A/N: A one shot about Mel and Roman in the unchanged future.
Love In Darkness
How they got together that wasn't important not really, not in the grand scheme of things. They were just two people out of billions and yet they had been drawn to each other. Their story really wasn't all that remarkable either their were others who had been through a lot worse than what they had been through but yet they had still found it hard to get together. What was remarkable about these two was the fact that while the whole world around them was shattered and in ruins they had found love and they had held tight to it.
It had all started after one of the many funerals that they had been forced to endure in their formative years. At the time he was nineteen and she was fifteen. And when you think about it four years really wasn't that big of an age gap. But it was in their case when you stopped to consider that average life expectancy of a witch was twenty-five. Oh well that still gave them six years that was better than what most people had.
Roman was sitting on a barstool in P3 sure there were a lot more productive things he could be doing at the moment but he didn't care to engage in those things. He was numb really but more than anything he was tired of having to bury the people he loved. It was just one senseless death after the next and what was worse there seemed to be no end in sight.
And in those times death didn't necessarily mean death in the mortal sense it just meant losing a person to the dark side. To his side and that was worse than death at least in death more often than not that victim went quickly. That wasn't the case when someone joined Wyatt's army you had to stand by and watch as slowly all the life drained from their eyes. Until all that was left was the empty shell of the person that they used to be.
Roman if it was at all possible mourned more for those lost souls than he did those who had died. He mourned deeply for his two sisters that he had lost not to death but to Wyatt. Hell they were as good as dead to him now anyway he had no hopes of ever seeing them again. All it was, was a never ending circle of killing. The resistance would wipe out some of his demons and as retaliation he would thin out their ranks. Then both sides took a few weeks to lick their wounds before the whole thing started all over again.
Those were the thoughts that Roman was seeking so desperately to stop at the moment. That was what the bottle of whiskey sitting in front of him was for. Sure he knew that those problems would be there waiting for him when he was sober again but tonight he needed to forget. He needed to feel like everything was going to be ok when he opened his eyes in the morning just this once.
He was safe for the night anyway P3 was the one place Wyatt wouldn't touch out of respect for his mother. Roman pushed that thought away too no one was going to intrude on what little peace he could find not even the memory of his dear Aunt Piper the woman who had taught him everything he knew about cooking. Like everything else that had been a lifetime ago now he didn't have time to worry about things like cooking. Now the most important thing was winning battles and staying alive.
Roman threw his hands up in the air this was ridiculous his thoughts wouldn't give him five seconds of peace well he knew how to fix that. He picked up the bottle and poured himself a shot which he downed. He grimaced when he felt the alcohol hit his stomach it was burning a path from his throat down through his chest and then into his stomach. The first shot is always the worst. He thought to himself and to prove that point he promptly tossed back another. Feeling vindicated he proceeded to try and drink himself into a stupor.
Being in P3 now was almost depressing for her this place had been her mother's life. She felt a strong wave of depression wash over her as she looked around the place that had once been so jubilant and full of life. All of that was gone for good now all that was left was a shadow of what it once had been much like those poor souls who found it easier to join Wyatt than to fight him.
Melinda Halliwell didn't know what had brought her to the club that night other than the need to just get away from it all for a little while. She had never told anyone this but sometimes being in P3 made her feel closer to her mother. Once upon a time it had been Piper's baby just like she herself had been. Tonight though that just wasn't helping her she was already depressed seeing the club in an utter state of ruin was only making that depression worse.
Mel thought that seeing the club was bad that was of course until she caught sight of him. Sitting on that bar stool with his shoulders slumped he seemed like an utterly broken shell of a person. That wasn't the man she knew at all no he was so kind and full of life. She supposed that living the life they were forced to lead had taken its toll on him she knew that it had happened to her.
But God it was hard to look at him now. His normally bright blue eyes were dull and faded he wore at least a week's worth of blonde stubble on his chin. The pair of jeans and the jacket that he wore were both well worn and faded just like the rest of him. Still in the current state he was in trying to drink himself into oblivion she couldn't help but find him attractive.
So maybe it was more than a little wrong that in a time like this she could feel feelings awaken in her that she thought would never come to the surface. But she was feeling them in full force now staring at his limp form. She couldn't help but notice that even though he was looking right at her he wasn't seeing her he was far too engrossed in studying the label of his whiskey bottle.
"Ro what are you doing here?" Mel asked him causing him to jerk and look at her.
Roman just shrugged his shoulders and did another shot. "I could ask you the same thing." He replied he really didn't feel like having to listen her lecture him about the dangers of drinking during a time like this.
Mel shook her head "That isn't really what I meant. What I meant to ask is what the hell are you doing?" she asked settling herself on the stool next to his.
"I am well on my way to getting mind numbingly blissfully drunk if you must know." Roman replied gruffly he just really felt like being alone. But he felt something when he stared into her brown eyes. He couldn't help but notice the simple shirt and jeans she was wearing complimented her figure. But as quickly as those thoughts came they were gone and he was numb to the world around him once more.
