Chapter Text
Brian had been working himself crazy in the last month. He had been researching seemingly every free hour he had. He was away for hours, off the the library or to talk to his advisor. He didn't give himself a day off or even an hour off. The closest he came to relaxing was when he tumbled exhaustedly into bed to cuddle his boyfriends.
He had finally decided to indefinitely postpone his doctorate work. This had left him heartbroken and which wouldn't be helped by the fact that the first thing Brian was going to do was visit his parents over the weekend. They'd be so disappointed in him as though his masters wasn't a great accomplishment or as though Queen wasn't him making something of his life.
So the boys had decided to treat him somehow. And Sunday morning Roger came up with the idea of a cake which gave them just half a day to get one. At first they thought to get one from a bakery, bakeries were fortunately not closed on Sundays. They had flipped through the phone book to find all the bakeries only to find out generally only pastry shops sold cakes. The phonebook tragically didn't give the pastry shops by distance so they had to find them all, look at their addresses and see how many were close to where they lived. The real tragedy seemed to be that there wasn't one near where they lived. Then Freddie was dismayed to find out that unless it was a really big cake like say for a wedding, they wouldn't let you taste. The final nail was the prices.
So since they couldn't purchase a cake, they decided to cake one even though they had no idea how to do such a thing having never baked before. They weren't quite sure where to even begin. Freddie knew a game plan was key so they first brainstormed and discussed what kind of cake Brian might like the best. While Freddie loved cherries and Roger was partial to caramel, Deaky suggested carrot cake. This sounded like a great idea to them. Healthy, likely to be something that Brian liked and if made correctly produced a moist cake.
This also took care of ingredients as a carrot cake didn't require they go out and buy anything new, like whipped cream or chocolate chips. What it did need like flour and eggs, they already had.
The boys in true college bachelor fashion didn't have a cookbook anywhere in the flat nor even a recipe written on the back of a receipt. So the plan was that John was to call his family members to see if they had one while Roger and Freddie were to make their way out in the drizzling London rain. Roger was tasked with going to the library and to try to find a recipe and Freddie was to go and ask around with his friends.
They would go until they found one and then each come back and compare. The two boys left before noon while Deaky got comfortable with his address book and the phone. They were all back in the flat victorious in only a few hours.
Roger had found out that cookbooks were reference books in the library and could not be checked out, which was weird and annoying but he had found a book of desserts and had carefully copied down the recipe. Well, part of the recipe. Roger, like a fool, had copied the ingredients and their quantities but had not copied the procedure. Which apart from missing the vital cooking temperature and time, meant they were missing the steps of the procedure that would help novice cooks such as themselves.
Freddie had gotten two recipes. One straight from Cathy, a lovely old friend from Uni, and the other from Rob Tyrell's cute new girlfriend Ann-Lynn. They had carefully copied in lovely elegant cursive their recipes in inkpen which had completely bled as the rain seeped through Freddie's jacket. Freddie was more horrified by the inkstain than the lost recipes. Roger carefully dried them with the hairdryer and they were still partly legible.
Deaky had called around until he was pointed thoroughly in Beatrice's direction. Beatrice was his grandmother's sister's daughter which made her like his first cousin once removed. She had lovingly and excitingly given him not just the recipe but also every tip and trick she could think of to help him, it had been way to overwhelming but done completely with love.
He had tried his best to copy all that she had said but at the end he had run out of space on his pocket sized sheet of paper. Which meant his normally tight handwriting had been reduced to a scribbled mere-illegible mess.
They put their recipes all on the table and looked at them carefully. The main take away was that not one of them were the same. Different ratios, different ingredients, cooking time, temperatures... They didn't know where to even really begin. Roger pulled at his hair, they just wanted to give back to Brian would who so wonderful and thoughtful to them, this was going to be a disaster. "What's the difference between baking powder and baking soda?" Freddie asks in a horrified voice, clearly out of his depth.
"I think," Deaky said as though he wielded executive power, "That we should just pick one recipe and stick to it. I messed up with mine, I didn't transcribe tablespoons and teaspoons correctly but I do have the cooking time and temperatures which we should use with Roger's as his is the most complete." Roger had large, bold and clear to read handwriting which is why they had asked him to write the Queen announcement flyers all those years ago.
