"Happy New Year," Shihna mumbled to herself, settling down on her back porch. She had decided to welcome the coming of the new year by herself, feeling that she wasn't really up to the idea of going to a big party in celebration. While most of the residents of Mizuho had gone to Meltokio to see the fireworks, Shihna was staring at her frozen backyard, the plants sleeping under a thin layer of snow. She breathed on her hands in a futile attempt to keep them warm.

Part of her regretted not going to see the fireworks, but she reminded herself that she couldn't really stand large groups of people, especially when she was in Meltokio. There was always a judgemental atmosphere surrounding the rich, narcissitic members of the noble class. Zelos' fanclub was especially difficult to deal with, their glares constantly burning a hole in the back of her head, accusing her of having a "relationship" with their precious Master Zelos.

She hugged her knees, trying to stop her shivering. I wonder if this is a reflection of how my entire year is going to go by...sitting here all by myself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight rustling noise. She turned to see a certain red-headed Chosen walking towards her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay in Meltokio for the new year."

"I happened to meet Orochi, and he told me that you had stayed in Mizuho," he answered, sitting down next to her. "I thought that you might be lonely so I decided to come visit."

"I'm fine, really. I just didn't want to deal with a big group of people today," she said. "You sure you're okay with missing the fireworks?"

"I was going to end up watching them alone anyway. My hunnies are pretty persistent on New Year's Eve, so I try to avoid them."

"Well, you're probably in the best place for avoiding them. There's almost nobody here."

"Yeah..." He undid his scarf and held it towards her. "Here. You're cold aren't you?"

"It's fine! I don't need it," she protested, pushing his arm away.

"You're shivering," he pointed out, wrapping the scarf around her neck. "Why do you have to be so stubborn all the time?"

"I-I'm not!" she grumbled, trying to hide her face in the scarf, which was still warm with Zelos' body heat.

"See? You're stubborn about admitting it too!"

"...Shut up," she mumbled. "I stayed at home today so I wouldn't have to have annoying conversations with people like you."

"Heh heh...sorry." He poked her in the cheek playfully. "I can't resist bothering you though. Your reactions are always so cute."

She pulled away and smacked him in the face. "Idiot!"

"Oooowww," he groaned, rubbing his cheek. "That part of the reaction I could do without."

Shihna ignored him and tried to stuff her hands in the sleeves of her coat to keep them warm.

"You should wear warmer clothes if you get cold so easily," Zelos murmured in her ear. While she wasn't looking, he had shifted to sit behind her. He pulled her into his lap. "Or did you do that on purpose because you knew I'd come by and warm you up?"

"Idiot, of course not!" she growled, trying to squirm out of his grip. "Let go!"

"No way," he answered, resting his chin on her shoulder. "You're gonna freeze to death if I do."

"Don't be so dramatic! I'm fine!"

"Are you?" he asked. "You're really okay?"

"Why do I get the feeling that you're not asking about how cold I am?"

"I was going to invite you to watch the fireworks with me, you know..." Zelos went on, ignoring her question. "But Orochi told me that you stayed in Mizuho so I got worried."

"Well, as you can see I'm perfectly fine so you can go back now," she grumbled, still trying to get out of his arms. "Now let go before I hit you and ruin your supposedly beautiful face."

"Aw, you think my face is beautiful? Thank you darling," he purred, slipping his hands over hers. "But I'm not letting go."

"You're sure about that?"

"Yup."

One thing Zelos never seemed to learn every year was to assume that he had won. Before he could even react, Shihna had elbowed him in the ribs, and smacked him in the face.

"Oooow! Shihna, you're so meeeeeaaan," he cried, rubbing his injured face as she started heading back inside.

"And you're an idiot," she replied, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. "Now hurry up and come inside. You're going to catch a cold if you stay out there."

"...You were the one who was sitting outside in the first place," he whined, getting up to follow her into the house. "Oh...right. There's something I forgot to say to you."

"What?"

"Happy New Year," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek.

SakuMeiMei Says: Wow, I actually finished it in time. (Kind of.) This one veered off in a slightly different direction than what I was aiming for, but that's okay. I haven't written something where Shihna has violently assaulted Zelos in a while. XD

And while everybody's on the subject of "new" things, I have an announcement to make! "1000 Wishes" will be coming to an end fairly soon. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I've decided that it's for the best that I bring it to an end. The me that started writing this, and the me now are very different from each other and it's evident in the way we write. That being said though, it doesn't mean that I'm stopping writing about Zelos and Shihna altogether. (How could I? I love them so much. XD) I already have a new series of oneshots planned, and I will be starting it soon after this collection is finished.

That being said, it'll probably still be at least a month or two (probably more) until I start the next series. There are still quite a few stories that I want to fit into this collection, stories that I've had ideas for from the very beginning of this.

Lastly, thank you to all of my readers. Some of you have been reading from the very beginning of this series of oneshots, and I am very thankful for it. I would've stopped writing this altogether if it wasn't for support from all of you.

Happy New Year! :3