AN: A little word before this one-shot begins. There's a line in here that is a partial spoiler for Apocalyptic Future. You might want to read that first, if you haven't already, but it's not mandatory. Anyway, on with the story.
"I can't do this!" Mark looked up from the projector where he'd been working, glancing over at Roger who was looking into the mirror in the bathroom for the fifth time in the past fifteen minutes.
"How many times are you going to say that?" Mark asked. "You've already said 'you can't do this' six times already."
"Actually, Mark," Emily, who'd been helping Mark with his work, spoke up. "That time made it seven. Really, Roger. You have to stop worrying. You'll be just fine." Roger groaned and stepped out, trying to smooth out his shirt. He was currently dressed in a pressed blue button-up top and black dress pants, the same outfit he once wore to Maureen and Joanne's infamous botched engagement party.
"How am I supposed to stop worrying?" Roger asked in frustration. "For starters, I look and feel like a poser. This isn't me."
"Hey, don't forget, you could have stuck with the leather jacket and the rest of your whole rocker look and taken her down to the Life. But you insisted that you wanted to 'do this right'." Roger sighed at this reasoning.
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm so tense."
"You're not getting cold feet, are you?" Mark frowned in concern. Roger quickly turned to his best friend.
"No. I'm not turning back. But what if she…"
"She won't!" Emily insisted. "Roger, that girl loves you. She won't say no."
"Oh, you're a mind reader now?"
"Not exactly. But anyone can see how much she loves you. Just trust me on this. Look, it's a quarter past five now. Since Mimi's dance class at NYU gets out at five, and she said she'd be back here right after changing for tonight, that means you have about fifteen minutes until she gets here. Why don't you just relax for a bit? You don't want to give yourself a stress-induced stroke, do you?"
"Yeah, okay," Roger breathed before disappearing into his room. His friends were right. He needed to calm down. He had to keep a cool air tonight, for his Mimi if nothing else. Everything had to be just right for her. He'd hesitated long enough, he knew that. But after that dream he'd had a week ago, he resolved to not put this off any longer. Why was he so worried anyway? This was only something he'd been thinking about since that fateful Christmas Eve when he'd came so close to losing her. But like an idiot, he kept putting it off. But not anymore.
Glancing over at the clock, he saw that he still had some time to wait. Why did time always seem to pass slower when you were waiting anyway? To try to pass the time, he started rummaging through some junk he kept in a drawer. By chance, he came across an old photo album, one he hadn't seen in years. Taking a seat on his bed, he flipped through the pages, chuckling at a few pictures, including one that had been taken sometime after he and Mark had first moved into the Loft, when Collins, who they had just met at the time, had gotten so drunk, he'd stripped down to the nude and ran through the streets, shouting something about sweat shops and child labor. It had taken some smooth talk from Benny to fix things with the cops. Roger continued through the photographs until he chanced on one. It was of him and April, about a week before April's test results had came back. He hesitated for a second before removing the photograph from the album and looking at it closely.
"Hey, April," Roger began, half-wondering why he was talking to a picture. "I know I haven't spoken to you since you… you know. But then again, I always thought it was a bit stupid, talking to someone who might not hear you, and certainly won't answer back. I'm sure you know that' I'm doing all right. I want you to know that I really do miss you. I hope you realize that, 'cause I do. But there's someone I've met, and she's helped me get my life back in order, and got me to smile again. I hope you understand, because I think… I think she might be the right one for me here."
At that moment, the window that resided across from the bed blew open. Placing the photograph aside, Roger got up to close it. But the second the window had been closed, a shockingly familiar voice began to speak.
"She is the right one for you, Roge." The sound of that voice made Roger's heart skip a beat.
"April?" Roger whispered, turning around slowly, not believing it. But there she was, sitting on the bed, smiling back at him.
"Hello, Roger," April smiled brightly.
"It… it's you," Roger gaped, rooted to the spot, too stunned to move. "But... how…? Are you… a ghost?"
"For lack of a better word," April laughed. Roger couldn't help it. He had to smile.
"April, I've missed you," he confessed, taking a seat on the bed next to her.
"I know you have, Roger. You know I never meant to hurt you, but…."
"Yeah. I… I met Emily, and read your journal."
"I know. I was watching when you did." The two were silent for a moment. "I… I like what you did to your hair," April complemented.
"Oh, yeah!" Roger laughed, momentarily feeling like it was like old times. "You know, Mimi is always telling me not to cut it. Says she loves running her fingers through…" Instantly, he trailed off and glanced at his feet, looking very uncomfortable. April smiled kindly and reached out to squeeze Roger's knee in understanding.
