#jimercuryweek2021

 His servants were always there, trying to entertain him with parties, each of them becoming more and more luxuriant, the God of Wines, among other things, always around, bringing his most heady beverages. During those decadent feasts, everyone stretched their limits further and further, the God of the Underworld himself. Yet, Freddie was not amused anymore.

 “What can we do for you, oh great Hades?”, Peter Freestone, one of the God’s personal assistant, asked.

 “I told you to call me Freddie now.”, the God replied, a bit annoyed.

 “I’m sorry your highness….”, the other apologized.

 “Hum. I need distraction, but nothing in Hell seems satisfying.”, Freddie carried on, looking around him.

 “What do you have in mind, your excellence?”, Peter asked.

 “I think I’m going to see the human world. It’s been a while.”, the God let him know, very casually.

 “The dead arrive on a daily basis, we got all the news of the world.”, the assistant told him.

 “I know, but it’s not the same.”, Freddie said.

 Everyone knew there was no point in arguing. When the God of the Underworld had taken a decision, it was useless to go against his will.

 “Phoebe, bring me my coat.”, he addressed Peter with one of his nickname.

 “Certainly sir.”, the assistant nodded.

 He brought his master his coat. It was a very special object, allowing the God to be invisible in the human world. In the Underworld, the God was exuberant but when he allowed himself to go on Earth, he made sure to remain unnoticed, willing to preserve a certain mystery.

 It was spring up there and Freddie started to wander in the streets, wondering what people were up to. The world of the dead had no more secrets from him, but even if his guests answered his every question, the world of the livings was still fascinating to the God. And the thing that animated him the most was something humans seemed to be longing for during their whole life. They could have health, wealth and fame, there was something that everyone was looking for. And the word they used to define it was love.

 The God of the Underworld had been alive for a long time, he had never been able to figure out what kind of feeling it was. He knew how it felt to be happy, he knew about sadness. He was aware of anger and amusement, fear as well. But what was love?

 The dead had tried to tell him about it, giving him examples. Husband and wife, father to son, brothers and sisters were some of the illustrations given. Freddie thought about the affection he had for Peter for instance, but from what he had understood, there was something about the speed of the heartbeat as well, so the God soon figured out it was not love.

 Freddie carried on walking aimlessly, his steps leading him to a beautiful park. It was spring and the flowers were blossoming. It was a really nice sight, all the colors were bright and the sun was emphasizing the shades of each of them.

 The God arrived in front of a rose bush. He dearly loved flowers, even if it was hard to keep them alive in the Underworld. This one was particularly splendid. The pedals were both pink and orange, a combination the God had never seen before. Freddie could not be seen, but his senses still allowed him to feel his surroundings just like any other human. He closed his eyes and dived his nose in the rose, almost getting drink with its fragrance. Again, it was something he had never experienced, something new and very uncommon, a real pleasure to his senses.

 He slowly rose, still drunk with the amazing smell of the flower. He deeply sighed and softly opened his eyes. He almost startled in surprise as he had not heard someone had got closer to him, facing the rose as well. Freddie recalled he could not be seen and quickly soothed.

 The God took time to observe the man. On a very personal point of view, he could not deny he was very handsome. His eyes were surely the kindest and the warmest Freddie had ever seen. Maybe to the ordinary mortals, he was very common, but there was something about this little moustache on top of his thin lips, something about his rosy cheeks, something about his features, something that made the God feel shivers down his spine, again a feeling never experienced before.

 Freddie stood there, as the man before him was staring at the flower, very gently taking it between his fingers to feel the petals. The human then closed his eyes, and just like the God a moment before, put his nose in the middle of the rose, willing to smell its delicate and unique fragrance. The God was literally mesmerized.

 Freddie’s heartbeat started to speed up, and he felt totally helpless. He suddenly felt the urge to remove his coat to reveal himself to the man, but he feared the human would be really scared by this sudden appearance.

 Yet, the God was determined to find out more about the mysterious man. Thus, he just stood right next to him, observing him as the human was still examining the flower. As if the Destiny had read his mind, the man opened his mouth to speak.

 “You’re so beautiful.”, he said, almost in a whisper.

 Freddie frowned, highly disappointed the man was complimenting someone else. The God looked around him to notice there was no one around them.

 “Yes, beautiful. Look at your colors. And your fragrance, I could die to actually be able to smell it….”, the man carried on.

 Freddie sighed in relief. The human was actually talking to the flower.

 “Since I’ve created you, maybe it would be great to name you?”, the man said, mysteriously. “I wouldn’t give you my name though. Jim Hutton. That’s pretty common and not really fancy, is it?”, he rhetorically asked.

 Jim Hutton. So that was his name. Freddie felt butterflies in his stomach. It was definitely the day to have brand new feelings.

 “I’ll think about it….”, the man eventually said. He smelled the rose’s delicate fragrance one last time and slowly walked away.

