Disclaimer: I do not own Rent, no matter how much I wish I did.
Mark awoke to a frigid draft coming in through his open bedroom door. He rolled over grumbling, and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table next to him. He sighed, rolling out of bed. Slowly he reached for his glasses, put them on, sluggishly trudged out of his room and immediately saw the problem. Roger, outside the open window, on the fire escape. Snowflakes frosted his dirty blonde locks and he had his guitar by his side. Mark shook his head. This was a regular occurrence now. It had been 2 years since the night Mimi had almost been taken from them. It especially hurt Roger even more, now that Mimi had been dead for 6 months. Not to mention the fact that they had been engaged. For Roger, it was like reliving the April fiasco all over again. Mimi's AIDS had spread more rapidly than predicted, and she died in Roger's arms at the loft.
Roger felt Mark's presence standing at the window. He turned his head slightly, and the presence of dried tears was apparent. Mark stepped out onto the fire escape and walked over to Roger. He placed his hand on Roger's cold shoulder and felt Roger wince at the touch. "It was bound to happen, man. Wasn't your fault. I know it's hard for you to cope with. But please, Roger, come inside. You'll catch hypothermia out here in this shit." Mark pleaded with Roger. He stood up and strode past Mark, who quickly followed suit. Roger walked over to a table, littered with pictures of the group 3 years prior, before people began dropping off like flies. First to go was Angel, followed by Collins, whom had long since moved to Santa Fe, the Halloween after Mimi's brush with death. And 6 months ago was Mimi. Roger, Maureen, Joanne, Benny, and Mark were the only ones left. Maureen and Joanne had separated, and Mark had briefly dated each of them. Benny was having big successes with his company, and had relocated to Chicago. Roger was… well… being Roger, aside from the sulking and mourning.
Roger walked over to see what Mark was looking at. He tried to turn around and block his view but Roger pushed him aside. As soon as his gaze fell upon the picture of Mimi, his eyes began to tear once again. Mark picked up the picture and turned Roger to face him. "Get some sleep, man. And Merry Christmas." He said, nudging Roger towards his bedroom door. Roger grunted and walked in, slamming the door behind him. Muffled sobs were just barely heard. Then, in the hallway, the thudding of commando boots trudging up the stairs and the curses of a woman were barely audible. Mark walked to the door, unlatched it, opened it a crack and peeked out to see who the noisy party was. He gasped in surprise when the woman's face became clear. Mark quickly shut and bolted the door and looked at the picture of Mimi in his trembling hand.
Wonders never cease, he thought to himself.
