Hermey would have looked over if he'd actually
heard Joseph's half-formed soft muttering, but the din of the crowd was enough that it was masked, and Hermey... he was lost in his own head for a few moments. Lost in his hot chocolate, letting its warmth chase the different kind of warmth in his face away, hoping that it would explain the light pink to his cheeks. Warm drinks... did that, right?
It was incredibly lucky that Joseph picked a time when Hermey's mouth wasn't full of liquid, or else it might have all ended up sprayed on the bartender in surprise. Instead, Hermey froze, as Joseph's hair lightly tickled the corner of his eye, the warmth of a kiss against his cheek, and... his heart was the first thing to wake up. Hammering as it kicked off the ground, and then fluttering and flying like some four-lunged songbird with a hundred tunes in its tiny head.
In other words, the violins in his ears drowned out whatever holiday wishes Joseph was using to punctuate that show of bravery. And Hermey... well... he was quite susceptible to coming down with a case of bravery, when exposed to it.
He turned quickly, looking at Joseph's profile, his eyes alight with a kind of disbelieving wonder. This... maybe it was a dream. The setting certainly called for it, and he felt fuzzy in the head enough...
Hermey found himself leaning in, lightly bringing his hand to Joseph's cheek just enough to turn his face, and in a swift, soft movement... pressed his lips against the other man's, coming away with a flutter of lashes and a dazed look in his eyes.
And then it hit him. Hermey flushed a beet red, his shoulders drawing up to his ears as he hurriedly leaned on his elbows on the bar and pressed a hand to half of his face, willing cold fingers to cool off his skin. For a moment, he said nothing, staring ahead, then slowly... glanced back over to Joseph, to... check the damages of what he'd just done.
Instead, he found a tiny dollop of whipped cream on Joseph's lips. He blinked, straightening up slightly, and brought a hand to his own mouth to wipe on the back of it, and... "Oh, I... got something on you," he eked out softly, shy and a little bit breathless, motioning to his own mouth and pointing a finger slightly at Joseph. "Sorry... a-about that. All... of that, I mean. I... I was really happy, and not thinking. So..."
[Advent Day 11]