(Even When It's Not) About You

I.O.U.

Rob finished ladling the vegetarian chili he'd made into the two bowls on the counter next to the stove. Just a few minutes ago he'd heard Mike's footsteps overhead, and he knew the other man was out of the shower. He put the lid back on the pot and shuffled over to the fridge in his socks to pull out the cheese, chives, and sour cream. Sour cream wasn't his favorite, but Mike liked it, and Rob knew he'd put a dollop on the top of the chili when he came down to eat.

I'll just save him the trouble, Rob decided, opening the container of cheese he'd shredded earlier. The chili was steaming and the cheese started to melt immediately when he put a small mound on the top of Mike's, and a sprinkle on his own. Chives were next, and then he opened the sour cream, making a face as he dipped a spoon inside the container.

"What's that face for?" Mike's tone was amused when he came into the kitchen and saw Rob's expression. He looked over the bar and took a deep breath. "Smells good. Your face says otherwise."

"It's sour cream," Rob said, leaving a spoonful on top of the cheese. "Not my thing." He looked up and smiled at Mike. He smelled fresh and clean, and looked relaxed in his black hoodie and joggers. "So how did it go?"

Mike sat down on one of his barstools and scratched his hand over his cheek, along his facial hair. It made a soft scraping sound that Rob could hear, even though he was several feet away. "She's still mad at me. I understand why, but she moved out almost a year ago."

Rob replaced the cold items in the refrigerator and pulled out the beer he knew Mike would want. It didn't surprise him to hear that Anna wasn't happy with Mike still, but for some reason he'd thought Anna would be a little kinder about the circumstances by now. He grabbed an oven mitt to get the bread from the oven. "What did you talk about?" The bread was nicely browned, and Rob pulled it out without looking at Mike. His heart was beating a little faster waiting for him to answer.

"Property. Money. The kids." Mike sighed and leaned back in the bar stool, grabbing his beer and twisting off the top. "I never got into a timeline with her when I told her about Chester, but she's just making up stuff and believes every bit of it. And it's like I owe her, or something." His head went back and he took a sip or two of the cold beverage before he narrowed his eyes and looked at the back of Rob's head. "I mean, maybe I do. I never thought any of this would be happening." He closed his eyes and dropped his head.

Rob kept his focus on the crusty loaf of bread he was cutting up. "Didn't you say you thought you would leave her at some point?" He knew Mike had mentioned that, one of the nights in the studio when he'd cried into his tea and talked about the plans he and Chester had made. Each chunk of bread when onto a platter until he was finished, then he turned around and set it on the bar, between Mike and the barstool he'd be sitting on shortly.

"Eventually, I wanted to. It was more Ches holding things up on that front than me." Mike shrugged. "It really doesn't matter anymore. The thing now is, I don't think I'll be able to make Anna happy. She's got all these ideas, and I guess she's right. She's been with me since before we made it big. I suppose I do owe her." He snagged a piece of bread and started picking off bits to eat. His stomach was rumbling.

Rob could easily remember Anna in 1998. He remembered the heavy black eyeliner and white makeup, the black hair and chokers that went with her tight black dresses and black lipstick. It had never made any sense to him how Mike, with all his love of hip-hop influences, chose goth Anna as his partner. But it hadn't been his decision to make. "So, no progress on the divorce front?"

Mike looked up from his bread sharply. "It's been filed, if that's what you're asking." He grabbed his beer for another sip, his eyes on Rob as the chili bowls were transferred over to the bar. "It's probably going be messy and I can't blame her for that. She's hurt. It would have been ugly if I'd told her I was leaving back then, even without admitting the reason why. I guess I thought since she was the one that left she'd be more interested in getting it over with."