Author's Note: Another chapter for all of you to enjoy! Thanks again to all of you who have reviewed! I love all of you! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I answer some questions (finally) and make some more. So, enjoy! Once again, Rent doesn't belong to me, I'm just using it for fun. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6 – How Things Came To Be

ROGER'S POV

We're standing outside of Maureen and Joanne's apartment and I suddenly feel the urge to vomit. Why are we doing this again? Oh, that's right, because Mark wants to. As much as I care about him, I'd rather not have to deal with Maureen being Maureen… either a complete bitch or totally crazy. I'm guessing we're going to see both sides tonight. He slowly brings up his hand to knock and I can see the horror on his face as well. He gently knocks and I cross my fingers secretly, hoping that they didn't hear us.

Unfortunately my wish isn't granted as I see the door open up. Maureen squeals in excitement, something undecipherable, and grabs Mark in a large hug. I stand back as she pulls him away from me and then releases him. She looks over at me, gives me a disgusted look, but pulls me into a hug.

"Well, don't look so happy to see me," I reply to her look as she hugs me.

"I'm so happy to see both of you! You guys never visit me anymore and never want to hang out, what's that about?" she says as she leads us into their apartment. We both move into the center of the room and sit down. I need to do this sitting down.

"Uh, actually, that's kind of why we're here," Mark tells her, uneasy, and I can see the nerves showing in the tone of his voice. I grab his hand and give it a squeeze. I told him I'd tell Maureen because I didn't care how she'd react to me. Mark would take it much differently if she was reacting to him. I swear that kid never got over her, but I'm hoping that's not the case anymore.

"Well?" she says in a demanding voice. God, I can't stand her at all.

"You remember when I brought Mark over here because he fainted?" I start with. She nods her head so I continue. "I kissed him and he fainted."

"You kissed Mark?" Maureen says as she starts to laugh. Great, she's going to mock me.

"Yes, you stupid bitch, I kissed Mark because, God, I haven't even told this to him yet, but, I love him," I snap back at her and turn to face Mark. I watch as his face turns bright red and he looks like he's got that dumbstruck look on his face.

"You… you love me?" he quietly states. I lean in and whisper in his ear, "Are you kidding me, you think I'd be crazy enough to kiss a guy that I wasn't totally in love with?"

He blushes even more brightly at my comment and looks away. I see that cute smile creep over his face. I hear Maureen loudly clear her throat at the two of us.

"How… isn't that cute," she remarks. "So, what, are you two fucking like rabbits or something?"

We both shift uneasily in our seats. It's a topic we skit around the edges and are both afraid to discuss. I would never want him… to have to deal with this shit I go through and God knows that we never could be a 100 safe. I don't know if I could chance it… to play with his life like that. I've never asked him what he thinks. Maybe we'll save that fight for later.

"Uh…" we both stutter, not particularly wanting to ask the invasive question.

I finally just decide to be man enough to stand up to Maureen and reply, "No."

"Well, I see." She pauses and I can see a little smirk come across her face. "Well, isn't this cute. Wait until I tell Joanne."

Mark speaks up at this point, "Uh, no need. She kind of already knows."

"What do you mean, she already knows? She knew and she didn't tell me?" her words getting whinier by the word.

"Yeah, because we asked her not to, since when she found out it was all knew to us, and we didn't want things to get fucked up by you messing in our lives," he snarls back to her and I'm quite impressed with the anger in his voice. I think I'm rubbing off on him a little.

"So how about you just chill the fuck out and be happy for us?" I add in. Have to add in my daily angsty comment. I try not to ever make it at Mark, but sometimes he's all I've got. However, Maureen so willingly at my disposal is just too easy to use it on her. I have to admit, I've never really cared for her since she hurt Mark and now I've even begun to loather her even more. She's always acted like she cares for him, but she just uses him.

She plops down on the couch and I see her look at the both of us. I'm still latched on his hand tightly, now only to remain calm.

"So… you two are dating or something?" she asks this time, with a calmness that I know she's trying to be nice.

"I guess you could say that," Mark replies to her.

"The four of us should go on a double date!" she says in that excited voice of hers. Oh you have to be kidding me, a double date with them and us? It spells disaster.

"Uh…" we both stutter and I know Mark is thinking the same horrible thoughts.

"I think we're busy," I quickly reply before Mark has the chance to do the nice thing and say yes.

"But I didn't even tell you guys when, come on, I'd be fun, you know it would," she says with that evil smile on her face.

"Define 'fun'", I mutter under my breath.

"You two never want to have fun anymore," she says with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Fine," Mark gives in to her request and I look at him with my saddest look I could manage. He gives me a 'what do you expect' look back and I have to agree with him. One date, get her off our backs, and then we can ignore her forever. I wish.

