★彡 TWENTY-THREE 彡★
IT WAS A REGULAR NIGHT, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER. However, the bar was crowded and the four aka Freddie, Brian, Roger, and John had a hard time squeezing through the people dancing as they tried to appear subtle. Based on everyone's expressions seeing them due to Freddie's flashy and sparkling outfit, Brian was positive that they failed to succeed in not catching anyone's unwanted attention. Fortunately enough, no one dared walking towards them, too busy watching a performer on stage and screaming. Meanwhile, John strolled to an empty couch near the stage and plopped down whilst the three followed suit. "This is why I told you not to wear anything ostentatious, Fred. Everyone's staring at us like we're from a fucking carnival." Brian reprimanded, flailing his arms around to point at his red velvet shimmering jacket and glittering flare pants. Although, one thing to note was that he wasn't the only one wearing a flamboyant attire, Roger did too unsurprisingly, dressed in an enormous fur coat —that Brian was certain it can fit two people— and beige-tinted shades which concealed his bluish-green eyes.
In response, Freddie merely scoffed, retorting with a sass underlining his voice, "Let them stare, darling. They're just envious of my good looks. And if you're so bothered by it, why the bloody hell did you invite me to go to this, what should I call it? Ah! Shabby bar anyway, there's plenty of preferable bars we could have gone to." He complained and John piped in swiftly, "Elijah was the one who offered us to go here since he's going to perform. But, if you're that upset, you can leave. I'll just tell him you didn't go." Roger snorted silently and Brian coughed out the Guinness he was drinking, surprised at John's sharp tone even if he knew that the man was doing that to get a rise out of Freddie.
Freddie immediately went quiet at the mention of Elijah's name, his hand that was holding an Iced Stolyknachya Vodka stilling and John knew he won, smirking triumphantly at his bandmate as he whistled a victorious tune. Freddie's mind was rushing with thoughts nonetheless, one of them attacking him fiercely— why didn't Elijah tell him?
Throughout the same time he was thinking, Roger decided to swivel his head around to wink at a woman flirtatiously, earning a slap on the head from Brian. "What the hell- Bri, what now?" Roger nearly whined, taking off his shades to glare at the guitarist. "We're here to watch Lijah perform, not to see you find a one night stand because you couldn't keep it in your pants." He countered and John tried to muffle the laughter that rose out from his throat, knowing he was unsuccessful when Roger turned to scowl at him and snap, "Shut it, Deaky." which made John raise his arms up in defence, a joking smile on his face.
The muted noise of disco music resonated throughout the small pub until the clean sound of someone tapping the mic softly grabbed their attention as people hollered. John grinned widely, "It's Elijah!" and that brought Freddie to reality. Startled, his eyes traveled slowly until his vision reached the stage, a guitarist and bassist on each of Elijah's side and a drummer on the back. He couldn't help but let out a fond smile when he saw Elijah's shining gold trousers. Freddie reminisced that bought it for him way long before they were dating, noticing him wear it made his heart feel warm.
"Freddie, what's this?" Elijah asked, intrigued yet confused at the same time, shaking a small box encased in a fine wrapper whilst his eyes looked over the parcel curiously. Freddie thought it was adorable, Elijah had a certain habit of lilting his lip and his eyes widening subconsciously when someone gave him a gift. Freddie knew it firsthand, he gives the guy a lot of presents after all.
Freddie sat down the couch at Elijah's apartment, a grin on his face as he replied, "It's for you, darling. Open it." He encouraged almost excitedly and Elijah's interest increased significantly. They may have only been friends for three months but it felt longer, their friendship ran deep and Freddie was a generous man, literally giving him everything he wants even though he didn't ask for the man to buy it. An example of this was when Freddie gave him a ridiculously expensive guitar. He wonders sometimes if Freddie acts like this with his other friends, or he was the 'only exception'. Either way, his hands unfolded the package swiftly and he couldn't contain the surprised exhale he released at seeing what laid inside.
