rekindling the flame - chapter 1
Hey everybody! So this is that rami x reader (with a dash of freddie feels) I was talking about earlier! Itâs not done, so I guess this is chapter 1? Iâve never cut a fic into chapters before because Iâm a stubborn perfectionist but like. Eh. Ya know? Thanks to everyone who told me to go ahead and post this! Also, if anybody would be interested in a tag list, hit me up. Iâve never done one before but I think I can grasp the concept, haha! Anyways, here we go! (pls let me know if you like it, fr)
You're the daughter of Jim Hutton, so growing up was a roller coaster. With Freddie as practically a second father, things were never boring. But time passed and things changed. Everything changed. Not knowing how to process any of your past, you flee to the states in an attempt to write music and find yourself. It pretty much turns into instant isolation! That all changes when you get a call from your Uncle Bri about a movie being made on Freddie. Secrets come to light and you just might find yourself falling in love with the boy with the beautiful eyes along the way.
Youâre alone when you get the call. Youâre alone a lot these days, but you work best without the distraction of friends pulling you out to party and get drunk every other night. Besides, you really want to focus on this latest song youâve been writing. You just canât seem to get the bridge right, the chord progression is off in the tiniest way and for the life of you, you canât figure out why. Suffice to say itâs been driving you absolutely mad.
Your eyes light up when you strum the new experimental chord youâve thrown in, but youâre interrupted by the harsh ringtone of your cell.
âGoddammitâ you mumble to yourself and sigh as you put your guitar down on top of its case. You look over and feel yourself involuntarily smiling at the contact name. Itâs Uncle Bri, you wonder what heâs up to these days. Itâs been a while since youâve heard from him. Too long, actually. Thatâs hardly his fault, youâre aware of the fact that youâre isolating yourself but you really canât really garner up the energy to care, as bad as it sounds. You pull yourself out of your thoughts and reach over to answer the phone.
â(y/n)! Iâm glad I got a hold of you! How are you doing, my dear? We miss you!â
âAww, I miss you guys too! I canât complain! Iâve been working on my music a lot, so thatâs been taking up the majority of my life at the momentâ you sigh, suddenly wishing youâd have managed your time better. You really do miss your goofy Uncles.
âAhhh, just like good olâ Freddie, I seeâ you can hear the smile toying with his voice.
âI wouldnât go as far as to say thatâ
âWell, I would,â he says triumphantly. âAnyways, do you have any serious, unmovable plans for the next, oh, say 8 or so months?â you can hear the grin in his voice.
âUm, not that I know of...â you say, although it comes out more as of a question
âPerfect! Then Iâll be flying you over here to the UK pronto. Youâve got work to doâ he says and hangs up in a haste.
You pull the phone down and stare at it. That was. Odd.
Itâs not until later you realize that this is all for that movie that youâve been hearing rumors about for months. You werenât sure if it was actually happening or not, you feel like you definitely should have considering who you are, but Uncle Bri certainly wouldnât be uprooting your life for anything unimportant. Youâve settled into a nice routine over in the states. For a movie this important though, this central to who you are, youâd be upset if you werenât involved.
If you were being completely honest with yourself, you donât remember as much about your fatherâs partner as you wish you did. Letâs be real though, he was practically your second dad, he raised you until you were almost seven. You have faint memories of calling him papa. Your dad didnât love it at first, he was probably worried about what Freddie thought. He, of course, absolutely adored it and as well as he adored you. So, papa, he was.
The memories you do have, you wouldnât trade for the world. For the entire world. Some of your favorites were Freddie making you breakfast and cuddling on the couch. He would always read to you before bed and find your favorite stuffed bear before tucking you in and pecking your forehead. Sometimes, your favorite nights, he would sing you to sleep. You were probably too old for lullabies, but Freddie never failed to deliver, not even towards the end. His favorite song to sing you was I Was Born to Love You. He sang it slow and soft, making sure you took every word to heart. Sometimes you dream about it, wishing for just one more day together with the two of them.
You donât have much to do on the hellish flight ahead of you, so you pull up the folder you keep on your phone of pictures of your dad and Freddie. They looked just as happy as they were. You smile as you scroll through them, pictures the world hasnât seen. Pictures of the two with their cats, pictures of all three of you together.
You feel your eyes mist up when you get to one of your favorites. At first glance, it appears to be the most mundane thing in the world, but to you itâs everything. Freddieâs balancing you on his hip and heâs got his other arm wrapped around your father, kissing his cheek.
âOh, fuckâ you mutter under your breath, tearing yourself away from the grainy image. Youâre finally realizing just how difficult consulting on this movie is actually going to be. You miss your dad and you miss Freddie more than words can say.
