||24 Karat Gold|| Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks

3.

"Y'know, I really don't think it would be rewarding for us to go over Rhiannon. Especially for the sound check. The complexity of the song itself isn't particularly challenging and I personally, well, I don't know about the rest of you guys...but I feel that it might perhaps restrict the dynamic of our overall sound. We should really use a song that incorporates all instruments to ensure there is a fine balance between everything." his voice echoed in the stadium, staring straight ahead at the empty space in front of him while he licked his lips, awaiting the backlash. 

Everyone stayed silent while Stevie threw her head back, staring up at the stage lighting above, she closed her eyes and tried to keep her voice as smooth as she could. 

"We have used Rhiannon for years as a sound check song. I don't see why it is now a problem." Stevie muttered. 

"Sorry, I can't hear you from over there, would you be able to speak into your microphone and I'll hear you through the monitors, Steph." Lindsey spoke, pointing towards his microphone. 

Steph, he had called her Steph again and so she walked towards where he was stood to the left of her on the stage. She stepped into his personal space, gripping her hand around his microphone before pulling it towards her lips, slightly pressing against the mesh front to purposely cover the top of it with her red lipstick. 

"I said, Lindsey. We have used Rhiannon for years as a sound check song. Why would we change something that has worked for so many years at this stage in our career." 

It was the first time since they boarded the plane that Lindsey cocked his head to face her, staring into her eyes. He felt like he was being struck by lightning the longer he held eye contact. 

Hold that eye contact, Buckingham. Do. Not. Give. In. 

"I just think tha-"

He paused, pursing his lips together while his eyes burned into hers. If he let his guard down he could quite easily find himself lost in her deep, autumnal eyes. His heart was pounding against his chest, his blood flowing through his veins while he desperately held his head up high, his shoulders pushed back, ready for anything she would throw at him. 

Stevie blinked repeatedly, awaiting his response while she placed her hands on her hips, she didn't have time for this. What they didn't realise was that they had almost subconsciously turned their bodies towards each other with only a mere couple of inches of space now standing between their hips. They were like magnets, regardless of how well they were getting on with each other or not. Personal space was non-existent between the two of them and it really didn't appear out of the ordinary to anyone in the band but it most certainly made everyone uneasy when they were quite clearly battling against each other, whatever the issues may be this time around.  

"Why don't we just play through Rhiannon and we can also choose another song, that way everybody wins." 

Lindsey and Stevie didn't even flinch at the sound of Mick's voice coming through the floor monitor in front of them, desperately trying to break this up before it escalated. 

"That sounds absolutely perfect, Mick." Stevie spoke matter-of-factly, her eyes still staring deep into Lindsey's frosty blue eyes. Lindsey smirked, his front teeth sinking into his bottom lip to let her know he had so much more to say on this subject. He let it slide, his fingers resting on the fretboard of his Guitar, the opening chords of Rhiannon roared through the sound system and Stevie narrowed her eyes into a glare before walking towards her own spot on the stage. 

________________________________________________________

Stevie sighed, staring at her own reflection in the mirror of her dressing room. She picked up her glass of red wine, taking the utmost care to ensure she didn't smear her deep red lipstick as it reached her mouth. Fleetwood Mac would be standing at the side of the stage in the next 10 minutes to open the tour with their first show on Australian soil.

"Oh! And then, just you wait for this...once we finished playing Rhiannon, he instantly started to play the opening chords for I Know I'm Not Wrong. And the whole band joined in damn it... we actually used that as a sound check song. Just who the hell does he think he is, Karen?" 

Stevie slammed her wine glass back down on the table in front of her, so sure she could see the corner of one of her eyelids twitching with the anger that was rising the more she thought about Lindsey and his ludicrous song suggestions at sound check earlier on today. 

"At least you both got your own way, I mean you still played through Rhiannon and Lindsey got his song?"

Karen instantly regretted her choice of words, she should have just told Stevie what she wanted, that Lindsey was an arrogant asshole who was quite clearly out to get back at Stevie for whatever the reason might be this time. Yet, she just couldn't. She couldn't defend either of them if she was being honest, for they were both acting like spoiled brats, the childish mind games almost cliché now that they were much older. 

"Why does nobody see what he is trying to do!" Stevie huffed, she stood from her seat and stormed out of the room. Traditionally she was always the last one to make her way to the side of the stage but things had changed. If he wanted to play that game, she too would ruin every tour tradition too. 

Karen rolled her eyes, sinking into the sofa to continue working on her laptop, finally in peace. 

It was strange, being the first band member to reach the side of the stage. As she stared out to the thousands of fans, she reflected on just how much of a battle it had been to get everyone right here, in this moment. The fans had no idea of how hard it had been, how hard it still was as she stood there, to physically and mentally be strong enough to go through with this arrangement night after night for the next few months. Now that she was here, she realised just how much she thrived on that feeling. That feeling of anticipation, the unknown, she had absolutely no idea how this show was going to go. All she knew was that she was here and there was literally no way of backing out of it. It kind of scared her, knowing that she had no authority for the next couple of hours, as though she was attached to a ball and chain. The persona she had of herself in her mind was completely different to the reality and she wondered if that was why she found it so hard to commit to this tour, to Fleetwood Mac, for it meant she had to give up her freedom, her opinions, her authority. 

In her moment of reflection, she had become unaware of her surroundings. The band was now scattered around her and it wasn't until her empty hand was filled with that of Lindsey's that she snapped out of her daze. His fingers entwined through hers, his grip strong yet somewhat comforting. She stole a quick glance, his mouth currently attached to the top of a beer bottle, taking a swig. She raised an eyebrow, for Lindsey never consumed alcohol before a show these days, she couldn't even remember when he last drank beer! 

Lindsey couldn't even look at her, opting for staring straight ahead, the lack of emotion on his face prominent while he swirled his bottle of beer with his free hand. He knew she would be wondering why he chose to hold her hand, it was the first time they had touched for a long time and it was actually causing a mild ache within his heart. 

"The hand holding... the fans expect this." he whispered, still staring straight ahead. 

Before Stevie could even muster up a response, she felt his hand tugging at hers as they were given the green light to walk onto the stage. The sound of the fans roared and Lindsey took another quick swig of his beer before handing it to a roadie. Suddenly his motionless face changed, a grin appeared as they stepped into the light. There were too many thoughts spinning through Stevie's head that she just let him guide her onto the stage, he had caught her off guard and she was now trying to snap out of it, to put on her game face for the immense crowd of people screaming for them.