I've been toying with the idea of this story for a LONG time. And I mean LONG. I was first struck with the idea about a month after watching Rent for the first time. It was during "Light My Candle". I noticed Roger kept saying "You look familiar" and it reminded me of a commercial I once saw for the show "Six Degrees". The commercial said "It is said in New York City you will run into the love of your life six times before you meet them." (Or something like that, I can't remember the exact number, but I'm going with six because it works. :p) And I thought "How adorable would it be if Mimi and Roger kept running into each other before they officially met, but never noticed?" This was long before I actually entertained the idea of writing fanfic, but the idea struck me again the other day and I found myself writing this chapter. And after remembering how adorable a story this made for datagirl3's story about Mark and Emily I decided to give it a try. This will basically just be a collection of one-shots that chronicle moments throughout Roger and Mimi's lives where they ran into each other, but didn't know it.
Thank you, Steph, once again.
Enjoy. :)
"I want to see the lions!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"We'll go see the lions next, Becca," Roger told her. They had just come out of the koala bear exhibit (Mark's favorite) and we're heading to the penguins (Roger's favorite).
"But why can't we go now?" she whined.
"Because the lions are all the way on the other side of the zoo and the penguins are right over there." Roger calmly explained to the five-year-old. Most thirteen-year-olds would hate to be stuck at the zoo walking their younger sister through the exhibits, but Roger loved it. The zoo and being with his sister. The fact that his best friend was helping him also helped things.
"I still say if you can manage to feed and care for it, all animals should be open to being kept as pets," Mark said, expressing for the thousandth time his chagrin at not being able to keep a koala bear as a pet.
"Don't let Maureen hear you say that," Roger laughed, "She thinks the zoos are bad enough. And they actually attempt to re-create a habitat. What do you think she would say to keeping a koala bear locked up in a small cage in someone's house?"
"Charlie wouldn't sleep in a cage. That would be cruel."
"Charlie?"
"Yes, that's his name."
"Mark, you're not getting a koala bear. Get over it. Even if the laws were different I don't think your mom would want to one in the house."
"But they're so cute and cuddly."
"Where would he sleep if he's not sleeping in a cage?" Rebecca asked. Her green eyes sparkling with curiosity beneath her blond pigtails.
"I don't think I want to know," Roger muttered to no one in particular.
"My bed with me, of course," Mark said and Roger laughed.
"See?That's why I didn't want to know."
"You're sick and weird," Mark said, narrowing his eyes as Roger and Rebecca laughed hysterically.
"Kangaroos!" Rebecca suddenly exclaimed and she broke away from Roger's hold on her hand and sprinted across the courtyard to the kangaroos.
"Becca! Get back here!" Roger called before sprinting after her, Mark on his heels. They arrived just in time for Roger to pull Rebecca down off the fence she had been attempting to climb over. "Becca, you know what Mom said. We could walk off on our own if you stayed with Mark and me. And just what did you think you were doing, climbing that fence?"
He looked around to see if his mom was around and had seen her climbing the fence. They would be sent home immediately and Rebecca would probably get into trouble. Most people wouldn't see a five-year-old climbing a fence to see some kangaroos as a huge deal, but Roger's parents were pretty strict and anything they or their children did to stand out had to stop. Immediately.
But she wasn't there. The only other person standing t the kangaroo exhibit with them was a small Hispanic girl, who was leaning on the fence and staring morosely at the kangaroos. Roger shot her a small apologetic smile and she smiled timidly in response. She looked much cuter when she smiled. She then stopped leaning on the fence, fixed the red ribbon in her hair, and smoothed out her dress before resuming her staring at the kangaroos.
"I wanted to see the kangaroos!" she exclaimed matter-of-factly.
"Becca, they're right there," Roger said, pointing off to where the kangaroos sat, lounging around in their enclosure. Rebecca looked at Roger, then at the fence, then back at Roger. Roger realized what the problem was. Rebecca was short. So short, in fact, that she could not see over the fence. "Oh. Sorry, Becca. Here, get on my back. You have a smaller chance of falling off." So Mark helped her scramble onto Roger's back and she wrapped her arms around his neck, looking over at the kangaroos.
"I want to see them jump!" she announced after a few seconds. "Roger, make one jump!"
"Hey! You! Jump!" Roger called to the kangaroos. They just sat there. Although, one did turn to stare at him. "Sorry, Becca. They're not in a jumping mood."
