His Favourite Holiday, a rent fanfic

Mark was sitting on the floor in the loft, his back against a wall and covered in an old blanket he had brought with him from Scarsdale. He shivered, watching the snow flutter around outside the window in the cold February afternoon.

Mark was lonely, and he didn't want to admit it. He didn't know what made him feel lonelier – having no one to kiss on New Year's or now. Valentine's Day.

Mark shook his head, irritated with himself, and drew the blanket more tightly around his body. So he was alone. So fucking what? It was no excuse to immerse himself in self-pity. So what if he didn't know where Collins and Angel were? Who cared if Joanne and Maureen were constantly fighting – and coming to him to bitch about each other? And so what if Roger –

Mark sighed. He should get up, see if there was any food in the house, try to eat and warm up.

Or he could sit here and cry for a while.

Mark shook his head again and laughed at himself. Since when did he become such a drama queen? It was just a stupid holiday made up to sell greeting cards. He was more cynical than this. He was better than this.

He hit his head back against the wall, trying to muster the energy to actually get up off the floor –

"Mark!"

Mark's head flew up at the door opening and the familiar squeal. His face broke into a brilliant smile. "Angel!" Then, as the next body appeared in the doorway, "Collins!"

"Baby!" Angel launched herself at Mark, pulling him up and into a messy warm hug. "What on earth are you doing on the floor?"

Mark laughed, straightening himself and throwing his arms around Angel. "Don't even ask. Trust me. But where have you guys been? And – " He raised his eyebrows as he pulled back from Angel. "… Are you dressed as …?"

Collins walked over and pulled Mark into a hug, grinning. "Gomez – "

Angel dropped her coat to reveal a tight-fitting slinky black dress. "And Morticia Addams." Mark noticed now that Collins was in a dark suit and Angel's hair was much longer than usual. He grinned as she dramatically flung the hair out of her face.

"So are we dressing up for every holiday now?"

"Pretty much!" Angel chirped, flopping onto the couch. "I was sick last Halloween and decided I needed to make it up, especially since I didn't get to celebrate with my baby last time." She smiled at Collins before turning back to Mark. "Where is everybody?"

Mark felt a little pang before turning at Collins' voice. "Besides." He snorted. "Valentine's Day. I flat-out refuse to celebrate – "

"A holiday invented by greeting card companies to sell cards," the three of them chorused at once, and Angel giggled while Mark and Collins grinned at each other.

"So. Compromise!" Angel said. "We have some stuff we bought out in the hall, and thought we'd have a little party, but …" She looked questioningly at Mark again.

Mark's smile froze a bit. "Uh, yeah. Maureen and Joanne are working on some kind of – I don't know, apology protest?" Mark chuckled. "Kind of an oxy-moron, but what can you expect from those two?" He paused. "And, uh, Roger's been staying down at Mimi's, so …" He shrugged, but he didn't miss Collins' quick look or Angel's sympathetic little smile. He fought the urge to put his head in his hands.

Another thing he didn't really care about. So he was obvious. So what?

"Well," Angel said crisply, rubbing her hands together. "We'll just have to go collect them."

"But – " Mark wasn't sure what to say. "I mean, it's Valentine's day, especially Mimi and Roger, they …"

Mark trailed off, and Angel grinned wickedly. "A little free show never hurt anybody."

Collins laughed. "That's my girl. Should we take Mark's camera?"

Angel started to laugh, and Mark shook his head, grinning. He was absurdly grateful. And happy.

"You guys are not defiling my camera like that. Get your own."

- - - - - - - - -

Mark had expected a lot more complaint. But everyone had seemed happy – or, in Maureen and Joanne's case, uncomfortably relieved, Mark thought – to see them all and hear Angel crying out, "Happy Halloween!" the moment the door opened.

When they all gathered back in the loft, Mark started up a fire and Collins spread papers on the table. Mark laughed when Angel walked in carrying a huge pumpkin.

"Jack o' lantern time!"

Roger stood from his place on the couch beside Mimi. "Awesome!"

Everyone stopped, staring, and Mark could see a blush creeping over Roger's cheeks. He tried to hide a grin.

