Fic: Epilogue (George/Lee)
Jan. 8th, 2009 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seedeeTitle: Epilogue
Pairing: George/Lee
Rating: PG-13 There's some name-calling, but otherwise harmless
Word Count: 1850
Summary: Sometimes memories are all that's left
A/N: Epilogue to my completed George/Lee prompt table. Sorry for the delay. This is really the last one now. Keep your toothbrush ready, this one's sugar sweet.
Lee returned from the kitchen with two cups of tea - one with copious amounts of sugar in it, one plain Earl Grey - to find George on the sofa, staring at a picture. He put the cups on the coffee table and sat down next to George, watching him smile at his brother who was busy making faces at the George and Lee in the picture. They were snogging and Fred didn't seem to be impressed with their attention focused solely on each other.
"Do you remember that day?" George asked.
Lee nodded and wrapped an arm around George's waist. "'Course I do."
"Long time ago," George said. He looked pensive and traced the lines of Fred's body who made a rude gesture at him. "Our twentieth birthday."
"Was a good day. Lots of cake," Lee said.
"And lots of cheap firewhiskey," George added.
Lee chuckled and thought back, five years earlier. "We stole it from Muriel's secret cabinet, hid it in your room and when family celebrations were over, we went upstairs and got properly sloshed."
George hummed his agreement. "And somewhere along the line my dear brother came up with the solution for the Extendable Eye. We'd worked on it for months but never got it right." The Fred in the picture had his hand in front of his mouth and pretended to be gagging. But his eyes were sparkling and behind the hand he was grinning. "Until that night when he was completely wasted."
"He was obsessed with that thing," Lee said.
"I know. He never told me why it suddenly was so important. Usually I was the one who tried and tried and tried again."
"Still are," Lee reminded him.
George gave a small nod and kept looking at the picture. Fred was laughing, throwing his arms around George and Lee.
"Last product we made together." George's hand trembled slightly. "Last picture of the three of us."
Lee pulled George a bit closer and kissed his temple. "Your mum took it."
"'m glad she did," George whispered and swallowed audibly before he continued. "You remember the year after that?"
Lee remembered George's twenty first birthday very well. It had been the first one without Fred. "We spent most of the day at St. Mungo's," he said. "I'm still impressed that a broken jaw can hurt that much."
"You're not going to remind me how your jaw was broken?" The guilt Lee heard when George spoke wasn't necessary. It was long forgiven.
"I forgot how it was broken," Lee lied.
George put his head on Lee's shoulder and kissed Lee's neck. "You decided to forget. Something else entirely."
"That sounds like an accusation." They'd had this conversation many times. The words were familiar and part of a strange routine.
"Just saying that you're too nice. That's all. People take advantage."
"I don't mind you taking advantage." Lee buried his nose in George's hair and breathed in the familiar, soothing scent.
George relaxed against Lee's side and let the hand that was holding the picture rest on Lee's thigh. "Some days he's still all I can think of." Lee's hand was in George's hair, rubbing his scalp, tugging gently at the strands. "And sometimes I just forget."
"You think you'd ever forget how he blasted a hole through the wall of the workroom, right into Diagon Alley?"
George laughed softly, his breath tickling the skin of Lee's neck. "He insisted on making a batch of novelty Whiz-Bangs. He hadn't mentioned that the novelty was that they had the power to destroy solid stone walls. Although, I think he was surprised as well."
It hadn't come easily, the comfortable way they sometimes sat together and shared memories, talked about their thoughts and fears. They'd learned the hard way, and in the early days every step had hurt. They'd only been boys, pretending to be men, soldiers in a war. But when the battle had been over, they'd realised that until then, they'd only played. It had felt like fate's punishment for their youthful arrogance. They'd joined the fight, invincible, and even though they'd won, they'd been broken and left to pick up the pieces and shattered dreams, futures and plans.
