“Can you believe that is the same diner we had our prom dinner in?” Shelly’s melodic voice filled her old champagne Toyota Camry as slowly cruised by the Bunny Hop Diner. A long dark finger causally pointed at the retro style restaurant and Michael could feel some vague sense of familiarity. A few spotted memories brought up a scene of the three of them sitting in their collective formal wear while eating a shoddily prepared plate of colored eggs.

“I thought it got closed down for health code violations?”

“Ha, it did.” Her unrestrained laughter rattled her curly dyed blonde hair as it bounced around her face. The pastel and aluminum illuminated diner came more into view as Shelly nodded. “The owner’s son actually kicked his old man to the curb and took over the place. Boy actually went to school to cook and now the food is half decent, if not particularly tasty when drunk.”

“It seems like most of Easter is the same.”

“The young taking over for the old?” Shelly raised an eyebrow before she shrugged. “Nah, some of it is the old kicking out the old.” She teased as they continued their car tour through the revitalized downtown. “Like Ofi bought out Ol’ Joan’s hair shop, letting her now dominate the hair scene. Mr. Eric finally settled his feud with Mr. Truman on the account of him dying, so he owns all three garages in town. See the old are also over taking each other.”

“Not quite what I meant.” Michael chuckled. Easter was far bigger than he had planned. His drive over had not done it justice as he had skipped over the major parts of renovation in his haste to see his mom. Now he finally understood just how much had happened in Hunter’s three-year absence.

“Are you sure you didn’t just buy a new town and not tell me?” Michael teased, but a hint of seriousness edged his words. The scenery of Easter was far different than the washed-out pastel memories that every so often formed in his head. Teen years spent breaking into the abandoned motels to drink and long winter warm nights playing true or dare in the forest that surrounds. To Hunter, Easter’s aesthetic had been nothing but a 1960s memory framed by forgotten people. But now rather than abandoned businesses and a dwindling population, he was shown a thriving economy supported by enchanted tourists.

To say Michael was excited would be an understatement, his joy was only matched by his relief of how everything was progressing smoothly. The little town that had been a small thought in the back of his mind when he first entered had already become it’s a being of its own and had moved far beyond him. For him it had been maybe a week at best, but the town had sprawled and turned into a breathing environment.

“What town could compare to Easter?” Shelly smirked as she cut down a Downtown street. What had once been neglected buildings with old rain stained business signs and creaked paint had evolved into pristine rows of bunny themed displays and freshly painted spring murals. Foliage broke up the pastel as strong green vines crawled happily between buildings.

A cutely drawn bunny carried a basket of eggs in its mouth as it hopped mural to mural, the only constant among a variety of different art styles. Abstract, modern, old fashion, and graffiti, it seemed many had tried their hand at adapting the Easter theme to these publics works of art. Almost every outward facing wall featured one, bringing a unique pop of design that distinguished the artistic achievements of the town’s government.

People moved shop to shop, both visitors and locals alike hunted through the various glass fronts. Tourist swarmed the Kauffman’s Chocolate store front. Through the large glass windows, chocolatiers were hard at work as they created a round of 4^th of July themed chocolates for the upcoming celebrations. Rows of chocolate bunnies in little red, white, and blue hats along with molded eggs braved the bright sun as visitors took in the entire process. Locals passed by quickly, occasionally dodging into smaller store fronts to leave with shopping bags fully of daily necessities and a few treats.

“It’s almost like you have a personal stake in the town.” Michael looked over at the Easterland Putt Putt which seemed to be two stories taller than its originally janky trailer park self.

“I couldn’t just let this little piece of Americana fade away.” For a moment Shelly’s voice soften as she looked at the buildings and people. Her deep brown eyes slightly squinted as a smile overtook her features. However, it was quickly replaced by her normal bombastic attitude as she wrapped a free arm around Michael’s shoulders. “It’s too perfect, and it wasn’t like those bastards on the town council were doing much. Had to save my skin.” She teased as she pulled up to a stop sign.

“All in three years too, quite impressive.” Michael hummed with a nod. “It can’t be I was the catalyst for this change?”

“Tsk,” Shelly blew out a burst of air through her teeth as she tried to muffle her laugh. “If it makes you feel good, then sure. It was all because you dicked off for three years without a proper goodbye.”

“Glad to have been an inspiration.” Michael leaned an elbow in the window as a warm breeze ran through the car. The poor Camry needed a new air conditioning unit, but Shelly had been too stingy to buy one as they drove by more weird stores and small attractions.

“There seems more here than I remember.” It wasn’t like Michael remembered much through.

