Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (JoeMazzello!JohnDeacon fanfic)

thirty two

John's student flat is nothing to brag about; there's the tiniest of kitchens and sitting areas off to the left as you come in the door and if you go straight on, there's a short hallway that has four different doors - all which lead to the even smaller rooms of each student.

He prays that they've gone out for the night but as he holds open the door for Roxanne, the commotion that comes from the kitchen is enough to tell them that no, they're not out.

John's small room is right at the end of the hallway and as they move past the open space areas, he ushers her by as his flatmates all start calling his name.

"I'm just going to say hello to them," he murmurs as they reach his door and he pushes it open, "Make yourself comfortable."

She nods and slips into the room while he goes back to the kitchen, seeing that his flatmates George, Rick and Edward are all drinking beers and have their coats on which means they've either just come in, or they're getting ready to head out.

God, he hopes its the latter.

He likes who he lives with, they're cool guys (most of the time) but this is Roxanne's first time here and he really doesn't want this lot to out her off coming round again.

"Deacon!" Ben cheers, holding up his bottle, eyebrow raising at the fact that he's soaking wet, "What happened to you? Who's that your with? Is that Roxanne? We was starting to think that she wasn't real, mate."

Alright, he likes the other two. He does not like Ben.

"Got caught in the rain," John answers, "And yeah, that's Roxy."

"The two of you are welcome to join us tonight," Edward speaks up as he finishes the last of his drink, "We're heading to Tingle."

John shakes his head, "Thanks for the offer but no thanks. Have a good night though lads,"

Back in John's room, Roxanne can't hear what they're saying and so gives up on trying to eavesdrop, turning to look around the small room that John basically calls home. It is tiny; she thinks if she spread her arms out wide, she'd be able to touch both walls and in one corner of the room, he's got a wet room that was even smaller.

She looks around the room, spotting his bass by his desk, which is littered in textbooks and other study supplies.

There are a few photographs along the top shelf and she stands on her tiptoes to get a better look; there's one with baby Deaky, sat on the beach, on the sand between two people, his parents most likely. There's one with just his father, with Deaky in his school uniform and there's one with his mum.

John chooses that moment to come into the room and it's then that Roxanne remembers that she's dripping water onto his carpet.

"I'm sorry," she says, quickly hopping into the cubicle that he calls a bathroom.

"Don't worry," he murmurs, moving to dig around in his drawers so he can find her some dry clothes, "You can have a shower if you'd like."

"No, no. That's okay," she says, taking the comfortable looking clothes from him, "Do you maybe have a towel though, just so I can dry my hair a little bit."

He nods and steps out into the hallway, hearing the door to the flat close and upon hearing nothing coming from the kitchen, he's relieved that the lads have gone and after grabbing a towel, he steps back into the room where Roxanne is waiting patiently.

"Thank you," she whispers, giving him a shy smile before she closes the bathroom door.

++|++

"Then you just finish on..."

Their wet clothes were down in the building's laundry room drying, they were both changed into warm and comfortable clothing, there were two mugs of tea forgotten on his nightstand and John had just finished teaching Roxanne Keep Yourself Alive on the bass.

Well, part of it because her fingers were starting to hurt.

"Don't know how you lot do it," she shakes her head and he smiles, running his thumb over her fingertips gently.

"You get used to it."

She passes the bass over to him carefully, "You play something."

He moves it so it's in a more comfortable place, "This is supposed to be your lesson."

"I'm a visual learner."

Rolling his eyes, John starts to play and it takes her only a few seconds to realise what it is. The solo.

When someone asks him to play, it's his go-to. The Liar solo is one of his favourites to play.

Roxanne watches mesmerised as his fingers dance over the strings, only looking up at him once more when he finishes with that long note at the end to see him watching her, "Wow-"

"Your turn," he grins and her eyes widen.

"What?"

"It's easy," he shrugs, setting the bass in her lap once more.

"I hardly doubt that," she mutters and he kisses her cheek before moving behind her.

"Alright," he mumbles, voice soft in her ear as he moves to kneel behind her, "So start with your hands here," 

He's gentle as he moves her left hand to the correct position on the fretboard and Roxanne knows she should be paying attention but she can't help but stare at him instead. 

"And here," John finishes placing her right hand in the right place, "And you want to..."

They play the first few notes before her hand is slipping and he wordlessly moves it back to where it's supposed to be, keeping his hand on top of hers to move when needed though he stops when he sees that she's looking at him and not the strings. 

"You're an awful student," he laughs and Roxanne nods. 

"Terrible."

The quietness of her voice makes him stop, looking down at her and he lets her lean in and kiss him, moving his hand from on top of hers so he can rest it on her cheek. 

Roxanne is the one who breaks the kiss, running her nose against his before she slowly stands, making sure she's got a tight grip on the neck of the bass. 

John watches her move to put it back down on its stand and returning to the bed but instead of sitting beside him again, she shyly sits down on his lap.

"Rox?" he whispers but she silences him with another kiss, slipping her hand into his soft hair and he groans quietly when she tugs gently. 

Shit. Was this happening? Were they going to do this? He'd thought about it, of course he had and he moves his hands to settle on her waist, bringing her closer as he takes control. 

She lets out a small gasp as he lies down so she's hovering over him, hair creating a curtain around the two of them and she smiles at him. 

Yeah, they were doing this. 

++|++

okay, so no smut on this one. i promise i will write it at some point but i've not really been in the mood, which i've gotta be. 

and guys, i'm going to have to change my updating schedule; instead of a chapter every two days, it's going to be every three days. i'm working a lot more and my shifts are all over the place and i'm not really getting enough time to write -what i feel- is a decent chapter for you. i'm hoping (I know) you guys will understand. 

so on that note, the next update will probably be monday ❤❤