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Given Kaito's friend group, he should have guessed that the only possible outcome for a camping trip would be a disaster. He's not even sure who exactly let Kazuichi plan the trip - he'd think a mechanic of all people would remember to fill the car before they headed off. Then again, he should have known better. Kazuichi would forget his own head at home if it wasn't fixed in place.
Now nightfall is already shrouding the street in fog, the moon lurking beyond the clouds and everyone is too exhausted to head all the way to the camp, which would at least be another two hours at best, given that Leon is a horrible driver at night. So they bite the sour apple and stop the car at the next best motel it could reach, before the engine dies with a pathetic whine.
"Just for the record, Kaz is absolutely walking tomorrow to fill the tank", Leon glowers while digging out his suitcase. Kazuichi gestures wildly and stomps his foot into the sandy dust of the parking lot. "Me? Alone?! Do you want me to get killed?" Leon scoffs. Kaito knows he gets easily irritated when he's tired, and they have been driving for the past five hours with a broken AC and the sun relentlessly burning down their black Ford. He's definitely at his limit, and if Kazuichi wants to survive the night, he really shouldn't stretch it.
"Chill out, guys. It's not that bad. They probably have breakfast if we're lucky, and we figure out the rest in in the morning", he tries to dispute. Kazuichi sighs, but doesn't argue further. "While you guys sort our stuff, I'll go inside and check that they actually have a room", he offers. Leon shoots him a glare. "They better or I'll make space in one." Kazuichi gives him a playful pat on the shoulder, and their previous argument is already forgotten. They may both be in each other's hair a lot, but Kaito knows they care deeply about each other. They are already used to Leon's snarky attitude.
Kaito makes his way over to the rundown main building. The three of them have been friends since elementary school and frankly, they are the best people Kaito knows. Sure, especially Leon has a somewhat impulsive temperament, but they went through a lot of stuff together. Leon's first break up. Kazuichi getting blatantly rejected by his, granted, very one sided crush. Kaito finding out the girl he liked got married to his former theater clubmate last year. The occasional rough patch and crashing at each other's place, drunk nights of spin the bottle that always run a little to close to the sun.
All the while none of them wants to admit that the lines have blurred, and sometimes Kaito wonders what the borders of friendship are. He shakes his head. They are just friends, and that's about it. He shouldn't give himself a headache with pointless questions.
There's a older woman at the reception, who looks up as Kaito enters through the main doors. "Good evening", he greets, "My buddies and me are in dire need to crash somewhere tonight and we were hoping you'd have a spare room left." The woman eyes him for a moment, before she checks her computer. "How many people are we talking?", she asks monotonously. Kaito swallows down a sigh. "Three", he responds. The woman looks back to him, then the screen, then back. "One room left, double bed. Take it or leave it."
Kaito's mind buffers for a second before his brain catches up. "Only one bed?" The woman shrugs. "Next motel is an hour away, so pick your poison."
They don't really have a choice, though the mere thought of sharing a bed with both of them makes him antsy. He grits his teeth. There's nothing weird about bros sharing a bed. "Whatever. We take it."
He pays cash and takes the room key back to his companions. They are fighting again when Kaito arrives back at the car, and he figures the discussion will only derail further in the next minute. "So, good news, bad news", he prompts, holding up the key. "What do you mean, bad news? You got a key! We have a room!", Kazuichi says, using the moment to steal the bag Leon was holding while he just raises an eyebrow. "Kaito, be real with me - it's not one bed. Don't say it. Don't." Kaito puts on a very forced smile. "Uh, at least it's a double bed?"
Ten minutes later the full recipe of their predicament comes into view. The room is tiny - unsurprising, given how cheap it was - but the bed is barely big enough to hold all three of them if they cuddle together. "Absolutely not", Kazuichi crosses his arms, "Leon has been baking in the sun all day, I'm not sharing a bed with him." Leon's eye twitches and his face darkens a shade of red. "Have you ever heard of showers, you idiot?"
Kaito quickly steps between them before they can rip each other's hair out. "Guys, chill. It's fine. This is just like summer camp, remember?" Kazuichi's eyes widen. "Why would you bring that up?! That sucked! I put salt into my fucking tea and almost died!" Leon starts laughing, and just like that, the tension fades into playful banter.
While Leon goes to take a shower, Kazuichi and Kaito try to at least make it a little more comfortable, mainly using the pillows Kazuichi had packed to make the bed a little less sterile. An hour and two showers and a vending machine snack later, it's already dark outside when they finally change into their pyjama's.
Kaito thinks he could cut the unspoken tension with a knife if he tried, but nobody says a thing, so they awkwardly place themselves into bed, cautious that nobody touches the other. Kaito already knows if he stays in that position for longer than five minutes his back will ache like hell tomorrow. Kazuichi on his right taps the light of the lamp off and the room goes dark. The wind rushes through the trees outside, but oddly enough, Kaito can't hear either of his friends breathe.
"Uh, guys-" Kazuichi yelps and then there's a thud. "Kaz, what the fuck are you doing?" The mattress shifts next to Kaito when Leon sits up. "I fell off the fucking bed!", Kazuichi complains. What a great start. Kaito rolls over to the now empty side and fumbles for the lightswitch. The room gets flooded with light again, and Kazuichi is rubbing his shoulder, squinting up at him from the ground. "This is awkward. No normal person can sleep like that", Leon sighs and gets up, rounds the bed to offer Kazuichi his hand, "Dumbass. What are you doing hugging the edge of the mattress anyway?"
