[Isalynne]

At the end of the day, no matter how much he huffed and puffed and rolled his eyes about it, Joseph was still setting up an Easter egg hunt for his lovably dorky boyfriend.

Even the term still left a strange taste in his mouth. Not in a bad way, of course; simply unfamiliar, territory that he hadn’t stepped on before. He hadn’t expected to be with a man at all, let alone someone as opposite to him as Hermey was – Hermey’s forever sunny disposition and determination to see the good in everything went against Joseph’s basic beliefs. Yet, there they were. Working as dumb elves in a Santa’s Grotto and getting harassed by reindeer had forced them into close quarters, and four months later, they were still together.

“Came in and never left, didn’t he,” He grumbled to himself. “Leaving his shit everywhere, making it smell nice… what a load of crap…”

[Isalynne]

No one was ever going to know how long he’d been sat at the table, hand painting the eggs. The tips of his fingers were still dyed ludicrous shades of pink and green, and he would happily go the rest of his life without seeing another polka dot. They weren’t exactly masterpieces – more like rotten eggs, if he was honest with himself – but they would do. Nestling among the nicknacks in his apartment, they brought a splash of colour.

The dilemma was thinking of good places to hide them. Hermey was tall, a good deal taller than Joseph, so the classic ‘hide it on the top shelf’ trick wasn’t adequate. He’d put one on top of the bookcase for good measure, just to be able to joke about being so lanky. All of his others would have to go in less lofty spots.

[Isalynne]

With his hands on his hips, Joseph surveyed the space available to him. Could he put one under the rug...? No, Hermey would step on it and barely notice, he was sure. It was thick and lumpy enough to begin with to fool him, but it would be a pain to clean up that kind of mess for the sake of a game.

On top of the TV? It was old and blocky enough to promote that. He made a mental note to himself to put some money aside for an upgrade. Surely it would be too obvious if he left it to sit there in plain sight... or would it be? Sometimes it was beneficial to put them right in front of someone's nose, because they wouldn't be expecting it. Or so he thought he'd heard.

[Isalynne]

God, what the hell was he even doing? This corny shit had never been his deal, and the stress of trying to make it his deal was bringing nothing but frustration. Joseph groaned in the quiet, fisting a hand into his dark hair; would it look pathetic? Would Hermey laugh at him and think it was all ridiculous?

No. He wouldn't do that - wasn't even capable, was too kind and sweet and encouraging. Even if he came back to all the eggs smashed on the floor and Joseph hurling paint across the room, he'd try to smile and make a joke about it. Always accommodating. Always gentle.

The 'corny shit' was for him, because watching his face light up with excitement at the prospect of an egg hunt... the thought alone made Joseph's heart flutter.

[Isalynne]

A cigarette break wouldn't hurt, though. Just to clear his head.

When he pushed the apartment door open, Joseph was first stricken by how cold it was. Even through his sweater, he could feel the nip of the breeze. Spring had sprung, but the last hoorah of winter wasn't quite over, and was adamant to cling to all it could. It had been bitterly cold when he was working at the mall. All of that day he had felt miserable and irritated, ready to pounce at the next person who bothered him--

Hermey had been the next person, but had lived to tell the tale, by some miraculous power.

He fished a smoke from the pack in his pocket and flicked his lighter; the first drag had his shoulders sagging visibly with relief. Wow. Who knew egg hiding was so stressful.

[Isalynne]

How long would it be until Hermey got home? Not a whole lot longer. Joseph would have to keep his self indulgence brief. Plus, it wouldn't be great if the stink of smoke clung to everything inside the apartment - they'd lit some fancy candles recently to combat that, and he was getting used to spritzing himself with extra cologne. Easter was not about nicotine and sadness. Easter was about new life and rejuvenation!

How did he keep getting caught up in holiday traditions he couldn't give less of a fuck about?

Joseph ashed the cigarette and paced over to the balcony, staring over the edge. The neighbourhood was quiet for the time of day; the occasional pedestrian milled past, and he could see a cat rustling a bush in the near distance, but there was nothing fascinating.

No excuse to give up on his endeavour. Oh well.

[Isalynne]

With a begrudging sigh, Joseph put out the cigarette on the balcony wall, flicking the butt over the edge. It wouldn't be so bad. Once it was over, he could forget about it for another year and go back to being the grumpy bastard he had always been.

Maybe it wouldn't happen that way. Either way, he had to get a move on, or Hermey would catch him in the act.

The absurdity of it made him giggle, tugging the door shut again behind him. Of all things he could get caught doing, hiding eggs for a hunt didn't sound that bad. It would be thoroughly embarrassing, though, and he'd find it ten times harder to brush it off with his cool exterior.

[Isalynne]

Right. Joseph looked at the collection of crudely painted eggs heaped on the couch, judging his own handiwork, before lunging for a handful. Some of the paint was still wet and stuck to his palms, but he was beyond caring - if he was going to come out the other side looking like he'd given a rainbow a handjob, it was a small price to pay.

One took pride of place atop the television, as he had planned - one of the less outrageously hued ones. Another was tucked between a few volumes of manga tilting in awkward angles over the coffee table. A dining chair played host to two, nestled together on the seat cover. Were they painted to match him and Hermey, one black and grey, and one green and yellow?

He'd never admit it.

[Isalynne]

The clock was ticking, and there was still work to do. Joseph pushed the bedroom door open with his hip, cradling a bunch of eggs in the crook of his arm - one got tucked comfortably beneath the duvet, with its tip nestled under the pillow. A second sat precariously between the headboard and the wall. Just for laughs, a third was half tucked into one of Hermey's socks, laying discarded on the floor near the window.

