Yup, I did it - I made a themed fic for Independence Day. I'm proud of myself - I never really do themed fics, but... I tried. XD This would have been out at a more... decent time, but I went out to go see some fireworks, and man, they were amazing. I just adore fireworks - I haven't seen them in forever, so it was nice to see some now.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH... sigh...

The night was still on Destiny Islands, the only sounds being the rustle of the palm trees as the gentle breeze blew and the crashing of the waves against the shore. The silence was soon broken by muffled booms in the distance. The cloaked figure on the beach paid the sounds no mind, knowing that he was in no danger.

His silver hair was rustled from its place on his shoulders when a particularly strong sea breeze blew by him. The teen sighed, the scent of sea salt in the air bringing him back in his memories to previous years, before the world disappeared.

Another, much closer sound drew his attention as a dark corridor opened up nearby. He turned his head towards the portal, hearing someone step out and knowing who it was almost instantly.

"Xion," He said, turning his head back to the sea. "What brings you here this late?"

The portal disappeared and sand crunched as the girl walked up to him. "I... I just..." She stumbled over her words, staring at the silverette in front of her. "Well, Roxas and Axel are both out late on really important missions, and... there was nothing else to do, so I came here, looking for you..."

The silver-haired teen tilted his head back a little, turning his blindfolded eyes towards the moonlit sky. He was silent for a few seconds before he responded, "I see." He lowered his head and turned, starting to walk along the shore. When he didn't hear another set of footfalls, he tilted his head as if to look over his shoulder. "You coming?"

Xion nodded, replying, "Yeah." She walked over to stand by his side and the duo started walking along the beach together, just listening to the waves roll by.

There were more muffled booms in the distance and Xion jumped, her Keyblade instantly materializing in her hand. She gripped it tightly and asked, raising it, "What was that?" What kind of huge Heartless could have made a noise loud enough to be heard from here?

The silverette turned his head towards her in slight surprise. "Xion, those are just fireworks. It's the fourth of July."

The dark-haired girl tilted her head to the side, confused. "Fireworks? Fourth of July? Riku, what are you talking about?"

Riku's silver brows raised and his jaw dropped slightly. "You mean... you've never seen fireworks?"

The ravenette simply shook her head in response, sighing. "I don't even know what they are."

The blindfolded teen was silent for some time before he said, "Alright then. I'll show you what they are. Wait here."

Before Xion could reply, a dark corridor had opened and closed, and Riku was gone. The girl sighed, sitting on the sand and waiting for him to return.

And after several long minutes, he did, his arms full of what looked like... dangerous things.

Xion jumped back, her blue eyes wide. "What... what are those?" She pointed at the colorful things in his arms, the bright reds, whites, and blues standing out greatly in the moonlight.

"These," Riku explained, setting them down on the sand, "are fireworks." He grabbed one of the larger ones, summoning his Keyblade and casting a weak, easily controllable fire spell. The flame hovered just above the tip of the blade, flickering as the breeze went by.

Xion's eyes widened more as the flame got closer to this "firework." She held out a hesitant hand to stop him, asking shakily, "Wait... what are you doing?"

Riku allowed himself a small smirk. "I have to light it on fire so you can see what it does."

Hesitantly, the ravenette drew her hand back, allowing the flame to finally reach the firework.

The long fuse got started to shrink as Riku dismissed his blade. He took a few steps away from the pile of fireworks, quickly kicking up sand and making a sort of perch for the lit thing to sit on. Quickly, he put it down, angling it towards the sky, then took some steps back, advising that Xion do the same. Not knowing if this was a benevolent force or not, she hastily stepped back just as the fuse disappeared.

There was a small moment of stillness before the firework boomed and shot up towards the sky, leaving a trail of sparks and smoke in its wake. Xion let out a small noise of surprise and Riku only smiled, remembering his first time seeing fireworks. He knew he had reacted the same way.

The girl's gaze followed the trail in shock, watching as the firework climbed higher and higher into the night sky. There was a small pause once it reached a certain point, and she was sure it was going to fall when it suddenly exploded, golden, red, and green sparks flying everywhere. There was a crackle as the sparks died down, leaving only a puff of smoke in their place.

Xion was silent for a long moment before she said softly, breathlessly, "That was... amazing."

Riku let out a small chuckle at her amazement. "Yeah – that's fireworks for you."

Slowly, the dark-haired girl asked, turning towards the boy standing next to her, "Can you... do that again?"

Riku nodded, a small smile adorning his features. "With pleasure."

Heh, sorry if that seemed a bit rushed - I'm in a sort of time crunch to get this out before midnight. I'm also sorry if I got the launching process wrong - I've never launched a firework myself, so I'm not sure. Let's just say, Riku's really fast at building things with his feet and sand, and that was a really long fuse. XD

Anyways, a small comment here - this was originally going to be romance, but once I finished writing it, I thought, "Nah." I mean, they seem more like friends than lovers in this one, which is why this is now "friendship" instead of "romance." Eh, it worked out fine... At least, I think it did.

I hope you enjoyed~! Review~!