"John, my love," Freddie said.
John turned his head slowly to look at the singer, afraid of what he was going to hear. There was no need for his fear, though. Despite the outraged look in Freddie's dark eyes, the tone he used when speaking to him was as soft as ever.
"I want you to go find Rog and Bri. Let them keep you company until I come and find you, okay? And, whatever you do, do not come looking for me, alright? I'll be along soon."
John could only nod, relief filling his body even as he was still help in Paul's tight hold. Only a few seconds later, Paul's hands faltered, and John was able to quickly pull his skinny wrists free. His first instinct was to run to Freddie and beg for comfort, but the older man had given him instructions to follow. So, John took off. The bassist ran for it, no direction in mind except away from Paul. Tears blurred his vision as he ran, his feet taking him to the studio while his mind focused on keeping him from hyperventilating.
"Such a shy thing. You understand, don't you, Freddie?" Paul's plan wasn't going the way he had wanted it to. He had intended for John to give in at some point. Whatever John and Freddie shared couldn't have been serious enough for John to not react to Paul's advances. That was what he had thought at least.
Now, his plan was to make Freddie think he and John had been in a relationship the entire time. Freddie would think John was upset because the secret relationship had been found out, not because Paul had forced himself on the bassist. Freddie would be angry, let John go, and then Paul could make his move.
"It's a shame you had to find out this way...I wanted to tell you sooner, you see, but John was so adamant on holding out." Paul's confident smile faltered slightly when he saw Freddie's face. He couldn't describe the emotions he saw on it. He'd never seen Freddie look like that before.
"Find out about what exactly?" Freddie questioned, his voice cold as steel. He took a slow step forward. Paul instinctively took a step back.
"A-About us, of course. It's been going on for a while now. Johnny must have-" Before Paul could finish his sentence, a steady fist hit his face, and he remembered nothing more.
Freddie shook his hand as an aching pain settled over his knuckles. "I've still got it," he told himself with a puff of pride.
The singer had intended to drag out Paul's punishment. Perhaps a black eye for daring to look at his love, a busted lip for daring to kiss his love's lips, and a hit to the gut for good measure. Hearing Paul call John such a ridiculous pet name had driven him over the edge. No one was allowed to be so casual with John except him. Only he could give John nicknames.
Disgusted, Freddie nudged the body on the ground with his foot, brushing it out of the way in case someone wanted to walk through. No way was he moving the twat. Paul didn't deserve the comfort of a bed or a couch after what he had done. Only one person needed to be comforted after that whole ordeal, and Freddie intended on finding him right away.
"O-Oh...Sorry..." John didn't know what else to say. What could you say when you walked in on your mates kissing each other?
Brian was on his knees in front of Roger whilst the blond sat on his drum stool. They seemed to be in the middle of a rather intense snog, but the pair immediately broke apart when John spoke and alerted them to his presence. Brian couldn't even bring himself to look at the other brunet as a dark blush spread across his cheeks. Roger only gave a cocky little grin...until he saw the state John was in.
Roger wasn't known for being observant, but it didn't take a doctor to see the bruises blossoming on John's wrists, his unpleasantly swollen lips, and the tear tracks still making their way down the bassist's face. Roger was on his feet in a second, moving right to the youngest, most sensitive member of their band. John did his best to act normal, but he was still so shaken from what Paul had just done...from what Freddie had just seen him do with another man. John sobbed again, and Roger pulled him in for a tight hug.
"If Freddie hurt you, I'm going to kill him," Roger spat.
John, thankfully, didn't need to argue on his love's behalf. Brian pointed out the obvious, saving John from having to speak. "Freddie wouldn't hurt him, Rog. Don't be ridiculous."
Roger only frowned further and started running his fingers through John's hair. The bassist clung to the drummer like a lifeline, aching for comfort that he wanted from Freddie but couldn't get. Brian stepped forward then, hesitantly reaching out a hand to stroke John's back. They'd all helped John through tears at some point, so it wasn't odd to comfort him, but this time seemed especially bad. John usually didn't shake while crying.
"John?" Brian prodded quietly. "What happened?"
The younger brunet shook his head and closed his eyes as he tried to erase the memory from his mind. He wanted to forget the whole thing and curl up in bed with Freddie. Instead, the scene replayed over and over behind his eyelids, and Freddie hadn't yet come looking for him. At least that's what John thought.
"John! John, are you in here? Oh, darling, please!" Freddie's frantic calls reached their ears, and they were all immediately tense. Roger and Brian still didn't know exactly what happened, so they didn't know if they wanted John to be found or not. After all, John had run to them instead of the singer. John's trembling only increased when he heard Freddie's voice. Roger was about to snap at Brian about John's reaction to Freddie when the singer appeared around the corner.
The bassist was taken from the drummer before Roger could protest even the slightest bit. He blinked dumbly as Freddie held John close and whispered gentle assurances in his ear. He ignored his quickly swelling hand in favor of taking care of his love who had a lot worse things to worry about than a few throbbing knuckles.
