RENT: Someone Else's Story (Chapter Four)
Title: Someone Else's Story
Chapter: Four
Characters/Pairing: April/Mimi, Mark, Benny, Collins, Joanne, Maureen, mention of Roger
Word Count: 1329
Rating: PG-13
Summary: I could be in someone else's story, in someone else's life, and she could be in mine... April lived. Roger didn't. Mimi still knocks on the door of the loft on Christmas Eve.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rent. Plus, I kind of half-stole some lines from the show. Half-stole, because most of them I've kind of altered.
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iv. clinging a shoulder, a leap begins
"You know," April remarked as they left the Life Café along with the others, "it occurs to me that if Benny padlocked the building, we've got nowhere to stay." Despite the comment, she wasn't particularly concerned about it, still coming down from the high of adrenaline, her arm slung comfortably around Mimi's shoulders. Alright, maybe they wouldn't be able to get into the building, but that seemed to matter less with Mimi at her side, with Mark and Collins and Maureen there, and with the pulse of the city around her once more.
"Fuck, you're right," Mimi said, considering that for a minute. "Well, I guess we could always try going up the fire escape."
Mark blinked at her, eyebrows raised, camera pointed at April and Mimi though he had to walk backward in order to manage that. "You're kidding, right? I don't know about you, but I'd probably break my neck trying."
Collins leaned over to tell Mimi in a stage whisper, "Mark's afraid of heights." He pretended not to see Mark glaring at him over his camera.
Laughing, Mimi grinned at Mark and told him brightly, "Bet you I could get up the fire escape without hurting myself. But mostly... yeah, I'm kidding."
No one spoke for a while as the seven of them walked down the sidewalk, and at last Mark shrugged. "So we just... don't go home tonight and then... um." He seemed to be at a loss as to what to do from there. April chuckled softly.
"Good plan, Mark."
"Well I don't see you coming up with anything," he pointed out. Walking backward as he was, he forgot to look behind him and ran into a telephone booth. Red-faced, though it was only slightly visible in the dark, he spun around, clearly determined to pretend that hadn't happened, although Angel, Mimi, Collins and April laughing at him certainly didn't help that pretense.
"I'm sure if we went to Benny's house and asked him for the key he'd be glad to give it to us," April said with saccharine sweet sarcasm, prompting an eye roll from Mark.
"Oh, yeah, that's gonna work. Does anyone even know where Benny lives?"
Mimi glanced down quickly, though none of the other seemed to notice. Collins remarked after a moment, "There's probably a reason he didn't give us his address."
"Yes," April said, affecting an innocent tone "you never know when someone might... say... kill your dog." Angel laughed, and Collins grinned, pulling her closer with the arm already around her shoulders.
"Ooh, I know!" Maureen announced, bouncing a little as she spun to face April and Mimi. "You two could come home with me and Joanne and stay at our place for a while."
Joanne looked over her shoulder at Maureen and raised an eyebrow, the message clear: Our apartment? Walking alongside her, Mark muttered quietly, "I don't suppose I get to stay over too?"
Maureen elected to ignore both of them, or at least she gave no indication that she had noticed either, turning instead to April with a bright smile. "What do you think?"
"I... um..." April hesitated, glancing to Joanne - she didn't want to impose on her, but the fact remained that they'd need somewhere to stay. "I'll think about it."
That seemed to satisfy Maureen, who smiled, still stubbornly ignoring Joanne's silent glare. April simply shook her head and looked away from her, having learned a long time ago not to get involved with Maureen's little squabbles with her current boyfriend... or girlfriend now. The last time she'd tried that was when Maureen had been dating Mark, back when she was still living in the loft... The dramatics and near hysterics that had resulted from April's attempt at helping that time were enough to warn her off any further interference, so as Maureen turned to address a question to Angel, apparently bent on ignoring Joanne, April simply caught Mark's gaze and rolled her eyes, sharing a quick, teasing smile.
April remained silent as they walked (with, she was certain, no clear destination in mind) and only half listened to the conversation of the others. It was cold out, and the jacket she'd brought not really enough protection against the chill, but she almost didn't care, because at least it was a different kind of cold than the loft. There she always felt numb and simply chilled to the bone - now, out here in the world, she felt awake and alive. More than she had all year. It was a strange feeling, but welcome.
