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“Just one hour.”
“We’ll get there.”
“Will we? We’ve been stuck here for half an hour.”
“Nothing will change just because you get nervous. We can get out and walk if you want.”
“No chance. I have no intention of freezing to death.”
“We will eventually.”
Sirius snorted and slumped back into the seat, crossing his arms. The taxi smelled of leather, the dry heat from the blower, and a faint hint of mint from the air freshener. The engine ran quietly. Outside, the deafening blare of other cars' horns filled the air as they tried and failed to inch through the monstrous traffic jam that spanned the whole street. Drivers cursed, jerking forward aggressively at every tiny gap, almost provoking accidents from nothing, which made everyone even more nervous. Cheerful New Year's music played softly from the radio. The New Year was just an hour away.
Sirius shifted his gaze to Remus beside him. He was looking out the window, his face illuminated by the countless garlands hung along the streets outside. His hair was noticeably disheveled from the snowfall they’d been caught in before jumping into the taxi. The snowflakes in his hair had melted, leaving damp, careless curls framing his face. Sirius couldn’t help himself. He touched Remus’s cheek with his fingertips, tracing the line of one of the long, thin scars that marked his face. Remus turned his gaze to him, and in his brown eyes flickered colorful reflections of the New Year’s lights. An involuntary smile touched Sirius’s lips.
“What?” Remus asked, a smirk playing on his lips as his eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Nothing,” Sirius replied, still smiling. His fingers were now running through the strands of Remus’ hair. “Just still can’t believe it.”
“Me neither,” Remus said softly. “But we’re here.”
They were here. Stuck in traffic in fucking New York trying to get to fucking Times Square on December thirty-first an hour before midnight. Sirius still couldn't fully grasp it. It was his old dream, perhaps too trivial for someone like Sirius Black, to meet the New Year at Times Square with the person he loved. And damn it all, they were here. Here with Remus. It felt like a dream.
But they were crawling so slowly through this traffic jam in downtown New York. And they might be late. Of course, they probably wouldn't be in this mess if they hadn't gone on a wild shopping spree through every conceivable store, losing all track of time for the entire day. But at least Sirius knew for certain that Remus now had a warm woolen scarf, protecting him from the cold and the biting December wind. He knew he himself had warm gloves because Remus worried endlessly about his always-cold hands. He knew that Remus had a small box of ginger biscuits, a set for making mulled wine and a handful of sweets in his bag. He knew that in the pocket of his own jacket were two tangerines, and he knew that Remus would peel them for him. Another half hour in the warm car with Remus Lupin. With Remus Lupin, whose fingers were lazily drawing invisible shapes on his knee. Sirius was practically melting. But he couldn't sit still for that long.
“Remus,” he intoned, a clear warning in his voice. Remus nodded, already grabbing his bag.
Within a minute, they were weaving through lanes of stalled cars toward the sidewalk. Within two, they were running past decorated shop windows.
“Do you even know which way we're going?” Remus gasped out, barely keeping up with Sirius' pace.
“No idea!” Sirius laughed.
And they ran. They ran along slippery, snow-covered sidewalks. Past hundreds, maybe thousands of people dressed as Santa. Past shop windows decorated with tinsel and reindeer figures. Past doors with wreaths of fir branches and mistletoe. The frosty air smelled of pine, snow and champagne. Sirius could hear Remus cursing behind him every time he slipped on the ice, and that made him want to laugh harder. A wide grin was plastered across his face.
“Sirius, slow down,” Remus moaned so desperately, and Sirius stopped, looking over his shoulder.
Remus was breathing heavily, hands braced on his knees, bent almost double. Sirius knew Remus had poor stamina, but he’d wanted so badly to get there on time. But now they just needed a break. Sirius looked around. There was a small kiosk nearby selling hot dogs and hot chocolate, but Sirius doubted that was what Remus required after such an unexpected sprint. Finding nothing better, Sirius turned back, annoyed. Remus was already sitting on the bench, legs stretched out and leaning back. His scarf hung loosely around his shoulders, and the collar of his jacket was unzipped.
“You’re mental,” Sirius shot at him, running up to him. “Zip up.”
“I was hot,” Remus said, leaning his head back and letting the cold wind hit his face.
“Prat,” Sirius grumbled, moving to stand between his legs and zipping up his jacket, then wrapping the scarf around his neck. “You’ll survive.”
“I’ll either die of a heart attack or heatstroke. Not that the two are mutually exclusive.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
They spent a few minutes like that. Sirius just stood in front of Remus, who was half-lying on the bench. Remus’s hands rested on Sirius’s waist, not letting him move away, while Sirius’s fingers played with the hem of the soft scarf. People bustled noisily all around. They sang festive songs cheerfully, shouted loud New Year’s greetings to one another. A wide variety of music was rumbling everywhere.
“Time to go, or we definitely won’t make it,” Remus croaked, getting to his feet and holding Sirius by the waist.
