No One But You (Only The Good Die Young)
Stiles & Claudia
(wordcount: 785)
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Stiles was feeling very hazy, he knew the Minister was speaking - extolling all his dead mother's virtues and matching them with scripture like he'd told both he and his father before it all started - but he wasn't actually hearing it. Not really. Things still felt unreal, like he wasn't living it in truth or like a really crappy dream that he'd love to wake up from sometime soon. Then certain words penetrated the haze.

".. and now her son, Stiles, has something he wanted to share with you all."

That was his cue, he got up from his seat in the front pew and walked up to where he'd previously set up his guitar, amp, and microphone. His father followed him to take his own place at the piano. Stiles was really thankful that his dad had agreed when he'd proposed they do this, he didn't know if he would have been able to actually do it if he hadn't. Stiles methodically turned everything on that he needed to almost by rote, thanks to the long hours of practice he'd put in to get ready for this, and then when he was done he spoke into his mic.

"Hey, everyone." His voice cracked and he stopped to clear his throat before continuing, "My mom, as anyone who knew her knows, was an absolutely huge Queen fan." Soft slightly broken laughter sporadically broke out in the congregation as friends and family of Claudia reacted to, what was to them, well known information. "Yeah, I know, didn't really need to be said, but it was a good way to lead into what I am doing up here." He cleared his throat again and smiled sadly. "As I hadn't been born yet when it happened, I was told that my mom was devastated when Freddie Mercury died. And then when I was about three or four, I can't remember, a song came out from the three remaining members of the band as a kind of eulogy for Freddie, and my mom loved it; both the song and that they had eulogized him in his chosen medium. She told me that they couldn't have found a better way to say goodbye to him and so when we were asked if we wanted to say a few words in farwell while we were putting Mom's funeral together I had this idea that I could sing for her. Combine her love for music as well as her love for Queen."

He stepped back from the mic for a moment to gather himself, and then nodded to his father where he sat at the piano. His father started to play as he stepped forward and started singing,

"...A hand above the water

An angel reaching for the sky

Is it raining in heaven

Do you want us to cry?..."

Stiles was lost in the moment, focused entirely on the song. His clear treble soared around the room with only the tiniest rasp to it. The rasp adding to the mournful quality of the already moving song, and many listening were enthralled. At the beginning of the second verse, Stiles began to mimic drum sounds on his guitar while his father kept the piano bit going as Stiles continued to sing. Then when Noah's voice, a light tenor with an even heavier rasp, joined in at the end of the second verse as backup, everyone listening were rocked with the sheer emotion the two remaining family members were sharing with them. Stiles now started to strum on his guitar while somehow still keeping some of the drum sounds going when they moved into the chorus together. The third and fourth verses were again just Stiles singing, but his father joined in again on the final chorus until they alternated,

"... Cryin' for nothing…" Stiles sang.

"...Cryin' for no one…" Noah sang, his voice sounding very strained.

And then Stiles ended it, "...No one but you…"

Stiles let his voice trail off with the final word as he gave a hearty strum to his guitar strings, and only when he was done did he duck his head and let his face crumble a bit with the emotions he was trying so desperately to hold back. He pulled himself back together after only a few tears had spilled over and raised his head again.

"Thank you." He said roughly, muffled crying and scattered applause swept through the room. Stiles nodded stiltedly in thanks and then said, "My dad wanted to sing his own farewell to my mom, so he's up next." Stiles then moved back from the mic and used one of his sleeves to dry his face as everyone's attention swapped from him to his dad.