Endou sits upon a stool, swaying his legs as he patiently waits for Tobitaka to finish closing up for the night at Rairaiken. He doesn't mind the wait, especially during the colder days. The restaurant was always warm with the smell of noodles in the air. He was still glad the place was around, even if Hibiki didn't run it anymore; this place had good memories.
He didn't have to come out here for Tobitaka, he knows that. He's heard the other man tell him that he didn't mind the walk home alone when he closed, how it wasn't that far away from home, and how he'll be fine. But, Endou would show up anyway (when he wasn't held back with the Raimon team or off participating in a soccer match). He enjoyed accompanying him home, being with him longer. And, if he could, he'd try to drop by earlier to help out with the restaurant.
But, tonight was different. They'd be staying at the shop a little longer than usual. Endou glances beyond the counter, trying to catch a peek of purple hair moving about before turning to look outside. The edges of the windows had begun to frost and were clouded with fog thanks to the weather. It was still possible to see outside, see the other shops and restaurants that lined this part of the town. They were all bright with neon signs flashing, around them were other colors- holiday decorations that signaled the start of the festive month. Even if the interiors were beginning to fall dark, their lights were still shining, lighting this district.
Seeing them made Endou begin to bounce slightly in his seat at the thought for what they were about to do. His foot had begun to tap against the box that was placed on the ground beside him. It had been filled with Christmas decorations, new and leftover from what they couldn't have put up on their home. It wasn't as much as he would have liked, he had tried getting more, enough to fill a second box, but this wasn't a house they'd be trying to decorate. There was only so much room they could fill at Rairaiken before it would be too cluttered or get in the way of customers.
"You ready?" Tobitaka asks as he steps out into the restaurant. His voice easily catches Endou's attention, the man nearly jumps to his feet.
"Yeah, I'm ready!" Endou grins and immediately lifts the box from the ground and onto a nearby table. The decorations jingle as they hit each other and the walls of the box. A quick look of worry crosses Tobitaka's face, afraid that something might have cracked during this rush of excitement, but looking into the box, nothing seems damaged.
"I brought a lot of things to hang up! I even brought ornaments for the tree!" Brown eyes begin to sparkle with excitement. It makes Tobitaka smile.
"We'll save the tree for last, thats easy. Let's start by putting the lights up by the window."
Endou agrees in a heartbeat, already digging into the box to find some lights. He pulls out a few while Tobitaka pulls out a step-stool for them to use, making it easier to reach when they begin putting up the lights. Endou passes him a string of lights and Tobitaka secures it tightly, trying to make it wrap perfectly around the windows. Once they've been placed, Endou plugs them in. Light begins to shine from those small bulbs, lighting up the windows in the blink of an eye.
With that set up, they move onto putting festive stickers onto the window. A snowman in the corner and snowflakes galore. Tobitaka laughs when Endou somehow managed to find a soccer ball sticker with a Santa hat on it. He's surprised that one wasn't saved for their home, but he's proud that it's being put up on his restaurant.
After the windows comes the interior, and that meant hanging snowflakes and paper ornaments from the ceiling. It's a little tricky having to guess the length and determine if they'd get in the way of the customers. Endou pulls them up a little more thanks to Tobitaka's concerns as he pins them on.
Last but not least, it was time to get to the tree.
"You bought more ornaments, didn't you?" Tobitaka asks as his eyes scan the remains of the box. There was an unopened box in there, one he hadn't seen at home.
"Of course! I don't think our leftover ones were going to fill it up." He replies, already beginning to tear at the packaging and setting them out on the table to be easier to get.
"We only have to decorate one side you know…"
"What if someone gets curious and wants to peek on the other side? Besides, it's more fun to decorate the whole tree!"
Tobitaka recalls the first time Endou had said that a couple of years ago. He never argued against it, besides, it was true. With ornaments in hand, they begin to place them on the tree that sat in the corner of the room. There was no real theme to this tree, just a mix of colors, mostly shades of yellow and purple. Tobitaka had managed to find some ramen and food related ornaments, saving them exactly for this moment. And he already knows Endou had gotten him some soccer themed ornaments to place here as well. The two bump into each other a couple of times as they try to decorate the entirety of the tree, giving each other little smiles when they do.
When it's done, they take a step back to admire their work. The tree isn't as big as the one in their home. It was way smaller, meant to be easy to pick up and move around. Now, it had some festive life to it.
"Is that all the decorations?" Tobitaka asks.
"Yup! Oh, wait…" Endou looks to the box, hand going in and moving things about. There was another set of lights, some spare snowflakes, extra ornaments they couldn't put up, a Santa hat for some reason and…
"There's this? I don't remember getting it though…" Endou mumbles as he pulls out a small sprig of mistletoe.
"When did we get that?" Even he couldn't recall having bought it. Maybe it had gotten mixed up with something else or fallen in the box. He really didn't know.
"Should we hang it up?"
Tobitaka's cheeks flare up to Endou's question.
"N-No…I don't want people to be kissing in here when they should be eating…"
"But it's a cute decoration! Maybe we can hang it on the bell by the door? I don't think people would really see it there."
"It would but…no." He lets out a sigh, knowing the other had more pure intentions than he did. It would like nice, a pretty addition, but with the whole tradition that came with it, he'd have to deny it. At his restaurant, anyway. "We can…put it up at home though."
Endou looks to the swaying mistletoe in hand before looking to Tobitaka. His curious look had turned into a smile. Setting the mistletoe down, he takes the other's hands in his. A light squeeze is given before Endou leans up to give Tobitaka a sweet kiss. He chuckles slightly afterwards, letting go of a hand before picking the mistletoe up again, this time letting it rest in Tobitaka's.
"I know where to put it up," Endou chirps.
"Hm? Where?"
"At our door! So I can give you a welcome home kiss every time you come home!"
"You don't need a mistletoe to do that…" Tobitaka mutters, feeling his face heating up again. "And you do it anyway."
"Oh yeah…but it's still nice to hang up."
"Yeah, it is. And I'll give you your own share of welcome home ones to, Mamoru."