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Kevin had to admit, he was nervous.

Standing in front of the mirror, he yet again inspected his outfit. Not knowing what to wear, he put on the most expensive clothes he had. He knew he looked dashing already—he knew if he went to a bar, he would bring someone home in less than 5 minutes—but he couldn't be too cautious. Who knew where the panther would take him? Maybe he would take him to the most expensive restaurant in the city? Maybe he would take him to the topmost level of the highest tower in the city? Maybe he would take him somewhere on a private jet?!

Kevin slumped on the bed as his mind went crazy. He just did not know.

His phone beeped. He took it from the nightstand without moving from his spot. Octo panther: “I'm already inside your complex. Get ready :)"

He groaned and stood up unenthusiastically, stretching a bit. He inspected his clothes again and made sure he looked presentable. He was wearing a casual white shirt with patterns on the right side, similar to the one with red lines that Octo suggested he buy. He didn't put any jackets on because he would be wearing a coat later. This was also one of the rare times he wore business trousers, black, of course, to match his polished to near-perfection shoes.

He also remembered Octo saying “our dinner". He wondered who else was joining. Was it only him and Octo? But he didn't include him when he said that. Were his parents also joining?!

“You gotta be that nice to pick up dudes, huh, fag?" Shaun said as Kevin closed his bedroom door and took his coat. “Tryna be classy or snobbish, I can't tell."

Kevin's ears instantly folded back. He flipped the bird at Shaun, to which his brother just rolled his eyes in amusement.

“What's the occasion, Kevin? Do you have a date? Who's the lucky girl?" His mother said from the kitchen, looking him up and down while crossing her hands and smiling.

“Mom, Kevin's gay! He fucks dudes!" Shaun said, loud enough for their mother to hear.

Kevin facepalmed.

“Is he? Kevin, why didn't you tell me? It's fine! I don't min—"

“Mom, please, I told you like a thousand times already. Please don't give me the talk again." He opened the fridge, drank some milk, and handed it to his mother. “No, just a friend taking me to dinner. From the sound of it, it's gonna be a formal dinner so I gotta be prepared."

His mother, Cynthia, laughed a little. “Sorry, I forgot about that. You never brought anyone home. Anyway, who are you going with for dinner?"

His brother laughed. “He fucks a lot, mom! Pretty sure he'll end up fucking with whoever he's having dinner with!"

Kevin took a discarded slice of potato from the counter and threw it at his brother. It hit him exactly on the head. “Ow! The fuck!"

“Shaun, language!"

“Yeah, language!"

A few moments later, a car came into view through the door. Kevin put his gloves on and looked at himself again, making sure he was perfect. His mother dusted his shirt, although it was already very clean. “Don't rush. Take it easy, okay?"

“Y-yeah, mom. Uh… thanks."

“Who's the lucky guy?"

“It's just dinner, mom! But… it's… Octo… the panther who visited here a month ago."

“W-what?!" Shaun immediately looked him straight in the eye. His expression quickly turned from annoyed to angry. “Dude, fucking guys is one thing, fucking guys who're different species is another, but dating a guy who's a different species let alone genus is on a whole new level of fucked up!"

“For the thousandth time, dickhead, it's just dinner!"

“You being gay is disgusting enough, but you dating someone from a different genus?!"

“Kevin, Shaun, don't fight!"

“Excuse me, have I come at the wrong time?"

They all turned their heads to the door where a panther was standing. Octo looked concerned but still held his ground as he looked at them worriedly.

Suddenly, Shaun stood up and walked to him. Kevin immediately moved between him and the panther just as Shaun almost took the collar of his coat. He growled, telling Shawn to back off. The lighter-red growled back at him. “Fuck you, fags! We don't need any more fucking-up here!"

“Fuck you, straight! You and your dickhead need some banging to the wall because it's just a fucking dinner!"

“At least I can see the reason that you can't even be a dad with him!"

“We're guys! None of us can be a woman!"

“That is enough!" Cynthia said, interrupting the shouting match. Kevin and Shaun didn't look at her, but they did stop growling and back off. She turned to Octo, “I'm terribly sorry that you have to watch this, panther. They fight sometimes."

