GRIM REAPER

-Loneliness-

Weiss kept her eyes closed for longer than necessary.

She didn't need sleep, her body didn't need it, even so, she pretended to be sleeping, she enjoyed that feeling.

When she was a child, when there were no nightmares to disturb her, she enjoyed sleeping, she enjoyed freeing her mind and have dreams, pretty dreams. She used to imagine beautiful places, pleasant situations, her mind filled with joy at those images, the image of a perfect family.

Sometimes she dreamed that she was playing the piano with her younger brother, both of them, side by side, their fingers moving over the keys, creating sounds that converged in a perfect melody, without pressure, without obligation, just playing a piece for mere pleasure. Weiss liked that dream, she liked seeing the big music room illuminated with the orange tints of sunset, just as she felt the warm feeling of having her brother close to her and the summer's heat getting through the walls.

Sometimes she dreamed of her older sister, she imagined both of them in the rose garden in the middle of spring, the aroma spreading throughout the place while the water from the fountains echoed to the sound of birds singing at mid-morning. She imagined her sister moving with skill, teaching her fencing lessons, her voice sweet and soft, like a song, so different from reality, instead of sounding harsh.

And now she remembered the dream she often had with her mother. She wasn't in an exact place, but she was lying down in a big bed. The surroundings used to change, depending on what comforted her most at the moment, but it was mostly a night sky, no walls, no rooms, just the bed and the whole universe above them. A calm, starry sky, the moon shining, and she was there, lying next to her mother, her comforting arms holding her. She could feel the warmth, she could feel the closeness, she could feel the love, she could feel everything she had never received from her mother.

Now she remembered it, because she was now in that position.

There was no scent in the abyss, but there was a scent that came from The Death.

And yes, Death's body smells of death, blood and putrefaction, and it was even more noticeable in the human world, but there, in the infinite darkness, she could feel only a glimpse of that. Now she could smell a soft scent of roses, just like the one she felt in her dreams with Winter. There was also the warmth of the body, in the human world completely scorching, like hell itself, but there was just warm, like a summer day at sunset, just like in the dreams she had with Whitley. And the arm, over her body, holding her against the inhuman body, reminded her of the warmth, of the security, that she felt in those dreams with her mother.

Those dreams didn't become true in her human life, and now was even more impossible, her family already dead since decades ago.

Yes, she had learned that the universe was much bigger and unknown than she used to believe, but even so, her existence had died, had vanished, leaving nothing but crumbs in the minds of those who knew her. And her family had been eliminated from that world, being taken to an unknown place, at least for her, not for Death.

Their souls were apart, and they wouldn't be reunited, not now, not ever.

Weiss wasn't going to give herself false expectations, even if magic existed, it wasn't omnipotent either, have their own rules.

Not even the Grim Reaper was omnipotent at all.

But she was satisfied, no, not only that, she was grateful for the opportunity to feel that. To feel like this. It was an opportunity fate gave her, the universe gave her, and she was going to accept it gladly.

She opened her eyes, her face still resting on Death's chest, being able to see the black suit under the blood-colored hood. She didn't want to move, even if they should probably move soon, in a matter of seconds, to send another soul to their new destination.

She didn't want to.

But she had to.

The gloved hand passed over her arm, caressing her, holding her, and at the same time drawing her attention, and she was always impressed by the careful moves.

Before, she was just curious about it.

Now, she was worried.

It was unusually slow, a sign of Death's progressive degeneration.

The mere idea made her cling to the woman's suit, her hands gripping the fabric, her hands more inhuman every day.

"It's time."

Death's voice sounded like a soft echo.

She knew it, of course she knew it.

She moved, releasing her only companion in that infinite darkness. But she didn't look at the woman, she wasn't able to see those silver eyes. She would crumble against those eyes.

Death moved, her hands holding onto the sofa, trying to force herself up, but she couldn't, and drew her scythe into one of her hands, to use it as a cane and thus be able to stand up, achieving her simple goal.

Weiss looked at the scene unable to move.

That was happening often, too.

Weiss moved quickly, her head running faster than the situation itself, and approached the woman, who took a wrong step and nearly fell to the ground. She held Death, kept her hands firm on the waist, while she saw how the other's neck filled with dark veins, just as before, but they moved higher, reaching the silver eyes, her temples, then returned to hide into the shirt's neck.

She noticed the annoyance on Ruby's face, but she quickly smiles at her, as always, like nothing happened, her face capable, powerful, just as the so-called Grim Reaper should be.

But she couldn't relax, not even with that smile, not even with the woman regaining her strength.

She was going to lose her…

Sooner than later.

She had that thought, that Ruby was going to leave her one day, many years ago, probably more than a century, she wasn't sure, but yes, an eternity. And now, it seemed that the moment had finally arrived.

But she kept feeling the same as she did back then, worried, afraid, not wanting her to leave.

The portal opened and Death looked at her, offering her hand, as always.

But she didn't take it.

