So this is the first fanfiction I've ever written...not really sure what I'm doing but I thought I would post it anyways. Let me know what you think! (:

Disclaimer: I wish

"Mornin', bro," Esposito said with a nod to the younger detective walking into the bullpen. He smiled and let out a small chuckle when he saw Ryan's American flag tie. "Nice tie," he snickered. "Hey! It's the fourth of July! Where's your patriotism?!" Ryan asked jokingly. "Man, I served 3 years then became a cop for this country, I don't need an ugly tie to show how 'patriotic' I am," Esposito joked right back making air quotations around the word 'patriotic'. "Whatever. What are you doing tonight?" Ryan asked, directing the conversation away from his tie. "Uh…I'll probably go home, drink a few beers and pass out," Esposito replied with a look that asked, what else would I be doing? "Aren't you going to go watch some fireworks?" Ryan asked with a genuinely shocked expression. Esposito let out a small laugh and said, "I haven't seen fireworks in years, bro." Ryan's jaw dropped making Esposito shoot him a questioning look. "Are you kidding me?! Why?!" Ryan asked dramatically which made Esposito chuckle. "Because we usually have a case or something and all of the places that have fireworks actually worth seeing are always so damn crowded." Esposito said with a shrug, obviously thinking it wasn't a big deal. Ryan, who obviously thought it was a huge deal said, "Okay, tonight, I'm taking you to see some fireworks." "Bu-" "Nope, I'm not hearing it. I'll pick you up at 7:30." Esposito opened his mouth to object but realized that spending the night with Kevin, under the stars and watching fireworks wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. He smiled and gave in, "Alright, fine." Kevin smiled back and sat down at his desk and began his work.

Not having a case, they ended up stuck at their desks doing paperwork all day with the occasional playful bantering between Ryan, Esposito and Castle. To everyone's surprise, Beckett decided to let everyone go home around 6 in spirit of the holiday. The boys let out a few cheers before picking up their things to leave. Castle and Beckett left first with Ryan and Esposito close behind. The two detectives rode down the elevator and were about to go their separate ways when Ryan called out, "See you tonight!" Esposito just flashed him a smile and went home to get ready.

When Esposito got home around 6:20, he went into his room to get ready. He threw on a pair of jeans and a Yankees t-shirt. He quickly changed his mind and settled on an Army t-shirt instead. He was being such a girl getting ready because for some reason, he was nervous. He shouldn't be though; he hangs out with Ryan outside of work at least 3 times a week, usually more, whether it's catching a game, playing halo or just drinking a few...so why is he nervous? He shook his head of the thoughts coming to him, sat down on his leather couch and turned on the TV.

An hour later later, he heard a knock on his door. He opened the door and saw Ryan standing there with a soft smile wearing a flannel button up and a pair of jeans. "Ready?" he asked Esposito. "Yeah, man, let's go," Esposito said, returning the smile.

The first few minutes in the car were a little awkward, but soon it was back to normal with their jokes, insults, and arguments about what radio station was playing. "So where exactly are we going?" Esposito asked curiously. "You'll see. It'll be a while though," Ryan replied, giving away no hints about where they would end up. Esposito groaned but didn't question him further. He trusted Ryan and didn't mind the long drive with his partner.

Soon enough, they had driven out of the city completely. Esposito hadn't really noticed though; he was too focused on Ryan. "We're here," Ryan told him as he pulled over. Esposito looked around and took in the sight. They were on a field on an elevated part of New York and could see the city in front of them. "Dude, this is awesome, how'd you even find this place?!" Esposito asked, still amazed by the view. Ryan shrugged and replied, "My mom used to bring me here to watch the fireworks when I was little and you said you didn't like the crowds so…," he trailed off and got out of the car. Esposito smiled to himself and followed Ryan out of the car. Ryan stretched, looked at his watch and said, "Show starts any minute." He hopped up on the hood of his car and leaned back against the windshield waiting for Esposito to do the same.

Two minutes later, they saw the first burst of light in the night sky. They both looked up and watched as firework after firework went off. Esposito used to watch fireworks when he was a kid, but he only saw the small ones that the neighbors lit off, never anything like this…and certainly not from a view like this. For the whole forty-five minutes that the fireworks were going off, Javier couldn't take his eyes off of the sky; Kevin, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of his partner. The way his eyes widened after the first explosion, the way his mouth was slightly ajar the whole time, and the way he was watching so intently gave Kevin a whole other show to watch.

After the finale, they stayed lying on the hood of the car in the pitch black night until Javier finally said, "Wow. That was incredible." Kevin smiled to himself and agreed, "Yeah, it was," although, he wasn't talking about the fireworks. "I didn't think I'd actually like it," Esposito said with a chuckle. Kevin turned on his side and asked, "Then why'd you come?" "Uh, you sort of forced me to, remember?" Esposito said hoping that the falsity of his voice wasn't noticeable. Apparently it was. "If you really didn't want to come, you wouldn't have," Ryan said nervously, pushing the boundaries. Esposito took a deep breath then said softly, "Because you were so excited and I wanted you to be happy, Kev." After a few moments of silence, Ryan reached his hand out blindly and eventually found Esposito's hand and intertwined their fingers together, taking a huge risk. When he felt Esposito's fingers grip his hand and give it a small squeeze back, he let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding. "Thanks, Javi. I am," Kevin said so quietly that he didn't know whether he actually said it out loud or not.

The next thing he knew, he felt warm, soft lips moving against his. Kevin tensed up before he realized what was happening then soon relaxed and started to kiss back, tracing Javier's lower lip with his tongue, asking for access. Javier opened his mouth in return and allowed Kevin's tongue to explore every depth of his mouth. They kissed for as long as they could before they broke apart gasping for air, leaning their foreheads against one another's. "Kevin…" Javier spoke with a raw voice. Kevin's only response was to press his lips back up to Javier's for another passionate kiss. Even though the show ended minutes ago, they were experiencing a whole new type of fireworks now. They stayed kissing and acting like two kids in high school for a while before Kevin pulled back and said, "We should probably start heading back now..." Javier sighed but agreed as they both climbed back into the car. Before they started the journey back home, Javier leaned over and whispered, "Thanks for showing me the fireworks, Kevin," before planting one last kiss to his partner's lips.

Both of them knew that he wasn't talking about the fireworks that went off over the New York sky that night.

Thanks for reading! Send me a review to let me know what you think! Sorry for any mistakes. Concrit is sososo welcome!