Leo hummed as he leaned against King. “With great power comes great responsibility.”
“That’s right. You must never use your power for evil.” King wrapped his arms around Leo.
“What if I use it to get cookies?” Leo asked, hopeful.
“Okay. But if you’re too full of sugar to eat Red’s dinner, I’m sure Ace would be all too happy to?—”
Leo covered King’s mouth with his mittened hand. “Don’t you speak those words. I willnevernot have enough room for Red’s dinner.” Leo narrowed his eyes. “If Ace lays one finger on my honey cornbread, he shall feel my wrath!” He thrust a fist in the air and shook it. “Khaaan!”
“Is that fromStar Wars?”
Leo dropped his arm and hung his head. “We talked about this.”
“Did we?” King pursed his lips. “Oh yeah.Star Warsis the one with Indiana Jones.” He held back a laugh as Leo raised his head.
“Really?”
“But am I wrong?”
They both stood there looking at each other before Leo bent over and grabbed a bunch of snow.
“Shit!” King turned and ran down the side of the street—since it had snow—rather than the wet sidewalk. A snowball smacked him in the back of the head. He skidded to a halt and turned. “You little shit!”
Leo thrust a mittened hand out. “Ha! Who says nerds can’t play sports.”
“Oh, so that’s how you want to play it?” King scooped up a handful of snow and started patting it into a ball.
Leo’s eyes went huge. “I don’t think I thought this through.” He grabbed some more snow and quickly made another snowball.
The battle was fierce, yet somehow, Leo ended up hitting King more than King hit Leo, so King decided to take the direct approach. He grabbed some snow and grabbed Leo, only to have Leo accidentally smack his arm. The snow flew right into King’s face. He promptly released Leo.
“Oops.” Leo brushed the snow off King’s face with his mitten, his lips pressed together.
“Go ahead. Laugh. I know you’re about to burst.”
So he did. He laughed. A lot. He was still laughing when they walked into the café.
CHAPTERFIVE
“Everything looks so magical,” Leo said, his mittened hand in King’s as they headed to the small stage at the base of the huge Christmas tree where the rest of their family waited.
There was something about nighttime that made everything feel extra Christmassy. It was weird. No matter how decorated it was during the day, it didn’t feel as Christmassy to him as it did at night. Probably because of all the twinkling lights. Well, that and the smell of popcorn, cookies, cinnamon, peppermint, and roasted chestnuts. He’d always wondered what the whole roasting chestnut thing was about. They smelled amazing. He might not want to eat them, but they smelled fantastic!
“It does,” King replied, wrapping his arm around Leo and squeezing him close. “You warm enough?”
“Yep.” It was really cold tonight, but Leo was bundled up nice and toasty. His face was another matter, but he’d manage. He didn’t like the feel of anything covering his face.
The decorating was finished on the main street and in the market square, all that was left was the Ice Castle. With power having been restored, Leo had to be extra careful not to be seen by the others, especially since his family would be there decorating.
Although Leo had been confident Jack could fix the electrical problems, a tiny part of him had been worried. Not because they wouldn’t have been able to have their special day—what with Clara having a fire hazard’s worth of candles at the ready—but because it would mean their family that wasn’t in Winterhaven wouldn’t be able to attend, and Leo didn’t want that. Now, all he had to do was get the equipment in, set up, and the final step of his plan executed.
“You’re really not going to tell me what you’ve been up to?” King asked, eyeing him.
Leo blinked up at him. “Um…no.”
“Can I at least have a hint?”
“No.”
