Sorry for the length of this update, but I wanted to get it out of the way. I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas ❤- slightly.mad

Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, 12th May, 1985, around 3pm

"Can we telephone him on it now? Please?" An excitable Johnny and Roshni pleaded to their mother once again from their spot in the back seat of her Aston Martin.

"No... and definitely not while I'm driving in traffic either," Monica repeated, glancing over to her brand new Motorola lying face-up on the passenger seat next to her, "We are going to wait until he rings us, remember?"

Roshni giggled, "He's going to be amazed when we tell him that he's talking to us on a telephone that doesn't need pugged into the wall!"

"I don't know, love. I don't think daddy is as passionate about gadgets and electronics the same way you are" Monica looked out her windscreen as she approached the Tesco supermarket in the distance.

"He likes watching TV though" Johnny said.

"He only uses it to watch movies and videos" Monica shifted gear as she waited for the car park entrance to be clear.

"And Eastenders" her daughter added.

"And Eastenders, right..." she put her foot on the accelerator impatiently, "Keep on the lookout for an empty space, you two"

"Can I stay in the car and mind it if you give me the keys?" Johnny attempted another one of his ploys.

"Have a guess" Monica jerked the wheel as she turned sharply into the supermarket.

"Yes" he suggested triumphantly.

"Have another guess, Johnny" she sighed in distraction.

"As long as I promise not to crash it into a lampost or a tree?" he tried again, still wearing a hopeful grin on his face.

"The answer is no! Are you stupid?" Roshni shot at him.

"Hey! I'm not stupid!" Johnny sharply tugged on his sister's black pigtail as she yelped.

"Mum?! He pulled my hair!" Roshni whined.

Monica simply cautioned them as she slowed down, "Do you two want your new friend Milo to come home after school tomorrow or not?"

They both zipped their mouths as they shook their head.

"Alright, then stop fighting and help me find a place to park like I asked" she took her handbreak off.

Johnny and Roshni silently stared out the window as Monica slowly and carefully drove around with her eyes peeled for a blank bay.

"... God, why does London have to be so busy every day of the week? Even on a sunday!" she muttered doubtfully.

"Look behind you, mum! That silver car is pulling out of that one" she heard her daughter behind her.

"Oh! Thank you!" She put her car in reverse and waited until the bay was empty.

Once she backed into the space and the car halted, she heard Johnny say, "Why didn't you park over there?"

Her eyes followed his pointing finger out the back window and to the allocated parking bays next to the building itself.

"I couldn't park there, sweetheart," She put her chunky building brick of a Motorola into her shoulder bag, "That's for people on wheelchairs and the people who work in Tesco"

"But there's a car already there, look!" he pointed to a black BMW sitting in a disabled space.

"Well then, I hope they have a blue badge" she switched the engine and child locks off.

As she heard Johnny and Roshni scramble out the back seats behind her, Monica pulled her mirror down and took her Givenchy cat eye sunglasses off.

"God, I don't want to go in looking like this... what if there are paparazzi about?" she tucked her hair behind her ears and rubbed the painful red dents they left on the bridge of her nose.

But she had no time to leave her two small children unaccompanied in a busy car park where cars were going in all directions.

With a huff, she stepped out and slammed the door behind her to sacrifice her looks for another day, tucking her purple Pringle jumper under the waistband of her bleached Levis as she slipped her car keys into her pocket.

"Wheeeeeeee!!" Johnny was cheering as he clung onto the back of the shopping trolly now rolling from the trolley shelter and down the driving lane at a worrying speed.

"Johnny, get down and stop that! You might get knocked down!" Monica barked at him, grabbing Roshni's hand before she too would run out in front of vehicles.

He stepped off the back bar and hastily pushed it towards her, face scrunched up sourly, "You and daddy never get me what I want... you wouldn't even leave me in the car!"

She carelessly retorted as she dropped her heavy shoulder bag into the shopping trolley, "For god's sake, Johnny! Why must you be such an ungrateful brat sometimes?"

But that offended Johnny more than it should've, for he fled across the tarmac and into the entrace of the shop as its doors swung open for him. His twin sister followed suit, leaving his mother standing alone.

"Now my day off has been ruined" she watched them disappear as she grew apologetic...

Nagoya Marriott Associa Hotel, Nagoya, Chūbu region of Japan, around Midday

"<And here is your key, miss,>" the hotel manager spoke in japanese as he handed it to Freddie Mercury's friend and chaperone Misa Watanabe stood in front of the man himself in the corridor of the Executive Suite, "<We all hope you all have a nice stay with us and call down to reception if you need anything>"

Bag in hand, the lead singer of Queen impatiently leaned over to his friend Misa and whispered, "How much longer?"

"He is just leaving now" She answered back, gesturing him to bow.

