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“Doctor, are you sure you can’t go alone…?”
Mobius shakes her head, leaving little to no space left for negotiation. “Positive. Do you know how boring these meetings are, Klein? Do you expect me to put up with these fools all on my own? Come on, have some sympathy.”
Mobius, out of all people, asking for sympathy, truly felt somehow ironic. But of course, if anyone was going to give it…
It was Klein.
Her unwavering loyalty has led her to places she wouldn’t normally find herself in multiple times now. For example, accompanying Mobius on a business trip to some kind of scientific conference was not within her job description in any way. And yet, here she was, following the scientist around like a lost puppy and witnessing her get into heated arguments with other researchers for what seemed to be an eternity. Well, at the very least, it was somewhat amusing, seeing the doctor reject the others’ ideas without a hint of hesitancy. Not that that won them much sympathy at the gathering, of course, but Mobius didn’t seem to care.
Overall, it wasn’t that bad. Klein wouldn’t be doing anything important that weekend anyway, so the time wasn’t exactly wasted, and, contrary to popular belief, spending time by Mobius’ side was neither life threatening nor inherently unpleasant - someone like Klein could easily survive the whole day and leave unscathed. The meetings lasting up to the evening went as smoothly as they could, considering the scientist’s infamous reputation, leaving the assistant with the illusion that she could allow herself to feel at peace now with no further disturbances. Oh, what a deceptive feeling that proved to be.
Of course the room reservation got messed up. With Klein’s awful luck, this kind of cliché was just waiting to happen to her. She almost didn’t feel surprised.
That’s why she just silently accepted her unfortunate fate, when upon entering the room, the two women were met with a single double bed in the middle. The silence befalling between them for the first few seconds was… a bit perplexing, to say the least.
Mobius is the first to speak, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. “Klein, did you get the right key?”
She nods. Both the number on the door and on the key match, she made sure of it before entering. The scientist exhales, closing her eyes for a moment. It doesn’t take too long for her to come up with a decision, though. “Whatever, then. We’ll have to do with what we have.” Truthfully, Mobius seems too tired to treat it like a major problem. Klein imagines she’d much rather just go to sleep than deal with the receptionist downstairs, and she doesn’t exactly blame her for that.
Still, she scans her mind for an appropriate escape out of the situation. “I can… sleep on the floor, Doctor?” she offers. Mobius looks at her with a raised eyebrow.
“What? No, that’s ridiculous. Your sitting posture alone already leaves much to wish for, Klein. I’d feel bad for making your back suffer even more, honestly.”
Klein decides to let the comment about her posture slide, because unfortunately, the doctor is right in that matter. “I’ve slept in worse conditions.”
Mobius just seems unamused at the excuse. “Oh, I’m sure. Doesn’t mean I’m going to make you do that. It’s not ideal, but we can share the bed. It’s just one night.” She takes notice of the slight hesitation on Klein’s face following her words, and quickly adds, as if a bit concerned - “Unless the idea makes you… uncomfortable, of course.”
The assistant shakes her head, not wanting Mobius to get the wrong idea. “N-No, that’s not… I mean, it’s fine. I don’t mind, Doctor.” The prospect doesn’t make Klein uncomfortable, just… nervous. Nervous to have the other woman at her hand’s reach like that. Nervous for more reasons than one.
Most importantly, because she shouldn’t be getting near Mobius at all. Not after what happened. Not after what Klein almost did.
Secondly, because she can’t help wanting to get near, and that terrifies her even more.
The thoughts still cloud her mind, even later in the night, when she feels the mattress shift under Mobius’ body as she joins her in the hotel bed after showering. The smell of shampoo and something else hits her nose. Right, this kind of metallic scent… No matter how clean Mobius is, the faint smell of blood seems to always trail after her. Usually, it’s not her own, fortunately enough. At least for her, not her test subjects.
“Good night, Klein.” Mobius’ voice slices through the silence. Klein can only define the way it sounds, quiet and calm, as somehow captivating.
“Good night, Doctor.” She answers, keeping herself as close to the edge of the bed as possible. She’s painfully aware of the close distance between her and the scientist. The position she’s forcing herself into isn’t very comfortable, either, but these are not the worst conditions she had to deal with. She manages to close her eyes, falling into sleep eventually.
Sleep wasn’t very peaceful for Klein lately.
There’s blood on her hands.
It can’t be her own - there is no ache in any part of her body. She looks down, examining her own form, but there aren’t any wounds to be seen, either. She appears to be perfectly fine.
She looks forward. There’s a body in front of her.
The body of an adult woman lies on the floor in a seemingly uncomfortable position. There’s a pool of crimson surrounding her, strands of long green hair clumped together by blood framing a ghostly pale profile. The lower part of her body is a miserable mix of twisted flesh and bone, mutilated beyond repair. Fragments of skeleton appear to pierce the woman's skin, making for an awful looking sight.
The body… The person in front of Klein is her doctor.
It hits her suddenly, like a wave of forgotten guilt, even though she was looking at her face the whole time - Klein scrambles to her knees, hearing her own heart pound in the empty laboratory. The sound hits the walls and echoes back to her. She leans over the woman’s face - Mobius’ eyes are open, but they’re so terribly empty, clouded over, like she’s looking both into and past Klein. There’s no way a person with such severe wounds could still be alive, but she isn’t thinking logically. She doesn’t want to think logically. She goes to check her pulse with shaking hands. There is none.
