Hello all once again! I cannot apologize enough for how long this took me to update. I had the next chapter written already when I published the first one, but I ended up scrapping the entire thing and the idea behind it because I was so unhappy with it. I took my time on this one to try and make it as enjoyable as possible. There will be two parts to this chapter, only because I have so many thoughts about what exactly went on in Jamaica while the Gorillaz were on vacation there and if I put all my ideas into this one chapter it'd be well over 6,000 words long. Thank you all for your kind reviews and continuous support, I truly cannot express how much I appreciate you all. If you'd like to keep track of me on tumblr, I go by the same name (latinsimona) on there as well. Enjoy!
cac·o·e·thes;
an irresistible urge to do something inadvisable.
"Murdoc, be careful!"
Instead of retorting with the slew of insults that hung on the tip of his tongue, Murdoc only rolled his eyes at the shill screaming emitting from his beloved singer. The bassist had been steadily climbing his way up a tree which, in hindsight, never really looked stable enough to hold him, but Murdoc's never been one to shy away from a bit of danger.
"For the last time, dullard, I can hold my own in this bloody tree. I'll be down in a minute, yeah? Hold your pretty horses." Murdoc assured him, discolored gaze squinting up at the bottle of rum a couple branches above his current spot. Only a few more feet, anyway. He could make it in his sleep.
Finally granted the silence he so desired, the only sound coming from the blue-haired singer down on the sand below him being the occasional whimper of fear, Murdoc allowed himself to relax a bit as he trudged up the winding beach tree. Hoisting one foot up precariously on the end of a branch (probably not a good idea) and reaching for the next one up (definitely not a good idea), Murdoc unknowingly grasped what appeared to be a slippery birds nest. Thinking nothing of it, Murdoc allowed all of his weight to be supported by this one limb, the very same limb that held on for dear life to the birds nest placed gently on the branch the bassist was grasping at. Then,
"Muds, look out!" The shrill scream came from his singer. The blue-haired male down in the sand noticed a rather large bird making its way down directly towards where Murdoc was grasping at the branch, showing no signs of slowing the speed he'd come swooping down at. The abrupt noise startled the bassist, causing his grip on the branch to loosen further.
"Wot the hell-" Murdoc had begun to conjure up a list of every curse word in the book to direct at singer for unknowingly scaring the very wits out of him, but before he could finish the accusation, he found his body falling backwards, his grip no longer solidified on the branch, but instead, wrapped tightly around a small birds nest. The bassist barely had time to scream before his back made a painful impact against the thick branch beneath him, hurtling his body further down the tree until he finally came to a sharp 'thunk' in the sand below.
x
"Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy on me, never let me die, gently," 2D's soft vocals resonated throughout the small section of the island the Gorillaz were inhabiting. His perch on the roof helped to carry the sound all throughout the beach huts that each of the members resided in. "Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy, with me, never let me go, no, no."
Lying awake in his own hut, body clad in nothing but an unbuttoned pair of denim jeans and the sweat-soaked fabric of his bedsheets, Murdoc allowed his cigarette to burn loosely between his lips, his gaze trained on the ceiling as he listened to the blue-haired male sing. And boy, was he singing.
Despite his generally abusive and demeaning attitude towards 2D, Murdoc truly admired him. Not only for surviving not one, not two, but three very serious head injuries (two straight from his own hands), but for his passion. It was no secret that 2D didn't understand much (three violent blows to the head tended to do that to a person), but one thing he always understood was music. No matter what, whether the song be for shits and giggles or something of true substance, 2D was always focused, always calculating how to make the sound better, where to add more guitar, where to lighten up on the drums a bit. Murdoc enjoyed watching 2D most when he was hunched over his keyboard, thick eyebrows drawn together in concentration with a forgotten cigarette burning between his lips as he conjured up what was always sure to be another piece of musical genius. It truly was a sight to see.