There had been rough times, lots of them. They'd had conflicts, fights, arguments, but they'd clung to each other and whenever one of them had started to loosen his grip, the other had clung harder, simply refused to let go. Lee sometimes thought that it only was their stubbornness that had brought them this far. They'd just denied that there was any other solution, no matter how good and easy it sometimes would have been to just give in and give up.
"That time when he walked in on us, after Potterwatch." The memory George conjured made the corners of Lee's mouth curl into a smile. They'd both been naked, sweaty, panting on a huge pillow they'd transfigured from something random. It hadn't been the first time they'd had sex, but it had been still new and overwhelming. They both had stopped horrified mid movement in a position that certainly hadn't looked half as good as it had felt with feet sticking out at odd angles.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Lee said with a shrug. "But his reaction was priceless."
George snickered. "Can't say I'm surprised that he just tilted his head, looked curiously and asked, 'Are you sure it doesn't hurt?'"
Lee brushed George's hair back and kissed his forehead. The melancholy he felt was familiar, like a dear friend. It had replaced the sharp pain that had been there at first. Lee often wondered if what George felt was something similar. It had become easier for George as well, Lee knew that, of course, but he still could only imagine how bad it had been.
They were silent again and the way George's head became heavier on Lee's shoulder, and the the way George pressed his face against Lee's neck made it clear, that George wasn't as unaffected as he pretended to be. They'd always worked hard to make each other smile and now it was Lee's turn.
"The second year wasn't as bad, though, at least no one was injured."
George snorted. "You told my mother that you don't like children and that you think it's good that at least I was gay and wouldn't have any. You could have been murdered, mate, I'm still amazed that she didn't just throw you out."
Lee grinned but part of him was cringing at the memory. "Don't complain, I distracted her long enough, that's what counts." Lee yelped when George sucked at his neck sharply.
"Admit it, you just wanted to show off. All the big brothers were there and you've always had a thing for Charlie."
Lee shoved him lightly. "Never said there weren't any fringe benefits."
"Wanker."
"Prat."
"It got better after that," George said after a pause.
And he was right. The holidays - birthdays, Christmas, anniversary of the battle, even the first of September - had been worse than a nightmare during the first year. Each of them had been the first one without Fred, every time had been devastating, ripping up the barely healed wound and pulling George back into that black hole where it was harder and harder to get him out. The second time was different, but just as hard and there had been a time when they'd almost lost.
But after the second birthday without Fred, after George nearly burnt down his shop and Lee had told him that he wouldn't put up with it any longer - he'd lied through his teeth and they both had known it - it became easier. They barely noticed it, at first. But as weeks passed, breathing became easier and George smiled more often, even though the smiles didn't quite reach his eyes and were lacking the carefree, honest, untainted joy Lee now remembered only faintly. Laughter had never been the same, after, not even now, five years later.
Lee guessed that there would always be a 'before' and an 'after'. The thought didn't scare him anymore. They weren't the only ones who had changed.
George put the photo on the coffee table and Lee saw him looking at it with sad eyes. The pain in them was still raw and Lee's chest ached. "Miss him. Still. So fucking much," George said, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Lee missed him, too, the boy who'd tapped him on the shoulder when he was only a wide eyed eleven year old on his first trip to Hogwarts. Fred had asked Lee who'd hexed his hair and if he knew the spell; he had thought it was wicked. Fred had been the boy who unlike George always tilted his head a bit, spoke faster than his brother, always bounced on the balls of his feet, paced when he was impatient. He'd been more curious, reckless, restless and driven than George, but not as brave, focused, stubborn and consequent.
Fred had loved life, laughter, his friends and family. He'd been someone Lee wouldn't want as his enemy. He'd been dedicated to the things he loved. He'd taught Lee that if he wanted something, he should go and get it, that it's never too late, too early, too dark or too light for a good laugh, and that one should never, ever take sweets from a stranger.
And he'd taught Lee that there was no situation too fucked up to make fun of it.
