bunniesandbeheadings

[untilthenextencore]

Of Hopes & High Grace Pt. 1: Clearly: Up in the Canyons~...

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Laurel Canyon, 1965~

Walking up the driveway into the house, from his tour around the grounds by the house's owner, Jimmy let his eyes scan the room. Turning left, he saw his date for the evening Jackie sitting in the pit - a sunken floor & seating area - chatting with one of their friends. He had come to the party with her that day. Jackie had been something of a regular or semi-regular presence in his life. They'd been on & off for a few months since working together both on her music, songs for others like Marianne Faithfull, or even his own attempts at solo work. Though the less said about that single, the better he figured now.

Turning right & taking a sip of his drink as he tried to clear that from his mind, he saw a bunch of kids dancing in the center of the living room. They weren't really kids, actually. Most looked about his age from what he could tell. They twisted & moved in front of large double glass doors that looked out on quite a view of the city below. The setting sun streamed in through the windows, starbursting over the dancing kids. One in particular caught his eye.

She was in a slim fitting sheath dress with a scoop neckline & a mottled shimmery watery blue & lagoon green print. The dress skimmed what he could surmise was a very alluring figure. Long dark hair flowing loose around her shoulders, tawny skin, a hint of cat's eye eyeliner framing two deep brown eyes. Full rosy cheeks. Even fuller berry rose lips. She laughed & clapped & spun about with an older male friend as the guitar in the song trilled.

Try as he might, Jimmy couldn't tear his eyes from her. She was lively. Spirited. Drop dead gorgeous. He simply had to get her name.

Nudging his host for the evening, he motioned to the dark sylph dressed in siren's blue & asked. "Who's she, mate?"

His host Tony turned to peer in her direction before smiling. "Ah, her? That's Mariella. She lives up here. Bought a house on Appian Way not too long ago. Made a few papers. Rather young for being a homeowner, she. Teenage homeowner. You know how papers eat that stuff up."

Jimmy nodded at that. He knew all too well. So she was a teenager, was she?

Tony explained further. "But she's more known for her music."

"Sings, does she?" Jimmy asked with a sip of his drink.

"Like an angel!" Tony nodded. "Though she sings mostly in Spanish. Mexican music & the like. Her father is a singer, too. A famous one in his field. Carlos Ignacio Alamilla. She sometimes used to tour with him. Now she goes between performances with him & her own local club gigs."

"I see..." Jimmy nodded, mulling over the many ways their similar lines of work might give him an in with her. "Mind introducing me then?"

To his surprise, Tony laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jimmy asked, half annoyed, half confused.

"Nothing. Except I feel I must warn you. You being new here & all you probably don't know. She's not too forthcoming with new people. Her father is extremely protective of her, with her being his only daughter. And even if you get past him, there's no promise you'll get anywhere with her. The running joke is that while most everyone's first word was "mama," hers was likely "no."

Jimmy snorted.

"It's true. Not to say she's mean. Just very careful in meeting new people. Wary even. Once you get to know her... If you get to know her... Once you get close... If you get close... You'll find she's a delight... Sweet girl... Just very shy I guess... Impossible not to love her, that one..."

"I see..." Jimmy breathed those words in a dragon's puff of cigarette smoke.

A delight...

Sweet girl...

Shy girl...

Indeed...

What's not to love?...

Jimmy contemplated everything he was told with another puff of his cigarette before asking it & announcing with a wry grin in yet another dragon's puff. "Well, now I have to meet her now don't I?"

"Alright." Tony drawled, placing a hand on Jimmy's shoulder. Don't say I didn't warn you. And don't be surprised if she's not as forthcoming with you. It takes her awhile to warm up." With that he led the way as he & Jimmy weaved their way through the crowd.

Each undulating body seemed to serve as a fluttering curtain. A momentary eclipse. All of it making it so as they neared Jimmy saw her move in sections. In snapshots. Rotoscope images that burned & swirled in his brain, searing themselves into the grey matter. Each fleeting glimpse only serving to intrigue & tantalize him more. The time it took for them to cross the few feet's distance they had to traverse, feeling like one long scene in slow motion. The music falling into silence. The silence cut only by the sound of his blood thumping in his temples. His heartbeat pounding like a drum of war.

Jimmy's mouth went suddenly dry. He swallowed hard. He could be wrong but he swore that lump he felt in his throat, if it wasn't his Adam's apple, might've been heart-shaped.

Just then, Tony's voice cut into his train of thought, slicing through the thumping silence. "Hey, Mariella."

Black hair fanned out as she whirled to face them cutting her dance short, before coming to rest framing her face as she turned.

Lovely face, Jimmy thought.

A look of confusion crossed her features before her eyes lit up in recognition. "Tony! There you are! I was wondering where you had gone off to!" She spoke in a bright voice colored with an indeterminate accent. "I knew you were here but I didn't see you. How are you?" She asked with a hug.

Perhaps, this would be easier than Tony said it would.

"Just fine, doll. And clearly you seem to be enjoying yourself too. Great mix of songs you brought this time as always!" Tony smiled & returned the hug warmly. "I've been looking for you too by the way. I have someone I want to introduce to you. He's a friend of mine."

"Oh?" She looked up at him with a curious pout.

"Mariella Alamilla may I introduce one of the latest English imports to hit our shores, A Mister James Patrick Page." Tony motioned to Jimmy, snickering at his own overly florid introduction.

She, Mariella, turned to face Jimmy, regarding him with the same curious pout. Indeed there was a touch of wariness edging those eyes as they scanned him guardedly. The young girl stayed close to Tony, anchoring herself to him amidst this stranger before her.

Now was the time.

Jimmy gave her his best disarming smile & extended a hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Call me Jimmy. And may I say you have a phenomenal taste in music. What's the name of the song if I may ask?"

"Pleasure's all mine I'm sure." Her voice was cool & soft as she placed her smaller hand in his lightly. Feathersoft. Fleeting, hesitant contact. None of that brightness & effusiveness that had been so evident in her chat with Tony. "And thank you. It's one of my favorites. It's called "El Boogie de la Guitarra" by Los Crazy Boys. Mexican Rock. Tony likes me to bring some music by artists he and the gang might not have heard of." She explained in a polite yet matter of fact tone.

Mariella had undergone a sudden transition. She went from alive & incandescent to hushed & removed. Her light still shone but now it flickered like a candle in a breeze. A light in the window of a tower, or at a high altar. Still burning. Still present. Still bright. Yet just out of reach. So near & yet so far.

So Tony was right after all! He WAS gonna have to work with this one. Interesting...

Bringing her hand to his lips he kissed the back, eliciting a jolt, soft gasp & the slight widening of eyes.

At least he could get some kind of reaction out of her. A delicious one at that.

Fighting a grin at the sight of her trying to reel in her reactions so & giving a soft curtsy in semi-formal / semi-playful response to his florid actions, he continued. "I hear from Tony you're in the music game too."

"Yes." She replied, still soft yet pointed. "I sing with my father at times & at other times do my own thing."

"Which is?..." Jimmy asked, maintaining his hold on her hand despite the momentary soft pull he felt. She attempted to retract her hand after the kiss, clearly expecting that to be it. Clearly, it wasn't though. And so her hand remained in his, his thumb rubbing the kiss-printed back as the rest of his hand swallowed hers whole & kept it there. Jimmy meanwhile did his best to distract her from this fact by adding. "Tony told me you sing Mexican music?"

"Yes." She nodded, swallowing hard herself. Clearly she was trying to ignore her nerves. Trying to ignore or quell the tremble in her hand that was locked in his. A fact he clearly reveled in. "I sing Mexicana with my older brother, father and his band. Banda. Boleros. Mariachi. That sort of thing. When on my own I sort of mix that with an indie kick. Maybe a little jazz. Maybe a little rock. Maybe something else. It all depends on my mood." Lifting her gaze from her hand in his & pinning him with a look that was at once both curious & cutting, she asked. "Do you sing too, Jimmy?"

He & Tony shared a knowing laugh. "Not really I'm afraid. I plan to stick to the guitar & maybe my art otherwise."

Tony nodded, explaining simply. "Jimmy went to art school before things really kicked off for him. He's now one of the most in demand session guitarists there is, doll!"

Jimmy did his best not to blush at the compliment. He didn't want to be too conspicuous. Though he had been content to remain silent up to this point, Jimmy saw that Tony's eyes had volleyed from Jimmy himself to Mariella and back like he were witness to the most captivating tennis match ever.

"Really now?" Jimmy heard the first lilt in her voice in what had been quite awhile. The light in her eyes flickered anew. The corner of her sweet mouth lifted as she asked. "That seems to be quite a frequent occurrence. Tell me, Mr. Page, do all you Englishmen flock to art school before you hit the music scene?"

Both he & Tony laughed again. "Boy if it don't seem like that sometimes, huh?" Tony nudged Jimmy, grazing him with an elbow to the ribs.

"Yeah it does. A lot of us sure seem to but it's not like a dead set rule or anything." Jimmy smiled as he met her gaze. His laughter crinkled eyes were met with a gaze that was still just as inscrutable as it was penetrating even as little flames of mirth danced in her eyes & in the corners of her soft, wry smile.

Where had he seen such a look before?

He couldn't put a finger on it.

Shaking out of that thought, he added with a soft pat to her hand, still locked in his, with his free one. "In any case I do hope I'll get the honor and pleasure to hear you sing while I'm here."

"Maybe you will." Tony smiled.

Though Jimmy's gaze hardly left Mariella, Jimmy could still catch the barest glimpse of him signaling to someone off to the side.

Another soft curtsy by the young lovely in the blue dress followed, recapturing Jimmy's full attention. "I hope you still find it such a pleasure afterwards if you do."

Jimmy was sure he'd indeed find her such a pleasure.

In more ways than one.

Just then Jimmy found his attentions pulled to his side as a certain familiar blonde, curled her way around him, linking arms with him.

It was Jackie.

"Jimmy..." She drawled, snapping her gum sharply. "Where've you been. I've been looking everywhere for you. And who's this?" He saw her eyes scan Mariella warily.

Mariella for her part barely flinched. Her features hardly changed. One eyebrow lifted in the barest perk as her head tilted slightly. "Nice to see you again, Jackie. How've you been? Haven't seen you since the last music show we did together. Hope you've been well." Her voice was as ever cool, controlled & polite. Where some would fight fire with fire, she clearly preferred to ice out the flames entirely. And rather aptly at that. Smooth.

"Oh hi, Jackie. Tony was just showing me around & introducing me to people." Jimmy explained as coolly as possible.

"I see..." She cast a nonplussed look his way before turning to regard the dusky brunette once more. "Ah, Marie-Ella..." Jackie cooed, breaking her name up in some sort of southern double name special like her own government name was. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was you!" Her voice was super sweet as she laid it on as thick as honey. Though try as she might she still came off as something a little short of genuine in her apology & attempts to ingratiate.

Had she always been this cloying?, Jimmy thought.

"Long time no see indeed!" Jackie giggled. "How's the eighth grade? Or is it ninth now? It's been such a long time I just can't keep track."

It was then that Jimmy & Mariella's hold on each other broke.

Eighth grade?

Ninth?

What was that in terms of forms again?

Jimmy cast a stunned look at Mariella who just shrugged.

"Actually I'm in high school now, thanks for asking." She replied matter of factly. Calm. Cool. Collected. Sweet & smooth. "How's the school of life treating you, Jackie? Well, I hope." There went that soft yet inscrutable stare.

Jackie just scoffed & smacked her gum again. "Well enough thanks." Then tugging on Jimmy's arm, she announced. "Jimmy let's go. I have some people I want you to meet."

Before he could think to respond with more than a mere. "Wait, Jackie. Wait..." Mariella gave him a playful salute with two fingers to her temple.

"See you around then. Bye you two."

And with that, she & Tony disappeared into the crowd as Jackie pulled him away.

~

As ever this is forever under construction~!

Hope you guys enjoy~!

[n0quart3r]

someone PLEASE write a babyfic inspired by this photo, i cannot

[kulturegroupie]

I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of yardbird Jimmy, but now I’m obsessed. there was this fanfic I read called “angel with a broken wing” and omg it made me so obsessed with yardbird Jimmy. I would let him do anything to me 😍. Like idc how ugly his sideburns are I wish I can be his girlfriend. And I think I’m gay but something about Jimmy just makes me swoon. It’s hard finding men who look like Jimmy.

hello anon! ok little confession: i'm not the biggest fanfic reader, i've only read a very limited few. but i've heard of "angel with a broken wing" and how much it's beloved within the fandom here on tumblr! yardbird jimmy is absolutely adorable, his half psychedelic half victorian-inspired outfits are everything to me (i'm a big fashion enthusiast and a man with a great fashion sense is just 😘 chef's kiss). i might have to disagree with your thoughts on the sideburns though, i know a lot fans dislike them and they were even critiqued by a few journalists at the time, but i love them and find them extremely sexy. lol. but that's just me being way too much into him, i guess. anyway, yeah jimmy's absolutely one of a kind and i'd pay a good amount of money to be one of those groupies back in the day. you know, just to get close to him and see him face to face. that would be enough.

