Happy New Year everyone! It's my first story of the new year! I'm in a B-Daman mood so I thought that's what I would write. Also, this can be considered a part 2 to my trade with Cobalt Starlight on Tumblr since my first response ended up being so short.
Since they don't technically live in Japan, I did a combination of Japanese and American New Year's traditions (the house cleaning, the party, and, of course, the kissing).
May all your wishes come true in the new year!
*~8~8~8~8~8~*
Tonight was the night, he promised himself. Tonight at midnight he was going to kiss Yamato. The thought alone made his face heat up and he nearly fell off the chair he was standing on. Terry yelped and grabbed the beam to catch his balance. Wen turned to look at him.
"Hey, Terry, you okay?" the brunette asked with a raised eyebrow. Terry frantically waved his hands. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" Wen gave him a skeptical look before he went back to scrubbing down the counter of the Cat Café. Terry sighed and went back to dusting the rafters. He'd been thinking about it ever since Mie told him about the tradition.
"There's a superstition that says if people kiss at midnight on the hour of the new year, it will strengthen their relationship."
The blunette blushed again. Kissing Yamato. The thought made butterflies twirl in his stomach. He'd liked the cat-boy for a long time, going on 3 years now, but he had never had the courage to say or do anything about it. But tonight was the start of a new year and it was the perfect opportunity to try. Gray and Lienna had both encouraged his plan too. They were the only people he had told other than Joe (who loved to tease him every chance he got). But what if Yamato didn't like him back? Then he could just say that he was just following the tradition Mie told him about. The others might not believe him but Yamato probably would (and maybe Wen).
Terry glanced over his shoulder. Everyone was working to help clean up the café for the new year (even Enjyu, though he hadn't stopped grumbling since she'd set him on the task of cleaning the tables with Cain). Bull was in the kitchen washing dishes and Wen was cleaning the front counter and making sure the rest of the kitchen was in order. Biarce was helping Gray with the windows and Mie, Lienna, Joshua, and Li were out shopping for the party. He himself was taking care of the dusting while Yamato zipped around the café with a broom (nearly knocking Enjyu over several times, resulting in a wet rag being thrown at him). They were almost finished and soon all of their friends would arrive to celebrate the coming of the new year. And hopefully something else, Terry thought, blushing.
"HEY TERRY!"
The young ninja yelped and spun around, finding his (well, not yet) cat-boy only inches from his face. Any closer and they'd be kissi…Terry shook his head and swallowed, trying to force his blush away. Now was not the time for that. Finally managing to compose himself, he fixed the other B-Daplayer with a frustrated look. "Laddie, what are you doing?"
Yamato grinned. "I was just wondering what you were up to. You're being so quiet." The blunette planted a hand on his hip and waved his duster in the other's face. "Maybe that's because I'm actually trying to get work done, lad. We promised Mie we'd be done before she got back." Yamato pouted and rocked back and forth on his feet with his hands tucked behind his back. Terry thought he looked adorable. Suddenly the chair was beginning to feel a little crowded. "I'm doing work too!" Terry rolled his eyes. "Harassing Enjyu doesn't count, lad."
The redhead snickered, ignoring the older player glaring at the back of his head. He then beamed, as if an idea had struck him. "Then I'll help you!" Grinning widely, the boy snatched feather duster that had remained in his face and jerked forward to try and reach the corner of the room. The sharp motion upset the delicate balance of the chair, toppling it over and sending them both to the floor. Terry grunted when his back hit the floor and another weight fell on top of him. Stars danced in front of his vision. He rubbed the back of his head. "Laddie! You need to be more care-!"
Terry's blush returned full force when he found himself staring up into Yamato's blue eyes. The redhead has fallen on top of him! Yamato blinked. "Are you okay, Terry? Your face is really red." Terry tried to speak but all he managed with a garbled squeaking noise. Yamato reached up to put a hand on his forehead. "You're really warm. Are you sick?" Cain snickered somewhere behind him.
"Oh, he's sick alright. Lo-ACK!"
Both Terry and Yamato looked over just in time to see Cain fall to the floor, a wet rag in his face. Biarce casually walked over and picked the rag up. "Oops. My hand slipped." he deadpanned and walked back over to the window he had been cleaning. Terry took the momentary distraction to scramble out from under Yamato. "I'm…I'll just make sure everything's clean upstairs!" He made a few fumbling gestures towards the stairs before taking off as fast as he could.
*~8~8~8~8~8~*
Terry didn't stop running until he got to the room he usually shared with Yamato and Bull. Shutting the door tightly behind him, he sat down against it and groaned. How was he supposed to kiss Yamato at the party if he could barely even stare him in the face? The blunette sighed and rested his chin in his hands, propping his arms on his knees. Why did he have to be the one with relationship problems? Or lack-of-relationship problems. Bull had Karat and Wen and Gray had been dating for the past few months and they were going just fine. It hadn't even been hard for Wen and Gray to get together. They'd both dropped a few hints here and there and then Bull caught them kissing in a broom closet. Terry had attempted the same with Yamato but the redhead was just too thickskulled to notice. It would probably be no problem convincing him that the kiss was just between friends if it all didn't work out.
But no one else in their group was in a relationship. Enjyu and Biarce weren't dating (yet) but they certainly argued like an old married couple (everyone was just sort of waiting for the tension to reach combustion levels). But at least their "relationship" wasn't one-sided; they were both equally too stubborn to admit even to themselves that they liked each other. Cain had recommended on multiple occasions that they should lock them in a closet together but they were pretty sure that would just end in murder (either of Cain or Enjyu, Biarce would probably be fine).
A light knock at the door caught his attention and he jumped. His whole body tensed. Please don't be Yamato. Please don't be Yamato. Please don't be Yamato.
