Ezekiel Jones did not like New Year's Eve.
It was barely even a holiday, really. Like Saint Patrick's Day, only less amusing. Drunk Irishmen were more fun to pickpocket than drunk young women. The latter usually got him slapped when they stumbled and his hand wound up unintentionally groping.
What was there to celebrate, really? Another year? La-di-fricken-da. It was always more of the same for him - new cities, new faces, new trinkets and prizes, but the same old game.
Not that he was tired of it. His fingers tingled and he smiled, thinking of the rush he received from his favorite pastime. Ezekiel Jones, world class thief. That would never change, regardless of how the years did.
The same loneliness, too, though he'd be damned if he would ever admit it. The idea of a New Year's party, let alone a kiss from a friend or lover or stranger, was so foreign. He didn't have friends.
Alcohol made him sloppy, and he hated sloppy. It made him emotional, too, warm and fuzzy. Ezekiel Jones was not warm and fuzzy. At least on the outside.
Ezekiel Jones was cool and collected, devil-may-care, a "wing it kinda guy," self-assured and arrogant, and frankly, a bit of an ass if he played himself right. It was just too much fun that way.
It took a lot to break Ezekiel Jones, and even more to fracture his façade in front of others. But alcohol was bad news, and a holiday that was drinking and kissing and celebrating arbitrary excuses for the first two were three strikes to blacklist it for good.
He didn't need to be reminded again this year of how alone he was, or how he was pining for his two best friends and partners. Which was ridiculous, because Ezekiel Jones did not pine for anyone. He just wanted to celebrate like they had last year - that is to say, not at all.
So he felt his stomach drop when Cassandra grabbed his arm and dragged him over to hold the ladder while she hung gold and silver stars from the ceiling.
***...***
Cassandra Cillian absolutely adored New Year's Eve.
To her, it signaled triumph. Another year winning against the brain grape. Another year she had survived, and now that she was a Librarian, another year she had thrived.
It was magical. It was a resetting, of clocks and calendars and lives. When the time was 00:00 of the first day of the first month of the year, anything was possible; a person could turn their life a million different ways in the span of that first minute. All they'd have to do is make a choice.
Cassandra had had her first kiss at midnight on New Year's. She was far less innocent than Ezekiel or Jake thought, really. It had been with a girl from her physics class that smelled like tangerines and made Cassandra hear bells when she smiled. All the boys at the party had hooted and hollered, promptly ruining the moment as boys often do, but Cassandra knew then that she loved New Years.
Every year after, she made it her goal to get a kiss. Sometimes girlfriends or boyfriends, sometimes strangers, but she always succeeded. Except for last year, what with the Santa fiasco and ensuing holiday cleanup.
Still, this year...this year she would restart her streak. With either Ezekiel or Jake, she wasn't picky. They were both cute and she was pretty sure she was in love with both of them. But that was a mess for another time. Tonight was just about the kisses.
She buzzed about, decorating the annex for tonight's New Year's festivities. She'd bought champagne and lots of munchies, picked out a few board games and a deck of cards, and even arranged a playlist in case the boys wanted to dance. All that was left was her decorating.
She had a bunch of shiny stars to hang from the ceiling, and her eyes lit up when a young man entered the room. "Ezekiel!" She cried excitedly as he yawned, stretching his whole face. "Come help me with this!" She dragged him by the hand over to the ladder. "Hold this for me while I hang these up." She shook her handful of stars and they swayed back and forth by their long strands fishing line.
***...***
Jacob Stone had an interesting relationship with New Year's Eve, to say the least.
He was mostly impartial, but he had to say, as large fact in favor of the holiday was that he tended to wake up in bed with gorgeous strangers. Sometimes several at once. He never remembered the night before, though, which put a damper on the whole thing. It took a lot of alcohol to black him out, but he drank quite heavily on New Year's. It made it easier to forget that's when his mother passed.
But this year would be different. He was staying home, with Cassie and Jones. No drunk sex tonight, even if he might be inclined to with those two. He loved them, not that he expected that to go anywhere. Besides, dating two people? How would that work?
He groaned. Perhaps it was a bad idea to stay home and sober. Already he was itching to get drunk, maybe start a bar fight.
But Cassie had asked him to be here and lord knows he could never say no to that girl.
He supposed he should go down and help the other two decorate. He'd heard them bumbling around downstairs for the past couple hours while he tried to read, Cassie's excited soprano mixed with Jones' beleaguered sighs. It was endearing and he couldn't help but crack a smile.
Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.
***...***
The annex looked very festive, and Cassandra hoped it appreciated all of her hard work.
