"Can I help you with something, Mom?"
Artie had been hanging around in the kitchen for about fifteen minutes, hoping that Beth would give him some sort of task to do, so he could say he contributed something to the party too. He wondered if maybe she didn't notice that that's what he was after, and finally decided he should just ask her.
"Well, you could arrange these vegetables on the tray?" she said, gesturing towards the bags of vegetables that she had cut up the night before. "The tray's on the table, so you could take them over there and do that if you like?"
He nodded. Arranging vegetables on a tray wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, but it would do...for now.
As he sat there neatly arranging the stack of perfectly cut carrots, he decided that maybe he should get a little creative. Usually everything was grouped together on the tray, making an attractive, albeit boring display. He began laying out the carrot sticks all the way around the tray, and then placed celery between each of them. Then, he took the broccoli and built it up like a little forest around the bowl that would hold dip in the centre of the tray. Around the broccoli forest, he arranged the neatly cut cauliflower florets, and then used the bright red radishes, strips of yellow pepper, and cherry tomatoes to fill in any spaces.
Once he was finished, he sat back, surveying his work.
It looked...interesting. It wasn't quite how he had imagined it in his head, but no one knew what it was supposed to look like, right?
He fiddled with the contents of the tray for a bit, deciding that it would have to do. The colours were nice, after all, and it did look like someone had put a lot of effort into it. He decided that next time he'd leave creativity at the door, and arrange the vegetables in little stacks instead.
As he headed back to where Beth was standing, ready to ask her what else he could help with, the doorbell rang.
Quinn had said she wasn't going to be there until around four, and AJ had said he'd be there between four thirty and five, and it was just after two, so he wondered who it could be.
He considered letting someone else get it, but after a minute or so of not hearing anyone opening the door, he went to do it himself.
He was almost at the door, when the doorbell chimed a second time. He threw open the door, revealing the last person he thought would be standing on his doorstep.
Noah Puckerman.
"Hey Puck," he greeted, hoping the shock of seeing him standing there wasn't evident in his voice. "What's up?"
"Oh, I was just in the...neighbourhood, and thought I'd stop by and say Happy New Year."
Artie noticed that Puck shifted kind of uncomfortably while he said this. "Do you want to come in?" he asked, moving aside.
"Sure, but I can't stay long. I have a hot date tonight, and we're going to ring in the New Year, if you get what I mean."
"Ah," Artie said. "I see."
Puck nodded. "I keep forgetting to ask you. Do you think you could help a studly Jew with geometry in January?"
Artie grinned. "Do I know this studly Jew? If so, sure. Send him over."
"Dude, I meant me," Puck said, sitting down on the couch.
"Um, yeah...I got that," Artie said, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, I can help."
"Sweet," said Puck, leaning back into the soft, plush sofa. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Oh, not too much," Artie said. "Quinn is coming over, and so is AJ, and we're just going to hang around the house, eat food, talk, stuff like that."
"Sounds like a good time," Puck said, his eyes drifting over to the Christmas tree.
Artie couldn't tell if he was being serious or sarcastic, but decided that the next little bit of the conversation would probably reveal that for him fairly quickly.
"Who's AJ?" Puck said, turning his eyes back to Artie. "Is he that Mario Kart kid?"
Artie laughed. It actually didn't surprise him that Puck knew him as the "Mario Kart kid." He knew that it was a common name for him, along with "that kid from the jazz band" and/or "that AV kid."
"Yeah, that's him. We're pretty good friends."
"That kid creeps me out. Is there something wrong with him? Like...mentally?"
"No," Artie said, looking unamused. "I think you should go. I still have stuff to do."
Puck, noticing the sharp change in Artie's demeanour, realized he'd said something wrong. Making Artie mad had been the last thing he'd wanted to do. He was just curious. It's not like he knew that kid, after all.
"Sorry dude, that didn't come out right. I don't even know him," he said, hoping that Artie would know he was being sincere.
Artie sighed. "It just makes me mad because I know you're not the only person that thinks that," he said, placing his hands in his lap. "He's just a little...different. I know what that's like, so I get angry when people talk about him, or anyone, I guess, like that."
Puck nodded. "Hey, if you say he's awesome, I'll take your word for it."
"He is," Artie said, the smile returning to his face. "Sorry. You don't have to go...unless you have stuff to do."
