Rating: PG. Warnings: legal and consensual but perhaps uncomfortable age difference

"Happy birthday to youuuuuu!"

Garrett grinned and blew out the candles on the cake Akasha had made, then picked them out one by one, licking off the stuck bits of chocolate crumbs and vanilla frosting. Hey, it was his birthday! If he ever got to lick the frosting off of something, today was the day he got to do it.

Morgan handed him a knife and Garrett started to cut the cake. The older man looked nervous and hadn't made eye contact all day. Garrett didn't push it. He didn't want to make it awkward for everyone at the get together. But it still hurt. Morgan had known about Garrett's crush on him for ages, and Morgan didn't often do this, but when he did, Garrett always worried he'd done or said something out of line, something more than appropriate for 'just friends,' and upset or offended Morgan somehow.

There were only a handful of people there: Akasha, Akasha's band, Morgan and his friends on that side, and a couple friends from school. But even though they were all from such different places, it wasn't awkward, because Danny and Akasha wouldn't allow it to be. They each found ways to mingle outside of their own circles and bring people together to talk, even if it was just for today.

Garrett handed Morgan a piece of cake and he passed it down to the end of the table. Then another, then another, and finally Garrett was only left to cut a piece for himself. He cut a big one, the size of two pieces, because he never got cake and it was his birthday, dammit! He deserved it!

"Hey, Morgan?" he finally found the courage to ask. Morgan stuffed a bite of cake in his mouth and looked up, eyebrows hiked in question.

"Is everything okay?" Garrett asked softly, concerned. Morgan's eyes darted over Garrett's face as he chewed. Finally, he swallowed, and he smiled. Garrett's heart thumped at double time in his chest like it always did when he smiled like that: soft, kind, gentle, everything Garrett wanted in his messed-up life but would probably never get, because nobody would ever love him like that.

"Fine," Morgan said. "I got you a present."

He shifted anxiously and held up a finger. "Josephine has it in her purse. Back in a minute."

And he was, with a small box wrapped in paper with things like Christmas trees and Jack-o'-Lanterns and Easter eggs on it, along with "Happy fuckin' whatever" stamped here and there. Garrett laughed.

"I love the paper!" he grinned. He carefully ripped the tape open with his thumbnail. "I'm keeping this for Akasha's Christmas present."

Morgan grinned. When the paper finally fell away, Garrett's hand flew to his mouth and he gasped softly, eyes wide. It was a brand new iPod touch, the newest model. He looked up at Morgan.

"I... I can't take this. I can't. It's too much."

Morgan's face fell, but just for a moment. He pursed his lips and said, "Well, it's too late, I've already opened it and put on a playlist I made for you. So there."

"But –"

Morgan wrapped his arm around Garrett's shoulders, loosely, for just a moment. Garrett swallowed hard, forcing himself to stay upright, to not lean into the taller man who smelled like cut grass and sugared rosemary. He wasn't allowed. Morgan had made it clear that their age gap was too wide, that he wouldn't want to date someone so much younger. Especially when he had two boyfriends closer to his age already.

Maybe it was better that way. Morgan was polyamorous, but Garrett was monogamous, and he wasn't sure he could share a partner with someone else, much less two someone elses. The jealousy would kill him, and it wouldn't be fair to expect Morgan to leave Danny and Meara because of his own insecurities.

He sighed inwardly. There were a lot of reasons they couldn't be together. He wished he could get over this crush and just move on already.

Garrett opened the box and pulled out the iPod and the earbuds wrapped up on top of it.

"Put them in, put them in," Morgan said. He took the iPod from Garrett's hands and swiped his way through the menus until he finally found what he was looking for and pressed 'Play.' He held onto it for another long moment as the music began – a kazoo? Garrett knew this song. "Accidentally in Love." But it was a kazoo cover? A bright grin split across his face and he took the iPod back. When he checked to see who it was by, he saw Morgan's face on the screen, playing the kazoo as Danny and Meara popped up in the background with a pennywhistle and a tambourine, respectively. Garrett laughed brightly and brought the screen a little closer.

Someone else took over the kazoo as Morgan started to sing, that bright, vibrant, exuberant voice that had caused Garrett to fall in the first place. Sara popped up with it in the background, then Kris beatboxing, Austin with percussion on the back of the chair Morgan was filming in, and the rest of his friends on other children's instruments. Garrett's hand flew to his mouth again and the camera blurred, but it wasn't the camera. He had tears in his eyes. The iPod was great, but it was the song that really touched him – nobody but his sister had ever done anything like this for him before.

He watched, enraptured, at the music video his friends had made for him, but no matter where his eyes went on the screen, they always came back to Morgan singing in the middle. Morgan, with his impossibly messy curls and his voice range of four octaves and his boyish grin that could make Garrett forget there was such a gap in their ages. He put his whole heart into the song, gesturing and swaying along with the music, and when, much too soon, the song ended, Garrett lowered the iPod to look up at Morgan, about to take the earbuds out when the recording started again. He looked back down.

"Happy birthday, Garrett," Morgan said. "I hope it's your best one yet, and I hope we can make next year even better. You deserve it." Morgan leaned over the desk and grabbed a piece of paper, which he unrolled and showed to the camera.

It read, "Will you go out with me?"

Garrett fumbled the iPod and nearly dropped it. When he looked back up, everyone was watching him expectantly. He glanced over at Akasha. She gestured toward Morgan. Oh, god, was she in on it, too? Were all of them?

He finally pulled the earbuds out and wrapped the cord around his hand. When he looked up at Morgan, the older man's smile fell and his brow pulled together in concern. He gently rested his hand on Garrett's cheek and wiped away the tears that were gathering in the bottom from his eyes.

"Hey," he said gently. "Are you okay? Was that too much pressure? If you changed your mind I won't –"

"Yes!" Garrett shouted. He threw his arms around Morgan's torso, burying his face in the taller man's shoulder. "Yesyesyesyesyes!" It was muffled in Morgan's warm skin, but it didn't matter: everyone could still hear. The room broke out into applause and Danny whooped brightly.

The Danny and Meara thing would take some getting used to. Garrett couldn't even begin to try to lie. He'd never dated anyone who was also dating someone else. But... Morgan's relationship with Danny and Meara was so open, so healthy, and he could be in on that? He was sure the other two wouldn't be offended that he was only interested in Morgan. And maybe the three of them together could help him get his head around how it was supposed to work.

Morgan wrapped his arms back around Garrett and Garrett pushed closer, gripping tight, like he was afraid Morgan would turn to smoke and disappear if he loosened his hold.

Best. Birthday. Ever.