Road Life pt.1
Heellloooo! Here is the first chapter of my transmale fic with Chris AND Pi of Lord of the Lost. This chapter doesn't get spicy and is just setting up the plot. I made the choice to make this more than just a one shot so I will try to get chapters up sooner rather than later, bur forgive me I'm busy and I get sleepy! But anyways please enjoy <3
It was the first day of the Lord of the Lost European tour. Max had flown in from the US that day and was currently pulling up to the vans in a taxi. Luckily the first date on the tour was in London, so he didn’t have any awkward google translate moments on his way to meet the rest. He had gotten this gig from a friend of a friend. Said friend used to be the sound guy for Lord of the Lost, up until his wife got pregnant with their first child. He stopped touring with the band after that and Max was taking his place. He was the perfect fit for the band. He had good fast thinking skills and he had lots of experience running shows back in his home of LA. For him though, his home was becoming a lost cause. The Family had either turned away from him or passed on. Friends were tough seeing how he never had time to get out much and how half of the people in the music scene were extremely fake. So he thought why not start fresh with a new European based band? How bad could it be?
Max stepped out of the taxi and grabbed his bags. “Thanks for the ride!” He shouted to the driver before he drove off. Max called the phone number he was given. He was told it was the tour manager.
“Ah Hallo?” A deep voice spoke over the phone “Mitchell is busy, but it’s Chris.”
Max thought for a moment, trying to remember Chris was. He had done his homework, but he still struggled to remember whose name that belonged to. “Oh that's fine! Uhm it’s Max. Your new sound guy. I’m here at the buses like the email said. Where is everyone?”
“Oh Yes! Hello Max! Just walk into the front of the venue and we will meet you there!” Chris perked up a bit. He was excited to meet their new crew member. Everyone on the crew and in the band was close. Very close. So he was hoping that this new crew member fit their group well.
Max stood there awkwardly waiting to be greeted by whoever was named Chris. He heard a door open and slam shut causing him to turn around and look. Now he remembered who Chris was. He saw the tall, lean but built man walking towards him. Chris’ blonde mohawk was tied up into a bun on the back of his head, showing off the sides of his head which were not perfectly shaven down yet. “Hallo, you must be Max.” He said, his thick German accent presented itself as he spoke “You can set your stuff down on any bunk that isn’t taken yet. Unfortunately you may have the last pick. Sorry” He laughed gently as he unlocked the bus for Max to step on.
“Oh that's alright! I’m used to living in small spaces, so don’t worry about it.” Max laughed as he walked onto the bus.
“Well, then I hope we will be able to accommodate you.” Chris chuckled gently “How was your flight here?” The older male asked.
Max shrugged as he squatted down, placing his backpack and duffle bag into one of the bottom bunks “Not bad. It was just kinda long, but it was fine.” He said and stood up “I’m excited for this tour though. This is a new start for me.”
Chris smiled and nodded “Well, I hope you will fit in well to our community here. Today you will meet everyone and I’m sure you will settle back in. Maybe you will move to Europe after this.” He joked.
Max shrugged “I honestly might!” He laughed “There’s nothing back home. So why not start up in a different city. Who knows, maybe I’ll move to Berlin. I’ll just download duolingo and it will be fine.”
“Most people in Berlin know at least a little bit of English, so you would fit in just fine” Chris watched Max settle his stuff into the compact bottom bunk before letting out a chuckle “I am in the one right above you. I’ll try my best to not disturb you.”
Max looked at the bags on the upper bunk before looking back at Chris “It’s fine. I can sleep through almost everything” He laughed softly “
Chris was about to comment back when his phone buzzed. He took it out and read the quick message on his phone “Ah we need to go to the stage now. They need both of us for sound check.” He chuckled, “Come, I will bring you there.” His English was a bit awkward at times, but otherwise perfect. Everyone in the band was the same way, seeing that they have always had a mixed crew of people. Max followed Chris into the venue where he saw everyone working on setting up the show. There was a girl at the merch table setting up folding tables, techs running around with different wires and cables and instruments. Up on stage stood the band, hooking their stuff up to the equipment. Chris walked right up to the front of the stage and cleared his voice to get everyone’s attention.