"I thought you had stuff to do?" Puck asked.
"Um...no, not really. Quinn and AJ won't be here for a couple of hours, and my mom hasn't said it yet, but I think I'd probably be banned from the kitchen if I tried to help any more. She's probably rearranging my vegetable tray right now."
Puck looked like he was about to ask for more details on that, when the doorbell rang.
"Hang on, I'll get that," Artie said, wheeling out of the living room. "I wonder who that is?"
He opened the door, to find Quinn standing there, her arms full of assorted containers.
"I didn't think you'd mind if I came early," she said, "I was done and was just sitting there by myself, so I thought I might as well come. I brought crab dip, asiago cheese and artichoke dip, and some of that salad-type stuff with the marshmallows in it. I forget what it's called."
He grinned. "Here, let me take some of that." Then he remembered...
"Oh, Puck is in the living room. Is that awkward and weird?" He hoped it wouldn't be too awkward...or weird. As far as he could tell, the two of them never really interacted, and he could understand why not. He imagined it would probably be pretty awkward.
She peeked into the living room, and saw Puck admiring the Christmas tree. "No, I don't think so...I mean, we've talked since the whole...you know, so it should be fine. Why is he here?" she added, in a whisper.
"I have no idea. The door bell rang, and he was standing there and said something about stopping by to say Happy New Year."
"Interesting," Quinn said. "Here, just let me go put this stuff in the fridge, and I'll be right back."
Artie listened as his mother greeted Quinn in the kitchen, and then headed back to the living room.
"Quinn's here," he said. "She was finished early."
"I should go," Puck said. "I don't want to be late for my date. And I don't want to intrude on you and her."
"Who are you seeing?" Artie asked, fluffing a couch cushion.
"A hot girl," Puck said, averting his eyes.
Artie thought for a moment. "There is no hot girl, is there?" he asked quietly.
Puck shook his head. "Don't tell anyone that the Puckasaurus is spending New Years alone. That would suck for my rep."
"Do you want to stay here with us?" Artie asked. "We have tons of food, and we'll be doing stuff all evening. Probably not very exciting, but could be fun?"
Puck sat back down on the couch. "What about Quinn? I don't want to ruin your little romantic time."
Artie shook his head. "My parents, brother, sister, and AJ will be here. You're not going to ruin our romantic time."
Puck grinned. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Artie was slightly puzzled by what Puck meant, but decided to just ignore it and smile.
A couple of minutes later, Quinn entered the living room, and sat down in one of the arm chairs by the fireplace. "Hi Puck," she said, "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year," he said, considering checking her out before realizing that would be seriously uncool. After all, Artie had just invited him to spend New Years with them. And plus, Artie was his boy, he wasn't about to check out his boy's woman!
"Puck is going to stay for tonight," Artie said, turning to Puck. "Does Mario Kart count as a Mario game that changed the world? Because if so, you and AJ will have lots to talk about."
"Well, not technically, but I guess it could..." Puck said. "You guys probably want to be alone...should I go help your mom?"
Artie shook his head. "It's fine. She doesn't really like help in the kitchen most of the time. Or maybe she just doesn't like it when I help..."
"That's because she hasn't seen the Puckasaurus in action in the kitchen!" he said, getting up. "Make your move, man," he added in a quieter tone, directed at Artie. He winked, and walked away.
"What did THAT mean?" Quinn asked. "And why is he helping your mom?"
"I don't know..." Artie said, "but when AJ gets here one of us is going to have to grab him before he notices that Puck is here. I'm pretty sure he's terrified of him."
"And so you invited him to be here tonight? What were you thinking?" she hissed.
"He lied about having a date, and then admitted that he was going to be alone. I felt bad. I'M WEAK!"
Quinn grinned at the last part of what he said. "Yeah, you are. Good thing I love you."
He grinned back. "I love you too. Wait...why is it so quiet in the kitchen?"
They headed down the hall, to find Puck piping filling into a tray of devilled eggs with one of those little icing piping bags.
"It's all in the wrist," he said, finishing up the last egg.
Quinn and Artie looked at each other, and promptly looked away so they wouldn't burst out laughing.
"Oh honey, Noah was just showing me his devilled egg technique," Beth said, "don't they look great?"
"Um...yeah," Artie said, unsure of whether he should feel jealous that his mother approved of Puck in her kitchen but wouldn't even let her own son do much in there, or whether he should feel delighted and snap some pictures of the scene for blackmail purposes later on.
