Hundreds of Stories: In The Heights One-Shots

New Year's Eve (Holiday Gift)

A New Year's gift for WhedonWorshipper!

Love you, my buddy chum pal amigo. :3

This short one-shot actually takes place in 2016, btw. Like, present day. So all the characters are older. A lot of them are probably married by now.

It was ten minutes till midnight in Washington Heights.

New Year's Eve had arrived once again, and, at long last, 2016 was coming to a close. It hadn't exactly been the greatest year: many would call it downright awful. Good people had died, wars had raged on, many tragedies had struck, unjust prejudice had erupted everywhere, and Donald Trump (or "The Annoying Orange," as Sonny liked to refer to him) had even won the 2016 election. But now, it was finally over. 2017 was about to arrive, bringing with it joy, celebration, and the hope for a better year to come.

The residents of the barrio were all scattered about the room, laughing, talking and drinking. Everyone occasionally cast eager glances at the television, waiting for midnight to arrive and the ball in Times Square to drop.

Daniela and Carla were sitting together on the couch, Carla with her head resting in the other's lap. Throughout the night, she had repeatedly nodded off, only to be gently shaken awake by a smiling Daniela.

Eventually, Benny checked his wristwatch. "It's eleven fifty-nine! Almost time!" Everyone murmured excitedly, turning their attention to the TV.

Pete chuckled as Sonny leapt atop the couch right by Daniela's head, pumping a fist in the air. "Who's ready to watch 2016 DIE?!" (Sonny is me.)

Carla grinned up at her girlfriend, giggling somewhat sleepily. "Dani, Dani, look! The countdown is about to start!"

The giant, glittering ball slowly began to descend, and the vast ocean of people cheered it on, counting down in unison.

Daniela said nothing, biting her lip. It was now or never. She had been waiting to do this all night. After a moment's hesitation, she carefully lifted Carla's head from her lap and stood up. She lowered herself to floor in front of her girlfriend, bending down on one knee.

Carla sat up, now fully alert. "Dani...?"

Though her gaze was focused on Carla alone, Daniela knew that the entire room was watching her. The sounds from the TV and everything else faded away into white noise, roaring in her ears. Carla gasped as Daniela reached into her pocket, producing a small ring, a simple silver band with a tiny glittering diamond set in the middle.

Ten...

"C-Carla, I've known you for many years now...and I..."

Nine...

"...well, you...you're my everything. My sunshine. I love everything about you..."

Eight...

"...your smile, your laugh..."

Seven...

"...the sparkle in your eyes, the way you hum while you work, your kindness, your generosity, everything."

Six...

"And I-I know the ring isn't much, but it's all I could afford..." Daniela paused, taking a deep breath. Carla was still watching her, wide-eyed, hands over her mouth.

Five...

"I-I've never been good with words, but I–oh, carajo..."

Four...

"...I've decided that...I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Three...

"Carla...my love, my light...will you marry me?"

Two...

By now, Carla's eyes were glistening with tears. (Plus, Daniela was fairly sure she heard Usnavi sniffling on the other side of the room.) She lowered her hands from her mouth, revealing a brilliant smile. She dropped to her knees in front of Daniela, throwing her arms around her neck.

"Yes, yes! Oh God, Dani, yes!"

One.

On the television, the ball reached the ground, fireworks went off, and the crowd filling Times Square went wild. So did everyone in the room, cheering at the top of their lungs, hugging and kissing. Sonny, from his place on top of the couch, started flinging confetti everywhere (had he been keeping that in his pockets the whole time?), and Vanessa popped open the bottle of champagne at light speed, laughing like a maniac when it exploded in Usnavi's face.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Not waiting any longer, Carla pressed her lips to Daniela's. Daniela returned the kiss passionately, drawing her girlfriend–no, her fiancé–closer to her. This angel who she loved with all her heart, the most perfect girl in the world, was going to be her wife. She couldn't believe it. She already had a feeling that 2017 was going to be a great year.

Daniela pulled away, resting her forehead against Carla's. "Te amo, mi querida."

Carla smiled at her, and in that moment her heart grew wings and soared.

"I love you, too."

A/N: Everyone loves some Darla on New Year's Eve. Sorry this is really short. Hope you enjoyed. <3

Happy New Year, everyone!!!