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#bo rhap fic
mercurysnitch · 2 years
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Mother Mercury Part 5: The Show Must Go On
Summary: Trouble is brewing when Mel returns to the set of Bohemian Rhapsody after Thanksgiving break. Christmas is a turning point for Mel and Ben, and the end of filming might just have a few surprises in store.
A/N: Yes, it’s finally here. As previously mentioned, this is the last part of this story, three years and a pandemic after I started it. I do have an idea for a final epilogue chapter, but I'm not convinced I’ll ever get around to writing it. But I may post some “headcanons” of where I was planning for this story to go at some point.
Despite the long gaps between parts this story kept my mind somewhat occupied during multiple lockdowns even though very little of those thoughts ever actually made it onto the page, so I suppose I’m grateful for that.
This part covers the rest of Bohemian Rhapsody filming and a bit extra, so the story’s ending a bit earlier than I initially planned, but I think it works. The filming timeline might not be entirely historically accurate but at the end of the day, this is my fic so the timeline is whatever I say it is.
Not a lot of Eve in this one, but there’s some guest appearances to make up for it. Including, finally, the other surviving member of Queen finally turning up on-screen after many mentions in previous parts. Title is obviously from the Queen song.
The only warning for this one is mentions of illness, I think. Also as usual I think the English and American slang is accurate but I am neither of those things so it’s probably not perfect. Apologies if any Australianisms have snuck in, I try to avoid them but sometimes they’re not obvious.
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Previously on Mother Mercury: The Bo Rhap cast has been introduced to Freddie’s granddaughter Mel, who’s working in the wardrobe department, and her mother Eve. Ben and Mel are going out, and he was invited to Eve’s for Thanksgiving, but no one on set knows they’re together. Also, the director’s a pill.
Mel was feeling quite refreshed after the Thanksgiving break, and she knew the band were looking forward to getting back together. But when she and Ben finally arrived to set on the first morning back, there was a rather unwelcome surprise waiting for them.
The set was never far from organised chaos at the best of times, but that morning nearly everything seemed to be in total disarray. Even Barbara looked worried when Mel arrived at the wardrobe department to start her day.
“What’s going on?” she asked, suddenly concerned. “Our esteemed director hasn’t arrived yet” Barbara informed her, voice dripping with contempt. “And no-one’s heard from him. No one even knows where he is.” “Christ” Mel exclaimed. “So are we still running today, or…?” Barbara just shrugged. “If he’s not here soon we’ll have to shut down for today, nothing’s been properly organised.” “And after that?” Mel asked. “The word is if he doesn’t surface soon he’ll be sacked” Barbara replied conspiratorially. Not a minute too soon, Mel thought.
It was a strange, unsettled day. The assistant directors did what they could, but it was hard to make progress when no one really knew what they were supposed to be doing. After noon arrived with no sign of the director arriving on set, the decision was made to shut down for the day. Some of the most senior crew stayed on to do some contingency planning for the next few days, but everyone else was sent home. None of the cast were exactly happy with this news, but Joe was particularly unimpressed.
“Seriously? This bullshit again? Honestly, I don’t care what this guy’s resume is like, he’s a seriously shitty director right now. Like, does he just not give a shit about all the time and money he’s wasted? And putting everything on the A.D. s all the time, that’s just disrespectful, like, their job isn’t to do his job for him.” “We know, Joe” Gwilym said gently. “You think you’d be better?” Rami joked. Joe looked alarmed. “God, no, I directed one tiny indie with like half a crew, I wouldn’t have a clue what to do on a big production like this.” Suddenly he looked wistful. “Maybe one day, though.”
Lacking anything better to do, the band decided to decamp to Rami's hotel for the afternoon to have a proper post-break catch up. Lucy and Allen were also invited, along with Mel. She was pleased to be included, though she could have sworn she saw a hint of a smirk on Joe's face when he extended the invitation.
At any rate, mid-afternoon found the gang scattered through Rami's deluxe suite, chatting about what they'd been up to during the break. Allen and Gwilym had enjoyed a bit of time off with their partners, while Lucy had taken the opportunity to catch up with a few friends. Rami and Joe had of course gone home to spend the holiday with their families, which for Joe had been extremely bittersweet due to his father's illness.
"I just… He was so much worse than when I left" Joe explained. "I think… I knew he was getting sicker before I left, but it’s just so obvious how much he’s deteriorated while I’ve been away, and I..." At that Joe began to break down, leaning into Rami who embraced him tightly, whispering words of comfort the others couldn't hear. "We're all here for you, mate, anything you need" Gwilym added softly. Joe pulled back, smiling slightly. "Thanks guys" he told them. "But right now I need to not think about it for a while, so Ben, what did you do last week?"
Ben's eyes widened in horror. He'd spent most of the week with Mel, of course, but he could hardly tell everyone that without explaining why. "I, uh,…" he stammered, looking desperately to Mel for support. She merely grinned mischievously. “Y'know, we could just tell them” she said evenly, largely unperturbed. “We’re official now, we have to tell them at some point.” “You sure?” Ben checked. Mel nodded. “Alright then” Ben agreed. He grinned in anticipation. "I had Thanksgiving supper at Eve's, actually." The others were suitably shocked. "You what?" Lucy asked, baffled. "It's a tradition of ours" Mel explained. "We remember Freddie by having a big meal with lots of guests, and wine, once the kids are in bed of course."
"That's all well and good, but why was Ben invited to supper by himself?" Gwilym questioned. Mel and Ben broke into near identical mischievous smiles. “Because he’s my boyfriend” Mel announced, reaching out to take Ben's hand.
“I knew it!” Joe yelled. “I knew there was something going on.” “We’re all very happy for you” Lucy said kindly, shaking her head at Joe’s antics. The rest of the group were smiling, cheerfully congratulating the happy couple. “You’re not surprised” Ben observed. “We’ve been wondering when it would happen” Lucy explained. Ben raised his eyebrows. “When, not if?”
“Mate, you’ve been absolutely gone for Mel since the day you met her” Gwilym pointed out. “I have not” Ben protested to Mel, blushing furiously. She merely smiled. “Naww, love at first sight?” she teased. “Anyway,” Gwilym interjected, “we didn’t know how Mel felt, of course, but we had our suspicions, and, well…” It was Mel’s turn to blush. “Damn, and I thought I was hiding it so well around you lot.” “Hey, we're not holding it against you” Lucy reassured her. “No, no, it's quite alright” Mel agreed.
Suddenly Joe groaned, cutting through the general cheer. "What's up?" Rami said quzzically, speaking for the rest of the rather puzzled group. "I just realised, I'm the only single dude in the band now" Joe explained. "Gwil was the only one with a girlfriend when we started this movie, and then Rami and Lucy happened, which, okay, I’m thrilled he’s found someone, but now my boy Ben's gone and left me all alone in singletown and we're not even done shooting yet. I mean, I know stuff happens on movies but both of you met people, on the same movie, within weeks of each other?"
Mel stared at him in confusion. "Is… Is he actually upset two of his mates have met someone before him?" "No, no, he's happy for us, really" Ben assured her. "He's just whining cos he doesn't want to be the only one on the pull when we all go out." "Eh, it's not like I could be any less successful than I have been the last few months" Joe grumbled. "Yeah, and I can still be your wingman, you know" Ben told him cheerfully. Joe smiled. "Well, that could be fun" he said. "Seriously though, I am genuinely super happy for you crazy kids."
Mel grinned at that. "Thanks, old man." Joe laughed at the insult, though he looked mildly scandalised. But whatever offence he might have taken at Mel’s jibe didn’t last long, and the rest of the afternoon was spent recounting the highlights of Ben and Mel’s Thanksgiving dinner and discussing plans for the remaining weeks of the shoot.
The next day the director was still nowhere to be found, and no one had successfully contacted him. The first assistant director attempted to take charge so they could at least try to get something done, but the mood on set was still unsettled and progress was slow. Over the next few days everyone soldiered on as best they could, but the director remained conspicuously absent.
After another week of radio silence though, both the cast and crew’s patience was rapidly running out. Remarkably, that very day the director finally reappeared, hours after he should have arrived on set on a normal day, claiming he'd been delayed due to having to care for his ill mother. But it was too late. Official complaints had apparently been made, and by noon a couple of Fox executives had arrived to give the director his marching orders. Singer was officially fired, effective immediately, and production was suspended until a new director could be hired.
The cast were universally thrilled to see the back of Singer, but there was widespread frustration at the resulting delays. Although some of the tension that had hung over the production in recent weeks had finally lifted with the knowledge the director was gone for good, there was still some unease about the potential impact of all the disruptions on the production, not to mention the inevitable effects a new director would have on both the set and the eventual film. Rami, though, was apparently confident everything would turn out alright in the end.
“I know who they’re trying to get to take over, and if he says yes, it should be good” he told the band, following the official announcement of the search for a new director to the cast and crew. Gwilym wasn’t convinced. “It’s still a massive disruption though, especially this late on in production.” “As long as they listen to the crew we’ll be able to pretty much pick up where we left off, everything’s still basically set up” Joe countered. “Plus, if Rami says this guy’s good, he’s probably great, so…” Rami grinned. “Nice to know some of you still have faith in me.”
In the end it took only four days for the studio to announce Dexter Fletcher would be taking over to finish the film, and shooting would resume shortly. The cast made the most of the unexpected break, spending an afternoon having a (very) long lunch at Eve’s. Mel did have some slight misgivings about the potential consequences of introducing all of her workmates to her very-much-not-average family, but in the end she needn’t have worried. Everyone got over their awe at being in Freddie’s house very quickly, having been prepared ahead of time by Ben, and by the time the end-of-meal tea and coffee were served quite a lot of the band seemed to be happily ensconced with Eve’s family.
Gwilym and Violet, both keen gardeners, were deep in discussion about the proper care of his new indoor plants. No one else in the band was terribly interested in plants, so he was very pleased to finally find someone who shared his enthusiasm. Joe, armed with his years of experience as an uncle, had won Jamie over almost instantly, and had even managed to get Lavender to warm up to him within half an hour of meeting her. By that point she’d persuaded him to play blocks with her on the floor, Jamie having managed to engage Allen in a detailed discussion of their respective football teams’ recent fortunes.
Rami was discussing something Freddie-related with Eve. He’d had an unpleasant moment soon after arriving, when he’d been happily greeted by Eve’s big fluffy grey cat Oberon, only to immediately sneeze and instinctively move away from the poor thing. Once he’d explained he was allergic to cats Eve had obligingly shut away Oberon and his elegant tabby companion Titania for the duration and assured Rami it was perfectly fine, though she did note the irony of her father’s portrayer being allergic to his favourite animals.
Meanwhile Mel was enjoying a rare opportunity to get to know Gwilym and Allen’s partners. This was in fact the first time she’d met them, but thus far they were all getting on famously despite their various differences in age and professional background.
Lucy, having found herself uninvolved in any of the conversations, turned to Ben, who was watching proceedings with a contented smile.
“You look happy” she said quietly. “I am happy” Ben replied. “The prick is finally gone, I get to spend more time with some of my best mates and my girlfriend… life’s good, y’know?” Lucy smiled. “You really like her, don’t you?” “I do” Ben said softly. “More than I thought… well I thought, at the start, she’d be a-a rebound, or whatever, but then I wanted to be official, and she wanted me to meet her family, and I… it’s still so early, we’re moving a bit fast but… I actually quite like it.” “You’re getting serious then” Lucy observed. “I think we are” Ben agreed. “I mean, I don’t want to get too serious too quickly but… I don’t want to not be serious either.” “That’s a good thing, wanting to be serious” Lucy assured him. “And you just do things when it feels right for the two of you, if anyone says you’re wrong they can piss off.” Ben couldn’t help grinning at that. “Thanks, Luce.”
The rest of the afternoon passed quite peacefully, though Ben couldn’t resist the opportunity to stir things up a bit by encouraging Eve to play Freddie’s piano for the assembled company. At the mention of music Lavender immediately requested ‘All Together Now’, clearly still obsessed. Ben got a big surprise when Mel picked up the guitar to accompany herself while she sang, naturally backed by her mums. The others were of course preoccupied with Mel’s fabulous voice, so her playing passed largely without comment until much later, when she and Ben were walking back to her little house.
“I didn’t know you could play the guitar” Ben said casually. Mel smiled. “And the bass, a bit.” “Really?” Ben marvelled. “Haven’t you ever noticed the absurd number of instruments crammed into my sitting room?” Mel joked. “Well, I’ve seen the piano… wait, can you play that too?” Mel grinned. “Of course, darling, why do you think I have the bloody thing?” Ben was intrigued. “Did your mum teach you then, the piano I mean?” “And the guitar, at first” Mel told him. “Papa taught her when she was young, she passed it all on to me when I was old enough. But even when I was very small I liked it when she played, she said.” Ben nodded. “So does Eve play the bass as well?” “No, Uncle John taught me” Mel clarified. “And more guitar, Mum was always more interested in the piano.” “You’re very talented, you know, all those instruments” Ben commented, smiling. “So are you” Mel said. “Drums are hard, you’re pretty good for someone who’s only been playing a few months.” Ben blushed slightly. “Gee, thanks. But you’re… your whole family is, like, ridiculously musical, it’s insane.” “It’s in the blood, I s’pose” Mel said, shrugging. “I suppose it is” Ben agreed.
***
Dexter Fletcher’s arrival on set after the unplanned break heralded a significant change in working conditions. Much of the tension that had previously hung over the set had dissolved with Singer’s departure, and Fletcher brought a much happier, more buoyant energy to proceedings. The disorder that had arisen from the previous director’s frequent disappearances was quickly sorted out, and both cast and crew were soon back on track to produce a very good movie. Their renewed focus meant that the days passed quickly, and Mel felt as though she barely had time to blink before Christmas was upon them all.
The imminent Christmas break triggered many animated discussions about their respective plans between Mel and Ben. She was of course planning to stay in London, while he was going home to Dorset to see his family. Mel was wondering whether to be miffed she wasn’t invited, until Ben reminded her his parents currently didn’t even know she existed. “I’ll tell them when I get home, I want to do it in person” he assured her. In any case Mel wanted to spend at least some of the break with her boyfriend, as did Ben with her, so in the end he decided he would come back to London in time for New Year’s Eve, to finish off the break. “My parents might come up to London after that, for my birthday, I could introduce you to them then” Ben added, as a small sweetener. Mel liked the sound of that.
But before all that came the Deacon family Christmas party, less than a week before the big day. Ben had agreed to go with Mel quite happily, but he was distinctly uneasy as they prepared for the party. “Nervous?” Mel said lightly. “A little” Ben admitted. “But I just… I feel like I’m representing all of the band tonight, I don’t want to screw it up and end up with John Deacon hating all of us.” Mel grinned. “Yeah, Joe would probably wring your neck” she joked. “But he won’t hate the band, he’s already had a good report from Luke.” Ben smiled. “For a minute there I forgot Luke’s met all of us, I keep thinking he’s just met me. But I’m glad you think he liked us.”
”He did, he told me” Mel said, turning to face Ben with a reassuring smile. “I know you’re worried, darling,” she said gently, “but tonight, as far as Uncle John’s concerned you’re not Ben Hardy the actor playing his old friend in a movie about his old band, you’re just my new boyfriend Ben, coming to meet the family for the first time.” “That’s... barely less nerve-wracking, to be honest” Ben admitted, half-jokingly.
“John and Veronica are the nicest people, truly, you’ll be fine” Mel reassured him. “They’re also basically your grandparents” Ben pointed out. “And some of the things I’ve heard about John…” Mel smiled. “The press love to exaggerate” she said. “He can get a bit grumpy when he’s out and about, perhaps, but that’s just because he hates being recognised and pounced on in public. He’s perfectly lovely to people he actually knows.” “He doesn’t know me” Ben pointed out. “Yes, but you’re with me, and he’s known me quite literally my entire life, so I think you’ll be alright” Mel joked. Ben eventually agreed he’d have to take her word for it, and they got on with making their way to the party.