“Of course, to be a ‘destination’ town, you can’t just have one attraction. The Amusement park can’t be the end of it. We’re focused on providing a whole gambit of entertainment for our visitors.”

“Well, Ms. Tour Guide, lead the way. I want to see what else Easter has to offer.”

Shelly happily went along, taking him on an hour-long tour of the odder attractions of Easter. Some were new, most were old and undergoing renovations. The biggest thing Michael noticed was how rapidly everything was improving. Even the Easter Museum which had been a project on hold since the 80s, had been construction in those three years he had been gone.

“Did the town start drug running?” Michael finally asked, a bit confused by how fast things had turned around.

“Hunter!” Shelly scowled at her little bro before shaking her head. “The town got funding from a few different organizations, all of which are quite legal thank you very much. Because of their efforts we have been able to do so much work.”

“I like how you mentioned they were legal.”

“Shut up, or I’m ending the tour.”

Michael chuckled but continued to let her explain each location and what had been done until they finally pulled in front of a large whimsical cottage.

The building sat in an older section of town, not quite near the more trafficked downtown. However, it was no less the attraction. A massive garden of flowers, whimsical arches and chocolate bunny statues made out the building’s exterior as a large lighted sign sat on the ridge of the roof with the name Kauffman’s spelled out. Due to it being a weekday, the crowd wasn’t so bad as Shelly parked.

“You remember Kauffman’s right?” Shelly teased as they got out of the car, Michael slightly nodded as he looked at the surrounding area.

“They now even do a Christmas light garden. See? See how much you missed?” Shelly hit him on the shoulder and Michael hissed.

“Injury Shelly, injury.” He was taking his pain pills as Doc had prescribed, but it didn’t mean he wanted to get slapped about. His cuts were just beginning to heal, and his chest still felt like death every time he woke up in the morning.

“Ah, right. Sorry.” Shelly sheepishly smiled, before leading into to the chocolate shop. Quickly she left him to his own devices as she went to the front.

Michael looked around the homely store. A comfortable atmosphere made it easy to walk around and get lost among the large displays of treats. A long counter ran with displays filled with various types of chocolate and fudge as an ice cream bar sat at the end of the building. It was quite large and just smelt completely of chocolate. As he wondered towards the other end of building where a set of large glass windows sat. They gave a perfect view of the chocolate production in the back which he felt something unusual.

For a moment, the pendent Giselle had given him heated up. The sensation was so unexpected that he almost didn’t recognize it. The piece of jewelry had just become part of his every day after she let him keep. However, there must have been something quite magical around to activate it as he quickly gazed among the displays of themed chocolates.

Even if the pendent was warm, he felt no ill intent as he played a small game of hot and cold trying to find the source. Finally, he stood in front of the large glass windows.

White equipment, mixed with white aprons and uniforms made the entire place a bit sterile, but when watching the chocolatiers at work it was easy to slip into a sense of wonder as liquid chocolate fluidly turned into all sorts of treats.

Finally, something caught his attention to the side. A woman was hard at work sculpting some sort of center piece. It stood about three feet high and did not have the customary bunny theme that Michael was becoming way too accustom to now. Instead it was a bit abstract with sweeping lines and curved shapes that looked precariously attached. As she went to attach a new piece the sculpture wobbled a bit but she did not falter as it suddenly stabilized and the piece that had been in her hand flew up and attached itself before she could move. She didn’t even react, just kept moving as she built it out piece by piece.

Michael guessed magical candy makers were a thing as he watched a little while longer and noticed that she wasn’t the only one using a bit of magical assistance. Most of the workers performed a sleight of hand or two as their equipment, work and pieces moved of their own accord to support them. While his pendent did react, there was nothing bad that seemed to be going on, so Michael let it go. In fact, it was quite whimsical. Chocolate witch? Seemed like a fun profession.

“What you looking at?” Shelly leaned her chin on his shoulder as she watched the back room at work.

“Nothing, just enjoy the show.” It would be inappropriate for him to point out the magic, so he just turned to look at the large box she had gotten. “Who are all these for?”

“Mama Clarke said to pick up an order of chocolates for when your boyfriend comes over.”

Michael nearly lost his composure as he let out a chuckle. “Ah, I see.” He wasn’t even sure if Alexander could eat chocolate. He was a giant cat man? Isn’t chocolate poisonous to cats? Either way even if Alexander couldn’t have it, Michael could eat it for the both of them as he took the box from Shelly. “Shall we head back home? I’m sure mom wants some of these for herself.”

Shelly just gave a hum of agreement and took the lead.

---

“By the lord above, I should just shear you.” The scrapping sound of a particularly difficult knot could not cover the agitation that colored Shelly’s voice as she struggled against Michael’s hair. “Did you purposefully form all these knots? Or are you just that bad at taking care of your hair?”