You never really dealt with your fathers' death nearly a decade ago. Freddieâs death probably messed you up in more ways that youâre even able to conceptualize because you were so young at the time. He was just a part of you. A part of your history. A part of who you were and who you are.
Youâve got a lot of shit to work through, and god, you hope youâll be able to hold it together for just a while longer. This movie is important to the two most important people to you. Youâre certainly not going to ruin your chance at making it the best it can be because you canât look at the main character of the film without losing it.
You swallow the lump in your throat and reach down to rummage through your bag for your headphones. You close the photos app and pull up Spotify instead. Zoning out and distracting yourself with music is always how youâve dealt with the brunt of your emotional issues since practically the beginning of time. The second the first note rings out, you feel a weight lift off of your shoulders and you sigh in relief as you settle in for a long ride.
Youâre pretty damn sure that finally getting off the stuffy plane and stretching your legs is the best feeling in the world. Youâre instantly proven wrong though when you spot your uncles waiting for you. Theyâve got a dorky sign with â(y/n) Huttonâ scrawled across it with a few shaky hearts at the bottom. You canât help but chuckle, your heart swelling at the gesture.
You quicken your pace and when they notice you barreling towards them, your clunky bags in tow, their faces light up. Their sign and your suitcases are instantly ditched in place of Uncle Rog opening his arms up for you to crash into. Of course, you do, without a second thought and you hold on tight. It feels like if you donât, heâll disappear right out from under you.
âOh, love, how are you? How are you, really?â Uncle Rog says, pulling you away from him to study your face. You sheepishly avoid eye contact, aware that these two know you better than most.
âYou know, we do worry about you. More than you think.â Uncle Bri chimes in, responding to your silence. He then reaches over and takes his turn to pull you into a hug. You close your eyes and bury your head in his shoulder. You barely muster the strength needed to keep your voice from shaking.
âI know. I just missed you guys, is allâ you break away and get your bearings together. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the two sharing a skeptical glance, but luckily they drop it for now.
To say the studio was huge would be an understatement. Youâd never dealt with anything this major in your entire life, sure youâd been going to your Uncleâs concerts since you were little. That was different though, that was second nature. Music has always been second nature. This? This is a different world, man. There are more⌠rules. Youâve never been one for rules.
So far, youâve been introduced to a lot of the key players in the movie, big execs and such. Theyâve all been very graceful and polite if not slightly intimidated by you, which you find hilarious. You still havenât met any of the actors yet, but youâd been given their names and have already done extensive googling. They all seem like the perfect people for the parts.
Youâd actually seen a bit of Rami, Freddieâs actorâs, work in the past. The Night at the Museum trilogy is a goddamn classic and your friends have forced you to watch a couple of episodes of Mr. Robot. So youâre definitely excited, if not a little nervous, to meet the boys.
Itâs almost like the universe can read your mind because when you and your uncles turn the corner, there they are. You can tell theyâve met before because Rami, and if you remember correctly, Joe are waving and they all walk over.
â(y/n), you havenât met the boys yet, have you?â Uncle Bri asks, and before you have the time to answer, heâs introducing you to them respectively. You do your best to remember who is who, it shouldnât be too hard but this would not be a great situation to slip up. Thereâs Ben, Joe, Gwilym, and finally, you reach Rami.
His eyes are even more striking in person. You think heâs saying something but you canât hear a word of it. A poke on your shoulder pulls you out of your trance and you realize youâve been staring at him for a longer amount of time than would be considered socially acceptable. You glance over at Uncle Bri, a thanks for snapping you out of whatever that was.
âOh gosh, Iâm sorry! Zoned out there for a second, it was a long flightâ you grin and do your best to sound casual but youâre definitely rattled from your mistake. You almost let out a sigh of relief when you see Ramiâs warm smile.
âDonât worry about it, I totally understand. You flew in from the states, right? That ten-hour flight can be brutalâ you nod and he continues. âAnyways, I was just saying how much of an honor it is to be playing Freddie and if thereâs anything you ever need or want to talk in regards of the script or characterization, Iâm always here. You probably have more influence than me when it comes to that actually, but the offer is always on the table! The same goes for all of us.â He gestures at his castmates and they all nod accordingly. He sounds incredibly sincere and itâs impossible not to grin.
âI really appreciate that, guys. Iâm here if any of you need anything too! If you need help going over your lines or if you have any questions about my uncles, dad or my experience with Freddie as a father figure, Iâd be more than happy to let you in on everything I knowâ Youâre not, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but why else are you here?
You hear a chorus of thank youâs and wave at them as they rush off to hair and makeup, already late. You look down and try to swallow a smile, youâd be lying to yourself if you tried to pretend it wasnât endearing. The three of you continue down your path and you feel Uncle Rog bump into you.
