'I'm glad we're doing this.' Ace glanced at his second in command as she sorted out the snacks for the game night.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, normally we all do our own thing during New Years. Can you help me with this?' Ace grabbed one of the bowls and followed Lexi into the common room. 'Anyway, it'll be nice to celebrate the new year together as a tea- Duck what are you doing?!' Duck was splayed on the couch, eyes glued to the television.

'What does it look like? There's no supervillain running rampant through the city, so I'm taking this opportunity to kick back and relax.' Ace scowled at him.

'You were supposed to help set up for the game night. Everyone else helped out, except for you.' Duck kept looking at the television.

'I'm helping, I'm helping. I'm making sure the television works.' Ace rolled his eyes and smiled at Lexi. He leaned over the back of the couch and whispered into Duck's ear. He sprang from the couch and ran to the lift. Lexi raised an eyebrow.

'What did you say to him?' He looked innocently at his teammate.

'Just that Misty Breeze was holding an intimate meet and greet at the town square right now.' She gasped and slapped his arm playfully.

'You're so mean.' Ace rubbed his arm, feigning injury. He put the snack bowl on the couch and stood next to the coffee table.

'Hey Lex, can you give me a hand here?' She put her bowl next to his and stood at the other end of the table. They both gripped the underside of their respective ends and with a small nod, lifted it clear from the ground. Lexi gave a small grunt of exertion as they carried the table towards the far wall.

'Wow, this thing is heavier then it looks.' Ace adjusted his fingers for a better grip.

'At least we don't have to look through storage to find your old game console. I hope it's worth it.' They lowered the table carefully onto the floor. Lexi gave him a sweet smile.

'Of course, it'll be worth it. It's the original PlayStation! So many good games. We'll have to play them sometime, just the two of us. Anyway, I'm gonna have a rest let me know when you boys feel like getting your asses whooped.' She turned and sashayed off towards her room. Ace watched her every step of the way. C'mon Ace, you've been friends for three years now. You've gotta tell her how you feel, otherwise, with curves like hers, she'll be gone before you know it. He shook himself out of his trance. He couldn't. She was his second in command, the rest of the team were relying on him to stay focused and make the right decisions so no one gets hurt. Duck would surely use it to take over and Zadavia would probably let him! He just couldn't risk it. You're making excuses. You're scared. You don't know if she feels the same way. Stop making excuses and tell her how you feel. His thoughts were interrupted by the loud ding of the elevator arriving. As the doors slid open, a grumpy, rain-soaked mallard trudged into the common room. He glared at Ace, water dripping off his clothes and forming puddles at his feet on the carpet. Ace smiled to himself as he flopped on the couch, book in hand.

'How was the meet and greet?' Duck was silent, his eyes flared with a murderous intent.

'You know damn well how it went.' Ace struggled to contain his laughter. He looked up from his book, confusion plastered on his face.

'Oh, I must have been mistaken. My bad.'

'You're despicable.' Duck grumbled and stomped off to his room, leaving a trail of small puddles behind him. Ace chuckled as he settled into his book.

Ace was awakened by a loud thump next to his ear. He leapt to his feet to see Tech, Rev and Slam all standing around him. They all had smiles on their faces.

'What?' The loud sound had interrupted a rather pleasant dream he was having, involving a certain tan bunny. His teammates snickered and nudged each other.

'You were talking in your sleep' Tech explained. Ace felt his face burning as his fur changed to a deep scarlet colour.

'So, you heard everything?' Tech nodded.

'Everything.' Ace shifted uncomfortably as he felt their eyes bearing down on him. The silence stretched on until Rev mercifully jumped in.

