AN: The events of this story are from the issues YOUNG AVENGERS (2013) #6, #15, and #14, in that order. All dialogue and action comes straight from those issues.

This is kind of a companion fic to "Dance Baby, Dance" (part of the New Year's party from Kate's POV) and "Basic Multidimensional Cadet Theory" (part of the New Year's party from Noh-Varr's POV). But you by no means have to read those fics to enjoy this one.

It's New Year's, Apparently!

Tommy and David crouched on the catwalk, watching the dark, silent warehouse, the only sound the hushing rasps of their quiet breathing.

It felt like hours they crouched there until the Patriot figure walked below them.

Although perhaps 'walked' was the wrong word. The Patriot didn't move like Patriot—it moved with jerky, spastic, ungainly movements, like some sort of robotic zombie.

"Your move?" David whispered.

Tommy smirked in a way that showed teeth. "My move," he agreed, before leaping down from the catwalk with ease and speeding in front of the creepily-moving dude in Patriot's costume, pointing at him accusingly. "Hey! That's my friend's outfit you're wearing!"

His pointed finger folded over as his hand formed a fist and pulled back, ready to sock that style-biter right in the face that really shouldn't be covered in Eli's mask.

"I want you naked, now," Tommy demanded with a sneer in his tone and confidence on his lips. "Not in a sexy way," he added, because ugh but people had dirty little minds, and it wouldn't do for there to be confusion on this matter. "In..." he started to specify further, but the Patriot figure just tilted his head, and suddenly the world was cracking as he tried to continue, "a..."

Okay, now the world was really cracking, fracturing in his vision, and it was like someone was tearing up the world from inside his head because pain was splitting his skull and this was bad, this was bad bad bad bad bad and he'd totally underestimated this dude who apparently had creepy-scary powers to go along with his creepy movement and Tommy needed to get away, he needed to run away right now, because the world was bearing down on him and his skull was going to burst open like some analogy he couldn't think of with all the pain behind his eyes that was bright and loud and blinding and deafening and crackling and sparkling like fireworks—and oh hey, there was his analogy!—and he need to run away right now like right right now now.

He'd fallen into a crouch on the floor as the world and his brain went all fireworks on his sorry ass but now he struggled to his feet and turned and ran with everything he had because he could always run, but the world was getting farther and farther away from him like he was watching it recede down this tiny little tunnel that was filled with fireworks and he could no longer see or hear for the brilliant explosions and roaring din but he blindly pumped his arms and legs because he had to get away from this, pain was leaking from behind his clenched-shut (to block out that searing light) eyes and he had to—

There was something soft and warm against his lips and his eyes shot open to see that David was kissing him.

"Get off me!"Tommy cried, pushing David away because just no, "Dude, we're noodles-and-a-coffee friends, but you're moving too—"

As he was saying this Tommy was glancing around, realizing that the dark, gloomy warehouse was gone, and instead they were out in the night air on a grassy hill, the sky a deep blue velvet that was studded with little silver stars.

"Where's the warehouse gone?" he asked, confused. "Weren't we in a warehouse?"

"Yeah, but—"

This distant boom of way-too-loud music drew his attention down the hill to an area behind a fence that was full of bright, colorful lights, and throngs of people dancing. "Hey—we're at a party!" Tommy exclaimed. "Great!"

Parties were awesome and so much better than empty warehouses and Tommy wasted no time in speeding down to where the crowd of teens was laughing and dancing and acting in a rather drunk manner, because how could they possibly party without Tommy Shepherd? Parties didn't start until he walked in.

Everyone was happy and giddy and bubbly and kept telling him Happy New Year's, which was kind of weird because he could have sworn it was April, or maybe June, or something, but then he tended to have a bit of trouble keeping up with time's crawling pace, so whatever.

Hey, it was New Year's! Which was totally awesome, because Tommy could definitely not remember having to suffer through any Halloween or Thanksgiving or Christmas or other stupid holiday stuff, so apparently he'd somehow missed the worst part part of the year, and now it was a new year and that was always exciting—he loved new things. Without new things the world would be even more boring than it already was and he probably wouldn't have been able to survive that.

Tommy was speeding through the crowd and saying hi and Happy New Year's to anyone who made eye-contact with him, and the people who didn't make eye-contact and didn't even see him coming until he'd already greeted them and left. He was searching to see if any of the Young Avengers were here, not because he really needed any familiar faces to enjoy a party, but he was curious if any of them were partying and had finally let go of all that grief and the stupid my-friends-died-and-now-I-can't-be-a-superhero-or-enjoy-life thing that had caused them to disassemble, when he caught sight of a familiar, gorgeous figure, all bedecked in an ostentatious purple that not many people could pull off.

"Hey! Kate Bishop!" Tommy exclaimed, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards the dance floor, because she'd just been standing there sullenly with a drink in her hand and how could she possibly just stand there when there was all this music and lights and parting and dancing going on?! "It's New Year's, apparently!" he told her with a grin. "Why are you not dancing?"

He pulled her onto the dance floor, accidentally knocking the drink out of her hand—oopsies!—but hey, you can't dance with a drink in your hand—and started dancing, because surely if she saw him being all hot and sexy and dancing and having a great time, she would have no choice but to join him and be all hot and sexy and dancing and having a great time with him, which would just make these already awesome circumstances even awesomer.

But she stood there, an incredibly shocked and bewildered expression on her face as she stared at him. She was mouthing something, but over the deafening boom of the music and the rush of blood in his ears as he moved his body to the song, he couldn't hear a word she was saying.

"Sorry! I can't hear you over my awesome dancing!" he told her, because she was obviously trying to communicate something, but he didn't really feel like listening or talking when he could dance, and she could dance with him.

Finally, after several long moments of dancing and waiting for her to get over whatever it was she was getting over and just enjoy herself, she finally smiled, peeled away the purple domino mask and came over to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Happy New Year," she murmured, and he heard that, and he grinned at her because this night and this party just got so much awesomer.

And then she was dancing, and he was dancing, and the music was thrumming through his soul like he was remote control and all he could do was obey the dancing demands of that heady beat.