Octo sighed fondly, perfectly putting up a cover and smiled at her. “It is alright, ma'am. If you would, I would like to borrow Kevin for the night."

“Stop that you disgusting panthe—"

“And of course," Octo continued, this time looking at Shaun. “would you mind if I gave him a piece of my mind?"

She looked at him and Shaun worriedly, then nodded. “N-no, dear."

The panther turned to Shaun. For a moment Kevin saw intense anger there before being replaced by a soft smile. “Have you heard of listening? I heard it improves your cognitive ability to assess and understand a situation, or in simpler terms, it helps you think." He nodded before continuing. “You have the right to doubt Kevin's ability to be a father, but I also have the right to doubt your ability to be a father if this is how you treat guests. Even your dates would likely be very disappointed, let alone your wife."

Ouch. It wasn't even directed at Kevin yet he found himself grimacing. That was a strong, deep punch to the gut—no, more than that. It seemed like Octo was slowly stabbing him in the heart of his masculinity whilst smiling at him. The panther hit so many nerves there, that even Kevin couldn't help but feel rather sorry for Shaun.

This panther was something else entirely.

Shaun was baring his fangs at the panther, effectively boiling with rage. He held back, though, so Kevin was glad. Meanwhile, Octo looked smug, unaffected by the aggressive display before him. The panther then turned to his mom and nodded at her. “I apologize for the disturbance. We will be taking our leave. I will make sure Kevin is safe tonight."

“Y-yes, dear." She tried to smile back, then came closer to him. Kevin stepped aside to allow her to whisper something to the panther whilst avoiding looking at Shaun.

The panther nodded at her. “Good evening." He then turned to Kevin and nodded. “Shall we?" He said before walking outside.

Outside, Kevin stared at the panther's back in disbelief. He couldn't believe Octo just did that to Shaun, antagonising him that harshly yet locking him in place. The red wolf glanced back at his house where he could hear his mom reprimanding his brother, then back at Octo.

Smiling at him, the panther gestured at the car. “Don't worry about them. They will be fine."

“Dude, I can't fucking believe you just did that!"

“Was that wrong?" Octo's expression turned concerned. “I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand him attacking you like that."

Kevin laughed. “Dude, that was heckin' glorious! Fuck, his face was totally destroyed! You gotta do that more often! Well, when my mom isn't around, though."

The smile was back on the panther's face. “Glad to hear that."

“How did you do that?"

“Years of dealing with the upper class tends to sharpen the tongue. Mine is no exception."

Now that the awkward air was gone, Kevin took a good look at him. Surprisingly, Octo dressed casually. He was just wearing a simple blue and white t-shirt under his coat. Even he wore jeans! Now he felt overdressed. The panther's strong smell was masked by nice-smelling perfume, which was kind of a bummer since he smelled so different than usual.

“Nice of you to dress up for the occasion. You look absolutely gorgeous." Octo said as he opened the door for him. “If you would."

Smirking a bit, Kevin went inside the car—the same car from yesterday—and sat down on the very comfortable seat. Octo got in next to him in the backseat. “So, uh, where're we going?"

“My house. We'll be having dinner with my family." He simply said. “Chester, set course for home."

“Yes, sir."

Hearing that, Kevin facepalmed; he didn't know which was worse, Octo bringing him to an expensive restaurant or to his own house with his family. At least in a restaurant, there would be just the two of them! With his family, though…

“Don't worry, it will be just me and my parents. We're Italians, so expect Italian food on the menu." He chuckled.

That didn't do anything to calm him down.

“Well, I guess it's time for some rules. They're boring, but still important. One of the unfortunate side effects, I suppose." Octo said with a light chuckle. “We'll go directly to the dining room when we arrive. I'm sure the dinner would start soon after we arrive. First, don't start eating before my father opens the meal. Second, don't play with utensils. They can be intimidating at first, so it's fine if you just use one spoon, one fork, and one knife. Third, don't forget to peel your fruits, though I'm sure the chef would serve it peeled anyway. Also, if you can't eat something, tell us."

Pushing the fact away that the panther had just flexed once more, Kevin grimaced. There were a lot of rules just for having dinner! He was questioning himself whether this would be good or not…

“Most importantly though, don't force it. My parents aren't going to judge you just because you hold the spoon wrong. It's really fine. We might be old fashioned but we're no hardcore… er, you know. Just enjoy it like a regular dinner."

