Chapter Text
It was only ten minutes until midnight.
Of course it was foolish to think that Vinnie would show, after all, in all their years as co-workers he’d never attended their department's annual New Years party. Cavendish had hoped though, that this year might be different.
After all, their relationship was different now.
Nine minutes.
He tried to chat with some random ladies near the punch bowl, but they just tittered and skittered away. Cavendish huffed and poured himself some punch. It was pleasantly spiked.
Eight minutes.
He downed three glasses in about ten seconds each, anything to get his mind off his partner. Every minute closer to midnight the tension in the room grew higher. So did Cavendish’s anxiety.
Seven minutes.
He walked over to the snack table. Normally he really wasn't one to go for such things but brandy soaked extra dark fruitcake was too appealing to pass up.
Six minutes.
While Cavendish was distracted he missed the door opening and a very late partygoer slipping in. Had he seen, he would have felt compelled to see if it was Vinnie.
Five minutes.
“Hey hot stuff, wanna dance?”
Cavendish nearly jumped out of his skin, nearly choked on the cake, and had he still been drinking punch he certainly would have done a spit take. It took him far too long to actually process the person standing in front of him.
Four minutes.
Cavendish had been pulled onto the dancefloor, though he wasn’t actually dancing at all, he was simply standing there, slack jawed, watching the man in front of him dance like an absolute lunatic.
Three minutes.
Cavendish was grabbed and swung around, and he found he was unable to stop himself from both joining in the dance, and cracking a wide smile under his carefully styled moustache.
Two minutes.
The music quieted, speeches were made, guests were congratulated, but none of that mattered. They stared into each other’s eyes, reflecting on their year together. They were in each other’s arms, sure some people were staring, perhaps even whispering or more, neither cared though.
One minute.
“You came…” Cavendish sounded astonished.
Vinnie snorted and smirked, “Of course babe, I wouldn’t wanna disappoint the guy I spent the last ten years tryin’a get eh?”
Cavendish cocked an eyebrow and eyed him up and down “And you chose to wear…?”
“Hey, this is a genuine article! One of a kind - and most of why I’m so late.” He mumbled the last part.
Thirty seconds.
“Why you’re - Dakota we’re time travellers! We never have an excuse for being late!” Cavendish retorted.
“Oh well it’s a long story,” Dakota launched into a rambling explanation, “...then I got distracted by this raccoon right? You know the one? And when I went to check on it it was dead -the car not the raccoon- so I -
Happy New Year!
Dakota was suddenly grabbed into a deep and passionate kiss. As the celebration erupted around them, the two of them made fireworks of their own.