[childrenofthenightt]

That’s The Way (Chapter 4)

Pairing: Jimmy Page x Reader

Word count: 5.7k

Warning(s): Jimmy and Y/N falling in love at first sight🥺, nsfw insinuations in the beginning but nothing bad, language

Author’s notes: It’s Jimmy time, mates! I’m so sorry for making you wait so long! Slow burns can suck like that sometimes. I hope you’re enjoying the plot so far, and that it wasn’t what you expected! There’s so much more drama to come, though, so I hope you’re excited for that😂 As usual, please enjoy, happy reading, and send us messages if you have theories, comments, music recommendations for the playlist, or if you want to be added to the tag list :)

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3

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Y/N’s train ride home from The Yardbirds’ hotel was a constant swirl of what the fucks booming in her mind: what the fuck just happened, what the fuck does this mean, what the fuck am I doing, what the fuck is Jim doing, what the fuck will this become?  

Out of all the things on God’s good, green earth he could have wanted, he wanted her to kiss him. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Y/N thought when she initially heard the request. Then, when she questioned it, he escalated it to a blowjob since she thought a kiss was “too tame.” Y/N eventually did kiss Jim, as he wished. She was pretty sure that he still wanted her to kiss him after his little upgrade, and boy, was she right. ‘He called me a princess’, she remembered...what the hell was that supposed to mean?

As contradictory as it was, her mind was racing with so many thoughts, yet, at the same time, none at all. She was in overdrive, unable to think straight. Y/N forced herself to come to her senses as the train neared her stop, since her parents could not see the sheer bewilderment in her eyes and facial expression as she walked into her home. They would ask question after question, interrogating her as if she had committed a crime they had to get to the bottom of. She had to admit, reluctantly, that this was exciting. The star-studded aspect of it, the secrecy… It was a rollercoaster ride, yet Y/N wasn’t sure she wanted to get off anytime soon. In the back of her mind, though, she knew this little dalliance wasn’t going to lead to anything serious.

Jim, however, currently sitting at the foot of his bed in an empty hotel room, was in a complete daze. He couldn’t comprehend that this was reality. The most beautiful girl in the whole world had just sucked him off, and then kissed him! She was completely obedient yet willing, and adorably shy, blushing every two seconds. But the kiss. It was dizzyingly soft, sweet, and passionate on her part. To Jim, this meeting of lips was perfect. Addictive. Devastatingly addictive, like a drug. He wanted more. Her lips were something else to taste and feel. He wondered if she would ever come back to him with intimate intentions. Perhaps even to spend the night, or something even more serious. By the way she so often smiled in a bright and enthusiastic way, Jim thought she just might. He had come to the conclusion, after continuously replaying what had happened just minutes ago in his head, that he was falling hopelessly in love with this girl. His Y/N.

Jim had never felt like this before.

And he didn’t know what to do about it.

~~~~~~~~

A few weeks later...

Y/N’s mum had sent her and her brother Charlie by train into London to go grocery shopping, and perhaps to visit Carnaby Street, Portobello Market, and the Oxfam charity shops to get some new clothes for themselves. Pushing the cart around the supermarket, Y/N and Charlie looked intently at the handwritten list their mum had given them.

“Alright, what do we need next?” Y/N asked, her head tilted to see the small piece of paper.

“Uh, we still have to get oatmeal, eggs, and some fruits and vegetables,” Charlie replied, mirroring Y/N’s position as he gazed down at the list in his hands, which was slowly being painted with black ink. They were making good time, all things considered.

“Let’s go to the produce section then, so we can get everything all in one go,” Y/N decided, starting to push the cart in that direction.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Charlie’s nod served as confirmation, and the two walked on, gazes captured every-so-often by the gaggle of people passing by.

Once the two siblings reached their desired destination, Y/N began inspecting the clear clamshell containers of assorted berries as Charlie went to fetch a bag of broccoli florets and a variety of potatoes. As Y/N began placing the fruit in the cart, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

She turned around to see a very domestic-looking Jeff Beck, pushing around a grocery cart, just like she was. It was odd to see him going about his life as though he was just an ordinary working-class man, especially being the revered guitar god he was. Y/N laughed at the sight as he came over towards her.

“Hi Jeff,” Y/N greeted, walking over to give him a hug.

“Hello darling,” he responded, tilting the girl back and forth in the hug, long arms cradling her against his chest. “How are you doing?”

Y/N looked at him with a small grin after pulling away. An exhale passes through pursed lips as she replies. “As well as I can be, I guess. How ‘bout you?”

“Can’t complain,” he smiled, which then turned a little more solemn. He reached out a hand to place on her upper arm in solace. “I’m still really sorry about Sam, love. I wish I could’ve told you, but he swore me to secrecy… and I don’t want to lose my job just yet.”

“Don’t worry about it, I completely understand. It’s not your fault.” Y/N’s chuckle chimed through the air, much like the birdsongs that seemed to fill the space around them, and she paused, “I’ve done quite a bit of soul-searching recently, and I don’t think I truly loved him...the situation was all so new and exciting, that it made me believe I did. But now, I realize I didn’t.”

“I’m glad you found the light at the end of the tunnel, kid. But that’s life, Y/N. You win some and you lose some.”

“Thank you, Jeff. Really. For being so supportive,” Y/N said in gratitude, as Jeff flashed her a toothy smile.

“Ah, don’t mention it...actually, it’s funny I ran into you because I was actually going to call you, but I… may have lost your number.” A sheepish hand ran through the short hair at the nape of his neck, and Y/N giggles at the man’s hesitancy.

“That’s okay. Here, I’ll write it down for you,” Y/N grinned as she took out a spare piece of paper and a pen from her bag, “what did you need to call me for?”

Jeff watched Y/N’s hands as she scribbled down her number. Her handwriting was neat, soft spirals decorating the ends of her letters. Playful, yet full of grace. Just like her, Jeff thought. “There’s a May Ball at Queen’s College in Oxford on the 18th, and I was wondering if you’d like to come. It’s outdoors, and it should be a nice day.”

As Y/N handed Jeff the piece of paper, he continued. “More importantly, a good friend of mine is attending, and I thought you would like to meet him. You two are pretty similar, so I think you’ll hit it off really well.”

“Do you mean that this meeting is supposed to be a sort of… romantic proposition?” Y/N tilted her head in playful confusion.

Jeff smirked. “Not necessarily. He’s friends with the rest of the guys, so it’s only fair that you meet him, since we consider you a part of our inner circle.”

Y/N grinned at his statement, shaking her head, a chuckle tumbling past her lips. “Well, for the record, Jeff, I’m retired from dating for a while,” she admitted, “the whole thing with Paul shook me up a bit, and I need time to trust again, y’know?”

“Yeah, I understand. But my friend is a nice bloke, so I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much, or put up a front. If you’re uncomfortable, of course we can—”

Charlie came running up to Y/N’s cart and placed the bags of broccoli and potatoes inside. He then stood next to Y/N to see this stranger that she was talking to. Jeff noticed the little boy who suddenly appeared next to Y/N, and smiled warmly. Pointing to the boy, and changing his voice to be a bit gentler than usual, he asked, “Who’s this, Y/N?”

“This is my little brother Charlie,” Y/N said, softly putting her hand on her brother’s back, bringing him to the forefront. Charlie widely smiled at Jeff, baring his childish grin that was missing a couple teeth. Charlie couldn't wait until they grew in, because it would “finally make him look like a real man”, as he exclaimed so often at home.

Jeff crouched down to Charlie’s level and stuck out his hand to shake Charlie’s. “Nice to meet ya, mate. I’m Jeff, a friend of your sister’s.”

Charlie’s eyes widened as he recognized who this man was. “Jeff Beck?” Charlie asked hopefully, “as in the guitar god, Jeff Beck?”

Jeff chuckled as he looked up at Y/N. “Is this the shit you’ve been feeding him?” Y/N nodded and laughed.

“There’s an ounce of truth in that statement, isn't there, Beck?”

“Yes, I’m Jeff Beck, but I’m just the lead guitarist for The Yardbirds. The guitar god title goes to Hendrix, or Scotty Moore,” Jeff explained. What a humble change of pace for Jeff, Y/N thought.

Jeff stood back up and walked with Y/N and her brother throughout the store, pushing their carts in sync and grabbing food as they went. He asked her about what she was up to musically, and she talked about how she was polishing up some Debussy and Rachmaninoff pieces, as well as fiddling around with some old Fats Domino and Everly Brothers records. Charlie and Jeff bonded over their love of cars, which made Y/N very happy.

~~~~~~~~

18th June 1966

The day of the May Ball came. Y/N was excited for the show, but she didn’t want a sour encounter with Paul to ruin her good time. Jeff had called her earlier in the week to give her instructions on what to do upon arrival, and how to access the backstage area safely.

The backstage area was a white tent with the sides covered. Inside, there were multiple long tables of different distinguished people, such as Mama Cass and Graham Nash. Alcohol and little finger foods littered the tables, served in such abundance that it seemed no one was going to see tomorrow.

Y/N walked over to where she saw her friends, and upon spotting the girl, they all waved and said their cheerful hellos. Y/N walked over to sit with them, and ended up taking a seat between Chris and Jeff, crossing her legs and folding her hands in a sophisticated manner, always the lady she was taught to be. She chose her seat at the table very carefully, sitting very far away from Paul Samwell-Smith.

As everyone chatted away, she noticed there was a tall, thin young man with short, dark wavy hair who sat down in a seat between Jeff and Keith, delicately holding a flute of champagne. He was looped back into the conversation immediately, as if he had known the band his whole life. When Y/N saw him, her heart stopped.

This new boy was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He looked like an English James Dean; with the kind of attractiveness that anyone, male or female, completely swooned over with a single glance. This stranger could get anything he wanted at the drop of a hat, with his gorgeous looks and his graceful countenance. He had a sullen, mysterious edge to him, but he also looked gentle and sweet at the same time. He had eyes as green as a forest full of lush deciduous trees, flawlessly framed by dark, bushy eyebrows and accented by long, thick eyelashes. His nose was adorable, petite as it was, and his lips were full and pouty. His smile and laugh made Y/N melt on the inside, his perfectly straight teeth illuminating his porcelain face.

For a moment, Y/N thought she was in love. She was pulled back from her daydream quickly, though, because Jeff realized that now was the perfect opportunity to introduce his two friends.

“Y/N, this is my friend Jimmy, who I was telling you about,” Jeff said, getting Y/N’s attention. Y/N grinned as she refocused on the situation.

Jimmy turned towards Jeff when he heard his name, and that’s when he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, sitting right next to Jeff. Lucky bastard.

His breath hitched in his throat upon sight of this girl. She was perfect; she looked like an actual angel. The way her hair, soft-looking and slightly wispy in the light summer wind, cascaded down her shoulders; her doe-eyes seemed to twinkle in the dimming light of day, pulling him in like the strongest of currents. Her  pillowy, supple lips encased a perfect smile, slightly crooked. It was, like the rest of her, completely endearing.

It was then, looking at this beautiful woman, (Y/N… Jeff had said her name, hadn't he?) that Jimmy remembers he was taken. His girlfriend, Jackie DeShannon, was waiting for him at home, but he only had eyes for the girl in front of him, and it would stay that way, it seemed.. He had to get to know her.

Jimmy snapped out of his hypnosis in the nick of time. He softly smiled at Y/N, a smile that made Y/N’s insides lurch, holding out his hand for her to shake as he turned on the charm. “Jimmy Page,” he initiated, his voice being softer and more calming than Y/N expected.

Y/N shyly smiled at him, a dark pink flush gracing her natural complexion, as she reached out to grasp his hand. “Y/N Y/L/N. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Jeff has told me about you.”

“All good things, I hope,” Jimmy chuckled.

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Y/N beamed, a feigned contemplative look on her face.

“How do you know Jeff?” Jimmy asked, turning his body towards her, now fully invested in getting to know Y/N.

“I met him...a year ago I wanna say? Is that right, Jeff? At a Yardbirds gig at the Marquee,” Y/N asked for clarification. The last thing she wanted to do is lie about Jeff to Jimmy, even if it was something as insignificant as this. In addition, she wanted to use Jeff as a temporary crutch in the conversation. Jimmy’s beauty was making her feel shyer than she already was; she felt as if she was curling into herself.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Jeff intervened, “but she didn’t just meet me, she met the whole band.”

Jeff immediately noticed that the band was leaving the table to get ready to go on stage. Jimmy and Y/N didn’t even notice the table’s departure because they were so wrapped up in each other’s presence and words. Jimmy even moved a seat over to get closer to Y/N, although he said it was an attempt to “hear her better since the room was so loud of drunken buffoons”. Y/N had giggled at that, and it had sounded like music to the man’s ears. Jimmy was completely taken with her, as easy as it was to see.

“Wait, so how do you know Jeff?” Y/N asked curiously.

“I've known him since I was… gosh… thirteen or fourteen? We bonded over the guitar and blues. Indian music, too,” Jimmy grinned, taking a sip of his warming champagne.

“You play the guitar too?” Y/N gasped. Jimmy nodded his head enthusiastically.

“Oh jeez, I should’ve known! No wonder you’re tight with the Yardbirds,” she giggled.

Jimmy’s eyes twinkled at her now-flustered demeanor. “You’re okay, Y/N,” he chuckled, placing a hand gently on her forearm. Y/N felt her entire body break out into chills.

“I’m a session musician, actually,” he began, his hand lingering on the girl’s arm, for what seemed like a millennium to Y/N. “I’d hate to simplistically explain what a session musician is to someone like you if you already know what it is.” It sounded like he was holding back a bout of embarrassed laughter. “You must be quite intelligent, especially in matters of music, if Jeff has stuck by you for all this time.”