He oblidged, as did everyone else, hissing, "It's about time! Phoebe, when you get in there please run me a bath. I'm going to call home"

His assistant nodded as, out of breath from the heat, he towed the rest of his baggage to their door, ignoring his boss's unsavory attitude.

"Are you going to tell your Monica about your purchases yesterday?" Misa asked in her accented English as she slid the key into the lock.

Freddie nodded, "She probably deserves a word of warning of all the packages about to arrive on our door step"

"I can't help but agree" Phoebe joked as he pushed the door open and stepped aside for them, and Misa laughed.

But Freddie shot a glare back to his assistant as he walked by, not finding it funny. He had been in a grouchy mood ever since the persistent phone calls from both his friend Mary Austin and the band manager Jim Beach enquiring about the charity Band Aid's upcoming event had started the week before despite the fact that he and the other three were still indecisive about taking part, not to mention that Japan was uncomfortably stifling hot at the end of spring.

"May I put the radio on low?" Misa gravitated toward the transmitter sitting on the glass coffee table in the middle of the suite, "I want a weather report for tomorrow so that we know when to leave"

"Do what you must, my dear," Freddie huffed, strolling into the doorway of his bedroom as he shuffled out of his brown leather jacket, "Do what you must"

"Thank you" he heard her squeak in the other room as he flopped onto his king size bed, kicking off his shoes and sighing in relief.

Phoebe ducked his head out of the en suite bathroom, "Which oil do you want?"

"Surprise me" he rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

"Crickey, okay" Phoebe pulled his head back into the room.

Freddie laced his hands on his stomach as he felt the ache leaving his feet, his body now sinking into the mattress.

Amidst the sound of the taps running from the bathroom, he could faintly hear a crackly, synthesised groove playing on the radio from the main suite.

"I didn't know Wham! had a new song out" He spoke to himself, and continued to listen.

And before long his foot was twitching to the rhythm.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"Funky and soulful... John would definitely like this one" he thought, nodding along, "Somehow I feel it even though I don't understand the lyrics"

But suddenly he realised it wasn't Wham! when he could faintly hear a woman's voice singing, but he wasn't sure if she was singing in English or Japanese. But it was likely the latter, for he hadn't yet heard it on Radio 1 or any of the music channels.

"Misa!" he called out, "Who's singing that? And what's it called?"

"It's called by Plastic Love and the popstar is Mariya Takeuchi," she answered, "It came out last year and has been playing on radio stations for a long time"

"I'm never going to remember that name," He muttered, "Thank you anyway, dear"

"Your bath is almost ready," Phoebe reappeared from the bathroom, "I've left your shaving tools on the chair next to the tub"

"I'll call Monica first" Freddie grunted as he reluctantly sat up reached across to lift the rotary telephone reciever next to him off of its cradel.

"Don't leave it grow cold" Phoebe advised him before ducking back into the bathroom.

"I won't..." Freddie muttered as he dialled in his house number to do what he said he would...

Tesco Superstore, Warick Road

"Right, since you're right here and Johnny isn't, which recipe ingredients do you want to look for first?" Monica looked at the paper notes in her hand as she asked her daughter, standing at the front of the brightly lit, moderately busy supermarket, music blaring through the speakers.

"The milkshake one" Roshni answered.

"Okay, well, we will definetely need milk... and ice cream" she pushed the trolley as they slowly walked along, anxiously looking around for Johnny, "Keep on the lookout for your brother, won't you? I don't want him getting lost"

Roshni nodded, playing hopskotch on the linoleum floor tiles beneath her feet.

"He'll come back before we leave," she reassured herself, "He's just being stubborn"

"Don't we need milkshake mix too?" Roshni stretched up to peer at the list of ingredients.

"Of course not! I used to make them all the time in the first job I had when I moved to London" Monica looked at the overhead signage for the dairy section.

"Look, there he is!" She heard her daughter exclaim beside her, tugging her sleeve.

And indeed, when she looked over her son was sulkily hovering by the toy aisle, brows furrowed and head hung low as he kicked his feet.

"Let's go to him" Monica wheeled the trolley in his direction, then called out his name.

Johnny looked over, then sped away up the toy aisle.

But before she could chase after him, a repetitive bleeping sound was sounding from her shoulder bag.

"That's him!" Monica frantically stuck her hand in and dug around for it.

"It even sounds like a real telephone, but it's digital!" Roshni exclaimed as the beep persisted.

Her mother held her index finger to her lips to silence her, glancing to the keypad as she was still learning how to use it. All she knew what that the orange button answered it.

"Remember, act normal," She instructed before bringing it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Konichiwa, darling. This is just your Loverboy calling" the posh, silken voice that she was expecting greeted her as her heart fluttered.

"Is it him?" Roshni asked.

"Yes, it's him," Monica giggled, then returned, "Hello! How is my Loverboy doing?"

