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Despite its quaint and lacklustre appearance, Ridge Farm was anything but during Queen’s stay. When they weren't recording they were discussing new song ideas and when they weren't doing that they were changing everything about each other’s songs. If they weren't sleeping they were working, even mealtimes turned into conference meetings with Freddie mentioning redos, Roger defending his… interesting concepts and Brian rewriting lyrics. John spent these times adding up the cost of every day in his head, hoping this album would live up to the hype they gave it.
Regardless of this heavy workload, there was always the rare occurrence of a day off, and this day was sure to be one of them. While Fred and Rog were off doing some photoshoot outside which John hastily declined to join in on, he was finally able to spend a day in silence. Or near silence at least.
Brian also declined the offer, opting to tweak his weird space song a bit longer before tomorrow's recording. The soft strumming of an acoustic guitar a few rooms over only added to the ambiance of this relaxing day where John had so far spent it bundled up on a couch reading through a well-read copy of Brave New World , which he randomly picked out from the worn bookshelf in the living room.
John must admit that a book with a cup of tea isn't normally his usual form of relaxation, but after spending months with loud noises and bickering, the radio or television were the last things he wanted to use. Despite the cliche, John couldn’t help but feel more relaxed than he had in months.
God knows how much time had passed, but John soon found himself bolting out of a nap he never intended on starting after hearing his name being called out. After wiping the sleep out of his eyes he looked up to see Brian anxiously wringing his hands. John had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes.
"I'll listen to it tomorrow Brian, I'm sure your riff is fine." John then pulled the throw blanket back over his shoulders, ready to accept that he would be spending the rest of the day asleep. Unfortunately, Brian didn't catch the hint.
"Wh- no that's not what I came here for! I'm worried about Freddie and Roger, they're not back yet."
John glanced at his watch. It was nearly two in the afternoon, meaning they have been out for almost four hours. Despite being far less worried than his bandmate, John had to admit that is a suspiciously long time.
"It’s Fred and Rog though, do you remember how long the Sheer Heart Attack photoshoot went on? They’ll probably keep going until they run out of film." He tried to rationalize. Recalling back to the chilling wind he could hear this morning, it's going to take a lot more than Brian feeling slightly anxious to make him move out of his bundled-up state.
"Deaky, trust me, I wouldn't be worried without reason. They went out in the wooded area and we both know how directionally challenged the two of them are."
Once again, Brian was right. The number of phone calls John would get only minutes before Roger and Fred promised to pick him up for band practice in the early days was unbelievable. It got to a point where it was faster to take the bus instead. Freddie always found ways to show up somewhere without knowing where he is going and Rog always had too much on his mind to recall how to get from one place to the other.
"What do you need me for? You go out and look for them. I'm sure they couldn't have gotten too far."
"Well… it's a huge forest - and - erm…" John looked up at Brian who was clearly wracking his brain for a better reason than he is scared to go alone. It was somewhat cute actually, as he ran his hand through his hair as if to shake an excuse out. Brian was just like that, a fumbling lanky mess that somehow manages to have enough redeeming qualities that you can't help but admire.
As John realized the flushed feeling emitting from his face is due to more than the warmth of the blanket he couldn’t help but think that maybe some fresh air would do him some good. He promptly stood up and after a quick stretch looked over to Brian, saying, "fine. But if they are completely okay and come back while we are out you're going to regret it."
The cool October breeze was still quite present in the afternoon as John wished he put on more than whatever coat he had hanging in the boot room. He zipped up the jacket as much as possible and hoped that it wouldn't be long before the four of them are back inside with a hot cup of tea.
The two of them headed towards the forested area behind the farm, it was large enough to get lost in, but the rough path that was clearly formed decades ago provided an ease of access to walking around. Looking farther to his left John noticed another end to the path, meaning there must be some form of a loop.
"Brian, not even a child could get lost in here, this is pointless."
Brian rolled his eyes in response, "do you really think that those two would stick along the path? God forbid Freddie doesn’t check every inch of space within the woods to find the perfect tree to lean against. It shouldn’t take long, we will just walk through the path and shout their name a bit, I'm sure they can manage to make enough noise for us to hear."