"It's okay to love her, Roger. I love her, too."
"Really?"
"Of course! Look what she's done for you. Look at your eyes, your smile. It's so obvious how happy she makes you."
"I just wish you could meet her in person," Roger sighed. "You would have really liked her."
"I do like her, Roger," April insisted. "Why do you think I sent her to you?" It took a moment for April's words to sink in.
"You… you sent her to me?"
"Roger," April sighed. "When I did what I did…"
"It was because of Muesetta, and your…"
"Yes. Roger, I couldn't stand seeing you that way. And the fact that it was my fault…. Bringing Mimi to you was my saving grace. My chance to make up for all the pain I caused you." Roger looked straight at April, trying to fathom all this.
"So…" Roger continued once he found his voice. "That means… you're okay… with this? With me…" April, with a wide smile, covered Roger's mouth with her hand before placing a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Be happy, Roger," April said before she slowly vanished from sight. Roger sat motionless for a bit, trying not to cry. His thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the door and Mark stepped in.
"Hey, Roger," Mark announced. "Mimi's here. She's waiting to go."
"Yeah, yeah," Roger spoke quickly, rubbing his eyes hastily. "Thanks, buddy."
"Roger, are you okay?" Mark asked, looking at his best friend in concern. "You look like you were about to cry."
"I'm fine," Roger insisted, giving Mark a genuine smile. "Well, I guess this is it, then, huh? See you later tonight?"
"Yeah," Mark sent Roger an encouraging smile as he started to walk out of the room. "Whoa! Roger, are you forgetting something?"
"Like what?" Roger blinked in confusion. Mark nodded to the bedside table, where a small blue velvet box was standing. "OH! Right, can't forget that, can I?" Roger laughed, quickly pocketing it.
"Not unless you want to look like a total baboon," Mark joked. "Now, hurry up. Your girl's waiting." Roger smiled widely and went out to meet Mimi. He stopped instantly when he saw her in the doorway, having a quick conversation with Emily. Mimi was dressed in a red satin dress with a halter neckline; a dress that accented her curves perfectly. And her hair had been crimped, with two thin locks framing her beautiful face. That was most likely done by Joanne or Maureen. It was common knowledge Emily had no aptitude for that sort of thing.
"Roger, are you ready?" Mimi asked, looking over at him with her magnificent brown eyes, coupled with her lively smile. That deadly combination always had a way of making Roger's heart rate skyrocket. Without replying, Roger quickly gathered her to him in a passionate kiss.
"I think I just fell in love with you all over again," he whispered when they'd come up for air.
"Now when did Roger Davis start delivering cheesy lines like that?" Mimi joked.
"Oh, believe me, Mimi. You will most likely be hearing cheesy lines like that from me many times tonight."
"You best get going, you two," Emily urged. "Your dinner reservations are at five after six." Roger cast Mark and Emily one final smile before offering Mimi his arm to lead her out of the Loft.
So, that's them gone," Emily noted, smiling.
"Yeah," Mark nodded. "Although, knowing them, I'm not going to be looking forward to them coming back. You know how thin the walls are here." Emily laughed, knowing exactly what Mark was talking about.
"Tell you what, Mark. If they get too loud, you can just come down to my place and use Penny's bed. She's off at a friend's slumber party tonight."
"Thanks. I appreciate that. So. Interested in watching a movie until they come back?"
"Depends. What movie?"
"Does it matter?"
"It does after Maureen tricked me into watching The Shining, and forgot to warn me about the visions Danny has. It's my thing about blood, you know."
"Yeah, I remember," Mark smiled, remembering her hemophobia as he dug through his and Roger's movies. "How about this one?"
"Ferris Bueller! Love that film!"
"I know! 'Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?' It's a classic!" Laughing, the two friends sat back to watch the movie, awaiting the return of Roger and Mimi from the Big Date.
AN: There you go. Hope you liked it and that it answered one question that was brought up in Babysitting in July. On a side note, Mark's line in quoting Ferris Bueller was inspired from a VH1 special I saw coming back from a short vacation in Florida recently, which was about the top 100 funniest movies of all time. One of the movies was Ferris Bueller, and Anthony Rapp himself quoted the same line during that particular segment. So, I thought that would make a good inside joke.
Anyway, my next RENT fic will be a two-parter, in a way. Be on the lookout for Tangled Webs We Weave, the first installment, which will be posted sometime in the future, once I get the truckload of schoolwork out of the way. Won't say more about it now. You'll have to wait. Until then, this is Data Girl 3, signing off.