Y/N smiled bashfully. He’s so sensitive, she thought dreamily. “Yes, I know what a session musician is,” she giggled, “I’ve been a piano player all my life, so I know a thing or two about what you blokes are talking about when it comes to music.”

Jimmy’s heart began to thump a little faster as his smile widened. “Wow! That’s brilliant. Are you classically trained then?”

“Yes, but I do know quite a bit of blues numbers.”

“Oh, so you really know what you’re talking about! I have to admit, although I am a session musician, I’m not particularly good at reading music. Maybe you could teach me a few things about sight reading and we can jam some time?”

Y/N blushed as her lips pursed together in a grin. “I would love that. We’d have so much fun!” The way that Y/N’s full lips twisted together in a smile looked so damn kissable to Jimmy.

“My girlfriend was actually supposed to teach me music theory, but we never got around to it, unfortunately,” Jimmy continued.

“Ah, okay. Well, if you give me a time, date, and place, we can definitely make it work,” Y/N beamed.

“Wonderful!” An awkward, pregnant pause filled the space, and Y/N cleared her throat, unconsciously sliding closer to Jimmy. There was almost a magnetic pull to him, and Y/N was caught up in it.

“So, what’s it like being a session musician? I’m sure you get asked that all the time,” Y/N laughed.

Jimmy smiled. “It’s quite grueling, brutal at times, but I find it fulfilling. One mistake, and you’re fired, so it’s a lot of pressure.”

“Oh wow! That must be horrible to deal with.”

“Yeah, sometimes the pressure can really settle into you, but for me it dissipates once I’m in the booth. There’s three sessions a day, five days a week, so I don’t have much time for leisure. It’s been getting really dry lately since all I’m playing is rhythm guitar. I love experimentation and stretching out on lead guitar, so constant rhythm is getting quite annoying.”

“I understand where you’re coming from then, from a creative standpoint. How long have you been a session player?”

“Four years, roughly.”

“You must be quite dedicated then!” Y/N exclaimed, “who have you played with?”

“Oh gosh,” Jimmy exhaled deeply, calloused fingers raising to land on his chin. Slight stubble shadows it, and the sharp scent of aftershave wafted towards the girl. Lost in the scent, Y/N nearly missed his reply. “The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Donovan, The Who, Petula Clark, Jackie DeShannon, Carter Lewis and the Southerners, Neil Christian and the Crusaders, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull… just to name a few.”

“Wow! What a resumé!” she gushed, “That’s incredible. You should be so proud, Jimmy.”

“Thank you very much, love, I appreciate it.”

Suddenly, an announcer’s booming voice cut through Jimmy and Y/N’s conversation as he introduced the Yardbirds to the stage. As the five men walked on, Jimmy stood up from his chair.

“Come with me to the wings so we can see and hear them better,” he smiled, holding out his arm for Y/N to take. Y/N agreed, standing up and linking her arm with Jimmy’s as they walked in sync to the side of the stage.

The first few numbers were played perfectly, and it was clear that the audience (and even the road crew) were enchanted by the spectacle. Y/N knew from past shows that the next song would be “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” and she knew that they always knocked that one out of the park. It was always stimulating and explosive.

Jeff and Chris began the opening riff, the low E, G, and A notes thundering out of the monitors melodically. Just as Keith sang “got a train” on his cue, he fell straight backward and hit his head off Jim’s bass drum. Jimmy and Y/N’s jaws dropped in shock as a loud gasp echoed through the air from the audience. The music abruptly stopped as the rest of the band crowded around Keith’s fallen figure to see if he was alright. Murmurings of “fucking hells” were all that were spoken from the road crew as they tried to redeem the concert.

“He was drunk,” Jimmy whispered to Y/N giddily, “he was completely out to lunch and wobbling as he walked onstage.”

“I didn’t even notice,” Y/N replied quietly with a grin, “that definitely explains all the empty bottles and glasses on the table.”

Momentarily, Keith got back up and motioned for the band to restart “Train Kept A-Rollin’” and they finished the song without another mishap. The rest of the set was completed smoothly, and everything sounded sonically incredible. Jimmy and Y/N stood close together the entire time, Jimmy sneaking glances at Y/N from time to time. He lost his breath with the way her eyes were almost aglow in the fading light, and her soft-looking lips parted in childlike wonder as she watched the live music.

The Yardbirds came off the stage, begrudgingly making their way into the backstage tent, where Jimmy and Y/N had situated themselves. No one looked happy, especially Paul. Jeff had his usual stoic look, but he was rushing around for any alcoholic beverage he could find to ease his nerves after what could have been the worst possible scenario.

Everyone took a seat at the table where they were before the show. Jimmy and Y/N sat next to each other as they took in the distressed expressions of the five other men. Jeff was slumped in his chair, next to Jimmy, taking swigs of a beer he’d found. Jim and Chris just stared at the ground, drink in hand. Paul just looked royally pissed off, to the point that it almost scared Y/N. Keith, however, was still totally out of it in his drunken stupor.

“Hey, Jim,” Jeff said quietly to Jimmy, “look, you know, I’m really sorry about the gig. I’m sure you aren’t interested in joining the band now…”

“Oh no,” Jimmy chuckled, “that was amazing! Absolutely brilliant! I loved it.”

Y/N’s interest piqued as she heard their whispers of new information. “Wait! Jimmy’s joining the band? I thought there were only supposed to be five live Yardbirds,” she whispered.

Jeff leaned over Jimmy to whisper back to Y/N. “Oh yeah! I can’t believe I didn’t tell you this already. Paul is probably going to leave the group...and I think it might be sooner than we thought, especially after the whole Keith fiasco...Jimmy is going to take his place on bass, and hopefully he’ll take on dual lead guitar at some point. Then Chris will do bass,” Jeff’s eyes diverted to Paul, who was sitting with his arms crossed and face angry, staring off into space. Jimmy and Y/N followed Jeff’s line of sight mischievously.

“Oooh! Great plan,” Y/N smiled.

A little smirk creeped across Jeff’s face as he quietly counted down, “3...2...1…”

At the very prompt “1,” Paul abruptly stood up from his chair very loudly, capturing everyone’s attention.

“You know what? I’m done,” Paul exclaimed, stepping away from the chair as he pushed it in under the table.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Jim began, standing up from his own chair, “what do you mean ‘you’re done’? What the hell does that mean?”

Paul sneered at Jim. “What do you think I mean? I mean I’m done with this bullshit. I’ve had enough of the horrid travelling, not being noticed, and this drunk-off-his-ass bastard,” he exclaimed angrily, pointing at Keith.

“You need to relax, Sam,” Chris said gently, “look at everything we’ve accomplished over the last three years. You want to give that up? You’re losing your shit over one bad performance.”

“It’s been on my mind for a long time now, Chris. I fucking hate it,” Paul continued, anxiously running his hands through his hair, “and you know what? Y/N hanging around all the time has made it worse. She’s just here to be our fucking groupie. She’s only eating off our clout to be friends with famous people.” The entire table went silent, looking around nervously.

Y/N’s eyes widened at Paul’s awful accusation. “Are you serious?” she shot back coldly, “I knew you were an asshole, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Oh what, you think I don’t recognize that that’s your motive?” Paul said condescendingly.

“If you think that being absolutely obsessed with you all is my sole hobby, my motive, whatever that means... you are sadly mistaken,” Y/N responded, her eyes closing to slits and her lips pressed together in disgust.

“You’re probably sleeping with Jim or Chris now for all I know!” he shouted, arms flailing in the air.

Y/N was fuming now, standing up from her own chair facing Paul. “How dare you make me seem like I’m a whore for the Yardbirds! Even if I was sleeping with Jim or Chris, that would be none of your business because you pursued me when you were fucking married, you dipshit.”

Paul’s maddening countenance grew. “You’re just an insecure little girl who needs famous musicians around her to validate her and make feel better about herself. You’re a fucking nuisance, like a gnat that just won’t fly away even when you swat at it again and again.”

Y/N gasped, the sound drowned out by the screech of metal against tile, as Jimmy stood up from his chair. He was distraught, upset at the antics between the two bitter exes, and stepped in front of Y/N to protect her from the horrible verbal blows served by Paul Samwell-Smith. Jeff beat him by a second, as he started to berate Sam for his little episode.

“You listen up, you wanker,” Jeff started, wagging his index finger in front of Sam’s face, “you’re just being a butthurt little bitch because Y/N found out that you were married. If anyone’s the whore here, it’s you. Y/N is our friend, even Jimmy’s now, and she takes care of us and makes us happy. She’s not just some whimsy, disposable groupie like the way you used her; she’s an intelligent, sweet, pretty girl who has our best interest at heart. And we have hers. You have to be a fucking idiot not to see that.”

Paul was taken aback. “I write, produce, and play bass for this group. All you do is play lead guitar. Trust me, Beck, I’m not the idiot here.”

“Well, your goddamn head isn’t screwed on straight, then,” Jimmy added, “I’ll be taking your place, thank you very much. And you will never mistreat Y/N on my watch. Ever. I’ve known her for about an hour, and she’s already absolutely magnificent.”

Y/N’s throat felt clenched, but some of the tension was relieved when she realized how protective Jimmy was being over her. As mad as she was, butterflies filled her stomach at his warm ways.

“I’m out of here! You all suck anyway. Have a nice trip to hell, all of you,” Paul said as he walked away to the road crew to get his belongings, flipping the people at the table off.

Y/N sat back down in her chair once Paul was out of sight, slouching and holding her cheeks with her hands as she blankly stared at the edge of the table. Jimmy and the four Yardbirds dragged their chairs closer to a saddened Y/N, who was determined to fight off the tears that threatened to roll down her fury-flush cheeks.

Jeff frowned at the state of his friend, starting to softly rub her cardigan-clothed back to console her. “I’m so sorry about Sam, Y/N. His behaviour was absolutely horrendous, and I can assure you, none of the things he said about you were even close to being true.”

Keith, still a bit drunk, stood up and walked over to Y/N, planting a peck on her cheek. “We’re so glad you’re here, dear. Truly. That belligerent little asshole can suck a fat one.”

A close-lipped smile found its way on Y/N’s lips. “Thanks Keith,” she chuckled.

“I’m going to go get you a cup of water, alright love?” Chris said as he stood up to walk over towards the bar.

“Thank you so much Chris,” she called after him. Chris flashed her a kind smile as he walked away.