“Everyone this is Max, our new sound tech. Max this is Benji, Klaas, Gerrit, Nik and lastly Pi.” As Chris introduced the band, Max’s eyes fell on Pi for just a little bit too long. He checked him out quickly, not even realizing what he was doing before Chris spoke again. “We should all make him feel welcome and accept him into our team here.”
Benji was the first to say “Thank you for flying all this way. We are going to have a great tour. A lot of the clubs have already sold out.”
“I’m excited to have a new face on tour. Gets old looking at these fuckers all the tie.” Pi said with a gentle smirk. His comment caused the other band members to scoff and laugh.
Chris shook his head as he laughed gently “Alright sound check people come on!” He clapped his hands as he got up on the stage.
It took Max a second to figure out what to do when it all came kicking back in. He turned around and got into the sound booth next to the other techs. They exchanged greetings and quick background info before getting to it with the band. Max fit the group like a well oiled cog. Sure this was just a sound check, but his skills were still impressive.
After sound check the day went on. The band had a short interview and the rest of the crew was taking care of other tasks that needed to be done or tagging up to explore the local area. Max decided to take his time and try to get some rest before the show started. He went back to the bus and changed into his more comfortable clothes before crawling into the bunk. He pulled a blanket from his bag over his body. He got as comfortable as the bunk would allow (which was pretty comfortable) before drifting to sleep.
He slept for a couple hours, catching up on the lack of sleep on the plane ride there. Max finally started to arise when the thick door of the bus was open and then shut. Two sets of feet came walking towards the bunk area. It was Chris and Pi. They were talking. Max was barely awake to fully process what they were saying, but it wouldn’t matter if he was anyways because the two were speaking their native tongue.
To Max it sounded like they were speaking German so fast that even if he did know more of the language he still wouldn’t be able to keep up. He watched their feet walk back and forth past him. Articles of clothing were tossed onto the ground. First a shirt from Chris and then a pair of pants from Pi. The only thing that Max could make out from the conversation was his name being said multiple times. He couldn't tell if what they were saying was a good thing or a bad thing or what.
—
Chris followed Pi onto the bus “So what do you think of the new guy?” He asked and opened the fridge, grabbing water.
Pi shrugged and laughed gently “Max? He is adorable.” He kicked his shoes off before walking over to his bunk which was across from Chris’. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it into a bag with his other clothes.
The other male chuckled softly “Well you think he is going to fit in then? Or no? Just because Max is cute doesn’t mean he will…” Chris titled his head back and forth trying to find a way to say it “FIt in perfectly…” He hummed
Pi shrugged and looked at Chris, still shirtless “Well, we will start slow then. I like him. He’s cute, funny and kind. Maybe I’ll start first.”
“Oh you always want to go first, you are so greedy.” Chris rolled his eyes.
Pi scoffed “oh please, you take your time. I will figure out what he is comfortable with in no time..” He smirked, biting his lip
Chris walked over to Pi and placed his hands on hips, his thumbs hooking onto the waist band of his jeans “You go first then…” He tugged the young guitarist closer “Make him comfortable for us…” Chris kept one hand on Pi’s hip as his other hand came up to rest his thumb against his lips, brushing over them gently “And maybe he will fit in just right…” He chuckled softly, before giving Pi a peck on the lips and then pulling away to start to get ready for the show.
—
Max laid the bunk, watching Chris’ and Pi’s feet as they stood close together. He heard them speaking German so fast his brain couldn’t pick up on anything besides the fact that he heard his name a couple of times. He saw Pi’s shirt fall to the ground and how close the two stood together. His eyes widened more when he heard them exchange the quick kiss before separating.
Now he had been on his fair share of tours that involved interesting love triangles, hook ups, and even cheating, but he had a gut feeling this time was different.