Disclaimer: Don't own. Thanks.
A.N: Sorry for such a long wait...went on a cruise, been sick, busy, blah blah blah. Anyway, here it is.
About a month had passed since Russel had left and nothing was the same. The damn demons that infested the studio seemed to feed off the trio's negative vibes, making everything more miserable than it was. The studio, if possible, was drearier than ever. Everything they did made them miss Russel...dinners, T.V time, practices, and even the yelling without him wasn't the same. Practices were the worst though. Their songs didn't have nearly the same power they obtained without Russel contributing on the drums. Tuning them was one thing, which one of the demons would always screw up as soon as they got the chance, but having 2D or Russel try to figure out the parts was another ordeal in itself. Noodle would sit on her purple stool, screaming at who ever was behind the drums that it wasn't right. This would lead to, like always, a fight and some one storming out of the room. They had just about had it when it came to the band. During one practice that was going somewhat well, Mudoc stopped right in the middle of Rehash.
"This isn't working!" He yelled. Noodle stopped her guitar playing and 2D rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh.
"Well, 'course it isn't working!" 2D cried. "We got no damn drums!"
"Tha's not what I meant," muttered Murdoc.
"Well, what did you mean?" Noodle asked from her corner.
"I'm sayin'," said Murdoc, "tha' we need to give it up. Gorillaz won't work like this. We need Russ, and face it, 'e ain't comin' back." Noodle's eyebrows furrowed.
"He is coming back, Murdoc-san!" she screeched. "And how can you say we have to give up the band? This is all that's left of our life." Noodle pulled the hood of her sweater over her head and threatened to re-enact what had happened when Russel left.
"Don't get your knickers in a bunch, love," 2D said, trying to calm the guitarist down. "We're going to play the show we have coming up."
"Without a drummer?" Murdoc snapped.
"'Ave to," reasoned 2D. "Can't cancel a sold out concert..."
"Kurt Cobain did," Murdoc snarled.
"Well," 2D snapped back, "you're not him!"
"And no longer are we Gorillaz after the show!" screamed Murdoc, storming out of the room.
"Shimatta!" screamed Noodle throwing her guitar on the ground, the neck nearly snapping off.
If the remainder, and soon to be end, of "Gorillaz" weren't fighting, it was the couple that occupied the studios. 2D decided to keep Murdoc to himself. He was the man of his dreams, after all... even if the dreams were somewhat twisted. At first, Russel leaving brought them closer together. Every night they would separate, Murdoc to his 'Bago and 2D to his room. However, it only took a few hours before the two were together, sharing the same bed, talking through the rest of the night and into the early morning. Mudoc had surely softened under 2D's spell for a while, but 2D's spell was only temporary. The first few nights, 2D would slightly awaken to Murdoc muttering his name in his sleep, but that soon stoped. From there the fights starteed. However, one was the worst...three weeks after Russel had left. The two had found themselves on the sofa at three in the morning, 2D was begging Murdoc not to leave him while he was watching one of his zombie movies. Murdoc couldn't focus though... a man's sexual drive couldn't be ignored for too long and he could redeem himself from all those damn fights anyway. He pounced on 2D half way through the movie without explanation, ripping off his shirt and kissing his chest. 2D gasped in surprised and ran his hands down Murdoc's back, teasing the bottom of his shirt with his long fingers and finally pulling the shirt off. Murdoc only pulled his lips away from the singers body for a second to let the shirt pass over his face before 2D threw it to the ground. They both thought that, perhaps, things would be alright. They continued to show this to each other, the poor, old sofa, bearing their movements and shifting weight.
"Murdoc?" 2D asked suddenly, his breath heavy against Murdoc's neck. Murdoc rolled his eyes.
"Shuddup, Dullard," he muttered, pressing himself up against 2D. The singer's snorted.
"Don' tell me to shut up!" snapped 2D. The bassist looked down at him and snarled.
"I know you 'ave a backbone now, no need to let me know!" 2D sat up. Sighing, Murdoc sat up as well and scooted close to him, wrapping his arm around his bare shoulders.
"'D, I'm just kiddin'," Murdoc cooed.
"No, ya weren't," snapped 2D bitterly, "an' ya weren't all those other times."
"An' you don' talk to me like that!" Murdoc as he back handed 2D across the face.
"Tha's it!" the pretty boy cried, leaping up, tugging up his pants. "We're through, Murdoc Niccals!"
"Stuart!" His voice was filled with sudden alarm as he grabbed 2D's wrist and pulled him back to the sofa.
"NO!" screamed 2D standing up again as soon as he was pulled down. "Ya treat me jus' like before! I won't tolerate that from someone who loves me!"
With that 2D stormed off, leaving Murdoc to sit in pain and disbelief on the sofa until the morning light beamed through the dirty windows.
So it was time for the concert...all the instruments were packed up and ready to go. Including the drums; Russel's drums. They all loaded into the Winnebago silently...even Noodle. She had kept her distance from both of them since the break up, not wanting one of them to think that she had sided with the other. Murdoc revved up the engine to the 'Bago and they started out of the car park.
When they arrived to the concert hall, Noodle looked up, her eyes watery.
"This is it?" she asked softly.
"This is it," Murdoc mumbled.
A.N: OK! For those asking..."Is it still a Muds/2D fic?" yeahhhhh, it is. Buckle in...ride's gonna get exciting...I think? err...yeah! thanks for the reviews too...arigatou!