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Eric tired to ignore the tittering giggles of the man next to him in the driver's seat, focusing instead on the book he'd picked up from the bookstore they'd scavenged earlier in the day. It was a survivalist book with useful strategies of finding food, water, and shelter when out in the wilderness. A lot of it Eric either already knew, or had learned in the early days of the New World, but some of it was handy knowledge.
Aaron, however, had insisted on picking up joke books. Namely ones containing jokes about redheads. "What do you get when you cross a Jamaican and a ginger?"
"I don't know," Eric replied distractedly.
"A gingerbreadmon." Aaron snickered.
Eric shook his head and pointedly turned the page in his book, wondering how many more of these idiot jokes he'd have to endure before Aaron got bored.
"What do you call it when a redhead goes off the deep end?"
"Babe, I'm trying to read."
Aaron nudged him with his elbow. "C'mon...humor me. This will be the last one. I promise."
"You said that half an hour ago," Eric chastised, arching his eyebrow. Aaron simply looked at him with those sweet, puppy dog eyes, and Eric couldn't resist. He sighed in resignation. "I don't know. What do you call it when a redhead goes off the deep end?"
"A ginger snap."
Eric shook his head as Aaron roared with laughter. "I'm going to smother you in your sleep."
Aaron grinned, leaning across the console between them, his hand cupping the back of Eric's neck to pull him close. Eric's lips parted slightly, anticipating the kiss, but instead Aaron spoke in a soft voice. "How do you handle a redhead's temper?"
"Aaron, I swear to--"
"Gingerly." Aaron cut him off, pulling him into a kiss.
Eric wanted to be angry at how accurate that particular joke was, but he couldn't help but smile against Aaron's lips and try not to laugh. He didn't want to give Aaron the satisfaction of knowing that--though annoying--the jokes were pretty funny. Naturally, Aaron could sense his amusement and pulled back with a exaggerated gasp of shock.
"What's this?! Is that...a smile? Are we amused?"
Immediately, Eric sobered his expression and narrowed his eyes at Aaron. "Don't gloat. It's not a good look on you."
Aaron grinned, gloating all the more, his voice lilting with a sing-song quality. "You think I'm funny."
"You didn't write the book," Eric mimicked the musical lilt, sticking his tongue out at the other man for good measure.
"Maybe I'll write the next one," Aaron teased, leaning back in to kiss Eric's lips.
"Oh?" Eric pecked at Aaron's lips softly. "That's a good idea. I think I have the first joke you can put in it."
Enjoying the soft kisses, Aaron smiled as he returned them eagerly. "Mmm. A ginger joke from a ginger? This ought to be really good."
"Why aren't there any more redhead jokes?"
Aaron thought for a moment, finding it hard to concentrate as Eric's lips began to wander along his jaw. "I dunno. Why?"
Eric pulled back, arching his eyebrow to feign distaste at the jokes. "Someone told them to a redhead."
Aaron threw his head back and laughed loudly, realizing the punchline of the joke was that Eric was going to kill him if he kept on. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No more redhead jokes tonight. We should probably turn the lights off anyways before we run the battery down too low."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Eric nodded, closing his book and setting it up on the dashboard before pushing the button to turn off the interior dome light over their heads.
Both men reclined their seats a little, making sure the doors were locked so that they could get some sleep. They held hands over the console, Aaron's thumb dragging back and forth across Eric's in a gentle caress that made the other man sigh with contentment. Just as he was about to tell Aaron how much he loved him, the other man spoke first.
"How do you get a redhead's mood to change?"
Opening his eyes, Eric glared at his partner who was grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
"Wait 10 seconds."
"I'm going to burn that damn book." Eric grumbled, closing his eyes again. "You're lucky I love you...and that we don't have any pillows for me to smother you with."
Aaron chortled, obviously pleased with himself, but finally conceded for real. "I love you too."
"Good," Eric replied with a yawn. "Now go the fuck to sleep."