Death immediately showed her a pained expression. The silver eyes, the woman herself, was a sentimental one, she had learned to read her expressions after centuries of being together, getting to know each other, little by little. Ruby frowned, turning around, approaching her, using her scythe again as a cane, which kept her steady despite everything. Despite the decomposition of her immortal body.

The gloved hand reached for hers, and she found herself held, firmly, as every day since she made that abyss her home.

"What's going on?"

What's going on? She didn't know?

Weiss couldn't help but frown. She was angry, not with Ruby, but with her inability to realize what was happening, more often every day.

"You are dying."

Her words were stern, and she thought she heard herself as she herself heard Death, like a deep, cold echo.

The gloved hand moved away, and she saw real concern in the silver eyes. The eyes showed hurt and pain, as well as her face, and with such emotions the veins re-emerged from under her shirt. When Death weakness appeared, they crawled over her skin, covering her face.

Ruby looked down, and she had never seen a expression like that in all that eternal life together.

Weak, vulnerable.

Almost human.

"I know. I don't have much time left."

Weiss move, getting closer again, now that the end of that woman was nearby, she couldn't even stand a moment away from that touch, or she would regret it forever. She didn't want to lose Death, she didn't want to stay away from Death, and it sounded ironic to say so.

She grabbed the woman, her hands like claws clinging to the dark suit. It didn't take long for the gloved hands to come closer to her body, holding her by the shoulders, in that firm grip she knew so well, which gave her comfort. Weiss rested her forehead on Ruby's chest, breathing in her scent again, enjoying her, and refusing to move away from the warm dying body.

Ruby didn't have much time left, but how much was that? Years? Weeks? Days? Hours?

No, she couldn't bear it, she didn't accept it, she wanted to ask for more time, it wasn't enough. On that eternal realms, years were relative, but at that moment, having less time than eternity wasn't enough.

She always felt alone, her whole life, each day that passed felt like it was the loneliest day of her life, the loneliest of her existence, then the next day would come and the situation would get worse, and it would become, again, the loneliest day, surpassing the previous one.

Every day surpassed the other in misery, in fear, in hatred, in loneliness.

Not now.

Since she reached infinity, each day was better than the previous one, each day she learned more, each day she spoke more, each day she felt freer, each day the overwhelming feelings began to diminish, and the feelings she felt for her companion increased. Year after year the relationship she had with that eternal being was closer, each year that passed she felt attached to that person, in more ways than one, and without realizing it, each day her dependence grew. She was dependent, and while she couldn't make sense of her feelings, it was clear that her whole self would be suffering without Death.

If she lost her, she would return to the past, she would feel that every day was lonelier, and there, in that dark infinite universe, she would feel even more miserable than in those days, locked in her prison.

Ruby rested the cheek on her head, gently, and she felt wrapped in that grip again, wrapped in Death's arms, and she never would have thought it would feel this good to do so.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to prevent you from being alone again, but my body can't take such eternity anymore."

She didn't cry, she didn't feel like before, her mind was too developed to break that easily, but she wanted to cry, she wanted to break at that moment, knowing that she would be accompanied. There she could cry and feel comforted, not like when she was alive.

But the tears wouldn't come.

They would never go out again.

The Grim Reaper told her that it was going to be a lonely existence, and she agreed to the deal. She probably would have been able to bear it, because, feeling lonely when all your life is a cycle of loneliness, doesn't matter much. Enter into that abyss with a scythe in her hand, with a duty, her suffering wouldn't have mattered at all.

But it wasn't like that.

Ruby accompanied her, taught her, and not only that, but also gave her things that no one in her life gave her.

Support, company and love.

Love.

Yes, it was love.

And now that she finally got to enjoy those sensations, now that she was intoxicated by each one of them, letting them go was impossible.

Who in their right mind would let something this important go without even a fight?

Definitely not her. Never.

But there she was, with her hands tied. She couldn't do anything. It wasn't a relationship broken by mundane problems, arguments, or those fights that her parents used to have when she was a child. No, nothing similar, those things could be arranged, they could be talked about, but in that world, things weren't so simple.

The human body, mundane, in that world, didn't last long.

"I don't want to lose you."

She spoke, and despite how infinitely broken she felt, her voice sounded just like Death's, strong, capable, monotone even. She was no longer human, weak, but even so, she felt like that girl of the past, the one who hid under the sheets, crying, crying out for salvation, wishing for the release of all her problems, trying to pray for her freedom of her own miserable existence.

She felt Ruby's lips on her hair, soft, loving.

"I still have time, enough to find a way to not abandon you. I don't want to get away from you either."

The woman's voice sounded weak, not like Death, not like her own, sounded human even, and it made her chest feel even tighter than before. She released the cloth that she had firmly in her hands, and embraced the tall and slender body in her arms, and Ruby's arms did the same around her.

She couldn't let go of that love, no matter how eternal it was.

Yes, she needed it to be eternal, she wanted it to be eternal.

Before, she prayed for Death, to take away the demon that made her suffer tirelessly, and now she was going to pray again, but for another reason.

Please give us another chance to love each other.

She could only hope that someone in that vast universe would hear her.

Just as Death heard her years ago.