#gwylim lee fanfic

[likesomekindofcheese]

So, Everyone, Songbird Ch.4 is in the drafting process and will be up soon enough! I know I have a handful of people I tag: would anyone else definitely like to be tagged? Let’s just say the drama is gonna hit in this one!

[fallingprincess]

Bloody Cocktails

~ Vampire!Ben & Witch!reader meet again ~

Summary: “I don’t want to hurt you.” - “I know.” - “Please help me.” - “I will.” or: Ben has been mixing his drinks and turned into an addict. Unfortunately, Gwil calls in a favor with you.

Words: 5.4k

A/N: Thank you so much to @literatureandqueen​ who made this awesome moodboard and inspired me to continue this series. I hope you guys will love badass witch!reader as much as I do!

Backstory (you don’t need to read it first)

*****

Taking a last glance at the large pentagram on the wooden floorboards, a candle in each corner and crossing line, you closed your eyes and then extended your arms outwards palms up. 

Putting all your concentration and energy into the spell you felt the magic rush through you like a storm, a strong wind swirling through the room albeit the closed windows as you spoke the latin incantation out loud. 

Feeling the surge of black energy pulling you in, you opened your eyes in anxiety - and then groaned as they met a spectrum of color changing rainbow irises. 

"Damn it." you hissed through gritted teeth and then let your arms fall to your sides in disappointment.

Gwilym crossed his arms in front of his chest in annoyance. "Seriously? Again? This is the third time this week you accidentally summoned me here. What exactly is it that you are even trying to do?" 

With another prolonged sigh you moved part of the salt circle to the side so the demon could step fully into your living room. "Trying to create a gate to Tartarus. I was so sure I had it this time."

Gwil smiled, his pointy teeth reminding you of your other unexpected visitor a few hundred years back. "I am sure you will get it at some point...Magistra."

You couldn't help but smile about him addressing you by your newly earned title. "You heard about that, huh?"

The demon followed you as you made your way into the kitchen, ducking his head under a thorny overhanging plant on the way. "As one of the head demons, I did, yes. Congratulations are in order."

He watched as you motioned for the coffee machine to get to work. With an annoying 'bing' you couldn't figure out how to turn off, the high-tech machine started brewing as two cups flew towards you; Gwilym catching one of them midair before he went to grab the almond milk from the fridge. 

"So what's new in the underworld then?" you asked as you sat down opposite him, a cat jumping onto your lap instantly. 

"The underworld is fine. Ben is...you know Ben." he replied well aware of what you were getting at.

"Is he still doing that thing?" 

The demon sighed and leaned back to make room for the pot to fill his cup. "Mixing his drinks? Yes. Unfortunately."

You scratched the cat's fur absentmindedly. Maybe it had been wrong of you to allow him to drink your blood. Maybe this was all your fault. But then again, he was a grown man making his own choices. "It's going to come back to haunt him eventually."

Gwilym picked up his cup. "I tried telling him, but it's not like he ever listens...Children, what can you do?" 

You laughed at his sarcastic eye roll and then took a sip of coffee yourself. "Back to Tartarus. What do you think is missing in the spell?"

***

“We need to discuss Ben.” the handsome woman in front of Gwilym smiled, her eyes sparkling dangerously, her ashy skin almost too translucent for his liking. 

“I figured that’s why you wanted to see me.” The demon answered politely before seating himself on the vacant park bench. 

The vampire queen followed behind, her bare thigh falling through the slit in her dark black dress as she crossed her legs. “As you know Ben has become quite the...problem. I have gotten complaints from the fairies and even the mermaids before and I have thus far ignored them pretty forcefully, but with his latest fight - against a werewolf nonetheless - I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Gwilym sighed as he watched a baby duckling follow its mother into one of the ponds. “Have you tried talking to him about it?”

A beautiful laugh escaped her, her eyes momentarily turning black before shimmering in purple again. “Have you?” Digging through her purse she handed him a small veil filled with a glittering dark red substance. “You can probably guess that any other vampire doing whatever Ben is doing would have been executed a long time ago-”

“But you have a soft spot for him.” Gwilym finished for her as he cradled Ben’s blood in the palm of his hand, his dark fingernails tapping lightly along the glass. 

The queen groaned and then nodded. “I do. It feels like it was only a century ago that I found him all alone in that alleyway, freshly turned, totally lost and confused. I raised that boy. And so did you.”

A hearty laugh escaped Gwil. “We apparently have not done the co-parenting very well, have we?”

She hit his shoulder playfully, but then shook her head. “Apparently not...So can you help?”

He chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds and then nodded very slowly. “I don’t think I can. But I know someone that could.”

***

Your eyes immediately fell upon the tall demon standing in your kitchen and helping himself to a cup of the always hot and freshly brewed coffee. Still finishing towel-drying your hair, you raised an eyebrow in suspicion and then threw the towel over your shoulder where it vanished back onto its hanger in the bathroom by itself. 

“Fancy seeing you here. I am pretty sure the hole in the portal is not large enough for a creature your size.”

Gwilym smirked as he raised the steaming cup to his lips, his rainbow eyes switching fast and with a curious stance. “I see you are still trying on that gate to Tartarus.”

You rolled your eyes and motioned for a cup to fill itself and come flying into your awaiting hands before sitting down at your kitchen table. “Cute. But no. The advice you gave worked. It just seems as if I happened to have lost a cat in there. I have been keeping the portal open the tiniest bit in the hopes of it finding its way back by itself.” You happily hummed after taking the first sip of the dark brown liquid. “So what brings you here? You never drop by without reason.”

He studied you for a long time, his eyes finally settling on a rose quartz pink as he sighed. “It’s Ben.” 

Of course it was. When was it not the dangerously attractive but so god-damn stupid vampire?

You groaned internally and then shrugged. “I told you: Him sleeping and drinking around and going rogue or whatever is really not my problem. I am the head of hundreds of covens around Europe. I can’t bother with your little vampire friend, Gwilym. No offence.”

“Non taken.” He shook his head and absent-mindedly began scratching the cat that had settled on his lap behind its ears.

“Furthermore,” you started again as your damp hair braided itself in a quick motion and then fell down your back zestfully. “Shouldn’t that be Miss vampire queen’s problem? She’s the one that should deal with this...problem.”

“I agree. But she has asked me to take care of it.”

“And why don’t you?”

The demon sighed again, his eyes turning almost transparent before transforming into a dark green that almost matched a certain vampire’s irises. Why couldn’t he just stop existing all together? Then you never would have to be reminded of him ever again. 

“I think he is gone too far. Which is why I have come to ask you. You are the most powerful being I know. Please? He will listen to you. He is still very attached to you.”

“Because I saved his life with my blood.” you interrupted him in between coffee sips and then began playing with a little ball of fire in your hand that you had stolen from the now dead candle on the table. 

“And I am asking you to save his life one more time.” His hands reached out to yours, the ball of flame going extinct as he crushed it in between his fingertips before interlacing his larger digits with yours. “For me?”

“I don’t know, Gwilym. I have a lot to deal with already.”

Like a lightning bolt he had gotten up and was now leaning against the sink, a cat carefully balanced on his shoulder like a pirate would a parrot. “I didn’t want to do this, but fine.” He took a deep breath although you were well aware it was for solely dramatic reasons and not because he actually needed it. “Remember that time when you asked for my help for some sort of secret ritual and weirdly enough a week later a famous world leader died under mysterious circumstances helping three different nations to finally declare independence? You know the time where I let you undress me and do very strange things to me that we vowed to never speak of again?” He made eye contact now, forcing you to relive the memories of said ritual in your head and you shuddered before scrunching up your nose; painfully aware of what was to come out of his mouth next. 

“I am calling in that favor.”

You groaned, a white cat jumping up in shock and running into the bathroom in a hurry. “Fine. I will take care of it.”

With a delighted smile he pushed himself off the sink, dropped a kiss to your cheek, and then walked towards the living room; ducking under a few plants as he went. “I knew I could count on you. By the way, can I use your pentagram to go home? Easiest way.”

You waved your hand as you followed him and the candles in the corners of the structure on the floor in front of your altar came to life, the lines in between them glowing up in a dark red instantly. “Go ahead.”

You watched him step into the pentagram’s middle and smile at you again. 

“I will keep an eye out for that cat of yours.”

And then he was gone. 

And all that remained of him was a small dark-filled veil right in the middle of the circle. 

Benjamin. 

***

Ben awoke in shock, his throat dry, his hands shaky, his point of view hazy as he took in his strange surroundings. The dark green fabric of the couch underneath him appeared to be too warm to be normal, the curtains were drawn shut and it took him way too long to figure out that the quiet thumping was the heartbeats of not one but about ten different cats staring at him in unison. 

“Good, you are awake.” he heard a voice to his left. However, his head felt too much like it was going to burst once he tried to turn it. 

“Where am I?”

“Paris.” the witch stated dryly and took a seat on the armchair opposite him, a black cat instantly jumping up and curling into her lap. 

Attempting to keep his thoughts straight, the vampire studied her quietly. He hadn’t seen her in centuries, yet somehow she seemed to have not aged more than a year or two. Her hair was longer as it fell in unruly waves over her shoulders and back; the dark red lipstick was a new addition to her usual wide flowy dark green dress. 

“I was in Russia.” he finally managed to press out through gritted teeth whilst his throat seemed to close up more and more. 

The witch sighed as she snipped her finger and the heavy curtains flung open behind her, casting the room in a faint glow that only dawn could give. “I know. I found you beat up on the street. I teleported you here.” She took another heavy breath as she got up again and leaned against the floor-length window, her eyes ghosting over the eiffel tower in the distance before turning back to him. “What are you doing, Benjamin?”

*

“How are you not dead?”

You almost rolled your eyes but knew better as you stepped around the pentagram on the floor and began playing with another flame ball in your hand. “Really? That is what you want to talk about after avoiding me successfully for what...400 years?”

He struggled to sit up, his eyes faint, his skin ashier than normal. The demon hadn’t lied to you. Benjamin was in fact very far gone. So far, you weren’t even sure if you could still help him come back. 

When you had gone to look for him you had expected to find quite the terrible scene. What you had not expected, however, was your search spell guiding you into a backstreet in the heart of Russia, the vampire hunched up on the floor, a quiet sob escaping his lips as he waited for the deep gashes in his skin to heal. 

Yea, to sum it up, he was doing very badly. 

And you hated how much you cared. 

“But to answer your question.” you finally continued, your eyes still searching for the sun rising over the roofs of Paris in the distance. “Somehow drinking your blood made me age very very slowly. I had time to study. I was instated as the new Magistra a few months back. Which you would know if you weren’t busy fucking your way through the magical kingdom.”

You hadn’t meant for it to sound so bitter, yet here you were, your anger and possible jealousy getting the better of you. 

“Well, congrats.” he groaned in his deep agonizing voice and then began gagging on air in the most unattractive way. “Thanks for helping me...but I should go.”

You watched him as he tried to get off the couch, the weakness showing in his eyes and arms as he fell back against the cushions a few moments later. “Or maybe I could rest here for a bit longer.”

You exhaled slowly and then stepped towards him, your fingers automatically pressing against his forehead in a powerful joint. His eyes closed instantly and you ordered the curtains to fall shut again. 

“Sleep, Benjamin.”

*

Ben awoke in shock once more, the faint memory of having lived this before tumbling through his mind. 

Russia. 

Paris. 

Her. 

With a jolting headache he started another attempt at sitting up straighter, a ball of fur falling from his chest in the process. 

Her. 

His fingers still shaky he managed to get up; a deep gut-shattering hunger burning through his veins. 

Her. 

He was not sure how he had dragged himself into the kitchen; he did not realize he was hunting at all. 

Her. 

The witch’s blood was the only sound his ears seemed to pick up, her loud heartbeat his anchor as he took step by step, the desire almost hurting and clogging all other reasonably thoughts. 

Her. 

He watched her stand in front of the sink filling up a watering can for a few seconds; he could feel his eyes darkening, his fangs sharp against his bottom lip. 

Her. 

With a final leap he jumped forward in lightning speed…

… and was suddenly pressed against the opposite wall, his back pushed against a wooden cabinet, the tip of a dark oak wand drilled into the bottom of his chin, forcing him to make eye contact with her. 

*

“What exactly do you think you are doing?” you barked out, fury racing through your body as you studied his every move. You had to admit you quite enjoyed the scared little whimper noise coming from his pale lips. “Did you really think you could just sneak up on me in my own home and kill me? After I just fucking saved your ass in Russia of all places?”

His fear-filled eyes slowly returned to their natural green as they glanced towards your lips, another deep groan falling from his mouth while his fangs retracted and his shoulders fell back against the cabinet. “Do it. Come on. Kill me then. At least I don’t have to live with this constant hunger anymore.”

You shook your head, a feeling of almost pity making its way towards you heart and you quickly suppressed it by running your wand expertly downward and toward his non-beating heart. “That would be way too easy, Benjamin. You brought yourself into this.”

Hell, it would have been so easy, a few mumbled incantations, a quick lightning bolt, and the problem would have been solved forever. Except for the fact that you had promised Gwilym, and a promise in this world was worth more than any amount of money. 

You took a careful step backwards and then slipped the wand back into the shaft of your thigh-high boot before returning to your watering can. 

The vampire had not moved when you had turned around a minute later and you watched him curiously as you began watering the little herb garden in the corner of your kitchen. Could you have used magic to water it? Most definitely. But the love was what made it grow strong, a lot of magic users tended to forget that part. 

“I’m so hungry.” Benjamin finally choked out and then sank to the floor with a heavy grunt. “Human blood is...I’m sorry I tried to kill you.”

“You would have never succeeded with that but I appreciate the apology.” 

He managed to get up again by holding onto and steading himself on multiple objects of furniture and then staggered towards a test tube sitting on your kitchen table. “What the hell is that? It smells like a bloody cocktail.”

Not missing the irony he was oblivious to, you sent the watering can off back to its cabinet and then stepped next to the vampire, his radiating cold sending a shiver over your arms. “That’s your blood, Benjamin.”

Still mesmerized by the different colored streaks swimming in the dark red of his blood, he spoke quietly. “Where did you get this?” 

Not bothering to reply you reached for the tube and swirled it around for a bit before setting it back down. “See the silver? That’s mine. And the purple? Fairy blood. The blue is definitely from a mermaid. I am trying to figure out where that brownish copper stuff is from.”

“Werewolf.” he whispered so lowly you had almost missed it and then turned to fall into one of your kitchen chairs. His eyes were filled with despair in an almost translucent green tone as he met yours. “I’m losing my mind. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even know what is happening to me.” His face fell onto his arms as he groaned again and you studied him cautiously, your head crooked to the side. 

“Can I draw another blood sample from you?” You finally asked and he nodded weakly, his forehead still pressed against the wood of your kitchen table. 

Honestly? He looked like shit. 

But the most beautiful shit you had ever seen unfortunately. 

Stepping closer you pulled on the material of his black long-sleeved dress shirt. “Can you take this off for me?”

You monitored him struggling with the top button for at least half a minute, his fingers too shaky to get it through the matching hole and then sighed. 

“Here, let me help.” Crouching down you placed his hands on his thighs and then began undoing one button after the next, careful not to let his naked skin touch your fingers. 

“My head hurts so bad, I can’t hear my own thoughts.” he mumbled whilst shrugging off his shirt and you only allowed yourself to marvel quickly at the faint scars running all along his skin in various places. 

You rummaged through the medical bag that had appeared next to your side and found a freshly sterilized syringe - this was the 21st century after all. “When was the last time you had magical blood?” 

He studied you closely as you turned his arm over and then ran a warm finger tip over his cold forearm, trying to find the perfect place to pierce his vein. You had to admit you missed doing this with a knife and a dirty coffee cup. 

“Maybe last week? It all blends together.” He hissed when you finally inserted the syringe and then began to draw blood into its adjacent tube expertly. 

“What kind of blood was it?” 

“Fairy.”

You nodded and then slowly removed the needle, his arm healing up instantly. 

“Do you know what’s wrong with me?” 

You nodded again and then motioned for another clear container to come flying your way. Waiting until you had transferred the last drop of his blood, you ultimately answered. “You are addicted to magical blood. Like an alcoholic...or a heroin addict. But your drug of choice is magical blood.”

