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"Will Remilia be alright?" Sakuya's voice is quiet and tense, barely legible through the haze of pain medication. All the lights in the room were turned off, to keep you more comfortable - bright lights have always caused your eyes a lot of pain, on account of the whole albinism thing. Sakuya's outline is barely visible in the darkness, at the foot of your bed, and, beyond her, Meiling leans against the wall. You can't see much else beyond that - your doctor remains obscured in the darkness, and your vision is already muddled by your pounding headache. Your doctor says something you can't make out - Meiling straightens up, as if she's going to say something, but Sakuya waves her off. "She. She's a she. Is there anything worthwhile you'd like to say or is that all, doctor?"
There's a brief moment of silence, followed by the door opening and closing, and your doctor slipping out. The brief flare of light makes you wince and retreat further under the comforting safety of your blankets. Sakuya turns around to face you. "Are you comfortable, Remilia?" You shake your head miserably, and Sakuya dutifully tugs at the blankets until they're to your satisfaction. Meiling moves forward and leans on the banister at the end of your bed.
"We're gonna be back here tomorrow morning, but, until then, we're gonna go back home." She sounds so, so drained. That's not exactly surprising to you, but you just nod weakly and glance away, at the wall. "We love you, Remilia, and we're here for you." You nod again in recognition and offer them a weak smile, although its probably not visible in the darkness. "Alright. See you tomorrow, Remilia." Meiling steps away from the bed, and Sakuya follows, and you turn your head to watch them for a moment. Their hands find each other as they exit the room, and the brief flare of light makes your head pound again.
Then, the door shuts and you're alone, again. A small, sad sigh escapes your lips. It's kinda funny, you guess, that you did all this shit to get your parents' attention, and they don't even fucking blink. It's not like you should have expected anything different, really - they never visit, they're always off doing whatever it is rich people do. (It's probably because they hate you and Flandre. Horrible children, never should have been born. The thought makes you sick again.)
You groan, screw your eyes shut, and try to sleep.
It feels like you're woken up immediately by the sound of the door opening and the squeaking wheels of another bed. With a sleepy, irritated whine, you sit up and run a hand through your messy hair. "What..." The nurses are bringing in another bed, with a pale, short-haired kid lying in it, fast asleep. The nurse glances at you and you just blink back, tired and irritated. "Who's that?"
"This is going to be your new roommate." You're barely paying attention when the nurse actually introduces them. Why is someone else in your room? You thought you had gotten a room to yourself. It's not like it particularly matters, though. You'll probably be out soon enough, back to the mansion. With a shrug, you flop back onto your pillow and scratch at your neck halfheartedly. Better get some more sleep, you guess.
Despite your best efforts to fall asleep, you spend the better half of the next several hours staring at the roof and hoping that you had actually died, not for the first time. You smooth out your hospital gown and straighten up, bored. Its only 6 in the morning - Sakuya and Meiling probably aren't going to come visiting any time soon, so you're going to be stuck here with this stranger for a couple hours, at least.
Fantastic.
May as well wait for them to wake up.
The kid stirs about an hour later, sitting up and looking around. When they look in your direction, you catch their eyes and wave with a weak smile. They blink in recognition but don't do much else. They just sit there, kind of awkwardly, and stare at the wall. "Uh, hi." You guess you should introduce yourself here if this conversation's going to go anywhere. "I wasn't listening when the nurses introduced you, so, uh. What's your name?"
They look back at you, looking evidently a bit uninterested. "Hello." Their voice is quiet and controlled. "My name's Patchouli. I'm a girl." She says it with the conviction of someone who's had to argue it before, and you find yourself starting to grin. You're liking where this is going.
"I am too. A lot of people say otherwise, but nope! I'm a girl, no matter what anyone says." Her eyes widen ever so slightly and you grin wider. "I'm Remilia! Remilia Scarlet! Pleased to meet you, Patchouli!" You say it with your usual flair, which you had somehow managed to replenish after the exhausting mess of events that were last night and this morning.
She nods slowly. "Uh, nice to meet you too..." Her voice doesn't give any sign as to whether or not she's serious, and there's a brief moment of silence while the two of you just stare at each other awkwardly. "...Do your parents know..?" When she finally talks again, her voice is quieter than usual, with the slightest touch of anxiety. "Mine don't. I don't think they'd... approve." After finishing the sentence, she breaks down into a violent coughing fit. You wait until she finishes until you talk.
"Mine don't either, although that's on account of them never being around. My guardians do, though. The family maid and bodyguard. They're great about it." You pick at your nails slowly. "My parents are always off travelling. We're rich, so... they blow the money everywhere and do stupid rich people things. And that's why I'm here, I'm a stupid rich kid doing stupid rich kid things." That's not exactly what happened, but it's easy enough to pass it off as that, so you will. "What are you here for?"
Patchouli is silent for a moment while she regains her breath. "Asthma." She coughs a bit. "And pneumonia." Her voice is coarse and quiet, and you have a feeling she won't be able to talk much more.
"Hey, Patche? Can I call you Patche?" You're asking the question before you can really think about it, and you look at her expectantly. She just stares back and coughs weakly, before giving you a short nod. "You can call me Remi! Do you wanna exchange phone numbers or something? Or addresses? I can give you my address so you can come and visit me! Meiling and Sakuya will call you a girl and we have tea and I have a little sister! Her name's Flandre and - and..." You trail off expectantly. You really hope she says yes. Here you go again, Remilia, latching onto people you just met.
Patchouli stares at you and nods weakly, offering you a small smile. "Sure."