Since they would be leaving for the tour in two days, they had the day of their anniversary off. Eva, however, was insistent that they couldn't just sit around doing nothing all day- they had packing to do.
A lot of packing, too, because this tour was much longer than the last one- over three months, with stops in a large amount of Europe as well as the US. She was worried about the effects of having the boys in such close quarters for such an extended period of time, but Roger insisted that they would be fine- they had done it before, after all.
For their anniversary, Eva had filled a photo album with every memory she could find of the past year. There were photos they had taken of each other, polaroids taken by Freddie and even some magazine clippings speculating about whether Eva was really just Queen's manager. It had made her smile, so she knew Roger would love it.
"I love it more than anything anyone has given me ever," he told her.
His gift to her was a new mug. "It's identical to the one I broke when you were moving in, I know it was your favourite."
It might not seem romantic, but to Eva it was perfect- it showed he was paying attention to what made her happy, which wasn't necessarily fancy jewellery or flowers.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too."
The rest of the day was spent cleaning, packing and storing various possessions. By the time they left for the airport, the house felt very tidy and bare.
Ruth and Anna came over the night before they left to say goodbye and generally act dramatic about the length of time they would be apart for.
"Okay, so a couple of things ladies, to make sure no one misses anything important," Ruth began. "No weddings, no funerals, no babies, and no prison sentences. Are we clear?"
"Not quite sure how I'd manage to produce a baby in three months, but whatever makes you happy," Eva joked.
"Alright, just, if he knocks you up, make sure to call me, alright?"
"You'll be the first to know," she smirked.
"Yeah, don't tell me, make sure Ruth knows first," Roger added.
"Okay. Anna, you're in charge of making sure Ruth doesn't break her own bargain and end up in prison, alright?"
"I'll... try my best."
"That's the spirit."
She knew they would be fine.
///////////////
"Alright, who's coming to the pub?" The end of the first show, and as predicted, Freddie was heading straight out to get plastered.
"Definitely not," Eva replied, "I feel a bit sick actually."
Roger made eye contact with her. "You don't need to call Ruth, do you?"
She understood what he was getting at immediately. "No Taylor, rest assured, I definitely took my pills last time." She rolled her eyes at his joke, and his lips quirked.
"What?"
"It's just a joke, don't worry about it."
Freddie narrowed his eyes at Eva. "You're not on drugs, are you?"
"Not that kind of pills, Freddie."
"Anyway, Rog, coming to the pub?"
"No thank you." Roger looked at her. She smiled, pleased he'd remembered what she'd said.
"Bri? Deaky? Anyone?"
"Yeah, why not," said Brian, and John nodded in agreement.
"Great. Have fun going back to your room to shag, or whatever it is you're doing, you two."
Eva rolled her eyes again.
///////////////
And so they settled into a routine. Roger sometimes did go out with the others, but Eva didn't mind- it was rare that he came back any worse than slightly tipsy. Eva hardly ever went out with them, despite Freddie's constant complaints that she was no fun, as she'd never particularly enjoyed getting drunk, especially not if she had to work the next day. She always told him that she was getting paid to sort his shit out, not to follow him between drinking establishments.
And sort his shit out she did- when he would appear before concerts, nursing a hangover and complaining about everything, she did all she could to make everything as he wanted it, and he always ended up on stage despite whatever he would decide otherwise.
The others were grateful that they had peace before a show to focus on themselves, not that she often got around to helping them out between Freddie's constant demands.
"You're working yourself too hard," Roger told her one night when they were travelling on the tour bus.
"You may well be right, but at least I'm getting paid accordingly." For the tour, her hourly pay had increased to nearly double what it had been, and she was working longer hours.
"There's no point in money when you're a corpse," he said exasperatedly. "I wasn't joking when I said you'd lost weight."
"What am I supposed to do? Take a day off?"
"Just, try saying no to some of the stuff they're asking, maybe? I'm sure Freddie can live without half of the stuff he demands."
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he's right," John added. "Don't work yourself to death for us."
"Also, please eat. Don't think I didn't see you throwing away half of your lunch earlier after you skipped breakfast."
"I wasn't hungry," Eva mumbled, resting her head on Roger's shoulder as he exchanged worried glances with John.
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Funny How Love Is
Fanfiction"Did you tell him what happened between you and the drummer?" Eva Newton is just another one of Roger Taylor's countless exes- until John Reid promotes her to be Queen's new co-manager. She must navigate lingering grudges and lasting feelings as she...