âYou okay, (y/n)?â he says, trying poorly to hide his shit-eating grin. Oh god, what does he think he knows now?
âYeah, Iâm fine. Just tiredâŚâ you taper off when you notice the look the two give each other.
âOkaaay, whatever you say,â he says in a sing-songy voice. You groan and roll your eyes.
âWell I donât know about you two, but Iâm gonna go explore the set,â you say, trying to get a minute to yourself. Itâs just all been a little overwhelming and the last thing you need is your uncles scheming over whatever it is theyâre scheming over because if thereâs anything you know, itâs that look.
âHave fun, love. Weâll be here if you need usâ Uncle Bri reminds you for the thousandth time. You thank him and wander off on your own.
As the days go by, you fall into a routine. They donât need you there at a specific time so you definitely consider yourself lucky in that regard. All of the actors have to be at hair and makeup typically at around 6. You shuffle in at a comfortable 10, say hi to anyone who isnât currently working on a scene, and hide away in one of the back rooms with the writers.
The script has already been put out of course, but they still meet every day to talk about potential revisions or go over their work with the rest of the cast and crew. While definitely on different sides of the globe from each other, what they do isnât very far from what you do. At least itâs on the same planet. Which would be a first in this new world of Hollywood. So youâd say things are going pretty smoothly. You havenât yet had to dig deep and reveal anything about yourself or your history that you didnât want to.
Of course, though, the universe canât let you stay comfortable for very long. It needs to have its fun in throwing you for a loop just once you think youâve got things figured out. This loop comes in the form of none other than Rami Malek. At first, that is.
It starts like any other day. You come into the studio in your baggy hoodie, with your messy hair strewn everywhere, and your headphones in with the volume up as loud as it will go. You yawn and scrub at your eyes. You were up pretty late working on that same damn song, itâs just been eating away at you. The day you figure out how that bridge works will be a goddamn national holiday in your book. You groan and continue down the winding hallways.
When Rami comes up behind you and taps your shoulder, you jump out of your skin and your soul just about leaves your body. You rip your headphones out and turn around to see him giggling like a toddler and you gasp, grasping your chest dramatically.
Your heart flutters at the carefree expression on his face and you swallow down and try to ignore the emotions so obviously bubbling up to the surface. You canât help but stare though, itâs not your fault that heâs absolutely breathtaking. Youâre confident that his jawline could cut steel. This time, your admiration slides and he doesnât notice because heâs still pulling himself together after the little incident.
Heâs wearing Freddieâs angry lizard jacket and heâs got the fake teeth in. Heâs the spitting image of Freddie and it honestly would have been a little jarring if it werenât for him being so warm and open, squashing any possible nerves you may have before they even have the time to fully form.
âSorry!â he chokes out, swallowing the last of his giggles. âI really didnât mean to scare you, I thought you heard me walking up, but I guess not,â he says and gestures at your headphones dangling down and twirling together.
âJesus Christ, Rami. You do know that you almost killed me, right? I literally almost died right here!â you say, still playing it up a little bit. You canât keep a straight face for long though and break eye contact to laugh under your breath. âAnyways, whatâs up? I havenât seen you in a while! You look great, I must sayâ you point out, referencing the outfit.
âI always look great, darling,â he says, putting on Freddieâs accent. You raise your arms in surrender and he shoots you a grin. Suddenly heâs Rami again, just like that. âSo Iâve got that one big scene tomorrow and I feel like something is off with my performance and I just canât put my finger on it. I was wondering if you were free later tonight after weâre done shooting to go over the script with me?â youâre not sure if heâs doing it on purpose, but heâs giving you the biggest puppy dog eyes youâve ever seen.
âOh, I know that feeling,â you say, thinking back to your stupid song. Maybe you can play it for him and get his input? You quickly brush off the thought, this is about him, not you. âAnd of course! Iâd love to!â You canât even pretend you arenât honored and a little excited to see him later. Even though youâve fallen in love with your little routine, you have a real soft spot for this boy.
âPerfect! I canât wait to see you thenâ he waves as he walks off. You wave back and once heâs turned the corner, you canât contain your giddiness. Before you know it, youâre hopping and -hopefully- internally squealing like a schoolgirl. Heâs just so cute, okay? Itâs not fair. It shouldnât be legal.
You spend the rest of your day curled up in the bean bag chair in the corner of the writers' room going over a thousand different scenarios in your head, both eagerly and anxiously awaiting the end of filming. Youâve really been thrown for a loop here, going from total isolation to the midst of practically a high school crush. Youâre not even entirely sure why, thereâs just something about him. Youâre not quite sure whether you like it or not, but thereâs one thing you do know. Denying it wonât get you anywhere, youâve been down that road before.