Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 88

With a three-quarter tank, Brian got himself and the music instructor out of London. His heart twitched as he stared at the city standing prominent in his rear-view mirror, the rational part of him tugging annoyingly at his sleeve to turn the car around and head back. All it took was one look at the blonde, though, whose smile hadn't faltered one bit since they retrieved their belongings and decided for sure that this was what they wanted, to silence the disapproving remarks his own conscience supplied.

He was done being lied to, and he wanted to be done with lying himself. However, that seemed impossible with the lurking truth that had been tucked away inside his duffel bag, occupying the backseat along with Roger's box. Just by thinking about the situation with Chrissie twisted Brian's stomach into knots, but he convinced himself that the source of his ill feeling belonged instead to the expectations the night before him carried.

For so long, it seemed their coupling was destined to be. From the moment Roger appeared in the professor's doorway, Brian wanted nothing more than to be where he was right then in that moment—a seat away from the man who could take him away from it all; who could free him from the chains of normalcy, of caution, of pure subordination to a society that dictates what to do and how to do it and why it can't be done any other way. No longer was Brian May to live life by playing it safe, or by hiding behind the façade he unwillingly subscribed to. He was going to do what he wanted to do, he was going to be with who he wanted to be with, and there was nothing in the world that could stop—

"CAR!" Roger shouted, ripping the professor from his thoughts and bringing the blinding pair of headlights straight ahead to his attention. In an instinctive act of survival, Brian dropped his foot onto the brake pedal as if it were a brick, his hands jerking the wheel to the left to violently bring them back into their lane and the passing sound of the other vehicle's horn fading as fast as it intensified—the irritated driver whipping by in a heated blaze of fury, the distance between the two cars growing.

The blonde clutched his tight chest and rested his head back on the seat—eyes closed, and breaths labored. The headlights had seared his vision, shining brightly behind his eyelids and reminding him of that awful night with Tim.

"I-I'm so sorry," Brian stammered, keeping his eyes on the road in favor of sneaking another glance at his startled passenger. "I didn't realize—"

"It's late. Maybe we should find a place to stay," the music instructor interjected, a disheartening exasperation to his suggestion that compelled the professor to acquiesce without rebuttal. At the next exit—which seemed farther away than either men or the car anticipated—he pulled off and, with a near sputtering engine, parked outside the only lodging found in the stretch of mostly uninhabited land.

"You go in, I'll meet you there," Roger blurted out as Brian stared at him with a cocked brow, stopping him just before he could get the car door open.

"Why can't we go in together?" he questioned.

The blonde chuckled, loving the professor's naiveté more than ever. "You're so innocent, it kills me. Just go on," he insisted, gesturing towards the rundown establishment whose neon sign shone brightly in the dark night, its mint green and hot pink glow cast upon the layer of snow building atop the asphalt devoid of any signs of other guests, save a few cars that most likely belonged to staff.

However, Brian's stubbornness kept his seat belt strapped across his chest, his ass in the seat. "Why aren't you answering my question?"

Roger's grin slowly faded, the realization that his companion truly didn't understand what was so preposterous about the two of them entering the motel together dawning on him. "You really don't know." He turned back towards the curly-haired man and waved his hand between them. "They're not going to give the two of us a room together, Bri. Not like this. I brought my things, if you'll just let me—"

"Your things? What things?"

A deep blush crept up in the music instructor's cheeks as embarrassment and shame took its toll. "You know...my wig, some clothes, some makeup...I've done this before, Brian, and trust me, it'll make it seem like—"

Brian shook his head, finally piecing together the concern Roger was expressing. "No. No, I'm not going in there with you dressed up like that. I refuse." The change in the blonde's facial expression made it clear to the professor that he intended to argue with him, but before he could take the opportunity, Brian dove across the seat and connected his lips with Roger's, his hands naturally landing on his cheeks. The sudden intimate moment lasted but a few seconds, the professor sitting back and explaining, "I didn't come all this way to be with Liz, Rog. I came here to be with you, and I don't care if they won't give us a room together. Hell, if we have to get two, we'll get two." A sly smirk crawled onto his lips, his voice dropping to a low whisper as he added, "It's just another room for us to completely ravish each other in, anyways."

Roger couldn't help his smirk that mirrored Brian's, aroused by the professor's unearthed wild side. "Look at you, problem solver."

The older of the two only smiled before giving the blonde one more peck and instructing him to, "Follow my lead."