Fic: How Mark Learns That Money Isn’t Everything
Arg! Three hours of exams today! All essay. I can't move my right hand anymore. It hurts that much. I don't even know how I did, but God I had a lot to say. What are the chances that I could even have to major essay tests on the same day?
This is for Amanda, so she feels better.
How Mark Learns That Money Isn’t Everything
“Shit!” Mark stumbles out of the subway car, nearly falling to his knees as he swings around. He doesn’t manage to move in time, and just as he spins himself back he can see the card falling down into the tracks. His parents debit card. The forty-six dollars they had given to him. Gone.
As Mark growls down at the track and his forty six irretrievable dollars a heavy hand lands on his shoulder. He can feel the rough, guitar callused fingers through his shirt and he knows exactly who he is. “Come on,” a low voice says, pulling at his shoulder. “Collins and Benny are already outside.”
Mark keeps staring down into the crack of the subway. Forty-six dollars is a lot when you don’t have any money. It’s food. It’s heat. It’s all the necessaries of life. It’s buying new guitar strings for your best friend so that his Christmas is something more than a dull echo of his home life.
“Come on,” Roger says, and he keeps tugging at Mark’s shirt, backing up and pulling Mark with him. He can still see the gleam of blue down in the subway tracks. There goes his chance to give Roger a good Christmas and happy New Year. “We’re gonna get left behind.”
Sigh, Mark rolls his shoulder back to toss Roger’s hand away from him. “Wait, Roger, I dropped the card.”
“The one with the money?” He nods, still staring down at the little piece of plastic. “The one your parents sent you?” Mark nods again, and maybe he could just reach down and… No, it’s insane. But it meant so much. “So?”
“So?” Mark turns around, raising an eyebrow and Roger cuffs him in the shoulder for it. He hates when he does that, because he knows Roger can’t do it. “So that was all my money?”
With that big, honest smile that makes him look less like a rock star and more like a five year old, Roger just shrugs again. “So?”
“So!” Didn’t Roger understand that without money they were going to freeze and starve and a hundred other things? Didn’t he know that they don’t have real jobs, but this bohemian lifestyle still costs something? Didn’t he know that Mark couldn’t -
Couldn’t really breath, when Roger kisses him.
It isn’t much, just a brush of lips over lips, and when Roger pulls back he points up to some mistletoe someone has painted on the ceiling. It really doesn’t matter to Mark. That isn’t the point. What’s really important is that Roger can stop a conversation about money with something as stupid as a kiss and still be smiling at Mark like none of this is a big deal. “So,” Roger repeats, tossing an arm around Mark’s shoulder, leading him up the stairway. “Come on. It’s Christmas. Don’t worry about it.”
This is for Amanda, so she feels better.
How Mark Learns That Money Isn’t Everything
“Shit!” Mark stumbles out of the subway car, nearly falling to his knees as he swings around. He doesn’t manage to move in time, and just as he spins himself back he can see the card falling down into the tracks. His parents debit card. The forty-six dollars they had given to him. Gone.
As Mark growls down at the track and his forty six irretrievable dollars a heavy hand lands on his shoulder. He can feel the rough, guitar callused fingers through his shirt and he knows exactly who he is. “Come on,” a low voice says, pulling at his shoulder. “Collins and Benny are already outside.”
Mark keeps staring down into the crack of the subway. Forty-six dollars is a lot when you don’t have any money. It’s food. It’s heat. It’s all the necessaries of life. It’s buying new guitar strings for your best friend so that his Christmas is something more than a dull echo of his home life.
“Come on,” Roger says, and he keeps tugging at Mark’s shirt, backing up and pulling Mark with him. He can still see the gleam of blue down in the subway tracks. There goes his chance to give Roger a good Christmas and happy New Year. “We’re gonna get left behind.”
Sigh, Mark rolls his shoulder back to toss Roger’s hand away from him. “Wait, Roger, I dropped the card.”
“The one with the money?” He nods, still staring down at the little piece of plastic. “The one your parents sent you?” Mark nods again, and maybe he could just reach down and… No, it’s insane. But it meant so much. “So?”
“So?” Mark turns around, raising an eyebrow and Roger cuffs him in the shoulder for it. He hates when he does that, because he knows Roger can’t do it. “So that was all my money?”
With that big, honest smile that makes him look less like a rock star and more like a five year old, Roger just shrugs again. “So?”
“So!” Didn’t Roger understand that without money they were going to freeze and starve and a hundred other things? Didn’t he know that they don’t have real jobs, but this bohemian lifestyle still costs something? Didn’t he know that Mark couldn’t -
Couldn’t really breath, when Roger kisses him.
It isn’t much, just a brush of lips over lips, and when Roger pulls back he points up to some mistletoe someone has painted on the ceiling. It really doesn’t matter to Mark. That isn’t the point. What’s really important is that Roger can stop a conversation about money with something as stupid as a kiss and still be smiling at Mark like none of this is a big deal. “So,” Roger repeats, tossing an arm around Mark’s shoulder, leading him up the stairway. “Come on. It’s Christmas. Don’t worry about it.”