New Year's Eve is always seen as a special thing in some societies. At least for all of Hiro's friends, that wasn't really the case. It never really appealed to anyone in his group, the whole proclamation of "a new year" used just as an excuse to get wasted and party hard. Sure, maybe his family celebrated it for a short time period at 12:00, but it was never anything more than that. Things started changing when Zero Two came into his life, however. At first, she adopted the same tradition as Hiro and all of his friends, never even bothering to care about the occasion. That slowly changed over the years, where she would soon end up always going out with friends, popping the occasional bottle of champagne around 12:00. It escalated pretty fast from there. There were nights where she would come home completely smashed, barely able to walk as Ichigo carried her into her room. There were also nights where she came in with other guys, much to Hiro's distaste. The aftermath from those events obviously wasn't the greatest, usually culminating in Hiro holding Zero Two's hair up in their shared bathroom, the contents of her stomach leaking into the toilet bowl for hours on end.

This year, however, was a little bit different. Ever since they confessed their feelings for each other, the two had been inseparable. Due to this surprising chain of events, Hiro would end up going to whatever party she decided to go to this year, all their friends in tow. Did he think it was a good idea? Absolutely not. Did he expect to enjoy himself? Somewhat. He had made up his mind that he for sure would not regret spending his New Year's Eve with his one and only, Zero Two… and their friends, of course. They had all agreed to meet up at Zero Two and Hiro's shared apartment a few hours before, in order to get ready for the events to come. He sighed as he sifted through his closet, attempting to find a nice shirt to wear. He decided on a pink button-up, paired with some ripped black jeans. He had a pair of pink vans, identical to his shirt. He had some of those fake glasses too, which both Ichigo and Goro had recommended he buy on their last shopping trip. He laid down in the bed, waiting for Zero Two to come get him. She was running late, as usual. She took forever to get ready. He decided to get up and go to the living room, where all the other guys were waiting.

"Finally Hiro! You take forever to get ready, it's like you're a grandma or something! Since when have you had glasses too?" Zorome exclaims, pointing at Hiro like he was an idiot. In his defense, he at least knew the girls would take ages to get ready. After all, Zero Two was a master at putting things off for last minute. "I'm not a grandma, Zorome. I just know they'll take forever to get ready." Hiro deadpanned, sitting on the couch next to Mitsuru. "He's not wrong though. What's taking them so long?" Goro said, setting his feet on the coffee table. His black boots made a thud as they hit it's wooden surface. "I mean, what do you expect from girls that party like Zero Two and Ichigo? You'd think they'd drag their friends just the same?" Hiro said. As soon as he closed his mouth, the girls walked out of the door. Hiro obviously didn't really notice any of the other girls, in comparison to Zero Two. He never really did before, anyway.

The first thing he noticed was her hair. Slightly curled at the ends, matching with her perfect face. She had a little bit of makeup on surprisingly, since she normally despised the usage of it. Her horns were the same as usual, grown out a few inches, with a bend about halfway through. She had a slight smile on her lips, her aquamarine eyes gazing into his soul. Of course, he had to notice everything else about her too. She wore a black long-sleeve sweater, her shoulders exposed, with a pair of red leggings to match. She topped everything off with black loafers, matching the color of her shirt. She held a long white coat in her arm. Hiro practically melted into the couch after seeing this, a very pleasant look on his face. "If I died right now, I really wouldn't mind after seeing that amazing girl." He thought.

As everyone indulged in the girl's appearances, they began to give off looks of disgust. Well, everyone except Zero Two, of course. "I'm in heaven!" Goro exclaimed. "You guys are really staring at us like a bunch of perverts, aren't you!" Miku said, stomping her heel on the floor. Zero Two had different ideas, however. She walked up to Hiro with a smirk on her face. "Ne… darling? You really like staring at me, don't you, pervert?" She seductively said as she sat on his lap. "I see you tried to match with me too, hmm? So cute of you, darling." She smiled and kissed his cheek. Hiro somewhat squirmed in her grasp, but he was somewhat enjoying it. Meanwhile, everyone else stared at them, appalled. "Is she gonna do this all night?" Zorome exclaimed as he gave off a weird look toward the couple. Ichigo had a look of happiness, along with a small unnoticeable tinge of jealousy. Although she was with Goro now, she still had slight feelings for Hiro, even though she accepted that they were meant for each other at this point. Futoshi sat there awkwardly, touching his fingers together as he glanced back and forth between Zero Two and Kokoro.

Ikuno decided to step in, finally splitting them up. "Can you two lovebirds get off of each other already? You know we have a party to go to, right?" She shook her head in disappointment. Zero Two laughed out loud. "But the party is already here… isn't it, darling?" She said, looking at Hiro once more. "Fine, but you owe me one for ruining my fun." Zero Two said as she got off of him. She stood up, leaning toward Hiro's ear. "Raincheck for next time, darling." He shuddered after hearing that. Mitsuru moved over a few inches on the couch. "Remind me to not sit next to Hiro again." He thought. Everyone occupying the seats stood up following Zero Two's leave.

