Queen's Christmas Carol

Queen's Christmas Carol: Part One

Though Roger thought every single one of the four seasons were great in their own way, he absolutely loved the winter. He just adored everything about the darkest months of the year: wearing sweaters and scarves, walking home from the studio in a slight darkness, lighting candles around the house. He also didn't mind the weather – the snow, ice, the overall cold weather outside that gave you an excuse to stay inside to sit around the fireplace and curl up against your boyfriend with a blanket and a cup of tea or, even better, hot chocolate. But the best part of the coldest time of the year, was without a doubt Christmas. It was just everything about the Christmas celebration and the time prior to it; getting a Christmas tree, dragging it all the way up to their apartment and putting all kinds of mess they had gathered over the years in the pine branches. Decorating the house with candles and wreaths and other Christmas stuff. Baking – and mainly eating – Christmas cookies all day long. He even didn't mind the tradition of wearing ugly Christmas sweaters, if it was something everyone around him also did – and talking about everyone around, the best part was of course celebrating Christmas with all your friends and family. And there was the missing link, the link that could make Roger's Christmas absolutely magical: If his boyfriend would change his mind and get over the festivity as well, so they could happily celebrate it all together.

But unlike him, Freddie absolutely disliked Christmas, something that Roger deemed impossible. Yet, it really was the truth – when the Christmas cards started falling into their mailbox, all Freddie wanted to do was stay in bed, pull the duvets over his head and pretend like he didn't exist until December the 26th. He somehow absolutely hated the ambiance around Christmas time, he loathed Christmas shopping sprees (though he usually loved shopping) and at Christmas Eve he was just absolutely absent-minded, uninterested, not even trying to enjoy himself even though he knew it meant so much to his boyfriend.

And that was why Brian was now sitting around the table with the grumpy Christmas-hater, in another helpless attempt to try and change is attitude towards the party. But since Freddie pretended to be intensely reading the car magazine Roger had left behind on the table last night, doing his very best not to listen to him, Brian already knew it was going to be another fruitless try.

'You cannot possibly hate a celebration this much,' Brian stated as he put his cup of tea down on the table, staring intensely at Freddie.

'Apparently I can, dear,' Freddie answered absent-mindedly, not looking up from his paper.

'But why then?' Brian asked for what must have been the hundredth time.

'Just because, dear. It's just not my cup of tea.'

'Yeah, wearing spandex overalls isn't my cup of tea either, but you don't see me throwing my guitar away and walk offstage every time you show up in another new outfit.'

'But why would you? Why would you throw your guitar away because of my taste in stage fashion?'

'That doesn't make sense indeed, and that's exactly the point! You don't have to act like a grumpy teenager and spoil the entire party just because celebrating Christmas isn't your cup of tea.'

Freddie just sighed in annoyance. 'Not now, dear.'

'Don't you 'dear' me, Mercury. You can at least explain why you don't like Christmas, and maybe we can do something about it altogether. You know it would mean the world to Roger-'

'Brian, I'm trying to read this magazine,' Freddie said, his eyes still not leaving the damned journal.

'Freddie, stop trying to fool me. You're not even reading.'