Today's the day, Freddie's first concert. You woke up taking in a breath of fresh air. Freddie was already awake. You felt his arms wrap around your hips as he kissed your shoulder softly—funny how you could feel his teeth when he kissed you, it never bothered you, in fact you thought it was quite cute.

He leaned in towards your ear, "Good morning y/n" he said in slow singsong.

"Good morning love," you rolled over to see his face smiling at you, "Today's the day eh?"

He smiled once more, delighting himself in the feeling. He suddenly stood up out of bed and twirled around, "Today's the day dear! I hope they're ready for quite the show" he said with a saucy shimmying of his shoulders making you laugh.

"Oh put that thing away you minx" you said to him. He was basically stark naked, "Get dressed, would you, we're going to be late"

"Why don't I wear this?" he said flaunting around the room.

"Oh that'll be a show," you mused and Freddie laughed a bit as he bounced around slightly. Boy was he excited for today, "Come on now," you said as you got up out of bed and pulled your robe off the corner of the headboard and wrapped it around yourself, "let's pick out your outfit for tonight".

"Don't you think I haven't thought of that?" said Freddie who proceeded to pull out an entirely white satin outfit complete with a fur coat hanging on a hanger in the closet—where he found a hanger in this house you didn't know, and how he learned to hang it was but a mystery...Freddie had never hung anything in his life. Oh the dear, you laughed to yourself, you found everything he did amusing and so lovable, even if it was lack of basic housework knowledge.

Freddie put the outfit on as you pulled out your clothes and began to get dressed. He finished and began modeling them.

"You little angel," you said as you pulled your shirt over and began to laugh. He looked so sweet and there was just something about his excitement that got to you as well. Freddie sometimes hated how occasionally cutesy you could be with him. He loved to be adored, but not in a way that would seem to innocent.

"Oh please, I'm no cherub," Freddie stated as he flipped his hair with some sort of flare.

You came over to him and kissed his cheek, "I know", you teased with a little squeeze of his ass. Freddie wasn't the only one who could have fun fooling around. He giggled a bit, god he was a child.

You walked out the door and began to start on breakfast.

The midmorning light was streaming in the living room windows and the usual assorted teen was laying passed out on the couch, you saw lying next to him the Ritz, Maltsers, and HP sauce concoction lying next to him almost entirely eaten. Those boys could eat anything I swear, you laughed to yourself.

You put the kettle on and started to scramble up a couple of eggs. You heard Freddie singing in the next room. He really did have a beautiful voice, smooth as satin, sweet as sugar.

You called Freddie in and you both enjoyed a light quick breakfast before you had to head out to meet the rest of the Ibex boys.

You both met up with the group down at Ealing, it seemed like the easiest place to get the group together. There were quite a lot of you going, about 15 in total. It was amazing you all were going to squeeze into one van together—granted was a a rather big van. Richard Thompson, formerly the drummer in 1984 with Brian and Roger, had owned this gigantic transit van for the longest time and had no use for it.

Besides Mick, Mike, and John, Ken Testi, and Geoff Higgins were going, plus the whole lot of their friends and girlfriends. It was a full house for sure. Remembering all their names proved rather difficult, but you were going to try.

You got down that Bruce was the one with the eyepatch, apparently he had a tumor, poor guy. You'd known Paul long enough, he always had this very distinctive bowl cut that never seemed to change. Miffer, Mike, had an odd sort of little half-beard and long hair, he always seemed to have a smile streaked across his face and that gave reason for him to be recognizable.

Mike had very Brian May like hair—of course that's an odd comparison to give now knowing that no one here would understand the reference to the future poodle-like coiffure. John, Tupp, was rather was a rather quiet blonde bassist, you wondered if all bassists were quiet, he was easy to remember. Peggy had been sweet to you when you first met, it seemed as though both of you were there for the same reason, to support your boys. Flogger, so he liked to be called, always seemed to have on this big leather jacket and was the tallest of the group.

Sîan, who looked an awful lot like Rosemary and surprised you at first, she was very sweet though, rather quiet at first but as soon as you grew comfortable, she became quite talkative. Ken kind of looked vaguely like Jim from the Office...yet another reference unbeknownst to the on the face of the earth for another 36 years. Helen was easy to spot, she had big curly red hair and very distinctive blue eyeliner, she wasn't too keen on you.

Richard looked very much like Miffer, but with a bigger beard, a mustache, and longer hair. Pat you had met back at her 21st birthday party down at The Kensington, she had rather short strawberry blonde hair and had an affinity for neck scarves so it seemed. Geoff you knew by his own matching neck ties and strawberry blonde hair! You got to know the group rather well during your drive up to the gig in Bolton.

You spent most of your time on the drive talking with Peggy and Sîan as Freddie was preoccupied with all the other boys in the van, mostly listening rather than talking, he was a bit shy around all these people. He was always sure to give attention to you though as well, his hand in yours the whole ride up.