Ben wasn’t entirely sure what he’d actually been expecting, but the enthusiastic greeting he got from Veronica when she let them in the front door reassured him he at least wasn’t going to be made to feel unwelcome. In fact, they’d barely crossed the threshold of the living room when they were set upon by Luke and Cameron, both evidently pleased to see Ben again. They barely had time to draw breath before Ben was being introduced to the rest of the Deacon clan, who all greeted him warmly.
Ben was relieved at the general willingness to welcome him to the fold, though he seriously questioned whether he’d be able to properly remember the names of all their various partners and children. The children themselves were mostly dotted about the room enjoying playing with their cousins, and Ben was already despairing of keeping track of who belonged to which Deacon child.
As Ben and Mel circulated the room, drinks in hand, chatting to each of the guests, Ben noticed a distinct contrast between Mel’s relationships with the eldest and youngest Deacon siblings. She was of course very close to Luke and Cameron, and Joshua seemed to care for her quite a bit too. But Robert and Michael were apparently a lot more distant. There didn’t seem to be any particular tensions, but the significant age gap between them and Mel presumably wasn’t conducive to a close sibling relationship. Laura, conversely, was clearly rather fond of Mel, if in a distantly benevolent older sibling sort of way. Ben was slightly to shocked to realise she was almost the same age as Eve, which must have led to a few interesting experiences when Mel was born.
And then, finally, Mel led him to a corner where a figure in a dark woollen jumper was bent over the complicated-looking stereo system, fiddling with something. Veronica was standing nearby, glass in hand. “Uncle John?” she said softly. The figure straightened up and turned around, and Ben found himself face to face with John Deacon. His once-flowing hair was all but gone, and his face was naturally a bit worn with age, but the crinkly-eyed smile he broke into on spotting his surrogate granddaughter was unmistakable. “Hello Mel” he said quietly, leaning over to embrace her. “We were so pleased when Luke said you’d be coming” Veronica chimed in warmly. “Wouldn’t miss it” Mel said, as they broke apart. “Uncle John, this is Ben” she added, taking his hand as she spoke.
John’s smile dimmed somewhat when his eyes fell on the newcomer, but he shook Ben’s hand politely all the same, before turning back to Mel, not looking entirely pleased at the sight before him. “So how’s work been?” Veronica said brightly, perhaps attempting to smooth over the awkwardness. ”We heard there was some disruption a little while ago…” “There was” Mel confirmed. “But everything’s settled down since we got a new director.” John nodded. “Well at least it’s all going well now” he mused. “Though it did make me wish even more that you’d never got involved in the film.”
Mel sighed, and Ben guessed from her expression, and Veronica’s evident exasperation, this was a long-running point of contention with John. “I’m fine, all the drama had nothing to do with me” she grumped. “You’re lucky it didn’t, if someone found out it’d be a perfect storm for the press” John countered. Mel groaned in frustration. “It’s been six months and still no one on that set knows who I really am” she pointed out. “Surely I’m safe now, there’s only a few weeks of filming left after Christmas.” John glanced pointedly at Ben. “Clearly some people on set have found out the truth.” “Only because I told them, or Mum did” Mel clarified angrily. “And they haven’t spread it around either.”
“It’s only six of us who know” Ben said quietly. “Just the core cast, and we would never sell anyone out to the tabloids.” John seemed unconvinced as he turned to Mel. “D’you believe that?” “I do” she told him. “Do you really think we would have let them in on the secret if we didn’t trust them?” “Your mother wouldn’t” John agreed. “You, I’m not so sure about.” His tone was utterly deadpan, but he was smiling slightly, his eyes shining with mirth. Ben let out a small sigh of relief when he realised John was only joking. When he felt Mel relax next to him he knew everything would be alright, even if all wasn’t quite forgiven just yet.
Later on, after food was served, Ben found himself next to John, left alone after Mel got caught up talking to someone else and Veronica disappeared off to deal with hostess duties. He suddenly felt rather awkward. Of course there were plenty of things he would have liked to chat to John about, but he had also been warned that John Deacon’s past with Queen was something of a ‘sensitive’ subject for him. “It’s not that he never talks about it” Mel had explained. “But he really doesn’t like being asked direct questions about it.” Ben’s usual fallback would have been small talk about his career, which normally fascinated new people, but even that seemed a dangerous topic of conversation given the focus of his current job, not to mention John’s clear reservations about Mel’s involvement in the project.
Just as Ben was wondering if John was going to say anything to him at all, the older man caught his eye, smiling wryly. “I hope you don’t think what I said about the film was anything to do with you” John said quietly. Ben was confused. “What you said about the film?” “I wish Mel hadn’t taken the job on it, but not because of you” John explained. “I just worry she hasn’t even thought about the fact she’s put herself in the one place she and Eve are most likely to be… exposed, shall we say, let alone what might happen if they are revealed to the world.” Ben smiled reassuringly. “The half dozen of us who know won’t tell anyone else, and we’d do anything in our power to keep it out of the press, if it came to that.” “I’m sure you would,” John agreed, “but I’ll still worry about it.”
Suddenly he grinned mischievously. “You know, I wasn’t sure what to think when I first heard Mel was seeing you. All the people she could have fancied at work, and she went for the bloke playing Roger.” “Well, at least she didn’t go for the man himself” Ben quipped. John smiled wryly. “She’s gone for worse, even if he is a bit old for her. Though I should hope Roger still has enough sense to know better than to go after a 21-year-old at his age.” Suddenly John looked thoughtful. “You’re a bit older than Mel yourself, though, aren’t you?” “Only five years” Ben said sheepishly. “It’s alright, that’s not an age gap to be concerned about” John assured him. “Luke and Cameron seem to think you’re alright, and Mel seems very happy, which is the main thing.” “So am I” Ben admitted, wondering whether he was about to get the if-you-ever-hurt-her talk.
But all John said was “That’s all I want, for her to be happy.” He smiled wryly. “She’s an adult now, she’s old enough to make her own decisions, and I just have to trust her not to make any bad ones.” Ben couldn’t decide whether John’s last comment was aimed at him. “I hope you don’t think-” “No, no, not at all, I can see how much you care about her” John reassured him. “So, just remember, she is a Mercury, a rare and precious creature who should be treasured. If you did want my advice I’d tell you anyone who’s serious about her should treat her like the queen she is, but I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” Ben let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, knowing now he had John’s approval. “Of course” he assured John, resisting the enormous temptation to make a Queen reference. It seemed unwise somehow, to draw attention to a topic they’d been carefully avoiding all night. They soon slid into much safer areas of small talk, and in fact John didn’t say much more to Ben after that, but he seemed not to dislike Ben, at the very least.
In fact, John wasn’t particularly talkative for the rest of the evening, but Ben nonetheless got the feeling he’d made a good impression. Well, he hoped he had. He felt rather conspicuous amongst all the Deacons, but they didn’t seem to find his presence particularly remarkable. He did field a few questions about his job, but none of them seemed overly curious, which at least meant he didn’t feel like he was banging on about himself too much.
Much later, when he was home again with Mel, he was relieved to hear she was pleased with how the evening had gone. Apparently Veronica had been very enthusiastic in her approval, and the others seemed satisfied he was a decent person, and seemingly weren’t terribly phased about the age gap. But the best news, at least to Ben, was the fact that John Deacon had apparently indicated he liked Ben already. Suddenly he didn’t think the party could have gone any better.
***
Christmas itself was much the same as always, though Ben left for his parents’ place with some trepidation. Mel for her part enjoyed her family’s low-key London Christmas, even if she did spend a bit of time wondering how Ben was getting on. As it turned out, his family were fairly pleased he’d found someone new, if a bit surprised it had happened so quickly. “Not that they mind much, apparently my mum was already plotting to set me up with one of the the locals before I told her” Ben reported, when he FaceTimed Mel on Christmas night. “So they’re not… unhappy about the age difference?” Mel questioned. “It’s barely a difference” Ben assured her. “But… I don’t think so. They’re pretty keen to meet you, I don’t think they’re too bothered.” Mel nodded. “So they are coming for your birthday then.” “Yeah, you’ll get to meet them very soon” Ben agreed.
In the end, despite Mel’s nerves Ben’s birthday turned out to be a very nice bookend to the Christmas break. His parents were very welcoming, and they seemed to be pleased to start getting to know Mel, at least. She did think she detected a whiff of tension when she mentioned her mums, but it was only a passing mention and as no-one said anything she decided not to dwell on it for the time being. More questions would no doubt be asked later, and if Ben’s parents did get judgmental at any point, she’d have no problems dealing with it head on. After all, she’d been dealing with other people’s attitudes about her unusual family for most of her life, there wasn’t a lot she hadn’t heard before.
***
Once production resumed after the Christmas break, filming was very much on the home stretch, though there was still plenty of fun to be had. One rather unpromising morning Mel was in the midst of organising some spare costumes when an American-accented voice cut through the chatter burbling through the wardrobe truck. “Hi, I’m doing a walk-on today, I was told to ask for Mel when I got to wardrobe?” “Ah, yes, I heard there was a special request.” Mel recognised her boss’s clipped English tones, rather jarring next to the drawling American. “Mel, extra for you!” Mel was slightly startled at the yell, but hurried to the front of the racks nonetheless. She found Barbara smiling warmly. “Special request from Queen; they want you to dress Adam for his scene today” she explained, as Mel emerged into the front.
She was only mildly surprised to find herself face to face with none other than Adam Lambert; wardrobe and makeup had been informed of his cameo ahead of time so they could plan his look. “Mel, this is-” “Adam, I know” she told Barbara. Adam was surprised.“You know who I am?” “Yeah, I’m a bit of a fan actually” she said, endeavouring to keep her tone casual. “Follow me, your stuff’s down here.”
Adam’s jaw had dropped the minute he saw Mel’s face, but he followed her obediently nonetheless. “Uh, has anyone ever told you you look just like Freddie Mercury?” he asked, once he’d recovered himself sufficiently. Mel just managed to hold back an exasperated sigh. “You would not believe how many times I’ve heard that since I started here.” “It’s true though, it’s… kinda scary almost” Adam insisted. Mel turned around to face him, having reached the rack she was looking for. “It’s not scary, it’s just genetics” she said blithely. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m his granddaughter.”
Adam was so shocked at this Mel had to restrain herself from laughing at his expression. “His -? But he never had-?” “He did, he just kept it quiet” Mel explained. “Very quiet, clearly” Adam quipped. “This is, like, super rude, but I just… how did that even happen, Freddie Mercury having a kid?” Mel sighed. “It’s a long story, but basically my grandmother went to a party in Munich, Freddie was there, everyone was drunk or high, or both, and, well, shit happened.” Adam grinned. “Cool story, your grandma partying with Freddie Mercury.” “Yeah, I s’pose it is” Mel agreed. “I’ve never really thought about it to be honest, it’s just… the story of my family, y’know.”
Adam nodded in agreement, but he was looking at Mel with clear curiosity. “So did… did Freddie ever find out about his kid, do you know?” he asked, sounding rather uncertain, almost as if he thought he was edging into risky conversational territory. “He did” Mel reassured him, smiling softly. “And he got to know her very well, over the years.” Adam was understandably confused. “When you say very well…” “Ever heard of someone called Daphne Caddington?” Mel asked. He nodded. “She, like, lived with him for a while, with her daughter, yeah?” “She was my grandmother” Mel explained. Adam’s eyes bugged out in shock. “She was… so does that mean her daughter was-?” “Yep.” Mel grinned. “But Evangeline’s, like, my age and you’re…” Adam mused, puzzled. “She was quite young when I was born” Mel clarified, an amused smile dancing on her lips. “She must have been, like, super young” Adam agreed. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.
“Roger and Brian know about all this, don’t they?” he said quietly. It was barely a question. Mel nodded. “They’ve set us up” he mused. “Probably” Mel agreed. Adam smiled. “Those sneaky bitches.” “Did… did you just call Queen bitches?” Mel questioned. “Oh, they totally are” Adam defended, grinning mischievously. “You should see them in private, they bicker like an old married couple. It’s hilarious to watch… most of the time.”
Whatever the reason Queen had seen fit to make the request, Mel was quite pleased with it by the end of the day. She and Adam had an almost unhealthy amount of fun working together to get him appropriately attired, spending almost as much time cackling over his various touring-with-Queen stories as they did actually working. Despite their differences in age and background they seemed to share a lot of similarities in both interests and personalities, not least the fact they were both musical theatre actors by training.
Adam also seemed a bit awed by Mel’s connection to Freddie, asking her lots of questions in between bursts of work. Frustratingly, she wasn’t able to answer many of them, having never known Freddie herself. “Look, I get that you’re curious, darling, but I really don’t know that much about Freddie, you’d have to ask my mum” she told him, after the umpteenth question she couldn’t answer.
By the end of the day, he’d gone one better and got himself invited to tea at Garden Lodge. Eve had coincidentally happened to video call Mel while she was with Adam, needing an opinion on colours for a half-finished painting. Adam had in fact tried to escape until Mel hauled him over to meet the famous Eve Caddington, who wasted no time in putting him at ease and inviting him round to chat properly about Freddie. “You should come for tea some time, we can have a nice long chinwag over a hot meal” she said kindly. Adam was so stunned he barely managed to squeak out an “Okay!” before Eve hung up. Ever the professional, Adam quickly pulled himself back together and refocused on the job at hand, but Mel couldn’t help thinking there was an extra sparkle in his eye for the rest of the day.
***
Eve made one more visit to the set before the film wrapped. They were filming "the band" appearing on Top of the Pops, and it was all hands on deck. Roger and Brian were all dressed up for a quick cameo, and even Jim Beach was on set. Eve rather doubted he was having a cameo, although she also didn’t think he’d mind too much if he was asked to do one.
Eve was introduced to Dexter Fletcher by Roger himself, with much ceremony. Dexter said nothing obvious, but there was a look in his eye that made her quite sure Roger had spilled the beans about her true identity at some point. At least, she assumed it was Roger, or possibly Brian. There were others who knew, of course, but somehow Eve didn’t think they were the type to gossip, at least not about something like that, and certainly not to the new director.
It soon transpired that Mel had volunteered to be an extra in the background of the “performance” sequence. As the day’s schedule inched towards that part Eve found herself being persuaded to join her daughter in the scene, though she felt she was much too old to be playing a teenybopper in the Top of the Pops audience. The main cast very much disagreed, however. “You’re the same age as us, we’re not that old” Joe pointed out. “And anyway, most of the extras aren’t actual teenagers either” Mel added. “Oh come on, please? It’ll be fun, all you’ll have to do is stand and dance a bit.”
“It would give the scene an extra something, having Freddie Mercury’s daughter in it” a raspy voice interjected. Eve immediately turned around, shocked to see the director himself chiming in. “Roger told me” he added, seeing her confusion. Mel was suddenly uncertain, not having actually asked about adding another extra to the scene. “We don’t have to, if it’s going to be too difficult to change things…” “Nonsense, the more the merrier” Dexter reassured her. “Roger told me about you too, you know. I must say it almost feels like his approval, in a way, having you working here…” Somehow everyone knew ‘his’ didn’t mean Roger’s.
Having received the director’s approval Mel’s enthusiasm quickly returned, and she and Eve spent a very pleasant afternoon moonlighting as extras. In fact, most of the set seemed to be in a good mood that day. The happy atmosphere lasted through most of the remaining days of shooting, almost to the last day of filming. The final day itself, though, was somewhat subdued as everyone had finally realised the carnival really was nearly over.
But after the wrap on the last day came the wrap party, which everyone enjoyed. Roger, Brian and Miami were all in attendance, though Eve had declined the invitation she received after her appearance as an extra. The band were determined to enjoy one last night together, and Mel was almost as set on getting Ben out on the dancefloor at least once.