John let out a silent laugh and moved forward. Brian was right, it really shouldn't take long.
"Brian I am telling you, I'm positive we passed by this tree already. See? This is the branch you ran into."
"Oh for God's sake, there is no way we are going in circles if we keep going in a straight line."
John whipped his head around, staring daggers into Brian's eyes. "That would be the case if you wouldn’t keep changing the way we are going because you keep on getting your hair caught in branches!"
It’s been well over thirty minutes since Brian swore he heard a cry for help in the opposite direction of the path. John knew he should have stayed where he was but when he saw Brian stumble over the first bush he walked past, he didn't like the chances of Brian's return without him tagging along.
At this point, John could no longer feel his nose and Brian was half-covered in scrapes from branches he was somehow incapable of avoiding. John was a solid couple of meters ahead, his one-track mind so focused on finding the damned path again that he left Brian trailing behind, fumbling to catch up. John nearly didn’t notice the snapping of multiple branches behind him until the slew of swears soon followed.
John turned around, sighing in annoyance. "How many times are you going to trip over things before realizing you should look where you step?" The sarcasm soon left when he noticed Brian's silent response as he draws his knee closer to his chest. "Are you alright?"
Brian inhaled sharply, "yeah, just fine! Give me a moment okay?"
John watched carefully as Brian attempted to stand up, using a tree nearby as far too much support for someone who promises to be okay. The moment he began to add pressure to his right ankle Brian stumbled again, nearly toppling over if it wasn’t for John quickly coming up next to him for support.
Guiding Brian to sit down again, he felt a pang of guilt as he noticed Brian wince. Maybe he was being a little harsh. "Let me just check out your ankle, I'm sure it's just a bruise." Brian nodded silently, quickly looking away from John the moment after eye contact was made.
Lifting up Brian's pantleg just slightly, it was clear what happened. "you rolled over your ankle, it might be a sprain. See? It's already swelling up."
Cringing, Brian looked even more in the opposite direction. "I would rather not see it," he laughed awkwardly.
John chuckled too, despite the situation. "You would think that with your level of clumsiness, injuries like these would be more commonplace," Brian just shook his head, a small smile forming.
“Shocking isn’t it?” Brain joked back. John smiled back only slightly, fighting back the grin that suddenly wanted to burst out. He looked back over at Brian's ankle to hide his flushed face. "Well, we should probably put some ice on this."
"Brilliant idea, did you bring any with you?"
John rolled his eyes, the full smile finally breaking out. "You know what I mean,” he paused, thinking over how to solve this issue, “I suppose I can try to retrace our steps quickly while you sit here and hopefully-"
Brian's eyes widened, "you're not going to just leave me alone here! I'm coming with you if you're leaving."
John furrowed his brows, "not only will that slow us down immensely but it'll only make your ankle worse, the best option is for you to stay put, I will try to not be long…" John began to stand up again, abruptly stopping when he felt Brian's hand wrap around his wrist.
"Please don't leave me alone."
The intense eye contact between the two was overwhelming enough for John to quickly nod in agreement just to stop his heart from beating so rapidly. "Right… okay," he quickly broke eye contact and stood up fully to look around. "Well, this does make things a bit more difficult."
"I suppose I could use some form of a walking stick as an aid." Brian chimed in.
"That's a possibility but most of the branches and trees around here tend to snap the moment any pressure is applied. In fact, I was shocked that tree was able to support you while standing," John gestured to the maple that Brian was leaning against. It was clearly old based on its thick trunk and strong branches, one of the few remaining trees that still had plenty of leaves proving it's more alive and stable than most of the other greenery that was slowly dying off due to a lack of sunlight. John froze, suddenly realizing the potential in front of him.
"Deaky?" Brian called out, snapping John out of his train of thought.
"I have an idea, just give me a moment…" John walked underneath what looked like the strongest branch, jumping up to grab onto it. Only a foot off the ground, John continued testing its strength by shaking around. Apart from a few fall leaves shedding, the branch barely moved. He then dropped down and wiped his hands on his pants "Perfect."
