to him was getting harder. He was opening new doors with every moment he spoke with Niko. It was different, and something he did not know if he was ready to experience. 

He removed Cecil's hand, "I don't know what you are talking about. I must hurry back home, and don't leave Ruben and Jo waiting long. I will see you at school on Monday." Leo swiftly walked away, not wanting Cecil to stop him again. 

When his phone vibrated and he saw a message from Niko, Leo felt his heart pounding. 

He didn't know what to do.