Notes:
For the Hartmon Bingo General card prompt G0 - Late at Night
For the Flufftober prompt - Fireworks & Sparklers
Write Our Names in Lights
Cisco can't remember the last time he missed attending a fireworks show for the Fourth of July. He's always loved fireworks - the loud booms, the bright lights, the musical choices - and if there's a show to be seen, then Cisco has always wanted to be right there in the middle of it, staring in awe at the dark sky lit up like magic.
But not this year.
In the distance Cisco can see the fireworks show held in downtown Central City and in another direction there's Keystone's fireworks going off. It's hard to tell from here, but Cisco suspects that Central's got the better show this year. But he can't hear whatever music the shows are synced to, so he could be entirely wrong.
"Wish you were seeing it up close?" Hartley asked, sounding nervous even as he tried to pretend he wasn't in the least. "I know you've never missed a show on the Fourth before."
Cisco shook his head and kissed Hartley on the cheek. "This was my idea, remember? I don't regret being here instead of there in the slightest."
'Here' being out at Ferris Air. They'd brought a tent for camping and set up a firepit to grill hot dogs and roast s'mores over. Well, maybe camping was the wrong word. Glamping, perhaps. Both Cisco and Hartley were people who liked their creature comforts, after all, and in this case it meant a tent floor padded by yoga mats, an inflatable mattress for their sleeping bags to go on, lots of mood lighting for the aesthetic, and access to the Ferris Air facility's real bathrooms since neither of them were about to go crouching behind a tree or figure out portable composting toilets. Also they had a perimeter of bug repellent devices and citronella candles set up to ward off as many mosquitos as possible.
Though the idea had started as a bit of a joke, it was one Cisco had been unable to get out of his head and a month later... here they were on a romantic getaway that, conveniently, got Hartley out of the city and away from the fireworks that hurt his enhanced hearing so much.
Cisco had no idea what they'd do for New Years. Maybe Barry would let them borrow that cabin he still owned out in the woods. It had heating, plumbing, and nice little kitchen... and Cisco was getting ahead of himself.
"We're not going to be totally fireworks free though," Cisco said. "I found something we can both enjoy and I don't think it's gonna be too loud for your ears."
Hartley nodded slowly, but clearly trusting that Cisco had thought this one through. "After dinner then? I think the hot dogs are just about ready. I'm starving," he added, since they'd let dinner run late as they'd set up the campsite.
"Me too." Cisco grinned and grabbed a beer from the little cooler they had filled with drinks earlier that afternoon. He popped the top, took a long drink - and he could feel the way Hartley eyed his throat - and then set it aside while he took a little disposable tray to the firepit to retrieve their hot dogs from the grill. While he did, Hartley retrieved some paper plates, the buns, and the condiments. Also the carrot sticks that Hartley had cut up himself earlier, insisting that they have something healthier than chips to go with their dinner. Cisco had agreed and brought along little ranch dipping cups to go with them.
They ate together in mostly companionable silence, watching the distant fireworks until both shows had tapered off to nothing.
Which was when Cisco got out his surprises.
First came out the glow sticks, because obviously they could not do without. Neither glamping nor fireworks were quite the same if there were no glow sticks to play with. Hartley laughed and immediately cracked one so that trickles of blue light began to shine through the clear-ish liquid. He gave it a shake and then secured it around Cisco's wrist, going for a green one next.
Cisco then brought out the second part. The sparklers. "Ever played with these before?"
Hartley shook his head. "One of my cousins had them at her wedding but I was, like, eight and my parents were terrified I'd burn myself or my clothes or something, so I wasn't allowed to have one of my own."
"That sucks. Well, tonight we are rectifying that terrible gap in your lexicon of fun experiences." Cisco gave Hartley a look of grave importance... and then they both dissolved into giggles. "I brought a variety. These are the regular sparklers and I couldn't resist getting the star shaped sparklers," he produced those with a flourish along with a third pack, "and heart shaped sparklers too. That gives us ten regular and four each of the special shaped ones. Which will hopefully be as awesome as I'm thinking they'll be."
"I'll start with a regular one, I think, just to get a feel for it," Hartley decided, beaming as he connected his green glow stick to a yellow one and then put them atop his hair like a crown.
Unable to resist, Cisco kissed his cheek and handed over the box of sparklers for Hartley to take one from.
"I'm gonna start with a star," Cisco decided. "Let's see how this works out. I guess we can light them off the firepit, just remember that, well... they spark," Cisco teased. "Keep them at an angle pointed away from you so that you don't burn yourself." And then he carefully moved the grill off the top of the pit and used his own sparkler to demonstrate.
And, oh, the star shaped sparkler was cool. Cisco lit the topmost tip of the star and it began burning down along both sides of the star, putting of more sparks as a regular sparkler, though it'd converge eventually and burn down a single path for a bit before coming to an end.
Hartley followed Cisco's example, lighting the tip of his regular sparkler off the flame and then holding it out in front of him to watch the sparks. "It's so pretty," he breathed, staring at their sparklers in surprised awe. "I couldn't really remember, but... they're really pretty, Cisco."
"It's been a long time since I played with sparklers too," Cisco said, beaming with delight. Hartley was enjoying their little hand held fireworks show and that just made it all the better. "But I remember trying to wave them fast enough to write my name in the lights." He waved his own little star sparkler around, making designs in the air.
Twirling his own stick around, Hartley let out a giddy laugh and then slowly said "H and C" as he drew out the letters with a little and sign between them before circling the whole area with an unmistakable heart motion. Of course, no matter how fast a sparkler was waved, the only thing really left behind was the impression the lights left on the viewers eyes before even that faded back to normal, but it was absolutely the sweetest thing.
If Cisco didn't have a dangerous burning stick in his hand - as did Hartley - Cisco would have dragged his boyfriend into a kiss then and there.
"I'll do a heart one next, I think," Hartley decided as he twirled his sparkler in spiral waves in front of him.
"A heart for my Hart," Cisco agreed, drawing geometric shapes in the air. He grinned as Hartley clearly blushed in the firelight.
This might not have the dramatic grandeur of being at a fireworks show up close and personal, but that was fine. Watching Hartley's face shine with joy in the mix of firelight, glowsticks, and sparklers was, without a doubt, so much better.