happy birthday, george

[atehimrightup]

Lee has never put much stock into birthdays. His own never really mattered to him, because it never really mattered to anyone else. He would always try to get something for Kayla on her birthday, but that was about the extent of it.

All that is to say that Lee feels woefully prepared to plan a birthday for his-- whatever George is. Boyfriend? That feels so juvenile, like it isn't important enough.

He stresses about it more than he probably needs to, but he's never had the opportunity to celebrate something like this with someone he cares about. Which is already sort of a big deal, but George was the lover of a literal king and was undoubtedly showered with expensive gifts on a regular basis. Lee has no idea how to compete with that, even though he can hear George's voice in his head telling him that it isn't a competition. Which is good, because he'd probably lose.

The actual night isn't much of a problem. He comes up with a plan pretty easily, one that's simple but romantic, he thinks. It's the gift that's the problem. Because nothing in this whole goddamn city is good enough for George. Nothing that he can afford, anyway.

Just days before, he still hasn't found anything and he's getting sort of desperate. He distracts himself by going on a hunt because he really does need to eat, which sort of just makes him feel worse because of the guilt. But the guy is (was) a verified scumbag and women walking alone at night will be safer without him around, so he doesn't feel too bad.

In the guy's pocket is a receipt for a pawn shop that Lee has never heard of, so he goes to check it out the next day. It's in a terrible part of town and there isn't really even a sign. Inside it's dusty and unorganized and Lee just assumes it's some sort of front for something else. Still, he decides to look around while some guy comes out from the back and eyes him with wary suspicion, like he's surprised to see someone in the shop at all.

He finds a dusty jewelry display case and heads toward it hopefully, crouching down in front of it. Inside are mostly gold chains and tennis bracelets, all generic shit that wouldn't suit George at all, and he's about to give up when he spots a blue velvet box tucked back into a corner, half-hidden under a gaudy necklace. It looks like earrings and Lee rises to his feet and coolly asks to take a look at them, not wanting to show any excitement and inadvertently drive the price up. He knows how these places operate.

The guy takes them out of the case and Lee picks them up, doing his best to keep a placid expression even though he's pretty sure he just found what he's looking for. The box looks well-preserved but very old, as do the earrings themselves. He has no idea if the stones are real, but they look like it. There's a small piece of yellowed paper tucked inside, and when Lee discreetly unfolds it he finds elegant cursive scrawl and, most importantly, it's dated 1827. That confirms that they’re old, probably very old, and this guy doesn’t seem to really realize what he has. They're perfect.

Lee is prepared to use every trick in his arsenal to haggle a deal, but it's not even that hard. The guy seems wholly uninterested in this alleged business, and Lee is annoying and persistent, so he ends up getting them for a price that, while painful, won't leave him destitute. When he leaves the shop, earrings tucked carefully into his pocket, he feels lighter than he has in days.

George's birthday comes and they sleep in, then fuck a few times and sleep some more. Lee makes them a late lunch and then tells George that he needs to go run a few errands before they go to dinner, but there's an obvious twinkle in his eye. He leaves George's apartment and goes to his own where he's left all the supplies, and then goes and sets everything up before heading back toward George's building, texting him and telling him to come downstairs, even as he parks and gets out to go meet him by the elevators in the lobby.

He's nervous, but he thinks that this might actually go well. He might actually pull it off.

Comments

[gallowseyes]

He figures out pretty quickly where they're going in general, but the specifics of that delights him. He finds himself grinning broadly as Lee pilots the truck carefully through the trees, as he parks. Most keenly, he remembers that that last night that they'd spent there had been the first time they'd admitted to themselves that whatever was between them was maybe more than sex.

"It's perfect," says George, leaning in to curl his fingers behind Lee's neck and pull him in for a kiss.

[atehimrightup]

“Really?” Lee grins broadly, awash with relief at his reaction. He leans in for the kiss eagerly, humming against George’s mouth and then pulling away to hop out of the truck, scampering around to open George’s door for him.

He sort of went all out, laying down a tarp and then a sleeping bag, and then all the bedding from his apartment, all down by the edge of the water. If George wants, Lee can move it all to the bed of the truck later and they could sleep out here.

There’s a plastic tote with all the food carefully stowed inside, and a few tiki torches stuck into the ground to give them light and keep the bugs away. Lee lights them with his Zippo, then gestures to the blanket with both hands before leaning down to pull a bottle of sparkling wine from the tote.

“Happy birthday,” he says sincerely, swallowing hard against his useless nerves and smiling at George. “I made you a picnic.”