“It’s been a rough few days.” Michael sighed as he kept his eyes closed. Leaned against to the couch, he recalled the constant stream of guests who had been in and out the last two days.

“Jesus, there’s another knot inside of the knot.” Shelly took no prisoners though as she finally got through a quarter of the hair and pushed it to the side for Michael to hold. “I don’t think you realized this, but your hair has layers. Horrible, horrible layers. The top layer is deceptively straight, but once you get past it the curls are tight and merciless. And it doesn’t help that you left it a matted mess for how long?”

“Less than a week, I swear.” This is what he got for asking for a bit of hair help. It had been a while since Michael had had to deal with long hair, let alone this type of coarse thick, multitextured hair. With Shelly being as close as a sister to Hunter, he figured she was the perfect candidate.

He had been half right. She knew what to do, the only issue is, she refused to let go of this bit of hair neglect.

“This-“ Michael couldn’t see the motion she made, “this is way more than just a week of abuse. The tangles might be recent, but your poor hair is begging for moisture. Also, the split ends.” She made an exasperated sigh. “Just let me cut it off. It’s best for everyone.”

“I’m not cutting it off.” He happened to like long hair personally, even if it could be a hassle.

“At least let me trim the split ends. Or I can call Justine from four houses down, she does at-home hair appointments. Though I fear she’d faint from this mess.”

“Just trim off the ends if you must.”

“I will once your hair doesn’t eat the comb.”

They continued to banter as she slowly worked through each section. The towel around his shoulders was already soaked from the coconut oil that Shelly had healthy lathered in it. It was around the halfway mark that Michael’s phone went off.

A quick look was all he needed as he picked up the call. With his other hand, even though he still had his hair in it, he motioned for Shelly to quiet down.

“Hey babe.”

Those words were like gun shot as Shelly straightened up and Michael let out a slight hiss since she yanked on his hair.

Alexander didn’t notice though as he let out a long breath. “If I murdered-“

“No.” Before the other man could begin, Michael put an end to it.

“Hypocrite.” A slight chuckle finally broke through Alexander’s sullen expression as he leaned back in his swivel chair.

“What happened?” Michael asked.

“A new bastard showed up.”

“And did what?”

“I was getting to that.” Alexander huffed as he ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. “Poked the hornet’s nest, that’s what he did.” With a scowl he began to tell Michael about his session with Brody. Over an hour had past, but it felt like each detail had gotten crisper since it happened.

“How is he a bastard?” Michael raised an eyebrow as he also noticed Shelly’s slow down behind him.

“He’s a bastard because I say he’s a bastard.” To tell the truth, Alexander wasn’t sure how he felt about Brody. On first approach he wanted to punch the man in the face and even now he felt a level of discomfort with him. But other than being a contact of Richard’s, the man had done nothing hostile to him. Alexander had even consented to the dream thing.

“It’s over now at least. Are you feeling better?” Michael softened his voice as held the phone close. This wasn’t the first call involving those nightmares, but at least the scene had finally been laid out. To tell the truth, the description sparked a few guesses as he thought of the basement in Banyan’s Hallow. But with Shelly behind him, he could only hold his tongue.

“I’ll feel better when I can see you again.”

“One more day.” Both had been keeping track since their last conversation with Overworld.

“I swear if those assholes don’t-“

“They will, don’t worry. Anyway, I have a set of ears eagerly eavesdropping.” Shelly’s hands weren’t even moving anymore as she leaned into call. At the mention she snapped out of it and straightened up. “Do you want to say hello?” The question hung between both parties as Michael chuckled.

“Keep talking. Don’t mind me.” Shelly tried to cover herself, but her face said otherwise as her hands sped up.

“Sure, put it on speaker.” It wasn’t like Alexander had anything else to do. The server room wasn’t running anywhere, he might as well begin courting Michael’s in-world family.

Michael followed and the light sound of whirling fans could be heard in the background as the audio went to speaker.

“Hello?” Alexander called out experimentally. “Hi, I’m Neil. Hunter’s boyfriend.”

“Yes, Hunter told us. I’m Shelly, Hunter’s sister.” The beginning awkwardness was palpable as Michael elbowed her in the shin but ended up hurting himself instead as her hand slipped and she pulled at a rough segment of his hair.

“Ah, a little more delicate Sis.” Michael hissed out the words as he leaned forward.

“Stop having such a sensitive scalp.” Shelly kicked him in the back but paid a bit more attention to what she was doing.

“Ribs, ribs!” Michael found that Shelly really was too rough some days as he gritted his teeth.