'Anyway, we found Lexi's old video game console, and man, it took us ages to clear out all the junk in there and then it took us forever to find all the controllers and games and stuff. There's so many wires and stuff to set up.' Ace looked inside the box. The console itself was buried at the bottom of the box. Controllers, connecting wires and game discs were piled in a neat pile that just reached the top of the box. He pulled out the games and piled them on the table, doing the same for the controllers. He then lifted the console with the connecting wires out of the box and placed it next to the television. Ace and Tech began slowly unravelling the tangled cords while the other two got other stuff ready. Having eventually untangled all the cords, Tech set about connecting the console to the television. Lexi walked into the common room to find loose cables scattered around the room as Tech and Ace sat in the centre trying to get the console plugged in. She stood, hands on hips, watching before finally clearing her throat.

'You guys need any help, or are you just gonna sit there all night?' She didn't wait for a response as she grabbed the console and plugged it into the television without a second thought. She had to bend over to make sure the cords were plugged in properly, giving Ace a near perfect view of her figure. He stared, non-plussed until Tech roughly elbowed his side. He scowled at him rubbing his side.

'What was that for?' Tech raised an eyebrow.

'You might want to pick your jaw up off the floor before she notices.' Ace hadn't realised his mouth was agape as he stared at his second in command. He quickly closed it with an audible clop. As Lexi straightened up and turned around, Ace made sure he was admiring the paintings on the wall. After they had replaced the various cables to their original positioned the rest of the team joined them to decide on which game they wanted to play. Lexi had picked out some of her favourite games they could all play. In the end, they decided on Crash Team Racing over Tekken 2 as more of them could play at the same time. Hours flew by as one by one the team retired for the night. Duck was the first to go, claiming everyone was cheating, followed by Slam and Tech as both almost collapsed walking to their rooms. As midnight drew closer only Ace, Lexi and Rev remained. Ace was coming dead last in every race, he didn't mind as he got to see Lexi and Rev battle for supremacy. Coming into the final race of the night, Lexi and Rev were both equal on points with Ace trailing far behind them. For majority of that final race, Rev was in first place. However, coming into the final lap, Lexi had fought her way back into the race so that every corner they were neck and neck. The two of them were absolutely silent, where before there had been trash talking and gentle taunts firing off from both of them. Ace was completely enthralled as Rev and Lexi thundered into the final corner, watching in stunned silence as Lexi edged the roadrunner out as they exited the corner, crossing the finish line in first place. Lexi sprang from the couch, dancing and celebrating her win as Rev fell back on the couch in disbelief. Ace laughed as the tan bunny continued to dance while Rev got up and headed for his room in silence. As Lexi finally finished her celebration she helped Ace pack up the console and they started cleaning up the mess everyone else had made. Ace held the snack bowls and followed Lexi as she carried the drinks back into the kitchen.

'That was so much fun!' she said. Ace chuckled at her euphoria.

'Yeah, I had a fun time. Even if I sucked at it, it was nice to do something together with everyone.'

'You weren't as bad as Duck.' She crossed her arms. 'Ohh everyone else is cheating! I obviously can't win 'cause Ace changed the code.' Her imitation of Duck was so perfect Ace burst out laughing. Lexi spun on him and jabbed her finger into his chest theatrically. He wasn't expecting this and as a result was off balance when Lexi bumped him. He toppled backwards, the snack bowls flying out of his hands and spilling the contents all over the floor. He landed on his back, wincing as his elbow smacked the couch. Lexi was by his side within seconds of him hitting the floor.

'Ace! Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to go falling over and-' She stopped as they both realised how close they were to each other. Their bodies pressed lightly together as Ace softly brushed his finger across Lexi's cheek. He opened his mouth to speak but didn't get the chance as Lexi suddenly kissed him running her fingers through his fur. As she kissed him, explosions of thrilling colours lit up the night sky as fireworks were set off to celebrate the new year. The two bunnies stopped to look at the fireworks admiring their undeniable beauty. Screw what the others think, Ace thought as he pulled Lexi in close to him and delivered a kiss with three years worth of passion. Lexi's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected passion before letting it consume her as she kissed him once again. As they pulled away from each other Ace smiled.

'Happy New Year.'

THE END