Chapter Thirty: You and You and Nothing but You
Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.—Ed Gardner

April waited until she and Roger were alone in the loft to corner him, figuring it would be easier to persuade him without Mark and Maureen around to make amused comments. Roger sat on the table with his guitar, not really playing anything, just picking out random melodies and altering them from time to time. April sat on the table beside him, her legs dangling over the edge. "Hey Roger?"

He stopped playing for a moment and looked up at her. "What?"

"I have a question to ask."

That immediately worried him, she could tell. He frowned and set his guitar aside, and she had to fight not to giggle at his concerned expression. "Okay…"

She didn't say anything for a moment, just watching him as he gradually looked more and more worried over what she was going to ask, and finally she grinned and said, "Will you come to the opera with me?"

The worried expression on his face immediately altered to one of complete and utter confusion. "What?"

"The opera. La Boheme. It's playing nearby, and I… I want to see it. And I want you to come with me."

Roger stared blankly at her for a few seconds, and then laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I really want you to go." April took his hand and laced her fingers through his, looking up into his face. "Please?"

"April… tickets cost money. We can't afford that."

She grinned. "I've got some money my parents sent me for my birthday. Been waiting for something to use it for."

"But we need food. And there's the phone bill and the—"

"Birthday money is not for food and bills," April said, still grinning at him. When Roger started acting responsible, she knew she was winning.

"April?"

"Besides," she said with a smirk, "I already bought the tickets."

"What?" he asked, looking alarmed. She thought she'd heard him actually squeak. "April!"

April tried to hide her smile, but couldn't quite manage it. "Oh, stop. I just figured it'd be easier to get you to come if I bought the tickets first." She kissed him quickly, and gave up trying to hide her smile, breaking into a grin once more.

"You… are manipulative," he said after a moment.

"I know. Only because I love you."

"April, that made no sense."

She laughed softly. "It'll be fun, I promise."

"Right. An opera. Fun. Does it occur to you that it's really not my kind of place?"

"Yes, it had occurred to me. But then I decided I didn't care. Stop complaining and take it like a man."

He looked down at her, trying not to smile himself, and then said with a soft chuckle, "You are pure evil. When is this opera thing?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Oh joy," he said with more than a touch of irony, though still smiling.

"Alright, mister, that's enough of your sarcasm," she muttered, slipping her arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him much more thoroughly than last time. "You ought to use your tongue for something more interesting."

He leaned back a little to smirk at her. "Like what?"

"You know very well wha—" She squeaked as he pulled her closer to him to kiss her, and gave up speaking altogether.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" April looked up at Roger as the two walked home after La Boheme, his arm around her shoulders— with winter not quite over, it was still cold out, and her breath misted a little in front of her face as she spoke.

"Well…"

She elbowed him in the ribs. "Stop being difficult. Admit it, you liked it."

"Alright, maybe a little. It wasn't absolutely terrible. Some of the music was tolerable." He thought for a moment. "I bet I could play some of it on my guitar, if I tried…"

"That's the best I'm going to get out of you, isn't it?"

"Very probably, yes."

April sighed in mock exasperation. "Do you know you're a pain in the ass?"

He grinned. "Oh, absolutely. It's one of my charms."

"I ought to smack you, you know," she said, lightly pulling away from him and turning to walk backwards in front of him so that she could face him as she walked. She kept her arms wrapped around herself, though, trying to conserve some body heat before she froze.

"Oh, but that would ruin my fun," he said with an expression of disappointment that made her smile despite herself. After a moment, he frowned at her a little. "You're shivering. Come here, you're going to freeze."

"I will not freeze," she said stubbornly, though she didn't really mean it. She was shivering, but only a little, and it certainly wouldn't kill her. "You worry too much."

Roger rolled his eyes and started to pull off his coat. "Seriously, April… At least take my coat. Please?"

She glanced over her shoulder and considered for a moment. She could see Tompkins Square Park less than a block away, and she didn't feel like just walking calmly the rest of the way home. Too much pent-up energy—she wanted to run. April looked back to Roger, a mischievous grin on her face. "You want me to take the coat, you'll have to catch me first."

Roger stopped, his coat half-off, and frowned at her. "I'll have to what?"

"Catch me." That was all the warning she gave before she turned and ran towards the park, grinning as she heard Roger curse softly under his breath and, after a moment, come running after her.

"April, what the hell are you—April, stop, you're going to—" He gave up trying to call after her after a moment and saved his breath for running.

She still reached the park first, ducking behind a tree when she did. After a moment or two, Roger reached the park too, his steps slowing. He must have lost track of her, the way he was glancing around as if searching for her. April grinned and pounced out at him as he passed by her. He fell to his knees on the grass, April on top of him, and when he rolled over to look up at her she smiled down at him. "You know, it's kind of sad that a girl just outrun you."

Roger blinked up at her for a second. "Are you nuts? God, April, you ran right across the street. You could've gotten hit by a car. Or run into someone who could've hurt you, or…"

"Aww, baby, were you worried about me?" she said, unable to keep from laughing.

"Yes, I was worried about you! You are… absolutely…"

"Amazing is the word you're looking for."

He grinned. "While it applies, I think I was looking for another word. Like, maybe, insane."

"Oh, well, that too." Still lying on his chest, she kissed his nose, giggling at the bemused look in his eyes.

After a moment, he asked, "Will you at least take my coat now? You said I would if I caught you. And you're still shivering."

"Technically," she said, "I caught you. But if you really want me to take your coat, I will." She rolled off of him and sat up, letting him drape his coat around her shoulders. "You know, you're really overprotective sometimes. Almost mothering."

"I am not!" he protested, but she just smiled at him.

"No, it's okay. I think it's sweet, actually."

"Oh. Well… thank you?"

"Yes, that was a compliment," she said, and leaned against him, craning her neck back so that she could see the sky. Too hard to see the stars, with the city lights, but that was to be expected. After a moment, she looked back down at Roger and grinned. "I love you, you know."

He smirked a little and kissed her. "I know." When she giggled and shoved him away from her playfully, he laughed softly and pulled her back towards him. "I love you too, April."

"Well then," she said, leaning into him once more. "You're forgiven."

"Forgiven? For what?"

"For being so damn cocky," she said. "Even if it is really sexy."

"Of course I'm sexy. I'm a rock star."

She shook her head, smiling. "You just can't stop the arrogance for one minute, can you?"

"Well, I probably could if I tried, but I don't see a reason to do that. Especially since you like it, whether you'll admit it or not." He pulled her onto his lap gently and wrapped his arms around her, and she didn't pull away, closing her eyes and resting her head against his chest. Neither of them said anything for a while, until Roger said suddenly, "Marry me."

She pulled away from him slightly—not off his lap, but enough that she could look up into his face—and blinked at him. "You're joking."

"No. I'm serious. Marry me."

April laughed, a soft, almost disbelieving laugh, and smiled up at Roger. "Baby, you haven't thought about this at all, have you? I mean, we can't—"

"Why not? I mean, no, I don't have a ring or anything, but… I love you, April. You know I do. I don't ever want to be without you. So… please? Marry me?"

She stared at him for a few seconds longer, then said softly, "You are such a romantic, do you know that? You wouldn't let any of the others know, but… you are."

He frowned at her, a little concerned. "So… is that a yes, or…?"

April smiled and rested her forehead against Roger's chest, whispering, "Yes, Roger. That's a yes."