Mark put pen to paper to write a quick note 'On The Roof' then realising that no one was going to see it he started to ball it up. At the last minute he smoothed the paper and sat it on the cable spool. Maybe this time would be different. How many times in the past months had Mark written the note and crumpled it up? Too many to count.
When, several hours later, Mark heard the door open and close he thought maybe he had finally lost his mind. Then he heard the deep voice of his ex-roommate.
"So do you sleep in that scarf?" Roger asked, though he wasn't sure why he chose to open dialogue with this.
"I've been known to." Mark responded throwing his arms around Roger. The rightness of the hug was overwhelming. They held on to each other for several long moments both needing the physical reassurance of the others presence. As they reentered the loft Mark's first reaction was to pick up his camera and get Roger on film. If he had to be honest with himself Mark knew the reasons were selfish, and for the first time in a long time he didn't care.
"What have you been up to since I left?" Roger started the conversation both knew would have to take place eventually
"Same shit different day, I officially sold out about two months ago, I started working for BuzzLine. It sucks, but it's a paycheck." Both men nodded at this sentiment. When Roger picked up his guitar several minutes later Mark relaxed. This was what he had been missing since Roger left, even if it was 'Musetta's Waltz, if it meant Roger was back then Mark would listen to that song every day for the next year. That didn't mean he wouldn't give the man shit for it.
"You mean to tell me that you still haven't learned any new songs. Jesus, where've you been this whole time, a rat hole?" Roger laughed, and it was a deep warm sound. It was a sound that Mark realized he'd missed more then anything.
"Actually I wrote a lot while I was gone. It was really good for me, but all that aside, it feels good to be home. That's what this is, you know, home. It took me over 3,000 miles to realize that. I know the way I left was pretty bad, and I'm sorry for that, but it was what I had to do at the time for me." Roger finished his explanation as Mark wandered into the kitchen to put some water on for tea. Knowing that Roger felt this was home went a long way to easing the knot that had formed in Mark's stomach.
"Are you hungry, now that I have a steady income I can actually keep food in the cupboards?" Mark asked scrapping his earlier idea of grabbing something from 'The Life' later. He wanted to keep Roger's being home to himself for a little while, and he knew that if he went to the café he'd be tempted to tell everyone there. Roger came into the kitchen to 'inspect' the selection and for a minute it felt like nothing had changed as they moved around each other. When they finally settled back on the sofa both knew they were sitting closer then they normally would, but neither felt the need to say anything about it. After they finished eating Mark pulled the camera back out under the pretense of documenting stories from Rogers trip.