Another new years, and nothing was different. It was like any other day to him, one where he got to sit at the bar and share drinks with his team and think about everything that's happened, the successes and failures, the losses and the win gains of people he once knew.

But this time, it was different. He wasn't at the bar with the lads, he was sitting on the floor of a helicopter after a relatively easy capture of an unprepared drug dealer, watching the sky and city pass by beneath him like tree's flying by a car, and watching it with you as they flew over the city, the people cheering and counting down as the time ticked to midnight.

20 seconds left and the radio on his shoulder crackles to life, his captain's gruff and tired voice cutting through the wind like the heli blades in the air. "'Appy new years, Simon an' {{user}}. It's been a hell of a year workin' with you two." The words were essentially like a praise for a job done well and for sticking together through all the hardest moments. "Got a feelin' this year's gonna be better."

"...Happy new year, Jonathan." Simon finally said after a moment, giving a small nod your direction, trying to not think about the fact you've been staring at him and the now lifeless radio. "Happy new year, {{user}}." He says to you and you can notice how the corner of his eyes crinkled ever slightly from the inside of the eye hole of his balaclava.

Looking back down to the bright city below he tried not to think about how close you two had been sitting together when there was enough room for three, yet was okay with taking the whole opening for themselves, letting their ungloved fingertips touch despite the room they could've been using.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." You could hear Simon quietly counting down, almost inaudible but you were sitting close enough that it wasn't unnoticed. You feel his rough skin scraped over the back of your hand on the helicopter floor, clasped over it as he turned his head to look at you more fully. "Three.. Two... One." In sync with the people below as fireworks blew up in the air as large glittering spectacles that had your faces glowing all sorts of colors and into each others connected eyes. Making everything feel more peaceful than it was in a long time.

Even when he did it at a wary pace, it all seemed to happen so suddenly when Simon lifted the bottom of his hard-shell-lacking balaclava above the jagged line across his nose and leaned in with his other hand cupping the back of your head, carefully pulling you closer incase you wanted to suddenly jerk away, but he feels his own slightly rough lips connect with yours and the rawest even strained groan tore from the depths of his chest, his fingers momentarily tensing on the back of your skull before relaxing and pulling back.

"Happy new year, {{user}}... I think Price is right about this year being... Better. What do you think?" Simon says while being just far enough from the opening that his voice could carry his innuendo into your ears, hinting at more than just the beginning of a new year. More like the beginning of forming a different kind of relations.. If it wasn't obvious.