A/N I'm not sure how this is going to work out, but I was bored and listening to the lovely song, and thought I'd write something! Last chapter of my other fic coming soon hopefully!!!
Tis set in an a/u, where Ray's accident did not leave him without legs, and Neela didn't get crushed by any crowds! Everything will hopefully be explained!!!
Romeo And Juliet
A lovestruck Romeo, sings a street-suss serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a convenient street light, steps out of the shade,
Says something like, "you and me babe, how about it?"
Ray wandered along the streets of Chicago. It was his 35th birthday. He felt old. But it had sent him into thinking-mode. His life was going well, he had a good job, good friends. But so many of those friends were settling down now, having kids. And he didn't have anyone to settle down with. There had only been one woman he'd loved in his life.
And that's why he was walking through Chicago at midnight. He had let his chance with her slip by, and that was a thing he wasn't going to do again.
A couple of years ago they'd almost gotten together. Well, for a brief night they had. But some things had once again come between them -as always happened with them. On the night of Abby and Luka's wedding he'd had a car accident where he suffered some serious head injuries and two broken legs. He'd moved back home for a while, to let his Mom look after him. It had been nice spending time in the countryside again, a welcome break from the rough times in Chicago. While he'd been there Neela had tried to phone and visit him, but like she had once done, he had stubbornly refused to speak to her.
Now though, he was back, hoping to find her again. Hoping he could make up for lost time.
He knocked on the door of their old apartment. Abby had told him Neela had begun renting it again. It was odd, to be back, after so many years. He didn't know how he would being his apologies. He could only claim insanity. He hadn't wanted to put her through the hard time of his recovery. Being unable to walk, unable to do anything for himself, he wasn't worth her. But now, he had come out of all that, and for once he thought he might just be worthy.
"Hello?" she called through the door.
"Hey Roomie. It's Ray. Can I come in?"
The door swung open. "Ray... I... what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," he said simply.
She walked inside, leaving the door open for him. "Happy birthday by the way."
Juliet says "hey it's Romeo, you nearly gimme a heart attack"
He's underneath the window, she's singing "Hey la my boyfriends back
You shouldn't come around here singing up at people like that
Anyway, what you gonna do about it?"
"So how are you?" she asked, handing him a cup of coffee.
"I'm alright. I... I missed you Neela."
She looked down at her lap. "You had a funny way of showing that."
"I know. I'm sorry. But you must understand why I did that?"
She looked into his eyes, so familiar to her. He knew her eyes well, but not the emotions that filled them. "No Ray, I don't. You of all people know how much it hurts to be cut out like that. So why did you do it to me?"
"Because I didn't want to make your life harder. Because in that state, I wasn't worthy of you. Because I didn't know if I'd make it back. There were many reasons Neela, and I am sorry, but I think it was the right choice."
He got up and moved closer to her, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm still in love with you Neela."
"Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start
And I bet, and you exploded into my heart
And I forget the movie song
When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?"
"You don't know that Ray. You don't know me any more."
"I knew from the moment I first set eyes on you, you were going to be someone special in my life. Someone who changed its course. And that's all you've ever done. You've changed me Neela. And for that I can't help but love you. And I can't help believing that you still love me too, because I know I changed your life too."
She nodded. "Yes. Of course you did."
He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her lips. "Things came between us before. Time and time again. But we overcame them. We're here now, still loving each other."
"And you think that that's enough? We've spent more time apart than together. More things are going to come between us. It isn't going to simple, it never is." She walked across the room and looked out the window. "It won't work Ray."
Come up on different streets, they both were streets of shame
Both dirty both mean yes, and the dream was just the same
"I know we've both made mistakes. But we can make it work." he walked over to her and they both looked out at the blue velvet sky. "If you didn't still have a dream of it working, you wouldn't be talking about it now."
"And I dreamed your dream for you, and now your dream is real
How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?"
Neela sighed. "I can dream, sure."
"We can make dreams come true. Me and you, we can do anything. I mean... we became friends didn't we? Who'd have thought that would happen? The Dispo Doc and Goody-Two-Shoes?"
She shoved him playfully. "Yeah we surprised them I guess."
"Uh huh. And it was fun wasn't it?"
She nodded.
"It could be fun to surprise them again."
"I'm sort of seeing someone Ray."
"Well, you can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin
Now you just say "oh Romeo, yeah, you know I used to have a scene with him"
"Another hurdle in the way huh?" he said, trying to smile. He should have known someone would see how beautiful and wonderful she was. "You said you'd wait for me..."
"I did. But you told me you didn't want me to wait."
"Is it the same then?" he tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but he just couldn't.
"No Ray, of course it's not the same. But what we had... It's the past. I had to start thinking about the future."
Ray thought for a moment. He couldn't blame her for that. But he knew he couldn't let her go either.
"Juliet, when we made love you used to cry,
You said "I love you like the stars above, and I love you till I die"
There's a place for us, you know the movie song
When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?"
"I know. But we can have a future. We have to have a future. I can't be without you. I love you too much to let you go, Neela."
"But you did let me go."
"I don't know what I can say to you to prove how much I want to be with you."
"I can't do the talk like they talk on the TV
And I can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be
I can't do everything but I'd do anything for you
I can't do anything expect be in love with you"
"You don't need to prove that to me. I know Ray. Its the same way I feel."
He looked at her, and she smiled a small smile. "Then... there's nothing stopping us. It doesn't matter what other people say or what they think. All that matters is that I love you and I will do anything to make you happy."
She stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, "You always make me happy."
"I've missed you so much," he said, pulling her towards him, feeling her whole body leaning against his. He heard her sigh.
"Me too," she whispered.
"And all I do is miss you, and the way we used to be
And all I do is keep the beat and bad company
All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
Juliet, I'd do the stars with you any time"
And they were kissing. Like they had all those years ago. Except this time it wasn't going to end after one night. No, Ray was going to make sure it wouldn't end. They would keep going forever and ever. He would love her forever. Fates and Fortunes had kept them apart till now. Star cross'd lovers. But they weren't going to end in tragedy. Out of everyone, they deserved a happily ever after.
"Juliet, when we made love you used to cry,
You said "I love you like the stars above and I'll love you till I die"
And there's a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?"
He kissed her and kissed her. Kissed every inch of her. He would never be able to stop kissing her. He'd been deprived for too long of her sweet kisses.
"I love you like the stars above," Neela whispered, "And I'll love you till I die."
Ray looked at her quizzically.
"It's a song. Romeo and Juliet. Never mind," she said, smiling and kissing him again. "I love you is all that matters."
Ray grinned, "I love you too, fair Juliet."
A lovestruck Romeo sings a street-suss serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like "You and me babe, how about it?"