Chapter Text
It was already early October 1972, and the university term had only just begun. It didn’t stop the band called Queen from performing though, as semester starters meant that college students and even those who weren’t were packing the pub for a last hoorah before they start seriously studying. 25-year old Brian May knew that he was supposed to study that night, as he had a pre-term test the following Monday. He had the heaviest workload out of all the members after all, as he was already finishing up his master’s degree in Astrophysics. It was only Friday though, so he thought that he had more time to spare for his love for music before he buried his nose in his books again.
As usual, the band performed splendidly, them having enough energy from the Christmas and New Year feasts the previous week. They had been performing for almost seven months now, and they were getting better every single time. Freddie was a powerful ball of energy and charisma, and he also had a voice to match. It was safe to say that he was very happy with their progress, and he was only waiting for the perfect opportunity of having a producer discover them. Just a bit more attention and they would get somewhere.
So, after cramming all of their instruments and paraphernalia into his bandmate Roger’s van, they fixed themselves up and headed back into the crowded pub. Veronica, their 21-year old bassist John Deacon’s girlfriend, hopped and congratulated them. It wasn’t long before they found a free table by the corner. They then huddled around it and sat, as their dark-haired front man excused himself to find his own girlfriend. The three men sat and talked about how great their set was and how they could improve it. The plans were never finalized, however, since they knew that they needed the input of their flamboyant lead singer.
“We have all these plans but Freddie will always have the last say,” John said, an amused expression upon his face.
Their drummer, Roger Taylor, 23 years old at the time, chuckled, “Never forget Fred. He’ll revise everything anyway.”
So, they continued to chat amongst themselves before Brian stood up and said, “The first round’s on me. I’ll get Fred’s later. What are you guys having?”
After repeating their orders, Brian sauntered off to the bar to get three pints of beer and a glass of gin and tonic. He cursed at himself, knowing that he will never be able to carry all of those all the way back to their booth at once. He ordered them anyway, accepting his fate of having to carry all those glasses all the way to the booth. As he waited, another customer shimmied too close to the guitarist as he ordered since the bar was already becoming very crowded. He stepped away from the bar, shaking his head as he slowly turned around to inspect the crowd on the dance floor. Before he managed to do that, he bumped into another person who was carrying two pints of beer in one hand and another in his other hand.
“Oh, shit,” Brian cursed under his breath, shaking the beer out that spilled on his hands and arms. He silently thanked the fact that he was so tall that the beverage was only carried leveled with his tummy and not his chest. Not much damage was done to his shirt.
“Oh, my God,” the man he bumped with exclaimed as he tried to steady the beverages he was holding to keep any more from spilling. “I am so sorry, Sir, are you alright?”
Brian chuckled and smiled at him good-naturedly before replying, “S’alright. No harm done.”
The man, who was only a few inches shorter than Brian himself, looked at him apologetically and shook his head before turning to the bar. He had brown hair that had a hint of red in it and dark green eyes. Brian, the straight man that he was, noted that he was quite handsome, with his well-defined cleft chin and prominent jaw. His body was lean but well defined as well, being toned and slightly muscled all over, which was obvious despite the unremarkable clothes he wore. He was exactly that—well defined. He was a picture of how anyone would define a man. Brian suddenly felt self-conscious for a while as he made a mental note to start eating more protein despite being a vegetarian.
Seeing the free space adjacent to him, the guy Brian bumped into placed the three mugs of beer down on it and asked the bartender for some tissue. Brian moved to stop him, saying that there really was no trouble, but stopped when he saw that the man was already quick on his feet.
The man went back to Brian with a thick pile of tissues in his hand. He smiled sheepishly as he handed the pile to the curly guitarist. “No, I really am sorry. I really wouldn’t like it if that happened to me either.”
Brian accepted the tissues and gingerly wiped the beer on his arms and hands that were only starting to get sticky. He chuckled, “Well, you were carrying an awful lot of beer there. Don’t you have anyone to help you with that?”
