#nye 2020

[myjetpackisonfire]

[foodieforthoughts]

When the ball drops

Summary: It's your third year in the Big Apple and you still haven't found your midnight kiss for when the ball drops, until tonight.

Pairing: Henry x Reader

Word count: 1.7k

Warnings: Fluff!!!

A/N: Happy New Year to everyone! ✨ Watching the ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square is my ultimate bucket list! Also not beta read, so don't mind the errors, just had to get done in time before @infinite-shite celebrates New Year's before the rest of us! This baby deserves all the love in the world ❤️

*divider by @firefly-graphics

Title: When the ball drops

The cackle of people's laughter ringed through the pub as the hours ticked by. In contrast to the cold winter air of New York, the inside of the enclosed space felt warm. You quickly pulled on your apron and slid behind the bar, relieving your co-worker from their shift. He hugged you for the New Year that was to ring in about an hour later, happily weaving through the crowd towards the staff exit.

You sighed, grabbing the dish cloth to clean some glasses.

The excitement of coming to the Big Apple had quickly died down for you. You had dreamed of living in the city like the various shows potrayed, feeding lies that everything is magical and full of opportunities in this concrete jungle. But you could disagree with all the contradictions between facts and fictions and align them in a PowerPoint presentation. Not only were you yet to secure your dream job, you lived in a mediocre place with little to look forward to everyday.

Another sigh left your lips, your shoulders slumping despite the merriment around.

"That would be the second time you sigh." The crisp accented voice of a stranger sounded from across you. "What's the matter, love?"

You knew who he was. You ogled at his pictures on a regular basis, especially when he became Superman. But he looked nothing like the Henry Cavill you saw on the red carpets. Clad in a plain blue shirt, jaw sprinkled with the hint of a stubble and hair combed to perfection, Henry titled his head at you with a smile. You looked around at the other patrons, unsure if he was talking to you indeed.

Henry chuckled at your look of confusion. He took a seat at the barstool and grabbed the menu from the stand. With a dish cloth still inside the glass tumbler, you stared at the Hollywood heartthrob. The pub you worked at was frequented with celebs on a regular basis, the only downside being you usually worked for the day shift which meant by the time you rolled out of work, the big shots were only just waking up.

"Can I get-"

"Guinness?" You interrupted him. You meant to say it in your head but the word left your mouth before you could control your lips.

But Henry didn't flinch. He just smiled widely, the dimples in his chin dipping charmingly and his eyes shining like the brightest star under the flickering strobe lights. He slid the menu back towards you and clasped his hands together.

You blinked your eyes several times to rid yourself of the flutter in you belly as Henry smiled at you softly. He watched as you got him a glass and filled it up with his beer. Your hands trembled so much with the nervousness of serving an A list actor, who not only was doing well in industry but was exceptionally sexier in person, that you were worried the foam gathered at the top would dribbled down the sides. Noticing your struggle, Henry extended his hands and placed them over yours to secure his glass.

Electricity. In the most clichéd scenarios of romance movies, you felt a jolt of electricity when your hands touched his, the sparks travelling down your spine to your toes. Sucking in a sharp breath you handed him the glass, chiding yourself over your hyper aware mind.

"What is a pretty lady like you working in a bar at this hour?" He asked, sipping his fermented pint of alcohol.

"Coworker has plans with his girlfriend, like everyone tonight." You shrugged your shoulder, going over to another customer ordering drinks. You could feel Henry's eyes on you as you readied the customer's order. The sound of giggling girls pulled your attention just as the man left with his drink.

You walked back to where Henry sat, nursing his beer. "Anything to go with that?" you enquired, rearranging the shot glasses under the bar counter.

"I am still wondering how, in the world, a pretty woman like you, is stuck here."

You scoffed, more to yourself than him. "Because this supposed pretty woman is single as fuck." The mirth in your voice hid the sense of self pity edging at the corners of your mind. It had been three years since you had first arrived in the city with a possibility of reaching for the stars in both personal and professional life. You had been left disappointed with the jerks and assholes you ended up with, ultimately sitting at home and questioning your choices in men.

