A/N: Ok, the drabble I wrote for tipipkd's prompt 'rivalry' turned out so long that I made it into a one-shot and posted it separately. But do check it out if you have the time, I quite like it. It's called 'Choose your words wisely'.
Now, this long-ish drabble is for sapphirehimitsu's prompt 'hospital'. As some of you may recall I just finished med-school, so the hospital is kind of my natural habitat and I did not want to write about doctors and nurses, because that takes up too much space in my life anyways. So I took a different approach that I hope you will enjoy.
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Hospital
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Ichigo closes his laptop more forcefully than he intended and definitely more forcefully than is good for the device, then proceeds to glare at it as if it's at fault. His article isn't coming along as well as he'd like – or actually at all.
With a huff he looks around the coffee shop for something to distract him or inspire him but all he sees are faces just as annoyed as his own and so he turns back to frown at his laptop again. His eyes fall on the empty mug beside it, and he decides to get another coffee, futilely hoping that it will liven his spirits. As he gets up, he spots a young woman in the line and stops dead in his tracks. It can't be.
She has her back turned towards him, but her auburn hair color and figure are distinct features, therefore his heartbeat still accelerates as he inwardly begs her to turn around. He's been through this before. These past two years he's seen her everywhere. Everywhere and nowhere. Each time it turned out to be a likeness of her, wishful thinking, and that is why he is now frozen in his place hoping for and dreading the moment she turns to him.
The woman does not do him the favor, moving with her order towards a table at the opposite end of the café and the resulting cuss words in his head make him feel like a sea-hardened sailor. He walks towards the line for his new coffee, eyes fixed on where she is sitting. And he feels ridiculous that he still hung up on a woman that he barely even knows, that his mind has improved and overimagined to the point that she is now a larger-than-life perfect companion and everything he's ever dreamed of. And he can't stop dreaming of her, this woman that he's met in the most unlikely of places.
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His room mate was the type to never shut up – ever – and Ichigo tried his hardest to bear it, grunting uncommittingly whenever the guy paused long enough for him to know that an answer was expected of him. He was grateful that his mind was numbed by the pain meds, otherwise he might not have been able to guarantee the safety of the guy.
One particularly terrible joke finally made him snap and he grabbed the crutches by his bed to haul himself up somehow, with clenched teeth and a suppressed groan. His hip was broken in more than one place from a terrible car crash he'd been in. He was fortunate that the pelvic fractures were the worst of his injuries. He could easily have died, as multiple people repeatedly assured him as if that would make him feel better. Sure, how lucky he was that some idiot had texted while driving and just swerved into his lane. Lady luck really was his lover.
Resting his weight on one of the crutches, he took the book from his nightstand, stuffing it in his pocket (he refused to wear hospital gowns) while his neighbor still droned on about who knows what. He fled the room, biting through the excruciating pain in his lower extremity until he did not hear the sound of his neighbor's yapping anymore. Finally. Some peace and quiet.
And so he limped through the corridors until he found a corner with two arm chairs and a small table and slumped down onto one of them, ready to drown out the pain by submerging himself in his book – a technique he had perfected throughout his life. His immersion was so complete that he didn't realize that he had company until she tapped him on the shoulder, lightly, as if she was afraid to startle him. He startled nonetheless, finding himself face to face with perhaps the prettiest woman he'd ever laid his eyes upon. With a smile she asked whether it was ok for her to join him at the table and in this moment, he wondered if maybe lady luck did like him after all. Sure, he said. And that was how it started.
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From his place in line, Ichigo feverishly tries to determine whether the woman he's unabashedly staring at really is his hospital acquaintance. Attempting to recall what he knows about her from their hour-long talks at that small table, he examines her appearance closely.
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"No I assure you, there is only one correct answer in the question of a favorite color. It's green!"
She was quite the oddball, with strong opinions on everything, and he couldn't help but laugh at the conviction with which she delivered her opinions.
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He stares at the coat she carelessly flung over the empty chair at the table. It's forest green, which is the best kind of green according to her ('obviously'). And his heart dives into nervous palpitations.
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"I love apple crumble!" She exclaimed happily one of those days where they met at the little table. "And why is that?" Ichigo asked her, which wasn't something he'd usually ask after such an exclamation, but she had extraordinary reasoning for most everything, so the question was very much justified.
"Because it's crumbled, so basically it's destroyed, ruined, but it's still delicious. And if so many people love apple crumble although it's a mess, then people can love other people even when they're a mess."
His eyes flickered to the i.v. catheters in her arms and he wondered once more what she was actually in for, but the way her smile tensed as she followed his line of sight forbade it.
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He notices the half-eaten apple crumble next to her coffee, causing an internal uproar. When she shifts in her chair his eyes widen to a point where they almost hurt, but she still doesn't turn and the barista asks for his order now, so he's forced to look away. He orders another coffee, waiting for it to be done while his eyes are drawn back to the ominous woman.
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"No, I definitely think that aliens are real. What a ridiculous proposition that we should be the only life forms in this vast universe – and how preposterous to believe that we're even the most intelligent…"
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He's close enough now that he distinctly recognizes a UFO-charm on her key chain and just like that, his mind is made up. He takes the coffee the barista places in front of him and makes his way over to her table, his mind running up the wall at high speed.
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Then, one day, she didn't show and his heart was grabbed by a cold fear that the worst might have happened, they were in a hospital after all. He tried to ask the nurse about her, but the nurse was resolute, stating that any information about her was confidential. Knowing nothing but her first name, he knew that his chances of finding her outside of the hospital were slim, so he pestered the personnel about her as relentlessly as unsuccessfully.
"We're glad you had a meaningful contact in our hospital, but we have to adhere to doctor-patient-confidentiality."
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He's made it to her table, confronted with the strange urge to turn around and leave, because so far, it's never been her and the disappointment hurts each time. But he knows he'll kick himself later if he doesn't check if it's her and so he takes a deep breath and taps her shoulder. Times seems to slow down as she turns, while he listens to the deafening sound of his own heartbeat in his ears.
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And then, she smiles at him.
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A/N: So, my husband read this and he loves ambiguous ends so he suggested I delete the last sentence. But to be quite honest, this is still kind of an open end for me. (If it's her is up to your imagination. For me, it's definitely her.) I struggle a bit with these things, because I like happy endings, but I am aware that sometimes a story is more interesting when the ending is equivocal. So here I am, leaving it at that. Let me know what you think!
The next drabble will be light and upbeat again. :)