I guess Mum and Dad were wrong...they really do care about me, Y/N thought happily, they really, truly do.

~~~~~~~~

After the May Ball was over, and the sky was growing darker with the coming evening, Jimmy and Y/N walked around the grounds of the venue together, talking about anything and everything and sharing laughs.

The lighthearted mood took a drastic shift at one of Jimmy’s followup questions.

“So, Y/N, if you don’t mind me asking, what was the whole row between you and Sam about?”

Y/N flashed a sad smile, but it quickly faded as she took a deep exhale. “Well—”

Panicked, Jimmy took this as a cue that she didn’t want to talk about it. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I get it because of how heated it was. I’m just worried about you, is all,” he interrupted.

“No, it’s okay. Really. I trust you,” she replied with a pursed lip-smile. Jimmy returned the sentiment, internally relieved that Y/N had already seemed to take a liking to him.

“Alright, so about a year or so ago, I went to a Yardbirds gig at the Crawdaddy Club, a few months after I met the band for the first time. Paul asked me out after that show, and nobody told me he was married, so naturally, I accepted.”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, love. What a shitty thing to do, especially to someone as wonderful as you,” Jimmy replied with a little flush, giving the girl a little rub on the small of her back.

Heat rippled throughout Y/N’s body at his touch. Regaining her composure, she sighed. “Thank you Jimmy. That means a lot. More than you know, actually.”

After a short silence, Y/N continued. “We went out for about eight months...and in retrospect, it now makes sense why I could never go over to his place. But anyway, I found out about it before the band played on Ready, Steady, Go in February. Keith, Jeff, Jim, and I were all talking at the front of the stage before rehearsals and it slipped.”

“Who ended up telling you?”

“Jim, but it was purely an accident.” Suddenly, all of the events that had happened between her and Jim guiltily flooded her mind. Now with Jimmy beginning to infiltrate her mind and cloud her vision, how was she supposed to genuinely enjoy the secrecy? Ah shit, she thought, here we go again.

“After the show, I confronted him about it,” Y/N continued, “and he was blaming me for our time together, a-and for ‘tempting’ him into asking me out just by being… me?”

“He seems like a right wanker, I can tell you that for sure,” Jimmy muttered, sliding his hand from its resting place on her back, to her shoulder, squeezing it lightly in solidarity. Y/N met his eyes then, tears filling her gaze, and Jimmy frowns. No one as lovely as her should be feeling this way. He smiles at her, and to Y/N, it is filled with comfort and appreciation. Some emotion… something akin to love, perhaps, lit a fire in her chest, and she looks away. The evening ambience does nothing to hide the traitorous blush that painted her cheeks.

“It’s getting quite dark out, love. How did you get here?” Jimmy asked, stealing another glance at a girl as she looked down at her ballet flats once more.

“I took the train, actually,” Y/N replied.

“Oh, so did I! Here, I’ll walk with you over to the station then.”

Y/N grinned at him. “That’s so kind of you, Jimmy. Thank you.”

“No problem, love. What’s your stop?” Jimmy asked as they began to make their way over to the station.

“St. Alban’s. How about you?”

“Epsom. I still live with my parents, I’m afraid,” he chuckled sheepishly.

“Oh, it’s okay!” she laughed with him, “so do I. It’s nice though, to still live with your parents… home-cooked meals and laundry and all. Plus sleeping in your own bed, and using your own bathroom, of course.”

“Those are very good points,” Jimmy agreed with a chuckle.

The two boarded the train once they got to the station, only waiting on the platform for a few minutes. They continued to talk all the way to St. Albans, where Y/N got off to walk home.

“Say you’ll see me again sometime soon, Y/N,” Jimmy half-asked, half-declared as she stood up to get off the train.

Y/N grinned at him. “I definitely will, Jimmy. It was so nice meeting you tonight...I loved getting to know you.”

“The feeling is mutual, love. Please stay safe and take care of yourself, okay?” he reached out his hand to grab Y/N’s, shaking it a little and smiling at her. Y/N nearly swooned at the gesture.

“I’ll try my best. You do the same as well. Have a good night!”

“Thank you, you too!” Jimmy waved as Y/N walked out the train’s doors. Her scent, a delicious mixture of vanilla with a hint of laundry detergent, lingered in the air as she passed by, weakening him both physically and his rational judgment.

He had a lot of thinking to do on the ride home.

————

Taglist: @blood-on-blood @reincarnated70sbaby

[riot-hyatt]

[psychedeliagroove]

Fan Fic!

this is where ill put all my fan fics... Enjoy!

Guitar Lessons With Jimmy Page:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[thesillygoose3000]

Going to California oneshot

Just thought I’d share this fanfic I wrote of Robert/Jimmy. I previously posted it on rockfic.com. It takes place when Jimmy and Robert were in the Yardbirds. WARNING: 18+.

Enjoy this trash, y’all.

Robert put the bowl to his lips and breathed in. He held it for a moment, then breathed it out the open windowsill into the warm night air. That was the last of his ganja. He sighed, and opened the cabinet where he kept his liquor. Nothing. Not even a drop of wine left. Robert had forgotten that he had already drank everything in sight last night. Here it was, the night before he was supposed to leave, and he couldn’t even have a good time.

           California was a long way away from England. Robert walked over to the kitchen table where he last placed his wallet, and noticed his plane ticket sticking out of it, ready and waiting to go. He pulled it out of his wallet, and looked over it. His flight left bright and early tomorrow at a modest 7:30 in the morning. Robert slid it back into the billfold, and sat down on the flowered couch. His mind hummed with a steady stream of thoughts.

           He still hadn’t told his band mates that he was leaving yet. The blond decided that it would be best that way. He knew they would try to talk him out of it, and he didn’t want that. He had made up his mind, and that’s that. California would be good for him, Robert thought. Half way across the world, in the hazy fever dream known as America. A fresh place where nobody knows his name, his problems, his dreams, his fears…

           There was a knock on the door of his apartment. Who the bloody hell could it be at this hour? Robert peered through the peephole and saw a young man standing there with shoulder-length tresses of black waves, with one bagged eye covered.

           “What is it now, Jimmy?” Robert said with a sigh, opening the door. “Telly go out on you again?”

           “Yeah.” Jimmy pushed his way past Robert and turned the knob on the television. The dark haired man flipped through the channels until Dark Shadows appeared on screen in gritty black and white.

           Robert snorted. “You actually like this show?”

           Jimmy shrugged. “I’ve taken the piss for a lot worse.”

           “Right…”

           “Got anything to eat in here?”

           Robert rolled his eyes. “I’m not a chef. Jesus.”

           “But do you?”

           Robert sighed. “I’m sure there’s something in there.”

           Jimmy went to the kitchen and began rifling through it. Robert shook his head and sat down on the couch again. Jimmy returned with a bag of prawn crisps.

           “Want some?” He gestured the bag to Robert, who shook his head. “What’s the matter with you? You’re acting different.”

           “I’m leaving tomorrow,” Robert blurted out.

           Jimmy stopped shoveling crisps into his mouth. “What do you mean?”

           “Just what I said. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

           “You’re leaving the Yardbirds?”

           “Sort of.” Robert avoided eye contact with his friend.

           Jimmy’s green eyes widened. “Why the hell would you do that? We’re just getting started for God’s sakes.”

           Robert exhaled heavily through his nose. This is exactly why he didn’t want to tell his bandmates that he was leaving; they wouldn’t understand. “Jim, listen to me. I just think that I need a change of pace. I need to make something of myself. So I’m going to California to start anew.”

           “I don’t buy that load of shit for one minute,” Jimmy said. Robert did a double take, and blinked his eyes a couple of times.

           “Don’t believe me? Take a look at this.” Robert got up and retrieved the plane ticket, waving it in front of his friend’s face.

           “Gimme that.” Jimmy snatched the ticket out of Robert’s hand. His uncovered eye quickly scanned the piece of paper. He bit his lip, and handed it back to the blond.

           “I see.”

           “Yup.” Robert flopped down onto the couch again, resting his crossed legs on Jimmy’s lap. “Tomorrow, I’ll be gone.”

           Jimmy’s face softened. “Are you excited?”

           Robert put a tasseled pillow behind his head. “Not really.”

Jimmy turned his head to face Robert, one heavy set green eye looking at two alert ice blue ones. “What’s the real reason you’re going to California?”

“Pardon?”

“What’s the real reason you’re leaving?”

“That, I can’t tell you.”

Jimmy looked hurt. “I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”

Robert shifted his head towards the telly. “Some things are better left unsaid.”

“Well,” Jimmy started to say, “I’m going to miss you.”

“As will I miss you.” Robert thought for a moment as the two of them sat in silence, the only sounds being the softly spoken dialogue of the soap opera. He nudged Jimmy in the ribs with his knee.

“What?”

Robert sat up, and faced Jimmy again. The guitarist’s one visible eyebrow was furrowed with concern, and his plush lips were slightly parted. Robert brushed a lock of curly gold out of his face. “Tell you what. If you can give me one good reason to stay, I will stay.”

“Cross your heart?”

Robert chuckled at the grade school promise. “Cross my heart.”

Jimmy gently put his hand behind Robert’s mass of golden curls, and smushed his lips against his friend’s. Robert felt a tinge of pleasure go through his body; he didn’t want it to stop. Jimmy took the lead once again and gently pulled Robert’s bottom lip with his two front teeth.

Was it getting hotter than the Devil in church in here, or was it just him? A smattering of red spread across Robert’s face as Jimmy slid his tongue into his mouth. It felt so different than the kiss of a woman; no, this was more powerful, more demanding, more assertive. Robert found himself welcoming Jimmy’s tongue inside, embracing its warm, silky, slick feeling against his own. The singer’s hands wanted to wrap themselves around Jimmy’s long and lanky form, but they hesitated until the two men realized they were falling off the couch and onto the shag carpeted floor.

They both landed with a soft thud, and they clunked heads together, Jimmy on top of Robert. Jimmy sat up, his thighs on either side of Robert’s small hips. Robert’s breathing quickened, taking in the sight of his friend. He towered over the singer, his t-shirt starting to cling to his skinny body from both of their sweat from the unprecedented encounter. Jimmy’s chest heaved up and down, breathing heavily. He looked off to the side, and flipped his hair out of his face.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll stop now,” he said.

Robert sat up and grabbed Jimmy by the collar of his soaked white t-shirt. “I didn’t say stop.” He peeled off Jimmy’s shirt and pushed him to the floor. They started to roll around on the floor, making out like teens that have just discovered that the opposite (or even same) sex isn’t gross.

“C’mon, Jim,” Robert said, pulling away from Jimmy’s lip, a string of saliva going with it like cheese on a pizza.

“C’mon, what?”

“Aren’t you going to fuck me?”

Jimmy’s eyes went wide. “Fuck you? Are you sure?”

“If that is what you wish,” Robert said, sweat dripping down his face, and rolling down his chin.

“Well, then, Roberto, of course I will.”

Roberto. Oh, God, yes. Jimmy snaked Robert’s trousers off of his legs, and pulled off his boxers right after. What was left was a naked Robert, his porcelain skin and elegant locks of gold shining in the low light.

“Roberto the cherub,” Jimmy said with a teasing smile.

“Bloody hell, Jim,” Robert replied, his eyes looking to the ceiling for guidance.

“Bend over.” Jimmy grabbed Robert by the curls and shoved him down to all fours. Jimmy shed himself of his own clothes, exposing a quite large member hidden beneath those bellbottoms.

“Shit,” Robert muttered.

“Oh, shut up. I’ve seen girls take it better than you.”

“Try me.”

“Alright then.” Jimmy spit on his hands and rubbed them together, then rubbed them on his dick. He grabbed Robert’s hips, and shoved himself inside. Robert groaned, the pain of being stretched out mixed with the pleasure of being filled. He ground his teeth together, and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Ohhhh,” was all he could say. Jimmy smiled. He grabbed onto the blond’s hips and pushed in and out slowly, almost rhythmic. Robert’s fingers curled into the shag carpet, hanging on for the ride of his life. So this is how it feels, Robert thought. No wonder the ladies were lining up.

“Harder,” the blond said.

“Alright.” Jimmy pumped harder and faster. Robert’s glass pendant that he wore around his neck thumped on his chest with each thrust, like a heartbeat. Jimmy’s hands dug into Robert’s soft flesh, then his nails.

“Augh, what’re you doing, mate?” Robert said.

“I can’t ride you if I can’t hold on somehow,” Jimmy whispered in Robert’s ear. His soft voice almost tickled, sending pins and needles down the singer’s spine.

“Fine.” Robert shoved his ass against Jimmy’s member.

“Roberto,” Jimmy cried out as he came. Robert felt Jimmy’s cock contract and relax inside of him. He felt a trickle of something warm run out and down the inside of his thigh. It was too much.

“Jim,” Robert shoved his forehead into the carpet and ground his teeth together. Jimmy’s hand grabbed the blond’s dick, and smoothly glided his hand up and down until it quickly released a steady stream of white all over the gray carpet. After that, the two of them collapsed on the floor.

“Gross,” Robert said. “I just lay down in it.” Jimmy laughed. He gently turned Robert over onto his back, and pushed some curls out of his face. Robert lay there, semen all over his stomach, and glass pendant resting in the hollow of his collar bone. His blue eyes were not looking at Jimmy; they were looking past him. Wondering, and thinking.

Jimmy looked worried. “What is it?”

Robert smiled. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” He got up, and went to the bathroom to wash himself. “Be out in a minute,” he said.

Cold water ran down his slight back. Cum was still slowly trickling down his legs. What a strange feeling. He washed his hair, a lather of soap fluff on top of his head. He thought about what he just did with his best friend. God. He turned the knob all the way to the right. Ice cold water rinsed out his hair, sending the shampoo and conditioner down the drain. He dried himself off with a fluffy white towel, and went back out to join Jimmy.

“Where’d you go?” Robert yelled.

“In here,” Jimmy called back from the bedroom.

“Really, Jim?” Robert crossed his arms over his chest at the sight of a naked Jimmy in his bed.

“Yeah. I’m tired as hell.” Jimmy pulled down the country quilt. “Plus, you have to leave tomorrow. You need some sleep.”

Robert climbed into the four-poster bed, and pulled the warm covers over his naked body. “Yeah, tomorrow.”

The summer night breeze blew the curtains around, and tousled Robert’s wet hair. Jimmy put his arm around Robert’s waist, and pulled him close.

“Your hair smells like flowers,” Jimmy mumbled. He nuzzled Robert’s cheek with his nose.

“Jimmy.”

“What?”

Robert turned to face his best friend. “I think I found a reason to stay.”

The End.

[jimmys-tangerine]

It's been a very long time since you wrote fanfiction about Jimmy Page. And I know you've abandoned your stories but I was wondering if you enjoyed writing them? Did you learn anything while doing them? Do you remember reading any stories at the time that you enjoyed? I guess I'm asking for a retrospective, if you want to of course. I really appreciated your Caroline story.

Good to see someone still reads/remembers. For an update: I write historical fiction now and try to stay away from fanfiction, but it was an amazing gateway and I don’t know where I would be without it. To answer your question, I absolutely adore writing; it is what makes me happiest in the world. If I truly know anything about myself, it is that I was meant to write. Whether that’s good writing, bad writing, etc., it doesn’t matter. It makes me happier than anything, and when I have an idea there’s always something to look forward to. And yes, I learn so much for writing--about myself but, more importantly, about the world. I pick up so many random facts from my research for it. ‘Reading any stories at the time’ is actually quite funny. I checked back in on this Tumblr to return to a Jimmy fanfic I read a long, long, LONG time ago, but I can’t find it for the life of me. I do remember that it had a long name (like 5+ words), was itself a very long story, and it jumped between years (ex. one chapter could be set in 1968, the next in 1995). It ranged from the Yardbirds days and ended well into the 90s (I believe?). It was INCREDIBLE. It could be one of those things where I return to it and realise I’ve idealised it and it’s not so good, but my memory of it is that it was just about the best fanfic I had ever read. If ANYONE knows what I’m talking about, please tell me. I’ll post something if I do end up finding it...

In regards to my writing, whilst I do try to avoid fanfiction I just so happen to have a relatively active Fanfiction.net account with lots of different stories. If you’re interested just let me know. My biggest project of all time is my Harry Potter fic (-:

Whelp, that’s it. Bye for now.

[untilthenextencore]

Daddy's Coming~...

Note: This is an old fic bit of mine. I might fine tune it & possibly add to it. We'll see. Hope you guys like it! Enjoy!

~

Ava sat at her vanity, running her brush through her hair. The sun had long since gone down, and the cool night air was beginning to set in. A tapping sounded at her window at slow inconsistent intervals, causing her to turn around. Nothing there. All she saw was a branch reaching out from a nearby tree swaying in the wind. Shrugging, she made a mental note to tell her father to tell the gardener to trim the trees next time. That mental note grew further fixed in her head when she heard the rustling of leaves & creaking outside. The wind was really beginning to pick up. It was a matter of safety to get that tree fixed. The creaking, rustling, and of course the tapping that was now growing incessant, annoying her enough to turn back to the window, again to be greeted by nothing but that branch.

Only the tapping was still sounding but the branch was too far from the window & wasn't making contact with the glass pane at all.

This puzzled Ava until she heard the tap again, now being able to source it as coming not from behind her at the window, but to her left at the balcony. Whirling around she saw a shadow through the thin curtains shielding the doors. "Go away!" She screamed. "Go away or I'm calling the cops!"

"Ava darling it's me... Let me in!" A voice with a familiar gentle lilt rang out. She was used to hearing it in a more soft spoken manner only this time it had a more understandably panicked edge. "Jimmy?!" Ava dropped her hairbrush and scurried over to unlock the doors and let him in.Unlatching the little chain and turning the lock she pulled at the door slowly, peeking one eye out of a tiny gap, ready to close the door back up if she were just hearing things. "Yes, darling. Don't worry. It's really me." He grinned at the one lone, dark, doe eye he saw through the tiny opening. Immediately it went from doe eye wide to a leery squint as he heard a faint disgusted scoff before the doors flew wide. He threw his head back in ribald laughter at this. Turning his gaze back to her he grinned proudly, intending to tease her with some sort of smart remark as was his usual until he got a good look at what stood before him.

There stood nearly five and a half feet of perfection, dark hair, flashing dark eyes, full, pouty lips, lightly sun kissed skin, semi clad in a pale floral print minidress that she apparently had been in the middle of removing as the strap had slipped off of her left shoulder, giving the impression of the dress only being a veil that had always been intended for removal. Jimmy already well knew that her figure was one meant for unveiling. The glimpses and peeks that the slipping slip of a dress and the shadows of the curves underneath being left by the setting sun and what little light she had on in the room bore this out perfectly.