[gallowseyes]

The grin that spreads across George's face is delighted, completely unguarded. It reminds him of home, more than anything, those days on the road between places, sleeping under canvas, eating cold food. He'd loved those days. And now, he gets something akin to that, but with someone he's almost certain that he's in love with. The more he thinks about it, the truer it feels.

"You did," he says, still smiling. "It's lovely. Thank you."

[atehimrightup]

The toothy smile on George’s face sort of wipes away any lingering nerves that Lee feels. George is happy, and that means Lee can relax. He did well.

“You’re welcome,” Lee tells him, gesturing for George to come sit down as he does so himself, pulling two clear plastic cups from the tote and pouring them each a generous glass of wine. He hands George’s to him and sets his own down, moving to unpack the food.

It’s standard picnic fare, and things he thought George might like. Cold chicken, fruits, cheeses, and fresh bread. Crackers and cookies and bottles of water. He leaves the dessert in the tote for now, saving it for later. He wonders if George has ever blown out a birthday candle before, and realizes that he has absolutely no idea when that particular tradition started.

[gallowseyes]

The smile stays on George's face as he watches Lee unpack the food that he's bought. He sips his wine, makes himself comfortable on the blankets that Lee's laid out for them.

"You didn't have to go to all of this trouble," he says. "Not for me."

[atehimrightup]

“There’s no one else I would do it for,” Lee assures him, and it isn’t flattery. It’s just the truth. “And it wasn’t trouble. It was—“

He pauses, looking slightly bashful. “It was fun. I liked doing it. I like having someone to do stuff like this for.”

Lee scoots a little closer and sets down two paper plates and some plastic cutlery, taking the lids off of everything. “I’ve never been to a birthday party before. I’ve never really celebrated my own. But I wanted to— I dunno. I wanted yours to be special.”

[gallowseyes]

"It is, already," says George, watching Lee for a long moment before he takes a sip of his wine. "I've never had a birthday party before. I don't think anyone really did, except for the King and Queen. St George's day is the 23rd April. I might have had sweets then."

He surveys the food that Lee's laid out in front of them, the quiet beauty of the scene beyond. "This, though?" He leans in and presses a kiss to the hinge of Lee's jaw. "This is splendid."

[atehimrightup]

Lee can’t help but to preen, smiling and tilting his head as George kisses him. His cheeks flush and his heart does a little skip because he’s so fucking pleased to have made George happy. It should be absurd.

“I’m glad,” Lee tells him, staring at him for a long moment. This late in the summer, the sun is still lingering just above the horizon, painting the sky purple and gold. It’s a beautiful sunset, but Lee hasn’t even noticed. His attention is firmly elsewhere.

“So, what’s George the saint of?” Lee asks curiously, taking a sip from his own wine and reaching for a strawberry and dipping it in chocolate sauce, looking at George as he bites into the end of it.

[gallowseyes]

"England," says George, simply, leaning forward to start adding things to his plate ."Though he also has a soft spot for soldiers." He chooses a variety of things and settles back to taste them. "He slayed a dragon, in the story." He smiles. "My nurse used to tell it to me when I was little."

[atehimrightup]

“I want to hear the story,” Lee says sincerely, fixing his own plate and topping off their cups of wine. He smiles over at George as he chews, sitting cross legged and holding his plate in his lap.

“I told you a fairytale,” he reminds George with a soft smirk. “It’s only fair.”

He looks at George with rapt attention, eager to just listen to him talk.

[gallowseyes]

As they settle, George tells the story as he remembers it being told to him -- the distant country, plagued by a terrible foe, all means of tribute exhausted but for the beautiful daughter of the King. The hero with his sword shining in the sun. The terrible lizard laid asunder. The church built on the spot where the dragon died, and the spring that cured all illness.

He blushes, faintly. "A silly story, really. My brothers were both named for Apostles. George was technically for my father, but my mother always said it was for the Saint." He takes a swallow of wine. "I don't know where they got Susan from."

[atehimrightup]

Lee hangs on George’s every word, swept up in his accent and the cadence of his voice. He could never tire of hearing George talk.

“It’s not any sillier than any of the other stories,” Lee says with a shrug, tearing off a piece of bread and stuffing a piece of cheese inside. “Being named after a dragon slaying saint is pretty cool.”

His brow furrows slightly and he curls in on himself a little. “I don’t know where my name came from. I doubt there was much thought behind it.”