He groaned as his head fell back. “Is there like a rehab for fucked vampires or something?”

“It’s not that easy.” you mumbled deep in concentration and used your hand to heat up the tube, its content splitting into its different colors instantly. You carefully studied the silver witch blood and then set the tube back down. “When was the last time you had witch blood, Benjamin?”

You had not been prepared for the way his eyes found yours like a ship a lighthouse. Even in his pained state they were still as magnificent and captivating as ever. And you hated yourself for thinking so. 

“I don’t know. Whenever we saw each other last. So...a few hundred years?”

“Right.” you whispered, a faint memory of his fangs against your back and neck running through your mind that you quickly pushed aside. “That’s not good.”

“What is?” The vampire groaned again, a growl leaving him as the veins under his eyes darkened. 

Your hand already back on your wand you relaxed as he slumped over, his back muscles contracting before he almost passed out, his forehead leaned against your table once more. 

“You are going through withdrawal. But unlike a drug addict, the magical blood isn’t leaving your system. It stays. That’s a problem, Benjamin.” 

He listened to your explanation in a seeming daze and you nodded to yourself before helping him by grabbing the underside of his arm. 

Somehow managing to get him into your bedroom and onto your king sized bed - the cats had to sleep somewhere too - you sighed as his eyes instantly fell shut from exhaustion. 

“How do I fix this?” he mumbled quietly, a droplet of sweat running down his forehead even though you didn’t know vampires could sweat. 

Taking off your shoes and placing your wand behind your ear you sat crossed legged next to him, a few cats sensing your unrest and cuddling up beside you immediately. “You aren’t fixing this at all. I might be, though.”

You watched him flip and noticed for the first time the glowing lines along his back in between his scars. Exhaling in shock you reached out to run a finger over one of the silver ones that ran all the way from his shoulder blade down the left side of his spine until it disappeared into the waistband of his black jeans. 

Yours. That line was yours. 

He hummed lightly as you followed a lilac shimmering line from his right toward his left as it faded out towards his waist. 

Too distracted by the way the blue line seemed to go on forever over his arm, you realized too late that he had shifted and only managed to shriek in shock when he had you pinned underneath him against the mattress all of the sudden. 

His eyes were black as night, the veins under them more prominent than ever, his fangs reflecting the faint light coming in from the kitchen. 

Holding your breath you tried to free your hands to reach for your wand that had fallen from your ear onto the pillow within his swift motion. 

However, before you had the chance to wrap your fingers around it, his body slumped against yours, his head falling heavily against your panting chest as a sound that sounded almost like a sob escaped him. 

“I’m so sorry.”

Still in shock you somehow willed yourself to use the free arm to instead run it lightly down his freezing naked back. “It’s alright.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know.”

“Please help me.” 

You swallowed dryly before exhaling a breath you hadn’t noticed you were still holding. “I will.”

*

Ben awoke for a third time that day, this time in a bed and he vaguely remembered what had happened there as he tried to orientate himself. 

He watched a cat leave the room and then return a minute later with the witch following closely behind. He smiled lightly as he remembered their second meeting a few centuries ago. 

‘Do you understand them?’ - ‘When they want me to.’

“Good, you are up.” She stepped forward and then placed a shot glass filled with silver laced liquid onto the nightstand next to him. 

He eyed it nervously and then her. It had been a long time, but he could never forget that smell. 

“That’s your blood.” he finally stated the obvious and then tried to sit up against the headboard, every limb in his body protesting against the movement in agonizing pain. 

“It is. Mixed with some other stuff. But yes.” she explained and then sat down next to him, her leg almost touching his but not quite. 

So close but yet so far. 

He craved her - no he desired her, in ways he had forgotten about since that cabin in the woods. 

“I need you to be fully conscious while we discuss this. So drink up. I hope it’s enough.”

Ben nodded slowly and then reached for the glass, his fingers so shaky he pulled back instantly. “Can you?”

She nodded, a look of uncertainty hushing over her features before she leaned forward and brought the small glass to his bottom lip. 

In one eager sip he swallowed the liquid down, his senses awakening not even the fracture of a second later, the life filling his body once again, a newfound strength rumbling deep in his bones and muscles. 

“Thank you.”

She sighed. “Don’t thank me yet. We have a lot to do.”

Not managing to suppress the impulse, he watched his hand reach out to brush aside a strand of hair that had fallen into her face and tugged it behind her ear. 

Pretending not to hear how her heartbeat had sped up at the motion he cleared his throat. “Lay it on me then. What do we need.”

Her hand shot into the air and she caught the paper and pen flying towards her head just in time and then dropped both utensils against his chest. “We need a list of all the magical people you have drank from. When I say all, I mean all, okay?” She got up. “I will be in the other room. Just come out when you are done. Take your time. It’s important.”

*

You had not even set foot into your living room yet when your eyes fell onto the tall demon standing in the middle of your pentagram, a ball of fur protectively cuddled up in his arms. 

“I believe this is yours.”

You smiled excitedly as you practically ran the remaining steps and then allowed the cat to jump on your shoulder in a swift motion before purring. “You found her! Thank you so much...I...thank you, Gwilym.”

The demon smirked, his eyes finally settling on their usual rose quartz color, before they fell toward the floor. “You could thank me by removing this salt circle. I have been standing here for at least five minutes like an idiot.”

“Right. Sorry.” you giggled and with a wave of your hand, some of the salt lifted and dropped into a neat pile in the corner of the room. 

“Thank you.” Gwilym stated as he seated himself on your couch. “So how is it going with Ben?”

“It’s going.” you sighed and then fell onto the cushion next to him, your head almost automatically falling into his lap. “This was a big favor to call in.”

His sharp nails began softly running along your scalp and you purred happily as he answered. “May I remind you of the counter performance I did for you? I strictly remember this weird position we were in where we-”

“We do not talk about this.”

An image appeared in your mind, of the demon’s body towering over yours, your breathing going fast as his hips…

“Don’t.” you pressed out and the picture vanished as fast as it had formed. 

“Or what?” his eyes had turned into a dark black and you sat up straight as you allowed your magic and energy to collect in your center, the light in you burning brighter and brighter, your eyes pierced into his, your powers ready to collide…

Before the both of you broke out into a fit of giggles and laughter, his face falling into the crook of your neck, where he pressed a quick kiss against your pulse point once he had collected himself. 

The demon sat up slowly and spoke without turning around. “Hello, Ben.”

You turned to look at the vampire that was leaning in the door frame under a thorny plant, a crinkled sheet of paper in his hand as his eyes glowed in a dark green. 

“Am I interrupting something?”

You cleared your throat and quickly ran your fingers through your from the massage messed up hair. “You are not. Gwilym was about to leave anyway.”

With a motion of your hand the candles on the floor lit up and the lines in between began to glow almost as brightly as the ones on the vampire’s back. 

Your eyes fell toward the cat curled up on the armchair and then onto the tall demon as he stepped into the middle of the circle. “Thank you again.”

“For you always, my love.” he replied with a knowing smirk before vanishing and you turned in place to find Benjamin staring at you, his face filled with something that you could only pinpoint as jealousy. 

You almost smiled to yourself. 

How does it feel when the tables are turned, vampire?

*

“Did you get the list?” 

Ben ripped himself from his trance, his mind still replaying the two of them laughing on the couch, Gwil’s lips where his own should be. “Yea. Here.”

She took the paper from him and he studied her closely as she tried not to look shocked when she saw all the names (at least the ones he had remembered that didn’t say “some tree fairy”). It was okay. He had been, too. He hadn’t been aware of how out of control he was. 

Now that he had finally stilled his hunger, although he was aware that the little amount would wear off quite fast at this point, he could finally think straight again after all. 

“And you are sure these are all?” 

He nodded and then fell to the floor, his still naked back leaned against the side of the couch, a cat demanding to be pet instantly by curling up against his legs. 

“Okay. It’s important for the ratio.”

“The ratio?”

She took a deep breath and then sat down in front of him, her knees almost touching his as she crossed her legs. “I have worked out a spell...a potion so to speak. But you are going to help me get the ingredients. The creatures have to give them to you out of their own will so I can’t just ask for them to be delivered here like I normally do.”

He nodded as he followed along, unsure where this was going, but highly aware that he would not like it. 

“We need some mermaid scales, some werewolf hair, a bunch of fairy petals...seriously what is wrong with you and the fairies?”

He shrugged and then leaned forward without thinking, his nose bumping into hers with the newfound confidence her blood had seemed to have given him. “What about you? What do I need from you?”

Her breath ghosted over his cold cheeks with every exhale, warming them up, bringing him back to life for a second each time. “My magic should do.”

His eyes fell towards her lips, her bottom lip pulled in between her teeth nervously. 

“We should get started.” she finally whispered to interrupt the silence that had settled between and around them, only tainted by the sound of her heart beating fast in her chest and in Ben’s ears. 

With a last glance towards her lips, the vampire nodded and then pulled back. “We should.”

*****

Thanks for reading. As already mentioned there will be a Halloween special (18+) that will be about the ritual that Witch!reader and Demon!Gwil performed. So stay tuned for that :)

Also check out my Masterlist for more Vampire!Ben ♥

[wannawritefast]

Whiplash: Chapter 1- Playing Defense

A/N: Hey, y’all. I know the prologue didn’t get a whole lot of attention but I’ve written a substantial amount for this and I am VERY proud of how much I’ve written and what I’ve written. Also, huge shoutout to @andtheswordwentsnickersnack​ for beta reading this beast of a fic that I’ve been working on for WAYYYY too long LMAO...

Pairing: BoRhap!Brian May x fem!Reader

Prologue

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, awful men, sexism

You loved your family. Really, you did.

But there were times, and many times they were, that you would have been more comfortable ripping your own hair out strand-by-strand than having to sit through another session of verbal abuse.

You weren’t entirely certain what you had done, if anything, to deserve such discrimination from your grandfather, father, and brother amongst a few cousins and uncles. It was like 3 generations of men in your family had decided to use you as a verbal punching bag.

You still vividly remembered the time you had told them that you didn’t particularly appreciate how they talked to you. They laughed right in your face and told you to grow a thicker skin. That Y/l/n’s were a tougher breed than most and that if you couldn’t handle it then maybe you weren’t of their blood.

October break wasn’t any different. Your family had met up for your annual dinner together aside from Christmas.

“And what about you? When are you going to settle down, Y/n?” your grandfather quipped after shoveling a spoonful of mashed potatoes. “I want some great-grandbabies!”

Before you could even open your mouth in response your brother, James, chimed in. “I wouldn’t count on anyone banging her anytime soon.”

“Well,” you chuckled, “would you look at who’s talking?” James grumbled to himself and threw a pea at you which you successfully evaded. You turned your head to address your grandfather. “And I’m not your only grandchild. You have a grandson too, you know.”

You nodded toward your brother and your grandfather hardly even blinked at the last sentence. He either didn’t hear you or didn’t care. Proof that he used any and every opportunity to undermine you. Your grandfather scoffed and mumbled to himself gruffly.

You practically heard your father’s eye roll. “Your career is only so fulfilling.”

“Dad, I’m an astrophysicist and a damn good one, I’d like to think. If my career wasn’t fulfilling enough, I’d be seriously questioning all of the time and money I spent at university writing my thesis and graduating top 5 in my year.” You took a bite out of your roll. Why did you have to defend yourself every time you came home? It was exhausting!

“I’m just saying that you aren’t fully happy until you’ve settled down.”You rolled your eyes at your father. You didn’t have the time to focus on your love life. You barely had time to do your studies as it was. Furthermore, no man you had met seemed to like you after finding out you were an astrophysicist. Nobody seemed to click with you well.

“Why do I need more than my career to be fulfilled in life?” You asked seriously.The whole table laughed at your question. Even the kiddie table laughed but it was just hive mind reflex. You certainly did want to get married and have a family someday but you were making a point to your father. Who was he to dictate what made you happy?

“Please, Y/n,” James piped up again, “that’s what lonely people say to feel better about themselves.”

Ouch. That one stung more than you should have let it. You took a drink to keep yourself from letting a tear roll.

“Who ever said that she’s single?” Your sister spoke suddenly. You coughed and sputtered on your drink. Your neck turned to Donna so swiftly that you probably could have snapped it.

“Are you implying that my eldest daughter is dating a boy,” your mother raised her brows at you conspiratorially, “and didn’t tell me? Is it that smart, goofy boy you fancied at university for the longest time?” She couldn’t seem to keep a grin from spreading across her face.You flushed red at her question. Nobody needed to know that. Except now they did because you were, apparently, no longer single. Everybody at the table locked their eyes on you, muttering to each other. You looked at your sister in panic.

“Go on,” her voice cracked and she cleared her throat before bringing her cup to her lips. “Tell them about your boyfriend.”

Gee thanks… She had just started digging you into a hole.“Wait just a second! Let’s rewind a moment.” James questioned incredulously. “My sister, the stick in the mud astrophysicist, has a boyfriend? Why haven’t you mentioned him before?”

“It’s not relevant who I may or-” you looked at your sister pointedly; she fiddled with her fork “-may not be dating.” The fact that James wasn’t buying it was making you quite nervous. You were more offended though than anything. “Is it really so hard to believe that I’d be dating someone?”

“Yes!”

“Believe it, James” Donna insisted, pointing her fork at him. Put down your damn shovel!

“Have you banged him?” Your brother asked in the silence.

You picked up your drink and splashed him in the face. Your mother softly scolded you for your actions but you were completely unapologetic for what James more than deserved. How you shared the same DNA with such a tool was beyond you… 

“That is hardly your business,” you snipped. You turned and stared down Donna. You were going to have to tell them the truth…

“Ok, that’s quite enough,” your mother stopped everything. Oh, thank the Lord. “We’re here to talk about your sister not her boyfriend.” Thank you, mother. “She’ll just have to bring him over for Christmas!”

You stood up from your chair and it scraped along the floor. What had you done…“That’s ridiculous! What if he wants us to spend time with his family for Christmas?” Why were you even going along with this? Why were you defending your hypothetical boyfriend?

“Then you can split the time between the two!”

“What if he doesn’t want to meet you guys yet?” You suggested. This hole is getting awfully big, Y/n. “Meeting parents is a big deal!” The statement came out as more of a question than a defense. You were honestly hoping for one, just one, objection to stick. “I don’t want to scare him off.”

“Who wouldn’t want to meet us?” Your mother asked. You resisted the urge to answer the question.

“Well, what if we’re not even together anymore by that time?”

“Wow, you really can’t hold onto a man for that long, Y/n? It seems to me like you would have been making this whole thing up if you are ‘broken up’ by then.” James finished wiping his face with a napkin after his encounter with your drink. You locked eyes with him. He was onto you.

“I’m not making this up,” you lied. Apparently you hadn’t put down your shovel yet either.“Then bring him home for Christmas,” James challenged. “Otherwise we’ll know it's a lie.”

Your family was on the edge of their seats and, for the time being, the logistics of the challenge didn’t matter. You were fed up with your brother constantly tearing you down. You were tired of your father not being pleased with anything you did. And you were exhausted by your grandfather’s insistence that you were nothing more than a source for great-grandkids. You got no respect at work and you certainly didn’t get any damn respect at home.

And so you did it. You extended your arm toward your stupid brother’s stupid hand and grasped it firmly with a shake.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, brother dearest.”

[{...}]

Eventually the extended family left and you went to your sister’s bedroom since you were sharing the room and the bed for break.

“Why in the bloody hell would you do something like that?!” You lowered your voice so that your family, more specifically James, wouldn’t hear you. Your sister sat on the bed cross-legged, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

“I’m sorry!” Donna yelled. You shushed her as you brushed your hair. “I couldn’t just watch. James crossed a line with that comment. I just wanted to wipe that stupid smile off of his dumb face.”

“Watch your language, why don’t you?” You teased. She rolled her eyes at you. “But I was fine, honestly. I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t be!” You hissed at Donna to be quiet again. “It was nice for them to shut up for a few moments and see you as a normal human being.”

Your heart was warm but you were in a state of complete panic. “That’s such a sweet sentiment in such a terrible circumstance!” You dug your fingers into your temples and threw yourself onto the bed. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t just go up to a guy and say ‘I need you to be my fake boyfriend because my sister dug me into a bloody hole’! You know I can barely get guys to talk to me on a casual basis!” Your voice dropped in volume, no louder than a whisper. “What makes you think that I can get one to play my boyfriend?” You let out a frustrated sigh.

