Assorted MGG Characters | Oneshots

Patience (Raymond, PG)

Summary: Raymond reconnects with his dead girlfriend. Based on the song "Dancing With Your Ghost" by Sasha Sloane.

Rating: PG (13+)

Content Warning: Major character death (Reader), death and dying, dead s/o, birthdays, brief/vague suicidal ideation 

A/N: No suicide is shown nor implied in this fic. Reader's cause of death is a nondescript "accident." The warning is in reference to a comment made by Raymond.

——————————————————

I've always hated birthdays. If you grew up having the father I did, you would understand why. Each year was just another reminder of the regretful event of my birth and another step in my rush towards the finish line. For a long time, that's all it was.

But then I met her.

The first time she asked me for my birthday, I was convinced she was just trying to figure out my astrology chart. Granted, that's exactly what she was doing, but then she just got so excited to hear that our birthdays were so close together. She said it was terrible for our compatibility, but that she was willing to overlook it.

It began a tradition that I swore I'd never enjoy. Every year, the two of us would get together to celebrate. It wasn't always a celebration of us as individuals, or even life in general. Sometimes it was just celebrating our favorite ice cream flavor or the shitty television show we were currently fixated on. My favorite year was the one where we spent the whole time celebrating the lack of birthday celebrations (full Alice in Wonderland style).

When I was with her, there wasn't a single birthday that passed where I was alone. She was always there, cake and candle in hand and ready to listen to whatever bogus anti-wish I'd concocted.

Two days before her birthday that year, I had realized that I didn't hate the reminder anymore. In fact, I couldn't wait to see her. To hear what she chose to celebrate and to watch as she opened her gift that was, for the first time, completely unironic.

I realized that day, as I held the small gift in one hand and my phone in the other, that I wasn't meant to enjoy birthdays.

'There's been an accident.'

Why couldn't fate have waited at least another 72 hours?

'I'm so sorry, Raymond.'

She deserved to have another birthday.

'It wasn't anyone's fault.'

I made her favorite cake.

'Raymond? Are you there?'

I bought her funny balloons months ago with curse words and sad faces.

'I'm so sorry.'

It wasn't fair, I thought as I turned to the calendar where she'd wished me a happy unbirthday.

We were supposed to have a party.

'She didn't make it.'

—————367 days later—————

I hadn't been able to sleep in what felt like a year. What had been a year. A year and two days since I lost her.

Time passed differently without her, but birthday season felt the same. It always came too soon and lasted too long. I'd been dreading her birthday with a twisted sort of oxymoronic excitement. I'd spent so long planning a celebration for a dead woman that I'd never stopped to consider she might not come.