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Fates Warning	By : TheFairyWithBoots Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Iron Maiden Views: 206 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: l obviously do not own any of the characters in this story. No disrespect is intended towards any of the real people mentioned, it is simply a fictional story based off their public personas.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Bruce began distancing himself from the entire band ever since his and Janick's falling out. When he saw Janick leaving Dave's room the next morning, Janick knew by the look on his face that he automatically assumed the worst. He had cornered Janick when no one else was around.
"What did you do in Dave's room last night?" Bruce demanded.
Janick knew that no matter what he said, it wasn't going to be enough. "I slept..."
"That's not all that you did!" Bruce said in an accusatory tone.
"Yes, it is..." Janick said in a small voice.
"Bullshit! Stop lying to me!"
Janick felt tears burn in his eyes. "Where did you expect me to go, Bruce? You shut me out..."
"Well, I guess that just says a lot about our relationship if you're going to run to Davey every time things get rough!"
Janick couldn't believe the mental gymnastics Bruce would go through to try and pin all the blame on him. "You locked me out of the room! What the hell was I supposed to do, sleep out in the hallway!?"
Bruce seemed infuriated that Janick would have the audacity to raise his voice at him. He hardly spoke to him throughout the course of the next two weeks and Janick felt as if he was surrounded by a biting cold every time they were in a room alone together.
The European leg of the tour started, and Steve and Bruce would often get into full-on screaming matches in the lobby of hotels, not seeming to care that bystanders overheard them. Rod ended up confronting the two, telling them that they were going to end up getting the band kicked out of hotels if they didn't get it under control.
Steve was disappointed by Bruce's performances as of late. He seemed to be deliberately singing without any passion or conviction - that was, unless the press was there. It was pathetic, Steve told him. It was one thing for him to be mad at Steve, but their fans deserved better.
Bruce looked at Janick during one argument as if he expected him to defend him. But Janick strayed off to the side with Dave, who did his best to avoid confrontation whenever possible. Bruce was furious - whether it was for the fact that Janick wouldn't back him up, or if it was for interacting with Dave, Janick didn't know. But when Janick approached their room that night, his luggage and guitar case had been thrown out into the hallway.
He stood there in shock for a moment before he approached the door, and knocked hard on it.
"Bruce? Open the door!" he called, in which he was abruptly answered by Bruce's muffled voice behind the door, telling him to "piss off!"
Janick stared down at his bags, tears burning in his eyes.
After that incident, Janick stopped roofing with Bruce altogether.
Dave had no problem with letting Janick stay with him from then on. Being in Dave's room felt like he was being thawed out from the weeks of being in the icy domain that was his and Bruce's relationship.
Dave was patient and didn't judge him for crying after everything that Bruce had put him through. But Jan could not stop himself from feeling like a burden. He felt so weak and pathetic while crying on the couch with his knees drawn up to his chest.
"Jan...?" Dave asked softly, while gently reaching to touch his shoulder.
Janick wiped his tears away. "I'm sorry..."
"No, don't apologise," he said. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go down to the bar...to get something to drink?"
Janick sniffed, and nodded. Was he really going to attempt drink his heartache away?
"It's going to be okay..." Dave told him him while reaching for his hand. Dave's fingers were strong and callused from years of playing guitar, but yet, they still somehow felt soft...
The two of them made their way down to the hotel bar. It was crowded tonight, and Janick wasn't really in the mood to be bombarded with fans, despite how much he appreciated them. Nicko was already down there, chatting with the bartender, a young woman who appeared extremely happy to be serving the drummer.
He noticed Dave and Janick immediately and waved them over. "Davey! Jan! 'Ow you two blokes doin', eh!?" When he realised that Bruce wouldn't be joining them, Nicko appeared to glow even brighter. "This 'ere's Julie, she said she'd be serving us tonight!"
The bartender seemed to recognise them immediately as she smiled excitedly.
"Get us two more beers, please?" He turned back to Dave and Janick. "'Arry's going to be joinin' us 'ere in a few. 'E's gonna be needin' a few beers, the stress 'e's been under..."
If only he knew... Janick thought to himself. Julie came back with the beers, and set them down in front of him and Dave. Janick smiled gratefully.
"Thank you very much, love!" Nicko said in which the bartender giggled in response. Janick sipped his own beer. If he had not known for himself that Nicko was gay, he would have thought he was flirting with the woman.
Steve entered the bar a few minutes later, but he didn't come alone. Janick felt a weight in the pit of his stomach, fearful that it might be Bruce that was with him.
But it wasn't. Janick recognised him as Blaze, the singer from the band that toured with them on their No Prayer on the Road tour.
"Oh, 'ello, Dave. Janick. You 'member Blaze, don't you?"
"Of course," Dave said while reaching his hand out for Blaze to shake, which he shook with a large grin.
"It's good to see you guys again!" Blaze said, obviously very happy to be there.
Steve looked around Janick's shoulder. "Bruce didn't come with you?"
