[For Maureen]

[one__song]

"A mullet?!"

Seated on the couch in the rec room, a bowl of shitty popcorn perched between his legs, and he was watching some movie that the bookshelf wouldn't let up on called School of Rock. He figured it would be worth a viewing because then the shelf would leave him alone, but there he was, rocking out hardcore. With a mullet. And who the

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[drama_maureen]

Maureen walked in just as the closing credits were rolling, and she took one look at Roger's not-so-sunny disposition as he sat there slumped on the couch, and said, "I know what you need." This was, of course, without any sort of preface or greeting. It was just Maureen.

[one__song]

And just Maureen was just what Roger was used to. He turned his scowl on Maureen, though his mood was immediately lighter.

"Some kind of drug to make me forget the last hour and a half?" He dramatically let his head fall back against the padding of the couch.

[drama_maureen]

"Nope," Maureen informed him as she bounced over to him and grabbed his arm, hauling him off of the couch. "You need a dance. With me."

[one__song]

And Roger's ass was off the couch, but his weight sagged like it didn't want to be.

"Mo," Roger protested at length. "Why?" He was pouting. Sulking. He wasn't sure why, though, and she was on the fast track to ending that mood. Bitch.

[drama_maureen]

Apparently Maureen had worked up some good juke box karma, because as soon as she slung her arms around Roger's waist, it started playing "Get Up Offa That Thing!"

"Because you're in a mood and this'll help," she said, grinning at him. "Come on, Roger, I'll even let you grab my ass."

[one__song]

Sure, Roger was rolling his eyes, but his lips were quirked into a smile, finally, and he even was a little horrified to discover that his hips were moving against Maureen's, hands still at his sides.

"I can grab your ass whenever I want." He stock his tongue out slightly over his teeth. Well, he was pretty sure it was true.

[drama_maureen]

"Yeah, but you can't always guarantee that I'll be happy about it," she pointed out, and grabbed one of his hands. And with the other, she reached around and grabbed his ass for good measure, pulling them even closer together.

[one__song]

"Yeah, I can," Roger argued, and he didn't bother resisting when Maureen pulled him closer by the ass, just laughed and put more effort into the movement in his hips. It was fluid enough- anything driven by rhythm was something Roger could understand, at the very least- and while not skilled, it was passable.

He left his hand at Maureen's waist.

"What've you been up to? Been a while." He wondered if they could talk without Mark coming up in conversation.

[drama_maureen]

"Same old, same old," said Maureen. "Been bored, actually. How about you, Rog? Bored?"

She knew that he and Mark had broken up, of course. It didn't seem like Mark wanted to talk about it, so she hadn't asked. And if she knew Roger, he sure as hell wasn't going to want to. Which was just fine with her.

[one__song]

"Bored" wasn't exactly the word that could describe it. He'd been actually almost downright busy. Wanting Angela took a fair amount of time, trying not to rush things with Prior was another chunk of time, and flirting with Brian took the rest of the day. For the first time in a long time, his calendar was filled. Plus there was playing his guitar and his island radio gig...

"I've been.... not doing much," he lied, and badly. So badly that he even shook his head at himself. "Hunter is driving me crazy, really, so I stay out of the room most of the time." Until around 5 Eastern Standard.

[drama_maureen]

"Sounds familiar," said Maureen. They were still dancing, and she slid one hand up the back of his neck and her fingers into the hair at the nape.

"Seems like I don't see you around that much. I've been thinking. That you and I. We should see... more of each other."

[one__song]

The words alone would have been suspect, especially coming from Maureen, but that fact that they were couple with feather-light touches... it was hard to ignore.

"Oh yeah?" He was kind of stunned into silence. Years of nothing and then Mark and now everything? What the fuck?

[drama_maureen]

"I hope you don't expect me to be coy," she purred. "I'm just pointing out that there seems to be a window of opportunity here." By which she meant that there was finally a time when she wasn't dating Mark and he wasn't dating Mark.

"Life is short," she added.

The irony wasn't lost on her that she was having nearly the completely opposite reaction to Roger that she'd had to James just a few days earlier. But the flip side of Sirius' disappearance was - she was upset that she hadn't gotten a chance to have sex with him. Because oh, she'd really, really wanted to.

Life is short.

[one__song]

In an instant, Roger went from dancing and smiling to brows drawn down into not the perpetually concerned look Mark wore like a medal, but in this dark knit that he'd worn since the day April had died, and worn it like some kind of defect.

"I know life is short, Maureen," he hissed.

[drama_maureen]

The teasing, sexual expression fell from Maureen's face, and she took a step backwards, away from him, looking uncharacteristically vulnerable, almost stricken. "I - I'm sorry."

[one__song]

God, how could he have even tried to be angry at her carelessness when she was looking like that? Maureen didn't have a habit of showing weakness, didn't ever look so... sorry.

"It's... it's alright. It's OK. Come here." He held out strong, welcoming arms and took one step forward, waiting for her to take the rest.