And there was Mimi. Mimi, who wouldn't allow feeling numb, who burned away all chill or trace of unfeeling with her simple presence. Mimi, who now reached to twine her fingers through April's, and lightly pulled her to drop to the back of the group, and after a moment, as the others walked on without noticing, stopped completely, standing against the bare brick wall of a building. Before April could ask why they'd stopped, Mimi stood on tiptoe, arms around April's neck, to kiss her.
Fire, liquid fire was what April had first thought of Mimi's kiss, heat coursing from her and into April, racing through her blood, and it was the same now, burning away every thought for as long as she held the kiss. Burning against the cold, and April gripped her shoulders, clinging tight to her until Mimi pulled away with a daring smile. She didn't say anything, and April took that moment to steady herself and stop her head from spinning. It wasn't fair that a girl four years younger than she was could do this to her - April had the vague feeling it ought to be the other way around.
"I'd invite you to spend the night at my place," April said carefully, "if I could, you know, get into my place."
"I live just downstairs from you," Mimi reminded her, and April thought she might be teasing but wasn't quite sure. "If we could get into the building, I could just sleep at my place."
April blushed, inexplicably flustered, and half-stammered, "Well, that wasn't exactly the point of the-"
"I know." Mimi grinned, and shook her head slowly. "I was kidding. You really are way too easy." Somehow that only made April's blush deepen, but she ignored that as best she could, and she hadn't spent three years with Roger without learning how to get back some of her own, no matter how flustered. She pulled Mimi back to her, hands still on the younger girl's shoulders, and kissed her again, which Mimi certainly didn't seem to mind. April's head spun with a sort of giddy thrill she hadn't felt in over a year, heart racing and in her throat, but a welcome feeling, and one that alleviated the pain of the past year - didn't chase it away completely, but the wounds didn't feel quite as raw now, and she could almost forget about them for just this moment.
"We really should catch up with everyone," April said, a little reluctantly, when they finally broke the kiss. "Before they start to wonder where we disappeared to and start to worry."
Mimi pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then shook her head, flashing April a smile. "Let them wonder."
April meant to protest, really - she had vague thoughts of pointing out that there was a good chance Mark would really worry, that if they didn't follow their friends it was extremely likely they wouldn't have anywhere to stay, along with a number of other perfectly good reasons to hurry and catch up with everyone before they lost them completely - but Mimi leaned in and cut off those objections before they could reach her lips, and April gave up protest altogether.
Next Chapter >>
Chapter: Four
Characters/Pairing: April/Mimi, Mark, Benny, Collins, Joanne, Maureen, mention of Roger
Word Count: 1329
Rating: PG-13
Summary: I could be in someone else's story, in someone else's life, and she could be in mine... April lived. Roger didn't. Mimi still knocks on the door of the loft on Christmas Eve.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rent. Plus, I kind of half-stole some lines from the show. Half-stole, because most of them I've kind of altered.
<< Previous Chapter
iv. clinging a shoulder, a leap begins
"You know," April remarked as they left the Life Café along with the others, "it occurs to me that if Benny padlocked the building, we've got nowhere to stay." Despite the comment, she wasn't particularly concerned about it, still coming down from the high of adrenaline, her arm slung comfortably around Mimi's shoulders. Alright, maybe they wouldn't be able to get into the building, but that seemed to matter less with Mimi at her side, with Mark and Collins and Maureen there, and with the pulse of the city around her once more.
"Fuck, you're right," Mimi said, considering that for a minute. "Well, I guess we could always try going up the fire escape."
Mark blinked at her, eyebrows raised, camera pointed at April and Mimi though he had to walk backward in order to manage that. "You're kidding, right? I don't know about you, but I'd probably break my neck trying."
Collins leaned over to tell Mimi in a stage whisper, "Mark's afraid of heights." He pretended not to see Mark glaring at him over his camera.
Laughing, Mimi grinned at Mark and told him brightly, "Bet you I could get up the fire escape without hurting myself. But mostly... yeah, I'm kidding."
No one spoke for a while as the seven of them walked down the sidewalk, and at last Mark shrugged. "So we just... don't go home tonight and then... um." He seemed to be at a loss as to what to do from there. April chuckled softly.
"Good plan, Mark."
"Well I don't see you coming up with anything," he pointed out. Walking backward as he was, he forgot to look behind him and ran into a telephone booth. Red-faced, though it was only slightly visible in the dark, he spun around, clearly determined to pretend that hadn't happened, although Angel, Mimi, Collins and April laughing at him certainly didn't help that pretense.
"I'm sure if we went to Benny's house and asked him for the key he'd be glad to give it to us," April said with saccharine sweet sarcasm, prompting an eye roll from Mark.