"I can't stay long. I'm going to have a bath in a moment and then we're heading to the venue for rehearsals later on and god knows how long that'll take." he declared.

"What is he saying?" Roshni asked eagrely.

"That's okay, who do you want me to put on?" she ignored her, frantically looked around for Johnny again.

"Put the cats on first. Is Delilah there?"

"Well, the cats aren't here, I'm afraid" she had a hard time concealing her silly smile.

"Why not?! Are they alright?!" His tone became panicked.

"Because we're not at home" she giggled, batting away her daughter's grabby hands.

"But I called the house number! Explain what's happening!" He pressed in agitation.

"Oh! Let me tell him, please?" Roshni reached up towards her again.

"Is that Roshni?" He sounded as Monica handed the Motorola to her daughter.

The girl put it to her ear excitedly, "Hi dad!"

"Oh! Erm, hello darling. Where are you and mummy at the moment?" He asked

"Tesco!" She answered.

"Tesco?!" Freddie asked, baffled.

"Yep, the Tesco we live near where Phoebe's friend works!"

"That was no friend, that was a lover" Monica thought awkwardly, pushing her trolley along as she listened.

Freddie was dumbfounded, "So you're telling me that they've got a bloody pay phone in the middle of it or something-"

"No! Mummy got a new telephone with no wires at work yesterday!" she jumped up and down.

"What on earth-a telephone with no wires?! Are you and mummy tricking me?" he babbled.

"No! It's like an ordinary telephone, but it doesn't need plugged in!" She enthusiastically gushed.

Sensing Freddie was going bored on the other end, and picturing his deadpan expression, Monica intervened, "Alright, enough. Say your goodbyes and go find your brother and pick out some ice cream for the milkshakes"

"Oh, okay... bye daddy" Roshni obeyed.

"Goodbye, baby girl" Freddie crooned, and she heard him plant a kiss into the receiver mic like he always did when he phoned home.

Monica giggled as she took it out of her daughter's hands gently before she ran off across the supermarket, and put it to her ear, "Sorry, are you still there?"

"A mobile telephone, eh?" Freddie mused, "What will the world of technology come up with next?"

She felt herself nod, smiling at the sound of his voice for the first time all day, "Yeah, the first of their kind. Turns out the lingerie advert ordeal paid off and earned Theo a lot of money, so when he got the paycheck he treated us to them so that we can be on call 24/7"

"Well, no wonder that Boomtown Rats fellow keeps calling us over his Band Aid concert. He must have one of those" Freddie suddenly grumbled.

"Bob Geldof? Again?" she tucked it into the crook of neck as she checked her list and started pushing along again.

"I mean, we don't want to be rude by declining but doesn't he understand the state we're in right now?" He nagged.

One thing Monica didn't want to hear was her fiance complaining, "Why don't you just give him a definite answer?"

"I don't know, the request is already burdensome enough... so let's change the subject," Freddie declared, "So, I've spoken to our princess. Where is our prince?"

She felt her smile melt away, and sarcastically answered, "In a strop somewhere because I wouldn't let him have a spin on the shopping trolly in the car park and get killed by a moving car"

She heard him momentarily chortle in a way that was irresistibly sexy to her, "Typical Johnny, trying to pull daredevil stunts."

"But I-It's probably my fault. I shouldn't have spoken to him the way that I did when I was scolding him" she remorsefully fret.

"In what way, dearie?" he asked softly.

"I called him something... and he took it badly" she admitted

"It can't be as bad as the names I've given him down the years," he chuckled slightly on the other end in an attempt to cheer her up, "What did you say to him?"

Monica momentarily pulled her Motorola down and looked around her, then answered, "... A brat. Or something along those lines"

"Oh... well, he is a brat I'm afraid" he responded blankly.

"You think so? Do you think we spoil them? Although, I just feel so terrible" she lowered her voice as a customer wheeled past her.

"Of course we do! Don't spoil the surprise but I bought him a Yamaha keyboard at an outlet yesterday" he dismissed her concerns.

"You bought him what?!" she hissed.

"Well, it's about time he had something to practice on," he argued back, "Anyway, I bought our daughter that bloody hunk of plastic that plugs into the television with all the games that she liked when we were at the Deacons on Boxing Day-"

"You mean an Atari?" she corrected him.

"An Atari?" Roshni interrupted, blue eyes lit up expectantly.

Monica turned to her, "That was very fast! Did you pick out ice cream already?"

Her daughter nodded, holding a tub in her hands, "What's this about an Atari?"

"Nothing, big ears," Monica lied, "What flavour are you holding?"

Roshni looked closely as she read aloud with difficulty, "It's neo... neopoll..."