The man chuckled back, “Our booth’s not that far off. This place is too crowded so I told my companions to sit on it…” He trailed off as his eyes searched the side of the bar that had their booth in it. Brian followed his gaze on an empty booth that was quickly filled up by a large group of drunken college students. The man looked confused for a few moments. He could have sworn that was the booth he left. He shook his head as he made a mental note to find his siblings right after. “They’re gone?” He asked no one in particular, but Brian heard him.
As Brian continued to wipe the last traces of beer on his skin, the man beamed up at him and said, “Anyway, your performance was terrific, by the way. I’m always intrigued by rock and roll here in Europe and I’ve seen a few bands here perform. But quite a unique group, you are.”
Brian raised his eyebrows and smiled at him, obviously delighted that more and more people were starting to take notice of their work. “Why, thank you very much. We have been performing together for a while, you know.”
“Ha,” he said, shooting him a curious look, “Well, that’s a bummer. My timing must be always off then. Forgive me for being nosy, but what have you done to your guitar that gives that distinct sound?”
Brian beamed; even more delighted that someone was finally noticing his very own handiwork. He was very proud of his guitar and was quite pleased that someone took interest in it now. So, he generously explained all the facts he could possibly give about his beloved Red Special, the two men became so engrossed with their conversation that they failed to notice that it took almost 10 minutes to get Brian’s order out. The bartender cut the conversation as he peered at the guitarist for a moment and called his name, saying that he needed to get his drinks. Brian nodded at his direction before turning to the man he had been talking to.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, always minding his manners, “May I know your name?”
The man chuckled and held his hand out for the taller guy to shake, and said, “It’s Frederick. Frederick Xavier. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Brian smiled and shook his muscled hand firmly with his scrawny one and replied, “Well, Brian May, guitarist for Queen.” Wow, that was a pleasure to say. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. You sort of have the namesake among the group,” he chuckled before gathering the many glasses of booze he had to carry back to his own booth.
Frederick laughed, “Oh, the frontman. What a voice!”
“Indeed,” Brian laughed as well.
Xavier.
Where did he hear that name before?
Brian racked his brain to try and remember where he encountered someone with that name.
Then it dawned on him. He knew a prominent figure that had that last name. That figure was one who had a major contribution to modern nuclear science! Brian paused and looked at his newfound acquaintance for a moment before he asked, “By any chance, would you happen to be related to a certain Dr. Brian Xavier?”
Frederick gave him an unreadable expression for a few moments before he replied, “The nuclear scientist?”
Brian nodded enthusiastically, silently hoping for an affirmative answer. To his delight, the brunette answered, “Yes.”
“He was my uncle’s father. My granduncle, if you can say,” Frederick continued, smiling politely at the taller man. Brian’s eyes widened like saucers and he almost jumped at his spot as he asked more questions such as:
“Have you met him before?”
“Did he have some unfinished work lying around?”
“What was his study technique?”
Frederick answered all of his questions politely until Brian decided that he has had enough. Little did Frederick know, however, was that the guitarist made a mental note to think about much more to ask him later on that night. They went on to talk about his band some more. After a while, Brian noticed that Frederick looked at the direction of the college-student filled the booth with a scrunched up face.
“They’re not there,” Frederick mumbled as he started to gather the three mugs he was holding a few minutes ago before he said, “Well, I better not keep you then. I think your mates have waited a wee bit long now, yeah?”
Brian chuckled again, trying to hold all of his glasses as well. “They’ll be fine. These are a lot too, you see.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around then!” Frederick started to walk off.
Brian pondered for a while, determined to be able to milk some more information about his idolized granduncle, before saying, “Hey, mate, I know you haven’t found your companions around.”
Frederick turned his head to shoot him a confused look with a raised eyebrow. Being the kind man that he was, Brian shook his head as he continued, “Would you like to join us? We got plenty of room.”
Frederick looked at the booth he was supposed to go to and shook his head. He turned to the guitarist before nodding.
“Yeah,” he said, laughing. “I’m an abandoned ship anyway.”
So, they both juggled their sets of mugs to Queen’s far off booth, Frederick walking right behind the taller guy as the latter waded his way in the crowd. They eventually got there, and immediately placed the mugs on the table, relieving their aching arms. The three people who remained sitting around the table, namely John, Roger, and Veronica, eyed Frederick in confusion. Brian wiped his hands on his pants, momentarily forgetting that he had a new friend with him.