In addition to the dancing, and the usual drinks and finger food, a bit later in the evening they brought on a spot of Queen karaoke. Joe of course approached it with his usual enthusiasm, and managed to persuade several of the cast, and a few of the crew, to join him at various points. Mostly it was a bit of a laugh for everyone, but then Joe begged long and hard enough that Mel agreed to join him for Bohemian Rhapsody. Her spectacular rendition of the second verse just about brought the house down. Even Queen themselves looked impressed.
“I didn’t know you could sing like that” Roger commented later. Mel was, naturally, with Ben, in a secluded corner. “So can Eve” Ben added. “And they can both play too.” “Just a bit of piano and guitar, nothing special” Mel said, blushing. “Just like your grandad then” Roger mused. “Have you ever considered recording something?” Brian asked curiously. Mel shook her head. “No, not really. Anyway, right now I want to get into musical theatre, but maybe one day...” “Oh, of course, of course” Brian murmured apologetically. “Well, if you ever change your mind I’d be happy to help with the production side of things, if you needed it of course.” Mel was taken aback. Maybe it would be easier than she thought to do more than just theatre. “If I ever decide to record something you’ll be the first to know” she assured Brian.
“Well, whatever you do next, keep in touch, alright?” Roger told her. “That goes for your mum too, I’d like to know what Freddie’s offspring gets up to when she’s not swanning around film sets.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “You know, I should have you both round to lunch next time I manage to round up all of my brood” he mused. Mel wasn’t at all sure how to respond, but she had to admit lunch at Roger Taylor’s house did sound like fun. “I think Mum’d like that, I know I would.” “Partners will be invited too” Roger added, noticing Ben’s less-than-successful attempts not to look miffed at being left out. “Give us a time and we’ll let you know” Mel assured him.
Mel scored a number of comments from various members of the cast and crew as well, mostly complimenting her singing voice. Though a few did notice a resemblance to Freddie’s performance style as well. Even the director wandered over at one point, full of praise. However, it soon became clear he had something of an ulterior motive too. “I want a sort of chorus line for a couple of songs in the Elton John movie,” he explained, “and I’d love to have you in it. If you’re interested in auditioning, of course.” Mel was stunned. “You… you want to cast me in your movie?” Dexter nodded. “You’ve got a great voice, Mel, and exactly the right kind of background for what we’re looking for. I’d be a fool to pass up talent like this that’s just about fallen in my lap.” Mel grinned. “Send me the info and I’ll think about it when I’m a bit more sober.” Dexter seemed satisfied with that response, and soon darted off to talk to someone else looking very pleased with himself.
Mel turned to Ben, still grinning in amazement. “Did you- did you hear-?” she gabbled excitedly. “I’m gonna be in a movie!?” “I heard” Ben assured her, beaming proudly. “You’re a superstar, of course Dexter wants you in his musical… movie… thing.” Ben was still smiling at her, but he was a bit glassy-eyed, and Mel could see the night was starting to catch up with him. “I think you’ve probably had enough for tonight, dear” she said, a clear note of amusement in her voice as she moved his last drink out of his reach. “I do appreciate your support though.”
The festivities didn’t last much longer after that, with many of the crew needing to prepare for flights home the next day. The band were reluctant to say goodbye, eventually deciding to have one last breakfast together the next day before Joe and Rami had to fly back to America. Needless to say, they all regretted choosing an early start when they woke up the next day with pounding heads. Only Mel seemed to be entirely unscathed, although Lucy had also apparently escaped with only a mild hangover.
The others glared at them as they chattered happily over pancakes, though they had perked up a bit by the end of the meal. Even so, it was with heavy hearts that they all finally said goodbye that afternoon, naturally promising to see each other again soon. Exactly when ‘soon’ would be no one quite knew, though Lucy was apparently planning to meet Rami in America when she went over for a job in a few weeks, and Joe was unlikely to be far behind. Mel was sure it wouldn’t be long before Ben caught up with Gwilym either.
*******
Mel had thought, when she started working on Bohemian Rhapsody, that once filming was over she’d go back to her theatre life of auditions and waiting and hoping this part might be the breakthrough that would kickstart a long career. And she did, after taking a bit of time just to relax with Ben and luxuriate in having free time again. Ben was also between jobs, and keen to take a break while he could, knowing he had a round of promotion coming up for another project fairly soon, and more auditions on the horizon.
In the meantime, though, they spent a couple of weeks just enjoying roaming around London together and catching up on all the things they hadn’t had time for during filming. It was a largely quiet and domestic few weeks, though there was a small disruption when one of the more sensationalist tabloids published a couple of photos of them out and about together, with accompanying text proclaiming Ben had been spotted with a “mystery woman” multiple times in recent days.
Mel scanned that paper anxiously over the following days, but nothing more ever appeared. “Those photos were probably from someone who just got lucky anyway” Ben reassured her. “I mean, there’s probably more of them than what was published, but evidently none of them were clear enough to identify you. And ‘former soap star has new girlfriend’ is barely a story, it’s hardly something worth pursuing us over.”“I know,” Mel agreed, “but if they ever did discover who I am, that could be the beginning of how they finally find out about Mum and everything.” Ben found this a sobering thought, but he nevertheless felt it unlikely Eve would be discovered unless the tabloids decided to take more of an interest in Queen, something which could well happen if the movie did well. He refrained from sharing this thought with Mel, however.
Once it was clear nothing more was going to come of the photos Mel turned her attention to her audition for the Rocketman chorus. But just days after sending off her initial audition tape to the producers she had a phone call from Dexter offering her something of an upgrade on the chorus part.
“I’ve changed my mind, I’d really like you to try out for Kiki Dee” he told her, with his usual enthusiasm. “It’s not a big role, but it’s a speaking part at least.” Mel was stunned. “What-? Why-? A speaking part?” “I watched your audition tape” Dexter explained. “Your voice would be wasted in the chorus, not to mention the acting in your reel is streets ahead of everyone I’ve seen for Kiki so far.” “I- uh- Really?” Mel cursed internally at her clumsy response, but she recovered quickly. “I mean, of course I’ll audition for you!” Dexter was very pleased to hear that, and by the time Mel hung up she had a time and a place for a proper in-person audition in the very near future.
The audition, when it happened, went extremely well, and within a few days Mel got a phone call informing her that she’d won the part. She was positively buzzing with excitement when she saw Ben for dinner that night, and he was thrilled for her. “I knew you’d get it, you superstar, well done!” As they celebrated, Ben was slightly startled to realise there was something else he wanted to say to his extremely talented girlfriend. But he kept quiet, knowing the moment wasn’t quite right just yet.
They went back to Mel’s place after their meal, and spent quite a long night together celebrating intimately. The next morning Ben formulated a plan over his coffee, under the watchful eye of Jupiter the black cat, and quietly slipped out before Mel got up. When he returned she was sat at the head of the dining table, Mab purring on the chair next to her. Mel looked up as he came in, breaking into a confused smile when she noticed the large bunch of flowers Ben was holding.
“I, uh, I got you something” he said sheepishly. He smiled as he handed the flowers over. Mel was surprised. "Flowers? Why did you buy me flowers?" "Because. You got your first role" he explained. "Also, you're one of the most wonderful and amazingly talented people I've ever met, and…well, the thing is… I love you." He was suddenly very uncertain as he watched Mel gaping at him, worrying he might be pushing her into something she wasn't ready for. "You don't have to say it back if you're not-, it's ok, I mean I know it's a big deal, but I just wanted you to know" he gabbled, frantically attempting to backtrack.
Mel's face finally shifted into a broad smile. "It's okay, darling" she assured him. "I love you too." She leaned up to kiss Ben, who obligingly leaned down to meet her with a very passionate locking of lips.
“God, I’m so happy you said it back” Ben confessed, when they finally broke apart. Mel grinned. “What, did you really think I might not feel the same way?” she said teasingly. “No, I just - I wasn’t sure if you were there yet” he admitted, shaking his head. “For a moment there I thought I might have freaked you out or something.” “I wasn’t scared, silly” Mel assured him, a hint of laughter in her voice. “I just wasn’t expecting you to say it was all, I just needed a second to get over the surprise.” Ben smiled. “It was a good surprise, wasn’t it?” “An excellent surprise” Mel agreed. As they leaned in to kiss again, she really didn’t think life could get much better.
**************************************************************************************
A/N: And that’s all, folks. This was not where I’d originally planned to end the story but I ran out of steam and then it wound itself to a nice conclusion, so I went with it. There’s a couple of things in this chapter foreshadowing events I had planned for later but I think they still work as just parts of this chapter.
Incidentally, Adam’s comment about Brian and Roger is based on a quote I saw somewhere. I can totally imagine it though, they’ve known each other for a very long time at this point.
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myficreccs · 7 months
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Bo Rhap Boys (and some of their other characters) fic rec masterlist
Updated 9 October 2023
Bo Rhap Boys
Headcanons
BohRap Boys as Elementary Teachers! by @likesomekindofcheese
Ben Hardy 
Series
And they were roommates by @fallingprincess
Save You by @fallingprincess
One shots
bookends by @almightygwil
Falling by @demo-wise
Glitter Blood by @fallingprincess
guessing games by @angrylizardjacket
Just Say You Won’t Let Go by @backstage-journal 
Movie Night by @pxroxide-prinxcesss
Nicotine Buzz by @redspecialty
Pain and other magical kinks by @fallingprincess
the proposal by @seven-seas-of-taylor
temporary fix by @seven-seas-of-taylor
Timing by @fallingprincess
[Unnamed request] by @illfoandillfie
Gwilym Lee
One shots
A Nice Surprise with Gwilym by @deacyblues
carolina by @almightyellie
classy girls by @almightyellie
from the shadows by @deacyblues
i lived by @almightyellie
like the movies by @brianmays-hair
meet on the ledge by @archaicmusings
patience by @almightyellie
p.s. i love you by @almightyellie
Joe Mazzello
Series
Agape by @joemazzmatazz
One shots
born losers by @archaicmusings
Date Night by @just-my-sickly-pride
Drowning by @joe-mazzello
Home. by @halfofwhatisayismeaningless
i’ll be in the front row by @angrylizardjacket
just give me a call by @mazzell-ro
Like a River Runs by @joemazzmatazz
linger a little longer by @rhapsodyrecs
love calls you by your name by @archaicmusings
Meant to go this way by @fallingprincess
Niece To Meet You by @moodysunflowergirl
Party For One by @joemazzmatazz
Request 1 by @assembledherethevolunteers
stars, cake, and kisses by @mazzell-ro
Stood Up, Make Love by @illfoandillfie
You Make Me Feel Like Dancin’ by @deacyblues
Blurbs
[700 follower celebration blurb] by @joemazzmatazz
Pat Murray
One shots
Collisions and Confessions by @assembledherethevolunteers
Love With Its Back Turned by @gardnerlangway
Napkin Numbers by @quinoaisrethinkinglife
Tim Murphy
One shots
Absolutely Smitten by @officially-multi-fandom
neighbor by @patmvrray
John Deacon
One shots
a dying art by @ineloqueent
A Permanent Deal by @adrenaline-roulette
crayons & caresses by @brianmays-hair
don’t go by @patmvrray
my wife by @ineloqueent
The Fire and the Flames by @deacyblues
Headcanons
Being a bassist and dating John Deacon by @stardust-killer-queen
Roger Taylor
Series
You’re a Legend, Freddie by @rogertayloriskindacool
One shots
Dining at The Ritz we’ll meet at 9 by @adrenaline-roulette 
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can I just say I think it’s bizarre that bohemian rhapsody (2018) spawned its own fandom that seems honestly pretty removed from the entity that is queen itself. I have mixed thoughts about the movie bc while it is riddled with inaccuracies and pushes a kind of false narrative, I was so happy to see my favorite band on screen when it came out that I kind of pushed the negatives aside back then. and don’t get me wrong I think it was really cool that it brought in a new wave of fans but there was a portion of them who treated the bo rhap cast and the actual members of queen as interchangeable. or only cared about the cast and had very little interest in queen’s discography and history. idk… I can just remember seeing like “gwilym lee as brian may x reader” fics and that is so wild to me. caring more about a theatrical portrayal of a living musician than the actual musician
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anerdquemoraaolado · 4 years
Text
Through Chrissie’s eyes
The girls’ night
I rang the bell of the Deacon's apartment and waited for Veronica to come, trying to balance the bags I carried. It wasn't long before Mrs. Deacon opened the door.
"Hi!" Veronica greeted me and soon she was surprised by all the bags "so what's all this? You didn't need to bring anything ..."
I took the opportunity to deliver one of the bags to her.
"And abuse your hospitality?" I rebounded and went in "It's not my way."
"And can I know what this is all about?" Veronica crossed her arms, struggling to stay serious while she wanted to laugh.
"I remembered the sponge cake my mother used to make" I explained. "I've never been able to make one as good as hers, but mine can be good. And I wanted to vary our menu a little bit, a different thing from pizza."
"I shouldn't eat so much candy, you also scold me to not eat candy." Deacon reminded me.
"But today I want to make an exception just to spoil our baby Deacon!" I smiled and said in a lively voice, approaching my friend's belly to talk to her son "if you depend on Aunt Chrissie, you will be very spoiled!"
"No, no, this is bullshit" Veronica laughed. "You're so strict with the boys, imagine how you'll be with your nephew, or niece, or ..."
"Or what?" I knew what word she would complete with that phrase "do you wanna know? Let me start soon, so the sponge cake will be ready when Dom and Mary arrive."
I put my hand in the dough, literally, unwrapping everything I had brought, and being comfortable in the kitchen, while Veronica watched some soap opera on TV. Cooking my mother's recipe, and thinking about what Veronica was going to say, I began to think again about motherhood. I hadn't yet been married for a year, however maternal I was, I still didn't feel ready, and besides, there was something else that worried me. Wherever I went, if anyone knew Queen, it meant that they also knew my husband. Thinking about the size of it made me afraid. I had to learn to deal with it before I become a mother, I felt the need for it.
Mary and Dominique arrived as I spread the stuffing through the dough, and, drawn by the sweet scent of freshly out of the oven, they went straight into the kitchen.
"If I'd known you were going to cook, I'd come faster" Mary said, seeing what I was doing.
"Did you stay a little after your time today?" I asked.
"Yeah, you know how hard the work in a store can be sometimes" she said, looking tired.
"Well, it looks like we got a good reward for a busy day." Dominique smiled as she stared at the loaf.
"Here, folks, you can keep the stuffing bowl, until it's ready," I laughed and handed it to them.
The three of them tucked an unceremonious index finger into the bowl, and licked the dough. By the yummy faces, I knew It was goof, maybe even as good as my mother's. I put the form in the refrigerator, and decided to make tea to accompany. Both me and the girls liked chamomile, it was my favorite, although it didn1t always have the expected effect on me. Being anxious and worried were essential parts of me. But that was a night of calm and fun.
"I think I'm going to take some rest now," I sat down, and even stretched out my legs under the coffee table. "I think it was only Veronica who had a quiet day."
"Oh, I miss working sometimes" she said thoughtfully.
"The fatigue is part of it" I said "I know how it is. Running behind the children makes me exhausted."
"Still, I find it easier to deal with children than with certain adults who shouldn't behave like children, but they are real spoiled brats." Dominique referred to her work.
"Moody artists, isn't it?" Veronica deduced "must be really bad."
"A spoiled child you can fix, now an adult is actually a lot worse, especially if he's an artist," Beyrand agreed.
"But a child's temper tantrums are too bad" Mary mused. "I've seen children twisting their mothers' patience in the store. I'm always embarrassed and I try not to pay any attention to it."