The Hispanic girl began giggling at that and Roger couldn't hide a smile. She had a really pretty laugh.
"Put me in there, I'll make them jump!"
"Rebecca, what are you going to do? Hit them?" Mark asked, half-amused at the idea.
"No, I'm going to throw that rock at one." She pointed at a boulder way off in the distance in the enclosure. Roger and Mark burst out laughing. The rock was too big for Rebecca to climb over, let alone throw.
"Becca, don't hit the kangaroos. It's not nice. How would you feel if you were locked up in your room all day and then people started throwing things at you so you would do tricks?"
"I would bite them."
"Exactly," he laughed. "Just leave them alone. They're living beings and should be able to do what they want."
"And if they want to lay around soaking up the UV rays, then so be it," Mark agreed. Roger gave him a speculative look.
"What?"
"Dude, stop hanging around Maureen." They all started laughing.
Mimi hated the zoo. It was a very depressing place. All these beautiful, majestic creatures locked up in cages. No freedom, hardly any space, schedules for when they got to eat and run around and do things. They didn't get to do any of the things they would normally do in the wild. In a way they reminded Mimi of herself. Transported far away from their homes and families. All to be stuck in a cage and gawked at by people who expect them to run around and do tricks like they're in a circus or something. Only, in Mimi's case it was be a little slave.
She looked around herself, wondering if Tony had noticed her disappearance yet. They had all come to the zoo as a family, but Mami had insisted Mimi and Tony spend some time together as brother and sister and had sent them off into the zoo together.
So far they had only seen what Tony had wanted to see, skipping the tigers and cheetahs Mimi had wanted to see and heading straight to the snakes. Mimi knew he had gone into the snake house just to spite Mimi because he knew she was terrified of them, but she went anyway. What else could she do? The worst part was most of the snakes were asleep, so Tony kept rapping on the glass, trying to wake them up. She waited until he was thoroughly distracted with the snakes before slipping out the back exit and hurrying away.
Now she was somewhere else in the zoo. She was pretty sure she was lost, but she didn't care. It was better to be lost and away from the Tony then knowing exactly where she with him. Looking around, she noticed the kangaroo pen and wondered over to it. She liked kangaroos. She thought it was adorable how the mothers kept their children safe and under control by carrying them around in those little pouches. When she was younger Mimi remembered reading this story about a kangaroo who had no pouch. Mimi felt so bad for her, because she and her son couldn't join in the kangaroo basketball games. But in the end she met a handyman who gave her his apron which had tons of pockets in it and she could carry all of the other forest's little animals in her pockets, including her own son. It was a very cute story.
"Becca! Get back here!" a voice rang out behind Mimi. She turned around to see a small blond haired girl throw herself at the fence next to Mimi and continue to climb over it. Mimi was shocked. If she ever tried to do anything like that she would get slapped for sure. Not that she didn't ever want to. She had wanted to many times. Especially when she was short and couldn't see over the fence. But that didn't change the fact that she would receive a small beating for it.
The girl was quickly joined by a boy who looked older than Mimi. He grabbed onto the girl and pulled her back, down off of the fence
"Becca, you know what Mom said," he scolded her. "We could walk off on our own if you stayed with Mark and me. And just what did you think you were doing, climbing that fence?"
He looked over at Mimi and shot her an apologetic smile. Mimi instinctively smiled back slightly, feeling her heart skip a beat. She leaned back away from the fence, fixed the red ribbon in her hair, and smoothed out her dress. She then attempted to stare at the kangaroos, but kept glancing over at the other two, who had by now been joined by another boy. This one looked to be about the first boy's age and had glasses on.
"I wanted to see the kangaroos!" "Becca" exclaimed matter-of-factly.
"Becca, they're right there," the first boy said, pointing off to where the kangaroos sat, lounging around in their enclosure. "Becca" did a cute double-take where she alternated between staring at the boy and the fence.
"Oh." the boy said, "Sorry, Becca. Here, get on my back. You have a smaller chance of falling off." Mimi watched in fascination as the two boys worked to get the small girl onto his back so she could see. Tony would never do that for Mimi. Not that he ever needed to. Throughout most of their childhood Tony and Mimi were roughly the same height. It was only recently that Tony began to grow taller than Mimi.
"I want to see them jump!" "Becca" announced after a few seconds. "Roger, make one jump!"