Jenkins was nowhere to be seen, having left them all to their festive fun for the day. Cassandra supposed she could forgive him.
She'd put on a fancy dress with a silver bodice and constellations on the skirt, careful not to drop any of the food in it. She was fairly certain both Ezekiel and Jake had been sneakily staring at her all night, when they thought she wasn't looking. She smiled proudly, happy she was pretty. She felt good.
They were all huddled around the TV, sipping champagne and playing a card game Cassandra had never heard of. Ezekiel explained it as "Apples to Apples, but actually fun." It was filthy, and absolutely hilarious to Cassandra. The way Jake would squirm when she said something particularly lewd, or how Ezekiel would beam with pride. The two of them teamed up to make Jake uncomfortable, laughing all the while.
Around 11:15, Cassandra noticed something. The clock on the wall was exactly a minute and twenty-three seconds behind the TV countdown. It gave her an idea, and she eyed her companions thoughtfully as they argued over a point.
"Let's play never have I ever!" Cassandra proposed, giggling like a schoolgirl. She was likely already drunk, and a purple elephant went swimming through her train of thought. Like at that bar, with the evil attractive Dorian.
They went in circles, taking a sip of champagne for everything they had done. Some were silly, some were sexual, and Cassandra learned a lot about the boys. She giggled, learning Ezekiel was a virgin like her, but even she'd gone further than he had. He looked very offended, but kept giving her dopey smiles when she said something cute or funny, so she knew he wasn't upset with her.
She liked drunk Ezekiel. He was very out of character, but adorable. He even let her hold his hand under the table at one point without making a single snide comment.
She had managed to hold Jake's hand too, but he just blushed quietly and without a word. She was astounded by his alcohol tolerance. Also by how much experience he had in everything, which was even weirder cuz he got all cute and blushy whenever Cassandra did anything.
She giggled again, then got really quiet and gasped. "Guys!" She crowed. "The countdown is starting!"
They all turned to face the TV, the game forgotten in the wake of Cassandra's infectious excitement. They all finished their champagne and put the glasses on the table as Cassandra loudly shouted down from ten. On one, she turned to Jake and kissed him intensely, knocking him off balance. She giggled into his mouth as his hands found her hips, squeezing, and when she pulled away, he looked dazed.
Ezekiel awkwardly coughed, trying and failing to hide his disappointment. "Happy New Year," he said half-heartedly, but Cassandra shook her head.
"Not yet. Look at the clock." She pointed to the wall clock, still half a minute remaining until midnight. "You get one too."
He fought back a smile, trying to find his cool-guy persona again, but Cassandra saw right through him. She shouted her countdown from ten again, turning and giving him the same kind of kiss she'd given Jake.
He knew it was coming and melted into it immediately, holding her more gently than she'd known he was capable of. When she pulled away, he grinned, forgetting to hide it.
"I declare you the best New Year's kiss ever," Ezekiel proclaimed, remembering how he was supposed to be. "That's quite the honor, you know." He winked at her, but he still seemed a little sad to Cassandra.
Cassandra giggled. "Now you two kiss." She was acting on a hunch, and when the two men blushed, she knew it was correct. "Come on, you know you want to. I see the looks."
They spluttered out denial until Cassandra fixed them with a glare. They sighed and turned towards each other, staring uncertainly. Jake reached out and gingerly cupped Ezekiel's face while the two closed the difference for a short, sweet kiss. Cassandra watched in satisfaction as their eyes closed and they kept it going longer than they 'had to' in order to appease her.
"Happy now?" Ezekiel asked, feigning disgust. His beet red cheeks gave it away to Cassandra. "I kissed your damn boyfriend." He looked down, avoiding her eyes. She assumed he was disappointed.
"Our boyfriend," she corrected. "That is, if everybody's cool with that. Polyamory, yay!" She giggled drunkenly. "Let's date each other. I know we all wanna!" She hiccupped.
"Okay, Cassie, time for bed." Stone picked her up easily, carrying her over to the couch. "You can sleep here tonight. So you don't hurt yourself."
She enjoyed the feeling of him holding her and grabbed him, keeping her on the couch next to him. She held her arm out, beckoning for Ezekiel to come join them, which he did slowly.
"All together," she decided, snuggling into the couch and pulling each boy to her side. "Let's sleep together."
She passed out nearly immediately, but her final thoughts were of how completely, amazingly perfect the night had been. And she could have sworn she heard Ezekiel mutter under his breath that maybe New Year's Eve wasn't so bad, after all.
A/N: It's my first fanfic back! Hurray! Technically a day late, for New Year's Eve, but I hope you all enjoyed. I'd love to hear what you think!