Her mother took it off of her "It's pronounced Neopolitan. Put it back and get me a few tubs of one flavour only, alright? That way Milo can choose"

"Okay" the little girl turned around and rushed away without a suspision in the world.

"Sorry, Roshni was listening in" she returned to her call.

"It's alright, you know what she's like," he chuckled gently, "Are they getting on alright at their new school?"

"Yeah! They made a new friend called Milo, and he is coming to play after school tomorrow so I'm grabbing a few things here"

"Oh! Well, that's good news! Wait, he is coming over tomorrow?!"

She didn't sense the panic ion his voice, "Yes, and I'm going to make Malteaser Slices and milkshakes for them when they finish their homework"

"You mean, he's coming to my house? Freddie Mercury's house?" his voice grew.

"I don't see how it'll be a problem if you're not there, Fred" she defended.

She heard a long pause.

"...Does Milo know who their father is?" he finally hesitated, "I mean, what if they play around the house and he breaks something?"

"I've had a strict talk with them both already about rooms they're not allowed in," She sighed, "Anyway, I can take down all the pictures with you in it and your framed records if it's that much of a deal"

"Monica, will you promise me?"

She rolled her eyes playfully at the seriousness in his voice, We've been together for eight years. Of course I will"

A voice briefy sounded in the background, and then Freddie spoke, "Listen, Phoebe won't stop annoying me about this fucking bath, so I better go"

She laughed softly, "Go bath, then play. I love you"

"I love you too, see you again soon... give Johnny hugs and kisses from me" he uttered.

"If he'll let me at this stage" she sighed.

"Oh, he'll get over it within an hour. He's like me," he assured her, "Goodbye"

"Good luck tonight" she wished him again, until she heard the dial tone.

Felling much better, she put her phone back into her back just as Roshni came running towards, arms full of ice cream tubs.

"My my, your friend will be spoiled for choice tomorrow!" She giggled, "Shall we move onto the Malteaser Slices?"

Roshni grabbed onto the trolley handle bar, "Can I help make them tonight?"

"Of course you can," she checked the next ingredient on her list, "Oh my! I forgot that there were a lot of sugary ingredients here!"

"Biscuits and sweets are a few shelves that way" Roshni pointed.

"You lead the way then, missy" Monica declared, still keeping herself alert for her son.

Luckily, Johnny was trudging around the corner mopily.

"Come on, we're going to the sweet section" she flatly tempted him.

Johnny thought for a few seconds, then followed them to the confectionary aisle at a distance.

Monica tried to reach over and affectionately smooth his bangs from his forehead out of remorse, but the way that he wrinkled his nose and dodged her hand made her heart wince even more.

"What will we need?" Roshni pressed once they reached the shelves.

"First we need... Malteasers, obviously," He read her list aloud, "Johnny, you can get me three packets of those"

Her son silently oblidged, walking a few feet away in search for the familiar red packets.

"What about me? What can I do?" Roshni offered again.

"Please get me 300 grams-worth of white chocolate for melting. Do you know where to look to count the grams?"

Roshi nodded.

"And you've been learning to add hundreds too, haven't you?" she double-checked.

"Yes, mummmm" her daughter grew impatient, turning around to forage the ingredients.

She just wished that her son could be as enthusiatic about baking as his twin sister was, for when he returned to the trolly he carelessly chucked the packets of Malteasers in.

"Johnny?! Be careful!" she lightly berated him, then said, "I don't know why you're in such a foul mood"

"Hmph!" He sounded, crossing his arms and lowering himself to the floor at her feet.

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to sit here and start having a tantrum!" She groaned, bending down to him.

He ignored her, hugging his knees to his chest as he sat tight-lipped.

"Fine, if you're not going to speak to me then I can leave you here" she warned him.

Needless to say, Johnny still didn't react, staring at his feet with his brows furrowed.

She breathed sharply into her nostrils, and spoke again, "If this is about what happened in the car park, I'm-"

"Uh, mum?" She heard her daughter squeak at her side.

"Not now, love." Monica dismissed her.

"But it's Sarah Aldred!" Roshni fussed, jerking her mum's shoulder.

"Who on earth is Sarah Aldred?" Monica glanced back up at her, gently prying her hand off, "Is she one of those Saturday morning Breakfast show presenters that you both like watching?"

"No! She's the girl who locked me in a shed at our old school!" She hissed, panicking.

"The girl who did what?!" Monica gently climbed back onto her feet as Roshni stared ahead.

She followed the girl's worried gaze across the aisle, only to be met not only her daughter's apparent school bully, but also with a nasty surprise of her own.

She didn't feel Roshni anxiously tugging her sleeve, "Can we go and pay now, please?!"

But Monica stood there numbly and barely had time to escape as the ashy blonde lady's pair of green, heavily-lined eyes locked with hers.

"Oh, god no..." She heard herself inaudibly whisper.

To be continued...