Fierce Frequencies (5/?)

[millionstar]

Title: Fierce Frequencies (5/?)
Author: millionstar
Pairing: Belldom, AU
Rating: PG, for this chapter.
Warnings: Language.
Summary: America. The 1970's. QBUT Radio is a station with some familiar looking staff members.
Feedback: Is appreciated, if you're so inclined. Either way, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Muse, no profit is being made and this never happened.
Author's Note: Thanks to dolce_piccante, frisky_biscuit & myz_bee for feedback and support in all things. If I could send you each a Domalick, I would do it in a heartbeat. <3

One | Two | Three| Four

The banquet room in the local civic center had been decorated and converted into a makeshift auction house Friday night. A good-sized crowd had amassed and were milling around the room, mingling with each other, with QBUT interns and employees handing out t-shirts, bumper stickers and buttons in celebration.

Three men stood behind the red curtain and peeked out into the crowd, their excitement growing at the prospect of what promised to be an unforgettable night.

"This was a fantastic idea, Chief," Tom commented as he fluffed his afro excitedly. "Look at the turnout!"

Christopher smiled. "The publicity machine is chugging along, for sure. Here's hoping we raise a lot of money tonight! You nervous, Matthew?"

"Nervous? Nah," the brunet grinned, "not nervous. Terrified, but not nervous."

"Oh, come on, you're gonna be a hit - your ratings are enough to make that a solid fact, I guarantee you that there are a lot of fans of yours out there!" Christopher replied, noting the proud blush on Matthew's face at the compliment. "And anyone who gets the honor of spending an evening with you is a lucky listener indeed!"

Christopher was torn; he had a history of being a horrible keeper of secrets and he was beginning to wonder if he could go ahead with the charade he was about to put into action. He really hoped that their little plan worked and that Dominic would get his man. He ran out of time to give it much more thought, though, because his accomplice had just entered the backstage area; his face lit up and he beckoned to her to join them.

"Lucy!"

His sister waved happily and hurried toward them, her long black hair falling across her shoulders in waves.

"Well, hellooooo there," Tom winked. "What's your name, doll?"

"Tom, Matthew, this is my little sister, Lucy," Christopher announced, glaring at Tom. "Lucy, this is Tom and Matthew, two of my-"

"I know who they are, I've done my homework," she laughed, "and it's a pleasure to meet you both. Matthew, I'm such a fan - and I would love to get the chance to talk to you sometime about the possibility of Nessie's existence!"

"Possibility, my ass," Matthew replied, both of them laughing, "she's real, I'd bet my sideburns on it!"

"And you," she continued, glancing at Tom, "if you call me doll again, I'll set fire to your 'fro."

The conversation continued between them; none of them were aware that at the far end of the stage curtain they were being watched. Dominic had taken in the whole scene and was, frankly, getting nervous. When Christopher had introduced him to Lucy to outline their little plan, he'd been excited. Now, though, that they were about to go for it, he was hesitating. He had always prided himself on his honest nature and what he was about to take part in, well, it wasn't based in malice, certainly, but it wasn't based in honesty at all. For the tenth time that evening he asked himself what he'd gotten himself into.

"Okay, guys, let's do this, yeah?" Christopher grinned, stepping to the other side of the curtain to a chorus of catcalls and cheers. Lucy went out to join the crowd, Dominic casually joining his co-workers.

"What's up, cats?"

"Bout time, Dom," Tom exclaimed. "I was wondering if you'd lost your nerve!"

"Lost my nerve? Pfft," the DJ said easily, "no chance! Where's Morgan?"

"Late, as always, I suppose."

"Dominic!" Matthew said happily, " Hey! isn't this crazy?" He looked positively thrilled to see Dominic; the DJ's heartbeat increased in speed. He cleared his throat and smoothed his hair.

"Stone crazy, you know it! Are you guys ready?"

"Yes!" Tom exclaimed, bounding ahead of them.

"Not really," Matthew laughed.

"Come on, you," Dominic said, offering Matthew his arm, "let's show this crowd how fabulous the men of QBUT are!" Matthew blushed but accepted Dominic's offer and together they walked out onto the stage. They held their hands up to the large spotlights that were blinding them and sat down at the large table onstage. The atmosphere in the hall was electric, the cheers of the crowd threatening to overwhelm them completely.

Christopher was a natural emcee, his clear talent shining through as he laid out the plans for the night to the audience. Dominic nearly jumped out of his skin when Matthew tapped his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"He's fantastic, he should be on the air! Such a presence!"

