Author's note- I'm sorry it took so long to get the chapter up, I've got a cold that I can't seem to shake. I want to say thank you to all the reviewers, you guys really make my day. I wasn't sure anyone would actually like the story.

Another big thanks to PrettyBoyFrontmanLove for her help and encouragement. It means a lot to me.

Mark

Okay, tonight's the night. After two long months Roger and I are finally going to do it.

Get your minds out of the gutter, you perverts, I'm not talking about that, I just meant we're going out in the open with our relationship. Yeah, Collins and Angel know, but now we're not going to hide it from everyone else. Sure I'm a little nervous about how my friends will react, but I can't put it off any longer. It's not fair to Roger for me to do that; I've already been stalling for weeks.

It's not like I'm embarrassed to be with him or anything, I've just always preferred to keep my personal life to myself. I've never felt the need to broadcast my business to everyone. I like to keep things to myself; it's easier that way.

Roger, on the other hand, doesn't care what people think. He does what he wants, when he wants, with whomever he wants. Which has gotten him into some trouble in the past. Sometimes I wish I could be like that. I'd love to walk down the street with Roger and not worry about what people might think. But that's not who I am, I'm always worrying about what people think of me. It's definitely not my best character trait.

"Hey Mark, you home?" Collins asks as he walks into the loft, interrupting my thoughts.

"Out here," I call through the window before turning my attention back to the streets below.

"Why are you sitting out here in the middle of June?" he asks as he sticks his head outside.

"Just wanted to think."

"You worried about tonight?" he asks as he steps through the window to join me. I just shrug my shoulders and stare off into the distance, not even bothering to answer.

"It's okay to have cold feet, this is a really big step. You have every right to be nervous."

"Roger's not nervous," I point out as the sun begins to set.

"Of course he's nervous, he's just better at hiding it. Listen, I know what you're going through. I've dealt with the same emotions and fears that you have now, but I've survived.

"Don't you care what everyone thinks?"

"Of course I do, I just refuse to let it get to me. I'm happy and that's all that matters. I'm not going to let a few ignorant people tell me how I should live my life."

"You really think it's that simple?"

"For me it is. There will always be people who tell you it's wrong, but I refuse to believe that I can't love whomever I want." We're quiet for a few seconds before I turn to him and quietly ask…

"What if they don't accept me?"

"Then they don't deserve to know you. If they can't accept you for who you are then you're better off without them."

"I know you're right, but it's still hard."

"If it wasn't hard, then it wouldn't be love."

"You really believe that?"

"Always, makes life more interesting. So, you feel any better?"

"A little, it's nice to have someone to talk to."

"Then my work here is done," he says before stepping back into the loft, "I'll see you tonight." With that, he's gone and I'm alone with my thoughts yet again. Wait…scratch that, here comes Roger.

"You're back early," I say as I climb back into the room and smile weakly.

"Yeah, the place was dead so Jim just let me go." Roger recently got a job bartending, so I wasn't expecting him back just yet.

"That's too bad," I say as I try to keep up the conversation.

"It's okay, I missed you anyway." I hate when he says things like that. I can't help but give into him when he acts so un-Roger-like.

"I missed you too," I reply before I walk over and kiss him softly.

"You call that a kiss? I thought you said you missed me?" Roger accuses teasingly as I pull away. I knew this would happen. I kiss him again. This time it's harder and longer, leaving us both short of breath. I'm really glad we got over all the awkwardness from the beginning, because Roger is one hell of a kisser.

"See, that's how you greet a person," he jokes before hopping onto the table.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I see Collins or Maureen. I'm sure they'll appreciate that kind of welcome as well," I say as I go to stand between his legs.

"Are you ready for tonight?" he asks after we stay there in silence.

"I don't know if ready is the right word."

"Still nervous?"

"I guess I'm just worried about what the reactions and ramifications might be."

"We don't have to do it tonight, we can postpone it again," he offers as he puts his hand on my shoulder. One look in his eyes and I know I can't do that to him again.

"Tonight's the night, I'm ready." I can do this. I love him enough to do this.

"You sure?" he asks, attempting to give me a way out.

"I love you, and I don't care about what anyone thinks as long as I have you. You're important to me and I'm tired of hiding that." You know what, I think I'm beginning to believe myself right now.

"I love you too Mark," he says as I lay my head against his chest and let his heartbeat lull me into a state of relaxation. Moments like these are what makes everything worthwhile.

Roger

"Okay, I'll admit tonight wasn't a complete success, but it wasn't a complete failure either," I tell Mark as we enter the loft.

"I can't believe her. Where did Maureen get the right to pass judgment on me? I mean she fucking left me to be with a woman."

"She'll come around eventually. Just give her some time." I'm not sure what else to say, I've never been great at consoling people.