But what 2D's singing up on the roof, Murdoc's never heard before. He can only assume that sitting atop a hut in the middle of a Jamaican beach was what had inspired this particular tune, considering it's main focal point being gravity, the very thing tying 2D down to the roof instead of allowing him to drift away in the clouds as he so longed to do. 2D was alone up there, he knows. Everyone else had retired to their huts hours ago, ready to get some shut eye after a long, relaxing day on the beach. A part of Murdoc urges him to get up and go join the lonesome boy, but he refrains. He wants 2D to really think about this tune, without his influence. He wants to see what 2D's fractured head can come up with when he's alone with nothing but his lungs and the stars above him.
"I don't pull me down," 2D croons, his voice having dropped a bit after a particularly long pause. Murdoc can practically hear the gears turning in his head, his mind conjuring a rhythm to go along with the slow tune. "I don't pull me down on me."
Not long after he's finished this line, he starts up again with where he began, the word gravity flowing through his lips and soothing over Murdoc like a cool blanket. Murdoc can practically see 2D now, legs swinging over the edge of the roof, eyes drawn upward towards the stars, large fingers twisted around each other comfortingly. He can see the mussed blue locks, the violet-tinted bags that resided underneath each one of his hollow eyes, the dumb K.F.C. tattoo standing proudly against the pale skin of his shoulder. Murdoc allows his eyes to drift close with his imagination, allowing the various colors and shapes to take form behind his eyelids. He's accepted that sleep won't be coming to him anytime soon, so he figures he may as well enjoy a live performance.
Soon though, Murdoc's ever intuitive ears pick up on the familiar creek of a wooden door being pushed open, though he can still hear 2D singing from a spot that still sounds like the roof. Eyebrows hidden by a thick fringe scrunch together in confusion as discolored eyes slide open. Murdoc gets his answer soon enough as 2D pauses his singing for a moment, the sound of small footsteps on the roof echoing across the beach before there's a faint thump as whoever the second individual is takes a seat on the roof with 2D. Knowing that rationally, there's no way Russel could get up there without risking collapsing the entire island, Murdoc derives that it must be young Noodle, woken from her slumber by the sound of her bandmates voice.
"'ello, little love." 2D said softly, his voice warm and full of adoration. Even through the walls of his hut, Murdoc can hear just how fond 2D is of Noodle. Despite never exactly understanding their friendship, Murdoc knew that the pair were quite close, frequently chasing each other up and down the halls of Kong and playing video games. Murdoc's always assumed 2D had taken such a liking to her because she was the only one in the house with the patience to deal with his rather delayed thinking. And as for Noodle, the bassist knows that it's not easy to escape 2D's boyish charm once you've gotten yourself wrapped up in it. He can vouch for that himself.
"Hai." Noodle replied, and Murdoc picked up on the faint thrum of what appeared to be an acoustic guitar. He concluded that Noodle must have enjoyed whatever it was that 2D had been singing, and decided to add her own little piece to it. Murdoc smiled.
The insects thrived in the nighttime hour, cicadas singing their song at full volume and crickets chirping along to the sound. Somewhere along the trees, an owl occasionally chimed in with a low pitched coo of his own tune, piping up only to to have his own say in the music being created around him.
"Gravity-y-y-y-y-yyy on me, never let me die, gently," 2D began to sing again, voice transformed from the high-pitched warble of his speech to the smooth velvet of his song. Murdoc listened, eyes trained on the door before him as his ears absorbed the sound of Noodle's guitar joining in on the tune. And oh, it's so wonderful.
Contrary to her lack of understanding when it came to the English language, Noodle, much like 2D, seemed to have a natural knack for music. The girl barely needed time to hear 2D singing before she was piping in with a fitting guitar track to accompany him, a frown of concentration taking over her childish features. The two were always in perfect harmony.
Feeling the familiar calling of music thrumming through his bones, Murdoc heaved out a sigh, hoisting his sweaty body up from his damp sheets as he forced himself to stand up. Sliding his toes in the pair of pink flip flops 2D had bought for him before the trip, Murdoc snagged his pack of cigarettes from the small table beside his bed, making quick work of lighting one up before he headed out of his hut and into the soft sand that surrounded it.
