Chapter Text
Chapter One
A college pub was really not the sort of place Dr. Brian May, PhD, would normally be, but he had been invited by several of his favorite students specifically for their first performance as a band, and he really couldn’t say no. He felt a bit better when he spotted several other teachers mingling about, and naturally gravitated toward them. He saw a familiar blond head and smiled, feeling a lot better.
“Hey Roger.”
“Brian!” The dental professor grinned at his friend. “Good to see you here. Damn though, now I lose a bet with John….he said you wouldn’t come to a see a live rock and roll band.”
“John is here?” Brian was truly surprised at that bit of news.
Roger gestured toward the stage where students that Brian recognized as being in the musical group were milling around assorted equipment and wires. In the middle of the group was a man just a few years older than the students, fiddling with the electrical lines and stage controls. “Yeah, we both know he’s not the sort to come to a college pub either, but apparently he promised some of the kids to help set up their homemade equipment. I think he’s hoping to run for the door as soon as the show starts, and I hope we can keep him – and you- out for at least an hour or so.” Roger shoved a beer into Brian’s hand. “Come on now, let’s show these young kids how it’s done.”
Brian snorted in amusement. “The last time I got plastered was the night I was awarded my doctorate. And as for what they call music these days? Heaven forbid. I wouldn’t know where to even start.”
“I know,” Roger sighed in agreement, blue eyes twinkling. “But we promised, so here we are.”
They chatted easily, welcoming John when the engineer threw up his hands and came to the now unofficial faculty table.
“Let them commit mass suicide by electrocution, see if I care,” he muttered under his breath. He blinked as he saw Brian. “Oh, hello Brian.”
“Hi John, good to see you.”
Brian had always liked the quiet, young engineer. He was something of the ‘boy genius’ in the engineering department, having gotten his advanced degrees at a very young age and he had yet to turn 30. He also had a number of engineering patents, if Brian recalled correctly, but loathed attention being called to it. He was Professor John Deacon, C.Eng (Chartered Engineer) but Brian had heard a few faculty members refer to him as ‘Professor D’ and the ‘D’ may not have been intended in a nice manner. Roger had heard that once and had nearly started a fight in one of the faculty cafeterias defending his friend. John was the youngest full faculty member at the entire college, and Brian and Roger had always looked after him a bit.
“Come on sit and stay a bit,” Roger urged the youngest man. “I saved you a seat. And a pint,” he added with a grin.
John sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I promised them that I would stay for their set,” he agreed reluctantly. “If for no other reason than to try to prevent mass murder by electricity if that homemade amp explodes.”
“There’s the spirit,” Roger said cheerfully. “Come on, sit and join us. You got both of us here with you, mate.” Brian had to smile at Roger’s enthusiasm.
Roger was a long-time friend, but a tad of a contradiction. Totally serious when he was Dr. Taylor, DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) and a much sought-after lecturer for classes and as a medical student mentor. But off duty he could be a bit of a party animal when in the right mood; Brian received texts now and then from Roger at ungodly hours, showing pics of him closing out a pub with a rotation of lovely lady friends. However, Brian also knew that the muttered student rumors were true: Dr. Taylor had a strict policy of never dating current or past students or colleagues. More than one student (male and female) had bemoaned that fact.
Brian considered Roger’s policy to be a sound personal stand, not that he himself had much of a dating policy; he was pretty busy with his work and teaching and did wonder how Roger found the time to date. (He didn’t really know it, but he was also oblivious, because he had once been asked if he had a policy “like Dr. Taylor does”. He had squinted – he’d been looking through a telescope for the previous hour – and politely said: ”I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear you?” The student had quickly excused themselves, not wanting to embarrass their teacher).
The three professors visited a while, all three wincing when the live band started. It was only loyalty to their assorted students that kept them past the opening song and John looked rather in pain. Fortunately, Roger had chosen a table that was as far away from the stage as possible, and the men could still converse without too much shouting. When the band took a break, it was Brian’s turn to get a round of beers and he headed for the bar.
It took a while to get the attention of a bartender, because there was an unusually large swarm of students at one corner of the bar. When the crowd of young adults parted for a second, Brian saw a man his age sitting, holding court, as it were, at the bar, laughing and joking with the students around him. A DJ had taken over the dance floor and some of the group went away to dance, giving the man a bit of a break.
Brain exchanged a polite nod, thinking that the man somehow looked vaguely familiar. Short jet-black hair and a mustache that shouldn’t have looked so good, but it did. Unlike Brian, Roger and John, however, who were dressed in sensible professors’ garb of neat trousers and jackets, this man had on tight black jeans, a red top, and jewelry. Brian himself had exactly one ear piercing, now long closed.
