Becoming

Wrathchild

For the first couple of weeks back on tour, Clive continued to have nightmares, and would crawl in with either Dave or Ade in order to relax and go back to sleep. By the third week of the tour, though, they had tapered off, and after four nights in a row without one, Clive decided he was ready to go back to the rotation when it came to the sleeping arrangements. As a 'reward' for the two guitarists having willingly taken the three-man room for nearly three weeks, Steve gave Dave and Ade the two-man room for three days before going back to the rotation. The guitarists were more than happy to take advantage of the unexpected privacy while they had it.

Maiden got through the rest of the tour in England without incident, and while in Japan, recorded a live performance for an EP. Ade and Clive got the opportunity to go out fishing on a day off, which they happily took, while Paul said he was going back to the bath house the band had visited as a group a couple of days earlier. Steve and Dave opted to simply sightsee around the city as there weren't any golf courses or tennis clubs nearby.

Steve laughed when a pair of schoolgirls approached Dave and in halting English, asked if they could get pictures with him, explaining that they'd never seen such light hair on a real person before and wanted proof that they'd really met a blond to show to their friends. A blushing Dave posed with each of the girls while Steve took their pictures.

Steve naturally mentioned the incident to Ade and Clive when they returned from their fishing jaunt, which resulted in both men taking the piss out of Dave for the rest of the evening. The apple-cheeked guitarist gave just as good as he got, though; when sushi appeared on the table at dinner, he twitted the two fishermen about having made the acquaintance of their meal earlier that day.

Aside from Paul acting increasingly hostile towards the audiences, the band finished their Japanese tour on a reasonably good note. Iron Maiden's live shows had introduced a new audience to the band which resulted in a definite uptick in record sales.

They arrived in Munich, Germany with two days to sightsee and recover from the jet lag before their first performance. Rod booked them into an inexpensive hotel that had once been part of an old WWII military base, and which offered private rooms for all of them. Steve started to question the private rooms, when Lorraine popped out from hiding by the lifts, to wrap her arms around her husband. Olivia followed her a moment later, to throw herself at Clive.

After kissing his wife thoroughly, Steve grinned at Rod. "Right, then, I approve of the private rooms. I'll see you lot in a couple of days." He collected his key, slid his arm around Lorraine's waist, and headed for the lifts. Clive and Olivia quickly followed their example.

Paul grumbled, "Bloody hell, hope I don't gotta hear them all night, every night for however long the birds stay."

"Don't worry, I put Steve and Clive and their ladies on one side of the hallway, with you, Dave, and Adrian on the other side," Rod said. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Yeah, least I don't gotta worry that either of these two is gonna make noise all night," Paul snorted. "If Dave ain't a fairy, he's a fuckin' eunuch, and Adrian just don't talk enough to pull any birds, full stop." He grabbed his key and stomped off to the lifts, still scowling.

Rod sighed. "I'm sorry..." he started to say.

Dave shook his head. "Not your fault, Rod," he said. "Not like I haven't known for a year or more, what Paul thinks of me. Truth is, I think he was more insulted that I didn't want anything to do with Lily than she was, y'know? And all the blow and whatever else he's doing don't help his temper or his thought process any either."

"True enough," Rod agreed. "Well, here's your keys, you two. Do me a favour and stay out of trouble over the next couple of days, yeah? My life'll be just a little bit easier if Paul's the only one I'm worrying about. Oh yeah, there's a golf course about a kilometer from here, Dave, and Ade, supposedly that lake we passed just before getting here is stocked with something catchable."