Part 1: Frobin
"Franky, the ball will be dropping soon, is this really the time for you to be sharing one of your inventions?" Robin asked.
"It's a super time! Don't worry, this guy counts down too." Franky consulted his watch and fiddled with a dial on his latest machine. A light came on and a pendulum swayed, ticking the seconds away.
"You still haven't explained what it does," Robin said, leaning closer to inspect.
"You'll see in a minute," Franky said, checking his watch again. "Thirty seconds… twenty…"
The machine on the table rattled and shook. Robin thought it might explode, but just as the shaking seemed to reach a climax, it stilled.
"Ten!" A voice suddenly chirped from the device. "Nine!"
"Franky, we could have just counted down with our friends…"
"Just wait!" He grinned.
"Five!" the machine continued. It was beginning to rattle again.
"Four! Three! Two! One!"
Suddenly the top panel of the machine slid open, and a platform bearing sparklers and party poppers rose from the inside. Sparks and confetti flew as the machine went off.
"Happy New Year!" the machine cried merrily.
Another popper rose from inside the machine, larger than the others had been. It fired off like a gun, and a banner unfurled from within.
Robin didn't need to read the banner to know what it said, the small voice of the device broadcasted the message for her.
"Kiss him! Kiss him!" It chanted with urgency.
"So?" Frank asked, a slightly embarrassed grin on his face. "What do you think?"
Robin chuckled. "Clever."
She leaned in a pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.
"I like it much better than the mistletoe stunt you pulled on Christmas," she said.