“Uh… yeah… thanks." He replied, feeling even more nervous. “Is it fine though? Like, you know, I'm kinda intruding on your family's dinner. You did say you don't usually invite people to your dinner."

“Yeah, it's fine. That doesn't mean we never invited people over, you know. Just think of it like when you and your mom invited me to your dinner." Octo chuckled. “The soup your mother made was delicious, by the way."

The car went into a high-class neighbourhood across the river. They didn't go in, but the houses inside were visible through the fences. He looked out the window like a boy on his first trip. Kevin was awestruck at just how big the houses were. Although not outrageously big like Vilkas', they were still very big.

They did not stop, though. In fact, they seemed to just drive along the neighbourhood. Then, another gate came into view and they went through it. They drove for a bit more and came into a garden before the car eventually stopped and Kevin took a deep sigh in preparation.

Octo got out of the car. Kevin was about to open his door, but the panther already beat him to it. Getting out of the car, he was awestruck again at how big the house was. Sure, there weren't many decorations on the outside, but the style was somewhere between modern and traditional.

“Welcome to my house." Octo said with a light chuckle. “Well, actually my family's house. My house is that apartment in Barrowisle."

He snickered to mask his surprise. “Heh, nice house you got here."

“Thank you. Now, come on."

“What the fuck, is this really a house and not a palace?!" Kevin said under his breath. He felt like a peasant going into a palace. He felt so out of place, and this was just the outside.

Inside was as blingy as he expected. It was extravagant as fuck with that absurdly huge lamp in the centre of the absurdly spacious what he assumed to be the reception room. Heck, this room was even bigger than two entire classrooms! Expensive-looking furniture and paintings covered the wall. Carpets with beautiful motifs were on the floor. Comfortable sofas were scattered in the room along with plants and tables and more plants. Soft aroma permeated every corner of the room.

They met a tiger as soon as they entered. The tiger smiled and greeted them. “Ah, there you are, Mr Octaviano. I hope the ride was a pleasant one?"

“Of course, it was very pleasant."

The tiger turned to him. “And good evening to you, Mr Huntington. My name is Nicholas Tranzino di Avenza. I'm the head butler of the Zoccarato household and personal guard to Mr Octaviano here. It is most pleasant to finally meet you." He bowed slightly to the wolf.

Kevin bowed back awkwardly. Whoa, Octo had a personal guard. “Yeah, um… i-it's nice to meet you too, uh, Mr… Mr Avenza." He tried to smile, but he knew that looked forced.

“Please, just call me Nicholas." The tiger smiled. “Now come, the dinner will be ready shortly. Also, if you would," He offered his hand.

The panther took his coat off and gave it to the tiger. Kevin did the same, also with his gloves.

“Just call him Nico, and don't worry, he's not usually this formal." Octo said to him as they walked inside.

“Sir, please." Nicholas laughed softly, though his ears went down.

They climbed up the stairs, then took the left passage. Octo and Nicholas were talking in front of him, but Kevin couldn't pay them any mind when he was too busy admiring the sight around him. The house looked beautiful, spacious yet welcoming, and also expensive. He was sure that that vase in the corner of the corridor cost more than six months of his wage!

“It's not all gold and silver, Kev." Octo said, making him turn to look at him. The panther pointed at the vase he was wondering about. “That vase you see, I bought it during last month's wholesale. Got that for… wait, how much again, Nico?"

“8 euros, sir."

Oh… well that was still a damn nice-looking vase.

They then reached a large pair of doors. This must be it, Kevin thought. He took a deep breath and composed himself; he couldn't make a bad impression of himself and Octo! He might be a lowly commoner, but he had his pride!

Nicholas opened the door, and he was greeted by a very nice-looking dining room. The walls were cream with simple motifs on them. There were four seats around the big table in the middle of the room.

Octo opened a chair for him, giving a grin as he did so. “If you would."

Kevin just chuckled, sitting down rather uncomfortably, especially since just one look at the table showed so many utensils ready.

Wait, why the hell were there so many utensils on the table?!