By now, Brian had clearly caught on, "John there is no way you’re climbing up this tree, that's completely ridiculo-"
"Do you have a better idea?" John put a hand on his hip as he waited momentarily. After a few seconds of silence, John went to the trunk of the tree, quickly hoisting himself up once he found the best spot to do so. "Besides, children do it all the time, I'm sure I can manage."
He could hear Brian scoff in annoyance but chose to ignore it as he went to grab another branch. It wasn’t long before he made it up as safely as he could go, which was just high enough to see where the tree line ends and the smoke coming from the chimney of Ridge Farm. John nearly burst out laughing when he realized they spent that time going entirely the wrong way before climbing back down.
After making a solid ‘thud’ on the ground from hopping off the last branch, he took the time to warm up his hands with his breath as he heard Brian speak.
"So?"
"I think we owe Rog and Freddie an apology."
This time following a straight line towards Ridge Farm, it didn’t take long before the two were back on the path. John did the best he could to support Brian as he limped along, they were pressed close enough together that John could hear even the slightest whimper of pain coming from Brian, sending John a clear message to start walking a little slower. John really wasn’t used to this type of physical closeness, especially with Brian out of all people, making this whole situation incredibly overwhelming.
Eventually, they made their way back to the farm, the both of them letting out a sigh of relief almost in unison. Upon entering the house, the first thing they noticed was the scent of burnt toast.
"Darlings! Wherever have you two been?" Freddie soon walked into the boot room, with the burnt toast in hand. Roger soon followed after skewing his face into a grin as he looked at John essentially being Brian's crutch.
"I don’t think I've ever seen you two be that close, let alone touch each other," he quipped.
John and Brian stood in silence, shocked at the scene in front of them. Due to all the hassle of getting lost themselves, the two of them forgot their original reason for how they got there in the first place.
"Where have we been?" John spoke eventually, "where the fuck have you guys been? We spent the past hour looking for you outside!"
Freddie and Roger look at each other in confusion. "We went out shopping for groceries, didn’t you notice the car was gone?" Fred spoke slowly, now just as confused as his bandmates in front of him.
"Wait… so you weren't in the woods?" Brian eventually chimed in.
"Well not for long," Roger answered. "It’s fucking cold outside. We snapped a few photos and opted for heading to that nearby pub and picking something up for dinner."
John huffed, "why didn’t you let us know? Brian was so worked up that I began worrying!"
"We did!" Freddie exclaimed. "We called out in the house before we left, no one responded so we assumed you two were busy!"
John looked over angrily at Brian who suddenly felt the spotlight on him. "I was working on my song! I didn’t hear anything!"
Groaning, John finally took a step forward, dragging Brian along, "Whatever, let's just get you sat down."
Ignoring Rog and Freddie's queries, John shoved them aside and quickly brought Brian over to sit in a worn leather recliner, soon after bringing out the first frozen bag he could find. With more care than John would normally take, he ensured Brian’s leg was propped up with ice. He then finally turned over to Fred and Rog who spent the past couple of minutes hovering over his shoulder to explain Brians injury to which Freddie immediately rushed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, Roger, caring less so about the situation simply followed along, deciding to bring up his new car fetish song once again.
Turning back to Brian, John smiled, "There you go, that's really all we can do now," at this point, John was now more than ready to leave the room to have a hot shower before heading straight to bed. "Knowing how Freddie is, he will be at your beck and call for the next few hours."
After sharing a short laugh, John began walking away when he heard brian softly speak.
"Thank you Deaks."
John turned around slightly, blushing furiously when he saw the genuine gratitude on Brian's face. After mumbling ‘don’t worry about it,’ John quickly rushed up to his room, groaning with embarrassment as he got ready to hop into the shower to wash away all these strange overwhelming emotions that now tend to pop up whenever Brian is around.
“It’s been a weird day, tomorrow you’ll be back to normal,” He tells himself in the mirror before stepping into the much too hot water.