"Noah, do you have plans for tonight? You're more than welcome to join us," Beth said, glancing briefly at her son to make sure he approved.
"I actually already asked him, Mom," Artie said, "and he said yes."
Puck nodded for emphasis, and Beth's smile widened.
"I don't think I need any other help in here, kids," she said, turning back to the counter. "Why don't you guys go find something to do?"
Artie nodded, and the trio headed back to the living room. They had just settled in, when the door bell rang for the third time that afternoon.
"I'll get it," Artie said, wheeling himself out of the room before anyone else could get up. If it was AJ, he wanted to be sure to warn him about the change in plans.
He opened the door, and, sure enough, AJ was standing outside, holding a tray of some sort of pastries. "Hey bro," he said, "My mom made these. They have meat and stuff in them, so we should probably put them in the fridge."
"Ok, and then let me show you something in my room," Artie said, whisking AJ into the kitchen before he had a chance to look into the living room.
Once the pastries were securely deposited in the fridge, Artie and AJ went into Artie's room, where Artie closed the door.
"You're not going to seduce me, are you?" AJ asked, a slightly puzzled but also comical expression on his face, "because I don't go that way. Not that I have a problem with people who do...I just don't. And what about Quinn?"
Artie grinned. "No! I just wanted to...tell you that someone else is going to be here tonight. Actually, they're already here."
"Awesome, who?" AJ asked, sitting down on the bed. He wondered why Artie needed to tell him this in his room, but he quickly lost that train of thought when Artie replied.
"Puck."
AJ stared at him. "You're joking, right?"
Artie shook his head. "He showed up pretending he had a date or something, and then I realized he was lying, so I invited him. It'll be fine...he thinks the Super Mario Brothers changed civilization...or something."
AJ shook his head. "He also regularly throws slushies on people like me. And, by like me, I mean...me."
"He doesn't do that anymore," Artie said.
"Tell that to my beige pants," AJ said. "I can't believe this is happening."
"I didn't say other people aren't still doing it...I just said he's not anymore. Give it a chance, will you?" Artie thought it best not to mention that he'd already gone to bat for AJ with Puck earlier, even though he knew AJ would appreciate the sentiment. He didn't want AJ to know that Puck had said anything about him in the first place.
"Ok..." AJ said. "Just promise me you'll do something if he does...anything."
Artie grinned. "Deal." He knew that Puck wouldn't do anything, so he figured he was safe going into a deal like that.
"I don't know what you'd do," AJ added, "He's like...two of you."
Laughing, Artie nodded towards the door, and they left the room.
When they got to the living room, Artie made a brief round of introductions, just to be polite.
"Puck, AJ, AJ, Puck," he said, making the appropriate hand gestures.
Quinn noticed that both AJ and Puck looked a little uncomfortable, but she hoped that feeling would pass soon.
They chatted for a bit about life in general, the state of affairs at school, and the snow that was falling outside, before Beth came in with a small tray of food.
"I thought you kids might be hungry," she said, placing the tray down on the table. "Artie, Dad, Michael, and Lindsay should be home in about half an hour. Keep an eye out for them, would you? They're going to need some help getting the groceries inside, I think."
Artie nodded.
"We've got it covered, Mrs. A," Puck added.
After Beth had left the room, Puck turned to AJ. "So, Mario Kart?" he said, unsure of what else he could say to get that conversation started.
Quinn and Artie watched as AJ's eyes lit up, and the two boys began a conversation about the game that lasted right up until they saw the van pull into the yard. Artie suspected it could have lasted much longer, and that they would return to it once the groceries were inside the house.
As the groceries started coming inside the house (Artie wasn't sure where they would all go, or why they had bought that much food), Lindsay ran up to Artie.
"Artie! Dad let me pick out the oranges! And the carrots! And some crackers!"
"That's great, Linds," he said, "I take it you had fun?"
"Yes! I like shopping. Michael doesn't, though, he complained the whole time and Dad had to tell him five times to turn off his iPod. Then he took it away."
Artie grinned. His brother had never been fond of shopping, and he wondered how he had snuck the iPod past his father in the first place...he was usually searched for electronic devices before entering the grocery store, because he tended to fiddle with whatever he had and not be helpful or pay attention.
