That drip of hurt, that pint of shame...

[idiotwithguitar]

Roger manages to find his way to Mimi's room when he finally summons the energy to get off the couch, carefully making his way down the stairs, trailing his fingers along the wall and counting doorways until he reaches the right one - and then he knocks, hesitantly. He looks like shit, to be honest, and it's obvious to anyone that he's been crying

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[aveb_feline]

Mimi -is- in her room, curled up in bed with a hot cup of tea.

The knock on her door surprises her, but she assumes it's one of her friends coming to check up on her, so she rolls her eyes, standing up, and goes to open the door.

When she sees Roger, she goes still from shock.

My god, he looks awful.

"....Roger? Baby, what's wrong?"

The endearment slips out totally unconsciously. Very probably she's not even aware of it.

[idiotwithguitar]

And Roger's not in a state to notice the endearment, which is probably for the best.

"Mark... he..."

Roger trails off for a moment, unable to find words. It all sounds so stupid when he says it out loud, but he supposes there's not much he can do about that.

"He hates me. He's my best friend and I already lost him once and..."

There's a silence, and then he asks softly, barely audible, "Can I come in?" He sounds so pathetic, so completely broken, and so unlike the usual Roger that it's almost alarming.

[aveb_feline]

"...of course you can come in," Mimi says quietly, and takes his hands, leading him into the room and over to the bed. "Here, sit. Talk to me."

[idiotwithguitar]

Roger half-collapses onto the bed, hurting and so glad that Mimi's there and that she'll let him in and talk to him.

"He doesn't want to talk to me. He doesn't want to be around me. He almost killed himself because of me."

[aveb_feline]

Mimi's jaw drops.

It's mostly instinct when she wraps her arms around him, pulling him closer.

"....god. Roger...what...no, you don't have to tell me. Whatever it is...you don't have to tell me."

[idiotwithguitar]

And Roger doesn't really think before falling against her, arms around her and clinging desperately to her.

"Thank you."

There's a long hesitation before he speaks again.

"He died. Where I'm from. And here... it was like getting him back, but now..."

[aveb_feline]

Oh.

Oh.

"....oh, Roger. I'm so sorry."

She strokes his hair gently with one hand, the other dropping down and rubbing small, gentle circles on his back.

She can't even imagine what that would be like.

She doesn't want to try.

[idiotwithguitar]

And Roger's got nothing more to say, because he can't explain to her why Mark hates him, or how that's in large part the reason for his hand and the fact that he can't see, or... any of that, really.

So he just drops his head to her shoulder, pressing his face against her neck, and clings to her. He's going to need a while to get patched together and stable again - it's not often that Roger really breaks, and it's always messy and unpleasant when he does.

[aveb_feline]

Mimi isn't going to ask him for details. It's none of her business anyway.

She's just going to hold him and let him cling, and murmur soft nonsensical things in his ear as he does.

And keep petting his hair, because she likes doing that.

[idiotwithguitar]

It's a long time before Roger stops shaking (which he has been), and calms down enough that he can loosen his grip on Mimi (though not let go of her completely) and lift his head to look at her, attempting a shaky smile that bears no resemblance whatsoever to a real smile.

"Sorry," he mumbles softly. "I didn't mean to... well... you know."

He's not used to falling apart on people. Or at all. And it shows.

[aveb_feline]

"It's okay," Mimi says softly, and reaches up, cupping his face in her hands. "It's fine. What friends are for, right?"

[idiotwithguitar]

And now Roger's smile a little more genuine, and not as shaky, a little cheered by the reminder that she is his friend, that at least someone in the universe doesn't hate him. It definitely helps.

"Right."

[aveb_feline]

She smiles back, even though he can't see it, and leans in close, her lips against his cheek.

"Besides...I really do like you."

Beat.

"A lot."

[idiotwithguitar]

Roger hesitates a moment, not sure if he'd somehow mistaken something in her tone or... After a moment he decides not to think about it, and reaches up to pull her to him, turning so he can kiss her.

"I like you too, Mimi." His voice is low and a little hoarse. "I..."

He'd meant to say more, really, but the words won't come, and so after a moment he gives up and just kisses her again. It's easier than thinking.

[aveb_feline]

Mimi kisses him back, and this time she doesn't even think about Paolo.

Because he's a sweet boy...but Roger is a -man.-

And goodamn can he kiss.

She's not even aware of slipping into his lap.

[idiotwithguitar]

Well, even if she's not aware of it, Roger certainly notices her slipping into his lap, and certainly doesn't mind. Distractions.

But... more than that, really, even if Roger won't admit it. There is, after all, a reason Roger came to Mimi when his world started to fall apart. Maybe he doesn't know it, but there are reasons.

Those would be Roger's hands on her waist, pulling her snugly against him - still more careful with the one hand than the other.