A/N So, a week or so ago I remembered a really feels-filled fanfic from my Gravity Falls days and I thought: "Hey, how could I make this into my own idea?" And so, here's the result! I hope you guys enjoy! I thank Sesquipedalian Numeral for his help!
R&R!
Time To Say Goodbye
"Smell ya later, Lame-O… I love you, Lincoln…"
*Sniffle* "Not if I smell ya first…" the old man whispered taking a step forward as he did so. "Ronnie…" slowly, the peaceful visage of the woman he had once known came into view, and all he could do, was fall to his knees at her bedside.
"Ronnie? Ronnie?! Ronnie!" He had remembered shouting, as he watched the light dim from his wife's eyes, while her arm when limp in his own. Immediately after that, the various monitors connected to her hands and arms began to light up like miniature Christmas trees, signaling the nearest medical staff to respond.
"Come on! You've gotta stay with me!" He desperately shouted, leaning over the old woman as he did so. "Please, I'm begging you! You're the toughest girl I've ever known! You can get through this!"
No response.
Suddenly, a soft, petite hand grabbed ahold of his arm. "Please, sir, You have to leave."
"No! I can't! I can't leave her like this!" Lincoln tried to counter, trying desperately to free himself from the young woman's grip, only to find himself being pulled out of the room anyway… almost as if the woman had had to do this many times before.
The moments after that were a blur to the old man, with him only able to watch as a group of doctors and nurses rushed passed him, wasting no time surrounding the bed that held his wife. For a short moment, he could see the doctor place his hands on Ronnie's chest, only for one of the workers to pull the privacy blinds forward, obscuring his view.
"Please Mr. Loud! I need you to go to the waiting room!" The nurse spoke, cutting through the random array of beeping and unintelligible commands that filled the air.
"I've gotta see her! I've gotta be there!" He countered, pulling against the nurse trying to keep him clear.
"I'm sorry, please, we'll take care of your wife, but we need the space to do so," the woman tried to remain calm, despite the obvious fear permeating her voice, and the sweat causing her grip on the man to begin to slip.
Yet, despite her reassurances, he still fought against his captor, the adrenaline flooding his system urging him to go forward to aid her, and yet to no avail. Eventually, a second nurse, this one being a young man, came to the first's aid, and together, they were able to ease the old man into the waiting room, leaving him unable to help his wife.
And so, there he sat, in one of the old, plastic chairs overlooking a small empty space. Next to him stood a small, wooden table with a plant resting on top. No doubt plastic, as he doubted anyone would have the time to even attempt to keep watering the flower.
On his other side was another table, this one covered by random magazines and news papers from decades past. If he cared to check, he'd probably be able to find a story about one of his sisters buried deep in their pages. In the corner were two vending machines, one for snacks and one for drinks. In his younger days, he remembered buying from them every time one of the family ended up needing a cast or a check up…
Though the last time they came, it was because of Luna…
Lincoln hesitated for a moment, his gaze now fixated on the door, waiting for someone… anyone to come in and greet him. Of course, he knew that it wouldn't be long, but even mere seconds can feel like days when a loved one is in danger and you cannot help them.
"Mr. Loud?" A familiar voice called out, though Lincoln chose not to react, instead focusing his gaze on the source: the doctor whom was tasked with his wife's case.
The young man sighed, and stood up straight, before adjusting his collar and clearing his throat. At this point, saw sunset light was pouring into the waiting room, filling it with soft, solemn air. "I… I regret to inform you that… your wife…" he paused. "Your wife has… passed on."
"Your wife has passed on…" he sat there, trying to let the news sink in, though found the attempt fruitless. For the next few moments, the doctor continued to offer his condolences as well as to try and explain the hospital's policies, though his words simply fell on deaf ears.
"May I see her?" Lincoln spoke up, cutting him off.
Immediately, the man stopped his incessant train of words, a dumbfounded expression overtaking him, before he took a deep breath nodded. "Yes, feel free to do so."
And without another word, he stood up, walked passed him and entered the long hallway right outside the geriatric unit's waiting room. Slowly, he made his way through, the countless doctors and patients moving in and out like clockwork.
None noticing the old man making his way into one of the rooms.
By this point, the doctors had all left, no doubt having finished whatever remained of the tests, before calling the time at which the woman present passed on. Taking his chance, he took note of how pure she looked, without the numerous wires and tubes staining her body nor the random beeping of nearby machines to break his focus on her. "She's… as beautiful as I remember her…"
His gaze slowly made its way across her body, taking in every minute detail as tears began to well up in her eyes.
With unsteady movements, he placed his hand on the woman's chest, taking care to feel for the heartbeat that had filled his life with warmth from the day that he first encountered it. And yet, only found a cold stillness.
"Ronnie Anne…"he whispered, his hand brushing over her face. Despite what had happened mere moments earlier, she still had the smile she left him with. "Don't… don't be a Lame-O, Ronnie Anne… I'll smell ya later."