Roger pulled a mug to himself and shot Brian a mischievous grin, “I didn’t know you were into guys, Bri. No wonder it took you so long.”
Brian immediately turned to him and glared. Frederick stood there, looking at them back and forth as he shifted his weight under his feet. Veronica and John laughed, shaking their heads. Brian turned to the others as he introduced his new friend.
“Hello, everyone. This is Frederick,” he pointed to the shorter man standing beside him. “I met him just a while ago.”
“I spilled beer on him, really,” Frederick quipped amusedly as he smiled.
Brian chuckled before continuing, “Yes, and his friends seemed to have abandoned him so I figured he join us.”
“They were my siblings, actually.”
Everyone paused and turned to him bemusedly, a little sorry for his situation. Frederick chuckled as he shook his head.
“Oh, that’s bullocks,” Brian shook his head before he gestured Frederick to take a seat beside Roger. Frederick did so as Roger scooted over to give him some space to sit. Brian pulled up a chair from nearby and sat on the short end of the booth.
Frederick pulled a pint of beer from the three he carried a while ago for himself, “Well, I’m going to say this again. You guys did really well, you have amazing harmonization there.”
Roger and John smiled, nodding in appreciation. “Thanks, mate. Roger Taylor, by the way. The drummer,” Roger said before he took a swig of his beer. Frederick held up a hand for him to shake. The drummer chuckled at the formality this guy was exuding as he looked at his hand momentarily before he shook it.
“Nice to meet you,” Frederick said, smiling.
He then turned to John, who said, “John Deacon, the bassist. And this is my girlfriend, Veronica.”
The brunette shook their hands as well, nodding at them like a dignitary. Roger chuckled at him again. What was up with this guy? He wasn’t annoying or anything. He just seemed like someone who didn’t go to a pub often. Who shakes hands at a drinking place these days?
Roger shook his head, resigning to the thought that maybe the bloke was just new here. So, he turned to the brunette and asked, keeping his voice loud so that everyone in the booth could hear him even with the noise in the place, “So, since we lot have already been drinking together for a few months together anyway,” he started, pertaining to his band mates and Veronica, “tell us about yourself, Frederick. Don’t worry about Brian—he likes memorizing things.”
Brian rolled his eyes at the drummer and looked eagerly at Frederick who seemed to contemplate what he was going to tell them. He blinked a few times before he finally stuttered, “Uh.”
As if right on cue, a blonde-haired girl wearing the most fashionable leather jacket and flare jeans approached their booth, flustered as she fought to get through the many people in the place. She brushed her strawberry blonde locks with her fingers as she continued to walk. All of them turned their heads to her, and Brian stood up to greet her with a warm hug.
“Mary!” he exclaimed as he let go of her. “Where’s Fred?”
Mary looked at him and then at Roger and John, confused. “I thought he already told you. He just told me to go look for you over here.”
“Told us what?” John asked, starting to become concerned.
Mary shook her head and smiled sheepishly, “Oh, it’s nothing major,” she said as she walked around Brian to walk to Veronica’s side of the bench. “He said he forgot that he only borrowed the keyboard he used and that he crammed it in the van. He just went to get it and return it to the piano room.”
The band members breathed a sigh of relief as they realized that fortunately, Freddie didn’t get himself in any trouble. Mary waved at Roger and John as she said her congratulatory remarks for their performance. Veronica scooted over, beckoning for John to do so as well so that Mary could have some space to sit on. When John was already at the edge of the bench and directly across Roger, Mary sat down, noticing the unfamiliar person in the booth.
“Oh, hello there,” she greeted, smiling at him politely. Frederick smiled back, offering his hand, just as he did with the others, for her to shake. Mary raised her eyebrows before she shook his hand lightly.
“Mary, this is Frederick,” Brian introduced his newfound friend, “Frederick, this is Mary, Freddie’s girlfriend.”
“Nice to meet you,” Frederick said politely, his voice firm but almost sounded slightly shy, which made Mary swoon a little inside. She felt slightly guilty afterward, swearing never to tell anyone else.