That was cute. It made Joseph smile.

The prizes for winning such a hunt had been heavily considered in advance. It was hard to come up with ideas, especially as anti-holiday as he was, but he managed. Some candy, a stuffed duck (that he picked because Hermey might like it and not at all because he fell in love with its cute face at the store), a surprise dinner reservation. A token for quality cuddling time, no matter how much he usually complained about it.

[Isalynne]

At last, the arduous work was drawing to a close. The final egg ended up in the bathroom, wearing a comically oversized shower cap and sitting next to a bar of soap. Joseph found it more amusing than he probably should have to pose them in strange ways, making them look human.

A glance at the clock both pacified and panicked him. Within ten minutes, Hermey was expected home, and he would have to awkwardly explain what he'd been up to and how he wanted it to go down. Confessing to doing a kind thing was a good thing, wasn't it? Then.. why did he feel so nervous?

Hermey wouldn't laugh at him. Hermey would be pleased.

That's why they were together.

[zapdragon555]

The cold had been a bit of a surprise that day, with the early afternoon sporting a warm enough period of sun that Hermey had seen it fit to go run errands in a brightly colored graphic t-shirt and jeans. He had not accounted for the brief rainshower-turned-flurry and subsequent very sudden freezerating (that was a word, right?) of the air, and so, he arrived at their apartment door covered in goosebumps and chattering his teeth. His arms were laden with groceries, things they'd been running low on, his wallet feeling lighter but his arms pleasantly heavy with their favorite canned soups and brownie mix for later... he'd lost count of the things, but he'd followed the list they'd made to a T. So he was confident about it.

After transferring all of the bags to one arm (and a few to the floor when that arm, ringed in red indentations from the bags, couldn't hold any more) and unlocking their door, Hermey peered inside with a chilly, but quickly warming smile. "Ding dong!" he called out into the apartment, as he lugged the groceries inside. "I'm hoooome."

[Isalynne]

Joseph had been sitting on the couch, his legs slung haphazardly over the arm and his hands on his knees, when he heard the door opening. Quickly and without grace, he swung himself back into a correct position - his back clicked with the effort of it. Ugh. Why was he in such a frenzy? Doing this cutesy nonsense was putting him so far out of his comfort zone, he swore to god--

"Hey," He said, then sprung up to assist with the bags, jogging over to take one from Hermey to lighten the load. "You okay? How was it out there? Get everything you needed?"

Of course, now Hermey would definitely know there was something up, with that verbal diarrhoea dropping him in it. Damn it. He cringed, glancing down at his feet.

"I, um.. I have a little surprise for you. Don't -- don't get too excited, it's nothing big, just.." His volume decreased to barely above a whisper. "It's an egg hunt.."

[zapdragon555]

Hermey had only caught the tail end of Joseph's frenzied attempt to get off the couch and run up to him, but he'd heard the crack of the other boy's back, so he made a mental note to offer a backrub later. It was something he liked doing, anyway, even if he was probably no good at it, and those youtube videos he looked up for tutorials were always so confusing and a little bit too uncomfortably sexual.

Not that backrubs couldn't be sexual, he just wanted to know where the right muscle groups and pressure points were, dangit! Hermey's grin turned loose and happy as some of the weight was taken off his arms, blinking with a curious smile as Joseph started rattling off questions. "In order, pretty good now that I'm here, super chilly out there, and yep, I sure hope so!" he laughed, flexing his cold fingers in the warmed apartment air. Yeah, something was a little off about Joseph. He seemed nervous--Hermey wanted to press, but he'd wait for Joseph to calm down a bit, first.

Except then, his question was answered. Or at least it raised numerous many new questions, but never mind those. Hermey's eyes widened, slowly setting the other bag down on the floor as he stared at Joseph. He'd heard him right, for sure. All the puzzle pieces fit right together. It was Easter, which Hermey had absolutely known and been excited about but figured the day was already too busy to do anything about it. Egg hunt. Egg hunt...

Joseph had set up an egg hunt? For him?

Hermey's eyes flickered with something so indescribably touched, grateful, damp with a few different emotions, before he blinked and grew serious. He stuck his arms out suddenly, then stepped forward and threw those arms around Joseph's frame, hugging him tight and burying his face in the other boy's hair. "You... are so... awesome!" he exclaimed, muffled by mess of black hair, then pulled away enough to beam sunshine at Joseph, grinning up to his eyeballs. "Seriously?! This is so cool!! In the apartment? Here?" he gasped, looking around suddenly, like every inch of their simple apartment was some kind of wonderland.

[Isalynne]

Joseph felt a surge of embarrassment rush through him as soon as the words had left his mouth. Of course, it was a stupid idea, Hermey was going to laugh at him because he'd been silly and misunderstood and assumed something that wasn't the case--

Then he was being hugged. In an instant, his frantic heartbeat was soothed, and after a moment of stiff shock, he allowed himself to relax into Hermey's hold. Everything was alright in a split second of beautiful happiness. His boyfriend would never look down upon him for trying to be nice. His boyfriend was the sunniest, gentlest man in the world.

"Yeah.. it's dumb, but they're around.." He muttered, his cheeks flushed crimson and blazing with shy heat. "You can go take a look. I'll put the groceries away, 'kay?"

To distract himself, he wiggled himself free of Hermey's arms - loath as he was to be away from the warmth of his body, in all truthfulness - and bent to scoop up the bags.