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It was New Year’s Eve.
Most of Chang Gang were crowded in Vinny’s apartment, alcohol flowing through them all as Randy and Garrett faced off in some fighting game, Ramee wasn’t really paying attention.
For the third time, Randy whistled in victory and Garrett screamed, tossing his controller to the floor as everyone laughed at their antics.
Mr. K stood from where he had been sitting on the other couch with Francis and raised his beer.
“Boys, I think this is going to be our best fucking year yet!”
The others yelled in excitement, raising their drinks as well before the controllers began to get passed around, landing on Mr. K and Francis.
“You’re going down bro!” Francis singsonged.
“Oh, we’ll see” Mr. K replied as he hit start.
Ramee was enjoying himself but his anxiety was starting to eat at him. Being squished between Randy and Garrett, both of them buzzing with energy as they excitedly watched the game, the apartment warmed by too many bodies in too small of a space, everybody on the verge of either drunk or high.
It was too much. Ramee stood suddenly, stepping over to the kitchen he quickly bypassed Vinny and took one more swig from his bottle before leaving it with all the other empties on the counter.
He staggered down the steps and out into the parking lot. The coastal breeze on a hot night was always refreshing, and he took a deep breath as he left the door ajar and leaned against the wall.
He pulled a cigarette from his pack and felt instant relief as the first breath of smoke left his lips, head tilted towards the sky.
The parking lot of Little Seoul was weirdly comforting, staring up at their little square of sky dotted with stars on a clear night, it was nice.
“You okay?” Vinny asked, warm smile permanently stuck to his face as he saddled up next to Ramee.
Ramee shrugged, took another hit from his cigarette.
“Too much going on, just needed a break”.
Vinny smirked and pressed himself into Ramee’s side as he plucked the cig away from him.
“They do get excited over that game”
The two of them stayed like that for a while, sharing the cigarette in a comfortable silence, Vinny’s hand resting on top of his where they hung between them.
The others didn’t know about them yet, about what had been building between them the last few months, sometimes they weren’t even sure.
All they knew was that they were happy around each other, one to many nights spent in each other’s apartments cementing the idea of it becoming something official…eventually.
From upstairs the others began to yell and countdown and Vinny slung his arm around Ramee, pulling him in close.
Ramee went willingly, tossing the last of the cigarette away as he pressed his cheek into the older’s chest.
Vinny tucked his fingers under his chin and nudged him upward, pressing their foreheads together.
“Happy New Year Ramos”
Ramee smirked and leaned up to kiss him just as the fireworks began to pop across the city and the dark sky filled with beautiful flashes of color.
“Happy New Years Vinny”
Bobby was exhausted.
He wasn’t meant to be on duty as long as he had been, a normal shift turning into a massive cross-county shit storm in the blink of an eye.
It started with a simple traffic stop, a tail light gone out, nothing major.
The driver just had to run though, taking him and four other units across the island down through Sandy and up through Chiliad.
Bobby had been the lead until he hit a dip in the road at just the wrong angle and he spun out, cruiser careening down an embankment and falling halfway into a murky patch of swamp water.
He was fine, relatively uninjured save for a few scratches, but the car was totaled.
He had to wade through the disgusting water to get back to the embankment and by the time he trudged the few feet back up to the road the radio was going haywire, they had caught the runner and were awaiting transport.
“At least there’s that” Bobby muttered angrily to himself as he wiped the mud from his jacket and sat down on a rock.
Copper pulled up after a while and sat with him as long as she could, taking his report on the accident until the radio was buzzing about a Paleto.
She forced him to ride back with him, it was in a remote part of Chiliad and it was late, they’d get it towed out tomorrow.
Bobby begrudgingly accepted, exhaustion hitting him like a brick as he slumped into the passenger seat and Copper rolled down the windows, hoping to keep the smell out of her car as they made the long drive back to Los Santos.
It was a few minutes from midnight as they parked and made their way up the stairs, Bobby taking them slowly as he fought off sleep, hat and duty belt heavy in the crook of his arm.
The lobby was bright through the windows, almost a salvation of sorts as his mind was clouded by the thought of showering and sleeping.
A group of officers were chatting in the lobby, Raven amongst them, and as Bobby got closer to the door he suddenly jogged out to greet him.
“I heard about the wreck! Are you okay?” Raven exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Bobby’s waist, letting the blonde slump into his chest as his belt and hat fell onto the planter next to them.
“He’s fine except for the swamp bath he took, good work today Bobby,” Copper said in passing with a smirk as she headed inside.
Raven turned back to him and held him tighter, trying to inspect him for any injuries but Bobby wasn’t having it, curling in closer and letting his full weight rest on the older man.
“You could have drowned”
“The water literally only came up to my waist” Bobby replied as he tried to pull away, still wanting to go and sit under a hot shower for the rest of his life.
Raven held steady though, keeping an arm tight around his waist as the other came up to cup his cheek.
“I’m glad you’re okay honey”
Just then there was popping in the distance and the sky began to light up with fireworks. When Bobby glanced over Raven's shoulder the officers inside were excitedly yelling as they watched the ball drop in Liberty City on somebody’s tablet.
“Well, it’s not exactly how I thought we’d spend it but…Happy New Years Bobby”
Bobby sighed long and low, unable to stop a smile from curling across his lips as he reached up to wrap his arms snug around Raven's neck.
“Happy New Years Raven”
They met in the middle and let the boom of the fireworks drown out the rest of the world.
The CleanBois threw themselves a party.
It had started late in the evening as the sun went down, for once everyone was gathered together and ready to relax.
Tony grilled them up a nice dinner and they ate on the patio, laughing around the table as the sun went down.
By nightfall, they were all scattered across the backyard.
Tony and Ray where sat at the edge of the pool with their feet in the water, shoulder to shoulder as they laughed amongst themselves.
Mickey and Saab were sitting in the grass in front of a metal fire pit somebody dug out of the garage, watching the celebration on Mickey's tablet.
Above them all Lang stood on Tony’s balcony smoking, giving himself the best view of the city.
He smiled down at his boys as they too smiled and laughed amongst themselves, their happiness made him happy.
He stubbed his cigarette out on the railing and checked his watch, only a minute left till midnight.
Behind him, the door creaked open slowly and when he glanced over his shoulder he found Yuno sans helmet giving him his usual unsure look.
Lang smiled at him and scooted over, giving the younger just enough room to join him at the railing as the countdown began on Mickey's tablet.
The sky was suddenly filled with streams of light as multi-color sparks rained down from all parts of the city.
The others cheered below them and Ray launched himself at Tony, both of them smiling and laughing into the kiss as Tony hooked an arm around his neck, nearly toppling them into the pool.
Across from them Saab was laughing and tried to press a kiss to Mickey's nose but Mickey wasn’t having it, grabbing him by the face with both hands so he could kiss him properly.
Lang suddenly felt something press to his cheek but it was gone faster than he could process it.
He turned to Yuno who was staring at the sky, a blush seared across his cheeks but a small smile tugging at his lips.
Yuno had kissed him on the cheek.
“Happy New Year Mr. Lang”
Lang broke himself free from his shock and smirked at him.
He threw an arm around the younger and pulled him in tight to his side and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
“Happy New Years baby”
Yuno couldn’t stop his smile this time as he slumped into the hold, letting himself relax for once as the bright colors danced across the inky black sky.