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Woosh.
The cold gust of wind sent a shiver down Avid's spine, waking him up from the trance he was in.
But in his defence, he couldn't help it. The flashing Christmas lights that everyone had been too stubborn to take down; the screams of joy echoing around him from adults, children and the elderly; no one could contain their excitement tonight, and the air was thick with it. There were even a few flakes of snow floating lazily around them, almost reminiscent of the snow globes perched precariously on the shelves of those slightly shady New York souvenir shops. Nothing was more magical at this moment than New York City's Time Square.
But most of all, Avid was captivated by the huge, sparkling ball overhead – just waiting to plummet the moment the clock's hands hit midnight. He felt a rush of adrenaline starburst through his veins, just thinking about it. The screams of joy, the laughs; even the random, overheard conversations. Distantly, Avid registered shouts of how each year was a gift that shouldn't be taken for granted, and a family right next to his ear talking about how their New Year's resolution was to feed their dog Barnaby more.
Suddenly, Avid felt a warm hand reach over and clasp around his own. Avid felt his heart stutter, drumming out a quick, uncertain beat at just the feeling of their fingertips touching.
"Hey, Avid, you alright?" Scott asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Oh, yeah," Avid stammered. "I'm sorry about that. I was just-"
"Caught up in the... magic of New Years Eve?" Scott said with a knowing smile.
"Maybe a little bit." Avid gazed around at the winter wonderland of lights, unable to mask the embarrassment in his voice. "I mean, I know that we don't even age, so there's not really a point in New Year's, but it's just so beautiful."
"Hey, it's okay. I've seen a lot in my hundreds of years but this? This is truly special." Scott tried to reassure Avid, a bit thrown off by his sudden self-conciousness.
Avid smiled. Scott always, somehow, knew exactly what to say when it came to Avid's feelings.
"Drift, they're over here!" A loud cry suddenly interrupted whatever might have happened between Scott and Avid in that moment, and through the snow Avid managed to catch a glimpse of the bundle of light pinkish white hair and bright red, woolen sweater he knew all too well.
"Shelby! We were wondering where you went!" Avid exclaimed.
"Sorry for running off, but Drift demanded I take her for a pretzel." Shelby grumbled, but Avid knew her too well to believe she was really mad. After all, it would take a whole lot of snow to mask the sparkle of love blooming in Shelby's eyes.
"Sorry..." Drift mumbled into her pretzel, stepping out from behind a throng of colourfully dressed tourists with the soft, salt-dusted pastry clutched in her hand.
"Oh, don't worry!" Shelby said, tossing a look in Scott's direction. "We won't go on any more snack runs. Promise."
"Oh..." Avid had to stifle his laugh as he looked over and saw Drift looking remorsefully down at her pretzel.
"I am only annoyed because you didn't get me one," Scott declared, hands raised defensively and arching an eyebrow. Now both girls were looking down abashedly at the snow-powdered cement.
"Hey, Shelby do you know how long until midnight?" Avid asked, trying valiantly to draw the conversation away from the delicious-smelling pretzel in Drift's possession. Pretzel aside, though, he'd never been to a New Year's celebration and truthfully had no idea what to expect.
"Well. Um..." Shelby started, glancing towards Drift for help.
"It's 11:37 p.m. right now!" Drift proclaimed, proudly holding up her gold pocket watch.
Shelby giggled. "Right! So in about twenty-ish minutes the New Year will start and the ball will drop!" She waved her hands around animately for emphasis, before demonstrating the ball drop with her first.
"Wait, will the ball drop on us?" Avid exclaimed, eyes growing wide with the sudden concern.
"No, silly!" Shelby laughed, elbowing him gently in the side. "The ball is attached to a pole and, like, slides down it at midnight. It isn't going to hit us!"
No matter how silly the concern had been, Avid still felt himself breath a sigh of relief.
"Hey... you excited?" Scott whispered into Avid's ear, drawing him into a hug
"Perhaps?" Avid replied teasingly.