It was glittered gold trousers, and that should have ended the conversation. Freddie and him had similar tastes for fashion after all, however, that wasn't the reason why he let out a shocked gasp. The particular reason was because those specific pants were tremendously one of a kind. He recalled seeing it at a thrift shop on Kensington and gushing over it to Freddie but he had never expected for his friend to buy it without him knowing. It was unexpected.
"Freddie, you don't have to— I know this is extremely costly." Elijah tried to refuse, handing the gift hesitantly but Freddie was stubborn, shaking his head indignantly at the same time he steadily relaxed on the couch, "I don't take no for an answer, babe. It's yours, and yours to use." Elijah opened his mouth to rebut but the warning glance Freddie gave him made him sigh in defeat before laughing out loud.
"Well, it seems like I have no choice, do I? Thank you, I truly appreciate all the gifts, even though it's necessary."
Freddie promptly responded, "Damn right you don't, darling. And you shouldn't have to worry about that because you deserve the world."
Seeing Elijah use his gift brought back old memories, however pleasant they may be, it wasn't enough to rid himself of the ache that resided in his bones and heart when he remembers their darkest days. It was stupid really, years have passed and he still couldn't get over the man. He just doesn't have the strength to mentally and emotionally let go of the person he considers his greatest love, and someone he wished he could marry and start a family with. His thoughts kept on becoming repetitive each and every day and it was frustrating.
"Hi, everyone." Elijah's deep accented voice murmured softly, smiling as people cried out his name, flabbergasted that they were seeing one of the legendary singers in the decade in a lowkey bar. Freddie observed as he grinned at the guys with him in a familiar way, "I'm sure most of you are wondering why I'm here?" shrieks were the only response he got and he laughed.
"Before I was even someone who performed at arenas and released music, hell, before Queen found me —love you guys—," Roger whistled loudly and John beamed hearing their band being called out while Brian made a heart symbol with his hands. Freddie stayed quiet but his eyes never strayed away from Elijah's figure, "This pub has been the location of my first gig ever and I have met amazing people while performing here. I'd like to thank them one by one publicly but it would take too much time, wouldn't it?" He joked as laughters arose from the crowd. The spirit of inquiry burned through Freddie's bones and he can't help but think about it. Elijah has never told him about this, and a part of him felt deceived, but he removed the thought quickly.
Ultimately, they both have their own secrets.
However, a glimpse of a man staring at Elijah with a smile sought Freddie's scrutiny. Jealousy unintentionally rushed through him when he saw Elijah grin genuinely towards the man. They seemed and acted intimate and Freddie loathed it with a passion. He knew he was overreacting but he was familiar with the gaze of one's man who had intentions. The figure was tall and he couldn't deny that the person was quite attractive, if he wasn't too in love with Elijah he probably would have offered a one-night-stand but his glances towards Elijah made Freddie suspicious. It appeared that Elijah seemed unaware because he even waved his hand towards the individual.
"Moving on, I'm here to sing some of my old songs, and perhaps an unreleased one." His last sentence made the roars from fans grow and even John, Brian, Roger and especially Freddie straightened up, inquisitiveness sparking in their veins and anticipating what unreleased song he would be singing.
"This is Woman."
Elijah was singing yet Freddie couldn't get rid of his envy.
♚
"Hey, Elijah, it's been a while!" A man's voice echoed piercingly and Elijah swivelled his head around to facd the figure, a bright smile forming on his face as he recognized who it was. The man immediately opened his arms as an act of embracing him and Elijah in turn hugged him tightly. "Ethan, you look more muscled. Going for the ape look?" He teased and said figure, aka Ethan, slapped him on the arm playfully.
Ethan was an old friend of Elijah. Specifically, it was his ex-boyfriend turned acquaintance turned friend. And it was an extensive messy story Elijah wasn't drunk enough to divulge in. Long story short, they —aka only Elijah— decided to part ways after a three-years long relationship, ending it on the year of 1973 and never speaking to each other due to Ethan moving out of the country and Elijah being busy with his dream of becoming a singer. Until now, at least.
