Hey everyone! Hope you had a great year, and if not, I hope 2022 is better. I also hope to see more stories!
Summary: New Year's Eve fluff. No plot, just our favorite duo starting the year off right.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not profiting. Please don't sue.
Linka quietly enters the room to find Wheeler sitting on the couch with an empty bottle of champagne on the table in front of him and half a bottle in his hand.
"I hope you saved some for me," she chides.
"Linka?! Shouldn't you be in Russia?"
"Should you not be in New York? I thought we were all going home for the holidays?"
"I went to New York…it's not home. This is. I don't have any friends there anymore. There's nothing to go 'home' to, so I came back early to Hope Island," he says flatly.
"I know what you mean. I did not leave many friends behind to begin with. But what about your family? Did you not want to spend time with them?"
"I can only spend so much time with my family before they start to drive me insane. I answer the same questions over and over. 'What's your most memorable mission? Where's the coolest place you've been? Got anyone special in your life? You're not getting any younger…' It's much quieter here."
"I get those same questions too. I suppose they mean well. Just trying to make conversation," she muses.
"So what are you doing here? I didn't think you'd be coming back until after New Year's Day."
"That was the plan…but then I heard from Kwame that you were here. Alone. I could not leave you here."
"Why not?"
"You know why," she says as she moves to sit next to him on the couch, taking the bottle from him and having a sip before setting it on the coffee table. "As happy as I was to spend time with my family, I struggled with having to be away from you. When I found out you were here alone, I had to come back here."
"I hate that you had to leave your family because you felt bad for me," he says guiltily.
"Then after we ring in the new year here, come back with me…unless you do not want to answer all those same questions from my family."
"I won't mind answering them."
"Maybe we can both give them the answer they are looking for when they ask if there is anyone special?"
"I must be really drunk. My brain is trying to tell me you're implying something that I wanna hear…but then there's the part of my brain that knows better than to get my hopes up and read into things because you'd…"
He doesn't get to finish his statement before she leans forward to shut him up with a kiss. When she pulls away and giggles as she takes in his shocked expression, he asks,
"Are YOU drunk?"
"Nyet. When I was not with you, I came to a realization of how much I wanted to be around you. I could not wait to see you again, but I was afraid that I would not be able to get a moment alone with you once everyone was back. Finding out you were here alone, it was an opportunity I could not pass up…and the thought of you being alone on New Year's broke my heart, so here I am…hoping it is not I who ends up with the broken heart."
"I would never."
"Then why are you just sitting there?"
He leans towards her, intending to show her he plans on doing more than just sitting there. Right before his lips reach hers, he says,
"Still not sure you won't vanish into thin air when the booze wears off."
"I will not," she promises right as their lips meet.
The kiss was so gentle, so soft. Hearts beating faster as their kiss intensifies. His hands move to her sides and are now moving in slow circles around her back.
She runs her fingers through his unruly hair, down over his shoulders, and across his chest. She has never felt more alive than she does right now. She has kissed other guys before...but this is different. This is Wheeler and there's never been anyone she's ever wanted to do this with more than him.
Wheeler was having similar feelings. He is kissing Linka. How many times has he imagined this moment? Her hands exploring his body makes him feel whole. Likewise, his roaming hands never want to stop touching her.
His tongue slips into her mouth and meets hers. As the kiss deepens, he reaches his arms around her waist and pulls her forward into his lap. She moves quickly straddling his legs with her own. Her hands grasp his face, and she brushes her thumbs over his cheeks soothingly as she encourages him to continue.
He needs to explore more of her; wants to touch every inch of her body; feel her soft skin against his.
He swiftly turns and pulls her under him on the couch. Concerned about the weight difference, he pulls himself up and asks,
"Is this ok?" His voice so thick with desire, he hardly recognizes himself.
"Da, it feels good." Her mouth meets his again and she eagerly pulls him close to her. Shifting slightly, she parts her legs to make room for his hips. As he presses against her, a low moan escapes from her mouth.
Every sound she makes causes his heart to leap. She begins to run her hands up under the back of his shirt, her touch sending chills through his body.
Wanting to show her equal attention, he begins to make his way up her shirt. The warmth and softness of her skin against his hands aroused him even more. She is perfect. As his hands climb higher to cup her breasts, she pulls her mouth away from his and gently pushes him away from her.
Worried that he's moving too fast, he looks into her eyes, apology ready, but sees that she looks just as disappointed as he is so he waits for her to say something.
"Wheeler..." Her words, drenched with passion, are barely a whisper.
"Too much?"
"Nyet…but the countdown is starting. Do you not want to ring it in with a toast and a kiss?"
"I kinda liked ringing it in the way we were, but yeah…I suppose we can watch the ball drop and make our future official at midnight."
He grabs the bottle of champagne off the table and takes a long swig, their previous activities leaving him breathless and parched. When he's done, he offers the bottle to her, and she repeats his actions. Seeing that the bottle is nearing its end, he tips it upward to encourage her to finish it off. It comes out a little too quickly and escapes her lips. Wheeler helps her out by leaning forward and kissing away the stray droplet.
3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The couple share a loving first kiss of the year, more calm and subdued than earlier, but a silent promise of what's yet to come.
"Shut off the TV and come with me," she says as she slides off the couch, grabbing his hand with hers.
"Don't tell me you're thinking of flying back to Russia tonight?"
"Nyet, silly. I just thought the couch was too small for what we have planned for the rest of the night."
Realization hits him.
"Oh! Yeah. More space would be nice." He stops and pulls her into his arms. "Thanks for coming home to me."
"You do not need to thank me. There is nowhere else that I would rather be."
The End