She couldn't sleep; the constant beeping of machines around her bed would not let her. Those sounds, in different pitches and rhythms were nearly haunting. Weiss thought she could get used to them; after all, she managed to accept so many things through her long life. Some of them she would gladly go through again. In fact, so she did in her fondest dreams.
But now, three months living in this bare, white, spotless and lifeless hospital room, the constant beeping bored into her head like a clock pace, a constant reminder that her time was ending, slowly ticking away. A deserved rest, she thought to herself at times.
The room was luxurious, or at least as luxurious as hospital room could be, perfect white covering nearly every surface, but it was a glint of red that made this place bearable. Red roses, never too many, just four or five, always by the side of her bed. A special request from the fair Schnee woman, the only one she would not allow to be missed.
Weiss could close her eyes and take in the scent. The few roses would fill the area around her bed with the very familiar fragrance, letting her travel in her mind to places her old body couldn't allow anymore. The warm fragrance filled not only her lungs, but also her heart. It would bring back the best moments of her life. Her fiercest battles and warmest embraces… her greatest loss to no one but time itself, a merciless enemy that claimed her companions one by one. A peaceful closure that took them in contempt rather than in rage.
She never thought to be the least one. She never wished to stand by three bedsides and see her own empty.
With a sight, she took in the scent one more time. It would make her time bearable, nearly enjoyable. Weiss tilted her head a bit to appreciate the color. Only god knows how she misses the bright red.
However, her eyes found an empty vase. Had the nurse forgotten again about the flowers? Honestly, such a simple task and the young woman still managed to fail at it sometimes. But… What about the scent? Weiss could swear she was enjoying it this very moment.
"You're up!" Came a voice from the other side of the room, excited but moderate, mindful of her sensitive state.
It took a while for Weiss to register who was calling for her. Not that she could not recognize it, a tone that never really left her heart, but the woman knew very well that the owner of that voice lived only in her heart and dreams now.
Yet, there she stood. Short dark hair with speckles of red, deep silver eyes, small stature and… That smile. Weiss could hear the beeping around her speeding up as she opened her mouth, but all sound refused to come.
"Oh Weiss~," that sweet touch her partner always gave to her name "I missed seeing you like this. No! I mean, not like this this, but this close, this clear, not that I-"
"Ruby…" Weiss let out. God, she missed that rambling.
The standing girl stopped, offering a sweet smile. "Hello Weiss. I missed you."
I missed you too would be an understatement. She missed going outside. She missed her life as huntress. But Ruby? When Ruby… left, Weiss felt like herself was gone too, as if part of her very spirit had accompanied Ruby to wherever she went.
Tears came to her tired eyes and Weiss allowed them to flow. If the presence was a hallucination caused by the medication, the woman would gladly spend her last few days in constant high.
As her vision went blurry with water, she felt a warm and smooth hand rest above her callous one. "I missed you too, every living moment" She gave simply, but it seemed enough for Ruby, her smile only growing wider. "I-I tried to-" Live for you? For all of you? What was left unsaid?
"I know Weiss, I know, and it's ok now. You can go. We are really missing you."
Her team. Her life. Her love. That was Weiss Schnee. This right now was just a shadow. The remains of girl who burned so strong for so long on the field. A girl how dodged her own fate and every expectation to live a life she could be proud of. To live her own life, and just that.
With a gentle tug, the white haired girl allowed herself to be lifted to a sitting position, bracing for the pain that would sure follow, but nothing came. "Come on Weiss, you always complained that I liked to sleep in! It's not fair if keep doing it now!"
Cleaning the tears with her sleeve, Weiss could see Ruby at eye level now. That goofy smile and always disheveled hair, the red touches to her cheeks and lips, warm, inviting lips… With another stronger tug, she was pulled out of the bed, embracing Ruby for balance when the sound of boots hitting the floor tiles found her ears. Weiss looked down to find her combat boots and skirt, neatly fitted in a body that she hasn't called her own for ages. Slowly, the situation started to sink in for her.
"Let's go? There is so much to do Weiss~!" With a firm grip and a giggle in the air, Ruby pulled the girl towards the door without resistance. Her voice, the smell of roses, that warming and joyful aura, it all seemed so familiar, so right for Weiss. She was alive again.
Her heart picked up as she matched the pace through the door, nearly missing the periodic beeping turning into a continuous sound.
A/N: Hello friends, thank you for taking your time on this short story! As you certainly noticed, I'm not a native english speaker and Roses By Your Bed is the first of several small stories I planned to bring my work to an universal language. That been said, every hint, though, observation and criticism is extremely welcome and vital to my improvement. Please, let me know what you think!
Hugs,
Scribe Assistant