"Really?" she says excitedly and claps her hands together in response.

"Sure… why not," I add in.

"This will be great, I know it. I don't think Joanne has to work tomorrow night, so if you two aren't busy…"

The quicker we got this over with the better, "No, we aren't busy."

She lets out a small scream and grabs us both for a hug, "I promise we'll have fun."

"Don't worry, I won't hold you to that," I quirk back.

"Stop being such an ass, Roger," Maureen says as she pulls away from hugging Mark.

"Well… this has certainly been the highlight of my day, but Roger and I have to be going," he interjects and I couldn't be happier with him at that point. "Tell Joanne we say hello?"

"Of course," she pauses before she continues. "I'm really happy for you two. It's about time you both found someone that can deal with each of your own… individual… quirks." I suppose there's a compliment in there somewhere. She leads us out and we both say our goodbyes to the drama queen.

I grab his hand as we walk out, it's become our new little 'thing'. I see him blush and can't help but smile back. He's really so adorable. We're out of earshot of Maureen's apartment when I notice him laughing.

"What's so damn funny, Mr. Cohen?" I ask him.

"Oh, nothing. I can't believe I sort of stood up to Maureen," he replies with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yeah, I think I'm wearing off on you a little bit, so I'm proud of you."

He lets out a little laugh in response and we continue our banter all the way back to the loft. We ease back into our usual routines and end up falling asleep, on top of one another, peacefully resting on the couch.

I wake up first, as usual, and gently weave my way out of my position next to Mark. I kiss him on the forehead, like every morning, and gently place all the blankets closer to him. The morning is my time to think. I don't know if I think the air is clearer or something, but I always can get my best writing done as the sun is rising. I grab my guitar and walk over to the ledge next to the window. I lean back and remember. The moment is stuck forever in my memory…

2 Months Ago

Mark looks like shit. Seriously, it's not funny. I saw him walk in and slink back into his room without saying anything. Normally he says hello, but lately I've been ignoring him. Why? I honestly feel bad. Me, Roger Davis, actually feels bad for someone. That someone being my roommate, who've I made a point to push out of my life as best as I could the past 8 months. Before, it was because I couldn't deal with his fake cheeriness, always telling me that everything would be fine, that I'd get over Mimi like I got over April. It was different this time. I cared so much more for Mimi than I ever did for April.

Now, I'm pushing him away because I can't bear to bring him back into my life. I can't look into his bright eyes and let him down again. I've done the best I could to make my life miserable and now that I actually want to do something with what's left of my life, I can't do the one thing that seems the easiest to do. That's help my roommate who's pushing himself deeper into the hole.

I strum the strings of my guitar, none of the notes making any sense anymore. I put the guitar down and suddenly feel motivated to go talk to Mark. I walk over to his door and place a hand on the frame. I want to make the first step at reconciling what we had, but I don't know if I'm strong enough.

I back away slowly and find myself back on the couch, lying face up. I weigh my options. I jump up and grab my coat. I need to go for a walk.

As I'm about to leave I feel Mark come out of his room. It feels like his eyes are always burning my back. I hear him quietly ask, "Going somewhere?"

"Just for a walk," I reply, unable to summon the energy to say anything more than that. He nods and I make my way out of the loft and down the stairs.

I'm walking briskly down the street without a destination. I shove my hands in my pockets and make my way through the streets. I glance at familiar faces, some that I haven't seen in awhile. I glance at the not so familiar faces and see a group of tourists, lost, and I can't help but laugh at them. I'm looking down ahead of me when I accidentally run into someone larger than me, and their weight throws me back a bit.

"Hey, sorry man," the larger man says, grabbing my hand to help me back up.

"No problem," I reply and glance up to examine the stranger. Turns out it isn't a stranger at all, it's Ryan, who used to be in a band that was always performing at the same venues as my band. Our two bands got to be close and would always do performances together. Turns out both of our bands broke up around the same time.

"Shit, Ryan, is that you?" I remark.

"Roger? How the hell have you been?" he says as he grabs me for a hug. It's good to see him, that's for damn sure.

"Surviving… barely, what have you been doing… what has it been? Three years?" I inquire. It couldn't possibly be that long since I've played in a band… but in all reality, it was longer than that.

"Too long, man, seriously. You still play?"

"Oh, I still fool around on my guitar all the time, but not in a band… not since… well… yeah…" I answer.

"Really? I'm actually working at this great studio and we're in need of a good guitarist. You interested?" he asks and I can feel my heart start to race. Me? Play guitar for a studio?