The warm, sticky substance on the floor clings to her skin and clothes. Mobius is dead, but why are her hands covered in blood?
She knows why. She knows it all too well, she remembers that night all too well. She wants to vomit. She runs her hands over the woman’s cold body, again and again, looking for any vital sign with desperation. She knows she won’t find it.
“Klein… Klein.” Something shakes her awake. She sluggishly opens her eyes, still in a state of panicked confusion, her vision met with the familiar face over her. Her surroundings make her heart skip for a moment, before she remembers where she is more clearly. It’s just a hotel room, and it’s just the hotel bed she’s sharing with Mobius… There is no blood in sight. The woman above appears very much alive.
“You cried in your sleep.” Mobius says that so matter of factly. Like another scientific observation, an expected test result. The way she looks at her, her gaze seems more curious than concerned.
Klein realizes the corners of her eyes are, indeed, wet. She wipes the dampness away with the back of her hand, unsure of what she should say. “I, um… sorry. Did I wake you up, Doctor?”
Mobius shakes her head, her gaze still focused on Klein’s face. “I wasn’t asleep anyway.”
Great, Klein thinks, even worse. So Mobius has been awake this whole time. This makes the situation a bit more embarrassing for her, though… she just feels relieved to see the doctor alive. The bloody scene in her mind is still in front of her eyes, but she can at least distinguish between dream and reality now.
Mobius hums and leans against the bedpost. She’s silent for a moment, before speaking again. “Do you still think about what happened, Klein? Is this what you dream about?” She doesn’t stray from the point of her question. The scientist has always been more forward in that matter than other people. Some would call this trait of hers insensitive, but right now, Klein is somehow relieved that she doesn’t have to play this game of hiding the truth. Not with Mobius.
Besides, even if she denied it, Mobius would still know. So instead, she nods, and allows herself to answer truthfully. “They couldn’t stop me. You died, Doctor.” Her own voice comes out in a hushed whisper, a lot quieter and more pathetic than she expected it to be.
“But I didn’t, did I? Do I look like a dead person to you?”
“But— You could have! That night, I… I could have killed you, Doctor.” Klein feels her own panic surge through her voice, looking up at the taller woman with desperation. “You shouldn’t— I shouldn’t be that close to you after that. You shouldn’t let me.” She wants to go on, the memory still vivid in her mind, but the firm gaze of the doctor fixed on her makes her quiet down, leaving only the rapid rising and falling of her chest.
“Klein. Calm down now.” Mobius studies the assistant carefully, as if deciding on something. “Tell me, do you trust me?”
Klein nods. In that matter, she doesn’t hesitate. “I do.”
“Then I'll prove something to you. Allow me.”
Mobius settles back on the pillow, gently pulling Klein on top of her, until the shorter girl’s head is resting on her chest. She doesn’t protest. She hears the rhythmic beating of the doctor’s heart, setting a stern contrast to her own labored breathing. Mobius’ long fingers tangle themselves in Klein’s hair, moving through the strands with the kind of care she shouldn’t be receiving.
But she’s warm, much warmer than before. Even more so when Mobius wraps an arm loosely around her - and oh, only now does Klein realize how cold she felt.
Mobius’ heartbeat still rings in her ears, and she doesn’t feel just as panicked anymore. So that was the scientist's idea of giving her proof.
“See? I’m alive. We both are, Klein. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?” Klein isn’t looking up, but she can almost hear the slight smile in Mobius’ voice. The kind she only has when talking about the infinite prospects of life.
She continues playing with her hair. “Tell me, why do these dreams terrify you so much still?” Of course, it would have been obvious that Klein doesn’t wish to kill anyone. Especially not Mobius. Yet she knows that’s not what the other is truly asking about.
She hesitates for a moment. The answer that comes to mind is awfully simple, perhaps too simple to say out loud. But she does. “Because… you’re important to me, Doctor.”
There’s a moment of silence, long enough for Klein to count three heartbeats. She feels no discomfort in that time. “You’re important to me too, Klein.” Mobius murmurs against her hair, her voice a tone softer than what Klein is used to. “That’s why I’ll keep you close to me, even if it happens ten times more. And ten after that.”
The answer makes her assistant smile weakly. “That number sounds a bit excessive.”
Mobius pats her head nonchalantly. “Well, I’m not that easy to kill.”
“Of course. You’re not, Doctor.” Klein scoots just the smallest bit closer, and in response, Mobius wraps her arms just a bit more tightly around her waist.
Later in the night, though she’s barely awake at this point, a thought suddenly comes to Klein. One that perhaps should have occured much earlier, but somehow did not.
“Doctor, has our room reservation truly gotten mixed up?”
Mobius giggles softly.
“...Doctor.” She repeats, a bit more sternly.
Her question goes completely unanswered, Mobius tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. “Don’t you feel tired, Klein? Go to sleep.”
Once again, Klein doesn’t even have it in her to feel surprised. Truly, this should have been obvious enough from the start, but she had just the slightest bit of faith in her scientist...
This woman really was going to be the death of her.