"She shouldn't need time. She should be happy for me, she should be happy for us," he complains as he flops onto the couch.

"Maureen's just worried about you, Mark. She cares about you and she doesn't want you to get hurt," I reply as I sit next to him and put my arm around his shoulder.

"She's the one who always ends up hurting me. Kind of ironic if you think about it." Okay, it's time to get off the topic of Maureen. Continuing to talk about her can only lead to more trouble right now.

"Hey Mark?" I ask as I turn to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you. I know how nervous you were about tonight and I want you to know how much this means to me." God, I'm becoming so sensitive lately.

"You mean a lot to me," he replies softly as he leans against me.

"Come on, let's got to bed," I say after we sit in silence for about 5 minutes. It's been a long day and I'm pretty sure Mark's about to pass out.

"Okay," he yawns as he stands up and begins to walk towards his room. He stops at the doorframe, then turns around to look at me "Are you coming or not?"

"Mark, I don't think tonight's the right time to…"

"Just sleep, Roger. Please?" Just sleep, I can do that.

"Okay, sleep." I agree as I get off the couch and walk over to him.

"Goodnight Roger," Mark says after we both lay down on the bed. He's facing me, so I lean over a place a small kiss on his forehead.

"Goodnight Mark." He curls against me and I realize that these moments are what make life so wonderful.

(The Next Morning)

Mark's still asleep as I wake up, so I take this time to just watch him. He looks so young and innocent when he's sleeping. He's completely relaxed with this little smile on his face and I can't help but love him. Unfortunately, my good morning is ruined as Maureen's words come back to haunt me…

'Roger's just going to hurt you Mark. Can't you see that?'

'You really want to waste your life on him? You can do so much better than Roger. You deserve someone who can treat you right.'

'Don't you get it? Being with him could kill you! He isn't even the risk.'

I'll be the first to admit Maureen and I don't get along, but I never thought she felt that way. I tried to ignore her rant for Mark's sake, but now her arguments just keep running through my head. I mean, didn't I hide my feelings towards Mark for those exact reasons?

He still loves me though. In spite of all my faults and issues, Mark still loves me and wants to be with me. How did I end up with someone like this, someone loving and caring who wants me no matter what? What did I do to get so lucky?

"Hey, you're up," Mark says sleepily as he opens his eyes. He fumbles around for his glasses then looks back at me.

"Good morning," I say before he leans over to kiss me.

"Morning. How long have you been up?" He asks after pulling away.

"About an hour."

"What were you doing for that long?"

"Watching you," I say simply as he begins to turn bright red. I love making him blush.

"Hey, about last night…" he starts off nervously.

"Look, it's no big deal."

"It is a big deal, Maureen had no right to say those things. I love you and she should just accept that. Her opinion doesn't matter to me."

"Come on Mark, she's your friend. You know you care what she thinks."

"No, not anymore. I'm tired of her trying to run my life. I can make my own decisions."

"Just let her think things over before you do anything rash." Why the hell am I sticking up for her? Mark opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off by the answering machine.

"SPEAK."

"Mark honey, it's me, Mom. I know you're probably screening your calls again, so I'm just going to say that I'm in town. Listen, I really need to talk to you, so I'm going to be coming over around one o'clock. I love you sweetie." The answer machine clicks off and Mark sighs before pulling himself out of bed.

"What time is it?" he asks as he digs for a clean shirt.

"12:20," I reply as I turn the rarely used alarm clock around to face me.

"Shit, I need to straighten up the loft before she gets here."

"How about I straighten up, while you take a shower?" I offer.

"You never volunteer to help around the house. Are you sick or something?" I swear, you try to do one nice thing and everyone thinks you've turned into a pod person.

"Get in the shower before I change my mind," I say as I roll my eyes.

"Wow, the place actually looks neat," Mark says, amazed, as he steps out of the bathroom about 20 minutes later.

"I know how to clean, thank you very much."

"Then you should do it more often."

"Shut up," I joke before he starts for the loft door, "Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd wait for Mom outside. Who knows what kind of people she'll run across trying to get up here. It's safer this way," he replies as he opens the door.

"Wait," I say as I grab his hand and pull him against me.

"What do you want?" he asks with a smile before I kiss him slowly.

"I wanted to do that before your mom comes."

"Well in that case…" he trails off before leaning in to kiss me again. It starts off slow like the first kiss, but soon escalates until Mark is pressed against the table.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," I joke as his lips travel down to my neck.

"Less with the talking," he replies before kissing me full on the mouth again. I'm so caught up with Mark that I don't even realize someone else is in the apartment, until a bag drops to the floor. We pull away quickly, only to be met with Mrs. Cohen's shocked face.

"Mom, I can explain." Mark says as he steps towards her. She steps back and takes a deep breath before finally speaking.

"I…I think I'm just going to go." Oh shit, now what are we going to do?