And so it was that when a still alarmed & slightly unnerved Ava hushed. "Jimmy! Jimmy! Are you crazy? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the pool house with Jeff! What if daddy comes home? What if he comes home to find you here? Here in my room! You'll be in big trouble! We both will! My God! I don't even want to think about what might happen if he --"

He answered her simply, silencing her with a sudden kiss, slanting his lips against hers as he stepped in, closing & locking the doors to the balcony behind him.

"Mmmm... Jimmy... Wait..." She mumbled in between more impassioned kisses.

"No... I can't wait... I needed to see you... I need you... Ava..." He pulled his navy military-esque coat off, tossing it onto the chair by the vanity. Ava acquiesced, her arms coming to wind around his shoulders just as he playfully pushed her back onto the bed, bringing him along for the ride. He gasped and caught himself, bracing his hands on the mattress on either side of her, thereby pinning her underneath him. He felt her giggle against his lips & chuckled in return. "Ava..." Jimmy sighed, pulling back for air. Tossing his head back & brushing a lock of hair back from his eyes, he gazed up at the walls of her room, still adorned with the usual teenage wallpaperings of posters.

One poster Jimmy had Grant secure for her of himself that he had signed hung in a special place of honor above her bed. But there were others. Others decorating the other walls & door to her bedroom. Elvis. George Harrison. Julie Newmar as Catwoman. And Eartha Kitt. There were also quite a few Stones posters, including ones of Mick & and Keith, signed for her from the lads. She had mentioned them being given & gifted to her by the lads after they performed on her father's show. He knew. He understood. They'd spoken about this before. Spoken and... Done other things...

Still he couldn't help but scowl a bit, brow furrowing & the corners of his mouth turning down & pouting slightly as he remarked. "Remind me to get you more Yardbirds posters, love."

Ava just giggled, tousling his already windswept hair. "Whatever you say, Jimmy..." The corners of his pout curved upwards, turning his frown into a slight grin at the sound of her laughter. With that he let his eyes drop to where she laid on the bed. Her dress was still only barely clinging onto her, her dark hair fanned out on the pillow, long legs rubbing together anxiously, teasingly, temptingly, causing Jimmy to come onto his knees and slide his hands up her skirt & pull her panties down in one smooth move. Now she lay before him, her skirt flipped up & revealing her slick little center, the two middle fingers on his right hand swirling on her clit earning a soft moan as more slickness greeted his fingertips, her hips lifting to greet & meet his touch. "Mmmm... Jimmy..."

His fingers then slid down to press against & through her lips, pushing inside, earning more moans & lifts of her hips. His free hand meanwhile continued to push her dress up until it rested bunched up under her collarbone, exposing more of those beautiful curves to his eyes. His grin grew enormous. Wolfish. A mixture of hunger and pride.

Then he took her hand in his & led it to cup the prominent bulge between his legs. "I've unwrapped my present, love. Unwrap yours."

Ava didn't need to be told twice. She hurriedly unzipped, unsnapped & and pulled his trousers down "unwrapping" his sizeable length which sprang out to greet her palm with its full weight, greeting both the warm contact of her ensuing strokes coupling with the cool air let in by Jimmy's entrance with a soft trickle of salty tears. "It's crying..." She mused with a soft smile. Jimmy just chuckled softly and nodded. "It missed you..."

Ava's smile caught a slight edge to it, mimicking the one that often colored Jimmy's features. Only hers was more minxish than wolfish. "I missed it too..." She then brought Jimmy's length to her lips & greeted it with a kiss before letting her tongue circle the tip, licking up the trails of tears, even as the contact only caused more to flow. Her eyes flew up to Jimmy's face just in time to catch a glimpse of him jolting in surprise, wincing, gritting his teeth & hissing. "Fuck... Fuck... Ava... Mmmm... Take more, love. Take more..." Ava just kept her attentions on the head, now flicking her tongue back and forth on the head as if it were an ice cream, eyes never leaving his face.

Jimmy just grinned. She was teasing him. Well two could play at that game.

"Here, love... Let me help you..." He brought his left hand to cup the back of her head and push more of his length into her mouth, causing him to once again hiss in pleasure as she hummed around him in surprise. "Mmmm!"

This hum was also caused by the fact that at the same time he did that, his fingers began thrusting harder & deeper into her.

He curved his fingers, hitting her spot just so, at the same time he guided her to take him into her mouth and suck him just so. Her lips tightened around his length just as her walls did his fingers. This caused Jimmy to growl & thrust both his fingers and length faster & harder into her. Ava moaned at this, tracing her tongue along his shaft, her right hand cupping over his left that he had tangled in her dark brown hair, her left pulling his trousers down further before gripping the sheets as he hit her spot again. Her hips bucked up in response. In return Jimmy pushed his hips forward, having Ava deepthroat him with a groan.

When Jimmy felt Ava's left hand rise back up to splay on his lower stomach he pulled back, wondering if it was too much. Instead he was met by her purring around his throbbing length. "Mmmm... Jimmy... More... More... Please, more... Please..."

Jimmy responded instantly, pulling back & letting his length fall from her lips - after a few more deepthroats not being able to help himself- and pulling his fingers from her slit after a few more thrusts for similar reasons. Sucking his fingers clean he chuckled & met her gaze with a grin & a gleam in his eye. She grinned back, giggling as she tried to ignore the blush fanning across her cheeks. He then undressed the rest of the way, pulling her dress up over her head before lying her back on the bed & nestling between her legs. "Ready, dear?"

Ava nodded. "Mmm-hmm... But be careful, baby. Don't hurt me. I'm still new to all this." She grinned teasingly up at him getting a smug grin back in return.

"Hurt you, love? Never!" He then ground into her with a moan, earning a pleasured sigh from Ava as she wound her arms around his shoulders. Her legs also parted wider for him welcoming him as he reared back & pressed into her, thrusting slowly, deeply inside. "Mmmm... Ava... Baby..." He moaned as her walls enveloped him. "Mmmm... Still so fucking tight!... Fuck!..."

Ava purred in reply, her legs coming to embrace his rocking hips. "Jimmy... Jimmy... God... You're going so deep... So deep... You're so big... Ahhhh..." Jimmy grinned & pressed his hips against hers, grinding into her & earning a gasp. "Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy, please! Stop teasing me."

Jimmy's grin widened & he just chuckled before cupping her face in his hands & cooing. "My baby... Precious Ava... Precious girl..." He then pressed his lips to hers, beginning to pump his hips into hers, setting a chugging rhythm. Her cries & mewls muffled into his mouth as did his grunts & growls. Her legs wound tighter around her hips at the same time his hands fell to cup her full breasts in hand, massaging them.

In return, Ava arched into his touch, leading to her hips tilting as they met his, leading his thrusts to hit her spot at a new angle. This caused her to pull back from the kiss to take a shuddering breath, then let her moans ring perfectly into his ear, calling his name. "Jimmy...."

His thumbs circled her nipples, flicking & teasing the rosy little targets as they hardened. Jimmy cast a heavy lidded glance down at how her curves filled his hands so perfectly, then lower to how she took him in so perfectly, as he filled her. He then let his eyes drift back up to her now flushed face, eyes equally as heavy lidded as they met his, lips slightly parted, soft cries pouring from the full, plush, cupid's bow pout. Jimmy cast a hazy eyed grin down at her, musing. "Beautiful... So beautiful... Fuck... How did I ever get so lucky..." He leant in & met her lips in another soft kiss, which she met by moaning into his mouth, the moan ringing out clearly as he pulled back.

Jimmy just chuckled, tossing his head back, again trying to brush a lock of hair back. And again his eyes locked on Stones & George Harrison pictures with plenty of X's by his their signatures. He grunted, growled & then let his head fall back down, his gaze meeting hers with a new fire blazing in the depths of his emerald eyes. "Fuck... Ava... Mine... Mine... You're mine!..." He growled again, pumping his hips harder and faster into hers.

"Ahhhh... Jim... Jim... Jimmy..." Ava cried out, her toes curling as he pounded into her, making the springs in the bed squeak.

Jimmy just repeated his earlier rantings in the same low, husky voice. "Mine... Mine... My Ava... Mine... All mine..."

Ava arched into his touch once more, her eyes following the direction his had come from. She could barely focus but still managed to catch sight of the posters on the wall to her right. Could that be why Jimmy had gotten so possessive so suddenly? It was possible.

Turning back to regard Jimmy with an equally hazy gaze, Ava found him still muttering the same possessive mantra to himself as he claimed her. He even seemed to be glaring at a 16 magazine cutout of Keith off to the right of the wall before him, near the other posters.

It was like he had to prove to "Poster Keith" that "Poster Jimmy" had out ranked him, hence "Poster Jimmy" having the spot of honor above her bed. Perhaps that's why he smiled whenever he saw his poster above her bed. It reminded him of the same.

It was also like he had to prove to "Poster Keith" - as if it would thereby prove it to "Real Keith" that just like "Poster Jimmy" outranked him, so did "Real Jimmy" and that Ava herself belonged to Jimmy, and Jimmy alone.

She rather liked that idea herself. So she told him, mimicking him, repeating his words. "Yes, Jimmy... I'm yours... Yours... All yours... Only yours... No one else's... I'm yours... Yours... Your Ava... Just like you're mine... Mine... Mine... Only mine... My Jimmy... No one else's..."

Jimmy shuddered & moaned at the sound of her pledging herself to him, responding by thrusting harder still, his hips now clapping soundly against hers. This earned a shaky moan from her as well. Ava's eyes fluttered closed, toes beginning to curl once more. But just as she was about to begin to ascend to a pleasured high she heard a noise. Again. This time it wasn't a tapping at her window, or rustling leaves. This time it was a creak. And it wasn't the bed, though the bed was doing some creaking of its own thanks to Jimmy's incessantly pounding hips.

No. This time the sound - the creak - sounded like it was coming from outside. From outside the room. From out in the hallway. No. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. Could it? Her dad wasn't due home for ages yet. Though there was always a first time for everything. There was always an outside chance he could've come home early. But why now?

Regardless of the reason why, Ava still had to warn Jimmy.

"Jimmy... Jimmy... Jimmy..." She repeated his name forcing herself to focus, or at least try to. "Jimmy... Jimmy, I think my Daddy's home..."

"Mmmm... Mmm-hmm..." He hummed with his eyes closed, a happy, dazed smile on his face.

"Jimmy..." Ava panted, still struggling to focus on the task at hand. "Jimmy, are you listening to me? I said I think I hear Daddy. Daddy. Jimmy... Jimmy... Jimmy, Daddy's... Daddy's... Mmmm... Daddy's coming."

Jimmy nodded, still getting a pang of slight nerves, but not hearing footsteps approaching calmed him somewhat enough for him to reply. "He's not the only one."

That startled Ava. It startled her enough to throw off her focus, leading her to once again lose herself in pleasure, snapping her back into the moment. "Jimmy..." That caused Ava's eyes to once again flutter shut, her back arching, hands coming to grip his shoulders, nails scoring into his back. "Oh God! Oh God! Jimmy!" Her legs wound tighter around his hips as her walls clenched tighter around his length. The clenching grew more frequent to match the rhythm of his thrusts. Jimmy's chugging rhythm, hitting her spot so perfectly only led to her ascending to that aforementioned pleasured high. Jimmy pushing her up & up & up, higher & higher until finally, with a gasp. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh God! Oh God! Oh... Oh... Oh my God! Jimmy!..."

Jimmy grunted, his hips pistoning steadily into hers, left thumb now swirling on her clit. Her hips twitched at this, yet again beginning to tilt into and meet Jimmy's thrusts as he grunted and groaned. "Ava... Baby... Ava... So tight... So fucking tight... Ava... My baby... My girl... My lady... My woman... Mine... Mine... My Ava... Mine... Mine... My... My... My... Ava! Ah! Ahhhh..." He moaned aloud as he pounded into her, the last few thrusts coming shakily & off rhythm as he pumped deep within her, his cum coming in several white hot spurts, mixing with hers & filling her to the brim.

Jimmy then showed her his gratitude by meeting her lips in a sleepy kiss, brushing loose strands of hair away from her face as she did with the sweaty tendrils framing his face. "Mmmm...Ava... My God... My God... My God how much I love you!" He sighed happily, grinning down at her.

She met his grin with a sweet, serene, sleepy smile of her own, hushing. "Mmmm... Jimmy... I love you too..."

~

Hope you guys like it~!

Enjoy~!

[bonscottintheimpala]

What are some of your favorite zeppelin fanfics to read?

These are my main go-to fanfics. All of them are jimbert since I can't get enough off those two having sexy times. These fics pretty long and the writer is AMAZING. All are sorted by word count, longest to shortest.

Five Years Gone- Robert is a single father, Jimmy is Carmen's preschool teacher.

The Road So Far- Jimmy and Robert go on a road trip after quitting their jobs. Also has Jonzo.

Lagniappe- Jimmy is a wizard in New Orleans, asked but Robert to take care of some evil spirits haunting him and Carmen. Also mentions Lori.

For Your Life- Hard to explain without super spilling, but HOLY FUCK IT'S INCREDIBLE. Also was the first fic I read.

That Confounded Bridge(town)- Robert works at his family's hotel on an island (forget where) and gets with Jimmy. Yardbirds era.

[childrenofthenightt]

That’s The Way (Chapter 2)

Pairing: Jimmy Page x Reader

Word count: 3.3k

Warning(s): mentions of cheating, cursing

Author’s notes: Hey y’all, welcome to Chapter 2! Thank you so much for all your positive feedback and responses. A little heads up: Jimmy is not in this chapter...since this is a slow burn, he’ll be introduced in Chapter 4, but it won’t be long, I promise. Just sit tight! As usual, please enjoy, happy reading, and send us messages if you have theories, comments, music recommendations for the playlist, or if you want to be added to the tag list :)

Chapter 1

---------

Evening of 4 May 1965

Walking into the kitchen, Y/N slid into a seat between her brothers, Tommy and Charlie, just as her mum was placing platters of that night’s dinner on the table. A sinking feeling in her stomach plagued her all day, as she knew that she would be interrogated  intensely by her family about the previous night. More importantly, she knew that if they felt that any of the musicians had viewed her as a possible love interest, she’d be in big, big trouble.

“Dad, can you pass me the vegetables, please?” Y/N asked her father, sitting a few seats down from her. If the girl hadn’t been glancing down at her plate to avoid eye contact, fighting the gut feeling that the inevitable would soon occur, she would have seen him glance at her from over the frames of his glasses.

“Sure, dear,” he replied, briefly looking up from the newspaper he was reading as he gave Y/N the dish. The clanking of utensils on plates was all that could be heard until Charlie broke the seal by asking the dreaded question.

“So Y/N, how was the concert last night?” he asked, raising the glass of water in his hand to his lips.  Y/N couldn’t blame Charlie for asking, because he had no idea what had happened, but she knew that this conversation could go south fast. Tommy’s hums of laughter quietly escaped his lips, and Y/N nudged his arm from under the table, giving him a glaring look that sent daggers from her eyes. It screamed, “Shut up!”, and another bout of giggles was the only response.

Tommy knew the outcome of last night because of what Carolyn had babbled to him on the car ride home, and was doing everything in his power to tease his sister.

“Why are you laughing, Tommy?” Y/N’s mum asked, finally taking a seat between Charlie and Lillian.  Silence settled over the table as all eyes locked on to the oldest daughter, and Tommy evilly smiled at Y/N, who only glared at him again. “No reason. Actually, I think Y/N should tell you instead.”

Y/N huffed as she put the dish of roasted chicken, generously seasoned and herbed, back in the middle of the table. She painted on a smile before answering, “It went pretty well. Brilliant show.”

“That’s it?” her dad asked, folding up the newspaper, knowing his daughter was downplaying it.

“Yeah, Y/N, that’s it?” Tommy added. Y/N knew he was taunting her, but the rest of the table did not pick up on it. From under the table, Y/N’s leg begins to bob up and down, and she bites her lip, debating whether or not to tell the whole story. It’s obvious they’re not going to be happy…

“My God, Tommy,” With an exasperated sigh, Y/N, very annoyed at her brother’s pushing, throws her hands up in unwilling acceptance. “Fine, Carolyn and I were invited backstage, and we met the band.”

The table audibly gasped, the loudest of course being Lillian, who looked disappointed, almost devastated at the revelation. Her lips turn down in a sulk, and she rests her cheek, almost permanently flushed with youth, on a fist. “You promised me you wouldn’t let any boys mess with you, Y/N!”

Y/N reached her hand across the table to hold her sister’s in an attempt to coax her. “They didn’t, Lil. We just talked for a while. I just made some new friends last night, that’s all.”

Lillian’s frown turned upside down, content that her sister was safe, a naïve smile that Y/N felt a little guilty about. She, along with Charlie and their parents, didn’t know that most members of the band had shamelessly flirted with her and invited her back to see them again. Tommy was the only one aware, and Y/N made him promise to keep the whole rendezvous a secret. Carolyn had brought the flirting to Y/N’s attention on the car ride home, because in the moment, she didn’t think much of it.

“If they’re mean to you, I’ll be mean to them, just for you!” Lillian exclaims through a mouthful of mush, and the table burst into laughter, shaking their heads in amusement.

“How did it go?” Y/N’s mum asked, cutting into her chicken with a knife and fork. For the first time over the course of the whole dinner, Y/N broke into an unadulterated smile at the memory. “It was really nice, genuinely. They  were all so sweet to us, and we just bonded over music and stuff.”

Y/N’s mother quirked her brow. “No ‘you know what’?”

“No Mum, nothing explicit. It was good, clean fun. Seriously.”

“Alright, I hope you’re telling the truth… I’m happy you had a great time.”

“She is telling the truth, Mum,” Tommy quipped through bites of roasted potatoes, “I can attest to that.”

Y/N’s mum smiled, but her dad piped up with some two-cents of his own. “Musicians are a tough crowd, Y/N. Very fickle blokes, their attractions change all the time. You can’t get too attached to them, dear,  you’re just a small fish in a very big sea.”

“I know, Dad,” Y/N replied, trying to sound understanding. She couldn’t lie to herself, though. The Yardbirds made her feel very special last night, and disappointment was lurching in her stomach at the comment. As much as her father’s words stung, she harbored a small feeling of hope that they truly enjoyed her company and meant what they said.

After everyone finished dinner, and Charlie and Lillian left the table to go play in another room, Tommy, wallet in hand, walked over to his mum, who was washing the dishes with the help of her husband.

“Hey Mum, I’m gonna take Y/N for ice cream,” he whispered, glancing at Y/N who was sitting in a chair in the living room, almost unconsciously playing with her fingers and staring out the window with a pensive countenance.

“Okay, love. Just bring something home for Charlie and Lillian,” she replied. Tommy walked over to Y/N, tapping her shoulder. The girl looked up at him, confused.

“I’m taking you for ice cream. Let’s go,” he said, already walking towards the door. Y/N grinned, then chased after her brother to the car.

