A/N: I had written this big long smutty scene and it was fabulous… but it wasn't the right time. So my apologies for the lateness, but this chapter needed a huge overhaul. I still don't like the ending le sigh. More will come. There is somewhere I want to go with this now.

Meanwhile…

Mimi and Roger had been talking for a long time, and Roger was surprisingly not on her side. He talked his girlfriend into understanding Carmen's anger – after all, he had once felt the very same way; felt that very same anger towards April. He knew how painful and tormenting it could be to feel abandoned, and as he comforted Mimi through her tears, he explained in a more calm and rational way than she had managed herself why Carmen had blown up. The way Roger saw it, Mimi was like April and her mother was like AIDS – Carmen was angry and afraid of being left alone with no-one else to call her own in the same way that Roger had been angry and afraid of being left alone with nothing but his disease. Roger holed himself up in the loft for a year because of it. Hopefully Carmen had just released all of her pent up emotion, and they could move on from it and enjoy the rest of their time together without any bitterness.

Mimi climbed back in through the window, with Roger close behind, and apologized to Maureen and Joanne who were sitting alone on the couch. However, they clearly weren't bored. The lovers broke apart, mumbling that it was fine and not to worry, but secretly disappointed that they had been interrupted.

"Where's Mark?" asked Roger, settling himself on the metal table. Maureen and Joanne looked around, surprised that he hadn't yet come back.

"Well, he's in Carmen's room," said Joanne.

"So either she's really, really upset or they're… busy," Maureen finished with a wicked grin. The others grinned along with her, unsure of whether the latter scenario was likely but amused by the thought all the same.

Back in Carmen's room…

Mark leaned back in toward Carmen, hands now sliding down and around her waist as his lips pressed against hers. They had been sharing kisses for what seemed like an eternity. He parted her lips, letting himself slip deep into the kiss. The smallest distance between them wasn't worth keeping. He kissed her deeply, and he felt a hand venture down to press against his chest lovingly. Carmen kept it there as she kissed him, offering a sweet moan into his mouth. His heart sped up at the sound, and warmth spread over him. With each kiss, it was getting harder and harder to pull away. When they broke away this time, she looked up at him with longing in her deep brown eyes.

They didn't speak, but they gazed at each other for a long time. There was an understanding between them that had been communicated without words; they knew where they were headed. Carmen hesitated, knowing what she had to do, but she kept her silence instead. She didn't want anything to ruin the moment.

Carmen kissed him hungrily. He groaned, adoring the sensation of her hand going through his hair and the second one on his back. He gently trailed his hand down over her breasts, further and further until he reached the hem of her shirt and slid his hand up inside it to touch the warm skin of her stomach, not once pulling away from the kiss, just in need of more contact. He couldn't get enough of her.

Suddenly they were moving towards her bed. He pulled his hand out from beneath her shirt and gently lifted it up over her head. His eyes eagerly roamed her body as she slipped his own shirt down his arms after swiftly unbuttoning it. His breath got caught in his throat as she looked him over, admiration in her eyes.

Mark had never experienced anything like this in his life. She trembled when he put his hands on her skin. No girl had ever reacted to him the way she did. He slowly and carefully eased Carmen onto her back, staring deep into her eyes as she looked up at him. She was trusting – she gave herself to him wholly, letting him take the lead completely and taking pleasure in every little thing he did to her. As he slid her panties down past her ankles, he caught a sense of nervousness coming from her. "Are you okay?" he whispered, pressing a light kiss to her mouth. She offered a nod and a half-hearted smile, but he wasn't convinced. "What is it?" he asked, his brow furrowed with concern. Carmen took a deep breath, afraid of what his reaction might be. She was so close and she didn't want to stop, but had the feeling he would want to after being told.

"I just… I'm… I haven't…" she trailed off, unable to find the right words.

"You haven't…?"

"I haven't ever done this before… ever."

She couldn't look at him, embarrassed and ashamed that she had let it go that far before saying anything. Mark's eyes widened. He was not at all expecting that from her but he didn't express his shock because he didn't want to heighten the embarrassment he could already see in her face. "Uh… okay, well… right." he supported himself on one hand and used the other gently caress her cheek. "Do you want to stop?"

"No," she admitted. She had meant it to sound firm and confident but her voice shook, giving away her nerves. Her only qualm was that she knew everyone would hear if she made any sound. That and she knew it was going to be painful. But she trusted Mark – she might have even gone as far as to say she thought she loved him – and trusted that he would be gentle and caring and would make it as pleasurable as possible for her.

Mark lay down on his side and pulled Carmen close. She willingly snuggled into him, taking comfort in the heat his body offered. His hands drifted over her curves, only lightly touching her skin, but Carmen felt like sparks were shooting from the places he made contact; she was aching for him. A slight gasp issued from her mouth when she felt him up against her and she reflexively cast her eyes downwards. Bashful, Mark pressed the sheets between them, providing a barrier and a shield from her prying eyes. Carmen smirked up at him before pulling them away.