"Anyway, if there's one thing we know is about dealing with grown kids," I laughed, reminding myself of the boys, fetching tea and the sponge cake.
"Oh yeah, they give us a hard work but I already miss my ungainly scarecrow ..." Dominique laughed, but daydreamed for a moment.
"Scarecrow?" I also laughed at what she called Roger, but I was pitying "You shouldn't call him that, that's how he looked like before you started dating."
"Really?" Beyrand was shocked.
"The poor guy changed so much because of you that he didn't even look like him." Mary confirmed what I said.
"We still don't know exactly how you got together until now" Veronica insisted.
"It was sudden, you left and suddenly, we were dating" completed Austin.
"Roger always did that, but in your case ..." I smiled, "it was really different and special."
"All right, girls" Dominique narrowed her eyes and folded her arms "I understand you want me to tell you what happened that night."
"Yes!" I, Mary and Veronica shouted at the same time.
"Okay, okay ..." Dominique laughed, "I'll tell you. Well, I think the beginning of this story is when the movie started, and Roger was paying attention to me, I felt him looking at me sideways, and he was talking to Freddie just to disguise. Then he said to me, "Come with me, please," and made those puppy eyes, how could I say no? I just nodded, he whispered to Brian, pointed to the door, and we all left.
"I didn't notice you leaving," I said.
"So," she resumed, "we walked a little in silence, until Roger seated near the fountain in the center of the neighborhood. Then I asked him what he had, he just told me to sit down, and then he started like this "I need to tell you something, if not, I can't live anymore."
"Dramatic as always," commented Mrs. Deacon.
"Right?" Dominique nodded "then I kept my guard up, I won't deny that I was already feeling the same as him, then I "Tell me Roger" and he "I never felt for anyone what I feel for you, I know it sounds sappy but Dominique, I don't know if you feel the same way about me, but I needed to tell you, I ... I fell in love with you, Dom, for real."
"Ow ..." we sigh together.
"Yes, I know, it melted my heart too," Dom commented on our reaction. "He even started crying because of that, so I held his hand so he could stop crying, and I was able to speak "since a little after my pranks I was charmed by you, just for showing me a little of who you really are, so thoughtful, loving, and I confess that the charm helps a little, then Mr. Taylor, did you know I fell in love with you too? And if you want me to be your girlfriend, I'll be very happy. "
"You asked him to date then?" Veronica brightened.
"Technically, yes, but that was all he was going to ask for." Dominique shrugged.
"So what? What did he do?" asked Mary.
"He spoke like this" "I don't believe it! Pinch me to see if I'm dreaming" "I took advantage of it and I said it" "I have an idea better than a pinch," "I smiled and kissed him, and I felt so ... " she returned to the passionate face "loved and important ..."
"I'm jaw-dropping!" I admitted "now I believe Roger can truly change."
"But of course he can, I'm officially in charge of putting some sense on him!" Beyrand made a serious face, but then laughed.
And after this real romance story but as sugary as a fairy tale, we continued our conversations, enjoying the sponge cake and the tea. The company of the girls brought me joy and calm, and it was good to know that we were real friends and we could count on each other, especially to share secrets from the heart.
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bluesfortheredj · 5 years
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Standing behind Gwilym and Joe, you jump a little at the feel of Ben’s arm snaking its way around your waist gently, and when you look in his direction he gives you a wink that sends a jolt of electricity throughout your body. You smile up at him as you lean in closer to his body and he kisses your temple twice before giving your side a squeeze.
“Are you okay?” he whispers as he nudges his nose through your hair and grazes his lips against your ear. You give a small nod in reply as you try and focus on the two men in front of you, but it’s no use as Ben’s warm breath sets fire to your skin.
“You know we haven’t actually started to film yet, right?” Joe asks as he turns to face you both.
“I know,” Ben smirks.
Joe rolls his eyes before turning back to face the crew and you can feel Ben’s eyes drifting over your body as you stand next to him as still as possible. It was difficult to concentrate around him and it had been like this since day one when he’d given you a lingering hug after you’d been introduced. It was no hardship pretending to be his other half, it all came very naturally as his affections continued off screen as well, but you knew it was purely to keep in character and help you feel comfortable when the cameras did start to roll.
“What are you doing for lunch?” Ben asks as your break begins.
“I was just going to get a sandwich from the food van,” you reply, painfully aware of how boring your answer sounds.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Of course not,” you smile. Ben takes your hand as you start to walk off set then swings your arms in the thin gap between your bodies and you hear giggling coming from behind you both.
“Guys!” Joe calls out, causing you both to turn around. You’re greeted by the sight of him laughing as he holds his phone up and films you both, then the laugh of Gwilym as well when they notice that you and Ben are doing your best supermodel pouts down the camera. “Did you two plan that?”
You look at one another with the same facial expression then start to crack up as Joe ends the short video and uploads it straight to his instagram story. Within moments both of your phones are buzzing with notifications of being tagged in screenshots of the video and the captions make you laugh as you make your way to the van to get some lunch.
“Oh, they’re cute together,” Joe smirks as he watches the video again once you’d both disappeared from sight. Gwilym peers over his shoulder to take a look as well, and chuckles lightly as he nods.
“You’re right. They’re cute. I’ve got a feeling they won’t need plus ones to the premiere when it comes around...”
You chuckle quietly as Ben sits down on the armchair in the studio with your hand in his, then tugs you down onto his lap and proceeds to run his fingers up and down the side of your thigh delicately. You rest your arm around his shoulders as your free hand finds a comfortable spot on his chest and he looks up at you with a smile before leaning in for a kiss.
“Roger, concentrate!” Gwilym sighs in exasperation as Brian.
“I am, I am!” he laughs, turning his attention to the guys but keeping a tight grip on your waist.
There were no speaking parts for you which suited right down to the ground, as you knew you’d mess them up from nerves if you did have to say something, and to be honest having Ben lavish you with attention was more than enough for you. The scene soon ends but as you go to get up Ben stops you from leaving, and you give him a questioning frown. Joe, Gwilym and Rami all watch as Ben whispers something to you and you both start to laugh uncontrollably, then the guys raise their eyebrows as they see Ben’s hand stop on your thigh and give it a hard squeeze as he bites his lip while trying to stifle another laugh.
“We’re being watched,” you say quietly as you lean in to Ben’s ear, and he shivers as your warm breath ghosts over his neck.
“Shall we take this somewhere a little quieter?” he asks.
“I think we should,” you nod.
You spot Joe with his phone once again as you turn to get up but he quickly puts it down when he notices you looking at him, and as soon as you and Ben get to his trailer all you can hear is his phone going off.
“Joe,” you both say at the same time.
Ben lifts his phone out of his bag and rolls his eyes before handing you the device to see you and Ben on Joe’s story yet again with hearts floating around you both as he zooms in an uncomfortable amount. You laugh at the short video then hand the phone back to Ben with an embarrassed smile.
“Feeling slightly relieved that filming’s almost over now,” you chuckle.
“You are?” Ben asks, feeling a little dejected.
“No! Well, yes… No, I mean being spied on by Joe,” you ramble, falling over your own words as you try to clarify what you mean.
“Ah! Yes, in terms of that, I agree,” Ben smiles, “but in terms of not being able to see you everyday...”
“Oh,” you reply shyly, completely unable to elaborate on your response.
“Sorry, was that too much?” Ben asks as he sits down opposite you.
“No, not at all. I just didn’t expect it.”
“You didn’t?” he almost laughs as he raises an eyebrow.
“Well, it’s all acting isn’t it?”
“Partly. But I’ll be first to admit that I haven’t had to act much around you,” he says as a blush creeps up his pale cheeks, “it’s come quite effortlessly when I’ve had someone as wonderful as you playing my other half.”
You sit in a stunned silence as you take in Ben’s words and your eyes look everywhere but at the man sitting opposite you while you try to think of an appropriate reply. An increasingly worried expression appears across Ben’s face when you finally make eye contact with him, and you know you need to say something soon before he gets the wrong idea.
“I agree,” you nod.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” you grin.
“Well that’s a relief,” he sighs happily, “had me worried for a moment there.”
Time had passed at a rapid rate since that short conversation you’d both had and now you were only a couple of hours away from the premiere in a hotel room getting your hair and make up done by a team of incredibly talented people. There are three knocks on the door just as the last hair clip is slid into place, and Ben appears in the doorway as one of the team open it up.
“Hello- woah,” he gasps as you get up and walk towards him in all your preened glory.
“Don’t,” you blush, “I won’t be able to recreate this look at home.”
“I wouldn’t want you to,” he smiles, “you look just as beautiful in my sweatpants and old t-shirts when you’ve just woken up.”
He slides his arms around your waist and the people around you both suddenly aren’t quite sure where to look as he pulls you close and kisses you deeply. When you pull away you lift your hand and wipe a smudge of lipstick from just beneath his lip, then Ben pulls his phone out and waves it around in front of you.
“Sorry, could you just take a quick photo for us please?” he asks the woman standing closest to you both.
“Of course,” she smiles as she takes the phone.
Ben turns his body to face yours with one arm still around your waist and you mirror his action, then he lifts his free hand to place his fingers gently underneath your chin and kiss you. The woman is pressing the button on his phone over and over to capture the moment, then she hands it back with a huge smile across her face when Ben turns to her.
“Thank you,” he nods. He starts to swipe through the photos and chooses one when your lips are just about to meet and smiles are evident on both of your faces. You watch as he opens up the instagram app and selects that picture to be posted with the caption found my date to the premiere…
“You’re going to send the fans wild with that,” you laugh as he hits the share button.
“Not as half as wild as you’re sending me right now,” he winks.
Request: so I was thinking that yn played Rogers wife on the film and the fans(and cast) started to ship them(because both are super freaking cute!)even before the film (thanks to Gwilym and Joe ig stories for that)and found out that they actually started to date irl
@peachllobotomy
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girlafraidinacoma · 4 years
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In The Lap of the Gods: Chapter Six - Fanta-seas and Denial
Summary: What do you get when you mix a tight-knit art community, young, hot-blooded twenty-something university students and good old-fashioned British Rock & Roll? Probably the next best hope for art and music that generation has to offer. With her friends’ band skyrocketing to fame, what exactly does a girl do when she suddenly finds herself sitting in the lap of the gods? The answer: do the only thing she can do, rise to the occasion of course!
Pairing: Gwilym Lee!Brian May x Original Female Character
Author’s Note: Sorry, not sorry for the incredibly late update dudes. Was super uninspired for months, had a break down, got over it, bon appetit.
( gif credit goes to @queenmercurys.)
Kind of AU, contains both elements from real life and the Bo Rhap universe, so imagine whoever you prefer whether they be the real thing or the Bo Rhap Boys–be free.
[Link to Ao3 fic!]
Chapter Playlist:
Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
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Chapter Six - Fanta-seas and Denial
Ealing, December 1969.
“You’re incorrigible. I’ll never finish at this rate!” Wyn cried, throwing her arms up.
“Nobody told you to leave it until the last minute to work on your project.” He grumbled. It seemed like only yesterday that she began her first day at the Ealing Technical College and School of Art, but December had finally crept in, summoning the looming toll of due dates and unfinished critical projects.
“I honestly didn’t mean to forget, I thought I’d still have a week, not three bloody days.” Wyn whimpered a little pathetically, feeling the mounting panic bubble inside at the thought of not submitting her work on time. Currently, they were seated on the floor at the centre of Wyn’s dorm room, the space her easel usually occupied, cutting out various images and words out of several dozen stacks of magazines, newspapers, catalogues and a charitable helping of Woman’s Weekly – courtesy of Jer Bulsara.
Wyn’s dorm was a site Freddie had quickly grown accustomed to during their past few months of friendship. He liked her place. Sure, there were several others that lived on her floor and there’s only the bare modicum of privacy, but it was a decently sized space for a dorm, generous even, were it not cramped with half-finished canvases and art materials at various stages of use. Despite this fact, Wyn had tried her very best to make it up as nice as she could without having to open a Better Homes magazine. It was a place of barely organized but brightly coloured chaos.
The room itself was divided into two halves, one half where she slept and lounged, and the other half reserved for her work. The narrow bed which she slept in had been pushed up flush against the far corner of the room for the spatial economy. There was an olive-green loveseat with faded upholstery situated opposite the bed, and next to it was her bookshelf (definitely someone’s previously discarded woodworking project), keeping her collection of vinyls, novels and art journals. The side of Wyn’s room that served as her work area had a very large window that provided her place with natural light from about six or seven in the morning to four in the afternoon. Beside the window was a small desk, perpetually cluttered with paper, and a heavy wooden trunk packed to the brim with art supplies. One would think she’d been living there forever with all the stuff she’d accumulated in the past four months; the result of which was an assemblage of mismatched furniture that on its own were rather forgettable or borderline hideous, but somehow miraculously worked together, grudgingly made ‘cool’ by the person inhabiting it.
“Now who’s incorrigible?” As much as Freddie teased, it only took about five minutes of begging and a promise to cover one of his shifts at the Kensington stall for Freddie to generously acquiesce his time to help her out with one of her class assessments, to her supreme relief.
“Besides, they only want proof of concept. The whole thing’s not due until the end of Christmas hols.” Wyn said, flipping to the next page.
“Sure, sure.” The man rolled his eyes, waving a large pair of shears around. “What’s the focus for this piece anyway?”
“Oh, you know, just a bit of social commentary about defining identity through materialism and the like.” She told him, picking up a scrap he’d just finished cutting out, “These little bits here, will eventually be put together and build up a face or whatever, then I think I’d slather some paint on it, use some charcoal and call it a day, probably.”
“Is it still Granger and Warton assessing?”
“Warton is on leave, taking the airs in Bournemouth. Connelly is subbing in.”
“Even better, Connelly likes anything that’s remotely opinionated. He’ll be eating this all up with his Sunday roast.” He laughed. It gave her that smidge more comfort to hear his approval and she told him just as much.
She and Freddie were both dutifully attending to their work when out of the blue, Freddie sniffs the air, saying: “Have I told you how much your room smells?”
“Oops,” The girl said sheepishly, “Sorry. Let me just open a window. Afraid I’ve gotten quite used to it.” Briefly, she pattered away from him to do just that, lighting a rosemary and orange-scented candle, a gift from an aunt who had taken up chandlery upon retirement.
“Yes, the smell of varnish does tend to make the uninitiated rather queasy.” He nodded. “Lucky for you, I know the smell intimately. Unlucky for you, it still makes me queasy. Unless… you’ve become a junkie, in which case there are better highs than paint fumes, my dear.” A hand rose to Freddie’s chest, playfully aghast.
Wyn shook her head with a laugh. “I don’t even realise sometimes, too stuck in my work.”
“Still, you should always remember to take care of yourself. What good is your art if you’re not there to appreciate it? I’d rather have you, than a painting.”
Wyn dropped the page she was holding and looked at him. “Always so sweet. Where would I be without you, my dearest Freddie?”
“Probably still glued to a wall in that function room with the horrible punch.” Fred snarked, letting out an inelegant snort in the magazine his face was buried in.
So far, they were amassing a pretty sizeable pile of clippings and Wyn wordlessly congratulated herself and Freddie for making progress, but the good feeling didn’t last long. The two had been quiet for a while, with only the sound of snipping and paper tearing to fill the silence when reluctantly Fred releases the lip he had been gnawing on for a solid two minutes and clears his throat. “I’ve got something to tell you,” He says, putting down the pair of scissors he was using. “Actually, I could use your opinion.”
Still focused on an area she was clipping, Wyn nodded. “Spill, it’s not like we’re going anywhere soon.”
He exhaled deeply and gave what could be likened to a formal announcement. “I’m thinking of seeing Mary. Scratch that, I’ve seen Mary and had a cup of coffee with her, and I’ve been thinking about doing that more.”
