PP: Ok, at midnight I had this mad urge to write a New Year's fic, and decided to base it in Xenosaga. Don't ask why, but it might be so that I can send this off to my friends to read. It's set in the Xenosaga universe, but I'm not sure where in the series it would take place. It doesn't really matter either. There's some additional characters too, Tara (me), Kris (a friend), Charmagne (another friend), and Fern (yet another friend, and replacing MOMO). (These aren't our real names, and I know that my friends know who they are.)
The artificial sky on the Foundation was of a night sky, lit up with bright stars. The streets were packed with activity, even though it was after 11:30 at night. Everyone could sense the excitement. Apparently someone had found records of a tradition from the Lost Jerusalem era and suggested to Master Gaignun that they resurrect it. He had agreed, but exactly what they were doing was being kept a secret until the moment it was done.
He hadn't even told the Little Master or any of the group what was happening. Of course, he was paying for it as they waited on the rooftop of the space port.
"Gaignun, come onnnnnnn. Please, just a hint?"
He suppressed a laugh at Tara's whine. She was worse than Jr. when it came to stuff like this. Jr. gave up long before she did, and Jr. didn't give up easily. "You're just going to have to wait, Tara."
She continued bugging him though, just like she had been for the last half an hour. That was how long they had been sitting on the roof. A bunch of the group was there, including Shion, Allen, chaos, Kris, Jr. and Fern. They were all getting a laugh out of Tara's continuous attempts to try and wriggle something out of him.
Tara knew herself that even if she did manage to get anything out of him, it wouldn't do much good because there wasn't much time left. Everyone had been told that it would happen at midnight, but that was all he'd tell anyone.
They'd set up a bunch of chairs, but most of them were going unused. Shion and Allen had pulled a pair together so they could sit next to each other, and Jin was reclining in another one. Charmagne was sitting on the ground with her back against his chair. Everyone else was milling around the area though.
Gaignun was leaning against the railing as Tara danced around him, poking at him and begging. Kris was on the other side of the roof, leaning against chaos who had his arms around her. Jr. and Fern were running around the area, their youth giving them more excitement than the rest of them felt. Shelley and Mary didn't even feel like scolding their Little Master when he knocked over a couple of glasses that had been on a small table.
As the time for the excitement neared, the group began getting anxious. Kris began getting jumpy, and was talking a lot more and a lot quicker. She was known for being hyper though. Jin and Charmagne were the only ones present who were still completely calm. Even if they weren't, they were doing a good job of pretending they were.
Tara finally stopped bugging Gaignun to tell her what was planned, and stood next to him by the railing. He placed an arm around her shoulders, and continued staring off into the distance. She bit her lip to stop from annoying him anymore, even though he found it hilarious.
Kris continued rambling on about random stuff, that chaos found entertaining. He let her do most of the talking, but helped the conversations along when she started thinking that maybe he was getting bored. She was on a mission of her own to find out more about his past, but wasn't getting very far.
Jr. and Fern were calming down a bit too, but instead of running around, chasing each other, they were going from person-to-person and asking them things like how they felt, and why they were there. Fern also started into an intense argument with Jr. at one point, about the best way to make a stuffed bear.
Jin and Charmagne were quietly discussing one of the books they had just read. Apparently, Jin had one opinion of the book, and Charmagne had another. They were quite absorbed in their conversation though, and didn't know when Jr. and Fern were standing next to them, listening in.
One minute before midnight, Gaignun's smile grew and he pulled Tara a bit closer. She couldn't take it any longer, and blurted out, "Come on Gaignun, it's almost midnight. Why don't you at least tell me what we're supposed to be looking at?"
"Don't worry Tara. Just a little bit longer, and you'll know everything. Trust me."
She frowned as he laughed to himself. As he turned back to look out into the distance again, she gave him a mental shove. Jr. began mentally laughing as Gaignun gave her a little nudge back, physically.
Everyone went silent as they realized there was only a few moments left before Gaignun's big surprise would be revealed. Finally, he called out so everyone would hear, "Alright, it's almost time! I think we should do a countdown once we hit about 10 seconds left."
Tara looked at him questioningly as he winked at her. He looked at his watch, then said, "And we have 15 seconds left…." Everyone got ready and continued with him afterwards,
"10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!"
Suddenly, the false sky lit up with flashes of light in an amazing fireworks display. Everyone gasped, and Gaignun leant over during that moment and pulled Tara into a sweet, innocent kiss. When they pulled apart, Tara was looking at him with an expression of mingled amazement and wonder. He just whispered three words in her ear, "Happy New Year."
She smiled and got up on her tippy-toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, then reach his ear to whisper, "Happy New Year to you too."
The group remained on the rooftop for a couple more hours, then began to gradually trickle away after the fireworks were over. Shelley and Mary were the first to go, with Shion and Allen following close after. Jr. and Fern were sent to bed about 20 minutes after that when they started yawning.
The streets were pretty much empty when chaos and Kris finally decided to leave, but not before Kris warned Tara not to stay up too late with a wink. Tara blushed furiously as the door shut behind them and Gaignun chuckled behind her. Jin and Charmagne left a couple of minutes after them, now discussing the benefits of certain colours in fireworks displays.
All alone on the rooftop now, Tara moved in closer to Gaignun. "Well, that was a really nice surprise Gaignun. I think you outdid yourself with this one. Everyone seemed to enjoy it."
He nodded. "I'm glad they did. It took a lot to put that together. Did you like it though?"
She snuggled in even closer with a contented sigh. "Of course I did. It was a splendid way to ring in the New Year," she yawned, "I think it's time to go to bed though."
He grinned evilly and swept her up into his arms. She yelped as he started carrying her over to the staircase down. "Well then, we'll return to the Durandal. We might have to do a street cleanup in the morning, so get your rest now. You could be pounding the streets tomorrow."
She gasped and lightly slapped his arm. "Me? Go out and pick up trash? You know that I'm going to be dragging you along for that."
"We'll see about that."
She opened the door for them and it swung shut behind them as the last lights went out, signaling the end of the old year. The next day, the sky was back to its normal settings, but everyone was still raving about how the people of the Lost Jerusalem era had really known how to do something right.
PP: Not my best work ever, but something I really felt like writing. Have a Happy New Year everybody!!!!