out on the street for a living, picture's only begun

5. Let Me Know

05/10/1975

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Peter asked quietly, shifting around on his feet a little, and Gene rolled his eyes. "You were the one who agreed to performing here in the first place, Pete," he sighed, but the drummer shook his head. "No, not that," he said before gesturing vaguely towards his and Gene's faces, "...that."

"Oh, that," Gene mused absent-mindedly, "I mean, we don't want anyone recognising us, do we? Everyone thinks we left town weeks ago! And, in case you've forgotten, the makeup is the most recognisable part of the whole damn band!" Peter sighed, fiddling with a drumstick in one hand. "I'm still not sure about you playing guitar instead of bass," he muttered, and the bassist glared at him. "C'mon, Pete, give me a chance," he said in exasperation, "plus I'd like to see you try." Peter rolled his eyes again but stayed silent, looking rather pointedly at anywhere but Gene. "Yeah, that's what I thought," the bassist said almost inaudibly before turning his attention back to the guitar in his hands.

Suddenly, he was hit in the back of the head by something that was rather obviously made of some kind of metal. "I found this in your bag earlier," he heard Peter say almost casually, "and I thought you might want it tonight." Gene turned to glare at the drummer again, naturally rather angry at him for looking through his stuff, but then he saw the object in question, and he could have sworn his heart stopped for a second.

It was a pendant of sorts, one that his Paul had been given by a fan jus days before the fire. Gene had absolutely no clue how it had ended up in his bag of all places, he had assumed it lost in the fire just like his own pendant had been after all, but he was glad it had showed up. He could still remember how his Paul's face had completely lit up when he had been given the pendant, how he had turned and showed it to Gene in nothing short of sheer excitement.

Cautiously setting his guitar to one side, Gene bent down slowly and shakily picked the pendant up off the floor, clutching it to his chest for a few heartbeats before cautiously slipping it around his neck. "Thanks, Pete," he said softly, and the drummer smiled warmly. "No problem," he said almost cheerfully, "I knew you'd want that practically as soon as I found it."

Paul stuck his head into the room through the half-open doorway. "They wanted me to let you guys know that you're on in five minutes!" he called cheerily, and Gene couldn't help but smile. "I'll be looking for you out there, you know," he said with a smirk, and Paul looked down at the floor shyly. "Oh- um- well- good luck tonight!" he stammered before dashing off somewhere, and Peter laughed softly. "He's a real good guy, is Paul," he said, nudging Gene with a drumstick, "I like him." Gene nodded, half-heartedly trying to swat the drumstick away. "I like him too," the bassist said quietly, "I mean, not everyone would have just taken people like us two in the way that he has. He's a sweetheart, really."

Peter turned on his heel to head towards where him and Gene were due to perform, but the bassist grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks. "You wanted the best," he said quietly before watching Peter almost expectantly. The drummer rolled his eyes good-naturedly once he realised what the bassist was waiting for him to do. "You got the best," he sighed, and Gene smiled softly, letting go of Peter's hand. "Now c'mon, Pete, they're waiting for us," he said, making sure he still had his Paul's pendant around his neck before heading towards the stage.

The crowd ended up being much more than a little smaller than the two of them had recently become accustomed to, but as they cheered as Gene and Peter took to the stage, neither of them could find it in themselves to mind. After all, not one person in that club (bar Paul, of course) was even aware of just who was about to perform for them.

"Hey there!" Gene called enthusiastically to the small crowd that seemed to be growing steadily by the minute, who cheered back just as energetically, "I think we've only got time to play one song tonight, but we'll come back, if you'll have us?" The crowd cheered again, a little louder this time, and Gene turned to Peter with a grin. "Rock And Roll All Nite?" he mouthed, and the drummer nodded, spinning a drumstick lazily in one hand. "How about we play a little song by KISS, I'm sure you've heard of them, called... Rock And Roll All Nite?" the bassist asked cautiously, turning back around, and the crowd let out the loudest cheer that they had yet, making it sound like there was at least three times as many people in the room with them than there actually were.

