Don't Lose Your Head - Queen (platonic)

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Roger (and John) being an over-exaggerated version of himself. 

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1978

Everything was going fine before, few disagreements here and there but nothing mean enough to make someone walk out.

Although, there was one band member in particular, who seemed to be having a bad day. And he was picking fights over little things.

Currently, over how the percussion should be with Freddie. 

"No, I don't want it to sound like that! It should be a bigger sound!" 

-

"Roger, we've talked about this, you know better—whoever's song it is, gets the say if they want things done a certain way." 

"It's a weird tempo, anyway. I just want it to be a hit for you." Roger growled.

"I know what I'm doing, trust me." Freddie kept his patient tone.

Roger frowned and tossed his drumsticks to the side, mumbling something not very nice.

-

Brian didn't usually try to get involved in moments like this, but he was feeling annoyed too, just wondering what was wrong with the drummer today 

He stepped to the side, following the blond, "Rog, what's going on? You're not usually fussy." 

That made Roger more irritated, though, causing him to snap a little. "None of your business, Bri! Leave me alone." 

Though, normally a listener, Brian firmly put his hands on Roger's shoulders, commanding his attention.

-

The blue-eyed man squirmed in an attempt to break free, not succeeding due to the guitarist's surprisingly strong grip.

 He couldn't bring himself to hurt his friend, though, so he stopped and sighed out of annoyance.

"Maybe you just need time to cool off." Brian suggested softly.

Roger crossed his arms like a child, but then came closer to the man, embracing him calmly.

-

Brian was taken by surprise, but hugged back, listening as he heard the drummer quietly speak apologies. 

"I'm sorry, Bri, just exhausted and I don't know what came over me.. Really, I don't feel well." 

"That's okay.. But I thought you would have said something before if you didn't feel up to it..?" He matched the whisper of the voice.

Roger merely shrugged, losing the words he wanted to say momentarily.

-

When the guitarist tried to let go, the drummer only stayed closer, not letting him go.

"Can I just, rest on a sofa with you? You must be tired too, surely." 

The taller man thought it over, then agreed, they had done a lot of work all at once.

The two sat down together, mostly in silence. It didn't matter though; Roger was no longer snapping at everyone he talked to.

----

The next day, when they thought they'd dealt with all the fussiness possible, a different band member was acting up: John. 

No-one understood as to why, since he usually didn't act grumpy, especially for no reason.

Freddie was the first to observe this, noticing the bassist being more alone than usual. 

"Deacy, are you okay? You can always tell me if there's a problem." 

-

John only stared, absent-mindedly playing his instrument he was best at.

Freddie took that as a sign to back down, resuming work on the song.

Roger looked over at them both, looking to Brian for some answer, earning a shake of the head in reply.

So the three let him be for a while, not taking it too seriously.

--

Around half an hour later, the youngest in the group started to get restless and couldn't sit still all of the sudden. It was physical signs of frustration. 

Again, the question was imposed, by the guitarist this time. "John, are you doing all right?" 

"No, I'm not, and I don't want to do this right now." He snapped back, carefully but angrily setting his bass on the stand.

Instead of storming off, he just frowned and folded his arms, sighing a few times.

-

Roger and Brian stepped away from their instruments, heading outside for a moment. Freddie stayed in, determined to handle the situation.

"I want to know how to help," Freddie broke the awkward silence.

"I don't think you can, Freddie.. I just want to be left alone." 

The singer respected his friend's wishes, stepping outside as well.

-

"Have you got through to him?" Roger wondered softly.

"No, he wanted to be alone for now.. I have to listen to that." Freddie pushed some hair out of his face.

-

But in the studio, John was starting to notice that his thoughts were not a good thing to be left alone with currently. 

He felt exhausted too, but was unsure of why. "Rock and roll burn out, I suppose. I'm terrible for arguing with them all, but.. I was getting.. Well, there's no real excuse." The man argued with himself.

"I should really go out there." John said for no-one, getting up and walking towards the door. He poked his head out, "you can come back in now, if you like." Was the answer to the three musicians.

Freddie, Roger and Brian all nodded at different times and came back, sitting down at the mixing board.

-

"Sorry that I've been so isolated, something took a hold of my mood." John mentioned, and Brian saw that he looked shy. No, ashamed.

"Don't worry about it, we understand." Brian hummed quietly after he talked.

Freddie gave a warm smile, encouraging the youngest, "we do. Ready to get back to work?"

John nodded, a wave of calmness going over his face. "Yeah, maybe I can even play some guitars," he earned a grin from Brian.

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Word count: 891.

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