"And your frosting recipe," Roger pointed to Freddie who had gone for bonus points by also getting a frosting recipe.
"Mine calls for pecans and raisins, do we want to have that?" Deaky questions.
"Well we don't have any pecans and I don't know where we'd get some. I don't think the grocers has got any," Roger thought practically. "Not to mention it might be too late." Roger couldn't remember if they closed at 4 or 5 on a Sunday.
"We do still have raisins I think and I'd quite like those," Freddie offered.
Now that they had decided, they began. They didn't need to be three to do this so Roger was given maestro duties. He donned his glasses, and read with a clear voice the instructions. Freddie pulled out a large mixing bowl and a whisk while John fetched the ingredients. "Two cups of flour."
They didn't store their flour in anything, leaving it in the paper bag it came in which meant pouring it into their small cup measurement was a trial. Flour dusted up seemingly everywhere but the cup and once that large amount had sloshed out no more came out. "Should I shake it?" John asked very cautiously as Freddie did his best to hold in his rage as he tried to wipe the flour from his satin trousers.
"Very carefully and gently," Roger offered before looking at his fashion soulmate, "We do have an apron you could wear."
Freddie threw his hands up in frustration nearly knocking Deaky and the bag of flour, "Couldn't you- sorry Deaks- say something earlier?"
Freddie went to go slip on the plain black apron Brian wore, "Sorry my dear, there's only one. Would you like-" Freddie almost offered generously.
John Deacon stood there try to get the flour to slide out in a controllable manner dressed in ratted old jeans and a faded t-shirt looking at his boyfriend who was wearing velvet and satin, "No, somehow I think you'll need it more."
After one cup of flour, they more carefully poured the next and only spilled a little. "You could hold the measure over the bowl," Roger ofters once they are done.
Deaky just looks at Roger like he's dead inside, "Geez, thanks Roger."
"Kosher salt," Roger adds without flinching.
"Is our salt kosher?" Freddie questions as they find to kind of salts above the stove top, one that is finely ground and the other that is large salt grains. Deaky shrugs. They decide that is the recipe asks for a particular kind of salt it must be the more unusual one.
They added the salt, the cinnamon and oil. As soon as they pour in the oil, Freddie stirring the whisk lightly, Deaky realises they fucked up. "We should have done all the drie ingredients first, we only have one measure. It'll need to be washed before we can add like the sugar."
Deaky washed the measure, as Roger got busying finding the vegetable peeler and then peeling the five carrots needed. Freddie added the four eggs that are called for. Deaky dried the cup measure the best he could before they added the sugar and vanilla sugar as Roger read from the recipe. "Do you know where the grater is?" Roger asked as he stuck his head into the cupboards.
"We do have a grater, right?" Freddie questioned alarmed.
"Yes?" Deaky hoped, they must? Must they not?
"Is there anything else needed?" Freddie enquired as he whisks more frantically, the batter is lumpy with large chunks forming in it. What could have gone wrong? Maybe they need to add more oil or something? "Does anyone want to take over? My arm is getting tired," Freddie lied, this can be someone else's fuck up.
"Sure, Roger's got strong arms," Deaky threw out as he groped a bicep in passing.
"A shot of rum, and of course got to be an advantage to drumming."
"It being very sexy isn't enough for you?" Freddie teased as he discovered for the first time cleaning supplies under the sink.
"Well, I'm sexy all the time so I can't let that stop me," Roger returned just as saucily with a wink.
Deaky laughed as he finally found the grater, "Victory!" He said as he raised it in triumph.
"Oh my hero!" Freddie giggled, batting his lashes and giving Deaky a big smacking kiss to the cheek.
Deaky started to peel the needed 5 carrots. Freddie fished out their bottle of rum and poured himself a shot that he downed, "You only want one?"
Roger turned from where he was mixing the carrots in, "Do I-?" Roger bursted out giggling. "It's not for me, it's for the cake."
"I'll take one," Deaky said completely deadpan. They laugh as they all get one shot closer to being tipsy. "Is it suppose to be this lumpy?"
