Fred had never realized to what extent he depended on his twin. In fact he'd barely ever questioned the existence of George, beyond the basic fact that they were and forever would be twins; together in everything; The End. So the brutal destruction of his perfect reality was more than Fred could handle. Without George, there was nothing. Without George, he was alone. His jokes weren't funny, his smile wasn't infectious, his laugh wasn't free. And none of it mattered without George there to share it with him. He felt like he'd died along with his twin, that at the very least, he should have died. His pathetic attempts to follow George this one last place had been met with the furious eyes of Percy, bossy know-it-all of the Weasley curse. Now he understood why those eyes of his brother's hardly ever laughed. Percy too had no one. Percy had never had anyone. Bill had Charlie, Ron had Ginny, and Fred had... George.

He had nothing.

The first tears spilled over his pale face, to exhausted to hold them back anymore, especially from Percy. He felt awkward hands on his shoulders, gentle and cautious at first, but finally his brother grabbed him and pulled him close like he was the last thing to hold onto in the world.

And Fred cried.

Those arms continued to hold him the entire time, rocking him comfortingly back and forth, never saying a word, just willing to hold him. He finally looked up, meeting Percy's usually cold eyes, and saw for the first time a glimmer of reciprocated emotion. Percy knew the emptiness, and Percy didn't want him to have to feel it. He nodded once, accepting the offer he saw there, and suddenly the arms were back around him, and all the tears his brother had kept from them, never wanting to disturb their happiness, came pouring out at once, their breath mingling between their bodies and tears flowing together, all the pain fleeing their tired bodies in the face of the promise they now shared. Both boys clung together, feeling united for the first time. Silently Fred offered the gift he had hoped to share with George alone. Their mouths met gently at first, but terror evaporated soon and Percy's hands tangled in Fred's hair, and Fred's teeth scraped across Percy's lips, both demanding and afraid of the need, unwilling to be separated for one second.

Neither of them ever wanted to let go again.