Lee shifted and wrapped both of his arms around George and pulled him tightly against his chest. He gave him a minute before he spoke. "I don't think you feel well enough for your present," Lee said in his most gentle voice. "I'm going to do the sensitive thing and wait until next year."
Lee felt George laughing despite the tears and knew it would be all right, that they had made it another year. "Manipulative git. You know I want it."
"No, love. You don't have to. It's not appropriate." Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Lee heard a faint voice laughing that didn't sound like his own.
"I want my present, Jordan." George straightened up and used his sleeve to roughly wipe away the tears. He turned around and glared at him, although Lee noted that the corners of George's mouth were twitching. "Now. Or I'll hex you."
Lee kissed him, soft and slowly. "I surrender," he said after the kiss and reached behind the sofa. After some stretching, twisting and cursing because George tweaked his side as his shirt rode up, Lee was able to retrieve a small package, wrapped up in yellow paper.
"It's tiny," George complained, but smiled warmly and squeezed Lee's hand before again rubbing his eyes.
"Happy Birthday, George," Lee said and gave him the present.
George took it and looked first at the present and then at Lee before answering, "I think it is."
George looked again at the foto and touched it carefully. "Happy Birthday, Fred."
**
The End
Pairing: George/Lee
Rating: PG-13 There's some name-calling, but otherwise harmless
Word Count: 1850
Summary: Sometimes memories are all that's left
A/N: Epilogue to my completed George/Lee prompt table. Sorry for the delay. This is really the last one now. Keep your toothbrush ready, this one's sugar sweet.
Lee returned from the kitchen with two cups of tea - one with copious amounts of sugar in it, one plain Earl Grey - to find George on the sofa, staring at a picture. He put the cups on the coffee table and sat down next to George, watching him smile at his brother who was busy making faces at the George and Lee in the picture. They were snogging and Fred didn't seem to be impressed with their attention focused solely on each other.
"Do you remember that day?" George asked.
Lee nodded and wrapped an arm around George's waist. "'Course I do."
"Long time ago," George said. He looked pensive and traced the lines of Fred's body who made a rude gesture at him. "Our twentieth birthday."
"Was a good day. Lots of cake," Lee said.
"And lots of cheap firewhiskey," George added.
Lee chuckled and thought back, five years earlier. "We stole it from Muriel's secret cabinet, hid it in your room and when family celebrations were over, we went upstairs and got properly sloshed."
George hummed his agreement. "And somewhere along the line my dear brother came up with the solution for the Extendable Eye. We'd worked on it for months but never got it right." The Fred in the picture had his hand in front of his mouth and pretended to be gagging. But his eyes were sparkling and behind the hand he was grinning. "Until that night when he was completely wasted."
"He was obsessed with that thing," Lee said.
"I know. He never told me why it suddenly was so important. Usually I was the one who tried and tried and tried again."
"Still are," Lee reminded him.
George gave a small nod and kept looking at the picture. Fred was laughing, throwing his arms around George and Lee.
"Last product we made together." George's hand trembled slightly. "Last picture of the three of us."
Lee pulled George a bit closer and kissed his temple. "Your mum took it."
"'m glad she did," George whispered and swallowed audibly before he continued. "You remember the year after that?"
Lee remembered George's twenty first birthday very well. It had been the first one without Fred. "We spent most of the day at St. Mungo's," he said. "I'm still impressed that a broken jaw can hurt that much."
"You're not going to remind me how your jaw was broken?" The guilt Lee heard when George spoke wasn't necessary. It was long forgiven.
"I forgot how it was broken," Lee lied.
George put his head on Lee's shoulder and kissed Lee's neck. "You decided to forget. Something else entirely."
"That sounds like an accusation." They'd had this conversation many times. The words were familiar and part of a strange routine.
"Just saying that you're too nice. That's all. People take advantage."
"I don't mind you taking advantage." Lee buried his nose in George's hair and breathed in the familiar, soothing scent.