"Oh we forgot the raisins!"
They added the raisins and the lumpy batter was probably as good as it was going to get. "Do we have a cake mold?" Roger just realised.
They looked at each other with wide eyes before searching again through the cupboards. "We can use the terrine mold?"
"But then it's not going to look like cake!" Freddie cried.
"I don't think we have a cake mold, why would we? And a pie dish will be too low," Deaky offered as he rubbed Freddie's back, "We are going to decorate it with frosting and Bri is going to love it because it comes from us and we love him."
"I just- He's been so stressed and after telling his dad, he's going to be all wound up, He- He desires to be happy," Freddie said, making an impassioned plea.
"He knows we want this for him, this gesture will show him this. It's going to be fine," Roger said as he wiggled the terrine mold in front of Freddie's face.
"I guess," Freddie conceded. They poured the batter into the mold, the trouble was that they had too much batter for the mold. "Should we bake two cakes then?"
"We could make cookies! For Deaky!" Roger offered eagerly.
They all loved eating cookies but Deaky's tendency to snack and having such a sweet tooth made them his favorite. Deaky blushed, giggling at the attention.
"Excellent idea my good man!" Freddie agreed as they fished out a baking sheet. They did their best to scrape the liquid batter into cookie sized puddles.
Freddie opened the oven to greeted by it's cold insides. "We didn't preheat the oven," Roger said with fatality.
"It should be fine. Brian's not meant to come back for a few hours still," Deaky affirmed.
"My recipe says 170 and Freddie's says 190."
"We could put it at 180?" Freddie offered.
This sounded reasonable to them so in goes the cake and cookies. Freddie turns the dial but noticed that it wasn't a lot, barely a 1/4 turn of the dial. "Is that really enough?"
Roger leaned in, this was an old stove, before the legal metric change. "Oh! Well spotted Fred! Crisis averted! This stove is in fahrenheit, 180 wouldn't have been nearly enough," He made scribbling motion subconsciously with his hand. Deaky whipped out the pad they used for the grocery list and a pen, "Thanks," Roger said chewing the end. Roger has a terrible habit of chewing anything from his hangnails and pen caps. He scribbles down some maths to convert between the two. He mumbles, "If it's minus 32 times five-ninth then the revert is celsius times nine-fifths plus 32."
"I might have the conversion formula in one of my textbooks," Deaky offers but Roger has found the answer of 355F himself.
"As smart as you are pretty, it's hardly fair," Freddie said raining noisy kisses onto Roger.
"He was only able to show off his brilliance because of your cleverness," Deaky offered knowing it would get him kisses too.
"I am pretty clever aren't I?" Freddie said as he lifted his chin for both of them to kiss in his turn.
"Clever enough to have chosen such handsome boyfriends," Roger teases as he wraps a lock of John's hair to get him in a kiss. "We've done good work today, we might deserve a reward ourselves."
Deaky squirms out of Roger's hold. "It's not that I don't want to, I-" Deaky blushes as though he was a still a virgin, "Anyways but the frosting first."
"Oh clever," Roger complimented with heat in his gaze.
"And responsible," Freddie tack on.
"One of us should be," John mumbled.
"I- I can't read this, Deaky on maestro duty," Roger said as he squinted at the chicken scrawl, trying to decipher it.
"3 cups of powdered sugar, 1/3 cups of butter not melted, and 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla, 2 tsp of milk." John read out so quickly that they can't even fish out the ingredients.
"No wait, slower, I can't hold all that in my head," Roger tried as he only finds sugar. "Powdered sugar is just ground up sugar right?"
They look at each other, no one knows but they hope. Roger measures out the needed amount of sugar and then enjoys himself reducing it to powder with Brian's mortar and pestle.
They mix it all together and unsurprisingly the frosting tastes delicious. The texture is also relatively smooth and nice enough for their first time although it is a little runny.
"Now where were we?" Freddie says as he grabs his boyfriends by their shirts and drags them off to their bedroom.
"We were deserving something for all our hard work," Roger replies.
"Yes, we've been so thoughtful and kind," Deaky adds.
"Mmm, gonna have to find a way to reward you both."