"Oh, yeah, that's gonna work. Does anyone even know where Benny lives?"
Mimi glanced down quickly, though none of the other seemed to notice. Collins remarked after a moment, "There's probably a reason he didn't give us his address."
"Yes," April said, affecting an innocent tone "you never know when someone might... say... kill your dog." Angel laughed, and Collins grinned, pulling her closer with the arm already around her shoulders.
"Ooh, I know!" Maureen announced, bouncing a little as she spun to face April and Mimi. "You two could come home with me and Joanne and stay at our place for a while."
Joanne looked over her shoulder at Maureen and raised an eyebrow, the message clear: Our apartment? Walking alongside her, Mark muttered quietly, "I don't suppose I get to stay over too?"
Maureen elected to ignore both of them, or at least she gave no indication that she had noticed either, turning instead to April with a bright smile. "What do you think?"
"I... um..." April hesitated, glancing to Joanne - she didn't want to impose on her, but the fact remained that they'd need somewhere to stay. "I'll think about it."
That seemed to satisfy Maureen, who smiled, still stubbornly ignoring Joanne's silent glare. April simply shook her head and looked away from her, having learned a long time ago not to get involved with Maureen's little squabbles with her current boyfriend... or girlfriend now. The last time she'd tried that was when Maureen had been dating Mark, back when she was still living in the loft... The dramatics and near hysterics that had resulted from April's attempt at helping that time were enough to warn her off any further interference, so as Maureen turned to address a question to Angel, apparently bent on ignoring Joanne, April simply caught Mark's gaze and rolled her eyes, sharing a quick, teasing smile.
April remained silent as they walked (with, she was certain, no clear destination in mind) and only half listened to the conversation of the others. It was cold out, and the jacket she'd brought not really enough protection against the chill, but she almost didn't care, because at least it was a different kind of cold than the loft. There she always felt numb and simply chilled to the bone - now, out here in the world, she felt awake and alive. More than she had all year. It was a strange feeling, but welcome.
And there was Mimi. Mimi, who wouldn't allow feeling numb, who burned away all chill or trace of unfeeling with her simple presence. Mimi, who now reached to twine her fingers through April's, and lightly pulled her to drop to the back of the group, and after a moment, as the others walked on without noticing, stopped completely, standing against the bare brick wall of a building. Before April could ask why they'd stopped, Mimi stood on tiptoe, arms around April's neck, to kiss her.
Fire, liquid fire was what April had first thought of Mimi's kiss, heat coursing from her and into April, racing through her blood, and it was the same now, burning away every thought for as long as she held the kiss. Burning against the cold, and April gripped her shoulders, clinging tight to her until Mimi pulled away with a daring smile. She didn't say anything, and April took that moment to steady herself and stop her head from spinning. It wasn't fair that a girl four years younger than she was could do this to her - April had the vague feeling it ought to be the other way around.
"I'd invite you to spend the night at my place," April said carefully, "if I could, you know, get into my place."
"I live just downstairs from you," Mimi reminded her, and April thought she might be teasing but wasn't quite sure. "If we could get into the building, I could just sleep at my place."
April blushed, inexplicably flustered, and half-stammered, "Well, that wasn't exactly the point of the-"
"I know." Mimi grinned, and shook her head slowly. "I was kidding. You really are way too easy." Somehow that only made April's blush deepen, but she ignored that as best she could, and she hadn't spent three years with Roger without learning how to get back some of her own, no matter how flustered. She pulled Mimi back to her, hands still on the younger girl's shoulders, and kissed her again, which Mimi certainly didn't seem to mind. April's head spun with a sort of giddy thrill she hadn't felt in over a year, heart racing and in her throat, but a welcome feeling, and one that alleviated the pain of the past year - didn't chase it away completely, but the wounds didn't feel quite as raw now, and she could almost forget about them for just this moment.
"We really should catch up with everyone," April said, a little reluctantly, when they finally broke the kiss. "Before they start to wonder where we disappeared to and start to worry."
Mimi pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then shook her head, flashing April a smile. "Let them wonder."
April meant to protest, really - she had vague thoughts of pointing out that there was a good chance Mark would really worry, that if they didn't follow their friends it was extremely likely they wouldn't have anywhere to stay, along with a number of other perfectly good reasons to hurry and catch up with everyone before they lost them completely - but Mimi leaned in and cut off those objections before they could reach her lips, and April gave up protest altogether.
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