Ruby was ethereal. He knew that was just how she looked and how her spirit and personality was anything but. Oscar still just wanted time to stop.
Then Yang nearly toppled him as she pushed her way into the room.
"Ruby! Are you ok? Do you hurt? Ohhh I was so worried for my baby sister!" Yang pulled Ruby into a tight hug. Weiss pushed her way past Oscar followed by Taiyang who gave a small pat on the younger huntsman's back and finally Raven was the last one in. She glared at Oscar as she entered, making him realize that he should probably approach Ruby as well.
"Yang! I'm fiiiiiiinee!" Ruby tried pushing her sister away. "Dad just freaked out because I collapsed again!"
"Collapsing isn't a good sign, you know." Oscar approached the bed. Ruby grinned when she saw him. "At least at the hospital we know you're being taken care of."
"That makes it sound like you're trying to get rid of me," she pouted.
"Never," Oscar laughed. He leaned his forehead against hers. He wanted to kiss her so bad. All the worry and yet she was there smiling at him. A loud cough interrupted them.
"Hey kiddo, we brought some stuff to cheer you up." Tai used the care package bag to separate them.
"Thanks Dad! That's so thoughtful!" She pushed the bag aside.
"We've been so worried!" Weiss hugged Ruby.
"Thanks, but you didn't have to come all the way down from Atlas."
"Of course we did! You're our leader and friend! Team RWBY will always be there to support you!"
"Aww… thanks Weiss!"
"And Blake is coming too," Yang added. "She texted me early this morning saying that she's on her way here."
"She doesn't have to come! I'm ok! Really!" Ruby laughed a bit nervously.
"They're here because you mean a lot to them." Oscar smiled and held her hand. Ruby smiled back at him. An awkward silence hung in the room as the couple stared at each other.
"We should get to the train station!" Weiss finally broke the silence. "Nora texted me earlier saying that she, Ren, and Jaune are coming too so we should greet them at there."
"But-!" Yang tried protesting, but was being pushed out by Weiss.
"Come on Yang; Nora, Ren, and Jaune don't know where the hospital is! We should at least be there to give them a ride!" A lightbulb went off on Yang's face.
"Y-Yeah! I actually forgot something at the house. Dad, could you drop me off on the way to the station?"
"Wait! Me?! Why-?"
"Thanks Dad!" Yang began pushing him out the door. He tried protesting, but the two girls' strength clearly overpowered him. Raven sighed and began following them out.
"Don't get any ideas, ok?" Raven made the 'I'm watching you sign' to Oscar. "And Ruby, feel better."
"Thanks Raven!" Ruby called as she left.
"I can't believe that's the same woman that tried to kill us all those years ago," Oscar commented once they were gone.
"Right? I guess moving back in with Dad was a good thing." Ruby grabbed the care package. "Speaking of, what did Dad bring?"
"Comic books and lots of cookies," Oscar answered.
"I figured. Oh! And my scroll! Finally! I can play some video games!" she cheered. He laughed.
"I'm guess you've been bored?"
"Very. Yesterday there was soooo much waiting then tests then more waiting and more tests! It was sooooo boring! But I mean… I guess I got some free socks at least?" She wiggled her feet that donned the gray hospital socks that did not match the blue scrubs she wore.
"Do they really let you keep those?"
"I have no idea."
"Well once you're out of here I'll buy you a pair that look just like it."
"Woo…" she unenthusiastically cheered before breaking into laughter. "I missed you."
"It's only been a few days, but yes, I did too." Oscar sat down on the side of the bed. "So how long are you here?"
"Uh… a week I think?" Ruby begins prying open the cookie container. "They were kind of vague."
"That doesn't sound good."
"Nope. They probably have no idea what's going on."
"Well none of them are an all-powerful wizard!" He was interrupted when a cookie was practically shoved in his mouth.
"Well if Mr. All-powerful wizard wants another cookie, let me know," she laughed as she dug into another one from the container. Oscar hurriedly finished off the cookie in his mouth. He cleared his throat, intending to talk to her as much as possible.
"So I met my new neighbors yesterday. They were pretty nice and apparently, they just got married. We're going to try and get lunch soon."
"Oh cool! If I'm out, do you think I could come?"
"You practically live at my house, what do you think?"
"That reminds me, I was really bored yesterday but I got to do a lot of thinking."
"Good? Bad?"
"Well mostly thinking that I should cut my hair soon. It's all over the place recently and super annoying." Oscar chuckled at this. "But your proposal at Ren and Nora's wedding."
"Please don't bring that up…" he groaned. "You even told Weiss about it! Why?!"
"Because it was super cute!"
"It was super embarrassing!" Ruby giggled a little. Then her face turned serious.
"What if we actually got married? You know, for real." Oscar blinked a few times.
"Ruby, we've only been dating a few weeks."
"I know! But we've known each other for years!"
"I… I love you, I really do, but don't you think you're rushing it a bit?"
"I know! I know! It's just! Argh!" She combed her fingers through her hair, gripping the sides of her head as if a great headache had overcome her. She let out sigh of frustration and let her hands fall back to her side. Oscar took that opportunity to take the closest one in his hand.