Janick shook his head, feeling like a fresh wound had been opened up for him.
None of them had been expecting Steve to bring Blaze back with him - they had not seen him since the end of the No Prayer on the Road tour - but apparently Blaze had come to see them on this leg of the tour after Wolfsbane had finished their own tour. Nevertheless, the bartender happily served them two more beers.
Steve took his as if it was some sort of elixir that he needed in order to keep alive, downing half of it it one long gulp.
They spent the evening getting pleasantly buzzed; Blaze was a surprisingly nice bloke. It was easy for Jan to see why Steve had grown a friendship with him.
The atmosphere was different than it had been in many months; Bruce was not there to try and pick some useless fight with Steve. The five of them were actually laughing among themselves. Janick felt like it had been ages since he had even seen Steve smile...
After a few hours of drinking together, Steve had become so pissed, he could hardly hold himself upright. He was leaning against Nicko with one arm draped over his neck, giggling hysterically at something he had said.
"So, where's Bruce?" Blaze asked casually while the bartender brought him another beer. Janick saw Nicko roll his eyes at this question, and knew that he genuinely did not give a shit where Bruce was tonight.
Janick shrugged, staring down at his empty pint. "I don't know..."
The sombre look on Janick's face made Blaze look at him curiously. He apparently didn't know that they had been dating each other, and Janick wasn't really in the mood to explain that to him. And besides, he was fairly certain their relationship was over now. After being thrown out of his sleeping quarters twice, he didn't even want to go back to him.
"'Arry, STOP!" Nicko yelled, and Steve fell to the floor while laughing hysterically. Nicko wiped at the inside of his ear with a napkin, his face red with embarrassment. Blaze held back his laughter as he realised that Steve had tried to stick his tongue in Nicko's ear. "It ain't funny!" Nicko snapped, though he couldn't stop himself from smirking.
Nicko helped Steve up off the floor, and announced that he was going to carry Steve back to their room because he was too drunk to walk back himself. Blaze offered to help him, and he and Nicko led Steve out of the bar and towards the lifts in the lobby. Dave and Janick were left alone in the bar together.
Dave smiled, taking Blaze's abandoned pint of beer and emptying it into his own.
After finishing their beers, they made their way back upstairs in silence. Janick felt pleasantly buzzed from the beer, but luckily neither him nor Dave had to carry each other.
When they got to the fourth floor, they passed by Bruce's room, and for a brief moment, Janick felt a sense of loss, as if he wanted to reach out and attempt to get back in. But he knew that he didn't want to, that being with Bruce would be nothing short of being in an icy domain where he had to watch everything that he said or did for the fear of being yelled at. He held back his tears as he followed Dave back to his room, and he unlocked his door.
They both went inside. When Janick glanced at the clock on the microwave, he realised that it was earlier than he had thought it was. The beer had calmed him down, but he was still upset after passing Bruce's room. Dave picked his guitar up, and suggested that they work on some riffs together, which relieved Janick because that meant that he could take his mind off of things.
Janick sat down on the sofa, opening his guitar case and pulling out his old beaten up black Fender strat that Ian had given him twelve years prior. Dave sat next to him with his own strat, and the two of them worked on riffs and guitar harmonies together. They both played together while unplugged, though Jan wanted to plug his amp up to hear his mistakes better, but knew that was not a good idea at this hour.
The melodies that they created felt haunting to Jan, and he suddenly felt a warmth in his heart that he had not felt in such a long time. He felt a sort of kinship with Dave that he hadn't felt with Bruce in such a long time. Sure, he had felt this way with Bruce when they first started dating, but now all he felt when he was with Bruce was fear of having his every flaw picked apart and used against him. And somehow, he knew that Dave would never do those things to him.
Dave would never do those things to anybody.
Dave stopped playing to scribble some chord progressions down in his notebook, and Janick watched him as if only just now noticing how beautiful he was. His long blond hair hung past his shoulders, giving him an angelic look.
Janick averted his eyes, a feeling of guilt creeping onto him. He couldn't be developing feelings for Dave...that was impossible. He still loved Bruce even though it was obvious that Bruce's love for him was conditional.
But he knew that was a lie. He had tried to fight it for the past year now because he tried so hard to make things work with Bruce. But Janick had felt something for Dave ever since they had spent those months together in Hawaii. He had known this when he didn't want to leave the island, didn't even want to leave the car to face Bruce. He had felt a warmth in the way he had held him that felt much stronger than just mere friendship. A warmth that he had wanted to feel with Bruce, but he knew deep down that he would never be able to.
Janick remembered the embrace that Dave had shared with Adrian in the hotel dining room on the day that Adrian had flown out, and he suddenly felt as if he were trespassing; as if he did not belong there. He knew that Adrian was irreplaceable to Dave; he meant as much to him as Bruce did to Janick.
Except it wasn't comparable, Janick thought. Adrian's problem was his creative differences with Steve. He didn't ghost the entire band or make Dave feel like he had done something to make him want to leave. He and Dave were still friends.