"… What? I can't be excited for anything?"

Mimi laughed and hopped up, wrapping her arms around Roger's waist and pulling him towards the table. "So you like jack o' lanterns?"

Roger smiled down at her. "Yeah. That was my favourite part, when I was a kid. Making one of these with my mom." As they stood over the table and Angel started scooping out seeds and orange muck, he wrinkled his nose. "She always cleaned up, though."

Mimi laughed, and Mark grinned at them. But he caught sight of Joanne out of the corner of his eye, watching Maureen standing silently across the room.

So. Broken up this week.

Mark walked over silently to Joanne, grabbing her hand and ignoring her questioning look as he pulled her towards Maureen, who started shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and darting her eyes around.

"Don't even think about it," Mark told her, yanking Joanne closer. "Next week you guys will be together again. So be nice." Joanne rolled her eyes at him, and Mark sneered right back. "It's a holiday! So act like it."

Mark walked away, shaking his head, but was soon smiling as both girls walked over to the table, already arguing over how to carve the pumpkin.

Angel was in the kitchen area, sticky hands rummaging through drawers and then walking back to the table, wielding a huge knife and grinning. "This can be used for so much more than making a pumpkin face. So be nice."

Mark dropped his head, hiding a grin. Valentine's day was turning out all right after all.

- - - - - - - - -

Soon the whole group was sitting on the floor between the couch and the kitchen's separator, the lights off for once by choice, and a well lit jack o'lantern in the middle of their haphazard circle, yellow light glowing out from two faces – one grinning and one more jagged and fanged. Candles flickered between them and in front of them.

"We should tell scary stories," Angel said, holding a graham cracker stuffed with marshmallow and chocolate over a flickering candle and frowning at its progress.

Roger shifted, ignoring a s'more that Mimi tried to offer him, and snorted. "I think our lives are scary enough, thanks."

Angel looked up sharply. "Roger."

Her voice was deceptively light; but the gently chiding tone was enough to make Roger flush and look down embarrassedly, mumbling an apology. Mark looked up over the glowing pumpkin to smile at Angel.

"Impressive," he mouthed, and Angel grinned at him. However, Mark felt his smile slowly leave his face as Angel lost hers, suddenly staring at him in concentration and almost frowning. The moment was over as soon as it began, though, and Angel was smiling out over the whole group again.

"But before scary stories," she said. "We have a problem."

Everyone raised their heads to look at her. She smiled, glancing around. "Collins and I can't be the only ones dressed up."

Roger groaned quietly and Joanne and Maureen exchanged a quick look before pointedly looking away and crossing their arms. Mark grinned until he saw Angel's gaze locked on him again. When he caught her eye, Angel quickly looked towards Mimi.

Mark watched as Angel and Mimi silently communicated, both girls soon letting big identical smiles spread across their faces. Angel suddenly cleared her voice and stood.

"Collins, you will take the girls."

Mimi looked at him. "Take them to my place. The club keeps me in costumes year round." She rolled her eyes and turned to Maureen and Joanne. "You're bound to find something there." She dug in her pocket and threw a key Collins' way. "And bring me back the witch hat, will you? I know it's there somewhere," she finished thoughtfully, then turned to Angel. "A witches hat will do, won't it?"

"Of course," Angel said, coming over to give Mimi a kiss on the cheek. Mark frowned slightly. Was she whispering something? She turned back to face the rest of the group. "And Mimi and I will take the boys." She turned to Mark, and the way her eyes lit up made Mark nervous.

"And you," she said, "Are coming with me."

- - - - - - - - - -

Mark sat on the closed toilet seat, half-heartedly trying to push Angel's hands away while she slapped back at him.

"You behave!" She laughed, wetting her hands in the sink and then slicking back Mark's hair. "It's the wrong colour, but combing it back …" She grabbed a comb and ran it through Mark's hair a few times and then stepped back.

Angel grinned slowly. "Perfect. Do you have contacts, Mark?"