"Hey, if you want, we can perform a mock marriage ceremony here in the hospital. Maybe next week? I can get us some rings and bring some cake. It'll be a fun little thing to celebrate your release. Then when you're out of here, we can pretend we're on a honeymoon and try to get free food at restaurants." Ruby began laughing.
"I don't think all restaurants work that way. But it might be more effective if I pretend I'm pregnant. I'll get one of those fake big bellies and walk around in maternity clothes." It was Oscar's turn to laugh.
"I can't believe we're already trying to figure out how to get freebies."
"Hey, whatever works. Also, I've noted that you did not discourage the fake pregnancy idea."
"Well… Let's put that on the backburner at least."
"Yes!" Ruby cheered. "Now let's plan a wedding!"
Ruby began listing impossibly ridiculous demands. Oscar laughed along with her as they pretended to argue over how many feathers the swans needed to have.
###
"We're here~!" Nora cheered as she burst into the room. This earned a chorus of shushes from the ones already in the room. Ren followed her in, shaking his head. Oscar was quick to follow and pushed his way to Ruby's bedside as soon as he could.
"I was wondering when you guys would get here," Yang said.
"Sorry we're late," Ren apologized.
"We… didn't exactly think about who would drive," Jaune added when he joined the room. "And none of us have a car… soo…."
"Then how did you get here?" Tai asked.
"Er…. Marigold was available to drive us," Oscar explained.
"Doesn't she only have a 4-person car?"
"Yup. We just barely fit in the car."
"But now we're all together!" Ruby cheered. "We haven't all seen each other since Ren and Nora's wedding!"
"When Oscar proposed to you!" Nora added.
"How many people did you tell?!" Oscar's jaw dropped. Ruby looked away and didn't respond, but it was clear by everyone else's reactions that they already knew about it.
"So anyways!" Ruby chirped, clearly avoiding the subject. "We have a fake wedding to plan!"
"Uh… what?" Blake was the first to ask.
"Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?!" Tai asked.
"A fake wedding ceremony. We thought it'd be a fun little thing to do," Oscar shrugged.
"We have lots of planning! It's mostly just going to be a joke thing so Ren is the 'officiating' the wedding."
"Me?" Ren asked, surprised.
"You're the most qualified to do it."
"I'll do my best."
"Yang is in charge of flowers and cake! She knows where the flower shops and bakeries are. Weiss you get to choose the flowers."
"Wait, are you seriously going through with this?" Weiss asked.
"Everybody else is in charge of decorations!" Ruby ignored her. "Make them pretty!"
"Ruby, this is ridiculous," Weiss rolled her eyes.
"And Nora is Maid of Honor!"
"Yay!" Nora cheered.
"Wait why Nora?! I'm your best friend!"
"I was Nora's Maid of Honor so I'm just returning the favor."
"So can you explain why you're doing this again?" Blake asked.
"No time to explain! Just go!" Ruby demanded. There was some scrambling as everybody tried to figure out what they were doing and leave the room. Oscar laughed once they were alone.
"This was a great idea."
"Yeah. As much as I love all of them, this was a great way to let us have some time alone. Well, at least for a little bit."
"So you really like the idea of a fake wedding?"
"Well… it's silly, but I think it'll be fun!" Ruby chirped with a smile.
"Me too."
###
It was very obvious from the stares of the other patients and visitors that people thought they were crazy. The nurses and doctors knew what they were doing. A group of nurses giggled amongst themselves as Oscar and Jaune passed them. Oscar shuffled awkwardly. He was wearing one of his work suits while Jaune was in a regular hoodie and black pants to match.
As they began planning, it became obvious that nobody had packed super fancy clothes and not everybody was keen on buying new clothes. Those that wanted to, could wear regular clothing. Except, according to Ruby, only Oscar was required to wear something fancy. He had been able to negotiate it down to at least dressy casual.
"Hey, where are the others?" Jaune poked his head into the room. Oscar had been forbidden from "seeing the bride" so he stood awkwardly next to Jaune.
"They're still getting ready!" Ruby called back.
"Hey Rubes!" Oscar called from the hallway. He poked his head in a little bit, only to have a pillow in his face.
"You're not supposed to look!" He heard Yang's laughter from inside. Oscar groaned and leaned against the wall.
"I'd hate to see what it's like if you guys actually get married," Jaune laughed.
"We're here!" Nora called. She waved as she walked up with Ren. Nora had her hair curled and she wore a light pink dress with heels. Ren wore a simple black suit and tie.
"I didn't think you were dressing up," Oscar commented. Ren and Nora smiles.
"Well we thought it'd be fun if we did!" Nora chirped.
"We all did!" Weiss called as she approached in a sparkling white dress. Blake, Sun, Tai, and Raven trailed behind her. Blake and Raven wore dresses in their colors while Sun and Tai also wore suits. Oscar turned around to see Jaune wearing an oxford shirt and pulling on a suit jacket.
"Hey guys! We're just about ready in here!" Yang came out. She to wore a yellow dress with sunflowers printed on the hem.