What Bruce was doing to him was borderline emotional abuse, he realised with a sense of horror.
He felt so alone in that moment, despite Dave sitting right next to him. He felt a sudden urge to cry himself to sleep, and he set his guitar gently back into its case.
Dave looked up at him from his notebook. He smiled, and Janick felt his heart ache like it never had before. Why did he have to have such a beautiful, pure smile?
"You tired?" he asked while closing his notebook.
Janick nodded, keeping his head down. Dave put his own guitar back into its case, shutting it closed.
Janick didn't know what pushed him to do it - it seemed to be an impulsive action that didn't require much thought... But when Dave rose back up, he leaned in and kissed him on the lips.
Dave froze in shock for a moment, and Jan thought for certain that he was going to punch him in the face for it. Jan felt his face turn red.
"I-I'm sorry...!" Janick stammered.
But Dave leaned in and kissed him back, bringing his hands up to his face. Janick closed his eyes. Dave's lips were soft, and the kiss was gentle and warm. Jan felt the warmth in his heart grow even more as he wrapped his arms around Dave.
When the kiss finally broke, Jan rested his forehead against Dave's. Dave smiled at him, reaching up to stroke his cheek, gently wiping away tears that he was unaware that he had shed.
"Davey..." His voice came out broken.
"Shh..." Dave whispered softly, kissing him softly on the cheek. "It's okay..."
"I-I love you..."
Dave wrapped his arms around Janick, holding him close to him. "Jan...I've loved you since we spent those months together in Hawaii."
Janick hugged him back, not wanting to let him go. "Y-you have...? But...I thought you still loved Adrian...?"
Dave buried his face in Janick's hair and shook his head. "No... I mean, I still love Adrian as my best friend. But we've moved on in the past three years. Seeing him back in August only reassured us both that there weren't any hard feelings between us."
Janick sniffed, and held Dave closer. He felt his face scrunch up as Dave pressed his lips to his forehead.
"And..." Dave's voice broke as if he were about to cry. "I hated seeing what Bruce was doing to you. I saw what he was doing, but I couldn't say anything because you seemed so in love with him..."
Janick buried his face in Dave's chest. Being held by him was like being wrapped in a warm blanket.
He didn't want to go back to Bruce. He hadn't felt the same kind of warmth he had with Bruce ever since he had smugly announced to the whole band that he had only got with Jan in an attempt to make Steve jealous. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he was never able to get over that. Janick meant nothing to him, and it took him two years for him to accept this.
He never wanted to leave Dave's arms, but the warmth eventually beckoned him into a doze. Dave took his hand, and led him toward the bed. Janick didn't object; he followed him sleepily as they laid down next to each other, and Dave pulled the covers over them both.
Dave kissed him softly on the lips, and Janick closed his eyes, savoring the kiss for as long as he could.
"G'night, Jan..." Dave whispered softly before reaching over to turn the lights off. He continued to hold him close, stroking his hair softly as Jan laid his head on his chest, the steady sound of his heartbeat lulling him into a peaceful, contentful sleep that he had not had in such a long time.
~~
The band had to leave for the airport the next morning, so Dave and Janick woke up early, feeling refreshed. After packing up their luggage and guitars, they made their way to the lifts, holding hands while waiting for it to come to their floor.
Dave smiled at Janick, feeling as if he was finally safe with him now. He felt as if he could protect him now that they both knew that they loved each other. He looked so beautiful this morning, despite his hair being a mess.
Janick blushed when he caught Dave staring at him, and Dave leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Janick turned around and kissed his lips, and Dave returned the kiss, bringing his hands gently to his face to pull him closer.
The door to the lifts opened at that moment, and they both jumped apart, half expecting Steve, Nicko, or Rod to step out, and they would end up having to explain themselves.
Except it wasn't either of them. Bruce stood there with an expression mixed with shock and rage. Dave felt his heart drop in his stomach, and Bruce's face turned so red, Dave swore that he saw a vein bulge on the side of his head. He looked between Dave and Janick, and Janick's blue eyes turned wide with fear. Bruce looked as if he were ready to attack one of them, and Dave felt an urge to stand in front of Jan to protect him. Dave had never felt so angry at someone who was supposed to be his friend.
But it didn't come to that. Dave and Janick stood there awkwardly, and Bruce exited the lift, shoving past both of them so hard, Dave rubbed his arm from where he had hit them.
A few hours later, as they boarded the plane, Bruce didn't say a word to anyone. But it was obvious that it was Janick and Dave he was the most angry at; he refused to so much as look their way. He glared out the window, almost sulking.
The rest of them took their seats, and Janick and Dave sat next to each other, holding hands as they waited for the plane to take off. They both had expected this kind of reaction from Bruce, but Dave felt relieved that he could finally be there for Janick, and assure him that he did not have to go through this alone anymore.
- 8
- 9
- 10
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