Bandom One-shots book 3

Don't Damn Me (Axl Rose x Bob Dylan)

The weight of their words sat heavy on my chest, pressing harder with every headline. "Axl Rose and Bob Dylan: An Unholy Match." "Clash of Faiths: Pentecostal and Jewish Rock Romance." I was getting tired of the noise, the gossip, the people who thought they knew us.

Me and Bob, we didn't fit their picture-perfect story. We weren't supposed to work. That's what they kept saying. And maybe in some ways, they were right. Our beliefs were worlds apart. My Pentecostal upbringing taught me fire and brimstone, righteousness, salvation. Bob—his faith was old, ancient, rooted in tradition and history I couldn't fully grasp but deeply respected.

But love doesn't care about doctrine. It didn't matter when he sang his quiet songs, and I screamed mine from the rooftops. It didn't matter when he whispered philosophy, and I spat out raw, unpolished truths. It mattered that when we were together, we made sense. He understood me in a way that no one else did, cutting through the noise of my fame, the chaos of my world, and grounding me with his calm presence.

I'd never been one to keep my mouth shut. So I wrote. I picked up my pen and spilled every word, every ounce of frustration and defiance onto the page.

Don't damn me when I speak a piece of my mind.

They called us a mismatch. Said we were too different. But here's the thing—people aren't black and white. Faith isn't a prison. And no tabloid writer, no so-called fan, could put my love for Bob into a box. We weren't together despite our differences; we were together because we learned from them. He taught me patience. I taught him how to scream without losing his voice. We filled each other's gaps.

'Cause silence isn't golden

When I'm holding it inside

'Cause I've been where I have been

An I've seen what I have seen

I put the pen to the paper

'Cause it's all a part of me

I finished the song in a haze of anger and clarity. It wasn't just about us anymore. It was about being who you are without apology. It was about loving who you love without explanation. If they didn't like it? Well, they could shove it where the sun don't shine.

And when Bob heard it for the first time, he just smiled that quiet, knowing smile of his. "It's beautiful," he said. "It's us."

Damn right it was.

The backlash was fierce when the song hit the airwaves. Critics dissected every lyric, tabloids spat their venom. But the fans—the real ones—they understood. They heard the heart behind the words. They felt the honesty, the defiance, the love.

Because, in the end, love wasn't about agreeing on everything. It was about choosing each other despite the noise. And I chose Bob, just as he chose me.

I stood on that stage night after night, screaming the words into the mic with everything I had. Not for the critics. Not for the headlines. For us. For the truth we refused to hide.

~Don't Damn Me~