Logan and Virgil had so far been pretty lucky. They hadn't seen their neighbor Roman at all since they had started decorating, as it seemed that Roman had been busy with work and was late at beginning putting up decorations in his own yard.

Logan and Virgil were helping each other set up an inflatable decoration, one with both Jack and Sally standing together. They didn't pay any attention to the sound of a car in the neighborhood, nor the sound of that car's door opening and closing. It wasn't until they heard Roman's voice behind them that they even realized he had been watching them since he pulled into the neighborhood.

"What are you two doing?" He asked, Virgil and Logan stopping what they were doing briefly to glance at him.

"Decorating for Patton's competition." Logan commented, going back to what he was doing. Virgil glanced at him, and decided to follow him in ignoring Roman's reaction.

"But... you're using both of your yards." Roman pointed out.

"Yes, very observant of you." Logan responded, grinning a little as he heard Virgil stifle a laugh. He glanced up at Roman again, seeing him huff and cross his arms over his chest.

"Well that's not fair! You two are cheating." He said, frowning at them. "Surely this is against the rules. I'm going to talk to Patton about this."

"Go ahead," Logan shrugged, continuing to ignore his neighbor who only appeared to grow more frustrated at how little Logan seemed to care. Logan glanced over at Virgil, who was looking back at him. He seemed confused about why Logan didn't just tell him he had already spoken to Patton, and Logan just grinned a little wider at him. He knew what he was doing.

"What made you two decide to start decorating anyways? You never do anything. For any holiday." Roman said after a few beats of awkward silence. Patton didn't get home from work for a little while, so he couldn't go directly over to tell him what Logan and Virgil's were doing.

"Honestly?" Virgil spoke up, glancing over at Logan. Both of them were grinning at each other now, glancing back over at Roman. "We just want to see your face when you realize that you've lost for once."

Roman spluttered for an answer to that for a minute, frowning. "You think that you're going to beat me?"

Logan just shrugged, turning away from Roman as he went to go get something else to put up. "I don't know if we'll win or not, but you certainly seem a little scared. That must mean we're doing a pretty good job."

Virgil laughed as Roman spluttered once again, obviously offended. He moved to help Logan, and it wasn't until they finished that they realized Roman hadn't said anything else. They turned and found that he had gone back to his own house, setting up his decorations but glancing at the two of them often. He also kept an eye on Patton's house, waiting for him to get back so that he could tell him about Virgil and Logan.

"We should wait out here," Logan said after they had finished putting up decorations. "Until Patton gets back. I want to see it when Roman tries to tell him what we're doing. Unless... you are busy, or have something else to do."

"What could I possibly have planned that could be better than seeing Roman embarrass himself?" Virgil laughed, getting a smile from Logan as well.

Virgil ended up sitting on Logan's porch while he went inside to make them warm drinks. When he returned the two of them kept an eye out for Patton's car, sipping their drinks as they talked with each other. They both kept small hints of smiles on their lips as they talked, both because they were spending time together and because they couldn't wait to see what happened when Patton returned home.

"Hey," Virgil cut Logan off in the middle of a sentence, shoulder nudging Logan's. He pointed over to the entrance of their small neighborhood. "That's Patton's car, right?"

Logan nodded, taking a final sip of his drink. He took Virgil's empty cup from him, promising to be right back and heading inside. He stayed true to his word, and just as Roman was walking over to where Patton was getting out of his car Virgil and Logan made their way over as well.

"Greetings, my dear friend Patton!" They heard Roman call to Patton before any of them had even gotten to his driveway. Patton looked over at all of them, a confused smile on his face as he looked from Roman over to Virgil and Logan.

"Hi guys! Is something going on?" He asked, still smiling despite his obvious concern. Those three being together didn't seem like it would end well.

"Actually..." Roman said as he stood in front of Patton, looking over at Virgil and Logan who were watching from the edge of his driveway. "There is a small problem."

Patton sighed, adjusting his glasses with his glove-covered hands. He raised an eyebrow at Roman. "What is it now?"

"Virgil and Logan are competing in your competition." Roman gestured over to their neighbors houses, Patton looking over at them. He turned back, seeing Roman looking at him expectantly and tilted his head slightly, frowning.

"Yeah, I know. What's the problem with that?" He asked, looking from Roman over to Virgil and Logan, still confused.

"I-you know?" Roman questioned, frowning as well. He looked over to Logan and Virgil, who were both grinning smugly, and glared. "Wait-did you also know that they're competing together? Using both of their houses?"

"Well, yeah!" Patton said. "Logan came over a little while ago asking if it was okay, and I told him he could. Anyone else can compete together too, if they want to."

"Well..." Roman looked back and forth between their neighbors frustrating grins and Patton's still confused face. He sighed, pouting a little as he looked at Patton. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think I had to." Patton shrugged. He crossed his arms, shaking his head with a fond smile. "Roman, why does this matter so much to you?"

"I believe he is scared of losing." Logan chuckled, joined by Virgil when Roman immediately protested.

"I am not! So what if you have more yard space, my decorations will still be cooler than any of yours!" He argued, but a worried glance over at their yard made it obvious he was at least a little worried.

"Oh come on, Roman! It's not all about winning, right?" Patton smiled over at Roman, who looked down. "The competition is about having fun decorating, guys! Right, Roman?"

"I-" Roman started, sighing. "Yeah, that is what matters most."

"Right." Patton nodded, smiling. "Now no more arguing, guys! Just have fun with your decorating."

He turned to look at Logan and Virgil, smiling at them. "Your decorations look super good, guys! Keep up the good work."

Roman pouted more at Patton praising them, sending a glare in their direction. He stopped quickly, not wanting Patton to see him. Logan and Virgil just smiled at the both of them. They thanked Patton, telling him they needed to get leave then and walking off together after Patton gave them both hugs. They were mumbling to each other as they left, Roman having no doubts what they were laughing about.

"So, Roman," Patton said as he turned back to him, smiling a little wider over at him. Roman smiled back slowly. "Are you gonna start getting your decorations up, soon?"

"Uh, yeah! I was actually gonna start today... Actually, um, would you maybe wanna come hang out while I get started? I know you can't help anyone at all, since it's your competition and you can't participate, but just talk while I do it. If-if you want to." Roman shrugged, glancing over in the direction of his house.

"Sure, I'd love to spend some time with you Roman." Patton said, cheeks a little flushed. Roman assumed it was because he was cold.

"Great!" Roman brightened up immediately, taking the lead in walking over to his house. He launched into conversation immediately, offering to go inside and make Patton hot cocoa, and talking about his plans for this years decorations. Patton laughed as he followed behind him, always happy to spend time with his friend, and apparently very obvious crush.

"Hey, Patton?" Roman said softly, glancing over at him. His cheeks also turned red, but Patton didn't notice. "Do you still think my decorations will be better than Logan and Virgil's?"

"Roman," Patton smiled, shaking his head at him. "I'm sure they'll be amazing, just like they are every year. Even if you don't end up winning."

"Thanks," Roman looked a little relieved at that, just happy knowing at least Patton would still think he had done a good job. It made him even more excited to work on his own decorations.

So what if they had more space? Roman was always the best at putting up decorations. He shouldn't be worried that they would beat him, and even if they did Roman knew that Patton's approval was all he really wanted.