As he finished his thought, Michael walked through the door. "Here's your Kleenex," he said, throwing a bag at his brother. "I don't know why you needed 10 boxes of it."
Artie stared at him. "Um...I don't think this is mine," he said, looking into the bag. "I'm pretty sure this is the family Kleenex."
Quinn grinned at the exchange between brothers, and then she grinned some more when she noticed that AJ and Puck had resumed their positions on the couch and appeared to be in the middle of a heated discussion about the mushroom cup. Or something. She wasn't really sure.
She hoped that she and Artie would have a chance to have a few minutes alone at some point during the evening, not an easy task with six other people in the house. She stood by the doorway, thinking about this, when she felt a small hand connect with her own.
"Do you want to see my new ponies?" Lindsay asked.
Quinn smiled. "Sure, Linds, that would be great!"
As the two headed off in the direction of Lindsay's bedroom, Artie went back to the living room and introduced his dad and Michael to Puck.
After he was finished with that, he decided to go in search of Quinn. He hoped they could get a moment alone before everyone crowded into the living room to start celebrating the New Year.
When he entered Lindsay's room, he found the two girls sitting on Lindsay's bed. He watched, as Lindsay detailed all the information about each of her ponies to Quinn. Whenever she finished one, Quinn would take it in her hands, examine it, and announce that it was perfect.
He sat there for about ten minutes before they noticed him. Once he'd been spotted, Lindsay got off the bed, and dragged him over to where they were.
When Lindsay was sufficiently pleased with her sharing of the ponies, they all headed back out to the living room. On the way, Artie grabbed Quinn, pulling her into his bedroom, and quietly closing the door.
"I've been trying to get you alone since you got here," he said, "but it looks like that won't really be happening tonight."
She grinned. "I kept wanting to just throw myself at you, but that would not have been cool...especially not in front of Puck and AJ, and...you know...your mom."
Artie laughed. "Yeah, I don't think Mom is ready to see her baby ravaged by his hot girlfriend."
"I'm not ready for your mom to see that either," Quinn said, giggling.
Artie pulled her into his lap. "In case I don't get to do this at midnight," he said, "Happy New Year."
The kiss lasted for several moments longer than their kisses usually did, and Quinn felt like she was in absolute heaven.
And then there was a knock at the door.
"Artie, are you in there?" Lindsay asked, "Mommy says it's time for food. Have you seen Quinn?"
Artie wheeled over, opening the door. "Yeah, Linds, she's in here with me. I was just showing her my new guitar strings."
Lindsay grinned, accepting the answer. She climbed up onto her brother's lap. "Can I get a ride?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. "My feet are cold."
He grinned. "Sure. Why don't I give you a ride to go get some socks?"
Lindsay nodded, and the pair left Artie's room, with Quinn a couple of steps behind them.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Puck, AJ, and Michael were deep in conversation. Every once in a while, one of them would grab some of the food that was sitting on the coffee table, but other than that they didn't really move.
AJ took a moment to think, while Puck was explaining to Michael just how Super Mario Brothers had changed the world. He had been worried when Artie had told him about having Puck there, but he was actually kind of glad. When Artie had asked him to come, he had been a bit worried that they would have some sort of awkward third wheel situation, and he didn't want that.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that he actually liked Puck, and the sentiment seemed to be reciprocated, as far as he could tell. He thought himself to be a pretty good judge of character most of the time.
He was just about to go see what was keeping Artie, when he heard him coming down the hall.
"Sock emergency," Artie said, wheeling into the room with Lindsay on his lap.
AJ looked kind of puzzled, but noticed that everyone was wearing socks, and figured they must have gotten it sorted out.
"Alright everyone, let's get this party started!" Steve announced, plopping down in one of the two armchairs in the living room.
"Aaand that's as far as the party plan goes," Artie added, grinning.
"That's not true," Beth added, turning to everyone else. "Around 10 or so, we always play this little game where everyone has to say their top three things that happened in the past year. But yes...besides that, there's no plan."
They sat around for a couple of hours, eating, chatting, and watching Lindsay perform her entire repertoire from her dance class.
Finally, it was 10pm. Steve announced that he would start, and then they could just go around the room.
"A lot of great things have happened this year, and I've been thinking all evening about the top three. I would have to say that our family in general is in the number one spot, like every year, and as for the other two...I am glad that everyone is healthy and happy."
