☆
A SUNRISE BREAKS THE SILENT HORIZON.
Light floods over them in a haze of orange and yellow, capturing the flutter of barely there stars in the sky, only visible the further they drift from New York.
It feels like a moment of silence, a moment of regret and grief for the three, four, strangers who are lost somewhere in that sleepless city on Christmas morning. Maybe they got caught. Maybe they're sitting in a cop car, a jail cell, taking the fall for the four of them that got away.
Maybe they're just fine. Alone.
Ramón reaches for her hand, laces their fingers together, and musters up a smile. "Catalina," he says roughly. "It's okay."
"But... Vegas." Her throat tightens. "Tyler didn't..."
"We had to leave with—"
"With what?" she cries, tearing her hand from his grasp to blink back the rush of tears. "It's nothing. This is... nothing."
"It's not nothing." Ramón sweeps a lock of hair from her face before engulfing her in a hug. "Atom said there's still a lot of crystals left in the barge. This is something."
"Do you think I'm selfish?"
A hot kiss brands into her skin, somewhere between her jaw and her shoulder, and suddenly, her pulse is racing and her heart is stuttering and her breath is hitching.
Ramón is with her.
That is something.
"I think that fucking idea of being selfless during the holidays is bullshit," he rasps, pulling back to level her with dark eyes. Not a trace of blue. "It's the most selfish time of the year, Catalina."
A smile tugs at her lips. "That's fucked up."
Ramón shrugs. "Maybe."
Maybe.
Maybe Vans would rot in hell for lying to her. Maybe Bang would find someone else to waste his shitty pick-up lines on.
Maybe Blue would wash up on the coast of Jersey.
Maybe Vegas would forgive her.
Maybe they would be nothing more than fucking strangers forever.
"Hey, check it out!" Atom calls from inside the cabin above them. They part, glancing up at her in confusion. "It's on the radio!"
Her brows furrow. "What?"
"Come here."
Together, they take the stairs up into the cabin, where Claws and Atom are huddled over a small radio on the dashboard.
Because between Christmas classics, the news of the missing Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is breaking.
"A Manhattan power outage took hold of the city late on Christmas Eve. While it was considered a fluke by many New Yorkers last night, Mayor de Blasio has determined it an act of terrorism."
Claws scoffs. "Terrorism."
"Because early Christmas morning, through a string of sightings and social media posts, New Yorkers discovered that the iconic, newly unveiled Swarovski star atop the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree had disappeared."
"It's Christmas morning," the host breaks the announcement with an incredulous laugh, "and the symbol of Christmas in New York City is just... gone?"
His on-air partner chuckles. "Where did it go?"
"Well, de Blasio has given a formal statement alongside the NYPD, and apparently, it was stolen. They do have one suspect in custody, but I mean, th—"
"That's some Ocean's 11 job, though. There's no way that it was only one person, and if it was, and they have them in custody, where is the star?"
A song starts in the background with a jingle of bells and laughter. "Well, we'll be back with more updates about this baffling Christmas crime after a few of your Christmas favorites. Happy Holidays, everybody."
And when their voices fizzle out, the sound of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) unravels between the four of them.
"The snow's coming down...."
"...Christmas..."
"I'm watching it fall..."
"...Christmas..."
"Lots of people around..."
"...Christmas..."
"Baby, please come home."
Ramón grins at her. "Well, at least it isn't Santa Baby."
"Yeah," Claws mutters, pushing herself off the dashboard with an eye roll. "We all know how much she hates Santa Baby."
Her lips twitch.
Yeah, this is something. This is better than nothing.
"Ay, baby, what's wrong?" Ramón dips to her ear, fingers dancing up her spine daintily—searching for any leftover glass. "Are you okay?"
"Mhmm."
"Then what is it, Catalina?"
Fuck. There is something. There's something about the way her name sounds falling from his lips. She sinks into him, lashes fluttering, shoulders relaxing, a sated sigh escaping.
Escaping.
New York was... floating in the distance over Ramón's shoulder, and soon, it would be a dot in the horizon, swallowed by a sunset and then... consumed by darkness.
New York would be starless.
"It's beautiful."
☆
**FIN.
LOOOOL THIS WAS SUCH A TRIP TO WRITE 😂😂 This whole story is a hot fucking mess right now, but I had a lot of fun. It will probably go through a full edit, a title change, and a LOT MORE soon, but I hope you guys enjoyed this first draft! 🌟
MUCHO AMOR y FELIZ AÑO NUEVO ⭐️
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Mystery / Thriller"Some people want to destroy beautiful things," he said slowly, "but some people just want to steal them." ☆ [completed FIRST draft] a holiday heist in which eight strangers attempt to steal...
