It Was The 4th Of July
Pairing: Burnie Burns/Joel Heyman Rating: G Word Count: 1659 Read it on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11536866
Burnie was known throughout the company as two things. One was the âBossâ despite not truly being the boss at Rooster Teeth in years. The second thing was being the âParty Kingâ, a title that he proudly held and maintained. He loved people and he loved celebrating so naturally those two things came together at every holiday and opportunity he could take advantage of. These parties were always stocked fully with more beer and liquor than anyone could reasonably drink and tons of local food that heâd get catered. A recent favorite had been Tiny Pies because, câmon like theyâre tiny pies! The fourth of the July was coming up, which was a perfect opportunity for him to throw the mother of all backyard barbeques. He recruited the help of Gavin and Meg for decorating and generally drinking before the party even started that day. One because Meg had a much better eye for dĂŠcor than he did, and two because Gavin was British and there was nothing funnier to him than a Brit taking part of the Fourth of July, the most American holiday in the world.
By the time the party was roughly slated to start, around 6 PM, Meg had strung up lights and red, white, and blue garland across the backyard. There were cups and plates that matched and a basket of small American flags, obnoxious foam hats, and those weird printed sunglasses with American Flags printed over the lenses for extra flare. Theyâd helped him set up a solid snack table and a refreshment bar inside. Also over the course of six hours, between the three of them, theyâd almost gone through a 30 rack of Fat Tires. Needless to say Burnie was feeling a buzz and people were starting to arrive. He was going to wait a little while to fire up the grill, so he started by mingling by the snacks and chatting with whoever came in. From the get go he knew it was going to be a great party. No one in the company, well maybe aside from Gus, could say no to free food and free booze with fireworks at the end. Burnie never did the fireworks though; he always left that up to Matt and Gavin to handle. The two of them loved to set up wild fireworks displays for the party so he just let them handle it. Meant he could drink more without feeling nervous about accidentally blowing his hand off.
It seemed like the whole company was there about an hour and a half in, his house was teeming with employees all chatting and drinking away. At some point someone, he assumed Meg, had turned on music and a few people were dancing in between the groups. Alcohol truly was a funny thing. He decided around then was a good time to start cooking, so he fired up the grill and went inside to grab the burgers and hot dogs, an American classic. They also had pulled pork chilling in a crockpot that would be brought outside soon and another with bubbling queso. As he bee-lined to the fridge Joel stepped into his path. He had two beers in his hands and immediately handed one over to Burnie.
âYou. Drink that now.â He demanded, and Burnie laughed but took a swig. It was a darker beer, much hoppier than he would have expected, but rolled with it and bumped Joelâs shoulder.
âThanks, man.â Burnie said, continuing his trek to the fridge. Joel followed behind him, taking sips of his beer and looking at him expectantly. Burnie turned on his heel before he opened the door and found Joel very close to him. His cheeks flushed as he looked up at his tall friend. Heâd known Joel for years, too many years, and still the man looked as good as when they met. He wasnât really sure how Joel had escaped the passage of time, but he always admired it, if not always in a friendly way. Burnie liked to think that he too had gotten better with age, only because he took way better care of himself than heâd done in the past. He took another drink of his beer. âDo you need something?â He asked Joel, trying to bring his thoughts back to earth.
âYeah, make sure to save me a seat for the fireworks.â He said, clinking his bottle against Burnies before sauntering back off into the party. Needless to say Burnie was definitely confused, but grabbed the meats out of the fridge and made his way back outside.
The evening went on without a hitch, he cooked and people ate and he kept drinking away. He did a few shots when he was finished at the grill, mostly because Gavin and Michael roped him into it. He had a few more beers, a random mixed drink that he thought Barbara gave him, and he swore he saw Gus with a bottle of Titoâs that he believe had been offered to him. Burnie thought he took a drink straight from him, but the night was getting away from him. The entire time he found himself searching the crowd for the tall man whoâd cornered him earlier. It wasnât unlike Joel to make that kind of a request, heâd want a good seat for the show, but how close he had gotten had sent Burnieâs heart racing and a few of the guests had noted that he seemed a little distracted.
Fireworks were to start at 11, and it was 10:45. People moved into the front yard, it was safer to shoot them off in the street with concrete, especially in the heat of Texas. Blankets were produced and everyone picked a spot on or around the lawn. After checking to make sure no one was left in the house Burnie wandered out as well. Joel had picked a seat closer to the house, and patted the blanket he was on when Burnie approached.
âI thought I was supposed to save you a seat.â Burnie commented, trying not to slur his words.
âYou were too slow. Is this good?â He asked, and Burnie just nodded. Joel produced two more beers from what seemed like thin air to Burnieâs drunk mind and they opened them, the fizz buzzing through the night air in symphony with the cicadas and employee chatter. Gavin and Matt were pretty much done setting things up, and they lit up the first set with no warning. Their announcement was the whiz of the fireworks shooting off and the boom as they burst and showered down gold glitter in the sky. A few people hooted, others just cheered. Everyone seemed to be having a good time and Burnie relaxed, leaning against Joel. It was a lot more contact that he normally would have pushed with his old friend but it was hot and heâd been drinking since one in the afternoon and Joel felt nice. If the other had any problem with it he didnât say, and the two stayed that way throughout the rest of the show.
The finale was brilliant, reds and blues and golds cascading across the sky like a  Technicolor dream. Burnieâs head was practically on Joelâs shoulder at this point, and as the last of the colors faded in the sky he was reluctant to get up. The party was by no means over, it was just one of the points where people could chose to stay and keep drinking and crash on his floor or head on home. Normally Joel was one to leave with this group, but when they got off the ground he stuck around. The remainder returned to the backyard, and the atmosphere chilled out a little more. Those who were drunk got drunker and now the snacks really came out to play. Tiny pies, queso, and all kinds of other treats were brought out from the kitchen and so did the bar as there were less people to accidentally knock it over now.
Burnie mingled but Joel was never far away. A few people had ended up around the firepit, despite it being too hot to be lit, and were talking among themselves. Burnie took a seat rather close next to Joel on a bench a little aways from the area.
âAre you having a good time?â Burnie asked and Joel smiled, it was a small mischievous smile that normally came out to play on nights like these.
âAbsolutely, but yâknow it could be better.â He replied, and Burnieâs heart dropped. What had he missed that could have made the party better? His mind was racing, but those thoughts were interrupted by Joelâs mouth. Now it wasnât just his mouth, it was his lips. On his own lips. And damn if that wasnât the best feeling in the world. Suddenly Burnie didnât care about the party or the fact that about 20 of his employees were still just hanging out in his yard, all he cared about was the way Joelâs lips were moving against his. They turned enough to better the angle and languidly made out in the middle of this party. He tasted like dark beer and queso, and it was weirdly perfect. In the back of his mind Burnie was wondering how the hell heâd never done this before. It could have been seconds or minutes or hours that they kissed, heâd never really know or care, but when Joel pulled away it was just too short.
âNow itâs been the best time.â Joel said simply and Burnie rolled his eyes, going in for another one, not in the mood to listen to Joelâs banter but definitely in the mood to keep this going. He knew that night that Joel wouldnât be calling an uber and he would not be sleeping on the couch. Nope, he had better plans, and for once he wanted the party to end.