Gene sighed quietly as they began to play, quietly enough for his microphone not to even register it, and closed his eyes slowly. He imagined that the crowd was as big as the ones he had been playing for even on the very day of the fire, that his Paul was stood by his side, smiling at him as they played, that Ace was there too, grinning in Peter's direction like he always seemed to, perhaps even falling over as he sometimes did. Tears started to well in the bassist's eyes as he longed so desperately for what he'd had, for what he'd lost.

After what felt like a moment and an eternity all wrapped up into one, the song came to its close. Gene's eyes fluttered back open, and he watched with a small, slightly sad smile as the crowd cheered, begging him and Peter for just one more song. The bassist glanced briefly at Paul, who was smiling up at him from the very front row of the crowd, and Paul nodded, confirming that they did, in fact, have enough time to play one more song.

"Do Black Diamond!" some girl yelled from the very back of the room, and Peter started to grin. "Alright then, Black Diamond it is," he yelled before Gene even had a chance to say a word, "you ready, Gene?" The bassist sighed and rolled his eyes before nodding softly.

Gene couldn't help but watch Peter as he began to sing, something that he'd never really thought to do before. The drummer seemed to pour everything he had, seemed to pour his very heart and soul into his performance, and it made the bassist smile almost involuntarily. He'd certainly have to watch Peter more in the future, because the energy that spilled from him was almost captivating.

Gene was almost disappointed as Black Diamond came to its end and that energy began to dissipate, until it seemed as if it had never been there at all. Peter hopped down from behind the drumkit (not his drumkit, not the one he was used to) and stood almost proudly by Gene's side, snaking an arm around the bassist's waist. "We love you, good night!" he called to the crowd, who cheered for them one last time, before they walked offstage together.

As soon as they were offstage, out of the sight of the crowd, Peter let go of Gene's waist before hugging him tightly. "You did great out there," he murmured into the bassist's ear, "and I'm so sorry for ever doubting you playing guitar." Gene almost immediately hugged him back, practically picking the drummer up. "You did great too," he said softly, smiling as Peter relaxed a little in his arms, "I was watching you play during Black Diamond." The drummer blushed slightly, trying to hide his face in Gene's shoulder. "You don't... normally do that," he said quietly, "but... thanks." Gene smiled again, holding Peter just a little tighter. "I know I don't," he said, "but there was no reason for me not to today, was there?" Peter shook his head slightly, curling into the bassist's familiar warmth.

Paul seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind them. "Oh wow," he said cheerfully, "you guys were amazing tonight!" Peter squirmed his way out of Gene's grasp before leaning against the bassist's side. "Thanks, Paul," he said quietly, almost shyly, and Gene smiled with a brief nod. "Yeah, thanks, and thanks for telling us about this place, too," he said, looping an arm around Peter's shoulders and pulling him closer, and Paul looked down almost sheepishly. "Oh, it was nothing," he said softly, dragging a foot along the ground, before gasping sharply like he had been hit by something. "What is it?" Gene asked hurriedly, rather worried about his new friend, and Paul looked up, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, Gene, I'm fine," he said, watching as the bassist relaxed slightly, "I just remembered that there's some other guy playing soon. You guys wanna go watch him with me?" Peter paused for a moment before nodding. "Sure, why not, we might as well," he said quietly, looking quickly up at Gene, who nodded too, "do you know much about this guy?" Paul shook his head. "Not much, sorry," he said almost absent-mindedly, "but I heard someone out there say that they thought he seemed otherworldly, almost like some kind of... spaceman."

Peter's eyes widened in shock, and Gene gasped loudly. "A... spaceman? Are you sure?" the drummer half-yelled, clutching the pendant that Gene had only just noticed he was wearing tightly in one hand, and Paul nodded, grinning. "Yeah, a spaceman," he said, completely oblivious to both Gene and Peter's surprised reactions, "weird, right?" Peter leaned in closer to Gene. "You don't think...?" he murmured, voice filled with an almost devastating hope, and the bassist sighed. "You never know," he said quietly, "but, for the record, I really, really hope it is, Pete." Peter closed his eyes, holding the cool, glimmering blue pendant (which was technically Ace's and not his, not that he could give it back to the guitarist or anything) even tighter before letting out a soft, breathy sigh.

"Come home, Acey," he whispered so quietly that neither Gene nor Paul could actually quite make out what he was saying, "please, come home to us, to me."