"You're really on call tomorrow night?"
Makoto nodded, swallowing the mouthful of water he had and putt the glass back on the table with a sigh. Tomorrow was new year's eve, and Nagisa was making sure that his list of guests for the party he was throwing were able to attend and had asked Makoto to meet him when the young fireman went on his lunchbreak. So far the blonde was successful and everyone was able to come, but when it came to Makoto, Nagisa wanted to even go to his boss to get Makoto off duty so he could enjoy bringing in the new year with his friends.
"I would have been able to go but we've been short handed lately." Makoto pursed his lips in a slight pout. "And besides, you know how it is. Lots of people are going to be drinking and we gotta be ready for, well, anything."
"Awh, everyone's going to be there and it won't be the same without you! Even Rin and Sousuke managed to get off!" Nagisa's arms swung side to side, mouth set to a wide frown. "Maybe we should just-"
Makoto knew exactly what Nagisa was going to say. "No trying to throw the party at the station, Nagisa. I think my boss is still mad from when you tried to do that last year. He's still finding glitter in one of the trucks!"
He groaned and laid his arms across the small table. "Does Sei even know that you gotta work? He said that even he was gonna come!"
"Seijuurou knows..." Makoto sighed again. "I mean, maybe I'll get off earlier than I think so I can enjoy some of it, but..."
"But it won't be all of it! You won't even be there to smooch-"
"N-Nagisa!"
Once Nagisa saw Makoto's pink cheeks and hands raised in the 'please oh god either stop talking or lower your voice' position, he paused to reconfigure his sentence. "Whatever, you won't be there to smooch your man at midnight!"
Calloused fingers rubbed at his temples and Makoto knew that at if he continued at this rate that it was only a waste. Nagisa would just go and go, and when Makoto would think that he was safe and the blonde had given up, he would just come right back at full force yet again. Makoto would love to go, he really would, considering that it was nice celebrating things with his close friends, and boyfriend, and that Nagisa was one to throw some of the best parties Makoto had ever went to. But he wasn't lying when he told Nagisa that his hours were how they were because of being understaffed; a lot of his coworkers had to suffer the same fate of being on-call, almost all of them at that.
"How about we all have breakfast together the morning after, does that sound good enough?" Makoto gave his friend a reasuuring smile. "It may not be as good as a party, but everyone will be there!"
Nagisa gave a weak groan and looked directly into Makoto's eyes.
"...Then you better pick a good place, Mako."
"Haru's?"
Makoto stared at Nagisa, smile unchanging, until he finally gave a smile of his own and nodded.
"Yeah."
The next morning, Seijuurou was reluctant to allow Makoto to leave their bed, wanting all of the new year's eve time with Makoto before he had to leave for work later in the day.
"Baaaaabe..." He whined and held onto Makoto's arm, entire body still heavy with sleep and the bedhead to definitely prove it. "Don't gooooo tonight, call in sick instead..."
Makoto, still equally as tired as Seijuurou, only gave in to Seijuurou's whining and grasp. "But everyone saw me yesterday and they know I'm perfectly fine."
"Say that you ate something bad. Or I could just bring you to the station and handcuff you in a cell and never let your leave untl after midnight."
With a grunt Makoto rolled onto his side and breathed out when strong, warm arms wrapped around him the bext they could, head nuzzling into Seijuurou's collarbone. "I don't think there's anything I can do...m' sorry..."
"It's not faaaaair..."
Makoto couldn't help the smile that spread on his face. "You know, you sound exactly like how Nagisa did the other day when Rei told him that I can't be there."
"I'll hide all your clothes...and fill your boots with water and put them in the freezer..."
"Sei..." Makoto whined.
By the time that Makoto had to leave to the station, he had eaten dinner with Seijuurou and already dealing with Nagisa's barrage of texts that were sure to continue through the night. Once he was dressed and ready to go, keys in hand and everything, Seijuurou was there at the door with Makoto's warm cheeks caressed in his hands as he kissed the brunette. After several moments Makoto had to finally coax Seijuurou with the warnings that he was going to be late for the redhead to stop.
"I'll keep you posted if anything worthwhile happens, alright? Keep your cell with you."
Makoto sighed as a final kiss was placed to the side of his head and he nodded. "I will..."
There Makoto sat; TV set to the news, can of soda in one hand and phone in the other. Like Seijuurou said he had been texting Makoto giving updates what had been going on and it only made Makoto wish that he was there at Nagisa and Rei's. In the span of the party starting two hours ago apparently the amount of alcohol had been halved due to drinking games being the initial start of the party and then Rin insisted that "since everyone was on the way to being heavily buzzed that Nagisa would bring out his copy of Monopoly" because it would be "more fun as people got more and more drunk as the night progressed". And Rin was more than right.
Haru really wanted to trade in his shirt for a property?
Yeah. His fingers were already unbuttoning as he kept on saying over and over that 'it's a good trade just do it!'.
All throughout the game Seijuurou gave Makoto a play-by-play of what was happening, who was losing (Rei, and badly at that), and that someone was one glass of whiskey away from throwing the gameboard and possibly someone into the lit fireplace (a close tie between Rin and Gou), and once that the chaos calmed down once everyone agreed that there would be no winners and that no one getting hurt was more important the common consensus was that everyone wished that Makoto was there to enjoy the fun. After all, Makoto tended to be the peace keeper in these kinds of situations. Nagisa even joked that whomever was having a party that he be hired and paid since he's been doing it for years, and a damn good job at it, but each time Makoto just laughed and turned the strange offer down.