~~~~~~~~

27 June 1965

Y/N and Carolyn weren’t able to attend as many Yardbirds gigs as they would’ve liked in the end of May and beginning of June, as they had exams at school. Now that they were over, Y/N could be fully immersed in the travelling British rock and roll circus for the greater part of the summer.

The girls agreed to make a venue change tonight: instead of going to the Marquee, as they usually did, they decided to go to the Crawdaddy Club. Y/N hoped Jeff, Chris, Paul, Jim, and Keith would remember them by their faces instead of just their clothes, because there was no need to wear school uniforms anymore.

Carolyn decided to drive to this particular gig, probably because she was expecting the two of them to go backstage again, as having her own car would grant them more time with the band then that first night at the Marquee.

The Crawdaddy Club was architecturally and aesthetically different from the Marquee; there were no chairs or booths, so standing was the only option, and the boundary between the stage and the audience was virtually nonexistent. The ceilings were low and beamed, and the stage backdrop had a painting of a measure of music. Y/N thought that particular touch was a bit cheesy.

Carolyn and Y/N walked in together, squeezing past the army of fans already hoarding the front of the stage. They managed to find a spot by Jeff’s side of the stage, his amps towering a few feet from where they stood. Thankfully, they were able to see most of the stage, including Jim’s drum riser in the back. The conversations among all the audience members were deafening, but Y/N heard a loud whisper within her periphery that she could just make out.

“Pssst! Y/N!” a familiar voice whisper-shouted, which was followed by a wave.

It was Jeff, widely smiling with his guitar slung over his shoulder. He was walking out the backstage door, meticulously making sure the door wouldn’t harm his guitar in any way. He then waited near the stage steps to go on, which the girls discerned could be any minute now.

“Oh my God, Jeff!” Y/N replied excitedly as she walked over to the steps. She made her way through the crowd, a lot more ungracefully than she would’ve hoped.

“It’s so cool to see you at some place other than the Marquee,” Jeff said. He looked genuinely happy that she was there. Maybe Y/N’s dad was wrong about these “fickle musicians”.

“We’re happy to be here! I’m so sorry I couldn’t make any more since the last time… exams and school and all.”

“Oh, that’s where you were! I hope you got good marks,” Jeff playfully grinned, “because you ought to mind your studies, Miss Y/N. Sam was starting to think he scared you off and that you didn’t want to come back.”

Y/N scrunched her nose in a confused way, as if to say “who?”, which resulted in a soft chuckle from Jeff.

“‘Sam’ is Paul’s nickname.”

Y/N nodded in understanding with an endearing smile. “Oh, okay. That’s definitely not it, then. I was just stuck with exams and graduation, that's all. Be sure to tell him that.” A wink punctuates the end of her sentence, and, gearing up to respond, Jeff is interrupted by a sharp noise next to him. Mere seconds later, another familiar face entered the scene, walking out of the door. Chris Dreja, also with his guitar slung over his shoulder, warmly smiled at Y/N as he closed the door behind him.

“Hello, Y/N. It’s so lovely to see you again,” he greeted. She noticed that he had a substantially deeper voice than the other four, something she hadn’t the last time they met since he was talking with Carolyn and Keith.

“Hi Chris! Same to you,” Y/N grinned.

“No uniforms this time I see,” he teased, discreetly scanning how stunning he thought she looked.

Y/N laughed. “Yeah, I’m off from school for the summer so there’s no need anymore, thank God. Now I can attend your shows more frequently, and wear a decent outfit too!”

“That’s great to hear. We do love your company.” Y/N beamed at his comment, unconsciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Chris’ eyes track the movement, and he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He thought Y/N was beautiful, but he had a wife and a child on the way. He also felt a little jealous that Paul and Jim had their eyes on her, but there was not much he could do about it. If he was cunning and quick enough to steal Y/N before they had the chance, though, and if his wife never found out…

Quickly regaining his wits, he remembered why he was sent out. “Jeff, Keith needs you backstage again.”

Jeff groaned. “What? I thought we were starting, like right now!”

“I know, I know. We were supposed to, but he wants everyone backstage again for some reason.”

“Ugh, this is why he can’t fucking be in charge,” Jeff replied, clearly annoyed. Then, as Chris was heading backstage once again, Jeff pulled something out of his pocket, a knowing smile on his face.

“Here, love, have this. You’ll be needing it after the show,” he said, placing a card with a lanyard attached to it into Y/N’s hands. Y/N smiled giddily.

“Thank you. Good luck with that meeting, and good luck in the show, even though you don’t really need it,” Y/N replied playfully.