There was sudden a hush that came about the room and settled in like a third guest. It took her several moments to process and Wyn gently reminded herself to lower her pair of scissors, lest she accidentally hurt a friend. “Wait, Mary, as in 'the coat's BIBA', Mary? As in Brian’s Mary? That Mary?” She gauged him with a puzzled look.
“As in Brian’s ex-girlfriend, Mary Austin, Yes.” Freddie confirmed, not blinking.
“So, you want to go see Brian’s ex, that is what you’re saying?”
“Ex, being the operative word, but yes.”
“You don’t think that’ll put a wrench into things?” She asked with a furrowed brow. “Smile hasn’t even begun performing again yet with you as the lead. Do you understand where I’m coming from, how precarious your situation is?”
“I don’t know,” It was his turn to shrug, eyes large and expressive. “I think she’s sweet and gorgeous and she doesn’t mind my teeth. Wait, where did you hear about Brian and Mary anyway?”
Wyn shrugged, “Roger told me.”
“That gossiping cow.” Freddie scowled.
“Well, no, we were just talking and the subject came up,” Wyn said levelly, grabbing a new catalogue from the stack.
“Oh, it came up naturally, did it?” He asked, picking up his scissors and cutting the page he was on a tad aggressively. “Not that you were asking after a certain boy with a guitar, needling poor Roger until he revealed whether said boy was single or not?”
“No,” She denies, “Roger and I were just talking about that night at the bar, and he just happened to mention that until recently Brian had been seeing Mary and hinted that maybe Brian was still interested in seeing her.”
Freddie had narrowed his eyes. “And Roger told you that, did he? Are you sure this isn’t about you and Roger?”
Her head quirked. “Why would this be about me and Roger?”
Freddie laughed. “Maybe because Roger thinks you’re fit and he’s trying to eliminate the competition by hinting that one of his friends might be keen to reconnect with an ex so that you won’t consider that friend as a potential romantic partner?”
“Or, you’re spinning this intricate web because you’re in denial that Mary wants to be with Brian and continuing to see her might ruin your chances with the band?” She offered sweetly.
“Or, this is about you and Roger.” Wyn had to roll her eyes at that.
“This is so not about Roger.”
“Brian, then.”
“It’s not like that.” She shakes her head, eyes trailing to the ground.
Freddie was not convinced, “I saw you and Brian looking cozy together. In that booth, on the way home, going for a little shopping trip…”
“We went shopping to feed you!”
“It’s probably what set off Rog in the first place.” He said in sing-song.
“N-no, the man doesn’t even flirt with me--” She was growing exasperated quickly.
“So, you admit that you flirt with Roger all the time.” Freddie was a dog with a bone.
“That’s just the way we talk to each other! He just thinks it’s a bit of fun, and I’m not about to let him think he can get a rise out of me.” Freddie could have sworn her voice rose an octave.
"I think you have a crush on him."
"I do not have a crush on Brian."
"Who said anything about Brian?" Freddie cracked a devilish grin at having caught her out. He batted his eyes at her.
The girl, on the other hand, was at a loss for words, opening her mouth and closing it again a couple of times, before scoffing. “Oh, shut up. You haven’t proven anything. Go see Mary then if you’ve already made up your mind.” She resigned, covering her discomfort with a laugh. Wyn looked down and busied herself by neatening the growing pile of magazine and newspaper trimmings she was collecting, forcing her hair to fall and obscuring her face. She absolutely was not going to let her friend see the burning flush she was newly sporting.
Fred chuckled beside her, examining his manicured hand. "I honestly wonder what fantasy world you're living in, darling. You're so caught up in it."
Instead of answering him directly she chose to switch to diversionary tactics. "You say that like it's a bad thing, or like you're not right there with me. You're just as mad as me." She poked his cheek.
"True, darling." He conceded, "I definitely see the appeal; I mean who wouldn’t want to escape this old tedious business for one in a fantasy book?” Freddie sighed dreamily, “I say, human ingenuity peaked when we learned we could just imagine ourselves far away from here.”
The girl hummed, gladdened to finally be talking about something else again. “Where everything is weird and wonderful, and you finally belong…”
“You can be anyone you want to be.”
“And bugger the rules because there are none.” She supplied without missing a beat.
“Get out of my head, Wyn Clemens.” He chided her. “You know, this reminds me of when Kashmira and I used to spend all our time in the afternoons together lying on a dusty floor, making up crazy stories.”
A fond smile came over Wyn’s face. “Oh? What about?”
“Well, tis a tale of a long and arduous quest to save the magical Kingdom of Rhye,” He said indulgently, “Your usual fight between the forces of good and evil, brave knights, lavish castles, rival queens, and a sprinkling of anthropomorphic animals.”
“Ah, but of course! I wouldn’t expect anything less.” She leaned back and drew her legs under her chin. “Pray tell then, merry minstrel, regale me with the story of Rhye.”
Freddie sat a little more upright in his spot, his teeth showing in a big smile. “Alright, so, it all began when the White Queen was abducted from her castle. Now in hopes to rescue her, her brother, the handsome Prince, scours all the land gathering knights…”
Wyn had already forgotten they had been arguing not two minutes ago. It was like that with her and Freddie, they never could stay cross with one another for long, always managing to read what the other was thinking. It was shocking how close the two had gotten in such a short span of time. Suddenly the prospect of Freddie graduating brought a sinking feeling to Wyn’s chest. She silently hoped he’d still have time for her, or would deign to remain her friend. The future always seemed so unsteady. Standing on its precipice, Wyn supposed that if she’d have to drink some horrible punch at some mediocre party, she’d rather be suffering through it with him than without him.
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onceandfuturebitch · 5 years
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so quite new a thing (AO3)
Finding a passed-out Freddie Mercury on one’s sofa is surely just part of the Imperial College experience at this point.
First instalment of an ongoing college/university au
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bloodbubblegum · 5 years
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so i work in a drugstore and i just had an idea for a fic in which reader helps gwilym with something in the store and he keeps coming back just bc of them and flirts and they end up hooking up etc but then
he goes in the store after they hook up and asks her for condoms and lube saying he wants to surprise his girl and reader gets all flustered and they fuck in the bathroom stall
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More info on Blood-Soaked Violets
Yo omg the next part I’m writing is Bri’s, and I’m so excited!! I love portraying real emotions and I wanna know y’all feedback after I post chapter one!!!! It’ll be so personal. I want it to relate to real things going on, whether it be similar to my life or yours... I just want it to be a lil more serious yet raw... but still v reachable!!! I want to portray the ups and downs and show you toxicity in both point of views. I want to show you things that are going on in so many young adults’ lives rn. That you can get better. That breaking the habit of whatever it is your doing, will end soon. That people will be there for you. I hope y’all like it and lemme know what ya think?? Even if ya don’t, dímelo..
It’ll be posted sometime tomorrow in the afternoon after editing and revising it!!! Also I may make a Spotify playlist of the songs correlated with each chapter!!! Since one chapter will be Bri, and another Giana (reader), so each chapter will be based with songs of the current persons thoughts, feelings, etccc
Anyways los amo muchísimo!!!! - g
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mercurysnitch · 4 years
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As it seems like there’s still a few of you out there interested in Mother Mercury, here’s an update (no, I haven't abandonded it 😆): I’ve officially decided there’s going to be 2 more parts and an epilogue. The next part (part 4) will go up to the end of filming on Bo Rhap, then part 5 will timeskip to the premiere and awards season, and then show the effect of the movie being released on Eve and Mel's lives. Which will include actual drama and a crossover with Though You're Many Years Away.
Fair warning, Part 4 is already not short and it's only maybe two-thirds or so done. It's coming along steadily though, so it shouldn't take me too much longer. I've actually got a few snippets of part 5 already written, and I've recently worked out a plot that I'm really excited about, so hopefully it won't take me too long to write. But also it's going to cover quite a long period of time, so it's definitely not going to be short.
I've been planning the epilogue in my head for ages, but I don't want to say too much except that it's based around a single event. Which I can't say anything about because it's a spoiler, so... you'll just have to wait and see.
I'm not making any promises about when things will be done, because it always takes me longer than I think it will. But I reckon having the whole series finished by Christmas is achievable. Hopefully. At any rate, the end is in sight.
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claracivry · 5 years
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For your hurt Roger Bo Rhap fic, could you do one where Roger gets in an argument with someone (possibly even one of the band members) and some pushing or hitting goes too far and Roger actually gets injured? Love your fics btw!
Anon! Just did this! Freddie inadvertently hurts Roger here x
Also chap 2 of my Roger’s an abused teen au here x
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nana-41175 · 2 years
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Teaser for ch 5 of my Bohemian Rhapsody RPF, The Stars Aligned
Author’s notes: Hey guys! The Muse is currently enamoured with writing a little Queen/Bo Rhap fic, The Stars Aligned, featuring Brian May/Roger Taylor. Here’s a teaser for ch 5. Enjoy!
Roger hissed, “look. Whatever it was I said or did last night, it doesn’t count.”
Brian gazed at him calmly and shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
Seeing the infuriating smirk still ghosting around Brian’s lips, Roger was unconvinced. “Obviously nothing happened between us, and whatever I’ve said was nothing but the drink talking,” he continued.
“You sounded quite coherent to me,” Brian said. “Anyway, I won’t.”
Roger frowned. “Won’t what?” he said suspiciously.
“That’s my answer to the very last thing you told me last night,” Brian said.
“What did I say?” asked Roger, dismayed.
Brian chuckled as he moved away. “I thought it doesn’t count?”
Read the fic at AO3
>>>Support the Muse on ko-fi to make her write/draw faster. Thank you!<<
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p4nkow · 4 years
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Maybe someday
A few days ago I rewatched this movie I grew up with which is called “Life as we know it” (I highly recommend you to watch it if you haven’t) and it gave me the inspiration to write this one shot. 
Summary: as Lucy and Rami finally leave for their late honeymoon, they ask Y/N and Ben a huge favour — they have to watch over their daughter, Sophie, for one whole week as they’re away. The only problem is that Y/N and Ben can barely stand each other.
Let me know what you think, I’d love to read your comments!
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Anxious. Organised. Schematic. Hater of surprises.
If you had to describe yourself with simple, concise words, those’d have been your choices. Everyone who knew you was well aware of the fact that you tended to plan everything. It wasn’t something you liked to do — plan your life in its very details. You just couldn’t help it. Moreover, it helped you to make your schedule clear as well as your mind.
So when Lucy and Rami told you they had to talk to you, the level that your anxiety had reached could’ve been easily imagined. Their party had been awesome — it had given you the chance to meet old friends and to have a little chitchat with those you hadn’t seen in forever.
It’d have been perfect if it wasn’t for Ben.
Oh man, saying that you didn’t get along was not enough. One of the most important things that’d influenced your relationship was the fact that he’d screwed up your first blind date. First and last date, of course. It didn’t take a genius to understand that he had no wish to be there.
Since that day you’d met him quite often — it was impossible not to when your best friends were married and with a one-year-old child. That’s right. Rami had finally summoned the courage to propose to Lucy and now, almost a year and a half later, they had the most beautiful child you’d ever seen.
Sophie Malek was a feast for the eyes and you loved her. Before her you never understood the endless love people showed towards babies, but damn. It was impossible not to love her.
Ben did love her, too. That’s one of the few things that you appreciated about him.
He was just perfect when around her — always caring and careful about her needs. He’d always play with her and the sight of a grown-up Ben playing with duckies and princesses was quite funny. Funny, yes, but cute. Those were the only times when you were in a cease fire. You just couldn’t bring the little Sophie in your war of jabs.
“What’d you guys need to tell me?”
Rami and Lucy exchanged a look and you didn’t like the little smiles painted in their faces. They were pulling a scam on something and Lucy’s words did nothing but increase your suspicions. “Just wait a bit longer.”
Now that the party was over, it was only you, Lucy, Rami and the little Sophie sprawled in the couches of their living room. “How old are you, Soph? Huh?” The little girl had just learned to show her age with her fingers, raising the index finger at her mom’s question.
Lucy was your best friend, your wingman, your partner in crime, the sister you never had. Your friendship had been going on since high school and now she was a mom. God knows you cried your eyes out the day she gave birth.
The unlocking of the door brought you back from your thoughts and you sighed deeply at the sight of Ben. Even though there was resentment between the two of you, you couldn’t deny that he was good-looking. Extremely good-looking. The leather jacket he was wearing on top of his black shirt made him look even more attractive and you hoped he didn’t catch you staring at his black trousers which fit him perfectly. But why the hell did he always wear black?
“I put the garbage out. I hope I guessed right your can.” He didn’t seem to notice your presence as he closed the door behind him, so you just ignored him.
Then he spotted you sitting on the couch right in front of the couple and gave you just a simple nod. Unfortunately there was no room for him on their couch, so he was forced to sit on yours. He made sure to sit as far from you as possible, though.
“You smell so much of feminine scent that I’m about to throw up.”
Ben gave you one of his smirks and you truly wished you could punch him in the face. “You’re just jealous that it isn’t yours.”
“I pity those girls”, replied in kind. Your words did nothing but amuse him and you rolled your eyes.
“Guys.” Thank God Rami saved the situation as Lucy tried to hide her giggles in Sophie’s neck.
“You wanted to talk to us?”
Rami nodded at Ben’s question, surrounding Lucy’s shoulder with his arm. “Yeah, uhm...”
“Do you remember how we never got to leave for our honeymoon, right?”, Lucy came in his help.
“I remember your complaints about it, yeah.”
Lucy’s smile grew even bigger at your words. “We’d organised this big trip to Europe but then...”
“Sophie happened”, Rami concluded.
You remember it clearly, but still you didn’t understand what was their point. When you turned towards Ben for a quick look, you were glad to see that he was just as confused as you. “And?”
Lucy and Rami exchanged another look as Sophie squeezed her duck. “We’d love to do that trip. As a gift for our first anniversary.” Oh no. Now you knew exactly where this was going.  
“’f course you understand that we can’t take such a trip with a one-year-old child.” Ben widened his eyes at Rami’s words. He was starting to understand too.
“So we wanna ask you”, Lucy started saying but she was interrupted by Rami. “We beg you.”
“Yeah”, Lucy nodded. “We beg you to take care of Sophie as we’re away. You guys are the only ones we trust.”
“Shit, man”, Ben murmured as he slipped his fingers through his hair. It was something he did when he was nervous. Right now he was extremely nervous and you just couldn’t believe what’d you just heard.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Lucy narrowed her brows in worry. “Y/N, please. You know we cant trust our parents.”
“And we can’t trust Joe”, Rami added. Sophie limited herself to follow your conversation with a curious look.
You, on the other hand, still had to process their request. So you turned towards Ben only to find himself staring at you, horrified. “I’m sorry”, he said by picking his tongue out, licking his lower lip. “I’d love to do that. Really, I’d love to. But with her?”
“Oh so you don’t believe I’d be able to take care of a child?”
“I highly doubt it, yes. Let’s face the truth, ‘kay? We can barely stand each other.”
“And so what? It’s Sophie we are talking about.” You forced yourself to keep your tone low not to scare the child.
Ben exhaled deeply and quietly murmured something, so you moved your gaze back to the couple. “I’ll do it.” Now it was personal — you had to show that prick that you could take care of a baby, differently than he thought. With or without him.
Lucy’s smile was still uncertain as she looked at Ben. He seemed conflicted as he rubbed his hands, looking at you first and then at Sophie. His shoulders rise and lower as he sighed deeply, starting to nod his head ‘yes’. “Yeah, I’ll do it, too.”
Rami let out a relief laugh and he placed a kiss on Sophie’s head. Trying to ignore Ben, you stood up from the couch and leaned towards the baby. “Come to auntie, Soph.”
The baby reached up to you and you gladly picked her up, meeting Lucy’s eyes while doing so. “I owe you one.”
She surely did.
“Auntie Y/N will take care of you as mommy and daddy are away”, you whispered as you smiled back at her.
