December 31st, 1205
11:24 pm
"Are you sure you don't want something a bit heavier?" Elliot asked as Fie put his old navy vest on over his old striped sweater. He gestured to the numerous other garments hanging in the hallway closet. "I'm sure Fiona would have no problem loaning you one of her coats."
Fie shook her head. "These are warm enough," she said. She sat down on the couch and leaned back, closing her eyes and sighing with contentment.
"What is it?" asked Elliot as he joined her.
Fie laid her head on his shoulder. "They smell like you."
A mixture of awkward self-consciousness and proud happiness manifested as a smile on Elliot's face. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand while the other arm went around Fie's shoulders. She hummed happily. "I'm yours."
Between seeing her in his clothes and the lateness of the hour, Elliot was only peripherally aware of the words coming out of his mouth. "You're mine."
Well that was an interesting feeling. Fie's eyes shot open, staring directly into his. "Say that again?" she requested, cupping his reddening cheek.
"You're mine?" Elliot said, watching as she climbed onto his lap.
Fie's arms snaked around his neck. "One more?" she asked, resting her forehead against his.
Elliot grinned. His hands found her waist. "You're mine."
"Uh-huh," Fie said as she leaned in for a deep kiss.
It could have been a second or minute or even ten for all they knew. Their focus was on things more important than time or the front door opening.
"Are we interrupting something?" asked Leonidas.
Fie sighed and looked over her shoulder, seeing Xeno covering his eyes and Sara blushing while Leonidas just had a single raised eyebrow. "Not as much as you would have been five minutes from now."
Elliot was embarrassed enough to blush heavily but not so much as to stop his assault on Fie's neck, leaving a noticeable mark as she slid off of the couch. He cleared his throat and looked at the intruders. "Uhm… Yeah." He coughed and tried to change the subject. "How'd you get in? Did I forget to lock the door?"
"No, uh, Fiona gave me a key years ago," Sara said.
"Is it safe to look now?" Xeno asked, no small amount of teasing mirth in his voice. Sara thumped him on the shoulder. "I'll take that as a yes." His hand lowered. He noticed Elliot looking everywhere but their faces. "Look at it this way kid; at least we weren't Olaf."
Elliot groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Small miracles," he said, muffled by his palms.
Sara noticed what Fie was wearing and sighed. "Fie, what did I tell you? I knew you'd get cold."
She got a shrug in response. "My bad. You were right."
Sara sighed harder.
Xeno smirked. "Good to know it's not just my advice you don't listen to," he said.
"Sorry, did you say something?" Fie asked. "I wasn't listening."
Xeno laughed.
"So, why are we all standing in the doorway?" asked Olaf.
"No reason," Sara said.
"Aesthetics," Xeno simultaneously replied.
"Well, I'm glad you all made it back!" Olaf said with a broad smile. "May I step past?"
The twenty-somethings moved out of his way and Olaf entered his home.
"How was the castle, General?" Leonidas asked.
"Cruelly dull, thank you for asking. How was your rest?"
"Restful."
"Wonderful! Elliot, could you help me find the outdoor blankets? I swear Fiona puts them somewhere else every time," he muttered.
"No she doesn't," Elliot said. He slid off the couch and went to a side room with his father.
"They're always right here, Dad." Elliot opened a cabinet and pulled a stack of blankets off of the top shelf. "How many do you think we'll need?"
"Well, how close together do you two intend to lay?" Olaf teased.
"Dad!" Elliot said, the tips of his ears turning red. His father guffawed and patted him on the back.
"Three should be fine, take four just in case," Olaf said, still grinning.
Elliot counted out what they needed and put the rest back, his father watching with a strange look in his eyes. Olaf could hardly believe the young man before him used to need his help reaching even the third shelf. What would Liana think? She'd barely come up to their son's nose.
"So, how was it?" Olaf asked as the cabinet closed. "Your first New Year's dance."
"It was fun," Elliot replied, tucking the blankets underarm. "I can see why you and mom were always so excited about it."
Olaf tittered. "I hope you two get to share many more."
Elliot smiled. "Thanks dad."
Olaf wasn't done. "And that one day your children can stick their tongues out and say 'yuck' at you two when they see you dance."
"Oh Aidios," Elliot groaned, burying his face in his free palm. "I was six."
"And I can put them on my knee and tell them all about how their father is a pie-hoarding hypocrite."
"Dad please."
11:55 pm
"Papa, why don't you sit down with us?" Fiona asked. Everyone in their group was resting on fluffy picnic blankets laid out over nicely manicured backyard grass. Everyone but Olaf.