“Oh, I think I need it more than you think I do,” Jeff smirked, disappearing behind the door.

~~~~~~~~

Just minutes later, The Yardbirds came out and played their set, which lasted a couple hours, and didn't fail to stun the crowd. Y/N and Carolyn received a lot more smiles of recognition than the last time at the Marquee, since the boys knew who they were now. The only similarity to last time was the electrified fans who were completely immersed in the music.

Jim McCarty, in particular, looked at Y/N a lot more often throughout the show than he did last time. She caught him a couple times, which was really embarrassing on his part, but not the entire time, much to his pleasure. He didn’t think it was possible, but it seemed that she had grown even more beautiful than last time.

Was it absence that made his heart grow fonder? Possibly. Was he in love? Yet another possibility. Did he know for certain? Perhaps, but he wasn’t exactly sure yet.

Besides focusing on the music, Paul’s mind was elsewhere. He was planning on asking Y/N out on a date with him sometime this coming week. He hoped she’d accept, since she did an awful lot of blushing and giggling around him when they met in May, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Paul was concocting the perfect formulation of words so that she couldn’t refuse the offer. She looked like the type of girl who would enjoy a nice dinner date, and he would do anything to make that a reality for her.

Chris’s mind was the opposite of Paul’s: he didn’t want to think about Y/N because in the event he did, he knew he would mess up a chord or two on the guitar.

God, he thought, she was perfect. Purely enchanting.

Jeff was just happy, almost giddy, that he’d found a new friend in Y/N. He knew she was special, and he hoped she trusted him, because some people in this business could be very sleazy. She was different from all the girls a lonely musician would find on the road. Y/N was the type of girl that Jeff wanted to see after a thousand and one nights touring, catching up and sharing stories over a pint. Sure, he had a steady girlfriend, but something about Y/N was comforting, friendly, and trustworthy. Just what he needed in a friend.

The set was similar to the one at the Marquee, but with little variations here and there, still holding the audience under a trance. After the performance’s conclusion, Y/N rummaged through her pocket and showed Carolyn the backstage pass given to her by Jeff, to which Carolyn squealed with delight. Y/N took Carolyn’s hand and walked with her to the door, showing the security man her prized relic. At once, they were granted access, and they skipped and trotted and leapt down the hall in excitement.

When the pair got to the correct door, Y/N took a deep breath and knocked a couple times; momentarily, they were greeted by a smiling, but sweaty, Jeff Beck.

Y/N didn’t care. “Brilliant show, my friend,” she gushed, giving Jeff a congratulatory hug.

“Thank you,” he replied gratefully, reciprocating it with a beaming smile, “security didn’t give you trouble I hope?”

“No, we were fine, thankfully.”

“Good to hear, good to hear. Well, come on in!” Jeff exclaimed, getting out of the way of the doorframe, “do you fancy yourselves a drink?”

Y/N and Carolyn walked into the room, starstruck once again by all five of The Yardbirds being in one place. This time, some members of the road crew, management, and lighting company were there as well, chatting and planning among themselves. They all greeted the girls amicably, and grabbed some chairs and arranged them in a similar formation to the Marquee.

“Um, yeah, sure, if you don’t mind,” Y/N accepted as she sat down, throwing a kind “thank you” over her shoulder at the roadie that had brought her chair over, voice a little lost in amazement at the current happening.

“Here, I’ll get it,” Jim said with a smile, “you stay put.”

“Thank you, that’s so sweet,” Y/N grinned appreciatively. She could feel herself warming up to these guys, as she didn’t feel as nervous as the last time. But a little twinge of it was still there, rippling through her stomach.

Jim was turned away from Y/N getting the drinks, so she wasn’t able to see him blush. He found it unbelievable, the effect she had on him.

The whole group was sharing conversation and laughs over drinks for almost three hours, but it was almost as if time did not pass. They talked about music, books they liked, restaurants they recommended, places they’ve travelled to, philosophy, history, the environment, conspiracy theories...you name it.

Y/N and Carolyn stood up from their seats, as a cue to the party that they had to leave soon. Paul, who again was sitting next to Y/N, tapped her shoulder. Turning to face him, Y/N could see the flush on his cheeks, and the way he was almost curled into himself.

“Hey Y/N, can I ask you a question really quick?” he asked, much more nervous than he sounded a few seconds ago.

“Yeah, sure,” she smiled. Y/N, taking his outstretched hand, found herself being whisked away by Paul to a corner of the room, near a row of vanities attached to the wall. She hoped that the others were all too distracted talking, so that no one would notice her and Paul’s absence.

Looking at each other, face to face, the two smiled happily, as though there wasn't a care in the world.

Paul then took a deep breath, his expression turning more anxious. “Okay…” he exhaled, “here goes.”

“You don’t have to be nervous,” Y/N chuckled, “it’s just me.”

Paul’s face softened a little, gazing down at her. “But you see, that’s the whole point. It’s you. I have every reason to be nervous.”

Y/N’s face cascaded into a red flush, her lip quivering in the hopes of concealing a foolish grin. Paul reached down and grabbed Y/N’s hands, holding them in his own as Y/N’s heart started racing at what felt like two thousand miles a minute.

“I just wanted to preface this by saying that I, uh… I have been absolutely bewitched by you, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the night at the Marquee,” he began. Y/N melted with every word, but at the same time, she felt as if she had been electrically shocked. When she looked into the twinkling depths of his eyes, she couldn't help but swoon.

“So,” he continued, “I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me sometime. If you’ll let me, of course.”

Y/N was at a loss for words, composure, and any sort of rationality. She never thought, in her wildest dreams, that a musician in a world-renowned band would fancy her. Just able to restrain an awestruck grin, she finally gave in.

“Yes,” she replied, happily breathless and dazed, “I would love to go out with you.”

Paul, ecstatic with her answer, beams down at her as she launches into his arms in a sweet embrace. He asked for her phone number and address, and, spotting a nearby miniature legal pad, she wrote everything down, signing it with a cartoonish smiling face and a heart.

~~~~~~~~

After Y/N and Carolyn had said their goodbyes and left the Crawdaddy Club, the five musicians were left alone in the backstage area, to relax after such an electric show. Jeff and Keith approached Paul, who was collecting his belongings in the corner of the room.

“Did you do it?” Jeff asked, face a picture of feigned nonchalance as he took a sip of his beer.

“Yes, I did it,” Paul grinned, bending down to grab something of his that had fallen on the floor.

“I guess she accepted by the look on your face,” Keith observed, a sardonic smirk on his handsome features.

“You’d be correct,” Paul replied.

“You wanker,” Jeff shook his head disapprovingly, “why would you bloody do that? You’re gonna break her heart!”

Paul’s expression quickly turned unimpressed. “Because if nobody here tells her, she’ll never know.”

What Paul had failed to tell Y/N was that he had a wife, with whom he shared a home. He felt bored, with all the travelling and the touring and the nonsense, so he wanted a lovely, intelligent young woman like Y/N to “keep him company”.

He knew he wasn’t in love with Y/N. Sure, he fancied her immensely, thought she was ethereal, but his heart truly belonged to his wife.

“Congratulations, Sam,” Keith said sarcastically, “you just potentially ruined a friendship with a very pretty bird.” It was clear that Jeff and Keith cared very deeply about Y/N and her happiness, because she was a great girl.

Paul rolled his eyes, annoyed. “You lot have to do me this solid and don’t say anything to her. It’ll work out fine. Oh, and spread the message to Chris and Jim so they don’t spill the beans either.”

“You fuckin’ owe me, Sam,” Jeff warned, already walking backwards towards Chris and Jim, “you owe me big time.”

---------

Taglist: @blood-on-blood @reincarnated70sbaby

[riot-hyatt]

rare yardbird jimmy

[jimhens]

Can someone write a Yardbirds Jimmy Page fanfic. Please!

[untilthenextencore]

Of Hopes & High Grace Pt. 3: Knowing What You Want: A Way In~...

~

~

By the time Jimmy had reached her, Sonny had pulled Cher back on the dancefloor. This left Mariella to her glass of punch by the punch bowl as she turned to watch the goings on. She was mid-sip when Jimmy found himself by her side.

"Oh!" Mariella gasped softly as she noticed him nearing. "Hello, stranger."

"Hello." He smiled. "You were amazing up there. Just incredible. It truly was an experience to watch you up there. An honor. A privilege and an honor."

Another soft curtsy like bow followed, along with the soft coo. "Thank you. You're very sweet."

Was that a soft smile he saw playing on her cupid's bow lips?

Perhaps.

He hoped so…

"That first song… The guitar on it… Was that what you were going for? I heard you're working on it. Is that close to what you hope to put on record?"

"Kind of. Most of the song is settled. The guitar seems to change every time. I don't quite have that down yet. But maybe soon. Hopefully soon." Her eyes cut from her glass up to him as she tilted her head. "Not to make you work when you might be on a break…"

Had she read his mind?...

"You might as well be on vacation for all I know but…" Jimmy held his breath for her next words. "Mind if I ask your opinion on the guitar break you heard. Do you think it works? Fits? Be honest. Tony says you're one of the best out there so I figure I should ask you that much at least."

"Well…"

He exhaled deeply, careful to make sure he didn't sound like he was sighing. Alas, his being "one of the best" or not, she was not going to ask him for much more than that it seemed. Whether it was tied to his supposed "vacation" or not, she was not going to extend herself to ask a favor it seemed. Not yet. Certainly not on the first night.

"It fits just fine. It goes. And it sounds quite nice. But it sounds like what it is or what it might have been. A jam session. A place holder perhaps. Even if it's a pretty one. It was a great solo & it stood out well enough. I'm just not convinced it's the best candidate for what could or should go there, perhaps."

Jimmy was surprised to find her not only not hurt or offended, but nodding.

"Nor am I." She considered her next words with a sip of her drink as he did the same. "He did a great job. Wonderful even. But I wouldn't say that that's exactly what I'm looking for yet. Even if I don't know exactly what is."

"You know what you like. You know what you want. Just not how to find it yet. If nothing else you at least know what you don't want…" He offered before adding after another sip. "That ends up being a greater help than one thinks half the time…"

"Exactly…" She nodded. And smiled. And laughed! Miracle of miracles! "Don't I know it!"

Perhaps now was his time…

Taking a deep breath he began.

"Mariella, I…"

Just when he was about to begin, he was interrupted.

Tony came up, tapping Mariella on the shoulder.

"Hey, doll. I hate to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know it's getting late. If you want to get home in time, you might have to make your departure soon."

Mariella blinked in surprise, turning her wrist upwards to glance at her watch. A soft gasp left her lips. "Oh, wow. You're right. Thanks Tony. I'll just say my goodbyes & slip my shoes back on & go. You can give me my records back after the party. Maybe tomorrow or later on this week." She finished her last sip of punch & gave him a quick hug before doing the same to Cher as she drifted by.

As Mariella made her rounds of goodbyes and slipped back into her ballet flats, Tony patted Jimmy on the arm. "Hey, Jimmy. You mind watching over the place for awhile? I'll be right back. I gotta walk Mariella back up to her place. It's getting dark & the roads are all windy & all. You know how it is. She just lives up the block here on Appian but I still feel she shouldn't walk alone."

Miracle of miracles!

He had another in!

He had another shot!

"Indeed you're right, mate. She shouldn't walk home alone in the dark. Too many dangers & things that go bump in the night. But I'll tell you what. I have an even better idea. Why don't you stay here & maintain your hosting duties." He clapped Tony on the arm, announcing. "I'll take her."

Tony's jaw dropped before he spoke in an incredulous tone. "You? You mean you'd really do that for me? You think that's a good idea? I mean… You know how shy & careful she is…"

"Why not?" Jimmy shrugged, hoping to seem more casual & offhand about it than he really was. "We seemed to get along well enough right now after all. That is… Until you popped up!" He nudged Tony, both of them laughing. "If she's okay with it, I'd be glad to escort her for you. If not, I'll man the fort here. Deal?"

"Deal." Tony nodded.

Just then, Mariella appeared, sweater in arm, tapping Tony on the arm & announcing. "Sorry for the wait, Tony. I'm back. Ready to go?"

"Change of plans, babe." Tony announced.

"Tony, I have to get home!" She insisted.

Jimmy had to fight back a small smile & giggle as Tony explained.

"I know, doll. But here's the thing. Instead of me walking you home & Jimmy watching over the pad for a bit, why not switch things? Why not let Jimmy walk you home while I look after my house & guests to make things easier. How's that to you? You cool with that, babe? Either is fine."

"Well…" Jimmy held his breath as Mariella paused to mull things over before shrugging. "Why not? I don't mind if you don't mind, Tony. Whatever makes it easier for you I guess."

"Yeah." Tony nodded. "And besides, that way you two can finish whatever discussion you were having when I butted my way in."

"A brilliant suggestion, that." Jimmy grinned.

Another shrug followed by the young Miss in their midst. "Makes sense to me." She fiddled with her sweater, unfolding & finding a way to hold it so she could slip into it. "I'm ready when you are then, I guess."

Jimmy took note of that.

Any port in a storm.

Any in he could find he'd take.

"Here…"He then plucked her sweater from her grasp, holding it out to her. "Allow me…"

Mariella looked from her sweater in his hands up to him in surprise. Polite to the end, she curtsied softly, hushing a soft. "Thank you." As she turned to slip into her sweater, she looked up at him & added. "You're so kind."

Soft as it was, those eyes seared into him. Into his mind. Into his heart. Into his very soul. The soft, fleeting, delicate touch of her fingers ghosting over his was the flicker of the flame, her flame - one he wasn't even sure that she even knew she possessed - that just sealed the deal.

Once she slipped into her the softness of her sweater, Tony smiled. "Great!" He gave her yet another warm hug & pecked her temple before wishing her farewell. "See you later, doll. Don't worry. I'll take good care of your records. And Jimmy will take good care of you. I promise. He'll make sure of that."

"I'm sure." Mariella gave a slow nod, casting a sideways glance to Jimmy, who now stood beside her.

Tony laughed as he then waved them off & made his way back to the crowd.

"You sure you want to walk me home? I don't want to get you in trouble." She asks even as they approach the door.

"Trouble? How could you ever get me into trouble, luv?" Jimmy asked despite himself.

Mariella gave another shrug. "Well… Didn't you come with Jackie?"

Offhand though it was, Jimmy couldn't help but jolt slightly, almost imperceptibly at her perceptiveness. "Yeah but... We're not together though."

"Maybe so… But… Does she know that?..." Mariella smirked slightly, motioning to the blonde currently craning her head, clearly searching for a certain someone. "You know you really don't have to. Not if it'd put you in the wrong, especially. It's only a little while up the block. It's not that dark. I can make the trek myself if it's too much trouble."

