"You're kicking me under the table. Why? Don't you like the food here?" Leo asked, and Al chuckled before taking his leg away. Leo glared at him, but it's not like Al could tell so he kept smiling.

"I do like the food," Al said in reply before turning his head towards the direction of Leo's voice. "I'm trying to catch your attention. You've been quiet since you got here. How am I supposed to be sure you're still even sitting across from me if you don't say anything?" Al said, making Leo bite down on his bottom lip before letting out a small sigh. Yes, he had indeed been oddly quiet.

"What?" Al asked when he heard Leo's sigh. Leo chuckled, and that only made Al more confused.

"Tell me," he demanded, reaching out to hold on to Leo's hand. Leo hummed, covering Al's palm with his own.

"Later," he said before letting go of the man's hand. They were having lunch at a local restaurant together. Leonardo had been in contact with Mason since that day, and if Leonardo was being honest he was quite impressed with the effort Mason was putting into the orchestra. It was official now — had been for a few days — Leo was joining the orchestra as a musical talent and co-owner.

"Are you ready for your last performance with Kenneth?" Leo asked, watching as Al shrugged his shoulders, still moving his fork on the china plate filled with food in front of him.

"We've been practicing," he said before pausing. His bangs were shorter now so that his eyes were visible without having to push his hair aside. Leo liked seeing his eyes. Al didn't understand it, but he did like having Leo fawning over him.

"I'm kind of scared," Al said, pouting a bit before running a hand through his hair.

"About the performance?" Leo asked.

"No, not that," Al said, shaking his head.

"Did something happen?" Leo asked, watching as Al shrugged again before drumming his fingers against the wooden table's surface.

"Kenneth's been nice to me for a while — too nice," Al let out. Leo frowned at him before he started laughing.

"I'm serious," Al said, a little hurt at the fact that Leo was laughing at him.

"I'm confused, is that supposed to be a bad thing?" Leo asked, reaching out to give Al's hand a small squeeze. Al looked upset. His full lips were now in a thin line, and his brows had been knitted into a frown.

"Well, it's odd — for him," Al said, and Leo sighed, hiding the small chuckle he let out with a cough. "I've known him since we were kids," Al said, ruing his hand to give a description of how tall they were then. "He's always been... Kenneth. The person I'm practicing with now isn't Kenneth."

"Maybe a change of heart? At least he's being nice to you, that's a good thing," Leo hummed, watching as Al's features relaxed a bit. "Maybe he's a little happier, who knows," Leo added. Al had a thing for worrying about the oddest of situations, and this wasn't any different. If Kenneth had decided to stop being a pain, that was a good thing, and nothing to worry about.

Besides. Leo thought. He's probably just bored of teasing him.

"Al," Leo called after a brief period of silence on the table. Al moved his head so that his right ear — his preferred one — was arched towards Leo. Leonardo could feel his heart beating in his throat. The restaurant was crowded, but it felt like they were the only ones there. Leo was nervous.

Very nervous.

"I have something to tell you," he said, licking his lips that had suddenly gone dry from being paranoid. He was fidgeting a bit and was now drumming a tune on the table with the fingers of his free hand. He squeezed Al's hand again as he waited for him to say something.

"What is it?" Al asked, breaking the silence. Leo adjusted his sitting position on his seat. He still felt nervous.

"I have to ask you a question first. Are you still taking the offer in France?" Leo asked, and Al stayed quiet.

"Are you?" he asked again, watching ad Alejandro turned away from his voice.

"I don't know..." Al trailed. "I don't think I want to—" he said before pausing. Leo knew it was because of him so he sighed before giving Al's hand a squeeze again.

"You can take it. It's your future."

"But I don't want to leave—"

"It's fine, I'm joining an orchestra in France too," Leo said, cutting Al off. Alejandro seemed stunned by the news. He was quiet for a bit, and soon he was talking again.

"What orchestra? Are you being taken in as a conductor?" he asked consecutively. Leo chuckled a bit. Who would have thought Al was the one not caring about where he got placed a few minutes ago?

"It doesn't matter," Leo said. "It really doesn't matter. I'll be in France with you. That's what matters."

Al looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, his features molded into a confused look before he picked up his fork again. "You deserve the best, Leo," Al mumbled under his breath. He really hoped Leo wasn't doing something stupid because of him.

"So, do you," Leo said in response, and Lal could feel his hand being squeezed again. Al didn't argue with Leo, he smiled, and returned to eating.

When they were done eating they headed for the parking lot, and soon Al was in the passenger seat, and Leo was in the driver's seat of Esterphina's car.

"I wrote something," Leo said when he remembered to composition he'd been working on. He turned on the engine, and Al hummed to himself when Leo turned on the radio and switched the disk that was inside for his. Soon the piece he had written was playing.

"I wrote it for you," Leo said as he began to hum along to the gentle piece. It was gentle yet experimental, simple, and melodramatic in that daring genius way — just like Al. A smile made its way on Al's lips as the music filled the car. It was nice to hear, and these were keys he could recognize with ease.

"I didn't know you wrote music," Al said as Leo drove the car out of the restaurant's parking lot and into the main road. Leo was talented, and Al wasn't sure if there wasn't anything he couldn't do if he put his mind to it. When they'd first met Al had been threatened by the fact, but now his heart swelled with pride whenever Leo showed off.

"It's not something I do often, but yes, I can write music," Leo said before he continued humming along to the piece.

"I like it. Did you write a song for it?" Alejandro asked, and Leo turned to him with wide eyes. He stared at Al for a bit, before turning away and facing the road ahead again.

"Well..." he trailed as he made a turn. "There is, but I can't sing for the life of me," he laughed, and Al turned towards Leo's voice with a grin plastered on his face.

"I'm sure you can sing," he said in a teasing tone.

"I can't."

"Well, you could sing now, and I can be the judge of that."

"You're trying to make me do something stupid so that you can laugh," Leo said, and Al laughed, not denying the accusation.

"Maybe." Leo smiled at Al's reply, and they both continued to hum along to the song. The feeling of the good news Leo had shared with Al was still fresh in their minds and it kept their chest warm.

This couldn't have fallen into place any better.