Chapter Text
“Hey, kid,” Whizzer laughed, patting Jason on the back. “Happy birthday!”
Jason grinned, pulling back and side hugging Marvin. “When did you guys fly in?”
“Yesterday,” Marvin offered, smiling. “Happy birthday, Jase.”
It was his stepsons 17th birthday. Whizzer used to love birthdays, but now… it all just reminded him of what he had missed out on. How much of his life he missed. Infact, Whizzer had tried to convince Marvin to let him buy triple the presents they usually got Jason, since he missed the last two birthdays and he didn’t want to feel like a deadbeat dad who never got Jason a single gift for two years straight.
“It’s alright,” Marvin had reminded him, holding his face. “The gifts are always from us both, and I got him the normal amount both years. They were from both of us.”
“But I wasn’t there,” Whizzer sighed, glancing over. “I feel so awful about it.”
“I know, baby,” Marvin sighed. “It’s okay, though. Jason doesn’t think any less of you. None of us do.”
“You swear it?” Whizzer asked, gazing at him with a defeated expression.
“I swear it.”
Marvin kissed him softly, smiling gently at him.
Marvin and Whizzer always bought the same amount of presents for Jason as the Weisenbachfelds did. Along with that, they also had the same budget. This way, there was no panic or discourse about the possibility that the one couple could accidentally make the other look like they didn’t try. And he wasn’t trying to ruin that balance by buying more, but he wasn’t there. He was meant to be there, at least.
It was like he blinked and two major years of Jason’s childhood were taken away.
But Marvin won the argument in the long run. Whizzer knew in his heart that he was the one being more reasonable in the first place. But this was Jason’s first birthday since he was back. It had to go well.
He said hi to Jason’s girlfriend, Elise, and then to the Weisenbachfelds. Lola barreled into him the moment she saw him, and Whizzer took extra time saying hi to her.
It was warm, the time he spent with the family. Jason had spent time with his friends earlier in the day, so it was only the eight of them there for dinner. Whizzer talked more with Elise, and found out they met in a chess club—which did not surprise him in the slightest—and that Elsie had actually beat him the first round they played.
He curled into Marvin on the couch during a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity, a slice of cake in his lap and Lola’s head resting on his leg as she stayed slotted between his leg and the back of the couch.
And as they left, Jason, Lola, and a few boxes full of both their things in the back of their car, Whizzer was feeling as content as ever.
“Good morning,” Whizzer murmured, head hooked on Marvin’s shoulder.
“Mm. Hi.” Marvin rolled over, looking down at him with a groggy, lovesick expression that made Whizzer’s heart swell. Whizzer allowed himself to lay comfortably on Marvin’s chest for just a few more minutes before he forced himself to get out of bed.
“Do you have work today?” Whizzer asked raspily, looking through his box of shirts. It was a miracle that clothing was the only thing they weren’t able to finish unpacking in a weekend.
“I start next week. You?”
“I technically start next week, but my boss asked me to come in and chat for a bit.”
Marvin frowned, sitting up. “You don’t think-”
“Employers are not allowed to consider firing an employee they had before the lockdown started until a month has passed since they started working again. Besides, I was his best employee before everything happened. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Nodding, Marvin got out of bed slowly and walked over to him. “You’ll be back before four, though, right?”
Whizzer hummed, smiling softly. “I won’t be late to my first therapy session, Marvin,” he laughed, kissing him gently. “My biggest question is why I’m actually going into the office. I haven’t been there since my interview…”
He paused, going quiet and looking through all of his sweaters again. “Marvin?” He asked slowly. “Where’s- where’s my grey sweater? It’s- it’s the knitted one, I- that’s what I had planned to wear today.”
Marvin placed a hand on his shoulder, looking through the box. “I’ll find it while you’re gone, okay? Let’s put a new outfit together for you.”
“But- but I have to wear that sweater or the whole schedule will be off. I can’t just find another sweater to wear with the same pants, because then when I go to the next outfit then the outfits won’t be as I made them all week, and I needed to have all my outfits for this week planned out so that-”
“I found it,” Marvin called gently, pulling the sweater out of a drawer. “You hung all your shirts for this week up so that they wouldn’t be as wrinkly, remember?”
Whizzer blinked a few times, looking up. Marvin wiped a tear off of his cheek. “And my pants are in the drawer,” he recalled softly, taking a deep breath.
“There we go.” Marvin kissed his hair, holding him close. “All good?”
“Yeah.”
Marvin hummed, kissing his hair again before pulling away so that they could be face to face. “I’ll go make us all breakfast and make sure Jason’s ready for school,” Marvin murmured, kissing him softly. “You get ready to go into the office, yeah?”
He nodded, leaning his forehead onto Marvin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, fluttering his eyes closed. “That- I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s alright,” Marvin whispered, tucking his hair behind his ear. “What time do you need to be there?”
“Eleven.”
“Alright.”
Marvin squeezed down his arms, kissing him softly. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Slowly, Marvin backed up, leaving the room and shutting the door quietly behind him.
Whizzer got on his planned outfit, which he only planned because he wasn’t expecting his clothes to be put away within the next week. But he couldn’t go back on his plan. He couldn’t just abandon it.
So he slipped into the bathroom, brushing his teeth and spending a short thirty minutes on his hair until it was just how he liked, because despite all of the things he couldn’t confidently be himself about anymore, he liked spiteing his old rules by doing his hair just how he liked to.
He walked out into the kitchen, kissing Marvin on the cheek as he walked by. Marvin handed him a plate of pancakes, drizzled in chocolate sauce and whipped cream just as he liked, and a mug of coffee already sat at his spot, waiting for him.
“Thank you, Marv,” Whizzer sighed, smiling lovingly at him. “This means a lot.”
Marvin hummed, kissing his hair and rubbing his shoulder. “Of course,” he murmured, sitting across from him. He took Whizzer’s hand as they sat and ate, only letting go when Jason entered the room. “You almost ready for school?”
“Mhm,” Jason hummed, digging into his food. “Gonna head out after breakfast.”
Nodding, Marvin smiled at him, going back to his food. “Making use of that license?”
“Yeah,” Jason laughed, holding it up. He had gotten it a year late, since he wasn’t able to get his permit until last year. Whizzer hated to think that he kept him from getting a license. Not only did Whizzer miss key parts of his teenage years, the kid himself did, too.
He ate quietly after that, too caught up in his own guilt to contribute to the conversation happening next to him.