Allergies (Josh)

The arrival of December meant several things to Josh. The first was Christmas being shoved into his face by society. It was inescapable if one did any sort of shopping or socializing at all, a fact that he resented. It was all well and good to celebrate holidays, but to foist it upon the public at large was irritating to him.

The second, however, was (at least this year) the arrival of Hanukkah. His love of his own people's holidays was enough to distract him from grouching too much about the Santa displays and rousing choruses of White Christmas the store's all emitted as he walked by.

And the third was the winding down of the calendar year, and the courthouse slowing to a near halt as people left town or simply took off. There wasn't much to do in Pilot Ridge at any time of year, and so very little was booked for December.

It was so different from the City, but he found he rather enjoyed having the time off.

He was humming to himself as he came down the stairs, work clothes replaced with khaki slacks and a sweater vest.

"Need any help setting the table?" He inquired, passing his own spot at the kitchen table. And only stopping after he had already passed by, belatedly realizing there was mail in his spot. "Are we getting holiday letters already?" He asked, picking the papers up and looking at them more closely.

In fact, they weren't holiday related at all. Instead, they were from the bank. "You're opening a new checking account?" He asked, confused. He couldn't recall this coming up at any conversation recently.

There were many topics that had crossed Josh's mind in regards to his relationship with Sean. Joint finances were not one of them.

"Pardon?" He blinked, face etched with shock. Sean wanted to what? But why? He'd thought everything was perfectly fine the way it was; why would the other man want to upend their arrangement like this?

He shook himself out of his stupor, crossing the kitchen to fetch flatware and napkins. "A joint checking account? But I thought our billing situation was doing fine..."

Josh considered Sean's explanations as he laid out the table. When put that way it sounded all very practical. This was not a surprise, as Sean managed to make almost anything sound like the most practical course of action; perhaps it was because he stated everything in such a matter of fact tone, devoid of the emotional turbulence that guided so many of Josh's actions.

"Ahh." He murmured, returning to the kitchen cabinets for glasses. "Did you want wine tonight?"

He didn't mean to change the subject, but he did need to know what particular style of glass to hunt down. And he also needed time to mull this over, and articulate what about this was difficult for him.

At last he said, "A joint checking account. That seems so...intimate. Like a banking way of exchanging rings."

Josh stood beside the cabinets, twisting the stems of the white wine glasses in his hands. Sean, apparently, did not see this as a big deal at all, which was somewhat inexplicable to the attorney. Joint checking accounts was something that people did when they got married; he didn't think that cohabiting quite counted, given that they resided in a state where they could get married.

If they wanted to.

But he wasn't going to bring marriage up at all. Ever. He knew Sean had been engaged briefly, and that it hadn't worked out. And he had heard the telepath opine before that it wasn't necessary for a relationship. Josh was somewhat more conservative in his views than his partner when it came to this topic (a fact he would have denied with his dying breath had anyone called him out on it) and he valued the formality that marriage gave.

But it wasn't something he would insist upon, or even request; he was just grateful that Sean had given him a second chance at all.

"That...is true." He conceded. "Undeniably. Do you not like it when I pay for things? I thought it was being helpful, splitting things equally."

But then, rather irritatingly he thought, memories of last October floated to his mind. He had suggested children. Children! And perhaps that was a more significant concession to commitment than a banking maneuver.

"But how am I going to hide the diamond rings and mink coats I'm buying my mistresses if our finances are joined?"

He was still somewhat reluctant, but he had no good arguments on his side. He only had his feelings, and a sense that perhaps Sean was right. And if they ever brought up children again, it would actually make his argument that they have them stronger if he caved on this; certainly stronger than I know you always wanted some. which he thought had some merit, but didn't seem to convince Sean in quite the same way.

As Sean tended to the chicken Josh moved to the dining room table, freed from stillness by that last concession. Somehow, it was a bit of a relief that they would still keep some separation. At times he thought that he wanted to be so close that one couldn't tell him from Sean, but at other times that thought terrified him.

"Oh." He commented, placing the wine glasses upon the table. "Did you want Chardonnay or is there something on the wine racks I should look for?"

There was chardonnay open in the fridge, but he would be willing to open a new one if Sean desired.

"So ahh...do we need to go by the bank tomorrow?"

Josh scooted past Sean towards the fridge, pulling out the Chardonnay. He felt that it would do him some good, as well, and it would certainly be nicer than the beer he ordinarily drank. Somehow he felt the mere decision to open joint checking accounts meant he should....celebrate? He wasn't quite sure if that was the right word. Perhaps honor the new milestone.

"Ahh...I have time. Things are slow at the office right now, so it won't be a problem if I miss some work to fill out paperwork at the bank. Neither Janice nor myself have any trials scheduled, so unless one of our January cases gets bumped up unexpectedly..."

He would object to that, though; he enjoyed his work and liked to be busy, but he also treasured the slow winters that had come to him by virtue of moving to Pilot Ridge.

Josh poured out two glasses of chardonnay as he listened to Sean's suggestion.

"I can do lunch." He decided, enticed by the offer of lunch with Sean. They hadn't done this as much as they had before moving back in together, though he truly had no excuse. He simply hadn't thought about now that he had Sean to come home to, and instead filled up his lunch schedule with Riley and Cobalt (when they were not also with their significant others) and Janice and the occasional other friend.

However, the offer that Sean would fill in all the money needed to keep it open until they decided otherwise caused him to stiffen just as he was lowering himself into his seat.

"You can't be responsible for all of it!" He protested indignantly. "We should split the minimum, fifty fifty."