“Don't worry about them." Octo sat down on a chair beside him. “You can just use one if you want to, nothing too weird with that."

“Er…"

The panther leant back on the chair. “Also, guess I should apologise first to you for roping you into this. This is my first attempt at hosting a formal dinner, by the way. Don't worry, though, you can eat all the food, and if you want more, just tell me."

That didn't make this any better or worse. Kevin was glad to help, but he was sure he would be even more nervous if Octo told him that. “Y-yeah no problem, dude." He took a deep breath. This was a formal dinner. He should mess this up. He could do this.

The door then opened again, this time revealing a panther similar to Octo and the other a leopard. They must be Octo's parents, Kevin thought, and he kept telling himself not to mess this up. Octo stood up, and he followed the panther. Given their position, he was sure he was amongst the lucky few to dine with them.

Thankfully, they seemed friendly. The panther in similar clothing to Octo smiled at him. Despite his scary-looking face, this panther seemed nice. “Good evening! And it's Kevin, I take it?"

“Yes, sir. I'm Kevin, Kevin Huntington." Kevin shook hands with the panther, giving his best smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you, my sir."

The older panther laughed. “Please, spare us the formalities. Likewise, though. You can call me Giuseppe."

“Giuseppe." He repeated the name.

The leopard then walked forward and hugged him briefly. Kevin replied to the hug awkwardly. “It's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Maria." Maria looked a lot friendlier than her husband and son. She was wearing a simple dress, not too complicated, but still enough to impress.

“Maria." He repeated again. “Likewise, ma'am."

“Mom, dad, if you would."

“Octo, come on." Giuseppe chuckled at his son before sitting down. “Well, Kevin, thank you for coming. Octo doesn't usually bring his friends around."

Octo just shook his head fondly.

“Good to be here." Kevin smiled back at them. “Nice house you got here."

Oh no… he said the wrong thing, didn't he?

Octo's father just laughed. “Thank you for the compliment. Octaviano personally had gone into making sure this is well-maintained. Now, come on. Let's start dinner."

Octo nodded and clapped his hands.

The door at the back of the room then opened, and some servers came inside carrying trays of food. Kevin watched as plates were placed before him. It was… vegetables with some… uh… small seafood in it? One of the glasses in front of him was filled with wine. The vegetables smelled cooked. So, uh… this was it?

Kevin saw Octo next to him saying thank you at his server, so when his own server was done with the wine, he thanked him. The server smiled back at him before leaving.

He was about to pick one of the vegetables when he remembered to wait for Octo's father to open the meal. The older panther led the small prayer, then drank the wine. As he did, Kevin noticed Maria and Octo began digging in as well.

Kevin ate the vegetables and was surprised that they actually tasted very good. Nice and a bit sour but not overpowering. He took a gulp from the wine but coughed up a bit.

“Drink it slowly, sip by sip." Octo said with a chuckle next to him.

“Are you okay, Kevin?" Maria asked him from across the table.

“Y-yes, sorry."

“He's unfamiliar with Italian dinners." Octo spoke up, intensifying the embarrassment on Kevin's face. “Don't force him, dad, mom."

The leopard smiled at him. “It's okay, dear. Just take it easy."

“Don't rush it." Giuseppe said. “Anyway, how did you meet Octaviano? He isn't really known to be the friendliest."

“Dad, please."

Kevin forced a chuckle. “We're uni friends. I met him during one of the parties that the football club hosted. I'm not from the football club, though. I played basketball." He looked around a bit and found that he was the only one who started eating; Octo and his family had only drunk the wine. His ears went down as he put his utensils down and reached for the wine again.

“We met because Tom invited us both to a party." Octo said with a light chuckle and began to eat.

“Are you from the same major as Octo, Kevin?"

“No, ma'am, I'm from Management."

A few minutes later, the door at the back of the room opened again. One of the servers took his empty plate and another was placed in its place as well as more dishes on the table. Kevin gulped; apparently, they were just getting started.

---

Kevin walked through cream-painted hallways that looked both welcoming yet intimidating at the same time, following Octo from behind. As he took a deep breath, he could not help but wonder about the dinner. The food was expensive and delicious as hell. There were four or five courses including desserts, but he didn't feel too full. He noticed the portions were smaller, though, but with the number of dishes that many, it was welcome.

