Robert was in fact thinking about him. Not only at breakfast on that particular morning. He had in fact caught himself thinking about the guitarist a bit too often within the previous weeks. Of course he wasn't thinking of him all the time but it still concerned him. Or maybe it didn't really concern him but he just assumed that it was how most people would react to such inconvenient desires. Could he even speak of such? Were they desires? Or just imagination? Was it his loneliness and the fact that he hadn't seen his wife for so long? He had already tried to find explanations for his reoccurring glances and the goosebumps he always seemed to get when touching the guitarist.

After breakfast he headed back to his room -again needing assistance to climb up the staircase which really annoyed him- and started packing his clothes and all his belongings into his suitcase. The band would be picked up at 11 for a bus ride of several hours, eventually arriving at a small hotel in Austria, somewhere in the mountains. While packing his things, Robert found a shirt that he didn't recognize at first. He smelled at it to know if it had already been worn.

His heart skipped a beat.

What the hell?

It smelled like Jimmy.

Robert had absolutely no idea how the shirt had gotten in his room. The guitarist hadn't even been there. The vocalist shook his head. It probably had been a mistake. Maybe he had thought it was his shirt and had taken it with him after a meeting or something when in fact it wasn't. He took the shirt again. It smelled nice. For a brief moment he closed his eyes and imagined his best friend wearing the shirt on stage, winking at him, then opening the buttons to reveal his bare chest. That beautiful, pale, perspiring skin. The guitarists hands gliding over the fretboard, drawing squealing sounds from the instrument and creating emotions Robert couldn't put in words. He wondered what else those hands could do and immediately felt a bit dirty, imagining such a thing. Then his own thought hit him like a train. He had said it himself. His best friend. Yes, they were friends. There was no romantic passion or sexual desires or erotic tension between the two of them. But in his dreams it seemed so real and Robert couldn't help but smile at his imaginations.

It was just a dream, but a very beautiful one for sure.

***

The bus arrived just on time and the band entered the vehicle while chattering and cheering excitedly. They were exhilarated to go to Austria and be able to see the stunning mountains. After making sure that everything was alright and no suitcases were missing, the driver finally started the bus and they slowly left the parking lot.

Jimmy and Jonesy went to explore the bus while Robert and Bonzo decided to find a nice spot for reading or in the drummers case; sleeping. The singer found a seat next to a huge window, which was perfect for reading. He sat down with a quiet wince of pain. It really bothered him that his ankle had been hurting so bad these previous days. He had just opened the book and started to read when Jimmy and Jonesy came back with four cups of coffee. Robert put down his book and took one of the cups instead.

„We found a coffee machine", the bassist explained while nipping at the hot beverage. Jimmy placed one of the cups in front of the drummer, who had already fallen asleep within only five minutes.

„I think he needs some caffeine as well", the guitarist joked.

„No. Alcohol...", the drummer muttered in his sleep, probably talking in his dreams.

Robert almost spit out his coffee as he started laughing and Jonesy chuckled amusedly.

Jimmy just made a dramatic gesture in the air. „Sorry mate, no alcohol for you today. But there'll be plenty of it as soon as we arrive in Austria." He said this with an altered voice to show that he was just joking.

Of course they had brought some alcohol with them.

***

It was in the early hours of the afternoon that the first bottle of wine had been emptied and it was at the time they arrived when the last round of shots had ended. The bus got slower, carefully making its way through the serpentines that marked the narrow streets. A small building appeared in front of them. It had a large signpost on it; reading something in german that they didn't understand. When the heavy vehicle stopped, they all hurried to leave the bus in time. Jonesy paid the driver and then they headed towards the hotel. When they entered the „lobby" (which was basically just a small room with a counter and random antlers pinned to the walls) they were greeted by a couple, probably in their mid-fourties', who spoke in a strange accent but with perfect grammar and vocabulary. While the man went to get the new guests something to drink, the woman handed them their room keys and explained everything about the hotel; where the dining hall was, for example. She also asked them if they were interested in hiking and enthusiastically showed them a few paths on a map. There were no other guests at the time, which satisfied the band. They were glad that they would be able to spend a normal holiday without any weird people annoying them just because they were rockstars.

Jimmy opened the door to his room and was surprised by how large it was. It even had its own bathroom and a huge window, providing a perfect view of the mountains that were all covered in thick white snow. And though it was April already, it felt like a perfect winter wonderland. The guitarist opened his suitcase and put some of his clothes into the wardrobe, considering the fact that they were planning to stay at least a week. Then he checked the clock, realizing that it was only 5 p.m. He could still go outside and wander around just for fun. So after putting on a warm pair of trousers and a long coat, he thought about asking one of his friends to join him. The first to come to his mind was Robert, so he just went to look for him and ask him out.

The guitarist just knocked on the first door next to his own, not knowing whose room it was. The singer opened the door, looking a bit confused. He pulled at the rubber band in his hair to open the messy bun, then he tied the band to his wrist so he wouldn't lose it, and shook his head a bit so his golden curls got in place again. Jimmy just watched, admiring the other man's beauty as they were both standing in the door frame.

„What is it, Pagey?", he asked with a kind smile.