You noted the softness creasing at the corners of Henry's eyes. The last thing you wanted was to be seen as a miserable bartender at the end of the year, so you cleared your throat and smiled at him. "What is superman doing at a bar, in New York, alone?"

Henry chuckled. His gravelly thick laughter ringing louder than the music in your ears. "I was just stopping by the city, thought I'll stay to understand what the big deal is with the ball drop."

"Oh my God. Watching the ball drop and kissing at midnight is the most romantic thing you can do with your partner. You should be at Times Square!" Your excitement over the whole New Year's Eve shenanigan was flowing through in your speech.

"Too crowded." He shook his head, groaning and sipping his beer.

You rolled your eyes. "As opposed to this cramped pub?"

Henry chuckled again, throwing a wink at you. You felt the familiar flutter in your belly. You peered at him under your lashes, Henry seemed to be having his eyes only for you tonight. The giggling ladies were desperately trying to grab his attention while sipping on their Margheritas wearing their embellished dresses with low cuts and frills. You glanced down at yourself and frowned. Over the faded blue jeans and white t-shirt, you wore the black apron with the pub's insignia on the left breast. You suddenly became profoundly aware of how 'basic' you might look in comparison to the other ladies.

Self doubt clouded your mind. You politely smiled at Henry and hurried to the other side of the bar to serve the other customers. Maybe Henry only wanted someone to play the horizontal hokey-pokey with him for the night, or maybe he was bored and since you were obligated to talk nicely with him, he had pitched a conversation. Whatever the reason, you did not like how the multiple scenarios would end. You knew your feeble, fragile heart. You would get hurt, one way or another.

"Hi," Henry appeared again in front of you. He had his beer in his hand, his other elbow resting on the counter. "Did I offend you in some way?"

"No. But you are pretty much making me realize, how miserable my life is." Your voice sounded bleak against the booming voices. Tucking your hair behind your ear, you watched the couples snuggle up to each other. It had been ages since you had felt the loving embrace of a man, even longer since you had shared a meaningful kiss with someone special.

"What would you have been doing instead?" Henry's voice pulled you out of your desolated reverie.

"I would be in Times Square, with my significant other, which I don't have. We would get some drinks while standing on the outskirts of the crowd and watch the countdown."

There was a stir of activity in the pub as someone announced that there were only 90 seconds to the ball drop. You hadn't even realized that time had passed so quickly whilst you had juggled your conversation with Henry.

"Well, you have the drinks," Henry reached forward to grab a glass and poured half of his beer in the empty tumbler. "We are at the outskirts of the crowd since everyone is huddled near the TV." You nodded as you watched the couples gather near the enormous flat screen mounted on the wall. "We aren't at the Times Square, but we are in New York."

The countdown read 60 seconds with the red numbers counting backwards. Henry stood up and leaned forward on the counter. You watched with bated breath as he grabbed the strap of your apron and pulled you towards him.

His hand rested lightly on your cheek, his thumb grazing your cheekbone. The smell of beer, his perfume and musk enveloped you, bundling you in everything that signified him. You gazed into his cerulean eyes, the fleck of brown going dark against the blue ocean. Your hands hung by your side, flabbergasted by the surprising turn of events.

"I might not be your significant other," His breath washed over your heated face, his eyes transfixed on yours. "But we can perhaps change that."

"Happy New Year!"

Like the fireworks going off on the One Times Square Building, when your lips collided with his, there was a burst of colorful sparks celebrating the union of two people from across the pond. Henry pulled your face closer to his by grabbing behind your head, his fingers threading through your hair. You finally could think straight as you moaned into the kiss, holding onto the collar of his shirt as the pub erupted with loud cheers. In that moment, everything seemed perfect in the world. You felt your legs turn to jelly as Henry pulled back, breathing through his mouth, tugging at your lower lip with his teeth.

The smug smile on his face returned as he sat back on his barstool. You grabbed onto the counter for support as you gulped lungful of air.

"Did that count as something for when the ball drops?" He asked, sipping his beer and watching you from the brim of his glass.

