elkhazel’s gift

Elkhazel entered Saber’s hospital room with a red rose hidden behind her back. She tapped her foot against the ground in an attempt to gain Saber’s attention.

Though she heard the noise, Saber did not turn her head in Elkhazel’s direction.

“Saber,” Elkhazel called and knocked on the door.

Saber did not respond.

“I brought you a gift,” Elkhazel added, hoping to find some excitement in Saber’s behavior.

Saber rolled over on the hospital bed to face Elkhazel, her eye bright with curiosity. “What is it?”

“Hmm.” Elkhazel freed one of her hands and held a finger to her bottom lip. “Guess.”

Saber stared at Elkhazel with the most uninterested expression that she could muster and rolled over to face the wall again.

Elkhazel narrowed her eyes and strolled over to Saber’s bed, lightly shaking Saber’s arm after sitting down. “You’re no fun today.”

“Have I ever been?”

Elkhazel frowned. “You’re usually fun.”

Saber laughed dryly. “Only when I’m with you, I guess. The gift?”

“You,” Elkhazel repeated, “have to guess.”

“I’ll tell the nurse you’re bothering me,” countered Saber, grabbing a device that would allow her to summon a nurse with the press of a button.

Elkhazel snatched the button from Saber’s hands and tossed it aside, gripping the rose behind her back tighter.

Saber looked at her, mouth agape. “My button!”

“What button?”

Saber weakly reached over and attempted to push Elkhazel off the bed. Elkhazel snickered mischievously and batted her hands away, revealing the rose that had been concealed behind her back.

Saber dropped her hands onto the mattress and eyed the rose. “Eh?”

“I told you I have a gift.” Elkhazel pushed the rose into Saber’s nose. “It’s fresh, see?”

Saber recoiled and seized the rose from Elkhazel’s grasp, holding it up to her nose to sniff it properly. It emitted the nicest scent that Saber had ever taken in from a flower; it was almost as if Elkhazel’s presence enhanced the rose’s perfume.

Saber held the rose to her chest and asked, “Where... Where did you find this?”

“It’s a secret,” Elkhazel replied, reaching out to bop Saber on the nose only to earn a sharp smack on the wrist in response. “You’re harsh lately!”

“I’m serious. It smells... nice.” Saber sniffed the flower again. “In a way, it smells like you.”

Elkhazel smirked. “And what do I smell like?”

“Nature.” Saber glared. “If you’ve showered.”

Elkhazel crossed her arms, the smirk fading from her expression.

Saber placed the rose on the nightstand beside her bed and pushed herself into a proper sitting position. “Why the rose?”

Elkhazel’s arms remained crossed, though it was not out of malice. “A kind gift for a kind friend.”

“The occasion,” demanded Saber.

Elkhazel nodded toward an empty calendar that was hanging off a nail above Saber’s bed. “Hmm. Someone hasn’t been keeping up with time.”

Saber reached behind her and swung a pillow at Elkhazel’s head with such energy that Elkhazel yelped and hopped off the bed, stumbling slightly. Saber huffed and returned the pillow to its previous spot on the bed.

In a split second, Elkhazel was sitting beside Saber on the bed once more, and she pointed at a specific day on the calendar.

“Valentine’s Day?” muttered Saber, incredulous. “Are you asking me to be your valentine?”

Elkhazel tilted her head to the side with a grin. “Is that how you interpret this?”

Saber hesitated. “Did you mean for me to interpret it as this?”

“If you accept, then yes.” Elkhazel held out her hand with such genuineness that Saber did not expect a trick to be played on her as usual.

Saber accepted the hand and, as expected, a trick was not played. “Okay. I accept.”