AN: Imagine my surprise when I realized I hadn't written a New Year's (or Christmas, but that's a completely different thing) special for this story! So, I decided to write a quick special starring everybody's favorite grumpy artist ;P

Rebirth

"Special" XI

Happy New Year!

Notes: Takes place way after "Kissing Leprechauns." Sal, Molly, and Trey are now 17; Cierra and Junior (Mattie and Robin's son) are 10 and 11; and Jaden and Co are just older adults ;P

Sal sighed at the third party popper that exploded in his ear. His little sister giggled at the confetti that landed in his hair and the ribbon that somehow draped over his nose. "Happy New Year!"

"CeeCee," Sal sighed. Sunny echoed the noise before burying deeper into his corner of their mind. "You still have ten minutes to go."

Another party popper went off across the room, and it was followed by a round of laughter. "Happy New Year!"

Cierra giggled and ran over to jump onto their father's back as he bent over to collect the confetti and throw it over Uncle Matt's head. Junior, who had previously been sitting beside his mother like a good, quiet child, jumped up to join Cierra. Jaden laughed and waved off Aunt Robin's forced admonishments, his daughter dangling off his back while his godson grabbed an arm to hang off of. "It's all good!"

"Just don't break his arm," Annalise called from the kitchen. Sal slouched down further into the recliner when Bluestreak smiled at him from over the counter that separated the kitchen and living room. "The last thing we need is a repeat of last year."

"It's not my fault! How was Ah supposed to know the railing wouldn't hold?"

Sal gave his father the same look he knew his mother would. And Jaden had the audacity to wonder why Trey and Molly didn't want to join their little "party" again this year. Watching his dad slid down the railing of the staircase leading down to the café, getting stuck halfway, breaking said railing, and forcing them to spend the first morning of the new year in the Emergency Room had been a very prominent deciding factor in both of their reasons for not attending this year.

The teenager felt a small flutter in his stomach when he remembered Molly's polite smile when she told him they couldn't come. Sal had been angry when his two…"friends" had admitted to already having plans. Not so much for the idea of them having lives outside of him, but the fact that they made plans together.

As in without him. He bet it was all Trey's idea too; the fragger knew he had been planning on asking Molly over after he got back from visiting family in Nevada for Christmas. Fragging Trey and his Decepticon Guardian.

Sunny and Sides were still all over the Prime's case for letting Decepticons join the Autobots on their new (and very tentative) Autobot-Decepticon Moon base. So what if Dreadwing had been one of the few Decepticons who had a brain and had decided continuing a useless fight was stupid? The cloudhugger didn't even have civilian alt-mode to blend in with.

Sal jumped when another party popper went off. He scowled at the giggling Autobot that sat on the arm of the recliner next to him. "Did I scare you?"

Sal scowled at Bluestreak and refused to acknowledge the question. He huddled down further into the recliner and glared at his dad for buying so many party poppers. He gave his uncle a glare for good measure too, knowing that Uncle Matt had been the one to go shopping for party supplies with his dad.

Bluestreak chuckled despite the simmering silence. "Come on, Sal! Get into the party spirit. A new year starts in…five minutes."

Sal huffed and refused to give in to the smiling Autobot. His mouth twitched; Bluestreak's smiles were too infectious when Sunny wasn't there to bolster his sour resolve, but he would persevere nonetheless. "Yay…"

Bluestreak's smile finally fell, and Sal almost felt a twinge of regret for being the one to make it fall. "What's the matter? Is it because Sides had to cut out early? Something…came up."

Sal had almost forgotten about his Guardian's abrupt departure. Ever since Sal had received his learner's license, Sideswipe had used it as an excuse to be around more. Jaden had laughed at it, saying that Sideswipe only needed Optimus' permission to be off the Autobot reservation, but Sal had been grateful for Sides finally being able to stay with them longer for a few days at a time. It calmed Sunny significantly, and anything that kept Sunny in a good mood helped keep him in a good mood.