Sophie’s attention was caught by something behind you, her eyes widening in excitement. You knew who she was looking at even before turning around. It was crystal clear that Sophie loved Ben almost as much as he did. He gently caressed her cheek with a sweet smile on his face. “Hi, love.”
“Don’t make me regret it.” Your words were nothing but a whisper as you talked to Ben.
His jaw clenched as he fixed his green eyes on yours. “Sophie’s our priority now.”
“Yeah, exactly”, you said quietly. “So work your shit out.”
“Hey, Soph. What a bad aunt is auntie Y/N, right? She even swears in front of you.”
You rolled your eyes at Ben’s words and, making sure that Sophie wasn’t looking at you, you mouthed “Fuck off.”
Day One - Monday
Part of the deal was to move at Lucy and Rami’s place for the entire duration of their trip. It was mostly because you didn’t want Sophie to feel completely disoriented as her parents were away.
You murmured a series of “Huh-huh”, “‘kay” and “Yeah” as Lucy showed you were to find the diapers, the baby bath tub, the meals and the toys. She even revealed you a tip on how to calm her down when she was nervous.
Turns out that Sophie loved the noise of the kitchen hood.
For the whole time Ben chatted with Rami in the dining room, giving a look at Sophie sleeping in the playpen every now and then, and you truly hoped that he’d have given you some help in this. Things presaged nothing good.
“I’ll FaceTime you every night”, Lucy promised.
“You already said that.”
“The emergency numbers are on the kitchen peninsula.”
“I know, Luce. You showed me.” Your words came muffled at her ears as you hugged her. “Do I have your permission to kick Ben in the balls if he misbehaves?”
“You behave.” Lucy wiggled her nose as she giggled and turned towards Rami, who was standing right next to her.
He leaned towards you to give you a hug and he whispered to your hear “You have my permission.”
His words made you giggle and you gained a glaring from Ben. “What?”
“You smell of baby puke.”
You held back a middle finger as you waved at Lucy and Rami who were now walking away.
As their car disappeared from your sight, you silently closed the front door, trying not to wake Sophie up, and then turned towards Ben. “What?”, he asked by raising a brow in a questioning look.
“We need a schedule.”
Ben slowly blinked, giving you a confused look. “’m sorry?”
“Come with me.”
Five minutes later you were both sitting at the stools of the peninsula, one facing the other, with a beer on one hand and the awareness that it was going to be a very long week.
Ben took a sip of his drink as you twirled a marker between your fingers, looking at the blank white board. “Hopefully we’re gonna make it before Sophie turns two”, he commented with a smirk.
Half an hour. You’d been in his presence for half an hour and you already wanted to punch him. Nevertheless you ignored his comment, starting to write on the board as you said without looking at him “I work three days a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from eight to twelve. This means that you’ll have to take care of Sophie all by yourself.”
When you looked up at him, his brows were narrowed. “What now?”, you asked in annoyance.
“I want free days, too.”
“I don’t have free days.”
“Yeah, but you go to work. Those ones count as free days.”
Sighing deeply helped you to keep calm. “Okay, then. What do you suggest?”
“Sunday night.”
“I’m not spending a Sunday night all by myself, Ben.”
His smirk was a hint on what his next comment was going to be. “I’m pretty sure that you spent lots of Saturday nights all by yourself, love. When was the last time you got laid?”
“Mind your own business”, you immediately replied.
Ben giggled at your reply and you tried not to stare at his lips as he took another sip of his beer. “And what if I don’t take any other free days? Only this Saturday night.”
His suggestion was reasonable — you bit your lower lip as you thought about it, narrowing your eyes. Why’d he do something like that?
That’s what you asked him. “Why?”
He limited himself to shrug at your question. Not that you were expecting an answer from him. “Fine, then. You got this Saturday night.”
A few moments of silence passed as you wrote on the board and the marker made a shrill sound at every word. “We didn’t think this through.”
Here we go again.
You couldn’t help but throw at him an annoyed glance, sighing deeply as you placed your elbows on the counter and leaned towards him. “Ben.”
“Share the place, both sleep-deprived? ’t sounds like a compelling psych experiment.”
“We cannot draw back now, ‘kay? We’re pretty deep in this.”
His green eyes stared at you for a few moments, still processing your words. It wasn’t a problem of yours if he had an issue with you. Both of you had agreed to do that — how could you say no to Rami and Lucy?
Ben exhaled deeply and leaned towards the back of the chair, moving his gaze away from you. You’d won the argument for now.
There were lots of other things to plan and to write down on the whiteboard and you were about to say it when a little squeak, followed by a little crying caught both yours and Ben’s attention. He gave you a disoriented look and you hurried to stand up, leaving the board still unfinished as you moved in the other room.
“Hi, honey. Hey.” Sophie was standing on the playpen, her beautiful eyes a bit teary.
Ben’d followed you to the room. “Hey, look at the sleepyhead.”
His expression had completely changed — he seemed another person when talking to Sophie and you could barely believe he was the same man who’d earlier told you you smelled like baby puke. Sophie reached up to him and he was about to walk towards her, but you placed a hand on his shoulder and said “Wait, don’t pick her up.”
His brows narrowed in confusion. “Why?”
“Because she needs to learn how to self-soothe.” Ben looked at you like if you were mad.
“She needs to what?” His yes were narrowed and they seemed even darker than usual.
“Self-soothe”, you repeated. “Soothe herself.”
Ben stuck out his tongue and gestured towards you. “And why’d she do that?”
“I read it, Ben. It’s important. Let’s just give it a minute.”
The way he shook his head made you believe that he thought you were nuts; nevertheless, he did as you said. So you were both standing right in front of the playpen, waiting for Sophie to calm down all alone.
But she didn’t, so an idea came up to your mind. “Five little ducks went out one day, over the hill and far away”, you started to sing in an uncertain voice. You looked at Ben with the corner of your eye and he had an amused smile on his face. “Mother duck said, ‘Quack, quack, quack, quack’ but only four little ducks came back.”
“One, two, three, four. Four little ducks went out one day...” Ben’d started to sing along with you as you tried to impress Sophie with your dance moves. “I don’t remember it”, he whispered to you.
Sophie wasn’t particularly impressed by your singing skills, given that she was still softly crying. The sight of her teary eyes’d become unbearable so — unlike what you’d told Ben — you leaned towards her and picked her up. “I think she’s hungry. Yup, I’m gonna feed her. Let’s go eat, love.”
“I though we weren’t picking her up!”, you heard Ben saying as you walked away.
Day Two - Tuesday
Sophie’d fallen asleep in your arms. Her beautiful blonde hair made her seem angelic as she dreamed and you gently grazed her cheek. You didn’t want her to wake up because of you, but it was impossible not to caress her when se looked so peaceful.
Eventually you forced yourself to let her sleep in peace and you decided to get some work done. You’d been highlighting titles over titles for an hour when you heard the front door unlocking.
Shortly after Ben came into your view and you placed a finger on your lips, silently telling him not to wake Sophie up. His eyes immediately went to the baby sleeping in your arms and his features relaxed at that view. Then he looked up at you with an expression that you’d never seen in his face. Not when he looked at you.
But he quickly looked away, carrying the bags into the kitchen before joining you in the dining room.
He sat far from you, but on the same couch. You could feel his gaze following your movements as you tried to get your work done, and when you looked at him you noticed a strand of golden hair that had fallen on his forehead.
“What you up to?” His words were nothing but a whisper.
You gave a quick look at Sophie before turning your gaze to him. “Some paperwork.”
“Right, work.” His tone made you narrow your brows.
And even though the grey sweater that he was wearing made you feel things, you ignored those feelings and asked “Why did you say it with such irony?”
“You run a bookstore.” As if it was an explanation.
“And what with that?”
If Ben’d realised that his words might’ve hurt you, he didn’t show it. “It’s a bookstore.”
“I love my job, you asshole.”
Then you suddenly realised that Ben was just teasing you. The little smirk on his face couldn’t be misunderstood. “Language, love. Last thing we need is Sophie’s first word to be ‘asshole’.”
You shook your head in amusement and even though you were trying so hard not to, your gaze fell to his lips. It’d happened many times for you to think about his lips, how soft they seemed to be. Usually Ben’d dampen those moment with a jab of his or a perv comment just to drive you nuts. But not this time.
“Ben?”
By hearing your whispers Ben moved his gaze from your lips to your eyes. “Yeah?”
You didn’t want to ruin the moment, but you did it anyways. “Do you smell that?”
His brows narrowed in confusion. You nodded towards Sophie, who was still sleeping peacefully, and Ben leaned towards the baby to sniff on her. “Oh my God.” His face twitched in disgust and he quickly leaned back.
“Did she finally—“
“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I think she... She sure did.” The expression on his face was hilarious.
“Ben”, you said with an amused smile.
When he turned towards you, in his face there still was a disgusted expression. “What?”
“Don’t be a pussy. It’s just poop.” Ben sighed and you giggled.
But then it was time for you to change her diaper. Sophie laid in the changing table, looking at the two of you with a little smile on her face. The problem was, neither of you had the courage to face all that poop. “Remind me again why we agreed on this”, you whispered.
Ben gave you the typical ‘what’d I say?’ look but said “Because we are great friends and now Rami and Lucy owe us a big one.”
“And because we love Sophie”, you added.
Ben slowly nodded at your words, a tiny smile appearing on his face. “Yeah, we love this little one.”
“And because uncle Benny’s the best”, you started by taking a step away from him. “He’s gonna be the one to change your diaper. Right, Sophie? Isn’t he the best?”
“What?”
“Oh c’mon, Ben.”
Ben threw his hands in the air. “Why me?”
“Why me?”
Ben sighed again. “Let’s make a team effort, ‘kay?”
You just couldn’t say no when he showed you his puppy eyes. Bastard. “Fine”, you gave up. “I’ll undress her.”
As you unbuttoned her bodysuit, Sophie gave you a big smile. “You’re lucky I love you”, you whispered to her and you heard Ben giggle behind you.
When she was finally free from her leotard, you turned towards Ben. “Your turn.”
“Already?”
“Yeah, already. C’mon.”
He stood right next to you. “It’s a weird smell, right?”
“Why do you always complain? Go ahead.”
“Fine, fine. It can’t be that hard, can it?” He gave you a hopeful look and you giggled.
“It’s something you can take off the checklist”, you said as you tried to hold back a laugh.
“Yeah.” He carefully approached his hands on the diaper but it was crystal clear the fact that he had no idea how to do it.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know. It’s not a bra that I’m taking off a girl, it’s a diaper.” The way he underlined the last words made you laugh.
“It’s not a surgery, just undo the tabs.”
Ben’s hands, so big compared to the little Sophie, were now following your instructions. As soon as the tabs were undone and Sophie was finally free from the dirty diaper, the smell came to you even stronger than before. “Oh my God.”
“What’d I tell you?”, Ben asked with a disgusted expression.
“It’s burning my eyes.”
“We have to clean her up.”
“Yeah, I know.” Trying not to throw up, you quickly took Ben’s place. “Can you please me hand me the baby wipes?”
As you gently held Sophie’s feet up not to dirty her and to clean her better, you hurried to get rid of all that smelling poop. “She didn’t eat enough to produce that”, Ben commented as he watched you.
“Stop it or I’ll throw up.” You gave him a quick look from above your shoulder and Ben smiled back at you. “Another one, please.”
Wiper after wiper, you finally managed to get her clean. Yours and Ben’s reaction did nothing but amuse Sophie, who was giggling with the biggest smile on her face. “Are you having fun, huh?”
“She’s as wit as her mother”, Ben whispered.
After getting rid of the dirty diaper and having Sophie clean and fragrant, you picked her up from the changing table. “What do you say, Sophie? You want uncle Ben?”
“Didn’t hear that”, Ben tried to cut himself off.
“I did hear it, though. Go to uncle Ben, my love.” Sophie reached up to him and Ben grabbed her, giving her the biggest smile you’d ever seen. As you tried to tidy up the room, you heard Ben saying as he walked away “Say Uncle Ben. It’s easy, love. B-e-n.”
Day three - Wednesday
The house was silent. Too silent. That’s why you tried to close the front door as quietly as possible — maybe Sophie was sleeping. Or maybe Ben was. All the bags and books you took home from work were long forgotten on the table as you checked every room of the ground floor to find them.
As you walked upstairs the theme song of Peppa Pig came crystal clear to your ears. It was the hint you needed to know exactly where they were.
“Wow, that was a really good episode.” Who was Ben talking to?
But, more importantly, was he really talking about Peppa Pig?
“Y’know, what I really love about Peppa is that even when everything seems to go wrong and they scr— blow, they blow things up, this funny man keeps saying ‘Oh dear’ or ‘Look out’.” His words made you giggle but you tried not to make any noise.  “Auntie Y/N should follow my example, don’t you think? I’m such a good uncle, right Soph?”
You were now standing against the doorframe, watching Ben sprawled on the soft ottoman as he talked to Sophie in a very serious tone, gesturing towards her. The little girl seemed to follow his conversation, letting out little squeaks of excitement every now and then.
“Too bad that aunt Y/N is way better than you.”
Ben turned towards you by hearing your words and gave you a lazy smile. “How long have you been there?”
“Long enough to hear you talking about Peppa Pig. Oh dear!”
You loved to tease him.
“Oh, shut up.” Despite his words, Ben was smiling in amusement.
You took a few steps towards the baby, kneeling in front of her. “Hi, love. How did uncle Ben treat you, uh? Was he good?”
“I’m the best. Look at her, she’s ecstatic.” Sophie squeaked in excitement, trying to say something as she proved Ben’s point.
“What do you think of a bath? Would you like that?”
Once again, Sophie mumbled some incomprehensible words. They made sense to her, though. “Is that a yes?”, you asked Ben, who limited himself to shake his head as if saying ‘I really have no idea.’
Not being able to decipher Sophie’s words, you took them as a yes. Sophie was now in Ben’s arms as you prepared everything to bath her. Every now and then you threw them a few looks from above your shoulder only to find Ben being completely focused on her, trying to make her giggle by tickling her.
“How was work?”, he asked you as you both waited for the tub to fill up.
You bit your lower lip and gave him an amused look. “Oh, now you care?”
“I was just trying to make conversation”, he quickly replied and shrugged.
His words made you sigh deeply, shutting the faucet and checking the water temperature. “’t was fine, I guess. A bit exhausting. Thanks for asking.”
Sophie loved water. Literally, she loved it. She got all excited when taking a bath and started to spray the water everywhere. Needless to say that both you and Ben were soaking wert as you tried to clean her up. “C’mon, Soph. Just wait for a second”, you almost begged.
“Where the hell is the bloody duck she loves so much”, Ben murmured as he looked for the toy everywhere in the bathroom.
“Language, Ben.”
Ben laughed. Hard. It was probably the first time you heard him laughing like that and you loved that sound. “That’s rich coming from you.”
You mimicked him and gave him a look as you held Sophie. He was sticking out his tongue like he used to do, a proud smile on his face as he held Sophie’s duck. “Look what uncle Ben found, love.”
Sophie became even more excited at the sight of her toy, trying to take it from Ben’s hands when he came closer to you. “Would you hold her? I need to remove all the foam with the shower head.”
He didn’t hesitate to answer “Yeah, sure.” So he gently grabbed her and lifted her, holding her far from his body as he waited for you to wash her.
“Look, Sophie. Uncle Ben’s afraid of getting wet.” If Sophie protested when Ben got her out of the tub, now she was relaxing under the jet of the water.
“I’m already wet.” Dangerous choice of words.
“Then”, you started in an angelic tone. “You wouldn’t mind if I did this, right?” You splashed a bit of water in his face.
Ben was tempted to retract from the jet but Sophie needed to be cleaned. So he bit his lower lip and said in an amused tone “You’re lucky I’m holding the baby.”