"Dad, that all falls under family," Artie said, grinning. "But, since that's your answer every year, we'll let you slide."
"I'll say right now that my answer is exactly the same as your dad's," Beth added, "but I would also like to add that I am so happy that we have added Quinn to our family, and also that you, Noah and AJ, are here with us tonight."
Steve nodded. "I'd like to take those two things as my other two."
Everyone laughed.
"Can I go next?" Lindsay asked, hopping from one foot to the other.
After a nod from her mother, she said, "My favourite things in 2010 were Artie, Quinn, and my ponies."
Artie grinned. "What about everybody else, Linds?"
She shrugged. "Mom and Dad already said that, so I wanted to say something different."
Taking this as an acceptable answer, they moved on to Michael.
"My best things in 2010 were joining the soccer team, passing math, and...my family."
Beth smiled at her younger son. "Is there anything else, honey? I think we can all agree that family goes without saying now."
He shrugged. "Maybe when I scored the basket that won us that basketball game?"
AJ would have been the next logical choice, but he waved his hand, saying that he would answer in a bit.
When Puck's turn came, he wasn't sure what to say. Would it be weird if he said that one of his best things in 2010 was fathering a child with the girlfriend of the person who's house he was at? He meant it in a completely sincere and non-creepy way, but he wasn't sure if that was how it would be interpreted. It was a touchy subject, and he didn't want to cross any lines.
"Well," he began, "2010 had lots of good things. I think the three best ones are probably when the football team won our first game, glee club in general, and..." he trailed off.
Quinn looked at him, wondering if what she thought he was going say was right. She nodded slightly at him, and he took this to mean she agreed.
"The third best thing," he said, "was that I got to be the father of a beautiful baby girl. Even if we didn't get to keep her, I know that it was better for everybody that way."
Quinn's eyes teared up, and when she looked around the room she saw that almost everyone else, with the exception of Lindsay and Michael also had tears in their eyes.
"Well, I guess I may as well go next," Quinn said, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I was thinking about this yesterday, and I really am having a hard time narrowing it down. There were so many wonderful things that happened this past year that I don't even know where to start. My family, and friends, and glee club, and then...having such a precious and perfectly beautiful baby girl, even if it was just for a short moment, and then you, Artie, and your family, and it's just..." she trailed off, unable to go further.
Artie leaned towards her from his place on the couch next to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Shhh, Quinn...it's ok." he said, holding her close. "It's ok."
Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes while Quinn attempted to regain her composure. If anyone was at all uncomfortable, it did not show on their faces.
Finally, she sat up a bit straighter, and said, "it's your turn, Artie."
Artie grinned. "Anything I say now is going to pale in comparison to that. I should have gone first."
She grinned back. "I doubt that."
"Well," he began, fidgeting slightly, "I won't play the family card, because apparently that's a given, so I think I'm going to say friends in general, learning to drive, and the best girlfriend in the world...but not necessarily in that order."
Everyone smiled, and he pulled Quinn a bit closer to him, whispering in her ear, "You're number one on my list, babe."
She whispered back, "Did you just call me babe? I think that sounded adorable."
He grinned.
"Dude, it's your turn," Puck said to AJ, who squirmed uncomfortably.
"I've never really done anything like this before," he said, "I don't know if I can do it right."
Beth smiled at him. "Honey, there's no way to do it wrong. Whatever you say, that's what's right."
He looked a little relieved. "Ok, so...2010 was interesting. If I have to pick three things, I think the first is probably my awesome friends," he said, gesturing to Quinn, Artie, and...Puck, much to Puck's surprise. "Second is probably a combination of jazz band and AV club, because they...fulfill me in a non-weird way, and third is my family. We may be slightly dysfunctional, but there's love there. It might not always be perfect, but still..."
He looked sheepishly around the room. He never really talked about things that went on at his house, and, when he was finished, he couldn't believe that he'd even brought it up. He knew he should have just said Mario Kart or something like that. At least no one would have questioned that or judged him.
Puck turned to him. "Me too, dude...me too. I know it's rough, but I think you're doing ok." He grinned. "I'm glad the A-Man invited me here tonight."
AJ grinned back. "Me too."
Everyone else sat watching the two boys.
Quinn looked at Artie, telling him with her eyes that she was glad he had invited Puck. His eyes told her that he was glad too.