 Freddie stood next to the flower, completely lost in his thoughts. He had an idea in mind, but he was not sure of how to make it happen.

 “Phoebe?”, he suddenly said, appearing again in the Underworld.

 Peter startled before this sudden arrival. Yet, he composed himself and calmly turned to the God.

 “Yes?”, he gently replied.

 “I need your help.”, Freddie said, walking fast through his realm.

 The God sat on his thrown, taking a glass of wine.

“I need you to bring me a human.”, Freddie stated.

“A human? But, my lord, the dead arrive when their time has come….”, Phoebe replied.

“I know that, thank you.”, the God carried on, moving his hand nervously. “This one isn’t dead and I don’t think something will happen to him soon. I…. I need to see him.”

“I don’t understand…. Why do you need him? Is there anything special about him?”, Peter asked.

“Well….”, Freddie hesitated. He paused, not really sure about how to present it. “I think…. I think he might help me find out what love is.”, he eventually said in a rush.

“Oh….”, Phoebe said. He paused as well, as he now understood how delicate the situation was.

“His name is Jim Hutton. You’re going to find him and bring him to me.”, Freddie affirmed.

“Here? Bring him here to the Underworld?”, Phoebe repeated.

“Yes. Now.”, Freddie nodded.

Peter was caught off guard, but complied anyways. After all, he had been by the God’s side for as long as he could remember, and he had never failed him. The assistant had always been able to satisfy him, whatever his demand was.

Thus, Phoebe headed to the human world and very quickly found the man, thanks to the powers he had been given.

Since he didn’t know how to introduce himself and how to present the situation clearly without making the human run away, Peter arrived behind him and knocked him down. He then carried him to a boat, which would lead them to the God of the Underworld. Since Jim was human, Phoebe thought about the Styx to bring him to his destination. After all, this was the entrance the dead used to arrive to the Underworld.

Peter was quietly leading the little boat, standing at the prow. Jim slowly woke up, feeling a real pain at the back of his head.

“What happened? Who are you?”, he asked, rubbing where he had been hit.

“I’m Peter Freestone. I’m leading you to my master, the God of the Underworld.”, the assistant quietly replied.

“What? Why?”, Jim anxiously questioned him.

“This is matter between you and him.”, Peter firmly stated.

Jim Hutton was a mere mortal and feared death. He knew when one’s time had come, it had to happen, but he still was feeling very much alive. He had read and heard many stories about the Underworld and its ruler and could not deny he was truly scared to find out about all the horrors he had heard of.

The human quietly remained seated in the middle of the boat, making sure not to touch the water. He dared to take a glance at the river, and was quite surprised to see the dead seemed to be emotionless, thus not really willing to hurt him.

Jim guess they would soon arrived before the gates of the Underworld, doors kept by the legendary Cerberus, a massive three headed dog.

Yet, the human had to rub his eyes and look twice to make sure the scene before him was real. There was a creature in front of the gates, that was for sure. But it had nothing to do with a dog. It looked much more like a cat, from what Jim could see. As they got closer, the human had a chance to see the animal. It had three head indeed, but it was definitely a cat.

One of the head was drinking milk out of a massive bowl. The other one was purring as what seemed to be servants were petting him. The third head was busy staring at a huge ball of wool, as one of the big paws was playing with it. Jim couldn’t help but laugh at the scene, forgetting during a minute he was soon surely going to face death.

The gate slowly opened in a blaring noise. Peter carried on guiding the boat, leading the two passengers to a pontoon.  The assistant helped the human to disembark and showed him the way. Still very frightened but helpless, Jim followed him.

They soon arrived in a huge room, full of colors. There were glitters everywhere and flamboyant colors all around. The atmosphere was far from being the gloomy one Jim was expecting. They carried on walking and they rapidly arrived in front of the God himself, proudly sat on his thrown.

Not knowing what to do, Jim went on his knees and put his hands on the floor, as if he was praying.

“Whatever my mistakes were, please, make my death quick….”, he begged the God.

“What? Oh, don’t be ridiculous, darling. I’m not Death, but the God of the Underworld. I’ve never killed anyone.”, Freddie replied. “Please stand up, let me see you.”, he carried on.

Peter helped him get back on his feet and Jim widened his eyes as he looked more carefully at the deity standing before him.

Freddie was mysteriously smiling and had some sort of mischief in his eyes. He was wearing a sort of vest made of colorful and flamboyant feather. He also had white pants with a red belt. His jaw line was very impressive, but in a good way. Jim could not deny it, the God standing before him was not the one he had expected to see, but he was definitely gorgeous.

“Thank you Phoebe.”, Freddie said and Peter nodded before exiting. “Jim. Jim Hutton, right?”, the God came closer to the human.

“That’s my name.”, Jim replied, still a bit nervous. “Why am I here?”, he all the same dared to ask.

