Work Text:
On March 18, 1999, George made everyone promise not to do anything for his birthday. He could cope with Christmas and family dinners just fine. But he couldn’t handle the celebration, presents, and jokes without Fred there to share the fun. No one dared contest the decision, not even Lee Jordan who had already bought him the sort of birthday present new boyfriends buy each other. April Fools day was still a major event in the store, of course, but no one even noted that it was also George’s birthday. That simply became the routine.
And that was why, many years later, George was shocked when three owls descended upon him with presents on the morning of his birthday. He pulled the ribbon from one present, only to have it explode in his face, sending streamers and confetti across the living room and ruining his morning cup of coffee in the process. The box wouldn’t stop singing “Happy Birthday” to him, no matter how he tried to charm it into silence or spell it into little pieces. Burying it beneath three sofa cushions muffled the sound, but he heard movement from down the hall and knew it had woken Lee.
He sifted through the copious decorations to get at the second package, so big that it had taken two owls to carry it between them. A bleary but shocked Lee appeared in the doorway, rubbing sleep from wide eyes. “What’s all this then?”
George tore away the brown paper wrappings to find an authentic toilet seat from Hogwarts. In all the excitement that came with taking in two foster children, no one had informed Justin and Erik about the status quo. George stared at the prank gift for a few moments, blinking quickly to keep tears back. Then he gave up and looked at Lee, a sappy grin on his face. “Our kids are the best.”