Fireworks
For Kama, who was the only one awake, that lovely girl.
By Inyx, trying to start her new year in a nice way.

Notes: Written on New Years, about an hour after midnight.

Little Evra watched from the broken window of the toilets. Huge bangs sounded all around the old, rickety building that housed the orphanage. His face lit up at the beautiful sparks, blooming up in the heavens in every colour of the rainbow. It was midnight, New Year's Eve and he was having the time of his life, alone with his feet on the toilet seat so he could peek out of the window.

It smelled here, and he was cold. The other kids were downstairs, huddled together in the nice warm dining hall, staring out the window. He'd tried to stand with them, but the older kids had pushed him away, telling him they didn't want a freak standing so close to them. He had tried to stand on his toes, and hop up and down, but he hadn't been able to see a thing. When he'd been pushed away again, told to go play outside with the exploding crackers, he'd given up.

He had been about to go to sleep, when he'd noticed the broken window. The window had been broken earlier this year, when some of the big kids had been playing with a ball. He had been blamed of course, and the window hadn't been fixed yet. They didn't have the money. He'd hear the bangs, and had just decided to take a little peek.

That had been fifteen minutes ago. He just couldn't look away. The pretty fireworks bloomed up, one after the other, and it felt- just a little - like some of it was sparkling just for him. He smiled to himself, and pretended that all the firework in the sky was there for him, because he was special and wonderful and-

"What are you doing, freak?"

Evra spun around. He hadn't hear the door of the bathroom open. In his momentum, he slipped off the toilet bowl and crashed to the floor. One of the bigger boys glared at him, standing in front of him sprawled on the floor. "I dun wan' any stinkin' snake feet on mah toilet, ugly." He yanked Evra up by his hair, making him yelp. He tried to cover his face, but the two other boys pulled his arms back as the biggest one hit him again and again. They laughed and complained about the scales sticking to their hands.

Long after the fireworks ended, little Evra lay curled up in a corner of the boys bathroom, trying his very best not to breath in too deep. His face throbbed, his limbs were soar and he could barely move. The salty tears falling down his cheeks stung in the cuts on his face.

He never did enjoy the fireworks after that.

Evra curled up in his hammock, stroking his snake. She was always a bit skittish around New Year, the bangs and the smell messing up her senses. It was almost midnight, and most of the Cirque was out by the large fire. Lots of them didn't celebrate New Years, but it was said that the fireworks Cormac brought back from his trips, the ones Mister Tall had made himself, and the odd few that popped up every year were a spectacular sight.

Evra didn't know this, of course. He didn't doubt for a second that something Mister Tall made would be anything less than amazing, but he'd never actually seen them. Last year he'd hid in his tent all night, and this year he planned to do the same. It wasn't that he didn't like fireworks, it was just that… he didn't want to remember other years. Ones full of pain or sweaty bodies or people laughing at him.

A head popped into his tent, followed by the rest of a tall body. "Evra," Mister Tall said, "It's almost midnight." Evra nodded, stroking his snake harder. She looked up at him questioningly, tongue darting out to taste the air. He gave a reassuring smile, kissing her on top of her head. He looked up, and Mister Tall still stood there, expectantly.

"I know," he said softly, hoping the man would go away. He didn't want to come out. He was perfectly fine in here, in his tent, curled up with his snake. The heater was on, he was wrapped in a nice blanket, and he felt safe. Mister Tall just raised one eyebrow. Evra looked away, counting the scales on the top of his snake's head. He always did that when he was nervous.

Without warning, Mister Tall crossed the room and picked him up: snake, blankets and all. He gasped, wrapping one arm around the man's neck and one around his snake. Mister Tall smiled at him and carried him outside, wrapping the blanket closer around Evra to shelter him from the cold. He stopped at the fire, sitting down with the boy in his lap.

The people around the fire greeted him, some raising their full glasses in greeting. Truska smiled at him, telling him in the strange language that she was glad he was here. He smiled back, a little embarrassed.

Cormac pressed a glass of something bubbly into his hand and ruffled his hair. "It's champagne!" he said cheerfully, and added at the glance he received from Mister Tall: "Children's champagne." Evra gave him a thankful smile. He'd never tasted champagne before. He shifted closer to Mister Tall, petting his snake.

"Ten, nine eight-" the people around him started to yell, counting down the seconds till midnight. He felt rather than heard Mister Tall's voice booming along with the others. "Five, four-" He looked down at his snake, smiling at her. Together with the rest of the Cirque, his friends, he whispered along with their cheerful, yelling voices. "Three, two, one."

The fireworks were beautiful. There were not only colours, but shapes as well. The arrows had the forms of dragons, some even with tiny wings as they shot up into the air, making beautiful flowers, shapes and letters. He laughed, hugging his snake close, glowing with joy at the bangs and colours and sounds of someone drunk singing.

And then, when the last arrow shot to the sky, it erupted into a huge green snake, along with the letter 'E'.

And for once, he knew that the firework was for him, only for him, because he was special.

Fin