“I honestly did not foresee the consequences of my actions and I am very sorry.”

“Do you think?” You growled to yourself. “Bloody hell… what am I going to do?”

Your sister scratched the back of her neck. “I mean, you have time… It is only October…”

“But I’m going to have to find someone eventually… if I find one.” You gnawed on a fingernail.

“You’ll be fine!” Donna breathed. She curled herself into the blankets next to you. You felt sick to your stomach.

“Yeah…,” you inhaled deeply, “and I’ve got time…”

[like-the-wings-of-butterflies]

Smitten (John Deacon x Taylor! Reader)

Summary: Your brother Roger invites you to meet his bandmates and it seems the bassist has caught your eye

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,433

Requested By: @not-john-watsons-blog - Hey love! If you have time, could I request something? Like maybe something where the reader is Roger's sister (but like very different personality, a lot quieter and more relaxed lol) and he brings her into the studio and everyone thinks she's gonna be another Roger but then she's very different and Deaky kinda starts to get a crush on her and it's cute fluffiness from there. Does that make sense? Lol. Also if you don't have time, no worries! Thanks for your time :)

A/N: This is literally months overdue but thank you so much being my first ever requested fic! My biggest apologies for taking so incredibly long but I promised you I’d write it so I hope this is something similar to what you had in mind ♡

“What if they don’t like me Rog?”

“Oh shut up would you? They’re going to love you.” Roger promised somewhat irritatedly as he kept his eyes on the oncoming traffic; growing tired of your repetitive ‘what if’ scenarios.

The nervous anticipation grew heavier in your stomach as you rolled into the studio’s parking lot. These were up-and-coming musicians you were about to meet; not only that, but your brother’s up-and-coming best friend musicians. Although you knew Roger was hardly one to waste his time on people who were unkind or brash, in addition to his constant reassurance, part of you still feared his bandmates wouldn’t like you.

For Roger’s sake, you wanted to make a good impression. God did you want to make a good impression.

“I promise it’s going to be fine.” Roger vowed sincerely, giving you a final reassuring hug before swinging open the door to the band’s assigned room.

- - - - - - - - - -

Roger didn’t speak of you often but when he did, his face always lit up in sincere adoration of his younger sibling. Much like Brian and Freddie, John knew very little about you except for the fact that you were studying at the University of West London and Roger had two years on you, making you the same age as him.

As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise and although he felt bad for making assumptions, John realised he already had a preconceived opinion of you. He expected you to be exactly like Roger; loud and extroverted. It wasn’t that he disliked Roger - he felt quite the opposite actually - but one Roger was simply enough. If you were anything like he expected you to be, the pair of you would only rile each other up, two marginally chaotic and excitable siblings making little room for productivity.

Your awkward wave and quiet: “It’s lovely to meet you all.” following Roger’s introduction was all it took for John to retract his assumptive statements. You hid somewhat behind Roger before Freddie bounded over, gushing over you and doing his best to make you feel welcome. John felt slightly more at ease when he discovered Brian felt similarly to what he did, but Freddie was a bit more open-minded and convinced them to at least give you a chance. Now he was glad he did.

John always thought that love at first sight was for suckers, at least - he used to. You were absolutely gorgeous. The good looks ran in the family it seemed, you donning the same bright smile that got Roger any girl he wanted.

He didn’t realise he was starting until you quietly coughed and gingerly offered your hand to him, which he took quickly to hide his embarrassment.

“John,” He spoke through a comfortable smile. “John Deacon.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Not wanting your presence to interrupt the group, you spent the morning sitting quietly in the back of the mixing room, enjoying the process. You quietly offered your thoughts and advice from time to time which the boys seemed to find helpful and you were elated when they showed you a few of the completed songs for the upcoming album.

Watching you interact with others allowed Brian, Freddie and John to see how you couldn’t be more unlike your brother. You shared the same unique flare, but for the most part, your personalities were largely different. While he was loud and extroverted, you were calmer and far more down to earth. You contrasted Roger’s personality almost entirely, yet while together you complimented each other, sharing deep bond that didn’t go unnoticed.

- - - - - - - - - - -

One way or another, when you returned to the studio after a short lunch break, you found the recording booth completely empty, save for John behind the mixing deck. He had his back turned to you, busily plucking the strings of his bass over a halfway finished recording of a song you vaguely remember Roger referring to as: ‘Stone Cold Crazy’.

As the chorus came around, he began humming the lyrics to himself and bopping his head to the beat. John was yet to notice your presence, seemingly too engrossed in the music to take any notice. When he began dancing on the spot, you giggled quietly to yourself as you watched him, quickly snapping a hand over your mouth as your realised your mistake.

His head turned to face you quickly, he smiled shyly as his eyes met yours before turning back to pause the playback in a desperate attempt to hide the blush that was creeping up his cheeks.

“Sorry (Y/N), I didn’t even realise you came in.” He laughed nervously, scratching the back of head.

‘How embarrassing’ He cursed silently to himself.

“No it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have crept up on you.” You apologised profusely, before taking a seat on one of the sofas and sifting through the various magazines on a side table, allowing him to practice in peace. As much as you would’ve loved to speak to him a bit more, you were at the studio as a guest after all, the least you could do was actually let him do his job.

And although you didn’t necessarily mean to watch him over the edge of the magazine for the next ten or so minutes, you found you couldn’t help doing so anyway. There was something about him that brought on the all-too-familiar feeling of butterflies to your stomach, making you feel like a giddy teenager when he said your name.

Once he’d played the final note on the third repeat of the song, you noticed how stagnant his movements were since you made your presence known. Instead he stood still, looking down at his bass with his back turned to you.

“I didn’t stop you from dancing did I?” You squeaked apologetically.

“No not at all,” He lied, lifting the strap over his head and placing the instrument on a nearby stand, “Just focusing on not messing up in front of you.” He laughed, taking a seat across from you and doing his best to not embarrass himself.

“I hope not, it was cute.” You mused, shocking yourself with the random spurt of confidence in your being and coming to terms with the fact that you actually said that, quickly becoming a bright shade of red.

Stunned, his lips parted lightly and his eyebrows raised in surprise, the hue of his cheeks tinting to match yours as he ran a hand over his face. He was a man of few words as is, preferring to catalyse his feelings into his music, but you; you well and truly took his breath away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The remainder of the day passed by swiftly, largely spent sharing spare moments talking with John, and before you knew it the sun had begun to set on the London skyline and your day at the studio had come to an end.

“Come back soon okay?” Freddie beamed mid-hug while Brian - who you’d already said goodbye to - stood in the doorway talking with Roger about god knows what. After promising Freddie you’d come back as soon as Roger allowed it, you turned to John.

“It was nice meeting you John, I hope to see you around.” You smiled earnestly.

“You too (Y/N).” He responded before pulling you into an embrace of his own. When you pulled away, his hands fumbled around in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a pen and a small square of paper, quickly scribbling down a series of numbers before folding it and handing it to you.

“I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman if I didn’t give you my number now would I?” He flirted adventurously, giving you a quick peck on the cheek before Roger turned around.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Can I come back tomorrow?”

Roger laughed to himself, “I take it you enjoyed their company then?”

“Thoroughly.” You nodded with a childish grin plastered on your face, the skin on your cheek tingling as you fiddled with the folded paper held tightly in your grasp.

“As much as I give you my blessing, you surprised me back there,” Roger interrupted as he skipped down the steps of the studio entrance, a cheeky smirk playing on his lips as he spun the car keys around his finger.

You looked at him with a furrowed brow, silently encouraging him to finish his thought as you slipped into the leather-clad passenger seat. His smile only brightened as he gestured to the concealment in your palm, hidden away from his knowing eyes, “I always thought Brian was more your type.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tags: @kelleypenac @chloblo6 @crazyweirdocalledfriday

(Don’t hesitate to let me know if you want to be added/removed!)

[bohemian-war]

DAY TRIP | BEN HARDY X READER

Hellooooo :D!!!

This is my second Ben Hardy’s imagine following @lion-wasczyk  ‘s request. I went to Windsor for the first time on a day trip yesterday and I absolutely fell in love with the city so I thought I could do this based on that trip. Something fluffy with Ben :’). 

Enjoy! 

Like/reblog/feedback’s always welcome and truly appreciated.  P.S. This might turn out to be longer than expected.                                                           ------------ “Are you sure you want to do this? You must be exhausted after your trip.” 

Ben finishes preparing his backpack by putting the water bottle in one of the compartments. He turns around with a smile and approaches you. He wraps you in his arms and you rest your head in his chest closing your eyes and feeling his heart beating calmly. Ben sighs and gives you tender kisses on your forehead. ”Y/N, love, I am fine, honestly. I promised you we’d do this. In fact, a day outside London is exactly what I need.” It had been a couple of days since his trip to the US to attend the Golden Globes. Rami and Bohemian Rhapsody had won two awards for best actor and best film and you could not be happier and prouder of the whole crew. You had agreed with Ben that you two would go on a day trip to Windsor & Eton together after he returned but now that you thought about it more closely, the jet lag might not be doing him any good and you could not imagine how a whole day's excursion could benefit Ben. “Are you sure that this is all about me? Because if you are the one craving for a movie, dinner, and perhaps other things... we could call it all off and stay in.” Ben pulled away from you a bit to see your expression. You were blushing so badly that went back to hide your face in his chest.  “No, no. I am fine. I swear.”

“Let’s go then.” You smile at Ben and grab your stuff. You were really excited about visiting Windsor. You had never been there but since you had seen the Royal wedding on television, you were looking forward to exploring the city on your own with the love of your life by your side.  Once on the train, Ben helps you to leave the backpacks on the floor next to the seats and you both sit down and admire the landscape. The whole trip lasts barely an hour from central London. “I haven’t been to Windsor since I was in primary school.” Ben laughs and his smile awakens your curiosity. “How’s that so?” “We used to do lots of day trips back then. You know that England stands out for playing an important part in History so when it came to studying certain topics, they’d take us to the place in question and we could understand the whole thing better.” It fascinated you the way he usually talked about his early days and how his eyes would shine by the mere mention of it. It could also be that you were too in love with him to see any difference.  “That’s incredible. The most I used to do was going to see a shabby play or to the circus. Poor animals. I couldn’t stand it.” Ben sighs and brings you closer while kissing your temple.  “I am sure you’ll love Windsor. It feels cozy and close to home.”

“I cannot wait to see it. I might find my Prince Harry and marry him there after all, as Meghan did.”

He snorts and denies with a funny head.

“I will never understand why you girls are all obsessed with Prince Harry. He is no one special. He just happens to have money.”

You open your mouth to complain.

“He happens to be a dashing Prince. You are just jealous, Ben!”

“Jealous of what? Of him having to deal with lots of responsibilities on a daily basis and not enjoying life as someone should? I am not jealous. I am grateful for not having to go through that the rest of my life. Thank you very much.”

You sigh and look at him with sad eyes

“You are a famous actor now. It does not make any difference.”

“It does. It is not the same thing at all.”

“Whatever...“

You rest your back in your seat and cross your arms in front of you with a frown and pouting like a child. 

“In my defense though...” Ben starts and leans over to whisper in your ear. “I can say that I can make you feel better than Prince Harry. I can make you wet your pants in less than five minutes. I literally can have you panting my name just with my look and attractive accent, darling. 

A deep heat wave takes over you and suddenly you find yourself putting your arms between your legs to stop the feeling of pleasure that you have begun to feel there. A tiny squeal comes out of your mouth and an old lady with shopping bags looks angry at you. You just want to disappear. All you do is feeling how you shrink in your seat. Ben sees you and laughs. You start punching him gently.

“You are evil!”

“Oh, love, you cannot even imagine.”

Once you both arrive in Windsor you are surprised to see that the place is quiet and pretty much empty. Everyone has returned to London to work after Christmas and you can walk with all kinds of tranquility without anyone interrupting you. When leaving the small station you realize that there is a small path that goes to the city center and allows you to appreciate the castle even more.

“Unfortunately, the castle is closed today as they are doing some works inside. But we can always come to see it again in the future.” Ben explains to you while looking up to admire the view and holding your hand at the same time. 

“I’d love that.”

“Maybe for our wedding day.”

You immediately snap and look at him with your mouth open. 

“Is that a proposal?”

Ben smiles looking at you and rubbing the back of his neck shyly. He ends up avoiding your gaze and takes your hand back in his. You can tell he is quite overwhelmed by the previous question. You got excited there for a second and really wanted to apologize but it’d make everything extra awkward so you decide to let go and not continue putting so much pressure on him. 

“Where are you taking me now?”

“It’s probably one of my favorite places in England.” Ben excitedly smiles.

“It must be good then.”

After going pass the museum, the Royal station and the shopping area you both end up going to The Long Walk (check it here. I did yesterday and the experience is gonna stay with me forever. It was beautiful!). When your eyes stop on the path that starts at your feet and the great amount of nature that surrounds it, your eyes become watery and the first tears begin to emerge streaming down your face. You did not know for a second if it was your excitement and natural reaction to it or everything was caused by the cold wind.

“Ben, this is... beautiful.” 

”The Long Walk runs south from Windsor Castle to the Copper Horse statue of King George III atop Snow Hill where there are impressive views of the castle. It is a total of 2.65 miles.”

Ben smiles proudly of his historic speech as he passes his view of you to the landscape in front of you. When you see that you do not react, he approaches you and surrounds you with his arms.

“Shall we?”

You smile and nod.

It takes you an hour to cross all the way but it's worth it. You both end up under the statue and watch Windsor from the hill while the deer run freely through the forest.

“I have no words to describe this right now.” You were astonished and overwhelmed by the situation. “I cannot believe that we all live locked away in our own world and get to miss places like this one every single day.” 

Bed nods at your words. 

“That’s why sometimes we all need a break to remind us of things like this exist for a reason.”

You sigh and look at him. Ben passes you back the water bottle and you drink while he observes you. The cold water runs down your sore through after the tiring walk and it really hurts, however, it makes you feel so alive that you wouldn’t change it for anything else. You both stay there for a while without saying a word when Ben stands up and approaches you. He kneels in front of you.

“I’d like to apologize.”

“What for?” You frown.

“For not answering your question earlier regarding the proposal.”

“Please, Ben, forget about it. It was stupid. You don’t need to beat yourself up.”

You sigh. You had completely forgotten about it and now that he was bringing it back again you started to feel sick. Ben looks at you with his shiny eyes. 

“The truth is that I have something for you...” He reaches for his bag and spends a few seconds looking for something. He takes out a small black box covered with a velvet bow. You put a hand in your mouth not believing that he would have been able to do it.

“Y/N forgive me, honestly. That conversation came out wrong and I was looking for the right moment.”

Tears are now streaming down your face. You wipe them away because they are starting to blind your vision of Ben and you also need to keep everything professional. 

“Y/N, listen, I might not be Prince Harry...” You laugh and shake your head while wiping your tears again.”I don’t own a castle. I am just an actor who happens to make films; sometimes even good ones, you know?”

You immediately reach out for him. You absolutely hate when he doesn’t give him some credit for his career. Ben lets you guide him towards you but proceeds with his speech. You can tell he is nervous but he is also under control as it’s the two of you in the hill. 

“But I am willing to sacrifice everything I’ve got to make you happy and if that involves talking about the Royal family and bringing you here, away from civilization, then I will.”

You feel dumb now. Your soul has abandoned your body, which is anchored to the ground, and your eyes are full of tears that never fall. You watch Ben open the box and you come across with the most beautiful engagement ring covered in diamonds and sapphires. 

“Y/N, you’d make me the happiest man in the world if you decided to give me a chance as your future husband. Will you marry me?”

They always say that it takes at least three seconds until you answer even when you have been rehearsing the entire situation for a while. You knew your answer but you couldn’t speak. You also had to think of what your life might be like now; married to a famous star. Lots of doubts start haunting you, however, you shake them away. You knew you had to fight against your anxiety. You had been very unhappy before meeting Ben. You never knew if you could make it as well as you did not know if this decision was being selfish but what you did know is that you deserved to be happy for at least five minutes of your life. So you start nodding.

“Yes!”

Ben smiles in relieved and helps you stand up. He puts the ring in your finger and that is when you cannot stop staring at it. 

