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Everyone else had already left the studio by now. At that time of the day, or rather evening, nobody wanted to be stuck there any longer.
Fifty years prior, they only had been getting started recording during the later hours, jamming and grooving the entire night.
By now, this almost felt like an entire lifetime ago. An entirely different life. There was nothing much left of it but clouded memories, shadows of the past mixed up in the haze of all the booze and drugs.
They were the only ones still left in the mixing room, playing back some of the material they had recorded that day, Mick on the soundboard right next to him, leaning in so closely their arms and shoulders were brushing.
"I really liked your solo on that one earlier…", Mick commented on the song currently running. He sounded entirely sincere and full of praise, as so often these days.
"Nice one, huh?", Keith chuckled, his raspy laugh rolling off his tongue as his eyes caught Mick's for a moment, so full of affection.
"Let's see what it sounds like just a tad faster", Mick mused then, stretching out his arm, actually getting up and leaning over Keith in order to reach the required button on the mixing desk.
When sitting back down, however, it wasn't on the chair next to his own, but in Keith's lap instead, sideways, looping an arm around his neck.
Involuntarily, he was reminded again of days long past, some five odd decades ago, almost like muscle memory seemed to remember Mick's weight pressing against him just like that. He didn't seem to be a single pound heavier than back in the day.
Automatically, like a reflex, he wrapped his own arm around Mick's waist, holding him in place, as he watched a smirk appear on his face.
"Better?"
"The song, or you sitting on me?", Keith quipped as he felt Mick playing around now with the hair at the back of his head, instead of the knobs on the soundboard.
"I'd figure both…", Mick whispered, his face so close that Keith could feel his warm breath on his skin.
"One is still debatable", he deadpanned, just to mess a little with him, and also because with Mick this close, he couldn't really focus on the song any longer.
He could have played him one of those African beats he enjoyed so much lately, and Keith would have nodded and told him they should open their next live show with that.
"I hope this to be the pace of the song?", Mick wondered in feigned astonishment.
Keith nodded lightly, his prior grin softening into a smile. There was nothing debatable about Mick and him, not anymore, at last.
"We should finish that one up tomorrow", he said then, feeling the exhaustion of a long day in the studio creeping into his bones.
"Hmm", Mick only hummed, by now his head was leaning against Keith's, artificial brown locks getting messed up with tousled grey ones.
He didn't make any attempt, however, to get up from Keith's lap, only nuzzled against him a little closer.
"Just another moment, love", he mumbled eventually, making Keith chuckle lightly before he pressed a soft kiss to Mick's neck in wordless agreement.