“Quite the scene tonight, eh?” the man half-yelled through the noise, smiling. Brian chuckled in return.
“Actually, my friends and I are just trying to last through this band,” he admitted. “Thankfully, our students are the opening act. Doubt I could last for the main attraction.”
The man laughed. “Same reason I’m here,” he agreed. “The lead singer is a student of mine. But surely you mean to go onto a real pub after this is over, right? It’s a lovely Saturday night with no classes tomorrow. I offered to hold classes on a Sunday and was politely told it was against univ policy, so no excuses to not enjoy the evening.”
Ah, so he was a teacher. Brian felt a bit better at there being some connection. He must have seen him at faculty gatherings; that was why he looked a bit familiar. “No classes, no,” he agreed. “However, there is a meteor shower that I need to keep an eye on.” He took a deep breath and extended his hand. “Brian May, Astrophysics.”
“I’m Freddie, Freddie Mercury. Graphic Design and Art.” His handshake was as warm as his smile.
“Oh, right.’ Something finally clicked in Brian’s head. “You’re the chap with the mega-business right? Guest lecturing this year? That’s really nice of you.”
“The business can take care of its self, finally,” Freddie smiled modestly. “I’m glad to be of some help with the next generation.”
Brian smiled back, vaguely now recalling a wave of publicity when the famous designer had come to teach for the year and be the official Artist-in-Residence. Freddie Mercury was fashion designer to the rich and famous for clothing and decorating, and he was rich and famous himself. There were even rumors of work for the Royal Family, which had caused a huge excitement at the college. Enrollment in the graphic arts department had never been so high.
They chatted for a few minutes as Brian waiting for his drinks, and Brian was quietly bemused at the group of college students dancing and enjoying themselves. Ah, to be young again.
“You aren’t exactly old,” Freddie suddenly said, and Brian laughed.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
“Heavens, no worries. In fact I’ve had similar feelings now and then since coming back to university. I was always the young rising star. Now? I am merely a star.” He looked falsely smug, poking fun at himself, and Brian had to laugh.
“Well if you aren’t too much of a star, they why don’t you come join the other old fogies,” Brian gestured toward the table that Roger and Brian had claimed; the one furthest away from the stage so as to provide the least amount of noise. He knew Roger wouldn’t mind, and they did have an extra chair at the table. John would be okay as long as Brian and Roger were with him. It seemed only polite to extend an offer to a fellow teacher. “Assuming your…er…fans, can spare you, of course,” he added as several young women nearby batted eyes at the designer.
Freddie beamed. “I would be delighted.” He picked up his drink and followed Brian.
“Chaps, I found another teacher at the bar,” Brian introduced them all. “Freddie Mercury, Graphic Arts; meet Roger Taylor, Dentistry and Biology, and John Deacon, Electrical Engineering.”
Roger extended a hearty handshake, always ready to meet new people. He seemed to know who Freddie was, and immediately said something about a style design that Brian didn’t understand but made Freddie laugh. John was his usual more reserved self, but Freddie didn’t seem to notice or mind one bit.
“So all four of us were talked into coming here for students, right?” Freddie asked, making himself at home at the table. The other three men sighed in agreement. “Come now, music aside, it isn’t that bad. Maybe we can find some bars for grown-ups when this is over.”
“John is usually too busy tinkering with electricity,” Roger explained to Freddie, but with a friendly smile, so John wouldn’t take offense. The engineer just shrugged. “And Brian looks through his telescope far too much. You’re right, there are some grown up pubs nearby, and I’m happy to show you around, but I can never talk these two into getting through the doorway.”
“He has tried and failed,” Brian admitted to Freddy.
“I’m not much for pubs,” John offered quietly, still making it clear that he was making a sacrifice to be present at this point.
Freddie smiled warmly. “Well then, Roger, when our students are finished, how about you and I go on a tour of a local place or two?”
“Oh, please, don’t encourage him,” Brian sighed. Roger’s eyes just lit up in anticipation.
“Are you sure? The places around here must be rather bland compared to a designers London lifestyle,” Roger said with a smile.
“Nonsense,” Freddie assured him. He then turned to John. ‘Now, John, I don’t mean to talk shop, but I do have an engineering question if you don’t mind.”
John looked up, surprised, but with a hesitant smile. “Um, yes?”
“I’ve always wondered about the design of something, and you might be just the chap who could answer it—“and with that Freddie was asking extremely intelligent questions about construction. It was as if he had read the youngest man’s mind, and the engineer was soon talking more than Brian or Roger had ever heard him before outside the lecture hall. Freddie just listened, asked for clarification when appropriate, and Brian and Roger exchanged shrugs. Anyone who could get John out of his shell was alright by them.
