Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (JoeMazzello!JohnDeacon fanfic)

one hundred and thirteen

Just like Roxanne had said, they were fine. More than fine actually. 

In the twenty minutes that they were up on that stage, they rocked the stadium in the way that Roxanne, that anyone had ever seen.

They weren't expected to shine, it was clear that when they saw the papers the next morning. No one had expected them to perform the way they had, for Freddie to have the crowd in the palm of his hand from that first line, all the way through till they walked off that stage.

When they had been called to head towards the stage, Roxanne, Isla and Michael (along with the rest of the band's families), made their ways to the side of the stage, where they greeted Mary and her husband David.

The band walked out, well Freddie almost danced his way to the piano, giving the crowd a wave as he sat down.

As he started playing, singing that iconic first line of Bohemian Rhapsody, Roxanne wishes that she was out in the crowd so she could experience it from there but then she catches John's eye and she realises that this is the only place she wants to be.

The set list was a secret; she knew from the day she visited rehearsals that they were doing Hammer to Fall but everything else, she was just as clueless as everyone else.

Roger and Becca's daughter Ellie lets out an excited scream when from BoRhap, they make an almost seamless transition to Radio Ga Ga and Freddie stands from the piano, strutting his way to the other side of the stage to direct the crowd in waving their arms back and forth. 

His vocals are perfect, crystal clear and Roxanne smiles as the kids clap along with him in the chorus. 

But it's what happens after that song that Roxanne realises the power that the man holds right now; he leads them in a vocal exercise that she'd heard him do before and during previous gigs and hearing all of those people sing it back to them, she was speechless.

Hammer to Fall is next and Isla, who's dancing beside Ellie with those huge headphones on to protect her ears, turns to tug on her mother's jeans, "Mummy, mummy look at Uncle Freddie!" 

He's dancing with the camera man, spinning him round while Brian and John play together behind him.

That's her husband out there, her family, giving it everything that they've got to put on a performance that will no doubt live on for years to come. 

They go on to play Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You and then, just a few minutes before the end of their allotted time, Freddie returns to sit at the piano.

"I've paid my dues, time after time,"

Roxy feels Rebecca wrap her arm around hers and the pair of them listen in awe as the crowd starts singing along. 

"Oh god," Becca sniffles and Roxanne can't  help but laugh, raising a hand to wipe at her own tears. 

She can't believe how far that they've come. They'd gone from barely being able to get a gig to being one of the biggest bands around. The songs that the four men onstage had given to the world...they were also going to live on.

She doesn't even realise that their performance is over until Freddie's yelling a goodbye to the crowd, the band are taking their bows and heading for the curtain that heads backstage once more.

"Come on, Isla," Michael says, eagerly taking her hand so they can run off and find John with Roxanne following closely behind. 

Both she and Rebecca are still wiping their tears when they find the band. They're being congratulated by the other acts on their performance but when John spots her and the kids approaching, he excuses himself and laughs when Michael starts jumping up and down in front of him. 

"Daddy, you were so good!" 

"Did you see Uncle Freddie dancing with the man with the camera?" Isla asks, joining in on her brother's excitement, "Did you see us dancing?" 

"I did," he nods, ruffling the little boy's hair. 

"Ellie said that she sang louder but I don't think she did," Isla says as Roger walks by, patting John on the back before he looks down at the little girl.

"I think you were all pretty loud, Isla. I could hear you over my drums." 

"Really?" she asks, eyes wide with excitement and Roxy watches with a smile as both she and Michael trail after him, bombarding him with questions. 

"What'd you think?" she turns when John speaks, a smile tugging at his lips, "Were we alright?"

"Alright?" she repeats, "You were more than alright, you were incredible!"

He laughs as she throws her arms around his neck, humming quietly when she kisses him, "Incredible, hm?" 

Nodding, she raises a hand to swipe her thumb across his lips to wipe away the lipstick stain that she's left, "God John, I've never heard a crowd sing like that before! The whole thing was just...it's was..." 

"Incredible?" he says for a third time and she nods, catching Freddie's arm as he passes so she can congratulate him as well and once she's found Brian, they find a quieter place backstage and sit so they can enjoy the rest of the gig. 

They were her boys and god, she's never been prouder.

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this is really short, sorry. and I'm sorry for not updating yesterday. hope you like it anyway