Love Of My Life

71

We hit 100k today!! I'm sobbing. You guys are the best. I started writing this book for several reasons but I never thought it would take off as much as it did. Shoutout to Ben (and Queen/Borhap) for bringing us all together <3333  I don't know how to thank you all so much for reading my story and showing it love. We're close to the end of this book, so just enjoy what else I have in store. If you've come this far, I think you'll like it ;)

...

Ben

"Ben, are you ready?" Aria calls from downstairs. 

"I'll be right down, love!" I call back. 

I hurriedly walk into the closet in the bedroom, and reach up to the top shelf of my side. It takes me a while to find it, but eventually I find the jewelry box I was looking for. I have two up there, so I just double check that this is the one. I open it up and see the diamond bracelet that I had bought Aria for Christmas. 

"Perfect," I mutter to myself. I drop it in a bag that I carry and add a couple sheets of tissue paper to it. 

Once I get her gift looking all wrapped and nice, I scurry back downstairs. Aria waits by the door, her shoes and coat on. 

"I''m going, I'm going," I say when I reach her. I rush to get my coat on and nearly topple over as I put my shoes on. 

"Take your time," Aria tells me. I feel her smiling as I am unable to compose myself. 

I take a deep breath once I am all collected. 

"I'm ready now," I tell her. 

The two of us leave the house, Frankie at our heels as we walk out. Brian had invited the both os us over for Christmas, and somehow Frankie managed to weasel an invitation as well. 

The entire ride over, I'm stressed. I've never hung out with Brian in an intimate way like this and I'm unbelievably nervous. I'm also nervous because not only is Brian going to be there, but I believe Roger is coming as well. And by default Jimmy and Rufus are going and I know how close they are to Aria. 

"Ben," Aria says. She had driven to Brian's and I didn't even notice we arrived. "Are you okay?" 

I look over at her and smile. "Yeah. Just a little nervous that's all," I tell her. 

"Don't be nervous. Brian loves you. So does Rog," Aria says. "Rog actually loves you a little too much,"

I laugh. "We have that bond going," 

"Oh do you ever,"

The two of us exit the car. I carry the presents we have for every one and Aria put Frankie on her leash and leads her to the door. I barely knock before the front door is swung open and Anita stands there with huge grin on her face.

"Merry Christmas! It's so lovely to see you!" she says. She looks nice in a sparkly silver dress. I feel slightly underdressed to her but Aria said I could wear whatever I wanted. 

I give Anita a small hug and enter, Aria following behind. She too gives Anita a hug, and then let's Frankie off her leash. She takes off, running around the house. 

"She'll calm down eventually," I tell Anita. 

"Oh that's quite alright dear," she assures me. "I love the energy. It keeps me young,"

The three of us make our way to the main living room. I put all the presents under the tree, like Aria tells me too.

"Your home is lovely," I tell Anita. 

It really is. It's homey. Nothing like what I thought it would be, yet it suits Brian very much. Being here now, I couldn't picture him living anywhere else. 

"Thank you!" Anita says brightly. She's sweet. No wonder why Brian speaks very highly of her. 

Speaking of Brian, he comes into the living room, his arms open wide. 

"Merry Christmas," he says. Aria walks over and gives him a hug. 

"Merry Christmas," Aria says. 

I awkwardly walk over and stick out my hand.

"Oh none of that," Brian says, and goes in for the hug instead. I don't mind. I find it warm and comforting actually. 

"Where's Jimmy?" Aria asks. Brian opens his mouth to respond, but Jimmy - I'm assuming - waltzes into the room. 

"I'm right here," he announces, coming over to give Aria a hug. HE then turns to me and outstretches his hand. "You must be Ben. I'm Jimmy," he introduces himself to me. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I say, shaking his hand. 

He definitely looks like Brian. His black hair is obviously curly, but it is significantly shorter than Brian's. They have the same smile though, and nose. But Jimmy must have his mother's eyes.

The five of us get comfortable and make small talk fora little until Roger, Sarina, and Rufus arrive. Tigerlily and Lola were supposed to come, but they decided to stay with their mother. I'm slightly relieved because I spent the whole night trying to impress everyone. I'm very under pressure. 

Dinner goes better than I thought. I feel comforted talking to everyone. Rufus and Jimmy seem like good people also. It's nice to actually hang out with Aria's friends too. I feel like I'm in a deeper part of her world tonight and it's weird but I like it. I love learning new things about her and being a part of her world on all angles. I know I'll never quite understand her life like Rufus and jimmy do, or especially like Roger and Brian do. But I like when she opens up about it. She's so much more than Freddie Mercury's daughter. Her life is interesting beyond belief. 

I find myself helping Brian clear away dishes at the end of dinner. I rinse off a couple and leave them in the sink, not knowing what to do with them. 

"Thanks, Ben," Brian says to me. I smile at him in return, and continue to rinse a couple more. "You're good for Aria, you know that?" 

I pause what I'm doing to look at him. 

"I try to be," I tell him honestly. 

Brian leans against the counter. 

"She was always close and open with us, but she laughs more now and enjoys life more. I can't explain it. It's like she's actually living," Brian explains. He looks thoughtful. "Jimmy says it all the time. Him and Aria grew up together you know. Like brother and sister. And he said that she's ten times more comfortable with him now than she ever was. Something about a confidence boost," 

My heart warms to think that I've had that affect on her. 

"She makes me a better person too," I tell Brian. "I can't explain it. But I know it's true. I just feel...better," 

Brian smiles. "She has that power. To make anyone feel complete again. I'll tell you something. After Freddie died, I lost myself. We all did. But Aria held us all together. She was the strongest out of all of us. It was like Freddie was living through her now,"

"I've definitely noticed that," I say.

"She suffers a lot from Freddie's death, I'm not saying she doesn't. But she keeps it together for us," 

"She let's her guard down with me," I tell Brian quietly. "I just try to guide her through it,"

"That's all she needs, Ben. She's a strong girl. One of the greatest people I've known. She just needs that constant. I can only help her as much as I can, but you're there in a special way. For that alone I'll always be grateful,"

I take a deep breath. I wanted to ask Brian something for a while now, and I definitely wasn't planning on it tonight on Christmas, but the timing feels right. 

"Brian, can I ask you something?"

...

lmao sorry for the cliffhanger