Chapter Text
Thursday, January 1st
"Happy New Year!"
As the clock strikes midnight, everybody lets out a simultaneous cry of celebration. The sky explodes, flashing like a thunderstorm with a myriad of exuberant colors and sparkling lights. It's true the city never sleeps, but right now, all at once, it cheers. People smile and laugh, reflections of hope glinting in their eyes—the desperation for a new year to be a new chapter in their life. For it to right past wrongs, for it to facilitate change, for it to lead to the birth of something fresh, something better.
Couples turn to each other, gentle hands on rosy cheeks, lips pressing together as they renew the sanctity of their love. Families hold each other close, kids pressing against their mother's waists as they look up in awe at the spectacle high above. Friends clink their glasses and take a sip of a revered champagne, its sweet taste a promising bastion of what's to come.
For a single day, all of New York exists in a unique, fleeting moment of unity.
The tower is a flurry of motion. Peter can't remember the last time this many people he knew were in one place at the same time. May, Ned, and MJ are huddled in a tightly-knit group with him, conversing enthusiastically. Tony, Pepper, and Morgan are right next to them, the two families mixing just enough to be considered whole. The Avengers are spread throughout various areas, but they all crowd the balcony, taking in the sights of the Times Square and Central Park celebrations. Different circles, different groups, but intertwined nevertheless, each playing a substantial role in the next's lives.
The only thing one can do now is think about the future. Peter begins to wonder where everyone might be one year from today. If they'll all stand here on the balcony, three-hundred-sixty-five days wiser. If time or loss or circumstance will separate them. He hopes not, but life is a fluid, ever-changing thing. Some things are just out of their control, and fate will take the wheel, guiding them toward an unforeseen path in the most surprising of times.
Peter wonders if he will be here next year. It's unfounded, he knows, to think he won't be. But anything can happen, and his career often has him questioning how his story might be cut short. As much as he tries to ignore it, the possibility will always linger over his shoulder like a shadow, and while he wouldn't dream of doing things differently—this life is a part of him now—he can't help the persistent thought in the back of his head that asks: Where does it end?
Looking over at Tony, Peter sees the man bend down and gather Morgan into his arms. He maneuvers her so that she can sit high and mighty on his shoulders, allowing for a better view of the city. Tony catches his eye and smiles at him, and just like that, all of Peter's worries melt away into nothingness. He beams back, realizing that he's okay with simply existing in this moment, and this moment alone—because only a fool would pass up any minuscule speck of this time together.
"Happy New Year, kid," Tony says to him, and his tone of voice conveys so much more than what could be put into a finite number of words. It's love, thankfulness, admiration, and everything in between.
Peter's heart clenches. Everything falls away into the background, a muffled symphony of festivity and human connection, and for a second, it seems like they are the only two people in the entire world. "Happy New Year, Mr. Stark," he replies, just as earnestly.
The universe snaps back into focus. Peter breathes out a content sigh, faces the fireworks again, and lets himself get lost in a brilliant sea of hopes and dreams.