“Ben, I have no words...”

“Y/N, don’t even mention it. Are you happy?”

You nod and start pouting at the same time. You were probably a massive mess at that very moment but you couldn’t care less. 

“Then that’s the most important thing in the world to me.” Ben stares at you and gives you a gentle pat on the chest. You surround his neck with your arms while he pulls you closer by the waist. 

“Joe’s gonna be jealous...” You laugh.

“Well, he’s got cardboard Ben to please him instead.”

You cringe and frown at the same time. 

“I keep thinking that’s a weird thing to do.”

Ben laughs and takes his phone out. 

“Should we immortalize the moment and send it to him?”

You both decide to take a selfie on top of the hill with the statue behind you both covered in sweat but happy at last. You open your hand in front of you to show your ring to the camera. Ben ends up uploading the photo to Instagram with the caption, "she said yes." #happiestmanintheworld.

It did not take Joe more than five minutes to answer with a "... I did it first" and a picture of him in a suit with cardboard Ben in a white dress. The rest of the cast complimented you sometime later. You indeed had to highlight Gwylim’s joy and the number of champagne emoticons and exclamations used by Lucy.

Before returning to London, you both stop at The Madame Posh for an afternoon tea and to start discussing the design of the menus for the ceremony. Because everything that promised to be a simple day trip ended up being the happiest day of your life.

[itsalreadybroken]

Through Expectations Chapter 2.

Ben Hardy x Reader

Synopsis: You're the daughter of the famous Roger Taylor, okay that seemed alright the thing is, you're more of a geek than a rockstar's daughter. He's blonde, blue eyes and you're brunette, brown eyes. Your brother on the other hand was the younger version of your dad, certainly he preffered to play the guitar, but that only seemed to make him even more popular. But things change the day you get to meet the cast of your dad's movie, and a certain blonde guy makes you change your point of view.

A/N: Sorry for some grammar mistake that might exist (if seen please inform me so I can change it) I'm portuguese, and trying to write something that all of you can read and hopefully enjoy!

Chapter 1: http://itsalreadybroken.tumblr.com/post/183217751569

Chapter 3: http://itsalreadybroken.tumblr.com/post/183356826839

Words: 2412

There you stood looking on your closet for the millionth time... Okay, there Stevie stood looking at it, trying to choose an outfit you were sure you'd wear.

“Stevie, we have a due date next tuesday” you tried to excuse yourself while she grabbed a leopard fluffy coat and was matching it to your leather pants.

“I don't care Y/N, you're going to meet Dean ate the party” she said it with a firming voice.

“You're going too!”

“Not!”

“Jamie's gonna be there” you spoke and she stopped for a bit maybe calculating the perks of going to that party.

“Maaaaaaybe I can be there” she looked at you “But oh no... what to wear?” she made a dramatic look while leaning her right hand on her forehead.

“Maaaaaaaaybe you could wear my clothes, you know?” your voice was so sarcastic she couldn't help but laugh and started digging again through your closet, but now with a different kind of porpouse.

“So, I forgot to ask... What was the cast like?” no she didn't forgot do ask, she wanted the dirt on them.

“Were alright I guess” you shrugged and she sent you an angry look “They're nice, they make a lot of non-funny jokes, you'd like them” you made an amused look and she rolled her eyes.

“Roger's?” as soon as she spoke, someone knocked your door and Stevie was trying not to loose it.

“Hey biggest fan!” a voice came when the door opened and your dad smiled and kissed Stevie's cheek.

“Hey Mr. Taylor, just trying to get your daughter into a party, but she's as stubborn as a table!” she complained and he laughed while looking at you and the huge pile of clothes on the bed.

“Same as usal you'd say” and she nooded smilling “Just passed by to tell you I'm going to take care of some paperwork related to the movie” he was informing you but you were just thinking how could Stevie be so relaxed next to Roger Taylor and not loose it was a blessing, in the beginning she would just blush and fangirl like a thirteen year old.

“That's okay, I guess” you looked at him, he was wearing such casual clothes you weren't sure if he was really your dad and giggled “Have fun old man, you sure seem like it”

“Aye I will! The boys liked you yesterday.But as I usually tell you, what's not to like (?)”

“This the one!” you both got distracted by Stevie's voice and she grabbing one of your dresses. “Mr. T, what's Roger's boy like?” she was now looking for a jacket to match the dress.

“You'll have to see for yourself, I'll be making a dinner party annd maybe you can come too” and then, she couldn't help herself.

“Yes!Yes! Yes! That'd be great! Of course i'll be coming to it! Don't know when, but I'll be able to arrive!” you and your dad where just looking at her and trying to act serious while your best friend was just imagining nice and good stuff on her head.

~~~

You decided to go with the leather pants, leopard jacket and a black top with a bunch of silver necklaces to go with it, because, what's not to match there? And you'd certainly go in and out in about five minutes. You've apllied some simple makeup not wanting to stand out, while Stevie was going in for all. Poor little thing just wanted to have a few drinks with Jamie not feeling like his little sister like you.

“So... How drunk do you think he might already be?” she asked you and you check your watch.

“Maybe a bit drunk already” you thought to yourself and she smiled saying something like perfect opportunity.

You both arrived the club and the music was super loud, voices overheard itselfs everywhere and you were looking for Dean, surprisingly he found you first “Hey Taylor!” you turned yourself and a super cute Padalecki was watching you and you greeted him “Nice outfit you brought there” he was looking at you from top to bottom.

“Oh, this old thing?” you made an innocent voice and you both laughed “It's nothing”.

“You drink?” he was heading towards the bar while you followed him and Stevie was already lost probably chatting with some friends or looking for Jamie, maybe both at the same time. He handed you a beer and grabbed one for himself “Was thinking you might not come at all”.

“Told you I'd be here, so I wouldn't I come?” you drank a bit of you beer it was so cold, and so good. He fancied you, you could tell that.

“Been here waiting a bit for you, so... Didn't have your number, was hard waiting” he took his hand to his heart and made a sad look making you laugh.

A bunch of girls grabbed your arm and were drunkenly giggly “Are you really Roger Meddows Taylor's daughter?!” one asked you and another one made a comment about Jamie and they sighed “A daddy like that is hard to find” the same one who asked you that question made the comment and you stood there watching, acting like it was normal.

“Ladies, sorry Y/N is not able to answer all of you daddy issues kind of questions” he put an arm aroud your waist and took you to a much quieter place on the club where the music was a bit quieter, so were the voices, but no doubt Queen was playing.

It had been a while since you last seen Stevie and your plastic cups of beer were pilling up, now you were up to five and couting, Dean had been playing snooker with some friends while you watched.

Suddenly a bunch of guys, girls and Stevie entered that area, among them you could see a drunk Jamie asking something about food around that place, more of his colleagues and three guys you were sure you've met them before.

“Hey Dean, I'll be right back! Gotta talk to Jamie” you shouted him and followed your brother's group, they were all dancing and you've looked at Stevie, heading towards her when a blond guy stepped in the way.

“Y/N, right?” Ben smiled and you nodded “Jamie didn't told us you were here”.

“Oh my god, how much of a Roger can you be?” the medium sized one asked.

“Not that much of a RMT kind of daughter, Jamie's got all the looks” you laughed.

Stevie almost throw herself in front of you and hugged you.

“Heeey doll!” she smiled “So, these were the boys you've met with your dad right?” looking at them and no shame at all told you she had her dose of liquor.

“You friend here spent the whole time talking about how besties you both are, and how you let her borrow the dress” Joe said and was trying not to laugh.

“Would you like something to drink?” the blond one soon be playing Roger Taylor asked you.

“Yes”

“Yes Ben, we'd all like something to drink” Gwilym mentioned and Ben glared him a bit embarassed.

“Gotta tell you, she doesn't date blond guys!” Stevie was looking at him pretty damn serious and you just grabbed his arm.

“Let's go, this one's on me” you rolled your eyes and Ben was walking behind you. You were sure he looked at you from top to bottom multiple times.

“What do you drink love?” his voice was soft and his body was really close to yours.

“Hmmm, I'd like a beer and you are missing a wig and a bit more of puppy eyes” you touched his cheek with your index finger and laughed.

“Just practicing, and who better to teach me, than his daughter?” you both grabbed your beers and headed towards the entrance outside where people smoked and others just talked.Your body shivered a bit and you leaned onto a wall.

“Huuum, maybe Jamie could show you more of the things Roger did, the way Roger did them, they're copies I'll tell you” he was watching you every move and your little details.

“You speak of him llike's he's just a person” Ben smiled when you shrugged.

“Well... He's just a person, my father to be precise and a pain in my ass sometimes” you both could tell the way you were mocking your dad, was the sweet kind and all you could ever do to that man was loving him because in your opinion he truly was the greatest dad of all.

“He's a rockstar, a legend” he was next to you, both of you looking at the same people who were playing beer pong.

“If you ever, ever tell him that, I swear to you I'd kill you in a second and never regret it. It would be the ultimate thing to talk to the rest of his days”your threatning voice became sweeter and a bit raspy.

You heard someone call your name “Y/N! Y/N!” Dean was looking for you “Taylor! You hid well I see! Nice to meet you, Dean Padalecki!” Ben shook his hand and you could swear it was a bit of tension in the air.

“Ben Hardy” he just said and kept drinking the beer.

“So, what's up? Won the game?” you smiled looking at Dean and he pulled you next to him “Taylor, won and now I'm going to take you out to eat something, I'm fucking starving, feel like eating a big juicy burger”

“Okay okay, let me just say good bye” you kissed Ben's cheek “You mind telling Stevie I left with him?” you smiled.

“Sure thing, no problem. Bet she's all over your brother now, but yeah, sure” you both giggled and you grabbed Dean's arm leaving the party.

~~~

You woke up feeling your phone vibrate and answered, on the other side of the line, was a completely wasted voice.

“Why didn't you told me you had left with Dean?! Thought you had been with Ben!”

“Want to me to speak louder or want me to be a nice girl?” you asked.

“Be nice, be nice and don't scream” your best friend's voice was now much more slower and caring.

“I had a beer with Ben and then Dean showed up and invinted me to eat something. I told Ben to tell you I'd left” you rubbed you eyes and reminded yourself you needed to get up and start studying.

“Well, he did, I just thought you'd gone out with him, he was drooling all over you! You got a blondie” Stevie mocked you and you screamed a little bit just to get her to shut up.

“I did not got a blondie, in fact he was asking me things about my dad. No biggie”

“Could have asked Jamie, since he was the one who had invited them” she forced the idea of Ben being fond of you.

“You read too much books and search for love stories in places where they're not” you tried not to laugh.

“by the way, discovered how your brother gets so many girls to be with him” she bit her lip a lightly and you almost could see it “He asks if you'd like to meet Roger Taylor, of imagine what would be like to have a quick great shag with his copy”.

“EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW” you closed your eyes trying to get both pictures from your father or Jamie doing it “I hate you right now Stevie!!”

~~~

After showering you grabbed your books and started studying, Jamie was not home. Maybe crashed at someone's house, probably a girl... Thinking about it, probably Stevie's. Your mind seemed to wander everywhere except your books, your assignements. Dad was also out, maybe looking up for stuff to his newest baby (the movie).

Minutes were beginning to seem like hours and you had harshly read 5 pages from your notebook... 5 pages full of descriptions, and small notes, so it was a big step to you.

Not being able to hold it anymore you had to check it! You looked up for Ben on your social media and you saw all the photos, the fan ones, the acting ones and his personal ones. Okay, you needed to admit it at least to yourself, he was cute. Darn cute. Cheeky smile, no smile, simple smile. Where you fangirling? We told yourself you weren't, but were you?

You phone ringed and you startled yourself, grabbing it.

“Hey Taylor!” the voice was raspy and you were sure he had just woken up.

“Padalecki, so I see this was not the end of you” a sad sigh lef your lips.

“Unlucky for you, that was the best not-infected burger I had ever had” he smiled and you could see it, not even being near him “What are you doing?”

“Studying” you just murmured looking again at your laptop thinking if you should or shouldn't press the button.

“So... Guess I'll see you later? You still owe me a bowling game”.

“Huum... Better leave it to next week, lots of stuff from college this week and I really have to get them done.” you spoke, being torn between studying and going out. What was with you today?! Were you becoming more like dad at the passing time?!

First you tried to be a dentist and then you were playing at crowded arenas, and sold-out stadiums and maybe, just maybe hooking-up with a bunch of guys.

“Ok, ok. I have to wait for my girl to study and star being a nice lad. Maybe we could study togheter.” you both were not even studying the same. Your about to become a dentist and he was about to become some guy you stood eight hours of his life looking at some boring computer analyzing data.

“Yeah maybe” you smiled and after a few minutes of lazy talk, you said your goodbyes.

“Moonpie!” you hear some voice calling you and you knew Roger Taylor was back, lunch time you guessed.

“Hey crazy rockystar, aka dad” you answered back “Oh my god! Roger Taylor's at my house!!!” you heard a fake laugh and you looked at your laptop again.

And then, almost like it wasn't your brain's command, you pressed the “follow button”.

Tag list: @killer-queen-ofrhye @cotton-candy-bubbles @applcrumblr@roseesirene @freddiewhistle @kurt-nightcrawler @works-of-fanfiction @but-legendsneverdie @jelly-snow-stark @strangemaximoff @marvel-rhapsody@blessthegulag @ur-gunna-h8-ths @destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen@celebsimagines @queen-irl-af @rogerinasqueen  @jelly-snow-stark @whoianayesha @annas-unicorun @raythespastic @little1-1red @imlosingmyshit @blackparacosm @sheridans-dynamos

hopefully tagged everyone who asked me!! If needing taggins, just ask

Gimme feedbacks people!! Felt really inspired to this fic, because it’s a bit different and it involves 2 concepts!! 

[slutfordeacy-mazello]

Today on Headcanons;

this is kind of a funny story;

You and Brian were eating take out

You already finished your second plate

Whereas Brian was still just picking at his first

((That food goes straight to your hips and thighs))

You got up to put your plate in the sink

“Bri, you need to eat more! You’re so lanky and skinny!”

“It’s a sacrifice I have to make for my fat bottomed girl.”

As he slaps your ass

You laughed

A few minutes later,,,,,

You hear a huge slam and the clatter of plates and silverware

Brian runs into the living room

He looks enthralled

“I just came up with a song!” He screams excitedly

“Really? What do you have so far?”

He sings “Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin’ world go ‘round!”

You don’t whether to be happy or feel like it was anti-climactic

You decide excited

You jump off of the couch and kiss him

“Brian! Oh my God, you’re writing a song about me?”

“Well I don’t know an ass bigger than yours, love”

You kiss him again

“You know it, baby!”

UwU ty for reading and suggesting!! <3 love u all hope u liked it!!

[gayspamer]

Lil’ Masterlist 💕

I haven’t written a lot but I thought it’d be good to put it together 

Joe Mazzello

Fluff

Looking for Somebody to Love (CHAPTER 1, CHAPTER 2)

Smut

The other side of Joe 

Roger Taylor 

Smut

Lady Drummer

Fluff

Jealousy 

Gwilym Lee

Fluff

Love doesn't last forever

[mvrgx]

Babies

So as you probably could see, lately ive been overly obsessed with queen(especially maylor) and let me tell you, there isnt much to read on ao3(sadly) but everything that was readable i have read. So. I noticed on google that there are some on wattpad. And tbh i was shocked because on ao3 the most popular ff had like 5k and on wattpad it was 33k(?!) So im like wtf. I have been on wattpad couple years ago when i was like 14 or 15 i read then some lashton or larry or smh like this. So. I downloaded the app, i go to the maylor tag, get to the most popular fic and. "1 pov" ... next, next,next... there were like no 3rd person in any of these. And i was like wtf. And for me these were like really bad written im sorry but im used to ao3 quality and you know what i mean... so the final question is: do you know any good maylor fic? Doesnt have to be popular, just that you can recommend it to me ♡ all the love ♡

[likesomekindofcheese]

For those of you reading my Jamestown fic the next chapter is long (20 pages, woof) and, well, let’s say stuff starts hitting the fan and poor Reader is gonna have a hard time

[itsjoemozzarella]

Gurrrll... this “Love of My Life” series has me going thru all types of emotions, but I can’t stop readingggg @blushmis

[wannawritefast]

Whiplash: Ch. 2- The Proposition

A/N: Thanks for the lovely words of encouragement, you guys! I’m so glad you like it! This is a REALLY long fic that I am nowhere near finished with yet. But I finish classes this week so I should be able to bang the rest of it out.

Pt. 1

Pairing: Gwilym Lee!Brian May x Reader

Warnings: None... mild language, mentions of Stupid Men

You were running out of time. To be fair, you were far too busy to even pay any mind to the challenge you made with your brother, despite him reminding you every time you called home. Maybe you figured that if you didn’t think about it, it would just go away.

Even though Brian didn’t primarily practice astrophysics, you still took time to stay close friends and support him at his gigs when you could. The two of you got lunch on a regular basis. He was easily one of the people that knew you best in the whole world. Not to mention, Brian had pulled you away from projects more than a few times when you were dangerously close to a mental and emotional breakdown; all these years later, he was still your best friend.

“Brian,” you said, blowing on a spoonful of your soup. What James had said got to you more than you cared to admit. You shouldn’t have let it bug you so much but it did. And you had to know, “do you think I’m a pathetic stick in the mud?”

Brian coughed on his food and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Of course not! Why would you say something like that?” His hazel eyes twinkled.

You shrugged brushing it aside, trying to dismiss how much your brother’s criticisms had bothered you during that fateful dinner. “I don’t know…” You couldn't seem to look up at him. “It was just something James said-”

Brian put his hand up and rolled his eyes at the mention of your sibling. “I’m going to stop you right there.” It wasn’t the first time you had brought up an insecurity planted by your brother with him. “Why do you still listen to that prick?” Brian questioned. “He’s still living with your parents, yeah?”

“Just moved from his bedroom to the basement actually last week.” You explained.

“Ah… moving on up. Or rather down.” Brian joked. You laughed. “I’m serious though. James has no right to criticize you. And I don’t understand why he would. You’re successful! He should be proud. I know I am.”

Your heart swelled and you flushed a little at his words. You tucked a lock of your hair behind your ear. “I suppose he just isn’t very fond of me most times,” you laughed humorlessly.

“Well, I suppose he’s also fairly daft too.” You laughed for real this time. Brian joined in on the laughter. He pointed his fork angrily. “Seriously, his abuse has gone on long enough. Don’t listen to him.” You gave him a small grateful smile. “If it eases your mind, think of it this way: if I thought you were a stick in the mud, do you think I’d be friends with you?”

“Well… no,” you answered. You raised an eyebrow at him. “Would my dashing good looks not win you over enough, May?”

“You’ve got me there. Those eyes are trouble.” You suppressed the blush forming on your face and continued eating your lunch.

There was a comfortable silence that settled between the two of you for a few moments. “I cut you off there. Was there anything else he said?” Brian asked out of the blue.

“Well… not exactly,” You replied.

“How do you mean?” He lowered his utensil in suspicion. You swore he had a sixth sense for this kind of stuff.

“I may or may not have gotten myself into a stupid wager with him.”

He tilted his head ever so slightly like he knew it was going to bad. God, he was scary. Brian took a quick bite of his salad, before setting it down again, “What kind of wager?”

You were going to be sick. The more you thought about it the stupider it sounded. You took a deep breath and twisted the spoon in your fingers. You had literally been losing sleep over the stupid bet you made with James. He would never let you live it down if you didn’t follow through with your end and you were too bloody tired of him and his digs.

“It’s… uh. It’s nothing for you to worry about. It’s stupid.”

“It doesn’t seem very stupid to you,” Brian defended. “You actually look like you’re going to pass out.” He sat up a little straighter. “Are you okay?”

“I…” The frustration that plagued you earlier reappeared and was joined by serious fatigue from work and stress from the challenge. “It’s kind of embarrassing actually.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen you get basic math incorrect and you’ve been utterly mental after drinks on multiple occasions. It can’t be worse than anything I have seen already.”

You took a deep breath. “Basically my dad, brother, and grandfather were having a go at me for not being in a relationship and then Donna chimed in saying I’m in a relationship when I’m not because James took a comment too far and now my family thinks I have a boyfriend and I have to bring a fake one home for Christmas to prove James wrong and not be an utter disappointment to them for once and I can’t find anyone to date me for real so how could I possibly find one person who would pretend to?

“That sounded even more insane coming out of my mouth.” Brian looked at you with a blank expression for a moment, attempting to process what you had just word vomited. You awkwardly ate another spoonful and laughed through it. You had no idea what in the bloody hell you were going to do.

“So you have to find someone to fake date you for the holidays while you visit your family so they’ll be off your arse?” Brian asked. His fork sat limply in his hand.

“Precisely, yeah,” you answered.

And then it clicked. There it was. Your opportunity. By what divine intervention it was opened was beyond you. You quite literally stared it down in its hazel eyes. You couldn't ask that of Brian… could you?

“On a semi-related note-” you set down your spoon and steepled your fingers contemplatively “-what are your plans for the holidays?”

Brian visibly gulped. “I know what you’re going to ask me.”

“And?” You raised your eyebrows hopefully. Please say yes… 

“Really? Why on earth would you choose me?” Brian countered. “I’m, and I’ve said this before, a bloody idiot.”

“Because I know you and you know me and it would be so easy,” you answered. Why you hadn’t thought of Brian before was beyond you…

“I’m telling you, Y/n. You could do so much better than this buffoon.” Brian took a drink of water but sustained eye contact. “You need someone proper. Like a lawyer or something.”

“Bri, I want you!” you defended. Brian’s expression changed to startled. It was true… to an extent. Oh, goodness. You cleared your throat. “Besides… who’s to say you’re not proper. You’ve studied astrophysics. AND if you’re so worried about being proper, I don’t need someone proper. I just need someone who can pass as a significant other for two weeks and you’re perfect.”

“But I’m in a bloody rock band. I’ll disappoint them. I’m not really the type to bring home to mum and dad,” his voice was oddly brittle.

“Brian, of course you are,” you scolded. “You’re charming. They’ll love you.”

“No, they won’t.”

“Yes, they will.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither do you!” You set down your utensils. “And why aren’t you taking your own advice?”

He furrowed his brows. “What advice?”

“Remember when I had that mental breakdown at university when working on one of my first deadlines for my thesis?” You looked down at your lap sheepishly.

Brian shook his head and let out an amused quick chuckle before meeting your eyes. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Do you remember what you told me?”

Brian hummed to himself attempting to recollect his interaction. “‘It’s late. You’re gonna go bonkers doing all that work.’”

“No… Yes, but not that.”

“‘Brian May looks like an anthropomorphic poodle.’”

“True but no. Do you usually talk in the third person?”

“Brian does not wish to comment.”

“Bri,” you resisted the urge to laugh, “do you remember?”

He let out a huff. “‘Fuck them.’”

“And?”

“And… ‘don’t worry about what you think they’ll think.’”

“And if you’re worried about what they’ll think truthfully,” you reasoned, “why aren’t you taking your own advice?”

“Because!... Because it’s different this time!”

You crossed your arms and sat back. “And why is that?”

“Because you’re right, dammit,” he laughed and you joined in. “I hate when you’re right.”

“I don’t,” you quipped.

“Yeah, I know.”

You suddenly felt guilty. Like you were forcing Brian’s hand. Like you were pressuring him to help you. You took a deep breath and picked up your spoon once more. “Look, Brian. I don’t mean to push you. If you don't want to do it, you don’t have to. I understand. I’ll just get my ego in check and-”

“I’ll do it,” Brian answered.

“You’ll do it?” Your jaw dropped and your grip on your utensil faltered a little as well.

He nodded with a soft smile. “Yeah, I’ll do it.”

“My god, Brian, you’re brilliant! Why the sudden change of heart?” You stopped yourself as Brian opened his mouth to respond. “Wait! Don’t answer that. Thank you! Thank you!”

You stood up abruptly, not caring how crazy you looked. You were simply overcome with relief. You all but knocked Brian out of his chair with the hug you gave him. He warned you gently to be careful as you walked back to your seat.

“We’ll do Christmas at yours and I suppose New Year’s at mine, that is if you want to come,” Brian elaborated. “I’m sure my parents won’t mind me bringing a girl home.” He chuckled nervously.

“I have no words to thank you enough,” you urged. “Seriously. Thank you.” Your brother was going to eat his words and your dad was going to not scold you anymore and your grandfather was going to get off of your arse about great-grandchildren.

Brian shook his head. “Don’t thank me,” he brushed aside. “You’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you.”

[like-the-wings-of-butterflies]

I need to know if I’m the only one who gets genuinely giddy the morning after posting a fanfic? There’s something about waking up and the anticipation of logging in and seeing if people are enjoying your work. Sometimes it feels like opening a gift on Christmas!

But I’ve got to be honest, I’m a sucker for the sweet little messages people write in the tags of their reblog.

Recognising the efforts someone has put into producing a story is greatly appreciated and encourages us as writers to continue what we’re doing! We all get stuck sometimes and we all need those gentle reminders to keep going.

Hopefully other fanfic authors can agree ♡

[onceuponadetectivedemigod]

Somebody To Love

Part 5

Pairing: Female Reader x Ben hardy Warnings: language, explicit references to sex but no actual smut, alcohol Summary: Roger Taylor’s daughter (you) has just gone through a horrid breakup after finding her boyfriend in bed with another girl. When she gets a job as an assistant on set, whether ready or not, she falls for Ben. Chapter summary: After dinner the cast and you head back to Lucy's trailer. Joe decides to make everyone play 20 questions in order to set you and Ben up together. Word Count: 2,166 An: If you’re looking for a long to listen to obviously somebody to love but also  I HAVE A WHOLE DAMN PLAYLIST FOR BEN HARDY to which you can find here: Ben’s Playlist New songs are added regularly! (Also I made one for Lucy and Tigerlily Taylor and all my other Celeb crushes so just HMU if you want any of those. I highly suggest James McAvoy [thats my favorite playlist tbh] but also new songs are added to those regularly as well). Also Thanks to @di-in-al for your help on this! Love you!

gif by: @benshardy

The night dragged on. Everyone had so many questions for your fether and Brian. Lucy and Rami looked as if they were going to snog, all night. You and Ben, however, both were quite quiet. As dinner finished you all got into the appropriate cars and were headed back to set to drop you and the cast off.

