A/N: Happy 4th of July to all of my readers!

Considering, it doesn't take much convincing. Things fall into place pretty quickly once Rockstar Spud puts his mind to it. With Fourth of July on a Monday this year, this makes any hope for a get-together more tricky to plan since the WWE guys would need to be on hand at the arena until well after11 PM EST, but he's determined. So he pleads, wide blue eyes locked on Ethan Carter III until his significant other wavers, rarely able to deny him anything. "We could use your vacation house on the outskirts of Columbus," he says hopefully.

Ethan exhales. "That old thing? I haven't been there in ages." But Spud can tell, by the look on his face, that he's considering it. "Do we really need to invite everyone?" Spud nods eagerly and he groans, muffled by a soft kiss pressed against his lips in the hopes of swaying him just enough. "Oh fine," he grunts. "You're lucky you're cute," he says, pressing a finger to Spud's nose and grinning when he goes crosseyed.

Spud immediately beams and digs around for his cell phone, already placing calls. "This is going to be a bloody fantastic holiday, sir. You'll see." Hesitating before hitting send, he leans in and kisses Ethan again, deeper and longer this time. "Thank you, sir."

Ethan nods, hands resting against Spud's lower back as he listens to him chatter to the usual suspects. "Anything for you, Spud," he murmurs into his hair, feeling him smile against his chest.

-x

"Ya- wait, huh? Really?" Heath's teeth flash as he grins, Wade getting a bad feeling about all of this. "Hell yes. I was kinda bummed we'd miss out on fireworks this years, so that sounds 'bout perfect." His fingers are grazing up and down Wade's palms, tickling him, but he refuses to show, gritting his teeth against squirming away or, God forbid, laugh at the sensation. Finally Heath hangs up and rolls over, flush against Wade. "Guess what, Brit?"

Wade grunts, staring at the TV blaring over Heath's head and pretends not to care. Heath rolls his eyes and leans up, blocking his view as he kisses him, nibbling at his bottom lip in a way he knows always get a reaction from Wade one way or another. "Dammit, ginger, what?" he finally snaps, staring down at Heath's smug dark eyes.

"Everyone's invited to Ethan's vacation home in Ohio for fireworks after Raw. And that includes you," he says, poking him. "So you'd better get packed in the mornin', you're comin' with... and I'm not takin' no for an answer." There's an exhausted, worn down sense about Heath after they'd spent the weekend in West Virginia, trying to help the flood restoration efforts. It'd been hard to see all of the people who'd lost everything, who were suffering physically and mentally from everything going on around them.

And here we have so much... For this reason, Wade feels himself give in, nodding. "Fine." He kisses Heath. "But you have to get a good night's sleep. I'm the only insomniac allowed around here."

"I'll try," Heath mumbles, clearly still haunted by everything they'd witnessed the last few days, how badly his home state had been affected. Even raising well over $2000 on his gofundme page hadn't eased his inner turmoil any.

Wade slowly runs his fingers through Heath's hair, smoothing it back until he feels Heath start to relax, murmuring under his breath until sleep comes. "There you go," he whispers, kissing the side of Heath's face. "Good night, Heath."

-x

Zack meets Dolph at the airport, grinning brightly. "Hey, bro, how was Hawaii and Japan?" he wonders, taking his luggage and leading the way to the rental car outside.

"Fine," Dolph says, too sleepy and jetlagged to really go into detail. Zack looks back at him, sympathy on his face as he settles the bags in the car. "I got you some nutcream pocky," he adds, laughing at the horrified look on Zack's face. "It's like peanut butter. Don't worry."

"Leave it to you to find the dirtiest sounding kind of pocky," Zack sighs, rolling his eyes as they get into the car, Dolph sighing and leaning back, closing his eyes. "Get some sleep, bro. I'll wake you when we get to the hotel." It's not a long drive, so he's not out for long, but it's enough to hold him over so he can take a shower, brush his teeth, and change clothes without passing out from exhaustion. Once they're both in bed, Zack's fingers tangled in Dolph's damp hair, he murmurs, "Bro?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Spud's invited us over for some fireworks at Ethan's vacation home outside of Columbus after Raw tomorrow. That ok?"