Shelly ignored him though as she focused on the call. “I’m not sure if Hunter has told you about me though.”

“Ah, Hunter had mentioned you before.” Alexander fiddled with his braiding board, he had made some breakthrough on the token, but he was still not satisfied.

“He damn well should have.” Shelly huffed, “How many years have I watched his back like a good big sister?”

Michael couldn’t resist rolling his eyes, “We’re not even blood-“

“Shh!” Shelly nudged him again as Alexander gave a slightly digitized laugh on the other end of the phone.

“Shelly, thank you for your dedication.”

“Please, call me Big Sis.” She quickly added. She had been trying for years to get Hunter to do it, but he continued to refuse. Maybe if she got the boyfriend on her side, it might finally succeed.

“Thank you, Big Sis.” Alexander played along as Michael let out a pained groan.

“Hunter told me you will be visiting soon.” Shelly continued on. “I hope you know what you’re getting into. Both Mama Clarke and I aren’t going to go easy on you.”

“Behave.” Michael warned. Who this warning was for? Well he would just say both…all…everyone.

“I look forward to it. I almost have troubles sorted out on my end, I should be over in a day or two.”

“Uh huh.” Shelly hummed and looked pointedly at the phone. What she was about to say was overtaken by her shock at the phone’s screen. “Hunter, what the hell did you do to your phone?”

“Huh?” Michael had fallen into tired complacency after realizing these two were going to banter more, he was a bit shocked to be yelled at. “What about it?”

“Did you play frisbee with the damn thing?” If her hands weren’t full, she would have taken it from him, but Michael was a bit quicker as he remembered that he still needed to get his screen replaced again.

“Did Hunter break his phone again?” Alexander hummed and wrote down another item on the list of things he needed to bring with him.

“Again?”

“Look it was an accident.” Michael glared at the screen, but it didn’t quite work when the other person was miles away. “I plan on getting it fixed soon.”

“What kind of accident did you get into?”  

“Ow, ow! Don’t leverage my hair against me you devil woman.” With his hair still at her mercy, Shelly tried to get more details about Michael’s last few days as Alexander partially egged on. Call it boyfriend sense, but he figured getting on Shelly’s good side would make his stay in Easter a whole lot easier as Michael was stuck between these two bullies.

“Both of you are horrible. I’m leaving.” Michael let out an exhausted sigh as Shelly and Alexander kept chatting. They exchanged what quick embarrassing tidbits they could think of when it came to Hunter.

“Baby, no. It’s all Shelly’s fault.” Alexander teased; his smile almost hurt with how big it was.

“Nope, your boyfriend is the devil here. Blame him.” Shelly batted back as Michael just shook his head.

“I’m gonna hang up as I need my hairdresser to pay a bit more attention to what she is doing.” The whole conversation had turned Shelly’s hands slow and they had barely worked through the third section. “I’ll talk to you later darling. Miss you.”

“Love you too.” Alexander gave one last laugh before Michal hung up the phone.

“I should never let you two met. That’s a horrible idea.” Putting away his phone, Michael wanted to turn to glare but had to keep his back straight as Shelly kept going with the comb.

“This means we need to meet even more. Boy knows how to curry favor well.”

“By embarrassing me?”

“Yup~” Shelly laughed happily.

“I’m officially severing our sibling relationship. Peter’s my only brother now.”

“Peter is in Orlando, he can’t save you.” Shelly picked up a pair of scissors from her hair kit. “Also do you really want to mess with the woman who currently has hold of your hair and a pair of scissors?” She made a loud snip snip sound as Michael gave a groan but didn’t talk back.

Michael partially dozed off, Shelly happily went through completing his treatment. Time flew and by the time everything was cleaned up, it was well past 8 o’ clock. Shelly had taken residence up on the front couch as Mama Clarke had decided to join her after spending most of her day out.

In the kitchen Michael finished preparing dinner for the three after shooing Shelly out. Call it a hobby, but Michael had spent many lives learning how to cook and was quite competent at it. However most never stayed in the kitchen long enough to see him cook. From many accounts he had been told it looked like he was murdering someone when he cooked.

With three plates of braised beef and potatoes balanced perfectly in his arms, he barely avoided Shelly’s grabby hands.

“Hold your horses.” He scolded as he danced around her and set a plate in front of his mother first.

After settling in to eat, their conversation turned into a warm lull of daily updates and small-town gossip as Michael found himself happily lost in the warm atmosphere.

 

A/N

I think I've finally settled things with work. I'm should be returning back to my normal posting schedule this week. Sorry about the absence. Also I totally didn't base the chocolate shop off of a local chocolate store, not at all.