Porrim had saved them a space in the field as she had promised. They set out a large picnic blanket that they had brought from Cronus's truck, and on it they all sat together as they waited for the fireworks.

Eridan and Karkat sit toward the forward edge of the blanket, talking about some new movie that would be coming out soon. Karkat holds his crab plushie tightly in his lap as the two happily pull pieces from the bag of cotton candy that Cronus had bought for them.

Porrim and Latula sit close together, not far away. They are accompanied now by a few of other teens that Kankri did not know well enough to call his friends.

Kurloz Makara, a rather intimidating, quiet, and lanky man with more piercings than Kankri could count, had graduated last year but still spends time with some of the other teenagers. His brother had been friends with Karkat for a while. Next to him, practically huddled against his side, is his girlfriend, Meulin Leijon. Meulin is a very pretty girl, with gorgeous long hair and big doe eyes. Kankri had several classes with her throughout his high school career and has noticed that she has a tendency to get overly excited about small things. The third teenager is one that Kankri has not seen before. He is a rather loud boy, with messy blond hair, mismatching shoes, and red and blue braces.

Kankri frowns over at the group of other teens, too conscious of their occasional glances to relax underneath his boyfriend's arm.

"Babe?" Cronus asks quietly, lips brushing against the temple of Kankri's head, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Cronus," the freckled teen responds hesitantly, staring down at the blue and green plaid fabric of the picnic blanket. After a pause, he lowers his voice more to continue talking. "I just was not made aware that other people would be joining us here. Of course, I knew that Porrim and Latula would be here but- well I do not know how these other people would respond to-... well-..."

"Us being disgutin' faggots that don't know how ta stay outta' public?" Cronus asks with a grin, quoting the man who had verbally attacked them earlier that evening.

"Cronus!" Kankri hisses quietly, shoving at his boyfriend's chest lightly in protest.

"What?!" The blue eyed teen asks through his laughter, "I'm just messin' with you." He grins happily and moves his arm to wrap around Kankri's waist and pull the smaller teen closer. "Besides," he continues, "I'm sure they don't care. I mean, they are hangin' out with Maryam and she's not exactly the straightest line on the grid if you know what I'm sayin'."

"I know what you're saying, Cronus," Kankri says quietly, smiling softly over at his friend who is laughing happily with the other teenagers. He catches her eyes briefly and she gives him a knowing smile before turning away once again to give the other two some privacy.

When the fireworks start, it looks like something out of a movie. Brilliant colors of all hues crash loudly above, lighting up the sky and causing the shadows of the people below to dance in the changing light.

At some point, Cronus finds himself staring at the man next to him, watching the lights flicker across his face. When the other man's eyes catch his own, he cannot help but grin and lean in to kiss the other man slowly. He moves his lips against the other man's, smiling into the kiss as Cronus squeezes his hips and leans over him to deepes the kiss.

"Wooo! Get some!" a familiar voice cheers out, followed by a string of laughter from the other group of teens and a quiet, "Gross," from Cronus's little brother.

Cronus and Kankri pull away in embarrassment, laughing nervously together as they try to avoid looking at any of the other teenagers. Cronus begrudgingly high fives the hyper blonde who had been cheering them on as Kankri receives a polite smile from Porrim.

It was not much longer until the firework show had ended and all of the teens began saying their goodbyes. Cronus offers to carry Karkat, who had fallen asleep during the fireworks, back to the car. Eridan follows quickly behind him, carrying the bag with the picnic blanket in it while Kankri lingers behind to talk to Porrim for a bit longer.

"Latula says she's getting a ride home with one of the guys since he lives in the same direction," Porrim says as she watches the other girl walk away with the blonde teen, who Kankri had earlier learned is named Mituna.

"How did your date go?" Kankri asks with a caring smile, glad that his friend had apparently met someone new.

"It," the dark skinned girl replies, seeming to choose her words carefully, "It went well. I think we're taking things slow."

"That sounds nice," Kankri says quietly, knowing that a slow relationship is not what his best friend is use to, "I am glad things are working out for you, Porrim."

"They are," she says, seemingly more to herself than to Kankri, "I'm happy with her." After a moment the two begin walking in the direction of the parking lot. "And I'm happy for you and Cronus. I know I was a little harsh on him to start off with," she explains, "But you two seem really happy together. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much."

Kankri laughs slightly, blushing as he looks away from his friend. He knows what she means. Often times it is difficult for him to focus on the good things that are happening in his life, but lately with Cronus, all he can think about is how lucky he is to have what he does.

When they approach the parking lot, they hug briefly and promise each other to text later that evening. Finally, with a routine "drive safe," from Kankri and a kiss on his cheek from Porrim, they turn and go their separate ways.

"Kankri?" Cronus calls out quietly down the hallway of the Vantas house.

Once the four had returned to Kankri's house after the fair, Cronus carried Karkat inside to put him to bed. Kankri had explained Karkat's insomnia to Cronus previously, which prompted the older teen to suggest not waking him up so that the young child would not have to struggle with getting back to sleep.

Eridan went to sleep soon after his friend, curled up on the small mattress of the guest bedroom since Cronus had volunteered to take the couch in the living room that night.

This left Cronus and Kankri some time alone, which they eagerly used to cuddle close together and watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Cronus had wanted to watch The Goblet of Fire, but since it was Kankri's turn to pick a movie, he did not get his way.

Toward the end of the movie however, Kankri had excused himself from the room without explanation. He had let Cronus know that he could keep the movie playing and that he would be back soon.

But now, with ten minutes having gone by and the credits rolling, Cronus could not help but grow worried for his boyfriend. So, he stood up and made his way to the hall leading to the bedrooms and the bathroom, calling down it quietly in fear of waking up either of the younger children.

"Kan?" he whispers out again, this time walking down the hall quietly, listening for any trace of sound from his boyfriend. When he approaches the bathroom door, he is a bit surprised to find that there is no light coming from the crack of the door. He pushes the door slowly, listening to is creak in protest as it opens to reveal an empty room.

He then turns to walk down the hall a bit further, footsteps muffled and quiet against the carpet beneath his feet. He stops in front of his boyfriend's bedroom, not even thinking to knock before reaching out for the doorknob and opening the door.

He hears Kankri gasp loudly in surprise, and watches as the redhead whirls around to face him in a panic.

Cronus's eyes squint slightly as the light from the bedroom hits his eyes. His gaze lands upon the other teen, immediately causing his jaw to drop and his stomach to churn.

"Kankri, what the hell happened?!"

Sorry for the cliff hanger. Updates should return to normal now that I'm out of school.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review!