You're lucky babe, I've already told Nagisa that if he ran out to come see you I'd take his baby turtle for myself. Are you sure you're fine? I can always step out, I haven't had all that much to drink myself and I'd be there in a little while.
Makoto smiled at Seijuurou's words, knowing that the redhead truly meant it when he said that he missed him.
I'd be worried if you came out regardless of how much you've had to drink. Anything can happen especially since it's a time where lots of other people have been drinking and I don't want you nice and safe and ready to cuddle with when I get there. Okay?
Aye aye! Hopefully see you soon, then?
Maybe when Tadashi comes in I'll see if I can pull some strings?
My lips will be at the ready!
It was twenty til midnight, and Makoto's foot was constantly tapping at the floor.
He knew that it was hopeless at this point if he were to get something arranged that he'd make it to Nagisa's by midnight even though it would be ideal to get there sooner. Makoto leaned back and sunk into the couch, picturing easily that everyone was getting ready for the ball to drop and to celebrate bringing in the new year.
All without him there. But Makoto was still in mind, which was better than nothing.
Makoto checked his phone again, looking back at all the pictures that Seijuurou had sent him over the course of the evening. Seijuurou managed to get singles of everyone or in pairs and then their group engaged in hectic Monopoly and Makoto planned to save all of them. The one that made him laugh the most was definitely Haruka and Rin downing their glasses of whatever they were drinking while Nagisa was between them cheering for the victor and Rei looking sick off to the side, and also one of Momo and Seijuurou tucking Nitori into the couch since he had fallen asleep ("But we're gonna wake him up so he can celebrate once it hits midnight, don't worry! He wanted us to!") and Seijuurou even sneaked one of Sousuke and Gou under the kitchen table thinking that they were well-hidden from the blockade of chairs and fabric of the table runner...and that Sousuke's lower half was completely sticking out. He wasn't there, but to Makoto it made him happy to see all of his close friends and significant other having fun and that was important to him. He would get off soon, get to Nagisa's and enjoy the unwinding feel of what seemed to be a great party, go home with Seijuurou, and wake up in a few hours to enjoy breakfast with everyone bringing in the first morning of the new year.
Now it was five minutes til and Makoto could easily hear people gathering outside, excited for the area's display of it hitting midnight: fireworks. The brunette sighed and somewhat wished that he told Seijuurou to come anyways. Being alone when kissing someone at being with them at midnight was such an accepted and known tradition and it was just several short train stops away from the redhead that was missing Makoto as much as Makoto was missing Seijuurou. Once Makoto's head fell onto the side of the couch and green eyes drooped half shut to lazily watch and listen as the reporter on TV was chattering away, a cough echoed through the room.
"Look at you getting all cozy...you better not be falling asleep!"
In an instant Makoto sat right up, whipping his head to the right to see no one other than Seijuurou leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and grin on his face.
"I know, you told me not to come but I didn't want to be without you, you know?" Seijuurou made his way to the couch to sit next to Makoto and take the fireman's hands in his, thumb smoothing over the top of Makoto's hand. "I told Nagisa I'd come right back with you and then we can go home whenever you get tired."
"You're wonderful, you know that?"
Golden eyes rolled and Seijuurou laughed trying to cover for the blush spreading on his cheeks. "I've been told that a few times..."
One minute left!
The chanting coming from the TV made the couple glance at the screen and then back at each other, shy eyes, smiles, and red cheeks present on both their faces as the countdown continued. Of course, they had kissed thousands of times before, but sharing this one, at the same time as hundreds of thousands of others to bring in the new year with the person they loved and Seijuurou making it so that they could be together, Makoto thought that if something were to happen and he had to get going for his job right after the kiss had happened, or even before, it would be perfectly fine for him.
Thirty!
Twenty nine!
A warm hand moved to cup Makoto's warm cheek and Makoto eased against the touch, lacing his fingers with Seijuurou's spare hand that was still on his own.
Ten!
Nine!
"Hey, Mako?"
"Yeah?"
Seven!
"I really love you."
Five!
Four!
Three!
"I love you, too."
One!
Surrounded by the loud cheers of people, music and various celebratory chimes and the pop and boom of fireworks Seijuurou and Makoto leaned forward, lips pressing together. They exchanged several soft pecs before breaking apart and breathing out and Seijuurou pressed more kisses on the brunette's nose and cheek.
"Now we wait?" Seijuurou asked.
"Mhmm. For at least another half hour."
"So..." The redhead pulled Makoto forward so that he could rest against his chest, fingers running through Makoto's hair and humming. "What does a fine-ass fireman do when he's on call but it's this late and everyone else is out having fun?"
"There's always the air hockey table...and Kuji has some booze stashed somewhere I think if you're interested." Makoto sighed. "I'm still on duty so I can't drink."
"...whenever I score or you score I'll do a shot for the both of us?"
"You know, seeing the big bad police chief wasted and trying to play air hockey while his boyfriend completely crushes him? You're on, Mikoshiba." Makoto rolled off the couch pulling Seijuurou with him and to his feet and yelped when a hand came down hard on his ass and squeezed after.
"You're so confident, babe."
Author's note: I've been wanting to write a holiday-themed fic since halloween. Then came Makoto's birthday and christmas and I still hadn't done anything due to ideas not sticking and not feeling any want to actually write them. So this was done in like...two days and bad as usual, but it's still something? Things just happened and I wasn't going to really push myself to do anything even though I have plenty of ideas, so it's hard to say what else I'll even be doing other than help with the Mookoto AU with senpai. But happy new year, guys! Thanks for all the support this year.