Scott chuckled and drew him in closer as he softly stroked his thumb gently up and down Avid's arm. Avid felt himself sink into Scott's embrace finally feeling at peace for the first time that hectic week.With all the prep for the big night, socializing and partying with friends he felt as though he had lived at least a thousand more years than his current... two hundred?
"Dang," Drift said under her breath and whistled softly.
Avid and Scott immediately jumped apart. Avid who was already blushing, turned a startling shade of neon red. Even Scott who rarely blushed had a slightly flushed tinge lighting up his cheeks.
"Remember what we said! This night is about friendship," Shelby laughed, linking arms with the two men.
"Sure it is," Scott retorted, eyes flickering back and forth between Shelby and Drift.
"Shut up, Goldsmith" Drift hissed.
"Only if you stop giving me things to talk about," he countered with a knowing smirk.
Avid's gaze shifted to Scott as he studied the man. The way he held his shoulders. The way the wind shifted though his hair. The way his smile lit up his whole face.
Avid couldn't help but smile.
｡･:*˚:✧｡
"Hey. Um. Scott, I was wondering if–" Avid started.
"Oh, Avid, look! The countdown started," Scott smiled, wrapping one arm warmly around Avid's shoulder, and using the other to point towards one of the big, bright screens of Times Square, now displaying a countdown.
0:57
0:56
0:55
"Scott, wait. I really have to talk to you about something," Avid burst out, exhaling sharply.
0:51
0:50
Scott tilted his head to the side.
0:48
"I know it's stupid, so dumb, really, but I heard about this tradition on New Year's, this tradition where you-"
0:46
0:45
0:44
"–well, the person you... love, you–" Avid felt his cheeks burn, as he brought up the topic he'd been too scared to ask about for far too long.
0:39
0:38
0:37
"Um. Scott?"
0:32
0:31
Scott avoided his gaze, instead looking directly at the rapidly ticking clock.
0:25
"Scott!" Avid near yelled, awkward desperation in his voice.
0:22
"Please just answer me." It was deeply, deeply embarrassing, staring at the man he loved so deeply, watching Scott turn him down.
0:18
At the very least, you couldn't quite hear Avid's sob over the noisy crowd, a tear slipping down his frozen cheek.
0:13
0:12
"Hey, Avid." Scott murmured, slowly turning his face towards him.
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
"Eight!" the crowds started to scream.
But Avid didn't join in, too busy staring into Scott's startlingly red eyes as they searched his.
"Six!"
"Five!"
"Scott. It's okay," Avid reassured softly, trying in vain to keep his voice from cracking. It did anyway, because of course it did, and Avid could tell his heartbreak had just hit Scott like a truck.
"Four!"
"Avid."
"Three?"
Avid swallowed. "Yeah, Scott?"
"Two!"
Scott smirked at him, slippery and triumphant til the end. "I love you."
"One!"
Scott cupped Avid's face in his hands and pressed his lips against the other man's.
Time had, suddenly, stopped. The rest of the world seemed to be holding its breath.
Scott was kissing him.
Scott, the man that Avid had fallen for, even reluctantly, the second they locked eyes in Oakhurst. Scott, the man that had protected him through everything. Scott, the man who made him laugh and smile and feel like he won the lottery when all they were doing was watching a movie and splitting a pizza. Scott, the only person Avid had ever really loved.
So Avid kissed him back.
Gentle, hesitant, but the kiss was everything.
The kiss was perfect.
｡･:*˚:✧｡
When Avid and Scott finally broke apart, it felt like the world was stuttering, still catching up. There were cheers and screams of joy, people hugging and welcoming in the New Year, and when Avid looked over, through the clouds of confetti, he could see Drift and Shelby still locked in an embrace.
"Hey, Avid," Scott whispered softly into his ear.
"Scott?' Avid turned around, a brilliant, delighted smile lighting up his face.
"Did I mention that I love you?"