"No," he said although he couldn't keep the smile from his face, and he replaced the sheet. He distracted her with kisses but only succeeded for a minute or so; her hands were soon sliding down his torso, sending his body into shivers. "Carmen…" he warned as she moved closer to her target. "Don't."

"Why not?" she asked, pressing kisses to his neck and obediently moving to rake her fingers through his hair. Mark took a moment to calm himself before answering.

"I don't think it's right to do this," he explained. "Not now."

Disappointed, she removed her lips from his collarbone. "Not now or not ever?"

Mark stared into those deep pools of chocolate. He saw her hear and skepticism and could completely understand it; he had led her on before but he had no intention of doing that this time around – they had passed the point of no return as far as he was concerned and he was starting to fall for her despite all of the walls he had raise around his heart.

"Not now," he reassured her, lightly brushing his lips against her hands. "Everyone's out there and they could walk in any second. It wouldn't make a very good experience for you."

And he wanted to make it as good as possible for her. He wanted to show her how sorry he was for turning her down; for hurting her and for misleading her. Laying beside her felt magical. How could he have not wanted this? The truth was that it has been so long since he'd been made to feel so loved and wanted; so long since any girl has looked at him in complete wonder and adoration the way that Carmen did.

"We're already in a pretty compromising position," she pointed out, pushing her hips against his. "And you didn't have a problem with it before."

"You're relentless," he laughed. "I'm putting my clothes back on before you rape me or something.

"I would never!" Carmen gasped in mock incredulity. Mark snorted, putting his shirt back on. "Okay so maybe I'd try," she admitted sitting up and covering herself. "But, Mark… it's not rape if you want it." Mark gave her a stern look and tossed her panties over. She giggled and pulled them on before finding the rest of her clothes and dressing. Mark let his eyes travel over her body as she moved. He noticed various scars over her stomach and arms that had never previously drawn his attention. His brow furrowed in consideration of what may have caused those scars, and when their eyes met she asked him what was wrong.

"Your scars," he said, unsure of what else to say. For a moment she looked sad, but as soon as the look was there, it was gone again.

"Oh. That… I got into a while bunch of mischief as a kid. War wounds from my escapades, that's all." Mark nodded, but didn't believe her. "It's nothing," she insisted. He didn't press the issue any further.

Out in the living room…

Joanne was walking Mimi through her basic rights in regards to inheritance having given up on Carmen leaving her room. Maureen and Roger were arguing over who was the greatest superhero of all time.

"It's not Catwoman!"

"It is too!"

"Maureen she has no superpowers!"

"Neither does Batman!"

"She's a villain!"

"Anti-hero," she stressed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Roger let out a groan of frustration.

"Tell me one good thing she's ever done!"

"She can pull off a leather jumpsuit. That makes her my hero. Anyway, Superman is lame."

"Superman is the greatest hero of all eternity!"

"Laaaaaaaaaaame."

Before Roger could manage to slap Maureen upside the head, Mark emerged from Carmen's room. They all fell silent, causing Mark to wish he'd stayed in there, but he and Carmen were hungry after being in her room for three hours.

"Uh, hi… everyone."

"How is she?" Roger asked, concerned that Carmen hadn't come out herself. He didn't want her to hole herself in her room like he had done for such a long time.

"She's feeling a bit better. Still a little upset at Mimi."

"Yeah? Well I'm still a little upset with her," snapped Mimi without looking up from her papers.

"You should go in there and talk to her," Maureen suggested. She didn't like to see her friends upset, especially not at one another. Mimi felt all their eyes boring into her, so she looked up and around at each of them.

"Fine, be she has to – have you been fucking my sister?" The sudden change of topic caused everyone's heads to snap around in Mark's direction.

"What? No!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to the kitchen.

"I don't believe you!"

"Mimi, I didn't!"

"Yeah, right!"

Mark ignored her and fixed a couple of sandwiches while the others watched on, curious as to how Mimi had come to the conclusion that Mark had slept with Carmen. Before going back, he turned to her. "I'll tell her you're coming in to talk," he sighed. "I don't know what makes you think that I…" he trailed off, blushing.

"Your sweater's inside out," she told him.

"It got warm in there," he replied. Balmy, more like it…

"Your hair's all messy."

"Well, we did kind of kiss… a bit." A lot…

"Your fly's undone," Mimi finished with a smirk. Mark flushed red instantly and fixed himself up. "So did she tell you she was a virgin?" she asked, still angry and hoping to cause some tension between the new couple. Mark ignored her and slipped into Carmen's bedroom when Roger distracted everyone else with his loud exclamation of disbelief. Within minutes, Mimi entered and Mark left the sisters alone to talk it out. He believed that they could work this out and would soon be as close as ever, but really wished they would hurry up and get it over with – Maureen and Roger were staring at him with looks of cruel determination on their faces. He was up for a whole lot of teasing.