Mary laughed lightly as she let go of his hand. “It’s quite refreshing. You shake hands.”
Roger chuckled, “That’s what I thought.”
Frederick looked confused, “You don’t shake hands here anymore?”
Roger was about to say something when Brian interrupted him, “We still do. Just not usually in pubs or in settings like this. It’s still nice, though.”
Frederick still looked confused. He wasn’t that new to England. He could have sworn he still shook hands at drinking places where he usually went. He just shook the thought out, letting it go.
Roger rolled his eyes jokingly at his tall friend, who was always someone who regarded manners very seriously, “Of course you would think like that, Bri.”
Brian shot Roger an annoyed look, which made John shake his head and turn to the newcomer instead. “Why do you ask, by the way? Where’d you come from?”
“I’m actually from New York.”
Everyone raised his or her eyebrows at this. So, John continued, “As in America?”
The brunette nodded, taking hold of his beer, “Yup.”
Roger leaned back in his seat and sighed, “Damn, I always wanted to go there.”
“Why don’t you elope with him then?” John told the drummer sarcastically, earning a glare from the blonde.
“Oh, shut it, Deacy,” Roger said, making everyone, including Frederick himself, snicker. Roger had always been teased because he looked like a woman sometimes. Thankfully, despite him being a hothead, he never really took offense out of it, and rather just went on with their jokes.
“So, Frederick,” Brian started again, feeling more intrigued by the guy. ‘I’m always with the band anyway,’ he thought. “What brings you here to England then?”
“Oh, lay off him, Bri. We might have asked too many questions,” Roger said, starting to feel irked for Frederick for being put in the spotlight a bit too long in the conversation despite being the first time meeting them. Veronica and Mary waved him off, however, the two girls leaning closer to the table to listen to the newcomer.
“No, wait,” Veronica said, putting her elbow on the table as Mary did. “I am a bit curious about it. Why are you here in this dingy pub, Frederick?”
Brian looked at the girl, mocking a shocked look on his face, “It’s not ding--”
“Sshh!” Mary shushed the guitarist before she turned her attention to the handsome guy in front of her again.
Roger chuckled at the situation as the two girls obviously fawned over him despite trying to be discreet about it. Frederick shuffled uncomfortably in his seat as he swallowed and glanced quickly at the bassist in front of him. John chuckled and looked at him amusedly as if he was trying to tell him to go on.
So, Frederick replied, “I study law in Oxford.”
Roger swore right then that the girls across him were drooling silently in their seats. Brian and John were oblivious to this, however, since they were equally intrigued by the brunette. That, or they didn’t notice—or rather, they didn’t care. If Frederick knew just how… cool… he seemed right now, they never knew since he just sat there, seeming all polite, not even taking a swig of his beer after he answered their questions. They just kept on questioning him.
“Oxford University? That’s… hours from here,” Brian contemplated, deciding if he should believe the guy or not. Then he remembered that the handsome man was a relative of one of the smarted people he knew. So, the guitarist just accepted it. “Why are you here in London?”
Frederick chuckled and said, “My sisters have some… business here for a few weeks and my brother tagged along. They’re all not that familiar here anymore since they mostly grew up in New York. Well, we all did. Since I’m still on break, I figured I accompany them while they’re here.”
Everyone nodded, satisfied with his answer, although they still had questions in their mind. Sensing this, Frederick finally lifted his beer mug to his lips and he took a sip from it.
Brian chuckled, “All that trouble and yet they left you hanging?”
Frederick chuckled back, almost sounding sorry for himself. “Yeah.”
“There, there, mate,” Roger said amusedly, clapping his shoulder. “You tried.”
Everyone laughed before Frederick set his mug down on the table and said, “Okay, we’ve already established that I’m a trying hard older brother.”
They all roared in laughter once again before Frederick diverted the topic, “Enough about me. What’s up with you guys?”