Joe cleared his throat. "So, I think you owe Lucy 3 pounds." "The night is not over yet, Joe. She has until midnight. It is only 6:30." Lucy winked at you. "Besides I was going to invite everyone to my trailer so we can all get to know eachother a little bit more." "That sounds very Cinderella-esque." Joe said. "Then call me her fairy godmother, Joe." Lucy smiled back him. "What about you, Lucy? Get anywhere with Rami?" Sarina asked, causing Lucy to blush. “Um. Yeah. No. I don't really know. I don't think he is interested." She said, turning more red by the second. "Darling, he is QUITE interested." Sarina said. "Just because you can't see it dear, does not mean we cant either. Y/N? Anything on Ben at all?" "Nope. In fact, he probably said 15 words total to me all night." you said, disappointment flooding through your voice. "I am sorry, dear. But, you did say that you didn't want a relationship right now." Sarina spoke softly to you. She may have wanted you out of the house but she did love and care for you. "I don't. But... I don't know. There is something about it. I have this feeling, like... Maybe I meant to just be with him, even if it's in the friend way. Like I know he is going to be important in my life, if that makes sense." You said. "That is exactly how I felt about your father. I mean yeah, I was super excited when I got to meet one of my biggest celebrity crushes, but when I actually talked to him, I knew he was going to be much more to me than that." She smiled through the rearview mirror. "Personally, NOT THAT I COULD ACTUALLY TELL CAUSE YOU KNOW I WAS AT THE OTHER END OF THE TABLE, having a wonderful conversation with Anita actually," Joe started. "I think he just looked nervous." "You will get your chance, darling." Anita said. Both cars pulled onto set and everyone stepped out. Sarina hugged you and whispered 'good luck' in your ear. The boys headed back to their trailer to get in comfier clothes. Brian, Anita, Sarina, and your father headed home. You and Lucy walked back to her trailer. She let you borrow some sweats and a t-shirt. Then you heard a knock. You opened the door and the 4 boys were standing there. You ushered them in. "Lucy is still getting dressed in comfier clothes. She will be out in a second. You boys need anything?" you asked. They said no as they sat down on Lucy's couch. "So....anyone up for twenty questions?" Joe asked, throwing you a look. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ben's POV (first person) "So here is how the game will work since we have multiple people. We will split upon pairs. I am going to go with Ben first, Gwyl go with Rami, and Lucy and Y/N. And then we will switch off." Joe said. I'm not really one for Twenty Questions but I guess its a good bonding exercise for the lot of us. Lucy had come back into the room before Joe assigned us to our person. "Okay Im gonna be here on the couch, Gwylim is gonna be over by the bathroom. Lucy gets the doorway into the bedroom and then we will choose where to go from there." Joe continued. "Now go my little darlings." I was already seated next to Joe. "So what are doing exactly?" I asked him. "Is that your first question?" He asked me. "Yes. Is that yours?" I said raising my eyebrow. "Yes. So are you going to ask her out?" "Who?" He mean't Y/N, he must have picked up on my nerves from dinner. I was so scared to talk to her all night. I figured I would try to hide that I knew he knew. "Y/N. Are you going to use the game?" "Are you insinuating I like her?" "I don't know am I?" He raised his eyebrow and winked at me. "Yes, you are. Do you really think I like her?" My heart started beating faster and faster. "Yes. Did you really just ask me that?" "Am I that obvious?" I started to get a bit nervous knowing that everyone knew I was starting to crush on her. "To me yes. To her, she thinks you don't like her. Did you guys talk about it in the car?" "Yes. I asked Roger if I could ask her out. Did you guys talk about it too?" Maybe she liked me back. "Yes. So are you going to ask her out?" "I don't know. What did she say?" "Can't tell you. If she likes you then you get a girlfriend if not you get experience on rejection. Are you scared?" "FUCK YES." I said that a little too loud. Gwyl and Rami turned and looked at me. "Uh. Will you tell me if it was good or bad?" "No. Are you that scared, bro?" "Mate, I'm terrified. Will you tell me anything you talked about in the car?" "Sure. Are you going to ask me right?" "What was said in that car?" "Well, Sarina knew Roger was important to her as soon as she met him." Joe smiled knowing full well he was hurting me by not telling me what Y/N had to say. "Okay! And... What else Joe?" He came quite close and whispered in my ear. "Lucy likes Rami. Was anything mentioned on your side?” “He totally likes her.” I whispered back. “This is all cute but I’m worried about Y/N. Will you PLEASE tell me?" I said, hoping the please would help my case. "No. Are you that worried?" "The more we talk about it, yes.  Umm Do you think she sat next to me on purpose?" "Yes. Also she was trying to keep me from you and Gwylim. What did Roger say about it?" "He said he didn't have a problem but that the last guy was a jerk and she may not be ready for a relationship. Does anyone else in the car know I like her?" "The whole car does. Does anyone else know Rami likes Lucy?" "All of us. What about your car?" We kept glancing at Rami, I think he was picking up on our conversation. "Everyone. Women are pretty good on picking up on that kind of stuff. What number are we at?" "I think this is 17. Sound right?" "About yeah. So are you going to do it?" "Do what?" "Ask her out. Are you going to ask her out?" "Yes. Do you think Rami will ask Lucy?" "Doubt it. Are you going to do it tonight?" "Yes!" I said, my heart filling with temporary courage. "This is the last one right?" "Yes. What's your Dog's name again?" "Frankie." The thought of my little girl made me happy. I love my dog so much, she was less my dog and more my daughter. "Is everyone ready to move on?" Joe asked as everyone shouted yes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Y/N's POV (first person) Me and Lucy actually took Twenty questions seriously. There were a lot of questions on what alcohol we preferred. I had played with Gwylim and Rami. I only needed Joe and Ben at this point. Ben was playing with Gwylim now. "What did you a Ben talk about?" I asked straight off the bat. "Not telling you. You and Lucy?" "Alcohol. Why wont you tell me?" "Took a vow of silence. Just alcohol?" "No, but it was pretty generic stuff. Did you ask him about me?" "Yes. Why are you so curious?" "That bet. What number are we on?" "Four. How have you already lost count." "Dont know. So this is five?" "Yes. Why do you care so much about the bet if it's only 2.97 pounds?" "Because if I don't do it, I'm kind of a coward for not following through.  See what I mean?" I asked him. "Yeah... So are you going to ask him out during your round?" "I don't know, I only have until midnight right?" "Yes. What time is it now?" "11:30. Ugh why is it so hard to ask someone out?" I was getting frustrated. I only have 30 minutes left. "It is only hard if you like them. Do you think he likes you too?" "I don't know. When did you become so wise?" "Jurrassic Park days. Are you scared?" "Hell yes. Does he like me back?" "Not telling you. If he does, you get a boyfriend, if not you get experience with rejection. Is that what you are afraid of?" "I literally caught my boyfriend in bed with another woman. Of course I'm scared of rejection. Why would you ask that?" "Good point. It looks like everyone but us somehow finished. Want to cut it early at 12 and say we did all twenty?" "Yes! I hate this game! Don't you?" "I set this up for you kid. See you on the other side. SWITCH!!!" Joe yelled. This meant I was about to ask Ben out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Third person POV) "So umm... favorite color?" Ben asked. "Blue. Why wouldn't you talk to me during dinner?" Y/N asked almost immediately. "Wow. That was unexpected. Um, I was being pestered by all the boys in the car. Was kind of pissed off. Did your dad teach you to play drums?" "So that's why. No he never did. Why were they pestering you?" Y/N pushed. "I made my dog an instagram. Did he teach you any other instruments?" "No. That's cute. I want to follow your dog." Ben's heart fluttered when Y/N called him cute. "Whats the username?" "Here it's kind of long, let me type it up for you." He typed the username into instagram and clicked follow for you. "Good?" "yeah. She is really cute. So Gwylim called you Benjamin, is that your real name?" "Nope. Actually it's just Ben. Did you hear Rami likes Lucy?" "I did. I also know the feeling is mutual. Did you?" "Joe told me. So are you staying the night here?" "Yup." You had run out of questions to ask him. You knew you had to ask him soon. You were so nervous though. You were so scared he woudk reject you. But you were more terrified of not getting an answer. You had to ask him, and if you didn't ask him now, you probably never would. You were trying to come up with a question to stall maybe a little bit longer until you decided you were just going to do it. You had sat there for a good 25 seconds before you decided, YOU WERE GOING DO ASK HIM NOW. But the same thing was running through Ben's head. Why were you taking so long to ask a question? 'Here is my shot. I should do it now.' "DO YOU WANT TO GO ON A DATE WITH ME?!" You both shouted in unison. You both sat there shocked for a second. "You... I thought... I was..." "Yeah... Uhh... I..." Then you both started laughing. "Well it's nice to know I wouldn't have gotten rejected." Ben said, scratching his neck. "haha yeah. Umm I don't really want to rush into anything, though. You know?" Y/N said "Yeah. No. I totally understand that. I didn't plan on rushing into anything." "This is all quite funny and all cause you know... Last night we did it." "WOAH WOAH WOAH WHAT?! WE DID NOT-" Ben started but you cut him off. "wait we didn't?!" "NO. NO. I WOULD NEVER-" "OHHHHHHHH. It's just everyone made it seem like... And I don't really remember... No one clearly stated..." Y/N struggled to get it all out, Realizing how stupid you felt. But hey at least that means you will get to remember your first time, especially if it is with him. "I DID. Next to your dad." "You didn't look to sure." "That is the exact same thing your dad said." He said plainly. Suddenly Lucy stormed in. "It is 11:48. Keep your 2.97." She smiled at you and walked straight back out. "What was that?" Ben asked. "She dared me, for 2.97, to ask you out because she knew I liked you you, and she had a feeling that you thought the same." you explained. "Wait? WHAT?! AM I ONLY WORTH 2.97 TO YOU? DO YOU EVEN ACTUALLY LIKE ME? WOW A FUCKING DARE?! Nice to fucking know." With that he stormed out, leaving you in utter shock. Taglist:

@mcuandhp @mrsmazzello @murydedeus03 @inlovewithmycarboi @fuckinghurricanesoul @apinkwhisperscollector @bloodyantichrist @unicorngummybears @mr-stank-i-dont-feel-so-dank @cosmiclunas @brianapasteur @lelifesaver @bitemerog @sevenseasofrog @jelly-snow-stark @hopefully-aesthetically-pleasing @im-a-mazzellhoe @lady-renlyn @justonks @imagesofeveryone

[onceuponadetectivedemigod]

House Of The Rising Sun

Part One

Pairing: Female Reader x Ben Hardy

Warnings: language, references to sex but no actual smut, alcohol, guns

Summary: New Orleans, 1923. There is a House, who covers as a Mythology Museum however it’s is actually housing the most dangerous mob around. Ben, an English businessman, comes seeking a new life in The United States. Gwylim, sneaks in alcohol into the states, specifically to The House’s Speakeasy, during prohibition. While Roger, Brian, and Lucy, from a sister mob in the UK come to help out Rami, Joe, and The House. Meanwhile Y/N runs away from home to become a flapper and when all their paths cross Ben, and Y/N get mixed up in the wrongs stuff at the wrong time.

Chapter Summary: Ben gets to New Orleans and meets a beautiful young flapper. 

Word Count: 2,812

AN: So I was listening to House of The Rising Sun by The Animals AND I HAD A VISION SO HERE YOU GO! Lmk if you like it, if you hate it, ect. Also  I HAVE A WHOLE DAMN PLAYLIST FOR BEN HARDY to which you can find here: Ben’s Playlist New songs are added regularly! Also I am not trying to “cross-tag” in this. I am typically guilty of it, but with this particular story, I would like people other than ben stans to read it because I quite proud of it and it will have more of everyone in it later.

Today I woke up to the soft playing of jazz from across the street. I was living with with these two boys I met when I got here. Joe and Rami. They told me I could stay as long as I wished. They won’t tell me what their job is but I know they work together. They constantly invite me to parties and cool speakeasies, maybe they smuggle alcohol. I’m not sure, but they always avoid talking about it. I got out of bed and looked out the window, towards the beautiful music. I opened the window and let in the perfectly  cool breeze. I let the music fill the house as I walked downstairs. “Hey boys!” “Morning, Y/N/N! You doing good today?” Joe asked. “Well I woke up to a nice breeze and some smooth, seductive jazz.” “Seductive?” Rami asked, as he walked in. “Joe is not seductive.” His response made me giggle. “Not Joe, THE JAZZ!” I laughed. Joe was born and raised in California and moved down here a few years ago. Rami’s parents were Egyptian and he was a first generation American. His parents moved down here seeking a new life. “Makes sense. What you up to today?” Rami said. “Oh I don’t know.” I responded. “Maybe catch a parade. I love that I came just in time for Mardi Gras!” “Well if you want, the speakeasy is open tonight. The code is ‘God save the Queen.’” Joe told me. “I will probably make an appearance. How do you get all the codes?” I asked him. “You gotta know the right people, which I do, and you do. So don’t worry about it. See you there tonight.” He responded. “See you boys tonight!” I giggled as you kissed them both on the cheek and ran back upstairs to my room. I am thankful you found these two. I met them on the trolley. They saw my small suitcase and asked if I needed a place to stay. They had an extra room available and were willing to let me stay. We have grown quite close since I moved here a month ago. I walked towards the closet and put on my favorite dress! It was black with gold beading, and it came up above my ankles. I love wearing short dresses; all the old rich men look at me funny. It makes me feel happy when I throw everyone’s sense of order right into hell. Once I was done I grabbed my purse and hat and marched down the stairs. “Bye boys!” I shouted as I started out the door. I heard them both say bye back and made my way down to Café Du Monde, for the best beignets in town. I was almost there and the line was fairly short. I took another few steps, closed my eyes, and breathed in that soft smell of powdered sugar and the misty water. Suddenly a man with a brief case ran into me. “Oh! Miss, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you!” He spoke with an unfamiliar accent. We both scrambled to the ground to pick up his stuff. He smelled like cigars and cinnamon. He had short blonde hair and his eyes were greener than an evergreen. “Hey, it’s all right! I’m Y/N. If you don’t mind me askin’ where are you from? I haven’t heard nobody with an accent like that.” I asked him, as I handed him the spilled contents. “Ben. I uh, am from England. I just moved to the U.S. a few weeks ago. Been trying to make my way down here from New York. Trying to start a new life.” He said, putting everything back in the brief case. “Well, Ben, You came awfully long way. But you definitely came to the right place! This town right here is perfect for running away to a new life.” I told him. “That’s what I like to hear. I guess, I will maybe see you around, Miss Y/N.” He told me. “Yeah, Maybe See you around Mister, Ben.” I said back. We both walked our separate ways as I went and got in line. After I ate, I just went on my daily walk through the city. Everything seemed just as usual. Then I saw that Ben boy getting thrown out of a building by two larger gentleman. I ran over to him. “Hey, you okay?” I asked helping him, once again collect his things. “Yeah. Fine. We can’t keep doing this. You always helping me pick up my things.” He smiled at me. “It really is no problem. What happened in there?” I asked him. “I guess I’m to progressive for that lot. I was interviewing for a jo-“ He looked up, and stopped, and pulled me into the alley beside the building. He put his hand over my mouth as he noticed I was about to scream. I was trying to get him off of me when he whispered “Please don’t scream! I swear I’m not gonna hurt you! Please, I can explain if you are quiet!” I stopped fighting against him, but kept my guard up. He moved his hand off my mouth. “Those are three around the corner are apart of the most dangerous mob in London. If you even look at them funny they will shoot you! So please just be careful. I don’t know you all that well but I don’t want anything to happen to you either.” He spoke. I nodded and looked around the corner, extremely carefully. I noticed two older gentleman and a very pretty, younger, blonde woman. All three were dressed nicely and the woman looked as if she would only wear the fanciest of perfumes. I turned back and looked at him. “Them? They look like they wouldn’t even harm a fly. She looks way too nice and way too high class to be in a mob.” I told him. “They steal all of their money. They kill while doing it. Please just believe me, Y/N.”   He looked at me. His face has pure fear written all over it. “Why are you so afraid of them? If you leave them alone, you won’t have a problem.” I told him. He looked down and blushed. “Were you involved with them? Oh MY GOD YOU WERE!” “SH! Keep your voice down! They can’t know I’m here. It’s not that I was apart of the mob, I wasn’t. But I know one of the older men, Roger. I didn’t know he was in the mob. I was just trying to get a job and he told me, he would pay me to drive him around. So I got a job as his driver. Eventually I found out too much, I found out that he not only was in, but was in charge of the mob. When he asked if it was a problem, I told him yes and quit. I heard he had been looking for me but I never knew he would go to this length to try and find me.” As he explained, my sympathy for him grew. These three were coming to make sure he didn’t tell anyone of their shenanigans. “Okay... so are we just supposed to hide in this alleyway?” I asked. I was too late. The three of them rounded the corner. “Well. Well. Well. There is my boy, Ben! Who do we have here? A new girlfriend, Benny? You know I didn’t know you’d be in town. Quite surprised, actually. But while we are in town, maybe we can kill to birds with one stone eh?” The one I presumed was Roger spoke. He wore a red velvet suit. He also smelled like cigars but also like pine and lilac. He had gorgeous blue eyes. Dangerous blue eyes. His hair was gray and he had a very high but raspy voice. The other man had thick, curly, silver hair. He was a bit taller. He was in a Purple velvet suit. He seemed a lot softer. He looked almost concerned at your fear. And the woman, she had short blonde hair, but she was stunning. She was dressed in a nice long black dress with spaghetti straps. A little showy for most of the country’s taste, but I thought it was beautiful. “I asked your name sweetheart!” Roger shouted at me, pulling me from my trans-like state. “Y/N.” “No last name?” The girl spoke. Her actual voice was very soft but her tone was so harsh that it was scarier than Roger’s. “I don’t like it much. Too many family ties.” I said without going into detail. “Look Roger. She has nothing to do with any of this. You want me.” Ben spoke. “You think I honestly care what happens to her? I don’t. But since you nobly step forward it means you must care.” He looked at Ben then focused his attention on the girl. “Lucy make sure she comes with us.” “Yes, sir.” “Roger! I swear to God that I won’t tell anyone, please! Don’t do this!” Ben pleaded. My heart started beating faster and faster. Was I about to die? What was going to happen next? “That’s enough! We are taking both of you. We will decide what to do with you after that.” Roger shouted. “Roger, while I do think we need to take care of him, he said he wouldn’t tell. She has nothing to do with th-“ the taller one spoke. “Brian! We can’t talk big and not be able to follow through with action! We will discuss it after the meeting. Get the car.” Roger looked at him. “Don’t talk to me like I’m some servant! I am your equal Rog! We run this together.” Brian whispered harshly. “But I will get the car, only because you lost THE FUCKING DRIVER!” He turned around and in 45 seconds drove a nice black car towards the alley way. Roger walked around to the passenger side and got in. “Get In or I will shoot you.” Lucy said very plainly. I did as she said and Ben followed. What kind of shit did this kid get himself into? We pulled into an empty lot somewhere I wasn’t familiar with. We sat there for hours. Roger, Lucy, and Brian stepped out of the car. At this point it was dark outside. No one had really said much, surely not me and Ben. But once they stepped outside of the car, I had my with him. “WHAT KIND OF SHIT HAVE YOU GOTTEN US INTO?! WE ARE BOTH GOING TO DIE! I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO DIE! I LITERALLY JUST MET YOU TODAY!" I whisper-shouted at him. "THIS WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! THEY WEREN'T SUPPOS-" he started but was cut off when everyone got back into the car. Roger hopped into the driver side this time. Our next stop was a random boat launch. It looked abandoned but, it was night time so it was not going to be busy. I looked around out the window. All three of the monsters stepped outside again. It was quiet for a minute then I heard a muffled voice that I didn’t quite recognize. It felt as if they were putting something in the trunk of the car. Suddenly the door opened. “If you want to live, sit in his lap.” Roger spoke to me as he pointed a gun at my face. I did as he told and sat in Ben’s lap. Then a new man got into the car and Lucy followed. Roger got back in the drivers seat and Brian back in the passenger. The ride was a bit bumpy sitting on Ben’s lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist to steady me. The ride was short and we pulled up to the club that I frequent. This was the speakeasy that Rami and Joe got me into. The music was blaring so loud it was hard to understand why the cops haven’t busted