The band started up again, and they all winced. Good grief, the second half was even worse.
“What ever happened to good music?” Freddie lamented after John had finished explaining how electricity worked on the international space station.
“Good music; the 90’s?” Roger guessed.
“Don’t be absurd.”
“80’s?”
“Punk and New Wave? I should think not.”
Roger looked hopeful. “The 70’s?” he tried. Brian had to smile, since he knew that was both his and Roger’s favorite era of music.
Freddie’s face lit up in a smile. ‘’Yes!” he exclaimed. “Finally, someone who appreciates good music.” He held up a hand in warning. “But not disco.”
“Lord no,” John interjected, and his tone was firm. “Classic good rock,” he said. He saw the looks of mild surprise on Brian and Roger’s faces, and blushed a little. “I listen to music…good music” he said, a tad defensively.
“Oh course you do, dear,” Freddie beamed. “You know what you like, and that is what’s important.” John blushed, and just like that, the famous designer had been allowed a step into John’s tiny circle of friends. This Freddie Mercury definitely had some kind of magic.
They talked about music while the band continued and the bar became more and more crowded. Brian was relieved when the opening act was done and their obligation to the students was over. “I think we can leave,” he said, smiling at John. “No explosions; good job.” At Freddie’s questioning look, he grinned. “John was helping students wire up their homemade equipment. Trying to prevent any accidents.”
Freddie beamed at the youngest teacher. “Very good of you to help, them.” John looked embarrassed again, but pleased.
“Leaving sounds good to me,” Roger agreed. John was already reaching for his coat. Roger turned to Freddie with a smile. “Care to try that pub hopping? And can we talk you into it, Brian and John?”
Brian chuckled. “You go on ahead,” he said. I’m out at night only to see the stars.” He turned to Freddie and grinned. “Present company excluded, of course.”
Freddie laughed. “I’m sure the stars you follow are much brighter and smarter than those I hang out with. How about a compromise? I have found a lovely coffee bar nearby – very quiet, I promise,” he said to John with a reassuring smile. “But still with plenty of alcohol. How does that sound?”
Roger was bouncing on his heels. “I’m game,” he said cheerfully. “Come on, you two,” he encouraged the other professors.
Brian was more than a bit bemused. The evening was not turning out as he had planned, but still, it was very good. “I’ll go,” he agreed. “The sky is too cloudy for good observation anyway and the mainframe computer is already booked.” He looked at the engineer. “John?” he asked gently, encouraging, but not wanting to push.
John bit his lip, and Brian was sure he was going to decline, but Freddie came forward.
“Come now, please let me buy you a cup of coffee,” he said cheerfully. “As thanks for all the engineering assistance. I really cannot thank you enough, my dear. Just one coffee, I promise, and then we shall call it a night.”
“Al-alright,” John conceded.
“That’s the spirit,” Freddie said, happily and slung a gentle arm around the younger man, guiding him to the door. Roger grinned and Brian shook his head as they followed the other men outside. It had taken them months to get John to agree to even come out to dinner, and here Freddie had definitely worked some magic not just on John but apparently on them as well. Brian decided he was simply going to roll with it.
Twenty minutes later they were at a quiet, relaxed, establishment seated in a booth and chatting. Brian and John stuck to plain decaf coffee, but Freddie and Roger quickly bonded over a fondness for coffee with booze.
That evening was the first of many visits for the four as they found that they really had a great deal in common and got along quite well. Freddie announced they had similar enough schedules to meet for lunch or tea on most school days, immediately organizing meetings, and it was a sign of his trust that John was usually willing to come out of his lab or office to join them. For all that he was a famous and wealthy designer, Freddie was really one of the most modest and polite people around, and he never dropped any names despite Roger occasionally fishing for gossip about celebrity clients (Brian and John would just sip their drinks or eat their meal, usually having no idea who the people were that Roger and Freddie were discussing). Freddie in turn kept everyone upbeat and positive, was truly interested in the sciences, and always asked intelligent questions. He could draw John out of his usual quiet shell, and once listened sympathetically and intently for 30 minutes while John complained bitterly about a student science project gone wrong that had apparently involved potatoes.
But for the most part, they bonded over music and simply being a good blend of personalities. Brian and John kept an eye on Roger and Freddie when they got into a drinking contest at a pub one night, and Roger and Freddie made sure that Brian and John left their labs and saw the light of day (or stars of night) on a regular basis. They met for lunch most days at the faculty dinning hall, and at least a few nights a week at a pub for dinner and drinks.
They became good mates.