It was great talking with Peggy and Sîan, you hadn't really had anyone who was a girl your age to talk to in a very long time. Sure there were girls that worked in the Biba store with you, but they were all much older or you didn't quite get along too well. You'd almost forgotten what it was like to talk with girls your own age. In every generation, you came to realize, girls are always just the same—some kind of constant that lives on through the ages. You talked about your boys for a bit, then your lives, and then just random interesting topics as the drive went on. Every now and then, Freddie would be eavesdropping and add his two cents.

By late evening you'd all finally arrived in Bolton. Miffer opened up the big van door and you all hopped out. You were all going for a quick drink at a pub you'd stopped at. The whole lot of you walked through the front door, and Freddie in his big fur coat and satin pants, acted like he owned the place. His fluctuating confidence was but a mystery, a joyful mystery. He walked his way over to the bar with a rather large gait and a big grin across his face.

"What would you like de—," Freddie began as he proceeded to bump into a fairly large coal miner standing at the bar next to him. You saw him quickly turn around in a fluster, only to bump into another towering coal miner.

Freddie then ran out of the pub screaming. You and everyone just laughed, the coal miners were rather confused but laughed as well. You rushed outside to find Freddie back in the van brushing micro amounts of soot off of his satin pants.

"Freddie," you laughed, "You can't just scream at people".

"Look at this mess!" he exclaimed, rubbing at a barely noticeable amount of soot on his pant leg.

You chuckled, "Here Freddie, come back inside and I'll take care of it".

Reluctantly, Freddie came along back inside, rather embarrassed really—you saw the redness in his cheeks.

You sat him down at a table, grabbed a napkin, got it slightly damp, and blotted out the soot, "There," you stated, "All better?"

"Yes," he let out quietly. Then it was back to sitting over with the boys. This time you went up to the bar and grabbed you and Freddie both a pint. You went over and sat with Freddie, Miffer, and Tupp who were all discussing tomorrow's gig.

"I think we should play Communication Breakdown first," began Miffer

"No, Jailhouse Rock is much more of an intro," said Tupp

"I seriously think Communication Breakdown needs to be our first song," argued Miffer, "It is definitely more of an intro song".

"...I have to agree," said Freddie, trying to add to the conversation.

"Well. I suppose we could begin with an instrumental and then start off with Communication Breakdown then later move into Jailhouse Rock," Tupp gave in.

"That's more like it," said Miffer, "Now Freddie, you're all rehearsed and ready for this, right?"

"Oh I'll give quite a show dear," answered Freddie in confidence for the first time. He was rather shy around the rest of the boys but wished to put himself out there more.

"Good, we're going to rehearse in a bit and then tomorrow you've got to give it all you've got Fred," replied Miffer.

With that, Mick returned from talking with the owner of the pub and sat himself between you and Miffer.

"Alright, so I just finished talking with the guy who runs this place, he said we can practice here for about an hour or so, but then we gotta be out of here," said Mick.

"Great, Miffer and Fred, why don't you help me round up the boys real quick," said Tupp, to which we all followed.

Freddie went out with the boys to the van and you got the rest of the girls to help clear some chairs out of the back corner so they would have a decent sized area to set up. After clearing the area, you ran back outside to see if you could be of some help. You saw Freddie just standing there on the side just watching—a usual when heavy lifting was involved—it made you laugh a little inside.

"Watch it dear! Watch it! Watch it! You're going to bump th—" Freddie's "guidance" was then interrupted by the loud crash of symbols and the bouncing of toms as they fell, rather comedically really.

"Great." stated Tupp rather annoyed.

"I tried to tell you!" said Freddie with a flick of the wrist.

"Here let me help," you said as you reached down to pick up a cymbal. Tupp reached down to pick up parts of the hi-hat that had fallen next to you.

"Is he always like this?" Tupp said quietly.

"Yep," you laughed as you stood up.

"How long you two been together?" asked Tupp, placing the bottom cymbal back on the hi-hat stand.

"A little over four and a half years now," you said smiling at the thought of it, you it hadn't really crossed your mind how long it had really been.

"My god," Tupp said with a look of comic disbelief across his face. You laughed, both at the comment and also as you saw Freddie attempting to carry his weight by straddling the biggest tom drum between his arms and legs unnecessarily, the other boys offering him help through the door but him refusing to let them.

"There's no one else like Freddie," you said smiling, "And there never will be". A bit of melancholy nostalgia for the future came up briefly but you brushed it away.

Tupp caught on to this odd change in mood and interjected the pregnant pause, "Well, you two are great together," said Tupp, "I'm glad he's got someone to take care of him".

You smiled.

Freddie finally finished fiddling with the door in front of the pub and finally let someone open it for him.

"Me too," you said.

And with that you and Tupp went back inside the pub where you helped set up the rest of the stage and heard Freddie preform with Ibex for the first time. He was a natural. It was absolutely breathtaking, and it wasn't even show time yet. But there was something about just that performance there that felt so unreal. This was Freddie Bulsara—Freddie Mercury.