"Nonsense!" Jimmy shook his head, putting his coat on. "You're not putting anyone in the wrong. And up the block or not, I'll not hear of you going alone. It's unconscionable. Tony would want to know you got home safe and I couldn't sleep properly otherwise."

"Very well…" Mariella nodded. "You're right. Though, I feel I should tell you… I'm afraid I cannot invite you in. My father would not like to hear that. I'm sorry. You understand, of course?"

"Of course." Jimmy nodded, opening the door to the sounds of light passing traffic blending in with the goings on inside. All the while he was doing his best to ignore the call of a familiar voice calling over the music.

"Has anyone seen Jimmy?"

His only response being a simple. "Ready to go, luv? It's getting late."

Mariella nodded. "Let's go."

And with that they were gone…

~

As ever this is forever under construction~...

Hope you guys enjoy~!

[untilthenextencore]

Of Hopes and High Grace Pt. 2: Your Voice, Your Eyes: Any Port In A Storm~...

~

~

As it turned out, Tony had been motioning to his side to signal for a jam session. Guitarists in a semicircle. A drummer on a small kit. Bongo players. Tambourines and maracas. A few violins at the ready. Even a small brass & wind section. The house was stacked & ready with a miniature makeshift orchestra at a moment's notice.

Jackie sang a few numbers after squiring Jimmy around. He was glad to make a few new connections. But try as he might, he couldn't make himself be fully present for the many conversations he found himself in. Suffice to say he was a little distracted.

Every now and then he'd crane his neck to see if he could catch sight of her again. Mariella. She was making her own rounds with Tony. Greetings. Hugs. Lively chatter & laughter. The very same thing he had seen with Tony earlier but had not been able to see up close & personal himself. Not first hand at least.

He saw her hug & attach herself to a kohl-eyed slim, tall brunette in a a pair of the hippest bellbottoms & jangly, layered jewelry he'd seen this side of the Atlantic.

If his memory served correctly, he thought the girl's name was Cherilyn or Cher. She was with a shorter lad with a bowl cut, strong features & eyes that were more steely than sloe compared to hers named Sonny.

She & Mariella seemed to be rather tight. Cuddly & giggly & playful. Laughing & dancing. Swapping bracelets & things randomly. Very girlish & sprightly.

When Cher's turn came at the mic, so to speak, after each round, one of the most effusive, if not loudest, cheers came from Mariella. She even backed her up with a few others in forming an impromptu chorus. Jimmy strove to hear her, but he realized she was too quiet. Maybe she was tempering her voice. Maybe it was that each time her voice lifted in song Jackie's drowned her out.

Perhaps that was by design.

Jimmy had almost resigned himself to shelling out the few quid - er, dollars - to see her in concert in order to get his chance to hear her properly. In her true & full form. When…

"Get in here." Cher went into the circle of people & dragged Mariella out into its center. "Your turn. Your turn. It's your turn now." She repeated as she pulled a reluctant & shy Mariella out. Mariella had turned to Tony for help only for him to gently push & help guide her in the same direction as Cher was pulling. For her there would be no escape.

Once Mariella realized this, she allowed herself to be led into the center where Cher had once stood. She & Tony discussed what seemed to be the impromptu arrangements. Tony seemed to be making requests or offering options on what numbers she could do in between calling out which instruments would be needed for this round & what key.

Jimmy saw as he led the violin players in a quick practice of a short length of music; the intro, Jimmy was assuming. Tony then looked back to Mariella & she nodded, holding hands that were folded shyly - nervously? - to her mouth. She & Tony huddled together for another quick chat, tapping three fingers in a slow three count. They shared a nod & Tony spoke quickly to the violinists before having the drummer start them out with the brass coming in as he followed on piano.

"Presenting what will soon be the latest hit for our Mariella aka Esperanza Aguilar. A song she's currently working out called Tu Falta De Querer!"

Esperanza Aguilar? Was that her stage name? Jimmy made a mental note to check out both Esperanza Aguilar & Mariella & Carlos Alamilla next time he was in the record store.

Mariella retook the center stage position, shuffling her feet until she got into a comfortable stance. Jimmy lit another cigarette & took another sip of another drink as he watched as she wrung her hands, biting & pursing her lips nodding to the rather doo wop like backbeat. He saw her nods drift to a slow stop as she took a deep breath & turning towards the mic that was now left to her, began.

"Hoy volvi~..."

Her voice was like silk. Falling onto his ears like a steady breeze. Like the falling of water. It was sweet, smooth, steady. As smoky as the whiskey that was burning its way down his throat then.

"Te quiero ver~..."

If he was not mistaken from the little Spanish he had picked up in school & on his travels, those words meant. "I want to see you…" He couldn't understand much else but he did pick up on what he thought were the words "I love you more than yesterday." And something about "won't let you see…" He was about to try to wrack his brain to figure the rest out when…

Her voice rose & called again. This time louder. Pained. And beautiful as it lifted to insane heights of pure raw emotion.

"Ven~... Y cuentame la verdad~... Ten piedad~... Y dime por qué, no, no no, oh~..." She leant away from the mic at times so as not to overload it. That was how strong her voice was. He was stunned.

Mariella stomped softly, in time with the back beat in the last song. That was when he noticed that she, like a few other girls, had been barefoot for most of the party. He chuckled to himself at that fact. Cute.

Her voice lifted in an unchecked lyrical rage. Her hands were held out, fingers curling, clenching into fists as she continued. "¿Cómo fue que me dejaste de amar~? Yo aún podía soportar~... Tu tanta falta de querer~..."

"Hace un mes~..." She leant back into the mic as her voice lowered back into the smoky hush as the second verse came.

All the nerves dissipated as she continued. The shyness was still there. But now it served to bolster the quietness of the verses. A delicate mastery of the silence before breaking through it in the chorus. He saw it both in the hushed verse that followed & when her voice lifted again.

Tony in his humble way had undersold her when he said she sang "like an angel". And again when he said this song was going to be her new hit.

It was evident to Jimmy now what she was both capable of & what she was doing. Burning the stage down & leaving no room for anyone else to follow in the deftest of ways. He saw it clearly. Even if she didn't, herself.

"Guitar…" She whispered before sidestepping to allow one of the guitarists a solo beside her.

Out of reflex, Jimmy reached to his side but remembered suddenly that he came to this soiree empty handed.

A mistake, he realized too late. But Jackie had told him he deserved at least one day off a year & told him this should be it.

That was before she decided he should use the party to network. How that made sense - how was he supposed to prove his merits as a guitar player without a guitar available to play - he didn't understand.

But it seemed her decision to network that night was a later development. One that popped in her head after the lovely young Miss Mariella Alamilla, aka Esperanza Aguilar, popped up on the scene.

The rockabilly sounding guitar break was very well done but definitely off the cuff. Others might not notice but after years of sessioning, he could definitely tell it was a bit of noodling - if inspired noodling - a well crafted placeholder for what would later actually fit into the finished piece. The missing puzzle piece. Perhaps he might noodle something later to see what he could find.

He nodded in time, making a mental note of the best bits to build off of & play with later in relation to the rest of the song.

"Ven~..."

Her voice rose again in its lyrical cry. Two foot stomping choruses where her tiny fists beat along on her hips followed. She gripped the air, pointed at her chest & motioned with outstretched palms. Her voice continued rising & falling in what seemed like a tempestuous breaking wave of emotion all culminating with a pointed finger, the pouted lips forming the words. "Tu tanta falta de querer~..." As she stepped back & let the musicians bring the song to a close. She stepped aside, turning to applaud the musicians around her even as she herself was applauded.

It was when she stepped back from the mic, acknowledging & bowing to the applause that Jimmy & the others greeted her performance with, that Jimmy finally saw just how much of herself she actually gave to even this informal performance. She fanned herself, taking a tissue from Cher to dab her eyes before taking a sip of her drink. She was crying. Or near tears at any rate.

That was likely what fueled the song & the pointed breaks of her voice at times. Overcome. She was overcome. Allowing herself to be overcome. Losing herself in the song even in a impromptu performance of it.

Though she seemed to be in good spirits. Tony came to check on her, chatting & laughing with her as she decompressed before the next song. She motioned to the violins & whispered something to him. He nodded, motioning them to take up their bows & counting them off.

The violins swirled around them in a lilting swoon. Bossa nova like. Jimmy liked it.

"Y yo que pensaba que estaba sola. En la antología del dolor." Her voice was as lilting as the violins now. It came in a kittenish whisper. It sounded like the fluttering caress of the breeze through trees on a warm day. Tickling. Teasing. Near tormenting with its brevity before it was hushed & gone again.

"Todas las tormentas se me enamoran~..." All of the torments fall in love with me? Jimmy wasn't sure how much of a 1 to 1 translation this song was. He didn't know if he had it right. He felt, probably not.

"Canción feliz de soledad~... Que me acompaña sobre mi regazo con tanta piedad~... Canción feliz de soledad~... Que me acurruca, se clava en mi vientre como un alacrán~..." A happy song of sadness or loneliness? Jimmy shook his head. He had to stop stumbling his way through translating it. At last he decided to just enjoy it as it came.

Now Jimmy saw that instead of fists her hands were relaxed. Fingers half curled half extended as her hands framed the mic or mic stand as she sang.

He recognized only the odd word now.

She sang of scorpions and deep hunger and sad music following her in her "happy song of loneliness". The few glimpses of familiar words in the midst of the rest of the foreign language that he could not yet decode tantalized him. That only added to how her soft sweet voice enticed him. It rang through the mic seemingly barely above a whisper yet able to hold its own against the instrumentation behind her. He was so enthralled by the entirety of her performance it came as a surprise when her voice hushed a slow final line & the song ended.

Again he led the applause. Again Jackie's eyes were on him. Again his were locked on Mariella & no one else.

"Last song…" Tony announced.

The violins lifted & swirled in a song that seemed to straddle the line between hints of bossa nova & lushly orchestrated ballad.

"Me puedes ver~... En mis pupilas no se puede esconder~..." She began in another lilting, beckoning, whisper of a voice. Her gaze seemed to look both at & through people. Both at & through him at times. Shy but searing. Soft but scintillating. Hushed yet with hearthfires behind it. With the silent, unspoken delicacy of power of a flame flickering in the wind; capable of either warming you up or burning you down.

"Fui una mujer~...Que caminaba entre la vida y la muerte~..." Try as he might he couldn't help but armchair translate that line. She described herself as a woman who walked the line between life and death.

That was a hell of a line.

A hard one to pull off.

Especially at such a young age.

And yet she did. Quite adeptly at that. It was easy to wring every last sentiment out of that and be quite maudlin about it. But she was restrained. She held back. Letting only the barest hints show. She allowed the softest washes of building emotion to color her voice. The colors deepening over time as the song went on.

"Antes de ti~... Yo no conocía el amor~... Estaba sola y triste como esta canción~..."

Ah. A song about not knowing love before. That much he knew & could understand. Along with snatches of words referring to dark sides of moons, stars & deception.

"No había nada-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah~..." In the penultimate line of the song her voice lifted in the uplifting stretch of the last syllable. Yet it cut short of her allowing her voice to make its full power known. Jimmy had a feeling that wouldn't be for long. This was likely only a taste.

"Antes de ti, mi amor~..."

The violins swirled & lilted, as she nodded & softly swayed her way through the resulting rhythm.

"Me puedes ver~... Con claridad ahora soy transparente~..." Mariella kept her hand movements small & careful as she motioned to herself. Tight without seeming tight. Going with the flow. Letting the song build. Letting her voice build. Letting the mood build. The vibe. The experience that followed. All until it reached its inevitable conclusion.

And what a conclusion!

It was one that Jimmy wasn't ready for.

Nor was he sure that anyone there was truly ready.

Save for Tony.

He caught him glancing over to Jimmy with a grin as he played. Clearly, he knew what came next. He caught Tony & Mariella sharing a nod before the next line came. Mariella seemed to take a deep breath to brace herself. Steady herself. Still herself.

This time, as the chorus came and her voice lifted the beginning phrase of "Antes de ti~..."

And the music swirled…

He felt it…

He felt it grow…

He felt it build…

He felt it swell…

His toes curled…

And as her voice rose in the last word of that same penultimate line, it fully unleashed. It grew and grew and grew… Escalating in emotion & pitch & volume… Until she had to pull back from the mic again… Until her head craned back… Until her voice rose in an uninhibited cry…

His jaw dropped.

It made him grip his glass as both his fingers and his toes curled.

It stunned not just him but many of those in the room.

As was born out by the other slacked jaws & the sound of rattling ice in glasses as people cut their sips short & put their drinks down in a rush.

"Antes de ti, mi amor~..." Her last line rang true & sweet in the resulting hush as the strings swelled once more, the drums sealing the song with soft cymbals.

Again he was leading the applause. Clapping loud & hard but lost in a sea of cheers that suddenly fountained from the previous stunned silence. Mariella bowed politely, her shyness returning.

She hugged Tony in gratitude before playfully nudging him away & demurring as he showered praise on her. She then allowed herself to be swept up in another celebratory hug by Cher. The two of them holding hands & giggling as they cut through the crowd as the band picked up & just started to jam. The crowd filled in the floor between them & the band & the dancing began again.

The two neared the drinks table nearby & before he knew it, he was making his way there...

~

As ever this is forever under construction~...

Hope you guys like it~!

Enjoy~!