“Or what?”
You giggled at the look he gave you and you wrapped Sophie in her bathrobe, taking her from Ben’s arms and holding her close to your chest. “You can’t revenge now. I’m holding the baby.”
“I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
You gently rubbed Sophie’s back, leaving a few kisses on her cheeks as you told Ben “Nice movie quote.”
Day Four - Thursday
“Okay, Sophie. I’m almost done, hold on.” The baby food you’d lovingly prepared for the little girl looked nothing like Lucy’s. It tasted good, though. You made sure of it before taking a seat in front of her, ready to feed her.
“She’s not a food critic, she’s a one-year-old”, Ben commented as he watched you. He was leaning against the stool, his arms crossed in his chest as he gave you a sceptic look. Each passing day did nothing but confirm you that he only wore black. The dark hoodie he was wearing was a proof of that.
“She might not be a food critic but sure as hell she doesn’t like my cooking.” And it was true — no matter how much you tried to make her open her mouth and eat her food, she just wouldn’t. “C’mon, Soph. It tastes so good, you’ll love it.”
Ben loudly giggled from where he was standing. “She had the guts to tell you that your cooking sucks.”
“My cooking is amazing. You ate almost half of the roast beef that day at the party”, you protested.
Ben raised a brow. “Did you cook it?”
“’f course I did.” You tried again to feed Sophie but all you managed to do was to get her dirty. You groaned in frustration and sighed deeply.
Five seconds later your attention was caught by the ringing of Ben’s phone. He took it from his pocket and gave a look at the screen before moving his green eyes on you. You raised your brow in a silent question and he bit his lips, walking out of the room and getting the phone out in the backyard.
Sophie finally ate the first spoonful of her meal and as you slowly fed her, your mind started to run wild. Who was he talking to? Was it one of his dates? But then you convinced yourself that it was none of your business.
“Good girl, Soph. Do you like it? Is it good?”, you whispered as you wiped her mouth. Sophie clapped her hands in excitement and it made you genuinely smiled. “Where’s mommy? Say mommy. Mommy”, you repeated slowly for her to understand.
A few minutes had passed before Ben came back into the room. “Did she eat?”
“Just a little bit”, you replied without looking at him.
“She doesn’t like your cooking for real, huh?” Ben was just teasing you but, for a reason that you didn’t know yet, you were pissed at him.
So as you put away the plate on the sink you limited to say “Huh-huh.”
“Y/N?” As you heard him calling you by your name you gave him a quick look. His brows were narrowed in a frown.
“What?”
“What’s wrong?” It was probably the first time that Ben was concerned about you.
You sighed and you turned towards him, drying your hands. “Let’s establish a rule.”
“What rule?” He gave you a confused look.
“The week’s almost over. Let’s spend it peacefully.”
He gestured with his hand while saying “Is that the rule?”
You were starting to get used to the tiny lines forming around his eyes whenever he narrowed them in a confused expression. “No. The rule is that we don’t get to bring dates here in this house. Not around Sophie. I know it’s hard for you to hold on for a whole week, but you’ve got this Saturday night off.”
It was for Sophie’s sake, right?
“Wha— is it because of the phone call?”
You shrugged. “Maybe.”
Ben quickly rubbed his eyes, taking a step towards you. “It was Joe.”
Oh.
You stuttered before saying “It’s the principle that matters.”
“Fine. No dates here.”
A nod is all you gave him as a confirmation before turning towards Sophie. Giving her a better look you said “Ben.”
“Hum?” He followed your gaze to the kid and his eyes widened. “She’s making the look.”
“Yeah, that’s the look”, you confirmed. Not shortly after Sophie started to cry. Loudly and uncontrollably. “Your turn”, you told Ben as you stepped aside.
You heard him sighing as he picked her up, rocking her gently on his chest as he tried to soothe her. “C’mon, be good for uncle Ben”, he whispered as he started to walk around the room.
Your gaze ran over the kitchen and it fell on the hood. “I’ve got an idea.”
Ben limited himself to give you a questioning look and you gestured towards the hood. Still, he didn’t understand. Right, he wasn’t with you when Lucy told you that Sophie loved the noise of the hood. “C’mere”, you whispered as you turned on the extractor fan.
“What are you doing?”, he asked, but he did as you told him.
Now Sophie was softly crying and you tapped Ben on his shoulder, making him sign to lean closer to the hood. The kid’s attention was immediately caught by the noise. Even though she’d stopped crying, her eyes were still a bit teary. It was working.
“Rock her”, you whispered.
Ben looked at you. His green eyes were fixed on yours and you suddenly realised that you were close. Maybe too close. Your chest was touching his arm and his face was just a few inches away from yours. Once again your gaze fell to his lips and for the first time you didn’t care if you were staring at him.
But then Ben cleared his voice and moved his gaze to Sophie. As he gently rocked her he started to sing in a soft voice, trying to get her to sleep “But I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo.”
You had to cover your mouth not to burst out into laughter. “What are you doing?”
“Everybody loves Radiohead.”
Day Five - Friday
“You went groceries literally three days ago. I can’t believe you forgot all this stuff”, you complained as looked at the shelves.
The three of you had gotten in the supermarket not even fifteen minutes ago and your shopping cart was already full. “’s not like I know what’s on Lucy and Rami’s pantry.”
Ben was pushing the cart without paying attention to what you put in it — his eyes were for Sophie only. She was in a good mood and Ben did nothing but improve the situation by playing with her.
“Does she like peaches?” You gave him a quick look from above your shoulder.
Ben was in a good mood, too, given that he gave you a big smile. Maybe you should go often together to the grocery store.
“Why don’t you ask her?”, he proposed.
Opening a jar of peach jelly, you made her smell it. She wiggled her nose in a disgusted expression and she shook her head. “You don’t like it, huh?”
“Huh-huh”, she replied and her expression made you giggle.
“Told you”, Ben said. “She’s as wit as her mother.”
Sophie smelled at least other three other flavours before picking her favorite — apricot. “Really? Apricot?”
“Apricots are a gift from God.” Ben’s words surprised you.
You had a stupid smile on your face as you said “D’ya like them?”
“I love them.” He underlined the word ‘love’ and you shook your head in amusement.
“Y/N?” Hearing that someone was calling you by your name, you turned your back to Ben to face the stranger.
“Nick?” One of your friends from college — whom you hadn’t seen in forever — was standing right in front of you.
“Wow, I thought I was wrong”, you heard him saying as he hugged you.
You couldn’t tell why, but you felt uncomfortable.
“It’s me”, you said with a nervous smile.
Nick’s gaze moved behind you and you followed him. “Is she—?”
“Huh?”
Nick cleared his voice. “Is she your daughter?”
“Wha— no! No, no. Ehm, she’s Lucy’s. And he’s Ben.”
“His husband”, Ben added with a polite smile.
You parted your lips in a confused expression as he shook Nick’s hand. “He’s not—”
You couldn’t even finish your sentence that Ben asked him “College mates, right?”
Nick nodded. “Yeah. Haven’t seen each other in forever, though.”
“Yeah”, you confirmed. The truth was that you were still trying to process Ben’s lie.
“How long have you guys been married? I didn’t know anything about it.”
Ben smirked at Nick’s question. He moved next to you and put his arm around your shoulders, giving you the biggest smile you’d ever seen on his face. His cologne smelled so good that it almost made you forget his lie.
Did he want to play that game? Fine by you.
As he held you close to him, your arm surrounded his hips and you faked a smile. “Oh, just for a few months. It was a small ceremony”, Ben said with a fake smile and you pinched him. A low, deep groan came from his throat but your actions had the opposite effect you wanted to provoke.
Ben was amused.
Even though Nick was still there, you’d almost forgotten about him. “Oh, it sounds so cool. I’m so happy about you guys.”
Thankfully you both didn’t get the chance to answer him because Sophie started to squeak in excitement at the sight of a dog. You took the chance to slip away from Ben’s grip and you approached the kid as you said to Nick with an apologetic smile “’m sorry, Nick. We’re kinda in a hurry. It was nice seeing you again.”
As Nick walked away you nudged Ben. “Idiot. C’mon, push the cart.”
“Don’t be such a bossy, wifey.”
You playfully pushed him away when he tried to come closer to you and then you asked “What was that?”
Ben smirked. “I was just making sure you wouldn’t bring any dates home.”
Since when Lucy and Rami’s place had become home?
Even though you’d spent the last week together, the grocery store gave you the opportunity to fin out new things about him. Like the fact that he likes cereal with no milk or thwart he would gladly mop the floor a hundred times rather than loading the dishwasher.
Once gotten home, you also found out that he hated making two trips while carrying the bags. And he made it very clear by complaining the whole time.
“What do you want for dinner?”, you asked as you hoped you were guessing right where to put all the food you’d bought.
Ben was taking care of Sophie as you tidied the pantry. His voice came muffled as he proposed from the other room “How about we order a pizza?”
“Yeah, fine.”
Where the hell did Lucy put the mayonnaise?
You were still trying to unload the groceries in the kitchen when you heard Ben’s voice. “Y/N?”
The tone of his voice made you worry. “Yeah?”
“She’s walking.” Maybe you misheard him.
“What?”
“She’s walking!”
The bags forgotten right in the middle of the kitchen almost made you stumble as you hurried to move to the dining room. Ben had his back to you, his arms arms stretched out towards the baby.
Sophie was standing on her own feet and a big smile was printed on her face. “Oh my God she’s walking.”
Ben gave you a quick look by hearing your whispers and you noticed a big, enthusiastic smile on his face. He was genuinely happy and for the first time ever the idea of Ben as a dad didn’t seem too abstract.
“Come to auntie, Soph. Come.” Her attention was caught by you and Ben quickly moved behind her, ready to catch her if she fell.
Step by step, Sophie came to you and hugged you with so much love that you almost cried. You couldn’t help but kiss her and as you still held her in your arms you told Ben “FaceTime Lucy. She’ll kill us if she misses it.”
Five minutes later, the three of you sat on the carpet and Lucy was waving at you with a toothy smile on her face. “Hi my love! Hi Sophie!”
“Where’s Rami?”, Ben asked her. He didn’t want his friend to miss it.
“Ugh”, Lucy gave a quick look behind her, probably looking for his husband. “He’s probably taking a shower. How are you guys? How’s my baby?”
“We’re fine. But you gotta take a look at this.” You just couldn’t hold the excitement in your tone. Lucy was beyond excited at your words — you could see it from her eyes. “Just wait a sec.”
Ben stood up as you gave him a pat on the shoulder and he moved right in front of you, far enough for Sophie to take a few steps on her own. The camera was now turned towards him, showing his arms stretched out towards the baby. “Come to uncle Ben, Sophie. C’mere”, he encouraged her.
Lucy narrowed her brows. “Y/N what—”
“Just wait”, you cut her off. “C’mon, Soph. Go to uncle Ben.”
Sophie’s eyes gave you an excited look and she clapped her hands. She slowly leaned towards the sofa, holding on it as she struggled to get on her own feet. When she finally did, Lucy’s eyes were widened and her lips were forming a perfect ‘O’ before whispering “Oh my God.”
When Sophie started to take little steps towards Ben — who’d the biggest smile on his face as he made sure Sophie wouldn’t fall — Lucy said out loud “Rami! For the love of God, Rami! Come here!”
Her excited tone made you chuckle and you heard a loud thud from the other side of the call. Ben heard it too and gave you a quick, confused look before moving his gaze back to the baby.
Rami was now standing right next to Lucy, his hair wet and his eyes widened in confusion. But then he saw his daughter walking on her own feet and he looked at Lucy with so much love that it almost made you cry.
Inevitably your gaze fell to Ben, who was now hugging Sophie and whispering “You did really good, love. You did great.”
The sight of a sweet, soft Ben made you think about your situation. Maybe, after all, spending all that time together had improved your relationship. Or maybe you were just fantasising.
Day Six - Saturday
It’d been a hell of a night. Sophie cried for most of it and it was impossible for you to understand why, given that she still couldn’t talk. Both you and Ben tried to calm her down with anything, but not even the hood kicked in.
Eventually she fell asleep at 8AM and as she rested peacefully in her bedroom, you realised you might as well stay awake. As you were about to make you a coffee, you heard footsteps approaching you.
Ben was rubbing his sleepy eyes, trying to force himself to stay awake. His hair was messier than usual and the shirt he used as pjs was wrinkled.
“Did you check on her?”, you asked in a low tone. To be honest, you felt like shit.
He cleared his voice and nodded his head ‘yes’, taking a seat on the stool of the peninsula. “She’s sleeping.” His tone was just as low as yours.
Sophie had worn you both out.
“Would you like a coffe?”
By giving him a look from above his shoulder, you noticed he was nodding. “Yeah, thanks.”
Five minutes later you were sitting one right in front of the other, just like the very first day. This time he hadn’t the strength to throw jabs at you, though.
“Thank god it’s Saturday.” His sea-glass eyes stared at you for a few seconds.
The hotness of the cup of coffee was warming you cold hands. “Yeah. We did it, right?”
“Yeah... but I’m never doing it again.”
You narrowed your brows at his tone. “Why?”
Ben gave you a condescending look. “If you haven’t noticed, running a baby’s not like running a bookstore.”
“Are we back at it again?”, you asked in an annoyed tone.
Ben started to gesture. “They’re a mess. They pee on things. They bite and they poop a lot.”
“They’re babies.”
And then Ben snapped. You knew that sooner or later he would’ve, because it was Ben we’re talking about. “I had plans this week. Business meetings. I gave up everything to give you a hand with it and play this part.”
“I never asked you to do it! I never asked for your help. And ‘play this part’? Are you serious, Ben? That’s what this is to you?” Hopefully Sophie wouldn’t wake up. As much as you were both trying to keep your tone low, you were in the middle of an argument.
“We’re living in the same house, watching over a kid that isn’t ours and we’re acting like we’re married but we are not.”
“So you’ve been pretending, huh. Have you been pretending with Sophie?” Bet stuck his tongue out, slipping his fingers through his hair as he usually did when he was nervous or upset. And right now he was both. “No, I love Sophie.”
“So just me, then.” It was destroying you the fact that your words sounded like a whine, but you were hurt.
Ben narrowed his brows in a confused expression and his lips parted. “Y/N—“
“You know what, Ben? I shouldn’t have said yes. I should’ve known that you and I aren’t the ideal pairing to take care of a baby. I knew we weren’t a good pairing at all when you left me alone in my fucking car two years ago.” You finally had the chance to tell him how much he hurt you when he screwed up your first blind date. He had to know how much it had influenced your relationship.
“It’s been two years ago!” He threw his arms in the air.
“Yeah, and look at us now. You could’ve just told me you didn’t feel like it, but no. You had to be a dick.”
“’m sorry if I didn’t feel like going to a blind date a month after I broke up with my long-term girlfriend.” Now he was being sarcastic.
And now you were really mad. “How the fuck was I supposed to know!” Your tone was higher than you expected so you took a deep breath to calm down, not wanting to wake Sophie up. “It was my first date in a year. I never let Lucy set me up for dates but for the first time I did. I did and I regret it. Look how it ended up.”
“I told Rami not to do it.”
“I don’t care, Ben. You could’ve managed it better. All you did instead was calling another girl as you were with me, because all you care about is getting laid.” Even though your tone was low, your words were ice cold.
Ben slowly shook his head, his hurt expression quickly replaced by the one you knew so well. “You shouId get Iaid yourself. Except to have sex, you gotta find somebody who can stand you first.”
“Fuck you.”
“Yeah”, he muttered as he stood up.
“You know what? Take all the fucking Saturday as your free day because I can’t even stand looking at you right now.”
And he did. The day went by and Ben hadn’t come back yet. You were trying to convince yourself that you could do it on your own for another day. Sophie seemed to understand that your mood wasn’t one of the best and she behaved like she never did before. She even ate all her meal, which was new to you.