"Seriously?" I question his proposition. It sounds too good to be true.

"Yeah! I'm dead serious. I remember you man, you had some good skills. We're in need of someone like you. How about you come on over and check it out? It couldn't hurt… and it looks like you could use some money and food."

He couldn't have been more right. If I could work, pay for food, Mark would be so proud. I could help him get better. This would be great.

"Sure… why the hell not?" I mean, I can go look around, and see if the place is legit. I don't think Ryan would work any place that wasn't for real. So… here goes nothing…

A day for the record books. I, Roger Davis, am officially employed! At a really cool studio too, they let me fool around on sweet guitars and I get to play with some people who are the shit. It's basically amazing. I can't wait to tell Mark.

But wait… I'm not really talking to Mark. How can he expect to be excited for me when I've been ignoring him for months? I wouldn't blame him if he decided to hate me for getting a job. He'll probably claim 'I'm selling out' and that he'll never want to speak to me again. Sometimes he's too pretentious and it bugs the shit out of me. But other times I know he means good.

I arrive back at the loft and realize he's not here. I set my coat down and grab my guitar. I have this sudden urge to start writing and playing again. I strum through a couple notes when I hear the door creak open. I see Mark hesitantly walk in, his camera in his one hand, and a package of some sort in the other.

He gives me a weak smile then moves into his room. I want to run into his room and hug him and tell him everything. He's like the one person I can rely on for anything and I know he'd be happy for me.

The realization hits me why I feel this way. Mark is the one person in my life that has been constant – he's always been there for me when I've needed him – and he always wants me to be happy. I always want him to be happy and I can't stand to see him like this. Isn't that what love is? Finding the one person that will make you happy and you want to make happy?

Am I in love with Mark Cohen?

God, that sounds horrible to even consider. I'm not gay, that's for damn sure. I start pacing around and can't believe even myself what I'm thinking right now. I can't love Mark, or could I? I mean… we've always had this thing between us… but it's a best friend thing, isn't it?

I'm pacing around for at least twenty minutes pondering these thoughts. I want to push them out of my brain as fast as they came in, but something's telling me not to. That part of me is saying it all adds up. There's not one person besides Mark that I want to be excited about my new job. God, I'm such a girl.

I better think about this some more.

Present Day

I begin playing the song I've been working on for the past two weeks. I scribble down a couple more words and try to make them work. I guess you could say it's about how I realized how I cared for Mark. I want to play it for him to explain everything. I've still got work to do on it, but that's why I get up early to work on it.

I look over at his sleeping figure, so peacefully resting on our battered couch, curled up in his little ball form. He's getting healthier and it makes me feel better. I don't have to feel like such a jerk when he's pestering me to eat and take my AZT when I can pester him back to eat as well.

I see him waking up, tossing and turning in the blankets, so I place the guitar down and walk over to sit down beside him. I lean down and place a gentle kiss on his forehead and see his eyes pop open.

MARK'S POV

My eyes open as I feel his lips gently press on my forehead. I smile at him and return his kiss with one of my own. I know he's been up working on whatever he's working on, so I pull him into the heap of blankets I've got covering me. He wraps his hands around me and squeezes me tight. I love waking up to this in the morning.

We lay like that for a couple minutes, neither of us wanting to accept that the day has begun. He finally gets up when he has to go to work. After he leaves, I clean up the apartment a bit. We've become quite the lazy couple and spend the majority of our time laying on the couch or doing who knows what, but it's definitely not cleaning this mess.

I straighten up the living room to semi-normal and clean the bathroom a little, mostly just rubbing some water over the dirty spots. I move to start cleaning all the dirty dishes we've accumulated over the past couple of weeks.

I'm picking up a couple of dirty bowls when I hear the phone ring. Of course, I don't run over to get it, but wait for the 'Speak' to sound and listen to the message that rings through.

"Hey boys, it's Collins, I'm going to be in town for the weekend… so if you want to stop screening and pick up the damn phone…"

I cut him off as I pick up the phone, "Collins!"

"Mark, my favorite filmmaker, how's Avenue B handling without me?" he says with his cheerful voice. I've missed him, that's for sure.

"Oh, it's rough, but we're surviving. Where are you at?" I ask, normally he doesn't call in advance and just arrives.

"Look down out your window in about two minutes," he says as I hear the phone go dead. I hang up the phone and run out to the window with the keys, our usual routine.

I see him smile up at me and I throw the keys down to him, "About time you came home!"

"I know, I'm overdue," he responds, making his way to the door as I make my way back inside.

I run over to the door where he's entering and he drops down his bag to pull me into a hug. We both latch on to each other pretty tight, knowing that it's been far too long.