"Sure," Dolph says dozily, snuggling deeper into Zack's shoulder and immediately falling asleep.

Zack chuckles, doubting that he'd even heard what Zack had asked. "I'll make sure you have fun," he promises, squeezing Dolph.

-x

Ricardo's just flown home from Jamaica when his phone rings. He makes a face, hands full of luggage, when he pulls out the phone without, miraculously, dropping everything. "Hola?"

"Mi valiente," Alberto's warm voice greets him. "Did you arrive safely?"

"Si, El Patron." Ricardo trudges over to a chair and slumps down, wiping at his face. This early, he's amazed he can even think straight. "What's going on?"

"I'm in Columbus, and eh... that perro EC3 has decided to hold some sort of holiday thing. They couldn't get ahold of you, so they called me. I told the idiotas you were out of the country, but meh..." His voice fades away into insulting Spanish and only Ricardo's soft laughter brings him back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, they want to do some group thing after Raw tonight, and you're invited... if you wish, I've ordered a ticket for you to fly from Florida to Columbus, I will pick you up and take you to Carter's place before I have to go to the arena, if that's what you want to do."

Ricardo is bone tired after flying to and fro, not to mention wrestling, but he doesn't get to see Spud, Heath or Zack often enough, not to mention getting to spend a holiday with Alberto is always a treat, considering their ridiculous schedules, which will only get worse once he travels to UK to train the WAW people for a couple of months later in the summer. "Si, Alberto, that sounds perfect," he says, already on his way to customer service to get his ticket. "Gracias. I'll see you soon. Can't wait."

Alberto's smile is audible over the phone. "Me neither, mi valiente. Safe travels."

"Gracias," Ricardo sighs. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They hang up and Ricardo smiles at the woman beckoning to him. "Hello. I believe I have a ticket waiting for me?"

-x

After a thankfully peaceful flight, Ricardo finds himself being dropped off on the outskirts of Columbus, leaning in to kiss Alberto before he has to return to the arena for Raw. Spud and Ethan greet him at the front door and he grins, hugging Spud and shaking Ethan's hand somberly before following them inside, dropping his luggage on the floor and all but collapsing on the couch, exhausted. "I may not move until the others return," he warns them.

Spud smiles sympathetically at him. "That's fine, make yourself at home, Ricardo. I think Ethan wants to spend the afternoon by the pool, feel free to come join us if you want later."

"Alright," Ricardo sighs, already half asleep. He dozes a fair share of the afternoon away, waking up now and again when Spud or Ethan walks by the main room. Once, Spud slips in and shakes a blanket out over him, apologizing quietly when he stirs. "S'fine," he slurs. "Gracias." It's dark outside once he comes back to himself, awake and confused and hungry. It's not until he's sat up, brushing off the blanket, that he remembers. He's in Ohio, it's the 4th of July, and they're probably outside, either waiting for the others to arrive or... worse yet, waiting on him to wake up.

Grimacing at this thought, he gets up and stretches, sighing as almost every joint in his body cracks, the relief almost immediate. Walking slowly towards the door he'd seen Spud and Ethan go in and out of the few times he'd woke up long enough to observe, he slips outside and hums as the cool night air tickles against his flesh. Spud and Ethan are standing by a grill, Spud sipping from a mug as Ethan flips meat and vegetables expertly, both looking up as he approaches. "Ah, look who's decided to join the land of the living," Ethan says before shutting the lid on the grill and turning towards Ricardo.

Spud nudges Ethan before turning to Ricardo. "Did you sleep well? We're preparing steaks, hamburgers, corn on the cob and potatoes, so if you're hungry it should be ready soon."

"Gracias, yes, I did," Ricardo nods, trying not to drool over the smells coming from the smoking meat. Ethan's just served things when they hear car doors slamming and Ricardo looks up, lips twitching up into a smile as he goes to greet the others, hugging Zack and Heath and nodding at Wade and Dolph before Alberto cups his face and kisses him, smirking against his lips. "Hola, El Patron," he sighs once he's released.