You nodded. The heat on your cheeks traveled down to your chest, a grin spreading on your lips. Biting your lip you reached for the other glass of beer Henry had poured. "Happy new year to me." You announced before clinking your glass with Henry's.

✨HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS✨

[hockeychick57]

[significanceofmoths]

Xiao Zhan NYE 2020 相愛後動物感傷 

[jamscandraw]

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎉🎆🎉

It’s been a long one but here’s to things improving and new and exciting opportunities in 2021 🎉

[Image ID: three teenagers are watching fireworks beneath a bridge. Jamie and Kawaru are sat on the ground looking at the sky, and Kawaru is pointing excitedly. Kaito is stood behind them with a sparkler in his hand, looking over his shoulder at the bridge. Up on the bridge Shin is watching the fireworks alone. End ID]

[sleepyearthbabe]

Happy new year Eve 🌟💫🌻 may we take care of each other and this planet 💗

[mashtonasfuck]

I know literally everyone is doing those ‘people I'm thankful for’ posts to say fuck off goodbye to 2020, but here’s another one 😌

2020 has not been what I wanted it to be, and a lot of plans have had to change/be put on hold/been cancelled. I was supposed to see so many online friends this year, but safety is the number 1 priority. even though it’s been a complete shitshow, the thing that’s kept me going is my friends. my friendship circle has expanded a lot this year so here are some shoutouts ✌🏼

@maluminspace, @mermaidcashton - we haven’t spoken in a lil bit, but our cute trip to London is one of my fave things that happened this year and I hope we can see you soon 🥺💙

@malumsmermaid - Lauren I’m still gutted that we never got to DC to see you, but hopefully we can get over to VA by the end of 2021 because I need to squish you. you’re such a wonderful human 💙

@feliznavidaddycal - Rach, what can I say, it’s been wonderful getting to know you more this year - we’ve spent a lot of time screaming about certain things in 🤡 club and I’m pretty sure that you’re the instigator of most of them 😂 I can’t wait to finally come and see you when the world is a bit less crazy 💙

@kindahoping4forever - Crystal where do I even begin. Our friendship spans multiple fandoms at this point, and I value your existence in my life a great deal. I know I keep talking about it, but fire fight really was the bomb that made our friendship explode (ya know, if you don’t count the wwj star content or the iheart obscenity that was ashton irwin), and although it was a devastating time I also love it bc it made us talk more. gutted we didn’t get to LA to see you and run around Disney like a chaos force, but I'm crossing everything that we can get to you by the end of 2021 🤞🏼🤞🏼 love ya, tater tot 💙

@irwinkitten - Teej. I’m so endlessly proud of you for everything you ever do - you’ve achieved so much this year, and finally getting to squish you was a highlight. you already know this, but when you wanted to ft back in march I was ✨nervous✨ bc I've followed you basically from the start of this blog. watching you grow into who you are this year has been a privilege and you’re thriving. you’re so kind and I'm so grateful to know you. I promise I won't drop anything on any flooring/carpet when we can finally come and stay with you again. I need to squish you soon bc I miss you 🥺💙

@loveroflrh - Lauren, my love. it’s really been the latter half of this year that we really started talking and some of the best memories I have from this year involve you. you’re such a wonderful person and I'm so glad we started talking 🥺 watching the basement noise shows with you and screaming about everything mostly Zack’s arms has been the serotonin shot that I've needed this year and I cannot wait to see them in Manchester with you. I’m determined to get up and see you by your birthday so manifesting that 🔮✨ 💙

some other people I've been loving on this year:

@karajaynetoday @calpops @calumcest @clumsyclifford @kaleidoscopeminds @mukeaf @ashtonsunshine @cal-puddies @5sosofficial @evilrry @cxddlyash @ashtonlftv @sexgodashton @mastasof-ravenkroft @ghostofmashton @gutsmp3 @sadistmichael

also the entire Mikey hype squad discord server and the writers server - I know we’ve all been quiet lately, but I love you all 💙

✨ I hope everyone stays safe, wears their mask, and has a fulfilling 2021 ✨

adios 2020, you’ve been weird ✌🏼

[keyofjetwolf]

Someone did not make it to midnight.