„I'm going out to explore the nature a bit. The snow outside is really nice. And I was wondering if you might want to come with me." Jimmy made a short pause to think. „...only if your ankle is okay, of course", he added almost hastily.

„Yes, yes, it's fine. I was about to ask you the same thing, to be honest", the singer admitted warmly, „Let me just put on some warm clothes."

Everything was covered in snow. Even the road had a thin white layer on it. They crossed a narrow path which lead to the forest nearby. It was full of snow, with beautiful icicles hanging from the trees in abstract shapes. Jimmy started throwing snowballs at his friend and laughed as he received a much bigger snowball landing right in his coat collar, where the snow was dripping down his skin, in return. They were both laughing and quickly forgot about the time. Deep in the forest they found a small lake which was entirely frozen. Jimmy insisted on going ice skating on the pond and so he carefully tested if the ice could bear his weight. Then he walked to the middle of the frozen lake. He loved the feeling. So close to danger but not in its reach. Like balancing on a rope, knowing that someone would catch you if you fell. In his imagination, that „someone" would be Robert. He didn't even think about it, the pretty singer with his soft voice was just there in his dreams, if he liked it or not. To keep himself from overthinking, he began to spin in small circles on the ice. It was hard to find a nice balance, but he had been ice skating as a kid, so he knew what he was doing. He smiled at Robert, who was standing on the edge of the lake because he couldn't skate with his injured leg. The singer smiled back and then took out a camera to take a few photographs of his friend who seemed to have so much fun. After some time the guitarist came back and the two of them continued their way deeper into the forest. Somewhere next to a huge pinetree they built a snowman, feeling like little kids as they were playing in the snow knowing that nobody was watching; nobody could disturb them.

„It needs arms", Robert exclaimed after they had successfully put the last snowball onto the other two.

Jimmy grinned and picked up two sticks from the ground which he then stuck into the snow where the snowman's arms would be. He also found some stones in his jacket that he had been keeping there for some reason and formed a face with them.

Robert formed a bit of the grass that was sticking out through the snow into round forms and put it on the snowman, pretending they were glasses.

„He looks a bit like John Lennon now", Jimmy exclaimed happily. Robert looked at the snowman and laughed as he realized the similarity and threw himself to the ground in laughter. The guitarist grinned and threw himself into the snow too, lying close to his bandmate. He rolled over to lie on top of the singer; both of them breathing heavily in excitement. The snow was so cold, they both ought to be freezing, but neither of them was cold. In fact, they both were extremely warm as they felt eachothers breaths on their ice cold skin. Jimmy hesitated for a moment.

The singer looked so beautiful, lying beneath him with his golden curls in the white snow and his blue eyes looking at him in an almost demanding but joyful way. Jimmy couldn't resist anymore. He gently planted a kiss on the other man's lips, causing both men to shiver in anticipation.

He quickly stopped and turned away in shame.

„Sorry", he mumbled, „I shouldn't have..."

„No, keep going", Robert whispered and pulled him back to share another kiss which was even better than the first one, now that they both knew what they wanted. Their kiss tasted just like love should taste. It was hot and lovely and in every possible way enjoyable. They didn't dare to use their tongues yet, but they savoured each other's lips as if life depended on it. Robert even gently bit the other man's bottom lip which was new for both of them, but it didn't seem to bother them. After some time they parted and looked at eachother curiously. Both had done all of this with tons of women before but this was different. Well, it didn't really feel different but they hadn't known that all of the things they had done with women they could also do with men. That everything they had felt for a woman, they could also feel for a man.

Jimmy shivered. Not only from the excitement but also because the sunlight was gone and it was getting really cold. He also worried about their way back to the hotel because it was already dark.

„I think we need to go back", Robert announced as he sat up straight and glanced at the trees around them, wondering if his bandmate could remember the way they had come from.

Jimmy nodded and got up; brushing the dirt off his pants and then helping Robert to stand up. They both blushed as their hands touched and none of them seemed to want to let go so they just continued holding hands all the way back

„Goodbye, John", Jimmy said jokingly to the snowman that they had to leave behind.

It took a lot more time to find the way because it had started to snow a few hours ago and their old footprints were as good as gone by now.

It was freezing cold and they were both shivering though they were wearing really warm clothes. Jimmys lips turned to a blue colour due to the cold temperatures and he felt tired. He noticed that his friend's limp was getting worse. They needed to get back to their hotel. Desperately they wandered through the forest and eventually found the street that had led them to the woods. The pavement was covered in thick snow and was slippery in some areas.

„Don't worry, we're almost there", Robert whispered to the guitarist who was quivering and looked pale. Jimmy nodded bitterly. All he wanted was to get back to the hotel and sit at the warm fire place. For a moment he wished that they had never gone to the forest. But then he remembered their kiss and wondered if any of this would have happened if they hadn't gone outside. A smile appeared on his lips as he reminisced about it. Before he even noticed, they had already reached their hotel. They stopped in front of it.

„About what happened in the forest...", Jimmy started but the singer interrupted him.

„We shouldn't overthink it. We'll see what is to come. We won't tell the others."

The guitarist thought about it. It probably was the only right thing to do. There had only been one simple kiss yet.

——————————-
A/N:
When I wrote that part with "goodbye John", all I could think of was that last scene in bbc Sherlock season two...
:(
Anyways, have a great day :)