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Connor was surprised, to say the least, when he was woken up on a Sunday morning by Sumo charging into his room with… fluffy rabbit ears on his head?
What was even more of a surprise was Hank following after him, given that it was before nine in the morning.
“…good morning, Hank.”
“Mornin’.” Hank smiled, fastening an identical pair of rabbit ears on his head. “Uh, I thought you’d be up earlier, to be honest.”
Connor stared at him, slowly sitting up in bed. “I don’t follow. Did we have plans to go somewhere today? I wasn’t aware.”
“Nope. We’re staying at home today.”
“Okay…” He cleared his throat, LED spinning yellow as he tried to determine what the hell was going on. In the end, he decided that it was best to ask. “What’s going on?”
“Me and Sumo are waking you up.” Hank replied, helpfully.
“That’s usually my job, to wake you up… Are you feeling okay, Lieutenant?”
“Aw, shut the fuck up.” Hank rolled his eyes, smirking. “Are you really telling me that, that I’m the one who’s more excited about a holiday? After the fuss you made over Christmas?”
“Tinsel…” Connor mumbled, a longing look in his eye, before shaking his head to snap out of his trance. “I, uh… a holiday. Today?”
“Correct. Go on, look it up on your supercomputer brain. I’ll wait.”
Connor did just that, and was shocked to see that Hank was talking about Easter Sunday.
“Are you religious, Hank? I’m sorry, I didn’t realise.”
“Hell no. Nothin’ wrong with religion, but it’s not for me.” He shook his head. “Nah. Why’re you asking that?”
“Easter is a primarily religious holiday…”
Hank shook his head. “Not necessarily. Rest of us folk can celebrate it if we want to, in our own ways. Personally, I celebrate it by eating too much chocolate and feeling sick from it.”
“That doesn’t sound very pleasant…”
“Can it, tinsel-man.”
“Alright. So, it’s a holiday about eating chocolate, but since I’m an android… I can’t see what I could do to celebrate it.”
“Well, I mean, I guess it doesn’t have to be just about the food. It’s also about the theme. The aesthetic, if you will.” Hank tapped the bunny ears on his head. “It’s about spring, new life, all that shit. It’s about eggs.”
“Eggs?” Connor looked up. “That’s oddly specific.”
“Well, you know, chickens and all that shit. Eggs pretty much sum up Easter. I did arrange a little thing I used to do with… with Cole, in the house, if you want to try it.”
Connor smiled. “I’d love to. What is it, though?”
“Ah, I think you’ll like it. It’s an easter egg hunt. For humans, you hide chocolate eggs around the house and someone else has to find them… for androids, I had trouble comin’ up with what to hide, but… it’s still eggs.”
“Eggs? Sure, I’m in. Give me a moment to get ready.”
Once Hank had left and Connor was choosing an outfit for the day, he began to grow interested in the concept of Easter. Eggs weren’t bad, conceptually. He’d never eaten one, being an android who couldn’t consume food. But, their roundness, their shape, their girth… he could say he was a fan.
So, it only took him a few minutes to throw on some clothes before he left his room, and found Hank and Sumo waiting in the living room.
“I’m ready, Hank. When do I hunt the eggs?”
“Jesus, Con, you sound like you want to fuckin’ kill the eggs!”
“Sorry, my… hunting days may not have fully left my system.” He apologised.
Hank waved him off. “Eh, whatever. Maybe that means you’ll enjoy it more? Who knows. Anyway, let’s go over the basics of the egg hunt. I’ve hidden some eggs around the house. Like, actual eggs, not chocolate ones. Now, I know you can’t eat them, but, uh, you can decorate them later if you want.”
“Sure.”
“Great. So, you just start lookin’ around for them, and I’ll sit here and give you clues if you get stuck. Make sense?”
“Okay. I’ve got this, Hank.”
Something about the activity awakened an old spark in Connor. A mission, he’d been given a mission. Find the eggs, hunt the eggs.
And so it wasn’t long before he’d seen the first one. Stashed behind a photo lay a whole egg. He grasped it in his hand so tight it almost cracked.
“Got one!”
“Great! Don’t break it, please.”
And then, the second. He found the egg in the cabinet beside the TV.
“Egg down.”
Egg number three was hiding in a dish in the kitchen.
“Say, Hank, where do I put these eggs?”
“Oh, shit, I forgot to give you a basket.” Hank walked over to him, handing him a small woven basket. “Here.”
And soon, the basket was almost filled. Once he didn’t have to struggle trying to hold eggs in his hands, he focused greater on the task at hand. His eyes became primed to see the speckled, shining surface of the eggs. One behind the counter; one in the sink; one under a table; one in a jar—
“Connor, slow the fuck down! It’s been three minutes!”
“No, Hank, you don’t understand. I have to find the eggs. I have to hunt them.”
The egg hunt finished five minutes after it had started. Connor brought the basket full of eggs back to Hank, panting softly.
“Eggs… done.”
“Now that was a hell of an egg hunt speedrun if I’ve ever seen one. Uh, did you have… fun?”
“Yes. I… I enjoyed hunting the eggs.”
“Great. I’m gonna make myself a pot of coffee.” As Hank walked past Connor, he patted him on the shoulder. “Good work hunting the eggs, son.”
Connor nodded, smiling, before his gaze fell back on the basket of eggs. He was a good egg hunter.