"It's alright, darling, I'm here. Where does it hurt? What happened before I came downstairs?" Freddie asked in a rush, his eyes traveling over John's trembling body for any sign of injuries he hadn't yet seen.
"What the fuck happened?" Roger demanded, tired of not knowing why his friend was so upset. He felt Brian place a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he took a moment to breathe and calm down.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out, you twit!" Freddie all but shouted. He quickly calmed, though, when John flinched in his arms.
Brian stepped in before either of them could get even more worked up. "Why's he so shaken up, Fred?"
"Paul..." Freddie held John tighter when the younger man started to explain through his tears. "He forced me to- I didn't want to, Freddie! I swear!"
"Oh, my love, I know that wasn't your choice. It's alright. Why don't we get you in a nice long bath, then you can rest. We'll talk about it in the morning, yeah?"
John nodded, relief filling his body. He had obviously been more concerned about upsetting Freddie than the actual trauma he had just gone through. That only made Roger feel murderous. The blond was shaking with clenched fists. What exactly had Paul forced the bassist to do? He and Freddie locked eyes for a moment.
"Brian, dear, would you mind bringing John up to our room and helping him get a bath started?" Freddie asked when he saw Roger's face.
Brian and John both frowned, but didn't protest. The taller brunet wrapped an arm around John and led him out of the studio towards the house. Once they were out of sight, Freddie marched over to Roger and grasped the blond's shoulders. They stared at each other for a long moment, anger coursing through them. They didn't have to worry about scaring the others now that they were alone.
"What happened?" Roger asked again, his voice a deadly calm.
"Paul was practically dry humping John in the kitchen against his will. You saw the bruises. It was part of some ridiculous plan to get me to turn against John or some stupid shit. I want to kill him...He's laying on the floor."
"You didn't...?" Roger raised a surprised brow, his eyes wide with shock. He wouldn't have blamed Freddie for ending Paul right then and there. If that wanker had done something similar to Brian...Roger was sure he would be drumming in a jailhouse the rest of his life.
"No! Not before we get this damn album finished!" Freddie said, giving Roger an incredulous look.
"Alright, then I'm going to." Roger pushed Freddie's hands away from his shoulders before stomping off in the direction of the house, Freddie following quickly after him. "Don't try to stop me!"
"Who said anything about stopping you, darling?" Freddie called back gruffly.
Brian sat on the bed with John against his chest, rocking the younger brunet as he quietly cried. It was heartbreaking to see John so torn up, and he really wanted to know what happened so he could help. He wouldn't push, though.
"Freddie will be up soon, Deacy. It's alright."
John shook his head. "I-I like it this way...Just us." Brian's presence was so soothing. Freddie's embrace would only push him to sobs again. It would bring back the images of what had happened.
"Did you want to take that bath?"
"I just want to sit here if that's alright?" John whispered. They tightened their grip on each other. The bassist was a little embarrassed for acting so clingy, but he really didn't want to be left alone. The last time he was alone, Paul had taken advantage of him. Luckily, Brian understood. He didn't mind it at all, and was happy to be there for his friend.
The two sat there for a good while without saying a word. The silence was anything but awkward as they got lost in their thoughts together. They both thought of their partners, the love they held for them and for the rest of their band mates. It was much more relaxing than focusing on the events from before that had brought them to that position. After a few minutes, they ended up laying down instead, both of them wrapped in the other's arms.
When Roger and Freddie pushed open the door to the bedroom sometime after, John and Brian were sleeping peacefully on top of the covers. They'd just finished dragging Paul's still limp body outside into the gravel behind the farmhouse for someone else to find. They hadn't killed him, though Roger had nearly tried to. The blond got a few good hits in while Freddie watched in satisfaction before dragging the drummer away to find their boyfriends. Of course, Freddie didn't yet know that Brian and Roger were a thing, but that didn't matter at the moment.
"I feel bad disturbing them," Roger told Freddie quietly as they watched the two men in bed with small smiles. They could relax now knowing their friends and partners were both resting. Everything could be left until the morning.
With that thought in mind, Freddie grinned and patted Roger on the back. "Looks like we're bunking together, love," he cooed.
Roger rolled his eyes and pushed Freddie's face away when the singer tried to give him a loud kiss on the cheek. He glanced back at Brian and John one last time before nodding and walking out to let them rest further, closing the door behind Freddie who followed him.
As they walked towards the kitchen to clean up the mess Paul had left behind, Freddie wrapped his arm around Roger's shoulders. It felt great to have people in his corner. He'd had so many people pushing him away before he became a part of the band, and now he had a perfect family for life. He wouldn't trade those three for the world. Once everything was back in its rightful place, Freddie made sure to pull Roger into a hug. Roger hugged him back just as tightly, his mind having been on the same path.
"Thank you," they said at the same time before laughing at their sappiness and pulling apart.