a/n: it's after one in the morning on the fourth of july. i can't go to sleep because some idiots are running around towson screaming their heads off. so i decided to make myself feel better by making up this little one shot.

enjoy teh fluff.


Cameron was sitting at the computer, checking her e-mail when there was a knock on the door. Standing up from behind the desk, she made her way over to the door, undid the locks, and opened it up. " Wilson," she said, surprised. "Hey, I didn't realize that it was seven already." She turned back into her apartment. "You can come in, but just give me a minute to change."

He nodded, coming to stand in the middle of her apartment. He looked around, his eyes landing on a few pictures on her fireplace mantle. "Cute," he called out to her. "Never thought of you as the pigtail type."

Her laughter sounded from her bedroom. "Those were dark times," she said, walking back into the room. "And they'll never be spoken of again." She reached up and tied her hair into a long ponytail before settling her hands on her hips. "You ready to go?"

He looked down at himself. "Well, I look ready." He was, miraculously, wearing jeans and an unbuttoned white button up that wasn't tucked into his pants. An American flag tie was knotted loosely around his neck, and he had an Uncle Sam t-shirt underneath his button up shirt.

She was wearing short denim shorts, white Adidas tennis shoes, and a red tank top. She turned around briefly to grab something from her table, and he saw that the hair tie in her hair had red, white, and blue fuzz all over it.

"I see we're looking patriotic," he said dryly as they made their way out of her apartment.

"Eh," she shrugged. "It's the fourth of July."

They met up with Chase and Foreman ten minutes later, and they made their way to the hospital. For some reason, a patient's father had (in the spirit of the holiday) donated fireworks to the hospital, complete with permit and all. Cuddy had been a bit disappointed by the…eccentric donation, but with the nation's birthday coming up, she had asked that the gift be put to good use.

So there they were, leaning against railings on the top of the hospital roof, waiting for the fireworks to start.

"Hey man," Foreman said, talking to Wilson. "I brought some food and stuff for all of us but I left it in my car. Come help me with it?"

Wilson nodded, and they walked off towards the staircase, arguing about something. Chase leaned next to Cameron for a few seconds in uncomfortable silence, before he announced, "I'm going to…go to the bathroom." He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. "Be right back."

She stifled a laugh as he walked away. "Okay," she called out. Then, quietly, "Wouldn't want to be awkward around each other."

She stood on the roof by herself, the gentle breeze blowing her hair back softly. She closed her eyes, inhaled the warm night air through her nose, and jumped about a foot high when a large hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Jesus!" she yelped, turning around. She let out a shaky breath as she met two electric blue eyes. "House!" she said, turning around to face him with a hand on her heart. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Oh, my God," he said, feigning shock. "It's Halloween? And here I thought it was July 4th."

She stared at him. "What," she asked slowly. "Are you talking about?"

"Halloween? Time for scaring?" She continued to stare at him. "Okay, the joke loses it's glow when I have to explain it to you."

"You," she mused, turning back around. "Are incredible."

"Well, I knew that," he said, smirking at her.

"Sure you did," came Wilson's voice from behind them. House and Cameron turned around to where Foreman, Wilson, and now Cuddy stood with their arms full of food and drinks. Cameron walked towards them and relieved them of some of their packages, setting them by the beach chairs that Chase had brought.

Chase came bounding up the stairs a good fifteen minutes later, when he was sure that the others had come back. He sighed in relief, making his way over to them.

"Chase?" asked Cameron. "Are you sick or something?"

"No," he said, giving her a strange look. "Why?"

"Because," she said, looking at her watch. "You've been gone for a good twenty minutes."

He flushed, but wisely made no comeback. Sitting down in one of the chairs, he found himself caught up in the small talk that flew between the colleagues.

All six jumped, however, when at eight o'clock sharp, a loud boom echoed through the sky as a firework exploded. Cameron's head swiveled towards the sound, her hands clamped over her ears as she watched the lights glimmer. Her hands lowered soon enough, and she found herself staring in rapt awe at the magnificent display.

They still managed to talk over the fireworks, each having food and drink, and House a couple of beers. Eventually, the conversation tapered off, and each became lost in their own world.

Wilson, Chase, Foreman and Cuddy each wandered off, trying to find a better view of the fireworks as they exploded in the air. House, however, remained seated next to Cameron, his eyes not fixed on the light show, but on her face as she watched the sky.

He tilted his head at her, finding himself fascinated by the myriad of emotions flitting across her face. Her face was lit up the bright lights in the sky, each revealing every contour of her face. He found himself scooting his chair closer to her gradually. She turned her head, suddenly, to look at him, and started when she found him so close to her. "What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing," he replied, sitting back in his chair. They continued to watch the fireworks in silence, until House looked at his watch. "Jesus," he stated. "It's almost nine. How many fireworks did this guy give us, anyway?"

Cameron didn't answer at first, and he looked over to find her snacking on cotton candy. He rolled his eyes, reached over, and snatched the bag out of her hands. "Hello?"

"Cuddy said that it was barrels full, apparently. The guy owns a factory for fireworks or something." She frowned at him, holding out her hand and clenching and unclenching her palm at him. "Now gimme my cotton candy."

He rolled his eyes, reached inside and took some of the sweet, popped it in his mouth, and handed her precious bag back to her. She continued snacking on it, continuing to watch the sky above them.

They spent another few minutes in silence, before he found himself attempting to strike up conversation again. A withering glance from Cameron, however, had him shutting his mouth before any noise came out. He began rocking back and forth in his seat, humming as he did so. Cameron, amazingly, heard him over the loud noises of the fireworks, and turned to look at him. "You're extremely annoying, you know that?"

"Really?" He scrunched up his nose. "Cuz I was going to say 'possibly extremely drunk', but yours sounds like it would be better PR."

She rolled her eyes at him, and started to look away again when one of his large hands reached up and grabbed her face. "House," she said through smooshed lips. "What are you doing?"

He loosened his grip on her face, and it became a surprisingly soft touch for such rough hands. "What are you doing?" she repeated, her eyes now fixed on his face.

He paused, unsure of what he was going to say. Thoughts rolled around in his mind, until he settled on one. "Happy 4th of July," he muttered, before leaning over and pressing his lips to hers.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she wound her arm around his neck. Her mouth slipped open from under his, and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside. She responded, and his other hand slipped down to her waist, pulling her as close as he could get. When the need for air became too much, they pulled apart. She was staring at his lips, and he was trying to regain his breath.

"Um," she muttered, casting her eyes away. "That was…" She tried to pull back, but found herself still firmly caught in his grasp.

"You know," he mused, toying with her hair. "The day's not over yet…"

She silently understood his meaning, and stood up. Helping him up and handing him his cane, she took him by the hand and led him towards the stairwell. Before they reached the door leading to the stairs, he pulled her to a halt and kissed her again.

And fireworks exploded in the sky.

THE END

(god, I love pointless fluff.)