The blond nodded. "I agree, he's got a voice made for radio, absolutely!"

Dominic was first up in the bachelor auction. Christopher introduced him and within no time, the bids started rolling in. Some from men, some from women, and in one case, one from an entire teenage Girl Scout Troop who were fans of his.

"I like the looks of the blond stud!" an elderly lady exclaimed, using her cane to point to Dominic. The crowd roared, the DJ throwing his head back in raucous laughter.

When he calmed down he leaned up and spoke into the microphone. "What's your name, sweet thang?"

"Mabel!"

"Well, then, Mabel," he yelled, unbuttoning his shirt down to his belt, causing the crowd to erupt once more in catcalls and laughter, "put your money where your mouth is! It's for a great cause after all!"

"Fifty dollars!" she yelled; and then it was like the floodgates opened. Bids came from every direction all at once.

Another elderly woman standing next to Mabel got in on the action. "Seventy-five!"

"Janie!" Mabel exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"What? He's a hot piece of ass!"

Dominic turned his head slowly, making wide-eyed contact with Tom who snorted and mouthed, "Hot. Piece. Of. Ass?" Matthew, on the other side of Tom, had thrown his head back, his shoulders shaking in hysterical laughter.

The bidding continued between Janie and Mabel, getting more and more heated by the moment.

"Two hundred," Janie bid, Mabel playfully hitting her with her purse.

"Two hundred ten!"

Janie, instead of offering a counter-bid, clamped her mouth shut suddenly and waved a dismissive hand toward Dominic. "I'm out."

"Janie, I'm hurt!" the blond mock-teased, his hand on his heart. "I thought you loved me!"

"Look, you're handsome, but I'm not about to tap into my bingo money to buy you. Sorry!"

For the low, low bargain price of two hundred ten dollars, Mabel got her man.

The auction continued, with Tom and Morgan (who bounded onto the stage late, having gotten caught in traffic) both being won by the Girl Scout Troop, much to Morgan's delight and Tom's shock. Matthew was the last bachelor of the evening to be auctioned off and Dominic wished him luck before excusing himself to join Lucy in the crowd.

Christopher started the bidding at twenty-five dollars, just as he'd done with the others.

"Thirty," Lucy called out, Dominic positively bouncing on his heels with excitement.

"Forty," a calm, steely voice called out. Dominic narrowed his eyes and craned his head in search of the owner of said voice. Once his eyes landed on the offender, he put his hands on his hips and tapped one foot against the floor. She was tall, with perfectly coiffed blonde hair. Her dress was fire-engine red, in a shade that matched the shade of her lipstick and her eyes were trained on Matthew as though he were a fine diamond.

When she raised her hand to flick the hair from her face Dominic's blood ran cold. His anger was soon replaced with a sense of righteousness, though, as he realized that she had nothing that Matthew would be remotely interested in. Well, beneath her dress, at least. Perhaps she was good for conversation, but Dominic doubted it.

Besides, anybody who wore that shade of red lipstick couldn't be trusted, clearly.

"Wow, who is she?" Lucy whispered. Her voice equalized suddenly as she made her bid. "Sixty!"

"I don't know," Dominic replied, eyes narrowed at the interloper, "but I'm ready for her. I mean, you are. I mean we are. Oh, you know." He chewed on his thumbnail nervously as the mystery woman who he had christened Miss Blonde Bitch again. "Eighty." Wide-eyed, he elbowed Lucy harder than he meant to, wincing when she yelped in pain.

"Dom!"

"I'm sorry! But, bid, go, bid! Hurry! She's like a high-bidding bitch goddess from hell," he hissed. "The cost doesn't matter, just bid!"

"Two hundred," Lucy proclaimed with a smirk directed at Miss Blonde Bitch. The crowd cheered, Matthew's jaw dropping to the floor in shock. He motioned for the crowd to calm down and stood, microphone in hand as he looked at Lucy.

"Are you feeling well? I mean," he smiled, "you are aware you just bid two hundred dollars on me, yes?"

"I feel fantastic, and besides, you're worth it, Matthew!" she yelled, Dominic's heart doing a flip-flop because what she had said was precisely what he was thinking. His happiness was short-lived, however, when Miss Blonde Bitch stalked over to the table and grabbed a microphone of her own.

"Two fifty!" she yelled, glaring at Lucy. The crowd gasped, Matthew dropping his microphone and sitting down , still in a state of complete and total surprise.