"Hola, mi valiente. Now, are you glad you came?" Alberto asks, his fingers teasing with the edges of Ricardo's long hair.

"Si, of course I am," Ricardo sighs, leaning against him as they walk side by side outside. Spud hands them all plates and they group around the massive piles of meat and vegetables, taking as much as their plates can handle before sitting down under a couple of strategically placed citronella lamps, pitchers of iced tea and chilled water already waiting for them.

Heath talks enthusiastically about filming Marine 5, only bothering to eat when Wade all but force feeds him to allow them a minute to enjoy the silence, Zack laughing at one of his stories regarding Miz's various flubs, while Spud eats gingerly, his teeth still feeling funny after being at the dentist earlier in the day to make sure his recent dental work is holding. Ricardo mostly just eats in silence, listening to everyone around him and enjoying this. It's been too long, he decides, slipping his fingers between Alberto's and smiling softly when he squeezes his hand back.

Once they're done, Ethan leads the way to a pile of fireworks that leave them all in wide-eyed shock, his smirk brilliant even in the dark. "So," he claps his hands together. "Since none of us got to see fireworks live tonight, we get to set off our own. Now the rules are, if you're slow or stupid and blow a limb off, I'm not paying for it, and we don't have neighbors nearby, so we can make as much noise as we want, and... hm, I think that's pretty much it."

Spud doesn't seem that surprised, but Heath and Zack look truly unsettled. "Didn't his cousin die in a fireworks warehouse explosion?" Heath mumbles, looking almost reluctant now as he joins Wade and Dolph in selecting his own fireworks. Despite Ethan's callous warning, they carry on with things and before long, the night sky is lit up with various, bright colors.

Spud grins as Ethan settles back in next to him, the fireworks he'd just set off bursting into a brilliant blue that reflects off of Spud's eyes perfectly. "You like scaring everyone, don't you?" he asks with a soft laugh.

"Not you," he offers, wrapping an arm around Spud's shoulders and hugging him close. "It's technically after midnight now, but Happy Fourth of July, Spud."

"Happy Fourth," Spud responds, leaning up to kiss him as more fireworks burst overhead.

Zack chuckles as Dolph struggles to light his last one, the wind starting to pick up and burning out his lighter every time he thinks he's close. Taking Dolph's hand and trying to shield the flame, they stand patiently until it finally lights and then Dolph drags Zack away, the two of them turning just in time to watch it fly, lighting up the night sky with purple and orange. "Did you do that on purpose?" Zack laughs, watching his favorite colors mingle.

"No, had no clue," Dolph says honestly, sighing as Zack kisses him. "Happy mistake, I guess."

"My favorite kind," Zack tells him, running his fingers through Dolph's hair with a sappy kind of grin.

"Aw, I guess it was a dud," Heath pouts when his latest attempt just sizzles but doesn't go anywhere. Wade quietly walks up to him and hands him his last one, stepping back as Heath's eyes light up and he moves to light it, leaning into Wade's side as they watch it fly up and burst, a bright red burning through the smoke cast off by the others. "Wow, that's pretty," he says, eyes locked on the night sky.

"Yes it is," Wade murmurs, watching the shades of red dancing across Heath's face. When Heath realizes what he's looking at, he flushes and grins, pulling Wade closer for a kiss.

A few feet away, Ricardo watches as green and gold, his and Alberto's, dances across the night's sky before fading away slowly. "This was nice," he says softly, still holding Alberto's hand. Neither had thought to let go after supper, so all through fireworks selection and lighting, they'd just held on.

"Si, it actually was," Alberto says with no lack of surprise in his voice. Ricardo laughs and leans against him, teeth flashing in the afterglow of the fireworks. "Perhaps we can do this again sometime." He chuffs Ricardo's chin, making him look up, before winking. "Perhaps."

"I would like that," Ricardo sighs, leaning up to meet Alberto halfway when he moves in to kiss him.