I grasped Noodle's hand firmly as we stepped onto the United Kingdom's soil for the first time in months. I looked at her to see her green eyes wide with happiness, we were home.
The paparazzi were there, and at the sight of us they began furiously clicking their cameras.
"Murdoc!" one of the cameramen shouted. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the flash.
"Eh, God Save the Queen, we're glad to be back!" I muttered, pushing my way through the crowd.
"Is it true that you and the guitarist, Noodle, are in a relationship?" another hollered over the excitement.
Noodle's hand went slack and she pulled hers out of mine, turning to the cameras. "Yes, Murdoc and I-" She began to say but I grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the masses gathering around her.
"OI! MUDS!" a vaguely familiar yelp sounded and I directed my line of sight to the origin of the voice, standing by the parking lot were Jamie and Damon. Noodle squealed with excitement and I let go of her so she could run into Damon's outstretched arms.
I frowned at Jamie, but reluctantly shook his hand. "'Ello mate." He said, grinning.
"'Ey." I replied. Damon looked over at me, holding Noodle in his arms, a strained smile on his face.
"Welcome back to the UK… friend." He harrumphed, turning his attention back to Noods, listening to her talk in a rapid mix of Japanese and English.
Jamie motioned for us to follow him where we all boarded into his old Cadillac; I lit up a cigarette and took a lengthy drag. Damon peeked at me curiously.
"Where's Stuart?" he asked, turning around from his spot in the passenger seat and peering behind me as if he might've snuck into the car without his knowledge.
"Blimey," I sighed, looking at him with a twinge of irritation. "Did you read a damn sentence I wrote?" I asked. "'E's gone at the momen', the Boogieman appears to 'ave 'im."
Damon groaned. "Jus' GREAT!" he exclaimed, looking at Jamie. "So where is 'e exactly?"
"I believe 'e's in 'ell." I responded, bored. Flicking the extra ash off of my fag I took another drag and draped my arm around Noodle, bringing her closer to me.
Jamie raised an eyebrow, looking at us through the review mirror. "So I 'spose the rumors are true as well? The infamous bachelor Murdoc Niccals is finally settlin' down wif 'is ever-so-lovely guitarist Noodle?" Noods blushed and buried her head shyly in my chest but I smirked back at the director.
"That's right." I countered. "Do you have problem wit' it Hewlett?" I asked. He shrugged, smiling back in the mirror.
"None at all, none at all." He said with a knowing chuckle.
"Good." I stated flatly, putting my fag out and throwing it through the window at some passing car.
"But there's also this risky business of the new album." Damon piped up, turning to face forward again, clearing his throat. "One thin' I do know is that you announced a new album comin' out that 'e 'ad no plans for. So tell me Muds, what's going on with that?"
"The Fall is coming along great," I lied heartily. "I 'ave it all ready, jus' need the demo to be passed on teh you're fancy pants production lot an' we shoul' be ready to go!" Jamie probably could tell I was bullshitting him but he nodded and nudged Damon.
"You 'ear that? Not as bad as we though'." And the topic dropped, for now.
Noodle occupied most of the conversation for the drive to Essex, chatting on and on about small things like the dresses I had bought her in Guatemala. Jamie took respective turns 'ooh-ing' and 'aah-ing' to keep her thinking they cared.
When we finally hit the town, I gazed above at the hilltop that housed the Gorillaz' former HQ. Noodle pressed her face against the window and looked back at me.
"There it is." She breathed, I nodded at her.
"Jus' as I lef' it." I murmured. Jamie stopped the car and waited expectantly.
"Time for you to go now, Damon an' I 'ave an urgent appointment in London that we vetoed in favor of pickin' up the likes of you so now we bid you good-bye." He said, I growled and opened the door, stepping out into the chilly air that was England's climate.
"Thank you Jamie, thank you Damon." Noodle said respectfully as she too got out. Damon smiled.
"There's two shotguns with some ammunition for the zombies." He said, I stuck my head back into the car and fumbled beneath the seats until I found the barrels of the two firearms and the box of shells.
Noodle took one and we began our trek up to Kong Studios. The way Noods's shoulders slumped I guessed she felt the loss of 2D, but I had no intention of letting Brain-Ache get out of the band so easy. He was definitely going to be back in the studio singing for me, or else I'd die trying.
"Murdoc?" Noodle said quietly, I looked over at her to see her pace slacken a bit.
"What is i' luv?" I asked. Her eyes seemed dim as she clutched the shotgun closer to her little body.
"R-remember when I told you about the nightmare?" she questioned. I nodded, encouraging her to elaborate on her current issue.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember luv." I said.
"I keep seeing that little girl everywhere, the one I held while she died. It's been haunting me." I frowned, why was she telling me this?
"I-I'm sorry Noods?" I said, confused. "Wha' would you li'e meh teh do abou' it?"
She shrugged. "I just wanted you to know, I wanted to tell you."
I nodded. "Alright then." I murmured, beginning to walk through the town again.
"She was so beautiful," Noodle whispered. I cast a wary look over my shoulder to see if she was following me and I saw her feet shuffling in my direction. "Her eyes were just like yours and she had my face, her hair was black like yours, thick and black…" I listened to her prattle on about this dream child, fear rising up. What if she was going to go all mental on me? What if that dream made her want children?
I shivered, no, no kids for me, not yet. I tuned her annoying chatter out as I walked faster, eager to be back in my home. I had noticed that the old Murdoc had been surfacing a lot lately, in situations ranging from The Incident (as I referred to it now) to small things, such as being lustful and rough with Noodle. It was unnerving for me because the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her but sometimes I yearned for her to shut up and get me a beer like a good groupie would do.
A heavily opinionated woman wasn't the girl for me, and my subconscious was beginning to doubt my choice in Noodle, this undying devotion I had started out with was turning into a flickering candle flame. I looked with longing at the working women that lined the streets, loathing that my connections to Noodle forbid such pleasant encounters.
I need someone less delicate, I told myself. Noodle was more a porcelain doll than anything else, emotionally fragile and in danger of breaking if handled too roughly.
These troubling thoughts romped freely in my mind as I came to a stop at the gates of Kong, looking beyond to the cemetery. Noodle also came to a stop, having quite talking after she realized I wasn't listening.
"Luv," I said, looking at her. "I do believe we're 'ome." She smiled, eyes twinkling, pushing the gates open and with her shotgun at ready, walking in to reclaim the infamous studio.