Extras🎬

New Year's 2023

A/N - this is the last update of the year🥹🥹

This one is all over the place😭

~~~

Zane

How another year had passed, I wasn't fucking sure.

While the first twenty five years of my life had been on the lesser side of happiness, I could say with confidence that things were looking upwards nowadays; and I couldn't wait to see what the next year had in store for our family.

"Does this look like a children's party?", Phoenix stood in front of the dining table, hands on his hips and hair down just how I liked it the most, "it looks...tacky".

With everyone coming over later, give or take Chase and Prescott who were going into the new year with their significant others and young children, Phoenix and I had decided to lay out a spread of snacks.

And we'd sent Caleb and Theo to shop for alcohol- who knows where the night would go.

"It's chips, dip and olives- we're not a five star restaurant", I lifted a shoulder, sipping my coffee from the other side of the room.

"It's missing something", he muttered, just staring at it, "do we have tablecloths?".

"Why would I own a tablecloth?", I raised an eyebrow and he groaned, turning to face me, "why are you so stressed about this, hm?". He dropped his hands and sighed, when I realised something was bothering him I placed my coffee down and moved across the room, cupping his jaw in one hand.

"I want it to be perfect", he told me to which I hummed, "spending time with you all is important to me Z, I don't..have anyone else". I nodded understandingly, kissing his forehead before leaning back so I could look into his eyes.

"You don't need anyone else", I promised, "and you don't need to make a spread of mediocre snacks to prove that you care about everyone".

"So you agree that it's mediocre?", he perked up, I just narrowed my eyes at him, "I know you're right, I just- I feel like I owe it to you all". My eyebrows furrowed slightly, knowing that Phoenix rarely opened up to me, so whenever he did I clung onto every word.

"Why do you think that?", I asked, my fingers taming his hair slowly, "you don't owe us anything".

"You all basically saved my life", he admitted, his confession doing something to my heart, "and I know- I know you say I got to where I am by myself and should be proud of that, and I am- but I would've had nobody if I didn't meet you".

"I love you", was all I said at first, kissing him deeply, "and you saved my life too". He shook his head against me and I hummed, if he could say it to me then I could too.

"I want next year to be as perfect as this one was", he told me and I smiled, just holding him against me in the silence of the kitchen.

"It will be", I promised, kissing the top of his head, "it will be".

I remembered a time when I wished each new year would be my last, that I'd be freed from the burden of having to look after my brothers- as selfish as that made me sound- but my life had once revolved around those five boys and our sister who didn't even know I existed.

Having had three of my siblings move out now, and living with the man I knew I wanted to marry had shown me that things could get better, and I only saw things moving upwards from here.

~

Caleb

"We look like- like uh, like we have a problem", Theo gestured to the shopping cart we'd filled with probably way too much alcohol- go big or go home I supposed.