So, they all chatted amongst themselves, slowly becoming slurry as they ordered more and more alcohol, and Frederick just drank his siblings’ pints of beer. Interestingly enough, Frederick wasn’t deterred by the odd quirks of every person in the table—with their references to Roger being a womanizer, Mary being the fashionable hottie who decided to date the flamboyant Freddie Bulsara, John and Brian being nerds and Veronica being the most normal out of them all. They all cheered and drank shots of hard drinks and pints of beer, and before they knew it, almost 45 minutes have passed. It was then that they noticed that Freddie wasn’t back yet.
“Wait,” Mary slurred, hazily looking at everyone with worry in her eyes. “Where’s Fred?”
Everyone except Frederick furrowed their brows as they realized that their friend was still missing in action.
“Oh, shit,” Brian cursed under his breath, putting his beer down.
“He’s been replaced by another Fred,” John said, chuckling darkly as he sipped from his beer.
Mary looked around them in the pub in search for her energetic boyfriend. Roger waved her off, saying, “I’m sure he’s fine, Mary. Probably just entertaining people who want to ask about the band or something.”
With that, Mary relaxed into her seat but still had traces of worry in her face. “Oh, I hope you’re right.”
Frederick listened to his new friends start a new conversation about something when the sight of his raven-haired, lanky younger brother caught his attention and he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be looking after his younger siblings. His eyes widened, which made the others stop what they were talking about.
“What’s wrong, Fred?” Brian asked, looking over to where the brunette was looking as well.
Frederick grew annoyed as he realized that his younger brother was there, nursing a bottle of beer as he talked closely (and awkwardly) to a girl who was stealing light touches on his arm. So, Frederick turned to the others and said, “Can you please excuse me for a second? I’ll go get my brother.”
He didn’t wait for their response when he bolted out of his seat and raced to where the younger man was standing. The others watched in amusement as the brunette stood beside his brother and introduced himself quickly, effectively cutting their conversation, before he placed his arm on his brother’s shoulder and practically ripped him off the confused blonde girl. They stopped watching when they saw the brothers arguing already.
Frederick pulled his brother, younger by about three years than him, to a corner in the pub, where they were far away from the girl the latter was talking to. The raven-haired teenager looked at Frederick in confusion as the older guy ran his hand across his hair in frustration.
“Wha--”
“Alex, where is she?” Frederick asked through gritted teeth, glaring at his brother.
Alex’s eyes widened as he answered, “I thought she was with you!”
“I thought she was with you!” Frederick exclaimed back. “I just got up to get drinks for all of us and before I even got back to the table, you were already gone!”
Alex pursed his mouth and nodded slowly when a realization hit him. “Oooh,” he said, smiling sheepishly in the end, “So, that’s what you said.”
Frederick blinked at him as he felt himself sober up. “What did you think I said?”
“I thought you said you’ll get something to drink and look around.”
Frederick stared at him for a moment before he slapped his forehead in frustration. “That’s far from what I said.”
“Heh,” Alex scratched the back of his head as he waited for his older brother’s anger to dissipate. Frederick was never one to stay angry for long, even when drunk he supposed, especially during times of crisis and danger. One of his greatest traits was that he was calm and collected whenever it was needed, and this was one of those times.
“Well, it is a bit too noisy in here,” Alex mumbled, looking at the ground, trying to defend himself a little. Frederick just shook his head in response then looked around before turning to him.
“No matter,” the older brother said, seemingly sober now. “We’ve got to find her before… something happens.”
Alex shook his head, about to say something when his brother pulled his arm. Before he could even register it, Frederick was already walking in the direction the latter came from.
“Come on,” the brunette said as they brisk walked back towards the band’s booth. “You should meet my friends first.”
When the two finally got to the booth where Frederick was earlier, everyone was still there, just casually talking to each other despite the noise that other people inside the pub were making. John was the first one to spot them approaching, so he pointed to their direction for the others to look at. The brothers stopped just beside where Brian was sitting.
“Hello again, everyone,” Frederick greeted, the same sober politeness back. He seemed calm, but Alex could feel the tension radiating from his brother beside him. “I thought it’d be rude if I leave you guys just like that.”
“This is Alex, my younger brother,” the brunette introduced. Alex smiled at them, making a small wave with the hand that wasn’t holding a beer bottle.
“Hi, Alex!” everyone chorused.
