Of fights, making up and divorce

Noel dropped his acoustic guitar to the side and sighed in frustration. The tune wasn’t working out as he expected. He leaned back in the sofa and sighed again. The recording session hadn’t worked out either and he decided that maybe he would be more inspired to compose something at home. He suspected that Andy, Gem and Alan blamed him for the tense atmosphere at the studio. They thought that, for the new album’s sake, it was already the time to make it up with Liam. What they didn’t know was that it wasn’t about Liam’s stubbornness or that Liam had hurt his feelings in their fight, no. It was a matter of resistance, to see who had more power over the other, to see who will break down first. And Noel knew he was probably going to lose. He hated the fact that, despite it was usually Liam who made him angry; he was even in a worse mood if he couldn’t check out what was Liam doing. And this was also the main reason of his lack of concentration, cause his mind was wandering again and again over the same issue.

Someone banged at the door. Noel considered ignoring the call but he was also curious to see who the visitor was. Curiosity won over apathy and, at the second call, he got up and opened the door.

"Hi Noelie" was the shy greeting

"Liam" he sternly acknowledged

"Can I come in?" Liam asked a bit insecure in front of the coldness of his brother.

Noel let him enter and closed the door behind them. Liam was waiting for him in the living room, standing awkwardly in silence on the middle of the room.

"…"

"What are you doing here?" Noel asked, getting to the point.

"I’m getting divorced"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I know I’m a dad now but I can’t stand her anymore. She was cool at first but now she only knows to bitch around; we spend the whole day arguing and that isn’t good to the boys either"

"You came here to tell me you’re leaving Patsy?" he asked slightly irritated

"No, in fact that wasn’t what I wanted to tell you at first"

"Then?" Noel inquired tiredly

"I… I’m sorry" was Liam’s small reply

"Wha-What?" Noel retorted completely puzzled. Liam never apologized to anybody.

"I said I’m sorry" he repeated, this time more clearly "I didn’t want to hurt or to scare you away. I was just mad, I didn’t mean my words. I love you"

"Well, sure as hell you really seemed to mean them" Noel wanted to kick himself for answering like this. When he got angry with Liam after their fight he’d done the only thing he knew it would get on his brother: stop any kind of contact with him. But in fact he never truly expected Liam to come to his home and apologize. Liam had said the thing he always wanted to hear, he said he was sorry and that he loved him. After all, he had won this battle, then why had had to answer in a way that predicted more disputes?

Liam’s soft reply was just "I miss you" and it send chills down Noel’s spine. Liam’s voice was strongly laced with longing and it was driving Noel insane with desire. He always wanted to see Liam’s vulnerable side; he was so beautiful like this. Liam’s blue eyes stared inquisitively at him.

"Noelie?" he asked bringing him back from his daydreams. Maybe it was really already the time to make it up, God, he really wanted to do it.

"I missed you too" Noel replied smiling. That was all that Liam needed to crash their bodies together in a tight hug, wanting so badly this contact between them. Noel smiled and hugged him closer, he finally had Liam where he liked the most: between his arms.

* * * * *

Meg Matthews was driving back home. She had spent the whole day in the city, making plans for a friend’s birthday and enjoying herself. Noel was again in the studio with the band and Peggy had taken little Anais to visit Patsy and the kids. What a lovely familiar reunion, Meg sarcastically thought to herself. She checked her watch again, she had enough time to take a bath and relax before anyone arrived home.

Meg frowned when she found the door unlocked, she was sure she had locked it before leaving. The house was pretty silent but she would have sweared that she heard some small noises coming from the living room. The door was ajar, so she could shelter herself while having a quick peep. Meg wasn’t prepared for what she found. She expected to find a burglar, maybe a stalker or even nothing at all; but never something like this. Her husband was on the couch with Liam straddling his lap and they were snogging senseless. Liam moaned as Noel’s hand found its way under his shirt and smoothly caressed his back. "Noel" Liam whispered breathly as his brother settled for kissing, nipping and marking his neck.

Meg turned away immediately, her pulse racing. She couldn’t believe it. She ran away silently, fearing to be caught, but they were too engrossed in their activities to notice anything at all.

Meg sat on the car trying to calm down. With shaky hands she lit a cigarette. It wasn’t a secret that their matrimony was pretty fucked up now, but she felt betrayed. Meg remembered the scene on the house and it was worse, Noel never showed this possessiveness nor this passion with her. Another girl was something she could deal with, something she could have understood, but not Noel’s bloody brother. She suddenly understood in a whole new level why the fights with Liam affected her husband so much.

She let out a bitter laugh but it scared her to detect a hysterical edge on it. She had suspected for a few months that all what Noel treasured of their relationship was Anais, and now there was the confirmation of how damn right were her thoughts; although she had never suspected something like this. "Congrats Noel, you’ve done a good job hiding it". She had to play it cool; it was something too shameful to let anyone know.

How could they dare to do such things on the house? She could walk into them; Peggy, their own mother, could walk into them, anyone could find out! When you discover that your husband is cheating on you with his brother what are you supposed to do? Meg wanted to scream. How could Noel dared to that to her? Maybe they’ve already had sex on her sofa, or even worse, on her bed. Meg shook her head; it was so perturbing to think about such things.

If the journalists had any hint of it she would be tagged as a mere cover for the incest of the decade, and that was something she didn’t want to bear. "Fuck Noel, if you want me to keep my mouth shut it’s going to cost you a lot of money". Tonight she was going to have a long (and predictably painful) conversation with her husband.