A/N: This is my first fanfic. Would have been posted on the 4th of July, but apparently there is a two day waiting period on here to reduce spam. And, this story is very H/B friendly. Thanks to Bridget for helping out! Enjoy! (Sorry for my total lack of creativity).
"Will you marry me Betty?" Henry asked. Betty stood in absolute shock and silence as she looked upon the man she loved for the first time in weeks. Standing there speechless, Betty tried to muster together a response as she allowed Henry to whisk her away to the front hallway. Baffled as she was, her heart was pounding and she was only half listening to him proclaim his love for her for she was trying to protect her heart from the ache it still obtained. "Betty, it would be amazing."
Betty jumped from her slumber as the loud rumble was tearing through the cloudless sky. She rolled over to see that it was just a few minutes past ten o'clock and to find the bed half empty. Betty woke to a vacant, yet sweltering house. As she wandered to the kitchen for a glass of ice water, she heard the force of two people's footsteps walking across the hard wood floors. Just as Betty turned to head towards the living room, she was greeted with a kiss, and a "Good morning sleepy head" from the man she had previously been dreaming of. Henry's kiss was returned, as Betty was reminded of her dream, and the young boy standing behind his father.
"Dad! Dad, can we shoot off just a couple more fireworks? Please?" Nate asked, with his big brown puppy dog eyes.
"Oh, so it was you two that woke me up?" Betty asked, eyeing Henry.
Henry looked sheepishly at his wife, and gave her another quick kiss to apologize.
Nate trying to cover for his and his father's shenanigans interjected "Well, what do you expect Betty? It is the 4th of July!"
"True." Betty said. "But, shouldn't you save some for tonight?"
"She's right Nate. We won't have any left if we keep shooting them off at this rate." Henry said, as he wrapped his arms around Betty's waist.
Nate being the 12 year old that he was, and completely grossed out by the two's behavior, excused himself from the room and headed for a shower. Betty and Henry busied themselves frantically trying to keep the house clean and ready for their party that evening. The doorbell rang just as Betty was wrapping up the vacuum cord. Nate answered the door, to be greeted by "Little G-stick! Where's your pops at? I got some sweet explosives man" as Kenny nonchalantly entered the house with two brown paper bags full of fireworks.
"Kenny! What are you doing out here in Arizona?" Henry asked thrilled to see his longtime friend. "Dude, Henry, we are going to put on a show tonight." Betty came to the doorway to see who the unexpected guest was and couldn't help but feel right back at Mode. After a few minutes of catching up Henry, Kenny, and Nate all made their way to the back yard to scope out all the fireworks they had for tonight. For those three, it was like Christmas in July.
Around 5 o'clock guests started arriving for the 4th of July party Betty and Henry held every year. Ignacio, Hilda, Daniel, Justin and baby Lexi even flew out for the holiday and were staying in Arizona for a couple days to spend time with Betty and Henry. Betty was so excited to see her family. She hadn't been back to New York since Hilda and Daniel's first child, Lexi, was born a couple years ago.
Betty sat nestled between Daniel and Hilda in the family room. Her mind was a million miles away. She was thinking about how her life had changed drastically since the day she chose to marry Henry. She was living across country from the people she loved most in the world, she had a new job at a great magazine company and she became a stepmom. While some changes were harder to go through than others, nothing outshone how much happier Betty was.
Betty found herself with a grin from ear to ear plastered on her face as she rattled herself from her thoughts as she looked over to find the love of her life on all fours playing with young Lexi. Henry caught his wife's stare and locked eyes with her remembering back to the days of plastic snow, and feelings of being the only two in the room. Ignacio broke their spellbound stare as he entered the room to let them know that dinner was ready. He had insisted on doing the cooking. As everyone dashed into the kitchen to fill their plates and stomachs, Henry pulled Betty aside and looked deep into her eyes and gently kissed her forehead and then her lips and whispered in her ear "I love you." Betty placed her hand into Henry's as they made their way to the kitchen to join their guests for dinner.
As the sun was setting, Kenny was eager to start the fireworks show, and the guests were growing restless. Justin and Ignacio started passing out sparklers to the little ones and their parents to help pass the time while Betty and Henry cleaned up the kitchen. Kenny came bursting in the door pleading with Henry to start lighting fireworks. Henry looked at his wife with his big brown eyes to ask for her permission, just as his son had done earlier that day. Betty let out a "Go" knowing that she would be denying them their fun if she didn't. The two men excitedly carried out a piece of plywood to the end of the driveway where they would shoot off the mountainous pile of fireworks. Nate lollygagged behind them carrying a fire extinguisher; safety first. Despite how much Henry loved fireworks he was a bit nervous about them, even more so with Kenny around.
Betty and Henry's family and friends all gathered outside and found comfy spots to enjoy the fireworks from. Even some of their neighbors had come outside to catch a glimpse of the nighttime spectacular. Kenny and Henry started with the smaller fireworks and even let Nate in on some of the action. As it grew darker, the fireworks grew more intense and the sky was filled with bright colorful lights and clouds of smoke. There were sounds of ooh's and ahs from all around. Betty was sitting next to Hilda with Lexi on her lap when Kenny lit a firework that went off course and seemed like it was going straight for Henry. Henry took off running and made it back safely to his wife where he seemed very content on staying. "Dude, c'mon, there's still the grand finale." Kenny yelled to Henry. Henry rolled his eyes and looked down at Betty. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked tonight. Her hair was shimmering in the moonlight, and her eyes lit up against the dark night fall. Her smile made him weak in the
knees. Henry reluctantly made his way back to Kenny but his mind still on Betty. The last of the fireworks were set up on the plywood and waiting to be sent off into the starry night sky. Kenny and Henry started lighting them off on after another. Henry finished lighting the last one, "The Big Cannon," as it was called and darted for cover one last time. He turned to see his wife's face mesmerized by the seemingly never endless lights that soared through the sky. Everyone began to clap and cheer in their awe of the show that had just been put on.
The last of the guests were leaving as Kenny made his way to Henry, Betty and Nate. "G-stick! That was amazing man. I was thinking for next year…" but before Kenny could finish Nate and interjected "Wait! Kenny you'll be back next year? Sweet dude!" Henry and Betty both let out a chuckle. "Kenny, why don't you take Nate here back to your hotel room and you two can start planning our next party then" Henry asked. Betty looked at Henry questioningly, and he looked back at her lovingly knowing that the house would be theirs for the night.
Moments later, the house was quiet and empty except for Henry and Betty who sat snuggled on the couch. Henry moved to get a little comfier as Betty started to tickle his sides. Henry retaliated and soon there was break out of a tickle war. As Betty's giggles resided, Henry hovered over her. "Betty, I love you." Henry stated and lowered his lips to hers just as she was about to respond. It was a heated kiss and full of passion that threatened to lead to more. "I love you too, Henry" Betty stated. Henry pulled Betty from the couch and made their way to their bed where some major fireworks were about to happen.