His appreciation shot up when Nicholas said that Octo himself was the one preparing the courses. Kevin could only look at the panther as he ate the duck. “We have a restaurant chain," the panther said, “I'm going to be its head chef, so I must be able to manage a dinner session. That's why I told you that this is my first attempt at hosting a formal dinner."

Seriously, this was another thing entirely. The wolf was sure that his ears were down for the entirety of dinner, but no one paid any attention. In fact, Octo's parents were friendly. In fact, he felt as if this were a regular occurrence for them. So… that was a good thing?

Octo led him to a bedroom. Upon coming inside, Kevin was a bit surprised that it looked… kind of plain compared to the other rooms he'd been in. The light blue walls did not have much on them. There was only one painting on one side of it across the windows. The room still looked expensive, though, with that 42-inch television on the wall, more sofas and tables, two big bookshelves, and a big bed on the other side of the room. There was a large desk in front of the smaller windows with a computer on it. This bedroom was bigger than even his entire house!

“This is my bedroom." Octo said. “Sorry for the mess."

There was no mess here, everything looked almost shiny in perfection.

“You want to change to a more comfortable t-shirt?"

“Uh…" Kevin mumbled, still awestruck. “Yeah?"

The panther chuckled a bit and tapped his shoulder softly. “Go sit anywhere you like. I will return shortly."

The wolf took the opportunity to sit down on one of the sofas and buried his face in his hands. Was this real? Was he really flirting with this… this prince who lived in this goddamn palace who brought him to his bloody bedroom who acted like all of this was normal?

Kevin groaned and looked at the ceilings. They were just plain white, fortunately. This room looked so clean and expensive, but somehow it felt… welcoming.

Daring to take another look, Kevin stood up as his ears slowly went up. Sure, it felt intimidating at first, but as he glanced over the room again, it actually looked very warm and cosy. The room might be large, but he suspected his house was just that small. Now that he studied it even more, this room was just barely bigger than Octo's apartment back in Barrowisle. Despite the area, the furniture was arranged to make the room smaller than it actually was.

Apparently, the room was also quite simple. Sure, the television seemed too big for just one person, but everything else looked… regular. The desk was clean save for several photos, books, and a tablet in one corner. There were several sofas, and they all looked worn down yet cared after. He heard the panther's footsteps but he didn't go back. On one of the tables across the bed was the panther's personal self-care stuff. Kevin took one of the bottles; it was a deodorant for pantherines.

“Sorry, I couldn't find the one your size. Here." Octo said. “If you want to use the changing room or the bathroom they're over there."

Kevin turned around and took the t-shirts the panther offered. They looked casual. “We use the same size, y'know."

The panther chuckled and crossed his arms. “I'm leaner than you."

He looked at the t-shirts and chose one to wear, then took his shirt and undershirt off.

Rolling his eyes, Octo huffed. “Already flashing again, aren't we?"

Kevin just grinned at him before putting the t-shirt on. Octo was right, it was a bit tight, but he didn't mind. It just felt like his gym tank top but a bit looser.

“Speaking of, you wanna stay for the night? It's already rather late." asked the panther, head tilting to point at the clock.

That made him chuckle and grin. “Already eager to invite me to spend the night again, huh?"

The panther just shrugged. “I mean, I can take you home if you want."

Kevin took his phone from his pocket, then when he saw no notifications, he pocketed it back. “Eh, sure. Besides, it's already late anyway."

They stared at each other for a while. He looked into the panther's brown eyes, both intimidating yet welcoming at the same time. Both expressionless and full of expression at the same time. Octo had always been an uptight person, a by-the-book panther who always seemed to write his own book. Kevin found him an interesting, alluring contrast to his own nature.

Especially now. Octo took a step forward and said in a low voice, expression still neutral. “I'm starting to think that this may not be a good idea."

Kevin just grinned. “Then make it good."

“With your permission, of course." This time, Octo answered almost breathlessly as if he was holding himself back. “May I?"

Grin faded, Kevin gulped, and finally realised that he was falling for the panther again when he answered excitedly, “Do it."

Octo offered a smile, then put his hands on his waist.

They pulled each other closer, then the gap between their mouths closed.