"Oh, hell no, I will claw her face off," Lucy mumbled, pushing Dominic aside.

"No! Just bid, please!"

"Money's no object, right?" she whispered.

"'Right."

"Five. Hundred. Dollars," Lucy spat, staring pointedly at Miss Blonde Bitch.

"Holy shit!" Christopher exclaimed into his open microphone as his mouth hit the floor.

The crowd erupted, loud cheers reverberating throughout the banquet hall.

Dominic's stomach lurched. "Daaaaaaamn, girl! Five hundred dollars?!?!"

"You said money wasn't an object."

Luckily for Dominic, Lucy's high bid did it's job and Miss Blonde Bitch bowed out, her eyes shooting daggers in her competition's direction. The auction ended on that note and the audience screamed its approval with loud cheers and raucous clapping.

"Wait," a female voice called out to Christopher, "when do YOU come up to be bid on, sweet cheeks?"

"Sorry, ladies, I'm taken," he winked, wiggling the third finger on his left hand for all to see, the gold ring there glistening in the spotlight.

While the female portion of the crowd loudly "aww"-ed over the fact that Christopher wasn't part of the festivities, the DJ was lost in his thoughts. Dominic would never forget the look on Matthew's face when Lucy made her admittedly dramatic bid; it was an adorable mixture of shock and awe and Dominic wished he had his camera with him to capture it on film. Suddenly he realized Lucy was staring at him rather curiously. She shook her head.

"What?" Dominic asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"You must really like him."

"Yeah. I do," he confessed, flushing. "Lucy, I can't thank you enough for this."

"Then I really hope that he will like you too," she said, pulling him into a hug. "Good luck!"

Before the crowd emptied into the adjacent dining room to partake of the buffet the station was providing, Christopher thanked them for their support. The on-air personalities mingled with the crowd as things wound down, signing a few autographs and posing for photos. Dominic and Mabel planned to have lunch next Sunday afternoon, followed with a round of miniature golf. Lucy and Matthew decided to meet at the new Italian restaurant near QBUT next Saturday night.

Eventually, Dominic found Christopher backstage; his friend pulled him aside excitedly. "There he is! You happy with the way the night went, Dom?"

"Yeah."

"What? You don't sound like it."

"I don't know. This might not have been a good idea."

"But you should be happy," Christopher said, confused, "Lucy pulled it off!"

Dominic sighed. "I know. But it doesn't change the fact that this was deception. What if Matthew hates me for it?" The DJ scratched his neck, eyes on the floor.

"Dominic, he's not going to hate you. In fact, I really think he's the most gentle soul I've ever encountered. Plus," Christopher continued, smiling, "I think it was a wildly romantic gesture and I bet Matthew will as well. Now, stop your fretting and go home to plan your date with your little senior citizen next week. Be gentle on her, though. For the love of God, don't break her hip, the station can't afford any medical bills."

"Her name's Mabel," Dominic muttered, the corners of his mouth turning up slowly, "and I think she seemed sweet."

"Whatever. God help you."

As he was gathering his jacket he felt a hand on his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin. Matthew was standing next to him, smiling softly.

"Hi."

"Hi! You have a good time tonight?"

The talk show host nodded. "You know what, I did! I was a little nervous there for a while though, did you see that woman who kept bidding on me?" Dominic had to stifle a giggle when Matthew shuddered dramatically. "Thank heaven for Lucy. I was terrified for a while there."

"Thank heaven for Lucy indeed! That blonde chick seemed... intense."

"To say the least. Listen, Dominic?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're here. At the station, I mean. Well, I mean here, too, of course, but, oh-" Matthew rambled, his palm connecting with his forehead in frustration. "I just... I'm glad there's someone...around..."

"... like you," the blond finished softly. "To talk to."

Matthew nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah. I like knowing that I have another gay man I can confide in, that I can trust. You're the only person in town who knows about my sexuality. I just feel like I can trust you with it. So, thank you for letting me be honest with you in that way. I'll leave you be now, but I just wanted to say that. Honesty is very important to me."

Dominic visibly winced; he shrunk back for a beat. He almost confessed there and then but before he knew what was happening, Matthew was gone.

That next week at QBUT things went back to normal for the most part. Dominic saw Matthew every evening, the two of them still choosing to hang out together as their shifts overlapped.

The blonde should have been relieved.

Hell, he should have been elated.

The truth remained, though, that he was neither of those things.

