You and Me
Fred first found out about what students got up to around the greenhouses when he was in his third year. He remembered the rush the first time he snuck out there to join some of the students a few years above him for a smoke, choking down the coughs that sprung to life in his chest when he took part for the first time. He had gotten used to it though, and now anytime he needed to clear his head he found himself in the same spot behind the greenhouses, whether it be to smoke or just for some fresh air.
Two days before summer holidays were to start he was doing the former, watching the evening sun lazing it’s way lower in the sky.
“You look like a right couch potato sat out here,” Fred heard his brother speak moments before George plopped down beside him on the ground.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes, “I’m not on a couch you dolt.”
“You’re not a potato either but I enjoy that you didn’t dispute that part of the sentence.” George settled beside Fred, glancing over at him and bumping their shoulders together to get his attention, “what has you out here on your own? Usually it’s impossible to catch you by yourself this close to summer.”
Fred shrugged, studying the joint in between his fingers as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. He could make some excuse, say he wasn’t in the mood for other people or one of the other hundreds of excuses he regularly rambled off at anyone else. But George wasn’t just anyone else, they had practically been able to read each other’s minds since they were born, so he said nothing.
George picked the joint from between Fred’s fingers and took a drag, letting a peaceful silence wash over them for a minute before he spoke again.
“I know you’re dreading it, but at least you’ll get to see dad! You know he’s excited to show you the new muggle product he’s modifying.” Fred looked at his brother with a small smile. Ever the optimist, there was never a situation that George wouldn’t try to find a positive to. While Fred always appreciated the attempt, it didn’t really help this time.
“I miss it when she saw us as practically the one person. It used to do my nut in sometimes when it was only ever ‘Fred and George’, never really seeing us as individual people, but now I would kill for it.” Fred sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh, “it was easier to take her constantly berating me when it was hitting the two of us and we could just laugh it off.”
George passed back the joint, seeing that Fred needed something in his hands to concentrate on in that moment, before he laid a hand comfortingly on his brother’s back. “Freddy I know it’s worse for you. I know that the more the years have gone by here the harder she is on you, but you’re not alone there. You have me by your side whether shes yelling at me too or not. If you want to laugh it off, scream, cry, throw something, whatever, I’ll be here. We’ll always be ‘Fred and George’, you and me, and nothings going to change that.”
Fred sniffed, quickly wiping at the traitorous tears that slipped from his eyes, and looked at George, “yeah you’re right, nothings going to change that.”
He let a playful grin fall onto his still saddened features and raised his eyebrows at George, “you may be the favourite of us but you’ll still never beat me at quidditch.”
“Oh I’m going to give you five seconds to take that back before I bury you with the madrakes Fredward.” George shot back with a challenging smirk.
“Oh yeah?” Fred had flicked the remains of his joins away and was on his feet before George could fully process it, “catch me if you can Georgie!”