"Josiah puts so much effort into caring for this area; it would be a shame to not admire it," he said, leaning over to inspect a short tree with purple flowers and fuzzy leaves. "Fie, what did you say these were called?"
"Princess flowers," said Fie. She was laying perpendicular to Elliot, her head resting on his midsection as she stared at the sky.
"They're very pretty," said Olaf. He straightened up and went to admire another area of the yard, a small babbling fountain.
"I'm surprised so many stars are visible," said Leonidas. "I expected the night sky to be darkened from the lights of the city."
"Oh hey, good point," said Xeno. He and Leonidas were sitting on the same blanket as Fie's legs. "I didn't notice that. Wonder why that is."
"You know, I never really thought about it," Sara said.
"Rumors say a witch did it as a present for Emperor Dreichels; cast a spell to make sure the stars were always visible in the city," Fiona explained.
"Handy."
Neithardt nodded. The three old friends were spread out across two blankets, looking at the sky with various levels of relaxed posture. Fiona was sitting down right next to him. If you had asked him beforehand, he would have said it was a bad idea, that there would be no way he could resist the temptation to touch her in some small way. He was right about that aspect, but very glad she had done it. Their palms rested on the blanket next to each other, his pinkie surreptitiously hooked over hers. Surely, with everyone looking up at the sky no one would notice what was going on on the ground. He let himself focus completely on the small point of contact.
"Fiona what do you think; should we get one of these?" Olaf asked, startling Neithardt so much he had to turn the movement into standing up to play it off.
"Only if you'll be the one cleaning it," Fiona said, looking at the fountain. She tried to keep her feelings about losing Neithardt's touch out of her voice.
"Hmm. Maybe when I retire," Olaf mused. He turned around and notice Neithardt standing. "Would you like to take a closer look as well?"
"Yes I would," replied Neithardt, rolling with it. He went over to the fountain while Olaf walked elsewhere.
Fiona frowned, noticed by no one but Sara. Sara gently prodded her friend with her knee. "Go," she mouthed. Fiona shook her head, glancing at her father with concern. Sara sighed softly, exasperated but understanding her predicament. She leaned back on her elbows and thought. "Would that fountain even fit in your backyard, Fiona?" she asked, just loudly enough for everyone to hear it.
Fiona brightened. "Good question. I'm not sure, I'll have to look more closely." She mouthed a thank you to Sara as she stood up to go be next to Neithardt and pretend to examine the water fixture.
Elliot checked the time on his ARCUS. "Dad, it's about to start."
Olaf shrugged. "The beginning is always the same. I've seen it so many times I can play it in my head. But I have never seen this before," he said, focusing on the latest thing to capture his attention.
"It's a tree," Elliot said.
"Yes, but I don't know this kind of tree. The bark is so soft." Olaf pressed his palm into the trunk.
Elliot rolled his eyes and turned his focus back to stroking Fie's hair.
There was a loud crackling sound and everyone's gaze turned to the sky, seeing a trail of smoke rise before exploding into a number.
10!
Everyone but Olaf, who was still looking at the tree.
9!
"Just look at that foliage!" he said. "So bright even in winter."
8!
"Why I bet that'll keep my focus for thirty-, forty seconds, even!"
7!
Sara's eyes went wide and she turned to her friends, catching their notice and making kissing gestures with her fingers.
6!
Neithardt blushed, but Fiona looked thoughtful.
5!
Sara turned back around, giving her friends their privacy.
4!
Fie moved from her position on Elliot to lay next to him, lacing their fingers together and getting ready for their first New Year's Kiss.
3!
Fiona noticed this. Her lips set in a determined line as she took Neithardt's hand.
2!
Neithardt gave one final look at Olaf, making sure he was still firmly occupied by the tree.
1!
Not leaving any time to second guess himself, Neithardt pulled Fiona close. He kissed his lover with all the passion he had been repressing through the entire evening, and she responded in kind.
0!
The fireworks started blasting off in fervor, but Neithardt and Fiona barely noticed. They were nothing compared to the sky shaking explosions in their hearts.
12:00 am
January 1st, 1206
A/N: I wanted to have this story done before new years so I could post everything daily, but I wasn't able to do that. There is one more interlude and chapter to go. They were supposed to go up January 1st, but I'm definitely not going to be able to finish both of them by then. I only finished this chapter on December 30th. I will still try to get them out in the first half of January.
Thank you for your patience and Happy New Year!