There's only us
Disclaimer: I wish I was Jonathan Larson. Because that would be amazing. But sadly, I am not. So, I sadly do not own RENT or any of its characters. dramatic sigh
Info you should know Mimi got in a fight with Roger and broke up with him. She quit her job at the Catscratch and moved to New Jersey. There, she got herself clean and met a guy named Sam. They fell in love and are getting married. The rest of the Bohemians arrive at her house for the wedding.
Oh yeah, just about everything italicized are Mimi's thoughts. Except at one point, it's a phone message. But you'll know when it's different.
"Mimi!" called Sam. "You've got people at the door!"
"One second!" called out Mimi. In her bedroom, she rushed to the mirror to check her makeup. She knew who was coming.
"Mimi?!" said Sam impatiently.
"Ok, ok! I'm coming!" After one last primp in the mirror, Mimi rushed to the door. Before opening it, she couldn't help but think what do I say? It's been so long since I've seen these people. What will they think of Sam? Are they even willing to be civilized to me anymore?
Mimi took a deep breath, smiled a little, and opened the door.
"MIMI!!!" screamed Maureen as she pushed through Mark, Collins, and Benny to almost tackle Mimi in a giant hug. Mimi, despite feeling her arm was about to come off, laughed heartily and threw her arms around the faux fur-covered woman.
"Ah, Maureen? Do you mind moving a bit? I know it's been what, three years, but I'm freezing my ASS off!" said a shivering Mark. Maureen rolled her eyes, and let the others come in from the cold.
"Mimi! You look fantastic!" said Benny as he pulled her in for a hug.
"Oh, Mimi, I missed you so much! Congratulations!" squealed an unusually thin-looking Joanne. As Mimi pulled her in closer, she whispered "Is everything ok?" into Joanne's ear. "We'll talk later," Joanne whispered back.
"Aww, my baby girl's getting married!" Collins sang as he sidled over to her and wrapped her in a large hug. I forgot how much I missed them Mimi thought as she felt herself not wanting to let go.
"Mimi, we've missed you!" said Mark as he hugged her firmly. "Still filming hobos?" she joked as they pulled away. "Nah, even better. Celebrities." "Working for Buzzline, again?" Mimi asked. "Whatever pays the rent," said Mark with a sigh.
"There are chairs in the living room, I'll be right out!" Mimi called to the gang. Just then, Mimi realized, Sam had never met any of these people. They probably scared the living shit out of him she thought, thinking of her mild-mannered fiancé. She turned to face Sam, and was glad to see he looked highly amused. "Go on, and meet them. They're really not as crazy as you think," she whispered. Sam laughed, and gave Mimi a quick kiss before following the others into the living room
"Hey, Mimi," said Roger softly as he came last out of the hallway. Mimi stopped in her tracks as she looked at the slouched frame smiling at her. He still looks good, but not as good as he should. "Hey," she replied softly, not knowing whether to give him a hug or not. Their break-up had been rocky, and she didn't want to remember her last day with him…
THREE YEARS EARLIER
"Roger, I'm going to work!" shouted Mimi as she grabbed her keys off the cluttered nightstand.
No answer.
"Roger? I've gotta leave! Do you want me to come back with dinner? Roger??" asked Mimi impatiently.
Roger walked slowly out of the bedroom they shared with the answering machine in hand. "What…the hell…is this?" he asked with quiet rage. He pressed play.
Ah, this is Mimi, right? Yeah, this is Bob, the guy you ah…yeah…I just wanted to say you left your bra at my house and um, look, I know you said it was just a job, but do you want to hook up again sometime? I mean, I'll pay you, of course, but uh…yeah, call me back, you have my number.
While listening, Mimi's eyes got wide and she slowly sat down on their beat-up, puke-green couch. She dropped her head into her hands, letting her long, brown hair cover her face.
"Care to explain?" said Roger almost inaudibly, still holding the answering machine in his hand.
"Roger…I-I…" stuttered Mimi, not knowing exactly what to say.
"You used smack like there was no tomorrow, and I still stuck by you," Roger's hand quivered as his voice got louder with rage "You work at that shitty strip club, but I didn't care. But this?!" he screamed as he threw down the answering machine, smashing it to pieces. "This is too much, Mimi!"
There was a long silence as Roger sighed heavily, and sat down on the other end of the couch, shaking his head.
"Well, maybe," said Mimi quietly, breaking the silence "if you would actually get up off your ass and FIND a job, I wouldn't have to do this!"
"What?!"
"You think I WANT to do this?!" shrieked Mimi "You think I enjoy being at this disposal of any man on Avenue A?! You think I like to give myself to others just so we can fucking sleep inside?!?"
"Get out, just GET OUT!" shouted Roger, taking her by the wrists and almost throwing her towards the door.
"I don't want to hear from you again, EVER! All you ever did was make my life more complicated than it already was. THANKS FOR NOTHING!!" Mimi screamed at him, tears streaming down her face. "Well, I guess that makes two of us," said Roger, somewhat calmly, as he slammed the door.
Realizing she had just been thrown out of her own apartment, Mimi didn't know what else to do. She forced herself to stop crying, telling herself he was never worth it. She angrily walked out of the apartment building to…nowhere…She didn't even know where to go. She just wanted out.
Mimi and Roger had later resolved a bit a couple days after their fight. But Roger had said that he couldn't be with someone like that, so they parted ways. Mimi, thinking there was not much left for her in New York, left and moved to New Jersey.
BACK TO THE PRESENT…
All of these memories flooded back to Mimi as she faced Roger that day. Feeling the awkwardness, he slipped off his ratty, holey leather jacket and embraced her gently. Mimi was a little surprised at first, but slowly she slid her arms around his waist, and it seemed all of her feelings toward him came rushing back in that moment.
"You look good, Mimi," he whispered in her ear.
She had forgotten his smell. That mixed smell of cheap cologne and coffee. On some, it would smell horrid, but on him, it felt right. She had also forgotten one of the most prominent thing about him: AIDS. She, herself, had only gotten healthier after moving to Jersey, but he had definitely taken a hit. He was a little less muscular, and paler. He looked extremely tired, and his hair wasn't such a radiant blonde.
Seeing they were alone, Mimi asked softly "Can we talk for a second?" Roger looked around a bit, and then nodded.
"Look," Mimi said delicately as she plopped herself into an uncomfortable, vinyl kitchen chair, "I know it's been awhile, but…I'd really like to be friends again. I missed you, Roger."
Roger smiled a little, and said "I missed you, too." More than I expected, he thought to himself.
"And…I just thought, maybe, we could…pick up where we left off? I guess?" Mimi knew she sounded scared, but she wanted to make this right.
Roger walked a little closer. "I guess I could work with that," he said teasingly. He took her hands in his. "Friends?"
Mimi smiled, and gave him a hug. "Friends." This time she hugged him long and hard.
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How do I love reviews? Let me count the ways…This is my first Fanfic, and believe, I will write millions of them…Let me know what you think! Don't worry, updates shouldn't take that long, I've written eight chapters already. But why don't we let this soak in a bit, and then I'll post some more chapters!