the place. Roger opened our door, pointing the gun back at us. He motioned for us to hop out. We did as told in fear of what would happen if we didn’t obey. They walked up to the door and knocked the secret knock. A slit in the middle of the door opened up and I saw Allen. Allen was an Irishman who came here. He worked as the doorman for the club. Allen cleared his throat. “Who is it?” Allen asked. “Allen, open the goddamn door.” Roger whisper yelled at him. “No can do sir. You know the rules. Give me the code and you enter.” Allen was always a good doorman for the club. “He didn’t give me the fucking code. You know us!” Brian said. “GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!” I shouted in fear of my life. I just wanted to be somewhere I was familiar with. “Y/N! Is that you?” Allen asked opening the door. “Look Allen, let us in please! I really don’t want to die tonight.” He opened the door all the way, ushering us all in. “He is upstairs waiting for you all.” Allen said to Roger and Brian. Roger pointed his gun at us and then at the stairs directly in front of us. “Go!” He said. We started up the stairs. It was much quieter up here. You could definitely still hear the music but not as loudly as before. Lucy grabbed some rope that was hidden in her garter under her dress and tied our hands to the door handles across from the room they were about to enter. “Stay put, or I kill you both.” She smiled following the other three men as the entered the room and locked the door behind them. “How did you know the code?” Ben looked at me. “I frequent. I have friends who I think work here or something. I’m not entirely sure what they do, but they always give me the right code. Who was the other man?” “He smuggles alcohol into the states. Specifically for this club. It’s run by a sister gang of Roger’s. They call themselves The House. The leader is an old friend of Roger’s and Brian’s. It’s funny that you know the code and don’t even know the background of it.” He laughed. “What do you mean?” I inquired. “Queen. That’s the name of their gang. God save the Queen. This meeting has been planned. They probably didn’t tell them what the code would be because they thought they would guess it.” Ben laughed. “I don’t understand what’s funny.” “Oh. Just that I’ve run this far and now I’m gonna die here tonight.” He laughed more. “To think I could actually be safe.” “Ben, if you knew the sister gang was here in New Orleans, WHY WOULD YOU COME HERE?!” I whisper yelled at him. “I was mislead. I thought they were in New York. I can see now I was gravely mistaken.” “Y/N?” I snapped my head towards the stairs. “RAMI? JOE? MY GOD ARE YOU GUYS IN TROUBLE TOO?” “Y/N who did you get in trouble with?” Rami asked me, looking fearful. The door to the meeting room opened. This other man walked out. My guess is the other mob boss. He was holding a gun and he pointed it at me. “WAIT! Sir! We know her! She is not going to tell anyone!” Joe spoke up. “If anything sir, she needs a job! We can recruit her! Please don’t kill her.” Rami spoke up. “RECRUIT ME?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!” I looked at them and back at the gun pointed at my face. Ben bursted into a laughing fit. “WHAT?!” I snapped my head towards him. “Y/N, your friends here are involved with the house.” He laughed shaking his head. “She needs a job? Alright. Untie them. Bring them in.” The other older man spoke. He had a unique British accent. He motioned for us to enter the room. We were standing in a dark lit room with the other man sitting in front of us behind a desk, with Brian and Roger on either side of him. Lucy guarded the door. The Alcohol Smuggler stood by the window, minding his own business. Rami and Joe stood behind Ben and I, who were seated. “Benjamin right?” The mob boss asked. “Just Ben.” He answered simply, looking completely unafraid. “Your name, sweetheart?” “Y/N.” I answered, fear making my voice shake. “Okay. Ben. Y/N. I willing to spare your lives, if you join us. We have a war coming. I need all the soldiers I can get. You either say you are in or you die. By the way my name is John. You’ve met the others. So what do you say?”

Taglist: @bitemerog @sevenseasofrog

[wannawritefast]

Breaking Down Doors

A/N: Hello, lovelies! I wrote this for fun and I had such a great time writing it. HUGE shoutout to my beta reader/editor/fan material dealer. She is only feeding my fangirl addiction and I am loving it. Also, big shoutout to @hollandroos. I admire you so much as a writer and you inspired me to come back to writing. Here you go! Enjoy my darlings! xoxo, Echo (1/2/18)

Pairing: Brian May x Reader

Warnings: Mild language, mentions of alcohol, fluff(?)

Your new neighbor had moved in a couple of weeks ago. You hadn’t properly met him yet, only catching fleeting glances of the lanky, curly-headed brunette while the two of you headed out for the day in a rush to get to work or class or wherever he went; you always went opposite directions after hustling down the thin wooden flights of stairs of questionable structural integrity.

You couldn't help but wonder what he was like aside from brushing your book bag against his denim-clad pant leg in the narrow hallway. Sometimes you’d even see a new person with an instrument case show themselves into his flat from the safety of your peephole.

You weren’t nosy! Ok, maybe you were but that was only because the neighborhood was dodgy, the walls were thin, and the stairs jostled the whole floor when someone so much as tiptoed up those steps from hell. It didn’t help that one of your cats was always so irritated that a cough from two floors up set him off.

You couldn't help your curiosity and you were even kind of intrigued. But right now you were simply steaming mad.

You couldn't imagine why your unnamed neighbor was hosting what sounded like a rock concert in his shoebox of an apartment this late on a Thursday evening. You hadn’t minded the noise that much during the previous Thursday concerts but you had an exam the next morning, an important one that you could not afford to just brush aside and/or fail. You were knackered and desperate for at least a minute of quiet study time before retiring to bed.

A drum beat (the same that had been starting and stopping for the past hour) began again and you smacked your sock-covered feet flat onto the creaky floor and stomped to your door. Your cats chirped curiously.

You threw it open nearly pulling it off the hinges and not bothering to close it behind you; your cats examined the small hallway from the doorway but you didn’t notice.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The drums, bass, and guitar continued. You had unintentionally knocked on beat with whatever melody they were playing, and they hadn’t heard you.

Your cats had since experimentally drifted into the hallway. You tried again, staggering your knocks to no rhythm in particular and making them more frantic in pace and volume.

THUMP! Thump. Thump. THUMP! THUMP! Thump. Thump. Thump. THUMP!

To no avail, they didn’t even slow down. The music, in fact, got louder.

You were going in.

At this point, you were beyond angry and just plain exhausted. You wrapped your palm around the knob and pushed against the door with your shoulder and all the anger in your body. Nothing a little brute force couldn't fix.

To say you got a bit more than you bargained for would be quite the understatement.

The door not only opened but was knocked off of its hinges and boomed when it hit the floor with you on top of it. A cloud of dust poofed up around you wearing nothing but your thin slip dress for pajamas lying on the door. The instruments ceased playing immediately. You certainly had the band’s attention now.

For a solid few moments no one said anything and no one moved. Even the blonde drummer’s arms remained suspended in midair from shock. You glanced from person to person, eyes wide and jaw dropped at what you had just done. You had just broken down your neighbors door…

“I’m Y/N,” you said, sprawled awkwardly atop the fallen door. “I hope you don’t mind me dropping in.”

Your neighbor chuckled heartily. “Brian May.”

“Either you’re really strong or this building is a piece of shit. John, by the way,” You shot your gaze to the bassist who had spoken.

“I think it’s both,” a voice sounded from behind and above you. You looked over your shoulder at who had spoken. “Sorry I’m late.” A man stood in the hallway with one of your cats cradled in his arm and the other standing on one of his shoulders. Both were purring up a storm. “Interesting ensemble, darling. All you need is booties and a patterned jacket and you’ve got yourself a show stopper. Mary would agree.”

“I-” you stammered. What on earth was happening? You blinked furiously. “This is just my pajamas.”

“Nonsense,” The man replied. “Nice knickers, by the way.” You gasped at his comment as the man nonchalantly stepped over you, your cats still tight in his embrace.

That seemed to snap the drummer out of his stupor. He dropped his drumsticks and stood to his feet attempting to catch a glimpse of your mentioned unmentionables. Brian picked up one of the dropped drumsticks and threw it at him in your defense. The drummer exclaimed in pain and you adjusted the hem of your quite short nightdress as you attempted to stand up.

Brian set his electric guitar down and stepped over to you to help you to your feet.

“Are you alright?” Brian asked. His hazel eyes scrutinized your face for any tell that you were injured.

“I broke down your door and you’re asking if I’m alright,” you dusted the front of your dress off as you finished standing. “But yes, I am alright. A little bruised but ok.”

“I think knocking would have sufficed to get my attention.” Brian joked as he released your hands after guiding you off of the fallen door.

“Wearing that certainly got my attention,” the drummer cut in.

You snapped your gaze to the smirking drummer who had his arms crossed over his chest. That seemed to reignite the anger that sent you to this side of the floor in the first place. You rolled your eyes. Brian resisted the urge to laugh at the incredulity of his friend’s sexual advances being ignored.

“Yeah? Mine should be on my books in my flat. Some people are trying to study you know,” you quipped. Your legs were raw and covered in dust and splinters. You would certainly have to either take a second bath tonight and not take one tomorrow or risk putting splinters in your bed, but you simply couldn't afford to put another bath on your water bill. You were barely getting by as it was.

“Who in the bloody hell studies on a Thursday evening?” Little drummer boy would not shut his trap.

“I bloody do!” You fired back. “I have a massive exam tomorrow and I can’t focus with you guys banging on your instruments over here.”

The drummer moved to speak but you pointed your finger at him to stop his smart mouth. “Just don’t, blondie.” You turned to Brian. “Could you please either move your rehearsal to some other place or some other time?”

“No can do, darling,” the man holding your cats decided to finally butt in again. “We’ve got a gig tomorrow. A big one. We can’t not rehearse.”

“Well, I can’t not study.”

There was silence in the flat as a stalemate ensued. The band members and you stared at Brian waiting on him to make a decision.

“Don’t look at me!” He put his hands up in surrender. “I mean, I think we deserve to be able to rehearse in peace. Especially since you broke down my door.”

Your jaw dropped. Oh no. This was not getting pinned on you. “I tried knocking. Twice. But nobody heard me over your ruckus. Would you rather me file a noise complaint instead? Because that can be arranged.”

Brian began to get a little upset. “I don’t see the difference since I would have had to pay out of pocket anyways. Pile on the costs, why don’t you?” His hazel eyes crinkled as he frowned. You took a step forward and glared straight up at him.

“If you guys hadn’t been making so much noise this late, I wouldn’t have come over here to complain!” You shot back.

“Oh, so, now it’s my fault that you broke down my door?!”

“Look I said I was sorry-”

“No, you didn’t,” Brian cut you off. He crossed his arms. How did he end up looking strangely attractive at a time like this?

“I beg your pardon!”

“Pardon granted,” he sassed. “You did not apologize.”

“Yes, I did! Right…” you gestured to the man now cradling both of your cats.

“Freddie.” He answered.

“I’m Roger, by the way,” the drummer butted in. You stared at the cheeky look on his face before turning back to the cat whisperer.

“Freddie! Right? I apologized!”

“No, you didn’t, darling.” Freddie corrected.

You flushed a bit. You could have sworn that you had apologized. You must have been mistaken. You blinked your embarrassment away and looked back at Brian who was looking down at you with a smug look on his face. “You were saying?”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m sorry for breaking down your door. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“Can you let us finish our rehearsal in peace?”

You huffed begrudgingly. “And how long is that going to take?”

“Now that Freddie’s here… 2, 3 more hours if we don’t take breaks.”

Your jaw dropped. “3 MORE HOURS?!”

“Probably closer to four because we’re debuting a song tomorrow. You’re welcome to come by the way… I can get you in for free if you-”

“I have an exam tomorrow and you’re going to be keeping me up even later?!”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

You couldn't believe this. You admired the band’s tenacity but you wished it was happening elsewhere. “I’m leaving.” Your cats didn’t even pay you any mind. Taking steps toward them, you extended your arms to take them away from Freddie but one ignored you and the other seemed to glare at you.

You began muttering to yourself. “Great! First they take my study time. Then my sanity. And now my cats! Just perfect!” You turned on your heel and stalked toward the door.

“It was great to meet you!” The drummer called after you.

“Can’t say the same,” you called back. “Freddie, just drop the cats off when they’re ready to come back. I’ll leave the door unlocked so nobody gets any ideas.” You glared pointedly at Brian and Freddie bowed his head in salute.

And with that you turned on your heel and went to the flat. “So are you saying that you like me?!” The drummer yelled after you again.

“Oh, bugger off!” You cursed at him as you shut your door behind you.

“I think she likes me, Deaky.”

“I’m not entirely sure that’s correct.”

You spent the rest of the night hunched over your books with your fingers in your ears, attempting to block out the rhythmic drumming happening what sounded like right in your room. You weren’t sure that plugging your ears really helped you focus, what with the drumbeats shaking the floorboards. Only time would tell, you supposed.

The last thing you remembered before shutting your eyes was rereading the same paragraph over and over. When you opened your eyes, your nose was stuck in the crease of the book on your coffee table and you had a pencil hanging limply in one hand.

You sat up slowly expecting to feel tight back muscles from the cold air in your apartment but you were surprised to feel a woven blanket draped on your shoulders instead. Oh, that must’ve been why you hadn’t woken up…

Behind you on the couch cushions, your cats were sprawled on top of blankets of their own with a sheet over the both of them. Spoiled rotten the both of them were…

You reached your palms toward the ceiling, stretching your spine and arms. You yawned as you looked about the gray London sunlit room.

Sunlit…

Sunlight.

SUNLIGHT!!

Oh, shit! You looked at the clock nestled above your door. You had exactly 12 minutes to get ready.

Jumping to your feet you bumbled around your apartment, grabbing various items of clothing and yanking them on. You pulled your brush through your hair quickly and shoved your books into your bag.

As your cats finally yawned awake at your commotion, you wrenched your door open. Without a second thought you sprinted through the doorway. You only made it one pace before you slammed right into somebody.

Newton’s laws of physics taught you that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. And that’s precisely what happened. You fell painfully right on your bum with an ‘oof’ and some… other choice words tumbling out of your mouth.

“Blimey! Are you ok?”

You sat up on your elbows and looked up at who exactly had caused you to test out gravity. Your guitar-playing neighbor stood over you with disposable travel mugs in his hands. Of fucking course you had to run into him. Brian immediately set them on the floor and leaned forward to help you up.

“I’m fine,” you got out through gritted teeth.

“You certainly have a knack for falling down,” he joked. If you had been on more amiable terms with him, perhaps you would have laughed. But you were much too tired, stressed, and cross at him to do anything but grunt in agreement.

It’s not that you hated Brian. You actually decided, while you were studying last night, that you found him quite attractive. Rather, you hated that he had kept you up and been a completely inconsiderate neighbor.

You dusted off your sore bum as Brian let go of your hand and went to pick up the travel mugs on the floor. He extended one of his lanky arms toward you, offering you a mug.

“Here,” he said. You looked him in his hazel eyes to make sure that he hadn’t been joking with him.

“Are you having a laugh?” You asked as you began to reach for it. This had to be some kind of a jest.

“Oh, no! Not at all!” Brian exclaimed. He pushed it into your hands, your fingers instantly warming up. “I got you a coffee. I didn’t know how you liked it, you’ll have to forgive me. But I brought some creams and sugars.”

Brian produced a crumpled brown paper bag from one of his pockets in his jacket. He handed over the entire thing that was halfway full with the aforementioned condiments. It was far more than what you needed but, an unspeakably kind gesture nonetheless.

You were rendered speechless. A man you had just met, rather unpleasantly, might you add, had extended an olive branch to you. A hot, liquid, caffeine-laden olive branch.

Needless to say, you felt like an arse.

“I don’t- I don’t know what to say, Brian,” you confessed. “Thank you… so very much. You did not have to do this.”

“Rubbish!” He shook his head and his dark curls bounced around. “I wanted to. I felt bad for keeping you up when you have an exam this morning. Hopefully the coffee helps keep you awake.”

You closed your door behind you and locked it as you began to head slowly for the stairs. Brian kept pace with you.

“It will, don’t you worry about that. It’s just that I should have gotten you coffee,” you explained. “I did break your door clean off of its hinges. I owe you big time.”

“It’s no big deal, honest,” Brian brushed it aside.

“No, I mean it,” you urged. “That was not okay of me to do. I was angry and brash and unapologetic. And if you’re living here, I imagine you aren’t making much more than I am.”

“No no! It’s just fine-”

“Please, Brian…” You cut him off. “Let me make it up to you. How can I make it up to you?”

“You don’t have to! I literally said that you are alright.”

“But I want to! I can give you money to pay for the door. I can clean your entire flat-”

“Ok, fine! I’ve got it!” Brian stopped your ramblings. You looked up at the tall man and stopped at the bottom of the sidewalk, awaiting his proposal. “Come to our gig tonight.”

“What?”

“Yeah, come to our gig tonight. If you think we’re utter bollocks, you never have to come to another one again. If you end up liking us, you’ll always have a ticket to our shows. Free of charge.”

“Brian, the point of doing a favor is to be charged. How is me going to your band’s gig a favor to you?”

“Because I said so. You asked me how you could make it up so I answered,” he said, giving you a cheeky smile.

After you agreed, Brian quickly gave you the details and told you to tell any of the bouncers at the pub they were playing at that you were with Brian May. The implications of the statement made you flush a bit but you didn’t let it show.

“Well, Brian May,” you started, “thank you again for the coffee. Oh! I’m sorry about my cats by the way.”

“They were no bother really. I didn’t wake you when I dropped them off, did I?”