George relaxed against Lee's side and let the hand that was holding the picture rest on Lee's thigh. "Some days he's still all I can think of." Lee's hand was in George's hair, rubbing his scalp, tugging gently at the strands. "And sometimes I just forget."
"You think you'd ever forget how he blasted a hole through the wall of the workroom, right into Diagon Alley?"
George laughed softly, his breath tickling the skin of Lee's neck. "He insisted on making a batch of novelty Whiz-Bangs. He hadn't mentioned that the novelty was that they had the power to destroy solid stone walls. Although, I think he was surprised as well."
It hadn't come easily, the comfortable way they sometimes sat together and shared memories, talked about their thoughts and fears. They'd learned the hard way, and in the early days every step had hurt. They'd only been boys, pretending to be men, soldiers in a war. But when the battle had been over, they'd realised that until then, they'd only played. It had felt like fate's punishment for their youthful arrogance. They'd joined the fight, invincible, and even though they'd won, they'd been broken and left to pick up the pieces and shattered dreams, futures and plans.
There had been rough times, lots of them. They'd had conflicts, fights, arguments, but they'd clung to each other and whenever one of them had started to loosen his grip, the other had clung harder, simply refused to let go. Lee sometimes thought that it only was their stubbornness that had brought them this far. They'd just denied that there was any other solution, no matter how good and easy it sometimes would have been to just give in and give up.
"That time when he walked in on us, after Potterwatch." The memory George conjured made the corners of Lee's mouth curl into a smile. They'd both been naked, sweaty, panting on a huge pillow they'd transfigured from something random. It hadn't been the first time they'd had sex, but it had been still new and overwhelming. They both had stopped horrified mid movement in a position that certainly hadn't looked half as good as it had felt with feet sticking out at odd angles.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Lee said with a shrug. "But his reaction was priceless."
George snickered. "Can't say I'm surprised that he just tilted his head, looked curiously and asked, 'Are you sure it doesn't hurt?'"
Lee brushed George's hair back and kissed his forehead. The melancholy he felt was familiar, like a dear friend. It had replaced the sharp pain that had been there at first. Lee often wondered if what George felt was something similar. It had become easier for George as well, Lee knew that, of course, but he still could only imagine how bad it had been.
They were silent again and the way George's head became heavier on Lee's shoulder, and the the way George pressed his face against Lee's neck made it clear, that George wasn't as unaffected as he pretended to be. They'd always worked hard to make each other smile and now it was Lee's turn.
"The second year wasn't as bad, though, at least no one was injured."
George snorted. "You told my mother that you don't like children and that you think it's good that at least I was gay and wouldn't have any. You could have been murdered, mate, I'm still amazed that she didn't just throw you out."
Lee grinned but part of him was cringing at the memory. "Don't complain, I distracted her long enough, that's what counts." Lee yelped when George sucked at his neck sharply.
"Admit it, you just wanted to show off. All the big brothers were there and you've always had a thing for Charlie."
Lee shoved him lightly. "Never said there weren't any fringe benefits."
"Wanker."
"Prat."
"It got better after that," George said after a pause.
And he was right. The holidays - birthdays, Christmas, anniversary of the battle, even the first of September - had been worse than a nightmare during the first year. Each of them had been the first one without Fred, every time had been devastating, ripping up the barely healed wound and pulling George back into that black hole where it was harder and harder to get him out. The second time was different, but just as hard and there had been a time when they'd almost lost.
But after the second birthday without Fred, after George nearly burnt down his shop and Lee had told him that he wouldn't put up with it any longer - he'd lied through his teeth and they both had known it - it became easier. They barely noticed it, at first. But as weeks passed, breathing became easier and George smiled more often, even though the smiles didn't quite reach his eyes and were lacking the carefree, honest, untainted joy Lee now remembered only faintly. Laughter had never been the same, after, not even now, five years later.
Lee guessed that there would always be a 'before' and an 'after'. The thought didn't scare him anymore. They weren't the only ones who had changed.
