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“Why the fuck are you drunk?!”
“Just had a bit too much at the pub, yeah?” Liam slurred as he stepped into the studio. Noel was furious and Liam grinned at the sight. “You look a bit funny, Noely, all frowny-like.”
“Shut the fuck up! We’re supposed to be recording Morning Glory right now!” Noel was yelling up at Liam as Bonehead, Guigsy and Alan sat on the couch awkwardly. Then Noel gestured between himself and Liam in a rage. “And you– you’re fucking pissed!”
“Can still sing though, can’t I?” Liam retorted and the slur in his voice sent Noel through the roof. Noel grabbed a rolled up tour poster from beside him and hit Liam over the head.
“You can’t bloody sing if you’re pissed!”
“Fuck was that for, you arse?!” Liam grabbed his head though he didn’t really feel any pain. “You don’t go around hittin’ me with fuckin’ posters, you twat!”
“And you don’t walk into my studio pissed out of your goddamn mind!” Noel raised the poster as though he were going to hit Liam again and Liam moved out of Noel’s range. Liam then picked up the nearest object–a snowglobe–and began wielding it like a weapon. “What are you going to do with that? Disorient me by shaking it?!”
“Oh, I’ll show you what it’s for!” Liam dared and threw the snowglobe at Noel’s head. Noel ducked as the globe shattered against the wall, splattering water and glass everywhere.
Noel nearly lost his mind and threw the poster at Liam. “What the actual fucking hell is wrong with you?!” Some of the water made it to Noel’s shoes and Bonehead swore he could see Noel’s eyes turn red. “Now we can’t record in here until the glass is cleaned up! What the fuck, Liam?!”
Liam’s eyes slowly trailed to where the glass had shattered before flippantly putting his hands up behind his head. “You shouldn’t have hit me over the head with a poster, then.”
Noel exhaled sharply and then moved to grab Liam’s collar. “You fucking think this is my fault?!”
“Well yeah-”
“It’s my fucking studio!”
“Our fucking studio!”
“No the fuck it’s not! I make the songs! I make the tunes! You sing the words and the rest of the band plays the music! There is no band without me and this studio is just a room if I’m not in it!” Noel was shouting at Liam and Liam didn’t quite have the coordination to shove Noel off of him. Noel slapped Liam across the face and Liam was dazed for a moment before hitting Noel back. The two exchanged blows before Liam grabbed a coat rack that had Oasis shirts hanging on it and threw the entire thing at Noel. Noel dodged and watched as the rack tumbled over and knocked a vase down, shattering more glass across the floor and dosing the shirts in water. “Now you’ve fucking ruined the merch!”
Noel reached to grab something else but Bonehead had already wrapped his arms around Liam, effectively immobilizing him. “Let’s all calm down, yeah mate?” Bonehead asked as conversationally as he could.
“We can’t trash the whole studio, it’ll be a pain finding somewhere else to record,” Guigsy offered as he clapped a hand on Noel’s shoulder. Noel huffed through his nostrils but turned to meet Guigsy’s eyes and he couldn’t stay mad much longer. At least the rest of this band had some fucking sense.
“Right then, recording is fucking cancelled for today,” Noel declared. Alan was sweeping up the mess of glass with a small brush and pan and Noel had half a mind to help him but he couldn’t bring himself to clean up after Liam. “You lot do whatever you want. I’m heading out. We can record tomorrow.”
…
The recording session didn’t happen until two days later because Noel couldn’t force himself to face Liam after their fight. In fact, no one had seen Noel after he left the studio that day, including Liam.
“He should be here, he’s always on time, that one,” Alan said as he lit up a cigarette.
Liam held out his hand to ask for a cigarette from the drummer and rolled his eyes. “Or he could still be fucking mad or whatever.”
No one commented on Liam’s remark, but not a moment later did Noel step through the studio doors. He was scowling as usual, and he looked everyone over as though he were counting heads. “No one is fucking pissed, right?”
“No, no one is fucking pissed.” Liam returned the glare and blew smoke in Noel’s direction to emphasize his point. Noel grit his teeth but he refused to have yet another recording session ruined.
“Right then, let’s get to it.”
…
Bonehead, Guigsy and Alan all stared in stunned silence as Noel practiced guitar on the couch while Liam laid his head in Noel’s lap. The recording session went well, they did everything within two takes. With some minor tweaks in post, the track would be good as golden and everyone was in a good mood. However, that couldn’t be a good enough reason to explain why Liam was now laying his head in his brother’s lap humming, and even more confusingly, Noel was allowing it.
“Should we work on the next track, Noel?” Alan asked.
Noel hummed and plucked a few strings on the guitar. “Yeah, give me about fifteen minutes. Our kid needs some time to rest his voice.”
“I do not need to rest my voice, ‘s perfectly fine,” Liam retorted, looking up at his brother. Noel scowled down at him.
“You do too, you knobhead,” Noel replied and flicked Liam’s forehead. Guigsy and Bonehead braced themselves for another fight but Liam rolled his eyes and rubbed the skin above his eyebrows.
“You dick, what if that left a mark?”
“Maybe you’d learn when to shut up. Drink some water before the next recording.”
“I don’t need fucking water, my pipes are magical and they’re just fine. A pint might do me good, though.”
“You’re gonna fucking drink the fucking water, Liam, or I’m going to force lemon and honey tea down your throat before the recording so your voice doesn’t sound shit.” Both Liam and Noel were staring directly into the others’ eyes now with an intensity that made the rest of the band uncomfortable. A silence fell over everyone as the two glared harshly before Liam turned his head into Noel’s body with a flippant sigh.
“Yeah, whatever. I fucking dare you to put lemon and honey tea down my throat.”
Noel’s brows furrowed and his face softened before he looked up and caught the other three band members staring. “What are you lot looking at? Relax for the next fifteen minutes and then get your arses back here so we can finish recording the next track. Go smoke outside or something.”
…
“They’re fucked in the head, aren’t they?” Bonehead asked as his other two bandmates shared a smoke with him outside.
Guigsy blew smoke into the air.“Proper fucked, don’t know why they fight like their lives depend on it and then start cuddling right after.”
“At least today is one of those ‘tea and honey’ days and not a ‘broken glass and bloody knuckles’ day.” Alan replied.
Meanwhile Liam was inside the studio counting the tiny freckles on his brother’s face while Noel plucked at his guitar and pretended he didn’t notice Liam’s staring.