Too Much Love Will Kill You

Still basking in the success of A Night at the Opera and its tour, the band was staying together in a rather lavish country house - chosen by Freddie, of course. This was to discuss the next album and start brainstorming songs.

Mal was pleased to hear that Chrissie, Veronica, and Mary were all on board with her and Roger dating. Freddie even told her that Kash was in full support of it as well. Thanks ladies! Maybe she could talk to Chrissie about convincing her husband of it as well...

"Honestly, Darling, I think you're over-thinking this."

"But Freddie, what if something happens? Like, they break up, say? What will that do to the band?"

Paul's voice. Mal could hear him and Freddie talking in the kitchen while she was on her way up to her and Roger's room. She felt a flare of anger build up within her. Freddie she didn't mind talking about her and her relationships, but Paul doing so was a definite no.

"Don't you worry yourself over it," Freddie said, putting an end to the conversation, for now at least.

Mal sighed with relief. Thank you, Freddie. She knew she could always count on him.

Brian, Freddie, and John had gone out to run some errands, leaving Mal and Rog at home, figuring the couple would appreciate some alone time. However, when the three returned, they were greeted by a loud smashing from within the house, followed by the sound of Mal yelling. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but could tell she was upset.

Exchanging a glance, the three wasted no time in rushing into the house and into the kitchen, where they walked in on an upsetting sight.

The source of the smash was clear - a vase that had been sitting by the window now lay in shards on the floor, in a pile of water and ruined flowers. Rog was pressed against the wall, wide-eyed and jaw agape next to the vase, and Mal was standing across the room, looking ready to kill. Her eyes were teary and puffy, and her mascara and eye shadow were smudged all down her cheeks, making it look like she was crying black and blue tears.

Brian bravely stepped in. "Mal, Rog, what happened? What's wrong?"

"Ask Roger," Mal spat. "Tell them, Rog. Tell them what happened, or I will!"

"Mal, it wasn't what you think-"

"Oh bullshit!"

"Hey, hey-" Brian moved to step between the two. "What's going on?"

"It meant nothing," Roger tried.

"Then why'd you do it!"

"Oh, no..." Brian sighed.

"Oh yes, just couldn't help yourself, could you, Rog? Not when there's a pretty face around. Will make you forget you already have a girlfriend!" She looked ready to attack, hence why Brian stepped in. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

"Mal, please-" Rog looked on the verge of tears himself.

"Have you seen her before?"

"Mal-"

"Answer me! Have you seen her before?"

A pause before he nodded, briefly but that confirmed it. Brian caught her as she made to dive forward at Roger, now kicking and screaming and thrashing against her brother's hold. "WHAT AM I TO YOU?!"

"Mal, calm down, please-"

"No, Brian!" Now she turned on him, wrenching herself from his grasp, still fuming, more tears pouring down her cheeks. "I have every right to be upset, so don't you dare tell me to calm down!"

He was obviously taken aback. "Mal-"

"JUST PISS OFF!" And with that she shoved him away, stormed up the stairs, and slammed her bedroom door with such force it nearly shook the entire house.

There was a beat of silence between the four boys as they absorbed what had happened.

Brian was the first to take the plunge and break the tense silence. "What happened?" he asked Roger.

"I screwed up."

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious. What happened?"

"I should go talk to her-" Roger made to leave.

"I want an answer now, Roger!" Brian was usually the one who kept a clear head in these situations and tried to calm them down. But now he was clearly pissed.

"I'll get a mop," said John.

"And I'll get a broom," added Freddie, and the two began to clean up the mess of broken vase.

Roger explained what had happened: a young woman, a fan from their Smile days, had become a fan of Queen, and wanted to chat. Well, one thing led to another, and pretty soon he was running into the girl more often, and Mal had caught them, including the girl making a move, and had gotten the wrong idea.

After giving Mal some time to herself, and once the mess was cleaned up, Freddie carried a cup of tea and the biscuit tin upstairs. Through the closed bedroom door he could hear her soft sobs.

"Mal, Darling, it's me. I came to see how you're doing. May I come in?"

A pause before he heard her sniffle. "You can come in, Freddie."

He opened the door to find her lying on her bed, face and pillow stained in smudged makeup.

"Oh, Darling." He came to sit beside her. "I'm so sorry." He rubbed her back comfortingly. "I brought you some tea and biscuits, thought they might make you feel better."

"Thanks, Fred." Slowly, she sat up and accepted the treats.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence, broken only by her sniffles.

"Did he not tell you?"

"No, he did. I just want to hear your side, too."

So she told him. She and Roger were out when she saw Roger with this girl all over him, an old fan apparently, from Smile.

"Oh, Mal. Roger said it meant nothing, and I'm sure it didn't."

"You believe him?"

"Yes, I do."

She gulped her tea. "I wish I could, too."

Later, Mal still hadn't come downstairs, so Brian went to check on her. He knocked a few times. "Mal?"

"Yeah, come in."

When he opened the door, he found her with a cigarette and Freddie's lighter, trying to light it.

"Hey, no!" Brian dove in, snatching both from her hands, narrowly missing burning himself.

"Hey!" She jumped to her feet. "Give them back!"

"No!"

"Give me the lighter and cigarette, Brian."

"No! I won't let you pick up on anymore of our bad habits."

"Oh for once in your life will you stop babying me, Brian?! 'Don't do this, Mal', 'don't do that, Mal.' 'Don't do this, don't do that', just be an empty shell of a person and maybe, maybe then you won't get hurt." She sat back down heavily on the bed. "Well, I didn't listen, and I got hurt. So go ahead and say it. 'I told you so, Mal.'"

"I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say I'm sorry."

She buried her face in her hands and started to cry again, though fought the urge.

"Hey, come here." Brian sat beside her, taking her into his arms and letting her cry.

"It hurts, Bri."

"I know it does."

"What am I going to do? I said if something happened to us we wouldn't let it affect the band-"

"Hey-" He brushed her hair out of her face. "You don't have to worry about that. We'll figure something out."

"I feel stupid."

"It's not your fault, Mal."

She nodded. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Don't be. I can be a bit overbearing sometimes, can't I?"

"A little, sometimes." They shared a chuckle and a hug. "Thanks, Bri."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for."

"You're the best big brother. You're the best brother, period."

He chuckled. "Thanks. Glad you think so. And it's going to be okay."

She nodded. "I hope so."

Ooo, some drama! I love Brian as a supportive big brother, so sweet! ;)

In addition to this story, I've started another similar BoRhap story - please check it out if you're interested!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed, as always! :)