"I hate New Years!" Erin moaned and downed the remains of her Cosmopolitan. "It's a stupid holiday made by stupid people for stupid reasons."

Patty let out a raucous laugh, "Say what now? Girl, how many of those have you had?"

Erin made a sour face and held up three fingers.

"She got dumped on New Years Eve once - it's a bad night for her," Abby explained in a loud whisper.

"Who needs a date? You've got us! We're havin' fun, right ladies?"

The other Ghostbusters gave a cheer and toasted their drinks across the table.

"You guys are fun," Erin assured them bleary-eyed, "but just once I'd like to have someone to kiss when it hits midnight. Is that too much to ask?"

"I'd kiss you," Holtzmann offered with a playful grin.

Erin gave her a flat look. Holtzmann responded with a wink and took a sip of her beer.

"Damn, this is my song! You guys wanna dance?"

Patty was up from her seat and already halfway to the dance floor before the rest of the team could even put down their drinks. Erin convinced herself to go dance in the hopes of meeting some wonderfully handsome single man to kiss. And if he vaguely resembled Kevin, or some close relation of Kevin's, then that was completely fine by her.

One song bled into another and before long midnight had crept up on them. Erin was miraculously still standing and feeling no less sorry for herself when the DJ announced that midnight was just a minute away. The crowd of merry drunks cheered while Erin rolled her eyes and tossed back what remained of her drink.

Holtzmann danced over to her, her movements only occasionally following the beat of the music, "What's shakin'?"

"It's almost midnight," Erin bemoaned and flipped her hand at the countdown clock slowly ticking off the seconds. "I really thought that this year might be different."

"I'll kiss you," Holtzmann offered again and gave a casual shrug of her shoulders while the rest of her continued to dance.

Erin rolled her eyes, "Come on..."

"I'm serious!" she shouted over the sudden riotous cheer of the crowd as the ten second countdown to midnight began.

"What?!" Erin shouted back with a shake of her head.

"10! 9! 8!" the crowd cheered in unison.

Holtzmann cupped her hands around her mouth and made every effort to annunciate her words, "I said, I'm serious!"

"7! 6! 5!"

"What?!" Erin shouted louder and pointed exaggeratedly at her ear. "I can't hear you!"

"4! 3! 2!"

The crowd erupted into a riotous cheer of "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" and began an off-key rendition of "Auld Lang Syne".

Erin turned away from the stage to wish Holtzmann a Happy New Year and realized her teammate was standing much closer than she'd been before. The blonde inventor's meticulous, unshakeable hands went to her jaw and her thumbs gave the skin there a light caress. Erin had just enough time to register that Holtzmann had been serious about that kiss before the engineer's lips were on hers.

The warm, inviting pressure of Holtzmann's mouth made her head spin and her thoughts along with it. The first to cross her mind was how different it felt from every kiss she'd had before. There was no prickle of a 5 o'clock shadow, or the distinctly masculine aromas of aftershave and cheap cologne. In their place she could smell the lingering scents of Holtzmann's beer and the highly practical Blistex lip balm she applied obsessively all winter long. Her lips were soft, so incredibly soft and gentle.

An unexpected current shivered down her spine, sending warmth rushing through her veins. This wasn't at all what she'd expected. She'd never kissed a girl before, not like this, and for a split second she ruminated over all that she'd been missing out on. And that's when her mind flipped into panic mode, her stomach sinking like a lead weight along with it.

What should she do? Kiss back? Pull away? What would the others say if they saw? What would Holtzmann do if she did kiss back? Would it weird her out? Would it make things awkward between them if she didn't? Should she do it anyway and brush if off as a drunken accident if things went south? Her mind was whirring with questions and she felt stranded, her body frozen in limbo not knowing how to proceed.

Holtzmann pulled away before she could even make up her mind on how to react. What'd felt like an eternity had been little more than a few seconds. The crowd was still cheering and wishing each other a Happy New Year while couples shared wet, drunken kisses.

"Happy New Year!" Holtzmann said with a grin.

Erin gaped at her, having no idea how to respond. She fumbled for something to say and managed a dumbfounded, "Yeah, you too."

Holtzmann's eyes scanned her features and her smile broadened at the realization that she'd been left completely fuckstruck. The engineer's cheeks darkened a couple shades of pink and she looked thoroughly amused as she asked, "You all right there, Gilbert?"

"I'm fine..." she managed with a shake of her head. "It's just..."

Holtzmann lifted a brow and waited for her to go on.