“Didn’t Phoebe tell you?”, Freddie was surprised.

“No one told me anything. Am I dead?”, the human questioned the God.

“What? No !! No, not at all.”, the God came even closer to him to reassure him.

“Then why am I in the Underworld? Ain’t you Hades, a God?”, he carried on asking.

“Please, call me Freddie. I was given the name of Hades, but I prefer Freddie. Freddie Mercury to make it really human.”, he explained.

“Freddie Mercury….”, Jim frowned.

“You don’t like it? Everyone told me it was great, but maybe they just were being nice….”, Freddie started to worry.

“No, no, it’s great.”, Jim nodded.

“Good….”, the God sighed in relief.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, as they looked around them.

“Okay, Jim. It might seem weird but I’m going to be straight forward. We, Gods, don’t know what love is. But when I came to the human world, I’ve seen you…. And I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”, Freddie suddenly said, feeling brave all of a sudden.

“What?” ,Jim was shocked.

“I know. It might seem insane, but this is the truth.”, the God explained.

Jim remained there, speechless. From what he had understood, a God was telling him he had fallen in love with him.

“You’re really quiet. Maybe you…. You already have someone? Or you don’t find me attractive….?”, Freddie pointed out.

“No…. I mean, yes, you’re very attractive your highness.”, Jim said, with a bow. “It’s just it’s so sudden…. What is going to happen?”

“Well, I don’t know. It’s a first for me too.”, Freddie frankly replied. “Would you stay here for a while and see what happens?”, he suggested.

Jim looked at him, fear rushing back in his entire body. What if he upset and thwarted a God? He was still in the Underworld, death was still very close. Thoughts overwhelming in his mind, Jim knew he had to reply, no matter what. But he also knew he was willing to remain alive for as long as he could.

“Okay.”, he merely nodded as a reply.

“Really?”, Freddie widely smiled and hugged the human really tight.

The God led him to another room, where they made themselves comfortable and started to randomly talk. Jim was making sure to laugh or look concerned as the God was speaking, but he was still thinking about an escape. Freddie, on the other hand, was delighted to be with Jim, and was hoping his feelings were becoming mutual.

Time flied and soon, it was time for the God and the human to go to bed. Freddie insisted on having Jim right next to him. The mortal again feared a severe sentence if he did not comply. Truly appeased to have his lover by his sides, the God quickly fell asleep, as Jim was still staring at the ceiling, thinking, unable to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Freddie was loudly snoring so Jim seized his opportunity. He very quietly got out of the large bed and discreetly left, without a word or a note. The way from the Underworld to the Earth was not easy but Jim miraculously made it. He ran to come back home, feeling free and safe.

Freddie woke up the following day, surrounded by sadness and sorrow. If this was what love was, he didn’t want it. Tears on his cheeks were endlessly running and there was nothing to grieve his heartache.

Jim Hutton was back on Earth amongst the livings, so he tried to act as naturally as usual. He tried to focus on his day, but his thoughts were all for the God of the Underworld. He could not explain why, but the whole time he had spent with Freddie was endlessly looping in his head. Now he was appeased, he was smiling as he remembered how funny, how smart, how eloquent he was. What had he done?

The human suddenly felt a huge pain in his heart, tears coming to his eyes. A pain he had never experienced before. Was it because of the God? What was going on? Could it be because their hearts were apart? Was it because they were in fact soul mates? Jim had to know.

He went to the park, right before the beautiful rose he had created. Freddie had told him this was where he had fallen in love with him. A tear dropped and Jim wiped it. He took a little piece of paper and hastily wrote something on it, then attached it to the rose.

Jim went back home and took some belonging, the mere necessary. He knew it was going to be hard, but he had to get back to the Underworld. It was clear the feelings the God had for him were real and sincere, and Jim was started to feel the same way about him. Trusting his instinct, Jim let his legs guide him to the entrance he had escaped from that morning. He carefully took the same path, leading him to the huge door. The three headed cat was sleeping and he took time to pet him all the same.

He arrived out of breath in the main room, the one where the God’s thrown was. Jim let his belonging down, looking around for the deity his heart was now longing for.

“Freddie?”, he dared to shout, calling him.

“Jim?”, the God suddenly appeared in front of him, making the human startle.

“Freddie. I….I’m sorry, I….”, Jim started to say. He was about to tell him he had ran away, but didn’t want to break the God’s heart one more time. “I needed to take my belonging with me.”, he eventually said, pointing at his bags on the ground.

Freddie widely smiled and hugged him. Jim looked at him and cupped his hands around the God’s gorgeous face and tenderly kissed him.

Man and God didn’t know what the future would be, but one thing was sure, they were going to make everything possible to be together, as partners, lovers, husbands, no matter what.

A little girl was playing in the park and noticed a piece of paper on a beautiful rose bush. Curiosity prevailing, she took the note in her hands, reading what was written on it.