Becoming

Iron Maiden

Over the next few weeks, Dave continued to spend most of his free time with Adrian, either bouncing song ideas with the other guitarist or just enjoying their time together. Ade led a couple of fishing expeditions, bringing along a little pup tent so they could shelter from the weather while still minding their lines – not that they always gave their full attention to their lines, especially when they were the only ones at a given spot!

Just before his birthday, Dave practically bounced into the garage once Urchin's rehearsal ended and the rest of the band left. "Ade, I got in... Iron Maiden wants me!"

Adrian smiled warmly at his boyfriend, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "Blimey, I told you the right band would find you soon enough! I'm chuffed for you, Davey, even if it does mean we'll be seeing a bit less of one another. Tell me about them?"

Dave returned that hug and added a kiss for good measure. "Bloke called Steve Harris started the band, bassist, probably the best I've ever seen. Bloody perfectionist, too, not that that's such a bad thing for a musician. I think you might've met Dennis Wilcock, who's the singer, then there's a bloke called Ron Matthews on drums. I gotta say, Harris runs a tight ship with Maiden; he already had two guitarists and liked the idea of the wall of sound three guitars could produce, but when the other two got in a strop about me getting asked to join, Harris fired 'em both! Oh, he warned me he's still gonna be on the lookout for a second guitarist, not that I care, seeing as I thought I was gonna be one of three, and not the only one."

"Yeah, but you're more than good enough to be the lone guitarist," Ade said.

"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not," Dave said with a blush. "Point is, unless I want to start my own bloody band, which I don't, I gotta fit myself into the band as the leader wants it, you know? Maiden's a bit rough 'round the edges yet, but I like the direction I think Harris wants to take it in, and I'm not gonna let my own ego fuck up what I think is gonna be a really good thing, you know? He wants a second guitarist, even a third one, he'll hear no objection from me." He grinned and added, "Well, unless I'm asked my opinion of someone auditioning, in which case I won't hesitate to say so if I think the bloke in question sucks."

Ade laughed. "You know, it's funny you used that particular phrase," he murmured, his voice growing warmer. "I figured we might celebrate your birthday tonight, seeing as you already said your mum expects you home for a family celebration tomorrow."

Dave grinned. "Don't tell me you baked a bloody cake!"

"No, I bloody well didn't," Ade said, grinning back. "But I did borrow Da's van to go nick a few things from the tip this morning, and I think you'll like what I did to our little office space." He tugged Dave around the shelves, where a proper desk and chair replaced the card table, and a sofa joined the old armchair in the opposite corner to make a cozy little seating area. The card table now sat in the corner between the sofa and chair, and currently held a sixpack of beer, a takeaway box from a nearby curry place that Dave liked, and two fairy cakes, one of which sported a little candle. "Happy early birthday, Davey, and I promise I bought the cakes. I wouldn't have the foggiest clue how to go about baking them and didn't think Mum would appreciate me mucking about in her kitchen anyway."

"This is brilliant, Ade, thank you so much!" Dave wrapped his boyfriend up in his arms once more. "I love it! I love you." He turned red as soon as the last sentence escaped.

Ade smiled softly. "I love you, too," he murmured, placing a gentle kiss on Dave's lips. "Come on, let's go eat before dinner goes cold on us. I got tandoori chicken and palak paneer, I know you like both of those."

"Yeah, okay," Dave nodded, still looking a little overwhelmed. He let Ade seat him on the sofa and he divided the food up as Ade opened a couple of beers.