Surprisingly, Sunny hadn't cared much when Sideswipe had left the party earlier. He had come up with some stupid excuse of "forgetting to pick up the dry-cleaning." Like mom would really entrust Sides with her dry-cleaning after the first time.

"No."

Bluestreak sighed at the short answer, and Sal steeled himself to not care. He had ten years of practice to resist Bluestreak's ways now. "Your mom made your favorite—red velvet macaroons."

Sal's finger twitched. "She got the ladies downstairs to make them earlier."

"What's the difference?" Bluestreak's hand whipped around from where he had it hidden behind his back. Sal expected a macaroon to be thrust up his nose, but instead he nearly jumped out of the recliner when another party popper went off in his face. "Happy New Year!"

Sal jerked up while everyone else in the room echoed Bluestreak's cry. Sunny stirred at his sudden aggravation, but he ignored the former Autobot as he stomped out of apartment. The café downstairs had a noticeable chill, but he stomped through it towards the back door without acknowledging it. It wasn't until snow crunched beneath his feet and a gush of wind whipped his dark hair from around his ears that he realized how cold it was.

Sunny grumbled in the back of his mind, and Sal followed the mech's example while he crossed his bare arms across his chest. He stomped out of the back alley and glared up and down the street. It was more empty than usual, but he knew that many of the people who lived in the area had likely gone to celebrate the New Year in Times Square.

He had only made it a few buildings down the street when a familiar silver Corvette skidded around the corner. It swerved and slipped on the snow, and Sal automatically tensed in case he needed to dodge the oncoming car. However, the Corvette straightened without a problem and glided towards him with ease.

Sal watched it pass him before suddenly slamming on the brakes. It swerved again before coming to a full stop and immediately shifting into reverse. Sal continued to stare as the car went too far and slammed on the brakes again. He rolled his eyes as Sideswipe continued to slip and slid on the ice before the Autobot managed to park directly in front of him.

"Sides…"

Sideswipe honked his horn, and the passenger's door popped open. Sal tensed as a familiar head of light brown curls appeared on the other side of the car. Molly barely had time to step out when Sideswipe's wheels screeched against the ice. She yelped, and Sideswipe took off down the street, skidding around the corner to join Bluestreak's parked form in the alley behind the café.

Sal blinked, and Molly returned the gesture before giving him a small smile and wave. "Hey!"

Sunny was immediately put on edge, and Sal tensed in response. "I thought you were celebrating the New Year with Trey."

Molly's smile never wavered, not that Sal expected it. Nothing he ever did could dissuade the girl's smile. "I did."

"But—"

"Believe it or not, Trey's family is stranger than yours." Molly's smile widened. "Did you know that his dad's more scatterbrained than yours? He was actually ordered not to fly a plane despite his instructors telling him he's the best pilot in the area."

Sal vaguely remembered the happy man Trey had introduced to him during a school field trip years ago. Sunny had told him to stay away from the guy—something about "Aerialbots" and "being worse than Bluestreak." Sal had just learned not to question Sunny's weird behavior. "What does that have anything to do with—"

"So, I asked Sideswipe to come pick me up."

Sal sighed. He had learned long ago that Molly had a thing for interrupting people. It didn't keep him from trying though. "So—"

"He was really nice about it too." Molly grasped her hands behind her back and began to sway back and forth. Her seafoam dress—that terrible seafoam green that tended to follow her everywhere—swayed above her knee-high boots. "The roads are terrible though, so he got there a little late. Remind me to never ask him to pick me up last minute again."

"And…" Sal trailed off, expecting Molly to interrupt. When she stared at him with bright, sapphire eyes, Sal felt his face suddenly heat up. "And…"

"And, I wanted to bring in the New Year with you."

A sudden pop in the air made Sal jump. His head snapped up just in time to see a burst of color splash across the sky in the distance. At the same time, he felt something smash into the side of his face, and he had a faint sense of déjà vu of a memory nearly a decade old. He stumbled back, and Molly giggled against his cheek. "Happy New Year!"