Looking up, he'd immediately spotted 2D and Noodle on the roof a hut over, Noodle's frame barely visible due to her small stature in comparison to 2D's towering 6'2 height. Both allowed their legs to dangle freely over the edge of the roof, but their concentrations were in opposite directions. 2D looked up at the stars, his black orbs working to take in as much as they possibly could, while Noodle looked down at her guitar, her fingers moving deftly across the various strings as she produced a beautiful melody to accompany 2D's singing.
Coming to stand in front of the hut, Murdoc crossed his arms, his gaze drawn upward at the pair on the roof as he found himself unable to look away from the way they worked together. His cigarette hung loosely between his lips, the smoke drifting in front of his gaze and snapping him back to reality as he broke out of his trance. He listened as 2D trailed off, having been repeating the same few lines he'd first conjured up for the past few minutes or so. His black eyed gaze never faltered from the stars. After a long pause of silence, Murdoc heard Noodle release a soft yawn before she pushed herself into an upright position, all 3'4 of her, and clambered down off of the roof to return back to her own hut. If 2D noticed her departure, he made no move of showing so.
Deciding to join 2D up on the roof just to see what exactly has captured the blue-haired males attention so strongly, Murdoc hoisted himself up along the side, a low grunt leaving his lips from exertion as he clenched his lips down around his cigarette to keep it from falling. Once he finally was standing atop the roof, his body having conjured up a fresh round of sweat due to his efforts, he walked over to the edge where 2D sat, eyes still trained unrelentingly to the vast night sky.
The pair remained silent, both aware of each others presence, yet doing nothing to acknowledge it. Murdoc was the first to break the silence.
"Oi, dullard," he called, the sudden noise causing 2D to whip his head towards Murdoc's waiting gaze. "Y'wanna cigarette?"
2D eyed the outstretched pack wearily, never having been a big fan of Murdoc's 666 brand, but he decided to bite the bullet and take one anyway. Lighting it with ease, 2D allowed the fiery stick to burn between his slightly parted lips, his gaze still locked on Murdoc.
Despite the glare that the bassist was shooting him out of the corner of his red eye, 2D refused to allow himself to look away. The moon was perched on the horizon, seemingly sitting halfway atop the moving surface of the black sea stretched out before them and halfway drowning beneath its waters, displaying a soft white beam and dousing Murdoc's features in such a heavenly glow that 2D couldn't take his eyes off of him.
"You're quite…" 2D trailed off, knowing that despite the bassists seemingly calm demeanor, that he had the potential to erupt like a volcano upon any given misstep on 2D's behalf. "Beautiful. Sitting like this."
He received a grunt in response.
"Always knew you were a ponce." Murdoc murmured in return, though there was no venom in his tone. The blue-haired singer couldn't help but smile, the dopey grin he was oh-so famous for splitting his features as his chin dropped to his chest. Much like a giddy schoolgirl, his heart fluttered within the cavern of his chest. He hadn't felt that strongly towards Murdoc for ages.
"Did I wake ya?" 2D suddenly questioned after another lull in conversation, wide black orbs blinking owlishly in Murdoc's direction. The Satanist blinked, glancing over at his singer for a moment before returning his gaze to ever wavering horizon stretched out before them.
"No. Maybe," Murdoc added after a moment, a shrug gracing his bare shoulders. "Doesn't matter much now, though, does it?"
2D thought over this for a moment.
"No. It doesn't."
In a rare moment of bravery and confidence fueled on by the freedom of the night sky before him and the notion that he too could be as free as the stars stretched out across it, 2D slid his frame over to Murdoc, moving oh so slightly and slowly as to not alarm the older male onto his intentions. Murdoc, ever perceptive, noticed, but made no move to stop the blue-haired singer.
So 2D didn't stop.
Sliding himself right up against Murdoc's side, close enough where he could feel the drying beads of sweat on the older males torso and the tickle of his sideburns against his own cheek, the singer hesitantly inclined his head right, right, right, until finally, his ear pressed warmly against the meaty top of Murdoc's shoulder. 2D couldn't believe his luck.
Murdoc was never one much for personal contact, in fact, he generally went out of his way to avoid it. 2D learned his lesson against that long ago, after one too many hugs sent the bassists direction left him flat on his ass with stars swimming behind his eyes. Despite how horrifically disappointing it was for 2D (he was a hugger, you see), he had learned to accept it as one of the things that simply made up Murdoc.