A cough interrupted the two friends hugging and Elijah spun to see Roger, Brian, John, and Freddie looking at them with intrigue. Roger had a smirk lilted on his face as he exhaled smoke from his cigarette and commented, "Care to introduce us to your friend?" A nod from John and Brian signified that they were agreeing with what Roger said although Freddie stayed still, glancing at them almost with a hint of wariness in his eyes.
"Queen! I'm Ethan, a big fan." Ethan held out his hand, shaking theirs although Freddie may have or not have gripped his hand too hard when Ethan reached his. "I apologize for him. He's an old friend." Elijah explained sheepishly although he gulped subtly when he noticed John's eyes staring at him with the words We'll talk about this later practically yelling at him. Roger's eyes squinted in disbelief but said no word as Brian hummed.
"An old friend, you say. Were we really friends, Eli?" Ethan's words held a vague meaning to it and Elijah nudged him on the side harshly, signalling for him to keep quiet whilst keeping a smile on his face. That only caused the three's curiosity to up a mile and Freddie, oh Freddie, if glares could kill, that man would be dead, lying on his feet right now.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Eli, don't be so serious, I'm just joking." An almost mocking smile took shape on Ethan's facet and his eyes glinted mischievously before chuckling, "Well, Eli, I just wanted to catch up with you because it's been years but I seem unneeded here so let's hang out soon, alright?" He bid farewell and before Elijah could even blink, Ethan walked away and exited the pub.
"What was that about? Is your friend really that weird?" John cut off Elijah's musings and he winced when he saw John's skeptic look and Brian's nod of agreement whilst Roger piped in, "I have to agree, that man gives off a strange aura. Better stay away from him, Lijah. And who the hell gave him the right to call you Eli anyway? Only we can call you Eli— bloody!" He cursed when Freddie, instead of Brian, hit him brutally on the shoulder.
"Shut up, Rog." Freddie finally spoke out, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes and declaring straight without indecision, "Elijah, let's go on a date tomorrow. A friendly date."
Elijah nearly choked on his own spit hearing what he announced and by the looks of the three, they were scandalised too. A stupefied expression materialized on Elijah's face although he concealed it by coughing and patting his chest. Meanwhile, Roger, finally calming down from the staggering revelation, muttered underneath his breath, "Friendly date my ass. More like go to dinner and have sex date."
Good thing for him was that both Elijah and Freddie were too preoccupied with each other that they didn't hear him however John and Brian did, earning a muted guffaw from Deaky and another light slap on the shoulder from Brian who mouthed, "You're bloody disgusting, Roger."
"F-Freddie, I would love to." Elijah at last spat out the words everyone has been waiting for and John smugly smiled. Freddie's eyes lightened up for a second and he looked delighted before smoothing out his face and telling him, "Fantastic, dear. I'll call you to let you know the details," before proceeding to walk off, leaving the four aka John, Brian, Roger, and Elijah feeling incredulous.
"What the bloody hell was that about? Freddie's acting weird."
"Probably because of the jealousy. He always acts odd when he's jealous."
♚
author's note!
soooooo... I've FINALLY thank fucking god updated, I'm sorry to keep all of you waiting for such a long time :( I've just felt unmotivated to write any fics for a few weeks now and I hope I an push through this really annoying author's block because I still have a lot of plot ideas :D (yes I'm using this ironically)
anyways 👀 new character and a small twist 👀 will there be drama? idk yet! but it's sure going to be not as harsh as the act one because.. they're my parents and they deserve better
ALSO ! I'll be updating sweet creature— my brian may fic AT LAST and ik elijah is there but let's just say I've really fucked up all the timelines rn so if you guys ever feel confused on the dates,, pls don't mind it, elijah's going to appear occasionally but it's a different setting so . anyways pls check it out uwu