When Saturday night rolled around, Dominic walked into Reggiano's with a heavy heart and a nervous stomach. He searched the busy dining room for Matthew and found him seated at a table in the corner, the brunet fussing with his sleeves. The DJ steeled himself and crossed the large room, stopping at Matthew's table.

"Hello there," he said quietly.

"Dom!" Matthew stood, smoothing down the blazer of his cranberry leisure suit while Dominic was busy watching the way the candlelight on the table played against the talk show host's cheekbones. It was a welcome distraction, really, as Dominic's stomach churned in nervous anticipation at the thought of coming clean to Matthew. But he'd come this far, and there wasn't any turning back now.

"What are you doing here?"

"I, uh-"

"Oh, no, not that I'm not glad to see you!" Matthew said quickly, "It's just that I'm here on the date from the auction and-"

"No you aren't," Dominic blurted out awkwardly.

"Yes I am, Lucy should be here any moment. Actually," the brunet's brow furrowed when he glanced at his watch, "she's late."

"Lucy's not coming."

Matthew's face fell and it only served to make Dominic feel even worse about what he'd done. "What?

"The thing is, well," the DJ swallowed, "I wanted to bid on this date with you myself, but I couldn't. So I got Lucy to do the bidding on my behalf." He had his eyes squeezed shut against what he was certain was a look of total disappointment on Matthew's face; he couldn't face it. How would he be able to look him in the eye again, let alone work alongside him? Dominic had resigned himself to his fate, there was only one thing he could do.

He'd have to quit his job, move across the country and become a hermit, because this level of humiliation, there simply wasn't any coming back from it.

"You what?" Matthew hissed, Dominic jumping in his seat. The blond smarted at the tone of Matthew's voice and his heart felt as though it were going to fall into his stomach

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to spend time with you outside of work."

"Why couldn't you?"

"What?"

"Why couldn't you bid yourself?"

"I. I don't know."

Matthew stilled, suddenly quiet. He stared at the floor, unable to meet Dominic's gaze. The blond frowned, scooting his seat closer to Matthew, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

"I see. You're making fun of me, aren't you?" Matthew asked softly.

Dominic's stomach dropped. "What? No! Matthew, no, I would never-"

"Is this some kind of joke, then?"

"But, why would me wanting to go out with you be a joke?"

A small puff of air left Matthew's chest but he still wouldn't look at Dominic. "Look at yourself. Then, look at me. Guys like me don't get to go home with guys like you, Dominic."

"Hey," Dominic said softly, his thumb now under Matthew's chin to raise his eyes to the DJ's own. "Says who? A guy like me? I'm just a man, like you. Except I'm a man who's too bashful to ask you out because he frankly isn't sure he has a ghost of a chance with someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Yes. Someone who's intelligent, charming and so handsome that it makes my head spin." And, for the record, mister, I'd love to take you home.

Matthew's mouth opened in shock; his cheeks reddened as he stared at Dominic, who was growing bolder by the second.

"It's true, every word. But after you said what you did about honesty being important to you, I would understand if you didn't want anything to do with me at all."

Matthew seemed to mull this over for a few agonizing moments, in which Dominic felt his entire world slow down to a crawl. The brunet swallowed, Dominic eyeing his Adam's Apple appreciatively.

"Well," he said quietly, "you meant no harm. I'm just shocked that you felt I was worth all this effort."

"Quick, what's your middle name?" Dominic asked suddenly.

"Um. James," Matthew answered quietly, a smile playing at his lips.

Dominic's jaw dropped. "No shit?"

"No shit at all. Why?"

"That's my middle name too!"

"Woah. Cosmic, man" Matthew replied with wide-eyes.

"So, Matthew James Bellamy, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the roller derby this Saturday night?"

Please say yes, please say yes. Because let's face it, I'd make a shit hermit, Dominic agonized internally. I like hair spray too much.

When Matthew looked at him and said "okay, then, yeah" in a sweet, shy tone and smiled a sweet, shy smile that made Dominic melt, the tension between them disspated instantly. Dominic was due on air this Saturday night, so he had to decline Matthew's invitation to stay and have dinner with him, but as he walked into QBUT that night for his shift the grin on his face was peaceful and massive.

It was still there later that night as he shrugged into his David Cassidy t-shirt and a pair of black boxers and climbed into his bed.

And when he ate spoonful after spoonful of chocolate ice cream in said bed, Matthew's The Other Side playing in the background.

And when he brushed his teeth before bed, his hips shaking to a disco beat playing solely in his head.

His cheeks were sore at this point, but it didn't stop Dominic Howard from falling asleep with that same grin on his face.