Before Noodle, before Russel, before Kong, there was just Stu-Pot and Murdoc, struggling to make ends meet and going through each day by doing as little as possible. When Murdoc got in one of his more destructive states, 2D remembered those times, when they both would sit on the roof of Murdoc's apartment complex, nothing surrounding them but the starry night and the smoke emitting from their burning cigarettes. He learned more about his bassist in those lonely months they spent together than he ever would, or ever could, hope to.
"D'ya," 2D began, the memories being so pressing at the forefront of his mind that he couldn't stop the flow of words if he'd wanted to. "D'ya remember when we used to-"
"Yes." Murdoc finished, the word curt and officially cutting off any chance 2D held at diving into a pool of nostalgia and dragging the Satanist down with him. The singer resigned himself, a sigh rumbling through his tight chest and leaving him boneless as he slouched against the side of the bassist. Suddenly, Murdoc was looking at him.
Holding eye contact with Murdoc was much like staring directly into the sun. While Murdoc wasn't quite as blindingly beautiful, he definitely was still blinding. The mismatched gaze held confidence and power and demanded respect without even blinking. The bassist knew he was intimidating, and enjoyed using that peculiar trait to his liking. 2D found himself breathless at the sudden eye contact, the moment tense and heavy and all too much for the poor dimwitted singer to take in.
"Muds," not a call, but a plea. A desperate plea for Murdoc to do something about the fire he'd just started within the pit of 2D's stomach, the one that bubbled throughout his insides uncomfortably and left his mouth dry as bone. 2D's hand lifted and pressed against the warm skin of Murdoc's jaw, the very bones of his palm trembling within their confines of skin at the nerve the singer had suddenly acquired to touch Murdoc in such an intimate way. It caused Murdoc to scramble, his confidence faltering a bit at the singers boldness, though he quickly recovered. He knew that he didn't have the excuse of alcohol or another drug-related high if he were to act on his urges, and he also knew that there was a slim to none chance that 2D would actually allow something to happen just once and leave it alone forever. Murdoc listed everything that could go wrong, then threw the list away.
"So needy," Murdoc complained, shaking his head slightly at the desperation evident in 2D's tone. The singer made no move to refute the accusation, if anything, he only proved it with the tremor that ran through his frame from the very top of his head to the tips of his toes. Having decided that 2D had reached the end of his confidence boost, and was probably not likely to move any further than he'd already done, Murdoc took the honors upon himself, grasped a handful of sky blue strands and tugged.
He was a lost cause before their lips even touched.
Much like the bliss of a started car after a repetitive series of engine revs, Murdoc felt 2D come to life beneath his very palms, the blue-haired singer lurching forward in Murdoc's grasp and pushing as much of himself into the intimate kiss as he could. It seemed like Murdoc could feel 2D's very heart trapped between the place where their lips pressed, ready to fall deep into his mouth the second he allowed himself to part his lips. No matter how much he may have wanted to, Murdoc was unable to refuse himself of the pleasure that the warm press of 2D's tongue against his provided, despite the pain that was sure to come when the singers heart slid inside past his parted lips. And like the greedy man he was, Murdoc swallowed it right up.
The Satanist committed the feel of 2D's nose against his own, the way his large hands held his sides, and the all-encompassing smell of butterscotch to memory before he allowed himself to pull away, not having the strength to open his eyes and face what he'd just done quite yet. The incessant strokes against his jaw finally tugged Murdoc's eyelids apart, mismatched gaze falling on the red-faced singer and his goofy grin.
With a grunt, Murdoc pressed his palm flatly against the surface of 2D's face, and pushed him off the roof and down into the sand.
"Poof."
x
They didn't talk about it, they didn't do anything about it, but they snuck glances at each other, quick, fleeting looks that spoke volumes more than their words ever could. Murdoc swore he saw more of 2D's dopey grin in those days following their kiss than he ever would.
Noodle and Russel headed back to Essex four days after the kiss. And, using the excuse of more relaxation time, Murdoc tugged 2D's hand to wrap within his own and held the two limbs fastly behind his back as he waved them off.