Mark looked at her. "Yes, but I don't like – "

He was interrupted by Angel plucking the glasses off of his face. "Good. You put in your contacts and wait here while I get a couple things. And don't peek outside or let anyone see you," she added as she started to leave the bathroom. Mark wondered what Roger was enduring at Mimi's hands.

"But – Angel, what – ?"

"You shush and let me do my magic." Angel practically twinkled at him, but somehow it didn't make Mark feel any better. "You just trust me and wait here."

She disappeared, and Mark went to the mirror to put in his contacts. When he was done, he sat back on the toilet, blinking. When Angel reappeared, he had to blink a few more times to see what the bundle in her arms actually was. When his vision cleared, his eyes widened and he scootched back as far as he could, shaking his head even as Angel approached.

"Oh, no," he said. "No, no, no, no, no …"

- - - - - - - - -

"Oh. My. God."

Mimi clapped a hand to her mouth, but it was too late. Uncontrollable giggles burst from her mouth and soon everyone was laughing uproariously – except Mark and Roger.

They stood together, watching everyone double up.

"I don't know how the fuck you see in these things," Roger scowled.

"Yeah, well, I don't know how you walk around with this fucking sweltering thing on your shoulders and enough fucking chains to make you a Christmas tree."

They glowered at each other, then at their laughing friends.

"It's not that funny," Mark said, feeling irritated.

"Oh, but it is!" Angel gasped, wiping her eyes. "It really is."

Collins nodded, laughing. "You in that jacket, and Roger – Roger – in that sweater – " Collins lost control again, breaking into loud joyful laughter. Mark couldn't keep the sides of his mouth completely down, no matter how hard he tried.

"Fine, it's funny," Mark said, watching Joanne lean against Maureen as she laughed. "And who are you two supposed to be?"

"A Rockette," Joanne replied breathlessly, bringing up a hand to tip the hat she was wearing, and kicking up a sparkly heel.

"And – and a ghost," Maureen wheezed, trying to catch her breath. She swallowed and held up the end of the long white dress she wore. "See?"

Angel walked over to Collins and put her arms around him. "Mimi and I are brilliant, aren't we, baby?"

Collins pulled back and lifted Angel's arm, kissing up it quickly, and Angel giggled while everyone smiled.

"Okay," she said, smiling fondly at Collins before giving a little skip jack o'lantern-ward. "Time for scary stories!"

- - - - - - - - - -

Mark looked around at his little group still surrounding the jack o'lantern, bathed in flickering candlelight. It was late – very late – but he didn't feel like going to sleep just yet.

He looked over to the side of the room, where Maureen and Joanne, despite the tension from the fighting that was obviously going on, had both fallen asleep, lying next to each other.

Mark smiled softly, breaking into more of a grin when his eyes fell on Angel and Collins. Collins was leaning back against the kitchen separator and Angel was leaning against Collins, nestled between his legs with his arms around her waist, and snoring lightly. Her head was leaning back against his shoulder, and Collins – between dazed lifts of his head when he broke out of his doze – was smiling sleepily down at her.

Mark leaned a little more comfortably into the couch at his back, quickly glancing over beside him where Roger sat cross-legged, leaning as Mark was and smiling down at Mimi, who was curled up on the floor on the other side of him and using Roger's leg as a pillow as she slept.

Roger looked up suddenly and caught Mark staring. He glanced around quickly, then returned to Mark, a slow smile breaking across his face – a smile of friendship and understanding – and shared love for the people around them.

Mark smiled back, and was surprised when Roger suddenly reached over with one arm and pulled Mark to him in a warm hug. Smiling, Mark wrapped his arms around Roger and squeezed before starting to pull back.

He was surprised again when Roger didn't loosen his grip; Mark looked up questioningly to find Roger looking down at him, a small smile on his face and eyebrows raised. He didn't say anything – but Mark understood.

Where the hell do you think you're going?

Mark smiled, letting himself be pulled back to Roger's side and relaxing, cuddling himself against Roger's body and under the arm around him. Roger tightened his grip and Mark smiled again, feeling suddenly sleepy. He looked around at his friends, feeling warm and happy and deciding that Halloween was his new favourite holiday.

And it was by far the best Halloween he'd ever had.