“Hello,” Alex said, equally as polite as his brother. After further introductions, he then proceeded to gush over how much he liked the band’s dynamics that night.
Roger chuckled taking a sip from his beer as he saw Veronica and Mary’s jaws drop at the sight of the other guy joining their booth. Even Roger was able to admit that the guy was just as handsome as his older brother. He looked younger, having a lankier build, having the same height as the older brother. He had black, shaggy hair, and dark brown eyes that didn’t seem as piercing as his brother’s dark green ones, but still, when he looked at the girls, they swooned internally. He gave off a different vibe, but Roger was still able to conclude that he was good-looking. Talk about good genes. Guess he had a competition tonight. Two, actually.
“Why don’t you two have a seat?” Roger asked, for once being polite.
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’m afraid we can’t stay,” Frederick refused gently, before glaring at his brother, “Someone lost our little sister tonight.”
Roger raised his eyebrows in amusement. So, a pretty bird was alone around here somewhere? Looking at the two tall, well-built men in front of him, he imagined the girl to look like a model—tall, lithe and beautiful. He half-heartedly contemplated whether or not he should look for her when the two brothers leave.
Alex rolled his eyes before saying, “I. Thought. She. Was. With. You.”
Everyone bit back a laugh at the scene happening in front of them. So, there were two handsome men in the booth with them, bickering like Freddie and Brian normally did during rehearsals.
“Wait, wait,” Brian interrupted the quarreling guys beside him. “What’s so wrong about her being… out and about?”
The two guys standing looked at each other before Frederick turned to them and answered sheepishly, “She’s… underage.”
So, a young pretty little bird was around here somewhere! Roger laughed mentally, starting to look forward to what’s going to happen next. The others just gawked at the two, unsure whether it was funny or if they should be concerned as well.
“Yeah, but she’s going to start going to a university soon,” Alex said. Brian thought about it for a short moment. Starting university soon when she was underage? But he let it go, resigning to the thought that maybe these lot were just incredibly lucky in the gene pool. Then, Frederick continued, “I thought she’s going to be exposed to drinking places anyway, so might as well get her to try drinking while we’re around. So, you know… we can try to get her to hate it.”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed. After a short pause, he said, “It was a stupid idea.”
Everyone laughed, increasingly thinking the situation to be more comedic than serious.
But then the boys started bickering again.
“But, Fred, it’s not like we haven’t been to a club before,” Alex said, earning a glare from the older guy.
“Yes, I know,” he answered, “but it wasn’t filled with drunken college students who are ready to pounce at anyone who doesn’t seem to be with anyone.”
“Well, he’s not wrong,” John said as he shrugged. Everyone snickered although the two didn’t seem to mind.
“You’re overreacting, Fred,” Alex said as he shook his head at his brother.
“She’s just seventeen, Alex,” the older guy said, sounding more panicky than before.
“She’s already seventeen, Fred,” Alex deadpanned, crossing his arms. “She’s not daft.”
For the others, it may have been just a comedic situation where two overprotective brothers lost track of where their sister was. But for Brian, there were so many questions running in his head as they went on.
He was about to blurt one out when the older one finally said, “You know what, let’s just go. We seriously need to start looking now.”
Alex nodded, disgusted as he looked at a couple openly sloppily making out, about to take off their clothes, in one of the booths adjacent to them, “Yeah, everyone’s getting drunker and drunker.”
Frederick nodded calmly before turning to the others sitting down. “Well, it was very nice meeting you all tonight. I’m so sorry for the trouble.”
Brian chuckled as he answered the brunette kindly, “No trouble, mate. You gave us a good laugh tonight.”
Everyone agreed, all right.
Frederick managed to let out an exasperated laugh before saying, “Yeah, I hope I still end up laughing tonight.”
“If you won’t get busy yelling,” Alex muttered.
Frederick rolled his eyes and continued, “Enjoy the rest of the night, everyone! We’ll try to get back once we’ve found our sister. Well, if you’re still going to stay here. I’m sure she’d like to meet you as well.”
And with that, they waved goodbye and the two men walked off, their heads turning constantly in search for their sister.