Lucy called at some stage in the evening and she showed you the amazing architecture of Florence. It seemed like they were having a good time and there was no point in making them worry, so you didn’t even mention Ben.
But she did. “Where’s Ben?”
You rubbed your nose, trying to find a believable excuse for his absence. “He went to the grocery’s.”
“How many groceries are you guys buying? It looks like you spend whole days at the mall.”
“No, uh — we ran out of ketchup. We’re having burgers tonight, ketchup is essential.”
She seemed to notice that something was wrong — here brows were narrowed and her eyes were giving you a condescending look. Yet, she didn’t say anything and you closed the call a few minutes after.
It was night by now and Sophie was finally sleeping. You, on the other hand, just couldn’t fall asleep. That’s why you spent almost half an hour channel surfing, ending up watching Love Island. In extremis...
But then the click of the look caught your attention and even though you hadn’t yet turned towards the front door, you knew it was Ben. His cologne couldn’t have been mistaken.
You gave him a quick look from above your shoulder only to meet his beautiful, puppy eyes. Even though you were still pissed at him, you couldn’t keep ignoring your feelings.
He sat right next to you, remaining quiet for the first few seconds. It was him who broke the silence. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said those things” you whispered as you turned towards him.
His elbows were resting on his thighs as he rubbed his hands together. “You were right, I’ve been a prick. I should’ve talked to you back then. You would’ve understood the situation.”
“Yeah...”
“And I’m sorry I’ve been distant all this time. I knew I fucked things up that day in your car and when I realised it I... it was too late. I just wanted you to like me back, but you wouldn’t have. Not after how I treated you.”
“But I did! I still do, Ben.”
And it was the truth. No matter how many times you’ve tried to convince yourself that you despised him and that you just didn’t get along. You liked him.
His green eyes were staring at your lips for the umpteenth time that week, but this time was different because Ben placed his own on yours. His hand was resting on your neck and the softness of his touch gave you the goosebumps. When you leaned towards him to deepen the kiss, his touch became even more secure as he come closer to you.
You’d fantasised many times on how it’d feel to kiss Ben, but now that you were really doing it, it exceeded all expectations.
When you leaned back from his lips, a big smile appeared on his face. One of the smiles he reserved for Sophie only. You snuggled against him, his arm surrounding your waist as he kept your body close to yours.
There were tons of situations yet to be clarified, but you both stood quiet for the rest of the night, bodies close but hearts even closer.
Day Seven — Sunday
Last day. On one hand you were sorry to leave Sophie — you’d gotten used to her habits and rhythms, but on the other hand you couldn’t wait to go back to your old life. 
Scratch that.
You couldn’t wait to go back to your new life with Ben.
“You done? They’re almost here”, Ben told you as he held Sophie.
As you put the duck away, the one that Sophie loved so much and that drove you insane, you nodded your head ‘yes’. “Yeah. The house should be okay.”
And now the three of you were waiting on the porch for Lucy and Rami to come home. Sophie was beyond excited to meet her parents again and she showed it by walking around the house. Ben had to follow her everywhere, given that she wasn’t still 100% steady on her feet.
“Here they are!”, you told Sophie who was walking around the dining room. “Mom and daddy are here, Soph!”
She clapped her hands, making Ben chuckle as he accompanied her to the front door where you were standing. His green eyes met yours as a loud thud came from Lucy and Rami’s car, who were now shutting the doors and hurrying inside.
Lucy’s eyes immediately went to her daughter, who was standing on her own feet right in front of you. She hugged her, kissed her and held her close to her chest as she whispered lovely words. Rami left a soft kiss on her head before looking up to you and Ben.
When he noticed that you were standing right next to each other with bigs smiles on your faces, he narrowed his eyes and smirked. “What did I miss?”
“Uhm — nothing, really.” But the look Ben gave you made you chuckle. Rami was more than sure that he missed a lot, especially when Ben’s arm surrounded your waist.
“Oh wow”, Lucy whispered as she stood up, holding her baby in her arms. “You guys need to fill me in on what happened between you two.”
“Sophie happened”, you said with a sweet smile, looking at the baby who was in awe for her mother.
”Y’know”, Rami started saying. “You’d make great parents. Sophie loves you guys.”
“Yeah”, Ben murmured. “Maybe someday.”
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anerdquemoraaolado · 4 years
Text
Through Chrissie’s eyes
The Deacons’ Wedding
Knowing the urgency that Veronica and John had to get married, we expedited everything as we could, we arranged documents, invitations for the guests, the church ceremony, everyone's attire, and finally the party at Jim's house. It wasn't easy, but as everyone was engaged, we managed to do it. We spent Christmas, New Year and finally the wedding day arrived in January 1975.
Me and the girls met at home to get the bride ready. Veronica didn't want to be too chic or draw attention, and we all respected her will. The boys got John ready at Freddie's apartment.
"Oh ... I don't even know what to think" the bride got up, ready "I'm happy, and I was just fine after deciding to get married, and now that we're here ... Am I going to do everything right?"
"I know exactly what you're going through" I leaned closer to her and held her shoulders. "But you van get through all this, focus on John and try to ignore the rest, no matter how difficult."
"I'll try," she managed to smile. "Thank you, Chrissie."
Veronica's parents came to pick her up and took her before us, while we kept waiting for the ride of our loved ones.
"Hurry up because we can't let the bride arrive before us" Freddie sprouted at the door and called us in a hurry.
I blinked a little scared, but I got the message a little later. As we were in three couples, the boys were in two cars. Roger and Dominique went with Mary and Freddie and me and Brian went in our car.
"Freddie is ..." I picked out the words before saying, as we were on the way to the church "drawing more attention than the bride."
"Oh yeah" Brian laughed. "He took the jacket from one set, the pants from, and to complete it all, the scarf."
"And don't forget your sunglasses," I added, "but it's just Freddie being Freddie ..."
"But today he extrapolated, we started calling him Angry Lizard 2.0" - my husband laughed a little more.
"Why angry lizard?" I was curious, that story I still didn't know.
"When we met John Reid the first time," Brian recalled, "he was wearing a scaly jacket with dragon wings on the back, I said he looked like an angry lizard, I remembered that today."
"Only you can make that kind of joke" I shook my head "and how's John doing?"
"He's nervous, less than I was at our wedding, but he's very sure of himself, and that's the most important thing."
"You know what, Bri?" I said thoughtful "I think John was already getting ready to proposal, and the baby was just a little push to give him courage, they had loved each other long before that. And loving each other is the main reason to marry."
"You're absolutely right, my love." Brian smiled and took my hand for a moment.
We arrived and saw that the bride was at the door, waiting for everyone to arrive.
"We can't go in without all the maids and best men here" Veronica said.
"Sorry for the delay," Brian apologized for both of us.
"You're really not late," she explained. "I arrived early, but it's better you're going to your places soon."
"Yes, ma'am," I understood the urgency of the situation and obeyed the bride, hurrying into the church.
Everyone was already in position, between the boys and the girls, there was another couple on John's side. Brian and I gave everyone a quick hello and went to our place.
"It's so much easier being a maid of honor" I realized, speaking out loud.
"I have to agree, but going through all this nervousness is worth it." He kissed my cheek and turned his attention to the door, and then we waited for Veronica's entrance.
She stepped in beside her father, slowly and shakily, near us. John began to cry. Roger, who was closer to him, placed a hand on his shoulder in sympathy. Then I looked back at Veronica, who was crying too. That way, I would start crying too soon. The bride arrived at the altar and quickly she tried to wipe his tears and he hers. John received Veronica from her father. The priest asked them to kneel and the bride and groom obeyed. The ceremony then began.
I watched every word, touched and realized how much more formal and traditional that marriage was. Perhaps it was the demand of the Tetzlaffs, Veronica's family. As little as I knew them, I could tell they were traditional, maybe that was one of the reasons she had become a quiet, shy girl.
After the sermon, the priest went to the rings and finally the question that everyone was there for. John and Veronica went back to sobbing when they said yes and this time I cried with them. Their kiss was timid and quick, but so sweet that it made no one doubt how much they loved each other.
They left the church waving to everyone and we went after them. Before we went to the party, we were bombarded by the photographer's flashes. I felt kind of uncomfortable taking a picture, but three years living with Brian, who sometimes stubbornly took pictures of me at ordinary times, made me get used to it. And group photos were more comfortable for me than just me appearing in the photo.
So we all went to the party, and when I got there, I noticed that it was a little bigger than my party and Brian's. We sat down with Roger, Freddie, Dominique and Mary, since Veronica and John's relatives were kind of unfamiliar to us.
"How many people ..." I let slip, but it was more for Brian to hear.
"It seems that both the Deacons and the Tetzlaffs are large families," my husband replied. "We have far fewer relatives, so our party was smaller."
"Um ..." I agreed, distracted.
What comforted my discomfort of being among strangers was being close to my friends. Time passed and John came up to us, bringing two guests I didn't know with him. The man was one of his best men and the girl was younger than us.
"Uh, guys, they insisted a lot to come and meet you, so I hope you don't mind," John explained. "This is my friend Nigel Bullen, we were from the same band at school, and this is my sister Julie. Julie, Nigel, this is the rest of Queen, Roger, Brian and Freddie."
They exchanged handshakes politely as each of the boys introduced me, Dominique and Mary to John's guests.
"I recognized John on television," Nigel said, "in that video of yours, Killer Queen, isn't it? I barely believed it was the old Deaks on TV."
"Yeah, sounds easy, but we got really hard to get there." Freddie's voice was proud.
"Wouldn't it be possible for you to play something?" Julie asked hopefully.
"Oh no, Julie, maybe our style doesn't please most of the guests, and you also shouldn't give them ideas, they possibly will agree" her brother advised.
"You know John, that song you composed for Veronica, it would be perfect to play now," Roger suggested.
"No, no, no, no," John shook his head. "it's not ready yet, and I'm already doing a lot of exposure of my figure for one day, okay?" I love you guys, but can you give me some time, at least on my wedding day?"
"Cut the drama Deaky, you win" Freddie accepted the truce.
"Thank you," John said sarcastically, but relieved.
After a while, Veronica also came to see us. The poor girl was already tired by all the rush and the baby, and just wanted only a familiar place to rest. John came to sit next to her some time later, and it was there that I saw one of the most beautiful things in my life. The future daddy whispered something to his little unborn baby, that everything he and his mother did was for him, for the family the three of them would soon form.
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bluesfortheredj · 5 years
Text
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Gwilym asks as he picks up his phone and keys from the counter with a clatter.
“I’m sure,” you smile, “I’m more than happy having the place to myself tonight.”
“Well don’t do anything without me,” he says as his eyebrows raise.
“I won’t!” you laugh, “promise.”
“Okay, good, ‘cause I’m counting on a goodnight kiss later,” he winks.
“Oh, you’ll get more than a kiss,” you reply as you run a hand up the front of his shirt. He tilts his head back with a whine and lets out a long sigh.
“Don’t! Because now I don’t want to go!”
“Stop it,” you chuckle, “come on, off you go,” you say as you usher him towards the door, giving his torso a gentle push when he stops walking backwards.
“See you later,” he pouts when he gets to the door.
“See you later lover boy,” you grin, then shut the front door behind him.
Gwilym was off for a small reunion with Ben and Joe at a bar in central London and although the invite was open to you as well, you opted to stay at home and let him enjoy his time with the boys alone. There was of course an ulterior motive for staying behind and you had something planned for his arrival home later on that night. He’d been working so hard recently and travelling back and forth to the states over the last couple of months had taken their toll on both of you, so intimate moments had unfortunately become few and far between. Now though, as everything was finally settling down and he could start new projects, the spark had been lit once again but the time you’d had to act on such feelings had always been interrupted so far.
“Ah-ha!” you exclaim as you find the bag you’d hidden a couple of weeks ago in the back of your wardrobe. You open it up to see the light grey satin lingerie set you’d purchased for a special occasion, and decide that tonight is the night you’d wear it. He’d be a little tipsy when he gets in which would work to your advantage as he was always more vocal during sex, and that was a sure fire way of getting you going.
You have a light dinner to make sure your stomach doesn’t suddenly bloat out, as it definitely didn’t need any help with that anyway, and then you change into the new set; checking yourself out in the mirror to see how well the lace trim sat against your thighs and how the bra pushed your breasts up just the right amount.
The wait for Gwilym was long but as soon as you hear his key rustle its way into the lock, you position yourself on the arm of the sofa with your legs crossed coyly as you straighten up your back to enhance your cleavage. Your heart starts to race as you hear the door open and there’s a heavy silence as Gwilym creeps down the hall then turns to look in the lounge and spots you sitting there. You begin to smile at him, but it soon turns into a gasp as you spot Ben and Joe coming up either side of him with wide eyes at the sight of you half naked.
“Oh my god,” Ben says as his mouth drops open.
“Oh my god!” you gasp as you fling yourself back onto the cushions to hide from them.
“Oh my god stop looking!” Gwilym says as he turns to the two men behind him, “in the kitchen! Get in the kitchen!” he orders and he pushes them past the living room door and down the hall.
“You mean that wasn’t for us?” Joe pouts as he’s shoved into the kitchen along with Ben.
“Of course it bloody wasn’t. Erase that image from your memories right now,” he demands, knowing full well that wasn’t actually something that could be done.
“Nah, no can do, that’s going in my-”
“Don’t even think about saying what I think you’re going to say,” Gwil growls as he cuts Ben off.
“Wank bank!” Joe giggles, suddenly understanding where Ben was going with his sentence.
“Both of you just sit down and shut up,” Gwilym frowns as he watches them do as they’re told, “stay there.”
He makes his way to the lounge to find you frozen on the sofa still absolutely mortified as you hold a blanket over your body, and he kneels down beside you to stroke your face softly.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, “I should have text you to let you know I was bringing those two idiots back. Are you okay? You look absolutely incredible.”
“It’s okay,” you say as you twist your body to sit up, “it’s fine. I’m alright, just a little shocked is all. And embarrassed… Very embarrassed.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, I promise,” Gwil soothes as he lifts himself off of the floor to take a seat next to you. He takes the blanket from your tight grip and drapes it around your shoulders then wraps it over your front so you’re completely engulfed by the soft material.
“I think there is,” you say as you hear giggling coming from the kitchen.
“They’re just being… Well, you know them,” he smiles kindly, “I’ll get rid of them.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I do because I’ve seen what’s under that blanket, and I’m suddenly feeling all hot and bothered,” he smirks, and you crack a smile as you look up into his now darkening eyes. He gets up and finds Ben and Joe laughing to themselves in the kitchen as they watch something on Joe’s phone.
“Right, guys, umm...” Gwil starts.
“Say no more,” Joe smiles knowingly, “we were going to leave earlier, but didn’t want to interrupt with saying goodbye.”
“Thanks. And if you could never mention this around (Y/N), that’d be great.”
“Of course we won’t,” Ben nods, “you are punching above your weight there though, mate.”
“I know!” Gwilym laughs. The two men leave the house and shout a bye at you through the now closed living room door, then Gwil returns to your side.
“Now you’re all mine,” he whispers as he moves the blanket from your shoulders.
Request: I have a Gwilym request! He’s out for the night with the cast, the reader is at home waiting for him to get back. She wants to surprise him when he gets home so waits in their living room in new lingerie but he doesn’t tell her he’s bringing the cast back with him, so he’s not alone when he finds her waiting for him, leading to jokes from the cast and panicky Gwil trying to make sure his girl isn’t too embarrassed & apologising for ruining her surprise
@painthatiusedto @winnielinleigh @queenslandlover-93 @excellentbecca @ametaphorbrian @peachllobotomy @lovemarvelousfics @lovemelikeyou1997 @readinghorn @godohammers @timeandpixiedust
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