Mimi felt a very slight annoyance at the girl. She was treating them like circus acts. But then Mimi realized how small the girl was and knew she wasn't doing it to be mean. She just wanted to see the kangaroos act they way they did on TV.
"Hey! You! Jump!" "Roger" called to the kangaroos. They just sat there. Although, one did turn to stare at him. "Sorry, Becca. They're not in a jumping mood."
Mimi began giggling. She didn't mean to laugh at the boy, but he just looked pretty ridiculous yelling at the kangaroos to jump. But his sister had wanted to see them jump, so he decided to at least try. Mimi thought it was sort of sweet. She was once again visited by the thought of "Tony would never do that for me". "Roger" smiled at her again and she turned back tot eh kangaroos, hoping he didn't see the blush she could feel.
"Put me in there, I'll make them jump!"
"Rebecca, what are you going to do? Hit them?" The other boy asked.
"No, I'm going to throw that rock at one." She pointed at a boulder way off in the distance in the enclosure. Mimi thought that wasn't very nice of her. She shouldn't be throwing rocks at the poor kangaroos. Then she noticed that the rock was bigger than the child and couldn't hide smiling. This, she felt, she should be able to do, as the boys were both laughing hysterically.
"Becca, don't hit the kangaroos," "Roger" finally said once he had gotten his laughter under control, "It's not nice. How would you feel if you were locked up in your room all day and then people started throwing things at you so you would do tricks?"
Mimi felt a wave of respect for the boy. She wanted to start talking to him, but was too afraid of what would happen if Tony or Jose caught her talking to a boy without her parents' permission.
"I would bite them."
Mimi's smile grew bigger. The little girl was adorable. Mimi had always wanted a little sister and she ever got one she wanted her to be just like "Becca".
"Exactly," "Roger" laughed. "Just leave them alone. They're living beings and should be able to do what they want."
"And if they want to lay around soaking up the UV rays, then so be it," The other boy agreed. "Roger" turned and Mimi had to work hard to hold back her laughter at the identical speculative looks on his and sister's faces.
"What?" the boy exclaimed.
"Dude, stop hanging around Maureen." "Roger" said and then they all started laughing. Mimi didn't get the joke, but assumed you must have to know this "Maureen" girl to understand, so she didn't feel too stupid.
"Lucia!" a voice called out behind her. Mimi flinched instinctively as Tony came walking over to her. He always called her "Lucia", so did Jose. Mimi hated it. She loved "Mimi" it was the nickname Alejandro, her real brother, had given her when they were little. It was special. Jose and Tony didn't think so. "You little dipshit, what the hell happened to you? You were supposed to stay with me and you didn't. wait until Dad hears about this. You're going to be in so much trouble."
And just like that Mimi's moderately tolerable day was ruined.
Roger was debating whether he should talk to the girl who was standing at the kangaroo pen with them. She looked younger than Roger and Mark, but she also seemed really nice. He at least wanted to find out what her name was. The name question was answered almost as soon as it had formed in Roger's head via a boy who looked to be about Roger and Mark's age walking over to her.
"Lucia!" he called out behind her. "Lucia" flinched slightly before turning to face him. "You little dipshit, what the hell happened to you? You were supposed to stay with me and you didn't. wait until Dad hears about this. You're going to be in so much trouble." Lucia looked close to tears.
"I'm sorry, Tony. I really hate snakes. I told you that. I was just over here."
"The snakes are practically on the other side of the zoo, moron. If you didn't like them you should've just stood outside and waited for me. Or, better yet, just sucked it up and stayed there. God, you are such a little wimp!" He smacked her in the back of the head and Roger saw tears slip silently down her face, though she tried to hide it from "Tony".
Roger couldn't believe this kid was acting like such a jerk to her. He was her brother, he was supposed to be protecting her and looking out for her, not hitting her and making her cry.
"Now you're crying? Jesus, you are such a baby! Let's go! I'm hungry and we were supposed to meet Mom and Dad ten minutes ago!" he grabbed the girl's arm and jerked her hard to make her start moving. Roger saw her flinch again as the boy's grip dug into her arm.
Roger slipped Rebecca off his back and set her down next to Mark before walking over to the boy.
