Chapter Text
That afternoon, Robert and Jimmy cowered behind a table in their New York Hotel’s back room. There were no windows here and they sat on hard plastic chairs on a wooden table. The room was illuminated by cold neon strip lighting and with its bare, grey walls, resembled a torture chamber’s front room. Opposite, on the other end of the table stood Richard, his face almost purple and distorted by rage.
Robert tentatively tried to stand up, but Richard shouted at him, voice dripping with venom: “Sit down! Now! You disgust me, both of you!!! You perverts, you dirty disgusting…. ah I don’t have words strong enough! How could you! How could do this to us, all of us!! Two years ago, you would have been locked up and forced to undergo treatment!” Next to Robert, he sensed Jimmy lifting his trembling hands up to his face and give a chocked sob. “Robert!!” Richard continued. “You!! You have a wife, a child! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” That hurt. Badly. Robert wanted to shout back but his almighty voice was no longer working. “Jimmy!! Fuck’s sake James! The female world is at your feet and you fucking shun them! What you need is a proper girlfriend! Someone who can fuck sense into that empty pretty head of yours!” Robert heard Jimmy give a fearful little whimper and felt him shake like a dog that had been beaten.
The door opened, and G pushed his mighty bulk into the small room. Robert braised himself for more, even louder onslaughts but G shouted at Richard instead. “Enough, Richard!! I will not tell you again! You will leave them alone this instant or I will fire you so hard the next Apollo mission can collect your remains off the moon!” Richard smashed both his hands on the table, angrily, but said nothing more, stormed out, slammed the door with an almighty bang.
G sat down. Leaned his head into his large hands. “Boys. Boys, boys, boys.” He said, calmly. Robert didn’t know what hurt more, Richard’s hateful tirade earlier or the disappointment in G’s voice. G sighed, deep, shudderingly. “Ok, listen. I can see how this happened. The excitement, spending so much time with each other. You are both incredibly, otherworldly beautiful. Your young minds are not yet stable enough to handle it all. I get it.”
Jimmy leaned his face into Robert’s arm and sobbed. “Now, now, James.” G said, gently. “Look, it’s ok. All that sexual energy, that tension that you’ve got on stage and in your music. It’s understandable how this could be misguided.” Finally, Robert found his voice again “Its…it’s not misguided. I love Jimmy.” He said carefully. G looked at him, sympathetically. “Oh Robert, you love him, of course you do. Like Mick Jagger loves Keith Richards and Pete Townshend loves Roger Daltrey. But you got carried away. Look, boys, maybe you are too young to understand this, but love has many different forms. Yes, you are twin souls, two people meant for each other, I know that. Everyone does. But you two, you have accidentally mistaken this as a love in the physical form.” Robert’s voice was gone again.
G continued, still calm. “James, dear talented kid, you are not even 26 yet. You just haven’t found the right woman yet, but it shouldn’t be hard. Open your heart and your eyes. They are queuing up for you, just pick one. You will see, it will transform you. You will be so much happier.” Jimmy sobbed again. Barely audible, he said “but I only want Robert.” G stretched his arm over the table, his pawlike hand comfortingly resting on Jimmy’s arm. “Jimmy, you worked so hard for this success, this band. Don’t throw it all away because of youthful infatuation.”
Then he turned to Robert: “and you, you have a wonderful little family. I know you had to marry too young, but you should really try to make it work. Haven’t you recently bought a beautiful farm? You could have such a happy family life. How is this fair on your wife and daughter?” The sting again, the guilt. To his surprise, Jimmy spoke up again, a little clearer this time: “Maureen knows. Robert doesn’t love Maureen the way he loves me. Maureen is on board and supports us.”
Robert noticed that G reeled a little. But he caught himself again. “Look, boys, keep this to yourself but I had a phase in my life where I fell in love with another lad. But it passes. I met Gloria, and I am happier than I have ever been before.” Neither replied this time.
G took his hand off Jimmy’s arm and started again. “Fine. Look. Imagine, someone finds out. Imagine fans find out. Your parents will know. James, haven’t your parents supported you, all the way though? How would they feel if they knew…?” Jimmy was shaking again. “And what about all the rest of us. Led Zeppelin. You know that the band would be finished instantly if anyone finds out. This isn’t just about you. What about Jonesy and Bonzo? What about their families? Robert, it was you who brought Bonzo along. How do you think he would feel if you drop him because of your selfish infatuation?” That truly hurt. Selfish. Robert never considered himself as selfish. G continued: “Do you realize how many people work very, very hard for Zeppelin to be successful? Your roadies, technicians, the rest of the crew. They make sacrifices, they work until they drop dead, for you. Even…me…Ahmed…. You understand that we would all be on the street if you don’t move on. And your fans. You will be breaking hearts all around the globe. You have a responsibility towards your faithful fans now. You understand that if you walk away from this, you will never be making music ever again.” Then he looked up at them, pleadingly: “I am begging you. Move on from this. You are stronger than you think. I will help you as much as I can.”
He made a dramatic pause in with neither dared to speak up. “Good. I am glad we understand each other. For the rest of the tour, I have arranged minders for both of you. They will go with you to your gigs, sleep in your rooms, entertain you on your days off and generally take care of all your needs. I have arranged separate hotels for you. I am not being cruel. I am trying to help you, for all our sakes.”
There was nothing more to be said. They were led out of the room like lambs to the slaughter.
Robert’s old, wise eyes were suddenly swimming with emotion. Jimmy quietly shook his head and put the folder back in its box. Closed it. The old man with the snow-white hair sat for a moment, motionless. Then he took a shuddering breath and mumbled “sorry. I need a moment.” Then he left to stand outside on the balcony, in the cold night air, shivering. Robert stared after him for a few heartbeats, then he pushed himself off the floor. He slowly walked out to the balcony too. Stood next to Jimmy. And Jimmy turned around with a quiet sob and threw himself into Robert’s arms.