Kazuichi glares at him. "Like hell you're one to talk! There's no god damn space!" Kaito feels a headache dawn at the edge of his head. Kazuichi takes Leon's hand and lets himself get pulled up. Kaito watches as they meet each other's gaze and freeze. "If a certain someone would be less of a coward, this would have an easy fix", Leon challenges. Kazuichi's face reddens significantly. "The hell are you on about?"
Leon is sometimes the rational one, and also the one most likely to drop the act. "Don't be stupid. We all know what this is about." Kazuichi grabs the collar of his pyjama shirt, balling it inside his fist. "Is that so? Why don't you say it then, huh? The great Kuwata with his life changing-"
Kazuichi promptly gets cut off when Leon leans in, shutting him up with a kiss. Kazuichi immediately lets go of him, raising both of his hands flat up in the air, but he doesn't pull away. Kaito stares at them, dumbfounded, his heart beating so hard in his chest that he thinks it fills the entire room with noise.
Leon pulls away, his brows furrowed. "So now what, huh? Was that so hard? Guess what, I'd do the same with Kaito! Now grow a fucking spine and get to bed." His hands balled into fists, he makes his way back around the bed, placing himself next to Kaito while Kazuichi doesn't move an inch. Mouth agape, eyes blown wide, face beet red. His hands shake a little. Leon blinks slowly, his eyes hang on Kazuichi for a moment before they trail to Kaito. "What? Don't believe me?"
"Leon, I-" Kaito almost chokes when Leon reaches out his hand, grabbing his collar and pulling him in, kissing him in the same fashion. He gasps, his mind blanking. The sensation is far beyond anything he has dreamed of. Leon is the only one who has ever kissed before, at least as far as he knows, and fuck, he's good at it. It's embarrassing to admit to himself that he thought about kissing both of his friends numerous times.
He figured it was just desperation, the fall out of his not-really-break up. And one or another time, given their explosive dynamic, they'd find each other so close face to face, but someone would always pull away. Friends don't do that, Kaito told himself over and over again. Friends don't think of their best friends and have their heart race. But right now, their lips interlocked, he can't help it.
He lets go of his reservation, leaning against Leon, which causes him to fall back into the mattress. Kaito doesn't break the kiss, and neither does Leon. It feels like a knot has come loose, one all three of them had been fumbling with but nobody dared to open it first. He has to pull away to take a breath, his throat feels tied up and he remembers he didn't even take his inhalator out of the car. "You, man. What do ya have me for?" Kazuichi slowly sinks to his side, saving him with his inhalator. "Fucking asthma", Kaito grunts and takes a deep inhale.
There's a moment of silence, before Kazuichi shifts. "Uh, so... Kaito..." Kaito puts his inhaler to the side and turns towards him. Kazuichi isn't looking at him directly, merely fumbling with the hem of his shirt. "Kaz wants a taste too", Leon quips, crossing his arms behind his head and stretching out his legs. "Wh-what the hell is your problem?!" Leon raises an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"
If Kaito didn't know any better, he'd think they have gotten drunk or maybe this is just a fever dream. Well, now is not the time for hesitancy. "Get over here", he offers, and Kazuichi doesn't let the chance pass for once. He pauses in front of Kaito, and even though he did just kiss Leon, he seems as nervous as though it is his first. Kaito takes the initiative and runs his hand around Kazuichi's neck, pulling him closer until their lips meet.
It's a bit awkward, Kazuichi is definitely inexperienced, but it's still pleasant. Although their teeth brush twice and he pokes Kaito's lower lip once with the sharp tip of his. When they finally pull away, Kaito's heart has calmed down a bit, but his face still burns. "So, uh... This stays inside the room, right?", Kazuichi asks, scratching the back of his neck. Leon starts to laugh. "Ah, so Kaz wants to stay here when we leave tomorrow. Got it."
"No?! Shut the hell up!"
Leon throws a pillow at him. "Yer just insecure because you don't have a goatee." Kazuichi catches the pillow and throws it back at him, hitting him flat in the face. "I could have a goatee if I wanted!"
The room turns silent for a second, before all three of them start laughing. Kaito presses out a wheeze, before he lets himself fall back into the mattress. That was exhausting. Leon promptly joins him, but not at the outer edge of the bed. He snuggles right up to him, resting his chin against Kaito's chest. Kazuichi just gapes, and Kaito thinks he can watch his screen up there buffer. "What are you waiting for?", Leon asks, "Get your ass over here Kaz. It's late."
Kazuichi shifts, wringing his hands. "B-but..." Leon grunts. "If you don't get over here it will be my foot up your butt."
"Uh... That's not how I want my first time to go."
Leon's head shoots up in alert. "You're a virgin?!"
Kazuichi mirrors his exasperated expression, pointing at him "You aren't?!"
Kaito sighs and waves Kazuichi over, while gently pressing Leon back down with his free hand. "If you two don't stop I'll gag you." Leon starts laughing through Kaito's shirt. "Gross", Kazuichi scoffs and finally joins them, clicking the light off. He shuffles to Kaito's side, cautiously laying down like he expects to be told off. Kaito lays motionless until he finally stops moving, before he closes his arms around both of them.
Who would have thought their harmless camping trip would end like this after it started in such a disaster. Kaito frowns. He wouldn't put it past Leon if he had his hands in here. He's more direct in his approach, and probably figured out Kaito's own insecurity a while ago. Well, no use thinking about it now. Maybe he'll ask his friend tomorrow. Huh... Friend...
Boyfriend? Boyfriends?