"Roger," Mark said in a tone Roger heard often. It meant "Think about what you're doing before you end up in major trouble". He used it often and Roger barely listened. As far as Roger was concerned there were some thing that were worth getting into trouble for. Like pouring paint all over the kid who's picking on the new bespectacled (A/N: Heehee, great word. :p) kid in pre-school; or putting frogs into the desk of the teacher who called you a "useless second-grade screw-up"; or breaking the arm of the sixth grader who thinks he can steal Rebecca's doll and throw it in the mud. Telling off the jackass who's picking at his sister definitely fell into that category.
"Hey!" he shouted, walking after the two. "Tony" turned around and gave Roger a dirty look.
"What do you want?" he sneered, still grabbing "Lucia's" arm in what looked like a very painful way.
"I don't like the way you're treating your sister," Roger said, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at the kid. This was how he gauged what exactly he was dealing with. Nine out of ten times the kid's eyes would bug out of his sockets and he would stutter some excuse out before running away in fear. Those were the easy ones. This was not one of those times.
"Oh yeah? Well, that's just too bad. Because she's my sister and I'll treat her however the hell I want to." As if to prove this he shoved the girl really hard so she hit the pavement and skinned her knee. She, surprisingly, jut sat up and looked at her knee, dusting gravel off and seeming to judge how bad it was. No tears, no exclamation of pain. It just made Roger angrier. Because if she could be so methodical about this injury, that meant she had been through many others.
"What the hell is your problem?" Roger shouted at him. Mark and Rebecca had caught up to them now and Mark, bless him, was holding onto Rebecca's hand, stopping her from jumping forward to help her big brother in his battle. She had a tendency to do that and then had a tendency to get injured which then lead to Roger getting in trouble and Rebecca feeling obligated to be his personal slave for a day. Roger always just ordered her to grab a movie and watch it with him. It didn't seem right to boss her around when she was the one who got injured in the first place.
"Right now it's you." He glanced over at "Lucia" who was still examining her knee. "And her. But she's always a problem, so she doesn't really count." He laughed at his own joke and Roger resisted the urge to punch him.
"Seriously, what's wrong with you? She's your sister! In fact, she's youryounger sister. There's a reason you were born first. It's so you can look out for her and take care of her. You're supposed to be protecting her from jerks, not acting like one. And you're supposed to have her back, not trying to get her into as much trouble as possible."
"Who died and made you ruler of the world?" he turned away from Roger and kicked "Lucia" "Come on! I don't want to get in trouble because you're busy being a-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because Roger punched him in the face sending him flying into a trash can. Roger heard Rebecca let out a cheer behind him and attempt to run toward him, her free hand held out for a high five, but Mark held her back, looking in fear behind Roger, all the color drained from his face. Roger turned around to see a Hispanic couple running toward them.
"Hey, punk! What the hell do you think you're doing hitting my son?" the man yelled at him. The woman bent down next to "Tony" and helped him to his feet, checking to see if he was ok, before turning to her daughter whom she then noticed was also on the ground. "Why don't you go pick on someone your own size?"
"I'm sorry, he's not my size?" roger asked, looking over at "Tony" who was almost as tall as himself, "What, is he wearing stilts right now?" Mark and Rebecca laughed at that one and Roger even saw "Lucia" crack a smile, though she quickly hid it.
"You get the hell away from my family before I call the cops on you," the man spat, ignoring Roger's flippant remark. Roger was going to argue, but figured it wouldn't be worth it. So he took one lost glance at the girl, who now had her mother practically falling over her as if a skinned knee was the worst injury in the world, before turning around and walking back to Mark and Rebecca.
"Come on. Let's go before he decides to find out who our parents are," Roger said, taking Rebecca's hand and heading toward the lion cages.
Mimi sat on the ground watching the kids leave. She only half-listened as Tony told his sob story about the boy who had come up and pushed Mimi and how when Tony tried to stand up to him he had punched him. Mimi didn't bother countering the story with the truth. What was the point? Jose would never believe her and she would only get into more trouble.
So she just sat and watched the kids walk away, un-able to stop a small smile. For the first time in her life someone had actually stood up to her brother for her. She sighed. Why couldn't he be her brother?
So there's my first story. Just to warn everybody, this is not going to be a religiously updated story. This is just going to be something I write when I feel like it and have become the victim of writer's block for whatever story I am currently working on. So I have no idea when I will next update. Could be in a week, could be in a month. But I will eventually finish it. It'll just take a while.