From behind the windows echoed the bangs that sounded too much like gunshots, but instead of pain and fear, it brought beauty to the sight. The dark sky lit up, sparks flew sideways. Well... the fear too. A shiver ran down his spine with each blast, and the German Shepherd at his side whimpered softly. He may have been trained to look for explosives, but it had been a long time since a dogie had done something like that. The loud bangs were already unusual and frightening to him. Simon reached up and stroked his head, scratching behind his ears. "It's okay, man. It'll stop soon."

They were at Price's cottage, which was surprisingly large and stocked, to hell with it. Kyle and the aforementioned Captain and Johnny were outside, gushing over a small fireworks display while you went out of his sight for a moment, but certainly not out of his mind.

New Year's... he felt too old to be happy about such things. Just another year during which his knees would only ache more and his back would prickle. Music played softly in the background, and in all the commotion, the individual sounds blurred into one large murmur, it was no wonder he hadn't noticed your footsteps.

"Ah... there you are," he grumbled, unable to help but smiled a little.

"You snuck off right after the toast," you breathed while handing him a glass on a slim stem and pouring him some champagne, which he gladly accepted, despite always claiming it was an old lady's drink.

"You know, um... Riley doesn't handle those fireworks very well anymore and I didn't want to spoil the fun," the aforementioned dog dropped his head into Simon's lap, big eyes staring at you, wagging his tail a little. "Took you quite a while to get back," he pulled a packet of sparklers out of his pocket, and carefully stuck three of them into a pot that had no live plants in it. "Thought I was on my own for this one," he grinned slightly as he handed you a lighter to light the little sticks to resemble fallen stars.

The clink of glasses. "Happy New Year,"