A/n: Just a little songfic I came up with during a really rough show. I adore this song. It's called "Someone To Fall Back On" by Jason Robert Brown. I figured I'd post it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the song.

Someone To Fall Back On

She wasn’t beautiful… at least, not to most people. She was too short, too fat, too plain, too loud, too quirky, too clumsy, and too free to be conventionally beautiful. Her ‘friends’ found her fun… when they realized she was there. More often than not, they were content to ignore her, unless they needed something.

He saw it all. He himself wasn’t particularly the center of it all, so he believed he might be able to imagine how she felt. He’d seen some of the facets of her character: the fanatic thespian at rehearsals, the raving lunatic when she was pissed, both ecstatic and gentle happiness, and (lastly) the quiet side of her; the one who was the confidante, the lonely one, and the hopeless and helpless romantic.

That side of her loved soft love ballads, classic romance novels, romantic comedies, and the ideas of a Prince Charming, love at first sight, opposites attracting, inner beauty, and a knight in shining armor.

I’ll never be a knight in armor
With a sword in hand
Or a kamikaze fighter

He was never really the brave one with the girls. Heck, he was never really brave in general. He had waited for years before even considering being an actor. She’d been planning it for her whole life. He was by no means a leader, but rather a worker.

Don’t count on me
To storm the barricades
And take a stand
Or hold my ground

He wasn’t one for taking chances. He was no knight in shining armor, ready to rush in and save the damsel in distress at a moment’s notice. He had more of a gradual approach of just being there for people when they needed it. He had no thought to being anyone’s ‘savior’ or ‘hero’. He was just… a normal guy.

You’ll never see
Any scars or wounds
I don’t walk on coals
I won’t walk on water

She wanted the prince, the knight, the hero. The man who could take her away from here, take her to the life she wanted to live. She wanted someone who had no qualms with risking everything for the one he loved. In short, she wanted everything he wasn’t.

He wanted someone he could grow old with. Someone he could comfort, help, and love. Someone who would take the chances he was so afraid of and bring him with her. He wanted someone who could care about him as he was, with no changes made to impress her and no qualms with letting him be there to catch her when she flew high, just in case. In short, he wanted everything she was.

I am no prince
I am no saint
I am not anyone’s wildest dream
But I will stand behind
And be someone to fall back on

It was after a rehearsal. She had dealt with a lot recently. She had to be the one to handle everyone’s blocking and help everyone out, despite the fact that no one gave her anything in return. A better part than her own had been dangled in front of her, and then snatched away even after it had been promised to her. She worked and strove, and got so little in return. Still, she always offered to help him with his lines, no matter how tired, stressed, or upset she must be. She knew Shakespeare must be hard on him, being a newbie to theater.

Some comedy-
You’re bruised and beaten down
And I’m the one
Who’s looking for a favor.

He wanted to help her so bad. He knew she sat there, holding it all in. That much emotion would probably make any normal human being explode if they kept it in, but she wasn’t any normal human being. Instead, she was an actress. She didn’t want to ruin her chances by breaking down, she’d told him, since she still had to deal with this director for another two semesters. He’d tried to tell her she needed to let it out, to let herself cry, or rage, or show some emotion. She just brushed him off.

Still, honestly
You don’t believe me
But the things I have
Are the things you need.

She didn’t see the point in letting herself be upset, in letting stress get to her, in not letting herself be used. But he knew she felt it. He knew that she had so much weight pressing in on her right now, and that she needed to get rid of it. He was ready and willing to be there for her, if she would let him. She was falling, and wasn’t letting him be there to catch her.

You look at me
Like I don’t make sense
Like a waste of time
Like it serves no purpose

Finally, he pulled her aside during a rehearsal. She stood there, giving him a look of slight annoyance, but he thought he picked up something else in those oceanic eyes of hers, something akin to a sadness and a pleading for someone to understand. It took all his courage to do this.

I am no prince
I am no saint
And if that’s what you believe you need
You’re wrong- You don’t need much,
You need someone to fall back on…

“I know you’re upset. I know you’re hurt. I know you’re stressed. I know you don’t want to hear this right now, either,” She began to turn away, but he placed a hand on her arm to stop her, “Please, just listen. If you need to talk, I’m here. You have me. I want to help, since you do so much for everyone else. Just don’t push me away,” He paused before letting her go, “Everyone needs someone to help them sometimes. All you need to do is ask.”

She looked him dead in the eyes, and he thought he saw tears clouding hers.

And I’ll be that
I’ll take your side.
If I’m the only one
I’m used to that.

That was when he realized that no one had ever offered to listen to her before. He was the first person who’d actually looked at her and saw what she needed. Perhaps, he realized, she’d never thought it was necessary to let herself cry because no one ever let her.

I’ve been alone
I’d rather be
The half of us,
The least of you,
The best of me.

“Let me help you. You don’t have to do this all alone,” He whispered, knowing the last barriers between them were being broken down. She wanted to let go. He wanted to help her. By himself, he wasn’t all that much, but if he could help this amazing girl, he was doing the best he could ever do.

And I will be
Your prince,
I’ll be your saint,
I will go crashing through fences
In your name. I will, I swear-
I’ll be someone to fall back on

And then, as though in one instant everything had changed, she was sobbing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to protect her in her moment of weakness. At this moment, he would do anything, no matter how unlike him, to keep her from hurting.

I’ll be the one who waits,
And for as long as you let me
I will be the one you need
I’ll be someone to fall back on

It didn’t matter to him how long she needed to cry, he’d sit there and let her sob into him. It didn’t matter to him if they needed either of them on stage, or if their friends saw this. She needed to cry, so he would let her. He’d wanted to be there for someone. Looks like he was.

Your prince,
Your saint,
The one you believe you need
I’ll be- I’ll be
Someone to fall back on.

She muttered something unintelligible.

“What was that?” He asked gently. It was like dealing with a wild animal. You couldn’t scare it away as soon as it started to trust you.

“I think… No, it’s stupid…” She murmured.

“No, really, what is it? I promise I won’t laugh,” He looked kindly down at her.

“It’s just… I think I finally found my prince,” She smiled, and then buried her face back in his chest. He just smiled and pulled her in tighter. Perhaps, in this night, they’d both found what they’d been looking for.

Someone to fall back on.