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Leon is honestly not entirely sure if it was Kaito's smartest idea to send Kazuichi and him out for shopping.
They probably forgot the most important stuff again, because Kazuichi was distracted by a new series of robot pets, and Leon got sidetracked by snacks and beer. Stuff that happens when Kaito leaves them without supervision. That's on him.
It has also started to snow on the way back, which has slowed them down significantly.
Well, it's whatever. It's just odd that Kaito doesn't do the planning this time, when he's usually so eager. Overall, Kaito enjoys cooking, so it's weird that he left all this to Leon, notorious for being lazy and constantly mixing stuff up.
Once Leon steers the car into the driveway, it becomes very apparent why Kaito used the opportunity to get rid of them. It could only have been two hours at worst they've been gone, and Kaito somehow managed to tie the entire house up in Christmas lights. Obnoxiously so.
If Leon saw a house like that at the side of the road, he'd assume the owner is insane. Not far off honestly. No wonder Kaito sent them out alone, he would have never agreed to this.
"Dude, what the hell are you doing?", Kazuichi asks, pulling his beanie back to look at the monstrosity Kaito has created.
He's standing on a ladder and puts on the final touches along the rain drain. "What do you think?", he beams, "Worked real hard on it!"
There's snow sticking to his hair and his nose is bright red. He would almost pass for a Christmas decoration himself like that. Maybe they should attach him to the lights and see if he glows in the dark.
"Yeah, I can see that. You knew there was no fucking way we'd let ya do that, do you?", Kazuichi challenges.
Kaito turns around with a wide, dumb grin and promptly loses his balance, half falling into the Christmas lights. He hangs awkwardly between the ladder and the wall and Kazuichi has to run and rescue him before he can fall, helping him down on safe ground again.
"C'mon, don't be such downers!" Kaito doesn't let that sour his enthusiasm in the slightest. He seems even more pumped up now. "I want our house to be seen from space!"
"Er, Kaito... That ain't gonna happen", Kazuichi tries, but Kaito isn't even listening.
Leon figures Kaito knows that. He's probably betting on Kazuichi not knowing that. God damn space nerd and his astronaut obsession.
"How long have ya been hoarding this stuff for?", Kazuichi asks. It's a valid question. Leon has never seen any of this before, he must have hidden it in the attic.
Kaito tilts his head and taps his lips. "Since summer? It's always cheaper to buy things like that in summer, it was basically for free!"
"Yeah, but the electricity bill won't be", Leon notes and flicks his wrist.
"You're using it for your electric guitar!", Kaito argues.
"Like that's comparable!"
"Yeah, it is! You're selfish if you don't wanna let me have some fun!"
"Guys-", Kazuichi tries and both Kaito and Leon turn towards him, telling him "Shut up!" in tandem.
"Hey, I was only trying to help! Don't gang up on me now, Leon!"
Kaito balks, and then he starts to laugh. Leon shakes his head but he can't help a grin from spreading across his face either. They're always prone to get heated over nothing, but at the end of the day, they always make up one way or another.
"I'll pay the stupid bill for the month", Kaito promises, "C'mon, man. It's my first Christmas without my grandparents."
Leon sighs. Losing his grandparents shortly after each other weighed heavy on Kaito, and Leon figures maybe this is a way for him to cope. Distract himself from negative emotion and the heartbreak the holidays bring, when he's spent all his life together with them.
"We got yer back", Kazuichi promises, "Do ya need any help with set ups? Yard looks a little empty. If ya wanna be able to see this from space, might as well go all out."
Kaito lights up like the stupid Christmas lights are illuminating the house. Defeated, Leon rolls his eyes.
"I might have a stupid LED raindeer in my boxes up in the attic. Shitty gift from Kanon, ya can have it."
And he's sure Kaito is actually about to burst. Not only that, his eyes well with tears and Leon manages to duck faster than Kazuichi when Kaito locks him into a tight hug, lifting the poor mechanic off the ground.
"Ya gotta let me live if you need my help decorating, dude!", Kazuichi whines.
Leon snickers into his fist and shakes the car keys around his finger. He's safe out of crushing distance for Kaito's bear hugs.
"We could probably connect this all to a timed cycle so it turns on as soon as it goes dark and turns off itself in the morning", Kazuichi muses when Kaito finally lets him down, "Leon, ya mind bringing the outdoor power sockets from the attic if yer heading there anyway?"
"That's gonna cost ya." He cracks a smirk. "You know my preferred way of payment."
"You suck, Kuwata", Kazuichi grunts.
"I know exactly what I'm sucking!", he laughs, stretching out his tongue.
To Leon's surprise, Kazuichi reaches down and forms a snowball, hitting him flat in the face.
"Oh shit." Kazuichi grins awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't think I'd hit!"
Leon slowly wipes the snow off and a devious grin spreads over his face. "It's on, Kaz. I'm gonna kill ya."
"Oi! Don't leave me out!", Kaito yelps and immediately, the three of them spread into hiding spaces, opening the battlefield to a full on snowball fight.
And it's nice. Kaito needs distraction this time of year, otherwise he's gonna sit at the window sighing like a sad dog. If it makes him happy, he probably picked the right people to play around with electronic stuff.
Kazuichi more than Leon, but hey. It's not like Leon hates watching his boyfriends at work.