"How's Roger been?" he asks me and I can tell he's a bit hesitant asking the question.

"Great actually… really great. You'll have to wait until he gets home to see… but he's… well…" I stop, unsure if I should let Collins know our big secret or wait until he got home. He'd probably be pissed if I told him without him. "…well, needless to say, just wait until he gets home."

"Big secrets, I see… and you, you are looking a little bit better than the last time I saw you," he remarks, looking me over, probably criticizing my small frame.

"Yeah, a lot of good things have been happening around here for once," I say with a smile on my face.

"I can see… is that a bowl of fresh fruit over there on the counter?" he points to the fruit that we have become in the habit of buying. It's healthier and tastes good.

"Yeah, that's part of the whole thing. I wish Roger would get home, I'm bursting with excitement to tell you," I jump a little and know that Collins would be the most understanding and excited of our friends about our new relationship.

"Well, I know he'd want to be here to tell you, so why don't you tell me what's going on with you?" I say, trying to avoid temptation to just spill everything… Roger kissing me, fainting in the middle of a crowded restaurant, our cute day in Central Park, and the way we're finally both taking care of each other.

We chat the afternoon away, he tells me about the group of students he's teaching now that's taken up a following with his theories, I tell him about my new movie ideas, and we both share stories we've heard about Maureen and Joanne. We're both in the middle of enjoying a drink when the loft door slides open.

Roger drops his coat and bag, "Collins! About damn time you came home again!"

Collins gets up to greet Roger, who pulls the larger man in for a hug. They stay there for a second and pull away when Collins says, "Man, you both are freaking me out. Now that Roger's back, how about you tell me what's been going on without me?"

Roger gives me a look and I smile at him. He comes over to sit beside me on the couch and I know he just wants to lean in to kiss me at that moment. He refrains for a second, but I see him smile as he leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, so what the hell was that?" Collins remarks to Roger's action with laughter in his voice.

"Well… that's how we've been doing so well. Roger and I… are… Roger and I," I inform him, sounding like a teenage girl who's just snagged the cute boy.

"You two are kidding me? Out of all our friends, you two turn out to be gay," he says in between laughs. "All kidding aside, I'm so excited for you two. You both finally look happy… not like you're two seconds away from death."

"How'd it happen? Did you two get each other confused for a really hot girl and then just decided you didn't mind the fact you were kissing a dude?" Collins joked.

"Not… exactly," Roger smirked at Collins' joke.

"No, Roger decided to kiss me in the middle of a busy restaurant, then I fainted, and well… we worked through that whole mess… and the rest is history."

"You fainted, Mark? Real nice way to respond to a guy kissing you," Collins says, smacking me over the head.

"Ow… thanks Collins. Don't worry, I've already heard it from him plenty," I turn back to smile at Roger and kiss him on the cheek.

"You two are like two girls," Collins remarks to our display of affection.

"Speaking of two girls… we have to dine with our favorites this evening," Roger comments. I know he's dreading spending any sort of time with Maureen and Joanne, so I can sense the dread seeping from his voice.

"Oh, our favorite drama queen and lawyer?" Collins asks.

"Yeah, who else? You should come with us!" I exclaim.

"Yes, Collins, you need to come with us," Roger adds.

"Afraid of a night out with the girls?" Collins replies to our pleas.

"You have no idea," we both mutter underneath our breath.

"Alright, I'll go. But first I have to go visit a couple other friends' that I promised I'd visit tonight. I'll meet you at the Life at what time?" he asks.

"7, we're meeting at 7," I tell him.

"Great, I'll see you two later," Collins says, shutting the door to the loft.

We're finally alone and Roger literally jumps on top of me, his mouth crashing into mine as he comes down. His hands start exploring my entire body and he's kissing me with more passion, more fire in his eyes, than I've ever seen before. I push my hands into his hair, pushing it away from his beautiful face that I've grown quite accustomed to touching. His kissing is harder and harder and I feel his tongue dancing around mine in ways I've never experienced before.

His hand travels down my entire leg and I feel the heat rising between our two bodies. He brings his hand back up to my face and just holds my face, while he kisses my neck. He pulls away after a minute with a wide smile across his face.

"Happy to see me?" I joke at him.

"You have no idea," he replies leaning in to kiss me on the cheek again. Seeing him pour his emotions into me like that, I know something's wrong. I'll ask him about it later, but I don't want to get into a fight before we go to dinner. I'll have to accept the fact that Roger is still Roger and will occasionally be stand off-ish. I'll still love him for it. Great… now I get to spend an evening with Maureen and Joanne… kill me now.

Once again, thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think at all in a review! Any suggestions are welcome!