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"Why are we even watching this? It's all bullshit. Someone will get shot soon or some other shit," Aiden muttered as he took another sip directly from the whiskey bottle and rested his head against the backrest of the couch.
"Or stabbed. Three people got stabbed last year," Damien answered with a yawn. He reached to his jeans pocket to pick up his cigarettes and a lighter. "Is it okay if I...?"
Pearce shrugged his shoulders and turned down the volume on the live streaming of what was happening down the streets.
"Outside. I'll go look at the fireworks anyway, you can come with me."
He stood up slowly and walked over to the balcony doors. When he opened them, they heard the loud noises outside more clearly, almost like gunshots. The entire Chicago was celebrating New Year's Eve. All the squares were filled with people who were laughing, drinking and enjoying the spectacular show on the sky which was burning with different colors. The usual grey above the city was now replaced with red, green and golden lights. Between the shots Aiden could clearly see some gas baloons floating between the skyscrapers and getting stuck in trees and TV antennas.
He rested against the ledge with his elbow and took another sip of his whiskey. He knew that the city would look completely devastated in the morning, before the services cleaned up the trash people left. Pearce wasn't a big fan of going out on New Year's eve. Before it was the fear of getting hurt, but now he realised that he just didn't feel the need to crowd on the streets below him with strangers in the middle of the night. He preferred spending loud nights like these alone or with Damien, who wasn't much of a social person himself.
Though the fireworks were in their greatest ascendancy above the city, the clock wasn't even twelve yet. Then the hell would break lose, that's how it always was. People getting hurt by the fireworks, ambulance cars, shootings, stabbing, thieves... Aiden wondered if the people ever learned that nights like these weren't "fun", but mostly terrifying in cities this big.
"Ain't you calling Nicky?" Damien asked, when he got out on the balcony after him and rested his back against the wall as he put one cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
"I probably should. Not sure where she's at this year, I was usually the one to stay with Jacks and Lena, but she didn't ask me this year," Aiden said slowly, not looking at him. "Wasn't that your New Year's resolution? Stop smoking?"
"This will be the last one. I hope." Brenks chuckled and drew in the smoke, letting it stay in his mouth for a while before he let it out again. "Excited for Merlaut?"
"I sure am."
Aiden found himself smirking. He shook his head and finished the rest of the liquid from the bottle, before he looked over to Damien.
"I'll be so rich, Aiden. We'll be so rich," Damien laughed and walked up closer to Aiden to lean over the ledge a little and pat Pearce's back. "Look at all these people, partner. They don't even know we're here, up in the dark. The same thing will happen at Merlaut, we'll be like invisible men, just making their money vanish, just like the money they spend on these fireworks that are fun for about five seconds. But in contrast to those things, we will use that money well."
Aiden snorted.
"Do you hear yourself?"
"But I'm right, am I not?"
"I hope you are."
Suddenly the shots underneath their balcony got louder and more frequent, making Aiden flinch and automatically reach down to his pocket for his gun slowly, but then move away his hand. People were shouting happily and he just sighed.
"What time is it?" he asked turning his head to Damien.
"One minute until midnight. God, they are loud aren't they?" Brenks murmured and put his arm around Aiden's shoulders.
Pearce wanted to move away at first, but then decided to move closer to Damien instead. The older man breathed out the smoke in a few rings while letting his hand run down Aiden's side slowly.
"So, do you have any New Year's resolutions?" he asked with a smirk and put out the cigarette out of his mouth with his other hand.
"Not screw up our heist I guess. Not go to jail. Possibly try to not kill anyone," Aiden said after a moment.
"Anything you want to do then?" Damien chuckled and let his hand slide slightly lower, on his partner's hip. "Because I surely know what I want to do this year."
"Yeah? What?" Pearce asked and turned the rest of his body to face Damien. He tensed a little at his touch, but wouldn't stop him. It felt good. He felt good.
They heard their neighbours downstairs, doing the countdown.
Ten. Damien threw the stump of his cigarette on the ground and stamped on it with his shoe. Aiden looked up to him, a little confused.
Five. Brenks pulled his partner's body a little closer to his own by his hips and Aiden resisted atutomatically at first, but then just let him, wrapping his arms clumsily around Damien.
Three. More fireworks flew up in the air. They whistled and left colorful tails all the way between the ground and the sky. Damien's hand found the back of Aiden's head and caressed it lightly, running his fingers through his short hair.
One.
"You, maybe?" Brenks said with a wider smile before he leaned forwards to kiss his lips gently.
Aiden's fingers clenched on Damien's shirt as he pulled him even closer. The biggest fireworks exploded, lighting up the sky, so it was almost as bright as a day. Another wave was lit on the streets when they parted for moment just to connect their lips again after a second, more eagerly this time. Damien could barely hear anything but the loud noises from outside, and yet he heard Aiden's whisper right next to his ear, when he moved away a little.
"Happy New Year, Damien."
"Happy New Year."
