Sorry for the long wait—I was busy with work the whole month of July. I have a few days' vacation before work resumes, but I hope to pick up the pace a little once school starts.

-This one's a Sunil/Vinnie meaning this is technically slash! So avoid that if it's not your thing. To Sepper fans… don't worry! The Sepper fic is the next one on the press (followed by Penny/Russell and then whatever you guys want!).

"Hey, Sunil!"

From inside the cat house, Sunil sighed in response to his caller's voice. He definitely had been snapped out of his reverie—having spent the entire morning running his paws distractedly over the cool floor of his hideout, he had almost lulled himself into a false sense of security.

Any other day. Just please… please, any other day.

He sighed. He was serious—any other day. Any other day, he would not be worried sick, not be hiding out, not be upset that his best friend was beckoning him.

But today was not like any other day. It was the Fourth of July, Sunil's absolute least favorite holiday. The fireworks, the cheers, the wild hordes of people celebrating something the he found rather trivial— what was there to like? Absolutely everything about it sent the mongoose's anxiety levels soaring sky-high, high enough to force him to hide away for the entire 24-hour period during which the commotion occurred (and sometimes longer, depending on the level of patriotism found in Downtown City on that particular year). Unless he was at home on the dreaded day (the Nevlas, though usually sensitive to their pet's fears, often spent the holiday at the lake), he was at the pet shop, doing what he always did—hiding in the cat house, strumming his fingers against its floor.

He had almost made the whole day, too. Even though it was the gecko's first 4th spent at the shop, Vinnie seemed accepting of Sunil's fear and promised, though reluctantly, to leave him be.

Why, then, was Sunil being beckoned at 7 in the evening… 1 hour till closing?

"SUNIL!" the voice below prodded, seeming to have read the mongoose's mind.

Sunil bit his lip and pulled his ears further down his head. If he didn't answer this irritating beckoner, he knew he'd be in for it all evening. Still, if he did answer… who knows what sort of frightening things he'd be dragged into? He held his breath, hoping the pet would disappear.

"Sunil, if you don't answer me, I'm about to come in and get ya!"

He couldn't take it anymore. In a sudden burst of irritation, Sunil thrust his head out of the cat house opening, livid with anger and shivering with fright.

"WHAT?" he nearly shrieked, tugging at his ears again, "What could you possibly want, Vinnie? I asked you for one day of solitude, can you not give me that?"

From below, the gecko suppressed a smile. Seeing Sunil like this was such a common occurrence that he found the outburst almost endearing.

He couldn't hide the grin. "No way, dude! I've been sittin' out here with Penny and Zoe alllll dang day, borin' myself to death. If you don't come out in two seconds, I'm comin' in after ya. Caprese?"

Sunil heaved another sigh. Vinnie's word confusion almost elicited a chuckle from him, but he was too adamant to find his best friend as hilarious as he usually did.

He wasn't budging.

"Not a chance, Vinnie. Today is the Fourth of July—there is far too much commotion going on outside for me to be running about. I even gave you a chance to come in here with me. If you did not take it, that is your fault. I do not wish to be cross with you, but I am staying in here the rest of the day, I can assure you of that."

In typical Vinnie fashion, the gecko pretended not to hear him. Sunil was his best bro every other day of the year, why did today have to be any different? Besides, Russell, Pepper and Minka were all celebrating the 4th with their families—this would be the perfect opportunity to have some alone time with the mongoose.

Vinnie waved a hand dismissively at his trembling friend.

"Psh, whatever. You're comin' with me!"

With that, he hopped right into the cat house and took Sunil by the paws. The struggle to pull the mongoose out was long and fierce, but Vinnie's indomitable spirit eventually won out over Sunil's wavering, fretful style of resistance. Eventually, they both laid sprawled out on the floor of the shop in a tangled mix of green and blue.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Vinnie inquired of his friend, casting a sidelong glance at Sunil. The mongoose was still trembling fiercely, looking around for bursts of fireworks that, for now, remained nonexistent.

His teeth were chattering. "Y-y-yes, that was very bad. May I go back in the cat house now?"

"Uh, no," the gecko scoffed, "We haven't even seen the show yet."

"S-show?" Sunil didn't like the sound of that. There was no way Sunil would go confront those nasty, loud… abominations head on. Not even if Vinnie asked.

But Vinnie didn't ask, he demanded. "Yeah, the show. Gonna start in a few minutes, and there's a pretty good view of it from outside the shop. Blythe already took the girls out there, I figured we'd grab a blanket and go too."

Before Sunil could respond, he was grabbed by the paw once more. This time, he could find no energy to resist as his friend pulled him out into the open street in front of the pet shop. Hordes of people were already there, with the girls sitting a few feet away.

His nervous eyes took it all in, and his quaking knees caved as soon as the gecko brought the blanket to him. He grabbed the fabric and wrapped himself up in it, leaving no room for any part of his blue banded body to stick out.

Vinnie couldn't help but laugh this time. Sunil was too cute.

He grabbed the blanket and knocked Sunil lightly on his covered head, worming his way under the covers as he did so.

"Oh, move over, ya big chicken. Leave some space for your eyes, too..." Nothing doing. "You'll miss the shooooow!"

The teasing note Vinnie ended his sentence on left Sunil with a funny taste in his mouth, one that turned to acid once he realized something else—Vinnie was touching his hand.

Ignoring his pressing fear for a moment, Sunil bolted upright, looking straight ahead. Was Vinnie… trying to hit on him? He felt the gecko's scaled hand dance around his, and immediately his insides turned to mush. His head started to spin, he felt his face turn a brilliant shade of red. His hand froze, but he did not—could not—move it.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Sunil asked feebly, voice trembling. He already knew the answer.

Vinnie played it just as cool as Sunil thought he would. He gave a small smile to the mongoose. "Eh, you know, trying to calm you down. You said you hate fireworks. Figured a hand would help."

"You are right, I do very much dislike them, but I—"

Just then, a crack and a boom began the show, sending ribbons of fireworks shooting far off into the sky. Sunil turned rigid and shrieked with fright. Forget his hand—Sunil was going for Vinnie's arms the moment the second blast was fired. It was a matter of minutes before the two were cheek to cheek under the blanket, the mongoose grasping for every inch of his friend he could take in. Mad as he was at Vinnie for making him see this horrifying show… Sunil really needed him right now.

Vinnie said nothing, but gave a small chuckle. He was turning a little red, himself. "Sunil," he said, smiling warmly, "Are you even looking at the show. Calm down, buddy, it's all for fun!"

Sunil was about to protest, but something in the way he was clinging to Vinnie made him stop in his tracks. The comforting grasp, the cheerful smile of his friend against the backdrop of the city… Sunil's gears started to turn. He remembered what Vinnie was up to… and he liked the idea. With each boom and bang of the fireworks, he winced a little less, calmed a little more. He wasn't exactly enjoying himself yet, but, here with Vinnie, he had an inkling he might learn to.

In what seemed like eons, his breathing finally slowed and his galloping heart returned its semi-normal pace. His grip on Vinnie never lessened, but his smile grew to match his friend's as he looked on towards the sky.

Maybe it was his day, after all.