The drive to the party was decently long. There were two cars, one with one designated driver each. In the first car, Goro's car, were Zero Two, Hiro, Kokoro, Miku and the owner of the vehicle. The second car, Ichigo's car, held Zorome, Ikuno, Futoshi, Mitsuru and Ichigo, obviously. The strategic decision to put Zero Two and Hiro in the same vehicle was well thought out, Zero Two banished to the front seat so that she wouldn't tempt Hiro in any way, shape or form. An obviously great decision. Most of the 25-minute drive was spent singing along to whatever song was playing on the radio, with Zero Two constantly trying to fiddle with the controls on the dashboard.

"Country roads! Take me home! To the place! I belong! West Virginia!"

"Zero Two, please don't turn the A/C on. It's 30 degrees out here."

"Hiro, stop fantasizing about Zero Two's undergarments."

"Mountain Momm- will you shut up? I'm trying to sing here!"

"C-c-could we all like, get along..?"

The other car ride seemed to be much calmer than the former. It consisted of the ambient sound of tires grinding against new terrain, and an iPhone scattered here and about. It was calm and peaceful.

The clock slowly ticked down on the television centered in the large room. Everyone in the room gathered around it, as if it held hypnotic power. It somewhat does in today's society, but especially now. Anyways, Zero Two and Hiro stood in the midst of the crowd building up in the large living room. The announcer began counting down from thirty, everyone in the room joining in a few seconds later. The atmosphere was full of joy, happiness, and a tinge of liquor.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six…" Zero Two turned her head toward Hiro. Her lips turned into a toothy grin as she began leaning toward him. "A New Year's kiss… but only for you this time, darling." The excitement in the room kept building up. "Three! Two! One!" The tension in the air dropped, all within a fraction of a second. "Happy New Year!" Hiro slammed his lips onto Zero Two's, her arms wrapping around his neck as he enveloped her in his warm embrace. He slowly tilted her backward until their lips broke apart, their foreheads staying together as they smiled at each other. Hiro smelled the slight tinge of Bootlegger and tequila in her breath as he leaned in for another kiss, though not as impactful as the last. The party rages on, with even more energy than before.

The later hours of the night come around. The clock strikes 3:38 am. Zero Two haphazardly clutches onto the shoulders of Hiro as he carries her to the car, tipsy from the last drink that "tasted like candy." Eventually, everyone manages to pile into the cars… somewhat. Zorome and Miku end up in the back seat of Goro's car, along with Zero Two and Hiro both in the front somehow. The two were practically imagining each other naked as they made out in the front seat, Goro making a brash attempt to ignore it as he drives down the road. Miku had fallen asleep on a drunken Zorome, who was crying in the corner of the car.

Ichigo's car was just as bad. Both Kokoro and Mitsuru hadn't drank anything, but their "designated driver" Ichigo decided to down half a bottle of vodka, miraculously not getting a case of alcohol poisoning. She was in the back of her own car, trading kisses with… Ikuno? Futoshi opted to sit in the trunk of her SUV, taking a nap. Since Kokoro was the one with the most sense at the time, she was selected to drive home.

Everyone eventually arrived at the apartment complex, going their separate ways.

"I...Ichigo… I… love… you… bleh." Said Ikuno as she was carried home by Futoshi. Goro did the same for Ichigo as she scratched and clawed at him, settling down after a short time. "Ohhhh heyyyyyyy! I missed you, boyfriend that I constantly friendzoned for over three years!" Kokoro and Mitsuru went to their own one-bedroom apartments, like normal people. Zorome somehow managed to carry a sleeping Miku back to his apartment, not wanting to climb the three sets of stairs necessary to arrive at hers. He was still drunk.

Hiro and Zero Two were a different story. As soon as the car was parked, Zero Two slammed the door open, grabbed Hiro by the hand, and full on sprinted to their apartment. They barely closed the door before furiously making out in their living room, managing to lock both the deadbolts before ending up in her pink room. The door slammed shut behind them, just before a number of things occurred in the bedroom.

Hiro took his alcohol from the night before decently well. He woke up early enough in the morning, heading to the kitchen to start making breakfast before Zero Two woke up. He would easily be able to predict when that would happen. He flipped the pancake once more, suddenly hearing a barrage of footsteps headed straight for the bathroom. He sighed, cutting the stove off and setting the pan to the side. He grabbed the glass of water he set on the counter beforehand and headed off toward the bathroom, walking toward the illuminated light to see a certain pinkette hunched over the toilet bowl. Again. He set the glass down near the sink, walking over to his beloved. He held her hair up as she puked in the toilet once more, patting her back as a slight gesture of empathy. In between gasps for air, she let out a choice selection of words he had heard every time.

"Tha...thank you… darling."

That one was really fun to write. I always just had a vision of a New Year's party, and this is like... the perfect time to write one! So yeah. I didn't really do anything for New Year's Eve besides write this and celebrate with my mom really. Hope all of you enjoyed your New Years. I think mine started off right.

To a new year.

-Regalithy