A single soft tear began to make its way down the old man's cheeks. Those were her words back when they first started to grow their relationship. They were only eleven at the time, but Lincoln remembered how strange she had made him feel… well, besides all the times she shoved Sloppy Joes in his pants.
Soon enough, his free hand made its way to his own face, rubbing the area around his right eye as he did so. The skin was still a bit tender, at least he imagined it to be so, as a result of the black eye she had given him after their first kiss. "I never did thank them for pushing me so hard… heh, that was one of the times their meddling ever got me anywhere."
Carefully, his left hand made its way over to the Ronnie Anne's right one, intertwining his fingers with hers, just as they had done for years. "Thank you… for the greatest adventure I could have ever wanted."
In that moment, he closed his eyes; his head falling downcast while more tears began to make their way down his cheeks. Despite the coldness of her hand, he could still feel her presence. It was as if they were children again, with Ronnie Anne always suddenly appearing despite no one seeing her coming. "She was so much like Lucy and Lynn in the way she moved," he gave a small, tear-filled smile. "The toughest girl I knew."
With that thought, his gaze slowly moved to examine the rest of her body. Despite all the years that had passed, she still wore a purple hooded sweater, a taste she had acquired when she was younger. Her black, albeit greying, hair was loose now, left that way after Lincoln complimented her on how beautiful she looked without her ponytail.
Slowly, his hand made its way through his own hair. "She always did tease me about how old I looked with my white hair… though in the end, she always kissed me and said how much she loved it…"
He remembered the nights they spent together, with him simply holding onto her perfectly contoured body, while her soft arms wrapped around him, urging him to come closer and become one with her; a request he happily fulfilled.
Slowly after that, Lincoln's gaze moved over to her left arm, falling upon the golden band he had given her when he proposed. "She loved to pop her leg up when we kissed…"
More memories soon followed. After they got engaged, they decided to finally move in together. Their first apartment wasn't much, just a single bedroom, a small living space, a kitchen and a bathroom. Thankfully, however, they were already used to cramped spaces.
He remembered the nights they spent together in there. When the heater would go out, they'd snuggle close together for warmth, and when it was hot, they go as far as to be in their underwear to keep cool, so they wouldn't have to make any space between them.
Though of course, they didn't take it any further than that… at least until they were married. She had told him many times that she didn't want a big wedding or to be overly showy…
But even couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. "We both came from big families, so they were bound to go all out for us," he took one more deep breath, before kneeling at his wife's bedside, and burying his head in her chest.
Despite the busy hospital surrounding them, all seemed quiet as the man mourned. He could remember the life that soon followed, him and his wife, building their own family from scratch. They once had an argument over how many kids to have, as they were both worried about having a family too big to raise properly, though they did eventually settle on five children.
"They've all moved on," he remembered the sleepless nights they spent together, taking care of those they had brought into their world; being a parent was hard work, but when you love your partner, well, all of the suffering was worth it.
Time passed with him simply kneeling there, his tears staining the purple sweater he had grown used to see her wearing. Before he stood up and wiped the salty liquid from his eyes. "Good… goodbye, Lame-O, smell ya later…" he last words echoed in his mind. "I love you, Lincoln…"
*Sniffle* "Not if I smell ya first…" he whispered. With that, he steeled his gaze as best he could, before taking her hands in his again. "I'm gonna miss you Ronnie… I love you too…" he finally broke his gaze with his wife, allowing it to fall upon the beautiful, sunset sky. In the distance, he could see the town of Royal Woods, the small, quiet place where their families had called their home. In that moment, his mind raced towards the image of a small house with a black roof and a bright red door: the place he grew up, followed by a teal-colored home a see block away. "To think... we lived so close this whole time..." soon, more memories began to rush into his mind. Of the day they first met, the first time she pranked him, their first kiss, their first date, and all the other firsts of their lives.
And in response to the flurry, all Lincoln did, was smile. "What did Lucy say about death again? Even the sun has to set, right? But we know that it will rise again in the morning."
He gave a small, tear-filled smile. "That's right… she said that meant that no matter what happened, we'll always see each other again in the next life… because the sun rises no matter what, and it will always set at the end of the day," he wiped the tears rushing to fill his eyes, before refocusing on his wife. "Don't change Ronnie… Because we're gonna pick up right where we left off, when I see you again!"
Slowly, he stood up straight and turned away. "Goodbye Ronnie Anne…" And with that, he took a soft breath, before finally letting go.
1-6-20-5-18 1-12-12, 8-5 11-14-15-23-19 8-5 23-9-12-12 19-5-5 8-5-18 1-7-1-9-14
A/N And there's another one-shot into the books! I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, feel free to PM me or talk on the TLH discord server! In other news, I'm preparing for NaNoWriMo this year, so stay tuned!