"Terry?"
It was Wen. Thank God. Terry got to his feet and opened the door, peeking out at the brunette. "Hi." he said quietly. Wen smiled at him. "I wanted to make sure you're okay. Enjyu's distracting Yamato." Terry raised an eyebrow. "Willingly?" Wen winked. "I never said that. There might have been a bucket involved." Terry giggled and shook his head. "I don't want to know, do I?"
"Probably not. Can I come in?" Terry stepped back from the door to allow the older boy inside. Wen walked over and sat down on the floor and leaned back against Yamato's bed. "So, why so antsy? You've never had so much trouble hiding your crush before." Terry groaned and sat back down on the floor.
"Does everybody know?" Wen chuckled. "No, I'm pretty sure Bull is clueless. And Yamato. He had no idea whatsoever." Terry leaned back against the door. "Oh." He sighed. "Things would be so much easier if he could figure it out like everybody else. At this rate, the only way he's going to realize is if I do something drastic."
"Like kiss him at midnight?" Terry blushed. "How-how did you-!" Wen snickered. "You told Gray. I date Gray. Pretty simple." Terry rolled his eyes. "I should have guessed. It figures though that I finally decide I'm going to do something and I start getting flustered." It just wasn't fair. "I just wish I could tell him but what if he doesn't like me back and then things will be awkward and if I do it this then at least I can blow it off but I'm way too nervous so I'm probably going to screw it up and-!" Wen held up his hands.
"Whoa! Slow down. Take deep breaths." Terry did as he was told and Wen shook his head. "Look, I get you're nervous, and I'm probably not the best person for relationship advice considering my partner thinks for both of us, but you need to relax. You're making it into a really big deal and it's just making you stressed. If he doesn't like you it's not the end of the world. You've been friends for years and I can't see Yamato just giving that up." Terry nodded. That was true. Yamato clung to everyone. Even after everything he had done Yamato had dragged Biarce into their little circle (kicking and screaming but he still did it). He wouldn't want to lose Terry's friendship over this. There was some noise from downstairs.
"Sounds like Mie and everyone else are back." Wen said. He stood up and stretched. "I better go down. I promised Mie I'd help with the cooking." He headed for the door but stopped short of leaving and turned back to wink at the other boy over his shoulder. "Don't worry about it so much. You'll be fine."
Terry sighed as he watched the brunette leave but smiled a little. He felt a little bit better just from getting to talk about it. He would go through with his plan. He just had to hope for the best.
*~8~8~8~8~8~*
At first glance, one would have thought that Yamato had invited at least half the B-DaWorld to the party. Sly, Asado, and Joe had come (and Joe had continued to embarrass him whenever possible). Aqulas and Shin were there too (looking a tad uncomfortable in the crowd but there nonetheless). Berkhart and his brothers had arrived only moments ago. Every B-Daplayer they had ever faced was crammed into the tiny café. It was hard to move around without bumping into someone and finding a specific someone was even harder.
Terry sighed and let his shoulders sag a bit. How was he supposed to kiss Yamato if he could even find him? There were so many people and they kept stopping him to talk. It wasn't that he was unhappy to see his friends but he was on a mission. He had to find Yamato by midnight!
"Alright everyone! It's time for the final countdown!" Mie called. Everyone turned their attention to the clock and started counting.
"10!"
No! Terry panicked. He still had to find Yamato! If he didn't kiss him at midnight, he'd lose his chance!
"9!"
The blunette tried to push his way through the crowd but no one was moving. He couldn't see anything!
"8!"
Terry scrambled up onto one of the chairs and tried to get a look out over the crowd. There was no sign of Yamato anywhere!
"7!"
Where could he possibly be? Surely he was around there somewhere.
"6!"
He could see Wen and Gray over by one end of the room. He tried to get their attention but to no avail. They were watching the clock along with everyone else.
"5!"
Terry dejectedly climbed down from the chair and stood amongst the crowd. Of course everything would go horribly wrong.
"4!"
He knew he shouldn't be so disappointed on New Year's Eve but he couldn't help it. His plan had failed and he'd have to wait a whole year for this chance to come again.
"3!"
Someone gently tapped the blunette's shoulder.
"2!"
Terry turned around.
"1!"
A pair of lips crashed down on his own as happy shouts filled the room and Terry's eyes went wide. The person suddenly jerked back and Terry blinked at the flustered cat-boy standing in front of him. Yamato smiled sheepishly and waved. "Uh, hi Terry." Terry tried to speak but only jumbled words fell out. "I…uh…Yama…Wha?" he managed. Yamato blushed even more. "Well, uh, my mom…she told me about this tradition thing…you're supposed to kiss people you like…and, uh, I like you so…yeah…" Terry blinked. Was he hearing him right or was he just that delusional? Had Yamato just…confessed?!
The redhead blushed even harder and poked his pointer fingers together. "So…um…I'll just go…I'm sorry…" Yamato turned and Terry grabbed his arm without even thinking about it. Yamato looked back at him, hopeful. Terry blushed heavily and released his arm to fiddle with the end of his tunic. He couldn't believe this was happening!
"You don't have to go…I…I like you too…Yamato…" Why couldn't he look at him?! Yamato had already confessed, hadn't he?!
"Really?" Yamato said. Terry blushed harder and nodded. In a moment all worry faded from Yamato's face and he lit up like a Christmas present and enveloped the other B-Daplayer in a tight hug. Terry laughed and returned the embrace. After a minute they pulled back and Yamato grinned. "Happy New Year, Terry!" Terry smiled.
"Happy New Year, Yamato!"
And they kissed again amidst the crowd's cheers of "Happy New Year!" It was going to be a very good new year indeed.