"Guys…" Oscar felt himself tearing up. "You… You didn't have to. This is just a goofy little thing Ruby and I thought of."
"We had to," Blake smiled.
"You two mean a lot to us. And we all thought that the best thing right now would be to put our all into this, even if it's just a fake wedding," Jaune smiled.
"And it's kind of about time you two got together!" Nora groaned.
"By the way, I'm going to be seriously upset if I'm not Maid of Honor at your actual wedding." Weiss crossed her arms. Oscar began blushing.
"We've only been dating for a few weeks!"
"And yet that's your only excuse for not actually getting married today."
"Hey, cut the groom some slack," Yang laughed, putting an arm around Weiss. "Oscar, you ready?"
"I… I guess I am," he smiled.
"Ok! Close your eyes! We're going to get Ruby ready!" Yang announced. Ruby wasn't allowed to freely walk around at the moment. They had negotiated that she would be pushed in on a wheel chair and do the ceremony with her on the bed.
Oscar was lead in with a blindfold over his eyes. He heard lots of shuffling.
"Hey Oscar!" Ruby laughed.
"I don't know why you insisted on this," he replied. It only made her laugh more. He heard the sound of wheels on the tile and her voice getting more distant.
"I'll see you soon!" Beside him, Jaune laughed.
"She was making faces at you, by the way."
"I kinda figured she was." Jaune untied the blindfold. Oscar gasped at the decorated room.
Streamers of white were draped from the walls with little bunches of roses and sprigs of pine sticking from them. There was a large vase by Ruby's bed filled with a bursting display of flowers. A white carpet with rose petals sewn into it lead the way from the doorway to the bed. A few nurses sat in folding chairs while others peaked in to see the setup.
Jaune patted Oscar's shoulder before leaving the room to join the others outside. Oscar leaned in to Ren.
"Did… Did we ask a photographer to be here?" he looked at the photographer already taking pictures.
"No, but I think one of the nurses did."
"Huh… They know it's not a real wedding, right?"
"Well… it might as well be," Ren smiled. He pressed a button on his scroll that began playing music on the mini speakers behind him.
First came Raven, marching down the aisle. She took the free seat in the front without so much of a glance. Next came Weiss and Yang with their arms linked together. In their free hand, each of them held a single rose. They walked down the aisle in perfect stride, ending up beside the bed.
Blake and Sun followed them in a similar fashion. Blake, who had been a part of Nora's wedding party, easily fell into the usual rhythm. Sun, on the other hand, struggled to keep up with her. Blake held her rose closer to her face to cover her smile. Blake and Sun unlinked their arms to go their separate ways, Blake to her team and Sun to Oscar's side.
Next came Jaune and Nora. Their face in wide grins as they walked. Nora even winked at Ren at one point, which made Oscar almost break into a laugh. They separated at the end, Jaune coming to Oscar's side and Nora going to the bed.
"She looks amazing!" Nora whispered to Oscar. Ren changed the music.
And there she was. Oscar's breath hitched. Ruby's hair had been done into a beautiful crown of braids around her head. Her makeup sparkled at just the tiniest bit of movement. Her scrubs, once a dark blue, had been changed to white for the occasion. A veil sat upon her head and a small bouquet in her lap. A large smile on her face as Tai pushed her down the makeshift aisle.
"Hi," Ruby smiled once she was in front of him.
"Hi." There weren't any other words on his mind. He snapped out of it as Tai coughed to gain his attention. Oscar remembered that the two of them were supposed to lift Ruby onto the bed together. "Oh right!"
Once Ruby was in position, Ren started the "ceremony."
"Friends. Family. We are gathered here together for the mock wedding of Ruby and Oscar, as they both insisted on having it. Er… I am sorry, it seems Nora changed the note cards on me. I suspected she would do something of the like and brought spares." Everybody laughed as he pulled out an extra stack of cards. Ren continued his original speech, much to Nora's dismay of her foiled plans.
Oscar couldn't help but sneak little glances at Ruby as Ren talked. A few times they caught each other's eye and would break into quiet giggles. No matter how many times Ren had to stop to pull their attention back, Oscar couldn't help but look at her.
He wondered why he hadn't agreed to do an actual wedding ceremony. Ruby had a large smile on her face. A large, genuine smile. Her eyes sparkled in a way he hadn't seen in a long time. She wasn't ethereal. She was eternally beautiful.
"Oscar!" Ren's sharp voice snapped him out of thought.
"Huh?"
"Your vows."
"Oh, right. Ruby, I know we're doing this for fun, but I want you to know that I… I love you. I always have. You're amazing… just amazing. I'm sorry, I can never find the words to describe exactly what I want to say. I want to marry you. For real. Not asking you on a date or a mock ceremony like this, but a real wedding. When things settle down a bit. What do you say?"
"I do," she grinned.
"And Ruby?" Ren asked.
"I… I forgot what I was going to say. I… I just love you," tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Oscar, I love you so much!"
"I do too," he leaned his forehead against hers.
"You may now kiss the bride," Ren announced.
Oscar leaned in, but Ruby didn't.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. The bouquet clattered to the floor as she fell back.
Ruby was gone.