"Could you..." Her throat constricted and she struggled to swallow so she could speak. "Could you do that again?"

The engineer's throat moved as she laughed, "Are you sure that's what you want?"

Erin's brow furrowed and she wished the empty glass in her hand was full of something strong and alcoholic, "Maybe? Yes?"

Holtzmann took a deliberate step closer and her eyes scanned Erin's as the riotous cheers of the crowd around them began to die down.

"Come here," she dared her with one corner of her mouth lifted in amusement.

Erin felt her stomach give a sudden flutter, as if it were filled with hundreds of butterflies all urgently flapping at once. Why was it so incredibly hot when she said those words to her? And why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? This was Holtzmann - her teammate, her friend, her fellow Ghostbuster! Who also happened to be a woman. A woman who was presently looking at her with eyes that hinted at a hunger Erin hadn't seen direct her way in a very long time. Years, if she were being honest. It'd been years. But the way Holtzmann was looking at her now... She knew that look. She'd been giving Kevin that look every day since they'd hired him.

She felt a familiar heat surge through her body and swallowed hard. Is that how Holtzmann felt about her? How hadn't she noticed it before? Had she always felt that way? Did she want this to become something more? If she kissed her now would she give Holtzmann the wrong idea? But what was the wrong idea? She didn't know. She'd never had to cross this bridge before. But now it was suddenly in front of her demanding to be crossed.

Holtzmann leaned in close and put her mouth next to her ear.

"Relax," she said in a low tone. "It's just a kiss."

Erin's pulled back and a self-conscious smile crossed her lips. Right. Just a kiss.

Holtzmann's eyes searched hers, making certain she was ready, and then she kissed her again.

This time Erin ignored the tumultuous sea of questions raging through her brain. She blindly deposited her glass atop the closest table and heard it crash to the floor a second later. Now free, her hands went to Holtzmann's waist and a long second later she felt a hand pressed lightly against her back. It's just a kiss, she reminded herself as heat pooled in the pit of her stomach. Just a kiss. Just a kiss. Just a kiss.

Did kisses always feel this good? Or had she gone un-kissed for so long that she'd forgotten the way it was supposed to make her feel? She struggled to remember her last kiss. What was his name? John? Jerry? It'd been too wet with too much tongue. A horrible end to a first date. When was the last time a kiss had made her body respond like this? Her mind drew a blank as Holtzmann's nimble fingers slid into her hair and tightened, sending a delicious shiver jetting down her spine.

The noise of the bar fell away as the pressure of the engineer's mouth on hers intensified. How were they going to go back to being friends after this? The question floated through her mind and quickly faded as Holtzmann's lips pulled at hers with expert skill. She wanted to wimper at the intoxicating deliciousness of it all. Why did it have to feel so good?

Holtzmann's tongue brushed lightly, invitingly, across hers, rapidly turning her knees turned to jelly. Oh. God. Her grip on the engineer's waist tightened and she inched forward, driven by a delirious, unquenchable thirst for more. She didn't care if the others saw now. The only thing her mind seemed able to focus on was the sudden, pressing desire for more. More of Holtzmann's mouth on hers. More of her fingers tightening in her hair. More of her hand pressing into the small of her back. More! More! More!

She gave a soft gasp when Holtzmann pulled back, her lips hovering a hairsbreadth away as they caught their breath. The engineer nodded and went in for one last, brief, touch before releasing her completely.

Erin reluctantly opened her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. Her hand went to her lips, which were still tingling with a thousand tiny explosions, and she felt a sudden rush of heat prickle up her neck to settle in her cheeks.

That was...

That was...

...Holy crap.

She was pleased to see that Holtzmann looked a little shaken herself this time. Their eyes met as she discretely licked her lips and they exchanged a shy smile.

Well, Erin thought as her heart rate slowly returned to normal, that's one question answered.

"Hey you two!" Abby pushed her way through crowd wearing a big grin to wish them both a Happy New Year. "Did you find someone to kiss?" she asked with good-natured curiosity.

Erin sent a hesitant glance towards Holtzmann who was preoccupied with gulping down the remains of her pint.

"Yeah, actually, I did," she replied and felt her cheeks flush pink.

Abby's eyes lit up and she gave her a playful nudge in the ribs, "You did? Good for you! How was it? Everything you were hoping for?"

Erin struggled to contain the sudden unstoppable smile that crossed her lips. Her eyes darted to Holtzmann who lowered her pint glass long enough to give her a wink.

"No," she answered and shifted her gaze back to Abby with a silent chuckle. "It was so much better than that."