On the Fire Escape

Disclaimer: Not mine; everything contained in the story below belongs to the late, great Jonathan Larson.

Author's Note: Sorry to disappoint, but this is not a Mark/Mimi, nor a Mark/Roger fic. It stays Mimi/Roger. (guys an girls can be friends, even if they're both straight!)

Chapter 1: New York Sunset

Mimi rested her head and closed her eyes, feeling tears prick the back of her eyelids. She and Roger had finally gotten together. Why did they have to fight all of the time? She would never, ever cheat on him! Couldn't he see that? Especially with Benny of all people...

The fire escape creaked lightly above her, telling her someone had just come onto the fire escape from the loft. Whoever it was would probably enjoy the warm spring evening. Who would notice the crying Latino after all?

She looked up to see who it was, blinking against the fading red light. Mimi sighed. Of course it had to be Mark. No one except him was ever in the loft anymore anyway. It was just that of all the people she did NOT want to see, her boyfriend's protective best friend was on the top of her list. But Mark seemed completely unaware of her presence.

"Fade in on New York City!" he said, narrating to his camera and panning across the horizon. "Showing the few peaceful moments before Roger enters to shout out his aggressions. He never just comes to talk anymore... I wonder how his song is coming." Mark broke of with a sigh and pointed his camera at the lot next to their building, where the first hints of construction were showing.

His voice continued after a minute, softer than before. "Roger and Mimi argue a lot lately, but it never lasts long and Roger always leaves with a bit of prodding. He says he's just jealous because he loves her. Why does he tell me? Mimi is the one who should hear it. I don't think she's ever even thought of cheating on him..." The camera shifted again. "Zoom in on a New York sunset. Always worth seeing."

As she listened to Mark's narration, Mimi felt pity for him. She had never realized that her arguments with Roger caused him to go shout at Mark, or even that Mark always made Roger come back. Why was it that Mark trusted her more than Roger did? Shouldn't it be the other way around? And she felt bad about the fact that she took up Roger's time when they weren't fighting. Mark was probably more lonely than Mimi herself; at least Roger came back to her when his anger was spent.

"Mark?" She called softly.

The blonde filmmaker jumped. When he saw her sitting on the fire escape below him, a blush warmed his normally pale cheeks. "Hi Mimi! Did you... um...?"

She nodded and his blush deepened. "I heard." She offered a slight, trembling smile. "Thank you for the confidence."

His look softened. "Hey..." He said softly. "Are you alright? Sounded like a pretty bad argument..." Mimi nodded again, but the tears escaped her control and began dripping down her cheeks.

"Oh jeez." Mark lowered himself down the ladder of the fire escape until he was sitting next to Mimi. He awkwardly put his arms around her and turning, she buried her face in his chest and sobbed into his sweater.

"I just don't know what happened!" she sobbed. "We were so happy! Why doesn't he trust me? Doesn't he love me anymore?"

"Shh..." he whispered, rubbing her back. "He loves you, Mimi. He's insecure, that's all. You guys will get past this, I'm sure."

"You think so?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, I know so. Now come on; you're getting my shirt soaked." His voice was teasing and Mimi pulled away with a laugh. "Tell me what happened..."

The kindness in Mark's eyes was comforting as Mimi found herself pouring out the whole story. From when she had gotten home a few minutes later than she had said, to Roger storming out of the apartment and down to the street.

"Better?" he asked when she had finished.

"Much." And it was true. Telling someone always helped. She also was beginning to see why people told Mark their problems. He just listened until you were done saying everything you had to get out of your system. It was nice for someone to not interrupt or take sides.

They sat for a bit longer in comfortable silence and watched the sun sink below the skyscrapers. Both were content just to have someone for company, even if they weren't talking about anything. It was a nice change from the routine of their lives.

Suddenly, a door slammed above them and Roger's irritated voice rang out from the loft. "Mark?"

Mark sighed and headed over to the ladder. "Better go," he said and turned around for a minute. "You're okay?"

Mimi smiled a genuine smile. "Yeah, Mark, thanks." He started to go back up and a thought struck her. "Oh, Mark! When Roger's in a better mood, I'll talk to him about bringing you along to some of his gigs, you know? You guys really should try to stay friends after so long."

That gained her a smile in return. "That's sweet of you, Mimi." And then he disappeared into the loft. Mimi turned to look back out at the city of neon and chrome, her smile still there. She felt better now...
End chapter one! What do you think so far? (I know I made Roger out to be a major jerk, but he's not my fav. You know? And he is soooo hard to write!!) Next chapter: Mark is in a bad mood for numerous reasons, including Roger... And remember:

Reviews are about as awesome as the original cast!!