George put the photo on the coffee table and Lee saw him looking at it with sad eyes. The pain in them was still raw and Lee's chest ached. "Miss him. Still. So fucking much," George said, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Lee missed him, too, the boy who'd tapped him on the shoulder when he was only a wide eyed eleven year old on his first trip to Hogwarts. Fred had asked Lee who'd hexed his hair and if he knew the spell; he had thought it was wicked. Fred had been the boy who unlike George always tilted his head a bit, spoke faster than his brother, always bounced on the balls of his feet, paced when he was impatient. He'd been more curious, reckless, restless and driven than George, but not as brave, focused, stubborn and consequent.
Fred had loved life, laughter, his friends and family. He'd been someone Lee wouldn't want as his enemy. He'd been dedicated to the things he loved. He'd taught Lee that if he wanted something, he should go and get it, that it's never too late, too early, too dark or too light for a good laugh, and that one should never, ever take sweets from a stranger.
And he'd taught Lee that there was no situation too fucked up to make fun of it.
Lee shifted and wrapped both of his arms around George and pulled him tightly against his chest. He gave him a minute before he spoke. "I don't think you feel well enough for your present," Lee said in his most gentle voice. "I'm going to do the sensitive thing and wait until next year."
Lee felt George laughing despite the tears and knew it would be all right, that they had made it another year. "Manipulative git. You know I want it."
"No, love. You don't have to. It's not appropriate." Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Lee heard a faint voice laughing that didn't sound like his own.
"I want my present, Jordan." George straightened up and used his sleeve to roughly wipe away the tears. He turned around and glared at him, although Lee noted that the corners of George's mouth were twitching. "Now. Or I'll hex you."
Lee kissed him, soft and slowly. "I surrender," he said after the kiss and reached behind the sofa. After some stretching, twisting and cursing because George tweaked his side as his shirt rode up, Lee was able to retrieve a small package, wrapped up in yellow paper.
"It's tiny," George complained, but smiled warmly and squeezed Lee's hand before again rubbing his eyes.
"Happy Birthday, George," Lee said and gave him the present.
George took it and looked first at the present and then at Lee before answering, "I think it is."
George looked again at the foto and touched it carefully. "Happy Birthday, Fred."
**
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2009-12-09 05:42 pm (UTC)>.> I want to read your other fics. lol, I'll get to them soon. Even the Dean/Seamus ones (not really a fan, but then again, your writing could make me a fan, lol).
no subject
on 2009-12-09 05:56 pm (UTC)I'm a big fan of Dean/Seamus, and would be more than happy to pull you over to the dark side :D
no subject
on 2010-04-01 10:19 pm (UTC)I NEVER CRY AT FIC!
I think this is the second time I've ever cried at something fandom related.
How utterly beauitful.
Happy Birthday boys.
*scrubs at face*
Ohhhhh *wibble* I can't stop crying, what have you done to me!?!?!
*blows nose*
I am so converted to this ship now.
no subject
on 2010-04-05 04:24 pm (UTC)I've totally fallen for those two.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting and the lovely rec you wrote ♥ ♥ ♥
no subject
on 2010-04-06 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-04-02 01:19 am (UTC)And what actually hit me the hardest were these amazing, so-perfectly-Fred-like lines:
He'd taught Lee that if he wanted something, he should go and get it, that it's never too late, too early, too dark or too light for a good laugh, and that one should never, ever take sweets from a stranger.
And he'd taught Lee that there was no situation too fucked up to make fun of it.
Words cannot even express how much this story touched me. It's my favorite G/Lee fic, it's the fic that drew me into this pairing, and I will love it forever.
no subject
on 2010-04-05 04:27 pm (UTC)*squishes you until you can't breathe and then some more*
no subject
on 2010-04-02 06:53 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-04-05 04:28 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-27 05:01 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-05-28 09:03 pm (UTC)