They asked a few passersby for directions to Times Square and this time moved at a much slower pace, because Sirius clearly had no intention of letting his boyfriend either suffocate or get sick. There were about fifteen minutes left until the New Year. And it took almost all of them to squeeze through the crowd gathering towards the square, elbowing people aside.
“Can’t go any further,” Remus announced when they saw the metal barricades up ahead. An even bigger crowd had gathered behind them.
“There’re still people up there,” Sirius muttered, peering into the crowd.
“I’m sure they camped out since sunrise. We’re lucky we got this close.”
“Fools.”
Sirius pulled his sleeves further over his fingers. The surrounding buildings were plastered with bright billboards. Loud music was playing from somewhere. People all around were shouting with joy. Five minutes left until midnight. At the top of One Times Square the Times Square Ball shone, ready to descend. Sirius turned to Remus, grabbing the edges of his jacket and pulling him closer. The crowd seethed around them, jostling them with its restless energy.
“This is insane,” Remus said, looking around the crowd and then stopping at Sirius. His gaze was soft, a slight smile touching his lips. He brushed a strand of hair from Sirius’ face and left a light kiss on the top of his head.
“Completely,” Sirius grinned. “But I’m happy. We’re right where we dreamed of being.”
“Not a bad reward for everything that happened this year, isn’t it?”
“The year was not so bad.”
“Oh, right. The kitchen flood, your bike getting wrecked, that massive quarrel we had, the trip to Italy that was disrupted, my broken phone and…”
“Just shut up,” Sirius laughed, shoving Remus lightly in the shoulder. “We’re in New York. Together. For the holidays.”
“We almost missed our flight,” Remus reminded him, and Sirius almost groaned.
“We were on time! You call it ‘almost missing’ because we didn’t arrive two hours earlier.”
“We could have missed it.”
“But we didn’t.”
“To be honest, I like it here, you know,” Remus admitted after a short pause. “In New York. Though I didn’t expect it to be so crowded.”
“Then what did you expect from one of the busiest cities on earth on New Year’s Eve?” Sirius laughed again, and Remus answered with a warm smile.
“I guess I forgot about that detail. Didn’t think about it. But it’s beautiful here. I just miss something… leafy.”
“Remus Lupin, true nature lover and defender of all things green.”
“Stop it,” Remus rolled his eyes. “It’s not my fault you can barely breathe between all these skyscrapers.”
“True, they can feel a bit oppressive,” Sirius agreed, nodding seriously a couple of times before breaking back into a wide grin.
Remus looked at him and his eyes shone. His hands rested on Sirius’s waist, and Sirius adored this feeling. He could have stayed like that for a lifetime. So he just looked back. Silently studying Remus’s face, his faint scars, his barely noticeable dimples, his cheekbones, his chin. He thought about how much he loved him. How he couldn’t even remember the kitchen flood, the wrecked bike, their quarrel, the cancelled Italy trip, the broken phone. He couldn’t remember any of it while looking at Remus. Not while they stood here, in the heart of New York. Not while he saw nothing but infinite tenderness in his gaze. They didn’t need to say a word to know how much they loved.
The raging crowd began the countdown. Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. The massive, glittering ball began its descent from the roof of One Times Square, shimmering brilliantly and causing rapturous screams. Twenty-four. Twenty-three. The countdown numbers on the giant screen quickly replaced each other. Remus was beside him, Sirius felt the warmth of his body, saw his tender smile, and he was utterly captivated. Remus was handsome. And he was here with him. Twelve. Eleven. Ten. Despite all the difficulties, they went through them together. They had spent another year side by side and were now stepping into a new one. Another year that might hold its own trials, but in which there would still be more good things. A year they already had plans for. And regardless of whether those plans came to fruition or not, it will still be a good year. Five. Four. Because life goes on.
Three.
Two.
One.
They moved toward each other at the same moment. Their lips met halfway. The crowd around them roared and jostled. Confetti rained down from somewhere above, catching in their clothes and tangling in their hair. Someone was shouting right in his ear, slapping his back in congratulations, but Sirius didn’t care. His world had shrunk to a single person, whose lips was searching for his with a hungry need. To Remus. His Remus. His handsome, calm, charming Remus. Remus, who loves nature. Who arrives at the airport two hours before departure so as not to miss the flight. Remus, who calls Sirius the brightest star. Remus, who holds Sirius’s face in his hands so carefully as if it were something fragile. This was what he dreamed of. What he pictured every night before sleep. What he was thinking every time he looked at Remus.
There were two tangerines in his jacket pocket. He knew that Remus had a small box of ginger biscuits, a set for making mulled wine and a handful of sweets in his bag. He knew that they would go home, unpack their gifts, make mulled wine and watch ridiculous New Year's movies until sunrise, kissing each time snowflakes filled the screen. He knew it, and he smiled right into the kiss.
Because the year had already begun perfectly.