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Well fed (thanks, buffet schmucks) and well rested (thanks to a nicely timed Cuddle-Recharge with Otto), Clerise bounded back to her hot hot tamale boyfriend and girlfriend.

She arrived just around the time the countdown did.

"Loverssss~" she crooned, slinking up to them, champagne flute in hand. "I'm here! I'm not late, see! I promised."

Despite her short stature, it was somehow impossible to miss it when Edith made her entry. Certainly John had a certain sensitivity to her particular disturbance in the force, but he liked to think it wasn't just him who noticed her appearance. Or maybe it was only him.

Expression trying to remain neutral, it was impossible for John to not picture something out of an RL Stine book as his assistant started rambling off her strange concoction of a casserole. In fact, he was quietly thanking Caelius for not putting it out because if it had been, the next question would have been why hadn't he tried it yet. Even Ieyasu couldn't save him from that. "Well, you'll have to make me that variant with the yams or something - " somehow Marshmallows-and-yams went really well together and John liked it, "- and we'll keep that all to ourselves." he suggested.

Or she'd just produce another casserole in a few minutes and enforce it upon everybody (like her adopted son with a stomach of iron....)

"Well, I don't think you've missed anything too exciting. Windwalker will be garnering us a flurry of complaints about his behavior as usual and Ferdinand's son is wearing his old uniform..." there was a sort of sad nostalgia that draped over his shoulders briefly as he said this before he tilted his head to look down at the woman next to him with a small smile. "But you're in time for all the important stuff."

((entering))

"Sorry about this, but it's an emergency!" He huffed out, as he dragged Mimsy into the ballroom, and turned to face the children. His face looked possessed.

"Okay kids. Your parents are in here. SEARCH AND DESTROY."

The next second of New Years countdown was filled with the screeches of children left to go wild. He, however, was still carrying the only child that mattered to him, as he craned his head up to look over the crowd. Despite being as tall as he was, it was still too difficult to see past a certain point, so he let go of Mimsy's hands and held Ramona up as far as he could over his head.

"Mona, find Clarice."

The tiny tracker searched for the woman, until she pointed excitedly all the way to the right. "THERE DADDY THERE!" He followed the direction, wrapping an arm around Mimsy's waist and bumbling awkwardly over until he stopped, breathing heavily, in front of the trio.

He put Ramona down, and started to try to catch his breath. His hands were on his knees, and he held his finger up, silently asking for a moment..

When breath was caught, however, he straightened up and threw his hands in the air. "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

... 9 seconds too early, Robert.

Edith gave him a piercing stare that slid into one of happy satisfaction. Adjusting her dress she sought out a passing waiter and nabbed two glasses of champagne. "Damn right I am," she replied, handing him one. "Gonna start this year out right for once."

The gently teasing smile slid from Ian's face almost as fast as though he'd been slapped. He stared at Jack, mouth slightly agape, while his mind backpedaled furiously, trying to figure out just where the conversation had gone wrong, why it had been pushed in such a horribly awful direction. Ian had never really been terribly concerned about hiding his orientation, but it wasn't like he had paraded it everywhere either.

"Are you drunk?" he demanded, his face flushed as he felt Shiloh's hand leave his, though he tried not to think about the latter too much. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He wasn't sure what else to say, other than feel extremely exposed here in the middle of the dance floor. Ian had spent the past several months working up the nerve to ask Shiloh with him, and despite his rather pathetic attempt, the fact that Shiloh had said yes in the first place was (Ian hoped) a step in the right direction.

This belief was reaffirmed, thankfully, when he felt warm fingers close around his own again. Ian blinked in surprise, and forced a smile, trying not to show just how much his heart had started beating faster just from this simple little gesture.

He arched a brow at the man behind Jack and said, echoing Jack's previous comment, "Paid a little visit to the House of Homo yourself, I see."

Quinn's arrival was a thankful, if not slightly awkward because of the tense situation, interruption, Ian giving him and his date - whom he only vaguely recognized - a grateful look.

"Quinny, hey," he said. "How are you?"

Ben had just come from making his rounds with the usual, letting Otto know he shouldn't drink period. John got a nod as the Moon lead passed by, Caelius got a salute (which the taller man ignored), and the crowd was getting larger and larger, and he practically had to part the seas of people, all chattering excitedly with each other, the warmth of the ballroom creating an almost surreal glow.

"Hang on a second," he managed to finally intercept Gale, and took a small gift out of his pocket, wrapped in simple bound leather. "My father gave it to me, I figured you're finally old enough to accept this responsibility." He winked. "Open it after New Years, it's a surprise." Pause. "Don't lose it seriously, it'll curse you with ten thousand years of bad luck. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Maybe." Ben ruffled Gale's head and then was off.

It was easy to find his two ladies, it was always almost natural. For a second longer he was just content in listening to them talk, feeling more relaxed than he did normally, feeling a surge of pride and contentment.

This was more than he could ever ask for, this was more than he felt like he deserved. If this was a dream he wished he could never wake up.

As the countdown began, as he squeezed the matching necklaces he had hidden in his pockets for his ladies after the party. Sometimes the world was that kind, and sometimes it was that forgiving.

Sometimes, the world didn't need to give him anything else.

Gale gave a good-natured groan and rolled his eyes the moment Lina started singing, but he was laughing as he reached for her, sliding one hand around her waist and using the other take hers, lacing their fingers together. It was easy to slide into a quick stepped dance, Gale spinning her around and then pulling back in again, his grin wide and mischievous.

"You're cute when you sing," he said, and kissed her nose before spiraling her outwards and then tugging her back in again.

A tap on his shoulder made him stop, however, and Gale twisted around to catch sight of Ben behind him. "Ben!" he said breathlessly, beaming up at him. "Hey! How's..."

He trailed off, eyes flickering towards the gift in his hand. Slowly Gale lowered his arms from around Lina (though he kept her hand in his), and reached out to take it, his chest feeling strangely tight. "That's, um," he said, and flushed, his cheeks red with pleasure. Ben was trying to scoot away quickly, but Gale had reached out for him at the last second, wrapping his arms around Ben's waist in a quick, tight hug.

"Thanks, Dad," he said against his chest and then let him go, slightly embarrassed, and went back to Lina.