When the Fire Works (14) : Innovation is expected in Destiny City, so seasonal commodities are always expected to sell well. This year, the hot new summer item includes some chemically enhanced logs: carefully modified with environmental and health-safe chemicals, these logs are guaranteed to burn bright, burn long, and burn beautifully. It’s not just a pretty flame: each individual log has several rings that will light up like a sparkler when the flame hits. Larger logs will even pop off small, colorful fireworks for several hours while they burn. Though the lightshow is beautiful, it’s also calm. The logs have a pleasant, earthy smell, and unlike the sounds of normal fireworks, these simply sound like a crackling fire. There’s something curiously nostalgic about these fires; they are able to elicit a sort of childlike whimsy, if only you let them. If not, it’s still pretty.
Honestly, Pergamon was more than a little antsy. Even though he hadn't really named it as a date, it felt like one--or like something that might become one. And that was such a big, scary deal, he was honestly proud of himself that the light, summery hard lemonades he'd bought at the convenience store were still cold and still not drank.
He'd pulled one out when he sat down to wait for Troilus, but he hadn't even drank the whole thing so far, only half of it, and he didn't even feel pleasantly buzzed.
Just a little less of a nervous wreck.
He sat by the fire pit, with that bright firework log, and was glad that no one else had taken over his spot while he was away picking up graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, as well as sticks to roast said marshmallows with.
If no one had taught Troilus about the Earth wonder of s'mores, Pergamon was going to. If nothing else came from tonight, he would make sure that Troilus learned about a glorious American summer tradition.
genovianprince
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 11:16 pm
Troilus's heart fluttered a little bit when he received that note as he was gearing up to patrol for the evening. There's something I'd like to show you. Earth has a few spectacular wonders of its own. Gods, his palms were getting sweaty. This sounded pretty close to a date. This... this could be a date, right? Pergamon hadn't formally said anything. Neither had he. But he thought he could feel the way intent lingered in the air between the two of them sometimes, a glance that felt like more than something simple, something... He didn't even know how to describe it. He just knew what he wanted. He was almost afraid that what he wanted was too much. Why was he so drawn to Pergamon? To Isidor? They'd been friends for a while before these feelings had started to invade his heart. Whenever that happened to him, it happened quickly, no matter what he tried to tell his heart. And now it seemed like there might be a chance. That note was so...
Troilus blushed, putting the note into his subspace and practically sprinting across town to get to the park Pergamon wanted to meet him at. He had to pause to calm down after he got a glimpse of Pergamon at one of the bonfires, breathing hard and hair messy. He focused his breathing so he could cool off and messed with his hair so it looked nice again. He really, really cared about Pergamon. If this was to be a date, he wanted it to go right.
"Hi, Pergamon," he greeted as he finally approached the man his heart yearned for. "What are you going to show me?"
Trolus's voice took Pergamon's attention away from the fire, and as soon as his eyes fell on the Senshi, all he could think was...wow.
He really did look beautiful. Even messy, having clearly run to the park--run to the park, to meet Pergamon, because he wanted to see him--he was just. Breathtaking. Lit by firelight and made all the prettier for it. And part of Pergamon could not believe that someone so beautiful had come running...to see him.
"Hi," he said, and it came out sounding a little lame and ridiculous. "I--you look--come over here, there's a couple different things. Have you ever had s'mores?"
genovianprince
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 11:45 pm
You look. How did he look? Certainly stunning, in some way, if the way Pergamon fumbled over his words meant anything. Was this anything? Did Pergamon mean he didn't look good after his run, or was Pergamon genuinely stunned by how gorgeous Troilus was? Was it silly to want the latter to be the truth?
He sat down, a little closer to Pergamon than he would have if he was under the impression this was just a friendly meetup between friends who definitely weren't working their way towards being something else instead.
"S'mores. No, never heard of it," he admitted. "But, ah. Go ahead and tell me s'more about s'mores?"
He grinned, unable to help himself now or ever when it came to a good pun.
Oh. Wow. This was...very cozy, Troilus next to him like this, with so little space between them. Part of Pergamon wanted to scoot over and close the distance between them, but he held off for the moment, instead pulling up his bag of convenience store goodies and setting it between them. From the bag, he produced a pair of marshmallow skewers, handing one to Troilus.
"So, s'mores!" As if talking about fun snacks was not an incredibly obvious deflection from the rising romantic tension and how much he really, really wanted to kiss Troilus right then. "A traditional summer treat. You roast a marshmallow--that's these things," he pulled a bag out, wiggling it a little, "over the fire, and then stack them on graham crackers," he produced a box, "with chocolate," a small pack of Hershey bars, "and eat them. I also have very summery drinks, if you'd like one."
He grinned, a little, pleased with himself.
"And watch the fire, too. There's something neat there."
As a demonstration, he tore open the marshmallow bag and skewered one, holding it over the flames and rotating it.
"I prefer to let my marshmallows catch on fire because it really makes the outside crispy and the inside gooey, but they really just need to be toasted brown."
genovianprince
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 12:03 am
Troilus listened, hanging off every word, and copied what he'd been told to do. He didn't let his marshmallow catch fire, though. That sounded a little dangerous, even for him. The gooeyness of it melted the chocolate and cemented it between the graham cracker pieces perfectly.
"I'll take one of those summer drinks," he said quietly, giving Pergamon a tender smile.
The fire crackles and he looked to it in surprise and then pleased awe as it gave way to some kind of little light show.
"Wow. That was pretty."
...This had to be a date, right?
Slowly, he slipped his free hand into Pergamon's, heart racing. "If this is a date," he whispered, almost terrified, "just squeeze my hand. If we're just friends..."
He didn't even want to voice the possibility, really. But he figured Pergamon wouldn't call him weird, or something, so he let it hang.
"Oh, of course," Pergamon said. He'd gotten distracted, watching Troilus roast his marshmallow and make his s'more, enough that his own was sort of hanging neglected in his hand. He took a big bite to shove the remains into his mouth, and then leaned over to grab a hard lemonade.
And as he was sitting back up, he got to watch the log crackle into sparklers, and he gave Troilus a smile, holding out the hard lemonade.
"Isn't it? These longs are for sale, and they make for a much smaller, safer fireworks show. I saw, and I...wanted to share it with you."
Something almost as pretty as the man beside him.
The man who was taking his hand. And asking...asking a question that had been hanging in the air between them, if Pergamon was honest.
He flushed, dark red, and turned away, and felt like a fool for it because he was nearly forty and twitterpatted like a teenager.
