Riding in the Time Machine - Eminem x Minaj Fan Fiction

Lights Out

Nicki POV

Marshall and I had about a week to recuperate and relax from the push of the tour before we did the final show in Detroit. Because it would have been ridiculous to go west and then come back, he got his way for those seven days. And, as I had known would be the case, it was easy to live with Em.

Touring puts stressors on you that you wouldn't realize. Everything is highlighted and concentrated. Although everyone has bad days at work, performers are expected to be on their game every time they hit the stage. After all, people pay good money to see us.

While touring accentuates things that would normally bring out both the best and the worst of you, it isn't reality. The grind of putting on a tour doesn't show you the day to day of being around someone when the pressure isn't on. Being on tour might help to understand how you fit with another person in high intensity situations, but it didn't give you any good sense of how you operate on a lazy Saturday morning. The time with Marshall in the week before the Detroit show did give me a glimpse of that life, though.

Silly little things seemed to just fall into place with us. Although the coming down from the high of all the travel could have made us question things, it seemed like we just got better. Time after time, I found myself looking at the man and just thinking that I could spend my forever with him.

The night of the Detroit show, we had to split up to handle our rehearsals and whatnot. It was oddly like déjà vu, because it was similar to what we'd done at all the other venues. However, coming off of a week break, it was also a bit strange.

Both of us knew that it was the end.

While we weren't over, things were not going to be the same after the last show. The nature of things was such that we had lives and work to be done. Although much of what I did could be accomplished in Detroit, I was sticking to my guns: I wasn't moving in with Em unless we were on a path to something that would make us tied together.

I was certain that I loved him, but I also loved myself and my future. We needed to want the same things. The surest way for us to go belly up would be to have one of us fold on something that mattered. Resentment would build and all the things that made us right for each other would fall away. It would be the disaster that neither one of us ever wanted to happen.

So, while I was a bit sad about the last show of the tour, I was also okay with it. We'd had a really good set of performances, including the one that I thought I'd done poorly on but the critics hadn't, oddly enough. The new chapter that was coming our way would be good for us, I was sure.

It being the final performance of the tour, Em and I upped our game a little with the set lists. Assuming everything went as planned, we'd be going about a half hour longer each. And, at the end, we'd both be on stage for a surprise song that we'd drafted up over the course of the prep work for and appearances on tour. No one had heard the song yet, so it was a bit risky, but I had a good feeling about it.

As I got ready to go on, I rolled my shoulders and put on my game face. I was going to make this performance memorable. Detroit was a big deal to Em and so I didn't want anything fucking up the show.

The crowd was insane. Hand-made posters were everywhere, cameras were flashing, and phones were lit. As I went through my list, the sound was deafening. Michigan had shown the fuck up.

Coasting on the high of a great set, I wandered off stage to watch Em from the wings. Although the people had been excited for me, they went bonkers for him. His hometown welcomed him like he was their own, which made me smile. So much of Em really was tied up in this city. It made me think, not for the first time, that if he got to a place where he was good with the whole family thing again, I wouldn't have a problem staying here.

Time flew as I watched him. His flow was spot on and his marks right. He must have gotten himself worked up before he went on; he always seemed to spit better when he was dealing with some kind of emotion.

At the end of his set, the lights went dark and the crowd started screaming for more. Marshall came over to the wings and switched out a shirt, causing me to laugh as he did. Instead of his normal, old school hip hop shirt, he was wearing the same shirt that had announced the tour.

"I love you," I said, shaking my head at him. He grinned and pulled me closer by my hips.

"Good," he said. "'Cause no one is going to love you more than I do," he noted, nibbling on my lip.

"You ready?" I asked, smiling up at him. He nodded and then reached for my hand.

We walked out into the spotlight to the roar of Bedlam. Our fans were over the moon as the flashing of the cameras nearly blinded us, everyone no doubt getting their image of us not only together, but connected as we were. It took five full minutes for them to quiet enough for us to be heard.

"As you know," Em said, looking out over everyone. "This is the last show of this tour," he explained. A thunderous response came in answer.

"We gave you all a little bit more than we did at the earlier venues," he said. "But-" he paused as the crowd continued to shout its appreciation.

"But," I said, smiling up at him before turning back to the mass. "We've got a special something that we worked up just for you," I stated.

Both of us waited now, as the crowd looked almost ready to riot. When it calmed enough, we turned to give the signal on the beat and let our hands go as we moved with the sound. Facing each other, I grinned as Em mouthed 'I love you' and I did the same. We must have been on the big screen, because if I'd thought the sound were loud before, it was nothing on what it was now.

When the song started, we went at it and damn, was it fun. The song was really supposed to be a meld of what Em and I were. We traded back and forth on verses that both commented on hip hop in general, but also specific styles. Although it wasn't specifically about us – we'd started it before we were anything but friends – it nevertheless wouldn't be hard for the listener to pick up on the development.

At the end, we did the hook together. In a move that surprised me, Em pulled me close under the watchful eyes of God and everybody. The lights went out on us as he bent his head to kiss me.

And the crowd lost it.