Becoming

Quest For Fire

Since Tamar's family was coming to meet Dave, Ade arranged for fishing excursions on both of their days off. He'd still be in the hotel in the evenings, but he'd not be forced to smile through hours of wedding planning as Dave's best man. Dave had already requested that he not organise a stag do, figuring that the tour was enough insanity that they didn't need extra. Other than that, he'd need to start working on the toast he'd be expected to give at the reception but didn't see the need to run that past Tamar's parents.

Ade woke to the scent of coffee and the feel of Dave's lips against his on the morning of the 12th. He burrowed closer to his lover with a soft purr.

"I know you don't wanna hear it, love, but you need to wake up if you're gonna make that fishing trip you signed up for," Dave murmured. "But I made you coffee."

"Mm. Coffee's good," Ade mumbled. "Cuddlin's better, though."

Dave laughed softly. "It is," he agreed. "If you weren't signed up for that trip, and if Tamar and her parents weren't coming in at noon, I'd be all for more cuddling myself.

Ade sighed. "Yeah. Fishin's better'n stayin' here with nothin' to do. S'pose I oughtta get up, then." He stole another gentle kiss and sat up with a stretch, then grabbed the cup Dave held out to him, slurping gratefully. "You gonna be okay, baby?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay," Dave said softly. "Will you?"

"I'll manage," Ade said. "Fishing's best way for me to relax, no matter what else is going on, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," Dave said, smiling fondly. "Makes me glad you were able to set these trips up. Especially with Bruce being the only other bloke in the band without a steady girl. He'd be dragging you off to strip clubs or something, if you weren't gonna be out on a boat with a bucket of worms."

Ade laughed. "S'truth! His divorce might be dragging out cos of our tour, but as far as he's concerned, he's single again, it's just a matter of time until Jane's no longer his problem."

"Yeah, it'll be good once he's done with her," Dave agreed. "I'm glad for his sake she showed her true colours so quickly, even if we did have to deal with him and his temper right after we caught her cheating."

"Yeah, although I can see where it must've been difficult, him trying to keep up the pretense that he didn't know what she'd been up to, at least until after we got home again," Ade said. He rolled out of bed and padded into the loo to take care of his morning ablutions, returning quickly and pulling on his most comfortable clothing for the fishing trip. "Be smarter to wait and shower and all when I come back, since hopefully I'll stink of fish by then."

Dave laughed. "Well, good luck, love. I'd best get back to my own room. Hopefully no one else decides to get up early and see you off or something."

Ade wrapped one arm around Dave as he picked up his fishing gear and the two of them started towards the door. "Hey... you just remember when Tamar and her parents get here – you're a bloody amazing man, Dave Murray, the best person I've ever known. Don't let them intimidate you, baby, you're every bit as good as they are, maybe better." He leaned in and kissed Dave tenderly. "I love you, Davey."

"I love you, too," Dave said, caressing Ade's cheek. He smiled and stole one more kiss before opening the door. "Have fun today, Ade," he said softly as he stuck his key into his own room's lock.

"Good luck meeting Tamar's parents," Ade said softly in return as he headed for the lift.

Dave smiled and waved before slipping into his room and jumping into the shower. An hour later, freshly cleaned and shaved, he headed down to the hotel's restaurant to grab some breakfast.