Challenge #78 Entry: "Coffee"
Title: Coffee
Author: Holly [bohemian21]
Feedback: *sings* "Pretty poison like feedback, and I flail in your wake..."
Pairing: Maureen/Joanne and Roger/Mimi are mentioned, but neither are central to the fic.
Word Count: 702.
Rating: G.
Genre: General.
Summary: Roger and Joanne bump into each other at the Life.
Notes: I'm not sure how I feel about this, but the plotbunny wouldn't go away.
Special Thanks: To everyone!
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I don't own RENT.
Roger sat in a booth in the back corner of the Life Café. He had a cup of coffee in front of him, and a bunch of papers spread out on the table. He was chewing on the end of a pen, leaning back, eyes closed, thinking. His fingers moved as if he was playing his guitar. Every so often, his eyes would open wide, and he’d scribble something down on one of the papers in front of him. He was lost in his own little world, as he so often was while writing, and completely oblivious of everything going on around him.
“This seat taken?”
He looked up to see Joanne standing on the other side of the table. He started to move his papers, to clear the table a bit. “No, go ahead. What brings you here?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Joanne sat down, setting her briefcase on the floor and pulling out a manila folder. “Maureen is rehearsing. I had to get out of the apartment before my head exploded. I’ve got some work to do, but I didn’t want to go back to the office. I figured I could get some work done here.”
Roger nodded. “The Life’s good for that.”
“What about you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here without either Mark or Mimi, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you attempt to write a song without your guitar in hand.”
“Mimi is at work, so I had planned to hang around the loft. But Mark,” Roger rolled his eyes, “is editing film. The same film that he’s been editing for two weeks now. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I thought about writing down in Mimi’s apartment, but it just doesn’t seem right. So I thought I’d try my hand at writing here.”
“Are you getting anywhere?” Joanne craned her neck in an attempt to see what he had written. The attempt fell short when she realized that Roger’s handwriting was nearly illegible.
“It’s coming along, I think.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Of course, I may change my mind when I hear it on my guitar.”
The waitress came by to refill Roger’s coffee, and bring a cup for Joanne. After sipping her coffee, Joanne opened the folder she had set on the table, and began to read. Roger resumed his earlier routine of chewing on the end of his pen until inspiration struck, and then scribbling furiously. The two sat in companionable silence, each engrossed in their own work, oblivious to everything around them, for quite a while.
“Pookie!”
Roger and Joanne’s heads snapped up simultaneously. Maureen was standing beside Joanne’s chair, her hands on her hips, an astonished expression on her face.
“What are you doing here with Roger?”
“Didn’t she tell you, Maureen? We’re having a torrid love affair.” Roger smirked.
Maureen rolled her eyes. “That would never happen. Joanne has better taste than that.” Roger feigned hurt.
“I love you, Honeybear, but I needed some relative quiet to get this reading done before my court appearance tomorrow. I didn’t want to interrupt your rehearsal, so I just left.”
“And hunted Roger down?”
“All the ladies do.” He grinned.
Both women ignored him. “No, I just happened to run into him here, and thought the company would be nice. Which it was,” she added, to Roger.
“We should do this again sometime. It’s not often that it’s the two of us who meet up somewhere.” Roger smiled, almost uncertainly.
“True. We should, but right now, I think we’d better get going.” Joanne gathered up her papers and stood, throwing some money on the table to cover the bill.
“Yeah, I should head out, too. Mimi should be home soon. Thanks for the coffee, and the company.”
Joanne smiled. “Anytime. We’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Roger,” Maureen added.
Roger waved, and picked up the papers he’d strewn across the table. Glancing at what he’d written, he saw that he’d been more productive in the past hour than he had been in the past two days. He would definitely have to take Joanne up on her offer sometime in the future.
Author: Holly [bohemian21]
Feedback: *sings* "Pretty poison like feedback, and I flail in your wake..."
Pairing: Maureen/Joanne and Roger/Mimi are mentioned, but neither are central to the fic.
Word Count: 702.
Rating: G.
Genre: General.
Summary: Roger and Joanne bump into each other at the Life.
Notes: I'm not sure how I feel about this, but the plotbunny wouldn't go away.
Special Thanks: To everyone!
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I don't own RENT.
Roger sat in a booth in the back corner of the Life Café. He had a cup of coffee in front of him, and a bunch of papers spread out on the table. He was chewing on the end of a pen, leaning back, eyes closed, thinking. His fingers moved as if he was playing his guitar. Every so often, his eyes would open wide, and he’d scribble something down on one of the papers in front of him. He was lost in his own little world, as he so often was while writing, and completely oblivious of everything going on around him.
“This seat taken?”
He looked up to see Joanne standing on the other side of the table. He started to move his papers, to clear the table a bit. “No, go ahead. What brings you here?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Joanne sat down, setting her briefcase on the floor and pulling out a manila folder. “Maureen is rehearsing. I had to get out of the apartment before my head exploded. I’ve got some work to do, but I didn’t want to go back to the office. I figured I could get some work done here.”
Roger nodded. “The Life’s good for that.”
“What about you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here without either Mark or Mimi, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you attempt to write a song without your guitar in hand.”
“Mimi is at work, so I had planned to hang around the loft. But Mark,” Roger rolled his eyes, “is editing film. The same film that he’s been editing for two weeks now. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I thought about writing down in Mimi’s apartment, but it just doesn’t seem right. So I thought I’d try my hand at writing here.”
“Are you getting anywhere?” Joanne craned her neck in an attempt to see what he had written. The attempt fell short when she realized that Roger’s handwriting was nearly illegible.
“It’s coming along, I think.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Of course, I may change my mind when I hear it on my guitar.”
The waitress came by to refill Roger’s coffee, and bring a cup for Joanne. After sipping her coffee, Joanne opened the folder she had set on the table, and began to read. Roger resumed his earlier routine of chewing on the end of his pen until inspiration struck, and then scribbling furiously. The two sat in companionable silence, each engrossed in their own work, oblivious to everything around them, for quite a while.
“Pookie!”
Roger and Joanne’s heads snapped up simultaneously. Maureen was standing beside Joanne’s chair, her hands on her hips, an astonished expression on her face.
“What are you doing here with Roger?”
“Didn’t she tell you, Maureen? We’re having a torrid love affair.” Roger smirked.
Maureen rolled her eyes. “That would never happen. Joanne has better taste than that.” Roger feigned hurt.
“I love you, Honeybear, but I needed some relative quiet to get this reading done before my court appearance tomorrow. I didn’t want to interrupt your rehearsal, so I just left.”
“And hunted Roger down?”
“All the ladies do.” He grinned.
Both women ignored him. “No, I just happened to run into him here, and thought the company would be nice. Which it was,” she added, to Roger.
“We should do this again sometime. It’s not often that it’s the two of us who meet up somewhere.” Roger smiled, almost uncertainly.
“True. We should, but right now, I think we’d better get going.” Joanne gathered up her papers and stood, throwing some money on the table to cover the bill.
“Yeah, I should head out, too. Mimi should be home soon. Thanks for the coffee, and the company.”
Joanne smiled. “Anytime. We’ll see you later.”
“Bye, Roger,” Maureen added.
Roger waved, and picked up the papers he’d strewn across the table. Glancing at what he’d written, he saw that he’d been more productive in the past hour than he had been in the past two days. He would definitely have to take Joanne up on her offer sometime in the future.