My first attempt to write a Maureen/Roger fic.
Sometimes love isn't enough.
Maureen had never been the girl who ran after a guy that was long gone, a guy that didn't want her anymore. She just tried to keep them for a while, like she had held back Joanne.
The two of them had broken up about a month ago. Maureen had already moved on and was dating random men and women. She hadn't even bothered to call Mark. He would just try to get her back and that would be totally annoying, so she decided to keep it a secret.
Only Collins knew. He was her best friend and she knew he would never make a move on her, so she was safe with him.
Christmas came, as it did every year, and Maureen left the apartment of a random girl to visit her friends. The loft was cold when she stepped in, only a little warmer than outside. She guessed they didn't have heat anymore and by the few candles lighting the way to the couch, she could see that they didn't have energy either.
Roger was sitting on said couch, playing his guitar as usual. He didn't see her at first, being too busy writing his last song.
She loved his voice. He was the only guy she had ever met, who could sing with such passion. She loved the song he was singing. It reminded her of how he had been many years ago. Young, talented, passionate, alive. She missed that part of him. He hadn't been "alive" in years, being all depressed about his life. He had lost April, his career and his honor. All because of the drugs.
He stopped playing when he realized she was standing there. "Hey, Maureen! Christmas already?"
"Yeah Roger! Christmas already!", she said with a hint of attitude,"When did you last go outside? Oh, wait! You don't need to, the cold comes to you!"
He glared at her, shaking his head slightly at how little she had changed in all the years he knew her. He in comparison had changed a lot. Pushing that thought to the back of his head, he smiled at her for a second. "Are you going to come in or do you want to stand in the door all day?"
She took a few steps in, slowly closing the door behind her, allowing his gaze to linger on her ass for a few seconds.
She knew he liked the view, he always had. They had always been friends, but friends could flirt occasionally, right? "So, Christmas huh? Where's Joanne, don't you usually bring her everywhere?"
"We broke up a while ago!"
"Wow, and you didn't tell Mark? I mean, he would have told me about it, I guess. Maybe not, he's been pretty busy with his new girlfriend."
"Mark has a girlfriend? Are you serious? Wow, how is she? You did meet her did you? Don't tell me she looks like me! Wait! Do tell me she looks like me! That would be so damn funny!"
"Calm down Maureen! I met her, she's blonde, not very fit and a nurse. So nothing like you! Understandable!"
"Excuse me! What do you mean by 'understandable'? I'm a great person! I am talented and beautiful and funny and..."
"Okay, okay … stop! I know you are beautiful, I'm not blind! You can be really annoying though!"
"Annoying? Me? I'm not annoying. I'm just very funny and not everyone appreciates a funny person!"
"Right! Let's leave it at that. If you thought you can celebrate Christmas with us this year, you're wrong! Mark is on vacation with his girlfriend, Collins got a new boyfriend and I guess you can party with them. Could you leave now?"
"Who are you celebrating with?"
"You see anyone here?", She looked around, but already knew the answer.
"Well, You can't be alone at Christmas! I'm gonna stay with you! We could watch Christmas movies together, cuddle a little because I'm freezing,..."
"First of all, I wont cuddle anyone! Second, I'm not very good company over Christmas as you might remember! Third, I want to be alone!"
"No, you don't! … That's the last word!"
"I hope it is."
"Hey, that's not nice! You should be glad you have company!" She walked over to the couch, sat beside him and pulled one of the blankets over herself, trying to get warmer.
RogerMaureenRogerMaureen
He didn't have a chance to say no. While Maureen was sitting there next to him, freezing her ass off, watching some old movie an hour later, because the energy was finally back, he couldn't help but thank her secretly. He was glad she had stayed, although he would never admit it.
RogerMaureenRogerMaureen
Another three hours and two movies later, Maureen was almost lying on him, cuddling close so she wouldn't be cold anymore. He held her there, needing the contact as much as she did, but for completely different reasons. He wanted to be close to her, not anybody else. She had been his friend for so long and never had he gotten to hold her like that.
They had always been arguing about everything. On rare occasions they had actually acted like friends and in between the fighting and being friendly, they always flirted. It was never serious enough to be considered a threat to any of their partners. Both Roger and Maureen were flirting all the time with other people and the flirting they did with each other wasn't the same. They actually liked each other, wanted to be close to each other and never really acted on these feelings.
First, there was Mark. He was Maureen's boyfriend and Rogers best friend, so they needed to keep their distance to respect him. Then there was April, who had been Rogers girlfriend and Maureen's best friend, so she was some kind of female Mark. Then there was HIV, keeping him from getting even close to Maureen, because if he ever gave her the chance to, she would fuck his brains out. He knew her well enough to be sure she would.
Now, spending Christmas together, alone in the cold loft, they were closer than ever. It felt good, to finally be alone. The only thing holding both of them back was his HIV.
He cared too much about Maureen to get her infected and she knew he did.
They were sure, there was more between them than need and want, but sometimes love isn't enough. He had Aids, she knew and they would never get to be together.
The End.