"Oh I see." Mel said quietly she wasn't use to him being so harsh and cold. He was normally more warm and loving. Although getting drunk out of her mind did seem like a very good idea. It couldn't hurt just this once sure Chris would have a fit but she didn't really care what her brother thought at the moment.
"Mel I'm really not in the mood for one of your lectures tonight so if you could spare me the bullshit right now that would be great." Roman said but it was a moot point because no sooner had the words begun to leave his mouth than she had picked up a shot glass of her own and done a shot.
Mel coughed after the first shot "Oh fuck that was horrible I don't see how you guys do that all of the time." She said however that didn't stop her from doing two more shots in rapid succession.
"It always gets better after the first shot. Don't ask me why I guess it's just because it makes you too numb to feel it." Roman offered in way of guidance he knew that he shouldn't be letting a fifteen-year-old drink with him but it was better than drinking alone. Really drinking alone depressed him and he didn't want to be depressed right now.
Mel turned to him and their eyes locked for a brief moment. In that moment both felt a surge of electricity pass between them but it ended as soon as she looked away though neither was able to forget.
"You know Ro as much as you don't want a lecture right now I don't want to hear your drunken bullshit so lets just get drunk in peace." Mel replied.
And so it went they continued to do shots in silence each one of them glad for to have the other's company. That was until they both reached for the bottle at the same time and their fingertips touched and they felt that sudden spark again.
Roman tore his eyes away from the bottle and he forced himself to look at her. She wasn't a little girl anymore and she filled out her perfectly in all the right places. "Do you want to dance Mel?" he asked slightly slurring his words. What made him ask her that he would never know.
"I would love to save for one little problem we don't have any music." Mel replied she whispered the last part. But it was just the alcohol talking there was no one around to hear what they were talking about.
Roman gave her a sincere smile and for the first time in he couldn't remember when it actually reached his eyes. "Oh I can fix that you would be surprised all the tricks I have up my sleeve." He walked up to the stage and he turned some music on. He stepped out in the middle of the dance floor and held out his hand to Mel.
Mel got to her feet somehow she wasn't quite sure how but she managed it. She took slow steady steps over to where Roman was standing his hand outstretched for her to take. She was glad when she finally made it and she allowed him to put his arms around her. At least now she had someone to hold her up so she didn't fall.
As the dance the spinning motion didn't do anything at all to help her so she pressed herself closer to him and hung on around his neck for dear life. All the oxygen seemed to be sucked out of the room and that wave of electricity was heavy in the air. When later asked neither of them would be able to say which one of them had made the first move. But in that moment something happened their lips met as if of their own accord and they shared a passionate kiss that eventually led them to the back room of P3 where they made love.
And that was how it began right there on the dance floor on a night when both of them were trying to forget their pain they found each other.
A year later it progressed to her brother walking her down the aisle because they knew with times being what they were they just couldn't take the risk of waiting to get married.
And so at the ages of sixteen and twenty they became husband and wife. Chris didn't have a problem with it when he saw how happy they made each other besides that he really had more important things to deal with. They had about a year of wedded bliss before it all came crashing down on them.
It all ended one night on Aunt Pearl's old sofa and that really wasn't a safe place for them to be. But none of that mattered anymore. Wyatt had finally taken things a step too far and forced their hand in the matter. They had, had no other choice but to attack.
Mel sat on the couch next to Roman he was dying and they both knew it there was nothing either could do about it. Neither wanted to say empty words that they knew wouldn't make one bit of difference.
So they sat there together Roman had a huge gaping hole in his side but that didn't stop him from putting his arm around his wife. There were worse ways for a guy to go out. "Mel I love you so much. You were the only bright spot in my life when the rest of the world was a dark abyss." He said his hoarse voice barely above a whisper.
"I feel the same way about you too Roman. I just wish that it didn't have to end." Mel said not bothering to fight back her tears. On the floor around them her brother the evil dictator laid dying. Along with the bodies of some of her cousins who hadn't made it through the battle. This was one hell of a world that Chris was going to come back to.
"Me too Mellie but I'll never be far and I promise that I will always watch over you." Roman said with what was supposed to be his dying breath. But then something happened a bright light washed over the attic and things outside got lighter too.
"What the hell are you guys all doing up in the attic?" Chris asked standing in the doorway he noticed his brother and some of his cousins laying on the floor. He shook his head he would never understand them.
"I have a far more important question. Ro why the hell do you have your arm around my baby sister?" Wyatt asked sitting up with a grunt.
Mel shot daggers at Roman with her eyes "Got the hell off of me you creep." She said shoving his arm off of her.
"Sorry I don't really know what the hell we're all doing up here." Roman said standing up from the couch.
"Well get your asses downstairs mom said dinner is ready." Chris ordered rolling his eyes.
Mel couldn't help but smile when she felt Roman's touch lingering on her skin. And Roman felt a grin creeping across his face when he thought about how close he had been sitting to her. There are some things that are just meant to be. And that is how it all started again.