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Uzi had never really celebrated New Years. Before all the recent events, she hadn’t any friends to spend it with, nor did her father choose to celebrate it with her; instead choosing to play cards with the other WDF members like he always did. Without any friends or family to spend New Years with, Uzi had stopped acknowledging the holiday.
However, her time nowadays was different compared to back then. Now she had an actual companion who genuinely cared for her. She had a proper friend, who came in the form of N.
Currently, N was ripping through the skies at breakneck speeds, with Uzi sitting on top of him and firmly gripping his head to ensure she wouldn’t fall. While Uzi may not have bothered to celebrate holidays, the same could not be said for N. Even without anybody to usually celebrate it with, he always made it his mission to do something for the new year, and it was ever more important for this year since he now had a companion to do it with.
“N, where are you taking me?” Uzi shouted over the roar of the rushing wind.
“Somewhere very special,” N replied nonchalantly, eyes scanning the valley below. “It’s nearly a new year, and since it would be our first one together, I wanted it to be meaningful.”
Uzi kept quiet after that reply. A light blush dusted her screen, to which she used one hand to adjust her beanie so that N couldn’t see her face if he decided to look up.
A few minutes later N gasped in excitement. He had found the spot he had been looking for. He lightly tapped Uzi on her thigh, signifying that he was going to divebomb. Uzi responded by tightening the grip she had on him.
In less than a second the two were falling through the sky like a meteor that had just entered the planet's atmosphere. Only that this meteor managed to avoid colliding into a building by flapping his wings at the last second and stopping his rapid descent.
“We’re here!” the murder drone cheerfully announced, kneeling down so that Uzi could get off.
The edgy teen looked around, hiding her awe. The building they were on wasn’t anything special. It was just a communication tower that Jc Jenson had used when the planet was still habitable. However, what had really impressed Uzi was the view that the tower gave them. Since the tower was the biggest thing in the surrounding area, it gave them the best view of the city below.
Uzi walked to the edge, surveying the landscape with an astonished look that N had never seen before. N grinned, proud that he was able to make her so bewildered. “If you think that’s amazing, just wait till the clock hits 12.”
“Why? What happens at 12?” asked the worker drone, keeping her optics on the sight in front of her.
N walked over to the ledge that Uzi was at and sat down. He patted the spot next to him, which she sat in with slight hesitation. When he butt hit the ground, N’s gaze trailed up into the sky. “At 12, to celebrate the new year, a nearby planet launches old spaceships filled with special fireworks into space. The resulting explosions are so big that you can see them from here.”
Uzi raised a brow at N. “If you can see them from this planet, then why did you take me to this spot specifically?”
“Well, this spot right here is where I first witnessed it. I come here every new year's eve to see the fireworks,” N explained, kicking his feet back and forth. “I brung you here because in a way, this place is special to me, and I wanted to share it with you.” He shot a small smile at Uzi before looking back up into the sky.
The mentioned drone just looked at N with a small smile. She found it cute how needlessly sweet N was. It was one of his best qualities, in her opinion. The silence that followed N’s explanation was calm and comfortable. The two drones just sat, looking at the stars as the clock ticked to a new year.
It had only been ten minutes later that N decided to speak up.
“Hey Uzi?” he said, nudging her side to make sure she was listening.
Uzi nudged back to let him know she was listening. “Yeah? What is it?”
“Thanks for everything,” he said, taking off his hat. Uzi looked at him in confusion.
“Care to elaborate?”
“I mean it like I said: Thank you,” he simply replied. “ When we first met, despite me being a disassembly drone and you a worker, you still spent time with me. That conversation we had in the pod was probably the longest one I've had in my life.”
Uzi opened her mouth to reply but found that no words came out. N didn’t notice and continued. “Even now, you spend time with me and talk with me, which is something that V and J never did. You even saved my life when J tried to kill me, even if it was for your own benefit.”
Uzi was flabbergasted. She had never really taken into consideration how N felt about everything that had happened. She certainly didn’t expect him to feel this way. She listened intently as N finished up his little speech. “But most of all, Uzi,” N said, casting a sideways glance at her. “Thank you for being my friend. J was always mean and V never really noticed me. To her I wasn’t even worth remembering. But you are different. You don’t treat me like I don’t exist, you don’t treat me like I'm some kind of screw up. You treat me like I actually matter, and for that, I’m thankful.”
Wow. WOW. Uzi was at a loss for words. She tried to think of the appropriate words to reply with, but her mental processor drew a blank every time she tried. As a result, all that she could do was mutter a small “wow”.
N chuckled, flashing a teasing smirk. “At a loss for words?”
Uzi just nodded her head, unsure of how else to respond. N just held up a hand and laughed. “No need to say anything. I know how edgy, angsty teens have a hard time responding to emotional moments.”
That little quip earned him a jab to the shoulder, to which he laughed in kind. Uzi sent him a glare, though it had no real heat behind it. The two fell into a pleasant silence, both watching and waiting. The rebellious worker drone was gathering her thoughts, preparing a similar speech of thanks to N.
“Hey N, I-”
“Uzi, look up in the sky!” N cut her off. He shook his friend lightly and pointed up. Uzi did so, gasping with her mouth hanging open as an array of colours and shapes exploded in the inky night.
The fireworks were like a snake: a trail of colour slithering its way across the sky before bursting.
Without taking his optics off the spectacle above him, he tapped Uzi’s hand to get her attention. He spoke in a small, quiet voice.
“Happy new year, Uzi.”
She felt N scoot himself ever so slightly towards her. She mimicked his actions and continuously shuffled towards him till she was snug up against his arm. N reached a hand over to grab hold of her waist, sighing with contempt.
“Happy new year, N.”
The two sat there, happily in each other's company watching the explosion of colour overhead.