A/N
I heard this song on Scrubs and thought "RENT!". I think it makes a good one shot, review and tell me if you agree. Actually, review if you don't agree.
And I have never been to Central Park, or New York, so I'm just going with what I've seen on TV. And "why Central, why not Tompkins Square Park?" Because Central Park seems more romantic, i only just discovered the other park existed and according to wikipedia "The park (TSP) at that time was a high-crime area that contained encampments of homeless people, and it was a center for illegal drug dealing and heroin use" in the 1980s. Just where you want to take you're girlfriend who is an ex-heroin addict.
Disclaimer: I do not own RENT or Questions (by the Old 97s), they belong to greater people than I.
She woke from a dream
Her head was on fire
Why was he so nervous?
"Hey." He shook her shoulder. "Rise and shine."
"Mnhh. Go away." She turned over, so her back was to him.
"No. Come on." Roger opened the window wide, allowing the cool spring air into the room, then pulled the bed cover back right off the bed.
Mimi dived for the cover and ended up with her face in Roger's chest, his arms around her, as he knelt at the bottom of the bed.
"Ah, you're up! I take it you want breakfast? Though it's probably better to describe it as lunch."
"What time is it then?"
"Eleven. Come on I have food ready, we can take it to Central Park."
"Why? What's wrong with the loft?" Roger just gave her smile, then rushed away as soon as Mark called asking about milk.
He took her to the park
She crossed her arms
And lowered her eyelids
"Here we are." Roger spoke softly.
Mimi looked around, "Oh... it's so pretty here, isn't it?" Mimi turned to look at Roger, a smile on her face.
Seeing Mimi smile made Roger let out the breath he had been holding. He smiled back and sat down on the grass overlooking the lake. Mimi was still standing looking out across the water.
"Sit and eat, will you?" Roger laughed, "It's lonely down here."
Mimi sat down gracefully beside him, in contrast to the way he'd practically fallen to the ground.
"Okay, okay." She laughed, then shivered. The late April wind blowing through Central Park was not always warm.
Roger took off his jacket and wrapped it round Mimi's shoulders, then turned to the brown paper bag he had brought the food in. Mimi held the jacket around her with folded arms and watch as Roger removed sandwiches, a large bottle of lemonade and a packet of biscuits from the bag.
"Oreos!"
"Yeah, I take it as they were a good idea?"
"Of course! They're... they're... beautiful! Amazing! Heaven!"
"They're not as beautiful or amazing as you."
Mimi didn't blush at his words, but turned to him, raised an eyebrow that seemed to question his sanity, then spoke with a smile on her face. "Thanks. Not too awful looking yourself."
Some day somebody's gonna ask you
A question that you should say yes to
Once in your life
Maybe tonight I've got a question for you
As they ate Roger stared at the girl sitting beside him wearing his jacket. He could still see the girl he met over a year ago, who climbed into his apartment and tried to stick her tongue down his throat, but she was fading, succumbing to the same disease that would eventually take him too.
His hand kept hovering over the jacket pocket, now lying on the ground as the midday sun started to heat the city. What if she said no? Surely she wouldn't, but could he be sure? There was always a but. He laughed, as he thought back to the first time they met...
His hand finally slipped into the open pocket and came out with a small, blue box.
She'd had no idea
She started to cry
She said in a good way
"Mimi?"
"Yeah?" She turned to look at Roger. And froze.
Roger was sitting facing her, an open box in one of his hands. A flash came from the box as a ray from the sun shone down on the ring.
"Roger, that's not-" she began, but he shook his head slightly to silence her questions. She waited for his words.
Roger drew a breath then spoke:
"Mimi Marquez, wi- will you marry me?" Roger tensed, waited for the rejection his question would surely be met with.
Mimi looked from Roger's eyes to the ring, then back again. Her mind screamed one word over and over, willing herself to answer him. Her mouth opened, shut then opened again, then closed over Roger's.
Roger was stunned. He kissed her back, then pulled away suddenly.
"Wait, is this a, a yes?"
"Yes." Mimi smiled at him. This time he kissed her. This time she pulled away and Roger noticed her eyes were starting to go slightly red.
"Hey, what's wrong?" His worry burst through his voice, Mimi wiped away her tears and leaned against him.
"It's nothing, just... I never thought this would ever happen." Mimi didn't dare look at Roger as she thought of the real reason for her tears: the knowledge that she would never actually make it down the ailse. She would likely die before then.
He took her by the hand
Walked her back home
They took the long way
"Does anyone else know? That you had the ring?"
"Only Mark." Mark and Roger were so close it wouldn't have surprised Mimi if Mark had found out telepathically.
"So... we tell everyone together?
"Yeah, they'll all be at the Life Cafe I'm guessing."
"Seems as good a place to tell them as any."
As they walked in the door and Mimi spoke to the waiter, Roger looked over to Mark, who raised his eyebrow. Roger shook his head but grinned.
When they reached the bar Maureen turned round to greet them.
"Hey you two, where've you - oh my gawd what is that on your finger?!"
Roger stepped back and let the girls have their squealing session and sat next to Mark.
"So, she said yes." The statement was the nearest Mark would get to "told you so", though it would definitely crop up in his best man speech...
"Yep, just like you said."
Mark laughed, "I hope not exactly like I said."
An hour later Mimi and Roger left the Life Cafe, as they reached Avenue B Mimi broke away from Roger and started running and dancing back to the loft.
"Betcha can't catch me!" She started laughing and kept moving away from Roger, until he finally caught her at the door to their building.
"So you're already running away from the idea of being 'Mrs Roger Davis'?" He looked into her eyes, tried to look hurt, but failed as the laughter crept into his voice.
"Well, they do say 'Marriage is an institution for those that belong in an institution'," she teased.
"Oh thanks." He kept smiling. He seemed to be doing a lot of smiling today.
Some day somebody's gonna ask you
A question that you should say yes to
Once in your life
Baby tonight I've got a question for you
As they sat on the loft's couch together that night, which was free of random clutter for once, Roger spoke his thoughts aloud.
"I still can't believe you said yes."
"You thought I'd say no? Doofus." And she turned and kissed him once again.
A/N
ht tp: / / ftp./pub/GNOME/teams/art./backgrounds/NATURE-CentralParkTheGreatLawn1920x1200 .jpg
Wee outcrop to the right is sort of where i imagine they'd be sitting. or on a slope looking down at the water
Roger just seems like a traditional guy to me, i mean did you see the way he protected Mimi during the riot in the film and how flustered he gets during Light my Candle? If Mimi survived long enough, this story makes sense to me.
Sorry if the end went on a bit long, i just kept on typing.
And on the keeping on typing theme, the ring was the one he got for April when he was still in the band. Or it could be his mother's.