“Not at all!” He put a hand on his hip and his sharp features angled upward into a smile at your answer.

“And I didn’t wake you when I put the-” Brian mimed pulling a cloak over his shoulders. So he was the one that covered you last night? That was so sweet.

“No, I was out like a light,” you laughed. “You don’t want any cream or sugars?” You shook the bag in your hand.

“I drink my coffee black,” he replied. To prove his point, he took a drink from his coffee with no accoutrements. Brian didn’t even seem to flinch at the bitterness.

“We get it, you’re a badass,” you poked at him.

He chuckled lightly and ran his thumb over his upper lip. “Don’t you have an exam or something?”

You rolled your eyes and began walking backwards. “Thank you again for the coffee, Brian.”

“Good luck! Not that you’ll need it.” He nodded his head in farewell accompanied with a wink. It took you aback a little bit. “I’ll see you tonight, Y/n!”

“See you tonight!”

You blew through your exam. Either you had known everything or you had known nothing. In fact, you were one of the first to finish.

And you would be lying if you said you weren’t excited for tonight. You practically skipped the way back to your flat from university.

It was like the anger and exhaustion that had plagued you not even 24 hours earlier had been replaced by excitement and, dare you say, giddiness. Your cats were beyond confused at the piles of clothes now littering your room. You supposed they weren’t terribly upset about it though since they had bundled themselves into one of your jumpers.

After about a half hour you decided on an outfit to wear and worked on your chores until it was time to get ready to leave a few hours later. Soon enough, you arrived at the pub that Brian had specified.

The doors were bursting at the seams and the air seeping out of the pub already smelled of alcohol, sweat, and cigar smoke. But you didn’t mind. If the crowd was any sign of how good the music was going to be, you decided it was well worth the sea of people. Besides, it had to be good to some degree if it kept you up so late and the band had stayed up so late to rehearse.

There was queue of people at the entry booth waiting to pay to get in and it looked like the line was at a halt. And you were 30 minutes early as it was! You gulped harshly wondering how on earth you were going to get inside…

And more importantly, how you were going to get to Brian with all of these people…

Following Brian’s instructions you stepped up to one of the bouncers guarding the door. He towered over you.

“Um, Brian told me to tell you that I was with him…” The bouncer only blinked. “Brian May… The guitarist.”

The man huffed. “What’s your name?”

You squeaked out your response and he only raised a brow at you before he picked up his radio and spoke into it. Wow… This was a big deal. A big gig for certain.

And perhaps a big mistake… What if you were at the wrong pub? Oh, God… What if Brian had been having a go at you and hadn’t-

“Y/n?” The man gruffly called out. You took a step forward and nodded. “Follow me please.” The man turned and another man of equal size and stature took his place as he led you inside the packed venue.

You followed as the bouncer elbowed his way through the jackets and glasses of beer. You actually didn’t do much of the elbowing; you just followed the path that was being cleared by the bouncer a few paces in front of you.

After a few minutes of what you began to think was your march toward death, the man finally stopped at a door next to the stage. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. The bouncer pushed the door open and held his hand flat out against it, waiting for you to go inside. As soon as you had made it into the semi-lit but busy hallway the door shut behind you.

Without any further guidance.

Brian hadn’t told you what to do when this happened…

“Excuse me,” you gently called out, trying to get just one person’s attention. The people were bustling with equipment, wires, radios, and trays of drinks. You kept trying to get somebody to stop with no luck.

“Ma’am!” You heard.

You turned around seeming very out of place and very relieved to see that someone had noticed you. You let out a breath.

“Hello! The bouncer-”

“What are you doing back here? This is restricted access only,” the woman with a headset stalked toward you.

“You see, I’m here for the guitarist and I-”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Another groupie… Seriously, how do you guys get in here? This happens every time a new band comes to perform but usually not until after the show starts.”

The woman began to usher you back to the door. Wait, you thought. No! Where’s Brian? You came to see Brian not to be shown the door as soon as you made it backstage. No! This isn’t how this was supposed to go at all!

“No, you don’t understand,” you urged. “Brian told me to say I was with him. Brian May.”

But the woman didn’t hear you. She continued to shoo you back. “Wait, wait! My name is Y/n!”

“Y/n! You made it!”

That caused the woman to halt in her tracks and turn around as you peeked your head around her to see who had called your name.

Brian. Impeccable timing. He took long strides toward the interaction happening between the two of you.

You couldn’t stop the smile on your face. That could have ended messily.

“I’ll take it from here, Diane. Thank you,” He stopped right next to you, latched a secure arm around your shoulders, and gave you a swift wink. Diane nodded at him and gave you a look that said ‘don’t cause any trouble.’

As soon as she turned the corner the two of you burst out laughing. Brian’s arm dropped from your shoulder and oddly enough you missed the contact. “Thank goodness you came… I thought she was going to eat me alive!” you said breathlessly.

“I’m just glad you survived the bouncers. They’re quite scary, don’t you think?” He began walking to guide you to wherever you were supposed to go.

“They’re terrifying! It was a jungle out there,” you confessed.

Brian shook his head in laughter. “Speaking of terrifying, how was that exam?”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly. “Not bad at all actually. I was the first one to finish. I don’t mean to brag, but I do believe I aced it.” You tossed your hair over your shoulder proudly. He laughed as he led you up a flight of black stairs with bright tape. It suddenly got much darker.

You had made it to the side wings of the stage. Brian paused to let you take it in for a few moments. There was various speakers, mic stands, and stage equipment set up strategically around the space. The stage was unlit but you could see the outline of the drums, guitar and bass stand, and, front and center, a single microphone with its cord running along the floor and coiled neatly in a pile on the path from one of the wings (where you were) to the stage. Something told you that it was not going to remain neat for long.

You took in your surroundings even more now that your eyes had adjusted to the dim blue lighting resting on the wings. You could barely see the outlines of the people in the audience but based on their lack of attention they could not see you. John walked up the stairs that you had just come up and gave you a short nod and a quick smile in greeting before immediately setting to work on his case.

“Very good,” he praised. “It’ll be nice for you to enjoy the music tonight.”

“If I enjoy it,” you corrected.

“Yes, if you enjoy it.” He stopped walking and turned to look at you. “But I’m confident you will.”

“And what makes you say that?” You teased.

“I have a hunch.”

“Y/n!” You heard suddenly. Turning around, you spotted a grinning Roger, with drumsticks sticking out of his pocket precariously, jogging up the stairs. He didn’t even notice that he had rammed innocent stagehands to the other side of the narrow railing in pursuit of you. Oh, Lord… Before you could dodge it, the weight of a leather clad arm, belonging to a certain blonde drummer, was wrapped around your shoulder. “Glad you came to see me!”

“You better move that arm before I bite it off, Roger,” you threatened with a sidelong glance.

“I wouldn’t test it, mate,” John suggested, as he sat tuning his bass.

“Yeah, mate,” Brian added, smothering a laugh, “She looks serious.” He gave you a wink and you glared at the drummer to hide the heat stinging at your ears. Thank goodness it was dark backstage.

What was with this damn man and winking? And why on earth did it have such an effect on you?

“Worth it,” Roger sent a toothy smile at you.

You pretended to jerk a knee at the drummer’s bollocks and he leapt away with a yelp of fear. Arm removed successfully.

“Y/n, darling!” You shifted your attention to the lead singer who had just come up the stairs that you had, a beautiful woman’s hand in his. He outstretched his arms in a friendly manner. “You are a vision!”

You laughed as you walked into the hug the friendly singer was offering. “Thank you, Freddie.”

“Y/n, this is Mary. Mary, this is Y/n.” You extended your hand to shake Mary’s petite one. She smiled brightly at you. “Mary is my girlfriend.”

“Lovely to meet you,” she said. Freddie pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek and began to get ready for the show.

“Likewise,” you agreed in a friendly manner. “So tell me…” You leaned closer to her. “How do you handle so many divas at one time?”

Mary threw her head back in laughter for a moment before answering. “Usually one of them whips the outlier into shape.”

As if on cue, Roger flung himself onto John haphazardly for no other purpose than to get a rise out of the seemingly patient bass player. “I’m neglected and starved for attention in this band!” he cried woefully.

John wordlessly stood up and let Roger roll to the floor with a thud, then sat back down and continued to tune his instrument, unfazed by the antics of the blonde now lying on the floor. “I am unloved and will die here in this spot if I do not receive affection within the next minute!” Roger declared, rather melodramatically in your opinion.

“Can the dead still keep a beat?” Brian asked as he shifted his hazel-eyed gaze from you to the bassist as you all attempted to ignore the drummer writhing on the floor melodramatically.

“I believe so,” John answered.

“Lovely,” Brian nodded his head and turned to you and Mary to continue the conversation. You didn’t even try to suppress your giggle at Roger’s antics.

“Are you joking me right now?!” Roger called incredulously. “Y/n, my true love, you care for me deeply, don’t you?”

“Abso-bloody-lutely, dear,” you answered sweetly. That made him sit upright, and Brian frowned at you. Roger extended his hand out for you to take. You grasped the tips of his fingers lightly.

“Really?”

You dropped his hand. “No.”

Roger flopped back to the ground and began to sing his rendition of ‘one is the loneliest number,’ pretending to sob through the lyrics.

Freddie walked back and finished straightening out his jacket sleeves. “Roger, you’re a little flat.”

“It’s because I’m deprived.”

“You want love and affection?” Brian asked. Before Roger could respond, Brian stood over him and poked at his ribs playfully. “How’s this for love and affection?”

Brian wrestled Roger to his feet and drove his fist into the roots of the drummer’s hair. Roger began to fight back.

“Not the hair, May! Not the hair,” Roger wriggled violently to get out of Brian’s grip.

“My point exactly,” Mary muttered to you. The two of you giggled together at their behavior.

“I’m excited to see them perform,” you confessed.

“You’ve never seen them perform?”

“Does breaking down the door to Brian’s apartment mid-rehearsal count?” You ask.

“Ah, yes, I do believe Freddie said something about that earlier. He’s quite fond of your cats by the way.”

“Are you two ladies done chatting?” Brian interjected. He had his guitar slung across his front, tuning it as if by second nature. Roger was now spinning his drumsticks along his fingers, already winking at and flirting with girls out in the audience. Deprived of attention, your ass.

“Are you boys done pissing around?” You replied snarkily.

“The show’s about to start,” he answered with a good-natured eye roll. “You better get out there and enjoy it.”

“If I enjoy it.” You leaned forward and took a few steps toward him.

“If you enjoy it. Which I know you will because-”

“You have a hunch.” You finished for him. “Yeah, yeah… we’ll see how good those instincts of yours are.”

Someone behind you cleared their throat. You turned around and Brian looked up too. A bouncer was standing next to Mary as if waiting for you. Your brows furrowed in confusion.

“We get special viewing,” Mary answered your nonverbal perplexity.

You looked back at Brian, stunned and jaw dropped. ‘Special viewing’? Brian had a knowing smirk on his face.

“Well then, enjoy the show!” And with that Brian turned on his heel and joined his bandmates for a quick huddled pep talk.

You walked mindlessly to the bouncer and followed him through the darkness, down the stairs with Mary. Before you got to the bottom you glanced back at Brian who was already looking at you and sending a wink your way.

The bouncer led you through back walkways and hallways that you would have had bugger all luck navigating on your own. After a few minutes, the bouncer opened a door and you stepped out onto a viewing platform.

The balcony was directly in line with the stage about 5 meters up from the ground. There were a few small tables outlining the border of the platform surrounded by a guard rail but the rest of the smaller space was open, presumably for a dance floor. It took you a moment to realize that the platform was, in fact, a second level directly above the pub’s bar.

From where you were standing there was nothing blocking your vision of the stage but you saw a mass, no, a sea of people (standing room only) packing into any and all available space the venue had to offer. You silently reminded yourself to thank Brian for the special view. There was no bloody way you would have survived the living sardine can below you.

You looked at Mary, still processing the awe that you were experiencing. You didn’t need anyone to tell you that the band you were about to watch was going to be amazing. The sheer number of people present spoke for itself.

“Is this normal?” You asked.

Mary nodded once in response and removed her coat, placing it on one of the tables with her purse. She gestured for you to hand over your jacket to her. You shimmied your arms out of the sleeves.

“I actually feel alright right now.” It wasn’t too hot in the pub to be totally honest.

Mary laughed as if she knew something that you didn’t. “That’s going to change once they start playing.”

Not seconds later the beloved group stepped on stage to the screams of groupies and applause of plastered bargoers. You finally took the chance to look at the band name on the drum set.

‘Queen.’

You couldn’t keep the smile from your face. Freddie stepped up to the mic and wrapped his hands around the stand. “Hello, everybody!” He yelled.

The roar that erupted from the crowd made you feel like you were in a stadium.

“Who’s ready to rock?”

And with that, the concert began.

The room was electric. You didn’t know any of the songs or any of the words to the songs but they felt familiar to your heart. You were far too busy dancing with Mary and living in the moment to care.

And to be entirely honest, the set ended way too bloody early; you could’ve danced all night. To your recollection, you had never had so much fun ever in your life before tonight.

But amidst getting lost in the music, you couldn’t help watching the band play. Or rather, watching Brian play. Between the funny faces he made at you and the winks he sent from the stage to the balcony you were on, you saw something that warmed your heart quite a bit.

Brian was certainly talented and he played that guitar like he was born to do it. He was at home on stage, strumming away and picking at the strings. You would be lying if you said that you hadn’t fallen in love with how he looked when he played his guitar. It was truly magical.

Roger hit the drums with a final flourish and the lights followed the beats and the crowd joined in on the hullabaloo. You cheered with them and Mary clapped from the platform while Freddie blew her a kiss.

Mary suddenly hustled to grab her things and all but threw your coat at you. You followed her and the bouncer to wherever they were hurrying to get to.

Before you knew it, you were backstage again waiting for the boys to walk off after greeting their fans. You watched as they greeted the people who had come to see them.

Roger was flirting up a storm with the groupies and John was shaking hands with a few men who looked like some old friends. Freddie was moving through the queue quickly, no doubt excited to see Mary after the set.

Brian took his time with each person. He was polite and friendly with the girls who were throwing themselves at him. He gave them proper attention but he seemed uninterested in even the prettiest of them.

The four band members plus one (Roger had a girl from the crowd swooning on his arm) finally made it back stage. Freddie immediately went to Mary and gave her a deep kiss. You averted your eyes to give them some privacy.

John set to work packing his bass. Roger was giving the girl his full attention as she ran her fingers along his chest and through his hair. You had a feeling that this flirtation wasn’t going to end well nor anytime soon.

Brian ever-so coolly meandered over to where you were standing with a shit-eating smirk gracing his sharp features. “And? What’s the verdict?”

You sighed, reluctantly handing over your pride. “You guys were really good.”

“I knew it.” He waggled his finger at you. “I knew you’d like it!”

“Yeah, yeah. Your hunch was correct, oh, all-knowing one,” you admitted.

“‘All-knowing one’ has a nice ring to it.” Brian pulled you into a side hug and you leaned comfortably into it. This was nice.

You looked straight up at him as he pulled his arm away. “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.”

He chuckled and shook his head to himself as unslung his guitar. “Hey,” he cleared his throat, “we’re gonna get drinks or something after we’re all packed. Would you like to join us?”

You were taken aback. He invited you to go out with him… and the band too, of course. But he had invited you?!

“Oh, no, I couldn’t impose-!”

“It’s not imposing if I invite you. Imposing is, oh I don’t know, someone breaking down their neighbor’s front door,” Brian teased as he began securing his beautiful red guitar in its case.

“Hey! I apologized!” You swatted his arm as you gasped in offense. “And besides, you are more than welcome to break down mine anytime.” You hadn’t realized what you had implied until it had fully left your mouth.

“Anytime, yeah?” Brian put his guitar in its case and began latching it closed.

“Oh, certainly, as long as it comes with a favor,” you confirmed. He moved to stand up and you offered your hand to help him up. He took it and suddenly he was a little closer to you than he had been before, with his guitar case in his other hand.

“And what would that be may I ask?”

“Teach me how to play that,” you gestured to the guitar case in his hand. “You know, so I can keep my neighbors up at ungodly hours of the night.”

“Ah, well, you see then we’d be stuck in a cycle of breaking down each other’s doors… it’s completely inefficient really.” He twirled you around all of a sudden for emphasis and you giggled at the goofy action. His hand and yours were still latched together… not that you were complaining.

“So? Do you have any better suggestions?” You asked a little breathless.

“I do actually.” His hazel eyes glittered. “Go out to dinner with me.”

You couldn’t help the grin that came after he had spoken.

“I’ll tell you what,” you started, “you break down my door and I’ll go to dinner with you. You know, to keep things even.”

No sooner had the words left your mouth than Brian began pulling you away from where you were standing. He dragged you to the bottom of the stairs. What on earth was he doing?

“Where are we going, May?” You asked curiously, already attempting to follow after his fast pace.

Brian looked over his shoulder, a cheeky grin on his face. “To get a head start on that door.”