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"I want it to be perfect," Koutarou says, crossing his arms.
He and Tetsurou are in their fifth store so far. Tetsurou's patience ran out two stores ago, but he knows Koutarou has a point. It's their first season in the States, and Keiji hasn't taken especially well to the move. He still hasn't found a job, despite being the most qualified between the three of them. Koutarou is determined to cheer him up, and he's decided the best way is to decorate the house for Christmas.
Only he's never decorated a house for any holiday. Tetsurou hasn't, either. And neither of them have any idea what they're doing.
"We just need to get some lights and string them up outside," Tetsurou says for at least the fifth time today. "You just have to pick clear or colored."
"If that were true, they wouldn't have all these choices," Koutarou says, gesturing at the shelves full of boxes. There's C9s, LEDs, C6s, C7s, twinkling, net…Alright, so maybe Koutarou’s right.
"These ones look like regular bulbs to me," Tetsurou says, shoving a box into Koutarou's hands. "Good enough?"
Koutarou sighs. "I guess. Maybe. But what about the extras? We need to get a tree and ornaments and decorations for the mantle…"
Tetsurou frowns. “Do you think Keiji would want all that? He might see it as excessive.”
“But he loves the holidays,” Koutarou says, even as doubt begins to creep into his mind. “Remember our first year together?”
Tetsurou’s heart warms at the memory. “We went to the Christmas market.”
“Keiji ate three pieces of strawberry shortcake—”
“And you carried him back to the train on your back,” Tetsurou finishes.
Koutarou nods. “You had to carry home all our bags, and then you stayed the night at my apartment.”
“We all squeezed into your tiny bed.”
“It’s when I knew I loved you both. I mean, I knew before that, but, you know.”
Tears prick at Tetsurou’s eyes. He didn’t realize. He is not standing in a Target crying about how much he loves his partners. He’s not.
“Okay, Kou,” he nods. “Whatever you want. Let’s make it special for him.”
Koutarou sweeps in and kisses him on the cheek. “Thanks, Tetsu. I won’t go too overboard, I promise.”
Tetsurou doesn’t believe that for a moment, especially not as Koutarou tugs him over to the displays of Christmas trees. Koutarou examines every single one of them in turn, clapping his hands excitedly at the ones that twinkle with patterns. Then there are ornaments, garland, a tree skirt—
A small child passes by them, his mother tugging him along as he drags his feet. “Do you think Santa will bring me a football?”
“Maybe,” responds his mother. “Do you think you’ve been good this year?”
“So good!” says the little boy, throwing his hands in the air. The rest of their conversation is inaudible as they head for the front of the store.
When Tetsurou looks up at Koutarou, his eyes are shining. He raises his hand to his heart.
“Reminds me of me when I was a kid,” he says.
Tetsurou reaches for his hand. “Overactive and loud? Reminds me of you now.”
Koutarou laughs. “C’mon, I wanna go down the sports aisle.”
“No—Koutarou, we’re here for a reason—!”
Tetsurou’s words go unheeded as Koutarou veers down the sporting goods aisle. Tetsurou smiles to himself. At least his boyfriend’s predictable.
When Tetsurou catches up, Koutarou is in the middle of the aisle, the lights all but forgotten in his hands as he purses his lips at a pair of knee pads. “There’s no way these would fit anyone with even a little bit of muscle…” Koutarou is murmuring.
“We’re in a Target,” Tetsurou reminds him. “It’s not like this is the pinnacle of sports stores.”
“They have nice-ish volleyballs though,” Koutarou says, moving down. “A good selection, at least. And look, this one is Christmas colors.” He picks up a green and red ball and tosses it to Tetsurou.
Tetsurou looks at the ball in his hands. Then he looks up at Koutarou, whose eyes are alight.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Tetsurou asks.
Koutarou nods and meets Tetsurou’s grin with one of his own.
***
Keiji grips the wheel tightly. Although he’s a better driver than either Koutarou or Tetsurou, he still isn’t quite used to the way Americans drive. They’re so aggressive, he muses, although they seem to be aggressive in most things. He thanks whatever god can hear him that he’s nearly home as he turns into the neighborhood where the house he shares with his boyfriends is located.
A small sigh escapes his lips as he approaches the house. Many of the houses are lit up, shiny lights twinkling from mailboxes and flagpoles and housetops. Christmas is a few short weeks away, their first since leaving Japan. It’s a stark reminder of life in a new land; everything is so different here, and a small part of Keiji aches for home. But the houses look lovely, all decorated and gleaming in the dark winter night.
Over the radio crackles a retro Christmas song, the English words of which Keiji can just barely understand.
Tell me baby, do you recognize me?/Well, it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me…
Inadvertently, images of Christmas back home appear in Keiji’s mind. The markets, always so festive and bustling. Koutarou made them go every year. No matter how busy they all were, he always made time for a Christmas market date. Keiji’s heart yearns as he pulls onto their street, and he wonders if there’s anything like those markets here in the states. Probably not, he muses with a sigh. Here it’s all shopping malls and department stores, too bright and...aggressive. Just like everything else.
He nearly misses his own driveway as he ruminates, because he wasn’t expecting there to be any lights on it. They hadn’t decorated yet, weren’t sure if they were going to decorate at all, and yet the mailbox at the end of their driveway is covered in twinkling lights.
He squints into the dark. That’s definitely their house: he can see Koutarou and Tetsurou on the front porch, wrapped around each other. Koutarou isn’t wearing a coat. But there are icicle lights hanging from the roof, and clear bulbs wrapped around each window, and…
Are those volleyballs?
Keiji parks the car in the driveway and gets out of the car. Sure enough, spaced every few feet along the porch, there are volleyballs hanging down from clear twine, each one wrapped in colored lights.
“Keiji!” Koutarou calls, jumping up and down in Tetsurou’s arms. “Welcome home!”
Keiji feels tears on his cheeks as he hurries up to the porch. He is quickly welcomed into the embrace, finding himself smashed against Koutarou’s chest. Each of them kiss the top of his head before they pull away.
“Surprise,” Tetsurou says.
“What do you think?” Koutarou says, gesturing at the lights and balls. “Do you like it?”
Keiji wipes the cold moisture from his face and a smile grows on his face. Even here, thousands of miles away from everything they’ve ever known, Tetsurou and Koutarou continue to find ways to show him he’s loved. It’s the one thing he knows will never change. He takes their hands in his own.
“It’s perfect,” he says.
Koutarou’s answering smile is brighter than any of the lights.