Beth and Steve exchanged a knowing look. Artie had told Beth the little bit that he knew about AJ's home life, and she knew a bit about Puck's because she used to be friends with his mother.
Lindsay wasn't really sure what was going on, so she sat on the floor and played quietly with her ponies.
And Michael sat there, watching them and thinking that, despite the fact that he complained about his family sometimes, he had a pretty sweet life.
"I forgot to ask you three," Beth said, glancing at the clock and noticing that it was almost half past eleven. "Would you all just like to stay here tonight? We have more than enough space, and sleeping bags."
AJ nodded. "I was going to ask if that would be ok, but I forgot."
"That would be cool," Puck said, "I don't want to wake up my mom when I go home. She has to work in the morning."
"I told my mom I was going to stay here," Quinn said, "I should probably have asked first."
Beth laughed. "Of course, honey, you know it's no trouble!"
"Can Quinn sleep in my room?" Lindsay asked, a smile forming on her face.
"Linds, you kick a lot in your sleep, why doesn't Quinn sleep in the guest room?" Artie said. "And you guys can crash here in the living room on the couches, if that's ok?"
AJ and Puck nodded.
"Fiiiine," Lindsay said.
Quinn grinned.
"It's almost midnight," Steve announced. "Maybe we should turn on the TV so we can see the ball drop."
As they were waiting for midnight to approach, everyone watched the TV.
As the countdown started, Artie pulled Quinn into his lap. When cries of "HAPPY NEW YEAR" poured out of the TV and filled the living room, he pulled her closer.
"Happy New Year. Have I ever told you you're the best thing that ever happened to me?" he said, leaning in to kiss her.
She looked into his eyes. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me too. I love you so much."
And there they sat, ringing in the New Year together, not caring that everyone else in the living room might have been staring at them.
"Artie...are you still awake?" Quinn whispered from his doorway. It was kind of dark, but she thought she saw his hand move.
"Mmmm, yeah," he said. "No glasses...come closer."
She grinned, walking carefully into the room.
"It's pretty lonely in that spare room," she said. "Would you mind if I crawled in with you for a bit? I can't sleep."
He waited for her to climb into the bed, and then rolled over so he was facing her.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're going to have to go back to the spare room before we fall asleep. If Mom finds out about this...ok, it probably would be fine, because it's not like we're DOING anything, but still...Lindsay...and AJ, might be scarred for life."
She grinned. "I'm barely in your bed, and you already want me out? Thanks a lot! And Lindsay would probably crawl in with us for a cuddle."
He took her hand. "Seriously, though...these last few months have been amazing. I want this to last forever."
"Me too," she said, "me too."
"But, I think next year we're going to have to change plans a bit," he added. "I'm pretty sure Mom was not amused at having to wait until 12:05 to kiss her favourite glasses-wearing son for New Years."
Quinn laughed. "I think she was kidding."
"I was just kidding too," he said, grinning. "I think we just set the tradition for what we're going to do every New Year."
She nodded, moving closer to him and wrapping an arm around him.
"I should probably go back to the spare room," she said, after a few minutes. "As much as I would like to stay here, I'm starting to get sleepy."
"Just stay here," he whispered, "I'll think of an excuse if we need it in the morning. Or...I usually wake up pretty early, so I could wake you up, and you could sneak back across the hall. It's practically the perfect crime."
She grinned. "I don't even care about what happens in the morning, because this, the way we are right now, is perfect."
A/N: Happy New Year, everybody!
There will be no journals accompanying this rather long oneshot. I'm pretty sure that writing in their journals is the last thing on either of their minds right now. However, there will be lengthy ones tomorrow.
Don't forget that the Quartie Ficathon starts tomorrow too! Check out the Quartie Forum, or PM me or Violet-Shadow for more details.
I hope you enjoyed this! I know it's long, and detailed, and all that stuff, but I REALLY enjoyed writing it, and I hope you REALLY enjoyed reading it! I keep saying this, but I think this has been my favourite to write...ever.
As a New Years gift to me, I think you should leave me a review if you don't usually. And, if you usually do...I think it should be extra long.
Big thank you to everyone that has read my fics since I started posting them in October. I never thought that I would have such a positive response from so many wonderful people. To be quite honest, the response I've had has been overwhelming. I have so much more to write, and it's really motivational to know that there are so many people out there that take the time to read!
All the best for a glorious 2011!