[gallowseyes]

George frowns at the shift in Lee's posture, leaning in to press a kiss against the side of his face.

"I'd never heard the name Lee before I met you," he says, softly. "You're an entirely new and miraculous thing."

[atehimrightup]

The words take him by surprise, but he isn’t sure why. George says the most casually romantic things, and Lee flushes as he turns his head to give George a kiss on the mouth.

“And you’re a miracle,” Lee assures him, pressing their foreheads together for a long moment and then kissing him again, reaching up to touch his cheek.

He grins suddenly, looking tentatively proud of himself. “Do you want to see what I made for dessert?”

[gallowseyes]

He turns his head, pressing a kiss against the heel of Lee's hands. He can't help but smile at the shift in Lee's expression.

"Of course," he says.

[atehimrightup]

Lee steals another kiss and then gets up on his knees, turning around and leaning over the tote. Inside it are two mason jars of lemon posset and he unscrews the lids and sticks a candle into one of them, lighting it and then carefully lifting both jars out of the tote as he shifts back around and sits back on his haunches, holding the jar with the candle out to George.

“Happy birthday, dear George,” he says in a singsongy sort of voice, chuckling bashfully. “Happy birthday to you.”

[gallowseyes]

"You did not." He remembers dreamily telling Lee about his favourite dessert, about his nurse making possets when he was a child and sick in bed. His eyes prickle with tears, but then his eyebrows tug together. "But why is there a candle?"

[atehimrightup]

“I did. It took me a few tries but I think it turned out okay,” Lee says shyly, enraptured by the look on George’s face and the way his eyes go glassy. He’s wanted to make this for George since he heard the story, and he’s so happy that it’s going over well.

“Well, that answers that question,” Lee says with a happy laugh, endlessly charmed. “It’s tradition to put candles on a birthday cake when I come from. You’re supposed to make a wish and then blow out the candle.”

He laughs again, feeling so happy he could burst. “There’s a whole song. I gave you a hint of it.”

Lee sets his own jar down so he can hold George’s out to him with both hands, watching as the light from the candle illuminates his face. “Go on. Make a wish in your head. You’re not supposed to say it out loud.”

[gallowseyes]

George looks slightly dubious, but Lee is so pleased with himself and so happy and George just...he loves him. He can't even try and deny it to himself. Rolling his eyes fondly, feeling a little silly, he leans in and blows out the candle. What he wishes was for is more. More of this.

"Do I get to try it now?"

[atehimrightup]

Lee smiles as he blows out the candle, then plucks it from the dessert and hands it over with a spoon, nodding as he does.

“Yeah. I hope it’s okay. I found the recipe online but I’ve never had it before so I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like,” Lee says, realizing that he’s rambling due to nerves and biting the inside of his cheek to stop it. “Here.”

He hands George his jar and then picks up his own, digging into it with a spoon while trying not to stare at George expectantly.

[gallowseyes]

Aware that Lee is watching him, George takes his first bite. It doesn't taste exactly the same -- where was Lee going to get sack in a place like this -- but it has notes of sweets wine and honey and the lemon and it does taste like being five again.

He grins.

"Love..."

[atehimrightup]

The smile on George’s face makes Lee feel like he’s dying, but in a good way. And then there’s that pet name again, and it’s a wonder that Lee doesn’t just melt into a puddle.

“Yes, love?” He replies with a happy grin, feeling nearly giddy. He didn’t know he could be this happy. “You like it?”

[gallowseyes]

"I do," says George, emphatically, taking another large spoonful as proof. "It's...lovely. I don't think anyone's ever given me a gift like this before." So heartfelt and genuine, based in effort, not wealth. It's perfect.

"Thank you."

[atehimrightup]

It’s exactly the kind of response that he was hoping for. Lee can’t shower him with jewels, but he can show George that he cares, that he listens, and that he’s willing to put in effort to make him happy.

“You’re welcome,” Lee says softly, ducking his head to hide his pleased smile as he takes another bite. He mixes the dessert with his spoon, staring over at George for a long moment.

“You’re the first person who has ever made me feel like I was doing something right,” he admits, expression soft and vulnerable. “Like I wasn’t just a problem, or in the way. I— I can’t tell you what that means to me.”

He clears his throat and swallows hard, shrugging his shoulders a bit and taking another bite of his dessert.

[gallowseyes]

"You're never a problem to me," says George, meaning to utterly. He reaches out to press his hand between Lee's shoulderblades, rubbing small circles over the fabric of his shirt.

"What do you think? You've never had this before either, right?"