Chapter Text
She was looking out her room’s window towards the parking lot.
She was staring at one of those new hideous sports car as it sped away.
What was the damn appeal?
“Miss Ruby? You have a visitor today,”
Ruby turned away from the window and pushed the walker towards the bed.
“Me?” Ruby Babtiste asked, puzzled.
“Yup, she says she’s an old friend.”
Ruby gripped her walker handles tighter and shot the young geriatric nurse a look.
“She didn’t say her name, she’s very tall, very blonde,”
Ruby’s head tilted in confusion, no words came to her but a hand shot up to her chest,
as if to hold her heart in place.
“Are you ok, miss Ruby? You want me to call the doctor?” He hurried to her side and
held her.
“Tell her, tell her-“ Ruby muttered, trying to find the words.
“Ruby,”
FUCK.
She stood by the door, long fingers holding on tightly to a bouquet of gardenias.
“It can’t be,” Ruby whispered.
“Miss Ruby, are you ok?” the geriatric nurse asked again.
“Ruby, are you alright?” Those big blue eyes were wider and more alert than Ruby ever
remembered as the blonde took a long step towards her.
Ruby held up a hand, still shocked.
“Miss, I think you have to give Miss Ruby a mo-“
“It's ok, kiddo. She can stay for a couple of minutes…” Ruby dared to look Christina
Braithwhite in the eye.
“Ok,” the young nurse said .
“Don’t go too far,” Ruby said looking between the two.
Christina cast her eyes downward, of course Ruby didn’t trust her.
As the geriatric nurse left the room, it was filled with silence.
The click of Christina’s heels finally echoed on the floor as she neared.
Ruby turned her back and pushed her walker to the window.
“I could always tell it was you,” Ruby snickered. The clicks stopped.
Ruby turned slightly to look down at the blonde’s feet.
“I used to think you stomped so hard…Like you wanted everybody and God to know
you were walking in their space…I wandered how your shoes didn’t break…
I got to watching horses in the television, you know. They reminded me of you, loud noises.
and then they just- glided through, elegant-powerful.”
Christina drew in a breath,
Ruby turned to look at the Braithwhite heir, “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I've never been too far away,”
Ruby scoffed at that, making Christina relax a little.
“You know I couldn’t believe Letty when she told me you were dead. There was no way
she was going to figure out how to bring me and Tic back on her own.”
“I told you-“
“I know what you told me. But I would have never believed it…And what happened between
us that night,”
“We don’t have to talk about that,” Christina slightly winced.
Ruby held her in her eyes, shaking her head slightly. Looking Christina Braithwhite up and down
the blonde could swear that brown embers could burn her where she stood.
“Yet Here you are, you got what you wanted, your immortality” Ruby said, a twitch in
her lips,
anger?
Inspecting a face that had not changed from the first day they met.
“Did you get all your firsts?” Ruby asked.
Christina pursed her lips and could not hold Ruby’s gaze.
“Why are you here, Christina?”
“I heard that you were not well,”
“Did you? and you come to spell my old age, my sickness away? To take me away
from here? Now that Letty ain’t here anymore,”
“I will do whatever you ask me,”
“Jesus, Christina,”
“Ruby,”
“Leave me to die with my dignity, Christina. Dignity. Im tired.”
“Ruby… I knew you would choose family.
I knew this and I couldn’t hold it against you…
I had wished that my gaining of something I had pursued for most of my life
would make me not think about you…
And yet even in memory you were-too strong a presence to try and forget.”
“Once you go black, huh?Thats what the kids say these days,” Ruby chuckled softly at
Christina’s confused frown.
“Gosh, Look at you, it’s incredible.” Ruby shook her head and touched Christina’s long blonde hair and her face.
Christina closed her eyes and leaned in to the touch,
“Ruby,” Christina whispered.
“Don’t get no ideas, not at my age,”
Christina hid her smile into Ruby’s hand,
“I love you, I’ve always loved you.” Christina whispered the words and then looked into
Ruby’s eyes, with a smile. “I don’t despise the word anymore,”
“Stop,”
“Come with me, I’ll buy- I' ll hire whatever you need, I-“
“I'm not going anywhere,” Ruby shook her head and brusquely pushed the pale hand away.
“Neither am I.” Christina said, pursing her lips and folding her arms after a nod.
“Yeah?You gonna move in here?” Ruby asked, mockingly.
Christina’s chin shot up, and Ruby’ expression dissapeared when
she recognized the challenge in the Braithwhite heir’s mind.
Christina unfolded her arms and on her way to the door had already thought of quite a few
scenarios where she could be near Ruby again.